It took Irene a day to devour the Power of Time and Space, which was quite a bit slower than Acnologia, who had mastered Devouring Magic. However, after the devouring was complete, the magic power erupting from her body reached a whole new level.
In fact, right after the devouring was finished, Irene was somewhat unable to control this terrifying Power of Time and Space. If Acnologia hadn't extracted a portion of the magic power in time, it might have overwhelmed her sanity.
This was Acnologia's mistake; he remembered that in the original story, even he found the Power of Time and Space difficult to control, requiring the constant release of magic. Irene was still quite a bit weaker than his original self, making it even harder for her to manage.
Feeling the vast magic power within her body, Irene was shocked: "Even I find this power incredibly unbelievable. I should be able to rival you as you were four hundred years ago now, right?"
Acnologia smiled: "Your magic power is certainly no longer inferior."
"What about actual strength?"
"I have an attribute-less Black Dragon Body; magic is ineffective against me. Do you think you can win in a physical fight against me while I'm using magic?"
"Fine, you're the best!"
Irene felt that this immunity to all magic was truly cheating, instantly rendering more than half of anyone's magic useless.
Of course, it was also because of this ability that Acnologia could dominate the dragon battlefields undefeated.
She withdrew her radiating magic power and said, "I feel like I've reached some kind of limit now. Improving my strength has become very slow. Did you experience this back then?"
Acnologia explained, "This should be a restriction of the world, to prevent the emergence of powerhouses who can wantonly destroy the world. I am also struggling to move forward now."
"So that's how it is. However, you're still getting stronger so fast; it doesn't feel like you've slowed down at all."
"If you compare it to how I reached the peak of the Dragon King level in two years, you'd know how slowly my strength is improving now. Without the world's limits, I wouldn't be far from being able to destroy the world with a flick of my wrist."
Irene realized it was true and couldn't help but be even more shocked. She hadn't thought about it deeply before, but now she finally realized just how terrifying Acnologia truly was.
That talent was simply peerless, as if he were born destined to be the king of the world.
Acnologia reached out and shattered space, letting a beam of sunlight shine in: "We've been out for eight months. It's time to go back and check things out."
"Let's go. I'll go find Monica first; she must be waiting anxiously."
...Acnologia brought out the yacht again, and then he and Irene used detection magic together to carefully sense Monica's magic power. However, due to the vastness of the ocean and the seawater's magic-blocking effect, the search was very difficult.
But they didn't search for long; Monica sensed the magic power above and emerged on her own. Seven months had passed in the blink of an eye, and she had thought Irene had abandoned her.
"Did you find the Dragon Gate?"
Irene asked, looking at the Little White Snake coiled around her magic staff.
"No, I searched for a long time and couldn't find it."
Monica felt a bit guilty. In fact, she had only searched the sea for a month, gave up and slacked off when she couldn't find it, and then just ate and slept on the seabed until now.
Irene wasn't surprised; that Dragon Gate shouldn't be that easy to find, and besides, with the Little White Snake's silly appearance, she couldn't be counted on anyway.
"Let's go!"
Both Acnologia and Irene now controlled the Power of Time and Space, so crossing space was no longer a difficult task; they could go anywhere in the entire world.
Space Magic was activated, and they instantly arrived at Magnolia Town... During this time, Fairy Tail's experiences remained colorful. Due to the opening of the Eclipse Gate, Leo and the other spirits of the zodiac signs turned into Eclipse Spirits, their personalities changing drastically as they sought freedom, and even the Celestial Spirit King fell into a state of madness.
After that, Natsu, Lucy, Erza, and their group fought against the spirits of the zodiac signs, successfully defeating the Celestial Spirit King and returning all spirits to their original state.
Since time in the Spirit World differs from the human world with a ratio of 1:90, six months passed by the time they resolved the crisis and finished the celebration banquet.
However, just a few days later, Tartaros attacked, wanting to capture Natsu and Mavis. Naturally, the members of Fairy Tail disagreed, and another fight broke out.
At this point, the conflict formally began.
Everyone knew deep down how strong Tartaros, the most mysterious member of the Balam Alliance, was; they were likely an existence far stronger than Grimoire Heart.
Laxus crossed his arms and said with some surprise, "Tartaros actually sent us a challenge letter. With the Dark Guild's style, shouldn't they have just attacked directly?"
Compared to those Dark Guilds that pull strings in the shadows, Tartaros's behavior was truly unexpected.
Are they overconfident?
Lucy said worriedly, "They specifically named Natsu and the First Master. What exactly are they trying to do?"
Natsu was full of fighting spirit: "I'm not afraid!"
"No matter what, we will never abandon our comrades!"
Erza's eyes showed determination: "Since they want to fight, we'll fight them!"
Possessing the power of a Dragon Knight, she feared no one. If she hadn't been unable to determine where Tartaros's headquarters was, she would have dared to attack them alone.
Gray agreed, "That's right, our Fairy Tail fears no enemy!"
Makarov, who knew more than Erza and the others, said with slight wariness, "Don't be careless. Tartaros has always been mysterious. Sending a challenge letter might involve a scheme."
Mavis read the challenge letter word by word, but simply couldn't see anything hidden, finally tossing it aside helplessly.
She stroked her chin and analyzed, "I'm currently in a ghost state, and others can't see me. Since the opponent knows of my existence, they must have investigated our guild's situation."
Makarov was slightly startled; he hadn't considered that point: "What do you mean?"
Mavis said, "Since the opponent's targets are Natsu and me, I'll act as bait to lure them out. Once they take me, Zera and Warren will be able to sense my location, and then I'll send back information about Tartaros so we can respond accordingly."
Makarov immediately objected, "No, we don't know what they're planning. It's too dangerous for you to be alone."
Natsu immediately said, "I'll go. I'll destroy their guild directly!"
He wasn't afraid at all; he was just thinking about how he couldn't find an enemy to fight, and he loved this kind of thing.
Mavis countered, "I'm a ghost now; ultimately, I'm a dead person. They definitely can't do anything to me."
Natsu was one of Fairy Tail's main combat forces and couldn't afford any accidents; she was the most suitable choice.
Makarov firmly refused, "No, absolutely not!"
Mavis said, "If we just wait for the enemy to act, the consequences will be even more severe. We must strike first."
Lucy clutched her hair and said with some frustration, "If only Sister Irene and Acnologia were here, we wouldn't have to fear any schemes. Where on earth did those two go?"
Hearing this, everyone felt a wave of helplessness. They weren't worried about those two being in danger, but they've certainly been enjoying their travels for a long time.
Erza actually missed those two quite a bit, though she never showed it. Regarding her mom and dad, she didn't know what to say anymore, as they were always leaving her behind.
Makarov thought for a moment and said, "Wait a moment, I'll go to the Magic Council to see if there's any news about Tartaros there."
Three months ago, the reconstruction of the Magic Council was completed, and the councilors had become the Ten Wizard Saints; he was one of them and had significant authority.
Everyone nodded in agreement; for now, that was all they could do.
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