Erza smiled. "Honestly, it was much easier to accept than I expected."
Mirajane tilted her head. "That doesn't sound like you. You used to be so determined not to lose when we fought."
"Maybe it's because I had a sense of it coming. Those were the two opponents, after all. If I had lost to just one of them, I think I might have felt worse about it."
"Ehh, so losing to them is fine, but losing to me would bother you?" Mirajane put on a look of mild injury. "That feels a little dismissive, Erza."
"That's not what I meant." Erza smiled; she knew the annoyance wasn't real. "Today, losing to companions while barely being able to fight back, I actually felt something close to happiness. Because the guild is even stronger than I knew, and now I have two more heights to aim for. Next time, I'll be stronger." She paused. "Maybe Natsu has always understood that feeling."
She looked at Mirajane more directly. "As for you, I'm looking forward to the next time we face each other. Don't fall too far behind."
"I won't. I haven't been training, but I'm getting stronger every day." Mirajane rested her hand on her stomach and smiled with quiet certainty. "Because the people I need to protect are about to be one more."
Erza went slightly pink. "Is this the power of, of maternal love?"
Carla gave Wendy a small pat. "Wendy. What's the matter?"
Wendy said in a very small voice, "Nothing. It's just, for a moment, I wanted Mirajane to hug me."
Carla considered this, then shifted her attention. "Speaking of which, where is the culprit? He has healing magic too."
Mirajane pointed upward. "A guest just arrived. Something important to discuss."
Beside the large clock on the guild's roof, Precht leaned against a pillar in the one spot invisible from all three main approaches.
"I hear you've been dealing with that dark cult lately."
Rhodes looked at him. "You've even heard about that? The Council hasn't made it public."
"They are, in a sense, successors to what came before us." Precht said it plainly. Grimoire Heart, Tartaros, this new group: all of them worshipping Zeref, all of them pointing toward the return of the Great Magic Era. The word successors wasn't inaccurate. Rhodes watched his expression and found no trace of embarrassment at the reference to his own history. The man's skin was considerably thicker than Makarov's.
Precht continued without noticing the silent evaluation. "The others are manageable. The one called the Priest is different. His magic is dangerous. Make sure your people know to be careful."
"Dangerous how?"
"I don't know the specifics. What I do know is that it's a forbidden magic tied to life itself."
Rhodes nodded. Magic centered on life was never anything other than extremely dangerous. If another Zeref-like situation came out of it, the consequences would be severe.
Precht read his expression. "That isn't why you had Ultear track me down, though."
"It isn't."
"Don't tell me you want another magic lesson."
"If you have time, that would actually be welcome too."
Precht let out a short laugh. "I'm joking. What did you actually need?"
Rhodes raised earth walls around them on three sides and layered an illusion over the enclosure, then brought out the Book of END.
Even before he could read the title clearly, Precht's eyes went wide.
He had recognized the magical signature immediately.
When he saw what the cover said, the shock and the sense of inevitability arrived at the same moment. "So it really is this book. No wonder. Of course it carries that kind of power."
He was quiet for a moment. "If you had shown me this seven years ago, I would have made you Vice Master on the spot."
"That's entirely unnecessary," Rhodes said. "How much do you know about it?"
Precht shook his head. "If you're asking about the book's significance, I can tell you a great deal. If you're asking about its contents, that I'm not certain of."
Even as he spoke, Precht's eyes stayed fixed on the book, filled with something that looked very much like hunger.
"You can tell me. The content reads as long and repetitive on the surface, but the script it's written in is unlike anything ordinary. And beyond that..."
Rhodes walked him through the Book of END's specific properties. Precht listened, expression shifting between deep thought and open surprise, and finally let out a slow breath.
"As expected of Zeref."
Rhodes watched him carefully, alert for any sign the old man was sliding back into admiration.
"So that pink-haired boy is the legendary Strongest Demon?"
"In theory. But.." Rhodes left it there.
He had been turning that question over for a while now without landing on anything solid.
Precht asked, "Is it hard to accept that your companion isn't human?"
"Not particularly. Gray is half demon at this point, and there's someone else who's more or less half dragon.." Rhodes shook his head. "The guild is full of strange cases. One more demon doesn't change much."
Precht thought about what Fairy Tail apparently looked like these days and laughed despite himself. Part of what he felt was genuine happiness. The rest was relief. Specifically, relief that he was no longer the one in charge of it.
"So the reason you tracked me down was the Super Living Link Magic."
"Yes. Is there a way to break it?"
"Not through ordinary means. Give me time to study it properly."
Rhodes nodded. "I'll leave it with you, then. Do you want to take the book?"
"No need. And you shouldn't be taking it out casually either." Precht's tone was firm on that point. "Zeref's aura on that thing is too strong. It could draw something dangerous."
"Understood." Rhodes put the book away. "One more thing. There's a situation with the western continent I'd like you and Crime Sorcière to watch."
Precht listened without interruption. It concerned Mavis. Beyond that, Fairy Heart was his creation. Whatever was coming from that direction, he bore some responsibility for it.
"I'll do what I can to gather information from that side. Until next time."
"You're not staying?" Rhodes asked. "You always leave this fast. What exactly keeps you so busy?"
Precht's expression shifted into something harder to read. "I am looking for a child."
"A child?"
"A mistake from my younger years."
Rhodes thought immediately of Gildarts and Cana. "What kind of child? Do you need help?"
"Don't read too much into it." Precht hesitated, then gave a small shake of his head. "It has been over ninety years. That child may already..." He stopped. "Forget it. The matters at hand take priority."
Rhodes saw the Second Master off, watched him disappear, and headed back downstairs to find Makarov.
The Third Master was sitting with a cup of wine, watching the younger members work through their evening meditation.
Rhodes looked over the room and gave a quiet nod of satisfaction. Then he leaned toward Makarov with an expression of poorly concealed interest.
"Master. Did you know the Second Master may have an illegitimate child?"
Makarov spat his wine across the table. "What did you just say?!"
Around the room, meditation broke apart all at once. Magic vortexes erupted from the disruption, a strong wind tore through the hall, and tables and chairs flipped in every direction. Several people caught the edge of it.
Nobody mentioned the furniture.
Every single person in the room was staring at Rhodes and Makarov.
The Second Master had an illegitimate child?
...
New Fic: A Decent Man in the Shinobi World. Give this a try, you people will love it.