The time they were passed slowly during the tense standoff between Calvin and Future Rogue. Meanwhile, the once-lively streets of Crocus, which had been bustling with celebrations after the Grand Magic Games, had grown eerily quiet. The excited citizens had been escorted to shelters by soldiers, leaving the entire city feeling like a ghost town.
Despite the stillness, there were still some who remained busy. Flying swiftly through the deserted streets were three cats carrying three people, heading towards Crocus' most iconic building—the grand palace of Mercurius.
As they approached the palace, they saw countless soldiers guarding the massive structure. Outside the plaza stood the grand and imposing Eclipse Gate. Even though they had never seen it before, Lucy and Natsu immediately knew this was the legendary Eclipse Gate.
The trio, along with their cats, landed quickly, but their arrival did not go unnoticed. As soon as they touched down, they were surrounded by soldiers, all of whom looked tense and hostile.
"What's with this? They're treating us like criminals!" Natsu grumbled, clearly annoyed. Despite being surrounded by so many soldiers, he showed no sign of fear. He was confident that this situation was nothing to worry about.
At that moment, Princess Hisui stepped forward from the crowd, her expression calm as she addressed the group.
"What are you doing here? Aren't all the wizards supposed to be gathering in the city square?" she asked plainly.
"We're here to see Calvin. We were told by the king that he was here," Lucy replied firmly, exuding the confidence of a former wealthy heiress.
The princess blinked in surprise at Lucy's words, pausing before stiffly answering, "I've assigned him another task. He's not here right now."
Lucy, Natsu, and Mirajane exchanged glances, silently communicating before Lucy pressed on.
"Can you tell us where Calvin is? We need to speak to him urgently."
Princess Hisui glared at them. She had always believed Calvin was the mastermind behind the coming disaster, and the last thing she wanted was to deal with members of Fairy Tail. However, knowing that they would need Fairy Tail's strength to face the crisis ahead, she couldn't afford to alienate them completely.
"It's classified information. Calvin holds the key to preventing this disaster, so even though you're his comrades, I can't tell you where he is," she replied.
Her words had a double meaning. Lucy and the others assumed that Calvin was working on an important task. But in reality, the princess's main concern was ensuring that Calvin didn't interfere with the activation of the Eclipse Gate and its cannon. Though she maintained a calm facade, Princess Hisui was inwardly terrified that Future Rogue wouldn't be able to keep Calvin occupied.
But her worries were unnecessary, as Future Rogue was doing an excellent job stalling Calvin with mere words.
Mirajane, who had been observing everyone's reactions quietly, sensed something was off. Though she often seemed absent-minded, she was an S-Class wizard, and she carefully took note of everyone's behavior. While the soldiers' nervousness was understandable, the anxious expressions of the princess and her two ministers struck Mirajane as suspicious.
"If that's the case, then we'll stay here to help guard the Eclipse Gate. Since Calvin isn't around, you might need extra wizards to keep an eye on it," Mirajane said with a light smile, offering her help with a hint of goodwill.
At her suggestion, Princess Hisui immediately shot her a wary glance. From her intelligence reports, she knew that Mirajane was close to Calvin. Was Mirajane also part of his supposed "dark alliance"?
Future Rogue had told her that Calvin had fallen into darkness and that Mirajane was a demon-possessed wizard. This made the princess all the more cautious.
After a moment's thought and considering the disparity in numbers and Lucy's importance as a celestial wizard in case of emergencies, the princess reluctantly agreed to let them stay.
The trio of wizards exchanged glances, nodding slightly as they settled in to wait.
Time continued to march forward, unnoticed and unstoppable, but Calvin's frustration and anger only grew as the moments passed.
He had been stuck in the Narlok Palace for quite some time, and Future Rogue's smug attitude was grating on him. Calvin's mind raced with plans, each one more desperate than the last, only to discard them in frustration. He knew they were running out of time. Outside, Princess Hisui was preparing to activate the Eclipse Gate, and if he didn't act soon, it would be too late.
"The only option left is to subdue Rogue in an instant. At the very least, I need to stop him from harming Lucy—if she's still alive."
Calvin paced restlessly, throwing glares at Future Rogue. His hands went to his hips in frustration, but at that moment, he swiftly pulled four summoning cards from his storage belt, adding them to the one he had already been playing with—Phoenix Marco.
He pretended to gaze impatiently at the ceiling, his fingers poised on the five cards, ready to strike.
Just then, a burst of magical energy erupted from behind him, a mix of white and black magic rushing toward him.
"Shadow Holy Dragon Fang!"
Future Rogue had been watching Calvin's every move, waiting for the moment he would make a move. Sensing Calvin's intent to go all out, Rogue attacked first.
Calvin was caught off guard but remained calm. Without any visible movement, a transparent barrier formed behind him, blocking Rogue's sneak attack.
Future Rogue, not wanting to engage in a prolonged fight, immediately tried to disappear into the shadows. But as he began to fade, he felt a sudden chill.
A snowflake landed on his shoulder.
In the blink of an eye, an ice flower bloomed from the snowflake, freezing his body and halting his movements.
Looking up, Future Rogue noticed a round opening in the ceiling, through which countless delicate snowflakes were falling. No, these weren't just snowflakes—they were magical and moving fast.
It was too late to escape. The snowflakes fell like a torrential storm, each one blossoming into a beautiful but deadly ice flower upon contact with Rogue's body.
"So... he can even use ice magic? I underestimated him..." Rogue thought, his body freezing over, his thoughts slowing as he succumbed to the icy embrace.
Magic of the Six Realms: Frozen Hundred-Blossom Burial!
"You're not getting away this time, you shadow dragon punk," Calvin said coldly.