In the carriage, Caesar was drowsy.
Erza sat opposite Caesar, looked at him, and said, "You shouldn't have come this time."
Erza knew very well that even if Caesar didn't come, all these so-called formalities would just end with her being locked up for a few hours before release. But once Caesar got involved, things always took a turn for the worse.
"Yawn."
Caesar stretched and said lazily, "It's fine. I've been bored lately anyway, so I thought I'd go find some trouble with Serena. I heard he's collected eight Dragon Slayer Magic Crystals. I want to see if I can still beat him up, since I already did when he only had four. This time, he's doubled it."
Erza was speechless for a moment.
She didn't know that Caesar was actually planning to gain experience in preparation for being promoted to a gold card as soon as possible. He didn't really need an excuse — this time he just used the Council's summons as a chance to stir things up. Plus, he wanted to see if he could find some of the other Ten Wizard Saints. Even if he wasn't as strong as Serena, it would still be good experience.
With that goal in mind, the carriage swayed slowly and finally arrived at the Council Hall just as Caesar was about to fall asleep.
Following the frog messenger into the council chamber, he ran into Yajima.
"Master Yajima."
Caesar greeted him with a grin. "Long time no see. I'll drop by for a meal sometime soon."
Yajima put his hands behind his back and sighed helplessly. "Caesar, you didn't actually have to come."
"It's fine, it's fine. I promise I won't interfere — I'll just watch."
Caesar raised a hand and swore, "I won't make things difficult for you, Master. By the way, have you seen Serena? I heard he has eight Dragon Slayer Crystals now. I'm going to congratulate him."
Yajima understood immediately, raised an eyebrow, pointed in a direction, and said, "Over there. He's testing his new power."
"Alright then, I'll go take a look."
Caesar smiled, waved to Erza, and said, "I'll go ahead."
The next moment, he vanished in a flash.
The frog messenger's mouth fell open. Although he believed Caesar wouldn't interfere, something told him that trouble was definitely coming.
...
Caesar appeared at the training grounds — the same place he had destroyed once before, now repaired.
As soon as he arrived, he saw Serena's Eight Dragons Scattering Hua blasting a crater into the ground.
"Tsk, that move's good for digging holes," Caesar muttered, rubbing his chin.
"It's you?!"
Serena looked at the man who appeared out of nowhere, stunned for a moment before frowning. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard you've embedded four more Dragon Slayer Crystals — so you've got eight now?"
Caesar walked toward him with a smile. "I came to congratulate you — and to see how strong you've gotten."
Serena narrowed his eyes. "You're here to cause trouble, aren't you?"
"Now, now, don't say it like that," Caesar replied calmly. "I just came to congratulate you. But if you apologize right now, I'll forget about the attitude."
"Apologize?" Serena echoed, then realized Caesar was here to fight. "If you want to fight, then fight! Don't talk so much!"
Serena opened his mouth and roared with multi-elemental magic.
"The Roar of the Space Dragon!"
Caesar responded immediately, unleashing his own roar.
The two attacks collided — Caesar's roar shattered first, and Serena's continued barreling forward. Serena's eyes lit up in triumph.
"Oh no, I'm done for," Caesar said dramatically, feigning panic.
But the next instant, his expression relaxed. "Just kidding."
Light flared around him. His black hair lengthened and tied itself into a ponytail. One leg of his jeans tore away, revealing the other.
"Seven Flashes."
Hyorinmaru materialized in his hand. Caesar swung, his sword cutting through the air — the mixed-element roar exploded into eight separate blasts, scattering in all directions.
Serena's jaw dropped. His strongest attack had just been sliced apart.
Before he could react, seven near-invisible magical threads wrapped around his body, tightening like spider silk. They dug deep into his skin, restricting his movement.
"Another new trick? Let's see how many you've got!" Serena shouted, unleashing his full power.
"Diamond Dragon's Unbreakable Fortress!"
His body hardened like crystal, breaking the threads. Flames erupted, burning the remnants away.
"Shining Dragon's Glittering Stone Heaven!"
A blinding light exploded across the field, dazzling Caesar's vision. But even blinded, his movements were fluid and precise. Every step, every dodge was effortless — his expression calm and almost playful.
"Damn it! Why can't I hit you?!" Serena roared in frustration.
No matter how many times he attacked, Caesar always avoided him at the last instant, as if predicting every move. Serena's stamina began to drain quickly, his breathing rough and his body drenched in sweat. Caesar, meanwhile, seemed untouched.
"Storm Dragon's Stormy Snow and Moon Flower!"
Serena raised his arms, summoning massive tornadoes that filled the sky. With so many whirlwinds raging, there was no room to dodge.
But just as Serena felt victorious, a golden blur appeared in front of him.
"Immortal Magic — Giant Rasengan!"
A colossal sphere of swirling blue energy slammed into Serena's face before he could react. The explosion was deafening, the shockwave ripping through the air as if it would tear the world apart.
Serena's body was flung backward like a cannonball, crashing through the reinforced wall of the testing ground. Dust and stone filled the air, leaving a massive crater in his wake.
When the smoke cleared, Serena was nowhere to be seen.