Chapter 379

Tartaros Arc, Part 3: Underworld King is the 379th chapter of Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail. 
With the activation of Face having been halted, Kyôka abandons her battle with Erza to go awaken E.N.D., whilst, in their own battle, Lucy and Natsu eventually succeed in defeating Franmalth by attacking him with soul-less objects. However, their victory is marred with uncertainty as Hades' soul warns them that Tartaros' true goal was not Face at all. 
==Summary==
Still facing off against Natsu, Lucy and Happy, a gleeful Franmalth happily declares that Face has activated, and that the trio's Magic has been stolen. Glancing down at his fist, which is still shrouded in flames, Natsu notes that he hasn't lost his Magic, with Lucy and Happy soon realizing that Wendy and Carla must have succeeded in destroying Face. Gobsmacked, Franmalth becomes distraught over their plan failing, and proceeds to take his anger out on the Fairy Tail Mages by attacking them once more, casting Hades' Amaterasu: Formula 28 to blast the room to bits.
Concurrently, in her own fight against Erza, Kyôka too realizes that Face failed to activate. Shocked, she turns to flee the battle, leaving the newly created Demon Minerva to take her place, the ex-Sabertooth member surprising Erza with her new body and affiliation. Running through the Tartaros headquarters, Kyôka admits that her guild has no choice but to awaken E.N.D. 
Having knocked Lucy, Happy and Natsu to the ground with Hades' Magic, Franmalth proceeds to extend his long, tentacle-like arms towards them, grabbing the trio and preparing to absorb their souls for his collection. Angered, Natsu screams that he will never relent his soul to such a Demon, especially considering that he has yet to find Igneel. Calling out to the others, Natsu tells them to stand strong, and together the three begin to recall their fondest memories and wishes, using the thoughts to stay connected to their bodies for as long as possible. Fighting back herself, Lucy suddenly remembers her Celestial Spirits, and how she wants more than anything to set Taurus and Aries free from Franmalth's possession so that they can return to the Celestial Spirit World. Calling out for Taurus' gate to be forcefully closed, Lucy watches in surprise as Franmalth begins to squirm and deform, the Mage figuring out that Taurus' soul is sucking Franmalth into the Celestial Spirit World alongside it. Realizing the same thing, Franmalth is forced to eject Taurus from his body, soon being forced to do the same with Aries when Lucy forcefully closes her gate as well. Quickly concocting a plan, Lucy screams for Natsu's gate to close too, and Franmalth, mistaking the Fire Dragon Slayer for a Spirit, hastily releases him. 
Reacting instantly just as Franmalth picks up on the lie, Natsu surges forward to attack, though Franmalth smugly reminds him that Magic will have no effect on him due to his Curse. However, Natsu, having already contemplated this fact, surprises Franmalth by picking up a huge slab of rock, noting that the Demon can't absorb what doesn't have a soul; with that, Natsu slams the slab onto Franmalth as hard as he can muster, crushing the Demon and forcing him back into his original form. 
Defeated, Franmalth's body begins to evaporate, the stolen souls he had previously collected being released and floating into the sky. Seeing the souls set free and acknowledging their win, Lucy and Natsu smile before noting that Hades' soul has appeared behind them. Scared, the duo listen as Hades comments that Face was not Tartaros' true goal and states that they need to go find Makarov and tell him to release the light as soon as possible, though as they turn to face him the Dark Mage's soul vanishes, leaving them staring at thin air. 
==Characters in Order of Appearance==
==Battles & Events==
*Natsu Dragneel & Lucy Heartfilia vs. Franmalth (concluded)
*Erza Scarlet vs. Kyôka (concluded)
==Magic, Curses, Spells, and Abilities used==
===Magic used===
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**
*
===Curses used===
*Absorption Curse
===Spells used===
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**Hades Transformation
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*
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*
===Abilities used===
*Swordsmanship
*Forced Gate Closure
*Hand-to-Hand Combat
===Items used===
*Swords
==Navigation==