"Everyone, attack together!"
Gray shouted upon seeing the situation.
"Fire Dragon's—Sword Horn!"
"Iron Dragon's—Steel Fist!"
"Ice Make—Lancer!"
Boom boom boom
Mr.2 was forced to retreat, his control over his magic weakening.
Wendy, despite her injuries, quickly crawled to safety.
"This isn't working," Gray said. "We need to find his weak point and strike hard!"
Mr.2, an elephant demon, had incredibly strong resilience. His Gravity magic spread smoothly over his body, deflecting incoming attacks and drastically reducing their impact.
This made it nearly impossible for Natsu and the others to land effective blows.
Natsu said, "Then we'll use our fists. If he can block magic, let's see if he can block this!"
"Worth a try. I'll ice-coat your fists," Gray replied.
He conjured icy gauntlets studded with sharp spikes on Natsu and Gajeel's fists.
Boom
Natsu's body erupted with dragon scales as he charged at Mr.2.
Gajeel turned his entire body metallic, confident in his enhanced defense.
Boom
Natsu's punch was caught by Mr.2, but he quickly unleashed a flurry of rapid strikes.
"Gravity!"
Mr.2 activated his magic, pinning Natsu in place. Unlike Wendy, Natsu managed to stay upright, struggling against the pressure.
At that moment, Gajeel attacked, and Mr.2 predictably used Gravity to suppress him.
"Is that all?" Mr.2 sneered, raising a massive axe and swinging it down toward Natsu.
"Stop right there!!" Emily surged with magic, pressing her fingers to her temples despite the pain, focusing all her will to influence Mr.2.
Though minimal, even a brief hesitation allowed Natsu to dodge.
Boom
Natsu narrowly avoided the blow; Mr.2's axe missed its mark.
"Natsu-nii, Gajeel-nii," Emily called out through their communication link. "When he attacks, his control weakens. Few besides Master can multitask so well."
Using Deception Magic for support required multitasking—like playing whack-a-mole.
Jehfrit demonstrated this during the Phantom Lord battle: fighting Master Jose while monitoring the battlefield and saving allies amidst chaos.
Emily, though less skilled, was a rare genius in this regard.
Most couldn't draw circles with one hand and squares with the other.
Mr.2 fundamentally couldn't multitask either.
Full-body attacks naturally weakened his control over his magic.
"Emily, you just gave me an idea!" Gray exclaimed. "I have a plan!"
He quickly explained.
"Let's do it!" Everyone agreed.
"Heaven Dragon's—Roar!" Wendy unleashed a powerful roar, stirring dust and debris.
Gray seized the moment, pulling Natsu and Gajeel back.
"Infinite—Lancers!" Gray bombarded Mr.2 with rapid ice spear strikes, forcing him to defend.
Meanwhile, Gajeel charged again.
As expected, Mr.2 used Gravity to suppress him.
"Heh—"
Gajeel grinned fiercely.
"Swift Wind!" Reduced gravity, increased speed.
"Armor Strength!" Boosted defense.
"Steel Wrist Power!" Amplified strength.
Wendy cast three buffs onto Gajeel.
Resisting Gravity magic, Gajeel attacked Mr.2 with renewed vigor.
"This force? Just a tickle," Mr.2 sneered.
"Crimson Lotus—Fire Dragon Fist!" Natsu unleashed a barrage of strikes.
Mr.2 had to split attention to defend against Natsu.
Suddenly—
Crash
An ice pillar erupted beneath Mr.2, violently slamming him back.
His magical defenses broke.
Boom boom boom
In an instant, both Natsu and Gajeel's punches landed solidly.
"Lucy too!"
"Erza too!"
"Mira too!"
"Even Jehfrit!"
"How dare you bully Fairy Tail's members—"
"Bite down and endure it!"
Natsu roared, pouring all remaining magic power into one final attack.
This was their last chance.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art—"
"Miracle Fire Formation—"
"Crimson Lotus Phoenix Sword!"
Natsu transformed into a massive sword and charged Mr.2.
"Damn it!" Mr.2 tried to raise his hand to defend but was immobilized.
A wave of overwhelming despair surged through him.
In that moment, he realized the truth—
They had lost before this battle began.
Jehfrit had planted magic seeds inside each of them.
Once their magic touched his seeds, they would detonate, granting him control over their emotions!
Humans or demons alike—all slaves to emotion.
And Jehfrit was master of emotion.
So...
Mr.2 knew his despair was wrong, but his rational mind couldn't resist.
Even understanding this, he realized the despair was Jehfrit's magic at work—forcing him to withdraw.
Mr.2 lowered his hand.
How could he win against such a foe?
Boom
The massive blade sliced the elephant demon in half!
Its body vanished instantly.
Snap
Jehfrit snapped his fingers.
"...," Roya turned toward him.
"Don't misunderstand. I just wanted some snacks," Jehfrit chuckled.
Miko placed a plate of snacks in his palm.
"Don't get cocky yet. Your companions are almost out of magic," Roya remarked.
"What, is Mr. Roya panicking?"
"Hmph, why would I? Even if they die, it won't matter. You can't defeat One," Roya said confidently.
"We'll see," Jehfrit smiled.
Uncle Gildarts, whose mere presence inspired confidence, had already entered the base. Soon, he'd face Roya's trump card, One.
On the battlefield, only Mr.1 and Miss.1 remained.
Miss.1 was battered by Ansa but, after Aza drained much of Ansa's magic, she caught her breath.
Meanwhile,
The battle between Mr.1—the strongest brother—and Laxus reached its peak.
"Haa—"
"I underestimated you," Mr.1 admitted.
Earlier, when everyone demonized, he held back.
But Laxus's endurance surprised him.
"Truly impressive, Dragon Slayer," Mr.1 took a deep breath.
"Release—"
"Ape King!"
Boom
A three-meter-tall ape demon with four pillar-like arms emerged, radiating immense pressure.
"This will end quickly. It won't hurt much," Mr.1 declared coldly.
Boom
He dashed at Laxus, delivering a crushing punch.
Thud
Laxus caught it with one hand.
"That it?" Laxus smirked.
"Where does this power come from?" Mr.1 was shocked.
During their prolonged fight, Laxus matched him.
After releasing his form, Mr.1's power multiplied several times.
He expected to obliterate Laxus but found him an equal.
"You're not the only one who can surge with power," Laxus sneered.
Transforming into a streak of golden lightning, he retreated, then unleashed his magic.
Boom
Dragon scales erupted on Laxus's body, far more than before.
"Speed!"
"Here!"
With a shout, Speed transformed into a bolt of electricity, attaching to Laxus's back.
"My speed is incredible. Can you keep up?" Laxus grinned.
Boom
His figure vanished.
"So fast!" Mr.1 gasped, barely keeping up.
"Faster! Strength is enough; speed is lacking!" Laxus's relentless barrage overwhelmed Mr.1's four arms.
"What is that cat?" Lucy exclaimed.
"That's Laxus's cat," Jehfrit explained. "We saved him on a mission with Lisanna. He admires Laxus."
Hearing the team's communication, Laxus grew prouder, accelerating his attacks!
Everyone could see—his cat was the greatest!
"Even an Exceed has such abilities! Laxus's speed is almost invisible!" Erza remarked.
"Happy…" Natsu glanced at Happy.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I can't do that!" Happy hopped in frustration.
Elsewhere, Lily was also surprised. "Is that Speed? He has such potential!"
"Amazing! An Exceed with such powers," Carla marveled.
"Carla—" Happy approached tearfully, suddenly insecure.
Carla smiled, "Each Dragon Slayer's cat has unique traits. You have Jehfrit's card deck, which is powerful. Why cry?"
"Waa... Then... don't look at that guy so much," Happy whimpered.
"..." Carla was speechless.
Is this what he's thinking about now?
Not long after,
Mr.1's magic dissipated.
"Sorry, Mr. Laxus. I need him," Aza said, pulling Mr.1's body into the mirror world.
Today was quite the feast!
Laxus didn't mind; he rested briefly.
"Gurgle gurgle—" Speed slid off his back, dizzy and foaming at the mouth—pushed past his limits.
Thus,
The Mr. Brothers were annihilated.
Fairy Tail's team was near exhaustion too.
Everyone watched Miss.1's battle.
"..."
Boom
Miss.1 was knocked down again by Ansa.
"Enough!" Miss.1 roared, eyes red. "You humiliated me before Mr. Jehfrit!"
"I didn't want to use it—"
"Use that hideous form!"
"Afraid of being despised by Mr. Jehfrit."
"But..."
"You've made me furious!"
"Second-stage Release!"
Boom
Ansa's punch was blocked by Miss.1.
She struck back with terrifying force, sending him flying!
"How is this possible?!" Roya exclaimed.
"Impossible!"
"Could it be—"
"She's the perfect experiment?!"
Roya could hardly believe it!
Despite spoiling Miss.1, he viewed her as a failed product, inferior to incomplete One.
Yet—
Miss.1 had a second-stage release!
Now fully demon, not half-human, half-demon.
Her face more demonic, magic power skyrocketing several times, pure demon essence!
"Before the Gates of Hell open, I'll
kill you!" Miss.1 declared.
With Aza draining much of Ansa's magic, Miss.1 dominated the fight.
"Haha!"
Jehfrit laughed. "Mr. Roya, you surprised me!"
Roya dismissed her earlier betrayal talk as nonsense.
Now, reflecting on his lifelong pursuit of immortality, creating countless demons yet always failing, he realized:
The perfect experiment was right here—Miss.1!
She truly intended to rebel!
That's why she hid her true form!
"By the way… what exactly is the Gates of Hell?" Jehfrit asked.
Both Roya and Miss.1 had mentioned it often.
"It's a special dimension I call the Demon's Graveyard," Roya explained, composed despite anger.
"Great danger lies there. I don't know all about it, but I took a fragment of its power to create Miss.1. As she grows, a force from there tries to pull her back."
"The link between that world and ours—the Gates of Hell."
Finishing, Roya growled, "This wretch plans to betray me!"
Though viewing Miss.1 as an experiment, he'd indulged her like a daughter.
Never expected—
She was truly ungrateful!
"Interesting," Jehfrit said, searching his memories.
"Miko, do you know anything?"
"I have vague memories," Miko nodded, clutching her head. "Feels familiar… The Demon's Graveyard…"
"If it hurts, don't force it," Jehfrit soothed, massaging her temples.
"Sorry, Jehfrit," Miko apologized.
"No problem," Jehfrit smiled.
Looking out the window, he said, "Let me witness this—the Gates of Hell."
"Aza, don't get mischievous."
He reminded gently.
"Sorry, Master," Aza expelled the magic he'd consumed.
Boom
Ansa's strength surged again. Previously suppressed by Miss.1, he now regained the upper hand.
"Jehfrit!" Miss.1 cried. "Can't you tolerate me?"
She fought desperately to survive against Ansa.
As her power surged, she sensed something ominous—
The Gates of Hell were about to open!
She would be dragged away!