Hope everyone enjoys the latest chapter! ^.^
At the top of Grayford mountain where the battle for the Lightning Gemstone rages. All eyes are on Issei Hyoudou, staring in shocked and awed by his change of appearance and the overwhelming raw aura surrounding him. The storm and the lightning strikes have been brought to a stop by the red aura that's produced by the Hyoudou. It tears through the dark clouds and cuts it open to reveal a dark and cold sky. The bandits that survived from the shockwave are on the ground, cowering away in fear by the Hyoudou's intimidating and powerful aura along with his vicious new appearance, especially afraid of those glowing emerald color eyes and sharp canine teeth giving resembles that of a dragon.
Watching the Issei gaining distance, Daigo is forced to snap out of the shock and brings both arms forward to produce a thunderous clap with both hands slapping together. A burst of ice storm form into existence and speed toward the Hyoudou. "Raahhh!" Issei's eyes sharpen and let out a short and mighty roar that generates a powerful sonic boom. The two attacks collide, and without much difficulty, the sonic boom cuts through the ice storm and vanish.
"W-what?!" Daigo whispers, shocked that his attack was able to be overpowered by a simple roar 'His roar alone has that much power?!' Issei suddenly appears right in front of the shocked man and deliver a quick punch to the forehead with his left hand to send Daigo sliding away, on his feet. "You!" Daigo snaps his eyes open and kicks himself off the ground, blasting toward the Hyoudou.
Issei's expression remains fierce with anger. He bends his right knee and leans to the right to dodge a strike aimed for his head then casually brings his left arm up to block a kick from the left. Issei shoots his right feet forward and kicks Daigo right on the chin, causing the man to grunt in pain, and before he could counter, the boosted gear comes blasting ahead and smash right at the center of his face, sending him barreling away.
Without looking, Issei extends the boosted gear to right angle, leaning slightly back. An enormous red magic sphere charges up "Dragon Cannon" he whispers and discharges the sphere to the remaining group of bandits on the ground. "Ahhh!" "Please don't!" "Have mercy!" all of them shouts for their life as the sphere blaze toward them. The sphere contacts the ground and ignites in a small-scale explosion that takes in all the bandits, utterly vanquishing them into dust.
Erza, Jellal, and Bork stare on in speechlessness. Watching the Hyoudou taking full control of the battle, seeing the look of fierce-less and rage in his expression, something none of them ever witnessed and thought the kind-hearted Issei could ever be capable of having.
Seeing nothing left of the bandits, Issei returns his attention to their boss, seeing him returning to his feet. "Hehehe," Daigo wipes the blood leaking from his forehead and smirk "Seems like you are the real threat here, Welsh Dragon" "I became the real treat the moment you hurt Nawin!" Issei retorts in anger, his voice booms and causes the ground to crack "For that," his teeth bare, showing the sharp canines "I'll kill you."
Daigo smirk at the claim and kneels, placing his right hand gently on the ground "We'll see about that" he utters. "Misty Storm!" he exclaims and slams the left hand down to the earth as well. Mists pour out from underneath Daigo's hand and quickly surround the spacious area.
'Damn,' Erza mentally cuss, seeing the mists forming around the platform in rapid speed 'Looks like being pushed against the wall, Daigo is using his brain and specialty. From what I read in the bounty books, Daigo has a skill in stealth, and a misty environment is his bread and butter. It's where he got most of his stealth kills. Assassinating royals, mayors, the riches, even with his current state now, Issei will have a difficult time battling in Daigo's territory' she notes and turns to the Hyoudou, seeing him standing still, not taking any alertness of the mists surrounding him.
"Ahhhh!" Jellal snap his sight upwards to see Hoka coming down at him with both arms raised. Tired of this battle, Jellal jumps back to evade the attack. Landing on his feet, he burst forward and sends a hard kick to the side of Hoka, blasting him inside the incoming mists. Jellal raises his right arm and discharges three magic missiles that advance toward the bandit group second in command. Three explosion erupts inside the clouds. Seeing this and hopefully finished with his opponent, Jellal turns to the right to catch sight of Erza and the rest, but he cusses when witnessing the mist have entered their side, obstructing the view. He looks forward and finds it surrounding him now, his whole world tumbling into a dark white void.
The whole top of the mountain now is covered in white and dense mists that limit visuals even for devil's and their enhanced eyesight. "Rrhh," Issei growls in annoyance by his vision being entirely restrained by the fog. He takes a step forward and starts walking toward the spot he last saw Daigo. Intending to find his footsteps which will be visible on the snowy surface they are standing.
A dark figure stalk behind the Hyoudou, its glowing yellow eyes gleam with evil intention. The figure no doubt is Daigo. He quietly sneaks toward his target then when in range, brings out a dagger and holds it on his right hand. With a big grin, he brings the weapon downwards and gives a massive slash on Issei's back.
The Hyoudou turns around and extends his right arm along the way for an attack, but when reaching behind, there is nothing to connect. "Rahhh," he growls and stays on the spot, this time his eyes scans in all directions. North, south, east, west, keeping complete notice to the surroundings. Hearing an object flying through the air, Issei lift the gauntlet to the right and deflect the incoming dagger. The sharp weapon drops to the ground to create a soft clink sound.
Suddenly, more daggers start speed toward the Hyoudou from all directions. Issei hears Daigo's footprints but can't chase after the man until he deals with all the incoming projectiles. Stretching his arms to the side, Issei then snaps his mouth open to release another roar that sends a forceful blast. The blast hits the daggers and easily stop its momentum, sending them scattering away and drop to the ground.
Setting his sight on the dark figure at east, Issei disappears in pure speed. Daigo continues dashing forward, intending not to stay in a single position and risk getting caught. He turns his head forward and gasps in shock when Issei appears in a blur and gives him a brutal backhand to the face that sends him staggering back. Not done, Issei gives a roundhouse kick to the top of Daigo's head, causing his whole upper body to stretch down where Issei gives a big uppercut with the gauntlet to Daigo's face and sends him soaring up the air before crashing to the ground.
"Huh?" Issei sniff and quickly drops on all four to evade a running clothesline from behind. Hoka passes through and swiftly turns to face the Hyoudou. "Hehehe," the large man chuckles maniacally, his expression shows craze compare to the level-headed and calmness he holds before. It's clear the potion he has taken and offered by his boss has some side effect to alter his personality.
Issei growls, slowly returning to his feet. Hoka sprint forward and throws a right hook which misses by Issei sidestepping, then he jumps to evade a sneaky swipe kick intending to knock him down. Landing on the ground, Issei shoots his body forward, bringing his right elbow up and swiftly deliver a brutal strike to the middle of Hoka's stomach, knocking the utter wind out of the large man's lungs. Hoka's eyes bulge as he coughs out the emptiness of air and is sent sliding back by the vicious blow.
Another gush of blood explodes from Issei's back. "W-what?!" Daigo shutters, watching his attack did little harm to the Hyoudou, who barely give a reaction to the strike and instead slowly turns around to look at him with those glaring emerald eyes. In haste, Daigo jumps back and extend his right arm. Spikes of ice manifest through the cold air and flies toward the Hyoudou. To counter, Issei scream and swipes the boosted gear forward, shattering all the spikes with the red gauntlet.
"Ahhh!" Issei roars and pounces forward, rapidly speeding toward the shock Daigo. "Oh no!" Hoka comes charging from the side and tackles the Welsh Dragon to the ground. "Now it's time for fun!" Hoka grins and brings his huge right fist down to Issei's face, then the left, then the right, before it breaks into a barrage of rapid hard punches that dents the ground underneath to create a massive crater while cracks start forming on the edge of it. Daigo is grinning widely at the whole display, loving every second of seeing the Hyoudou's receiving those deathly punches.
"Aahahahaha!" Hoka laughs like a madman, and as for the last strike, he brings both arms up then swing it down to deliver a devastating final strike that implodes the ground. Silence falls while Hoka slowly stands up, stepping away from the limp body on the ground. "Hehehe, well done… Hoka" Daigo applauds from the sideline "Nothing but show he is!" the large man retorts, sniggering.
Both man's attention is suddenly drawn to a red light emitting from the ground, where the body of the Hyoudou is. "W-what?!" Hoka utters, his eyes slowly widen in astonish as he watches Issei slowly raising from the ground. Red outline made of pure aura emits around his body. Issei's eyes snap open to reveal those bright emerald color. Without uttering a word, the Hyoudou burst forward, kicking off from the ground and cause the earth behind him to implodes.
"Rahhhhh!" Issei roars and with all his strength, swing the boosted gear forward to Hoka's stomach and cleanly punch through the large man's body. The red gauntlet burst out of Hoka's back. Blood gushes from the front and back, guzzling down to the white ground. "Gur—Ahhh!" Hoka screams in agony and it increases when Issei pulls the boosted gear back, ripping it out of the blood and flesh.
"Hua—Hua!" Hoka shakily stumbles back, looking down at his bloody stomach "Haaah!" he looks up at Issei, seeing that fierce and cold expression on his face. Fear quickly sets in the large man's eyes and face. "S-stay away!" he shouts, stumbling back, to only fall on the ground due to the lack of strength by the horrifying amount of blood that continues to spill down the large size hole. Daigo stares at the scene in speechless before quietly disappears into the mist, leaving his last men to fend for himself.
Issei slowly lifts the boosted gear upwards, aiming it straight at the large man on the ground. "N-no" Hoka whispers, gripping his stomach and slowly notice that his body start to lose its strength. His once large body steadily lose its bulging muscles, returning to normal. Steam emits from the pores. Hoka now sees himself utterly defenseless and looks at the Hyoudou to see a red sphere charging on the boosted gear's palm. "Have mercy!" he shouts "You attacked my friends… I'm out of mercy" Issei retorts in a sharp tone that silence the white-haired man. "… Dragon Cannon" those words are whispered, and next follows a massive explosion that rocks the whole area.
"I need to get rid of this mist" Jellal runs through the world of grayness, trying to come up with a plan to clear their vision from the mist "There has to be another way besides from defeating Daigo. There's a good chance when he comes to a conclusion that he can't defeat Issei he'll either hide or escapes, and I'm not about to let that happen!"
Erza perks when hearing footsteps coming from the right "Hello?" she calls out, gently setting the unconscious Makasha to the ground to stand up, bringing her sword to the direction of the noise. "Erza?" Jella's voice answers "Thank Satans!" Erza smile in relief "Yeah, it's me" "Good to hear from you. I would head to you, but I need to stop this mist… You got any suggestion?"
Erza closes her eyes to think for a minute, then reopens them "Yeah… I got an idea" "Alright, let's hear it" "You got to go full speed with your Meteor skill" "… Alright, where are you going with this?" "Just to warn you, this will tire you out, but if you fall I'll catch you" "Well… That just sounds like a delightful plan, but I think I know where you are going with this now" "Good, then to clarify I want you to spin around the top of this platform at a fast-enough speed that you can create a vortex that will suck up all these mists to the air" "Thought so. Alright, I'll begin right away" "Remember you need to go full speed to make this work. You rarely used Meteor in its full capability" "Don't worry, I won't go spiraling out of control" Jellal reply with reassure tone.
Taking a deep breath and softly exhales, Jellal snaps his eyes open as gold aura emits around his body before he shoots up to the air. Bursting out of the valley of mist, Jellal stares down and see the whole platform is cover by those gray clouds. "Alright, let's get to work!" he charges up more mana and snap to the right direction before boosting forward. Erza looks upwards and can see a faint gold light shining through the mist 'Come on, Jellal… You got this.'
Steadily, Jellal starts spinning around the platform in a perfect degree that goes around the platform. Seeing this, he starts adding more mana around him which produce more speed. 'Faster!' he shouts in his mind, breaking through his usual speed. A gold beam now can be seen circling the platform, a visual of Jellal slowly disappears because of the speed he is reaching and now leaving only an appearance of a bolt of gold. 'More!' quickly, the Fernandes start reaching the speed of sound, bursting forward even faster.
Slowly, a vortex forms right at the center; the wind starts swirling due to Jellal's movement. The mists on the platform steadily begin to lift. The vortex starts becoming more noticeable and gaining speed, spinning rapidly to match with the Fernandes. The bottom of the vortex begins sucking in the mist and disperse it from the top. It starts spinning even more violently, rapidly sucking in all the fog in an accelerating speed.
"What?!" Daigo shouts, looking around to see the mist he created starts fading "What the hell is that noise!" he looks up and is shocked to see a clear view of the large vortex rotating on top. A sound of energy being charge up rings from the left, making Daigo turn to see Issei standing there and discharge a Dragon Cannon. "Shit!" he shouts and quickly raise both his arms up to create a thick wall of ice. The sphere impacts the barrier and detonates into a massive explosion that shatters the ice wall and sends Daigo flying away due to the shockwave.
The vortex continues to get rid of all the mists. A minute past and the platform is once again clear, ridden from the dense fogs. Erza's eyes snap to Jellal, seeing him slowing down and start falling from exhaustion. Two devil's wings sprout from her back, and she blasts forward to catch her partner in midair. "I got you," she whispers, smiling "Hehehe, thanks" Jellal reply, letting out a weak chuckle. The Scarlet flies back to the platform and gently set Jellal down, next to the Makasha.
"Good job, Jellal" Bork comments, giving a smile "Thanks, Bork." Jellal turns to the Makasha "He's still unconscious?" "Yeah," Erza retract her wings, kneeling beside Nawin "I think that's a blessing in disguise. If he wakes up, then the pain will be on his conscious. The spikes have stopped trying to enter his body, probably due to Daigo's focus on Issei" "That's a relief to hear." The three turns to watch the final stage of the battle commence, witnessing Issei striding toward the pool of black smoke.
Issei halts his step when feeling the ground beneath him rumbling ever gently. He jumps back, and as large ice spikes emerge from below. Issei starts backflipping as more spikes protrude from the ground, trying to impale him but missing by inches. The Hyoudou lands on his feet and shoots up in the air by jumping. He charges up another Dragon Cannon and releases it into the pool of black smoke. As predicted, Daigo burst out from the smoke to evade the dangerous attack.
"Gah!" Daigo shouts in surprise by Issei suddenly appearing in front of him, then gives a vicious uppercut to his stomach, knocking the wind out of his body and force him to drop to his knees. Issei's glare has never lesson, and his expression remains fierce the whole time while staring down at the heaving man. He sends a kick to Daigo's face, knocking the man back.
"It's over," Erza speaks "Yeah," Jellal exhales, still catching his breath "Even with that boost of power he gotten from that potion, Daigo is no match against Issei" "Issei's real power is stronger!" Bork exclaims, happily "Now Bork can't call Issei puny because he is so strong" "Ahaha, that is true" Erza reply, chuckling.
Blood leaks down the nose of Daigo, he is sited on the ground, gripping his stomach in pain. "Fucking shit" he cusses in frustration and looks up to see the Hyoudou striding toward him. Opening the boosted gear's palm to charge up the rotation "You are done" Issei states at the man on the ground. The rotation rapidly spins to create a high-pitch sound that signal it is complete.
The look of frantic and desperation start crossing on Daigo's face. His eyes darts directions until it lands on the Lightning Gemstone. A look of realization hits his face. "It's not over!" Daigo shouts and returns to the Hyoudou then thrusts his right arm forward to send a blast of an ice storm that temporarily hides his existence.
Issei growl and alternately throws the rotation forward. The spinning orb passes through the storm and contacts something to cause it to erupt in a dense explosion. A sudden surge of powerful mana passes through everyone's senses. A sound of lightning cracking can be heard inside the smoke. "Ahahahaha! This power! THIS IMMENSE POWER OF THE GEMSTONE!" Daigo's voice booms inside and what follows is a blinding lightning strike bursting from the smoke and heading toward Issei.
The Hyoudou sidesteps to narrowly dodge the attack before turning forward to see Daigo stumping out of the smoke. Yellow lightning cracks around his body, his eyes are entirely glowing in yellow with the pupils gone, just like Issei. The Hyoudou didn't take the man's new form with much care. Instead, he looks angrier, glaring at Daigo with hatred.
Erza snap her eyes to the pedestal and sees the gemstone is still intact "He didn't take the stone?" "He must have known taking all of the gemstone's power would lead to his death… The guy used his brain" Jellal state "He only borrow some of stone's power?" Bork questions, tilting his head "Yeah, that looks to be the case" "He not as stupid as he looks."
Daigo stares down at his arms then clench his hands into a fist, causing a spark of lightning to crack. "Hehehe," he grins and looks up at the Hyoudou "After I'm done with you… I'll finish off the Black Flash by ripping his head off!" he exclaims. Instantly that gets a reaction from Issei, who's eyes sharpen in rage and kicks himself off the ground, leaping toward the opponent. Daigo follows suit, kicking off the field and flies toward the Hyoudou.
Both men pull their right arm as they're near each other. "Ahhhh!" they roar and thrust it forward, the boosted gear clash with the hand covered in a lightning current. A colossal shockwave erupts that level a portion of the platform. Rubbles scatter in the air while cracks litter the ground. Issei swings his right feet and nails it at Daigo's side, who in return send a left fist forward, hitting at the Hyoudou's shoulder.
Issei growls and swings a massive uppercut to the stomach, but Daigo withstand it and brings his right arm down to chop the Hyoudou's neck, then jumps and shoots his right knee forward, smashing it at Issei's face and sends him flying back. "Ahahaha!" Daigo laughs in exhilaration at being able to finally injure the Hyoudou.
Not done, Daigo sprint toward Issei in rapid speed. Spotting this coming, the Hyoudou quickly flip to lands on his feet then brings the gauntlet forward to block the incoming right hand. The ground beneath crack by the impact. Issei snatches Daigo's wrist with his left hand then turns around to throw the man over his shoulder. Daigo crash on the ground but quickly responded with thrusting his right arm back to fire off a lightning bolt, before the Hyoudou could continue the assault. Daigo turns and is surprise to see the Hyoudou has disappeared.
Feeling a magic signature appear from behind, Daigo turns his head to see Issei standing there and send a backhand to his face, knocking him through the ground before he is sent up by a kick to the back. Issei appears on top and brings a foot down, smashing square at Daigo's stomach and shoots him back to the earth, crashing in an explosive manner that undoubtedly left a vast crater.
"Gaaaarhh!" rageful shouts explodes from the dust and shoot up is Daigo with electric yellow eyes glaring at the Hyoudou. He suddenly disappears in a spark of lightning and appears right in front of the Hyoudou, then sends a massive right knee to Issei's stomach, stunning him for momentarily. Daigo follows it with an elbow to the side of the head, leaving a small slash mark, then finishes it with a vicious left-hand downward swing on top of Issei's head which shoots him to the earth.
"I'm not done with you piece of dragon shit!" Daigo shouts, thrusting both his arms down at the dust and charges up electricity on the palms. With a roar, Daigo discharges a massive lightning bolt to the ground. The bolt impacts and ignites in a gigantic electric explosion that sends tremor to the whole platform.
Bork look on the battle and the expression of concern forming on his face. "Shouldn't Erza help Issei?" he asks, turning to the woman "I will if I need to, Bork" she replies, calmly "This is a personal battle. Issei wants to settle it by himself. It would be insulting for me to step in" "O-ok," the Troll reply, clearly showing discomfort at seeing his friend getting hurt.
Daigo lands just outside of the smoke. "Ahaha, how's that, Welsh Dragon!" he spat with a menacing grin "You can't stand against me with this power! The power of the gemstone is legendary and can match even with a Ul—" "You done?" a voice from inside cuts, shocking the man "You done boasting about a power that isn't even yours?" the smoke disperses to reveal Issei standing at the center of the craters. Only signs of injury shown on him are tiny scratches and bruises.
In shock, Daigo stumbles back from the Hyoudou, unable to be near those fierce emerald eyes. "Boost…" Issei starts, red aura comes to life and surrounds him "Times…" Daigo starts to sweat and takes more steps back "Twenty!" Issei roars out, and the aura around him implode to a massive magnitude that levels the area.
Daigo swiftly counter with a thrust from his right arm for an attack, but before he can even pull the arm back, Issei appears from the side and snatch the wrist with his left hand. A sickening crack of a bone broken erupts and what follows is a howl of pain. "Gaaaaaaahhhhh!" Daigo looks at his hand, seeing it hanging backward at an unnatural angle. His scream is cut short by a vicious headbutt that sends him barreling away.
The Hyoudou watch his opponent crash onto an ice boulder then bounces off it to smash face-first onto the ground. The electric yellow mana disburses to signal the temporary power has reached its time. Issei dispels the boost and strides toward the barely conscious man. Daigo coughs and winces at the pain on his forehead, blood leaks down and sips into his mouth. The taste of iron clouds his palate. The older man sits up and leans on the boulder, watching the Hyoudou marching towards him.
Instead of cowering in fear, a smirk form on Daigo's face as he watches Issei stop in front of him, standing there to prove his superiority. "Well, well, you got me, Welsh Dragon" he announces, chuckling weakly as the blood from the forehead roll down to his chin and drips on the ground "But, I think it's time we end this, don't you think?" silence is the answer given, and instead, Issei start charging up the rotation.
"You sure you want to do that?" Daigo question, the smirk still plastered on his face. "Ahhhhhh!" a scream erupts from the left that immediately causes Issei to turn and see the scream is coming from Nawin, jerking around in pain which forces Jellal and Erza to hold him down in place. The spikes resume spinning and digging deeper into the Makasha's body. "Hehehe," Daigo chuckles, glancing at the scene before returning forward to only get grabbed by the collar and pulls up.
Issei growls, glaring viciously up at the man "With one command from my mind and those spikes will shoot through his body and just to remind you one of those spikes is dangerously close to his heart" Daigo utters deliberately to get his point through all the while smirking evilly. "You kill him, and I will kill you" Issei retorts, still having the rotation ready on the gauntlet "Yeah, the part you killing me isn't happening because what's going to happen is you bitches will give me the gemstone and allow me to escape from this godforsaken mountain freely. Then, after that, since I'm such a nice guy, I'll command those spikes to stop and allow your friend to live another day" Daigo retort, sharply.
Seeing that he now gains the leverage, Daigo stare down right at Issei's eyes "Now, put me down, or I'll kill him and trust me… I can command those spikes before your precious spinning orb hits me" he warns. Issei grits his teeth so hard that it feels like it'll shatter. He isn't going to risk his friend's life because of the hatred he holds at the man in front of him. Even if Daigo's word carries bluff, he won't risk Nawin's life on what if. With this mindset, Issei slowly sets Daigo down on his feet and reluctantly let go of the collar.
Issei takes a step back, still glaring at the man while Erza, Jellal, and Bork could only stare at the sideline, worry if they make a move Daigo will kill the Makasha. "Good," the green-haired man brush his shirt and looks up at the Hyoudou "Dismiss that spell and fetch me the stone. After that, we all will be on our merry way, and your friend will get to live another day!" he exclaims with a big taunting grin that makes everyone want to rip his head off.
Seeing that Issei dispelled the rotation but hasn't moved, Daigo gives a warning glare at him "What are you waiting for?! Move your ass and fetch me that stone! I can feel one of those spikes near his heart. One more push and he's dead!" he yells. Gritting his teeth and clenching his hands, Issei turns around and march toward the pedestal. He glances to the right to see the others looking at him with regret about being unable to help, but he sends them a reassuring smile, telling them not to worry.
Issei feels his mana dropping drastically as he continues toward the gemstone. The emerald eyes crack then shatters to reveal the normal brown iris and white sclera. His nails and teeth shorten, reverting to normal, the hair flows down to return to its regular style, the boosted gear shatters to red shards before disappearing from existence. Seeing all of this makes Daigo's smirk widen exponentially in satisfaction
'Are you honestly going to let this happen? Allowing him to win' Issei is struck with shock when hearing Nawin's voice enters his mind. 'N-nawin?' Issei reply, wondering if he has gone crazy 'Y-yeah, I've just regained consciousness after that last session of the spikes d-drilling into my body' 'I-I'm sorry,' 'We can talk about that later. Look, we can't let Daigo escape this place with the gemstone' 'What do you want me to do? I can't risk your life by doing something drastic' 'Then you'll have to do something discreet… Here, open your right hand.' Issei does as told and feel something cold appears on his palm; the item was small enough to hide in hand. 'That's a small version of a throwing knife, so don't clench it too hard or you'll cut yourself' 'I'm almost to the pedestal so what you want me to do with it?' 'Throw it of course. Use all your strength and when in a range I'll teleport and finish Daigo off' 'B-but you're in no condition to do that!' 'I can still move my arms, and with one precise swing, it'll be enough. Let's finish this together, Issei. I also want payback for what the bastard did to me' 'If you say so, Nawin, I trust your plan' 'Great, the signal should be coming up right now.'
"Hey, Daigo!" Erza shouts to gain the bandit's attention, which is a success when he snaps to her "Shut u—" Daigo stops when from the corner of his eyes, sees Issei swiftly turns and throws a black knife at him. The knife soars rapidly through the air "You fucker!" Daigo closes his eyes as the incoming knife is a dozen inches away. He sends a command to the spikes to puncture through the Makasha. A sound of teleportation appears and what follows is an explosion of blood that shower to the ground.
Everyone looked on in shocked, just witnessing Nawin appeared in front of Daigo at midair with a greatsword in both hands and brought it down to cleave the green-haired man's body right in half, from top to bottom. Daigo's body split into two pieces; his expression shows horror that's undoubtedly caused by opening his eyes at the last second and seeing the large blade coming down at him, seeing his life flash before his eyes. Tons of blood spill to the ground from the dismembered body parts. Not a second later the amputated parts fall into the red puddle.
Seeing the Makasha about to land on the ground and no doubt won't have the strength to stand, Issei rushes forward to catch him before speeding back to Erza and the rest. Placing his friend back onto the ground and watches the greatsword shatter from existence, Issei immediately gets to work on removing spikes and fortunately is successful at ridding both after the death of the caster. A smile makes way on everyone's face when seeing this and they can let out an exhale of relief.
"Huh," Nawin sighs as a faint smile cast on his lip "Feels much better with those spikes out of my body" he states and looks down to see his regeneration has already started kicking in, steadily healing the wounds. "Need help sitting up?" Erza offers "Please," Nawin reply and brings both arms up for the Scarlet to grab and gently pulls him up to sit correctly.
Now sited, Nawin turns and is met with a surprise embrace from Issei, "I'm sorry," he whispers in regret. The smile on the Makasha's face grow slightly and in response, bring his right arm to gently pet the Hyoudou's back "It's alright, Issei. I don't blame you one bit… It was my own choice to take those spikes" "B-but—" "No buts," Nawin cuts, moving his hand up to grab the shoulder and pulls his friend back, giving him a stern look "It's all in the past. I did what I did because you are my friend, Issei" "Hehehe," the Hyoudou wipes the small tears from his eyes and grin "You mean best friend?" he corrects, which gets a chuckle from the others while Nawin rolls his eyes playfully before chuckling as well "Yeah… Best friend."
Jellal turns to the bloody and dismembered corpse of Daigo in the distance "You sure got your payback at him" "Yeah," Nawin utters while being help up to his feet by Issei and Erza "Didn't expect him to be so tough" "Not so tough for Issei" Erza comments, gaining immediate attention from the Makasha. "That so?" he said, glancing at the slightly blushing Hyoudou "Ahaha, Nawin should have seen it!" Bork exclaims, laughing mightily "When Nawin got hurt, Issei became so furious that he used his real power and defeated everyone! Even Daigo stood no chance."
Issei's blush becomes more noticeable after Bork's retelling of the battle while Nawin's expression turns to amusement at the story and the reaction of his friend. "Well," he starts, smiling "I'm glad you raised some hell, Issei" "Ahaha, can't always let you be the star of the show" Issei replies with a bright grin.
"You going to be ok?" Erza asks the Makasha "Yeah, my regeneration ability is doing its job. I should be able to stand on my own now" he reassures. Nodding, both Issei and Erza gently let go of his arms. Nawin drops his arms to the sides and slowly takes a step forward, then another, steadily making way to the pedestal that holds the Lightning Gemstone. The rest stay behind and just silently watches him proceeds, letting him finish this journey he started.
Nawin sees lightning cracking around the pedestal as he gains distance. 'Time for it to calm down,' Nawin's eyes glow in red while black aura comes to existence and surrounds him. The lightning from the stone suddenly strikes toward the Makasha, but it gets redirected by the black aura. More strikes come forward though none can penetrate through the dense black aura covering the Makasha.
Erza watches this and notices the lightning from the stone is much weaker compared to before. 'Daigo must have taken more of its power than I anticipated. That's why the gemstone's attacks are in such a frail state.' Nawin extends his right arm, and black lightning cracks into existence, surrounding the palm. He grabs the gemstone and feels it jerking violently, but he keeps on a tight grip, then with a shout, rips its off the pedestal which causes a discharge of black and yellow lightning current to erupt.
Nawin is sent sliding aside from the shockwave and was about to fall back until Issei comes from behind and catches him. Nawin glance back to see his friend's grinning face which he returns with a smile of appreciation. He looks down at the beautiful yellow stone shining on his palm. Inside the gemstone shows an image of lightning strikes shooting from random directions, though faint, it can still be seen, and in Nawin's opinion it enhances the beauty of the stone.
"A perfect gift for her," Issei state, stopping on the right to inspect the stone closer "She'll love it" "With all the trouble it took us to get it," Erza cross her arms, stopping in front of the boys "She better like it, or I'll personally come to the human world and beat some sense into her" she inserts with a severe expression which gets a laughs out of everyone.
Issei shakes his head "Trust me, Erza" he speaks, smiling "Any gift from Nawin will be a must-have for Akeno. No doubt the gift she's most excited to receive will be from him" "Even knowing that you still go through this much trouble to get her this gemstone. You earn my respect, Nawin" Jellal assert "Nawin is a great person" Bork nods vigorously in agreement.
"Guess that's just who I am," Nawin reply with a smile and looks down at the gemstone ones more before teleporting it into the pocket dimension. "Alright," Erza rests her right hand on her hip "Shall we head back to Mirstone to recuperate?" "Sounds good to me" Issei lets out a yawn "I'm exhausted after today" "I'm on the same boat" Jellal nods "Bork is hungry!" "Ahaha," Nawin chuckles and turn to the Scarlet to give the nod "Yeah, let's head back there. I'm sure the Mayor and the villagers are awaiting our return" "No doubt they are."
In The Distance
"Not how I had foreseen…" a soothing and tranquil voice speaks from the peak of a mountain. The voice belongs to Schynzel and standing next to him is Ren. Both have their eyes set on the Grayford Mountain at the east. Having watched the whole battle played out in silence. Ren glance at her Master "Is it because Nawin Makasha was taken out most of the battle?" "Yes, but I say it wasn't a complete waste of time" Schynzel state, smirking in hidden malice "Issei Hyoudou seems to show more potential than I ever expected of him. From the first impression I thought he'd be the most useless wielder of the Boosted Gear lifeline compared to his predecessors, but with what I've seen he has the potential to match them and maybe even surpassed them one day if being taught correctly."
Ren returns forward to see the party heading toward the passageway that leads back into the mountain. "With how things turned out it's fair for me to declare that Daigo didn't impress you?" "Your assumption is correct… He wouldn't last a month in our organization. His weakness is creating this mindset of believing the Lightning Gemstone would give him true power, relying on it in a disgusting degree that makes me want to kill him myself" "I agree," Ren nod "In his normal state, before taking the potion you gave him he didn't stand a chance against Nawin in a simple close combat… At that moment I knew he was a rodent" "You are correct. Now, le—" Schynzel halts his words and slowly turns around.
He sees a black portal rips from existence a few meters behind them. A flock of bats flies out from the entrance and stepping out from it is Raynare. Her tranquil red slit eyes are staring at them. "Schynzel," she speaks, her tone soft and devoid of emotion "Yes?" the blonde man answers, raising an eyebrow at the unexpected presence from Sayomi's second in command "My Mistress request your presence. She has a few things to discuss with you."
Ren's expression change to hostile at this while Schynzel's eye sharpen. "… I see," he speaks "Well then," a smile form on his face and he take a step forward, walking toward the portal "I shall not keep her waiting" "That would be ill-advised," Raynare reply in agreement. Ren grips the handle of her katana tightly before swiftly stepping forward to follow her Master.
Raynare watches the two individuals enter the portal. Before joining them, she turns her head to look at the Grayford Mountain. Her gentle eyes soften when seeing Nawin, watching him disappearing inside the passageway. Seeing he is gone, her eyes return to stoic and turns to the portal. She enters, and the entrance shuts from existence.
Next Chapter: End To The Journey, Farewells