Among the rumors concerning demons, one mysterious demon has always been highly regarded, with both humans and demons paying extreme attention to his information.
He is the strongest demon designated by Zeref—END.
However, for over 400 years, news about END has been scarce; beyond knowing he is the strongest demon, the world has no other intelligence on him.
Even the demons themselves know very little about END.
Until one day, Underworld King Mard Geer founded "Tartaros" under the banner of reviving END, and only then did some powerful demons learn that END had already died.
END was the being with the best Hope of killing Zeref; for their creator's desire for death, many loyal demons joined Tartaros, attempting to revive this strongest demon.
Unfortunately, according to the intelligence Hope obtained, Mard Geer had no intention of reviving END at all; he was merely using END's name to recruit demons to work for him.
Looking at the "END" book in Hope's hand, Erza and Cana's curiosity was piqued.
"It's said that after demons die, they return to their original form, which is a book of zeref. Inside the book, besides the demon's original Curse, is their life experience."
"Hope, quick, quick, quick, translate it for the three of us. I want to hear END's story."
Hope was also curious about the cause of END's death, so he immediately used the 'Archive Magic' magic to translate the "END" book.
Perhaps because he was the strongest demon, the translation progress of the "END" book was much slower than that of the "Seilah" book, but in the END, it only took about ten minutes to finish.
As a knowledge-based support magic, 'Archive Magic' was simply too overpowered.
Erza looked at the translated content on the magic screen. "So END is just an abbreviation; his true name is E.N.D...."
When she read this name aloud, all four people present were stunned.
"This demon actually has the same name as Natsu; what a coincidence."
Hope tilted his head and asked in confusion, "Come to think of it, we've known each other for so long, but I don't think I know Natsu's full name?"
Mirajane pointed to END's true name on the Archive Magic magic screen.
"E.N.D.."
"This... is Natsu's full name."
Hope was stunned. It wasn't that he hadn't had deep contact with Natsu; although that kid occasionally caused various levels of destruction, giving the victims and Makarov headaches.
But he was certain that Natsu was clearly a human.
But why would he have the exact same name as the strongest demon?
Moreover, the initials of the name E.N.D. happened to spell out "END".
Hope looked at the demon book in his hand; the answer to the question was inside this book.
——
——
More than half an hour later, at the Tenrou Island camp.
It was already afternoon, and everyone was gathered together, including the three outsiders: Ultear, Silver, and Jellal.
As Gray's father and senior sister, Silver and Ultear were already considered semi-insiders by everyone, especially after learning about their experiences, which made everyone feel even more regretful for them.
Fortunately, the soul of the Necro Demon was taken over by Hope, so Silver could continue to walk this world and keep eliminating demons.
Because Silver's main task in Tartaros was basically dealing with disobedient demons, he hadn't stained his hands with much innocent blood.
However, Ultear's situation was different.
As a "tool" meticulously cultivated by Hades, whether she was willing in her heart or not, she now carried many sins.
Eight years ago, the reason Zeref's temperament changed drastically at the Tower of Paradise was that he was influenced by her magic, which led to the subsequent series of bitter consequences.
Although Hades ordered all of this, she, as the executor, could not escape responsibility.
At the edge of the camp, Ultear found Jellal, who was out of place with the atmosphere of the Fairy Tail group, and told him the truth. "Jellal, I'm sorry... I..."
"No need to apologize."
Jellal looked up at the Sky. "After I was 'revived' by the demon, I already understood who that 'Black Wizard's soul' that bewitched me was."
"You caused me a lot of misery, but I brought it on myself too."
A trace of bitterness appeared on his calm face. "Just like how you could have reunited with your mother if you had just been a bit braver, if I had told Erza, Simon, and the others what happened to me back then... the ending certainly wouldn't be like this."
"You were able to pretend to be the Black Wizard to bewitch me; in the END, it was because there was already darkness in my heart."
"As long as one is human, there will definitely be a dark side to their heart."
Makarov arrived uninvited and joined their conversation.
Having seen many great storms, he had met all kinds of people, especially young people like Ultear and Jellal who originally had the chance to live normal lives but went astray due to various sudden changes and misfortunes.
"What are your plans for the future?"
Jellal lowered his head. "I... I heard that the New Council has formed an organization made up of prisoners. I want to atone for my sins through action."
Makarov was somewhat surprised. Jellal had severely toyed with the Council, causing the Council's credibility to drop quite a bit during that time.
Yet he actually made such a choice... Understanding Jellal's determination to take responsibility for his past sins, Makarov nodded. "I have some influence in the New Council. If you truly want to atone, I can vouch for you and let you join that team of prisoner Mages."
"Thank you."
Jellal's Voice finally had some emotional ups and downs.
As for Ultear, she was also willing to atone for the sins she had committed, but having grown accustomed to the darkness, she was unwilling to work for the Council.
Ultear planned to establish an independent guild that didn't belong to any side, with the goal of purging all the darkness guilds and the evil brought to this world by Zeref, thereby atoning for her sins.
The darkness and evil in the world are countless; kill one and a new one will pop up. Ultear was going to use the rest of her life to atone.
Makarov sighed. Just as he was about to turn back to the camp, he suddenly saw Loki returning with a stranger.
"Loki, where have you been? Gray was just thinking about going out to look for you..."
"Master, watch out!"
Gajeel suddenly rushed out, using his extended iron arm to pull Makarov and Loki back. He stared tensely at the person who had returned with Loki.
Ultear also stood in front of everyone, her eyes falling on that person as she spoke with some difficulty, "Everyone, be careful. He is one of the reasons Demon Heart and Tartaros came to Tenrou Island..."
"Black Wizard Zeref."
------------------------
There are already 70+ chapters available on my Patreon!
The story will continue to update 1 chapter per day on Webnovel,
while early access chapters are posted on Patreon.
Maybe it's not worth it today but it could be later
[email protected]/Kazenova223
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"