Episode 96

That Which Extinguishes Life is the 96th episode of the Fairy Tail anime. It first aired on September 10, 2011.

A boy lies in a forest looking at the sky, while in Edolas, Mystogan, who is now the king, is giving the former king and the commanders of the Royal Army their punishment. In the Earth Land Fairy Tail, a party is thrown to welcome back Lisanna, while in the forest, the boy extinguishes all the living things around him.

Summary
In a forest, a mysterious boy looks up at the sky, wondering why it looks so lonely.

Meanwhile, in Edolas, the citizens work hard to rebuild their broken city. Edolas Fairy Tail tries to figure out a way to "move" their guild without Magic and end up trying to pull it themselves on a huge cart. Mystogan, as the new king, delivers punishment upon Faust and the former Royal Army Captains. The former king is banished, while Erza Knightwalker, Hughes, Sugarboy and Byro are ordered to help reconstruct the city with the townspeople to atone for their sins, while Coco is pardoned. Faust accepts his punishment and leaves shortly afterwards, but not without showing his remorse and recalling the moments he called out to Natsu Dragneel before he left Edolas. Around the same time, Edolas Fairy Tail arrives in the Royal City and opens up for business, with offering help to the citizens as their new job.

In Earth Land, Lisanna is welcomed back warmly in the guild by all the Fairy Tail Mages. In honor of her return, the Mages throw a party where even the Thunder God Tribe participates. The guild causes its usual ruckus, leaving quite an impression on the newly-joined Pantherlily. An argument about who's the strongest "cat" between Gajeel Redfox and Natsu leads to a big brawl including most of the males of the guild. They spend the day partying and causing trouble as usual, when Makarov tells Gildarts Clive that there's something they have to talk about.

Elsewhere, the newly-reformed Magic Council discusses all the mess that Fairy Tail has caused. Most of the council is against the existence of the guild, especially the new chairman, Gran Doma, who has decided to force the guild into breaking up. He calls Lahar and a mysterious Doranbolt to the meeting as the council cheers that everything is for the Holy Order of the Magic Council.

In the forest where the mysterious boy rests, ferocious wolves gather to ambush him. He holds out his hands, saying that he is not their enemy. As the wolves charge at him, they suddenly drop from what seems like the boy's power. All the plants and other animals around him die as well, just like the wolves. The lonely boy mutters Natsu's name, stating that he hopes to meet him soon.

Battles & Events

 * None

Magic used

 * Beast Soul (ビーストソウル Bīsuto Sōru)
 * Beast Soul (ビーストソウル Bīsuto Sōru)

Abilities used

 * Hand-to-Hand Combat

Manga & Anime Differences

 * The color and design of Zeref's clothes differs between the anime and the manga.
 * The anime added many scenes from Edolas, including: Edolas Fairy Tail moving their Guild Hall from its previous location to the Royal City; Mystogan sentencing Faust and the Royal Guard for their acts against the Kingdom; the citizens of the Royal City beginning their repairs; Faust being exiled from the Royal City, and the newly relocated Edolas Fairy Tail beginning to take on their first jobs.
 * The anime added a clip of Lisanna entering the guild and everyone being shocked at her appearance.
 * There was an added clip in the anime of Makarov welcoming Lisanna back.
 * In the anime, Zeref is seen scaring off a deer that was drinking from the stream he was sitting near.
 * Whilst Gray and Cana are speaking in the manga, Gray is leaning against a counter and Cana is sitting on the counter holding a barrel of alcohol. In the anime, Gray is sitting on a table and Cana is sitting at the table with a plate of food and a jug of alcohol.
 * Bisca and Alzack also voice their want to go to Edolas in the anime.
 * Though it is not seen in the manga, Happy is shown asking Gildarts to beat up Natsu, with Gildarts slamming Natsu into the ground with his fist.
 * There was an added scene in the anime of Makarov and Gildarts asking Natsu about their Edolas counterparts.
 * Natsu attacks Freed in the anime.
 * The new Magic Council Headquarters has a completely different appearance between the two media. In the manga, it is a grand building surrounded by water and mountains. In the anime, it is a large green structure atop poles, sitting in the middle of a lake.
 * The place where the Magic Council holds their meeting is entirely different between the manga and the anime. In the manga, the Magic Council sits around a table. In the anime, the main eight members are standing on the hands of giant statues, which are sitting in a large pool of water. The head of the Magic Council stands on a raised island in the middle.
 * The anime added the Magic Council calling for Lahar and Doranbolt.
 * In the manga, only one wolf jumps at Zeref, with Zeref killing it first and then the rest of the pack. In the anime, the entire pack jumps at him at the same time and all drop dead together.