Chapter 364: Zeref Reappears
A deafening roar slammed into Acnologia, descending from the heavens like a divine judgment of fire. As the torrential flames struck the earth, an apocalyptic fireball erupted, instantly incinerating everything in its wake.
The sheer concussive force shattered the surviving bedrock of the battlefield. Waves of blistering heat washed over the ruins, warping the very air into a suffocating, distorted haze.
"So... so powerful..."
Natsu was deeply shaken by the apocalyptic sight. He clung tightly to his father's crimson scales, his wide eyes reflecting the towering inferno. This power existed on a completely different dimensional level from his own Dragon's Roar.
"No... he hasn't taken a single scratch."
The Fire Dragon King, Igneel, spoke with a grim, rumbling tone that vibrated through Natsu's entire body. He knew Acnologia well. This monster was the absolute pinnacle of their kind, an anomaly born of pure destruction.
His fiery breath would have instantly melted the scales of any ordinary dragon, yet it was utterly useless against the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse. While a Fire Dragon could gorge on flames to replenish their strength, Acnologia possessed the terrifying ability to indiscriminately devour and nullify all forms of magic.
Boom—!
As if on cue, a catastrophic gust of wind tore from the heart of the inferno. The black-winged dragon shattered the swirling smoke with a single beat of his wings. Acnologia reappeared in the sky, his dark scales shimmering flawlessly, completely unscathed by the Fire Dragon King's ultimate strike.
"I'm fired up now."
Igneel bared his massive, razor-sharp teeth, a feral grin spreading across his maw. This was his first time facing Acnologia head-on in physical combat. This beast was the sole culprit behind the near-extinction of the entire Dragon Clan.
Even as the undisputed Fire Dragon King, Igneel felt the immense, suffocating pressure radiating from his opponent. Every instinct roared that one wrong move would mean total annihilation.
"Natsu, you're in the way."
"What do you mean 'in the way'?!" Natsu yelled indignantly, clutching a massive crimson horn. "Is that any way to talk after we've finally reunited?!"
"It can't be helped; you're simply too weak right now," Igneel stated bluntly, keeping his slitted golden eyes locked on Acnologia. "If you were like that fellow from your guild, you might actually be of some help in a fight of this caliber."
As Igneel spoke, his intense gaze drifted downward, briefly locking onto Ren's figure on the ruined ground below. While he had been lying dormant inside Natsu's body all these years, Igneel had witnessed Ren's terrifying strength firsthand.
To be completely honest, the Fire Dragon King had been profoundly shaken back then. He could hardly believe that a mere human possessed the necessary power to clash with Acnologia and actually force the beast into a stalemate.
After the Grand Magic Games had concluded, Igneel had also watched in silent awe as Ren battled against the seven dragons that emerged from the Eclipse Gate. He had been fully prepared to forcefully awaken and step in to save Natsu at that time. He certainly hadn't expected Ren to summon a golden, multi-tailed avatar and defeat all seven dragons single-handedly.
In all his centuries of existence, Igneel had never seen a human with such unfathomable, god-like strength.
Roar—!!
Acnologia interrupted the Fire Dragon King's thoughts, unleashing an ear-splitting, world-shattering roar directly at Igneel. A devastating beam of pure, apocalyptic blue light tore through the sky, erasing the clouds in its path.
Igneel quickly flared his massive wings, violently banking to the side to dodge the catastrophic attack. He didn't dare take Acnologia's roar head-on. He didn't possess Acnologia's absolute immunity to magic, nor could he devour an attack of that nature.
If that blast struck him squarely, Igneel knew he would be grievously injured, if not instantly killed.
Boom—!
The blue beam missed its target, streaking past Igneel and striking a distant mountain range. The resulting explosion was blinding, obliterating the entire peak in a single, silent flash of light before the deafening sonic boom finally caught up to them.
"Natsu! Get down there!" Igneel roared over the chaotic winds. "You can't help me up here; you're only holding me back from using my full power!"
"No! I don't want to leave!!" Natsu argued, his grip tightening as tears of frustration pricked his eyes.
"Don't be stubborn, my son. I have a vital task for you," Igneel said, his tone shifting from a fierce roar to a commanding fatherly directive. "Do you see the book in that defeated demon's hands down there? That is the 'Book of E.N.D.'."
"E.N.D.?" Natsu repeated, blinking in confusion at the unfamiliar acronym.
"Go get that book."
"Why should I do something like that right now?!" Natsu shouted, desperate to stay by his father's side.
"Because only you can do it. Listen carefully to me, Natsu: absolutely do not open that book under any circumstances, and do not attempt to destroy it. Just seize it and keep it safe." Igneel's massive eye swiveled to meet Natsu's. "If you can take it from him, I promise I will tell you all the truth you want to know."
Natsu hesitated, staring into his father's resolute golden eyes. "Fine! It's a deal!"
Natsu indeed had a mountain of questions he desperately wanted to ask Igneel. He wanted to know where he had been, why he had left, and the truth behind the dragons' disappearance. But now was clearly not the time for a reunion.
"Go!!"
With a massive heave of his shoulders, Igneel threw Natsu off his back, sending the Dragon Slayer plummeting toward the ruined earth below.
"To think there are still dragons surviving in this world... how incredibly unpleasant."
Acnologia finally spoke, his deep, echoing voice dripping with pure malice as he locked his predatory gaze entirely onto Igneel.
"Oh! You've finally opened your mouth to speak, Acnologia?" Igneel quipped, his body igniting with a blinding, sun-like aura of flames.
"I recognize you as my true enemy. I shall now begin the Dragon Slaying!" Acnologia bellowed.
With that declaration, Acnologia charged at the Fire Dragon King. The two giant dragons collided in the sky, their sheer physical impact sending a visible shockwave ripping through the atmosphere as a brutal, earth-shattering struggle commenced.
Meanwhile, Natsu crashed into the ground below, his momentum leaving a small crater in the rubble. He immediately spotted his target and dashed forward, landing squarely beside the broken, paralyzed form of Mard Geer Tartaros. Without hesitation, he reached out and grabbed the Book of E.N.D. from the demon's trembling arms.
Mard Geer couldn't even move a single muscle at this moment. His demonic body was entirely broken, completely drained of Curse power from his devastating battle.
"Stop!!" Mard Geer choked out, his voice a pathetic, raspy hiss.
He could only watch helplessly in agonizing despair as Natsu forcibly pried the sacred Book of E.N.D. from his grasp. It was his guild's ultimate goal, the very reason for Tartaros's existence, slipping away right before his eyes.
"So, this is the Book of E.N.D.?"
Natsu held the heavy, ominous tome in his hands, examining its dark leather binding. He was incredibly curious and felt a strange, inexplicable pull urging him to open it. However, remembering Igneel's strict warning, he forcefully shoved the thought aside.
Suddenly, a chilling wave of dark magic washed over the immediate area, causing the hairs on Natsu's arms to stand on end.
The Book of E.N.D. in Natsu's hand vanished without a trace.
"It disappeared!" Natsu panicked, frantically looking at his empty hands. How could a physical object just vanish into thin air?
A man's calm, melodic voice suddenly rang out from a few feet away. "This book was mine to begin with, so I've simply taken it back. This is a very important item."
Natsu snapped his head around to look, and his pupils immediately contracted to the size of pinpricks. He had seen this man before. The familiar black robes, the solemn expression, the overwhelming aura of pure, suffocating death.
"It's you!" Natsu gasped, his stance dropping into a defensive crouch.
"Zeref!"
This was the very same Zeref he had encountered on Tenrou Island all those years ago. Natsu vividly remembered the overwhelming despair this man had radiated, and how Ren had violently thrown Zeref over to the Grimoire Heart airship to get him away from their guild. This unassuming man standing before him was the legendary, infamous Black Wizard.
"Natsu, I've finally met you again. You... you've grown." Zeref looked at Natsu, his dark eyes filled with an unsettling mixture of sorrow and genuine affection. "I've missed you."
Natsu, however, felt a profound sense of bizarre revulsion. Why would this legendary figure, the most evil Dark Mage in recorded history, want to see him? Why was he acting as if they were intimately familiar with one another?
"Lord Zeref..."
Mard Geer Tartaros forced his heavy head up, looking at Zeref with absolute reverence. He hadn't expected to ever have the chance to see his beloved creator again in his lifetime. Tears of dark devotion welled in his eyes.
Zeref slowly shifted his gaze toward the broken Underworld King. His melancholic expression instantly vanished, replaced by a cold, apathetic void.
"Mard Geer, you've performed well," Zeref said softly. "E.N.D. is only one step away from awakening. You may sleep now."
"Mard Geer... failed to fulfill your one true wish..." the demon wept, his voice cracking with immense shame.
Snap!
Zeref casually snapped his fingers.
"You won't be able to do it anyway."
In an instant, Mard Geer Tartaros's physical body dissolved into dark, ethereal particles. His form forcefully reverted into a thick, ancient book hovering in the air. A second later, pitch-black flames erupted around the tome, reducing the Underworld King to a pile of smoldering ash.
"You... isn't that a demon you created with your own two hands?!"
Natsu's eyes widened in sheer disbelief and horror. In his view, Mard Geer was a living entity that Zeref had personally brought into existence. He should be considered something akin to Zeref's own child. Even though the demon was beyond saving and entirely evil, Zeref had coldly executed him without a single ounce of hesitation or lingering attachment.
To Natsu, whose entire worldview revolved around family and bonds, this casual cruelty was simply too much to comprehend.
"Indeed he was. But I no longer have any need for him," Zeref replied smoothly, brushing a stray speck of ash from his robes. "I originally intended to settle things between the two of us today, Natsu. But Acnologia disrupted my grand plans."
Zeref briefly looked up at the sky, where the two colossal dragons were tearing the heavens apart. "Whether history will be brought to a violent end once more, or a miracle will occur... even I cannot predict the outcome."
"What on earth are you talking about?! Give me back the book, right now!"
Furious, Natsu ignited his fists with roaring flames and rushed directly toward Zeref. But after taking only two steps forward, his entire body seized up. A localized, overwhelming wave of magical pressure crashed down on him, freezing him perfectly in place.
No matter how hard Natsu strained his muscles or flared his magic, he couldn't budge a single inch.
"Don't worry. I won't hurt you," Zeref said calmly, easily sidestepping the frozen Dragon Slayer. "After all, even I don't really want to provoke that guy over there."
As Zeref spoke, his dark, calculating gaze shifted across the ruined landscape, locking directly onto Ren's distant figure. Ren stood atop a shattered pillar of rubble, his own piercing eyes fixed firmly on this exact spot.
If Zeref dared to make a reckless, lethal move against Natsu, Ren was fully prepared to instantly close the distance. He genuinely wanted to test whether the immortal Black Wizard could actually be killed by his dimension-breaking abilities.
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