Rumble, rumble.
Inside the Magic Colossus, Erza, clad in her Heaven's Wheel Armor, cut down the Phantom Lord grunts swarming toward her.
"It's already started... Chase..."
Looking up at the ceiling, from which rubble constantly fell, Erza's eyes flickered with concern. "We need to stop Purgatory Break quickly..."
As she murmured to herself, the floor before she began to ripple.
"Magnificent and beautiful Fairy Queen. What an honor to meet you here. At such a time, one should greet you with a 372-beat rhythm and say good afternoon. No~ No~ No~"
Sol, the Earth Element 4 member, slowly emerged, writhing his unnervingly smooth "form." The eye behind his monocle gleamed with undisguised sleaze.
"You're one of Phantom Lord's Element 4?" Erza frowned.
"Yes indeed, Fairy Queen. Though it may be slightly discourteous to a lady, given that you are an exceptional and powerful mage, I trust you'll forgive my impertinence." Sol spoke with sinister smoothness.
Though she didn't fully understand his meaning, Erza had no desire to pursue the matter. She had no patience for such odd creatures.
"Requip: Black Wing Armor!"
Black wings kicked up a gust of wind. In an instant, Erza shot toward Sol, her sword gleaming with cold light.
Sol merely sneered, unhurriedly stroking his small green mustache.
"I regret to inform you that I have peered into the deepest recesses of your heart, where your greatest weakness lies."
Gurgle, gurgle.
The ground before him bulged repeatedly, shifting like clay as it formed several figures—children, all wearing manacles.
Jellal, Wally, Shô, Simon, and Millianna—all of Erza's childhood friends from the Tower of Heaven.
"Erza, why won't you stay here with me?"
"Erza... it hurts. It hurts so much! Why haven't you come back to see me all these years?"
"Erza, why did you betray us? Weren't we supposed to leave together? Why were you the only one who got freedom?"
Finally, even Master Rob—who had given his life to protect Erza—appeared, his face a bloody ruin as he let out agonized moans.
All of them stared at Erza with venomous hatred, closing in step by step.
Even though she knew it was an illusion conjured by the Earth mage, Erza's charge faulted. Her sword clattered to the ground.
Those familiar faces brought back painful memories.
It was a wound she had yet to heal—a festering scar on her heart.
"Heh. Got her."
In the brief moment Erza froze at the sight of Jellal and the others, mist gathered behind her.
Aria materialized from it, a sinister smile on his lips. His hands slowly reached toward Erza, forming a peculiar field.
"The Fairy Queen, dancing in the wind... in the end, her wings are broken and she falls. What a tragic story..."
Aria feigned tears even as he brought his magic-charged palms together without hesitation, unleashing a spell that drained the target's magic power.
"Airspace: Extinction!"
Erza snapped back from her traumatic memories, but before she could evade, she was engulfed by a magic circle radiating terrible energy.
An agonizing sensation followed—her magic power, like an avalanche, rapidly drained from her.
BOOM!
At the critical moment, the ceiling above violently shook. A jet-black demonic claw tore through the stone, striking with incredible speed toward Aria.
Aria's eyes went wide. He was forced to abort his spell, dissolving into formless mist to evade the sudden attack.
A tall, curvaceous demon figure dropped from above, catching Erza as she stumbled.
"I sensed your magic signature and struck immediately, but..."
Mirajane glanced toward Aria, who had regrouped with Sol, her expression cold. "To be ambushed by trash like that... that's not like you, Erza."
"I'm sorry..." Erza lowered her head, her expression dark.
After a moment to compose herself, her eyes regained their sharpness and resolve. A flash of light enveloped her as she requipped into her formidable Purgatory Armor.
She would make those bastards who toys with others' memories taste hell.
Seeing this, Mira's lingering concern completely vanished, replaced by a fierce demonic grin.
"Come to think of it, this is the first time we've fought side by side, isn't it? In these forms."
Erza's eyes blazed with infernal light as she nodded firmly. "We need to show these enemies who attacked our guild and comrades what we're made of!"
With that, the Demon and the Queen of Purgatory exploded with overwhelming power.
"Uh-oh... this looks bad..."
Sol was starting to lose his nerve. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
Though they were all S-Class, for some reason, he felt only primal fear.
The magic power these two women were unleashing could crush him without effort!
"Since the ambush failed, there's nothing for it."
Aria, by contrast, remained calm.
He smiled grimly as he unwound the bandages restraining his immense magical power, revealing a pair of strange eyes.
"Now is the time to savor battle, Sol—to grant our enemies endless sorrow and despair!"
A few moments earlier, another battlefield.
Natsu, struggling against Totomaru, steadied himself as the floor lurched and put distance between them.
"This magic power..." Lucy hovered in the air with Happy, staring at the trembling Magic Colossus in shock.
She had arrived later, following the trail of blazing flames to find Natsu.
"No doubt about it. Chase is fighting Jose." Natsu grinned.
"Heh. I don't know where you get the confidence to smile like that."
Totomaru had sensed his master's magic power as well. "Our master's power is beyond your imagination. Anyone foolish enough to challenge him will regret it."
"You don't know how strong Chase is!" Natsu shot back without hesitation.
"A man who can't even control his own flames has no credibility." Totomaru sneered.
"Is that so? Want to try again?"
Natsu knocked his fists together, his grin widening.
After all this fighting, he had figured out his opponent's magic. His confidence in his flames was absolute.
As if to prove his point, Natsu unleashed his Dragon Slayer Magic right in front of Totomaru.
***
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