Laxus, at the center of the storm, could think, could see, and could even let out an unwilling roar, but he couldn't move an inch.
The rampant lightning around him was completely frozen in mid-air, unmoving.
Ryoma ignored his struggles, merely raising his hand, and a giant ice mirror quietly formed before him.
The mirror clearly reflected the scene above Magnolia Town.
The lightning lacrima, which had previously surrounded the entire city, now emitted a light significantly more dazzling than before.
The countdown for Thunder Palace's activation was now less than two minutes.
Destruction, it seemed, was almost upon them.
Laxus saw this scene through the ice mirror. He was stunned for a moment, then burst into even more arrogant laughter, his voice particularly grating in the frozen church.
"Hahahaha! See that, Ryoma! It's too late! Everything is too late!" He roared with the posture of a victor.
"What if you kill me now?! The Thunder Palace is about to activate! Those three hundred lacrima are all imbued with Organic Link Magic. To destroy them all at once, the attacker will suffer three hundred times the damage backlash."
"Even the Ten Wizard Saints can't withstand it. Soon, all of Magnolia will be buried with me. This decaying city, along with those weaklings, will turn into ruins!"
Laxus firmly believed he was invincible.
Ryoma merely watched him quietly, saying nothing, letting him vent his final madness. This made Laxus feel an inexplicable irritation.
Just then, the scene in the ice mirror suddenly shifted. The camera zoomed in rapidly, no longer a high-altitude panoramic view, but turning to various corners of the city.
In the square in front of Kardia Cathedral, Erza donned her Heaven's Wheel Armor, hundreds of long swords suspended in the air, their tips pointing straight at the sky.
Natsu was engulfed in soaring flames, and Gajeel's body transformed into hard steel.
On the city streets, Gray struck the starting pose for Ice-Make Magic, and Juvia's body turned into rushing water.
And Alzack, Bisca, Macao, Wakaba...
Every Fairy Tail member still able to fight stood at various locations in the city, fully unleashing all their magic without reservation, aiming at the lightning lacrima above their heads.
There was not the slightest hesitation on their faces.
Laxus's laughter abruptly stopped. He looked at the scene in the mirror in disbelief, unable to understand what these people were doing.
"Are... are they crazy?!"
The next second, in the ice mirror, hundreds of magic light pillars of various colors soared from all directions of the city, simultaneously blasting towards the lightning lacrima in the sky.
Boom!!!
Three hundred lacrimas were all detonated in an instant, and three hundred splendid flowers of destruction bloomed in the sky.
Before anyone could rejoice, the terrifying lightning backlash descended from the sky. Thick golden lightning bolts accurately struck each guild member who had launched an attack.
One familiar figure after another, after enduring the terrifying magic backlash, collapsed to the ground with black smoke rising from their bodies.
The Thunder Palace... was broken.
By the self-mutilation of all Fairy Tail members.
Laxus's mind went blank. He stared intently at the fallen figures in the ice mirror. The ecstasy of impending success was instantly replaced by an indescribable rage and humiliation.
His most proud plan, his supposedly foolproof ultimate trump card, was destroyed by the "weaklings" he despised the most, in the most foolish and direct way.
"Aaaahhhhh!"
Laxus let out a beast-like roar, his last shred of sanity burned away.
He used his last ounce of will to forcibly stir the immense magic power within him, and it actually caused his restrained body to tremble slightly.
A sacred and vast golden light began to seep from his body.
He was about to unleash that magic.
One of Fairy Tail's three Great Fairy Magics, Fairy Law.
"You are not worthy to use that magic."
Ryoma's cold words fell as he slowly extended a finger and lightly pointed it towards Laxus.
The ice butterflies that had merely been circling Laxus now revealed their most ferocious fangs.
Whoosh... Whoosh...
Hundreds of ice butterflies transformed into streaks of ice-blue light, no longer just circling, but truly launching an attack. They were no longer a cage, but had transformed into the cruelest instruments of torture.
It was as if countless extremely sharp scalpels were savagely cutting into Laxus's body.
Deep, bone-visible wounds continuously appeared on his body. Blood had just gushed out when it instantly froze into ice under the extreme cold, turning him into a bloody ice sculpture.
"AHHHHHHH!"
The intense pain instantly dispersed Laxus's gathered magic power, interrupting the casting of Fairy Law.
He continuously let out shrill screams, yet still gritted his teeth, attempting to re-gather his magic power, but the incessant, excruciating pain made it impossible for him to concentrate.
Ryoma looked at him expressionlessly and gently waved his hand. A soft white light descended, enveloping Laxus.
The terrifying wounds all over his body recovered rapidly at a visible rate, becoming as good as new in an instant.
Laxus gasped for breath, not yet having time to understand what had happened.
Ryoma waved his other hand, and more ice butterflies were born from the cold air, joining the storm of death. Their number was more than double what it was before. A denser, sharper storm of ice blades once again engulfed Laxus.
"Aaaahhhhhhh—!!!"
A scream ten times more miserable than before echoed throughout Kardia Cathedral.
Physical damage could be instantly healed, but the bone-deep pain and the mental torment of clearly feeling his body being torn apart and healed over and over again continued to stack.
Ryoma stood there, healing his body again and again, and tearing him apart again and again with deeper injuries.
Slowly eroding his proud will in an unending cycle of lucidity and agony.
After an unknown period, Laxus's wild roars slowly turned into intermittent wails, and finally, only helpless gasps remained.
Ryoma waved his hand, dispersing the storm of ice butterflies, and slowly walked to his front, looking down at the trembling man kneeling on the ground.
"A guild's strength has never come from who it removes." Ryoma's voice was calm but carried an undeniable power.
"It's because each and every one of us constantly grows stronger to protect our comrades. You even want to harm your family, you are the weakest one."
The words "the weakest" struck Laxus's last psychological defense like two invisible heavy hammers. He could no longer hold on, his body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.