Hope's voice jumped an octave with excitement, echoing through the vast underground chamber.
Jura, startled by the sudden enthusiasm, assumed Hope was amazed by the giant magic crystal's power and explained, "These ancient magic crystals absorb ambient magic particles and convert them into vast, stable, purified mana. The six large crystals alone can keep this city—and Nirvana—running forever."
Hope tuned out the lecture; all he knew was that six infinite, pure-mana batteries sat in front of him—self-charging power banks.
Such treasures couldn't be destroyed.
They were clearly meant for me.
In a flash Hope darted to Ichiya's side and snatched the blueprint from his hand.
After confirming the marked crystal locations, he vanished with a soft whoosh, leaving only a faint breeze and a sentence drifting in the air.
"I'll secure those magic crystals—stay put."
A brief silence fell outside the control room.
Natsu scratched his head. "What's Hope so excited about?"
Lucy folded her arms. "That look—same as Juvia spotting Gray."
Gray, inexplicably turned into a comparison, stared blankly while Erza rested a hand on her hip, gaze fixed on the corridor Hope had disappeared into. She knew he'd set his sights on the six limitless pure-mana crystals.
After the Tower of Paradise incident, both Erza and Makarov had learned that purified mana—harmful to most mages—was pure treasure to Hope.
But the five-meter-tall spherical crystals weren't easy to remove; otherwise Jura and Ichiya wouldn't have suggested destroying them. Would Hope bring the whole ancient city down with them?
"I don't know what Mr. Hope intends, but a man's romance can be that simple—Man!"
Ichiya struck a pose he considered dashing, then turned to Wendy and Carla. "Your Blue Moon village is just east of the Vast Woods, correct?"
Wendy nodded. "Yes. Because Oración Seis was so close, our master let me join the allied guilds."
"Why ask?" Carla frowned slightly.
Ichiya sighed. "While operating the console I saw Brain had ordered Nirvana to attack a village east of the Vast Woods."
"The control-room image showed your guild mark on that village."
Wendy panicked—then remembered Oración Seis had been defeated and Nirvana was idle, and calmed at once.
Carla pressed, "Why target our guild?"
"Probably to test Nirvana's power."
Erza took over. "This forest's nearest human settlement is your village, and it houses a guild."
Everyone accepted the reasoning; after four centuries Nirvana had to be tested now that Oración Seis possessed it.
But with Brain and Midnight defeated, their link to Nirvana was severed and the attack on Blue Moon never launched.
"So Blue Moon is actually a village?"
Lucy eyed Wendy curiously. Remote regions like this rarely host guilds—without cities there aren't enough jobs to keep Mages fed.
Another question had been nagging everyone.
Before this operation, even a Master Mage like Jura had never heard of "Blue Moon."
Wendy shrank a little. "Well… everyone in the village belongs to Blue Moon; most are ordinary people…"
"Eh?!"
Natsu blurted in surprise; even he knew the Magic Council tightly regulated guild charters.
Erza glanced at the timid blue-haired girl half-hiding behind Mystogan.
A guild of mostly ordinary villagers shouldn't meet founding requirements—how had the Council approved Blue Moon?
Yet Blue Moon not only existed but joined the operation as a legal guild. Only two possibilities explained it.
Either Blue Moon had powerful backing.
Or it hosted a super-tier Mage rivaling the Ten Wizard Saints, so the Council bent every rule.
While Erza pondered—
the entire ancient city lurched violently.
Underground lights flickered; dust showered from ceiling and walls.
Six almost simultaneous blasts echoed through rock and machinery, reaching every ear with crystal clarity.
The ever-present hum of giant gears and the pounding footfalls of six colossal legs stopped dead.
Breaths turned heavy outside the control room.
Ichiya rushed back inside. "All mana cut—Nirvana's shut down!"
Jura's pupils shrank as he stared at the fallen blueprint.
Destroying six huge crystals at separate underground nodes simultaneously required perfect coordination even for a Ten Wizard Saint.
How long had Hope been gone?
He'd neutralized every crystal in minutes—terrifying.
Shock still hung in the air when Hope strode back beaming.
Erza studied his treasure-hunter grin and empty hands. "How did you deal with those giant crystals?"
"Took them apart, of course." Hope waved dismissively.
Erza exhaled. "I mean—where are they?"
"Ah, that…"
Hope smiled mysteriously. "Thanks to Armor Magic."
Armor Magic can stow matching gear in its personal dimension.
Using the crystals' own purified mana on the spot, Hope cracked the Armor spell he'd copied from a comrade—Armor: Gunner.
Imagining the six giant crystals as ammo, he exploited a loophole and stashed them inside the Magic Space.
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