Chapter 603 - 603: The Sixth Guild Master

Selene was, in the end, far thicker-skinned than Ankh's girlfriends. Seeing her act as though absolutely nothing had happened, Ankh could only marvel inwardly at her composure.

"Keep an eye on them for me. I'm going to gather everyone."

He pointed toward his room, then headed off toward the other pavilions scattered across Black Moon Mountain where his companions were staying.

Selene watched him disappear and finally let out the breath she had been holding.

The moment she relaxed, however, her legs almost gave out beneath her.

Meredy's Maguilty Sense had essentially acted like a shared server. Four people had participated directly, while Selene had experienced everything remotely through the sensory link.

And those sensations had gone on and on, only finally stopping about an hour ago.

Even Selene still felt slightly dazed.

The difference between human and dragon constitutions was frankly absurd. Maguilty Sense might have placed everyone on the same sensory starting line, but Selene was the only one who could still walk around afterward as though nothing had happened.

If anything, she felt vaguely dissatisfied.

A stronger body naturally demanded far more stimulation before it felt truly overwhelmed.

'If I could actually experience it directly with my own body…'

Selene caught herself before that thought could wander any farther.

She forced her still-tingling body upright and quietly slipped into Ankh's room.

The moment she entered, however, the lingering atmosphere inside hit her hard enough that she instinctively took a step backward.

Her legs nearly weakened again.

As for the sight before her…

Ankh had at least straightened everything up reasonably well, but Selene still found herself inexplicably reminded of a certain cream-filled pastry humans liked to eat.

...

Whatever absurdities had taken place beneath Black Moon Mountain's beautiful moonlight, Ankh had already gone back to handling actual business.

Before long, every mage from Ishgar had gathered across the mountainside.

Unlike Edolas, Ankh felt little attachment to Elentear.

He hadn't encountered alternate versions of Fairy Tail here, and neither Faris nor the Great White Priestess had left him with a particularly favorable impression.

Once the mountainside was packed with people, Selene finally activated her magic.

Powerful Magic Power rippled outward like moonlight and enveloped everyone at once.

Their vision turned completely white.

For a brief moment, their bodies felt almost weightless.

Then the light faded.

And an unmistakably familiar city appeared before them.

Magnolia.

Selene was close to Ankh, not every mage in Ishgar. She had no intention of acting like a delivery worker and painstakingly sending every single person directly back to their respective homes.

So Magnolia, one of the Kingdom of Fiore's major cities, suddenly found itself hosting mages from all across the country.

At the entrance to Fairy Tail, Makarov stared dumbfounded at the noisy flood of people who had just poured into the guild.

His head immediately began to ache.

"Master, we're back."

Ankh approached with the rest of his team, greeting Makarov with a grin.

Makarov nodded, clearly relieved.

"Good work."

Then he glanced at the enormous crowd.

"Though seeing mages from practically the entire country crammed into our guild at once is… a little terrifying."

"It's temporary," Ankh said. "We can report everything to the Council later. Once they've registered everyone and confirmed what happened, people can head back to their own guilds."

Makarov shook his head.

"Actually, there's no need to make it that complicated. Your timing is perfect."

"The Council members already arranged a meeting with me today. We can discuss everything here."

"A meeting?"

Ankh looked curious.

"About what?"

Makarov rubbed his chin.

"Apparently, now that both the White Magic Cult and the Black Magic Cult have been eliminated and the internal situation is finally stabilizing, the Council wants to begin reclaiming the territories Ishgar lost."

"I see…"

Ishgar hadn't collapsed as completely as Guiltina, but it had still lost quite a few smaller border nations.

Only after securing their own rear lines would they be in a position to properly confront the massive threat of the Alvarez Empire.

"Speaking of which…"

Makarov suddenly pointed behind Ankh.

"What happened to those two?"

Natsu and Gray stood there with faces swollen beyond recognition.

Both had turned their backs on each other and were sulking furiously, making it obvious they had only recently finished beating each other senseless.

"…It's a long story."

After talking things through the previous night, Natsu and Gray had predictably decided that the best way to vent everything they were feeling was to fight.

Much like Ankh, the two had been at it all night and only stopped in the morning.

Unlike Ankh, however, these two idiots looked considerably worse for wear afterward.

Ankh gave Makarov a general account of what had happened in Elentear.

Naturally, Makarov showed no negative reaction whatsoever to learning the truth about Natsu's origins.

Instead, another detail caught his attention.

"That Larcade really created infinite Magic Power?"

Ankh nodded.

"Something resembling it, yes. But the side effects were catastrophic. Unless your body can withstand the Magic Power of an entire world, I strongly recommend against trying it."

Makarov couldn't resist commenting,

"If someone can withstand an entire world's Magic Power in the first place, I imagine they're already rather powerful…"

His gaze then drifted toward the enormous celebration unfolding around them.

Fairy Tail's guild hall was nowhere near large enough for so many guests.

Before long, banquet tables had spilled out into the street while the rescued mages ate, drank, joked, and celebrated surviving the ordeal.

Larcade had dragged a huge number of them into Elentear to accelerate Alta Face's activation and supplement its Magic Power.

Most of them had spent that entire period doing forced labor underground and had barely eaten anything worthwhile.

Now they were ravenous.

Watching them stuff themselves while laughing and arguing around the tables made Makarov feel as though his aging heart had become younger again.

But…

he was old.

What had happened in Elentear only reminded him of that fact.

The old man who had spent an entire generation supporting Fairy Tail's growth slowly raised his gaze toward Ankh.

Ankh stood there smiling as he watched his companions celebrate.

Makarov studied him quietly.

Then he released a relieved breath.

"Ankh."

His tone became unusually solemn.

"Come with me. There's something important I need to discuss with you."

Ankh paused.

Then he nodded and quietly followed Makarov away from the celebration.

At first, he assumed the old man simply wanted to discuss arrangements for the rescued mages.

Instead, Makarov led him down into Fairy Tail's basement.

Then through a hidden door.

And into a far deeper tunnel.

Only then did Ankh realize something was different.

This direction…

They were heading toward that source of infinite Magic Power.

Ankh had sensed its existence all the way back when he was a child.

Makarov had always guarded the area with extraordinary strictness, forbidding the guild's troublesome children from ever approaching it.

Ankh had never tried to pry.

Whatever secret Makarov was protecting, he had respected the old man enough to leave it alone.

But today—

Makarov had apparently decided to reveal Fairy Tail's greatest secret to him.

They walked through the long, dark corridor until Makarov finally stopped before an enormous set of doors.

The old Guild Master slowly turned.

His expression was more serious than Ankh had seen in a long time.

"Ankh."

Makarov looked directly into his eyes.

"Would you be willing to become the Sixth Guild Master of Fairy Tail?"