Chapter Summaries

Sordil defeated the Sage Dragon’s attackers with Black Mist but collapsed from exhaustion, while battles elsewhere shifted in Ishgar’s favor. As his allies and parents rushed toward him, Yelibell stopped his parents and began explaining what had happened.

• Sordil used Black Mist to bring down Kelsu, Goodpes, Delsd, and Talib, then collapsed; Irene caught him, and he woke to tease her before crashing face-first into the ground with her.
• Kaldiz trapped Montedoss and Zakro in Black Mist and defeated them with Ghost Cry Spear: Endless Spear Forest before flying toward Sordil.
• Diphiya trapped Yanimus in Thousand Autumn Needle Sea, and his old injury left him unable to escape; she then flew toward Sordil as a blue streak escaped into nearby ruins.
• The Western Continent’s Evil Dragons suddenly stopped moving, letting Ishgar’s Dragon Slayer Mages counterattack, while Yesveta and the other special operations members headed toward Sordil.
• Gilkunis, Wattster, Radel, Hadessta, and Woodman rushed toward Sordil, but Yelibell stopped them; Wattster persuaded the others to hear Yelibell’s explanation.

Yelibell reassured Wattster and the others that Sordil was safe, and they returned to their posts after apologizing to her. In the crater, Sordil’s companions discovered Irene was pregnant, then learned the enemy had lured their forces into a trap; Sordil called for help getting out before he could lead the response.

• Yelibell told Wattster and the others that Sordil had exhausted his magic but was not in danger, and Wattster made Gilkunis, Radel, and Hadessta apologize to her.
• Wattster and the others returned to their positions, while Yelibell went back to her post.
• Kaldiz and the others came to the crater to rescue Sordil and Irene, and Mevajena revealed that Irene was pregnant.
• Sordil ordered his companions to help Irene and then explained that the enemy had drawn away their forces before attacking Peterburg City, Asia City, and Norman City to surround them.
• Sordil urged everyone to eliminate the remaining enemies and prepare for attacks from the north and south, then asked them to help him out of the crater.

Sordil told Irene that Belserion’s heart had stopped, then promised to revive him and prepared an interplanar Teleportation Array to evacuate those nearby before using powerful magic. Meanwhile, Yelibell’s forces learned that thousands of enemy dragons had appeared on the northern battlefield and that another enemy group had surrounded them.

• Sordil learned from Heradi that Belserion’s heart had stopped, and Irene confirmed the Sage Dragon’s death before breaking down in grief.
• Sordil promised Irene that he could bring Belserion back to life, then began drawing an interplanar Teleportation Array to protect Diphiya, Irene, and the others from his magic.
• Sordil ordered Heradi to gather the Western Border Army and Fostadu while Diphiya and Irene grew uneasy about his plans.
• Gilkunis and Woodman reported that seven or eight thousand enemy forces had appeared on the northern battlefield, surprising Yelibell and Murellia.
• Hadessta arrived and warned Yelibell that Western Continent evil dragons had surrounded them, then quarreled with Woodman and Gilkunis.

Hadessta and the others prepared to face the enemy army without Sordil, who was treating Sage Dragon. Meanwhile, Yate’s group secretly planned a revolt as Sordil began a dangerous attempt to bring Sage Dragon back to life.

• Yelibell contacted Sordil, who said he could not stop treating Sage Dragon and entrusted the defense against the enemy army to Hadessta and the others.
• Hadessta silenced Gilkunis and ordered Yelibell to gather everyone so they could face the crisis themselves.
• North of Peterburg City, Yate, Livia, Masergrera, Burz, Phil, and Atlas Flame discussed their secret revolt and agreed to be wary of Xizhalansa.
• Sordil trapped Diphiya and Irene in spatial imprisonment and told them he would release them after bringing Sage Dragon back to life.
• Sordil cast Arc of Time: End Time: Unification, draining the colors and vitality from Asland as he searched the ribbon of light for his target.

Sordil revived the Sage Dragon and struggled to hold back a paradox attacking him while urging his allies to escape. On the northern battlefield, Shideweig and Glaide learned that Kelsu’s forces had been wiped out and chose to continue toward the eastern mountains.

• Old Suo retrieved the Sage Dragon from a frozen moment and restored him to life, while the masters of the blue-violet and black-and-white palaces intervened against the powers affecting Sordil.
• Blue-violet and black-and-white forces entered Sordil, and he ordered the Sage Dragon to join Diphiya and told her to activate the Teleportation Array.
• The Sage Dragon rejoined Diphiya’s group, but Irene and Heradi resisted Sordil’s attempts to send everyone away, leaving the group in a stalemate.
• A messenger told Shideweig that Kelsu and his forces had been defeated and Ishgar’s army had retreated into the eastern mountains.
• Shideweig and Glaide refused to retreat; Shideweig went to meet Olibuk while Glaide agreed to lead the troops toward the eastern mountains.

Glaide explained that he needed to keep the Western Continent factions and Ishgar in conflict while consolidating his forces, and sent Hit to obtain evidence using Zodinger's ability. At the mountain range outside Peterburg City, Xizhalansa approached Yelibell and the others and activated a blue Crystal ball to show them something.

• Glaide told Hit that neither his faction nor Shideweig's could afford to eliminate Ishgar, and planned to divide Ishgar's humans from its dragons so the factions would restrain one another.
• Glaide sent Hit to use Zodinger's ability to find more conclusive evidence against Ishgar's dragons.
• Yelibell and the others saw enemy forces approaching Peterburg City's eastern mountain range and prepared to follow their defense plan.
• Yelibell explained that Xizhalansa had betrayed them by opening Peterburg City's gates, and the group recognized Atlas Flame and other familiar faces among the enemy forces.
• Xizhalansa told the group he had come to warn them about Sacred Dragon's fate, then activated the blue Crystal ball in his hand.

A Crystal ball showed Yelibell and the others how Dragon Slayer Mages betrayed a white dragon and his allies, shattering trust between humans and dragons. As fighting erupted across the mountains, Yelibell’s group abandoned their efforts to restore order and fled to find Sordil.

• The Crystal ball showed a white dragon leading dragons and Dragon Slayer Mages back to ambush the Western Continent’s forces, but the mages attacked the dragons instead.
• Muir Haven revealed that the humans had turned on the dragons to prevent them from ever threatening humanity, and the white dragon ordered the traitors killed.
• Xizhalansa showed the vision to the gathered dragons, and explosions and attacks across the mountains plunged humans and dragons into battle.
• Yelibell and her allies regrouped, decided they could no longer control the chaos, and chose to reunite with Sordil.
• Yelibell located Sordil, then led the group out of the mountains while they drove back those trying to stop their retreat.

As the battlefield descended into chaos, Yate planned to lead a neutral dragon faction while Glaide and Feld responded to the fighting. At Peterburg City, Sordil urged everyone to escape through a Teleportation Array before he lost control, but Irene and Belserion’s actions left the array’s magic sphere veering off course as Sordil’s powers rampaged again.

• Olibuk sent Shideweig to contact allies and stir up trouble around Glaide, while Yate proposed that his group form an independent faction for Ishgar dragons who refused to fight.
• Feld’s forces found an opening and attempted to break through, while Glaide prepared to deal with his disobedient opponents.
• At Peterburg City, Sordil told Radel and the others that he had saved Belserion and urged them to leave through the Teleportation Array before he lost control.
• Yelibell confirmed that Sordil was telling the truth, but Irene refused to leave until Sordil promised to find her afterward; Belserion also tried to stay behind.
• Irene and Belserion turned toward the Teleportation Array, and Irene helped guide a Space Magic sphere toward its center, but Sordil’s cry made her lose focus and sent the sphere off course.

Irene and Belserion escaped through a plane-crossing teleportation while Sordil was sealed inside a giant egg by rainbow energy. Elsewhere, Zeref learned that Bandit and the United Front Alliance's leaders had died, and the doctor blamed him for withholding Acnologia's power.

• Irene redirected the Space Magic sphere and helped Belserion send Heradi and the others through the Spatial Teleportation Array before it destroyed the surrounding ground.
• Belserion explained that the array's cross-plane teleportation had caused the immense spatial destruction, while Sordil struggled to contain the blue and black energies inside him.
• Rainbow energy overwhelmed Sordil, suppressed the other energies, and sealed him inside a giant egg; Irene and Belserion carried the egg toward the Cuyis Tree Sea.
• In the Principality of Saint Dreo, the doctor demanded Acnologia's power, but Zeref refused, saying he needed to improve Dragon Slayer Magic first.
• An elderly man told Zeref and the doctor that Bandit and the United Front Alliance's leaders had died and that the Evil Dragon was approaching; Zeref collapsed, and the doctor blamed him for the deaths.

With dragons attacking, Zeref transferred the Sacred Dragon’s power to the Doctor, who emerged with a transformed body and dragon-like roars. Meanwhile, Tingmei reminded Chancellor Reide that their master might have left them more than contracts as they struggled to handle the crisis.

• The Doctor urged Zeref to give him Acnologia’s power so he could protect people from the attacking dragons, and Zeref agreed.
• Zeref led the Doctor to an underground chamber and used a Magic Array to transfer the Sacred Dragon’s power into him.
• The Doctor’s body developed scale-like grooves, and he roared uncontrollably as Zeref explained that he needed time to adapt.
• Zeref stayed behind to continue improving Dragon Slayer Magic while the Doctor went back above ground.
• At the Chancellor’s Residence, Tingmei told Chancellor Reide that their master could recruit other subordinates and might have left them more than contracts.

Tingmei and Prime Minister Reide discovered that the cloaked visitor was Irene, who told them Sordil had fallen into a deep sleep after the battle of Peterburg City and was hidden in the Cuyis Tree Sea. Irene enlisted their help to protect his hiding place, and the chapter ended as she began giving them further instructions.

• Tingmei told Prime Minister Reide that Master had left power behind, but a visitor's letter marked with a dragon illustration and the word “Contract” led them to suspect Master was involved.
• Tingmei revealed that her supposed twin sister had actually been Master in disguise, so Reide arranged for the cloaked visitor to enter discreetly.
• The visitor revealed herself as Irene, and Reide and Tingmei greeted her as their Mistress.
• Irene told Reide and Tingmei that Sordil remained asleep in the Cuyis Tree Sea, hidden there by her and Belserion after the battle of Peterburg City.
• Irene asked Reide to declare the Cuyis Tree Sea a restricted zone and Tingmei to spread frightening rumors about it through the black market.
• Irene began explaining additional matters she needed their help with.

Irene returned to Donagunov, learned that the dragons had withdrawn after a clash with Dragon Slayer Mages, and passed the throne to Chancellor Hanniss E. Fiore before leaving to care for Sordil. A dated account then traced the alliance’s reorganization, the Neutral Alliance’s destruction, and the eventual annihilation of the United Front Army by a Black Great Dragon.

• Red and Tingmei set out to investigate the power their master had left behind while privately competing over Tina.
• Irene told Chancellor Hanniss that Belserion had died and learned that the dragons had withdrawn after Dragon Slayer Mages attacked them at Peterburg City.
• Irene explained that Dragon Slayer Magic had likely caused the misunderstanding, then abdicated and named Hanniss the new king of Donagunov.
• Irene asked for ongoing access to the royal library while she searched for a cure for the unconscious Sordil.
• Hanniss renamed the nation the Kingdom of Fiore, and the United Front Alliance rebuilt its forces as dragons and a blue-haired boy repeatedly attacked them.
• The blue-haired boy became a Black Great Dragon, destroyed the United Front Army, and was never found before the alliance dissolved.

After years of failed experiments, Zeref created Natsu as END but could not awaken him, so he turned to studying medicine. While gathering herbs in northern Ishgar, he encountered the Fire Dragon King Igneel, whose brother was Sordil.

• Zeref’s repeated attempts to resurrect his younger brother failed, and his despair led him to create demons and other beings while searching for a way to die.
• Zeref discovered a way to create a body for his younger brother and made END, but Natsu controlled the body, so Zeref began studying medicine to awaken END.
• In October X376, Zeref went into the mountains to gather herbs and climbed a cliff using what he thought were footholds.
• A red-and-white dragon woke when Zeref stepped on its nose, and Zeref attacked it before fleeing.
• Igneel, the Fire Dragon King, caught Zeref and explained that Sordil was his brother.

Igneel learned from Zeref that Sordil and the others had died at Peterburg City, and his grief overwhelmed him. After Grandiere and Anna arrived with news about Zeref, the group prepared to carry out Sordil’s order to take him to Mildian Academy, only to discover Zeref was already there.

• Zeref provoked Igneel by calling him a deserter, then revealed that Sordil had died in battle at Peterburg City a year earlier.
• Igneel broke down in grief, and Metalicana, Scylladrum, and Vyseria stopped him from pounding the ground.
• Anna and Grandiere arrived and confirmed that something had happened to Sordil and the others.
• Igneel and the dragons wanted to attack Zeref, but Grandiere reminded them to follow Sordil’s order and bring him to Mildian Academy.
• Zeref revealed himself, and Igneel admitted he had never asked the man’s name, prompting the others to scold him.

Anna verified that the stranger was Zeref using details from Sordil's past, and the group prepared to travel to the Western Continent. When Zeref returned to his laboratory at Zonia Peak to retrieve an important item, an unknown attacker ambushed him and Igneel, trapping Igneel in a spatial blast.

• Anna tested Zeref's identity with questions about Wind Chant and the Arc of Time manuscript, then accepted him as Sordil's old friend.
• Zeref met Grandiere and the other dragons, and Igneel agreed to accompany him to his laboratory at Zonia Peak.
• Zeref found the Resurrection Magic Crystal shattered and was struck from behind by a bolt of black energy.
• Igneel caught Zeref, but an unseen attacker fired black bolts at them and bound Igneel with black vines.
• Zeref freed Igneel's feet, but their enemy turned Igneel's Dragon Breath back on him, then bound him again and engulfed him in a spatial blast.

Igneel fought Natsu while Zeref explained why he had asked his younger brother to kill him, then Igneel destroyed the Seed of the Demon. As Zeref prepared to check Natsu, Acnologia appeared, and Zeref revealed that he had gained Holy Dragon Acnologia’s power by killing him and injecting it into himself.

• Igneel protected Zeref from Natsu’s attacks, and Zeref revealed that Natsu was his biological younger brother and had been ordered to kill him.
• Zeref explained his past and his wish to die, but Igneel urged him to live and atone by helping those he had harmed.
• Zeref told Igneel that destroying the Seed of the Demon would stop Natsu, and Igneel defeated Natsu and searched for the moving seed inside him.
• Igneel found and burned away the Seed of the Demon, then called Zeref over to examine Natsu.
• Acnologia appeared in the sky, and Zeref explained that this was a human who had killed Holy Dragon Acnologia and taken his power.

Zeref revealed that he had created Dragon Slayer Magic and empowered the Black Dragon, who later attacked Ishgar’s dragons and the United Front Alliance. Igneel and Zeref fought the Black Dragon, then escaped with Natsu, while the other dragons debated who should go find Igneel.

• Zeref told Igneel that he had killed a Sacred Dragon and given its power to the Black Dragon, who then attacked Ishgar’s dragons and the United Front Alliance.
• The Black Dragon argued that he had attacked the Alliance because Dragon Slayer Magic could turn its users into threats, while Zeref insisted they remained human and would not harm people.
• Igneel and Zeref attacked the Black Dragon, but he used his magic-devouring ability and breath attacks to gain the advantage.
• Zeref blinded the Black Dragon with Radiance: Thousand Suns, allowing him and Igneel to escape with Natsu.
• Metalicana, Scylladrum, Vyseria, Grandiere, and Anna discussed Igneel’s absence, and Anna realized the others were trying to arrange a search party.

Igneel and Zeref fled from Acnologia until Vyseria and Scylladrum intervened and helped them escape. The group regrouped in the forest, where Igneel identified Acnologia as the killer of Sacred Dragon and Atlas Flame.

• Zeref offered to stay behind so Igneel could escape with Natsu, but Igneel refused and continued fleeing with him as Acnologia pursued them.
• Vyseria and Scylladrum set out to find Igneel and Zeref, argued over their lack of clues, and followed the sound of explosions.
• As Zeref and Igneel prepared to confront Acnologia, Vyseria and Scylladrum attacked him and Scylladrum transported Igneel, Zeref, and Natsu to safety.
• After Acnologia resumed the pursuit, the group emerged from a shadow in the forest, and Igneel revealed that Acnologia had killed Sacred Dragon and Atlas Flame.
• Vyseria rushed off to avenge them, but Igneel and Scylladrum stopped him and pointed out that their attacks could not harm Acnologia.

Zeref and Igneel returned with the revived Natsu and explained their encounter with the Black Dragon to the others. When the Black Dragon caught up, the group prepared to fight and launched a coordinated assault, but he counterattacked the Shadow Dragon with a meteor-like sword strike.

• Zeref and Igneel returned to the meeting place carrying an unconscious Natsu, and Zeref explained how Natsu had awakened from the Resurrection Magic Crystal.
• Zeref recounted their encounter with the Black Dragon, who soon appeared again in the distance.
• Grandiere sent Anna to prepare the Teleportation Array and told Zeref to hide Natsu while the others prepared to fight.
• Igneel, Vyseria, Metalicana, Scylladrum, and Grandiere attacked the Black Dragon together, with Grandiere enhancing their abilities.
• Scylladrum struck the Black Dragon with a sequence of Shadow Kill attacks, but the Black Dragon retaliated with a meteor-like sword strike aimed at him.

Igneel and the other dragons fought the Black Dragon, but he defeated them after targeting Grandiere and removing her support magic. Anna teleported the group to the Teleportation Cavern, where they recovered and decided to head to the Western Continent, only to discover she had used up all the Space Magic Crystals.

• Igneel, Metalicana, Vyseria, Scylladrum, and Grandiere attacked the Black Dragon, who adapted to their tactics and discovered that Grandiere's support magic was their weakness.
• The Black Dragon struck down Grandiere, weakening the others, then defeated the remaining dragons and sent them crashing to the ground.
• Anna blinded the Black Dragon and teleported Igneel and the others to the Teleportation Cavern, where they comforted Grandiere and treated her injuries.
• After a day of rest, Igneel and the others decided to travel to the Western Continent before returning to face the Black Dragon.
• Anna admitted she had used up all the Space Magic Crystals to escape, and the dragons teased her about her extravagant spending.