The light of the magic circle instantly contracted, enveloping Ezreal, along with the churning dark energy around him, and the completely blackened Nirvana crystal ball!
At the same time, five illusory Dimensional Chains extended from the magic circle, instantly coiling around the necks of the five blackened Summoned Beasts below!
"Roar—!!!"
"Buzz—!"
"Ribbit—!"
"Caw—!"
"Thud—!"
The five blackened Summoned Beasts let out painful and angry roars, struggling to break free, but the chains seemed to be connected to their very soul essence, forcibly pulling them!
"With my body as the prison! With my soul as the lock!" Ezreal's voice, like a final judgment, resonated through the heavens and earth, "Seal!!!"
Just then, Ezreal's gaze pierced through the churning darkness and dazzling holy light, falling upon the face of each companion below.
His eyes no longer held pain or struggle, only a translucent calm, like a clear sky after a storm.
Ezreal's gaze swept over the faces of Erza, Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Cana, Ikaruga, Lucy, and Yukino.
"Erza… Natsu… Gray… Gajeel… Cana… Ikaruga… Lucy… Yukino…"
He spoke each of their names, his voice steady, without sentimentality, only a gentle, calm tone, like bidding farewell to old friends, a faint smile on his face, as shy and gentle as the day they first met.
"…Everyone… please take care…"
"EZ—!!!" Natsu let out a beast-like roar, flames wildly flickering around him, yet unable to dispel the icy despair!
"EZ!" Erza's voice trembled as it never had before.
Gray's tightly clenched fists dug his nails deep into his palms. Frost spread at his feet, but it couldn't freeze the sorrow in his heart.
Lucy and Yukino hugged each other, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Time to… sleep…" Ezreal's final voice, with a subtle hint of weariness and relief, softly sounded, like a sigh.
"No—!!!" Max let out a heart-wrenching scream!
Buzz—!!!
The dazzling white light and profound darkness reached their peak the moment the magic circle contracted!
The light was so brilliant, like a supernova explosion, instantly engulfing everyone's vision!
When the strong light, enough to burn retinas, finally slowly dissipated… the giant black vortex had vanished.
The dark crystal ball emanating endless evil had vanished.
Ezreal's figure… had vanished.
The figures of the five blackened Summoned Beasts… had also vanished.
In their place, only a gigantic, bottomless, glazed crater, hundreds of meters in diameter, remained.
The center of the crater was empty.
There was only a dead silence, and a strange, not yet fully dissipated, interwoven with a hint of holiness and darkness, residual fluctuation in the air.
On the shattered battlefield, there was a deathly silence.
Only the wind, blowing through the glazed crater walls, made a whimpering sound.
Max stared blankly at the empty center of the crater, the place where his best friend had disappeared.
"EZ…" he murmured, his eyes unfocused. His knees buckled, and he fell heavily to the ground, hot tears silently streaming down, dripping onto the cold, glazed surface.
This time, he didn't even have the strength to scream.
The greatsword in Erza's hand clanged to the ground. She looked at the empty deep pit, her iron will completely collapsing at this moment. Tears blurred her vision, sliding down her cheeks.
Natsu's tightly clenched fists weakly opened, his flames completely extinguished. He opened his mouth, a choked "hoarse" sound coming from his throat, large tears splashing onto the ground.
The chill around Gray dissipated. He stared blankly, his ice-blue eyes filled with unspeakable sorrow and emptiness, as if he had lost his soul.
Ikaruga sheathed her sword. For the first time, a clearly visible sadness appeared on her cold face. She slightly turned her head, and a single crystalline tear silently fell.
Cana's cards scattered across the ground. She covered her mouth, silently weeping, her shoulders trembling violently.
Gajeel silently lowered his head, his iron fist heavily striking the ground, making a muffled sound, his shoulders subtly shaking.
Lucy and Yukino hugged each other, sobbing uncontrollably.
Nikola let out a low whimper.
The afterglow of the setting sun, like a golden veil, gently scattered into the huge glazed crater, illuminating the empty center of the pit.
Light flowed, as if time had frozen at this moment.
Sorrow, like a tangible presence, permeated everyone's hearts.
He sacrificed himself, sealed the darkness, and protected everyone.
Fairy Tail's S-Class Mage, Punishment Knight, Ezreal… with his loyal companions, here, sealed himself in eternal slumber, vanishing from everyone's sight…
[As I type these words, outside the window, the sky is dim, the earth dark, and the wilderness silent.
I always meticulously work on this book, word by word, on my phone. I write as soon as I lie down after work and don't rest until it's done.
I know my talent is mediocre, not a literary genius, so typing is especially slow. Sometimes, over two thousand words can take two or three hours. By the time I put down my pen, it's already past midnight.
The moment I put down my phone, the house and the world outside are boundlessly quiet, leaving only an ineffable peace.
To be honest, when I started writing, I never imagined it would come this far.
The small string of numbers in the backend reminds me daily that there are indeed people following these clumsy words.
Every 'keep it up' in the comments, every request for updates, even the typos you catch for me, are like pebbles dropped into the dark night, creating warm ripples in my heart.
I know there are still many shortcomings, the plot sometimes feels drawn out, and characters occasionally seem shallow. Thank you for your tolerance.
Those long reviews dissecting the plot, those comments speculating on character futures, and even a brief 'keep it up' at the end of a chapter, make the late nights spent typing no longer lonely.
This book is a piece of candy I've carefully offered.
You are willing to unwrap it and taste it, and even gently say, 'It's a little sweet' — truly, I'm incredibly grateful.
The road is still long, the story unfinished.
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I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/TripleCrown
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"