"Raizel, where are the others?"
Happy flew over while carrying the unconscious Natsu.
Happy was always carrying heavy loads, but Natsu was particularly dead weight today!
Raizel's mouth twitched before he said, "This guy is still out cold... Let's have Wendy cast Troia on him later. Ultear is facing the leader, Kagura is dealing with the one with the venomous snake and Wendy is assisting."
He turned his attention to Racer, who was watching from a distance.
Racer was very confident in his so-called speed—or to put it bluntly, arrogant.
Even with Raizel added to the mix, he still believed he could win.
"Never mind that. Your earlier guess was correct. The speed has decreased, but it's your speed. His magic lowers your physical perception of time within a certain range. His actual speed isn't that fast."
Gray rubbed his chin and said, "I see. No wonder I kept feeling like I was facing Kagura's Gravity Magic."
Gray had found it strange earlier, and Raizel's explanation made him realize it immediately.
Even if Raizel hadn't mentioned it, he would have figured it out after fighting a bit longer.
Sagittarius nodded in agreement as well.
"Moshi, moshi. I understand."
Gray and Lucy discussed a battle plan: Gray would draw attention while Sagittarius provided long-range sniping support from outside Racer's effective range.
...
On the other side of the ruins, Erza had changed into her Robe of Yuen and was wielding a large guandao as she battled Midnight.
Erza had already discovered the characteristics, or rather the weaknesses, of Midnight's magic.
Midnight's magic was Reflector—a magic which could distort and reflect spells, and also create illusions by manipulating light refraction.
This created the visual illusion that magic would automatically bend around him, making him untouchable.
"Your magic is indeed powerful, but it has a serious flaw."
"Oh?" Midnight tilted his head slightly, his tone dismissive, as if waiting to see her perform a circus act.
Erza raised one finger. "First, your magic cannot distort the human body."
Midnight's pupils contracted sharply.
He truly hadn't expected Erza to discover this in such a short time.
Erza's Robe of Yuen was seemingly immobilized by Midnight's magic earlier, leaving her standing in place, yet she remained calm and composed.
SHING!
Nearly a hundred magical swords were summoned by Erza using her telekinesis, hovering above Midnight's head like a real Sword of Damocles hanging over him.
"NANII!" Panic finally appeared on Midnight's face.
There were too many—he couldn't possibly dodge them all, and he couldn't distort these physical weapons away if he was focusing on her armor.
Watching Midnight get struck down by the rain of steel, Erza continued.
"I noticed that while you were distorting my armor, you kept dodging my swords."
During the earlier battle, Midnight had indeed given Erza a lot of trouble.
However, she also realized that Midnight would actually evade attacks—he had previously sidestepped her thrown Swords.
This meant his magic wasn't omnipotent.
"Why didn't you just distort the sword's trajectory? No, it's not that you didn't want to, but the space you can distort is always limited to one area—either around yourself or around your enemy. So when you cast your distortion magic on me, you couldn't simultaneously maintain it around yourself."
"Moreover, this Robe of Yuen I'm wearing is actually flexible armor that can stretch and contract freely. Your magic is utterly useless against it."
As she spoke, Erza, who had been restrained, moved with ease once again.
Erza summoned her guandao once more, holding it inverted with one hand as she declared.
"With this armor included, that makes three weaknesses you've exposed."
"Damn it! I was so close!"
Midnight fell to his knees, fists clenched in fury as he pounded the stone floor.
"The outcome is decided now. I advise you to surrender peacefully."
"..."
"KEHAHAHAHAHA!"
Midnight, who had just been raging against the floor, suddenly burst into laughter.
Squinting his eyes with an air of triumph, Midnight proclaimed, "It's already midnight—too late. Had you fallen at my feet earlier, you could have drifted into peaceful slumber without witnessing the horror to come."
DONG—
A melodious bell toll echoed through the air.
"What's that? A bell?" Erza turned her head toward the source of the sound.
"That's the bell announcing the arrival of midnight," Midnight struggled to his feet, a sinister grin spreading across his face.
"This means... when midnight comes, my distortion reaches its ultimate state! Hahaha!"
A red magic circle appeared above his head as a grotesquely grinning Midnight began swelling with numerous bulges across his body.
His form grew abnormally large, transforming into a towering beast.
His pupils shifted into vertical red slits, and his teeth sharpened into shark-like fangs—he could no longer be called human.
"What in the world is this?"
Even the battle-hardened Erza had to treat the situation seriously, looking up at Midnight's transformed appearance.
"I can't be held responsible for the consequences!"
Midnight gathered a dark energy sphere between his hands and hurled it toward Erza.
The energy ball seemed small compared to Midnight's enlarged form, but Erza only realized its true destructive power as it approached her.
Fortunately, she dodged quickly enough.
BOOM!
The shockwave from the energy blast striking the stone floor affected Erza, pushing her back.
"What kind of magic is this? It's not Take Over Magic, yet it feels somewhat familiar..."
Midnight continuously conjured illusions of Fairy Tail members—Natsu, Gray, Lucy—to disrupt Erza's movements, forcing her to hesitate.
Erza had no choice but to cut down all these imposters.
"The midnight entertainment is about to begin."
"You've made me angry!"
Even though she was cutting down fakes, Erza was furious—she hated nothing more than someone using her family members as shields.
With a single slash, Erza tore through the sky.
CRACK!
The illusion shattered like glass.
The crimson monster, the red sky—all of it broke apart, transforming back into the dark night sky of the real world.
Another bell toll sounded, and by this time Midnight had returned to his original form on the ground, mouth agape and eyes bulging with utter disbelief.
He wasn't a monster, he had never transformed.
It was all a visual lie.
"How could my proud illusions be ineffective?" Midnight still couldn't believe it.
"Unfortunately, I've encountered Illusion Magic before."
The reason Erza discovered the truth so quickly was twofold: she had once battled Mystogan, who had used powerful illusions against her, though she eventually saw through them.
Second, the angry Erza no longer cared whether this was Midnight's illusion or not, nor did she care whether Midnight was human or ghost—she just wanted to unleash a full-force slash to vent her fury.
"How... how could this be? My power is the strongest..." Midnight, kneeling on both knees, trembled uncontrollably.
He looked up at the night sky, tears streaming down endlessly.
"I am the strongest of the Oración Seis, surpassing even my father. I won't lose to anyone. I am the strongest Mage."
"If you don't want to lose to anyone, you must first understand your own weaknesses, and always... treat others with kindness."
After saying this, Erza sheathed her blade and walked away without looking back.
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