United and determined, Fairy Tail move to defend their home (cleaning by Ulquiorra90)
A reality twisted by the misfortune of life. A wish for happiness tainted by the weight of its worth. A resolve to save another crippled by the darkness of its shadow. Two brothers torn apart by unfortunate circumstance. Two lovers separated by a curse born from the desire to save. Embraced by tragedy and guided by pain, those caught up in the indifferent flow of time now find themselves conflicting against ones dear to them.
Natsu stands against his older brother, the one who revived him through forbidden magic. Mavis, having suffered a similar fate, stands against her lover whom has become distorted by the madness of his suffering. Zeref, the man who desired nothing beyond saving his younger brother, is forced into a situation where he can’t help but be corrupted by the sorrow of his circumstance.
The beginning of their bond
The Curse of Ankhseram. The curse of contradiction. The curse distorting the desire to love. The more one appreciates life, the more death one will manifest. A curse consuming the bearer with thoughts of regret and self-hate. Unable to attain the “escape” one seeks, those tormented by the madness of the curses perpetualness further spiral into a state of contradiction. Ever deafening. Ever consuming.
After having read the chapters featuring the back story of Zeref and Mavis, I find myself unable to refute the possibility that Zeref will be saved from the curses darkness and the madness wrought by its embrace. Zeref will not be killed after having suffered for so long and for so much. Mavis and/or Natsu will find a way to save Zeref. Too much focus has been placed on Zeref being a compassionate and loving individual for an end devoid of emotion to seal Zeref’s fate. Zeref is capable of good, his mind has just been twisted by the contradiction of the Curse of Ankhseram.
Mavis did signal her intent to find a way to remove the curse before being rendered immobile by the curse. We never got an answer, but is there really no “cure” for the curse? Does one really have to suffer eternally before their mind endures into non-existence leaving nothing but a fragment of their sorrow? Zeref has been living with his curse for 400 years, surely if there was a way to remove the Curse of Ankhseram, he would have found it or at least hints to it. But I wonder if Zeref really did explore all options…
What has been made apparent relatively recently is that “Gods” do exist. They are magical deities whom possess incredible amounts of power. So far we have seen/heard of two in the manga – Ankhseram (God of Life and Death) and Ikusa-Tsunagi (One of the Yakuma Eighteen War Gods). If Mashima-sensei is serious about exploring the Gods, we may very well get to see more of them and potentially one of them may have an answer to removing the Curse of Ankhseram.
The bringer of destruction and death, Acnologia moves to claim the life of all (love his human form)
In regards to Acnologia, I love how God Serena was set-up just to convey the immense strength of Acnologia. God Serena was the #1 Wizard Saint of Ishgar, but due to whatever crazy he calls logic, he decided to abandon the The Wizard Saints of Ishgar and enter into cahoots with Zeref and the Alvarez Empire. Apparently God Serena wanted to dispose of Acnologia and become the self-proclaimed Dragon King. But amusingly even with the eight different Dragon Slaying Magics he utilised through Lacrima, he was defeated instantly. Effortlessly. Spectacularly. Makes one wonder how strong Acnologia really is if God Serena, someone who toyed around with Three of the Four Gods of Ishgar (and Jura), was himself made insignificant by the sheer capabilities of Acnologia. Natsu seems destined to defeat Acnologia, but I seriously doubt that he is currently ready for this fight, not until he can channel more of his ‘Dragon’ abilities. I wonder if Mashima-sensei is saving Gildarts for Acnologia when the Fairy Tail really require a savior =/.
Zeref reveals the truth to Natsu
Fairy Heart may be the key to defeating Acnologia, Zeref at the very least seems to think so. If Natsu can somehow utilise the abilities of Fairy Heart, he could have sufficient magic required to take on Acnologia. Natsu is not exactly a normal human, so he may be able to wield the infinite magic Fairy Heart bestows. Fairy Heart has only been briefly explained, so I still don’t understand the exact characteristics of it beyond it being an Eternal Magic. Mashima-sensei will likely cover more on Fairy Heart closer to the battle against Acnologia and how “E.N.D.” will wield it.
Will Lucy manage to surpass her ancestor, Anna Heartfilia?
Lucy, Brandish and Aquarius; I love it, I love how Brandish was developed into a more significant character in the story. From the moment Mashima-sensei introduced her, she was quirky, interesting and lovable, and with each reaction and spontaneous action, she became even more likable. I didn’t expect her to have a link so strongly to Aquarius, but thanks to that surprise, we have gotten both a connection between Lucy and Brandish and the return of Aquarius. Aquarius and Brandish’s interactions are gold, the master servant relationship the two share, while amusing, is so endearing. Thanks to Aquarius, Brandish was not alone when she was younger.
The misunderstanding between Brandish and Lucy concerning their mother’s was unfortunate, but I am glad the two were finally able to have the truth revealed about Brandish’s mothers death and how Layla obtained Aquarius’s key as well as how Layla ended up contracting the Magic Deficiency disease. In order to open the door of Eclipse without all twelve keys (Layla didn’t have Aquarius’s key at the time), Layla used her life force to compensate for the missing Zodiac key, ultimately leading to her death.
So glad Brandish had a backstory fleshing her out as a character beyond just an antagonist
It is unfortunate that currently the two girls are enemies, but it was meaningful when Brandish volunteered to use her Mass Manipulation magic to save Natsu, it signified that she intends to bridge the gap between Lucy and herself. Despite their apparent positions, the possibility of the two becoming goods friends seems a likely one, especially with the connection their mothers shared. Very much looking forward to the two of them becoming comrades – Brandish can move to Ishgar and join Fairy Tail! Or the two of them can journey together to find Aquarius’s Zodiac key. Just a couple of ideas Mashima-sensei =P.
Been enjoying the battles so far; Erza and Bisca VS Ajeel was great (Magic Focusing Cannon, Jupiter!!). Take that you overconfident Spriggan! Laxus vs Wall illustrated just how much Fairy Tail means to Laxus and how far he is willing to go to protect it. Thanks to Wall though, Laxus was cured of the Magic Barrier Particles destroying his insides (thanks to some shrewd advice from Freed) and in addition helped Laxus channel a new form of lightning – Red Lightning – apparently a more destructive form of lightning. With Laxus cured, I wonder if he is going to feature in any future fights.
Mirajane. Oh.My.Goodness. She used takeover on Sayla, I didn’t see this coming. I wonder if Mirajane used takeover on any other demon of Tartaros. Sayla’s macro ability was dangerously fantastic, so I am glad we get to see more of it now. Will be interesting to see if Mirajane can fully release Sayla into her full demon mode as well. If she can, Mirajane just attained one massive power-up and if Mirajane has other demon taken-over i.e. Kyouka, things will get very exciting in the battles she is featured in.
Ah yeah, been waiting for a few particular characters to get featured in battles
With the guilds of Ishgar coming together with Fairy Tail to battle the Alvarez Empire, the coming battles are going to be tremendously exciting, especially now with Crime Sorcière joining the fray. Ah, it is so good to see them again. It is so good to see Ultear again! I could cr- wait I am crying! Show her what a real time mage is, Ultear! Dimaria may be powerful as signified by Kagura’s moment of silence in awe of Dimaria’s magical power, but Dimaria seems ignorant of what Time magic can really do.
Can’t wait for the upcoming battles, very much looking forward to the coming chapters!
12Dimension 