*Huff... huff...*
Erza panted heavily.
This was truly a troublesome opponent.
And with an even more troublesome ability.
Was this guy immortal?
Not only did his self-explosions pack a huge punch, but he could immediately revive and prepare for another explosion in just three seconds!
Deciding to take a risk, Erza waited for the next blast.
"Re-Equip!"
She switched directly into her Purgatory Armor and charged into the smoke.
*Shriek!*
The Brave Knight reappeared again, repeating his usual nonsense.
"Knightly art—"
"That is the courage of artistry!"
"What? You're coming close to me? Why?" The Brave Knight looked up as Erza approached. "Is it because of the courage of art?"
"No way!" Erza roared, raising her jagged greatsword and slashing him in two.
*Boom!*
But before she could react, an explosion erupted instantly!
Oh no!
Erza panicked, but switching armor was too slow now.
*A hum.*
Suddenly, a golden polygonal barrier surrounded her body, shielding her from harm.
Though the explosion blew the shield away, Erza inside remained unharmed.
"Erza, no one is truly immortal," Jehfrit's voice echoed in her mind.
This time, he didn't mention anything about minutes.
Firstly, he had tried to infect the Brave Knight with his magic, but the man never lasted past three seconds before exploding and resetting his state.
Secondly, Lucy needed reassurance—having a safety net gave her the confidence to take bold steps forward.
Natsu and Gray needed a little push.
But Erza needed nothing at all. She would defeat her enemy on her own!
"I know that well enough," Erza said firmly.
The barrier shattered, and she changed back into her Adamantine Armor.
As for Laxus...
Jehfrit said nothing.
He glanced toward the distance—the bizarre Sacrifice Knight was already heading into town, not killing anyone yet, but gathering people together.
"War brings sacrifice."
"Sacrifices are inevitable."
"For defeating this powerful demon, please make your great sacrifice."
With a solemn expression, the Sacrifice Knight manipulated dark lightning to control others, forcing them toward a large square—he was collecting hostages.
Shadow Lightning?
He had stolen Wilshito's magic. That must be his power.
Still, since he wasn't killing anyone yet, Jehfrit let it go—for now.
If he wanted to use hostages as leverage?
Jehfrit also needed time to infect him—four minutes would be enough.
Jehfrit turned his attention to the two enemies—Honor Knight and Justice Knight.
"How convenient."
Jehfrit twirled Teal 7.0 in his hand and said, "I don't like close combat, so I'll allow myself a few little tricks."
Switching magazines.
Full auto fire.
*Click click click click click...*
Bullets rained down in waves.
But both Honor Knight and Justice Knight dodged simultaneously.
*A hum.*
A column of black light fell from the sky.
"This is a very annoying ability," Justice Knight frowned.
"Yes, very annoying," Honor Knight looked upward and immediately pulled out a gatling gun from behind his back.
*Click click click click click...*
A storm of bullets poured forth.
*Bang bang bang!*
Jehfrit's body was protected by multiple polygonal golden shields, blocking the rounds.
"Ha!"
Justice Knight leaped dozens of meters high, pulling out a small wooden mallet—a judge's gavel—which expanded in an instant. The handle towered over a person, and the head was over two meters wide!
He brought it down with a devastating strike!
Jehfrit switched to Wind Blast mode and retreated backward, narrowly avoiding the hit.
But Justice Knight released the hammer, which spun toward Jehfrit.
Jehfrit quickly switched to Shield mode and fired several rapid shots.
*Hum*, *Crack*, *Hum*, *Crack*.
Multiple barriers formed, shattering in succession to block the attack.
His destructive power was actually stronger than the Brave Knight's explosions!
*Bang!*
Jehfrit raised his hand and fired at the distant Humble Knight.
The Humble Knight took a step back, allowing Laxus to finally move, retreating quickly.
The Humble Knight narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Still finding time to interfere with other battles," Just Knight muttered unhappily.
*Shriek!*
From below, Honorable Knight threw a spinning boomerang that struck Just Knight's back.
The boomerang expanded, transforming into two engine-powered wings.
*Boom!*
Justice Knight activated the engines, enabling flight, and soared toward Jehfrit. At the same time, he extended his hand, and the previously thrown mallet shrunk and returned to his palm.
"No!"
As he enlarged the mallet to strike Jehfrit, he suddenly sidestepped.
A blade slashed past his nose, cutting off the wings.
Justice Knight plummeted downward.
"This is such a troublesome ability!" Just Knight exclaimed again.
They had prepared thoroughly—Honor Knight had implanted magical devices under everyone's skin:
Devices that could sense Jehfrit's distance and calculate attack trajectories to pinpoint his real location.
They could also bypass the five senses to transmit information using magical feedback—an internal comms system similar to Morse code, designed to prevent outsiders—including telepaths—from reading their messages.
It was an extremely focused strategy.
Yet, being completely deceived by the five senses still caused them immense frustration.
It felt like having a blind teammate who could call out positions perfectly, but it was still easier to see and hear for yourself.
Jehfrit, realizing the advantage, didn't take unnecessary risks and swiftly retreated, firing a shot at Honest Knight to force him back and clear the path for Lucy and Juvia.
*Dong!*
Justice Knight landed on the ground, and Honor Knight joined him. Both scanned the right front with caution.
The magical feedback signal was weak, meaning Jehfrit was far away.
There was no need for Jehfrit to rush or try to eliminate anyone immediately.
Given enough time, he could secure victory without risking anything.
At the moment, he focused on observing the battlefield holistically—monitoring all enemies' spells, attack rhythms, stamina, and more.
Laxus was fighting the Humble Knight, who claimed to have "Persuasion Magic," and indeed, it worked exactly as described—pausing movement with words, nullifying or reflecting spells, and even manipulating surrounding objects like dirt and steel to attack.
Truly a thorn in the side.
Laxus was in dire straits against this knight, though his physical resilience kept him alive for now—his anger only grew with each battle.
No spell or mage was truly invincible.
Jehfrit believed this knight's magic must have a weakness.
Erza faced the Brave Knight, whose nonsense rambles were matched only by his simple yet deadly ability—self-explosion followed by resurrection.
The three-second countdown made it nearly impossible for Erza to counter using any armor besides her Diamond Skin, which barely held up under the strain.
Killing him prematurely would trigger an early explosion, which, while weaker, was still dangerous.
It wasn't actual resurrection, Jehfrit deduced. But what was the mechanism? Observation was key.
Natsu and Gray were battling the Agile Knight, who used no visible magic, relying solely on brute force. Despite his claim of flexible adaptability, he simply traded punches with Natsu and Gray—surprisingly managing to hold his ground against both.
Lucy and Juvia fought the Honest Knight, who spouted lies despite calling himself honest. His sword skills rivaled Ikuto's, and his body was incredibly durable—Leo's fist couldn't land a mark, nor could Taurus's axe.
Only the Sacrifice Knight hadn't engaged in direct combat, instead rounding up civilians with Shadow Lightning, threatening to use them as leverage against Jehfrit.
Shadow Lightning?
He likely stole magic from others—Wilheit's magic was proof.
Finally, Jehfrit faced off against Honor and Justice Knights.
The Honor Knight carried numerous magical gadgets, clearly relying on them for combat.
The Justice Knight wielded a massive wooden mallet with devastating power, seemingly using pure destruction magic.
Jehfrit nodded. The enemy distribution was logical.
Laxus dealt with the most challenging Humble Knight.
Erza could temporarily hold off the Brave Knight.
Natsu and Gray were evenly matched with the Agile Knight.
Lucy and Juvia were safe with Jehfrit watching over them.
The Sacrifice Knight, by gathering civilians as hostages, played right into Jehfrit's hands—if he killed them outright, it would complicate matters.
Still, these fanatics were bizarre, each clinging to rigid principles that were hard to understand.
Jehfrit glanced at Teal 7.0. It had one additional chamber compared to its predecessor, otherwise unchanged—a black-handled revolver with golden edges. All functions were retained, including the new [Shield] mode.
Of course, every function had been upgraded to the max.
Single shot, full auto, explosive burst, flash release, wind blast, shield, and self-destruction.
Teal 7.0 was developed just days ago, and now was the perfect time to test it.
*Bang!*
He fired a shot.
Justice Knight dove for cover, unwilling to take the hit head-on.
Another explosive round followed.
Honor Knight activated a sleek wristwatch, tapping twice to summon a shield.
*Boom!*
The explosion was terrifying, rivaling the Brave Knight's blasts!
Its damage output had increased several times over, and naturally, the mana cost had skyrocketed.
*Shriek!*
Because of Jehfrit's two shots, Justice Knight pinpointed his position and rushed in, bringing the hammer down.
Jehfrit drew Hani and parried upwards.
Wanting to test a straight-up clash?
Silence.
Jehfrit stepped back, and Justice Knight stared in disbelief as his mallet was chipped in half.
How was that possible?!
"What an incredibly sharp weapon!" Honor Knight gasped, then pulled out a candy-like object and tossed it at Jehfrit.
Jehfrit used a Wind Blast to retreat while blowing the candies back.
*Boom boom boom!*
Continuous explosions filled the air with dust, and Jehfrit vanished once more, leaving the two knights to rely only on distance estimates, unable to determine his exact location.
Both became hyper-vigilant, terrified of being caught off guard by a single bullet.
In the city.
The Sacrifice Knight was herding many people.
He grabbed a girl's braid, yanking until she wailed, but he paid no heed.
"Stop!"
"Cough... cough."
Edward stepped forward, shouting before collapsing into a fit of violent coughs, as if trying to cough up his lungs.
"You are an old, frail man," the Sacrifice Knight tugged the girl's hair, dragging her along. "You've contributed nothing to peace your whole life. Now you are old and sick. You should understand—"
"I am helping you, old man. For such a great war—the war to exterminate demons—you sacrificed your remaining life so we can eliminate that demon and preserve peace in the world. This is a good thing. An honor. You should be grateful to me, not glaring at me with anger."