Within a special, sealed environment inside the Magic Council HQ, a massive lacrima was in the center, and two statues flanked its side; above the massive lacrima on the ceiling was a much smaller but still immense lacrima, while a magical magnifying lens floated between the two. Surrounding the gigantic lacrima were several magic circles, which rapidly absorbed etherno within the air and funneled it into the lacrima, slowly charging the device that would fire the Etherion.
"I-I'm beginning to have second thoughts about this." Org, with a grim face, sat within a hovering chair along with his fellow magic council members, overseeing Etherion's charging sequence. Michello, the only other woman on the Magic Council besides Michello, glanced at Org, seemingly sensing the gnawing uncertainty within his eyes.
"Stopping now would be disastrous. We must take responsibility when it comes to maintaining stability and order within the magic world." Michello's words did little to ease Org's inner turmoil as he hesitantly nodded. "Under no circumstance can we allow the Dark Wizard to resurrect… We ABSOLUTELY can't allow such a thing to happen." Her grim, firm voice instilled Org with a sense of responsibility as he nodded, though his expression remained the same.
A little further down, Siegrain could be seen floating beside Ultear, his partner in crime. "You know, if the Etherion fails, there is a good chance we'll die." Faintly smirking, Siegrain glanced at Ultear, who merely raised an eyebrow while silently resting her chin atop her hand. "It is a risk I'm more than willing to take." However, unknown to either of them, Yajima, the only person who refused the use of Etherion, happened to secretly overhear them, which left him confused.
"25 more minutes!" Gran Doma's voice resounded across the massive sealed room, causing everyone to shift their focus to the faintly glowing lacrima, while Ulter and Siegrain ever-so-faintly smiled.
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With Juvia, Cana, and Lucy dealing with Taka, the rockstar mage, and Fukuro having already been dealt with by Gray, Ikaruga, the third and final surviving member of the Trinity Raven massacre, was standing a few meters away from a kneeling, exhausted, and bleeding Sho, who was protectively holding a trapped Erza within the chest pocket of his vest, and was kneeling.
"You want to kill our Employer? Pathetic, just die already." Disdain laced her every word as she looked down upon Sho, who gritted his teeth before desperately throwing several cards her way, while he lunged at her. "Shut up!" However, his desperate attack was met with a mocking scoff as Ikaruga grabbed her hilt; with the speed and precision of a master swordsman, she cleanly sliced all of his cards before slashing her blade upwards, delivering a final, sword wave at him.
When the magical attack reached him, Sho's life flashed before his eyes as the attack sliced right through his vest, only for a flash of light to erupt as he flung back into the wall, his unconscious body slumped against it, yet, standing before him was Erza, her sword faintly smoking as she glared at Ikaruga, having protected Sho.
"Ho, so the sacrifice finally shows herself?" Faintly purring, Ikaruga curiously observed Erza, who lowered her sword. "That is a unique sword." Lowering her gaze, Erza intensely eyed the sword, causing Ikaruga to raise her brows in slight surprise. "You noticed from a single clash? Seems you're a master yourself. Quite rare to come across a fellow swordsman."
Nodding, Erza swiped her sword through the air, creating a faint gust, subtly displaying her might. "I've no business with you. Move." "I hope you didn't think I was fighting that weak mage seriously just now. Fufu, what you saw was merely an appetizer." Smirking at Erza, she unsheathed her sword just a few inches before closing it, causing the Heart Kreuz Armor to be diced into several pieces, shocking her.
Although shocked, Erza was the youngest S-class mage for a reason, as she quickly regained her composure, her determination not wavering even the slightest as she narrowed her eyes at Ikaruga. "Destroying my armor won't be enough to stop me." Enveloped within light, her figure briefly vanishes before she returns to sight, only this time, Erza was donned in her famous Heaven's Wheel armor.
As a hundred swords circled her above, she raised her sword, pointing them at Ikaruga, who performed the same action as before, causing the swords to suddenly break, followed by Erza's armor, only this time, she was hit with sharp pain as a scream tore through her lips. "Arghh!" Following up her attack, Ikaruga slashed horizontally, launching a flaming sword wave at Erza, who grits her teeth, fighting through the pain and swiftly dons her Flame Empress armor, blocking the attack.
"That is quick thinking, but that's not going to be enough." Ikaruga faintly smiles as she observes the armor, only to destroy it herself, prompting Erza to scream out in pain once again. "Let's stop playing. Bring out your strongest armor." Hearing such provocative words, Erza silently eyed her as she did just that. "No one has ever lived when I don this armor." Her voice, more of a statement than a brag, Erza was illuminated in a light as she equipped her purgatory armor, one of her strongest armors.
"Oh, just from looking at it, I can tell it's dangerous… Come." Brandishing her blade, Ikaruga tossed her sheath into the distance as she eyed Erza, who wielded her massive spiked club with an almost feral expression. In an instant, the two lunged at each other, Ikaruga with the speed and grace of a master swordsman and Erza with the power of an unstoppable object. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't Cooper.
When they clashed, two seamlessly passed each other, standing several meters apart, only for Erza's armor and weapon to crumble as she dropped to her knees while suppressing her screams to mere grunts from her aching body. "You're ability to requip is amazing, Erza, but no armor in this world will protect you from my sword. I advise you to just surrender." Slowly turning around, Ikaruga glanced at the kneeling Erza, who clenched her broken armor before spitting on the ground. "Surrender? I'm not such a coward."
Once again, Erza's figure was illuminated by light, but this time, she wore only a hakama and bandages around her chest; this outfit was possibly the furthest thing from armor, causing Ikaruga to frown. "Are you looking down on me, or perhaps is that 'armor' somehow even stronger than the previous one?" Erza softly shook her head as she faced Ikaruga.
"When I think back on it, my armor, it didn't do much other than block the pain and love from others… I think I should change that." With a regretful expression, Erza clenches his sword and raises it as she stares down Ikaruga, her eyes more determined than ever. "I'll forgo defense and focus all of myself on cutting you down."
Nodding, Ikaruga and Erza stood silently, the two swordmasters staring each other down, only for their figures to faintly flicker as they swiftly lunged at each other, only stopping a few meters apart. Propping herself up with her sword, Erza was clutching a gash across her shoulder, and for Ikaruga, she was standing perfectly fine, only for a deep, blood gash to appear diagonally across her entire torso, causing her to collapse.
"Hehe, i-it's the first time I've lost since the destruction of my guild." Muttering to herself, Erza walked towards her, standing beside her as she gazed down at the defeated dark mage. "I-It doesn't matter what you do; both Jellal and you are destined for defeat. Etherion will fire in less than fifteen minutes… Leave while you still have the chance." "I appreciate the warning, but not until I finally finish something I should've done long ago."
Ignoring Ikaruga, Erza approached Sho, who had awakened halfway through the battle and had just been silently watching. "E-Erza… I-I'm sorry. I wanted to protect you, j-just like what you did for us." Lowering his head in shame, Sho was unable to meet Erza's gaze, causing her expression to soften as she dropped to one knee while placing a hand atop his head.
"It's alright, Sho." Lifting his head, Sho glanced at Erza, witnessing her soft gaze and faint smile, causing him to lightly blush. "Listen, Etherion will fire soon. I need you to gather everyone and get them off the island, okay?" "Y-Yeah. I can do that, but what about you?" Grunting, Sho slowly stood up, leaning against the wall for support while glancing at Erza's back.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Flashing Sho a confident smile, he hesitantly nodded before following her orders, causing her to take a deep breath as her gaze hardened while she took the final few slight stairs, heading to the precipice of the tower.
And, while this was all occurring, the strongest mage of Fairy Tail, Cooper, was currently at the base of the tower, lost amidst the confusing labyrinth of hallways. "What the fuck, man!? What dumbabass didn't label the hallways!? I can't find the fucking stairs!"