Episode 289

Mavis and Zeref is the 289th episode of the Fairy Tail anime, and the 12th episode of the 2018 series.
Mavis finally reveals the secrets of her past, including her connection with Fairy Tail, Zeref, and her own sin. The ever-turning gears of fate offer glimpses of hope, but also produce one final, tragic contradiction.
==Summary==
Mavis begins to retell the origin story of Fairy Heart and her past connection to Zeref, as well as her own sin. She reveals how she met with the Black Mage 100 years ago, how she and her comrades, Yuri Dreyar, Warrod Sequen and Precht Gaebolg, managed to free Magnolia from Blue Skull's reign and founded the Fairy Tail Guild, as well as their participation in the Second Trade War.
During a battle in the said war, Mavis continues to use her tactical abilities and keen intellect to lead the troops of her side into overwhelming the enemy. She then sends her Mage Guild, Fairy Tail to join the fray, where they easily overpower their foes, much to the astonishment of Mavis' fellow generals, who rightfully acknowledge her with the epithet of the Fairy Tactician. After an easy win, the Mages are seen celebrating in their guildhall, with their Guild Master still saddened by the weights of war. Finally, the Trade War comes to an end, but only after leaving behind a multitude of casualties and losses, prompting the public eye to blame the Mages for such catastrophic damage, causing the Magic Council to criminalize any sort of future physical conflicts between guilds, thus initiating a brief period of peace in the nation.
Six years later, Mavis is once again reunited with Zeref in the woods, and the two have a warm reunion. After catching up, Mavis informs Zeref of her condition after using an incomplete Law ten years ago, much to his terror. After examining the girl a little, Zeref claims that Mavis has undoubtedly suffered the Contradictory Curse by Ankhseram as well, mortifying the young child and from now one, the more she begins to care for life, the more she will kill those around her. Devastated by the Mage's words, Mavis runs off back to Magnolia, expressing her confidence in valuing her friends' lives, leaving behind a pondering Zeref. 
Back at Fairy Tail, Rita, Yuri's wife, gives birth to her first born in the guild, much to the celebration of everyone there. Mavis then is tasked with naming the boy, and she chooses the name "Makarov", based on a just king she once read about in a fairy tale before. However, during the joyful moment, Mavis and Rita briefly hold hands, just for the latter to instantly pass out. As a commotion starts between the Mages, Mavis remembers Zeref's words, and realizes, much to her deep shock, that she has killed Rita with her curse, causing her to scream in denial and flee from the guild. Faced with the reality that all life forms perish around her, a distraught Mavis chooses to wander aimlessly around the land, unable to interact with people and unable to die, but still leaving a trail of bodies behind her.
A year later, having failed to kill herself from starvation for six months, a miserable Mavis is found yet again by Zeref, who claims to have been searching for her. The Black Mage tells her how he created artificial demons, known as Etherious, to end his life but failed and how he's now building a country in an another continent. As he talks, Zeref expresses clear signs of self-contradiction, describing the building of his empire as disgusting moments after he proclaimed it as an enjoyable task. As he starts to breakdown, depressed by his constant rejection by the world, Mavis quickly hugs him, stating that she, as the only one who truly understands him, accepts him. After voicing some words of hope, the two share a heartful moment, with Zeref flowing with emotions, saying that it was his first time treated nicely, to which Mavis replies that it is not and he must have just forgotten. Eventually, their feelings for each other end with both of them kissing, performing the ultimate contradiction: where the love of two people, cursed with immortality and inability to love, caused one of them to lose his undying life; therefore, allowing Mavis to actually die.
==Characters in Order of Appearance==
==Battles & Events==
*Second Trade War (flashback)
==Magic, Spells, and Abilities used==
===Magic used===
*
**
*
*
*
*
**
===Curses used===
*Bomb Curse
===Spells used===
*
===Abilities used===
*None
==Manga & Anime Differences==
*The following parts occur only in the anime:
**Scenes of Yuri's team of Mages fighting in the Second Trade War.
**Scenes of the members listening to Mavis' story.
**Participants from the war in front of a grave.
**Zeref's image of Mavis killing due to her curse.
**Precht holding baby Makarov before Mavis runs in fear.
**An animal noticing Mavis before being killed by her.
*The soldiers' clothes are changed from knight armors to masked military uniforms.
*The soldier resembling Everlue who dubs Mavis the "Fairy Tactician" is changed to a generic soldier.
*Warrod's attire differs between media.
*The white frills in Mavis' hair wave when she is elated over Makarov's birth.
*Mavis reclaiming Makarov's name from the Fairy Quest book flashback was added.
*Zeref's image of a simulation game isn't shown in the anime.
==Navigation==
Category:Episodes