Ankh's brow furrowed with black lines as he retorted, "Who knows why you're standing there like an idiot."
In a fit of rage, Serah swiftly raised her hand, and a surge of vast, evil dark energy erupted, transforming into several destructive beams that shot towards Ankh.
And just like before, there was no magical fluctuation within that energy.
Ankh, whose magical perception was extremely sensitive, frowned. He narrowly twisted his body to dodge Serah's bombardment, asking in surprise, "What kind of magic is this?"
Serah raised her hand again, and the Beast King, who had been sent flying several meters away, returned with a dazed look in its eyes. The two of them subtly encircled Ankh.
"Magic? What we demons use is a more powerful Curse!" Serah's usually serene and calm face suddenly twisted, and she spoke with fervent eyes.
Curse?
Another new term I've never heard of… Is the plot going out of control? It's not even Tenrou Island yet!
"Curse… truly a lowly name."
Seram spoke disdainfully in his mind. Ankh had a flash of inspiration and quickly said, "Seram knows about this ability?"
"It's a crooked path, a mere trick. How could I know about it?"
Ankh pouted.
Tch… You don't know, yet you're so arrogant… Feeling Ankh's disdain, Seram explained with some annoyance:
"Our predecessor—Ankhseram, the God of Life and Death, wielded the supreme divine powers of life and death, respectively. And from these two powers, abilities like 'Blessing' and 'Curse' were derived."
"This Curse is like a special ability gained when someone's physical body is imbued with the power of a Curse… Of course, this level cannot compare to a God's work."
Ankh nodded in understanding, then asked with some irritation, "Why didn't you tell me about this power before?"
After a long silence, Seram said somewhat awkwardly:
"You grew too fast, you had no opponents, so… I forgot."
That was truly a well-crafted excuse. If it weren't for the bad timing, Ankh would have given Seram a mental "666".
Watching Ankh standing there dazed, lost in his own beauty, Serah, who had been ignored, felt her eyelids twitch. Her fair, tender face actually emitted a black glow, and mysterious runes crawled all over her body!
"Bastard! What are you spacing out for?!"
Ankh snapped back to reality and looked at the charging Serah, almost jumping in fright.
Holy crap!
She transformed too!
The fully demonized Serah threw a punch, her arm enveloped in black energy.
At the same time, the Beast King behind her also received instructions, clenching both fists and smashing them down towards Ankh's head.
A dangerous light flashed in Ankh's eyes. A circle of air ripples splashed at his feet, and a hemispherical transparent barrier instantly enveloped the entire battlefield.
At this moment, all the "force" that was about to be exerted on Ankh's body was instantly redirected by him!
The Beast King immediately let out a wail, and was once again blasted away like discarded trash.
Serah's expression tightened, and she quickly pulled back her arm.
Looking at her swollen, red hand, Serah gritted her teeth, "The Fairy Grim Reaper… is indeed not easy to deal with."
Her Command Curse didn't work, and close-quarters combat wouldn't give her an advantage. He was truly troublesome.
Serah, or rather, many of these demons, were skilled in close-quarters combat. When it came to releasing Cursed Power, there weren't many experts.
If it were an opponent from before, Serah would just use a Command Curse and teach them a lesson.
If she encountered someone she couldn't control, she would demonize on the spot and then physically send them to the afterlife with a single punch. The result was the same; no one could stand against her.
Who knew she would encounter such an anomaly today!
"By the way, why doesn't this girl's Curse work on me?" Ankh asked curiously, crossing his arms.
Now it was Seram's turn to disdain his comprehension skills:
"When it comes to Curses, we are the ancestors. Have you ever seen a grandson bossing his grandfather around?"
Ankh's mouth twitched.
He had a feeling that Seram was getting more and more playful these past few years.
Just then, Mirajane and her two siblings, who had heard the commotion, finally rushed back. Seeing the chaotic battlefield before them, they were instantly dumbfounded.
Mirajane looked at Ankh, whose magical power was surging, and ran over hesitantly, asking, "Ankh… why are you here?"
Ankh glanced at Mirajane, then saw Lisanna safe and sound, secretly letting out a sigh of relief, but he didn't speak.
However, Serah on the opposite side thoughtfully provided an assist. The demonized beauty laughed in a light tone:
"It seems the Fairy Grim Reaper was worried about his little lover and secretly followed her, huh?"
Then she unexpectedly discovered the White Devil Cult's intentions and ruined their plan… Thinking of this, Serah's mood suddenly wasn't so pleasant.
Mirajane heard Serah's words, her beautiful eyes like water gazing at Ankh, and she asked softly, "Is that true…"
Lisanna and Elfman covered their foreheads, sighing in unison.
Every time their big sister stood in front of Ankh, she seemed like a completely different person.
Ankh silently stood aside, not speaking. It seemed Mirajane had misunderstood something again.
"I was afraid you wouldn't handle things steadily and something would happen to Elfman and them, so I followed to check." Ankh thought for a moment and said something that seemed slightly heartless.
However, Mirajane, who knew Ankh's personality well, beamed with a smile and obediently nodded.
Completing an S-class mission, gaining Ankh's approval… Compared to Ankh personally following to protect her out of worry… that was nothing!
Mirajane, who suddenly found everything delightful, had all the gloom in her heart swept away. She happily pranced around Ankh in circles, like an excited husky.
Serah, not far away, couldn't help but scratch her head. What was it about this feeling that she was glowing?
Do you guys have any respect for me?!
Serah's inner self went berserk, and her hands didn't stop. The Command Curse was activated again, targeting Mirajane and her two siblings beside Ankh!
...After a long while, nothing happened. Mirajane tilted her head, staring at the arrogantly posing Serah. The entire battlefield became completely silent.
Huh?
Serah blinked blankly.
Why didn't the Curse work on this woman either?
Was she cursed today?!
As Mirajane had received a demon, her physique and bloodline essence no longer belonged to humans. Serah's Curse, which targeted humans, was naturally useless… However, Lisanna and Elfman were not so lucky.
Elfman, with a horrified look in his eyes, swung his beast arm to attack his sister. Lisanna also activated her Take Over magic all over her body, going for a killing blow on Ankh!
Serah was inwardly delighted. It seemed her Curse was still effective on normal people, after all?
In that case, they would definitely be hesitant… Before Serah could finish her internal plotting, the battle on the opposite side had already been decided.
Mira, in her Satan Soul form, calmly grabbed Elfman's neck, then applied a lock, wrapping her long legs around his beast arm and dislocating it… As for Lisanna, who was waving her cat paws, she was held back by a numb-faced Ankh with his hand on her head, unable to touch him no matter how hard she tried… Immediately after, Ankh and Mirajane acted decisively, knocking both of them unconscious.
Seeing this scene, Serah, whose mental state had completely collapsed, felt like crying without tears.
Could you guys be any weaker?
She didn't even have a chance to command them to commit suicide. How was she supposed to play this?!
What kind of Mages with such polarized strength did this guild recruit!