Fairy Tail: Strongest Creature

"Ugh…" Brain suddenly clutched his skull, letting out a pained groan.

One by one, the sealing markings on his face vanished, leaving only one final trace.

"Huh?" Natsu and Happy paused, confused—what was happening to Brain?

But Natsu's combat instincts kicked in. He recognized a prime moment to strike. Quickly, he inhaled, igniting Dragon Slayer magic in his lungs.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!!"

A raging torrent of flames spewed from Natsu's mouth, surging toward Brain.

"Eternal Dark Guardian!!"

At the last second, Brain managed to raise a magical barrier. The torrent of flames slammed into the shield, exploding with a fiery shockwave.

When the blaze subsided, Natsu was already leaping in.

"Damn it, you can't block this!"

Around Natsu's arms, swirling flames formed ragged blades of fire.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus—Exploding Flame Blade!!!"

He spun, letting the flame blades carve multiple arcs into Brain's body in rapid succession.

Boom—!!!

"Gwaaah!!" Brain shrieked, thrown violently back. He tumbled across Nirvana's surface.

"No…I can't believe it… I just… don't want to disappear…!" Brain moaned, then lost consciousness. The marking on his face faded further—leaving only a single line.

Natsu and Happy collapsed onto the stone floor, panting and drained.

"Hha…finally did it…" Natsu gasped.

"Aye…" Happy wheezed, equally exhausted. Brain, an Oración Seis leader, had taken all they had to bring down.

With the fight ended, Natsu's post-battle motion sickness surged again.

"Ugh…my head…," he groaned.

Footsteps approached. Natsu and Happy looked up to see Su Yan striding in.

"Su Yan!!" Natsu said, forcing a grin.

Su Yan took in the scene—Brain lying defeated, the control center half destroyed. "Nice work, you two. Another Oración Seis down. Looks like only one remains."

Elsewhere, in the Endless Sea of Trees…

Jura of the Ten Wizard Saints was locked in combat with Hoteye—one of the last Oración Seis left active. Hard versus soft: Hoteye could liquefy earth, while Jura could solidify and reshape it. For a while, neither had gained the upper hand, but Jura's greater magical power began to tell. As the battle wore on, Hoteye's stamina waned.

"Stone Array!!" Jura called. A barrage of large rocks surged at Hoteye.

"Liquid Earth!!" Hoteye countered, turning the oncoming stone to flowing sand. But Jura didn't stop there:

"Multiple Pillars of Rain!!"

The sand liquefied around Hoteye's feet, only for Jura's next spell to sprout columns of hardened rock from the liquid ground, battering Hoteye. Hoteye let out a wail:

"Gyaaah—!"

Before he could rebound, Jura clasped his hands:

"Overlord Rock Break!!!"

With a resounding smash, a final explosion of stone shattered the liquefied sand, slamming Hoteye and knocking him out cold.

Back on Nirvana…

From the vantage point of a high rooftop, Wendy and Carla ran up to Natsu, Happy, and Su Yan, both looking anxious.

"Su Yan! This entire city— it's heading right toward my guild!" Wendy blurted, wide-eyed.

Carla nodded, "Yes, we watched from a distance. It's definitely on a direct path to Cait Shelter!"

Happy, still lying on the ground panting, managed a quick wave. "Don't worry. The guy controlling Nirvana—Brain—just got knocked out by us. I bet it'll stop soon!"

Wendy and Carla turned to see Brain sprawled nearby, along with Midnight in the distance. Wendy exhaled a shaky breath. "But… it isn't stopping."

Su Yan's gaze hardened. "Hmm. Maybe the mechanism's set to continue even if the controller's defeated. If it won't stop… I'll destroy Nirvana entirely."

Hearing that, Wendy felt a surge of relief. Su Yan's confidence always made her calmer.

"Are you hurt, Natsu?" she asked, thinking he might need healing. But Happy waved dismissively:

"No, no, he's just—uh—car-sick? Floor-sick? Some motion sickness, I guess."

At that moment, Carla's attention snapped to Brain's motionless form. She noticed something off: earlier, Brain had multiple seals on his face. Now they were gone entirely—or was there just one left?

"Hey… the markings on him, they're… vanishing," Happy said uneasily.

And as if on cue, the last trace disappeared.

"Uhh…that's not good?" Carla ventured.

Suddenly: Boom—!!

An immense surge of magical power burst from Brain's body, rocketing upward like black lightning. The force blasted Happy and Carla away, tumbling them across the ground.

"Wha—?!" Wendy yelped, shielding her eyes from the sudden gust.

Brain's eyes snapped open, glowing a sinister red. His body pulled itself upright—discharging a dreadful, suffocating magic aura.

Natsu, still reeling from motion sickness, felt chills run down his spine. "What… is that magic…?! It's so… so dark…"

"He's changing!" Wendy stammered. "It's like he's a different person now."

Across Brain's face and arms, the last seal faded, revealing raw, twisted lines of power.

Brain let out a low chuckle, rolling his neck. His voice sounded deeper, more vicious. "Ah… yes. Long time, no see—this body, this voice, and this magic. So nostalgic."

He let a vicious grin form. "So, you brats managed to defeat all my minions, huh? Perfect. Let me repay the favor. Now that the entire Oración Seis has fallen… there's no one left to challenge me. I, the true master of this guild… Zero… shall cut you all down!"

Natsu, Wendy, Happy, Carla, and Su Yan braced themselves, realizing a new nightmare was about to begin.