Devil's Word Magic In Fairy Tail

"Why do you have that?!" I yelled a question towards Zeref, which only made him smile.

"What may you be talking about I wonder? Mmm." He mused with a hand placed on his chin, stopping about five meters away from me.

I activated Ether Zone, with all of my magic control training over the past year it was now a cinch to do so.

"The aura of a participant! Why does someone like you have it?" I asked, still panicking over the situation.

Zeref is supposed to be a person of this world, not an outworlder like the rest of the participants…

Not to mention he's over four hundred years old, according to the rules he CANNOT be one! After all, every participant is supposed to be born in the same year…

"Hehe, who knows~. This whole god game business has always been really confusing to me… Indeed why… Why me…?" Zeref replied, casting his gaze towards the ground.

I looked to him warily. Zeref isn't someone I can antagonize, I admit I freaked out at first when I saw the aura but he should still be a pacifist at the moment…

At least I hope so… Better stay on guard.

"Hahaha. I know some things about the game, as for the reason I'm part of it well. Think of it this way, each god has a world they govern, they all send a participant each to a world chosen by the past victor of another game and the participants battle it out on said world…" Zeref explained with a smile, pausing for a moment.

"Ah! You mean-" a realization dawned on me.

"Precisely, each world has a god. This world is no exception, it also has a god who was quite eager to play on his own turf." Zeref said.

"But… no matter how I look at you, you're older than me. Participants should all be born in the same year." I said, hoping to get an answer to that question without revealing my knowledge of him.

"Mmm, yes indeed. But here's the thing, just like the past winner has an advantage, so does the home ground owner. The past winner gets to choose a world and that world's god gets to choose his own participant amongst all his people, from all times as long as it's prior to the other participants' birth." Zeref said, pointing a finger up slightly as he explained.

"Makes sense…" I said, backing up a little.

"Truly… Such an awfully unfortunate event for me, everything that has happened during the course of my life was to help achieve the goal of some BASTARD who wanted to win a stupid game amongst idiots!" Zeref half yelled, clenching his fist until blood flowed down to from it, dripping to the ground.

Damn… He's already in a fragile and unstable state of mind like during the end of the original story…

This could get ugly…

"Haaaaa…" Zeref sighed, placing his right hand on his forehead. "Well, there's no need to give off a speech about all of that, after all you already know. Don't you? Arthur." He said, smiling as he stared at me with his lifeless eyes.

A chill ran down my spine.

"You… How-" I got cut off.

"Do I know your name? I know… I also know that there's no need to introduce myself… Haha, I've been contacted more than a few times during my long life by the so called 'god' of this world." Zeref said. "He went on, and on and on and ON about you… About your magic, origins, knowledge of this world, the fact you'd definitely appear here on this island and especially about having YOU in particular killed as soon as possible. He engraved your damned existence in my mind!" He continued with a rage filled voice.

Wait! Why would the god spill information out like that?! Why would he want me of all people dead that bad?!

Though I didn't have time to think it through…

"Well, I might as well get it over with." Zeref said with a stone cold voice and took a single step towards me, his killing intent enveloped the entire space around me as all nature suddenly shriveled up to nothing more than dry husks.

I reacted immediately and jumped back a few meters away, the Ether Zone I made was over twenty meters in length, and I used that to my full advantage.

"{Ether Zone: Rasenshuriken}!" I yelled out, using my new trump card right off the bat!

Thanks to the zone, I was able to make thirteen rasenshurikens, all of them surrounded Zeref from every direction!

I wasn't able to control all of them though, the spell is complex and I only had enough time to learn how to control about five at once…

With my magic however, that was only a minor nerf to the rest's power!

After forming the first five, I used {Equilibrium} and balanced the other eight shurikens, lowering their power by about ten to twenty percent but it was well worth it!

I did all of this in the same time it took Zeref to take his single step, now after being surrounded by my spells I should be able to find a window of opportunity and escape!

He did say his god told him about my magic… If I tried to teleport immediately, he might be able to stop me before I can do so…

Gifernes was fast enough to nearly kill me before I could finish my teleportation, not to mention his creator… Zeref would pulverize me in a second if I don't find an opportunity first…

The biggest problem is… I don't know what kind of extra ability he got from the wheel!

"So this is word soul magic." Zeref uttered as the rasenshurikens moved towards him. "Truly adorable." He said and held up his hand.

The way he moved looked slow, yet he was faster than even the high speed rotation of my spell…

It was like the world was moving in slow motion.

In his hand appeared a small dark orb, it floated over his palm for but a moment before dispersing in thirteen smaller pieces, each moving instantly to the rasenshurikens and nullifying them completely!

My spell was s.u.c.k.e.d out of existence!?

"Compared to my power, yours is like that of a child's. Truly fitting of your appearance, Arthur." Zeref said calmly. "Come on, I'll let you try again, this time I want you to give it your all. Though I highly suggest you don't try teleporting away even without creating a distraction first." He concluded with a smirk.

He knows my intentions…

"Damn it! Don't get c.o.c.ky just because you're an immortal with hacks, Zeref!" I yelled at him. "You want my best? Here it is! {Nuclear Fission}!" I roared, surrounding Zeref in what would become a nuclear blast mere moments later!

"Interesting, a concept from your world perhaps? Was it called science?" Zeref mused.

A dark wave of energy erupted from him, canceling not only the splitting of atoms around him, but even taking half of my Ether Zone with it!

I didn't even have time to finish my combo…!

"You can do better can't you? This is getting a bit disappointing." Zeref said with a sneer, "Come on, I'll even let the next one reach me if it's impressive enough."

"Tsk… You want impressive?! Here's the latter part!" I yelled and jumped up to the top of the water fall.

"{Cruel Sun}! {Nuclear Fusion}!" I cast the two spells over one another.

This was another spell had I worked on in my free time, an attempt at making a weapon in the form a miniature star!

Although nuclear fusion was hard to control, because he was allowing me time to use attack based spells for some reason I complied with his wishes and finished creating my ultimate magic!

"{True Sun}." I muttered, holding up a star in my right hand.

"Hoooo! You created a miniature version of the sun! Very nice." Zeref clapped slowly and sarcastically.

This guy… What happened to him? He's totally different from the original time line…

"If it's so impressive then why don't you let it hit!?" I yelled and threw the True Sun at Zeref.

The sheer magnitude of power the miniature sun had was enough to pull apart the ground as it moved at high speeds towards the black wizard.

The spell was unstable, explosive sounds erupted from it as it moved, strong enough to be heard all across the island and beyond but I had already silenced the entire area prior to casting it so no one would come to my rescue.

If anyone did… Zeref would undoubtedly kill them…

I have to escape his grasp and gather everyone, stop the exam and run away back to the guild.

As the True Sun reached Zeref, he merely held his palm towards it.

Once it touched his hand, a black mist enveloped it and the star disappeared within it…

Its light died out. Like it was a mere candle that Zeref blew out.

"Wha-" I looked on in shock…

Was Zeref really that powerful? What kind of power did he get from the wheel of fate!?

Obviously creating a distraction long enough to allow me to even say a word is impossible…

I have to bet on escaping… Now that there's an actual distance between us I should have a chance!

"{Telepor-" I tried and failed miserably and immediately.

Zeref speed blitzed me, grasping my face with his hand and breaking through my mask like it was made of glass!

I can't use magic!

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. No running away now." Zeref whispered in my ear. "Such a pathetic power, your attempt at protecting yourself with a mask was futile, I only had to break it to seal your magic."

"Now then…" He said, slamming me into the ground. "It's about time isn't it?"

Am I going to die?

Just like this?

Is he going to kill the others too?

No… Not again… Why am I in this situation again?!

"{Mmgh Mmmght}! {Mggghhh ugghhhh}!" I blurted out spells from under his palm, but nothing made sense and nothing came out.

Zeref's killing intent reached its peak, as his other hand was raised up above my face.

I readied myself for the worst… but…

Suddenly the intent died out.

I looked at his hand and saw the blue gem with fairy tail's mark engraved within it.

"Arthur, you're quite impressive I'll admit. Most other participants I've met so far wouldn't be able to hold a candle to you, though they're mostly cannon fodder from lesser worlds with useless abilities." Zeref said, still holding me by the face.

"Tell me, this symbol… It was a guild no? What was the name…" Zeref seemed like he was wracking his brain over the topic.

He let go of me and awaited an answer.

"… Fairy Tail…" I uttered, hoping to find a way out of the situation.

"Ah! Yes, Fairy Tail! That's right… Mavis' guild she loved so much… How is it fairing now with you in it? Has the game changed it much from how it should have been? Was it… a bad change? Or a good one?" Zeref asked, curiosity in his voice.

"T-The guild is as cheery as ever… If that's what you're asking… A few new members.. Who weren't supposed to join originally is all that I changed… I also help people by preventing some bad outcomes… I guess…?" I said, still wary of my until a moment ago opponent.

"I see… Good." He said and stood up, gem still in his hand.

"Here you go, you need it for whatever you're doing on Tenroujima don't you?" He said and threw the gem to me.

I caught the blue gem and looked at him in confusion.

"I… I don't understand, I thought you were personally tasked to kill me by your god?" I inquired.

This entire ordeal made no sense…

"Yes… Yes I was, though would you mind telling me… Why I should ever listen to the likes of that bastard?" Zeref asked, once more in rage.

"T-Then why did you make me think you were going to kill me? Was that… a test?" I asked.

"Yes, it was a test. And you passed." Zeref said with a smile, after which I got up from the ground.

"Passed? What did I pass for?" I asked.

"I'm not sure whether or not I created something similar to them in the stories you know of in your past life, but I'm making a special division of sorts. The Spriggans." Zeref said.

"So you're telling me to join you?" I asked, mouth agape from the surprise.

Zeref wants me in the spriggan twelve?!

"Precisely, who better than you for the job." He replied.

"What job? Why do you need me? And why am I so special?" I inquired.

"Hmm… How to explain this…? Well, to start off… So far I have convinced four other participants to join me, they're not loyal to me per say, but we've got a common goal none the less." Zeref said turning his back to me and walking to the edge of the waterfall.

"And what's your goal?" I asked.

A short moment of silence followed as Zeref turned his head upward, looking towards the skies… no… beyond them…

"I… No. We all wish to end the so called existence known as gods…" Zeref replied, leaving me with more questions than answers.

…