After a long time, Zeref and Raizel sat in the withered clearing, deeply discussing the theoretical mechanics of how Raizel could become stronger.
"Another possibility is that the total amount of raw magical power within me is simply far greater than yours," Zeref theorized. "That is a very distinct possibility."
Zeref had lived far too long—well over four hundred years.
Few beings in the entire world could ever hope to rival him in terms of magical power.
But for the very first time in centuries, Zeref finally saw a glimmer of real hope to eliminate himself.
"However, my ultimate goal isn't actually to kill you," Raizel clarified.
Raizel's best-case scenario was to eventually use All Delete to safely erase the Curse of Ankhseram from Zeref's soul entirely.
This way, after eventually extracting Mavis from the Fairy Heart crystal beneath the guild, Raizel could similarly remove the curse from her.
Perhaps then, the tragic, canonical situation of "you kill me, I kill you, and we both end up dead" could finally be completely avoided.
In Raizel's view, Mavis was truly pitiful.
Her body had been permanently frozen at the age of thirteen or fourteen, and she had been cursed to destroy everything she loved.
It seemed she had rarely ever experienced a truly normal life—growing up and slowly aging alongside her friends.
Zeref was slightly better off in that regard, at least he had been allowed to experience the physical process of growing up into a young man before the curse took hold.
"I don't insist on death..." Zeref murmured softly, his dark eyes looking at the ash-covered ground.
"I have lived far too long... As long as this terrible curse is removed, whether I live or die means nothing to me anymore."
"By the way, there is a second matter we need to discuss," Raizel said, shifting topics. "There are people from a powerful Dark Guild currently looking for you. They are claiming they want to 'unseal' you to usher in the Ultimate Magic World."
"Ignorant fools!" Zeref sneered, his eyes suddenly flashing with dark, ancient disdain.
Unseal him? He had painstakingly sealed his own violent thoughts and magic away to protect humanity.
Once his self-imposed seal was fully broken, his thoughts would lean entirely toward pure destruction.
Acnologia might occasionally fly around and toy with a few human ants, but a fully unsealed awakened Zeref would be an unstoppable madman, only thinking of destroying the entire world to end his suffering.
"But they seem to have a concrete way to track your movements, though I don't know exactly what method they are using," Raizel noted.
He had asked Jellal about it earlier, but the answer was unknown.
Even Jellal didn't know the exact tracking method.
Precht had suddenly announced that the Black Wizard Zeref was on Tenrou Island without ever revealing the source of the intelligence; he was just exceptionally firm about it.
Zeref pondered for a moment. "It is highly likely through tracking my black magical power. Recently, my Death Predation waves have become much more frequent. However, your holy strike earlier actually seemed to suppress the curse's chaotic nature somewhat. I can actually think clearly right now without feeling a splitting headache."
"I have an idea," Raizel suggested. "Leave behind a concentrated bit of your black magical power here as a decoy bait, and then you should leave the island as soon as possible."
"Oh, and let's exchange contact information," Raizel added casually. "Since you also know Archive Magic, we can establish a secure mental connection that way."
Zeref nodded in agreement.
He separated a small, dense sphere of his black magical power, burying it deep within the withered soil.
Then, his physical form gradually began to fade away into the shadows.
"Hey, wait a minute, that was teleportation too..." Raizel blinked as Zeref vanished.
Raizel had clearly sensed the exact same origin of magical power—it was the exact same, highly advanced teleportation magic that August had taught him years ago.
It seemed highly probable that August had originally copied it directly from his father, Zeref.
"Alright, well, that clears up one of my lingering doubts..."
Raizel stretched his arms lazily over his head, feeling quite happy with himself.
With this outcome, it was highly likely that Acnologia wouldn't even bother to show up, right?
And better yet, he had successfully established a direct line of contact with Zeref himself.
From now on, encountering dark guilds and demons would be an absolute walk in the park.
So, you're called Etherious, huh? You want to fight me?
Release the hounds—I mean, Zeref!
The Alvarez Empire, you say? Unleash the Spriggan 12!
Raizel laughed internally at the overpowered absurdity of it all!
...
[Azuma has already landed on the island first. We have about half an hour left...] Jellal's urgent voice suddenly echoed in Raizel's ears once more.
"Hey, I almost completely forgot about the time!" Raizel muttered, snapping back to reality.
He had been so engrossed in discussing how to get stronger with Zeref that time had slipped away from him.
Nearby, no one dared to approach the dead zone.
The island's magical beasts instinctively avoided the heavy aura of death, and the Fairy Tail members had already been strictly warned by Raizel to stay far away.
Meanwhile, standing alone by a high cliff overlooking the jungle, Mest suddenly froze in his tracks.
"This magical power... this suffocating pressure... That guy is actually on the island..." Mest sweated, his eyes wide with terror.
"That guy... is on the island... Should I break my cover and report back to the Magic Council immediately?"
"No," Mest gritted his teeth. "I should gather more concrete information first before calling the fleet."
Mest kept pondering his next move, completely unaware that a massive new crisis was rapidly approaching Tenrou Island...
...
High above the ocean, a massive, predominantly black airship soared menacingly through the clouds.
This was the mobile headquarters of Grimoire Heart, the absolute most powerful dark guild within the notorious Balam Alliance.
Over the years, Grimoire Heart had been constantly flying this airship across the Ishgar continent, tirelessly searching for traces of Zeref and methods to awaken him.
"We have finally found him... But it seems he is still in a dormant, sealed state. The time is ripe, Master Hades," a masked scout reported, kneeling on the deck.
"Hmph! That man descended upon the ancient lands, refined black magic to its absolute peak, created tens of thousands of terrifying demons, and plunged the entire world into sheer chaos and darkness. He is the strongest and most malevolent figure in the history of magic—the Black Wizard Zeref!"
Hades, now wearing an eyepatch over his right eye, showed absolutely no signs of dimness or weakness despite his extreme age.
His visible gaze remained sharp, intense, and hungry, largely due to his overwhelming excitement at finally being able to meet his idol.
"I have been waiting for this glorious moment for a very, very long time," Hades declared, his deep voice echoing across the deck.
"Into the abyss of magic... onward!"
"Set a direct course for Tenrou Island!" Hades roared.
Standing nearby, the elite members of the Seven Kin of Purgatory were also ready for action.
The lower-ranking members of Grimoire Heart, uniformly cloaked in capes, hoods, and masks, listened intently to Master Hades' speech.
Their attire served both to conceal their identities and as tactical defensive gear—custom-made with specific magical resistance capabilities.
"The moment has finally arrived—the dawn of the legendary Black Wizard Zeref's revival!" Hades cheered.
"All the keys are now firmly in my hands. We simply must find a way to violently awaken what lies dormant within him."
Jellal, standing near the back of the group with his arms crossed, raised a quiet objection.
"But there is one major problem with this timing. Currently, the strongest Magic Guild in the Fiore Kingdom, Fairy Tail—one of the very guilds that recently defeated Oración Seis—has all of its main, S-Class members gathered on that exact island."
"What are you so afraid of, Jellal? This is nothing! Just relax!" Zancrow laughed maniacally.
The spiky, golden-haired mage was casually enveloped in eerie, crackling purple-black flames.
"I'll just burn all those little fairies to ashes! Hahaha!!!"
"Don't make the air so stifling, Zancrow. Underestimating your opponent is a fatal mistake in warfare," Jellal reminded him out of genuine goodwill, though he already knew it would fall on deaf ears.
"This battle will be our glorious guild's all-out fight! Let the delicate fairies tremble beneath the weight of our fragments!" Rustyrose declared, striking a highly theatrical, elegant pose as he spoke.
"!@#$%^&*!" Kain Hikaru babbled excitedly, his words coming out in an impossibly rapid, high-pitched torrent that no normal person could understand.
"Don't speak so fast, Kain!" Zancrow yelled.
"Let me interpret for him. He said he thinks so too," Meredy quietly explained from beneath her red cloak, her face completely stoic.
"And as for Rustyrose, the 'fragment' he mentioned refers to the fragments of our thoughts."
'They're all such hopelessly arrogant fools...' Jellal sighed, feeling utterly helpless as he prepared for the inevitable clash.
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