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Many years ago.
With the arrival of the Demon of Destruction, another village was annihilated. Besides one little boy who managed to escape, everyone else in the village became cold corpses.
Not long after Deliora left, satisfied with its destructive urges, another demon arrived at the deserted village. It wasn't as massive, strong, or imposing as the Demon of Destruction, but its skeleton body cloaked in black robes was incredibly eerie.
A Demon from the Books of Zeref—Necromancer Keyes.
A detestable demon who controlled the dead.
These innocent villagers, who had tragically died at Deliora's hands, had their bodies become mere playthings for the Necromancer, making even the peace of death a luxury.
While inspecting his newly augmented "corpse army," Keyes discovered an "interesting" corpse. Although dead, that human's consciousness from before death had not dissipated—instead, it had reawakened.
Thus, this unique living corpse named Silver was brought by Keyes before an even stronger demon. The higher-ranking demon was very interested in Silver, making him the only "non-demon" existence within this demon faction.
Once, Silver participated in the encirclement and suppression of a powerful old mage.
Facing the encirclement of numerous demons, the old mage's fate was predictable, but before his death, he secretly bestowed his magic and his Magic Power upon Silver.
From then on, the world's last Ice Devil Slayer Mage died.
But the legacy of Ice Devil Slayer Magic was not severed.
A living dead man, wielding Ice Devil Slayer Magic, thus solidified his position within the demon faction, awaiting the day he could avenge himself, his village, and the old mage who taught him Devil Slayer Magic.
However, due to the existence of the Necromancer, Silver was unable to make any move to resist them. So, in order to slow down the expansion of the demon faction, he secretly hunted down demons who had not yet become "companions."
The Hellfire Dragon, due to its appearance, was unfortunately mistaken for a demon by Silver and nearly suffered a tragic fate.
In the now-restored village, everyone sat before the altar, listening to Silver's story along with the Hellfire Dragon and some Giants. The Giants, who had previously suffered an undeserved calamity, lost their dissatisfaction with Silver for acting indiscriminately after learning about his past.
If such a thing happened to them, encountering a suspected demon, they might have acted even more excessively than Silver.
Only Gray remained angry. He looked at Silver coldly, without a trace of emotion in his voice. "Do you have any explanation for what you just did to me, and what did Noah mean by that remark?"
"What does he mean by, 'make me lose my father again'?"
Silver gave a bitter laugh, but would his silence be effective?
Things had reached this point. Whether Silver agreed or not, Noah would expose everything, because Gray had the right to know everything his father had done for him.
"Do you know how Devil Slayer Magic is passed down?"
Everyone's first thought was learning, but since Noah said that, it probably couldn't be mastered through conventional means.
What time is it, and he's still playing coy.
Erza twisted Noah's waist hard, but found that Noah had covered that spot with Armament Haki. Facing his smug gaze, she could only grit her teeth.
Prompted by Erza's aggressive action, Noah directly announced the answer. "The cultivation method for Devil Slayer Magic has long been lost. Now, there is only one way to master Devil Slayer Magic."
"That is for a Devil Slayer Mage to pass on their Devil Slayer Magic to another in the form of a power transfer. However, the cost is that all the Magic Power within them will be transferred to the successor, and it can never be restored."
"Huh?! Then wouldn't the successor possess the Magic Power of two people, or even several generations of Devil Slayer Mages? No wonder Uncle Silver is so powerful."
Natsu raised his hand like an elementary school student, but then noticed everyone staring at him. Had he said something wrong?
Lucy pulled Natsu closer and whispered into the blockhead's ear. "In our world, instantly losing all Magic Power, with the body's Magic Power depleted and unable to recover, causes Magic Power Deficiency..."
Natsu immediately understood. Lucy's mother had died from that condition. He quickly apologized to Lucy, but thankfully, Lucy didn't mind.
This was Natsu—if he could think that much, he wouldn't be himself.
Gray, who also realized the implications, his expression no longer showing the indifference from before, looked blankly at his father. "So just now... Dad, you wanted to pass Ice Devil Slayer Magic to me?"
Silver gave Noah, who had revealed the truth, a helpless look and said, "A few days ago, the fact that I possess Devil Slayer Magic was exposed. The reason those demons still allow me to act is because they know that, controlled by Keyes, I cannot harm them."
"A Devil Slayer Mage becoming a subordinate of demons is very interesting to them. I originally thought of accumulating strength, but then I met you..."
"Rather than continuing to be a tool and puppet for the demons, it's better to pass the magic to my son, who also has ice-attribute Magic Power."
But what was the cost of doing so... Gray felt devastated. After learning how cruel this magic inheritance was, he would absolutely not accept it. A magic that required his father to sacrifice his life to transfer—no matter how powerful it was—was unacceptable.
He just wanted his father to live.
Gray looked at the guy who seemed omnipotent ever since they met, his gaze earnest. "Noah, you know a lot. Is there any way you can help me? To free my dad from the demons' control?"
Facing Gray's plea for help, Noah pondered for a moment and finally shook his head. "Uncle Silver is able to function because of the Necromancer's Magic Power. If we were to remove that Magic Power's control over him, I cannot bring someone back from the dead, unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless we control the Necromancer and make him willingly support Uncle Silver's continued activity, without any constraints. But the only one who can make a demon willingly obey is the Black Wizard."
The mysterious and elusive Black Wizard... Just as everyone was disappointed, Noah had a flash of inspiration, exchanged glances with Erza, and simultaneously uttered a name.
"Mira!"
That's right—if there was anyone in this world who could help Silver, it could only be Mira, who could use Take Over magic on demon souls and use demon abilities!
As Noah and Erza spoke, Natsu and Lucy immediately understood, and Gray became even more excited.
A simple plan was instantly formed.
"We just need Dad to lure the Necromancer out alone..."
"No! If something happens to Keyes, it will definitely be noticed."
Silver sternly interrupted the discussion. "You don't understand how powerful the faction behind Keyes is. Every one of them is an existence that can easily destroy a city."
My goodness, the power to destroy cities!
Noah glanced at Natsu, Gray, and Erza. When those three lost control, they seemed capable of destroying a city too.
Especially Erza, who usually seemed quite proper, but whenever she caused destruction, it was always on a grand scale.
Looking at it this way, the demon faction Silver spoke of didn't seem so formidable after all.
"Uncle Silver, would you mind telling us the name of the faction you're currently with?"
Looking into Noah's eyes, Silver remembered how the other party had instantly subdued him, that unfathomable strength... If it was this young man, perhaps there really was a chance.
After a moment of contemplation, Silver spoke. "They are the most mysterious existence among the Dark Guilds."
The most mysterious Dark Guild—who could it be? It's really hard to guess.
Oh, it's Tartaros.
Although he'd never dealt with them, Noah had wiped out the old Oración Seis and had seen the ridiculous strength of Grimoire Heart's executive, Zoldeo, who was soloed by Lucy.
Presumably, Tartaros—which was as famous as these two guilds—couldn't be much stronger.
However, the "strongest Dark Guild," Grimoire Heart, apart from having "Demon" in its name, had nothing to do with demons at all.
Conversely, the most mysterious Tartaros—except for Silver, the living dead man—had all its members as demons.
Hiding so deeply, they must be planning something big.
Why not seize Necromancer Keyes now and use him to test Tartaros?