"Alright, the introductions are over. Now we should get to the main topic," Raizel said.
"I want to know... is Natsu doing well now?" Zeref smoothly took over the conversation, his dark eyes filled with a quiet, desperate hope.
"I suppose he is quite happy," Raizel answered honestly. "He has plenty of food, drinks, and a loud guild full of people to play with."
Raizel shrugged indifferently.
"Aren't you going to ask how I know about your relationship with Natsu?"
"Isn't Natsu your younger brother? Zeref Dragneel..."
Zeref pressed further, his gaze sharpening. "How exactly do you know about my relationship with Natsu?"
"From some very special channels. Anna Heartfilia, or perhaps Igneel," Raizel replied vaguely.
Since Zeref wouldn't be able to investigate further, Raizel simply shifted the blame to those ancient figures to cover his tracks.
"I see..." Zeref nodded in slow understanding.
Igneel was one of the very few beings Zeref could actually remember after his long period of self-sealing.
He guessed that the communication must have occurred through some form of ancient telepathy.
"I want to know... how is Natsu's current strength?" Zeref asked softly.
"Still far from enough, if his goal is to actually defeat you."
"Is that so? As expected, the time has still been too short, hasn't it?" Zeref's expression darkened miserably.
The deathly aura around him flared as his will unconsciously began to waver—a terrifying side effect of the curse that he had absolutely no control over.
"Actually... I don't think it necessarily has to be Natsu," Raizel interrupted, drawing the Black Wizard's attention.
"I have some ideas of my own that could be tried regarding the Curse of Ankhseram."
"You really do know everything!" Zeref's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared intently at Raizel.
"I know your immortality is also a direct result of the Curse of Ankhseram," Raizel stated.
He showed absolutely no awareness of being stared down by the most terrifying dark mage in history, he remained completely relaxed.
"I cannot fully control my ultimate magic right now, but I can give it a try. Do you want to test it out?" Raizel offered.
What Raizel had in mind was using Omegamon X's ultimate ability: All Delete—a devastating strike that utterly erases everything it touches in the name of the digital inscription 'AllDelete' engraved on the Tyranno Blade.
It carries an absolute deletion property.
Raizel wasn't entirely sure if it would work on a divine curse, but it was an idea worth testing.
Ever since Raizel had unlocked the ability to summon the King Dragon Sword, the powerful X-Antibody inherent to Alphamon could be transferred between his various Take Over forms.
The King Dragon Sword had appeared autonomously when Raizel's Take Over proficiency reached 90%... but ever since he hit that 90% mark, his growth had completely stalled.
However, by utilizing the X-Antibody, Raizel could freely transform into Omegamon X or other X-Antibody forms at any time.
Zeref shook his head slowly. "No. I don't think you are capable enough yet... but I do believe there is a tiny sliver of possibility in you."
This was Zeref's habitual, depressive refusal.
He had tried far too many things over the past four hundred years to end his own life, and every single one had failed.
In the end, he firmly believed the only possibility that truly existed was Natsu—a fully grown E.N.D., who might finally have the raw potential to kill him.
Even the Black Dragon, Acnologia, could toy with Zeref effortlessly, but he couldn't actually kill him.
Acnologia possessed immense magical power and apocalyptic destructive force, but the core nature of his power was merely physical and magical consumption—it completely lacked any divine properties of conceptual erasure or annihilation.
At most, the dragon could severely injure Zeref, but he couldn't grant him death.
"You can see it for yourself first."
[Take Over: Omegamon X]
A blinding pillar of white light erupted in the dead clearing.
The X-Antibody within Raizel automatically transferred from Alphamon to Omegamon, reshaping his armored form into that of a holy, mechanical knight.
"What a peculiar magic..." Zeref murmured, his eyes widening in sheer fascination. "A type I have never seen before. It is quite different from ordinary Take Over Magic..."
"A light attribute... but the nature of the magical power is entirely unique..." Zeref's inherent genius stirred, his mind unconsciously beginning to rapidly study Raizel's new form.
"A sword and a cannon... Indeed, it possesses some highly unique attributes. A dragon? Fire? Ice?"
Zeref's analytical thoughts drifted further as he continuously broke down the magical composition of Raizel's armor.
"Stop! Please stand exactly there and do not move," Raizel commanded, his voice echoing from the metallic armor.
He signaled for Zeref to maintain his distance. "Now, I am going to attack."
Raizel swung his left arm downward forcefully.
With a sharp, ringing metallic shing, the massive Tyranno Blade swiftly extended from the armored dragon head.
Strange, glowing digital inscriptions were etched deeply into the pristine metal.
"This move is called All Delete. From what I understand of my own power, it should be an attack with pure conceptual erasure properties."
The glowing inscriptions on the blade flared with blinding white light, then quickly faded into an intense, focused edge.
Meanwhile, Zeref simply stood still, quietly observing the holy knight.
A sword of light swept across the clearing—a very strange, silent sword light in Zeref's eyes.
Within this incoming strike, Zeref couldn't sense any traditional lethal force, nor could he even feel any physical pain or malice as it rushed directly toward him.
The sword light continuously expanded in Zeref's dark pupils until it completely passed through his body and disappeared into the ether.
Zeref slowly closed his eyes, sensing the aftermath of the strike's power.
Suddenly, cold sweat poured down Zeref's pale face.
He began to tremble uncontrollably as a terrifying violent war between black and white forces continuously erupted deep within his soul.
The white light fought fiercely to scrub the curse from his existence... but eventually, the white light gradually weakened.
The oppressive, suffocating blackness of Ankhseram began to dominate once again.
"It had no permanent effect for now... but I believe that failure is only temporary," Zeref breathed heavily.
He wiped his brow, recovering from the intense internal battle he had just experienced.
"Perhaps when you are much stronger, this strike could actually erase the curse... possibly even making me completely nonexistent in this world."
Inside his immortal body, All Delete and the Curse of Ankhseram had been constantly fighting for dominance.
All Delete was highly effective... but it could only last for a short time before the curse of a literal god began to regain its absolute superiority.
Zeref accurately speculated that Ankhseram's divine power was currently far greater than Raizel's magic output, allowing the curse to maintain its hold.
"So, it actually is effective?" Raizel asked, his armored shoulders dropping slightly.
Actually, Raizel himself hadn't been completely certain it would do anything at all.
If it truly was effective, perhaps one day both Mavis and Zeref could finally be cured and become normal people.
Raizel strongly suspected the attack was effective because the very moment he struck Zeref with the blade... his Take Over proficiency finally ticked from 90% to 90.5%.
This wasn't Raizel's first time using the move.
After first gaining the ability to use the X-Antibody, he had tried using All Delete before without any special changes in his proficiency—until just now.
Perhaps overcoming this final hurdle required Raizel to use absolute abilities like Origin Acquisition and All Delete on targets with divine or uniquely supreme properties to achieve his ultimate growth.
"Yes. Though only slightly... I truly believe you possess this possibility," Zeref smiled, a genuine, relieved expression gracing his face.
Zeref had surprisingly found another meaning to his long, cursed life today—another valid possibility of being killed besides Natsu.
"Let me try one more strike. I need to make a proper comparison," Raizel said.
Raizel swung his blade a second time.
However, this time, the Take Over level showed absolutely no change and Zeref no longer felt the intense, agonizing internal conflict he had experienced earlier.
"Perhaps you need to advance your strength by one massive step, or even more, for it to permanently take effect," Zeref voiced his logical speculation.
In the Black Wizard's view, Raizel's current strength was already quite astonishing.
If Zeref were to select elite members for his Shields of Spriggan himself, Raizel would undoubtedly be more than worthy of a seat.
But for this specific task, that was far from enough.
Their ultimate opponent wasn't just a strong mage—it was a literal god who controlled the absolute concepts of life and death.