Everyone split into several groups to search for Nirvana's control room and power supply to stop the ancient city from destroying the alliance.
Natsu and the others followed Brain's floating staff into the interior of Nirvana.
Having vented his anger regarding the motion sickness and the earlier fights, Natsu was now furiously chasing the skull staff originally held by Brain.
Gray was also nearby, forming Ice Make hand seals to prepare an attack to trap it.
Brain's skull staff, named Klodoa, could move autonomously and even speak.
It zipped through the corridors, mocking them.
"Natsu is rolling around miserably! Did you see that, Lucy!" Happy pointed at Natsu, who was being sent tumbling everywhere by Klodoa's sudden turns and headbutts.
"Is that so? But I think the main point might not be there." Lucy covered her mouth while giggling nearby at the absurdity of the chase.
WHACK!
As soon as Lucy finished speaking, Gray also suffered a heavy blow to his abdomen from the flying staff.
"Got you now."
Natsu seized the opportunity while the staff hit Gray and grabbed Klodoa with both hands.
"Well done, Natsu! Take this chance to give him..."
BONK!
Before Gray could finish his sentence, his head suffered another violent blow—this time from Natsu swinging the staff around wildly.
"What are you doing!"
The two of them were originally cooperating to attack Klodoa, but suddenly it turned into infighting as they grabbed each other's collars.
"Its really like a catfight..." Happy turned around and spread his hands helplessly.
"The Oración Seis... the Oración Seis have been completely wiped out..."
Suddenly, Klodoa stopped struggling.
The crystal ball held in its mouth fell to the ground and shattered.
"This is bad... this is bad... That one is coming!"
"What, what is he saying?" Gray looked at Klodoa in confusion, releasing Natsu.
"That one? Could they still have remaining members?"
Outside, on the high platform, the remaining patterns on the face of the unconscious Brain began to emit a blinding golden light.
The lines dissolved one by one.
Brain slowly opened his eyes.
The iris vanished, and his eyes suddenly turned a blood-shot red.
"Brain..." Klodoa broke out in a cold sweat, gritting his teeth as he spoke in terror.
"Brain was defeated by Ultear, you know," Natsu pointed out.
"No, Brain has another personality... The surface personality who loves knowledge and bears the name Brain, and the inner personality who loves destruction and bears the name Zero."
"Because he is extremely vicious and possesses powerful Magical Power, Brain himself sealed this personality with six keys."
"The Oración Seis?" Gray seemed to recall something about the prayer of the six.
"Correct. Using Biological Link Magic, when all six demons are defeated, Zero's personality will awaken once again."
BOOM!
As soon as Klodoa finished speaking, the thick stone wall behind him suddenly burst open with a large hole.
Dust and debris filled the room.
"Welcome back... Master Zero!"
Klodoa planted his skull on the ground, assuming a submissive posture instantly.
A figure emerged from the dust.
It looked like Brain, but the air around him was different—wild, feral, and suffocating.
"Things have developed quite interestingly, Klodoa. Even Midnight was taken out?"
"I... I'm truly sorry!"
"Speaking of which, this feeling is really nostalgic. This body, this voice, this Magical Power—everything makes me feel nostalgic..."
Master Zero clenched his fist tightly, feeling the raw Magical Power surging throughout his body.
An ominous red-black light appeared, crackling like lightning on his arms.
"You brats, you've made a complete mess of our guild."
Master Zero's eyes were filled with violence and pure destructive desire.
"As the Guild Master, I'll be the one to clean up this mess."
A surge of emerald-green Magical Power erupted around Zero, the fluctuation creating earthquake-like effects that shook the corridor.
...
"Burn it all, Natsu."
"Such disgusting Magic Power, interesting."
Gray and Natsu were brimming with fighting spirit despite the pressure.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Natsu lunged forward, his fist wreathed in flame.
Master Zero didn't even dodge.
He blocked Natsu's attack with a single hand, catching the fist effortlessly.
Then, he lightly tapped a finger against Natsu's chest.
BANG!
A pulse of kinetic magic sent Natsu flying backward like a bullet to crash against the far wall, embedding him in the stone.
"Natsu!"
Gray tried to attack, but was swatted away just as easily.
Lucy and Happy were so terrified that their bodies froze on the spot, trembling uncontrollably at the overwhelming killing intent.
After easily dealing with Natsu and Gray, Zero raised his hand and launched a dark green shockwave directly toward Lucy.
"Dark Capriccio!"
"Sneak attacking a girl isn't very honorable, is it?"
CLANG!
Raizel, who had used Take Over: Jesmon, appeared in a flash of light and stood before Lucy and Happy.
He was clad in brilliant white and crimson armor, with blades extending from his limbs.
Around him floated three energy constructs—The Three Sword Spirits.
They formed a triangular defensive shield, completely blocking Master Zero's shockwave.
"Raizel! Thank goodness!" Happy looked relieved as he hugged Raizel's bladed leg.
"Take Natsu and Gray and get out of here."
Raizel glanced back at Lucy and Happy as Erza and the others arrived through the passage Raizel had cut open.
Earlier, Raizel and the others on the other side had detected Zero's massive Magical Power fluctuation, so Raizel had rushed ahead to this location, cutting through walls along the way to save time.
...
"Nirvana is moving again!"
Ultear suddenly felt vibrations beneath her feet.
Erza voiced her speculation, "It's probably being powered by Zero's own Magical Power."
Raizel didn't refute Erza but added, "There's another reason. Nirvana has six legs—those legs actually function as conduits absorbing Magical Power from the earth."
Raizel turned to the enemy and nodded. "Doesnt matter. We just need to defeat him."
"Oh? Such bold words. How old are you to be so arrogant as to think you can defeat me?"
Zero placed his hands behind his back, speaking disdainfully.
Zero's personality was fundamentally arrogant—he had always believed that even while sealed, he was invincible.
To him, these were just insects.
"What?" Zero's pupils suddenly contracted.
He had completely failed to track Raizel's movement.
In the blink of an eye, Raizel had vanished from his spot.
SLASH!
Raizel's arm blades slashed across Zero's chest.
Blood poured down uncontrollably, staining his coat.
The impact sent Master Zero flying back.
He clutched his chest wound, struggling to stand, his eyes wide with shock.
If not for his strong combat intuition allowing him to deploy a Dark Guard barrier at the last moment to dampen the blow, he suspected he would have died on the spot.
When Raizel appeared before him again, hovering with his Sword Spirits, Zero didn't dare be careless.
He stared intently at Raizel with grave focus.
"How are you this powerful?"
"There's always someone better, and beyond the sky there's another sky."
Being mocked so directly made the inherently violent Zero's veins bulge on his forehead, his expression growing even more ferocious as a terrifying Magical Power erupted from him once more.
As Zero's Magical Power suddenly burst forth, scattered stones around them began floating upward due to the sheer gravity of his aura.
Though it was useless against Raizel... it just looked impressive.
"Dark Capriccio!" Zero struck first, raising his right palm to fire a dark green laser beam violently toward Raizel.
The Three Sword Spirits once again moved autonomously, forming a defensive formation in front of Raizel and deflecting the beam.
Raizel flew up from behind the defensive formation, spinning continuously in the air as he descended, his tail blade slashing directly toward Zero.
"Schwertgeist!"
At the last moment, Zero abandoned his attack, rolling sideways to dodge the strike.
BOOM!
Raizel's tail blade slammed heavily into Nirvana's floor, blasting out a massive crater and shaking the room.
"Dark Capriccio: Lament!"
Zero refused to believe this was happening.
He raised his hand and launched another strike, a barrage of dark beams.
But this time, the Three Sword Spirits didn't defend.
Instead, they split up, evading the shockwaves together with Raizel, and each launched their own attacks from different angles.
Zero wasn't particularly skilled in close combat, leaning more toward long-range destructive magic.
With Raizel pressing the offense and the Three Sword Spirits closing in on him like guided missiles, Zero struggled to cope.
He was forced into constant retreat, his barriers shattering one by one.
His injuries multiplied, blood streaming freely from cuts on his arms and legs, until his upper body was completely stained crimson.
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator