CHAPTER 596: ULTEAR DEFEAT

"I don’t know, but that’s no reason for you to attack us and try to disrupt the world!"

Erza’s dual blades appeared in her hands, and she charged at Ultear with all her might. "From the moment you became enemies with Fairy Tail, everything was already destined. Victory will surely be ours!"

Ultear also rushed toward Erza, her face full of anger, her hands emanating a chilling aura. "I must complete the great magic world no matter what! Everyone who stands in my way must be eliminated!"

The two faced each other, unyielding. Erza swung her blades, while Ultear activated Arc of Time and Modeling Magic. "Crimson Cherry Blossom: Dual Bloom!"

"Ice Make: High Snow Wheel!"

A five-petaled flower with razor-sharp edges sliced across Erza’s abdomen.

One of Erza’s dual blades shattered under the effect of Ultear’s Arc of Time, but the other struck Ultear squarely in the chest.

Their figures crossed paths. An exaggerated wound appeared on Ultear’s chest, blood gushing out. She fell to her knees, then forward, her body collapsing weakly.

A deep wound also appeared on Erza’s abdomen. She clutched it with one hand and leaned on her remaining sword, kneeling on one knee.

She panted for a while, then forced herself upright, using her sword as support, and walked unsteadily toward where Cana had been earlier.

Passing by Ultear, Erza stopped.

"I don’t know what kind of past you have, but in this round of life, there must be, or there will surely be, people you cherish. And of course, there will also be people who cherish you."

"Between those bonds and that illusory great magic world, built entirely on legends and speculation, I think it should be very easy to choose which is more worth cherishing."

Having said her piece, Erza continued walking forward.

Ultear remained silent, a ruined village flashing in her mind, and a pink-haired little girl crying amidst the wreckage.

"Ultear is like a mother."

"I don’t have a daughter that big."

Ultear remembered a conversation from long ago, and tears welled up in her eyes.

But your village was destroyed by me.

I thought everything could start over...

I’m sorry, Meredy.

Elsewhere, Elfman, Evergreen, Juvia, Lisanna, Gray, Lucy, Wendy, and Gajeel were lying scattered on the ground, their magic power drained earlier.

Fortunately, numerous Voidmites in the area had kept them from being finished off by the passing foot soldiers.

When their magic returned, Lisanna stretched and asked, "What’s going on? My magic power seems to have recovered."

Evergreen replied, "It’s probably an enemy’s magic, and they’ve been defeated now."

She spoke with the confidence of someone well-acquainted with situations like this.

"Damn it, this Manly Man failed miserably today!" Elfman was a bit annoyed. He had been saved by Rhodes once before, and now he didn’t know who saved him this time.

He felt completely inferior to everyone else.

Lucy counted on her fingers. "Didn’t they say there were Seven Kin of Purgatory? Subtracting these two, the one who was defeated by someone unknown just now, and the one I encountered, there should be three people left, right?"

"Wait a minute, the one you encountered was also dealt with by Rhodes, wasn’t he? So he took care of three by himself?" Gray felt pretty much the same as Elfman. What was worse was that even if he wanted to show off, there didn’t seem to be enough enemies to go around.

Elfman thought for a moment and said, "Actually, Natsu probably defeated one of those black flames we saw earlier."

"Are there only two such powerful enemies left? And there’s an even stronger Guild Master!" Lucy’s perspective was different from theirs; she just found it terrifying. "What do we do now?"

A familiar voice rang out. "Please punish me now, Princess."

"No way! And why are you here?!" Lucy instinctively refused, only to realize when she turned her head that Virgo had appeared out of nowhere.

The pink-haired maid was kneeling on the ground nearby, with several bricks on her knees, and her hands were bound by some unknown method.

Evergreen looked thoughtfully at Virgo, then at Lucy. "So you have this kind of preference."

Virgo answered without hesitation for Lucy. "Yes, would you like to discipline me for the Princess?"

"No way!" Lucy stood between the two, vigorously waving her hands in denial, then shouted at Virgo, "What exactly are you here for?!"

"Brother asked me to deliver a message to the Princess. He and Capricorn both need to rest for a while. Capricorn asked me to give his key to the Princess first."

Virgo laboriously handed Lucy a golden key with her bound hands.

Lucy was a bit stunned. "Capricorn? Why?"

Virgo said, "Capricorn was originally Layla’s Celestial Spirit. He once made a promise with Layla that if the Princess also walked the path of a Celestial Spirit Mage, he would come to assist the Princess."

Lucy held the key to her chest, as if she could feel her mother’s warmth. "Then why did he get involved with Grimoire Heart?"

"Capricorn said he would explain the detailed circumstances to you when you sign the contract later. So, Princess," Virgo looked up, gazing earnestly at Lucy, "Do you want to discipline me?"

Lucy felt her emotions were getting messed up by her. "Go back!"

Virgo disappeared in a flash of golden light.

Wendy said, "Miss Lucy seems to have such good luck."

The others deeply agreed. They were inexplicably beaten up, and as a result, Lucy got a key to one of the Zodiac.

After a brief discussion, everyone decided to meet up with the others.

At the same time, Natsu and Happy also got up from the ground.

Happy flew up cheerfully. "We can fly again!"

Natsu clenched his fist, and a ball of flame rose, the raindrops sizzling as they fell into the fire.

"How strange, what exactly happened?"

If he couldn’t figure it out, he wouldn’t think about it. Natsu looked at the fallen Tenrou Tree and decided the enemy was there. "Happy, let’s go that way!"

"Aye!"

Happy grabbed Natsu and flew towards the Tenrou Tree.

But before they had flown far, Happy suddenly felt a heavy weight on him, and Natsu in his hands also became heavy, forcing him to let go.

"What are you doing, Happy?" Natsu plummeted straight down, trying to adjust his body in mid-air, but found that his body seemed to be pressed down by something, so heavy that it was difficult to even move.

"What’s going on? We’re clearly in the air!"

Thud!

Natsu slammed into the ground with bone-jarring force, sending up a spray of dirt and loose pebbles. The impact rattled through him, and for a moment, all he could hear was the dull ringing in his ears.

Happy crashed down beside him, wings still extended but trembling uselessly, as if an invisible weight pinned them in place. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t lift himself off the ground.

A tall figure stood before them, his presence casting a long shadow over the pair. He wore a deep purple-and-black long robe beneath a pristine white coat, the rich fabric shifting slightly in the breeze. His sharp eyes swept over the fallen Dragon Slayer and Exceed, a hint of smug amusement curling at the edges of his lips.

"Fairies, is it?" he drawled, his voice smooth but laced with condescension. "You can fly, can’t you? Or rather..." His gaze dropped deliberately to Happy’s trembling wings and Natsu’s struggling frame. "You can’t anymore, can you?"

...

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