Phantom Lord, Part Six

Mirajane's fist pierced through the shattered barrier, heading straight for Jose's face.

"Die, you son of a bitch!"

Jose unleashed his magic, and a magic circle appeared, generating a spiral of dark energy to protect himself.

[Dark Spiral]

She stopped her attack, retreated to avoid Jose's assault, and simultaneously gathered dark magic in her hands, launching several black energy projectiles that, under her control, hurtled towards Jose.

Jose waved his hands, gathering magic power and compressing dark energy into bullet-shaped projectiles, which he fired, knocking down rubble and energy projectiles.

Stone ridges pierced Jose from all directions, while Mirajane slammed his hands into the ground, causing earth-yellow magic to surge and several stone pillars to rise from the ground and hurtle towards Jose.

[Earth Split Impact]

Just as Jose was about to cast another spell to block the attack, a stone ridge emerged from beneath his feet, knocking Jose off balance and interrupting his spellcasting.

Boom!

The stone pillar struck Jose, sending him flying and crashing into the wall.

"Ah!"

[Despair]

Despite taking damage, Jose unleashed his magic, shattering all the approaching stone ridges.

Mirajane wasn't going to let this opportunity slip by. With one hand, he manipulated the ground to create waves of stone, while with the other hand, he gathered dark magic to launch a cannon-like attack.

[Demon Blast]

"Looks like you're really getting old, you old devil."

At the same time, he flashed forward and rushed towards Jose, his fist carrying a power that intertwined dark magic and earth-yellow magic, aiming straight for Jose's face.

Jose was overwhelmed by the relentless attacks and was no longer the elegant man he had been at the beginning.

But his eyes grew increasingly sinister, and dark purple magic surged within him, making him appear even more dangerous.

"Little girl..."

Jose's deep voice echoed from the rubble, and his dark purple magic surged suddenly. A terrifying pressure swept out from him, forcefully pushing back the approaching waves of stones and energy blasts. The rubble turned to dust, and the air trembled.

"I am the Ten Wizard Saints!"

He suddenly opened his arms wide, dark purple magic gathering in his palms. Countless distorted faces appeared in the air, emitting shrill screams. These were the ghosts under his control, now taking shape at his summons.

[Ghost Army]

Mirajane felt the air around him grow cold and biting, and a sense of foreboding washed over him.

The ground beneath her feet suddenly surged up, forming a stone wall in front of her, while black demon wings unfurled from her back, ready to take off at any moment.

But countless translucent ghosts surged in from all directions, passing through the stone wall and reaching out withered arms to grab her body.

"What?!"

Mirajane hurriedly flapped her wings and retreated, but there were too many ghosts, surrounding her from all angles as if they were sentient. A withered hand swept across her left arm, the icy death aura instantly turning her skin bluish-purple, and blood seeped out.

"Do you think I'm called the Ghost Ruler for nothing?" Jose stood up from the pile of rubble, dark purple magic flowing around him.

He stared coldly at Mirajane, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "I command tens of thousands of ghosts, each one my eyes and ears, my weapon. Can you possibly defeat them all?"

Mirajane glanced down at the wound on her left arm. Emerald green magic surged at the wound, and it healed at a visible speed, restoring her bluish-purple skin to its normal color.

"So what if I can't finish you off?" Mirajane's lips curled into a smile, her crimson eyes flashing with a devilish light. "I have plenty of time to waste on you."

She slammed her hands down on the ground, and earthen-yellow magic surged wildly into the earth, causing the entire room to shake violently.

[Earth's Wrath]

Countless stone spikes rose from the ground, piercing through all the surrounding ghosts. The pierced ghosts let out shrill screams and vanished into black smoke. Mirajane seized the opportunity to rush towards Jose, his fist imbued with dark magic, and slammed straight into Jose's chest.

Jose gathered dark purple magic in his hands, forming a shield to block Mirajane's fist. But Mirajane's fist was powerful and heavy, and the shield cracked upon impact.

"What?!" Jose's expression changed.

Mirajane gave him no chance to catch his breath, his left fist following closely behind, slamming into the shield with earth-yellow magic, shattering it instantly.

Then she turned and kicked Jose in the waist. Jose hurriedly blocked with his arm, but the force still made him stagger back several steps.

"Old ghost, your Ghost Army is indeed something else." Mirajane waved his hand, a smile playing on his lips. "But do you think you can beat me like this?"

Jose steadied himself, and dark purple magic surged through his body once more. He looked coldly at Mirajane, his gaze sweeping over the completely healed wound on her left arm, then at the black demon wings behind her, his expression turning grim.

Your injuries... have healed?

Jose truly hadn't expected that Riyao's healing abilities could affect others in this way.

"What, surprised?" Mirajane stretched her left arm, her demonic wings fluttering gently. "The earth magic and super-fast regeneration granted by the Riyao, combined with my own demonic power, how's that configuration?"

Jose's expression grew even more grim. The combination of super-rapid regeneration and demonic power meant Mirajane could not only continuously heal her injuries but also possess formidable melee abilities and dark magic. How could anyone possibly fight her?

"Hmph, anyone can talk big." Jose wiped the blood from his face, and his dark purple magic surged again. "I admit, you are much stronger than I imagined. In this state, you certainly have the ability to compete with the Ten Wizard Saints."

He paused, his gloomy gaze sweeping over Mirajane's black and gold battle dress, his voice turning cold. "But magic consumption is bidirectional. How long can you last? I still have plenty of magic left."

Mirajane's expression changed slightly.

Riyao conveyed the message: "There's no need to worry about supplies in Magnolia."

Mirajane's gaze hardened once more.

"That's none of your concern." Her voice turned cold, and her earthy yellow and dark magic surged simultaneously, crushing the pebbles beneath her feet into powder.

[Enchantment Magic - Overall Boost]

Earthy yellow magic coalesced into a thin layer of rock armor on Mirajane's body, covering the surface of her battle skirt. At the same time, dark magic flowed across the surface of the armor, forming a black energy shield.

Her aura surged to its peak in an instant, and her demon wings unfurled, becoming even wider than before.

Jose also unleashed a terrifying aura, dark purple magic condensing into a thick layer of armor on his body. Countless ghosts merged into the armor, emitting mournful shrieks, forming a dark purple ghost armor.

"Bring it on!"

They both moved at the same time.

Mirajane flapped his demonic wings, and his entire body shot towards Jose like a streak of black and gold light.

Jose stomped on the ground, and dark purple magic erupted beneath his feet, shooting towards Mirajane like a cannonball.

The two collided in mid-air, fist to fist.

Boom!

The shockwave spread in all directions from the point of impact, creating a depression tens of meters in diameter on the sea surface. Seawater rushed outwards, exposing the mud and sand on the seabed.

The top floor of the fortress collapsed completely in the shockwave. The two fought their way from the ruins to the next floor, and then from the next floor they fought their way through the floorboards to the floor below that.

Mirajane punched Jose's armor, shattering the dark purple ghost armor. His fist, imbued with a magical power that blended earthy yellow and darkness, slammed directly into Jose's chest.

Jose grunted and spat out a mouthful of blood, but his counterattack arrived just in time. Dark purple magic condensed into a giant sword, slashing horizontally at Mirajane's waist.

Mirajane dodged to the side, the greatsword grazing her waist, leaving a deep crack in her rock armor from which blood seeped.

But she did not back down. Using the momentum of her sideways movement, she slammed her knee into Jose's abdomen. Jose blocked it with his other hand, but the immense force still sent him staggering back several steps.

"Damn fairy!"

Jose roared, and dark purple magic erupted within him, blasting Mirajane away. He gathered a large amount of darkness in his hands and released an extremely powerful Darkness Impact.

[Death Storm]

Inside the fortress.

Natsu grabbed onto a nearby steel beam to steady himself, his mouth agape. "Yue~"

Gajeel transformed his arm into a blade and plunged it into the floor to steady himself. "I feel so much pain all over my body."

Gray created a shield of ice to block the falling rocks, then pulled Juvia into his arms, veins bulging on his forehead. "This is beyond what S-Class could produce!"

Happy and Lucy huddled together, trembling. "So scary, so scary, so scary!"

In Magnolia's port district, residents watched in horror as the massive steel behemoth crumbled on the sea.

The upper part of the fortress was completely shattered, and dark purple, ochre, and black lights flashed alternately, illuminating half the sky. The sea was churned up by the aftershocks of the battle, with giant waves crashing against the dock and several fishing boats capsized.