Chapter 547 - 547: Enemies Gathering

Inside the heavily guarded royal palace of Altair, Mard Geer stood over Zancrow's barely breathing body.

Under the expectant gazes of Rustyrose and Kain Hikaru, he opened his hand and tossed out a black seed.

The seed burst apart.

Thick black mist immediately engulfed Zancrow, seeping into his ruined body and rapidly reconstructing the flesh Natsu's flames had burned away.

Before long, the mist dispersed.

Zancrow lay there whole again.

But he no longer looked human.

Dark purple skin had replaced the flesh that had been scorched away.

A pair of horns protruded from his head, while sharp fangs and claws had emerged from his transformed body.

Unlike Rustyrose and Kain, who could still return to their human appearances, Zancrow had now been completely remade into a demon.

His eyes slowly opened.

An eerie crimson glow filled his pupils.

The moment he saw Mard Geer, Zancrow immediately dropped to one knee.

"Thank you, Underworld King!"

"Thank you, Underworld King!"

Rustyrose and Kain knelt as well, both visibly relieved.

They might have been members of a dark guild, but the three of them had always been genuinely close.

They cared about one another far more than outsiders would have expected.

After seeing the condition Zancrow had been brought back in, they had assumed Fairy Tail had practically killed him.

Yet Mard Geer had somehow dragged him back from the brink of death.

Admittedly, Zancrow had become a full demon in the process.

None of them considered that a problem.

All three had already tasted the demonic power Mard Geer could grant, and they had become intoxicated by it.

If anything, seeing Zancrow pushed even further only made Rustyrose and Kain envious.

None of the three noticed the faint mockery at the corner of Mard Geer's mouth.

They didn't understand what they had truly accepted.

Demonic power was addictive.

Once someone became dependent on what Mard Geer granted them, they stopped being entirely human without ever becoming true demons either.

They became malformed things caught between the two.

And more importantly—they would never again be free of Mard Geer's control.

Contempt flickered through his eyes as he looked down at the three kneeling men.

"Get up."

He waved dismissively.

"If you die again, I can't promise I'll be able to bring you back a second time."

"Yes!"

Zancrow rose, crimson light flashing in his eyes.

"Rest assured, Underworld King. Next time, I'll burn every one of those damned fairies to death!"

A derisive laugh came from nearby.

"You?"

Bluenote had been watching from the side with cold amusement.

"Underworld King, leave it to me instead. I drove off that fire brat myself earlier today."

"You!"

Zancrow, Rustyrose, and Kain immediately turned hostile gazes toward him.

Although all four had once belonged to Grimoire Heart, Bluenote had never been one of the children raised and cultivated by Hades.

He had been an already powerful Lost Magic user whom Hades defeated and recruited later.

So despite technically sharing the same guild, there had never been much friendship between Bluenote and the Seven Kin.

"Enough."

Mard Geer sounded bored.

"None of you will be left out."

That ended the argument.

His gaze shifted across the hall.

"You went to test Fairy Tail."

"How were they?"

Several couches had been arranged on the opposite side of the chamber.

Jacob sat upright on one of them with impeccable posture, looking every bit the stern veteran assassin.

"As expected of Ishgar's strongest guild."

"Every member of that team possesses talent comparable to Brandish and Dimaria."

He paused.

"Unfortunately for them, we've had seven more years to develop ours."

Mard Geer narrowed his eyes slightly.

He remembered the day Tartaros had fallen.

Even then, Fairy Tail's members had displayed terrifying potential.

"So they really have continued growing…"

A faint smile touched his lips.

"That guild truly is one you can never afford to underestimate."

Then he asked the question that mattered more.

"And… that man?"

Jacob fell silent.

Dimaria's expression darkened.

She bit her fingernail, clearly furious even remembering the fight.

"Unreasonably strong."

Mard Geer nodded.

"His Majesty specifically instructed us not to fight him directly."

He gave her what was probably intended to be reassurance.

"We only need to complete our assigned objectives."

"Easy for you to say."

Dimaria snorted.

The obsession in her eyes had not faded in the slightest, but she still turned a cold stare toward Mard Geer.

"And don't bother scheming about dragging the rest of us deeper into your operation."

"We already helped with what you asked."

"If you think we're going to stay here and serve as your disposable soldiers, dream on."

Dimaria had her own covert assignment elsewhere.

The only reason she had abandoned it long enough to rush here was because she wanted another chance to fight Ankh and measure how large the gap between them had become.

She had gotten her answer.

Painfully clearly.

There was no reason for her to remain and become cannon fodder for Mard Geer's personal scheme.

Jacob stood as well.

"Our agreement is fulfilled."

His tone was as emotionless as ever.

"I have another assignment to return to, so I won't be staying."

A trace of displeasure flashed deep in Mard Geer's eyes.

It vanished almost immediately, replaced by his usual refined smile.

"Of course."

"This is my plan. Naturally, I'll see it through myself."

Dimaria turned toward the door.

"We're leaving, Bran."

She had already started walking when Brandish suddenly spoke from the couch.

"I'm staying."

Dimaria stopped.

Jacob looked over.

Even Mard Geer appeared surprised.

"Hm?"

Of the three, however, Mard Geer's surprise was quickly overwhelmed by delight.

Brandish, known as the Nation Destroyer, was one of the Alvarez Empire's most dangerous combatants.

If she willingly stayed to help him, his plans in Stella would become far more secure.

Dimaria was equally surprised.

Brandish normally treated work as something to be avoided whenever physically possible.

Volunteering to stay behind was almost unheard of.

But when Dimaria saw the complicated look on her friend's face, she fell silent.

After a moment, she simply said,

"Be careful."

Then she pushed open the door and left.

Jacob glanced between them.

If Brandish's closest friend wasn't worried enough to stop her, there was hardly any reason for him to interfere.

He gave Mard Geer a brief nod and departed as well.

Once they were gone, Mard Geer sat down across from Brandish.

"You want to kill that Celestial Spirit Mage?"

Brandish remained silent for a long time.

Her fingers tightened around the Aquarius Key.

Then she put it away.

Instead of answering his question, she said,

"Find a way to get me alone with her."

Mard Geer didn't seem bothered by her blunt tone.

His smile widened.

"Easy enough."

That fit perfectly with what he had already planned.

He intended to use three separate pieces of leverage to split Fairy Tail's team apart and deal with them individually.

If Brandish wanted responsibility for the blonde Celestial Spirit Mage, then she could have her.

Brandish glanced at Mard Geer's insincere smile and felt a vague sense of disgust.

Her expression quickly returned to its usual lazy indifference.

"Where's Animus?"

Mard Geer shrugged.

"Who knows?"

His tone became playfully mocking.

"Perhaps he's gone off to play hide-and-seek with her again."

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

Mard Geer's hands echoed through the empty hall.

Three figures of different heights stepped out from the darkness.

Bluenote, Zancrow, Rustyrose, and Kain immediately studied the newcomers.

Mard Geer barely acknowledged their curiosity.

"You three are Stella's strongest warriors."

He looked over them calmly.

"I'll grant you new power."

"Your task is to intercept the enemies who will soon be coming."

With Animus's protection, Mard Geer currently held the position of Minister of Defense within Stella.

That gave him more than enough authority to command the kingdom's three most powerful warriors, all of whom were fiercely loyal to their homeland.

Then Brandish watched as three pitch-black seeds appeared in Mard Geer's hand.

One by one, he drove them into the warriors' bodies.

Dark power erupted.

Their bodies began to transform.

The remnants of Grimoire Heart watched the process with open envy as Stella's three strongest fighters underwent their own demonification.

Brandish quietly looked away.

Her gaze drifted through the window toward the moon outside.

A soft sigh escaped her.

Her lips moved soundlessly.

'Layla…'

'Lucy…'

'Aquarius…'