Berserk Elfman

"Argh!" Mira cried out as she slammed heavily into the ground, but the Beast King gave her no chance to recover. It charged at her again, raising its enormous claw and swiping it at Mira.

"You're just a monster! Don't get too cocky! Dark Spark!" Mira showed no fear. Relying on the powerful physique granted by Satan Soul, she directly began exchanging blows with the Beast King.

Boom!

Boom! Boom!

Violent explosions erupted around the woman and beast. After dozens of exchanges, the smaller Mira was suppressed by the Beast King's overwhelming strength and gradually fell into a disadvantage.

"Argh! This is... a little troublesome... Lisanna!" Mira gritted her teeth and shouted her sister's name. "Go to town! Evacuate the residents! This won't be settled anytime soon! This one's tough!"

"Got it, Sis!" Lisanna immediately used Take Over Magic, transforming into a bird and flying toward the town.

Seeing prey escape right before its eyes, the Beast King grew even angrier, and the force of its furious hammering intensified. Mira struggled to hold on, and just as she was about to be unable to endure any longer, she erupted with magic power and forcibly broke free from the Beast King's attacks.

After pulling back, Mira felt the pain throughout her body. Looking at how battered she was, then at the still-roaring Beast King, which seemed barely injured, her anger continued to rise.

"So you can fight, huh? Try this! Soul Extinction!" Mirajane compressed the magic power around her to its limit, and a terrifying energy fluctuation burst forth between her palms.

A deep torrent of energy, mixed with jet black and dark purple, shot out and blasted straight toward the Beast King.

That attack seemed to have worked. Clear wounds appeared on the Beast King's body, but the injured beast seemed to have some kind of buff that made it stronger the angrier it became. The magic power pouring from its body surged again, its form grew even larger, and it now stood over five meters tall. With a deafening roar, it charged after Mira again.

"At the end of the day, you're just a monster! Monsters should obediently let themselves be hunted! One more time! Super Torture Flash!" Mira gathered even more magic power and launched another attack.

This Super Torture Flash was clearly stronger than the previous blow, directly blasting the Beast King backward. Yet its rage seemed to grant it additional strength.

Amid its roars, the Beast King pushed through the magical bombardment and advanced toward Mira again, completely ignoring the wounds being inflicted upon it.

Elfman stared fixedly at the battle from the side, watching Mira, who seemed to be falling behind, with worry. If only... if I were strong enough...

Elfman felt unwilling to accept it. With Zero ability to help his sister in battle, he could only watch from the sidelines, overwhelmed by a powerful sense of helplessness.

He clenched his fists tightly. His fingers turned faintly white from the force, and his knuckles made a faint Hibiki-like crack under the strain.

"Elfman! Move back a little farther! It's too dangerous here!" Mira began trading blows with the Beast King again and shouted at Elfman through an opening.

"But..." Elfman looked miserable.

"No buts! Get back, now! I can't guarantee your safety here!" Mira endured a heavy punch from the Beast King and countered with an uppercut to its jaw. While the Beast King shook its head from the blow, she shouted at Elfman again.

"I understand!" Elfman gritted his teeth and retreated, finding a spot farther away where he could still clearly see the scene. He continued staring intently at the battlefield.

Seeing Elfman retreat to a safe place, Mira charged directly at the Beast King. "I'm a mage of Fairy Tail! A mere Beast King? Watch me take you down in minutes!"

With an angry roar, the Beast King clashed with Mira again. Mira alternated between Super Torture Flash and Dark Spark, unleashing them upon the Beast King. The creature's body truly was as terrifying as it looked; it endured all of Mira's attacks and struck at her with claws and fists, trading injury for injury.

Mira blasted the Beast King away with another Soul Extinction, then dropped to one knee, panting heavily as sweat mixed with dust and ran down from her brow.

Although she was still maintaining her Satan Soul Take Over, it was obvious that her magic power was nearly depleted. The Beast King's massive body was also covered in wounds left by Dark Spark and Super Torture Flash, with blood flowing from several deeper gashes.

Yet judging by the Beast King's roar, which showed no sign of weakness whatsoever, its fighting spirit had not diminished in the slightest. If anything, its injuries had made it even more ferocious.

"Tch... I've used up a little too much magic power..." Mira sensed the scant magic power left within her and frowned. "If I can't do this, I'll have to abandon the mission for now... Erza's going to laugh at me when I get back..."

A sudden wave of dizziness made Mira's vision blur. "Tch... I won't have enough magic power to maintain Satan Soul much longer..."

Seeing that Mira seemed distracted, the Beast King did not let the opportunity pass and charged straight at her.

Mira quickly came back to her senses and looked at the Beast King, but that momentary lapse had already given it an opening. Seeing the Beast King about to reach her, Mira's pupils contracted, and she immediately tried to dodge sideways.

But her injuries and lack of magic power made her movement just a little too slow. In a battle at this level, an instant could be fatal.

Bang!

A heavy, muffled Hibiki rang out. The enormous beast claw slammed solidly into her abdomen. The terrifying force struck her hard, and the intense pain sent darkness over her vision as she was hurled away like a kite with its string cut.

"Big Sis Mira!" Seeing Mira defeated, Elfman could no longer hold back. He knew he was no match for the Beast King, but as a Take Over Magic user, he had one move that might give him a chance to turn things around.

"Take Over! Beast King's Soul!" As Elfman activated his magic, he successfully Took Over the Beast King. His body began to change amid the eruption of magic power, gradually taking on the Beast King's form.

"Elfman!" The Beast King's earlier strike had knocked Mira out of her Satan Soul Take Over. Enduring the excruciating pain throughout her body, she opened her eyes to see Elfman forcibly Take Over the Beast King.

Watching Elfman gradually approach, Mira felt no relief. From his eyes, she could already tell that although Elfman had forcibly Taken Over the Beast King, he had Zero ability to control its immense magic power. He should be in a berserk state now.

"Pull yourself together, Elfman!" Mira shouted.

At that moment, Lisanna returned from evacuating the residents. Seeing the badly injured Mira and the Beast King gradually approaching, Lisanna quickly came to Mira's side and asked, "Big Sis Mira! Everyone in town has gone to the shelters. How are you? Where's Big Brother Elfman?"

"Run, Lisanna. It's my fault for letting my guard down. To protect me, Elfman forcibly Took Over the Beast King, but the Beast King's magic power is too immense. Elfman has lost his reason now!"

"Then what should we do?" Lisanna helped Mira up and asked anxiously. "We have to find a way to wake Elfman up, or he'll be consumed by the Beast King." Enduring the pain, Mira considered how to break the deadlock.