Magnolia Town. The sky battlefield.
Hades's Dark Magic had already stained most of the sky. The nearly inexhaustible advantage of the Second Magic Origin was on full display. Even with Recovery Potions keeping him from tiring, Gildarts simply couldn't shatter all of Hades's dispersed magical power.
His primary focus remained countering Hades's formidable magic.
As dark magic densely spread across the sky, Hades raised his eyes slightly, watching the charging Gildarts with a now distinctly formal tone: "Not bad magic. It's just a pity that it's ultimately too shallow."
Gildarts ignored him and sneered: "Have you been hit so badly that you're spouting nonsense?"
Gildarts's magic surged, shattering the surrounding dark power. With a wave of his hand, columns of magical energy—reminiscent of Mage Binding Cannons—hurled toward Hades.
Hades raised his hand and said coolly: "Amaterasu-100: Infinite Seal."
The dark magic thick in the sky instantly coalesced into shape. It turned out to be a formation laid out long ago.
At the upper and lower ends of Gildarts, two enormous black-purple magic circles appeared. Then, about three hundred meters away from him, five more vertically oriented black-purple magic circles rose up.
The seven black-purple circles interconnected, unlike those he had used in the Rock Mountain Range. This time, the Amaterasu-100 did not exude a terrifying aura; instead, it flowed calmly and steadily.
Gildarts's Crush Magic attack rippled outward only to stir a mere ripple.
Hades spoke coolly: "Useless. The Amaterasu-100 has been modified into a sealing formation that connects with my Magic Source. Unless your magic power is strong enough to shatter this spell in one blow—and extend to break through my Magic Source—you won't be able to break free. But judging by your appearance, it seems you can't escape. The last time you managed to tear apart my magic, it was because of that hat, wasn't it? And now?"
Gildarts's expression changed as he replied: "Sounds troublesome. No wonder you dared to attack here. Now…"
Gildarts produced a token from his pocket and crushed it.
Crack!
A silver-white Spatial Magic formation flared beneath Gildarts. But in the next second, as the surrounding dark magic flickered, that silver-white formation became disturbed, growing vague until it shattered with a tremendous crash.
Gildarts's face tightened, and Hades said coolly: "Space Magic isn't omnipotent. This formation bears inscriptions that disrupt spatial magic; your tool is useless. Just stay put."
After speaking, Hades drifted toward the battlefield below. He had dawdled here long enough to lure Gildarts into the formation and trap him. With his objective achieved, there was no need to prolong the encounter.
Growing impatient, Gildarts shouted toward the battlefield below: "Watch out for Hades!!!"
He unleashed his magic, slamming it at one point at the center of the formation. The sevenfold structure evenly divided the damage, creating massive ripples; combined with the energy supply from the Second Magic Origin, it truly seemed insurmountable.
Gildarts's shout startled the entire battlefield.
Gaal looked up and saw Hades swooping down, his expression changing dramatically: "This is bad."
Without Gildarts to impede him, Hades would charge down, and the battle would surely go entirely his way. With a swift gesture, he used Reflector Magic to deflect Zancrow's flames back at him.
Doppelgangers of Gaal burst out from behind him, landing in midair and surging upward toward the sky.
A glint of cold light flashed in Hades's eyes as he waved his hand: "Chain Magic."
Chains formed from dark magic shot from Hades's palm with bullet-like speed, spiraling to strangle. The doppelgangers of Gaal, who had charged upward, were instantly reduced by 90%, leaving only a few scattered remnants that Hades casually picked off.
Gaal took a deep breath, pressed his palms together, and swiftly retreated, dodging Zancrow's attacks. Illusory doppelgangers emerged from his body, scattering in every direction.
Zancrow's roar resounded: "Stop right there! Flame God's Bow!!!"
Grasping the Flame God's Bow, Zancrow was propelled toward Gaal, laughing maniacally: "Try reflecting it back if you dare!!!"
As Gaal drew nearer, Zancrow's face lit up with excitement: "You dare to challenge my magic power?!"
Rip!
In Zancrow's mind, Gaal's Reflector Magic had failed to appear.
Instead, the retreating Gaal had his body torn apart by the Flame God's Bow, leaving Zancrow momentarily stunned: "Is he dead? No! It's an illusion! Damn it!!!"
Zancrow turned his head to look. Countless illusionary doppelgangers of Gaal were flying outward, with his true self hidden among them.
Suddenly, Zancrow's gaze fixed on a Gaal dashing toward a sloping section of the battlefield below.
Black endless flames ignited in his hands: "Over there!!! The Blazing Flame... God of Fire!!!"
A massive black fireball nearly a hundred meters in diameter launched indiscriminately toward the lower battlefield.
Landing on the icy surface, Gaal hurled a Fire Seal Card skyward and shouted: "Gengar! Take the others away!"
On the battlefield, Gengar—commanding his legion of subordinates—heard Gaal's shout and immediately raised his trident to order: "Hehehe (Enter the Shadows)!"
Soon, all the Gastlys, Haunters, and Gengars merged with the ground and vanished. The next second, from the shadows of the Fairy Tail Guild members and even from the shadows of the assisting Pokémon, a huge mouth emerged, gulped down the shadow of its owner standing on the ice, and then disappeared into the ground. This sudden turn of events brought the battlefield to a momentary standstill.
Boom!
High above, the Fire Seal Card burst with blinding light, sealing the descending Blazing Flame God.
Over on Ur's side, locked in battle with Kain Hikaru, they sensed the horrifying dark magic emanating from above and frantically searched for Ultear's figure.
Not finding her immediately, someone shouted: "Ultear!"
Elsewhere, behind the Dark Guild, Ultear herself sensed the approaching magic of Hades.
Opposite her, Meredy's face broke into a smile: "Ultear, come back with me. As long as you confess your mistake, Lord Hades won't hold you accountable. I put my life on the line!"
Ultear's expression darkened as she looked at Meredy and said: "Come with me, Meredy. The Grimoire Heart is not a good place…"
Meredy's face had already turned ashen as she shouted: "So then… Ultear, are you planning to abandon me? Rescue me only to abandon me? Is it amusing?! Ultear!!!"
Ultear gritted her teeth: "I didn't. Meredy."
Meredy roared: "Then come back with me! The Land of Sin!"
Countless Light Swords emerged behind Meredy, aimed squarely at Ultear: "I'll say it once more! Come back with me, Ultear!"
Ultear took a deep breath and declared: "I refuse. It seems I'll have to knock you out and take you away."
Meredy roared: "Don't underestimate me! Ultear! You betrayed me! You deserve to die!"
Without hesitation, Meredy launched his attack, sending countless Light Swords toward her. Ultear dodged while steadily advancing on Meredy.
At the back door of the guild, Gaal stood on the icy front. Clatter, clatter!
The crafted Stellium Celestial Serra appeared at Gaal's side: "Master."
Gaal spoke gravely: "Guard the entrance."
Stellium Celestial Serra nodded, wielding a bone sword in both hands as he slowly retreated to the back door of the guild.
Inside the guild hall, Gastlys and Haunters burst from the ground, ejecting guild members and Pokémon. Everyone was left dazed, unsure of what was happening. But Gaal had no time to explain—Hades's casual attacks could bring unforeseen consequences.
Gaal pressed his palms together; the light emanating from them burst forth, illuminating the entire battlefield: "Fairy Law."
As Gaal slowly opened his clasped hands, an incredibly dazzling orb appeared before everyone's eyes. Fairy Law entered a state of imminent activation. In that instant, a sense of dread swept over every mage of the Dark Guild on the battlefield—as if, in the next moment, they might be wiped from existence, vanished without a trace…
Up in the sky, Hades paused and said coolly: "I see. So this is Makarov's trump card—a mage capable of wielding Fairy Law. No wonder he dared to leave with confidence. However… he surely didn't hand over that thing (Lumen Histoire) to you, did he?"
Hades's tone remained impassive. Then he too pressed his hands together, and endless darkness gathered in his palms: "Grimoire's… Law!"
A despair-inducing force of dark power instantly enveloped the entire battlefield.