Three streaks—one clear, one gold, and one with wisps of wind—darted at the massive black dragon who halted their assault in the skies while the warship, Christina, barreled onward into position.

"What a nice little meal coming my way," Acnologia said. "This gives me yet another chance to let you watch your friends and loved ones die, Kai!"

Kai sped up, catching up to Jellal. Acnologia swiped at him but a strong burst of wind slapped his hand down and Kai was able to kick Acnologia in his thick neck before Jellal swooped in with another punch.

Kai felt his magic almost leave him and he blasted away, same as Jellal. Iggy stayed above them, summoning hurricane-force winds.

Acnologia tried to absorb that magic but she remained just far enough away to stay out of that range. The winds she generated, though, buffeted him about, throwing him just off course as he tried to move. He couldn't fly properly.

Kai smiled. Not much, but if it could inhibit his movements, then they had a static target, something much easier to deal with.

Jellal and Kai attacked Acnologia once more, who launched a Dragon Roar at them. Kai skirted just on the peripheral of it before reemerging in Acnologia's face, sword in hand. He slashed down at him but Acnologia lurched out with his neck and munched down on one of Kai's wings.

Kai kicked out of there and Jellal returned, attacking Acnologia from behind.

Acnologia spun around but Iggy used her magic to try and force him back into a different direction.

"I tire of this puppetry!" Acnologia shouted, and with a terrifying swoop of his wings disrupted Iggy's magic enough to break free of her control and attack.

She dodged with graceful ease, but the hulking mass of Acnologia would prove her downfall as he swung out with his tail and struck her hard in the side. Kai managed to fix his wing and attack, slicing at the tail. Acnologia dodged it and almost punched Kai so hard he would've had his back shattered but Jellal knocked the fist away.

Acnologia clasped Jellal with his hand and easily drained his magic, gaining a faint golden glow.

Any damage he'd taken from the fight, and maybe from even the fight before, had been nullified.

Iggy flew away, and Kai followed. Jellal roared out in pain, his bones probably shattering while in Acnologia's grip. Kai glanced over his shoulder.

He had to free Jellal, but, how could he get in close enough to do any significant damage? He'd have to cut off Acnologia's fingers at least.

Iggy surged forward again, moving out even farther. Kai raised an eyebrow, and once more checked over his shoulder at Acnologia, who closed in on him. A golden beam of light formed in his mouth. Iggy got even further, then stopped, and the winds shifted to swirl in around her.

Kai grimaced. Got it.

Momentary bait. No issues.

Kai halted and launched himself at Acnologia, who fired the beam right down at Kai, distracting himself from the cat-like bullet that cut through the sky like a lance and struck him straight in the chest, blowing the air from his body and forcing him to let go of Jellal.

Then, from above, a beam of light flashed before it surged down and rammed onto Acnologia with enough force to level the countryside—a Jupiter cannon.

Acnologia blasted back a little bit, more hurt by Iggy's attack. Kai held Jellal by the wrist while the two suspended in the air. Christina flew back out of range again.

"Hurry!" Anna called.

Acnologia recovered, but did not look pleased in the slightest.

The three then dashed away, Acnologia in even hotter pursuit than before. Kai almost swore as Acnologia seemed to just be shrugging off their attacks.

How much of that Jupiter blast had he just absorbed?

There had to be a way around his absorption ability, a way to circumvent that. But what? No element could hurt him. What could hurt a Dragon Slayer that absorbed magic?

Acnologia launched several beams back at them that the C Christina tried to repel but just couldn't. One of the beams even struck the ship, sending it careening to the side but not into the waters yet.

Rage flared through Kai. That could've hit Erza. He almost turned but found he couldn't—Iggy was actually using the winds to move them along.

Kai grit his teeth so tight they could've cracked and white-knuckle-gripped his sword, but stayed the course.

Acnologia's shadow overwhelmed them. Iggy used her magic to blast them forward, and they were so close to the Space Between Time.

"We need to get him in now!" Iggy roared over the winds.

Kai and Jellal nodded.

The three changed course to attack Acnologia, who was actually just beneath the Space Between Time. Iggy stayed back once more while Kai and Jellal pummeled Acnologia, trying to get the dragon to move.

He fell back to give them some room, to toy with them, but then stopped, his eyes widening.

"What is this?" Acnologia shouted, and for the first time, Kai heard fear laden in his voice.

"Your damnation!" Kai exclaimed in return, and felt his magic quickly fading.

But his strength did not give out, nor did Jellal's. A massive stream of wind backed them while Acnologia tried to peel himself out of the crack in reality slowly sucking him in.

"Your arrogance got you here!" Kai shouted. "You got so caught up in beating us you didn't even realize what you were walking into, did you?"

"I will obliterate you!" Acnologia roared, trying to force himself forward, but the gravity of the realm kept loosely locked in while Iggy's magic pushed against him.

She shouted and strained beneath them.

Jellal continued to push until Acnologia swung down with his talon and knocked Jellal away, down into the water. Kai remained floating by Iggy's magic along, pushing against Acnologia's chest. He turned his head down to Kai.

"Blast me to oblivion!" Kai exclaimed. "I dare you! Then you won't get that precious suffering you asked for!"

"I don't get about your oblivion!" Acnologia shouted, and the Dragon Roar appeared in his mouth not a few feet over Kai. Kai sucked in a breath.

"Ice Dragon Shield!"

He pushed off Acnologia and coated his body in a thick amount of ice, moving to the side as the beam drilled down into the ocean. Kai slid alongside Acnologia, who moved the beam to follow Kai.

Kai pressed against Acnologia's body and the beam hit himself. The dragon roared and cut off the stream of magic. Kai pushed once more.

"All you do is hurt yourself!" Kai shouted, though he was unsure if Acnologia could hear.

"I will not…fall to you!"

The winds started to die down.

"No, Iggy!"

"Finally!"

Acnologia fired another beam and the winds cut off completely, followed by a fast splash below. Kai started to fall back as well.

Just before Acnologia could reach out to snag him, though, he turned his head to the fast-moving airship that slammed into his side and forced him back into the Space Between Time.

Kai plummeted toward the ocean below, watching as Christina, with Ichiya at the helm, forced Acnologia back. He resisted, but against the power of the ship and the pull of the tear, he couldn't do a thing.

In a flash, he vanished with the airship and the tear sealed up. Kai slammed into the waters below, blacking out only long enough to resurface in someone's tight grip.

He was drug through the water and the surprisingly harsh waves all the way back to the obliterated cliffside, where someone pressed their hands on his chest and forced the water from his lungs.

Kai coughed even more and rolled over to get some more air in his lungs. Someone propped him up and he at last regained some semblance of clear vision.

Erza sat next to him, her hair drenched. She was in her Sea Empress Armor, and the wounded bodies of Jellal and Iggy sat nearby. Wendy was with them, and Carla, and the Trimens. They had waning smiles on their faces.

"Wh—what happened?" Kai asked.

"Acnologia blasted Stormrunner out of the sky," Hibiki said. "Then…"

"Ichiya came and finished the job," Ren muttered. "At Anna Heartfilia's insistence."

"They ejected us," Carla said, her voice soft. "And sacrificed themselves to the Space Between Time, to trap away Acnologia."

Kai got to his knees, finding he still had quite a bit of strength in him. He shook his head.

"I—Ichiya…" he muttered to himself.

The skies above settled down from the storms Iggy summoned and from the power that Acnologia had cast forth. His scent vanished, too.

As far as Kai could see or smell, there was no trace anymore of Acnologia.

But neither was there one for Anna or Ichiya.

Waves calmly lapped against the cliff while the wizards sat together.

"But it's over," Wendy said, a bit of cheer in her voice.

Kai nodded, still in a daze. Erza sat next to him, and he realized that the entire time she'd been holding his hand.

"Thank you," he said, and quickly wrapped her in a hug.

She returned the hug and said nothing. Kai wasn't quite sure what exactly he was thanking her for: for saving him, for being alive, for…maybe just for being there at all.

She helped him get to his feet. Kai checked the Space Between Time tear in reality once more. Jellal and Iggy did the same.

"I…they're gone," Jellal said. He turned to the Trimens, but they waved him off.

"He was a hero," Eve said. "You don't need to apologize. We all knew he would be there to make the hard call."

"It doesn't make it any easier."

The Trimens nodded. Kai sighed, still feeling a weight on his chest.

What'd he expected, though, when Acnologia was defeated? He tried to ease the tension in his body just found he couldn't.

What bothered him?

He summoned his sword to his side then vanished it away. He caught a brief glimpse of Acnologia's blood still staining the blade before it vanished.

Maybe that was it: he hadn't done the deed himself. He didn't see Acnologia's final death rattle, his final moments. He didn't see the dragon's life end.

He just saw him vanish.

But…that'd been the goal. That'd been the way to defeat him, right?

Kai raised his head, struggling a bit to do so. He smiled at Erza, then at Wendy, who leaned against Carla with great relief.

"We should head back to Magnolia," Erza said. "If it's true that Zeref has the Fairy Heart, they'll need all our help."

Everyone nodded. The Trimens helped Iggy and Jellal, though Iggy moved to Carla for help instead. Wendy walked alongside Kai and Erza, who Kai heavily leaned against.

They got maybe a few more feet before Wendy stopped and stared at the sky, her lips trembling, words fumbling on her mouth.

The Trimens checked it first.

"Wait, what is that?" Hibiki asked.

Kai followed their gaze, back toward the Space Between Time, where a small crack had formed, then grew a bit larger.

Just then, two presences appeared in front of them: Ichiya and Anna.

"Ichiya!"

The Trimens rushed to his side.

Anna scrambled up, a harried look on her face. "W—where…?"

"How are you back?" Iggy asked.

Anna checked the crack in the sky as well, and Ichiya, it turned out, was already unconscious.

The tear in the sky increased, and the sound of shattering glass filled the entire world before a deep, menacing laugh replaced it.

Kai knew that laugh, and he almost fell away from Erza.

"I-impossible," he muttered, and watched as the Space Between Time shattered and out form it burst the draconic form of Acnologia, who soared freely across the skies.

"Even that wasn't enough," Anna said. "We thought we were casting water over fire…instead, we only added more fuel."

The skies above turned blood red, save for the blue and black shadow soaring through the clouds, slicing them apart.

"Eternal Flare!"

A flash of purple magic coated him before it exploded into thousands of powerful beams of magic shooting out all around the country, heading off over the horizon, even.

"We have no means of stopping him anymore," Anna said, softly.

Kai stepped forward, watching as the Apocalypse Dragon lived up to his name.

Before he could say anything, though, Wendy screamed and her voice cut out. Kai spun to face her, but she was just gone.

"What just happened?" Carla shrieked.

"It's Acnologia, it has to be," Kai muttered.

Then, something in his own chest quivered. His eyes darted to Erza, but he couldn't get a single word out before he too vanished and reappeared in an entirely new place.

His feet touched down on what appeared to be crystal, with streaks of ether nano cascading down like distant meteors all around him. Various other crystalline structures jutted up around hi.

His heart thumped fast in his chest. Kai held his hand out for his sword but he could not summon it.

Another scent filled his nostrils, then even more. All were come behind. He turned.

Cased in crystal were Sting, Rogue, Gajeel, Laxus, Cobra, and Wendy, all with their eyes closed.

Someone else appeared next to him. Kai caught the figure before he could stumble: Natsu, apparently back to normal.

"You okay?" Kai asked.

"Where the hell are we?" Natsu asked, a bit dazed.

"You are in my dimension. A void beyond the touches of space and time, where I shall at last expunge the scourge of dragon-kind from the face of this planet, and wipe my pathetic family out of existence."

Forming from one of the crystals strode Acnologia in his human form, though still missing his arm. A manic look spread across his face.

"You asked for your oblivion earlier, Kai?" Acnologia sneered and howled a deep laugh that thrummed in Kai's chest. "Now you're here."