After Skullion used his ash to knock out the worshipers, Madmole drove his fist into the crystal in the left-hand city and shattered it.
Skullion bared his teeth in a cold smile.
"Now it's time to repay them for interfering with us last time."
Nebaru wore a skintight black bodysuit covered in white lines that looked like bones from a distance.
More unsettling than his clothes, however, was his posture.
He clung to the wall on all fours, his unnaturally long tongue sliding across his lips as he muttered,
"Prey... new prey..."
A moment later, Skullion, Madmole, and Nebaru all dissolved into ash and vanished from the left-hand city.
Raizel and the others, who were currently inside the Sacred Right Hand Church, knew nothing about any of this.
Even after the crystals were destroyed, Aldoron showed no real reaction. He merely shifted a few times, perhaps stretching in his sleep.
The crystals almost seemed like nothing more than decorations.
Although they knew Kiria was probably watching them, Ultear and the others pretended not to notice as long as she stayed hidden.
Diabolos only wanted to devour the Wood Dragon God. It was not as though they planned to eat Fairy Tail too.
Raizel, Ultear, and the others were inside the church, watching the worshipers kneel before a plant-shaped altar holding a transparent sphere.
Every one of them prayed with complete devotion.
Ultear covered the side of her mouth and whispered into Raizel's ear,
"It doesn't seem particularly special."
At first, she had assumed it was some kind of magic crystal, but after sensing it carefully, she could not detect any unusual Magic Power inside.
"Yeah. It seems like an ordinary crystal."
After regrouping with Kiria, Skullion turned the others into ash and brought them directly into the church.
Madmole spoke first.
"We meet again."
Skullion followed, "You always seem to appear wherever there are dragons, Fairy Tail."
Nebaru merely repeated the same words as before.
"Prey... prey..."
Kiria fixed Kagura with a hostile stare.
Erza frowned deeply.
"Diabolos. You again! What are you doing here?"
At the same time, Wraith finally arrived after walking all the way there.
The Wood Dragon God's worshipers fled in every direction, leaving only Kiria and the other three Dragon Eaters, Raizel's group caught between them, and Wraith standing at the entrance.
However...
Wraith appeared to exist as some kind of spirit.
Natsu and Wendy kept pointing toward the center of the doorway, insisting that Wraith was standing there, but Ultear and the others could not see him.
Like Raizel, they could only vaguely sense that something was present, without being able to make out its shape.
Natsu was more interested in Wraith than the enemies in front of him. Tilting his head, he asked,
"So when you call yourself the Spirit Dragon... does that mean you're already dead?"
Wraith answered as casually as though he were chatting with a friend.
"That's right."
Seeing Natsu talking to empty air made Happy's fur stand on end.
"Natsu, is there really a ghost there?"
Without a word, Natsu grabbed Happy and pressed him directly into Wraith's face.
Happy blinked, waving his paws helplessly.
"Natsu, what are you doing?"
Natsu answered as though it were perfectly normal.
"I'm shoving you into the Spirit Dragon's face."
Ultear quietly asked Wendy, "Is someone really standing there?"
Wendy nodded firmly.
"Yes. Happy's face is pressed right against his."
Ultear and the others had no time to dwell on it, because Skullion and Kiria had already attacked.
Skullion once again unleashed his ash, while Kiria used Blade Dragon's Roar. Countless blades of light formed around her and flew toward the group.
"There's nothing I can't cut!"
Kagura faced Kiria, Mira took on Nebaru, Erza fought Madmole, and Ultear confronted Skullion.
A magic circle appeared beneath Wendy's feet, and crimson Magic Power enveloped her body.
"Enchant everyone with Deus Eques!"
Wendy immediately placed Deus Eques on Ultear and the others. It enhanced all of an ally's physical and magical attributes, serving as a superior version of Vernier, Arms, and Armor combined.
Raizel told Lucy and Wendy to hold back for the moment and watch how the battle developed.
Meanwhile, Natsu was still arguing at the entrance.
"If there's really a ghost here, I'm gonna get cursed!"
Wraith seemed completely unconcerned by Natsu's rude behavior and simply explained,
"There's no need to keep testing it. Apparently, only Dragon Slayer Mages can see me. That is why I remain with Diabolos."
Natsu rubbed his chin, looking conflicted. In the end, he still said,
"This might sound kind of rude, but... shouldn't you just pass on?"
Wraith's expression immediately turned fierce.
"I cannot. Not until I find the one who took my life. I must become stronger so I can have my revenge."
"In that case, I'll send you to the afterlife myself!"
Natsu charged straight at Wraith.
And he really did pass right through him.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
The flames tore harmlessly through Wraith's ghostly body and surged out into the street beyond.
Wraith raised one hand.
"Dragon Soul!"
When Natsu saw what looked like flames, he could have dodged.
Naturally, he chose to stand still.
White fire erupted around him in an instant, swallowing his body and inflicting unbearable pain.
"Aaaaagh!"
Happy panicked as Natsu screamed inside the flames.
"Natsu, isn't that fire?! Why aren't you eating it?!"
Natsu was in too much agony to answer.
Wraith's voice remained calm.
"That is not fire. It is a soul!"
"I'll be taking yours."
The pillar of white flame completely engulfed Natsu.
He roared in pain until the fire finally faded, leaving him unconscious as he slowly collapsed.
"Natsu!"
Lucy and Wendy rushed forward and placed themselves between Natsu and Wraith.
"What did you do to Natsu-nii?" Wendy demanded, taking a defensive stance.
Lucy could not see Wraith at all.
She crouched beside Natsu with Happy and shook him repeatedly, but his eyes were empty and unfocused, and he gave no response.
"Natsu! Natsu!"
"I took his soul."
Wraith held a mass of white flame above his right palm.
If he was telling the truth, that was Natsu's soul.
"Happy, don't panic yet."
Raizel first checked Natsu's breathing.
He was still breathing, and his heart was beating normally.
A brief inspection also showed that his physical injuries were nowhere near severe enough to leave him unconscious, especially with his eyes in that vacant state.
Natsu was usually almost impossible to keep down.
Lucy had no way to fight an enemy she could not even see, so she looked toward Wendy.
"Wendy, can you handle him?"
"I'll try! Sky Dragon's Roar!"
Wraith did not move.
Wendy's roar passed directly through his body without causing any damage.
Her brows tightened.
"He really is a spirit..."
"Lucy, stay with Natsu."
After giving that instruction, Raizel used Take Over: Omnimon and prepared to support Wendy.
He could not see Wraith clearly either, but he was still better off than Lucy, who would be swinging blindly at empty air.
...
At the same time, Natsu slowly opened his eyes while lying on a vast bed of white clouds.
"Hm?"
He sat up and looked around in confusion.
"Huh???"
There were mountains, water, and trees all around him. He was lying on a cloud, with a building standing on a nearby mountain and a Fairy Tail flag fluttering not far away.
He had been in Drasil only moments ago.
So where was he now?
"And what's up with this ground?"
Natsu stomped on the cloud beneath his feet.
It was soft and springy, yet firm enough that he could push against it and jump.