Hades (Fairy Tail)/Synopsis

The history of Zeref Dragneel, main antagonist of the manga and anime series Fairy Tail.

Zerø arc
In X686, Hades, originally known as Precht, with his companions, Warrod Sequen and Yuri Dreyar, a trio of treasure hunters, traveled to Tenrou Island in search of the Tenrou Jade, an S-Class Secret Treasure. While Yuri wandered off, Precht and Warrod searched for the treasure and discovered it had already been taken. Meeting back up with Yuri, who had encountered a young girl, Mavis Vermilion, he explained the situation and showed them the evidence of the Jade's removal. Mavis, distraught by the robbery of the symbol of the island, told them she believed the Mage Guild Blue Skull had stolen the treasure seven years ago when her home was devastated by them and implored them to take her, and later her friend Zera, back to the continent to recover it. They agreed and returned to the continent.

Back at the port town of Hargeon, Precht expressed his dissatisfaction at having gained nothing but "brats" on the journey and went to the town to seek information about Blue Skull. Mavis volunteered to accompany him, to his slight chagrin, and they headed to a bar. The bartender professed no knowledge of the guild and Precht left to leave after a joke at his expense, but Mavis noticed a slip-up in the bartender's denial and pressed him for more information. Precht returned to the bar but was suddenly attacked by two men who he quickly defeated. Everyone in the bar rose up to attack Precht but he easily defeated them all with his chain blades. The bartender then created a set of runes to trap them and revealed himself to be a Blue Skull member. Mavis, however, correctly deduced that the circle was faulty and safely stepped out before using her Illusion Magic to intimidate the bartender into revealing Blue Skull's headquarter location, much to Precht's shock and admiration.

Using the bartender's information, Precht and the group headed to Magnolia Town, the apparent location of Blue Skull's headquarters. On the journey, the treasure hunters and girls bonded, with Precht even expressing his willingness to give up on the Tenrou Jade as he had lost interest in it. After three days, they arrived in the town and were shocked to find it in a ruined state with a massive Dragon skeleton perched on the once famous Kardia Cathedral. They soon encountered an old man who told them that Magnolia's dilapidated state was due to the presence of Blue Skull in the city, but before he could continue he was killed by Blue Skull members, who also turned their attention on the group; Precht, Warrod, and Yuri easily defeated them but the noise attracted a much larger force. Mavis created illusions to scare them away, but the Guild Master of Blue Skull revealed himself and informed everyone that the illusions were fake, which resulted in another brawl erupting; Yuri and Precht were injured during the melee (the latter having lost his eye), but Warrod recovered them and pushed through to escape into the forest with Mavis and Zera.

While recovering in the forest, Mavis volunteered to collect some water and later returned with a mysterious young man who she said was going to teach them Magic. The man, Zeref, did so for the next few days, commenting that Precht had affinities for a number of different types of Magic. After Precht and co. received a briefing over a plan created by Mavis, they all head out and execute their strategy, ending with Precht and Yuri dismantling the Blue Skull guild sans Geoffrey. Yuri then pointed out the Tenrou Jade to Precht, and he watched as Yuri made a grab for it.

A short time later, Precht heard Mavis call out to him and noted that the two of them completed their mission; after Mavis demanded Yuri drop the Tenrou Jade because of its dark properties, Precht demanded such a thing as well, however Yuri defied even him. Precht was then blown away as the Tenrou Jade began to glow and consume Yuri; after which the blue Dragon skeleton above Kardia Cathedral began to move and destroy Magnolia. Precht questioned what had happened, only to be answered by Mavis that the Tenrou Jade's evil consumed Yuri, and that Yuri is the one making the Dragon move. Precht continued by asking what is to become of Yuri, but Mavis ran away and tried to save Yuri by herself, however Precht saved her from being killed by Yuri at the last second. Precht then resolves to kill Yuri, but Mavis told him that she will save Magnolia and Yuri both, which he questioned. Mavis asked Precht whether treasure hunters dancing with danger and death was true, to this though, Precht countered that Mavis wasn't a treasure hunter. He was then told that he and everyone else she met are her precious friends, and that she, Mavis, hunts the treasure of friendship.

Precht then fell to the ground in a state of pure shock. However his shock broke as he witnessed Mavis attract Yuri to her with illusions of gold coins; he continued to watch as Mavis struggled but eventually freed Yuri from the curse of the Tenrou Jade with the Magic she gained from Zeref: Law. Later, when everything settled down and Yuri awoke from resting, he frantically asked Precht and Warrod about Mavis's whereabouts, and Precht told him that Mavis suffered adverse affects from using an incomplete version of Law, and would no longer be able to grow. A bit after this, Precht and Warrod hear Zera's voice and reason that Mavis must finally have realized that Zera was an illusion. Later, Mavis told Precht, Warrod, and Yuri that she wants to start a Mage guild. Despite their initial reluctance, they agreed and left Sylph Labyrinth to help found the guild. In April of X686, Yuri and the others built the guild building, and all four took a photo as a sign that Fairy Tail had been born.

Post-Zerø
Some time later, as the Mages of Ishgar are made to fight for the lords of the country, Precht took part in the Second Trade War alongside his guild. Precht and his fellow guild members were guided to battle by Mavis and through her tactics, they defeated their oppositions in a famous victory. Precht was present in the guild in X696 for the birth of Yuri and Rita's son, Makarov, whom he was convinced should be named Pippoco. He was startled when Rita passed away soon after the event, from what appeared to be labor struggles.

A year later, Precht watched as Zeref appeared suddenly, carrying Mavis' body; when asked if he was alone he said yes, and explained that he's been acting-Guild Master since Mavis' departure. Zeref then threw Mavis on the ground, which Precht was appalled at, and then listened as he said that Mavis would never move again. He shook her, asking if she was asleep, and Zeref replied that she would never wake. As the immortal man walked away, Precht called out to Zeref, asking who he was; he replied with his name, but then quickly said that he was a spriggan, because Mavis was a fairy. Precht then wondered if Mavis was truly dead, as even though her heart did not beat, Magic still emanated from it. Quickly taking her to the basement of the guild, he sealed her in a Lacrima and spent years researching ways to revive her, in addition to his duties as the new Second Guild Master, ultimately learning that she had Ankhseram's Curse and that she killed Rita. Precht then resolved to keep everything secret and told the guild that Mavis died, and erected a fake grave on Tenrou Island, the place where they all met. After thirty years, Precht discovered that Mavis' immortality and his years of attempting to revive created an infinite source of Magic, called Eternal Magic, an infinite source of Magic that could uproot the very foundations of the magical world.

Some time later, in the Year X736, Precht appointed Makarov (40 years old at that time) as the third Master and his successor, much to the man's dismay. Ignoring Makarov's claims that he wasn't fit for it, he praised Makarov's love for his allies and his capability to believe, claiming that he would make Fairy Tail into a good guild. He then left on a journey.

On such journey, he traced the roots of Magic back to Zeref, where he saw what can be called "the Essence of Magic". It is around this point that he reformed his ways, due to learning of the dark side of Magic from researching countless spells from trying to revive Mavis, and became a Dark Mage, founded Grimoire Heart, raised and trained the Seven Kin of Purgatory while teaching them different forms of Lost Magic in order to acquire the fabled "Essence of Magic", as well as around this time, he used the knowledge he gained from creating Fairy Heart towards building Grimoire Heart, his ultimate life source. It's known that he personally recruited Ultear Milkovich, nearing her while she was a child and promising her that, in the Ultimate Magic World, the Arc of Time Magic which he would have taught her would have allowed her to travel through time and change the sad events of her childhood into happy ones.

Several years later, he witnessed a teenage Ultear studying the Arc of Time Magic. He praised her for collecting so many books about the said Magic, after which Ultear revealed that she finally found what she was looking for, the Magic that could bring back her lost happiness. After finding out that she was talking about Last Ages, he told her that such Magic shouldn't be used as it takes away the user's time. He then questioned her about whether she wanted such future, to which a saddened Ultear replied that it wasn't what she was looking for.

Tower of Heaven arc
Hades makes his first appearance after the destruction of the Tower of Heaven, although his name isn't specifically mentioned at the time. He's heard talking with a bathing Ultear Milkovich through the use of a communication Lacrima, being informed of the latest events regarding the Magic Council and congratulating his underling on her good job. He asks what happened to Jellal, and is told that she doesn’t know; Ultear then proceeds to explain the deception which led Jellal to build the Tower of Heaven, believing that it would have allowed him to resurrect Zeref, a deception she was the author of. Hades goes on to list all of the events which took place as planned, such as the firing of Etherion, and states that, due to them, they managed to obtain one of the keys to Zeref's seal, something which prompts Ultear to congratulate him.

Oración Seis arc
Hades reappears onboard the Grimoire Heart airship, sitting on his throne and discussing about Oración Seis' plan with Ultear, who asks him what should be done, to which Hades responds they should be ignored. Yomazu comments that, if Oración Seis were to start something, the legal Guilds would hardly ignore it, and Kawazu states that they should take the opportunity to keep searching for the keys to Zeref's seal. Hades responds that they should hope Oración Seis does manage to eliminate some of the legal Guilds standing in their way, and Ultear naughtily asks if he's talking about Fairy Tail, to which he sneers.

Tenrou Island arc
Hades reappears on his airship when Ultear informs him that "he" has been found, commenting that he had been sleeping. She states that the time has come, which prompts Hades to sum up to those present "his" life, with him revealed to be none other than Zeref, who has appeared on Tenrou Island, where Fairy Tail is having its S-Class Mage Promotion Trial, in a "sleeping" state. He says that they should begin, and orders his underlings to set the route to "Fairy Island", as the Seven Kin Of Purgatory are revealed standing before him.

As the airship nears its destination, Hades claims that the time has come for them to resurrect Zeref, as they possess all of the keys to his seal. Six of his Seven Kin (with only Azuma missing) make their introduction and argue a little. Hades rises from his throne and says that the whole thing is getting interesting, stating that Fairy Tail doesn't know yet of the true, complete darkness hiding in the abyss, and that during the night Demons and Fairies will mingle, wondering whether they'll devour and be proud, or be devoured and dissipate. He then states that the time of battle has come for Fairy Tail.

As the airship reaches its destination, a menacing, gigantic individual appears before it, surprising all of the Seven Kin (yet again aside from Azuma, who already infiltrated the island) and momentarily even Hades himself, who however smiles satisfied as he recognizes the "giant" as Makarov in his Giant form.

While his subordinates are all in shock and intimidated, Hades laughingly says Makarov's name, despite the colossal being before him. When Makarov starts attacking the airship and damaging it, Hades orders the firing of the ship's cannon, Jupiter. Makarov blocks the attack with his arm, receiving little damage in the process. As the ship starts to break apart from the damage, Hades orders Ultear to use her Arc of Time Magic to repair it, something she complies with. He then tells Caprico to take everyone to the island and that he'll personally take care of Makarov. Makarov starts counting to three and casting Fairy Law in front of the airship, and Hades calmly appears before him on the open deck, recognizing the spell. Just as Makarov is done counting and is about to cast it, Hades is shown preparing Grimoire Law, a Magic that probably has the same effect as Fairy Law, stating that, as a deterrent Magic, Fairy Law shouldn't be used so easily. He claims that the clash of the two Laws would bring the worst possible conclusion, something which prompts Makarov to nullify his spell, and to finally get a good look at Hades. Much to his horror, Makarov realizes that he is none other than Precht, the second Master of Fairy Tail, who passed on the title to him. Hades is seen calmly greeting him, stating that it's been a while.

Hades takes advantage of Makarov's astonishment to grasp him with his Chain Magic, sending him crashing on Tenrou Island and nullifying his Giant Magic in the process. He then lands on the island himself, confronting Makarov, who asks him why he's in a Dark Guild. Hades answers by asking Makarov whet is the exterior and what the interior, and then claiming that the world is full of things which are impossible to measure as merely good or evil. Makarov berates him, saying that, no matter what, the Fairy Tail's mentality should never change, which prompts Hades to laugh out loud and to claim that Makarov has learned how to talk properly, calling him a kid, like he used to as Fairy Tail's Master. Makarov orders him not to call him a kid, no longer being part of his family, but states that he doesn't want to fight him, asking whether he'll leave the place.

Hades admits that his heart pains him a little, having to destroy Fairy Tail. Makarov cries that he won't give up his Guild to him as he starts performing hand seals, while Hades, stating that Makarov wants to defy him, starts casting as well. He surrounds Makarov with Amaterasu: Formula 28 in an instant, something which surprises his opponent. The magical sphere explodes around the target, as Hades claims that there's no way Makarov can beat him. Fairy Tail's Master is seen emerging unscathed from the explosion, but is rapidly grabbed by Hades' chains once more and sent crashing against several trees and then on the ground, as Grimoire Heart's Master claims that he "freely dances with Magic". Before Makarov can recover from the attack, he's surrounded by Hades' Amaterasu: Formula 100, which creates a vast explosion, damaging a large part of Tenrou Island and hurting Makarov despite his casting of Maximum Defense Seal: Three Pillar Gods.

Makarov is seen standing, receiving praise from Hades, who acknowledges his power as the man he chose to succeed him and who supported the Guild for 48 years. However, Makarov's health takes a turn for the worst, having received serious damage, and Hades comments that they've both grown old, as he starts nearing his opponent. He states that two men who walked different paths are meeting, and wonders whether this will complete the continuum of the world. Makarov states that Hades was a great Master, who taught "harmony" to his Guild mates and led them on the proper path, asking him what happened, what changed him. Instead of answering immediately, Hades crushes Makarov on the ground with a powerful punch.

He proceeds to explain that Magic was originally born in darkness, as an oppressed and feared power, but gradually became an everyday phenomenon and a part of human culture. He claims, however, that when he tracked back the roots of Magic, when he arrived at Zeref, he saw the true essence of Magic. Seeing his opponent seemingly unconscious, he tells him to sleep, stating that Fairy Tail's history is over, as he turns his back and starts walking away. However, Makarov opens his eyes and raises on his legs in a moment, charging at Grimoire Heart's Master. Before he can hit him, however, Hades turns and sends him a projectile with his Bullet Magic, piercing and defeating him.

Hades is then seen standing on a beach, near his airship, having planted a pole with Grimoire Heart's flag in the sand. He states to himself that Makarov's "brats" stand no chance against the Seven Kin of Purgatory, the great Mages he spent years training, the ones he taught different types of Lost Magic, forbidden arts closest to the source of all Magic.

Hades reappears on his airship, having dinner and laughing out happily. A shadowy figure sitting not far from him comments that he's in a good mood, to which Hades replies that "Makarov's kids" are really something, having already defeated three of the Seven Kin. His interlocutor asks Hades when his turn will be, to which he replies that isn't the kind of battle the shadowy man needs to take part in, revealing him as Bluenote. The latter nears the table, stating that he wants to play a little more and that it isn't good to let the body get lazy, and, putting a hand on it, uses his Gravity Magic, visibly shaking the entire airship. Hades asks whether that's alright, and when Bluenote claims that, with the ship submerged, they won't be able to find the Fairy Tail's Mages, Hades comments that they'll gather Makarov's kids there, unaware that they'll be staring in the mouth of the devil. Bluenote states that, if they didn't take the food to their mouth, they wouldn't eat it, and adds that, if it were him, he'd go on a feeding frenzy. Hades orders him to stay in the airship, stating that, if he were to go, the noisy battlefield would suddenly turn quiet. Bluenote comments that only four of the Seven Kin are left, and nonetheless resolves to go after another one falls.

A while later, Hades says that it's incredible that even Meredy has been defeated. He calls Bluenote's name out, but to no response, as his Ace already left for the battlefield. He then apologizes to Makarov, saying that he hadn't intended to use Bluenote again, and that the war will soon be over. Hades is then seen talking about how surprised he was that someone besides him could stop Bluenote, praising Gildarts Clive's skills, and then laughs as he says that Fairy Tail has lost all chances of winning now that their Great Tenrou Tree has been destroyed by Azuma.

After Ultear is defeated, Hades, standing on his ship's open deck, expresses his disbelief that all the Seven Kin of Purgatory and even Bluenote were defeated, and praises Makarov's "soldiers". He then prepares to fight Team Natsu and Wendy Marvell as they reach Grimoire Heart's ship, stating that, at last, the devil shall play with the Fairies.

Hades invites the Fairy Tail group into his ship, not knowing that the Exceeds Happy, Panther Lily and Carla are infiltrating it, searching for its power source. Team Natsu then readies to confront him: having boarded the airship through the use of Gray's ice stairs, Natsu Dragneel delivers the first blow, sending a column of fire at Hades while crying out for him to taste Fairy Tail's power. Hades easily blocks the attack, casually asking about that power. However, from the clearing fire, Erza Scarlet and Gray Fullbuster appear, taking Hades by surprise, and assault him in melee with, respectively, Black Wing Armor's Moon Flash and Ice-Make: Cold Excalibur. Hades is not given time to recover, as Lucy Heartfilia summons Taurus, who strikes at Hades with his axe. Wendy Marvell empowers her teammates' attacks with her Magic, with Gray and Erza proceeding to attack Hades again. He dodges and, berating their relentlessness, grabs Erza with his chain and throws her against Gray, sending them both crashing. However, he's rapidly attacked again by Natsu's Fire Dragon's Wing Attack. He grabs Natsu's head with his chain in retaliation, and is on the verge of smashing him away, but Erza cuts the chain clean. Natsu, with the help of Gray's Ice-Make: Hammer, is sent flying at Hades again. In the meantime, Wendy uses her Sky Dragon's Roar and Lucy summons Scorpio and has him use his Sand Buster. The two attacks merge around Natsu through Unison Raid, something which greatly surprises Hades. Through the added speed granted by his comrades' attacks, Natsu manages to strike Hades with his Fire Dragon's Sword Horn, sending him crashing against a wall and raising a blanket of smoke. However, Hades' voice is clearly heard: he says that, usually, mistakes get to be labeled as experience; but with a true mistake, there won't be experience to be gained.

He claims the mistake of taking him on as their opponent will leave them with no future, as he appears from the smoke, completely unharmed, with only his cape torn, something which amazes Team Natsu. He asks them whether they're done with their warm-ups, and then cries out the word Katsu, causing Wendy to mysteriously disappear into nothingness, leaving only her clothes behind, something which again surprises and horrifies his opponents.

As Team Natsu is in shock over Wendy's disappearance, her voice is heard from above, as the group and Hades look up in surprise and see that Horologium, who was set to "Automatic Danger Response Mode", has saved her, judging Hades' attack as the most dangerous he had ever seen. He states that this is the one and only time he can save her and disappears, as Wendy descends back down in new clothes and the team thanks him for his help. After commenting on Makarov's kids being interesting and being asked if he knows Makarov himself, Hades reveals that he was the second Guild Master of Fairy Tail, Precht, the one who nominated Makarov for the position of third Guild Master, angering Natsu who believes he is lying. The Dragon Slayer rushes at him, but he's rapidly engulfed by Amaterasu and blown away. Hades then similarly attacks Gray and Wendy, and proceeds to tie Erza and Lucy up together with his chains, subsequently hitting them with an explosion as well. When Natsu tries rushing at him again, he pierces his leg with his Bullet Magic, hampering his charge. He proceeds to attack his other opponents in the same way, laughing out loudly and screaming for them to dance with his Magic. With all of them lying on the ground, he states Fairy Tail's eternal question and mystery, whether Fairies have tails, claiming that the Guild's name probably stems from it. He stomps on Natsu's head, stating that their journey is over, and that, having been entrusted with the first Master Mavis' will, it was a mistake of him to entrust his own will to Makarov, as he changed the Guild.

Natsu angrily asks what's wrong about change, to which Hades calmly replies that too much light shone on Magic. Natsu proceeds to say that the current Guild is their Fairy Tail, and that they live with their lives on the line and not as if they were already dead, like Hades. He then cries out that, if Hades hasn't got the courage to change things, he might as well die. Grimoire Heart's Master calls him an annoying brat and starts torturing him by shooting him in different body parts with his Bullet Magic, as Natsu's allies plead for him to stop. Hades, ignoring them, tells Natsu that, if he has to hate someone, he should be hating Makarov, whose fault forces Natsu to suffer and die. Natsu recognizes Hades as Makarov's enemy, as Hades readies to finish him off with a powerful bullet. Before he can do so, however, a powerful thunder breaks through Grimoire Heart's ship, striking Hades' arm and preventing him from killing Natsu. From it emerges Laxus Dreyar, asking a relieved and surprised Natsu if Hades really is Makarov's enemy. Hades is surprised at Laxus' appearance, mistaking him for a younger Makarov, but is rapidly headbutted by an angry Laxus.

Hades, surprised to see Laxus, asks if he's related to Makarov. Laxus berates Hades for his disrespect towards Mavis, menacingly saying that they should be making a grave for Hades too in order to pay their respects, and Hades simply states his surprise that Makarov still has such relatives, before they stare one another down. Laxus quickly delivers a kick to Hades head, followed by a first punch, and then he smashes him in the ground with a second punch. The third misses, with Hades jumping high to evade and then barely avoiding Laxus' Lightning Dragon's Roar. Hades fires his chain at him, but Laxus dodges, and avoids an incoming, large globe Hades drags back with the chain as well. Hades quickly hits Laxus with his a ranged spell and manages to surround him with an Amaterasu attack, which explodes, blowing several meters away the injured Team Natsu. However, Laxus rapidly emerges from it in his lightning form, reaches Hades' back and kicks him. However, he then starts to feel Amaterasu's after effects, claiming that his opponent is really monstrous and that he still has a ways to go in order to be strong as Hades, which prompts Grimoire Heart's Master to ask if he has finally learned his place, before attacking him with a powerful blast. After a brief exchange of words with his injured, former guild mates, and having punched the ground with his lightning-enhanced fist, something which surprises Natsu, Laxus receives Hades' blow, which partially destroys the ship, and is sent flying several meters away, injured. However, as it turns out, he's revealed to have transferred his remaining Magic Power to Natsu, who's now electrified, much to Hades' dismay. Spurred by Laxus, Natsu claims he'll give back to Hades all of the pain he caused to Fairy Tail 100 fold.

With Laxus's lightning surging inside him, Natsu begins to attack Hades with a combination of Fire Dragon Slayer Magic and Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic. Hades appears shocked and overwhelmed by Natsu's new found power. In retaliation, he attempts to use his Chain Magic to bind Natsu's hands. However, to his surprise, Natsu breaks free easily and continues assaulting him, willing to make him pay for what he did to his guild. After Natsu's Lightning Fire Dragon's Roar strikes him directly, Hades seems to be defeated. However, much to his opponents' dismay, he rapidly recovers from Natsu's attacks, unaffected. He comments that it has been decades since he received so much damage, and once again praises Makarov for raising such incredible "brats". Hades then requips his undamaged cape, stating that it would be too simple to finish the fight in his current state, and that he wants to thank his opponents for the entertainment. Thus, he unleashes Demon's Eye by removing his eyepatch, stating that he'll show Fairy Tail the "Abyss of Magic", which he says is far beyond their wildest imaginations. With his powers continuously increasing, Hades prepares to attack the group while they are too weakened to fight back, Natsu in particular now lacking the strength to move.

Hades then creates Demons from the rubble and Team Natsu is shaking in fear from the overwhelming power they are emanating. Natsu remembers Gildarts' lesson about how fear is not evil, but it aids in showing your own weakness. Natsu is determined to win and persuade his friend not to give up and charges straight forward to Hades as his friends give him a boost causing an explosion. Natsu manages to launch a barrage of attacks on Hades. Hades now takes damage, thanks to Happy and Carla managing to destroy Hades' source of Magic, which turned out to be his actual heart. Natsu continues to attack, but Hades is unwilling to admit defeat and retaliates. He punches Natsu, but Laxus intervenes and punches Hades and tells Fairy Tail to finish him off. Team Natsu all launch attacks and Natsu finally ends the fight with Crimson Lotus: Exploding Lightning Blade.

After Hades is defeated by Fairy Tail, Makarov walks up to his defeated body. Hades asks Makarov to kill him, but Makarov refuses, and tells him to get off the island. He spares Hades in honor of the great many things he learned from him. However, Hades considers this foolish, remarking that he will destroy their Guild the next time for sure if he is allowed to live. Makarov admits he lost to his old Guild Master, but his children managed to do what he could not in defeating him. Hades blames his defeat on the destruction of his magical heart, and Fairy Tail having its stolen Magic Power given back, saying he would not have lost otherwise. Makarov then asks Hades why he fell into the darkness. Hades explains he went on a journey to find out the truth about Magic, and found that it's true nature was "darkness". Hades felt the world he was living in was a lie, and desired to live in the Ultimate Magic World, and obtain the "Magic of One". Makarov tells Hades it never mattered if Magic did come from darkness because either way, Magic is alive, and can be felt as anything, whether it be lightness, darkness, red, or blue. Makarov concludes his speech by saying he learned all this from Hades himself, and then walks away.

Nursing his wounds, Hades later returns to his ship, with only Rustyrose and Kain Hikaru left, who mourn over how they were close to achieving their objective. Having evaded capture by Grimoire Heart, an immensely angry Zeref then arrives on Hades' ship and confronts them for what they have done. Astonished at the sight of the wizard they searched for all this time, Kain and Rustyrose bow before him, while Hades gleefully calls for them to fetch the keys needed to awaken Zeref. However, Kain and Rustyrose are too paralyzed with fear to move. Regardless, Zeref explains the keys are unnecessary because he was never "asleep" to begin with. He berates Grimoire Heart for how many lives they took in their misguided search to obtain the keys, since the alleged "keys" needed to "awaken" him are one of many myths born from sects of cultists who obsessively worshiped him. Hades is surprised to hear this, as from what he observed with his Demon's Eye, the Black Wizard was unable to beat any of his servants, and led him to think the keys were needed to restore his powers. However, Zeref tells Hades this perceived weakness was only the extent of strength he was capable of back then, because he had lost the ability to control his powers freely.

Zeref continues, telling Grimoire Heart how he saw countless wars of man and countless deaths 400 years ago, but after a certain day he came to value human life. Since then, he has remained inactive and sidelined himself, as he bears a deadly curse. This curse becomes uncontrollable so long as he values human life, and he does not wish to take lives. After Zeref admits his predicament has saddened him, Hades figures out that Zeref has been fighting for the importance of human life all this time. However, Zeref reveals that when he forgets the value of human life, he has full control of his wicked Magic. Angered by Grimoire Heart's actions, and blaming them for the summoning of Acnologia, he declares the dragon's arrival will mark the end of an era. Zeref prepares to punish Hades, condemning him for his Guild's sins of drawing out Acnologia, and making him forget the value of human life. Although Hades pleads with him to answer more questions he has left to ask, Zeref's fury is unabated. He tells Hades to repent and activates a spell, destroying most of the ship and sending Hades to his death. Rustyrose and Kain are reduced to a state of helpless terror at the sight of Zeref's wrath, watching their master's lifeless husk fall into the seas below as the Black Wizard curses the memory of Hades and wishes for him to suffer in the afterlife.

Tartaros arc
After Hades' death, it is revealed that his body was found by Franmalth of Tartaros, who was searching for Zeref and absorbed his soul. Seven years later, his soul was used by the Demon against Natsu, Lucy and Happy during Fairy Tail's invasion of the Cube. Upon Franmalth's defeat, Hades' soul is released alongside every other soul that had previously been absorbed by the Etherious. However, Hades appears behind the group one last time. Before fading away, he leaves the Fairy Tail Mages with an ominous warning about Tartaros' true goal, indicating it was not Face they were after, and advising them to tell Makarov to "release the light".

Alvarez Empire arc
In the course of the battle for Hargeon, Neinhart's Historia of the Dead creates a manifestation of Hades before Laxus, the former master of Grimoire Heart commenting upon the relation between his opponent and his deceased companion, Yuri. As their confrontation proceeds, Hades keeps Laxus at bay with his Chain Magic, but is soon pushed back and beaten into the ground by the Lightning Dragon Slayer, the phantom ceasing to exist upon Neinhart's defeat.