Chapter 479: A Grand Revenge Achieved
"That's right!"
Natsu roared, charging straight at Zancrow.
"Flame God's Bellow!"
Seeing Natsu rushing headlong toward him, Zancrow didn't hesitate. He inhaled deeply and unleashed a devastating pillar of pitch-black fire directly at the Dragon Slayer.
This time, Natsu didn't leap to the side or attempt to dodge. He ran straight into the inferno.
Seeing this, a sadistic grin spread across Zancrow's face—but only for a split second. His jaw practically unhinged as his grin morphed into a look of sheer, unadulterated shock.
Natsu collided with the black flames, but instead of being incinerated, the God Slayer fire didn't even singe his skin.
Instead, Natsu grabbed the torrent of black flames with both hands, opened his mouth wide, and inhaled with terrifying force. The pitch-black fire rapidly funneled directly into his mouth.
"H-How... How is this possible?! How can a lowly Dragon Slayer consume the flames of a God?!" Zancrow screamed, his eyes bulging as he watched the impossible unfold right in front of him.
Gulp... gulp... gulp...
The black flames continuously poured into Natsu's mouth until every last ember was swallowed whole.
"Just like Noah said! If your magic power is dense enough, you can force down flames that you normally can't eat! Thanks for the meal! Now I've got my strength back!"
Natsu wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, a feral, triumphant grin spreading across his face.
"I-Impossible..." Zancrow stammered, still paralyzed by shock. He genuinely believed he was hallucinating. There was simply no way a Dragon Slayer could process God Flames.
At that exact moment, a brilliant golden aura enveloped Natsu. He instantly felt a massive surge of magic and stamina revitalizing his exhausted body.
"This feeling..."
Natsu glanced over his shoulder and saw Meredy standing in the backline, actively channeling her magic toward him. Seeing him look back, Meredy intensified her output, and Natsu immediately felt the recovery process accelerate significantly.
Flashing her a massive, toothy grin, Natsu turned his attention back to Zancrow.
"Uniting the two! The flames of a Dragon and the flames of a God! Dragon God's Brilliant Flame!"
Natsu leaped high into the air, throwing his arms wide. Pitch-black flames erupted around his left hand, while his signature crimson-orange flames roared around his right.
While mid-air, Natsu violently slammed his hands together directly in front of him. The black and crimson flames instantly exploded outward, merging into a catastrophic, dual-colored inferno that crashed down onto Zancrow.
"GAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
The black and orange flames intertwined, furiously scorching Zancrow from all sides. The God Slayer let out a bloodcurdling scream of pure agony.
Once Natsu ceased his magical output, the turbulent flames quickly dissipated into the air. Zancrow plummeted from the sky and crashed heavily onto the ground. His body was covered in severe burns, and he was completely unconscious.
Natsu landed heavily, resting his hands on his knees as he panted loudly.
He had expended a massive amount of magic power forcing his body to adapt to Zancrow's flames earlier. He had then burned through almost all the energy he had recovered from eating the black fire just to unleash that final, ultimate attack.
The consecutive, massive drains on his reserves had left his tank practically empty. If it weren't for Meredy and Wendy's continuous support magic, he likely would have collapsed the moment he landed.
"Are you okay?" Ultear rushed over, noticing his exhaustion.
"I'm fine. Let's hurry up and finish off the rest of these Grimoire Heart guys," Natsu huffed, trying to push past Ultear to join the main brawl.
"Just sit down and rest," Ultear sighed helplessly, physically blocking his path. She pointed toward the broader battlefield. "Look."
Natsu blinked and finally took a good look at the ongoing fights. Fairy Tail was utterly dominating on every front. Seeing that his guildmates had everything completely under control, he finally relented. He dragged his tired body to the backline and sat down heavily beside Wendy and the support team.
Ultear walked over to the unconscious Zancrow, hoisted him up by the collar of his shirt, and casually dragged him back toward the Fairy Tail lines.
"Self-Enhancement: Cotton!"
Seeing Erza charging at him with her massive serrated greatsword, Kain Hikaru panicked. He instantly transformed his body into fluffy cotton and floated high into the air to avoid the devastating strike. He knew perfectly well that her greatsword possessed enough kinetic force to shatter his iron defense.
"Requip: Flight Armor!"
Erza seamlessly swapped armors, rocketing straight up into the air toward the floating Kain.
"Self-Enhancement: Iron!"
Kain reacted instantly—or rather, he had anticipated Erza's high-speed aerial pursuit. The moment his magic activated, his body density skyrocketed. Driven by the sudden, immense weight, he plummeted straight down like a stone, narrowly dodging Erza's mid-air slash.
"Requip: Purgatory Armor!"
Erza's reaction speed was monstrous. Mid-air, she instantly swapped back to her heaviest armor. Using her downward momentum, she swung her serrated greatsword in a brutal vertical arc, slamming it squarely into the back of Kain's iron-clad head.
CRACK!
The sheer force of the blow spider-webbed fractures across Kain's metallic skull and sent him crashing dizzily into the dirt. However, because Erza had to strike hastily to catch him during his fall, the blow lacked her full power. While painful, it wasn't enough to instantly knock him out.
Erza immediately dove after him to deliver the finishing blow. Though Kain was severely concussed, his survival instincts kicked in, and he reflexively cast a spell.
"Self-Enhancement: Mist!"
Kain's body dissolved into a cloud of white smoke just a fraction of a second before Erza's second strike landed, causing her blade to pass harmlessly through the vapor.
Having evaded the lethal attack, the mist rapidly drifted several meters away before reforming back into Kain's physical body. He stared at Erza, panting heavily and sweating profusely.
"You're surprisingly resilient," Erza remarked, resting the tip of her greatsword on the ground as she analyzed him.
"O-O-Of course I am! I am one of the Seven Kin of Purgatory! I-I'm incredibly strong!" Kain stammered, trying to sound brave.
Realizing that playing purely defensively against Erza was a losing battle, Kain decided to go on the offensive. He roared and charged directly at her.
Erza tightened her grip on her greatsword, preparing to deliver a devastating counter the moment he entered her range.
However, she remained hyper-vigilant. After she shattered his iron defense the first time, he would be an idiot to try using it for a direct clash again. She was certain he was preparing to use a different property to catch her off guard.
"Self-Enhancement: Luminous Body!"
Just before reaching Erza's striking range, Kain activated his magic. His entire body suddenly erupted in a blinding, incandescent flash of pure light.
Erza, who had been staring directly at him to track his movements, was instantly blinded. Excruciating pain shot through her eyes, and tears streamed down her face.
She barely had time to cross her greatsword defensively in front of her chest before a massive physical force slammed into the blade. The impact sent her flying backward through the air.
She skidded to a halt several meters away, her eyes still burning and overflowing with tears. The blinding afterimage hadn't faded yet; she could only make out a blurry, indistinct silhouette charging toward her again.
"Requip: Flight Armor!"
Erza swiftly swapped armors and leaped backward, relying purely on her heightened instincts and hearing to evade the incoming attack.
She intended to retreat and stall until her vision recovered. Suddenly, a warm, golden aura enveloped her body. The searing pain in her eyes instantly vanished, and her vision cleared completely.
Erza immediately recognized Meredy's auxiliary magic. With her sight restored and her physical condition buffed, she drew her dual swords and blurred forward, launching a ferocious counter-assault.
"Self-Enhancement: Luminous Body!"
Kain tried to repeat his previous tactic, bursting into blinding light once more.
However, Erza didn't fall for it twice. Instead of looking directly at him, she lowered her gaze, focusing entirely on his footwork. Combined with Meredy's protective buffs, the blinding light barely hindered her at all.
Kain desperately threw punches and kicks at her, but donning the Flight Armor, Erza's speed and reflexes were simply too much for him. She effortlessly danced around every single strike.
"Self-Enhancement: Iron!"
Unable to land a hit and realizing he was completely outmatched in speed, Kain panicked and shifted back to his iron form to tank her inevitable retaliation.
Erza's eyes flashed sharply. There's the opening.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Erza unleashed a blinding flurry of rapid-fire slashes. Kain couldn't even process her movements; he could only stand there and endure the barrage as her blades sparked uselessly against his metallic skin.
None of her strikes pierced his defense, producing only a continuous cacophony of metallic ringing.
"Requip: Purgatory Armor!"
Using the momentum and speed from her Flight Armor assault, Erza closed the final few inches between them. In the exact microsecond before her next strike landed, she swapped to the Purgatory Armor. She swung her serrated greatsword with devastating, augmented force directly into Kain's chest.
CRACK!
The massive blade shattered his iron defense completely. Deep, jagged fractures spread across his metallic torso as he was launched backward violently.
"Self-Enhancement: Cotton!"
Desperate to avoid the follow-up, Kain instantly shifted his body into cotton while mid-air, attempting to float away safely.
"Requip: Flight Armor!"
Erza's Requip speed was simply too fast for him to comprehend. In the blink of an eye, she was back in her speed-enhancing armor. She kicked off the ground with explosive force, instantly appearing in the air directly in front of the floating Kain.
This time, she wasn't holding the standard swords associated with the Flight Armor. Instead, she wielded a longsword wreathed in raging flames.
With a fierce cry, Erza slashed downward, cleaving a fiery arc straight through Kain's cotton body and smashing him brutally into the ground.
Because cotton is highly flammable, the areas where Erza's fiery blade had struck immediately caught fire. Kain shrieked in agony as the flames rapidly spread across his fluffy body.
"HOT! HOT! HOT! Self-Enhancement: Iron!"
Kain frantically activated his magic, shifting back to solid iron. Naturally, the flames instantly extinguished upon contact with the metal.
"Requip: Purgatory Armor!"
Using the Flight Armor's residual momentum, Erza plummeted toward the ground, swapping to the Purgatory Armor mid-dive. She brought her serrated greatsword down with executioner-like precision, slamming it brutally into the iron-clad Kain before he could even attempt to dodge.
BOOM!
The devastating impact instantly spider-webbed massive fractures across Kain's entire body. He violently coughed up a huge mouthful of blood as the ground beneath him cratered from the sheer kinetic force.
Kain groaned, trying desperately to push himself back up.
Erza didn't give him the chance. She mercilessly brought the flat of her blade down onto the top of his head, instantly knocking him out cold.
The moment he lost consciousness, his magic automatically dispelled, and his body reverted to its normal human state. His skin was covered in numerous deep, fresh lacerations and bruises—the physical manifestation of Erza repeatedly shattering his iron defense.
Erza let out a long sigh of relief. Kain's ability to alter his physical composition to adapt to any situation was incredibly similar to her own Requip magic. Fighting him had been highly tedious, requiring constant split-second judgment and adaptability. Fortunately, her combat experience and overall skill were vastly superior, allowing her to secure the win.
She grabbed the unconscious, massive man by the collar and dragged him effortlessly back to the base camp. Dropping him onto the dirt near Wendy and Meredy, she smiled at the pink-haired girl.
"Your support magic was excellent, Meredy. The timing and power were perfect."
Meredy merely nodded silently, offering no verbal reply. Her eyes were fixed entirely on the unconscious, battered fat man lying on the ground.
Just then, Ultear returned, dragging Zancrow by the collar. She unceremoniously dumped the God Slayer right next to Kain, then stepped back to stand beside Meredy.
Meredy stared at the two men for a long, suffocating moment. Suddenly, her eyes reddened. Without saying a word, she lunged forward and began viciously kicking both men, stomping on them with everything she had.
Under the brutal assault, the wounds on both men tore open, fresh blood seeping into their clothes and pooling at the corners of their mouths.
The intense pain jolted both Zancrow and Kain awake, but before they could even groan, Erza—who had been watching calmly—swiftly knocked them both out cold again.
Meredy continued to kick and stomp on them in absolute, silent fury for several minutes before Ultear finally stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around the girl from behind, gently pulling her away.
If she kept kicking them like that, Kain might survive due to his sheer bulk, but Zancrow would definitely be beaten to death. And Ultear refused to let Meredy stain her hands with murder at such a young age; she shouldn't have to carry that burden.
Held tightly in Ultear's warm embrace, Meredy's frantic, maddened expression slowly began to fade, replaced by a profound, overwhelming clarity.
"Ultear-nee... Uwaaaaahhhhh!"
Meredy turned around and buried her face in Ultear's chest, breaking down into loud, heartbroken sobs. Ultear gently stroked her back, whispering soothing words to help her release the pent-up anguish. Wendy, Yukino, and Carla gathered around, offering their own gentle comfort.
Despite having lived a relatively happy and fulfilling life with Fairy Tail over the past few years, Meredy still had periods of deep, inescapable depression. How could anyone simply forget the slaughter of their entire family and the annihilation of their hometown? It was an unfathomable grudge.
Even though she knew the general identities of the culprits, Grimoire Heart's untraceable nature had made tracking them down impossible.
But today, the two monsters responsible for destroying her life had been beaten to a pulp and thrown at her feet like trash. The sudden realization that her demons were finally conquered was what triggered her emotional breakdown.
"Alright, let Meredy vent for a while. She's been carrying this burden for far too long," Noah's Thought Projection said softly, walking over with Gildarts and Ur.
Ur immediately stepped forward and joined the girls in comforting Meredy.
Noah's projection then walked over to the unconscious bodies of Zancrow and Kain. With a few swift, precise movements of his hands, he inscribed complex runic seals over both men, completely paralyzing their motor functions.
Then, exactly as he had done to Bluenote, Noah permanently crippled their magical cores, ensuring they could never cast a single spell again for the rest of their lives.
Once he finished, Noah casually dragged both men over and tossed them next to the equally crippled Bluenote, leaving all three lying face-down in the dirt.
He then walked over to Meredy and gently explained exactly what he had done to Zancrow and Kain, emphasizing the miserable, crippled future that awaited them in a Magic Council prison cell.
Hearing the ultimate fate of the men who had slaughtered her family, Meredy finally wiped her tears away and offered a genuine, radiant smile.
Her family and her city were finally avenged. The nightmare was truly over. She could finally be at peace.
~~~
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