The Royal Capital of Edolas was burning.
Not with the destructive fire of a conquering army, but with the chaotic, liberating flames of a rescue mission gone loud. The main courtyard, a sprawling expanse of white stone and manicured gardens leading to the inner palace, had been transformed into a battlefield.
It was a clash of quality versus quantity. The Royal Army poured out of the barracks like a silver tide, hundreds of soldiers mounted on Legions—massive, flightless birds—and wielding magic-infused spears. Against them stood a handful of mages, but they were mages of Fairy Tail.
"Is this all you've got?!" Natsu Dragneel roared. He spun in the air, a tornado of fire engulfing a squad of soldiers."Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"
A massive fireball decimated a guard tower, sending stone raining down on the panicked troops.
"Watch your left, flame-brain!" Gray Fullbuster shouted. He slammed his palms onto the pavement. "Ice-Make: Floor!"
The ground instantly turned into a frictionless sheet of ice. A charging battalion of Legions lost their footing, sliding uncontrollably into a pile of crashing armor and squawking birds.
"Strike!" Gray grinned.
Gajeel Redfox was in his element. He had turned his skin into iron scales, wading through the enemy fire like a tank. He caught a magic spear with his bare hand, crunched the metal head off with his teeth, and spat the shrapnel back at the attacker like a bullet.
"Gihi! This magic metal is spicy!"
They were winning. The distraction was working perfectly. The sheer noise and destruction were drawing every available unit away from the upper towers, leaving the path clear for the strike team.
In the center of the storm was Erza Scarlet.
She was a whirlwind of steel. Clad in her Black Wing Armor, she moved with predatory grace, her sword flashing in the moonlight. She didn't kill; she dismantled. She shattered spears, dented breastplates, and knocked soldiers unconscious with precise, efficient strikes.
"Out of my way!" Erza shouted, her voice cutting through the din. She slashed horizontally, a wave of magical energy knocking a dozen soldiers off their feet.
Erza was seen clearing a path toward the inner sanctum. She saw a group of elite guards setting up a heavy magic cannon.
"I don't think so," she muttered.
She leaped into the air. "Moon Flash!"
She descended, her blade glowing, aiming to slice the cannon in half.
CLANG!
Her sword stopped.
It didn't hit the cannon. It hit a spear.
A spear that blocked her strike with terrifying ease. The impact created a shockwave that cracked the cobblestones beneath them, blowing the nearby soldiers away.
Erza Scarlet looked up. Her eyes widened slightly.
Standing before her, holding the spear with one hand, was a woman who looked exactly like her. Same scarlet hair. Same fierce eyes. Same height.
But the aura was different. Where Scarlet radiated a protective, noble strength, this woman radiated a cold, jagged malice. She wore revealing, spiked armor that seemed designed to intimidate as much as protect. Her hair was wilder, her smile crueler.
The Fairy Hunter. Captain of the 2nd Magic War Division. Erza Knightwalker.
"I've been waiting for you," Knightwalker hissed, her voice a twisted reflection of Scarlet's own. "The 'Erza' of Earthland. The fake."
Scarlet pushed back, flipping away to create distance. She landed in a crouch, instantly assessing her opponent.
"I am no fake," Scarlet said calmly, standing tall. "I am Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail."
"Fairy Tail..." Knightwalker spat the name like a curse. She twirled her spear—the Ten Commandments, a magic weapon capable of changing forms. "A guild of pests. You disrupt the King's order. You steal our magic. And you wear my face while doing it. It offends me."
"We steal nothing," Scarlet retorted, requipping instantly into her Heaven's Wheel Armor. Dozens of swords fanned out behind her like wings of steel. "We are here to take back what is ours. Your King stole our family."
"Power belongs to those with the strength to take it," Knightwalker declared. "That is the law of Edolas. And today, I will prove that I am the only Erza this world needs."
"Blumenblatt!" Scarlet roared. She launched a barrage of swords, a rain of steel aimed at her counterpart.
Knightwalker didn't flinch. "Form Change: Explosion!"
Her spear shifted, the tip glowing orange. She swung it in a wide arc. The spear didn't cut; it detonated. A massive explosion engulfed the incoming swords, scattering them like toys.
Knightwalker lunged through the smoke. "Form Change: Silfarion!"
The spear turned sleek and green. Her speed increased exponentially. She became a blur, faster than the eye could follow.
Scarlet barely had time to react. She felt a shallow cut on her cheek, then another on her arm.
"Too slow!" Knightwalker mocked, her voice coming from everywhere at once. "Is this the power of Earthland? Pathetic!"
Scarlet gritted her teeth. "Requip: Flight Armor!"
She shed the heavy plate, donning her cheetah-patterned speed armor. Her own speed skyrocketed.
The two Erzas clashed in the center of the courtyard. It was a dance of sparks and sonic booms. They moved so fast the Royal Knights stopped fighting just to watch, unable to track the movements of their Captain and the intruder.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Sword met Spear.
Scarlet parried a thrust aimed at her heart. Knightwalker ducked a slash aimed at her neck.
"You possess skill," Knightwalker admitted, pressing her spear against Scarlet's twin blades, their faces inches apart. "But you lack conviction. You fight for 'friends.' For 'guilds.' It makes you soft."
"It makes me strong!" Scarlet pushed back, her eyes burning. "You fight for a King who would sacrifice his own people for power! You fight for fear! That is true weakness!"
"Silence!" Knightwalker screamed. "Form Change: Mel Force!"
She unleashed a vacuum wave of wind magic at point-blank range.
Scarlet was blasted backward, crashing through a stone statue of King Faust. She groaned, pulling herself from the rubble. Her armor was cracked.
"You don't understand," Knightwalker said, walking slowly toward her, the tip of her spear dragging on the ground, creating sparks. "In this world, without magic, we die. The King brings order. He brings survival. You Earthlanders... you are born drowning in magic. You take it for granted. You are spoiled children playing at war."
Scarlet stood up. She wiped blood from her lip.
"We do not take it for granted," Scarlet said quietly. "We know the value of life because we fight to protect it. Magic is not a tool for ruling others. It is a bond between hearts."
"Heart?" Knightwalker laughed, a harsh, brittle sound. "Heart doesn't stop a blade. Form Change: Blue Crimson!"
Her spear split into two—one of fire, one of ice. She launched a dual assault, a vortex of thermal shock.
Scarlet requipped again. "Lightning Empress Armor!"
She blocked the fire with the lightning rod, but the ice slammed into her side, freezing her armor plating. She staggered.
Knightwalker pressed the advantage. She was relentless, her weapon shifting forms constantly—gravity, sound, speed. Scarlet was on the defensive, reacting, adapting, but slowly being worn down.
"Die!" Knightwalker shrieked. "Die and let me be the only one!"
Scarlet realized she couldn't win this by matching Knightwalker's versatility. The Ten Commandments spear was too adaptable. To win, she had to stop reacting. She had to strike with everything she had. She had to bet it all on one blow.
She closed her eyes for a second. She thought of Natsu's grin. Gray's rivalry. Lucy's kindness. Wendy's courage. Blake's quiet strength.
She opened her eyes. The hesitation was gone.
"Requip."
A bright light enveloped Erza Scarlet.
When it faded, the heavy armor was gone. The shields were gone. The magic-resistant plates were gone.
She wore a simple sarashi across her chest and red hakama pants. She held a single katana—the Demon Blade Benizakura.
It was her Clear Heart Clothing. Armor that provided zero defense, allowing her to channel every ounce of her magic into offense.
Knightwalker paused, confused. "You... you discard your armor? Have you given up? Do you seek death?"
"No," Scarlet said, gripping her sword with both hands. "I have realized that armor protects my body, but it weighs down my heart. To defeat you... I do not need defense. I need only my will."
"Arrogance!" Knightwalker roared. "I will show you the folly of your choice! Form Change: Ravelt!"
The spear transformed into its ultimate state. A massive, ornate lance that radiated an immense, terrifying magical pressure. It was said to be the strongest weapon in Edolas, capable of piercing anything.
"This is the Holy Spear Ravelt!" Knightwalker shouted, her aura flaring purple and black. "It will shatter your blade and your heart!"
"Come," Scarlet whispered.
They charged.
It was the final exchange. No tricks. No multiple strikes. Just one collision of absolute power.
Knightwalker thrust Ravelt forward, a beam of destructive energy spiraling around the tip. "DISAPPEAR!"
Scarlet swung Benizakura. She didn't use a spell. She poured her entire life force, her entire identity as Titania, into the blade.
"Demon Blade... CRIMSON SAKURA!"
The weapons met.
KRA-KOOOOOOM!
The shockwave leveled the surrounding garden. The stone floor beneath them pulverized into dust. A sphere of red and purple energy expanded, blowing the spectating soldiers off their feet.
For a moment, they held. The Holy Spear against the Demon Blade.
Knightwalker grit her teeth, her eyes wide with madness. "WHY?! Why won't you break?!"
Scarlet looked at her, her eyes calm, sad, and infinite. "Because I have something you don't. I have a home to go back to."
CRACK.
A hairline fracture appeared on the shaft of Ravelt.
Knightwalker gasped. "Impossible..."
The fracture spread. The magic of the spear wavered against the sheer, unadulterated Haki-like will emanating from Scarlet's blade.
"HAAAAAA!" Scarlet roared.
She pushed.
The Holy Spear Ravelt shattered.
Scarlet's blade continued its arc. It sliced through the spear, through the magic, and stopped... mere inches from Knightwalker's neck.
The shockwave of the swing blew Knightwalker backward. She tumbled across the ruined courtyard, her armor shattered, her weapon destroyed.
She lay on her back, staring up at the smoke-filled sky. She was beaten. Completely.
Scarlet walked over to her. She didn't raise her sword to finish the job. She sheathed it.
She looked down at her counterpart. Knightwalker looked up, tears of frustration and confusion welling in her eyes.
"Kill me," Knightwalker whispered. "You won. I am weak."
Scarlet knelt down. She reached out a hand, not to strike, but to offer help.
"You are not weak," Scarlet said softly. "You are strong. You kept this kingdom together in your own way. But you were fighting for the wrong things."
She looked at the battered woman who shared her face.
"We don't have to be enemies, Erza. The battle is over."
Knightwalker stared at the hand. She didn't take it, but the malice faded from her eyes, replaced by a weary defeat.
Scarlet stood up, turning toward the palace tower where the real danger—the Code ETD—was unfolding. She left her counterpart alive, defeated by the one thing Knightwalker couldn't counter: mercy.