Suddenly, Natsu looked up and saw another island made of trees above this one.
"Happy! Look up there!" Natsu pointed upwards.
Happy looked up, noticing the island above.
"Master said the First Guild Master's grave is on this island, but he didn't say it wasn't on the island above. That island up there looks very suspicious."
"Aye!"
"Let's fly up."
"Aye!"
Happy grabbed Natsu and immediately flew towards the island above.
At this moment, Elfman and Evergreen were running for their lives, with a giant spotted pig chasing behind them.
"This way! Evergreen!"
"Shut up! Don't you dare order me around!"
"How can a man run away?!"
"Shut up! Can't you just be quiet for a bit?!"
Soon, both of them ran out of stamina and were caught by the spotted pig. Its huge hooves quickly descended towards them.
"Watch out!"
Elfman tackled Evergreen, and they rolled down the hillside.
When Evergreen came to her senses, she found herself held tightly in Elfman's arms.
She quickly pushed Elfman away: "Hey! What are you trying to do?!"
Elfman scratched his head. "I wasn't trying to do anything, I just saw you were about to be attacked and helped out."
"Let me tell you, I'm only here to help you become an S-Class Mage and be your partner, so don't have any ulterior motives towards me." Evergreen warned Elfman, her face slightly red.
"What are you talking about? How could I think that? I just don't want my reliable partner to get hurt." Elfman looked at Evergreen.
His straightforward words made Evergreen's heart beat a little faster.
Suddenly, a voice rang out.
"Someone's here?!"
"There's actually someone on this island? I thought no one would be here."
Elfman and Evergreen immediately became vigilant, looking at the newcomer. "Who are you? Only people from our guild can enter and exit here."
"Guild? Oh, so this island is managed by a guild?"
"Hey! You!"
Elfman wanted to grab the person, as this was Fairy Tail's holy ground, and no one should be allowed to enter casually.
"No! Don't come near me!" The person immediately shouted as if startled.
"What do you mean?"
Elfman was a bit confused.
The person said, "Alright, I'll go. Just please don't come near me. I'll leave this island right away."
Evergreen saw the person was a bit neurotic. "What's wrong with this guy?"
"Is it alright to just let him go?"
Elfman was a bit hesitant, as he still had to take the trial.
Just then, the person suddenly clutched their head in pain.
"N-no... this isn't good. It's coming... Death is coming... Run, quick!"
Before the person could finish speaking, a layer of black light appeared on their body, rapidly spreading outwards. Elfman and Evergreen didn't react in time and couldn't escape.
At the critical moment, a figure appeared in front of the two. Then, an orange-red energy rib cage protected all of them.
"This is..."
Elfman and Evergreen were stunned for a moment, then recognized that this was Takeshi's move, and the figure before them was exactly the form Takeshi had transformed into earlier.
"Takeshi!"
Elfman and Evergreen immediately recognized that it was Takeshi.
At this point, the two noticed their surroundings and were startled.
"All the trees around us have withered! What's going on?!"
"Is it that guy's magic?"
"Looks like he's no small fry."
Evergreen knew that Takeshi had just saved them.
"Of course he's no small fry, this guy is a very, very big deal." Takeshi said with a serious expression.
As the most classic plot in Fairy Tail, he naturally remembered that Zeref was on this island. Zeref was a ticking time bomb, so after the trial ended, he planned to find Zeref and deal with him. He just didn't expect that his magic power was completely hidden, so he could only use a clumsy method to search for him.
"Takeshi, do you know this guy?" Elfman asked Takeshi.
"This guy is famous. Not only do I know him, but you all do too." Takeshi stared intently at Zeref.
To be honest, even now he wasn't confident he could deal with him.
"We know him too? Who is it?"
Evergreen was a bit confused, she didn't remember knowing this guy.
"He is the legendary strongest Black Mage in history—Zeref."
"Zeref!"
Evergreen and Elfman couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"This is impossible! Isn't Zeref an ancient person from 400 years ago? Isn't he already dead? How can a human live that long?" Evergreen's first thought upon hearing this was disbelief.
Takeshi said lightly, "Because he is immortal and ageless."
"What a surprise. Someone actually knows me. You're very impressive, to be able to resist Death Predation. This is the first time I've seen a human who can resist Death Predation."
Zeref looked at Takeshi, his expression showing some surprise.
"It really is him!"
Evergreen and Elfman's pupils constricted upon hearing Zeref's words, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
This was the infamous Black Mage Zeref, the one who left terrifying legends across the entire continent, and even the whole world.
Takeshi looked at Zeref, feeling a bit restless. Zeref was undoubtedly the strongest human, perhaps even beyond the category of humans.
He would threaten the safety of Fairy Tail in the future. With his current strength, the possibility of defeating him was almost zero. After all, Zeref is immortal and ageless.
However, there might still be a chance. At least he had two solutions for dealing with Zeref in his mind, but the cost was too great. It would be best to wait until he drew a stronger character card to deal with him later.
After much thought, he could only let this troublesome person go for now.
"This is our guild's holy ground, please leave immediately."
"Okay, I can go..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zeref clutched his head in pain.
"N-no... this isn't good... Ugh... it's coming... again."
"Again?! Is it that black wave from before?"
"That's magic that steals life."
Elfman and Evergreen were startled. The dead trees around them showed how terrifying this magic's power was, it was magic that directly stole life.
Seeing this, Takeshi lightly shouted, "Susanoo!"
Susanoo quickly grew and expanded, forming a giant skeleton. Then, it punched towards Zeref.
Bang!
Susanoo's fist slammed into Zeref's body.
"Ahhh!"
Boom... Boom...
Zeref's body was sent flying backward, knocking down tree after tree.
"Eh?!"
Evergreen and Elfman were both dumbfounded.
They hadn't expected Takeshi to just attack like that.
The opponent was the legendary Black Mage Zeref!