Chapter Summaries

Fairy Tail members and their companions left Magnolia Town in separate groups to train and prepare for future battles. The chapter ended with Ifrit, Mirajane, Banjou, and the others setting out after saying goodbye to Elfman and Evergreen.

• Gildarts and Cana left Magnolia to undertake a ten-year job and strengthen Cana through battle.
• Laxus and Lisanna departed by train after Makarov saw them off, while Erza joined Anna, Simon, and Jellal; Cobra said goodbye to Kinana and then rejoined the group.
• Lucy, Natsu, and Happy searched Natsu’s house for travel money, cleaned it, and prepared to travel with Igneel, who planned to train Natsu for half a year.
• Gray and Silver argued over Gray’s training, then agreed to follow Silver’s method for the first half-year after Juvia proposed they try both approaches.
• The dragon parents agreed to train their children for half a year before returning to Magnolia, and Mirajane gave Evergreen a bankbook before she and the others departed.

A year passed as the Fairy Tail mages trained, formed families, and prepared for the coming battle. Natsu and Lucy reunited at the royal capital for the Grand Magic Games, where they sensed Ifrit nearby but did not find him.

• Makarov became the principal of a magic school, while Cana, Laxus, Erza, and Emily each pursued new training or limits to their magic.
• Natsu and Lucy combined Lucy’s two magics, allowing her to defeat Natsu in his normal state.
• Gray proposed to Juvia at a flower farm, and Silver left them after their engagement.
• Evergreen gave birth to a daughter named Eileen, and Elfman proposed; Gajeel and Levy also prepared for their future child, Virgil.
• Ifrit traveled through Fiore with Mirajane and Banjou disguised as street magicians.
• Natsu and Lucy arrived in the royal capital for the Grand Magic Games, sensed Ifrit nearby, and headed to the venue without locating him.

At the Grand Magic Games, Ifrit disguised himself as a street magician and debated a scholar who criticized Fairy Tail and his lack of academic publications. After leaving the scholar to suffer the consequences of an illusion, Ifrit watched Natsu and Lucy appear at the Games and reflected on why he kept his alchemical knowledge secret.

• At Domus Flau, Ifrit posed as a street magician and listened as a scholar criticized Fairy Tail for solving problems with force.
• The scholar mocked Ifrit's lack of academic achievements, and Ifrit defended Fairy Tail while pretending that his white-haired companion was not Mirajane.
• After Ifrit left, an illusion made the scholar believe he had been speaking to a little girl, and the scholar was knocked down before realizing he had encountered Ifrit.
• Ifrit moved with Mirajane and Banjou to a private box, where he considered publishing his books with more appealing covers.
• Mavis emerged from the Mirror World, suggested new cover designs, and admitted she had read novels by Emily and Lucy but not Ifrit's books.
• When Natsu and Lucy appeared as Fairy Tail's special guests, Ifrit and Mavis joined the crowd in cheering for their guild.

Natsu and Lucy appeared as special guests at the Grand Magic Games and explained that Fairy Tail would reunite after the tournament. Their interview confirmed they were a couple and revealed how the audience had come to follow their romance, before Chapati introduced a question about Ifrit.

• Natsu and Lucy greeted the audience, and Chapati asked why Fairy Tail had disbanded; Lucy said the guild had not disappeared permanently and that they would return to Magnolia after the games.
• Chapati asked whether Natsu and Lucy were a couple, and Natsu confirmed it while showing their engagement rings.
• Natsu said he had fallen for Lucy first and described how protecting her had become important to him.
• Lucy and Natsu joined Chapati and the audience in naming Ifrit as the subject of the next question, while Ifrit complained about the attention.

Lucy and Natsu explained why Fairy Tail trusted Ifrit, who then appeared at the royal capital and joined them as a special guest. Ifrit discussed who could learn Deception Magic and warned that its difficulty came from the knowledge and intelligence it required, not simply bloodline.

• Lucy and Natsu described Ifrit as a brilliant, trusted guild member who worked behind the scenes to protect Fairy Tail and preferred a quiet life.
• Natsu joked that Ifrit had never caught a five-pound fish, prompting the angry Ifrit to leave his private room; Mirajane realized Natsu had baited him into appearing.
• Ifrit kicked Natsu from the commentator's platform, then explained that he was in the royal capital to finish his journey as a street magician.
• Mirajane confirmed that Ifrit was her fiancé, and Banjou explained that she was his household maid and did not consider Erza her rival.
• Ifrit told Chapati that Deception Magic was difficult because it demanded extensive knowledge and exceptional intelligence, and urged people not to pursue it merely because it was powerful.

Ifrit and his companions returned to Magnolia after the Grand Magic Games and reunited with the guild members. As Ifrit checked on his new manor and spoke with Laxus about the coming battle against Zeref, Gray and Juvia arrived in town, leaving the group poised to gather again.

• Ifrit, Lucy, Natsu, and their companions returned to Magnolia and were warmly welcomed by the residents and the guild members Lisanna and Kinana.
• Lucy offered to help clean the guild while Lisanna urged her to get Natsu settled after the train ride, and the returning women caught up over chores.
• Ifrit told Laxus that Zeref had been unable to find him during the past year and said they would have to take the battle to the Western Continent; he hinted that Natsu might defeat Zeref without his intervention.
• Ifrit toured Valier Manor with Riru, who explained that the estate was being built to Ifrit’s designs and could be ready for them to move in that year.
• Ifrit encountered Gray and Juvia at a restaurant, noticed Gray’s Demon-Slaying Magic tattoo, and teased him about appearing in only his shorts.

Gray and Juvia returned to Magnolia and discussed finding a home before Gray asked Ifrit whether the coming battle against Zeref and Acnologia would end safely. Ifrit reassured him with his confidence in victory, and after Gray and Juvia went back to the guild, Ifrit welcomed Wendy, Happy, and Charle home and learned Wendy planned to rent a room at his house.

• Ifrit joined Gray and Juvia at a restaurant, where Gray explained they wanted to buy a house with room for Juvia's flowers, and Ifrit offered to look for one.
• Gray asked whether the guild's coming fight against Zeref and Acnologia would have a happy ending, and Ifrit assured him that he had prepared for victory and would not let anyone die.
• Gray's fears eased, and he left for the guild with Juvia while Ifrit stayed to finish his meal.
• After dinner, Ifrit greeted Wendy, Happy, and Charle, complimented Wendy's new hairstyle, and accepted a deck of magic playing cards as a gift.
• Wendy told Ifrit she planned to rent a room at House of Valier so she would not be left alone in the girls' dormitory.

Wendy returned to Fairy Tail with Ifrit, Happy, and Charle, and Ifrit reassured her that she had trained enough while assessing how powerful their friends had become. As the group continued toward the guild, Erza joined them, revealing her new armor and her engagement to Simon, who was staying away from the coming battle.

• Wendy told Ifrit that she had trained with her mother and traveled with Happy and Charle, Emily, and Sherria before receiving the call to return to the guild.
• Ifrit reassured Wendy that enjoying herself was fine and considered how she and the other top wizards had advanced toward Heavenly King-level strength.
• Ifrit bought ice cream for Wendy, Happy, and Charle, then froze his mouth by swallowing his scoop in one bite, making Wendy laugh.
• Fried and Bickslow passed the group on their way to see Laxus and showed off their engagement rings with Kagura and Milliana.
• Erza joined the group wearing a valkyrie-like outfit and told them she no longer needed everyday armor after completing a powerful new suit.
• Wendy noticed Erza's ring, and Erza confirmed that she was engaged to Simon, who was preparing to open a cake shop away from the coming battle.

Fairy Tail reunited after a year apart, celebrated until everyone had returned, and prepared for the approaching war with the Western Continent. Laxus revealed Ifrit and Mavis's plan, assigning teams to infiltrate the Western Continent while Ifrit would act alone.

• Natsu and Gray nearly fought in the guild until Erza knocked them down, then Natsu and Happy reunited and started a party.
• Fairy Tail and the returning Mest celebrated for a week as guilds across Ishgar prepared for the coming conflict.
• Laxus and Lisanna discussed Ifrit's three possible plans for starting the war and concluded that Ishgar could not let the fighting reach its own territory.
• After the party ended, Laxus presented Ifrit's attack plan and Mavis's personnel arrangements to the guild.
• Laxus assigned Erza's, Mirajane's, and Gildarts's teams to infiltrate the Western Continent and ordered the remaining members into allied forces, while Ifrit would act alone.

Fairy Tail and the allied guilds set out for war while Zeref and Acnologia entered a hidden realm containing Hermes’s ultimate legacy and learned that they were challengers tasked with killing Ifrit. Zeref declared the war begun, and the story left Ifrit seated with the Twelve Shields at a meeting in the Albares Empire.

• Evergreen said goodbye to Elfman and the departing Fairy Tail members, and baby Eileen called “Dada” as they set out.
• Makarov and the assembled allies sent Fairy Tail off, while other guilds and outside supporters mobilized for the plan.
• Zeref and Acnologia reached an iron gate and discussed why they had been kept alive and why they must kill Ifrit.
• Zeref opened the gate, and he and Acnologia entered a realm where voices welcomed them to the land of truth and revealed secrets beyond the ultimate.
• Zeref announced that the war had begun, and Ifrit attended a meeting with the Twelve Shields and August in the Albares Empire.

The Twelve Shields gathered to discuss Albares’s planned invasion of Ishgar, while Ifrit secretly joined them despite their precautions. He isolated Irene from reality and demonstrated the terrifying reach of his Deception Magic, leaving her convinced he could kill her effortlessly.

• Serena warned that Ifrit might be infiltrating the Twelve Shields’ meeting, prompting them to move to a magically sealed room.
• Ifrit entered the room undetected, sat on Zeref’s throne, and had Aza alter the room’s warning system to recognize him.
• August reported that Ishgar’s guilds had sent their strongest members to Albares, and the Twelve Shields discussed exploiting Ishgar’s weakened defenses.
• Irene offered to go to Ishgar, but Ifrit appeared to her alone and told her to reject the idea.
• Ifrit made Irene appear to agree to perform a belly dance, then revealed that he had isolated her from everyone else and manipulated her perception of time.
• Irene returned to the meeting and obeyed Ifrit’s demand, realizing that his magic and strength could let him kill her with ease.

Irene discovered that Ifrit had infiltrated the meeting and tried to draw him away while leaving August a coded warning. After Ifrit met Irene and revealed that Hermes was nearby but unwilling to see her, Irene brought him to her room, while Ifrit weighed whether Irene and August were worth saving for the sake of his family.

• Irene abruptly left the meeting and used her magic staff to leave August a coded message that Ifrit was present.
• August deciphered Irene's warning, realized Ifrit was in the room, and decided to let him follow Irene away.
• Ifrit appeared to Irene with a bouquet, and she asked to see Hermes, who refused to meet her.
• Irene handcuffed herself to Ifrit and took him to her room, but he revealed that the cuffs had never restrained him.
• Ifrit told Miko that he was trying to win Irene and August over because of their connections to Erza and Guild Master Mavis.

August and the Twelve Shields secretly tried to locate Ifrit while he explored Zeref’s laboratory and study. After returning to Irene, Ifrit rejected her attempts to persuade him to defect and stabbed her through the chest, leaving her seriously wounded.

• August gave Inbel Irene’s magic staff so he and Dimaria could secretly realize Ifrit was nearby and pass the warning to the others.
• Irene challenged Ifrit’s beliefs about Deception Magic and threatened to kill Erza, then tried to seduce him; Ifrit vanished and went to Zeref’s laboratory.
• Ifrit studied Zeref’s research for three days while August and the Twelve Shields acted as if they did not know he was watching them.
• Ifrit returned to Irene and said he would value her only if she defected, offering to help reunite her with Erza but refusing to seek Hermes’s forgiveness for her.
• When Irene provoked Ifrit to kill her, he stabbed her through the chest and helped her onto the sofa as her wound refused to heal.

Ifrit healed Irene, revealed that he could remove Zeref’s curse, and offered Irene a chance to become ordinary again before leaving her undecided. He then met August, explained that he planned to leave, and admitted he had spent his time exploring the palace and watching its residents.

• Ifrit used his magic to break Acnologia’s curse on Irene’s wound, and Irene realized he might be able to remove Zeref’s curse as well.
• Irene refused to betray her allies and asked Ifrit to let her die in battle, but she was tempted when he offered to restore her life as an ordinary person.
• Ifrit left Irene wondering whether he could truly restore her senses, then appeared before August and returned his magic staff after a brief deception.
• August brewed tea for Ifrit and asked why he had shown himself; Ifrit said he was planning to leave.
• Ifrit told August he had spent time visiting Irene, Brandish, Larcade, Zeref, Inbel, and Dimaria, and had seen August playing with children.

Ifrit confronted August over Zeref’s inevitable war and offered him a story revealing that Mavis was alive. August chose the chance to reunite with his mother and agreed to help Ifrit, while Ifrit reflected on the regrets he could not fulfill for himself.

• August argued that war would devastate children, but Ifrit rejected his plea and explained that Zeref planned to defeat Ifrit, Acnologia, and Hermes before dying by E.N.D.’s hand.
• Ifrit declared that Fairy Tail and its allies would bring peace, then left August a storybook about a child who longed for his father’s affection.
• August recognized his own life in the story and learned that Mavis was alive and living in the Mirror World.
• August read about Mavis’s likes and imagined her offering to buy him a gift, then agreed to give Ifrit what he wanted if Ifrit kept his promise.
• On the roof, Ifrit told Miko that August could still see his mother, while he had never had one; Miko comforted him, and he said he was only feeling melancholy.

Ifrit learned that the Abyss of Magic was a prison holding immortal Great Sages, who were teaching Zeref and Acnologia, and he destroyed its entrance after they refused to let him in. He left the site under Aza’s guard, while Fairy Tail publicized Zeref’s alleged crimes against Emily and stirred public demands for her rescue.

• Ifrit concluded that the Abyss of Magic held immortal Great Sages imprisoned by Ankseram God, and that they were helping Zeref and Acnologia evolve.
• The Great Sages refused Ifrit entry, saying their mission was to prepare Zeref and Acnologia for perfection and that the god would release them afterward.
• Miko defended her claim to Hermes’s legacy, while Ifrit mocked Acnologia for being researched as the Great Sages improved Zeref.
• After the Great Sages provoked him, Ifrit slashed apart the cave entrance and Hermes’s legacy, striking the Great Sages inside before ordering Aza to guard the site.
• Fairy Tail published a report accusing Zeref and the Albares Empire of kidnapping Emily and planning to violate her, prompting people across the continent to demand her rescue.

Mest and Emily learned that their staged captures were being treated as real, prompting the Twelve Shields to debate how to respond. August chose to escort them himself and admitted to Irene that he had decided to side with Ifrit, while Irene remained torn over whether to abandon her old life.

• Mest read the report confirming that Dorbalt was considered dead, leaving only his identity as Mest of Fairy Tail.
• Emily read her capture report from a prison wagon as the Twelve Shields reacted with disbelief to news that she and Ifrit had been captured.
• August confirmed that soldiers intended to escort Emily and Ifrit to the royal capital, then volunteered to go when no one else would.
• After the meeting, Irene told August that Ifrit had pierced her with a blade made from Acnologia's bones and destroyed the curse afflicting her wound.
• Irene questioned whether resisting Ifrit had any meaning, while August reflected that he had chosen Ifrit's side for the chance to see Mavis and prevent war.
• Irene and August challenged each other over their choices and past lives before Irene left.

August intercepted Ifrit’s convoy, but Emily trapped him in her Deception Magic before he could act. After they met and exchanged gifts, August revealed he wanted to see his mother, Mavis, and Ifrit refused, leaving his wish unfulfilled.

• August arrived at the frozen convoy, and Emily trapped him in a realistic dream where he became a toy figurine.
• Emily released August, and he hid his fall before telling his subordinates he would interrogate the prisoners alone.
• August visited Ifrit and Emily in their decorated carriage, and they exchanged gifts over tea and pastries.
• August told Ifrit he hoped his mother could taste his tea, revealing that he wanted to see Mavis.
• Emily sympathized with August, but Ifrit shook his head and refused, prompting August to call him cruel.

Banjou, Alice, Ultear, and Melt confronted August to free Ifrit, but the Magic King overwhelmed them in battle. As August pressed his advantage, Banjou prepared to reveal the full extent of her swordsmanship.

• Ifrit declined to let August meet Mavis, and August sensed that his companions had arrived.
• Banjou, Alice, Ultear, and Melt stopped the convoy and defeated its guards with Ultear’s Emotion Magic.
• The four women challenged August, who used their magic against them and demonstrated his strength as the Magic King.
• The women combined their attacks, but August broke free, blocked their assault, and knocked Alice into the ground.
• Banjou urged the others to show their true abilities and declared that she would give everything to become stronger before drawing her sword.

Banjou and Alice gave everything they had against August, though their battle was partly an act meant to let them prove their resolve to Ifrit. After August healed his injuries with forbidden magic, Ultear and Melt prepared to fight him together.

• Banjou struck August with Mugetsu Style, severing his arm but suffering exhaustion, and Ifrit carried her to the carriage and reassured her of her place as his maid.
• Alice rose, recalled Ultear’s words about making this battle count, and used a lightning-fast slash to sever August’s other arm.
• Ifrit carried Alice to the carriage, and she promised to travel with Emily while coming to his side whenever he wanted her.
• August used Potential Healing to restore both arms instantly, despite the magic’s cost of returning his injuries twofold later.
• Ultear and Melt agreed to attack August together, and Melt began reflecting on her painful past and how she had learned to stop dwelling on it.