"Leave the Demon Barrier Particles to us, you all should rest first."
Mira was already prepared for departure.
In fact, she could handle it alone, but she knew that no one would feel at ease with her going out alone in her current situation.
Indeed, if she encounters enemies, she would be constrained, eventually causing trouble for everyone.
So she didn't take action immediately after the Thunder God Tribe returned, but specifically waited for Rhode to return so she could leave with him.
Rhode nodded, "We should indeed deal with it quickly, let's set off now."
"I'll join you," Fried said, "I've set up a technique that forbids entry around that area."
"Alright."
The three promptly set off, riding on a dragon.
They didn't return to the guild until it was dark.
Handling the Demon Barrier Particles itself didn't take much time; it was basically a matter of Mira transforming and inhaling them.
The troublesome part was clearing those dead animals due to poisoning in the polluted forest.
Besides that, they had to visit the town to explain Mr. Yajima's situation to the town mayor to prevent today's events from causing panic.
When they completed these and returned to the guild, they found Makarov and Yajima sitting cross-legged on the counter, looking worried... and drinking.
The guild was much emptier than before.
"You're back," Makarov put down his glass.
Actually, he drank without enjoyment today, more to calm Yajima's nerves.
"Just in time, Mr. Org contacted us; he remembered some important things after talking with Xiaoya."
Rhode and Mira sat down at the counter, Fried looked around for Laxus' figure but couldn't find him, so he sat down to listen as well.
Makarov said, "To be precise, it's about the Gate of the Underworld's purpose."
Yajima also put down his glass and said seriously, "Their attacks on current and former council members are likely for Feis."
"Feis?" Rhode had never heard of this term.
When he looked at Mira and Fried, they also wore puzzled expressions.
"Feis is a code name, the real name is Magic Pulse Bomb," Yajima explained, "It's a weapon capable of eliminating magic power across the entire continent."
Fried exclaimed, "The entire continent's magic power?!"
Mira instinctively covered her stomach with her right hand, worried, "Wouldn't that cause all mages to suffer magic power deficiency?"
Yajima said, "Yes, once Feis is activated, mages will be unable to use magic anymore, and magic tools will all fail, bringing about a huge disaster."
"Magic Pulse Bomb..." Rhode repeated the name.
No wonder it sounded so familiar, isn't this just the magical version of an EMP bomb?
One disables electronic devices, the other disables magical devices...
Considering the council even has powerful map-wide weapons like Magical Elf Power, it's not impossible they developed a table-turning secret weapon like Feis.
"This was left by the council from generations ago, what was supposed to be an 'abandoned white legacy.' Even among all the evaluators, only a few of us old guys have heard of it."
Fried asked, "But if magic disappears, wouldn't the Gate of the Underworld also... could it be..."
He looked at Rhode.
Rhode nodded, "That's right, the power used by the Gate of the Underworld isn't magic, but 'curse magic.'
"I'm not sure where the power source of curse magic comes from, but it's definitely a different kind of power; activating Feis is extremely advantageous for them."
Mira asked, "Then, what about Feis' location? If we track it down first, destroy it..."
Yajima shook his head, "No one knows where Feis is; neither the current nor former council members have the authority to activate it.
"We know it's tightly sealed, and the unlocking authority is magically linked to three evaluators.
"But no one knows who the three evaluators are, even the evaluators themselves.
"We don't even know if the authority passed on during the recent council changeover or was completely lifted."
Yajima didn't need to elaborate; the Gate of the Underworld assassinated evaluators to unseal Feis.
They didn't care which three people the living magic link bound, as long as all evaluators were killed, the seal would certainly be lifted.
Simple and brutal.
In contrast, the thinking behind this weapon management and the previous one is truly flawed.
Magical Elf Power needs only one among many to be near incapacitated due to an accident.
Feis gets unsealed after three people die.
What were they thinking? Rhode truly didn't understand.
"So, our top priority now is to ensure the safety of all former and previous evaluators?"
Makarov nodded, "Xiaoya and Mr. Org know the addresses of some, we've dispatched personnel, and Mr. Org has entrusted some guilds."
Rhode felt a bit overwhelmed.
Among the former evaluators, nine members, including today's targeted Yajima and Org, are still alive after the chairman's betrayal.
From the previous evaluators, there should be about seven or eight still living.
If everyone is protected separately, there's a concern about opposing force and insufficient protection.
If gathered together, there's the worry of the Netherworld having some bizarre power, making surprise attacks easier for a complete wipeout.
No wonder they say there's no perpetual guard against thieves, only thieves operating every day.
Though Nine Ghosts Sect recently lost two members due to self-destruction, based on Dempsey Tower's example, the opposing party has some revival capability.
Thus, the current situation can be seen as zero combat losses for the enemy, yet our side lost eight current evaluators from the council headquarters.
A disastrous start of 0-8!
The only good news is, the three evaluators acting as 'keys' aren't among the sacrificed eight people, at least not all.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to attack Yajima.
Rhode thought for a moment and asked, "Which addresses can we confirm now? I'll stake out one."
Compared to passive protection, the best solution is to eliminate the Gate of the Underworld.
Although their location is difficult to pinpoint, they have been acting frequently lately, eventually exposing themselves.
Rhode happened to have a method he wanted to try.
Makarov said, "The first to set off were Gajeel, Li Li, and Laxus; they went to Lady Beluno's house because it's far, Lisana is responsible for operating the ship to take them."
Though the team combination looks odd, they're very reliable in terms of combat power, just that the mode of travel isn't very friendly to Gajeel and Laxus.
But it's not a big issue; even if they encounter enemies during the flight, Li Li can fight carrying Gajeel, and Lisana can temporarily serve as Laxus's cat.
So they won't be delayed by seasickness.
This arrangement sounds reasonable, but—
Fried expressed jealousy.