After surviving a night of assassination attempts, Éclair remembered more of her past and finally recalled who she was.
She had been the shrine maiden of Fire Village.
On the night her village was destroyed, half of the Phoenix Stone had been stolen by the Veronica family, which had now become the Principality of Veronica.
The other half had been taken away by Éclair, who then wandered the land in search of Harland.
A person's body was only a vessel. For a weak human vessel, immortality was not a blessing.
The longer one lived, the easier it became for endless experiences to crush the mind and spirit.
Perhaps that was why Éclair had slowly forgotten everything about herself during her wandering.
She had even forgotten that Harland was not some stranger.
He was her own father, who had not been in the village at the time.
Now, after four hundred years and a world changed beyond recognition, Éclair could no longer see her father again.
Boundary Forest was where Harland had conducted his magical research.
It was filled with ancient creatures and ruins, and in Éclair's memory, Harland had spent most of his time there.
What Harland had researched was how to undo the Phoenix's seal and completely kill that monster.
That night, Éclair cried for a long time, and Lucy stayed with her for just as long, comforting her and saying all kinds of things to her.
By the next morning, after an entire night of heartfelt conversation, Éclair and Lucy had finally grown much closer.
After discussing it that morning, Éclair decided she still needed to go to Boundary Forest.
First, Harland might have left behind magic that could deal with the Phoenix. Second, his belongings should still be in that home.
As his daughter, she needed to go back and see it for herself.
As for Ankh, he planned to make a rare visit to the Magic Council. He wanted to ask about Harland, and also…
If anything truly happened afterward and they needed to attack the Principality of Veronica for coveting the Phoenix, he would need to go through the Council's procedures first.
However, Erza was somewhat worried about Ankh leaving the team early.
"The other enemies are one thing, but what do we do if that demon who can control humans appears while Brother isn't here?"
Ankh had already prepared for that. From his wonderful little pocket, he took out a bottle of red pills and handed them out to everyone.
"That demon named Seilah can control humans and inanimate objects, but she can't control demons."
"This is made from blood I extracted last night from the severed arm of that 'bullshit demon.' I improved it and turned it into pills. It can temporarily change your constitution into that of a demon. It won't affect your body, but it should be enough to fool Seilah's Curse."
Natsu pinched the pill Ankh had handed him with obvious disgust. "It's made from blood? Is it gonna taste awful?"
"Is taste really the problem here?" Lucy, who had not slept all night, weakly retorted.
Everyone put the pills away. With these pills, the "mechanic" behind Seilah's Curse had been broken.
Even if they ran into demons, the strongest team's stats and skills would at least give them a solid chance to escape safely.
Natsu, however, did not take it seriously.
He was already thinking that if they ran into Seilah, he definitely had to charge in and test her Macro Curse head-on.
Maybe he could block it with sheer willpower.
Ankh temporarily parted ways with the group, agreed to meet them back at the guild later, and then set off.
What the fully prepared strongest team did not know, however, was that the demon squad, having suffered a heavy loss during last night's ambush and gained nothing from it, had already made a strategic shift in focus.
Their current target was King Cream of the Principality of Veronica, who was still waiting for good news from the Carbuncle guild while dreaming of immortality.
...
Inside the Magic Council, Makarov was sitting on the ground like a tantrum-throwing child, glaring angrily at the five Council members seated before him.
Ur looked at Makarov on the floor.
She wanted to help him up, only for him to swat her hand away, leaving her helpless.
"Master Makarov, we really can't spare any people right now. Riots and conflicts are happening every day along the border between Guiltina and Ishgar. If you want us to send support, you'll at least have to wait until tomorrow…"
As someone with Ten Wizard Saints-level strength, Ur had worked incredibly hard after joining the Magic Council, all so she would have enough influence to "bail out" her daughter in the future.
But after only a few days on the job, she discovered that if one wanted to be a diligent and responsible Council member, the work never ended.
No wonder the previous Council members had all acted like old retirees.
This workload was not something an ordinary person could handle.
Still, Ur had no intention of slacking off.
Just look at those former Council members.
They were still under house arrest and being investigated, and Anselion could no longer send any useful information out.
Makarov continued acting shamelessly on the ground, shouting in a loud, clear voice, "But it's a fact that the Principality of Veronica possesses half of the Phoenix Stone, and that they're coveting and hunting down the owner of the other half! By all rights, the Council should send troops to punish them!"
Makarov had received the news from Ankh and the others the night before, and early that morning, he had rushed to the Magic Council to bother the Council members.
Wolfheim, the third-ranked member of the Four Gods of Ishgar, was a stiff old man who looked cold on the outside but was warm on the inside.
Compared to the decaying old men who had served as previous Council members, he was far more righteous and eager to help.
After hearing Makarov describe the night Fire Village had been destroyed, Wolfheim immediately slammed the table in anger.
"Then we fight! A sinful country built on the land of the dead dares to dream of starting another war?!"
"I already said this… Our forces are all tied up at the northern continent border…" Ur pressed a hand to her aching forehead.
These old men were somehow even more energetic than the young people.
Draculos Hyberion, the second-ranked member of the Four Gods of Ishgar, was an elegant gentleman whose special magic made him far older than he looked.
He gently swirled the… milk in his wineglass and nodded in agreement.
"We can mobilize troops. However, the most important matter right now is to secure the Phoenix Stone and protect the two halves separately. Manpower truly is the problem…"
The Council members began discussing among themselves.
The fourth-ranked Warrod Sequen, who looked very much like an old tree, smiled without speaking.
Then he looked kindly at Makarov and said, "Makky, you want to personally lead people into action, don't you?"
Being called by that childhood nickname by this old man made Makarov behave unusually well.
He gave a sly little chuckle and said with exaggerated shyness, "Warrod-san, if your forces are stretched thin, this matter can be handed over to the members of our guild. It's just that… we'll need a little funding."
Seeing Makarov rub his fingertips together, Warrod could not help but laugh and shaking his head.
This was not really unreasonable.
If the Phoenix awakened, it would become a disaster capable of ravaging an entire country.
They were not the old Magic Council, so naturally, rewards and punishments had to be handled properly.
Once the Council members agreed to his action plan and promised support, Makarov finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.
At the highest seat of the Council, an arrogant-looking young man with orange hair rested his chin on his hand.
His orange hair had two wing-like tufts, a horizontal scar crossed the center of his face, and he wore a black-and-white cloak.
On his back was a circular frame made of twelve swords.
This was Ishgar's strongest mage on the surface, the one known as "the God."
God Serena.
And right now, this young man was watching Makarov with eyes full of amusement.