Not long after Mira left, Erza and Cana unexpectedly came across someone neither of them had ever seen before.
The two didn’t recognize the black-haired young man at first. He was a stranger, and the unsettling, almost suffocating aura around him made them instinctively wary. Their first assumption was that he must be one of the Seven Kin of Purgatory.
Erza’s grip tightened on her sword, and Cana readied her cards, both women watching him with sharp, guarded eyes.
Zeref’s gaze shifted briefly to the Grimoire Heart soldiers still locked in battle with the blue-violet worms, then turned toward Erza and Cana. His eyes lingered for a moment on the Fairy Tail emblem stitched onto their clothing. Without a word, he turned away as if intending to leave.
But the Grimoire Heart soldiers recognized him instantly.
"Quick, report to Lord Caprico!"
The soldiers’ voices rose in panic. They had all memorized Zeref’s portrait before ever setting foot on Tenrou Island; there was no mistaking him.
Their primary mission here was to locate and capture Zeref. Eliminating Fairy Tail was only a secondary objective ordered by Master Hades, who saw the guild as an obstacle to be removed.
Now that they had found Zeref, protocol demanded they abandon the fight and focus entirely on securing him, or at the very least, reporting his location.
But the worms were relentless and far too troublesome to ignore.
Unaware of how much they were revealing, their frantic cries hit Erza and Cana like a thunderclap.
"The Black Wizard of legend... He’s actually alive, and here, on Tenrou Island?"
Cana’s expression hardened. "Then Grimoire Heart’s objective..."
Erza gave a grim nod. "Yes. It’s Zeref."
For a moment, the sheer absurdity of it all struck her.
So many dark cults, so many zealots, Jellal among them, had devoted themselves to "resurrecting" Zeref. But if he had been alive all along, then the resurrection was nothing but a lie.
Her hand trembled on the hilt of her sword. The destruction of her village... the slaughter and torment of its people when she was a child...
All the pain and suffering she had endured had been for the sake of a false dream.
Simon, Wally, Millianna, Sho... countless other children had lost their families and homes chasing that same illusion.
Grandpa Rob had given his life for it.
And Jellal... what had his so-called ideals truly been? What had he been deceiving everyone for?
"Erza." Cana reached out, holding her wrist, sensing the storm of emotions swirling inside her.
Erza drew in a slow breath, forcing herself to steady.
"I’m fine. Now that we know Grimoire Heart’s true goal, we can’t allow them to succeed. And as for Zeref... we have to inform Master immediately."
Cana nodded. Grimoire Heart alone was dangerous enough, but combined with Zeref, this had become an unprecedented crisis.
"I see." Zeref’s voice was quiet, yet heavy with sadness, as if he’d heard every word.
Memories surfaced, times when, lost in confusion, he had been captured again and again. Now, he understood that all the strife and violence on this island was because of him.
His expression darkened further. "I never wanted to witness conflict. I never wanted to see life perish..."
Suddenly, he clutched his head as if in pain. "No... no, I mustn’t think like that... No!"
Though his will resisted, the black miasma still seeped from his body, swirling outward in a rapid, suffocating wave.
Erza and Cana turned and sprinted, diving to the ground just as the black aura swept past.
Wherever the darkness passed, all signs of life were erased.
By the time the two mages staggered back to their feet, the Voidmites had vanished, and every Grimoire Heart soldier lay motionless on the ground.
Only Erza, Cana, and Zeref remained. Beyond them, the forest was silent, utterly devoid of life.
Rain began to fall, the steady patter against the leaves making the scene even more desolate.
"All of them..." Erza murmured. "Is this the power of the Black Magic?"
It wasn’t a display of overwhelming force, but something far more disturbing.
So many lives, extinguished without even being struck by a weapon or spell, snuffed out silently, as though they had never existed at all.
Cana and Erza could not comprehend how that magic had been cast.
"I truly don’t wish to harm any life..." Zeref murmured, head bowed, his steps unsteady as he walked away.
The two women stood frozen in conflict. This man was far too dangerous to be left wandering Tenrou Island freely. But if they followed him, their lives could be claimed in an instant.
And there was still the matter of Grimoire Heart. They had not been defeated yet.
What had started as a straightforward S-Class Examination had now turned into an incomprehensible disaster.
It was then that a black-haired woman and a pink-haired girl appeared.
"Meredy," the younger girl said in surprise, "Ultear, is that..."
But Ultear, unusually, did not correct Mered’s informal address. Her gaze was fixed ahead, her entire body trembling faintly with a mixture of shock and exhilaration.
Tears welled up in Ultear’s eyes.
Even Meredy did not understand the reason for her partner’s emotion. Was Ultear truly so desperate to bring about the era of Great Magic?
Zeref, seemingly oblivious to their arrival, kept walking without so much as a glance in their direction.
Ultear shook herself from her daze and started forward, intent on pursuing him with Meredy.
But Erza and Cana stepped into their path.
"Fairy Queen Erza... and the rumored daughter of Gildarts," Ultear said smoothly. Her intelligence network was clearly far superior to that of the opponents they had faced earlier, for she even knew of Cana and Gildarts’ recently acknowledged kinship.
Of course, it might simply be because Gildarts was too famous to ignore.
"Grimoire Heart," Erza said flatly, noting the insignia on their clothing. She could sense their powerful magic, and she also recalled seeing this black-haired woman once before in the Council chamber.
Her tone sharpened. "The one who infiltrated the Council alongside Jellal... so your true identity is one of the Seven Kin of Purgatory?"
"As you have guessed," Ultear replied evenly, "my name is Ultear. To be precise, I am the leader of the Seven Kin of Purgatory."
She did not bother concealing her identity. Casually rolling the crystal ball in her palm, she asked, "Do you seek Zeref as well?"
"As I thought," Erza said, her voice steely. "Your ultimate target is him. But we cannot allow you to run unchecked on this island."
Dozens of swords materialized in the air around Erza, gleaming and poised to strike. Every blade pointed directly at Ultear and Meredy.
"Zeref is mine!" Ultear’s voice sharpened, her expression twisting under years of relentless pursuit that now seemed within her grasp.
"I will never hand him over to you!"
To her, anyone standing in the way was an enemy, another obstacle to seizing Zeref and realizing her long-held dream.
Seeing Zeref’s figure growing smaller in the distance, Ultear made a snap decision, her composure slipping further.
"Meredy! Follow him!"
"Yes!" Meredy shot forward without a moment’s hesitation.
"Heaven’s Wheel: Bladework!"
Not about to let them escape so easily, Erza sent dozens of long swords streaking after Meredy in rapid succession.
Ultear hurled her crystal ball into the air. In an instant, countless identical phantom spheres appeared around it, surrounding her like a constellation.
Each phantom sphere solidified in turn, intercepting and deflecting Erza’s blades before they could reach their target.
Read Chapters ahead @/Keepsmiling818