Before leaving, Jellal sent a final telepathic message to Raizel.
[I'll take my leave now. I'll be observing from the shadows for the time being. If you need my help in destroying Nirvana, just say the word.]
After all, Hades was currently busy searching for a way to unseal Zeref and had no time to bother with this place, leaving Jellal to act as he saw fit.
...
The pillar of light that was previously entwined with black Magical Power gradually turned a blinding white.
"Hahaha!!!"
Brain looked at the white pillar of light and laughed heartily, his voice echoing through the trembling forest.
"Your appearance here is indeed troublesome! Unfortunately, you've come too late!"
"I'll take Nirvana for myself without any courtesy! Awaken! Nirvana!"
With Brain's command, the land began to crumble and crack.
The light emitted from the pillar became even more dazzling, piercing the sky.
"Mr. Hoteye, what's going on?"
"It's begun, truly. The final stage has begun. Yes!"
Jura and Hoteye (who had just turned over a new leaf) had cold sweat on their foreheads as the ground beneath them shifted violently.
"What's wrong?"
"It seems the situation is not good."
Lucy, Natsu, and Gray were also dumbfounded, trying to keep their balance.
"Something huge seems to be coming out, truly."
"What is this thing?"
"Something is emerging from underground."
Erza and the others watched in awe and horror as a massive object continuously rose from the ground, tearing the forest apart.
"Eh..."
The few who were just spectating moments ago suddenly found themselves becoming part of the spectacle.
They were sent flying into the air by the colossal structure that erupted from the earth beneath their feet, scattering them in different directions.
"Are you all okay?"
Raizel, who had used Take Over: Dynasmon to grow wings, hovered in the air and looked at the people around him.
He had tried to grab them earlier, but Kagura and Carla were surprisingly quick to react.
Kagura and Ultear were floating in the air using Kagura's Gravity Magic, while Carla was holding onto Wendy as she flew with her Aera magic.
"We're fine." They shook their heads, stabilizing themselves.
"The sky has changed color." Wendy observed their surroundings with wide eyes.
The sky above the Worth Woodsea around Nirvana was dyed a sinister blood-red.
"Is this Nirvana?"
As the dust and smoke gradually cleared, they finally saw Nirvana's true form—a massive, mobile ancient city.
The entire ancient city sat atop six colossal mechanical legs, lifting the entire metropolis high into the sky.
In the center, there was a structure resembling a watchtower or a high command platform.
...
Cobra and Brain were currently standing on the watchtower, looking down at the world.
"Finally... finally, I have it! The ultimate weapon that can dismantle the light—the Super Reversal Magic, Nirvana!"
Brain spread his arms wide, standing high and overlooking the enormous city he now commanded.
"The unity and trust of the regular guilds! From this moment on, they will all become useless!"
"Advance! Ancient City!"
Brain raised his skull staff, and as the magic circle formed, the entire ancient city began to move.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Each step the ancient city took with its massive legs was accompanied by earth-shaking tremors that threatened to flatten the forest below.
"This ends here!"
A massive Ice Rose slammed towards Brain, spinning violently as Ultear landed gracefully on the high platform.
"Cobra! Stop her!" Brain shouted.
He needed to focus on controlling the ancient city's movement and had no time to deal with Ultear personally.
"I'll handle him."
Kagura stepped forward, her blade Archenemy unsheathed, blocking Cobra who was trying to intercept Ultear.
"Dark Ecriture: Dark Rondo!"
Brain raised his skull staff, sending a swirling storm of dark green Magical Power shooting violently toward Ultear.
Ultear neither dodged nor evaded. Forming hand seals rapidly, she continuously outputted Ice Magical Power.
"Ice Make: Shield!"
The Dark Rondo began to freeze over repeatedly upon contact with her magic, then suddenly transformed into heavy sections of ice that fell to the ground and shattered into harmless pieces.
Ultear could have used her Arc of Time to deal with Brain, which might have been easier, but she wanted to use Ice Make instead.
This gave her the feeling of fighting alongside her mother, Ur.
"Ice Make: Infinite Blade Leaves!"
Countless short, razor-sharp ice blades formed from the freezing cold air, shooting violently toward Brain like a blizzard of daggers.
"I'll go deal with that Racer. Wendy, you stay here and help them if they need it."
Raizel assessed the situation.
There weren't many members of Oración Seis left.
Currently, Erza was facing Midnight, while Gray and Lucy were still locked in combat with Racer elsewhere.
Natsu had gotten severe motion sickness from the moving city and was currently lying unconscious, with Happy having already dragged him to safety.
"Okay." Wendy nodded firmly.
Though she didn't join the fight directly, she began chanting enchantments.
"Vernier! Arms! Armor!"
She successively cast the support spells on both Kagura and Ultear, enveloping them in a soft glow that enhanced their speed, attack power, and defense respectively.
The battle between Kagura and Cobra had initially reached a stalemate.
Kagura had her Gravity Magic fully activated to weigh him down, while Cobra could "hear" Kagura's muscle movements and thoughts, allowing him to dodge in advance.
However, after Vernier was applied to Kagura, the situation changed drastically.
"Too slow!" Kagura shouted.
Kagura began to overwhelm Cobra with sheer speed.
Her blade moved faster than Cobra could react to the sound, forcing him to retreat repeatedly until he had no choice but to call his snake, Cubellios, to carry him as they fled into the sky.
...
Meanwhile, the battle between Ultear and Brain was also intensifying.
"Ice Make: Thorns!"
Massive spikes of ice erupted from the floor of the platform.
"Dark Rondo: Void Whip!"
A magical power whip crackling with dark energy shot from Brain's skull staff, thrashing wildly and continuously shattering the ice thorns created by Ultear into sparkling dust.
"Dark Erasure!"
Dozens of dark energy bullets emerged from a magic circle in front of Brain, charging toward Ultear with destructive force.
"Ice Make: Scatter Shot!"
Ultear formed hand seals as countless ice bullets materialized, scattering like shotgun pellets.
They collided with the dark energy bullets in mid-air, creating a series of explosions that filled the platform with mist.
...
Raizel managed to find the others by following the trails of destruction from Gray and Racer's battle.
At this moment, Lucy and Gray were at a severe disadvantage.
Racer's magic seemed to be super-speed, but it actually weakened sensory perception within a certain range.
Around Racer, Lucy and Gray's senses diminished, making Racer's movements appear exceptionally fast to them.
"I'll handle close combat. Lucy, you watch for opportunities from the side."
Gray gripped his dual Ice Blades and charged toward Racer.
"Open, Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!"
Lucy held her whip tightly, summoning her spirit to create an opening.
"Moshi, moshi."
Sagittarius emerged in his horse costume and saluted Lucy.
"Sagittarius, please help me defeat that person!" Lucy pointed at the blurring figure of Racer.
"Understood!"
Sagittarius fired three arrows in rapid succession.
However, as Raizel expected watching from above, all three arrows were easily dodged by Racer, who seemed to simply step around them.
"Something's strange, moshi, moshi."
As an archer with keen intuition, Sagittarius felt like the arrows had slowed down the moment they got close to the target.
It wasn't just Sagittarius who found it strange—Gray also had an inexplicable intuition.
He felt a peculiar sensation similar to being suppressed by Kagura's Gravity Magic, yet it was different. It felt like moving through water.
Bam!
Gray was kicked viciously in the abdomen by Racer, sending him flying backward.
"Gray!"
Fortunately, Lucy used her whip to catch him, pulling him back, while Gray slowed his momentum by stabbing an Ice Make sword into the ground to act as a brake.
"Lucy, something feels strange."
"Eh, Sagittarius said the same thing."
"Moshi, moshi, the arrow slowed down when it got close."
Thud.
Raizel, who had used Take Over: Ulforceveedramon, slowly descended beside Gray.
"It seems you've noticed it."