"Sawyer!"
Hearing his companions call out, Sawyer finally relaxed, though part of him still felt embarrassed that he had needed rescuing.
Erik had no time to worry about his pride.
He kept his eyes fixed on the demon buried beneath the torrent of poison, refusing to lower his guard.
Dense dragon scales resembling those of a snake covered his cheeks.
With Dragon Force amplifying his power, the poison pouring from his body had become far more vicious than usual. No ordinary mage would ever dare take it head-on.
Unfortunately, the demon before him was anything but ordinary.
Four flashes of steel cut through the air.
The poison, thick enough to obscure everyone's vision, was torn apart in an instant. Erik's expression changed, and he quickly grabbed Sawyer before leaping aside.
The blades carved several deep trenches through the sand.
Jellal stepped forward with a cold snort.
Starlight gathered between his hands, and a relentless barrage of celestial energy shattered the incoming attacks before continuing toward the demon.
The creature had not expected its attack to be stopped. It froze for a moment, then its expression became even more vicious.
Rather than dodge, it stood still and took Jellal's spell directly.
When the smoke cleared, the four-armed demon remained standing without a single visible injury. It looked over the group of humans who had suddenly appeared and laughed arrogantly.
"So someone managed to trace the old councilor's location this quickly. I suppose you humans aren't entirely useless."
Jellal moved in front of Sawyer. Macbeth and Erik stood on either side of him, watching the demon carefully.
"You killed Councilor Cid to silence him?" Jellal asked coldly.
"He was human. I killed him because I felt like it. Silencing him was merely a bonus."
The four-armed demon sneered.
"That old fool dared use our plan as a bargaining chip with outsiders. I regret letting him die so easily."
"I assume you won't tell me what that plan is even if I ask."
Jellal's voice remained calm, but Magic Power had already begun gathering in his hands.
"I am Ezel of Tartaros's Nine Demon Gates—the Demon Blade, Dōjigiri!" the demon declared. "Come at me together, you worthless human insects!"
Demons seemed to possess an instinctive sense of racial superiority toward humanity.
Needless to say, everyone on the other side found it deeply irritating.
Jellal lowered his voice and quickly instructed his companions, "According to the information Ankh gave us, Tartaros possesses a method of reviving its demons. Don't give him any opportunity to kill himself."
His tone was so calm and casual that he did not appear to regard the so-called Nine Demon Gate as a threat at all.
The fight had not even properly begun, and Jellal was already planning how to stop the enemy from committing suicide after losing.
Ezel watched the team suddenly scatter, leaving only the blue-haired young man charging directly toward him.
"You worthless human! You dare to challenge me alone?!"
The instant those words left his mouth, Ezel regretted them.
The blue-haired man who had been standing in his line of sight transformed into a streaking meteor and appeared directly in front of his face.
Jellal's fist slammed into him.
The enormous demon was launched off the ground, while the destructive celestial Magic Power behind the blow nearly knocked him unconscious on the spot.
Jellal did not stop.
He followed Ezel into the air and struck him three more times before the demon could land, beating every last arrogant word back down his throat.
"You've truly angered me, human!"
Ezel finally crashed to the ground in an undignified heap. He roared in fury and stopped holding back, driving the Curse Power inside his body to its limit.
His ability was the Sword Curse.
It allowed him to transform every part of his body into an indestructibly sharp blade.
Through Curse Power, he could also launch energy blades capable of slicing through physical matter, steel, and even magic.
It was an ability designed almost entirely for overwhelming offense.
Unfortunately for Ezel, Heavenly Body Magic was also famous for its destructive power.
Now they would simply have to see whose attacks hit harder.
Curse Power surged through Ezel's body. Black armor covered his skin, and all four of his arms transformed into massive steel blades.
Feeling powerful again, Ezel launched slash after slash with both sides of his body, "forcing" Jellal to race around the battlefield.
"Five Great Swords: Onimaru!"
He locked onto Jellal and spread all four arms.
Two crossing blades of compressed air shot forward like lightning.
Jellal circled around Ezel and avoided the attack with effortless movements.
Believing Jellal was too afraid to counterattack, Ezel became even more excited.
He continued firing cross-shaped blades, forcing his opponent to dodge again and again.
"You're just like your pathetic companion! A useless coward who only knows how to run!"
Ezel had apparently forgotten the beating he had received only minutes earlier and instinctively began running his mouth again.
Then he noticed something change in the blue-haired man's calm eyes.
A cold, violent edge appeared within them.
Ezel immediately sensed danger.
His instincts proved correct.
Jellal came to an abrupt stop and brought his hands together.
Two fingers of one hand pointed upward, while the five fingers of the other spread below them.
The opening stance of Grand Chariot.
Whenever Jellal used this spell, it usually meant he had stopped playing around.
Seven points of golden light suddenly appeared beneath Ezel's feet.
While he had been arrogantly throwing attacks around, he had unknowingly stepped directly into Grand Chariot's formation.
Seven stars shone in the daytime sky.
Their light converged and descended as one, resembling a divine sword plunging from the heavens into the earth.
Standing at the center, Ezel's expression finally turned to terror.
There was no time to escape. He could only raise all four bladed arms to defend himself.
Golden light erupted across the desert.
The armor covering Ezel's body shattered, and he crawled out of the enormous crater left by Grand Chariot in a miserable state.
"You think you can kill a demon that eas—"
Ezel was about to throw out another insult when he saw the blue-haired man assume an unfamiliar stance.
Jellal leaned forward, his left hand touching the ground while his right arm stretched toward the sky.
Ezel fell silent.
Having developed a healthy trauma response after the last few attacks, his thoughts raced.
For once, he abandoned his pride and chose to run.
The moment he tried to move, however, he discovered that the mages who had seemingly "abandoned" Jellal had already surrounded him again.
They rushed in from every direction and began beating him mercilessly.
One of the younger girls seemed to have linked their senses together.
She immediately began stuffing lemons, chili peppers, and every other painfully intense food she could find into her mouth.
Already suffering from his injuries, Ezel became so overwhelmed that he could not even concentrate long enough to kill himself.
Rage consumed him.
'Humans!'
'Cowardly humans ganging up on me! Where is your honor?!'
As Ezel roared in frustration, the sky above them darkened.
A small meteor tore through the clouds and plummeted directly toward him.
"True Heavenly Body Magic: Sema."
It was one of the most destructive spells Jellal possessed.
Working together, the members of Crime Sorcière beat Ezel off the ground and sent him flying upward—straight toward the descending meteor.
The collision shook the entire desert.
Even the distant sandstorm seemed to freeze as the thunderous sound of a meteor crushing a demon swallowed everything else in the world.
When the dust finally cleared, Jellal walked expressionlessly to the edge of the enormous crater.
Ezel lay at the bottom, his body shattered but with just enough life remaining to keep him alive.
Jellal released a long breath.
'Thank goodness.'
He had not killed him.
As his companions gathered around, Jellal's gentle smile finally returned.
That day, Ezel learned a valuable lesson:
Choose your target carefully before running your mouth, or some mysterious force might launch you directly into the sky!
As far as Jellal was concerned, anyone who wanted to insult his comrades could take their complaints up with the meteor.