In the depths of the forest, a golden-haired young man strode forward with arrogant steps, as if the world owed him sothing.
Scattered around him was a squad of ten, moving cautiously and scanning their surroundings.
The golden-haired youth was Zancrow, one of Grimoire Heart's Seven Kin of Purgatory. His face was twisted with impatience.
"I ca here to find the 'Key,' and instead I'm stuck with this pathetic errand?"
One of the subordinates, careful with his tone, replied, "You promised to lord that you'd bring back the siblings. He said the strongest warrior of this generation from that tribal nation would make a fine servant. And... the girl is quite the beauty..."
Zancrow curled his lip in disdain. "Tch. He's a goat, and he's still into won?"
"Y-you shouldn't say that. If Lord Caprico heard—"
Zancrow grabbed the man by the collar and lifted him off the ground, eyes flaring. "What? What would he do?"
"C-cough! I-I'm sorry! Forgive !"
Clicking his tongue, Zancrow tossed the man aside like trash. "Ugh, if I could beat Caprico, I wouldn't be doing his dirty work. That guy's magic is way too busted."
"Lord Zancrow!" a soldier cried out. "We found them! The brother and sister!"
Zancrow raised an eyebrow lazily. "Then hurry up and catch them so I can be done with this boring job."
"They're already engaged! Our advance squad's fighting them, but they're... really strong. Plus, there's a Fairy Tail wizard with them! We've lost dozens already—"
"Wait." Zancrow's expression twisted into a wild grin. "Did you just say... strong?"
"N-no! That's not what I—!"
Zancrow's grin widened, and without warning, his hand ignited in black flas.
"Inferno."
The soldier scread as the flas engulfed him, turning his body to ash in seconds.
No one else dared to speak.
Zancrow cracked his neck. "Let remind you all. Grimoire Heart has no place for weaklings."
"Y-yes, Lord Zancrow!"
"Now clear out the trash getting in my way."
"Yes, sir!"
The remaining ten dashed off in formation.
Zancrow stretched, then let out a low, maniacal chuckle. "Heh... finally. Sothing fun."
...
"Partial Take Over: Iron Bull Arm!"
Elfman's right arm transford into heavy iron, and with a single swing, he crushed three enemies, splintering their blades in the process.
He glanced around. More dark mages kept appearing from between the trees.
"Dammit! This is never-ending!"
Without Rhodes' wild monsters supporting him, Elfman finally realized just how much easier it was to fight alongside him.
When all you had to do was punch what was in front of you? That was ten tis better than this.
Thankfully, Mal and Vina weren't dead weight. As the tribe's so-called "strongest of their generation," the title wasn't just for show.
Even without magic, their bodies were trained to perfection, and their skills rivaled that of any seasoned magic swordsman.
Wizards who relied on long-range spells and magic wands stood no chance once they were drawn into close combat. Against Mal and Vina's precise, brutal strikes, they crumbled one after another.
In Elfman's mory, only elite royal knights ever reached this level of combat skill without using magic. The siblings' prowess was remarkable.
"How many more of them are there?" Mal grunted, blocking an enemy's blade with his shield before driving his spear through the attacker's chest. "Vina, are you holding up?"
"I'm fine, brother!" Vina called back, but the sweat on her brow betrayed the truth, it was getting harder to keep up.
"If this keeps up, we're not going to last much longer. Our stamina's wearing down, and my magic's not in great shape either," Elfman muttered.
Then he made a choice.
He reached into his coat and pulled out a thick, worn spellbook. "You two, get behind !"
Though confused, the siblings instinctively obeyed. They trusted him. Elfman had already taken down more enemies single-handedly than either of them combined. If anyone had earned their faith, it was him.
"I really didn't want to use this, but..." Elfman's eyes narrowed at the approaching enemies. He gritted his teeth, raised the book high, and roared:
"MAN!"
The shout startled everyone, enemies, allies, even Mal and Vina.
"Did... did he just yell 'man'?" Vina blinked.
"I don't think that ans anything," Mal muttered.
But as they watched, Elfman opened the spellbook and injected just a sliver of magic power.
Whoosh!
The first page disintegrated, unleashing a blazing fireball over two ters wide that tore into the enemy lines.
Crack!
The second page crumbled, erupting into three golden bolts of lightning that streaked across the battlefield.
Then ca the third, the fourth...
Flas, thunderbolts, wind blades, shards of ice, magic of all elents flew out in dazzling succession.
"Defense magic! Soone cast defense magic!"
"Scatter, get out of the way!"
The spells weren't overwhelming individually, certainly not on the level of soone like Cana's explosive cards or even Bisca's enchanted bullets. But they didn't need to be.
There were so many of them.
In a chaotic group fight, quantity and area-of-effect could easily trump raw strength.
Page after page vanished in flashes of light and sound. Dozens of enemies were knocked back or sent flying. The terrain itself, trees, soil, rocks, was blasted apart. A wide opening was carved through the enemy lines.
Mal stared, mouth slightly agape. "You've been this strong the whole ti?"
"That was amazing!" Vina added, eyes shining.
Even Elfman blinked in surprise. "What kind of insane magic book did Rhodes give ?"
Shaking his head, he refocused. "No ti, let's move!"
Without hesitation, the trio dashed forward through the gap Elfman had carved.
They were almost free, almost, when a black fla ca screaming toward them from the forest's edge.
"Look out!" Elfman shouted, diving forward.
With one powerful motion, he pulled both siblings close and threw himself down.
The black flas exploded on impact, engulfing the nearby trees. The intense heat seared Elfman's back.
Vina rushed to his side, worry etched on her face. "Are you okay?"
"This kind of scratch... not worth ntioning. I'm a man!" Elfman pushed himself up, gritting his teeth and turning toward the direction the flas had co from.
Mal and Vina didn't fully understand what he ant by "manly," but looking at his battle-scarred figure standing tall despite the pain, they felt it fit him perfectly.
Rembering Rhodes' instructions, Elfman turned to the siblings. "Now's not the ti to fight to the death. If there's an opening, run. Got it?"
Mal and Vina nodded in unison.
"Hehehe..." A low, mocking laugh echoed through the trees.
Zancrow stepped forward with a swagger, arms spread wide, each hand holding a writhing sphere of black fla. His grin was twisted, as if he were admiring new prey that had just wandered into his trap.
"Where do you think you're going to run?" he sneered, eyes glinting with amusent.
Elfman narrowed his gaze, staring at the black flas in Zancrow's hands. His voice hardened. "Those flas... the ones that burned the village. That was you, wasn't it?"
"You an that gathering place for the weak?" Zancrow snorted. "I just set fire to a bunch of trash. But you three... you look fun."
Mal's eyes turned bloodshot.
He'd promised just monts ago to prioritize escape, but those words were forgotten the instant he saw the one responsible.
"You, what did you do to our village?!"
With a roar of rage, Mal hurled himself forward, spear gripped tightly in both hands.
"Wait! Don't rush in!" Elfman shouted in alarm.
But Mal wasn't listening.
The murderer was right in front of him. The ashes of their ho still clung to his heart. There was no reasoning with that kind of grief.
Seeing her brother charge in, Vina followed without hesitation. If her brother was going to fight, she wouldn't let him fight alone.
"Heh... well, Caprico might want you alive," Zancrow muttered, watching the siblings close in. "But as long as you're not dead, it's fine, right?"
With a flick of his wrist, black fire curved through the air like a blade.
"Fla God's Sword!"
...
Bonus Chapter
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