Just after Mira had left, Erza and Kana encountered an unexpected person.
—Zeref.
The two of them did not recognize this young man with black hair. Seeing a stranger and sensing an unusual aura, they thought he might be one of the Seven Dependents.
So Erza gripped her sword, and Kana held her card, both vigilantly eyeing Zeref.
Zeref first glanced at the Demon Heart soldiers fighting with the blue-violet worms, then turned his gaze to Erza and Kana.
His eyes lingered briefly on the Fairy Tail emblem before he immediately decided to leave.
But one of the Demon Heart soldiers recognized him at once:
"Lord Zeref!"
"Quick, report to Lord Kaburico!"
"But these worms..."
The soldiers were in chaos. Before arriving on the island, they had all seen Zeref's portrait and would never mistake him.
Their primary goal for coming to the island was to find Zeref; destroying Fairy Tail was merely because President Hades thought they would get in the way.
Now that they had discovered Zeref's trail, they should abandon fighting at once and either take him back or report the news.
But... these worms were too troublesome!
Unbeknownst to them, their exclamations brought great shock to Erza and Kana: "Zeref?!"
"The legendary Black Mage... still alive, and on Celestial Wolf Island?"
Kana said seriously, "So, the purpose of Demon Heart is..."
Erza nodded heavily, "Yes, it's probably Zeref."
At this moment, she suddenly felt it was utterly absurd.
So many Black Magic Sects, including Jellal, were tirelessly pursuing the 'resurrection of Zeref,' when from the start it was all a lie.
The hand gripping her sword trembled slightly; the village where she grew up was destroyed, the villagers slaughtered, tortured...
All the suffering she endured as a child was merely for such a false desire!
Simon, Wally, Mirena, Xiu, and so many children lost their families and their homes for such a thing.
Grandpa Rob died for this matter.
And Jellal... what was his ideal, really?!
What was he deceiving everyone for?!
"Erza." Kana clasped Erza's wrist, feeling Erza's emotions weren't right.
Erza took a deep breath to compose herself:
"I'm fine; now that we know the purpose of Demon Heart, we can't let them succeed, and we must quickly inform the President about Zeref too."
Kana nodded, recognizing that both Demon Heart and Zeref were unprecedented troubles.
"So it is..." Zeref seemed to hear the others talking.
Recalling his past chaotic experiences being pursued, he realized that the fighting on this island all stemmed from him.
His expression grew even sadder: "Though I don't wish to see any fighting, nor any lives lost..."
Suddenly, he clutched his head: "No, no, I can't think like this... no!"
Despite his strong unwillingness, a black aura still emerged from him, expanding outward rapidly.
"Danger!"
Erza and Kana ran far off, diving to the ground before the black energy could sweep over them.
Buzz~
Where the black aura reached, all life vanished.
By the time Erza and Kana got up, the Void Worms were already gone, and all the Demon Heart soldiers lay on the ground.
Aside from them and Zeref, there was no sign of life at all.
Raindrops fell from the sky, enhancing the somber mood of the surroundings.
"All... is this the power of the Black Mage?"
Rather than sheer strength, it was more eerie and terrifying.
Numerous lives disappeared without any powerful attack, vanishing silently.
Kana and Erza couldn't understand how that magic was initiated.
"I really don't want to harm any life..." Zeref mumbled, stumbling away into the distance.
Erza and Kana felt conflicted; they couldn't let such a dangerous person roam freely on Celestial Wolf Island.
But following might result in losing their lives at any moment.
Moreover, Demon Heart was still unresolved.
What was supposed to be a proper S-Class exam had unexpectedly turned into this situation.
A black-haired woman and a pink-haired girl appeared in the area.
Melty said excitedly, "Ultear, that's..."
Ultear, for once, didn't correct Melty's address. She was even more excited than Melty, her body slightly trembling with excitement.
"Lord Zeref..."
Tears welled up in Ultear's eyes.
Even Melty couldn't understand why Ultear was so thrilled; did she really look forward to the Great Magic Realm that much?
Zeref seemed oblivious to their arrival, only continuing to walk away into the distance.
Ultear snapped out of her immense joy, ready to pursue with Melty.
But Erza and Kana blocked their way.
"Fairy Queen Erza, and... the rumored daughter of Kildas." Ultear's intelligence work was clearly superior to previous rivals, as she even knew about Kana's kinship with Kildas.
—Of course, it might also be due to Kildas's tendency to boast.
"Demon Heart." The symbol on their clothes was recognizable, and Erza sensed their strong magical power, recalling seeing this black-haired woman at the Council.
She looked at Ultear seriously, "You infiltrated the Council with Jellal, so your true identity is one of the Seven Purgatory Dependents?"
"As you know, my name is Ultear, but more accurately, I am the leader of the Seven Purgatory Dependents."
Ultear, being a revealed undercover agent, had no intention of hiding her name. She appeared composed as she toyed with a crystal ball in her hand, asking, "Do you want Zeref too?"
"So your ultimate goal is indeed him, but we can't let you act recklessly on this island." Surrounding Erza appeared dozens of flying swords, all pointing at Ultear and Melty.
"Zeref is mine!" Perhaps because years of pursuit were finally within reach, Ultear's expression was somewhat distorted, "I will never give him to you!"
Everything in her way was an enemy, obstructing her from obtaining Zeref and realizing her dream.
Seeing Zeref's silhouette about to disappear, Ultear made a decision with her diminishing rationality: "Melty, follow him!"
"Yes!" Melty dashed off without hesitation.
"Celestial Wheel: Chaotic Sword!"
Erza wasn't inclined to let them leave easily, and several dozen longswords shot towards Melty.
But Ultear tossed her crystal ball, and countless illusions of crystal balls appeared around.
Clang, clang, clang...
The illusions in front of the flying swords solidified instantly, blocking all of Erza's flying swords!