Bizarre, varied, but all extremely fearsome monsters were conjured out of thin air by Ankh.
Howling, they rushed forward to engage Precht's demon army.
The scene was almost a crushing domination—the semi-corporeal demons born from earth and wood were easily torn apart and devoured by the terrifying specters Ankh had condensed from his dense Death Waves.
Precht stared in stunned silence as his demons, now completely routed, were devoured by Ankh's monsters.
"Im... impossible!" he stammered, his jaw agape.
"This is magic from the Book of Zeref! The power closest to the abyss of magic! How could it lose?!"
The monsters broke through the demons' defenses and pounced directly on Precht, frantically tearing at his flesh as if to consume him entirely.
Precht struggled desperately.
His dense, dark Magic Power radiated and pulsated, continuously repelling and destroying the endless horde of monsters.
"I won't lose to some brat trained by Makarov! I am immortal!!"
Ankh shook his head, watching as Precht—despite his increasingly profound evil aura—remained trapped by the monster army.
He sneered, "In this regard, you truly fall short of the Guild Master."
"Sorry, Second Master, but this battle ends now."
Ankh raised his hand, a pitch-black light gathering at his fingertip like a spear staining the sky, mercilessly aiming to pierce through the enemy before him.
"Death Calamity..."
"...Glimpse of the Underworld."
The ultimate move once used in Edolas erupted once more, this time vanquishing an even more powerful foe—Precht Gaebolg.
Entangled by the monsters and unable to evade, Precht took the highly penetrating attack head-on, instantly feeling as if his internal organs were necrotizing...
Precht let out a series of agonized wails.
His hair was disheveled and his eyes bloodshot, completely stripped of the composed, arrogant demeanor he had maintained when bullying Master Makarov.
Makarov sighed. His gaze lingered on Precht's pained expression before he finally closed his eyes without a word.
Gritting his teeth, Precht lifted his head in a maddened frenzy, pointing at Ankh and roaring with laughter.
"You can't kill me! I am—"
Thwip—
The Darkness Beam, like a lance, instantly pierced straight through Precht's chest.
His earlier arrogance now seemed like nothing more than delirious ramblings before death's door.
...
Deep within the Grimoire Heart battleship on the shore, a slender figure stood expressionless in a dimly lit room—it was Ankh's Celestial Spirit, Ophiuchus.
Before Ophiuchus, a massive, mechanical heart preserved in a container of special nutrient fluid now lay shattered, the container broken and the heart reduced to fragmented flesh.
Ophiuchus picked up a piece of the Devil's Heart, then glanced at the guards outside the room who had tried to kill her, but were instead incapacitated as she transferred their own injuries right back onto them.
Slowly, she walked out of the room...
With Ultear acting as an inside agent, if Ankh still couldn't pinpoint the Grimoire Heart's true weakness, he might as well quit the magic world entirely!
...
A gaping hole now penetrated Precht's chest.
He lay collapsed on the ground, the red demonic eye in his right socket vanished, and the light in his gaze gradually fading.
"Why... my heart... I was so close..."
Makarov staggered to Precht's side, breathing heavily as he spoke slowly, "I lost to you, but my children have surpassed you."
Blood gushed from Precht's mouth.
He didn't refute the words, instead letting out a hoarse, bitter laugh. "How pitiful... The One Magic was almost within my grasp. The true golden age of magic was right before my eyes..."
Makarov forced back the stinging sensation in his eyes, turned around, and spoke in a low voice.
"Why chase after the original form of Magic?"
"Magic is alive."
"It grows as we grow. As times change, the duties and effects of Magic evolve. Why cling to the past?"
"Fairy Tail will move forward freely, following time toward a distant future."
Makarov turned his head, taking one last deep look at the Master and mentor he had once revered most.
Suppressing a sob, he spoke firmly.
"These are all things you taught me."
Precht stared blankly at the gloomy sky, Makarov's words echoing like the final reverberations of his life.
Gradually, he seemed to see those familiar figures from his past dancing before his eyes.
'Mavis... I must have disappointed you again, haven't I?'
Precht reached out as if to touch the sky, but his hand ultimately fell powerlessly to the dirt.
Ankh watched as Precht, who had grasped nothing and now lay completely still, let out an almost imperceptible sigh before following Makarov's footsteps.
Makarov trudged forward with his head down.
Gildarts walked alongside Ankh and whispered, "The Master seems really upset."
Ankh nodded, reflecting for a moment before hesitantly asking, "Do you think I went too far?"
Gildarts shook his head and was about to speak when Makarov suddenly spoke from ahead.
"It is alright, Ankh. You did nothing wrong."
Makarov gazed at the distant sky and sighed. "The Second Master betrayed the will of the guild established by the First Master, attempted to kill the children, and sought to overthrow the world. For these reasons alone... we could never let him go."
Ankh nodded, then frowned as he too looked toward the sky. "Master, we need to evacuate everyone quickly."
"I understand. This is no place to linger."
Although the guild had rented a ship to come to Tenrou Island, it had already returned.
However, the airship Ankh and the others had used to arrive early was still hidden along the shore.
Now, all they needed was to escape Tenrou Island and they could flaunt their achievement of destroying Grimoire Heart right in the Council's face.
The three quickened their pace, running toward the prearranged meeting point.
Just then, the Magic Crystal in Ankh's pocket began to vibrate, and Jellal's anxious voice echoed in his mind.
"Ankh, it's bad! New enemies have appeared on the shore of Tenrou Island!"
Ankh's eyes trembled.
New enemies?
Jellal and Ur were currently hiding in the airship the guild had previously concealed along the shore, following their earlier plan.
The other four members of his team were split into two groups guarding the island, ready to assist everyone at any moment, and they also had Magic Crystals to communicate with Ankh at all times.
But now, around the originally well-hidden reef where the airship was concealed, numerous massive warships had appeared out of nowhere and were sailing straight toward them.
Jellal clutched the Magic Crystal, his figure hidden behind the reef as he watched the mysterious fleet draw closer.
"They are definitely targeting Fairy Tail. There are so many of them, it's like they're blockading the sea."
Ur snatched the Magic Crystal, her expression serious as she asked, "What should we do, Ankh? Do we engage?"
Ankh gritted his teeth and immediately replied, "If they try to take the ship, fight them. We cannot let them seize our only means of transport."
"Understood!"
Jellal and Ur's voices faded away.
Ankh's expression darkened.
No sooner had one problem been resolved than another cropped up...
Noticing Ankh's grave expression, Makarov frowned and asked, "Is there trouble with the airship?"
Before Ankh could respond, the Magic Crystal in his pocket vibrated again.
Thinking it might be another message from Jellal, Ankh quickly connected the call.
However, the voice that echoed in his mind through the Magic Crystal belonged to an unfamiliar woman.
The voice was full of mockery.
"Fairy Tail's... Grim Reaper? Care to guess whether your subordinates are still alive?"
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator