Boom!!!
Under the surging force, a tremendous explosion resounded. The ice shattered.
Kain Hikaru was shot vertically into the bottom of the lake, his eyes nearly bulging from the pressure of the overwhelming force. Damn!
Isn't that the move of the Tartaros demon! Kain Hikaru, now deep in the lake, was certain.
The demon above was definitely from Tartaros, as its move was identical to the one Kyoka used during the siege of Gaal Brons. This was simply unbelievable….
Those demons had indeed escaped. After returning, Azuma mentioned over the phone how this thing had suddenly popped up.
The thought of that immense force made Kain Hikaru's scalp tingle. He pulled out his doll and cast a spell: "Self-Enhancement: Smoke."
In an instant, he transformed into a wisp of elusive, ghostly smoke, sending countless bubbles through the water.
Controlling his smoke form, he condensed it into a blade of smoke that shot upward toward the lake's surface.
On the ice, the sudden sight stunned the Fairy Tail guild members, who eyed the tall, beautiful demon woman with cautious wariness. Fortunately, after having hurled Kain Hikaru into the lake, the tall, beautiful demon woman slowly turned and spoke:
"No need to be on guard. "I am the magical product forged by Lord Gaal. You may call me... Stellium Celestial Serra."
Her words left everyone momentarily speechless. "Magical product?"
The remark sounded utterly bizarre. Moreover, many guild members gulped; her figure was so explosively stunning that no human could naturally develop such a form!
Exasperated murmurs rose: "How can this be allowed? What did Gaal do to create her? He must have crafted her himself!"
Mirajane's lips twitched as she looked toward Cana and whispered, "Is this considered some kind of weird thing…?"
Cana replied uncertainly, "I suppose… it counts, right?"
Stellium Celestial Serra ignored the murmurs and raised her eyes toward the converging fleet. With a graceful flip of her hands, two bone swords—each over half a meter long—sprung from her wrists and fell into her grasp.
"Watch the lake bottom," she declared, before shifting her gaze to the approaching fleet.
Clack, clack, clack—the sounds of metal clashing with ice echoed underfoot, growing ever faster.
Stellium Celestial Serra transformed into a streak of black light, her bone swords slicing through the fleet.
Some of the sliding boats split into separate pieces—front from back, top from bottom—and countless unsteady Dark Mages were flung aside. Many of the stronger ones leaped into the air, attempting to seize Stellium Celestial Serra.
"Chain Magic!"
"Heavy Rain!"
"3D text 'Boom'!"
"Blazing Hammer!"
"Vine Lockdown!!!"
A select group of powerful Dark Guild masters and elite members of the Grimoire Heart Guild unleashed their magic, bombarding the black streak with relentless attacks. Meanwhile, most others had already landed on the ice and charged toward the Fairy Tail guild members a hundred meters away.
"Flame of Fury!"
"Take Over Magic: Machamp!"
"Take Over Magic: Pidgey!"
"Smoke Substitute!"
"Purple Rain!"
"Ice-Make: Ice Cannon!"
"Ice Formation: White Tiger!"
"Thunder Dragon's... Roar!!"
For a moment, the entire ice field became a chaotic clash of magic. In one-on-one duels one might calmly ponder the fight, but in the midst of so many combatants, reason held on only briefly before descending into chaos. Caught off guard, both sides plunged into utter confusion.
Ultear did her best to keep a low profile amid the fray, intermittently releasing spells to shield the Fairy Tail youngsters from the onslaught.
Down below in the lake, Kain Hikaru—now transformed into a blade of smoke—moved stealthily beneath the water. Through the thick ice overhead, he could faintly sense magical power and scanned for a target:
"Hmm? Ultear?"
Up in the sky, Gildarts was already locked in battle with Hades. Gildarts's ferocious surge of magic clashed with Hades's immense power; each collision obliterated nearby clouds. Gigantic voids began to appear in the sky.
Thanks to Gildarts's explosive counter, the battleground remained high above—two thousand meters from the Fairy Tail Guild Headquarters.
Hades floated in the air, surrounded by tangible dark magic, while the airship concealing the Second Magic Origin stayed hidden. Wielding his magic staff, Hades flung several chains forged from dark magic toward Gildarts:
"You alone are not enough. Gildarts."
Gildarts, eyeing the incoming dark chains, clenched his right fist and struck forward with force.
Boom!
The dark chains shattered piece by piece, cracking violently until they halted around Hades. Gildarts sneered, "Trying to wear out that set again?"
With a flick of his hand, two boxes filled with Recovery Potions appeared in midair. They were instantly withdrawn by Gildarts, leaving only one bottle which he snatched, unscrewed the cap, and downed in one gulp.
His aura of magic power steadily replenished as he muttered, "Do you think I can hold out until reinforcements of mages arrive from various regions?"
The four boxes of Recovery Potions provided by Gaal were far superior to any available on the market. Moreover, after charging the Magic Crystals a few days ago, Gildarts hadn't even used them all—two boxes still remained.
He had intended to sell them later and use the money to buy something for Cana, but now they had to be used against Hades.
The thought filled Gildarts with resentment, and a pale surge of magic erupted on his body like raging flames:
"Crush!"
The violent collision of surging magic and dark magic triggered an explosion, its shockwaves rapidly clearing the surrounding clouds. In the sky, a colossal void emerged, its center split—half bathed in light, half cloaked in darkness.
Elsewhere on the battlefield at the edge of the ice lake, Zancrow glowered in fury. He relentlessly attacked Gaal while strategizing a solution.
Originally, he had unexpectedly solved the curse's drawbacks and could have sought vengeance on Gaal Brons, but what was with these bizarre sealing cards?
If his endless flame could be so casually contained, he would never have become one of the Seven Kin of Purgatory.
Zancrow tried to decipher the intricate formations inscribed on the cards, but the cryptic patterns made his head spin.
They weren't written in any Continent language; no matter how hard he tried to commit them to memory, they slipped away—reminding him vaguely of the ancient scripts Guild Master Hades had once studied.
But where had that guy come into contact with such things?
Zancrow, not one for deep thought, felt his head pounding as he faced an enemy like Gaal. Watching his attacks being entirely absorbed by Gaal's cards, he grew increasingly restless. And on Gaal's side, his cards were nearly spent. Originally developed using an ancient formation that sealed the Demon God of Plague, these cards had been produced in only limited numbers due to recent events. Yet Zancrow's magical power seemed inexhaustible, and Gaal wasn't exclusively relying on sealing techniques.
After a moment's thought, Gaal reserved ten sealing cards as a backup. Then he halted, a stack of cards gathered in his hand.
Placing them in his palm, he pressed his hands together and crushed them, causing the cards to scatter: "Illusion Duplicate."
One duplicate emerged from behind Gaal, each holding a card. It became impossible to distinguish which cards were genuine and which were not. Scores of duplicates—far exceeding the original number of cards—spread across the sky.
In a swift turn, Gaal's illusion duplicates charged toward the battlefield at the Guild Headquarters.