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Zeros's mind suddenly sharpened. Under the questioning gazes of Mirajane and Lisanna, his figure blurred and quickly disappeared from the spot, instantly reappearing on a hilltop.
His eyes gleamed with a purple gold light as he gazed into the distance.
In his 'Past Mode x2' state, not only did his magic power double, but other aspects also saw significant increases. Just now, his heightened senses detected a very strange and peculiar magical fluctuation.
"What is that...?"
As Zeros gazed into the distance, he could vaguely see a strange scene resembling a vortex appearing in a patch of sky in the distance. Within that vortex, Zeros could sense an extremely profound magical fluctuation, as if the center of the vortex was connected to another world.
But just as Zeros, out of curiosity, was about to investigate, his vision suddenly blurred. He was startled, and then immediately realized that the vast magical power within him was rapidly dissipating, as if returning to where it should have belonged...
Although the changes in his body came somewhat suddenly, Zeros quickly realized that this was a sign that he was about to exit the 'past mode'.
Thus, Zeros had no choice but to abandon his plan to investigate the strange vortex. However, just before his vision blurred, he seemed to see the vortex shrinking continuously, wondering if it would slowly disappear...
"never mind!"
Zeros glanced in that direction again, muttered to himself, and then manipulated the magic power within his body, which was dwindling due to its loss, to leap down from the mountaintop and return to Mirajane and the other person's side.
"Zeros (Brother Zeros)!" Mirajane and the other girl called out as soon as Zeros returned.
Zeros simply nodded to the two of them, then walked to the side and sat down with his back against a large rock.
Upon realizing his current physical condition, Zeros couldn't help but smile wryly. His current situation could only be described as terrible.
In just a short while, the enormous magical power that had originally doubled in his body had been drained away, leaving only a small amount of his original magical power.
Moreover, the decline in his physical condition in all aspects made Zeros extremely uncomfortable after experiencing the powerful state under the 'past mode'. It was like a nouveau riche going bankrupt overnight. This sense of loss was simply too unsatisfactory!
Given his current condition, if he were to face Elfman, who possessed the body of a beast king, again, he would probably be slapped to death by the latter. Of course, the latter was in a worse state than Zeros at this time, already in a half-dead, unconscious state.
"Brother Zeros, are you alright? You look terrible, are you hurt somewhere?"
Lisanna then came up and said with concern, while Mirajane looked at Zeros with worry from the side.
Zeros's face was pale and his complexion was terrible. His magical power was extremely low, and anyone could tell that he was not in good condition. Moreover, Zeros's appearance had also changed, or rather, it had returned to its original state.
Mirajane knew that all these changes were very likely related to the super magic that Zeros had used before.
Zeros looked at the two of them, gently shook his head, and said, "I'm fine, I'll be fine after a good night's sleep."
Although Zeros spoke lightly, judging from the expressions of the two girls, one big and one small, they both looked like they didn't believe him. Zeros could only smile bitterly to himself, not knowing what to say.
He wasn't lying to the two of them. Although his physical condition was somewhat bad, the most serious problem was when he activated 'Past Mode,' which involved an almost limitful consumption of mental energy.
With his mental energy so severely depleted, coupled with the enormous consumption of his internal magic power, it was no wonder he looked unwell!
If he were in a hotel in Lorraine right now, he would have already crawled into bed and been fast asleep.
However, Zeros understood one thing: although the magic 'Past Mode' he created was extremely powerful, it would not have such huge side effects. The main reasons why he became so weak after exiting 'Past Mode' this time were twofold.
Firstly, this was Zeros's first time using this magic, and he was not yet proficient in its mastery or control. If he had been able to consciously exit 'Past Mode' a little earlier, even if his condition declined, it wouldn't have been this severe.
Secondly, Zeros brought this upon himself by pushing his limits. When he first created this magic, being able to summon a 'past entity' from the river of time was already an extremely remarkable feat. However, he did not stop there. Instead, he poured all his mental energy into it and forcibly summoned a second 'past entity' under the most extreme conditions, directly activating 'Past Mode x2'.
Given the circumstances at the time, even if he had only received one 'past body', the initial form of 'Past Mode' would have been enough to easily defeat 'Elfman's' beast king body. Therefore, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that his actions at the time were suicidal.
Entering the 'Past Mode x2' to such an extreme degree, Zeros was naturally thrilled while in this mode, but he would certainly suffer after exiting it.
Having clearly understood these two points, Zeros will naturally be more careful when using this magic in the future, and will not easily push the limits unless absolutely necessary.
Furthermore, after experiencing the immense power of the 'Past Mode,' Zeros has decided to work even harder to hone his mental will so that he can unlock an even more powerful 'Past Mode' and maintain it for a longer period of time.
Although Mirajane and Lisanna didn't quite believe Zeros's claim that "a good night's sleep will fix it," Zeros insisted on saying so, so they had no choice but to believe it, especially since Elfman, whose condition was even more serious, needed their help.
Although neither of them possessed healing magic, they could still perform basic wound bandaging.
Because Mirajane was also injured, the task of bandaging Elfman's wounds mostly fell to Lisanna.
Before long, under the little girl's 'skillful hands,' Elfman was transformed into a 'mummy'....
Zeros looked unwell and tired. He leaned against a large rock, picked up the sword with his left hand, and held a piece of black cloth in his right hand. He then slowly wrapped the sword around his neck.
After wrapping the sword in black cloth, he placed it beside him and then closed his eyes to take a nap as if no one else was around. This was the deepest part of the Beast King Mountain Range, the place where the Beast King had stayed before, so there was no need to worry about other small monsters daring to come over.
Mirajane casually walked to a large tree to calmly meditate. She had also sustained considerable injuries in the battle with the Beast King.
The only exception was Lisanna, the short-haired girl, who suffered no physical harm whatsoever during the incident. She remained exactly the same as she was before entering the place.
After bandaging Elfman's wound, she had nothing to do. She knew that Zeros and Mirajane needed quiet, so she moved very carefully and didn't dare to make too much noise.
This, in turn, made her even more bored. In the end, the thing she did most during this period was stare at Zeros's handsome face as he rested—a way of pleasing the eye, I suppose...
It wasn't until nightfall that the little girl felt a bit tired, and then she fell asleep peacefully.
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