Fairy Tail Guild.
"Another of the Twelve Shields has been defeated!!"
"OOOOHHHHHH!!!"
"We're gonna win this war!!!"
The guild erupted in cheers.
Of the mighty Twelve Shields of the Alvarez Empire, Su Yan had killed one, he had slain another before, Laxus had already crushed two on the southern battlefield, and now Mira had taken down one in the north.
Five had already fallen. Seven remained. Nearly half of the Empire's strongest force was gone—and that was enough to tilt the balance of hope in Ishgar's favor.
Both First Master Mavis and Makarov smiled in relief. Earlier, when they could barely hold back the enemy, both feared Fairy Tail's light might finally be extinguished. But now… the children of the guild had surpassed every expectation.
In only a year, their strength had grown to incredible heights. Sirius Island, the Grand Magic Games, Tartaros—those crises had lit a fire inside each of them. And through endless effort, that fire had forged the warriors standing now.
Fairy Tail's children would carry this war to victory.
Western Battlefield.
Zeref frowned. Even as the Black Mage who knew the full extent of his Twelve Shields, the situation was turning against him.
Dimaria, defeated.
Wall, destroyed.
Bloodman, annihilated.
Fairy Tail's strength was far beyond what he had anticipated. His plans would need to shift.
Northern Battlefield.
"So, Bloodman has been killed?" Irene Belserion, the Scarlet Despair—one of the two strongest of the Twelve Shields—smiled faintly. "How unexpected. If things continue this way, His Majesty's plan will be ruined… it seems I'll need to act."
Unlike Bloodman, who was merely one of Zeref's created demons, Irene was different. She was one of Alvarez's true crown jewels—one of its greatest powers.
Her expression suddenly hardened.
"…This presence…"
Her pupils twisted into cross-shaped slits.
Above the battlefield, a massive eye opened in the heavens, as large as a town.
"Wh-what is that?!"
"An… eye?!"
Panic swept through the Ishgar coalition.
"Crimson hair…" Irene's eyes locked onto Erza, still fighting amidst the chaos. That long red hair, that face—so like her own youth.
Her lips curved. "Looks like I'll be joining the fight."
The tip of her staff struck the earth.
"Enchantment Art: Berserker!!"
"GRAAAAAH!!!"
Soldiers of the Alvarez Empire began glowing with blood-red light, screaming as their bodies twisted. Their frames swelled grotesquely, eyes vacant, heads wreathed in a burning aura.
"What's happening to them?!"
"The enemy soldiers… they're changing!!"
One Berserker roared and slashed at Erza.
CRASH!!
She blocked, but the sheer force drove her back, her boots sinking into the dirt.
"Erza?! She was pushed back?!"
"These soldiers… their strength has multiplied?!"
Erza's face tightened. "They're faster… stronger…"
All around, coalition members screamed as the Berserkers smashed through them.
Irene's voice floated across the field. "The Berserker enchantment multiplies the caster's power several times over. True, they lose reason… but who needs reason when all they must do is kill?"
Erza slashed down several with a single swing of her re-quipped blade. Gajeel and others sent more flying. But the Berserkers simply rose again, unfazed by pain, their bodies refusing to stay down.
"They can't even feel pain?!" Lily gasped. "This… this is terrifying."
Erza and the others fought with all their might, but the endless onslaught wore them down. Wounds piled up, exhaustion gnawed at them—and still the enemy kept coming.
"What do we do?! They're like mindless beasts—we can't hold out!!"
"Joy…"
Suddenly, a mass of pink, sticky magic spread across the ground, binding the Berserkers where they stood.
"This spell—!"
The Fairy Tail mages froze. They recognized it. They'd been trapped by it once before, back during Tartaros. It was the magic of Mard Geer—the curse of "Alegria." Back then, Su Yan had slain the caster and freed them.
And now… Mira stood at the center, her form cloaked in the demon's power.
"She used Take Over…!"
"As expected of Mira-san!!"
Mira, fresh from her victory over Bloodman, had rushed to the northern front to aid her comrades.
Irene's eyes gleamed. "Ho… not bad, little girl. To wield such magic… hmm?!"
A storm of blades suddenly filled the sky, hundreds of swords raining down on her position.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Smoke blanketed the field.
A slow, amused voice rang from within. "So, while I was focused on the others, you discovered my location and struck. Countless swords, all perfectly controlled at once… impressive. Very impressive. You've earned yourself a reward—"
Clap. Clap.
"—a little red flower."
As the smoke cleared, Irene stood unscathed in the center. The swords were all buried in the ground around her, forming a perfect flower-shaped pattern.