Opening the Gate of Eclipse

Evan, Layla, and Grammi are walking on the stairs...

Not long after, the three of them reached the end of the stairs. What greeted their eyes were huge withered statues, as well as the architectural style that was like a temple, exuding an endless divine aura!

At the end of these rows of relatively withered statues, there was a huge door that exuded an ancient aura and powerful magic.

Just by standing there, the door exuded an endless sense of oppression...

After all, this door was big enough for an adult dragon to pass through this door, so one could imagine how huge it was...

"Let's go..."

Evan looked at the countless withered statues in front of him, along with the mysterious door and a figure hiding beside the door. His eyes narrowed slightly, and then he walked towards the door.

"Miss, Miss Layla, this is..."

Compared to the calm and composed Evan, Grammi was indescribably shocked at this moment. She looked at the withering sculpture and the huge door and felt that she was exceptionally small. It was even to the extent that when she looked at these huge things, it caused Grammi to have a phobia of giant things.

"It doesn't matter, Grammi!"

Layla gently stroked Grammi's arm and gently comforted her.

"En."

After being comforted by Layla, Grammi gradually calmed down. Together with Layla, she passed through the countless withered statues and walked towards the huge door.

As Layla and Grammi moved forward, Evan had already walked to the huge Gate of Eclipse. He first sized up the perfect work of art in front of him and then turned to look at a figure hiding in the corner. He whispered, "Come out! I have already found you."

"Hehe, as expected of a mage of the Fairy Tail. This observation makes me admire you."

As soon as Evan finished speaking, the short figure that had been hiding in the shadows of the corner walked out. As the figure came into the light, the full appearance of the short figure was also revealed to Evan.

"Hehe, I didn't expect that the dignified King of Kingdom Fiore would actually know of our Fairy Tail Guild. I am really flattered..."

Evan looked at the middle-aged man in luxurious clothing. He was short but not lacking in dignity. His face was solemn, and his hair seemed to be gray from overworking. He smiled neither servile nor overbearing.

In fact, Evan had already recognized the identity of the man in front of him. This middle-aged man was none other than the current King of Kingdom Fiore, Toma E. Fiore...

It was just that Evan did not expect Toma E. Fiore to actually wait for them in front of the Gate of Eclipse, and even seemed to know him.

"Young man, I recognize the symbol on the back of your hand. After all..."

Toma E. Fiore looked at the symbol on the back of Evan's hand and frowned.

"Hmm?"

Looking at the scene in front of him, Evan also frowned. He was thinking about whether the Fairy Tail had offended the king in front of him.

"After all, I like to watch the weekly publication of your Fairy Tail Challenge Tournament! Sure enough, the mages still have to fight with each other."

"Oh right, I plan to hold a competition of Ishgar! I wonder if you are interested in participating?"

At this moment, the old man Toma E. Fiore seemed to have seen a fan and asked Evan incessantly.

[Sudden Mission: Participate in another Grand Magic Games of Ishgar. Reward: 10 Years Quest Medal.]

Evan originally intended to refuse, until the voice of the system mission rang in his mind. Although Evan also wanted to refuse, who asked this system, to use the 10 Years Quest Medal to tempt him?

"As long as you are not afraid that we will destroy the capital, we will accompany you to the end!"

Evan took back the words he had prepared and whispered to Toma E. Fiore.

"That's great..."

After hearing Evan's words, Toma E. Fiore let out a sigh of relief. He had originally been afraid that the people from the Fairy Tail would not participate. With Evan's guarantee, he felt a little more confident. After all, although others might not know, he knew Evan. In order to better watch the weekly publication of the Fairy Tail Challenge Tournament, he had specially asked the Magic Council to introduce all the mages registered for the Fairy Tail to him...

Therefore, Toma E. Fiore knew the status of Evan Belserion in the Fairy Tail Guild, and even the entire Ishgar.

Toma E. Fiore still remembered the words that Councilor Yajima and Councilor Rob had said to Evan, "Although Evan is very young, even if all the other Ten Wizard Saint are added together, they might not be able to defeat him. Evan Belserion, he can already be called the top mage in the entire Isghar..."

In fact, what Yajima said was not false. With Evan's current strength, nobody could cause him some trouble...

However, with the current time period, who knows how many of the Eight Dragon Slayer Magic in his body are gathered.

"Oh right, do you know what to prepare for the competition?"

Toma E. Fiore seemed to have thought of something. He looked at Evan and asked for advice.

"Ah, this..."

Evan fell silent after hearing Toma E. Fiore's words. He could not answer this question. In their Fairy Tail, a match usually only needed two people who were not pleasing to the eye. Under the circumstances, there was no need for a venue.

But this answer was obviously very unprofessional, so Evan chose to be silent.

"Your Majesty Toma!"

Just as Toma E. Fiore was asking Evan all sorts of questions like the Fairy Tail, Layla and Grammi finally arrived in front of the door.

"Phew..."

Evan slowly let out a sigh of relief. At the same time, he looked at Layla and Grammi who were dressed in formal attire. There was a hint of helplessness in his expression. They were dressed in such a gorgeous manner, so it was naturally difficult to walk.

"Ahem, well, you must be Layla of the Heartfilia Family, right? I already know the details..."

Toma E. Fiore played a show in front of Evan. What was the meaning of 'river changing face'? Toma E. Fiore, who originally looked like a fan of Evan, immediately stiffened his face when Layla arrived. His expression gradually became serious, and there was a bit of dignity between his brows. After all, Toma E. Fiore was the king of the country. It was fine if he did not put on airs in front of the world's strongest magister. In front of Hearfillia, a merchant family, he had to be dignified. Otherwise, he would not be able to convince the public.

Unfortunately, what Toma E. Fiore did not know was that Layla was also a powerful mage. In addition, in terms of Celestial Spirit Magic, Layla could be said to be the strongest in the entire Ishgar and even in the entire world, there was no one more powerful than Layla.

"Since you already know, then I won't say anything more..."

Looking at the old man, who was full of pride, she just smiled and did not say anything else.

"However, although I already know that you need this door, I still have to tell you the details. The Gate of Eclipse is a treasure passed down from generation to generation by our family, but in fact, even our familt does not know what this treasure is used for. We have not even been able to open it up to this day..." The old man paused, a trace of confusion in his eyes. "Every generation of us has studied the Gate of Eclipse, but the result is that the door in front of us is probably just a wilting statue, a door that can never be opened! So you can try, but do not hold the thought that you can definitely open this door."

In fact, Toma E. Fiore was trying to persuade Layla. After all, Layla had paid so much money and energy to borrow the Gate of Eclipse from him, but in the end, she was unable to open it. How devastated Layla's heart would be, Toma E. Fiore knew it even if he did not want to. Therefore, when Layla tried to open the Gate of Eclipse, Toma E. Fiore first said that, so that Layla did not feel too much pressure in her heart.

"I understand..."

"Thank you for your guidance and comfort."

Layla smiled after hearing Toma E. Fiore's words. Then, she walked up to Evan.

"This is King Toma, Kingdom Fiore. When King Toma lent us the Gate of Eclipse, he added a condition. He hopes that when we open the door, he can also observe the scene..."

Layla told Evan why Toma E. Fiore was waiting for them in front of the Gate of Eclipse.

"I understand."

After hearing Layla's words, Evan nodded slightly and did not say anything else.

In fact, Evan did not care whether Toma E. Fiore was there when he opened the Gate of Eclipse or not. Moreover, Evan vaguely remembered that when Layla opened the Gate of Eclipse, Toma E. Fiore was also there.

"Phew..." When Layla saw that Evan did not care, she slowly let out a sigh of relief. She retreated to the side of Grammi and looked at her maid, Grammi, with a smile. "When the great beauty is ready to memorize it."

"Alright, Miss Layla."

After listening to Layla's words, Grammi took out a magic pocket watch. The time was marked on the pocket watch. As the minute needle and second hand continued to rotate, time slowly passed by. Grammi stared at the pocket watch in her hand. She had obviously set the time, but she was still worried. She was afraid that the pocket watch would suddenly malfunction, so she watched the passage of time with her eyes.

As for Layla, at this moment, she placed the 13 keys of the Celestial Spirits on the deserted island in front of her. She knelt on the ground and rested with her eyes closed. In order to adjust the magic power in her body at the last moment when the time came.

Just like that, time passed by minute by minute. Along with the continuous consumption of time, whether it was Grammi or Toma E. Fiore, all of them held their breaths nervously.

Only Evan and Layla remained calm.

"..."

At the moment when the last minute slowly passed, the time of the pocket watch in the hand of Grammi reached 0.0 minutes and zero seconds, and the alarm clock suddenly rang.

"Now is the time..."

Grammi turned around and whispered to Layla.

"Let's shine! The Celestial Spirits!"

"..."

Layla pressed her palms together and muttered softly to the thirteen keys of the Celestial Spirits.

The next second...

With a burst of dazzling light, the thirteen keys instantly emitted a dazzling light and set up the huge eclipse door in front of them...

At the same time, above the sky of the Kingdom Fiore, the full moon that emitted a soft light was suddenly covered by endless shadows. An unknown magic shrouded the sky above the kingdom.