CHAPTER 593: RHODES IN ECSTASY

Without a word, Rhodes unleashed the Purgatory Dragon, its blazing form tearing through Capricorn and Rustyrose in a single strike. The oppressive grip of Human Subordination Magic shattered, and the moment the Tenrou Tree’s magic began amplifying their own, Elfman, Lisanna, Gray, and Juvia, who had all been knocked to the ground, quickly regained consciousness.

With their magic surging back to full strength, their bodies began to recover at remarkable speed. On top of that, Rhodes had brought Wendy and Gajeel with him, and Wendy’s healing magic washed over the group, boosting their recovery even further.

Loke had taken a heavy beating in this battle. This time, the damage was enough that he needed to retreat to the Celestial Spirit World to recuperate. Rhodes instructed Lucy to stay with the others and move as a group while he flew ahead to check the state of their camp. If so many of them stayed together, their safety might be greater than in their current position. He would decide the next steps after confirming the situation for himself.

Summoning a Blue Sentinel, Rhodes cast blue buff on himself, then took off toward the camp in urgent flight.

But as he drew near and felt the familiar, fierce magic from Mira pulsing in the air, his eyes caught sight of something alarming, the enormous tree at the heart of the island was collapsing.

Before he could process the implications, a sudden wave of emptiness ripped through him. Nearly all the magic in his body vanished in an instant.

The abrupt weakness hit him like a punch to the gut, his wings faltering mid-beat. He wobbled dangerously in the air, almost plummeting outright.

"What... what’s going on?" he muttered through gritted teeth.

Acting quickly, Rhodes dropped altitude to avoid an uncontrolled fall. Before his magic completely bottomed out, he summoned another Sentinel, folded his wings, and landed lightly on its massive shoulder to ride the rest of the way.

The blue buff still glimmered faintly, steadily restoring his magic reserves, but his face had gone pale. It had been a long time since he’d felt such an uncomfortable shortage of magic, certainly not since he’d grown accustomed to regularly summoning and controlling massive creatures.

He reached out with his senses, mentally checking Summoner’s Rift and Twisted Treeline. All was secure, none of his larger summons had wandered off on their own. That only deepened the mystery of where his magic had gone.

Focusing inward, Rhodes realized the situation was even stranger than it appeared.

On one hand, the buff was boosting his recovery to incredible speed, enough to maintain both the Sentinel and the Voidgrubs indefinitely, almost like a perpetual motion engine.

On the other hand, his magic drained away the instant it was restored, which should have made sustaining any summons impossible.

Yet, inexplicably, whenever the Golem or the Voidgrubs were on the verge of disappearing, his magic would spike just enough to keep them alive, only to drain again right afterward.

The result was ridiculous. His complexion kept cycling between flushed and pale, as if he were a martial artist caught in the rebound of a failed technique, leaving him looking both strained and faintly absurd at the same time.

That sensation was, without question, deeply unpleasant.

One moment, Rhodes felt as if he could flatten an ox with a single punch. The next, even breathing seemed like an effort. It was as if he were caught in a strange limbo, simultaneously ready to fight and utterly incapable of doing so.

The bizarre fluctuation made him feel as though some kind of glitch in reality was happening to him.

After riding on the Sentinel’s shoulder for a while, the constant shift left him a little dizzy. It was probably just an illusion brought on by the unnatural strain on his body.

Boom!

A sudden, deafening explosion snapped Rhodes’s attention toward the camp. A pillar of fire roared skyward, thick black smoke curling around it. From within the flames, a figure burst free, crashing through the haze before diving back toward the ground.

It was Mira.

The sheer weight of her magic filled the air, tense, lethal. She was fighting for her life.

"Faster!" Rhodes urged, feeling another surge of magic nearby, one even stronger than Rustyrose’s had been.

The Sentinel thundered forward at its fastest pace. Its heavy footfalls pounded against the earth, each step echoing in Rhodes’s bones. Even so, he didn’t dare swap it out for a faster summon. If the buff’s effect faded, he risked collapsing on the spot.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The golem’s running sounded like war drums, but the noise was swallowed entirely by the ferocity of the battle ahead. Mira and her opponent, Azuma, were locked so intently in combat that neither noticed his approach.

Just as Precht had predicted, once Azuma seized control of Tenrou Island’s magic, he drained the energy from every Fairy Tail member, everyone except Mira. And to fully unleash the most powerful form of Demon Mira Jane, he made her an offer: defeat him, and he would restore the magic of her comrades.

Of course, she couldn’t trust his word completely, but she had no other path forward. The only choice was to win.

The lives of everyone in the guild rested on her shoulders. The weight was crushing, suffocating, bringing back memories of the moment she had awakened from the magic crystal in Edolas, when every movement had been a fight to protect those she loved.

This time, there was no room for restraint. Every punch and kick she threw was charged with maximum strength, every burst of magic aimed for the highest destructive force she could muster.

The battlefield transformed rapidly. What had once been a dense forest became a leveled clearing, the ground torn and splintered. From the ruined earth, massive wooden structures sprang unnaturally into being, roots twisting upward, vines lashing wildly, crooked trunks erupting from nowhere.

Yet none of these creations remained intact for long. They were snapped, shattered, or blasted apart, leaving jagged wreckage scattered across an uneven, cratered battlefield.

After trading blows at both close and long range, Mira decided her best chance was still in close-quarters combat, where she could strike with full force.

But Azuma had studied Satan Soul carefully. In pure melee, she was dangerous, yes, but also vulnerable. He resolved to fight at range, weaving the overwhelming power of the Great Tree Arc into every move to counter her strength.

Even so, Mira’s relentless assault drove him backward. Her sheer speed and ferocity forced him into a defensive position, and for the first time in years, the primal fear of death clawed at his heart.

Yet that fear didn’t make him falter, it exhilarated him.

"Yes... this is it!" Azuma roared, eyes blazing. "Face your fear, draw out even greater power, and crush a mighty foe! Show me more, Demon Mira Jane, become even more terrifying!"

Gripped by a surge of primal fear, Azuma’s Great Tree Arc erupted with even greater ferocity.

Every branch, every leaf became a weapon in his hands. Even the most ordinary pieces of wood transformed under his magic, honed into blades sharp enough to cut steel, or spears that could pierce through solid rock.

They tore through Mira’s guard with brutal efficiency, jagged splinters slashed across her shoulders, and deep cuts scored her arms.

Worse still, the Great Tree Arc’s vines lashed around her, their strength and flexibility turning them into living chains. They twisted and writhed, coiling in her path and forcing her to slow her advance.

Each time she carved them apart with magic, more surged forward. If she diverted too much energy into clearing them, Azuma would press the attack. If she let her focus slip for even an instant, the vines would snake around her wrists and ankles, locking her in place.

"Hahahaha! This is your limit, Demon Mira Jane!" Azuma’s voice rang out with savage triumph.

Before she could rip herself free, the vines constricting her flared with his magic, and he roared, "Taste Tenrou Island’s own magic, Roar of the Earth!"

Boom!

The explosion that followed shook the island to its roots. The blast ripped through the clearing, the shockwave bending nearby trees until they creaked and nearly split. The air itself seemed to scream under the force.

Caught in the heart of the blast, Mira clenched her teeth and poured her remaining magic into a desperate defense. She had to survive this, she had to be able to fight after the dust settled.

But she couldn’t spend it all. If her magic ran dry now, even defending means nothing. She had to hold back just enough, gambling on the slimmest margin for survival.

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

...

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