In a mountain forest...
"Dragon Slayer Magic: Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Flames burst from his mouth at an astonishing speed, forming a long pillar of fire. It rolled and twisted through the air, forming enormous fireballs before crashing violently into the ground. Amid thunderous explosions, it sent everything nearby flying.
Beneath the assault of the flames, the earth was scorched black. Even creatures far away could feel the searing heat and powerful tremors.
When the flames struck the ground, they produced powerful shockwaves. The shockwaves pushed the surrounding air higher, forming enormous fireballs. The fireballs rolled and twisted through the air, forming magnificent cascades of fire.
The blow killed and injured large numbers of the Magic Beasts driven by the Beast King, but many were still surging forward.
"Lisanna, hurry and help evacuate the nearby villagers. We've got things covered here."
After unleashing a Darkness Ray, Mirajane turned and urgently called out to Lisanna, who had just sent a wolf flying with a blow.
"Okay. Be careful, sis, all of you." Upon hearing the order, Lisanna didn't dare delay. She transformed into a blue-green bird and hurriedly beat her wings, flying toward the surrounding villages.
"Damn it, is there no end to them? Good thing we invited Natsu along, or the consequences would have been unthinkable."
Mirajane gritted her teeth as she watched the Magic Beasts charging at them in wave after wave, feeling a little relieved inwardly.
Although she could deal with the Magic Beasts on her own, her Magic Power would definitely be severely depleted by then. If the Beast King came out afterward, she wouldn't have the strength to deal with it.
"Natsu, Elfman, you have to hold this pass. Don't let a single Magic Beast through. I'll go deal with the Beast King."
Mirajane flew into the air and called out to the two men, who were still fighting the Magic Beasts with all their might. Then she held out both hands and unleashed a wave of Darkness Rays into the herd. Kicking off the air, she flew swiftly toward the Beast King roaring behind the Magic Beasts.
"Consider it done." Natsu slammed his fists together, brimming with fighting spirit. He darted through the herd at tremendous speed, sending most of the Magic Beasts flying with every uppercut and flying kick.
"Fighting is what a man should do. Don't worry, Onee-chan."
"Full-Body Take Over: Beast Soul: Giant Ape!" Elfman transformed straight into a giant ape. His body immediately swelled to several times the size of an ordinary person, and a sweep of his hand took out a huge swath of Magic Beasts.
With Natsu and Elfman working together in perfect coordination, not a single Magic Beast broke through. They grew more excited the longer they fought, their combat power going through the roof.
At that moment, Zorn was high in the sky, eyes closed. He had spread his Observation Haki to its limit, covering the entire area: the sky, the ground, the rivers, and the woods.
Yet so far, he hadn't detected any Spatial Magic or spatial fluctuations.
What conditions have to be met? Zorn opened his eyes and folded his arms, resting one hand beneath his chin as he sank into thought.
Boom!
The tremendous, earth-shaking sound interrupted Zorn's thoughts, and he turned his gaze to the battlefield below.
A few minutes earlier...
Mirajane rushed above the Beast King at high speed, gathering an immense amount of dark energy in her right claw. She slammed her fist into its chin, and the tremendous force sent it flying into the sky.
The Beast King's flight showed just how powerful the punch had been. Mirajane swiftly followed, punching at a speed the naked eye could barely track. From where Natsu and Elfman stood in the distance, all they could see was the Beast King's body swaying back and forth in midair.
"Whoa, amazing!" After using a wing attack to send a group of Magic Beasts flying, Natsu watched Mirajane fight, his eyes shining.
"Darkness Torrent!" A gigantic dark claw struck from high above, slamming the Beast King into the ground. Its enormous body kicked up a vast cloud of dust, and the ground shook with it.
The darkness faded from the eyes of the few remaining Magic Beasts, and they came to their senses. Seeing the countless dead and wounded around them, they stumbled back several steps in shock and fled into the mountains behind them.
Seeing how easily she had dealt with the Beast King, Mirajane couldn't help feeling proud. She didn't use Observation Haki to check its current condition carefully.
But Zorn could sense that, although the Beast King was badly injured, its life force was still strong. It was pretending to be at death's door, charging its right fist for a surprise attack on Mirajane.
Zorn shook his head but made no move. From what he could sense, Mirajane could block the attack, and it would teach her a lesson: if she grew arrogant and underestimated her enemy in battle, she would be the one to lose in the end.
Mirajane slowly descended beside the Beast King and was just about to turn and call Elfman over to try taking it over and strengthen himself.
Suddenly, an inexplicable danger appeared on her right. She instinctively cast Defensive Magic and crossed her arms just as the Beast King's full-powered blow struck her defense. After holding out for only a moment, Mirajane was sent flying.
"Roar!" After striking, the Beast King paid no heed to its wounds and roared with all its might, venting its anger.
Elfman caught Mirajane, sliding some distance with her.
She stared at the Beast King in shock. She had put all her strength into every attack, yet she hadn't expected its defense to be so high, or its last attack to be so powerful.
"Onee-chan, are you okay?" Elfman looked at Mirajane, his face full of worry.
"Onee-chan!" A voice came from afar. A bluebird flew toward them, transformed back into a human as it drew close, and ran up to Mirajane, looking worriedly at her sister.
"The villagers have all been evacuated, Onee-chan."
"Good. Cough, cough. Natsu, take Lisanna and Elfman and leave first. I'll stop it," Mirajane said to Natsu, who stood in front of them, after coughing up a mouthful of congealed blood.
"No, I won't. I'd never abandon a single one of my friends."
"I'm not leaving either, Onee-chan." Lisanna, Elfman, and Natsu were all unwilling to leave first and firmly rejected Mirajane's suggestion.
Natsu, meanwhile, kept his eyes fixed on the Beast King in front of him, his fists clenched and ready to strike at any moment.
"Everyone..." Happy was there too, watching them worriedly.
"You've got it wrong. I told you to leave first, not because I was afraid you'd get hurt, but because I was worried my attack would catch you in it."
Mirajane didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she looked at the tense faces before her. She still had Magic Power left, enough to finish off the Beast King as it was now. It was just that the form she was about to take over was so powerful that its attacks would inevitably catch the others as well.
"Then wait here. It'll be over soon."
"Full-Body Take Over: Demon God Halphas." Terrifying Magic Power instantly spread in all directions. Mirajane slowly rose to a certain height, and once she felt she no longer posed a threat to those below, she kicked off forcefully. The thrust produced a sonic boom and brought her before the Beast King in an instant.
She gathered a ball of energy glowing with seven-colored light in her right hand and slammed it into the Beast King. Her hand passed easily through its body, leaving a huge hole. The energy waves scattered outward and struck the mountains behind it, which ceased to exist.
"Done."
"Th-this... Is that the form she used in the last S-Class Exam?"
"So strong."
Zorn nodded at the sight. It was indeed a very powerful form, and the earlier training had been the right choice after all, though its endurance was still a little lacking.
Mirajane had released the form and was now bent over, panting.
Just then, Zorn suddenly sensed an inexplicable magical fluctuation in the air... super-subspace magic... such powerful Spatial Magic.
"Lisanna, what's wrong...?" Elfman's startled cry reached Mirajane's ears.
She immediately turned to look... and saw...
To be continued~