"I didn't think there'd be such a powerful guy!"
Since joining Lamia Scale, Lyon had had it easy. During this alliance operation, he hadn't taken the Oracion Seis seriously at all.
But after this clash, he felt like he'd been toyed with, and he was completely powerless to stop it.
"There is always someone stronger, Lyon. I've taught you this lesson before. The Oracion Seis became one of the strongest dark guilds in Ishgar by relying on their sheer, overwhelming power."
Jura lectured Lyon as they stood there. He had squared off against one of the Oracion Seis members himself; although the battle was brief, he had been pinned down, almost unable to lend a hand to the others.
If one was that troublesome, the six of them gathered together were far more formidable.
"Everyone... is everyone okay? I'm so sorry! I... I was too scared! I didn't help at all! If any of you are injured, I can stop the pain and even heal the wounds."
Wendy spoke up, her voice thick with guilt. During the fight just now, she had stayed hidden in the back because she was terrified.
"Heal?! Isn't that a lost art?!"
The group was stunned by Wendy's words. Healing magic existed in ancient times, but it had long been lost in the modern day.
"You idiot! Have some confidence!"
"Wendy is the Sky Dragon Slayer!" Carla snapped.
"A Dragon Slayer?!"
Natsu was momentarily dazed when he heard this. What was the deal? He hadn't run into another Dragon Slayer for the longest time, and lately, they were popping up left and right. It felt like the title was becoming common.
Suddenly, a voice rang out.
"Everyone! I'm here to save you!!"
Everyone turned toward the sound and saw Ichiya huffing and puffing as he ran toward them.
"Ichiya!"
The Blue Pegasus trio watched, pleasantly surprised.
"Great! I knew Ichiya wouldn't be taken out that easily!"
Ichiya struck a pose and said, "Those Oracion Seis punks have no honor. They actually ambushed me while I was in the restroom with stomach trouble. They only won because they had the numbers; in a 1v1, I'd definitely have flattened them."
"That's Ichiya for you!!" the trio flattered him.
"Kael, our plan has been exposed and the Blue Pegasus's Magical Bomber, the Christina, has been destroyed. What do we do now?"
Jura looked at Kael and asked. Among everyone present, Kael's strength was the greatest, so it was only natural to seek his opinion. This point had become indisputable the moment Kael intimidated the entire Oracion Seis into a retreat single-handedly.
"Since it's come to this, there's only one way: we hit them head-on. But before that, let's summarize why we failed. If you don't know why you lost, you'll just lose again next time."
Hearing Kael's words, Erza nodded in agreement.
"Their teamwork was too good."
"And that guy named Racer—that guy's speed was just too much!"
"Yeah! It was so fast we couldn't even react!"
Everyone spoke up at once. Their complaints were mostly centered on Racer. Each of them had been attacked by him, and most of the group had been knocked down by his strikes. Erza had managed to block a few hits through pure combat instinct, but even that was a struggle.
"Fast? What are you talking about? That guy's speed was mediocre at best."
Kael looked a bit confused.
"Mediocre?"
"Calling that speed mediocre... only you could say that, Kael!"
Kael waved his hand. "No, I mean it. To me, his speed was only slightly faster than yours. It was nowhere near the 'unreactable' speed you're describing."
"Is it because of your Six Eyes, Kael?"
Erza knew that the eyes Kael possessed in that state were incredibly special, granting him 360-degree vision and terrifying levels of perception.
"My Six Eyes can track him, yeah, but I can still gauge relative speed just fine."
Kael frowned. He had been in the Fairy Tail world for over a year, and the specific mechanics of the Oracion Seis's abilities were things he had long forgotten.
Erza guessed, "Then there might be something wrong with his magic itself."
"Then don't overthink it. I'll be the one to handle that guy when the time comes. We'll split into four groups: Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Fairy Tail, and then Wendy, Carla, and me."
No one had any objections to Kael's arrangement.
"Move out—!!"
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, at the Oracion Seis base.
Swish—!
A magic circle flared to life, and the members of the Oracion Seis appeared.
"As expected of Kael, his reputation is well-deserved!"
Brain let out a quiet sigh of relief. This was the man who had defeated Jose Porla, the Master of the Phantom Lord guild.
"Brain, why did we retreat? Wasn't that the perfect chance to wipe them all out?!"
Cobra was annoyed. Cubellios had been struck, and he had taken a punch himself. He hadn't even used his magic yet, and he didn't think he'd lose to that guy.
"Cobra is right. I was a bit careless just now. If we actually fight, I definitely won't let him touch a single hair on my head!"
Racer was also fuming. He had just tried to move against Kael only to be punched immediately. He had never suffered such a humiliating setback before.
Brain frowned and said, "Have you forgotten what our objective is?"
"As for Kael... that guy hasn't even used the transformation he used to defeat the Wizard Saint Jose. If he enters that state, do you honestly think you stand a chance?"
"..."
They had all seen the records of the battle between Kael and Jose. Originally, they thought it would be a duel between two Wizard Saints, Makarov and Jose, but Kael had appeared out of nowhere and defeated Jose single-handedly.
They weren't fools; they knew Kael and Jose's strengths were terrifying, especially Kael's "Whitebeard" transformation, which possessed staggering destructive power.
"Gemini, you were terrified earlier, so there must be intel you haven't shared. Tell us everything you know about Kael."
"Yes!"
Gemini began to recount everything Lucy knew about Kael. Kael's battle against the Celestial Spirit King. Kael's battle against Jellal. Kael teleporting the Etherion blast away.
Beating the Celestial Spirit King was shocking enough, but the fact that Jellal had also been taken down by Kael meant two Wizard Saints had already fallen to him.
As for the last bit—Kael teleporting Etherion—it made their faces turn deathly pale.
"Etherion?! ...That's impossible!!"
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