"Didn't they deserve to die?" Before Mirajane could finish speaking, Ur's cold voice cut her off.
Mirajane froze for a moment, then retorted, "Even so, they should've been given a chance to repent! They should've been handed over to the law for judgment. Besides, they'd already lost the ability to fight—how could you still attack them?!"
"A chance?" Ur sneered faintly. "You should go tell that to the innocent people who died at their hands."
With that, he said no more. He had no interest in continuing this pointless argument with a naïve girl. Verbal sparring meant nothing to him.
In truth, Ur didn't mind preserving the last shred of innocence among Fairy Tail's members, but only so long as they didn't interfere with the decisions he made.
Mirajane might be powerful, but her worldview was still shackled by her age.
What kind of people were dark guild members?
They were a pack of genuine lunatics. There was no need to think when dealing with people like that—just cut them down.
The three Beast Apostles had provided Ur with nearly a hundred points of magic power, almost equivalent to what he would gain from killing close to ten magical beasts.
With that influx, Ur's endurance improved noticeably.
However, it was completely useless.
As increasingly powerful magical beasts began attacking him, Ur gradually found even self-defense becoming difficult. More than once, his battered, cheap sword failed to even crack the beasts' thick scales.
Lower-Tier Earth Magic, Earth Spike!
Ur thrust one hand forward. Magic surged within his body as a magic circle flared to life. A rock spike more than two meters long erupted from the ground, piercing straight through a magical beast.
Magic Power +13!
But at that very moment, beasts lunged at him from all directions: front, back, left, and right.
"Grrr!"
"ROOOAAR!!"
Ur's gaze sharpened. The next second, he slammed his palms together. A vast surge of magic exploded outward.
Earth Magic, Quadrant Rock Wall!
A magic circle flashed beneath his feet as four massive stone walls burst up from the ground on all sides, instantly blocking the incoming attacks.
Magic Power −50!
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Under Singer's control, the magical beasts grew more and more difficult to deal with. Even though Ur's Evil Equilibrium allowed him to absorb some magic power from slain beasts, that gain was negligible compared to his consumption.
If even a walking cheat like Ur was burning through magic at this rate, the others were in far worse shape.
Before long, Gildarts and Mirajane were both forced steadily backward.
"Fall back to the castle!" Gildarts said grimly.
He had already realized just how troublesome these beasts were. It wasn't only because they were being controlled, but more terrifying was their utter lack of fear.
Ordinary monsters would retreat once badly wounded. But these magical beasts seemed to lack even the concept of fear. No matter how severe their injuries, they would still struggle back to their feet and charge again, utterly fearless.
"ROOOAAR!!"
"AWOO!"
"HRAAA!"
As if sensing Ur and the others' intentions, the beasts suddenly began to move around behind them, attempting to cut off their retreat to the castle.
Once again, Ur was reminded that the most dangerous creatures in the world were still humans.
Watching the beasts flood toward the castle gates, Ur felt an intense, visceral hatred for the very concept of intelligence.
"Get back. I'll clear a path!" Gildarts said solemnly.
He knew full well that if they failed to retreat now, being surrounded any longer could genuinely cost them their lives.
"Crush, Heavy Strike!"With a furious roar, Gildarts concentrated terrifying magic power into his fist and slammed it into the ground.
Rumble!
The earth shattered instantly.
A devastating shockwave of magic tore forward toward the castle entrance, flinging every magical beast in its path into the air.
"Move!" Gildarts shouted, taking the lead as he charged toward the castle.
Ur and Mirajane hurriedly followed. But just as the three of them had covered barely half the distance, a massive group of beasts gathered ahead once more, blocking their path.
"Heh, running low on magic?"
Gildarts gave a bitter smile, his face pale. He had intended to clear out all the nearby beasts with that strike, but the cost had been too great—he no longer had the magic to sustain such a powerful attack.
"I'll handle it!" Mirajane stepped forward, preparing to cast her magic.
But the moment she tried to gather her power, she realized her body was empty. She couldn't condense even a trace of magic.
Her magic was extremely draining to begin with, and after her earlier reckless bombardment, her reserves were exhausted. Forcing herself to cast again would completely exhaust her.
Just as Mirajane was about to collide head-on with the beasts blocking the way, Ur suddenly shouted.
"Get out of the way!"
Fusion Magic, Dual Lava Claws!
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