In truth, Kael still hadn't fully grasped the sheer scale of his own power. By using Take Over to inhabit the form of Whitebeard—the "Strongest Man in the World"—he had stepped into a realm that very few could even imagine.
Even Jose Porla, the Master of Phantom Lord and one of the Ten Wizard Saints, would have been outclassed against Kael in this state. The Wizard Saints weren't common mages; they were living legends, people whose names could be counted on one's fingers across the continent. If Leader Hurel truly possessed that level of power, he wouldn't have been lurking in the shadows of a troll kingdom, running a dirty operation from underground.
Kael stooped and picked up the flute that had fallen to the floor. He could feel the greasy residue of dark magic clinging to it, but it was nowhere near the kind of darkness Zeref's name carried. Compared to forbidden magic that could grant life to the inanimate, this was crude—cheap, narrow, and small.
No wonder it could only hypnotize children.
Crunch!
Kael closed his hand and crushed the flute into splinters.
The Troll King saw his "treasure" destroyed so casually—and instantly flew into a blind rage.
"You bastard! How dare you destroy my prize! I'll grind your bones to dust!!"
Towering nearly fifty meters tall, the Troll King raised a massive ironwood club with both hands and brought it down with the weight of a collapsing mountain.
Kael didn't dodge. He raised Murakumogiri with one hand and met the blow head-on.
BOOM————!!
The earth groaned as the collision sent dust and debris spiraling into the air.
"How… how is this possible?!"
the Troll King choked out.
His eyes nearly bulged from his skull. He was the King of Trolls; his physical strength was supposed to be unrivaled. Even the Giant King wouldn't dare take a full-strength overhead swing like that head-on. And yet this "dwarf"—barely seven meters tall in his current form—had stopped it with one hand.
It made no sense.
But the truth was vibrating through his arms.
"Get lost."
Kael flicked his wrist.
A sudden surge of overwhelming force blasted back through the club. The Troll King couldn't resist it—couldn't even slow it. His massive body was thrown backward like a toy.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He crashed through several thick stone walls before slamming into the dirt outside.
As the Troll King struggled to rise, a heavy boot came down on his face, pinning him into the mud. Kael had moved with impossible speed, appearing outside in the blink of an eye.
Seeing their King humiliated, the surrounding troll soldiers roared and charged from every direction, weapons raised.
"Perfect timing."
Kael gripped Murakumogiri with both hands.
Buzz————!
A pale, translucent tremor halo wrapped around the blade. Then Kael swung in a wide, horizontal arc.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
The air rippled. A massive shockwave—paired with a razor-edged slash—burst outward. The trolls in the front line didn't simply fall; they were pulverized by the vibration and thrown like leaves in a hurricane.
"Aooooooh!!!"
Howls filled the air. In a single strike, Kael cleared an enormous radius around himself.
The Troll King, desperate and furious, lunged in a clumsy ambush. He stretched out both hands, trying to grab Kael.
"Die!!"
he screamed, intending to crush him.
"Hmph. Didn't your mother teach you it's rude to grab people without permission?"
Vrrr—!
A high-frequency vibration pulsed outward from Kael's skin.
"UWAAAAH!!"
The Troll King shrieked as the bones in his fingers began to fracture under the pressure. He was forced to release him. Kael didn't give him a heartbeat to recover—he drew back his fist and drove it into the King's chest.
Crack! Crack!
The atmosphere shattered like glass around his knuckles.
Pffft!
A fountain of blood burst from the Troll King's mouth as he was launched backward again. He skipped across the city like a stone over water, smashing through several tall structures as he went.
"The King!"
"Kill the monster!"
Even as terror seeped into their veins, another wave of trolls rushed in. Kael met them with the full violence of Whitebeard's power. Every "casual" swing of Murakumogiri tore up streets, shattered buildings, and carved the city open like it was made of sand.
As the trolls scattered and the capital crumbled, a strange satisfaction bubbled up in Kael's chest.
No wonder Natsu loves destruction so much, he thought. Cutting loose like this is… oddly cathartic.
He didn't need to hold back here. There were no civilians to protect—only enemies. For ten straight minutes, Kael was a natural disaster given form.
Eventually, the chaos slowed.
The ground was scarred and split. The once-proud buildings were reduced to rubble. And not a single troll dared to step forward.
Every time Kael took one step, the troll army flinched as if struck—then retreated. They stared at him with raw, unfiltered terror, like prey looking into the eyes of a god of death.
Seeing their will to fight collapse, Kael stopped. He had no interest in slaughter for its own sake. They were intelligent beings; as long as they stayed out of his way, he was done with them.
He planted Murakumogiri like a walking stick and began strolling toward the city gates. The steady thump of the blade's base against the stone made hearts stutter all around him.
The trolls parted in silence—two trembling lines opening like the sea, making a path for him to pass.
Then—
A horn echoed from beyond the ruined outskirts.
A massive force of armored giants burst through the gates like a tidal wave.
The Giant King led the charge, battle-axe raised high.
"Kael! We're here! Hold on—we're coming to save you!"
His voice boomed through the devastated streets, pure loyalty and fury wrapped into one.
"Wait, Your Majesty!"
a subordinate shouted, grabbing the King's arm.
"Look… something's wrong. The city… it's already gone."
The Giant King stopped short.
He had expected a desperate battle.
Instead, he saw devastation. The Troll Palace was a heap of stone. The trolls stood scattered, dazed—hollow-eyed and shaking.
Then he saw a figure walking down the central avenue: a towering, muscular old man with a massive white mustache, radiating overwhelming pressure.
"Uh… Your Majesty,"
the figure said, sounding almost amused.
"You're a bit late."
The Giant King blinked, unable to connect the teenage boy he knew with this legendary-looking veteran.
"Y-you… you're Kael?!"
Kael realized he was still transformed. He chuckled, released the Take Over, and shrank back to his normal body in a swirl of light.
The Giant King sucked in a sharp breath.
"It really is you! But… what happened here? Why are the trolls just standing there?"
He was genuinely baffled. The trolls weren't attacking. They were just watching Kael—watching him leave—with haunted, empty eyes.
Kael glanced back at the trembling troll army and shrugged.
"Oh, them?"
he said casually.
"I think they're just scared. They don't want any more trouble."