The snow was blown away, and the snow was blown away again.
A violent explosion sounded on the Snow Mountain, and the thick snow began to collapse from the blast. In the avalanche, no snowflake was innocent. Even Caesar did not choose to be stubborn in the face of such a natural disaster, but flew directly into the sky to avoid it.
At the same time, he also dodged the roar of the frost lizard.
"It looks a bit like a dragon."
Mirajane flew to Caesar's side, looking at the frost lizard that had avoided the avalanche without injury, and said, "Why not retreat first? Its injuries have already started to recover."
Caesar pondered for a moment. He also noticed that the spot hit by his earlier attack was almost completely healed.
It's the climate here.
No wonder the frost lizard was unwilling to leave. Here, it could rely on the cold air and the power of swallowing ice and snow to continuously restore its magic and body.
Even if it fought a war of attrition, it could still kill a group of S-Class wizards.
No wonder this was a ten-year mission.
A frost lizard, similar to a dragon, was already difficult to handle without dragon-slayer magic. And with self-regeneration, unless it was destroyed outright by highly destructive magic like Gildarts', it would likely drag its opponents to exhaustion and death.
"I want to try it."
Caesar looked at the frost lizard, took another deep breath, and spoke to Mirajane.
"Do you want to take over that sun-like guy?"
Mirajane instantly understood Caesar's idea.
"No." Caesar shook his head.
For high-burst magic like Escanor's, it was tempting to try and end the fight in a single explosive strike.
But Caesar knew that after such an attack, the top of Qilala Snow Mountain would either vanish completely or all the snow would melt.
The client wanted to open a ski resort. Without snow, what would they do?
In that case, not only would they lose the reward, but Caesar and Mirajane would also face plenty of complaints.
Although this kind of thing happened often in Fairy Tail, Caesar still wanted to do this job cleanly to save Master Ajima trouble.
Another icy breath came, and Caesar and Mirajane separated to dodge the attack.
The frost lizard's two shoulder bulges had not yet been broken, and without wings, it couldn't hit the two who were flying nimbly through the air.
With that in mind, Caesar and Mirajane continued discussing until they finalized a plan.
Lure the snake out of its hole.
Mirajane took the lead, unleashing a series of dark light spheres to draw the frost lizard's aggression, pulling it down the mountain.
But, as expected, the frost lizard stopped once it reached the end of the snow.
After spitting a few icy breaths in annoyance, it turned back without staying.
Mirajane and Caesar regrouped.
"How is it?" she asked.
"Now that we know its range, it'll be easy to deal with next time." Caesar smiled confidently.
Over the next few days, the frost lizard grew increasingly irritated.
Caesar and Mirajane came every day like buzzing flies. After a round of bombardment, they would lure it down the mountain again.
Each time it reached the snowline, the frost lizard would roar and spit in frustration but refuse to take another step.
Caesar and Mirajane didn't overcommit. They just harassed it.
Eventually, the lizard developed the habit of instantly attacking them the moment it spotted them, hoping to kill them before they could escape the snow.
This was exactly what Caesar and Mirajane wanted.
…
Three days later, the frost lizard lay in its rebuilt lair, puzzling over why its usual pests hadn't appeared.
But soon, it dismissed the thought.
Just like others before, they probably gave up after failing to harm it.
It was thinking this when a familiar figure appeared in the snow.
"Roar!"
The frost lizard charged without hesitation.
Normally, that robed pest would take to the air.
But this time, it didn't.
The frost lizard was briefly surprised, then thrilled.
It accelerated, determined to crush the bug once and for all.
Snow flew everywhere in the chase.
It was getting closer.
Finally, it would tear this pest to pieces.
Suddenly, the human turned, raised both arms, and gave it two middle fingers.
The frost lizard didn't understand the gesture and bit down with fangs bared.
But instead of flesh, it bit into empty air as the figure burst into a puff of white smoke.
Sparks danced between its fangs, leaving its mouth numb.
What the rift?
Then, multiple identical figures leapt out from the snow around it.
"Finally here, worth all the wasted days!" they said in unison. "Space transfer!"
They poured all their magic power into the spell before also vanishing into white smoke.
A giant magic circle erupted from beneath the snow. The frost lizard tried to flee, but it was still too far from the edge.
With a flash of light, it vanished from the snowfield.
Scorching heat slammed into its body, and the creature, so accustomed to the cold, staggered uncomfortably.
It was now three kilometers from Qilala Snow Mountain.
Between it and the mountain stood that cursed human, now half its usual size and wreathed in blazing flames.
The heat radiating from him carried undeniable danger.
Caesar looked at the frost lizard he had spent days luring away. He raised one finger, and a fireball like a miniature sun began to form at its tip.
"Noon has arrived!"
Caesar's voice boomed as the sun in the sky flared even brighter.
"Look at me, cub!"