"Gray has a marker on him..."
Raizel had just been about to say that they only needed to follow the marker.
"Then it's simple! Let's go destroy this purification operation or whatever! I'm fired up!"
Raizel smiled helplessly.
"Fine. Let's go!"
...
Avatar's headquarters and branch members had gathered together.
Led by Arlock, the core members looked down at the town below them.
Behind them, believers stood shoulder to shoulder, and dozens of black flags bearing Avatar's emblem fluttered in the wind.
Dressed in black hoods, their expressions were solemn.
For the sake of the Purification Operation, members from the different branches, who had never known one another before, had all gathered in one place.
They firmly believed that even if the Magic Council's army came, it would not be able to defeat their faith.
Facing the cultists, Arlock spread his arms and raised his staff high.
"The Purification Operation against Malba Town begins now!"
"This town is without sin, and its tens of thousands of lives still continue without knowing anything."
"I believe these innocent souls will guide Zeref to this land."
"Black Wizard Zeref!"
"In order to follow him, we shall offer thirty thousand souls here! Purify every life within the town!"
"Advance!"
With Arlock's command, Avatar's believers charged toward Malba Town below with all sorts of weapons in hand.
A huge ice wall suddenly rose from the ground, blocking the cultists' path.
"Ice-Make: Ice Wall!"
Standing at the town gate, Ultear created a massive ice wall that directly sealed off Malba Town's entrance.
A flash of red light passed, and Wendy, Lucy, Natsu, and the others appeared in front of the wall.
"Don't even think of taking another step forward!"
Yet the cultists showed no fear at all. Shouting about purification, they charged toward Natsu and the others.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!"
"I'm joining in too! Open, Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!"
"Then... Star Dress: Taurus Form!"
Taurus Star Dress transferred Taurus's power into Lucy's body, increasing her strength.
Natsu grew extremely excited.
"Ohhh!!! So this is that new form Lucy was talking about?"
...
"Lord Jerome, enemies have appeared in the rear as well! Our losses are severe!"
"What?! Has the Magic Council's army arrived already?"
Jerome frowned and asked in a low voice.
"No... There are only four of them..."
...
Raizel, Erza, Kagura, and Mira had appeared behind Arlock and the others.
It was mainly Kagura and Mira who were taking action.
Raizel merely flew in the air and provided cover with his Garuru Cannon, while Gray, standing beside them, directly turned on Avatar and began attacking the cultists.
Erza and Kagura each wielded one katana and one sword, moving through the cultists like meat grinders.
Mira, meanwhile, had taken over Satan Soul: Seilah, commanding the cultists to fight among themselves.
At the front, the roars of Natsu and Wendy swept across the battlefield.
"For Miss Lucy!!!"
Taurus brought his axe down in a mighty swing.
"You don't need to shout that so loudly!!!"
Lucy complained while her hands kept moving, lashing her whip across the ground with Earth Wave and carving cracks into the earth, showing everyone her monstrous strength.
"We should also let them know the terror of Black Magic."
Briar and Mary prepared to personally deal with Natsu and Lucy.
Jerome, Gomon, D-6, and Abel planned to meet Erza and the others attacking from the rear.
But reality did not go according to their wishes.
The truth was that the gap in strength was simply too large.
Jerome, who was known as the Dark Sword, had his dark blade cut apart directly by Kagura's dragon-slaying sword.
Then the scabbard of Cursed Blade: Archenemy slammed heavily onto Jerome's head, knocking him unconscious.
As for Gomon, D-6, and Abel, those three core members could not even get close to Mira.
She used her command ability to force the three of them to fight among themselves, and Raizel sent an Absolute Zero shot their way.
"Requip: Ethereal Armor!"
This armor was a beautiful white dress with a trailing back hem, tied with a red belt edged in gold.
The upper body included red-and-white sleeveless sections and rose decorations, paired with over-the-knee red high heels. Erza's crimson hair was tied up.
Aside from that, the Ethereal Armor also included swords for various purposes.
Two rows of long swords formed sword wings behind her, complementing Erza's heroic bearing and making her look like a noble and elegant female knight whose sharpness could not be hidden.
The eight swords behind Erza flew through the battlefield, constantly reaping enemies.
The abnormal status Magic Mary cast on Lucy and Taurus was removed by Wendy's healing Magic.
"Status-effect Magic is useless against Sky Magic."
Without her abnormal status effects, Mary was nothing.
Lucy punched her in the abdomen, and Taurus's tremendous strength sent Mary flying backward, knocking down a group of cultists.
Briar attacked Gray, but Gray was not shaken in the slightest.
That said, Briar was not weak either. Her clone Magic allowed her to calmly deal with Gray's attacks.
The four Briars all spoke separately.
Among them, the Briar in love seemed to have some interest in Gray...
Gray suddenly felt the hairs on his back stand on end.
"So you are my love rival, right?"
Juvia, who had been hiding in the shadows all along, slowly stepped out.
"Water Double Fang!"
The furious Juvia injured the lovestruck Briar at a speed Gray's naked eyes could not even catch, while Gray froze the other three strange Briars.
"Sky Dragon's Wave Wind!"
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
A wind tornado and a fire tornado swept across the battlefield again, sending a large number of cultists flying.
There were not many people left around Arlock now.
"Lord Arlock, the rear has completely collapsed, and the front cannot invade the town either!"
The believers surrounding him kept speaking discouraging words. Though, strictly speaking, they were not exactly discouraging words.
They were simply the truth.
And Natsu had already fought his way in front of Arlock.
Arlock, however, remained calm and composed.
"The current situation is still within expectations. When Ikusatsunagi shakes the earth, purification will begin."
After all, to him, core members, companions, all of them were nothing more than pieces to be used in order to reach his goal.
"Then I'll go beyond your expectations."
Natsu smashed through the layers of light walls Arlock summoned with unstoppable momentum.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
His fist directly drove Arlock's head into the ground.
The explosion caused by the flames sent the surrounding core members flying.
Yet Arlock, lying on the ground, laughed as he spoke.
"You are the ones who lost..."
Arlock knelt on the ground, both palms raised toward the sky.
"Come, War God with whom I forged a contract! I shall pay a price equal to your value, so lend me your power!"
"Ikusatsunagi, summon!"
A wisp of purple light rose into the sky.
In an instant, the originally clear sky darkened. Purple clouds slowly covered the air above Malba Town.
Within the purple clouds, there seemed to be a vortex.
All fighting across the battlefield came to a halt, and everyone raised their heads to look at the sky.
"A Magic Power vortex?"
"Wendy?"
"The feeling in the air has changed."
Wendy frowned.
This was Arlock's sacrificial summoning, calling forth one of the Yakuma Eighteen War Gods-Ikusatsunagi.
The plain split open in an instant, and thunder exploded in the sky!
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