Was I That Obvious?

The next second, Jiang Bai's figure suddenly appeared on the roof of the Guild Alliance building.

He leisurely dusted off non-existent dust from his hands, looked at Erigor who was about to cast a spell, and lazily yawned.

"I'm telling you, you're so slow! I've been eating for ages, and you've only just wandered over here."

Erigor hovered in mid-air, his magical power momentarily halted by the sudden turn of events. He stared at the man who seemed to have been waiting there from the very beginning, his face filled with disbelief.

"You... you were trapped at the train station by me, weren't you?! How could you have gotten here before me?!"

"Tired?" Jiang Bai asked as if he had heard a joke.

"Who could possibly be trapped by that little wind wall of yours, which's barely bigger than a small fan?"

Jiang Bai pursed his lips, a hint of impatience in his eyes.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. I'm too lazy to waste my breath on you. To avoid that broken flute running out and destroying all the houses here, causing unnecessary damage, you'd better go stay over there."

After saying that, Jiang Bai suddenly felt a bit playful.

He casually extended his hand in Erigor's direction, spread his fingers, and then gently clenched them.

Erigor felt an irresistible, vast power, as boundless as the starry sea, instantly envelop him!

His prized wind magic was like a weak candle flame before this power, unable to even cause a ripple.

His entire body, along with the Lullaby flute in his hand, was firmly bound by an invisible force, unable to move an inch!

Immediately, he was dragged along by that force at an unimaginable speed, transforming into a shooting star and flying towards the distant mountains and forests.

Inside the venue, a group of association presidents were still on edge after Jiang Bai's words, "He's here."

Before they could even see what was happening outside, they saw a dark figure being tossed out of the air like trash by another, even faster figure.

"Chairman Makarov..."

A guild leader pointed shakily to the fleeting glimmer of light outside the window.

"Shouldn't we... seriously, shouldn't we go help them? That's a 'Lullaby'!"

Makarov held his wine glass, took a leisurely sip, and wore an extremely smug smile.

"What's the panic? Sit down, everyone."

He waved his hand, signaling everyone to remain calm.

"We'll just stay here and watch the show. It'll be a good opportunity for you ignorant fools to see just how strong Fairy Tail's true trump card really is."

Makarov appeared calm and collected on the surface, but inside he was in turmoil.

'What are you going there for? To cause trouble? This brat's strength is beyond even my comprehension now; I'm probably no match for him anymore. Go help? Don't be ridiculous, you'll be lucky if he doesn't find you a nuisance!'

Meanwhile, in the mountains outside Clover Town.

"Boom--!"

Erigor's body slammed heavily to the ground, creating a shallow, human-shaped crater.

The terrifying power that had bound him also vanished.

He jumped up from the pit, panting heavily, his face filled with the terror of surviving a close call.

Just now, he really thought he was going to die!

Faced with that power, he couldn't even muster the slightest thought of resistance. He was like an ant held in the palm of a god's hand, his life and death hanging in the balance.

But now, that monster... has actually let me go again?

The humiliation of escaping death instantly overwhelmed the fear, transforming it into a raging inferno.

"Oh..."

Erigor raised his head, staring intently at Jiang Bai, who had somehow appeared opposite him, and roared in a hoarse voice,

Are you... looking down on me?!

"Did I make it that obvious?" Jiang Bai tilted his head, looking completely innocent.

"Good! Very good!"

Erigor's face was contorted with extreme rage. "You'll regret your arrogance!"

At this point, he had completely given up on the foolish idea of competing with Jiang Bai using his wind magic.

The feeling of powerlessness he had just experienced from being so easily manipulated had made him realize that the two sides were simply not on the same level.

Since that's the case... let's all perish together!

Without further hesitation, Erigor raised the black flute, carved with a hideous skull, to his lips.

Then, with all his might, he blew it!

The sharp and mournful sound of the flute, like a wail from the depths of hell, suddenly shattered the silence of the mountains and forests!

This is not an ordinary sound.

This is a demonic sound that directly affects the soul!

Accompanied by the flute music, visible sound waves, carrying an ominous purplish-black hue, surged wildly from the "Lullaby" flute like a rolling tide, sweeping towards Jiang Bai!

Within those sound waves, it seemed as if countless distorted, pained faces were wailing and struggling!

This is the demon of the Book of Zeref, a forbidden magic capable of Take Over souls!

Inside the venue, the guild leaders who were watching the battle remotely through the magic crystal ball could feel a chill and a pulling sensation from the depths of their souls, even just by looking at the screen!

"It's starting... it's starting! It's the 'Lullaby'!"

One of the association presidents turned deathly pale and instinctively clutched his chest, feeling as if his soul was being sucked out!

"What terrifying magic! Just looking at it makes it hard to breathe!"

"Xiao Bai Bai... can he handle it?!"

Chairman Bob also dropped his nonchalant expression, his face filled with tension.

Makarov held a wine glass in his mouth, remaining silent, but his slightly trembling fingertips betrayed his inner turmoil.

However, in the mountains and forests...

Faced with the soul-reaping magic that would make even the Ten Wizard Saints tremble, Jiang Bai didn't even lift an eyelid.

He simply stood there, letting the purplish-black sonic waves of death pass through his body like a gentle breeze.

Then, nothing happened.

Jiang Bai remained standing in the same spot, completely unharmed, and even idly picked at his ear.

That's it?

He frowned, looking at the completely stunned Erigor with an expression of disgust, as if he had heard an unpleasant noise.

"Noise pollution is one thing, but you can't even play the tune correctly. If Zeref knew how badly you'd ruined his work, he'd probably rise from his grave to clean house."

"No... impossible!"

Seeing this scene that shattered his understanding of the world, Erigor completely broke down!

"This is absolutely impossible! No one can resist the magic of the 'Lullaby'! You... what kind of monster are you?!"

His ultimate weapon, his biggest trump card for realizing his ambitions, was not even worthy of him lifting a finger in front of this man!

This blow was a million times more despairing than being carelessly thrown away earlier!

"Monster? No, no, no, I'm just an ordinary person."

Jiang Bai shrugged. "It's just that you're too weak."

Inside the venue, there was already a deathly silence.

All the presidents were as if they had been Petrification Magic, their eyes wide and mouths agape, staring blankly at the scene in the crystal ball, their minds completely blank.

"He... he's actually... completely unharmed?!"

"That's a 'Lullaby'! It's Zeref's demon!"

"My God... 'Infinity'... Is this the power of 'Infinity'? This is... completely beyond our comprehension..."

Only now did they truly understand just how confident Makarov was when he said, "Just watch the show!"

Just then, something unexpected happened!

The "Lullaby" flute in Erigor's hand seemed to be "enraged" by Jiang Bai's calm words because it had not absorbed any souls!

"Click... click..."

Grotesque cracks appeared on the surface of the flute!

A dark magical power, a hundred times more evil than before and so dense it was almost impenetrable, surged wildly from the crack!

"Oh no! The 'Lullaby' is about to go out of control!"

Seeing Erigor was horrified and wanted to throw away this hot potato.

But it was too late!

"Boom--!"

The black flute exploded with a deafening roar!

Endless dark magic surged into the sky, rapidly coalescing in mid-air, eventually forming a colossal demon tens of meters tall, composed of withered wood and skeletons!

The demon's head was an enlarged version of the "Lullaby" flute, with three huge holes resembling empty eye sockets and a mouth, radiating an ominous light!

The demon of the Book of Zeref— "Lullaby"—has descended upon the world in its true form!

"Soul..."

"Soul..."

I need more... souls!

The demon that had just appeared let out a hungry and savage roar, its huge, hollow eye sockets immediately locking onto the nearby Clover Town and the tens of thousands of living souls within it!