"GUAAHHHH!!!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
Mard Geer's screams echoed as his body was hurled through the air.
Su Yan shifted back into his human form, striding toward him.
Mard lay broken on the ground, unable to rise. That last blow had utterly destroyed his body; only the unnatural vitality of a demon kept him alive.
Clutched in his trembling hands was a book, marked with three letters— END.
"It was… so close… just a little more…" Mard muttered bitterly.
If not for Su Yan, his plan would have succeeded. The magic of the continent would have been erased, and with it, Zeref himself. Victory had been just within reach.
But Su Yan's gaze sharpened when he saw the book. He knew what it was—the very tome tied to Natsu's life. Destroy the book, and Natsu would die with it.
He stepped forward, intent on seizing it.
Suddenly, the book pulsed with light—then vanished.
Su Yan spun around instantly.
Standing a short distance away was Zeref, holding the Book of END in his hand.
Su Yan's eyes narrowed, dangerous light flashing within them.
"We meet again. Last time, I didn't greet you properly," Zeref said calmly.
"Hand over the book," Su Yan snapped. He had no patience for Zeref's words. This man, with unparalleled magical talent but no will to match it, disgusted him.
The demons of the Book of Zeref, the very "system" of their creation—it was all Zeref's discarded failures. He created, abandoned, and never cared about the consequences for the world.
Though the demons had acted on their own, the root of everything was Zeref.
Even knowing what was to come—the attack on Fairy Tail—Su Yan's hatred for him only deepened.
"The book? It was mine from the beginning. I merely reclaimed it," Zeref said coldly. "It's important to me."
"I don't care whose it is. If you don't want to die—give it to me."
Zeref blinked at the words, then let out a soft laugh. "Death? Almost all beings fear it. But for me… death is the one thing I long for yet cannot reach. A luxury beyond my grasp."
"Lord Zeref…"
Mard's voice rasped weakly.
"You did well," Zeref said without looking at him.
"Yet you failed."
SNAP!
Zeref snapped his fingers, and Mard Geer dissolved into a book of magic that instantly crumbled to ash.
Su Yan didn't even glance at it.
"I'll say this once more. Give. Me. The book."
OMMMM—!!
A storm of Conqueror's Haki exploded outward, Su Yan's killing intent wrapping around Zeref like chains.
Zeref's eyes glimmered. "What immense power. My first impression was correct—perhaps you really could kill me."
"If it had been before, I might have welcomed death without hesitation. But when I realized another possibility existed… I discovered I feared it. The longer one lives, the stronger that fear becomes."
"Hmph."
Su Yan blurred forward, fist crashing toward him.
A magic circle flared beneath Zeref's feet.
SHHHH! His figure vanished—teleported far away.
Su Yan's Haki scanned the land. No trace of Zeref remained within a thousand meters. He was gone.
Then, Zeref's voice echoed faintly from the fading circle.
"I know I am a sinner. Even if much was not my intent, sin remains sin. Still, I wish to struggle—just to see if I can control my own fate… if the fate of this world truly leads to its end."
"Prepare yourself. Soon, I'll set the perfect stage. Whether the world survives or perishes… we'll find the answer there."
The voice faded into silence.
Su Yan's eyes burned with killing intent. The meaning was clear—Zeref intended to move against Fairy Tail.
The Fairy Heart… If he sought it, war with Fairy Tail was inevitable.
But Su Yan was no man to wait and be struck. If Zeref meant to come for Fairy Tail, then Su Yan would hunt him down first.
At that moment, the curse of Alegria lifted with Mard's death. The Fairy Tail mages awoke, dazed—their last memory was being swallowed.
They blinked at the ruins around them.
Tartaros was gone. And in the middle of the devastation stood Su Yan.
Everyone understood immediately. Su Yan had singlehandedly annihilated Tartaros.
"…It's over?"
"We were… saved again, weren't we?"
Su Yan—the strongest wizard in Fairy Tail, the one nearly all of them looked up to. Their idol.
But in their hearts, they longed to stand beside him, not behind him.
That resolve burned especially bright in those who had witnessed the horror of Tenrou Island. They knew—monsters like Acnologia still existed in the world.
Back then, Su Yan had borne the weight of protecting everyone. They had been powerless.
Even now, against Tartaros, it was the same. They had fought—but in the end, it was Su Yan who delivered them.
The pride of being the guild that won the Grand Magic Games quieted.
They knew the truth.
They were still not strong enough.
If they wanted to truly stand with Su Yan—not as burdens, but as comrades who could protect him in return—then they would have to become stronger. Much stronger.