Demon Ape Jack's colossal three-meter-tall body was like a towering black monolith, casting a terrifying shadow before Gajeel.
Dark purple energy, like a surging undercurrent, steamed and roiled through Jack's black fur, emanating a chilling aura.
Not to be outdone, Gajeel's body was enveloped in dark blue magic, his skin gradually taking on an iron-blue hue, and dragon scale-like patterns appeared on his skin.
The two glared at each other, then almost simultaneously broke the stalemate.
The Demon Ape grinned, bringing a fist down from above.
"Iron Dragon Rod!"
Gajeel's arm, transformed into an Iron Dragon Rod, roared and swung fiercely towards Demon Ape Jack's giant fist.
In an instant, the iron rod and the giant fist collided with a thunderous crash, and at the moment of impact, a powerful, suffocating force erupted.
Gajeel distinctly felt a violent tingling sensation, like an electric current, rapidly spread from his tiger's mouth to his entire body; every nerve trembled under the impact.
The Iron Dragon scales at his knuckles rubbed against each other, emitting a sharp, piercing sound, as if wailing in pain.
"Tsk, this strength is several times heavier than the Council's armored vehicles!" Gajeel gritted his teeth, grunted, and his legs plowed two deep furrows in the hard ground.
"Not good enough, tin-plate kid!" Demon Ape Jack sneered, then suddenly opened his gaping maw and let out a deafening roar.
The roar created an invisible sound wave that rolled outwards, making the surrounding air intensely vibrate.
At the same time, dark energy furiously converged at his fist, instantly forming an energy ball that radiated a strange and evil aura.
Jack lunged forward, charging at Gajeel, and raised his hand for another direct punch to the face.
Gajeel raised his arms and crossed them in front of him.
Two dazzling crimson trajectories flew past Gajeel's ears like meteors.
"Try this!" Alzack's voice came from afar.
He held a revolver in each hand, spinning them on his fingertips, and bullets interwoven with lightning and fire whistled out, accurately striking Demon Ape Jack's elbow joints.
"Boom!" With two violent explosions, the explosive bullets detonated at the Demon Ape's elbows, scattering sparks.
Jack's body stumbled from the impact.
From a tree five hundred meters away, Bisca's gaze pierced through the flying sparks, fixed on Jack.
Her right eye was pressed against the scope of her sniper rifle, a gigantic, turret-like sniper rifle propped on a thick tree trunk. Pale golden runes flowed and danced like nimble spirits in the lens, and deep within the barrel, a hexagonal magic array was slowly forming, radiating mysterious and powerful energy fluctuations.
Energy surged from the muzzle, and an armor-piercing bullet, trailing an ice-blue wake, shot towards Demon Ape Jack like a bolt of lightning.
The five-hundred-meter distance was almost instantaneous for an armor-piercing bullet enhanced with magic.
The bullet tore through the air and struck Jack squarely between the eyebrows.
The immense impact threw Jack's head back, and his feet were lifted from the ground by the force.
"Iron Dragon's — Steel Fist!"
Gajeel seized this fleeting, perfect opportunity, roaring as his right fist was instantly tightly wrapped in layers of iron scales, and with an unstoppable momentum, he heavily slammed it into Demon Ape Jack's abdomen.
"Bang!" The deafening clang of metal colliding echoed, and amidst this great sound, the massive body of the black-furred beast couldn't withstand the powerful impact, stumbling back three steps.
With each step, the ground cracked like a spiderweb, and fissures rapidly spread outwards.
However, Gajeel's expression instantly became solemn; his pupils contracted sharply.
Because he clearly saw that the hard iron scales on his fist were being corroded little by little by the dark energy emanating from the Demon Ape's body, as if ice and snow were rapidly melting under a scorching sun.
Bisca, in the distant tree, also showed a slight change in expression. Through her scope, she clearly saw that her previous bullet was actually embedded in Jack's forehead, firmly stuck by his skull.
Although blood streamed down that hideous monkey face, the bullet failed to be a fatal blow.
"Such physical fortitude?" Bisca's eyes widened in disbelief.
Alzack's face was also grim; the injuries from his previous shots had already largely healed.
Jack twisted his neck, raised his hand, and removed the ice-blue crystal armor-piercing bullet from his forehead. Fine white granulation tissue grew and intertwined in the bloody hole on his forehead, almost instantly repairing the skull injury.
"A bullet?" Jack looked at the armor-piercing bullet in his hand, then suddenly squeezed it, crushing it. Fine blue crystal powder drifted through his fingers into the air.
Jack raised his hands and looked at them. The skin on his elbows, which Alzack had shot through, was now completely healed, showing no trace of injury.
Gajeel, who was closest, witnessed Jack's physical recovery firsthand; this guy, who looked more like a monkey than a human, possessed terrifying self-healing abilities.
Just now, this guy's elbow had been torn apart by Alzack's bullets, with bones clearly visible.
Yet, it was repaired and healed by new flesh in a matter of seconds.
"What a monster!" Gajeel's face darkened.
"Thanks for the compliment!" Jack squinted at Gajeel, who was not far in front of him. The red glow in his eyes grew stronger, with madness and savagery swirling within.
He slammed his fists together, and a powerful shockwave, centered on him, rapidly spread outwards in a ring.
Wherever it went, all the floor tiles within a ten-meter radius were ripped up, and gravel flew everywhere like hidden weapons.
Alzack pulled down his hat brim, weaving through the flying debris like a ghost.
The barrel of his revolver instantly glowed with a deep blue light, a mysterious and profound luminescence like a deep-sea glow.
"Plasma Cage!" he roared, and twelve bolts of lightning, like nimble thunder snakes, shot towards Jack in a helical trajectory, attempting to block his retreat.
However, when the lightning bolts touched the Demon Ape's black fur, they were mercilessly swallowed by a suddenly expanding black spherical shield, like mud oxen entering the sea, without even stirring a ripple.
Jack's blood-red eyes widened, locking onto Alzack. He charged on all fours, dashing to Alzack's front.
"Watch out!" Bisca's warning and the sound of a trigger being pulled occurred almost simultaneously.
Another armor-piercing bullet, trailing an ice-blue wake, shot towards Demon Ape Jack.
This armor-piercing bullet easily penetrated the dark matter shield, but just as it was about to hit the Demon Ape's forehead, a layer of hard bone armor suddenly grew on his forehead.
With a "clang," the armor-piercing bullet was fiercely deflected, arcing helplessly through the air.
Jack pressed his advantage; his right arm instantly swelled threefold, becoming incredibly thick, enveloped in rolling black mist, and like a black mountain, it slammed down towards Alzack, who was reloading.
In the nick of time, an iron-blue whirlwind, like an enraged giant dragon, tore through the air and roared in.
"Don't ignore me!" Gajeel's roar came from an angle.
His legs had transformed into Iron Dragon Rods, and with the force of thunder, he swept at Demon Ape Jack's lower body.
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