Erza stood firm at the front, her massive magic circle held high above her like a shield. The enchanted circle, nearly twenty meters wide, glowed brightly as it bore the full brunt of Jose's dark purple magic torrent. It was like a reef standing strong against crashing waves, shielding everyone behind her.
The torrent of energy slammed into the armor's barrier, unleashing a blinding light, but it failed to break through. Though the ground to either side of Erza was torn apart, deep trenches gouged by the spiraling force, the area directly behind her was left untouched, raised half a foot higher than the rest.
Erza separated her shield and staggered back two steps. It was clear the spell had taken its toll on her, but she hadn't yielded.
The Phantom Lord members behind her stood in stunned silence. They hadn't died. Some dropped their weapons in disbelief, others collapsed to their knees, and more turned and fled the battlefield in a panic. Only a few Phantom Soldiers pressed forward.
Fairy Tail wanted to cheer for Erza's incredible defense, but Rhodes appeared suddenly and cut in.
"Finish off the remaining enemies! Prepare for the final battle!"
Natsu and Gray were present, but Mira and Happy hadn't surfaced yet.
"Understood!"
"Warren, get over here now!"
"On it!"
Warren rushed over and let Rhodes rest his hand on his shoulder.
"Sniper team, fire in salvos with stun rounds! Loke, move!"
"Summon, Blue Sentinel!" Rhodes gave a string of rapid commands. Two Sentinels materialized beside him. One followed Natsu, the other accompanied Gray and bolstered them with the buff.
"Cana! Let's go!"
The Sentinels placed buff atop the heads of the chosen fighters. The moment they felt the magical boost, they leapt into action.
Loke, arm freshly bandaged, stepped up behind Erza and lifted his ring. A brilliant beam of light shone from the gem and aimed directly at Jose's face.
"Hmph. Petty tricks," Jose sneered and raised his cloak to block the glare. He waved his other hand forward, sending a jagged bolt of purple lightning at Loke.
"Not so fast!" Erza lunged left and blocked the lightning with half of her shield, grunting from the force of the hit.
Simultaneously, the sniper team's barrage exploded around Jose, lighting up the battlefield, and Loke's ring intensified, dazzling the dark mage.
Then the assault trio made their move.
"Winds of Fate, Heavenly Lightning Blades!" Cana shouted, hurling six glowing cards. Three spun into massive scything wind blades, while the other three burst into thick arcs of crackling lightning and surged straight toward Jose.
"Ice-Make: Ice Cannon!"
Gray formed a cannon-shaped ice weapon on his arm, crouched into firing stance, and unleashed a focused ice shell that tore across the battlefield like a beam of light. The recoil sent him sliding back as the blast homed in on Jose's left flank.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!!"
Natsu stood tall, took a deep breath, and cupped his hands together into a tunnel. Using perfect form, he unleashed a massive, focused stream of fire from his mouth. The flames roared like a jet engine, forming a cone-shaped torrent of heat that scorched forward toward Jose's right side.
Jose's vision was blinded by the intense light, and the stun rounds disrupted his hearing, but he still reacted instantly.
With a flick, he released the cloak shielding his face. Then, stretching both arms forward, he sharply flung them outward. The two purple-black spheres of magic in his hands elongated like elastic bands into broad arcs.
"Arc of Darkness!"
Twin crescent waves of corrupt energy surged forward. Positioned higher on the ruins, Jose cast the attack diagonally downward.
The arcs collided with every incoming attack, slicing through Cana's wind blades, dispelling her thunder strikes, fracturing Gray's ice shell, and breaking apart Natsu's flaming breath.
But the energy didn't stop there. The crescent waves swept forward, unstoppable, like guillotines ready to split the battlefield itself.
Erza, standing firm, merged her twin shields once more. The tremendous force forced her back a step, sparks grinding beneath her armored boots. The summoned Sentinels shielding Natsu and Gray had their stone legs carved open with deep gashes nearly three inches deep.
"Elfman! Mira! Wakaba!" Rhodes' voice echoed mentally, carried directly to their minds.
"Smoke Shadow!" Wakaba puffed from his pipe, sending a basketball-sized cloud of thick, gray smoke hurtling toward Jose. The smoke expanded mid-air and wrapped around Jose's head, clouding his vision and ears again.
"Man!" Elfman charged in with two pounding strides, leaped over the front line, and mid-air activated Beast Soul: King of Beasts.
In a blur, he crossed the battlefield, landing with a ground-shaking stomp. In the next heartbeat, he lunged, slamming a boulder-sized fist toward Jose's face.
Jose raised a clawed hand, catching the fist, but his forearm visibly trembled under the force. The blow nearly buckled into his own face.
"Ridiculous brute strength…" Jose hissed, forcing a smile. "Let me repay you with the most exquisite pain, Dark Erosion!"
Darkness crawled from Jose's palm like a living serpent, slithering along Elfman's fist and rapidly creeping up his arm. Even after pulling away, the cursed energy continued clinging to him like a ghostly leech.
Elfman's expression twisted in pain.
Mira activated her Satan Soul.
Black demon wings erupted from her back, flaring with raw power before folding in tight. Her descent accelerated, her eyes locked onto her target.
Her fist, surrounded in crackling dark energy, came crashing down onto Jose's head.
There was no time for him to dodge. The blow connected cleanly.
The Holy Wizard was sent crashing headfirst into the ruins. The impact caved in the top of the debris pile, burying Jose deeper beneath stone and steel.
The cursed shadow magic infecting Elfman's arm vanished instantly, and Wakaba's lingering smoke cloud dispersed in the aftermath.
At that moment, the last of the Phantom Soldiers fell. The battlefield fell into momentary silence.
"…Alright—"
Someone began to shout, but Rhodes cut in sharply through the communication link.
"Mira, Elfman, fall back!"
"Everyone! Prepare barrage magic! Fire all explosive magic crystals—now!"
Mira grabbed Elfman by the arm and soared away as ordered.
Then came the storm.
Fireballs, freezing blasts, smoke bombs, enchanted wood, razor-sharp wind blades, chains of lightning, flying swords, black magic bullets, and enchanted detonation crystals.
A kaleidoscope of destruction rained down on the ruins like a magical apocalypse.
The crashing explosions and elemental fury lit the sky like fireworks. The highest part of the rubble was vaporized into a crater, and the remains of the Phantom Guild were reduced to dust.
A normal enemy would have been obliterated without a trace.
But Rhode didn't celebrate.
"All teams, stay in formation. Withdraw with caution and prepare for follow-up engagement!"
When the assault ceased, something began to stir in the epicenter of the crater.
A shimmering black-and-purple dome, a magical barrier, rose from the devastation.
Inside stood Jose, the Phantom Guild Master.
He was a wreck.
His long hair, once tied neatly, now hung in tangled strands across his forehead. A deep gash marked his brow, blood trickling down one side of his face. His lips were split, blood pooling at the corner of his mouth.
His once regal cloak and robes were shredded. Both arms were lacerated and covered in blood. His trousers were torn into uneven shorts, and one of his boots was missing. His legs were cut and bruised, barely holding his frame upright.
As the barrier faded, Jose hung limply for a moment. His head was bowed, his body hunched. Arms dangled at his sides like a marionette without strings.
Then came the sound.
"Heh… hehehe…"
His twisted laughter echoed from the pit.
When he looked up, his face was contorted with rage. His smile was monstrous.
"Well done… you little pests really did it, huh?"
A sickly aura of black-purple light coiled around Jose's body like living shadow. His magical pressure surged, so dense it distorted the air around him like heatwaves from a furnace.
It wasn't just magic. It felt like a swarm of evil spirits had been unleashed.
"Fairy Tail's little demons."
With a sudden bang, the earth beneath his feet cratered just from the force of his presence.
No spell. No motion. Just his killing intent.
Even those who had merely found him repulsive before now felt something else entirely.
Terror.
For mages with weaker magic power, like Lucy, dread gripped their hearts like a freezing vice..