Magnolia Town.
Inside the Fairy Tail Guild.
At the bar, Cana is being watched by Gildarts, who wears a servile expression. Suddenly, he stands up, looks upward, and with one decisive step shatters the ceiling as he bursts out.
In the hall, Ur—who is teaching the children—wears a shocked expression.
"Quick, disperse!" she shouts.
Then she dashes for the back door and leaps into the sky.
Inside Gaal's Magical Cottage.
Sensing an overwhelming presence of dark magic, Gaal's face hardens as he activates his psychic power. The emergency bell of Kardia Cathedral rings frantically, its sound echoing through every street and alley of Magnolia Town.
In an instant, Gaal teleports beneath the floor and sets up the defensive magic circle he had prepared earlier.
Across Magnolia Town, light begins to rise, forming a huge semicircular defensive formation—with even the surrounding forests caught in its embrace—that converges toward the town's center.
In the western forest, the guild's children, who are out searching for Pokemon, look up in surprise.
"What's happening?"
"This bell sounds just like when Gildarts returned last time."
"But isn't Gildarts supposed to be in the guild?"
"Look over there!"
At the edge of the forest, a translucent magical barrier rises visibly, converging toward the town center.
"What on earth is going on?"
"Let's head back to the guild!"
"Move, Sho! Simon!"
While watching Elfman challenge Primeape, Mirajane immediately channels her full reception mode—transforming into the embodiment of the fully received Satan Soul—and rushes forward to grab Elfman.
"Stop fighting!"
"The guild is in trouble!"
She seizes Elfman, freeing him from Primeape's path, then flaps her wings to pivot and grabs Lisanna.
Taking off, she flies toward the guild in town.
Caught off guard by Mirajane's intervention, both Elfman and Lisanna are whisked away before they can react, leaving Primeape standing steadily in place, his gaze fixed intently on the distant sky.
After a brief pause, Primeape charges straight toward the town.
Scenes like these unfold all over Magnolia Town.
Inside the Fairy Tail Guild, high above in the sky, Gildarts soars upward.
Pulsating with magic, pale white energy gathers on his arms as he watches a dark magical energy roar down from above.
Raising his right arm in a fist-closing gesture, Gildarts targets the center of the onrushing energy and shouts with force:
"Crush!!!"
A terrifying collision of magic ensues. A low, ominous humming fills the air as the clashing powers twist together.
Then—Boom!!!
A tremendous impact reverberates. The pale white magic, like a piercing lance, drives into the very center of the dark energy, relentlessly surging upward.
It seems as though a vast net spans beneath the energy roar, and as the pale white Crush Magic advances, the monstrous dark energy splits into several streams—scattering like a meteor shower downward.
Gildarts looks upward gravely as Hades meets his distant gaze.
Below, attack after attack rains down like a meteor shower.
The defensive magic circle takes effect; although not fully closed, most magical assaults are deflected by the myriad magic barriers.
Boom, boom, boom, boom—a string of explosions bursts overhead in Magnolia Town.
In the gap where the defense is still incomplete, Ur's booming voice rings out from in front of the lake at the back of the guild:
"Ice Make: Rose Garden!"
Giant roots of icy roses burst forth from the ground, spreading upward uncontrollably. A colossal, blooming ice rose takes root right at the Fairy Tail Guild, growing diagonally to stand tall in the town's center.
The enormous ice rose temporarily seals off the gap where the defensive barrier hasn't yet closed.
Boom, boom, boom!
Shards of shattered ice crystal rain down continuously.
At the guild headquarters, children who rushed out with Ur catch sight of dark magic creeping diagonally upward in the distance. Gray's eyes light up with excitement:
"Is that the Dark Guild?"
"They actually dare to attack—today, I'm going to show them what I'm capable of."
Beside him, Laxus snorts dismissively.
"Just don't end up crying from the beating."
He then glances into the distance, a confident smile creeping along his lips.
"Of course, I'm the one who'll take care of them."
Cana, looking tense, pulls out a card and exclaims:
"Now isn't the time for arguing! There are too many enemies!"
"Quick, think of something!"
Laxus merely grunts, replying:
"Just take them all out."
At that moment, Erza, now outfitted with gear provided by Gaal, appears at the front door along with Sho, Simon, and others.
Mirajane, carrying one person in her grasp, descends gracefully from the sky and states firmly:
"Attack?"
Her gaze is fixed intently on the ships diving from the distant sky.
The other Fairy Tail mages converge swiftly, and even smoke is forgotten as Macao's mouth falls silent in surprise.
"Hey, hey, hey, this is a bit much."
"Where did all these people come from?"
Wakabaka—his hair spiked as always—laughs mockingly:
"Hahahaha, Macao.
Aren't you scared now?"
"If you are, hide behind my smoke."
Macao shoots a disdainful look at Wakabaka and retorts:
"I think you'd be better off hiding behind my purple flames."
Swish!
Gaal's figure suddenly appears, landing beside Ur.
The magical defensive barrier in the sky has now completely closed.
Ur asks, "What now?"
Everyone turns to look at Gaal.
Gaal replies calmly, "First, freeze the entire lake and keep the battlefield here. Do not let the conflict spread."
The expansive magical barrier that now envelops the town even covers part of the lake behind the guild.
On hearing Gaal's instructions, Ur immediately activates her Ice Make Magic.
Solid ice rapidly extends outward from the distance.
Gaal raises both hands.
A huge horizontal gap appears in the magical barrier over the lake, and Ur's magic flows out through it.
In mere moments, the entire surface of the lake is frozen solid.
Yet, the gap in Gaal's defensive barrier remains open, directly facing the descending airship of the Dark Guild.
Aboard the plunging Dark Guild airship, excited mages shout:
"Charge, charge, charge!"
"Kill them all! Hahahaha! Those fools at Fairy Tail—the gap has been frozen over!"
"Then we don't need to breach from other directions; everyone, converge and attack there!"
"Watch out for traps!"
"Hahahaha, what traps? Haven't you seen all those kids?!"
"Fairy Tail is finished!"
"If we don't slaughter them now, when will we?"
High above, the battle between Gildarts and Hades rages on.
With overwhelming magic, Gildarts relentlessly surges toward Hades, yet Hades maneuvers through the air—controlling ships with dark chain magic as he adjusts their angles.
Gliding nearly parallel to the ground on the icy surface, the ships dive toward the Fairy Tail Guild.
Ur's eyes flash coldly as she watches the incoming vessels:
"Ice Make: Thorn Garden!"
From the previously smooth ice, countless thick, icy thorn vines burst forth suddenly, writhing like poisonous serpents as they lash out at the sliding ships.
Crack! Crack!
The sharp tips of the hardened icy thorns clash against wooden hulls; some ships are immediately pierced and torn apart.
At that moment, from the front of the Dark Guild comes Kain Hikaru's booming shout:
"Self-Enhancement: Heat!!!" (T/L: New move ?)
An intense surge of high temperature washes over the battlefield in an instant.
---
Hey everyone!
There will be quite a few techniques introduced in the upcoming chapters. If I get any of them wrong or mix something up, feel free to let me know, I'll fix it quickly!