At the window, a figure stood with hands clasped behind her back. In the golden light, the king's scepter shimmered with dazzling radiance.
Outside, the streets were bustling, filled with carts and crowds.
"How goes the situation at the front lines?"
"Your Majesty, the Eternal Church Nation continues to suffer defeat after defeat. The kingdom will soon return to its peak." Lili stepped forward and reported loudly.
"Peak?" Mystogan mulled over the word, shook his head slightly, but chose not to explain further.
"Your Majesty, the Royal Research Institute has mostly absorbed the technology you provided. However, the request you made… for now, it is simply impossible to fulfill." Baillore spoke up right after Lili's report.
Mystogan's thoughts weren't far from Makarov's. Neither wished to let Aslant be dragged entirely into this affair—
Mystogan out of fear of Aslant itself,
Makarov, out of fear of Zeref.
"Is that what my father said as well?" Mystogan asked Baillore, neither agreeing nor denying.
It was a peculiar situation. Zeref had originally suggested uniting the kingdoms by replacing the king, but before any action could be taken, Faust had voluntarily stepped down. Thus, Mystogan, almost inexplicably, became king. At first, he felt lost.
But he soon adapted to his role and responsibilities. After reviewing the archives, he confirmed that Faust's prior policies had no real flaws. So he carried on with the existing trajectory, mobilizing kingdom resources to suppress the rebels—the so-called Eternal Church Nation.
As for Faust, Mystogan hadn't exiled him like in the original Fairy Tail story. Instead, he let Faust choose his own path.
In the end, Faust joined the Research Institute as an honored scholar, and his results were so prolific that they could rival the output of the entire institute.
Because Faust's research overlapped so heavily with others, many privately joked that their projects were always being "scooped" by the former king. But in truth, it was just harmless banter… probably.
"The old king said he was powerless." Baillore shook his head.
"I see. Very well, you're dismissed." Mystogan sighed, sending everyone away. He returned to his throne and activated the projection system.
Instantly, every key battlefield on the border between the Eternal Church Nation and the human kingdom appeared in detail—the mountain ranges, city distributions, transportation routes, and primary garrisons.
All laid bare.
Additionally, the map marked in yellow the territories of powerful magical beasts—potential sources of beast tides and other calamities that had to be guarded against.
"We must break through soon." Mystogan rubbed his brow. If this stalemate dragged on any longer, humanity truly risked being wiped out by Papi.
He dispatched an urgent message to Fairy Tail, urging them to prepare their members and set out with the army as soon as possible.
Eternal Church Nation – Rear Lines
On a coastal plain in the northern hemisphere—
Strange, twisted plants formed dense forests of interwoven teal and blue.
In the past, this was an uninhabited zone. Though not too arid and with a livable climate, the vegetation was so lush that it teemed with countless beasts and insects, making survival impossible for individuals. Without disaster, war, or government decree, large-scale migration here was unthinkable.
Yet now, the place bustled with activity. Smiling people worked together—felling trees, driving away monsters, building homes, and laying magic-crystal pipelines.
At the center of this new settlement, a towering statue loomed. Unlike the anthropomorphic or beast-shaped gods of most religions, this one was deeply abstract.
From a central point spread countless black lines.
And unlike the initial stone carving, this was no longer mere sculpture. It radiated true power: the carved lines had vanished, replaced by faint violet-black halos that rippled like water.
Before this uncanny statue, the white-robed High Priestess remained wrapped tightly in her garments, chanting softly. Ancient, melodic notes flowed from her lips like hymns to a god.
She sang for a long while, ignored by everyone around her. No one dared disturb her—except one.
"Mother, I don't understand. Isn't this exposing ourselves?"
Erza Nightwalker's face was clouded with frustration. She could not grasp the logic of their current actions. The kingdom and Zeref were exhausting every means to track Papi's source and pulse nodes.
They sought to awaken Papi quickly and end everything.
But without the equipment to calculate precisely, as long as time dragged on—or if Irene chose to destroy the magical network's core—they would already have won half the battle. Who in this world could stop Papi then?
Erza bit back her final thought. She didn't dare voice it—afraid her mother truly would carry it out. Remembering Irene's madness sent a chill down her spine.
Returning to the point, if their enemies couldn't pinpoint the target, wasn't it reckless to expose the final goal so blatantly, to reveal their greatest weakness?
"My daughter, God cares for nothing, not even us." The High Priestess, Irene Belserion, shook her head gently. "But as God's followers, we must contribute to His advance."
"For instance—by accelerating His actions." Irene turned her gaze toward Papi's statue. Her eyes brimmed with obsession, and compared to before, she seemed imbued with a new divine aura.
"By constructing massive magic circles at key nodes, using the leyline network as a vessel, we can spread God's glory across the world in one surge. Even if they know what we're doing—even if they discover the core—what can they do?
Victory will still be ours."
"… Fine. But will God bless us for this?" Nightwalker finally yielded, though her pragmatism shone through. Even betraying the human kingdom, she only sought faster access to eternal magic.
"We shall become part of the new era God will create. We will become a part of Him."
"So this is… actually a transformation ritual?" Nightwalker's heart jolted as she realized the implication. A vast shadow seemed to fall over her.
The human kingdom and Zeref recognized both the benefits Papi offered and the catastrophic danger of his assimilation. So they resisted.
But Irene, seeing only Papi's overwhelming might and promise of eternal magic, chose submission. More than that, she sought to accelerate the process, bringing her followers into the new world.
"Is that such a bad thing, my daughter?" Irene's eyes shone as if she already glimpsed the reformed world to come.
"… Of course. That's wonderful." Nightwalker forced a smile, though Irene's gaze made her blood run cold.
"You cling to the past, but that doesn't matter. We are the masters of the future." Irene took her daughter's hand and led her toward the altar.
Nightwalker tried to resist—but her body went limp, her vision went black, and her consciousness sank into chaos.
"My foolish daughter, did you truly think you could resist me?" Irene whispered into her ear.
Her hands swept across Nightwalker's eyes—
And just like that, Nightwalker fell into total darkness, never again hearing another sound.
The new era… shall be born through me!