With all the guild members assembled, the atmosphere turned grim. They were making a plan on how to take down Oracion Seis.
"They're a dark guild," Jellal said, his voice commanding. "They will be hidden, and they will be well-defended. We need to find their headquarters. Hibiki, what does your Archive say?"
"That's the problem, Jellal-san," Hibiki said, his face grim. "They move. Their base isn't fixed. We could spend a month searching this forest."
"So we're just... stuck here?" Gray asked, annoyed.
"No," Cobra, who had been leaning against a wall, pushed himself off. "We're not. I can... hear them."
Every head snapped to him.
"What?" Natsu said.
"I can hear their voices," Cobra said, a dark, excited grin on his face. "They're a long way off. Arguing. Something about... 'art' and 'decay.' They're loud. And they're moving. But... not towards us."
"He's right," Blake said, his eyes closed. His Observation Haki was a far more precise instrument. "I don't hear them, but I can feel them. Six of them. All S-Class. They're moving... east."
"Then what are we waiting for?!" Natsu roared. "Let's go get 'em!"
"It's a trap, Natsu," Blake said, opening his eyes.
"He's right," Jellal agreed. "They're moving openly. They want to be found. They're trying to lure us into a battlefield of their choosing."
"And," Cobra added, his grin widening, "they're arrogant. I can hear their leader, Brian, talking to them. He knows we're here. He's daring us. He's saying, 'Let the light come to us, and we will show them darkness.'"
"So they're expecting us to follow," Erza said. "Then they'll spring their trap."
Blake looked at the assembled mages. Jura. Jellal. Erza. Natsu. Gray. Lyon. And the members of New Dawn. This was, without a doubt, the most powerful alliance of good mages ever assembled.
"Then we don't spring the trap," Blake said, a dangerous, cold smile on his face. "We are the trap."
He took center stage, his presence instantly dominating the courtyard. "They want to fight us on their terms. We'll fight them on ours. We know their abilities, thanks to Jellal. So we'll choose the matchups. We are not a single 'alliance.' We are six independent, S-Class strike teams."
His gaze swept over the group, his mind processing the coming battle.
"Team 1: Gray, Lucy. You're on Scylla, 'The Vector.' Do not attack her directly. She reflects all physical and magical attacks. Gray, your magic is creative. Freeze the ground, the air around her, not at her. Make her footing impossible. Lucy, you're the key. Summon spirits to bind her, not strike her. Loke, Virgo. Hold her in place. Be smart, not strong."
He turned to Erza and Sherry.
"Team 2: Erza, Sherry. You have Guignol, 'The Puppeteer.' He controls people with Aura-Threads. The two of you are our long-range specialists. Do not let him get close. Sherry, your Rock Doll is the perfect distraction. Erza, keep him at a distance. Heaven's Wheel: Blumenblatt. Overwhelm him with a storm of blades. Do not let him get his strings on a single ally."
"Team 3: Jellal, Jura. You two have the most dangerous one: Malak, 'The Sadist.' He reshapes souls on touch. One mistake, and you're not just dead; you're unmade. Do not let him get close. Jura, use your 'Iron Rock Pillars' to control the field. Jellal, 'Meteor.' Use your speed and Heavenly Body magic. Obliterate him from a distance. Do not hold back."
He looked at the two brawlers.
"Team 4: Natsu, Hoteye. You're on Phidias, 'The Artist.' The bomber. Natsu, this one is all you. You are his natural counter. Your job is to eat. Eat his explosions, eat his fire, eat his art. Hoteye, you're the trap. Your 'Liquid Ground' magic can swallow his bombs, smother his clay creations. Work together. Natsu, you're the shield. Hoteye, you're the cage."
"Team 5: Cobra, Racer. You get Mortis, 'The Nihilist.' His magic is decay. He has a passive aura that rots everything, including magic and life. Racer, your job is simple: do not get hit. Your speed is your only defense. Cobra, your Poison Dragon Slayer magic is the only thing I can think of that can fight rot with rot. It's a battle of attrition. Be fast, be smart, and listen for his weakness."
Finally, he looked at the remaining mages.
"Team 6: Ichiya, Hibiki, Ren, Eve, and Lyon. You are the reserves. Your job is to protect this villa and our exit. If any of them get past us, you hold the line. Understood?"
The Trimens, Ichiya, and Lyon all nodded grimly.
"That's five targets..." Erza said, her mind racing. "You've assigned everyone... except yourself. And Wendy."
Blake's hand fell to the hilt of Tansa Zangetsu. "That leaves the leader. Brian. He's mine."
He turned to the terrified Sky Dragon Slayer. "Wendy, Carla. You're with me. You're the most important person here. Your healing magic will be the only thing that wins this war. My only job is to protect you until you're needed. Stay by my side, no matter what."
Wendy, who had been comforted by Blake earlier, looked at the S-Class mage who had just taken command of the team. She nodded, her fear replaced by a new, steely resolve. "R-Right!"
"So that's the plan," Blake finished. "We don't follow them. We intercept them. We'll use Hibiki's Archive to project a map, and Cobra's hearing to pinpoint their path. We'll set six ambushes. We hit them all, at the same time, on our terms."
As he finished forming the teams and was about to tell them to move out, the ground groaned.
It was not a tremor. It was a sick, wet, rotting sound. A black, necrotic mist—Mortis's Respira—seeped up from the earth. But it wasn't aimed at them. It was aimed at the land itself.
"He's here!" Cobra yelled.
The terrain of the building and everything in a 5km radius began to change. The ancient stone of the villa's foundation turned to dust. The lush forest floor decayed, the trees withering and collapsing as the ground beneath them gave way, collapsing into a bottomless chasm.
"Everyone, JUMP!" Erza roared.
The world fell apart. A massive, labyrinthine canyon of dead, gray rock erupted, the very earth separating the allied mages.
Blake, Wendy, and Carla were on the main platform as the ground disintegrated. Blake didn't hesitate. He grabbed Wendy and Carla, tucking them against his chest. "Geppo!"
He rocketed into the air as the ground beneath them vanished. He landed on the highest, most central plateau of the new, dead canyon.
They were separated as a group.
He looked down. Brian's plan was brilliant. He hadn't just attacked; he had created the battlefield, splitting them apart.
But Blake had been faster.
On a high, narrow spire to the east, Jura and Jellal landed, looking across a chasm at a small, childlike figure: Malak, who was giggling and "reshaping" a rock into a screaming face.
In a deep, sulfurous pit to the north, Natsu and Hoteye found themselves surrounded by dozens of small, clay birds. On the ridge above, Phidias was already laughing, "Art... is an EXPLOSION!"
In a field of petrified, dead trees, Erza and Sherry stood back-to-back. From the shadows, Guignol, 'The Puppeteer,' emerged, his fingers twitching, invisible threads already testing the air.
On a flat, glass-like plain, Gray and Lucy found their path blocked by Scylla, who was examining her nails, looking utterly bored.
In a narrow, winding canyon, Cobra and Racer stood, a cloud of black, rotting mist—Mortis—slowly advancing toward them.
The reserve team—Lyon, and the Trimens—had been separated back to the safe edge of the collapse.
The others were separated with their chosen team members. Blake's pre-emptive assignments had worked. The trap had been set, and Brian had just unwittingly walked his lieutenants into Blake's.
"So," a new voice said. "The 'Black Blade.' You sensed my men. You're... more than the reports said."
Blake, still holding Wendy and Carla, turned.
Standing on the same plateau was the robed, staff-wielding leader. Brian. He looked past Blake, his one visible eye gleaming, at the terrified girl in Blake's arms.
"You've saved me the trouble of finding her," Brian hissed. "Hand over the girl, Blake. She is the key to Nirvana, and she is the only reason we are here. We are not here to kill you. Give her to us, and we will let the rest of you live."
Blake gently set Wendy down behind him. He drew Tensa Zangetsu, its black blade seeming to drink the dim light.
"I gave my word that I will protect her," Blake's voice rumbled, his Haki flaring to life. "And I never Break my word."
The battle for Nirvana had begun.