Once the truth had been laid bare and everyone had found a moment of stillness to process the revelation, Zeref turned his gaze toward Goku. His expression was heavy with a profound, weary earnestness.
"Goku-san, my request is simple: I wish for you to use the same magic you used to slay the Black Dragon to kill me. In exchange, I will do everything in my power to grant any wish you might have."
Zeref paused, his dark eyes shimmering with the weight of centuries.
"If you seek to reach the pinnacle of the magical arts, I am master of most magics in this world and can personally guide your training. If it is power or wealth you desire... I established the Alvarez Empire on the Western Continent. I rule there as Emperor. Should you succeed in killing me, you shall become the second Emperor of the Alvarez Empire."
Goku blinked, his head tilting to the side in that characteristic, innocent fashion.
"I definitely want you to teach me magic! But... I don't really want to kill you. I want to help you break that curse!"
Zeref let out a long, hollow sigh.
"No one can break the curse upon me. Not unless the God himself grants me his forgiveness."
Goku turned his hopeful eyes toward Dumbledore.
Understanding the silent plea, Dumbledore drew the Elder Wand. With a flourish of ancient, disciplined movements, he poured his full strength into a series of Counter-Charms and Unbinding Curses directed at Zeref.
After a few moments, the old wizard lowered his wand and shook his head toward Goku. It was clear—even the pinnacle of Wizarding magic could not unravel a curse descended directly from a deity of this realm.
However, Albus Dumbledore was not a man to surrender easily.
Reaching into a pocket, he retrieved a specialized travel case and released his phoenix, Fawkes.
The crimson bird circled the air with a cry of pure, melodic resonance before landing before Zeref.
A single, pearlescent tear welled in the phoenix's eye and fell, splashing gently onto Zeref's cheek. Simultaneously, Dumbledore struck again, weaving his Counter-Charms back into the localized space.
A phoenix possesses an undying nature; even if Zeref's curse were to erupt, the bird could be reborn from the ashes.
More importantly, its tears possess legendary healing properties and a potent secondary effect of purging malevolent enchantments.
Zeref's eyes widened. He felt a shift—a fundamental vibration within the curse's structure. A look of startled joy flickered across his face.
Acting with the instinct of the world's greatest Mage, Zeref immediately began chanting. He unleashed a barrage of Sealing Magics, layering barrier upon barrier onto his own body.
For centuries, he had experimented with every forbidden art and taboo ritual to break this divine shackle. He had created demons, mastered time-space magic, and built empires—his research had not been entirely fruitless.
Now, bolstered by the metaphysical purity of the Phoenix Tears and the exotic "Foreign Magic" of Dumbledore, he felt the curse within him grow significantly brittle.
His sealing magic was finally taking hold.
While he could not fully eradicate the curse, he could at least compress its "Area of Effect." The lethal miasma that usually erupted uncontrollably was now being forced into a radius of only a few meters around his body. The risk of accidental slaughter was drastically reduced.
"Goku!" Dumbledore shouted, maintaining the pressure of his spellwork.
Without a second's delay, Goku reached into a storage box and pulled out a shimmering, silvery-grey cloak, hurling it toward the Dark Mage.
"Quick! Put this on!"
Zeref caught the fabric, momentarily confused by its strange, water-like texture, but he obeyed instantly, draping it over his shoulders.
The moment the cloak settled, Zeref's eyes ignited with a brilliant light. An expression of pure disbelief washed over him.
He knelt down with agonizing slowness, reaching out a trembling hand toward a small, fragile wildflower growing in the dirt. He allowed himself to feel—deeply and without reservation—a surge of genuine appreciation and love for the tiny blossom.
In any other circumstance, such a concentrated burst of "love" would have triggered the curse instantly, snuffing the life out of the flower. Even with the recent seals and the phoenix's help, the flower should have withered.
But the flower remained vibrant. It did not wilt. It did not die.
To Zeref, it felt as though the curse had truly vanished. In reality, the cloak acted as a Shielding Device, drastically masking the "Signal" between the root of the curse and the divine source that powered it.
Combined with the weakening from the tears and the multi-layered seals, the Dark Mage was finally no longer a walking vessel of involuntary death.
"It seems we have succeeded!" Dumbledore beamed, a satisfied smile creasing his weathered face.
To be honest, he hadn't been certain. It was an experimental gamble. He and Goku had returned to Hogwarts specifically to retrieve Fawkes, knowing the tears would be crucial. But on a whim, Dumbledore had remembered the legends of the Invisibility Cloak.
The Cloak was one of the Deathly Hallows, forged—according to legend—by the hand of Death itself.
If the tales were true, the wearer of the Cloak could hide even from the gaze of Death.
Dumbledore had reasoned that if it could blind one god of death, it might very well deceive the God of Life and Death in this world. A God is a God, regardless of the dimension.
It appeared his hypothesis was correct.
Dumbledore's motives weren't entirely selfless, of course. Beyond helping Goku master Gravity Magic, he wished to form an alliance with the most powerful Mage in this world.
To a scholar like Albus, the opportunity to exchange magical theory with a four-hundred-year-old genius was irresistible. As for the Cloak, it had been sitting idle at Hogwarts.
He had originally intended to give it to Harry Potter, but with Goku around, Dumbledore suspected Harry wouldn't be needing that particular layer of protection anymore.
"We haven't completely removed the curse," Dumbledore said as he and Goku approached Zeref.
"But I believe that in the future, Goku will find a way to finish the job."
He looked at Zeref meaningfully.
"Therefore, I hope that, if you are willing, you might provide Goku with some guidance regarding Gravity Magic."
Goku's adventures across different worlds would surely lead to a permanent cure eventually.
Or perhaps, once Goku became as powerful as the Gods themselves, he could simply have a "chat" with the deity of this world and settle the matter directly. Dumbledore had immense confidence in the boy's potential.
"Thank you... truly, thank you both," Zeref whispered, clutching the Cloak tightly. Tears of relief pricked his eyes.
Forget teaching magic—for the chance to live as a normal human being, he would have given anything.
He had sought death only because his existence had become a living hell where he was forbidden from feeling affection.
Furthermore, he had known that the Black Dragon, Acnologia, was an invincible force that would eventually destroy everything.
To be the sole survivor, a plaything for a dragon, was a fate worse than extinction.
But now? Acnologia was dead. He had a cloak that allowed him to breathe, to touch, and to live.
Why should he choose to die now? He wanted to experience the world again. He wanted to open his heart.
"This... this is good," the ghost of Mavis whispered. Seeing the genuine smile on Zeref's face, she couldn't help but smile herself.
She, more than anyone, understood his agony. She bore the same curse, but from the moment she was afflicted until her "death," only a few years had passed. Those years had nearly broken her. Zeref had endured that isolation for over four centuries.
Previously, when Zeref begged for death, she hadn't stopped Goku. She had hoped Goku could provide him the mercy of release. For people like them, death was often a kinder fate than the curse.
But life—true life—was always better.