Just as Erza's knife was about to strike the masked man...
The surroundings were instantly enveloped by a pitch-black curtain.
Erza's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't stop slashing forward with her sword.
Surprisingly, the masked man flickered a few times like a phantom before vanishing into nothingness.
"Erza? So she's S-Class Mage from Fairy Tail!" Ivan's voice suddenly appeared behind Erza.
The other members of the Raven Tail Fairy Tail stood behind her, surrounding Erza and trapping her in the center.
Outside, Erza's attack was easily blocked by Ivan then countered with a punch that sent Erza flying.
The ensuing battle became completely one-sided. Despite Erza's constant attempts to fight back, Ivan easily blocked and counterattacked her.
Seeing this, the onlookers, unaware of the facts, began to discuss it amongst themselves.
"Is this true? Is this the legendary Titania?"
"Her strength seems to be completely suppressed by her opponent!"
However, at that moment, the audience suddenly exclaimed, "Wow, look over there! The other Fairy Tail team is incredibly strong!"
Everyone turned to look.
Laxus flashed by, kicking Erik away with lightning speed.
It crashed through many layers of walls before finally stopping.
This astonishing scene was witnessed by everyone, and this performance clearly showed that the difference in strength between the two Fairy Tail teams seemed to be quite significant.
At that moment, a thought suddenly occurred to the audience, "So that's why Fairy Tail sent two teams to participate."
This idea quickly spread throughout the Town.
Even the members of the Fairy Tail Fairy Tail heard it.
"Erza is actually being overwhelmed?"
They were all puzzled.
Because they knew Erza's true strength very well. Even when facing a more powerful enemy, she would never be struggling like this.
"What could be the reason..." Ultear, pondering.
She was well aware of Erza's strength.
Since Erza's Swordsmanship advanced to the level of Great Swordsman, even in terms of attack, she may be inferior to Erza.
Meanwhile, Makarov, the Third Generation Guild Master, who was on the top floor, frowned and fell into deep thought.
He couldn't immediately tell what had happened, but when he saw Zorn's calm and confident demeanor, he slowly exhaled and felt a little more at ease.
Zorn's expression seemed to tell everyone that everything was under his control.
Erza, however, calmly sheathed her sword within the barrier.
She frowned, her gaze falling on "another version of herself" lying on the ground beside her.
"Haha, no need to look, the outside world has no idea what's going on inside." Ivan looked at Erza, who was trapped in the barrier.
When he noticed Erza had sheathed her sword, he mistakenly assumed Erza had given up and burst into excited laughter. His tone grew increasingly agitated. "This is..."
"Phantom Magic!" Erza interrupted before Ivan could finish speaking.
"You... how did you know..." Ivan's laughter stopped abruptly. He stared at Erza with a look of astonishment and asked in surprise.
"This is a type of Phantom Magic; it prevents people around us from seeing or hearing us as we talk," Erza explained calmly.
"What they saw was merely an illusion of a fierce battle." Her words were clear and unambiguous, each one striking Ivan's heart like a heavy hammer.
As Erza recounted her story, Ivan's face grew increasingly filled with shock.
"So what? You're going to be facing the elite of Raven Tail!" Ivan's face was grim. He glanced at the members behind him, and felt a little more at ease.
Erza completely ignored the other person and continued seriously, "And don't misunderstand!"
"With your strength, you have no need for Swordsmanship!" Ignoring the shocked expressions on their faces, Erza's Magic Power surged, and she was instantly enveloped in white light.
"Requip — Lightning Emperor's Armor!" Erza roared in a low voice, her body crackling with lightning as she instantly donned armor imbued with lightning attributes.
"Lightning Emperor's Spear!" she shouted immediately, and a long spear gleaming with lightning appeared in her hand.
"I'll take care of you all at once!" Erza's voice was cold and resolute.
As soon as she finished speaking, she flashed out like lightning, the Lightning Emperor's Spear in her hand transforming into a bolt of lightning, thrusting straight at Ivan.
Ivan was startled, but being a seasoned veteran, his reaction was extremely quick.
With a flick of his cloak, countless paper figures emerged from beneath it, flooding Erza's vision like a tidal wave.
At the same time, a black energy surged from all directions, like a venomous snake aimed straight for Erza's vitals.
A hint of disdain flashed in Erza's eyes as she wielded the Lightning Emperor's Spear, its tip crackling with brilliant arcs of electricity, like blooming flowers.
Erza swung her gun continuously, each swing carrying immense power, easily thwarting Ivan's attacks.
With a sudden stomp of her foot, a muffled roar filled the air, accompanied by flashing arcs of electricity, as she moved rapidly through the air. She easily broke through the encirclement of the following humanoid paper figures.
But just then, she suddenly found herself surrounded even more.
The members of Raven Tail suddenly appeared in countless numbers all around, densely covering Erza and surrounding her completely.
Members of other Fairy Tail would never have discovered this secret.
However, Erza's actions were completely unaffected. She gripped the Lightning Emperor's Spear tightly and flicked it backward, sending Obra, who was just about to launch a surprise attack, flying.
A bolt of lightning struck the opponent.
Immediately afterward, amidst Nullpudding's shocked expression, he flashed to Narubudinku's side, Lightning Emperor's Spear was instantly covered with a layer of Armament Haki.
The power of lightning also turned black at this moment.
"Needle-piercing defense!"
Just as Nullpudding was about to use Magic to defend himself, and all the spikes on his body sprouted out, he suddenly realized that he seemed to be getting further and further away from Erza, and was sent flying backward.
"What?! How could I possibly have been discovered?!" Ivan was completely taken aback.
"Damn it, don't underestimate our Fairy Tail!" The remaining two members, though filled with fear, gritted their teeth and charged at Erza from the left and right.
Among them, Freya's long hair, like burning flames, was fiercely whipped towards Erza.
The moment she successfully wrapped her hair around Erza, a smug smile immediately appeared on her face, as if she felt victory was already in her grasp.
Victory is within reach.
However, at that moment, the Black Snake suddenly appeared behind Erza had stopped walking.
He manipulated countless grains of sand, forming a gigantic, high-speed rotating drill that hurtled toward Erza with overwhelming force.
His eyes also gleamed with confidence and a sense of victory, as if he too believed he was about to win.
Faced with such a critical situation, Erza was not afraid at all. She shouted, "Blue Lightning!" With her shout, Magic Power surged like a raging wave.
Countless dazzling bolts of lightning roared within the enclosed space, as if to tear the entire world apart.
The seemingly indestructible drill was only an inch away from Erza.
The powerful electric current gradually disintegrated and dissipated the attack. Black Snake stared wide-eyed at the scene before him in disbelief, and couldn't help but shout, "This... this is impossible!" He couldn't understand how Erza could break his ultimate move so easily.
"Hmph~" Erza snorted coldly, her eyes flashing with determination and confidence.
Gripping the Lightning Emperor's Spear tightly in his hand, he hurled it forcefully to the ground without hesitation.
With this action, the powerful Magic Power contained within her body was released like a torrent.
Upon contact with the Lightning Emperor's Spear, this Magic Power seemed to receive some kind of mysterious blessing, rapidly transforming into even more ferocious and sharp lightning energy, which surged forth at an astonishing speed.
In an instant, the entire space was enveloped in dazzling lightning, forming a terrifying ocean of electric light.
"Ah~" Two shrill screams rang out at the same time, their voices filled with pain and despair.
The two people's bodies trembled violently under the impact of the lightning, their hair stood on end, and wisps of smoke rose from their skin.
They were tormented by the powerful electricity and were completely unable to withstand such a terrifying attack.
Ivan stared wide-eyed at the scene before him, his face filled with astonishment.
A storm raged within him; he had only ever experienced such terrifying Magic Power from his own father before.
However, the fact that it was now appearing on an S-Class Mage was unbelievable to him.
He had thought he had a good understanding of Fairy Tail's strength, but now it seemed he had greatly underestimated the Fairy Tail's true power.
A deep sense of fear welled up in his heart, especially when he thought of Zorn, who had been appointed as the Fourth Guild Master.
What kind of terrifying Magic Power did Zorn possess? Ivan couldn't even imagine.
He began to realize that his previous estimates might have been seriously off. Since his return from elsewhere, Fairy Tail seemed to have undergone a huge transformation, with its overall strength experiencing a qualitative leap.
"Although I don't know your Fairy Tail's true purpose, I don't want to know."
"But!"
"How dare you try to harm my family! That is unforgivable!"
"Get ready, you bastard!"
After Erza dealt with the rest of the people, her Magic Power accumulated again, slowly condensing into a huge cyan-black lightning ball at the tip of her spear.
The terrifying aura instantly enveloped Ivan under Erza's repeated shouts.
"Wait... wait a minute, I... I am... your Third Generation Guild Master..." Guild Master Ivan hurriedly tried to remove the mask from his face, but due to nervousness, it kept slipping from his hand while he was wiping the edge of the mask.
His tone was halting and intermittent, filled with extreme fear.
A loud boom
A bolt of blue lightning pierced straight through one side of the maze.
Ivan and his men plummeted from the sky, their eyes rolling back in their heads.
This scene left the other Fairy Tail members staring in disbelief, their mouths agape.
Laxus grinned, his hands crackling with lightning as he continued his attack on Minerva.
He knew Erza's true strength; after all, they had even had a duel after that training session.
To be continued~