Calvin Unknown did not look at Tucker's rapidly cooling corpse. He raised the Wabisuke in his hand and quietly examined it, as if searching for some subtle clue.
"This feeling…" Closing his eyes, he felt the massive, gloomy magic power coursing through his body. The corner of his mouth curled into a slightly sinister smile. Calvin murmured to himself, "Is this… true strength?"
"Wabisuke truly is an excellent Zanpakutō…" Opening his eyes and gazing at the strangely bent blade of Wabisuke, Calvin mused, "However, in using this sword, I seem to have inherited some of the gloomy personality traits of its former owner—Izuru Kira…"
"But it doesn't matter…" Thinking this, Calvin's lips curved up slightly again, and he chuckled softly, "All I need is this power. This immense power. For it, even if I adopt a bit of the former owner's personality, it's insignificant. As long as I have the power, that's enough…"
"I should probably give you a name, shouldn't I?" As if remembering something, Calvin mused. "Apparently, the owner of any truly unique Requip Magic should give it a new name…"
"But what should I call you?" Looking at the Zanpakutō Wabisuke in his hand, Calvin struggled, frowning deeply in contemplation. After all, this Requip Magic of his was arguably unique in the world. He felt compelled to give it a sufficiently impressive name! One that was worthy of the Zanpakutō in his hand, and worthy of this Miracle Flower that had finally blossomed for him!
Just then, loud shouts and the clamor of fighting suddenly startled him out of his thoughts! Frowning, he listened closely for a moment but couldn't quite figure out what was happening outside. Why was it so noisy? It sounded like two armies clashing!
"Could someone be attacking the island?" Calvin wondered. "But which faction would be attacking this island?" Upon hearing the commotion outside, Calvin's first reaction was that the island was under attack! Otherwise, the sounds of intense fighting wouldn't be this fierce!
"The forbidden magic system built on this island must have been discovered by the outside world?" Calvin thought. "But should I go out and check the situation?" No, forget it. In this chaotic situation, I should prioritize finding Jellal and Erza! If they were caught in the crossfire of this fierce battle, it would be a disaster! With the power I have now, I should be protecting them!!
Because Calvin was currently located at the westernmost end of the island, he was unaware that the people fighting this unknown group of Dark Mages on the other side of the island were none other than Erza and the laborers who had long been oppressed!!! He was also unaware that his disappearance was one of the catalysts for the full-scale outbreak of this war…
Having finished his internal debate, Calvin immediately prepared to act. But just as he took a step and was about to leave, dozens of surging water pillars suddenly surrounded him from all directions!
Without thinking, Calvin casually swung the Wabisuke in his hand. Immediately, all the water pillars fell from the sky! As if their self-weight had suddenly increased many times over, they crashed to the ground before they could even reach Calvin or cause him any harm!!
"Water Demon's Dance of Chaos—Chapter Three, Sixty-Seventh Form!" The burly man (later named Aqua) shook his hands in a wave-like motion. Thirteen large, aquamarine magic circles instantly appeared and began to spin around him!
"A Hundred Demons' Execution Arrows!!!"
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh—" As the magic circles spun rapidly, hundreds of long, aquamarine water jets surged out of them. Like hundreds of sharp spears, they ripped through the air and charged at Calvin from all directions! Their incredible speed even caused the invisible air to shriek with a sharp, grating noise!!!
"Oh? Heh…" Coldly staring at the hundreds of water spears—which sealed all possible escape routes across three hundred and sixty degrees—the corner of Calvin's mouth curled into a mocking arc. He slowly raised the Wabisuke in his right hand above his head. His magic power surged forth again! Calvin whispered in a low, gloomy voice: "Look up—Wabisuke!"
"Humm—" As the final word of the incantation left his mouth, the strangely bent blade of Wabisuke suddenly let out a faint tremor, and then a dense, heavy magic power filled with gloom instantly erupted from the blade!
"Hah—" He roared softly, then slammed Wabisuke heavily into the ground!
"Boom—" With a deafening crash, the bent blade of Wabisuke slammed onto the solid ground! Perhaps due to the localized gravity increase, not a single fragment of rock was scattered by the impact!
"Thump—" But although no stones were scattered, a cloudy, purple-hued, gloomy magic power erupted wantonly from Wabisuke's strange blade at the moment of impact with the ground! The heavy, dark magic instantly enveloped Calvin and the area within ten meters around him!!
"Splash—" Enveloped by this gloomy magic power, all the water spears that entered the affected range instantly froze! Then, under the pressure of their suddenly multiplied gravity, they all slammed violently down from mid-air!
The area around Calvin instantly became soaked as the fallen water spears turned the entire region into a swamp. However, strangely, not a single drop of water splashed onto Calvin! Even water jets that were directed towards him suddenly fell before they could even approach his body…
This was the effect of Wabisuke's gravity magic.
"Damn it! My magic is ineffective?! How is this possible?!" The burly man (Aqua) naturally saw this. While cursing the impossibility, he heavily clashed his hands together without pause and roared: "Water Demon's Soul Burial!!! Chapter Nine, Eight Hundred and Sixty-First Form—"
"Calm down! Do you want to kill both of us?! You're using that move in such a confined space!!!" Seeing this, the black-robed man (Shadow) who had been observing for a long time immediately changed his expression and roared loudly at the burly man: "Have you forgotten that move absolutely cannot be used in a confined area!! Are you trying to drag all of us into it too?! Huh?!!!"
Like the burly man, they had arrived just as Calvin finished off Tucker and witnessed the moment Tucker's head was severed! This left them profoundly shocked and enraged! Shocked that the opponent was just a child yet possessed such formidable power? Even Tucker, who they considered highly capable, had ultimately died at the boy's hands!
And enraged that the opponent had killed their comrade right in front of them, yet they were unable to save him! The enraged burly man (Aqua) had moved faster than the black-robed man (Shadow). Seeing this, the black-robed man, believing his friend could easily deal with Calvin, had merely stayed on the side, calmly watching his friend's performance!
However, when he saw that his friend's seemingly foolproof attack was completely ineffective against the opponent, the black-robed man was genuinely startled! Even so, he remained indifferent, coldly observing the situation, because he still believed his friend would be able to handle the opponent. But to his utter astonishment, his friend—the burly man—suddenly went crazy! He completely ignored other techniques and immediately pulled out his absolute strongest, ultimate move?!!
At this, he could no longer remain calm and immediately yelled at his friend! No one knew better than him how powerful the blast radius of that ultimate move was! Even though this area didn't seem small, compared to that technique, it was far too limited!!!
But his warning was evidently too late. The burly man, already consumed by rage and fear, had already unleashed the attack.
"Soul Surge! Seven Heavenly Blades of Soul Rend! Aah! Aah! Aah!" The burly man (Aqua) roared toward the sky, his face flushed with anger.
Channeling all the magic power in his body, the burly man used all his might to unleash his strongest, and arguably his last, technique!
Instantly, a massive, surging torrent of magic power, like a raging tsunami, roared out of the burly man's body. A huge aquamarine magic circle appeared above his head, spinning rapidly, ready to unleash the formidable magical ultimate move! But just then—
"It's over…" At some point, Calvin's figure appeared behind the burly man. Wabisuke gently hooked around the man's neck. Calvin whispered gloomily: "Remember to repent to the King of the Underworld for me in Hell…" With that, he gently pulled back his right hand.
"Pffft—" With a look of shock and unwillingness on his face, the burly man's head slowly fell to the ground with a soft "thump."
And the magic circle that had been building up in the air silently dissipated as its owner died…
"Bastard!!!" The soft thud of the head hitting the ground immediately woke the black-robed man (Shadow) from his daze. Staring at his friend's wide-open, unseeing eyes, his own eyes were filled with immense terror and boiling rage!
"I'll kill you! Aah! Aah! Aah!"
The black-robed man roared and slammed his hand hard onto the ground. As flashes of red magic circles appeared, countless hideous Magic Soldiers emerged from the formations!
"Oh, really?" Without the slightest concern for the Magic Soldiers rapidly charging toward him, Calvin spoke gloomily. Just as his words fell, the countless Magic Soldiers had already reached him, swinging their mechanical arms, ready to tear their enemy to shreds.
His figure paused momentarily. Just as the Magic Soldiers' mechanical arms were about to brush his clothes, Calvin's figure suddenly vanished from the spot! That's right! Vanished! As if he had teleported away!
"Then you…" Wabisuke hooked around the neck of the man in front of him from behind again. Calvin whispered gloomily, without a trace of emotion: "...can accompany him."
One pull!
"Pffft—" Immediately, another spray of blood erupted…
However, the moment he killed the black-robed man, Calvin collapsed onto the ground, his face pale, muttering with trembling lips: "I didn't realize Shunpo consumed so much magic…"
That's right! It was Shunpo! The technique he used to suddenly appear behind the burly man and then behind the black-robed man was none other than the elite movement technique from Death God (Bleach)—Shunpo!
But just as he said, although he managed to use Shunpo with the help of the Zanpakutō's ability, his magic power was virtually bottomed out. While he wasn't yet vulnerable to just anyone, he was dangerously close…