Chapter 708 - 708: Battle (Part I)

Battles raged throughout the Vidolon Mountains, stretching across hundreds of kilometers.

The earth shook continuously, and explosions echoed from one end of the range to the other.

High above the battlefield, Raizel's fight against Helios was still underway.

Helios's once-pristine white body was now streaked with blood, and patches of his pale scales had been scorched black.

Compared with how imposing he had looked at the beginning, the Sun Dragon God was becoming increasingly battered.

Examon X, by contrast, remained almost untouched.

The wings and armor formed from Digizoid still gleamed as though new, and even Ambrosius showed no signs of damage.

Yet despite Helios's miserable appearance, his strength had continued to rise throughout the battle.

He gave a disdainful snort.

"You are far too arrogant!"

Helios had spent much of the fight evading Raizel and deliberately dragging things out while gradually moving the battlefield higher into the sky.

By now, Helios and Examon X were so high above the mountains that only those with enlarged bodies like Laxus and Gajeel, or dragons flying through the air such as Irene and Selene, could barely make out their silhouettes.

Helios had slept for four hundred years.

He still needed time to completely recover from that dormancy.

There was another reason he had chosen to climb higher.

The closer Helios was to the sun, the stronger he became.

And then there was Helios's own natural talent.

Like many true monsters, he was the type who grew stronger the longer a battle lasted.

So although Helios remained at a disadvantage, he still believed there was a chance to turn the fight around.

Raizel had no intention of holding back this time.

The problem was that Helios had become ridiculously slippery, investing seemingly every ounce of his survival instinct into evasion.

Raizel sneered.

"Is running away how you survived Acnologia?"

Helios's mouth twitched.

Because that was, in fact, uncomfortably close to the truth.

Still, he forcibly suppressed his anger.

He knew perfectly well that he was currently weaker.

'I have to endure it. This isn't the time to fight him head-on yet...'

...

On the city atop Aldoron's body, Jellal's battle against the Gears God Seed was approaching its conclusion.

Gears's abilities were extremely difficult to guard against.

At some point without even realizing it, Jellal had already been implanted with one of the God Seed's gears.

'Damn it... I can't keep up!'

His thoughts slowed dramatically.

His consciousness and body fell out of sync, leaving him in a dangerous position.

But at the critical moment, Meredy arrived.

She immediately noticed something was wrong.

"Maguilty Sense!"

A pink bond of Magic connected Jellal and Gears.

The God Seed instantly found himself suffering from the same sluggish thoughts he had inflicted on Jellal.

"Maguilty Sense II—Shared Sensation!"

A second bond, this one red, connected Meredy and Jellal.

When two people connected through Shared Sensation genuinely trusted one another, both could receive a dramatic increase in strength.

Jellal nodded toward Meredy.

She understood immediately and raised one hand.

"Maguilty Sodom!"

Several black swords manifested behind her.

They shot toward Gears at tremendous speed.

"Meteor!"

Jellal accelerated into the sky.

Feeling the danger from Meredy's dark blades, Gears leapt backward several times in succession and narrowly avoided them.

"Your aim is terrible."

He glanced toward Jellal rising overhead.

"And are you trying to run away too, human?"

With one sentence, Gears mocked both of them at once.

"Am I?"

Jellal's voice came from above.

Gears looked up.

Nine golden magic circles had appeared across the sky.

Beams of golden light connected them into a vast formation.

"Celestial Magic: Nine Thunder Stars!"

Golden light erupted from all nine formations simultaneously.

Nine beams converged on Gears from different directions.

They reached him almost instantly.

The God Seed disappeared inside a storm of golden light.

BOOOOM!

A violent explosion shook the battlefield.

When the brilliance faded, Gears's body had been burned completely black.

Then it slowly crumbled into ash and scattered away.

...

Elsewhere, Jura and Richard had joined forces against Metro, the God Seed commanding the Army of Strength.

Metro immediately summoned dozens of enormous wooden giants.

Neither Jura nor Richard looked particularly concerned.

Jura pressed his palms together.

"It seems we have another chance to fight side by side, Sir Richard."

Richard hugged a book against his chest.

"I believe this must be love, Jura-san!"

Jura laughed heartily.

"Hahaha!"

Then both attacked.

"Rock Iron Fist!"

"Sand Fist!"

Eight gigantic fists formed from stone and another eight formed from sand.

Under Jura and Richard's control, all sixteen moved as naturally as their own limbs.

The dense barrage of heavy punches crashed into Metro's wooden giants, knocking them backward one after another and smashing several directly to the ground.

"Liquid Ground!"

Richard transformed the earth beneath Metro into sand.

Then he manipulated it, sweeping Metro off his feet.

"Multiple Pillar Rain!"

Jura brought two fingers together and traced through the air.

Several stone pillars, each thicker than a man's thigh, shot toward the off-balance Metro simultaneously.

The solid pillars struck his head, chest, and abdomen.

Metro's face twisted in pain and turned deathly pale.

"Sir Richard!"

Richard activated Heaven's Eye.

Orange light flared from both eyes.

Two burning laser beams shot forward.

At the same time, Jura controlled the surrounding rocks.

"Rumbling Mount Fuji!"

Yellow Magic Power coated the stones as they piled around Metro from every direction.

Then Jura detonated them.

BOOOOM!

A blue pillar of light erupted into the sky.

Metro was thrown out of the center of the explosion before crashing heavily back to the ground.

The moment the God Seed died, the Army of Strength vanished with him.

Jura took out a portable communication lacrima.

"This is Jura. The Metro God Seed has been eliminated."

Mavis immediately replied after checking the magical map.

"Understood. If you still have enough strength to continue, head toward the battlefield where Elefseria and Diabolos are fighting."

A map showing the location appeared through the lacrima.

Jura nodded.

"No time to waste. Let's go!"

...

Mavis immediately had Warren contact Cana through Telepathy.

'Cana, all four of the other God Seeds have been eliminated. You can attempt to finish the Aldoron God Seed now.'

Cana's eyes lit up when Warren's voice reached her.

She immediately shouted toward Ultear and the others.

"The other four God Seeds are down! Everyone, full power!"

She dismissed her bow and placed her left hand over her right arm.

Then she began reciting the incantation for one of Fairy Tail's Three Great Fairy Magics.

"Gather, O river of light guided by the fairies!"

Light began accumulating across Cana's arm.

Ultear and Mira also started gathering Magic Power for their strongest attacks.

Aldoron immediately sensed the terrifying power building around Cana.

"YOU WON'T!"

He thrust out one hand.

"Blade Forest!"

Dozens of wooden swords erupted toward them.

"Requip: Adamantine Armor!"

Erza instantly moved in front of the other three.

Her enormous shields joined together.

The defensive magic circle activated, expanding around Ultear, Mira, and Cana.

The wooden blades crashed uselessly against the barrier.

Aldoron snarled.

"Every inch of this space belongs to me!"

Spikes erupted from beneath the ground, aimed directly at the three women who were still charging their attacks.

But the result was nothing like Aldoron expected.

His pupils contracted.

He involuntarily took half a step backward.

"W-What?!"

The spikes rising from below struck the defensive barrier extending along the ground.

They snapped cleanly in half.

Erza remained planted in place behind the Adamantine Shield.

Not a single attack reached the three women behind her.