The dark violet pillar of light was like an upside-down abyss, instantly swallowing Shane and Zero in midair.
"Boom—!"
Inside the raging torrent of magic, Shane felt as if countless mountains were crushing down on him all at once.
As he plummeted in that weightless freefall, he instinctively hunched his back and threw both arms over his chest, protecting the bouquet in his arms as tightly as he could.
With a heavy crash, Shane slammed into the already ruined platform like a falling meteor.
"Cough…"
Struggling, Shane pushed himself up into a half-kneeling position. A thick metallic taste welled up in his throat, followed by a violent fit of coughing.
"What ridiculous magic… Even with magic resistance, my insides are probably bleeding."
Frowning, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked down at what he was holding.
Even though he had done everything he could to shield it, the bouquet had still been caught in the blast.
The edges of the once-vivid petals had blackened and withered, and several fragile stems had snapped, drooping limply.
That instinctive attempt to protect the flowers hadn't been caused by that unknown emotion interfering with his mind.
It was simply a rational calculation.
Since he needed something from that goddess, and since she had shown, through his own senses, that she liked flowers, then no matter how he looked at it, protecting this "offering" as much as possible was basic courtesy in a negotiation.
"Hades!!! How dare you!"
At that moment, a roar like a maddened beast shook the air from somewhere nearby.
Zero had also forced himself back to his feet through sheer stubbornness despite his heavy injuries.
Veins bulged across his muscles under the crushing pressure, and his crimson eyes locked onto the giant warship above, blazing with fury at being betrayed.
"So this is what gives you the nerve to act like you stand on equal footing with the guild master?"
"What a vulgar sight. You're nothing but a wild dog barking on the ground."
The one who answered Zero was not Hades' cold, domineering voice.
From the shadow beneath the giant warship, a figure descended slowly and without hurry.
Only when he got closer did Shane see him clearly.
It was a man with a long black braid and thick sideburns that ran all the way down his cheeks. He wore a loose white coat, his hands tucked casually into his pockets.
Thud.
The instant the man's feet touched the ground, Shane felt his shoulders suddenly grow heavier.
He realized that with every single word the man spoke, the gravity in the surrounding air increased, as if invisible weights were being stacked one after another.
"So it's gravity magic."
Without changing expression, Shane stayed half-crouched and watched the argument unfold with cold detachment.
It seemed that even within the Balam Alliance, formed by the three dark guilds, currents of conflict were running just as deep.
For Grimoire Heart to mobilize in full at a moment like this, they were almost certainly here for the ancient magical weapon Nirvana as well.
Shane calculated quietly to himself.
With [Peri Dancer] rejecting and adapting to negative conditions, he only needed a little time. Soon enough, he would be able to adjust to this gravity and break free of it.
But then the man casually flicked his hand.
An invisible crushing force slammed into Zero and drove the roaring beast back into the ground.
After pinning him there, the man turned and fixed Shane with an openly scrutinizing stare.
"So you're the brat they call Azurefall?"
He looked Shane over, then shook his head in disappointment. "You're the one the master thought so highly of that he even changed the plan and came here in person for you… and I honestly can't see what makes you so special."
"Remember my name. I am Bluenote Stinger, vice master of Grimoire Heart. Now show me exactly what it is that makes you worth this much attention."
As Bluenote approached, wreathed in that horrifying gravity field, even the dullest person would have realized by now that something was very wrong.
"Your target… is me?"
Shane frowned, utterly puzzled.
He couldn't understand why, when faced with the temptation of Nirvana—a force capable of overturning the world—Grimoire Heart wasn't trying to seize control of it, and had instead pointed all their weapons at him.
Still, that worked in his favor. He needed time to fully break through the gravity binding him, so he didn't mind dragging the conversation out a little longer.
"You brat… you saw Zeref with your own eyes, didn't you?"
Bluenote stopped walking. There was unmistakable confusion in his voice.
"That is a great existence our master pursued for his entire life without ever being able to reach. And yet that man actually appeared before you on his own… It's enough to leave anyone speechless."
So they had come for Zeref?
Shane's heart jolted.
He had never expected that after all this trouble, that would be the reason.
He had still underestimated just how godlike the "strongest black wizard in history" was in the eyes of these dark devotees.
But wait…
If Grimoire Heart knew even that much, then didn't that mean—
Shane suddenly turned and looked toward the distant forest, in the direction where Ultear was.
"Hmph."
A cold snort sounded from the sky.
Standing at the edge of the warship's deck, Hades looked down at Shane from above.
"No one understands Ultear that traitor's little tricks better than I do."
The single eye Hades had left gleamed with merciless cold.
"I'm not foolish enough to split my forces and go after her. Once I've taken you down, dealing with her afterward will be no trouble at all."
Hearing that Hades had not made a move on Ultear yet, the tension wound tight inside Shane eased slightly.
"Keep him pinned down, Bluenote!"
But the moment Hades gave the order, another massive and intricate violet magic circle lit up beneath the warship, and that same suffocating aura of destruction locked onto Shane again.
You really do think highly of me… I can't wait any longer.
Shane's heart clenched again.
He still hadn't fully broken past the gravity restriction, but he could no longer afford to care. His wings snapped open behind him and beat violently as he tried to force himself into the air and out of the lock.
"He can still move?"
Bluenote, who had originally thought Hades was being overly cautious, immediately turned serious.
He didn't dare underestimate Shane anymore. Both hands slammed downward.
"Fall!"
The gravity in the air—both vertical and horizontal—was forcibly distorted and multiplied in an instant.
The pressure crashed down like a pair of grinding millstones made real.
If he took Hades' magic head-on in this state, Shane knew he would end up nothing more than a fish on the chopping block.
He gritted his teeth and twisted his body in midair with extreme difficulty.
Boom—!
The dark violet beam slammed down, barely grazing one of Shane's wings.
He had just barely avoided the fatal direct hit, but the violent magical turbulence and the suddenly chaotic gravity field tore mercilessly through the defenses in front of him.
Tch.
A tiny sound.
"You—!"
Shane's eyes widened as he looked down.
The bouquet he had been protecting in his arms had finally reached its limit under the clash of those two terrifying forces.
The vivid red bracts and golden petals were crushed instantly by the rampaging magic, turning into fragments and dust that scattered through the air, fluttering down in the burning wind like dead butterflies.
At the same time, Grimoire Heart's suppression did not stop.
Five figures radiating an extremely dangerous presence slowly descended from the warship overhead.
Together with Bluenote, they formed an iron wall around Shane, trapping him in the center.
Hades and his Seven Kin of Purgatory.
At this point, Grimoire Heart's entire core force had mobilized at once.
"…This really is a disaster of a dead end."
And yet, even though he was trapped in a situation that could only be described as certain death, Shane found that he couldn't feel even the most basic fear or anxiety.
Because at that moment—
As the last few flower petals were completely torn apart and scattered into nothing by the wind—
An enormous sorrow that did not belong to him, along with regret and… an almost uncontrollable rage, surged upward from the deepest part of his mind.
And from the depths of those emotions, vast as a tidal wave, a broken, ethereal voice filled with endless loneliness finally rose from within him:
"When… night falls…"
"Call… my name…"
"Eresh…"
Shane's body stiffened slightly.
The goddess who had been yearning to communicate with him had finally answered him at the moment the flowers withered.
But as he listened to that faint voice gradually fade from his mind, a bitter smile spread uncontrollably across his lips.
He looked up at the sky.
Though it was dimmed by the shadow of the warship, it was still only around three or four in the afternoon. Daylight was still strong.
Even if winter nights came early, there were still several hours left at the very least.
And with Grimoire Heart's entire main force surrounding him right now, let alone several hours—even a few minutes would be more than enough for them to kill him dozens of times over.
"There's no way I can wait until tonight."
Shane pressed a hand hard against his chest, feeling the pounding beneath his palm.
At this point, there was only one way out.
He would have to force [Dragon Reactor Core] harder and unleash another Arondight to blow a hole through the encirclement.
But…
He had already used the holy sword once before to stop Nirvana.
That black dragon of destruction, the one so sensitive to dragon aura, had probably already caught the scent and was on its way here.
If he used it again now…
Shane's expression darkened so much it looked like water could drip from it.
He clenched his teeth hard.
"Forget it. I don't have a choice!"
Thump! Thump! Thump!
That violent heartbeat, like war drums pounding inside his body, roared through Shane once more.
Azure dragon magic surged through his veins like boiling magma, and a dazzling light of treasure began gathering in his palm again.
"So you intend to resist to the bitter end?"
Outside the encirclement, Hades looked at the light building in Shane's hand and waved dismissively.
The subordinates surrounding Shane immediately retreated several dozen meters in perfect coordination, leaving the center of the battlefield to their master.
Hades stepped forward calmly, his hands still clasped behind his back, wearing the absolute composure of a man willing to let Shane attack first.
"I know exactly how powerful that move of yours is. It is impressive, certainly. Unfortunately for you, that level of power is still nowhere near enough to challenge me."
"Tch."
Of course Shane knew Hades' confidence had to be hiding something, but with the arrow already on the string, he had no choice but to let it fly.
And yet, just as that dazzling azure light was about to fully take shape and come crashing down—
Bzz—bzz—
A faint vibration suddenly came from Shane's pocket.
At a time like this… who?
Both his hands were fully occupied maintaining the Noble Phantasm's magic. He didn't have even a finger free.
All he could do was split off the tiniest thread of magic and activate the communication crystal inside his pocket.
Then, in the very next second—
As the crystal flickered, an excited voice full of fiery spirit, hot enough to burn away every shadow, burst out from his pocket:
"Shane! Don't think for a second you get to play hero all by yourself!"
"We're here!!!"
That was… Natsu's voice!