Fairy Tail: All Magic Converges in One Body

Excellent qualities? A truly good person?

It's because he has "no good character" and is a complete scoundrel, right...?

Hearing that this guy was so shamelessly narcissistic, everyone collectively thought to themselves, "What the hell?"

If Hope were to be described by a single color, it would be absolute black.

Chapter 459 The Curse of Suspension

After such a farcical yet heartwarming family reunion, Imber, who hosted the exchange meeting, felt that there was no need to continue the event.

After all, this was originally a "friendly little activity" where Inbell waited for Zeref to emerge from seclusion and, incidentally, tested Fairy Tail's strength.

However, there were some mishaps, such as Natsu overwhelmingly defeating two opponents.

Brandish and Neinhardt were already among the top mages in the Empire, and even they were defeated so thoroughly. Sending the likes of Agil and Waal up there would only make them a laughing stock.

"Let's leave it at that."

Jelf's voice returned to its usual calm, but the faint smile at the corner of his mouth could not be hidden. "Please forgive any shortcomings in our hospitality."

"Not at all, Natsu seems to be having a lot of fun today." Hope stepped forward with a lazy smile on her face, but there was a hint of scrutiny in the depths of her eyes.

From the moment Hope started playing pranks on Zeref, she was waiting for something—the 'contradictory curse' that should have erupted with the awakening of 'love' in Zeref's heart.

As one of the most vicious curses in the world, the "Curse of Contradiction" has an extremely simple yet cruel mechanism.

The more one cherishes life, the deeper one's love, the more it will unleash the destructive death energy hidden within the curse.

Mavis's resurrection, the appearance of August, her biological son, and the reunion of the family of three after decades... all these events combined were enough to bring Zeref's emotions to a peak, thus triggering the curse.

Logically speaking, the entire capital should have been engulfed by that terrifying death energy.

Therefore, long before deciding to prank Zeref, Hope had already made preparations in secret, so that if there were any signs of death energy appearing, he could suppress it with absolute power in a fraction of a second.

He had planned to seal the curse away once it was unleashed.

From the moment Jelf hugged Mavis, to the family taking a happy family photo, and then to their cheerful conversation just now, the anticipated curse never materialized.

That thing didn't make a sound at all.

This is more than just abnormal.

It's absolutely bizarre.

"Jeref, come with me for a moment."

Hope's smile faded, and he gestured towards the empty arena with his chin. "There's something I'd like to ask you privately."

Jelf paused slightly, then glanced at Mavis beside him. Mavis seemed to have guessed something as well, nodding at him with a hint of worry in her eyes.

"Go."

"Your problems are more important."

Jelf reluctantly let go of Mavis's hand and followed Hope to the center of the arena, where only the two of them remained.

"Why didn't the curse on you activate just now?"

Hope cut to the chase, her sharp gaze fixed on Jelf's eyes, "Given your state of mind when you reunited with Mavis, plus the sudden appearance of a son, that love was enough to unleash the death energy of the curse to destroy this city."

"I don't believe you weren't aware of this, but you acted too calmly just now, as if you had expected it all along."

Jelf was silent for a moment, then chuckled softly.

That smile carried a hint of relief after experiencing the vicissitudes of life, and a touch of pride.

"That's because of the magical research I conducted during the period after returning to the Western Continent from Sirius Island and conducting research in seclusion."

"Research?"

Jelf nodded and explained, “I’ve been trying to break the curse for four hundred years. Life energy is naturally within the scope of my experiments, but the first few attempts all ended in failure.”

“I once used a massive amount of life essence to counteract the death caused by the curse, but that life energy was so fragile in the face of death that it was like trying to extinguish a burning tree with a cup of water. It was completely meaningless, so I abandoned the plan.”

“Until I met you, Hope.”

Jelf's gaze fell on Hope, his tone filled with genuine admiration, "To be able to withstand death energy with just your own life force, you have truly broadened my understanding."

Hope raised an eyebrow, vaguely guessing what was going on. "So you've picked up the same old plan you abandoned before?"

“That’s right. Your appearance made me realize that the idea of ​​‘life energy counteracting death’ is correct. It’s just that the life energy I thought I had was ‘enough’ is actually far from enough.”

There's a saying that quantitative change leads to qualitative change.

Zeref opened his palm, and a shimmering emerald light slowly rose from it, swirling and transforming into a delicate little magic rune.

It was pure, life energy, so rich it was almost tangible, radiating a warm and refreshing aura. Just looking at it, you could feel the immense life force within.

“I call it ‘ultimate life energy’.”

"As long as the curse is released to counteract the death energy the moment it is triggered, it can be perfectly neutralized in the very first stage."

"Although the curse itself cannot be completely eradicated, at least I am no longer the 'walking death'."

Hope looked at the ball of life energy, remained silent for a few seconds, and then sincerely gave a thumbs up.

"sharp."

His praise was genuine.

A curse that baffled countless people, Zeref, through sheer willpower, after being tormented by the curse for four centuries, managed to find a way to coexist with it.

Although it cannot be completely eradicated, he has already lived up to his title of "magical genius" by achieving this much.

No wonder it was the brightest star in that chaotic world four hundred years ago.

However, Hope still has one question.

Death is eternal, life is fleeting.

Life energy is a 'living' thing; it dissipates over time and cannot be stored for long periods. Conventional preservation methods simply cannot sustain it for long-term use.

Jelf did indeed encounter such a situation: I could gather an extremely large amount of life force in a short period of time, but before I could study it, most of it had already been lost.

Hope understood, glancing at Timalia, who was challenging Lucy not far away because Brandish had been "stolen," and said, "So you need a helper, an assistant who can 'pause' the good times."

"That blonde girl can manipulate time, so she can help you slow down the loss of your life energy, giving you enough time to gather those scattered life energies together and reach the level required for a qualitative change."

Jelf nodded.

With the right mindset and the right assistant, isn't it only natural for a genius like him to complete the 'Ultimate Life Energy'?

Even so, it still took half a year.

Hope suddenly changed the subject, "Speaking of which, what was with that cold-blooded and ruthless look you gave us when you first appeared?"

"Haha...that...?"

Jelf looked embarrassed. "Suppressing my emotions is the only way to ensure that I don't accidentally trigger the curse during the experiment."

"After all, once the experiment begins, I will need a lot of energy to maintain the aggregation of life energy. If the curse is triggered by emotions at this time, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"So I forced myself into a state of 'ignoring everything,' but after a while I got used to it and forgot to go back to normal after I came out of quarantine."

Hope: "Oh, I see. My hands suddenly feel a little itchy. Why don't you go back to your previous position?"

Jelf: Just say you want to beat me up...

Chapter 460 Sudden Turn

Jelf's solution was simple and efficient, temporarily "de-harming" the curse and finally preventing more tragedies from happening.

In fact, four hundred years ago, when Zeref resurrected Natsu as a demon, he also entrusted his younger brother with the wish to kill him.

"END" had great potential, but accidents always happen faster than plans. Before Natsu could grow up, he was accidentally beaten into amnesia by the Fire Dragon King, and the matter was left unresolved.

Hope learned this interesting story from the Fire Dragon King.

He looked at Zeref, revealing his signature wicked grin. "Alright, Zeref, the old man's got some skills. In that case, shouldn't we put what I promised you on the agenda?"

Zeref's expression hardened slightly. "You mean... kill me?"

Back on Tenrou Island, Zeref made a pact with Hope that once Hope was able to break the curse that granted him immortality, he would kill him.

But at that time, Jelf was all alone.

There was only one younger brother who had completely forgotten him.

But now he has a happy family reunion, with his beloved in his arms and a dutiful son by his side. What reason does he have to give up this hard-won family?

Simply put, Jelf doesn't want to die anymore.

"Hey! What kind of look is that?"

Hope shrugged. "Even if I don't care about God, I should at least consider the Buddha's face. How could I send you to your death on your happiest day? Am I some kind of unreasonable person?"

Jelf's lips twitched, clearly recalling the painful experience of being pranked before. Although he didn't say anything, his eyes betrayed his true thoughts.

You, Hope, are an unreasonable person!

Hope crossed his arms, adopting a condescending posture, and whistled, "Come on, say thank you to repay my mercy in sparing your life."

I have never seen such a shameless person!

Jelf barely managed to hold back his complaints, but under Hope's intimidating presence, he still managed to utter those two words.

"Thank you."

"Hahaha, I've received your thanks, Xiao Jie." Hope patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction.

Who is Xiao Jie?

Why did this guy give me such a weird nickname...?

Hope suddenly stopped smiling, her expression changing faster than turning the pages of a book, and said in a serious tone, "'The Curse of Contradiction' is always a hidden danger, like a bomb that has been temporarily frozen. No one can say for sure when it will cause an accident."

"So?" Jeff became serious about himself.

Hope extended her right hand, fingers spread, with faint blue arcs of electricity dancing in her palm, and magnetic field power began to rotate. "I have completely locked the curse in your body. Unless someone can possess magnetic field power surpassing mine and forcibly break the seal, it will never be able to show itself again in this lifetime."

Hope said it casually, but the confidence in her words was undeniable.

After all, he's the only one in the world who works with 'magnetic field power'...