Chapter 574

"No wonder, I felt earlier that you people were a bit different from the rest."

"Thinking about it that way, it actually makes sense. I never expected that fellow named Jerudris could even control you lot."

A glint of surprise flashed in Makarov's eyes as he looked at the soldiers of the Fapingyi Society around him.

Sensing that the other party bore no ill intent, he turned his gaze toward Hiaberrion.

"What happened before really was mostly a misunderstanding."

"So I hope you won't take it to heart, Lord Makarov. We are returning to the Fapingyi Society now."

"We'll stop by to see Lord Jura along the way. Hopefully, when the time comes, the two of you can both return to the Ten Wizard Saints."

Hiaberrion let out a breath of relief, and Shunlu nodded as well.

On the way over, at 17, he had still been a little worried that Makarov would not agree to his returning to the Ten Wizard Saints.

Makarov's strength counted as quite something even among the Ten Wizard Saints, and behind him stood the powerful Mofagong Society, Fairy Tail.

As a force to be reckoned with, Fairy Tail alone was worth a fully armed army.

What's more, among them, Fairy Tail was also the guild with the most S-Class Mages.

"Then we won't see Lord Hiaberrion off any further. We'll talk more about it when we get to the Fapingyi Society."

As for Hiaberrion's friendly attitude, on this point Makarov still felt it was quite acceptable.

He nodded at once, taking it as agreement with Hiaberrion's words.

And so, not wanting to take up any more of Hiaberrion's time, he simply watched them leave.

"Grandpa, those guys definitely don't have good intentions."

"Like, after you go to the Fapingyi Society, they'll find someone to put you under house arrest or something!"

Natsu stood up from the ground, grabbed Makarov beside him, and said loudly.

Though his words were heated, there was also a thick current of concern within them.

"Shut it, Natsu. Hiaberrion and the others aren't that kind of people."

"The original intention of the Fapingyi Society has indeed been maintained by them from the very start."

"Moreover, after this battle of Fiore, it's very likely that the Fapingyi Society's strength is no longer what it once was."

"Otherwise, a man as proud as him would never have come to ask me to return and continue serving as one of the Ten Wizard Saints."

Makarov sighed deeply and looked back at all the guild members behind him.

Having worked together for decades, how could he not know what kind of person Hiaberrion was.

Hiaberrion was an extremely proud man—one could say that even when he was wrong, he wouldn't necessarily apologize.

But the main reason for his apology now was probably that the Fapingyi Society's power was currently a bit too thin.

He needed Makarov and Jura Neekis's return.

Not just the two of them, but the guilds behind them as well—those were powerful weapons that could bolster the Fapingyi Society.

On this point, Hiaberrion was a qualified commander.

"You should set the matter of the Fapingyi Society aside for now."

Just as the expressions on everyone's faces were turning a bit strange, a cool, clear voice rang out from one side.

A head of Bai Fa, short in stature, Hitsugaya Toushirou walked over from somewhere, accompanied by a mature beauty with an absurdly large bust.

Only, the expressions on both of their faces had turned rather unsightly.

"Toushirou? What are you doing here?"

Erza's face gave a slight start as she looked at the Hitsugaya Toushirou before her; the woman beside him was someone they were all seeing for the first time.

But the shihakushō she wore clearly marked her as a Shinigami as well.

"I'm here to tell you one piece of bad news, and one piece of news that I'm not sure can be called good."

Hitsugaya Toushirou sighed and stepped forward a few paces.

The worry in his pupils made every member of Fairy Tail freeze for a moment, and their hearts unconsciously began to tighten.

"Let's go inside to talk. Out here, I doubt we'd be able to explain things clearly."

Makarov sighed. In these troubled times, it couldn't help but make him feel just a little older.

He then headed inside. Hitsugaya Toushirou and Matsumoto Rangiku exchanged a glance, and quickly stepped in as well.

Once they were seated, with basically most of the main force present.

Hitsugaya Toushirou looked at Makarov before him.

"Aizen Sōsuke has gotten his hands on something extraordinary. This world may very well begin to collapse."

"That's the bad news. The good news is that we've found a way to break Aizen Sōsuke's invincibility."

Hitsugaya Toushirou's words drew an involuntary gasp from everyone present.

Setting aside the truth of the first piece of news for now, the second piece was genuinely good news.

Aizen Sōsuke's Zanpakutō ability was truly one that made them feel helpless—or rather, despair.

One would be hypnotized without the slightest sound or sign, and after being hypnotized, the person would have no awareness at all.

They couldn't even tell when they'd harmed their own companions. Basically everyone present had been hypnotized by Kyōka Suigetsu at some point.