367. Ben vs God Serena
A strong shockwave caused by Ben's clash with Serena spreads around them. The clash of their punches shakes the entire battlefield. Even the ground beneath them cracks just from the impact.
Serena is surprised that Ben is taking his punch head-on without getting pushed. Ben is also a little surprised by how hard Serena's scales are. Well, they are made of diamonds, so they are very tough.
Ben even needs to pull his right hand and rubs it because it hurts. "Damn dude, just how hard are those scales? You make my hand bleed."
August & the Alvarez soldiers can't believe what they've just heard and seen. Ben is complaining about something that will make them glad if they just get that level of injury against that punch. But here he is, someone who complains just because of a little blood on his hand.
Rather than that, they are more shocked that Ben could match that punch with his punch. Serena is using his Dragon Force made of the 8 Dragon Slayer Magic's combination. But Ben could match it in his normal form without any power boost.
He didn't even coat his fist with his Sun Magic, yet he could match Serena's punch that will make a hole in almost all Mages. August once again is reminded of how Zeref was so worried about Ben. Now he can see that Zeref's worry is not just an exaggeration.
"What a fearsome man. It seems we need to revise our whole plan if God Serena can't take him down here. Maybe I should also fight him," says August before he suddenly receives telepathy from Zeref.
August is surprised after hearing that because it means that Zeref is sure that Ben can kill both him & Serena even if they fight Ben together. He has never seen Ben use his full power, so August doesn't know how strong Ben truly is.
"His Majesty's reaction, there was only one individual who could make him this worry, Acnologia," says August with a shaken voice.
Now August understands that Zeref puts Ben at the same level of threat as Acnologia. He isn't sure if Ben is as strong as Acnologia and he doesn't think that it's the case. But he thinks that Ben surely has that potential considering his age and current level.
August decides to follow Zeref's order as he is very loyal to Zeref. So he just observes and even records the battle stealthily. His comrades need to know Ben's power because they will face him in the future.
He watches as Serena & Ben fight again. They are fighting real men's battle using their fists & kicks. Both of them use their magic too, but only to coat their hands & legs. They are fighting with unbelievable power which makes the soldiers overwhelmed by fear just by watching.
Ben is grinning widely as he fights. It's been a very long time since he has had an opponent of this caliber in close combat. Even Gildarts couldn't give him this much fight with that Crush Magic and years of experience.
Although the most deciding factor that makes Serena a tougher opponent is obviously his tough diamond scales. The problem with Gildarts is his magic that destroys others' magic. But Ben has a way to counter that and nullify the effect.
It's a different case against Serena's diamond scales though. Ben has a way to pass through those hard scales to defeat Serena, but that's just not fun. He wants to find a way to break through those scales, not pass them just for a win.
For Ben, Serena's hard diamond scales are perfect to be used as training tools. If he can break these scales, then he will have a higher chance to break Acnologia's scales. Although he isn't sure if Acnologia's scales are as tough as a diamond, they are obviously harder than most Dragons' scales.
So Ben keeps countering Serena's attacks with the same attacks. He faces punches with punches and kicks with kicks. With his speed, Ben can see Serena's moves easily and make the same moves like reflections.
The spectators are speechless seeing the fight because it is as if Serena is fighting his reflection in a mirror. Even August is very impressed with Ben because his reaction speed must be very high to be able to copy each of Serena's movements precisely.
But Serena isn't happy at all because it feels like Ben is just playing around with him. He can see Ben's fists and feet bleeding after countering his attacks numerous times. Yet, Ben can still deliver powerful blows despite all those injuries.
What Serena doesn't know is Ben's super high vitality and the solar energy he gets at day have healed all those light injuries in a short time. The blood on his skin is just the leftover blood that came out from his wounds. So Serena basically keeps fighting the healthy Ben all the time.
After some minutes without result in close combat, Serena decides to swallow his pride and back off. He plans to attack Ben using long-range and wide-scale magic spells. The most important thing for him now is winning this battle, so he wi use anything necessary.
He backs off, but Ben is chasing him and doesn't let him escape. Serena can't get away because Ben is very fast and can chase him easily. He sends a flurry of attacks at Ben but they all get countered with the exact same attacks.
Every time Serena tries to use magic, Ben will attack him lightly just to destroy the unfinished spells. Even small disturbances can stop spell activations if Mages do them correctly. With Ben's knowledge and observation skills, doing that kind of thing is easy.
Serena gets pisser and pisser as Ben keeps destroying his spells. Ben doesn't even make real attacks other than when Ben counters his attacks. Now Serena is sure that Ben is looking down and playing around with him.
But despite knowing that and being angry about it, Serena can't do anything. He can't escape from Ben's grasp and get out of this hopeless situation. Ben can counter every attack he made using all his 8 Dragon Slayer Magic. His arrogance is being crushed slowly and surely by Ben who treats this fight like nothing.
"DAMN, YOU BASTARD! I WILL KILL YOU. KNOW YOUR PLACE WEAKLING!" shouts Serena, defending the last bits of pride he still has.
Serena then opens his mouth and Ben can see light with a rainbow color forming inside Serena's mouth. Ben grins and also prepares his own attack in his mouth. He can interrupt it, but Ben decides to face it.
"8 DRAGON GOD'S ROAR!" shouts Serena as he shoots a massive beam made of the combination of his 8 Dragon Slayer Magic.
Ben grins and chants too, "Sun Devil's Rage!"
A massive dark red beam comes out of Ben's mouth and clashes with Serena's rainbow beam. They hit each other and create a massive impact upon contact. The surviving Alvarez soldiers are having a hard time standing now because of the impact's pushing force.
The 2 beams are clashing for a moment before they destroy each other. Ben & Serena are getting pushed back evenly, but their reactions are different. Ben is smirking because his Sun Devil Slayer Magic is really strong enough to go against 8 Dragon Slayer Magic, but the same thing doesn't happen to Serena.
Serena is in disbelief now because even after all he did, his 8 Dragon Slayer Magic still can't break Ben's Magic. He hasn't felt this for a very long time, the feeling of helplessness. For the first time in many years since he becomes the strongest, God Serena finally feels fear again.
But his left-over pride still can't accept this. So he says, "Don't be too full of yourself, kid! This isn't over yet." Serena gets ready to continue the battle and squeeze every bit of power he still has.
"Well, I never said this is over already. Although I wanna say that this is getting boring now. So let's make this interesting," says Ben while grinning as dark red solar energy flame starts covering his body.
Ben's body starts to transform into Devil Force mode. Big black claws appear on his hands & feet, black armor-like scales appear on his body, his eyes become black with red irises, black horns also appear on his head, and a small yet long tail appears behind him.
Serena & August are very surprised by this transformation. They can feel the incredible power coming out of Ben now. Even Serena's Dragon Force mode doesn't feel as strong as this form of Ben.
"Come, I'll finish this in one move," says Ben, taunting Serena.
Obviously, Serena gets very angry by that and he squeezes out all his power. He covers his body with all his 8 Dragon Slayer Magic that shake the world. But Ben is calm and just looks as Serena rushes at him.
August looks at it intensely because this battle will end soon. But even though he watches intensely, he still can't catch what happens next. Ben suddenly appears behind Serena and they stand in their position for a moment before Serena suddenly falls with a lot of blood coming out of his body.
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