While the S-Class Trials on Tenrou Island were in full swing, a massive magical battleship flew through the air, slowly approaching the island.
This was the Dark Guild with the most fearsome reputation in the entire Balam Alliance—Grimoire Heart!
Among the three guilds of the Balam Alliance, Oración Seis had the fewest members but the greatest mobility, specializing in destructive, swift strikes.
They were hard to catch, but actually had the weakest overall combat strength among the three guilds.
Tartaros operated much more discreetly.
If the Magic Council hadn't discovered years ago that countless underground cults were secretly connected to this guild, the Light Guilds might never have noticed them to this day.
As for Grimoire Heart, compared to Tartaros, they committed their evil deeds far more openly, and their harm and destructive power far exceeded that of Oración Seis, rightfully earning them the title of the strongest Dark Guild.
Aboard Grimoire Heart's specialized battleship, a robust, white-bearded old man sat imposingly on his guild master's throne.
His voice carried a natural, terrifying authority as he spoke:
"Zeref's resurrection day approaches. We have collected all the keys. It is time to awaken the true power within Zeref."
This weathered old man wearing an eyepatch was the Guild Master of the strongest Dark Guild, Hades.
Several days ago, through forbidden magic, Hades had detected the place where Zeref had once been—Tenrou Island.
The upper echelons of the Grimoire Heart guild, led by Hades, all desperately craved the power of the legendary Black Mage Zeref, seeking to reshape the world into Hades's ideal vision of the "Ultimate Magic World."
The Ultimate Magic World was a distorted ideology that Hades conceived after falling into darkness during his endless pursuit of getting closer to the "One Magic."
It involves violently killing all humans in the world who possess no Magic Power, leaving only Mages alive worldwide!
It must be understood that ordinary people still made up the vast majority of this world.
Not every country is a Magical Kingdom like Fiore, and Mages only account for about ten to twenty percent of the global population.
Yet, such an apocalyptic, mad plan had garnered the support of so many fanatical Mages.
These fervent Mages were the very subordinates now standing before Hades.
Ultear gazed out the window at the approaching Tenrou Island.
Her heart was unsettled, and she couldn't help but speak up.
"Master Hades, the elite forces of Fairy Tail are currently gathered on Tenrou Island. Is it really alright for us to charge in directly like this?"
"What are you so afraid of, Ultear?!"
As soon as Ultear finished speaking, a sharp, grating laugh erupted beside her.
A muscular young man with spiky blonde hair and crimson eyes arrogantly shouted.
"What Fairy Tail?! Those people are nothing but a minor nuisance!"
His body ignited with scorching, gray-black flames, roasting the surrounding air as he laughed wildly and boastfully.
"With my God Flames, I will burn those fairies to ashes effortlessly!"
A flicker of disdain flashed in Ultear's eyes as she turned her head and casually replied, "Zancrow, put out your flames. Don't heat up the air on the battleship."
Beside them, a muscular goat-man in a black short-sleeved shirt adjusted his sunglasses and calmly said.
"Let's be cautious, Zancrow. Fairy Tail's S-Class Mages are all there. They are not to be trifled with."
Rustyrose, a scholarly young man dressed in dark blue and wearing glasses, pushed his frames up and muttered some incomprehensible bardic verses.
Meanwhile, Kawazu, who resembled a plump, anthropomorphic rooster, nervously mumbled to himself.
These individuals, along with the pink-haired girl Meredy, who had been silently standing by Ultear's side, and Azuma, who had already headed to Tenrou Island ahead of them, formed Hades's most prized subordinates… the Seven Kin of Purgatory.
Each of them wielded powerful Lost Magic, and in Hades's eyes, these Mages, whom he had personally nurtured, were far stronger than the immature kids under Makarov's command!
A ferocious smile spread across Hades's face as his single eye gloomily fixed on Tenrou Island.
He stood up with great vigor and roared.
"For the Ultimate Magic World! Go, and bring Zeref back to me!"
"Seven Kin of Purgatory! Let those fairies witness the true darkness from the abyss!"
"Yeah!!"
The Seven Kin of Purgatory below, along with countless more Dark Guild grunts, raised their arms and fervently echoed Hades's mesmerizing speech.
Only Ultear wore a highly complicated expression, her heart secretly filled with worry.
'Ankh...'
Meredy, who had remained silent, looked up at Ultear's worried expression, a trace of confusion appearing on her delicate little face.
Ever since returning from her undercover work at the Council, her Ultear would occasionally space out like this, and now...
Was she thinking about that mysterious guy again?
...
Just as Grimoire Heart was steadily approaching Tenrou Island and the crisis was gradually revealing itself, Ankh and the others were also making their pre-battle preparations.
Along the coastline of Tenrou Island, the eliminated S-Class candidates were currently patrolling the area.
Meanwhile, several cloaked figures lurked within the dense forest.
At the most prominent location where the Tenrou Island signal smoke rose, Gildarts and Ankh stood silently gazing into the distance.
Gildarts glanced at the shredded clothing around Ankh's waist—destroyed by Cana—and proudly speak.
"So, Ankh, isn't my daughter's Crash magic something incredible?"
"Not bad."
Ankh nodded, tearing off a piece of his cloak to wrap around his waist, then frowned as he added.
"But it seems Cana hasn't fully mastered it yet. During the bell-snatching challenge, she took a long time to charge up her attack. Even with Lucy covering for her with all her might, she barely managed to hit me, and her own arm was nearly wrecked in the process—she couldn't fight anymore after that."
"There's still plenty of room for improvement…"
Gildarts nodded, a hint of deep heartache in his eyes:
"Without a strong physical body, Crash can easily backfire and injure the user. Thankfully, everyone in the guild is around to help with healing."
Soon, though, Gildarts's tone shifted right back to that proud, bragging-about-his-daughter tone.
"But Crash is an insanely difficult Super Magic to master. I only taught her for a short time—Cana really is talented."
"In a few years, Cana will definitely become a famous S-Class Mage in our guild!"
Ankh fully agreed with that statement—otherwise, he wouldn't have let Cana pass the test in the first place.
"Speaking of which," Gildarts's expression turned icy cold as he changed the subject, "I can't believe the Council would scheme against us to this extent. Its really irritating."
Ankh and the Guild Master had already informed him about Grimoire Heart's impending attack, as well as the schemes of Alvarez and the Magic Council.
Gildarts was furious that the Council was siding with outsiders, and at the same time, he felt somewhat uneasy about what was to come.
"Grimoire Heart, huh… Let's just defeat them quickly and get back to our peaceful lives."
Gildarts sighed deeply and looked up at the gradually darkening sky.
"By the way, where's Laxus?" Gildarts suddenly remembered and asked.
Ankh gazed into the distance and calmly explained:
"He went to wait under the Tenrou Tree, ready for the enemies to walk right into our trap."