Erza burst through the dust, her long sword thrusting towards Wu's throat.
Unexpectedly, Wu's close-quarter combat skills were not weak at all. With a slight shift of his body, he easily avoided Erza's attack.
Erza's figure passed by Wu, turning back to deliver a horizontal slash, this time leaving a small cut on Wu's waist.
In a split second, the two exchanged blows rapidly, and Erza was inadvertently struck in the abdomen by Wu's punch, sending her flying.
Wu's hand gathered green Magic Power once again, aiming straight at Erza.
"Rock Iron Fist!" Jura stepped between them, his stance firm, and a massive rock arm emerged from the ground in front of him, swinging towards Wu.
The fist was much larger than a human, and the wind from it made Wu's hair flutter backward.
"Eternal Darkness Overture!" Green Magic Power surged from Wu's hands.
The dazzling green light formed a vortex, enveloping the rock fist completely, then crushing it entirely and even sending Jura flying!
Erza and Jura struggled to get up, staring intensely at Wu. If the two of them fell, it would truly be the end.
The few still standing seemed to have forgotten that Nirvana's previous tremors had inexplicably stopped at some point.
When Erza realized this, she suddenly felt the air grow warm. She looked up to the left and saw the sky half-dyed in firelight!
From their unseen angle, the six thick long legs of Nirvana had already caught fire, with the stone and other building materials turning into lava, radiating intense heat.
The outer shell of the six legs continually peeled off, while simultaneously absorbing Magic Power from the earth for repairs.
However, the repair speed was noticeably lagging.
"What is that?"
Seeing such exaggerated firelight, the trio shared the same bewilderment.
Until a massive creature, entirely crimson and seemingly aflame with rolling magma, appeared within view.
"A Dragon?" Wu's eyes widened, "You're kidding, how could there be Dragons in this era?!"
Jura was equally shocked, "A Dragon actually exists! Why would a Dragon appear here?"
After a brief moment of astonishment, Erza immediately thought of Rhode. Although she had only seen the Mountain Sub-Dragon, she had also seen Rhode after he had received the Purgatory Dragon Soul and speculated whether Rhode could summon a Fire Attribute Giant Dragon.
By the firelight, she discerned two figures held by the Giant Dragon's foreclaws, and a surge of joy and security filled her heart, "Mira! Rhode!"
"Busy, are we? Mind if we join in?" Rhode greeted Erza, feigning casualness.
In fact, he wanted to draw more of Wu's attention.
Mira also waved at Erza, but her attention was focused on Wu.
Erza smiled, "You're more than welcome!"
Jura relaxed a bit as well, "Truly remarkable reinforcements."
"So someone is controlling it, I see now..." Wu temporarily let go of his inner burden, thinking he had seen through the situation, "What Dragon, it's just your Magic!"
Although the oppressive Magic Power of the Dragon was still present, Wu was convinced it was merely a kind of Magic, nothing resembling a real Dragon.
However, the Purgatory Sub-Dragon's words shattered not only Wu's pretense but also his fantasy, "What's all the racket there? Bro, you want me to take care of that punk? He looks like he's asking for it."
With the scene clearly delineating ally and foe, Rhode answered, "The main task is dismantling that big thing, a beatdown on him along the way is fine."
"Got it, go do your thing." The Purgatory Sub-Dragon tossed the two in its palm to land in front of Erza, then breathed out a controlled Dragon Flame towards Wu.
"Dark Guardian!" Wu immediately constructed a Magic Barrier in front of him.
The Dragon Flame hit the barrier with a violent explosion, and the buildings on either side of the street crumbled and caught fire from the blast.
The barrier in front of Wu shattered, enveloping his entire being in flames. He released Magic Power throughout his body to quickly extinguish the fire, convinced it was indeed a fake Dragon.
Meanwhile, behind Mira, Devil Wings unfolded as she gently landed holding Rhode in front of Erza, just beyond the reach of the spreading flames.
Erza was about to say something.
Rhode pointed behind her, "If you can still move, there's a task I'd like you to do."
Erza turned around to see a Deep Red Beaked Bird landing beside her from the opposite direction of the Purgatory Sub-Dragon.
One had also stopped by Jura.
Elsewhere, Wendy and Carla were busy loading others onto the backs of other Beaked Birds.
Twelve Beaked Birds, carrying 11 members of the alliance plus a cat, just the right number.
"What task?" Erza wasn't one for procrastination, knowing that if Rhode said something like this, it must be important.
"There are 6 crucial Magic Crystals on Nirvana. If we can destroy them all at once, it'll stop temporarily. I need you to check if those 6 compartments have been destroyed by the flames. If not, we'll have to take action.
Now, with you, Mr. Jura, Wendy, and Mira, we have four people, and for the other two... if none of them are mobile, I'll figure out a way to fill in."
"Rhode!" Wendy's urgent voice carried over, "Mr. Jura and Natsu are both able to move!"
One Night took out a bottle of cologne, inhaled deeply, and stood up with effort, "MEN—it's time for men to advance!"
The cologne's effect was similar to adrenaline, though it had some side effects, but he felt it was his duty.
Natsu's situation could be easily resolved; as long as Wendy cast 'Troya' on him, it would temporarily negate his motion sickness.
Thanks to Gray blocking most of the blast's power for him, Natsu could now even directly join the fight.
However, with Wendy's request, he could only suppress his combative nature for the moment, finishing the task first.
The two mounted the Beaked Birds, waiting for them to take them to their destination.
"I see." Jura, a decisive person, also mounted a Beaked Bird, "So when should we act?"
"Leave it to... me." Hibiki activated the Ancient Document Magic with difficulty, and a yellow progress bar appeared above the six people's heads simultaneously.
Once the progress bar finished in less than a second, a countdown appeared in everyone's mind, along with a map.
"I just calculated the birds' flying speed and uploaded the optimal route to your minds, leaving about thirty seconds of preparation time for the furthest person. Now, please set off..."
Mira chose the closest one, taking Rhode along to monitor the battlefield's dynamics.
The others picked their targets, while those without tasks were evacuated by the Beaked Birds, flying out of Nirvana.
Wu, while defending and dodging attacks from the Purgatory Sub-Dragon, pretended to fire a few attack magics at it.
In fact, he wanted to sneak attack Rhode, who was likely the Magic caster, but they retreated too swiftly, and this Dragon was deliberately forcing him away from that direction.
In reality, the Purgatory Sub-Dragon was growing impatient.
Finally, once everyone had evacuated, it was time to fully unleash!
The Purgatory Sub-Dragon took a deep breath, and unlike before when it unleashed a breath, its cheeks puffed out atypically.
Wu sensed something amiss, desperately forming a Magic Barrier.
The Purgatory Sub-Dragon opened its mouth, and a torrent of flames, accompanied by rolling magma, spouted forth.
At that moment, it was like a living volcano suspended in the sky, the crater tipping over, spewing dense black smoke, surging magma, and overwhelming flames!
The fiery torrent plummeted three thousand feet, indeed like lava descending from the heavens!
The scorching torrent illuminated the night sky, reflecting Wu's face of despair, as the Purgatory Sub-Dragon's full-powered breath seemed truly like a natural disaster descending!