Loke's final kick was delivered with immense, punishing force.
After crashing into the rock wall and creating a massive crater, Zubal was completely buried beneath a pile of heavy rubble.
Zubal had suffered a crushing defeat, entirely unable to even utilize the enslaved humans under his control.
This time, Loke had performed exceptionally well and taken the hand-to-hand fight entirely seriously from the start, while Zubal had arrogantly underestimated his non-human opponent.
After all, during the previous chaotic group battle, Gray and Kagura had exerted much greater physical pressure on him, causing him to subconsciously look down on the man in the suit.
"Indeed, everyone has severely underestimated you," Kagura noted, walking over.
She was also somewhat surprised by Loke's flawless martial arts performance.
She had originally thought Loke would endure a brutal drawn-out battle, but it turned out to be relatively effortless for the Lion.
"I've grown too, Kagura. After all, I've been through quite a few battles myself," Loke said, adjusting his tie and scratching the back of his head with a charming smile.
"Tie him up, then we will go meet up with the others," Kagura instructed, casually handing a thick length of rope to Loke.
Zubal was only unconscious, not dead.
Generally speaking, Fairy Tail strictly avoided killing, even when facing Dark Guilds. They usually handed over such criminal cases to the Magic Council for proper imprisonment.
This was largely due to Makarov's fatherly influence, as he did not want his young guild members to have too much blood on their hands.
Raizel would avoid killing whenever possible, but he never spared those who were utterly, irredeemably wicked.
Kagura had largely learned this pragmatic approach from Raizel.
Zubal could technically be killed or spared right now, but if they captured him alive and handed him over to the Council, it might heavily help mitigate some of the negative political impact caused by Natsu and Gray's usual destructive antics...
Ropes were essential items for travel and daily life—Kagura always carried one with her in her pouches...
"Should we tie him up here, or drag him with us?" Loke asked.
His lips twitched involuntarily as he watched the stoic Kagura so naturally and casually produce a heavy rope out of nowhere.
"Just tie him securely to that heavy stone pillar for now. Dragging his unconscious body through the jungle would be far too troublesome."
"Alright, whatever you say, Kagura."
Loke had previously been on the receiving end of Kagura's strict "disciplinary education."
After being painfully lectured by her sword in the past, he now wisely followed her instructions without question...
The main reason for her lectures was that he often shamelessly flirted with women outside, only to have them angrily come to the guild hall looking for him.
Kagura was essentially delivering divine justice and eliminating a public nuisance!
"But I need to return to the Celestial Spirit World first. My stamina and magic power are running dangerously low," Loke sighed.
After securely tying up the unconscious Zubal, Loke intended to set off with Kagura, but he nearly stumbled after just a few steps and found himself panting heavily.
"Alright, go back and rest quickly. Don't worry about me, I have a red signal flare with me. Nothing will go wrong," Kagura assured him.
"That's good. Sorry about this," Loke smiled, feeling much more at ease knowing Kagura had a flare.
"Lucy and Gray went in that direction." Before leaving, Loke sensed the magical direction of his golden key and pointed it out to Kagura before vanishing in a chime of golden bells, returning to the Celestial Spirit World.
...
As Lucy and Gray made their way through the dense forest, a bright golden light suddenly flashed from the key pouch at her waist.
"What happened?" Gray asked, noticing Lucy had stopped and was touching her key pouch.
"What's wrong? Did something happen to Loke?!"
"No, Loke said he won!" Lucy cheered, clenching her fists and speaking with great pride. "He said he would explain the cool details to me later, and to recover his strength sooner, he returned to the Celestial Spirit World first! Kagura is also catching up behind us right now."
"What?!" Gray gasped, utterly stunned by the sudden realization.
"Wait a minute! That means I've just lost my S-Class partner—what the hell am I supposed to do now?!" Gray yelled, grabbing his hair.
"He asked me to formally apologize to you Gray, saying he really couldn't hold on any longer," Lucy awkwardly waved her hands, trying to calm him down.
"Don't joke around with me! I haven't given up on my S-Class exam yet!" Gray whined.
...
Temporary Beach Camp on Tenrou Island—
Gajeel and Levy were both completely covered in dirt and wounds.
Levy was in slightly better condition, still conscious and sitting up, while Gajeel lay completely unconscious on a futon, his right arm tightly wrapped in heavy bandages.
"I never expected Gajeel to be injured this badly," Lisanna remarked with a soft sigh as she looked down at the unconscious Iron Dragon Slayer.
Usually, seeing him constantly bicker and fight with Natsu and Gray in the guild hall, it was clear his sheer strength and endurance weren't weak in the slightest.
Makarov had told them when they were very young that those willing to fiercely argue and fight frequently were the ones who truly, deeply respected each other.
That was exactly why Makarov hardly ever stopped their brawls.
Wendy and Lisanna were currently temporarily acting as the camp's medical staff.
Wendy had already treated Gajeel earlier and was now resting her magic.
"The enemy is far too strong..." Elfman suddenly burst through the camp's tree line, carrying the unconscious Evergreen in his large arms.
Though it was deeply frustrating for his pride, Elfman staying behind in the ruins would only have held Mira back from fighting Rustyrose at full power.
After being sternly, terrifyingly scolded by his older sister, Elfman had gritted his teeth and brought Evergreen back to the safety of the temporary camp.
Elfman was deeply worried about Mira's safety, but Evergreen's severe internal injuries couldn't be delayed any longer, either.
"As much as I hate to admit it... the enemy is really, really strong... We are no match for them," Elfman confessed, carefully laying Evergreen down on a futon.
Elfman, completely covered in deep cuts and bruises, looked up at the sky fighting back his tears.
"Damn it... As a man, I am utterly useless! I don't have the strength to protect my sister or my partner, and instead, my older sister has to step in and protect me..."
Elfman couldn't hold back his hot tears any longer, sobbing uncontrollably, his words broken by heavy hiccups.
"My sister is still out there fighting that monster..."
"Let's not talk about that for now, Elfman. Quickly, lay Evergreen-san so I can treat her internal wounds," Wendy said softly.
She deliberately decided to change the subject, not wanting the gentle giant to sink any deeper into his self-deprecating sorrow.
...
On another front deep in the jungle, the tense battle between Erza, Juvia, and Meredy took a strange turn.
"Juvia Lockser. Formerly one of the elite Four Elements of Phantom Lord."
"Fairy Queen, Erza Belserion." Meredy recited their full names and titles entirely expressionlessly from beneath her red cloak.
"It seems your dark guild has thoroughly investigated our backgrounds..." Juvia narrowed her eyes, deeply unsettled, unsure exactly how much classified information the enemy had gathered on them.
Without wasting any more words, Meredy raised her hands and unleashed a massive suffocating surge of eerie, pink magical power.
"Let's go, Juvia!" Seeing the attack forming, Erza instantly raised her magic sword and charged toward Meredy.
"Yes!" Juvia responded loudly, preparing her water magic.
'Though Juvia is still very worried about Gray-sama and just wants to hurry to his side... What if Gray-sama is in grave danger right now...?!' Juvia suddenly thought, her mind wandering mid-charge.
"Stop daydreaming!" Erza snapped, lightly tapping Juvia's shoulder with the flat of her sword, instantly interrupting her romantic daydream.
"Focus on the enemy!"
"Yes! I'm so sorry!" Juvia squeaked, blushing.
"Maguilty Sodom!" Meredy chanted.
Over a dozen glowing, sensory swords formed entirely from dense pink magical power materialized in the air around Meredy, shooting forward like missiles.
"Magical blades?!" Juvia gasped, somewhat astonished to see the magical swords.
Despite being composed entirely of pure magical power, they appeared as sharp and solid as physical steel entities.
She had never expected Meredy to possess such an overwhelmingly high level of magical power at such a young age.
"Go!" Erza yelled.
Erza and Juvia immediately dodged, rolling to the left and right respectively to avoid the barrage.
Jellal had provided extremely detailed, classified telepathic information about Meredy's magic to Raizel, who had passed it on them.
This included the terrifying fact that Meredy employed the Lost Magic: Maguilty Sense, which was capable of directly inflicting agonizing mental and physical anguish through its sensory-linking magical power.
This meant that Juvia's usual, invincible elemental water transformation would be completely ineffective against Meredy's blades.
If the pink swords hit Juvia's water body, her actual nervous system would still feel the agonizing pain.
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