Mard Geer quickly flew away, but a black figure immediately pursued him at high speed.
Mard Geer's expression turned grim as he saw the figure behind him getting closer. This meant his speed was inferior, and he had actually lost to a human in terms of flight speed.
Mard Geer spread his hands, releasing a large number of white orbs.
"Detonate!"
Boom... Boom...
Under Mard Geer's control, all the white orbs were detonated.
Bang!
Takeshi charged straight out of the explosion. The force of the explosion hadn't injured him at all. In his Resurrección Segunda Etapa, Takeshi's Hierro defense had been significantly enhanced. Combined with the protection of his Reiatsu, an attack of this level posed no threat to him.
Swish!
Takeshi caught up to Mard Geer in an instant.
Bang... Bang...
The two of them continuously collided in the air.
Mard Geer felt extremely uncomfortable. This guy clearly looked very thin and weak, yet his physical defense and strength were incredibly powerful. He was even being suppressed.
Bang!
"Ugh!"
Mard Geer was struck in the face by Takeshi's fist and was sent flying backward.
Sonído!
Takeshi instantly appeared behind Mard Geer and kicked him in the back.
"Ahhh!"
Mard Geer was sent hurtling forward.
Sonído!
In the next instant, Takeshi appeared in front of Mard Geer and punched him in the stomach.
Bang!
"Ugh!"
Then, before Mard Geer could react, fists rained down on his face and body.
"Waaaaaah!!!"
Mard Geer screamed incessantly.
Bang!
Takeshi kicked Mard Geer in the face.
Shoo—
Mard Geer's body plummeted toward the ground at high speed.
Boom!
His body crashed into the ground, smashing out a large crater.
"Ugh..."
He struggled, but for a moment, he was unable to stand up. It was clear that Takeshi's attacks had caused him significant damage.
"Tartaros-sama?!"
The demons from the Books of Zeref in Tartaros were all shocked to see Mard Geer being knocked down. Clearly, they hadn't expected that even someone as powerful as him would be no match for that human.
Takeshi stood in the air, pointing his finger at Mard Geer below. Black light continuously gathered and compressed at the tip of his finger.
Cero Oscuras!
Whoosh—
The black beam of light rapidly expanded and shot toward Mard Geer below.
Boom!
A dazzling light lit up on the ground, destroying everything it covered.
After a long while, the light subsided. A massive crater appeared in the ground. Mard Geer was at the center of the explosion, surrounded by the remnants of giant thorns.
At the critical moment just now, Mard Geer had reacted in time to cast his Curse, wrapping himself in a large number of giant thorns to withstand Takeshi's Cero Oscuras.
Even so, he was now covered in wounds. Every one of Takeshi's strikes just now felt like a heavy hammer slamming into his body.
This guy... how can a human be powerful to this extent?
"Kyoka! Can you hear me?!" Mard Geer used Telepathy to contact Kyoka.
Kyoka, who was fighting Erza, couldn't help but be slightly stunned when she heard Mard Geer's telepathic message.
"Tartaros-sama?!"
"This guy called Takeshi is too much of a nuisance. I've decided to move up the activation time for Face. You're near the Control Room right now, aren't you?"
"Yes... but I can't operate Face either."
"Don't worry. Face has already been activated. Even you can move up its launch. Isn't there a main core lacrima in the Control Room? Just perform an Organic Link to it yourself."
"Organic Link?"
"Exactly. That way, you will become the key to activating Face, and you'll be able to move up its launch. Once Face is activated, Mages will lose their power. After that, END will be resurrected, and we will be victorious."
"This... Tartaros-sama, if I perform an Organic Link between such a massive amount of magic power and my Curse Power... I will die." Kyoka hesitated for a moment.
After all, her life was at stake. Even if the mission was completed, she would die.
"So what? Are you afraid of death?"
"No. If it's to achieve the long-cherished wish of Tartaros, I will gladly offer up this lowly life."
"Then start quickly! This human named Takeshi has strength beyond my expectations. If I fall, the rest of you will fall soon as well. No one will be left to witness whether the wish of Tartaros is fulfilled."
"I promise you, after you sacrifice yourself, I will definitely complete our destiny as demons of the Books of Zeref. Everything is for Zeref." Mard Geer transmitted his voice to Kyoka.
Hearing Mard Geer's assurance, Kyoka no longer hesitated and rushed toward the main core lacrima in the Control Room.
"Ooooooooooh!"
On the map of the main core lacrima, bright spots began to light up one by one.
"What are you doing?!"
Seeing this, Erza suddenly had a bad feeling in her heart.
Kyoka said, "These are all the Face units across the continent. The Organic Link is complete. Now, I have become one with the Face activation device."
"What?! Are you doing this to activate Face earlier?" Erza immediately guessed her goal.
"Exactly! Face will activate sooner. Of course, the price is my death. Trading my life for the lives of every Mage on the entire continent... that's a very profitable deal." Kyoka said while looking at Erza.
Erza's face looked terrible upon hearing this. At this point, with her abilities, she couldn't stop the disaster from happening at all.
Was every Mage across the entire continent really going to die?
No!
She absolutely couldn't let such a thing happen.
She couldn't stop it, but someone else could.