Chapter 386: The Birth of Heavenly Blue

"Join me in the Grand Magic Games under my newly formed guild."

After finishing up behind closed doors and stepping out into the parlor, Finn looked directly at Ultear and Meredy, who had been patiently waiting for hours. Lisanna and the others had already cleared out, leaving the house quiet enough for business.

"...."

Ultear and Meredy stared at him, momentarily rendered speechless by the sheer audacity of his request right after emerging from the private room.

A moment later, Flare walked down the hall, looking visibly exhausted and weak at the knees, yet carrying an unmistakable expression of profound relief and satisfaction. Sorano immediately stepped up to support her.

"Are you alright, Flare?" Sorano asked smoothly, hiding a knowing smirk.

"I’m just going to go rest," Flare mumbled.

"Take a bath first," Sorano advised with a gentle push.

As the two of them shuffled off down the corridor, Ultear and Meredy watched them go, their faces flushing from the heavy, charged atmosphere that still lingered in the air. While Ultear was a mature woman capable of keeping her composure, Meredy’s face turned the color of a ripe tomato, looking entirely flustered.

"You want us to join your newly created guild?" Ultear cleared her throat, forcing herself to focus on the immediate topic.

"Yes."

"Are those two part of the roster?"

"They are."

"And you as well?"

"That’s right."

"Which means we’ll all need to wear disguises, correct?"

"It’s great to talk to someone with a working brain," Finn remarked dryly.

With Ultear on board, he didn’t need to waste time explaining his logistics twice. His core team for the Grand Magic Games was locked in: Flare, Sorano, Ultear, Meredy, and himself.

"Fine. I’ll accept," Ultear stated after a brief mental calculation.

"Eh? Ultear?!" Meredy blinked in surprise, not expecting her adoptive mother to agree so readily.

"Do you two need help with disguise magic? I can transfer the necessary transformation protocols straight into your minds using Archive Magic," Finn offered casually.

"You can use Archive Magic?" Ultear stared at him, genuinely shocked.

"I can." Finn nodded.

As soon as he had secured the Manager system, prioritizing Archive Magic was his absolute first move. It was the ultimate modern utility magic, functioning like an organic supercomputer capable of sorting, storing, and manipulating infinite streams of data. While it lacked the flashy, world-ending destruction of ancient black arts, its sheer versatility made it one of the most powerful and valuable tools on the continent. With the data stored in his mind, he could theoretically manufacture synthetic magic tech that easily rivaled the Lost Magic, Dragon Slayer arts, or God Slayer arts.

Naturally, he kept those capabilities tightly locked away. Unleashing that level of technological disruption would throw the entire continent into absolute chaos.

"You’re entering the tournament yourself, aren’t you?" Ultear asked, narrowing her eyes. "Are you planning to investigate the strange anomalies happening around the Grand Magic Games?"

She had sensed it too. The annual tournament wasn’t just a harmless spectator sport; a heavy, unnatural concentration of magical energy was quietly pooling beneath the arena.

"That’s part of it, yes," Finn replied evenly.

"Do you actually know what’s happening down there?" Ultear pressed.

"It’s safe to assume someone has deployed a large-scale displacement device—likely designed to siphon and absorb the ambient magical energy expended by the mages during the matches."

Meredy’s eyes widened in disbelief. "A device to drain magic? What on earth would they use that for?"

Finn didn’t bother explaining the full, absurd reality of the Fiore royal family’s master plan. He knew the kingdom’s leadership was being manipulated into building the Eclipse Gate—a massive temporal artifact supposedly meant to travel back in time and erase a minor calamity. In truth, it was a trap orchestrated by someone else to tear open a portal to four hundred years in the past and unleash an army of dragons upon the modern era.

Dragons were a living disaster. A single dragon possessed enough destructive force to level multiple kingdoms, boasting near-total immunity to standard magic.

So who is the madman trying to end the world?

Finn knew the culprit, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. In fact, rampaging dragons sounded like a phenomenal resource—rare biological materials for weapon smithing and an immense reservoir of raw magical power to harvest.

Still, a cold spike of caution hit him. Was he strong enough to handle a true dragon right now, let alone the ancient, terrifying monsters lurking on other continents or the immortal architects behind the curse?

I’m still too weak... he thought quietly.

"What was that?" Ultear caught the mutter.

"Nothing," Finn brushed it aside. "Did you bring the foundational blueprints for the Devil’s Heart?"

"I have them. But do you honestly expect us to synthesize a cursed magical reactor core in a matter of weeks?" Ultear rolled her eyes.

"Is a year enough?"

"A year?" Ultear tilted her head, a calculating glint in her eye. "What are you planning to do with it?"

"I need it to completely obliterate the final remaining Dark Guild on this continent."

Ultear finally understood the scale of his ambition. He was gunning for the ultimate magical core—the legendary synthetic heart crafted by her former master, Hades, to erase the last Dark Guild, Tartaros, and knowing that, it also gave her a sigh of relief. "I’ll do everything in my power to build it. But it’s going to require astronomical funding."

"Money has never been a problem for me. Spend whatever you need. If you need manpower—"

"We don’t need human labor. Do you have an automated facility or a secure base of operations?"

Finn paused. He mentally weighed the location of his hidden mountain resort. Lisanna had explicitly demanded that it remain their secret private getaway.

Well... a little corporate expansion wouldn’t hurt, he decided.

"I have the perfect facility. We’ll stop by and inspect it before heading to Crocus for the Games."

"Perfect," Ultear nodded. "What are we calling this shadow guild of ours?"

"Heavenly Blue," Finn stated firmly. "Give me your arm."

Ultear extended her wrist without hesitation. Finn firmly caught her hand, his thumb tracing her skin as a brilliant, elegant crest of a morning glory blossom—shading into a vibrant, piercing sky blue—magically materialized against her skin.

"Your turn, Meredy."

"O-Oh!"

Meredy quickly offered her arm, watching the delicate, minimalist flower bloom on her skin with quiet approval. It was stunning, clean, and entirely devoid of the ugly, oppressive branding associated with dark guilds.

"Now then," Finn said, stepping toward the door. "Shall we move?"

Across the continent, thousands of mages were packing their bags, completely unaware of the absolute storm barreling toward Crocus.

Shiver.

At that exact moment, every major combatant preparing to enter the Grand Magic Games experienced a sudden, inexplicable chill run down their spines.