Raizel used Archive magic to project a glowing holographic image, showing Precht exactly what Zeref looked like today.
Precht's pupil constricted sharply as ancient memories of Zeref flooded back.
"How could this be... How could this be..."
Lying on the broken floorboards, Precht fell into an endless loop of repetition.
He began recalling his decades of relentless, bloody pursuit, realizing all his desperate efforts had been rendered futile.
He suddenly felt that all his so-called grand ambitions over the years were ridiculous.
Spending so much time every single day obsessively studying ancient archives, searching the continent for methods to supposedly unseal Zeref's dark power... when in reality, Zeref was never sealed and was perfectly alive, walking the earth.
He found it hard to believe this simple truth.
But when he saw the projection of Zeref looking exactly the same now as he did a century ago, he had no choice but to accept it.
The fact that their foundational magic was taught by an unknown, gentle black-haired man was a secret known only to the four founding members.
Yuri had long been dead, and Warrod Sequen had retired from Fairy Tail's affairs long before any of these current members joined.
If Raizel wasn't lying to him—and if Mavis truly existed as Raizel claimed, with her consciousness still present—then it was entirely possible Raizel had obtained this classified information about Zeref directly from Mavis herself.
The only current Fairy Tail member Precht had interacted with was Makarov, but he had never told Makarov the story of how they originally learned magic.
He had always assumed the young man who taught them magic in the woods had died of old age long ago, never expecting he was the very Black Wizard Zeref he had been desperately searching for over forty-eight years.
"Help! Natsu!"
"Everyone!" Happy, Carla, and Lily came running frantically toward the group on the deck.
Chasing close behind the Exceeds was a large group of surviving Grimoire Heart grunts armed with various magical weapons.
"Save me, Natsu! They look really angry!" Happy cried, clinging to Natsu's leg and trembling.
"Leave it to me..." Ultear raise her glowing orb, but she was cut off.
"It ends here!" Makarov arrived on the airship deck, leading the rest of the injured members from the temporary camp.
"Old man!"
"Everyone!" Natsu and Lucy smiled warmly upon seeing their comrades again.
"Elfman and Gajeel are here too," Wendy noted happily.
Both large men were heavily wrapped in medical bandages but had still stubbornly marched along.
"Looks like everyone's okay," Gray grinned, his hands on his hips.
The approaching grunts froze.
"It's Makarov!"
"Look over there! It's Master Hades! He's been defeated!"
The Grimoire Heart members pointed in terror at Precht, who was still lying on the ground, muttering to himself in existential shock.
"Get off this island right now!" Makarov roared, expanding his fist.
Before Makarov could even finish his threat, the Grimoire Heart members had already dropped their weapons and started fleeing in blind panic.
"We understand!"
"Sorry for bothering you!"
Their retreat speed left the Fairy Tail members stunned.
"They're really fast..." Lucy sweatdropped, her mouth twitching.
"We won!!!" Levy cheered.
Lucy and Levy hugged each other tightly.
Natsu and Gray bumped arms in a rare moment of harmony.
"Alright, let's continue the S-Class exam!" Natsu raised his fist excitedly after celebrating.
"Starting right now?" Happy asked, baffled. "The exam just now was too chaotic. Let's just have a simple, all-out brawl to decide the winner instead," Natsu grinned, throwing shadow punches.
"What's wrong with your stupid head? Your whole body is already in pain!" Gajeel stepped forward angrily, glaring face-to-face with the fire mage.
Just as Natsu was about to yell something back, he suddenly convulsed, his eyes rolling back and collapsed face-first onto the deck.
"Who fakes an injury like that?! I clearly didn't even touch you!" Gajeel yelled, waving his arms defensively.
"This must be the severe physical side effect of consuming magic other than fire," Erza noted, fingers supporting her chin with an understanding expression.
"I think we should return to the camp first," Wendy timidly raised her hand.
"You're right. Let's go," Raizel nodded, turning to walk toward the tree line.
The members supported each other as they slowly limped off Grimoire Heart's ruined airship.
"Eh??? Why am I the one supporting Natsu again?" Only after Lucy heaved Natsu's heavy, unconscious body over her shoulder did she realize the other members had already walked ahead.
All that remained beside her was the sarcastic little blue cat.
"Don't worry, Lucy! I'll cheer for you from the side," Happy answered proudly, putting his paws on his hips
"Couldn't you at least offer to help carry a leg..." Lucy sighed helplessly, her head dropping.
"If it is a physical burden such as this, please leave it to me, Lucy-sama."
With a flash of golden light, Capricorn appeared and effortlessly lifted Natsu up with one hand.
Natsu had it worse now—being carried by the tall goat spirit like a sack of potatoes, his limbs and head dangling weakly.
"Thank you, Capricorn," Lucy smiled in relief.
"Am I overthinking this? Natsu seems to be left hanging..." Happy blinked, watching the Dragon Slayer sway.
...
Back on the deck, Makarov glanced down at Precht before turning to leave.
"Makarov," Precht rasped. "Give me the final blow."
Makarov paused. "I learned many great things from you in the past, Master Precht. I'll let you go this time as my thanks for those lessons. Leave this island quickly."
"You're too naive..." Precht scoffed weakly.
Makarov didn't argue back, but asked quietly, "But why did you fall into darkness?"
"Didn't I teach you? Magic originally comes from darkness. It is a miraculous, terrifying power born from darkness that later came to be called magic," Precht answered, staring at the sky.
"After I retired from the guild, I explored the abyss of magical arts, seeking to find the true origin of this world. The world today is overflowing with magic, yes, but it is also a hypocritical, diluted world. I originally believed the Ultimate Magic World was the pure world that should have existed..."
"Regardless of whether that ancient lore is true or not, even if you find those origins, it won't change anything today," Makarov said firmly. "Whether magic originally came from darkness doesn't matter, nor does it matter if it originated from light."
"Because magic is alive. It evolves with the times and grows together with us," Makarov stated, his voice filled with pride.
"As long as people believe it's magic, then it is magic. Depending on each person's feelings, it can become a light to guide them, it can become a darkness to consume them... it can even become red or blue."
"Fairy Tail will live on with freedom."
After saying this, Makarov turned and walked away without looking back.
'Those are the very principles I originally taught you...' Precht thought, his eye widening.
He stared blankly at the rainy sky, then closed his eye in defeat.
...
[The Seven Kin of Purgatory have all been captured by the Council, and Grimoire Heart is effectively disbanded. Go find Warrod Sequen—I believe you know the location.] Raizel's telepathic message suddenly echoed in Precht's mind.
To prevent Precht from claiming ignorance, Raizel transmitted Warrod Sequen's exact current address into his memories.
Raizel decided to let the old man temporarily follow Warrod to grow flowers and calm his temper.
As for whether Mavis wanted to see him eventually, that was up to Mavis herself.
But Raizel thought that given Mavis's forgiving personality, she would probably want to meet him.
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