Everyone turned to look at Wendy.
The little girl was indeed very young.
Although as a Dragon Slayer Mage, her power was already considerable, Marco never took her on major missions because of her age.
Wendy had never protested before, but this time was clearly different.
The Worthwood Sea was home to the Cait shelter Guild, and Robaul was there.
It would be strange if Wendy wasn't worried.
"Please, Marco-nii, let me come with you! I can help..."
Seeing Marco's silence, Wendy pleaded again.
"Alright, Wendy. You can come with us."
In the end, Marco couldn't bring himself to refuse the child.
He had a nagging suspicion that this incident might be connected to Robaul.
After all, Robaul was clearly tied to a major side story, and the old man himself was quite special.
Both Wendy and Mystogan were originally supposed to have connections to Robaul.
The old man had even been willing to create the Cait Shelter Guild just for Wendy's sake.
There had to be more to his story.
Marco knew his presence had disrupted the original plot.
To prevent that storyline from being completely severed, he had maintained his connection with Robaul, even arranging for Wendy to visit him for a few days each year.
But now, it seemed this plotline had reconnected in a different way.
Or perhaps... this was how it was always meant to unfold?
"Thank you, Marco-nii!"
Wendy beamed with joy upon getting Marco's approval.
She had been genuinely worried about Grandpa Robaul and everyone at the Cait Shelter Guild.
She had full confidence in Marco leading a coalition to help, but she wouldn't have felt at ease unless she went along.
With Wendy's situation settled, Marco, under the expectant gazes of the crowd, continued to call out names.
This was the main event—the team that would directly confront the Oracion Seis.
"Erza, Mirajane, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Hisui. You will form the Elite Squad and face theOracion Seis with me."
Marco announced the selections without hesitation.
"Yeah! Awesome!"
"Alright!"
Natsu and Gray cheered loudly, drawing glares from the others.
Many of their comrades who hadn't been chosen looked deeply disappointed.
"I request to join!"
Another hand shot up, this time requesting to join the Elite Squad.
Marco turned to see Freed with his hand raised.
Bickslow and Evergreen quickly followed suit.
The Thunder God Tribe clearly wanted a place on the Elite Squad.
As Laxus's representatives, they refused to be mere bystanders in such a major event. They needed to bring glory to both the Thunder God Tribe and Laxus.
"Alright, Freed is in."
Marco nodded decisively.
Allowing Freed to join was the right move, the Thunder God Tribe deserved a chance to prove themselves, especially after Laxus's recent departure.
This would also strengthen the guild's unity.
Seeing Freed accepted into the Elite Squad, Bickslow and Evergreen lowered their hands without further protest.
They only needed one of them to join.
It was unrealistic for all three members of the Thunder God Tribe to be included, especially since many other powerful mages hadn't been selected.
Having all three join would be hard to justify to the others.
As long as their strongest member was in, that was enough.
"Pack your things. Assemble at the East Gate in one hour. We're moving out."
After adding Freed, Marco wasted no time.
He immediately announced the departure time and then dismissed everyone.
The mages dispersed to pack their belongings and gather necessary items.
...
Soon, they reassembled at Magnolia's East Gate.
The main force departed without further delay, riding Marco Crows toward the rendezvous point.
At the same time, similar scenes were unfolding in Mage Guilds across the Kingdom of Fiore.
This time, the allied army was even larger than before.
It wasn't just the Three Guild Alliance anymore, the entire kingdom had mobilized!
The Magic Council, having suffered a major loss of reputation, was determined to make a big move.
As the organizers, they had lobbied hard, promising substantial rewards and putting immense effort into forming the coalition.
The rendezvous point was near the Worthwood Sea.
Coincidentally, Bob from Blue Pegasus owned a large villa in the area, which served as the assembly point.
They couldn't just charge directly into the Worthwood Sea, its complex terrain demanded a cautious approach.
Thanks to the Crows, the Fairy Tail members arrived at the rendezvous point relatively early, before any other guilds.
After settling the main force, Marco immediately entered the Worthwood sea, taking Wendy and Carla with him.
Robaul of Cait Shelter was the most familiar with the Worthwood Sea.
If the allied army wanted to seize the initiative, they naturally needed his help.
More importantly, Marco wanted to use this opportunity to question Robaul.
What secrets was this powerful old man hiding?
He was a terrifying figure who could single-handedly create a multitude of Thought Projections—projections so lifelike they seemed real.
"Master Robaul! The Oracion Seis, one of the three pillars of the Balam Alliance, are coming to attack! Do you have any leads?"
Upon reaching Cait Shelter's tribal-style guild hall, Marco shouted loudly.
The Cait Shelter members turned to look at him, Wendy, and Carla, their faces lighting up with surprise and warmth as they greeted them enthusiastically.
"What's all the shouting? What Dark Guild? Marco, you rascal, since you're here, you surely didn't come alone, did you? What do you need me to do?"
Soon, Robaul's voice echoed back.
"Of course I need your help, Old Man Robaul," Marco said, approaching the elder who was dressed like a Native American.
"I just want to ask you one thing: is there some kind of secret hidden here in the Worthwood Sea? If there is, then the Oracion Seis' people are almost certainly after it."
Marco laid out his suspicions bluntly.
Unless the Oracion Seis were bored out of their minds and decided to drag all their subordinate guilds to the Worthwood Sea for a team-building exercise, their grand arrival must have a hidden purpose.
And whatever they were plotting to seize would be anything but ordinary.
Marco's words plunged Robaul into silence. He stared at Marco, seemingly weighing whether to reveal the truth.
Marco didn't press him. He was confident in himself. They had known each other for years, and though they didn't interact often, Marco occasionally visited.
He believed Robaul had already formed a firm judgment of his character.
Robaul turned his head, his gaze falling on Wendy and Carla, who were happily playing with their Fairy Tail guildmates.
He sighed, then turned back to Marco, whose expression was deadly serious.
"Alright, I'll be direct."
Robaul no longer held back; he prepared to tell Marco everything.
'So there is a secret!'
Marco wasn't surprised.
Robaul's very existence was the biggest anomaly here, a fact Marco had realized when he first visited the Worthwood Sea six or seven years ago.
Back then, Marco and his old man (Makarov) had many theories.
But Robaul's demeanor and personality clearly marked him as a good person.
Even though they suspected a secret was hidden here—and that Robaul himself held a secret—they couldn't bring themselves to investigate further.
Their strong moral compass was the reason. If not for the current crisis with the Oracion Seis, neither Marco nor Makarov would have ever pried into the matter unless Robaul chose to speak first.
"I think... they must be after Nirvana."
Looking at Marco, Robaul didn't hesitate, stating his belief directly.
Within the entire Worthwood Sea, the only thing worthy of the Oracion Seis' massive mobilization was likely Nirvana.
Robaul could even guess what they intended to do with it.
"Nirvana..."
Marco fell silent for a moment, searching his memory for any information on the topic, but came up empty.
Despite being well-read, he was far from omniscient, and some knowledge remained completely foreign to him.
"It's perfectly normal that you haven't heard of it," Robaul said, understanding Marco's thoughtful expression.
"After all, this happened several hundred years ago. To be precise, it's been four or five hundred years."
"What exactly is this Nirvana? Is it a spell?" Marco asked seriously.
Whether the Oracion Seis were truly after Nirvana would become clear once he understood its purpose.
"Yes and no. Nirvana is a super-magic capable of swapping 'light' and 'darkness.' At the same time, it's also a city—a metropolis inhabited by the Nirbit people. Its full name is the Peaceful Kingdom Nirvana."
Robaul's explanation of Nirvana only made Marco frown, his confusion deepening.
"A spell and a city? And it can swap light and darkness? How does it swap them? And what do 'light' and 'darkness' even refer to?"
Marco repeated the details.
The descriptions made it incredibly difficult to picture what this "Nirvana" truly was.
'Especially the abstract concept of swapping light and darkness.'
'What does that even mean? Turning day into night? Manipulating time? That would certainly be powerful enough to warrant a visit from the Oracion Seis.'
"Light and darkness... refer to the human heart," Robaul said, his expression complex as he revealed Nirvana's true purpose.
The answer left Marco stunned.
"So, it can turn good people into bad people, and bad people into good people. But it's far more likely to turn good people bad, because it amplifies the deepest, truest desires within the human heart. And with humans... we judge actions, not intentions. Just thinking about something... isn't a crime."
Robaul sighed deeply, summarizing his view on Nirvana.
His tone made it clear he believed its existence brought far more harm than good.
'Clearly, there's a long and troubled history behind this "Nirvana."'
"That... is truly unexpected," Marco murmured.
Marco opened his mouth, now more certain than ever.
The Oracion Seis were definitely after Nirvana.
The power to "turn day into night" paled in comparison to the ability to "change people's hearts"!
"If this thing is so dangerous, why not destroy it?" Marco asked, his brow furrowed after the initial shock wore off.
"Because it's impossible, of course," Robaul replied matter-of-factly. "If it could be destroyed, why would I have stood guard here for over four hundred years? I've been waiting for someone who can destroy it."
'Guarding it for over four hundred years...'
Marco winced.
The situation was growing more complicated by the second.
'Four hundred years? Is Old Man Robaul some legendary survivalist? Or... is he not even human?'
While powerful Mages generally had long lifespans, living to four or five hundred years was well beyond the norm.
Marco had never even met anyone who'd lived past one hundred and fifty.
But if Robaul were a ghost or some other spectral being, his behavior seemed far too normal.