Yet Natsu's dramatic, sky-dropping, devour-the-world entrance didn't even last half a second.
"Gah! Hot! Hot, hot, hot, hot, HOT—!!!"
Clutching his swollen stomach, Natsu bared his teeth in pain and started convulsing midair like an overcooked shrimp.
"You idiot… did you come here to save me, or just to make things worse?"
In midair, with his magic nearly drained dry, Shane let out a sigh. The small spark of emotion he had just felt instantly turned into helpless exasperation.
He grabbed Natsu by the back of his fate-sealed collar and took him down with him in a rapid descent.
Fortunately, he was still maintaining his [Assassin] class state. With A-rank agility, even his nearly exhausted body remained as light as a swallow.
Even falling vertically from over a hundred meters up, Shane could still move through the crisscrossing trunks as if he were walking on flat ground. A few light taps of his toes were all it took for him to land safely, even while dragging dead weight with him.
"Pwah—cough, cough! Why is this pitch-black fire just like yours, Shane?! I can't eat it at all!"
Sweating profusely from the heat, Natsu dropped to the ground the moment they landed and started dry-heaving in misery.
Tiny black sparks kept spilling from his mouth. The instant they hit the ground, they melted the snow, and even the damp trees nearby started burning with them.
"Because your training still sucks, moron."
Shane smacked Natsu on the head with a chopping hand, none too gently.
There was no time to stand around. Grimoire Heart was still looming above them like predators.
After tossing out that complaint, he immediately hauled up Natsu—who was still coughing out black smoke—and quickly headed toward the direction where he had sensed Makarov and the others.
…
Meanwhile, on Nirvana's platform a hundred meters in the air—
"Tch." Watching the black trail of fire spreading across the ground below as the two of them advanced, the blond boy's face darkened so much it looked ready to drip ink.
"That was Fire God Slayer, fire that can burn even the gods to ash. And a mere human dared to eat it? Arrogant fool."
"Oh, give it a rest, Zancrow. You can talk all the trash you want, but you're obviously pissed that someone ate your fire, aren't you?"
Beside him, Azuma, his skin dark and weathered, exposed him mercilessly.
Azuma had always craved fighting truly strong opponents.
And the terrifying, rule-defying power Shane had displayed just now had clearly stirred his fighting spirit to the fullest.
"There are trees everywhere here. A perfect battlefield for me to unleash my full strength."
Azuma licked his lips excitedly, and faint green shoots could already be seen sprouting from the surface of his skin.
Before he had even finished speaking, he was the first to leap from the hundred-meter platform, chasing after Shane.
With him taking the lead, Hades didn't even need to issue further orders. Zancrow, Rustyrose, and the others followed right after, turning into streaks of light as they plunged murderously into the dense forest below.
…
At the other end of the forest, along the path Fairy Tail had blasted open—
Thud.
The moment they met up, Shane unceremoniously flung Natsu—still coughing up black sparks—aside like a sack of potatoes.
Then he looked up at Makarov, who had already returned to his normal size, and frowned.
"Master, why did all of you come? What if another dark guild attacked the guild hall while this was happening?"
"Erza explained the situation so seriously. There was no way I could just sit still after hearing that."
Makarov stroked his white beard. His eyes held undisguised worry… and a bit of annoyance.
"It took some time to gather everyone, but it looks like we made it just in time."
As for the guild's safety—what Shane had been worried about most—the old man simply laughed heartily.
"As for the guild… heh, we've actually got the recent S-Class Wizard trial to thank for that. It just so happened to gather all the kids who were out on jobs back together."
"Remember this, Shane. A building is just stone and wood. If it's destroyed, it can be rebuilt. But as long as we, this family, are still together… then wherever people are, that is our guild."
Hearing that, Shane paused for a moment and finally turned to look around.
Only then did he realize it wasn't just Laxus standing there with his arms crossed, still wearing that cold expression.
Ur was there too, smiling and waving at him.
Mira was there too, one hand resting against her cheek, looking at him like she was saying, You really are a troublesome master, aren't you?
And beyond them, familiar faces everywhere—Wakaba, Macao, Reedus with a brush still in hand…
Aside from Gildarts, that wandering uncle who was never around anyway, practically everyone from the guild was here.
"Levy and Lisanna came too," Cana said, one hand on her hip as she casually tossed a few tarot cards in the other. She looked at Shane with an expression that clearly said, You owe us big for this one, kid. "But the front line's too dangerous, so we had them stay in the rear for support."
"Shane."
At the sound of that cool, clear voice, Erza stepped out from the back of the group with Jellal, Ultear, and the others. Judging by the look of it, they had met up along the way while pushing forward.
Erza walked up, her expression still sharp with battle-readiness, and quickly explained what had happened on their side.
"For some reason, Midnight suddenly went mad and attacked Hoteye. But because of that, he exposed the weakness of his magic."
"His 'Twist' can't directly affect the human body, and at any given moment he can only focus the warped zone in one direction."
"We took advantage of that opening and defeated him together."
Shane nodded at the news.
Then, just as quickly, he gave them a brief explanation of what had happened on his side—Grimoire Heart's interference, and Zero's awakening included.
Only, to keep everyone from worrying, he deliberately left out why Zeref had singled out him and Ultear in the first place.
"Zeref? You ran into Zeref?"
Just as expected, the moment that name came out, Makarov's eyes nearly popped out of his head, and the people around them all sucked in sharp breaths.
In this world, there was almost no one who didn't know that cursed name.
Powerful, mysterious, overflowing with pure malice toward the entire world—those were the images almost everyone associated with the black wizard Zeref.
And yet now, hearing Shane describe him, this legendary evil mage was apparently a black-haired boy who looked melancholy and even had a temperament that could be called… gentle?
The contrast was so extreme that everyone had trouble processing it.
"Anyway, Zeref can wait. Right now, the problem is Hades. The master of Grimoire Heart is a monster even I can't see through."
Shane took a deep breath and pulled the subject back to the situation in front of them.
He had always hated dragging others into his messes. That was why, in the beginning, he had only brought along the few people directly connected to the Tower of Heaven incident.
But now Grimoire Heart had come out in full force. The situation was completely out of control.
"My magic is already burned out. But I still have one trump card left…"
Shane looked at Makarov, his gaze dead serious.
"If we can hold out until nightfall, then I'm absolutely certain I can deal with Hades."
"Master… in a situation like this, do you have any good ideas?"
Looking at the rare trace of urgency—and even dependence—in Shane's eyes, Makarov didn't feel pressured at all. If anything, he looked deeply gratified.
He had always felt that while Shane was incredibly strong, there was something about him that was too independent, too distant—like he might disappear like the wind at any moment.
"You brat… so you're finally learning how to rely on other people."
Makarov stepped forward and patted Shane on the arm.
"Trust everyone in the guild. And trust this worn-out old man too."
"You're thinking of using Fairy Law, aren't you, Makarov?"
Just as the group was discussing plans and the atmosphere had barely begun to settle, a cold, merciless voice boomed overhead like muffled thunder.
In the next instant, an enormous mass of suffocating magic descended like a tangible shadow, blanketing the entire forest.
The air turned thick. Even breathing became difficult.
"That's Hades—the master of Grimoire Heart!" Shane warned immediately. "Master, be careful. That guy's magic is bottomless—"
But before he could finish, the words caught in his throat.
He stared in shock.
The moment Hades appeared—
Makarov, who had just been patting his chest and promising everything would be fine, froze completely in place like he had been struck by lightning.
The old man stared upward, rigid as stone, his pupils trembling violently as they reflected the figure slowly descending from the sky.
And when he finally, truly saw that sinister one-eyed silhouette—
what exploded inside his mind was a bright, sunlit afternoon from forty-three years ago.
The former guild master who had solemnly entrusted the leadership of Fairy Tail to him… and then left alone.
Precht!