Kuriboh's effect hadn't been triggered?
No. That wasn't it!
Chase noticed the skirt and knee-high socks scattered on the ground and immediately realized what had happened. He quickly shouted a warning. "Quick! Look down! Whatever you do, don't make eye contact with that thing!!"
Fortunately, by then, everyone's attention was already focused on the vanished Wendy.
"Everyone, please stay calm. I'm okay," she said.
As Chase had expected, a calm voice came from the side.
The panicked comrades turned toward the sound and let out a huge sigh of relief.
There, an antique pendulum clock with long, thin black limbs clung tightly to a rock.
From its familiar back structure, it was clearly Lucy's Celestial Spirit, Horologium, who had saved Wendy!
"My apologies, Lucy-sama. Given the special circumstances, I activated my automatic danger detection mode," Horologium explained.
Remembering her fight against Acnologia, Lucy couldn't help but complained with a deadpan expression. "Um... I seem to recall facing a pretty big crisis earlier myself..."
She had nearly died—no, she had died once already!
"Children are different from Lucy-sama," Horologium said.
"So you're saying I'm thick-skinned?!" Lucy immediately turned into a jagged-tooth face.
"Boo hoo, I'm a child," she said.
Horologium repeated Wendy's words, which had been caught in the crossfire. "But thank you, Mr. Horologium," she also said.
"Still as long-winded as ever," Gray, as a member of the strongest team familiar with Lucy's Celestial Spirits, pointed at the scattered clothes and asked, "So, why did the clothes get left behind?"
"Time was short. I could only prioritize protecting Miss Wendy herself."
"Which means... Wendy inside right now is—"
"KYAA! she said."
"Though Chase-san's magic has a similar effect to mine, please exercise extreme caution, everyone."
After Wendy changed into clothes from the Celestial Spirit World, Horologium took his leave.
His effect could only be triggered once within a short period.
"No killing intent... but simply looking up brings death. Just what kind of beings are those monsters..." Makarov kept his head down, his expression growing increasingly grave.
"I don't know about the others, but the one that materialized first is the God of Taboo and Death... Ankhseram."
Mavis walked over slowly, answering his question. The name made Lucy and the others' expressions change dramatically.
They had never heard the name Ankhseram before. But with Slifer as precedent, they were already intimately familiar with the existence and power of gods!
Even Chase showed a look of disbelief this time.
Ankhseram?!
Just as Mavis began To briefly explain the curse of Ankhseram, the other four giant figures around Tenrou Island completed their "manifestation" one after another.
Obscure, ancient words came from their mouths. Their cold, resonant voices echoed across the entire sea.
"Ira... Ne... Weigudor... Bion..."
Everyone was completely confused. Chase's pupils, however, contracted slightly. He could roughly make out the meaning.
The Edo counterpart of Chase, who had crossed over from the God Realm to Edolas, had given him books on the divine language, which could be read through the Wind Song Glasses.
They had been intended as preparation for a future journey to the God Realm. He never expected them to come in handy here.
From their exchange, Chase quickly learned the identities of the gods present.
Ankhseram (God of Taboo and Death), Chronos (God of Time), Keraunos (God of Thunder), Phlegein (God of Fire), and Aither (God of Sky).
According to Edo Chase's information, there were nine gods in total in the God Realm.
And whether by coincidence or not, all of the gods present were ones that had left traces or had associated God Slayer Magic in the original story!
"Like whales trying to swim in a narrow fishbowl, forcing your descent into this realm... aren't you afraid of backlash?" the God of Sky asked.
"With only one eye open for a short time, there won't be major problems. Besides, we are inherently immortal. More importantly," the God of Time coldly glanced at the other four, questioning them, "I have descendants in this realm. Why are you all here butting in?"
"Creatures created out of boredom don't count as territorial markers, Chronos," said Phlegein, the God of Fire, whose giant eye seemed to have pitch-black flames burning within. "By that standard, this place also has books recording my magic."
"That's not the same concept. If you know what's good for you, get back to where you came from."
"Oh? Want a fight after all these centuries?"
"Anytime."
The two gods seemed to have a long-standing feud. After just a few words, they were ready to throw down. The thick, viscous black mist bubbled up with city-sized bubbles. Their divine auras shook the space itself!
The next second, an even deeper, denser aura of death surged, forcibly suppressing them.
"We have descended as phantoms, already making this space extremely unstable. If you want to fight, go back to the God Realm," Ankhseram slowly spoke.
Having spent countless endless years in boredom and loneliness, with his curses yielding no worthwhile feedback, he finally encountered something interesting. He didn't want to miss it, nor would he allow it to be interrupted.
Hearing this, the God of Time and the God of Fire simultaneously fell silent.
They had come with the same purpose.
Seeing this, Ankhseram looked at the God of Thunder beside him. "The air still holds traces of lightning power, Keraunos. Has your God Extermination Plan succeeded?"
"The moment I descended, I sensed it. It's not the magic I bestowed." The God of Thunder's giant eye crackled with black lightning, looking quite disdainful. "A god who uses the same power of lightning, yet lacks the courage to face me... doesn't seem very interesting."
"Chronos, can't you trace time and see what happened here?" the God of Fire asked.
"Without you all getting in the way, I could have done it easily," the God of Time said, looking at the continuously cracking sky.
Time could return black flames to a state of stillness. Black flames could also completely burn time. There was no absolute suppression between gods. It was a relationship where none could truly overpower the other.
With five gods' auras now gathered here, even his divine power could not function.
Of course, even if he could, the arrogant God of Time wouldn't do it. He had no reason to obey.
"No need for such trouble. Below us, there might be humans who witnessed the entire process." The giant eye slowly turned. Ankhseram shifted its gaze to Chase and the others on Tenrou Island. "Crush their bodies and extract their souls to see."
Unlike Acnologia's arrogance toward ants, or Zeref's complexity before life, his tone was utterly calm and casual.
He simply thought it, and so he would do it. That was all.
WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH.
Boundless black mist howled forth, rapidly condensing high above into a pitch-black giant hand capable of crushing Tenrou Island to dust!
The giant hand blocked all light. Endless darkness instantly enveloped the entire island. An aura of death, rich to the extreme, exploded!
***
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