In truth, although Hades still wore that cold, unreadable expression on the surface, deep down he was already wavering.
This great wizard, who prided himself on having reached the peak of human magic, was—for the first time in ages—feeling the same confusion he had felt a century ago when he first encountered Zeref.
He couldn't see through it. He couldn't understand it.
It was completely beyond common sense, impossible to judge by any normal logic.
And what felt most absurd of all was that this terrifying existence—one that had left everyone helpless—had actually been summoned by the brat standing before him.
Things had clearly gone beyond the limits of his control.
Hades had even begun to wonder whether the plan to "capture Shane and Ultear" should still continue—or whether it even could.
"Brat…"
After weighing the pros and cons, Hades finally lowered his head and spoke in a low voice only the two of them could hear.
"Tell me how to find Zeref."
Shane turned his head slightly and glanced at this "senior" out of the corner of his eye.
The man hadn't said it outright, but the implication in his tone was obvious enough.
Give me Zeref's information, and I'll stop pressing the matter and withdraw my people immediately.
Honestly speaking, it was an extremely tempting offer.
After all, Ereshkigal was bound by the terms of the contract and absolutely could not interfere in anything outside the wish itself.
And as for information about Zeref, that was hardly some secret Shane needed to guard with his life.
Trading one piece of information for the safety of all Fairy Tail's members was an obvious bargain.
But Shane neither agreed nor refused right away.
"Let's talk after everything here is over," Shane said lightly.
He was the one holding the initiative now. If he acted too eager, this old fox would only grow suspicious.
"Troublesome little brat… you really do know how to shift with the wind."
Hades' expression darkened, but he said nothing more.
Since the other party had loosened his stance, that meant there was room to negotiate. And Hades had patience enough to wait.
And just as the two of them were quietly testing each other—
"Erza's" voice suddenly echoed in Shane's mind. It was laced with Ereshkigal's unique divinity—ethereal, yet somehow vividly alive.
"The one in the sky is even more petty than I imagined. It seems he's planning to keep wearing me down from across the boundary."
"You can't just crush him directly, even you?" Shane asked inwardly, a little surprised.
"Hm? Of course I can!"
Apparently displeased by the doubt in Shane's tone, Ereshkigal's voice rose slightly.
"But because this descent only allows me to act under the pretext of 'lifting the curse,' my divine power can't be used for anything else, so dealing with him is rather troublesome!"
"Then what are you planning to do now?"
Shane steadied himself. Since she had chosen to contact him, she clearly already had an idea.
"There are two methods."
Ereshkigal's tone turned serious again.
"First, I can continue expanding the underworld and repeat the process of devouring the land above. That would strengthen my influence over the mortal world."
"You know, in the land of the dead… I am omnipotent. If I do that, then naturally, while lifting the curse, I can also 'incidentally' deal with that one's malice."
"That sounds effective… but there's a catch, isn't there?"
Shane immediately caught the important part.
If the method were flawless, she would have acted already and wouldn't need to ask for his opinion.
"Mm… the price is that after I leave, the deathly nature of the underworld will remain forever."
Ereshkigal answered with complete frankness.
"For example, the forest in front of you—after the clash between my power and his, it will most likely remain like this in the future: dead, barren, and incapable of growing any living thing ever again."
"…"
Shane fell silent.
This wasn't just bad. It was catastrophically bad.
With Ereshkigal's power, if she truly let loose, forget this forest—there was a real chance the entire Kingdom of Fiore could be assimilated into a land of death.
Just imagining the whole country turning into underworld wasteland because of his wish…
Shane felt that Hades wouldn't even need to make a move. Old man Makarov would probably burst into tears on the spot and use Fairy Law to clean house himself.
The price was simply too great.
Shane let out a sigh. No wonder Ereshkigal had specifically asked for his opinion.
In every sense of the word, for a goddess of death dealing in matters that could destroy an entire nation, she was surprisingly "considerate."
"Then… what's the second method?" Shane immediately abandoned the first option.
"That one is simpler. Just erase the 'bearer' tainted by the curse. Once the one in the sky loses the target, the chain of causality breaks, and he naturally has no choice but to retreat."
Ereshkigal answered crisply.
"…"
Shane fell silent again.
He decided to take back his earlier thought. A goddess's "consideration" really could not be measured by human standards.
"Um… if afterward I worked very, very hard to find a solution, could the underworld's effect on the land be undone?"
Shane tried to salvage the first plan one last time.
"That is my absolute domain! How could it possibly be undone so easily?" Ereshkigal replied, her tone carrying a strange sort of pride.
"Then please… think of another way. If possible, I personally would still very much like to go on living."
After choking on his words for a while, Shane managed to force out that line with absolute sincerity.
"Hm? Of course you'll continue living just fine."
Ereshkigal sounded puzzled at first, then suddenly understood.
"Ah, you misunderstood. By 'erase,' I don't mean killing you in a physical sense. I mean erasing your existence on a conceptual level."
Erasing his existence conceptually?
To Shane, that somehow sounded even scarier, but outwardly he still kept listening honestly.
"Because that one seems unable to descend easily into the mortal world, he can only lock on to you through causal lines. So in a certain sense, he's rather slow-witted. Quite easy to fool."
Ereshkigal's voice carried a rare hint of slyness.
"As long as I wrap the cursed one in the underworld, hide them in the gap between life and death beneath the earth, and slowly dilute and sever the causal line linked to his gaze, then once he can no longer find an anchor in the mortal world, he'll simply go blind."
If there was such a safe and convenient method, why didn't you use it from the beginning?
Shane badly wanted to say that.
But then he thought better of it. There was no telling how many thousands of years she had been stifled in that lightless underworld.
After finally getting a chance to come out and "breathe," it would be far too cruel for him to start lecturing her self-righteously.
"Then I leave it to you," Shane said inwardly, with solemn respect.
"Leave it to me."
At the exact instant Ereshkigal gave her answer, the Book of Heroic Spirits deep within Shane's mind flipped open with a rustling sound.
Line after line of faintly glowing text slowly surfaced within his consciousness.
[Trial: Innocence]
[Description: The malice of a god clings like rot to the bone. Sever the unreasonable bond between life and death. Purge the lingering sickness, wash away the dullness, and return this burdened body to its original clarity.]
"A new trial triggered at a time like this?"
Shane's heart stirred.
It wasn't a "long-chain trial" that granted permissions or special items like a Grail.
But removing Ankhseram's curse was something he had to do anyway.
Now that the Book of Heroic Spirits had classified this as a trial, the surprise and delight in Shane's heart naturally far outweighed that faint trace of disappointment.