[These two brats are too noisy.]
Just as Ankh was watching Natsu and Gajeel's aggressive forehead-butting standoff, Seram's voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
Ankh paused, then asked with surprise.
'You're awake? You've been quiet for days. It seems the Etherion was really powerful since it give you some trouble. If we hit another bottleneck in our training, we should plan to use it again...'
[Unnecessary,] Seram replied dryly. [The Divine Power has already awakened. Life-and-death stimulation is useless now.]
Ankh nodded slightly, sipping his drink.
Seram seemed to have just recovered his energy and was curious about the new faces in the guild, so Ankh engaged him.
[Weren't those two humans members of that... whatever group? Phantom Lord?] Seram asked, observing Juvia and Gajeel through Ankh's eyes.
[Why did they join this guild too? Are you collecting enemies now?]
Ankh explained internally. 'That's just how Old Man Makarov is... he likes adopting stray children. He believes in redemption. Besides, they're quite capable. Joining the guild could help us advance further.'
[Hmm. Compared to the other trash in this world, they are indeed talented...] Seram mused. [Like that blue-haired woman... she carries a special curse inside her that resonates with the atmosphere. It makes it rain wherever she is when she loses emotional control.]
A curse? Rain?
Ankh turned to look at the sky outside the window.
He asked curiously, 'Does Juvia still have that curse? The weather outside is quite nice. I thought she overcame it after fighting Gray.'
[Whether the curse activates is connected to her emotions,] Seram explained. [It's dormant now because she is happy. It was likely a Mage in her ancestry got cursed by a water spirit, and she inherited it.]
[But it's not a big deal. In fact, it suits her constitution well and enhances her Water Magic abilities significantly. She is a natural disaster waiting to happen.]
Ankh nodded in understanding.
'No wonder,' he thought.
In the original story, even after Juvia lost her "Rain Woman" title and stopped controlling the weather unconsciously, her power remained formidable.
The rain was actually an AOE passive buff she had learned to toggle.
"What about this guy with the iron studs all over his face?" Ankh asked Seram curiously, purely using the ancient god as a magical detector.
"Anything unusual inside him?"
Seram looked at the arrogant Gajeel, who was currently biting a steel spoon in half.
[Similar to that pink-haired guy, Natsu,] Seram analyzed. [He has a powerful Magic Power source inside him, very well hidden and not from this era. It's like a bodyguard sleeping in his soul.]
[Oh... Interesting.] Seram paused. [He doesn't seem to have that unpleasant smell that the pink-haired one has.]
Ankh scratched his head, puzzled. "What exactly do you mean by that 'unpleasant smell'? You keep mentioning it regarding Natsu."
[Well... It's hard to describe in human terms,] Seram grumbled. [It feels like... violating the principles of life and death. Anyway, that pink-haired human gives me an uncomfortable feeling]
Ankh was also confused by Seram's vague words.
"Why don't I feel anything? I just smell fire and ash."
Seram's tone revealed a hint of disdain as he said.
[Your senses are still developing. The Life Divine Power can enhance all your abilities, including perception. You'll have plenty to keep you busy in the future mastering it.]
Ankh stretched his arms. "I was just planning to find an opportunity to practice my moves. I need to test the limits of this Life power."
As long as he could get rid of these followers around him...
Mirajane and Erza were currently hovering.
After the "patient" scare, they were sitting on either side of him, sticking close like a pair of overprotective sisters.
Ankh couldn't even walk to the bathroom without someone asking if he needed support.
'I can't train like this,' Ankh sighed.
But soon, someone came to his rescue.
Master Makarov walked over. He smiled benevolently as he sent the two girls away to handle a minor request at the bar.
Then, his expression changed to one of worry as he sat down opposite Ankh.
"Ankh," Makarov said in a low voice. "You must have heard the news—the Magic Council headquarters was completely destroyed. They say it was Jellal's accomplice, Ultear."
Ankh nodded calmly, taking a sip of juice. "Of course I know, Master. I was there."
Makarov lowered his voice further. "I heard from my sources that to stop Ultear's, you sent Anselion to confront her."
'Actually, it was just putting on a show with Ultear to secure our alibis...' Ankh thought amusingly.
Ankh didn't say this out loud, of course.
He began comforting the worried Guild Master with a practiced lie.
"Don't worry, Master. Anselion has always kept to himself and played the neutral party. In this incident, he contributed to the defense without any fault. He fought bravely against the 'traitor' Ultear. He will definitely continue serving in the new Council, likely with a promotion."
Makarov propped his chin on his hand, his white eyebrows furrowed deep in thought.
"I'm not worried about Anselion's career. It's just that... the Council representatives have been pressing me these past few days to hand Jellal over to them."
Ankh scoffed. "The new councils hasn't even been fully formed yet. Why are they in such a hurry?"
Ankh let out a disdainful laugh and mocked them, "Those old foxes are full of sinister schemes. They probably want to use Jellal as a scapegoat to cover up the Etherion, or to boost their own achievements by claiming they captured him."
"Besides..." Ankh leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "I was the one who defeated and captured Jellal. Not only did they not help, but they even tried to kill us with the Etherion!"
"Let's delay for a while," Ankh suggested. "Until the new Council is established and the situation stabilizes. We hold the cards."
Listening to Ankh's self-righteous tone, Seram chuckled in his head.
[You'd think he'd been terribly wronged. As if you didn't manipulate the entire situation.]
Makarov, unaware of Ankh's had basically face-tanked the etherion blast for a power-up, didn't find his words excessive.
He nodded in agreement.
"I think so too," Makarov said. "The previous Council officials were a mixed bag of chaos. Handing him over to them now... I'm afraid it might lead to another accident, or a summary execution without trial."
"But..." Makarov hesitated.
Ankh raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Is there pressure from them?"
Makarov sighed deeply. "The newly appointed Chairman of the new Council... Gran Doma. He has issued a strict order forbidding any guild from harboring criminals privately, or we'll be punished accordingly. He's a hardliner."
"Moreover," Makarov continued, "to avoid any appearance of impropriety or Council bias, he specifically invited other official magical institutions from the continent—independent judges—to temporarily detain and judge Jellal. He's also prepared to offer the guild a generous reward for the capture."
Ankh sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth.
"Carrot and stick," Ankh remarked. "This new chairman... is more cunning than the previous ones."
The Magic Council wasn't the only official institution governing Mages on the continent, so even though they had temporarily collapsed, the magical world's operations hadn't ground to a halt.
The Council's affairs were deeply entangled, and Chairman Gran Doma was determined to bring Jellal back, clearly aiming to establish his absolute authority immediately.
However, Jellal wasn't entirely off the table for handover.
Even if he were turned over, Ankh had ways to get him out later—perhaps a jailbreak.
The reason for not releasing him now was mainly because Jellal still held many secrets that Ankh needed.
Nirvana.
The Super Magic Nirvana, an ancient magic that could reverse light and darkness—only Jellal currently knew its exact location and sealing method.
Moreover, there was the Oración Seis, a powerful Dark Guild that was eyeing both Nirvana and Jellal covetously.
If Jellal were kept in a standard Council prison, he'd likely be ambushed and kidnapped by those guys before Ankh could extract the intel.
Ankh was quite interested in Nirvana. But if Jellal were sent away for detention now, extracting information about Nirvana would become much more troublesome...
'Sigh...'
'In the end, we are short-handed,' Ankh realized. 'With Ultear gone, there was no one to handle tasks that couldn't be done under the 'Fairy Tail' identity.'
However, Jellal was a good candidate for a new shadow operative.
Freed from Ultear's control and the darkness, Jellal was not only powerful, young, and rational, but his heart had also regained its original sense of justice and kindness.
He was currently consumed by guilt, desperately wanting to atone for his sins.
Ankh could completely win Jellal over, just as he had done with Ultear.
He could give him a path to redemption.
And after breaking free from brainwashing, what Jellal sought was nothing more than shedding his identity as a sinner and making amends.
With Ankh's help and political maneuvering via Anselion, it wasn't impossible for Jellal to earn merits in the shadows and eventually secure a pardon from the King of Fiore.
However, this investment would undoubtedly be time-consuming.
'Is he worth it?'
After pondering for a long time, Ankh slowly let out a sigh.
'Yes.'
Jellal's strength was no less than Ultear's.
He was a rare talent—a prodigious Mage among the new generation.
Most importantly, through Jellal's connection, Ankh could follow the trail to identify the other five mages from the Tower of Heaven... and eventually get to the Oración Seis before they caused trouble.
Ankh made his decision.
He smiled at Makarov.
"Master," Ankh said, standing up. "Where is Jellal being held? I'd like to have a word with him before we make any decisions."
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