The dark magic, mixed with the aura of death and despair, surged towards Ryoma like an invisible giant wave.
This was Jose's usual trick, to psychologically crush his opponent first.
The negative energy contained within could corrode the spirit of anyone with an unstable mind, causing them to collapse in fear and despair.
However, this oppressive force seemed to hit an invisible wall when it approached within three feet of Ryoma's body. All the dark aura and negative emotions were isolated by this thin barrier and dissipated into nothingness.
"The majesty of a Wizard Saint?"
A curve of extreme coldness appeared at the corner of Ryoma's lips.
"If your majesty is built upon bullying the weak and such disgusting tricks..."
"Then it truly is cheap."
The astonishment in Jose's eyes flashed, then was immediately replaced by endless fury.
This brat actually ignored his pressure and even dared to mock him?
Unforgivable!
"Very good!"
Jose laughed in extreme anger, his voice growing colder.
"Since you're in such a hurry to die, I'll grant your wish."
Ghost Soldiers!
He spread his hands, and the surging dark magic condensed into form behind him. Black soldiers without facial features emerged from the darkness, exuding an ominous aura, and swarmed towards Ryoma like a tide.
Jose waved his hands repeatedly, and dozens of dark magic bullets, condensed to their extreme, sealed all of Ryoma's escape routes from all directions at tricky angles.
He believed that even Makarov would need to temporarily avoid such a dense attack.
But Ryoma's figure vanished the instant the first ghost soldier was about to touch him.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
All the bullets missed, exploding into charred, deep pits on the ground.
And the tide-like ghost soldiers also missed, stopping in place, bewildered.
"What?!"
Jose's pupils constricted.
A sudden chill came from directly above him.
Jose abruptly looked up, only to see Ryoma, who had appeared in mid-air above him at some unknown point, looking down at him from above.
"Old man, you're not doing so well." A cold voice sounded.
An ice dragon claw, even more solid and massive than the one that struck Gajeel before, slammed down.
"Bastard!"
Jose reacted extremely quickly, and the dark magic around him instantly transformed into a thick shield, blocking in front of him.
Boom!
The Ice Dragon Claw and the Dark Shield collided fiercely, and the huge shockwave spread out, instantly shattering the dazed Phantom Soldiers on the ground.
Jose's body was pressed down by this immense force, and his feet sank deep into the ground.
But before he could even let out a sigh of relief, an even more dangerous sensation came from behind him.
Ryoma's figure had already vanished again and reappeared behind him, even before the dragon claw above his head dissipated.
A massive, visible cold air gathered in his hand, then transformed into a destructive, pure white beam of light, striking Jose's back at point-blank range.
Damn it!
Jose was horrified, but he had no time to turn around. He could only pour all his magic into defense.
Rumble!!!
The terrifying ice beam slammed into Jose's back, sending him flying like a cannonball, plowing a trench several tens of meters long on the ground before he stopped, disheveled.
The clothes on his back had completely vanished, his skin was covered with a layer of difficult-to-dispel frost, and wisps of cold air continuously invaded his body.
"Cough... Cough..."
Jose struggled to his feet, a solemn expression on his face.
This brat is too bizarre.
That teleportation magic had caught him somewhat off guard.
All his attacks missed, while the opponent could launch deadly attacks from any angle he least expected.
"I can't let him lead me by the nose any longer."
A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Jose's eyes.
If that was the case, then he would crush him with the purest, most absolute power. He would use his strongest magic to completely destroy this space, leaving that brat nowhere to jump.
"Brat! It's your honor to witness my strongest magic." Jose spread his arms and roared to the sky.
Boom!!!
A surge of magic power, more than ten times stronger than before, erupted from his body.
The night sky of the entire town seemed to grow darker. Dense dark energy materialized into a black storm, frantically gathering, rotating, and compressing above his head.
"Die! Repent in despair!"
"Dead Wave!!!"
Jose slammed his hands down, and the enormous dark energy orb transformed into a world-destroying black shockwave, violently striking Ryoma.
Everything in its path was disintegrated, devoured, and turned into nothingness.
Facing this world-shattering blow, Ryoma put away his composure, his expression becoming serious.
"This power indeed qualifies to make me a little serious."
He slowly raised his hands, and the ice-blue halo around him suddenly flared brightly.
Frost Domain!
In an instant, with Ryoma at the center, an absolute zero domain spread wildly outwards.
Jose's all-corroding dark magic visibly slowed down the moment it entered this domain.
Immediately after, Ryoma clasped his hands together.
Extreme Cold Torrent!
A torrent composed of the purest ice erupted.
Everywhere it passed, even time and space seemed to freeze and stand still.
The pitch-black Dead Wave and the pure white Extreme Cold Torrent collided violently in mid-air.
Black and white, devouring and freezing, two extreme forces fiercely eroded and canceled each other out!.
A massive black-and-white energy orb formed at the center of the collision and continuously expanded. Everything around was silently annihilated by the aftershocks of this power.
For a time, the two Wizard Saint-level powers were actually in a stalemate.
Veins bulged on Jose's face as he frantically squeezed out every last drop of magic power from his body, attempting to overwhelm his opponent.
At the same time, a cunning ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.
During the stalemate, he quietly split off a trace of his mind, controlling wisps of dark energy scattered from the previous battle. That wisp of energy silently condensed behind Ryoma into a sharp black venomous stinger, aimed at his back.
Die!
Just as the black venomous stinger was about to pierce Ryoma—
Ryoma's lips curled slightly upwards.
The black venomous stinger, already within reach, suddenly stopped in mid-air. Then, under Jose's horrified gaze, it instantly flew back at an even faster speed than it came.
Pfft!
Jose didn't even have time to react. His sneak attack fiercely pierced his own shoulder.
"Ugh!"
The intense pain and shock made his mind tremble, and his magic output momentarily stalled.
Now!
A cold light flashed in Ryoma's eyes.
"It's over."
The power of the Extreme Cold Torrent in his palm suddenly surged.
Boom!!!
The stalemate was instantly broken.
The pure white torrent of ice, with an unstoppable force, instantly devoured the retreating Dead Wave, then slammed violently into Jose's body.
"No—!!!"
Jose let out a roar of utter despair.
His dark magic defense on his body shattered like thin paper in an instant, and the coldness instantly invaded his limbs and bones, invading his source of magic.
Crack... Crunch...
Ice began to spread from within his body. His dark magic... everything was rapidly freezing at a terrifying speed.
In just a few moments, this arrogant Wizard Saint, the Guild Master of Phantom Lord, was completely frozen. The distorted expression of horror, unwillingness, and disbelief on his face was forever fixed.
Ryoma slowly walked to the ice sculpture, extended a hand, and gently placed it on the ice sculpture's forehead.
"As repayment for making me a little serious..."
"I'll take your time."
An invisible wave emanated from his palm, and the time possessed by the frozen Jose was ruthlessly and completely stripped away by Ryoma.