Destruction energy exploded across the battlefield. The earth shattered like fragile blocks of tofu, then was instantly annihilated by the shockwaves.
A massive mushroom cloud, filled with fire and black smoke, rose slowly. The resulting seismic waves even affected distant surrounding towns, causing no small amount of commotion and panic!
Destroying everything in its path—that was the power of Gandora the Dragon of Destruction!
The terrifying magical explosion continued for nearly a minute before gradually subsiding.
When the smoke cleared, Natsu and the others on the high-altitude Nirvana looked down, all of them stunned speechless by the scene before their eyes.
What met their gaze was a super-massive crater, comparable in size to the entire city of Magnolia. Within the crater were countless deep, pitch-black fissures, spreading outward like a spider's web.
The land outside the crater was barren and empty, nothing left but rolling yellow sand kicked up by the hurricane, exuding an air of desolation.
A whole forest... just blown away like that!
"Amazing! That was so amazing! As expected of Brother Gandora!" Natsu was the first to react, shouting excitedly.
"Since when did you start calling him 'big brother'? And don't you think this is going way too far?! If the master's reaction had been even a little slower, we'd all be dead!" Lucy clutched her chest, still shaken.
"Aye~ Lucy, did the enemy scramble your brain? We're in the sky right now!" Happy popped up inopportunely to tell a cold joke.
The corner of Lucy's mouth twitched. Considering their current situation, she managed to suppress the urge to grab the damn cat and beat him.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield below.
A deep purple magical barrier shattered like glass, revealing Hades standing inside, his hair disheveled.
After realizing that the heart buried deep underground had most likely been destroyed, and just before Gandora unleashed all its energy, he had used his infinite magic power one last time to cast a defensive spell even more advanced than Makarov's Three Pillar Gods.
Although he had barely managed to survive the fatal attack, with his heart destroyed, he had exhausted all his remaining magic power. He was now at his last gasp.
"I'll return your words to you, unchanged," Chase said, walking slowly across the scorched earth. He looked up at the weakened Hades. "Master Precht, now you're the one who looks more like a candle flickering in the wind."
"You damned card brat... you knew where the heart was hidden all along, didn't you?" Hades's gaze was terrifyingly dark.
That pitch-black dragon's attack target had been quite clear.
Combined with Chase's series of confident, winning performances earlier, he quickly arrived at this conclusion.
"No. I learned it during the battle," Chase said, shaking his head gently, speaking truthfully. "No matter how hidden the magic, as long as there's a magical connection, its source can be traced. Surely you know that principle, don't you?"
Hearing this, the face of Dark Magician of Chaos appeared before Hades's eyes. "That black-robed mage told you, didn't he?"
Even Makarov couldn't detect the location of the heart. He didn't think Chase could have discovered it on his own.
Thinking of this, intense regret welled up in Hades's heart. If only I had used my Underworld Magic to end the battle from the very beginning!
As the one closest to Zeref, he had been far too arrogant.
But perhaps that very arrogance had also inadvertently saved him from an even deeper level of despair.
If he had done that, what Chase would have summoned wouldn't have been Gandora the Dragon of Destruction... but a god!
"Who told me isn't important. What's important is that you've lost," Chase said, taking a step forward.
Although Gandora's explosion had nearly drained his restored magic power, in his current state, finishing off a heartless Hades wasn't much of a challenge.
"Heh. That's why I said you're too naive, you brat!"
Hades let out a cold laugh. Behind him, the light of a spatial magic array suddenly lit up.
Over a dozen figures emerged from within the light. They were the supposed defeated ones—Zancrow, the other members of the Seven Kin, and their retainers!
Given the personalities of Natsu and the others, they weren't the type to ruthlessly kill an enemy. At most, they would knock them unconscious.
It was precisely this love for life, this kindness, that Hades had exploited to protect Zancrow and the others.
This wasn't because he cared for his men. It was simply to keep them to deal with the predicament he would face next.
With everyone on both sides low on magic power, numbers became the decisive factor in who would eventually win!
Truly, an old-timer who had dominated the magical world for over a century—able to make such a precise judgment in an instant. But—
CRASH!
The Nirvana descended from the sky. Its six rock giant legs stomped onto the scarred earth, kicking up clouds of dust.
Figures surged behind Chase. Led by Master Makarov, the entirety
of Fairy Tail appeared, facing the remnants led by Hades directly—achieving an overwhelming advantage in both numbers and momentum!
"Give up this pointless struggle, Master Precht," Makarov said, stepping forward to stand beside Chase, his face cold as he delivered the final ultimatum.
Even at this point, Hades remained unmoved. His arms crossed, his expression calm.
"Brat. In your current state, how long do you think it would take for you to completely defeat us?"
Seeing Makarov frown and not respond, he continued, "Don't forget. Grimoire Heart is the strongest dark guild in the Balam Alliance. It has a vast number of subordinate guilds."
"Thanks to the commotion your card brat caused, they're probably already on their way here."
Normally, ordinary dark guilds wouldn't stand a chance against Fairy Tail. But in this state, where both sides were exhausted, those thugs would be the final straw that breaks the camel's back!
Who would have thought that the small fry he usually couldn't even be bothered to look at would become his greatest source of confidence.
Just as Hades was inwardlying with sigh, a steady, self-assured voice suddenly rang out from the rear of Fairy Tail's forces.
"If you're talking about the dark guilds stationed around the Death Forest..." Crimson hair fluttered. Erza, who had been nowhere to be seen this entire time, walked through the crowd and stopped before Hades. She slowly unclenched her fist. "...I'm afraid they won't be making an appearance."
WHOOSH.
One by one, flags bearing sinister patterns fell to the ground, scattered by the gentle breeze.
Hades's eyes widened in disbelief. The confidence on his aged face rapidly crumbled along with the flags scattered across the ground.
"H-how is this possible?! One person... took out all the subordinate guilds?!" Zancrow and the others were filled with horror.
Those guilds, while nowhere near as strong as the headquarters, still had at least dozens of mages each, and their masters were even S-Class level. And they had been wiped out like that?!
"I knew you'd be our opponent this time. So before the full-scale war began, I racked my brains and prepared for any emergencies that might occur," Makarov said in a deep voice.
Truth be told, when he had initially arranged for Erza to take care of the surrounding dark guilds, he had only wanted to avoid the passive situation of being caught in a pincer movement. He hadn't expected Hades to be so arrogant that even when his headquarters was attacked, he wouldn't notify his subordinate guilds to come for support.
But judging by the result, that decision had certainly paid off!
Hades's gaze swept past Makarov, landing on Chase, Mira, and Erza standing shoulder to shoulder, and on the determined-looking Fairy Tail mages further behind.
After a brief silence, knowing the tide had turned, he gave up resisting. His arms fell limply to his sides.
"The rash, impulsive little brat from back then has learned to be cautious, hasn't he..."
"I accept my defeat. Get it over with quickly, Makarov..."
***
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