"Bestowed?"
Though Ankh hadn't read every detail of the lore in his previous life, he was familiar with the basic information regarding the "Black Wizard."
Wasn't the original meaning: Zeref was such an outstanding researcher that his thesis involved manipulating the sanctity of life and death to revive his brother.
This hubris angered the God Ankhseram, who then cursed him in fury?
But... thinking carefully, Jellal's interpretation wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
The information later generations gathered from those incomplete ancient records would indeed make them believe this curse was a "god-bestowed ability."
After all, after receiving the immortal curse, Zeref became one of the world's top-tier Mage powerhouses.
He wielded death like a weapon, and his legends and influence continued to this day. To the ignorant, a curse that makes you invincible looks a lot like a blessing.
Ankh silently asked Seram in his head.
'Speaking of which, Seram... do you remember cursing someone named Zeref back when we were whole? Back when we were the God Ankhseram?'
A deep rumble resonated in his soul.
[Ankh, if you had already returned to your divine state, would you bother remembering an ant's name?]
Emmmm...
'Damn, he's showing off again...' Ankh thought, sweating slightly.
'But he made us angry, didn't he?' Ankh pressed irritably.
[No matter how much research an ant conducts about reversing life and death, they're still just an ant jumping slightly higher,] Seram replied dismissively. [As a god, you could crush them with a flip of your hand—you wouldn't get "angry" over such trivial matters. The curse was merely an automatic correction of the natural law. He broke the rule and the rule broke him.]
Ankh couldn't help but roll his eyes.
'Got it, so it was just the gods doing their routine paperwork, and Zeref happened to be unlucky enough to get a papercut from the cosmos.'
Hearing Seram's explanation only deepened Ankh's confusion about beings at the level of gods.
After becoming a god, would emotions still exist? Or would he become a cold, unfeeling law of nature?
Ankh turned his attention back to Jellal.
He asked aloud, "Then do you know the name of the god who cursed... uh... bestowed power upon Zeref?"
"I don't know," Jellal admitted, shaking his head quite honestly. "The texts only refer to 'The God of Life and Death.' The name has been lost to history."
Ankh nodded.
As expected.
After four hundred years, coupled with the turmoil caused by Zeref's demons and the collapse of civilizations, it was likely that cultural heritage had been severed.
In this era, even Zeref's name and whether he was alive or dead had become legends.
The gods were even more obscure.
Even if such knowledge had been passed down, with modern people's arrogant, magic-centric perspectives, who would believe in the existence of literal gods?
Meanwhile, Jellal mistakenly believed that Ankh's power came from learning Zeref's lost magic, which was why he appeared so obsessed.
Little did he know that Zeref's most fundamental and terrifying power actually belonged to him.
He had it completely backwards.
Ankh didn't bother to correct Jellal.
"So, let me get this straight. You used Erza to lure me to the Tower of Heaven, planning to use me as a sacrifice?"
Jellal finally returned to his manic persona, smiling at Ankh like a hunter seeing his prey caught in a trap.
"Exactly! With your body as the vessel the R-System will definitely possess enough power to resurrect the great Zeref! Your death will bring about a new age!"
Never mind that Zeref was actually still alive and wandering around somewhere...
Just the fact that Jellal so casually planned to kill him already made Ankh extremely displeased.
Ankh looked at Jellal with a cold expression.
An eerie, purple-black Death Wave began spreading from his hands, corroding the floor.
"You think you can kill me here?" Ankh asked disdainfully. "With what ability?"
Jellal stroked the red mark on his face, radiating killing intent as he laughed.
"For Zeref's resurrection, you must offer your life! Meteor!"
His body glowed with golden light, his speed increasing exponentially.
Ankh snorted coldly.
"Death God Slayer Magic."
Immediately, a dark golden halo appeared at Ankh's feet. A massive, spectral black shadow flickered behind him like a reaper, and he condensed pure magical energy into a tangible, black scythe in his hand.
Jellal swiftly raised his hand to cast a magic circle.
Two rotating rings of black light appeared as dark purple energy beams instantly erupted beneath Ankh's feet!
"Too slow."
Ankh forcefully pushed off the ground, using gravity to launch himself sideways, dodging the disgusting dark devour spell.
Simultaneously, Ankh swung his death scythe.
SLASH!
The blade's enormous shadow formed a full moon-like ring that instantly destroyed all surrounding structures.
Pillars collapsed, and the walls were cleaved in two.
BOOM—
Jellal was startled by the scythe's massive range. He barely reacted in time, gathering dark energy to boldly meet the blade head-on with a shield.
BANG!
The collision of Magic produced a tremendous sound, completely demolishing the originally spacious throne room.
Jellal stumbled backward in disarray, his shield shattered.
Meanwhile, Ankh carried the black scythe on his back, stepping with ghostly, elusive footwork. He closed the distance instantly.
The suffocating dark blade, carrying bone-chilling cold, swung down again!
"Die!"
Jellal had no choice but to wield his dark Magic desperately, repeatedly clashing with Ankh's Death Wave scythe.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A murderous aura of death surged skyward. It turned the already pitch-black sky into what seemed like ink of extreme concentration, staining the entire heavens with dark mist that blocked even a sliver of starlight.
The entire sea area seemed to have entered a certain Domain—a domain of deathly silent night where terrifying death waves permeated the air, making even breathing feel difficult for anyone with lesser magic power.
Even those fighting separately within the lower levels of the tower were affected.
Gray, relying on his Ice-Make magic, was locked in intense combat with Vidaldus and the controlled Natsu.
But when this death power spread from above, their bodies involuntarily froze.
"What is this chill?" Gray gasped, looking up. "It feels like... the grave."
Lucy and Juvia's battle met the same fate—both trembling as they stared fearfully at the sky outside the window.
Erza, in the middle of her duel with Ikaruga, paused.
The eerie red blade in Ikaruga's trembling hand shook violently. Her pretty face was pale as she gazed at the ceiling.
"What level of Magic Power is this?" Ikaruga murmured, fear flashing in her eyes. "This can't be real..."
Erza's armor was battered, but she smirked with a strange light flashed in her eyes.
"This feeling..." Erza whispered. "It seems... my brother is getting serious."
At the tower's summit, as the battle intensified, Ankh's mental state grew increasingly excited.
His God Slayer Magic flowed effortlessly. Powerful waves of black Magic Power crashed against the entire tower like a tsunami.
The vast and terrifying death magic spread recklessly, causing all flowers and plants on the island below to rapidly wither and die in seconds.
Facing the source of this death power, Jellal was now drenched in sweat. He was panting heavily.
The aura of that power carried both the bone-piercing cold of the underworld and the searing pain of hellfire.
If this continued, he would soon be corroded by the death energy.
His skin was already turning grey!
Jellal hastily retreated, his eyes revealing both terror and fury.
'Impossible!' Jellal thought.
If not for Siegrain's draining most of his Magic Power to fool the Council, how could Jellal be in such a sorry state!
Meanwhile, Ankh wielded his ever-changing scythe, forcing Jellal into frantic retreat.
'Finding a durable punching bag is quite rare for me,' Ankh thought happily.
During his fight with Jose Porla of Phantom Lord, Ankh had chosen to hold back and gang up with Laxus and Mystogan to save energy.
Today, facing Jellal Ankh nearly let loose completely.
However, a warning rang in his head.
[Hold back, Ankh! Stop!] Seram shouted. [Our Life and Death Divine Powers are unbalanced. Overusing Death Power will further suppress the Life Divine Power dormant within you. If the balance tips too far, post-battle cleanup will be very troublesome!]
Ankh abruptly pulled back his strength. He quickly realized his mistake and reined in the wildly erupting death energy.
'Tch. Right.'
This was why Ankh never used his true strength.
For Ankh, the concept of combining Life and Death Divine Powers was like playing a video game with complex mechanics.
The Death God Power was like a game account where Seram had passed down top-tier God Slayer magic.
Ankh had grinded his level and equipment to the maximum.
But the Life God Power was like Ankh's "technical skill" or "stamina bar."
Without it, even though Ankh could brute-force dungeons with his top-tier attacks, his body couldn't sustain the divine output.
If he used too much Death without Life to balance it, his body would begin to break down or reject the divinity.
In short, the powers of Life and Death complement each other.
Ankh steadied his breathing.
He calmed the restless Death God Power within him before slightly retracting the leaking magic energy.
At that moment, the outside world seemed to regain a trace of vitality.
The pressure lifted slightly.
Carrying the black scythe on his back, Ankh muttered discontentedly, "How many years has it been since I used my full power... Damn it..."
[Endure it for now,] Seram advised. [Once your Life God Power is unleashed, the foundation for your return to godhood will be firmly laid.]
Ankh's eyebrows twitched.
My full power is already considered upper-tier among the Wizard Saints—how could this only be the "foundational stage"? Being a god sounds exhausting.
However, he checked the time.
The situation with the Council...
Ankh stopped attacking. He looked at Jellal across the ruined room.
Jellal stood up, wiping blood from his lip and he looked at the sky.
Ankh and Jellal exchanged glances.
Despite being enemies, they seemingly detected a hint of smugness in each other's eyes.
They were both waiting for the same thing!
RUMBLE...
Just as the two stood facing each other, the clouds parted.
Colorful lights suddenly appeared in the overcast sky above, swirling and coalescing.
It looked as if the heavens were constructing a massive, orbital magic circle.
Ankh and Jellal looked up at the sky.
They were unable to hide their growing smiles as they thought to themselves.
'Anselion/Siegrain have finally managed to activate the Etherion!.' x2
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