Gods and Demons
Heaven rewards those who persevere; fishing from the cliffside eventually yields a catch.
After Makarov dozed off countless times, Hughes finally managed to fish the Feather Fish off the cliff.
As for how he caught it, Makarov, under threat, dared not lie.
Hughes looked at the dreamlike delicacies he had knocked unconscious on the ground with a touch of melancholy; fish need to be scaled, and chickens, ducks, and geese need to be plucked—these are basic common sense facts that everyone knows.
But what about fish with wings?
Pluck the hair, or remove the scales?
Should we make sashimi or braise the fish?
Seeing Hughes turn his gaze to him, Makarov shrugged and spread his hands. "Don't underestimate me. Although I am one of the ' Ten Wizard Saints,' I have never even tasted such a legendary and dreamlike delicacy as the Feather Fish!"
"Why don't you try roasting it with fire, Hughes?"
Hughes immediately shook his head in rejection of Makarov's suggestion, since Happy had already set an example for him a few years later, and there was no need to do it again.
In an instant, a white-haired girl holding a spatula flashed through Hughes's mind.
Right, just because they can't doesn't mean Mira can't!
"Wait a moment!" Hughes said to Makarov after a moment's thought.
Turning around, Hughes jumped off the cliff with practiced ease. A moment later, Hughes returned to the top of the cliff with five or six Feather Fish in his hand.
Without exception, these Feather Fish all had the same problem as the previous one: obvious swelling on their heads.
He was clearly knocked unconscious.
"We'll take the Feather Fish back to Mira. With Mira's culinary skills, she'll definitely be able to cook these dreamlike delicacies perfectly. I'll call you over, Guild Master, and we'll each have one!"
Makarov licked his lips. Mira's culinary skills combined with dreamlike delicacies made his Makarov water just thinking about it. He completely agreed with Hughes's suggestion.
Hughes took off his clothes, rolled them into a strip, strung the legendary delicacy, the Feather Fish together, and handed them to Makarov, indicating that he should use Ice Magic to freeze the Feather Fish.
The temperature in Clover Grand Canyon is high and humid; if they aren't frozen, these Feather Fish will probably start to smell bad soon.
To instruct Gray, Makarov specifically studied Ice Magic. With his superb magical control, he managed to freeze the Feather Fish temporarily without harming Feather Fish.
Hughes reached out and took them, tying them to his back.
Makarov glanced at the Feather Fish on Hughes's back, licking his lips. "You brat, now you'd better lead the way for me. We need to destroy the magic circle sealing Satan as soon as possible; even the best food won't taste good if it's frozen for too long!"
For the sake of the Feather Fish, Hughes was about to tell Makarov that he had no sense of direction, but then a sudden idea flashed into his mind.
Hughes looked up at the vast sky above the Clover Grand Canyon... He could fly, and flying into the sky would make it easier to find the small valley where Satan was sealed; moreover, in the sky, he wouldn't be affected by the complex terrain of the Clover Grand Canyon.
More importantly, this means he can hand the Feather Fish to Mira more quickly.
Hughes's eyes lit up, and he looked down at Makarov: "President, did you hear that? The hot winds of the Clover Grand Canyon are calling you. Let's listen to the sound of the wind together!!"
Makarov: (´·ω·`)... A chill ran down my spine, I have a bad feeling about this!
In an instant, Makarov was soaring through the sky, the hot wind whistling across Makarov bald Mediterranean Sea, chilling him to the bone. "Damn Hughes, slow down!"
Hughes:... What are you babbling about? I can't hear you!
Hughes, lifting Makarov up, flames erupting from beneath his feet, said, "President, time is of the essence; we must speed things up."
Satan is sealed in a small ravine. When I fought him, I caused a lot of damage to the surrounding area. By the way, there used to be many wild beasts and monsters' corpses in the ravine.
Now, I'll fly around the entire Clover Grand Canyon. Try to find the two points I just mentioned.
Flames roared as Hughes carried Makarov across the vast sky, leaving trails of brilliant fire on the horizon of the Clover Grand Canyon.
With his physical abilities further enhanced, Hughes was practically an animal, completely oblivious to fatigue. He used Geppo combined with the Flame-Flame Fruit to soar through the skies without taking a moment's rest.
Having learned his lesson once, Makarov channeled his magic, creating a transparent windbreak to keep out the heat and strong winds.
The two flew around Clover Grand Canyon from day to night, finally finding the place where Satan was sealed.
The carcasses of wild beasts and monsters slaughtered by Satan are still piled up here. Hughes couldn't understand why the people of Xiluo'er Village didn't sell these beast carcasses as well.
Even the broken bones of the Beast King are worth a lot of money.
The two looked around. The shattered mountain was soaked in blood, turning it a deep crimson. The mountain of corpses emitted a stench so foul that Makarov and Hughes had to cover their mouths and noses.
Hughes led Makarov through the filth to the place where he had discovered the magic circle.
"It should be down here!"
Makarov looked in the direction Hughes was pointing and saw rocks and debris everywhere.
Enlarging its body, it lifted away the rubble on the ground, and in a short while, the corner of a golden magic circle appeared before the two of them.
"It's this magic circle. When I first saw it, the middle of the magic circle was already cracked. I suspect that Satan was sealed inside this magic circle," Hughes said in a deep voice.
"Let's remove the stones from the magic circle first, and then destroy it after I've observed the entire circle. These ancient formations are incredibly fragile after the passage of time, so be careful when moving the stones and don't destroy the magic circle."
Hughes nodded. Makarov wanted to memorize this ancient magic circle and make it his own.
Power itself is neither good nor bad; it depends on who is using it.
This magic circle was able to seal away a monster of unfathomable power like Satan for so long, it must be extraordinary. Destroying it directly would be a waste.
The two worked for a long time, until late at night, before finally restoring the entire magic circle to its original state.
Looking at the magic circle that had split open in the middle, Makarov fell into deep thought. He would often walk up to the magic circle, squat down to examine it closely, and mutter to himself.
Fearing he might disturb Makarov, Hughes quietly walked away to another spot.
He believed that with Makarov's knowledge and understanding of magic, he might be able to decipher information about the gods and demons from this broken magic circle.
During the search for the magic circle that sealed Satan, Hughes learned from Makarov that Satan had fought a deadly battle with the Eighteen Battle Gods of Calamity Demons and was sealed here after his defeat.
In the Fairy Tail world, there exist two races: gods and demons.
Regarding demons, Hughes knew the following: weak native demons lived on Galuna Island, not far from Magnolia Town.
The demons created by Zeref are all based on actual, existing demons.
However, according to Makarov, Satan is Primordial Demon from the Underworld. Underworld Hughes knows that the guild headquarters of the dark guild "Tartaros" is a Underworld Beast, summoned from the Underworld by Pluton, the actual creator of "Tartaros".
But this was the first time Hughes had ever heard of the concept of Primordial Demon. Moreover, since the Underworld had powerful demons like Satan, how dare Maldo Gil, an artificial demon created by Zeref, call himself the King of the Pluton?
Hughes's mind was momentarily confused.
As for the gods, Hughes only knew of three: Ankhseram, the god who controls life and death; Chronos, the god of time; and Warrod Sequen battle among the Eighteen Battle Gods of Calamity Demons.
Whether the God Slayer Magic is related to gods is something Hughes doesn't know for now, as there's very little depiction of gods in the Fairy Tail world.