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The battle on screen escalated into full intensity.
Facing Hades' seemingly immovable presence, Fairy Tail did not retreat. Instead, their teamwork reached a frightening level.
"Natsu!"
Erza shouted sharply. She twisted in midair, grabbed Natsu by the ankles, and hurled him skyward with all her strength.
"Gray!"
No words were needed.
The instant Natsu flew up, Gray slammed his hands into the deck.
"Ice-Make… War Hammer!"
A colossal ice hammer erupted from the ground beneath Natsu. He kicked off it hard, accelerating like a launched arrow.
At the same time, support arrived from the rear.
"Sky Dragon's… Roar!!!" Wendy unleashed a massive storm.
"Open! Gate of the Scorpio! Scorpio!" Lucy's key blazed as a half-man, half-scorpion Spirit summoned a raging sandstorm.
Wind and sand collided, forming a monstrous sand tornado that rushed straight toward Hades.
"Now's our chance!"
Natsu's eyes burned with fighting spirit. He plunged headfirst into the storm, flames merging with wind and sand, transforming him into a destructive meteor.
"Fire Dragon's… Sword Horn!!!"
Boom!!!
The wind, sand, and fire-enhanced headbutt smashed into Hades like a falling star.
The airship shook violently. Decks shattered. Walls collapsed. Smoke and debris swallowed Hades completely.
Across the worlds, jaws dropped.
Naruto World
"No way…" Naruto's chopsticks clattered onto the table."No hand signs at all? None?! That fire guy and the ice guy… what kind of jutsu is that? Instant-cast?"
"Tch, dead last," Sasuke scoffed. But his Sharingan was locked onto the screen."That old man… even after that attack, the energy flow didn't waver at all. That pressure is worse than Orochimaru."
Hokage Office
Hiruzen watched silently, drawing deep from his pipe."Converting internal energy directly into natural elements. Different names, same principle. But casting without seals… it's astonishing. If the shinobi world had such a system…"
Amegakure — High Tower
"So this is power from another world," Nagato murmured through the Paths of Pain, the Rinnegan rippling faintly."No hand seals. Pure release of power."
"Zetsu," he ordered calmly, "investigate. Even if this is a multiverse, if such power exists in this world, it must belong to God."
"I'm confused too…"Black Zetsu poked half his body out of the wall, his hoarse voice thick with bewilderment. "I've never seen a fighting style like this before. Not even once."
The World of One Piece.
"Ice-Ice Fruit? Flame-Flame Fruit? Or the Sand-Sand Fruit?"
Former Navy Admiral Aokiji, currently riding his bicycle at a leisurely pace, suddenly stopped. He scratched his head, puzzled.
"That kid who doesn't wear clothes… his ice-making ability looks a lot like mine. But…" His eyes narrowed. "He never turns into an element, and he doesn't look like a Devil Fruit user at all."
"And there's more." Aokiji's expression sharpened. "The way those people coordinate their attacks, their control over elemental power is way too stable. Even artificial Devil Fruits couldn't pull that off. That ice guy, Gray… he's dangerous."
The New World. Onigashima.
"Wororororo!"
Kaido threw back a massive gulp of sake and burst into laughter as he stared at the screen.
"Artificial Devil Fruits? Don't make me laugh! That clown Caesar's junk can't even compare to this! This kind of pure elemental explosion is real power! Bring those two brats to me. The Beasts Pirates could use a few solid pillars!"
…
Back to the video.
The smoke slowly cleared.
The spectators, who had been expecting Hades to be lying in a pool of blood, suddenly sucked in a sharp breath.
Not a scratch on him.
After taking that terrifying combined attack from Natsu and the others, Hades stood calmly amid the ruins. His clothes were untouched. His single visible eye stared coldly at the panting young mages before him.
"So… that's everything you've got?"
His voice was calm, so calm it sent chills down everyone's spine.
"Your teamwork wasn't bad. But in the face of absolute abyss, struggles like this are nothing more than a baby's cry."
Boom!
The moment the words left his mouth, an indescribably horrifying surge of magic exploded from Hades's aged body.
Dark purple-black magic flared like tangible flames, shooting straight into the sky. The air itself twisted under the pressure, warping and shaking as if space were trembling.
"Let me show you what true despair looks like."
Hades slowly removed his eyepatch, revealing an eye overflowing with sinister power. Then he spoke the truth that made the entire Fairy Tail guild shudder.
"Allow me to reintroduce myself."
"My name is Precht."
"The second master of the Fairy Tail guild."
…
The real Fairy Tail world.
Dead silence.
Moments ago, the guild hall had been filled with cheers for Natsu and the others. Now it felt as if everyone had been strangled, unable to make a sound.
Macao's bottle slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor.
Wakaba's pipe fell from his mouth, burning his foot, yet he didn't even react.
"P–Precht?!"
"The second master?!"
"You've got to be kidding! The leader of the strongest dark guild… was our second guild master?!"
It felt like the sky was collapsing.
That man was part of their history. He was Makarov's teacher, one of the founders of Fairy Tail itself.
Makarov stood on the bar counter, his entire body trembling as tears streamed down his face.
"Master Precht… why… why did you fall this far…"
…
The battle in the video didn't stop after the revelation. It became a one-sided massacre.
"Dark Wave!"
With a casual wave of his hand, Hades unleashed a massive purple-black shockwave. Natsu didn't even have time to react before he was blasted away, blood spraying through the air.
"Natsu!"
Lucy and Erza rushed forward, but Hades simply curled his finger.
"Dark Chains."
Pitch-black magic formed countless chains that burst from the void, wrapping Lucy and Erza tightly before slamming them into the ground.
"Since I'm your senior, let me teach you what the abyss of magic really is."
Hades raised a finger. A tiny point of black light gathered at its tip.
"Black Magic: Amaterasu Hundred Styles… no. This is enough for you."
"Black Bullet."
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Countless black energy rounds poured out like a Gatling gun.
"Ice-Make… Shield!"
Gray forced himself to create a thick wall of ice.
But before those black bullets, the ice wall was as fragile as thin glass.
Thud thud thud!
The bullets pierced straight through, tearing into Gray's shoulder and thigh. Blood sprayed everywhere.
"AAAAAH!"
His screams echoed through the battlefield.
Against such overwhelming power, Requip Magic, Celestial Spirit Magic, and Ice-Make Magic all seemed utterly meaningless.
In just a few seconds, everyone except Natsu was down, lying in pools of blood, completely unable to fight.
Despair.
True despair.
Hades walked toward Natsu step by step. Each heavy footstep felt like it was stomping on the hearts of everyone watching.
"So this is Fairy Tail's strength now? How disappointing."
He looked down at Natsu from above. Black light gathered at his fingertip once more, aimed straight at Natsu's head.
"It's over."
"....."