While Drake was dealing with the demon from the Books of Zeref, the others had also taken care of their respective opponents.
The buzzer sounded, and the pumpkin-headed announcer enthusiastically declared the results of the match.
Drake and the other four stood together, basking in the cheers of the audience. It was a shame the kingdom hadn't arranged for a trophy or anything; it felt like something was missing.
The first Grand Magic Games had come to an end, but everyone decided to stay in Crocus for another day.
Because tomorrow was July 7th, and the kingdom was going to hold a grand celebration. And the name of that celebration was the Dragon King Festival!
Drake didn't know what was so special about the date July 7th.
Acnologia's complete transformation into a black dragon, becoming the Dragon King, had occurred on that day, which was why the date was called the Dragon King Festival.
And Drake and Natsu had also been sent four hundred years into the future on July 7th. There must be a reason why the Eclipse Gate was activated on that day.
But before the festival, Fairy Tail, in celebration of their victory, had their own banquet.
Drake didn't join in with the others, instead sitting off to the side, contemplating his next steps.
The appearance of the demon from the Books of Zeref had reminded Drake that he could start making preparations for future events.
That's right, Drake was talking about Tartaros.
If there was a well-known villainous force in the kingdom, it was the Balam Alliance, comprised of mostly dark guilds.
And the core of this alliance was three dark guilds, with Tartaros, composed of demons from the Books of Zeref, being the core of the core.
Fairy Tail was truly the protagonist; the Balam Alliance, which should have been dealt with by the Magic Council, the official organization representing all guilds, had their core three dark guilds defeated by Fairy Tail as the main force.
But the future battle with Tartaros was something Drake had to take seriously.
Because too many things had happened during that battle in the original timeline, and too many people had been affected.
To turn the tide, Lucy had sacrificed Aquarius, the celestial spirit with whom she shared the deepest bond, to summon the Celestial Spirit King.
Gray and his father, who had been transformed into a demon, had been forced to fight to the death, and Juvia had been forced to make a choice, essentially ending Gray's father's life with her own hands.
Most importantly, Zeref and Acnologia had appeared, and Face, which could eliminate all magic on the continent, had been activated.
And then there was… the appearance and… death of Igneel and the other dragons!
That battle was undoubtedly a victory for Fairy Tail, but that victory was stained with tears of sorrow.
At the same time, everyone had to face the greater threat posed by Zeref.
Seeing the pain Tartaros had inflicted on his family, and thinking of the even more terrifying Zeref, it was no wonder Makarov had decided to disband the guild.
The most crucial thing was that as long as Natsu and the Fairy Heart were involved, both the war with Tartaros and the subsequent war with the Alvarez Empire were unavoidable.
And unfortunately, Fairy Tail couldn't just abandon either of them. All Drake could do was prepare for the war in advance.
Drake was confident that with seven years of preparation, he could change those tragedies.
Of course, that was easier said than done, and Drake was currently troubled by exactly what he should do.
To prepare for war, there were essentially two paths: strengthen yourself and weaken the enemy. With the Tenrou Team still missing, there wasn't much he could do to strengthen himself.
But weakening Tartaros was a possibility, especially since he had the advantage of knowing what was going to happen.
But the difficulty lay in finding those demons from the Books of Zeref.
As the core of the Balam Alliance, the Magic Council wanted to eliminate Tartaros more than anyone.
While the Council was often portrayed as incompetent, even Drake had to admit that it was the most powerful organization on the continent.
The fact that they hadn't been able to do anything about Tartaros, despite their intelligence capabilities, was a testament to how well hidden they were.
These demons weren't like Deliora, a monster with nothing but a desire for destruction; they were meticulous and methodical in their actions, all in pursuit of their dream of returning to Zeref's side.
Drake sighed; he didn't have the time to play hide-and-seek with those demons. If only someone could take care of this problem for him.
Just as Drake was thinking this, he sensed a familiar magic power.
Putting down his cup, Drake told Stella he was going out and left the inn.
Under the cover of night, Drake locked onto the direction and gave chase. On a hillside opposite Mercurius Palace, he spotted three cloaked figures.
Stopping before them, Drake said, "We're all so familiar with each other, there's no need to hide, is there?"
Hearing this, the three removed the hoods of their cloaks, revealing Jellal, who had voluntarily gone with the Magic Council after the defeat of the Oración Seis.
Behind him were Ultear and her little sidekick, Meredy.
Drake looked at Ultear, saying, "I'd heard you were going to form a guild, but the members you've chosen are… questionable, to say the least!"
Ultear and Meredy were former high-ranking members of Grimoire Heart. Jellal was a notorious criminal who had destroyed the Magic Council and attempted to "revive Zeref."
And Jellal's mistakes were rooted in Ultear's manipulation, and now Ultear had brought him into her guild, even breaking him out of a Magic Council prison to do so. It was all so strangely ironic.
Speaking of which… Drake had previously complained about the Magic Council's incompetence, and it seemed that aside from targeting Fairy Tail and failing to secure magical weapons that represented major threats, they hadn't really done anything positive.
They had been infiltrated multiple times, and had been exploited by villains like Jellal and Brain.
It was no surprise they couldn't keep their own prison secure; in any case, Drake would never entrust any truly dangerous individuals to the Council.
Ultear simply spread her hands, saying, "What can I do? Crime Sorcière was founded to atone for our sins; there aren't many people who meet those qualifications!"
Drake said, "So, what brings you to Crocus?"
Jellal replied, "We were originally planning to watch the Grand Magic Games, but we discovered that there might be something else going on behind the scenes. So, we wanted to ask you, as someone who's been involved."
Drake knew why they had drawn him out; seven years later, they would be the ones to first suspect something was amiss with the Grand Magic Games, prompting them to seek Fairy Tail's assistance in investigating.
So, Drake told the three about the kingdom's Eclipse Project, though he didn't mention anything about Lucy's two time travels or Rogue's future corruption; those were things that hadn't even happened yet.
The three took some time to fully grasp the situation, and Meredy said, "So, this Eclipse Project of the kingdom's isn't a good thing?"
The goal of Crime Sorcière was to eliminate all dark guilds and all the evil stemming from Zeref.
The kingdom's Eclipse Project seemed to align with their goals, so Meredy didn't understand why Drake seemed so disapproving of it.
However, the more mature Jellal and Ultear remained silent.
Drake explained to her, "Those who attempt to manipulate time are often manipulated by it. Time isn't something that's easily controlled.
To put it simply, if their plan could truly succeed, then Zeref shouldn't exist in our present.
Instead of hoping to change the past, we should be focusing on forging a better future!"
As he said this, Drake's eyes lit up, "That reminds me, you've been investigating dark guilds, haven't you? Do you know anything about Tartaros?"
It suddenly occurred to Drake that Crime Sorcière was the perfect group to help him! Both their motivations and their abilities made them ideally suited for the task.
For some reason, seeing Drake's expression, Ultear suddenly felt the urge to hang him from a lamppost.
But before Ultear could say anything, Jellal had already accepted the task of investigating Tartaros.
Sighing, Ultear, consoling herself with the thought that "this was something I wanted to do anyway," said, "So, we're taking on this task, but you're not planning to just sit back and enjoy life, are you?"
Drake smiled, "Of course not; I have my own plans. I'm planning to head to Guiltina soon; there are some things I need to investigate."
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