"If that's really the case, doesn't it mean someone has discovered it?"
"Could it be the Allied Forces? Or is it the Oración Seis?"
The four members of Blue Pegasus—Ichiya, Hibiki, Eve, and Ren—were making speculations as they stared at the pillar of light.
Hibiki immediately tried to contact Raizel using his Archive Magic.
Hibiki: [Raizel-san! Was Nirvana unsealed by the Allied Forces?]
Hibiki tried several times, tapping the magical keyboard floating in the air, but Raizel didn't respond.
"No use, can't get through."
Ichiya looked at the eerie black magical power swirling in the sky and said, "It's probably because this magical power is causing severe interference. The air is thick with negative mana."
...
Meanwhile, Jura and Hoteye's battlefield was already in complete disarray.
The earth had been softened and manipulated into chaotic waves.
"What is that light exactly..." Jura muttered, shielding his eyes.
"It's Nirvana, that's right, you can rest assured. The main body hasn't been activated yet. Currently, only the seal has been removed, but it's already filled with the scent of money, isn't it? Yes!"
After speaking, Hoteye covered his mouth and laughed maniacally.
Jura maintained his combat stance, engaged in intense internal conflict.
'Is now the time to fight someone like this?'
'No, but our mission is to defeat the Oración Seis. Should we continue fighting, or rush to stop Nirvana?'
"Money! Money! This way we're going to become rich people!" Hoteye raised his arms and exclaimed excitedly, his eyes glowing.
Suddenly, the black light from the pillar pulsed across the forest.
"Ahhhhhhh..."
Hoteye's body began to tremble uncontrollably.
He clutched his head as if splitting apart. Immediately, Hoteye covered his face and screamed in pain.
"What's wrong this time?" Jura was almost driven crazy by Hoteye's erratic behavior.
...
On the road, Wendy asked Raizel, "What exactly is Nirvana?"
Raizel answered Wendy's question while they ran. "Nirvana is an extremely terrifying Magic that can swap Light and Darkness. That is Nirvana."
"However, swapping Light and Darkness is Nirvana's final stage. First, once the seal is removed, a black beam of light will rise—that's the light we saw."
"Once the black beam rises, people wandering between Light and Darkness within its range will have their attributes reversed."
"That is to say, people from the Light World carrying strong negative emotions will fall into Darkness."
"Conversely, people from the Dark World carrying positive emotions will embrace Light again."
Wendy said while running, panting slightly, "I don't really understand..."
Carla explained, "Simply put, when Nirvana's seal is broken, only those whose inner justice and evil are at war will be completely transformed, right?"
Raizel nodded. "Yes, that's why I know about Nirvana but rarely discuss it with you. Once humans begin to recognize good and evil in things, they generate unexpected negative emotions."
...
Back at the battlefield.
"Money... Money!!!" Hoteye began howling at the sky, tears streaming down his face.
"I don't want that thing... really."
Hoteye suddenly changed his expression.
His sharp, greedy gaze softened, and his entire body seemed to radiate a holy light.
Hoteye began crying uncontrollably, tears flowing like a broken dam.
"I desperately wanted to see my younger brother who was separated from me. I thought as long as I had money I could find him, really, but..."
"I already know that this thinking of mine was completely wrong!"
Jura was completely dumbfounded... staring blankly as Hoteye performed this dramatic emotional 180-degree turn.
"Alright, let's stop arguing over these trivial matters, really, this world is full of Love everywhere!"
"Love! What a sweet and compassionate word."
"As long as there is Love in this world! Nothing is impossible!"
Hoteye rushed forward and tightly embraced Jura, tears continuously streaming down onto Jura's bald head.
"Let's go stop my former companions' violent acts together! Let's show them the true beauty of Love! Really."
"Uhhhh..." Jura stood stiffly, unsure whether to hug back or attack.
...
The four members of Blue Pegasus encountered Midnight, who had been awakened by Brain, on their way to the light pillar.
"I just can't hit him..."
Ichiya collapsed weakly to the ground, panting heavily.
His physical attacks had simply slid off the target.
"Damn it! Air Magic—Aerial Shooter!"
Ren attempted to attack Midnight with magic again.
He manipulated the atmospheric pressure, firing invisible bursts of compressed air at the sleeping man on the flying carpet.
Midnight simply stood in place, lazily raising a finger.
All of Ren's attacks inexplicably twisted, veering away from Midnight's body and exploding harmlessly against the trees.
"Missed again!"
"White Fury!" Eve unleashed a blizzard of snowballs, but they too curved around Midnight as if space itself was distorted.
"Damn... why..."
Ren couldn't figure out the reason before a distorted shockwave reflected back at him.
Bam!
Ren collapsed.
"Too weak, aren't there any stronger opponents?" Midnight yawned, looking down at the defeated Trimens and Ichiya with boredom.
...
Meanwhile, Jura finally understood the situation through Hoteye's explanation.
"I see, it's because of Nirvana, a magic that completely changes a person's personality?"
"Exactly right, really."
"So according to you, you were also wavering between good and evil just now?"
"Although everything I did was for money, to be honest, I still felt somewhat guilty in my conscience, really. My heart was never truly black."
Jura still didn't quite believe that Hoteye had suddenly turned good. "Why do I feel like you're just saying nice words?"
Jura reluctantly accepted this explanation, as Hoteye's change was too drastic to be a simple lie.
"All of this is for my younger brother who was forced to separate from me, really. That's why I needed money."
Hoteye looked at Jura intensely.
"You're not going to say I look exactly like your brother, are you?" Jura asked nervously.
"You look exactly like the potato my brother ate before, really."
Getting such an unexpected answer, Jura was almost thunderstruck.
He froze, his soul seemingly leaving his body.
"I'm a.... vegetable..."
"Looking at you up close like this reminds me of the past."
...
"Someone's coming! Four people!" Cobra heard footsteps in the distance with his Dragon Slayer hearing.
"I won't be involved in this matter. I should return to report."
Jellal immediately cast Meteor on himself.
His body glowed with golden light, and he vanished into the forest as soon as he heard someone coming.
"Damn, he leave so fast! Whatever..."
Brain had originally wanted Jellal's assistance in the fight, but didn't expect him to flee like a rabbit the moment his job was done.
Raizel, Wendy, Ultear, and Kagura finally emerged from the treeline, arriving at the site of the pillar.
"Finally found you!" Ultear looked at the composed Brain.
"Oh, I've been feeling since earlier that you seem quite hostile toward me?" Brain was somewhat puzzled, looking at the dark-haired woman.
"It seems you've completely forgotten?"
Ultear gritted her teeth, suppressing the anger in her heart.
The Magical Power around her began to surge rapidly.
The surrounding temperature started dropping quickly, frost creeping across the ground, and the trees and rubble around began to cover with a layer of ice.
"Do you remember the Magic Development Bureau from ten years ago? You were the Director of the Magic Development Bureau at that time."
Brain frowned as if remembering something, studying her face.
"No wonder you look familiar... such powerful Ice Magical Power... I remember now. The daughter of the Ice Mage Ur?"
Brain didn't have much contact with Ultear personally back then, only remembering her as a highly talented specimen with excessive magic.
Later, the Magic Development Bureau was destroyed by Raizel, and all the data disappeared in the ruins.
Over the years, he had either been on the road searching for "Nirvana" or visiting "Grimoire Heart" to find Hades, never paying attention to news about Ur and Ultear.
The Council had only seriously pursued Brain's trail at first.
After nearly a year of failed searches, they had long since eased their efforts, allowing him to forget his past sins—but Ultear had not.
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