"If that thing hits you, you're done for!" Happy yelped, his voice tinged with panic.
"Hahaha! Take this! And this!"
High above, Chloe wielded a long whip in one hand and a sword in the other, relentlessly attacking Natsu and Happy on the snowy ground below. Both weapons were as tough as steel, extending and retracting with fluid precision.
The density of cloud orbs, the breadth of cloud seas, the resilience of cloud ropes, and the sharpness of cloud blades—her arsenal worked in perfect harmony. Add to that her ability to transform into clouds, rendering her immune to physical attacks, and she was a formidable opponent.
"Cloud magic, huh?" Kira observed from a distance, watching Natsu dodge carefully. His mind raced to unravel the mechanics of Chloe's cloud-based attacks, but he couldn't help muttering praise. "Pretty impressive. She can take out enemies without even getting close. Plus, in a place like this, her magic gets a boost and counters her opponents perfectly. Natsu's got a tough fight on his hands."
Something about her cloud manipulation felt oddly familiar, though.
"Natsu, watch out!" Lucy's shout snapped Kira out of his thoughts.
In the chaos, Natsu managed to evade the swift, wind-like cloud sword, but he couldn't escape the barrage of cloud orbs. They were like a game of Ten Drops of Water—the moment one orb was triggered, a chain reaction of explosions erupted, engulfing everything in a storm of clouds.
"Natsu! Happy!" The attack came so fast that even Lucy, watching from the sidelines, couldn't react in time. Trapped outside the swirling mist of steam and clouds, she could only watch anxiously from beside Kira, unable to reach Natsu and Happy.
Boom!
The deafening explosions roared for a full three minutes. The dense clouds drained Natsu's stamina and magic power, while scalding steam left painful burns across his body.
Then, a familiar burst of flames erupted from the center of the chaos, evaporating the clouds and steam in an instant.
Kira peered into the clearing smoke. Happy was cradled tightly in Natsu's arms, a small patch of burns on his skin. Natsu, curled up and kneeling in the snow, was in worse shape. His clothes were shredded from the explosions, and having shielded Happy from most of the steam, his burns were far more severe.
The intense heat from the flames and steam had melted the surrounding snow, sinking the ground several meters and forming a massive crater. Natsu and Happy were huddled in this snowy pit, which had likely absorbed much of the attack's force.
Lucy rushed to Natsu's side, helping him up. Kira followed, taking a quick look at them. The burns weren't too serious—Natsu's tough constitution would probably heal in half a day, and he could push through the pain to keep fighting if needed. But Kira had made up his mind.
Happy was the guild's beloved mascot, and that adorable accent of his had always been a favorite of Kira'. Seeing him hurt? That was unacceptable. Whether you called him Happy or Doraemon, the blue cat was too cute to let this slide.
The steam in the air began to condense into clouds again. Chloe stood atop a cloud, her expression cold as she locked eyes with Kira from the crater below.
"Natsu, I'm taking over from here. Got a problem with that?" Kira' tone left no room for argument. Without waiting for a reply, he waved a hand, summoning a green magic circle that pulsed with the breath of life. Healing magic enveloped Natsu and Happy, rapidly mending their wounds.
"Healing!"
Kira stepped out of the crater, looking up at his opponent perched on her cloud. She might look like a young girl, but she was an old demon who'd lived who-knows-how-long. Kira wasn't about to hold back.
Chloe could sense the shift. She didn't assume Kira was on Natsu's level—his steadily rising magical pressure told her he was in a different league.
In the magic world, every mage's magic had a unique signature, even when practicing the same type of magic. Natsu's magic burned like fire, Gray's chilled like ice, Erza's cut like a blade. But Kira' magic? It felt… sacred.
Not the holy glow of light magic or the sanctity of healing spells, but a profound, ancient, almost divine aura. It was like the chime of heavenly bells, the breath of nature itself, or the echo of a prehistoric civilization. It felt both like a god descending from the heavens and the culmination of human wisdom.
Kira had once reflected on his own magic and figured it was tied to his Word Soul magic. Words, language, true names—didn't they carry that kind of weight?
Beyond its sacred quality, Kira' magic had another defining trait: quantity. From the moment he arrived in this world, he'd noticed something unusual. Even when he spent his days eating, drinking, and goofing off, his magic power grew at an astonishing rate, never pausing for a moment.
He'd never once felt the sting of running low on magic. By the time he was twelve and became an S-Class mage in Fairy Tail, his magic reserves rivaled Laxus'. When he gained some fame in Fiore and nearly earned a spot among the Ten Wizard Saints, his magic was on par with Makarov's.
Now? He hadn't tested it directly, but he suspected he might be at the peak of the Wizard Saints—or maybe even strong enough to challenge one of the Spriggan 12 from the Alvarez Empire. The thought gave him a little thrill.
Of course, the Two Walls were an exception. Those two were on another level—each one could probably take on the other ten Spriggans single-handedly.
'What's with this human's magic power?' Chloe thought, stunned. 'It's even greater than mine, and I've lived for centuries! In terms of raw magic, he might be on par with Ice Old Man.'
Though confident in her own magic, Chloe couldn't help but feel a bead of sweat form as she watched Kira step forward. His magic was overwhelming.
'This guy might even be stronger than Ice Old Man… What kind of magic does he use?'
She'd seen Kira heal Natsu and Happy, but she didn't understand how. It looked like healing magic, but it wasn't—not exactly. In this era, true healing magic was rare, nearly lost to time.
Despite her age, Chloe had spent most of her life in this frozen wasteland, so her knowledge was limited. She'd never encountered Word Soul magic before.
"Is that healing magic you just used?" she asked, probing. "Being able to use a nearly lost art like that—you're pretty impressive!"
"Impressive? Obviously!" Kira smirked, unsure why she was suddenly chatty but rolling with it. "But it's not healing magic."
Perfect. Keep him talking while I gather my magic.
Realizing she might not win a straight fight, Chloe shifted to a distraction tactic. She kept the conversation going to buy time, secretly preparing her magic for a decisive strike.
Behind Kira, countless cloud orbs, vast cloud seas, and thick cloud ropes began to take shape. With Lucy still in the crater tending to Natsu and Happy, no one was there to warn him. Kira, meanwhile, seemed oblivious, casually chatting with Chloe.
"Not healing magic? Then what is it? It clearly healed their wounds!" Chloe said, playing the part of a curious, innocent girl. Her youthful appearance made the act convincing—if Kira didn't know better, he might've bought it.
But did she really think he couldn't sense the clouds forming behind him? This amateur acting—I saw through it from the start! First time I've seen someone dare to put on such a bold performance in front of me. You've got guts, kid!
Kira subtly prepared his own magic, keeping his expression neutral. "We're enemies. Why would I tell you about my magic?"
"Actually, I'm more curious about you. Why's a demon like you in a place like this? And why attack Natsu and the others?"
"We have our reasons for being here!" Chloe shot back. "And for the record, they attacked me first!"
"Oh, really? My bad, then," Kira said with a grin that held zero remorse. "Care to share a bit about your magic?"
"It's just cloud magic. Nothing special. You seem a lot stronger than that other guy—are you the ace of some magic guild?"
The human and the demon bantered for two minutes, tossing out questions without giving any real answers. In the end, neither got any useful information.
Sensing her magic was ready, they both dropped the small talk. A surge of magic power erupted from both sides.
"Cloud Orb Barrage!"
Chloe struck first, unleashing a storm of cloud orbs from all directions—the same move that had overwhelmed Natsu.
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