Things like "the number-one Wizard Saint would only count as upper-middle among the Spriggan 12 over there," and "compared to the two walls, that would be like trying to compare a firefly to the moon," nearly made Makarov surrender on the spot.
Of course, it was only a joke.
Still, it left the guild members stunned one after another.
At the end of the meeting, Raizel still gave everyone something to calm their nerves.
"But none of you need to worry too much. The title of the Spriggan 12 sounds impressive, but in reality, the most important forces in the Alvarez Empire are still the emperor and the two walls."
Raizel was not deliberately stepping on the other members of the Spriggan 12.
The truth was, those people were not actually as ridiculously strong as some descriptions made them sound.
Things like "one person can destroy an entire country," or "their Magic Power is far greater than Makarov's"...
Their Magic Power being greater than Makarov's was true.
After all, that was how Gray had described the Magic Power of the Spriggan 12.
But Raizel could say this much: Makarov's strength had long fallen out of the top five within Fairy Tail.
In fact, if Precht was included, there was a very high chance he could no longer even keep a spot in the top ten.
As for destroying a country alone, a fully matured Brandish, August, and Irene could do it.
But if you asked Dimaria to activate her time stop and hack away with a sword until she destroyed a whole country, her hand might break before she finished cutting everything down.
So in most cases, it was an exaggeration.
Were the Spriggan 12 strong?
Very strong.
But not so strong that they were unbeatable.
Among the Spriggan 12, leaving aside the two walls, the ones who currently counted as truly powerful were Larcade Dragneel, Dimaria Yesta, Bloodman, Wahl Icht, and the traitor who would probably defect before the fight even started—God Serena.
The younger members of the Twelve had not gained those extra seven years of growth.
Even if they were stronger than the Wizard Saints, they should not be stronger by an overwhelming margin.
Of course, Raizel would still need to see their actual strength for himself before reaching a final conclusion.
And every organization had a few bottom-rankers who were barely there to make up the numbers.
Especially the lower ranks.
They were all cushions.
That's right.
'I was talking about you, Neinhart.'
...
After the meeting ended, everyone was shaken by Raizel's words, and they each went off to train.
As Raizel expected, Erza immediately came to him.
She had to ask about her surname.
Belserion.
Ultear and the others silently chose to leave first. If Erza was willing to tell them afterward, she would.
"Come on. This isn't the right place to talk."
Raizel pointed outside the guild.
Erza nodded and quietly followed beside him.
It was not because he was worried about someone eavesdropping.
The guild was simply too noisy.
Besides, Raizel was not sure how Erza would react once she learned the truth.
Whether or not he should tell Erza the truth was something Raizel had considered for a long time.
In the end, he decided to tell her.
She had the right to know the truth, and the right to make her own choice.
The two of them sat beneath the red maple tree planted in Raizel's courtyard.
When they raised their heads, all they could see were red maple leaves filling their vision.
"Irene Belserion is indeed your mother."
Raizel's first sentence almost made Erza's brain crash.
Erza closed her eyes and slowly took a deep breath. Then she looked at Raizel, pretending to remain calm.
Even though Erza had already guessed as much, knowing it as fact was still hard to accept.
'If I have a mother, why was I an orphan?'
'If she's alive, why didn't she come looking for me?'
'Were we separated? Or did she have some unavoidable reason?'
Questions like these flooded her mind uncontrollably.
Raizel raised his hand and gently stroked Erza's scarlet hair, smiling helplessly.
"All right, no need to pretend in front of me. This is a long story so listen slowly."
Erza, who had been working so hard to keep her expression steady, immediately closed her eyes and leaned against his shoulder as if all her strength had left her.
She muttered, "This kind of news is far too shocking."
If the timing had not been so inappropriate, Raizel really wanted to say that her armor was very hard!
Of course, he did not say it.
Instead, he continued the story.
"More than four hundred years ago, there was the queen of the ancient kingdom of Dragnof. That queen was your mother, Irene Belserion."
"Four hundred years ago?!"
Erza looked at Raizel in confusion, her eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
She truly did not want to interrupt, but that opening was too unbelievable.
Four hundred years?
"I didn't misspeak. Listen until the end first."
Erza obediently leaned back against Raizel's shoulder, and even thoughtfully Requipped into a white shirt.
Raizel continued slowly.
"Four hundred years ago, the war between humans and dragons raged endlessly. As queen, Irene was brave, composed, and full of justice. To save humanity and the dragons who were friendly to humans, she gave everything she had. Through a political marriage, she gained a husband."
Erza blinked.
'??? You've never described me like that!'
"To resist the invasion of dragons who hated humans, she created Enchantment Magic. Through Enchantment, she attached the power of dragons to humans, forming a new kind of Magic: Dragon Slayer Magic."
"That was the beginning of Dragon Slayer Mages."
"After the guardian dragon of Dragnof, the Sage Dragon Belserion, died in battle, Irene inherited Belserion's name and swore to avenge him."
"However, because of the side effects of Dragon Slayer Magic, Irene began to undergo dragonification. At that time, she was already pregnant with a child."
"That child was you."
"Irene's body changed very quickly. Because of her dragon-like appearance, she was abandoned by her cowardly husband, who was too weak to face her. After that, she spent three years imprisoned."
"She was tortured brutally during those three years. All that time, she used her Magic Power to protect you."
"In the end, she completely transformed into a dragon, killed that coward of a husband, and destroyed the kingdom that had imprisoned her."
"Unable to accept her dragon form, and unable to return to a human appearance, her mind began to collapse. She flew deep into the mountains and remained there for nearly four hundred years."
"Then, twenty years ago, she met Zeref in those mountains. With Zeref's help, she temporarily obtained a human appearance again. But in essence, she had already become a dragon. She can only switch between human and dragon forms."
"After that, she gave birth to you."
"Maybe it was because half of your blood came from that man who didn't deserve to be called a man. Maybe it was because dragonification had made her too cold and ruthless. Or maybe it was because she was afraid that if you stayed by her side, she wouldn't be able to stop herself..."
"She left you in Rosemary Village."
Raizel also told Erza about how Irene had once considered enchanting herself into Erza's body.
He also told her that Irene had ultimately been moved by something called maternal love.
The Irene of today appeared cold and merciless, but deep within her heart, she still retained the kindness she had possessed four hundred years ago, as well as her love for Erza.
She had simply crushed those feelings down with all her strength.
By this point, Raizel had told Erza everything he knew.
Erza's mind had completely shut down.
There was no helping it, the amount of information was simply too much.
She had only been born after spending four hundred years inside Irene's womb.
Irene had completely transformed into a dragon.
Irene had been tormented by the side effects.
Irene had once thought about taking her body.
As for how Raizel knew all of this, Erza was not particularly concerned.
Raizel had always known many things, all she knew was that Raizel would not lie to her.
Raizel waited quietly.
He knew Erza needed some time to process everything.
No one could easily accept such an unbelievable truth.