Chapter 36: Deliora.

Chapter 36: Deliora.

If you want to read up to 20!! chapters ahead go to /cornbringer

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Don't forget to check the auxiliary chapter about Adam. It's like an info chapter.

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[Adam POV]

I draped my blanket over my shoulders and huddled around the campfire, feeling grateful for its warmth on the otherwise frosty night. Lilia and I hooked thin sticks through fish filets and potatoes, cooking our meal over the open flames. The vast tundra was illuminated by a million stars, stretching out in all directions with an expanse of snow and ice that seemed to never end.

"Want a bit of salt for the food?" Lilia asked.

I nodded, watching the fish we had bought for today's dinner curl and bubble in the sizzling pan. However, before I could take the salt, a chill ran through my body, like a gust of icy wind, and I felt a strange sensation wash over me.

It was like a shiver, but deeper, more intense. The air around me seemed to grow still as I felt a crushing sense of sadness as if a thousand lives had suddenly been extinguished all at once.

My heart raced in my chest as I looked around, trying to figure out what was happening.

Then, in the distance, came a deafening roar.

The sound echoed through the trees, a deep bellow that shook the ground and rattled my teeth. It was a mix of rage, sorrow, and desperation, a primal howl of pure anguish and hunger that made the heavens themselves shake in its wake

"He finally appeared," Mavis muttered under her breath.

Deliora. N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.

Lilia looked at me, her eyes wide. "What was that?" she asked, her voice low and filled with concern.

"Our target," I said, my heart pounding in my chest. "Deliora."

Taking a deep breath, I stood up from the campfire, my heart racing with adrenaline, however, before I could do anything else, Ur suddenly appeared.

"Has anyone seen Gray?" Ur asked urgently.

I shook my head, last time I had seen him was three days ago, and it wasn't out of the norm for Ur to leave her students stranded to teach them something, so I didn't give it much thought, but then as I was about to leave, a realization hit me like a ton of bricks.

Gray wasn't here because he was going after Deliora, not because of training.

How the hell did he know about Deliora's attack before me?!

No matter.

I can still get to the demon before him.

Taking another deep breath, I turned to Ur, my voice urgent. "He must be going after Deliora, no idea how he figured out where the demon would strike, but he did it, and he's on his way to kill himself."

Ur nodded grimly, her expression mirroring my own.

Ready to start my battle with the demon, I gathered all the reiatsu I could muster without waiting too much time and focused it into my hands, feeling the energy grow as I shouted the incantation, "Hadō #54. Haien!" I muttered, thrusting my right hand outwards, releasing a powerful gust of purple flames that cascaded towards Deliora like a burning waterfall, consuming the demon whole in a purple inferno.

This was a powerful Hado I had just used. One said to have the power to eradicate the very existence of whatever it hits.

Let's see if that's true.

Almost as if answering my questions, Deliora raised his fists to the heavens and roared this time with such intensity that it seemed the very stars quivered, as a deep rumble emanated from his body, shaking the earth beneath him as the inferno of purple flames my attack had created was snuffed out with a gust of wind.

"Well fuck," I chuckled in a mix of excitement and concern as I gazed at the giant in front of me. Not a single scratch on the bastard, not even a burn mark marred its fucking exterior as a result of my attack.

I have to admit that Zeref sure knows how to build his toys, he makes them sturdy enough to last.

As I watched in awe the demon shaking off my attack, Mavis suddenly appeared beside me, her eyes wide with panic as she shouted, "Adam, you must step back! I miscalculated how much power this demon would have. This creature is far too powerful for you to take on all by yourself. We must devise a strategy, a way to overpower this beast, and you can't do it alone!"

My face lit up as I turned to Mavis, my eyes wild with excitement. I knew Deliora was probably stronger than me, and his might would challenge me, but the thing is, I welcomed that challenge. "Fuck that! Don't ask me something you wouldn't do! Master, you know that if you were me, you would be there fighting him even if that meant your death, or am I wrong?"

Mavis' eyes widened.

"Deliora! Let's fight!" I shouted, and before Mavis or I could say anything, Deliora roared in response before charging toward me.

Taking a deep breath, I moved behind the demon with Shunpo, and swung my zanpakuto, warping the space around my attack, slashing the demon's back whole, throwing him off-balance.

I couldn't cut through him, but I could damage him with my blade, that would do. Now it was all a matter of who tired who first, this battle had turned into a war of attrition situation.

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[Mavis Vermillion POV]

I couldn't refute Adam's points, he was right. If it were me, I would've jumped to save the innocent without a care for my life. But, was it so wrong that I wanted him to be more selfish than me?

Unable to find the right words to change his mind, I watched as he vanished out of sight, reappearing behind the demon hacking his back with a swift move of his blade.

Adam was driven by the challenge Deliora represented, his eyes burning, and his hands never letting go of the weapon in his hands. From afar, I could hear the sound of his blade clashing against the demon's hide, as Adam blurred in and out of sight, not letting the beast rest.

However, with each successful strike on Adam's part, the faster the demon's reactions became, and it wasn't before long that Deliora made his move to counterattack, his massive claws slicing through the air with incredible speed.

Seeing this, Adam used his speed magic, or shunpo as he called it to avoid it, but now that Deliora had found a tempo, the demon was relentless.

The demon roared, slashing at Adam left and right, his speed increasing with each strike, forcing Adam to keep avoiding his strikes, before suddenly the beast changed his approach, opening his mouth, and releasing a massive blast of fire towards Adam at point blank.

This time, however, Adam didn't dodge, and his body was thrown back violently, tumbling through the air as he crashed through several buildings and debris.

His body landed on the ground creating a scorching crater, his physique now battered and broken, blood pouring from multiple wounds.

"Why didn't he dodge?" I muttered, immediately realizing why. Gray was in the direction Deliora had shot that blast.

Grinning, Adam struggled to stand, his legs weak and unsteady, as Deliora loomed over him.

"That hurt a lot," Adam cracked a smile as blood oozed from the wounds on his face and arms, but despite all of that, he simply smiled, his body language showing a defiant demeanor, a silent testament that he wouldn't be defeated without a fight.