Fairy Tail: Strongest Creature

Brain darted aside the moment his dark shield was smashed, and Su Yan instantly gave chase.

With the guild alliance members finally shaking off the stun of the explosion, everyone jumped into the fray.

"Ha, we saved ourselves the trouble of finding you—!" Natsu bellowed, charging straight at Racer while Gray joined him. Racer, hovering midair, sneered:

"You small fry should stay on the ground where you belong."

Motor!!

Racer performed a spinning roundhouse, knocking both Natsu and Gray tumbling back to the dirt.

"Natsu!! Gray!!" Lucy gasped.

But just as Lucy turned, she found herself face-to-face with an identical copy of—herself.

"Wha—? Why is there another me?!"

The fake Lucy cackled, "Idiot!" and lashed out with a whip.

"Ugh—! Attack delivered, but… delivered how?!"

Not far off, Sherry raised her arms:

"Doll Attack: Rock Doll!"

Stones swirled together into a towering golem, barreling at Hoteye.

"Poverty leads to weakness!" Hoteye declared, jabbing his fingers. The rocky titan suddenly softened, crumbling into loose sand.

"How—?! My rock puppet?!"

"Tch— Ice Make: White Tiger!" Leon summoned an ice-sculpted tiger at Hoteye, but Hoteye flicked his hand again:

"Money grants power!!"

The ground beneath Leon and Sherria turned swamp-like, sucking their feet in. Even the ice tiger got stuck.

"All that matters is money!" Hoteye said, causing the earth to surge, trapping Leon and Sherria.

"Gahaha!" he laughed triumphantly.

Meanwhile, the Blue Pegasus trio attempted to flank Angel, but Racer zipped in at mind-boggling speed, taking them down with ease.

"Ngh!"

"Argh!"

Erza, having recovered, targeted Cobra with her Heaven's Wheel Armor. "Heaven Wheel Armor: Blumenblatt!!" She launched a barrage of blade-like constructs, forcing Cobra to dodge deftly.

Natsu, fuming, spotted Midnight dozing on a flying magic carpet off to the side. "He's…sleeping in a fight?! Hey! Wake up, you jerk!!" Natsu roared, spewing flames at him. Yet the fire curved strangely in midair, veering away from Midnight's form.

"What the—?!"

"Don't bother him," Racer snapped, appearing behind Natsu and knocking him aside. "Waking Midnight is a terrible idea."

Nearby, Gray spun to fight, only for two mimics to latch onto him from behind. They turned into duplicates of Gray and used Ice-Make magic to freeze him on the spot.

"Those two are…" Lucy recognized them in shock. "They— they can just copy him and…?!"

Hoteye, continuing his large-area manipulation of the earth, caught multiple coalition members who were barely standing. The ground turned to a quicksand-like bog, piling over them.

Wendy cowered behind a rock, trembling while Carla urged her to do something. Everyone else was pinned down or engaged with multiple foes.

Erza chased Cobra in a desperate effort, but Racer slipped in to pincer her. Erza switched to a different armor, trying to move faster, only to have Hoteye liquefy the soil beneath her feet and Lisa slam into her flank.

From above, Cobra grinned. "I hear your movements, Titania…"

Just then, a scream rang out.

"Uagh—!" Trees toppled, and a battered figure crashed near the Oración Seis.

"Brain?!" The Oración Seis members blinked. It was indeed their leader, lying bloodied on the ground.

Footsteps crunched over fallen leaves. Su Yan strode into view, noticing how many of his allies were down or cornered. His eyes narrowed. "Seems I underestimated you," he said quietly. "No more."

Boom—!

A tremendous wave of Conqueror's Haki burst from Su Yan, rattling the ground and quaking the air around him. Purple arcs of energy crackled in all directions.

Seeing such force, Oración Seis readied themselves. From their intel, Su Yan was the Alliance's deadliest fighter—he'd once beaten a Ten Wizard Saint. They couldn't afford to drop their guard.

"It's one against six now. Think you can handle all of Oración Seis alone, 'Undead Demon Emperor'?" Cobra hissed.

Su Yan smirked, power radiating off him in dense waves. "Why not? You'll see soon enough."

Brain forced himself up. "Fall back!" he commanded abruptly.

"What?!" Cobra and the others were shocked. They clearly held the upper hand over most of the alliance. Why retreat?

But Brain had a plan. He quickly activated a hidden magic circle inscribed into the ground—a teleportation array.

"No! You're not escaping!" Su Yan roared. A whip-like manifestation of Haki lashed out. Hoteye hastily flung a massive wave of liquefied earth at Su Yan to block.

"Boom—!!"

Earth and Haki collided, tearing the ground apart. The swirling sand parted, but Oración Seis vanished. They had teleported away.

Thus, the initial clash ended abruptly: the Alliance Army battered, scattered across the clearing; Oración Seis gone with Brain's last-second retreat. Su Yan stood amid the devastation, fury and frustration simmering in his eyes.