A Long-Delayed Encounter

Zonia Peak, a certain underground cave

After giving the improved Dragon Slayer Magic to those who needed it, Zeref came here and began his secluded life.

Upon arriving here, Zeref didn't rush into new magical research. Instead, he refined his previous designs. However, the impossible remains impossible; no matter how much you perfect it, it simply cannot appear in the real world. Thus, Zeref had to accept the reality that all his previous inventions were failures.

After wasting a lot of time, Zeref had no choice but to start all over again and try to revive his brother and good friend.

However, birth, aging, sickness, and death are natural laws, irreversible ironclad rules, so even though Zeref studied tirelessly for nearly half a year, he still had no clue.

After failing thousands of times, Zeref rallied his spirits and began a new round of attempts. At this point, he began to feel grateful for his immortality, which allowed him to endure this hellish research life.

Time flies like water, and before we know it, April on the calendar has turned into October.

However, Zeref's research routine remained unchanged, as he was met with failure after failure over the past six months. At this moment, his confidence as a magical genius was completely shattered. At the same time, the constant failures caused his guilt to grow like wildfire, completely engulfing his originally positive and optimistic mindset and pushing him into the abyss of collapse.

After venting his frustrations for a while, Zeref left the research lab and began his first journey through Ishgar.

As his Resurrection Magic repeatedly failed, Zeref gradually realized the preciousness of life. He began to immerse himself in nature, feeling the rhythm of life and seeking inspiration from it. However, the Contradiction within him turned his journey into a horrific massacre, leaving behind only desolate wastelands where no living being could survive.

Because ' Contradiction ' releases terrifying Black Mist every time he hunts life, and because he wears Black Robe, he became known as a dark magician. (I know this isn't a good explanation, but I can't think of a better one, so I'll use it like this for now! I'll correct it later when I come up with a better explanation.)

As he watched countless lives perish silently because of his presence, Zeref's guilt intensified.

To avoid continuing to harm people, Zeref ended his travels and returned to Zonia to continue his research.

Failure followed one after another, and everything was just like before. His own futility, the disappointment of his brother and friends, and the guilt for the innocent deaths turned into chains that dragged him into the abyss of despair and collapse.

This time, he not only lost the courage to continue his research, but also the courage to live. Therefore, he abandoned his research into Resurrection Magic and turned his attention to researching magic to kill himself. (I've heard that loneliness and despair can make a person lose hope for life, so I wrote it this way. I hope everyone understands?)

Just then, a scene he had witnessed two years ago resurfaced from the depths of his mind, reappearing in his deep pupils. So, he began to try to recreate that intense, manic reaction.

Since it was his first attempt, Zeref could only conduct his experiments using what he had. After some searching, a jackal lying dead not far from the cave became his target. Thus, six months later, a Werewolf Demon capable of creating explosions at will was born!

But this guy was really disappointing, because the explosion he created couldn't even break through his own skin, and it couldn't compare to the kind of explosion I had seen before.

Extremely disappointed Zeref angrily threw it into a ravine, then turned back to the laboratory to continue his next research project.

Since explosions couldn't break through his defenses, he decided to create an absolute weapon capable of piercing through all defenses, and thus, a Peerless Demonic Blade was born!

However, the test revealed that he was completely unharmed, while the demon sword nearly shattered. Thus, Zeref threw this supreme weapon into the stream and carried it away. (I originally wanted to write about a toilet, but upon reflection, I realized there weren't any toilets that sharp. More importantly, it's uncertain whether people even used toilets four hundred years ago, so writing about a stream is safer.)

Faced with his unparalleled physical defense, Zeref broke down in tears. Left with no other choice, he created a demon capable of negating his physical defenses, possessing immense power and boundless vitality. And so, therefore, the duo Ramy and Deliora came into the world.

Then, Zeref went through dozens of transformations from human to meat pie before finally selling the two dimwitted creatures to an old man who collected used books.

After discovering that no one could kill him, Zeref was forced to transform himself from victim into murderer. Thus, Sera, who could control others, and Kyoka, who could amplify others' senses, were Kyouka!

After repeated attempts, the suicide plan failed, and then the old man who collected old books came back.

After pondering for a while, Zeref suddenly realized that suicide was actually feasible; he had simply used the wrong method before. So, following the original design principles of Dragon Slayer Magic, he created a being that could absorb his power and then use it to attack him.

Unfortunately, this guy couldn't accept his power because the difference in power between himself and the book was too great. So he failed again and again, and then, after going to the toilet one day, he lost this meaningless book.

Having tried every external means at his disposal, yet still remaining healthy and long-lived, Zeref began to turn his attention inward and to the soul. Thus, Lullaby and the Tempest appeared, and as for the result... from then on, a mobile Tempest emitting a peculiar sound appeared on Ishgar.

Frustrated by his own limited defense and resilience, Zeref decided to abandon his single-mode approach and switch to a combination of tactics. So, a month later, the boy band consisting of Pluto, the Dark Monk, and the Hui Ming Travasa officially debuted. A day later, the group was terminated, becoming free-spirited wandering nobles.

After his series of reckless actions, Zeref suddenly realized that he had inadvertently discovered the magic to revive his brother. Overjoyed, he retrieved the Resurrection Magic Crystal containing Natsu's body and began his final act of creation.

To prevent his younger brother from being bullied after his death, Zeref pushed his potential to the limit and designed the most powerful force in the world for his brother.

Three months later, the world's most powerful demon, END, appeared. However, the death and liberation that Zeref had hoped for did not come, because the body was controlled by his younger brother Natsu, not the strongest demon, END.

So Zeref had no choice but to waste his endless time on medical skills in an attempt to awaken the dormant END.

In October of X376, in a mountain range north of Ishgar...

After studying books for half a year, Zeref began to go out into the wild to identify and collect herbs in preparation for practicing medicine.

"Call!"

"The air outside is much better than in the cave. It seems I need to go out more often in the future!"

"Huh? That looks like Iron Bone Grass? Never mind, let's pick it first, and then we'll talk about the rest!"

After saying that, Zeref began to climb toward the target area.

"Phew! This cliff is so steep! Hmm? Those two caves look like they could be used as stepping stones!"

After finding a stepping stone to climb the cliff, Zeref immediately began to ascend.

"A Qiu!"

"Are you kidding me?! They actually blocked the Long family's nose while they were taking their beauty nap!"

Gazing at the ever-opening and closing mountain peaks, and listening to the thunderous, coquettish voices, Zeref felt his worldview... no! His very features were crumbling!

"Huh? Human, was it you who just stepped on my nose?"

Feeling the hot breath on his face and seeing the other person's burly and imposing physique, Zeref instantly recognized him. And so...

"Thunder Snow Cannon"

"Emerald Signal"

"Thunder Cut Halberd!"

"Thousand Water Kill!"

"Riot Sand Spring!"

"What the hell! I tried to reason with you, and you just dumped a bunch of attacks and ran away? What does that mean?"

After criticizing Zeref's shameless behavior, the red and white mountain peaks began to move, and moments later, Zeref was successfully suppressed under Dragon Claw Mountain.

"Hey! Human, why did you step on my face? And! I didn't hurt you, so why did you hit me and run away?"

When he heard the other party ask him why he had attacked, Zeref was completely dumbfounded. So, he subconsciously said, "Dragons eat people, people kill dragons, do I need a reason for that?"

To Zeref's surprise, upon hearing his words, the red dragon in front of him went berserk.

"Dragons eat people? People kill dragons? What kind of bastard spread this rumor? When I find him, I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget!"

"Brother Sordil is really something, why didn't he know to refute the rumors in time! If this continues, things will get out of hand!"

"Oh dear! The Long family is infuriated!"

Zeref, who had originally planned to be a spectator and wait for an opportunity to escape, also went berserk after hearing the name Sordil.

"Who are you?"

How do you know Sordil?

What exactly is your relationship with him?

The red and white mountain peak, which was originally furious about Sordil's inaction, was completely stunned after being hit by a series of soul attacks from Zeref!

Seeing that the red and white mountain peaks had lost power, Zeref had no choice but to repeat the question one, two, three, four, five, six times before he finally received a reply.

"I am the Fire Dragon King Igneel, Sordil is my brother. Tell me, what is my relationship with him? Do you think I should know about him or not?!"