Why Makarov Was Injured

At the bar, Hughes and Makarov were enjoying their breakfast. Mira's homemade breakfast was both delicious and visually appealing, making it hard to put down their chopsticks.

Picking up the last crumb from the lunchbox and popping it into his mouth, Makarov exclaimed with delight, "I wish Mira could be the guild's cook!"

Hughes glanced at Makarov speechlessly, his expression saying that Makarov was dreaming.

If Mira becomes the guild's chef, what will she eat at home?

Hughes tidied up the empty lunchboxes on the table and carefully placed them in a safe place.

Guild property can be destroyed at will, since Makarov will cover for it, but this is his own property, so he has to protect it well; Mira is taking it home later!

After packing his things, Hughes sat back down at the bar, let out a burp, and pointed to the bandages on Makarov's body.

"Old man, did you go to the Magic Council to get a trendy makeover and come back?"

Hughes himself was puzzled. When Makarov parted ways with him at Clover Station, he said he was going to the Magic Council to discuss matters, so why was he back now injured?

Did he get into another fight?

However, Hughes could sense that Makarov's injuries were not very serious and should be healed soon.

Makarov gave Hughes a disdainful look. If Macao had joked with him like that, he would have punched Macao away.

Makarov ignored Hughes's words; this mentally unstable scoundrel wasn't worth his effort. A punch would not only be useless against Hughes but would also hurt his own hand.

Makarov took a sip of his drink, then pulled at his waist with his right hand, causing the bandages on his body to come off, revealing four scabbed claw wounds.

"I was discussing with the councilors how to suppress the negative public opinion surrounding my battle with Jose; but suddenly the Magic Council's investigation team sent word that they had discovered a demon created by Zeref attacking a village."

"The situation is urgent. The Magic Council didn't have time to gather manpower, so they entrusted me and the Custody Enforcement Unit to deal with this demon."

At this point, Makarov paused slightly, touched the wounds on his body, and sighed.

The Custody Enforcement Unit that accompanied Zeref suffered heavy losses in their efforts to deal with the demon he created.

Hughes frowned, his gaze fixed on Makarov's wound, where he could smell an extremely faint scent of Devil Origin.

[Absorbed a very small amount of Devil Origin, Flame-Flame Devil Fruit Awakening Level +0.01%]

A system notification sounded in Hughes's mind.

Seeing that the notification sound only appeared once and only increased Awakening by 0.01%, Hughes didn't even bother to open the panel to check.

This bit of fly meat is practically useless; it doesn't enhance the flame power of the Flame-Flame Fruit.

Seeing that Makarov was still deep in thought, Hughes asked doubtfully, "Old man, with your strength, dealing with a demon created by Zeref shouldn't be difficult, right?"

Despite Makarov's seemingly unremarkable character in the original work, often suffering heavy blows from minor characters, it was merely due to injuries and age.

When the old man gets serious, he can be quite terrifying.

In the final battle between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord in X784, the 88-year-old and injured Makarov defeated Jose, another of the "Ten Wizard Saints," in a few moves.

Later, on Tenrou Island, he single-handedly withstood the Black Dragon.

With such strength, Hughes found it hard to imagine that he would be injured by a man-made demon; after all, Makarov is now six years younger than he was at the beginning of the story!

Makarov took another sip of wine, composed himself, and continued, "That demon wasn't very strong, far less powerful than the other demons recorded in the Book of Zeref, but it happened to possess Wind Curse, making it not only fast but also incredibly powerful, a real counter to me."

In addition, there was a dark guild causing trouble in the shadows at the time. These lunatics actually assisted the demons in restraining me and even slaughtered members of the Custody Enforcement Unit!

"I not only had to deal with demons, but also guard against the tricks of dark mages, and protect the Custody Enforcement Unit; there was a moment when I was distracted, which allowed the demon who wielded Wind Curse to launch a sneak attack."

Hughes sat to the side, listening intently to Makarov's account. At this point, he couldn't help but look down at the almost healed claw marks on Makarov's body.

He fought two opponents at once, had to be distracted to protect someone, and had his magic system countered, yet he only suffered minor injuries! This old man's strength is just too monstrous.

It has to be cut; otherwise, the old man's pension will be hard to come by.

Alas, we're still not strong enough!

Thinking of this, Hughes continued, "Old man, is that demon still alive?"

According to Makarov, this demon was not as powerful as the demon of the Tartaros.

With his current strength, he could easily deal with this demon. Once he absorbs it, the Awakening level of the Flame-Flame Fruit will increase rapidly, and his strength will leap forward in an instant!

Makarov shook his head. "According to the rules of the Magic Council, I should have sealed it away and sent it to the Magic Council; however, I was in a fit of rage at the time and destroyed it directly."

"What a pity!" Hughes appeared calm on the surface, but was inwardly disappointed; the opportunity to quickly improve his strength had just slipped away.

These days, finding a demon isn't easy.

According to the information about the demons that Hughes knew, Deliora was sealed away by Ur at the cost of his life; Hughes knew where Deliora was, but with Ur's seal in place, Hughes could not absorb Deliora.

Moreover, it's uncertain whether Deliora is even alive now, since Ur's "Iced Shell" can continuously weaken Deliora's vitality.

The magic flute that Lullaby is residing in, Hughes's current whereabouts are unknown, only that it will be obtained by "Grim Reaper" Erigor in X784.

The demons of the Tartaros lurk in various places, their whereabouts unknown; whether you encounter them depends entirely on luck.

However, judging from the fact that the Magic Council in the original work demanded the handover of the magic flute that Lullaby was residing in, there must be a sealed demon within the Magic Council, but it is difficult to take action against it.

As Hughes' thoughts continued to wander, Makarov pulled out a mission request form from behind his back and placed it in front of Hughes.

Hughes looked down and saw the word "Extermination" written most prominently on the mission request form. This was a mission request form that only the Magic Council had the authority to issue, and it was also the most dangerous of all missions.

Hughes looked again and saw that the order form read, "Eliminate the dark guild ' Threads of Illusory Evil' lurking on Alon Island."

"Dark Guild - Threads of Illusory Evil?" Hughes thought it over in his mind, but he really had no recollection of this guild.

Seeing Hughes's confusion, Makarov explained from the side, "The demons I'm dealing with were summoned by those madmen, the Threads of Illusory Evil."

Although I dealt with most of the madmen of the Threads of Illusory Evil in the process of eliminating the demon, a small number of members of the Threads of Illusory Evil still managed to escape.

Especially Gogirde, the guild leader of the Threads of Illusory Evil, was among those who escaped; according to intelligence from the Magic Council's investigation team, the remaining members of the Threads of Illusory Evil are currently hiding on Alon Island.