The competition came to a temporary end, and the mother and daughter were finally safe.
After returning to Fairy Tail, Master Makarov found Caesar with a serious face and asked about Irene and him.
Facing Makarov, Caesar didn't dare to hide anything. However, since it involved Zeref, he still kept some things to himself. For example, Jellal's true identity.
Caesar told Makarov everything about the Alvarez Empire. When Makarov learned that Caesar had become the emperor of the Alvarez Empire, his eyes widened.
He had heard of the empire's power. But he never imagined that Caesar would become its emperor just by visiting for fun. Even novels wouldn't dare to write something that crazy.
Caesar nodded in agreement. But there was the matter between Zeref and Mavis. Who would have thought that such a mighty empire was just a pawn in Zeref's eyes?
Under those strange circumstances, something that seemed impossible actually happened.
"Caesar, aren't you going to manage the empire?" Makarov finally asked.
"Manage what?" Caesar shrugged. "The emperor of that empire is always away. It doesn't matter whether I'm there or not. Besides, I'm just a temporary ruler. My position is only symbolic. I'd rather stay free here in the guild than manage an empire."
Faced with Caesar's answer, Makarov didn't know whether to laugh or sigh. Still, he told Caesar about the dark history between the Alvarez Empire and Fairy Tail.
Caesar already knew. To obtain the Fairy Heart, the Alvarez Empire had once sent troops to attack Ishgar. But because of the Magic Council's threat, the plan was stopped before it even began.
Now, Caesar was relieved. First, as acting emperor, if something like that really happened, he would stop it himself. Second, Jellal knew that Caesar had the power to resist the curse. Even though he failed before, it still gave Jellal a glimmer of hope.
Because of that, the events in the original story were unlikely to happen. Unless Caesar died or failed completely, Jellal wouldn't give up or restart that plan.
As long as Caesar was alive, hope would remain in Jellal's heart, keeping him waiting.
The conversation drifted to another topic — the Demon Heart.
According to Ultear's information, the Demon Heart was about to act. Also, Zeref's arrival in Ishgar from the Western Continent made them aware of strange magical fluctuations. They would definitely head to Tenrou Island to find Zeref.
Makarov also wanted to take that chance to speak with Precht, the second master of Fairy Tail.
That was what Makarov was considering. But what Caesar had to worry about was the black dragon Acnologia, who might appear due to the Dragon Slayer magic on the island.
Caesar opened his interface. Level 56. Red Kamaline Cards: 98. Not even close.
He sighed. It looked like he wouldn't reach red rank before the Tenrou Island trip.
He could offset the lack of infinite magic power using the Philosopher's Stone, though it was a bit wasteful. But when he imagined pinning Acnologia to the ground and beating him, it made him feel good.
What's the point of getting stronger? To be invincible!
The black dragon was the ultimate boss of the story. If Caesar could knock him down, he'd have no regrets.
No, wait. That was before. Now, his new goal was to pin the god Ankhseram to the ground instead.
One was a dragon, the other a god of death. Quite an upgrade, wasn't it?
That night, in Caesar and Mirajane's small home, Caesar told Mirajane what he had learned. After discussing everything, Mirajane nodded in agreement.
She wanted to have a baby with Caesar, but she didn't want her child to be born without a mother. So she didn't refuse his plan.
With Caesar's help, Mirajane fell asleep. Using Brandish as a test subject before, Irene had already practiced the separation and attachment spell. This time, it went much more smoothly.
The divinity was stripped away easily and then merged perfectly into Mirajane's body. Everything seemed complete.
Just when Caesar was about to breathe a sigh of relief and wake her up, endless dark magic suddenly burst out, blowing everything in the room apart.
"What's happening?"
Both Caesar and Irene were shocked. The experiment had worked fine on Brandish, so why was it different now?
Caesar rushed forward to wake Mirajane by force. But suddenly, a demonic claw shot out and struck him.
Boom!
Caesar didn't attack back. He only defended, but the force sent him crashing through the wall and flying nearly a hundred meters away.
"Hiss." Caesar drew in a sharp breath and looked at his torn sleeve and bleeding arm.
That single attack from Mirajane was stronger than Serena's Eight Dragon Scattering.
But then Caesar's arm muscles swelled, and the wound closed instantly. His own magical properties rapidly healed his body.
"Your Majesty, are you alright?" Irene appeared beside him. Caesar ignored her and looked at Mirajane.
She was floating in dark magic, in her Take Over: Satan Soul form. He had no idea what was happening to her.
"Roar!"
Mirajane opened her mouth, releasing a dark shockwave straight at Caesar.
He frowned, raised his hand, and punched, deflecting the attack into the sky. If that hit the ground, it could have destroyed half of Magnolia.
After releasing that wave, Mirajane slowly regained consciousness.
"Caesar… I… what happened?"
Seeing her transformation and Caesar's injuries, Mirajane was stunned.
"It's okay, as long as you're fine."
Caesar flew to her side, relieved. He reached out to check her condition with magic.
What he found shocked him deeply.