When Racer heard Cobra's shout, confusion flickered across his face. Run away? What the hell was he talking about? Why would they need to retreat now?
He'd already activated his Dead Grand Prix—his speed magic made him the fastest thing in its area of effect. Everyone else moved like they were stuck in molasses compared to him. As long as he kept attacking, there was no way his opponent could escape.
Shouldn't they be pressing the attack? Racer opened his mouth to ask Cobra what he meant, but the Poison Dragon Slayer had already taken off on Cubellios, the purple snake soaring into the sky without so much as a backward glance.
Even someone as slow on the uptake as Racer understood what that meant. Danger. Serious danger. Cobra's sound magic must have picked up something deadly in their opponent's thoughts. Racer immediately bolted, sprinting away as fast as his legs could carry him.
"Too late!" Dino grinned, slamming his fists together. The two spherical auras of vibration power merged into one, and then he drove both hands downward with crushing force.
"GURARARARA!"
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The air itself shattered like glass under his fists, spiderweb fractures spreading through space.
"BOOOOOOM!"
In an instant, tens of thousands of square meters of earth erupted in front of Dino. It was as if a massive bomb had detonated underground—everything within range was launched skyward by the catastrophic shockwave, debris and dirt fountaining over a thousand meters into the air.
Cobra had barely climbed five hundred meters when the devastating tremor caught up with him, the shockwave slamming into him and Cubellios like a giant's fist.
Racer had it even worse. He was still completely within the attack's radius, and no matter how fast he ran with his Dead Grand Prix, he couldn't outpace an earthquake that had already begun.
"No! AHHHHHHH!" Racer's scream cut through the air as the ground exploded beneath him, swallowing him whole in the impact.
Everyone scattered throughout the forest felt the violent earthquake, eyes turning toward the terrifying explosion blooming in the distance.
"Oh my God! Who made that guy angry THIS time?!" Lucy yelped, her jaw dropping at the sight.
Gray wiped sweat from his brow, a nervous laugh escaping him. "Thank God I'm far enough away from Dino. Getting caught in that would be a nightmare!"
Erza cut down her last opponent with a clean slash, sheathing her sword. "We've finally dealt with all these small fries, but we still haven't encountered any of the Oración Seis members yet. I wonder how many Dino's taken out by now."
Angel and Hoteye of the Oración Seis both stared in shock at the distant explosion, identical expressions of disbelief on their faces.
"Cobra and Racer went after that monster?" Angel muttered, watching the mushroom cloud rise. "Thank goodness I didn't volunteer for that suicide mission."
"Money is power! That Dino fellow must be incredibly wealthy!" Hoteye declared sagely, arms crossed.
Angel shot him a sideways look, one eyebrow raised. "Don't you love money? Why don't you go try your luck then?"
"I do love money above all else—which is precisely why I never fight people richer than I am."
"What kind of logic is that?" Angel sighed, kicking the groaning mage at her feet. "Whatever. Only Fairy Tail is left now. Can't avoid fighting them forever. I just hope Brain unseals Nirvana soon. The last thing I want is to face him."
Scattered around them, the members of Blue Pegasus's Trimens and Lamia Scale lay injured and defeated—clear evidence of the pair's handiwork.
Wendy and Carla both trembled, their small faces pale with fear. Today had been full of shocking revelations, one after another.
Who was this Dino Maxim person? No—was he even human?!
"Much better now."
Brain stood in the distance, working on Nirvana's final seal. Two of the tattoo marks on his face vanished simultaneously, and he grimaced—the disappearance of each seal came with its own unique pain.
"So Cobra and Racer have fallen…" Brain murmured, a dark smile crossing his features. "Your sacrifice won't be in vain. I'll make sure your dreams are realized."
Click. Click. Click.
Brain completed the final unlocking sequence.
"BOOM!"
A massive black beam of light erupted into the sky, drawing every eye in the forest.
"What is that?!" Lucy gasped, staring at the ominous pillar.
Erza's expression turned grim, her hand instinctively moving to her sword. "What evil magic… Even from this distance, I can feel how dark and terrible it is!"
"Could that be the legendary Nirvana?" Gray wondered aloud.
"We're too late!" Erza hissed.
Angel and Hoteye's eyes widened when they saw the black light beam pierce the heavens.
"The boss actually did it," Angel breathed. "He's unlocked Nirvana!"
At that moment, Natsu—who'd been the first to charge into the forest—finally reached Brain's location. The moment he spotted the dark mage, he rushed forward without hesitation.
But a figure immediately blocked his path: a young man with short black hair, red eyes, skull earrings dangling from both ears, and purple-painted lips. This was Midnight, strongest of the Oración Seis.
"You're not allowed to disturb Father!" Midnight declared coldly.
"Get out of my way!" Natsu's fists ignited with roaring flames as he swung at Midnight, but the spell-warping mage dodged with minimal effort.
Brain chuckled darkly. "Midnight, there's no need to worry. Let him witness Nirvana's true form."
Natsu blinked in confusion. "True form?"
Brain spread his arms wide, shouting to the heavens: "Awaken! Nirvana! REVEAL YOURSELF!"
The thick black beam of light suddenly swelled, doubling in size.
Natsu felt the ground beneath his feet begin to tremble. Ancient ruins started rising from the earth, lifting skyward. Then the trembling intensified—everything in the forest shook violently.
With the light beam as its center, massive leg-like structures composed of rock and earth began erupting from the ground. Six enormous appendages stirred the earth like the tentacles of some colossal beast.
Trees were uprooted and snapped like twigs as the legs tore through the forest. Everyone scrambled to avoid being crushed by the massive limbs.
After several minutes of earth-shaking movement, a gigantic circular landmass was lifted high into the air, supported by the six towering legs. Atop the floating earth sat the ruins of what appeared to be an ancient, long-abandoned city.
Nearly everyone who witnessed it stood frozen in shock.
"Oh my God! What IS that thing?!" Lucy shrieked, her eyes as wide as saucers.
"The city's floating in the sky! Is that some kind of walking ancient city?!" Gray stammered, equally stunned.
Erza's face was deadly serious. "If I'm not mistaken, that monstrosity is Nirvana—the dangerous weapon the Oración Seis has been searching for."
Dino and Wendy also stared up at the colossal structure. Both Wendy and Carla were speechless, too frightened to even form words.
Brain threw his head back and laughed. "HAHAHAHA! At last! I finally possess Nirvana! Now then, to prevent any complications…" His eyes gleamed with malice. "Let me turn the most dangerous person here into our ally!"
Nirvana suddenly shifted, something resembling a massive cannon rotating to aim directly at Dino's location.
"Ah, here we go again…"
Dino sighed, shaking his head in exasperation. He'd had a bad feeling the moment that oversized hunk of rock had risen into the sky.
But why did they always target him first? Was this what happened to nice guys? Did being reasonable mean you got bullied?