While Caesar and Mirajane were enjoying their vacation, Timalia went through several layers of connections and spent a whole day before she finally found Lacade, who almost never attended the Twelve Shields meetings.
"Timariah, long time no see."
Through the communication crystal, the image of a monk in a cassock appeared — a man with white hair and calm features.
"It's such a hassle to contact you. It takes too much time."
Dimaria said, "Do me a favor. I need your magic."
"Enemy?"
"No."
"That would be interesting."
Lacade smiled and said, "I happen to have some time, so I can help you, but..."
"It's too much trouble, Dimaria. Forget it."
As soon as Brandish heard the word "but," she immediately lost motivation.
"Don't worry, Brandish. It's nothing to worry about."
Lacade smiled again. "It's just an experiment. Very simple."
"Okay. When can you come over?" Dimaria asked immediately.
"Tomorrow at the latest."
"Alright. I'll wait for you."
The communication ended. Brandish put away the crystal ball, looked at Dimaria, sighed, and said, "Dimaria, is this really necessary?"
"You wouldn't understand, Brandish." Dimaria shook her head. "The era of gods has long ended. It's too hard to find someone with divine power."
"It always feels like trouble. And I hate trouble the most."
Brandish spread her hands helplessly. She didn't want to care, but she had a good relationship with Timalia. If it were someone else, she would've left without a second thought.
…
Lacade arrived on an airship. When he learned who he was going to deal with, he laughed.
"Caesar, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Ishgar. It's rare for such a talent to emerge from that forsaken land."
"Racked, do you know him?" Dimaria asked, glancing over.
"I guess so. Didn't someone join the Twelve Shields before? I heard about it from him. He said his main goal was to grow stronger — to face Caesar and Acnologia."
"He does sound like a tough one. Very troublesome."
Brandish sighed, uncertain if their plan would succeed.
"Don't worry. With the information Serena gave me, I developed a new kind of magic specifically for this guy. If you cooperate, the results will be even better."
Racked smiled.
"Wait! What do you mean by we? Isn't it just Dimaria?"
Brandish waved her hands quickly. "Don't drag me in. I hate trouble."
"Brandish..."
Dimaria held her hand and smiled.
"...Fine! I'll just keep an eye on things, but don't expect too much!"
Brandish sighed and reluctantly agreed to help.
Seeing them ready, Lacade sat cross-legged, put his hands together, and said, "Desire Magic — Lust!"
In an instant, a wave of immense magical energy covered the entire Galak Island.
Caesar, who had been sleeping with Mirajane on a large bed, opened his eyes immediately.
Mirajane woke up too. The surge of power was too strong to ignore.
"Enemy?" she asked, summoning her Take Over: Satan Soul.
"I don't know, but whoever came isn't friendly," Caesar replied.
He summoned Minato Namikaze and activated Kurama's Sage Mode. Countless white tentacles rose from the ground, wrapping around them.
"Boom!"
The two unleashed their power, destroying the room and breaking free. They flew into the air.
From above, the entire island was covered in white tentacles, wrapping around buildings and people.
The ground expanded beneath them, separating the structures around Caesar and Mirajane. Countless tentacles stretched upward, striking at them.
"What is this!?" Mirajane frowned in disgust.
"The Seal of Time."
Time froze in an instant. Caesar and Mirajane were trapped.
Timalia, now more than ten meters tall, appeared and swung her giant hand toward them.
"It's you again!"
Caesar broke free from the time restraint, grabbed Mirajane, and dodged the massive palm.
"Brandish!"
"I know, I know!"
As they dodged, a new wave of magic enveloped them.
"Humph!" Caesar snorted, and the Philosopher's Stone within him canceled out the shrinking spell.
He gathered the light magic of a God Slayer in his hands while Mirajane charged at Brandish, knocking her backward.
"Don't push me further!" Caesar roared and fired a powerful beam toward Timalia.
Dimaria blocked with her arms. The god-destroying light forced her back two steps, but she gritted her teeth and countered, charging toward Caesar.
"The Roar of the Space Dragon!"
A roar erupted toward Timalia. She shrank instantly, releasing a beam of time magic that froze midair, piercing through the attack and heading straight for Caesar.
"Too slow!"
Caesar flashed behind her, slamming a Rasengan into Timalia's back.
"You were careless!" Dimaria shouted.
Countless white tentacles burst from Timalia's back. Time paused again, trapping Caesar as Dimaria's tentacles wrapped around him.
"Even if you can break my Time Seal, I've discovered it takes you a few tenths of a second. That gap is my chance!"
The tentacles touched Caesar's body, and even though he teleported away, they stretched endlessly, still clinging to him.
"Caught."
Lacade sensed everything. His Desire Magic flooded into Caesar, filling him with overwhelming lust.
Caesar's breathing grew heavy. His face flushed.
Timalia and Lacade thought they had succeeded—until Caesar's eyes suddenly cleared.
"Impossible!" they both screamed in shock.
He had broken free from the control of Desire Magic.