The members of Fairy Tail recognized him instantly.
"Kael?!"
The Trimens of Blue Pegasus, along with Lyon and Sherry, stood frozen. The man standing before them didn't match any image of Kael they held in their minds. They knew Kael used Take Over magic and could shift into various forms, but this was something else entirely.
"Get out of the way!!" Hibiki shouted at Kael. That was the Jupiter cannon—a high-level weapon of war built by Blue Pegasus. A single blast possessed enough raw power to level a tower.
SHOOOOM—!
The Jupiter cannon fired.
"Not bad. This airship looks pretty slick," Kael muttered. He didn't move an inch. He simply opened his palm toward the oncoming beam of destruction.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue!!"
A high-density orb of blue light manifested in front of him, radiating a crushing gravitational pull. The massive beam of magic from the Jupiter cannon slammed into the Blue sphere. The magic didn't explode; it was systematically sucked in and devoured. In the blink of an eye, the entire blast vanished into the singularity.
The entire coalition watched, paralyzed by the sight.
"What?!"
"Impossible!!"
"That was the Jupiter cannon...!!"
The Fairy Tail mages were relatively composed—they already knew Kael was a freak of nature. Not long ago, they had watched him use this same technique to swallow the Hall of Thunder that threatened the entire city. But for the mages of Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus, this was far beyond their common sense. The scene was an absolute shock to their systems.
Lyon immediately grabbed Hibiki by the collar, his face twisted in a glare. "Pegasus! What the hell is going on?! Why is your damn ship firing on us?!"
"What are you doing?!"
"Let go of Hibiki!"
Ren and Eve shouted, ready to fight, but Hibiki raised a hand to stop them.
"We... we don't know! The keys to the Christina are in our hands... Ichiya... No, it's impossible! Master Ichiya would never betray us!"
"Ichiya? That disgusting fatass?" Lyon scoffed.
"Watch your mouth!!" Ren shouted. Ichiya was the man they admired most, their guild's Ace. They wouldn't tolerate an insult, even from a Saint's subordinate.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT—!!
The main cannon went into a cooling phase to recharge, but the smaller turrets and machine guns swiveled, locking onto Kael.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Shells slammed into Jura's stone wall, exploding without breaking through the defense. Meanwhile, every bullet fired at Kael slowed to a crawl before hanging suspended in the air inches from his skin. The mages from Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus just stared, their minds blank.
Kael flipped his hand, palm facing the airship.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red."
A small, sparking red orb shot toward the airship at high speed. The Christina tried to bank away, but it was too slow to react to the repulsion wave.
BOOM—!
The red sphere impacted the airship's side-wing, vaporizing the metal instantly. Losing its balance, the massive ship groaned and began to plummet toward the forest floor.
CRASH—!
The airship slammed into the dirt, kicking up a massive curtain of dust and debris.
"It crashed!!"
"Something's coming out..."
Six figures emerged from the smoke, their presence radiating a cold, dark pressure that weighed on the air.
"The Oración Seis!!!"
The coalition stared. They hadn't expected their targets to just walk right up to them so brazenly.
Brain scanned the group, his eyes cold and clinical. "So, the lackeys of the legal guilds have gathered."
"We saw through your pathetic little plan from the start," Angel said with a sharp, mocking laugh. "Gathering us in one spot for an airship strike? How bankrupt. Now that your toy is scrap metal, your plan is dead."
"By the way," she added, "that Ichiya guy has already been handled. It's just you losers now."
The Trimens turned pale, their voices trembling. "What?!"
"Liar!!"
Ichiya was their Ace. There was no way he'd been taken down so easily.
Two small figures standing beside Angel laughed. "We did it! That Ichiya guy was only thinking about perverted things."
"Total idiot! What a useless adult."
The Trimens' hearts sank. If the airship was compromised, the enemy's words were likely the truth.
Cobra's ears twitched. He bared his teeth in a grin. "You're starting to waver, aren't you? I can hear it."
"Let's wrap this up," Racer said, his body shifting into a blur. "You people are in the way."
Hoteye chimed in, "Money makes a man strong. Let me tell you a truth: 'Money is everything.'"
"Finally showed your faces, huh?"
"Saves us the trouble of hunting you down—!!"
Natsu and Gray shouted as they lunged forward.
"Kill them," Brain commanded.
Racer blurred out of existence, appearing instantly behind the two.
"What?!"
Before Natsu or Gray could react, Racer spun, delivering two high-speed kicks that sent them both flying.
"Natsu! Gray!" Lucy shouted in alarm.
As she spoke, she realized her voice was being mirrored. She turned to find an exact duplicate of herself standing right beside her.
"Moron!" the second Lucy said, cracking a whip at the original.
"Wait... what's happening?! Why am I... what?!"
"Sherry, move!" Lyon shouted.
Lyon and Sherry prepared to cast, targeting the Oración Seis.
"Even without love... as long as you have money! It's fine!!" Hoteye shouted.
The ground beneath Lyon and Sherry suddenly softened, turning into a liquid mire. They sank into the earth, losing their balance instantly.
"Lyon! Sherry!"
Jura saw his subordinates fall and reacted immediately, thrusting a massive stone pillar toward Hoteye.
Hoteye simply pointed a finger. The stone pillar dissolved into liquid mud before it could land.
"What?!" Jura was stunned.
"My magic softens the earth. Yours hardens it. I wonder who's stronger?" Hoteye laughed.
Meanwhile, the Trimens were being systematically dismantled by Racer. Erza joined the fray, but she was pinned down by Cobra and Racer's coordinated speed.
"So... this is Titania Erza Scarlet?" Brain asked, turning to Angel. "What's the status? Have you finished gathering intel on that one?"
Brain pointed at Kael. The coalition was falling apart, but the real threat was the teenager who had beaten a Wizard Saint. Angel's spirits—the twins, Gemini—could copy anyone and mimic their magic. If they knew Kael's logic, they could counter it.
Angel looked at Gemini, who was currently transformed into Lucy. "Gemini, have you checked Kael's information?"
"..." Gemini-Lucy whispered. "Kael... as seen through Lucy's eyes... Monster... freak... monster..."
Suddenly, Gemini-Lucy's face twisted into a mask of pure terror. Cold sweat poured down their skin as they began to shake. "Intel gathering complete... This is a disaster... Strongly recommend retreat!! We must retreat immediately!!"
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