Arc 16The Celestial Spirit Crisis
After Riyao healed the capital and returned to Fairy Tail, the guild shared gifts and watched embarrassing recordings of their childhoods. When the Celestial Spirits began the Liberum Freedom Ritual and Riyao vanished, Fairy Tail fought through the spirits’ gates and reached the Celestial Globe, where Natsu’s flames began burning a spatial node.
- Riyao grew the Holy Healing Parasol Tree to heal the wounded in the royal capital, then rested while Toma arranged medical help and the guild attended the palace banquet.
- After a month of healing commissions, Riyao and Mirajane returned to Fairy Tail with gifts for the guild, and Riyao’s treasure maps and crystal balls led to a hunt and several embarrassing childhood recordings.
- Riyao transformed into an Azure Dragon, carried Lucy through the Eclipse Gate, and used Life Magic on the Black Dragon as the timelines converged.
- Mirajane could no longer summon Riyao with his lifeless crystal key, and Crux warned that the Twelve Gates of the Zodiac were suppressing the Celestial Spirit World while the Celestial Spirit King was missing.
- Leo told Mirajane that Riyao was trapped beside the Celestial Spirit King and might be about to die, while Levy discovered that the Celestial Globe could start the Liberum Freedom Ritual.
- Princess Hisui explained that the ritual would leave the Celestial Spirits with only twelve days to live, and Fairy Tail members entered their assigned gates to close them one by one.
- Fairy Tail closed the gates of Taurus, Sagittarius, Cancer, Virgo, Capricorn, Gemini, Aries, Scorpio, Libra, and Pisces while Natsu fought Leo and Wendy and Carla helped defeat Pisces.
- The group reunited in Ophiuchus’s passage, escaped its crushing, acid-filled body, and reached a meteorite where Ophiuchus began the ritual as Leo fought Natsu, Erza, and Mirajane.
- Natsu absorbed Leo’s dark flames and fought him with red, black, and cyan fire, while Riyao’s cyan flames drained Natsu’s magic and burned a spatial node until a sound like shattering glass rang out above them.