Era, Ishgar, Magic Council Chamber
A firm decision hadn't been made as arguments continued, every voice in the chamber shouted, with many claiming at how ridiculous the notion of using Etherion was.
"Etherion is not a weapon that can be used freely!" A councilman shouted, pointing at the report as if the paper itself were to blame. "It will cause untold annihilation, killing everyone in that tower!"
"What about innocents?" Another demanded. "Who knows what may be near that tower? What if there are captives inside?! You're asking for their deaths!"
Across the semicircle, others answered back just as loudly.
"What if the R-System completes?! What if Zeref is resurrected?!" Seigrain counters, seeking reason. "We won't just lose a few lives, we lose the world's future!"
The chamber was splitting into two camps, each convinced the other was either cowardly or monstrous.
At the center of it all, Siegrain stood with a tension in his eyes that suggested a man watching a countdown he couldn't stop. "Listen to yourselves," He said, sharp enough to cut through the shouting without becoming it. "You're arguing ethics while a resurrection tower is ticking toward completion."
Someone snarled back, "And you're proposing mass murder as a solution!"
Siegrain didn't blink. "If that is what it takes to prevent the return of a threat that could destabilize every nation on this continent," he said, "then yes."
A wave of outrage rolled through the room.
"You're willing to take that risk?!"
"Yes," Siegrain said, and the word landed like a gavel strike. "Because the alternative is worse."
Michello's eyes narrowed, his voice cold. "Easy for you to say when you won't be the one vaporized."
Siegrain's expression tightened, just for a heartbeat, before settling again into that controlled mask. "You think I don't understand what this means?" he demanded. "You think I want Etherion fired?" He gestured at the reports and the growing pile of evidence. "This isn't my desire. It's a necessity."
The room simmered. It was then that a quieter voice, one that hadn't been yelling, finally rose. "Enough." Heads turned to Belno, seated among the upper row, rose slowly to her feet. She was composed in a way that made the room instinctively hush—because she wasn't performing. She wasn't trying to win.
She looked… tired. "I've opposed the use of Etherion for years," Belno said, her voice carrying clearly through the chamber. "Because it is a weapon too terrible to be used lightly."
Several members nodded, relieved, thinking she would speak against it. But then Belno's gaze hardened, and her next words took the breath out of the room. "But the situation isn't something we can just ignore. The R-System is a crime that should not exist and our refusal to act becomes complicity."
Michello stiffened. "Belno, you can't be serious."
Belno's eyes flicked to Siegrain, then to the rest of them. "I am serious," she said. "Because I don't see another option that arrives in time."
A wave of murmurs rolled through the chamber, with shock and protest.
Belno exhaled, as if bracing herself for the weight of her own decision. "I vote to authorize Etherion."
Siegrain's shoulders loosened by a fraction. His eyes brightened, and he seized the moment with quiet urgency. "That's another," he said. "We only need one more vote."
—---------------------------------
Tower of Heaven, Highest Floor, Throne Room
At the highest floor of the Tower of Heaven, Jellal sat relaxed and comfortable, like a king watching a play unfold exactly as rehearsed as he heard everything that was unfolding at the magic council. He shouldn't have been able to hear anything happening in Era and yet Jellal's smile was bright with quiet joy.
He tilted his head slightly, his eyelids lowered in pleased amusement. Then he lifted his arm and the black bracelet on his wrist gleamed with runes pulsing faintly. Jellal's fingertips brushed it like one might stroke the head of a loyal hound.
"We only need one more vote." He murmured, voice soft with satisfaction. The sigils flared, responding to his pleasure, almost eager, as if the item itself enjoyed the thought of what was coming.
Jellal's eyes half-lidded, his smirk sharpening. "They argue so passionately," He mused, tone light, almost fond. "As if they actually believe they can stop me." He leaned back into his throne, fingers tapping the armrest in a steady, patient rhythm.
"Just one more vote…" Jellal whispered, savoring the words. "…and everything ends." His mind then wandered to the intruders already inside his tower. To Erza, dragging her allies with her like she could brute force fate into submission.
His smile widened as he knew just what to do to cause a bit more chaos. He then placed his attention on his attendant. "Vidaldus," he called, voice smooth. "Are the beasts in position?"
From the side of the throne room, Vidaldus stepped forward. He bowed, theatrical as ever, but his eyes were alert. "Yes," Vidaldus replied. "They were teleported here yesterday, as instructed. All sealed off." He hesitated, then added carefully, "They're extremely dangerous. Even to us, just what is the purpose for bringing them here."
Jellal's expression didn't change and simply gave a command. "Unseal the room,"
Vidaldus blinked. "Now?"
"Yes," Jellal purred, eyes gleaming. "It's time our guests face a real challenge." He raised his wrist higher and activated his magic. The sigils on the obsidian band ignited. With a sickening black pulse that rippled outward like a heartbeat from something dead.
The air in the chamber shuddered and the pulse raced down through the tower.
—---------------------------------------
Sealed Holding Chamber, Lower Levels, Tower of Heaven
Behind thick stone walls reinforced with magic, a massive sealed room trembled under relentless impacts, heavy pounding that shook dust loose from the ceiling.
Inside, shapes moved in the dimness—hulking bodies, glowing eyes, claws scraping stone, teeth snapping at the air. The stench of musk and blood was so strong it seemed to leak through the air.
They threw themselves at the barriers again and again—snarling, starving, furious at confinement.
Then the black pulse hit them. It washed over their bodies like ink poured into their veins. Every monster froze for a fraction of a second, eyes widening as if something had reached into their minds and grabbed control from them.
Their snarls deepened with obedience, a single command burned into their instincts: KILL.
The seals around the chamber flickered violently. A massive lock-circle carved into the door shone, trembled and then unraveled.
The twin doors opened and the beasts surged out in a stampede, their bodies scraping the doorway as they forced themselves.
A pair of tower guards rounded the corner, confused. "Hey—what's going on—?"
They didn't finish the sentence as a monster hit them.
One screamed and blood sprayed across the stone.
Another guard raised his weapon, panic flashing in his eyes. "MONSTERS?! WHERE DID—" He was ripped off his feet and slammed into the wall so hard his spine snapped audibly.
More guards appeared, shouting, scrambling, trying to form a line, the beasts tore into them like they were paper.
The tower filled with the sounds of slaughter. Screams echoing up stairwells, claws scraping stone and the tower trembled by the weight of the stampede.
—---------------------------------------------
As Issei and friends went up the staircase, it was wide enough for the whole group to go through. Stone walls rose on both sides, torches burned with an unnatural steadiness, their light casting long, warped shadows that seemed to stretch toward the party. Shoes, boots and sandals hammered stone as the group went up.
At the front, Simon led with grim purpose, his iron jaw set tight. Shô stayed near him, still shaking with fresh anger, full of rage not just at Jellal, but at himself for believing in him for so long. Behind them, Fairy Tail and Issei's harem moved in a tight pack, instincts keeping them close, eyes scanning ahead for danger.
Issei kept Ruby steady on his head, one hand lightly bracing her by reflex whenever the stairs jolted under their speed. "You okay?" He asked under his breath.
Ruby swallowed, tail stiff. "This place feels gross. It's like something's watching us."
"Yeah," Issei muttered. "Feels like that."
Surprisingly Uzume seemed in a much better mood compared to the rest. As she hummed up the stairs.
"Uzume, why are you humming?" Yuuka says in disbelief as while she was excited, she also knew that this wasn't the place to be happy. The others also wondered the same thing with Erza giving a glare at the girl.
"Sorry, sorry." Uzume apologizes sheepishly while rubbing her head. "It's just us going up a huge tower while fighting our way through brings back memories."
"That's true, this does feel familiar. Just us and Ashikabi-sama." Yashima remembers with a smile at them doing something similar to avenge Akistu.
Akistu hearing her fellow Sekirei nodded in agreement with a small smile at the memory.
"You guys went up another tower?" Lucy questioned, looking at Tamamo, who was next to her.
"Don't look at me. I don't remember doing something like that with Darling." Tamamo said a bit miffed that she didn't have such a memory with Issei.
Meanwhile Simon held a hand near his ear, fingers tracing a magic pattern in the air as he ran. A faint circle shimmered, then fizzled out causing him to click his tongue sharply. "Damn it."
Shô glanced at him. "Still nothing?"
Simon's visible eye narrowed. He tried again with another circle, only to end in another failure. His jaw clenched harder.
His actions caused the group to notice, with Gray asking as he kept pace. "What are you doing?"
Simon didn't slow. "Trying to contact Millianna and Wally."
Gray frowned. "To warn them?"
"They still believe in everything Jellal said." Simon corrected, frustration bleeding into his voice. "They need to know the truth. That Fairy Tail isn't the enemy. That Jellal—" He cut himself off, trying again, harder. But the magic circle sparked and then fizzled out.
Simon hissed, genuine anger. "It's jammed."
"Someone must be blocking it." Tamamo said with her eyes narrowing
Simon nodded sharply. "Most likely it's Jellal."
Erza scoffed, breath steady despite the climb. "Of course it is. He must be obsessed with controlling the narrative."
The stairs finally opened into a wide floor, a broad circular landing with tall archways. The air here was warmer and thick with a faint metallic tang.
But as they were about to advance the group paused, as the tower itself vibrated. A low tremor rolled under their feet like distant thunder. Dust trickled from the ceiling in thin streams.
Natsu stiffened, flames licking at his arms instinctively. "What was that…?"
Another tremor was felt much closer and then the sound of footsteps, heavy and metallic.
BOOM… BOOM… BOOM…
Each impact hit the stone like a hammer striking an anvil.
Gray's eyes narrowed. "Something big is coming."
Juvia's expression shifted to raw alertness. "That sound…"
Issei's gaze locked on the staircase above them.
Ruby's ears flattened. "Uh… guys?"
A shadow at the top of the stairs bulged outward and a monster charged down like a battering ram, revealing a rhino-like beast with a brutal frame built for destruction. Thick shoulders, tree-trunk legs, and an armored body where its skin was layered with metal plating fused into its muscles. Between the armored plates, glowing cracks pulsed brightly, ember-orange light leaking out like the creature was full of molten ore. Its eyes burned a molten orange and its breath fogged with heat and sparks. And the horn was a huge, jagged lance of metal with veins of ember-light ran through it, pulsing harder as it lowered its head.
Lucy's blood went cold. "Wh-what is that?!"
Juvia's voice went tight. "An A-rank monster…"
Gray's brows shot up. "Do you know what that is?!"
"It's an Ironhide Behemoth," Juvia finished, eyes wide. "A high-defense juggernaut and very resistant to magic attacks."
Yuuka's revolvers clicked into a ready grip. "You're kidding."
Simon's eye widened in shock. "Since when does Jellal have that here?!"
Shô looked just as stunned. "He never said anything to us and we never saw it before!"
Natsu grinned like an idiot through the tension already ready to fight. "Finally I'm in the mood to punch something."
"DON'T—" Lucy started, but she didn't get the chance to finish.
The Ironhide Behemoth roared and launched forward.
Akitsu and Gray reacted instantly. "Ice-Make: Wall!" A thick ice barrier surged up across the landing like a frozen cliff. As the monster charged, it hit the wall and for a fraction of a second, it looked like it might hold.
But then the Ironhide Behemoth broke through as the wall exploded with the ice shattering into glittering shrapnel that sprayed across the floor. The force of the impact slammed outward like a shockwave, rattling bones and making Lucy stumble.
"Holy—!" Yuuka swore, leaping back.
The Behemoth didn't even slow.
"Scatter!" Gray shouted and they split apart, bodies moving on instinct.
The beast slammed through where the wall had been, horn gouging stone, metal plates screeching as it skidded—then it swung its head and charged again.
Reacting quickly, Uzume's veil snapped out, aiming to bind the rhino in place but the veil ripped apart as the beast moved from the binding.
Uzume's eyes widened as her veil was ripped. "I wasn't able to hold it!"
"It's too powerful!" Juvia shouted.
Issei carefully watches the Behemoth's rhythm as it lowered its head again, horn pulsing brighter as it prepared another devastating rush.
Ruby clung tighter. "Issei… this thing is going to flatten us!"
"I know," Issei said, calm but sharp but then his eyes flicked upward as the tower vibrated again much stronger.
A chorus of distant screeches, howls, and pounding footsteps flooded through corridors.
Lucy's face was drained of color. "There's more?!"
Ruby's voice came out small. "Please tell me that's not more."
From the stairwell above them, shadows multiplied, more shapes surged into view, hulking silhouettes that blotted out torchlight and made them feel smaller. Then the sound arrived a heartbeat later, a rolling, metallic thunder of heavy hooves and plated bodies smashing down stone. It is then that they saw a stampede of Ironhide Behemoths charged down the stairs.
Lucy's breath caught in her throat, voice cracking. "That's… that's not just one—!"
Ruby's claws dug into Issei's hair as she hugged his head like a lifeline, fur puffed up in panic. "There's a whole herd!!"
Gray's eyes narrowed, the cold in his gaze deepening into something sharp and lethal. "Everyone, get ready! If they hit you, you're dead!"
Natsu's grin widened anyway, flames licking higher along his arms. "I'm all fired up."
Uzume's veil fluttered and ignited, flame crawling across the fabric in a controlled blaze. The earlier tear was now half-mended, her smile was gone, replaced by a predatory focus. "Alright. Last time I wasn't ready. This time it won't tear."
Simon's visible eye flicked upward, his expression cracked with real alarm. Shô's jaw clenched hard, anger and disbelief tightening his features. "Just how much has he been hiding from us…"
Issei didn't look away from the Behemoth behind them. It had recovered from slamming into the wall, its horn pulsing brighter as it pawed at the stone. Heat and sparks spilled from its nostrils with every furious breath. And above, the line of armored rhinos poured downward like an avalanche.
Akitsu took one step back, eyes widening. "There are… so many."
Tamamo's tails bristled, her expression turning razor-thin. Yuuka raised her revolvers with a low growl, and Lucy swallowed hard, hands shaking around her keys. "How are we supposed to—?"
Issei exhaled slowly, centering himself. Then Natsu stepped forward, rolling his shoulders. "Enough worrying!" He barked with a grin. "Happy's waiting for us!"
The first Behemoth charged again with a roar. Its horn flared ember-bright and the stone beneath its hooves cracked from sheer force, each step a hammer strike.
Akitsu and Gray threw their hands forward together. "Ice-Make: Spikes!" Jagged stalactites of ice erupted from the floor in front of the charging beast, turning the path into a field of spears. For a breath, the monster's body paused, metal plates shrieking as they scraped against ice. But then it compensated with brutal strength and powered through anyway, its horn lowered, heat blasting outward in a scalding wave that made the ice melt.
Lucy yelped and stumbled back. But Yashima slammed her hammer down with both hands. "Gravity Increase: Anchor!"
The air around the Behemoth thickened. Its charge slowed by centimeters, then a full body-length.
The beast roared, furious, and pushed against the gravity with raw muscle. The glowing seams along its plating brightened as it forced itself forward anyway, straining, cracking the stone under its hooves.
It is then that Yuuka fired. But the bullets sparked uselessly off iron plates, until she adjusted and focused more concentrated magic into a single bullet, her eyes narrowing as her aim tightened to the glowing seams between armor.
BANG!
A shot landed in a pulsing crack causing the Behemoth to flinch, just barely, but it was enough for everyone to notice.
"HA!" Yuuka snarled, smoke curling from her barrel. "So you do feel the damage."
Juvia surged forward, her body turning to water, sliding low and fast like a tide. She slammed into the Behemoth's side, then reformed with both hands planted against the plating. "Water Blast!"
High-pressure water flooded into the seams like a wedge, forcing plates apart by fractions, enough for steam to explode instantly causing the behemoth to scream, pain finally loud.
"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" That was when Natsu hit it, driving a flaming fist straight into the glowing crack Yuuka and Juvia had caused and softened. The impact sent a shockwave through the landing. The Behemoth staggered, metal screeching, one knee buckling as its own heat vented violently from the damaged seam.
Natsu grinned like a maniac. "THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!"
Issei moved in behind him, fast and precise, eyes tracking the monster's movement. He drove a heel into the rear leg joint where the plating overlapped causing the Behemoth to lurched forward.
"Ruby!" Issei barked, stance snapping into place. "Guys, move!"
Ruby swallowed her fear, lifted both paws, and shouted, "Enchant—Strength!"
A faint glow wrapped around Issei's arms and shoulders, he then doubled the effect as his muscles and bones were reinforced with Reinforcement.
Issei didn't waste time, he grabbed the Behemoth's horn, the heat burned his palms instantly, but he held on and with a grunt, Issei twisted his hips and used the monster's own momentum against it, lifting it up the ground and then hurling the Ironhide Behemoth straight into the oncoming stampede.
The armored rhino sailed through the air. Then it was slammed into the lead Behemoths, and the entire front line stumbled, collided, and tumbled as plated bodies smashed together.
Tamamo's eyes flashed, seeing the opportunity. She flicked multiple talismans at once, voice sharp. "Elemental Storm Curse!"
The air filled with overlapping sigils, fire, lightning, wind, ice, raining down in a chaotic barrage over the herd. A colorful explosion erupted in violent sparks and smoke causing the Ironhide Behemoths to scream.
And then, as the smoke thinned, they were seen to be laying down, but mostly fine with a few scorch marks and shallow dents in their armor. Nothing close to enough.
Tamamo clicked her tongue, angry and impressed at the same time. "Tch. These creatures really are resistant to magic."
Lucy's face went pale. "There's—there's too many! We can't—!"
"This just means we have to use extreme force!" Natsu roared, stepping forward again like an idiot hungry for pain.
Gray grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him back. "IDIOT, WE'LL GET CRUSHED!"
And then Shô stepped forward. His voice shook, but it was firm, his eyes burning purpose. "Let me try something," he said.
Everyone looked at him wondering what he would do.
Shô thrust both hands forward and cards flashed into existence, five, ten, fifteen, spinning towards the recovering herd, each one glowing with runes so sharp they looked like they could cut the air. "CARD: CAPTURE!"
The first wave of cards slammed into the Behemoths' faces and runes flared. For a moment the monsters resisted but their bodies stuttered then the magic caught the beasts as various Ironhide Behemoths vanished, compressed into the surface of a card, its silhouette visible inside, screaming and thrashing against the glowing barrier.
Then another. Then more. Cards snapped, sealing massive armored bodies into thin rectangles. The landing went quiet except for heavy breathing.
Uzume blinked, then rolled her shoulders releasing the tension she'd been holding. "Well… that was anticlimactic." The flames along her veil settled into a controlled, flickering burn. Yuuka clicked her revolvers shut for half a second, but kept them ready anyway. Akitsu steadied her stance, scanning the stairwell for any more movement. Yashima flexed her fingers around her hammer, the head still humming with lingering gravity.
Lucy stared at Shô like she'd just watched someone pull a rabbit from a hat. "You can… do that?!"
Gray didn't have a sarcastic comment ready. He was still processing the image of a whole stampede getting folded into rectangles of light.
Shô's face flushed with effort, sweat on his brow, but his mouth twitched with a small, proud smile. "Not forever," he said, voice strained. "But… yes."
Erza stepped forward then quietly and naturally, like she'd done this a hundred times back when they were children. She reached up and rubbed Shô's head, fingers gentle. "Good job, Sho." she said softly, the big-sister warmth slipping through her steel.
Shô froze for a heartbeat,then leaned into it, expression cracking into something painfully young. "…Erza," he murmured.
Tamamo then approached him with the faintest sparkle in her eyes. "Interesting," She purred, holding several cards that were laying on the ground. "You turned a dangerous monster into a collectible, tell me. How stable is this sealing?"
Shô hesitated, then answered, honestly, because Erza was right there, and lying felt impossible under her gaze. "Powerful beings can resist being captured," Shô said, voice strained but steady. "Or if… the target is stronger than the caster. And if the caster's too weak, the spell fails outright."
Tamamo nodded, taking it in. "And the containment?" She pressed.
Shô held up a card. Within its surface, the silhouette of the Ironhide Behemoth thrashed and roared silently. "The being inside can be released if the card is damaged," Shô explained. "Or… if I stop supplying magic to it. The seal needs upkeep."
Tamamo's eyes gleamed. "How interesting. This way I can see the prisoner, while they are trapped." She said, far too pleased.
Before Shô could even ask what she meant, Tamamo delicately turned to him with a smile that was sweet enough to make a sane man run. "I will be taking these to study and will supply the cards with magic." she declared.
Shô blinked. "W-Wait, why?"
Tamamo didn't wait. A small ripple of space opened at her side as she used Requip to open her pocket dimension and she slid the cards in.
Issei's eye twitched. "Tamamo, why do you need them!"
"What?" she asked innocently. "It could be useful later down the line."
Uzume deadpanned. "We're gonna end up as a petting zoo with how much we take in strange animals."
"We'll worry about that later?" Tamamo said, completely unbothered.
Lucy leaned closer to Gray and whispered, "Is she… allowed to do that?"
Gray muttered back, "At this point I've learned it's healthier not to ask."
Lucy glanced at Erza. "Hey, Cana can use cards too, right? Can she do what Shô just did?"
Erza's brows knit slightly, thinking. Gray scratched his head. "…Cana's cards aren't like that." Gray admitted. "Or at least I don't think so?"
Erza shook her head slowly. "Cana's magic is different. She can store magic and objects in cards… but sealing living monsters at this level…" Her eyes flicked to Shô. "…I've never seen her do that."
Natsu cracked his knuckles, impatience snapping back into place the moment the excitement faded. "Enough!" He barked. "We should hurry and find Happy!"
Erza's expression sharpened, she hated how right he was. "Yes," she said, voice firm. "We don't know when Jellal will start the ceremony. Every second matters."
The group shifted, ready to move on with the tension easing but then a roaring sound rolled down from the staircase, with the sound of heavy bodies slamming into stone. Followed by the five shapes dropping into view from the stairs leading upward.
Five towering, gorilla-like beasts with massively thick arms, barrel chests, and legs like pillars. Stone plating was fused into their frames, with jagged slabs of rock protruding from shoulders, spines, and forearms like natural pauldrons layered over dense muscle and coarse dark fur. Their stone plates were cracked and weathered, streaked with mineral veins, and when all five threw back their heads and roared, dust shook loose from their armor and pebbles rattled down their backs like rain.
Ruby's fur puffed up again in fear. "Oh come on—!"
Erza's eyes widened and she snapped instantly into command mode. "Move!" she shouted. "Those are Boulderback Apes!"
The name alone made Simon's expression tighten. "Seriously, since when did we have this?!"
"No time!" Erza snapped, already shifting her stance, swords ready.
The five apes hit the landing and charged. Not with a straight-line rush like the Ironhide Behemoths. But with crushing momentum as their arms swing like wrecking balls, fists about to slam the stone floor hard.
"Move!" Gray shouted.
The group scattered on instinct as massive arms came down where they'd been standing.
BOOM!
The stone floor burst upward in chunks. Shattered rock sprayed like shrapnel.
Lucy squealed and stumbled back, keys clutched tight. Yashima leapt aside, hammer raised and ready. Akitsu skated across a thin sheet of ice she cast under her own feet, avoiding a second slam by inches.
Uzume cursed, veil snapping out defensively to block the flying splinters of stone . "They're fast!"
Yuuka fired a shot with the bullet striking the stone plating and ricocheting with a whine."Great," Yuuka growled, stance tightening as she re-aimed. "The Rock armor isn't for show!"
Simon stared at them, voice tight with disbelief. "How is he controlling these?!" He demanded. "These are wild creatures, Jellal didn't have any way to control them."
Tamamo's eyes narrowed, ears flattening slightly as she watched how the apes moved—too coordinated, too directed. "Maybe some form of external control. I don't think this is natural behavior."
Lucy spun toward Shô, panic rising. "Shô! Use your card magic again!"
Shô's face went pale. He held up his hands and tried to use another card, only for his fingers to shake as the spell fizzled out. "I— I can't," He admitted, voice strained. "I used too much magic sealing the Ironhide Behemoths."
A Boulderback Ape swung its arm again. The blow clipped the floor, sending a shockwave rippling outward. Lucy lost her footing, yelping as she fell back, until Natsu's arm hooked her shoulder and yanked her out of the danger zone at the last second. The ape's fist slammed down where her head would've been.
Natsu's patience snapped as he released Lucy far away from the apes. "THIS IS A WASTE OF TIME!" He roared. Before anyone could stop him, flames exploded around his body and he launched toward the upper stairs, sprinting straight past the chaos. "I'm going on ahead!" he shouted over his shoulder. "I'm rescuing Happy!"
"NATSU!" Lucy cried, reaching out to grab him. But that didn't stop him as he was already up the stairs.
Erza's expression twisted in frustration, fear, and resolve in equal measure. "…He's so reckless," she muttered. But then her eyes hardened. "But he's right about one thing." She stepped back, swords flashing into her hands, and took a breath. "We can't afford to be stalled here," Erza said.
She glanced at Issei and the others, guilt flickering across her face for even a heartbeat. "I'm sorry," She said with guilt. "But I have to advance." Then she turned and sprinted after Natsu.
Simon didn't hesitate. "Erza—wait!" He called out, then cursed under his breath and ran after her anyway.
Gray saw them go and his expression sharpened instantly. "Dammit…" he growled. Then, louder: "Lucy! Juvia! We're not letting her face Jellal alone!"
Lucy's eyes widened. "Gray—!"
But Gray was already moving, darting through an opening between two apes. Juvia's gaze turned dreamy for one second. 'Gray-sama is so brave.' She then snapped back to reality and followed after him with a determined splash-step, turning her body to water to slip past a swinging fist.
Lucy hesitated for a second. Then she clenched her keys, eyes shining with stubborn loyalty. "I'm coming too!" She shouted and ran after them.
The rest of the group stared in disbelief before their attention was dragged back to the monsters as the five rampaging apes started thrashing around, causing Issei's group to move back.
Uzume threw her hands up mid-dodge. "Oh come ON!"
Yuuka snarled, firing again as she backpedaled. "Seriously?! They just ditched us?!"
Akitsu's cheeks puffed slightly in a pout as she dodged another slam. "Yashima and I wanted to go too…"
Yashima sighed as she swung her hammer. "We still can, if we survive this."
Issei's jaw clenched as he watched Erza's group disappear up the stairwell. He understood the urgency. But he also understood that they really shouldn't split up in enemy territory.
And then it got worse as a Boulderback Ape's fist slammed near a card that was laying on the floor. The impact rippled through the cards and with a violent flash, an Ironhide Behemoth materialized back onto the landing, roaring immediately, horn pulsing, furious at being captured.
And then more cards were torn at the edge and three more Behemoths bled out into reality.
Uzume stared, horrified, voice flat with disbelief. "…They're releasing the captured monsters."
Tamamo's eyes narrowed dangerously. "It seems like the cards are quite fragile."
Issei exhaled hard, forcing his mind into that sharp battle-calm again as the landing turned into a nightmare, five Boulderback Apes and now four Ironhide Behemoths rejoined the fight.
Ruby clung to him, voice shaking. "Issei… what do we do?"
Issei's eyes narrowed. "We do what we always do," he said, voice low and steady. He cracked his neck, stepped forward, and raised his hands. "We fight."
Then, he spoke louder, so the whole group heard him over the roaring monsters. "I will deal with two of the metal rhinos. Yashima, you take the other two, your hammer should have the force to crush them! Ruby, support her."
"O-Okay!" Ruby gulped, then nodded hard as she flew next to Yashima.
Issei's gaze snapped to the apes. "Yuuka, Tamamo, Uzume, and Akitsu, the four of you will handle the apes!"
Akitsu nodded, already forming ice. Yuuka spun her revolvers. Uzume's veil ignited brighter. Tamamo's talismans slid between her fingers like knives.
"Akitsu, try to control the entire field and make them lose balance by placing ice under their feet. Yuuka, aim for the eyes! Uzume, trip them, don't bind! And Tamamo will deal with the final blow when they are exposed."
""Right!!!"" The girls answered in unison, happy to follow Issei's rare command.
"Sho, rest for now, you must still be tired!" But as he turned, Issei was met with empty space. "Where the hell did he go?!" Issei yelled but no one could answer as they had to dodge the wild swing on the apes.
—-------------------------------------
Natsu didn't slow down, the moment he broke away from the others, the tower became nothing but stone under his feet as a single goal burning in his chest.
He sprinted up the stairwell, flames licking along his arms in restless energy with heat pulsing off him in waves that made the air shimmer. The higher he climbed, the thinner the air felt, stale, old, saturated with lingering magic and something worse. But Natsu hardly noticed as he sniffed around.
His nose wrinkled and his instincts narrowed. "…Happy," He muttered, and followed the faint, familiar scent.
The stairs finally ended, spilling him into a long hallway lined with doors and Natsu slowed just long enough to glare down the hallway, annoyed. "Which one—"
A deep roar rolled through the corridor, the stone trembled beneath his feet. Dust drifted down from the ceiling like ash, catching the torchlight in slow, lazy spirals.
Natsu's head snapped forward and then he heard it. A familiar, high, panicked scream that punched straight through his ribs. "SOMEBODY!! HELP!!"
Natsu's eyes widened, rage and relief mixing into something explosive. "HAPPY!" He launched forward again, tearing down the hallway so fast the torches blurred into streaks. His sandals slapped and pounded against stone, each step louder than the last in the tight corridor. "I'M COMING!" He roared back, voice echoing off the walls.
The roar came again—closer—followed by a heavy impact that made the hallway shudder as if the tower itself flinched.
Natsu rounded the last corner and the hallway opened into a large room. A high ceiling, wide floor. The ground was cracked and smeared with something that looked like soot except it moved. Jet-black sand lay in drifting patches across the floor, rippling subtly like it was breathing.
Then two bodies crashed down beside him, hard.
Natsu flinched, instinctively raising his arms.
One hit the floor and slid, rectangular limbs and a stiff suit, rolling awkwardly like a toppled mannequin. The other was a woman: brown hair, cat-like features, clothes torn, bruises across her skin. She coughed and tried to push herself up, but her arms shook.
Wally and Millianna, both were heavily injured but barely alive.
Natsu's jaw tightened as recognition snapped into place. "…You." It was the box man who had shoved a gun into his mouth. But neither of them looked even remotely like they could fight right now. They were battered, panting, thrown aside like they were nothing.
Natsu didn't have time to process why they were here like this. Because Natsu finally lifted his head and his blood froze for half a heartbeat.
A hulking, three-headed monstrosity stood in the center of the room, its body was a constantly shifting mass of jet-black sand. The grains were packed so tightly that they formed jagged "muscles" and armor-like plates then loosened again in rippling waves whenever it moved, flowing and reforming as if the creature couldn't decide whether it wanted to be solid. Every step it took left a sinking footprint that immediately collapsed into a small whirl, like the ground itself was being swallowed. From its shoulders rose three snarling heads: A lion, teeth bared and eyes furious. A dragon, smoke and grit spilling from its jaws with every breath. And a goat, eyes gleaming with a cruel, hungry intelligence. At the center of its chest, embedded like a heart was a glowing core that pulsed steadily.
Natsu's eyes widened. "What the hell is that thing…?"
A voice answered inside him, deep and amused. (Ohhh. To think you'd come across something like this here of all places.)
Natsu's teeth clenched, gaze locked on the monster. 'Igneel, do you know what this is?'
(That, my boy, is a Black Sand Chimera. Highly vicious and highly territorial.) Igneel's tone sharpened. (But lucky for you… it's quite small for its kind.)
Natsu's head snapped slightly, disbelief flaring even as the monster shifted and the sand around its legs rippled. "That thing is considered small?!" Natsu shouted out loud, voice echoing through the room.
He didn't get an answer because that was when he saw Happy.
Happy was in the air, wings flapping wildly, tears streaming down his cheeks. He was trying to dodge, but the Chimera's sand-body surged like a wave. Tendrils of black grit snapped upward like whips, one curling close enough to yank his wing's feathers loose.
Happy screamed, voice cracking in terror. "NATSU! PLEASE!!"
Something inside Natsu snapped. All the fear drained away in an instant, replaced by a single, burning line of fury so hot it made his skin prickle. His flames erupted, licking up his arms and shoulders. Heat washed across the room, torches flaring brighter as if they were reacting to him. The sand on the floor shivered.
Natsu's expression twisted into something feral. "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" he roared.
He didn't hesitate as he launched himself forward, straight toward the monster, fire roaring behind him like a comet tail. His muscles screamed for more speed, more power.
Happy's eyes locked onto him, desperate hope flaring through the terror. "Natsu…!"
Natsu's heart hammered as he closed the distance, every instinct screaming the same thing over and over:
'Faster! Faster! Faster!' Because that wasn't just a fight waiting in front of him, that was his best friend in danger and Natsu Dragneel didn't lose people he cared about, not if he could burn the world to stop it.