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*****
"Ankhseram really is petty."
Once again blocking Zeref's erupting curse for everyone, George couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
This curse isn't much to worry about for evil people—some can even use it to gain immortality—but for those with kind hearts and a love for the world, it's the cruelest punishment.
You can't die, yet if you live, you're plagued by endless guilt and regret every single day.
As the saying goes, if you truly want to punish someone, killing them outright is too merciful—after all, they only feel pain for a fleeting moment.
In fact, George had some ideas of his own about how to break the curse.
Just like how he had manifested Mavis's soul, he could potentially extract Zeref's soul using methods from the Apprentice Mage World and then materialize it separately.
But he wasn't entirely sure.
This world wasn't lacking in magic that could transfer souls from one body to another. If that had worked, Zeref would've used it already.
Maybe the curse didn't just affect the physical body—it might also bind the soul.
As for why Mavis was unaffected?
Most likely because her death had originally been caused by the curse, so her soul could return to normal after detachment.
Still, even if it were possible, George wouldn't try it now. If he angered the god Ankhseram in the process, things could get messy.
Besides, Zeref's curse no longer had any effect on Mavis. The two lived far away from others, so it didn't matter much.
And with George's own body, even if he were to endure Zeref's curse directly, it wouldn't be a big issue.
Zeref's curse grows more powerful the deeper his love. Theoretically, if Zeref fell in love with the Black Dragon and kissed it, the dragon might actually die.
But clearly, that wasn't going to happen.
Zeref had a wife and child—he was a perfectly normal man.
As for the Magic King, his strength wasn't weak. At full power, he could withstand several rounds of the curse.
If not, he could always send a thought-form to visit his parents.
Of course, George still wanted to study Ankhseram's curse.
On one hand, he was intrigued by a curse of such magnitude. On the other, he needed a way to break it in case he ever did offend Ankhseram and ended up cursed himself.
When he first saw Zeref's curse erupt, he felt it resembled the Killing Curse in some ways.
So perhaps the Department of Mysteries in the Harry Potter world, which researched magic related to "love," might offer a breakthrough.
It seemed his clone in the Harry Potter world couldn't keep goofing off—it was time to seriously master that mysterious "love" magic.
"Zeref, let's make a ten-year pact. You and Guild Master Mavis will live together for ten years. If, by the end of those ten years, her love still can't kill you, then I'll help you break free."
After Zeref was reunited with his wife and child, George stepped forward and made the offer.
Ten years should be enough for him to reach the level where he could rival the god Ankhseram.
"Alright, I agree."
This time, Zeref agreed almost without hesitation. He didn't even question how George could help him in ten years.
Because his mindset had already started to shift.
The most important people in his life—his younger brother Natsu, his wife Mavis, and now his son, the Magic King—were all by his side.
At this point, he didn't feel as desperate to be freed anymore.
Besides, ten years was nothing to him—it would pass in the blink of an eye. He could always decide again later.
The other Twelve Shields, upon hearing Zeref's response, finally sighed in relief.
They didn't want their emperor to die. He was their faith.
"Since everything's been cleared up, we're all friends now. Come, come—let me treat your injuries."
Now that Zeref's issue was resolved, George smiled and walked toward the heavily injured Twelve Shields.
But seeing George smiling like that, the Twelve Shields involuntarily shivered.
Of course he would treat them—but copying their memories couldn't be delayed either.
Their magic could still be useful to him.
While treating Irene, George noticed that her gaze kept drifting toward Erza. Her expression was deeply conflicted.
It seemed she had realized that Erza was her daughter.
George didn't expose this. The matter between mother and daughter was something they needed to resolve themselves.
Whether Erza could forgive Irene would be up to her.
Though George was the guild master, he wouldn't impose his views to force Erza into any decision.
Irene had reasons for abandoning Erza, but that didn't change the fact that she had still abandoned her. Had Erza not been lucky, she would've died long ago in the Tower of Heaven.
This was different from the Magic King—he had been abandoned by the second guild master, and neither Zeref nor Mavis had known they had a child.
That's why George had exposed the truth—to give them a happy ending and, at the same time, get Zeref to accept his proposal.
As for Irene, if Erza chose to forgive her after learning the full story, then for Erza's sake, George would find a way to restore Irene's humanity.
Compared to Zeref, Irene's situation was much easier to handle.
Zeref was cursed by the god Ankhseram—helping him could bring divine wrath. But Irene's problem was a side effect of her dragon-slaying magic.
Whether by using a modified Animagus spell, extracting her soul to create a new body, or transferring her soul into a new vessel—any of these could work.
After healing the Twelve Shields, George left the mirror space and joined his guildmates at a banquet hosted by the Empire in their honor.
During the feast, he pulled Zeref aside to ask a question.
"Zeref, in your opinion, what are my chances of defeating the Black Dragon in a fight?"
"None."
Zeref shook his head and replied:
"To be honest, your strength isn't any lower than Acnologia's, but your magic has very little effect on him, so…"
George nodded—this confirmed what he had suspected.
The issue remained: the Black Dragon was immune to magic. So the only way to fight him was with physical attacks—or magic that could inflict physical damage.
For instance, self-enhancing giant magic, or celestial spells like Irene's meteor bombardment.
Even magic like Larcade's emotion-based spells could work—they just didn't deal direct damage.
Still, thanks to Zeref, George now knew that the Black Dragon's offensive power was roughly on par with his own—not superior.
If they fought now, George couldn't kill the Black Dragon yet, but the dragon couldn't kill him either.
The only tricky part was if the Black Dragon attacked a specific location—George might not be able to stop it in time.
Honestly, if it weren't for his desire to use the Black Dragon's body to refine a dragon core capable of casting Devour Magic, he wouldn't even want to provoke Acnologia.
(End of Chapter)