CHAPTER 608: MAVIS

This time, it was Natsu’s reckless courage that made the difference.

Though he was still battered from his fight with Bluenote, he believed he could still fight, and insisted he should be part of the group facing the Master.

But after some heated discussion, everyone decided the strike force already had enough people. They told Natsu to remain behind and guard the camp.

And it turned out to be the right call. The camp was attacked twice while Rhodes and the others were battling Precht.

Still, that didn’t make Natsu any happier.

"Why are we just sitting here waiting for them to attack?!" he shouted, slamming his fist into the ground.

In typical Natsu fashion, he grabbed one of the defeated Grimoire Heart mages, pummeled him a few times, and demanded the location of their airship.

The moment he got an answer, Natsu didn’t hesitate. Ignoring Gray and Lucy’s protests, he charged off with Happy.

Lucy, exasperated but unwilling to leave him alone, ran after them.

Gray thought about following too, but when he saw the tents filled with injured comrades, he clenched his fists and stayed behind. Someone had to protect the wounded.

So it was Natsu, Lucy, and Happy who stormed Grimoire Heart’s ship.

And of course, Natsu went straight to the place with the strongest guards. The three of them smashed through the opposition like wildfire until they stumbled into a chamber containing something... strange.

It was a massive purple object, bigger than a human, pulsating faintly as though it were alive.

Lucy and Happy froze. The thing radiated Magic Power, and its presence was deeply unsettling.

Natsu’s reaction? He punched it.

His first Fire Dragon’s Iron Fist did nothing, but the panicked way the guards reacted told him all he needed to know.

"The more you try to protect it, the more I know I’ve gotta smash it!!"

He lit his fists ablaze, and this time he didn’t hold back.

The ship shook violently as the heart ruptured.

Natsu, of course, had no idea that what he destroyed was the Guild’s namesake, "Grimoire Heart" itself, the device that supplied Precht with his near-limitless Magic Power.

He only knew it was in his way.

And with that reckless strike, he had unknowingly made one of the greatest contributions of the battle.

By the time Rhodes’s Rift Herald reached the ship, it only had to finish tearing apart what was already collapsing.

The instant the heart exploded, Precht felt it.

His focus faltered. His Magic Power drained rapidly. His injuries stopped healing.

Even though he raged and struggled, how could he withstand the combined might of Makarov, Gildarts, Laxus, Erza, Mira, and Rhodes pressing him down?

In the end, Precht fell.

Before collapsing fully, he roared, "The Demon will not sleep until it reaches the pinnacle of the Magic path!"

Then, with blood on his lips, he turned to Makarov. "Finish it... end me yourself."

Makarov stayed silent, heavy sorrow in his eyes.

Rhodes stepped forward instead. He raised his right hand, golden light glowing faintly along the markings on his arm.

"Fairy Glitter?" Precht’s eyes widened. He recognized the spell instantly.

Then his expression softened into one of relief.

"So... Mavis entrusted it to you. That’s right... I remember now. Someone called you the Fairy Strategist of this new era..."

"Today, I have indeed received much of your care. To fall at last beneath Mavis’s magic... not a bad way to descend into the underworld."

Makarov lifted his arm, quietly signaling Rhodes to stop.

Rhodes blinked in surprise, then slowly lowered his glowing hand.

With a heavy sigh, Makarov spoke, "It was you who first led me onto the path of magic. You who entrusted Fairy Tail to me. Everything I’ve learned, much of it came from you."

He paused, voice tinged with sorrow. "As thanks for that... I’ll let you leave with your life. Thank you for raising me, and for everything you once did for the guild."

"You’re still so naïve, Makarov," Precht replied with the tone of a teacher scolding a pupil. "If you let the enemy walk away, next time the guild may be destroyed. Next time... can you still stop me?"

Rhodes thought quietly to himself: ’If the Second Master weren’t our enemy, I might actually get along with him.’

But Makarov only shook his head. "I am not your opponent. But Fairy Tail will never lose to you."

Precht laughed, the sound hollow.

From the start, he had been suppressed. His spells dismantled, his hidden magics countered, even his heart exposed. His loss was undeniable, though he could not help but feel regret.

"This world, drowned in light, is false," Precht muttered. "The world Zeref once lived in, the great magic world, that is the true one."

"I want to see it. The first magic, the source of all magic... just a little more."

"No." Rhodes’s voice cut across him. "A world is still real, so long as you live in it. Zeref himself doesn’t want the kind of world you’re talking about."

Precht sneered. "And how much do you know of Zeref?"

Rhodes shook his head. "Not much. But what I just said wasn’t from me. Someone asked me to tell you... for her."

"She?" Precht’s heart faltered. Around them, the others exchanged puzzled looks, they hadn’t seen anyone speaking to Rhodes.

Rhodes pointed to the Fairy Glitter mark shining faintly on his arm. "She wants to know if you still remember why Fairy Tail was formed. Do you remember what it felt like in those first days, when the guild was just born? And... she says someone still owes you a lot of money. Did you ever get it back?"

Each word struck Precht like a hammer against his chest.

Memories, long buried under a century of darkness, surged back.

Why had he studied magic so desperately, once upon a time?

Ah, yes. To save Mavis, that girl caught between life and death. The girl who had been like a fairy herself. The girl who guided three lost men and gave them purpose.

She was the light that illuminated all three of them.

And he had lost himself, wandering too far into the darkness of magic.

Or perhaps... it was because he had lost that light altogether.

"She said she’s very sorry for leaving you so suddenly... it was her fault. But, seeing what you’ve become now, she is truly sad."

Rhodes’s voice trembled, his eyes tinged red. He didn’t fully understand the bond between Mavis and Precht, but through the resonance of Fairy Glitter, he felt Mavis’s emotions brush against his heart, gentle, sorrowful, full of regret.

Precht stiffened. In Rhodes’s tone, he could almost hear Mavis herself.

’Mavis... are you crying?’

For a moment, the old mage was utterly silent.

He had once wished only for her happiness. He had sworn that no matter how far he strayed into darkness, he would never allow her to shed tears.

Yet now... it was his own actions that had broken that promise.

A single tear escaped from the corner of Precht’s left eye, trailing down the wrinkles of his face.