Chen Fan suddenly opened his eyes and turned his gaze toward Brain's hiding spot.
Realizing he had been spotted, Brain stopped hiding and stepped out into the open.
"The leader of the Oración Seis!" Wendy and Carla gasped. They looked at Brain warily, remembering how powerful his magic had been and how he had tried to capture Wendy earlier. Both of them instinctively huddled closer to Chen Fan's back.
Chen Fan felt Wendy's unease. He placed a hand on her shoulder, drawing her closer, and then looked up at Brain. "It's been a long time, Mr. Brain."
Brain bowed respectfully and replied, "Long time no see, Excellency Chen Fan."
His response shocked Wendy and Carla. It was clear that Chen Fan knew Brain, the leader of the Oración Seis, but Brain's attitude was even more confusinghe seemed to treat Chen Fan with great respect.
"You were doing quite well at the Bureau of Magical Development. When did you run off to join a Dark Guild and become the leader of the Oración Seis?" Chen Fan asked with a smile.
Brain's expression stiffened for a moment, but he quickly recovered. "Excellency Chen Fan, you must be joking."
Chen Fan's face suddenly went cold, his voice turning harsh. "Do I look like I'm joking?"
"Then what are you here for?" The flattering smile vanished from Brain's face, replaced by an equally cold tone.
"I'm here to destroy Nirvana, obviously. Do you think I'm so bored that I'd come all the way to this remote forest just to enjoy the breeze?" Chen Fan spoke matter-of-factly, seemingly ignoring Brain's turning complexion.
"Is that so? What a shame. I truly thought we could have been allies," Brain said, shaking his head with genuine regret.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently. Brain threw his arms wide and laughed maniacally. "Haha! The moment is finally here! Haha! Nirvana finally belongs to me! Awaken, Nirvana!"
The tremors grew more intense as the light flared. The ground began to crack and tear apart. To keep Wendy and Carla safe, Chen Fan carried them up into the sky.
From their high vantage point, the scene below became clear. Massive pillars rose from the earththough calling them pillars was inaccurate; they were more like giant legs.
Soon, the true form of Nirvana was revealed. It was a gargantuan structure resembling a spider, scaled up to an impossible size.
Chen Fan couldn't help but marvel at the sheer majesty of it. This was the crystallization of countless people's labor and wisdom. For a moment, he felt a twinge of hesitation about destroying it. He shook his head firmly, casting the impractical thought aside, and found a place to land.
Brain noticed his approach. By now, another figure had appeared beside Braina man with a giant snake coiled around his body. Chen Fan remembered him; this was Cobra, one of the Oración Seis, a Second-Generation Dragon Slayer much like Laxus Dreyar.
Seeing Chen Fan approach, Brain laughed again. "Do you see this, Excellency? This is Nirvana! Look at this magnificent piece of art! Come, join me and we shall rule this world together! With Nirvana, no one will be able to oppose us."
As Brain spoke, Chen Fan felt an unusual magical energy probing toward his mind. He traced the source back to Cobra. He remembered that Cobra, much like Warren Rocko, could read an opponent's thoughts to predict their next move in battle.
Chen Fan flashed Cobra a smile. Startled, Cobra immediately withdrew his magic.
Brain noticed Cobra's change in expression and whispered, "Well? Did you hear anything?"
Cobra shook his head. "No. I couldn't hear a single thing."
Brain didn't seem surprised; in fact, he would have found it suspicious if Cobra had succeeded. Back at the Magic Council, they had tried every spell imaginable on Chen Fan, and all of them had failed. This was one of the reasons the Council was so wary of him.
"Excellency Chen Fan, you have seen the strength of my Oración Seis. I admit, you are the most perfect person I have ever met. Perhaps we are nothing in your eyes, but look at your companionsnot a single one of them is worthy of standing by your side," Brain said. Cobra scoffed at Brain's blatant flattery.
"Oh? So you're saying your subordinates are very strong? How about we make a bet?" Chen Fan suggested.
"Oh... and what kind of bet would that be?"
"A bet on whether my companions can fight their way up here and wipe out the Oración Seis. If your men are all defeated, I'll destroy Nirvana. If my companions fail, I'll stop interfering in this matter. What do you say?" Chen Fan proposed after a moment's thought. Wendy and Carla tugged anxiously at his clothes, but he gave them a reassuring smile.
"Fine! It's a deal!" Brain shouted. He then looked at Chen Fan and added, "But Excellency, I'm afraid you are going to lose. I have already sent my son, Midnight. He is my greatest masterpiecein fact, he was modeled after you."
"Oh? How so?" Chen Fan asked, genuinely curious.
"My son Midnight possesses magic that can reflect magic itself. While he cannot do it to the same degree as you, he is immune to the vast majority of spells. Given the level of your companions, no one can possibly defeat him," Brain stated with absolute confidence.
"Is that so? Well, I look forward to seeing it," Chen Fan said, laughing.
Brain didn't understand where Chen Fan's inexplicable confidence came from, but a faint sense of unease began to creep into his heart. Chen Fan was not the type to make baseless claims. There had to be a reasonsomething backing him up.
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