Sherry and Yuka were already scared out of their minds.
As former members of Lamia Scale, they had quite literally grown up listening to the legend of the "strongest rookie".
Back when they quit the guild and decided to assist Lyon, it was exactly the time when Kabe had just completed the Ten Year Quest, his fame at its peak.
Now seeing Kabe show up with such obvious hostile intent, and then thinking of everything they had done themselves…
They did not need to think hard to know that this man was absolutely here for them and for Deliora.
"We are going to fight the Destroyer? Are you kidding me, we are definitely going to die!"
Watching the two of them shaking so hard they could not even get a word out, Sarudi gave Kabe a wary glance, then turned to explain for them to Lyon:
"Lord Reitei, this person is an S class mage of Fairy Tail, the number one guild in Fiore.
He began taking on S class quests that ordinary mages will never touch in a lifetime when he was only fourteen.
Since he prefers subjugation missions, the battlefield is often left in ruins after he fights.
Because of that he was called the God of Destruction, and is believed to have strength close to the Ten Wizard Saints.
He is recognized as the undisputed number one among the younger generation."
After hearing Sarudi's explanation, Lyon's pupils shrank at once.
"Ten Wizard Saints? That guy?!"
The title of Ten Wizard Saints was not something invented in recent years. Lyon had heard of it too.
His own teacher Ur had even been evaluated by others as possessing power at that level.
So when he learned that this guy in front of him, who looked about the same age as himself, was actually said to have the same level of strength as Ur, Lyon's first reaction was simple disbelief.
"What a joke. Someone like him is worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as my teacher Ur?!"
At the mention of Ur's name, Sarudi's cheek twitched very slightly.
Kabe, on the other hand, had actually felt a bit pleased with himself seeing how terrified these people were of him at first.
But with that shout from Lyon, his mood immediately soured.
"What do you mean, why am I not worthy to be compared to Lady Ur?
I respect Lady Ur very much as a senior, but surpassing those who came before us is exactly what we juniors are supposed to do."
"You are saying… you have surpassed Ur?"
Lyon stared as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. He tore off his helmet and slammed it onto the floor, his expression twisted.
"Stop being so full of yourself! You are just a frog in a well who has no idea how strong Ur really was, and you dare talk about surpassing her!
In this world only I, only I who was her disciple and learned all of her techniques, have the potential to surpass her!"
He shouted at the top of his lungs, thoughts flying back to the days he had followed Ur, watching that back with endless admiration.
"You people will never understand just how much I worship her and how much I want to surpass her!"
"You have got nerve! Use your indoor voice when you talk, why are you screaming at me!"
Looking at the clearly unhinged Lyon, Kabe did not wait for him to finish expressing his heartfelt feelings.
He flashed right in front of Lyon and raised his right fist high.
"That is for not wearing your helmet!"
With that, his iron fist smashed brutally into Lyon's face. The left side of Lyon's face instantly warped out of shape, accompanied by a crisp cracking sound that made one's teeth ache.
"Boom!"
Lyon's body flew sideways and plowed a long trench in the floor.
He crashed straight through the temple wall and was buried under a collapsing sheet of rubble.
"Re… Reitei sama!"
Yuka shouted, tongue tripping, and rushed forward in a panic.
Sherry was so scared that her legs gave out completely. She hugged her own arms, trembling, and sat down hard on the ground.
Kabe did not bother paying attention to those two familiar looking small fry.
He tilted his head instead and looked at the hunched, strange old man who was already trying to quietly edge away.
"Oi, where do you think you are going?"
Sarudi's body went stiff. He turned his neck mechanically and met Kabe's amused gaze.
The next second, he decisively raised both hands in surrender.
"Sir, I only joined a few days ago. I am just the errand boy. I do not know anything."
Kabe stared at this masked weirdo and did not believe a word of it.
Within his perception this guy's aura was actually a bit stronger than Lyon's. There was no way he was just some minor extra.
"Swoosh!"
Kabe's figure flashed. In the next instant he vanished from Sarudi's field of vision.
Sarudi's heart clenched. Just as he was about to react, his vision suddenly went dark for a moment, then abruptly opened up wide.
He staggered back several steps in fright, then finally realized what had happened and hurriedly reached up to touch his face.
"M my mask?!"
As soon as the words left his mouth he saw that Kabe was holding the demon mask that was supposed to be on his face, staring at him with a thoughtful look.
"So fast. What kind of speed is that? He actually closed the distance in an instant and took off my mask.
If he had wanted me dead just now, I would have died in that moment."
At the thought of that outcome, Sarudi's wrinkled old face went completely pale.
Meanwhile Kabe was silently complaining in his heart.
"Seriously, who is this guy? Was there such a character in the original story? Why do I have absolutely no memory of him?"
Even considering that people in real life would always look a bit different from how they did on the page, it was still the first time he had seen someone who did not match anyone in his memory at all.
"Could it be some sort of transformation magic?"
With that thought, Kabe suddenly looked enlightened. He crossed his arms and pointed dramatically at Sarudi with his right hand, loudly declaring,
"Enough pretending. I have already seen through you. Show me your real face."
"Damn it, he even noticed that!"
Sarudi felt cold from head to toe, his hands and feet shaking. He froze in place, not sure what to do.
"No? Did I guess wrong?"
After waiting a while and getting no response, Kabe put down his hand with a troubled look.
Uratia, who had already been ready to cancel the transformation magic and show him her true body, almost tripped and fell flat on her face.
"There is no need. You did not guess wrong. This is indeed not my original appearance."
Sarudi, face like charcoal, summoned a crystal orb and smashed it onto the floor. Rings of ripples spread outward.
The next moment, the unremarkable weird old man vanished.
Standing in his place was a tall beauty with straight bangs, wearing a modified white one sleeve kimono.
She flicked her long hair back and put one hand on her waist, just about to introduce herself.
But Kabe beat her to it, slapping his palm into his other fist with sudden realization and blurting out her name.
"Ah, you are Ultear. Now I remember."
Ultear: "???"
Her apricot eyes went perfectly round. The expression on her face was honestly pretty hilarious.
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