Cursed (Zeref X Reader)

Chapter 9

Crap...

You and Gray both realize that the figure looming behind Gray is the woman from Grimoire Heart. The dark-haired ice mage springs up and faces Ultear, the Sensory Link around his wrist now absent.

"Following me?" she asks musically, not seeming angry nor surprised in the least.

"Who are you?" he demands.

Ultear shrugs. "You've noticed already, yes? I am Ultear, the daughter of your teacher, Ul."

Gray stares at her, speechless, his eyes wide with shock. Then he straightens and smirks at her. "I see, I bet you hate my guts, don't you?"

"Gray... I've wanted to see you for so long. Don't worry, I'm on your side, see."

You want to scream at Gray not to trust this woman, that she belongs to Grimoire Heart, and has evil plans to awaken Zeref. But you stay silent and hope that the idiot's head isn't too frozen to figure it out on his own.

Leaping down from the tree you run over to Zeref and shake him gently. "Zeref? Can you hear me? Please wake up," you beg him. Worried, you glance over at Ultear and Gray, who are, thankfully, talking too intensely to see you crouching in plain view.

After a while, Ultear turns and you quickly hide. She walks over to Zeref and pulls him up against a tree while Gray watches. Suddenly, the ground begins to shake violently and you almost groan at how many times you've had to deal with earthquakes today. You hear a loud ripping sound and the splintering of wood and watch as the Tenrou Tree, the center of the island, topple into the ocean.

Eventually, the shaking subsides and you peer out from behind your bush to see Gray and Ultear standing side by side, and you feel an urge to smack the stupid ice mage for trusting this woman so easily.

"What was that shaking?" Gray questions.

"Azuma, I suppose," comes Ultear's noncommittal reply, which you can barely hear because your senses are beginning to go fuzzy, your strength disappearing as you collapse to the ground.

As if on cue, Gray gasps and clutches his side. "My strength... It's being drained."

"Sounds like he felled the Tenrou Tree," Ultear gazes upward. "He's stealing the magic power from all the people with the mark of Fairy Tail."

"What? What the hell is happening?"

"I suspect this was an order from Master Hades," the Time mage replies coolly as a large fiery explosion engulfs the western half of the island.

Shortly after the explosion, the entire island is bathed in a glowing golden light and you feel your magic returning to you.

"Looks like your magic power is returning to you." Lifting your head, you see Ultear facing Gray. Then she walks over to Zeref and pulls his arm over her shoulders again, lifting the unconscious man from the ground.

"I'm taking Zeref and leaving the island," Ultear says to Gray. "You defeat Hades."

Blinking in disbelief, you stare at Gray, expecting him not to believe her in the slightest.

"With Ul's spell, Iced Shell, you should be able to defeat him," Ultear continues. "Please, you're the only one who can carry out what Ul and I wished for."

You gape as Gray closes his fist and nods. "I'll do it. But it's not for you or for Ul. It's for the guild!"

Ultear steps away from Gray without another word and trudges off with Zeref, who is still unconscious. How has he even stayed unconscious for this long? You wonder to yourself irritably.