"Hey! What's wrong with all of you?!"
Sting stared in panic at the companions who had suddenly collapsed around him, then hurriedly crouched beside Rogue to check on him.
A second later, he recoiled.
"Whoa! Why are you smiling like that?! That's disgusting!"
Rogue's usual gloomy demeanor had vanished completely.
He wore an absurdly blissful grin, drooling slightly with his eyes half rolled back as though he had been plunged into the most overwhelming pleasure imaginable.
Sting hastily wiped his hands on his clothes and backed away before checking Rufus and Orga.
They were exactly the same.
Both lay curled on the ground, clutching themselves with vacant smiles, caught in some euphoric dream that should have lasted only an instant but had somehow been stretched out indefinitely.
Nearby, Yukino nervously tried to help Minerva sit up.
Minerva managed only a muffled sound before her entire body shuddered.
"Don't… touch me, Yukino…"
Her voice had become completely unlike its usual confident tone.
Sweat soaked through Minerva's clothes, leaving Yukino frozen beside her with no idea where she was even supposed to put her hands.
On the other side of the cavern, Kagura jabbed the hilt of her sword into Ichiya and knocked him away when he started grinning far too obscenely on the floor.
"Stop smiling at me like that!"
Then she turned toward Jellal.
"What kind of magic is this? Does it affect people randomly?"
"Probably not."
Jellal carefully studied everyone around them.
Blue Pegasus had been nearly wiped out.
Among Sabertooth, several of the older members had collapsed while Sting and Yukino remained completely unaffected.
Lamia Scale showed the same pattern.
Sherry, Jura, and several others could barely move, while some of the younger members seemed fine.
And among Jellal's own companions… only Erik had gone down.
Jellal's eyes narrowed as he tried to identify the common factor.
"The people affected…"
He hesitated.
"They all have partners?"
No.
That couldn't be it either.
Some of them didn't.
There had to be a more specific condition.
While Jellal was still trying to work it out, Larcade was staring at Ankh with open disbelief.
"Why are you still standing?"
That made no sense.
Any living being that had experienced that kind of pleasure should have been overwhelmed by his magic.
Then Larcade's gaze shifted slightly.
Understanding dawned on him.
His expression turned ugly.
Ankh's face was faintly flushed, but he was still upright.
Erza and Mirajane, however, had gone weak in his arms, their legs barely supporting them as occasional involuntary breaths escaped them.
Ankh spoke with remarkable calm.
"A man has to endure when it matters."
Larcade's solemn expression nearly broke.
"That isn't endurance! You're just too stubborn to admit it's affecting you!"
Separation Enchantment could remove foreign magical influences, but desire itself wasn't something that could simply be extracted.
So Ankh had been forced to use the oldest method available.
He endured it.
Fortunately, even if this spell had found one of his vulnerabilities, his divine body was still far too resilient to leave him completely helpless.
Moving somewhat stiffly, Ankh turned and passed Erza and Mirajane into the care of Ultear and Sorano.
Both women covered their eyes—although neither resisted peeking through their fingers.
Ankh pretended not to notice and forcibly looked away.
"Why does everyone look like they're having such a good time?" Natsu asked with complete sincerity.
Lucy's entire face turned crimson.
She immediately slapped a hand over his mouth.
Ankh steadied the flow of Magic Power through his body and forced his concentration back onto Larcade.
Then he noticed Selene standing nearby.
She was watching him with an extremely strange expression.
Ankh suddenly realized something.
He turned toward her in surprise.
"Why aren't you affected?"
Selene folded her arms and briefly examined the changes inside her body.
"Oh, I am."
Her pink eyes curved with amusement.
"But female dragons are physically far too resilient to be especially sensitive to something like this."
She smiled.
"And I've never actually experienced it myself."
Ankh's thoughts almost derailed.
'What the—'
He immediately stopped himself.
Even his thinking was being affected by this cursed magic.
Crimson Magic Power erupted from his body.
Ankh vanished.
Larcade watched the man genuinely forcing himself forward through the spell and felt an absurd sense of helplessness.
This had gone beyond stubborn pride.
At this point, Ankh wasn't even protecting his dignity anymore.
Somehow, he seemed considerably less divine than the lofty being Zeref had once described.
Larcade's pleasure magic had been ignored in the most ridiculous way imaginable.
Caught off guard by the sheer absurdity of it, he only managed to cross both arms in front of his chest.
BOOM—!
Ankh's strike launched him straight into the cavern wall.
The impact shattered layers of underground rock and drove Larcade deep into the stone.
Ankh's movements still felt awkward. His lower body was stiff, every nerve felt as though a current were running through it, and the constant tingling sensation was undeniably distracting.
But unlike conventional debilitating magic, Larcade's spell didn't actually reduce his physical strength or Magic Power.
It simply made it extremely difficult to use either properly.
For Ankh, being able to circulate Magic Power at all was enough.
"Larcade-sama!"
Faris, still inside Touka's body, cried out when she saw him driven into the earth.
Unfortunately, that shout reminded everyone that Larcade hadn't come alone.
Selene appeared beside Faris instantly.
Her overwhelming draconic presence descended before the shrine maiden could react, freezing her body in place.
"Don't move~"
Selene slipped both arms around Faris from behind.
"Your Whiteout Magic isn't very effective against someone who already knows to guard against it."
Her low, seductive voice sounded directly beside Faris's ear, dangerous enough to send a chill over the girl's entire body.
"No…"
Faris trembled.
"Larcade-sama can't die…"
"He promised he would protect Elentear…"
Selene's expression immediately turned cold.
She caught Faris by the chin.
"Idiot."
"Elentear is already on the verge of destruction because of him, and you're still following his orders?"
"That's impossible…"
Faris's voice wavered.
"He believes in Whiteout…"
Selene had no patience left for this.
"Whiteout Village."
Faris froze.
Selene smiled.
"Your family and everyone else there are currently being held at Black Moon Mountain."
Faris's face went pale.
"If you want them kept safe, then behave yourself and lead us to Alta Face."
Faris clenched her teeth.
When her family was brought into it, she had no choice.
After a long moment, she nodded.
Ankh turned toward Natsu, Gray, Wendy, and Lucy, all of whom remained completely unaffected.
"You four go with her."
"Stop Alta Face."
Then he looked toward the members of Diabolos.
"Can you help us with the others?"
Suzaku and Kiria were both still standing normally, while Haku was crouched nearby in fascination, poking at two people on the ground who were wearing extremely inappropriate smiles.
Suzaku nodded.
"We can escort those who cannot move back outside."
The spell had made certain personal histories painfully obvious.
Selene walked over as well.
"I'll go with them."
She glanced toward the incapacitated women.
"They'll have trouble carrying everyone themselves. I can simply teleport them back to Black Moon Mountain."
"Good."
Ankh nodded.
"Thanks."
With the responsibilities divided, Ankh jumped alone into the deep crater where Larcade had fallen.
Jellal, worried that something unexpected might happen, immediately followed with Kagura.
Natsu and the others headed deeper underground with Faris, searching for the true source of Elentear's collapse.
Far below, Larcade lay embedded in shattered stone.
The center of his chest had visibly caved inward.
He coughed violently and spat blood onto the ground.
The gentle rainbow halo that had surrounded him earlier was gone completely.
Only anxiety remained in his eyes as he sensed the approaching figures.
"Not yet…"
Larcade struggled to breathe.
"I need to delay them a little longer…"