Zeref's Road to Failure (Part 2)

Western Continent, Dragon Clan Secret Realm, Koreita

"Chief, Bohr Liveyes just sent someone over, ordering us to find a mysterious entity hidden in the Black Mist."

Upon hearing his subordinate's report, Glaide felt as if his nose was about to pop out of his ears. He pointed southeast and roared, "Humph! What does that Selisliu take us for? Huh? Nurses or slaves?"

Seeing the furious Glaide, Hit asked in a low voice, "Should we still help them find this mysterious being?"

"Certainly..."

For some unknown reason, the word "no" that Glaide was about to utter caught in his throat. He then abruptly turned to his subordinates and said, "Hit, take some men to Bohr Leviers immediately and find out what's going on with Selisliu, why he's so eager to find this mysterious being hidden in the Black Mist."

"But Chief, if Selisliu and the others ask why we went to Bohr Livyes, how should I answer?"

"You should say that we have never seen this mysterious being before, and in order to avoid arresting the wrong person, we specifically asked them for the specific characteristics of this mysterious being."

"Rest assured, Chief, I will take care of it immediately!"

After seeing off his capable subordinate, Glaide began to plan in his mind whether he could use this mysterious figure to weaken the power of Bohr Liveyes and thus help him regain Lord Goodpes's trust.

Bohr Liviers, a nearby jungle

Zeref, who had been lying in wait in the jungle for four or five days, was getting anxious because the Evil Dragon that had appeared so frequently before had all disappeared.

"Could it be that after I assassinated those Evil Dragon, they changed their habitat for safety?"

"No! Those Evil Dragon are used to being arrogant and domineering. Why would they rush to change their residence after encountering a small setback? But if it's not because of this, what reason do they have to stay in the secret realm and not come out?"

"Wait! Could they have discovered my location and are now dividing their forces to surround me?"

Thinking of this, Zeref felt a chill run down his spine and prepared to leave the area to find another ambush spot. But after taking only a few steps, Zeref stopped and crouched back in his original position.

"I haven't even taken any action yet, how could they have discovered me? I must be too nervous and overthinking things."

Zeref had just returned to the pre-designed ambush location when, not long after, two lone dragons stumbled into the forest, and thus, a hunt began.

Dragon Clan Secret Realm, Koreita

"Reporting to the leader, Lord Hit has returned."

Glaide, who had been resting on the ground, immediately perked up upon hearing his subordinate's report. He hurriedly said, "Quickly, bring Hit to see me!"

"Yes!"

The messenger withdrew and relayed Glaide's orders to Hit. Not long after, a weary Hit entered Glaide's cave.

"Chief, I have found out everything you asked me to find out."

"Oh? Tell me quickly, what exactly happened!"

"Chief, according to the information we've gathered, this is what happened: a month ago, a few of Selisliu's men, unable to bear the loneliness, ran away from Bohr Liveyes and never returned. About seven or eight days later, Selisliu discovered their absence and immediately sent men to search for them. They found traces of them in an abandoned human village. However, after searching the entire area, they couldn't find them. Left with no other option, they sought help from Lord Goodpes. Later, the experts Lord Goodpes sent informed them that the men had been killed and their bodies taken away."

"But what does this have to do with their search for the mysterious entity hidden in the Black Mist?"

"If that were all, they certainly wouldn't be searching for that mysterious being, or even knowing of its existence. However, just a few days ago, this mysterious being struck again, and killed all four of them in one fell swoop. Because this mysterious being struck this time was quite close to Bohr Liveyes, it was seen by one of Selisliu's subordinates, which is why they sent someone to notify us to search for this mysterious being together."

"Oh! So that's the truth!"

"Chief, what do we do next?"

"What should we do? Of course, we should help our 'good brother' Selisliu! Hit, starting tomorrow, you will lead four or five brothers to help Bohr Liveyes search for that mysterious being. But you must remember one thing: when you are searching, you must be with one of Bohr Liveyes's members, understand?"

Hearing the emphasis Glaide placed on "certainly" and "one," Hit guessed his meaning. He quickly replied, "Don't worry, Master, Hit knows what to do!"

After enduring the most difficult few days, Zeref found his luck suddenly improving; he had been able to catch a lone prey almost every day. At this rate, in another two days, he would have enough magic power to activate the R System. However, the goddess of fortune did not grant him two more days of luck; in the following days, his luck returned to its previous state.

So it took him a full ten days to gather the last two prey. Once the magic was collected, Zeref returned to Mildian without delay. What Zeref didn't know was that shortly after he left the ambush site, Bohr Leviers' assault force surrounded his temporary residence.

Upon returning to Mildian, Zeref immediately began preparations for the R System. Having learned from his first experience, this time Zeref's operations were faster and more precise. A day later, Zeref had filled the magic circle with mana and drawn the Magic Array; only the sacrifice remained. As the root cause of his previous failure, this time Zeref was extremely strict in his selection of the sacrifice. Therefore, it took him a full week to choose a suitable offering.

After obtaining the sacrifice, Zeref began his second attempt. After completing the magical incantation, he turned his gaze to the sacrifice, hoping to witness the miracle he longed for. However, reality disappointed him once again! After the magic power was completely absorbed by the black hole, the sacrifice, while not exploding, remained unchanged. Moments later, the sacrifice regained consciousness, but the body still belonged to its original owner, not his brother Natsu. Thus, the R System was a complete failure!

Undeterred, Zeref turned his attention to another plan. However, through the continuous construction of Eclipse, Zeref discovered that this magic required a space with a different time flow as an intermediary, which was beyond his capabilities. Furthermore, he discovered that to travel back in time using Eclipse, a prerequisite was that Eclipse must exist in the desired past, and someone must have activated it.

This means that it is impossible for him to use the Eclipse to revive Natsu!