"No problem." The moment Ur spoke, the captain hesitated for only a heartbeat before nodding in agreement.
The beast's corpse was certainly valuable, but compared to the lives of his soldiers, that wasn't something worth clinging to. Besides, whether they could even kill the damn thing was far from guaranteed.
Seeing the captain agree, Ur didn't waste any time.
The political ties within the Kingdom of Fiore were actually quite complicated. Fairy Tail didn't get along well with the Council, but its relationship with the kingdom itself was rather good.
Since the monster was already his target, Ur had no reason to refuse. But just as he was about to step forward, a small, pale hand reached from behind and grabbed his arm.
Ur turned, just in time to see Levy staring up at him, stubborn determination burning in her eyes. She hesitated for only a second before mustering her courage.
"I want to fight too!"
Ur: "…"
A headache settled behind his eyes.
The deeper his interactions with Fairy Tail's members went, the more he realized that every one of them carried a conviction unbelievably firm—so firm that they lived their lives wholly according to it, no matter how unrealistic that conviction might be.
Levy was no exception.
She wasn't a combat mage at all. In terms of pure fighting ability, thirteen-year-old Levy probably wasn't even a B-Class. How could Ur possibly feel at ease letting her jump into this?
Sensing his hesitation, Levy grew anxious. "This is my fight. If I don't take part—then even if we win, what's the point? Please, Ur… I have to be part of this!"
Her eyes had begun wavering when she first spoke, but the more she talked, the steadier her gaze became. Until finally, it shone with such fierce conviction that Ur felt it might blind him.
"…Fine. I'll let you join." Ur finally conceded.
In his mind, the outcome wasn't going to change anyway. It would still end with him slicing the demon in half. But to a young girl like Levy, the meaning mattered more than the result.
He had to admit, Ur was not a man gifted at talking people down.
Compared to words, he was far better with… other methods.
"Thank you!" Levy beamed, her smile bright enough to rival the sun.
For an instant, Ur could've sworn he saw a white "holy radiance" bloom behind her.
❖≔﴾═══════ﺤ
"Roooaar!"
The beast went berserk.
With the demon beast no longer controlled, it rampaged mindlessly along the coast. Confronted with its overwhelming power, the kingdom's soldiers could only fight while retreating—none dared face it head-on.
Even so, barely two minutes had passed since contact, and more than a dozen soldiers were already down. To them, the creature's tail was like a massive iron bar. Their shields and armor might as well have been paper.
"ROOOAAAR!!!"
As if irritated by the tiny creatures swarming around it, the demon beast threw its head back and bellowed. Its four limbs coiled beneath it, then it charged straight toward a group of soldiers.
Faced with the monster's enormous body hurtling toward them, their pupils dilated in terror. Two of them even squeezed their eyes shut in despair.
In the split second before the beast collided with them, a shadow appeared in front of the group. Hands clasped together. A magic circle flared beneath his feet.
A towering wall of stone surged up before them.
Boom!
The monster slammed into it with a massive thud. The soldiers behind the wall flinched; several instinctively squeezed their eyes shut. But when nothing crushed them, not even the wind of impact, they slowly cracked their eyes open.
What they saw was Ur's back and the wall that had just saved their lives.
"W-W-What in the…!"
Their faces were frozen in shock. They'd heard of the strength of mages, but they never imagined it was like this.
A monster this terrifying, stopped cold by one man? This was… beyond human.
"Get back!" Ur didn't care about their awe. He had no time to care about their shock. Leaving only that quick command, he launched his assault on the beast.
This beast was powerful—at least A-Class. Coupled with the natural physical strength of demons, one careless mistake could very well get Ur killed today.
Earth Magic, Earth Spike!
Fire Magic, Explosive Flame!
He clenched his hand and unleashed the spells back-to-back. Sharp stone spikes erupted upward, stabbing into the demon's underbelly. At the same moment, a massive fireball descended from above.
Boom!
The blaze exploded across the beast's back. Heat rippled outward in a wave, the crackle of burning echoing over the beach.
"Whoa, hot!"
"So this is how mages fight? It's like watching two monsters beat each other up!"
"Everyone, get back! Fall back!"
The entire unit erupted into chaos, scrambling away from the battlefield.
Even the captain looked utterly stunned. He never imagined someone this young could wield magic with such destructive force. The might behind Ur's spells was something even the royal court mages might struggle to match.
"Fairy Tail… truly astonishing."
❖≔﴾═══════ﺤ
Ur didn't care about what any of them were thinking. He didn't have the time to care. He knew exactly how dangerous this demon was. Even landing two spells cleanly wasn't enough to defeat it.
The instant his attack finished, he shouted. "Levy! Your turn!"
"Got it!"
Her eyes flashed, and she immediately began to cast.
"Solid Script, Bind!"