Tartaros had deployed all kinds of modified demons, and many of them were capable of flight, causing no small amount of trouble for the Fairy Tail members.
Wendy also encountered a troublesome opponent: a demon with black wings and sharp claws.
"Elemental resistances rise—Deus Corona!"
"Physical ability rise—Deus Eques!"
A green magic circle appeared beneath Wendy's feet.
"Enchant!"
Wendy immediately enchanted herself, raising her attack power, speed, and defense.
By now, Wendy was capable of doubling her abilities while in this state.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!"
Her roar swept up weeds and broken stones as it surged toward the flying demon.
But the demon was incredibly fast.
Even though Wendy controlled the direction of her roar and tried to bend its path, she could not touch him in the slightest.
"Sky Dragon's Claw!"
Wendy leapt high into the air and kicked toward the flying demon.
But even with her strength doubled, she was still no match for that demon in raw power.
With a single palm strike, he sent her flying backward.
That was because this was not a modified demon.
He was a demon from the Books of Zeref.
Although he had not earned a place among the Nine Demon Gates, his strength was still extremely high.
This demon's Curse was somewhat similar to Wendy's Magic, and even his attribute was similar: wind.
His Curse was called Enhancement, and it could likewise strengthen his power, speed, and defense.
The only difference was that, unlike Kyouka's Enhancement, he could not use it on others.
'His energy is wind too... I should be able to eat it...'
'And his wind attribute seems a little different...'
Wendy thought this while dodging his attacks.
...
Meanwhile, Kagura and Ezel of Dōjigiri were locked in fierce combat.
Cursed blade versus demon blade!
"Five Swords Under Heaven: Onimaru!"
Ezel did not care that there were Tartaros soldiers behind Kagura. His slash cleaved straight through his own men and split the earth apart.
"Archenemy: Slash Form!"
Kagura raised Archenemy high and swung it down diagonally, sending out a cutting wave of sword light.
When Ezel saw Kagura cut through his Onimaru, his eyes lit up, and his voice became filled with excitement.
"A fine opponent! A fine opponent indeed! I thought all I'd get was a tray of sweets!"
...
Mira's battle with Seilah had become difficult, because Seilah's Curse allowed her to control humans.
By manipulating nearby guild members, Seilah left Mira unable to fight freely.
Standing not far from Mira, Seilah said calmly,
"My Curse, Macro, allows me to command any human under my control however I please."
"Controlling my comrades... unforgivable!"
In her Take Over: Satan Soul form, Mira spread her wings and flew toward Seilah.
Seilah, however, stood there without the slightest change in expression.
"Humans are so easily influenced by emotion. Against someone like me, who manipulates humans from the sidelines and writes the story herself, you are certain to lose."
As she spoke, Seilah spread both arms, and dozens of Magic books appeared around her.
The books flew toward Mira all at once.
Mira merely swept them aside with her claws, then flapped her wings and accelerated in an instant, kicking Seilah squarely in the chest.
Surprised by Mira's speed, Seilah crossed her arms in front of her chest to block, but she was still forced back more than ten meters.
"Don't start thinking everything will go according to your script."
Mira accelerated again and closed the distance.
"Mirajane of Satan Soul... for Kyouka-sama's sake, I will eliminate you!"
"And what makes you think you weren't my target from the beginning?"
Before the battle began, Raizel had already told Mira to absorb as many of them as she could this time—especially Mard Geer, Seilah, and Kyouka.
Absorbing Mard Geer in particular, combined with Satan Soul, would probably create quite an excellent form.
Mira clenched both claws into fists, then rained punches down on Seilah like a storm.
...
Natsu, meanwhile, was facing Franmalth the Armored.
Franmalth possessed the ability to absorb other people's souls, gaining their powers and appearances.
He could even absorb Magic and use it for himself.
After being thoroughly beaten by Natsu, Franmalth's body suddenly flashed with golden light.
Within that light, his figure began to change.
"What's going on? That guy's... soul?" Happy could hardly believe it.
"The master of Sabertooth... Jiemma?!"
The figure that appeared before Natsu and Happy was a strangely distorted version of Jiemma.
"No, something's off!"
The original Jiemma had been abnormally tall and massive.
Yet after Franmalth absorbed Jiemma and transformed into him, he was not even taller than Natsu.
His upper body was muscular, his lower body was scrawny, and his legs were awkwardly turned outward.
No matter how one looked at him, he looked bizarre.
"His appearance doesn't matter! This is Jiemma after being modified!"
"Modified, sure, but..." Natsu looked as though he wanted to say that the form still had no intimidation at all.
"You people still don't understand the situation, do you? This man was incredibly powerful!"
"No, I think I understand it pretty clearly."
Franmalth was still talking to himself, proudly explaining Jiemma's strength.
"Do you know how Jiemma was defeated?" Happy asked, spreading his paws with an innocent look.
Happy's question made Franmalth blink and pause.
"No... that, I don't know."
They had obtained Jiemma after his death. His body had been modified into a demon, while his soul had been absorbed by Franmalth.
"That guy was beaten by me!"
As Natsu spoke, he charged forward, flames wrapping around his right fist.
"Huh?!"
Natsu punched Franmalth squarely in the face, sending him flying backward and crashing into a group of soldiers.
"Even if a guy we already defeated shows up again, there's nothing scary about that."
"Exactly!" Happy said proudly, hands on his hips. "Because we already beat him once!"
"Lightning Fire Dragon's Roar!"
"Absorb!"
Franmalth spread both arms, and the raging Lightning Fire Dragon's Roar was slowly drawn into his body.
"He absorbed the soul of the Magic? Wait, no—what even is the soul of Magic?!" Happy was already getting dizzy trying to understand it.
Flames burned around Franmalth's body as he grinned savagely at Natsu.
"You're the one who defeated Mr. Jackal, aren't you? Still, I advise you not to underestimate us. We are demons from the Books of Zeref! Living weapons born from the demon books written by Zeref in the distant past!"
"Let me tell you this: your Magic can never defeat our Curses."
"But Raizel already destroyed your whole base, and you're still standing here bragging?" Natsu said, spreading his hands as he stared at Franmalth like he was looking at an idiot.
"What?!"
Franmalth wanted to shout, 'Why aren't you following the script?!'
And since when did this reckless idiot know how to make sharp comebacks?
...
Elsewhere, Erza's spear carried unstoppable force as she drove Kyouka far away, into an area where no one else was present.
After being sent flying, Kyouka used her claws to stabilize herself.
Once she landed, she said, "I admire you."
"I do not admire you."
Erza immediately Requipped back into Clear Heart Clothing and formed twin blades, slashing continuously at Kyouka's metal claws.
Clang, clang, clang—!
The sound of metal striking metal rang out without end.
Kyouka remained composed as she fought while retreating, while Erza's blades came one after another.
Kyouka saw her chance and extended her claws.
But Erza caught them between her two swords, locking the claws in place between the gaps and preventing them from advancing even an inch.