"Magic Light!!"
Jose slammed his palm down onto the ground.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
Streams of magical light burst from the earth, tearing through the arena floor as they surged straight toward Kaien.
Kaien casually clenched his fist and smashed it toward Jose's direction.
"————!"
CRACK CRACK—!!
The air shattered!
A powerful shockwave ripped through the ground, hurtling straight toward Jose.
The two massive forces collided head-on.
BOOOOOOM——————!!
A violent blast swept across the arena.
CRACK CRACK CRACK————!!
Cracks webbed across the entire coliseum floor.
"Uwahhh!!"
"Aaahhh!!"...
Both members of Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord shielded themselves with their arms or clung to the railings to avoid being flung away by the shockwave.
"YAAAHHHHH————!!"
Even the citizens who had just fled the stadium felt the ground rumble beneath them and screamed, fleeing even farther.
BOOM————!
Kaien burst out of the smoke, raising the Murakumogiri high and slashing down at Jose.
"Magic Shield!!"
Jose summoned a magical barrier in front of himself.
BOOM————!!
Kaien's blade struck the shield with explosive force, shattering the ground around them.
CRACK—!
A deep fracture split across the barrier.
"What?!"
Jose couldn't believe that his shield couldn't withstand the blow.
"Dark Stream!"
He immediately unleashed a barrage of black-violet beams.
Kaien swung the Murakumogiri, effortlessly deflecting every single one.
SWOOSH————!
He gripped the blade with both hands and unleashed a massive horizontal slash after charging it with force.
Jose quickly dodged.
CRACK————!!
Half the arena was sliced in two and flung into the air.
"AAAHHH—!!!"
Everyone from both Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord gawked at the sight, their jaws practically hitting the floor.
Jose's expression darkened. He had assumed this was just some punk. But this level of destructive power...
To think that Makarov had someone this strong under his command—it was unacceptable.
"Specter Soldiers!!"
Jose conjured a horde of shadowy soldiers, swarming toward Kaien. Just touching them could drain life energy.
HUMMMMM————!
Kaien clenched his fist, charging it up. A glowing, transparent white sphere—compressed with the power of vibrations—formed around it.
"—————!!"
CRACK CRACK————!!
The air itself shattered.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE————!!
The shockwave annihilated all the specter soldiers in its path and continued roaring toward Jose.
Jose's expression twisted as he hurriedly threw up another barrier.
CRACK————!
It shattered.
"GUAAAHHH!!"
Jose screamed as his body was launched back violently.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
"Master!!"
The members of Phantom Lord paled when they saw Jose go flying.
"Yes!!"
The members of Fairy Tail erupted into cheers.
Makarov was in utter disbelief.
'Is Kaien a monster?! That's a member of the Ten Wizard Saints, chosen by the Magic Council as the ten most powerful mages on the continent!'
'And Kaien is not just keeping up—he's completely dominating him! Has his strength already reached that level?'
'And he's improving so damn fast!!'
BOOM————!!
A surge of dark magic erupted skyward, scattering debris. Jose staggered to his feet, blood at the corner of his mouth. His body looked battered, but a terrifying aura of magic now radiated from him, sending shockwaves across the skies of Oshibana.
"You little brat... you've seriously pissed me off!!"
Jose glared at Kaien, fully unleashing his magic. His eyes turned pitch black, making him look like a demon from the depths.
He gathered immense dark energy in his palms, condensing it into a black-violet sphere.
"Death Storm!!!"
A devastating blast of dark energy surged toward Kaien.
Kaien gripped the Murakumogiri tightly.
HUMMMMM————!
A glowing white orb formed on the blade—channeling the power of the Gura Gura no Mi.
He brought the blade down on the incoming wave.
BOOOOOOM——————!!
A cataclysmic explosion detonated. Shockwaves spread in all directions, obliterating everything in their path.
Makarov instantly enlarged himself, shielding the guild members behind him.
Phantom Lord's members weren't so lucky—many were sent flying by the blast.
BOOOOM——————!!
CRACK CRACK CRACK————!
The already-crumbling coliseum finally collapsed entirely.
"Hahaha… hahahah… HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"You damned brat! That finally did it, right?! Hahahaha!!"
"See that?! That's what you get for messing with a Ten Wizard Saint!! HAHAHAHA!!"
Jose spread his arms wide and laughed maniacally. He'd finally destroyed that annoying brat. Just imagining Makarov's pain from losing someone so powerful gave him immense satisfaction.
Suddenly!
Kaien's voice echoed from the smoke:
"Hey! Hey! Don't jinx me by declaring me dead so soon! That's bad luck, y'know!"
"GAH————?!"
Jose's laughter stopped cold.
He turned toward the smoke.
A tall figure stood in the center of the blast zone.
As the haze cleared, Kaien stood there—completely unscathed.
Not a single scratch on him.
"No… NO WAY!! You took my strongest spell head-on and came out like THAT?! Impossible!! Absolutely impossible!!"
Jose's face contorted with disbelief and madness. Death Storm was his ultimate spell. No one had ever taken it and walked away unharmed—not even Makarov.
Kaien casually replied,
"Hmm… your spell packed a decent punch. I'll give you that. The Ten Wizard Saints do have some bite. But overall…? Eh, nothing special."
He spoke based on Whitebeard's memories. Jose's power was decent—maybe equivalent to a mid-tier Warlord of the Sea.
But Kaien had inherited the might of the strongest man in the world—Whitebeard.
The Fairy Tail members all looked speechless.
Jose, a Ten Wizard Saint, being called 'nothing special' by Kaien?
"You arrogant little punk!!"
"If I can't beat you in one strike, I'll try two! If two doesn't work, I'll try three! I don't believe I can't take you down!!"
Kaien calmly replied,
"No need for all that. One strike. The next one will end this."