The night was as dark as ink, and the Mages of Fairy Tail sped along the forest path.
Erza's red hair flew in the wind, her armor clanging with crisp metallic sounds as she ran.
"Faster!" she shouted back, "Bayar City is only two hundred kilometers ahead!"
Flames ignited under Natsu's feet, and he shot to the front of the team like a rocket: "You should have let me fly over with Fire Dragon's Wing Attack ages ago!"
"Idiot!" Gray skated on an ice track he created, "Do you want the whole city to know we're coming?"
Levy ran at full speed, a pair of wind-spun wings wrapped around her feet, allowing the girl to keep pace with the others. A colorful magic book automatically flipped pages in her hand: "According to the map, after we pass through this oak forest, we'll see—"
Before she could finish, a dark green wind blade suddenly cleaved from the darkness, cutting a century-old oak tree in front of them in half.
The tree trunk crashed down, stirring up a cloud of dust.
"Enemy attack!" Erza abruptly stopped, a silver-white magic circle spreading beneath her feet. From the void, a set of silver-white armor with twelve magic swords circling its back appeared. In an instant, her original knight armor disintegrated.
The silver-white armor flew onto her body, and with a flash of white light, Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor was complete, the twelve swords of Heaven's Wheel Armor glinting sharply in the moonlight.
Two figures emerged from the thick smoke.
The man on the left carried a giant scythe at least two meters long, its blade wreathed in an ominous green wind.
The tall, thin man on the right was shrouded in a black robe, only his skeletal hands exposed, with ghostly blue flames flickering at his fingertips.
"Good evening, Fairies." The scythe-wielding man grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth, "This road is closed."
Cana's cards were already clutched between her fingers: "Eisenwald Guild Master Erigor, codenamed 'Reaper'…"
"And Vice Guild Master 'Ogre' Yorick. Rumor has it he's a Necromancer who joined Eisenwald just last year," Levy quickly added, "Records show they never appear in the same operation—"
"Because there are too few targets worthy of both of us." Yorick's voice from beneath the black robe was as hoarse as sandpaper, "But Fairy Tail… is worth making an exception for."
Natsu's fists ignited with flames: "Enough talk! Gray, the left one is mine!"
"Wait!" Erza sharply interjected, "Our primary mission is to support EZ!"
Erigor suddenly swung his scythe, and a violent whirlwind instantly formed a barrier, completely blocking the path: "Want to pass? Ask my 'Storm Barrier' first!"
Cana suddenly lowered her voice: "Erza, I have an idea."
She revealed a card with a purple glow around its edges, "This is a new spatial transfer card I developed, but it's still unstable…"
"Side effects?" Erza's gaze was sharp.
"Spatial tearing might injure internal organs." Cana gave a wry smile, "Only Mages of our level of magic power can endure it."
Erza's gaze swept quickly over her companions: "Natsu, Gray, Levy, Happy, stay and hold them off. Cana, prepare the transfer!"
"Trying to run?" Yorick raised his skeletal hand, and the ground suddenly cracked open as dozens of skeletons burst from the earth, "Undead Feast!"
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" Natsu's fiery whirlwind swept through, burning the skeletons to ashes, "Your opponents are us!"
Gray had already taken off his shirt (and it was gone again), slapping his palms to the ground: "Ice Make: Lancer!"
Ice crystal spears shot up from the ground, aiming straight for Erigor's lower body.
Levy rapidly flipped through her magic book: "Ancient Text: Light Shield!"
Golden runes formed a barrier in the air, temporarily blocking the incoming wind blades.
"Let's go!" Cana tossed the card into the air, and a purple magic circle rapidly expanded, "Spatial Jump: Activate!"
Erza grabbed Cana's wrist, and the two leaped into the swirling, distorted space.
In the instant before disappearing, Erza took one last look at her companions: "Don't die!"
"Don't worry!" Gray's lips curved into a confident smile, "See you at the barbecue joint later!"
The moment the spatial rift closed, Erigor's expression turned grim: "Damn them!"
He forcefully plunged his giant scythe into the ground, and dark green magic power surged from the blade like venomous snakes. In the blink of an eye, the two-meter-long scythe swelled to six meters, the wind elements swirling around its blade emitting a sharp shriek.
"Hurricane Kamaitachi!"
With his roar, countless green wind blades rained down like a torrent. Wherever they passed, leaves were shredded to dust, and the ground was plowed with bottomless furrows.
Natsu's pupils contracted sharply, and flames erupted around him, the scorching heat blast sending pebbles flying from beneath his feet.
He streaked like a crimson lightning bolt in front of Gray. The moment he crossed his arms, orange-red flames layered like scales, forming a massive shield of fire.
"Fire Dragon's Scales!"
The instant the wind blades collided with the flames, the entire forest seemed to explode. In the blinding light, the booming sound made everyone's eardrums ache, and shockwaves spread outwards from the point of impact, overturning swathes of bushes.
"Good teamwork, eh?" Yorick let out a piercing cackle. His skeletal fingers traced eerie runes in the air.
The ground instantly cracked with countless fissures, and foul-smelling black viscous liquid surged out like a tide. Wherever it reached, the soil rapidly rotted into a bubbling swamp. "Taste my 'Corpse Swamp'!"
Happy suddenly flew onto Natsu's shoulder: "Aye! Watch your step!"
He transformed into a white light and merged into Natsu's body. Fire wings instantly unfurled, carrying his master into the air.
The black liquid grazed the bottom of his boots, corroding the ground into sizzling, deep pits.
Gray quickly froze the black liquid beneath his feet: "Levy, his weakness?"
"Necromancers are usually afraid of—"
Before Levy could finish, Erigor's scythe suddenly changed direction. Three wind blades, carrying sonic booms, tore through the air in a triangular formation, aiming straight for the defenseless Levy!
"Look out!" Gray instinctively shot forward, an ice crystal armor instantly solidifying on his body as he crossed his arms into a cross.
"Ice Make: Shield!"
The wind blades violently struck the ice shield, erupting in a crisp shattering sound. Spiderweb-like cracks rapidly spread across the ice shield's surface, and the lingering cold and wind elements made Levy's magic book rustle loudly.
Levy backed away: "Undead Magic is too incompatible with us. Leave him to Natsu!"
"Just as I wanted!" Natsu twisted his body in the air, flames solidifying around him, like a god of war clad in lava armor.
He bared his sharp fangs in a grin, and from the flames bursting forth when his fists collided, a faint dragon-shaped phantom emerged.
"Understood!" Gray twisted his neck, looked at Erigor, and spread his hands into a stance, "Ice Make—"
But Yorick was one step ahead, slamming his hand to the ground: "Thousand Corpse Needles!"
Hundreds of sharp bone spikes burst from the earth, shooting towards Gray like a black rain.
Just as the bone spikes were about to pierce his chest, a figure enveloped in scorching heat descended from the sky—Natsu's head was wrapped in spiraling flames, like a burning spear.
"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" Flames collided with bone spikes, and the resulting blast of air sent Yorick flying. His black robe was scorched in large patches, revealing his pale white ribs.
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