Boom!
The white Crash magic and the deep blue Absolute Zero collided violently in mid-air, yet they did not repel each other.
These two powers, both at the pinnacle of the Ishgar continent, exhibited devastating destructive force the moment they touched that black demon.
The demon’s right arm was hit by Gildarts’ white light; its hard black scales, along with the underlying muscle and bone, instantly disintegrated into countless uniform cubes that scattered across the ground.
Before it could even scream, Ur’s extreme freezing air had already climbed up its left side, freezing it solid along with the gushing black blood.
“Roar—” The demon let out a shrill roar as its massive body crashed heavily onto the ice.
Bark stood before the ruins of the fortress, his eyes beneath the skull mask filled with terror.
The trump card he was so proud of hadn’t even lasted a single round against these two monsters.
“Ignore those two monsters!
Go kill the brats in the back!” Bark roared hysterically, pointing at Aether and the others in the distance.
Dozens of Dark Mages from Frost Wolf Fang snapped out of it.
Not daring to approach the battlefield of Gildarts and Ur, they bypassed the central area and flanked toward the rear in a fan formation.
The light of magic circles lit up one after another in the snow, as fireballs, wind blades, and venom rained down overwhelmingly.
Laxus grinned, crossing his arms as golden currents of electricity danced at his fingertips.
“No matter how many pieces of trash there are, they’re still just trash.” “Wait.” Aether raised his hand, stopping Laxus who was prepared to charge.
He took a step forward, his hands quickly forming seals.
“Hydro.” Four pillars of water rose from the snow beneath Aether’s feet, landing precisely on Laxus, Gray, Lyon, and himself.
The water did not soak their clothes, but instead formed a thin film of water over their bodies.
Next, Aether slammed his right hand onto the ground.
“Geo.” Golden ripples spread along the ice, accurately hitting the water film on the four of them.
Hum.
Four blue diamond-shaped crystals precipitated out of thin air and instantly expanded, turning into four translucent blue shields that firmly protected the four of them within.
“What is this?” Gray poked the blue light screen in front of him.
“Hydro Crystal Shield,” Aether said calmly.
“It can absorb a large amount of physical and magic DMG.
Laxus, take the lead.
Gray, Lyon, you two follow on the flanks.” Laxus gave a cold snort without wasting words.
His legs exerted sudden force, and he turned into a bolt of golden lightning, charging into the enemy ranks.
Three explosive fireballs flying toward him slammed into Laxus’s blue shield.
A few ripples appeared on the surface of the shield, but not even a single crack formed.
Laxus didn’t slow down at all, smashing directly through the residual flames of the fireballs and landing a punch on a Dark Mage’s face.
Thunderlight exploded, and the man was sent flying backward, breaking through the camp’s wooden fence.
“This shield…
is really tough.” Lyon looked at the unharmed Laxus, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
“Don’t daze off.” Aether’s voice came from behind.
Aether held his hands out, releasing the Hydro magic within his body without reservation.
“Rainfall.” The wind and snow above the canyon suddenly ceased.
In its place was a torrential downpour that enveloped the entire enemy formation.
The cold water instantly soaked the clothes of all the Dark Mages, leaving them completely drenched.
“Laxus!
Lightning!” Aether shouted.
Laxus understood immediately.
He leapt high into the air, bringing his hands together above his head as his violent magic turned into a pillar of lightning as thick as a barrel, striking hard into the puddles in the center of the crowd.
“Thunder Pressure Surge!” Zzzzt— The golden current spread at a terrifying speed through the water on the ground and the rain on the enemies.
An electro-charged reaction instantly erupted.
The lightning, which originally could only hit three to five people, was forced to connect more than twenty targets under the guidance of the Hydro element.
Shrill screams echoed across the snowy plains.
More than twenty Dark Mages twitched all over, foaming at the mouth, and fell straight down into the snow.
“This coordination…” Gray watched, dumbfounded.
“Your turn.” Aether turned to look at Gray and Lyon.
“Ice-Make, cover them.” Gray and Lyon exchanged a look, then both balled their fists and crossed them in front of their bodies, one above the other.
“Ice-Make: Ice Snow Cannon!” “Ice-Make: White Dragon!” A thick pillar of ice and a roaring ice dragon charged into the enemy ranks simultaneously.
Normally, ice magic of this level would at most push the enemies back.
But now, every enemy was completely soaked by Aether’s Hydro element.
The moment the Cryo element touched the water.
Frozen.
Crack crack crack crack.
Frost spread rapidly along the water.
The remaining dozen or so Dark Mages didn’t even have time to release defensive magic before they were Frozen into crystal-clear ice sculptures, Frozen in place in postures of terror.
In less than three minutes.
Dozens of elites from an A-rank Dark Guild were completely wiped out.
Laxus landed on the ground, glanced at the ice sculptures and charred bodies covering the floor, and then looked back at Aether, who stood in the same spot without having moved an inch.
He had to admit, having this guy controlling the field from behind made fighting an absolute pleasure.
There was no need to consider defense or the dissipation of magic; one only needed to max out the damage output.
“Good job.” Aether dispelled the shield and clapped his hands.
On the other side, the commotion on the main battlefield had also subsided.
Gildarts stood before the remains of the giant demon and yawned.
The demon’s body had been completely crushed into pieces the size of fingernails, and Ur had used ice to seal all these pieces tight, eliminating any possibility of regeneration.
Bark slumped on the ground, his face ashen.
Gildarts walked over, grabbed Bark by the collar, and lifted him up.
“Speak.
Why aren’t you Frost Wolf Fang people staying in the south?
What are you doing in this godforsaken Ice Wind Valley?” Gildarts exhaled a cloud of white vapor.
“Don’t tell me you’re here to admire the snow.” Bark trembled all over, his gaze shifting between Gildarts and Ur.
“I…
we’re here for that legend…” Bark swallowed hard, his voice hoarse.
“What legend?” Ur stepped forward, her gaze cold.
“Deliora.” The moment that name was uttered, the surrounding air seemed to freeze.
Aether’s pupils contracted slightly.
Deliora.
A demon from the Book of Zeref.
A disaster that brings absolute destruction.
Ur’s expression changed instantly.
She pushed Gildarts aside and gripped Bark’s collar tightly, her voice laced with undisguised killing intent: “What did you say?
Deliora is here?” “No…
not here.” Bark stammered, terrified by Ur’s gaze.
“We just heard that ten years ago, Deliora appeared on the edge of the Northern Continent.
The guild’s higher-ups got hold of this low-quality imitation and wanted to find the real Deliora to use its power to rule Ishgar…” “Foolish.” Ur spat out the word coldly and tossed Bark onto the ground.
A layer of frost spread quickly, freezing Bark’s lower body to the ground.
“The power of a demon is not something humans can control.” Ur turned to look at the snow filling the sky, a trace of imperceptible heaviness in her tone.
Gildarts rubbed his chin.
“Deliora, huh…
that really is a big trouble.
If the old man knew there were clues about that thing in the north, he’d probably have a headache again.” Aether walked up to Gildarts and asked in a low voice, “Is that demon very strong?” “Very strong.” Gildarts set aside his usual casualness.
“That’s a true natural disaster.
Wherever it goes, nothing survives.
Even I wouldn’t be certain of victory against that thing.” Aether fell silent.
He looked at Ur, then at Gray and Lyon standing not far away.
The gears of fate had already begun to turn.
The shadow of Deliora would eventually shroud this master and her disciples.
“In any case, the mission is considered complete.” Gildarts patted Aether’s shoulder.
“What should we do with these guys?” “Hand them over to the Council’s garrison.” Ur took a deep breath to calm her emotions.
She turned to look at Aether and the others, her gaze lingering on Aether for an extra two seconds.
She had seen the battle in the rear very clearly just now.
That blond boy’s lightning was very powerful, but the one truly dominating the flow of battle was the youth before her.
She had never heard of such a method of perfectly combining different magical elements, even forcibly changing the nature of magic.
“Fairy Tail is indeed an interesting guild.” Ur’s tense facial lines softened slightly.
“It’s getting dark.
There are no villages nearby.
If you don’t mind, come to my place to rest for the night.
The Council’s people should arrive tomorrow.” Gildarts grinned.
“That sounds great.
In this hellish weather, I definitely don’t want to sleep in the snow.” Gray sidled up to Aether, his eyes sparkling.
“Hey, how did you do that magic that made the shields appear?
Teach me!” Lyon pulled Gray away.
“Stop embarrassing yourself, that’s someone else’s secret technique.” Aether looked at these two fellow disciples with such different personalities, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“That’s called an Elemental Reaction.” Aether held out his hand; a drop of water condensed at his fingertip, then turned into an ice crystal.
“Want to learn?
Come find me at Fairy Tail when you have the chance.” The group walked deep into the canyon, stepping through the thick snow.
The wind and snow gradually subsided, revealing a pale crescent moon.
Aether walked at the back of the group, looking back at the Frozen remains of the demon.
Deliora.
If the plot hadn’t changed, that demon would soon descend upon the north.
With his current magic reserves, he wouldn’t even be able to break through its defense if he faced a monster of that level.
He had to speed up the rate at which he accumulated Primogems.
Aether gripped the hilt of the short sword in his pocket.
He needed stronger character templates and more elemental power.
In the face of absolute disaster, he needed the confidence to overturn the chessboard.
Maybe it’s not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”