The next morning, smoke rose from a makeshift stove.
A large pot bubbled and gurgled. Chase stood beside it, gently stirring the thick, fragrant rice porridge with a ladle to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.
"It's almost ready, Erza. Add the seafood we caught this morning," Chase said.
"Yes!"
Beside him, Erza, wearing an apron and holding a tray, carefully added the prepared large blue crabs and lobsters to the pot.
The usually fearless Fairy Queen looked tense, her eyes fixed on her own movements, afraid that a single misstep might ruin the entire pot of seafood porridge.
As a fully capable Fairy Tail S-Class mage, her wilderness survival skills were certainly top-notch.
But most of the time, her priority was completing requests as quickly as possible. When hungry, she would just hunt a beast and roast it. She wasn't very particular.
So, when it came to cooking skills, Erza was indeed like a new recruit next to Chase, who had enjoyed cooking even before transmigrating. Even Happy, a veteran fish connoisseur, couldn't get enough of his pickled fish!
"Next, add the wild vegetables for texture and color. Don't use too much salt. Just a little."
"Understood!"
"Hey, hey, is this for real? That guy who only knows how to fight can actually cook? And it smells this good?!"
Not far away, Gildarts sat on the grass, his eyes wide as he watched Chase's skillful movements, an incredulous exclamation escaping him.
The mixed aroma of seafood and porridge made his stomach growl involuntarily.
Though his time with Chase had been limited, his impression of the guild's rising star had long since been set—he had categorized him with Natsu.
And did Natsu know how to cook?
No. That guy would only turn the kitchen into a high-temperature sauna.
"I was shocked too when I first found out," Mira said, walking over with a stack of clean bowls and chopsticks, her gentle gaze focused entirely on Chase. "Showing his charm in unexpected places... that's what makes Chase so endearing~"
As a veteran in matters of the heart, Gildarts could see Mira's undisguised affection at a glance.
He had wanted to tease her a bit, but remembering how the three of them had formed a united front against him the other day, he ultimately let out a heavy sigh. "Ah, that brat sure is lucky."
After eating the entire large pot of seafood porridge with pure satisfaction, the four immediately set to work preparing the exam venue.
The exam rules Makarov had formulated were similar to the original story, divided into two stages: "Competitive Advancement" and "Search for Mavis's Grave."
The slight change was that the entrances to the first-stage exam paths were no longer concentrated in one spot, but scattered across nine different locations around Tenrou Island.
This was to prevent fierce battles from affecting the surrounding exam areas—the current participants, like Natsu, were much stronger than their counterparts in the original story.
The nine paths, representing "intense combat," "encounter battles," and "luck," all converged toward the island's center. Participants who successfully advanced would face the second-stage exam at the main trunk of the Tenrou Tree.
That was precisely what Chase and the others needed to do. Each of them had to set up and transform at least two paths.
The area Chase was responsible for was the southeast corner of Tenrou Island. Here, the forest had faults, forming a steep, hundred-meter-high cliff face.
The cliff was covered with signs of weathering. A few hardy trees grew out at angles from the cracks, adding a touch of life to this rugged terrain.
This was where Natsu had first encountered the Fire God Slayer, Zancrow, in the original story.
After a brief survey of the terrain, Chase pulled out a card from the void.
A magical array wove with light. Dark Magician Girl flew out, striking a cute pose. Buster Blader and Celtic Guardian followed close behind.
Having heard they were going to set up traps—well, prepare the venue for the Fairy Tail participants—they hadn't hesitated to take on the task, also wanting to get some fresh air.
It wasn't that Chase was slacking off. Besides preparing for the S-Class Mage Trial, he had two things he needed to do on Tenrou Island.
The first was engraving the "Heart" magical circuit into Gildarts, which had been completed last night.
Gildarts's strength was undeniable. He had quickly adapted to the amplification effects of the "Heart."
Unfortunately, this thing Hades had couldn't repair the old wounds left on his body. His limbs, damaged by the Black Dragon, remained as they were.
The second thing, of course, was to find Zeref, the Black Mage, who had ended up here.
Chase hadn't made breakfast just to show off his cooking skills. During the process of gathering wild vegetables and catching seafood, he had already located Zeref's whereabouts.
Gildarts and the others couldn't sense the forcibly sealed black magic aura, but Dark Magician, proficient in this field, could.
"Well, I'll leave this place to you, then," Chase said, waving to Dark Magician Girl and the other two.
"No problem! We'll make sure to prepare some fun venue for Natsu and the others!" Dark Magician Girl raised her hand high, smiling mischievously.
Buster Blader and Celtic Guardian had similar expressions, radiating an air of conspiracy.
Whoever ends up in their path is in for a treat. Chase thought to himself. Then, he nodded and transformed into a streak of light, flying toward the upper island supported by the Tenrou Tree.
Deep within an eerily quiet forest, withered yellow leaves fell.
A man in black clothes and a white robe, sitting under a large tree as if sleeping, suddenly sensed something. His eyes snapped open.
His dark pupils were as deep as the night sky, yet hollow, carrying over four hundred years of loneliness and pain.
"A human?"
Seeing Chase and Dark Magician before him, Zeref slowly rose. His downcast eyes were filled with endless sorrow and dejection. "Why is this happening? I thought that here, there would be no people..."
"That's what I should be asking you. What are you, lurking around our guild's sacred ground?" Chase asked, a symbolic question.
At the same time, he carefully observed the man who could be said to throughout the entire Fairy Tail story.
Zeref was thinner than expected. Faint blue veins were faintly visible beneath his pale skin. His long black hair hung loose, with a few strands falling over his eyes, adding to his gloomy temperament.
The most striking thing was the aura that surrounded him. It wasn't pure dark magic, but something deeper, more primal—an aura of death. It was unsettling.
"I see... So this is a small island managed by a guild..." Zeref didn't notice Chase's gaze. Or rather, he didn't dare meet Chase's eyes, afraid of taking the man's precious life.
Just like the tragedies that had happened before.
An unintentional glance, an accidental touch—and then life would vanish before his eyes.
Those terrified expressions, those outstretched hands begging for help... all had become recurring guests in his nightmares.
That's right. He was a cursed monster, capable only of bringing disaster to the world.
Click.
The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Zeref snapped his head up, raising his hand in panic to stop Chase, shouting, "No! Stop right there!"
"I didn't mean to trespass on your guild's sacred ground. I'll leave now."
His voice carried a hint of pleading. "So please... don't come any closer!"
A faint smile lingered at the corner of Chase's mouth. After exchanging a brief glance with Dark Magician beside him, he continued walking forward.
His God Slayer Magic activated quietly. Slifer's dragon scales appeared on his skin, and the sacred aura he emitted formed a natural protective barrier.
Within the barrier, Dark Magician stayed half a step ahead of him, ensuring he could give a warning the instant something unexpected happened.
Zeref, cursed by Ankhseram, couldn't even be killed by Acnologia. Contact with such a dangerous person had to be handled with extreme caution.
And that, in fact, was one of the reasons Chase hadn't informed Gildarts and the others and had come alone.
"No... don't!"
Zeref backed away, trembling, his face contorted in pain as he clutched his head. "Run... quickly..."
Black magic power began to uncontrollably seep from his body, forming twisted whirlpools around him.
"Death Predation... is coming!!"
WHOOSH!
A black death storm erupted, spreading outward from him in all directions.
The falling leaves were the first to contact the storm. They immediately crumbled to dust.
Then, the lush green grass beneath their feet, the towering trees that blotted out the sky, the insects and birds hiding among them—all had their vitality stripped away.
In the blink of an eye, the vibrant forest had become a dead, silent land!
A cold wind blew, stirring black dust.
Zeref sat limp on the ground, his face buried in his hands, murmuring, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... I'm so sorry..."
"What the hell are you muttering about, you bastard?!"
The sudden voice made Zeref's expression change dramatically. He looked up. The two people who should have had their lives taken were...
Completely unharmed?
"Not dead... you're not dead..." Zeref sat there, stunned.
He had fantasized about this scene countless times. But no matter how excellent or how powerful the mage, without exception, they had been mercilessly erased by the "taboo."
After being crushed by endless despair and helplessness time and time again, he no longer even dared to hope for such a miracle. He just wanted to hide somewhere remote, waiting for Natsu to grow up and kill him, so he could finally be free.
So, when humans who were unaffected by the "taboo" actually appeared, Zeref's first reaction wasn't joy, but numbness.
Not until the sunlight broke through the black dust, shining on his face, bringing a trace of warmth and light, did Zeref finally believe this wasn't a dream.
For the first time in four hundred years, the damned curse hadn't take the lives of those who approached him!
Drip.
Two streams of hot tears overflowed from his lightless pupils, sliding down his cheeks, splashing onto the dead earth.
The Black Mage, who had left behind countless legends in the magical world...
...cried.
***
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