In the distance, Acnologia, who kept moving far away from the battlefield, grew increasingly pale.
Despite all his preparations, he ultimately collapsed unconscious.
The Black Dragon's life force grew weaker, on the absolute verge of extinguishing completely.
At that moment, the ancient ring on his hand glowed again, and a shadowy black mass flowed out like water from the gemstone.
The mysterious shadow took a vaguely human form, leaned close to examine Acnologia's miserable state, and murmured in an eerie voice.
"Well done, Acnologia..."
As the shadowy figure spoke, Acnologia's aura miraculously returned to normal levels, and the Death God Power coursing through his body gradually diminished.
Watching the Black Dragon's condition steadily improve, the mysterious shadow withdrew its hand and gazed toward the battlefield, its voice tinged with sarcasm.
"He is not just your God Successor... Ankhseram!"
"Next, I will play with you for a while."
The ancient voice of the mysterious shadow faded into the air.
Instead of returning to the ring, the entire shadow slowly flowed right into Acnologia's body.
A few breaths later, Acnologia's icy eyes snapped open, revealing an eerie, glowing green light...
...
Tenrou Island, originally left in complete disarray, had actually recovered considerably due to the influence of Divine Power after the battle between Ankh and the Black Dragon.
Following the earth-shattering great battle, smaller group battles erupted once again.
Among the Seven Kin of Purgatory, Ultear and Meredy had turned traitor, while Azuma and Zoldeo were eliminated by Loke and Laxus respectively.
The remaining three became the unfortunate consequences of the bad habit of not finishing off enemies.
Zancrow, Rustyrose, and Kain Hikaru had awakened from their prolonged unconsciousness.
Witnessing the Dragon God battle, they grew greedy and gathered the remaining soldiers of Grimoire Heart to emerge.
Fortunately, the members of Fairy Tail had turned back, stubbornly protecting the incapacitated Ankh.
Makarov, Laxus, and Gildarts—three absolutely unstoppable war gods—furiously pummeled the three charging Kin of Purgatory.
Had they not arrived in time, Ankh might have been taken away!
The frontlines were quickly suppressed, while a circle of deeply worried people gathered around Ankh lying on the ground in the rear.
"Brother! Wake up! Don't sleep!"
Erza's anxious calls elicited no response from Ankh.
The black Death Waves spread rampantly across his body as he lay silent with tightly closed eyes.
The frantic Mirajane reached out to lift Ankh from the ground.
But the moment she approached, the Death Waves acted like a beast ready to devour its prey, rapidly corroding and decaying her human flesh.
Gritting through the pain, Erza still withdrew her hand, unwilling to give up as she tried to approach again, only to be quickly restrained by Lisanna and the others nearby.
Gajeel frowned and urgently asked, "Little one, how's the situation?"
Wendy's face turned red with effort as she cast her healing magic on Ankh, but the situation remained the same—the Death Power rapidly contaminated the healing magic's light, turning both of Wendy's hands pitch black.
"Ah..."
Wendy cried out in pain, looking dismayed at her blackened hands as she said.
"It's no use. That power is actively rejecting all external influence..."
"Damn it!"
Gray angrily punched the ground, while Ur frowned and said, "So... we need to first suppress that special energy on Ankh's body before we can treat him."
Natsu suddenly had an inspiration. "Maybe... I could eat it!"
"No! Didn't you see what happened to the Black Dragon just now?!"
Though his reckless suggestion was immediately rejected, Natsu remained unwilling to give up and wanted to try anyway, only to be quickly restrained by the others.
Ultear stood up, her eyes serious as she said, "Let me try."
She raised her hands, and a gray-white time magic circle lit up and began to rotate.
She intended to use her Arc of Time to alleviate Ankh's suffering, if only for a brief moment.
However, the Death Waves raged on like a lawless brute, showing no signs of weakening against the magic.
Yet, the crystal on Ankh's wrist suddenly began to glow faintly.
Soon, it was as if strength had been poured directly into Ankh's body.
Instinctively, he increased the output of his Life God Power, and the violent erosion of the Death God Power actually weakened slightly.
Natsu's eyes lit up.
"It's working!"
Seeing that the backlash of the Death God Power had lessened slightly, Erza had a sudden realization.
She remembered the fusion magic she and Ankh had endlessly practiced in their youth.
Ultear's Arc of Time hadn't directly eased her brother's pain, instead, she had triggered that bracelet to temporarily enhance his constitution, allowing him to better resist the dark energy...
'So, in theory, since I possess the exact same power, I should also be able to supply him with compatible Magic Power...'
A determined glint shone in Erza's eyes.
Focusing her mind, she released her Magic Power and reached out to tightly grasp Ankh's hand.
"Erza!"
Before anyone could stop her, an unfamiliar milky-white light glowed from Erza's hand and slowly flowed right into Ankh's body.
Though it wasn't pure and was somewhat weak, Ankh, having received this compatible power, indeed managed to suppress the Divine Power by another degree.
Erza endured the searing pain stubbornly, a faint smile appearing on her lips.
"That's it! Now, Wendy!"
With the Death God Power suppressed slightly by everyone's combined efforts, Wendy quickly cast her healing magic on Ankh once more.
This time, the healing light wasn't totally eroded.
The pained expression on Ankh's face softened a little, but it was still like trying to put out a burning cart with a small cup of water.
The others were frantic with worry, but there was absolutely nothing they could do—their standard magic was of little help...
Lucy, who had been completely silent all this while, stared at the unconscious Ankh, her heart filled with the same deep sorrow and anxiety as the others.
'This... this isn't like you, Ankh!'
'You promised you'd come back...'
'Huh?'
The despair in Lucy's eyes suddenly vanished.
Flustered, she fumbled and pulled out the golden Ophiuchus Celestial Spirit Key that Ankh had explicitly entrusted to her.
Earlier on the ship, it was Ophiuchus who had informed them that Ankh's life force was fading rapidly, to the point where he could no longer passively maintain the Celestial Spirit gate.
That was when they realized something was horribly wrong and rushed back in a panic.
Clutching the Ophiuchus key tightly, a bold idea sprang into Lucy's mind.
Happy, noticing Lucy's dazed and unusual state, looked at her with tear-filled eyes and asked.
"What's wrong, Lucy?"
Taking a deep breath, Lucy immediately addressed the entire group: "Everyone, I have an idea! It should help reduce Ankh's suffering!"
Mirajane turned to Lucy at once and asked, "What is it?"
Without hesitation, Lucy raised the Celestial Spirit Key and explained, "Ophiuchus's unique ability allows her to transfer a person's injuries, pain, and negative conditions... onto others."
"So I was thinking... we could have Ophiuchus perfectly distribute Ankh's injuries and pain evenly among us. We can all share the burden and help Ankh together..."
"Then let's do it."
Before she could even finish, Mirajane responded without a moment's hesitation.
Gray thumped his chest with his fist and declared firmly, "If there is a way, we should just do it!"
"Right!" Natsu immediately chimed in, "We are all in this together!"
"For Ankh!"
"For Ankh!"
"Manly!"
"He was the one who saved us—we cannot let Ankh just disappear like this."
Makarov smashed Kain Hikaru's ugly face into the ground, growling, "This child has already faced enough alone!"
Gildarts shattered Rustyrose and his summoned creatures, his expression icy cold and stern.
"It is already shameful enough to let our juniors cover our retreat. Come on."
"The pain of family is my pain."
Laxus gripped Zancrow's neck tightly with one hand and commanded, "Do it, Lucy!"
Seeing everyone's resolve solidify almost instantly, Lucy hesitated no longer.
She drew her Celestial Spirit Key, tracing a brilliant golden light in the air as she called out.
"Though I am not Ankh, for his sake—come forth, Ophiuchus!"
A dazzling golden radiance burst forth as the Thirteenth Spirit, Ophiuchus, materialized in the mortal realm.
Under Lucy's direction, she swiftly linked everyone's life forces together.
The backlash of Divine Power ravaging Ankh's body abruptly plummeted to an extremely low level, while simultaneously, ethereal black flames of Divine Power ignited fiercely over everyone present.