Eris's fist blurred toward his skull.
'Lock'
A shimmer of force flashed between them—
"Neat trick."
CRACK
The barrier shattered like glass, stalling Eris for a heartbeat.
Just enough.
Eris's eyes widened as multiple magic bullets materialised around him. He had barely time to react before all sped up towards his chest.
"Tch." He clicked his tongue as he vibrated the air, shielding himself.
Kazu quickly used the distraction to run away.
'Nice one.' Kazu thought as he heard a sizzling sound from his right.
The next second, a beam of yellow lightning appeared beside Eris—Laxus appeared out of nowhere like a ghost.
'Lightning Dragon's Roar'
A point-blank blast slammed where Eris had stood. The ground exploded outward in heat and smoke.
Kazu squinted through the haze. "Did we get him?"
For a second, Eris looked scattered—then the grin returned, unharmed.
"Nice teamwork there. I didn't expect that kid to be that deadly. Name?" Eris wiped out the smoke from his cheek.
"Kazu." He kept moving, peripheral vision on Laxus as the man shifted into living lightning and drifted back.
"Nice name there. I am Eris Fullbanger." The blonde flashed a smile.
Kazu nodded. "I know about you. Read the details on your bounty."
Eris's smile faltered. "Bad things, I suppose?"
"Terrible. It's kind of shocking that a person like you could be a predator. Guess the phrase 'Don't judge a book by its cover' fits this situation."
The red-eyed man's smile disappeared. A frown marred his face. "That guy...Just because I slept with his wife, he is defaming me. His death won't be merciful."
Kazu's ears perked up at his response. "Now, that's something new. Are you trying to say that you are not a predator?"
A look of disgust appeared on Eris's face. "I have never forced a woman in my entire life. It was always consensual."
A conflicted look appeared on Kazu's face. "But, what about everyone that did with you...dying?"
"Not all of them died. Moreover, everyone who was with me knew the risk."
Kazu caught onto a hole in his statement. "Yeah? If they knew you, then they would die doing it with you, then why would they even do it with you in the first place?"
Eris stretched out his hand. Air vibrated above him. "My magic. I can give them more pleasure. Wait, you might not understand what I mean, given you are a kid...or not." He deadpanned when he looked at Kazu's expression.
The boy was blushing. 'Hold up. Isn't this guy a living vibrator? No wonder ladies actually risked it. It actually sounds plausible.' Kazu was seriously impressed by the man. Either the man was telling the truth, or he was pretty impressive.
If the man was lying, even then, he was impressive, as Kazu's instinct magic didn't pick up on it.
'It kind of is possible, given how the Magic Council is.' He felt conflicted about the mission now.
Kazu glanced at Laxus, who seemed to be preparing an attack while they were talking. 'I think Laxus know that...Though I believe he won't care either way.' He intenrally sighed.
"I am sorry, but I still have to finish this mission. We will talk more after we capture you."
Eris chuckled at that. "Is that so? Too bad. You won't be able to do that." He then glanced at Laxus. "Moreover, I don't know about you, but this guy is not going anywhere." Killing intent flashed in Eris's eyes.
Kazu raised his eyebrow. Before he could ask, Eris decided to answer.
"I really hate it when somebody interrupts me during my quality time, let alone sneak attacks me."
Kazu's eyes widened as he turned to Laxus, who didn't move his gaze away from Eris.
'Did he really do that when they were having seggs?... That's so cowardly.' Kazu didn't expect that Laxus of all people would do such a thing. The prideful man was the last person Kazu would expect.
Suddenly, Kazu remembered Eris's first comment on him.
"You see, that man won't mind sneaking and attacking me, if he is successful, irrespective of whatever happens to you. So, I suggest you run now."
The bad feeling in his chest grew. 'What happened to that lady who was doing it with him?' Kazu stopped himself from asking that.
His instincts warned him that he wouldn't like the answer he would receive.
'If what Eris told about the Council is true, then doesn't that make Laxus the villain? Am I doing something wrong in helping Laxus?' This was the first time Kazu had come across a man who was standing on the opposite side, but didn't do anything wrong.
"Enough talking." Laxus's words broke Kazu out of his pondering, as he shifted his attention to both blondies.
'It doesn't matter if Laxus is in the wrong. It changes nothing.' Kazu crushed the conflict in his heart.
Laxus moved like lightning, zipping through the battlefield.
"Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist." He materialised a fist of coiling light and threw it.
Eris cocked his arm without pause and answered with his own blow.
BOOM.
The world detonated. Wind hit Kazu like a thrown wall, ripping at his clothes, tearing leaves from trunks. The shockwave buckled the earth under Kazu's feet; he was hurled end over end, the sky and the battlefield spinning. He landed hard, air forced from his lungs, taste of dirt and metal searing his tongue.
'I don't think I would be able to create such an impact with anything less than 50 per cent of my reserves. Laxus had gotten way stronger than the last time.' The realisation felt like a gut punch to Kazu. It only served to remind him that this battlefield wasn't where he belonged.
He forced himself up. 'Focus. I need to be useful. As long as I analyse his spells, beating him would be no different than beating Erza or Mira.' Kazu motivated himself and focused again on analysing the spell. Eris was using the same spell again and again, just applied slightly differently.
Smoke cleared. Eris was already springing back up; Laxus didn't give him a second.
"Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd."
Light knitted into a halberd that screamed through the air and slammed Eris like a catapult. The blonde sailed and struck the ground like a tossed rag.
'Has Laxus actually reached S-rank?' Kazu thought as he looked at Eris's flying figure.
The older blonde-haired man crashed to the ground.
"Maa. That actually hurts, ya know?" To both Laxus and Kazu's shock, Eris stood up almost immediately.
"That was a direct hit. How... are you unharmed?" Laxus wasn't able to hide his shock.
"Secrets, baby. Now, shall we get serious?" Eris smiled harmlessly.
Kazu's instincts suddenly reacted violently.
"Below! Something's coming—"
Kazu jumped just in time as he saw the earth where he stood to be pulverised.
He quickly cocked his head back towards Laxus.
'That was close.' He sighed in relief when he saw yellow lightning flickering through the battlefield.
"Did you... Send vibrations through the solid?" Kazu grimaced. Sound, or in this case vibrations, travels much faster in solids than in gases. It changes everything.
"We seem to have a smart one here. Here's your reward." Eris vibrated the air in front of him, sending multiple compressed projectiles at Kazu.
Kazu kicked the barrier he had formed on the ground, as he bolted in a different direction.
'The speed at which he could attack through the ground is nearly 20 times the speed at which the vibrations are travelling in the air... Damn it, how can one spell be so versatile? The ground now is practically a kill zone.' Kazu glanced at Laxus, who hadn't transformed back into his human form since Eris started his land onslaught.
Multiple places on the battlefield were torn, as if a mine had exploded there.
'He can't keep that form forever. I need to do something.' Kazu tried speeding up his analysis. However, due to the constant onslaught, he couldn't focus completely on it.
---
One of the chimaeras lunged its ferocious claw, aiming straight for Mira's eyes, who was still conflicted about what to do with these creatures.
"I guess it's no helping it." Mira grabbed the hand inches before it could reach her eye, before twisting it.
Crunch.
The chimaera grunted in pain. However, Mira was having none of it. "I am sorry, but this is going to hurt." She said, before punching the thing back.
THUD
It was thrown like a ragdoll, hitting the other chimaeras in the process, effectively stopping them.
"Guys. We won't be killing them. Just making them incapable of attacking us. I believe you guys can at least do that, right?" She turned back to her companions.
"Y—yeah."
"You are on."
Both of them nodded.
Geld chuckled. "I was expecting this to happen. Didn't think—" He paused as Mira's fist streaked toward his face.
Suddenly, Geld's body transformed as he moved his hand in front of Mira's fist.
THUD
He caught her fist with his palm.
"You... are a monster." Mira looked at him with a frown.
Gone was the old man. What replaced it was a grotesque creature, more grotesque than any other chimaera present in the cave.
"Haha. That's quite hypocritical coming from you, right? Aren't you the same as me?"
***
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