Internet Magic in Fairy Tail

“Poison Dragon Slayer, Cobra?”

Nate was surprised. Why were these guys out here too?

At that moment, the live stream chat exploded:

[Oración Seis?!]

[How did they get out?!]

[It's over! The Balam Alliance’s three dark guilds—Oración Seis, Grimoire Heart, and Tartaros—are all here!]

[No worries, we have Nate-sama!]

…

Your Nate-sama is just holding a camera!

Nate glanced at the chat and couldn’t help but complain internally.

The escape of the Oración Seis was unexpected—a bonus prize for rescuing the Second Master, it seemed.

From a high vantage point, the live stream showed a comprehensive view of the battlefield.

“I don’t see the Underworld King. Only four of the Nine Demon Gates are here,” Nate muttered quietly.

The necromancer and Gray’s father comprised two of them, along with Kyôka, Goddess of the Slave Planet, and the “Calamity.”

Demonic auras stood out from humans in Nate’s Six Eyes, like flames in the dark.

Including the Jackal he had sent back to Hell’s Core for rebirth, there were only five accounted for.

Where were the other four members of the Nine Demon Gates?

After a moment of thought, Nate speculated that they might be hunting the council members.

Tartaros’ goal was Face, a weapon capable of erasing all magic in the world.

Without magic, mages would be powerless, and the ensuing magic deficiency would devastate humanity.

Demons, however, wouldn’t be affected, since they used cursed energy.

Face, also known as the “White Inheritance,” was the Magic Council’s ultimate weapon. Its activation conditions were stringent: it was sealed with the life energy of three council members.@@novelbin@@

The simplest way to activate it? Kill all of the council members.

Nate knew one of the seals was tied to… Jellal.

Thus, he wasn’t worried that Tartaros could actually activate Face. Even if all the council members were killed, as long as Jellal—Nate’s host body—was alive, Face would remain dormant.

Still, Nate thought of Ultear. As a former council member, she might also be a target.

He decided to send her a private message.

Sigma Man: “Are you okay?”

Ultear replied instantly.

Witch of Pain: “Your big sister is at home cooking dinner and watching your stream~”

Witch of Pain: “Why, what’s wrong?”

Sigma Man: “Tartaros’ goal is Face. You know about that, right?”

Witch of Pain: “White Inheritance… Oh, I get it. You’re worried I might be targeted. 😆”

Sigma Man: “There’s a chance one of the Nine Demon Gates will come after you.”

Witch of Pain: “Don’t worry, your big sister is strong~”

Witch of Pain: “From your stream, things don’t look great. Can’t you easily handle it with your strength? 🤔”

Sigma Man: “I’m collecting negative emotions right now. I can’t step in just yet.”

Nate didn’t hide his intentions from Ultear. With the curse energy growing rapidly, he’d soon reach a million stars at this rate.

Satisfied that Ultear was safe, Nate refocused on the battlefield below.

The five members of Oración Seis who had escaped showed no intention of fighting and immediately tried to flee.

Fixing the live stream camera in the sky, Nate descended quickly.

Meanwhile, Racer knocked aside several Rune Knights with a burst of speed.

“Move it! We’ve just escaped the anti-magic prison; we can’t afford to waste magic here!”

Having just broken out, the group hadn’t had time to recover their magic power.

Sticking together, they headed for the battlefield’s edge.

Suddenly, a golden light blazed down.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Nate landed in front of them, smiling. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Nate!” Racer’s face darkened.

Cobra growled, “How about letting us go? What do you want?”

They knew they couldn’t beat him and hoped to negotiate.

Angel gritted her teeth.

“The Nine Demon Gates are causing havoc, and the Seven Kin of Purgatory are looking for Hades in the prison. Why are you targeting us?”

They were just weak, helpless prisoners!

Nate chuckled. “Let you go? That’s not going to happen.”

While he intended to exploit the chaos to harvest cursed energy, he had no intention of letting anyone escape.

“The Oración Seis is a thing of the past,” Hoteye tried to explain. “I’m just looking for my brother.”

“Your brother’s fine. Wally Buchanan, right?”

“You know him?” Hoteye asked in shock. “Where is he?”

“Traveling, probably,” Nate said casually.

Wally, Shô, Millianna, and Simon were all former Tower of Heaven subordinates under Jellal.

Simon was the brother of Mermaid Heel’s S-Class mage, Kagura Mikazuchi, and Wally was Hoteye’s sibling.

The Tower of Heaven sure produced a lot of talent.

“You should return to prison. The battlefield is dangerous,” Nate remarked.

Cobra clicked his tongue. “What’s your condition for letting us go?”

“You’ve got internet in prison; that’s already good enough. Why are you so eager to leave?”

“We want freedom,” Midnight said calmly. “If we swear loyalty to you, can you grant us that freedom?”

Nate raised an eyebrow.

“Loyalty? What use would I have for you?”

Their strength was so-so, and their loyalty wasn’t guaranteed.

But after some thought, Nate realized he might need subordinates if a new council was formed, likely led by the Ten Mage Saints.

“Letting you go isn’t impossible,” Nate finally said.

Angel’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“But not now,” Nate continued, dashing their hopes. “If you escape now, you’ll just be fugitives. Once this event is over, the bounty on your heads will be posted as requests to every guild across the continent.

“However, if you stand on the ‘side of light’ now and fight against the dark mages of Grimoire Heart and Tartaros, you can earn merits to reduce your sentences.”

The five exchanged glances.

“Our sentences are for life,” Cobra pointed out.

“Believe it or not, you’re not escaping anyway,” Nate replied, shrugging. He wasn’t about to let any prisoners go.

“I understand. I’ll do it,” Angel said, raising her hand. “But we don’t have much magic left…”

“I’ll lend it to you.”

Nate grinned. “Ever heard of the [Magic Net Bank]? I’ll loan you 10,000 Magic Net Coins each.”

He opened the Magic Net backend and transferred 10,000 Coins to each of their accounts.

“The daily interest rate is 1%. Pay it back soon.”

Hoteye frowned, withdrawing 500 coins to test the system. His magic immediately returned to full.

“Even loan sharks aren’t this greedy!”

Nate spread his hands. “You don’t have to borrow. But if you miss this chance, there won’t be another.

“Don’t forget, whether your sentences are reduced depends entirely on your contributions.”

Frustrated, the five gritted their teeth and turned back toward the battlefield.

“For freedom!”