In the plaza of the Mercurius Palace, the royal guards were desperately fighting against the demons.
"Everyone, hang in there!"
"Block all the demons! As long as the mages make it through, we still have a chance to turn the tide!"
The royal guards gritted their teeth, using the terrain and their own bodies to hold back the demons, carving out a path toward the Dark Demon Castle for Noel and the others.
"Alright, everyone, please hurry into the Dark Demon Castle. We'll cover you!"
Princess Hisui, who had regained her composure, spoke firmly to Noel and the group.
"I'll stay behind to heal the wounded. I'll leave the rest to you," Wendy said calmly.
"We'll gather everyone from the guild at the plaza and come help," Carla, Lily, and Happy said.
"Yeah, we'll leave it to you. Everyone, let's go."
Noel gave a respectful nod to Princess Hisui and Wendy, then turned and spoke to the others.
They all nodded in return and followed closely behind him, heading straight for the Dark Demon Castle.
There were only a few hundred meters between Noel's group and the castle, but in that short distance, hundreds, even thousands, of soldiers had already given their lives.
Even Natsu, usually the most carefree of them all, said nothing — he only clenched his teeth and sped up, rushing toward the gates of the Dark Demon Castle.
"[Ice Dragon's Roar!]"
Just as Noel and the others were about to reach the Dark Demon Castle, a blast of freezing air suddenly erupted toward them.
Though caught off guard by the sudden ambush, they each quickly scattered, narrowly avoiding the freezing blast.
"Hahaha! Did you really think we'd just let you waltz through, you idiots?!"
A slightly arrogant voice rang out.
Everyone turned toward the source of the sound and saw a young man with green hair and green eyes standing there, arms folded, staring at them.
"The Fifth Throne, Dylan Kel'Thuzad," NoEl muttered with a frown.
Even after seven years, he could recognize the man instantly.
"Long time no see, members of Fairy Tail," Dylan said, spreading his arms slightly, a faint excitement flashing across his handsome face.
"Just like Garlos said, you want to break into the Dark Demon Castle... but I'm not going to make it that easy for you. You know what you have to do if you want to get past me, right?"
"No choice then," Noel said, casting a quick, worried glance at the royal guards who were still struggling to hold the demons at bay.
Then, his eyes hardened, and a brilliant aura began to radiate from his body.
"We'll have to take you down first... and then force our way inside."
Just as Noel was about to make his move, a hand suddenly blocked him.
Noel was slightly startled and saw Natsu standing there, his expression unusually serious.
"Leave this guy to me," Natsu said, his voice rare in its calm and low tone.
"You have stronger enemies waiting for you, Noel. We can't waste time here.
If we don't defeat the Demon God's Soul as quickly as possible, we'll fail.
Everyone's counting on us. So, leave this to me."
Noel fell silent for a few seconds, then gave a slight nod.
"Got it. I'll leave it to you. Finish it fast and catch up with us."
Natsu grinned widely, flashing a confident smile.
"Of course."
With that, Noel immediately led the others, continuing their charge toward the Dark Demon Castle.
Seeing this, Dylan's expression darkened slightly, icy air gathering around his hands.
"Hey! Didn't you hear me?! You're not getting through without defeating me first!"
"[Ice Dragon's Wing Attack!]"
Dylan's arms became coated with ice and freezing air, forming wings as he struck toward Noël and the others.
But just as the attack was about to reach them, a massive burst of flames suddenly blasted out, cutting off Dylan's advance.
Dylan's expression turned cold as he swung his arms, easily tearing through the flames —
however, that moment of delay was enough for Noel and the others to break through the Dark Demon Castle's gate and charge inside.
"Hmph," Dylan snorted in dissatisfaction but showed no intention of chasing them.
Instead, he turned around to face Natsu, who stood there with flames swirling around his hands.
With a cold smirk, Dylan said,
"So only you stayed behind? Are you so arrogant that you think you alone can defeat me?
Are you underestimating me, or overestimating yourself, Natsu Dragneel?"
"I don't mean to underestimate you. I won't deny that you members of the Seven Thrones are strong. But… I won't lose! To protect hope, I will crush you!"
Natsu's pupils seemed to ignite like blazing flames.
"Interesting," Dylan froze for a moment, then revealed a ferocious grin.
"Very well, I've long wanted to fight you, Natsu Dragneel — the child of Igneel.
I'll crush you completely and tear you apart!"
.................
"Bisca, how are you holding up? Can you still fight?"
At a corner of Crocus Central Plaza, Alzack, who had just taken down a demon with his shooting magic, was slightly panting as he asked in a low voice, his back against Bisca's.
"I'm fine. But... the number of enemies is just too much,"
Bisca replied, a few drops of sweat sliding down her face.
She didn't have the time to wipe them away, staying on high alert and watching the surroundings carefully to guard against any sudden attacks from demons.
"Eh? I didn't expect to find someone using shooting magic here... and you're not even that weak."
A strange voice suddenly rang out, making Bisca and Alzack freeze for a moment.
The next second, they saw a purple-haired youth walking toward them at a leisurely pace.
"Who are you?" Alzack asked.
"Ah, right, right, I haven't introduced myself yet,"
The purple-haired boy said, knocking his fist lightly against his palm as if remembering something.
Then he smiled brightly and said,
"Nice to meet you. I'm Luther, a candidate for the Thrones of the Demon God's Soul."
"Demon God's Soul?!"
At Luther's words, Bisca and Alzack's pupils shrank simultaneously.
Immediately after—
Bang! Bang!
Two gunshots rang out almost at the same time.
Without hesitation, Alzack and Bisca each fired at Luther, two expertly aimed shots hurtling toward him at high speed.
But Luther only tilted his head slightly, easily dodging both attacks.
Throughout it all, the smile on the corner of his lips didn't waver in the slightest.
"Not bad, not bad. As I thought, I have a good eye," Luther said.
"Although your strength isn't enough to be worthy of fighting me, since you're both users of shooting magic, I'll send you off personally."
"Damn it,"
Alzack gritted his teeth slightly.
He exchanged a glance with Bisca, and the two of them came to a silent agreement.
"[Gunslinger]."
Bisca raised her gun and unleashed a series of rapid, multi-shot attacks at Luther.
"[Wild Shot]."
Alzack also launched a flurry of fast, continuous shots.
Facing the barrage of bullets coming at him, Luther still wore a relaxed expression.
With strange and nimble footwork, he easily and precisely dodged every shot fired by Alzack and Bisca.
"What's wrong? Didn't even land a hit,"
Luther said with a smile in his voice, causing Alzack and Bisca's hearts to gradually sink.
Even with such wide-ranging attacks, he had dodged them all with ease.
It was clear now—the reputation of the Demon God's Soul was no exaggeration.
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