I Can Copy Curses

Zeref's eyes widened as she saw the green sphere hurtling toward her, faster than she expected. Her confidence didn't waver, though, and she prepared to meet it head-on, her fist glowing with intense blue energy.

But before her punch could connect, the green sphere detonated in a violent explosion of wind.

Boom!

The force of the blast was so overwhelming that Zeref was sent flying at incredible speed, her body tumbling uncontrollably through the air. Shock filled her eyes as she realized how powerful the attack was.

Orion wasted no time. He saw the opening and immediately surged forward, closing the distance in a blink. Before Zeref could recover or stabilize herself, Orion appeared behind her like a phantom. His sword, enveloped in a raging tempest of compressed wind, cut through the air as he swung it toward her, aiming to finish the fight.

Just before his sword could land, a massive wave of ice burst forth from Zeref's back. The icy surge spread rapidly, freezing Orion and everything in its path, encasing nearly an entire section of the city in thick, glittering ice. The temperature plummeted in an instant, and the other participants watching from the sky gasped in disbelief as the city below became a frozen wasteland.

Orion, now frozen solid mid-attack, was trapped in the ice along with everything around him. The air hung heavy with the cold, and the sight of nearly a whole district encased in ice left everyone stunned.

"Who is she? Is she this Zeref person? She's too strong!"

"I don't know, but her strength is enough to be in the top 100 seats of chosen geniuses."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"I've never heard of her. It's my first time seeing anyone named Zeref. She's ridiculously powerful."

"She just froze part of a city on her own. I bet she's hiding her identity and is from either the Hunter Association or Federation Council. I'm sure of it."

"And the guy she's fighting is no joke either. He sent her flying, but it looks like he underestimated her."

The participants watching were shocked and began whispering among themselves as they observed Zeref freeze part of the city. Her strength was too overwhelming to go unnoticed.

"Oh, I lost control of my other abilities," Zeref chuckled, looking at the frozen Orion.

She stared at him for a moment before shouting, "Come on, I know you can break out of that!"

As she spoke, the ice encasing Orion shattered, replaced by a raging wind. The frozen shards were swept into the storm.

Orion waved his hand, dispelling the storm. "You said your talent was Absolute Counter," he said, looking at her. "Where did the ice come from?"

Zeref smiled, seeing Orion unharmed. "That's my other talent. I was born with two talents."

"Two talents?" Orion frowned. He had copied her curse during their first clash and had only obtained one curse, Eternal Backlash. There had been no option to copy any ice-related ability.

This defied normal understanding. First, there was Mark, who could extract any talent but whose curse Orion couldn't copy. Now, Zeref had two talents, one being Absolute Counter with Eternal Backlash curse, and the other an ice ability which had a curse Orion couldn't copy.

'Strange... or rather, mysterious,' Orion thought.

He realized Zeref was an enigma. She somehow knew about his and Mark's extraordinary strength, possessed two talents, and yet only had one curse. Her mystery deepened.

"We'll continue our fight later, at the very end," Orion said, glancing around. "Everyone's watching our fight instead of eliminating each other. How about we meet again at the end?"

Zeref nodded. "I was thinking the same. A battle between the two strongest to finish the final assessment—wouldn't that be awesome?"

Orion smiled. "Alright, see you then." He said before flying in the direction where he had spotted Tracy.

"The more I fight you, the more I feel my assumptions about you are correct..." Zeref muttered to herself as she watched Orion leave.

***

"Hey, how have you been?" Orion asked, appearing in front of Tracy.

"I'm fine, brother," Tracy said, smiling. "There were some tough opponents, but I defeated them all."

Orion nodded. "Let's talk somewhere else," he said, noticing the many people eying them.

He grabbed her hand, and they disappeared.

***

Some time later, they flew toward a building and entered it. Inside, Erza was waiting for them.

"How did you know I was here?" Erza asked curiously as they entered.

Orion shrugged. "I'm a genius—I know everything."

Erza smirked. "A genius hiding his strength."

Orion sighed. "What can I do? I just didn't want the attention back then."

"Brother, what are we going to do now?" Tracy asked.

"We'll wait," Orion replied. "With so many people in this city, chaos and fights are bound to happen. We'll wait until the number drops to 200. I'm sure there will be an announcement then."

He turned to Erza. "You came to this building with the same plan, right?"

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Erza nodded. "This building has an underground basement. I was waiting here but then heard the chaos from your fight with Zeref."

"Let's go," Tracy said. "We should enter the basement before anyone notices us."

"You two go ahead," Orion said. "I have a guest to deal with." He looked in the direction where a figure was flying toward them.

"That's Mark," Erza said with a frown.

"Go. I'll handle him," Orion told her.

Erza nodded and turned to Tracy. "Let's go."

Tracy gave Orion a worried look before leaving with Erza.

Orion smiled as they left and walked into a room with chairs and sofas. He sat on the sofa.

Sometime later, Mark entered through the broken window and appeared before Orion.

"We need to talk," Mark said solemnly, looking at Orion.

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