"Damn it, why do all Gates of the Underworld do the same thing, self-destruct when they can't win?"
Rhode cursed and began inspecting the site after the enemy's explosion.
"They really blew themselves up without leaving a trace." Rhode felt a mix of disappointment and relief, saving a lot of magic.
The last guy who self-destructed didn't have much explosive power but released a lot of Demon Barrier Particles, affecting all the small animals on the mountain.
This time, the guy had quite a strong explosion, but fortunately, it didn't leave any odd pollution.
Otherwise, he would have to consider bringing his wife to clean up the site.
To be honest, this guy named Jia Ka'er, besides blowing up the Advisory Council, seems to have caused less damage to the terrain than him.
He's considered a model demon.
Rhode switched to Marine Sub-Dragon form, sprayed a mouthful of water to speed up the cooling and solidification of the lava pool.
Then switched to Cloud Sub-Dragon form, blew away harmful gases produced by the lava with a gust of wind.
Finally, he switched to Mountain Sub-Dragon form, slightly leveling the land.
Luo felt that the biggest difference between him and other Fairy Tail members is probably that he can clean up his mess.
"How's it here?"
As soon as Rhode returned to the ruins of the Advisory Council, he released a large patch of healing light.
Org thanked him first, then said sorrowfully, "The situation is not optimistic, more than half of the headquarters staff are... The survivors are all nearly injured."
"If Lahar hadn't led the team to greet you and Makarov, the casualties might have been even greater."
"... Condolences." Rhode wasn't in a good mood.
Considering the experience of the last Council shutdown, the Magic Realm is likely to be in chaos again.
Plus, with Gates of the Underworld causing trouble, there will likely be no peace for some time.
Org glanced behind Rhode, questioning, "Where's the enemy?"
"I originally wanted to capture him back for interrogation, but he self-destructed." Rhode shook his head, "You take a rest first, I'll go help too."
...
On the Netherworld Island, deep inside the Gates of the Underworld, there is a laboratory, where two rows of transparent tanks enough to immerse a person stand.
Numerous thick 'pipes' are connected to the tank's shell, but if you look closely, you'll find those 'pipes' are slowly wriggling tentacles.
There are a few tanks inside with people in them, the unknown blue liquid bubbling away, seemingly working.
The people inside are all talents recently 'requisitioned' by the Nine Ghosts Sect from affiliated guilds, undergoing demonization transformation.
The person in charge here is 'Armored' Fran Mars, along with a group of short women wearing white coats running around.
Upon closer look, all their faces are identical, with a tag saying 1/16 on their chests, and black rabbit ears—maybe donkey ears—on their heads.
One of the women amongst them complained, "How do they choose people? Not a single handsome guy?"
The others ran around while repeating her words, "Yeah, not a single handsome guy!"
"Shut up, Rami, you're too noisy!" Fran Mars rebuked, "The focus is not the appearance, but the poor quality!"
"None of these guys compare to Minerva brought back by Kuanghua. Transforming them is simply a waste of money!"
"Do you know how much money gets wasted, huh? How much?"
"Fafafafa..." The Ramis laughed loudly, "You're starting again..."
Before finishing, an empty tank suddenly began producing large white bubbles.
Jia Ka'er's head emerged from the bubbles, followed by his body and limbs... although he seemed somewhat intangible now, as if lacking physical substance.
"Dammit, quickly help me regenerate!" Jia Ka'er appeared eager and impatient.
"Jia Ka'er old buddy? You died?!" Fran Mars was surprised, "Those waste from the Advisory Council could actually take you down?"
"Jia Ka'er!" The Ramis wailed, "Who killed our cute Jia Ka'er?!"
"Don't call me cute! You all are disgusting, stay away from me!" Jia Ka'er didn't like the Ramis getting close, even through a tank, he stubbornly said, "Besides, I wasn't taken down by anyone; I self-destructed!"
Still the same thing, isn't it? Who would self-destruct for no reason, it hurts. But Fran Mars changed the question: "So, what kind of enemy forced you to use that move?"
"I've seen the symbols on him." Jia Ka'er reluctantly calmed down, pondering for a while, "Two symbols: one is of the so-called Ten Wizard Saints among human mages, the other seems to be what Dempsey Tower mentioned, the one who took him down."
"Fairy Tail?" Fran Mars recalled Dempsey Tower getting defeated about half a year ago and describing the person who beat him before completing his regeneration.
"That's right, them!" Jia Ka'er said angrily, "Once I finish regenerating, I'll blow them all up!"
"Fairy Tail, Ten Wizard Saints, him again?" Fran Mars ignored Jia Ka'er's threats, directly assigned the regeneration task to Rami, and went out to report.
...
After more than half a day's effort, the rescue work at the Advisory Council ruins was substantially completed.
Not only Rhode and Makarov helped, but also the Pegrandi Kingdom troops stationed nearby.
With increased people came gossip, the news of the Council being attacked quickly spread, and all major newspapers were rushing to print special editions.
Earlier, Rhode had found time to 'call' Mira, telling her to alert everyone—the 'phones' Wolian provided were put to good use.
Now that the rescue was complete, Rhode and Makarov did not rush to leave but were instead in a meeting with Org, Lahar, and Mest.
"Hmm... I can't quite understand their reasons for attacking the Council." Org frowned, the pain in his leg remained severe, but without quickly clarifying Gates of the Underworld's intentions, he couldn't rest easy for treatment or recuperation.
Mest asked, "Could it be a retaliatory action against our recent investigative activities?"
Lahar shook his head, "I think it's not that simple; our investigation on Gates of the Underworld has never stopped."
He thought for a while, looked at Org, but hesitated to speak.
Just then, Rhode directly asked the question he also wanted to ask, "When attacked, were the council members in a meeting? Is it convenient to reveal the general content of the meeting?"
"This..." Org sighed, "There's no reason to hide it at this point. We were discussing ways to deal with Gates of the Underworld.
"Recently, from the movements of the members of the Netherworld, the destruction time of various Dark Guilds, and some other intelligence, we attempted to calculate possible locations where Gates of the Underworld may be stationed now.
"Although we have not completely confirmed, we've drawn several areas worth prioritizing exploration.
"We planned to send people one by one for reconnaissance, and once confirmed, immediately use the Magical Elf Power to resolve the issue in one go."
Lahar and Mest were wide-eyed; the concept of Magical Elf Power, a near 'ultimate weapon', was quite shocking to them.
Even Makarov's face slightly changed.
However, they couldn't deny that using such a weapon to decisively deal with Gates of the Underworld was reasonable.
Rhode felt it was only right, even having a sense of 'finally being used in the right place.'
Org observed their reactions and shook his head: "However, now, even if we wanted to use it, there's no way."
Lahar subconsciously asked, "Why?"