Mirajane's fist shattered the barrier and drove straight toward Jose's face.
"Die, you old bastard!"
Jose released his magic, a magic circle manifesting to generate a spiral of dark energy to protect himself.
[Dark Helix]
She halted her attack and retreated to dodge Jose's counter, simultaneously condensing dark magic in both hands to fire several black energy bolts while manipulating rubble to shoot toward Jose.
Jose waved his hands to gather magic, compressing dark energy into bullet-like projectiles to shoot down the rubble and energy bolts.
Stone ridges stabbed at Jose from all directions. Simultaneously, Mirajane slammed both hands onto the ground; earthy-yellow magic surged as several stone pillars rose from the earth and smashed toward Jose.
[Earth Splitter]
Just as Jose intended to release magic to block the attack again, a stone ridge erupted from beneath his feet, causing him to stumble and interrupting his spellcasting.
Rumble~
The stone pillars slammed into Jose, sending him flying back and crashing into the wall.
"Ah!"
[Despair]
Jose endured the damage to release magic, shattering all the approaching stone ridges.
Mirajane didn't want to let this opportunity slip by. With one hand, she manipulated the ground to surge with continuous stone waves, while the other hand condensed dark magic for a cannon-like bombardment.
[Demon Blast]
"It seems you old ghost really have aged."
At the same time, her figure blurred as she rushed at Jose, her fist carrying the interwoven power of dark magic and earthy-yellow magic, punching straight at Jose's face.
Jose was left in a sorry state by the continuous attacks, his initial elegant appearance nowhere to be found.
However, his gaze grew increasingly gloomy, and dark purple magic churned within his body, making him appear even more dangerous.
"Little girl..."
Jose's low voice drifted out from the pile of rubble. The dark purple magic suddenly exploded in intensity, and a terrifying pressure swept out from him, forcibly pushing back the approaching stone waves and energy bolts.
The rubble turned to dust, and the very air trembled.
"I am one of the Ten Wizard Saints!"
He flung his arms open, dark purple magic condensing in his palms. Countless distorted faces manifested in the air, letting out shrill screeches.
Those were the ghosts he dominated, now taking shape under his summon.
[Ghost Army]
Mirajane felt the surrounding air turn bone-chillingly cold, an ominous premonition welling up in her heart.
The ground beneath her feet suddenly rose, forming a stone wall in front of her, while black demon wings unfurled from her back, ready to take flight at any moment.
But countless translucent ghosts swarmed from all directions, passing through the stone wall and reaching out with withered arms to grab her body.
"What?!"
Mirajane hastily flapped her wings to retreat, but there were too many ghosts, flanking her from every angle as if they had a mind of their own. A withered hand brushed across her left arm; the icy death energy turned her skin purple instantly, and blood seeped out.
"Do you think my title as the Phantom Lord is just for show?" Jose stood up from the rubble, dark purple magic flowing around him.
He looked coldly at Mirajane, a cruel smile curling on his lips. "I dominate tens of thousands of ghosts; every single one is my eyes, ears, and weapon. Can you finish them all?"
Mirajane glanced down at the wound on her left arm. Emerald-green magic surged at the injury, and the wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, her purple skin returning to its normal color.
"So what if I can't?" A smile tugged at the corner of Mirajane's mouth, her crimson eyes flashing with demonic light. "I have all the time in the world to wear you down."
She slammed both hands onto the ground, and earthy-yellow magic flooded frantically into the earth, causing the entire room's floor to vibrate violently.
[Wrath of the Earth]
Countless stone spikes erupted from the ground, piercing through all the surrounding ghosts.
The ghosts that were struck let out shrill screams and dissipated into black smoke.
Mirajane took the opportunity to rush at Jose, her fist wrapped in dark magic, punching straight for Jose's chest.
Jose condensed dark purple magic with both hands, forming a shield to block Mirajane's fist.
But Mirajane's punch was incredibly heavy; cracks appeared on the shield the moment they collided.
"What?!" Jose's expression changed.
Mirajane gave him no breathing room. Her left fist followed immediately after, carrying earthy-yellow magic as it smashed into the shield, which shattered completely.
She then pivoted and kicked toward Jose's waist. Jose hurriedly blocked with his arm, but the immense force still sent him stumbling back several steps.
"Old ghost, your Ghost Army does have some tricks."
Mirajane shook her hand, a smile playing on her lips. "But did you think that would be enough to beat me?"
Jose stabilized himself, the dark purple magic surging around him once more. He looked coldly at Mirajane, his gaze sweeping over the completely healed wound on her left arm and then at the black demon wings on her back, his face darkening.
"Your injury... it's healed?"
Jose truly hadn't expected that Riyao's healing ability could be applied to others in such a manner.
"What, surprised?"
Mirajane flexed her left arm, her demon wings flapping gently.
"The Earth Magic and High-Speed Recovery Riyao gave me, combined with my own demon power—how do you like this setup?"
Jose's expression became even more unsightly. High-Speed Recovery plus demon power meant Mirajane could not only continuously heal her wounds but also possessed powerful melee capabilities and dark magic.
How was he supposed to fight this?
"Hmph, anyone can talk big." Jose wiped the blood from his face, his dark purple magic exploding again.
"I admit, you are much stronger than I imagined. In this state, you truly have the capital to compete with a Wizard Saint."
He paused, his gloomy gaze sweeping over the black-and-gold battle dress on Mirajane's body, his voice turning cold: "But magic consumption goes both ways. How long can you last? I still have plenty of magic left."
Mirajane's expression shifted slightly.
Riyao's voice echoed in her mind: "In Magnolia, you don't need to worry about consumption issues."
Mirajane's gaze became resolute once more.
"Then you don't need to worry."
Her voice turned cold as both the earthy-yellow magic and dark magic flared up simultaneously, the rubble beneath her feet being crushed into powder by the pressure. [Enchantment Magic: Total Enhancement]
The earthy-yellow magic condensed into a thin layer of rock armor over Mirajane's body, covering the surface of her battle dress, while dark magic flowed over the armor's surface, forming a black energy shield.
Her presence climbed to its peak in an instant, and her demon wings unfurled, wider than before.
Jose also erupted with a terrifying aura. Dark purple magic condensed into a thick layer of armor on his body, with countless ghosts merging into it, emitting shrill screeches to form a dark purple ghost battle armor.
"Come!"
Both moved at the same time.
With a flap of her demon wings, Mirajane charged at Jose like a black-and-gold streak of light.
Jose kicked off the ground, dark purple magic exploding beneath his feet as he shot toward Mirajane like a cannonball.
The two collided in mid-air, fist against fist.
Boom!
A shockwave rippled out from the point of impact in all directions. The sea surface was shaken into a depression dozens of meters in diameter; seawater surged outward, revealing the silt on the seabed.
The top floor of the fortress completely collapsed in the shockwave. The two fought from the ruins down to the next floor, then smashed through that floor to the one below.
Mirajane punched Jose's armor, and the dark purple ghost armor shattered. Her fist, carrying the interwoven earthy-yellow and dark magic, slammed directly into Jose's chest.
Jose groaned, spitting out a mouthful of blood, but his counterattack arrived. Dark purple magic condensed into a giant sword, slashing horizontally at Mirajane's waist.
Mirajane dodged to the side, the giant sword grazing her waist and leaving a deep crack in the rock armor, through which blood seeped.
But she didn't retreat. Using the momentum of her turn, she drove her knee toward Jose's abdomen. Jose blocked with his other hand, but the massive force still sent him reeling back several steps.
"Damn Fairy!"
Jose roared as dark purple magic exploded within him, blasting Mirajane away. He gathered a massive amount of darkness in both hands and released a super-powerful dark shockwave.
[Death Storm]
...
Inside the fortress.
Natsu grabbed a nearby steel beam to steady himself, his mouth hanging wide open: "Ugh..."
Gajeel turned his arms into blades and drove them into the floor to stay upright. "I feel like my whole body hurts."
Gray used ice to create a shield to block the falling rubble, pulling Juvia into his arms as veins popped on his forehead. "This isn't the kind of commotion an S-class should be making!"
Happy and Lucy clung to each other, both trembling: "So scary, so scary, so scary!"
In Magnolia's harbor district, residents watched in horror at the steel behemoth collapsing on the sea.
The upper half of the fortress had completely shattered. Dark purple, earthy-yellow, and black lights flashed alternately, illuminating half the sky.
The sea surface was turned upside down by the aftershocks of the battle; giant waves lashed at the pier, and several fishing boats were overturned.
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150 POWER STONE = BONUS CHAPTER
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