"Almost there! I need to choreograph a super cool entrance for when I land!"
Kira thought to himself, taking advantage of the fact that no one was around to brainstorm and rehearse his moves as he went.
He tried a sharp turn to the left, his expression relaxing into a look of effortless cool. "Yo, Erza, Natsu! It's only been a few days, how did you guys get so washed up? You can't even handle a few scrubs anymore?"
Then he spun back to the right, pretending to face down an army alone, his expression cold and arrogant. "I'm short on time. I don't care if you're the 'Six Demons' or the 'Seven Demons,' just come at me all at once!"
Finished with his practice run, Kira dropped the pose and propped his chin on his right hand, muttering to himself, "The first one seems safer, but the second one has way more style... which one is better? Hmm... maybe I should try a few more!"
Suddenly, Kira stopped in his tracks. In his sensory range, pulses of magic began to pop up one after another.
His magic perception worked a bit like a radar. From Kira's perspective, it looked like several clusters of magical energy had suddenly appeared directly ahead.
These clusters varied in size—some were dense, others loose—and some had distinct elemental attributes. They were all different, but a few felt incredibly familiar. He immediately recognized them as his guildmates.
According to the intel Gran had given him from the Council, the lineup for the Allied Forces didn't differ much from the original storyline.
Fairy Tail had sent a four-person squad: Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy. Lamia Scale had sent Jura, Lyon, and Sherry. Blue Pegasus had the Trimens—Hibiki, Eve, Ren—plus Ichiya. And finally, there was Wendy from Cait Shelter.
Four guilds, twelve people in total. They were currently rushing toward a massive pillar of black light.
"Wait, moving at that speed?"
Kira looked up in confusion. Blue sky, white clouds, green trees, red sun—nothing else. He listened closely and heard a faint mechanical humming in the distance.
That explained it. "They must be riding the Christina, right? That magic bomber ship from Blue Pegasus!"
"That scorching, manic magic power has to be Natsu. The two faint signatures are probably the cats. There are two cold signatures, likely Gray and Lyon. And then there's Erza and Lucy..."
Kira analyzed them one by one, connecting the dots between the magic signatures and the wizards ahead. But as he continued scanning, he realized something was off. "Huh? What is that up ahead?"
Not far in front of the group, several unfamiliar magical signatures were clustered together. One of them was particularly unique—heavy, domineering, and laced with a trace of darkness. In terms of both quality and quantity, this power was on par with Natsu or Gray. Most importantly, Kira had dealt with this energy before. He knew it well.
"It's Jellal!"
And not far from Jellal, there was another mysterious, arcane magic signature. Its owner was clearly observing the battlefield from the sidelines. Kira happened to be very familiar with this person, too.
Ultear?! What is she doing here?
Kira paused for a moment, then remembered what he had told her previously. It clicked immediately. "Oh, so she's here to investigate her origins... although, doesn't she need to go back and report to Hades?"
While Kira was lost in thought, another violent, sharp magic signature entered his sensory range. It was moving rapidly toward the battlefield from a distance. at this speed, it wouldn't take long to reach the black pillar of light.
"This familiar electricity... is that Laxus?!"
---
Let's rewind a bit. After Kira left for the Demisol Academy, Fairy Tail returned to a brief period of peace. Since the "Harvest Festival," the guild members had gone back to their usual routines.
This lasted until one day...
Bang!
The guild doors were slammed open, and a background member ran in shouting, "Bad news! The Thunder Legion is in trouble!"
It turned out that ever since Laxus disappeared during the "Battle of Fairy Tail," Freed had been depressed, barely eating, and practically washing his face with tears. Eventually, Bickslow and Evergreen couldn't stand it anymore and decided to drag him out to look for Laxus.
Seven days passed. The trio searched all over Magnolia and asked around in neighboring towns with no luck. They had to return to the guild to ask Makarov for leads.
Only when they returned did they learn that Laxus had gone off to pick a fight with the Oración Seis.
Putting the others aside, once Freed found out that Laxus hadn't left because he was angry at him specifically, his depression vanished instantly. He felt great and immediately declared he would follow in Laxus's footsteps.
After a week of running around, Bickslow and Evergreen had planned to go home and rest, but they couldn't withstand the revitalized Freed's intensity and were dragged along again.
Then, tragically, they ran into the Oración Seis, who were currently out for revenge on behalf of their subordinates.
Thanks to Laxus's rampage, the dark guilds under the Oración Seis had suffered heavy losses.
Brain didn't actually care about his trash subordinates, but when your little brothers get beat up, the big brother has to step in, or it looks bad. If he ignored it, how could they maintain their standing in the criminal underworld?
Upon learning the attacker was from Fairy Tail, they sent Cobra to handle the situation.
Several subordinate guilds and hundreds of wizards set a trap for the attacker. They didn't catch Laxus, but they did catch the Thunder Legion, who had come looking for him.
Facing Cobra, who had that "new villain introduction" buff, the Thunder Legion stood no chance and were beaten until they were critically injured.
Fortunately, the three of them were tough, and Cobra wasn't trying to kill them outright, so they managed to escape with their lives.
To give his subordinates an explanation, Cobra poisoned the Thunder Legion before letting them go. He told them to pass a message to Fairy Tail—and specifically Laxus: "We're waiting for you. If you dare to show up, we'll make you regret it." It was a direct provocation from a dark guild to an official one.
The Thunder Legion returned to Magnolia battered, bruised, and poisoned. The guild was shocked and immediately called for the Master's old friend, the apothecary Porlyusica.
Porlyusica, who had come to Earthland from Edolas years ago, had no magic power but was incredibly gifted in pharmacology. She was an eccentric old woman who constantly claimed to "hate humans." In her youth, she had also been a member of Fairy Tail.
Perhaps boosted by her status as the "Edolas counterpart of the Sky Dragon Grandeeney," her medical skills were brilliant. She lived in the forest near Magnolia and served as the guild's unofficial doctor. Thanks to her timely treatment, the Thunder Legion's lives were saved.
It was right around this time that Laxus returned.
Seeing his subordinates beaten senseless and lying unconscious in the infirmary, Laxus hit the roof. Ignoring everyone's advice, he chased after Erza's group overnight, heading toward the Worth Woodsea to hunt down the Oración Seis.
---
One month ago, Brain had picked up intel regarding the Tower of Heaven. He learned that his former disciple, Jellal, had lost to Fairy Tail's famous "Sage," Kira, and had been blasted into the ocean, his fate unknown.
Thinking it was worth a shot, he led the Oración Seis to the waters near Caelum, hoping to find Jellal and extract the location of "Nirvana" from him.
Hard work pays off. Thanks to Cobra's "hearing," they finally found the dying Jellal. He was covered in wounds and one step away from death's door.
Luckily, Brain knew a lot of magic. Even if he didn't know actual Healing Magic (which was a lost art), he knew enough emergency first-aid spells to keep Jellal alive.
Unlike the original timeline, fate took a different turn here.
Jellal didn't lose his memory from absorbing the Etherion, and his injuries weren't so severe that only Wendy could heal them. So, after a long period of recuperation, he finally woke up.
Upon waking, Jellal hadn't shaken off Zeref's influence. He was still intent on his plan, but he had no money, no followers, and his reputation was ruined. His "Five-Year Plan" to rebuild the Tower of Heaven was facing a serious crisis.
At Brain's suggestion, Jellal decided to temporarily ally with the Oración Seis. He would help Brain find Nirvana, and in exchange, Brain would provide the manpower for his plans. A mutually beneficial deal.
Since Jellal was cooperating, they didn't need to bother with the Allied Forces of the legal guilds. They didn't need to gather intel, fight anyone, bomb the airship, or kidnap Wendy. They simply went straight into the forest to activate Nirvana.