"That crest... they're from Fairy Tail."
Sherry immediately recognized the emblem on Natsu's shoulder as the symbol of the Fairy Tail guild.
"So that's it—the villagers must've asked the guild for help!"
Yuka also understood. The villagers had apparently been cursed and turned into demons, which was why this island was feared and called the Demon Island.
Sub Zero Emperor said coldly, "What are you all standing around for? Go wipe out that village."
"Huh?"
"Why?"
Natsu and the others were completely stunned. They were already here—why go after the villagers now?
Clenching his fist, Sub Zero Emperor explained, "Anyone who gets in our way—or intends to—is the enemy."
"What?!!"
Natsu was dumbfounded by that reasoning.
"You bastard—!!"
Suddenly—
Gray dashed forward, slamming both hands onto the ground. "Stop this ridiculous ritual right now!!"
Crack—crack!!
A massive surge of ice shot out from the ground toward Sub Zero Emperor.
But Sub Zero Emperor calmly placed one hand on the ground and released a spell identical to Gray's.
The two waves of ice collided head-on.
CRACK—!!
The magic canceled each other out, both sets of ice shattering and vanishing into mist.
"Ice?!"
Both sides were surprised—they were both Ice Magic users. While not unheard of, it was still fairly rare.
"Leon… do you even know what you're doing?"
Gray glared at Sub Zero Emperor with a bitter expression.
"Heh, been a while, Gray."
Sub Zero Emperor had no trouble calling Gray by name.
"They know each other?!"
Lucy and Happy stared in shock.
"So, the mage the villagers called for was you, huh? Did you come because you knew, or was it a coincidence? Never mind—it doesn't matter. Go on, the rest of you. I'll handle this myself."
"Yes, sir!"
"You're not getting away!"
Seeing the three of them about to leave, Natsu panicked and gave chase, completely unaware of the nearly imperceptible frost forming in the air around him.
But Gray noticed it and shouted, "Wait! Natsu, don't move!!"
Too late.
Shhhh!!
The icy mist enveloped Natsu's body in an instant, rapidly crystallizing around him. In the blink of an eye, only his head and limbs remained exposed—his entire body was encased in solid ice.
"Damn it, I can't move!"
Natsu tried to melt the ice with flames.
"What's with this ice?! Why isn't it melting?!"
Seeing Natsu frozen in place, Sherry and the others relaxed and prepared to go after the villagers.
Just then, a figure stepped in front of them.
"You'd better stop. I can't let you harm my client."
"Kaien!!"
Lucy and Happy were overjoyed at the sight of Kaien Blaze. They had completely forgotten he was even here.
"Kaien?"
Zalute's face twitched slightly at the name. 'Damn... why is he here?'
"Great! Kaien! They're heading to destroy the village—use 'Tyrant' and wipe them out!"
With Kaien on the scene, Lucy's confidence skyrocketed.
"'Tyrant'?!"
Yuka and Sherry flinched slightly at the title.
"What's wrong? Why are you still here? I told you—I'll handle them."
Leon frowned at their hesitation.
Sherry responded gravely, "Lord Sub Zero Emperor, he's most likely the 'Tyrant.'"
"'Tyrant'? Who's that?"
Leon clearly didn't follow news from the wider magic world.
But Yuka and the others did. Even though they had long lived on Galuna Island, they still occasionally visited Hargeon to restock supplies and keep up with the latest information.
"'Tyrant' is a mage who recently became famous on the Ishgar continent. His name spread after he single-handedly annihilated the Locust Bandit Group. Who would've thought the Tyrant is a member of Fairy Tail..."
"One against ten thousand?"
Even Leon's expression changed slightly.
"'Tyrant', huh..."
Honestly, using the 'Tyrant' form was exhilarating. But this time, Kaien wanted to try something new. It was time to let the strongest man in the world—Whitebeard—make his appearance.
"Full Take Over – Edward Newgate!!"
Kaien's body rapidly expanded, growing taller and bulkier. His clothes transformed into a long white coat. In his hand appeared Whitebeard's signature weapon, the Supreme Grade Blade Murakumogiri.
The most eye-catching feature was the crescent-shaped white mustache that curled upward beneath his nose. His face was a composite of Kaien's and Whitebeard's, exuding overwhelming presence.
"Whoa—he's HUGE!!"
Everyone was stunned by Kaien's towering height of 6.66 meters.
Even Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy—who were all familiar with Kaien—were left speechless. None of them had ever seen this transformation before.
Lucy couldn't help but exclaim, "Kaien turned into a Grandpa!!"
Kaien could feel the raw power coursing through his body. As expected of the man hailed as the strongest in the world in One Piece, this strength was exhilarating.
"Angelica!!"
Sherry shouted. They had a giant of their own—Angelica, who stood over ten meters tall.
BOOM—!!
From within the ruins, the massive mouse Kaien had encountered earlier burst out.
"Squeeeee!!"
It shrieked and lunged at Kaien.
Kaien clenched his fist.
VMMMM—!!
A translucent white sphere formed around his fist—the power of the Gura Gura no Mi, compressing a massive quake shockwave inside.
Then Kaien casually punched the air.
"——————!!"
CRACK—CRACK—!!
The air itself shattered like glass, riddled with cracks.
BOOOOM—!!
The entire ruin trembled violently—like a magnitude 7 or 8 earthquake had struck.
CRACK! CRACK—!!
Large chunks of the ruins collapsed and crumbled apart.
"Squeeee—!!"
The giant mouse coughed up blood and was sent flying from the top of the ruins.
"An earthquake?!"
"UWAAAHHH!!"
"AAAHHH!!"...
Everyone struggled to stay on their feet, crying out in panic.
It took a while for the shaking to stop. When it did, the crowd was silent—terror was etched on their faces. No one could remain calm in the face of a natural disaster like that.
Even Leon now wore a grave expression. To cause such a massive quake with magic—this opponent's power was terrifying. Still, he thought, no matter how strong he is, he can't defeat me. I've already surpassed Ur.
Leon locked eyes on Kaien and asked, "Who are you?"
"Fairy Tail. Kaien."