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CHAPTER START---
"What a chaotic situation," Makarov mutters while stepping out of his office. Wearing his formal Wizard Saint coat and clothes, he pinches the bridge of his nose, collecting his thoughts before leaping up to the railing to look down at his guild. He sees everyone settling into their assigned teams with a few people gathered around Wakaba and Reedus sorting out supplies.
Scanning the room, he doesn't see Oberon or Gildarts, but senses the latter on the second floor, and assumes the former is also there. So after taking a deep breath to steady his heavy heart, he claps his hands.
A thunderous clap booms through the building, silencing everyone and pulling their attention to him. He waits a moment while Gildarts and Oberon walk to the second-floor railing at the S-Class section and give him their attention.
"Alright, everyone, I know this has been a bit chaotic and alarming, but now I'm going to give you the remaining details. It is almost midnight, which means in a matter of hours, every branch of the Magic Council will simultaneously change its laws."
Some people murmur in the crowd, but Gildarts silences them with a harsh glare.
"The change in the laws won't affect us. They will simply implement rules we've always had within the guild. No Charm Magic, no Assassination Jobs, those dreadful things will now be illegal. This means anyone caught doing those things will be arrested and punished, and those who continue will be classified as a Dark Wizard, or Dark Guild.
We can expect many official Wizard Guilds to turn against us. Master Bob estimates that up to a third of all Wizard Guilds in Ishgar will change sides at first. That means the entire continent will be in chaos. Economies and supply chains will be disrupted, monsters will be dealt with less often and rampage through populated areas.
And along with that chaos, there is also the very real threat of people lashing out at the ones who made this decision. The Magic Council and Wizard Saints will be prime targets. Most of the Wizard Saints didn't bother voting one way or the other, and both Jose and Coral voted against this change.
Which means the only Wizard Saint who voted and has a Wizard Guild, is me. That makes Fairy Tail the prime target, and an important anchor point for this entire change. The Magic Council has already moved most members to their hidden headquarters in Era and bolstered its defenses.
However, we aren't politicians who can hide behind guards. We're Wizards, we are the ones who battle monsters and make the real change in the world. That means we'll be active more than ever in the coming months.
We'll have a flood of Jobs to track and capture Dark Wizards or crush entire Dark Guilds. For this reason, you've all been assigned to teams by me. The basement has been stocked to last us a few months, at least under normal circumstances. We must look out for each other in this chaotic time, until something major happens to show them that this new era of light is here to stay.
Until then, I want all of you to look out for each other, and don't leave Magnolia without informing me or going with your assigned team. The S-Class Wizards are the exception to this, but one of us will remain at the guildhall at all times. Only if something absurd is happening will Gildarts, Oberon, and I be absent from Magnolia.
Aside from all of that, you can expect us to be working more closely with other members of the Fiore East Wizards Guild Alliance. After all, we have to secure Fiore before we can move on to the rest of Ishgar. Now, any questions?"
A chorus of worried chatter erupts in the guildhall, the signal for Oberon and Gildarts to go back to their planning, leaving Master Makarov to placate the masses…
---The Great Reef Guildhall, Fiore's West Coast…
Sitting in a chair made of bright green coral in front of a matching large conference table, a young and slender woman rests her hand on the table and gently rolls her fingertips across the hard surface.
She is seemingly naked, only covered by a layer of dense green coral across her entire body, leaving only her face exposed, while her hair is replaced by sharp spikes with sparks of green lightning dancing between them.
Her glowing green eyes shift from boredom, glancing at the woman standing to her right. "He's in the hallway, and he brought it."
"Master Coral, is it wise to invite a fellow Wizard Saint into our guildhall. If negotiations go poorly—"
"Nothing will come of such an outcome. Jose knows better than to challenge me in this valley. He wouldn't have come if he thought this would end in any way that displeases me."
"I simply don't trust that man."
Wizard Saint Coral leans back in her chair and turns to her Ace, smiling at the older woman. A few streaks of grey are scattered throughout the woman's hair as her combat clothes and light armor betray the gentle and kind face. The wooden staff in her hand, with small barnacles growing on it, also gives the impression of a warrior, until her gentle voice, exuding the boundless patience of an old Wizard flows through the air.
"Jose is powerful, but he is both a cowardly, envious thing, and under close watch by both the Magic Council and Makarov, he won't be a problem."
Moments later, the large doors on the other side of the room open, and the coral walls and ceiling around them release a soft green glow, illuminating the environment enough for their guests to see.
Jose Porla, one of the ten Wizard Saints, enters the room with a bored expression, wearing a simple blue suit and flanked by a man in a set of green priest robes with bandages over his eyes.
Behind them, another man enters, roughly the same age as Gildarts, with a similar build and height. But he has a head of brown hair, and is wearing a full suit of heavy plate armor. His red and gold armor matches the tower shield attached to his left arm and the sword on his back.
"Master Coral," the man says. "Will that be all?"
"Wait outside Fulmer. This won't take long," Master Coral says.
He nods and leaves the room, closing the coral doors behind him.
Master Jose immediately takes the seat opposite his host, making himself comfortable. "It never ceases to amaze me how controlling women can be. Making an entire town out of corals just so you can sense everything in it as your base."
"Homefield advantage is a thing," the older woman says, glaring at him.
"It's good to see you too, Avsala."
The woman also glares at him for a moment, amusing both Wizard Saints, before her eyes shift to the newcomer in the room. "Who is this?"
"Aria, he is the Ace of Phantom Lord."
Coral laughs, annoying Jose. "This is what happens when you focus on quantity instead of quality. It took you damn near a decade to find someone worth promoting to the Ace role from your heap of trash."
Jose sneers at her. "Quantity is a quality in itself."
"At our level, no, it's not. Now, tell me what you want so I can refuse and kick you out."
Jose places both hands on the table, then uses Requip to summon a large leather-bound black book from his personal pocket dimension, into the middle of the massive table.
Coral and Avsala share a curious look before turning to him, expecting an explanation.
"I can't keep it any longer."
"What happened to you not trusting me with it?" Coral asks. "Did the monster inside scare you?"
"I haven't even broken the seal yet, much less begun creating a Spell to control this Book of Zeref. But I can't keep it with me any longer. The damn Wizard Guild alliance I'm a part of is leading the charge on the law changes.
They're already suspicious of me and Phantom Lord. And the fact that we'll continue doing the now-illegal jobs is enough to worry about. I don't want their spies to learn about this Book of Zeref, either."
"How far are you from breaking the seal?" Coral asks as she waves her hand, and the coral table grows a protrusion, holding the book and carrying it over to her.
"I'm a few weeks away from opening it. Then I need to make a way to control the monster."
Coral stores the book within her own Requip dimension, and with a thought, the table returns to its previous state. "Have you located any more?"
"No, and this change in the laws will only make that harder."
"And how powerful is this one?"
"How the hell would I know? These things don't come with instructions. But from what I can tell, this is one of the more powerful books. A few more like this, and we'll be able to rule this continent. I estimate that with a half dozen of these, our combined power should be enough to crush anyone, even God Serena."
"By that logic, this one should be enough for the other Wizard Saints, yes?"
"Mostly, yes."
"Mostly?"
"Makarov has the three ultimate Magics. Their power is unknown."
Coral and Avsala laugh, annoying Jose.
"I am aware that most people believe them to be myths. But the founder of Phantom Lord saw Fairy Law with his own eyes. Not to mention all the stock the Magic Council has put into Fairy Tail and Makarov. All the special treatment they get. It has to be connected."
"If such Magics existed, Makarov would be kind of the continent, if not the world. You don't make things like that without one goal in mind, conquest."
"Which is why he'll be the first person we kill. After that, God Serena, then the entire continent will be ours," Jose says.
Coral nods in agreement before they sort out the finer details, and an hour later, she and Avsala are alone in the room once more.
The doors open, and Fulmer enters, approaching his Guildmaster and Ace with an annoyed expression. "That man is too obnoxious."
"But he is useful," Coral says. "Bring everyone back to base. Restock and consolidate all our resources here."
Avsala gives her a knowing smirk. "Finally."
"Yes. We no longer need Jose. In his fear of those fables about Fairy Magics, he's given us the Book of Zeref. Now we merely open it, control the monster, and kill anyone in our way…"
CHAPTER END---
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pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene [Read ahead & support me]
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