Chapter 267: Elfman vs. Sol
"Oh? Just a partial transformation?" Sol asked, his body wiggling back and forth. "It seems the rumors are true, then."
"I know all about you," he continued, a smug grin on his face. "No... actually, I have memorized all the data on every wizard in Fairy Tail."
"Shut up! You're annoying!"
Elfman, tired of listening to him, threw a punch. Sol leaped away, and Elfman's fist slammed into the floor, cracking the stone and sending debris flying.
"You almost killed your little sister once, didn't you?" Sol sneered from his new position. Elfman froze.
"Danse de la Roche!"
Taking advantage of Elfman's shock, Sol cast his spell. Rocks began to dance around them, kicking up a cloud of dust that obscured Elfman's vision.
"Where is he?" Elfman looked around, trying to spot Sol through the haze.
"Roche Concerto!"
Sol cast another spell from outside the dust cloud. Massive stones erupted from the floor beneath Elfman, launching him into the air.
"Hmph!"
Even though he couldn't see Sol, Elfman could feel the vibrations in the ground. He quickly leaped away, dodging the attack.
"Non, non, non!"
Sol sank into the floor and popped up behind Elfman for a surprise attack. But Elfman reacted instantly, jumping forward to dodge, then twisting in the air to land facing his opponent.
Seeing his attacks fail to land any significant damage, Sol grew irritated. A sinister smile spread across his face. "Long ago, you failed a full-body Take Over and went berserk, didn't you? Your little sister tried to stop you and nearly died, isn't that right? Because of that trauma, you can no longer perform a full-body Take Over."
Elfman fell silent, not denying it.
"Beast Arm: Iron Bull!"
Elfman charged at Sol, his right arm enveloped in a magic circle. When it faded, his arm had transformed into solid iron. He was about to punch Sol when a clay sculpture of Lisanna rose from the floor in front of Sol. It was a perfect likeness. Elfman froze, unable to strike.
"Lisanna..."
"I apologize, but when you stepped on me earlier, I read your memories."
Sol placed his hands on the clay Lisanna's shoulders, his eyes narrowing into slits. "Such a cute little sister, isn't she? If not for you, she wouldn't have been so gravely injured, would she? A big brother is supposed to protect his little sister. Why did you hurt her instead? You're a failure of a brother! You don't deserve to be one!"
Elfman stared at him, stunned by the cruelty.
Taking advantage of his distraction, Sol kicked Elfman. Although Elfman instinctively blocked with his right arm, the force still sent him flying.
"Plâtre Sonate!"
Sol moved his hands rapidly, then thrust them forward. A magic circle appeared, and a giant fist made of plaster shot out, slamming into the airborne Elfman.
BOOM!
A massive explosion blew a hole in the wall, filling the corridor with smoke and dust.
"As a gentleman, I used my strongest magic against you. Consider it a sign of my respect," Sol said, confident that Elfman, having taken the hit head-on, was now critically injured or worse.
"You said you know everything about our guild's wizards? And you read my memories? If that were true, you wouldn't have dared to attack us."
"Oh?"
Elfman's voice echoed from the dust cloud. Sol adjusted his monocle, peering into the haze.
"If you really knew our guild's info, you'd know there's one person you can't ignore. Noah. As long as he's there, you can't destroy our guild. All you'll face is his wrath."
"Noah? His abilities are decent, he blocked Jupiter... but that's nothing special, is it? Certainly not compared to Master Jose," Sol said, genuinely puzzled.
"Ha. I'm certain now. You don't know anything about Noah's true strength. If you did, you wouldn't say something so stupid.
"And you were wrong about another thing. I did almost kill my sister. And for a time, that trauma stopped me from using a full-body Take Over. But after that... I went through hellish training. I can perform a full-body Take Over now."
A powerful gust of wind blew the dust away, revealing a monstrous figure standing two to three meters tall. It had beastly claws for hands and feet, wore tattered pants, and its upper body was covered in thick red fur, except for its chest and neck. Two large horns curved back from its shoulders, and two smaller ones pointed up from its head. It had a mane of white hair and a white beard. Its aura was terrifying.
"Full-Body Take Over: Beast Soul?!" Sol stared in horror. "Why can you do a full-body Take Over?! You're supposed to be traumatized! My intel says you've never used it!"
"That's because most missions don't require it. And I don't like using Beast Soul. Because every time I do... I remember the hellish training my sister put me through."
Cold sweat broke out on Elfman's beastly face.
To strengthen him and Lisanna, and to help him master the full-body Take Over, Mirajane had shown no mercy. She beat them half to death regularly. If not for Noah's healing, they would have been bedridden for weeks. But they would have preferred to stay in bed. Because Noah's healing was too good. One day they'd be beaten to a pulp, and the next morning they'd be perfectly fine... ready for another round of beatings from their sister.
Just remembering that time made Elfman's vision go dark. So even after mastering it, he avoided using Beast Soul, the source of his suffering. And since partial Take Over was usually enough, news of his mastery hadn't spread.
"Now... it's time to finish you."
Elfman looked at Sol, his eyes burning with rage. This man had used his trauma and his sister against him. He would not forgive him.
"Non, non, non! Three nons! You misunderstand me, monsieur!" Sol waved his hands frantically. "I was only giving you a harsh trial to help you overcome your painful past! As expected of a MAN amongst men, Elfman! I believed you could overcome it! Right?"
Seeing Elfman wasn't responding, Sol broke out in a cold sweat. "Well, that's that! I'll be taking my leave now!"
He started backing away. Elfman didn't say a word. He just punched.
Sol leaped to dodge, and Elfman's fist smashed a crater into the floor.
In mid-air, Sol waved his hands, casting a spell. "Plâtre Sonate!"
A giant plaster fist flew at Elfman. Elfman shattered it with a single punch and charged straight through the debris, appearing right in front of Sol.
"Eh?"
"Non, non, non!"
Sol stared in terror as the beast loomed over him. His strongest spell had been destroyed with one punch. He was completely outmatched.
Elfman didn't care what he was thinking. He drove his fist into Sol's face, smashing him into the ground and creating another crater. Furious at Sol's words and actions, Elfman showed no mercy, pounding him repeatedly.
After only a few hits, Sol passed out.
Elfman punched him again, waking him up.
"NON—!! At least let me stay unconscious!!" Sol wailed, his face swollen and bruised.
Elfman hit him a few more times until Sol finally, mercifully, passed out for good.
"This should stop the magic circle," Elfman said, releasing his Beast Soul and looking down at the unconscious Element 4 member.
"Elfman has defeated Sol of the Element 4," Noah announced to the fighting guild members.
"Non... non... no..."
"Alright!"
"Elfman really is a MAN!"
"The magic circle really did slow down!"
The guild members cheered, their morale soaring. They looked up and saw that the giant's movements had indeed become sluggish, and the drawing of the Abyss Break circle had slowed significantly.
"As expected of Big Brother Elfman!" Lisanna beamed as she fought, genuinely happy for her brother. Defeating an S-Class wizard from a top guild like Phantom Lord was a huge achievement.
"Only two Element 4 members and the Iron Dragon left..." Makarov murmured, standing beside Noah.
"See, Gramps? You can relax. Their strength isn't bad. You don't need to worry too much," Noah said with a smile.
~~~
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