Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.
December 31, x791.
Time passed quickly after that day at the guild hall. And the only thing of note to occur was the S-Class Promotion Exam the Fairy Tail guild held every year on the fifteenth of December. And like every year, it was held at the guild's sacred ground, Tenrou Island.
Just as Macao and Wakaba said, this year's eight examinees were Lisanna, Rika, Saeko, Wendy, Lucy, Bisca, Edward, and Alphonse. And like the exam in x784, each participant was required to find a teammate to take the exam with. And needless to say, none of the teammates could be chosen from the S-Class wizards in the guild.
In the end, with Carla as her partner, Wendy was the wizard who passed the exam, becoming the newest S-Class wizard in the guild.
Since then, business at the guild hall returned to normal for most of the wizards. However, Alfonzo was an exception, as most of his time was put into setting up the New Year's Gayla in Crocus. And today, New Year's Eve, would see all that effort come to fruition.
While the performances were a given, with Lunar Edomae once again headlining the event, Crocus was also filled with decorations, various vendors, and smaller street performances for the citizens and tourists to enjoy. As a result, the streets were crowded with people from all walks of life taking the opportunity to soak in the festival atmosphere.
"Interesting." A young-looking man with black hair wearing a black robe with a white sash said while walking through the streets of Crocus. "In all the years I've lived, I've seen many festivals. But I've never seen one like this."
Despite not lowering his voice, the man walking through the streets of Fiore's capital, Crocus, did not draw any attention to himself while looking around like a tourist. Rather, despite not concealing himself in the slightest, no one on the street seemed to notice him at all.
Though, this young-looking man's identity would answer any questions as to why that was. As one of the most powerful wizards on all of Earth Land, this young-looking man, Zeref Dragneel, had many kinds of magic at his disposal. So, concealing his presence should be nothing strange when you think about it.
"Also, these lPhones are quite the interesting pieces of magical technology, as well." Zeref muttered to himself as he glanced down at the magic item in his hand. "Seeing so many people using them made me curious and I bought one. But after getting a better look at them, I can't help being impressed."
A moment later, Zeref tossed the lPhone in his hand into a nearby trash can as he passed by.
"It's too bad there are spells on it that allow the ones who created it to listen in on any conversations that are held with these things as the medium. Otherwise, testing it out would be quite the experience."
"I think you should have tried it out anyway." A male voice said from Zeref's right.
With no signs of shock on his face, Zeref glanced to his right. When he did, he saw a tall man, standing about 6'6", with brown skin, shoulder-length black hair styled into dreadlocks, and grey eyes walking alongside him.
"Well, if it isn't Alfonzo Marcus, the publicly recognized strongest wizard on Ishgar." Zeref replied casually. "Honestly, I'm a bit surprised you were able to detect me. I suppose it has to do with the thin layer of magic power blanketing the city. Quite an ingenious detection spell, if I must say. So simple, yet so broad in its applications."
In response, Alfonzo only shrugged his shoulders before stuffing his hands into his pockets.
"I guess." Alfonzo replied. "I mean, I came up with it when I was nine... So, it's not really that impressive... At least in my book."
Zeref let a small smile curl the corners of his lips upon hearing Alfonzo's response.
"Anyway, why have you come here, Emperor Spriggan?" Alfonzo asked, his tone just as casual as Zeref's had been. "You're not gonna start your next invasion by wiping out the Fiore Royal Family, are you?"
"I take it you know of my invasion plans because of Irene and Brandish." Zeref replied without answering Alfonzo's question.
"Why ask?" Alfonzo asked. "If I remember correctly, you showed up a while ago to ask her about it, didn't you?"
"I see..." Zeref said while continuing to look at everything going on around him.
"By the way, do you think you could give the book of E.N.D. Back?" Alfonzo asked casually while buying a candy apple from a street stall. "I mean, without it, I can't get that Demon Seed out of Natsu."
That question caused Zeref to pause for a moment to glare at Alfonzo.
"It seems you know a lot more than you should." Zeref said, his tone a bit colder than before.
"You could say that." Alfonzo replied nonchalantly. "Anyway, I'm not asking for it for free. I've got some information that might interest you to exchange."
"You really think there's something you can offer in exchange for something so integral to my plans?" Zeref asked, a hint of interest making it into his tone. "Well, I suppose hearing you out won't hurt anything."
"Because there's nothing I could do to take the book away from you, right?" Alfonzo asked.
In response, Zeref only gave a curt nod. Seeing that, Alfonzo shrugged his shoulders again before taking a bite of his candy apple.
"I'm not so sure about that." Alfonzo said after swallowing his bite. "But since I don't wanna start any shit with all these people around, I'll play along."
Hearing Alfonzo's response, Zeref raised an eyebrow. Yet, he did not respond verbally. Instead, he only waited to hear Alfonzo's offer.
"I know about Ankhseram's Curse and how it affects you." Alfonzo said nonchalantly. "Honestly, I think Ankhseram went a bit overboard with that one. But who am I to judge."
This time, both Zeref's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Don't be so surprised." Alfonzo said with a smile. "I mean, we already saved Master Mavis from the same curse. So, it makes sense that I know about your condition and the way to cure it, so to speak."
"Mavis is no longer afflicted by Ankhseram's Curse?" Zeref asked in a socked tone. "How?"
"Equivalent Exchange." Alfonzo said in a cryptic tone. A moment later, however, his expression changed, and he started scratching the side of his head with a somewhat confused expression on his face. "Though, I don't really see how that would be considered equivalent. But whatever."
"Answer the question." Zeref ordered, his tone much more frantic than before. "And tell me how Ma---"
Before Zeref could finish, however, Alfonzo flashed to his side and pressed a hand on the Black Wizard's shoulder after feeling his magic power beginning to stir.
"Calm down." Alfonzo said sternly while gripping Zeref's shoulder. "If your [Death Magic] activates, the number of people who would die would be insane. I'd probably survive, though. Still, I don't wanna see death on that kind of scale."
Struggling to calm himself, Zeref took a deep breath to try and settle his emotions. And after a few more deep breaths, he succeeded. Even so, Alfonzo was ready to deploy an adamantite barrier to trap all of the magic power that Zeref would have released inside with the two of them.
'Yeah, I really don't wanna test if I have enough magic power to nullify that [Death Magic].' Alfonzo thought to himself while feeling a bead of cold sweat dripping down his spine. 'I mean, it's theoretically possible. But that's a risk I'm not willing to take for no reason.'
"My apologies." Zeref said after finally calming down, his expression once again as placid as it had been at the beginning of the conversation. "Please, tell me about these two methods to remove the curse."
"Actually, only one of these methods would remove the curse." Alfonzo replied while internally sighing in relief. "The other would be able to invalidate your immortality."
Once again, Zeref showed an expression of surprise. He then gestured for Alfonzo to continue.
"Well, thanks to some technology I procured a few years ago, I've made some weapons that interreact directly with the soul." Alfonzo said as he released Zeref's shoulder. "So, if you were to lose your life because of one of these weapons, you should stay dead."
"I see..." Zeref said, his tone making it clear that he was still skeptical. "And what's the other method? The one you said would remove the curse."
"[Human Transmutation]." Alfonzo replied. "Using [Human Transmutation] with a Philosopher's Stone as the price, Ankhseram will remove the curse in return."
"Interesting." Zeref replied while lowering his head in contemplation. "I must admit, I never considered taking that route. Then again, I don't have much talent with Ishgar's form of [Alchemy]. So, it makes sense that I never came to that conclusion."
Zeref then raised his head to look Alfonzo in the eyes.
"But if I'm not mistaken, isn't the main ingredient for a Philosopher's Stone human souls." Zeref asked. "Did Mavis really agree to use such a method to have her cursed removed?"
"She did." Alfonzo replied with a nod. He then raised a finger as he continued. "But let me point out that we did not sacrifice any humans to make a Philosopher's Stone. Instead, we took them from the Homunculus that were causing trouble in the kingdom."
"Ah... I guess you're talking about the one that called himself Father." Zeref replied. "Yes, Mard Geer reported something about that before his demise. But I gave it little in terms of importance at the time."
"He was probably more interested in killing us because we messed up his plans." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "I mean, instead of letting him get a hold of that traitor, Crawford Seam, I punched a big ass hole through his chest with a [Railgun]."
"Honestly, I still have no idea why they thought that was what I wanted." Zeref muttered while shaking his head. "More importantly, if you told me about the Philosopher's Stone, I assume you have one I could use to trade with Ankhseram."
"Nope." Alfonzo replied. "Actually, we used all the ones we had to help Master Mavis and the ones who performed the [Human Transmutation]."
Zeref's expression sharpened when he heard that.
"Then, why did you even tell me about such a method." Zeref asked. "Are you trying to give me a sliver of hope before telling me that it does not actually exist."
"Take it easy, Dude." Alfonzo said while rolling his eyes. "Now I see why Lici always wanted to keep me from getting too prideful. I could have ended up like you if things got bad enough."
After saying that, Alfonzo looked Zeref directly in the eyes.
"First of all, you're not strong enough to intimidate me." Alfonzo said in a solemn tone. "So cut the shit. Second, I'm not one of your subjects. On top of that, I owe you nothing. So, I'd suggest you watch the way you talk to me. Otherwise, I don't mind letting you feel how flight across countries feels like I did to Acnologia."
"You should watch your tone, Boy." Zeref said, his tone dropping to a dangerous level. "You may be strong for a young man. And because of that, I've humored your bravado. But it would do you well to not get in over your head."
With that, the two fell silent. However, their glares were some of the most vicious most people would ever see. And the tension in the air the two created caused quite a few civilians and wizards in the vicinity to shudder in terror.
The only saving grace for the people in the surroundings was that, despite the clear hostility between the two, neither Alfonzo nor Zeref released their magic power. A collision between two wizards with power on their level would more than likely collapse the surrounding buildings under the pressure.
"*Sigh* Alright, let's cut this shit out." Alfonzo said while shaking his head. "I didn't find you to start shit like this. So, let's get back on topic. Theoretically, you should be able to create a Philosopher's Stone without sacrificing living people."
Zeref did not respond immediately, continuing to glare at Alfonzo. However, by this point, instead of exuding hostility, his aura held an intense level of consideration.
"You're talking about [Seith Magic], right?" Zeref asked after a few moments of silence. "Specifically, [Human Possession Seith Magic]."
"Got it in one." Alfonzo replied. "In fact, we think using [Seith Magic] to gather wandering human souls would have an even better effect than using human sacrifices."
"Because those souls have been separated from the cycle of life and death..." Zeref muttered.
"You're two for two." Alfonzo said with a grin. "Your right hand man, August, should know the necessary magic. His [Copy Magic] is a cheat like that, after all. And finding an Alchemist to perform the [Transmutation] shouldn't be too hard, either. In fact, there's a guy imprisoned in the nearby prison, Solf J. Kimblee, that has no moral bottom line. So, he'd probably do it for you."
"I see." Zeref said with a nod of understanding.
"Just... If you're gonna use that guy, make sure to kill him when you're done." Alfonzo continued. "Like I said, no moral bottom line. He enjoys blowing people up with his [Alchemy]. So, in my humble opinion, the world would be a better place without him."
"I'll consider it." Zeref replied. He then turned away and started walking down the street again. "I'll give your suggestion a try. If it works, I'll deliver the Book of E.N.D. to you. However, I will not stop the invasion. I still need the Lumin Histoire to fulfill my greatest wish."
"*Sigh* Then I guess you're really hellbent on catching that ass kicking, huh?" Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "Well, who am I to deny a man's dream? If that's what you really want, Fairy Tail will be waiting."
Zeref's only response was to wave over his shoulder before vanishing from the streets of Crocus. As for Alfonzo, he only shrugged his shoulders before returning to overseeing the New Year's program.
The next day, it was reported that Solf J. Kimblee, also known as the Crimson Alchemist, disappeared from his prison cell. Then, after three weeks, Alfonzo, after returning from a quest, found that the Book of E.N.D. had been delivered while he was gone.