bookbashuk Chapter 315 The Dark Mage Zeref Cried
Chapter 315 The Dark Mage Zeref Cried
Chapter 315 The Dark Mage Zeref Cried
The next morning, smoke slowly rose from the wood-fired stove.
The large pot was bubbling away, and Chess stood beside it, gently stirring the thick, fragrant rice porridge with his iron ladle to prevent it from sticking to the pot.
"Almost there, Erza, get ready to put in the seafood we caught on the shore this morning," Chase said.
"yes!"
Beside her, Erza, carrying a plate and wearing an apron, carefully poured the prepared blue crab and lobster into the pot.
The usually fearless fairy queen looked tense, staring intently at her movements, afraid that a single mistake would ruin the entire pot of seafood porridge.
As a Fairy Tail S-class mage who can stand on her own, her wilderness survival skills are naturally top-notch.
However, most of the time the priority is to complete the task as quickly as possible. When they get hungry, they just roast any wild animal they can find and eat it. They don't care much about the details.
So, in terms of cooking skills alone, Erza was indeed about the same as a green recruit compared to Chess, who loved to cook even before he transmigrated. Chess's sauerkraut fish was so delicious that even the seasoned fish-eating expert Happy couldn't stop eating it!
"Next are the wild vegetables used to enrich the flavor and add color. Don't add too much salt, just a little bit."
"I see!"
"Hey, seriously? That guy who only knows how to fight can actually cook, and it smells so good?!"
Not far away, Gildarts sat on the lawn, staring wide-eyed at Chess's incredibly skillful movements, and exclaimed in disbelief.
The aroma of seafood mixed with rice porridge made his stomach rumble.
Although he had limited time to interact with Chess, his impression of this rising star in the guild was already formed, and he directly categorized him as being in the same category as Natsu.
Can Natsu cook?
No, this guy will only turn the kitchen into a high-temperature sauna.
"When I first found out about this, I was also very shocked."
Mira walked over with a smile, carrying a stack of washed dishes. Her gentle gaze was fixed on Chase. "He exudes charm in unexpected ways, that's what makes Chase so adorable~"
Gildarts, a seasoned lover, immediately recognized Mira's undisguised affection.
He actually wanted to make a few more jokes, but remembering the three of them's united attitude towards outsiders a couple of days ago, all his thoughts turned into a soft sigh: "Sigh, this brat is really lucky."
After enjoying a delicious and satisfying meal of a whole pot of seafood porridge, the four of them immediately got to work setting up the examination room.
Makarov's examination rules were similar to those in the original work, divided into two stages: "competitive passage" and "finding the grave of Mavis".
The only slight change is that the entrances to the examination halls in the first phase are no longer concentrated, but are instead scattered in nine locations on Tianlang Island.
This is to avoid the impact of fierce battles on the surrounding examination venues—the current contestants, such as Natsu, are much stronger than in the original story.
Nine pathways representing "fierce battles," "encounters," and "luck" converge toward the center of the island. Successful contestants will undergo the second stage of assessment on the main trunk of the Sirius Tree.
This is exactly what Chase and his three companions need to do; each of them must complete the layout and modification of at least two passageways.
Chess is in charge of the southeast corner of Sirius Island, where the forest breaks off, forming steep rock walls with a drop of hundreds of meters.
The rock face is covered with signs of weathering, and a few tenacious trees stick out from the crevices, adding a touch of life to this rugged terrain.
This is where Natsu first encountered Zankro, the Fire God Slayer, in the original story.
After briefly surveying the terrain, Chase drew a card from the void.
The magic circle's rays intertwined, and a dark mage girl striking an adorable pose flew out, followed closely by Dragonbreaker Sword Earth and Elf Sword Earth.
Hearing that they were going to be tricked, uh, set up a venue for the Fairy Tail contestants, they accepted the job without a second thought, and also took the opportunity to get some fresh air.
It wasn't that Chess was being lazy, but besides preparing for the S-class mage exam, he had two other things he had to do on Sirius Island.
The first thing was to engrave the "Heart" magic loop on Gildarts, which was completed last night.
Gildarts's strength is beyond doubt, and he quickly adapted to the amplification effect brought by the "heart".
Unfortunately, the device Hades developed could not repair the injuries left on his body before; his limbs, which had been crippled by the black dragon, remained unchanged.
The second thing, naturally, is to find Zeref, the dark mage who has ended up here.
Chase didn't just get up early to make breakfast to show off his cooking skills; while picking wild vegetables and fishing for seafood, he had already located Jelf's location.
Gildarts and his companions couldn't sense the forcibly sealed aura of dark magic, but they couldn't hide it from the dark mages who were experts in this art.
"Well then, I'll leave this place to you three." Chess waved to the three dark magic girls.
"No problem, I guarantee I'll prepare a fun venue for Natsu and the others!" The Dark Magician Girl raised her hand high, her smile sinister.
The Dragon Slayer and the Elf Swordsman shared the same expression, revealing a strong sense of conspiracy.
"The contestants who get to choose the passage they set up are lucky," Chess thought to himself. Then he nodded and transformed into a streak of light, flying towards the upper island supported by the Sirius Tree.
Withered yellow leaves fluttered in the air, and the depths of the forest were eerily quiet.
The man, dressed in black and wearing a white robe, who was sleeping under a big tree, seemed to sense something and suddenly opened his eyes.
Those dark eyes were as deep as the night sky, yet utterly empty, bearing over four hundred years of loneliness and pain.
"Humans?"
Seeing Chess and the Dark Magician appear before him, Zeref slowly rose, his lowered eyes filled with endless sorrow and despair. "Why did this happen? I thought that if I were here, there would be no one here."
"Shouldn't I be the one saying that? What are you doing hiding in our guild's sacred ground like this?" Chase symbolically questioned.
At the same time, he secretly sized up this man who could be said to be a constant presence throughout the entire Fairy Tail series.
Jeff was thinner than I had imagined, with faint blue veins visible beneath his pale skin. His long black hair was casually draped over his shoulders, with a few strands falling in front of his eyes, adding to his gloomy air.
What is most striking is the aura surrounding him—not simply dark magic, but a deeper, more primal aura of death that is unsettling.
"I see, so this is an island managed by the guild—"
Jertian didn't notice Chase's self-illumination, or rather, he didn't dare to look Chase in the eye, fearing he might take away the other's precious life.
Just like all the tragedies that have happened before.
An unintentional glance, a careless touch, and then life vanishes before your eyes.
Those terrified expressions and outstretched hands seeking help eventually became frequent visitors to my nightmares.
That's right, he is a cursed monster that only brings disaster to the world.
Click.
The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Jelf looked up abruptly, raising his hand in a panic to block Chase's path, shouting, "No! Stop right now!"
"I have no intention of trespassing on your guild's sacred ground. Leave now."
His voice held a hint of pleading, "So please, please don't come near me!"
With a faint smile on his lips, Chase exchanged a brief glance with the dark mage beside him before continuing to walk forward.
The God-Slaying Magic was quietly activated, and the scales of a sky dragon appeared on his body, emanating a sacred aura that formed a natural protective barrier.
Inside the barrier, the Dark Mage always maintained a distance of half a body length ahead of him, ensuring that he could issue a warning the moment an emergency occurred.
Even Zeref, who was cursed by the god Ankhseram, couldn't kill Acnologia. One has to be very careful when dealing with such a dangerous person.
This is actually one of the reasons why Chase didn't tell Gildarts and the others, and chose to come alone.
"No, that won't do!"
Jelf staggered backward, trembling, clutching his head in pain. "Quick, run—."
Black magic began to overflow uncontrollably from his body, forming a distorted vortex around him.
"Death hunt is coming!!"
Wow!
A black storm of death erupted, sweeping outwards from him in all directions.
The fallen leaves floating in mid-air were the first to come into contact with the storm and instantly turned to dust.
Immediately afterwards, the lush green grass underfoot, the towering trees surrounding them, and the insects and birds hiding among them were all stripped of their vitality.
In the blink of an eye, the vibrant forest was transformed into a desolate wasteland!
A cold wind blew, raising black dust.
Jelf collapsed to the ground, utterly dejected, covering his face in anguish, muttering, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry—"
"What nonsense are you spouting, you idiot!"
The sudden sound made Zeref's expression change drastically. He looked up and saw that the two poor souls who should have taken his life were actually...
Unharmed?
"You're not dead, you're not dead—" Zeref stood there dumbfounded.
He had fantasized about this scene countless times, but no matter how outstanding or powerful a mage was, they would all be ruthlessly erased by the "forbidden" without exception.
After countless moments of despair and helplessness, he no longer dared to hope for such a miracle. He only wanted to find a secluded place to hide and wait for Natsu, who had grown up, to kill him so that he could be free forever.
Therefore, when humans who were not affected by the "taboo" actually appeared, Zeref's first reaction was not joy, but rather blankness.
Until the sunlight scattered, penetrating the black sand and dust, and shining on my face, bringing a touch of warmth and light.
Only then did Jelf realize that he wasn't dreaming.
For the first time in four hundred years, the damned taboo curse has not taken the lives of those who approached it!
Tick.
Two streams of hot tears overflowed from the lifeless pupils, sliding down the cheeks and splashing onto the desolate earth.
The dark mage who left behind many legends in the magical world.
Cried.