Org said gravely,
"To activate the Etherion now requires unanimous consent from all nine Council mbers, followed by ten senior staff mbers inputting their individual unlock codes."
"And now," he continued bitterly, "I am the only Council mber left. Of the ten senior staff who possess those codes, only three remain."
He closed his eyes.
"In other words, the Etherion is completely paralyzed."
Rhodes stared.
"You’re saying that to fire it, all nineteen of those people must be present."
"And if even one of them dies, the Etherion becos permanently unusable?"
Org nodded.
"If only Council mbers were lost, it could still be launched as long as the survivors agreed. But the senior staff, those codes are never permitted to be shared or passed on."
"Is there no backup activation protocol?" Rhodes pressed.
"No," Org replied flatly. "This system was designed specifically to prevent abuse of the Etherion. Naturally, there is no fallback."
"...."
Rhodes swallowed the urge to ask which idiot had designed sothing so catastrophically fragile.
In a real war, an enemy wouldn’t even need to target the Council itself, kill one or two code-holders, and the world’s ultimate weapon was scrap tal.
This wasn’t caution.
It was an overcorrection bordering on self-sabotage.
Makarov broke the silence.
"Then... could Tartaros’s real goal be to neutralize the Etherion?"
Org nodded slowly.
"We can’t rule that out. Like it or not, the Etherion is likely a major obstacle to their plans."
His expression darkened.
"And they’ve succeeded."
Lahar and st both frowned deeply.
So the Council attack hadn’t been the climax, it had been the opening move.
Makarov asked quietly,
"What are you planning to do now?"
"First, we stabilize public sentint," Org replied without hesitation.
"We must maintain the operation of the regional branches while selecting a new generation of Council mbers as quickly as possible."
Then, unexpectedly, he smiled, thin and bitter.
"Perhaps... this ti, we should choose younger people."
He sighed.
"When faced with a sudden attack, not one of us old n reacted in ti. We couldn’t even protect ourselves."
"There are also serious flaws in the headquarters’ ergency response systems."
"We failed in our duty," Lahar and st said together, bowing deeply.
Org shook his head.
"It isn’t entirely your fault. The system itself is flawed."
He didn’t elaborate further, but everyone present knew what he ant.
A sentry had detected the enemy, yet instead of sounding the alarm or warning his comrades, he had run into the eting room muttering useless phrases like ’This is bad’.
Only after being questioned had he finally said enemy attack.
That delay had cost lives.
Including his own.
"If the Council is to be rebuilt," Org said quietly, "every aspect must change."
He turned to Makarov.
"I’m sorry to say this, but the current Council can no longer take responsibility for Tartaros."
"From this point forward, the local guild alliances must act as they see fit. I will provide whatever intelligence and manpower I can."
Then, just as they prepared to leave, Rhodes’s communicator rang.
"Mr. Yajima was attacked?"
"How is he?"
"Our people?"
"Good."
He hung up sharply.
"Master, we need to return imdiately."
Makarov’s face went pale.
"What happened? Ya.."
"Tartaros attacked Mr. Yajima," Rhodes said.
"Fortunately, Elfman, Laxus, and the Thunder God Tribe happened to be at his shop today."
Lahar’s eyes widened.
"Mr. Yajima too?"
st tensed.
"Then... are forr Council mbers also targets?"
"...."
Org’s brow furrowed. Sothing clicked, too late.
"If forr Council mbers are being targeted," Rhodes said, "others may already be in danger. Including you."
"Can we dispatch protection teams?"
Org hesitated.
"Most of them chose seclusion after retirent. I only know the locations of a few. I’ll contact nearby guilds and request imdiate protection."
With Tartaros’s combat power combined with the forr Chairman’s intelligence, even thinking about it made his scalp prickle.
At this mont, the Council was helpless.
"We’re leaving," Rhodes said decisively.
He opened a Hex Gate on the spot.
Before stepping through, he placed another gate near the Council ruins.
"For ergency travel."
Seconds later, they were back at Fairy Tail.
Yajima stood behind the counter, flanked by Laxus, Elfman, and the Thunder God Tribe.
Seeing them, Yajima blinked.
"That was fast."
Makarov hurried over.
"Yajima, are you hurt?"
"I’m fine," Yajima chuckled. "Thanks to these kids."
He looked at Makarov warmly.
"Makarov, you raised so remarkable children."
Under normal circumstances, Makarov would’ve puffed up with pride.
Today, he didn’t.
"Tell us exactly what happened," he said.
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