"Are you alright, Chase?"
Ultear held a crystal ball in her right hand, her white bodysuit billowing gently in the wind.
"I'm fine."
Chase sighed and shook his head slightly, somewhat surprised that Ultear—having received news of the Demon King—had arrived so quickly.
Sensing that the wild surge of magic power from Silver across the way was gradually calming down, he canceled his Trap Card incantation as well.
"The Magic Council, huh... Now's not the time to go to war with you yet."
Silver glanced up at the Council's Enforcement Unit on the airship above, then looked at Ultear standing on the frozen rose-covered ice, and finally, his gaze settled on Chase.
"Young man, I'll leave the Demon King's Egg and those demons in your care for now. Next time we meet, let's have a proper brawl!"
Leaving those words, frost began to form on his body. With a crack, it shattered, and he vanished from where he stood.
The fingers at Chase's side twitched. He thought for a moment, then ultimately abandoned the idea of pursuing further.
Setting aside the Council's grunts, even with Ultear's assistance—which would increase the odds of taking down Silver greatly here—there was no real benefit to doing so. It might even draw Tartaros's attention prematurely.
At this stage, everyone in the guild was still in their stealth development phase. Taking on the continent's strongest dark guild directly would be like throwing an egg against a stone.
The Fairy Tail emblem on his right arm sealed his identity. Minor skirmishes were fine—they even boosted his reputation—but on matters as critical as the safety of his guild and comrades, he had to be cautious.
Besides, as a "power-up patch" for Gray, there was no pressing need to capture Silver. There might even be a chance to win him over and turn him into a powerful asset for the guild!
That said, Silver had been dead for years, yet his body and consciousness remained intact. Could he be revived with Monster Reborn?
Recalling his battle with Silver, this question surfaced in Chase's mind.
But such an idea would have to wait until Fairy Tail had the strength to oppose Tartaros. Now wasn't the time.
As for the reward from this unexpected skirmish—it was naturally the new card floating in the depths of his consciousness!
A golden streak of light outlined its card image, revealing a six-star Fiend-type monster with crimson wings, sharp barbs, and a ferocious face.
Its name: Archfiend of Gilfer!
Though its effect wasn't as powerful as Buster Blader's, and its level didn't reach that of Chaos Soldier or Dark Magician of Chaos, it was still a fairly strong addition to his current deck.
More importantly, the addition of a new card amplified Chase's magic power once again!
Deep within the forest, Silver stood on a tree branch after safely retreating, gazing in the direction where Chase and the others were.
"That Ice-Make magic just now... and a face identical to Ur's... Ur's tears, I suppose?"
"That idiot son of mine... has quite a few reliable comrades around him."
This brief encounter at the Demon Village unavoidably made Silver think of his son, whom he hadn't seen for years. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
But soon, that smile was replaced by a cold, cruel expression, swallowed by the pitch-black darkness deep within the forest.
To complete his revenge against the demons of the Book of Zeref, he was destined to walk in darkness, unable to acknowledge his own son.
On the other side, it was only after that chilling, terrifying magic power had completely disappeared that Ultear's tense nerves finally relaxed.
"That man radiated such a dangerous presence. Who exactly is he?" She glanced sideways at Chase.
"He called himself a member of the dark guild Tartaros's Nine Demon Gates," Chase said truthfully.
"Tartaros?"
Ultear's brow furrowed slightly. "Why would a dark guild that even the Magic Council knows so little about appear here?"
Though Tartaros and Grimoire Heart were two of the three titans of the dark guild Balam Alliance, their relationship was less of an alliance and more "mutual non-aggression." The guilds rarely interacted and didn't know much about each other's core members.
After all, dark guilds were filled with profit-driven madmen. No one could be sure that today's ally wouldn't stab them in the back tomorrow.
Thus, even though Ultear's true identity was the leader of the Seven Kin of Grimoire Heart, she had never personally seen Silver before.
Having said that, Ultear's eyes dimmed slightly. She remembered the order Master Hades had given her a few days ago—to return to Grimoire Heart.
Combined with the information the Council had uncovered, she guessed it likely had to do with the recent stirrings of Oración Seis!
"Not sure. He said he wanted to destroy the Demon King's Egg and the demon villagers," Chase said, gazing in the direction Silver had gone.
That remark reminded Ultear, who had been lost in thought.
Looking up at the scene of utter destruction, she held her forehead and sighed. "So you did end up fighting..."
"How reckless. I told you not to act rashly and let the Council handle it!"
Complaints aside, Ultear wasn't surprised that Chase had managed to subdue the legendary Demon King.
After all, this was the man who had undone Iced Shell, defeated Jellal, and possessed the kind of raw power she herself respected!
"If you guys had stepped in, we wouldn't have gotten the quest reward," Chase said, pulling out the card containing the villagers with a grin.
Meanwhile, Lucy—who had fled far away—finally returned and started greeting Ultear.
The magic circle glowed. Éclair, Momon, and all the villagers were "freed" in an instant, returned to reality.
The old village chief and the others stood amid the ruins, staring blankly and confusedly at the chaotic, shattered ground around them, unsure of where they even were—
The situation had been far too urgent. Chase hadn't had time to explain anything to them.
After a long explanation, once they learned that the ruins beneath their feet were actually their once-familiar village, the villagers' faces twitched. They wanted to curse but felt too embarrassed.
"So, Village Chief, the Demon Egg is back to normal. That completes the quest."
Picking up the process that hadn't been successfully completed back in Chapter 111, Chase took the Demon King's Egg from another card and handed it to the village chief. "Do you still want to keep this thing?"
"Huh? Ah, yes. We're deeply grateful."
The old village chief was clearly still processing the grief of his destroyed village. On instinct, he reached out to take the Demon Egg.
Then he noticed the egg seemed stuck to Chase's palm. He tried several times but couldn't pry it loose.
"Mr. Chase... you..."
"Do you still want to keep this thing?" Chase repeated, wearing a friendly smile.
"We, uh... we'll hold onto it for now and see how things go."
Assuming this was part of the quest, the village chief thought it over and gave his answer.
But even then, the Demon Egg remained motionless in Chase's hand.
Finally, the old village chief understood. He waved his hand generously. "No, no. Relying on something with such enormous hazards isn't the right way to survive."
"Consider the Demon Egg a bonus gift for the quest. We'll leave it to you, Mr. Chase."
"In that case, I'll be a good Samaritan to the end!" Chase snatched the Demon Egg back and stored it in a card at lightspeed.
His movements were so fast that Lucy stared in disbelief.
Wait... you can just demand things like that?!
Chase, you didn't even pretend anymore!
Just as she was silently complaining, Lucy suddenly noticed that the old village chief's wrinkled face was beginning to develop demonic spots. Sharp demon horns sprouted from his forehead.
"Wait! Village Chief, your face—no! Everyone in the village...?!"
Lucy raised her eyes in horror and saw that not only the old village chief, but also the Guard Berret and the other villagers, were developing demonic features. In the blink of an eye, they had transformed into hideous "monsters"!
Hearing the young girl's terrified cry, the villagers—still dazed from just emerging from card space—finally snapped to attention and saw their demonized family and friends beside them.
To Lucy's surprise, after an initial moment of humanity's instinctive fear of demons, the villagers did not panic excessively. Instead, they calmly accepted the truth.
"Lady Lucy, there's no need to look so worried."
The old village chief gazed into the distance, his cloudy eyes shining with resolve. "Since those who have already demonized can never return to their original forms... then we'll all just become monsters too."
In truth, from the moment they learned the origin of the Demon Egg, he and the villagers had already prepared themselves to become demons.
Or more precisely, this outcome was exactly what they had hoped for. Otherwise, they wouldn't have risked following Chase and Lucy to the underground altar deep within the black mist to settle the score with the Demon King!
"But... no matter how you look at it, isn't this too strange?"
Recalling all those familiar faces, Lucy said with a pained expression. "You... all of you were human!"
"This village was formed by homeless people gathering together for warmth. Human appearance and skin aren't that important to us. As long as everyone is here..."
The old village chief let out a hearty laugh. "So, something this trivial really doesn't matter~"
As his words faded, lively chatter immediately broke out among the villagers behind them.
"Hahaha! So what if we've become demons? I got abandoned by the country—I stopped wanting to be human a long time ago!"
"Zane's right! Compared to being human, I think these demon wings are freaking awesome!"
"Look closer, damn it! I'm Brick!"
"Ahahaha, sorry, sorry. Didn't recognize you for a second."
"Hey! All of you, come check out my demon arm—it's dark purple!"
Watching the smiling faces of the "demons"
teasing and showing off to one another, Lucy blinked at first, then broke into a smile as well.
They might look like terrifying monsters, but seeing them like this... they really haven't changed at all.
This scene made her involuntarily picture everyone in Fairy Tail as demons:
Demon Natsu, running around every day trying to become the strongest demon; Demon Gray, stripping off his clothes to reveal his unwatchable body; Demon Erza, donning the Demon King's Armor to beat up Natsu and Gray; Demon Happy, turning into a mosquito; Demon Chase and Demon Mirajane, going on dates in a Demon Lair...
And then giving birth to cute demon babies.
For some reason, as she thought about it, the pure-hearted maiden Lucy's mental imagery suddenly went off the rails. Her flushed face continuously steamed with heat.
***
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