Chapter 22 - Library Meeting

---Several Days Later---

'Hahaha.', I laughed to myself reading the newspaper.

My pawns had done quite a significant amount of damage to the Church. They had gone above and beyond my expectations, they had attacked the leadership of the Inquisition and taken many people down before finally being killed. The news spread like wild fire across the globe, and shockingly they blamed it all on Zeref's Demons. They claimed that Zeref's Demons had brainwashed the men into attacking HQ because they weren't that devoted to their beliefs.

"I honestly expected them to blame the Heartfilia's, but this works out better for them in the long run. As it stands now, the Church will be in too much chaos now to pursue them so they have time to flee.", I muttered putting the paper down.

The massacre had caused the Church to do a massive shutdown of it's headquarters to do a thorough investigation. In addition, they had called back most of it's knights to help protect the Upper Ranking officials from harm which left me with an opening to search Lucy's home. If the Eclipse Gate was there, I needed to secure it now to prevent anyone from using it or taking it away. It was too big of a risk to just leave unattended with unknown parties involved in this world.

"Well, since the others are busy doing their own things today now is as good a time as any to investigate.", I muttered getting up from my seat in the Guild Hall.

"Excuse me...", a feminie voice said from behind me, "You are Mael, right?"

Turning around, I saw a little Levy standing behind me with a mountain of books in hand. Confirming I was Mael, I asked how I could help her.

"My cousin Hermione asked me to see if you could come to library today, if you weren't busy.", Levy stated, "She wanted to continue your previous conversation..."

Judging by her reaction, she was suspicious of me. I understood her concerns as they were related, but I wish she'd give me some slack. We were fellow Guild Members so I should have a little trust at least.

"Sure, I can be there this afternoon. I have some plans this morning.", I stated.

"That's fine, I will let her know.", Levy said carrying her books away.

Leaving the noisy Guild Hall, I was glad to get out of there as Magna and Noelle were going at it over some juice he spilled. Getting outside the Guild, I heard a loud explosion and Makarov telling them to take it outside before they tore the Guild Hall up. Hearing someone argue with him, I wasn't sure who, the Guild Hall got louder as Makarov disciplined them.

---Heartfilia Manor---

Arriving a short time later at the house, I used Detect Life to confirm that no one was inside. Slipping into the home, I immediately checked the basement for Eclipse...and found not a trace of it anywhere. If my memory was correct it should have been in the basement in a hidden room yet there was no such room in the house.

"This can't be right...I don't even see signs that the Church took it. Did they not move it here?", I thought out loud.

Searching the house for clues, Jude note's provided no information on the Gate or if he even knew about it. Most of what I found where business ledgers showing the decline of the family company, and his attempts to hide it from Layla. It wasn't his fault though, the ledger and notes seemed to suggest the Church was putting pressure on them for some time now.

'Did the Church already know about Layla and Lucy, and just ignore them?', I thought, 'No...that doesn't sound right. There must be something else.'

Finding nothing in his notes, I broke into Layla's nightstand and found a very old book. Using magic to restore it to new condition, I opened it up to see what I could find.

"X375...escaped from laboratory...", I read, "Wait...X375 is two years before the Eclipse Gate was opened the first time. Is this Anna's notebook?!"

Reading through the book, I confirmed it was in fact her journal. Anna was taken from her family as a child, and had been experimented on by the Church to uncover her Celestial Spirit Magic. Thanks to Aquarius she managed to escape in X375 then continued to flee capture till meeting Zeref. At that point the story continued as normal, and the Slayers were sent through the Gate but...

"The coordinates for where the Eclipse Gate is...it's not written down...", I groaned in frustration, "It must be a Heartfilia Family secret, only Layla knows where it is. Lucy is too young to have been told something that important. This throws a wrench in things, I don't know where they are and asking isn't going to get me the answer. I don't even know if she opened it already before this shit happened."

There was a section in the book about Irene, apparently she met one of the Heartfilia ancestors and found a method for suppressing the negative effects of Dragon Slaying Magic. The rest of the journal was entries from Anna's descendants who kept a close eye on the situation in the world. They waited hundreds of years for the right time to open the Gate to send the Slayers through with Anna. Stowing the journal in my storage, I grabbed Lucy's belongings and left the manor as there was nothing left to help me.

---Magnolia Library---

Having dropped Lucy's belongings off at my home, I went to meet Levy and Hermione at the Library. My hope was they had knowledge about urban myths regarding Zeref, and could point me in the direction of the Gate. Finding the two girls buried in old books, I took a seat in front of them to see how long it would take them to register my presence. It took nearly twenty minutes, but eventually Levy noticed me sitting in front of them.

"Oh Mael, you are already here.", Levy said taking her glasses off, "Thank you for coming..."

"Yes, thank you.", Hermione stated, "I didn't catch what sort of thing you liked researching last we met..."

"Ah, it's sort of a hobby of mine. I like doing research into historical sites and old myths. Every myth is based somewhat in truth, so I like to follow the trail to find the answer.", I chuckled, "Before settling here, I did a lot of traveling so I have seen and heard a little bit of everything."

"Ah!", Levy said, "So you are familiar with the myth that there is some sort of creature that can give someone immortality?"

"Oh yes, I am well aware.", I chuckled, 'Not like they didn't do a whole movie about it.'

"What are your thoughts?", she inquired.

"If such a beast existed, that power would have to come at a steep cost. Not only that, things like that are best left to myth...there are a lot of people in power that would do anything for immortality.", I replied.

Looking at each other, the two girls nodded.

"You aren't with the Church then.", Hermione stated, "That is a relief, I thought you were an undercover agent of theirs."

"Uh...no, I am an orphan that wandered from place to place to survive.", I chuckled, "Besides which, the Church and I don't see eye to eye. If the Pope was here, I would incinerate him."

Staring at me in shock, the two covered their mouths in disbelief.

"I...I am convinced too.", Levy gulped looking around frantically, "Please don't say such brazen things in the future. The Church's followers can sometimes be crazy and would kill you if they heard that."

"Do I look concerned to you?", I chuckled with a smile, "Anyways ladies, I was hoping you could help me look into something."

"What is it?", Hermione asked.

"I am looking into Zeref's Inventions.", I stated.

"You realize that research is under lock and key with the Church right?", Levy remarked, "You can't get to it even if you were the world's best thief."

"I am interested in things that he managed to build before dying.", I stated.

Looking at me with confusion, they said that Zeref didn't build anything before dying. Giving them a smirk, I said they had a lot to learn about the world. Stating that several of his inventions were in fact in existence, I stated that the Etherion Cannon and FACE were both products of Zeref.

"What are those?", Hermione inquired.

"They are weapons the Magic Council has under their control.", I told her, "FACE is an Anti-Ethernano Weapon that could eliminate magic across Ishgar if used. The Etherion Cannon uses raw Etherion Particles to create a beam weapon that can wipe out a small island."

"WHAT!?", they shrieked, "You mean-"

"Shh!!", I hushed them, "Let's not forget that Zeref's Demons are also a product of his design."

"He didn't make them, they are a product of the tormented souls he killed.", Hermione said showing me several textbooks.

"That's not true, Zeref was known to be working on a method to bring someone back from the dead. The Demons are just failed attempts at that, they can't even use magic.", I told them.

Closing their books, the two grabbed my arms and attempted to pull me away. Since they couldn't move me, I got up and followed them back to the apartment they shared.

"Where did you learn about that?", Levy asked with curiosity, "Every textbook says they are tormented souls, but lots of people have theorized they weren't. How can you be certain that is the case?"

"I killed Deliora, I can tell you with absolute certainty they aren't tormented souls. Their bodies are made of Anti-Ethernano and they use Curse Power instead of Magic. It is part of the reason they are difficult to kill, you need to use magic stronger than the Anti-Ethernano can block.", I told her.

Jotting that down on notepads, the two of them were diligently writing the information down.

"So what specifically are you looking for?", Hermione asked.

"The Eclipse Gate, a device that can link to places in time together.", I replied.

"Eclipse Gate..?", they questioned, "Never heard of that one."

"Yes, before trying to recreate life he tried making Time Travel possible. Unfortunately for him the Gate has to be opened on the other side for it to connect.", I stated, 'At least...I think that's why he made the Eclipse Gate, my memory is a bit fuzzy on that.'

Writing that information down, the two of them seemed interested in it now. All things considered the two of them were trustworthy people so I decided to outsource my research.

"How about I make a deal with you two? Let's say I offer to pay you to research these things for me, what would be the price?", I asked.

Before Levy could say anything, Hermione said she'd do it for the same salary she made now. Knowing that she was made minimum wage, based on her age, I accepted the offer. Drawing up a contract with her, she agreed to do the research for me and relay information back to me via Levy. She added that she would research her own topics as well as that was her main goal to begin with. Paying her for the next month, she gladly accepted the money and said she'd start working on it now.

'Good, this clears me up to do other things now. I will just need to watch them to make sure the Church doesn't catch them unaware.', I thought as I left the apartment, 'With Hermione Granger and Levy on the job, I am sure I will get my answers in a few years.'

---Evening---

Returning from their various activities, everyone was really chatty today. Having taken the day to explore their interests, everyone was in high spirits. Listening to them talk about writing, modeling, body building, and even collecting equipment things appeared to be heading in a good direction for everyone.

"What do you think Mael...do you think we could be models?", Lisanna and Mirajane asked me through the noise.

"Of course I do, both of you are beautiful.", I said with a confident smile, "Both of you could be top models if you try hard. In fact, I think a lot of you could pull it off as a side job."

"Really!?", the women shrieked.

Watching them blush and acted embarrassed, I assumed that they all wanted to be a model in some capacity. They didn't know it yet, but by the time they each hit eighteen they would all be some of the most beautiful women in this world...and I got to share a home with them.