Hi everyone. Welcome back to Fairy May Cry. We are now finally, FINALLY, at the end of the climactic battle for this absurdly long story arc and holy crap has it been one of my most exhaustion projects to date, right up there with Code Prime. So many characters, and conflicts (physical and emotional) all happening at the same time… It's a miracle that I didn't pass out form all of this. Thank you all so much for baring with me throughout this arc and my story in general.
But even though the battle ends here, we still got three more epilogue chapters afterwards to tie off a few loose ends in the Grand Magic Games arc before moving onto the next one. But hopefully those will be lest exhausting.
Oh, and just to be clear... yes, I saw the teaser trailer for the upcoming Devil May Cry series coming to Netflix this April. I don't know for sure if I'll be able to use any of it for my story here, I'll need to see it myself before I do, obviously. I have a plan of where to take my story to its ending, but I'm also keeping it open and flexible to any possible changes. But again, we'll need to see where the show goes before I do anything.
Now, without further delay, let's get this final battle rolling…
We Decide Our Fate!
Explosions continued to erupt all across Crocus as the allied forces of the present guilds, Rune Knights, and royal soldiers, all banded together to keep all the Mini-Dragons at bay. Fairy Tail, Mermaid Heel, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, all of them stood together as they continued to fight with everything they had, all while their masters continued to direct and guide them. But of course, those battles paled in comparison to the ongoing ones against the much larger reptiles.
One such battle was Agate, the Rock Dragon, against Gajeel and Lady, with Lily flying Levy around the battlefield to provide support where she could. Agate would have swatted them both out of the sky, but the constant attacks from the Dragon Slayer and Devil Slayer seemed to be dealing enough damage that he couldn't afford to take his eyes off them.
"Iron Dragon Roar!" Gajeel shot his breath attack right at Agate's face, only for the rocky dragon to unleash his own stone breath attack which not only collided, but overwhelmed Gajeel's stream of iron, blasting the Dragon Slayer away.
"Gajeel!" Levy cried out.
However, the dragon cried out in agony as it felt a slash at its throat area, all courtesy of Lady as her right arm was converted into a blade and piercing into the stone armor, her left arm being a serrated sword which had cut away most of the stone armor to expose the throat underneath.
"My turn! Steel Devil Rage!" She set loose her own breath attack on the soft flesh at Agate's throat, which managed to slice and cut through much of it, causing a gush of blood to ooze out, pushing Lady off of the dragon, who glared down at Lady with a bloodied throat.
"Irksome bug! You dare to draw my blood!?" He tried to stomp on her, but a large piece of steel appeared above Lady, all in the shape of the word 'STEEL' to block the stomp.
"Lady, get out of there!" Levy called to her, prompting Lady to run for it and escape just as Agate's foot crushed the steel.
Suddenly, a flash of green energy caught the dragon's attention as it turned towards a pile of rubble to see it being blasted away as Gajeel stood up, covered in bruises and blood, all while holding a massive sword above his hand.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Karma Demon: Iron God Sword!" He brought his massive sword down onto the front and back of the Rock Dragon, creating a long line of destruction along Agate's back that tore up much of his already shredded rock armor and flesh underneath, further smashing the dragon into the ground.
Jades growled as a giant ice dragon attempted to curl around its body and keep him restrained, allowing Gray to set loose a large ice arrow into Jades' face. Ultear further added to it by using her Arc of Time to deteriorate the ground underneath, leading it to collapse underneath the dragons' weight.
"He's down! Keep him pinned!" Ultear ordered.
"Ice-Make Unlimited: Devil's Dance!" Gray thrusted his hands forward, unleashing a massive spiral of ice as multiple ice replicas of various Devil Arms all appeared to rain down on the pinned dragon.
"Ice-Make: Snow Dragon Times Two! Wolf Pack! Snow Tiger Times Four! Snow Ape Times Three!" Lyon set loose an entire horde of ice animals in the same manner as Gray's attack, all off which rained down on Jades.
However, a cluster of dark flames appeared around the dragon's body, which not only shielded him from the icy attacks, but even exploded outward to blast them away. The sheer force of the attack further tore up the area and blasted back the three wizards as they were sent flying and crashing into the rubble before Jades himself ascended into the air.
"Pathetic! Did you really think your petty tricks could get the best of me?!"
"Not really…" Lyon groaned with a smirk.
"Just had to keep you busy…" Gray said as well, grinning himself.
Jades was confused for a moment until a large cluster of blue flames appeared in the air some distance away. Turning in that direction, the dragon saw none other than Sapphire, who was being kept airborne by Amarilla, with Flare standing on a pile of rubble below her. Having obtained her Dragon Force transformation, Sapphire's mouth was wide open as Flare's own hair produced as much flames as she could and fed it all into Sapphire to give her every bit of power she could muster. She used all of her available power to channel it into her hands, all the blue flames condensing as she clapped her hands above her. Those flames then shoot upward to take the form of a massive sword.
Flare fell to her knees in exhaustion. "That was… the last of my… power. Finish him off… Sapphy…"
Sapphire smiled. "Thank you Flare. I'm ready, Amarilla!" She told her partner.
"So am I!" The yellow Exceed proclaimed as she sped forward, carrying Sapphire with her as she pointed her blazing blue sword forward.
"Fool! You cannot stop me!" Jades let loose a breath attack of his dark flames, but as he did, the duo of Dragon Slayer and Exceed made a move of their own.
"Max Speed Attack!" Her own wings glowing, Amarilla sped forward at insane speeds as Sapphire used her flaming sword to begin drilling and cutting through Jades' breath attack.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Frozen Lotus: Frost Blade Lævateinn!" The blazing blue sword not only cut through Jades' dark flames, but even froze them upon contact. The extra speed provided by Amarilla further cut through the dark flames like a hot knife through butter, the condensed cold flames making quick work of the more expanded dark flames before slashing past Jades. They pierced, cut, burned, and froze through his right side all at once as they appeared past him. An explosion of blue flames erupted from that one spot to further burn and freeze most of his right side, up to his wing even, leading to the dragon to fall to the ground.
Aurora threw her punch to the ground, sending up a cluster of rubble and debris to block the razor-wind breath attack of Scissor Runner. The giant dragon rushed through the dust cloud to swipe his claw at her, which Aurora blocked by crossing her arms. However, the dragon smirked as a cluster of razor winds erupted from the palm of his hand, the force of it blew Aurora away and into the air, where the dragon met her to catch and pin her down. Scissor Runner chuckled sinisterly as he narrowed his eyes down at her.
Only for the Wizard Saint to smirk herself as something appeared in front of him. Something that was both bright and dark.
Sting and Rogue both stood together as a large sphere of white light appeared behind the former, and one of dark shadows behind the latter. As their attacks began to meld, both of them thought back to what Aurora told them before she went on the attack a few seconds now.
"I'll buy you some time and keep that dragon busy. You get ready to unleash everything you got and hit him! Maybe you two aren't strongest on your own, but you are strong as a team. Right now, use that. Use your teamwork and bring that dragon down! Prove your worth as Dragon Slayers and as brothers-in-arms, Twin Dragon Slayers of Sabertooth!"
'I'm not the strongest Dragon Slayer. Hell, I might be the weakest. But I'm not going to stay that way anymore. If Natsu can get stronger, then I can too! I'm going to give everything I have here! And if that's not enough, then I'll keep pushing!' Sting thought.
'This darkness that lurks inside me… I won't let it decide my own fate. I'll carve my own path and become the person I want to be!' Rogue thought.
"Get clear! Now!" Sting told Aurora as their attacks mixed together.
With that, the Wizard Saint raised her foot to smash the ground underneath herself, causing it to collapse somewhat and let her fall underneath, escaping Scissor Runner's grip just as Sting and Rogue unleashed their attack.
The spheres of light and dark vanished before a single tiny sphere appeared in-between their hands, which they shot forward. "Holy Shadow Dragon Flash Fang!" Unleashing their Unison Raid, a massive spiraling cluster of light and shadows was shot at Scissor Runner, who tried to press against it with another breath attack of razor-winds. Both their attacks collided and pushed against one another.
Sting looked ready to fall to his knees as it seemed like their attack wouldn't make it. "I… I can't…!"
"Don't give up Sting! Stand strong!" Rogue encouraged. 'Even if this dragon has to hold back in my presence, this force is overwhelming! We may not be able to break through!' Suddenly, he felt something push hard against his back, with something else doing the same for Sting as they were both being pushed forward, leading to their Unison Raid to be pushed forward against Scissor Runner's breath attack.
Both Dragon Slayers looked back in surprise to see that it was Lector and Frosch, both using their wings to push their partners forward with everything they had..
"We got your back!" Lector cried out.
"Keep going!" Frosch cried as well.
'Frosch/Lector!' Sting and Rogue both thought at the same time. That is until they each made eye-contact and nodded. The Twin Dragons threw everything they had into their ongoing Unison Raid, its power increasing as the Exceeds continued to push them towards their opponents.
Scissor Runner had no choice but to lower the potency of his attack, else run the risk of slaying Rogue. But no matter, he could just fly away and…
Suddenly, Aurora blasted out from the ground behind him and leapt towards him with both her fists pulled back, which she used to slam onto the dragon's back, in-between his wings, which sent him tumbling face-first into the Unison Raid as Sting and Rogue, and their respective Exceed companions, were brought right up into the dragon's front.
A massive explosion tore up what was left of the street. The force of it was enough to send Sting, Lector, Rogue, and Frosch flying and crashing back in multiple directions, with even Scissor Runner being knocked flat on his back.
Aurora picked herself up from the rubble as well, looking towards the downed Dragon Slayers as they tried to pick themselves back up, despite the fatigue they were feeling. Even their Dragon Force states were starting to fade. But that didn't' seem to stop them from pushing themselves.
"Get… up…" Sting muttered.
"Not… done yet…" Rogue spat out some blood.
The Wizard Saint smiled. They were giving it their all, and still trying to push themselves even more forward. It may not be much now given their current strength…
But it wasn't a bad start.
"Poison Dragon Fang Whip!" The Dragon Force Cobra had a pair of whips made from poison form from his arms as he continued to ride Sorano's Angel summon and fly all around the airborne Voidar, whipping everywhere on his body to spread as much poison as possible. Voidar flew higher into the air to avoid all of that only to meet the Devil Trigger Modeus further up into the air.
"Demon Sword: Lunar Eclipse!" Modeus swung his sword, sending a large energy construct in the shape of a full moon hurtling at Voidar, who opened his mouth to unleash a small black hole to meet the attack, creating an explosion which only worked to his enemy's advantage as both Modeus and Erik, still riding Sorano's angel summon, appeared together as they unleashed dual attacks.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Venomous Jörmungand!" Erik thrusted his hands forward, creating a massive cluster of poison that took the form of a giant serpent.
"Dragon of the Moon: Bakuwana! Taking a stance with his sword held back and pointing forward, Modeus thrusted Hunter's Moon forward as it glowed white, sending a trail of white energy which changed and took the form of a glowing white serpentine dragon.
Modeus' attack was faster as it had struck Voidar in the chest, creating an explosion that caused the dragon to roar in pain, which was then followed through by Erik's giant poison-snake, which curled itself around Voidar's body. The dragon continued to roar and moan as the toxic substance from Erik's attack not only further poisoned him, but even began to melt at some of his outer skin. His attack was both poisonous and corrosive. The dragon's eyes soon began to become heavier as his wings lost their strength, leading to the dragon to descend and crush to the ground.
"I hear it!" Erik said. "All those viruses are taking their toll! He's not out yet, but my poisons are doing their job!"
"Then it's up to us to keep him down!" Sorano declared. "Keep this up, and we should be good!"
"That's if those idiots do their job and smash that damn gate." Erik commented.
"They'll pull through. I have faith in them." Modeus said.
Kurenai thrusted her trident, Poseidon, forward, sending a massive cluster of water towards Elexion, who retaliated with an electric-breath attack. But as their attacks collided, The guildmaster of Mermaid Heel had noticed how Elexion's lightning was no longer red, but back to its natural yellow. Using this to her advantage, Kurenai re-directed the water she was using to expand and form a wall, which soon spread over and around Elexion.
His breath attack did manage to break through the front of it, as it was weaker at that point, but all the water around him had begun to take the shape of countless large tridents, which were thrusted against him at a rapid rate, chipping off a few of his glowing golden scales. But with a pulse of electricity from his body, all of that was quickly blown away.
"You're tired, Elexion." Looking up with a glare, he saw Kurenai hovering over him. "Your Red Lightning Mode. It's fueled by your blood. You mix it with your own power to further increase it. But at the cost of your own stamina and fatigue. The more blood you use, the stronger it gets. But the more you use, the weaker you also become. All that energy and you've only exhausted yourself."
"Don't preach to me, wretch!" Elexion bellowed. "You're exhausted yourself!"
"I've got plenty of stamina to keep going. Can you say the same?" She pointed her trident at him. "Surrender. You can't win this battle."
"Never! I will never surrender to the likes of you! You who would coddle these vermin!" He charged at her as fast as he could, tried to bite down onto her with his massive mouth, but Kurenai dodged out of the way to slam her trident into his face, to smash him into the side of one of the remaining mountains.
"Stubborn… It's little wonder you refused to concede back then." Kurenai said in disappointment. "But if you insist on continuing this pointless struggle, I will oblige you." She took a combative stance while still airborne. 'But despite everything, he's not wrong either.' The Mother of Oceans thought to herself. 'We can't keep this up much longer. That Gate has to be destroyed now, or else we'll fall apart.'
Back at the castle, Levia roared as a cluster of water exploded out from the giant dragon's body. That water took the form of multiple water streams that shot in all directions, forcing Laxus and Trish to evade however they could. In this manner, the Devil Trigger Trish, and Dragon Force Laxus both turned their bodies into bolts of lightning to flash and dash past any and all water strike that came close to them, while Happy did his best to carry Arcadios and avoid as much of the water jets as they could.
"There's too many of them!" Happy screamed as several water jets were about to strike at him and Arcadios. Fortunately, the white-armored knight had drawn his Jade Dragon Sword and sliced it rapidly to parry and deflect all the attacks, with not a single one striking them, causing the blue-furred Exceed to breathe with relief. "That was close…"
"This dragon is a formidable opponent indeed." Arcadios commented. "I can see why they were regarded as the strongest creatures in all of Earthland."
Laxus and Trish both appeared in front of the Water Dragon as Levia growled at them. "Laxus! We can't play around anymore! We gotta hit this thing with everything we got!" She held the Devil Sword Sparda tightly in front of her as multi-colored lightning all surged around her. "Mix your powers with mine! Maybe it'll put this bastard down!"
"Alright! Let's do it!" Laxus pulled back his fist and channeled as much of his own lightning as he could as yellow lightning surged all over his body. Due to being so close to each other, the yellow and multi-colored energy all began to mix and envelop around the pair.
"No matter how much power you gather, even if it is from one of the strongest of our kind, you are still insects before a true dragon!" Levia raised his claws as water formed all around, making it even sharper than before. The Water Dragon attempted to bring it down…
"Oh no you don't!" Happy quickly flew Arcadios to intercept the attack, the knight drawing the Jade Dragon Sword, which glowed a bright green. The glow caused a large aura of green energy to rapidly grow around the sword, creating something akin to a sword-construct big enough to block Levia's water claw.
"Push forward, sir cat!" Arcadios ordered. "Give this everything you got!"
"Aye sir!" Happy's wings glowed as he drew upon as much of his own magic power as he could, pushing himself and Arcadios forward.
"An insect dares to push back?!"Levia stomped forward, driving his claw down harder with Arcadios and Happy struggling to hold back as hard as they could. But soon, cracks formed around the sword-construct, and the more Levia pushed, the weaker the aura around Arcadios' sword became. Until finally… it shattered!
With one powerful water-slash, not only was the sword-construct destroyed, but Arcadios and Happy were both sent flying up high and crashing hard on the ground. Much of Arcadios' own armor was cracked while Happy was covered in bruises. Arcadios had taken most of the impact for the sake of Happy, but that didn't mean the Exceed made it out unscathed.
Levia laughed. "And you thought you could stop me?!"
"They didn't have to, smartass!" Turning around, Levia gasped to see Laxus and Trish were both enveloped in a surge of powerful electricity, their magics thoroughly mixed as both members of Fairy Tail smirked.
"They just had to keep you busy." Trish grinned.
"No!" Levia opened his mouth and was ready to unleash a breath attack in pure desperation, but it was too late.
The lightning around Trish and Laxus both vanished as the former pointed her sword forward while the latter held his fist outward. "Devil Dragon: Heavenly Hellstorm!" A massive beam of lightning was shot forward, one that had quickly taken the form of a serpentine-like creature with draconic wings on its back and a demonic face. The entity roared as it shot like a bolt of yellow and multi-colored lightning, turning pure white as it blasted Levia point-blank in his open mouth.
The Water Dragon gave a roar in pain as a massive explosion of lightning erupted in the entire area, completely engulfing Levia and creating a blinding light that forced Trish and Laxus, as well as the recovering Arcadios to close their eyes as the knight covered Happy with his armored body.
The light would soon fade to reveal a rather large crater with Levia still standing in the middle of it… until his shaky legs gave way underneath the weight and the mighty dragon, now covered in electrical burns and bruises, collapsed on the ground. Smoke and residual static appeared all over his body as he laid.
Both lightning users fell to their hands and knees as their respective transformations wore off. "Did… we get him…?" Trish asked in-between her breaths.
"We'd better have… cause I'm all but spent…" Laxus said in an exhausted manner himself.
"I… I don't believe it…" Arcadios looked with shaky eyes. "They defeated the dragon…?"
Happy smiled weakly. "I knew they could do it…"
Another roar had caught all of their attention, causing the group to all look upwards to the ongoing aerial battle against Zirconis.
"Levia, you fool! How could you let those weaklings get the better of you?!" The Jade Dragon roared, only for an explosion of fire to erupt on his side, knocking him somewhat off balance as he turned with a glare towards the hovering Sheeree.
"You should focus on the ones that are still in front of you!" She proclaimed. "Sky Dragon Roar!" She unleashed a copied version Wendy's breath attack to blast Zirconis in the side, causing him to growl.
"You little fake Dragon Slayer!" The Jade Dragon quickly flew at her and swiped his claws at her, but she was quick to fly back and avoid most of them.
This seemed to leave him open for Lisanna, still clad in her Jade Dragon Soul, and Wendy, with some support from Carla, to fly straight up to him.
"Let's get him in his jaw!" Lisanna ordered.
"Alright!" Carla agreed.
"Arms! Armor! Vernier!" With auras of sky-blue, pink, and green respectively, Wendy, Carla, and Lisanna were all enhanced with Wendy's support magic as their strength, speed, and defenses were increased and they all sped like bolts straight up to Zirconis' face. "Sky Dragon Whirlwind Fist!"
"Jade Claws!" Lisanna's fists were both coated in jade stone as she and Wendy both delivered a double uppercut to Zirconis' jaw with their respective attacks, dealing a great deal of damage that left marks on the Jade Dragon's face.
"M-My face…! You dare to damage this handsome face?! Oh, you will pay for that!" Zirconis let loose his own breath attack in all directions, forcing Wendy, Carla, and Lisanna to dodge it. With their speed enhanced by Wendy's support magic though, they were able to do so. But there were still a few close calls.
'Even with Wendy's support magic, this guy still won't go down. He's a tough bastard, I'll give him that.' Sheeree thought to herself. 'We can't waste anymore time, we have to end it now! I'm sorry Jellal, I know I haven't mastered this yet, but we don't have a choice!'
Positioning herself directly below Zirconis and making sure she was facing upward, Sheeree focused her magic as she began to create a certain spell. 'I can copy the four basic elements from those around me and put them together. And since they're all from dragons or Dragon Slayers… Air from Wendy!' A whirlwind formed at her upper left. 'Fire from Natsu!' A flame appeared at her upper right. 'Water from the dragon below!' A swirl of water appeared at her lower right. 'And jade is a variant of earth, so I'll copy the dragon's technique and Lisanna's to substitute it.' A cluster of jade crystals had formed at her lower left.
"Wendy! Carla! Lisanna! Clear away now!" Sheeree called out, getting not only their attention, but also Zirconis. All four of the elements she copied and materialized turned into pure magic energy as they melded with her hands, causing them to glow before swiping them rapidly as a massive and ominous magic circle appeared in front of her, one that appeared to be ancient with a bronze color to it.
"Sheeree?" Wendy looked in confusion.
"What is she doing?" Lisanna wondered.
Carla gasped, however. "I know that magic circle… she's casting the Abyss Break!"
That earned gasps from Lisanna and Wendy as well, as they both heard of that spell before. "Sheeree! If you use that spell, you could cause a lot of damage!" Wendy warned.
"That's why it's being aimed up!" Sheeree shouted as she appeared in a swiping position, ready to unleash the spell at any given time. "I can't completely control it, so you gotta move now!"
"No time to argue! Fly away!" Lisanna screamed as she flew towards Wendy and Carla, the white-furred Exceed doing the same as the dragon eyed at Sheeree.
"I don't know what kind of spell that is, but I won't let you use it!" Zirconis was ready to let loose another breath attack.
"Too late big boy!" Sheeree swiped her hand one final time to activate the spell. "Abyss Break!"
What happened next would be something that nobody could ever unsee. The magic circle grew to enormous size as a gargantuan blast of black energy was shot upward, one so large and massive that it completely engulfed Zirconis, who could only scream as he was unable to avoid it. The black blast shot straight up into the air, creating a massive hole in the clouds before it all exploded and lit up most of the sky, followed by a massive cloud of smoke.
Lisanna, Wendy, and Carla, as well as Happy, Arcadios, Trish, and Laxus down below, and even Lucy, Yukino, Hisui, Kyrie, and Gandelina all by the Eclipse Gate, they all looked in awe and shock at what had just been unleashed.
The first to fall from the cloud was Zirconis, who crashed hard on the ground just outside the courtyard, landing flat on his back as his mouth was hung open and his eyes were completely white, indicating that he fell unconscious, complete with smoke coming from his heavily scarred and bleeding body.
Sheeree fell next, completely drained of magic as she was barely conscious. Her eyes flickered as she tried to summon what strength she could. "Gotta… move… or… I'll hit… I can't…"
Fortunately, Lisanna was able to fly in and catch her before gently lowering her closer to the ground, where Carla set down Wendy.
"Sheeree!" Wendy quickly came to her with her Exceed companion right beside. "Are you okay…?!"
The older girl looked tried to keep her eyes open. "Is… is he…"
"Yeah… I don't think he's getting up after that…" Lisanna said.
Sheeree chuckled weakly. "Does that… make me a Dragon Slayer…? Huh… Wendy…?"
Wendy smiled with tears in her eyes. "Yeah… it does. You're a Dragon Slayer… my big sis!" That seemed enough for the girl to let herself fall unconscious in Lisanna's arms, all with a smile in her face.
"She'll be okay… but she's completely drained." Lisanna said, causing Wendy to breathe with relief.
"I imagine… the Abyss Break…" Carla still couldn't believe it. "Very few people in the world can pull it off. You'd need to be able to use the four elements, so multiple people casting it together is preferred. But above all, you need proper control. Or else you risk destroying everything around your target."
"It's probably why she aimed it up in the sky." Lisanna assumed. "But she still pulled it off solo? I heard from Natsu and Erza that Jellal himself tried that once when they fought him."
"I could only assume he taught it to her." Carla guessed. "Being able to copy magic, she should be able to copy the necessary elements, provided that those with them are near her. But it clearly takes a lot out of her." She smiled regardless. "You've grown into a strong wizard, Sheeree. I expect nothing less from Wendy's big sister." She smiled as she looked to Wendy who smiled with teary eyes, looking to Lisanna who had a smile of her own.
Meanwhile, a dual blast of water and fire from Aquarius and Zhu Que had struck that same spot on the Eclipse Gate that they and all their fellow spirits had been striking non-stop. Which was followed by a leaping sword slash from Bai Hu, a golden punch from Loke, and even a blast of corrosive venom from Ophiuchus. But despite everything the Celestial Spirits were giving, they were only scratching the surface. Some of the Gate's inner mechanisms were being exposed, but it didn't seem to be enough.
"It's no good!" Gemini-Lucy informed. "We're only making superficial damage!"
"We have to keep going! We don't have a choice!" Lucy declared.
"No, there has to be another way!" Yukino stated. "At the rate we're going, we'd go on till sunrise and still it would be standing!"
"Not to mention all the dragons that are still loose in the city…" Kyrie said dreadfully.
Lucy thought with frustration. She only just now got her magic back from that Wizard Saint, Gandelina, who was still using the Morning Star to defend them from any Motherglare spawn that would try to pounce on them. But even then, she wasn't helping in the least.
"Maybe if I use Urano Metria again…" Lucy wondered.
"No, I have another idea." Hisui spoke up, getting all of their attention. "Gottfried."
That caused Gemini-Lucy to gasp, as well as briefly caught the attention of Gandelina. "You can't be serious…! That spell?!"
"It may be our only option left!" Hisui said.
"What's Gottfried?" Lucy questioned.
"An ancient spell used by Celestial Wizards long ago." Gemini-Lucy explained. "It's described as literally bringing down the heavens to crash onto the Earth!"
"What?!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Bring down the heavens…?" Yukino muttered as she and Kyrie looked rather frightened by the idea of it.
"To be more specific, it draws magic from the stars above and condenses it all into one devastating attack." Hisui explained. "It's a spell of last resort, one that will devastate its target and everything else around it. It requires an enormous amount of magic power to pull off, but the three of us together should be enough to make it happen."
"Can it destroy the Gate?" Lucy asked.
"Potentially, but there is also a risk that it could devastate most of the city as well, and potentially kill our allies." Hisui replied. "Which is why I never brought it up till now."
Kyrie thought for a moment before an idea came to her. "What if it were contained?"
That got all of their attention. "How do you mean?" The princess asked.
"What if I were to use my magic to create a barrier around the Gate, so that the blast will be condensed at that point?" She wondered.
"But you're not a Celestial Wizard, so even if the Gate is damaged, it may still drain your magic!" Yukino told her.
"Not if the barrier is erected outside that range." Kyrie countered before looking at the princess again. "Is there a range to which one can use their magic without being drained by the Eclipse Gate?"
"About thirty meters." Hisui answered.
"I can manage that." Kyrie confirmed.
"Tell us what to do." Lucy said to the princess as she and Yukino looked with determination, ready to end this insanity once and for all, something that the princess shared with them.
"It will require us giving every ounce of magic that we can give. But it will hurt." She began to explain to all of them. As she did, Gandelina looked back towards all of them with a smile. She would have offered her aid to all of them, but she could tell that they had more than enough power to pull it off. So, she will continue to protect them with everything she had.
Meanwhile, just above Mercurius, a series of blue and white flashes erupted as Vergil and Lucia, both clad in their respective Devil Triggers flew at insane speeds to slash their respective swords at one another. Cutlasser clashed against the Yamato, the dual blades forming an X to block the katana before Lucia spun her leg to deliver a kick to Vergil's head, knocking him somewhat closer to the roof, where a giant spectral hand was stretched out to grab Vergil, courtesy of Nero in his own unique Devil Trigger, before pulling down hard to slam Vergil into the building he was standing on top of.
Only for a massive and powerful slash to cut the entire building in half, sending the transformed Nero up somewhat, where Vergil quickly appeared to meet him while airborne and attempted a quick draw with the Yamato, which Nero attempted to duplicate with the Masayoshi. The second both katanas touched each other, a multitude of circular waves erupted from their impact, all of which slashed and sliced the area around them, including one building that was quickly reduced to rubble. Nero fell backwards as Vergil hovered above him, both slashing Masayoshi and Yamato respectively at one another for rapid quick slashes until Nero landed hard on the ground, feet first, digging himself in as Vergil pressed hard.
Lucia flew at him from behind and waved her hand to send beams of light at Vergil, who retaliated with the Summoned Swords technique to intercept most of the beams, creating a series of explosions in-between them. With his focus on Lucia just for a moment, Nero took advantage of what he thought was an opening to throw a punch with his Devil Bringer arm at Vergil, who swung the Yamato at him just as Nero lunged Masayoshi.
Nero had tried to use the 'spirit' from his Devil Trigger state as armor, morphing around himself to protect his Devil Bringer arm from the Yamato, only for the sword to cut through that and strike at the arm just as the Masayoshi had pierced through and stabbed Vergil. This caused the Devil Prince to look somewhat surprised… not from being stabbed himself… but the fact that Nero's Devil Bringer arm had caught the katana. The demonic hand was holding the katana tightly, so much so that blood was oozing out of it. But despite that, despite the devastating severing power of the Yamato, Nero's demonic limb wouldn't budge as the young man smirked at his eldest brother.
"Thanks for the snack. Now I got a fire in my belly."
Vergil noticed how Nero's Devil Bringer arm was glowing, right before a shockwave erupted from it, one that carried the same slicing effects of his own sword, briefly knocking Vergil back before Nero threw his demonic fist into Vergil. This not only sent a powerful shockwave of demonic energy into Vergil but carried a deadly slicing power to create an X-shaped slice on his chest, drawing blood and sending Vergil crashing into the castle, though the eldest Son of Sparda was still on his feet as he skidded to a halt.
'I see…' Vergil felt the wound on his chest as it quickly healed. 'That arm of his is capable of absorbing demonic power, which he can re-direct as a counterattack. He took a chance to see if it could absorb the power of the Yamato, which he re-directed at me. He must have taken the idea from Natsu and the other Dragon Slayers. Impressive.'
Multiple waves of light were sent flying at him from the hole that was made, and Vergil was quick to slice and deflect them all with the Yamato, but these were only a form of cover to allow Lucia's Devil Trigger form to appear directly in front of him, slashing both Cutlasser swords at him, which Vergil blocked and quickly dashed past and behind Lucia to slash the Yamato at her, sending her back outside and up somewhat in the air, and while she recovered in the air, Vergil dashed at her to resume their aerial clash of swords. Lucia gave a demonic yell as she rapidly swung her swords with such speed that it seemed like her arms had turned into beams of light, with Vergil matching her speed with his own.
The Devil Trigger Nero ran up the side of a building and leapt towards the clash, slashing the Masayoshi at Vergil, which he blocked with the Yamato, though this allowed Lucia to slice at his side while he was vulnerable, only for Vergil to grab Lucia by her face and throw her into Nero before zooming down at both of them, driving the Yamato through Lucia and Nero together before smashing down hard into the ground with enough force that it created a large crater upon impact.
Only for that crater to violently explode as clashes of white and blue demonic energy erupted in-between them as Nero and Lucia both came at Vergil at his sides. But despite having three swords to his one, Vergil appeared to be holding his own well against both of them. Nero swung the Masayoshi vertically, which Vergil blocked with the Yamato before dashing past and behind him to slice him towards Lucia, with the white-clad Devil Hunter leaping above him to bring both her blades down onto him, which Vergil also blocked, but Nero recovered quickly enough to slam his Devil Bringer fist, with the spectral devil above him, mimicking his actions, into Vergil's exposed chest area before lunging the Masayoshi to send a wave to slice through him and allowing Lucia to press down hard and cross-slash Cutlasser to send a crossing wave of white energy on top of him. But Vergil appeared to thrust his Yamato and impale Lucia with it before slicing upward vertically with an attack that would have bisected any normal person, which sent Lucia upward and seemingly allowed Nero to dash at him, only for Vergil to appear behind him just as Nero slashed and missed, much to his shock, and leaving him open for a devastating strike from the Yamato that smashed him into the ground. Lucia fell back down and tried to use that to slash at Vergil, but he dashed out of the way of that and gave yet another devastating slash that sent Lucia crashing through the wall of the crater and up through the ground before she crashed into a nearby building.
Nero tried to get back up, only for Vergil to stomp onto his Devil Bringer arm and impale the Yamato into his human limb. "You're quick to adapt, Nero. I grant you that much. But at the end, experience trumps everything else."
'This bastard…!' Nero cursed internally. 'His Devil Trigger is way stronger than mine! Stronger and faster than Lucia's even! But I can't give up! I can't let this son of a bitch beat me!'
He caught the defiant look in his eyes, only causing Vergil's expression to lighten somewhat. "You have Fairy Tail's spirit."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Nero grinned mockingly.
"It was intended to be." Vergil replied.
*PIERCE!*
Suddenly, the tip of a certain spear, one surging with chaotic red energy, had been lunged into Vergil's back, which managed to pierce through.
"In that case…" Glancing back, Vergil saw none other than Erza, clad in her Armadura Diabla, and wielding the spear that came with it with her right, and only, hand. "I thank you for the compliment."
"Erza…?" Nero blinked in surprise upon seeing her, just as the destructive red energy of her spear errupted from it, which seemed to be tearing away at Vergil's insides. 'After all that… even having her arm cut off…! How the hell can she even stand…?!' Nero honestly couldn't believe it. It was one thing if Dante got stabbed, but he was the son of one of the most powerful demons ever. But Erza…? As far as he could tell… she was only human! Wasn't she?
However, despite the energy that was tearing away in him, and being in quite amount of pain himself, Vergil grabbed the tip of the spear coming out of his front and with a mighty yell, he was able to push it out from his front, sending Erza stumbling back before Vergil turned to her, wrenching the Yamato out from Nero and attempted to slice at her…
Only for a dash of gold to catch Erza and pull her out of the way of Vergil's slash. That flash just so happened to be Jellal, using his Meteor spell to pull Erza out of the way as he glared at Vergil.
Using this chance, Nero swung his Devil Bringer arm, which had a large spectral fist emerging from it to land a solid hit on Vergil's side, all while swinging the Masayoshi upward to send a vertical slice through Vergil, knocking him back somewhat and allowing the Devil Trigger Lucia to dash at him as she swung Cutlasser again, which Vergil did block with the Yamato, only to leave himself open for Jellal to zoom in himself and Erza with Meteor, holding onto her tightly as she lunged the spear of her Armadura Diabla at him again, blasting more of its destructive energy at Vergil before he flew upwards to hover above all four of them as they gather together.
"You still insist on fighting in spite of your injuries?" Vergil spoke to Erza specifically. "Here I thought you'd abandon your own death wish."
"I have." Erza confirmed. "I have no intention of throwing my life away. Not again. But if I can lend my aid, even just a little... in any effort to stop you and others like you… then a missing arm is a small price to pay. I can live with only one."
That caused Nero, Lucia, and especially Jellal to wince as they glanced at the stub of her left elbow where arm had been severed. It was tied tightly with bandages to keep from bleeding out, but it was still soaked red as a few drops of blood oozed out.
"I'll see to it that you don't suffer anymore, Erza." Jellal told her as he continued to hold her tightly. "You will live to see your friends again."
"I know. Thank you… Jellal."
"Nero and I will strike at him with everything we have." Lucia said. "You two move in when you see any openings."
"Understood." Erza nodded.
As the Devil Prince stared down at them, a small smile fell upon the demonic face of the eldest Son of Sparda. "Come and get me."
Atlas Flame and Motherglare both roared as they collided with one another, creating a shockwave in the air upon impact. As they pressed against each other Atlas Flame's body spiraled into a flaming twister, which seemed to push Motherglare back somewhat, before the Diamond Dragon powered through, using his armored hide to protect himself from the flames and push Atlas Flame back as his body reformed and moved upwards to gain some distance from Motherglare before shooting a beam of condensed heat, one so hot that it turned blue, at Motherglare's back, which exploded in a deadly inferno of hellfire. The Diamond Dragon roared in pain as a large chunk of his diamond-hard armor was broken, which Atlas Flame pressed against by transforming his flaming body into a torpedo of fire that spun like a drill and dug his way into the damaged spot, causing Motherglare to roar in agony as he tumbled in the air.
Above the clash of dragons was an equally violent battle as the Inferno Trigger Dante and Dragon Force Natsu soared at the transformed Future Legion who opened his mouth to blast a breath attack of black ice, one that seemed to be gunning straight for Dante, only for Natsu to appear instead, using flames from his feet to propel him up slightly where he let loose a breath attack of golden flames to collide with the black ice. As their attacks met, Dante used this to his advantage to zoom in at Future Legion and slice at him with Rebellion, landing a direct hit and leaving a deep and diagonal cut along his chest, though the shadows quickly stitched it up before Future Legion brought his own Rebellion on Dante, which he took on the shoulder and allowed the impact to fuel his own power thanks to the active Dreadnaught style before Dante impaled Future Legion with Rebellion, prompting the monster to aim his free hand and shoot him point-blank with an icy blast of Devil Slayer Magic, one that seemed to engulf Dante's body.
A roar from Natsu drew his attention as the transformed Dragon Slayer soared at him and landed a direct hit, both his fists pointing outward as he struck like a missile, flames shooting out form both of Natsu's fists and feet as he propelled himself and Future Legion forward, all while shooting out the flames through him. The dreaded monster snarled as snake-like tendrils emerged from his back alongside his wings, quickly forming open mouths to shoot beams of white light, which had an overlay of serrated shadows, to slash and pierce through Natsu's body, knocking him back before Future Legion unleashed another breath attack, this one comprised of dark shadows and white light, blasting Natsu further back, even as he tried to shield himself with his aura of flames.
Suddenly, a flash of red shot past Future Legion as Dante dashed pasted him, slicing Future Legion in a diagonal manner, almost like he had cut him completely in half. Only for the shadows around him to pull his body back together.
'He might be some kind of demon ghost thing fueled by my power, and that from countless other demons, but that body of his has its limits.' Dante thought. 'It's a human body. It can't heal the way mine can. Those shadows aren't healing him, their stitching him back together like a rag doll. If we can damage his body beyond repair, we might be able to kill him!'
Future Legion snarled as the shadows around his body morphed, causing his upper form to become larger and bulkier, almost twice his previous size as several tentacles emerged from all across his sides, and each one of them was tipped with a steaming blade of black ice. Future Legion flew straight at Dante and lunged all his tentacles at him, all while slicing his own Rebellion, which Dante tried to block with his sword as his enemy got up and close, leading to several black ice blades to slice and pierce through his body, causing him a great deal of pain.
'Even that Devil Slayer crap can bypass my Dreadnaught like Vergil's Yamato! Should have expected since it's toxic to demons.' Dante thought in pain as he was stuck on the defensive, blocking any attack he could, but Future Legion's relentless assault proved to be too much as Dante couldn't even block half of the attacks, particularly the black ice blades from Future Legion's tentacles, or even slashes from his free claw as a slash of black ice did land a successful hit. 'My Inferno Trigger still absorbs the damage like any other, but if this guy hits me enough, my body might not be in enough shape to use it all!'
"Don't take your eyes off me!" Natsu then appeared from behind Future Legion, dragon-like wings made entirely out of golden fire, and slammed into him, tackling his side as the flames grew around his own body, burning away at the larger and bulkier shadows as Natsu wrapped his legs around Future Legion's arms to pin them to his sides, including the one that was holding the stolen Rebellion, and delivered multiple rapid punches across his face. "Flame Lotus: Fire Dragon Fist!" Natsu's fists moved at such blinding speed that they may as well be like a machine gun, and each strike was devastating, creating aftershocks of fire behind Future Legion as they all made contact. The monster growled as he shot a blast of white light from his chest, which was followed by an after-shock of shadow waves to blast Natsu off, before his fire-wings formed again and he stabilized himself in the air.
'But Natsu's fire can burn away his shadows.' Dante realized as he saw the dissertating darkness around Future Legion's body, even exposing some bone on his right arm before it was covered again. 'Those golden flames are way stronger than before. Even stronger than that Hellflame boost Atlas gave him. If Natsu can burn enough of those shadows to expose his already damaged body… I can use all my accumulated energy to finish him off! But I'll only have one shot. If I miss, it's game over for both of us.'
Future Legion stabilized himself as he flew back to distance himself from his opponents. 'Impossible… the Natsu from our timeline never had Dragon Force… these flames are stronger than before! So much so that they can match our Devil Slayer ice! But what's worse… several of the dragons we have brought to this time have been beaten! Even Elexion is on his last legs…!' A fanged grin fell on his twisted and shadowy face. 'But fortunately, the enemy is exhausted too, Kurenai included. We'll slay Dante all over again, consume his power. Then Vergil's, Nero's, Lucia's, and Kurenai's. Even if we do not have our dragon army, we still know when and where the other Demon Kings can emerge. With all our accumulated power, we can slay them and absorb their powers as well! Ha, the reign of the new Demon Emperor Legion is still within our grasp!'
"Natsu!" Dante flew right to his side. "I got a plan. You in?"
"I'm listening." The Salamander didn't take his eyes off Future Legion for a second.
"Your flames can block his ice and burn away his shadows. You take the lead, and I'll keep his biggest attacks off you." The Crimson Knight explained. "If you burn enough of his shadows, expose what's left of his body, I can finish him! But we have to end this now before we both run out of juice!"
"Sounds like a plan to me. I've had enough of this freak anyway. Let's end this, and him!" Natsu declared.
"You're welcome to try." Future Legion proclaimed as the shadows around him continued to grow, followed by oozing black mist, along with the white scales around his body glowing brighter. He then shot at his adversaries as they shot at him in return, all three giving mighty yells as they were resolved to end this battle here and now.
Back at the Eclipse Gate, Kyrie put her hands together, almost in the form of a prayer as a white aura formed around her. Lucy, Yukino, and Hisui, along with Gandelina, looked in awe as she hovered up somewhat. Then suddenly, four angelic wings made of pure white energy were produced from her back. By the look of strain on her face, this spell was clearly taking a great deal of effort. But she maintained her focus as the white aura around her body began to glow brighter. With a yell, she outstretched both her hands, her energy wings spreading out even further as a transparent white energy wall, which stretched at least a hundred feet in the air, shined out from behind her and began to spread around the general area.
The energy barrier curved as it encircled around not only herself and her friends, but even around the Eclipse Gate, being sure that it was far enough away to not be absorbed by the device. The barrier had even come into contact with the castle and ended up slicing through the walls like paper before the two opposing ends met in the middle, forming a complete circle with the Eclipse Gate being at the center.
Such an act drew the attention of the recovering Happy, Laxus, Trish, Arcadios, Lisanna, Wendy, Carla, and even somewhat stirred Sheeree awake.
"This magic power…" Hisui looked in awe at it.
"The Arc of Seraph…" Even Yukino was in awe.
"Kyrie…" Lucy smiled toward her friend.
"Anytime… you want to do it…" Kyrie strained. "I've never produced a barrier this large before…. I can't hold it for long….!"
"Right!" Lucy nodded as she looked to the princess. "Let's do it!"
Hisui got serious as she reached for Lucy's hand with her right and Yukino's with her left, and they too linked hands as all three began to focus and combine their Celestial Spirit magics together. All of their spirits were recalled back to the Spirit world as they had to focus all of their magic power for this feat.
"Thanks for your help guys…" Lucy said to her spirits as they retreated.
"We'll take it from here." Yukino added just as Hisui began to recite the incantation.
"Hands of the welkin, clench thy mighty fists! I bid the star's descent!" Immediately a green energy sphere formed in-between the three Celestial Wizards before it grew and enveloped all three, and then shot a beam directly into the sky, clearing away any and all clouds in the area.
As it was shot upward, several stars began to shine brighter in the night sky. And all those stars began to connect together in the form of several constellations.
The scene was being seen by everyone in Crocus, some had taken their eyes off their battles to see what was occurring, only to be drawn back in as their respective dragon or mini-dragon opponents went on their attack.
All of the coordinating guildmasters and their allies, looked in awe themselves. This included the spirits of Sparda and Mavis as they each had serious and hopeful expressions of their own.
Back in the middle of the growing pile of rubble that was the ruined castle, Vergil and all his opponents noticed the phenomena that was happening too.
'Gottfried…' The Devil Prince thought before turning back to his enemies, who turned back to him as he drew the Yamato and took a stance. He crouched somewhat and pointed the Yamato forward with its blade facing up, one hand holding the handle and the other at the end of it. "This battle has dragged on long enough. Let's end it."
"Finally, we agree on something." Nero scoffed somewhat as he took his own stance with the Masayoshi, Lucia did something similar with the Cutlasser blades crossed together as she held something backwards. And of course, Jellal had tied his robe around himself and Erza, while also holding her tight.
"Just as they've told us. I'll attack, you just keep us moving." Erza told him.
"Right." Jellal nodded.
In the blink of an eye, the clash begun.
Lucia dashed at Vergil first, moving around at him at blinding speeds and slashing with her dual blades as fast as she could, but Vergil was able to block them all with the Yamato, only for Nero to dash at him from the side and throw out a punch with his spectral devil form, the fist growing to the size of Vergil's body and landing a clean hit. Only for that spectral fist to be sliced in half by the Yamato as Vergil loomed above Nero… but Jellal and used Meteor to speed himself and Erza at above Vergil where the redhead slashed the Armadura Diabla's spear across his wings and back, creating an explosive slash of red energy that sent him back into the hallway of the castle, where Lucia rushed him again.
Once more they slashed their blades rapidly at each other as Lucia moved above and around him, never staying in one place for more than a second. Nero then appeared behind Lucia as she flew upwards to bring down the Masayoshi and slice Vergil vertically down his left elbow. When he tried to fly upward, Jellal and Erza appeared via meteor again as she lunged her spear at him once more, and while he was able to block the strike, it left him open for Nero and Lucia to dash at him in mid-air and strike him in a dual crossing attack that broke off their lock and allowed Erza to lunge her spear into his open stomach before blasting him straight down, where Nero was waiting as he threw another powerful punch at him to smash him through several walls of the castle's insides with Lucia flying after him.
He recovered just as Lucia appeared before him to slice her blades rapidly, with Vergil blocking again as Jellal and Erza appeared from behind via Meteor once more and Nero caught up as all three attacks came simultaneously with Vergil struggling to block all three at once.
'They're trying to limit my movements.' Vergil analyzed as he found himself on the defensive from his rapid attacks. 'Jellal and Erza's combination is trying to keep me from flying, Lucia is using her speed to try and match mine while Nero focuses on his raw power to overwhelm me. Their movements make it difficult to counter, even to use my other techniques. It's taking everything I have just to defend myself. Erza's weapon and especially Nero's copy of the Yamato are doing the most damage to me.' Vergil eyed Nero as he looked like he was about to do a quick-draw attack. 'But his movements are slower than the others easier to anticipate.' Vergil swung the Yamato at him, only to look in surprise as Nero's spectral devil vanished, while Nero himself ducked and used his quick draw at the ground underneath Vergil, briefly knocking him off balance and allowing Lucia to drive both her blades into his sides and throw him towards Jellal and Erza, the latter thrusting her spear into him, stabbing and sending its destructive power through his system, causing him to growl in pain.
'He caught me off guard for a second. And in a battle of speed such as this, even a second's worth of a mistake can spell disaster!' Vergil chastised himself as Nero, once again pounded Vergil with his Devil Bringer fist to blast him through the walls once more with Jellal, still carrying Erza, and Lucia speeding after him again.
Back in the sky, despite the glowing stars above them, Natsu, Dante, and Atlas Flame were still focused on their battles against Future Legion and Motherglare respectively.
The Hellfire Dragon once more, burrowed his flaming body into the wound that he had inflected upon the Diamond Dragon's armored hide and didn't stop. He focused all of the fire at his disposal into his claws, so much so that the heat at his front claws started to glow bright blue, even hotter, as they clawed their way into his flesh, causing Motherglare to cry in pain.
"What was that about your armor being impenetrable?!" Altas Flame roared as he dug his superheated claws deeper and gave a mighty slash that tore out a huge chunk of flesh, burning more of his insides. Once again, Motherglare cried out in pure agony before Atlas Flame drove him into the ground below.
And just above them, Dante and Natsu both flew at Future Legion as he swung his Rebellion to send waves of white light energy mixed with dark shadows at the pair, with Dante flying up front and allowing himself to tank the hits, his Dreadnaught absorbing the energy to further fuel his own. When Dante got up and close, Future Legion tried to unleash another Devil Slayer breath attack of black ice, only Dante to use Quicksilver and vanish, with Natsu being behind him as he let loose his own breath attack before Future Legion had the chance. Simultaneously, Dante had re-appeared directly behind Future Legion to run his Rebellion through the back and prevent him from attack, allowing Natsu's golden flames to burn away at his front. Future Legion screeched, as did many of the shadows around him as they were being burnt away.
With a roar however, multiple black-ice spikes shot out from his body. Dante ended up getting sliced and skewered, along with Natsu a bit. But Natsu recovered quicker as he threw out several punches of golden fire to smash the spikes and get in close again, grabbing Future Legion by his shoulders with his fiery arms, burning the shadows there as Natsu tried to sink his hands in deeper before he let loose another breath attack in Future Legion's face.
He outstretched his right hand that held the stolen Rebellion, the shadows around his limb causing it to stretch and extend as he tried to bring it down onto Natsu, only for Dante to appear and allowed himself to tank the hit once again as the damage was absorbed before Dante swung his own Rebellion with enough force that he severed the hand entirely, causing the burning Future Legion to cry out even more as Dante snagged the other sword, now dual wielding two Rebellions.
"This is mine!" He flew at Future Legion as Natsu pulled back, many of the shadows being burned away to expose some of the scorched flesh and bones underneath. Future Legion tried desperately to sew himself back together, but the Inferno Trigger Dante was already directly in front of him as he hacked and slashed with both Rebellions, further damaging the body underneath before he let loose a White Shadow Dragon Roar from his mouth, a white beam that mixed with an overlay of shadows had pushed Dante back. But once again, all that damage and energy was being absorbed by his Dreadnaught style.
Future Legion caught sight of Natsu flying after him and tried to fly away. He then noticed what was happening at the Eclipse Gate. He noticed the Celestial Wizards preparing for something that could ruin all of his plans. He tried to fly in closer, but Natsu proved to be faster as he used flames from his feet to propel himself and quickly caught up to grab and tackle him in the air.
"You're not going near them!" Natsu roared as he exploded his body with more golden fire to further burn away his shadows, but Future Legion tried to expand his black ice to protect himself as he tried to push Natsu off.
"Even if you stop us, Acnologia and Mundus will still rise!" Future Legion ranted as he pushed Natsu off. "The future we told you of was not a deception! The Dragon Butcher will pave the way for the Demon Emperor's reckoning! Your world... Everything and everyone you know will be gone! Whether it be us or them, a dark future still awaits you all!"
"That's not for you to decide!" Natsu shot at him with a flaming punch across his face, which was followed through by a returning Dante as he swung one Rebellion diagonally, followed by an upward slice from the other, crossing a giant red glowing X on his chest which exploded and damaged his body even further.
"Thanks for the warning. We'll worry about Mundus and Acnologia. But our future is none of your damn business!" Dante declared as he and Natsu soared at Future Legion once more.
The constellations in the sky shined brighter and brighter, all while Lucy, Yukino, and Hisui struggled to pull all of their magic together. This required everything they had and then some.
"…Shine down… break the land upon your light…! Cleanse it with your hands divine…!" Hisui continued.
At the same time, on the other side of the barrier, opposite from where Trish and the others were, a blast had tore through the walls of the castle as Vergil had been pushed out by Nero, Erza, Jellal, and Lucia before he swung the Yamato to throw a slash and knock all four of them off.
The transformed Devil Prince skidded on his feet, but he appeared to be out of breath, despite his Devil Trigger still being present.
"He's on his last legs! Hit him now!" Nero exclaimed.
"Everything we have! No holding back!" Lucia added.
Both transformed Devil Hunters, as well as Jellal and Erza, shot forward as Nero and Lucia prepped their respective weapons. Nero's spectral devil vanished as all of the demonic power he had was being condensed into the Masayoshi while Lucia's Cutlasser swords glowed brightly. Jellal carried Erza straight as she prepared to lunge her Armadura Diabla spear at him once more.
In the sky above, Natsu had managed to grab Future Legion. He wrapped his legs around his enemies' and his arms around Future Legion's upper body to pin his arms to his side. "Our future is ours to decide! Not yours!" Natsu declared as the golden flames around his body lit up once more, further burning away the shadows.
"No! Stop it!" Future Legion struggled.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Flame Lotus: Hellfire Supernova!" Copying the technique he'd seen Atlas Flame used, Natsu unleashed a violent inferno from his body, almost like a bright sun of golden fire had lit up the already glowing sky.
"…Let there be no place left for darkness… Fall straight and true…! I bid thee… Bring Imperium crashing down upon us…!" Hisui went on.
Vergil saw his opponents speeding at him and was ready to grip the handle of Yamato to perform a slice that would knock them all down. But when he drew his sword and sliced out…
He had missed!
The wave of blue slicing energy had veered just above them as they were closing in.
'What…?' Vergil was surprised. He missed? How could he have missed? Unless…
In a split second, Vergil looked past all of his opponents, towards the open hole in the castle, where he saw a grievously injured Kagura… leaning against the rubble… holding out her hand as she casted Gravity Magic. Just enough that caused the gravity around him to lighten up only slightly, and letting him miss.
"FINISH HIM!" Kagura shouted.
With mighty yells, Nero and Lucia swung their respective swords at him as Jellal pushed Erza forward who thrusted her spear forward.
At the same time, up above, Natsu's attack had burned away enough of the shadows to expose the charred and burnt skeleton from before, one that was only barely being held together by seared flesh and what little shadows were left.
Dante had appeared directly above them as Natsu pushed himself back. The Crimson Knight held both Rebellions straight up, holding them together with both of his hands as the Dreadnaught state faded away to reveal his natural Devil Trigger. All of that energy, plus all that accumulated and absorbed by his Dreadnaught in this fight was brought together into both of his broadswords, leading to an aura of red demonic power to shine around both of them. That aura quickly grew and took the shape of a giant construct resembling Rebellion itself as Dante held it up high.
"WE DECIDE OUR FATE!" Dante yelled as he brought it down on his enemy.
"…Shine Down… GOTTFRIED!" Hisui screamed, along with her fellow Celestial Wizards as the spell was casted.
All the constellations above glowed a bright green before a rain of shooting stars fell down toward them, all gunning for the Eclipse Gate and everything else within the barrier that Kyrie had struggled to maintain. All of this happened just as Dante swung his attack down onto Future Legion, completely bisecting him… and while Lucia and Nero slashed their swords at Vergil's side and Erza, with some extra boost from Jellal, had ran her spear through him.
*BOOM!*
A massive explosion erupted where the Eclipse Gate once stood, one so large and powerful, that it created a mushroom cloud afterwards.
The resulting shockwave was devastating. Even with Kyrie struggling to hold the barrier as tightly as she could, it cracked under the strain. The shockwave would have hit Lucy, Yukino, and Hisui, as well… had Gandelina not quickly appeared in front of them to erect a barrier of her own, one that was sky blue and shined like stars as it protected herself and the three Celestial Wizards behind her.
Even with Kyrie's barrier, Trish, Laxus, Arcadios, Lisanna, Wendy, and Sheeree were sent rolling across the ground by the aftershock, with Happy and Carla tumbling through the air screaming. Nero, Erza, Jellal, Lucia, and Kagura were also blown back as well, with even the airborne Natsu and Dante being knocked out of the sky themselves. As the last aftershock hit, Kyrie's barrier shattered.
The smoke slowly began to clear as those in the area, mostly because of the presence of Atlas Flame, who flew in to see what had happened himself. Lucy, Yukino, Hisui, and Kyrie appeared to be the weakest, all of their magic power was spent as they laid semi-conscious on the ground with Gandelina still standing by them to protect them from anything that may still come.
The first to recover were Lisanna, Wendy, Happy, Carla, Arcadios, Laxus, and Trish, with Sheeree being weakly pulled up by Lisanna as they all looked past the clearing smoke to see something that made them all look in shock…
Most of the royal palace had now been completely destroyed. Though Kyrie's barrier had protected everyone in the general area from the worst of the blast, Mercurius was now unrecognizable. A once beautiful palace was nearly totaled.
And in the middle of it all…The Eclipse Gate was gone.
It was completely obliterated! Whatever was left of it was now a pile of broken and irreparable rubble in the middle of a broken crater, along with most of Mercurius's. The structure that was once created by the Black Wizard to tamper with time… the device responsible for this current crisis… was no more.
And near the side of the gate, Vergil's Devil Trigger transformation had vanished, turning back into his human form as he laid on his knees, his head hanging down while still tightly holding the Yamato as blood oozed from his body and dripped below him. Jellal struggled to help up Erza, whose armor vanished, as Nero was also brought to his knees, his own Devil Trigger as well as Lucia's, as he used Masayoshi to support himself with Lucia on her hands and knees, trying to catch her breath.
And very near close to the destroyed Eclipse Gate, was whatever was left of Future Legion. All of the shadows that made up his body were all but gone. All that was left was a charred skeleton that had been sliced in half down the middle. Natsu and Dante, stood triumphantly over him, albeit heavily injured, both covered in bleeding gashes and bruises, and exhausted as both of their respective transformations were gone as well. It was honestly a miracle they were standing at all with how injured and fatigued they were…
But they were. They were standing strong. And had defeated their enemy.
"They did it!" Happy cheered. "Lucy and the others destroyed the gate! And Natsu, Dante, Erza, and everyone totally took down the bad guys!"
That seemed to stir Lucy and her fellow Celestial Wizards, as well as Kyrie, awake as they slowly pulled themselves up to see that it was indeed true. The Eclipse Gate was gone thanks to their efforts.
"We… we did it…?" Lucy muttered as a feeling of hope and joy enveloped her weakened body.
"Yes… you did." Gandelina confirmed as she finally turned around. Though the hood still covered most of her face, Lucy did see the Wizard Saint smile towards her. This also caused Hisui, Yukino, and Kyrie to smile and weakly laugh as well as they struggled to pull themselves up.
Lisanna, Happy, Carla, Wendy, Laxus, Trish, and even the weakened Sheeree, along with the injured and exhausted Nero, Jellal, Erza, Lucia, and Kagura, they too smiled with relief.
"Here…" Gandelina kneeled to Lucy as she was back on her own knees to catch her breath, the wizard Saint handing her back the Morning Star. "I think this is yours. Thank you for letting me borrow it."
Lucy smiled as she accepted her weapon back, looking to it with a smile. But as Gandelina stood up, Lucy gave a small gasp as she, for a brief second, caught a glimpse of her face. It looked so familiar… almost like…
'Mom…? No… it couldn't be… could it…?'
"I don't believe it…!" Arcadios stated. "Our goal was indeed to destroy the Gate but… I never thought…" He and the princess spent many years reconstructing the Gate and fueling it for the intent of changing history and saving the world, only for their plan to be turned against them by a dangerous enemy… and the Gate itself to now be destroyed in the blink of an eye.
"Is that it…? It's over…?" Nero muttered.
"It would appear so…" Lucia confirmed.
"So, what happens now?" Nero questioned.
"If we were right… with the Gate destroyed in the present… it will cease to exist in the future." Jellal replied as he held Erza up. "Meaning our enemy can't use it to travel back to our time."
"And everything will return to normal." Erza followed up.
Suddenly, there were four sources of glowing light which drew everyone's attention. Some distance away, at the foot of the hill that led up to the castle, Motherglare's unconscious and beaten form was starting to glow in a bright yellow light, almost like stars. The same was happening to Levia and Zirconis, the Jade Dragon being stirred awake by the phenomena.
"What…? What is happening…?!" Zirconis questioned.
"The dragons are glowing…?" Happy muttered.
"That looks like Celestial magic…" Lisanna observed.
"The Gate was made by Celestial Wizards, so…" Carla said.
The fourth source of the light was none other than Atlas Flame, as he hovered over the area. Dante and Natsu both turned to him. Despite the unusual occurrence, they both knew what was happening, as did their dragon friend.
"We're returning to our own time." Atlas Flame said.
As the glow continued, nobody seemed to notice the defeated, and still-kneeling, Vergil… smiling.
Agate growled as his body began to glow in the same manner, something that caused Gajeel, Lady, Levy, and Panther-Lily to look in surprise.
"The hell…?" Lady muttered.
"I think that's Celestial Spirit magic…" Levy guessed.
"Sounds like the guys did it." Gajeel said.
"The Eclipse Gate must have been destroyed." Panther-Lily assumed.
Modeus, Sorano, and Erik watched as Voidar's body was slowly vanishing with the golden energy participles just like the others.
"He's returning to his own time." Modeus said.
Erik scoffed as he glared at the disappearing dragon. "Get lost."
Gildarts and Cana both saw the beaten body of Ionar glowing and fading too, the Neutron Dragon roaring in defiance as he did.
The current guildmaster of Fairy Tail smirked, having a good idea what happened. "Attaboy, Natsu."
"Dante too." Cana smirked.
Naturally, the same occurrence was happening to every dragon in the city. Gray, Ultear, Lyon, Sapphire, Flare, and Amarilla watched as Jades' body was vanishing. Aurora, Sting, Lector, Rogue, and Frosch looked serious as they saw Scissor Runner's body glowing and becoming transparent.
The same was also happening to all of the remaining Mini-Dragons in Crocus. All of the wizards of Fairy Tail, Crime Sorciere, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Mermaid Heel, Quatro Puppy, and even the Rune Knights and royal soldiers, they all watched as the army of humanoid draconic soldiers were beginning to vanish.
"No…! No…!" Elexion struggled to pick himself up. His exhausted and beaten state aside, he too was glowing as his body shined and became more transparent, feeling his own presence vanishing from the world. "This can't be happening! I… I refuse to accept it…!"
"Whether you accept or refuse it doesn't change the outcome. You've lost this fight, Elexion." Kurenai told him, hovering above his vanishing form, as all Elexion could do was glare up at her. "You and your ideals of dominance, your belief on how might makes might right… all of it returns to where it belongs. In the past. As for the rest of us? We're moving forward."
Elexion gave one final defiant roar as his entire body transformed into a sphere of starlight, which quickly shrank into nothingness as star-like particles hovered up into the air before fading away.
Kurenai breathed a sigh of relief as her own demonic transformation vanished and she returned to her human form, allowing herself to fall to the ground. She landed on her feet but fell somewhat on her knees as she used her trident for support to catch her breath, all of her exhaustion catching up to her at once. But despite that, she chuckled.
"This old girl's still got it."
It was all happening back in Crocus. All of the dragons and the smaller creatures were now vanishing completely. Their bodies turning into spheres of star-light before they shrunk and disappeared entirely, leaving only the destruction they left in their wake, as well as the foes they hadn't defeated. All of the wizards and soldiers looked in confusion, not quite sure what had just happened.
"So… was that us…?" Sting questioned in confusion.
"Did we win…?" Lector asked.
"The time discrepancy is vanishing." Ultear said as she and her group saw Jades disappear. "Everything is returning to normal."
"So, the Gate must have been destroyed." Gray assumed.
The only dragon remaining was Atlas Flame, but he would soon disappear as well. He looked down at his two young companions one last time.
"Natsu Dragneel. Dante Redgrave. I will never forget you."
Those would be the last words he would say to them before his body vanished and he returned to his own time.
"Yeah… we won't either." Dante nodded.
"Couldn't have done it without ya. Thanks, Uncle." Natsu said as well.
"Hold on… what just happened…?" Goldmine questioned as everyone at the central plaza was looking in confusion. The warzone that had enveloped the city of Crocus how now suddenly become quiet.
"Lamia Scale's saying that all the dragons just vanished in front of them!" Ooba exclaimed.
"Same for Blue Pegasus!" Bob reported.
"Everybody in Fairy Tail's telling the same thing!" Warren revealed.
"I'm seeing the same thing with my Achieve!" Hibiki added as he looked at all the screens around him. "All our enemies are gone! They're just… gone!"
"How is that possible?" Darton questioned. "How can all those dragons just disappear?"
As King Fiore looked around in shock, Makarov glanced towards the spirits of Mavis and Sparda, both looking down toward him as they smiled, confirming what the former guildmaster of Fairy Tail was thinking.
Makarov then laughed. He let loose a hardy laugh, getting everyone's attention. "What happened is that it's over! Our boys destroyed the Eclipse Gate!"
That earned gasps of shock from everyone present. "So… does that mean… the threat has passed…?" King Toma E. Fiore asked, his body shaking.
"It's passed!" Makarov confirmed with a grin.
The king fell to his knees as his eyes water. Tears of joy and relief poured down his face. "It's over…! It's over…!"
Makarov continued to laugh as he addressed his fellow guildmasters and their allies. "Spread the word! We have won this day!"
Goldmine was the first to grin. "You heard the man, let em all know!"
As the guildmasters and everyone in the plaza celebrated and began to tell everyone of their victory, Mavis reached out to grasp the hand of her adoptive father as she looked to him with pride and joy, tears in her own eyes. Sparda smiled down toward her with a proud expression of his own.
The word had spread like wildfire as everyone in the battlefield was informed of their recent victory. It didn't take long for cheers of celebration and relief to erupt all across Crocus.
"Ah yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Macao cheered as he stood alongside Doranbolt and several of his fellow guildmates, including his son, all of whom were more than relieved to hear the news.
"It was Natsu and Dante!" Romeo looked with an excited smile and tears of joy in his own eyes. "I just knew they could pull it off!"
All the guild wizards and soldiers scattered throughout the battlefield all celebrated too. Even the Rune Knights shared in the celebration with them. Those in Blue Pegasus cried dramatically as they hugged one another; Lamia Scale met up to share high fives and cheers with Sherria and Sherry hugging one another. Nearly all of Mermaid Heel hugged each other and cried as well, along with Meredy who had met up with Juvia. This also included Milliana, Sho, and Wally as they hugged each other too.
Naturally, those in Fairy Tail were among the loudest as they cheered as loudly as they could. Alzack and Bisca hugged and kissed each other on the lips; Elfman hugged Mira tightly before smirking toward Evergreen as she smiled and nodded at him, right before Bickslow pulled her and Freed into a hug with a laugh. Jet and Droy likewise hugged and laughed with each other too, along with all their other friends and comrades.
Cana leapt at her father with a hug of relief, which he was more than willing to accept.
Modeus breathed in relief as his Devil Trigger faded. He stumbled a bit, but Sorano was quick to catch him by his arm to keep him up straight. They smiled at one another before looking towards Erik.
The former dark wizard scowled as he sat and rested, his Dragon Force transformation now gone. But he soon found a pair of hands outstretched towards him, one from Modeus and the other from Sorano, both of whom were smiling at him.
Erik stared at them for a second before he grinned and grabbed both of their hands with his own and they helped him back on his feet.
Amarilla laughed and cried as she leapt into Sapphire's chest, who held her with one arm with a smile. She then looked towards Flare, whom she had propped up with her other arm as the red-haired wizard cried in joy and even smiled with a blush as she saw Sapphire smiling towards her too.
Gray and Lyon both smirked as they clasped each other's hands. Ultear approached the pair as she offered her hand to shake with a smile, something that Gray was quick to return first, followed by Lyon.
Levy cried in joy as she, somehow, pulled Gajeel, Lady, and Panther-Lily into a hug despite her tiny arms. The three found themselves smiling and smirking alongside her too.
"Yes, you heard correctly! The threat has passed! I can confirm that the Eclipse Gate has been destroyed and all of the dragons have vanished!" Lahar reported into a lacrima before smiling. "Excellent! Thank you, Sir!"
"No Etherion?" Bruni asked as he sat down on a piece of rubble to rest and relax.
"No Etherion." Lahar confirmed.
"Good." Bruni breathed with relief. "Might wanna do something about those egotistical bosses of yours though."
"Yes, well… easier said than done." Lahar admitted with a wincing smile.
However, Sting and Rogue did not appear to be in a particularly celebratory mood as they both sat down on the ground.
"Hey, why the long faces?" Lector asked. "We won! It's time to celebrate!"
"Yeah, let's party!" Frosch added.
"Sorry… but I just don't feel like it." Sting muttered.
"It took both of us just to keep one dragon at bay." Rogue put in. "And even then, if it weren't for Aurora, we would have been defeated easily."
"And Acnologia's even tougher than that other guy was." Sting said as well. "Dante was right. We really are just third-rate Dragon Slayers, aren't we?"
"If you're feeling unsatisfied, then get stronger?" Aurora walked up to the pair as they looked up towards her. "Could you have done better? Probably. But knowing that means that you can only move forward from this point. So, what's it gonna be? Are you two just going to sit and sulk the rest of your lives? Or are you going to get off your assess and get stronger the right way?"
Sting looked to her with shaky eyes, but was mildly surprised to see Rogue getting back on his feet. "I've already made my choice. I'm going to change. I won't just get stronger. I want to become a better person. So that's what I'm going to do."
"And I'll be right with you Rogue." Frosch looked up to him with a smile.
Aurora nodded with a smile of her own. "Good choice." She then looked to Sting. "What about you?"
"You seriously think I can get stronger? A weakling like me?" The White Dragon Slayer asked.
"Hey, if Natsu can, then so can you!" Lector told him. "I know you, Sting. Maybe you weren't your best before, but you can always get better! And I'll be here to help you! Whenever you need me, I'll have your back. Partner." He said with a smile.
Sting's eyes shook at his Exceed companion before a resolute look formed on his face. With that, he stood back up on his feet. "Then let's get started."
Aurora, Rogue, Frosch, and Lector all smiled at that.
Dante and Natsu both saw the bisected skeleton in front of them glowing in the same manner, along with one of the Rebellions that Dante held, the one that was not from this timeline. Just like all of the dragons, the skeleton and sword were being sent back to their original time.
However, both looked in surprise to see a small shadow envelop around the right half of the skull, along with a tiny red glow in its eye.
"You gotta be kidding me…" Natsu muttered in annoyance. "Still kicking?"
"It doesn't matter." Dante said. "He's lost and he's going back."
A faint and horse laugh escaped from the teeth as the beaten entity spoke. "You… defeated us… But… the Legion… of your time… still exists. He will wait… until the time is right… When Yukino… and Frosch… meet their end… Rogue Cheney… will succumb to the darkness within. We… are his destiny."
"Destiny's overrated. It's not gonna happen." Dante glared.
"The only way… to stop us… is to kill Rogue… before we rise to power… Or… take the life… of the one who killed… Yukino and Frosch…Before they die at his hands…"
"Who?" Natsu questioned.
The right half of the skull curved its teeth, trying to give the impression of a smile as the entity gave his answer. "Gray… Fullbuster…"
Both Natsu and Dante's pupils shrunk at that.
One final laugh escaped from the skeleton before it disappeared forever, along with the second Rebellion, leaving only Dante and Natsu as they looked at each other with concern and uncertainty.
Only for both of their attention to be drawn to the last glow, to the Perfect Amulet that Dante wore around his neck. The one that belonged to the Lucy who came back to warn them. The one who died in front of them.
Dante held the amulet in his hand one last time before it faded away just like everything else. A small tear fell down his left eye as it did.
'Lucy… Did… did we do it…? Did we… save your future…?'
Her eyes slowly fluttered open as Lucy found herself staring straight up at a clear blue sky. Slowly pushing herself up, Lucy looked around at her surroundings. She appeared to be lying in a field of golden grass that stretched out in all directions with a gentle breeze blowing across the field. It was rather beautiful.
"What…? What was all that…? A dream…?" She wondered aloud. Just a moment ago, she was with all her friends in the palace, helping them to stop a terrible event from occurring. Did this mean… that they accomplished their goal? Were they able to stop that horrible future from occurring?
Looking to the back of her hand, Lucy gasped somewhat as she saw the pink Fairy Tail emblem. She remembered when it vanished upon using all of her magic power to fuel and use the Eclipse Gate to travel back. But it was still here? She smiled as she cradled her own hand before standing up on her feet. She began to walk away, trying to figure out where she was before she heard a familiar voice call to her.
"Hey! Lucy!"
Turning around, she saw something that made her eyes widen into perfect circles.
It was Natsu! He was here! Alongside Dante and Happy, and all of her friends and family right behind them.
"About time you showed up." Her cousin said with crossed arms and his titular grin.
"We've been waiting for you." The blue Exceed added as he hovered with his wings.
Lucy couldn't believe it. They were here… all of them… She even looked past the three in front of her to see everyone else in Fairy Tail. Lisanna, Wendy, Carla, Erza, Gray, Trish, Lady, Mira, Elfman, Nero, Kyrie, Makarov, Levy, Cana, Gajeel, Juvia, Panther-Lily, Laxus, and everybody else that she had met and befriended in the guild she called her home.
And this wasn't just those in Fairy Tail. Standing alongside them, she also saw her father, Jude; her mother, Layla; her sister, Michelle; her uncle, Sparda; her aunt, Eva, with even Mavis right beside the two. And of course… she even saw Vergil standing there, looking toward her with a smile and a nod.
Tears were forming in her eyes as Natsu ran up to her and offer his hand. "Come on, we still got lots of adventures to go on!"
An emotional smile appeared on her face as she saw the smiling face of Natsu… her Natsu… In this moment, she knew that she was in the afterlife. But that didn't matter. Her heart had told her that those she left in the past, those she tried to help…
They succeeded. They had won and changed their future.
Whatever happened next for them was up to them to decide.
But here… in this moment… she was with all her loved ones. And that was enough for her.
"Yeah…!" She grasped Natsu's hand as he pulled her along, with Dante and Happy right beside her, they joined the rest of their friends and family as they moved forward.
Back in the present, Vergil remained in his kneeling position as the weakened and injured Nero and Lucia stood over him, with Jellal continuing to support Erza as they stood at a reasonable distance.
Arcadios, after seeing Hisui was tended to by Gandelina, along with Lucy, Yukino, and Kyrie, made his way over and looked down at the defeated Devil Prince, unable to see his face.
"Vergil. I am placing you under arrest for crimes against the Kingdom of Fiore." He told him. "Please do not resist. It's over."
"This battle is indeed over…" Vergil muttered. "But… what's happened here… is only the beginning."
Gandelina looked in his direction, where she caught the glimpse of something in Vergil's hand. A black orb that shined slightly.
The hooded woman gasped the second she saw it. "Arcadios! Everyone! Get away from him now!"
The orb dropped from his hand and touched the ground, which shattered before exploding outward in a flash of black light. This forced Nero, Lucia, and Arcadios back as they and everyone else in the area to look in shock to see the black light envelop Vergil before it faded away.
When the black light vanished, Vergil was gone. Like he was never even there.
"The hell was that…?!" Nero questioned.
"A spatial lacrima." Gandelina explained as she approached the spot where Vergil was. "A very rare form of lacrima, which possess the ability to warp space. Using it allows one the ability to teleport, but it can only be used once before the crystal breaks under the pressure." She kneeled down to pick up a tiny fragment of the lacrima. "He must have had this in the event he needed a quick escape."
'Of course he did.' Dante looked away with a mixed expression. So many complicated feelings filled his body, among them was anger and frustration. Not only has his twin brother once again embarked on his foolish path of obtaining power, he has managed to slip away and escape punishment yet again.
"Bastard…" Natsu growled. But he happened to turn in the direction of Lucy, who could only stare blankly at the spot where her oldest cousin once was.
He was gone… just like that… he left. Not even a word was said to her… he didn't even pay her a single glance. She had so much she wanted to say to him… so much hope that she could still turn him away from his path of power and redeem him. Even if he had to face punishment, she would be by his side and help him through it.
But he was gone now. Gone and away from her.
A tear slipped down her face before she even realized it.
Natsu then walked up to her, or rather limped to her, before kneeling down to her level as he looked in sympathy. He knew how much she wanted to make amends with Vergil. Even if he didn't like him, and probably wouldn't, she wanted to start things over with him. Her heart was broken… and Natsu hated seeing her like that.
"I'm sorry, Lucy."
The second he said those words, she leapt at him and cried her eyes out. Lucy buried her face into his shoulder as she sobbed, prompting him to wrap his arms around her and give what comfort he could.
Happy, Lisanna, Wendy, Carla, and Kyrie came to her next as they too embraced her, providing any sort of solace as they allowed their friend to grieve.
Erza, Jellal, Laxus, Yukino, and Sheeree… they all looked towards Lucy with sympathy while Hisui, Arcadios, Lucia, and Kagura all had serious expressions of their own. Even Gandelina held her head down somewhat.
Dante looked towards his own cousin in pity as he saw her fall apart like this. He then felt a hand touch his own and glanced to his right to see Trish looking at him with the same expression everyone was giving their cousin, followed by a hand firmly gripped on his left shoulder, belonging to Nero as also looked at him..
"Sorry." That's all he could say.
Dante only nodded as he accepted both of their gestures, a single tear dripping down his own face as well.
Done.
Finally! The dragon invasion has come to an end!
I'm sure you all have noticed that there were a few changes from canon. Most notably that Ultear didn't use her Last Ages spell to reverse time and is still her current age. Don't get me wrong, that was a beautiful moment in the anime… but I wanted to change some things up this time around. I have plans for Ultear in the future, some big plans indeed. Besides, this battle was being coordinated by both Mavis and Sparda. The fairy tactician, and the Dark Knight who has millennia of experience leading large-scale battles just like this. With both of their efforts, they were able to coordinate enough of an effort to keep the dragons at bay with minimum casualties while Dante, Natsu, and everyone destroyed the Eclipse Gate and sent the dragons back to the past.
But not before Future Legion left them a dire warning. According to him… Gray is the one who will one day kill Yukino and Frosch and send Rogue down the path that would ultimately allow his inner darkness to consume him. How will Natsu and Dante handle this? You will see.
And lastly… despite being beaten… Vergil managed to slip away yet again. That may disappoint a few of you who were probably looking for Vergil to finally receive punishment for all of his actions. But… pay attention to what happened with him here. Things are going to be very interesting for him going forward.
But yeah. The main battles for this monster of an arc are finally over. All that's left are three epilogue chapters to tie off any loose ends and open the door for the next arc. Thank you all for your support and patience. I'll see you with the next chapter soon.
Until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there.