Chapter 280: Still Holding a Grudge
Boom!!
"Uwaaaahhhhh!!"
Bacchus felt a terrifying force erupt; his body was instantly sent flying.
Boom———!
Bacchus slammed into the inner wall of the Grand Magic Games stadium, leaving a massive crack.
The sheer force of the impact shook the entire arena, sending dust and debris cascading down from the point of collision. The spectators, who had been roaring with excitement just moments ago, were suddenly silenced, their eyes wide with disbelief.
Bacchus, the "Drunken Falcon" of Quatro Cerberus, an S-Class Mage whose strength rivaled Erza Scarlet's seven years ago, had been blown away like a rag doll. He slid down the wall, coughing violently, his mind reeling from the shock.
Eyes wide, Bacchus stared at Elfman in disbelief.
"Th-this power… it makes the very Soul tremble!!"
He pushed himself up, wiping blood from the corner of his lip. The crimson aura surrounding Elfman wasn't just magic power; it was something denser, wilder, and infinitely more malicious. It felt like standing before a primordial beast that had just woken from a thousand-year slumber.
"Don't get cocky just because you landed one lucky hit!"
Bacchus charged at Elfman.
His movements were erratic, swaying side to side in his signature Drunken Chop-Hanging Palm style. To the untrained eye, he looked like a drunkard stumbling forward, but every step was calculated, every sway a potential strike. He closed the distance in a blink, his palm aiming straight for Elfman's jaw.
Elfman licked his claws, toying with them, paying no heed to the onrushing Bacchus.
He didn't even raise his guard. He simply stood there, cloaked in the bubbling red chakra of the Two-Tails cloak, his eyes slit like a fox's, filled with a cold, predatory amusement.
Bacchus reached him and swung; Elfman dodged, and as Bacchus kept attacking, Elfman evaded every strike with ease.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Bacchus's palms tore through the air, creating vacuum blades with every strike, but they hit nothing but air. Elfman weaved through the barrage with terrifying grace, moving with a fluidity that shouldn't belong to someone of his massive stature. It was as if he could see the trajectory of Bacchus's attacks before they were even launched.
"He dodged?!"
The onlookers were stunned—the tables had turned. Moments ago Elfman couldn't land a hit; now Bacchus couldn't touch Elfman.
"Impossible! Bacchus-san's attacks are invisible!" a member of Quatro Cerberus shouted, clutching his head. "How can that big guy dodge them all?!"
In the Fairy Tail stand, the atmosphere had shifted from worry to awe.
"Kid's got quite the memory for grievances."
Ren chuckled as he watched; clearly Elfman remembered being mocked by Bacchus and was now repaying the humiliation in front of everyone.
He leaned back, his eyes narrowing slightly as he observed the chakra cloak enveloping Elfman. It was stable. The seal he had placed was holding up perfectly, allowing Elfman to harness a fraction of Kurama's power without losing his mind to the beast's hatred.
"But isn't his drunken style supposed to be unpredictable?"
Lucy asked, puzzled. She watched the fight intently, her brow furrowed. "Erza said his rhythm is impossible to read because even he doesn't know how he'll move next. How is Elfman doing it?"
Ren smiled. "There's no such thing as 'unpredictable' when your perception and stats completely outclass the opponent. You don't need to predict—you just see and sense."
He pointed at the arena. "Think of it like a fly buzzing around you. Its flight path is erratic and unpredictable, right? But if you're fast enough to snatch it out of the air, does its path matter? Elfman's senses, boosted by the Nine-Tails' chakra, are currently heightened to a level Bacchus can't comprehend. He can smell the alcohol on Bacchus's breath, hear the shift in his muscles, and feel the displacement of the air. To Elfman right now, Bacchus is moving in slow motion."
In the arena, the humiliation continued.
"Bastard!"
Bacchus realized Elfman was toying with him.
His pride as an S-Class Mage stung more than the physical blows. He roared, pouring more magic power into his limbs, accelerating his strikes to their absolute limit.
"Don't look down on me! I am Bacchus!! My Soul is Wild!!!"
He unleashed a flurry of chops, aiming to overwhelm Elfman with sheer volume.
Smack!
A sharp, crisp sound echoed through the stadium.
Elfman's tail whipped across Bacchus's face.
It wasn't a lethal blow, but it was a slap. A blatant, disrespectful slap delivered by a tail formed of concentrated energy. Bacchus's head snapped to the side, his cheek instantly swelling.
"Gah!"
Bacchus lost balance and began to tumble; before he could, Elfman appeared at his flank and kicked his waist.
"Waah!!"
Bacchus grunted in pain as he was launched sideways. He tried to correct his posture in mid-air, relying on his superior agility, but Elfman was faster.
Howling, Bacchus hadn't hit the ground before Elfman's tail coiled around his leg.
The chakra tail extended like a whip, snatching Bacchus's ankle with a vice-like grip.
Bam-bam-bam-bam-bam!!
The tail flung Bacchus against the floor again and again.
Left! Right! Left! Right!
It was brutal. It was savage. It was a complete and utter beatdown. The ground cracked with every impact, debris flying into the air. Bacchus was helpless, Rag-dolled by the overwhelming power of the Beast Soul.
"Ugh! Gwah! Stop...!"
Bacchus tried to guard, but the force was too great. His bones rattled, and his vision blurred.
Finally, Elfman stopped the slamming. He lifted the battered Bacchus high into the air, holding him upside down by one leg. Elfman looked up, his beastly eyes glowing with a feral light.
"You called me 'not a man', didn't you?" Elfman growled, his voice distorted by the chakra. "Then let me show you what a man's fist feels like!"
With a final swing Elfman hurled Bacchus skyward, overtook him mid-air, spun, and planted a kick in his gut.
"Uwaaaahhhh!!"
The kick connected with the force of a cannonball. The air exploded around the impact point, creating a visible shockwave. Bacchus folded in half, his eyes bulging, saliva flying from his mouth.
He plummeted toward the earth like a meteor.
Boom———!!
Bacchus cratered into the arena, carving out a huge pit.
Dust clouds billowed up, obscuring the view for a moment. When the dust settled, the silence in the stadium was deafening.
Unconscious, he lay in the hole.
Bacchus, the ace of Quatro Cerberus, was completely out cold, his limbs sprawled awkwardly, defeated in the most absolute sense of the word.
"The victor… is decided!!!"
The announcer's voice cracked, breaking the silence.
"Winner: Fairy Tail B's Elfman!!"
"What a comeback!! A sensational reversal!! The once-defenseless Elfman now leaves Bacchus helpless!!"
The crowd erupted. The sheer shock of the turnaround sent waves of noise through the stands.
"Whaaat—?!"
Members of Quatro Cerberus stared, dumbstruck, as their ace crashed.
"Bacchus... lost? To Elfman?"
"That red energy... what kind of magic was that? It felt terrifying even from here!"
In the Fairy Tail section, the mood was ecstatic.
"Nice going, Elfman!" Natsu shouted, punching the air.
"Way to go!!" The Fairy Tail crowd erupted in cheers.
In the center of the arena, the crimson chakra cloak began to dissipate, retreating back into Elfman's body.
The red hue faded from Elfman; he returned to normal and raised an arm with a roar.
"Oooooohhh!!"
The stands thundered with applause. It was a manly victory, a victory of pure grit and power that resonated with the audience.
However, as the adrenaline faded, the toll of the forbidden power became apparent.
When the cheers died, Elfman's eyes rolled back and he collapsed.
He fell forward like a felled tree, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
...
Infirmary
The sterile smell of medicine hung in the air. Elfman lay on a bed, his chest rising and falling rhythmically, though his face was pale and covered in sweat.
"Will big brother Elfman be all right?"
Lisanna asked anxiously, her hands clasped together in prayer. She sat by his bedside, watching his face intently.
After checking, Ms. Porlyusica said, "He's fine. He simply pushed beyond his limit. Ten to fifteen days of rest and he'll recover—though he's out for the rest of the tournament."
She packed her medical bag, her expression stern but relieved. "Using such a volatile power places an immense burden on the body's magic vessels. He's lucky his body is naturally resilient. Any ordinary mage would have exploded."
"Phew! That's a relief."
Mira exhaled; she, Elfman and Lisanna only had each other. The thought of losing another sibling was a nightmare she didn't even want to entertain. She gently wiped the sweat from Elfman's forehead.
"I told you it'd be fine. That energy carries potent healing—his wounds vanished mid-fight—but wielding it demands willpower. Elfman's Take Over already trains that. Right now he can only handle two tails; stronger magic and will might let him take more, without such backlash."
Ren explained, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
At first he'd only indulged Elfman's request, never expecting him to tame the Nine-Tailed Fox Chakra.
He recalled the training session. Elfman had been desperate to get stronger, to not be the weak link anymore. Ren had hesitated to give him the Nine-Tails card's power, knowing how corrosive Kurama's chakra could be.
Chakra and mana are similar yet distinct; mixing them could trigger rejection.
To his surprise, the magic source didn't resist Chakra—it even fused eagerly—so he kept pouring in Nine-Tailed Fox Chakra until the source brimmed.
Thus the Take Over was completed. It was a miracle of compatibility, perhaps due to the nature of Take Over magic itself, which was designed to accept foreign entities.
Of course, the Nine-Tails' will is fierce; just as Uzumaki Naruto could be overwhelmed, so could others. The hatred and malice within that red chakra were constantly trying to erode the user's mind.
Fortunately, Elfman's earlier failure with the Beast King had taught him control; handling two tails now, he kept his mind intact. He had turned his desire to protect his family into a mental fortress that even the Fox's malice couldn't easily breach.
Gray couldn't help but mutter, "That's not 'a bit' stronger—that's a billion bits!"
He looked at the unconscious Elfman with a mixture of respect and competitiveness.
Though Elfman was an elite, Gray and Natsu had always edged him out; today's display eclipsed even Gray, sparking a twinge of envy. That raw power, that speed... it was on a different level.
Ren said nothing—after all, Elfman was his brother-in-law; a little extra help never hurt. Helping his family get stronger was just investing in his own peace of mind.
"Brother-in-law, could I…?"
Lisanna looked at Ren with sparkling eyes.
Lisanna's Animal Soul offered even broader Take Over potential than Elfman's; seeing her brother's leap in power, she naturally wanted the same. If Elfman could do it, maybe she could too? She didn't want to be the one always being protected.
"Not yet—train harder."
Ren patted her head with a smile. The Nine-Tails' force was perilous; even a sliver could rob most people of consciousness. Elfman had the physical bulk and the mental fortitude forged through trauma to withstand it. Lisanna was strong, but she wasn't ready for that kind of burden yet.
"Besides, the Nine-Tails is a bit too violent for you. I'll find something more suitable later."
Lisanna pouted. "Stingy brother-in-law!"
Smack!
Mira flicked her forehead. "It's for your own good. Behave."
She smiled gently at her sister, then turned to Ren, her eyes filled with gratitude. "Thank you, Ren. For looking after him."
She turned to Ren. "All right, Ren, Gray—off you go. Erza's fighting; Lisanna and I will watch Elfman."
"Sure. He's just drained; he'll be back on his feet soon."
Ren nodded. He pushed off the wall and headed for the door.
There was no real need to watch, but teammates showed up for each other. Plus, Erza's match was bound to be interesting. It was rare to see her fight seriously against someone other than a major villain.
Ren and Gray walked down the corridor back toward the arena stands. The roar of the crowd was already picking up again.
"Next up: the third match of today's Grand Magic Games."
The announcer's voice boomed over the magical speakers.
"Fairy Tail A's Erza Scarlet vs Blue Pegasus's Jenny Realite!"