"How dare you show such disrespect to His Majesty!"
The Twelve Shields flared with fury as Natsu shouted at the throne. In their eyes, Zeref was the immortal founder of the empire, the man who had unified the western continent and ended centuries of chaos. To them, he was less a ruler and more a living god.
Zeref raised a hand, stopping them.
"Natsu… you don't need to know the reason," he said quietly. "You only need to hate me."
There was sorrow in his eyes.
"I don't want this either. But it's the only path left."
His gaze hardened.
"Larcade. Kill everyone except Natsu."
A young man stepped forward from Zeref's side. He wore a long cloak, a massive cross strapped to his back. His face resembled Zeref's closely enough to be unsettling.
"Understood, Father."
Larcade Dragneel pressed his palms together.
"Eternal Slumber."
A wave of suffocating magic swept across the hall.
One by one, Fairy Tail's members staggered as their eyelids drooped. Even Gildarts, Jellal, and Laxus fought to stay conscious. The rest barely lasted a second.
Gildarts clenched his jaw.
"…This sleep spell is on another level."
Rowan's ears flattened.
So that's it.
Laxus had once shrugged off Mystogan's sleep magic by raw willpower alone.
This one crushed him.
Larcade's voice carried smug certainty.
"Not even Acnologia could escape my magic."
Rowan coughed lightly.
"…That's a bold claim."
His tail flicked.
A streak of blue light leapt from Gildarts to every Fairy Tail mage in a chain.
"Wake."
The spell detonated like a bell struck through the mind.
Every Fairy Tail member snapped awake at once.
Zeref's eyes widened.
The Twelve Shields stiffened.
Larcade's pupils shrank.
Rowan stepped forward calmly.
"Revival Charm. Mass-cast version."
He'd rebuilt most single-target spells he knew into area spells long ago.
Larcade snarled.
"I was trying to be merciful. If you want blood, I'll give you—"
He reached for the cross.
"Sleep, sweetheart."
Rowan's voice was almost gentle.
A pulse of magic slammed into Larcade's mind alone.
Larcade froze mid-step.
"…What?"
Then his eyes rolled back.
He hit the marble floor face-first.
Silence.
The Twelve Shields' expressions finally changed.
So did Zeref's.
Rowan exhaled slowly.
"Alright. Enough warm-ups."
He raised his voice.
"Zeref. Before this turns into a massacre—our guild master Mavis wants to speak to you."
Zeref's body went rigid.
"…Mavis?"
His hand lifted again, stopping the Twelve Shields instinctively.
Rowan turned to the empty space beside him.
"Mavis. Don't resist."
She nodded.
Only Fairy Tail's members could see her spirit.
Rowan extended a claw.
Dark energy coiled around her soul.
"Spirit Binding."
Her form dissolved into black light and flowed into Rowan's body.
A second later, he thrust his paw outward.
"Release."
The black energy surged forward.
Mavis reappeared—solid.
Visible.
Real.
Every mage in the throne hall sucked in a breath.
Zeref staggered half a step.
"…Mavis."
She looked straight at him.
"Zeref. I know what you're afraid of. And I know how to break the curse."
The death aura around him surged violently—
then collapsed back into his body as he forced it down.
For a moment, the immortal emperor looked like a broken man.
"…I never thought I'd see you again."
His face hardened once more.
But his voice trembled.