"What should we do with him?" Gray patted the large block of ice. "With the hot tropical weather on Tenrou Island, my ice probably won't last long."
"Simple. Tie him up," Kagura said, silently pulling out yet another thick rope from her pouches.
As an essential item for traveling, it's perfectly reasonable for Kagura to carry a few extra ropes... right?
"Just exactly how many ropes did you bring?!" Gray asked, utterly bewildered.
Kagura didn't answer.
After knocking the frozen Kain out with the hilt of her sword just to be safe, Gray tied him up tightly and even used his own discarded cloak to gag the large man.
"Take this Mr. Cursey with you, just in case he thaws out," Gray advised.
"Okay," Lucy nodded, tossing Mr. Cursey securely into her small belt bag.
...
Tenrou Island Shore—
"You seem to be enjoying the fight, Master Hades." A middle-aged man wearing a pristine white cloak with a dark braid tied at the back of his head suddenly stepped heavily off the Grimoire Heart airship.
The sheer, suffocating gravitational pressure of his presence cracked the wooden deck beneath his boots.
Despite the ongoing battle between Laxus, Makarov, and Precht raging right in front of him, the man approached calmly, a terrifying testament to his absolute strength.
"Hahaha! Under Makarov's leadership, Fairy Tail is far stronger than I originally imagined," Precht laughed, dodging a lightning strike.
"One of the Seven Kin has already been taken down. Makarov's children are quite impressive."
"Do you need my assistance, Master Hades?" Bluenote Stinger asked.
He stood with his hands casually clasped behind his back, looking completely at ease amidst the explosions.
"No. Go into Tenrou Island and help search for Zeref. It seems Jellal has run into some unexpected trouble," Precht commanded.
Precht had magically sensed that Jellal was currently engaged in a fierce high-speed battle in the jungle, and he was unsure whether Jellal had encountered Zeref or a powerful Fairy.
"Understood," Bluenote bowed slightly with one hand behind his back before turning to casually walk toward the island's jungle.
...
"What? You mean Bluenote Stinger?!" Doranbolt gasped.
He had just received the shocking news from Laharl aboard the Council ship.
Laharl nodded, his expression grave and pale. "That's right. He is the monster who single-handedly annihilated the entire Azure Dragon Regiment led by Colonel Gora during the Cabulia War. He is an incredibly powerful, ruthless Mage. It is said that not a single blade of grass survives the crushing gravity where he walks..."
"Someone that strong is a member of Grimoire Heart?!" Doranbolt frowned deeply, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
"That's exactly why I said this is no longer an opponent we can handle on our own. We must report to headquarters immediately and request Etherion," Laharl stated grimly.
As he spoke, Laharl walked urgently toward the pedestal holding the Long-range Communication Lacrima.
"We can't worry about the political consequences anymore. This is a continental threat."
Just as Laharl was about to place his hand on the Long-range Communication Lacrima to make the fateful call, Doranbolt swiftly slammed his own hand down, covering the crystal.
"Please, Laharl... give me some time," Doranbolt pleaded softly.
"What are you planning to do?" Laharl demanded, his eyes narrowing.
Doranbolt didn't answer.
Instead, he grabbed the heavy Long-range Communication Lacrima, his body glowing with magic and instantly teleported away from the Mage battleship.
"Lord Doranbolt!"
"How could you steal the Communication Lacrima?!"
"This will completely delay our report to headquarters!"
Not only Laharl, but several of his elite personal guards were left absolutely stunned, staring at the empty pedestal.
They never expected a loyal Council spy like Doranbolt to commit such blatant treason.
...
Deep in the forest—
Originally, during the intense S-Class exam, Juvia had already expended a great deal of her magical power and sustained quite a few injuries...
In the midst of the chaotic battle just now, Juvia failed to dodge and accidentally got hit by Meredy's Maguilty Sodom sensory blade, amplifying the mental and physical pain twofold.
She was now clutching her bleeding shoulder and enduring the agony.
"Rest for a while!" Erza ordered.
She pointed her sword toward a nearby tree, signaling Juvia to take cover behind its thick trunk.
"It's two against one, yet we are still struggling this much..." Erza muttered, panting.
Erza truly hadn't expected Meredy, despite her incredibly young age, to possess such overwhelming combat prowess.
Could this truly be the terrifying power of Lost Magic?
"Maguilty Sodom!" Meredy chanted emotionlessly.
She swung her arm, and dozens of glowing pink magical blades gradually solidified in the air, their sharp tips aimed directly at Erza.
Empowered by dense magical energy, the sensory blades gleamed sharply.
"Requip! Heaven's Wheel Armor!" Erza yelled.
A brilliant flash of golden light enveloped Erza, and nearly a hundred silver Heaven's Wheel Swords were instantly replicated using her magical power, hovering in a massive circle around her.
Meredy pushed her palm forward, sending dozens of pink magical blades shooting violently toward the Fairy Queen.
Erza, unwilling to be outdone, commanded all her Heaven's Wheel Swords to fly forward and meet the magical blades head-on.
Clang—clang—clang—!
The blades from both sides collided in mid-air, producing a deafening series of crisp, ringing metallic sounds as magic clashed with magic.
"I will help you, Miss Erza! Water Lock!" Juvia yelled. Enduring the throbbing pain in her shoulder, Juvia seized the momentary opening as streams of high-pressure water suddenly surged upward from the earth, tightly wrapping around Meredy's small body.
"Water Nebula!" Juvia chanted.
Several massive streams of swirling water coiled aggressively upward, violently lifting the trapped Meredy high into the air.
"Heaven's Wheel: Pentagram Sword!" Erza accelerated past the suspended Meredy, slashing out a devastating, five-pointed pentagram-shaped sword gleam that cut deeply through the water.
"Water Slicer!" Juvia's high-pressure water blades once again assaulted Meredy from below.
Hit three times in rapid, brutal succession, Meredy cried out and crashed heavily back into the accumulated mud and water, completely unconscious.
Meredy's physical defense had never been particularly high, and she was decisively defeated before she could even activate her ultimate sensory-linking spell.
"She is just a child... Why did she join such a vicious Dark Guild?" Erza murmured, lowering her sword.
Erza and Juvia walked over and looked down at the unconscious Meredy with deeply mixed feelings.
Up close, Meredy appeared to be, at most, thirteen or fourteen years old.
It would be a terrible tragedy if she were arrested and thrown into a Council prison just because of Grimoire Heart.
"Maybe she went through something awful? Like being ostracized and feared as a child, like Juvia was... or perhaps she was abducted..." Juvia speculated sadly.
Nowadays, Juvia could speak calmly and openly about her own miserable childhood experiences.
She was very happy in Fairy Tail and had finally come to terms with her past hardships.
"Never mind. Let's not dwell on it right now. We should tie her up first," Erza said firmly.
Though they genuinely pitied Meredy, this was an active warzone, and it wasn't the time for sentimentality.
It was better to secure the enemy and regroup with the others as soon as possible.
Erza thoughtfully moved Meredy's unconscious body to a dry comfortable spot and gently tied her to a thick tree trunk.
...
Meanwhile, Raizel and Jellal had begun their theatrical acting competition once again.
The chaotic battle Precht had sensed from Jellal earlier... was actually just a staged spar with Raizel.
Zeref had long since fled the island—what was there to actually fight over?
Through the silent detection of his Archive Magic, Raizel had already roughly learned about most of the ongoing battle outcomes across the island.
Jellal also knew he couldn't delay any longer, so he had asked Raizel to cooperate with him in a highly destructive staged fight to fool Hades' senses.
"Hand over Zeref now, fairy!" Jellal yelled loudly, shooting a blast of magic into the canopy.
"I already told you, there is no Zeref here!" Raizel yelled back, deflecting it into a rock.
"In that case, don't blame me for being rough!" Jellal shouted.
Jellal first cast Meteor on himself and engaged Raizel in high-speed close combat mid-air.
Meteor was a powerful spell from Heavenly Body Magic, similar to an enhancement effect, making his physical body incredibly lightweight and his movements as swift as a falling star.
In the sky high above the jungle, a blinding white light and a golden light violently collided with each other over and over again.
Jellal's glowing figure continuously darted across the sky at breakneck speeds, tracing out the precise, jagged pattern of the Big Dipper with his movements.
"Seven Star Sword! Grand Chariot!" Jellal roared.
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