Chapter 295

Chapter 295: Chapter 295

Marshall had installed an early-warning system in his Gundam, designed to sound an alarm whenever it detected a magical presence exceeding one million Magic Power.

Under normal circumstances, that threshold was already high enough to identify almost any dangerous opponent in the world.

But for the Gundam to issue a warning this severe, the approaching magical presence had to be far beyond its normal detection parameters.

Based on the readings, Marshall estimated that the unknown source possessed at least five million Magic Power.

’What the hell is going on? Where did something with that much Magic Power come from?’

His first thought was Zeref.

’Don’t tell me that guy came back to Tenrou Island!’

Marshall immediately reestablished his connection with the Gundam, taking control of the machine again and hurriedly scanning his surroundings through its visual sensors.

At first, he couldn’t see anything particularly unusual.

Then he noticed a faint sound coming from the distance, gradually growing louder.

It was a roar.

A deep, powerful roar that seemed to carry across the entire island.

’That sound... Don’t tell me...’

Before Marshall could finish the thought, Gildarts came rushing toward him with an expression of absolute seriousness.

"Marshall! Teleport everyone off this island immediately! Don’t waste another second!"

Marshall was startled by the urgency in his voice.

"Gildarts? What’s happening?"

"It’s that dragon!" Gildarts shouted. "Acnologia is here! The Black Dragon has come to Tenrou Island!"

"WHAT?!"

Marshall felt his heart lurch.

At almost the same moment, the Gundam’s warning system began screaming continuously.

He hurriedly raised its head and directed its visual sensors toward the sky.

An enormous black dragon was circling above Tenrou Island, its immense wings stretching across the sky and casting a terrifying shadow over the land below.

The pressure radiating from its body was unlike anything Marshall had ever experienced.

It really was the legendary Black Dragon.

Acnologia!

[WARNING! TARGET MAGIC POWER EXCEEDS DETECTION LIMIT!]

Marshall stared at the reading in disbelief.

The magical detector installed in the Gundam’s optical system was far more advanced than the earlier versions he had made.

Its upper measurement limit was approaching ten million Magic Power, yet even that wasn’t enough to obtain a proper reading from Acnologia.

’Ten million isn’t enough either?!’

’Just how much Magic Power does this dragon have?!’

Makarov arrived moments later, his expression equally grave.

"Gildarts! Marshall! Get the children together and evacuate immediately! That dragon is not something we can defeat!"

The three immediately rushed toward the others, with Marshall hurriedly explaining the situation as they moved.

"We need to act quickly. My real body can’t safely come here right now, but Greed is on the island. She should have enough power to perform a large-scale teleportation."

He glanced toward the enormous shadow passing overhead.

"I’ll distract Acnologia with the Gundam. You two concentrate on getting everyone out!"

Marshall knew perfectly well what might happen if he teleported his real body into the middle of the guild members.

If the Curse of Ankhseram happened to erupt at that moment, he could end up killing the very people he was trying to protect.

Fortunately, he still had his Apostles.

Greed could perform the evacuation without requiring him to appear personally, which meant there was no reason to gamble with everyone’s lives.

After giving his instructions, Marshall immediately accelerated the Gundam into the sky and flew toward Acnologia.

"Marshall! Damn it!"

Gildarts clenched his fists as he watched the machine depart.

His earlier carefree expression had completely disappeared.

Among everyone present, Gildarts understood the Black Dragon’s strength better than anyone.

He had encountered Acnologia before, and that experience had left him with injuries severe enough to take an enormous amount of time to recover from.

He knew exactly how terrifying the creature was.

Against Acnologia, courage and determination weren’t enough.

There was no clever trick or ordinary combination attack that could erase such an overwhelming difference in strength.

Their only realistic option was to escape.

Makarov expanded his body as he ran, growing into a giant several meters tall so that his voice and appearance would attract everyone’s attention.

"CHILDREN! EVERYONE, COME HERE! WE’RE EVACUATING!"

Natsu, however, was staring at the sky with an expression of pure excitement.

"Gramps! That’s a dragon!"

He pointed toward the enormous black figure circling overhead.

"So there really are dragons left in this world!"

Natsu cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted upward.

"HEY, DRAGON! HAVE YOU EVER MET IGNEEL?!"

"You idiot!" someone shouted back. "That dragon is dangerous! It’s Acnologia, the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse! We can’t fight something like that, so hurry up and run!"

Before Natsu could argue, another voice suddenly cried out.

"Look! Marshall’s flying toward it!"

High above the island, the blue-and-white Gundam accelerated toward Acnologia, intending to draw the Black Dragon’s attention away from Fairy Tail’s gathering members.

Marshall hadn’t even managed to open his mouth and say anything when Acnologia casually swiped at him.

The enormous claw struck the Gundam as though it were nothing more than an annoying fly.

Marshall’s visual feed lurched violently.

The machine was sent hurtling out of the sky and crashed into the ground directly in front of Fairy Tail’s members, carving a deep furrow through the earth.

For a moment, everyone could only stare.

The Gundam had been nearly torn in half by that single blow.

Its armor plating was shattered, several internal components had been crushed, and much of the frame was no longer functioning.

Acnologia’s physical strength was just as monstrous as its Magic Power.

Marshall frantically attempted to restart the Gundam’s damaged systems, but repeated attempts failed to restore normal operation.

The machine’s eyes flickered weakly, and only a distorted electronic voice managed to emerge from its damaged speakers.

"G-Greed... Hurry... prepare the teleportation..."

A burst of static interrupted him.

"Evacuate... everyone..."

"Understood, Master!"

Greed immediately began preparing the large-scale teleportation.

Unfortunately, Acnologia had already noticed the people gathered below.

"Oh no! The Black Dragon’s coming down!"

"I’ll hold it back! You children go first!"

Makarov immediately activated Giant Magic again, expanding into a colossal giant that towered over the surrounding landscape.

He planted himself directly in Acnologia’s path, raising both arms to stop the approaching dragon.

But the Black Dragon didn’t even bother slowing down.

Its enormous body slammed straight into Makarov.

"GUAAAH!"

The impact forced blood from the old man’s mouth as his gigantic body staggered backward.

"MASTER?!"

"Don’t worry about me!" Makarov shouted through gritted teeth. "JUST GET OUT OF HERE!"

He threw his arms around Acnologia and desperately held on, using his enormous body to prevent the dragon from advancing another step toward the others.

Meanwhile, Greed was gathering Fairy Tail’s members into the area covered by her teleportation spell.

A massive magic circle began taking shape beneath their feet.

The spell needed approximately another ten seconds to finish activating.

Under ordinary circumstances, that would hardly have been a problem, but ten seconds suddenly seemed impossibly long with Acnologia looming directly above them.

Worse, Makarov was still struggling against the Black Dragon.

Even if Greed completed the spell, Fairy Tail’s members weren’t going to abandon their Master and escape without him.

Then another teleportation circle suddenly appeared in the sky.

Back in his laboratory, Marshall had finally reached the limit of what he could tolerate.

He understood perfectly well that bringing his real body to Tenrou Island carried an enormous risk, but he couldn’t simply sit there watching his family die while he remained safely hidden away.

If someone had to remain behind and buy the others enough time to escape, then he was the obvious choice.

After all, he couldn’t die anymore.

Even if Acnologia tore his body apart, the Curse of Ankhseram should eventually restore him.

And unlike everyone else, Marshall had Spatial Magic that might allow him to escape after the others were safely gone.

He just needed to keep the Black Dragon occupied.

The instant Marshall emerged from the teleportation circle, his body transformed into a dazzling streak of light.

He accelerated to his maximum speed and hurled himself toward Acnologia.

"LET GO OF THE MASTER, YOU UGLY LIZARD!"

"MARSHALL?!"

Makarov turned in shock.

"MASTER! GO WITH THE OTHERS!" Marshall shouted as he approached. "I’ll stay behind and hold it off! Don’t worry about me—I can escape on my own!"

He deliberately maintained his distance from Fairy Tail’s members.

The curse might erupt at any moment, and he had no way to predict or prevent it.

As long as he stayed far enough away from his companions, however, he hoped he could avoid accidentally dragging them into the curse’s effective range.

His intention was simply to lure Acnologia away from the island long enough for Greed to finish the teleportation.

Unfortunately, what happened next was completely beyond Marshall’s expectations.

Almost immediately after his real body appeared, Acnologia’s attention shifted.

The Black Dragon’s eyes suddenly sharpened.

An inconceivable amount of Magic Power surged toward Marshall from every direction, and the space around him seemed to solidify.

His movement was abruptly restricted as though the entire surrounding world had been locked in place.

Before Marshall could react, Acnologia extended an enormous claw and seized him.

’What?!’

Marshall struggled instinctively, but the pressure surrounding his body made it nearly impossible to move.

Then something even more astonishing happened.

The dragon spoke.

"Several hundred years..."

Acnologia’s deep voice echoed through the sky.

"To think I’d encounter you here of all places! What an unexpected pleasure!"

The Black Dragon tightened its grip slightly.

"But the way you are now... you’ve become terribly weak!"

Marshall froze.

’What the hell?’

’This dragon knows me?’

He had only lived in this world for fourteen years.

Acnologia was talking as though they had known each other centuries ago.

How was that possible?

’Unless...’

Before Marshall could follow that thought any further, a completely unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out inside his mind.

It was a beautiful, melodious voice, almost like something spoken by a fairy.

[Marshall! Use Fairy Law! Right now!]

Marshall had no idea who was speaking.

Nevertheless, the urgency in that voice was unmistakable, and for some reason he instinctively followed its instruction.

His Magic Power surged as he activated the strongest Super Magic inherited by Fairy Tail.

"FAIRY... LAW!!!"

A dazzling burst of golden-white light erupted from Marshall’s body.

The radiance expanded across the sky, illuminating Acnologia’s enormous form as the Super Magic took effect.

"ROAAAAARGH!"

To Marshall’s astonishment, the Black Dragon actually roared in pain.

Acnologia’s claw loosened, releasing him from its grip.

’It worked?!’

Marshall could hardly believe it.

He had never expected Fairy Law to affect Acnologia, much less force the legendary Black Dragon to release him.

For the first time since the creature appeared, there seemed to be an opportunity to escape.

But before Marshall could even catch his breath, he felt something inside his body suddenly respond.

It was a reaction coming from the deepest part of his First Origin.

Something that had remained dormant there for a long time had just been activated.

Marshall immediately recognized it.

The mysterious Gift of Fate concealed within his First Origin—[Heart of Time].

His expression changed drastically.

’No!’

’Why is this thing activating now?!’

Marshall tried to suppress the reaction, but the power had already begun moving beyond his control.

’Wait!’

’Everyone still hasn’t evacuated! I can’t leave yet!’

He desperately attempted to resist the activation, knowing that Makarov and the others were still directly beneath Acnologia.

’STOP!’

’NO!!!’

Before Marshall could do anything else, a colossal pillar of light erupted from his body.

It was even more brilliant than the Fairy Law he had just unleashed, stretching between heaven and earth as though the entire world had been pierced by a radiant beam.

The light swallowed Marshall completely.

For several moments, nobody could see what was happening.

Then the radiance gradually faded.

Acnologia was still circling overhead, surrounded by strange, mysterious magical runes that had appeared in the sky.

But Marshall was gone.

There was no trace of him anywhere.

"Marshall?!"

Someone cried out in disbelief.

"Where did Marshall go?!"

Then another panicked voice came from the group gathered around the teleportation circle.

"Little Greed?! Little Sloth?!"

"Oh no! All the Apostles have collapsed!"

The children created by Marshall had suddenly lost consciousness.

Even Greed, who had been preparing the large-scale teleportation, was no longer capable of completing the spell.

"What the hell is happening?!"

"Where’s Marshall?!"

"Wait... what’s that Black Dragon doing now?"

Several people instinctively looked toward the sky, and their expressions turned pale.

"Don’t tell me it’s going to—"

"It’s preparing a Roar!"

"EVERYONE, WATCH OUT! HURRY! GET THE DEFENSIVE FORMATIONS READY!"

Within the space of a few moments, everything had changed.

Acnologia had spoken.

Marshall had vanished.

Every Apostle had fallen unconscious.

The sudden sequence of events threw Fairy Tail’s entire evacuation plan into chaos, leaving everyone scrambling to understand what had happened while the greatest threat of all remained directly above them.

Acnologia appeared to have become enraged by Marshall’s sudden disappearance.

Unable to find the person it had been pursuing, the Black Dragon turned its attention toward the people still gathered on the island.

It spread its enormous wings and rose higher into the sky.

Then it opened its jaws.

An unimaginably destructive Dragon’s Roar erupted toward Tenrou Island.

...

December 16, X784.

On that day, Tenrou Island was destroyed by Acnologia, the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse.

The island disappeared completely.

After circling above the surrounding sea for a considerable time, Acnologia eventually departed, vanishing once again into obscurity. Its whereabouts became unknown.

In the months that followed, Fairy Tail joined forces with the Magic Council to conduct an extensive search and investigation throughout the waters surrounding the former location of Tenrou Island.

The operation continued for six months.

Despite their efforts, they discovered no survivors.

It seemed that the era of Fairy Tail... had finally come to an end.

----

The end!

Nah just joking, we enter Fairy tail zero arc.