Chapter 599 - 599: Brothers

"How do you feel now that you know Natsu is actually a demon?"

Ankh and Gray sat side by side outside the pavilion, gazing up at the bright moon hanging over Black Moon Mountain. Despite the weight of the question, Ankh's tone remained easy.

"I… don't know."

Gray clasped his hands tightly and lowered his head.

"I swore to my father that I'd make defeating E.N.D. my goal. That I'd fight demons until the end."

His voice grew heavier.

"But if Natsu really is a demon…"

While extracting Natsu's demonic traits, Larcade had casually mentioned that Natsu was Zeref's strongest and most satisfactory creation.

Once Gray thought carefully about everything he knew, there was really only one answer.

E.N.D.

Before Silver died, he had told Gray that E.N.D. was a fire demon. That was precisely why Gray had developed Ice Devil Slayer Magic in the first place.

Every piece fit Natsu disturbingly well.

"If you became completely certain that Natsu was E.N.D.," Ankh asked, glancing at him, "would you kill him?"

Gray fell silent for a long time.

Finally, he shook his head hard enough to make his hair sway.

His fingers had tightened until the knuckles turned white.

"But demons destroyed my family…"

His voice trembled.

"And E.N.D. was my father's final obsession."

"Natsu is your family too."

Ankh rested a hand on Gray's shoulder.

"Don't make an important decision while your emotions are at their worst. That's my advice."

"Natsu is Natsu. He didn't choose how he was born."

"And after all these years together, he's lived a better life than plenty of actual humans."

Gray said nothing.

His thoughts were clearly tangled beyond recognition.

Ankh knew better than most that anything involving demons tended to push Gray toward extremes, so after a moment, he simply continued.

"Actually, I knew Natsu wasn't human the first time I met him as a kid."

"Huh?"

Gray raised his head in surprise.

Ankh's expression remained calm, though his thoughts drifted back to his first meeting with Natsu and the instinctive revulsion that had risen inside him.

That reaction had come from what Ankh himself was.

His previous existence had left him with a natural aversion toward creatures created through forbidden manipulation of life and death.

Yet over the years, the idiot who had constantly followed him around had gradually worn that instinctive hostility away.

"I could tell he wasn't human," Ankh explained. "It was obvious his existence had been created through some kind of forbidden research involving life and death."

"Zeref was the first person I suspected."

"After we encountered Tartaros, I became even more certain."

Gray hesitated.

"You never felt even a little…"

He struggled to finish the question.

"…because he was a demon?"

"With anyone else, I might."

Ankh looked directly into Gray's eyes.

"But not Natsu."

His voice was firm.

"Because Natsu is my little brother."

Gray's eyes widened.

The hands he had been clenching so tightly finally began to loosen.

Ankh's expression softened, something rare enough that Gray immediately noticed.

"I hate creatures made through those kinds of forbidden methods."

"But family is different."

Ankh gave a faint laugh.

"I suppose that makes me a hypocrite."

"No."

Gray shook his head.

His voice was slightly hoarse.

"You're right."

"Family and strangers aren't the same. We don't protect them equally or judge them equally."

A bitter smile touched his lips.

"I guess that unfairness is part of human emotion."

"Unfairness, huh…"

Ankh smiled without agreeing or disagreeing.

Then he slapped Gray firmly on the shoulder and stood.

"I'm not going to complain if you're angry enough to beat the hell out of Natsu."

Gray looked up.

"But I hope that after you two finish fighting, you can go back to how you were before."

"Grinning like idiots with your arms around each other's shoulders, getting into trouble together, screwing around together…"

Ankh looked at Gray for another moment before turning away.

"Even biological brothers sometimes grow apart, so I know I can't demand anything from the two of you."

"I just hope something like this doesn't turn into the reason you never speak again."

His steps paused.

"After all…"

"You're both my little brothers."

Ankh's voice became quieter.

"And seeing something like that happen between you…"

"I'd hate it too."

With that, he headed downstairs.

When Ankh slid open the door, he found exactly the familiar face he expected waiting on the other side.

Natsu stood there with an unusually serious expression.

Ankh wasn't surprised in the slightest.

He smiled and patted Natsu on the shoulder as he passed.

"Whatever people say you are doesn't matter."

"You just need to know what you want to be."

Natsu silently nodded.

He watched Ankh disappear into the distance, then turned toward Gray, who still sat alone beneath the moonlight.

After taking a deep breath, Natsu walked over.

...

From farther away, Ankh glanced back once and saw the two fire-and-ice idiots sitting silently beside each other.

He smiled to himself.

That was enough.

He stopped watching and headed upstairs.

By the time Ankh reached the banquet hall where Black Moon Mountain's guests were being entertained, Selene was already drinking with the others.

Her eyes immediately brightened when she spotted him, and she pulled him over.

"So? Did you settle things between those two boys of yours?"

Ankh sat down without ceremony, grabbed a leg of lamb from the table, and took a bite.

"Nothing serious. Just a teenager bottling things up because he can't sort out his feelings."

He shrugged.

"They'll fight once and get over it."

Selene frowned.

"A fight between those two counts as nothing serious? They're already among the strongest humans around, aren't they?"

"Exactly."

Ankh took another bite.

"So at worst, someone loses an arm or breaks a leg."

He looked completely unconcerned.

"I can fix that."

Selene fell silent.

She had almost forgotten that the man sitting in front of her was an ageless, effectively immortal existence whose standards for what counted as a serious injury were somewhat distorted.

Ankh glanced at the distracted Dragon God.

"Once we get back, I'll start working on converting your dragon body into a human one."

Selene immediately focused on him.

"I'll preserve as much of your strength as possible."

"But you'll need to gather the materials required for the resurrection process yourself."

"Really?"

Delight appeared across Selene's mature features.

She immediately patted her chest confidently.

"Of course. Just tell me what you need."

Selene had long been a firm believer that the Age of Dragons was ending.

Before meeting Ankh, most of her efforts had focused on finding some way for dragons to adapt to human civilization.

Eventually, however, she had reached a very simple conclusion.

Dragons simply weren't suited to this era.

Irene was already a perfect example.

After becoming a dragon, she lost her sense of taste, became far less sensitive to pain, no longer needed sleep, and had effectively lost much of what allowed a human to enjoy everyday life.

True dragons had it even worse.

Selene soaked in hot springs three times a day, practically never put down her alcohol, and lived an absurdly luxurious and indulgent lifestyle.

Even then, her draconic senses allowed her to enjoy only a fraction of what a human would.

Naturally, the idea of becoming human had fascinated her.

Then Ankh appeared and turned something she had always considered impossible into a realistic option.

Selene immediately changed strategies.

If a dragon couldn't adapt to human life—

then she would simply become human.

As a dragoness who adored pleasure and luxury and felt little sentimental attachment to remaining a dragon, Selene had become extremely enthusiastic about the plan.

Ankh looked her over thoughtfully.

Selene immediately cooperated, stretching her waist and raising her arms as though presenting herself for inspection.

Transforming a dragon completely into a human wouldn't actually be much more difficult than resurrecting Ur.

After all, Ur could only barely be considered dead in the first place.

Selene, however, was an ally.

Ankh also wanted to preserve as much of her combat strength as possible.

That complicated matters.

He fell into thought.

Then someone he hadn't seen in quite some time came to mind.

His disciple—

Irene.

Perhaps…

instead of completely discarding one side or the other, he could combine the advantages of dragons and humans.