Tears of love and loss
Despite the success in preventing Tartarus from nullifying all magic power on Ishgar, the cost of reaching such a point was felt by many, in particular, the Dragon Slayers and Gray. The truth behind the remnants of the Dragons and their attempts to prevent a repeat of history and the annihilation of their creation birthed from their mistakes unveiled the necessity of working together to defend against the inevitable future threat Acnologia poses to all creation. And within the shadows of that engulfing darkness, Zeref waits for the one capable of ENDing his suffering and setting him free from the prison of immortality. The flame demon known as E.N.D, otherwise fully known as Etherias Natsu Dragneel.
Gray’s inclusion within the fight against Mard Geer was a great development, especially considering the promise he had made to his father to annihilate the flame demon E.N.D. Once Sting and Rogue left Mard Geer Tartaros to Natsu and Gray, the team battle the two unleashed on Mard Geer Tartaros was quite spectacular. Both friends and rivals with opposing powers working together to take down the current head of Tartarus. The inevitable battle Natsu and Gray will find themselves in definitely is something I am both dreading and looking forward to. With Natsu being E.N.D., how will Gray react to that truth? And what will Natsu do when he finds out?
I honestly was not expecting Jiemma to reappear as a demon, but it added a nice element to the climax of the arc giving Sting and Rogue an important opponent to fight against which held relevance to the both of them. I would have liked to have had Minerva included in that battle as well as she was also relevant to Jiemma’s arrogance and there could have been meaning in having Minerva comes to terms with her past through her encounter and battle with her father. The prospect of her being weak shattering in his defeat to Minerva may have in someway also opened up Jiemma’s perception to the whole world and how he viewed it. Ultimately though, the battle concluded with Sting and Rogue expressing their desire to recreate Saber Tooth into a truly strong guild, one that values its members and allies.
The combined efforts of Natsu and Gray overwhelm the Demon King Mard Geer
Mard Geer’s ultimate curse was quite overpowered, a curse capable of removing even Zeref’s existence or so Mard Geer says. If not for Gray breaking the curse with his Devil Slayer magic and allowing the demon energy to work its way into half of his body, the two of them would have been non-existent. Thanks to the combined effort of Natsu and Gray, Mard Geer was able to taste the power of both Dragon Slayer and Devil Slayer magic, ultimately overwhelming him.
I was curious to see how the Faces would be stopped and had expected Lumen Histoire to be the key to preventing magic of vanishing from Ishgar, but it turns out Makarov was hesitant to use Lumen Histoire and missed the opportunity to do so before the Faces began activating. In the end, the Dragons who released themselves from inside their respective Dragon Slayer host became the key to stopping Face and Tartarus’s plans.
The wings of hope casting away despair
Zeref’s appearance was a surprise, I was expecting him to wait for the conclusion of the arc and for the victor between Natsu and E.N.D. to be decided, but I guess that would have been a bit inconvenient for him if E.N.D. were destroyed seeing as E.N.D. is Natsu. Him appearing the moment the book of E.N.D. was in danger makes perfect sense. I also now get why Zeref is so fascinated and obsessed with Natsu. E.N.D. is the creation he brought to life for the sole purpose of killing himself and ending his immortal.
The ultimate sacrifice
Igneel, what an absolute badass, while I am in tears at his brutal demise, the brilliance of his sacrifice in trying to stop Acnologia and leave the world with a glimmer of hope (Natsu) was without question a defining moment of the arc. It made the conclusion of the Tartaros Arc so much more memorable and meaningful.
To the son he loved…
We finally learn the secret behind the Dragons disappearance in the year 777 and why they had waited until this moment to make their move – because they were severely restricted in what they could do and were only able to assist humanity for a short moment. The hope and courage the dragons left humanity with will undoubtedly become the power capable of piercing the darkness wrought by Acnologia and Zeref revealing the tomorrow that awaits in their future.
To the father he wanted to share his life with…
The end of one age has opened the path for a new age to be written. Whether this age be one filled with hope or despair rest to the architects of such an age, to the light and the darkness residing within.
With the disbanding of Fairy Tail, where will future lead to from here? With Natsu gone on a journey of healing and awakening, what role will he serve in carving out an identity for this yet to be named age? To the fairies scarred from the suffering of the past, what tomorrow will the winds carrying them lead them to?
One final note, did anyone expect that twist with Doranbolt? I certainly as hell did not, where the hell did come from? So that means right from the Tenrou Island Arc he was a member of Fairy Tail, it was just because of the insane effects of his Memory Control magic that we were all placed under the perception that he was actually deceiving Fairy Tail when in fact the faction being deceived was the Magic Council. Well played Mashima-sensei, well played.
Looking forward to the new arc!
12Dimension 