Blood and Demons in a Fierce Battle

As Mira entered combat mode and took on Satan Soul, the battle officially began. Mira sprinted straight up to Samir and launched a side kick.

Samir raised a hand and blocked the blow with a blood shield. He sneered. "You want me to wait for death? Don't get too cocky, little girl! Bloodstained Purgatory!"

A dense aura of blood erupted from Samir and began spinning at high speed. Caught off guard, Mira was sent flying by the suddenly unleashed bloody whirlwind.

"Watch out, Mira!" The controlled Elfman threw a punch directly at Mira.

"Tch!" Mira rolled aside to evade Elfman, then charged Samir again. "Let go of my brother already! Super Torture Flash!"

Mira's gaze sharpened. Before her outstretched palm, profound dark magic rapidly gathered and compressed, forming a highly condensed sphere of energy streaked with constantly bursting dark-purple lightning.

The energy sphere abruptly burst apart—but rather than dispersing, it transformed into a torrent of dark-purple flashing light and shot toward Samir.

Samir remained unhurried at the sight. "You know your brother is in my hands, yet you still use magic that powerful. You really are heartless, aren't you?"

Elfman flashed forward and stood directly before Samir, using his own body to take Mira's furious attack. He fell to the ground, his condition unknown.

"Elfman!" Mira's face drained of color. Seeing her brother lying on the ground after being struck by her attack felt like a knife through her heart. She gritted her teeth and roared, "You bastard! I'll kill you!"

"Quit making empty threats. They won't change the situation. Hellblood Fangs!" Samir swept one hand, sending several enormous fangs condensed from blood shooting toward Mira.

"Tch, cheap tricks!" Mira stood her ground as powerful magic erupted from her body, shattering the incoming blood fangs. She leaped into the air again and delivered a flying kick at Samir's head.

"Oh? Not going to use a stronger attack?" Samir tilted his head slightly to evade Mira's kick, then spun and landed a heavy kick that sent her flying back.

Mira crashed hard into the wall before dropping to the floor. The impact left a human-shaped depression in the wall, showing just how powerful Samir's kick had been.

"Tch... He's a real pain..." Mira climbed to her feet, at a loss for what to do. A high-powered spell might seriously injure Samir, but if he used Elfman to block again, things would get troublesome. If Elfman took two ultimate moves in a row, she would probably have to order him a tombstone when they got back.

Suddenly, a golden flash streaked across the field. Ed had settled Lisanna and the client somewhere safe and had now returned.

Taking in the situation, Ed looked serious. "Looks like I came back a little late. How's Elfman?" As he spoke to Mira, he pulled out six kunai and held them between his fingers, assuming a battle stance.

"That bastard controlled Elfman and used him to block my attack. He should be fine after some rest, but if it happens again, I can't say for sure." Mira spoke through gritted teeth, then asked Ed, "Find a way to get Elfman out of here first. Otherwise, we'll be too restricted when we fight!"

"Alright. I'll find an opening to take Elfman away, then come back to help you." Ed nodded.

"Is it really wise to discuss tactics right in front of me?" Samir frowned as he listened to them. "If you look down on me this much, I'll get angry too. Dance of Blood Bats!" A large amount of blood transformed into blood bats that flew at the two of them like darts.

Ed threw kunai directly at Samir, while he and Mira leaped into the air to evade the bats. "It's not easy to dodge in midair, is it? Blood Bat Assault!"

As Samir activated his magic, the bats that had flown toward them abruptly changed direction and attacked the two in midair at even greater speed.

As the blood bats closed in and Samir had already turned sideways to evade the kunai, Ed grabbed Mira. "This situation really isn't easy to dodge, but who exactly should be doing the dodging..."

A golden flash streaked past, and the two vanished, reappearing at Samir's side. Ed immediately unleashed an uncharged Monster Strength kick as he continued, "That remains to be seen!"

Samir had not expected Ed's spatial magic to activate without any warning. Before he could defend himself, Ed's kick struck him. Tremendous force erupted from Ed's leg and sent Samir flying.

Mira seized the opportunity and unleashed a powerful attack. "Try this! Dark Torrent!" Mira compressed vast amounts of dark magic between her hands.

In an instant, a fist-sized and extremely unstable sphere of pure black energy appeared in her hands. Mirajane roared and thrust both palms forward. The immense dark magic poured forth at once, no longer as a sphere but as waves of pure-black magical blasts that bombarded Samir.

While Mira suppressed Samir, Ed swiftly flashed to Elfman's side and used Flying Thunder God to take him away. Since he did not know how far Samir's control could reach, Ed did not reunite Elfman with Lisanna and the others just to be safe. Instead, he placed him in a small wooden cabin he had discovered while searching outside town earlier.

Ed quickly checked Elfman's condition. "His injuries are serious, but they aren't life-threatening." After confirming Elfman's state, Ed immediately returned to the battlefield.

The moment he returned, he saw Samir launching a counterattack while enduring Mira's Dark Torrent head-on. "Can't any of you just die obediently?! You actually made me lose my composure like this! Bloodwing Assault!" A great mass of blood aura condensed into wing-shaped blades and charged toward Mira.

"Hah, you dodged it earlier, so I'll make up for that now! Super Torture Flash!" Mira neither dodged nor retreated. She gathered her magic and fired a magical blast head-on. The two attacks collided in a massive explosion, filling the field with smoke and dust that blocked their vision.

"Did we get him?" Mira panted heavily as she peered into the smoke. "I suggest you read more miscellaneous books when you have time," Ed said helplessly.

"What do you mean?" Mira asked in confusion. "It means that whenever someone says that, there's an eighty-percent chance the enemy is perfectly fine." As Ed finished speaking, an enraged voice came from within the smoke. "You dared make me look so pathetic? Let me show you my true power! Power of Blood Hell!"

An immense blood aura shot into the sky, stirring wave after wave of magical gales across the field. Ed looked astonished. "This magic power! How can such an overwhelming pressure come from some unknown assassin?"

"How would I know? We just have to fight. I still have a score to settle with him!" Mira refused to be outdone, and magic erupted from her as well. One black and one red torrent of magic tore at each other across the field like two raging whirlwinds.