Zeref Comes Knocking

Zeref's words might have been unpleasant to hear, but they were true.

Setting aside whether they could defeat him, where were they supposed to find someone who had hidden his tracks so well that people believed he had died centuries ago?

Thus, the following meeting became dull and procedural. First, they declared the Magic Council's determination to hunt down Zeref, then they laid out their helplessness at being unable to find him.

In short, they would talk again once they found Zeref.

In truth, after confirming Zeref's identity, the Magic Council was no longer quite so eager to punish the culprit. The risks were simply too great, while the gains were too small.

Didn't the demons created by Zeref also murder countless people? Hadn't the Magic Council's campaign against them been equally sluggish?

Compared to that, suppressing dark guilds offered far greater returns.

Now that they had such a legitimate excuse to step down, the Magic Council immediately took it.

With the matter of Zeref brought to a close, they moved on to discuss continuing the exploration of the ancient ruins.

Although Zeref had taken out a treasure that looked anything but ordinary, the power surrounding the ruins still remained. There was no telling whether more valuable things lay within.

The fact that even Zeref had shown himself to explore the ruins instantly raised the Magic Council's level of interest by several notches.

Seizing the opportunity, the Ten Wizard Saints proposed loosening the restrictions on exploring the ruins. The proposal sparked fierce debate among the councilors, but it ultimately passed.

Using others to scout the way was one reason. More importantly, no one could guarantee that after obtaining the thing within the light, Zeref would give up on the other treasures in the ruins.

For all they knew, he might