The fallen Azuma used 'Great Tree Arc' to withdraw along the vines. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his excited expression growing even more intense.
"So strong, really so strong."
"This is the kind of battle that makes things interesting!"
"Forest Rage!"
Countless hideous giant vines, over a meter in diameter, surged out like a swarm of pythons from all directions toward Laxus. They blotted out the Sky, sealing off all space to dodge.
Laxus gave a cold snort. Without dodging or evading, his entire body erupted with blazing thunderlight.
Lightning Battlecoat!
Golden lightning condensed into a majestic suit of armor on the surface of his body. The moment the giant vines coiled around him, they were scorched into charcoal by the violent lightning and snapped inch by inch.
All nearby Plants were turned to fly ash under the thunder.
"The speed of lightning—can you catch it?"
Before his voice arrived, he was already there. A fist cloaked in lightning rapidly enlarged in Azuma's vision once again. This time, however, Azuma reacted extremely quickly, and a thick wooden shield instantly formed in front of his arm.
In the next second, the wooden shield exploded, and Azuma was jolted back several steps.
Though his arm was numb from the shock, a fanatical look flashed in his eyes. "Again! Again!"
The two figures blurred as they crossed paths. Golden thunderlight and green wooden shadows collided and exploded frantically. Trees fell, the ground cracked, and the aftershocks of the battle forced the injured Droy and Salamander to continue retreating.
"Laxus... he's so strong!"
Droy's face was filled with shock. Even with all their might, they could only force out half of Azuma's power, yet Laxus was able to suppress the opponent head-on.
Salamander had a look of 'of course' on his face. This was Laxus; even against an enemy connected to the magic of Tenrou Island via 'Great Tree Arc', they could only retreat steadily before him.
Bang—!
After another exchange of blows, Azuma landed somewhat disheveled, a scorched mark on his chest. He panted, but the excitement on his face grew thicker; he had always enjoyed battle.
To be able to fight against a Mage as powerful as Laxus, even if he died in the end, it would be worth his life.
Just then, a sudden change occurred.
Esel, who should have lost his fighting capacity, actually crawled out of the pit at some point. His appearance had changed drastically; his severed arms and octopus legs had regrown, and his Curse Power was surging.
He had clearly activated "Etherious Form," releasing his true demon self.
"Five Swords of the World: Abyss Piercing Hell!"
Esel's four arms, which had turned into demonic blades, swung frantically. A pitch-black light that one couldn't look at directly suddenly appeared. Beneath that light were a massive number of powerful slashing waves, threatening to swallow Laxus whole.
"Noisy insect..."
Watching the overwhelming slashing waves sweeping toward him, a hint of impatient annoyance appeared on Laxus's face. Within his golden pupils, an even more violent thunderlight was brewing.
"Since you're in such a hurry to die..."
"Then I'll grant your wish!"
Rumble!
A violent thunderclap suddenly resounded in the cloudless, clear Sky. This was a unique and special weather phenomenon that occasionally appeared in Magnolia—"Sunny with a Chance of Laxus."
A massive golden pillar of lightning, ten times more dazzling and ten times more violent than before, shot up into the Sky with Laxus as the center.
Instantly, the demon's seemingly endless slashing waves were completely evaporated.
Sensing a fatal crisis, Esel's soul almost left his body in terror.
But with no way to retreat, he could only fight for his life.
Merging his four blade-arms, Esel used all his strength to condense a dark energy giant blade dozens of meters long. With a shrill whistle, it slashed down toward the top of Laxus's head.
"Five Swords of the World: Mikazuki!!"
The massive pillar of lightning contracted, all of it condensing onto Laxus's right fist. That fist shone as brightly as a miniature sun.
He threw a punch toward the lunging octopus demon.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Roaring Thunder!"
The two forces collided, and time seemed to stand still for a moment.
In the next second, a terrifying beam of thunderlight several meters in diameter instantly engulfed Esel's demon form. Its momentum undiminished, it blasted straight toward the distant forest, plowing a scorched deep trench nearly a hundred meters long into the ground before finally disappearing at the edge of his vision.
The thunderlight dissipated.
Where Esel had originally been standing, there was nothing; not even a trace of ash remained.
One of the "Nine Demon Gates," the great demon Dojigiri Esel, was thus completely evaporated by the thunder without any power to fight back.
The wind blew across the scorched earth, bringing a searing scent.
Droy and Salamander both swallowed hard in shock at this scene.
Azuma stood where he was, silently looking at the terrifying ravine extending into the distance, then looked at Laxus, who was slowly pulling back his fist and sweeping his gaze toward him.
His heart instantly went half-cold.
It was true that Azuma liked fighting strong opponents, but fighting a Mage who could insta-kill a demon from the book of zeref in its true form... the one enjoying that fight wouldn't be him. This wasn't the kind of battle he wanted at all.
Looking at the unfriendly gaze of Laxus, Azuma spoke stiffly, "Uh... can we settle this peacefully?"
Laxus gave a cold laugh. "At this very moment? You're surely joking?"
Azuma's face looked grim. Just as he was hesitating whether to fight, flee, or risk everything to destroy the tenrou tree, two figures—a man and a woman—entered the battlefield.
"Ultear?!"
Seeing his own guild comrade, Azuma's face lit up with joy.
His 'Great Tree Arc' combined with Ultear's 'Arc of Time' meant that even Laxus could only watch helplessly as they destroyed the tenrou tree.
Once the tenrou tree was gone, the situation would reverse instantly.
However, he soon found himself unable to smile, because Ultear followed Gray directly to the opposing camp and even used 'Arc of Time' to restore the wounds of the tenrou tree... Watching Laxus and Gray approach him, and then seeing the leader of the 'Seven Kin of Purgatory' standing under the tenrou tree with the expression of a spectator, Azuma instantly snapped.
"Ultear! Why are you just watching?!"
"Have you really defected?!"
Ultear, with half her body hidden by the tenrou tree: OMO
Although he received no answer, it was enough for Azuma to give up hope completely. He simply dissipated his aura, raised his hands, and said resignedly:
"I surrender."
Azuma surrendered without any psychological burden.
As fellow members of the Seven Kin of Purgatory, even Ultear—the leader of the Seven Kin who was deeply trusted by President Hades—had defected. He was just surrendering; what was there to be embarrassed about?
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