novelraw Chapter 955: Demon
Chapter 955: Demon
"There’s a type of magic that can cancel other magic. Moon Drip. We managed to obtain a small amount of liquefied Moon Drip."
"Waaah!"
They had not wanted to talk, but these mages hit far too hard.
Beating children this badly. Were these people a Dark Guild too?
Natsu tilted his head at the bawling fat kid.
"That’s weird. We barely tapped them. Why are they crying so hard?"
"They’re still kids," Lucy said.
Gray frowned.
"Could it be that not only their bodies, but their minds became softer too?"
Cana nodded grimly.
"That makes this spell extremely dangerous. If we’re careless, we might turn into brats ourselves."
"Then," Erza said after a brief pause, "from now on, we move together. No one acts alone."
The moment she finished speaking, everyone was engulfed by a kaleidoscopic sphere.
Cana recognized the spell instantly and shouted,
"Scatter!"
Boom!
The multicolored space detonated, smoke billowing in every direction.
Trusting Cana’s call, Fairy Tail moved the instant she spoke. None of them were caught in the explosion.
Flare reacted a split second too late, but Happy grabbed her and darted away. Both escaped unharmed.
"Th-thanks," Flare said, turning to Happy. "Blue-haired... um..."
She usually remembered people by hair color, but hesitated when it came to Happy.
The smoke cleared quickly.
The three Treasure Hunters were huddled together. Surprisingly, they were completely unharmed.
Around them, shards of frost drifted down gently.
Gray had acted on instinct.
Even if they were not allies, he still gave them some protection.
"Minerva!"
Erza re-equipped in an instant, her eyes locked onto the ambusher.
"It really is you?!" Cana and Lucy cried out together.
"Why would you join a Dark Guild?!"
Minerva answered casually,
"Whether legal or dark, this lady seeks only one thing. To stand at the top of the strongest guild."
"Succubus Eye is merely a stepping stone. One day, I will stand at the summit and look down upon the world of the powerful."
"Tch."
Cana glanced at the hulking man beside Minerva.
"Saying that right in front of your own teammate?"
"Hmph. Who cares?" Minerva replied coldly.
"The entire guild is full of people like that."
Her gaze swept over Cana and Lucy.
"Well, two familiar faces. Perfect for settling our score from the Grand Magic Games."
Cana hooked an arm around Lucy’s shoulders and grinned.
"You never beat either of us, yet you talk pretty big."
"To mistake my performance on stage for my true strength?" Minerva’s tone turned icy, though her smirk remained.
"Are you still amused?"
"Why wouldn’t I be. What?"
Cana suddenly felt her top go loose and her cropped pants slide downward.
She grabbed them just in time and turned in shock.
Lucy beside her had already shrunk into a little girl.
Clutching her clothes, Lucy yelped, "What’s happening?!"
"Me too," Natsu shouted.
He found himself in the same predicament.
Even Happy shrank further, becoming even smaller than before.
Gray stayed calm despite his pants slipping, but stared at his hands in disbelief.
"When did she cast it?!"
"Heh," Minerva chuckled.
Then she winced as a sharp pain tore through her body.
She hurriedly raised a spherical shield, but it shattered instantly.
Twin blades sliced through, cutting her down.
"Aaah!"
Minerva was flung backward, blood spraying as a massive crisscross wound tore across her torso.
Erza stood before them in dragon-scale armor.
Helmet. Greaves. Gauntlets. Twin curved blades.
All of it a deep, dark red.
Her expression was cold, and an overwhelming aura of killing intent rolled outward.
The strange bird shot straight into the sky. The burly man leapt back at full speed.
Clutching her chest, Minerva collapsed.
"Why didn’t you shrink? Doriate, where is your regression magic?!"
The big man replied calmly,
"I already cast it. She is the problem."
"Thank Rhodes for the gift," Erza said evenly.
"This is the Clang-Scale Dragon Armor. It may not look fancy, but it resists your spell quite well."
"That is already very flashy," Lucy muttered as she tightened her belt.
"Red hair. So strong," Flare murmured, blinking. Then she giggled.
"I’m a redhead too."
"Don’t roast yourself," Lucy said.
She had a feeling that if Flare ever joined Fairy Tail, they would get along extremely well.
Happy fluttered his tiny wings excitedly.
"Awesome!"
"As expected of Erza," Gray said, folding his arms and completely ignoring his fallen pants.
"Go, Erza! Wipe her out!"
Reduced to producing flames no larger than candles, Natsu gave up on fighting entirely and switched roles to cheer squad.
Cana fared slightly better. Her cards had not regressed along with her body.
However, her smaller frame lacked strength and coordination. She doubted she could throw them quickly or accurately.
"Magic-resistant armor..."
Doriate kept his face calm, though inwardly he cursed.
If he had passed that lord’s trial and become a true demon, he would be able to wield curse power that no armor could resist.
What a pity.
Before he could dwell further, Erza’s blade descended.
With no time to evade, Doriati caught her left blade with his bare hand and clamped his jaws onto her right.
The mask shattered on impact.
Beneath it was coarse fur around his mouth, small gill-like fins on his cheeks, and a mouth filled with savage fangs.
Blood dripped from his lips, making the sight all the more horrifying.
His palms were nearly severed, bones visible beneath torn flesh, blood pouring just as badly as from his mouth.
Even such a gruesome defense was not enough.
Erza’s strike still sent him flying.
He rolled across the frozen ground and came to a stop on all fours, his body trembling.
Erza stared at him, piecing things together.
"A demon? Satan Soul?"
The strange bird might have been some kind of beast, but this man looked far closer to a true demon.
Little Gray shouted suddenly,
"No! Not Mira’s Satan Soul. He’s a demon from Zeref’s Books!"
The monstrous face made him shudder. Even after all these years, it dragged his memories back to that terrible day.
Deliora’s rampage. The frozen giant.
The horrifying demon. His younger self.
The fragments snapped together, dredging up memories of his parents’ death and his master’s sacrifice.
The regression spell had left Gray’s mind fragile. Fear surged up uncontrollably, and his body began to shake.
He slowly raised his hands, instinctively wanting to cover his head.
Before he could, Natsu and Lucy each placed a hand on his shoulders. Happy perched atop Natsu’s head, watching him quietly.
They had been to Demon Island together. They knew parts of Gray and Lyon’s past. Even if Gray rarely spoke of it, they understood.
Cana reached over and ruffled Gray’s hair. In his child-sized body, she was taller than him now.
"Hey, stripper-boy. Got something you want to tell big sis?"
The warmth of their touch steadied him immediately.
Gray swatted their hands away, his face flushing red.
"I’m fine. I’m just not used to this tiny body."
"I see."
Erza nodded, eyes still fixed ahead.
"So this is the darkness inside Gray."
She raised her blade.
"Then let me cut it down."
In her heart, she added silently.
’Just as all of you once did for me.’
...
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