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A sickeningly powerful Curse Power was gathering into an invisible vortex.
As Jiemma waved his large hand, the twisted evil power in the air immediately attached to his body, coalescing into a bizarre armor covered in blood-red patterns, as if it were alive.
Natsu's expression turned solemn. He'd witnessed the power of the Curse Demon Lullaby, but Jiemma at this moment far surpassed the oppressive feeling Lullaby had brought.
"Fairy Tail, you're all just a bunch of ignorant ants."
Seeing the change in Natsu's expression, Jiemma's lips curved into a sneer, his voice low and full of oppression. "Brat, you shall die by the power bestowed by Lord 'Battle Bond'!"
As soon as he finished speaking, twisted tendrils made of pure dark energy instantly appeared before Natsu.
So fast!
Natsu was startled, but relying on his years of experience fighting and brawling, he easily dodged the tentacle attack, then his entire body burst into raging flames, incinerating the disgusting, relentless tendrils into ashes.
Beneath the erupting flames was Natsu's prepared punch.
The Fire Dragon's Iron Fist, carrying scorching flames, struck directly at Jiemma's face, yet an inch away, Natsu's movement suddenly froze.
Jiemma disdainfully waved his hand, and a black barrier instantly formed, easily blocking Natsu's scorching flames. "Pathetic rage—power is everything. The emotions of the weak are meaningless."
Natsu didn't respond. He couldn't even be bothered to argue with someone as purely self-centered as Jiemma.
This couldn't be changed with words.
He could only thoroughly blast him down!
Exploding with Magic Power once more, the pink-haired boy's body transformed into a fiery meteor, his right fist condensing all his Magic Power, and the scales of the Fire Dragon faintly appeared on his skin.
"Fire Dragon's... Iron Fist!!"
The fist collided with the dark barrier, unleashing a deafening roar, as fiery Magic Power and dark Curse Power intertwined, forming a violent energy storm.
Natsu felt intense pain in his fist, but he didn't retreat. Instead, he increased his Magic Power output, spewing a torrent of scorching flames from his mouth.
Fire Dragon's Roar!
The flames engulfed Jiemma's entire body, but in the next second, all the flames seemed to be absorbed by that eerie living armor, disappearing without a trace.
A hand covered in twisted armor pressed against Natsu's chest, and the sharp biological gauntlet extended, plunging violently into the boy's body. Natsu's startled pupils reflected Jiemma's face, full of disdain and mockery.
"Curse Magic: Pain Extraction!"
"Ahhh!!!"
Natsu let out a heart-wrenching scream, his veins bulging all over his body, and red patterns identical to those on Jiemma's demonic armor appeared on his skin.
Pain swept through his entire body. The sharp spikes that had pierced him seemed to take root and sprout in Natsu's flesh, extracting the boy's Magic Power at an alarming rate.
This was the Curse Power ability of the Eighteen Demon Fighting Gods' Battle Bond—as long as he touched an opponent's body in battle, he could extract their Magic Power and life force.
But Jiemma only wanted to slowly torture this ignorant brat to death, draining his Magic Power, exhausting his life, and letting him die in the most painful way.
In just over ten seconds, Natsu felt that a significant portion of his Magic Power had been taken, and at this rate, he'd surely die!
But Natsu wasn't one to sit idly by. The more desperate the situation, the clearer his mind became, and even with blood still on his lips, the flames in the pink-haired boy's eyes burned even brighter.
So you like extracting my Magic Power, do you?
Then let me give you your fill!
With a burst of unknown strength, Natsu desperately grabbed the living armor piercing his body, igniting all his remaining Magic Power with Dragon Slayer fire and pouring it into it.
Although Dragon Slayer Magic didn't have the absolute restraint against demonic power that Devil Slayer Magic possessed, as a "Slayer" type of Magic, its destructive power shouldn't be underestimated.
The scorching Magic Power transferred to the living armor, and the high-energy heat caused several parts of the armor to explode. This pain was then fed back to Jiemma, who was connected to it.
Facing Natsu's almost suicidal counterattack, Jiemma's expression changed dramatically.
A desperate madman!
Fairy Tail's full of lunatics!
Jiemma didn't want to die with a brat. He had important things to do, and with powerful force, he severed the spikes that had pierced Natsu's body.
Finally free, Jiemma punched Natsu in the chest.
Dark energy surged in like a tide. Natsu felt his internal organs being torn apart and immediately spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his body flying out like a broken kite, smashing through several houses before stopping.
"Natsu!"
Gajeel, watching this scene, was consumed with anxiety, and his momentary distraction was seized upon by Jose, who formed a massive black hole in his hand.
The black hole grew rapidly, expanding under Jose's Magic Power, and by the time Gajeel reacted, he was firmly locked by its powerful suction.
Watching Gajeel struggle but unable to move, Jose laughed triumphantly. "Look, I've got you."
After confirming that Gajeel could no longer pose any threat to him, Jose slowly approached Gajeel and forcefully slapped him across the face with the back of his hand.
"Aren't you tough? Let's see if you can survive being twisted by my magical black hole."
"But I think you'll probably turn into a lump of scrap metal, and then I'll carefully collect your remains—if there's anything left! Hahahahaha!"
Facing Jose, who was laughing uncontrollably, Gajeel not only didn't fall into despair despite his perilous situation, but a hint of mockery even appeared in his eyes.
Gajeel knew Jose too well.
If he gave him an opening, this despicable bastard would definitely lose control and take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.
So, Gajeel did just that.
He used himself as bait, feigning weakness with an injury, because only then could he make Jose drop his guard, and only then could he get close to Jose.
Iron Dragon Slayer Magic had this disadvantage—apart from the "Roar" technique and "Dragon Slayer Secret Arts," there were no other powerful long-range techniques.
Jose was already prepared for the Roar technique, and as for the "Dragon Slayer Secret Arts," Gajeel hadn't yet mastered them, and neither had Natsu.
It seemed their Dragon Slayer Magic was still missing something.
Enduring the pain of being powerfully twisted by the magical black hole, Gajeel exerted all his strength and, to Jose's disbelief, broke free.
A pair of iron hands firmly grasped Jose's arms, preventing him from escaping, and Gajeel delivered a vicious headbutt to Jose's head.
Jose's body wasn't as tempered as Gajeel's. After taking such a blow, he felt as if his head had been smashed by a large rock, his head throbbing with pain, and tears streamed from his eyes.
"The one who fell into the trap is you, Jose!"
"Iron Dragon's... Roar!!"
Taking a deep breath, Gajeel used the Dragon Slayer's signature move to powerfully blast down Jose, who'd used him and regarded him as a tool.
Unable to make any timely resistance, Jose's fate was sealed when faced with this close-range Dragon Slayer's Roar.
On the third day after being rescued from the Magic Council prison, Jose was once again defeated by a Fairy Tail Mage, who was like his "nemesis."
Defeated by his own carelessness and underestimation.
Defeated by Gajeel, whom he'd once regarded as his subordinate.