"What are you talking about?"
"I told you – I'm leaving this place, so don't come near me."
Evergreen eyed the stranger warily. "What's with this guy?"
"We should probably stop him, right?" Elfman muttered, glancing between the mysterious man and their surroundings. They were still in the middle of the second stage of the exam. Taking too long might cause them to fail.
But the stranger clutched his head in apparent agony. "No…no…death's pursuit… it's coming…"
All of a sudden, a dark aura flared up around him, spreading outward at alarming speed. Every plant touched by that black haze withered and died on the spot.
Elfman and Evergreen went pale.
In that instant, an angry shout rang out: "Damn you!!!"
A surge of purple-tinged conqueror's haki swept past Elfman and Evergreen, colliding with the black aura in midair.
"Wha—meow?!"
Purple and black-red lightning crackled where the two energies crashed together.
Boom—!!
"Ughhhhh!!"
"Yaaahh!!"
Elfman and Evergreen were blasted off their feet by the reverberating shockwave. After a few moments, the explosion's dust settled.
Cough, cough… Elfman crawled over to Evergreen. "You alright?"
"I'm fine," she managed, looking around at the spot where the two auras had collided. Everything beyond them, all the plant life, had lost its vitality and crumbled. Plainly, they had been protected by that last-minute intervention.
"It…stopped?" The black-robed man stared at the scene, stunned. He had never seen anyone halt his cursed attack before.
Footsteps approached, and Elfman and Evergreen turned to see Su Yan striding over.
"Su Yan!!"
"Are you both okay?" Su Yan asked.
"Y-yeah, thanks to you," Elfman replied, realizing Su Yan had saved them.
Su Yan exhaled in relief. If anything had happened to them, it would have been difficult to explain to Mirajane and the others.
Then his gaze landed on the black-robed figure. "The Black Mage…Zeref."
He hadn't gone to the temporary base with the others, instead wandering Tenrou Island. In truth, he'd been searching for Zeref, determined not to leave such a dangerous element unchecked.
"Black Mage?"
"Zeref?!"
Elfman was clueless, but Evergreen recognized the name at once and was aghast.
"Who is he?" Elfman asked.
Evergreen stared at Zeref like she couldn't believe her eyes. "Don't you know who that is?! How have you studied magic without ever hearing of Zeref—the legendary black mage, said to be the strongest and most sinister in history?! Almost every Dark Magic sect worships him, and he's responsible for the Demon creations in the Book of Zeref, which terrify the whole world!"
"But Zeref was supposed to be from four hundred years ago," she added, voice shaking. "How is he here? Has he lived more than four centuries?!"
Su Yan answered coolly, "Yes. He was cursed to be immortal."
Zeref looked puzzled. "You…know who I am?"
Su Yan gave him a frosty look. "Doesn't matter. You aren't welcome here. Get off this island, or I'll throw you off myself."
He had no personal grudge against Zeref but felt no goodwill, either. Cursed or not, Zeref had created the demons in the Book of Zeref and abandoned them. In doing so, he'd allowed countless innocent people to suffer—Gray's family among them. Later, Zeref had steered the Alvarez Empire into attacking Fairy Tail, causing mass casualties, all for his own ends.
From Su Yan's perspective, a threat like Zeref had to be dealt with before it grew worse. If he could have destroyed Zeref sooner, tragedies like those befalling Natsu might never have happened. Part of him wanted to end it right now.
"What was that power you used earlier?" Zeref murmured. "You managed to stop my curse."
"Never mind that," Su Yan retorted. "Leave. Or I'll make you leave."
Zeref clutched his head again. "No…it's happening again…"
"The black wave from before?!" Evergreen gasped. "That's…that's the Death Predation magic!"
"Laa—!!" Another wave of black aura erupted from Zeref's body, fanning out in all directions.
"Om—!!"
Su Yan's body flared with a potent purple conqueror's haki. The two energies collided violently.
Zzzt—!!
Black and red sparks flared where they clashed.
Boom—!!
Tenrou Island quaked at the impact. Seawater heaved in towering waves, rolling far into the distance. High above, the clouds split apart, as though the sky itself was torn in half.
"What's going on?! The first test stage is already over—!"
"Is Su Yan fighting someone? Or maybe some island beast got suicidal enough to attack him?"
"Who even dares to provoke Su Yan…?"
All across Tenrou Island, people felt the tremors and guessed that something big was happening. But no one truly believed Su Yan was in any real danger. He was Fairy Tail's strongest wizard, after all, able to transform into a dragon, and the fact he hadn't changed forms yet implied it wasn't that grave a threat.
Su Yan tightened his fist. Armament haki gleamed, layering with conqueror's haki. Then he lunged and smashed a punch straight at Zeref.
Boom—!!!
"Ugh…aaaaah!!" Zeref cried out, reeling from the blow.