Chapter 439

The Alvarez Empire is the 439th chapter of Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail.
Erza is taken to Lumen Histoire beneath Fairy Tail's ruins with Mest, only to be followed by the other members of Team Natsu, and a few others. Mest then transfers his memories to all of them, revealing his past, going from Makarov's request for him to infiltrate the Magic Council for information about the western continent to the revelation about the future invasion of it by the Alvarez Empire, which Makarov left for to protect his family.
==Summary==
Being taken to Fairy Tail's mysterious underground chambers, Erza wonders why is she the one to be taken to the restricted grounds. After Mest tells her that only Guild Masters have access, he shows her Fairy Tail's biggest secret, Lumen Histoire. After Erza expresses shock at seeing the first Master's body, the rest of Team Natsu, and others, accidentally reveal themselves, having been following Mest all along. As everyone is curious as to why Mavis is encased in a crystal, Mest claims that he does not know, after which he shares his memories with everyone so that they know why he infiltrated the Magic Council and why Makarov went missing.
Going back nine years, Makarov asks Mest to infiltrate the Magic Council, wanting him to get as much information about the Western Continent as possible so as to ensure the guild stays protected, which he erases his memories to do make easier. After a month passes, Mest informs Makarov about the lack of information he receives, as well as Fairy Tail becoming a sensitive topic. The two briefly talk about Mest erasing his memories to get the job done and that Makarov has the ability to unlock his memories whenever he so wishes, where Mest says that he has adopted the name Doranbolt for the time being. As more months pass, due to Makarov's frequent visits, Mest decides to infiltrate Fairy Tail in order to dig any dirt on the guild that he can, which was the reason he decided to sneak into the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial. Seven years after Acnologia's rampage on Tenrou Island, Mest expresses to Makarov his happiness at everyone's safe return. Makarov apologizes to Mest for putting him through everything and asks him to come home to Fairy Tail, however Mest refuses on the grounds that he has almost acquired the information about the West that Makarov desires.
After the war with Tartaros, Makarov reveals that the country of Alvarez in the western continent is very dangerous. Going further, Makarov says that Lumen Histoire is what they're looking for, being the main reason why an invasion from them took place ten years ago, which was stopped due to the Magic Council's intervention, with Face being a backup plan if they ever needed one. Makarov then reveals his ultimate fear: that Alvarez, or rather, the Alvarez Empire, will invade Ishgar once more to steal Lumen Histoire; he adds that they are outnumbered against the militaristic, Magic-savvy empire, as Isghar has 500 guilds, whereas the Alvarez Empire has 730 guilds, including Dark ones, adding that they are all united under the banner of the Empire. Hoping that Magic Council will recover in time for their invastion, Makarov decides to go to Alvarez to stall for enough time to allow the Council time to rebuild, as well as that his reason for disbanding Fairy Tail is to protect his family in the event of his failure. With Mest telling him about the fatality of his decision, Makarov responds that it's something a parent must do to protect their family.
==Characters in Order of Appearance==
==Battles & Events==
*None
==Magic, Spells, and Abilities used==
===Magic used===
*
===Spells used===
*None
===Armors used===
*
==Trivia==
*In the translation notes section of Volume 53 it was stated that the previous translation, Albareth, was incorrectly translated; with the true translation being "Alvarez".Fairy Tail Manga: Volume 53 Translation Notes
==References==
==Arc Navigation==