Golden light roared across the battlefield.
Rowan moved like a living storm.
With one claw, he slammed Irene into the ground and kept her pinned there, hammering her with raw draconic force. With the other, he traded spellfire head-on with August, launching layered magic in relentless succession.
Teleportation flashes.
Holy judgment.
Radiant annihilation.
Absolute barriers.
Tri-element dragonfire.
Chain lightning that howled like a hunting beast.
Sleep hexes threaded between kill spells.
All of it happening at once.
Around them, a massive multi-layered defensive field sealed the space, locking the chaos inside and shielding the guild and the unconscious Twelve Shields from the fallout.
Inside the barrier, magic detonated in waves. Dragon roars and spell chants overlapped. Reality bent and screamed.
Outside it, Natsu and the others could barely stand.
Their bodies shook. Their faces were pale.
None of them had ever seen a battle like this.
If not for the barrier… if not for the mirrored dimension…
The entire western continent would already be rubble.
Then a figure appeared between both sides.
"Your Majesty!"
The fallen Twelve Shields lit up with relief.
The guild mages stiffened in panic.
"Zeref!" Erza shouted. "Hold him here! Don't let him interfere!"
She re-equipped into her heaviest armor, planting herself in front of him.
If Zeref joined the fight, even Rowan might not survive a three-on-one.
The injured Twelve Shields forced themselves upright as well.
"Leave the guild master to us, Your Majesty!"
But Zeref didn't move.
Instead, he smiled faintly.
"Relax. I'm not joining that fight. Even if I did… it wouldn't change the outcome."
Everyone froze.
Zeref's eyes stayed fixed on the storm inside the barrier.
He knew his own limits.
In raw combat, he wasn't meaningfully stronger than August or Irene.
He wasn't a warrior. He was a creator. A researcher. A man who had simply lived too long.
He had conquered the west centuries ago because no one back then could challenge him.
Now?
Even his adopted son August had already reached his level.
And Irene… the woman who had invented Dragon Slayer magic itself… was a dragon in her own right.
Yet Rowan was playing with both of them.
And that filled Zeref with something dangerously close to hope.
For the first time in centuries.
Maybe someone like this could finally kill him.
Maybe this nightmare could end.
—
Inside the barrier, Irene lay broken beneath Rowan's claw, her body barely holding together.
August's dark form flickered violently. His magic was collapsing.
He looked at her.
"…Father. I don't think I can protect you anymore."
He began to shape a final spell.
One that would burn his own life away.
A continent-class annihilation.
Then Zeref's voice reached him.
"August. Stop."
August hesitated.
That heartbeat was enough.
Rowan's spell struck him square in the chest.
His body locked in place.
"Legilimency."
Rowan seized both of them at once, reading and copying everything.
Every spell.
Every forbidden theory.
Every ancient construct.
He felt a spike of genuine alarm at the spell August had been about to cast.
That one could have hurt him.
Badly.
When he finished, Rowan stepped back.
He lifted his claw off Irene.
Released August.
And casually dropped healing magic on both of them to keep them from dying.
"…What the hell."
He stared at them.
Not at their power.
At their memories.
August.
The son of Zeref and Mavis.
Born after her death. Abandoned. Never even known to exist.
And Irene…
Queen of a forgotten kingdom.
Creator of Dragon Slayer magic.
Tortured for three years while pregnant.
Abandoned by everyone she saved.
Mother of Erza.
Rowan exhaled slowly.
"…This family tree is cursed."
He dropped the barrier and turned toward Zeref.
"So. You're not here to jump me."
Zeref shook his head.
"No."
His eyes were calm.
Almost peaceful.
"I'm here to ask you for something."
Rowan tilted his head.
"…And that is?"
Zeref met his gaze.
"I want you to grant me death."