Ankh settled in to enjoy the show, while Lucy and the others who had rushed over as reinforcements were left completely bewildered by the scene before them.
What was this supposed to be?
A kindergarten brawl?
"Ankh?! What happened to them? Why aren't you helping?"
Ankh glanced at Lucy and Wendy as they approached, along with a visibly nervous Flare hiding behind them.
"Erza said Minerva isn't truly evil at heart. She wants to beat some sense into her personally, and she insists on doing it fairly."
Wendy watched as the battle escalated into pinching and hair-pulling, a bead of sweat forming on her forehead.
"But… can a fight like this even settle anything?"
"Who says it can't?" Ankh replied proudly, pointing at Erza.
Erza had Requipped a heavy katana and dropped it across Minerva's body, pinning her beneath its weight.
While Minerva gritted her teeth and struggled helplessly, Erza rolled up her sleeves and began spanking her with all her strength.
"As expected of Erza," Ankh said admiringly. "Even as a child, she fights strategically."
A dark line appeared across Lucy's forehead.
"Only you two siblings would call such a dirty trick 'strategy!'"
Ankh smiled without the slightest trace of self-awareness, then looked at Lucy strangely.
"Speaking of which, haven't you noticed anything wrong yet?"
"Huh?"
Lucy paused, then looked down.
At some point, her body had shrunk as well.
Her clothes now hung around her like a child playing dress-up in an adult's wardrobe.
"Aaaah—!"
Lucy let out yet another of her familiar fanservice screams.
Wendy and Flare clutched their loose clothing around themselves as they hid behind her, looking helpless.
"Lucy-san really is slow to notice these things…"
Fortunately, Lucy had not exposed herself the way she had in front of Natsu before.
And even if she had, Ankh certainly would not have dared look down.
He was not some perverted creep like Mest with a suspicious interest in underage girls.
Far away, Mest—whose memories had been erased while he continued working undercover at the Magic Council—suddenly sneezed while organizing a stack of documents.
Just as Erza and Minerva's fight grew increasingly heated, a powerful pillar of icy air suddenly erupted from the distant forest.
A huge, stiff, frost-covered body was blasted high into the sky along with it.
With his exceptional eyesight, Ankh took one glance and immediately recognized the creature as a demon.
It was probably the culprit who had turned everyone into children.
As for that freezing blast…
'Gray?'
He had picked up Ice Devil Slayer Magic surprisingly quickly.
The instant the demon was defeated, Erza and Minerva—who were still locked in a vicious hair-pulling contest—began returning to their original forms.
Erza reacted first.
Almost entirely on instinct, she drove her foot straight into Minerva's face.
The sudden increase in strength caught Minerva completely off guard. She was sent flying with a cry of pain, then glared furiously when she saw that Erza was wearing nothing but her undershirt.
"You shameless woman!"
Erza's face reddened, but she immediately shouted back with complete confidence, "There's no room for modesty in battle!"
That was not entirely true.
Lucy, Wendy, and the other girls were behind her, while the only man present was Ankh. There was hardly anyone here she needed to feel embarrassed around.
Minerva, however, was drowning in humiliation.
She hurriedly grabbed her discarded clothes and tied them around her waist, but Erza had already Requipped into her Armadura Fairy Armor and was diving toward her.
Erza's full Magic Power erupted.
The ancient power contained within her strongest armor surged forward like a flood and swallowed Minerva in an instant.
Poor Minerva had spent her time in the dark guild developing a strategy to counter the Armadura Fairy Armor.
Unfortunately, thanks to her useless ally's spectacular act of friendly fire, her carefully planned revenge had become a complete joke.
Minerva crashed to the ground, badly wounded.
Erza Requipped back into her usual clothes and let out a long breath as she looked down at the unconscious woman.
Once they tied Minerva up and handed her over to the Magic Council, they could inform Sting and the others.
If Minerva was genuinely willing to turn her life around, Erza would not mind getting along with her.
There simply were not many powerful, competitive female mages of her generation anywhere on the continent.
Mirajane had once been a worthy rival, but her desire to fight had faded considerably over the years.
Kagura of Mermaid Heel was ambitious and strong, but Erza saw her as a younger sister she had once guided.
Fighting her did not offer the same challenge.
Ultear of the Lamia Scale team was also powerful, but she could rarely appear in public.
That left Minerva as one of the few suitable rivals nearby. To find another, Erza might have to search an entirely different continent.
She sighed regretfully.
After watching Erza secure the unconscious Minerva with ropes, Ankh turned his attention back toward the small mountain before them.
Only then did Flare timidly step forward.
"The Eternal Flame our village has worshipped for generations is inside there. But now…"
Ankh glanced at her.
Flare immediately retreated behind Lucy.
'Does she really need to be that afraid of me?'
Ankh looked deep into the thick layers of ice and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
"I think I see someone familiar in there."
At that moment, Gray came running over after defeating Doriarte.
"I found a way to free the Eternal Flame!" he shouted excitedly.
"Really?"
Flare and Lucy looked at him with delight.
Gray stopped in front of the frozen flame and smiled confidently.
"It took some effort, but I've figured out the trick."
He placed one hand against the ice encasing the Eternal Flame and activated his Devil Slayer Magic, drawing all the Magic Power within the frozen mass into his own body.
Light spread across the purple ice.
Cold mist poured from its surface, and the massive frozen mountain rapidly dissolved.
"It worked!"
Gray clenched his fist triumphantly.
"But…"
Flare stared blankly at the empty altar left behind.
"Where is the Eternal Flame?"
"Could it have gone out when it was frozen?" Lucy asked gently, reluctant to voice the possibility when she saw Flare's dazed expression.
"No. Look over there," Erza suddenly said, pointing toward the center of the altar.
A tiny flame flickered there, so weak that it appeared ready to vanish at any moment.
Wendy felt something stir inside her.
Through Milky Way, the Dragon Slayer Secret Art that allowed her to communicate with lingering souls, she could sense an astonishingly powerful spirit within that fragile flame.
This fire was alive.
"You've been asleep for four hundred years, old friend," Ankh said with a smile. "It's time to wake up."
He casually tossed out the Dragon God Armory. It transformed into a katana in midair, and Ankh caught it before slashing forward.
A scorching wave of heat instantly flooded the entire area.
A sea of flames engulfed the tiny spark. The Eternal Flame drank in that power like nourishment, its feeble glow surging upward until it became a blazing inferno as enormous as a mountain.
Within the heart of the flames, a face appeared—one the entire team recognized immediately.
It belonged to the dragon who had once fought beside them in the royal capital.
The Hellfire Dragon—Atlas Flame!
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