Ryoma looked at the deep blue square barrier that completely isolated him from the outside world. The faint smile on his lips did not disappear, but rather gained a hint of understanding.
He understood then that Jellal's subordinates hadn't failed to follow him, they were just waiting for an opportunity.
An opportunity to completely trap him, the biggest variable.
This barrier was a cage tailor-made for him. Its purpose was to allow the 'rats' outside to capture their true target—Erza—without restraint.
Just as Ryoma expected, the moment the barrier rose, the noisy atmosphere of the underground entertainment city was torn apart by several sudden thuds and screams.
Bang!
Bang!
Two figures burst out from the crowd almost simultaneously, launching a surprise attack with lightning speed.
A tall, burly man with metal armor on his chin delivered a heavy punch to the back of Natsu's neck, who was still struggling with a slot machine.
Natsu's eyes instantly rolled back, and he collapsed limply without even a groan.
"Natsu!"
Happy shrieked and was about to fly up when a man in a peculiar suit and a square top hat flashed in front of him, stunning and grabbing him.
Then Gray was struck by an invisible, immense force, flying horizontally and crashing heavily into a row of arcade machines, falling unconscious on the spot.
This sudden turn of events plunged the surrounding tourists into panic, with screams erupting everywhere.
"Ahh! What's happening!"
"Enemy attack! It's an enemy attack!"
A man in a waiter's suit suddenly appeared in the crowd, spreading his hands as countless cards flew out.
With a morbid excitement on his face, those innocent tourists scattering in fear were turned into light and absorbed into small cards wherever his cards passed.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of people were sealed, and the entire entertainment city descended into complete chaos.
"Stop!"
Erza's angry roar rang out, and just as she was about to Requip and step forward to stop them, a figure wrapped around her even faster.
"Erza, let's play."
A girl with cat-like features entangled Erza.
Millianna, using her specially made cat-shaped restraining ropes that could suppress magic, swiftly bound Lucy and Mirajane, who were beside Erza, tightly.
"Lucy!"
"Mira!"
Erza's face turned pale with shock.
Lucy and Mirajane were bound by the ropes, their magic power instantly suppressed, making it impossible to break free.
"Hehe, got you!"
Millianna let out an innocent laugh.
At this moment, Simon and Wally, who had just knocked down Natsu and Gray, slowly walked in front of Erza and stood with Shô and Millianna.
Simon, Wally, Shô, Millianna.
Four figures, too familiar to be unfamiliar, stood alive before Erza.
They were her childhood companions, companions she had once sworn to escape hell with.
Erza's body froze.
She looked at the bound, anxious Lucy and Mirajane, at the innocent civilians sealed into cards, and finally at these four former companions before her.
Their expressions, indifferent, playful, or innocent, were like sharp knives piercing her heart.
Why did it turn out like this?
Erza felt her mind go blank, as if all her strength had been drained, and she was utterly at a loss.
Inside the barrier, Ryoma's gaze fell on Jellal's Thought Projection in front of him, as if chatting with an old friend.
"I'm a little curious, how did you know I would come to this bar counter?"
Jellal, now with an air of composure as if he had everything under control, even tidied his collar and smiled leisurely, saying, "I didn't just set up a barrier in this one place."
"In every place in the entertainment city that might make you stop, like next to those arcade machines with seemingly high jackpots, or the viewing areas with the best views, I prepared the same gift."
His tone carried a hint of triumphant boasting. "How is it? Are you satisfied?"
Ryoma leaned forward slightly, the hand holding the wine glass not trembling at all.
"So, you went to such lengths to trap me."
"Was it all for Erza?"
He sat up straight again, but his original expression instantly became sharp.
"Aren't you being a bit too overconfident now? Do you think this barrier can trap me?"
Ryoma's voice wasn't loud, but it struck Jellal's heart like a heavy hammer.
He paused, then continued without waiting for an answer, his voice filled with undisguised contempt and mockery.
"Or do you think that you, a puppet clown manipulated by others, with a 'Ten Wizard Saints' title given to you by someone else, makes you feel that you can contend with me?"
"Puppet?"
"Clown?"
The smile on Jellal's face completely vanished, not a trace remaining, replaced by an icy gloom.
"You..."
Jellal stared intently at Ryoma, his voice becoming incredibly sinister, carrying suppressed killing intent.
"You've angered me a bit."
Ryoma scoffed, gently shook his head, and put down the wine glass.
"No."
"You just think too highly of yourself."
The moment his words fell—
Boom!!!
A terrifying, suffocating magic power erupted from Ryoma's body.
At the same time, Ryoma felt as if some shackles had been shattered, and a deeper, vaster torrent of power washed over his limbs and bones.
At this moment, he seemed to have stepped into a brand new level. The entire world in his perception became different.
The raging magic power did not condense into any form. Merely the pure release of energy caused the surrounding space to let out a mournful cry of unbearable strain.
Jellal's proud barrier was as fragile as a thin sheet of paper before this power. It didn't even require Ryoma to actively attack. The barrier's surface instantly became covered in spiderweb-like cracks, then with a "crack," it completely shattered.
Jellal's Thought Projection's face was filled with incredulous horror. He tried to cast magic but found that his body couldn't even move a finger in this magic storm.
The raging torrent of magic power merely swept lightly, and Jellal's Thought Projection was like ice and snow scorched by the blazing sun, completely shredded into countless specks of light, dissipating without a trace.
Ryoma slowly stood up, looking at the messy bar area, and slowly raised his hand, activating Space-Time Magic.
Buzz—
An invisible ripple spread outwards from him.
Time around him began to flow backward. Tables and chairs overturned by the magic storm returned to their original positions, broken wine glasses became whole again, and spilled wine on the floor rolled back, refilling the glasses.
Except for Jellal's Thought Projection, which had just been shredded, everything returned to the state it was in before the barrier opened.
Ryoma still sat on the bar stool, holding the freshly mixed drink in his hand.