Forgot to schedule my updates... I'm catching up on chapters
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How should I put it...
Gaal was quite familiar with this phrase because its first half came from the standard magic textbook used throughout the continent. The latter half, however, was clearly Hades' own interpretation.
Gaal looked down at the notes in his hand and raised his hand in a gesture. All the equipment he normally wore appeared on the bed.
Magic Cloak, Sage's Wrath, Rings of Amplification, Time Necklace, Calm Boots, Time Pocket Watch, Amplification Codex… These items allowed him to effortlessly face various mages in battle. Even those Seven Kin of Purgatory or beings from the Nine Demon Gates would be powerless against him.
However, thanks to the amplification provided by these items, Gaal's performance in combat was on par with that of an S-Class mage. Still, without these enhancements, his innate magic power was only at an A+ level—still a considerable distance from S-Class.
Staring at each piece of equipment, Gaal remained silent for a long moment before sighing, "Honestly… Yet you're instructing Erza Scarlet not to obsess over sacred treasures. What do you expect of me?"
While advising Erza Scarlet to rely on her own abilities rather than chasing the power of equipment, he himself was decked out in an array of magic-amplifying gear.
Gaal set down his notes and sighed, "Magic power is the foundation of it all."
Looking at these items, he waved his hand and stored them away into his personal space. Then he sat cross-legged on the bed and began to meditate.
Due to his own Arceus template, Gaal's magic power had been steadily growing. Coupled with the bonus from his various amplification equipment, he wasn't even aware when he stopped actively meditating and simply allowed his power to flow naturally.
Letting his magic increase on its own might not be a bad thing, but it hardly counted as true effort, it was almost complacency. Gaal couldn't even remember when he had become like that.
Perhaps it was the boost from his equipment? In any case, it's always easier said for others than for oneself. But realizing it now wasn't too late.
And so, Gaal maintained his meditative state, continuously refining his magic power.
——
Several days later.
In the central region of the Ishgar Continent, at the headquarters of the Magic Council, the Council's airship descended slowly. Guards quickly formed ranks beneath it.
Knock, knock, knock— the sound of knocking echoed.
Yajima's voice came, "Gaal, we're here."
Gaal exited his meditation, opened his eyes, and said, "Hmm, I understand."
He then got up from the bed and activated his Requip magic. Changing into a black-purple magic robe, he walked out and opened the large door.
Seeing Gaal, Yajima was momentarily taken aback and asked, "What is this…?"
Previously, when Gaal was bolstered by his magic equipment, Yajima could only sense a vague impression of his magic power. But now, with Gaal wearing only a standard black-purple robe, Yajima could clearly tell that his magic strength was below that of an S-Class mage. "What happened? Has his power regressed so much?" a flicker of doubt crossed Yajima's eyes.
Gaal smiled and replied, "Nothing. I just figured out a lot of things and decided to adopt a different approach to training."
Upon hearing this, Yajima nodded and said, "I see. Alright then—I thought something had happened. If something had gone wrong here, it would have been hard to explain to Makarov. Let's disembark; the councilors are already in the meeting room."
Gaal followed Yajima off the airship and entered the Magic Council.
Inside the Magic Council's meeting room, only seven out of ten councilors, including Yajima, were present. Chairman Crawford Seam was presiding over the meeting.
Gaal walked to the center of the room and took his position while Yajima returned to his seat.
Chairman Crawford Seam began, "Good to see you again, Gaal."
Gaal replied with a smile, "Indeed, I never expected to be here again so soon."
Scanning the room, Chairman Crawford Seam said, "Regarding the creation of demons, please explain what happened. I'm sure you're aware of the details."
Gaal nodded and said, "On the way here, Councilor Yajima told me it came from the Grimoire Heart, but clearly it was just a rumor—meant to smear Fairy Tail."
Second Councilor Org interjected, "But there is the precedent of Ivan. And occurrences like this hardly inspire confidence."
Gaal nodded again and said, "That's true. However, a demonstration should suffice."
With that, Gaal waved his hand and the body of Stellium Celestial Serra appeared. Unlike its usual vitality, there was no trace of life in the body at that moment—it seemed nothing more than a dead demon.
"This demon body was obtained when I killed two demons of the Nine Demon Gates outside of Vichy City last time. They were, respectively, Kyoka—the head of the Nine Demon Gates—and Seilah, one of the Nine Demon Gates. However, both those demons are still alive."
At his words, everyone was visibly dumbfounded.
Chairman Crawford Seam furrowed his brows and asked, "What do you mean by 'still alive'? Didn't the demons from Tartaros die?"
Gaal explained, "The demons of Tartaros will only truly perish if their main base is found and what they call the 'Hell's Core' is destroyed. Otherwise, when they're defeated, they simply choose to self-destruct. Their souls escape, return to their base, and enter the 'Hell's Core' to be reborn. At that time, those two demon bodies, sensing a hopeless situation, self-destructed. However, their bodies weren't completely destroyed like most demons—I salvaged them, so to speak."
The second councilor Org frowned, "Weren't there two bodies? Why is there only one now?"
Gaal said with a helpless expression, "Because when demons escape, their bodies inevitably get damaged. I managed to retrieve it before it was completely ruined, so I excised the broken parts and reassembled the intact portions. And that's how it ended up like this."
Half-jokingly, Gaal added, "And the reason this demon body can move is—"
He then summoned Gengar.
Everyone in the council knew that, given how the Grimoire Heart and Gaal had been trading revelations about each other, nearly everything had already been exposed.
The ghost-like Gengar suddenly appeared, chuckled, and said, "Heh~"
It then possessed and merged with the body of Stellium Celestial Serra. Stellium Celestial Serra opened her eyes, stood up, and as the curse marks activated, armor-like spikes sprouted all over her body.
At this sight, the council members looked on in astonishment. Not only could the summoned beast possess, but it could also control the demon's body.
Gaal then said, "Exactly so. Gengar is a ghost-type Summoned Beast, and one of its abilities is to latch onto a living body. Those two demons of the Nine Demon Gates had their souls escape, leaving only their bodies behind. The residual power in that body, once possessed and controlled by Gengar, essentially creates a new combat force equivalent to that of the Nine Demon Gates. So it isn't really about 'creating' a demon—it's simply allowing Gengar to possess it and use its abilities. However, if you insist on calling it demon creation, I could restore it. After all, I don't have only one Gengar. Losing one stronger Nine Demon Gates force for two slightly weaker ones is no different."
Upon hearing this, everyone was left speechless. One councilor seemed to think, "If one demon body is already enough for you to meddle with, you actually expect to have two more? Dream on."
Chairman Crawford Seam coughed lightly and quickly said, "There's no need for restoration. A clear explanation will suffice. After all, the state of a demon's body isn't the issue—the real concern is that, at such a young age, you might stray down the wrong path. To control a demon body by forcing a living soul into it with soul magic is a serious matter. Fortunately, this is merely a summoned beast possessing and controlling a body. We'll have the Magic Council publish an article later to clarify the matter. But Gaal… Since you have a ghost-type Summoned Beast, and it can possess a body devoid of a soul… can it also read the memories of the dead?"
After those words fell, the meeting room fell silent. Every gaze turned toward Gaal; some councilors bore an inexplicable expression, for everyone harbored secrets. If there really exists a summoned beast that can read the memories in a corpse…
Gaal was momentarily stunned, clicking his tongue in exasperation. That question… is awfully sharp. Are you trying to trap me?