Raizel cleared up Zeref's confusion and gave him a brief introduction to the Five Dragon Gods of the northern continent.
Although Raizel only had a half-baked understanding himself, that was still better than Zeref, who knew absolutely nothing about them.
That's right.
Zeref had never gone to the northern continent.
He had always wandered only between the eastern and western continents.
Although the title of Five Dragon Gods surprised Zeref at first, he was not worried.
Acnologia was the absolute strongest being in the world.
And since those so-called Dragon Gods had fled to the northern continent after being defeated by the Black Dragon, and still continued hiding in the north even now, then they were surely not stronger than Acnologia.
To Zeref, who now wanted to start a war, the more chaotic the world became...the better.
In addition, Raizel also said that after four hundred years of war and hunting by the Dragon Eater guild Diabolos, there were very few dragons left on the northern continent aside from the Five Dragon Gods.
Finally, Raizel revealed the kind of confident smile Laxus had once described as looking slightly punchable.
"Oh, right. Friendly reminder. Moon Dragon God Selene has already joined our guild. So my suggestion is that you don't delude yourself into sending Jacob, Bloodman, or whoever else to their deaths."
Raizel's words made Zeref sit up slightly.
His hand, resting on the armrest of the throne, tightened around it, and his lips pressed together almost imperceptibly.
'He even guessed that I would send Jacob? Just how much does he know about the Spriggan 12? Did Irene tell him?'
While Zeref sank into thought, several more members of the Spriggan 12 arrived.
Among them was the former leader of the Four Gods of Ishgar, God Serena.
His voice arrived before he did.
"God! I smell a dragon! I heard a dragon's roar! God!"
This was Raizel's first time seeing Serena.
He was already a middle-aged man, not exactly young, probably a little younger than Gildarts.
His hair was tied into two pigtails, a scar crossed the bridge of his nose, and his verbal tic was extremely strange.
He kept saying "God" while mixing in odd sounds and matching them with even stranger movements.
As he walked from the entrance of the hall to Invel and the others, he made noises like "heave-ho, hm-hm-ha-hey," striking countless poses one after another.
Once he reached the Spriggan 12 and stood still, Serena spread his arms, raised his head high, and snapped his fingers.
It was as though a beam of light had shone down from the dome above.
Raizel felt that when Serena snapped his fingers and raised his head, he was missing a line.
He should have said, "Spotlight!"
That might have made the movement even more awkward.
"..."
The Spriggan 12 froze from secondhand embarrassment!
Erza, Ultear, and the others also looked at Serena as though they were staring at an idiot.
So this was the former leader of the Four Gods of Ishgar?
Wait.
Thinking about the fourth-ranked Warrod...maybe it was not that strange after all.
"Dragon Slayer Mage... Dragon Slayer Mage... Dragon! God!"
Serena's gaze first swept over Laxus, Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy before finally locking onto Kurnugi.
Serena opened his hand, pressed his index and middle fingers together against his temple, and winked at Kurnugi.
"I am the man favored by the Dragon Gods, and you are a dragon! This is absolutely a fated encounter, God!"
"?"
Kurnugi tilted his head, slowly producing a question mark.
"Don't pay attention to him."
Raizel slowly shook his head at Kurnugi.
"Oh."
Kurnugi nodded and retreated to Gajeel's side.
Kurnugi and Gajeel were both noisy and arrogant, but they listened when it mattered.
Although Kurnugi constantly called himself Lord Kurnugi now, he strictly followed the agreement he had made with Raizel when they were outside, claiming that he was a Dragon Slayer Mage.
Even during the Grand Magic Games, when he had nearly fought Natsu seriously, he had still held back and did not return to dragon form.
As for Serena, known as "the man favored by the Dragon Gods" and "God Serena," he was extremely arrogant and would use any means to achieve his goals.
"He listens to you? Then it seems you are stronger than that dragon."
Serena spread his arms as though he were performing on stage, then placed his right hand against his chest.
"God. I once heard rumors that you are very strong. As the former strongest Mage of Ishgar, I shall teach you a lesson!"
Zeref's voice interrupted Serena's performance.
"Stand down."
His tone was calm, but it allowed no refusal.
Seeing that His Majesty was angry, Serena no longer dared to continue his stage play.
He lowered his head and retreated to Ajeel's side.
Raizel looked at Zeref on the throne.
"I have to say, you saved him. I was already preparing to attack just now."
"I know. That is why I told him to stand down."
If Zeref had not stopped Serena's performance just now, Raizel truly had intended to Take Over Examon and give Serena a reality check.
The exchange between Raizel and Zeref made Serena extremely dissatisfied.
He secretly clenched his fists.
It sounded as though the two of them had decided his life and death with just a few words!
Raizel did not care about Serena's expression or thoughts at all.
He looked at Zeref and continued, "In truth, part of our goal is the same—Acnologia. You have the Spriggan 12. On our side, there is Irene, Selene, Kurnugi, plus me, Natsu, and several other Dragon Slayer Mages. We can cooperate."
Raizel once again pulled the conversation back to the main subject.
"So, what is your decision?"
Zeref closed his eyes and slowly shook his head.
"Your proposal is very good, but unfortunately, it is too late. Acnologia has already decided to act and The Dragon King Festival is about to begin again. The Black Wizard, humanity, and the Black Dragon must ultimately decide a victor."
"In other words, you have already clarified what is in your heart. You must have Fairy Heart, no matter what? And war is unavoidable?"
Zeref's eyes were extremely indifferent.
"That's right. Only Fairy Heart can create the world I desire. Merely eliminating the Black Dragon is not enough. Humanity must be destroyed once."
"Then i will stop you."
Hearing that, Zeref examined Raizel for a moment, then suddenly gave a soft laugh.
Beneath that smile, his eyes were especially calm and indifferent.
"I look forward to it."
...
With that, the peace talks ended on bad terms.
Raizel did not choose to start a battle on the spot.
The occasion was not suitable so he directly left with Ultear and the others.
Zeref did not stop Raizel's group from leaving.
Even though the Spriggan 12, especially Neinhart and Ajeel, strongly demanded to act, Zeref still stopped them.
Zeref knew they could not stop Raizel.
The reason was simple.
August had not appeared.
A dragon had appeared inside the palace and even roared within it. Serena and Neinhart had both shown up.
There was no way August did not know.
But August had not appeared.
That meant he did not want to interfere.
Zeref could not understand.
Irene had left the Alvarez Empire and chosen to watch from the sidelines because Raizel had resolved the side effects brought about by the power of dragons. Zeref could understand that.
But what about August?
From his previous support to his current silent opposition...where exactly had things gone wrong?
Zeref did not believe August would betray him.
August had devoted enormous effort to this vast empire.
Zeref simply could not understand why August opposed taking Fairy Heart.