As the glow of her re-equip magic faded, Erza stood clad in armor she had never worn before in battle.
It resembled a Japanese-style hakama with loose, flowing sleeves and pants, tied with bandages.
It lacked the heavy metal plating of her usual sets, looking more like ceremonial robes than armor.
Midnight, floating cross-legged on his carpet, licked his lips.
He revealed a twisted, confident smile.
"Didn't I tell you? My Magic can twist anything, no matter what equipment you wear! Light, space, metal... it all bends to my will."
Erza raised her hand.
Shing!
A massive, serrated Zhanmadao (Horse-Chopping Saber) materialized in her grip.
Pointing the heavy blade at her opponent, she coldly declared.
"Just try it."
Whoosh!
Instantly, Erza vanished from her position.
Abandoning heavy armor for pure agility, she moved faster than before.
In the blink of an eye, she closed the distance on Midnight, swinging her blade with the force of a thunderbolt.
Slash!
A flash of silver light cut through the air.
However, just as the blade was about to connect, its trajectory warped.
The gleam seemed refracted in space like a straw in a glass of water.
Though it clearly struck toward Midnight, the force was redirected.
CRASH!
It only damaged the stone pillars on both sides of him, leaving Midnight completely unscathed in the center.
"I told you, it's useless... cough!!"
Before Midnight could finish his arrogant taunt, Erza had already adapted.
She retracted her blade the moment she felt the resistance, twisted her body mid-air using the momentum, and followed up with a powerful, magic-infused palm strike aimed squarely at Midnight's chest.
Bam!
This time, the distortion that had deflected her weapon did not occur.
Erza's palm landed solid.
The force sent Midnight flying off his carpet, slamming him hard into the wall behind him and blasting a large crater into the stone.
"Gah!"
Clutching his chest in disbelief, Midnight gasped, sliding down the wall.
"How is this possible? How did you hit me?!"
Erza landed gracefully. She raised two fingers, her sharp eyes radiating confidence.
"Your Magic is formidable, but it has two weaknesses."
"First," Erza explained, "it cannot directly distort the human body. Otherwise, in our previous battle just now, you would have twisted my limbs apart instantly instead of controlling me by distorting my armor."
Midnight's face darkened.
He stretched out his hand and activated his Magic again, screaming in rage.
"So what if you know?! Even if I can't distort your body, I can still strangle you with your own battle attire! Twist!"
Erza's robe twisted violently, constricting her limbs.
"Die!" Midnight screamed wildly.
But Erza, facing him, showed none of the expected agony.
The fabric stretched, but didn't crush her.
"And that is the second weakness."
Erza activated her Magic. A crimson magic circle abruptly materialized above Midnight's head while he was focused on strangling her.
"Bluewing!"
In an instant, over a hundred swords appeared, raining down blade-first toward Midnight's skull.
"What?!"
Terrified, Midnight stared at the descending sword rain.
He scrambled frantically to evade, rolling away.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
He managed to dodge the fatal blows, but was still struck by numerous blades, sustaining cuts on his arms and legs.
"During our previous fight," Erza continued, walking forward, "you never used your Magic to distort my armor and evade damage simultaneously. I tested this earlier with my palm strike, and it's clear."
Erza looked down at him with the demeanor of a victor and stated, "Your Magic can only distort one target area at a time—either yourself for defense, or your opponent for offense. You cannot do both perfectly."
"As for this."
Erza glanced down at the robe constricting her like a tightly wrapped bundle.
She flexed her arms slightly.
Snap!
The armor, like highly elastic rubber, snapped back to its original form with a "twang," completely unharmed by the torsion.
"This attire I wear is called the Robe of Yuen," Erza revealed. "It is a battle suit with extreme flexibility and elasticity. It bends, but never breaks. So your twisting Magic is useless against me now!"
Struggling to his feet, bleeding and humiliated, Midnight let out an enraged roar.
"Damn it! Then taste this!"
He raised his hands.
"Midnight Illusion!"
In an instant, the world seemed dyed crimson.
The cave walls melted away.
Midnight's body began to mutate, gradually transforming into a grotesque monster—larger in size, with multiple heads and eyes, towering over Erza.
"You abandoned your comrades at the Tower of Heaven! You ran away for eight years while we suffered! You coward!"
Midnight's voice echoed from everywhere, taunting Erza, disturbing her focus.
The monster before her pummeled Erza with repeated blows, forcing her to retreat step by step.
Smash! Smash!
Visions of her distant comrades dying flashed before her eyes.
Natsu... Lucy... Gray... even Ankh... all lay fallen in pools of blood.
"It's all your fault!" Erza gritted her teeth.
'No. This isn't real.'
'My friends are strong.'
Erza's right prosthetic eye snapped open—the eye that could see through illusions.
The silver light around her greatsword flickered once more.
"Dispel!"
She unleashed a slash that seemed capable of tearing through space itself toward the monster before her.
SLASH!
The monster was cleaved in two.
The so-called crimson sky dissipated like smoke. The scene of her fallen comrades faded away into nothingness.
Returning to reality, they were still in the underground cavern.
Only Midnight remained, kneeling on the ground with tear-filled eyes, completely broken.
There was no monster, only a frightened boy.
"Why..." Midnight roared, clutching his head. "Even my proud illusion magic..."
"I clearly... am a Mage who surpassed my father! I am the strongest of Oración Seis..."
Erza sheathed her sword. She gazed firmly but not unkindly at the defeated Midnight before her.
"If you had steadfastly used your distortion magic in battle, you might have stood a chance. But illusion magic... falsehoods will always be falsehoods."
"No matter how ferocious and terrifying you appear," Erza stated, "your actual strength cannot deceive anyone. True strength comes from the heart, not from fear."
With tears streaming down his face, Midnight collapsed to the ground.
"My only wish... was to have a peaceful night's sleep..." he muttered deliriously.
His eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.
Midnight, one of the Oración Seis and among their upper echelon in strength, had been defeated.
Erza let out a long sigh of relief.
She sat down on a rock to catch her breath.
Just as she was about to leave to find the others, a somewhat familiar voice suddenly echoed in her mind.
"Hey hey hey! Is anyone there? Can you hear me? Please respond!"
Hibiki?
Erza immediately recognized it as the Archive Magic used for telepathy, similar to Warren's magic.
She quickly responded in her thoughts.
"This is Erza. I can hear you, Hibiki."
"Oh! Miss Erza! It's such a relief to hear your voice! Are you alright?"
Erza glanced at the unconscious Midnight on the ground.
"I'm fine. I encountered Midnight of Oración Seis... and have defeated him."
Hibiki's voice carried genuine surprise and awe:
"Really? You took down the sleeper? As expected of Titania! On our end... we've managed to take down one of the Oración Seis as well—Hoteye has defected to our side."
"But Ren, Eve, and Sherry have lost their combat abilities. My condition isn't great either, though Ichiya and Jura are fine."
"Eh? You've all defeated members of Oración Seis?"
Through the telepathic link, an anxious, rough voice cut in.
Erza immediately recognized it.
"Natsu?" she asked. "What about your situation?"
"Gray, Lyon, and I ran into two of the Oración Seis," Natsu reported, panting heavily. "Racer and Cobra are here together. We... we handled them quickly... mostly."
Two? Three against two, that's somewhat risky... especially with Cobra's hearing.
After a moment's thought, Erza immediately commanded.
"Hibiki, guide me. Let's regroup with Natsu."
"Um... Erza... Wendy and I might need some support too."
Lucy's familiar timid tone came through the telepathic "channel."
Erza felt both surprised and relieved to hear her voice.
"Lucy? Where are you and Wendy?"
"We're... I think we're at the center. We see the big crystal."
...
Meanwhile, at the center of Nirvana city.
Lucy, blessed with the dubious "luck" of a female protagonist, had been wandering aimlessly with Wendy and Carla... and unexpectedly became the first to stumble upon Oración Seis' base of operations.
Unfortunately, they were quickly discovered.
Carla pulled Wendy along while Lucy swung her arms wildly as they fled through the corridors, with Brain (who had recovered slightly) and Angel hot on their heels.
"Damn members of the light guild! Since you dared to come here, die where you stand!" Brain roared, firing green blasts.
"No way!!!"
Lucy let out a sharp scream, summoning Virgo to dig a hole to cover their escape.
Erza immediately furrowed her brow upon hearing the chaos.
'Damn it.'
'Of all people, Lucy and Wendy were the ones who encountered the leader of Oración Seis.'
"Natsu," Erza called out. "Can you all—"
"We can!" That was Lyon's voice, determined.
Gray added calmly, though strained, "Go save those two, Erza. We'll handle these guys here."
...
On the distant battlefield...
Natsu's face was tinged with purple—a clear sign of Cobra's poison.
Beside him, both Gray and Lyon were covered in wounds from Racer's speed attacks.
They were barely standing.
But Natsu tugged at his scarf.
Beneath it, the Dragon Gem necklace given by Ankh was gradually growing hotter, pulsing with red light.
"Go save Lucy and the others, Erza!" Natsu shouted into the link.
He slammed his fists together heavily.
FWOOSH!
His previously pale face began to flush red as power surged back into him.
Fine dragon scales started emerging around the corners of his eyes!
"We'll quickly take down these two and catch up with you! I'm all fired up!"
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator