Fairy Tail Reveals the Winner of Natsu vs Zeref

Fairy Tail's final season is down to its last few episodes, and that means the end of the Alvarez Empire arc is also upon us. This has seen Natsu clashing with his brother Zeref several times over the course of the arc, and Natsu has come close to victory but never quite manage to overcome Zeref's power and immortality. Things took a turn for the worse in the last few episodes, too, as Zeref unlocked a whole new power with the Fairy Heart.

But in the latest episode of the series, Natsu overcomes these hurdles and even a fatal wound dealt by Zeref and manages to regain the full force of his flames. In fact, his flames burned so hot that they managed to burn through space and time and clenched Natsu the decisive victory over Zeref.

In Episode 323 of the series, Lucy's rewriting of the demon script in the Book of E.N.D. manages to work to the point where Natsu is able to revive himself and recover from having a hole blasted in his chest. This revival has helped him come to the realization that he's been on a destructive path this arc, and he's been blinded by his anger at Zeref and the fact that he's been lied to all his life.

This realization serves to burn his fire much hotter, and Natsu begins to tap into a power that he hasn't shown in the series yet. His fire is the same, but there's a greater amount of emotion behind it. He begins to counter every one of Zeref's powerful magic attacks, and even lands some decisive blows. Igniting his spirit, he goes in for one final Fire Dragon King: Destruction Fist.

Zeref counters by putting his all into one final Dark Blast Inferno, and the two meet with a powerful clash. Natsu and Zeref's clash sends a flashing white light throughout the country. When the light fades, Zeref is completely shocked by Natsu's "fires of a demon" and is pushed back. With one last thrust of his fist, Natsu sends Zeref flying to the ground.

Powerless, Zeref lies on the ground unable to move. Natsu, although his right arm is damaged, is still standing. Zeref doesn't die, and laments the fact that he'll be healed soon. But this is enough of a victory for Natsu. Leaving Zeref's fate in the First Master Mavis' hands, Natsu tiredly bids his "big brother" goodbye and leaves to find Lucy and Gray.

Fairy Tail was originally created by Hiro Mashima for Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine, running from 2006 to 2017 and selling over 60 million copies. The series is set in a fantasy world full of magic following Natsu Dragneel, a fire breathing wizard with the powers of a dragon who is in search of his missing foster father, the dragon Igneel. As he and his wizarding guild Fairy Tail get into adventures, Natsu always tries to find a way to succeed. The series was later adapted into an anime by A-1 Pictures, Dentsu Inc., and Satelight in 2009 and ended its first run in 2013. A second season ran from 2014 to 2016, and the third season serves as the final one.