"What the hell is that?!"
Across the enormous land, sea, and aerial battlefields, nearly every soldier looked up in terror as though they were witnessing a natural disaster.
The gigantic island had been reduced to countless perfectly shaped cubes in the blink of an eye, and now every one of them hung suspended above their heads.
Watching from the rear command post, Rein broke into a cold sweat.
"Was that the work of Ishgar's Four Gods?"
"No."
Before Rein's panicked thoughts could run any further, a red-haired young man behind him spoke first.
"According to our intelligence, none of Ishgar's Four Gods are accomplished swordsmen."
Rein froze, then immediately recognized him as a member of the Dark Dragon Slayer Knights.
"But other than them, who could possibly possess that kind of power?"
Suzaku narrowed his eyes at the sky.
His long crimson hair flowed behind him, and he wore the clothing of a wandering samurai with a katana at his waist.
"That is what puzzles me. Among Ishgar's guild mages, only Erza, Kagura, and a handful of others are known to practice swordsmanship. Yet with their strength…"
Suzaku had clearly studied Ishgar's intelligence in considerable detail, but the doubt in his voice revealed just how little he thought of Erza and the others.
"Wait…"
As Rein listened to Suzaku's increasingly bewildered muttering, something suddenly occurred to him.
Cube had originally been falling toward Ishgar's defensive line.
But now…
Weren't all those pieces coming toward them?
...
On the shattered remains of Cube, the mages resting atop the floating blocks gradually awakened from Alegria.
The first thing they saw was the breathtaking spectacle surrounding them.
"Amazing!!"
Sting shouted excitedly while clinging to his chunk of stone.
A moment later, his face turned green as though he were about to vomit.
Jura gazed across the endless field of suspended cubes and sighed in admiration.
"As expected of Ankh-dono. To think his swordsmanship was this extraordinary as well."
"Lucy, why do you look so exhausted?"
Gray studied Lucy, who was breathing like she had just run across the entire continent.
Lucy nearly burst into bitter tears as she pointed toward the barely living Jackal lying nearby.
Just before Ankh split the island apart, she had finally managed to defeat him.
The magic she used was a new technique derived from Celestial Spirit Magic and developed by combining elements of Requip and Transformation Magic—Star Dress.
Urano Metria allowed Lucy to release the power of the stars directly through her own body. It had long been one of the few ability-based spells she possessed.
Using the same principle, Lucy had learned to channel the magic of an individual Celestial Spirit through herself, manifesting its power in the form of clothing.
At that very moment, she was wearing an elegant black-and-gold dress with broad skirts. The last traces of golden Regulus light were fading from her hands.
This was Leo Form, a Star Dress that allowed her to wield Regulus Magic directly.
Natsu stared blankly at the strange scene around him.
Then he abruptly sprang to his feet and looked around in alarm.
"Where are the demons?! Come out and fight me!"
"They've already been dealt with."
Ankh floated over while controlling the stone beneath his feet.
Only then did Natsu fully register where he was.
His face turned pale, and he immediately began retching.
Ophiuchus kindly transferred his motion sickness to the unconscious Jackal while Ankh continued giving instructions.
"Natsu, take Gajeel, Wendy, Sting, Rogue, and the other Dragon Slayers. Meet up with Crime Sorcière and stop Face from activating."
Laxus clutched his wounds and asked grimly,
"Face was activated after all?"
Ankh nodded.
After a moment's hesitation, he took a Lacrima from his bag and handed it over.
"There are three thousand Face units, and you only have thirty minutes. If you truly can't destroy them all in time, crush this and let…"
Ankh paused before finally continuing.
"Let Igneel and the others help."
Natsu's eyes widened.
Beside him, Gajeel asked tensely,
"Won't that cause problems for them?"
"Their injuries have mostly healed, and the problems inside your bodies have already been dealt with."
Ankh had long since told Natsu, Gajeel, and the others that their dragons were living inside them.
Their foster parents had remained hidden because they needed to prevent their adopted children from transforming into dragons through Dragon Slayer Magic, and because they themselves were still recovering from their wounds.
Yet now Ankh was already considering calling them out.
"Is the situation that serious?" Natsu asked worriedly, sensing the implications.
"At this point, they have to appear whether they want to or not. Someone planned this entire operation knowing they would."
Once Ankh finished explaining, Natsu immediately gathered the Dragon Slayers and hurried back into Ishgar to begin their mission.
Three thousand Face units sounded overwhelming, but they were concentrated within several regions rather than scattered evenly across the whole continent.
There was still a chance the Dragon Slayers could destroy them before the countdown ended.
Laxus sat wearily on his stone and glanced toward the half-dead Serena lying on another block.
"So what now? Who are we fighting next?"
"The mages from Guiltina."
Ankh pointed toward the ferocious battle raging below.
Laxus could not help sighing.
"They really don't give us a moment to breathe."
Jura forced himself upright.
Some of his Magic Power had recovered, and conviction filled his voice.
"As citizens of Ishgar, we also have a duty to repel these invaders!"
"Then let's go!"
Seeing that most of them had recovered enough to fight, Ankh shouted to the group.
Everyone immediately answered with a roar.
And then the exact disaster Ishgar had feared was finally unleashed upon Guiltina instead.
Ankh swept one hand downward.
Tens of thousands of neatly cut stone blocks thundered out of the sky, falling upon Guiltina's army like an enormous meteor shower.
Before the terrified Rein could even order his forces to seek cover, the fleet and naval army that had been advancing so triumphantly were crushed beneath the artificial natural disaster.
Ship after ship capsized and sank beneath the waves.
Watching his navy disappear into the depths—and thinking of the assassination teams that had already landed on the opposite shore and might never return—Rein felt his heart breaking.
"RETREAT! RETREAT!!"
Most of the soldiers had been left dazed and bleeding after taking a meteor shower directly to the face.
They fled in screaming disorder, while shock and fury stripped away the last of Rein's reason.
Guiltina's Magic Council had prepared thoroughly for this war.
If he returned after suffering such a humiliating defeat, bringing home nothing but scrap metal and crippled soldiers…
His future would be over.
Desperate, Rein turned toward the true pillars supporting this entire operation.
Kirin, leader of the Dark Dragon Slayer Knights, had already lifted the chained coffin onto his back.
He watched the mages descending rapidly from the sky with visible interest.
Misaki gracefully touched one cheek, anticipation shining in her divine yet unnerving cross-shaped eyes.
The little boy in the tiger-pelt hat was still grinning madly and shouting,
"Wendy, I'm coming!"
Suzaku, meanwhile, had locked his gaze onto a single person.
He wanted a sword duel!