User blog comment:ClassicFan92/Theory on Irene/@comment-29693708-20160911225249

1) unless someone opened anima from the Earthland side Knightwalker couldn't be in Earthland. 2) She and Erza made peace/agreed to disagree/begrudgingly started to respect each other, so no reason to hate her. 3) for Edolas folk to use magic they need an item, while Irene does carry a staff we have seen her use magic without it (fairy heart extraction and when she turned the princes into a mouse). additionally if Alvarez can make magic items as powerful as Irene is they could mass produce them and not need to bother with fairy heart/give all there soldiers one and the war would have been over as soon as the vanguard attacked.