"Change gear! 'Heavenly Wheel Armor'!"
Under the watchful eyes of a crowd of LSPs, Erusha completed her magical girl transformation... changed gear and surged straight toward Aeligor in the sky.
A sword formation of over a dozen longswords ruthlessly shattered the huge teal wind blades. With a clang, Erusha, brandishing her long sword, met Aeligor in the sky for a clash of weapons.
The surrounding gale and the sword formation collided violently together.
The "Fairy Queen" is famous, but Aeligor's "Grim Reaper" title was earned through real kills, and his masterful wind magic is useful both offensively and defensively.
For a moment, Erusha couldn't defeat her.
Using his exquisite wind magic to weave through the air, Aeligor once again narrowly escaped the encirclement of Erusha and the sword formation, while continuously launching massive wind blade attacks at the pursuing Erusha.
Hahaha! In the sky, I'm invincible! What can the Fairy Queen do to me?
Aeligor laughed triumphantly, not noticing that Naz, carried by Habi, had also joined the aerial battlefield.
Don't get cocky! The Fire Dragon's—Iron Fist!
A blazing fist surged forward; the scorching aura made Aeligor's face change, and he quickly conjured a magical "Storm Cloak" that enveloped his whole body.
The storm instantly extinguished Naz's flames, and the powerful wind pressure prevented Naz from getting close to Aeligor.
Although he repelled Naz, Aeligor couldn't smile beneath the storm cloak; he knew Naz's involvement had shattered the fragile balance between him and Erusha.
Dealing with a Fairy Queen alone was already exhausting, and below them were an ice-themed mage and a card mage, constantly hurling projectiles to interfere.
In front, the "Fairy Queen"; behind, the "Fire Dragon" Naz eyeing them hungrily; below, elite mages from Fairy Tail and a crowd of guild masters watching like spectators.
If they kept fighting, defeat was inevitable.
Realizing the tide had turned, Aeligor instantly lost the will to continue; he gripped his scythe with both hands, channeling massive magical energy into it.
"Storm—Raging Blades!"
Hundreds of wind blades, compressed from the air, coalesced and rained down on Erusha and Naz like a downpour, so numerous they blocked every chance of evasion.
While Erusha and Naz were held back, Aeligor's form flickered, turning into a blue streak of light, seemingly about to escape.
Suddenly, a voice reached his ears.
"Hey! Mr. Grim Reaper, do you still want that flute?" Hope had somehow appeared on the venue's rooftop, holding the genuine Lalabai in his hand.
Aeligor's attention snapped to Hope; seeing the authentic one in Hope's hand reignited his fury: "Kid! How dare you show up again!"
Hope twirled the flute and laughed, "Looks like this means a lot to you, so I thought I'd give it to you, then!"
He then made a vigorous upward throwing motion.
Aeligor instinctively focused his gaze on Hope's hand, his mind briefly distracted.
Now's the time!
"Change gear—'Wind Emperor Armor'!"
Erusha instantly donned a blue armor tuned to wind magic, her speed soaring; wielding her storm spear, she became a streak of light and charged at Aeligor.
What?!
By the time Aeligor reacted, it was too late—Erusha's spear, imbued with sharp magic, pierced his protective storm cloak.
He hastily raised his scythe to block.
But the massive force gathered by Erusha's charge shook him, causing his stance to falter and he began to fall.
"Naz! Gray!" Erusha shouted.
In fact, Erusha didn't need to warn them; Naz, diving down, and Gray, who made the opening gesture, had already seized the chance.
"Fire Dragon's—Wing Strike!"
"Ice Surge!"
Flames and frost intertwined; seizing the moment Aeligor lost his balance, fire and ice magic struck him simultaneously from above and below.
Ugh—!
Aeligor let out a terrible scream as his body was consumed by the dual forces of ice and fire; his scythe flew from his grasp, and he plummeted like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily onto the open ground outside the venue.
The three's seamless coordination ended the battle in an instant, prompting Makalov to nod repeatedly.
Aeligor lay on the ground, his chest blackened and charred, blood spurting from his mouth, looking utterly miserable.
But despite such grievous injuries that should have knocked him out, he stared wide-eyed, fixed on Hope standing at the edge of the venue's rooftop. If it weren't for that damned bartender, he wouldn't have ended up like this.
So unwilling... Lord Jelf's masterpiece, I have summoned you with my life, please avenge me... He spat a massive mouthful of blood, and a purple sacrificial magic circle suddenly appeared on his forehead, draining all his life.
When Erusha approached with her spear to check, she found a bizarre smile on his face.
A vague sense of danger rose within Erusha... On the venue rooftop, Hope looked at the wooden flute he hadn't actually thrown, gave a faint smile, "All done, job's finished. Now I don't have to make Kana drink."
Just as he was about to go downstairs, the three eye sockets on the skull atop his wooden flute suddenly glowed with an eerie dark-purple light.
"Hope! Throw it away quickly!"
Unsure of what was happening, Hope heard Erusha's voice and, without hesitation, hurled the wooden flute forcefully toward the nearby sky.
In the instant it left his hand, the sealed wooden flute inexplicably began to expand rapidly, enveloped by a massive magical circle.
When it hit the ground, it had transformed into a grotesque monster with three eyes, its massive body formed from twisted trees.
The cursed song demon Lalabai appears!
Lalabai writhed, its three demonic eyes all fixed on Hope atop the roof—after all, as the final wish of the sacrificial offering that broke its seal, it intended to crush this ant.
The demon gaped open, and a sudden beam shot from the rotating magical circle, instantly annihilating the venue rooftop, then striking a nearby mountain and destroying the entire peak in an instant.
All of this happened too fast.
So fast that even the "Holy Ten" mage Makalov didn't have time to intervene.
Kana stared dumbfounded at the scene; the Hope who had just smiled at her was now gone, not even a corpse... "Hey hey hey, you aren't about to drop a little pearl, are you?"
"I told you, no matter how much you cry, I won't buy you a drink."
A familiar voice came, Kana looked up at Hope flying in the air, and clenched her teeth, "You damn stingy iron rooster, just go die!"