Tempester of the Nine Demon Gates!

Freed sheathed his longsword half an inch, his voice low and wary.

"It's impossible to take a punch from Laxus imbued with the magic of the Lightning Dragon head-on without suffering any damage."

"However, we still need to be careful; the demons of the Book of Zeref cannot be judged by ordinary standards."

In the heart of the dust-filled ruins.

A muffled, strange sound suddenly pierced through the thick smoke and drifted away.

"Call out--!"

It wasn't human language; it was more like a strange onomatopoeic sound emanating from the monster's throat!

This short, quirky syllable landed!

A chaotic airflow suddenly condensed above the street without warning!

The howling storm transformed into dozens of high-speed spinning, sharp wind blades, tearing through steel with a piercing shriek, slicing through the ground bricks, and furiously hurtling towards Laxus!

This is a sound-based spell that completely transcends the realm of magic and belongs to the ultimate power unique to the demons of the Tartaros — Curse that incites natural disasters!

Facing the onslaught of howling winds.

Laxus didn't even move an inch, his gaze utterly indifferent.

The muscles in his right upper arm suddenly tensed, and he casually swung it forward horizontally!

Sizzle!!

A massive golden lightning blade, as sharp as a bolt of lightning, slashed out from the sky and struck the oncoming storm with perfect precision!

The pure and domineering Dragon Force suppressed the raging storm with absolute force, tearing it apart into nothingness and dissipating into the breeze.

"Even my Curse can be so easily erased..."

The deep sound of footsteps echoed again from the end of the alley.

The black cloak of the strange man emerging from the ruins had completely turned to ashes, revealing his true form.

It was not a human form, but a ferocious half-beast demon with a hideous lion's head, a body covered in brownish-yellow fur, and muscles that were deeply intertwined!

Its sharp teeth protruded outwards, and it continuously spewed out scorching jets of air from its nostrils.

The demon stretched his chest, which had just been struck by the lightning fist, and sized up Laxus.

"I never imagined that among the weak human mages, there would be a powerhouse of your caliber."

Laxus put his hands back into his coat pockets, looked down at the lion-faced demon opposite him, and gave a low, cold snort.

"Ha, so it really isn't a human species, is it? A piece of trash that crawled out of Zeref's pages."

Laxus flicked his wrist, a playful and arrogant smile playing on his lips, his calm tone shattering the demon's blind confidence.

"Also... don't make a fuss like a frog in a well."

"There are plenty of monsters in our guild who are stronger than me!"

Upon hearing this, the demon's beastly eyes narrowed slightly, clearly not taking these blunt truths to heart.

Laxus had clearly lost all patience to continue testing and playing around.

"Now that we've recognized you, the warm-up session is over."

Laxus stomped his feet hard, and the ground instantly cracked and caved in!

With his hands clasped together like a hammer, dazzling and violent lightning compressed and gathered wildly in his palms, faintly condensing into a gigantic golden dragon's jaw!

"Lightning Dragon's Jaw!!"

The demon's expression changed drastically, its throat churning wildly as it spat out a barrage of sonic Curse.

"Call--!"

"Call out--!"

A fierce storm suddenly arose, and a tornado rose wildly from the ground, attempting to block the arrival of thunder!

However, in the face of absolute and domineering power, all struggles seem ridiculous and laughable!

The golden giant jaws tore through the storm, crashing down with the force of Mount Tai!

Click!!

The Thunderjaw slammed into the very center of the lion-faced demon's spine!

The demon's knees shattered on the spot, and he was forced into the hard pit. His bones creaked under the strain, and he coughed up mouthfuls of dark red demon blood. He was completely powerless to resist and collapsed like a limp rag in the bottom of the pit.

The lightning gradually faded.

Laxus stood with one foot on the edge of the pit, hands in his pockets, and turned his head to look at the three Thunder God Tribe behind him.

"Hey, Freed."

"What should we do with this guy? Break his limbs, tie him up, take him back to the guild hall, and throw him to Jiang Bai for interrogation?"

Freed strode forward, just about to take out the enchanted rope.

At the very bottom of the deep pit, in the pile of rotten mud, the lion-faced demon, which had been on the verge of death, suddenly grinned with a strange and venomous smile.

A faint, frantic sound drifted slowly from the bottom of the pit.

"Hehe... hehehe..."

The demon struggled to open its bloodshot, beastly eyes, and mumbled in broken, hoarse whispers.

"This time... I was indeed too careless and underestimated my opponent..."

"I never dreamed... that such lowly and fragile creatures as humans could unleash such formidable brute force..."

A strange, dark, and murky core of light suddenly appeared on the chest of the demon who called himself Tempester, and the life and magic power within his body collapsed and reversed at a frantic speed in an instant!

A fanatical, death-defying fervor shone in the demon's eyes, and he threw his head back, letting out a mad Roar!

"But it doesn't matter! The great Lord of the Underworld will perfectly revive and regenerate me!"

"Since I can't kill you all head-on... then I'll just have to die first!"

The Tempester's face twisted completely, unleashing an ultimate curse of mutual destruction!

"May everyone die!!"

Before the words were even finished!

The demon's body suddenly disintegrated and destroyed itself!

A blindingly high-pressure explosion erupted violently at the bottom of the crater, accompanied by debris from disintegrating flesh and an extremely dense, pitch-black fog that, like a tsunami bursting its banks, swept wildly outwards from the center of the explosion in all directions!

"He self-destructed?!"

Freed twirled his sword and warily positioned himself in front of Yajima.

The granite paving stones around the pit had long been removed, and billowing black smoke was seeping out wildly through the cracks in the mud.

Evergreen raised her white folding fan to cover her mouth and nose, her brows furrowed, the tip of the fan pointing at the lingering black mist.

"Ugh~ What on earth is this black mist? It looks disgusting!"

Five puppets stood in a row in front of Bickslow, screeching and blocking the approach of the black mist.

"And it's spreading outwards, covering an increasingly wider area!"