Zeref leaned on his arm, gazing out the colored window into his yard. Certainly she would have been back by now, since he sent her letter after letter, telling her of the S-Class Trials that was soon coming her way.

He knew well of how she felt. She didn't want to endanger her old friends. She didn't want to endanger anyone. That's why she headed to that sacred island, but she knew well of Fairy Tail's yearly S-Class trials, so why wasn't she here?

The black haired tapped his arm chair.

There was too much silence in his household; giving him way too much time to think. This was the first time in ages that he was actually interested in the outside world, but only for a small portion that was somewhat related to his business.

He sighed into his hand. He was able to go decades without this feeling of boredom, but it finally came to him. So many years has passed since he felt this emptiness.

One of his illusion servants came to the door, with a plate and a teacup. Though he was bored, he wasn't crazy enough to start talking to one of his creations.

In front of him were dozen of books. All of this research books that he collected throughout the years from failed worshippers. Throughout these books, he only mentioned END a few times and never gave much information that sorted the process that he went through in order to recreate such a being.

There was only one book that he knew held the answers he was seeking. A book that Natsha fought with her life twice now, and each time that she won those battles, the book was lost again, in the hands of the demon spawns. The last time she fought, it was when the book opened in her hands and the true powers of END were released onto her being. That was the same day that he traveled to their battlefield and led her into this new, solitary life.

Maybe he should have gone after the foolish demon squad and taken back the book, but his mind was focused on the girl escaping the crutches of her friends that allowed them to escape with the sacred book.

Zeref left his study with the teacup still steaming on his table. He grabbed his robe off of the dusty shelves and headed to the back door. As soon as he opened the old oaken door, he heard their voices even louder than before. From his tower, their voices were only a background noise, but now that he was outside, he could hear each individual's voice.

"MY SON! HE HAS TAKEN MY SON!"

"MY DAUGHTER SAW THIS DEVIL AND MISCARRIED!"

"PEOPLE HAVE COME HERE AND NEVER RETURNED! HE HAS KILLED THEM ALL! TAKEN THEIR BONES AND BURIED THEM IN HIS YARD! AND THE CHILDERN WERE DUMPED INTO THE OCEAN FOR THE FISHES TO GET THEM!"

"HE HAS FORSAKEN THE LAND! THE DROUGHT CAUSED ALL OF OUR FOOD SUPPLY TO VANISH!"

"A DEMON, I TELL YOU!"

"MY SON WAS IN THE FOREST! I CAME LOOKING FOR HIM AND CAME TO THE OUTSKIRTS OF CASTLE! NUK'S GUN WAS THERE, BUT NOTHING ELSE!"

"COME OUT HERE, DEMON!"

"HE KILLED THE OLD OWNER OF THIS HOME AND KILLED THOSE WOMEN LAST YEAR! I HEARD THAT THEY WERE CALLED TO THIS PLACE, AND THEIR BODIES WERE DUMPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TOWN THE NEXT MORNING!"

"GIVE ME BACK MY SON!"

"YOU CURSED MY FAMILY!"

"OUR CROPS!"

"BEGONE FROM THIS LAND! NEVER RETURN!"

"KILL THE DEMON! KILL THE DEMON!"

Humans.

Humans were always the same.

Accusing their 'criminal' for any disaster within the last decade. The only one that was in the right for coming here was Nuk's father, but he was trailing after a dead end.

He shook his head in displeasure and followed the trail to the small dock that he had built. He could only hope that the rioters weren't on this side of his house. The lands were built in accordance to his curse. The walls were built far away from the castle so he could walk around the yard without killing those close to the walls. Because he was near the end of his land, there was no protection for the measly humans if they did close in this area.

Luckily, they were all focused on ramming his door down.

Zeref didn't mind the lost of his treasures throughout the house, his research books were a completely different topic. He turned around and spawned a few gatekeepers to keep the villagers in check; do not kill, only guard. He knew that he could count on these beasts, but humans were pesky, so he created a sixth one with the ability to charm his house, where everything inside was invisible to the villagers.

With that, the Demon Lord disappeared into the night, searching for his book of finest of research.

..

It was dawn when he finally arrived to an island. Just from looking at it from the sea, there wasn't much special about this floating piece of mass. There were voices sprinkled throughout the land, of animals chirping and snoring that echoed through the trees. This wasn't a deserted island, that's for sure.

From this, he knew that he was at the right place.

The dark-haired stood out of the boat and climbed onto the shore, docking his boat with a rope. Certainly he could have fought her the first time that he found her, but what was the purpose if he ended back in prison? Though, coming into enemy's land was also a risky move, maybe even leading to his death, but it was the only motivation he had at the moment.

There wasn't anything else waiting for him.

His ex-guild members were living their free life, not caring if he spent the last five years in jail after he gotten them free the first time.

And his beloved friend was nowhere to be seen. That was his one wish, and now it would never get fulfilled.

He shook his head, hating the thoughts of self-pity.

So, this was Tenruo Island.

Fairy Tail's sacred island.

There wasn't much he could say, other than it was silent unlike the other places he has been to.

…

Gray woke up the sleeping guild members. He and Master were the only ones there, the other S-class mages were gone without a word. There still were bottles from Gildarts and Cana sprinkled throughout the campsite, but otherwise, that was the only traces of them.

This must be the start of their second trial.

All of them circled around Master, awaiting his word. He didn't start speaking until Gray came closer and held up two sacks, the same two sacks that Laxus was messing with the night before.

"Second phase of the S-Class Trial starts today and ends tomorrow morning. You have an entire day for this fret."

This must be the reason of why he stressed on packing beforehand.

"Each of you will get a sack," he continued, having Gray hold up one of the sacks. "But to win this, you must have two sacks." Gray held up the second, this one had a golden tie inside of being tied up with a simple string. There was certainly something inside of them, but Makarvo didn't say a word about it. "Each sack is colored differently, depending on how it originated from. Such as the ones given to you have your name written on them, while the ones you can find in the forest, will have stripes. The ones that you win by defeating a S-class will have a gold box."

Quickly, Omi shouted, "What if you lose one sack, so you steal one and find another? Or if you steal one and fight a S-class?"

"A combination of the two. But remember, we are still Fairy Tail members, but this is still a trial. Hold no grudges against each other outside of this island. And I would wish you lot would avoid stealing, but there is a limit on scrolls, so I know it will happen. But I still wish the best of luck for you."

They all huddled together in a line, all waiting for Gray to hand them their sighed sack.

"Another rule: Do not open the sack under any circumstances. It's a immediate failure of the trial."

If Natsha was here, Gray was sure that she would moan at this added rule, being the curious person she was. And, by chance, it was only Romeo who groaned at the old gramps.

"You will be released by order of arrival." Makarvo turned his back, "Romeo."

The boy pocketed his sack in his jacket's pocket and headed into the forest, hopping from one tree to the next, trying to gain as much ground away from the campsite. For one, he was sure that the chances of defeating any of the S-Class mages was not an option for him. So, he had to avoid those areas and search around for those few scrolls hidden throughout the island.

Every five minutes, someone was sent out. They all chose different options on going for the task. Lucy and Lisanna knew well to avoid the other S-Class mages and aimed for the hidden scrolls. Freed and Juvia didn't seemed to care if they ran into one of the S-Class mages, actually, they were hoping for the chance of meeting their favorite mages. Gajeel and Omi didn't have much of a goal in mind, just whichever option opened up first for them.

Three mages found a space for themselves, fixing the area up for what battle would come.

Erza was the only one of the higher ranked mages to opt out this year's trial. Gildarts was the one who was going to set on the sidelines, but with the news of a challenger for Erza, it gave her more reason to stay near the campfire. Currently, she was returning from hiding the two sacks.

She went the long route, rounding the island by the shorelines, figuring that the others were already out hunting. They would try to fight her, figuring she was still in the trial as a boss. So, to her, it seemed simpler to avoid the mess. She knew the others were shattered between three points, Cana chose an area close to Mavis' grave and masked all of the scents, Laxus stayed near a waterfall, using the water as an extra disadvantage for whoever came. While Gildarts just found a dead trunk and set up base there.

Cana chose the spot because only the agile can get to it and stay.

Laxus chose the spot to show how unfair a battle can become.

Gildarts was a replacement, and because of how much over powered he was than the others, he was testing for other things than plain strength.

Erza had a slight idea of where she would have planned her match. There were ruins near Mavis' grave that served as a difficult battleground with how unsteady every platform was. If there was a volcano, then she would have chosen that area, seeing as how it was unpredictable.

Everything about this trial was planned from the start, even if they did have to make a few changes.

Erza watched the dawn sunrise when there was a crack behind her.

I have been trying to update this chapter in daytime, but my life is a bit busy (on vacation)...so I'm just gonna upload.

firelass196: Erik. And you actually ship this pairing? Like...I just like any pairing, but I was mostly experimenting with this one (never wrote Cobra before...so yeah, fun). He and Erza did fight twice in the anime, which is why I'm adding the big deal between him and her, while Natsu's main target is Brain.