This Island, Let Nothing Enter
Eerie fireflies rise everywhere, dark clouds cover the island, and black mist pervades. Secret rituals surge, the winds and clouds change, and a raging demonic tide surges into the azure sky.
This is the current situation on Alon Island.
Under the infusion of Gogirde's abyssal magical power, the complex magic circles covering Alon Island changed rapidly, rumbling with black light.
An immeasurable amount of black mist emanated from the magic circle, enveloping the entire Alon Island in a dark and terrifying atmosphere.
The high winds no longer caress my body, nor do the waves reach my ears.
The Alon Island was shrouded in black mist, plunged into complete darkness from which no light could be seen. The world seemed like a vacuum, so quiet it was chilling, and one's heart would stop beating.
Suddenly!
The sound of footsteps approached, growing louder and louder, as if stepping on a heart, making the stopped heart beat again.
A fiery red light shone brightly, standing out starkly in the pitch-black world, carrying a sense of boundless vitality.
It's as if it's declaring that the world shouldn't be so desolate and dark.
The fiery red light grew stronger and stronger, radiating far and wide, dispelling the darkness and terror that lingered around it. A warmth gradually arose, and it was like a gaping maw of an abyss, swallowing up the coldness in the darkness one by one.
Hughes stretched out his arms, raising a huge fireball that resembled a blazing sun, and strode across Alon Island, heading towards the location of Gogirde that he remembered.
After kicking Laxus away, Hughes immediately rushed towards Gogirde.
When they were still halfway away from Gogirde, Gogirde Hughes a contemptuous smile.
It's too late, he's already prepared!
"Boom!"
The massive magic circle covering the entire Alon Island was activated directly by Gogirde.
In an instant, the entire Alon Island became pitch black.
Hughes sighed, twisted his wrist, and a spark from the huge flame on his palm fell to the ground.
Every so often, Hughes would repeat this process, and from high above, the darkness was already dotted with starlight.
He was using the light of the flames to search for Gogirde's whereabouts.
"Ah, if only I had Observation Haki!" Hughes sighed.
He was standing where Gogirde been standing, but Gogirde be seen.
Finding Gogirde in complete darkness is no easy task.
If he possessed Observation Haki, a single sweep of his consciousness Gogirde nowhere to hide, and he wouldn't be in such a passive position.
"Call!"
As time passed, the flames on the ground began to die out one by one. With Hughes's current level of Awakening of the Flame-Flame Fruit, he could not keep the flames of the Rootless Fire burning for long.
The light in the pitch-black world began to confine itself to the area around Hughes once again.
Suddenly, a series of crackling sounds came from Hughes' right side, as clear as the flames Hughes held aloft in the darkness and silence.
Hughes immediately moved towards the source of the commotion.
Scared? What's there to be scared of!
Perfect-Level Tekkai and Elementalization are activated directly.
With two "invincible" abilities, he wanted to see what tricks this cowardly dog, Gogirde, was up to!
As they drew closer, the stench of blood intensified, accompanied by heavy breathing. Hughes frowned slightly; that voice sounded somewhat familiar!
A moment later, the flames shone on the face of the man whose neck was twisted to the side. He had golden hair, a striking Inazuma bolt mark on his right eye, and blood was flowing from his five orifices; he was on the verge of death.
Hughes narrowed his eyes slightly. "Is this Laxus?"
"Shu... Sh... Quick... Quick, save me! Something 'Gogirde, he..."
Before Laxus on the ground could finish speaking, Hughes, his eyes narrowed, flashed to his side and crushed him to death with a single kick.
Seeing the dead Laxus's eyes wide open in disbelief, Hughes kicked him twice more.
Who are you trying to disgust?
Putting aside the fact that Laxus was just kicked off the island, even if the person on the ground really was Laxus, given Laxus's personality, would he ask him for help?
Squinting at the slightly flattened Laxus on the ground, Hughes was puzzled.
He remembered the Illusion Magic that Gogirde used, which recreated the things people feared most deeply.
But Hughes never felt fear or apprehension towards Laxus.
How did Gogirde manage to make Laxus appear before him?
"The Laxus on the ground is definitely fake, so this means Gogirde's Illusion Magic has become stronger?" Hughes muttered to himself, his brow furrowed.
"Moreover, the things this bastard conjures now are different from before. Stepping on the fake Laxus is like stepping on the real Laxus."
Illusion Magic is essentially a type of Mental Magic that can obscure the five senses and make Hughes understand.
But he remained highly focused throughout, never letting his guard down for a moment, and even then, he managed to unknowingly fall into the Illusion Magic.
Gogirde indeed become much stronger after his corruption.
While pondering, Hughes glanced at Laxus on the ground and stomped his foot twice.
I can't help it, I can't help it... why do I feel a little good about it!
Hiding in the darkness, Gogirde also taken aback; something seemed off about the plot.
Weren't these two friends or brothers? How could they be so ruthless when they killed each other, even mutilating the corpses after they were dead?
"Damn it, the follow-up measures haven't even taken effect yet!" Gogirde's eyes twitched, and he lifted his hand that was pressed against the ground. A pool of liquefied magic emerged from the ground, rolled to his feet, and then merged into his body.
He originally intended to take advantage of the friendship between the two, and while Hughes was distracted, launch a sneak attack from underground to kill the fire elemental brat.
Hughes's unconventional actions directly Crush his plans.
"Damn it, this is not how a proper mage behaves!"
Enraged, Gogirde stomped his foot heavily on the ground, and where Hughes couldn't see, the massive magic circle covering the entire Alon Island lit up again.
Gogirde's blood-red eyes widened, and he poured his immense magical power into the magic circle beneath his feet, instantly splitting the magic circle in two.
The entire Alon Island shook violently as a result, and the magic circle that had been split off began to rise.
A moment later, two magic circles, each the size of Alon Island, appeared in harmony, one above the island and the other floating on its surface.
A faint magical energy emanated from the edge of the magic circle on the ground, condensing into a barrier that rose rapidly, connecting the two magic circles.
From then on, the entire Alon Island was sealed off.
Nothing should go out, nothing should go in.
The shaking of the island stopped, Hughes quickly steadied himself and looked around. Laxus, who had just been lying at his feet, had disappeared, and the shattered ground had developed a few more cracks.
"Something seems different now!"
Hughes sniffed lightly; the air smelled damp.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock!"
It's raining... Hughes glanced at the raindrops hitting his body; they were as black as ink, yet incredibly thick.
The cold air seeped into his bones as it landed on him, causing excruciating pain in his mind, much like the mental anguish that had been inflicted Threads of Sin tore through his body at the beginning.