It doesn't take long for the news of Serena's defection and Ben's victory over him to spread all over Ishgar. Ben didn't spread it at all, he only told some important people who were asking him about it. But such big news will eventually spread and create a storm.
People's attention is on Ben right now and he doesn't like it one bit. Even if people are praising him and say that he is now the strongest Mage on Ishgar, he still hates the attention. He already has too much attention before, but now it increases even further.
The Wizard Saints, especially the remaining 3 Gods of Ishgar are also bothering him. They want him to take Serena's position as the First Rank of Wizard Saints and become the new strongest God of Ishgar. He refuses though because it just means he will have more work.
"Work? Hohoho, it seems you don't understand what it means to be the strongest God of Ishgar," says Warrod in the meeting of all Wizard Saints.
"I don't understand? Being the First Rank means that everyone will rely on me, right? It's just too much hassle," says Ben annoyedly.
"It's true that everyone will rely on you, but that doesn't mean you need to do everything yourself. Have you ever seen Serena work before?" asks Draculos.
"Not really, I've never seen him or the 3 of you work actually. Wait! Were you guys ditching your works and giving them to us?" asks Ben suspiciously.
"DON'T ACCUSE US LIKE THAT, YOUNG MAN! EVEN IF YOU ARE STRONGER THAN ALL OF US, WE ARE STILL YOUR ELDERS, SO SHOW SOME MANNERS! WE ALSO HAVE JOBS LIKE YOU," shouts Wolfheim angrily while transforming into a beast.
Ben doesn't react much and just asks, "Really?"
"Yeah, although only the 2 of us worked seriously. The one who died a few days ago never did his jobs, while the other one only cares about his plants," says Draculos while peeking at Warrod.
Warrod doesn't listen and just keeps caressing a flower in a pot that he brought here.
"So, what's your point?" asks Ben.
"The First Rank is actually the freest among all Wizard Saints. All 4 Gods of Ishgar will only move when we are really needed. Even then, the 3 of us will move first before the First Rank. As the 1st Rank, you will only move when we don't have another choice," says Draculos.
"When you become the 1st Rank, you will be our symbol of strength. That alone is plenty because your name alone can make our enemies shiver. You who have defeated the former 1st Rank and even a member of Alvarez Empire's Spriggans are a great force that will make anyone think twice before attacking Ishgar," says Warrod.
"Yeah, especially because unlike God Serena, you are more active and often get involved in battles. They need to be ready to face you if they are going to make big scenes," says Wolfheim.
Ben looks at the 3 old men before looking at the other Wizard Saints who haven't said anything in this meeting. They are strong people, but the presence of the 3 Gods of Ishgar and Ben is overwhelming them.
"Sigh, I will accept it with some conditions. First, I don't want to be involved in official businesses that I don't want. Second, I will only move when I want, no one can force me. Third, the 3 of you need to manage the Magic Council. It's in a mess right now, and I believe that it needs to be handled by us, not just some officials and politicians who have never even gone into real wars. Fourth, don't expect anything from me because I don't do things to meet your expectations," says Ben.
"I can accept all those conditions. The Magic Council really needs a reformation after all the things that happened in the last few years. We also believe that only we can reform it completely, so we will handle it," says Draculos.
"Me too, I accept. God Serena's defection has made me realize how powerless we are. It might be too late for us to grow in power at this age. But we have many young Mages with great potential in Ishgar. So if we manage the Council well, we can make Ishgar stronger," says Wolfheim.
"I also accept because I was a member of Fairy Tail," says Warrod.
The other Wizard Saints also agree. They can't refuse when all 3 Gods of Ishgar have accepted the conditions. Besides, none of those conditions burden them, so they can accept all of those. They also think that the Magic Council needs to be reformed completely.
With everyone's agreement, Ben finally become the First Rank, the official Strongest Mage in Ishgar. But their discussion hasn't ended yet because Ben still has something to discuss with them. It's very rare for all of them to gather, so this is a good chance to talk with them.
"I'm sure you guys know that there are 2 sides that become threats to us now. Alvarez Empire is led by Zeref and Acnologia. I don't know when, but I'm sure Alvarez Empire will attack Ishgar. They've failed in the past, but I'm sure they will try again. We used Etherion in the past, but I'm sure they've prepared for it now. Even Jellal could stop it, so they must've found a way too," says Ben.
"I agree, but Etherion will still be very helpful in case they attack Ishgar. Even if we can't destroy them, we can reduce their force," says Jura.
"You are right, but the problem is Etherion has been neutralized now. Those who have the keys to activate it have been killed when Tartaros attacked The Magic Council," says Wolfheim.
"No problem, I can hack the system and make it works again. Just give me full authority and you will be able to use Etherion soon," says Ben.
Everyone is surprised when they hear that and Draculos asks, "You can reactivate Etherion?"
"Yeah, and the keys to activate Etherion should be kept by Wizard Saints. The reason why Etherion could be neutralized very easily was because the keys were owned by people who could be killed easily," says Ben.
They agree with that statement, but they are still surprised that Ben can reactivate Etherion without the keys. Well, not everyone is fully surprised though. Jura is surprised, but he isn't dumbfounded like the others. He knows Ben's abilities better than anyone here.
"Well, that's that, but what are our other plans to face Alvarez when they attack us? Even if God Serena failed to join them and one of them get killed by you, they still have 10 people at God Serena's level. They also still have Zeref and maybe there are still some hidden powerhouses in their Empire," says Jura.
"There is only one plan to face everything that will come to us. Prepare thoroughly," says Ben.
Everyone is stunned and asks, "Huh?"
"It's as I said, prepare thoroughly. Prepare yourselves, prepare your Guilds, prepare your countries, prepare your allies, prepare your weapons, everything. Just be prepared. If you think your power is lacking, then get stronger. If your weapons are lacking, then buy more with higher qualities. When we are prepared for everything, we won't have a problem facing it," says Ben.
What Ben said was common sense, but somehow people tend to forget it. They often get too focused on other things that they forget about themselves.
"We need to get stronger even if it's just a little because it can make a big difference in the end results," says Ben.
Everyone finally understands Ben's point and they agree with it. They are now determined to improve themselves even a little because their enemies are not ordinary. They don't want to just rely on their strongest force, they still have their pride as Wizard Saints which motivates them to get stronger.
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You can read up to 35+35 chapters ahead of my fanfics and more pictures on my Pa_treon page if you are interested.
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