Borrowing a Light for a Cigarette
Seeing this from outside the arena, Wayne's face was contorted with extreme excitement. He opened his arms as if embracing his impending, perfect victory.
Mirajane's heart stopped beating completely at that moment.
She could only watch helplessly as the destructive beam of light collided with the magic circle that also exuded an ominous aura.
"Boom--!"
The moment "Zi" came into contact with the "Absolute Reflection Prison," fine, spiderweb-like cracks began to appear on the surface of the dark magic circle.
It is wailing, it is breaking.
However, just before the magic circle completely collapsed, an even stranger and more ominous power erupted from the core of the array!
In its final moments, it completely copied and reflected the world-destroying energy of "Hollow Technique: Zi"!
An identical, purplish-black beam of light, imbued with endless nothingness, turned its spearhead and charged fiercely toward its releaser— Jiang Bai —at an even greater speed!
Jiang Bai's pupils suddenly contracted.
He quickly used his Telekinesis to construct several invisible defensive barriers in front of him.
However, he hadn't relied on that pure skill for far too long.
Over the years, due to the surge in his magical power, he has neglected to refine his own abilities.
The hastily constructed Telekinesis defense, upon contact with "Zi," was like ice and snow under the sun, unable to withstand even a second before being completely vaporized and annihilated.
Too weak!
His own Telekinesis defenses were so utterly vulnerable in the face of his strongest attack!
A purplish-black beam of light broke through the last line of defense, filling Jiang Bai's entire field of vision with overwhelming force.
It's over.
This was the last thought that flashed through Jiang Bai's mind.
Time seemed to stretch out Infinity at this moment, becoming slow and viscous.
He seemed to enter a strange state, seeing many things he wouldn't normally notice.
He saw Mirajane behind him, her face streaked with tears, silently screaming; her eyes were filled with a despair more painful than death itself.
He saw Wayne outside the arena, already in a frenzy, dancing and celebrating his victory, his smile twisted and ugly.
He saw himself in it too.
He saw the destructive, purplish-black beam of light that he himself had released, which was about to engulf him.
Between life and death lies great terror.
Similarly, there will be great opportunities!
In that critical moment, when he was about to be killed by himself, Jiang Bai's mind, which had become sluggish due to his overwhelming power, began to operate at an unprecedented speed.
Why is this happening?
Why would I be killed by my own power?
Because he possesses immense magical power, yet lacks the perfect control to match it!
It's like a child wielding a giant hammer powerful enough to split the heavens and the earth, only to be crushed to death by the weight of the hammer itself.
I see.
It turns out that this was my true, fatal weakness.
Mr. Gojo, it seems I've become too arrogant, just like you.
Under the shadow of death, Jiang Bai's stagnant cultivation level finally broke free of its shackles and was reborn!
His control over magic reached an unprecedented level at this moment!
But it was too late!
The beam of light from "Zi" was already very close.
He simply didn't have time to build a perfect defense.
Then... let's take a gamble!
Jiang Bai used all the pure and refined Telekinesis that had just undergone its transformation to cover the surface of his body in a brutal and direct manner.
He subconsciously and all at once piled up his Telekinesis in his head.
The mind is far more fragile than the body!
The next second.
The reflected "Hollow Technique: Zi" struck Jiang Bai squarely.
"Boom--!"
The purplish-black light erupted completely, engulfing Jiang Bai's figure entirely.
An unimaginable energy storm swept across the entire desert. All the magic arrays that Wayne had meticulously set up, whether it was the black "Absolute Reflection Prison" or the huge "Magic Power End Magic Circle" on the outside, were instantly torn apart and Crush into nothingness by this destructive force, just like paper.
The violent shockwave spread outwards, and even though they weren't the target, the gust of wind still blew Mirajane, who was not far away, as well as the unconscious Lisanna and Elfman, several feet backwards, causing them to crash heavily onto the sand.
The whole world was engulfed in violent tremors and roars.
At the epicenter of the explosion, a cloud of dust rose into the sky.
At this moment, Mirajane and Wayne disregarded everything else, their eyes fixed intently on the dust-filled area.
However, one person's eyes were filled with a heart-wrenching plea, hoping that the figure could still be alive.
The other person's eyes were filled with a frantic anticipation, a hope that the figure was completely dead.
Time seemed to stretch out Infinity at that moment.
Finally, the raging winds gradually subsided, and the dust that filled the sky began to settle slowly.
A blurry outline, still standing, appeared and disappeared in the dust.
Mirajane's heart stopped beating completely at that moment.
Wayne's breathing also suddenly caught in his throat.
As the last wisp of dust settled, Jiang Bai's figure was finally clearly revealed to the two of them.
He's still alive!
Although his body was covered in horrific wounds from being burned and torn by energy, and his clothes were stained with blood, making him look utterly disheveled, he still stood there steadily and did not fall!
"No... impossible!"
Wayne's ecstatic joy and anticipation froze instantly, replaced by an extreme sense of terror and disbelief, as if he had seen a ghost.
"How is this possible?! How could you still be alive?! You took a direct hit from my own 'Zi', how could you not die?!"
He screamed hysterically, completely unable to accept the fact before him that had overturned all his plans and understanding.
However, Jiang Bai didn't even glance at him when he questioned him.
Under the shocked gazes of the two men, the wounded boy slowly took a drag of the cigarette he had in his mouth.
The cigarette that had remained unlit until now had a tiny, crimson flame burning at its tip.
He shakily raised his hand, took the cigarette he had been using as a "match" from his lips, and then slowly exhaled a white smoke ring mixed with the smell of blood towards the sky.
"Hey, don't get me wrong."
Jiang Bai's voice was hoarse and weak, yet it carried a deep-seated, chilling air of nonchalance and untamed spirit.
"I was just... asking to borrow a light so I could light a cigarette."
At that moment, in Mirajane's eyes, the whole world lost its color.
The crazed Wayne, the desolate desert, the unconscious companions—everything vanished.
All she could see was the figure before her.
Even though he was covered in wounds, bleeding profusely, and weak.
But in her world, he was still that towering, the greatest, and omnipotent man.
(Yes, that's right, I borrowed a famous scene from One Sanji. It made me so cool when I watched it back then, does anyone know what I mean?)