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Blades were sharp, Magic was swift.
Amidst the crisscrossing sword shadows, Jellal, who had used Meteor on himself, moved with leisurely steps. No matter how fast Erza's sword was, he could always be a little faster.
The sword array cut through the air with a rough whooshing sound. Watching Erza close in, Jellal followed the sword's trajectory and pointed a finger skyward.
Heavenly Body Magic: Three Stars!
Three shimmering Magic celestial bodies instantly appeared. Their power crushed the surrounding Heaven's Wheel Sword Array in an instant, spiraling in three directions toward Erza.
Erza hadn't expected her Magic sword array to be casually shattered by Jellal. Although she quickly retaliated by slashing one Magic celestial body, she was still caught off guard by the other two.
The powerful Magic sent Erza flying. The immense impact carried her, carving a gully in the ground, and even her Heaven's Wheel Armor shattered under the strain.
Getting up clumsily, Erza gasped for breath. She had never imagined that a full-powered Jellal would be so strong.
"Hehe~ Erza, now that you've witnessed my true power, how do you feel?"
With the cool effects of Heavenly Body Magic and his arrogant expression and tone, Jellal was now a living, breathing villain.
Unlike his embarrassment when he was ganged up on in Magnolia, Jellal, having dispelled his Thought Projection and recovered his full strength, saw his power surge! Explode! Intensify!
Jellal didn't believe anyone in the world, apart from Ten Wizard Saints-level powerhouses, could stop him.
Jellal's wild boasts only made Erza calmer. She used Requip to don her Black Wing Armor, pointing her Black Wing Sword at Jellal.
"So what if you're powerful?"
"What do you have left now, Jellal?"
Hearing this, the evil smile on Jellal's face instantly froze.
Just as Erza said, what did he have left now?
His former friends had chosen to leave because of his deception and manipulation. As for dark forces like Ultear or Oración Seis, they were merely using each other, with little genuine affection.
Jellal was now just a lonely man.
With nothing left, what use was "dark freedom"? What could resurrecting the Black Mage achieve?
Just as Jellal wavered, two lightning-fast thrusts aimed directly at his arms.
During the half-day on the island, Noah had introduced Heavenly Body Magic to Erza. This Magic required specific hand gestures to activate.
As long as his hands were incapacitated, no matter how powerful Jellal was, he wouldn't be able to use that formidable Heavenly Body Magic again.
However, the explosion of a Magic celestial body forced Erza's attack to stop. A Mage of Jellal's caliber had a perception of Magic beyond ordinary people—how could he be distracted and ignore the battle?
Erza leaped into the air, spinning forcefully. Stepping on the lingering fragments of the Magic celestial body, she swung her sword down at Jellal...
While Erza's battle was raging, the scene shifted, and Noah wasn't having an easy time either.
Of course, this wasn't referring to Noah, but to his Blasting Gauntlet.
Looking at the Blasting Gauntlet on his right hand, which had suddenly become old and worn after contact with Ultear's Magic, Noah's expression was grim. He hadn't expected that after only a brief skirmish with Ultear, the Blasting Gauntlet would end up like this.
The world of Magic was just that wondrous. No one could guarantee that some Magic that would cause a mishap wouldn't pop out from some obscure corner, just like Noah, who fought using Magic tools, encountering Ultear, who could manipulate the time of objects.
"I quite like this gauntlet. You owe me a new one."
Seeing Noah's sour face, Ultear found it amusing. He wasn't afraid of her Magic, but was instead demanding compensation for his Magic tool?
The white-clad young woman chuckled charmingly. "Little boy~, my Magic is called Arc of Time, a type of Lost Magic. You are not my opponent—give up."
Noah slowly took off his gauntlet, responding disdainfully to Ultear. "Arc of Time, Magic that can return an object's state to the past or push it into the future, but it doesn't work on living beings other than plants."
"Tsk, a Magic that can't be used on people. Look at how proud you are of it."
Ultear's eyes widened instantly. How was that possible! How could he know such details!!
The person who taught Ultear Arc of Time had once told her that in this world, no more than three people besides them could recognize this Magic.
Today, Ultear had met one, but her shock was due to Noah's age. A young man not yet twenty, yet he knew so much about her Magic.
Noah put the Blasting Gauntlet into his pocket. He really liked this Magic tool, but fighting Ultear would only make them retire early.
Seeing Ultear's hesitant expression, Noah said, "Don't look at me like that. Read more books, and you'll know too."
Noah didn't mean to mock Ultear. Among the books left by Fairy Tail's Second Guild Master, Precht, there was one that detailed Arc of Time.
"So what if you know my Magic's flaw?"
Ultear composed herself and smiled at Noah. "Little boy, why don't you just surrender honestly? Although Jellal said he'd tear you limb from limb, I'll leave you whole."
"Surrender? Surrender my ass."
Noah was very annoyed. Advising him to surrender was one thing, but calling him small was something a man couldn't tolerate.
Today, I, Noah, will show you how wild I am!
Almost instantly, Noah's figure appeared before Ultear. The startled Ultear barely dodged the dark punch, but the gust of wind it created stung her face.
After several flashes, Ultear distanced herself from the white-haired youth, her eyes fixed on the dark sheen that appeared on Noah's arms.
When Jellal was being ganged up on in Magnolia, she had noticed this power, called Armament Haki, which could greatly enhance defense and attack power.
At that time, Noah wasn't among those ganging up on Jellal, so Ultear had thought he didn't possess this power. She hadn't expected his control over this power to be no less than that of the Fairy Queen, Erza.
Ultear naturally saw that Noah intended to defeat her through hand-to-hand combat.
Arc of Time allowed Ultear to control the time of objects, even affecting activated Magic. When most Mages found it difficult to harm her, why would Ultear spend too much effort on hand-to-hand combat? This led to hand-to-hand combat becoming her weakness.
If they were on the continent, by manipulating plants to grow with Magic, Ultear was confident she could wear Noah down with a "kiting" strategy.
But here was just a small, barren island with not much space for maneuvering, and nothing much that could be affected by Arc of Time.
Thinking of Noah's fast movements and fierce punches just now, Ultear immediately stopped smiling. Given the speed the opponent had just displayed, her Magic would be very difficult to land on him.
Arc of Time was indeed very effective against Holder Mages, but Ultear's fighting style was also heavily countered by Noah's hand-to-hand combat.
Suddenly, Ultear wanted to swap opponents with Jellal, but Noah wouldn't give her the chance to speak.
Who swaps opponents before they're even down?
With a soft shout, a small pit broke open in the ground, and Noah, turning into a shadow, swiftly moved toward Ultear.