Ankhseram's Curse

Kingdom of Tsuyioru Xiu, Royal Palace

Belmod stood on the balcony of his bedchamber, admiring the beautiful night view. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in from the left, making the curtains sway without pause. Belmod kept his eyes on the scenery below and made no movement. About a quarter of an hour later, the lights in the bedchamber abruptly went out, and darkness shrouded the entire palace. Belmod, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly turned his gaze toward the shadows beneath the curtain at his front left and asked, "How did it go?"

"Your Majesty, half a month ago, a perilous peak ten thousand meters high suddenly appeared in the center of the Cuyis Tree Sea. Dragons have been sighted on the mountain, as have humans, but their exact numbers remain unknown!" A hoarse, low voice came from the shadows, yet no figure emerged.

"Oh? Humans and dragons are one thing, but they actually had the ability to raise a mountain from flat ground. Quite capable indeed. What else?" Belmod said coldly.

"Two days ago, four dragons and one human left the Cuyis Tree Sea, heading west. Their whereabouts are currently unknown!"

"Unknown whereabouts? Their destination couldn't be more obvious! They either went to Dragunov or returned to the Western Continent. It seems I still underestimated him. Once you return, keep a close watch on the others in the tree sea. Report immediately if anything happens!"

"Yes!"

As the voice faded, another gust of wind swept through the room, and the lights in the bedchamber flickered back on. Belmod walked back to the window and resumed admiring the night scenery outside.

Sordil removed the pack from his back and took out a fishing rod. Then he turned to Lindel and the others. "You guys go gather some firewood. I'll catch a big fish and let you have a taste of something fresh!"

After saying that, Sordil carried his fishing rod toward the lake. Lindel and the other three stared wide-eyed at his receding figure. In the end, Seraf broke the silence. He rubbed his bald head and said, "Um... do you think Master knows how to fish?"

"He probably, maybe, perhaps, possibly, more or less... does?" Lindel answered after hesitating for a long while.

"Um... let's go gather some tree fruit instead. When Brother Sordil comes back later, we can surprise him." A light-blue giant dragon spoke in a crisp voice.

"Mm! Good idea. I don't know whether Young Master Sordil will be surprised, but I do know that at least we won't go hungry tonight!" Lindel said with wholehearted agreement.

"Can't you have a little faith in Young Master Sordil? Don't forget that he's a dragon like us. Even if he can't catch fish with a rod, he can go into the water and catch them himself. How could he come back empty-handed?" Unlike the other three, Murellia had a great deal of faith in Sordil. But sometimes, that kind of faith could backfire.

Boom!

"Ah!"

Just as Murellia finished speaking, a booming sound came from nearby, accompanied by a scream. The four of them clearly heard that the scream had come from Sordil. They immediately got up and rushed toward the lake to investigate. By the time they arrived at the shore, only a fishing rod remained on the bank; Sordil himself had vanished. The four carefully stepped forward to inspect the area. The moment they reached the water's edge, a huge purplish-red fish suddenly leaped from the lake. Clamped in its jaws was a rainbow-colored creature, before it plunged back into the water farther away.

"Um... I just saw that purplish-red fish biting..." The light-blue dragon slowly turned to look at the others, asking them in a confused tone to confirm what she had seen.

"Diphiya, are you saying Young Master Sordil was..." Lindel's mouth twitched slightly when he heard Diphiya's words.

"Although I really don't want to admit it, it seems Master failed to catch a fish and got caught by one instead!" Unlike the other two, Seraf had become far too familiar with Sordil after spending so much time together. Even though he had only caught a brief glimpse, he still recognized the creature in the fish's mouth as his own master.

"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and save him! What if something really happened to Young Master Sordil?" Murellia shouted speechlessly at the three of them. At the same time, Sordil's "incompetence" had completely overturned her worldview. She finally understood why Gilkunis had given her those instructions before they set out.

After a great deal of struggle, Lindel and the others finally dragged both Sordil and the huge fish ashore. Once on land, the three dragons and one human spent nearly half an hour working frantically before finally prying Sordil out of the fish's mouth. What left the four of them speechless was that, when they saw Sordil lying motionless and thought he had met with disaster, they discovered that he was merely asleep, with snot bubbles occasionally rising from his nose. The four of them were so furious they wanted to beat him up, but in the end, they gave up on doing so. After resting for the night, the group continued on their journey.

Western Continent, Mildian Magic Academy

"Zeref, hasn't the academy already forbidden you from continuing the construction of 'Eclipse'?" Hissell stared coldly at Zeref, who was seated at his desk and writing furiously.

"It only needs one final touch to be completed. Giving up now would be such a waste!" Zeref paid Hissell's question no mind. His pen continued moving swiftly, and he replied without raising his head.

"Enough! Zeref, didn't I tell you not to keep researching magic related to reviving the dead?" Facing what had once been his most outstanding student, Hissell finally exhausted the last of his patience and roared.

"'Eclipse' isn't meant to revive life. It's meant to reverse time and return to the past." Even in the face of Hissell's anger, Zeref answered in an exceptionally calm tone.

"Return to the past? What do you intend to do by going back? Whether it's the Revive System or this 'Eclipse,' what is their ultimate purpose? Isn't it all to revive your younger brother, Natsu?" Hissell no longer wished to hide anything and simply laid everything out in the open.

"This...?" Zeref finally stopped writing. He turned to stare at Hissell, unsure how to face the wise old man after Hissell's words exposed his thoughts.

"Furthermore, because you offended the god Ankhseram and repeatedly stepped into forbidden realms of magic, the academy council has decided, after deliberation, to expel you." Looking at the helpless Zeref, Hissell still painfully delivered the council's decision.

"How could this be?... How could this be?..." Upon hearing the council's decision from Hissell, Zeref, who had always remained unmoved by joy or sorrow, instantly turned pale. He clutched his head tightly in both hands and muttered without stop.

At that moment, black smoke began seeping from Zeref's body, gradually obscuring him completely. Zeref's expression became even more agonized. Staring at the abnormal Zeref, Hissell felt a terrible sense of foreboding, especially upon seeing that black mist. Suddenly, he thought of a possibility and cried out, "This... is this the curse of the god Ankhseram?"

Bzzzz—

Just as Hissell finished speaking, the black mist surrounding Zeref suddenly spread in every direction, instantly covering the entire Mildian Magic Academy. Aside from Zeref, no one in the academy remained standing. Everyone instantly lost consciousness and collapsed onto the ground.