"Impossible!"
Erza quietly shook her head and looked at the Phoenix Stone Ankh was keeping safe for them.
"The disaster that would come from the Phoenix's return wouldn't be any less dangerous than the demons."
Wendy asked worriedly, "But the people of the Principality of Veronica still need to be saved…"
Just then, Makarov walked down into the basement with a serious expression and said to everyone.
"The Magic Council sent an urgent magical notice. They want the chaos in Veronica resolved as soon as possible."
"There are only two requirements. Drive out the demons, and stop the Phoenix from being revived."
"Looks like we'll have to make a trip to Veronica after all."
Ankh was not surprised by the news.
Makarov nodded to him, signaling for him to handle the arrangements, and Ankh immediately laid out the strategy.
There was no complicated plan.
They were going straight in.
Without wasting a single word, Ankh pointed at Veronica's capital on the map and said, "The plan is simple. We charge in, kill the demons, and clean up the mess."
Lucy frowned with concern. "But the capital is under the demons' control. The resistance we'll run into will probably be intense."
Carla suggested, "What about sneaking in? If we stay hidden, we might have a better chance."
"No. The city is already in chaos. If we sneak around, we'll lose track of our targets. We're taking this head-on."
Ankh's tone left no room for argument. He turned to Mirajane and Gajeel.
"Gajeel and Mira are coming too. Call Cana and Juvia as well."
In Ankh's eyes, this lightning raid would be even simpler than the battle against Phantom Lord.
Mystogan and Laxus were not here this time, but the guild's younger fighters had already grown up.
Why would Ankh be afraid of a small country that did not have even half a Wizard Saint-level fighter if you excluded the demons?
Even if the entire capital's guard force stood against them, so what?
The people Ankh was bringing were all S-Class by any normal guild's standards.
Everyone immediately agreed.
Ankh then looked at the other two photos Gajeel had taken.
One showed Jackal, the one-armed "wolfman" who loved talking big.
The other showed a handsome, imposing man in thick armor, surrounded by cold air.
Gray strongly requested that the latter be left to him. Ankh did not object, but he told him to bring support.
According to Natsu and the others, that man was most likely an ice mage whose abilities were a direct counter to Gray's.
Once the team was decided, Ankh and the others immediately prepared to leave.
Each of them mounted a magic motorcycle borrowed from Sawyer and sped toward Veronica like a storm.
Beneath the night sky, the convoy tore through the road without stopping.
Lucy drove a four-wheeled magic vehicle like she had been born to ride, Éclair beside her, while Natsu lay half-dead against her back.
"Natsu! If you throw up on me, I swear I'm throwing you off!"
Natsu's sick, muffled groans and Lucy's panicked yelling filled the entire ride.
Éclair leaned beside Lucy, yet for some reason, her heart felt strangely calm.
It was a feeling she had not experienced once in four hundred years.
She had already learned that her father had created a weapon capable of killing the Phoenix.
Once the Phoenix was truly destroyed, everything should finally end.
Herself included.
She had lived for far too long. She should have died ages ago.
Éclair gently stroked Momon in her arms.
Listening to the noisy commotion behind her, a sadness and quiet relief rose in her heart for reasons she could not fully explain.
'If only I had met all of you sooner.'
"What are you thinking about, Éclair?" Lucy asked curiously, noticing that Éclair seemed a little down.
"N-Nothing."
Éclair gathered her scattered emotions.
Her voice no longer carried the coldness it had when they first met, and she smiled softly.
"I was only worried about everyone's safety."
"Don't worry. No matter how strong the demons are, we still have Ankh, right? He crippled one of them the moment they met."
Lucy laughed with great optimism. "We just need to protect the citizens. Besides, Erza, Natsu, and the others will be helping too."
Éclair smiled. "You're strong too, Lucy."
"I only get by because the Celestial Spirits help me… I wish I had more fighting power of my own."
Lucy sighed with a little regret, but Éclair comforted her instead.
"The power of the Celestial Spirits is your power too."
"I mean, that's true, but…"
Lucy suddenly paused.
Her gaze moved toward Erza, who was riding ahead with a gallant, heroic posture, and she murmured thoughtfully, "The power of the Celestial Spirits… is my power?"
...
While dark currents stirred beneath the night, Veronica's capital, now at the very center of the storm, had become a place ruled by fear and slaughter.
Groups of soldiers, civilians, and even corpses wandered through the city in droves.
Their eyes were empty, their bodies moving like walking dead.
The entire capital had become a city of the undead. Not a trace of vitality remained.
The thick, bloody scent of death hung over the city like a black cloud, and not even the faintest sound of normal human life could be heard.
Inside the royal palace, which had once been brightly lit, its former owner had lost all his arrogance and grandeur. King Cream now clutched his head and screamed miserably.
The one-armed Jackal was wildly swinging his fist, venting his anger by beating Cream's face.
The pampered king was battered black and blue, crying and wailing without a shred of dignity left.
"That's enough, Jackal. Don't beat him to death. We still need him for the exchange."
On the bloodstained throne, Seilah sat reading a book. Seemingly annoyed by the noise, she finally spoke to stop him.
Jackal kicked Cream aside in frustration, then crouched on the ground and grumbled, "Are you sure Fairy Tail will hand over the Phoenix Stone for a bunch of useless humans?"
"If it were only the Fairy Reaper, he definitely wouldn't."
As a demon who had been personally "killed" by Ankh once, Seilah had clearly studied the way he acted.
Her expression remained calm as she said, "But this isn't only about him. For the sake of his guild's place in this peaceful era, he will come no matter what."
"Ah… more of that bullshit bond nonsense."
Jackal curled his lip in disdain, then looked around and asked, "Where's Silver?"
"I don't know."
"Tch… In the end, he still isn't worthy of being a demon."
Jackal said nothing more and turned his gaze toward the huge cultivation tank placed in the center of the palace.
Green liquid churned inside it.
The half of the Phoenix Stone they had obtained no longer looked like a stone. It was continuously swelling, gradually taking on the shape of a strange monster.
"Will turning this thing into a demon actually help our plan?"
Seilah closed her book and looked coldly at the monster gradually forming inside the tank.
"Tartaros will soon leave Ishgar. Consider this… a small farewell gift for the humans living here."