Ruler of the Forest

"It's speaking to us through telepathy." Jellal commented.

"This isn't a good matchup for me. Their tree bodies don't feel pain…" Meredy sighed.

"I'll take out the leader first! That ent has to be the reason why these others are regenerating!" Jellal said. He crouched on the ground, and a bright yellow light began to glow from his body.

"Meteor!"

In a great burst of speed, Jellal leaped from his spot, flying as he dashed straight through several ents, their bodies exploding into splinters. He suddenly changed directions, heading straight towards the leader.

"While Jellal deals with the leader, we'll keep the others off him." Ultear said. Meliodas and Meredy nodded as they prepared to fight the swarm of incoming ents.

A wall of wood arose from the ground, right in Jellal's path. Jellal suddenly veered directions, dashing around the wall and again towards the ent.

Jellal rushed at the ent and swung his fist forward towards its head. To his surprise, it dodged Jellal's attack, leaning back just in time as his fist grazed its face, causing a small piece of wood to fall to the ground.

Suddenly, the ground underneath the ent erupted as large wooden roots shot out straight towards Jellal. Jellal flew around the roots, heading towards the ent once more.

"Futile!" The ent's words echoed loudly in Jellal's head. As Jellal got close, he raised his hand in front of him and formed a red magical circle. Roots branched out from the ent's body, ensnaring Jellal as he got close. The roots around Jellal began to tighten, and he could feel his magic draining, the magical circle he originally created dissipating in the process.

"Your bodies of flesh cannot hold up to my power!"

"Is that so?" Jellal said. The ent looked up in the sky as seven large magical circles were already in the air above it, taking the form of the big dipper constellation. The magic circles began to glow on the ground, mirroring the ones in the sky.

"Be judged by the seven stars! Grand Chariot!"

From the magic circles, large light blasts rained down on top of them. The ent looked up at the oncoming blasts and raised its left hand-like appendage.

"Mother Drasil."

The ground beneath them began to shake. Large roots began to sprout out of the ground as an enormous oak tree grew from behind the ent, towering over the other trees in the forest. The tree radiated magical power and had a light green aura surrounding it.The light blasts bombarded the top of the tree, creating many explosions that shook the area even more.

"Meteor!"

A burst of light emanated from Jellal's body followed by a large wave of magical power, breaking him free of the roots. He charged straight at the Ent, looking straight into its strange glowing eyes.

"Once again. Futile." The ent's voice echoed in Jellal's head. The ent ducked down, barely dodging Jellal's strike. It placed its hands on the ground, creating large roots that sprung up from the earth. Jellal immediately dashed back, flying to create some distance. As he hovered above the clearing, he could now comprehend the sheer size and power of the tree.

"Jellal! Are you okay?!" Ultear shouted. He looked down and noticed Ultear and Meredy standing back to back, attacking the ents coming after them wave after wave.

"That tree is making them stronger!" Meredy shouted.

"That's not the only problem." Jellal said as he descended down to Ultear and Meredy. "I believe that ent is able to read my mind somehow. It doesn't fully react to my speed but is able to predict where I will strike and what I will do."

Jellal looked around the area. There were still dozens of ents around them with the leader slowly approaching them. To his surprise, Meliodas wasn't there.

"Where's Meliodas?" Jellal asked.

"He was just here!" Meredy exclaimed as she looked around.

Meredy, Ultear, and Jellal stared at the massive tree in shock as they heard a loud cracking sound. From the base, the tree was split, leaving only the stump as the rest of it slowly fell down to the side.

The ent looked up in the air as Meliodas appeared, holding Gravity Core as he came crashing down onto the ent. The sheer force from Meliodas' attack with the weight of Gravity Core caused the ground to shake. Chunks of the earth were kicked up into giant shards and spread out from the spot Meliodas landed on. Ultear, Meredy and Jellal jumped into the air as a wave of solid ground swept through the clearing. Several trees bordering the clearing were uprooted as the ground was destroyed. The lesser ents' bodies were blown back by the shockwave, with some being buried underneath the rocks.

"Give us a warning first!" Ultear shouted as the three of them landed on the ground again. The smoke began to clear around the spot Meliodas landed onto. There they saw Meliodas' sword was almost completely buried in the ground, with only the handle and the base of the blade sticking out. Next to the sword was the head of the ent, its eyes still glowing a bright amber color. The rest of its body was nowhere to be seen.

"Sorry about that. Got a bit carried away. This is the first time I'm using a sword this heavy. I'm not quite used to it yet." Meliodas said lightheartedly.

"You!" The ent's voice echoed throughout the area. "I cannot see into your mind! What is the meaning of this!"

The ent's head began to float right in front of Meliodas. Roots began to shoot out from the bottom of its head, forming its body.

"Even the leader can regrow from injuries like that?!" Meredy questioned.

"No...something is different. The other ents are not coming back. It may have reached its magical limit." Jellal responded.

"You sacks of flesh who are a threat to my domain! I will destroy you all here!" The ent's angry voice roared loudly. Gravity Core, which was lodged into the ground, suddenly vanished. Meliodas raised his left arm up with his palm facing up. A black fireball with a purplish glow began to form in his hands.

"Black flames?" Meredy asked. "What kind of magic is that?"

"I've never seen something like that before." Ultear said.

"Hellblaze." Jellal said. Both Ultear and Meredy turned their attention to Jellal as he said the name. "I've seen him use it once before against Zero."

"RAGGGHHH!!!" The ent screamed. Meliodas threw the ball of black flames towards the ent's still forming body. Its body quickly began to disintegrate as the flames gradually grew stronger and burned hotter.

"You! These are no ordinary flames! You are no ordinary sack of flesh!" The ent screamed out, its head beginning to crumble and turn into ashes.

"It's...not regenerating?" Ultear commented. "That ent still has an ample amount of magical power left. Just what are those flames..."

Meliodas watched silently as the ent's body burned away, leaving a trace of nothing left, not even ashes.

"That turned out to be more of a hassle than expected." Meliodas commented.

"Meliodas, what were those flames?" Ultear asked. "I've witnessed the flames of both a Fire Dragon Slayer and a Fire God Slayer but those don't even compare to the sensation I felt coming from yours."

"Hellblaze." Meliodas responded. "They're flames that can stop regeneration."

"Then that means...you can kill immortals?" Ultear asked.

"Well...I don't know about killing someone who is truly immortal, but it will keep them from healing properly." Meliodas responded.

"I see...then maybe you're able to...no nevermind. Anyway, it's best we don't leave a trail of destruction in our wake so I'll repair the area with my magic before we go." Ultear said.

Ultear raised her right hand up and a green orb appeared in her palm. It began to glow brightly, and the surrounding rocks and trees that were destroyed from the previous fight began to reform, the very earth itself shifting as it was reverted to its previous state.

'Ultear...I know what you wanted to say. And you probably don't want to involve Meliodas in it any further. But I know you believe he may be capable of defeating Zeref…' Jellal thought as he silently watched her cast her Arc of Time to repair the surrounding area.