Things were looking bad for Lion's Crown until Forge arrived and helped them get the strength they need to pull through this fight. With Forge's help, Coro might be given the power to finally bring Bradford down. Forge cast Nature's Invocation and it's given Coro extra strength.

'Nature's energy is giving him the strength he needs to win this fight.' Forge thought. 'The more he's surrounded by nature, the more power he gets, but he better end this fast. The spell isn't going to last long.'

"Enough of this." Bradford said as he has run out of patience in this fight. "This fight has gone on long enough."

"You got that right. This is over!" Coro shouted as he went right at Bradford. He gave Bradford a powerful hit, power that Bradford wasn't really expecting. Coro gave him a powerful kick and knocked him back.

"Where is all this power coming from?" Bradford questioned as Coro charged at him again. "Was he really given this much power?" Coro whaled on Bradford as he assaulted him with nonstop attacks. "No! This is absurd!" Coro gave Bradford one more good hit and caused him to smash into a tree.

"Had enough?" Coro taunted.

"That's it." Bradford said as he got back up. "I'm putting an end to your life right now!" Bradford called on his magic and was going for one more attack. Dark energy gathered around and formed a black skull that was larger than him.

"What's with this magic?" Lennis said as he and the rest of Lion's Crown tried to stay back.

"Not sure. I'm feeling a little sick and I'm over here." Ranko said.

"That spell...! It could actually kill Coro!" Stella shouted.

"Reaper's Malediction!" Bradford shouted. "The power of this curse shall reap you of your life! Say your prayers!" Bradford unleashed the skull as it went at Coro. "Be swallowed into the afterlife!" The skull opened it's mouth to take a bite out of Coro, but Coro seemed perfectly calm. Coro gathered flames around his fist and smashed it into the skull. "Are you trying to accelerate your death?! Contact with this spell will end your life that much..." Bradford didn't fish that as he saw something he didn't believe. Coro pushed his way through as Coro's power burned away Bradford's spell. "Impossible! He actually burned away my spell?!"

"You better believe it." Coro said. "The sun can chase away evil, which is exactly what your magic seems to be. I think it's time you see a little light." Coro put all his power into one more attack as his fist was coated in flames and light. Bradford didn't like where this was going. "Sun Dragon Hammer!" Coro gave him a powerful punch with his attack. It caused a bright light to form upon contact that did not go unnoticed by a lot of people.

"What is that?" Drake questioned.

"Daylight at night? Is it morning already?" Storm said. Coro illuminated the light for a moment as Bradford was blown away from that attack. Bradford slid against the ground in a great distance. He was severely burned and damaged from that last hit. It was clear he was unable to keep going. The members of Lion's Crown was impressed with what Coro did, as was Forge.

'Incredible. I can see why Fairy Tail would consider them a friend.' Forge thought.

"Nice going, Coro." Stella said.

"Yeah..." Coro said as the green light surrounding him faded away. "Oh man. I'm tired." Coro dropped to the ground as he collapsed on his back. He did fought hard and did get a well deserved rest. One more member of The Ten were beaten, but there was still one remaining in the north. However, David was aware of what was going on as he saw Bradford defeated.

"So, Bradford was actually defeated." David said. "Not much I can do here on my own. Perhaps I'll try to catch up with Serena and the others." Seeing as he can't be much more use in the current area, David transported himself away and continued to Magnolia on his own.

...

Ankhselam

Ankhselam's forces in the west were taking a break from their advancement. It won't be long until they reach Magnolia. They want to be well rested for when they take on whatever is in Magnolia.

"Lady Aelita, a word?" Apaki said.

"What is it?" Aelita asked as she saw her and her other three followers were listening in as well. "You should really be resting. We'll reach Magnolia by tomorrow."

"I know, but there's something we want to ask." Apaki said. "That girl that attacked earlier claimed that Lord Ankhselam isn't a real god. We believed that he was. So, why are we still following him? You could probably take the crown yourself."

"I understand what you're saying." Aelita said. "However, even if he is not a god, he is still immensely powerful. Have you forgotten why we joined forces with him in the first place?"

"No, but Silis, Tammera, Aquia, and myself are loyal to you." Apaki said. "We just feel that you could be ruler yourself."

"I understand and I appreciate that, but we're past the point of no return." Aelita said. "This war has already begun. This is not the time for some form of rebellion."

"But..." Apaki was going to try to convince her more, but one look from Aelita caused her to be silent. "I'm sorry." Ankhselam may not be a god, but it might be too late for some of them to turn against him. That's why they'll see through this war to the end.

...

The Next Day

The sun began to rise in Magnolia. Some managed to get some sleep, but enemy forces were still heading their way. Zeref watched the radar and was keeping track of the enemy's movements and trying to keep track of who could still be standing.

"Any news?" Laxus asked.

"The forces from the north, east, and west are still heading this way." Zeref said. "It's strange. Enemy forces from the south are stationary in Hargeon. I wonder why that is."

"What about The Ten?" Nova asked. "Do you know how many of them are left?"

"I'm looking over it right now." Zeref said. "It looks like another one was defeated in the middle of the night to the north." Hearing that another one was defeated was good news to the guild.

"Hell yeah!"

"Take that Duat Kingdom! Your best has got nothing on us."

"That's the fifth one to be beaten! We're halfway home free!"

"Shut up!" Laxus shouted and everyone got quiet. "We still got a long way to go. We're not out of the woods yet. They could still have their strongest fighters. On top of that, they'll be here in Magnolia really soon."

"It's a good thing we got the injured out of here." Nova said. "By the way, what about Nashi? Any change?"

"I'm afraid not." Lucy said as she and Natsu stepped forward. "She's still sleeping soundly, but still hasn't woken up."

"No problem. When she does wake up, we'll probably have won." Natsu said as he was confident as always.

"I'm not sure. Something doesn't seem right." Zeref said.

"What's wrong now?" Laxus asked.

"I've been monitoring the enemy, calculating their magic power levels for any signs of changes." Zeref said. "From what I can see, four members of The Ten are still standing."

"What's so wrong about that? That means another one of them got taken out." Happy said.

"The problem is that the side that had a lost of magic power was from the west." Zeref said. "There's no resistance in the west. Where did that one go then?" It was at that moment that a strange gust of wind blew through the guild.

"Huh? What was that?" Nova questioned. It was also the moment that Zeref saw a magic signal appeared right on Magnolia on the map.

"Oh no! One of them is already here?!" Zeref said.

"You got that right." Everyone looked to the bar and were surprised when they saw Travis sitting on one of stools. "So this is Fairy Tail? Honestly, I was expecting a little more extravagant from all the things I've heard."

"You're one of The Ten, aren't you?" Laxus said.

"You got that right. My name is Travis. I hold the mark of the falcon."

"The falcon?" Zeref said as he didn't like that. "That means he's ranked four among The Ten. That's near the top. How did you even get here?"

"You actually have Aelita, the Elemental Mistress, to thank for that." Travis said. "She allowed my body to turn into wind itself and I was able to get ahead of the western forces. Since I'm here, could I get a nice beer here or something?"

"Seriously? It's still early." Nova said.

"We're not giving the likes of you a drop." Laxus said. Travis helped himself as he jumped over the counter and grabbed himself a mug.

"Why are you here?" Zeref asked.

"I came here for Natsu Dragneel, to speed things along." Travis said as he walked over to a barrel and got himself a drink. "I came here to try and talk him into giving himself up to Lord Ankhselam. It be a lot easier for a lot of people if he would just surrender to us." He took a sip of alcohol in the morning. "Don't you have anything stronger?"

"Forget it!" Natsu shouted. "I'm not going anywhere with you! You want a fight, you got one!"

"That means you're Natsu Dragneel?" Travis said as he turned to him. "You really should. It's the only way this war is really going to end. Of course, I do have other methods to make you surrender."

"Think again!" Laxus shouted as he shot lightning at him and blasted Travis.

"Hey, thanks for the extra charge." Travis said as he didn't seem bothered by it. No one was expecting that. They were all surprised that Laxus' lightning didn't work on him.

"How did he do that?" Nova questioned.

"I'm only going to ask one more time." Travis said. "Are you going to surrender peacefully?"

"Not a chance!" Natsu shouted as he had fire surround his fist and went on the attack. Travis was a step ahead as he turned himself into lightning. "He can turn into lightning like Laxus?!"

"He can use lightning magic too?!" Lucy said.

"I'll get him!" Nova claimed as she went up to him.

"I don't think so." Travis said as he moved fast and tackled Nova outside the guild.

"Nova!" Laxus called as he and some others hurried outside. Travis had Nova pinned to the ground. "Let her go!"

"Not yet." Travis said as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a glowing cube. He tossed it near the guild and it projected a barrier that surrounded the whole guild. Natsu tried to bust his way through, but his attack just bounced off.

"What is this?" Zeref questioned.

"A special lacrima from back home. It projects a barrier that can even go through the ground." Travis said. "You're all trapped and I'm not letting any of you out."

"Get off me!" Nova said as she tried to zap him off, but her lightning wasn't working on him either.

"That tickles." Travis said. Nova couldn't believe this.

'He's able to take Dad's lightning and mine? How is he doing that?' Nova thought. Travis grabbed her arm and held it behind her in a painful manner.

"I've done some research, and Ankhselam has told me a lot about you, Dragneel." Travis said. Natsu was getting mad, but he was listening. "I understand you value your fellow guild members, and their well-being, more than anything. Here's the deal. If you don't surrender, she's going to pay the price. I'll start by breaking her arm."

"Damn you." Laxus said.

'I wasn't expecting something like this to happen.' Zeref thought. 'Although, it does make sense to use Natsu's heart against him.'

"Come on! Let me out and actually try to take me fair and square!" Natsu shouted as he bashed his arms against the barrier.

"Not a chance. This isn't some sort of tournament fight." Travis said. "This is war, pal. All's fair in war. You got to do whatever it takes to win. Now, what's your answer?" He held Nova's arm and was on the verge of breaking it. "Are you going to surrender or is this girl going to pay the price?" Natsu hated this, but there didn't seem to be a way out of the barrier. "Who's the one that's going to hurt?!"

"We choose...you!" Travis was met with a punch right to the face. He was knocked off Nova and rolled against the ground. Nova and the others were surprised to see that Nashi was the one that saved her.

"Nashi!" Lucy shouted as she was glad to see her daughter was up.

"You're okay!" Nova said.

"Yeah. What about you?" Nashi asked.

"I'm fine thanks to you." Nova said as she got up.

"Hold on." Travis said as he got back up. "That's the girl that had the guts to challenge Lord Ankhselam. I knew we should have killed her when we had the chance."

"When did you wake up?" Nova asked.

"Just a little while ago." Nashi said.

...

A Few Minutes Earlier

Nashi was sound asleep in the infirmary. While everyone was downstairs, she was finally able to wake up.

"What happened?" Nashi said as she sat up and looked around. She got out of bed and walked over to a window. "It looks like I'm back at the guild." She did hear a commotion going on downstairs, and also spotted the barrier from the window. Knowing this was good, she jumped out the window and ran towards the barrier. She rolled through just before the barrier closed around the guild.

...

"I don't know what's going on exactly, but this guy seems to be asking for a beating." Nashi said.

"Don't kid yourself just because you got in a lucky hit." Travis said. "You two little girls wouldn't stand a chance against me."

"Oh yeah?!" Nashi shouted as she charged at him with fire around her fist. She was about to strike him, but Travis surprised them as he had fire around his fist as well. The two collided and tried to push the other back.

"He uses fire?! I thought he used lightning!" Nova said with surprise. Travis pulled back his other fist and had fire around it as well.

"Nice try. Fire won't work on me." Nashi said, but she ended up surprised as well as he actually hit her and she could feel the fire actually hurting her. 'What?!' She thought. 'How did his fire work on me?' Travis kicked her in the gut as well and pushed her back to Nova.

"Change of plans, Natsu." Travis said. "You better surrender. Otherwise, both of these girls are in for a world of pain."

"Now who's the one making jokes?" Nashi questioned. "Nova, I don't know what the deal is with this guy, but I might need your help. You in?"

"Of course." Nova said as both girls were ready to fight. Travis was ready for them. Nova and Nashi teaming up, but will that be enough to defeat this gate of the underworld?