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Somewhere on Tenrou Island.
The gnarled branches of an ancient giant tree cast distorted shadows under the faint starlight.
In a clearing covered with fallen leaves, a man in a black robe wrapped in white cloth leaned against a large tree, a pendant resting on his open chest.
The night wind ruffled his shiny black short hair, and beneath the V-shaped bangs on his forehead, his deep eyes held four hundred years of loneliness; though his brows were furrowed with an unbreakable sorrow, they still revealed his handsome demeanor.
Zeref Dragneel.
This peerless genius, who left the most indelible mark in the history of magic, the Black Wizard who drove the entire dark world into a frenzy, a forbidden existence feared by all.
He was quiet now.
His lonely expression was as if he had been abandoned by the world.
Half a month ago, Zeref, drifting alone on the sea in a wooden raft, had intended to go to the deep ocean far from human habitation, but by some strange twist of fate, he landed on this unknown island.
The vibrant and fragrant environment surprisingly calmed Zeref's thoughts of staying away from "life"; this island seemed to make him forget the pain brought by the Contradictory Curse.
So Zeref stayed.
Even an urgent message from his most trusted subordinate couldn't make him leave.
However, this tranquility was shattered tonight.
The sound of running and commotion reached Zeref's ears. There are still humans on this island; I thought there weren't any.
A hint of surprise appeared on Zeref's face, but it quickly turned to resignation. "Well, it was already a fluke to stay peacefully for half a month; it's time to leave."
I wonder what urgent matter August encountered, but half a month has passed, so with his ability, he must have resolved it perfectly.
Saying this, Zeref let out a regretful sigh.
Although the Alvarez Empire was founded by him, its development, rise, and unification of the entire Western Continent were all led and completed by August alone.
His so-called emperor was merely a hands-off manager.
Zeref could see that August treated him as family, giving his all without reservation, but the existence of the Contradictory Curse prevented Zeref from showing too much emotion.
So, no matter how one-sided August's devotion was, Zeref could only treat him as a relatively important chess piece, nothing more.
Standing up and brushing the fallen leaves from his clothes, just as Zeref was about to leave, a clear, energetic voice suddenly came.
"Ah ha ha ha, delicious food coming through ~"
Immediately after, a pink-haired boy suddenly emerged from the bushes next to the big tree, holding a seafood platter, almost bumping into Zeref.
Natsu struggled to regain his balance, barely avoiding spilling the seafood platter in his hands. If he were to bring an empty plate to pay respects to the First Master, putting aside the matter of respecting ancestors, Gray would definitely seize the opportunity to mock him mercilessly.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Natsu breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at the person he had almost bumped into. "Oh, aren't you Spriggan? I didn't expect to see you here; what a coincidence."
Natsu acted like an old acquaintance, patting the shoulder of his "old friend" whom he was meeting for only the second time.
Is he that familiar?
Zeref's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly a few times.
However, Natsu suddenly remembered something, his expression changing drastically as he stared at Zeref warily. "Spriggan, this is Tenrou Island, the sacred ground of Fairy Tail. Only members of our guild can enter."
"How did you get in?"
Hearing Natsu's question, Zeref's eyes widened, and he took a half-step back, not explaining but instead looking shocked. "What did you say? This is Tenrou Island?!"
Natsu tilted his head, puzzled. "Otherwise?"
"I'm sorry, I accidentally stumbled in here. I'll leave right away, I'll leave right away."
Zeref's panicked words and actions made Natsu very confused. The only thing he could confirm was that the other party had no ill intentions.
But Natsu wasn't really a fool. When they approached Tenrou Island, he had heard Makarov describe the situation on Tenrou Island. How could an outsider like "Spriggan" enter Tenrou Island, which was protected by isolation magic?
"Tch, 'accidentally'? How can you even use such a lame excuse? Why don't you say Tenrou Island let you in?"
Natsu grabbed Zeref's arm. "I'll take you to see the Guild Master. I advise you to confess honestly then, or you'll know your mistake when Noah gets his hands on you."
Zeref's panic was written all over his face. He had never imagined that this island, which had brought him peace, was Tenrou Island, where his beloved was buried.
Uncontrollably recalling the days he spent with Mavis, Zeref felt the curse within him begin to stir. No, I must leave immediately; 'that' is coming…
"No! You can't leave!"
Just as Natsu and Zeref were pulling and tugging, several more figures emerged from the bushes: Gildarts, Cana, Gray, and Erza and Mira, who were following them.
"Natsu, let's go back to camp first. We'll pay respects to the First Master tomorrow."
Mira called out to Natsu, while Erza, standing beside her, drew her long sword and pointed it at Zeref, who was struggling with Natsu, asking the same question Natsu had asked earlier. "I remember your name is Spriggan. How did you get into Tenrou Island?"
Erza remembered very clearly that during an operation to capture a Necromancer Devil, this man had directly reset the Necromancer Devil back to its original form, the "necromancy" book, and then simply left the book and walked away.
This level of power made Erza extremely wary, but with Gildarts and Mira present, she was confident enough to confront this mysterious "Spriggan."
However, Gildarts's expression was not good. When he heard the name "Spriggan," he realized that the melancholic young man before him was the Emperor of the Alvarez Empire.
Black Wizard Zeref!
"Natsu! Let go!"
Gildarts's voice was somewhat hoarse. He already knew that Zeref was afflicted with a terrifying curse, and if that curse erupted, it could take the lives of everyone present except Zeref.
Zeref's appearance clearly indicated a problem.
Cana heard her father's urgency. Although she didn't understand what he was worried about, she thoughtfully used a Grab Card to pull the bewildered Natsu back.
However, it was too late.
A surge of pure death energy suddenly spread from within Zeref, an evil aura that seemed to devour all life around it, charging forth like a tiger descending a mountain.
The large tree beside Zeref, the green grass on the ground, and the soil beneath his feet all instantly lost their life.
Withered, corrupted, decayed, cracked.
Even the air was filled with the smell of death.
A fatal crisis directly struck Gildarts's head. The ultimate destructive magic, Crush, could not slow the spread of the death energy in the slightest.
Unstoppable, irresistible.
Gildarts immediately understood that this was the Contradictory Curse that had tormented the Black Wizard for 400 years—a power that magic could not contend with!
But the speed of the curse's eruption far exceeded Gildarts's imagination. Forget about escaping with everyone; he hadn't even completed a turn before the death energy rushed toward him.
In the nick of time.
A white-haired youth arrived with the swift wind, and an even more violent, more domineering destructive power erupted from him.
"Magnetic Field Rotation, two hundred thousand horsepower."
"Martial Arts of Magic · Spirit Cleansing."