Chapter 87.1 : Difficult Opponents??

Everit appeared suddenly beside a man, holding a sleek black revolver with gold trim—the Tier 7.0. It looked almost identical to its previous version, except for an additional bullet chamber. The gun's cold, black muzzle was pressed against the man's temple.

"You're not going anywhere today, are you?" Everit asked, his tone calm but menacing.

"Of course not," replied the man, smiling despite the gun at his temple.

"Good," Everit said, and he pulled the trigger.

"Stop!" another voice shouted, and suddenly Everit found himself unable to move. It was as if the words themselves had immobilized him, just like they had stopped Gray's ice spike earlier.

"Mr. Devil, you think you're fooling anyone? Your little magic tricks aren't a threat to us anymore," the man with the immobilizing voice said with a confident smirk.

Everit sneered in response. "Ha!"

Out of nowhere, another voice interrupted, shouting, "Oh no—I can't take it anymore!"

The voice's owner, his excitement palpable, yelled, "This is what bravery looks like!"

"This is the bravery of a true hero!"

"The bravery of art!"

Without warning, the speaker charged toward Laxus and the others, his body expanding at an alarming rate.

"No! He's about to explode!" Erza shouted. "Requip—Adamantine Armor!"

In an instant, Erza's body was encased in thick, gleaming armor with incredible defensive capabilities. She grabbed her massive shields and fused them into a single, unyielding barrier. 

Then, with a burst of unstoppable force, she dashed forward like a runaway train, knocking the self-destructing man off his feet and sending him flying across the battlefield.

The sudden explosion caused by the man's impact with the ground sent shockwaves throughout the area. The other enemies quickly scattered to avoid the chaos.

"Ice Wall!" Gray shouted, conjuring a massive wall of ice to shield them.

The explosion erupted, hurling Erza backward, smashing her into the ground with a loud crash. It felt like the entire world shook with the impact. The ice wall cracked and began to crumble.

The battle was far from over.

Even though Erza had blocked most of the attack, dense cracks were spreading across Gray's ice wall, showing just how powerful the assault was.

"It's a pity, isn't it?" A man who had just blown himself up suddenly reappeared out of nowhere, grinning broadly. He exclaimed, "I am a heroic hero, a brave knight! I am a hero! I am a knight! I am!"

"He is a heroic knight," someone in the background echoed.

"Hey, that's my line!" the brave knight snapped, annoyed.

"I love brave knights!"

"I love the bravery of art!"

The so-called brave knight kept rambling on, but his self-destructive power was no joke.

He began to swell up again, and Gray and the others braced themselves to confront him.

"I haven't been defeated by you yet!" Erza yelled as she charged forward, holding her shield.

'Boom!'

This time, Erza took the blast head-on. The sheer force of the explosion sent her skidding backward as if she were a plow, her legs carving a trench almost ten meters long in the ground.

'Boom!'

Laxus suddenly appeared in front of another opponent and threw a powerful punch.

"Am I your chosen opponent?" 

"It's terrifying to be targeted by such a strong enemy like you." 

This opponent was an elderly man who looked quite dapper, wearing a neatly pressed tuxedo with a burgundy bow tie. He stood with his legs tightly together and his back straight. His white hair was slicked back, and his neatly trimmed white beard framed his upper lip, sides, and chin, forming a distinguished, symmetrical "moustache" pattern.

This was no ordinary man. With just a few words, he froze Gray's magic.

"Please, just a moment. Allow me to introduce myself, sir," the old man said.

Laxus found himself immobilized, frozen in place. A look of surprise crossed his face as he realized he couldn't move.

The old man bowed respectfully and said, "I am truly honored that a young and strong warrior like you has chosen me as your opponent. I hope you don't mind my codename."

"I am the weakest among the Eight Knights, tasked with keeping peace in the northern continent and teaching everyone the value of humility."

The humble knight continued, "I may not be strong, but I will give my all in this fight."

"My magic is—magic of persuasion," he said. "A very weak form of magic that can only make others agree through persuasion."

Laxus scowled and said, "Everit. This guy is your teacher? He looks... creepy."

"Laxus!" Everit snapped back, clearly irritated.

The humble knight quickly apologized, saying, "Ah? No, I must have offended you. I'm truly sorry. But please, sir, heed my advice—do not disturb the peace."

*Bang*

A bullet grazed the tip of the humble knight's nose, causing him to take a step back. He flinched but maintained his composure.

*Crackle!*

Laxus felt the electric energy course through him, his body enveloped in bright, roaring thunder. He charged forward with a fierce attack, shouting, "You're just as annoying as Everit! I'm going to pummel you into the ground!"

"Thunder Dragon's—"

"Iron Fist!!!" he yelled as he swung his fist with all his might.

Everit stood there, confused. "???" he thought. "Is Laxus's punch fueled by some personal grudge?"

But who could tell? The humble knight remained calm, observing Laxus's outburst, and said gently, "Such an attack won't do. It's fine if you want to defeat me, but what if you hurt the flowers and plants around us?"

The flash of light and sound of thunder faded away, revealing Laxus's stunned expression.

After his second self-destruction, the mysterious mage reappeared, seemingly unharmed by the explosion.

Erza knew they had a problem on their hands with this one.

"Three seconds," Everit's voice reminded them over the communication link.

Erza quickly grasped the meaning—each self-destruction took exactly three seconds from start to finish. She immediately sprang into action, waiting for the mage to reappear, then charged straight toward him.

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