Around a month after the battle against Tartaros & Acnologia, Ben is called by Makarov. They talk in the Guild Master's office and Makarov even activates the soundproof magic tool. It makes Ben curious, but he doesn't ask anything and just waits for Makarov to talk.
"Ben, I plan to disband the guild," says Makarov right off the bat.
Ben is surprised, but he calmly asks, "Is there a problem that makes you want to do that?"
"Our guild has become very unsafe and threats kept coming to us. I'm sure you've known it too because you have a wider information network than me. Zeref is targeting our guild and he is not someone we can ignore. So I plan to go to Alakitasia and get information about Alvarez Empire that he ruled," says Makarov.
"Sigh, I thought there is a big problem that I don't know, but it's just Zeref. You don't need to concern yourself about that asshole, I will take care of him. As for Alvarez Empire, you don't need to go there because it will just endanger yourself and it's not worth anything. Just manage the guild and take care of your children as usual. This is our problem, not your problem," says Ben very seriously.
"You talk as if facing Zeref and Alvarez Empire is easy," says Makarov.
"It wasn't easy before, but it has become easier now. Zeref is the core of Alvarez Empire, so as long as he's destroyed, then they will collapse," says Ben while smirking.
"Ben, you know that he is immortal, right?" asks Makarov.
"Yeah, but immortal doesn't mean undefeated," says Ben calmly.
Ben isn't worried about killing Zeref anymore now because nothing is holding him back now. He has rewritten the book of E.N.D, so Natsu won't die if Zeref dies. Not only that, but he also changes some more things in the book so Natsu will never turn into a true Etherious demon while his demon traits will become his power once he surpasses a limitation.
It was very possible for Ben to modify the book to such an extent because of his vast knowledge and all the data that Quorra saved. The only problems in the rewriting process are the demonic energy and curse that came out of the book and tried to stop him.
However, none of the demonic energy and curse affected him too much. Other than a slight discomfort, he was fine because of his Sun Devil Slayer Magic. The demonic energy and curse that came out of the book were strengthening his Sun Devil Slayer Magic instead.
Because of that, Ben took his time when he rewrote the book. He was trying to get every last bit of the demonic and curse energy that he could get from it. Natsu is away now, so he doesn't know if it would affect Natsu's dormant demonic power.
But he hoped it would and kept absorbing the demonic & curse energy until nothing come out of the book anymore. If Zeref know what he did, then that bastard would be very furious, or maybe just became speechless.
After knowing the effect, Ben told Mira to rewrite the other Books of Zeref that he has collected. She tried to rewrite a book under Ben's watch and the same thing happened to her. Her magic just gets strengthened because it is the power of demons.
One of her forms is getting exceptionally stronger when she rewrote the books. It's her new form of Satan Soul that she got after absorbing all the remaining souls in Tartaros Cube. The form's name is Mirajane Alegria which comes from Mard Geer's curse that formed the cube.
Her Seilah form also gets strengthened significantly while the other forms just get strengthened a bit. The only explanation is that the power came from the book of Etherious Demons, it is very compatible with the forms she got from Etherious Demons too.
Ben has many Books of Zeref collections after he collected them for a few years. He also got some in Tartaros Cube even though Zeref has taken most of them. But the demonic energy stored in those books was enough to strengthen Mira.
She hasn't even finished absorbing all the power of those books. Her absorption rate is slower than Ben and she needs to process the demonic energy every once in a while. The power she absorbed is expanding her MP reserve too, so she needs to be careful.
Ben didn't need to do that thorough process because his Sun Devil Slayer Magic is very powerful. Also, he has the Evil Dragon God Lacrima now. All the power he took entered that lacrima and get processed automatically without affecting him too much.
Besides, compared to his overall energy, the demonic energy he got from E.N.D Book isn't that much. So while the demonic energy overwhelmed Mira sometimes, it could never overwhelm him. His raw power is too much for the demonic energy to overwhelm.
That's why, even if he got all the demonic energy from the E.N.D book, it didn't raise his power that much. Still, he won't refuse free power-up even if it's not much. Every bit of power can affect the result of battles, and every bit counted.
"Ben, are you really sure about this?" asks Makarov, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, 100%. You don't need to go to Alvarez Empire at all because Zeref's target is in our guild, so he will come here eventually. We just need to prepare ourselves for that time," says Ben.
Makarov gets surprised and asks, "You know his goal?"
"I have my speculation after meeting and talking to him many times. Even with his twisted personality, he is still thinking of defeating Acnologia. That guy always worried that I would become the next Acnologia, that's why he kept observing me. Based on our conversations, 1st Master's memories of him, and his exceptional interest in Fairy Tail, I have made an assumption of what his goal is, and the probability is high," says Ben.
Ben once thought that Zeref's interest in Fairy Tail was merely because of Natsu. But after talking a lot with Mavis, he realized that Zeref has another interest in Fairy Tail. He tried to think of many possibilities and there was one possibility that has the highest chance.
"He is targeting the Lumen Histoire, that's the conclusion I came to," says Ben, surprising Makarov.
That conclusion was made after careful thought based on his interactions with Zeref and Mavis's stories. Zeref is aiming at Acnologia and trying to kill that Black Dragon. But he is far weaker than Acnologia and doesn't stand a chance at all.
He needs to be much stronger to defeat Acnologia. So he needs something to raise his power that has been stagnant for hundreds of years. And Ben can only think of one thing that can raise Zeref's power, Lumen Histoire.
Zeref needs Lumen Histoire because the magic power contained there is very compatible with his magic power. Lumen Histoire is essentially Mavis's body and magic power. Both she & Zeref have been cursed by Ankhseram which makes their power very compatible to get combined.
Ben doesn't know how much power boost Zeref can get by absorbing Lumen Histoire. But it must be high if Zeref truly plans to do it. His goal is to defeat Acnologia, so he will need a lot more power.
"If we know his target, we can prepare for anything he may do," says Ben while smiling.
"But we don't know what they are capable of. Alvarez Empire has a group of elites called the Spriggan 12. Each of them is said to be equal to a Wizard Saint," says Makarov.
"I don't see the problem there," says Ben with a raised eyebrow.
"What?" asks Makarov confusedly.
"Are they stronger than Acnologia even when they are together?" asks Ben back.
".... I don't think so," says Makarov.
"Then it's not a problem. If I want to defeat Acnologia, then I need to be able to defeat them all. Also, they are Zeref's subordinates, and I am confident I can defeat Zeref. If Zeref can defeat them, then I am too," says Ben smugly.
Makarov sighs and says, "You really make it very simple now."
Ben just smiles because he said the truth. If he can't even defeat those called Spriggan 12, then he won't stand a chance against Acnologia again.
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