Father and Son's Battle (Part 2)

After showing their contempt for Igneel, Grandiere and the others turned around and surrounded Zeref.

"Young man, you say you're Zeref, what proof do you have?" (Anna)

Upon hearing Anna's question, Zeref's lips curled up slightly.

"Little girl, you must be that Bandit's student, right? (Zeref)"

"Bandit? (Five Dragon Kings + Anna)"

Looking at the dumbfounded crowd, Zeref gently shook his head and then smiled, "Little girl, it seems you don't know your teacher very well, otherwise, you wouldn't be unaware of his world-famous nickname!"

"You're talking nonsense! I've been by his side ever since he came to Ishgar. If he really had such a title, how could I not know about it? (Anna)"

"Heh! So you were taken in as an apprentice by the Bandit after he came to Ishgar. No wonder you didn't know he had that title! (Zeref)" (Boss, "Bandit" is just a nickname you two use between yourselves. How could Miss Anna possibly know that?)

"Hmph! Although I was only taken in as a disciple by my master after he came to Ishgar, I still know quite a bit about what happened to him in the Western Continent. Moreover, when we parted ways with him before, to avoid us mistaking him for someone else, he specifically told us some stories about his past with Uncle-Master Zeref as proof of our recognition. If you really are Uncle-Master Zeref, then you definitely know these things, but if you're not... well? Do you have the guts to let me test you? (Anna)"

"Haha! As expected of Bandit, they're still so cautious!"

After muttering something under his breath, Zeref smiled at Anna and said, "Girl, if you have any questions, just ask!"

Faced with the composed Zeref, Anna smiled slightly and said, "When you were studying at the Mildian Academy, you went on a training trip with Uncle Zeref. Since you say you are Uncle Zeref, you should still remember the purpose of your training trip, right?"

"We went out to collect materials needed to make the magical item Wind Chant. Oh, right! The Wind Chant we made back then is still with me. Don't believe me? Look!"

As he spoke, Zeref reached into the space in front of him with his right hand and took out a pair of red-rimmed glasses.

Anna took the glasses and examined them for a while before saying, "Wind Chant is a magical tool used for rapid reading, but there aren't many books here right now, so we can't verify if this is Wind Chant. Therefore, you need to answer a few more questions to prove that you are Uncle-Master Zeref."

"Sure! No problem, feel free to ask!"

Anna nodded and then said, "Not long after completing his training, our teacher left Mildian Academy for some reason. Before he left, he left something for Uncle Zeref. What was that thing?"

"At the time, Sordil's realm was invaded by other realms, so he hurriedly left Mildian. Before leaving, he left me the manuscript of his newly constructed magic— the Arc of Time —as a parting gift. Because I looked through that manuscript almost every day afterward, it ended up like this."

Looking at the tattered manuscript in Zeref's hand, Anna was so shocked that she forgot to close her cherry-like mouth. In the end, Grandiere manually closed it for her.

"Anna, is there a problem with his answer? (Grandiere)"

"Ah? Oh, no, his answer was perfect! Madam, his answer was exactly the same as what the teacher told me, so he must be Uncle Zeref! (Anna)"

Upon hearing Anna call out "Grandiere's wife," Zeref stared in astonishment at the white dragon before him, then stammered, "Anna... this... this person is... the Bandit... uh... no! Sordil's wife?"

Anna nodded and then said, "Uncle-Master Zeref, this is my teacher's dragon wife, the Sky Dragon King Grandiere!"

"A dragon wife? What does that mean? Does that mean Sordil has a wife of another race? (Zeref)"

Upon hearing Zeref's question, Metalicana and the others surrounding him quietly distanced themselves from him.

Although Zeref didn't see what was happening behind him, the eerie atmosphere in the air made him realize he had said something he shouldn't have. So, with his survival instincts kicking in, Zeref immediately began his self-rescue efforts.

"That guy Sordil has really gone too far! How could he treat Grandiere like that? It's just too much!"

"Alright! We can talk about all that nonsense after we get back from Mildian. Let's get going now!" (Grandiere)

After Grandiere's pardon was issued, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and then began to greet each other and get to know one another.

After solidifying their friendship, the group prepared to depart for the Western Continent. At this moment, Zeref spoke up, "Excuse me, everyone, I still have some things to pack, so please wait here for me for a while."

"Zeref, tell us where you put it, and we'll go get it for you. That will save you some time." (Metalicana)

"Metalicana, I appreciate your kindness, but this item is very important to me, so I must go and retrieve it myself. (Zeref)"

"In that case, I'll accompany you! Firstly, to apologize for my rude behavior just now, and secondly, to save some travel time." (Igneel)

Seeing Igneel offer to help, Zeref remained silent for a moment before saying, "Alright!"

"In that case, you should go and return quickly!" (Grandiere)

Zeref and Ignir nodded, and then Igneel carried him at an extremely fast speed toward their destination.

Zonia Peak

After a short flight, Zeref returned to the mountain that held great significance for him.

"Igneel, my laboratory is located in that cave halfway up the mountain. I'm going up to get something now. You wait here for me for a while!"

Looking up at the ant hole on the mountainside (to Igneel, who was over ten meters tall, the two-meter-high opening really was just an ant hole... well, more like a desert army ant's hole), Igneel nodded and said, "Okay! I'll wait for you here. Go and come back quickly!"

Zeref nodded, then strode towards the cave halfway up the mountain.

Having entered the cave with practiced ease, Zeref headed straight for the room where the Resurrection Magic Crystal was placed.

But when he entered the room, he was stunned, because the purple Magic Crystal that had been placed in the center of the room had disappeared, leaving only a large number of broken fragments scattered in various corners of the room.

Just as he was filled with doubt and uncertainty, a whooshing sound suddenly came from behind him.

"Call out!"

"Bang!"

Unable to dodge in time, Zeref was struck in the back by a black energy, and then he was sent hurtling straight toward the wall in front of him.

"Boom!"

The powerful momentum from the attack, combined with Zeref's unparalleled defense, caused Zeref to smash a large hole in the wall, making it as smooth as tofu.

"Whoosh!"

After breaking through the wall, Zeref began to fall freely with an extremely high initial velocity.

"Um?"

Igneel, who was waiting anxiously at the foot of the mountain, looked towards the cave in surprise upon hearing the commotion. When he saw Zeref in freefall, he quickly flew up and caught the descending dark mage.

"Zeref, are you alright?"

"I'm fine!"

"What happened? How did you break through the cave wall and jump out? (Igneel)"

"I didn't jump out; I was attacked from behind and knocked out!" (Zeref)

"Ambush from behind? What could this be... (Igneel)?"

Just as Igneel finished speaking, a series of whooshing sounds suddenly came from above.

"Whoosh!"

"Boom!"

Black energy arrows shot out from the mountainside cave, striking Igneel and triggering a series of explosions.

"Whoosh!"

Because his view above was obscured by the smoke from the explosion, Igneel was unable to launch a counterattack against the enemy on the mountainside. He had no choice but to increase his speed, hoping to escape to safety before the next wave of enemy attacks.

"Call out!"

"Smack!"

Just as Igneel was about to leave the opponent's attack range, a jet-black vine flew down from below and tightly wrapped around Igneel's feet, preventing him from moving forward.

"Roar!"

With nowhere to run, Igneel decisively gave up on running away and turned around to unleash a Dragon Breath on his opponent.

A moment later, the breath landed on the mountain peak, but instead of causing an explosion, it disappeared silently, as if it had never existed.

"Wind Sickle!"

"Call out!"

Just then, a cold shout came from Igneel's right palm. The next second, a bluish-white scythe appeared out of thin air and cut the black vines binding Igneel's feet.

"Thanks, Zeref!"

"Igneel, don't..."

Before the word "meaning" could even leave Zeref's mouth, the attack from below arrived in front of the two of them.

"Holy crap! Who on the other side is this person? How can they even mimic my breathing?"

Hearing Igneel's complaint, Zeref hurriedly warned, "Igneel, get out of the way! That was the breath you just unleashed!"

"What?"

Igneel gasped, then twisted himself ninety degrees and flew to one side.

"Phew! That was close!" (Igneel)

Having narrowly dodged the attack, the Fire Dragon King sighed with relief. However, just as he finished speaking, four black vines suddenly appeared around his body, binding his hands and feet tightly. Before he could even exert any force to break the vines, the space in front of him began to distort and deform. The next second, a violent spatial blast enveloped Igneel's entire dragon.

"Boom!"