Natsu and Lucy showing Brandish the true meaning of being a Fairy Tail member, Gray releasing immense ice devil-slayer magic, and a friendship about to be tested by a shocking revelation all in the landmark chapter of Fairy Tail.
Chapter 500 Recap:
Spirit of Fairy Tail - Brandish took Natsu, Lucy and Happy out of harm's way, hoping that simple act of kindness would be enough to repay her debt. She stressed that sparing the three of them doesn't mean she already ceased her role for the Alvarez Empire in the war.
Brandish went on to explain the great odds Fairy Tail guild is facing with all the Spriggan 12 member, including her, revived and more powerful than ever. As Dimaria Yesta closely watched Brandish's conversation with the Fairy Tail trio, Niedhart came out of nowhere to crash the party.
Niedhart, who has become obsessed in fulfilling Lady Eileen's order of eliminating Erza, considered Brandish' negotiation as an act of betrayal against the Alvarez Empire. He then released an immense aura of magic and proceeded to attack the Fairy Tail members and his fellow Spriggan 12 member.
Despite Brandish's advice that Niedhart is too much powerful right now, a riled up Natsu took on the challenge and showed Brandish the spirit of Fairy Tail by knocking out the Spriggan 12 soldier with a single punch.
Ice Battle - Thanks to Juvia's water make blood technique, Gray survived the cursed chain and retained most of his magic in the process. To Invel's great surprise, Gray's ice devil-slayer magic has become more powerful than ever to the point that his strongest magic 'Ice-Rending Devine Raiment' didn't stand a chance.
By integrating his ice magic to Hyouzetsu Kamui, Gray simply out-powered Invel in a fist-to-fist battle. He then sent the Spriggan 12 soldier flying with Ice Devil Destruction Fist, calling it his retribution for ending Juvia's future. However, he didn't know that Wendy came to rescue Juvia and managed to revive her with her healing magic.
Revelation - A beat-up Invel taunted Gray about suffering deaths of family members and even loved ones because of a pre-determined fate. He said that as long as E.N.D exists, Gray will continue to suffer the same pain all over again.
Gray bragged that he doesn't any advice from Invel since he's very capable of beating E.ND from the start, which the Spriggan 12 mage agreed. However, Invel explained that he might have the heart anymore to kill E.N.D since his true identity is no other than his friend, Etherius Natsu Dragneel.