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"Is it really possible?"
Hearing George's words, the three were instantly excited.
"Of course it is. Hold hands and grab onto me. I'll try to pull both your consciousnesses and the spirits of the dragons inside you into my mental world.
That way, you can communicate with them directly.
But the condition is that neither you nor the dragons can resist the process."
George extended his cat paw, and the three of them clasped hands and held onto it.
Since everything had been explained so clearly, the dragons likely had no reason to resist.
"Mind Link, activate!"
George split his spiritual energy into three streams, channeling them into each person's body. He began drawing their spirits—and the spirits of the dragons within them—into a temporary mental space he constructed.
As expected, neither the individuals nor the dragons resisted. Everything went smoothly, and all of them were pulled into his mental world.
"Fire Dragon King Igneel, Sky Dragon King Grandeeney, and Iron Dragon Metallicana."
George opened his eyes in the mental world and saw the three individuals alongside the three massive dragons behind them.
Natsu and the others opened their eyes as well and were overwhelmed to see the dragons who had raised and taught them Dragon Slayer Magic—creatures who were like parents to them.
What followed was, naturally, a tearful reunion.
"All right, everyone… now that you've reconnected, I'd like to ask—what exactly happened back then?"
Once the reunion was over, George spoke.
Igneel let out a sigh.
"I had originally planned to wait a few more years, until Natsu and the others had grown stronger. But since circumstances have changed, I'll explain now.
Back then, my friend—Zeref Dragneel—approached me..."
"Natsu is actually the strongest demon created by Zeref?! No wonder the wand made from his hair worked so well!"
After hearing Igneel's explanation, George had a much clearer understanding of the events.
When the Black Dragon slaughtered the dragons, only a few survived—like the Fire, Sky, and Iron Dragon Kings—besides those who fled to the northern continent. But even they couldn't defeat the Black Dragon.
It was during this time that the Fire Dragon King encountered a young wizard collecting herbs—Zeref—and the two became friends.
Later, in an unexpected clash, Igneel fought against END, the strongest demon created by Zeref. At the time, END had just been created and, while full of potential, was still no match for Igneel and nearly got destroyed.
However, END survived. Its demonic power was sealed, and it lost all memory of being a demon. It turned into a normal child—Natsu.
Then Zeref came up with a plan. He approached another friend, Celestial Spirit Mage Anna, and devised a strategy to defeat the Black Dragon.
They would select the most talented children, teach them Dragon Slayer Magic—designed to kill dragons—and send them to the future via the Eclipse Gate.
In the future, where magic is denser, the children would grow stronger and one day use their magic to kill the Black Dragon.
While training the children, the White and Shadow Dragons died. They transformed their essence into Dragon Lacrima and implanted it into Sting and Rogue.
The Fire, Iron, and Sky Dragons, meanwhile, sealed themselves within the bodies of Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy using the Dragon Soul Technique. This technique suppressed the Dragon Seed inside them to prevent full dragon transformation, but it also made it impossible for the dragons to emerge.
Because once the technique was undone and they manifested, their spirits would soon dissipate.
"That's how it all happened."
Half an hour later, George ended the Mind Link and relayed everything Igneel had said.
"My suggestion is this: first, we find the Celestial Spirit Mage Anna, and then locate Zeref. Since he's still alive, I should be able to track him using my magic.
They likely hold the key to defeating the Black Dragon—after all, the entire plan was their idea."
Finding the two would not only provide a clearer picture of the Black Dragon's background but also serve George's personal interests.
Anna, known as the strongest Celestial Spirit Mage of her era, was even more suited than Lucy to help him open the Eclipse Gate and implement his Dragon Devouring Plan.
As for Zeref—there was no need to even explain. He was a magical genius who had invented countless powerful spells and created a variety of intelligent, powerful demons with different abilities.
He was practically a walking magical encyclopedia. Being able to discuss magic with Zeref would greatly benefit George's magical development.
Zeref couldn't defeat the Black Dragon simply because Acnologia was immune to all magic—he was inherently countered.
But in terms of magical knowledge, Zeref could probably leave Acnologia in the dust.
"Zeref... Zeref... I'd advise you all not to go looking for him. He's not the same person he was four hundred years ago."
As everyone buzzed with excitement over Natsu's true origin and George's suggestions, the First Master—who had been quietly observing—suddenly spoke with a somber expression, shocking everyone.
Before George could ask, Makarov spoke up.
"Master Mavis, do you know Zeref?"
"Of course I do. He wasn't just my teacher—he was also my lover… and the one who killed me."
Mavis slowly lifted her head, a deeply conflicted look on her face.
Her words stunned everyone present, including George. No one had expected the First Master of Fairy Tail to have such a personal connection to the Black Wizard Zeref.
At the same time, everyone's gossip-loving instincts ignited. They were dying to hear more about Mavis and Zeref's tangled past.
Since the matter involved the Black Dragon, the fate of the world, and the safety of the guild, Mavis didn't hide anything and began recounting her story with Zeref.
She had grown up on Sirius Island. Her parents were members of the Red Lizard guild based there.
At age six, her parents died during a mission, and she became a bullied servant within the guild.
Her greatest joy was cleaning up and then sneaking off to the guild's library to read magic books.
But not long after, her guild was annihilated by the rival Blue Skull guild, and she was left to survive on the island alone.
Seven years later, when she was thirteen, she met Precht, Yuri Dreyar, and Warrod Sequen—then a group of treasure hunters.
Those three would go on to become the Second Guild Master, Makarov's father, and one of the Four Emperors of Ishgar.
The four of them became close friends and headed to Magnolia, planning to take revenge on Blue Skull. But they were easily defeated and fled into the forest—where they met Zeref, who was napping.
Zeref taught the four of them magic for a while, then suddenly disappeared.
Once they had mastered magic, the four returned to battle Blue Skull and completely overwhelmed them—though in the process, they accidentally released one of Blue Skull's demons.
To save her friends, Mavis unleashed a forbidden spell she had yet to fully complete: Fairy Law. Since then, her body had stopped aging.
Not long after defeating Blue Skull, they founded Fairy Tail in Magnolia and helped it flourish.
(End of Chapter)