"END. The strongest demon. That's me?"
Natsu's reaction was considerably calmer than Rhodes had expected. He had braced for shouting, probably something along the lines of "How can I be a book?" followed by an immediate offer to set it on fire as proof. Instead Natsu, while clearly unwilling to accept it, stayed where he was.
Rhodes was about to continue when Happy's voice broke in, thick with tears.
"No! Natsu isn't a demon!"
Natsu turned toward the stairwell door. Happy was already throwing himself into his arms, eyes streaming.
Rhodes let his gaze move past Lucy, who had taken a step back and was trying to look as though she hadn't been there the whole time.
"I said no eavesdropping. This is Natsu's business." He glanced past her. "The ones behind her should leave too."
"You looked so serious." Being caught didn't embarrass Lucy as much as it normally might have. She stepped forward. "Mr. Rhodes, is all of that true?"
Happy stared at Rhodes with desperate hope.
Rhodes nodded. "It's true."
Natsu was quiet for a moment through the disruption, then something surfaced. "Wait. I remember that even Igneel couldn't kill END. If it's me, then how could he..."
"I don't think he was incapable of killing END." Rhodes put an arm around Natsu's shoulder. "I think he couldn't bring himself to harm his own son. Natsu, whether you're human, a demon, or something else entirely, Igneel loves you."
Natsu made a sound that wasn't quite a laugh. "Igneel."
Lucy seemed reluctant to break the quiet that followed.
"Mr. Rhodes is starting to sound more and more like a father," she said, very quietly.
Rhodes tapped her on the head. "The only one who loves you is Igneel."
"And there's also a group of people who don't particularly enjoy being called idiots."
"Ow!" Lucy clutched her head and dropped into a crouch.
From the stairwell, Gray leaned against the wall. "Rhodes. Who exactly are you calling an idiot?"
Beside him, Erza was doing her best not to smile. Idiot, not Gray. She noticed the dark markings on Gray's arm and asked quietly, "Are you alright?"
Gray followed her gaze and thought of his father, Silver.
Silver had believed for a long time that while Deliora had carried out the destruction of his homeland, the true architect behind it was END, the supposed master of Tartaros. He had carried the goal of using his Devil Slayer magic to destroy Tartaros and kill END, and before disappearing, he had passed that power and that purpose to Gray.
But if Natsu was END...
Gray shook his head under Erza's concerned eyes. "Don't worry. I know the difference between a companion and a demon."
This was Natsu. No matter how you looked at him, Natsu could not have built Tartaros or given Deliora its orders. If anything, Natsu was the kind of person most likely to destroy both of them by accident.
According to Rhodes's analysis, the so-called master of Tartaros was more likely Mard Geer using the name of the strongest demon to hold authority over the others.
Juvia burst up the stairs at speed. "Lord Gray! Juvia hasn't seen you for ten whole minutes!"
"Don't shout so loudly, you idiot!"
Erza pressed a hand to her forehead. "Your voice is louder than Juvia's."
Juvia, unhearing, wrapped both arms around Gray's waist. "Lord Gray, Jewel is so adorable! Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had a baby too? We could name her Gray-Jewel. Or Griseo."
Gray went rigid. "What are you talking about?!"
Erza startled. "Have... have things progressed that far between you two?"
She immediately fell into thought. If she had a child, what would they be named? Erzel?
Erzel's sword?
Her face went red. Both fists came down.
Gray and Juvia hit the floor simultaneously, matching lumps rising from their heads.
"We don't need to be discussing topics like that!" Erza announced, face still crimson.
Gray's limbs twitched. "You could have said that before you hit us."
While that was unfolding, the conversation on the other side of the landing had moved on.
Lucy asked, "Does this mean Natsu is over four hundred years old?"
Rhodes took a moment to appreciate the particular direction of Lucy's mind. The first thing she had focused on after hearing that Natsu was Zeref's younger brother was not the shock of it, or whether it was true. It was the age calculation.
"If you go by his birthday, then yes, technically over four hundred. Freed's calculation during the Grand Magic Games confirmed it."
He paused.
"That said, Natsu didn't live for four hundred years. He skipped through time to reach the present. Do you remember the Solar Eclipse?"
Lucy nodded. During the Grand Magic Games the previous year, they had all seen it, the magic that brought dragons from four hundred years ago into the present.
/
It had been some time since then. Natsu must have passed through an earlier version of the Eclipse Gate, the one Lucy's mother opened. The Celestial Spirits had refused to say anything about it at the time, but now at least they understood why.
Rhodes only realized as he was saying it that he still needed to tell Wendy and Gajeel the same things. But that was a separate matter.
"Back to what matters," Rhodes said. "Natsu. Do you understand your situation?"
Natsu answered without hesitation. "You mean if I kill Zeref, I die too?"
Happy looked at him with open worry. "Natsu..."
Zeref was almost certainly going to become the guild's enemy. That fight was coming eventually. But as long as the Super Living Link Magic existed, nobody could engage Zeref freely without risking Natsu.
Lucy, having set aside the Eclipse entirely for the moment, asked, "Is there a way to fix it?"
"There is. It's just not simple."
Lucy and Happy answered at the same time. "No matter how difficult, we'll find a way."
"Good." Rhodes smiled.
One path was to work from the root of magic itself. In Fairy Tail, the source of magic was the strength of the heart — the trust and support of the people around you. The Book of END already contained more about the guild and its members than it did about anything else. As long as those connections held, Natsu would not disappear. That said, it also required Natsu's own resolve to be absolute.
Rhodes looked at him. "What do you think, Natsu?"
Natsu laughed. Flames rose from his body all at once.
"Something like this? I'll just burn right through it."
Rhodes paused for a moment, then smiled. As expected. The answer was exactly the same as Igneel's.
He reached out carefully with his senses. The quality of the flames rising from Natsu was shifting, drawing closer and closer to Igneel's signature with every passing moment.
Happy covered his face. "It's too hot!"
Lucy made a sound and grabbed at her chest with both hands.
Natsu's flames had gotten intense enough that the heat alone was dissolving the fabric of Lucy's clothes, she being the closest person to him. What remained of her outfit was clinging on by the thinnest margin and losing ground rapidly. A considerable amount of Lucy was now visible to the room.
Rhodes glanced over twice, then retrieved a long dress from the wardrobe and held it out to her.
"Quintessential Lucy," he remarked.