At this moment, Gray and Silver were catching up.
In truth, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.
It was already difficult for fathers and sons to speak openly about their feelings, let alone a pair like them, who had been separated for so long.
But there was one thing Gray and Silver Fullbuster could quickly reach an agreement on.
Their hatred for demons.
The fact that more demons had to be eliminated.
Demons had destroyed everything they had, destroying their originally happy and ordinary lives.
If Silver Fullbuster had a choice, he would never have wanted these so-called powers he had now.
He would rather stay by his son and wife's side and live the same happy, ordinary life they once had.
"Gray, I will teach you Ice Devil Slayer Magic. From now on, the heavy responsibility of eliminating demons will fall on your shoulders."
Looking at Gray's complicated expression, Silver directly began speaking as though giving his final instructions.
To him, Keyes had to be eliminated, which meant his own death was inevitable.
He no longer had much time left to make up for things or accompany Gray.
The only thing he could do was pass this power on to him.
As for whether Gray could learn it, Silver was not worried.
Gray could use Ice-Make Magic so well, so learning Ice Devil Slayer Magic would definitely not be difficult.
"Fa... Father... What exactly is your current condition?"
Gray was not stupid.
Naturally, he heard the meaning behind Silver Fullbuster's words. He looked at his father with worry.
"There's no need to lie to you.... I was revived by a demon. If he dies, I will die too. You know me. There is no way I would spare that demon just to cling to life."
Silver directly told him the truth.
Gray immediately fell silent.
He understood.
If things were truly as his father said, then there was no need to think about what choice his father would make.
And in truth, Gray could understand that choice in his heart. If it were him, he definitely would not cling to life that way either.
"Marco... can't he do anything either?"
If this were before, Gray might have given up directly.
But Marco was here, wasn't he?
That meant there was still hope!
"Uh, Guild Master Marco? I haven't asked him, but I don't think even he can do anything about something like this, can he?"
Silver froze for a moment.
He really had not thought of asking Marco for help, mainly because he did not feel Marco could help with something like this.
"No. Maybe Marco has a way." Gray shook his head.
No matter what, they had to ask first to know.
"It looks like you two are getting along pretty well."
Marco came out of Hell's Core and happened to see father and son wearing serious expressions as they discussed something.
Seeing Marco come out, Gray immediately approached him, asking with hope written across his face.
"Marco... Is there any way to help my father's condition?"
Behind him, Silver Fullbuster opened his mouth, then stopped himself.
He did not want Gray to trouble Marco over his own matter.
After all, Marco was the Guild Master and had already helped them a great deal.
Their father and son could not keep asking for more without gratitude.
"I'll think about it. It might be possible."
Facing Gray's hopeful expression, Marco considered his words before answering.
In truth, he was not confident either.
After all, this matter was indeed outside the range of his own abilities.
The key was whether Mirajane could replace Keyes and become Silver Fullbuster's new master.
"As long as there's hope!"
After hearing Marco's explanation, Gray immediately became excited.
There was hope!
Even if that hope was faint, it was still better than the hopeless situation they had just been in.
"..."
Looking at the excited Gray, Silver Fullbuster's expression turned gentle and pained.
Even without him, his Gray had grown into an outstanding, responsible man.
Fairy Tail was a good guild. Gray had also met a group of good people.
Silver Fullbuster knew that after that incident, Gray had come to Fairy Tail.
He had grown up inside Fairy Tail, and his personality had also been shaped under the influence of the entire guild.
Thankfully, it had been Fairy Tail.
"Whether that succeeds or not doesn't matter for now. We need to hurry. First, learn Ice Devil Slayer Magic."
After sighing inwardly for a while, Silver Fullbuster became serious again and grabbed his son, preparing to begin teaching him magic.
Although there was now a little hope that he might survive, Silver Fullbuster could not rely entirely on that hope.
He had to handle the important matter first.
That way, even if he died in the end, he would have no regrets.
"All right! Father!"
Gray gritted his teeth and agreed.
If this was the last time father and son would spend together, then he did not want to disappoint his father.
He had to learn all of Ice Devil Slayer Magic as quickly as possible.
...
Gray was indeed very talented, especially when it came to ice-related magic.
With Ice-Make Magic as his foundation, his speed in learning Ice Devil Slayer Magic was truly very fast.
Ice Devil Slayer Magic, like Dragon Slayer Magic and God Slayer Magic, belonged to the Slayer-type category of magic. All of them were extremely powerful.
Dragon Slayer Magic was mainly aimed at dragons, but it was also a dimensional strike against other mages of the same element, because Dragon Slayers could increase their power by consuming substances of the same attribute.
Users could become immune to magic of the same element, and they could also undergo dragonification, greatly strengthening their physical abilities and magic power.
God Slayer Magic was extremely powerful, and it even slightly countered Dragon Slayer Magic, because the special elements released by God Slayer Magic could neither be absorbed nor nullified by Dragon Slayer Magic of the same element.
Aside from that abnormal case, Natsu.
And now, Natsu's situation had an explanation too.
Natsu was not only a Fire Dragon Slayer, but also a demon.
It was not strange for him to do things ordinary Dragon Slayers could not do.
As for Devil Slayer Magic, it was specialized for eliminating demons.
The user could demonize their own body and gain resistance to magic of the same attribute. In this aspect, it was somewhat similar to Dragon Slayer Magic.
Both granted immunity to magic of the same element, and both had a second stage.
The only difference was that one was dragonification while the other was demonization.
With this, Gray had finally caught up to Natsu's footsteps.
He might even have suddenly become the one who countered Natsu.
After all, if Natsu really was E.N.D., then Gray, who had mastered Ice Devil Slayer Magic, could indeed restrain him.
"It really isn't hard to learn."
Under Silver's complete and unreserved teaching, Gray quickly grasped Ice Devil Slayer Magic.
Although his use of it was still rather unpolished, he could indeed successfully release the magic now.
From this day onward, Gray was the sole inheritor of Devil Slayer Magic.
At present, the only Devil Slayer Magic that existed was Ice Devil Slayer Magic.
"If possible, you should spread Ice Devil Slayer Magic widely. That way, more people can go out and eliminate demons."
Looking at his son Gray, Silver Fullbuster spoke earnestly.
He probably no longer had the chance to do these things himself, but Gray still had time.
Gray could still work toward that goal.
"I understand, Father. I won't keep it to myself."
Gray agreed without hesitation.
In order to eliminate more demons, he definitely would not hoard the knowledge.
As long as someone had the talent and was willing to work for the great cause of eliminating demons, he would teach them everything he knew.
"But you must also pay attention to the character of those who come to learn. You need to tell good from evil and not entrust it to the wrong person. Although Ice Devil Slayer Magic is magic specifically meant to deal with demons, it is still very powerful when used against other mages. If someone with bad intentions learns it, the destruction they cause may not be any smaller than what demons can do."
Silver could be said to be worrying his heart out, constantly reminding Gray of all kinds of things.
It was as though he wanted to make up for all those years he had missed and take part in Gray's growth, even if only a little.
Gray listened silently and did not refute him. He simply listened seriously.
He could feel the emotion hidden within his father's rambling words.
That made Gray's nose sting.
He did not blame his father.
His father had missed his growth because there had been no other choice.
Even being able to meet his father again under these circumstances was something Gray had never dared imagine.
The scene of fatherly love and filial devotion on this side was deeply moving, but Marco did not stay there to watch and disturb them. He had already set out directly to capture Keyes the Black Archbishop.
Now, that was the only fish that had escaped the net.
Buzz!
Marco appeared beside Keyes, nearly scaring the skeleton half to death.
At this moment, Keyes was hiding inside a secret base that belonged to him.
The members of Tartaros did not usually act together all the time, and Keyes also had a lair of his own.
"This place... really is full of stereotypes."
Marco scanned Keyes lair.
This was an underground tomb, the kind of place where a necromancer would appear.
There were also many living corpses inside the tomb.
Silver had once been one of them.
Of course, these living corpses clearly did not possess Silver's strength.
They also had no way to break free from Keyes's control like Silver Fullbuster had.
They could only become thugs under this necromancer's command.
Buzz!
Seeing that Marco did not immediately attack him, Keyes instantly released his Curse Power.
His figure vanished in an instant, opening distance from Marco before controlling all the living corpses to move.
"Kill him!"
Keyes controlled the fearless living corpses and sent them rushing toward Marco.
Objectively speaking, his ability to control corpses was actually far stronger than Seilah's Command Curse.
That also proved even more how strong Silver Fullbuster's will was.
Breaking free from this kind of control was not something an ordinary person could do.
Buzz!
Marco directly changed into the Phoenix Bronze Cloth and unleashed waves of Phoenix flames toward these living corpses.
There were no surprises.
The living corpses quickly turned into ash inside the flames.
This could also be considered helping them find release, directly cremating them.
"If running away worked, how do you think I found you?"
Looking at Keyes, who had immediately begun casting after using the living corpses to buy time and preparing to flee once again, Marco smiled and shook his head.
This necromancer really would not give up until he saw his coffin.
He actually still thought he could truly escape!
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