A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

……

The Zonya Mountains are truly vast, so vast that people within them can never even touch each other; yet they are also small, so small that a single battle can draw the attention of everyone within them.

In another direction, another powerful being was also drawn to the battle between ice and fire.

A person with dark skin, long blue hair, and a black cloak slowly got up and walked out of the dark cave where he had been staying for who knows how long.

Then, a flat and indifferent voice rang out: "I smell it, a stench that disgusts me!"

Chapter 87 Reaping the Bitter Fruit

"Mmm...so warm..." Lucy stood up, calling out someone's name, "Natsu!"

"Hehe...that guy hasn't come back yet! What's wrong? Were you having a wet dream?"

Hearing Cana's teasing, Lucy blushed instantly: "What are you saying!"

Lucy looked around. Erza, Loki, and Elfman were all sitting or standing, looking in a certain direction. She followed their gaze and was immediately stunned by what she saw.

About five hundred meters away from the tavern where they were resting, the world was filled with red and white!

This scene resembled two beings of unimaginable power bringing the world of fire and the world of ice into this small area of ​​a few hundred meters to fight.

Under the control of the human and the demon in the arena, ice and fire soared in the sky like birds, coiled on the ground like giant snakes, were as ferocious as tigers, and were as unpredictable as dragons. The ice and fire in front of us seemed to have come to life, attacking each other in their respective territories.

Two completely opposite worlds, one red and one white, were reflected in Lucy's dark pupils. She couldn't understand what was happening before her eyes. Could magic really do this?

"What...what is this? Did Natsu and Gray start fighting?"

"Are you still half asleep?" Kana touched Lucy's forehead. "You don't have a fever, what nonsense are you talking about! Putting aside the reason they started fighting, do you think they were capable of fighting like this?"

"Um...it seems so..." Lucy stared blankly at the battle in the distance, and after a moment she realized, "It's Kira and that demon?!"

“That’s right!” Erza nodded and said, “They’ve been fighting like this for almost an hour!”

"An hour?! With that kind of magic?" Lucy exclaimed in disbelief.

In the battle between ice and fire, Kira was covered in frost, while Ace was stained with flames.

"I never imagined that a mere human could possess such immense magical power!"

"I didn't expect your strength to increase so quickly after consuming these guys! Is it a qualitative change caused by quantitative change? Or have you finally unleashed the power of the Sea Demon King?"

"Perhaps both!" The icy world around Ace dropped several degrees. "You're strong! In all my years, you're the strongest human I've ever seen! Perhaps you have enough power to see through the illusions of life!"

Ace had expected to return a few words of praise, but things didn't turn out as he had hoped.

"That only shows that your knowledge is far from sufficient! There are many people in this world who are more capable than me!"

Kira's words contained no discrimination whatsoever; they were full of humility. At least, according to estimates, his strength in this world probably wouldn't even rank in the top ten.

But Ace heard this as Kira mocking him, and he immediately felt dissatisfied: "Hmph! I originally thought you were a person with the heart of a strongman, and I quite admired you, but I didn't expect you to be so self-deprecating. You've disappointed me so much! Does someone like this deserve to be called a strongman?!"

Is there something wrong with this guy? Is he trying to develop a mutual respect between us, the stronger ones?

I laughed. You think you're worthy?!

In a few years, once Gray masters the demon-slaying technique passed down from his father, you'll be nothing but a little brother!

If I had the magic to destroy demons right now, I could take you down in a heartbeat! Thinking this, Kira silently increased the flames around him even more!

After an hour of continuous super magic, even Kira, who never lacks mana, could clearly feel his mana decreasing, probably by about 50%. He wondered how much the opponent had left...

Although Ace was still barely maintaining its Ice World, its magic power was almost depleted. This was not good. If it couldn't win, it would have to save some magic power to escape!

Although I intend to stop fighting, it seems the other side doesn't want it to end so easily. I should have known better than to make those boastful remarks!

Could the successive successes of the plan have truly clouded his judgment? How could he have gone so far as to say such things! He's not usually the kind of person who loves fighting!

Although he did feel empty after each meal, didn't he pass the time by reading and studying? It wasn't that he lacked any fighting ability! At this moment, Ace wanted to slap himself twice!

Wait a minute... when did I start liking to read?

Ace's thoughts suddenly stopped, and even the magic in his hands ceased.

Kira, caught in the middle of the battle, noticed the magic stagnation caused by his mental confusion. Although he didn't know why, he wasn't about to miss this opportunity!

So he instantly increased the power of his magic and took advantage of the opening his opponent made to break through!

boom!!!

The flames overwhelmed the frost, and the icy world was devoured by the Black Rope Hell in the blink of an eye, leaving not a single drop of water.

Ace was engulfed in dark red flames, his limbs were charred, his expression was blank, and his eyes were lifeless.

What's going on? Kira was filled with doubt. Why did this guy suddenly stop?

Just to be on the safe side, he decided to go over and check on Ace's condition, only to find that its eyes were lifeless and its expression was blank.

Deep within his mind, Ace was lost in endless confusion...

Who am I? Am I the Ice Demon Ace? The Snow Demon Sinoi? The Mist Demon Fog? Or the Cloud Demon Klaue? Or perhaps... the Sea Demon King?

Why did this happen? Did I lose my memory? Am I confused? Or was I devoured by someone?

Was I just fighting? It doesn't seem so!

Was he reading a book? No, that doesn't seem right!

Are you learning etiquette? No!

They were captured? Impossible!

It seems I've been... devoured by other demons?

Who devoured me? And whom did I devour?

……

"You said you know the Sea Demon King's weakness, what is it?"

[The cannibalism magic is a technique proposed by humans and gods to eliminate demons. Gaining power through mutual consumption is inherently illegitimate; this method not only greatly reduces the number of demons but also corrupts the minds of those who consume them! Therefore, even if they become very strong, they are nothing more than brute force without a mind, and are easily countered!]

"So that means the more it eats, the more confused its head becomes, right?"

Yes, when the Sea Demon King fought us, he was already close to madness, and the seal we placed before our deaths further obliterated his remaining intelligence and memories!

"No wonder the legendary Sea Demon King, after being unsealed, only knew how to kill and had no trace of his former demon king nature!"

[Absolute Freeze possesses the property of disappearing. Even if it cannot completely extinguish the Sea Demon King's life force, it can still make it lose its mind. If it is devoured, even if the effects are not immediately apparent, serious problems will definitely arise in the long run!]

"What if it devours other demons later?"

That would only hasten its descent into sanity!

……

Seeing that the battle in the distance seemed to have come to an end, everyone rushed over.

Almost simultaneously, Erza and her group, along with Natsume's squad, arrived at the previous battlefield.

At this moment, the magnificent scene of ice and fire was gone, leaving only a bare ground and the figures of Kira and Ace.

Kira was still the same as always, dressed in white with his red hair flowing, wearing his familiar smirk with a hint of confusion on his face. Apart from a little fatigue in his eyes, he was unharmed.

The demon Ace was different. Although its body was still incredibly strong, its eyes were lifeless, making it look like a fool. Its aura was strong but extremely unstable, and nearly half of its body was charred.

In addition, it also has several Demon-Sealing Sets that are very familiar to many people.

Seeing this, the group felt completely relieved.

"Kira, you bastard, I never expected you to become this strong!"

"Didn't expect that?" Kira didn't turn his head, but his tone was clearly excited. "Then it seems you still don't know me well enough! In the end, your limited experience has restricted your imagination! Do more high-level missions in the future, and you'll know just how strong the strong in this world really are!"

Gray was speechless for a moment: "Seriously, you bastard! Can't you say less of those rude things?!"

Kira glanced at Gray's bare upper body: "Are you kidding me! This is my persona. Making me restrain myself is like telling you never to take your clothes off again, never to tell Elfman to stop talking about being a man, never to tell Cana to stop drinking, never to tell Happy to stop acting cute, never to tell Lucy to stop making sarcastic remarks, never to tell Natsu to stop getting carsick... It'll make things really weird!"

Lucy complained, "Why didn't you mention Erza and Rocky?"

"Because I can't think of any obvious features right now..."

"So, shouldn't your defining characteristic be greed?"

"Hey! I think Kana is right!"

"Greed? What greed? Can businessmen be called greed?"

Kira instinctively denied it, then went on to say things like "the fundamental purpose of doing business is to pursue profit" and "selling products is to enhance the strength of our partners," and the atmosphere around them immediately became cheerful.

Chapter 88 An Encounter

Gazing at the Ice Demon King's body, Erza stepped forward and asked, "What happened to it?"

Kira shook his head, puzzled. "I don't know. It suddenly stopped moving while we were fighting. Could it be that it was defeated by me?"

Thinking of this, his expression suddenly brightened, and he said with a smile, "Do you think it might really be..."

But before Kira could finish speaking, a series of footsteps approached from afar; it was Winter, who had finally made it back.

"The battle... is over?"

"Oh, you're back? Sorry! I solo-killed the enemy, didn't even give you an assist..."

Winter was speechless for a moment: "Whatever happened, you killed it?"

“No!” Kira repeated what had just happened.

Unexpectedly, Winter nodded as if he had expected this: "I think I understand what's going on!"

"Huh? How did you know?"

"because……"

Then, Winter recounted his recent experience and the information he had received from the Black and White Goddesses to everyone.

"It's probably because he swallowed too much, so his mind went into a state of confusion..."

"So it ate something bad? Poor thing..." Kira tapped Ace's body. "Sigh... I just said it, what it lacks in its heart is poop! It just won't believe it!"