⚒ fourth - [ video ]

[deathsought]

There are dragons in this world.

[ Captain Obvious's voice is heard before the feed even finishes turning on. Zeref himself has always been rather camera shy, so he's not actually in the feed; instead, it's being broadcast from the library, again. There's a few books open, on the table, all of them about dragons. ]

There's no shortage of information here about them, but I can't find anything about Dragon Slayers. At least, not about the type of mage. [ A bit about people who have killed dragons with swords or bows and the like - a ridiculous idea in the context of his world - but nothing about people who literally eat certain elements and use that power to kill dragons. ]

I don't suppose any of you have encountered one?

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[tenkuunomiko]

Th-There are dragons here?

[ Wendy feels hopeful maybe ]

[deathsought]

[ Oh, hey, he knows that voice. He visibly relaxes, but he's still a bit too preoccupied with his reading to look into the camera. ]

Yes. What I am trying to find out is if they bear any similarities to the dragons of our world.

[tenkuunomiko]

[ Her weak and shaky voice sometimes isn't hard to figure out. ]

...The dragons here are different from our world?

[ she mused questionably. It was like Edolas as she was told before. ]

[deathsought]

It would seem so. I haven't seen any in the cities, and they haven't bothered me while living out here.

[ A brief pause. The dragons he's familiar with would see a city like that as an all-you-can-eat buffet... unless they're afraid to try. ]

That doesn't necessarily mean that they're like the dragons that wanted to coexist with humans. It could also mean they don't like prey that can fight back.

[tenkuunomiko]

Can they communicate with us?

[ If so, Wendy wanted to ask about Grandine. Maybe Grandine was here, but it was a long shot. That is unfortunately true. ]

I-I see. Zeref-san you've been living with the dragons? Why?

[deathsought]

I haven't read anything about that, yet. [ He shakes his head, sighing. ] You misunderstand. I don't live with them, I simply live out here, alone. Outside of the city. I don't want my magic to hurt anyone.

[tenkuunomiko]

I see. Will you tell me if you find anything?

[ She mused softly. She would like to find her Dragon soon, but it was okay. She didn't really expect any of those dragons to have any answer yet. ]

I'm sorry. What do you mean you rmagic will hurt people, Zeref-san?

[deathsought]

If I must. You are a Dragon Slayer. With that comes very specific duties, should the need arise.

[ Zeref doesn't like killing, but he's lived long enough to know that dragons can be a very real threat that can only really be dealt with in one way. ]

Grimoire Heart was only partially correct in believing that I was 'asleep.' It wasn't my magic that was weakened... it was my ability to control it.

[ And whether or not he has permanently regained control over it is somewhat ambiguous. ]

[tenkuunomiko]

Y-Yes, and I want to see Grandine again. I know we'll meet up again one day, so please.

[ Wendy isn't for killing either. She didn't think it was necessary to let herself be controlled by rage and unhappiness. She had many people here, and she should focus on them. They were her friends and her family. That was what it means to be a Fairy Tail Mage... At least ot her. ]

Is there no way to stop it from going out of control? Isn't it lonely...to be by yourself?

[deathsought]

There is. But the only way to regain control over it defeats the purpose of wanting to control it at all.

[ He closes his eyes at her next question. ] I spent a very long time alone on Tenroujima. It's something I've accepted.

[tenkuunomiko]

I don't really understand what you mean.

[ She follows him, but she doesn't understand the overall of what he's trying to explain to her. ]

Even so, it must be sad to be always be alone...

[deathsought]

The more I value the lives of others... the less control over my magic that I have.

[ Meaning, if he didn't value life at all, he'd have full control. The problem is that he'd probably still be killing people, only he'd be doing it intentionally. ]

Like I said, I've gotten used to it. It's for the best.

[tenkuunomiko]

I see, so your magic works much different from everyone else.

[ There's still a sad look on her face when he said that. It must have been painful to deal with such things. ]

Ah...

[deathsought]

[ Zeref sees that frown, and frowns himself. It was exactly like how Lucy reacted to learning how his magic worked. He hated it when others felt pity for him, but at this point, he's come to expect it. He just didn't think he deserved it. ]

Power like mine doesn't come without a cost. People like Grimoire Heart don't understand that. Or worse, they don't care.

[tenkuunomiko]

[ Wendy was only thinking about how sad and hurtful it must have been for him to deal with all of this alone. he can't like people or else it would hurt people. It's a twisted type of magic that even the most intelligent mages would have a hard time understanding. ]

Y-yes. I'm sorry that Zeref-san suffers from it. It should matter because--it must be really hard.

[deathsought]

[ It was hurtful. But at the same time, what was even worse was the fact that there were people out there who wanted to use his power for their own ends, without realizing just how dangerous his magic is. Or worse, there were people out there who hypocritically condemned him, while doing very much the same type of thing he did. The Royal Family of Fiore was a good example of that. The Eclipse Gate used magic from the Books of Zeref, after all, and they wanted to use it to alter history so radically that it would be impossible to predict how it could affect the future. ]

It is. I had my reasons for learning this type of magic, but I have to live with the consequences every day. It's something I've lived long enough to accept.

[tenkuunomiko]

[ There were many people in the world that abused magic, and Wendy knew that it would never stop. She also knew that Zeref was supposed to be considered this being of evil that destroyed the world, and could potentially do it again. Yet, she didn't seem to feel much hostility towards him. Everything came at a price and judging from what he had said, there was a price to pay to be someone this powerful. ]

Everyone has a reason for what they do...isn't that right?

[ She gave him a small smile. ]

[deathsought]

Not many have a good reason.

[ Otherwise, yes, she's right. That smile causes Zeref to break eye contact with the video, but there's just the faintest trace of a smile there, as well. ]

Thank you for this discussion, Wendy. All I ask is that if the dragons of this world are like the dragons of our world, and you will be forced to carry out your duties as a Dragon Slayer... don't get too carried away. I knew another Dragon Slayer who did. It... didn't end well for anybody, himself included.

[tenkuunomiko]

That is true, but sometimes it can't be helped.

[ Even the bad guys had reasons right? They wanted something, or needed something. It was just that most of Fairy Tail wanted the best of things out of their abilities versus sacrificing a part of themselves for something this scary. At least, for Wendy that was the case. She really did miss Grandine. ]

Zeref-san can count on us. Natsu-san, Gajeel-san and I won't let it take control of us. I'm sure that Natsu-san and Gajeel-san feel the same way.

[deathsought]

I am choosing to trust you. I am not sure if Fairy Tail is aware of this, but demons' Curses are capable of affecting dragons, as well.

[ Silver killed Atlas Flame, and E.N.D. apparently defeated Igneel, after all. ]

I don't want to have to go that route.

[tenkuunomiko]

May I ask what Demon Curses do exactly?

[ Wendy had recovered from it all mostly, but she never really go the whole story on them. She only knew what was given to her and that was it. She didn't want to end up being dangerous to her friends if the curses affected her in any way. ]

Fairy Tail would not do such things.

[deathsought]

Curses do not abide by the same rules as magic. They rely on a completely different source of energy. Tartarus claims that Curses are inherently superior to magic, but that, of course, is debatable.

As for what they do specifically, Curses vary just as much as magic. Some have immediate affects, like Jackal's Bomb Curse, or Ezel's Tenga Goken. Others are can last much longer, like Sayla's Macro or Kyouka's Reinforcement Curse.

[tenkuunomiko]

[ She remembered that Tartarus was definitely working off some other energy so it made it easier for them to access FACE that way. It didn't drain their abilities, rather the mages and the other humans were the ones that were losing their magical ability. She was happy to have stopped such a tragic thing from happening.

Wendy listens to his explanation, nodding her head. ]

It's a kind of magic still...but different...?

[deathsought]

Functionally, yes, they are very similar. The difference lies in how it is performed.

[ It'd sure be nice to know what the specific differences are. ]

The demon of Tartarus are made up of a subspecies of demons known as 'Etherious.' You might have noticed that they look very different than most other demons. Etherious can take almost any size and shape. Some don't look that different from humans with only minor differences, while others are much more monstrous in appearance.

[tenkuunomiko]

[ Yes, it would help a lot but she takes what can be given. ]

That's why they can look very human...then.

[ That also explained why they were extremely powerful. She was lucky to have survived defeating Ezel. It was pure luck that she managed to tap into her Dragon Force because he was about to hurt Charle badly. ]

Thanl you, Zeref-san.