"A ha ha ha! We won! We won again!!!" United by a common cause, after repelling the attacking enemy once more, the people couldn't help but raise their arms and shout in excitement! They used the loudest sounds they could muster to vent the long-held dissatisfaction and frustration brought on by years of exploitation and oppression!
"Everyone, do not get complacent! We must not relax for a moment! The enemy could launch their next attack at any time!" Wiping the sweat from her brow, Erza Scarlet raised the dagger she had snatched from an enemy, her voice ringing with uncontrollable excitement: "Now, let's push on to the next area in one go! Let's find Big Brother Calvin and rescue Jellal Fernandes—"
"Yes—" Hearing her, everyone roared back, their morale soaring.
Without hesitation, they grabbed their weapons and charged towards the next area with fierce cries!
But right at that moment—
"Boom—" A massive explosion rocked the area, and countless magic projectiles detonated amidst the dense crowd! Smoke filled the air, and people were thrown everywhere! The shockwaves from the blast swept many people away! Even more were violently thrown backwards by the ferocious, spreading impact!!!
"Everyone, look! That is—" Millianna suddenly widened her eyes, pointing towards the sky not far away, her face etched with terror.
"Magic Soldiers!!" Following Millianna's finger, everyone cried out in horror! Because, just where the smoke was about to dissipate, a line of ugly-faced 'monsters' was silently suspended in mid-air. Led by columns of Mages below, they were slowly advancing towards their position!
While they were stunned, the Magic Soldiers' wide, mechanical mouths produced circles of crimson magic arrays that appeared out of thin air, spinning rapidly and emitting an ever-intensifying, dangerous red glow!
"Boom! Boom! Boom—" With a volley of impacts, the Magic Soldiers fired their fierce magic projectiles. The blasts, carrying a loud whistling sound, arrived before the people in the blink of an eye. Countless people were instantly blown away.
"Aah! Run—"
"We can't fight them at all!!!"
Stunned by the sudden, powerful magic assault, and knowing they couldn't win, everyone screamed and scattered, running in all directions, completely losing their previous momentum and order!
"Don't, don't run, everyone—" Erza fell to the ground in the chaos. Looking at the scattering crowd behind her, she stretched out her hand, calling out helplessly, "Pl-please, save, save Jellal! And Big Brother Calvin, he definitely isn't dead! He must be waiting for our rescue in some dangerous place, please don't give up, please go save them—"
But no matter how much she cried out, not a single person stopped to heed her.
And just then, the Magic Soldiers, who had been brewing their attack, released another barrage of magic projectiles. Their target—was precisely the fallen Erza!
"Erza—"
"Sister—"
Wally and Shou finally spotted Erza's perilous situation and shouted her name in alarm! Startled by their calls, Erza snapped out of her daze. She turned around, looking at the cluster of magic projectiles hurtling towards her. It was clearly too late to dodge…
"Boom—" With a deafening explosion, Erza's figure was engulfed in a cloud of dust. Everyone who saw this immediately covered their eyes, as if unwilling to witness Erza's 'tragic death.'
"Thump—" A massive gust of wind suddenly blew all the smoke away. Erza was seen sitting unharmed on the ground. Standing proudly in front of her was an aged figure, his snow-white hair and long eyebrows fluttering in the wind. His arms were spread wide, standing silently before Erza.
"That person is—" Everyone looked on with extreme shock. The reason was simple: the aged figure was none other than:
"Grandpa Rob—" Erza couldn't help but gasp. This elderly figure was too familiar! This was the kind and respected Grandpa Rob, whom everyone loved! Yet Erza could hardly believe it, because she clearly saw that Grandpa Rob, who always seemed so frail, had single-handedly blocked the magic projectiles for her!!!
"Even if my magic is depleted, this useless old body can still protect its friends!" Opening his tightly closed eyes, Rob spoke with a deep, yet firm, voice: "I will absolutely not let this young life perish here! Aah!!!" Saying this, a terrifying light flashed in Rob's eyes. He summoned the last remaining bit of his magic, combined with a vast amount of power drawn at the cost of his own life, and gathered it all within his widely spread hands.
At that moment, another wave of magic projectiles was released. A massive, overwhelming swarm of projectiles, like a horde of locusts, rapidly surged toward Rob! The ferocious magic even caused the air to whine with a sharp, grating noise from the friction!
"Hah—" Rob, unperturbed, roared loudly once more. He slowly and laboriously moved his hands in front of him. Immediately, all the countless magic projectiles were halted in their advance by an invisible, massive force! That wasn't the end of it. After stopping the incoming barrage, Rob forcefully pushed his hands forward again. Instantly, all the incoming magic projectiles rebounded at a speed even faster than their approach! That's right! They rebounded!!!
"Boom—" With an earth-shattering crash, a cloud of dust erupted. When the dust finally settled, the Magic Soldiers that had been aggressively hovering in the air were all gone, leaving behind only scattered debris.
"A-amazing—" Wally's eyes widened in astonishment.
"He actually reflected the magic?" Shou murmured in disbelief.
"Meow—" Millianna's expression was also one of utter disbelief.
"Grandpa Rob!" Erza reacted quickly, seeing Rob weakly sinking to his knees. She immediately cried out, rushing forward to support his aged arm.
"I never thought that this old body could still be useful even at the moment of death, heh heh…" Rob's face was extremely pale, shockingly white from the near-total exhaustion of his magic and life force. Yet, he still managed a weak smile for Erza beside him: "For a Mage, magic is the source of life. And for a grandpa who has exhausted all his magic, this fate was always destined…"
"But Erza, you have infinite potential!" Remembering the infinite yearning for magic and the pure, radiant smile like an angel that little Erza showed when they talked about magic, Rob spoke with a weak but incredibly determined voice: "Heh heh heh, I never thought I would see that kind of smile in a place like this…"
At that moment, new Mages, led by the fat and thin Mages, slowly approached the area with their staffs raised. Under their command, all the Mage forces raised their magic staffs from a distance. A brilliant flash of magic light followed, and a massive, overwhelming magical torrent surged towards them! The target was clearly Rob and Erza!!!
"Erza…" Looking at the rapidly approaching magic attack, a look of profound satisfaction spread across Rob's face, as if he had completed a great mission. His final instruction was: "The so-called freedom exists within your own heart…"
"Erza, your dream will surely come true—"
"Boom—" The moment his words finished, the magical torrent completely engulfed Rob's figure.
"Grandpa—" Erza let out a sharp, mournful cry. The red emblem on Rob's back just before he vanished was deeply burned into her young mind.
"Ding-dong—" A magical restraint handcuff slowly fell from the air and landed on the ground with a crisp, low sound.
"Rob… Grandpa…" Erza stared blankly at the solitary magical handcuff, lost in deep memory. She didn't react to the shouts of others. Recalling the happy times she had with Grandpa Rob, Erza slowly bowed her head, two streams of clear tears sliding down her cheeks. "Aah—" A heartbreaking, soul-rending scream suddenly erupted from Erza's mouth!
"Clang—" Following Erza's agonizing scream, a large, pink magic circle suddenly spread outwards from around her body! It instantly covered an area of nearly ten feet around her!
"Aah—" The magic circle spun rapidly amidst Erza's mournful cries. Massive, captivating magic power suddenly surged out of Erza's small body! At that moment, Erza was radiating a powerful, crimson magic!
The Magic Squads who saw this were dumbfounded. All the Dark Mages, including the fat and thin Mages, stared blankly at the scene. They simply could not imagine that such a vast and terrifying magic power could emanate from the seemingly ordinary, young body before them?! This was utterly shocking!! With no time to waste, the fat and thin Mages, realizing the danger, quickly sneaked away while the others were still in shock.
Suddenly, iron weapons and tools slowly floated up around Erza, lifted by her magic. Then, with another roar of rage from Erza, the weapons suspended in mid-air shot out like arrows released from a bow, blasting towards the stunned Dark Mages!!!
"Aah! Aah! Aah—" A chorus of screams followed. Nearly all the Mages were incapacitated by this single attack!
"Sister—" Shou looked at the magnificently powerful Erza with surprise and excitement. "Magic?!!"
"I will gain freedom—" The magic circle vanished, and the magic power subsided. Erza pulled the shortsword from the ground, raised her arm, and shouted: "Everyone, follow me—"
"Aow—" Hearing this, everyone recovered their senses and cheered again! Erza's awakening of magic undoubtedly brought an overwhelming new hope to everyone who had almost lost faith in victory!!
Switching scenes, let's return to the moment Calvin Unknown faced the Magic Soldiers alone.
"Hah—" The rapier in his left hand sliced off the head of the last Magic Soldier. Calvin finally slumped forward, resting on the large sword and panting heavily.
"Phew—I finally finished them all!" Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Calvin looked back and muttered to himself, "Jellal should have gotten far away with Erza by now. It's time for me to leave too. It wouldn't be good to linger and attract more enemy reinforcements…"
Thinking this, Calvin didn't hesitate. He dismissed the magic rapier back into his personal dimension, dropped the heavily chipped half-length longsword, and prepared to slip away quietly.
"Oh, so you think you can just leave after destroying so many of my Magic Soldiers?" A mocking laugh suddenly sounded right beside him. Hearing it, Calvin's heart instantly seized up! Without time to think, he immediately spun around and jumped backward!
"Thwack—" Just as he turned and retreated, a massive club slammed heavily into his abdomen. His stomach violently impacted, Calvin groaned and uncontrollably spat out a mouthful of blood. His body was immediately sent flying backward like a kite with its string cut!
"Crash—" He slammed heavily into a wall, and the immense rebound force sent him crashing back down onto the solid ground! Calvin struggled to lift his head, looking up at the figure who had ambushed him!
"You?!" Seeing the assailant, towering rage instantly boiled up in Calvin's heart!
"Oh, I'm surprised you still recognize me?" Tucker rested the massive club on his back, observing the fallen Calvin with the predatory, mocking gaze of a cat toying with a mouse. He taunted, "How does it feel to be suddenly crushed after feeling joyous? You looked quite pleased just now! After dealing with all those Magic Soldiers of mine…"
That's right! The person who ambushed Calvin was none other than the rude brute who had given him a harsh welcome with magic when he first arrived on the island—Tucker!!!
"Ah, you came at the perfect time. It saves me the trouble of having to look for you later…" Calvin shakily got back up from the ground, looking calmly at Tucker as he fiddled with the club. He spoke with immense flatness: "I'll just end you right here!" As he finished, a terrifying intensity suddenly burst forth from his eyes!