Chapter 313

Chapter 313: Chapter 313

"Marshall, you won’t believe this! Mavis actually went and asked that Black Mage to teach her Magic!"

After her argument with Mavis, an thoroughly unhappy Zera immediately contacted Marshall to complain about her best friend.

The whole situation reminded him of a child running home to tell her parents about an argument she’d had with another kid.

Marshall couldn’t help laughing as he listened.

Compared with Mavis, Zera really was considerably more childish.

Her likes and dislikes were written all over her face.

If she liked someone, she’d defend them regardless of the circumstances.

If she disliked someone, there was no persuading her to get along with them.

Right and wrong barely entered into the equation.

As far as Zera was concerned, what mattered was whether someone belonged to her circle of trusted people.

It was an innocent, uncomplicated way of looking at the world.

Mavis, on the other hand, was quite different.

She considered the advantages and disadvantages of a situation before making a decision.

In this case, she’d concluded that the benefits of studying Magic under Zeref outweighed the potential risks, so she’d accepted his offer despite his reputation.

Mavis was clearly the more rational of the two, whereas Zera tended to follow her feelings.

Marshall didn’t particularly object to Mavis learning from Zeref.

If he hadn’t been so wary of the Black Mage himself, he would have welcomed the opportunity to exchange magical knowledge with someone who had lived for several centuries.

Whatever else could be said about Zeref, nobody could reasonably question his expertise.

He might be dangerous, and his past might be filled with terrible deeds, but he certainly wasn’t some incompetent fraud relying on an exaggerated reputation.

Marshall had always respected genuine ability.

Still, he couldn’t deny that he found Zera’s unquestioning loyalty rather endearing.

Sure, she was being a little foolish by automatically siding with the people she liked, but there was something charming about her uncomplicated devotion.

Especially since the person she favored was him.

’Hahaha! What a good kid!’

Marshall was thoroughly pleased.

’Zera is really adorable. Keep up the good work!’

Who would have thought that the two girls could still bring him so much enjoyment even after leaving Tenrou Island?

Marshall was genuinely touched.

Then, having finished listening to Zera’s complaints, he happily returned to his experiments and training.

...

Meanwhile, Mavis and her companions began studying Magic under Zeref.

Yuri, Precht, and Warrod proved to be surprisingly talented students, and each soon developed abilities suited to his particular strengths.

Yuri learned Lightning Magic, while Warrod developed an aptitude for Tree Magic.

Precht, meanwhile, demonstrated an unusually broad talent and managed to learn several different kinds of Magic.

Zeref even praised his natural ability, remarking that Precht possessed considerable potential as a Mage.

Marshall would hardly have been surprised to hear that assessment. After all, this was the man who would eventually become Fairy Tail’s Second Guild Master.

It would have been stranger if Precht hadn’t possessed exceptional magical talent.

Despite the promising results, Zeref didn’t remain with the group for very long.

He spent only a relatively short time teaching them the fundamentals, and once the three treasure hunters had acquired the ability to use Magic, he began preparing to leave.

Before departing, however, he sought out Mavis for a private conversation.

"Mr. Black Mage!"

Mavis greeted him with her usual cheerful smile.

"Thank you so much for teaching us! You’re a really wonderful person!"

"...I haven’t done anything particularly remarkable," Zeref replied, shaking his head. "Your companions are all quite talented. Even without my instruction, I doubt they would have struggled too much to learn Magic."

Then his expression became more serious.

"Actually, Mavis, there’s something else I wanted to discuss with you."

"Hm?"

"It’s about the girl who’s always beside you."

"Zera?"

Mavis blinked.

"Did she do something wrong?"

Her expression turned apologetic.

"I know she can be a little stubborn sometimes, but she doesn’t mean any harm! If she caused you any trouble, I’ll apologize on her behalf!"

The argument between Mavis and Zera had lasted an entire day.

For almost twenty-four hours, the two girls had stubbornly refused to speak to each other.

Eventually, however, their anger had faded, and they’d quietly made up without either one offering much of an apology.

After all, they were each other’s only close childhood friend.

A disagreement wasn’t going to destroy a bond that had survived so many years of loneliness.

Nevertheless, Zera had remained firm about one thing.

She absolutely refused to study Magic under Zeref.

Whenever the others gathered for their lessons, Zera would head into the forest to hunt instead.

Consequently, she and Zeref had barely interacted.

That was why Mavis immediately suspected that her friend must have secretly played some prank on him when he unexpectedly brought up her name.

But Zeref shook his head.

"No. She hasn’t done anything wrong."

He hesitated, carefully considering his next words.

"What I wanted to ask is... how did you manage to keep someone who’s already dead beside you?"

Mavis froze.

Zeref continued, his voice filled with genuine curiosity.

"Your magical talent is astonishing. I’ve never encountered anything quite like it."

"...!"

The words struck Mavis like a bolt of lightning.

Her eyes widened, and every muscle in her body went rigid.

For several seconds, she couldn’t even seem to breathe.

"W-What...?"

Her voice trembled.

"What are you talking about?"

Zeref frowned.

"You don’t know?"

He looked at her more carefully.

"But that phenomenon is clearly being sustained by your own Magic. Surely you must have some understanding of how—"

He stopped.

Something was wrong.

"Wait... this is bad!"

His expression changed abruptly.

Before he could do anything, an enormous surge of Magic Power erupted from Mavis’s body, sweeping outward through the surrounding area.

The little girl staggered, her eyes losing focus, and began falling backward.

Zeref instinctively stepped forward to catch her.

But before he could reach her, Mavis suddenly rose into the air.

She hovered several feet above the ground, surrounded by brilliant magical light.

Her eyes shone with an unnatural radiance, while a pair of translucent wings spread behind her, shimmering like something from a fairy tale.

For one extraordinary moment, she resembled a real fairy.

Zeref stopped moving.

The phenomenon was unlike anything he’d expected.

Then, almost as quickly as it had appeared, the strange radiance faded.

The wings dissolved into scattered light, and Mavis gradually returned to her normal appearance.

"Huh?"

She blinked in confusion, looking down at the ground beneath her.

"Why am I floating?"

Then she turned toward Zeref.

"Mr. Black Mage? What were you about to tell me?"

"..."

Zeref stared at her.

Mavis’s expression was perfectly innocent. She seemed genuinely unaware that anything unusual had happened beyond her sudden levitation.

More importantly, she apparently had no memory of their conversation about Zera.

The realization made Zeref fall silent.

After studying her for another moment, he slowly shook his head.

"It’s nothing. I merely wanted to say goodbye before leaving."

His expression softened slightly.

"I hope everything goes well for you and your friends."

"Of course it will!"

Mavis smiled brightly.

"We’re going to win! And thank you again for everything you’ve taught us!"

She waved enthusiastically.

"Goodbye!"

With that, she flew away, leaving Zeref standing alone.

He watched her disappear into the distance, his expression gradually becoming thoughtful.

"Interesting..."

He lowered his gaze.

"Was that some kind of instinctive self-protection? Or was the response deliberately built into her Magic?"

He had only begun questioning the girl’s existence when Mavis’s magical power had reacted, seemingly protecting something she wasn’t consciously willing to acknowledge.

Even stranger was the fact that she’d immediately forgotten what had happened.

And then there was Zera herself.

A girl who had already died, yet continued existing in the world through another person’s Magic.

Zeref had spent centuries studying life and death, but he’d never discovered a reliable way to accomplish something like that.

"...A method of allowing the dead to remain among the living."

He looked toward the direction Mavis had gone.

"If only I’d met you sooner, Mavis..."

For a long time, Zeref remained lost in thought.

Then he quietly left.

Mavis had clearly attracted his interest, but he didn’t appear inclined to interfere further.

At least, not for now.

...

After Zeref’s departure, Mavis reunited with Yuri, Precht, and Warrod.

Now that the three men had learned Magic, the group finally had enough fighting strength to attempt another confrontation with Blue Skull.

This time, however, Mavis had no intention of repeating their previous mistakes.

Rather than challenging the entire Dark Guild directly, she devised a strategy designed to separate its leader from the rest of his forces.

She called it their Plan to Crush Blue Skull.

The arrangement was straightforward.

Mavis and Zera would lure Blue Skull’s Guild Master away and keep him occupied, while Yuri, Precht, and Warrod infiltrated Magnolia and destroyed the guild’s headquarters.

Without their leader’s overwhelming magical strength to support them, the ordinary members of Blue Skull would be much easier to defeat.

And now that all three treasure hunters could use Magic, they no longer needed Mavis to protect them constantly.

The plan worked remarkably well.

Blue Skull’s Guild Master was fooled by Mavis’s illusions and walked straight into a trap she’d prepared in advance.

While she and Zera kept him occupied, Yuri and the others launched their attack on Magnolia.

The three men tore through Blue Skull’s forces, defeating the guild’s members one after another.

Their progress was astonishing considering how recently they’d learned Magic.

It had barely been any time since Yuri, Precht, and Warrod were ordinary treasure hunters, yet the three of them were already capable of dismantling an entire Dark Guild’s fighting force.

Their natural magical talents were clearly exceptional.

Of course, their existing physical abilities played an equally important role.

Most of Blue Skull’s members were conventional Mages who relied almost entirely on spells and possessed relatively poor physical conditioning.

Against three powerful fighters who combined newly acquired Magic with excellent hand-to-hand combat skills, they were hopelessly outmatched.

Once the treasure hunters closed the distance, their opponents had very little opportunity to defend themselves.

Before long, Blue Skull’s remaining members had been thoroughly defeated.

But Yuri hadn’t forgotten why they’d come to Magnolia in the first place.

Their original objective was to recover the legendary S-Class treasure, the Tenrou Jade.

Now that the enemy had been defeated, there was nothing stopping him from claiming it.

As for Mavis’s objections?

Well, Yuri would just have to apologize to her afterward.

Unfortunately, there was one small detail he didn’t know.

While keeping Blue Skull’s Guild Master occupied, Mavis had discovered something disturbing about the Tenrou Jade.

According to the enemy leader, the gemstone had been contaminated by evil energy for many years.

A terrifying curse had taken root within it, and anyone who carelessly touched the treasure risked suffering disastrous consequences.

The moment Mavis learned this, she realized that Yuri was in danger.

She immediately abandoned her position and hurried back toward Magnolia, desperate to stop him before he reached the treasure.

Unfortunately, she was too late.

Yuri had already found the Tenrou Jade.

And the moment he claimed it, the evil power contained within the gemstone began to take hold.

Under the influence of that sinister energy, Yuri’s consciousness was drawn into the enormous blue skeletal dragon perched atop Kardia Cathedral.

Then the impossible happened.

The dragon moved.

Its enormous skeletal body, which had previously remained motionless above the cathedral, suddenly began stirring as though it had come back to life.

The creature rose, spreading its massive frame over Magnolia.

An instant later, it began rampaging through the town.

Buildings crumbled beneath its attacks, and enormous sections of the already devastated settlement were reduced to rubble.

The skeletal dragon had become a terrifying instrument of destruction, its enormous body driven by the evil power of the Tenrou Jade.

Faced with such an overwhelming monster, Zera’s first instinct was to contact Marshall.

This was exactly the sort of emergency he had promised to help them handle.

All she had to do was activate her communication ring, explain the situation, and ask him to come.

Surely Marshall would be able to defeat something like this!

But before she could reach out to him, Mavis stopped her.

"Wait, Zera!"

Zera turned toward her in disbelief.

"Mavis?! What are you doing? We need Marshall’s help!"

"No."

Mavis looked up at the skeletal dragon looming over Magnolia.

Her expression was unusually determined.

"I can defeat it."

Zera stared at her.

"What?"

"I can do it with the Magic I’ve just learned!"

Mavis rose into the air, flying higher until she faced the enormous creature.

She’d been studying a particular magical concept ever since Zeref casually mentioned it during their lessons.

The Black Mage had once considered whether the underlying principles of the Curse of Ankhseram could be adapted into a completely different spell.

Rather than reproducing the curse’s indiscriminate destruction of life, the idea was to develop a powerful form of Magic based on its extraordinary ability to distinguish and affect living targets.

Zeref had only discussed the concept with Mavis.

But she’d remembered his explanation.

And, using her own remarkable intelligence and magical understanding, she’d continued refining the theory independently.

The result was a spell she’d modified and developed herself.

It was dangerous, complicated, and unlike anything she’d ever attempted before.

But Mavis believed it possessed enough power to defeat the skeletal dragon.

She raised her hands, gathering her Magic Power.

Then she spoke the name of the spell.

"Fairy—Law!"

Brilliant light erupted across Magnolia.

An immense radiance spread outward, illuminating the ruined streets, the cathedral, and the skeletal dragon towering above them.

The entire town was bathed in the sacred glow of Fairy Law.

And within that overwhelming light, the enormous skeletal dragon began to break apart.

Its bones shattered, separating from one another as the spell tore through the evil power animating its body.

The monstrous creature that had seemed capable of reducing all of Magnolia to ruins was destroyed beneath the brilliant radiance.

Mavis had succeeded.

She’d gambled everything on an experimental spell and won.

But there was one thing the young girl didn’t yet understand.

The power she’d just unleashed came with a price.

And Mavis had no idea what that price would be.