The southern jungle of Tenrou Island echoed with the heavy, thudding footsteps of Kain Hikaru.
"Mr. Cursey says it's time to get squished!" Kain giggled, holding up his bizarre voodoo doll.
He pushed the doll's stubby legs forward, and his own massive body mirrored the movement with terrifying, unnatural speed.
He closed the distance to Lucy in a fraction of a second, his fist pulled back.
"Open, Gate of the Maiden!" Lucy screamed, frantically swinging a silver key. "Virgo!"
A pillar of pink light erupted from the dirt just inches from Lucy's face.
Virgo appeared in her black-and-white maid outfit, chains dangling from her wrists.
"Princess, is it time for my punishment?" Virgo asked with a deadpan expression.
"No! Just get us away from him!" Lucy yelled.
Virgo didn't blink.
She grabbed Lucy by the waist and dove straight down into the dirt, burrowing into the earth like a drill just as Kain's massive fist swung through the empty air where Lucy's head had been a second ago.
"Hey! No fair in hiding!" Kain whined, stomping his foot.
A few yards away, Cana pushed herself off the ground.
Her ribs ached from the shockwave, but the desperation in her eyes burned brighter than the pain.
She wasn't letting a guy in a bandana end her S-Class dream.
She pulled three glowing cards from her deck. "Summoned Lightning! Sleep! And Explosion!"
She threw the cards in a wide arc.
Kain looked up, his tiny sunglasses catching the glow of the magic.
He quickly shoved a strand of his own hair into the voodoo doll and swapped the doll's cloth body for a solid, heavy iron replica he kept in his pocket.
"Curse of the Iron Giant!" Kain shouted.
His own skin hardened, taking on the dense properties of the iron doll. The lightning struck him, sparking harmlessly off his skin.
The explosive cards detonated against his chest, kicking up a cloud of smoke, but Kain just laughed, entirely unfazed.
The sleep card washed over him, but the iron density of his magic rendered the status effect useless.
"My turn again!" Kain cheered.
The ground beneath Kain suddenly crumbled. Virgo burst from the dirt right below him, grabbing his ankles.
"Princess, I have secured the large target," Virgo announced from the hole.
"Good job, Virgo!" Lucy yelled, popping out of a tunnel a few feet away.
She unhooked her Fleuve d'Étoiles whip from her belt, the magical water glowing brightly.
"Cana, let's hit him together!"
"Right!" Cana gritted her teeth, drawing her strongest cards.
Kain looked down at Virgo holding his ankles. He didn't look worried. He just grinned.
"Pushing power!"
He flexed his massive legs. The sheer physical force of his magic sent a shockwave directly down into the earth.
Virgo gasped, her hands forced open by the raw pressure, and she sank back into the tunnel to avoid getting crushed.
Kain leaped high into the air, aiming a massive, descending elbow drop right toward Lucy.
"Pancake time!"
...
A few miles to the west, the air smelled like ozone and burnt wood.
Natsu sprinted through the jungle, his senses dialed to their peak.
Happy flew closely behind him, keeping an eye on the canopy.
"The smell is getting stronger," Natsu growled, his fists sparking with small, eager flames. "There's a lot of them. But there's one scent that's way hotter than the rest. It smells like..."
Natsu didn't get to finish his sentence.
The heavy brush ahead of them violently exploded.
A smoking, battered figure crashed through the trees, tearing up the dirt and leaving a deep, scorched trench in his wake before finally skidding to a halt.
Natsu stopped, blinking in surprise.
The man lying in the dirt pushed himself up with a groan.
His dark purple uniform was shredded. His spiky blonde hair was singed, and blood dripped from his forehead.
He looked like he had just been hit by a magical freight train.
Zancrow spat a wad of bloody dirt onto the grass, his chest heaving. "That metal freak... I'm gonna melt him into a puddle of slag..."
Natsu flared his nostrils, taking a deep breath. "Hey. You smell like ash and burnt garbage."
Zancrow froze. He slowly turned his head, his wide, bloodshot eyes locking onto Natsu.
He saw the pink hair, the scarred white scarf, and the red Fairy Tail emblem on Natsu's shoulder.
A twisted, manic grin slowly stretched across the Flame God Slayer's face.
"Another fairy," Zancrow cackled, ignoring his burns as he pushed himself to his feet. He cracked his neck, dark magical energy beginning to swirl around him.
"Perfect. I was just looking for something fragile to break. I need to vent."
"You're the one invading our island," Natsu said, dropping into a wide fighting stance. "I'm Natsu Dragneel. And I'm gonna kick your ass right off Tenrou!"
Zancrow threw his head back and laughed, a shrill, unhinged sound. "A brawler! Good! Let's see if you can take the heat!"
Zancrow thrust his hands forward.
A massive, roaring pillar of pitch-black fire erupted from his palms, hurtling straight toward Natsu.
"Fire magic?" Natsu smirked. "You really are an idiot!"
Natsu didn't dodge.
He planted his feet and opened his mouth, taking a massive breath to suck the flames right into his lungs.
Eating fire was his specialty. It was how he refueled.
But the moment the black fire touched his mouth, Natsu's eyes widened in sheer agony.
The flames didn't go down his throat, but burned his lips.
They scorched his skin.
It didn't taste like ethernano, it tasted like pure, heavy death!
Natsu choked, stumbling backward and swatting at his own face to put the dark fire out.
"Natsu!" Happy screamed in panic.
"Hot! Hot! Hot!" Natsu yelled, spitting black smoke and wiping his blistered mouth. "What the hell is wrong with your fire?! I can't eat it!"
Zancrow smirked, igniting both of his fists with the terrifying black flames. "Of course you can't, you pathetic little lizard. I'm Zancrow! The Flame God Slayer! And a dragon can't eat the flames of a god!"
Natsu gritted his teeth, the pain in his mouth quickly replaced by a fierce, burning anger.
He ignited his own fists with bright, roaring red-orange fire.
"God or not," Natsu growled. "I'm still gonna burn you to a crisp. Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
He charged forward, meeting Zancrow in the center of the clearing.
Red fire clashed violently against black fire, the resulting shockwave setting the surrounding trees ablaze.
...
Near the eastern bay, the dense jungle was unusually quiet.
Ace walked through the shadows, his dark coat blending into the dim light.
His D-Tector was humming softly in his pocket, tracking the massive energy spikes across the island.
Suddenly, the hum stopped.
Ace paused, his eyes narrowing.
He looked toward the eastern shore, past the tree line.
The colossal, overwhelming magical signature of Master Makarov had just vanished. It didn't fade slowly; it was snuffed out in an instant.
'Hades,' Ace thought, his jaw tightening.
'He took down the old man.'
The situation just escalated from an invasion to a fight for survival.
Without Makarov, Grimoire Heart would start hunting the weaker members without hesitation.
Ace needed to regroup and coordinate.
He heard frantic footsteps approaching from the north.
Ace stepped out from behind a thick tree root just as Gray, Loke, Wendy, and Mest burst into the clearing.
Gray was covered in frost and scratches, looking pissed off.
Wendy was out of breath, and Mest looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack.
"Ace!" Gray yelled, stopping in his tracks. "You saw the flare, right? It's Grimoire Heart!"
"I know," Ace said calmly, his eyes sweeping over the group to ensure they weren't critically injured.
"I already took care of their vanguard on the southern shore."
Mest pushed his way to the front, his hands shaking. "We need to evacuate! Right now! Azuma of the Seven Kin is wandering around the northern caves. If we stay here, we're dead! We have to find the Master and get off this island!"
Ace locked eyes with Mest.
His expression was cold, hard, and entirely unforgiving. He stepped forward, closing the distance until he was inches from the older mage's face.
"Keep it together, Doranbolt," Ace said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous whisper that only Mest could hear.
Mest froze.
His blood ran cold.
The fake memories, the infiltration, the Magic Council cover—Ace knew.
He knew all of it.
"I don't care about your Council mission right now," Ace continued, his tone cutting like a knife. "But if you start a panic and get these kids killed, I won't wait for Grimoire Heart to end you. Do you understand?"
Mest swallowed hard, terrified of the dark-coated mage standing in front of him.
He gave a slow, jerky nod.
Ace stepped back, his voice returning to normal volume. "The Master is down. I just felt his magical signature drop near the eastern bay. Evacuating isn't an option anymore. Their airship has the high ground."
"The Master lost?" Wendy gasped, tears immediately welling in her eyes. "But... he's a Wizard Saint!"
"This is bad." Loke said gravely, adjusting his glasses.
"We aren't rolling over," Gray growled, slamming his fist into his palm.
The cold mist flared around him. "If the Master is down, we have to fight harder. Point me at the nearest dark guild bastard, Ace."
"No," Ace ordered firmly. "You four are heading to the main camp at the Tenrou Tree. Find Levy, Gajeel, and whoever else is out there. Set up a defensive perimeter. Wendy, you're on healing duty."
"I'm not sitting at camp while you fight!" Gray argued.
"This isn't a negotiation, Gray," Ace said, his eyes glowing with a faint, digital gold.
The heavy pressure of his aura made Gray flinch.
"You fought Azuma and survived, that's good enough for today. Go to the camp. I'm going hunting for the Seven Kin."
Gray bit his lip, hating the order, but he couldn't deny the terrifying authority Ace carried.
He nodded slowly. "Fine. But you better not die out there, Ace."
"I don't plan to," Ace smirked, turning away and vanishing back into the dense brush, his senses locking onto a new, powerful signature moving through the western sector.
...
The western jungle was a beautiful, ancient part of Tenrou Island, filled with massive, glowing lacrima crystals embedded into the stone walls of a shallow canyon.
Azuma walked calmly through the canyon, his heavy boots crunching against the gravel. He had left the ice mage behind, seeking a true challenge.
The island's ethernano felt vibrant here, singing with the earth.
He stopped walking as the hairs on his arms stood up.
A sharp, disciplined, and incredibly lethal magical pressure washed over the canyon.
From the shadows of the canyon wall, a figure stepped into the dim light.
She wore her Heart Kreuz armor, the silver plates gleaming.
Her crimson hair flowed in the humid breeze. In her right hand, she held a sleek, razor-sharp broadsword.
Her eyes were locked onto Azuma with the focus of a predator.
Azuma's stoic expression finally broke. A wide, genuine smile of pure anticipation spread across his face.
"I was wondering when I would run into you," Azuma said, his tribal tattoos beginning to glow with a deep, earthen brown light.
"Erza Scarlet. Titania of Fairy Tail."
Erza didn't smile back.
She raised her sword, pointing the tip directly at his chest.
"You have invaded our home. You have threatened my family," Erza stated, her voice echoing off the canyon walls with absolute, unyielding authority.
"I am going to cut you down."
"Please try," Azuma invited, raising his hands.
The ground beneath them rumbled.
Erza's magic flared in a blinding light. "Requip!"
In a fraction of a second, the silver armor vanished.
She was now clad in the heavy, imposing dark steel of her Purgatory Armor, wielding a massive, jagged mace-sword that looked heavy enough to crush a mountain.
She didn't wait for Azuma to cast a spell.
She launched herself forward, closing the distance with terrifying speed, bringing the heavy black blade down with the force of a falling meteor.
Azuma thrust his hands up. "Tower of Burst!"
The earth erupted beneath Erza.
A colossal wave of twisting, explosive roots shot upward, aiming to blast her out of the sky.
The clash between Titania and the Great Tree Arc had begun.