Forcibly destroying the Eclipse Gate is a last resort.
Because the consequence of doing so is that the 'prediction' by the mysterious future person regarding Rhode's actions will come true. The Royal family might directly believe his speculation and suspect Rhode of having ulterior motives.
If the dragon horde doesn't arrive through the Eclipse Gate, Rhode will have to bear significant blame.
Another thing to consider is that if the Eclipse Gate, which has accumulated a large amount of Magic Power, is destroyed, the explosion of Magic Power could have unpredictable consequences.
So the most suitable approach is... let them open the gate, and destroy the gate after the Magic Power is depleted.
Or simply wait until one or two dragons come through the gate; surely a thousand dragons can't squeeze out all at once, right?
This way, Rhode can clear his name and keep the situation under control to prevent a disaster.
However, what happens to Future Lucy after destroying the gate, Rhode can't predict.
Whether her timeline continues or disappears is also uncontrollable.
According to this logic, besides destroying the gate himself, another backup plan is to report them directly to the Council.
The Eclipse Magic can already be confirmed to be associated with Zeref's Black Magic.
According to the Council's usual principles, once they learn of this, they will immediately send someone to confirm it, then put pressure on Fiore.
Possessing this kind of magic already violates the rules of the Magic Realm.
But doing so might also cause unpredictable troubles.
Because if the Evaluators learn it involves both the dragon horde and Zeref, they might do something stupid like using Magical Elf Power to bombard the Royal Capital.
Something even more ridiculous isn't impossible.
After considering everything, Rhode found no outsiders to be reliable, and the only ones trustworthy in this matter are his own Guild.
Makarov took out a book: "This is the data on the Eclipse stolen by 'Midnight' and 'Laser', recording the specific methods to open and close the gate."
Rhode took it in surprise: "They managed to steal this? Quite capable of them."
Makarov shook his head, unsure if it was regret or satisfaction: "Their magic is unexpectedly suited for this kind of thing."
Midnight is skilled at distorting others' vision and confusing their senses, while Laser is adept at disrupting others' perception of speed, making it easy for escape.
These two are indeed well-suited for infiltration and investigation tasks.
Rhode opened the book, put on the Wind's Glasses, and prepared to study.
Makarov added: "Also, 'Angel' and 'Hot Eye' spoke with Yukino, but she is determined to help Princess Jade."
Rhode paused in his actions, and he could somewhat understand Yukino's reasons for doing so.
It's irrational, but considering her sister's chance to live freely under the sun, it's possible to become obsessed temporarily.
Kono had already discussed with her, meaning Yukino should understand the seriousness and riskiness of the situation.
Since Kono couldn't persuade her, others have even less hope.
Rhode considered Yukino's significance in the Eclipse Plan. Based on the number of Zodiac keys, she's equivalent to one-fifth of a Lucy.
Yes, if necessary, knocking her out and dragging her away isn't much of a problem.
After saying a few words with the President, Rhode began to read the book.
Despite being quite a thick book, at reading speed 32 times faster, Rhode finished it quickly.
With his current knowledge in magic, he could understand most of it.
If Rhode possessed the special Magic Power of a Star Spirit Mage and all the keys, he felt he could now participate in the process of activating the Eclipse Gate.
He was no longer the novice who couldn't even understand the books on Super Magic.
He summarized the three key points of casting the Eclipse Magic: Magic Power, keys, and a Star Spirit Mage.
Rhode felt that Lucy's ancestors tried their best to simplify this powerful Space-Time Magic.
Because he realized that the three steps—storing Magic Power, using keys to unlock the twelve keyholes, and the Star Spirit Mage pushing the gate—can be performed separately.
The first two steps can even be swapped in order.
In the third step, if the Star Spirit Mage's Magic Power is insufficient, it allows for collaboration among multiple people.
The conditions for closing the gate are even fewer, requiring only a Star Spirit Mage and the Zodiac Star Spirits.
Rhode felt that Anna might have considered the potential lack of talent in future generations; the difficulty is greatly reduced compared to when carried out by one person.
After some thought, he called the two Lucys and handed them the book.
"Both of you study the methods for closing the gate carefully, it might be useful."
Rhode removed the Wind's Glasses and loaned them to Future Lucy.
The two Lucys nodded together: "Okay!"
Rhode looked at Future Lucy and asked, "By the way, did you bring your keys back?"
Future Lucy shook her head: "When I was captured earlier, the soldiers took my keys, and I have no idea where they've ended up since."
It makes sense to think that if Lucy had not been caught and her keys confiscated, the Royal family in that world might not have been able to open the gate at all.
Although everyone was somewhat worried, most of the Guild members were optimists, always believing that a solution would be found eventually, so they continued eating, drinking, and talking with laughter.
This atmosphere somewhat alleviated each person's anxiety.
As the meeting was about to conclude, Erza suddenly found Rhode and asked, "What are your plans for tomorrow's competition?"
Rhode said, "Continue as usual; I heard it's a team battle. Remember to tell everyone to conserve their energy to handle potential unexpected events."
"Oh, right!" Mebius came over, "Does Rhode have the complete information on all the contestants? Can I take a look?"
"Sure..." Rhode took out a thick stack of documents, "There's the official data, reporters' investigations, and my own notes during the matches."
The First Generation reached out to take them, but when Rhode let go, the papers passed through her small hands and fell to the ground with a thud, towering over her legs.
The little wings near Mebius' ears fluttered: "Ah, I'm a ghost, can't hold things."
Rhode crouched down to pick them up again and asked, "If you can't hold them, how will you read them?"
Reby stood up: "I'll help the First Generation as an assistant, but why does the First Generation want to see these?"
Mebius eagerly said, "Because I want to be the strategist for Team A! Natsu said 'Team B has someone as cunning as Rhode, so Team A definitely needs my help to win.'"
Reby said helplessly, "I bet Natsu didn't want Rhode to hear that. But a showdown between two generations of Fairy Tail strategists sounds interesting."
Rhode laughed, alright alright, Natsu called me cunning, I've noted that down.
As for the contest, Team B's strength far surpasses Team A. Unless they fall for some bizarre trap, how could they possibly lose to Team A?