Darius raised his hand, light flaring in his palm as he glanced at Silas Frost's transformed form. A smile tugged at his lips.
"So cute… but you'd better be careful."
The moment he spoke, Darius waved his hand.
"Light Arrow!"
In an instant, three glowing arrows of light formed and shot toward Silas with blinding speed.
Silas's golden pupils narrowed. With a sharp push of his feet, his figure vanished from the spot and charged straight at Darius. In his hand, claws of searing energy Iron Reaver Soul Stealer had already formed.
Bang!
The claws tore straight through the Light Arrows, shattering them into pieces.
Gasps echoed across the guild hall. More than a few jaws dropped in disbelief.
How old is this kid? And he just destroyed a Light Arrow with brute force?!
Light Magic might not have been known for its raw offensive power, but Light Arrow was still a proper attack spell. To swat it aside so easily showed just how terrifying Silas's claws really were.
"The explosive strength and those muscles are impressive," Makarov thought, squinting at the boy with sharp eyes. "But his attacks are still messy and unrefined. Still… at his age, that's normal."
"Smashing Light Arrow like that… seems you've got some power," Darius admitted, his tone calm. He didn't panic. Instead, he clapped his hands together.
In a flash, a wall of light surged up before him.
Silas's claws crashed into it, but his fingertips only went numb from the impact. The wall was too strong. Not even two consecutive strikes could break through its defense.
"Tch… too tough!" Silas hissed.
Darius's eyes narrowed as he snapped his hand forward. A Cage of Light dropped from above, descending toward Silas like a net.
Silas moved in a blur, darting aside to evade. His body shone once more, his form shifting again.
When the glow faded, he now stood as a young man with short golden hair, his right arm and left leg transformed into metallic prosthetics.
Darius blinked, momentarily caught off guard. "A different form?"
But he didn't stop. With a wave of his hand, the cage twisted, turning into glowing ropes that snaked outward. They wrapped around Silas, binding him tightly.
Silas crashed onto the ground, the ropes pinning him in place.
Darius clapped his hands together once more, then slammed them down toward the floor light exploding outward as the duel pressed on.
Silas Frost slammed his palms against the ground.
With a rumble, mud, sand, and stone erupted upward, forming into a jagged wall that blocked the ropes of light.
"A magic formation?" the guild members muttered in surprise.
But before anyone could react further, Silas pressed his hand against the earth again and clenched tightly.
In the blink of an eye, a pitch-black short spear rose from the ground and materialized in his grip. He aimed forward and hurled it straight toward the wall of light.
Ding!
A crisp sound rang out as the spear struck but was stopped cold by the radiant barrier.
Taking advantage of the moment, Silas's body glowed. He shifted back into Inuyasha's form and shot forward, weaving past the earth wall and the ropes of light that lashed at him.
"Don't bother struggling. You can't break through my Light Wall," Darius said, his tone calm and steady.
He wasn't going all out Makarov had told him not to but even holding back, he was confident. If he truly unleashed his power, he could bind the boy in an instant.
"That's not certain."
Silas's eyes glinted as he pressed his palms to the glowing wall.
"What's he trying to do?" Darius frowned, unsure.
Then, to everyone's shock, the wall of light rippled and split apart. A large opening appeared where his hands had pressed.
"What?!"
Darius's face paled, but Silas didn't hesitate. He slipped through the gap, spear in hand, and lunged straight toward him.
"It wasn't disintegration… it was separation."
Makarov's sharp eyes saw the truth immediately. "He changed the structure of the Light Wall itself."
The guild master stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Clever. Very clever. But it's still not enough."
"Stop here, Darius," Makarov ordered. "Bind him."
"Yes, Master!"
At once, Darius unleashed his magic. Brilliant ropes of light shot out with blinding speed, swirling around Silas.
Silas struggled for a moment, but the ropes tightened mercilessly, cocooning him until he was completely bound like a rice cake wrapped tight.
"It's over, Silas," Makarov said with a firm but gentle tone. "Now you understand. You may be strong, but completing missions alone is another matter entirely. The road ahead is still long."
Makarov lifted his cup of wine and took a calm sip.
"I haven't lost yet!"
From within the glowing prison below, Silas Frost's voice rang out. The ropes of light that had bound him suddenly snapped apart, scattering in sparks.
When Silas burst free, he was once again in Inuyasha's form. But this time, something was different.
In his hand was a massive saber Snow.
The moment he gripped its hilt, a surge of familiarity and power rushed through him. Raising the blade high, Silas shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Wind Scar!"
With a fierce swing, a roaring whirlwind erupted from the blade. The gale surged outward instantly, catching the bustling guild hall in its wake. Tables were overturned, food and mugs flew across the room, and several mages shouted in annoyance as they scrambled out of the way.
But the true target stood ahead.
Darius's body blazed with radiant light. A protective barrier shimmered around him as the whirlwind slammed into it, the shield shaking violently under the force.
The guild members watching gasped. None of them had expected the boy to suddenly unleash an attack of that scale. If that strike had landed directly on a person, it would have been devastating.
Yet even as the crowd murmured in awe, Silas staggered.
That single attack had consumed nearly all of his magic. His Inuyasha form flickered, fading away, until he stood once again as himself, clutching the saber with heavy breaths.
He looked up at the still-intact shield of light and understood the truth. The gap between himself and trained mages was still immense.
And yet
He hadn't expected it. Even without the legendary Tetsusaiga, just with the ordinary blade Snow, he had managed to unleash the Wind Scar.
In Inuyasha's story, the technique required finding the gap between demonic energies, a move capable of cutting down hundreds of demons at once. But here, in this world, the rules were different. So long as he had a blade in his hands and enough magic power, the technique could manifest.
For Silas, this revelation was a blessing.
But the cost was steep the attack was far too powerful. One strike was enough to drain him dry and collapse his connection to the Accept state.
Crack!
Darius's protective ring of light finally shattered, the pieces dissolving into glowing fragments. He looked at Silas with a pained expression and muttered,
"Brat… you really don't hold back, do you? That was way too vicious."
"That's right, just look at what the guild's become!"
"So many tables, plates, and mugs are broken. This is going to cost a fortune!"
"Money?!"
The moment Silas Frost heard that word, his golden eyes lit up. He turned to look at Makarov, whose face had gone pale as he stared at the wreckage, practically on the verge of tears.
Silas quickly raised his hand.
"Grandpa Guild Master, I can repair things! If you give me a salary, I'll fix everything. In the future, whenever things in the guild get smashed, I can restore them all!"
After all, with Edward's alchemy, repairing tables, chairs, or anything else would be as easy as clapping his hands together.
At those words, Makarov's expression darkened. He hopped down from the counter and patted Silas on the head.
"Talking about money hurts feelings, boy." The guild master gave a hearty laugh. "You don't even have a place to live right now, do you? Here's what we'll do. There's a room upstairs in the guild. You can stay there. No rent, no fees. Just lend a hand fixing things from time to time. Let's call it settled."
Before Silas could even think of refusing, Makarov had already made the decision for him.
Inside, the old man was secretly grinning.
With a treasure like this kid around, whenever those brats in the guild smash things up, I won't have to spend a Jewel on repairs again. This will save us so much money!