A few weeks later, Gray found himself walking alone down a dirt path, following directions given by Zeref. Planning had been finished and Zeref managed to come up with the supposed location of Grimoire Heart's airship. The area itself was pretty remote, offering plenty of opportunity for the presence of a dark guild to remain unnoticed. Their stop here was supposed to be brief, based on the information Zeref had gathered. The black wizard had been insistent on doing at least some surface level research, to ensure he could plan for some of the more dangerous outcomes from an infiltration mission like this one. He promised to be somewhere near the town as a precaution, even if the rest of Gray's team ended up preoccupied with other responsibilities. Lucy's rent always seemed to end up due at the worst possible time, so their team was a bit smaller for a little bit.

As Gray continued walking through the small town, a voice called out and he turned around to face the speaker. "Gray? What are you doing here?" Erza was standing behind him, staring at him with a look of surprise. "I thought you would still be training to learn your new magic at this point."

"I could ask you the same thing." He crossed his arms over his chest. "What happened to going on some adventure with that Jellal creep?"

Something twitched in her eye, but she only crossed her arms over her chest. "He wanted to come somewhere remote, to relax." So, Jellal wanted to be here? Gray didn't know if it was just coincidence or not. "He's in town now, doing some shopping. The more we talk, the calmer he becomes. I think he's still filled with so much guilt, though." Her gaze flickered off towards the distance, frowning. "I don't think even I can help with that. The most I can do is remind him of the things he's done that he regrets most of all."

"Don't say that." Gray shook his head. "You tried, right? You're here and the two of you are talking again. Showing him that one person can forgive him might be what he needs to learn how to forgive himself." It seemed to be the sort of push Zeref needed at least, though he had no idea if it would work with Jellal or not.

"Maybe you're right." She sighed, turning back to him. "Regardless, you never answered my question."

"Ah, yeah. I probably shouldn't talk much about it at the moment, really." Gray didn't know if anyone in town was with Grimoire Heart. Zeref had warned Gray that he'd only investigated Grimoire Heart briefly and had done no research into the allegiances of the village itself. So, it was entirely possible that this entire town was loyal to the dark guild in order to gain some measure of protection from them. "Let's just say we've moved on to the next stage with things."

"You're looking for—" Gray placed a hand over his mouth, shaking his head.

"I just said not now, Erza." He dropped his hand, sighing. "If you really want to hear about it, we should take a walk outside of town." Though that alone was suspicious enough. Right now, the streets were empty, but Gray still didn't quite feel comfortable talking in the open like this.

They turned down another road, with Erza frowning at him. "I see." She paused. "Did training go well?"

"Well, Ur complained a lot about it, but other than that, I'd say it went fine."

"She did not seem to be the sort to be pleased with much of anything Zeref did." Erza smiled faintly. "Though, from what I've seen, he has proven himself to be loyal to this cause at the very least. There is no reason to suspect him of betrayal if this will really help him move forward."

"No kidding. He's got a lot more invested in this now, from what I've heard." Gray didn't exactly want to explain those motives to anyone right now, but they were still there. Zeref had been quiet since they separated, but it didn't mean that Gray couldn't sense his presence anymore.

Erza nodded and she grew quiet again. As they walked, Gray finally started to see a few people on the streets too. They passed by people in silence with Gray watching them for signs of Ultear. She was the only member he'd recognize from the guild right now and unless he found their airship, she'd be his best chance of getting in. "I wish I'd been able to go with Ul." A young girl walked past them, talking to a man with long blond hair by her side. "You always push for trouble and nothing else."

"Ha! Like I can't handle any problems we get into."

Whatever argument they were having faded away and Gray kept his silence, uncertain of what to say next. Erza hadn't exactly been one of his closest friends at the guild and she was usually too intimidating for regular discussions. "So, anything new happening?" She finally spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Not much. Juvia and Lyon are no longer caring about how public they are with their affection, but beyond that, I'd say nothing's changed."

"Juvia and Lyon are a couple?" Erza's eyes were wide. "When did this happen?"

"Are you blind?" Gray stared at her, shaking his head. "It was obvious from the moment she started stalking him. And I mean literally stalking him. Why do you think she was at the tower with us?"

"She never claimed to have been following him." Erza frowned, looking away. "I should have been more observant. If I miss details like this, I will fail to find my own romantic interest one day."

Gray snorted, shaking his head. "No offense, but you've never really struck me as the romantic type. You get way too intense and focused on work all the time."

"I suppose that is accurate, to some degree." Erza smiled faintly, shaking her head. "Yet, I still hope one day to find a man that wishes to sweep me off my feet. Romantic lakeside picnics, candlelit dinners, resting on the beach and watching the sunset…we would do it all!"

"If you want that, then maybe you should consider toning it down a bit. Most guys just think you're terrifying when you start shouting and making demands of them you know."

"I will take that into consideration." She was quiet again. "And for you to gain the same, I think I would advise you to be more open, Gray. It is important to be willing to discuss things with others openly and calmly for true bonds to form."

"Hey! I didn't say I wanted advice with that."

"With Lyon and Juvia getting together, doesn't it make sense to consider it? I imagine Natsu and Lucy will be next, and then it will be just the two of us alone and looking for love." Erza shook her head. "I will not allow it! I will find a romantic partner before the others and I will make sure you do as well!"

"That's—Erza, you don't have to do that." Yet, she was already marching forward, towards the two that had ignored them before.

"You!" She pointed to the pink haired girl and her companion on the street, while Gray started to feel mildly queasy. She wasn't going to go through with this, was she? "The two of you look like fine young individuals, close in age to the two of us."

The guy turned around first, narrowing his eyes at them. "Huh? What the hell do you want?"

"We would like to suggest a double date to pass the time by! Both of us are single and looking for love and, unless I've missed details, the two of you are merely friends. The four of us can bond over dinner, as my treat, I assure you."

"Erza, knock it off! These people are strangers and we have things to do."

"Nothing takes precedence over ensuring we are not alone for the rest of our lives Gray. Do you want to suffer eternal loneliness, forced to retire from the guild with no partner, only living alone to pass the time watching a candle burn? I will not allow that future for you and I will not accept it for myself!"

Zeref's silence was now seeming odd, given his own interest in Gray, but maybe he hadn't been paying attention. "It isn't like we're going to make any progress at this point anyway." The pink haired girl frowned, stepping forward. "I see no harm in getting something to eat. You did say you were paying, correct?"

Erza nodded, beaming at the girl. The guy grinned, flashing a smile with his teeth. "Alright! All we can eat meal for dinner tonight. See? Hanging out with me is way better than being with that chick."

"Don't insult Ul or I'll make sure you regret it." She turned towards the others, holding out her hand. "You can call me Mer, and this is Crow." The man laughed, as if finding her commentary amusing, but the girl just frowned and shook her head.

"I am Erza and this is Gray. What a wonderful day! We get to experience a true romantic date, side by side, like teammates once more."

Gray just groaned, shaking his head. At least the girl seemed somewhat calm. He had a feeling the guy was a bit of a handful, from what little he'd seen. Either way, Erza guided them towards a buffet, stopping at the door. "As requested, all you can eat, my treat."

"What? Lame buffet food?" Crow complained. Mer nudged his arm, glaring at him. Crow just scowled, gritting his teeth together. "Fine, whatever. Free food is free food, and all that."

"And we will be going through with the full dinner date experience. We will sit down, discuss ourselves and talk about our mutual interests over all the food we can eat. Perhaps, if things go well, we can even try each other's meals—" Erza was going overboard, like she usually did when she got overenthusiastic about pretty much anything.

"You seem to have an odd notion of how dates function." Mer frowned. "Do you read many romance novels?"

"Oh yes, I read them all. They've taught me excellent things about how romances should progress."

Mer looked over at Gray, frowning. "And she dragged you along into this, didn't she?" He nodded. "I feel sorry for you. Books and reality are never the same. When she learns that, I don't think she's going to react well."

"I've learned that it's better to just go along with her whims than it is to fight against them." Gray sighed, glancing at Crow. "The question is, what will he do about it?"

She shrugged, moving inside. Erza paid for their meals while Gray wondered why she hadn't even answered. They all began gathering food and met back at the table. Erza sat next to Crow, leaving Gray sitting next to Mer and wondering what to do next. "So, first we must find something common between us to discuss. What interests the two of you?"

"Ul." Mer didn't say anything else.

"Food, fire, and being unstoppable at anything I do."

Well, at least he'd be someone for Erza to compete with for a change. Still, the armored woman only nodded. "I see. I have a companion who uses fire magic and he also enjoys food."

Crow snorted, shaking his head. "Fire magic? Just plain fire magic doesn't cut it, sweetheart. He'd be nothing more than an insect compared to me." With a grin, Crow held out his hand. Mer stopped eating, taking a step back before black flames seemed to dance around his palm, forming an orb in the air. The staff looked startled, rushing to put it out while Crow just cackled. "See? Now this is real fire, fire that no one can stop!"

"Crow, you're going to get us kicked out again," Mer said. The man scowled and stopped using his magic. "If you destroy more buildings and get us arrested again, I'm going to be angry." With her monotone speech patterns, Gray found it hard to believe this girl could be angry at anyone.

"That was indeed impressive fire. I did not realize you were a wizard."

Find a way to have him do that again. Gray frowned, hearing Zeref for the first time since this mess started. Fire magic can take on many forms and many shades of color. Yet, I've never once witnessed black flames. This man might have a reason for his arrogance, Gray.

"Ha, wizard isn't even a good enough title for someone with my power. Sadly, they won't let me call myself anything else." He glared at Mer. "She thinks I'm over exaggerating when I say I'm the most powerful there is, or well, second at least to—"

"Crow." Mer only spoke his name, and the man went quiet again. "Sorry, but the one who trained us prefers to remain hidden. He doesn't like it when we share his name so publicly."

"I wasn't gonna say his name. I was just gonna call him my master." Crow leaned back in his seat, pouting almost like a child.

"So you both have magic?"

Mer nodded. "My magic isn't as easy to demonstrate." She paused, looking over at Gray. "If you have someone you love or hate immensely, it might make things easier to show you. I doubt you'd recognize it by name."

A display of magic requiring intense emotions towards another…ask her for the name. I have a theory, but I'm not certain.

"What exactly would you be doing with that?" Gray watched her.

"Connecting you with a link. It is hard to describe without experiencing it."

Sensory link magic. Zeref paused. A lost magic, one that was fading even when I was learning magic. Gray…be careful. A form of fire that I cannot recognize, secrets about their trainer, and an identified lost magic…you may have located members of Grimoire Heart already. His words paused, before he continued. In fact, I'm certain of it. Now that you're more focused on the girl, I realize I've met her before.

"I would like to volunteer! Gray and I are close friends, surely close enough for such a bond," Erza said. Mer shrugged, holding her hand out towards Erza. Suddenly, a pink band hovered over both of their wrists, though Gray didn't exactly feel much different. Then, Mer picked up her water, and poured it over Gray's arm.

"What the hell?" Gray said.

Yet, Erza lifted her arm as well, pulling it off of the table rapidly as Gray shook it off of his own. "Amazing! I felt that as well." Erza smiled. "I am also a wizard. However, I think my magic is quite a bit more common than yours. I use requip magic."

"Lame. It doesn't matter how many weapons you have when they can all be burned away. Melting metal is a simple thing for fire like mine."

"I doubt it would manage against my flame empress armor. That armor is designed to handle high temperatures, making it ideal for fighting opponents with fire magic."

"Wanna prove it? I can take you, right here, right now, if you want." The man rose to his feet, slamming his hand down onto the table.

Erza met his gaze calmly, shaking her head. "Not at all. We are having a romantic dinner and such dinners do not involve fighting."

"I wouldn't go that far. I'm only here for the free meal." Mer frowned, but didn't say much more.

Eventually, Crow sat back down and continued eating. Erza straightened, smiling brightly before diving into her next question. "Well, if we argue when talking about magic, why not discuss our hobbies? I personally am a fan of baking and acting. Sweets are my passion and if I am not making them, I certainly enjoy a nice treat every once in a while."

"I like hanging out with Ul." Whoever Ul was, she seemed to be a central figure in this girl's life. Either that, or Mer was too distrustful of strangers to share anything further with them.

"Who needs baking and acting when you can go around fighting? I live for action, and the chance to show off my skills in battle." He grinned at her. "You're just too chicken to see it for yourself."

"Hardly. It simply isn't a proper date activity."

"Trust me, she has no issues starting fights if she wants to." Gray sighed, shaking his head. "So, what sort of fire magic do you even use? I mean, I've seen a few versions of it, but I can't say I've seen fire that's black before."

"That's because it has taken its original form! Wizards use puny flames, thinking they know it all because they recreate the fire made by man. But was it man who invented fire?" Crow laughed, shaking his head. "Ha, not at all! My fire is the purest of all, fire made by the gods!"

"Crow, that isn't an explanation." Mer shook her head, glancing towards Gray. "His magic is also uncommon, like mine. Crow is a god slayer."

Gray stared at him, feeling uncertain of what to say. Keep him there. This may be a better opportunity than complete infiltration…neither of them should recognize me. There was a moment of hesitation and Gray thought he saw a flash of a memory of Mer in the middle of a forest for a moment. Well, recognize precisely who I am, at least.

Well, Erza would take care of keeping them here for him. "God slayer? Is that anything like dragon slaying magic?"

"Dragons? You want to compare the fire of a god to a stinking overgrown lizard?" Erza stared at him, while Crow glared at her. "A dragon can't hope to compete with a god. Maybe that magic is also uncommon, but there's nothing a puny mage like that could do against me."

"Not surprising." Gray raised his eyebrows. "Though, I think I'd be more interested to know how you learn it. I've heard rumors that someone can only be a dragon slayer after learning from an actual dragon. So, did you learn magic from a god then?"

"Our teacher isn't a god. He is a man, one who has gone to great lengths to educate himself on magic." Mer focused on her food calmly as she spoke. "We owe him our gratitude for making such plans. I owe him more, for giving Ul hope for the future."

"They don't wanna hear you ramble on about your weird hero-worship. They wanna hear about powerful magic!"

"I thought they wanted to treat this as a date and learn all of our secrets." Crow went quiet at that, staring at them with a frown. "The food isn't that bad, considering it is a buffet. At least with you two along, I don't have to suffer his companionship alone. A…companion of ours ran off on her own a while ago and I was supposed to be responsible for finding her. Not that we're having much luck." Mer sighed, shaking her head. "Crow wouldn't let me handle things on my own. He seems to think I still need a babysitter."

"You don't seem that young." Mer only frowned, not responding to Erza. "You two appeared to be teenagers, just like Gray and myself. Is that not the typical age to begin dating activities?"

"You read too many romance novels." Mer shook her head, taking a bite of her food before turning towards Gray. "And you've hardly spoken." She narrowed her eyes. "I will admit, I'm not that fond of you. You share your name with someone I despise and have vowed to destroy one day."

Near the entrance, he saw Zeref walking in. He blinked in surprise as the man began moving towards their table. Then, Gray returned his focus to the girl he was speaking with. "What, so you hate the name Gray?"

"Yes." She looked calm, her frown intensifying.

Erza frowned. "It isn't as if my friend is responsible for someone else's actions. You shouldn't blame him for things that are beyond his control," Erza said. Mer only shrugged, before blinking over at Zeref approaching the table.

Would you be uncomfortable with a slight performance, Gray?

Knock yourself out. He had no idea what Zeref had planned, but anything would be more comfortable than whatever this meal was turning into.

"Excuse me, what do you two think you are doing?"

"Me?" Mer frowned. "I'm eating dinner."

"We are all enjoying a wonderful date that I will not allow anyone to ruin." Erza looked murderous as she glared at Zeref.

The black wizard smiled at her, tilting his head. "You likely aren't aware of this, but Gray isn't available. Nor will he ever be." So that was why he asked about Gray's comfort with the act. Considering Zeref's curse wasn't acting out, at least the black wizard wasn't taking it seriously himself. "Gray is my boyfriend, lover, significant other, whatever term you prefer. And I'm not fond of you being here with him."

"It's not my fault, honey." Gray crossed his arms over his chest, glancing over at Zeref. "You know how Erza gets. She seemed to think I was lying when I told her we were together and insisted on going out on a date like this."

"Wh-what?" Well, Erza was fooled at least. "Juvia and Lyon, I understand, but how did this happen?"

"Once we've finished our meals, we will leave." Mer continued eating calmly. "You've made your point clear and I've just stated that I have no interest in this man at all. You are free to take him if you wish, but Crow and I will eat our fill first."

"Like hell we will! These people can't seem to take a hint and just shut up or fight. No amount of free food is worth this." Crow rose to his feet, glaring at the man. "Get out of my way."

"Make me." Zeref smiled at him and Gray was starting to realize where this was going. Not only was this meant to get them out of the building, but he also planned to antagonize the god slayer into a fight. "I'd love to see the magic of a god in action and compare it to past experiences, you see."

"Well, then get ready to take notes, you ugly bastard." Dark flames danced around his fists again and other guests began to move out of their way. "I'm glad that at least the newcomer has the guts to finish what he starts." Crow sent the fire flying towards Zeref, but the black wizard didn't move. His frown only intensified, studying them further.

"It is…akin to second generation dragon slaying magic, I think. Not learned by the source, but magic taken from the source." He paused, frowning. "How? How does it relate? What am I missing?" He was talking, rambling on about his theories while surrounded by dark flames.

"Why aren't you screaming? Anyone touched by my flames burns in agony until they die!"

"Oh, I doubt things will go that far." Zeref just shook his head, frowning again. Crow kept trying to intensify his attack, making the flames hot enough for Gray to start feeling uncomfortable, but it still did nothing.

"If he cannot feel pain, perhaps the one he cares for can." Mer stepped forward, standing next to Crow. "Back down now, or I—"

"Do that and everyone in this building will die instantly." Zeref met her gaze coldly. "Curses and sensory link magic do not mix well."

The girl paused, frowning at him. "You do not seem cursed to me. Lies will not save you, not when you aggravate myself and my companions."

Zeref sighed, shaking his head. "Am I showing any signs of fighting back? Really, everyone always assumes I'm such a violent person. All I requested was for the god slayer to use his magic against me and he has granted my request. Is something wrong with me taking a moment to appreciate it?"

"Your lack of injury and words speak to one who wishes for a fight." She frowned. "Were you not making a weird possessive claim on Gray?"

"Oh, yes. I suppose I did do that." Zeref shrugged. "But I didn't necessarily grow violent over the claim. I just requested that you leave him alone." He paused again, frowning at the magic around him. "The flames are black, like my magic. Does color hold meaning then?" Zeref stretched his hand out, before shaking his head. "Perhaps not. Without more information, a proper comparison cannot be made."

With a huff, the flames vanished and Crow just shook his head. The buffet had emptied and Gray wouldn't be surprised if authorities of some kind were already on their way to deal with the rowdy customers inside. "Whatever. If this guy won't burn, he's not worth my time. Let's get out of here, Mer. They're probably waiting for us anyway," Crow said.

Mer nodded, rising to her feet and moving to walk around Zeref. The black wizard let them leave, watching them as they began to walk out. "So, did you learn anything?"

"Nothing useful." Zeref tilted his head, frowning. "He does not seem to be the cooperative sort, either. While studying his magic would be the closest approximation to a god's magic we can locate, he only seems willing to use it in fights he is certain he can win."

"My perfect date…it's all ruined now…" Erza hung her head and the tone of her voice sent chills down his spine. That was the voice Erza got when someone accidentally knocked over her cake when brawling in the guild; it was the tone that meant you better run now, before she really gets pissed and goes at it. "How dare you ruin my very first date!" Erza rose to her feet, shouting and pulling out her sword. "I will not forgive this easily and do not think I don't blame you for your part in this, Gray. If you had simply refused to come along, all of this would have been avoided!"

"Hey, you were the one who dragged me here, not the other way around." Yet, she wasn't going to listen. Glancing over at Zeref, Gray sighed. "Better start running now. I figured we'd be leaving this place being chased after by someone at least with the way the day was going."

"She wouldn't really be foolish enough to get that close." He paused, seeing her approaching. Zeref took a step backward, his frown deepening. "Or…perhaps she would. Maybe it is best to give her some space to calm down after all…"

"Yeah." Afterwords, he'd be able to explain that they weren't exactly dating either. She'd bought that story way too easily it seemed, which made Gray wonder what exactly it was about him that made it easy to believe he'd date a four hundred year old black wizard. He thought his knack for holding grudges was obvious even to the guild, so her easy acceptance of it just wasn't something he'd expected to see.

The two of them turned and began fleeing the restaurant, while Erza charged after them with her sword. "Ice Make: Floor!" Gray tried to slip her up and slow her down, but she merely dodged the icy patch and kept moving forward. Seeing her approach, Zeref stopped running and shook his head.

"Enough of this." A magic circle appeared at their feet and in a moment, light flashed. The next thing Gray knew, the village had vanished and he was standing in a forest, away from Erza and likely anyone else. "I'm not fond of running for pointless reasons. I cannot imagine what has her so upset about all of this in the first place."

"That's just how Erza is. She overreacts to simple things like this." Gray shrugged. "Give her a half hour or so and she'll be back to normal, likely dramatically apologizing for her behavior too."

Zeref stared at him for a moment, frowning. "Are most of your friends so…atypical?"

It wasn't the phrasing he was used to when people thought of Fairy Tail. Gray chuckled, recalling how most people just called them crazy, weird, or some variation of strange, reckless, and impulsive. "That's one way to put it, I guess. I mean, you do realize you're talking to a guy who has had a habit of stripping his clothes at random moments since he was, like, seven?"

"Speaking of which…I think you may have done so as we were running." Gray glanced down at his bare chest, groaning. Now he wouldn't be able to retrieve the shirt, thanks to Zeref's way of fleeing at least. "Exactly what inspired such a habit in the first place? While I've noticed it, I just cannot imagine how such a thing would begin."

"Let's just say Ur has some strange training methods and leave it at that." As a child, he hadn't though much of the request to strip with his master and meditate on a cold mountain. Now, he realized exactly how creepy that should have been. Ur never made it that way, luckily, but if she'd been anyone else, that situation could've gone in a very different direction.

"She…advised you to strip to learn magic?" Zeref stared at him, while Gray avoided his gaze. "You were a child at the time, correct?" Gray nodded, folding his arms over his chest. Yet, the black wizard just chuckled, shaking his head. "I see why she had so few students and why she taught so remotely; any more and she'd likely be facing some interesting accusations, I imagine."

"Hey, don't blame her. Ur was a great teacher."

"I never said she wasn't." Zeref paused. "Being one with your element is never bad thing to learn; doing such a thing with ice magic is difficult to accomplish due to the risks involved. Stress your body too much before you are ready and you will face hypothermia, among other things. The added notion of actually adapting by standing out in the cold without clothes…that might be a bit more extreme than what is considered common and practical." He paused, frowning over at Gray. "I wonder how you'd fare against Invel's ice…such meditations may actually give you a higher resistance than you realize."

"Well, at least one person can rationalize it." Gray shook his head. "At the time, I just got annoyed with her for making me seem like a pervert to everyone everywhere I went."

"It isn't the worst reputation to have." Gray lowered his gaze, realizing exactly how petty that complaint would seem to Zeref. "Oh, don't worry. While my reputation here isn't the greatest, it isn't quite the same elsewhere. I do have the ability to avoid it if I choose to."

Part of Gray wondered what Zeref had done to change that reputation elsewhere, but he figured he probably didn't want to know. Then, he remembered a slight detail Zeref had shared with him recently instead, however. "You mean the place you're emperor of?" Zeref nodded and Gray glanced away. "Figured as much. Most places don't function well if the entire population hates their leader."

"No, I suppose they do not." Zeref frowned, tilting his head. "Regardless…what now? That god slayer will be unlikely to let me study his magic again and even if he did, I have a feeling I'd learn little. From what I did sense, the magic was…similar to Natsu's, but more intense. I do not think he'd be pleased to hear my conclusion that god slaying magic and dragon slaying magic are quite similar, in terms of the energy they emit and the style they utilize when casting spells."

"Will studying it further even help you move forward in finding a solution to your curse? I mean, you're the one who has experience actually making new spells here."

The black wizard's brow furrowed. "I cannot say either way. It will give me…some understanding of a magic I have not studied. That alone can assist in building new ideas." He paused. "However, it does not seem to be truly connected to a god in any way. Even if there are other god slayers, I am doubtful that they've encountered a god of some form themselves."

"Are you saying you have?"

His expression was dark, but Zeref nodded. "In a way, at least." He paused. "I thought it was little more than a dream. Ankhseram came to me, when my curse was granted, and I have not seen the god since."

Gray nodded, frowning and staring out into the distance. What did they do now then? Finding a god slayer had been their plan for too long. They'd lost their momentum with this search and got delayed with too many other problems. Hell, one of those problems still remained even. "I think that while we try and consider our next option, we should look into Natsu's scarf. Getting that taken care of before things get bad should be a higher priority than we've been giving it."

"Typically, I'd say it can wait…however, I'm still uncertain how accelerated his deterioration is after consuming pure ethernano." Zeref nodded. "We can begin a search for someone who could potentially heal away the magic contained there then. There have been rumors about healers in Fiore, though most likely lead to practitioners of medicine, rather than magic."

"The others might have ideas on where to start too." Zeref nodded and Gray sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I just have no idea where to go from here. A curse granted by the gods? I mean, even if you went about trying to be some…morally righteous person, how do you know they're even watching? How would you know if it was doing anything to gain their forgiveness?"

"There is a reason I have not even considered that as a potential option for freedom." Zeref tilted his head. "And I think you are also starting to see why I had little to no hope in success with this adventure. When I hit a block as you did just now, I turned to generic research on curses and how to reverse them. Yet, most reversal spells are not generic and those that are, I've already attempted to use." The black wizard sighed. "In other words, this curse will remain until I can create a reversal myself, which I've already attempted numerous times and failed, or until I can get Ankhseram to take pity on me and free me from this suffering."

There just had to be another answer somewhere to handling the situation. "Do you even think it will help at all? Finding and studying god slaying magic, that is." Gray frowned.

Shrugging, Zeref leaned back, lying down on the ground. "I cannot say. From what little I could tell…I'd be inclined to say it will not be. That magic felt far more similar to what I'd expect from Natsu than what I'm trying to unravel for a god's power. I cannot say if such a power is even magic either, not with what I know of demons that is."

He had mentioned that, the fact that demons didn't exactly use magic. Gray watched him, uncertain of where they needed to go next to finish helping him. Zeref hadn't been joking about exhausting his options before this plan of his; now, he'd given up on that plan too. "Do you think other god slayers would be the same?"

"Perhaps." Zeref frowned. "The one thing I haven't investigated involving that magic is how it…reacts to my curse." He paused. "However, the risks of such a test are likely not worth investigating it that far. If god slaying magic is not truly a variation on other types of slayer magics…then the name may have originated from something else. The form mimics slayer magic, yet are gods truly weak to such a field of magic? I have seen nothing to prove that one way or the other. Nor, do I think, could I see such a proof in person…the best I can hope for is to see if it can feasibly clash and resist my curse, at any level."

"Yeah, like we're gonna just try and launch death magic at someone to see if they can stop it." Gray shook his head. "At least you seem to realize that much is going too far."

Zeref paused, staring above him quietly. "Gray…I may realize that now…but my mindset changes frequently. Events that surround me easily change and sway my thought process. It is how I've come to be, in my attempt to exist in a state almost akin to having a…neutral opinion on the value of life. Staying on the brink of forgetting like that makes it easy for my mind to shift one way or another." He glanced over at the ice wizard, those dark eyes level and calm. "Should something occur to sway me away from my current mindset, I will no longer feel as opposed to such a trial. Do not forget that history speaks the truth of who I am, Gray; I am a black wizard and I am quite capable of overlooking any level of guilt to achieve my goals, should my desire to reach them grow strong enough."

Those words sent a chill through him, despite how calmly they'd been talking thus far. It was almost easy to forget all of that, with the way Zeref was acting. Sure, he kept his secrets, but he was helping them and it wasn't like the guy was trying to hurt anyone. However, history wouldn't portray him like it did if he'd always been that way. Zeref understood himself well and Gray knew to be wary of him. However, he just couldn't see the man acting that way, not anymore. "Well, I guess I'll just have to push you to value life further then. I'm not gonna let you forget something like that so easily, Zeref."

He had no idea how to accomplish that, nor did he even understand how he'd managed it thus far. Either way, Zeref only smiled faintly at his words, closing his eyes as he rested on the ground. "It will be interesting, to see if you can accomplish such a thing." He paused, leaving them in silence for a moment. "It may be best to rest for now. We will…return to the others tomorrow."

"Yeah…waiting to head back to Erza until tomorrow sounds fine with me." Even with that much time, she was likely to be pissed about them destroying her plans like this. Still, she'd be back to normal soon enough. Gray would just have to deal with her temper for a few moments before their mission came back to mind. Even so, thinking about that mission left Gray frowning as he leaned back on the ground himself. What could they possibly do to get rid of Zeref's curse now? It seemed like there were no answers, and like they'd just keep running around in circles during their search. Regardless, Gray wasn't ready to just give up; Zeref didn't deserve to continue suffering like this anymore, not when it forced him to be so wary of his own thoughts. Gray would give him some measure of freedom again, even if the rest of his team would never understand his reasons for wanting to help him in the first place.