The situation suddenly took a sharp turn.
Ultear and the others, who had held the upper hand just moments ago, were now half-kneeling on the ground.
Erza and Kagura could only barely support themselves with their weapons.
Ultear had also been forced to relive the pain of her past, but her mind kept turning.
'Mira isn't here... so weakening the pain won't work.'
She had noticed earlier that Mira and Gildarts were currently fighting Bloodman, the God of Death.
"The only possibility is Erza's Nakagami Armor..."
Ultear struggled to raise her head and shouted toward Erza,
"Erza! Use the Nakagami Armor to cut me and Kagura!"
Dimaria held her sword in one hand and covered her face with the other, laughing with a twisted expression.
"How could that possibly work? No one can stand after experiencing Time's Scar, that feeling of being sliced apart by a thousand blades."
It sounded like pure fantasy.
But when it came to Erza, fantasy could become reality.
Under Dimaria's horrified gaze, Erza gripped her sword-halberd with both hands, gritted her teeth, and slowly stood up through the pain.
"How... is that possible..."
Dimaria's laughter stopped abruptly, and she unconsciously took one step back.
"Nakagami Starlight!!!"
A dazzling rainbow light instantly surrounded Ultear and Kagura.
As for Erza herself, the moment she stood up, the Nakagami Armor's ability to cut through Magic helped her overcome the damage caused by Time's Scar.
"Let's go!"
"H-How is that possible?"
Dimaria shook her head slightly, repeating the same words again and again.
Her legs seemed beyond her control as they kept backing away.
"Ice-Make: White Rose Garden!"
"Nakagami Starlight!"
"Archenemy: Azure Phoenix Form & Astron: Azure Dragon Form!"
The White Rose Garden bound Dimaria's limbs and torso in midair.
Erza swept past Dimaria with her halberd, while the phantoms of the azure phoenix and azure dragon crashed into Dimaria from the left and right as she hung suspended in the air.
Dimaria, having lost consciousness, fell to the ground like a kite with its string cut.
Cracks began appearing across the purple Age Seal, and then it shattered like a mirror.
Time returned to normal.
Ultear, Erza, and Kagura stood in place, adjusting their breathing.
Between the three of them lay Dimaria, unconscious and already forced out of her Take Over.
Ultear used a sealing card she had received from Cana and sealed Dimaria inside it.
...
At the same time, Kurnugi also revealed his true form and fired a roar at Jacob, blasting him straight away until he turned into a star and vanished into the clouds.
"Home run!!!"
Kurnugi was extremely excited.
Raizel raised a hand to block the sunlight and looked into the distance.
"Hey, hey, you got too carried away. I told you to hold back."
"S-Sorry, sorry..."
Kurnugi, who had transformed back into human form, scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
Jacob was probably not dead.
As for where he had been sent flying, that was harder to say.
...
On a warship at Hargeon Port—
Jellal was facing the combined assault of Ikaruga, Zancrow, Azuma, and Rustyrose.
"Explosive Claw!"
"Branch Sword!"
"Flame God's Bellow!"
"Moonless Style: Yaksha Flash!"
At the same time, Keyes the Black Archbishop, Doujigiri, and other members of Grimoire Heart and Tartaros who had once fought Fairy Tail appeared all across Hargeon Port.
Neinhart's Historia Magic was recreating one powerful foe after another from past battles.
The one who appeared before Laxus was Mard Geer, the Underworld King.
Mard Geer looked somewhat surprised.
"I, Underworld King Mard Geer... have been revived as one of the dead?"
"That's right. Then I'll send you back into the dirt again."
Laxus clenched his right hand, three-colored lightning crackling in his palm.
"Kihi. It's you again, that shark freak I beat before."
Gajeel looked at Torafuzar in front of him and smiled disdainfully.
"Where is Kagura, the woman who cut me down?!"
Doujigiri looked furious.
"I will be your opponent!"
Wendy, having activated Dragon Force, kicked Doujigiri in the head with her long pink hair flying behind her.
"Hey, hey, why is my opponent that guy Brain?"
Cobra shook his head as he looked at Brain, the former guild master of the Oración Seis, standing before him.
"My opponent is much easier."
Using her Angel Magic, Sorano spent coins to summon the power angel Caelus and faced Fukuro of the Trinity Raven.
...
"Wahl really was useless, wasn't he?"
Seeing Jellal held up by those few enemies, Neinhart laughed disdainfully.
"True, they were strong once... but that was in the past."
Jellal's voice suddenly sounded beside his ear, making Neinhart freeze.
Seven magic circles appeared in the sky, connected in the shape of the Big Dipper.
Jellal had seemed to be darting around in the air, but in reality, he had been carving magic circles while moving the entire time.
"Accept the judgment of the seven stars! Grand Chariot!"
At Jellal's command, Grand Chariot smashed the warship apart and blasted Neinhart into the sea.
After seeing their two commanders and several captains defeated, the fleet brought by Wahl and Neinhart was left with only a few ships fleeing in panic.
However, Jellal failed to capture Neinhart.
That guy slipped away like his feet were greased, diving straight into the sea and escaping the moment he fell in.
The sword Raizel had swung at Serena earlier had looked powerful enough to split rivers and cut off currents.
It seemed to have crushed the morale of the western army.
Of course, it was also possible that Zeref had given the order.
For now, the Alvarez Empire's western army remained stationed in place.
At this point, the west was holding position, while the Alvarez Empire's southern army had temporarily retreated.
August continued toward Magnolia alone. Raizel had allowed him through, so no one blocked him.
Although Warrod had some objections, he also held back for Raizel's sake.
August walked slowly, step by step.
It would probably still take some time before he reached Magnolia. He needed more time to think about what to do.
...
Magnolia's eastern forest—
Selene and Irene, who had originally been leaning back on the sofa, sat upright at the same time.
Irene put down her teacup, her face calm.
"He has come. A third party, neither friend nor ally. Wings of Darkness, Acnologia."
Although Acnologia was currently still soaring above the clouds, his terrifying Magic Power and presence were completely unrestrained, and both Irene and Selene had already sensed him.
Selene nodded.
"His current position is the northern region of the Kingdom of Fiore, Mount Zonia..."
...
Mount Hakobe—
Mira, who had fully Taken Over Satan Soul plus Underworld King Mard Geer, was currently surrounding and attacking Bloodman together with Gildarts.
Bloodman was currently maintaining his first seal, the form of Magic Barrier Particles.
Because his body was composed of Magic Barrier Particles, he could scatter those particles into the air.
His body also granted him immunity to physical attacks and attacks of various attributes.
Bloodman's Curses were highly varied.
He had released Magic Barrier Particles in an attempt to make Gildarts lose the ability to fight, but fortunately, the particles were ineffective against Mira, who contained demon factors within her body and had already become demonized.
"To think you do not fear the Magic Barrier Particles released from my body at all. A Mage should die from inhaling them!"