"HAHAHA! Just let yourself get sucked in!"
Bluenote laughed heartily as he watched Gildarts sliding closer and closer to the Super Gravity Ball.
Gildarts simply sighed and raised a single, glowing white hand.
CRACK.
Soon, Bluenote's laughter died in his throat, his pupils constricting sharply in sheer horror.
The supposedly invincible Super Gravity Ball fractured. It was sliced by Gildarts' Crash magic into countless, harmless glowing cubes before vanishing into thin air.
The surrounding rocks and raindrops immediately resumed their normal course, dropping heavily to the ground.
"Since you seem so eager to fly..." Gildarts glared, stepping forward through the dissipating magic.
"I'll send you flying."
"How is this possible?! How can mere magic crack gravity?!" Bluenote screamed, unable to believe his eyes.
He could accept that his physical combat skills were no match for Gildarts, but having his proud, ultimate spell so effortlessly shattered was something his ego couldn't accept.
"Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Empyrean!"
Gildarts delivered a devastating, magic-infused uppercut directly to the chin of the already demoralized Bluenote.
The impact sounded like a cannon firing.
Bluenote shot straight up into the sky like a rocket, his body piercing through the thick rain clouds and turning into a distant, twinkling star.
During their earlier close-quarters combat, Gildarts had only coated his body with a thin, protective layer of magical power.
But for this final punch, Gildarts had gone all out.
Even if Bluenote somehow survived the atmospheric reentry, he wouldn't be capable of fighting for a very long time.
Gildarts couldn't be bothered to chase him.
An opponent like this, no matter how many times he came back, Gildarts could defeat him each time, and it would only get easier with each bout.
A few more fights, and Gildarts could reenact the classic tale of capturing and releasing an opponent seven times just to break their spirit.
"It's over!" Gildarts stretched lazily, popping his neck and reverting to his usual, laid-back demeanor.
...
High in the Tenrou Tree, Ultear used her Magic Crystal ball to check the battles happening elsewhere.
"Gildarts' fight is over. Only the duels between Raizel and Jellal, and the one involving the Guild Master remain. Natsu and the others are rushing to aid Lily and Happy."
Ultear stood up, brushing off her skirt. "Alright, time to move out. Can't have me looking too idle..."
She leaped gracefully down from the high branch and headed east towards where the dark airship was docked.
Azuma was already dead, and the remaining foot soldiers couldn't cause any significant damage to the Tenrou Tree.
The minor cuts they inflicted were healed faster than the tree could naturally regenerate, as the vast magical power of Tenrou Island actively protected its sacred core.
...
Deep in the forest—
After forcing Jellal back with a heavy sword strike, Raizel lowered his weapon and dispelled his Take Over armor.
"Alright, let's stop fighting. We've put on enough of a show for Hades' sensors. It's time to deal with the final opponent."
"I want to go help him..." Jellal murmured, lowering his hands.
Jellal knew exactly who Raizel was referring to as the final opponent.
No matter what atrocities others said about Precht, he had, after all, been Jellal's teacher and mentor for years.
Raizel shook his head. "I won't let the Seven Kin of Purgatory go, but as for Precht, I won't kill him. You can leave without worry. I'll give you Meredy's location, take her and leave Grimoire Heart behind."
Precht had simply strayed far from the path in his desperate, misguided quest to find a way to resurrect Mavis.
Of course, Raizel wouldn't allow Precht to ever return to Fairy Tail again.
But Precht should still be considered a vital combat asset, possessing prowess on par with one of the Four Gods of Ishgar.
He was most likely only below God Serena, who had infused himself with eight Dragon Slayer Magic Lacrimas.
After all, this was a rare talent historically praised by the Black Wizard Zeref himself.
If there really was a continental war later against Alvarez, Precht would be a highly useful pawn.
What a waste it would be if he died here.
Raizel used Archive Magic, transmitting Meredy's exact GPS location data directly into Jellal's mind.
"Alright, I've sent you Meredy's coordinates. Find your own way to get her out of here safely."
"From now on, stay away from both legal guilds and dark guilds," Raizel advised.
"If you really want to run a guild and atone for your sins, establish your own independent one."
Jellal and Meredy would have a hard time clearing their names for now, given the notorious reputation of the Seven Kin of Purgatory.
Not to mention Jellal was personally responsible for the fiery collapse of the previous Magic Council and their headquarters.
"Thank you. I will take my leave now." Jellal bowed slightly to Raizel.
He was deeply grateful for Raizel saving his life in their childhood, for the trust and cooperation during this chaotic war, and for sparring both Precht and Meredy.
He knew Raizel could have easily killed Meredy and Precht if he wanted to—Jellal wouldn't have been able to stop him—yet Raizel chose to let them both live.
"Alright, get going quickly. The Council's naval forces are still nearby. Speaking of which, I need to go intervene with them," Raizel sighed.
After saying this, Raizel teleported away from the clearing.
...
Raizel arrived silently at a damp coastal cave where he found Doranbolt locked in a frantic, panicked internal conflict.
"Doranbolt... no, I should probably call you Mest," Raizel announced his presence.
"Who's there?! Oh, it's you, Raizel," Doranbolt jumped, spinning around. "No... you should indeed call me Doranbolt."
Mest's memory modification was so incredibly thorough that he still genuinely believed he was a loyal Council member, despite his recent treason.
"Return to your battleship, Doranbolt. Hand the Long-range Communication Lacrima over to me. The battle is about to end."
"What battle?! It's Zeref! The Black Wizard Zeref is here!" Doranbolt shouted, gripping his hair as if he'd gone mad.
"I'm well aware. But Zeref has already left, and he's been gone for quite some time." Raizel raised a hand, using Archive Magic to project a glowing holographic image showing Zeref leaving the island via teleportation magic earlier.
Doranbolt stared at the projection, panting.
He had been torn between conflicting thoughts—his rigid rationality told him he must immediately notify the Council to deploy Etherion and eliminate both Tenrou Island and Grimoire Heart together, but his human emotions and memories of Wendy warned him against mass murder, which is why he had hesitated and stolen the lacrima.
"Grimoire Heart only has their Guild Master Hades left standing now. The Seven Kin of Purgatory are either dead, captured, or wounded," Raizel stated calmly.
There were still a few surviving members of the Seven Kin, though Raizel had already locked onto their exact coordinates.
"Here's the deal," Raizel offered. "I will hand over those remaining Seven Kin members to you as a political trade. You give me the Long-range Communication Lacrima, and you get the bounties for the Seven Kin members. This should help you cleanly complete your infiltration mission, maybe even earn you a massive promotion."
"Let me think about it," Doranbolt muttered, closing his eyes to consider the heavy offer.
Raizel continued pressing, his tone dropping.
"You know what my magic is capable of, Doranbolt. You are no match for me. Your Teleportation Magic won't work to escape me—I can use it too."
"Deal!" Doranbolt snapped his eyes open, knowing he had no real choice.
Raizel appeared to offer him two diplomatic options, but in reality, there was only one, since Raizel could easily overpower him and take the crystal by force.
"Pleasure doing business with you," Raizel smiled.
They shook hands, sealing their tense agreement.
"First, give me the Long-range Communication Lacrima. Then I'll take you to capture those Seven Kin members," Raizel instructed.
"Fine!" Doranbolt gritted his teeth, handing over the heavy crystal.
He ultimately decided to trust Raizel this once.
Raizel took the priceless magical artifact and casually crushed the entire lacrima into fine powder with one hand, letting the dust blow away in the sea breeze.
"Let's go. They're scattered in several locations. Don't resist, I'll take you there." Raizel naturally wouldn't break the agreement.
Doranbolt's promotion within the government would be highly beneficial for Fairy Tail after all, since he was the spy secretly sent by Makarov.
A glowing Teleportation Magic Circle emerged beneath Raizel's feet.
Doranbolt took a deep breath and stepped onto it, vanishing into the light.