Chapter 381: Brain: Thank You For Leaving Your Daughter With Me For Treatment
A pair of massive white wings sprouted from Sorano's back. With a forceful kick against the ground, she flapped her wings and took to the sky, narrowly dodging Cobra's breath attack.
Nearby, Natsu was carried into the air by Happy, successfully avoiding Cobra's strike as well.
BOOM!
Cobra's venomous breath slammed into the ground, triggering a massive explosion that instantly sent a deadly cloud of toxins expanding in all directions.
The others battling nearby had already been gradually shifting their fights further away to avoid the poison. Now, seeing this massive blast, they retreated even further. Cobra's toxins didn't distinguish between friend and foe.
"We need to wrap this up quickly!" Sorano told Natsu, her expression turning serious as she surveyed the battlefield.
"I'm all fired up!" Natsu yelled, a massive grin spreading across his face.
With that, Sorano, Natsu, and Happy engaged Cobra and his giant purple snake, Cubellios, in a fierce aerial dogfight.
Relying on his ability to hear Natsu's movements, Cobra expertly commanded the giant purple serpent beneath him, weaving through the air and evading every single one of Natsu's attacks.
This allowed him to focus the brunt of his energy on his duel with Sorano.
"Dammit! If that's how it is, I'll just have to attack him head-on!"
"Aye!"
Frustrated by his repeated misses, Natsu let out an angry roar. Happy nodded, and together they charged straight at Cobra in a frontal assault.
"What?!"
Cobra had just dodged a beam of light from the Sunlight Angel and tried to listen to Natsu's inner thoughts to predict his next move like before. He dodged two or three strikes, but then he suddenly realized something was terribly wrong.
BAM!
"Gwah!"
Failing to dodge this time, Cobra took a direct, devastating blow to the stomach from Natsu, letting out a cry of pain.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Natsu didn't give him a single inch of breathing room. He unleashed a rapid-fire flurry of blazing fists, pummeling Cobra with a relentless barrage.
The giant purple snake desperately tried to pull Cobra back to safety, but Happy matched its speed, keeping Natsu right in striking distance so he could continue his beatdown.
'How is this possible? This guy... his mind is completely blank!'
Shock coursed through Cobra. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he threw a desperate punch, clashing his fist against Natsu's mid-air. Using the force of the impact, he and the purple snake finally managed to fall back.
"Crap!"
The moment Cobra retreated, he realized he had backed right into a lethal trap.
A vibrating hum rippled through the air beside him. Cobra only had enough time to glance over his shoulder before a colossal beam of light swallowed both him and his snake whole.
CRASH!
Critically injured, Cobra and the now-grounded purple serpent plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily into the earth one after the other.
Cobra twitched and struggled on the ground, but his body refused to obey. Eventually, his strength gave out, and he collapsed back onto the dirt, completely incapacitated.
Beside him, the giant purple snake writhed weakly for a few moments before going entirely limp.
"Dammit, I almost had him!" Natsu complained, pouting as he saw Sorano claim the final blow on Cobra.
"Alright, alright. Taking him down quickly is a good thing. You, Happy, and I are all poisoned. Let's hurry over to Noah and get cured," Sorano told him.
During their chaotic clash with Cobra, it had been impossible to entirely avoid inhaling his toxic mist.
Even with the protection of Noah's Enchantment Magic, Sorano was already starting to feel lightheaded and sickly.
Hearing this, Natsu quickly glanced over his shoulder at Happy and noticed that the poor Exceed's face had taken on a dangerous, bruised-purple tint.
Panicking slightly, Natsu immediately had Happy fly them straight over to Noah's location to get healed.
Sorano summoned the Strength Angel, having it scoop up the unconscious bodies of Cobra and the purple serpent before following them.
"Oh? Gray and the others already finished up?" Sorano asked in surprise, noticing Noah sealing a defeated Racer on the ground.
"Yeah. Once they cracked the secret behind his magic, taking him down was just a matter of time," Noah replied. "Plus, with so many people jumping him all at once, they made quick work of him. I just didn't expect him to be the first one to fall."
"Dammit! I can't believe that ice freak beat his guy faster than I did!" Natsu grumbled, crossing his arms in defiance.
Just then, Noah finished his sealing spell on Racer and stood up. Seeing that Sorano, Natsu, and Happy were all suffering from poison, he waved his hand. A soothing, radiant light washed over them, drawing out plumes of black smoke from their bodies as the deadly toxins were instantly purged.
"Alright!" Natsu cheered, feeling the poison leave his system. Bursting with renewed energy, he bolted straight toward the area where Erza, Lucy, and Midnight were clashing, leaving a very tired Happy resting by Noah's side.
"Looks like you guys pulled it off," Noah smiled, glancing at Cobra and the purple snake dangling from the Strength Angel's grasp.
"Mhm. How are the others holding up?" Sorano asked with a smile.
"After Gray and Lucy took out Racer, Lucy headed over to back up Erza against Midnight, and Gray went to assist Ultear," Noah explained as he began casting sealing magic on Cobra and the serpent. "The Blue Pegasus trio regrouped with the Lamia Scale team to handle Hoteye."
Sorano turned to observe the remaining three active battlegrounds. Two of them were exactly as Noah had described.
The mages of Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus were tag-teaming Hoteye. Jura, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, was acting as the main vanguard, while the others provided crucial support from the flanks.
The Allied Forces had completely seized the upper hand. At this point, it was just a matter of seeing how long Hoteye could hold out.
On the second battlefield, Erza and Lucy were throwing down against Midnight—and now Natsu had eagerly leaped into the fray, his poison completely cured. It was obvious the hothead hadn't gotten his fill of fighting earlier and wanted in on the action.
Erza was wearing a pair of magical insight goggles to protect herself from Midnight's deceptive illusions.
With Natsu jumping in, he and Erza relentlessly pressured Midnight in close-quarters combat, while Lucy coordinated with Sagittarius to rain down a volley of supporting arrows from a safe distance.
Midnight was already struggling and looking worse for wear under Erza and Lucy's combined assault. With Natsu added to the mix, his situation had turned completely dire. The Alliance clearly dominated this fight, and Midnight's defeat was inevitable.
Sorano then shifted her gaze to the final battlefield: the intense standoff between Ur, Ultear, Gray, and Brain.
Ultear and Gray were taking the lead against Brain, while Ur hung back, watching carefully and ready to intervene at a moment's notice.
With Ur acting as the ultimate safety net, their side held a massive tactical advantage. Sorano wasn't worried in the slightest.
"I'm going to go help Erza too, let's crush them as quickly as possible," Sorano told Noah.
"Sounds good," Noah nodded.
With renewed enthusiasm, Sorano sprinted toward Erza and the others to join the beatdown on Midnight.
"You remember me, don't you?" Ur asked. Her voice was remarkably calm as she stared down the sworn enemy she had hunted for ten long years.
The volatile rage she felt earlier had completely cooled off while she was concealed.
Beside her, Ultear mirrored her mother's composure, her cold eyes locked onto Brain.
The mother and daughter shared the exact same thought: today, right here and now, their ten-year grudge with Brain was coming to an end.
"Of course I remember. Ur, the woman whose power once rivaled the Ten Wizard Saints," Brain replied, an insidious smile creeping across his face. "In fact, I should be thanking you. Thank you for leaving your daughter with me for treatment back then. Allowing me to experiment on such a gifted child provided me with an immense amount of invaluable data. It helped advance my plans tremendously. So really, thank you from the bottom of my heart."
Brain realized he and his forces were thoroughly cornered; if he wanted to escape, he had to fight his way out. By deliberately provoking Ur, he hoped she would lose her temper and make a fatal mistake, increasing his own chances of winning.
"You bastard!"
Hearing Brain's twisted words, the anger Ur had buried instantly flared back to life. Sending her daughter to Brain for 'treatment' was the single greatest regret of her life. Hearing him boast about experimenting on her little girl without a shred of remorse made her blood boil.
"Mom, stay calm. He's just trying to provoke you. Don't fall for his trap," Ultear urged. Ironically, as the actual victim, she remained far more composed than her furious mother.
Taking her daughter's words to heart, Ur took a few deep breaths, forcing her raging emotions back under control.
"Oh? So you're Ur's daughter? The little girl from all those years ago?" Hearing Ultear speak, Brain finally took a good look at her. He noticed the undeniable resemblance between the young woman and Ur.
No wonder she had been glaring at him with such intense hatred earlier. If she was that same child, it all made perfect sense.
"Your magical aptitude back then was truly exceptional. I owe you a debt of gratitude for surviving all those experiments. If it weren't for you, I would have never known where to find a test subject with such incredible potential," Brain sneered, pivoting his psychological warfare directly toward Ultear.
"If it weren't for you, we might not have the life we share today. I'm incredibly happy with my life now. So in a strange way, I suppose we should be thanking you," Ultear replied, completely unfazed by his taunts.
"But that's a separate matter entirely. Since you love testing gifted children so much, I'll happily demonstrate the true strength I've forged through my talent and rigorous training over the years. I sincerely hope you can handle it."
With that, Ultear spread her feet apart, bent her knees into a half-crouch, and punched her right fist into her left palm—the classic offensive stance for Ice-Make Magic.
Seeing her daughter step up, Ur held herself back, deciding to let Ultear cross wands with Brain first. After all, Ultear was the one who had suffered the most; she deserved the first strike against her tormentor. With Ur standing right beside her and Noah keeping a watchful eye from the rear, there was no way Ultear would be in any real danger.
Brain wasn't insulted that they were looking down on him by sending the 'little girl' to fight him alone while Ur hung back. In fact, he was secretly thrilled.
He had discreetly assessed the surrounding battles. Every single one of his Oración Seis members was facing a coordinated assault by multiple Alliance mages, and they were universally losing ground. Brain knew his generals' limits; they had exhausted all their tricks. Barring a miracle, their defeat was only a matter of time.
Worse still, the Alliance had Noah acting as a rearguard, practically untouched. Noah was undoubtedly one of the strongest wizards present. The situation was grim, and Brain needed to seriously consider cutting his losses and escaping. As confident as he was in his own magic, conserving energy was always the smarter play.
Since they were foolish enough to let the girl fight him one-on-one, all he had to do was seize the opportunity to capture her. The moment he had a hostage, these goody-two-shoes official guild mages would be paralyzed, forced to let him walk right out of there.
"Heh heh... very well. Show me what you're capable of," Brain chuckled, his sinister plan taking shape.
"Ice-Make: Eagle!" Ultear didn't waste another word. She thrust her hands forward, deploying a brilliant magic circle. A massive swarm of frozen eagles erupted from the glyph, screeching as they dive-bombed Brain.
"Dark Rondo!" Brain raised his skull-tipped staff, pooling sickeningly dark green magic into its core. Thrusting the staff forward, dozens of vile green magical blasts shot out, intercepting Ultear's icy flock.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
The dark blasts met the ice eagles in mid-air, shattering the frozen birds to dust. Piercing right through the offensive, the sinister green beams continued hurtling straight toward Ultear.
"Ice-Make: Shield!" Ultear shoved both hands forward, rapidly constructing a thick, solid wall of ice.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The magical blasts hammered relentlessly against the ice wall, the concussive force echoing across the battlefield. When the barrage finally ended, the frozen barrier was heavily cratered and scarred, but still standing.
"Ice-Make: Lance!" Shifting her stance seamlessly, Ultear manifested countless frozen spears out of the shield's surface, launching them directly at Brain.
Brain leveled his staff again, unleashing another wave of deep green energy blasts that met the frozen lances head-on, triggering a chain reaction of deafening explosions across the sky.
"Dark Capriccio!" Having neutralized her lances, Brain aimed his staff right at Ultear. This time, a wildly different, violently spiraling drill of dark magic tore through the air toward her.
"Ice-Make: Ape!" Ultear furrowed her brow, instantly manifesting a gigantic, roaring gorilla out of solid ice. The icy beast swung its massive arm, attempting to swat the dark magic away.
CRASH!
The moment the icy ape's hand struck the spiraling magic, the beast's arm instantly shattered to pieces. However, the sheer kinetic force successfully deflected Brain's attack. The dark beam veered off-course, shooting into the sky behind Ultear and detonating violently against the magical barrier high above.
Ultear flinched in surprise. Thank goodness she had sensed something maliciously potent about that spell and hadn't tried to block it with a stationary shield, otherwise it would have drilled right through her defenses—and her.
After narrowly avoiding Brain's deadly trap, Ultear doubled down on her caution.
Brain cursed silently. Dark Capriccio was an armor-piercing spell. If Ultear had foolishly used a standard Ice-Make wall, it would have skewered her instantly. If he had wounded her there, capturing her would have been child's play.
Still, he wasn't discouraged. He had missed his first opening, but plenty more would present themselves.
"Dark Rondo!" Pointing his staff again, Brain released a chaotic swarm of deep green blasts that arced across the battlefield from multiple erratic angles, converging on Ultear.
"Ice-Make: Shield!" Ultear instantly reformed the icy ape's severed arm, outfitting the beast with a colossal frozen tower shield. Hefting the massive shield, the ice ape charged straight ahead at Brain.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The magical blasts hammered the heavy shield in a fury of explosions. While the giant block of ice absorbed the brunt of the assault, a few stray blasts curved around the edges, zeroing in on Ultear, who was trailing closely behind her creation.
Rather than taking the hit, Ultear swiftly leaped out of the way. Suddenly, the ice ape was pierced straight through the chest by an armor-piercing blast, the beam rocketing toward the exact spot Ultear had just landed. Forced to react instantly, she dove to the side, barely avoiding the deadly strike.
By then, the ice ape had closed the distance, wildly swinging its shield at Brain. Brain scrambled backward to avoid the crushing blow, firing a rapid succession of blasts point-blank to shatter both the ape and its shield into a cloud of glittering ice dust.
Having dodged each other's lethal strikes, the two mages stared each other down once more.
"Guh!" Just as Brain prepared to cast another spell, he suddenly clamped a hand over his face, his features contorting in sheer agony.
"Racer has fallen... A pillar of the Oración Seis has collapsed..."
Slowly, a portion of the dark, intricate tattoos scrawled across Brain's face faded completely out of existence.
"Mom, did part of the markings on his face just disappear?" Ultear asked, narrowing her eyes at Brain's bizarre reaction.
"Yeah, they definitely did," Ur confirmed. Having kept a hawk-like watch on Brain the entire time, she hadn't missed the sudden change.
"It might be connected to Racer's defeat over there," Ur theorized. She hadn't just been watching Ultear's fight; she was analyzing the entire battlefield. She had clearly seen Gray, Lucy, and the Blue Pegasus mages land the final blow on Racer. Brain's strange reaction had triggered at the exact same moment.
"If that's the case, we'll find out for sure once the other Oración Seis generals go down," Ultear noted.
"True. Let's stay focused on the fight right in front of us," Ur agreed.
"Master Ur. Ultear," Gray called out, jogging over to join them after handing Racer off to Noah.
"Mhm." Ur and Ultear gave Gray a brief nod of acknowledgment. Without wasting words, all three of them locked their sights back on Brain.
Brain had just recovered from the physical shock of the disappearing seal. Looking up and seeing Gray swaggering into the fray, a twisted, sinister smile stretched across his face.