Fairy Tail: Strongest Creature

Su Yan's burst of Conqueror's Haki hammered the area where Midnight stood. The shockwave blasted outward, pulverizing the ancient building that had supported him—but Midnight himself remained eerily unscathed. Amid the flying debris and swirling dust, the slender mage didn't even flinch.

"Oh?" Su Yan murmured, eyebrows rising. Oración Seis's so-called "strongest" was apparently no pushover.

Midnight gazed down at the rubble with mild interest. "Huh. My father—Brain—was right to be cautious of you. That wave of power… interesting."

"You're not hurt?" Su Yan asked flatly. By now he'd seen a variety of powers that could nullify or twist attacks. Jose had tried illusions, Cobra had boasted poison, and Brain had spammed dark energy. Midnight's calm in the face of Su Yan's Haki suggested something unusual about him.

Midnight smirked. "You misunderstand. I never said your attack is useless—just that it can't reach me."

He flicked one hand, as though wiping away invisible dust. "I'll show you a perfect reflection of your might."

"Reflection?" Su Yan repeated, tightening his fists. From the corner of his eye, he saw the remains of the stone columns around Midnight… warping. Each shattered piece twisted at unnatural angles, bending and re-forming.

"Distorting reality?" Su Yan guessed. Or maybe it was illusions. He had to be cautious, since Cobra's illusions of hearing thoughts had posed some trouble. "Well, it hardly matters. I'll break your magic head-on."

"Hah. Go ahead, try."

Su Yan lunged, Armament-like Haki swirling around his arms in dark streaks, and purple arcs of Conqueror's Haki sizzling around him. With a single step, he accelerated to a blur, striking at Midnight from the front.

Midnight simply watched, eyes half-lidded.

"Distortion," he murmured.

Bang—!!!

A fierce concussion erupted, but abruptly, Su Yan felt his own power twisting off course. His fist veered sideways as if some invisible force had skewed the very space. The punch missed Midnight by a hair's breadth, smashing into the floor. A crater blew open, but it wasn't the blow Su Yan had intended.

Su Yan scowled. "So you can warp the path of an attack…?"

"That's the simplest explanation," Midnight answered. "I reflect or distort anything that tries to harm me. Thus… your unstoppable fists or that intangible wave of Haki are worthless."

Su Yan exhaled. "You think I'm done trying?"

"Haha," Midnight laughed softly. "Far from it. I like it when the strong struggle. Now, let's see you dance."

He raised both arms, and suddenly the entire environment around them began contorting—broken pillars bent, the ground rippled like water, and even the dusty air shimmered ominously.

Su Yan felt the pull of intense distortion threatening to yank his limbs askew. "Ngh… you can warp the entire area?" he growled. "Annoying trick."

"A trick that ends with your bones snapped, I'd say," Midnight replied, eyebrows arching. "Now… kneel, Undead Demon Emperor."

He clenched his fist as swirling distortions pressed in on Su Yan from all sides—twisting invisible pressure that threatened to fold him backward.

Su Yan's gaze sharpened. "No matter how space contorts… I'm still me."

He inhaled, forcibly steadying his stance, knees bending under the intense pressure. Veins bulged along his arms and neck as he mustered even more Haki.

Midnight frowned slightly. "Not going down, are you?"

"Om—!!"

A violent pulse of Conqueror's Haki exploded from Su Yan's body, temporarily pushing the distortions aside.

Midnight's hair billowed in that invisible gale. "This power, it's indeed formidable. But how many times can you break free before your body tears itself apart?"

"Try me," Su Yan said through gritted teeth. He braced his arms—once again swirling with black Armament-like coating and flickers of purple lightning. "I'll smash your illusions or distortions or whatever you call them."

He darted in again, twisting his torso to launch a hooking punch. Yet the moment he swung, space warped again, curving his fist away from its intended target. This time Su Yan expected it, though, shifting mid-swing, forcibly adjusting the trajectory with raw muscle power. The bones in his shoulder groaned from the bizarre angle, but the punch streaked at an almost 90-degree bend.

Midnight's eyes widened minutely in surprise as Su Yan's fist slammed forward, just shy of his face.

"Ngh… but still not enough," Midnight hissed, intensifying the distortion. The fist skidded off-target once more, blowing up half a wall behind him.

He hopped back a few steps on the quivering floor. "You see? Absolute. Reflection. You can't even land a single direct blow." The corners of his mouth twitched in something akin to amusement. "One who cannot adapt to my illusions can never defeat me."

Su Yan's expression darkened. "Is that so?"

Elsewhere in Nirvana…

Natsu clashed with Brain, both sides devastating the control center.

Erza and Lucy had disposed of Angel. Lucy, exhausted, collapsed from magic depletion. Erza carried her, heading deeper into Nirvana's labyrinth in search of Su Yan or Natsu.

Wendy tended to the injured, while Carla guarded her.

Others tried to regroup in the vast city.

Back at Su Yan vs. Midnight…

Midnight smirked. "I hear you're unstoppable, that you survived everything from giant warships to monstrous wizards. Well, your journey ends here. Surrender your light… and vanish in the darkness, Undead Demon Emperor."

Su Yan stood firm, his breath steady. He knew that, for all of Midnight's bravado, there had to be a limit. Distortion might reflect an attack's direction, but it presumably couldn't nullify an enormous area-wide force—like a shockwave or a continuous torrent of energy. Alternatively, if Su Yan attacked from multiple angles at once…

"Enough talk," he murmured. "I don't have time to amuse you."

He inhaled, conjuring a swirl of Conqueror's Haki around him. The purple haze shaped itself into multiple long spears in midair—similar to how he'd formed swords before, but now controlling them to strike from a dozen directions simultaneously.

Midnight's left eyebrow twitched. "A multi-angle assault?" he whispered, pivoting. "I'll distort them one by one."

Su Yan flicked his arms outward. "Go!"

Spears of condensed Haki shot in from all sides. The air bent around each projectile, curving them away from Midnight. Yet as he contorted them, his eyes narrowed—there were too many to redirect perfectly. Some soared astray, slamming into walls, but others looped unpredictably, second waves weaving around the distortions in awkward arcs.

Cursing softly, Midnight launched a second wave of distortion, forcibly twisting the entire local space. The floor buckled, the ceiling bowed, and columns coiled. The building nearly collapsed on them. The Haki spears smashed violently into curved walls or soared overhead, missing their target by mere inches.

"Ha…ha…" Midnight breathed heavily, sweat beading at his temple. The complexity of deflecting so many simultaneous attacks was taking its toll.

"And now," Su Yan said in a low voice, "I'll close in." He vanished from sight, reappearing behind Midnight in a swirl of dust. "Kami Ashi—explosive step!"

Midnight whipped around, forcibly distorting Su Yan's path mid-charge. But Su Yan overcame it with raw physical might, forcibly re-bending his trajectory. "Haaaah—!!"

Crack—!!

A savage fist finally connected with Midnight's chest. The entire city quaked from the collision, sending both of them flying across the shattered plaza.

Midnight slammed into a fallen archway, coughing. "Ghkk—!"

Su Yan huffed. "Distort this."

He charged again, determined to end the fight.