The battle in Hargeon has been a strange one. All three members of The Ten down there have been defeated, but those who were fighting for Fiore were taken to somewhere else by Reginald. The east may have stopped fighting as well with it being night, but enemy forces are still heading for Magnolia. As for the north, they're still fighting. Some forces of the Duat Kingdom went around and was heading for Magnolia, but those who stayed behind were falling.

"It looks like I found someone who could give me a fight." Bradford said as he faced with Coro.

"Coro?! What's going on?" Stella called as she was in a pit.

"It looks like one of the big dogs came out to play." Coro said. He isn't aware that he's up against a dangerous foe.

"My name is Bradford Grim, one of the Ten Gates of the Underworld."

'He's one of those guys we were told about. That means this guy needs to be taken down.' Coro thought as he readied himself to fight.

"Make no mistake." Bradford warned. "Do not compare me to the soldiers you have fought. Though, I do imagine that you might not have much in you after constantly fighting."

'He's got a point.' Coro thought as he thought back. He, his guild, and Sabertooth have been fighting enemy soldiers practically all day. 'Those soldiers can put up a good fight. I've burned through a good deal of my magic.' He looked around and saw Stella was still inside the pit with Ranko knocked down from some attack. He isn't quite sure what magic thsi guy uses, but he's not running from a fight.

"Coro, any idea what the deal is with this guy is?" Ranko said.

"No clue, but I'm about to find out!" Coro said as he charged right at Bradford. He smashed into Bradford and was pushing him back.

"What are you doing?!" Ranko called.

"Get the others, I'll try to hold him down!" Coro called.

"You think you can hold me?!" Bradford said as he grabbed Coro. "Think again!" He tossed Coro behind him and went to fight him.

...

Rona

Rona found herself surrounded by a few of the Duat Kingdom's soldiers. She's done her best to fight, but she's burned through some of her energy from fighting all day, just like everyone else.

"There's just no end to them. They just seem to keep coming. This is becoming a nuisance." Rona said. The soldiers decided to attack first. They attacked at the same time. Rona readied herself, but someone rescue her instead as shadows attacked them and knocked them down. She knew who her savior was without even looking to see who it was.

"Thanks, Shae." Rona said as Shae walked up to her.

"You okay?" Shae asked.

"Just tired." Rona said.

"Same here, but we've got to push through." Shae said. Rona looked at Shae and admired how strong he was and how he was still able to keep going. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing!" Rona said with her face slightly blushing.

"Hey!" Gray called as he found the two of them. "Are you two doing okay?"

"Mr. Fullbuster! Yeah." Shae said. "We're just a little tired. That's all."

"Yeah, but it looks like the enemy is dropping. Some of them are pulling out to recover." Gray said. "Still, we haven't seen any of Ankhselam's elite fighters. This battle won't end until they're all taken down." The members of The Ten in the north are still standing and must be defeated. They can only hope that Coro is capable of doing that by bringing down Bradford.

...

The South

Everyone that fought the Duat Kingdom down in Hargeon were transported out of there by Reginald. Everyone in Mermaid Heel and Blue Pegasus were a little perplexed as to what happened. One moment, they were in Hargeon. The next, they were somewhere in the woods.

"How did we end up here?" Levy asked.

"I thought I heard the voice of that pompous snob I beat down." Gale said. "I guess he had one last trick up his sleeve."

"That's weird." Levy said as she thought it over. "Why would he use the last of his strength to get all of his enemies out of Hargeon? If he could do something like that, why didn't he head straight for Magnolia?"

"You think they need Hargeon for something?" Gale asked. That's exactly what Levy was thinking. "Maybe we should go back."

"You're not going anywhere until you get some rest. You're not the only one that needs it. Look around." Levy said. Gale did and saw a lot of people seem tired and injured.

"Kora!" Gale heard Milly shout. The members of Mermaid Heel gathered around as they tried treating Kora's injuries.

"You're going to be okay. Just try and stay strong." Jessica said.

"Kora?" Gale said as he walked over to her.

"Easy, Gale." Levy said as she tried to help him. "You should be resting."

"I'm fine. What happened to you, Kora?" Gale asked.

"A not so easy battle. That's what happened to me." Kora said.

"You're telling me." Gale turned around and saw Bella with Damien resting his head on her lap.

"Are we interrupting something?" Gale said seeing the position they're in.

"No, although one can hope." Bella said as she combed her fingers through his hair. "Damien's just exhausted after the battle he had."

"Let me guess. Both battles were against someone in The Ten, wasn't it?" Gale said. Kora and Bella both confirmed that it was. "Same here." 'We might be beating these guys, but it's taking everything we have and more to do that. I hope whoever is fighting the remaining members is having better luck than we are.' Even though the Ten seem to be falling, trying to defeat just one of them is a challenge. It's still too soon to tell how this war is going to end.

...

The North

Since Bradford and Coro crossed paths, the two of them engaged in combat. Coro tackled Bradford into a tree, but Bradford kicked him right back.

"Is that all you got?" Coro said.

"Naïve child. You aren't aware of what you're up against." Bradford said. He closed the distance and grabbed Coro by the neck and tried to strangle him. "The Ten are not those you should look down on."

"Oh yeah?" Coro said as he grabbed Bradford by the neck as well and held a strong grip himself. "Neither am I!" He pulled Bradford closer and smashed his head against Bradford's and got himself free. "Don't you know that a lion is not a beast to be messed with?"

"I know not of a lion, but no beast can challenge my power." Bradford said. Both of them kept the fight going as they smashed their fists against each other. The two of them jumped away from each other, and Coro was going to attack him again, but Bradford quickly used his magic. Coro felt something hit his leg and caused him to slip into the ground. He looked to see he tripped on a tree root.

"Seriously?" Coro said as he thought that was a lousy time for something like that. Bradford took advantage of the opening as he gave Coro a powerful kick in the face. Coro got knocked back, but Bradford wasn't stopping there. He focused his magic on a tree and caused it to fall on Coro. Coro acted fast as he smashed his arm against the tree and it broke in two.

"Not bad." Bradford said.

"How are you doing that?" Coro said. "What kind of crazy magic are you using?"

"It's my curse magic." Bradford said. "My magic can be quite the challenging and dangerous force. It's only a matter of time until you fall victim to my power like all the others before."

"I don't really believe in curses. You're just trying to scare me. It ain't working!" Coro said as he tried to attack again, but Bradford held out his arm and used his magic again. He caused an explosion to go off and knocked Coro in the air.

"My curse magic is quite powerful. Curses can be quite " Bradford said. "It can range from bad luck to the extinction of your life!" Bradford showed an example of that as he used his magic on another tree. This time, it bent down and grabbed Coro by using its branches with him being lifted off the ground.

"What the hell?!" Coro shouted.

"I've just cursed this tree for it to take your life." Bradford said. A piece of splinter stuck out from the tree and was aiming to impale Coro from the back. Just before it made impact, the tree was sliced to pieces. "What's this?!"

"About time." Coro said as he landed down.

"Sorry." Ranko said as he stepped forward.

"Had to get the others." Stella said as Team Lion's Crown has gathered together.

"He's the guy giving you problems?" Netina asked.

"You haven't clobbered him yet, Coro? Are you feeling okay?" Lennis asked.

"Shut up." Coro said as he tried to look tough. "I'm just functioning around eighty percent, that's all. Does it really matter? This guy is going down." All five of them got into position to face Bradford together and got ready to attack.

"Five against one? Interesting." Bradford said. Ranko was the first one to attack as he called on multiple swords and launched them at Bradford. Bradford jumped out of the way, but Netina formed magic bombs behind him and Bradford caused them to explode upon contact. Lennis joined in as he unleashed blades of light, but Bradford jumped into the air and avoided the attacks.

"Sun Dragon Roar!"

"Moon Dragon Roar!" Coro and Stella used their breath attacks, but Bradford caused explosions to go off with his magic and blocked both attacks.

"Not bad, but do you really think you can best me?" Bradford said as he landed on the ground.

"You're dealing with a pack of lions. You'll be lucky to get out alive." Coro said. "We lions are hungry and you're what's going to fill us."

"What's all this talk about lions?" Bradford asked.

"Don't you know who you're dealing with, pal?" Ranko questioned.

"We are from Lion's Crown. We even give Fairy Tail a run for their money." Lennis said.

"Is that so?" Bradford asked. "Well, it matters now how many of you there are. You're about to see what makes my magic so dangerous. Skeletal Uprising!" He clapped his hands together and unleashed the wave of black energy skulls. Coro and the others got caught in, but tried their best to endure it.

"You really think that will stop us?" Coro said as he was getting ready to attack, but he felt something was wrong. All five of them weren't doing so well. When the wave cleared away, all five of them dropped to the ground.

"What just happened?" Netina said.

"I'm not sure. I feel weak" Stella said. All of them were feeling week.

"It's like all my energy was drained out of me." Coro said.

"That's because it was." Bradford said. "My last curse attack has drained you of your strength. Now, you have nearly nothing left to fight with." It seemed like the five toughest members of Lion's Crown would gang up on Bradford and take this one down, but he was able to bring all five of them down in just one attack. How is Lion's Crown going to get out of this one?