The light from the explosion dissipated, leaving a large crater on the ground.
But contrary to Azuma's expectations, Mirajane hadn't fallen; she had only temporarily reverted to her normal state.
Her brow was furrowed, and she clutched her left arm with her right hand, feeling that something was amiss.
The opponent claimed to use the magic power of Celestial Wolf Island against her, and the power of the previous attack indeed showed that a large amount of magic power was used.
However, the explosion damage she suffered was not as severe as imagined...
As if Celestial Wolf Island did not wish to harm her?
Mira couldn't afford to think deeply about it, keeping a close watch on Azuma's actions and anxiously strategizing for the upcoming battle.
Azuma looked surprised, but then laughed aloud: "Impressive, to withstand such an attack. But... huh?"
Mira wanted to say something, but the tight furrow on her brow suddenly eased slightly.
She saw a group of bluish-purple bugs hopping over from a distance.
Upon seeing Azuma, the bugs leaped excitedly toward him as if seeing prey.
Azuma casually created two small explosions to deal with the worms, having never seen such creatures before and assuming they were simply another feisty species on the island.
Mira, however, became thrilled; Azuma was deceiving them, as he hadn't absorbed everyone's magic power after all.
At least the appearance of those worms indicated that Rhode was safe for now.
In that case…
She could go all out!
Azuma felt Mira's aura shift as a terrifying magic power suddenly erupted from her.
With demon-like horns on her head, a tattered black cloak behind her, burning flames beneath her feet, and surrounded by red, blue, and purple streams of light…
"What is this...?" Azuma was thrilled by Mira's formidable power; the Demon Mira could actually become even stronger!
"Demon Hutley." Mira's gaze drifted to the side, silently adding in her mind, 'and a bit of additional magic from a kind soul.'
Azuma glanced over as well, noticing a massive stone figure approaching with a young man with a grim expression sitting on its shoulder.
Nearby, there was a shorter tree monster whose figure was gradually fading away.
Azuma immediately recognized it as Rhode, feeling even more excited. It was indeed the Fairy Tail Strategist—recognizing my tree magic and decisively dismissing the summoned tree monster as a precautionary measure.
Moreover…
"You can still move!" Azuma was both surprised and happy, "Well then, wait a moment; once I deal with the demon, I'll battle you immediately!"
Rhode remained silent, having just forcefully bestowed the Broken Ghost Crown upon Mira during the magic recovery interval, followed by summoning a tree monster to apply the Crown of Embers, nearly destabilizing the precarious balance within himself.
He was too exhausted to speak, coming out openly merely to narrow the enemy's focus a little and cause caution.
Otherwise, he would have acted long ago.
However, Mira could no longer hold back; flames beneath her feet, she charged at Azuma with a punch.
Azuma attempted to obstruct her with vines and branches as before, only to find most couldn't even keep up with Mira's speed.
Even when a vine luckily wrapped around her wrist, she tore it apart with brute strength, her speed almost unaffected.
Something she couldn't shake off just moments ago!
In the blink of an eye, Mira's punch was right at Azuma's face.
He crossed his arms defensively in front, but…
Mira's punch landed on his arms, and the sound of bones cracking echoed, etching heavily onto his own face.
His face contorted from the blow, and his entire body was knocked back, looking like the upper half was dragging the lower half in the air due to the immense force.
"Ugh…" Azuma's back hit the ground first, carving out a furrow as his mouth spurted blood.
The next moment, Mira was already beside him, her right hand clawed downward, her fingers halting inches from Azuma's eyes.
Azuma did nothing because he was already immobile.
"I lost," Azuma's tone carried both disappointment and relief. "Cough, I'll keep my promise and return the magic power now."
Rhode suddenly felt his magic power surge, and the sensation of having his magic power siphoned off vanished, along with the discomfort gradually fading.
"So it was you," he heard Azuma's earlier statement.
Mira sighed in relief, dispelling the receiving magic, her face showing some fatigue. Just as she was about to speak to Rhode, she suddenly noticed small saplings sprouting on Azuma's body.
On his arms, legs, chest, and even his face.
These were seemingly growing at an abnormal pace, using Azuma's magic power and life energy as nourishment.
Mira asked, "What's going on?"
"It's a side effect. I overused the Great Tree Arc," Azuma replied calmly to his predicament. "The Seven Dependents, myself included, use magic close to the Magic Root Source.
"These magics are powerful but often come with corresponding risks; if overused…
"Those who toy with trees become trees themselves, perhaps those who misuse curses die by curses, those who squander imagination lose it, those who enslave humans no longer remain human, those drowning in emotions fall to them, those claiming to slay gods perish by divine power, those manipulating time… might get lost within time."
The saplings on Azuma's body grew larger, gradually covering him, "It's a pity there are many strong opponents on this island I've yet to face..."
Rhode hurriedly asked, "What's your purpose?"
"Zeref is on this island. We're here to awaken Zeref and head to the Great Magic Realm, then pursue the world's first magic..."
"Great Magic Realm? First magic?" The terms were unfamiliar to Rhode and Mira.
"The Great Magic Realm is originally a world governed by chaos and darkness, where those who don't understand magic do not qualify to live; it is an ideal world solely for mages.
"The first magic is..."
Azuma knew he had little time left and was indifferent to these matters, thus speaking freely.
Unfortunately, before he could finish, his body was completely covered and transformed into a tree.
"..." Upon understanding the meaning of such a Great Magic Realm, Rhode merely wanted to say, 'What nonsense!'
With the power of this Demon Heart bunch, forming a legitimate guild could have been more than enough for a very good life.
Yet, ignoring a decent life, they sought ways to eradicate ordinary people—utter madness.
However, upon reflecting on the history of mage guilds' development, Rhode realized this might be a remnant ideology from a dark age when mages were persecuted.
In that era, where some mages sought peace, naturally, there were others who pursued destruction and dominance.
These deep-rooted ideals have followed various dark guilds and the Black Mage Instructor Order, developing into such extreme revenge against ordinary people ideology over time.
If a magically gifted child were to be deliberately influenced and brainwashed from a young age, it wouldn't be surprising for them to turn out like this.
Jellal is the best example.
Rhode supported Mira, temporarily setting aside these chaotic thoughts, and asked, "How's your injury? How are the others?"
"I'm fine." Mira indicated to Rhode not to worry about her, "But Fried and Biguslo aren't doing well. Can the Crown of Embers still..."