Black Fog

But the dark-haired man didn't listen to what Eleven was saying at all; he just wanted to get away from Eleven.

Eleven could sense his panic, but strangely, this panic didn't stem from fear, but rather from worry and helplessness, as if he were afraid that Eleven would be hurt by him.

"Don't come near me, or you'll die too! Several people have already died because of me. I'm an unlucky person; there's no benefit in getting close to me. Please, go back!"

The black-haired man ran until he reached a rock wall before stopping. He turned to look at Eleven behind him, his deep black eyes filled with sorrow.

Eleven stopped about twenty meters away from the black-haired man. This was the largest diameter range of the previous Death God's Domain. He released his Spiritual Power to protect himself and asked a question in a deep voice.

"Who exactly are you? Why did you kill those mages? And how did you do it?"

Eleven could barely sense any magic from this man, but this person was definitely not an ordinary person. So this person was either incredibly strong, or had some special secret, or both. In any case, he should not be careless.

However, the black-haired man's attitude puzzled Eleven. He didn't seem like a heinous criminal; Eleven sensed no malice from him, only deep sorrow and terror. Could this person really be the murderer who killed six mages?

The dark-haired man breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Eleven didn't approach any further. After a brief silence, he began to answer Eleven's questions in a low voice.

"My name is Zeref, and I'm an ominous person. Those people... I didn't intend to kill them, but... oh no! It's coming again! Damn it!"

As Zeref was speaking, he suddenly clutched his head in pain, his whole body began to tremble uncontrollably, and he muttered to himself. It took him a long time to calm down, but he was drenched in sweat, as if he had just been in a fierce struggle with something.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, don't come near me!!"

Eleven instinctively wanted to go over and check on the situation, Zeref quickly waved his hand to indicate that he was alright, stopping Eleven in his tracks.

However, before Eleven could say anything, the ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled. Perhaps it was because the two of them had been making too much noise, but two large eyes suddenly opened on the rock wall behind Zeref with a rumbling sound.

A colossal monster made of rock gradually awoke from its slumber. Its massive body detached from the rock face, sending a shower of rubble crashing down. Zeref stared blankly at the giant beast that had suddenly appeared behind him, clearly not expecting such a thing to be hidden there.

The rock behemoth was clearly annoyed at being awakened from its slumber. Without the slightest hesitation, it opened its massive jaws and lunged at Zeref was closest to it.

Zeref seemed frozen in terror, letting the gigantic maw draw ever closer. Eleven, however, quickly snapped out of it and instinctively rushed toward Zeref. Although they had only met for the first time today, Zeref might just be a madman murderer, Eleven had no interest in watching a living person be devoured right before his eyes.

However, in that moment of confusion, it seemed as if a sigh full of helplessness drifted past Eleven's ears.

"Why do you all have to get so close to me? I really don't want to hurt you."

The world seemed to freeze at that moment. Eleven, who was soaring in mid-air, was repeatedly gripped by something invisible, his throat tightly. His consciousness was incredibly clear at that moment, but his body could not move an inch. His Spiritual Super Acceleration Mode under extreme conditions burst forth instantly, but it had no effect whatsoever.

A sense of fear crept into Eleven's pale blue eyes. As time seemed to stand still, he witnessed a shadow-like black mist erupt from Zeref's body, instantly stripping the world of all color.

The black mist moved incredibly fast, flashing past even in Eleven's view. Death was everywhere it passed. The rock behemoth behind Zeref, still in a devouring posture, was swept by the black mist. Its ferocious eyes lost their luster in an instant, and it truly turned into a pile of lifeless boulders.

At this moment Eleven finally understood why the previous mages who had sacrificed themselves had died so intact. But it was too late. Eleven, trapped in the trap, was like a lamb to the slaughter, powerless to resist. He could only watch helplessly as the black smoke engulfed him, splitting him in two like the scythe of death.

Although Eleven's body was not cut open, he personally felt the pain of being torn apart. This feeling came from the depths of his consciousness, from the depths of his soul that he had never understood.

Eleven could feel his soul being torn apart and devoured.

Perhaps this is the essence of how the black mist strips away life. All things have a spirit; even flowers and grasses have the instinct to survive and contain tiny souls. When this soul power is stripped away, they will wither instantly.

Eleven tried to use his Spiritual Power to resist the power of the black mist, but it was to no avail. In the face of the black mist, his Spiritual Power was as fragile as paper and easily defeated.

He could only watch helplessly as his soul power was stripped away, growing weaker and weaker. Eleven could sense that the black mist would soon reach the core of his soul, at which point he would probably truly die.

Did he just die like that?

All sorts of things he had experienced flashed through Eleven's mind like a revolving lantern: every child in the orphanage, every friend in the guild, Maria, and the old man.

Eleven didn't want to die; he wanted to go back to Magnolia and do silly things with his friends. He tried to struggle, but it was too late.

Watching helplessly as the black mist breached his last layer of defense and ruthlessly crashed into his soul core, Eleven slowly closed his eyes, his thoughts gradually freezing, sinking into an endless silence.

Roar!!

Just then, a high-pitched roar exploded deep within Eleven's soul, forcefully pulling Eleven dormant consciousness back from the darkness.

Eleven's eyes snapped open, radiating a silvery-white light. He seemed to see a gigantic silvery-white figure biting into the black mist, its immense soul power surging out and instantly tearing the black mist that had invaded his body to Crush!

Rumble!

The black mist swept past, and the massive body of the rock behemoth instantly lost control, crashing heavily to the ground. In the distance, Eleven also staggered, then collapsed headlong like a puppet with its strings cut.

From the moment Zeref sighed to the eruption of the black mist, only a blink of an eye had passed. In that instant, the area within a 20-meter radius was transformed into a death zone devoid of all color.

Zeref knelt in the deathly silence, burying his head in his hands and weeping silently.

Another innocent person has lost their life because of him. He clearly didn't want to hurt anyone, but the more you cherish something, the more likely you are to take it away.

"Anyone can just kill me already."

"Hmm"

Just as Zeref was agonizing over his own mistakes, Eleven's 'corpse' suddenly twitched and let out a barely audible groan.

Upon hearing the sound, Zeref immediately looked up, his tear-streaked face breaking into a look of surprise. He stumbled and scrambled to Eleven's side, carefully examining his body.

"You're still alive! That's wonderful!"

In a daze, Eleven felt someone turn him over, flipping him onto his back. He struggled to open his eyes and vaguely saw the black-haired man who had almost killed him kneeling beside him, tears streaming down his face, his expression one of pure joy.

"You"

"Wait, are you Eleven? Eleven Brain?"

Eleven's lips moved as if he was about to say something, but then Zeref cupped his face in his hands and brought it close to his eyes for a closer look.

Eleven had no idea what Zeref was thinking to begin with, and now, with a splitting headache and a dazed state of mind, he was even more clueless about what this crazy guy was up to. All he wanted now was for him to stay away from him, lest another cloud of black mist appear, which would really kill him.

However, Zeref showed no sign of being disliked by Eleven, holding Eleven's face and crying and laughing intermittently, acting like a madman.

"Eleven, I've finally waited for you! I've been waiting for you for so long! So it's in this era? Hahaha, just how many years have passed?"

However, not long after, Zeref stared at Eleven for a while, then suddenly frowned, a hint of sadness creeping into his eyes. He abruptly released his grip, letting Eleven's large head slam to the ground with a thud.

Eleven (╬￣Van￣): Gan!

Zeref shook his head and sighed, "No, not yet, Eleven, you're not ready."

As he spoke, Zeref suddenly stood up, took the positioning magic stone from Eleven's body, and sent out a distress signal for him.

After recalling what happened last night, Zeref looked at Eleven again, a faint smile playing on his lips, and said calmly, "Eleven, come find me when you're ready. It's time to settle everything."

Zeref's voice was soft and flat, almost like he was rambling on, saying things like, "We need to start preparing," and "We can't stay here any longer."

Eleven's overdrawn Spiritual Power finally gave way, and his consciousness gradually faded, plunging him into a deep coma.

Please: m. lvsetxt