As the massive black airship came into view on the horizon, Roger cast a concealment spell. His figure melted into the air like he'd never been there at all.
Silently drifting up to the metal hull, he pressed his palm against the cold steel. Magic pulsed beneath his hand, and the surface rippled like water. A man-sized "entrance" opened out of nowhere.
"Illusion magic really is handy," he muttered with a smirk.
"Reality can be illusion, and illusion can be reality."
With a light chuckle, he stepped through. The moment he was inside, the opening sealed itself perfectly, leaving no trace it had ever existed.
Once aboard, Roger closed his eyes and let his sensory magic spill out like liquid mercury, mapping the ship's layout and every current of magical power inside.
A few seconds later, he opened them again.
(As expected, the whole place is laced with defensive spells.)
Following the flow of magic he'd sensed, he headed toward a room on the west side.
At the door, his faintly glowing pupils reflected countless intricate runes woven across the surface like chains, forming a deadly defensive and counterattack array.
(Heavy-duty retaliation wards. You'd need the exact magical key or some special trick to disarm it safely.)
(In the original story, Happy and the others only got in because they lucked into crawling through an internal vent. Otherwise, no chance.)
Roger activated his illusion magic again, warping perception around him. Then he simply walked straight through the magically sealed door like it was a curtain of water.
Inside the room sat a massive, pale-purple heart that looked like it was made of living tissue, floating in a glass tank filled with some unknown fluid. It beat slowly but powerfully, thump… thump…, each pulse radiating an eerie yet overwhelmingly vital energy.
"So this is… the Devil's Heart?"
White light flickered in Roger's eyes as he fully analyzed the spells layered onto the giant organ.
(The magical framework is insane, way more complex than even the Nirvana core's conversion array.)
(Bio-link magic, tying it directly to Hades's own life force, giving him near-infinite magic and extended lifespan.)
(Super-condensed magic compression and conversion, every single beat generates, compresses, and stores an absurd amount of power.)
(Rough estimate… the total magic stored in here is around late-stage "Rupture" class. That's terrifying.)
(There's also some stabilizing force inside acting as a regulator, keeping the heart from overloading and exploding.)
(Really clever design. I could probably replicate it if I studied it long enough, but I'd have to rip the heart out to do it… and that kinda defeats the purpose.)
The analytical light in his eyes faded. Roger snapped his fingers, leaving behind a perfect illusory duplicate of himself in the room. Then he slipped out again with illusion magic and reappeared outside the airship.
He dropped his concealment and deliberately let a sliver of his magical presence leak out.
The very next second, as if answering his challenge, a huge observation window high above slid open like it was welcoming an honored guest.
"Oh?" Roger raised an eyebrow, a playful smile tugging at his lips.
"Pretty calm for someone who thinks he can't lose."
Magic surged behind him, condensing into a pair of wings. With one light flap, he shot up and flew straight through the open window into the ship's main hall.
The hall was vast, dimly lit, and empty.
Standing dead center, hands clasped behind his back, was an old man with a long beard, heavy armor, and eyes sharp as a hawk's. He'd clearly been waiting.
He lifted his chin slightly and looked Roger over like he was sizing up prey.
"Roger… one of Fairy Tail's true aces in the hole."
"Master of illusion magic, also proficient in requip and celestial spirit magic, plus top-tier hand-to-hand skills…"
He paused, a hint of recruitment in his tone. "Your strength and potential are exceptional. How about joining me? I'll make you vice-master of the Devil's Heart guild."
"You're trying to recruit me?" Roger laughed softly and shook his head. "Sorry, your offer doesn't interest me."
"Oh? Not even if it includes the truth of the Great Magic Era… and the key to awakening Zeref?" Hades said calmly, as if he'd expected that answer. He raised his right hand.
A fist-sized orb of dark light appeared in his palm, oozing thick, ominous black mist.
The moment it appeared, even from a distance, Roger felt a freezing, filthy aura wash over him. Just looking at it stirred up endless hatred, bone-deep fear, and vicious curses in the back of his mind, like countless screaming souls.
(So that's the "key"?)
Hades's words and the key's appearance made Roger narrow his eyes.
"You planted bio-link magic in all seven Kin of Purgatory beforehand, didn't you?" he said after a few seconds of thought. "You can monitor their status and even see and hear through their eyes."
"Exactly," Hades admitted without hesitation, his gaze growing even more appreciative. "From the moment Urtear first saw you, I was watching through her eyes."
"You and I… we're the same kind of person."
"We're both obsessed with the essence of magic, driven to explore the unknown, and willing to do whatever it takes, no matter how ruthless, to reach our goals!"
His voice turned almost seductive. "Your power has hit a ceiling. Staying in a legal guild like Fairy Tail, bound by all their stupid rules, is a waste of your talent!"
"Join me. Together we'll awaken Zeref and usher in the Great Magic Era ourselves!"
Roger actually laughed out loud, shaking his head. Then he casually stretched out his right hand and clenched it like he was grabbing something out of thin air.
The next instant, the sinister black orb in Hades's hand tore free without warning, streaking through the air as a black beam and landing neatly in Roger's palm.
Ignoring Hades's stunned expression, Roger tucked the "key" into his system inventory and looked the old man dead in the eye.
"You and I were never the same."
"Because your ambition is way too small."
"From the very beginning, all you've ever wanted was to wake Zeref and help him become 'king of the world.'"
"But me?" Roger lifted his head, staring straight at Hades like a blade. "I'm going to become the king myself. I'll start my own Great Magic Era with my own two hands."
"Ha… haha… HAHAHA!" Hades froze for a second, then let out a low, rumbling laugh tinged with nostalgia and mockery.
"As expected, just a cocky brat who doesn't know how high the sky is!"
His aura exploded. An overwhelming wave of deep-purple magic roared out like a dam bursting.
The entire airship groaned and shuddered violently under the terrifying pressure.
"You probably still don't realize," Hades's voice thundered through the shaking hall, "that I, Precht Gaeblog, am the second master of Fairy Tail! And the magic I use…"
He spread his arms wide, embracing the torrent of power.
"…was taught to me personally by Zeref himself!"
"I've felt the exact same power sleeping inside him!"
"It's a deeper, older magic, completely different from today's systems, far closer to the source of the world itself!"
Mad fervor blazed in Hades's eyes as his magic surged even higher.
"After fifty years of relentless study and accumulation, the essence of my power is now infinitely close to his! I'm just one final step away!"
"Once the Great Magic Era arrives, my magic will undergo its final evolution…"
His voice rang out like an oath: "…and I will reach the true, supreme abyss of magic, the Magic Dao Abyss!!"
"Black Magic: Law," Roger said softly, almost casually.
The moment the word "Law" left his lips, the raging torrent of Hades's magic actually stuttered for a split second.
"The spell Zeref personally taught to the first master, Mavis," Roger continued calmly, each word hammering into Hades like a nail. "Because that unfinished forbidden spell backfired, Mavis was cursed by the God of Life and Death and became immortal."
He smirked. "And then, because of certain… incidents that nobody talks about, the first master eventually turned into something close to an undead spirit."
"And you, honored Second Master, in your obsession to revive her, accidentally created Fairy Tail's ultimate hidden weapon: Lumen Histoire."
He locked eyes with Hades. "Everything I just said is one hundred percent accurate, right, Second Master Precht Gaeblog?"
Hades's face turned deadly serious, his sharp eyes boring into the young man as if trying to see straight through him.
"You… you actually know about Lumen Histoire?! Did Makarov, that little brat, tell you…?"
He immediately shook his head. "No, impossible. That kid doesn't know a thing about Law!"
His mind raced, possibilities flashing past.
A few seconds later, his pupils shrank to pinpricks, pure shock on his face.
"It was Zeref! Zeref told you?!"
"You've… met Zeref?!!"
"Bingo," Roger said with a light clap, like he was applauding the correct answer.
"Bonus info: Zeref was never actually asleep like you thought."
"That whole 'sleeping' legend? Just something his blind worshippers made up from a few scattered clues."
"Impossible!!" Hades roared like a wounded lion. "If Zeref has been awake this whole time, the world should already be in the Great Magic Era! The prophecy can't be wrong!"
"Oh?" Roger raised an eyebrow, tone teasing. "Then… what exactly did that stone tablet you found actually say?"
Hades's eyes flickered. He knew Roger was trying to get the full prophecy out of him.
But this kid had just revealed secrets about Law and Lumen Histoire that even Makarov didn't know…
After a moment's hesitation, Hades spoke.
"The tablet said: When Zeref ascends the fated throne of the King, that will be the moment he claims the world's throne."
"The ancient seal will be broken by his power, and the sleeping soul of the world shall awaken."
"A flood of magic will cleanse the universe, and those without magic will be annihilated."
"From that day forward, authority will return to all things, broken power will be made whole, and the world will return to its original, perfect, complete form."
(Ancient seal… soul of the world… Does that mean some primordial god is sealed away?)
(The prophecy is a little vague in places, but overall it lines up pretty well with what I already suspected.)
Roger processed the information silently, face calm.
He looked up at Hades and said softly, "Nowhere in that prophecy does it actually say Zeref is asleep, does it?"
He tilted his head. "Master Hades… did you maybe mix up the stone tablet's real words with all those old folk tales you read?"
"!!!"
Hades jolted like he'd been struck by lightning in the dark. Certain long-held assumptions in his mind were suddenly lit up and shattered.
(He's right, the tablet never mentioned sleep!)
(I just automatically linked the prophecy to the ancient rumors about Zeref possibly being asleep, and I never once questioned it!)
But if Zeref has been awake this whole time… then what exactly is this "King" and "throne" the prophecy talks about?!
Before he could sort through the massive revelation, an absolutely heart-stopping surge of magic erupted right in front of him.
He snapped his head up, eyes wide with genuine shock for the first time.
"Your magical power… it's on par with mine?!"
"How old are you?! How can you possibly have reserves this deep?!"
Roger just smiled lazily, like it was no big deal.
"Let's just call it… natural talent?"
He slowly raised his right hand, palm aimed straight at Hades.
"Anyway, I've asked everything I needed to ask. Time to send you on your way, Master Hades."
[Additional Art – Flame Dragon God's Roar]
The instant the words left his mouth, a massive, intricate dark-crimson magic circle spun into existence beneath Hades's feet, radiating apocalyptic heat.
Hades's eyes flashed. He reacted instantly, merging his index and middle fingers and slashing upward like he was writing a rune.
A deep hum.
Three purple runic stones materialized, forming a perfect triangular barrier around him, just as—
BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!
A three-meter-wide pillar of black-red destruction erupted from the circle like a volcanic explosion!
The beam swallowed Hades completely. The intense heat melted the airship's metal walls like wax, dripping molten steel.
The blast lasted several seconds before finally fading.
The once-grand ceiling of the hall was now a gaping hole open to the gloomy sky.
Hades slowly became visible again through the steam and heat haze.
He was still standing… but he looked like hell.
Most of his heavy armor had melted into slag, fused to skin that was charred black and red. His long beard and hair were singed and curled at the edges.
He coughed out a lungful of smoke, voice hoarse.
"Ruthless little bastard, aren't you?"
"Finish asking your questions and immediately go for the kill?"
He lifted his eyes to Roger. "Killing… the second master of Fairy Tail?"
"Former second master," Roger corrected coldly, not wavering an inch. "Right now, you're just the leader of a dark guild who attacked the council, endangered Fairy Tail, and hurt our people. Nothing more, Hades."
"Ha… haha… HAHAHA!" Hades stared blankly for a second, then let out a loud, complicated laugh, self-mocking yet oddly impressed.
When the laughter died down, he slowly brought his hand to the eyepatch covering his right eye.
"Decisive. Ruthless. No hesitation. Yeah… you really do have what it takes to be a king."
"I like you more and more, kid. Your power far exceeds anything I imagined…"
He ripped the eyepatch off in one motion!
Beneath it wasn't an eye, but a churning, molten-red void.
[Devil's Eye – Open!]
With a low growl, the charred skin all over his body began flaking away like a snake shedding its skin, revealing smooth, pale new flesh underneath.
His nearly destroyed armor rapidly reformed in a haze of purple light, restoring itself in the blink of an eye and radiating even stronger magic than before.
The gaseous magic swirling around him visibly condensed and compressed at a terrifying rate.
The remaining space inside the wrecked airship filled with thick, heavy, black-purple liquid magic that made the soul itself tremble in fear.
"After I kill you myself," Hades declared, voice dripping with menace, "I'll go find Zeref and ask him face-to-face what the prophecy really means!"