"Hahahaha!!" The Ice Demon King Ace's maniacal laughter echoed through the tavern.
The tavern keeper muttered in disbelief, "This is… Demon Cannibalism?! That magic is real?"
"Demon Cannibalism? What's that?" someone asked.
"It's a magic said to be passed down among demons, allowing them to devour others of the same attribute to boost their own power!"
"What?! He ate his own allies?!"
"You can tell he's gotten stronger!"
Ace turned, his gaze sweeping over the group before locking onto the tavern keeper. "Oh, you're one of the Aisisnu clan, aren't you?"
With a surge of his aura, the powerless tavern keeper was instantly overwhelmed, and the wizards nearby could barely move.
"Die!" Ace waved his hand, and a blast of ice exploded in front of the tavern keeper.
No one expected the demon to attack so suddenly, targeting someone defenseless. They couldn't react in time.
"Boss!!"
Seeing the tavern keeper collapse, his fate unknown, the group sprang into action!
Their mission: take down this demon. Whether it was for devouring its allies or attacking an innocent, Ace was their enemy!
As Fairy Tail members, they never hesitated to act, no matter how strong their opponent was!
Smack! Bam! Boom! Crash!
Elfman charged in first, throwing punches and kicks but struggling to gain the upper hand. Lucy resummoned Taurus, who swung his axe wildly, only to wreck the tavern's floor and furniture. Loke and Cana tried to disrupt Ace with beams and cards, but their efforts barely made a dent.
Having absorbed the Sea Demon King's power, Ace had completely overcome his close-combat weaknesses. Though smaller than Elfman or Taurus, his strength, speed, and reflexes far surpassed theirs.
"Hahaha… useless, utterly useless! You're too weak!" Ace laughed arrogantly. "With this level of strength, after fighting off those wolves, you still think you can take me on? No, I should say, it's a miracle you've survived long enough for me to show up!"
His words dripped with disdain and mockery.
"Shut up, you jerk! You don't know a thing about Fairy Tail's power!" Elfman roared.
"What's this 'Fairy Tail' nonsense? Is that where your courage comes from? Let's see how strong your so-called beliefs are against absolute power!" Ace sneered.
With a flash, Ace dodged a punch and an axe swing, then struck back, sending both Elfman and Taurus flying several meters. Taurus vanished back to the Celestial Spirit World. In one swift move, Ace closed the distance, raised his hand, and knocked Loke, Cana, and Lucy to the ground.
"So that's all you've got!" With another wave, he summoned the wolf pack to surround them.
"Damn it!" The group, sprawled on the floor, burned with frustration, but the opponent was too strong.
Just as the wolves lunged toward the fallen wizards…
"Celestial Wheel: Sword of Chaos!!"
Hundreds of silver swords rained from the sky, like a giant's arm or a rushing river, slicing through the wolves in a bloody frenzy.
"Bullet Barrage!!"
Thousands of fiery gunshots erupted from nowhere, targeting the towering figures in the snow. Each magic-infused bullet carried far more power than any ordinary firearm, blasting the wolves into oblivion.
The occasional clash of swords and bullets rang out with a ding-ding-dang, like a grim soundtrack to the slaughter. It wasn't pleasant, but it brought relief to the fallen group.
"Finally, you two showed up!"
Two figures with fiery red hair flanked Ace, cutting off his escape. "Let's see you run now!"
"Run? I'd never do something so pathetic!" Ace retorted.
"Oh, really? Didn't you just flee on the mountain when you realized you couldn't win?" one of them shot back.
"That was just to reclaim my true power."
"Sounds like an excuse for running away!"
Lucy struggled to her feet. "Where's Natsu and the others?"
Erza helped her up, scanning the area. "Don't worry, they're fine. What about the prisoner?"
"He was…" Lucy trailed off.
Kira finished for her. "Probably eaten. No surprise you couldn't stop him, considering how strong he's gotten."
"Yeah…" Lucy nodded.
Erza reassured her, "You did well. Leave the rest to us."
"Yeah," Kira added with a grin, "we'll talk about your training plan when we get back…"
"Hahaha…"
To joke so casually in the face of such an enemy? Only Kira and Erza could pull that off. Having comrades like them standing in front was truly reassuring.
After helping the injured to safety, Kira and Erza returned to the battlefield.
Surprisingly, Ace showed no signs of fleeing. He just stood there, watching them.
Kira raised an eyebrow. "You're really not running? You revived the Sea Demon King and devoured those other demons. Your goals are complete, right? Why stick around? Waiting for dinner?"
"Heh," Ace chuckled. "After I stumbled upon Demon Cannibalism magic, I've lived for about three hundred years. All that time, I've hunted down demons of the same attribute to grow stronger."
"Each time I devoured one, my power grew, but I always felt… empty. The more I consumed, the stronger that emptiness became."
"I kept wondering what I was missing. Today, I finally figured it out!"
Kira had a hunch about where this was going. "What, no bowel movements? You eat all that and don't poop?"
"It's battle!!" Ace ignored Kira's jab, shouting passionately. "A fight where I can go all out, evenly matched, and truly feel alive!!"
"You, human brat, are my first target! This woman's next, then your comrades—the four here and the two back on the mountain! Don't worry, I'll let you all die peacefully in the embrace of the mightiest Demon King!"
"Hey, you forgot one! Happy's my comrade too!" Kira pointed out.
"And then your guild—Fairy Tail, was it? A guild that produced a wizard like you must be strong. Surely there are others who can give me the fight I crave!!"
"Of course! Fairy Tail's the strongest guild in the Fiore Kingdom!" Kira boasted.
"This is—This is too perfect! Hahahaha!!" Ace roared with excitement.
"He's lost it. This demon's got hysteria. Poor guy," Kira quipped.
Erza donned her Sea King Armor, gripping her sword tightly. "Kira, stop joking! He's gotten stronger!"
"Don't worry, Erza!" Kira stepped forward confidently. "This fight's mine. He's my enemy to begin with!"
He pulled a magic crystal from his pocket and tossed it to Erza. "Hold onto this and record my heroic performance. The kids at the orphanage need to see this for their lessons."
Kira hadn't forgotten his promise to prepare training material for the orphanage kids.
Seeing Kira prepare to fight alone, Ace smirked mockingly. "Oh? Not ganging up on me? Humans are so naive!"
Kira burst out laughing. "Naive? That's you! Do you even know who you're up against? I'm Kira, the 'Sage' of Fairy Tail, renowned across Fiore! A mere demon thinks he can use me to boost his reputation?"
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