Jura's staff fell uncontrollably from his hand, clattering against the floor.
Ichiya, with his back turned to Jura, slowly spoke.
"They say it's a magical fragrance that makes opponents lose their will to fight."
"Mr. Ichiya..." Jura was now on his knees, barely supporting his upper body with his hands, completely devoid of fighting spirit.
"What in the world is this..."
Ichiya then opened another bottle of perfume. "Furthermore, this is a fragrance that stimulates all pain receptors, causing excruciating pain to spread throughout the body. They say it's an Evil Parfum!"
POOF!
A plume of white smoke billowed, and "Ichiya" transformed into two small, doll-like figures resembling teru teru bozu floating in the air.
"We're back to normal."
"That Ichiya guy only ever thinks about perverted stuff."
"Only thinks about that. What a terrible person."
"Alright, alright, stop complaining," Angel's voice chimed in from the shadows.
"Bili, bili."
"This... what is this?" Jura struggled to look up at the woman stepping forward.
"Ah... you mean that filthy man?" Angel said nonchalantly, spreading her hands. "I copied him. Because of that, I know all about your battle plans."
"We can know the thoughts of the person we copy," the Gemini spirits floating beside Angel added in unison.
"Good, two down first." Angel smiled cruelly. "The real Ichiya is currently unconscious in the restroom."
"It's a pity that Raizel ran off too quickly. It would have been better if we could have dealt with him together."
"I won't let you interfere, children of the light. Interfering children will be punished by this angel."
....
"We can see it! The Worth Woodsea!"
Natsu, running at the front of the group, exclaimed excitedly as he looked ahead.
"Wait up, Natsu!" Gray shouted from behind.
"No way!"
"Idiot! Don't charge ahead alone! Didn't you hear what Raizel and Jura said?" Erza yelled from the other side.
"Are you that upset about me getting ahead?"
"Nani! You really are..." Erza grew angry at his reckless attitude.
Startled by Erza's tone, Natsu panicked, lost his footing, ran straight past the edge, and tumbled off the cliff...
"He fell."
"What an impatient guy."
Gray and Erza stopped and looked down over the cliff edge.
"Why did you stop?" Raizel and Ultear, along with the others, appeared from behind, catching up.
"Nothing serious, just that Natsu fell down."
"Is that really 'nothing serious'..." Raizel sighed helplessly, rubbing his forehead.
"Ah... everyone, you're running too fast!" Lucy cried out from far behind, running while complaining breathlessly.
"Where did the courtesy of 'ladies first' go at a time like this!"
"Ouch!"
Natsu, now sporting a large bump on his forehead, climbed out of the brush and continued running through the Sea of Trees, heading north without missing a beat.
"Do you sense it?"
"Yeah, I don't know what it is, but the atmosphere feels very abnormal," Gray replied as he ran alongside Natsu.
"Wait, what's that?"
A vast shadow suddenly covered the area above Raizel and the others.
Natsu looked up, stopping abruptly.
Gray, running behind him, couldn't stop in time and crashed right into him.
"What are you trying to do, bastard!"
"Don't stop suddenly!"
The two immediately started butting heads and arguing, completely ignoring their surroundings.
"Look!" Erza pushed their faces apart, separating the two by force.
"Oh?" Everyone looked upward.
"The Magic Bomber Ship—Christina."
The Christina was magnificent, primarily blue in color with wing-like extensions on both sides and a magic cannon mounted at the front, shaped like a Pegasus.
"Incredible!" Natsu couldn't help but marvel, wondering why their Guild didn't have one.
"That's the legendary Pegasus."
"It's huge!"
"Seems we can have a bit of expectation after all," Carla nodded in approval.
"Alright, let's split up and search for their hideout."
BOOM—
A loud noise came from the Christina, and smoke began to billow from its right side.
"Boom—Boom—"
Several more explosions followed, appearing to come from the inside, leaving the Christina riddled with damage and trailing black smoke as it began to fall from the sky.
"How could this be?" Wendy covered her mouth in disbelief.
"BOOM!!!"
The Christina crashed into the Sea of Trees with an earth-shaking roar.
The blinding light from the explosion made it difficult to look directly at the impact site.
"What's going on? What happened to Christina?" Hibiki frowned, confusion written all over his face.
Towering flames and thick smoke rose into the sky, and even those above the canopy could feel the intense heat.
Natsu sniffed the air vigorously. "Someone's coming, stay alert."
Gray, familiar with Natsu's instincts, quickly issued a warning.
Several figures slowly emerged from the smoke and flames—led by a white-haired man holding a skull-topped staff.
"They are... the Oración Seis."
"Hmph, a bunch of ants gathered together," Brain said disdainfully.
"Your plan has been exposed." Angel extended a finger toward them.
"Jura and Ichiya have been taken down too," the floating Gemini added beside her.
"What?" Sherry looked shocked.
"Impossible!" Hibiki also appeared incredulous, well aware of Jura and Ichiya's strength.
"You're shaken, I can hear it." Cobra stared at their reactions with a smirk, tapping his ear.
Even Raizel was somewhat surprised—how had they defeated Jura and Ichiya so quickly?
But to say he was shaken was an overstatement.
'Don't act rashly yet, let's observe first,' Raizel held back Ultear who was about to make a move, using his Archieve Magic to communicate telepathically.
"It's better to finish the job early, and you're in the way," Racer pointed at the group, twitching impatiently.
"Money makes people strong... right? Let me tell you something good: money makes the world go round, and—" Hoteye grew more excited as he spoke.
"Shut up, Hoteye." Racer and Cobra said in unison.
"Someone seems to be sleeping," Lucy sweatdropped, looking at Midnight who was sound asleep on a floating carpet amidst the chaos.
"I didn't expect you to show yourselves voluntarily," Erza addressed the Oración Seis, summoning a sword.
"Hey." Natsu clenched his fists.
"Hmph." Gray smirked.
"I can hear you."
"Saves us the trouble of looking for you!"
Natsu and Gray charged forward side by side.
The Oración Seis had appeared here to stall the group.
At that moment, Jellal was on his way to unseal Nirvana, and Brain and the others were there to buy time.
"Move." Brain casually gave the order.
The Oración Seis remained unfazed by the two charging at them.
"OK."
Racer vanished from beside Brain in an instant, leaving only an afterimage.
"Motor!"
Racer suddenly flashed beside Natsu and Gray, delivering a kick to each of them before they could react.
"Natsu! Gray!"
"Eh! Who are you?"
Another Lucy suddenly appeared beside the real Lucy.
Hoteye crossed his fingers beneath both eyes, his eyes beginning to glow.
"Liquid Ground!"
"What's happening? The ground?"
Kagura used Gravity Magic to free herself and float upward as the earth beneath them suddenly softened into mud.