CHAPTER 500: RESOURCEFUL CHIEF OF STAFF

Mira, Elfman, and Gajeel leapt back in unison, their movements fluid and practiced. The shockwave from the explosion only ruffled their clothes and hair but didn’t even leave a scratch.

Mira narrowed her eyes, glancing toward the three enemies: the spear-wielding Erza lookalike, the sword-wielding cat warrior Lily, and the sinister man on the rooftop.

"Elfman, Gajeel," she said calmly, pointing at the three, "those are likely the high-ranking officers of this kingdom."

She cracked her knuckles, a surge of magic energy pulsing from her body as she returned to her Satan Soul form, black wings unfurling, her demonic aura flaring. "Take them all down. Someone will talk."

Without another word, she shot forward like a missile, the wings on her back thrusting her through the air toward "Erza."

"Erza" didn’t flinch. Instead, she raised her weapon, a massive gun, and fired point-blank.

BOOM!

Fist met barrel. The resulting explosion was deafening, shattering the windows of nearly every building around them. A storm of smoke, glass, and shockwaves rippled outward.

"I’ve been waiting for this! That cat’s mine!" Gajeel roared, charging straight at Lily without hesitation.

Lily grunted, lifting his massive greatsword, which expanded mid-swing to a full ten meters in length. With a mighty yell, he swept it horizontally, aiming to knock Gajeel away.

"Iron Dragon Sword!"

Gajeel’s left arm transformed into a sleek, jet-black blade. He raised it and met the sweeping strike head-on.

CLANG!!

Blade crashed against blade, the impact throwing out a shower of sparks. Steel screeched against steel.

"Ge-hee~ Just as I thought from a cat I’ve taken a liking to!" Gajeel grinned maniacally. His left arm returned to normal, but now, his whole body was encased in black iron scales. He reached out and grabbed the sword blade with his bare hands.

Lily’s eyes widened. "What are you saying?!"

He yanked the sword back with full force, but Gajeel didn’t budge.

Gajeel’s stance was solid. Two thick iron spikes had sprouted from his feet, stabbing into the ground and anchoring him. "Come back to the guild with me, Black Cat!!"

With a grunt, he pulled harder. The two of them now looked like they were locked in a brutal tug-of-war, using the greatsword itself as the rope.

Watching his sister and Gajeel choose their opponents, Elfman clenched his fists. "Manly Man..." he growled. "I’ll take the creepy one."

He activated his Take Over: Beast Soul and jumped high into the air, clearing multiple stories in a single bound. With a crash, his clawed hands slammed into the wall. He kicked off and launched himself upward again, smashing onto the rooftop where Byro stood.

Byro, calm and twisted as ever, let out a chuckle. "Hoho... reckless."

He reached into his coat and pulled out a slim test tube, uncorking it with practiced ease. With a flick of his wrist, he splashed the crimson contents toward Elfman, who was still mid-air and unable to dodge.

But Elfman didn’t even try.

He braced himself, relying on the toughness of his Beast Soul form.

"Flame Liquid!" Byro cried.

The red potion ignited mid-air, expanding rapidly into a cloud of searing fire. In the blink of an eye, the rooftop was engulfed in roaring flames.

Byro adjusted his monocle and smiled smugly. "That should do it. Even an elephant would be reduced to cinders—"

ROAR!!

A monstrous, guttural roar echoed from within the flames.

A second later, Elfman burst from the inferno like a beast from hell. The fire clung to his fur for a moment before being extinguished by sheer momentum. His glowing red eyes locked on Byro.

With a heavy thud, he landed right beside the stunned old man and drove his fist down toward him.

Byro looked up, watching Elfman’s massive fist grow larger by the second as it came crashing down toward him.

In a panic, he yanked another vial from his belt and fumbled to pull off the cap, but before he could raise it to his lips;

BAM!

Elfman’s punch landed squarely across his face.

Byro’s body shot downward like a cannonball, crashing through the rooftop.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He smashed through one floor, then another, until he finally skidded to a stop on the second floor, coughing in the rubble.

Elfman leaned over the hole and narrowed his eyes.

Suddenly;

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Three tornadoes spiraled up through the hole, loaded with debris and jagged stone. They slammed into Elfman’s chest and sent him flying back.

He grunted, sliding across the rooftop, several blood trails carving into his chest.

But that was all.

Elfman slowly stood up again, brushing rubble off his arm.

The swirling air reminded him of the spellbooks Rhodes used to prepare before a mission, potions and tricks with fast activation, wide variety, low magic cost...

Only problem? The power was always lacking.

Rhodes...

For a moment, Elfman’s gaze drifted. He shook his head.

There was still a mission to finish.

He clenched his fists. "All I need to do is beat you down and ask where the crystal is, easy."

WHACK!!

Without warning, a thick tentacle covered in suckers burst up through the hole, coiled around Elfman’s waist, and trapped his arms.

"Wha—!?" He struggled, but the grip only tightened. "Ugh, octopus?!"

The surface beneath him trembled as a massive, grotesque figure pulled itself into view from the shattered rooftop.

A slimy, writhing creature emerged, far larger than the hole it squeezed through. Dozens of tentacles lashed wildly in every direction, cracking the roof tiles and threatening to tear down the building.

Its head was still unmistakably Byro’s, but his body had transformed entirely into an enormous, revolting octopus.

"Wh-what kind of Take Over is this?!" Elfman winced in disgust, twisting in the tentacle’s grip. "This guy’s beyond gross!"

From behind a curtain of wriggling limbs, Byro’s voice rasped out, low and wet. "Still got spirit, huh?"

He lifted Elfman up to eye level, smirking with malicious glee.

"You called that demon woman your sister earlier, didn’t you?"

"Huh?" Elfman glared at him, confused.

Meanwhile, the battle on the streets was only intensifying.

Lily, battered and bleeding, could barely lift his sword. Gajeel had already sunk his metallic fangs into the greatsword’s edge, grinning wickedly.

Farther down the street, Mira and "Erza" were tearing the plaza apart.

Their brutal clash had reduced the once-pristine boulevard to rubble, carving deep trenches in the earth and crumbling statues.

The soldiers, who had barely woken from Mira’s lullaby spell, were now knocked out again, this time by the collateral damage.

It was a nightmare.

No, worse. It was the worst day of their entire military careers.

And they didn’t even know how they got knocked out. One moment they were awake, then they were down.

Despite the devastation, the two demon-like women remained locked in combat. There was no sign of either side claiming a decisive edge.

Byro, still gripping Elfman tightly in his tentacle, narrowed his eyes and sneered.

If this dragged on, Lily might lose.

That would be unacceptable.

As Chief of Staff, he quickly hatched a brilliant plan to turn the tide.

"Hmm... you all have white hair," he mused aloud. "You’re probably siblings, aren’t you?"

Elfman struggled against the slimy grip, his muscles straining.

But with both arms pinned, it was hard to gather enough force.

"What... exactly do you want to say?" he growled.

Byro chuckled, his voice echoing with a wet, gurgling distortion.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh

More tentacles writhed from his bloated form as he turned toward the distant battlefield between Mira and "Erza."

"If I take you hostage and force that demon woman to surrender... no, I don’t even need to go that far," he sneered. "Just a slight distraction... and Erza will finish her off!"

He began lumbering forward, dragging Elfman with him, tentacles thundering against the stone.

He never noticed the change in Elfman’s eyes.

The warmth had vanished.

Those soft, round pupils had narrowed into sharp, glowing slits.

His breath deepened. His muscles swelled.

"Kill... my sister?"

A low, guttural growl rumbled in his throat.

"Not... a chance!"

His arms bulged with raw strength, veins pulsing as he twisted against the binding tentacle.

CRACK!

A tearing sound erupted as one of Byro’s strongest limbs was ripped clean off!

Purple-black fluid sprayed from the severed end.

"Wha—!?"

Byro howled in agony, jerking back.

Elfman gripped the slimy tentacle’s base and, without hesitation, swung it like a massive club.

WHAM!!

The thick, meaty end of the tentacle slammed directly into Byro’s face with a thunderous impact.

His entire head twisted violently to the side.

BOOM!

His bloated octopus form was flung through the air, dragged along by his head as he sailed across the battlefield, and crashed headfirst into the very chamber where the magic crystal had once been stored.