Natsu looked around at the bright and magnificent decorations; it was actually quite elegant. Didn't demons usually prefer gloomy environments?
He felt a bit conflicted about whether to escape, but doing so would disrupt Acnologia's trial plan for his comrades.
Since his friends were safe, he didn't need to worry anymore.
He looked at the guy called the Underworld King and said, "If I'm END, then you must be the one using my name to do bad things!"
Plue Mard Geer's heart tightened. Was he about to settle accounts?
He knelt on one knee: "Forgive me, Guild Master. I didn't know it was you before. If it is your wish, I am willing to atone with my life."
Natsu was startled by this scene; in all his years, this was the first time someone had knelt to him.
He hurriedly said, "Alright, alright, get up quickly. Zeref said he's going to resurrect those people anyway."
Plue Mard Geer said respectfully, "Thank you, Guild Master!"
He had to be respectful; he never expected END to have such a background, being their master's younger brother. Fortunately, they hadn't offended Fairy Tail before.
Natsu asked curiously, "So you're the one leading Tartaros right now, giving us Fairy Tail members a trial?"
Seeing Natsu's excited look, Plue Mard Geer's mind stirred, and he immediately said, "If you are interested, you can lead Tartaros yourself and arrange the upcoming actions."
Natsu said enthusiastically, "Then I won't be polite. Call all the demons over!"
He never expected the day would come when he'd be the enemy boss. Since he was being allowed to arrange things, he had to think carefully.
He would assign the strongest one, the Underworld King, to Gray. Let that bastard be so arrogant all day.
The second strongest would be assigned to Gajeel. That guy also looked down on everyone all day; he definitely needed an assignment.
Then there was Erza—no, Erza was much stronger than Gajeel. The second strongest had to be assigned to Erza. Gajeel, that little weakling, didn't deserve the second strongest demon at all... Soon, the Underworld King returned with the Nine Demon Gates. They knelt on one knee and said in unison, "Guild Master, the Nine Demon Gates have all arrived!"
Natsu sat on the high throne of the Guild Master, looking down at so many powerful demons. His heart swelled with pride; being the boss felt so good.
He looked at the man in armor standing there and asked in confusion, "Who are you?"
This guy didn't respect him at all like the other demons. Was the name END not effective?
Plue Mard Geer said, "This is Silver Fullbuster, Gray's father!"
Natsu stood up in shock: "Gray's dad?"
Silver smiled and said, "So you are END. Just a kid."
Natsu was instantly enraged: "I'm not a kid! Even if you are Gray's dad, I won't—"
Hum!
Before he could finish, his entire body was frozen into an ice sculpture.
Three minutes later, Natsu concentrated his flames into a single point and finally broke out of the ice, though he was still shivering from the cold.
He couldn't help but ask, "What kind of ice is this?"
It was too strong, on a completely different level from Gray's, and it seemed to counter him perfectly.
Silver said indifferently, "I am an Ice Devil Slayer Mage, a Mage specifically for eliminating demons."
Natsu was confused: "Then what are you doing hanging out with demons?"
Everyone in Tartaros was a demon; how could this guy stand here perfectly fine?
Plue Mard Geer explained the situation: a resurrected soul, and Zeref allowed him to act freely.
Natsu realized what was going on and then said excitedly, "Then wait to come back to Fairy Tail with me. Gray will definitely be very Happy."
Silver nodded slightly: "Before that, let me go test Gray's growth."
In fact, more than going to Fairy Tail, he wanted to pass his Demon Slayer Magic to Gray, but it would cost his own life. He was worried that if Gray knew, he would feel guilty about his death.
He hoped Zeref could truly resurrect their family... Natsu said with full confidence, "That guy Gray isn't even as strong as me. He definitely can't beat you."
Silver knew the two were evenly matched, but he didn't argue with the young man about it.
Natsu told the Nine Demon Gates to stand up and gave a random speech—basically a bunch of nonsense—and then asked them to report their abilities.
Plue Mard Geer felt a bit helpless; Magic didn't represent a demon's strength, but he treated it as playing along with END.
He knew too many, so he just randomly listed a few: "Thorn Curse, White Curse, Absorption Curse!"
With him taking the lead, the Nine Demon Gates behind him didn't dare to hesitate and reported their Curses one by one. But unlike the Underworld King who just listed names, they explained theirs.
Seilah Marge: "Macro Curse, capable of enhancing people or objects."
Sera of the Cool Moon Heaven: "Command Curse, freely controlling people or objects."
Pitch-Black Priest Keith: "Necromancer Curse, manipulating the dead; Darkness Curse, manipulating the power of darkness!"
The Undying Tempesta: "Sound Curse, manipulating the environment with sound."
Torafuzar of the Dark: "Hardness Curse, strengthening oneself."
Dojikiri Esel: "Demon Blade Curse, turning the body into sharp blades."
Franmarth of the Hard Armor: "Absorption Curse, performing soul absorption on living beings and magic, and using the absorbed abilities."
Jackal: "Bomb Curse, anything that comes into contact with me becomes a bomb."
After the demons finished their reports, Plue Mard Geer asked, "There are many lower-level demons outside. Do they need to report as well?"
Natsu was slightly curious: "How strong are the lower-level demons?"
"Most are at the level of B-Class or A-Class Mages, and can go up a rank when demonized. As for us, we are at the Ten Wizard Saints level, and can reach the peak of the Ten Wizard Saints when demonized."
Plue Mard Geer knew a lot of information about Fairy Tail; their assessments were much stricter than other guilds.
"Fairy Tail's S-Class Mage Erza was able to defeat a demonized Jackal, proving she already has the strength of the Ten Wizard Saints. If all your guild's S-Class Mages are at this level, then you are not weaker than Tartaros."
Hearing the other party praise his guild mates so much, Natsu immediately became smug. Their Fairy Tail was indeed the strongest.
Currently, the guild's S-Class Mages were Gildarts, Laxus, Erza, Mirajane, and Cana.
Under normal circumstances, except for that little lightweight Cana, the others were no weaker than Erza. Counting the Master, there were five Ten Wizard Saints-level powerhouses.
Acnologia and Irene were off the charts and weren't included in the calculation.
At the thought of so many Ten Wizard Saints-level powerhouses fighting, Natsu's blood boiled: "Next, I will arrange the battle operations. The enemy has five powerful guys, we need to target them specifically."
"Oh right, also arrange something for Lucy and Happy..."
Since Tartaros had so many Ten Wizard Saints, they could just go two-on-one, and the other weaker demons could deal with the other members.
And he would sit on the throne of Tartaros, waiting for the victors to arrive. Thinking of the shocked expressions Gray and the others would have when they saw him, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
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