"Newbie—!!!"
Jackal roared and lunged forward, his fist exploding toward Su Yan.
Su Yan met him head-on.
BOOM—!!
The blast shook the ground, but when the smoke cleared, Jackal was on one knee, his arm shattered from the clash.
"You… you bastard…"
In a flash, Su Yan appeared before him, seizing the scarf around Jackal's neck with one hand and slapping his face with the other.
SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!
Each strike landed like a warhammer, the impacts rattling Jackal's skull.
Finally, Su Yan stopped, his hand glowing faintly. Jackal recognized his own curse—anything it touched would become a bomb.
"I heard you like explosions," Su Yan said coldly. "Then die in your own."
BOOM—!!
The massive blast tore through the hall. When the smoke drifted away, Su Yan casually tossed Jackal's limp body aside.
Minerva's breath caught. Only now did she understand—this Su Yan was nothing like the one she faced during the Grand Magic Games. Back then, he'd fought without killing intent. Now, every strike reeked of bloodlust. This man hadn't come to win a battle—he'd come to wipe out Tartaros entirely.
Storm's expression darkened. Jackal's death wasn't entirely Su Yan's doing—Minerva had switched places, using him as a shield to save herself.
In the Hell Core
Jackal's broken form reappeared in a regeneration tank.
"That long-haired bastard! That newcomer! I'll kill them both!! Lamy! Bring me back, NOW!!"
From the next tank, a recovering Ezel glanced over. "Jackal? You too? You just got resurrected…"
"Shut up and revive me!!" Jackal snarled.
Back at Tartaros HQ
In a shadowed hall deep within the base, Mard Geer sat on his throne.
"The demons of the Book of Zeref—Etherious—mere humans could never be our match," he murmured. "It begins soon… the darkness from Tartaros will cover the light of this world."
Even with two of his Nine Demon Gates slain, his confidence never wavered.
Storm wasted no time. A tornado howled around him as he charged Su Yan. The cyclone coiled around his arm as he drove a punch forward—
Su Yan's palm met it with a thunderclap of red and black lightning.
In an instant, his other hand flicked, Armament Haki forming a sword at his fingertips. The blade flashed once.
SHNK!
Blood sprayed. Storm's vision tilted—and in that frozen moment, he saw his own headless body collapsing to the floor.
Su Yan turned toward Minerva. Her eyes widened before she bolted without looking back. She'd thought her demonized form could compete… but now she knew. Against this Su Yan, she would die without a chance.
This was the real him.
But Su Yan let her go. Right now, his priority was Storm's blood—vital for Poliusica to craft a cure for Laxus.
Su Yan's Haki surged outward, blanketing the entire Underworld Island.
On the battlefield, Fairy Tail clashed fiercely with Tartaros soldiers.
Then—
OM—!!
A wave of Conqueror's Haki swept across the field. Tartaros soldiers froze in place, their minds rattled. Even those who stayed conscious found their bodies locking up.
Fairy Tail's veterans recognized it instantly and seized the opening, launching spells to cut their enemies down. The newer members followed their lead, and in moments, Tartaros forces fell in droves.
From the distance, Su Yan approached, dragging a headless corpse.
"Su Yan!"
"Who is that?!" someone asked.
"The one who killed Laxus and the others," Su Yan replied.
Gasps rang out. Freed had warned them the enemy could self-destruct and revive, but seeing it in person was another matter.
Makarov's eyes narrowed. "Happy, take him back to the guild. Get him to Porlyusica—tell her to make Laxus's cure immediately."
"Aye, sir!" Happy said, grabbing Storm's body and flying off.
Makarov looked around grimly. "These things can resurrect. We have to make sure every last one of them is destroyed."