[The task of destroying the six Lacrima Crystals will be left to me. I will cooperate with the allied forces to destroy them simultaneously.]
Raizel, who was currently battling Zero received Hibiki telepathic message clearly in his mind.
[Alright, I'll leave the coordination to you.]
"Hah— Hah—"
Zero clutched his bleeding chest wounds, gasping for breath heavily. His face was twisted in a mixture of exhaustion and disbelief.
He was filled with rage—just what kind of calamity had Brain brought upon him? Ever since the fight began, he had been completely suppressed by this armored warrior.
If not for his immense Magical Power, he would have been cut down long ago.
...
Meanwhile, Hibiki had found a safe location away from the fighting and was communicating with the entire Allied Forces using his Archive Magic.
Hibiki: [Listen closely, everyone. The six Lacrima Crystals powering Nirvana must be destroyed simultaneously. They cannot be destroyed one by one, or the other crystals will automatically repair the damaged parts.]
Erza: [You're saying we need to destroy all six Magic Crystals at the exact same time? How do we do that when we are scattered?]
Hibiki: [Although I'd like to assist you until the end, I may not be able to maintain the telepathic link until then due to magical exhaustion. However, I have another method—I've already uploaded the timing into your minds.]
Wendy: [10 minutes?]
An image of a digital 10-minute countdown clock suddenly appeared in Wendy's mind and in the minds of everyone else connected.
Hibiki: [Yes, I've calculated the travel time each of you needs. Ten minutes is enough for everyone to reach the Magic Crystal locations. Once the countdown reaches zero, attack together with everything you have. Although the Oración Seis have been completely wiped out and Zero is currently fighting Raizel, for safety reasons, please move in pairs.]
[Please hurry and take action!]
After saying this, Hibiki could no longer maintain the telepathic link.
His magic faded, and he slumped to the ground, exhausted.
"I will head to the farthest location with Richard."
Jura quickly chose the most distant site on the map and ran off with Richard (Hoteye).
The remaining members split into five groups, each heading to a different location to target the legs of Nirvana.
...
"Getting distracted isn't a good idea."
Raizel swung his blade once more at Zero's head.
The strike was so fast it sliced off half of Zero's spiky hair, barely missing his skull.
While Raizel and Zero were locked in high-speed combat, the Three Sword Spirits floating around Raizel had already begun gathering Magical Power high above them, forming a triangular formation.
"Dark Gravity!"
Zero had noticed the energy build-up earlier, but he couldn't stop it—the pressure from Raizel's relentless physical attacks was too overwhelming.
He tried to crush them with gravity magic, but it was too late.
"One for All!"
Raizel flashed behind the triangle formed by the Three Sword Spirits, channeling his own Magical Power into the center.
A massive, emerald-green Triangular Light Pillar shot out violently from within the formation.
The two energies collided.
The Triangle Light Pillar proved superior, steadily dismantling and piercing through Zero's Dark Gravity sphere before fully striking him.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Two loud explosions echoed in succession—one created by Raizel's ultimate attack obliterating Zero, and the other by the six teams simultaneously destroying the Lacrima Crystals.
Fortunately, the Oración Seis members had already lost their ability to fight, so the teams faced no obstacles and reached their respective Magic Crystal locations even before the 10-minute countdown ended.
...
"Did we succeed?" Gray looked up at the shattered remains of the Magic Crystal above him, panting.
"We did it!" Lucy excitedly picked up Happy and cheered.
"It stopped! Wendy!" Carla flew up and high-fived Wendy in mid-air.
However, everyone soon encountered another problem...
Nirvana had already begun to collapse.
With all six supporting legs destroyed by the group and the core defeated, the massive ancient city could no longer hold itself up against gravity.
The earth trembled violently as the structure began to fall apart.
"Run!"
Gray felt he had never run so fast in his life, sprinting desperately as if his heels were on fire, dodging falling debris, and finally made it out to the edge of the forest.
"Gray!"
Erza, Ultear, and Kagura, along with the others, also emerged from the dust clouds, safe and sound.
"Tick, tock!"
A large grandfather clock descended from the sky and landed softly.
"Thank you, Horologium!"
Lucy was holding Happy and Wendy was holding Carla, stepped out from inside the clock spirit's protective casing.
"By the way, when did I summon you?" Lucy asked, confused.
"No, I came through the gate on my own sensing the danger upon you," the spirit replied through the clock.
"Aye! Loke and Virgo often do that too, it seems," Happy quipped.
"It's because Lady Lucy's magical power is higher than before, strengthening our bond."
"Why hasn't Natsu come back yet?" Lucy looked around worriedly.
"Hey, everyone!"
A shout came from the dust.
When Natsu finally returned, he was dragging an unconscious Cobra along with him, so he was a bit slower than the rest.
"Natsu?"
"I couldn't just leave him there to get crushed," Natsu grunted, dropping the Poison Dragon Slayer on the grass.
Natsu simply couldn't leave Cobra lying there without helping, even if he was an enemy.
Raizel also rushed over from the center of the ruins to join the group.
"It should be over now. Everyone, well done!"
"Yes, everyone really did a great job." Jura also smiled and nodded in agreement, dusting off his clothes.
...
Just as everything concluded, a well-organized army arrived at the outskirts of the Worthwood sea.
"I am Captain Lahar of the Fourth Forced Supervision Unit of the New Council. Greetings to all of you."
"The New Council!"
"Has it been reestablished already?"
Lucy and Natsu exclaimed in surprise.
"We have been reborn to uphold law and justice, but this matter does not concern you legal mages. We are here to arrest the Oración Seis."
The New Council had only replaced its middle and upper management—the lower ranks were still the same military personnel, some of whom had even collaborated with Raizel before on previous missions.
Although Lahar had never worked directly with Raizel, he was aware of who Raizel was and maintained a respectful attitude, especially since Jura Neekis, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, was present.
"The Oración Seis? You mean... Richard?" Erza finally realized and glanced anxiously at Richard standing freely beside Jura.
"Wait a moment!" Jura stepped forward, intending to intercede for his new friend.
"Please don't, Jura."
Richard stepped forward calmly, stopping Jura.
"Even though the goodness in my heart has awakened thanks to Nirvana, the evil deeds of my past cannot be erased. I wish to reform myself so that when I find my younger brother, I can face him with dignity."
Jura smiled understandingly, seeing the resolve in the man's eyes, and said.
"Then let me search for your brother in your stead while you serve your time."
"Really?" Richard's eyes widened.
"Please tell me your brother's name."
"His name is Wally. Wally Buchanan."
"Huh???"
Natsu, Gray, and Lucy blinked and exchanged surprised glances.
"Wally." Kagura and Erza also seemed to recall something instantly.
Richard began recounting his story with Wally, a nostalgic smile on his face: "To this day, I still cannot forget the potatoes we ate back then..."
After exchanging a look with the group, Erza and Kagura stepped forward.
"I know that man. He is doing well now, traveling across the continent with his companions."
Raizel also stepped out and said, "I believe there's a photo of him. Let me show you."
Using his Archieve Magic, Raizel retrieved an image from a photo previously sent to him by Simon, enlarging it and displaying it as a hologram before Richard.
"It's him... absolutely him!"
Looking at the image of his younger brother Wally smiling broadly behind his trademark sunglasses, Richard suddenly felt everything was worth it.
Tears blurred Richard's vision as he tremblingly reached out, stroking the magical image created by Raizel.
Though he couldn't actually touch it, he felt as if he had already touched his brother's face.
Richard knelt on the ground, clutching his head and weeping bitterly, his voice thick with emotion.
"Is this the miracle that only those who believe in the light can possess? Thank you... thank you... thank you..."