Raizel sat across from Captain Urban, sipping the tea provided.
He didn't rush into battle. He believed in the old saying: Know both yourself and your enemy, and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
"Tell me everything," Raizel said. "Height, attack methods, intelligence level. Everything."
Urban nodded, appreciating the professionalism.
He pulled out a file.
"Onacxes isn't physically massive," Urban explained. "She stands about 2.1 meters tall. That makes sense—if she were as large as the catastrophic demon Deliora, she wouldn't possess such terrifying speed."
"Attacks?"
"Her primary method is spitting silk threads from her mouth and fingertips. The silk is incredibly durable, but worse, it has paralyzing and highly toxic effects. We observed the paralysis in combat recordings. The toxicity... we confirmed that during the autopsies of the fallen Mages."
Raizel frowned.
Poison and paralysis were a nasty combination. Speed was clearly her greatest weapon.
"Are there any visual recordings of the previous fights?" Raizel asked. "Reading a report is abstract. I need to see her move."
"Yes."
Urban pulled a Recording Lacrima from a locked drawer under his desk.
He removed his glove and placed his palm over the crystal for bio-metric verification.
Hummmm.
A 27-inch holographic screen materialized in the air before Raizel.
Recording 1: The Swordsman
A mage wielding a greatsword engaged the demon. He tried to slash Onacxes's spider legs, but his blade bounced off the chitinous armor. He was fast, but Onacxes was faster. She dodged his strikes effortlessly.
Suddenly, she spat silk from her fingertips. The mage was ensnared in mid-air.
Raizel watched closely.
The man struggled for only two or three seconds before his body went limp—the paralysis was instant.
Then, a beam of light from the Jupiter Cannon struck the area. Onacxes dodged. The beam vaporized the paralyzed mage instead.
Raizel raised an eyebrow.
'Friendly fire? I definitely don't trust that sniper.'
Recording 2: The Trapper
A mage used Earth Magic to weave a net of stone pillars, attempting to cage the demon. It was futile. Onacxes crawled over the pillars with terrifying agility. The mage didn't even last long enough for Jupiter to fire. He was devoured.
Recording 3: The Wind Mage
This one was impressive.
A mage using High-Speed Wind Magic engaged Onacxes in a prolonged dogfight. He zipped through the air, dodging silk and claws. During their struggle, the Jupiter Cannon fired three times.
Every shot missed.
Eventually, a single strand of silk grazed the mage's arm. That was enough. The poison invaded his system.
He accelerated upward to retreat, but died in mid-air from organ failure before he could reach the camp.
Raizel sat back.
"Impressive," he admitted. "Even a Wind Mage couldn't outpace her. And that silk is strong enough to withstand wind blades."
"Well?" Urban asked nervously.
"I'm confident," Raizel said, a smirk playing on his lips. "Speed? I'm not afraid of a race."
"I suggest fight tomorrow morning," Urban advised. "Our analysts believe Onacxes is slightly slower in the daylight than at night."
"Alright. But I have a request." Raizel leaned forward. "Do not fire the Jupiter Cannon unless I signal for it. I don't trust your sniper, and I don't want to dodge friendly fire while fighting a demon."
Urban pursed his lips in thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Agreed. If you can handle it, we'll hold fire."
"Tomorrow morning, use the conventional magic cannons to bombard the canyon," Raizel instructed.
"Startle her out of hiding place. I'll take it from there."
...
The Next Day, 9:00 AM
The sun hung low in the winter sky, casting long shadows over the rocky canyon.
Captain Urban stood on the ramparts, overlooking the battlefield.
He raised his hand.
"Ready... FIRE!"
He swung his hand down.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—
Twenty standard magic cannons fired simultaneously. Explosions rocked the canyon floor, shattering rocks and tearing up trees.
"HISSSSSS~!"
An unpleasant, shrieking roar echoed from the depths.
A figure shot out of the smoke. It moved upside-down, clinging to the underside of a massive tree branch with hooked claws.
It was Onacxes.
Raizel saw her instantly.
"Take Over: UlforceVeedramon!"
Blue light exploded.
Raizel transformed into the sleek, armored V-Dragon Knight. His cape fluttered as he broke the sound barrier, charging violently toward the demon.
"Another one coming to die? Hehe."
Onacxes hung upside-down, tilting her human head nearly ninety degrees to stare at the approaching knight.
Her sharp teeth glistened.
Raizel halted mid-air, hovering just out of reach.
"You can speak?" Raizel asked, surprised. The intel hadn't mentioned that. "Are you a demon from the Books of Zeref?"
"Zeref? Who is that?" Onacxes sneered. "Don't know him."
"How dull," Raizel sighed. "I thought you might be one of his creations. Zeref has a terrible sense of aesthetics—octopus tentacles, weird shapes. You fit the profile."
"Hehe... you have a sharp tongue," Onacxes hissed, her spider legs twitching. "But let's see who is killing who—"
"Victory Sword!"
Raizel didn't let her finish. Chivalry was for tournaments. This was an extermination.
A beam of blue light slashed from his V-Bracelet.
SWISH.
Onacxes's eyes widened. She barely reacted in time, transforming into a blur as she darted sideways.
CRASH.
The sword beam severed over a dozen massive trees behind her before striking the canyon wall, blasting out a deep crater.
"Oh~ Quite fast indeed," Raizel noted.
"Bastard!" Onacxes shrieked, landing on a rock. "Are you even human?! Attacking me surprise while I was talking?!"
"I don't even show courtesy to annoying old men, why would I bother with a demon like you?" Raizel replied cheerfully.
"DIEE!"
Onacxes didn't wait. She raised all her fingers.
THWIP-THWIP-THWIP.
Strands of white silk shot out like bullets. They curved mid-air, homing in on Raizel like heat-seeking missiles.
Raizel didn't retreat. He accelerated.
He weaved through the air, dodging the silk by millimeters. When he couldn't dodge, he slashed.
SHING.
The Victory Sword sliced through the "indestructible" silk like butter.
"What?! My silk was cut?!" Onacxes gasped.
She had complete confidence in her threads; they had withstood S-Class magic before.
"Still daydreaming?"
A cold voice whispered in her ear.
In an instant, Raizel appeared directly in front of her. The light sword in his right hand slashed toward her neck.
Onacxes's pupils contracted to pinpoints. She retreated at maximum speed, but she was slightly too slow.
Desperately, she raised her right human arm and spat a thick web of silk to block.
SLASH.
The blue light passed through her defense.
As she leaped backward, she watched in horror as her spider silk—and her right arm—fell to the ground, severed cleanly.
"EXCELLENT!"
Captain Urban cheered from the ramparts, pumping his fist as he watched through binoculars.
"HUMAN! YOU DESERVE DEATH!!!"
Most creatures would flee after losing a limb.
But demons were driven by rage and pride. Onacxes shrieked, lunging at Raizel with her remaining arm and spider legs.
"Have you misunderstood something?"
The blue armor vanished from her vision.
"Too slow."
Onacxes felt a searing pain on her left side. She glanced sideways—her left arm and two of her spider legs were sliding off her body.
"AHHHHH..."
With eight legs, losing two didn't make her fall. But losing both arms left her defenseless.
Fear finally pierced through her rage.
She looked at the blue knight hovering above her.
He wasn't even breathing hard. This was an existence far beyond her ability to handle.
Flash. Flash. Flash.
Raizel moved like lightning.
One by one, the remaining six legs were severed.
Onacxes collapsed onto the canyon floor, now just a torso writhing in the dust.
Raizel hovered high above her. The V-shaped armor on his chest began to glow with blinding intensity.
"Shining V-Force!"
A massive, arrow-shaped beam of pure destructive energy fired from his chest.
"So bright..."
Lying on the ground, Onacxes watched the beautiful light coming straight at her.
Those were her final words.
BOOM!
The beam engulfed her, vaporizing the demon and carving a new ravine into the earth.
"Target destroyed! Phew~"
Urban lowered his binoculars.
He breathed a sigh of relief. He had a renewed understanding of Fairy Tail's strength.
Reading about Raizel in Sorcerer Weekly was one thing; seeing him dismantle a demon that killed three S-Class Mages was another.
Flash.
Raizel appeared next to him on the ramparts.
The armor vanished.
"Mission accomplished," Raizel said calmly, dusting off his jacket.
"Congratulations," Urban said, awe in his voice.
He formed a fist with his right hand and struck his left chest, giving Raizel a full military salute.
"That was... magnificent."
-------
The Ray of Victory[5] (Shining V Force): Strafes with a beam from the "V"-shaped armor on its chest.
Victory Sword (Ulforce Saber): Attacks using the saber that extends from its right V-Bracelet.