Charles and Precht faced off—the earlier exchanges had merely been a probe, giving both sides a basic grasp of each other.

Now, the real battle began.

Compressed into bullet-sized projectiles, Precht's magical chains shot toward Charles. But precisely because the magic had been compressed, their power was even more terrifying.

The chains Charles dodged exploded upon impact, blasting massive craters into the ground and leaving the area in ruins almost instantly.

Charles gathered the flames in both hands and unleashed them toward Precht.

Precht raised his hand, summoning a circular shield of black magic in front of him. The blazing fire from Charles's Brilliant Flame of the Fire Dragon collided with the shield and was swallowed whole as if devoured by an endless void.

Staring into that profound darkness, Precht said, "In the beginning, magic was born from darkness. Only by pursuing the abyss have I discovered the true essence of black magic!"

Charles spat on the ground and retorted, "The essence of black magic? Doesn't matter at all. I just witnessed what true strength looks like—from a girl who lit up everything around her."

Precht sneered, "That must be the nonsense Makarov taught you kids. How foolish. That's exactly why I must destroy the current Fairy Tail!"

With a flick of his chain, Precht hooked one of the decorative spheres nearby, transforming it into a massive flail and hurling it at Charles.

"As if I'd let you!"

Charles roared and punched forward. His Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon shattered the massive sphere, and even the magical chain was consumed entirely by his flames.

Without stopping, Charles closed in on Precht.

"Fire Dragon's Claw!"

He kicked forward, smashing through Precht's coiled chains and landing a blow on the elder's crossed arms.

Precht had underestimated Charles's power—his leg drove Precht into the floor with such force that they crashed straight through, falling to the next level of the airship.

Precht conjured a sphere of black magic in his hand and blasted Charles away with sheer force.

"You damned brat!"

Precht had taken Charles's Fire Dragon's Claw head-on. Had he not hastily reinforced himself with magic, he might've suffered multiple broken bones.

But with Grimoire Heart sustaining him, he had more magic than he could ever use.

Charles winced as Precht began conjuring an overwhelming number of black magic spheres.

"If you must blame someone," Precht snarled, "blame Makarov, the one who led you down this path. Now—go die!"

He roared, hurling all the dark magic spheres toward Charles.

"Four Symbols Fist Technique – Azure Dragon Form: Flowing Water!"

Charles's body swayed, moving with a graceful rhythm as he strode toward Precht. His steps seemed slow, but every falling sphere missed as if by design. No matter how Precht accelerated his assault, Charles continued to close the distance.

Just as Charles neared, a multitude of magic circles appeared, trapping him in a glowing web.

"Amaterasu Style One Hundred!"

Precht finally unveiled his trump card—his earlier fury had merely been a lure to bait Charles into this trap.

"Arrogant child… vanish from this world!"

The spell unleashed a fearsome force, blowing off the top of the airship entirely. From outside, nearly half the ship was seen blasted apart.

Satisfied, Precht scanned the dissipating smoke for Charles's remains.

But to his surprise—the space was empty. Charles had vanished.

There was no way to escape an Amaterasu One Hundred—a full-range attack with no blind spots.

Then he saw Charles suddenly reappear right before him, holding a now-cracked mirror-like device.

Before Precht could react, Charles's fist connected squarely with his face, sending him flying.

Charles exhaled sharply and tossed the broken magic device to the floor.

It had been one of his experimental prototypes—imperfect, but indispensable at that moment.

Precht's trap had been flawlessly hidden. Charles hadn't even realized Amaterasu was about to activate.

Then he remembered the device.

After mastering spatial magic and creating his storage ring, Charles had begun developing a teleportation tool.

But magic that acted on living beings was extremely difficult. This prototype could teleport its user—but only to a random location within a 500-meter radius.

Far too risky for escape, and uncontrollable. Charles had almost scrapped it.

But now, it had saved his life.

Pulling himself from the wreckage, Precht growled, "So it's just tricks with gadgets now? You clearly don't understand—magic is not child's play. Let me show you the true abyss."

He ripped off his eyepatch, revealing the eye that had been hidden all along.

That eye opened—a blood-red iris blazing with power.

As it did, Precht's magic surged violently.

"The domain I'm about to enter far surpasses your comprehension. And you'll never step into it… because you lack the resolve to fall into darkness."

Precht raised his arms, forming a strange stance in the air.

"Zeref's Tome, Chapter 4, Verse 12—Forbidden Magic: Divine Punishment!"

As his magic spread, grotesque monsters clawed their way up from the floor.

Twisted in shape, dark purple and black with strange striped patterns, they embodied corruption.

Zeref's most notorious creation was his book of black magic, and the "demons" born from it were conjured through the spells within.

Though no one could truly usurp the gods' power to create autonomous life like Zeref did, Precht had forced it with forbidden magic—creating pseudo-lifeforms, demonic magical constructs.

Charles felt the pressure from Precht's growing magic and said, "You, a former Fairy Tail master—have you forgotten? For the sake of our comrades, we've always been ready for things far worse than falling into darkness!"

He activated Kirin Arts, unleashing a surge of violent magic. Behind him, a giant dragon of flame roared, sending gusts of wind throughout the ship.

Precht's pupils shrank. He pointed at Charles and screamed, "Kill him—rip him apart!"

The summoned demons charged.

Charles, adjusting to the surging power, scanned the oncoming horde.

"There's a lot of you… guess I'll end this in one strike!"

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus Phoenix Blade!"

Fire cloaked Charles's body, forming a radiant purging sword as he moved. Every demon in his path was incinerated.

Precht sneered. Those demons had been generated by resonating his magic with ambient mana.

As long as his magic remained, he could conjure an endless army. And with Grimoire Heart...

Wait—

Precht suddenly clutched his chest, face contorting in pain.

"What… Grimoire Heart… has been destroyed?!"

———

Elsewhere on the airship, Cana wrinkled her nose at the grotesque fusion of machinery and biology before her.

"So gross."

Wendy nodded beside her. "This must be the Grimoire Heart Charles told us about. Let's destroy it, quick!"

Cana nodded and pulled out a stack of cards. Wendy prepared her Sky Dragon's Roar.

Cana's lightning and flame magic, combined with Wendy's wind magic, struck the massive heart-like structure, blasting it into pieces.

"Nice job!"

Charles, sensing their success, charged at Precht and slammed into him.

The flaming sword skewered through the ship's frame at an angle—and sent Precht flying high into the air.

Charles watched him soar and said, "Forget your abyss. Like a true fairy, why don't you try flying toward the sky instead?"

------------------

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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)

I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)

Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)

Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)

Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)

Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)

American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)

American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)

I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)

Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)

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