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Chapter 257: Fame
Chapter 257: Fame
The headquarters of the Demon Heart is a massive airship.
In the conference hall of the airship, an old man with one eye covered and a long beard sat in the main seat.
"How did the mission go?"
Cabrile, who resembles a Goat, said, "All the survivors have been brought back, President Hades. Thanks to Azuma's magic, it was quite easy."
"I don't like doing this kind of thing; there wasn't a single worthy opponent." Azuma crossed his arms, unenthusiastic.
His magic allows him to root himself to the ground like a tree, then control all the magical energy in the area.
Of course, the range is limited, depending on his strength and the time he has to prepare.
But for the Demon Heart, which has an intelligence advantage, finding a Suitable Terrain on the way back to the Council and having Azuma set up an ambush in advance was incredibly easy.
With Azuma's magic, the Council's team lost their combat ability in an instant.
Combined with Cabrile's 'Gate of Man,' rescuing their captured subordinates was quite easy.
To avoid raising the level of enmity too high, they only rescued their own people and didn't touch the Council's.
"This is to minimize the risk of information leaks," the man called Hades seemed quite amiable.
"If people knew that the leader of the Seven Fiends of the Inferno is actually Ultear, it would make many things very inconvenient in the future."
He had already suggested she change her name or use a codename in the guild, but she refused to listen.
Cabrile bowed his head. "It was my mistake to let them do more than necessary."
Hades didn't mind this. "You were trying to strengthen our forces. No one could have predicted that Fairy Tail would suddenly interfere."
"Can I really not join Fairy Tail?" Azuma asked. "I'm very interested in the people who defeated Rastelos and Zankrow."
Zankrow, wrapped in bandages, jumped in anger. "I wasn't defeated! They fled, they ran away!"
Azuma ignored him and continued, "Apart from those two, there's also the Fairy Queen, the Demon Man, the Fire Dragon... Even Makarov, one of the Ten Wizard Saints. There are so many worthy opponents!"
The more he spoke, the more excited he became, wishing he could go and fight them right now. "What an interesting guild."
Hades smiled with deep meaning. "That guild is indeed interesting, but now is not the time.
When our long-held wish is realized, you can find as many powerful opponents as you want."
Cabrile and Zankrow's faces showed a fanatical glow.
The Grand Magic World! What an aspirational goal!
Only Azuma remained calm, still more interested in battles with strong opponents.
While he would follow the president's orders, if he could have a satisfying battle right now, the Grand Magic World wouldn't matter to him.
Fairy Tail...
——
Lode and Elfman have recently gained a lot of fame.
The Council not only didn't try to keep the incident a secret, but also seemed to be pushing the wave of public opinion.
They seemed to want the public to praise Lode and Elfman more and condemn the dark guilds, while mentioning the rescue of the captives less.
Thus, the latest misdeed of the Demon Heart and the excellent performance of Lode and Elfman were remembered together.
Elfman earned the nickname 'Beast King.'
However, he preferred to be called 'Manly Man,' 'Beast King Man,' or 'Manly Beast King.'
Elfman had talked things over with Mira and now no longer rejected the Beast King Spirit. He also hoped to master it better.
Recently, he has been practicing other forms of full-body reception, striving for greater strength to protect his family.
As for Lode, what affected his reputation the most wasn't his victory over Rastelos, but the intelligence he spread to the major guilds.
Now, many of the older generation call him 'The New Era's Fairy Strategist.'
Younger people, who are less familiar with Mavis' achievements, simply call him 'Fairy Strategist.'
Hearing these rumors, Makarov was thrilled.
The first-generation president was one of the people he most respected, and even his name was given by the first-generation president.
When people compared Lode to the first-generation president, he didn't feel that the first-generation president was being disrespected; instead, he saw it as a form of legacy.
The younger generation inheriting the names and will of their predecessors is a heartwarming thing for him.
However, Lode wasn't as happy about it. As the saying goes, "People fear fame, and pigs fear fat." With such a prominent name, he might easily attract the wrong kind of attention.
Like getting ambushed as soon as he steps out and someone claiming, "I killed the old Celestial Master."
"I need to keep practicing." The simplest way to avoid being thoroughly understood by enemies is to make the information they have outdated.
The guild master and Rahal both said this was difficult, but with enough effort, it was still worth striving for.
Additionally, Lode was considering creating a persona for himself, such as being an expert in strategy but not in combat.
It would be somewhat similar to the tamer persona he already had.
But at the end of the day, one must still be strong.
"Mirajane, I'm going to practice."
"Okay."
Lode left, looking back every few steps.
He felt that Mirajane had been acting a bit strange lately, almost a little distant.
No, not distant, just a bit off.
Even though she showed the same level of concern during their after-work training sessions and worked just as well with him during their shifts.
But something just felt a bit off when they talked, not quite cold or distant, but strange.
It was a hard feeling to describe...
It couldn't be that she's on her period, could it?
Lode couldn't figure it out. He practiced in the backyard for a while, then during a break, he summoned Worm to go to the bar, grab some free food and drinks, and bring Elfman out.
Since Worm had been rewarded with a feast for delivering a message last time, it was now particularly enthusiastic about such tasks.
Before long, Elfman found him.
"What's up? Want to spar?" Elfman rubbed his wrist. "By the way, you haven't fought the Beast King Spirit yet, right?"
"Are you fully recovered? You're thinking about fighting already."
"Manly Man! I plan to start working again tomorrow." Elfman felt great. "How about you?"
"I want to rest a few more days."
It was a rare experience of a life-and-death struggle, and it was good to review and analyze the battle, especially since it was a relatively even match.
He also needed to practice the new technique of summoning monsters without using his hands.
And set a new goal for the next stage of his training—summoning monsters without even touching the pendant.
Such techniques are only useful in battle if you think about them in your daily practice.
To break through in a life-or-death situation, you need to accumulate enough practice in your daily routine and know the direction to break through.
Elfman didn't seem interested in forming a team with him, but he nodded in agreement. "I think it's better if you don't go out to work for a while."
"Huh? Are you afraid I'll get ambushed when I go out?"
"Ah?"
Clearly, their thoughts were on different wavelengths.
Lode asked, "Then why did you say that?"
"Nothing, just that you were more seriously injured and should rest more."
Something was off. Lode looked into Elfman's eyes, but Elfman wouldn't meet his gaze.
"Manly Man, don't lie. What's the real reason?"
Azuma's magic, "Arc of the Tree," means rooting himself to the ground like a tree and controlling the magic in that area.
In the manga, it's mentioned that Hades arranged for Azuma to go to the island early to have time to control the island's magic, not necessarily to cut down the Celestial Wolf Tree.
In fact, breaking the Celestial Wolf Tree and seizing the magic were two simultaneous actions, and the subsequent narration might have caused some misunderstanding about the Celestial Wolf Tree's role.
In reality, the Celestial Wolf Tree provides "in-island blood lock and immortality" for Fairy Tail members, as well as "enhanced magic."
Hades knew this, so breaking the Celestial Wolf Tree was like disabling Fairy Tail members' cheat.
Apart from that, breaking the Celestial Wolf Tree had no other side effects.
This is evident from the fact that when Azuma returned everyone's magic, he didn't need to restore the Celestial Wolf Tree.
(End of Chapter)
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