After defeating Hades, Ben canceled Devil Force and returned to his normal form. But then he fell on his back and panted hard as he felt exhausted. There was a lot of sweat coming out of his pores that drenched his clothes.
Normally, this wouldn't happen when he assumed Devil Force but this case was unique. He used Devil Force to stabilize the overflowing magic power that he received before. With so much magic power in his body, Ben couldn't stay in his normal form because his body can't hold that much magic power.
Then when he returned to normal, that overflowing magic power dropped suddenly like what happened to Hades when the Devil's Heart was destroyed. So this is a temporary side effect of the overuse of magic power.
"Fortunately I finished my fight before the time limit on Devil Force ran out. I'm still not used to using that form because the requirement is really high. The magic power I received from Azuma's attack was enough to fulfill that requirement but it also caused this side effect." Ben said as he looked up at the sky.
Like he said, to use Devil Force, he needed to fulfill a requirement. He needed to have 500 thousand magic power to activate it. But currently, he had a little less than 480 thousand, he is 20 thousand points short of the requirement.
The only way for him to reach it was by consuming magic beyond his capacity. It would cause this backlash but will also provide him with the power to fight enemies he can't fight with his normal power. So he will use it anytime he needs it.
"But this 500 thousand magic power, isn't it too high? Laxus and that Cobra guy can use Dragon Force with lower magic power than me, but I need this much magic power to use Devil Force. The Sun Slayer Magic always has a higher requirement than the others." Ben sighed while lying on the ground.
While the Sun Devil Slayer Magic has 500 thousand magic power as a requirement, the Sun Dragon Slayer Magic has 600 thousand magic power as a requirement. The cause is actually because he got the Devil Slayer Magic by consuming a Sun Demon lacrima, while he got the Dragon Slayer Magic through studying.
A.I Chip was the one who concluded that after knowing that Laxus and Cobra can use Dragon Force while Natsu, Wendy and even Ben can't use it. The only difference is how they obtained their Dragon Slayer Magic.
That's why Ben has a different requirement for both his Slayer Magics because the way he obtained them was different. The lacrima made it easier to use Devil or Dragon Force. It doesn't matter whether they install the lacrima or eat it like Ben.
"I don't know the requirements for the other types of Dragon or Devil Slayer Magic though. Laxus and Cobra are clearly lower, but what about Natsu and Wendy? Hmm, this piqued my curiosity." Ben said.
Ben thought about all those things to kill time because he can't move. His muscles are sore and he felt tired which was rare for him because of his high stamina. Well, it's good to feel something like this every once in a while.
Elsewhere...
His guild mates were locked in battle with the enemy. They were up against the Seven Kin of Purgatory and Bluenote. Various battles took place all over the island but several people weren't fighting because the number of enemies was low.
Mira was engaging Azuma in the forest and he proved to be strong in this type of environment. Erza was with Mira before, but now she's no longer there. She went to find Wendy after Mira asked her too out of concern.
None of Ben's clones followed Mira and Erza, so they have no idea Wendy was with Gray and a clone. Both Mira and Erza were worried about Wendy because she is the youngest among them, not including the cats.
Mira now fought Azuma in her normal Satan Soul form. She was very strong in this form but Azuma was able to match her. Even after receiving Ben's strong attack, he can still use this much power. His Great Tree Arc greatly boosted his power.
They fought in close combat first, but Mira is better than Azuma. She constantly sparred with Ben during their free time, so fighting Azuma was easy for her. That's why Azuma controlled the trees and used them to attack Mira.
The trees around him and covered a wide area. So now they are surrounded by overgrown trees on every side. Azuma controlled the trees freely to attack Mira while also using the tree for defense and a means to escape.
Mira was able to fly, but now with the tree branches and vines everywhere, she had a hard time flying. So she tried to remove them using a new spell inspired by one of Ben's spells. She covered her body with dark magic and accumulated a lot of it.
Azuma wasn't going to let her do that, so he sent some big wood fists towards her. But before the fists reached her, Mira finished her spell. She extended her hands and then chanted. "Dark Star Explosion!"
As she said that, a strong dark force came out of her body and spread out everywhere. It pushed the wood fists back and destroyed them and then destroyed the surrounding trees. Azuma was surprised and escaped through the tree because the explosion almost reached him.
When the spell effect stopped, the area around Mira was devastated. She didn't even use her strongest transformation, but she already has this much power. It's because she trained diligently the 2 years after the incident involving Lisanna.
She didn't want the same thing to happen again and she needed to cure Lisanna. So she kept training diligently and often asked for Ben's help. Of course, he helped her and even had A.I Chip find the most effective training method for her and Elfman.
That's why right now Ben believed she was the strongest woman in the guild. Even if they count everyone, she is just below Gildarts, Ben and Master. She also has a lot of magic power and it will surpass Makarov in a year or two if everything runs normally.
"Come out! Why are you hiding?" Mira demanded as she looked around to find Azuma.
He didn't come out too, so Mira clicked her tongue. "Tch, the damn bastard's really good at hiding. Oops! I shouldn't say something like that. I have vowed to change from my past self and be a kind girl."
Mira reflected on her words which made her sound like her past scoundrel self. She had vowed to be a kind girl after what happened to Lisanna. But sometimes she has an outburst like this when she is pissed or angry.
She always tried to hide it from Ben but he knew about it. Contrary to her belief that Ben will hate it, he likes it very much. It made her look cuter instead, especially when she tried to hold herself back from having a outburst when she was with Ben.
But now he wasn't present, so she doesn't hold back and said what she wanted to. She grumbled while looking for Azuma, flying around the area. Then suddenly a big wood spike came out of the ground towards her, but Mira dodged it in the nick of time.
"You finally came out." Mira said while looking at Azuma who came out of a giant tree root.
"The Demon, Mirajane, you're as strong as the rumors say. No, even stronger than that. Fairy Tail is really full of monsters, it seems." Azuma said.
"Calling a girl a monster, how awful. My boyfriend will kill you if he heard that." Mira said with a smirk.
"Ha, I never thought the Demon Mirajane would have a boyfriend. He must be a real demon then." Azuma jokingly said.
"If he was a real demon, he would've killed you with that attack." Mira noted, pointing at Azuma's stomach.
Azuma's eyes widened when he realized who Mira's boyfriend was. Mira just smirked.
"Now then, let's continue." She said.