Originally, Athena herself would have needed to serve as the vessel for Viernes's materialization, which would inevitably have meant sacrificing her in the process.
Iruzala, however, had proposed another method.
Athena II could be used instead.
The principle was essentially the same.
Once Viernes fully materialized, his true form resembled a massive sphinx-like dragon, with a leonine body and a draconic face.
His entire body looked as though it had been forged from solid gold, while his coloration and ornate markings carried the unmistakable aesthetic of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh.
Raizel rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"If we melted him down and sold the gold, wouldn't we be filthy rich?"
He paused.
"What's the price of gold per gram these days?"
"..."
Viernes remained perched atop the Gold Owl guild hall, glaring down at them before unleashing an enraged roar.
"Humans! Your arrogance knows no bounds!"
Although Viernes had previously existed only as a disembodied will, that did not mean he had been unaware of what was happening.
Through Duke, Sai, and the other dolls he had created with alchemy, he could perceive their conversations and actions.
There was a limit to the range, of course.
His awareness could not extend too far beyond Gold Owl itself, but he knew perfectly well what Raizel and the others had been doing inside the guild.
From Viernes's perspective, the fact that they had deliberately used the Philosopher's Stone to restore his physical form could only mean one thing.
They did not consider him a threat at all.
Viernes remained in his dragon form rather than transforming into a human.
He released another furious roar.
Immediately, Gennai, Kotetsu, Sai, and the others who had previously been defeated rose to their feet once more.
Athena II, whose body had served as the vessel for his materialization, also reappeared.
And they were no longer alone.
Several unfamiliar dolls emerged alongside them—new creations, or perhaps more accurately, new alchemists manufactured by Viernes.
This was one of the Gold Dragon God's abilities.
He could transmute dolls.
"We don't know what these new ones can do or what kind of alchemy they use," Raizel warned.
"Stay alert."
With that, he activated [Take Over: Omnimon X.] and flew into the sky.
Wendy, Happy, and Carla first dragged the injured Signario Sisters away from the battlefield while everyone else began choosing opponents suited to their abilities.
Lucy Requipped the Capricorn Star Dress and summoned Capricorn himself, turning the fight against Sai into a two-on-one battle.
By now, she understood Sai's ability well enough that there was no longer much danger of being tricked by it.
As long as she refused to follow the train of thought he tried to plant in her head, his Bond Alchemy became far less troublesome.
Sai himself was never particularly strong in direct combat.
With the Capricorn Star Dress enhancing her physical abilities and martial arts, Lucy fought in perfect coordination with Capricorn, steadily overwhelming Sai from both sides and forcing him backward.
Athena once again faced Athena II.
Kagura removed the bindings around Archenemy and drew the blade, taking on Kotetsu, who also fought with a sword.
Wendy found herself against Gennai and his Smoke Transmutation.
To her surprise, even Sky Dragon's Roar was unable to disperse the smoke he created.
Erza, meanwhile, Requipped into the Armor of Yūzetsu.
A beautiful white dress covered her body, her scarlet hair tied into a high ponytail, while eight swords floated behind her.
Since she knew nothing about her opponent's abilities, testing them with swords was the safest approach.
Her opponent was an unfamiliar woman with short golden hair.
The eight swords immediately shot forward.
Four pieces of heavy weaponry materialized around the blonde woman in response.
Bullets and laser fire erupted in rapid succession, forcing back several of Erza's swords.
The woman then punched the remaining blades aside with two heavy blows.
Erza narrowed her eyes.
"So she can transmute heavy weapons, and she's physically strong enough to fight at close range?"
Mira had already activated Satan Soul and was facing Brand, the so-called "Strongest Shield" whom Ultear had fought earlier.
Her demonic claws scraped across Brand's hardened armor, sending sparks flying.
"This really is tough."
Seeing that ordinary attacks were not enough, Mira immediately shifted to the strongest offensive claws currently available to her.
BlackWarGreymon's Dramon Killers.
Brand's "Strongest Shield" ultimately remained limited by the materials available to his alchemy.
No matter how durable he made himself, the hardness of his armor was difficult to push beyond the strongest metal they currently knew—Dramon Steel.
Sure enough, the Dramon Killers tore across Brand's arm and left three deep gouges, exposing some of the mechanical components hidden beneath the outer shell.
With the claws giving her a decisive advantage, Mira began driving Brand backward.
Brand roared furiously and used alchemy on himself again.
His body hardened even further, while the damage Mira had inflicted rapidly repaired itself.
Natsu's opponent was a bald mountain of muscle whose physique was absurd even by Fairy Tail standards.
Natsu barely reached the lower part of the man's chest.
Worse, he seemed to possess the same terrifyingly fast clothes-removal ability as Gray and kept striking bodybuilding poses between exchanges.
He was basically another God Serena.
Naturally, Natsu loved it.
He and the muscular doll, Alex, immediately began trading punches in a brutal close-quarters brawl.
Alex possessed monstrous physical strength, and every time he struck another bodybuilding pose, his muscles swelled even further, increasing his power.
After one direct fist clash, Natsu was blasted backward and smashed into a wall.
He forced himself upright with a grimace.
"Damn... This guy's ridiculously strong."
The real God Serena doll had also been recreated through Viernes's Doll Transmutation.
This time, he went after Ultear.
Eight Dragon Slayer attributes against eight Dragon Slayer Lacrima.
"So you're the woman who stole my eight Dragon Slayer Lacrima? GOD!"
Serena struck another dramatic pose.
"But even without them, I can still wield the power of all Eight Dragons! Such is the blessing bestowed upon me by the Dragon God! GOD!"
He thrust out his hands.
"Purgatory Dragon's Blazing Hell!"
Ultear did not bother responding.
She simply raised one of her crystal spheres and absorbed the incoming Purgatory Dragon flames completely.
More than a dozen magical crystal spheres then appeared around Serena, surrounding him while he was still busy posing.
Radiance of the Gods combined with Dragon Slayer Magic.
White light exploded outward.
Within the blinding radiance, Serena devoured the Tempest Dragon's wind-attribute Magic, while the Arc of Time energy remained beyond his ability to consume.
As Serena absorbed the available Magic, his silhouette gradually became visible again through the light.
Ultear immediately understood the problem.
'So against Serena, I'll have to rely on Ice-Make, Arc of Time, or Spatial Magic.'
Learning Spatial Magic had solved one of Ultear's greatest weaknesses—her lack of close-combat ability.
Rather than allowing opponents to force her into melee, she could now alter her position with Spatial Magic whenever they approached, maintain distance, and fight entirely as a long-range Mage.
...
Viernes saw Raizel approaching and opened his jaws.
A golden torrent erupted from his mouth and swept across the sky.
Raizel accelerated upward, twisting through the air as he avoided the Gold Dragon God's roar.
Then he raised his right arm.
"Double Torrent."
Two energy spheres, one blue and one red, spiraled together before shooting straight toward Viernes's head.
BOOM!
The Double Torrent exploded against the side of the Gold Dragon God's neck.
The damage was sharply divided along the point of impact.
One half of the wound had been scorched black, while the other was covered in a thick layer of frost.
Viernes became even more furious.
With another deafening roar, he finally abandoned his perch atop Gold Owl and spread his wings, rising into the sky to confront Raizel directly.
Viernes had originally become a disembodied will only after suffering severe injuries.
Although he had spent many years dormant and recovering, his newly restored body was still far from its prime.
On top of that, he had gone so long without physically moving that he needed time to fully regain control over his own body.
His regenerative ability, however, was impressive.
The injury left by Double Torrent was already slowly repairing itself.
Raizel did not hesitate.
He swung his left arm downward, and the Grey Sword extended immediately.
Then he accelerated.
Like a supersonic fighter tearing through the atmosphere, Omnimon X crossed the distance in an instant and appeared directly in front of Viernes.
Viernes roared and transmuted a massive metal shield in front of himself.
Ancient inscriptions covered its surface.
The Grey Sword struck the shield head-on.
Not only did the barrier stop the blade, but a powerful recoil traveled back through Raizel's arm and forced him away.
Raizel flexed his hand once, then rotated his shoulder.
"It can even reflect the force back at me."