Chapter 629 - 629: Mira's Wicked Tricks Leave Dimaria Squirming

Truthfully, Mirajane had never particularly liked her own magic.

When she was young, the demonic appearance brought about by her Take Over had caused the villagers to fear and reject her. Their hostility had even affected the lives of her younger brother and sister, making their childhood considerably more difficult than it should have been.

For years, she had struggled with the idea that her magic made her look like a monster.

And now this crazy woman was standing there, glaring at her with those enormous eyes and complaining that her magic was too beautiful?

Mirajane raised one of her transformed hands and examined its vicious demonic claws.

For a moment, she genuinely couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry.

Dimaria, however, had no intention of giving her time to think.

Her emotions were fluctuating wildly, and she raised her enormous blade before charging straight toward Mirajane.

The light of Age Seal spread outward from the path of her sword, threatening to engulf the entire battlefield.

"Mirajane-san, defend yourself!" Juvia shouted anxiously. "She's about to stop time again!"

Mirajane appeared not to hear her.

Instead, light gathered around her demonic claws, and she charged directly toward Dimaria without the slightest hesitation.

Both women seemed to have eyes only for each other. Neither bothered to retreat or consider what hidden abilities the other might possess as they rushed into the confrontation with reckless determination.

From Gajeel and Juvia's perspective, the exchange lasted barely an instant.

One moment, the two women were charging toward each other.

The next, they had already passed one another.

Clearly, something had happened inside Dimaria's time-stopping domain.

But the outcome was completely unexpected.

Mirajane remained standing, breathing heavily.

Dimaria, meanwhile, had dropped to one knee, her expression contorted with discomfort.

"Damn it…"

Dimaria pressed a hand against her chest, utterly bewildered by what had just happened.

A deep blush had spread across her face, temporarily overwhelming even the envy burning in her eyes.

When Dimaria activated Age Seal, she had naturally intended to strike Mirajane while her opponent was frozen in time.

It should have been effortless.

But just as she raised her sword, something strange happened.

Her senses abruptly became extraordinarily sensitive.

Even the faintest movement of the fabric against her skin produced an overwhelming, distracting sensation that robbed her limbs of their strength.

It was so intense that she had nearly lost the ability to swing her weapon.

Worse, she couldn't even maintain Age Seal.

"What a filthy ability…"

Dimaria's face was bright red.

She leaned heavily against her sword and forced herself upright, but the disturbing sensations continued interfering with her concentration.

Mirajane smiled sweetly.

"Why, thank you for the compliment."

Her expression was almost innocent.

"Actually, I got the idea from one of your former colleagues."

Dimaria froze.

Then realization struck.

"Larcade…"

Her teeth clenched.

"That bastard! He's dead, and he's still causing me trouble!"

Of course she knew what kind of magic Larcade possessed.

His abilities could exploit the most vulnerable moments of both men and women, overwhelming their senses and leaving them almost completely defenseless.

Once his opponents lost the ability to resist, defeating them became considerably easier.

And Mirajane had apparently taken inspiration from him.

Ever since her disastrous encounter with Age Seal on Tenrou Island, Mirajane had spent a great deal of time considering how to counter Dimaria's time-stopping ability.

She had never forgotten how helpless she'd been inside that domain.

For a long time, however, she couldn't find a satisfactory solution.

That changed after the battle against Tartaros.

Mirajane had acquired the soul of Kyôka, one of the Nine Demon Gates, gaining access to her Enhancement Curse.

Kyôka's ability could enhance her own physical capabilities, but it could also amplify an opponent's senses.

By dramatically increasing someone's sensitivity to pain and other physical sensations, she could make even minor injuries unbearable.

Kyôka had frequently employed this technique during interrogations, heightening her victims' senses until they could barely think straight, much less fight back.

The suffering and helplessness of her prisoners had been part of what she enjoyed about torture.

When Mirajane learned the full extent of this ability, an idea began taking shape.

Perhaps she didn't need to defend against Age Seal at all.

If she could prevent Dimaria from maintaining the spell, the result would be effectively the same.

After all, even someone capable of stopping time still needed enough concentration and strength to use that power.

Later, during the events in Elentear, Mirajane witnessed Larcade's peculiar techniques for weakening opponents by overwhelming their senses with pleasure.

That was when everything finally clicked.

Why waste all her effort defending against an unavoidable attack when she could make the attacker incapable of following through?

Rather than enduring an opponent's strongest ability, it was better to prevent them from using it effectively in the first place.

Mirajane's Enhancement Curse wasn't as direct as Larcade's pleasure-based magic, but she saw enormous potential in adapting its sensory amplification.

She enthusiastically began developing techniques designed to produce overwhelming waves of sensation.

Naturally, she didn't leave those theories untested.

Ankh had become her favorite experimental subject during their private evenings together.

Her newly developed techniques had proven surprisingly effective, allowing her to gain the upper hand on several occasions.

For a while, she'd even enjoyed a rather impressive winning streak.

Unfortunately, Ankh had a habit of turning the tables on her, and Mirajane usually ended up losing those private contests even more thoroughly than before.

Still, the research had been worthwhile.

And Dimaria was now experiencing the results firsthand.

Mirajane raised one clawed hand and smiled at the woman struggling to support herself with her sword.

"Your Age Seal isn't going to work anymore."

Her smile widened.

"How about we settle this with a proper fight instead?"

"Who the hell do you think I—"

Dimaria's body suddenly shuddered.

She staggered, almost dropping her sword.

After struggling to regain her composure, she managed to straighten up and shout more fiercely.

"I'm not going to lose to something like this! Age Se— Ahh!"

Her attempt to activate the spell collapsed halfway through.

Mirajane spread her hands helplessly.

"I already told you it wouldn't work."

Maintaining a domain that continuously consumed Magic Power was difficult enough under normal circumstances.

Trying to sustain one while her senses were being relentlessly overwhelmed was practically impossible.

Even if Dimaria somehow managed to regain her composure afterward, that wouldn't solve the underlying problem.

And for some reason, the technique seemed to be particularly effective against her.

Dimaria gritted her teeth and slammed her forehead against the ground.

The sharp impact helped her suppress the distracting sensations for a moment, allowing her to recover a little clarity.

Then she glanced angrily toward the three Divine Rings on her hand.

The rings represented Envy, Sloth, and Lust.

The Serpent Ring embodied Envy.

The Bear Ring embodied Sloth.

And the Sheep Ring embodied Lust.

The last of these was especially relevant to her current predicament.

The Lust Ring granted its wearer an almost perfect physical condition, considerably enhancing recovery, increasing the upper limit of their magical reserves, and even preserving their youthful appearance.

While equipped, it also greatly increased the wearer's attractiveness and seductive charm.

In some respects, its regenerative and appearance-preserving effects resembled the abilities granted by Tsunade's Yin Seal.

The ring was the reason Dimaria had been able to disregard many of the injuries she'd suffered during her battles.

Unfortunately, its advantages came with an equally troublesome drawback.

The Lust Ring greatly intensified certain physical desires.

Under normal circumstances, Dimaria might have been capable of managing those impulses.

But she had now encountered Mirajane, who had thoroughly studied Kyôka's sensory manipulation and taken inspiration from Larcade's techniques.

It was an almost perfect combination of circumstances.

Mirajane's Enhancement Curse had struck precisely the weakness that the Lust Ring was amplifying.

"AAAAH! DAMN IT!"

Dimaria's voice echoed through the dungeon.

One moment, she sounded overwhelmed by unwanted sensations.

The next, she was hurling vicious curses at Mirajane.

The rapid alternation between her reactions was so unsettling that even Mirajane felt a faint shiver run down her spine.

She decided it was time to end the confrontation.

Her smile remained gentle as the white claws on her hands lengthened.

Then she drove them deep into the ground.

"Sensory Enhancement: Pain Amplification!"

A sinister glow spread from Mirajane's claws.

"Electric Shock!"

The Enhancement Curse enveloped Dimaria.

The change was immediate.

The sensations that had previously overwhelmed her were abruptly replaced by pain.

Excruciating pain.

Her entire perception of the world seemed to turn against her.

The faintest breeze brushing against her skin felt unbearable.

The friction of her clothing became agony.

Blinking hurt.

Moving her fingers hurt.

Even the slight movement of her joints sent waves of pain through her body.

Every tiny, ordinary sensation that a person would normally ignore had become a source of torment.

And then the electrical current struck.

Blue-green lightning spread across Dimaria's body, intensifying the already amplified sensations until the pain became almost impossible to comprehend.

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Her screams rang through the dungeon, far more desperate and horrifying than anything she'd cried out before.

Anyone who heard them would have felt a chill down their spine.

Dimaria, who had been so terrifying only moments earlier, was now rolling helplessly across the floor, her body convulsing beneath the crackling electrical currents.

Her sword lay forgotten beside her.

Gajeel and Juvia sat off to one side, watching in stunned silence.

Neither made the slightest attempt to intervene.

They looked at Dimaria, whose overwhelming power had nearly killed them both.

Then they looked at Mirajane.

The white-haired mage stood nearby with a faintly satisfied expression and a bright, innocent smile.

Somehow, that smile was even more frightening than the demon claws on her hands.

Gajeel swallowed.

Juvia sat perfectly still.

In that moment, their respect for Mirajane—and their fear of ever making her angry—rose to an entirely new level.

Both reached the same conclusion.

No matter what happened, they must never, ever get on this woman's bad side.