Chapter 80: Maxim VS Jellal
Golden light clung to Jellal's body as he shot upward, transforming into a blazing streak that hurtled toward Dino. Dino clenched his fists, ready to strike at the incoming light, but Jellal's body suddenly curved mid-flight.
He was aiming to attack from behind. Dino pulled back his fist and prepared to counter with an elbow strike.
"Tch!" Jellal twisted his body again and rocketed upward instead.
"Heavenly Body Magic: Grand Chariot!"
Jellal aimed both hands at Dino. The bright, sunny sky above the Tower of Heaven suddenly darkened as if night had fallen. In this artificial darkness, seven of the brightest stars formed the shape of the Big Dipper constellation.
Then these seven golden stars began falling toward Dino like meteors.
"Hmph!" Dino snorted and instantly punched upward.
CRACK!
"Crack, crack, crack!" A spiderweb of visible fractures appeared in the space before his fist, and the tremor's force transmitted through the air toward the descending attack.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
The seven stars of Jellal's Grand Chariot shattered and exploded before they could even reach Dino. The vibration force mercilessly scattered even the resulting blast impact.
However, Jellal had already dodged away before Dino's attack, avoiding the shockwave's range entirely.
Jellal spread his arms arrogantly in the air and shouted: "Did you see that?! This is my magic! Heavenly Body Magic!"
Dino replied calmly: "You're bouncing around like an overexcited monkey. What exactly am I supposed to be impressed by?"
Jellal wasn't angered by Dino's words. He had witnessed firsthand how powerful Dino was during the incident at the Magic Council.
If he took even one solid hit from his opponent, even with the enhanced defensive capabilities of his Heavenly Body Magic, he'd be seriously injured and lose his ability to fight.
He really had to thank Dino for that demonstration back then—otherwise he definitely would have suffered a major loss the first time he faced this power.
"As expected of Dino Maxim! The Grand Chariot's attack power rivals actual falling meteors, yet you shattered it so easily."
"Meteors? Your attack was that big? I don't feel much sense of accomplishment hearing compliments like that."
"That was just a greeting. Now I'm getting serious."
"Meteor!"
The golden light surrounding Jellal's body intensified, and his speed accelerated even further. He began circling Dino in a dizzying pattern.
Jellal's laughter echoed from all directions: "Hahaha! Do you see? This is my speed! Can you even tell where I am?"
"Dino! I know your magic—the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power! As long as you attack, you can cause vibrations. The magnitude and range of destruction can be controlled at will!"
"There aren't many magics that can rival yours in destructive power, but you have two fatal weaknesses—and the first is speed!"
"Whether it's your body's movement speed or your magic's activation speed, your attacks need time to charge before release."
"After charging, the destructive power is nearly unmatched. Without charging, the attack power is merely average to above-average—far from unstoppable."
"And your other Achilles' heel is defense!"
"Heavenly Body Magic: Stellarium!"
Jellal waved his hand rapidly, and six golden magical stars materialized beside him. As he pointed toward Dino, the six golden stars flew at him from multiple directions simultaneously.
Dino made fists with both hands and struck toward either side.
CRACK!
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Almost the instant Dino attacked, the six golden stars suddenly changed trajectory and landed on the ground surrounding him instead. They exploded, filling the air with smoke and debris.
"WHOOM!" An invisible shockwave erupted from Dino's body, creating what seemed like a localized storm that blew away all the rubble and dust around him.
Dino raised an eyebrow and looked at Jellal. "That's it?"
Jellal felt irritation rising in his chest. He'd spent considerable effort analyzing his opponent's weaknesses and laid them out clearly—yet Dino hadn't even reacted.
Those words, "That's it?"—as if he didn't take any of this seriously at all, as if all the preparation was worthless.
And that look in his eyes, like watching a monkey perform tricks… it was truly unbearable.
Jellal shouted at Dino: "Don't you understand what I'm saying?! Your biggest weakness is speed, and my greatest strength is speed! Against you, I'm essentially invincible!"
"No matter how strong your attack power is, you're nothing but a stationary target in front of me!"
"Meteor!"
Jellal's body transformed into a meteor and rushed toward Dino, then ducked low and threw a rapid punch.
"Bang!" Dino raised his hand and blocked Jellal's attack. Jellal immediately began unleashing a flurry of punches, but Dino leaped backward to avoid them.
"Hah!" Jellal quickly spun in the air and appeared behind Dino. Dino lifted his leg and kicked backward.
CRACK! Fractures appeared in the space before his foot.
"BOOM!" A massive hole opened in the wall not far away.
Jellal appeared in front of Dino and threw another punch.
Dino blocked with his arms. "Bang!" His body slid backward about five meters before stopping.
Jellal laughed triumphantly: "It's useless! Hahaha! I've analyzed all your movement patterns. I'll dodge any charged attack and then strike your body. With your turtle-like speed, you can't catch me!"
To demonstrate his point, Jellal flew circles around Dino at high speed.
Dino smiled when he heard Jellal's words. "You talk too much. Actually… I'm a bit curious about something. Who said my speed was slow?"
"What?" Jellal froze at Dino's words.
"Whoosh!" Dino's figure suddenly materialized directly in front of Jellal with his fist already cocked back.
Jellal's expression changed drastically, and he quickly tried to change direction—but the instant he moved, Dino's figure appeared before him again, this time even closer.
The fist was so clear he could see every detail, as if he'd deliberately flown straight into it. No! There's no time to dodge!
Dino's fist connected squarely with Jellal's face.
"WHAM!"