In Fairy Tail, starts with a Super Mega Gengar

Gaal placed the bottle of "Clothing Removal" potion into his storage space.

He had memorized the necessary materials and the ratio with Curse Particles, allowing him to craft it himself in the future instead of using the Arc of Embodiment as a shortcut.

Selling this could certainly earn the praise from many "gentlemen." However, he decided against selling the original version, focusing instead on the various failed versions on the table, each with bizarre effects.

He looked over at Gengar, Urshifu, Greninja, Dragonite, Ninetales, Alolan Ninetales, and Arcanine, all sitting by the campfire watching the roasting fish.

Using his Psychic Power, Gaal brought over the smallest fish.

The Pokémon were a bit surprised, unsure of why Gaal chose such a tiny fish. Was he going to eat it?

Instead, Gaal used his Psychic Power to place the fish on the table in front of him.

He picked up a bottle filled with a dark purple liquid, one of the failed versions with a concentration so high that it corroded flesh rapidly yet left other substances unharmed.

Gaal poured the potion onto the small roasted fish. Instantly, it emitted a harsh odor and smoke.

The fish dissolved quickly, vanishing completely. With a wave of his hand, a gentle breeze blew away the smell and smoke, leaving only a slight damp spot on the table, which soon disappeared.

Gaal nodded, satisfied with the effect, believing this potion wouldn't struggle to find a market as well.

There were also some specific potions he had worked on that dissolved cloth quickly, corroded metal objects, and rotted wood. While their effects were limited, the market was evident.

The materials for Curse Particles were ample for now.

He had collected enough on the battlefield, and the bodies of Kyoka and Seilah had absorbed plenty of Curse Particles, ready for refinement later.

After storing all the bottles and jars, Gaal walked over to the campfire to eat. At that moment, his communicator buzzed in his pocket.

Answering it, he spoke: "What's up, Guild Master?"

Makarov's voice came through: "How are you managing over there?"

"Pretty well, I'd say."

Gaal replied, a bit confused: "Of course, everything's fine. Why do you ask?"

Makarov sighed with relief: "That's reassuring. Yajima just informed me that you were surrounded by Grimoire Heart, and a significant explosion occurred. The Magic Council is not pleased, but given the circumstances, they might not press the issue too much. Some council members are discussing the matter of maintaining balance in the Magical World.

The Chairman is also interested, so once things settle down, I expect they'll want to have a word with me. Be careful out there. If necessary, come back for now. The intel we received from the Council has become outdated. Those Dark Guilds have mostly fled."

In these months of conflict, Makarov had been under a lot of pressure.

Even though his primary role was to oversee the Guild to prevent any incidents, Grimoire Heart wasn't limiting themselves to just attacking Fairy Tail members.

All Light Guilds across the Ishgar Continent had suffered attacks to various extents. This group would leave notes claiming the attacks were due to their conflict with Fairy Tail.

Some people understood this as the work of a Dark Guild, but others, despite understanding, lodged persistent complaints with the Magic Council, questioning why they had to suffer for Fairy Tail's enmities.

Yajima mentioned that the complaint letters had practically filled half a room at the Council offices.

Upon hearing this, Gaal waved his hand, calling forth several illusory wanted posters provided by the Magic Council, which displayed locations of nearby Dark Guilds.

Looking at the three closest ones, Gaal said: "I've got three Dark Guilds nearby. Let me clear them out first. How is the Guild holding up?"

Makarov responded: "The Guild is doing alright. Apart from those guys with the Magic Guns last time, under the surveillance of Pidgey and Squirtle, we haven't noticed any other suspicious individuals lurking nearby."

"That's good then. I'll check out these three Dark Guilds nearby and then head back."

With that, the two ended their conversation. Gaal glanced at the floating wanted posters in front of him and, with a thought, made all but the information on the three closest Guilds disappear.

He rubbed his chin, eyeing one of the wanted posters: "There's one focused on demons, huh? There should be some good stuff there." 

One specialized in assassinations, another in researching Dark Magic, and the third in studying demons and summoning them.

The assassin group likely ran off, considering their expertise—that one could wait. Both of the remaining two were nearby, so Gaal planned to start his search for them the next day.

With another psychic move, he dispelled the floating text and turned to the group of Pokémon.

Retrieving a large barrel of juice and some big bowls from his storage, Alolan Ninetales used her cold breath to chill the juice instantly, making it refreshing and pleasant along with the roasted fish.

"Let's eat!!!"

---

Elsewhere.

The Ishgar Continent, central region. Grimoire Heart Guild Headquarters.

Inside Hades' chamber on the Magic Airship, Hades held a blood-red orb, the very essence of Gaal's Curse Magic.

Unlike before, when it formed into a bloody sword, much of its energy had been depleted, leaving only this small mass.

Not far away, Zancrow stood, petrified, his gaze fixed on the red orb in Hades' hand, etched with traumatic memories.

Hades, with a casual motion, cast six layers of shields over Zancrow.

Then he split a portion of the cursed orb, forming a small blood sword the size of a pinky finger, and sent it hurling towards Zancrow.

As the blood sword made contact with the first shield, it seemed to sink into quicksand, slowly advancing. By the time it touched the last shield, it fizzled and vanished in a small explosion.

Though the impact shook Zancrow, compared to the agony of being under a curse, this was negligible.

Hades, his body resonating with Magic Power, continuously drew from his Second Magic Origin, casting nearly tangible six-layer shields upon Zancrow: "This will suffice for now. These shields can block one curse attack outside the Guild Headquarters. Come back once they are spent."

Hades sounded a bit exasperated. As he released the blood orb, it precisely pursued Zancrow. However, it barely penetrated the first layer before sputtering out against the second.

Within Hades' chamber, Zancrow felt relieved as his shields replenished to six layers.

Nodding vigorously, he relaxed a bit: "Yes, Lord Hades!"

For these past days, Zancrow had been tormented by Gaal's curse to the point of sleeplessness, so he was eager to leave and get some rest.

Once Zancrow left, Hades sat in his chair and massaged his temples, lost in thought.

Just then, Azuma entered and said: "Lord Hades."

Hades opened his eyes: "What is it?"

Azuma explained: "We've tracked down the Fairy Tail S-Class Mage, Ivan Dreyar, but... there's something odd about him."

Hades raised an eyebrow: "What is it?"

Azuma stepped forward, setting down a projection crystal, which activated. 

"Ivan Dreyar suddenly appeared and wiped out one of our subordinate Dark Guilds. Our members who returned discovered this; Ivan was unaware of the surveillance."

The projection showed Ivan Dreyar using Illusion Magic to make members of the Dark Guild turn on each other until nothing was left but silence.

The Guild's master, left alone, began speaking to himself, leaking secrets of the Dark Magic and research conducted there.

Ivan's eyes glinted as he forced the master to divulge more secrets before entering the Guild. 

He emerged with a backpack, and the footage ended.

Azuma commented: "The members were terrified after finding everyone had perished due to infighting. The surveillance revealed the culprit. I suspect something's off with Ivan, but I can't pinpoint what."

Hades watched the magical recording, thoughts percolating. 

With a bit of magic, he replayed the segment where Ivan's eyes glinted: "Such aspiring eyes."

Azuma, taken aback by Hades' admiration, asked: "Are you saying...?"

Could it be that Ivan Dreyar—the seemingly trustworthy guy—was delving into Dark Magic? It certainly seemed that way.

Hades smiled: "A Light Wizard like Makarov might find it interesting if his son suddenly embraced darkness during a war against the dark forces. That would certainly make things intriguing."

Books from the shelf, early works of Hades on Dark Magic, floated to his hand.

Once a luminary among Ishgar's strongest Light Wizards, now the leader of its mightiest Dark Guild, Hades' notes were treasures for most mages.

Handing them to Azuma, Hades instructed: "Place these notes near where Ivan was last spotted. Have our nearby Guilds secure them, saying they're under orders from me. Tell them to guard these notes fiercely."

In reality, this was a setup—luring Ivan into the trap. 

If sacrificing a few lesser Guilds could tip Ivan into the depths of darkness, it would be worth it.

Azuma, feeling the weight of the notes: "Understood."

Returning to his quarters, Azuma couldn't resist a peek into the notes, spellbound by their contents.

He came to, filled with wonder and respect: "Lord Hades' intellect... it transcends mere mortals."

Reading through the sound experiments and the effects of Dark Magic, even Azuma was tempted to dabble in the dark arts.

His Great Tree Arc was a formidable Lost Magic and even he was intrigued—what chances did Ivan have to resist when armed only with Illusion Magic?

"Fairy Tail, let's see how you handle this..."

---

Five days later. Ishgar Continent, west region. 

Within the forests bordering the Tamworth Kingdom, Gaal, clad in his black magic robes, wandered.

He had already lost hope in these last three Dark Guilds. The Dark Magic Guild he visited was abandoned long ago; after a rain, even Arcanine's keen sense of smell found no trace.

The second was in this kingdom's border forest, said to study demons, but Gaal noticed nothing unusual.

Finally, having come this far, he decided to at least take a look. Drawing closer, he did sense a faint demonic aura until...

The remains of a Guild came into view, seemingly hidden as a church in the mountains.

Judging by their demon-summoning practices, this was likely evangelistic in nature.

The ground was dotted with craters, and some remains had turned to bones, exuding a foul odor.

Gaal used a dissolving potion, quickly dispersing the odor and remains, followed by a gentle breeze to freshen the air.

Stepping into the ruined Guild chapel, he surveyed the scene.

Standing by a massive claw mark left by a demon, he pondered: "Did they summon a demon only to have it destroy their own Guild?"