CHAPTER 598: THUNDER

Bluenote had clearly picked the wrong person to question.

Everyone present knew that if anyone here actually knew where Mavis’s grave was, they would have already sailed back to the guild without hesitation.

And even if they did know, there was no way they would tell him. Not when his intentions were written all over his face.

Some could barely lift their heads under the crushing gravity, while others could only glare at him in defiance.

"So that’s your answer?" Bluenote muttered, shifting his gaze toward a different group of Fairy Tail mages.

"Raaaghhh!!!" Elfman, who had been blown away earlier, roared in his Beast Soul form. Charging in from the side, he swung a massive fist straight for Bluenote’s face.

"Hmph." With a simple snort, Bluenote raised one hand and effortlessly caught the punch mid-swing.

The weight on Elfman doubled instantly, slamming him to the ground with bone-jarring force.

"Manly Man!!!" Elfman growled, muscles trembling as he pushed up on all fours. His eyes burned with determination, no matter the odds, he would land at least one blow.

But Bluenote casually chopped him on the shoulder with one hand, driving him back into the dirt. "Good brute strength... but it’s worthless against my gravity. And since no one here can answer my question, there’s no reason for you to exist."

"Damn it!"

Natsu snarled, forcing his head down against the ground hard enough to form a crater beneath him. Flames roared from his mouth in a blazing torrent. "Fire Dragon’s Roar!"

The intense blast surged upward, and the recoil propelled Natsu skyward against the pull of the gravity magic. Flames swirled around his legs. "Fire Dragon’s Claw!"

"Pointless." Bluenote flicked his hand, swatting Natsu out of the air and straight into the same crater Elfman occupied, stacking the two of them like rag dolls before preparing to crush them for good.

Gray, Juvia, and Wendy, pinned down on the ground, fought to muster their magic. Ice, water, and wind blasted toward Bluenote in a coordinated strike, but he swept his arm through the air and dispersed all three with laughable ease.

Lucy’s heart sank. This opponent was far beyond the Seven Kin of Purgatory they had faced before.

Gravity magic... was there a Celestial Spirit that could counter something like this? Or at least help them escape?

Virgo?

Her hand fumbled through the heavy rain, fingers brushing over the keys at her waist. A thought sparked. "Juvia, help me!"

Juvia’s eyes widened, then she caught sight of the key in Lucy’s grip and understood immediately. "Yes!"

A puddle of water formed beside Lucy’s hand, shimmering with magical light as she pressed the key into it.

"Open, Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!"

A beautiful mermaid with long blue hair and a glittering blue tail emerged, holding her signature urn as she floated above the water.

"It’s up to you, Aquarius! Don’t hold back, hit us too if you have to!" Lucy shouted.

"I’d have done it even if you didn’t tell me!" Aquarius snapped, hoisting her urn high. Rain from all around gathered into a massive torrent, pouring into the vessel until it overflowed.

With a sharp swing, she unleashed a towering wave, a churning wall of water that crashed over friend and foe alike, everyone except for Gajeel, who lay far from the battle’s center.

"Ahhhhhh!"

Lucy had braced herself for the hit, but the sheer force still tore a scream from her lips.

The others weren’t much better off; they had barely processed what was happening before the massive wave swept them away.

"Aye!!! Why is it always like this?!" Happy had experienced this move before, but that didn’t mean he missed it one bit.

Juvia was the calmest, she merged effortlessly into the water and even helped amplify the wave, making it rise higher and crash harder.

Bluenote simply extended one hand, and his gravity magic countered the surging current with ease.

The water flowed around him as if avoiding his presence, leaving a dry passage before and behind him.

Aquarius frowned, working in tandem with Juvia to strengthen the spell, but Bluenote stood there like an unshakable reef in a storm, completely unaffected no matter how fierce the waves became.

Changing tactics, Aquarius gathered the water into a towering waterspout, intending to engulf him entirely. Yet even that failed, one casual wave of his hand scattered it to nothing.

Fortunately, the others had been carried away by the giant wave, pushed just far enough out of the gravity zone. Though they were tossed about violently, it was still better than being pinned and crushed where they stood.

The combined water magic strained against Bluenote’s gravity, and Juvia was the first to falter.

"I can’t... Juvia’s magic power is already..."

She had fought through the exam, battled poultry and beasts, and clashed with the Seven Kin of Purgatory. Each fight had drained her more, and now her body was reaching its absolute limit.

The torrent weakened, and Bluenote struck out with his palm, sending Juvia flying.

He immediately turned his crushing magic on Aquarius.

"Ugh," Aquarius’s face turned pale as her hovering fishtail sank into the puddle beneath her.

She glanced at Lucy, about to speak, but instead looked up at the sky and smiled. "Sorry, I can’t do anything now. I have a date with my boyfriend. Don’t summon me for a while."

Lucy, just regaining her senses, collapsed forward. "Hey! A date? At a time like this?!"

Aquarius only smiled before vanishing in a shimmer of light.

"Even Aquarius..."

Lucy scrambled through her keys, mind racing, but she couldn’t think of a single spirit that could handle this gravity monster.

"Boring battle." Bluenote’s voice dripped with disdain. "Fall to hell, Fairy."

"Damn it." The others, exhausted to their core, still forced themselves to stand for one last desperate fight.

Crack!

A golden lightning bolt ripped through the black clouds, striking directly above Bluenote. The electric light engulfed him completely.

A cloaked figure appeared in front of him, blocking his path.

The newcomer pulled back his hood, revealing a head of golden hair. "Looks like you’ve taken a beating, Evergreen. Where are Freed and Bickslow?"

Evergreen’s eyes went wide, instantly recognizing the voice and the back before her. Overcome with relief, she ignored the question and cried out, "Laxus!"

"Laxus?!" Natsu’s face lit up.

Gray, Elfman, Lisanna, Lucy, and Happy all felt the same surge of relief. Laxus was here. Laxus was strong. They would be fine now... surely.

Juvia and Wendy didn’t know him personally, but they’d heard enough to understand, this was no ordinary reinforcement.

"Oh? So you’re Laxus, Makarov’s grandson?" Bluenote actually seemed intrigued.

He asked without hesitation, "If no one else knows where Mavis’s grave is, then you must. Am I right?"

Arcs of lightning flickered around Laxus as he replied flatly, "The First’s grave? Sorry. You’ll die here, but you’re not worthy to be buried in this land."