Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail

Book after book, library after library, the guild searched for an answer. Zeref lost track of where everyone had gone to look for a cure a week ago, yet he felt like they were no closer than when they had begun. With how scattered they were, Zeref was almost certain that they no longer even looked like a guild to others. Lahar still remained in Oshibana, as did Natsu, but others had paired up into teams to go looking. Romeo, Wendy, Wakaba and Macao returned to Magnolia. Gray and Loke had gone to Hargeon. Erza and Mira had traveled out of the country, seeking answers in Bosco. Lisanna, Levy, and Lucy all went to Oak Town to search for a cure. If that wasn't enough, Cana went with Makarov to see if any of them could sense a lingering trace of magic within Tenrou Island that could help. That place was their ancestral home, and somewhere within those ruins was the place where Mavis had found enough knowledge to identify his curse. Out of all the groups, Zeref couldn't help but feel as if they had the greatest chance of success.

As a result, Zeref found himself feeling quite bored here. Mavis was in the library with him, Lahar, and Natsu, reading books eagerly. He watched her at times, often finding himself distracted from his own work. She would get a rather endearing smile on her face every time she read a particularly interesting book. Based on her reactions, however, he was fairly certain it wasn't a book concerning magic, though. When she closed it and rose to her feet, humming under her breath, Zeref caught a glimpse of the cover. Something about fairies…along with the cover art of said mythical creature in flight.

Chuckling under his breath, Zeref returned his focus to his own book. Most libraries didn't even contain books on curses. Since they were viewed as dark magic, the Council had banned use of them around the same time that they banned wizard guilds from participating in wars. It was meant to be for everyone's safety, but many wizards had still attempted to utilize them against their enemies regardless. Peace had been unstable at that time in history, with the trade wars just coming to an end as a result of the newly formed treaty. Most wizards still wished to fight, and they decided curses had been a way to work around their inability to attack someone directly.

Realizing that their ban had not stopped anything, the Council took another step to prevent that dark magic from being used. By that time, Zeref had lost count of how many wizards ended up imprisoned for curse casting, but the result was still devastating for the world's knowledge base on magic. They sent the rune knights to every library throughout Fiore, demanding that they collect any book that contained any information, no matter how small, on curses. Even non-spell books were gathered, simply because within a fictional account, they informed the public about the effects of some curse.

After gathering all of the books, the Council had them destroyed so that no one could utilize curses again. While it did have a delayed effect in the public, eventually, curses became obscure and unpopular. Now, only legends and myths told of ways to cast them. The only way to find information on such spells would be in ruins of ancient civilizations, or in the homes of people who had managed to hide their books from the Council's rune knights during the search. Few remained, and Zeref had not seen any in a very long time.

The book he was currently reading, as a result, did not describe curses. According to the title, it was meant to give a detailed account of the gods and what they did for the world. After reading only a single chapter, Zeref decided that he found this book to be quite inaccurate. A brief introduction described Ankhseram as a forgiving and kind god, who cared for every soul, both living and dead. According to the book, it is believed that the god cries a single tear for every death in the world, leaving the god in a constant state of sobbing helplessly in his realm.

With that ridiculous notion beginning the book, Zeref really didn't think he would gain much knowledge from it. Hence the reason why he was constantly glancing around after reading a single page in the book. Shaking his head, he shut the book with a sigh and moved to at least attempt to find something that could be considered educational, and not pure fiction. Instead, he selected a book that detailed the magical theory behind enchantment magic. At the moment, it was the closest approximation to curses that Zeref would be able to find in Oshibana.

He had done this before, though he couldn't exactly pinpoint when. For a brief moment, he had hope that he could end his curse. Then…he couldn't quite remember what happened. Someone had been killed…maybe it had been an old friend of his, or someone he viewed as too innocent that hadn't deserved to be harmed. His patience vanished, and he found that his suffering would still exist, even if his curse did not. Instead, he went down a much darker path, returning to his research on the Etherious, and ultimately designing a path that was meant to destroy even an immortal life.

Oddly, he couldn't seem to recall that memory quite clearly. Most of the tragedies in his past remained with him, while other memories blurred together. Perhaps he had witnessed too many for his mind to continue storing more away. The thought left him somewhat chilled as he sighed and opened the new book to start reading. This research wouldn't complete itself, and with even Natsu working harder than him, he decided it was about time he actually did something here. Hopefully, they would all be finished soon, because at the moment, he was beginning to feel the same way he had felt back then. He had suffered long enough, and now, he didn't care how he got peace, so long as the pain ended with him.


In Magnolia, things seemed to have changed quite a bit. The town itself was back to normal, with all of the excitement dying down quickly from when Fairy Tail had left. Rune knights were no longer scattered within the streets, and they even seemed to have gained a new attraction. Wendy had heard that apparently, if you went down Market Street, you would arrive at the Haunted Wall, or at least, that's what people were calling it. Some barrier was there that blocked anyone from passing, and it kind of became a test of strength for the people visiting. As Wendy walked passed it, she smiled at the sight of a young boy punching his hand into the air. Within, she blinked in surprise at the sight of purple lettering floating in the air. The non-wizards of Magnolia had failed to realize that the entire thing was just an enchantment that someone seemed to have forgotten about.

"Dad, can I go try breaking the Haunted Wall? I wanna show them that a wizard can do amazing things for this town, especially after everything that happened." Romeo sounded eager as he glanced up at his father for an answer.

Chuckling, Macao rubbed the kid's hair and nodded. "Sure thing, kid, just don't go breaking your hand on the thing." With that, Romeo went rushing off towards the crowd. Wakaba remained by Macao's side, but after a moment of debate, Wendy followed after Romeo.

"Wait!" Romeo paused, glancing back at her with a slight smile. "That wall isn't what they think it is. Do you see that writing up there?"

Wendy pointed to the purple letters floating above their heads. Gazing at it, Romeo's eyes went wide and he seemed to cheer for a moment. "That's awesome! Someone made a permanent wall in Magnolia with magic!" He rushed back towards Macao without even trying to break the wall. "Dad, I think Freed was here recently. That wall looks like one of his enchantments."

"Sure thing, kid." Macao looked amused, but after a moment he sighed and shook his head. "Either way, we've got our work cut out for us. Finding a way to end a curse that was created four hundred years ago…not exactly how I planned on spending my day, that's for sure."

Pulling the pipe out of his mouth, Wakaba smirked and nodded. "You said it. I say that while we're here, we should leave the kids to entertain themselves and go…sightseeing." His gaze flickered towards the other side of the street. Wendy followed his gaze, frowning as two teenagers seemed to be walking along. One of them said something that made her companion laugh.

"No way, we're all in this to help Master, right?" Romeo sounded so eager. He grabbed his father's hand, smiling brightly. "It might take a while, but we've got plenty of time, and I've gotten a lot stronger since the last time we were here. This mission will be easy for us, I'm sure of it!"

"You heard the kid, Wakaba. I say we head back to the guild while we're here. You know that the Master kept all kinds of creepy things in that basement of his…maybe he had something on the curse down there?" Macao began moving towards Fairy Tail's former home, but Wendy paused with a frown.

"Um…if he already had something on the curse, wouldn't it be pointless for us to read it?" She toyed with her hands in front of her dress and stared at the ground. "I'm sorry…I just didn't think it'd be that useful to us."

Shaking his head, Wakaba snorted and pushed his pipe into the corner of his mouth again. "Listen, kid, do you really think he's read every book in that place? Fairy Tail had its own library too. Maybe we'll find something he missed…or maybe we'll at least find something that points us in the right direction."

"Exactly." Macao smiled as Wendy began walking behind them, with Romeo by her side. "You're a smart kid, but us grown-ups have to be in charge of the planning, alright? We've got a few more years behind us, and our experience will let us manage to get through this mission with success."

Smiling over at her, Romeo patted Wendy's shoulder. "You'll get used to it. My dad's kinda weird, but he's still family. Anyway, he still makes me proud. He's a wizard, and so am I…and because of that, we can do great things, like help our Master finally find his freedom."

"Right." Wendy smiled at all of them, excited to be on this mission with their odd little group. "You know, I'm really glad I joined this guild. All of you are so kind to me…it feels almost like it did when I was with Grandeeney." With that, her smiled lessened slightly, but it didn't vanish entirely. While she still missed Grandeeney, she had new friends by her side and a new mission to focus on. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad if she stopped searching for her lost mother. She wouldn't ever stop missing Grandeeney, but Zeref had said she vanished for a reason. With that, she could trust that her mother would return one day, and that things would be better because Grandeeney had finished a mission of her own.

They found themselves walking up a hill, finding that the path towards the former Fairy Tail guild hall was oddly crowded. From what Wendy understood, that place had been destroyed and should have been in ruins. However, when they neared the top of the hill, Wendy found that it was not the case. Something big had happened in Magnolia recently, and Wendy hadn't even realized it until now. Where Fairy Tail once stood, a new guild was now built. Seeing a triangular shaped logo that looked like a vicious wildcat, Wendy approached the guild and saw the name printed above the newly hung banner. Sabertooth had replaced Magnolia's former guild, and coming outside to greet them were two boys that looked almost like total opposites. The brightest boy with blond hair crossed his arms over his chest, while the one dressed in black with dark hair seemed to cling to the shadows behind him. Uncertain of what to do, Wendy and the rest of her group stopped and stared at the others, all of them waiting for someone to make the first move.


Loke and Gray were getting rather bored in Hargeon. The port city was popular, receiving the majority of the traffic into Fiore from other nations. Anyone wishing to travel by boat to Fiore had to come through one of the five port cities, and out of those, Hargeon had always been the largest. As a result, the majority of the businesses in town were focused on tourism. Most shops sold small trinkets and t-shirts for visiting people, while the more common businesses were hidden away deeper into the city.

It had been odd to find that only one magic shop existed in this place, but Gray didn't really care to look at it anyway. Loke hadn't either, so they quickly moved on to finding the only library in this place. "Is this really it?" Loke sounded rather surprised, and Gray didn't blame them. The building they stood before looked like it couldn't be much larger than someone's shed. A wooden sign had been planted into the ground, with the words Hargeon Library painted on it in black writing. Some of the paint seemed to have dripped when drying, leaving trails of it leaking towards the bottom of the sign and smearing the letters.

Shrugging, Gray pushed the door open. "I guess so. Either way, it just makes our jobs easier. The sooner we get this done with, the sooner we can get back, right?"

Nodding in agreement, Loke followed him inside. "Of course. Though, I didn't think you were in any rush to get back to the place where Natsu was at. The two of you don't get along, do you?"

"He's a fire wizard, we're not supposed to get along." He said it as if it was obvious, but there was a slight smile on his face. Natsu was the first guy he had met in a long time that seemed like he could challenge Gray in a fight. The guy's magic was amazing, yet he didn't even seem to try to make it that way. "I guess we kinda have to, though. He is the master's brother, after all."

Smiling, Loke nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "That he is. I still find it strange, though. Considering how old Master is, just how is his brother still alive?"

"Like we'll ever find out. If Zeref wants to keep something a secret, you'll never find the answer. That's something I picked up pretty quickly within the guild." It had taken Gray a long time to finally hear that Zeref was the one responsible for creating Deliora. The man probably hadn't even realized Gray had a connection to the demon, until he asked Zeref about how to free Ur. While he knew now that it just wasn't possible to do without killing her, back then, he still had hope. Seeing how knowledgeable their master was about almost any kind of magic, he had believed Zeref could help so he told the man his story.

That story had seemed to make Zeref uncomfortable, but he never really explained why. All he told Gray was that he would look into it, and that he was free to use their library to do the same. Eventually, Gray found a history book in that library, hoping that maybe sometime in the past, a person had come across the same issue and fixed it. Instead, he saw a detailed account of some village destroyed by Deliora, long before his own tragedy occurred. It called the monster a demon from one of the books of Zeref. Recognizing the name, he confronted their master for an answer.

He had been about eight at the time, if he remembered it properly. "What is this?" Zeref had blinked at him, frowning in confusion. "Why did you lie to me? You created that monster, it's your fault that Ur died!"

The guild had grown quiet at his outburst, though Cana still had enough snark to break it. "Put on some clothes if you're going to run around like that!"

Glaring at her, Gray snapped. "Shut up! I don't care about that, I care about this." Gray waved a book in the air, practically shoving it into Zeref's face. Opening it once more, he pointed to the line that talked about the demon. "Why…why would you make a demon…?" His voice was much quieter with this last question. Tears were welling in his eyes, but he tried to fight them back. His shoulders shook, and the hands gripping the book seemed to tremor and make the pages shake.

Gently, Zeref grabbed the book from Gray's hand and set it aside. "Why would anyone create a demon?" The master had turned his question right back towards him.

"I don't know…" By his sides, Gray's hands clenched into fists as his anger returned to over wash his sorrow. "What I do know is that it's wrong! Demons destroyed my life, that monster took everything away from me! Yet, you just stand there, smiling like it's no big deal. Are you happy that your demon destroys the world? Does it please you to know that you're responsible for killing so many?" He had not yet learned of Zeref's curse, since the man had chosen to at least shield Gray from some of the darker secrets of the guild. If he had known, maybe he would have chosen different words to say at that point.

Gray expected the man to get angry in return, to shout and yell just like he was. He wanted to fight someone, to find an outlet for his anger. However, the guild master only closed his eyes, with a slight frown on his face. "I cannot say either way. The guilt I feel…it has been with me for so long that I almost don't even notice it anymore. However, the anger I feel is always noticed. Part of me desires to make this world suffer, though I have managed to suppress that desire since becoming a part of this guild." Zeref had glanced around, sighing before gazing down at Gray. "Deliora is one of many demons I created, Gray. To put it simply, I wished to kill a horrendous monster that could not be stopped in this world."

That made Gray pause, his glare fading slightly as he frowned. "A…a monster? What kind of monster makes you need a demon to kill it?"

Turning towards him, Zeref flashed him a dark grin that seemed to make his eyes become more malicious than before. "A monster like me. We all have our own battles to fight, Gray. What happened to you…I will not deny responsibility for it, however, there is little I can do to reverse it. The dead are not meant to return to life, and as for your master…we shall see what we can discover."

Part of him wanted to hate Zeref, to blame the man for everything. Yet, somehow, hearing Zeref call himself a monster had stopped him. Did his Master really hate himself that much? Seeing that, Gray couldn't help but think of himself. He had blamed himself for so long, seeing his own weakness as the reason for Ur's death. Now, he was seeing that maybe guilt wasn't the best thing to focus on. All he could do was try and move forward, instead of focusing on the past like Zeref was doing at that time. His Master had been right; the past was done with, and all he could do was focus on the future.

Shaking his head free of the memory, Gray glanced around at the place they stood in. It was just as small as it had looked outside, with only a single shelf only half-filled with books. They leaned over on each other, supporting their weight on the sides of the shelf. A few seemed to have fallen over completely, leaving some shelves looking cluttered with the various books contained within. A single table was placed inside, though the wooden chairs didn't look all that sturdy. When Gray sat at it, he noticed that the table itself seemed to wobble when he put pressure on the edge. At the front desk, their librarian seemed to be sleeping instead of focused on them.

The last time he had been in a library, Gray had found the one method to break iced shell. He disliked that memory, so he blocked it from coming into his mind. To free Ur, he would essentially have to kill her in the process. His master wasn't coming back, so it was time to move on. At least now he could help out someone who had shown Gray the results of focusing too much on the past. Without Zeref, Gray never would have been able to move on so easily, and for that, he owed his master everything even if Zeref didn't realize it.

This chapter is a little short, but it is just the start of what is to come. Feel free to review and tell me what you think!