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He laid her hand in his. Above them, massive boulders pelted onto the shield. It tightened around them.
"Focus on my magic energy. I'm going to connect you to the stars."
Erza closed her eyes. She tried to blank out the noise – the pounding above, the roaring fires all around Era, the screams of the civilians.
"The name is Aquila – the eagle. It has ten major stars that we're going to channel and is located along the Milky Way. Can you feel it?"
She squeezed her eyes further shut. The thundering noise wouldn't stop. The shield wouldn't stop constricting, nudging at her back. She adjusted, shuffled her feet under her, tried hard to pour every ounce of focus into feeling whatever it was Jellal was feeling. Aquila, Aquila…
An explosion far away, muffled by the shield. Jellal's hand was warm and slick with sweat. He couldn't keep the shield intact forever.
An idea struck her. Distracted by the overwhelming magical power all around her, Erza changed into her Celestial Armour. Jellal grimaced at how revealing it was but didn't protest. His aura was glowing, emitting wave after wave of celestial energy like thick fog, intangible yet tastable clouds, where somewhere, somewhere, was Aquila shining.
"I can't—"
The shield shattered. Erza sent a dozen swords forward, slicing invading vines off. From each stump, ten more vines grew, expanded rapidly, shackled their feet and knees to the ground.
"Jiu Leixing!" Jellal called swords of light into being.
Erza's hand darted to his, her armour quivering with his magic close. "Blade Wings!" She called forth the swords of her Ataraxia Armour. They flung into the light of Jiu Leixing, their combined power shattering the ground of the plaza like a tsunami. Buildings were ripped off their foundations, tossed into the sky as if made from paper.
A tree— no! The vines retreated towards it.
"Warrod!" Erza caught his silhouette amidst the chaos.
"Three Layered Magic Circle: Mirror Water!" Rune circles the size of ships lined up, becoming smaller, then bigger, reflecting incoming vines like lenses of a telescope. More vines tore up the ground. They smashed against the circle and took a sharp turn right back at their creator. "Get him, before—"
Jellal froze. Erza gasped, but it was too late. Her lungs seized. Her swords fell, just before she collapsed, clutching her throat with her remaining strength. Her blood was rushing, making her dizzy, lighting her body on fire.
Vampire Magic.
Draculos' wingtips clacked across the remains of the plaza. Erza's neck trembled as she forced it up, forced herself to look at him. His features were dark and empty. A crazed whiteness flickered in his eyes. It shrunk under the first ray of sun. He hissed.
"Jellal." Body pressed into the ground, Erza turned her head. It felt as if her muscles were stretched to the brink, tearing, snapping. "Use Meteor."
Jellal groaned. He didn't raise his head. His fingers twitched, arms unmoving, pounded into the cobblestone by Draculos' sheer power of mind. Another minute, and it would crush their bones. Jellal croaked, "Which direction?"
"Doesn't matter!" Erza willed her senses to stay with her. Dark rims lined her vision. She wanted to sleep, to fall over and close her eyes and never get up again, oxygen draining from her brain. Her body ached as if stuck under tons and tons of lead. Her magic, he didn't block.
Right between her and Jellal, a shield appeared. Made from pure silver, the mirror reflected Meteor's light. She hadn't used it in years. Not since her S-Class trial with fifteen. The light it threw stretched high and low and left and right, blinding rifts ripping through the darkness.
Draculos grunted. Erza gasped for air, her lungs expanding by a fraction.
"Brighter!"
Jellal curled his hands to fists. Meteor flared up. Erza's Celestial Armour glowed, disappearing.
"Morning Star Armour!"
Draculos' screeched. He covered his eyes. A sizzling pain tore through his them, the fluids evaporating, breaking his focus and with that his magic.
Meteor released. Jellal catapulted forward. Erza didn't have a chance to blink when he was gone. Dust all but combusted into the air. Crashing through house after house after house after house, Erza stared at the holes Jellal had left in his world‑shattering wake, Draculos smashed through each of them. She didn't hear Jellal use Bind Snake, that was how far he had cannon-balled away. He returned with an unconscious Wizard Saint hanging from his shoulder.
"Two to go." Erza panted.
Jellal dropped to his knees. "I have an idea where Wolfheim went. Remember the noise from the Council building?"
Erza followed his thoughts with her eyes. She gasped, stumbling backwards. Her pupils shrunk.
The sun was rising. Streaking Era from behind the mountain, casting the vast shadow of the Council building over the ravage below, rays of light shimmered through a giant magical array. Not a circular one, a square‑shaped spell.
"No…" Erza whispered.
The second of four stages to unleashing Ishgar's most devastating weapon – Satellite Square: Etherion.
"It's not ready." Jellal's legs shook as he fought himself to his feet. His voice dragged, severed by wheezing coughs. His chest shuddered with every cough. Fresh blood oozed from a wound on his back. "There's no way they could have rebuilt it already, not after it was completely annihilated with the old building."
"If it was annihilated." Erza wrapped her arm around him. He sagged heavily onto her. Warmth trickled down her side, blood seeping out from below his ribs. His torso flinched – a broken bone. "Would he fire it? Across town?"
"Would Jura have beaten us up if he were in his right mind?" Jellal steered towards his unconscious superior. Erza helped him hobble over, grimacing with his every limp. Leaning down, bending his knees zapped pain through his body. With a touch to Jura's back, Bind Snake secured him. "Do you think you can take Warrod by yourself?"
"Don't be silly. You're not going up there alone."
"Yes, I am."
"Jellal—"
He wound out of her support. Erza reached forward, and Jellal made use of it to take her hands between both of his as if in prayer. He closed his eyes, brought her hands to his face. "I'm leaving Warrod to you because I know you can handle him. I'm not going alone because I doubt your strength. I'm still convinced that between the two of us, you'd beat the crap out of me." He grinned past the tips of her fingers.
Erza's brows creased with concern.
He kissed her injured wrist. "I'm going there alone because I need to know that you will be unharmed and conscious to take care of Rosemary. Because I'm selfish and want you unharmed more than anything. And I'm going there because I don't doubt that I can win. Etherion won't be fired; it won't be standing once I'm done. I'm a Wizard of Fairy Tail – wrecking things is what we do best."
Meteor glowed. Gritting his teeth, Jellal soared into the brightening sky.
Erza stared after him. A memory struck her out of nowhere. A long night at the Council, her helping with a case, displaying her swordsmanship, announcing an upcoming mission to him. It must have been some seven months ago now, in January, when he hadn't gotten his teeth apart to tell her off; demand she stay home and be safe.
Just how much braver did you get, Jellal?
He had reached the top of the mountain. Erza wiped her left eye, spun on the heel and changed her armour. Pink metallic feather ornaments fanned out from her hair, her skirt, gauntlets and greaves. "Warrod Sequen," she pointed her right sword at the contortion of vines and trunks, "surrender now or face the pride and obliteration of Fairy Tail. Your guild."
The vines slackened. He stood with the same emptiness in his eyes as Draculos had. She wondered, for a moment, if there was no turning the Council back.
Erza's feet slid apart. She raised her swords that bore the emblem of Fairy Tail, charged them with magical energy for Fairy Burst.
But Warrod didn't attack. He stood, gazed without seeing. Seemed to stare at the emblem of Fairy Tail, seemed to want to see, a hint of water standing in his eyes. Erza contemplated leaving him there to help Jellal. Surely, if the two of them worked together, neither would get hurt. Jellal had used a lot of magic, and she had released her Second Origin, but together—
An enormous magic circle darkened the sky.
Erza switched her blades for her Holy Hammer and smacked a confused, unresisting Warrod into the leftovers of a brewery's wall. With three dozen swords, she caged him in, hoping he wasn't merely playing defeat.
Her armour clattered as she ran, disappeared, traded for leopard ears – Flight Armour. She recognised the array only then. And saw him hover behind it.
It wasn't the next stage of Etherion, it was Jellal. Abyss Break.
A rumble shook the earth beneath her feet, beneath all of Era. It boomed in her ears. Her insides quivered. Smaller rubble lifted off the ground, the spell a force so strong, its concentrated magic defied gravity, sucked the oxygen out of the surrounding atmosphere for the split of a second. With a murmur that was either Jellal or the universe itself, the circle released from his fingers. Slowly, like a god trailing its ginormous weight across the heavens, Abyss Break rolled through the sky and towards the west tower of the Council building.
Erza's heart pounded. Her chest warmed, her cheeks glowed. She had used a shield that held dear memories from her S-Class trial years back. Jellal was using Abyss Break – a spell associated only with anguish and suffering and guilt, a spell he had threatened to cast when possessed, a spell reminding of the day he had killed Simon and nearly killed Erza too.
A spell he was cleansing of its dark past, using it for the path of light!
Pressure undulated down the mountain. It billowed on through the streets, into the outskirts, flattening crops, bowing trees. The sun seemed to flicker out in the instant that Abyss Break made contact with the west tower. An inferno blasted forth. Erza squinted her eyes shut. Like a rocket, the jet of a flame punctured the clouds high up to shreds.
Erza was thrown backwards. She scrambled to duck behind debris. More and more pieces hailed down – pebbles, shingles, thick dust. The booming of the blast lessened. It drifted on the wind until it dispersed. She changed her armour, soaring up the mountain with what magic she had left, towards the white-hot purgatory that, just a moment ago, had been the west tower of the Council building.
He was falling. Too late to reach the top, too far away, Erza pushed off the ground. She summoned a shield mid-flight, using it as a platform, jumping further, just a little further. With a breathless grunt, she snatched him out of the air, barely catching their fall. The ground split beneath her feet but she stood, buckled, crashing to her knees with Jellal's head on her lap.
The world became still. It seemed to release a reverberating sigh of relief.
Jellal opened his eyes a crack wide. Erza smiled. Her head pounded. She hadn't felt so dusty and sweaty and bruised in months. She hadn't been so afraid for his life in months, and she was still afraid with his chest rising and falling flatly, his torn undershirt changed to a deep red and the light in his eyes dim with exhaustion.
She hadn't played with death this closely in a long time. She hadn't felt so alive in quite a while either.
Jellal shakingly raised a hand to cup her face. She didn't notice the sting of cuts along her jaw until he touched them. "Too revealing…" he rasped.
Erza scoffed but laughed. He grinned. She switched her armour for the final time that day, back to something comfortable, something too short for the season – something that wouldn't rub against her wounds and allow her sweat to dry.
"Was Wolfheim in there?"
"He still is." Jellal let his head tumble to the side rather than turning it. His arm slackened, releasing her. "I'll bind him… in a minute…" His eyes drifted shut.
Erza leant down to kiss his temple.
He smiled. "We are in so much trouble…"
She chuckled. Delicately, she wiped a bit of hair out of his face where it stuck to him, wet with blood and filthy. "For beating up your superiors or for saving them?"
"Demolishing the city, for one."
"Accepting my apology just went right out the window, didn't it?"
Jellal peeked one eye open. "See that tower over there? With Etherion?"
"You mean the indistinguishable remains of them?" He had torn out a good potion of the main building too, it seemed. Erza found herself counting windows to find his office – still there.
Jellal nodded weakly. "That just about describes the state of their forgiveness, I'd say."
"So then you'll have to work from home." She kissed him again. "With me not allowed in and Rosemary throwing tantrums at me for your absence…"
He made a croaking sound. "I can't wait to see her."
Erza twisted to overlook the city. They had overdone it. She pondered for a second whether the Council would remember anything; how much she could blame on their recklessness. Jura had done quite the number on the city centre. The mansion district further south looked mostly intact though. She summoned Ambrose's lacrima, calling her own.
Sirens kept on wailing through dawn, into midday. Gradually, the dust settled. Trains were allowed to enter the station in the afternoon, bringing reinforcements: Lucy, Gray, Cana, Bisca, Elfman and even Laxus, the Thunder God Tribe and Master.
Happy and Charle had flown in Natsu and Wendy earlier, but even they had come too late. The remaining three of the Four Gods of Ishgar and the fifth highest ranked Wizard Saint of Fiore – down. The beginnings of Etherion as well as a good portion of the Council building and the city – eradicated.
"This is crazy!" Lucy had gasped, then again when seeing the state of her friends.
Wendy had wanted to treat Jellal on site, but with his consciousness waning, he had asked her to take care of the Council first. If he were to black out, Bind Snake would come undone and they didn't know how long it would take her to eliminate the effects of an unknown drug.
Era couldn't take another onslaught of mindless, powerful wizards.
Now covered in bandages, Jellal lied flat on the bed awake, but with his eyes closed. Rosemary snuggled into his better side.
"Hell yeah, it is!" Natsu punched the air. "Crazy cool. Fight me later!" He yelled at Jellal. Erza knocked him upside the head.
"This is some pretty petty performance on behalf of the Council. No offense," Gray told her.
"None taken." Erza crossed her arms. Bandages poked out from her turtleneck and itched beneath her tights. "They were opponents to be reckoned with."
"And yet you pummelled them within a couple of hours, just the two of you." Laxus was leaning against the wall, one foot propped up. The Thunder God Tribe was out helping citizens alongside Elfman, Cana and Bisca, Fried using his Letter Magic to repair streets and infrastructure. "They weren't even holding back."
"It is alarming," Makarov grumbled. "I'm certain that the remaining countries and kingdoms of Ishgar won't be all too happy about their chosen 'gods' falling at the hands of two mages. Queen Hisui won't be pleased either. She'll have to react appropriately."
"Why did they start rampaging anyway?" Lucy glanced out the window. From where she stood, everything seemed perfectly normal, the neighbouring mansions and their perfect front yards in order.
Erza went to sit on the side of the bed. Jellal's hand wandered from Rosemary's back to Erza's lap where she cradled it, rubbed it for warmth despite his increased temperature. She stared at the gauze going all the way up his arm, knowing there were even more bandages out of sight under the blanket.
She squeezed his hand carefully. "You said that you suspected someone from the dinner."
Jellal hummed positive. "The Council invited a few employees to dinner," he explained for everyone. "All of my reading about wine and laws was redundant," he told Erza with a twinkle in his eyes. "It was a lot more relaxed than I expected. They asked about Rosemary." He smiled. Erza ran a hand over her daughter's head. "They even extended their invitation to you for next time."
"Why would they do that?" Gray looked bewildered. Erza glowered at him and he promptly shrunk into the corner. He had seemed annoyed instead of relieved by the battle already won, reminding her of Crime Sorcière. He must have itched to go on a mission and fight, but Juvia was out on a quest with Meredy.
"It's not uncommon in the higher ranks," Ambrose chimed in. They had brought him an armchair from next door. He and Master looked like a very serious tea party around the side table. Erza couldn't imagine having hosted so many people in their house in Magnolia, yet here they all fit comfortably into a single room. "I used to bring my wife every year. The sheer number of people this time was a bit out of the ordinary though.
"The previous Council would invite five, perhaps six people – spouses included."
Erza caressed the palm of Jellal's hand with her thumb, a warm fuzz rising in her stomach when she brushed his ring. Spouses.
"The new Council is more laid-back. It's something they've tried to uphold to expand absolute authority into approachability. Their goal is to give the people of Fiore a sense of trust in them that goes beyond the law. They acknowledge the popularity of Fairy Tail and other guilds, and they know this popularity can give power beyond official titles.
"It appears that they miscalculated by inviting a bigger circle of employees into a more private setting. I know the personnel of the restaurant well, and I wouldn't suspect any of them to slip something nasty into the drink of a Council member. They have a flawless reputation and receive many high-profile clients. I cannot speak for the entirety of the invitees though."
"We already assumed that there is a spy on the inside," Jellal concurred. "Someone who fed information of the latest trial to the men ambushing us." He glanced at Erza. She was still twirling his ring around his finger. It lured out a knowing smile.
"For someone out of his mind, Wolfheim's behaviour was very calculating," Laxus interjected. "Either those drugs make you smarter than we think, or more susceptible to a spy's coaxing."
"So we're looking for someone who knew of Etherion's reconstruction…" Makarov mused. "While you were busy wrecking the city, I've heard of countless attacks across Fiore. Mostly banks, but also jewellery shops, museums and even town halls. It can't be a coincidence."
"Robberies?" Jellal sat up slightly. It tore a groan of pain from his throat. Erza scooted upwards quickly, wanted to push him down, ultimately not daring with his rib broken. She helped him sit, stacking pillows in his back. "Sounds like the non‑magicians to me."
Lucy grimaced at his struggle, covering her mouth. "Ordinary people attacking the Magic Council?"
"Like those bastards in the gravy bar. Sucking out our magic." Natsu balled his fists.
Makarov nodded. "It's true that with the end of the war against Zeref, voices rose about magic becoming too dangerous; about magic being inherently prone to darkness and destruction. This could be an extremist group of such a belief."
"But that's for the Council to figure out." Laxus waved off.
"I doubt our monarchy will turn a blind eye to the events of today."
"Anyway," Laxus pushed off the wall, "I'm going to give my team a break. No need to dirty our hands when the Council screwed up. Maybe I'll pay a visit to my sparring partner from the Grand Magic Games." He grinned. "You said the old geezers are awake?"
"Awake and sane," Ambrose confirmed. "They might not want to see anyone though."
"Don't care." Laxus sauntered off. Era's biggest hospital was mostly untouched, but with the roads in shambles, medical deliveries and ambulances were having a hard time. Physicians got lost in the rubble around town or couldn't get into houses where people were stuck, injured and hungry.
Thanks to Elfman, most of the citizens had escaped their homes by now. The sun was setting. Noise picked back up – magical vehicles, horse carriages. Fried must have repaired the main streets, water pipes and electricity supplies. Luckily, most lights were lacrimas running on magical energy, giving firefighters and paramedics a chance past dusk.
"You know," Ambrose smiled at the tiny family on the bed, "I've never seen a baby more focused than Rosemary. When you fired your Heavenly Body Magic, she became completely still. I couldn't see if it was lightning or just light or your magic, but I knew it was you when she sucked in her breath. We were both thrilled," he laughed.
He wished them a good night, promising to check up on them and supply them with every update he received. Natsu, Happy and Gray headed out to grab dinner for everyone. Lucy stayed behind, helping Erza prepare a room for Master and carry tables and chairs into Erza and Jellal's bedroom. Lucy had to call Erza upstairs when finding Jellal dragging himself towards the bathroom, his legs quivering and his breath wheezing. She held Rosemary while Erza helped Jellal.
Erza's voice was much softer than Lucy knew it.
Cana, Bisca, Elfman and the Thunder God Tribe retreated to Magnolia. Laxus surprised Team Natsu by staying over. The mansion had enough rooms, but they would have to go shopping or run out to a bakery in the morning. For now, everyone made themselves comfortable. The mood lightened up over a hearty dinner, but the rowdy bunch had to retreat when after a while, Erza was sinking down, nodding off on her already slumbering husband's shoulder.