Copying It Right Back!

Deliora was trembling with rage, pointing his finger at Jiang Bai's nose and roaring.

Awakened by the furious roar, Lucy, who was engrossed in rubbing her face and taking pictures, finally realized what was happening.

Lucy stopped what she was doing, quickly crouched down to protect Jiang Bai, and anxiously asked him questions.

"Oh right! Jiang Bai! Your body has shrunk to the size of a five or six-year-old, so your strength hasn't regressed to that of a child too, has it?!"

Wendy also stopped taking pictures and looked nervously at the little Jiang Bai in front of her.

If Jiang Bai were to truly revert to the strength of an ordinary child, he would be in grave danger facing the ferocious and tyrannical demon before him.

However, Wendy's expression hardened as she vowed to protect Jiang Bai.

Hearing Lucy's concerns, Xiao Jiang Bai rolled up his oversized sleeves above his elbows and put his hands back into his loose trouser pockets.

He tilted up his fair and tender little face, and gave an answer in a calm and natural tone.

No, not at all.

"The Regression Curse only suppresses the fixed multiplier."

Jiang Bai shrugged his youthful shoulders and spoke calmly.

"Given my current physical condition, I can probably only perform at about one-tenth of my usual level."

The entire room fell into a deathly silence.

The worried expression on Lucy's face froze completely.

One-tenth?

Normally, Jiang Bai could use one hand to smash a 400-year-old adult dragon on the ground like a sandbag, and his total magic power was many times greater than the combined total of the Ten Wizard Saints of the entire continent of Ishgar.

Even if it's weakened tenfold...

That's a miniature humanoid nuclear bomb that can crush mountains with a flick of its wrist!

Lucy looked down at Jiang Bai's innocent, fair face, then turned sympathetically to look at the demon Deliora who was still shouting and yelling not far away, and silently pulled Wendy to a safe distance.

Let's observe a moment of silence for this poor monster.

Little Jiang Bai, wearing oversized trousers that dragged on the floor, struggled to tug at the wide collar of her shirt with her tiny hands.

Facing the shocked and bewildered gazes of his companions, Xiao Jiang Bai raised his fair and tender little face and slowly added the second half of the sentence.

"Moreover, I can revert to this half-shrunken state anytime, anywhere, whenever I want."

The demon Deliora, who was standing a few steps away and was in a fit of rage, suddenly heard this extremely arrogant statement and immediately let out a series of harsh and mocking laughs from under his metal mask.

"Hahaha! You ignorant little human brat! What nonsense are you spouting!"

Deliora crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at the short-legged boy who was only knee-high, his tone full of disdain and contempt.

"That's my unique demonic Curse, representing the higher rules of the Book of Zeref! Unless the caster personally removes the seal, you'll never break the seal and return to your original form!"

Hearing the burly demon in front of him laugh arrogantly, Xiao Jiang Bai couldn't help but purse his lips, his childish voice filled with undisguised contempt.

"Don't try to understand someone beyond your comprehension with your tiny, limited understanding."

The moment Deliora raised his hand and unleashed that dark yellow energy wave...

Jiang Bai's vast and boundless mental Telekinesis had already transformed into an all-pervasive microscopic scalpel. The moment that dark yellow ripple touched his skin, it clearly analyzed every circuit and energy node within the Curse.

Mental Magic, by smoothly inscribing a complete energy model, not only completely cracked the underlying logic of this degenerative curse in the blink of an eye, but also extracted its essence, using the framework of human magic as a foundation, to forcefully deduce and create a completely new "Regression Magic".

The only flaw is that the inclusiveness of human magic differs slightly from the distorting nature of demonic Curse.

The new Regression Magic that Jiang Bai casually concocted could only selectively weaken and extract the enemy's strength, speed, magic power, and defense base, but it couldn't, like demonic Curse, compress the enemy's body skeleton into the shape of a child at will.

Xiao Jiang Bai sighed helplessly.

Immediately afterwards, a thought stirred within him.

The immense spiritual Telekinesis within his body was like an invisible hammer, precisely striking the faint demonic circuit within him.

Click!

A faint, crisp sound, audible only to Jiang Bai, exploded within his body.

The dark yellow curse of degradation was instantly crushed into countless points of light.

The next instant, the small child, who had shrunk to the size of a five or six-year-old, was surrounded by a dazzling pure white magical aura.

Amidst crackling sounds, his bones grew rapidly, his muscles restructured and extended, and his arms and legs recovered to their original slender and agile youthful physique at a terrifying speed visible to the naked eye.

The black casual clothes and wide robe that had been loosely dragging in the mud were now stretched taut and fit perfectly on the slender and well-proportioned body.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

The cute and fierce boy from before had vanished, and the person standing there had transformed back into the tall, handsome, dark-haired young man with his hands in his pockets.

"How is that possible?!"

Deliora's eyes suddenly bulged outwards, and the metal mask made a screeching sound as it twitched violently.

The burly, towering demon staggered back two large steps, crushing the frozen ground beneath its feet.

"You... you actually turned back?! Zeref's demonic Curse... how could it be so easily broken by a human?!"

Jiang Bai raised his hand to straighten his slightly wrinkled collar, then casually put his hands back into his pockets, lazily glancing sideways at the chaotic demon.

"What a fuss over nothing, you bumpkin."

"Once you understand the underlying logic of all energy structures in the world, unraveling them is as simple as having hands; what's the point of complaining?"

Lucy, who was standing next to her, put her hands on her hips, twitched the corners of her mouth violently twice, and skillfully turned on the complaining mode.

"Anyone with hands can do it" only applies to freaks like you!

"Which normal mage on the entire continent, after being hit by a curse, not only emerges unscathed but also manages to steal the other person's unique skill?!"

However, more than shock, Lucy and Wendy's eyes showed deep disappointment and regret.

I finally got to see such a cute and easy-to-bully little Jiang Bai, and before I even had a chance to pinch his chubby cheeks a couple of times, he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Jiang Bai rotated his right wrist, muttering to himself with a hint of regret in his expression.

"However, these improved Regression Magic and demonic Curse do have some structural flaws; they are completely unable to alter the target's skeletal structure."

"I was planning to secretly try it on Erza and Mirajane after I got back to the guild, but what a pity."

(Author's note: Hey kid! You've been banned!)

Looking at this group of humans who treated him like he was invisible, Deliora felt his self-esteem utterly Crush, as if it had been torn to pieces.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! I am the noble devil!!"

The power symbol on the demon's forehead emitted a deep, piercing, dark yellow light.

Deliora flailed his arms wildly, his violent killing intent unleashing a foul gust of wind, and the demonic curse power within his body poured out unrestrainedly.

"Regress to hell!! Regress!! Regress into a worm in the mud and die!!"