Erza and Kardia were fighting on the rooftop. Since the opponent could cancel her Requip, Erza was left in a miserable state for a while.
"Requip! Heavens Wheel Armor!"
A red magic circle expanded, and Erza was clad in blade armor. Four metal wings unfurled behind her as dozens of blades flew through the air.
Kardia smiled slightly. "It's useless!"
She pressed her hand against the air, and Erza's armor vanished, leaving her in black underwear. Then, she kicked her to the ground.
"This kind of magic is practically my natural enemy!"
Erza remained calm. She still had Dragon Knight, but she didn't want to use such an overpowered weapon every time she encountered danger, as it would lead to a sense of dependency.
Kardia Requipped into red armor, her weapon becoming a bright red machete. She said indifferently, "If you have no other tricks, I'm going to finish you off!"
Suddenly, a voice appeared behind her. "Did you say you're going to finish off my daughter?"
"Who's there?"
Kardia's body jolted. Just as she was about to dodge, her neck was grabbed by a hand, and she was lifted into the air. She swung her blade back, only for it to be parried by a magic staff.
Erza broke into a pleasantly surprised smile. "Mother!"
Irene laughed. "You really are in a sorry state. Do you have to let her slash you a few times before you get serious?"
She could already sense that Erza's strength far exceeded Kardia's, but she hesitated too much. If she had the resolve to kill her opponent, she wouldn't be in such a pathetic state.
Erza's face darkened. "I don't need your help; I can beat her!"
Mocking her at a time like this... and to think she was actually moved just a moment ago.
Kardia was furious, struggling wildly but unable to break free. "Damn it! Who on earth are you?"
Irene tossed Kardia away with a flick of her hand and said calmly, "Enchantment: Explosion!"
Boom!
Before Kardia could react, her entire armor exploded, leaving her charred like a piece of coal.
Erza was surprised. "You killed her?"
"Of course not. I'm quite gentle with girls; I've spared her life."
Irene waved her hand. "Forget about her. Hurry and go save Lucy and Eclair. I'll go check on Wendy; she seems to have run into a bit of trouble."
Erza nodded without hesitation. "Alright!"
...Atop the royal city, Cream commanded the soldiers to tie Eclair to the pyre, saying excitedly, "Everyone, let us celebrate together!"
"I have both precious phoenix stones in my hands. Let us begin! To bring great power to the Duchy of Veronica, the Phoenix resurrection ceremony officially begins!"
As the pyre was lit, all the kingdom's subjects seemed to fall into a state of excitement and madness, watching Eclair burn on the pyre without a shred of mercy.
Lucy rushed over, tears streaming uncontrollably as she saw this. "Eclair!"
Momon charged into the flames recklessly. "Lucy, I'll save Eclair!"
"Momon!"
Boom!
Acnologia descended from the sky with Natsu, crashing into the sea of fire and consuming all the flames in an instant.
After saving Eclair and Momon, he waved his hand, casting a healing spell over them. The injuries of the human and the bird healed rapidly.
Lucy hurriedly hugged Eclair and asked with concern, "How are you?"
"I'm fine!"
Eclair said anxiously, "The Phoenix! Stop him quickly!"
However, it was too late. Cream joined the two phoenix stones together and laughed maniacally. "My era is coming!"
"Phoenix! Grant me eternal life!"
The two phoenix stones emitted an enchanting light, continuously expanding and growing larger. Under everyone's shocked gazes, the light illuminated the entire night sky as the phoenix stones transformed into a giant monster.
However, its mechanical, steel-like color didn't look like a fire phoenix at all.
When the black phoenix appeared, the palace collapsed instantly. The despicable Prince Cream, still howling for eternal life, was blown away by the Explosion.
Gray had already finished off his opponent. He looked at the mechanical giant in disbelief. "Is this thing a phoenix?"
Eclair looked despairing. "It's too late!"
Natsu's body erupted in flames, his gaze incredibly determined. "It's not too late! Let's defeat the Phoenix together!"
"Let's go together!"
Irene had already transformed, activating her strongest Dragon Knight. A mechanical dragon appeared and instantly collided with the Phoenix.
Boom!
The collision generated a terrifying storm, instantly destroying all surrounding buildings as flames raged like a tornado.
Erza couldn't stop herself from recoiling, nearly falling to the ground. "Such incredible power!"
"Fire Dragons Roar!"
Happy grabbed Natsu and soared into the sky. Terrifying flames shot through the air and slammed into the Phoenix's arm, yet they failed to cause any damage at all.
"The Phoenix is reborn from fire; it's naturally immune to it. Let me!"
Gray cast his magic, and a massive magic circle expanded in the sky. A giant ice spike descended and slammed into the Phoenix's head, only to shatter into fragments immediately after!
"Sky Dragons... Roar!"
Wendy unleashed her strongest attack from a distance, but it couldn't even budge the Phoenix's footsteps.
"Roar!"
The Phoenix let out a Roar, waving its two long arms. A red light orb condensed in front of it and then shot into the distance.
Rumble!
In the distance, flames shot into the sky. After a violent Explosion, the ground was overturned, the city walls were leveled, and the soldiers were instantly reduced to ashes.
The Phoenix's body was simply too massive; every movement could destroy large swathes of buildings. Terrifying magic power was released as pillars of light rose from the ground and ripples of destruction raged.
After being rescued by his soldiers, Prince Cream saw this scene and was filled with terror and disbelief. "The Phoenix! What's wrong with my Phoenix! Give me eternal life!"
"Die!"
A cold voice fell, and terrifying Gravity descended from the sky, instantly crushing Cream and his surrounding guards into meat paste.
Acnologia withdrew his gaze, indifferently watching the Phoenix cause chaos. The entire royal city was being continuously destroyed, with rubble flying and flames sweeping through.
"After this battle, this small duchy will be completely wiped out."
Irene's voice was calm as she watched the commoners and the kingdom's army being killed by the Phoenix with indifference.
She had seen scenes like this far too many times. As long as her comrades from Fairy Tail weren't in danger, there was hardly a ripple of emotion in her heart.
If the Duchy of Veronica weren't destroyed, Fairy Tail's encroachment on the kingdom would face sanctions from all other kingdoms. To avoid trouble, it was better to let the Phoenix completely destroy the royal city.
Moreover, since the people here could so indifferently watch Eclair be burned as a sacrifice, Irene and Acnologia could also indifferently watch them be slaughtered by the Phoenix. It didn't matter how many died.
They weren't exactly good people overflowing with kindness.
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