"How can you even use blood lust? Or will that be called killing intent?" 'And it was even scarier than that boar's.' Cana stopped herself from shivering involuntarily at the recent experience.
Kazu looked at his swollen fingers, "Well, I have hunted a lot of animals in my life. As I said before, I was from a poor family and lost my parents to famine, so..."
"Oh," Cana remembered the story Kazu had told her before. It was vague as he seemed to avoid remembering that, and Cana was not dense enough to not notice that.
"Anyway, it seems you now know how to deal with this. What you need now is more experience." Kazu smiled.
--
Cana recalled that memory as she looked at the bear's paws inches away from her face.
'I need to deal with physical struggle physically.' She thought before—
biting her tongue.
She felt something warm as she ducked below the paw, barely dodging it.
'Shit! I didn't want to bite that hard.' Cana cursed before taking out a card from her bag.
The bear reacted swiftly. It kicked towards Cana's face.
THUD
The bear's eyes widened as he looked at the scene in front of him.
The little girl... held its leg with one of her hands.
It noticed a card floating beside her, glowing.
Cana looked at the bear right in the eye.
The bear involuntarily shivered. Its instincts screamed to run, run now—
CRUNCH
A sickening sound of something being broken could be heard in the silent clearing.
"Oooh..." The bear growled in pain.
Its right leg...was crushed.
"Enhancement Magic: 4 Hit KO"
White Ethernano started moving towards her fist.
Her fist shone brilliantly, its intensity increasing with each passing second.
The bear instinctively knew that getting hit would mean will death.
So, with its remaining leg, it limped backwards, running away.
"Too late." Cana cocked her fist behind.
TREMBLE
The next second, the air in her fist's path trembled violently.
Then it happened.
BOOOM
A loud voice could be heard throughout the nearby area, and dust engulfed the entire area.
A few seconds later, Cana stood there.
Opposite her was not a corpse, but—
Blood.
Blood splattered on the ground, trees, rocks, everywhere.
"Guess, I overdid it," Cana muttered, falling on her bottom.
She looked at the scene for a few seconds, taking long breaths.
Then a smug grin appeared on her face. "I must have looked cool while doing that."
She didn't even bother keeping that as a thought as she got up and looked at the result of that punch.
The wind in front of was pressurised and weaponised, travelling at high speeds and hitting that bear so hard even its remains weren't found.
"He was right. Focusing on storing complex magic in my magic was worth it. No wonder everyone trains so hard." A giddy expression appeared on her face.
This was the reason she didn't bother with physical training. What's even the use when she could freaking use magic to blow everything?
Cana had stored Kazu's enhancement aspect in some cards, much to the latter's annoyance.
"It's a shame that I have a limited number, and it's hard to get a refill from that stingy guy,"
She hummed. "With this, even Gray might be one-shotted..." Cana paused. "Can Kazu even use this move though?"
Cana had made this technique on the spot along with its name. With her magic skill so far, it just naturally came to her.
'Though even if he knew it, I don't think he will use it...' Cana thought while noticing her reserves.
Half of it was gone by just using that move. She had concentrated nearly 45 per cent of her magic reserves in that punch.
Techniques requiring such a huge amount were quite rare and were used as finishing moves.
"Anyway, time to find Gray." She thought while looking around. Due to her 'fight' with the bear, she didn't know which direction to move.
She took out her speciality—fortune-telling cards to tell her the future.
2 cards revealed themselves— King of Clover and Queen of Hearts
Cana stiffened.
Contrary to popular belief, the cards themselves didn't generally represent a special meaning. Rather, what information Cana received was what mattered the most.
"Fuck... Are those 2 out of their mind?... I need to quickly find Gray and go after them." Cana started running.
---
"I... Please save my daughter. That's the only thing I beg of you." Lucas bowed his head.
'That's the perfect time for a sneak attack.' Erza got an urge to move, but she restrained it due to Kazu's earlier warning. The man was too suspicious.
"What do you mean? Is Tracy in danger?" Erza asked, while glancing at Kazu, who was looking at Lucas intently.
Lucas raised his head and took a deep breath. "For that, I need to first tell you about how I got into this situation. I was a normal man who had risen from poverty to normalcy. This, however, came with a price. Debts." Lucas took a seat on a comfy chair as he spoke.
"Debts... which will take too long to repay. I didn't know how long I would have to work to repay them. Sometimes I wondered if it was even worth it to continue doing it. However, then she came—
On first glance, she wasn't anything special. Just a normal, pretty-looking lady. However, I soon realised how wrong I was. She was... a devil. And I, somehow, despite coming to know that, made a deal with the devil.
The reason she chose me was due to my latent magic affinity. According to her, I was compatible with her affinity, which was what she was looking for... as qualities for a progeny. Yes, the reason she approached me was that she wanted a baby."
Erza raised an eyebrow, "And you agreed?" 'Isn't marriage because of love?'
"I had agreed because not only were my debts paid, but I was also able to live a lavish life—completely different from how I had survived till then. I didn't have to work anymore, didn't have to worry about whether I was meeting the minimum or not. Didn't worry about anything.
I finally started understanding rich people a little more. I never thought I would be able to experience the other side of the coin. This was around the time I started gambling.
I forgot to mention, but I am good at hiding my facial expression. In fact, pretty good. What caught Anne's attention was the fact that I had maintained a blank face even after she had impaled a knife in my gut.
I don't know whether this skill is a curse or a blessing, as it has led me down this path, yet is helping me atone."
"It does make sense. Guess, it's hard to guess what you are thinking with that blank face."
'Wait, so, is he really a normal person. Not a mage?' To say that Erza was shocked would be an understatement.
"Due to this skill, I was above average in playing various games involving gambling. Combined with my ability to read people, which I acquired due to my circumstances growing up, I soon became a famous gambler and, with time, the best.
Then she was born—my daughter Tracy.
I took myself as an emotionally detached person. Making meaningful connections with others was hard, so I didn't think I would feel attached to the only blood-related person in this world. Maybe... it was obvious in hindsight, then again, my hindsight is quite terrible.
It was then that I decided that I wanted to raise her. Luckily, Anne had not left the village yet, so I begged her. With some effort and luck, I was able to become her underling. It allowed me to at least see my daughter.
The first few years were a unique experience. I hadn't experienced what a parent was. For the first time, I got attached to somebody to such a degree.
So... when she was taught...by Anne, I realised what Anne was up to.
She was raising another herself. It was not that she didn't love her daughter, no, it was far from it. In fact, maybe she loved her more than me.
I realised that my daughter might become a monster. A monster who was indifferent to everything other than Zeref.
I didn't want her to grow up as a fanatic. Anne was already an example. I also didn't want her to grow up to become like me...
I just wanted to give her a chance to... just live normally... as a normal mage.
Maybe it was selfish of me... I don't know. I tried everything.
From confronting Anne about it to doing things behind her back. I bid my time. Waiting to find a chance.
I killed hundreds during these years, and even though I was neither a mage nor did I play a major role in her plans, I... had become a monster.
This realisation... I won't blame Anne for this. This was all my choice. I won't ask you to feel pity for me, as I have chosen this path and shall face the consequences of my actions.
I...I just want my daughter not to become like either of us. So..." Lucas said everything in a monotone.
If not for tears flowing down his face, Erza would have thought this man was lying. It was a bizarre sight for her.
He then looked at them and bowed his head again.
"Please save my daughter."
Erza looked at her for a few seconds, her face contemplative.
"Even if you haven't said anything... I would have saved her regardless." She said with determination.
Lucas looked at her face for a few seconds.
Despite it being dark, he somehow could infer her expression just by her tone.
"I am very grateful. This might be the last chance, so I want to make it worth it." With that, Lucas started giving them all the useful information about Anne and her plans.
It was short, as both of them had a good idea, though finding out that Tracy was part of the plan did shock Erza a bit.
However, it didn't change what they had to do.
"We will save her and stop Anne." With that, Erza and Kazu started running through the forest, disappearing from the ruins of the village.
After one minute of running, Kazu suddenly stopped.
Erza realised a second late, stopping 50 metres ahead of him. She turned around, "Why—"
"Erza, let's run away." Kazu made eye contact with her.
Erza's hands involuntarily went to the hilt of her sword as she met his gaze.
His eyes...were fearful. Cyan-coloured Ethernano started leaking out of his body.
***
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