[I am on my way to unseal Nirvana. You'd better defeat me before I unseal it.]
On the way through the forest, Raizel received a telepathic message from Jellal.
After returning to the Grimoire Heart airship, Jellal had found time to learn the Telepathy magic specifically for this operation.
"Wendy, Carla, wait. Be on alert around us." Raizel called out to Wendy, who was still running.
"Okay." Wendy didn't ask for the reason and immediately began sensing the surrounding air and magical power to maximize their alert range.
Carla also flew up to scout from above.
Raizel began responding using his Archieve Magic, projecting his thoughts back to Jellal.
Raizel: [Was it Hades who sent you, or did Brain make a deal with you?]
Jellal: [Both, actually. But Hades doesn't place much importance on Nirvana. He only sent me alone, and the goal is just to unseal Nirvana. He doesn't want me involved in the battle between the Alliance and Oración Seis.]
Jellal: [Hurry. I can't delay for too long; it would seem too suspicious. I'm almost there, and unsealing Nirvana won't take much time. Also, I have two members of Oración Seis with me.]
Raizel: [Tell me the exact location of the Nirvana seal. But go ahead and unseal Nirvana. I roughly know how to destroy it, so you can report back to Hades.]
Jellal: [Alright, then I'll try to delay as much as possible until you arrive.]
After sending the specific location to Raizel, Jellal cut off the connection.
"Alright, let's head that way!" Raizel pointed Northwest.
Raizel immediately sent a message to the Fairy Tail members via telepathy.
[Do not go to the temporary base in the West. It's a decoy. Someone is already on their way to unseal Nirvana. If you're in battle, don't linger; retreat quickly.]
Raizel didn't plan to inform the rest of the Alliance for now.
If he brought Jura over too early, Nirvana might not even get unsealed, which would complicate his plans to destroy it permanently.
But Raizel was overthinking it.
At this moment, Jura was still locked in battle with Hoteye.
Nirvana was a dangerous object; it was better to deal with it as soon as possible.
Raizel knew the method to destroy it, and it wasn't particularly difficult.
...
Erza, who had just changed into her Flight Armor, was in a high-speed duel with Racer outside the cave.
"Speed!"
Racer became a blur, moving faster than the eye could track.
"You can't catch me!"
Erza, clad in the cheetah-themed armor that maximized her reflexes and speed, matched him blow for blow.
Sparks flew as her dual daggers clashed with Racer's kicks.
Upon hearing Raizel's telepathic message, Erza knew there was no point in continuing this stalemate.
She exchanged a heavy kick with Racer, the impact creating a shockwave, before utilizing the recoil to retreat.
"Erza! We were tricked! There's only a Thought Projection inside, and one with very little magical power at that!"
Natsu and Gray also ran out of the cave, looking frustrated.
They had charged in only to find a phantasm that vanished upon contact.
"Hahaha! They should already be on their way to unseal Nirvana!"
Racer laughed heartily, seeing his job was done. "You're too late, tortoises!"
He mounted his magic motorcycle and sped away from the abandoned village in a cloud of dust.
Erza looked at the three and asked, "Did you receive Raizel's message?"
Gray, Natsu, and Lucy nodded simultaneously.
"Let's go!"
...
Elsewhere in the forest, another battle was concluding.
"Myriad Gods Shine!"
"Archenemy: Slash Form!"
With the cooperation of Kagura and Ultear, Angel was completely outmatched.
Angel had tried to use her Celestial Spirit Magic, summoning Gemini to mimic her opponents.
However, the forest could be considered Ultear's home ground.
Driven by the Arc of Time, various plants accelerated their growth, turning into massive vines and roots that lashed out, causing immense trouble for Angel and restricting her spirits' movements.
"Gemi! Mini! Transform!"
Gemini attempted to transform into Ultear to counter the magic.
"Useless."
Kagura's blade, Archenemy, flashed.
Even Gemini was ineffective—Kagura and Ultear were too familiar with each other, able to detect even the slightest differences in mannerisms and magical signature.
Before the copy could cast a spell, Kagura's gravity magic pinned it to the ground.
Meanwhile, after defeating Angel and leaving her incapacitated, Ultear and Kagura received Raizel's news and headed Northwest.
The members of Oración Seis had scattered, partly to lure enemies and partly to obstruct them.
But Angel had hooked a shark... encountering the duo of Ultear and Kagura was her misfortune.
...
In the Worth Woodsea, amidst a pile of scattered rocks concealed by towering trees, stood a thick, massive tree glowing with an ominous purple light.
It was so large it would take over a dozen people to encircle it, and it was firmly bound with various metal chains engraved with sealing runes.
Navigating through the oddly shaped rock formations, the three finally arrived before the giant tree.
Jellal was accompanied by Cobra and Master Brain.
"Angel... was defeated... but it doesn't matter."
Brain was briefly surprised by the psychic feedback of Angel's defeat, but with Nirvana already found, the overall situation was settled for him.
"To think such a place exists in the Tree Sea," Cobra remarked, gazing at the towering tree while stroking his snake, Cubellios.
"Is Nirvana hidden here?"
Brain looked up at the giant tree radiating purple light, overjoyed and even tearing up.
After searching for over a decade, he had finally found the ultimate magic.
"That's right, this is Nirvana! This is Nirvana!" Brain's voice trembled with excitement, his body shaking slightly with fanaticism.
Jellal shook his head with disdain, observing Brain's madness.
"Oh? You seem rather unimpressed?" Cobra exclaimed, looking at Jellal. "I finally heard something!"
Throughout the journey, he had intermittently tried to read Jellal's thoughts but heard nothing but static, making him wonder if Jellal was thinking at all.
Jellal chuckled lightly and said, "Heh, I'm just not interested in this kind of magic. My only interest is Lord Zeref."
"Time is short. I'll begin unsealing it now."
Originally, Jellal had been thinking of ways to stall, but now that Raizel had given the go-ahead, it was simpler—just proceed with the unsealing.
Jellal placed his hand on the tree trunk.
Golden magic circles expanded from his palm, covering the bark.
"Release."
Immediately, with an earth-shaking rumble, a massive white pillar of light shot into the sky, piercing the canopy and dispersing the clouds for miles.
Brain and Cobra, standing nearby, had their hair and clothes whipped by the strong wind generated by the magical release, but they paid no mind, their eyes fixed intently on the soaring white light pillar.
"Finally, we've found it! Our future!"
Before Jellal and Brain, the earth cracked open, and an ancient city rose from the ground, bathed in light.
"We've got it! Finally, we have it! It's ours, it belongs to us!" Cobra kept muttering, entranced by the power.
...
"What's happening!"
Erza and the others, still on their way, watched as several black pillars of light emerged around the central white one, encircling and merging with it.
"Hold on tight!"
With the situation making travel impossible due to the violent tremors, Erza urged everyone to take cover behind the large trees.
"What is this light?!"
Gray shielded his eyes, peeking through the glare.
The light pillar carried a fierce wind, stirring up clouds of dust and debris, making it impossible for them to advance.
"Damn it, could this be Nirvana?"
Elsewhere, Jura and Hoteye were in a standoff, pausing their battle as the ground shook.
Meanwhile, the four members of Blue Pegasus stood watching the light pillar in awe.
"It's huge..."
Ichiya stared in stunned disbelief, his face pale with shock.
"Could the Oración Seis really have gotten here first?" Lucy found it hard to believe.
"Hurry!" Natsu dashed ahead toward the pillar of light, fighting against the wind.
Ren pointed at a withered tree nearby that suddenly began emitting dark mist.
"Look! Something's flowing out of that eerie black tree! And it's being drawn toward that light!"
"What in the world is going on?"
Ren quickly formed a theory based on the visual data.
"Nirvana! Nirvana must be at the location of that light pillar!"