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"Hello, everyone. I am the first Master of the guild, Mavis Vermillion."
The little girl hopped down from the tree branch and introduced herself with a cheerful smile.
Since her death due to Zeref's curse, her soul had lingered on Tenrou Island, existing as a ghost. Only members of Fairy Tail who bore the guild mark could see her.
When the Black Dragon of Apocalypse, Acnologia, had attacked earlier, she had intended to borrow everyone's power to cast the ultimate defensive magic, Fairy Sphere.
However, seeing Goku's outburst and his subsequent slaying of the dragon, she chose to remain hidden—until now. With Zeref's life and death on the line, she revealed herself to prevent the curse from harming the others.
"Huh?"
Aside from Master Makarov, everyone else looked on with skepticism.
As far as they knew, the First Master had been dead for over a century; her grave was standing right there on the island.
"It truly is Master Mavis... but you've already..." Makarov was stunned.
He recognized her instantly, not just from portraits, but because her physical body, preserved as the Lumen Histoire, was kept in the guild's basement.
"I died long ago. I am appearing before you as a ghost; only the guild's wizards can perceive me," Mavis explained.
Makarov's face filled with realization, and he hurriedly asked, "Master Mavis, do you know what kind of 'favor' Zeref wants from Goku?"
"If I recall correctly, he likely wants Goku to kill him." Mavis cast a glance toward Goku.
The group froze. They never imagined Zeref's request would be something so... macabre. Who in their right mind requests their own death?
It sounded like the talk of a madman or a lunatic.
"It has to do with the curse he carries. It is the same curse that killed me," Mavis said. She quickly relayed the information Zeref had once shared with her regarding the Curse of Contradiction.
Back during the final battle against Blue Skull, to save Yuri from a demon's clutches, she had cast the incomplete super-magic, Fairy Law.
While it annihilated the demon, the backlash inflicted her with the same curse as Zeref. When Makarov was born, her first realization of the sanctity of life triggered the curse, accidentally killing Makarov's mother.
Stricken by guilt, she wandered the land until she reunited with Zeref and learned the true nature of their shared affliction. Later, as they lived together, their mutual love caused Zeref's curse to flare up, ultimately taking her life.
"If you can kill him, it would be a mercy for him—and a blessing for this world," Mavis said to Goku, her expression complex.
She knew Zeref was in despair; if he continued like this, he might eventually trigger a global catastrophe. Despite her deep love for him, she hoped Goku could grant him peace.
"But... if he's really like what you said, he's too pitiful," Goku frowned. He could accept killing an opponent in the heat of battle, but to execute a man who was essentially a kind, suffering soul begging for death?
He couldn't wrap his head around it.
"Can't we find a way to break the curse?"
"Zeref is the most genius and knowledgeable wizard in history. If he couldn't find a cure in all these centuries, I fear no one in this world can," Mavis sighed, shaking her head.
"Just because this world can't solve it doesn't mean other worlds can't."
Goku thought of how Ur's Iced Shell had been handled and turned to Dumbledore, explaining Mavis's story. Dumbledore pondered for a moment, his brow furrowed.
"I can try, but the odds are slim. If this truly is a curse laid down by a God of this world, my counter-curse skills may not suffice to unravel it." He paused, a sudden spark of inspiration hitting him. He looked at Goku.
"We should return to Hogwarts briefly. There is an item I possess that might actually help."
An hour later, Goku, Dumbledore, the Fairy Tail wizards, and the ghostly Mavis arrived before the memorial of the First Master. They stopped roughly a hundred meters away from where Zeref sat.
This was a safety precaution. The curse's passive pulse rarely exceeded a hundred meters unless Zeref suffered an extreme emotional outburst. Having lived with the curse for so long, Zeref was rarely that out of control.
"You've come," Zeref said, a happy smile gracing his face as he saw Goku, Natsu, and the others. He felt that he was finally standing on the threshold of death.
"I will tell you the truth of everything first. Consider it a 'meeting gift' before I ask for your help."
Zeref's voice was soft but carried perfectly to everyone's ears, likely amplified by a subtle Sound Magic.
"Natsu, my brother... the Fire Dragon King Igneel you have been searching for has actually been inside you all along. The same goes for the other four chosen children; the dragons who raised them are sealed within their bodies."
"Inside us!?" Natsu and Gajeel's eyes went wide with total disbelief.
Zeref explained, "This goes back to a plan from four hundred years ago, and the origin of the Black Dragon, Acnologia..."
As Zeref spoke, the wizards' mouths hung lower and lower.
Acnologia, it turned out, was originally a human wizard. After his hometown was destroyed by dragons, he learned Dragon Slayer Magic for revenge.
He eventually slaughtered almost every dragon in existence—including those friendly to humans. The side effect of overusing the magic caused him to grow scales and transform into the mindless, destructive Black Dragon King.
To combat Acnologia, Zeref collaborated with Lucy's ancestor, the Celestial Spirit Wizard Anna Heartfilia, and five Dragon Kings. They devised a plan to leap through time.
They selected five gifted children to be trained by the five Dragon Kings. The dragons then used a Dragon Soul Technique to seal themselves inside the children to suppress their "dragonization" and protect them from within.
Anna then used the Eclipse Gate, an invention of Zeref's, to send them four hundred years into the future—a time where Ethernano was richer—so they could grow strong enough to eventually kill Acnologia.
Those five children included Natsu (who was resurrected and had his demon powers sealed) and Gajeel.