Chapter 104: FTRJ: Chapter 104

But in the end, the attack was blocked.

Gray looked at Lucy and said slowly, “To Gray, Lucy is a new member of the guild, a professional commentator, and… nothing special.”

“What are you saying?!” Lucy was annoyed. “What do you mean ’nothing special’? My beauty isn’t special?”

“Wait, you’re not Gray!” Lucy suddenly realized.

Crackle crackle! A puff of smoke erupted, and Gray transformed into two miniature figures.

“Gemini. You’re a Celestial Spirit Mage!” Lucy had suspected this when she saw Angel, and after questioning her own Celestial Spirit, Crux, she confirmed it.

Hibiki looked at Angel gravely. “Lucy, don’t underestimate her. Let’s attack together!”

“Okay!” Lucy produced a golden key.

Meanwhile, a hard rock fist collided with a soft earth ocean; two powerful magical energies clashed.

BOOM————

A violent explosion resulted from the clash of magical energies.

The dust from the earth was blown away by the wind, revealing Jura and Hoteye. Jura’s brow was furrowed.

He glanced at the rising pillar of magical energy.

“Is this the time to be entangled with this guy?” Jura wondered. Should he go stop Nirvana or stay and fight?

The main mission was to defeat Oración Seis, but he couldn’t ignore the dangerous Nirvana.

Hoteye pointed towards Nirvana. “Worried about Nirvana?”

“Don’t worry. The core hasn’t activated yet. It’s just the seal being broken. But I smell money! Haha—hahahaha!” Hoteye laughed maniacally.

Seeing Hoteye’s laughter, Jura recalled the figure who had effortlessly defeated him.

“Mr. Finn, you can handle Nirvana, right?” He looked into the distance, his eyes full of trust.

Hoteye, gazing at Nirvana, seemed to descend into a state of frenzy. “Money… endless money is about to be mine!”

He spread his arms wide, as if attempting to embrace the glorious future that Nirvana promised to bestow upon him.

“So, we’re going to be rich, hahaha—huh?” Suddenly, Hoteye’s eyes widened in alarm.

His body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Unable to bear whatever was happening, Hoteye suddenly clutched his head, letting out a series of agonizing cries. “Wooooaaaaaaaahhhh——” The pitiful wails instantly put Jura on high alert.

“What… what’s happening now?” Jura muttered to himself, utterly bewildered by Hoteye’s sudden and dramatic change in demeanor. Even a seasoned warrior like Jura was completely at a loss for what to do.

“Wooo… money… money…” Hoteye continued to clutch his head, his cries growing increasingly frantic and desperate. The sheer intensity of his anguish sent a shiver down Jura’s spine.

“What in the world is going on here?!” Jura’s mind was racing, a whirlwind of unanswered questions swirling within him.

“Money————” Hoteye roared towards the heavens, his voice filled with a desperate, almost manic intensity.

Then, just as suddenly as the episode of madness had begun, it ceased. Hoteye turned his gaze towards Jura, the frantic expression completely gone, replaced by a radiant, almost childlike smile. “I don’t need that anymore, you see!”

“Huh?” Jura’s eyes widened in utter disbelief, completely unable to comprehend the scene unfolding before him.

Tears of profound emotion welled up in Hoteye’s eyes. “I desperately wanted to see my brother, separated from me at birth. I foolishly believed that having enough money would be the key to finding him, you see!”

A gentle, holy light seemed to emanate from Hoteye’s body, and he clenched his fists, as if repenting for his past actions. “But I now realize how terribly wrong that idea was, you see!”

Jura felt as if his entire understanding of the world had been shattered. His eyes remained wide, his expression one of utter disbelief as he witnessed this dramatic transformation in the usually ruthless Hoteye.

Hoteye approached Jura and gently took his hand. “Let’s put aside these petty squabbles. This world is overflowing with love!”

“Love… such a sweet and merciful word. As long as love exists in this world, nothing is impossible, you see!” Hoteye’s voice was filled with an almost overwhelming sense of emotion.

He embraced Jura in a warm, heartfelt hug. Despite the significant difference in their heights, the hug felt surprisingly natural and comforting. Tears continued to stream down Hoteye’s face, landing upon Jura’s gleaming bald head.

“Come, let us work together to put a stop to the violent actions of my former comrades. Let us show them the true beauty of love! You see!”

“…” A look of profound embarrassment, an expression rarely seen on the face of a Ten Wizard Saint, crossed Jura’s features. “This…”

————

Meanwhile, Finn halted his advance, a curious expression crossing his face.

“What is it?” Erza asked, her gaze falling upon Finn.

“I just received a message from Hibiki, relaying a communication from Jura. He says that Nirvana possesses the power to reverse light and darkness,” Finn explained, his voice laced with a hint of unease.

Upon hearing Finn’s words, Erza’s expression immediately turned grave.

“So, that means Nirvana could potentially plunge us into darkness?” she asked, her voice filled with apprehension.

Finn nodded slowly. “That’s correct, but according to Jura, that’s only the final stage. Currently, we are in the first stage, where the seal is being broken, and a black pillar of energy is rising into the sky.” Finn gestured towards the direction of Nirvana.

“In this initial stage, individuals caught between the realms of light and darkness will experience a reversal of their magical attributes,” Finn explained, his gaze returning to Erza.

“And just moments ago, Hoteye, a member of Oración Seis, had his attributes reversed by Nirvana and has now joined our side…”

“Huh?” Erza’s voice expressed her utter bewilderment.

“You mean to say that the very thing they’ve been tirelessly searching for has actually ended up aiding us?” she asked, her voice filled with disbelief.

Finn nodded. “That’s essentially what Jura’s message conveyed. They’re currently heading towards Nirvana.”

“Even so, we must still prevent Nirvana from being fully unsealed. If…” Erza’s gaze locked onto Finn’s, a chilling possibility forming in her mind.

“If Finn were to be plunged into darkness, then…” Erza trailed off, unable to articulate the terrifying consequences of such a scenario. She feared that no one would be able to stop a Finn unburdened by the constraints of light, a Finn consumed by the darkness.

After all, this was a man who had even dared to directly confront the power of the Celestial Spirit King.

“You two are awfully calm for a situation like this,” a voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.

Finn turned his gaze towards the source of the voice.

A figure emerged from the shadows, his black hair streaked with several strands of white, peculiar ornaments adorning his temples, and his eyes and mouth outlined in stark black. His gaze fell upon Finn and Erza, his expression one of languid indifference, as if he had just awakened from a long slumber.

Midnight, a member of Oración Seis!

“Fairy Queen Erza, and the Sun God, Finn…” Midnight murmured, his voice laced with a hint of amusement. “I hope you two will allow me to thoroughly enjoy myself!”

Finn shook his head wearily. “Another incredibly arrogant fool,” he muttered under his breath, his mind flashing back to the encounter with Erigor, who had been easily subdued. “Just like that guy, brimming with unwarranted confidence!”

Meanwhile, Natsu and Gray found themselves locked in fierce combat.

A two-on-two battle had commenced: Oración Seis versus Fairy Tail!

During the battle, Natsu discovered that Cobra was a Poison Dragon Slayer, and without hesitation, he engaged Cobra in a duel, declaring it a battle between dragons.

Gray, understanding the unique nature of a battle between Dragon Slayers, refrained from interfering, offering only his silent support to his rival. He turned his attention to Racer, another member of Oración Seis.

However, Gray quickly found himself in a precarious situation.

Racer’s incredible speed rendered Gray’s attacks completely ineffective. His Ice Make magic was useless if he couldn’t land a single blow.

The situation worsened when Racer activated his red-colored magical domain. It was a game of cat and mouse, with Gray completely at Racer’s mercy, unable to mount any effective defense.

Racer relentlessly pummeled Gray with a barrage of kicks, leaving Gray’s brow furrowed in concentration as he desperately attempted to evade the onslaught. His eyes darted to the distant horizon.

It was only thanks to Gray’s exceptional resilience, honed through years of relentless training and countless battles, that he was able to endure Racer’s relentless assault. Despite his fortitude, however, Gray was already covered in wounds.

Finally, as if Racer had grown weary of his game of cat and mouse, he planted his foot firmly on Gray’s chest, his eyes gleaming menacingly from beneath his sunglasses.

He picked up one of the sharp ice shards that Gray’s magic had created, holding it up for examination. “You said earlier that I lack a decisive finishing move, did you? Well, let me show you that for a decisive victory, something like this is quite sufficient,” Racer said, his voice laced with a chilling confidence.

He toyed with the ice shard in his hand, seemingly tracing the path of Gray’s carotid artery.

“With my superior speed, no matter what kind of magic you attempt to use against me, I will always be able to strike first and eliminate you!” Racer declared, his words dripping with an almost arrogant certainty of victory.

“I am a member of Oración Seis! Six wizards, six prayers—we are the six unbreakable pillars that will never be destroyed! Anyone who dares to attempt to shake these pillars… will pay the ultimate price!”

He raised his arm high, the ice shard glinting menacingly in the sunlight.

However, just as he was about to plunge the ice shard into Gray’s neck, his hand froze mid-motion. Through his sunglasses, he could clearly see Gray’s face, a faint smile playing on his lips. Racer was utterly perplexed; he couldn’t understand why Gray was still able to maintain such composure and even smile in the face of imminent death.

“Actually, during our first encounter with you and Erza, I noticed something… I discovered your weakness,” Gray said calmly, his voice steady and unwavering.

“Your magic doesn’t actually increase your own speed, does it? You don’t enhance your own speed; instead, you reduce the speed of your opponents within a certain range, correct?”

Gray noticed a bead of sweat trickling down Racer’s temple.

“Lyon!” Gray suddenly bellowed at the top of his lungs.

An immediate sense of danger washed over Racer as he instinctively turned his head, his eyes widening in alarm as he saw a brilliant, intensely bright magical energy coalescing on a distant mountain peak.

“Ice Make: Swords!” Lyon, his fists clenched together, having learned from his past arrogance, now employed a two-handed technique.

A brilliant ice-blue magic circle flashed into existence, and countless ice swallows, each moving at an astonishing speed of 352 kilometers per hour, launched themselves towards Racer.

The sound of air splitting apart echoed from the distance, and before Racer could even react, the ice swallows were upon him.

“So… so fast!” Racer gasped, desperately attempting to move, only to discover that he was completely unable to utilize his speed-enhancing magic. Or perhaps, more accurately, his speed-enhancing magic had never truly existed.

“AAAAAH!!” Countless ice shards pierced his body, causing him to let out a series of agonizing screams. His mind flashed back to the nightmarish memories of his childhood, the relentless pursuit, the endless running…

In his desperate attempt to evade the impending danger, a fervent prayer arose from deep within his heart—a desperate plea to be faster… faster… than anyone else.

Racer, a member of Oración Seis, had been defeated.

Shortly thereafter, Gray, with Lyon’s assistance, managed to regain his feet. “As expected of my senpai! Thanks!” Gray said, clapping Lyon on the shoulder.

“You should be thanking Hibiki. He was the one who connected our telepathic communication. Otherwise, you might have actually died there,” Lyon said with a chuckle.

“Honestly, I thought Lyon’s sudden change of direction was quite strange. So that’s what happened,” Sherria said, finally understanding the situation.

————

Meanwhile, Lucy was facing a desperate situation.

Her opponent possessed a far more profound understanding of the Celestial Spirits than she did. No matter what Celestial Spirit Lucy summoned, Angel was able to counter it effortlessly, even going so far as to create duplicates of Lucy herself to control her own Celestial Spirits.

Even Loki, despite his unwavering resolve, was forced into a brutal confrontation with his close friend, Aries.

Upon seeing Aries, Lucy was finally able to piece together the truth behind the events of three years prior. It was Aries who had murdered Karen and subsequently stolen her Celestial Spirit key.

Angel’s callous treatment of the Celestial Spirits fueled Lucy’s rage. While Aries and Loki were locked in a desperate struggle, Angel summoned another Celestial Spirit, impaling both Aries and Loki without hesitation.

The continuous summoning of the Zodiac Celestial Spirits had already severely depleted Lucy’s magical energy reserves. Facing Gemini, summoned by Angel, Lucy was left completely powerless and unable to continue fighting.

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