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Of course, that was just an example. In reality, the more clones there are, the stronger the effect becomes.
So when there's a chance for profit, he doesn't choose to act too cautiously. Instead, he waits until the otherworldly clones grow stronger, and then gains benefits without harm.
But if every clone thinks this way, their overall strength will improve very slowly.
And by the time it's safe to claim those benefits, the rewards from that world might no longer be valuable.
Clones are important—they're the foundation of his strength—but they shouldn't be treated as irreplaceable. As long as the benefits are significant, sacrificing a clone is acceptable.
For instance, if a clone in some world could consume a rare treasure to increase its strength a hundredfold, even if it leads to its death afterward, it might still be worth it.
Compared to these clones, the most important is the main body. If something happens to the original, there might never be new clones again.
Aside from the main Marvel world, where he takes a cautious approach, in other worlds he may lie low when there's no benefit—but when there's gain to be had, he goes all in.
"Ajil actually lost to this group of losers? What a disgrace!"
Seeing the Desert King knocked out cold, Larcade stepped forward again.
"Let me handle them."
He hadn't been paying attention earlier and got sneak-attacked by that cat's sleep magic. If he didn't redeem himself now, how would he ever face everyone again?
"Be careful."
August, the Magic King, spoke up when he saw Larcade step out once more.
As the leader of the Spriggan 12, he despised Larcade the most. He was always late to meetings and constantly acted like being the son of their father gave him special status.
Little did he know—August was Zeref's true biological son.
But now wasn't the time to bicker. Unlike the others, he wasn't optimistic about the situation.
That cat had been suspiciously calm the entire time, which gave him an uneasy feeling.
Everyone else believed that the Desert King and Larcade alone could finish the job, and they scoffed at the idea of stepping in. But August was observing them to gauge the true strength of the enemies.
If Larcade lost too, he would immediately command the remaining nine to strike alongside him.
"Hmph, I was merely careless earlier. Did you all forget? I'm the secret weapon Father prepared to defeat Acnologia."
Larcade snorted coldly. A dazzling white light burst from his body, instantly enveloping everyone within his field of vision.
"Let me show you how terrifying desire can be!"
"Ah!!!"
"Ah!!!"
"Ah!!!"
The Fairy Tail wizards who had been charging at Larcade suddenly flushed red and collapsed to the ground, bodies limp, unable to stop themselves from making strange, involuntary noises.
"This magic… it stirs up carnal desire!"
Not just the frontline fighters—even George, who had just treated everyone and returned to the rear to hold the line, was affected.
Larcade's magic didn't act directly on the mind or body. Otherwise, with George's mental and physical strength, he could've easily shaken it off.
Instead, this spell targeted one of the seven emotions—lust. Even when George tried to wash it away with his immense willpower, he could only slightly suppress it. Full resistance was impossible.
No wonder it was said this magic could affect even the magic-immune Black Dragon.
Of course, the spell didn't cause direct damage. If one had enough willpower and could fight through the waves of desire to defeat Larcade, everything would return to normal.
However, under this kind of pressure, an average mage would be lucky to use even a tenth of their true power.
"Heaven and Earth's mysterious origin, source of all energy, through countless kalpas I cultivate, grant me divine power!"
George rapidly chanted an incantation. A golden light enveloped his body, instantly dispersing most of his lustful thoughts.
"Thankfully, Daoist techniques counter this sort of thing best."
Using the Golden Light Spell he had just learned through a new clone, George resisted Larcade's magic of desire and largely returned to normal. He looked around.
"Seems like not everyone is affected. Only those who have experienced it seem to fall prey."
That's when he realized the true nature of Larcade's magic. It could bypass spiritual defenses, but had a significant drawback.
Even under its influence, many people hadn't succumbed.
For example, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Wendy—those who had never experienced intimacy—remained unaffected and kept their full combat power.
In contrast, mages like Gildarts, Laxus, and Minerva—those who had married, had kids, or tasted carnal pleasure—could barely remain standing.
This spell was basically a virginity detector.
Honestly, most outcomes didn't surprise him—but a few did.
He hadn't expected that Jellal and Erza would fall victim to it too, which implied that during the time he'd been away in the Northern Continent, Jellal and Erza had already slept together.
Same with Gajeel and Levy—they were also affected. Yet surprisingly, Mirajane, the sexy cover girl, was completely fine.
The most unexpected of all, however, was that even the ghost of Mavis was affected.
Larcade's magic worked on departed souls as well, and Mavis's connection with Zeref clearly went beyond a kiss.
Mavis had once claimed that Zeref's kiss cursed her to death.
But now it seemed there must have been more than just a kiss—probably a lengthy prelude before the fatal act.
That said, Mavis looked like a child even though she was in her twenties at the time. Zeref sure had questionable tastes.
"Looks like we've lost this fight."
With Gildarts, Jellal, Laxus, and Erza—their top fighters—disabled, the remnants like Minerva from Saber Tooth were effectively wiped out.
Natsu, Gray, and Lucy alone weren't nearly enough to deal with someone like Larcade.
Even though they were covered in wounds, and George kept tossing out healing spells, they simply couldn't match him.
"This ends now!"
Seeing Natsu and the others get up repeatedly after each healing and come at him again with growing strength, Larcade began to lose patience.
"Desire Implantation!"
With a clap of his hands, countless white tendrils shot out and entangled Natsu and the others. Even those who had no experience were forcibly overwhelmed with lust and instantly lost their combat ability.
"These tendrils are stronger... but easier to deal with."
George dodged over a dozen of them, then swung his arm, releasing a massive wave of his Divine Shadowless Blade Spell, instantly severing all the tendrils.
Earlier, Larcade's lust magic was cast as light—nearly impossible to predict or avoid—but it had no effect on the pure of heart.
These tendrils, however, affected everyone—but were much easier to dodge and destroy.
"Nice. I've learned this magic now!"
George suddenly teleported above Larcade in a flash of lightning.
"Super · Plasma Electromagnetic Cannon!"
A massive pillar of thunder erupted from George's hands, striking Larcade from above with pinpoint precision.
Having mastered the essence of thunder magic across multiple worlds, he unleashed its full potential.
Even someone as strong as Larcade—one of the Spriggan 12—was seriously wounded by a single strike.
(End of Chapter)