Hades did not react right away.
That chilling lone eye of his merely rested on Ultear in silence.
All this time, he had considered her an exceptionally perfect chess piece—her magical talent and her intellect alike had been useful to an almost absurd degree.
And the way she had just struck straight at his weak point only proved that all over again.
But precisely because of that, Hades could not understand it.
Why had the Ultear who had once been consumed by hatred for her mother and an obsessive thirst for power suddenly cut herself off so completely from who she used to be?
Why would she go so far as to betray him and side with Fairy Tail?
Unless…
Hades's gaze slowly shifted, until it finally settled on Ur, standing among Fairy Tail's ranks.
"So that woman who should have died beneath Iced Shell is really standing here alive, just like the reports said."
"I see…"
Hades's pupil narrowed slightly.
Given Ultear's mad obsession with that impossible wish, there was only one reason that could have made her turn traitor—
Her long-cherished wish had already come true.
A spark flashed through his mind.
If there was one thing in this world worth making the legendary black wizard Zeref come in person—
it could only be a miracle that touched the domain of life itself.
Resurrection from the dead.
So… she wasn't some elaborate illusion or fake doll at all. She was a genuine dead woman who had truly been brought back to life?
In that instant, Hades connected all the pieces.
He knew perfectly well that with Ultear's abilities, there was no way she could ever reach a spell that so blatantly defied the laws of the world.
Which left only one answer.
He snapped his head around and fixed his gaze on the other person at the center of it all.
Shane.
The truth was, beyond his pursuit of the singular "One" hidden within magic, another desire had always lurked in the withered depths of Hades's heart—one he had never confessed to anyone.
The selfish desire to revive someone.
It was an obsession tied to one certain person, one certain stretch of the past, that he had never truly been able to let go of.
At that moment, the way Hades looked at Shane changed completely.
His desire for this young man surged to an unprecedented peak.
No matter what, he had to have him. He had to drag every secret out of his head—about resurrection, about Zeref, about everything.
"Brat…" Hades said, his voice dry. "If you are willing to submit to me, become one of Grimoire Heart's kin, and tell me everything I wish to know…"
"Then I can withdraw here and now, and spare Makarov and everyone else in this place."
The moment he said that, the members of Grimoire Heart around him all looked stunned.
None of them had expected that their master—who had always ruled with a simple principle of obey and prosper, resist and die—would actually take a step back while holding all the advantage.
But standing at the front of Fairy Tail, Shane quietly let out a breath of relief.
"So once we found the other side's weak point, our bargaining power really shot up."
A moment ago, Hades had been so overbearing there hadn't been the slightest room for negotiation.
Silently, Shane gave Ultear a mental thumbs-up.
Now that Hades had called him out by name, Shane naturally stepped forward.
"Your condition… I can agree to it."
"Shane? What the hell are you saying?!"
Beside him, Natsu instantly blew up. "How can you agree to join a bastard's dark guild like that?!"
"Shut up, Natsu!"
Makarov had lived too long not to know Shane's personality. This was obviously just a pretext to buy time.
"However, there is one condition first…"
Ignoring Natsu's shouting, Shane slowly raised a hand and pointed far behind Hades, toward the ancient city that was still rumbling on in the distance.
"Stop Nirvana first."
"Heh…"
Hades let out a soft chuckle from above.
"I don't know whether that demand of yours is just another delaying tactic, or whether you're truly concerned about Nirvana as some bleeding-hearted fool."
"But considering the value hidden in you… I'm willing to grant that request."
"But remember this, brat. My patience has limits."
The composure forged by the long passage of time meant Hades could not possibly panic just because Ultear had exposed the location of his heart.
He maintained, from start to finish, the poise of a true superior being.
Even knowing full well that this group was playing little tricks, he was willing to watch coldly and accept all of it.
And then, with absolute power, crush every bit of their cleverness piece by piece.
In legend, Hades was the ruler of the underworld.
Before death, all living things were equal—high and low, noble and lowborn, none of it mattered.
That was why he had cast aside the name Precht and walked in darkness as "Hades": to preserve that cold gaze that could look down upon all things in the world.
"Really? Then thanks for your incredible generosity."
Shane smiled faintly, without the slightest ripple of feeling.
"I think I know where the mechanism to stop Nirvana is. As a gesture of good faith, I'll have my companions go—"
"No need for that. I already know how to shut it down," Hades interrupted coldly.
He pointed toward the massive moving city in the distance.
"That thing's power source is in the cores at the base of its six legs. Destroy all six Lacrima at the same time, and it will naturally stop."
"Rustyrose, send a few people to handle it."
"Yes, Master," Rustyrose answered at once.
"No." Shane stepped forward with striking forcefulness.
"We'll send our own people to witness it and carry it out. Who knows whether you'd tamper with it behind our backs and secretly seize control of Nirvana for yourselves?"
"I have no interest whatsoever in that weak little magic that only twists people's hearts. Even if I controlled it, what possible use would it be to me?"
Hades cast Shane a flat glance, but in the end he did not flare up. He merely waved a hand dismissively, indicating that Fairy Tail could choose its own people.
Seeing that, Makarov immediately turned and named Erza, Gray, and four other wizards.
As he ordered them to go destroy the Lacrima, the old man shot them a meaningful look.
No explanation was needed.
They had to be destroyed simultaneously.
That condition alone was more than enough for them to make a whole production out of it and drag things out as long as possible.
Second by second, time passed.
Soon, nearly two long hours had gone by.
Ordinarily, for wizards of Erza's level, that was more than enough time.
And yet Nirvana still rumbled on in the distance, and not a single success report had come through the communication crystal.
"What's going on?"
The calm expression on Hades's face slowly gave way to cold detachment.
"Master…"
One subordinate who had been using magic to monitor the movement inside Nirvana reported awkwardly,
"Those Fairy Tail fools are clumsy as oxen. They keep missing the timing by a few seconds. They just can't destroy the Lacrima simultaneously."
"…"
Hades narrowed his lone eye.
So it really was a stalling tactic.
But what exactly was this brat waiting for? Had he contacted the Magic Council?
No… given how rotten and inefficient those bureaucrats were, there was no way they could gather any force capable of threatening him in this amount of time.
Though he could not tell what Shane was waiting for, Hades was not the type to make the fatal mistake of underestimating an enemy.
He turned his silent gaze on Fairy Tail, and that oppressive magic of his began to boil once more.
"Have your people make one last attempt."
Hades delivered his ultimatum.
"If that broken thing still won't stop… then our deal is over."
Seeing that his patience had finally run dry, the members of Fairy Tail all swallowed nervously.
One after another, they looked toward Shane, silently asking with their eyes:
Is it enough yet?
Shane did not answer immediately.
Instead, he tilted his head back slightly, his gaze passing beyond the giant demonic warship that blotted out the sky, toward the gray horizon where the last traces of sunset were being swallowed by oncoming dark.
Winter nights always came especially early.
And especially deep.
"Contact Erza and the others," Shane said in a low voice.
Makarov connected the communication crystal.
Less than five minutes later—
"BOOOOM!!!"
With a violent tremor that shook the earth, the city that had been rumbling all this time let out one final cry of anguish before losing power completely and grinding to a halt.
And just then—
the fading sun and the pale moon hung at opposite ends of the sky, while dim twilight draped itself across the battlefield like a thin veil.
Faced with such a scene, a satisfied smile finally appeared on Hades's withered, deadwood-like face for the first time.
He looked at Shane, his tone carrying the lofty air of a man bestowing grace from above.
"Brat… I've done what you asked."