A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"Heavenly Wheel - Pentagonal Sword!!"

"Ugh—!"

In the arena, Erza easily defeated Kyouka, giving this long-dead demon a huge shock.

"As expected... I knew we couldn't win this way."

Neinhardt was not surprised at all by Kyouka's defeat. He could see the difference in strength between the two at a glance, so his real opponent was his former comrade Bradman.

"Go, Bradman! Go and make your last contribution!"

Upon receiving the order, Bradman stepped forward and activated the first mark. The next second, a cloud of black substance emerged from his body.

Upon seeing this, everyone's expression immediately changed drastically: "This is...!!"

"It's a demonic particle!!"

"Could it be that the demon is made of demonic particles?! How are we supposed to fight that...?"

Magic barrier particles are the bane of all mages and magic. If given a choice, most mages would rather face enemies of the Ten Wizard Saints or even the Four Heavenly Kings than an opponent who can use magic barrier particles.

"Wait! Since magic barrier particles can damage a mage's body and cause surrounding magical particles to collapse, wouldn't his use of them... affect Neinhart's magic?!"

"Yes... I think so..."

However, before everyone could react, Erza wielded the Sword of the Wind God and swung it forcefully at the magical particles spreading toward her!

boom--!

A sudden gust of wind swept across half the arena, blowing all the magical particles toward Neinhart.

Neinhart was horrified and shouted at Bradman, "No! Quickly gather the demonic particles!!"

Bradman: "..."

This guy is a complete waste! Not only is his combat ability terrible, but his judgment in the heat of battle is also awful!

You dragged a dead demon like me out of the underworld to work for you for free, and to make matters worse, you even got attacked by my abilities. Aren't you ashamed of yourself?!

How did someone like that even become one of the Twelve Shields?!

With a helpless sigh, Bradman could only obey and gather the demonic particles, activating his second mark amidst a field of corpses.

"Exploding Spiral!!"

"The Five Great Swords of the World - Onimaru!!"

"The sky and earth are in darkness!!"

"The Ice Demon's Fervor!!"

"The Flower of the Prison!!"

Upon activating the second mark, Bradman immediately gained the Nine Demon Curse, causing his appearance to change drastically. He then unleashed a barrage of curses and magic at Erza, a bombardment that left the audience thoroughly entertained.

"Wow... Impressive!! Is this the power of the 'Nine Demon Gates,' the main force of the former 'Gates of the Underworld'?! It truly lives up to its reputation; no wonder it became the most mysterious dark guild in Ishgar..."

"If the power of a single demon is already so strong, just how powerful is Bradman, who has gathered the demonic abilities of all the Nine Demon Gates?"

"No matter how strong he is now, he's just a dead demon! What's there to be afraid of?!"

"So Erza was able to take on the 'Nine Demon Gates' all by herself?! Just how strong has she become...?"

"..."

Faced with Bradman's relentless onslaught, Erza simply kept swinging her sword with both hands, responding to each move with ease. She countered fire spells with the Flame Emperor's Armor and the Sea King's Sword, and ice and water spells with the same. She also countered slashes with slashes and used the Red Tassel to counter thorns...

They changed weapons and armor in turn, and for a time they fought Bradman to a standstill.

On the other side, Kuanghua got up from the ground again.

Her body had been demonized, and her appearance had changed drastically. Because she was almost invulnerable, her body was still relatively intact, but she had been cut down by Erza many times, so she was covered in dust and dirt.

However, compared to the physical humiliation, the psychological humiliation she suffered was far more severe.

Being repeatedly cut down by a human in full view of everyone, especially right under Zeref's nose, without being able to fight back, filled this arrogant demon who always worshipped demons and regarded humans as worthless with shame and indignation.

'Since you knew I couldn't win alone, why didn't you all attack together from the start?!'

'As expected, humans are such inferior beings!!'

As Kuanghua cursed, she stared blankly at the pile of spells she was extremely familiar with. A strange feeling suddenly arose in her long-dead soul, which made her furious. Finally, she pounced on Erza and attacked her together with Bradman.

On the other side of the arena...

"Tsk tsk tsk... Watching helplessly as the spells of myself and my former companions are used at will by other demons created by my master, even mixed and matched in pairs or threes, isn't that a kind of NTR?"

Looking at the madwoman attacking Erza like a madwoman not far away, Kira smirked and uttered some sarcastic remarks.

"??"

Jacob couldn't understand Kira's words, and simply asked, "Aren't you going to help your companions?"

Kira shook his head: "No need! I have confidence in Erza's strength! She won't lose to those guys who died long ago!"

"As for you, you've been watching for so long, aren't you going to attack?"

The other person shook his head and grinned: "As a professional assassin, I have eyesight far beyond that of ordinary people, so I can tell that you are very strong, so strong that even if I and that idiot team up, we might not be able to beat you!"

"Our goal is to win the competition. Right now, there's a ten-point gap between our two guilds. If we lose, the gap will widen in both points and numbers!"

"Anyway, as long as the time runs out, it's a tie, so I just need to hold on until then."

Kira understood what the other person meant: "Rather than being eliminated after the battle, would you rather preserve your strength for the final match?"

"That's exactly right!"

"But even if we keep it until tomorrow, you still can't beat me, so what's the difference between being eliminated sooner or later?"

These words were not humble at all, and even carried a slightly provocative tone, but Kira said them on purpose. He was waiting for the other party to lose his temper and make a move, so that he could beat him into submission.

If it were like Neinhart, where someone first spouts a ridiculously cheesy line, then gets thoroughly slapped in the face, that would be even more satisfying! I'm sure the audience would love to see that kind of scene!

Unfortunately, things didn't go as Kira expected.

"I am a professional assassin. I would never attempt an assassination when I know it will not succeed; that would be foolish!"

"Never give up until the very last moment; that's one of my professional principles. If we can hold out until tomorrow, the game might take a turn for the better!"

"Even if there's no turning back, it's better for all five of us to be eliminated together than for just the two of us to be eliminated first! Because as long as I'm not the first one eliminated, my value to the team won't be easily affected!"

"..."

hiss--!

Kira stared wide-eyed at the smiling Jacob, his jaw dropping. This was the first time he had ever seen such a 'professional' person, especially the last point, which perfectly aligned with Kira's own thoughts!

What exactly is the survival strategy of a professional assassin?!

As long as I'm not the first one eliminated, I'm not considered useless. If everyone is eliminated together, then we're all equally bad, right?

Professionals think differently!

"Great!"

This was the first time Kira had genuinely praised someone else's professional competence.

"But since you don't intend to start a war, then I'll have to do it myself!"

"Huh??" Jacob, who thought he had just escaped a disaster, was stunned.

Kira turned around and looked at the suit-wearing assassin in front of him: "You said it yourself, the competition is for winning, to improve our guild's winning rate. Eliminating the two of you here should make tomorrow much easier!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his magic surged, creating a gust of wind around him that made his red hair flutter wildly, like a lion awakening.

"There are still 20 minutes left. If you don't want to be the first one eliminated in your team, then give it your all and withstand my attack!"

"Erza!!"

Upon hearing Kira's voice, Erza jerked her twin swords, then leaped backward from the battle before turning around to ask, "What's wrong?"

Kira squinted and smiled slightly: "Interested in a long-awaited match?"

Upon hearing this, Jacob felt a sudden jolt, and a strong sense of foreboding washed over him.

Chapter 706 Neinhart: Back in the day, I was a magical prodigy too...

July 4th, X786, is a memorable day.

After that, a legend of a "red-haired demon" was added to the Kingdom of Fiore!

Speaking of the land of Fiore, there are actually quite a few legends or famous figures with colors involved, such as the Black and White Fairy, the Black Dragon that destroys the world, the Emerald Princess, the Blue Pegasus, and the Yellow-haired Halo. Adding one or two more red-haired demons wouldn't be a big deal.

The Grand Magic Games have progressed to this point, and this is the first four-person battle where both sides are extremely powerful.

Kira and Erza need no introduction; one is the 'Sage' and the other the 'Fairy Queen,' both renowned throughout Fiore. As for the 'Emperor's Shield' guild, it has garnered much attention since the first day of the tournament. Every mage who participates, even if the audience didn't know them beforehand, can demonstrate their strength from their performance.

Therefore, as the audience knows, this clash between the two guilds, Fairy Tail and Emperor's Shield, will be even more spectacular than the previous seven two-player battles.

In previous two-person battles, either one side won by overwhelming force, or both sides were weaklings fighting each other. Even yesterday's 'Fairy Tail' vs. 'Boa Princess Scale' match, which featured Jura, was seen as more like a two-on-one battle than a two-on-two due to the influence of another mage, Toby.

Only this one match is a true duel between four mages with the strength of the 'Ten Wizard Saints'!

Upon hearing Kira's challenge, Erza couldn't help but smile. Her long-dormant competitive spirit surged up, and her whole body became excited.

"Is it on fire yet?"

"Yes!"

The familiar words instantly filled Erza's eyes with fighting spirit, and Neinhardt, who was hiding behind Bradman and Kyoka, was startled by this scene.

That look...that look...

He knows it all too well!

Thinking back to ten years ago... (The following is a flashback by Neinhart)

When I was little, I was a free-spirited, dashing, and charming boy, adored by younger brothers and admired by beautiful women. I was known as the "other people's child" by the uncles and aunts in the surrounding villages. I lived a life of luxury, enjoying good food and drink every day.

Having just turned eighteen, I was young, spirited, and full of ambition. Influenced by the traveling merchant, I always yearned for poetry and distant places, dreaming of one day leaving my small town and hometown to go to the romantic Kingdom of Fiore, where I would fall in love with a gentle woman, marry her, and have children...

Unexpectedly, one day, a woman came to my door, saying that the empire had taken a liking to my magic and wanted to recruit me to serve the empire.

The woman was beautiful, elegant, and curvaceous; she clearly came from a prominent family. But these qualities alone were not enough to sway a man with dreams in his heart.