Fairy Tail - Twilight Empire

Chapter 137 - Sons of Dragon's Fire

The shadow over the palace lasted for maybe a second. Zeref waved his hand, creating a thick magical barrier over himself and Mavis. Then, the wall caved in, and a hulking dragon loomed over the two of them.

Rubble and debris spilled all over the throne, which remained undamaged thanks to Zeref's protection. Zeref had his back mostly turned to Acnologia, who floated, wordlessly, over them.

Mavis's eyes widened in a mix of awe and fright. Understandable. When she last saw the beast, she indeed had to pull out all of the stops merely to save Fairy Tail. He'd still devastated the area around them with very little effort.

"You could've knocked," Zeref said.

"No games today, wizard," Acnologia said. "I'm here to end things. No more scapegoats, no more tricks. Today, this pathetic little charade of yours ends."

"Come down, Acnologia," Zeref said. "If this is to be our end, let us see if we can come to understand one another."

"I don't speak to ants."

"And I don't speak to fools."

The dragon's face curled into a little grin, and darkness swirled around it as the beast lowered to the ground. Mavis was still immobile in Zeref's containment spell. Zeref opened his palm and blasted her back, sealing her against the far wall that hadn't been obliterated by Acnologia's sudden arrival.

As the shadows and swirl of power settled, Acnologia, the human, stepped forward, moving his cloak out of the way. He descended next to the throne, holding his hand on its arm.

"Do you wish to sit on it?" Zeref asked.

"No," Acnologia said. "I've simply always found it curious that so much of your power and sway in this world is dictated by this. I remember when you held much more simply by word of mouth."

"More?"

"The legend of the Black Wizard Zeref. Myth, it seems, bolstered your claim on history. It's almost amusing if it weren't so fraught with frivolities and baseless assumptions. That you are some towering, terrifying creature. In the end, you're a boy who refuses to die."

"And what does that make you? Are you not a king in your own right?"

"True kings do not need thrones."

"And I am no mere king. I am an Emperor."

"A rose by any other name, it seems."

The magic protection around the throne crackled as Acnologia lowered his hand closer. He was unbothered by it. Most other wizards would have been screaming as the bones in their hands turned to dust.

"How would history remember you if they knew the truth?"

"I have nothing to hide."

"Is that so, Emperor Spriggan?"

"Well. In comparison to you, what do I have to hide? Why, Acnologia, do you make mere scant appearances in the pages of history? You call me a myth. You are a legend, a ghost story. Do not scale the mountains, for fear of the Black Dragon. Tamper not with the great magics, or the Apocalypse Dragon may yet find you."

"I waited," Acnologia began, "four hundred years to finish the mission I should have had no problem ending. But those little hatchlings escaped. Sonya, too. It was not until I saw the two of you together that I knew I'd been had. So tell me, wizard. Where are the hatchlings?"

"Here," Zeref said. Acnologia glowered at him. Zeref shrugged. "Each of the remaining Dragon Slayers is within the bounds of this city. Irene included."