Clad in a black cloak and gripping a golden staff, Keyes returned to Tartaros, his appearance worn and travel-stained.
Kyôka was already waiting for him.
"I apologize, Lady Kyôka," Keyes said, bowing slightly.
Kyôka's brows knit together. "You failed as well?"
"I encountered unexpected resistance," Keyes admitted. "There are several exceptionally powerful human mages involved."
"Fairy Tail?" Kyôka asked coolly.
"No," Keyes replied after a moment's thought. "From what I observed, it appeared to be Blue Pegasus."
He hesitated, recalling Kyôka's earlier reaction.
"Did the others also fail?"
Kyôka turned away. "Of those dispatched, only Seilah completed her mission cleanly and returned unharmed."
She gestured ahead. "Come with me."
The two entered Hell's Core together.
Inside the vast laboratory, sixteen Lamys moved busily between magic arrays and culture vessels. One hurried forward and bowed deeply.
"Lady Kyôka."
"How are the two?" Kyôka asked.
"Since there were no complications," the Lamy replied, "Jackal will complete his regeneration by this afternoon at the earliest. Tempester will require until evening."
Keyes's eyes widened slightly.
"Jackal and Tempester… died?"
When he had left the previous day, both had still been active. For two of the Nine Demon Gates to fall at once was highly unusual.
"Jackal destroyed the Council," Kyôka said calmly. "But one target escaped. Tempester failed to injure his objective entirely."
From within a culture vessel, Jackal's muffled voice rang out indignantly.
"Once I'm revived, I'll blow that bastard to pieces!"
Tempester offered no response. His regeneration had already induced selective amnesia, he wasn't even aware Kyôka was speaking about him.
Kyôka continued, "There's still no news from Torafuzar or Ezel. What about Silver?"
For Tartaros, silence was usually good news. As long as a soul had not returned to Hell's Core, it meant the demon was still alive.
Silver, however, was an exception.
Even if he perished, he might not return.
Keyes smiled confidently.
"That man is likely the least of our concerns. Even among the Nine Demon Gates, his strength is..."
He stopped.
Kyôka sensed the shift instantly.
"What is it?"
Keyes stared ahead blankly.
"I can no longer feel my connection to Silver."
...
"Where is Gray Sama?"
Juvia scanned the returning crowd repeatedly, anxiety creeping into her voice when she failed to find the one person she was looking for.
"He has something to take care of," Rhodes replied gently. "He'll return soon."
After giving up the information about Tartaros, Silver had seemed to lose all desire to remain in the world.
His will faded, and with it, his life force.
Gray went alone to bury him.
At Silver's request, he was laid to rest beside Mika, Gray's mother.
Lucy had offered to accompany him, but Gray refused. With a great battle looming, he didn't want anyone to witness him at his weakest.
Erza agreed to let him handle it himself.
Rhodes dispatched the Mountain Dragon to escort him.
That dragon liked to complain, but his mind was far more delicate than his sisters', Cloud and Ocean. That was precisely why Rhodes trusted him with the task.
"Come here," Makarov said, calling everyone over. His expression was grim.
"There's been another development."
"Mr. Yuri has been killed."
"What?!" Erza exclaimed. "Wasn't Sabertooth assigned to protect him? Nearly their entire guild was deployed!"
"That's the strange part," Makarov replied. "According to Sabertooth's report, Mr. Yuri committed suicide."
He paused.
"And the investigation confirmed it."
"Suicide?" Rhodes murmured, suspicion flickering in his eyes.
Makarov's expression darkened further.
"Not only that, without any warning, the Sabertooth members at the scene turned on each other."
"They slaughtered one another. The guild was nearly wiped out."
Lucy covered her mouth.
"How could something like that happen?"
Even Natsu couldn't accept it.
"That's impossible! Didn't Sting say they'd protect their comrades no matter what? They've been fighting Tartaros this whole time just to save them!"
"I find it hard to believe as well," Makarov said quietly. "But it's the truth."
Rhodes spoke up.
"Seilah of the Moonlit Night."
Makarov turned to him sharply.
"What?"
"Information I just received," Rhodes said. "Seilah is one of the Nine Demon Gates. Her Curse is called Macro."
Silence fell.
"It allows her," Rhodes continued evenly, "to issue commands that others are forced to obey, completely and absolutely."
Makarov thought for a moment before asking, "So… is her Curse a form of mental control?"
"Not entirely," Rhodes replied. "She can manipulate minds, but that's not all. According to what I've learned, she can also control corpses and even certain inanimate objects to a limited degree. It's more accurate to call it a comprehensive manipulation, one that affects both mind and body."
Makarov's expression darkened.
"Then Sabertooth wasn't fighting of their own will."
"No," Rhodes said quietly. "They were acting out a script."
He continued, "Seilah enjoys stories, especially so-called 'brilliant' ones. Her Macro Curse forces others to perform roles exactly as she writes them."
"And Sabertooth…" He paused. "They were made to enact a tragedy where comrades slaughtered one another."
"Damn it!" Natsu slammed his fist down. "I'll never forgive her!"
Of all things, betrayal among comrades was what he hated most.
Even Erza felt a chill. "Can she manipulate an entire guild?"
Lucy swallowed. "Then how are we supposed to fight someone like that?"
"I don't know yet," Rhodes admitted. "But there must be restrictions. If Macro were truly absolute, Tartaros wouldn't need Face at all, they could simply command all of humanity to submit."
Makarov nodded slowly, agreeing. Then something else occurred to him.
"Lucy's back now, but she hasn't tested Gemini yet. Where did all this information come from?"
"That concerns Gray's privacy," Rhodes replied evenly. "If you're curious, you can ask him later."
He straightened.
"For now, let me summarize everything we know about the Nine Demon Gates."
He spoke for a long time.
Levy and Lucy scribbled furiously as he did, committing every detail to paper.
Once finished, they planned to distribute copies to every member of the guild, and to the other guilds currently protecting the remaining Council Members, so no one would be caught unprepared again.
Finally, Rhodes reached the most critical point.
"Now, the location of Tartaros."
"They reside on a square-shaped floating island known as Cube. Originally, to conceal their movements, Cube shifted irregularly between locations."
"But recently, for operational convenience, its flight path has become predictable."
"With the help of the former Chairman, they've identified several potential locations where Face might be hidden."
"While carrying out the assassinations, Cube moves between these sites one by one to investigate."
"And if their plan fails," Rhodes added, "they may activate a contingency and attempt to break the seal through other means once Face is located."
He concluded calmly,
"In short, if we monitor these locations, we can find Cube."
At that, Rhodes turned to Levy and Lucy, his expression encouraging.
"If we have intelligent comrades skilled in calculation and analysis, we can intercept Cube while it's in transit and launch a surprise attack."
"Leave it to me! As long as the data's accurate, I can calculate their movement!"
Lucy nodded enthusiastically.
"I'll help too!"
Neither of them were front-line fighters, but that was precisely why they always looked for ways to contribute using their strengths.
Rhodes smiled and nodded.
"Good. I'm counting on you."