The team sent to rescue Happy was progressing smoothly enough.
With Ice Devil Slayer Magic active, Gray's Magic Power had surged dramatically, and his natural advantage against demons made the difference even more overwhelming.
Even after Rustyrose and Doll transformed, the two of them spent almost the entire battle being forced onto the defensive.
Wendy's side was going just as well.
After getting hold of Kain Hikaru's curse doll, she and Carla had turned his own magic against him and rapidly seized control of their fight.
Meanwhile, at another battlefield outside Altair, things were beginning to heat up as well.
Deep within a cavern surrounding an icy pool, Natsu remained chained to a stone pillar with Magic-Sealing Stone around his wrists.
He watched anxiously as Erza entered the cavern alone to rescue him.
Zancrow had undergone an even more complete transformation than the other former Seven Kin.
His original body had been permanently reconstructed into that of a demon, and the second evolution had made him substantially stronger than his companions.
His crimson eyes opened as he stared at Erza with a vicious grin.
"You came here alone? You've got guts, woman."
Erza walked steadily into the cavern with her sword in hand.
Her gaze moved between the demon beside Natsu and the woman standing with him before settling coldly on Zancrow.
"So you've completely abandoned your humanity."
Zancrow grabbed at his own face and burst into delighted laughter.
"Abandoned it? What the hell are you talking about? This is the power I've always wanted!"
"The Underworld King's gift is something a narrow-minded woman like you could never understand."
Erza shifted her attention toward the woman who had just spoken.
She was strikingly tall, standing even above Erza herself, with long rabbit-like ears and an exceptionally athletic yet voluptuous figure.
A revealing set of light armor and robes left much of her shoulders, neck, and long wheat-toned legs exposed, while Stellarium greaves covered her lower legs despite the fact that she fought barefoot.
Those legs were easily her most distinctive feature.
Perfectly proportioned, muscular without losing their feminine shape, they belonged to someone who had clearly spent a lifetime turning kicks into weapons.
This was Swan, leader of Stella's Three Stars and arguably the strongest warrior serving directly beneath King Animus.
Her magic specialized in reinforcing her body, particularly her legs, and her devastating kicking techniques had made her famous throughout Stella.
The moment Erza sensed the dense Magic Power radiating from her, she knew Swan would be a serious opponent.
Her expression didn't change.
There was no reason to waste more time talking.
Light suddenly burst around Erza's body as her armor changed into a lighter, wilder outfit fashioned from fur and flexible material.
"Flight Armor!"
The moment the speed-focused armor settled over her, Erza vanished from where she stood.
A red sword appeared in one hand and a blue one in the other as she accelerated straight toward Natsu.
"Fire God's Bellow!"
Zancrow's grotesque demonic face twisted as he inhaled, then unleashed a torrent of pitch-black God Slayer flames directly into Erza's path.
At almost the exact same moment, Swan launched herself into the air and brought one leg down from above.
Despite Erza's extreme speed, Swan tracked her movement perfectly and aimed the descending kick directly at her head.
Erza immediately shifted into a two-sword stance without slowing.
Her Flame Empress Sword swept upward toward Swan, releasing a broad curtain of orange-red fire that forced the woman away, while Erza used the opening to slip past the descending kick and charge directly into Zancrow's black inferno.
Her other weapon, the Sea Empress Sword, released surging currents of water that continuously split and suppressed the God Slayer flames.
Like a swallow cutting through a storm, Erza broke straight through both enemies' blockade.
Natsu barely had time to register a crimson blur before Erza appeared in front of him.
His face immediately lit up.
Before he could even say anything, Erza's blade flashed twice and shattered both the chains binding him and the Magic-Sealing Stone around his wrists.
"YEAH! I'M BACK!"
Natsu threw both arms up with an ecstatic roar.
Scarlet dragon fire erupted from his body and flooded the cavern with heat.
The icy pool that had filled the chamber only moments earlier began boiling violently before evaporating beneath the sudden surge in temperature.
Zancrow turned toward him with visible irritation.
"Fast as ever. I suppose that's why they call you Titania…"
Then his expression twisted into something uglier.
"Fine. This works for me too."
Black flames crawled across his demonic body.
"I'm going to kill that brat myself and erase the humiliation he gave me!"
Natsu crooked a finger toward him.
"You already lost once, and now you've just turned uglier."
He grinned.
"Winner's still gonna be me."
Zancrow's expression darkened with rage, and the black God Slayer flames around his fists burned even more violently.
During their earlier encounter, his old arrogance had gotten the better of him.
He had underestimated Natsu so badly that he was defeated within only a handful of exchanges, never even getting the chance to activate the demonic power hidden inside him.
That humiliation had been eating at him ever since Mard Geer restored his body.
"This time…"
Zancrow's demonic aura swelled.
"I won't leave you even the slightest chance of winning!"
Natsu didn't hesitate.
Fire Dragon King Mode erupted across his body as crimson-gold scales formed over his skin and blazing dragon wings spread from his back.
His increasingly draconic face broke into a ferocious grin as he answered,
"Then this time, I'll beat you so badly you won't even have an excuse left!"
The two increasingly inhuman figures exploded forward at the same time.
Crimson-gold dragon fire collided with pitch-black god flames, the two infernos devouring one another like invisible beasts locked in a savage struggle.
Natsu and Zancrow smashed through the cavern wall and shot into the sky, dragging enormous trails of burning cloud behind them as their rematch became an aerial battle almost identical to their earlier confrontation—only far more violent.
Back inside the cavern, Swan had already resumed her assault on Erza.
She moved with obvious enjoyment, launching one kick after another with such speed and precision that the air snapped around her legs.
Every strike targeted a vulnerable point, yet Erza calmly intercepted each one with the exact angle required, her twin blades constantly redirecting Swan's unpredictable combinations.
'Similar to Bacchus…'
The comparison came to Erza almost immediately.
Like Bacchus and his Drunken Split-Palm, Swan had clearly reached S-Class levels primarily through close-quarters combat.
The major difference was style: where Bacchus fought with wild, deceptive brutality, Swan's movements were graceful and theatrical, each kick flowing seamlessly into the next without sacrificing lethality.
More importantly, her Stellarium greaves gave those kicks a tremendous advantage.
Stellarium was among the hardest materials currently known, and after several direct clashes Erza quickly noticed small chips beginning to appear along the edges of her swords.
Swan smiled smugly as she saw Erza examining the damage.
"What's wrong? Have you finally become captivated by my beautiful legs?"
The arrogance was intense, but unfortunately, Swan had enough justification for it.
Her legs combined tightly developed muscle with graceful curves and proportions that most professional models would envy.
Erza calmly returned both damaged swords to her Requip space.
"You seem very satisfied with your own strength."
"It's called confidence."
Swan raised one leg with effortless balance, holding it almost like a whip ready to strike.
"This combination of beauty, elegance, and practical killing power is something only I can achieve."
"It is impressive."
Erza paused.
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
Swan froze.
"…No, but what does that have to do with anything?!"
The corner of Erza's mouth curved upward.
"Then isn't it a shame?"
"You've worked so hard to perfect what you consider your most beautiful side, yet there's no one you truly love there to appreciate it."
As she spoke, light began gathering around Erza's body once more.
Her equipment changed.
When the glow faded, an entirely new set of armor had taken the place of the Flight Armor.
The right half was severe and angular, formed from imposing plates of black and deep violet that gave her the presence of a commander stepping onto a battlefield.
The left half flowed into a robe-like design, with creamy white fabric and green ornamentation softening the harsher colors.
At the center of her chest was an emblem resembling a yin-yang symbol, elegantly joining the two contrasting designs into one harmonious whole.
The result made Erza look simultaneously like a merciless general and a compassionate holy woman.
"Yin-Yang Celestial Armor."
Erza raised a solemn-looking longsword whose blade carried intertwined currents of black and white energy.
"This is the first suit of armor I ever designed and forged entirely by myself."
Confidence shone in her eyes as the opposing powers flowed along the ancient-looking blade.
"And the inspiration came from the abilities of the person I love most."
She leveled the sword toward Swan.
"So let me show you what it can do."