On a certain continent, a square island floated beneath a pitch-black sky. Thick, disgusting veins on its surface pulsed and squirmed like biological blood vessels.
This was the headquarters of the dark guild Tartaros—the "Zeref's Bookshelf."
Inside the dimly lit demon hall, several monster-like figures gathered, radiating a chilling, cold, evil aura.
"Hehehehe. I can't believe that Hades guy actually died. What a shame. His head was worth a lot, you know!" a round, fat demon in a helmet said, letting out a creepy laugh.
"Franmalth, don't laugh so lewd. It'll affect our reputation," a robust demon named Trafuser said, glancing at him with disgust.
"We're already demons! Who needs a reputation?!" The four arms of Tempester swung about in excitement. "Oración Seis and Grimoire Heart have both been destroyed. Will we be next? Will we get the chance to kill all humans? Ahhh, just thinking about it makes my body tingle!"
"We're still far from that point. Storytelling requires sequence. This is barely even a prologue," Seilah said, her gaze calm. "No, to be more precise, we're still at the stage of putting pen to paper."
Compared to the surrounding demons, who looked like trolls and evil goblins, her appearance was positively refreshing. Her figure and face would be considered utterly beautiful even among humans.
Especially the devilishly horns beneath her long black hair.
"You always did like saying hard-to-understand things, Seilah," rumbled Tempester, who looked like a humanoid beast.
"Who cares about all that? It'll be fun if the humans come looking for us. Then we can blow them all into meat chunks! Hahaha!" Jackal's face was fierce.
"Pray... devotion... Tartaros's blessing..." The Priest of Darkness, Keith, muttered, his hands clasped together, his voice hoarse.
"How boring. Calling all of us Nine Demon Gates together for something so trivial..." Silver leaned against the skull wall, his arms crossed, his face full of displeasure. "I'm a busy man, you know!"
"Don't be so impatient. We found something pretty incredible on the battlefield where Hades was destroyed," Kyoka said, a cruel smile at the corner of her lips.
With that, she raised her eyes to look at the humanoid demon sitting on the Skull Throne, his legs crossed.
He was the founder of Tartaros, the guild's true master: Mard Geer Tartaros.
"Kyoka is right. The appearance of the world-ending black dragon, Acnologia, signifies that the pattern of this world is about to undergo a huge change. This could be our opportunity to conquer the world. And..." Mard Geer slowly rose, gazing with adoration at the book of demons cradled in his arms.
"...to resurrect the strongest demon in Zeref's book... our great master... END!"
"It's so nice to be home~"
Chase is half-lying on his soft sofa, comfortably enjoying the cool breeze from the magic air conditioner.
After finishing their conversation with Ultear, he and Makarov had not stayed overnight in the town where the Council headquarters was located, like Ur had. Instead, they had taken the night train back to Magnolia.
Makarov needed to finalize the arrangements for the S-Class Mage Trial as soon as possible. As for Chase, he simply didn't want to be so close to those Council guys.
Gurgle, gurgle.
The sound of a boiling kettle echoed through the quiet living room. Chase took out some tea leaves, packaged in a delicate gift box, and brewed himself a cup.
The tea went down his throat. The rich aroma instantly spread through his body, dispelling the fatigue of the day's travel, even lifting his mood.
This stuff had been sent to Fairy Tail by Jude a while ago, under his private name. Rumor had it that it was incredibly expensive. Chase had simply "helped himself" to a bit.
The guild members preferred chugging down alcohol anyway. Giving it to them would be a waste.
"I wonder how Lucy and the others are doing on their S-Class quest. It's so quiet all of a sudden. I'm not quite used to it."
Chase looked around the silent living room. Figuring he had nothing better to do, he spread out a magical array and headed to the Card Space.
In an instant, he appeared in the ancient castle where Dark Magician resided.
In the spacious hall, a large number of open magical books floated in midair.
Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Dark Magician of Chaos, and Silent Magician stood apart, their expressions focused as they analyzed the contents of the books.
Various magical arrays, large and small, lit up the hall with a faint glow.
It wasn't until Chase approached that the four, encrossed in the magical knowledge of another world, noticed him. They paused their work.
Dark Magician Girl, as if seeing a savior, took off her cute pink glasses and waved at Chase with relief. "Hey, stupid master, you're here~"
Even though her physical condition meant she could go three days and nights without sleep, the pressure of being around her master was just too great. She couldn't find any opportunity to slack off.
"Yeah. I brought you some decent tea. Take a break." Chase held up the tea bag.
"Yay!"
Hearing that they could finally rest, Dark Magician Girl cheered. Then, a single glare from Dark Magician made her shrink back.
"Let's take a short break. It's a good chance to show this stupid master our results," Silent Magician said, stretching.
It was clear she somewhat favored Dark Magician Girl.
But still... since when did you start calling me "stupid master" too? You're supposed to be the cool, aloof onee-san type!
Chase silently complained about ed.
Soon, the aroma of tea filled the book-filled hall.
Chase naturally took on the role of tea server, handing cups of hot tea to the three big guys and the one idiot.
After finishing their tea, the no-nonsense Dark Magician cuts straight to the point. He raised his hand, sketching a complex magical array engraved with ancient words in the air.
"This is the magical circuit we developed based on the 'Grimoire Heart.' By Engraving it inside the heart, one can achieve the effects of pseudo-unlimited magic power and virtual immortality."
As expected of a genius proficient in the magical arts. To have thoroughly studied the Ultra-Magic 'Grimoire Heart' in such a short time... Chase couldn't help but inwardly lamented. Then he noticed Dark Magician's somewhat conservative wording. "'Pseudo'? As in..."
"In any world, the total energy has a constant value," Dark Magician replied, taking a small sip of his tea. "So, the statement of 'unlimited magic power' isn't entirely accurate."
Chase nodded slightly. He understood this concept—conservation of energy.
"Rather than creating magic power from nothing, this magic is more like a large-scale magic power storage device," Dark Magician of Chaos took over, beginning to explain the principle of the "Grimoire Heart."
Aside from enhancing various bodily functions, achieving ultra-fast healing, and greatly extending lifespan, this Ultra-Magic also permanently collects any magic power the user doesn't use in their daily life, storing it for when it's needed.
To use an analogy: if Chase's daily maximum burst of magic power was 200 million conceptual units, then under non-combat conditions, after accounting for daily consumption, he could store at least 100 million units in his heart each day. In ten days, that would be a billion. In a month, that would be the equivalent of one Etherion blast!
Over long years of accumulation, the net effect was what people called "unlimited magic power."
Of course, this vast amount of magic power couldn't be instantaneously erupted. It was limited by the user's own maximum magic output.
Take Hades, for example. Even with a century's worth of stored magic power, he couldn't unleash a spell capable of countering Acnologia's roar.
The relationship was like that of a power bank and a fan. The strength of the fan's breeze depended on its own power, not on how much electricity the power bank could provide.
Nevertheless, this effect was still incredible. For Chase at his current stage, it was a super enhancement.
Leaving aside other aspects, just storing up for a week or two would give him the endurance to maintain Slifer the Sky Dragon's manifestation for extended periods!
And more importantly, this Ultra-Magic, the "Heart," wasn't limited to just him!
***
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