Cobra's Tears

Cobra conjured deep purple magic circles on his hands, venom seeping from his fingertips, hissing in the air, coiling around his palms like living things, and condensing into five sharp, poisonous claws.

The purplish-black venom dripped from the claw tips and landed on the Nirvana Stone Slab, burning small, smoking pits in the ground.

[The Poison Dragon's Talon]

He whirled around, his poisonous claws slicing through the air as he lunged at Riyao's face, leaving five purplish-black marks that arced through the night as he tried to force Riyao back.

Riyao didn't even back down.

The dragon-scale-covered hand reached out, its five fingers precisely gripping Cobra's poisonous claws. The venom splattered onto the dragon scales, hissing and smoking, yet not even a white mark was left.

Toxins have absolutely no effect on Riyao; if the mood strikes, you might even want to take a bite or two to savor the taste.

Riyao exerted force with his wrist, and at the same time used the momentum of Cobra's forward charge to rotate half a circle, slamming it hard onto the ground like a rag.

Boom!

Cobra's body smashed into the stone slab, creating a shallow crater, sending shards of stone flying and dust billowing up.

Before he could even turn over, a huge shadow loomed over him.

Riyao swooped down above Cobra, hovering steadily three feet directly above him, looking down at the once arrogant and domineering Oración Seis.

Then, the little hobby of healing magicians began.

His fists glowed with a vibrant green light, and healing magic condensed into a soft, warm film on their surfaces.

The next second, fists rained down like a storm.

"You like playing with drugs, huh?"

The first punch landed on Cobra's chest, breaking his ribs. At the same time, emerald green healing magic poured in, and the shattered bones quickly healed under the magic's cleansing.

But the excruciating pain of bones shattering and then reforming had already pierced deep into the nerves.

"You like listening to other people's little secrets, don't you?"

The second punch landed on his abdomen, causing his internal organs to spasm violently. Cobra's mouth gaped open, but he couldn't even let out a scream.

Healing magic surged in afterward, repairing the injured organs. The tingling, numb sensation of repair intertwined with the tearing pain, like two saws pulling at his body at the same time.

"You think one of you can wipe out an entire guild?"

The third punch landed on his shoulder, the sound of his shoulder blade shattering clearly audible. Cobra's body bounced on the stone slab, but Riyao grabbed him by the collar and pressed him back down, healing magic piecing the broken bones back together.

The sensation of bone fragments rubbing and biting against each other sent shivers down Cobra's spine.

While beating and treating his opponent, Riyao was also thinking about how to land each punch. The power, angle, and landing point of each punch were precisely calculated to cause maximum damage without knocking the opponent unconscious.

The double blow made Cobra's eyes clearer faster than anyone else's, and even the sharp corners of his eyes became much rounder.

"Wait... I surrender..."

Cobra's voice was hoarse and weak, and the blood foam at the corner of his mouth made his speech indistinct.

He raised a hand in an attempt to signal a ceasefire, but the hand trembled in the air and could not even be straightened.

Riyao's punches were incredibly fast, producing dozens of afterimages in an instant, the emerald green light of his fists blending together in the night.

Each punch was powerful and heavy, shattering internal organs and breaking bones, only to be healed by the Riyao.

The pain mixed with the comforting feeling of being healed stimulated Cobra's spirit, like someone rubbing salt into his wounds while simultaneously applying medicine.

The constant tug-of-war between two extreme feelings tore his consciousness to pieces.

It wasn't that Cobra didn't retaliate; the venom was completely countered by the Riyao's Radiance, leaving not even a mark on the dragon scales, and its speed and strength were also inferior.

What can you do if you anticipate the Riyao's attack?

They can't keep up in speed, and they can't match their strength.

He heard where Riyao was going to hit next and his body reacted accordingly, but his muscles were always a beat too slow, and the fist always arrived before he could dodge.

Cobra finally shed tears of regret. Tears welled up in his eyes, mingling with the dust and blood on his face, and streamed down, leaving two clean streaks on his scarred face.

I really wanted to be knocked unconscious, but Riyao's attacks were extremely cunning, and I just couldn't get it out.

Each punch was delivered with such precision that it inflicted extreme pain without causing loss of consciousness, as accurate as performing surgery.

Why did I have to be a bad person? Waaah... It's all Brain's fault... If I had the chance... I would definitely be a good person...

The vibrations emanating from here could be felt in other parts of Nirvana, one after another, rhythmically passing through the stone slabs and walls, like the pulsation of some kind of melody.

Everyone else was assigned to the core under Erza's arrangement.

Now everyone's magic power is almost depleted, and each person's face bears the weariness of battle, their clothes are covered in dust and blood, but their gazes remain resolute.

Lucy, Wendy, Gray, Jura, Natsu, and Erza each went to a core area; the six of them, in six different directions, were scattered throughout Nirvana, this mobile fortress.

Natsu, guided by his keen nose, headed to the core area where Brain was. He wanted to find a strong opponent to fight to his heart's content, so he had to get there quickly to prevent Riyao from stealing his monsters again.

Xiang used Telepathy Magic to command everyone to destroy the core in unison. His voice rang in everyone's minds, steady and powerful, with a countdown rhythm.

Everyone else was ready, their attacks poised to strike, magic gathering in their palms, waiting only for the signal to strike.

Natsu's situation isn't going so well, and Brain has also switched to his larger size.

Another personality, "None," makes an appearance.

Brain's body, which had previously retained a researcher's demeanor, now seemed to have been transformed. His back was ramrod straight, his shoulders were slightly hunched, and the corners of his mouth were stretched into an unnatural angle. His entire being exuded a pure, irrational desire for destruction.

He's more than a level above Brain. Although his temperament has changed and his methods are more ruthless, his total magical power remains the same.

The skull and scepter shouted, his voice filled with fanatical worship.

"Oh ho ho, Master Wu's heroic figure is still so captivating."

"Shut up!"

The sound was cold and flat, like someone crushing an insect.

He lifted his foot, his heel landing precisely on the skull scepter. With a powerful push, the wooden scepter shattered with a creak. The skull's eye sockets flashed one last time before going completely dark, scattering fragments across the ground.

"Ha ha..."

Wu let out a low, guttural laugh, a laugh born of satisfied destructive desires, cruel and morbid, sending chills down one's spine.

Natsu watched as the skull scepter was destroyed, its fragments rolling several times on the ground.

He clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking, veins bulging on his forehead, and an angry roar erupted from deep within his throat.

"Wasn't it your partner? Why did you kill it!?"

His voice echoed in the empty core area, filled with unbelievable anger.

In Natsu's world, allies are everything, and even the enemy's allies should not be so easily crushed.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I just want to destroy things. As long as something has a physical form, I want to destroy it!"

Wu tilted his head, his expression as if he were looking at a fool who couldn't understand him, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather.

"I will reduce everything to nothingness!"

He spread his arms, and dark magic poured out of his body, spreading outwards like a tide. Wherever it passed, the stone slabs cracked, the walls crumbled, and the air became heavy and suffocating.

Wu looks like a complete madman.

Natsu can't stand anything that hurts his comrades, even if they are enemies.

The act of casually destroying his own partner angered him more than anything else.

His fists ignited with orange-red flames, the heat distorting the surrounding air. He slammed his feet into the ground, transforming into a streak of fire as he charged forward.

[Fire Dragon's Iron Fist]

The burning fist, carrying a scorching airflow, aimed straight for Wu's face, the flames leaving a bright trail in the night.

Wu simply reached out, his five fingers spread, and grabbed Natsu's fist. The flames struggled in his palm for a few moments before extinguishing, as if swallowed by darkness.

Natsu's charge came to an abrupt halt, his entire body frozen in place, the muscles in his arms taut like iron, yet he remained completely still.

With a swift knee strike, Natsu's knee slammed precisely into his abdomen. The force was so great that Natsu's body instantly bent into a shrimp-like shape, his mouth gaping open as bitter liquid mixed with saliva sprayed out. The churning pain in his stomach made his vision go black for a moment.

Without letting go, Wu raised his other hand, his palm brimming with thick, dark energy that writhed and rolled like a living thing.

[Darkness Annihilation]

Dark energy poured out like a torrent, sweeping towards Natsu's face and swallowing up all the air in its path.

Seeing that things were going badly, Natsu ignited flames on his feet, exerted his strength, spun backward and kicked towards Wu, his heel trailing a fiery tail that grazed Wu's chin.

He dodged the attack by sidestepping, and the resulting shockwave ruffled the bits of fabric from his clothes.

Natsu used the momentum to perform a backflip to break free of control, and as his feet landed, his knees slightly bent to absorb the force, thus creating distance.

The moment he was released, his cheeks puffed out, and a hot breath escaped from between his teeth.

[Fire Dragon's Roar]

Orange-red flames erupted from Natsu's mouth, roaring like a fiery Fire Dragon, surging and sweeping towards the void.

Without raising his hand, he condensed dark magic into a sphere and blasted it out as well.

The flames and the dark energy blast collided, and the two completely opposite forces reacted violently at the moment of contact, creating a huge shockwave that sent Natsu flying through the air.

His body tumbled several times in the air before crashing heavily into a wall more than ten meters away, leaving a human-shaped dent in the stone wall, with rubble falling down with a clatter.

The countdown rang out in everyone's minds, steady yet urgent.

Natsu crawled out of the rubble, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, squinted, and pondered how to break through the blockade and shatter the core Magic Crystal.

The Magic Crystal, radiating a silvery-white light, was not far behind Wu, but the man stood in front of him like a wall, each strike carrying overwhelming power.

"This is infuriating!"