Fairy Tail: Igneel's eldest son in Anime Multiverse

The white-haired demon, after transforming into a monster, had become immensely powerful—his overall strength was at least on par with a high-tier Level 6 adventurer. Despite being surrounded and attacked by four Level 5 elites from the new generation of Loki Familia, including Ais, he still hadn't been taken down.

Tione slashed his body over a dozen times in an instant with her dual blades, but the wounds began to regenerate almost immediately.

"Useless, Amazon! Step back—Ais!"

Bete leapt into the air above the white-haired demon, raising his leg high.

Ais immediately followed up, activating her magic.

"Wind!"

Emerald currents flowed from her body into the airborne Bete, lighting up the gemstone on his metal boots.

After absorbing Ais's magic, Bete slammed his foot downward with tremendous force. The blow shattered the white-haired demon's arm that tried to block it.

Yet because it was blocked by his arm, Bete's kick ultimately landed on the demon's chest without enough power to destroy the magic stone inside.

The white-haired demon vomited a mouthful of blood, but before he could recover, Ais—now enhanced by her own Wind Spirit Acceleration—and Tiona, wielding her massive weapon, had already charged toward him.

With the Desperate Sword and the mighty Urga bearing down, even as a monster, there was no way he could survive being hit by both.

But the white-haired demon showed no fear or panic. Instead, he wore an expression as if saying, "I've already won."

While battling the man-eating flowers, Finn had been watching their fight closely. He immediately sensed something was wrong and shouted, "No! Get back!"

"Too late!"

The demon sneered. At his feet, a blinding light erupted.

Ais and Tiona had to halt their attacks and leap back. It was a Cannon Dragon's bombardment, unexpectedly triggered in that very moment. Even Charles hadn't seen it coming.

Why Cannon Dragons could lock onto enemies and fire from layers away was still a mystery due to a lack of information—but clearly, the white-haired demon had exploited that very mechanic.

Yet he had underestimated the adventurers of Loki Familia, especially the exceptional mage Riveria.

Riveria's talent wasn't limited to her powerful spellcasting and knowledge of magic, but also her superior combat sense.

She had held back from using long-chant wide-area annihilation spells during the battle, opting instead to constantly prepare defensive magic—just in case. That decision proved crucial.

"Dance, great spirits of the atmosphere, lords of light. I make a pact with the guardian of the forest, and call for a song of the earth to cloak and shield us—become a wall of forest light and protect us—my name is Alf, Dimensional Shield!"

As soon as Riveria sensed the bombardment, she cast her spell. A massive magic circle expanded to its limit, shielding the entire team.

Riveria's Dimensional Shield successfully blocked the Cannon Dragon's blast, keeping everyone safe—but the floor beneath them was completely obliterated.

With the ground collapsing, everyone fell through the giant crater created by the bombardment.

As they plummeted, a group of bipedal dragons soared in and scattered them mid-air.

Charles twisted mid-fall to dodge the gaping maw of one such dragon, then responded with an uppercut, blasting the creature's head apart.

At that moment, Charles spotted the white-haired demon using a bipedal dragon as a stepping stone to close in on Ais.

He quickly scanned the area—Finn and the others had already disappeared from view, leaving only himself to intervene.

Flames erupted as twin wings of fire unfurled behind Charles, the heatwave forcing nearby dragons to retreat.

Ais slashed down a dragon attempting to ambush her, but then she noticed Charles flying toward her with flaming wings.

He was faster than the white-haired demon and reached her first, sweeping her into his arms in a princess carry.

Landing on solid ground nearby, Charles dismissed his wings as Ais stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Was that magic? That's amazing!" she exclaimed—rare astonishment clearly written on her usually blank face.

Charles nodded. "It's one application of my magic. But let's set that aside—we need to think about what we're going to do next. We've been separated from the others, and I have no idea where they landed."

Ais, surprisingly, didn't seem too concerned. "It's fine. Finn and the others are strong. They'll be okay."

Charles nodded. "True. With their strength, they can handle this. So, what should we do now? We fell about two levels. This should be the fifty-sixth floor. Should we go back up to the fiftieth and regroup, or go deeper and try to find the others?"

At this point in time, Ais was not yet the matured "Sword Princess" she would later become—especially after her encounter with the Rabbit. Decisions like this had always been left to Finn or Riveria. No one had ever asked her to choose.

Seeing her slightly troubled expression, Charles said, "Whatever you decide, don't worry about me. Surely you can feel I'm strong, right?"

Ais was silent for a moment, then spoke. "I want to go down and find the others."

Charles understood—it wasn't that she feared for their safety. She wanted to find the white-haired demon and understand why he knew the name "Aria."

What Charles didn't mention was that he had heard the demon's words during the fall too.

"Sword Princess… she's waiting for you on the fifty-ninth floor."

Ais didn't know who "she" referred to, but it was clearly tied to the question she most desperately wanted answered.

Looking into her eyes, Charles nodded. "Got it. Then let's head down. But before we do that, we've got a certain pest to deal with."

At the edge of the hole blasted by the Cannon Dragon, a hand appeared—then a body climbed over.

It was the white-haired demon. Persistent as ever.

"Sword Princess, you won't escape!"

Ais didn't reply—she simply gripped her Desperate Sword tightly.

Charles gently lowered her sword with his hand. "Things have reached this point, so I can't just sit back anymore. But Miss Ais, I ask that you keep what you're about to see a secret."

Ais blinked in surprise, then nodded solemnly.

Charles stretched his limbs and stepped toward the white-haired demon—who now looked visibly unsettled.

"To think you'd send a no-name like this to face me, Sword Princess… Are you mocking me?"

He didn't get to finish the sentence. His facial muscles froze, and the rest of his words caught in his throat.

Because in an instant, Charles had appeared right before him.

"So that's your last line, huh?" Charles said coldly. "What an awful way to go out."

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