Before Mira could reply, Geld kicked her.
His leg hammered through her gut, sending her flying.
Crimson stained the ground as Mira spewed blood.
A purple orb manifested above Mira's fist; however, before she could hurl it, Geld appeared above her, his leg stretched as he swung it down on her.
Whoosh
The air whistled as Mira rolled on the side, barely dodging the kick. 'This is troublesome'
She jumped back, dodging another kick.
Mira ducked under another kick before grabbing it and sweeping her legs at Geld.
Tried to.
The latter jumped up before smirking.
"Fuck!" Mira let go of the leg, which was now filled with thorns.
Blood flowed down her palms. She ignored it.
A purple orb appeared on her palm before she hurled it at Geld.
With surprising flexibility, Geld twisted his body as he barely dodged the speeding ball.
BOOM
The sphere crashed into the cave wall, demolishing it in the process.
"Is that all you have? It would be pretty difficult to defeat with just these puny skills." Geld taunted.
A vein popped on Mira's face. "Try dodging this." Multiple spheres appeared around, before each of them rushed at Geld, who, to Mira's surprise, decided to run at her.
'Kids are so predictable.' Geld internally smirked.
He slid low, hips swaying like a serpent, the orbs slicing past his hair. A heartbeat later, he was upside down, palms against the ceiling, body twisting in a corkscrew, dodging another wave.
It didn't feel like a fight, but rather a dance. If a bystander were told that this man was actually an old man, then they would think that's a joke.
Before Mira knew it, Geld came within her arm's reach. She looked at him with an astonished expression.
"I told you—" Geld's words paused in his mouth as he suddenly felt a massive amount of Ethernano being concentrated right in front of her.
His eyes widened when he saw Mira's smirk.
"Fucking die, old man!"
"Soul extinctor"
'She got me.'
A large purple globe materialised in front of Mira's hands. Geld felt the time slow down. The air between them vibrated. A unique smell came from the ball, reminding Geld the smell of flesh burning.
Then it happened.
A purple-blackish beam was emitted directly from her hand.
Geld helplessly watched as the beam inched closer to him before—
BOOOOM
The impact caused a thunderous boom throughout the entire cave, causing everybody to pause. Smoke rose from the spot where Geld was moments ago. Mira waved her hand, blowing the smoke.
At that place, there was—
Nothing.
There was nothing at the place where Geld had stood, as if obliterated from the face of the world.
'Is he dead?' Mira looked around.
Suddenly, she saw a black heart lying on the ground near her.
The heart suddenly moved, causing Mira to jump back.
It started wiggling on the floor, making wet noises. Then something started coming out of it.
To Mira's shock, in the next few seconds, human-like flesh formed around it.
It took the shape of a head.
Geld's head.
Mira could swear that she heard the sound of teeth clicking in place.
"I almost thought I would die. Luckily, I moved my heart in time." A mouth formed on the human appendage.
It was a bodyless head.
"What...what are you?" This was the first time Mira had seen such a creature. Her stomach churned at the sight.
"Hahahaha. This is the result of my years of experimentation. Shall we end this?"
Just as he said that, every chimaera stopped.
They all suddenly rushed at Geld.
Mira raised her guard to the maximum, not understanding what was happening. However, it soon became clear.
One of the chimaera's bodies started dissolving with Geld's flesh.
Mira's eyes widened in realisation.
"Wait! Stop it! It would be nearly impossible to find the heart with that many things combined." She yelled at the other two.
"Solid Script: Barrier!"
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Both Levy and Natsu immediately responded, trying to stop all the chimaeras. However, it was all for nought when chimaera started splitting their flesh into multiple parts, becoming numerous.
Their efforts were equivalent to finding a needle in a haystack.
"I didn't want to take this risk, but you have forced my hand. Either I am going to become my greatest creation up to date, or I will die worth—" The man didn't have the time to complete, as he transformed.
All the bodies started dissolving into one.
The cave was filled with the smell of blood.
A chill ran up Mira's spine as she looked at the being in front of her.
They stared back at her.
It was a formless blob of flesh and bones with multiple eyes.
It wasn't human or a chimaera anymore. It was something else.
Something foreign.
The blob then moved.
---
Kazu felt vibrations beneath him, causing him to make a barrier and kick it, jumping in the air.
The next moment, the area where he stood exploded as if it were a mine.
'It's almost as if he could attack us instantly from any place. The speed now is ridiculous.' Kazu grimaced as he stood in the air.
His gaze wandered to Laxus, who was still zapping through the battlefield.
A horizontal barrier formed a few metres above the air in an area where Kazu predicted Laxus would be.
As he predicted, a few moments later, Laxus indeed arrived at that place and jumped up, using the barrier as a stepping stone.
"Not on my watch!" Eris quickly sent vibrations through the air at Laxus, but it was too late.
Laxus kicked the barrier and disappeared in another direction.
Eris sent projectiles his way, but another barrier appeared beneath Laxus, who kicked it again and changed his trajectory.
"Not bad. Not bad. I would target the source then." Eris turned to Kazu and started sending deadly projectiles at him.
Kazu also kicked the barrier beneath him and launched himself in a different direction, similar to Laxus.
To a normal person, it would look like both of them were teleporting in the air. However, it was just Kazu putting barrier as a stepping stone for them to dodge in the air.
"I can't maintain this for long! He is increasing his pace." Kazu said after appearing beside him.
A concentrated lightning arrow formed above Laxus, before it zipped through the air at Eris.
"I think it's time we retreat. I have a feeling that he hasn't shown all of his cards." To Kazu's surprise, Laxus was the first one to propose running away.
"You can't run away! I know about the others in the village." Eris said as he crushed the lightning arrow.
'What!?' Kazu stiffened. He didn't expect Eris to know about his companions.
His reaction didn't go unnoticed by Eris, who just smirked.
"So, you didn't come alone. This makes it easier for me. If you run away, I will take them hostage." The blonde laughed.
'Fuck, I fell for his bluff.' Kazu clenched his fist so hard that veins started to appear in his fist. If he had not reacted, then Eris wouldn't have become aware that he was with others.
He had messed up. He had become the driver of the worst-case scenario he had envisioned.
"What? Wait, that doesn't matter. Let's leave." Laxus immediately said, uncaring whether some of his fellow guild members were possibly dying.
Kazu wasn't surprised at this. He knew about Laxus's nature. "I am not leaving."
Laxus looked at him as if he were looking at a madman. "Have you gone insane? Did you get hit in the head during the fight?" Multiple lightning arrows appeared around him as they rained down on Eris.
Kazu gritted his teeth. "I am completely sane. I know that I will lose if I stay."
"Lose!? What do you mean by lose? You can't even survive for a few seconds against him. Not only are you slower than him, but he is the perfect counter to your barriers. The only way you could survive is through being in the air, but he could still use his sound blasts to hurl himself into the air and get close to you. The only reason you are currently alive is due to me."
Kazu's lips formed into a thin line. Laxus was completely right. Eris was out of his league by a large margin. He won't last long if Laxus leaves now.
'He is right, isn't he? Cannon is already fucked up. So, it doesn't matter if some characters die.'
'You need to survive, don't you? To take your revenge against Zeref.'
'It's not as if you are abandoning Gray, Cana or Erza. You barely know the other three in detail.'
A lot of thoughts supporting Laxus's statement bubbled up inside Kazu's mind as he stared at Eris, destroying Laxus's attacks like nothing.
He released a sigh.
Kazu finally opened his mouth. "It doesn't matter. If this means me dying, then I would rather die than abandon them."
'After all, the only reason I decided to help Laxus despite not knowing what he did here, was due to one sole reason—he was part of the family.' Kazu's expression became determined.
He knew that reasoning was too flawed to use here, but if Laxus had indeed killed that woman, then Kazu would deal with that after he had dealt with Eris.
"Master said that we are all a big family, right? Well, I don't mind dying with a family member."
Erza's words on that mission echoed in his mind, only serving to increase his determination.
"Such a determination at a young age. I am moved. Rejoice, I would just capture you instead of killing you." Eris was impressed by the look in Kazu's eyes. It was something he hadn't seen in so long.
"Fine. Then, if you want to die, be my guest. I would be leaving the." Just as Laxus was going to leave, Kazu spoke.
"So, you decided to run away with your tails tucked between your legs? I heard that you always preach about the pride of the guild. Guess that was all empty words." Kazu directly attacked Laxu's pride.
CRACKLE
Sparks of lightning came out of Laxus's body, rushing at Kazu.
***
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