Chapter 424: How Is This Even Possible?!
"Hmph!" Hughes scoffed, clearly displeased. Retreating was already annoying enough; being mocked by the enemy made it infuriating.
"Divine Judgment!"
Noah raised his right hand. A golden magic circle instantly flared in his palm, and a massive, blinding beam of magic power erupted, rocketing straight toward Hughes.
"What the hell is this?! Do Mages in Earth Land just waste magic power like this?!" Hughes shrieked in terror, desperately diving out of the way.
Even though he managed to dodge, the beam passed close enough for him to feel the terrifyingly dense, raw magic power radiating from it. It was suffocating.
BOOM!
The beam obliterated a row of massive stalagmites as if they were made of paper before slamming into the cavern wall, resulting in an earth-shattering explosion.
The shockwave blasted through the cavern. The gale-force wind flattened Hughes's clothes against his body and nearly threw him face-first onto the ground. Shrapnel and pulverized rock rained down everywhere, forcing the Royal Army soldiers and the Fairy Tail members alike to scramble for cover.
"RUN!" Sugarboy yelled at Hughes, realizing they were completely outmatched.
Hughes didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled to his feet and bolted toward the exit tunnel as fast as his legs could carry him.
"You specifically told me to hold back so we wouldn't cause a cave-in, and then you pull a stunt like that..." Laxus stared at Noah, completely deadpan.
"Haha! My bad, my bad! Got a little carried away!" Noah laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. He quickly pointed at the fleeing Captains. "Never mind that! They're getting away! After them!"
Laxus rolled his eyes again. If Noah had actually wanted to kill them, those three wouldn't have stood a chance. This was part of the plan.
Earlier, when the vanguard was ambushed and Erza (Edolas) revealed herself, Noah's team had quickly formulated a strategy via Telepathy. They decided to wipe out the grunts but intentionally let the Captains escape. The Captains would inevitably retreat to their stronghold—the Royal Castle—which was undoubtedly swarming with high-ranking officials and nobles involved in the Anima plot. By following them, they could strike at the heart of the enemy operation and neutralize the core threat in one fell swoop.
As for resolving the Anima crisis itself, Mystogan already had a plan in motion, and Noah's Thought Projection was currently assisting him with the preparations.
Seeing Hughes and Sugarboy flee, Natsu, Erza, and the rest of the vanguard immediately gave chase.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Natsu rapidly closed the distance, his flaming fist aiming squarely at Hughes's back.
Hughes spun around, frantically waving his conductor's baton. He drew several rapid circles in the air, manipulating the surrounding rubble to fly directly at Natsu while continuing his retreat.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Natsu didn't even slow down, his fists effortlessly shattering the incoming boulders. He stomped hard on the ground, igniting his feet to propel himself forward like a rocket.
"He can shoot fire from his feet too?!" Hughes gasped. By the time he processed the move, it was too late to dodge. Natsu slammed into him, sending him tumbling across the rocky floor.
However, Natsu's momentum was halted as Hughes desperately launched another barrage of heavy rocks to force him back.
"So this is Earth Land magic..." Hughes grunted, quickly scrambling to his feet and wiping blood from his lip. "It's true... they really don't need tools."
"Mmm~" Sugarboy drew his rapier and lightly tapped the tip against the ground.
Instantly, the solid rock floor beneath them softened into a viscous, quicksand-like substance. Gray and Lucy, who had just stepped into the area, found their feet sinking rapidly. They tried to pull free, but the softened ground clung to them stubbornly.
Sorano, running just behind them, instantly sprouted her white Angel wings and soared over the trap.
"Mighty Angel!"
Sorano summoned a massive, muscular angelic construct that swung a devastating punch straight down at Sugarboy.
However, mid-swing, the Angel's massive fist suddenly jerked off-course, twisting around to aim directly at Sorano instead!
"Hehe! This is mine now," Hughes gloated from the sidelines, waving his baton.
"Hmph!" Sorano scoffed dismissively. She casually waved her right hand, instantly dismissing the summon and causing the Angel to vanish before the punch could connect. She then barrel-rolled in mid-air, dodging a flurry of stalactites Hughes launched at her.
"Everything softens! Rosa Espada!" Sugarboy continued his retreat, repeatedly tapping his rapier against the ground to turn the floor behind him into a quagmire, severely hindering Natsu, Gray, and Lucy's pursuit.
Hughes ran alongside him, continuously waving his baton to hurl rocks and debris at the airborne Sorano and the struggling Mages on the ground, providing cover fire.
CLANG!
Meanwhile, Earth Land Erza had caught up to her counterpart. The two clashed violently, longsword meeting spear with a deafening ring. The impact generated a fierce shockwave of magic power that blasted outward in all directions.
They remained locked in a stalemate for a tense moment before simultaneously leaping back to create distance.
"To think I'd be hindered by myself..." Erza (Edolas) wiped a thin line of blood from her cheek, a shallow cut caused by the sheer force of Erza's sword wind.
"It truly is a bizarre feeling," Earth Land Erza admitted, her sword raised defensively. Facing an opponent with her exact face and voice was profoundly unsettling.
"I am Erza Knightwalker, Captain of the 2nd Magic Warfare Unit of the Edolas Royal Army," Erza (Edolas) formally introduced herself, using the blood from her cheek to draw two distinct, feral lines under her eyes.
"I am Erza Belserion, Mage of Fairy Tail," Earth Land Erza replied, meeting her counterpart's formal introduction with her own.
"Let's see just how capable the 'me' of Earth Land truly is!" Erza (Edolas) raised her weapon, the tip pointing toward the ground. The weapon suddenly shifted, its four-pronged claw transforming into a sleek, deadly spearhead.
"Silfarion!"
With the spear's transformation complete, Erza (Edolas) lunged at Erza with blinding, supersonic speed.
Erza's eyes narrowed sharply. She instantly raised her sword, perfectly parrying the incoming thrust.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Erza (Edolas) unleashed a torrential flurry of thrusts, her speed so overwhelming that Earth Land Erza was forced entirely on the defensive, unable to find an opening to counterattack.
"She's incredibly fast! In that case... Flight Armor!"
A brilliant flash of light enveloped Erza, and she instantly Requipped into her sleek, aerodynamic Flight Armor. Empowered by the armor's speed enhancement, she matched her counterpart's velocity effortlessly.
The two became blurs of motion, clashing furiously in mid-air. Erza, previously suppressed, quickly turned the tide and began driving Erza (Edolas) back.
"Her armor transformed... and her speed increased?" Erza (Edolas) muttered in surprise.
Realizing the stalemate was broken and she was losing ground, Erza (Edolas) used the momentum of Erza's latest strike to leap backward, simultaneously shifting her spear's form once again.
"Mel Force!"
Erza (Edolas) thrust the newly transformed spear forward, unleashing a massive, concentrated blast of vacuum pressure directly at Erza.
Reacting instantly, Erza dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the devastating blast.
BOOM!
The vacuum wave obliterated a massive stalagmite behind Erza before slamming into the cavern wall, causing a massive explosion that filled the area with thick dust.
"A Requip? No... is she merely changing the shape of her weapon?" Erza analyzed her opponent's combat style. She noticed that every time the spear exhibited a new ability, its physical form altered. It perfectly aligned with what they had learned about Edolas magic being entirely dependent on tools.
Taking advantage of the dust cloud, Erza (Edolas) leaped high into the air, her spear glowing with intense, volatile energy as she aimed it at Erza's position.
"Explosion!"
BOOM!
The spear struck the ground, triggering an explosion several times more powerful than the vacuum wave. A massive cloud of smoke and debris swallowed the area.
As the dust began to settle, blown away by the residual winds, it revealed Earth Land Erza, completely unharmed, clad in her Flame Empress Armor. She stood firm, her sword effortlessly blocking the explosive strike of her counterpart's spear.
"Her armor's shape changed again... Is it a magic that alters both her weapon and her armor simultaneously...?" Erza (Edolas) deduced aloud, her eyes narrowing.
"It seems the 'me' of Edolas can only change the form of her weapon," Earth Land Erza observed in return.
"My spear's transformations enhance my combat capabilities as well," Erza (Edolas) smirked confidently.
"So the underlying principles are different, but the practical application is similar to my Requip magic," Erza concluded.
"Magic Spear: Ten Commandments! You are about to witness its true power!" Erza (Edolas) declared, her excitement growing as she raised her spear.
"Bring it on!" Erza readied her sword, her focus absolute.
"Sky Dragon/Fire Dragon's... ROAR!"
Suddenly, the combined voices of Natsu and Wendy echoed through the cavern. A massive, swirling vortex of flame and wind tore through the battlefield, aimed squarely at Sugarboy and Hughes. The two Dragon Slayers had perfectly synchronized their breath attacks, merging them into a devastatingly powerful Unison Raid.
Caught off guard by the sheer scale of the attack, Sugarboy desperately tapped his rapier against the ground, softening the stone beneath the incoming vortex in a futile attempt to destabilize the attack and alter its trajectory.
However, the raw power of the Unison Raid was too overwhelming to be easily deflected.
Hughes frantically waved his baton, throwing massive boulders into the path of the roar, hoping to blunt its force. The boulders were instantly incinerated or pulverized, barely slowing the attack down. The roaring vortex slammed into the ground, gouging a massive crater and causing the entire cavern to shudder violently. Stalactites plummeted from the ceiling, raining down like stone missiles.
Sugarboy and Hughes barely managed to dive out of the blast radius, scrambling to their feet covered in soot and debris, coughing violently.
Before they could recover, Sorano, Gray, Lucy, Meredy, and Yukino launched a coordinated barrage of spells, forcing the two Captains to desperately dodge and weave.
"Dark Spark!"
Mirajane hurled a sphere of condensed dark magic at the scrambling Captains. They managed to evade it, but the sphere detonated against the cavern wall, unleashing a concussive blast of dark energy that sent them tumbling backward.
Seeing her comrades completely overwhelmed and on the defensive, Erza (Edolas) lost her enthusiasm for her duel. She realized that because she was occupied by her counterpart, Sugarboy and Hughes were facing the combined might of the remaining Earth Land Mages alone. It was a disastrous mismatch; their defeat was only a matter of time.
Erza (Edolas) blocked another strike from Erza and used the recoil to vault backward, retreating toward her struggling comrades.
"Silfarion!"
She transformed her spear back into its speed form, zipping across the battlefield to intercept a barrage of spells aimed at Sugarboy and Hughes.
"We need to fall back! Don't let them pin you down!" she ordered the two Captains urgently.
Sugarboy didn't hesitate. He dropped to his hands and knees, bracing his armored chest against the uneven, rocky ground. "Get on!" he yelled.
Erza (Edolas) and Hughes immediately leaped onto his broad, armored back. Due to the limited space, Hughes had to switch his baton to his left hand to grab Erza's (Edolas) left hand for balance. Erza (Edolas) held her spear in her right hand, grasping Hughes with her left. Both stood facing backward, maintaining a defensive posture against their pursuers as they rode atop the prone Sugarboy.
"What kind of ridiculous formation is that?" Noah muttered, utterly bewildered by the bizarre sight.
"How are they even moving like that? The ground is covered in debris and completely uneven!" Ultear exclaimed in shock.
Despite the jagged rocks and rubble, Sugarboy, acting as a human bobsled, began sliding forward at breakneck speed. His armor seemingly ignored the friction and obstacles entirely, carrying the three Captains away with startling velocity.
Gray, Lucy, and Meredy were quickly left in the dust. Only Erza, Mirajane, and Sorano, taking to the air, managed to keep pace.
However, the chase soon entered the narrower, more winding sections of the escape tunnel. The cramped space restricted the flyers' maneuverability, forcing them to slow down to avoid crashing into the walls.
Sugarboy, on the other hand, maintained his absurd, frictionless sliding speed without missing a beat, smoothly navigating the twists and turns.
"Ice-Make: Floor!"
Ultear, while equally baffled by the physics of Sugarboy's movement, had her own method of high-speed pursuit. She placed her hands on the ground, instantly freezing the stone path ahead of her into a smooth, slick runway of solid ice that extended rapidly down the tunnel. She stepped onto the ice and began gliding forward with the grace of an Olympic skater, quickly catching up to Erza and the flyers.
Gray, without a word, hopped onto Ultear's ice path, using his own Ice-Make proficiency to slide effortlessly after them.
Natsu, Lucy, and the others who lacked high-speed traversal methods were forced to sprint after them, rapidly falling behind.
"Let's go," Noah said to Laxus. He had held back entirely after his initial beam attack, content to observe the skirmish.
"Mhm. But we need to keep an eye on Wendy and the younger ones. We can't let them get separated," Laxus noted seriously. He turned to the two Exceeds, who were standing quietly nearby. "Happy, Carla. You two keep up as well."
"Of course," Happy agreed immediately.
"Don't dwell on it. This isn't your fault," Noah added gently, turning to Carla, who still looked deeply troubled. "Your information was accurate. The ambush was due to factors outside your control. You did well."