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"Big brother who looks just like Jellal, could you loosen my ropes a little~"
Her sweet voice, combined with the girl's twisting, seductive movements, would've made any ordinary man lose control.
But Mystogan was no ordinary man. Faced with Angel's provocative tactics, he simply raised his staff, intending to use physical force to put her back to sleep.
"No, no, no! I'll behave!"
Angel kept her word this time, which drew mockery from her companions who were also tied up beside her.
"You're not so charming after all, Angel."
"Shut up, Cobra! Go live your life with your snake!"
While Noah went off to fight, Mystogan wasn't idle—he'd tied up Jellal and the other five Mages, including Hoteye, whom Noah had sent flying earlier.
Normally, thanks to the Sleep Magic, these people wouldn't have woken up so quickly, but the massive commotion from the hurricane at the center of the Ancient City caused five of them, excluding Jellal, to wake up prematurely.
Looking at the hurricane that reached toward the sky, Mystogan could only complain that his younger brother was too loud.
"Lord Mystogan, aren't you worried?"
Mystogan turned to look—it was Hoteye, one of the Oración Seis members, who'd spoken to him. He was also the only one among those present who'd been affected by Nirvana.
Hoteye was someone who wavered between good and evil, perfectly meeting the conditions to be affected by Nirvana's initial form.
Originally, Hoteye had been knocked down into the Ancient City by Noah, and Mystogan, after the great battle, didn't have the time or energy to pull him back up.
But who would've thought that Hoteye, influenced by Nirvana and turned good, would actually climb back to the Ancient City and surrender to Mystogan?
This left Mystogan utterly speechless. He, a Mage from a Legal Guild, hadn't "darkened" under Nirvana, yet a Dark Guild member like Hoteye had been "purified."
What kind of situation was this? Hoteye's companions were practically cursing him out—they'd all agreed to become villains together for their dreams, only for him to suddenly have a change of heart.
There's a traitor among us!
From Hoteye's account, Mystogan learned that these five Mages were also victims of the Tower of Heaven. They'd been bought from the Tower of Heaven by Brain eight years ago.
However, after leaving the hell that was the Tower of Heaven, they were greeted by another hell opened for them by Brain.
What sustained Hoteye and the other four through Brain's cruel training were their individual wishes.
Hoteye yearned for money to redeem his younger brother from the Tower of Heaven.
Cobra wished to understand the inner thoughts of his companion snake, Cubellios.
The experience in the Tower of Heaven made Sawyer dream of becoming the fastest runner.
Angel wished to disappear into the sky like an angel, so she could reunite with her sister.
Midnight's wish was the simplest—he just wanted to sleep undisturbed.
These five people, just like Jellal, were once kind children, but due to their circumstances, they'd embarked on a terribly wrong path.
Although Mystogan felt pity for them, they still had to face the judgment they deserved. Each of these five, under Brain's command, carried the lives of innocent people on their conscience.
Returning to Hoteye's question, Mystogan wasn't worried that his younger brother Noah would get into trouble. Brain's strength wasn't as great as Midnight's, so Noah should be able to deal with him easily.
Just as Mystogan's thoughts wandered, a tragic scream caught his attention.
He turned to look, only to see Angel lying on the ground, convulsing in pain, her screams incessant.
Since she'd tried to seduce him earlier, Mystogan merely assumed Angel was up to something again, and picked up his staff, intending to make her "behave."
However, just as he took a step forward, Hoteye, Cobra, Sawyer, and Midnight also simultaneously let out painful howls.
The sudden change startled Mystogan. He could see that the Magic Power within the five Mages was draining at an alarming rate, and their pale faces also indicated that something else was disappearing along with their Magic Power.
Central battlefield.
Noah looked at Zero, whose aura was growing stronger and stronger, knowing whose power he was absorbing. "I remember they were all your students, and Midnight was even treated as a son by Brain."
"You truly are a beast, Zero!"
"Hmph, it's their honor to become my power."
After the personalities merged, Zero's character leaned more toward Brain's cold ruthlessness. To him, the five Mages were merely five sacrifices. Brain's tiny bit of humanity was completely absent in him.
What Oración Seis, what Nirvana, what damned freedom and future—Zero wasn't interested in any of it. All he wanted was powerful strength, and he could abandon everything else.
Facing such a purely evil person, Noah didn't bother wasting any more words.
People like Zero would never change. People like him only deserved to die!
Zero thought the same. He'd also felt Brain's hatred. The person who'd forced the personalities to merge and made him awaken could only be killed to resolve the hatred in his heart.
The shadow beneath Zero's feet suddenly swelled, and countless inky black tentacles burst from the ground.
The moment Noah's toes touched the ground, the air suddenly rippled like water. Magic patterns spread along the ground, and the sudden burst of wind pressure shredded the disgusting tentacles into pieces.
"Genesis Zero!"
Zero floated in midair, his green military coat fluttering on its own. A dark purple hexagonal Magic Circle appeared behind him, and countless black threads seeped from the Magic Circle, causing even the air to condense into black crystals.
The pitch-black Darkness Magic covered the sky above the Ancient City. Amid a teeth-grinding friction sound, Noah's ten-meter-long crescent wind blade pierced through the dark firmament.
When the sharp wind blade touched Zero's forehead, it twisted bizarrely.
His right hand's fingernails rapidly grew into sharp claws, and Zero easily crushed the wind blade that was powerful enough to cleave mountains. However, his five fingers snapped off simultaneously as the wind blade shattered.
"It's Devil Slayer Magic!"
Zero's expression finally changed, but his astonishment lasted only a moment. His gaze toward Noah turned malicious. "Devil Slayer Mages are absolutely forbidden to exist!"
Using his broken five fingers to draw a blood rune in the air, the shattered Magic particles were absorbed into Zero's palm, condensing into a spinning miniature black hole in his restored right hand.
Noah didn't know why Zero harbored such intense malice toward Devil Slayer Magic, but since his opponent was about to unleash a powerful attack, he certainly couldn't sit idly by.
The Devil Slayer wind was compressed to its extreme in his hand, condensing into a sheathless long blade. The blade was transparent like flowing cyan air, and its blade pattern showed a spiral storm design.
Laxus had his "Lightning Dragon's Halberd," and Noah also had his own "Wind Devil Evil-Slaying Blade"!