Natsu stood with his feet planted firmly on the cracked lacrima floor, the soles of his sandals smoking against the vibrating crystal. The entire structure groaned, trembled and then plummeted around him. The once-blue crystal walls were no longer calm or stable. Red light crawled across every surface, spreading outward from the shattered pillar where the monster core had embedded itself.
The tower was being consumed as large chunks of lacrima broke free from the ceiling and crashed to the floor. Natsu rolled his shoulders, the popping of his neck joints audible even over the roar of the collapsing tower. "Alright…" He muttered, a predatory grin splitting his soot-stained face. "I'm ready."
Inside him, Igneel growled and rumbled. (Idiot. This is not the same creature as before.)
Natsu snorted, flames licking his lips. "Yeah, yeah. You worry over nothing, Pops. I got this."
The red jewel embedded within the broken pillar pulsed again and the tower began to change. The surrounding crystal lacrima tore free from the walls and floor as if pulled by an invisible force. Shards of crystal lifted into the air and rushed toward the core.
Natsu squinted, shielding his eyes from the falling crystal dust flying through the sky. "…Huh?"
The crystal fragments began assembling themselves as jagged plates fused together as a massive chest cavity formed around the glowing jewel. Then limbs began forming as long red crystal segments locked together to create arms and legs. Layer after layer of faceted crystal armor formed over the growing frame. The construct rose slowly from the shattered base of the tower as the Red Etherion Lacrima Knight was born, towered over Natsu.
Its entire body was composed of dense jagged red crystal plates that formed naturally around its frame. Nothing about it looked forged or crafted. The structure had grown around the core as if it were a living organism. At the center of its chest burned the heart of the construct. A dark crimson crystal core embedded deep within the torso. The monster core pulsed as veins of darker red light spread through the knight's body. The energy flowed beneath the crystal armor and illuminated the fractures and seams of its structure releasing a huge amount of Magical pressure that filled the chamber.
Natsu stared up at it. "…Oh." He scratched the back of his head. "That's new."
The construct slowly moved as its head tilted downward as angular crystal plates formed a helmet-like structure. A narrow visor slit opened along the front with two crimson lights ignited within the darkness as the knight's eyes locked onto him and thin strands of magical energy leaked from the seams of its neck and helmet and the pressure surrounding the area increased.
Igneel spoke again. (I warned you about the danger of leaving the monster core intact.)
But Natsu only grinned. "Yeah." He cracked his knuckles and rolled his neck again. "But that thing looks awesome."
The knight's wings slowly unfolded showing two enormous crystalline wings that expanded from its back. Long red crystal spines stretched outward, each one supporting dozens of translucent blade-like crystals that glowed with internal red light. The wings spread wide and the air vibrated as they moved.
Natsu leaned forward excitedly. "Oh this is gonna be fun!"
But before the fight could begin, suddenly a chorus of terrified screaming filled the air, cutting through Natsu's battle high.
Natsu blinked. "…Huh?" He quickly looked up and realized that the sky had opened where the tower once stood and falling above was a chaotic rain of very familiar, very panicked people.
"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" Lucy wailed, her legs pedaling the air frantically as she plummeted toward the ground. "WHY IS THE GROUND GONE?!"
"GRAY-SAMA!" Juvia screamed, her hair whipping around her face. "JUVIA DOES NOT WANT TO DIE UNTIL SHE HAS AT LEAST THREE CHILDREN WITH YOU!"
Gray was tumbling head over heels, his shirt already missing. "WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?! HAPPY! HELP!"
Happy flapped his wings frantically. "Aye! I'm trying!"
Ruby had also deployed her wings. The two of them struggled desperately to grab people. "There's too many!" Ruby yelled as she wondered who to choose to help first.
Happy grabbed Lucy's collar and struggled to keep her from dropping faster. Then he tried to grab Gray. "Stop spinning!" Happy yelled.
"I CAN'T!" Gray shouted back.
Ruby caught Yuuka by the arm before she could fall further. "Got you!"
"I REGRET EVERYTHING!" Yuuka screamed.
Ruby then tried reaching for Yashima, but she was falling too fast. The two flying rescuers simply did not have enough strength or speed to catch everyone.
Tamamo tumbled through the air with the rest of the group. Her fox ears drooped as she tried to use any bit of magic inside her, only to see it sputter out pathetically. "…Oh dear."
Uzume grabbed Tamamo's arm, her face pale. "Can't you create a platform with your magic?! A cloud?! A very soft pillow?!""
Tamamo sighed tiredly, her eyes half-lidded. "I would love to…" She looked and lifted her shaking hands. "…but I am completely exhausted."
Yuuka continued screaming as she fell. "THIS IS NOT HOW I WANTED TO DIE!"
Akitsu grabbed Yashima, holding her for dear life. "Akitsu! This is not the time to be afraid of falling!"
Sho, Wally, and Millianna were also falling nearby.
"SIMON!" Sho shouted as he saw his friend falling with the group from Fairy Tail.
Simon sighed and looked down at the rapidly approaching ground. "…This is unfortunate."
Crystal debris rained down alongside them as pieces of the collapsing tower fell everywhere.
Below them, Natsu watched the chaos with wide eyes. "Whoa."
Then suddenly a red blur shot through the sky as Issei blasted through the sky, his Scale Mail armor gleaming in the sunset. He held Erza tightly against his chest with one arm, she was clinging to him, her eyes wide with a mix of shock and relief. Issei's thrusters ignited with a deafening roar as he dove into the middle of the falling crowd.
"Issei!" Erza shouted. "Everyone is falling!"
"I SEE THEM!" He accelerated toward the falling crowd.
First he grabs Yuuka as he snatched her by the back of her shirt and lightened Ruby's load, second was Akitsu, third was Yashima. Issei continued flying upward, weaving between falling debris. He grabbed Uzume, then Tamamo, Juvia, Gray, Lucy, Simon, Sho, Millianna and finally Wally.
Crystal debris smashed past them as the tower continued collapsing.
Happy hovered nearby and watched the rescue. "Aye! Nice catch!"
Issei gathered the remaining stragglers and descended quickly. His wings beat powerfully as he landed beside Natsu and set everyone down safely.
Lucy collapsed onto the ground. "…I hate gravity."
Gray lay on his back, staring at the sky. "I saw my life flash before my eyes. Mostly the parts where I didn't have clothes on. It was awkward."
Juvia instantly latched onto him. "Juvia is grateful Gray-sama survived! Let us marry in the ruins!"
Gray groaned. "Please stop squeezing my ribs…"
Happy floated beside them. "Aye!"
Ruby landed nearby and dusted herself off. "That was intense…"
Natsu looked over at Issei and crossed his arms. "Took you long enough."
Issei de-helmeted, looking at Natsu with pure, unadulterated disbelief. "…You were just standing there! You didn't even try to catch them! You just watched them fall!"
"I wasn't just watching! I was planning to catch them!"
"That doesn't help anyone, Natsu!"
Before Natsu could answer, a flash of golden light appeared nearby as Jellal descended in a streak of Meteor magic, landing beside the massive crystal construct. He looked at the Knight, then at his shattered tower, and his expression shifted from shock to a twisted, ecstatic realization.
The Red Etherion Lacrima Knight stood silently behind him with its massive wings spread wide.
"My tower…" Jellal's voice trembled with a terrifying joy. "…it hasn't been destroyed. It has been reborn!" He threw his head back and laughed, a jagged, manic sound that echoed off the falling shards of the tower. "Hahahaha! I may have lost the stone structure, but the power of Etherion is mine! The R-System can still begin!"
Jellal raised his arm, the black control bracelet glowing with a dark, pulsing light. He pointed a finger at Issei and the others. "Destroy them! Leave nothing but ash!" The bracelet flashed a violent red.
The crystal knight moved and its massive arm lifted causing everyone to tense.
The mages scrambled. Issei's helmet slammed shut. Natsu's fists erupted in a roar of Dragon King fire. Gray pushed himself up, his hands forming an ice shell. Erza stepped forward, her hand reaching out one last time. "Jellal, stop! It's over! Look at what you've become!"
But the Knight didn't move toward them. Its visor glowed a deep, murderous violet, and it slowly turned its head... toward Jellal.
"…What?" Jellal muttered, his grin faltering.
Without warning a massive crystal spike erupted from the knight's arm and in a blur of motion, the Knight's crystal arm drove straight through Jellal's chest. The mad mage's laughter died in a wet choke.
Time seemed to freeze. The only sound was the crackle of the dying tower and the heavy thrum of the Knight's core. Jellal's eyes widened, the golden light of his magic flickering and dying as blood spilled from his lips.
Erza's eyes widened in horror. "JELLAL!" Erza's scream was a raw, jagged sound of pure heartbreak.
The knight lifted him into the air with the spike still embedded through his body. Then its chest core hummed with a high-pitched, crystalline whine, charging with a blinding crimson intensity. Then, it released a beam of concentrated Etherion energy. The blast launched Jellal's body away from the island in a streak of red light.
He flew through the air, a broken shadow against the setting sun, before disappearing into the dark, churning ocean miles away.
Far beneath the collapsing ruins, his body struck the water and sank into the lightless depths. The master of the tower was gone, replaced by the monster he had created.
—-----------------------------------------------
Erza did not move as she could only stare in shock at what happened to her old friend. Beside her, Sho, Simon, Wally, and Millianna were frozen in a matching tableau of stunned silence. Their eyes remained fixed on the distant ocean where Jellal's body had disappeared beneath the waves.
For several long, agonizing seconds, the only sound was the groan of the falling tower and the distant, rhythmic crashing of waves. The Red Etherion Lacrima Knight stood motionless behind them, a silent sentinel of jagged glass, its massive wings casting a long, crimson shadow that seemed to swallow them whole.
Sho's hands trembled violently. "…Jellal…"
Simon lowered his head, his broad shoulders slumped under a weight heavier than any stone. Millianna's breath hitched in a sob, her fists clenched so tightly her claws drew beads of blood from her palms. Wally looked pale, his carefully cultivated dandy persona shattering; his rectangular glasses slid down his nose, forgotten.
They all knew the truth. The Jellal, the boy they once followed… the boy they once believed in… had been gone for a long time. But a part of them had still hoped, that somewhere inside the broken man, there had been something left. Something that could still return, now that hope had vanished.
Erza's eyes remained fixed on the horizon. Then, the tears began to fall—quiet, heavy drops that slid down her cheeks and splashed onto her breastplate. Her chest tightened, a physical knot of agony twisting behind her ribs.
'Jellal…' Memories flickered like a dying film strip: a boy sharing a crust of bread, a boy pointing at the stars, a boy naming her 'Scarlet' so he'd never forget the color of her hair. The boy who once spoke of freedom. The boy who once dreamed of escaping the Tower of Heaven. The boy who had once caused her to smile with hope. That boy was gone and now there was nothing left.
Her tears then stopped and her eyes hardened. Two flashes of light erupted as she reached into her pocket dimension, and twin steel blades materialized in her grip with a sharp, metallic shine.
In a heartbeat, Erza vanished.
"ERZA, WAIT—!" Simon shouted, reaching out, but his fingers only caught the air she had just occupied.
But it was too late as she was already airborne, a streak of silver and scarlet launched toward the towering monster. Fury burned in her eyes, a cold, focused rage that surpassed anything she had felt before. She brought both blades down with the full weight of her sorrow and strength.
The impact rang across the shattered island like a funeral bell. Her swords struck the knight's chest, but the creature didn't even vibrate. Erza landed, her feet skidding on the lacrima floor, and lunged again. Her blades became a blur, a whirlwind of steel raining blows upon the crimson armor. Slashing, stabbing, hacking, her blades blurred as she attacked with relentless speed as steel flew across the crystal body, but no matter how much she attacked, nothing happened.
"Re-equip!" A flash of magic swirled around her, and she appeared in her Black Wing Armor, swinging a heavy, serrated greatsword.
"Re-equip: Flame Empress!" A fire-imbued spear thrust into a joint. But again no effect.
She then Re-quiped again. Sea Empress, Morning Star, Armadura Fairy, one by one, the legendary weapons of the Titania struck the beast in a storm of relentless violence. She was changing armors faster than the eye could follow, a strobe light of magical energy, but the Red Etherion Lacrima Knight didn't even shift its stance. It stood there, enduring her grief as if it were nothing more than a light summer rain.
Erza's breathing grew ragged, her lungs burning. 'Why…' She slammed a heavy axe against its arm. 'Why won't you break?!' She struck its chest core again, her teeth bared in a snarl. But again, not a crack or scratch.
Then the knight slowly began to move as its massive arm lifted, and the crystal plates along its forearm shifted and elongated, growing into a jagged, six-foot broadsword of humming red glass. The air around the blade distorted, vibrating with the raw, terrifying frequency of Etherion.
Erza's eyes widened. She was mid-swing, overextended.
"ERZA, GET BACK!" Gray roared, slamming his palms onto the floor. "ICE MAKE: RAMPART!" A massive wall of reinforced ice erupted between the knight and the swordswoman. Beside him, Akitsu's eyes glowed with a frosty light as she thrust her hands forward. "Frozen Barrier!" A second, crystalline layer of permafrost fused into Gray's ice just as the knight's sword began its descent.
The red blade met the ice. There was no struggle as the barrier didn't just break; it detonated. Shards of ice exploded in every direction like shrapnel, and the resulting shockwave sent Erza flying backward, tumbling across the jagged ground.
"Erza!" Simon caught her, his boots digging into the lacrima to stop her momentum.
"Get away from her!" Juvia cried, her face twisted in uncharacteristic anger. "Water Slicer!" High-pressure blades of water hissed through the air.
"Dark Arrow!" Simon added, unleashing a barrage of shadow projectiles.
"Eat lead!" Yuuka barked, her revolvers spitting magic-enhanced rounds, while Wally's gun barked in tandem. Sho flicked a handful of glowing cards into the air. "Explosive Waltz!"
The combined magical assault of water, shadows, bullets, and explosions—slammed into the knight's chest in a blinding cacophony of light and noise. Smoke curled away from the impact site. But again the knight stood unchanged, the crimson light of its core pulsing mockingly.
"…You're kidding me," Yuuka muttered, her hands shaking as she reloaded.
Natsu grinned. "Oh this thing has gotten tougher!" Flames erupted around his fists, turning the air into a shimmering haze. "FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" Beside him, Issei's boosters screamed as he launched into the air. Uzume's veil snapped forward like a living whip, and Millianna followed as she quickly used her magic to create black whips. Yashima charged, her massive hammer trailing a wake of gravity-defying energy.
"Let's hit it together!" Issei shouted.
The five of them charged the knight simultaneously. Natsu's flaming fist smashed into the knight's knee, Issei's armored punch, backed by three boosts, drove into its torso, Uzume's enchanted veil coiled around its sword arm, Millianna used her binding magic to do the same to his other arm and Yashima's hammer slammed into its side with a sickening thud.
The knight's body did not move.
"…Huh?" Natsu blinked, his fist still pressed against the unyielding red crystal. "It didn't move. Why didn't it move?!"
Then the knight swung its sword much faster than before with the massive crystal red blade cut a horizontal arc through the air, and the sheer displacement of atmosphere created a vacuum. The force of the swing alone exploded outward in a physical gale. The ground beneath them shattered, a massive fissure ripping across the island and tearing through the shoreline. The ocean itself groaned as the shockwave split the waves, carving a path through the sea for hundreds of yards.
For a moment everyone simply stared.
"…Did that… just split the sea?" Lucy whispered, her voice cracking.
Gray wiped sweat from his brow. "…That's not normal."
Even Natsu paused. "…Okay that's kinda awesome."
The knight raised its weapon again, but it didn't wait for them to recover. It began to move with a terrifying, rhythmic grace, swinging the massive sword in wide, devastating arcs. Each swing sent 'sword-waves' of compressed red energy shrieking through the air.
"SCATTER!" Issei yelled, grabbing Millianna and Uzume and taking to the air.
The swings shattered the landscape, turning the ruins into a graveyard of jagged shards. But the monster wasn't finished. The various lacrima embedded in its wings detached, floating into the sky like a swarm of angry hornets. Each one hummed, pointing at a different target, charging with the searing light of Etherion.
Beams of red light rained down as everyone scattered and did their best to dodge.
"MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" Yuuka yelled, diving into a roll as a beam turned the stone next to her into molten slag.
Lucy, panicked and breathless, tripped over a jagged piece of debris. She looked up, her eyes wide with terror as a floating crystal locked onto her chest. The red glow intensified. "Oh no—"
But then Happy grabbed her collar, his wings straining as he yanked her upward just as the beam vaporized the ground where her head had been. "Aye! Flying rescue! You owe me a very big fish, Lucy!"
Gray skidded across the ground, throwing up wall after wall of ice, but the knight simply walked through them as if they were cobwebs. Uzume tried coiling her veil around its leg again, but with a single step, the knight's sheer mass ripped the enchanted fabric into confetti.
Yuuka and Wally poured a barrage of magic bullets into its head, but the projectiles simply ricocheted off the armor, scattering harmlessly into the sea.
Wally dove behind a pile of rubble, his hat flying off. "This is completely unfair!" he shouted over the roar of the lasers.
Issei watched the chaotic exchange, as the Knight swatted away spells like annoying flies. 'This isn't working…' His fists tightened, the metal of his gauntlets grinding. The monster ignored the combined might of Fairy Tail and his own household, its chest core only glowing brighter with every impact. 'We're not even scratching it or slowing it down!'
Ddraig's voice rumbled in his mind, ancient and heavy with anticipation. (Partner... stop playing around. This thing is a walking tank. You'll have to boost your power to the absolute limit if you want to crack that shell.)
Issei inhaled deeply, the smell of ozone and burning salt filling his lungs. "Alright… let's push it until my muscles scream."
His Scale Mail armor flared, the emerald gems embedded in the plating pulsing with a rhythmic, violent light.
(BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!)
Power surged through his veins, hot enough to make his blood feel like molten lead. Crimson flames erupted from his armor, turning the surrounding air into a shimmering heat haze.
(BOOST!)
With one final, thunderous surge of energy, his wings snapped wide. A dome of heat exploded outward, vaporizing the falling rain and cracking the lacrima floor into a web of glowing fissures.
The battlefield went silent. Everyone, Natsu, Gray, Erza, and the others, turned to look at the source of the sudden, suffocating pressure.
"…Whoa," Natsu said, his own flames flickering in the presence of a greater heat. "Issei's going nuclear."
The Crystal Knight suddenly stopped its pursuit of the stragglers. Its glowing visor tilted, the twin crimson lights locking onto Issei with predatory focus. It recognized the threat. It recognized the predator.
"Guess I finally got its attention," Issei muttered, his voice distorted by his helmet.
The knight stepped forward, completely ignoring the mages it had been terrorizing moments ago. It walked straight toward Issei, its heavy crystalline footsteps sounding like tectonic plates grinding together.
"HEY!" Natsu shouted, waving a flaming fist in the air. "Don't you ignore me, you oversized chandelier! This is our fight!"
The knight didn't even twitch. It raised a massive, jagged fist, the red Etherion light coiling around its knuckles like barbed wire.
Issei's grin was invisible behind his visor, but his eyes burned with the same fire as his armor. "Alright, big guy. Let's see who breaks first."
He launched himself forward. His thrusters didn't just ignite; they detonated. Issei turned into a red comet, screaming through the air as he raised a fist heavy with the weight of a dozen boosts.
BOOM!
Their fists collided in an earth-shaking impact. The resulting shockwave was a physical wall of air that blasted outward, sending everyone nearby staggering backward.
"Holy—!" Yuuka yelled, digging her heels into the ground and grabbing a jagged rock to keep from being blown into the ocean.
Issei didn't wait for the ring to stop. He pivoted midair, driving a left hook into the knight's crystalline ribs. The knight countered with a brutal overhead smash that sounded like a mountain collapsing. Each collision was a thunderclap that shook the very foundations of the island. Cracks spiderwebbed across the knight's Lacrima armor, while Issei's Scale Mail split and buckled in several places under the sheer weight of the monster's strength.
But the stalemate was unnatural. The knight's crystal plates shifted and reformed instantly, fueled by the endless well of the Etherion's power. Simultaneously, Issei's armor glowed green as it regenerated, the draconic metal knitting itself back together in a heartbeat.
They became a blur of red-on-red violence. The ground beneath them disintegrated, turning into a crater that deepened with every strike. The sea around the island began to churn and boil, shaking as if a massive earthquake were ripping through the seabed.
Natsu watched the exchange, his jaw dropping further with every explosive punch. Then, his face twisted into a scowl. "…HEY!" He pointed an accusatory finger at the two titans. "THIS IS MY FIGHT! STOP HAVING FUN WITHOUT ME!"
Issei caught a punch that would have leveled a skyscraper, his boots sliding back through the crystal floor. He looked over his shoulder, his voice strained but defiant. "THEN GET GOOD, NATSU! STOP COMPLAINING AND START HITTING!"
He drove his shoulder into the knight's chest, following up with a point-blank blast from his palm. The brutal exchange continued, two unstoppable forces trying to find the limit of the other's endurance, then they took to the sky. Explosions ripped through the air as Issei and the Red Etherion Lacrima Knight clashed again and again, their impacts sending violent shockwaves across the crumbling island. Flames roared from Issei's gauntlets as he twisted midair, barely avoiding the massive crystal greatsword that carved a canyon through the clouds where his body had been a second ago.
"Too slow!" Issei shouted, forcing a grin through the strain. 'Crap, it's not slowing down… it's getting faster.'
The Knight didn't respond as i|ts wings flared, and in the next instant, it was already swinging again.
Issei ducked, twisted, and fired a blast of red-hot flames from his mouth as his helmet retracted just enough to unleash a Flameflower. The fire bloomed across the red armor, but the Knight didn't even flinch.
"Are you kidding me?!" Issei exclaimed, watching the monster emerge from the inferno without a single scorch mark.
They separated in the air for a brief second. Then, both raised their arms as energy began to condense into blinding points of light.
"DRAGON SHOT!" A massive blast of red draconic energy erupted from Issei's gauntlet. The Knight answered with a beam of condensed, jagged Etherion.
The two attacks collided, and the sky screamed. The beams ground against each other, neither giving way as the air itself distorted and warped from the sheer magical pressure.
"GHH—MOVE!" Issei roared, forcing every last drop of mana into the blast. 'Come on, just a little more!'
The Knight's core pulsed a deep, angry violet, and its beam surged. The collision detonated, swallowing both attacks in a violent explosion that sent both combatants flying backward like ragdolls.
Issei caught himself midair, breathing hard, his lungs burning. The Knight hovered, eerily still. Then, something changed. The surrounding lacrima of the tower… began to hum.
Issei's eyes widened. "What the—?"
Chunks of glowing crystal lifted from the shattered island, drawn toward the Knight like iron filings to a magnet.
Ddraig's voice echoed in his mind, sharp with warning. (Partner… it is absorbing the Lacrima directly from the environment.)
"…Of course it is."
The crystals slammed into the Knight's body, fusing instantly. Its armor thickened into heavy, jagged plates, and its wings expanded until they blotted out the sunset. Cracks of red lightning began leaking from its form. Below, the island trembled harder, pieces breaking off and falling into the abyss.
"Hey! That's cheating!" Issei shouted.
The Knight raised its arm, and dozens of crystal weapons formed instantly in the air around it, spears, blades, jagged shards and then they all launched at once.
"OH COME ON—!" Issei twisted through the air, dodging by pure instinct as the weapons tore past him. One grazed his side, biting through the metal, but he ignored the pain as the armor knit shut. Then a red laser followed. Then another. Then ten more.
"Seriously?! Pick one attack!" He fired back with Dragon Shots, canceling some, but the barrage was endless. 'Too many!'
Suddenly, the projectiles stopped. The Knight appeared in front of him, impossibly fast and the greatsword came down like a guillotine.
Issei barely raised his gauntlet arms in time. The impact sent him crashing through a crystal wall, then skipping across the ground like a stone. He skidded across the island, finally stopping in a trail of shattered stone and pulverized debris.
Silence.
"…Tch…" Issei pushed himself up, his limbs trembling and his vision swimming. His armor groaned, the red plating cracked and dull. Then, with a sound like breaking glass, the Scale Mail shattered and disappeared into red motes of light. "…Ah." He dropped to one knee, gasping for air. 'No power… seriously? Now?!'
"Sorry, Master you out of stamina and reach your limit." Sherri responded mentally.
(Going all out must have drained you faster than when you were limiting yourself.) Ddraig regretfully agreed.
Across the battlefield.
"ISSEI!" The girls screamed in a panicked chorus, sprinting toward him through the rubble.
"My turn." Natsu's voice echoed as he clenched his fists, flames bursting to life and then charged.
"Like hell it is!" Issei shot back weakly, glaring at the Knight. "I'm still standing…" 'And I can't even stand properly… great timing.'
The Knight descended rapidly as it aimed its greatsword down to end Issei.
Everyone moved at once to intercept.
"Not this time!" Gray slammed his hands forward. "Ice-Make: Freeze Lancer!" Massive ice lances hurtled toward the monster.
"Do not touch my Ashikabi! Ice Make: Thousand Freeze Arrows!" Akitsu followed, darkening the sky with a literal rain of frost.
"Water Nebula!" Juvia unleashed twin columns of water that spiraled into a crushing helix.
"Twin Burst Fire!" Yuuka discharged both revolvers in a synchronized explosion of lead and mana, while Wally provided cover fire.
"Dark Sphere!" Simon unleashed a globule of compressed darkness.
"Foxfire Barrage!" Tamamo, using every scrap of magic she could muster, fired a rapid volley of spiritual flames that bloomed into pink explosions on contact.
"Fire Dragon King's Roar!" Natsu unleashed a torrent of fire that dwarfed them all.
The magic rained down in a kaleidoscopic storm but while they were able to stop the monster from attacking Issei, all they were able to do was push it back and cause a bit of space from Issei and the Lacrima Knight
Erza re-equipped mid-charge, her blades flashing as she led the melee assault. Uzume's veil crackled with electricity; Yashima's hammer sang with gravity magic; Gray forged a pair of ice swords, and Natsu struck with flaming fists. They swarmed the Knight, a desperate dance of blades, smacks, and kicks, while dodging the monster's massive sword and the lethal spikes erupting from the ground.
For a moment, it looked like they might actually drive it back. Then, the Knight got serious.
With one powerful, circular swing, everything broke. The magic dispersed into nothingness. The mages were thrown back like ragdolls, hitting the jagged ground hard.
"…You've gotta be kidding me…" Natsu growled, dragging himself up as his magic sputtered and died. 'We're all hitting it… and it's not even slowing down?!'
The Knight stepped forward as it started to charge a large beam around it's chest aimed at the fallen mages.
"Get up…" Erza muttered, forcing herself to stand again. "We are not—"
BOOOOM!!
The sound wasn't a laser. It was a physical impact that tore across the battlefield, loud enough to rattle the island. For a split second, the world went still as something massive slammed into the Red Etherion Lacrima Knight from above, burying the monster into the ground in a crater of pulverized crystal.
Issei looked up, his eyes widening through the sweat and grime. "No way..."
Then again and again. Explosions erupted across the Knight's body in rapid succession, its supposedly "invincible" armor spider-webbing and cracking under a relentless barrage. Heavy, high-velocity projectiles rained down without pause, each one hitting with the force of a falling star.
"…Huh?" Natsu blinked, his flames flickering out in pure confusion as he watched his target get turned into a crystalline punching bag.
Another impact detonated squarely against the Knight's chest, the kinetic force staggering the giant—and then the sky simply split. A beam of pure, incandescent light descended in a straight line, devoid of hesitation, striking the Knight with the surgical precision of a god's thumb.
BOOOOM!!
The pillar of light drove the monster backward, dragging it screaming across the shattered ground before launching it clean off the island's edge. A massive, towering splash erupted from the ocean, waves crashing violently against the broken shoreline as the red glow sank beneath the foam.
Silence followed. The air, once screaming with Etherion radiation, was suddenly, eerily quiet. Everyone froze in their tracks.
"…What just happened?" Gray asked, still half-crouched, the ice melting from his hands in a slushy drip.
"…Did we do that?" Lucy asked, looking hopefully at her teammates.
"No," Issei muttered, narrowing his eyes at the clouds. His breathing was still a jagged mess, his body feeling like it was made of lead. "That wasn't us…"
"Something else is coming," Tamamo said, her fox ears twitching as she caught a rhythmic, mechanical thrumming.
A familiar, guttural roar shredded the silence, and everyone looked up in unison. Cutting through the sunset-stained clouds, a golden carriage, outfitted with shimmering blue energy-wings, descended like a chariot of the heavens.
"…You've gotta be kidding me," Uzume said, a small, relieved smile breaking through her exhaustion.
Pulling the craft was the massive, obsidian-scaled form of Kuromaru. The black wyvern roared again, wings beating with enough force to kick up a gale. Arcs of black lightning surged from his maw, crashing into the ocean where the Knight had fallen. Simultaneously, the carriage itself bristled with hidden ports; missiles launched in rapid, smoky bursts, streaking through the salt air before slamming into the impact site.
The sea churned into a boiling graveyard of white foam and fire until the bombardment finally ceased.
The carriage hovered for a beat before descending, landing smoothly in front of the battered mages with a satisfied hiss of steam. The door swung open, and Matsu leaned out first, adjusting her glasses as the lenses caught the fading light.
"Sup! Did you miss me?" she chirped, waving cheerfully until her eyes swept over them then she winced as she scanned the group. "…Wow. You all got wrecked."
Uzume's eye twitched with frustration. "You think?!"
Karasuba stepped out next, her long silver hair swaying like a pendulum behind her. She stretched her arms over her head, her hand resting habitually on the hilt of her blade. A slow, razor-sharp smirk spread across her face. "You all look pathetic," she said, her voice a cool balm of insults.
Totomaru followed as he observed the scene. "…To think my tormentors would be pushed to such an extent," he muttered.
"Oi, who are you calling tormentors?!" Tamamo snapped, pointing a shaking finger.
"Matsu! Karasuba! Totomaru!" Issei raised a hand, grinning despite everything. "I'm so glad you're here!"
Kuromaru landed behind them with a heavy thud that shook the island. The moment his claws touched the ground, he lowered his massive, terrifying head and gave Issei a forceful, affectionate nudge that nearly sent the exhausted boy flying.
"…Whoa—hey!" Issei laughed, stumbling as the wyvern rumbled deep in his chest. "Yeah, yeah, I missed you too, buddy!"
Kuromaru rumbled happily, tail swaying.
"…This thing is huge," Gray muttered while watching the high-teh vehicle.
Yuuka pointed a finger straight at Matsu, her face flushing crimson. "YOU COULD'VE COME EARLIER! WE ALMOST BECAME SHRAPNEL!"
Matsu didn't even flinch; she just gave a casual, "what-can-you-do" shrug. "Traffic."
Ruby blinked. "…In the sky?"
"I'm just glad you all came when you did," Yashima said softly, leaning on her hammer. Akitsu nodded beside her. "Agreed."
Behind them, Simon, Wally, Sho, and Millianna exchanged bewildered looks. They had seen a lot of weird things in the Tower of Heaven, but a wyvern-drawn tactical carriage was a new peak.
"…Who are they?" Wally asked quietly, adjusting his broken glasses.
Erza stepped forward, her armor scarred and her breathing shallow, but her posture remained as steady as ever. "They are also Fairy Tail mages," she said, her voice carrying a note of pride. "…And part of Issei's group."
Simon's eyes widened as he looked at the sheer firepower the newcomers brought. "…Your group is insane."
"Hey!" Issei protested. "That's not, okay, that's actually a very fair assessment."
Karasuba had already turned back toward the carriage, her tone brook no argument. "Everyone get in," she said flatly. "Unless you've developed a sudden hobby for drowning. This island is finished."
No one argued. The motivation of a sinking island was a powerful thing. They moved immediately, helping the injured, Lucy, Sho, and the others, into the plush, surprisingly spacious interior.
But Issei didn't move. Neither did Natsu. Both walked and stood near the jagged edge of the island, their eyes locked on the churning, dark water.
"…You feel that too, right?" Natsu asked, his voice low, the fire in his eyes returning.
Issei nodded slowly, his hand clenching into a fist as a familiar, suffocating pressure began to rise from the depths. "Yeah. Unfortunately, a few missiles aren't enough to kill it."
The water below began to churn. At first, it was just small ripples, then massive, violent swells as a dark, crimson light began to bleed through the waves from the deep. The ocean didn't just move, it shuddered as the magic rose, thick, hot, and suffocating.