"You're saying Warrod and Makarov didn't come at all?!"
"Those two knew you were coming to confront me and yet neither of them showed up? They just sent you alone?"
"Puhahaha…"
"Have Warrod and Makarov both gone senile?"
"Or do they think I'm so old that a mere kid like you can handle me?"
Precht laughed heartily at Evan's words, a rare display of mirth for him. After his laughter subsided, his expression turned cold as he looked at Evan.
"Maybe you really are so old you can't handle a kid like me," Evan replied with a smile.
"Hmph, the confidence of youth…"
"Unfortunately, in the path of magic, the least necessary things are youth and confidence!"
Precht sneered, dismissing Evan's words.
"But seeing as you have some talent, kid, I'll give you a chance to survive."
"See this eyepatch? It's proof of my mastery of magic!"
"If you can force me to remove it, I'll show you the true depths of magic!"
"But in return, you'll have to work for me. Otherwise, I'll kill you right here and now, snuffing out a talent like yours forever."
Precht gave a cold smile, showing his willingness to spare Evan if he could prove his worth. As the second master of Fairy Tail, he valued talent and saw potential in Evan. If Evan demonstrated enough potential, Precht was willing to teach him and let him join in the pursuit of magical truth. But if Evan refused, Precht would have no choice but to eliminate him.
"Oh?"
Evan's expression remained impassive. Without waiting for Precht to finish speaking, he raised his right hand and pointed at Precht's eyepatch.
In an instant, with a flash of light, Precht's eyepatch vanished.
"What?!"
Precht was momentarily stunned, feeling the emptiness on his face. His eyes widened in shock. He lifted his right hand to touch his now-exposed eye, confirming that the eyepatch had indeed been taken without him noticing.
"Hmph! Such useless tricks. This is why Makarov spoiling his guild members is a mistake."
Precht quickly composed himself, dismissing Evan's ability to remove the eyepatch as a trivial trick unworthy of true magic.
"I've removed your eyepatch already."
"As for you going easy on me, save it."
"Attack me with your full power. Otherwise, you won't get another chance."
"When you lose, don't go crying to First Master Mavis, hugging her grave and complaining that I bullied an old man."
"If people hear that I defeated you without even letting you attack, both your reputation and mine will suffer."
"So I'll let you attack first. Hurry up, I don't have all day."
Evan stood still, beckoning Precht to make the first move. He wanted to show respect to the second master of Fairy Tail by letting him attack first. Despite his strength, Evan maintained a facade of respect for Precht's position and legacy.
"Hmph!"
"Your mouth is even sharper than Makarov's!"
"But that ends now!"
"From now on, you won't get another chance to speak!"
"Watch closely, as I dance with the abyss of magic!"
Precht sneered, removed his silver helmet, and tossed it aside. He stood up, discarding his cloak, and slowly opened his right eye.
As Precht's right eye opened, Ultear, who had been watching intently, froze in place.
Words could not describe Precht's eye. It was deep, evil, and ominous, resembling a demon's gaze rather than a human's.
"Boom!!!"
At the moment Precht's right eye opened, the atmosphere began to tremble. The terrifying, ominous dark purple magic released from Precht twisted the surrounding space and air. The entire ship's air grew thick with the overwhelming magic, and Precht's magical nature changed drastically.
Just as Precht had claimed, he now appeared to be an entity closest to the black mage Zeref on the continent of Ishgar.
"What… what is this?"
"I've never heard of this. None of the books mentioned Precht's current form…"
"His magic is so powerful that it's visible to the naked eye?"
Ultear was horrified. She stepped back, realizing that Precht's current form was beyond anything she had ever seen. He was no longer on the same level as humans; he had become a true monster, a demon residing in the abyss.
Even the usual fear Ultear felt towards Precht was now at its peak.
She felt like a young beast venturing out for the first time, ready to flee at the slightest sign of danger.
"Hmph~"
Precht noticed Ultear's subtle movements. He had no intention of sparing her. With his arms crossed, he coldly gazed at Ultear, using his demonic eye.
"Ugh…"
Ultear's body shuddered as if struck by lightning. She felt an invisible force gripping her throat.
"Cough, cough…"
Ultear choked and struggled, trying to free herself from the mysterious force, but it was futile. The difference in power was too great.
Pain, helplessness, suffocation, fear, and the approach of death overwhelmed her.
"Hehe!"
Just as Ultear's consciousness began to fade, she heard a light chuckle.
That simple chuckle swept away all her negative emotions, as if a golden hand had pulled her from the depths of despair.
"Gasp! Huff…"
Ultear snapped back to reality, realizing that she had been ensnared by an illusion. The hands gripping her throat were her own.
Quickly releasing her grip, she gasped for air.
"Oh?! Not bad, kid!"
Precht, arms still crossed, looked at Evan with a hint of admiration. He hadn't expected Evan to break his illusion so easily.
"Old Precht, stop bullying a girl and hit me with your strongest magic."
Evan remained calm, urging Precht to attack.
"Hmph! Neither of you will escape today!"
Precht, surprised by Evan's arrogance, warned him.
"Less talk, more action!"
Evan stood firm, inviting Precht's attack.
"Damn arrogant brat! Let's see how long you can keep this up!"
"Fall! Amaterasu Formula 100!"
Precht's expression turned icy. He skipped the lesser Amaterasu techniques and immediately used his strongest, Amaterasu Formula 100.
"Buzz~"
Countless magic circles appeared around Evan, radiating dark purple energy with destructive force.
"This is bad! It's the master's Amaterasu Formula! Evan, run! Anyone hit by this will be weakened, and their magic will be drained…"
Ultear shouted, alarmed that Precht had used such a devastating spell.
"It's too late! Drink!!"
Precht glanced coldly at Ultear and activated the spell.
"Boom!!"
In an instant, the blinding purple magic circles engulfed Evan. The sheer power shattered the ship's floor and even the magically reinforced glass.
"Ugh…"
Ultear was thrown into the air by the spell's shockwave. She managed to resist being blown off the ship but wasn't injured by the magic.
A massive crater, over ten meters in diameter, appeared before Precht and Ultear.
As for Evan, he was nowhere to be seen.
"Hahaha, it's over, kid…"
Precht stood confidently, certain that his spell had obliterated Evan.
"Evan…"
Ultear, horrified, stared at the magical crater. A human body couldn't survive such immense power.
"Ultear, now it's your turn! You know the price of betrayal."
Precht turned his gaze to Ultear, ignoring the crater.
"Ugh…"
Ultear trembled. She knew that with her meager strength, any resistance was futile against Precht.
"Don't worry! For all you've done for me, I'll make sure you have a whole corpse."
Precht's fingers danced with magic as he prepared to finish Ultear.
"Disappear!"
Just as Precht was about to strike, a figure emerged from the rubble.
"What?!"
Precht stared in disbelief at the figure walking out unscathed.
"How can you be unharmed?"
Precht couldn't comprehend how Evan, who had taken his Amaterasu Formula 100 head-on, could be perfectly fine.
It was Evan who emerged from the rubble.
"A strange question…"
"Let me ask you this instead!"
"When did you get the illusion that such a spell could harm me?"
"My body may be weak by our family's standards, but it's not so fragile that such magic would injure me…"
Evan dusted himself off, smiling as he approached Precht.
"You…"
Precht's forehead broke out in cold sweat. He quickly composed himself.
"Heh, I see. You're pretending, aren't you?"
"Kid! Stop acting tough. No one can take my spell unscathed!"
"As Ultear said, anyone hit by it would be weakened and drained of magic."
Precht tried to convince himself that Evan was bluffing.
"Really? Well, thanks for the warning, Second Master."
"Now, let's see how you handle my punch!"
"Roar of the Azure Dragon…"
Evan walked toward Precht, gathering magic. A giant azure dragon appeared behind him, roaring and charging at Precht.
"If I get hit by that, I'll die!"
"Is this ancient magic meant for dragons? Are you using dragon slayer magic against me?!"
Precht's composure vanished. He knew that if he got hit
by Evan's attack, he would die. Even though his demon heart kept him alive, Evan's punch would destroy him entirely.
"What kind of monster are you?!"
"What has Makarov been recruiting into the guild while I was away?!"
Precht's mind raced. If he was advancing towards the abyss, Evan felt like a dragon, his magic already fully realized.
"Disappear, monster!"
"This is my strongest magic, a creation of Zeref: Heavenly Punishment!"
Precht unleashed his ultimate spell, a forbidden magic from one of Zeref's books, creating powerful demons from the surrounding materials.
"Boom!"
As Precht poured his magic into the surrounding materials, powerful demons emerged, each capable of destroying a town.
"This is the magic leading to the abyss!"
Precht felt a bit more at ease after summoning the demons, thinking that only monsters could defeat monsters.
Evan took a deep breath.
"Gravity Magic: Gravitas Wave!"
Black patterns covered Evan's body as he released a dark wave from his mouth. The wave wasn't strong against humans but devastated Precht's demons.
"Boom!"
The demons disintegrated upon contact with Evan's gravity wave.
"…"
Precht was speechless. His carefully created demons were obliterated by Evan's breath.
"Well, that was easy."
"You didn't know, did you? I'm a demon slayer."
Evan walked up to Precht.
"Wait, you…"
Precht, swallowing nervously, tried to speak, but Evan didn't give him the chance.
"Azure Dragon's Serious Flick~"
Evan extended two fingers and flicked Precht's abdomen.
"Bang~"
The force of Evan's flick created a vacuum, sending Precht flying and spitting blood before collapsing unconscious on the ground.
"Problem solved."
Evan sighed with relief. He had been careful not to kill Precht, knowing his strength.
"Ah…"
Ultear watched in shock. From the moment Evan emerged from the rubble, she hadn't closed her mouth. Now, seeing Precht defeated so easily, she was stunned.
She knew Evan was strong, but this was beyond her imagination. Precht, defeated with a flick?