Chapter 88.1 : Battle Eveywhere!!

"Hu-fu-fu."

Erza's eyes widened in surprise.

This guy was more trouble than she expected.

And not just because he can use troublesome magic.

Was this person immortal? Not only did his self-destruction create massive damage, but he could also resurrect almost instantly, ready to explode again within three seconds!

Erza decided to take a risk.

After the latest self-destruction, she didn't waste any time.

"Requip!" she shouted, switching into her Purgatory Armor, then charging through the smoke.

A blur of motion.

The armored knight was back, rambling nonsense to himself.

"The art of knighthood—"

"It's the art of bravery!"

"What? You're getting close to me? Why?" The knight saw Erza rushing toward him and seemed surprised. "Is it because of the art of bravery?"

"Ah—!" Erza let out a battle cry as she swung her serrated blade, cleaving the knight in half.

'Boom!'

But the explosion that followed caught her off guard.

She had no time to switch to another armor.

'Buzz.'

A multi-sided golden barrier materialized around her, shielding her from the blast.

The force of the explosion dissipated the barrier, but Erza inside remained unharmed.

"Erza, nobody's immune to death," came Everit's voice.

This time, he didn't mention anything about "a few minutes."

Partly because he tried using magic to contain the knight, but every time the knight self-destructed and resurrected, his condition was fully restored. He was nearly indestructible, his status reset with each rebirth.

But another reason was simple:

Lucy needed his reassurance—because having confidence, even a little, could inspire others to be brave and take bold steps forward.

Natsu and Gray are always fueled by provocation.

Erza, however, doesn't need any of that. She will always fight with everything she's got and defeat her enemies.

"Of course I know," Erza replied firmly.

The barrier was broken, and she swiftly switched back into her diamond armor.

Laxus, meanwhile, didn't say much.

He gazed into the distance. The Knight of Sacrifice, dressed in his usual odd outfit, was already heading toward the city. Despite his sinister appearance, he hadn't actually killed anyone yet—he was simply rounding up people.

"There are always casualties in war," he said, his voice filled with a chilling sense of righteousness. "Sacrifice is inevitable. To defeat this powerful demon, we must be willing to make sacrifices for the greater good."

The Knight of Sacrifice projected an air of benevolence, even as he manipulated black thunder and lightning to coerce people into following him. He marched toward a large open square, where he was herding the hostages.

Black thunder? That must be the magic he took from Wade, Everit thought. It seemed he could absorb others' magic abilities.

But since the Knight of Sacrifice hadn't killed anyone yet, Everit decided to keep his distance, watching the situation unfold. If he was using hostages as leverage, Everit knew he had to act carefully.

He estimated he needed just a few minutes to infect the knight with his own magic—four minutes would be enough.

Everit then noticed the other two knights, the Knight of Honor and the Knight of Justice, standing guard nearby.

"What a coincidence," he remarked to himself.

Everit spun his Tier 7.0 in his hand and said, "I'm not a fan of close combat. I prefer to keep my distance and use my magic."

With a quick motion, he swapped magazines and set the weapon to burst mode.

'Da da da da da'

A stream of bullets flew out in rapid succession.

However, the Knight of Honor and the Knight of Justice dodged in perfect harmony.

A deep, resonant 'Buzz' followed as a black beam of energy shot down from the sky.

"That ability is a real pain," the Knight of Justice muttered with a furrowed brow.

"Yeah, it's pretty annoying," the Knight of Honour replied, glancing upward before pulling a Gatling gun from his back.

'Da da da da da'

A volley of heavy bullets rained down.

Everit was ready. A polygonal golden barrier flared to life around him, deflecting the incoming projectiles with a series of loud bangs.

"Ha!"

Suddenly, the Knight of Justice leaped dozens of meters into the air, brandishing a small wooden hammer—the kind used by a judge in court. 

But this hammer wasn't just any gavel—it expanded rapidly. The handle towered over him, and the hammerhead itself was over two meters in diameter!

He swung it down with all his might, aiming to crush Everit beneath its massive weight.

Everit switched to a jet wind mode and quickly retreated, narrowly dodging the massive blow.

But the Knight of Justice let go of the handle, allowing the hammer to spin and whirl through the air toward Everit.

Everit swiftly swapped to his "barrier" magazine and fired several rounds.

'Buzz' 'Ka' 'Bum' 'Ka'

One by one, golden barriers materialized, absorbing the hammer's impact. The barriers shattered on contact, but they did their job, blocking the attack and protecting Everit from harm.

The sheer destructive power of this man was even greater than the heroic knight's self-destruction!

*Boom!*

Everit raised his hand and shot at the Humble Knight from a distance.

The Humble Knight took a step back, allowing Laxus to finally regain control of his body and quickly retreat.

The Humble Knight frowned slightly.

"You're really taking the time to interfere in other battles, aren't you?" said the Knight of Justice, clearly annoyed.

*Swish!*

The Knight of Honour below hurled a spinning boomerang, hitting the Knight of Justice in the back.

The boomerang immediately expanded, transforming into two engine-powered wings.

*Boom!*

The Knight of Justice activated the engines, propelling himself into the sky as he flew toward Everit. With a wave of his hand, the wooden hammer he had thrown earlier shrank back down, spinning back into his palm.

"No way!"

The Knight of Justice had just transformed his hammer into a massive wooden mallet, about to strike Everit, but Everit swiftly dodged to the side. 

Haven's blade brushed against the Knight of Justice's nose, slicing off one of the wings.

The Knight of Justice plummeted to the ground.

"What a troublesome ability!" he exclaimed, clearly frustrated.

However, they had made preparations—the Knight of Honour had implanted magical devices beneath everyone's skin. These devices could sense Everit's distance, intelligently calculate the direction of the attack, and determine the location of his true form.

This system could also bypass the five senses to transmit information and used magical feedback for "team communication." 

The Knight of Honour had even developed a new code system for this purpose, similar to Morse code, ensuring no outsider could decipher their communications, including mind readers or telepaths.

The battlefield was teeming with enemies, presenting a full slate of challenges. But what made it even more difficult was the complete deception of the five senses. 

It was like being blind, relying on others to call out positions. Even with accurate information, it wasn't as straightforward as seeing with your own eyes.

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