Aftermath

After properly settling everyone down, Allen took out the Communication Crystal to contact Makarov.

However, to Allen's surprise, when the Communication Crystal was successfully activated and displayed an image, it wasn't Makarov who appeared on screen, but a kind and familiar face – Polyushika!

Despite his heart being filled with astonishment, the moment Allen saw Grandma Polyushika, his eyes involuntarily welled up, and his previously steady voice became slightly choked, "Grand... Grandma..."

At the same time, when Grandma Polyushika saw Allen and Laxus standing beside him through the Communication Crystal, her eyes also turned red, tears welling up. She said in a trembling voice, "Your Grandpa Makarov told me about what you've been through, and I've been worried about you. So, I wanted to see for myself how you both are doing now." Hearing his grandmother's concerned words, Allen quickly raised the Communication Crystal in his hand, trying to capture himself and Laxus as much as possible. At the same time, he tried to calm his emotions and spoke to Grandma Polyushika in a relaxed tone, "See, Grandma, we're doing well. Just a moment ago, we successfully completed a mission involving the Dark Magic Group. We were just about to report the details to Grandpa."

Just then, Makarov suddenly popped out from beside Polyushika, grumbling with dissatisfaction, "Hey, hey, don't just chat amongst yourselves! Let Allen tell me the specifics of this mission. You two can talk later, grandson and grandmother!"

Polyushika, who had been lost in her own thoughts, had her emotions abruptly interrupted by Makarov's sudden words. She couldn't help but glare at him unhappily, but ultimately, she reluctantly handed the Communication Crystal back to him.

At this point, Allen had gradually recovered from his recent tense and excited emotions. He took a deep breath, steadied himself, and began to tell Makarov about Malcolm and Asmodeus, especially highlighting the fact that Asmodeus's strange Magic Power had drifted north.

Makarov listened quietly to Allen's account without interrupting. After Allen finished, he fell into a brief period of thought. After a while, Makarov slowly looked up, gazed at Allen, and asked, "Child, I remember your original plan was to head north, right? Now that this has happened, do you intend to investigate the Dark Magic Group further?"

Hearing Makarov's question, Allen nodded without hesitation, his tone firm and resolute, "Grandpa, that's right! Since I've encountered these events, I absolutely cannot stand idly by. Think about it, Malcolm, by merely obtaining a portion of Asmodeus's Magic Power, was able to easily control the entire town's residents. If Asmodeus's true form were to appear here, the consequences would be unimaginable! So, no matter what, I must completely eradicate this evil Dark Magic Group! Even if the road ahead is fraught with danger, I will not hesitate!"

Makarov knew that no one could change Allen's mind once he had decided on something, and he didn't intend to. After these two incidents, Makarov had clearly recognized the danger posed by the Dark Magic Group, so he couldn't let Allen and Laxus fight alone.

With a general plan in mind, Makarov said to Allen, "I will also post an S-Class mission for the Dark Magic Group at the Guild and assign Gildarts to it. At the same time, I will discuss matters concerning the Dark Magic Group with the Council members. If you encounter anything you can't handle, be sure to tell me in advance. Everyone at the Guild is your backing!"

"Okay, Grandpa. Laxus and I will be careful."

Allen nodded in response to Makarov. Then, Polyushika snatched the Communication Crystal back and reconnected with Allen and Laxus, resuming their grandmother-grandson conversation. Makarov shook his head helplessly from the side.

After some sweet talk from Allen and Laxus, they finally managed to make Polyushika smile. After saying a few more words to Makarov, the two hung up the communication.

After the communication ended, the Mages of the Foxes of the Forest also began to wake up one by one.

They all looked around the scene with some confusion. Then, Harry saw Allen and Laxus not far away and looked pleasantly surprised. Just as he tried to get up, his body ached uncontrollably. Allen quickly stepped forward to help Harry sit up. Speaking of which, Harry was also a bit unlucky; his previous injuries hadn't healed yet, and now he had encountered this. However, there was also good news: after merging with Asmodeus's Magic Power, Harry's overall Magic Power had greatly increased, jumping from a B-Class Mage to an A-Class. This could only be attributed to timing and fate!

On the other side, Yahar walked towards the Guild Master of the Foxes of the Forest – Nick Mac.

After stating that he was a member of the investigation team sent by the Council, Nick's taut nerves finally relaxed slightly. He slowly lowered the weapon he had been tightly gripping, and his previously vigilant eyes gradually became peaceful.

Next, Nick looked at Yahar before him and asked sincerely, "What exactly happened here? Why do we have no memory of anything that occurred?"

Yahar recounted the entire incident to Nick.

Upon hearing Yahar's narration and learning that this series of events was caused by Malcolm, all the Mages of the Foxes of the Forest widened their eyes, their faces showing disbelief.

Allen looked at Harry's shocked expression and asked him, "Why are you so surprised that Malcolm caused all of this?"

At this moment, Harry had clearly not recovered from the shocking news that had stunned everyone. His mind was still in chaos, and for a moment, he didn't know how to answer Allen's question.

Seeing this, Allen didn't rush Harry but patiently waited for him to sort out his emotions and thoughts. After a moment, Harry finally regained some semblance of rationality, but his words were still somewhat incoherent, "I... I don't know how to say it... It's just too hard to accept!" Seeing this, Allen smiled comfortingly and encouraged him, "It's okay, just tell me first, what kind of person was Malcolm in your eyes before this?"