"Excellent young people."
Yaloke breathed a sigh of relief internally, then commented like a sage,
"I also once had a time as ambitious and forward-thinking as yours. But ahead of you, there awaits only despair!"
These seemingly impressive words fell on deaf ears for Natsu and Gajeel.
The two had their heads bumped together, glaring at each other:
"Stupid Fire Dragon, this guy's mine!"
"Iron jerk, if you hadn't interfered, I would've already taken him down!"
"Damn it, watch out or I'll take you down first!"
"What did you say?!"
The two quarreled indignantly, utterly oblivious to Yaloke, whose forehead bulging under his hat and iron mask.
Young people these days were truly becoming more disrespectful!
"Die!"
Yaloke swiftly waved his magic staff, a complex magic array formed in an instant.
The magic array spewed magic bullets like a machine gun, the dense barrage enveloping Natsu and Gajeel completely.
However, their reactions left the nearby cultists slack-jawed:
Natsu's hands were covered in flames, and he moved deftly through the barrage, punching away any magic bullets that might hit him.
Gajeel was more straightforward, merely turning his right hand into an iron rod, symbolically blocking it in front of his face as he charged directly forward.
"He can punch away magic bullets with his hand?!"
"The other one completely ignored it!"
"What kind of monsters are they?!"
Yaloke steadied himself, his magic staff waving to create a barrier, trying to block their attack.
But even more astonishing was what happened next.
Gajeel charged headlong into the barrage, smashing through the barrier into pieces.
The next moment, an iron fist and a fire fist simultaneously struck Yaloke on his left and right cheeks.
Yaloke's iron mask shattered instantly, sending him flying backward until he hit the ground ten meters away, skidding a few more meters before coming to a halt.
His hat fell to the ground, revealing disheveled grey-white hair as he lay on his back, eyes vacantly staring at the sky.
It was the first time the crowd had seen Yaloke's true face—a face severely burned, hidden behind the mask.
Clearly, it wasn't a new wound inflicted by Natsu, but an old one from a long time ago.
Such a terrifying visage shocked Natsu and Gajeel, as well as some cultists nearby:
Could it be that he turned to despair and Zeref's worship due to some major trauma?
Gajeel frowned: "Your face..."
"Heh heh heh... you noticed?" Yaloke let out a dry laugh,
"I burned this face for this day—it's the price..."
Before he could finish, almost everyone present looked to the sky.
The clear sky suddenly amassed a large number of dark clouds, swirling together above, forming a massive vortex that obscured the sky.
Wendy's face immediately changed: "This is... Anima?"
Lucy recalled the term and exclaimed in surprise:
"You mean that giant subspace magic from Edolas? That's impossible... wasn't that already..."
"It's not Anima, but it should be within the realm of Space Magic."
Carla directly denied their guesses, saying with closed eyes,
"I feel something coming out... I see... a very large sword."
Those familiar with the situation among the cultists became excited: "It's the divine officer's magic!"
"It's Lord Yaloke's Cost Summoning Technique!"
"The legendary magic that can summon the Eighteen Demon-Fighting Gods to fight for us!"
"We are sure to win! The purification plan will definitely succeed!"
Yaloke's eerie voice echoed throughout the battlefield:
"Come, Fighting God with whom I have made a contract, grant me power equal to the price I have paid! Summoning·Ikusazunaki!"
It was as if thunder rumbled in the sky as a massive foot emerged from the clouds, stomping heavily toward the ground.
Erza immediately shouted: "Everyone, scatter!"
The members of Fairy Tail quickly dispersed, moving away from the massive foot.
But the cultists who were fighting nearby didn't react in time.
"Aah!"
A dozen or so cried out as they were crushed underfoot, while twenty others were blown away by the wind along with the shattered ground.
Macao shielded Romeo, watching the enemies sent flying, muttering to himself: "This thing seems to distinguish neither friend nor foe."
Now, another equally large foot had also landed, a giant with a black body, grey-white hair, demon-like face, and holding a long sword stood firmly in front of everyone.
Romeo looked up hard at the figure whose feet touched the ground and head reached the clouds, shocked: "It seems bigger than the president!"
A bit farther away, in the city of Marba, Lahar's capture operations had concluded, and the spies within the city were nearly wiped out.
He was about to order his men to gather and support Fairy Tail outside when he saw a giant fall from the sky.
The Strong Detention Team members were as stunned as Lahar:
"What is that? Is our enemy a creature like that?"
At the city's edge.
The Thunder God Tribe stood within the prepared techniques, gazing at the suddenly appearing giant with amazement.
Biguslo asked uncertainly: "Fried, can your technique block something like that?"
"The defense of my technique is absolute," Fried replied, though he omitted the latter part, 'if there's enough magic power.'
"No need to worry," Ibarglin smiled, "because Laxus is here, and there are three others."
Outside the technique, Rhode, Makarov, Laxus, and Uluvheim stood side by side, giving a strong sense of security.
"Summoning Element?" Rhode was well-acquainted with the scent of this magic, "Is this the dangerous magic the intelligence mentioned, mastered by the divine officer?"
"It's one of the Eighteen Demon-Fighting Gods, Ikusazunaki (Bond of Battle)! He must have used a Cost Summoning Technique!"
"Oh no, the level of magic power is such that the kids might be in danger." Makarov's body glowed as he prepared to transform into a giant and head to the battlefield.
But Laxus stopped him: "Don't underestimate them, Grandpa. This kind of enemy might take some time, but there won't be an issue."
Makarov calmly thought of this as reasonable; he had seen the children's progress during this time.
Meanwhile, Uluvheim agilely sprang forward.
His body swelled as he ran, turning into a giant green beast-man.
"Leave it to me, this guy is the Council's responsibility; there's no reason for you to take the risk!"
After leaving these words, Uluvheim dashed on all fours like a gorilla, quickly disappearing from sight.