Zed recognized the white-haired girl instantly—Mirajane Strauss, the iconic Fairy Tail wizard. Her crimson guild mark and ethereal presence were unmistakable, though he kept this realization to himself.
Mirajane staggered back as Tatsu's serpentine head loomed into view. Moments ago, she'd been at Fairy Tail's front desk; now, fleshy, pulsating walls surrounded her. "I'm Mirajane Strauss, a wizard of Fairy Tail. Where… is this?"
"Magic? Then you're not from this world," Erina concluded, exchanging a glance with Hisako. Here, Gourmet Cells ruled supreme—no room for spells or guilds.
"Tatsu, bring her. Erina, Hisako—fill her in." Zed's voice sharpened as he sensed a new threat: a GT Robot far stronger than the others, likely piloted by Starjun.
The Devil Serpent's tail coiled around Mirajane, lifting her onto its back. As they sped through the labyrinth, Erina and Hisako hastily explained: parallel worlds, Gourmet Cells, and their own displacement.
"Another world…" Mirajane's breath hitched. "If I'm here, then Lisanna—"
Her sister's disappearance years ago—no body, no trace—flooded her mind. Could she be alive… somewhere?
Zed overheard but said nothing. Lisanna's fate in her world was a tangled tale, but this wasn't the time.
A thunderous CRASH ruptured the flesh-walled corridor. Sunny burst through, pursued by a GT Robot—its armor scorched but functional.
"Zed! Toriko's pinned by a monster GT Robot! Help him!"
"Tatsu, assist Sunny. I'll handle the other."
The Devil Serpent lunged, venom spraying as Zed vanished into the maze's glow.
Zed vanished from Tatsu's back in a blur, his Gourmet Cells propelling him faster than the eye could track. The Devil Serpent surged toward Sunny's foe, its obsidian claws slicing the air like scythes.
The GT Robot barely registered the attack before its torso split into molten shards. "What… is that?!" it rasped, collapsing into a smoldering heap.
"Humans being overpowered is one thing, but a pet?!" Sunny muttered, staring at Tatsu. He'd fought this GT Robot evenly moments ago—yet the newborn mutant had obliterated it in one strike. The sting of inadequacy gnawed at him.
Toriko lay crumpled, blood pooling beneath him. The GT Robot piloted by Starjun loomed, its plasma cannon charging. Desperate, Toriko triggered Self-Eating—a last-resort gambit where his Gourmet Demon devoured his flesh to unleash explosive power.
Before the technique fully ignited, Zed's fist collided with the GT Robot's core. A shockwave rippled outward, shredding the machine's armor. The core detonated in a cascade of sparks, reducing the robot to scrap.
Starjun's holographic interface flickered. "Disconnected… Who is this?!"
In Bishokukai's main control room, Joejoe scrambled at his command. "Cross-referencing IGO's roster… Identity confirmed: Zed. Former IGO agent, now independent. Threat level… unmeasurable."Mirajane watched the chaos, her magic instincts clashing with this world's logic.
--
"Your friend… he's not human, is he?"
Erina shook her head. "Gourmet Cells. They rewrite biology. Zed's just… more."
As Tatsu returned, Mirajane's gaze lingered on Zed. If her sister Lisanna was out there—in this world or another—she'd need allies like him.