'Fairy Tail' chapter 501 spoilers: Dimaria strikes Brandish down, seeks revenge on Lucy

After having been taunted to such levels of rage that allowed him to put Neinhart down with one punch, Natsu would've been in the best shape to defeat Brandish too – except that Brandish did not play fair, or so it seemed.

"Fairy Tail" chapter 501 titled "Mari and Randi," did not showcase a fight between Spriggan 12's Dimaria and Brandish as previously predicted. Instead, it showed the mass-manipulating mage bringing Natsu to his knees by enlarging the anti-ethernano tumor that she herself had shrunk in an earlier encounter.

The anti-ethernano tumor is the result of the abusive use of magic overtime. It is a malignant mass that can develop in any part of a Mage's body. When Natsu first developed this tumor, his heart stopped. Brandish helped revive him by using her magic to shrink the mass into a benign size. Natsu is the only known sufferer of this affliction.

Presently, Brandish grew the tumor back to its original size, claiming that she did it because she now viewed Natsu as a threat to her group. Afterwards, however, se was apparently beginning to doubt her own intentions. Lucy challenged her to a fight, demanding that if she won, Brandish would have to heal Natsu.

Brandish did not believe that Lucy was strong enough to defeat her but fought the insistent girl anyway. Lucy proved to be no match to Brandish's power, but her determination to fight for her friend's life was obviously starting to affect the Spriggan 12 member's decision.

However, Dimaria's arrival cut the battle short, calling the entire display "a farce" born out of Brandish's need to cover up her betrayal knowing that Dimaria was watching them from a distance.

She added that if Brandish had really intended on killing the enemies, she would have blown Natsu from the inside by enlarging his internal organs instead of just his tumor. Moreover, Brandish could've easily shrunk the feisty Lucy and squashed her under her foot.

Dimaria began advancing on Lucy, intending to use her Age Seal. But when Brandish got in her way, she unblinkingly slashed her traitorous ally with her knife. Turning her Age Seal on once again, she quickly brought Lucy down to the ground, stepped on her head and declared that Lucy's death would be "a slow and painful one." This served as punishment for corrupting Brandish's mind.

It is not clear whether or not Brandish is already dead. iTechpost speculated that since Juvia was previously revived, the same thing could happen to Brandish in the next chapter. Fans will have to wait for the next chapter to find out.

"Fairy Tail" is a long-running manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It has been published in weekly installments on the "Weekly Shounen Magazine" since 2006.