When Caesar and Mirajane were heading toward the Albares Empire, Lacade, who had been blown away by Caesar, returned to the empire one step earlier.
His torn clothes and scars showed the extent of his injuries.
"It's rare to see you like this, Lacade."
Just as Lacade was about to find a place to rest, a handsome man with long blue-gray hair, a braid, and glasses walked up and said, "I haven't seen you this miserable in a long time."
"Inbel..."
Lacade sighed. "I did Dimaria a favor, but it seems I messed it up."
As soon as he finished speaking, a figure appeared, moving with strange rhythm, covering his face with one hand and pointing with the other.
"You smell familiar," the man said coldly.
As he spoke, the whites of Serena's eyes darkened.
"That's the guy you were talking about?"
Lacade smiled bitterly. "Now I understand why you fled Ishgar. Compared to us, that guy is a real monster."
"Ahahaha!"
Serena laughed wildly, his expression twisted. "I left Ishgar and came to the Albares Empire for Acnologia, but now I want to kill that guy even more."
"Serena, calm down."
Inbel folded his hands behind his back. A freezing chill spread around them, instantly freezing Serena's feet.
"Inbel, don't you trust me?"
Serena sneered. Flames burned around him, melting the ice at his feet into flowing water.
"In order to kill him, I've sacrificed too much."
Serena clenched his fists, releasing a surge of magic that blasted into the sky.
The pressure made Inbel and Lacade turn their heads in surprise.
It was true — Serena had grown much stronger since coming here. Even old man August had praised him.
Facing Serena's determination, Inbel took a step back and said calmly, "As you wish. But control yourself. If you cause trouble, you know how serious His Majesty's anger will be."
"Hmph, of course."
Serena pointed at Inbel. The darkness faded from his eyes. His body glowed, and eight dragons of different colors appeared and vanished in a flash.
"I'll go first."
As Serena left, Lacade spoke to Inbel. "His Majesty summoned you. Come as soon as possible."
Inbel looked at Lacade with clear irritation. "You've been absent too many times."
"I know," Lacade said with a smile. "But I think Father will forgive me."
Inbel snorted coldly. He couldn't do anything about it — after all, Lacade was His Majesty's "son."
…
Caesar and Mirajane walked across a wide desert.
As they reached an oasis, they looked up at the sky.
Violent magic fluctuations filled the air.
Even ordinary wizards could feel the terrifying energy.
"What powerful magic," Mirajane said softly.
Caesar smiled. "Familiar magic. Looks like our old friends can't wait to welcome us."
As soon as he finished, eight colored dragons appeared in the sky.
"Mira, stay back," Caesar said.
Mirajane instantly used Take Over magic, transforming with her Satan Soul.
"If you need help, just shout," she said.
"You must be joking. He's just a defeated opponent. He's not worth both of us fighting together," Caesar replied with a confident smile.
Then Hyorinmaru appeared in his hand, radiating freezing air.
Caesar exhaled coldly. "Bankai, Great Red Lotus Hyorinmaru."
An enormous ice dragon rushed forth, surrounding Caesar's body in frost.
He wanted to test himself — to fight without relying on Take Over magic.
It would be a good challenge.
"Eight Dragon Fangs!"
With a roar, eight colored dragons spiraled down, wrapping Caesar and Mirajane in a storm of magic.
The different elemental forces twisted together like a massive grinder, tearing at them.
"It seems he doesn't plan to let me leave," Mirajane said, her eyes narrowing.
Her body flashed with light.
"Full-body Take Over — Demon Shutley!"
"Then let's go together," Caesar said with a faint smile, raising Hyorinmaru.
"Super Cruel Flash!"
"The Four Realms — Frozen!"
In an instant, the raging magic froze solid.
Everything stopped. Even Serena, trapped within, was sealed in thick ice.
At the same time, Mirajane's hands gathered an enormous amount of dark magic, forming a blast that shot toward Serena at incredible speed.
The attack hit, sending Serena flying.
But shockingly, he only retreated a single meter.
With one swing of his arms, he shattered Mirajane's spell.
"Click."
The ice surrounding Caesar and Mirajane broke apart into countless crystals that scattered through the air.
Under the sunlight, they shimmered like stardust.
"Long time no see, Caesar," Serena said, crossing his arms and kneeling slightly. "Today, you'll die here."
"Mira, stay back. I can handle it alone," Caesar said.
"Then be careful," Mirajane replied. "Kiss — victory kiss. Finish it quickly, and we'll go shopping after."
"Okay, my dear wife!"
Her kiss filled Caesar with energy.
Then he looked at Serena, whose body was trembling in anger.
"By the way, what were you saying before?" Caesar asked.
"Kill you! Kill you both!" Serena roared.
Eight blazing meteors shot toward Caesar.
"Ding, ding, ding!"
Without much effort, Caesar focused his magic into Hyorinmaru, blocking each strike with ease.
"The Hot Hell of the Infernal Dragon!"
Serena waved his hand, launching a dragon's breath of fire toward Caesar.
The ice dragon's tail rose, spinning through the air.
Caesar swept Hyorinmaru, freezing the flames instantly.
But before he could react, Serena appeared in front of him and punched forward.
"Eight Dragons Sanhua!"
A terrifying wave of magic erupted, engulfing Caesar completely.
The blast was so powerful that even Mirajane, watching from the side, broke into a cold sweat for Caesar.