As everyone knew, lies rarely hurt.
The truth, on the other hand, cut like a knife.
After Laxus struck directly at his deepest humiliation, God Serena's face twisted as though he had swallowed an entire barrel of sewage.
His defeat at Ankh's hands had haunted him every night since it happened.
He possessed eight different forms of Dragon Slayer Magic. His destructive power was something no one should have been able to withstand.
He was the man favored by the Dragon Gods themselves!
And yet—
Serena could still vividly remember how that damned Ankh had refused to face the might of his Eight Dragons head-on.
Instead, he had shamelessly used a surprise attack to defeat him!
Where was the pride expected of a Wizard Saint?!
He had fallen from the Heavenly God of Eight Dragons to a so-called genius with only three.
The humiliation of that loss had carved itself into his mind.
Worse still, Serena remained convinced that Ankh's victory had been dishonorable.
He had not even been given the chance to display his full strength before his opponent interrupted him with such a despicable trick.
If they fought again, Serena was certain he would win.
Naturally, had Ankh heard any of that, he would have rolled his eyes hard enough to see the inside of his skull.
The only thing that mattered in a battle was victory.
No enemy would politely explain their rhythm and give you time to adjust before attacking.
Serena had lost because his own arrogance had left him wide open.
After losing five of his Dragon Slayer Lacrimas, Serena now retained only the powers of the Diamond Dragon, Lightning Dragon, and Dark Dragon.
The upper limit of his strength had fallen drastically, but after reflecting on his defeat and adjusting his training, his foundation had actually grown much more stable.
With fewer abilities available, he had naturally become far more specialized in the ones that remained.
Serena opened his mouth and swallowed the approaching rock and lightning attacks.
The stone-based Diamond Dragon Lacrima and the lightning-based Lightning Dragon Lacrima happened to counter both Jura and Laxus perfectly.
After devouring their magic, Serena leapt directly in front of Laxus.
Dark Dragon power gathered around his fist, carrying an aura capable of corroding Magic Power, and he drove it toward Laxus's face.
Laxus raised an arm to block.
The instant the blow landed, countless negative emotions flooded his mind.
That was the power of the Dark Dragon.
The longer a battle continued, the more it dragged its opponent into despair, rage, and every other shadow buried inside the heart.
"Laxus-dono!"
Jura immediately activated his magic.
"Supreme King Rock Crush!"
Massive slabs of stone closed around Serena, while two enormous rocky palms slammed toward him from either side.
Serena's body instantly sharpened into gleaming facets, reflecting the light like a perfectly cut jewel.
With a body as hard as diamond, he raised both arms and caught the crushing palms head-on.
"What?!"
Jura's eyes shook when his spell failed to move Serena at all.
Serena did not hesitate.
Still transformed into a living diamond, he lowered his head and charged straight into Jura's chest.
The impact sent Jura skidding backward as blood burst from his mouth.
"Surprise attacks won't work on me anymore!"
Serena laughed like a madman and unleashed a storm of violent lightning at both opponents.
Countless bolts tore through the corridor, causing the entire passage to tremble and crack.
"Looks like one person is enough."
Mard Geer showed no interest in Serena's battle and turned to leave through another passage.
Crawford's work was what mattered.
He could not care less what Serena's fights looked like.
Bloodman gave a cold snort and regarded the two humans with faint pity.
God Serena had once been the strongest mage in Ishgar.
Even after losing five Lacrimas, he remained on the level of the Four Gods of Ishgar—and in certain ways, he had become even more dangerous.
If he could not defeat these two, then he truly had no right to join the Alvarez Empire.
Still…
There was no harm in testing Ishgar's mages himself.
Once Mard Geer disappeared down the corridor, Bloodman raised one hand toward Jura from a distance.
Jura, who had been helping Laxus close in on Serena, suddenly felt a chill run through his entire body.
Laxus reacted immediately and shoved him aside.
The moment Jura was pushed away, a blast of black, corrosive Curse Power erupted from the ground between them.
Laxus turned toward the attacker.
It was the mysterious man in the black cloak—the demon said to have defeated Jellal and the others.
The so-called Underworld King had already vanished.
Jura used his Rock Magic again, violently reshaping the surrounding terrain.
The earth surged upward and smashed all four of them through the ceiling, allowing them to escape the narrow, dimly lit corridor.
Once they reached the island's exterior, Jura finally had enough earth and stone around him to unleash the full extent of his power.
Rock pillars erupted around Bloodman and sealed him inside layer after layer of stone.
Sweat covered Jura's face as he spoke gravely to Laxus.
"Laxus-dono, I doubt I can defeat this one. What about you?"
Laxus looked at Serena, whose face had gone red with fury after being repeatedly mocked, and grinned.
"If Ankh can beat him, then so can I."
"You bastard!"
Hearing Ankh's name used against him yet again, Serena became even more unhinged.
He hurled spell after spell at Laxus, blanketing the area in a relentless bombardment.
Watching him lose control, Bloodman's expression darkened beneath his mask.
'What a brainless fool.'
Serena was making the exact same mistake all over again.
His composure had once again been shattered by a few taunts.
Laxus appeared to be struggling under the overwhelming barrage, but he showed no panic and seemed entirely confident in his plan.
Seeing that, Jura quietly relaxed.
He turned his full attention back to Bloodman, continuously raising and extending stone pillars to restrict his movements.
The pressure radiating from Bloodman was even more frightening than Serena's.
Jura calmly assessed the difference in their strength and formed a strategy.
He only needed to hold out until Laxus won.
Then the two of them could face Bloodman together.
As always, victory mattered more than anything else.
...
Life-and-death battles raged across every corner of Cube.
The Magic Council continued sending soldiers and reinforcements through its teleportation machine, preventing Tartaros's army from overwhelming the legal guilds through sheer numbers.
The internal uprising now had enough defenders to contain it.
Meanwhile, the Four Gods of Ishgar had taken position along the northern border to confront the threat from outside the continent.
Across the sea, within the Guiltina Magic Council's border command, Supreme Commander Rein stared toward Ishgar with barely concealed excitement.
"Reliable intelligence confirms that Ishgar has fallen into internal chaos. The demons of Tartaros are about to break through the border."
"This is our chance to crush their defenses and march directly into the eastern continent!"
The officer beside Rein looked back at their magnificent army.
An endless fleet of ships covered the sea, while countless magical bombardment vessels filled the skies overhead.
His chest swelled with ambition.
Rein felt the same.
Expanding the northern Magic Council's authority would earn the commander of the border forces an extraordinary amount of prestige.
And according to their intelligence, Ishgar had already sent many of its strongest mages to hunt down the demons.
To ensure nothing could go wrong, Rein had even invited additional support.
A satisfied smile spread across his usually severe face.
He turned toward the seven figures standing beside him and bowed respectfully.
"We will be relying on you in the coming battle, members of Diabolos."
"Please help us crush the mages of Ishgar!"
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator