AN: Thanks MDM11 and Wadeparker. MDM11, I think it may have been an issue of manpower. With the Magic Council decimated, I'd imagine that Mest felt like he wouldn't be able to handle more than just Oraciòn Seis alone (and even that may have just been because of his prior experience with Erik that I mentioned last chapter). Besides, you're assuming that Jose was in the same jail as Oraciòn Seis and has remained in good shape, when its possible he's somewhere else and/or has let his skills atrophy.
As for Rustyrose and Kain, I'm not sure. Rustyrose didn't appear in the manga after Tenrou Island and I didn't watch the anime adaption of the Tartaros Arc (I didn't even know he appeared in it until your comment prompted me to look at his Wiki page). As for Kain, I didn't even remember who he was and had took look him up. I suppose I can see Rustyrose joining but not Kain, since the former feels a bit more fleshed out while the latter just seems like a means of providing an entertaining fight.
Their behavior in Crime Sorcière, though… I see Kain acting as comic relief like Moscoy in Eden's Zero (they even look similar) and Rustyrose resuming his theatrical behavior, but with a violent intensity that shows itself in the face of a real threat to the guild's members (not wanting them to be annihilated like Grimoire Heart was).
Wow, my response ended up being long. Anyway, without further adieu…
"That shouldn't… even be possible," thought Irene, dumbfounded as Erza obliterated her meteorite.
"Prepare to die!" declared the Fairy as she descended toward the Spriggan.
"Even if you can cut a meteorite, you can't pierce the armor of a dragon, Erza!" shouted Irene, regaining her composure. Unfortunately for the Spriggan, that composure was lost again moments later due to the actions of Wendy.
"I can enchant… Erza's sword with… Dragon Slayer Magic…" went the Sky Dragon. Though her injuries kept her from standing, Wendy held her hand out toward her fellow Fairy and empowered the blade.
"Wha—" gasped Irene. Caught off guard by the meteorite's destruction, she had momentarily forgotten about the younger Fairy. This proved to be fatal, as Erza — now wielding a sword enchanted with Dragon Slayer Magic — cut a long, deep wound into the Spriggan's body as she fell to the ground. "Aaaaaaaaaaaa!"
As Irene screamed in response to the worst physical pain she had felt in centuries (and so soon after the worst mental suffering in centuries, inflicted by Wendy), she transformed back into her human form to shrink the wound and slow her blood loss.
Erza lay on the ground in front of her, lacking the strength to stand. Her blade, no longer filled with Dragon Slayer Magic, was on the ground between the two.
"You've caused no end of trouble for me… you little brat…" the Spriggan said to Erza in a ragged voice. She staggered over to the Fairy, picking up the fallen sword as she approached, and pointed it at Erza. "Now, you die. Accept your fate."
However, as Irene held the sword to the Fairy's throat, she saw something that stirred up an old, unpleasant memory; her daughter was smiling.
After slashing Irene and crashing into the ground, Erza blacked out for a moment. When she came to, the Spriggan was standing over her and holding the Fairy's own blade to her throat. Yet, of the two, Irene was the one who was upset.
"Stop smiling!" shouted the Spriggan, distraught. She moved the sword to Erza's shoulder and pressed it in, drawing blood.
"I…" began the Fairy, using her right arm to push herself up. The blade was pushed so deeply into her body that it came out the other end, surprising Irene. "Haven't given up yet!"
With that declaration, Erza smashed her head into the Spriggan's with enough force that Irene spat out blood. The Fairy collapsed afterward, her body spent.
"Still too soft to see things through," muttered the Spriggan, still (barely) standing. She raised her right arm, which had held onto Erza's sword through the headbutt.
Irene took the blade… and drove it through her own body. Erza and Wendy stared at the Spriggan in shock, unable to believe what they just witnessed.
"Pathetic…!" berated Irene. "I am the most powerful woman in the empire… yet I am still unable to kill my own daughter."
The Spriggan dropped to her knees, the life fading from her body.
"Wh-why?" asked Erza, uncomprehending.
"A fine question…" responded Irene. A memory flashed through her mind, of when she chose not to perform the Personality Enchantment on her smiling baby daughter. Fearing the desperation for a true human body would eventually overcome her parental love — which it did — she left Erza in a cradle outside of a church.
"Why, indeed…?" continued Erza's mother. "It was your smile… that… I suppose… made me… remember… how much… I love you…"
Irene collapsed, the last of her life vanishing now that her final message was delivered. Erza looked at the newly deceased body with mixed emotions.
"Farewell… Mother."
The Fairy didn't know how much time passed, but the next thing she knew, Wendy was by her side. The dragon had transformed into human form and was providing her with healing.
"Are you alright?" Wendy asked Erza.
"I am fine."
"Um… I wasn't just talking about your injuries…"
"I am all right in that respect as well. Thank you, Wendy. I think, perhaps, she was a very sad woman. My only parent is the master, but… if she had received the support and love Fairy Tail gives me instead of scorn and isolation… I believe that she would have become a fine mother."
The two went silent for a moment, mourning what could have been. They stayed this way even as the ground began to glow, a sign of Irene's Enchantment coming undone.
With a flash of light, Universe One ended and the land returned to its original state.
"It's Magnolia Town!" exclaimed Warren.
"We made it back!" cheered Max.
"This is our town!" chanted several others.
As the light faded, the mages of Fairy Tail found themselves back in Magnolia Town, restored to its original shape. Unfortunately, they only had a moment to celebrate, as the remaining Berserker soldiers also appeared in Magnolia Town alongside them.
"Don't let your guard down!" shouted Freed, defeating a soldier with his rapier. "There are still a lot of enemies left!"
"How are there still so many of them?" complained Macao as he made a net with Purple Flare and used it to ensnare a Berserker soldier.
"The Alvarez Empire does have a pretty massive army," replied Wakaba, battering the ensnared soldier with fists of smoke. "At least they're only foot soldiers. Judging by the lack of large-scale mayhem, none of the Spriggan 12 are here."
As if older Fairy had jinxed it, Ajeel took that moment to appear. The Spriggan was riding above the streets and buildings on a cloud-shaped mass of sand, followed by a squadron of untransformed soldiers; the least injured of those he had removed from the battlefield earlier.
"…Me and my big mouth," muttered Wakaba.
"Alvarez Empire, stand down!" proclaimed Ajeel loudly, surprising everyone who had been fighting. Even the Berserker soldiers paused their assault, looking at the Spriggan with what seemed to be confusion.
Of course, the response of the Berserker soldiers was in part due to Irene's death weakening the Enchantment. Had Ajeel attempted to order them to stop earlier, they wouldn't have responded to the command in the slightest. Even now, the soldiers were wavering between following his order and resuming combat.
"I said stop!" exclaimed the Spriggan, his voice more heated as he noticed the Berserker soldiers' hesitation. "There no point in fighting against Fiore anymore! Every single member of the Spriggan 12 has been defeated or killed by members of this country. You wouldn't stand a chance against even a single Spriggan, so you'd be decimated by the ones who defeated them!"
The soldiers still wavered between his and Irene's commands. The Berserker Enchantment suppressed their sense of self-preservation, so the appeal to logic meant nothing to them.
"Zeref might be able to win the war by himself," acknowledged Ajeel. Since the war began, Emperor Spriggan's true name had quickly become common knowledge among the soldiers. "But he also may lose, in which case we will be left to fight Acnologia ourselves. For the sake of our country and its people, we must be prepared for that possibility."
The soldiers became more focused on the Spriggan, his words reaching their hearts.
"In order to protect those most important to us, we must stop fighting against Fiore and be prepared to fight with them. There's no point in continuing this war ourselves when the outcome depends entirely on Emperor Spriggan, so stop risking your lives needlessly! Do you want to make your loved ones suffer!?"
Memories of families, friends, and lovers began to surface in the minds of the Berserker soldiers. The Enchantment fractured under the emotions that Ajeel's heartfelt speech had stirred up. As it fell apart and the soldiers reverted to normal, they cheered for the Spriggan that had saved them from a state of mindless violence.
The Fairies present sighed, relieved that the battle was finally over.
"I was wondering who would be the first one here," said Zeref. He sat on one of the stools in the guild hall's main area, leaning one arm on a table. It was exceedingly casual behavior from a legendary Dark Mage and the leader of an invading army. "You would have been my third guess, after Jellal or Laxus."
"I would've thought I'd be higher, being your little brother and all," replied Natsu, earning a chuckle from Zeref.
"Jellal and Laxus are the type to focus on the enemy leader while leaving the smaller threats for their comrades to deal with," explained Zeref. "You, on the other hand, would face any enemy you come across alongside your allies. Speaking of which, where are they? I would have expected at least Happy to remain by your side."
"I told them to leave you to me," answered Natsu, thinking of Gray, Lucy, Juvia, Happy, and Carla. "They were obviously against it. We're a team, so fighting together is a given. But they know that only my fire stands a chance of killing you, so they're off dealing with the last of those powered up soldiers."
"Ah, I see," went Zeref, giving a small nod. "You don't want them getting caught in the crossfire. Flames that can overcome my curse would be quite dangerous to enemy and ally alike, wouldn't they? You're so soft, even as you fight to kill me."
"I've got to burn hot if I want to protect the people who are most important to me," answered Natsu.
"I may have wavered earlier," thought Zeref, recalling his previous clash with Natsu. For a moment there, he had been ready to embrace death. Then August saved him, only to die in battle. "But now, I have come too far to stop. Natsu, I shall defeat you here, claim the Fairy Heart, and use Neo Eclipse to end Acnologia once and for all!"
With his resolve affirmed, the Dark Mage began to battle the Fire Dragon. Both of the Dragneels knew that only one of them would survive this encounter, and neither was willing to give in, even though it meant killing their brother.
"Erza, can you walk?" asked Wendy, supporting the older Fairy as she stood up.
Erza nodded. "Your healing powers really are amazing. Now, let us rejoin the others."
Before the two could do that, though, they felt a Magic Power even more intense than Irene's. The Fairies froze, turning to look as a person slamming into the ground nearby with enough force to create a booming sound.
"There she is!" exclaimed the person, standing up. Wendy and Erza saw that he was a man with dark skin, dark blue hair, and a number of light blue markings on his face. He wore a simple pair of baggy pants and a cloak with a collar that resembled a necklace of teeth, both of which were tattered.
What chilled the two Fairies the most, however, was that the man was missing his left arm. After all, it was this fact that made the pieces fit together and let them identify the man.
"Acnologia…" whispered Erza tensely. Wendy just shivered, unable to speak.
To their relief, the Black Dragon ignored them. He walked over to Irene's body, kicking it over so that it faced the sky.
"The Mother of Dragon Slayers!" said Acnologia in a joyful and derisive tone. With a cruel smirk on his face he began stomping on Irene's body. "My sins are yours! Ahahahahahaha!"
Even as he desecrated the corpse of Erza's mother, the two Fairies could only look on with horror. They both knew that, in their current condition, they were little more than flies to the Black Dragon. Not that being in perfect condition would have made a difference.
Omake
"Ireeeene!" cried Dimaria. The Spriggan knelt on the ground, sniffing and sobbing heavily. "You *hick* you can't be gooone!"
In spite of her conflicting feelings, Dimaria had pinned her hopes on Irene. As such, feeling the strongest Spriggan die was like a sledgehammer to her already fragile psyche.
Brandish stood next to her, patting Dimaria's shoulder. "There, there. Do you want some ice cream? Or maybe some sweets? They always make me feel better."
Unsurprisingly, Brandish was the type of person who drowned her grief in sugar.
AN: Only the two greatest threats remain; Zeref and Acnologia. You knew, when I looked back at Zeref's near-death experience while writing this chapter, I discovered it was 20 chapters ago. This final arc has been going on for longer than I realized. Luckily, it is finally nearing the end.
That's all for now. Bye!