Chapter Summaries

Blanc revealed to Jellal that Zeref was alive, exposing the futility of Jellal’s plans, and Erza ended their bond while sparing his life. Jellal then disclosed that Trinity Raven had infiltrated the Magic Council and begun an attack to obtain Etherion, forcing the guild to flee the island.

• Blanc told Jellal that Zeref was alive and that his eight years of scheming had been pointless, then suggested Jellal had silenced Ultear before she could explain the truth.
• Erza told Jellal she would leave him to face imprisonment in the Magic Council’s prison and walked away, while Jellal broke down in despair.
• Simon asked Jellal where he had sent Trinity Raven, and Jellal revealed that he had ordered the assassins to attack the Magic Council and seize Etherion.
• Lucy, Happy, and Gray warned the guild about Etherion’s destructive power, and the Guild Master ordered everyone to retreat to the ship immediately.

Blanc rescued and gathered the people from the Tower of Heaven, then helped Erza destroy the tower herself. With her painful past behind her, Erza thanked Blanc as they prepared to return to Fairy Tail.

• Blanc bound Jellal and the other people scattered through the tower, then released Wally and Millianna to Hughes and Simon at Erza’s request.
• Blanc raised a large wooden ship and explained that he would take the prisoners to the Magic Council rather than abandon them before Etherion fell.
• Blanc summoned the Giant Soldier and connected Erza to it, offering her the chance to destroy the Tower of Heaven herself.
• Erza remembered her companions and brought the Giant Soldier’s fist down, demolishing the tower and leaving Hughes and Simon to watch its ruins in silence.
• Erza thanked Blanc, and he urged everyone to return to Fairy Tail.

The Magic Council learned that the eighth Tower of Heaven had been built near Calrum and that Fairy Tail had gone there, while Siegrain was absent. As Trinity Raven and mutinous new recruits stormed the Council headquarters, the council members began to suspect Siegrain had orchestrated the attack.

• Council members discussed the Tower of Heaven’s location and Fairy Tail’s involvement, while Yajima grew suspicious of Siegrain’s absence.
• An explosion rocked the Magic Council headquarters, and a wounded guard reported that members of the headquarters guard had turned against their comrades.
• Ikaruga, Owl, and Udal Das led the mutiny through the corridors as Lahar tried to stop Trinity Raven and fell back toward the meeting hall.
• Lahar told the council that the rebels were emergency recruits hired under Siegrain’s authority, and their attempts to contact him went unanswered.
• Yajima concluded that Siegrain had been suspect from the start, while Ikaruga called to the council from outside the doors.

Trinity Raven broke into the Magic Council’s underground prison to recruit its inmates after their assault stalled at a defensive barrier. The cells were opened, including those holding Erigor and a still-sleepy red-haired prisoner.

• Ikaruga ordered Trinity Raven to leave half its forces guarding the barrier while the rest went to free prisoners beneath the Magic Council.
• Udal Das defeated warden Gurogu Baji, took his keys, and ordered every cell opened.
• Trinity Raven released the prisoners, and Erigor vowed revenge on Fairy Tail before a rebel soldier shoved him along.
• Owl opened a cell in the deepest part of the prison and woke a sleeping red-haired man, who asked if it was time to eat.

The prisoners nearly escaped until the Warden blocked the exit, where Gildarts appeared and killed Udal Das with one blow. Meanwhile, Yajima persuaded the Council Chamber group to wait before breaking out, trusting that Gildarts might change the situation.

• The Warden stood wounded at the prison exit and refused to let the prisoners leave.
• Udal Das attacked the Warden, but Gildarts appeared and slammed Udal Das's head into the floor, killing him.
• The prisoners and Ikaruga recognized Gildarts, and the Warden realized the scruffy inmate had been hiding his identity.
• Ogre proposed that the Council forces break through the Barrier while Trinity Raven's main force was away, and the Council Members agreed.
• Yajima stopped the breakout and urged everyone to wait, believing Gildarts could affect the outcome.

Gildarts’s enormous spell destroyed the Magic Council headquarters and sent its members crashing into the prison below. There, they found the rebels defeated, and Gildarts awkwardly greeted Yajima amid the ruins.

• Yamaji began to explain why they should not worry, but a violent tremor shook the Council Chamber.
• Gildarts’s beam of light blasted through the headquarters, breaking the barrier and destabilizing the building.
• The Council Chamber collapsed, and the guards rescued the Council Members as they fell through the ruins.
• The Council Members landed in the Magic Prison, where the rebels and freed prisoners lay incapacitated.
• Gildarts lowered his fist, apologized awkwardly to Yajima, and greeted him as the Council Members sighed and muttered about Fairy Tail.

Blanc and Makarov rushed to the Magic Council after the Tower of Heaven crisis, only to find its headquarters reduced to ruins. Ogre revealed that Gildarts—not a Dark Guild—had destroyed the Council building, leaving Makarov stunned.

• Makarov ordered Erza to return the ships and bring the prisoners to the Magic Council while he and Blanc flew ahead on Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
• Blanc saw the Magic Council headquarters in ruins and feared Gildarts might be involved.
• Makarov and Blanc met Council Member Ogre among the wreckage, and Ogre assured them that the Council members had survived with injuries.
• Makarov angrily blamed the destruction on the Dark Guilds until Ogre told him Gildarts had torn apart the Magic Council.

Ogre told Makarov and Blanc how Gildarts had demolished the Magic Council while stopping Trinity Raven’s plot to force the Council to use Etherion. After learning that Siegrain was Jellal’s Thought Body, Ogre thanked Fairy Tail and told Makarov to collect Gildarts from Yajima.

• Makarov panicked when Ogre revealed that Gildarts had been found in a Magic Council cell, while Blanc admitted he had known and kept it secret.
• Ogre explained that Gildarts’s actions had stopped Trinity Raven from capturing Council members and forcing them to fire Etherion.
• Ogre dismissed the Council’s destruction as a minor matter compared with the danger Gildarts had prevented.
• Makarov recounted the events at the Tower of Heaven and revealed that Siegrain was Jellal’s Thought Body.
• Ogre told Makarov that Yajima and Gildarts were in town and urged him to take Gildarts away from the Council.
• Ogre thanked Makarov and Blanc for helping them through the crisis, and Makarov acknowledged the thanks with a smile.

Blanc, Makarov, Gildarts, and Yajima met at a noodle shop after the destruction of the Magic Council, where Gildarts tried to hide the truth about his imprisonment from Cana. On their way back to Magnolia, Blanc remembered Loke’s looming crisis and resolved to find Lucy as soon as they returned.

• Makarov confronted Gildarts at the noodle shop for being imprisoned without notice and demolishing the Magic Council headquarters.
• Gildarts asked Blanc to help conceal his imprisonment from Cana, claiming Yajima had invented a cover story about him protecting the Council from the shadows.
• Blanc recounted the Tower of Heaven events, and Yajima lamented that a promising young Council member had taken the wrong path.
• Yajima revealed that Gildarts had no money, so Makarov paid for the mountain of noodles.
• After contacting Mira, the group decided to stay overnight in the city, and Gildarts repeatedly asked Blanc to keep Cana from finding out.
• While walking beneath the stars, Blanc remembered Loke’s crisis and decided to find Lucy when he returned to Magnolia.

After news spread that Gildarts had defeated the attackers at the Magic Council but destroyed its headquarters, Fairy Tail’s members laughed over a newspaper’s sensational account. Lucy learned that Gildarts was the last of the guild’s S-Class Mages she had yet to meet and looked forward to meeting him.

• Macao brought an extra newspaper to Fairy Tail’s temporary base, but the tired guild members initially showed little interest in the Magic Council attack.
• Macao revealed a front-page photograph of Gildarts among the Council’s ruins and read an article claiming he had secretly gone undercover in prison to protect the Council.
• Fairy Tail’s members laughed at the article’s explanation and imagined their Guild Master despairing at the destroyed headquarters.
• Natsu eagerly anticipated Gildarts’s return so he could challenge him again, while Gray reminded him that Gildarts always beat him easily.
• Lucy complained that the headline made Gildarts look like an attacker, then realized he was the only one of Fairy Tail’s six S-Class Mages she had not met.

Gildarts returned to Magnolia, where the town cleared a path for him and Cana confronted him about a newspaper story claiming he had gone to prison. After the Tower of Heaven incident, the guild continued rebuilding, and Blanc found a sleep-deprived member struggling to shape lumber to the blueprints.

• Lucy learned from Lisanna that Gildarts was Cana's father and that he followed Cana around whenever he returned to the guild.
• The town rang its warning bells and shifted buildings aside to clear a straight road for Gildarts, whose Crush Magic often destroyed whatever he touched.
• Gildarts arrived with Blanc and Makarov and rushed to greet Cana, who asked him to explain the newspaper's claim that he was going to prison.
• Several days later, guild members returned to their usual jobs and routines as construction on the guild building continued.
• Blanc found a short-haired girl with glasses shaping lumber while exhausted and muttering resentfully about the blueprints.

Blanc took over Laki’s lumber work and discovered that the new guildhall blueprint was Mira’s wildly impractical drawing, then tried to comfort Mira after revealing what he thought of it. Meanwhile, Hughes, Simon, Wally, and Millianna began life outside their former world at Fairy Tail, where Millianna’s excitement over Happy led to a chaotic tug-of-war.

• Laki handed Blanc responsibility for producing lumber and gave him the drawings for the new guildhall.
• Blanc criticized the blueprint’s vague measurements, then realized Mira had drawn it and hurried to comfort her.
• Hughes, Simon, Wally, and Millianna officially began life in the outside world at Fairy Tail after Wally and Millianna reconciled with Erza.
• Millianna grabbed Happy and cuddled him, while Wally wondered whether he counted as a cat.
• Natsu and Millianna pulled Happy from opposite ends until Happy begged them to let go, and Lucy admitted she could not help.

Wally and Elfman bonded over their ideas of what made a tough guy, while Hughes struggled to adjust to life outside the Tower of Heaven. The chapter ended with Gray explaining money to Hughes and ominously claiming that clothes kept disappearing.

• Wally and Elfman traded declarations about tough men until their handshake became an arm-wrestle and they broke Laki's newly made table.
• Mira noticed Hughes's anxiety and sent him to the market to buy lemons and clear his head.
• Hughes gave the fruit stand owner the entire pouch of money, so the owner chased him back to return the excess.
• Hughes admitted he had never used money in the Tower of Heaven, and Gray sat down to explain how it worked.
• Gray told Hughes that clothes cost a lot and mysteriously disappeared, leaving Hughes confused.

Hughes, Simon, Wally, and Millianna decided to leave Magnolia and travel the outside world on their own rather than depend on Erza and Fairy Tail. Erza accepted their choice and directed them to the eastern riverbank, where they arrived to find the guild gathered to see them off.

• Hughes watched Gray panic over his missing clothes, then thanked him and studied a coin as he considered what he needed to learn about the outside world.
• Hughes told Simon he wanted to see the world for himself and stop being a burden to Erza, and Simon agreed they should leave after a little while.
• Hughes, Simon, Wally, and Millianna told Erza they planned to leave Magnolia and live for themselves, and Erza praised their resolve.
• Erza told the four to meet her at the eastern riverbank that night, where they found nearly the whole guild gathered and Erza waiting in ceremonial armor.

Erza and Fairy Tail held a farewell party for Hughes, Simon, Wally, and Millianna, who left to find their own paths. Erza watched them disappear into the night, believing they would find true freedom.

• Erza told the four departing friends Fairy Tail’s rules and declared the farewell party had begun.
• Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Blanc filled the sky with fireworks, ice, and cherry blossoms as Magnolia’s residents watched.
• Erza told Hughes, Simon, Wally, and Millianna she wished they could stay together but wanted them to move forward without her holding them back.
• The four friends exchanged tearful farewells with Erza and the guild; Simon asked Blanc to look after Erza, and Blanc agreed.
• Hughes, Simon, Wally, and Millianna left along the riverbank, and Erza watched until they vanished, trusting they would find freedom.

Blanc told Lucy that a sixth Zodiac key was hidden in the guild and assigned her to find it, revealing that Loke was her only clue. Lucy struggled to approach Loke, who fled whenever she asked about the key, while Juvia watched Gray at the construction site.

• Blanc told Lucy that a sixth Zodiac key was hidden in the guild and asked her to find it.
• Lucy accepted the mission after Blanc said only a Celestial Spirit Mage could handle it, and he named Loke as her only clue.
• Lucy tried to question Loke, but he repeatedly ran from her, and she chased him around the guild.
• Lucy complained to Happy that Loke seemed to be afraid of her, while Juvia watched Gray work at the construction site.
• Lucy spotted Juvia lurking near the construction-site entrance as she turned to head back inside.

Lucy pushed Gray to greet Juvia, who mistook their closeness for romantic rivalry, while Mira and Blanc watched the scene. Makarov revealed that Juvia was joining Fairy Tail, and she introduced herself to the guild.

• Lucy noticed Juvia watching Gray and pushed him toward the entrance to greet her.
• Juvia saw Lucy touching Gray and decided Lucy was her rival in love.
• Mira and Blanc noticed Juvia's jealousy and stopped discussing the guild's renovation to watch.
• Makarov arrived, told Juvia to come inside, and called the guild members together.
• Makarov announced that Fairy Tail had a new member, and Juvia Lockser nervously introduced herself.

Juvia joined Fairy Tail and happily imagined a future with Gray, while Lucy denied being her love rival. The Guild Master then introduced Gajeel as a new member, provoking anger from the guild and an immediate clash with Natsu.

• Mira welcomed Juvia into Fairy Tail and stamped an aqua-blue Guild Mark on her left thigh.
• Juvia called Lucy her love rival and interpreted Gray's awkward response as accepting her marriage proposal.
• The Guild Master announced that another new member was joining and called Gajeel into the construction site.
• Fairy Tail members objected to Gajeel's arrival because he had destroyed their guild, while the Guild Master argued that he deserved another chance.
• Natsu challenged Gajeel's place in the guild, and Gajeel replied that he had no intention of becoming friendly with Natsu.

Gajeel joined Fairy Tail after Natsu challenged him and Gajeel refused to fight back. Blanc then took him to help rebuild the guildhall, leaving Gajeel protesting while Natsu and Gray argued over being called underwear guys.

• Natsu challenged Gajeel to a fight, but Gajeel took his punch without resisting and told him to move on.
• Makarov announced that Gajeel Redfox had become a member of Fairy Tail, and Gajeel privately reflected on losing Phantom Lord and needing work.
• Blanc startled Gajeel by touching his shoulder, then said he would help rebuild the guildhall as payment for destroying the old one.
• Blanc dragged the protesting Gajeel into the construction site, where Macao teased him as an underwear guy.
• Natsu compared Gajeel to Gray, and Gray angrily shouted back as Gajeel's distant protest echoed across the site.

Lucy identified Loke as the Zodiac celestial spirit Leo and learned that his former contract holder, Karen of Blue Pegasus, had died three years earlier. She feared Loke had remained in the human world ever since and would die if he did not return to the Celestial Spirit World.

• Gajeel complained about being overworked rebuilding the guild while Blanc, Natsu, and Gray supervised and teased him.
• Lucy rushed to Blanc and revealed that she believed Loke was the Sixth Key and Leo the Lion.
• Blanc confirmed Lucy’s discovery, leaving her distressed that she had failed to recognize Loke’s identity.
• Lucy explained that Karen, Loke’s former contract holder, had died three years earlier and warned that Loke could die if he stayed in the human world.