Brothers Reunited

Zeref looked up at Igneel, as if confirming something.

He stared at Igneel for several seconds before slowly turning his gaze to Natsu, whose face was filled with surprise and uncertainty.

"Natsu, before we officially begin our battle, it's time for you to know."

Natsu frowned as he looked at Zeref.

He shook his fist, which was still burning hot, and his gaze swept back and forth over Zeref's rapidly healing flesh.

That Fire Dragon King's Triple Attack would have reduced any enemy to ashes long ago, but this person didn't even flinch.

How come it can't be killed?

How strange, this feels completely opposite to the Riyao.

That guy, Riyao, survives only because of his boundless vitality; even when shattered, he can grow back like a new shoot sprouting.

The person before him exuded an aura of utter stillness, as if death would deliberately avoid him no matter how fatal the injury.

Zeref brushed the bits of grass off his tattered robe, and his voice slowly rose.

"Natsu, let me formally introduce myself."

The young man in black robes had a calm expression, his gaze as deep as an ancient well with no bottom.

"I am the Emperor of the Alvarez Empire, named Spriggan, which means 'ugly goblin,' or you may call me Zeref Dragneel."

Natsu was stunned when he heard Zeref's surname.

His eyebrows furrowed into a knot, his mouth gaped open wide enough to fit a large egg, and he scrutinized Zeref from head to toe three times.

"Could you perhaps be a distant relative of mine?!"

It's no wonder Natsu thought that way; their hair colors just didn't look like they were from the same family.

Zeref's forehead was covered in black lines when he heard Natsu's offbeat question.

The solemn and dignified feeling he had cultivated for four hundred years was shattered on the spot by this careless remark about "distant relatives," leaving him frozen in place.

Igneel in the air laughed so hard he fell flat on his back.

"Haha, that's hilarious!"

Zeref took a deep breath, raised his hand to press his throbbing temples, composed himself, and continued his story.

"I'm not a distant relative, I'm your biological brother."

These words completely overheated Natsu's CPU.

Natsu's eyes widened, his entire face contorted in shock, and it felt like hundreds of wild boars were stampeding through his mind.

"Huh?! Huh?! You're my brother?! How is that possible! Igneel!"

Natsu suddenly looked up at Igneel was still smiling.

Igneel wiped away his tears, his carefree laughter fading, replaced by a look of melancholy and heaviness that came with the passage of time.

"What he said is true, and he entrusted you to me when you were just a tiny little thing. Later, I erased that part of your memory."

Natsu and Happy were both stunned. Who would have thought that the infamous dark mage was actually Natsu's older brother?

Happy was suspended in mid-air, his two paws covering his cheeks, his tail stiff and taut.

The amount of information was overwhelming; its round, chubby little cat brain raced, connecting everything together.

Happy realized Natsu's extraordinary background for the first time.

The most ruthless black mage in the entire magic world is his older brother, the top-ranking Fire Dragon king in the dragon race is his father, the strongest rogue guild on the continent is his maternal family, and even his personal accessory is this world's best winged mage!

In the end, it covered its mouth tightly with its two little paws, its white wings fluttered merrily behind its back, and its eyes narrowed into slits with laughter.

Zeref stared at Natsu, his voice softening in a way that contrasted with his previous indifference.

"Four hundred years ago, our family lived together happily every day, but an accident took the lives of Dad, Mom, and you. I was studying at the academy at the time and escaped the tragedy."

"Later, in order to resurrect you, I was afflicted with Ankhseram's Curse of Contradiction, making me unable to die. In order to be killed, I later resurrected you as the strongest fire demon— Etherious Natsu Dragneel, which can also be called END!"

Zeref paused slightly, then raised his dark eyes to look directly at Natsu.

"I almost forgot to tell you, if you kill me, you'll die too."

Natsu and Happy were shocked again; this was something they had never expected.

Happy's blue fur instantly bristled, and he screamed in fright, spinning wildly in mid-air.

Natsu stood frozen in place, his fists clenched tightly, his knuckles turning bluish-white from the force.

When Igneel saw the man and cat looking at him again, he nodded once more.

He scratched his chin, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"I went out to meet up with some old friends, and when I saw Long, I told them I couldn't beat the strongest demon, END, and they all believed me, haha..."

Igneel grinned smugly, revealing a mouthful of chilling, interlocking dragon teeth, looking just like an old comrade-in-arms boasting about his extraordinary adopted son.

Happy looked around and suddenly realized he felt a little out of place.

The strongest human, the strongest demon, the strongest dragon.

I don't think I'm the strongest cat.

The little blue cat looked down at its furry paws, then touched the small green bundle on its back, seemingly lost in deep thought about its entire life.

Natsu felt like he was starting to get a brain.

He learned so much today that his simple mind was completely overwhelmed.

He shook his head violently, roughly throwing all the tangled cause-and-effect relationships to the back of his mind, and roared at the top of his lungs.

"No! Igneel's power is enough to kill you! There's no need for me to come."

"This brings us to something. Now the world is full of magic, so I can certainly do it. But four hundred years ago, magic was scarce, and many dragons were taking away magic from it, so I couldn't completely kill Zeref back then."

Igneel shrugged.

Happy seemed to have thought of something and clapped his paws.

"So what do the demons of the Tartaros use? Curse Power, not magical power!"

Igneel raised an eyebrow, looking at Happy with some surprise.

"Not bad, Happy, you've got a brain now."

Happy looked hurt, pouting pitifully, and muttering that he was already very smart.

Just then, as if he had heard something, Igneel wrapped his tail around Happy, swooped down, grabbed Natsu, and flew away.

"Hey! Igneel! I'm not finished yet! If we combine our powers, we can definitely kill Zeref!"

Natsu flailed wildly in mid-air like a puppy being choked by the scruff of its neck, kicking its legs haphazardly at the air.

"Stop fooling around, that brat Riyao told me to take you away."

Zeref, on the ground, frowned as he watched them fly away, his eyes gradually turning cold.

He stood in the middle of the empty, desolate land, his black clothes fluttering wildly in the gale.

The slight warmth that had briefly flickered in his eyes vanished completely, replaced by the imperial majesty and absolute coldness of someone who had reigned over the continent for a century.

"Give me a set of clothes befitting the emperor; the war officially begins."