Fierce Battle with the Dark Magic Group (1)

The Dark Magic Group members present turned around one after another, their gazes sharp as they fixed on the location of Allen and Laxus. The Black Robed Figure by the altar had already begun to secretly accumulate Magic Power, a faint glow flickering around them.

Allen's heart tightened, knowing that he and Laxus had been exposed. Although he didn't know how they had detected them, it was clear that a battle was now unavoidable.

Upholding the eternal truth of "striking first is best," Allen exchanged a glance with Laxus without hesitation and immediately decided to take the initiative.

Laxus had also long been prepared for battle. He swung the lightning in his hands forward, and a dazzling Chain Lightning instantly tore through the sky, striking directly at the Black Robed Figures. It was like a roaring Thunder Dragon baring its fangs. Following that, Laxus's entire body was enveloped in brilliant lightning, forming a suit of lightning armor. Then, with a flash, he charged into the crowd at an extremely high speed.

Meanwhile, Allen appeared relatively unadorned. Magic Power flashed around his hands, and Gram and Aegis materialized out of thin air. Then, together with Laxus, he charged towards the group of Black Robed Figures.

Laxus's sudden Chain Lightning caused a series of explosions among the Black Robed cultists. For a time, flames soared into the sky and smoke filled the air, catching the group completely off guard and throwing them into disarray. By the time they recovered their senses, they found Laxus and Allen charging into their ranks like tigers descending from a mountain.

Although the individual Magic Power of these Black Robed cultists was not particularly strong, they made up for it with their sheer numbers. Facing the fierce assaults of Allen and Laxus, there was no trace of fear on their faces; each of them was filled with fanaticism, as if they were unafraid of death and only wished to wear Allen and Laxus down.

Just then, the Black Robed Figure by the altar suddenly shouted, "Capture these two and offer them as sacrifices to the great Lord Zeref!"

At these words, the cultists, who had already fallen into a fanatical state, became even more frenzied.

At this moment, Allen and Laxus in the center of the battlefield felt the pressure increase exponentially. Attacks from all directions surged towards them like a tide, abruptly halting their forward progress.

Seeing the dire situation, Allen roared at Laxus beside him, "Don't hold back on Magic Power, push them back first!" Before his voice even fell, Gram in Allen's right hand suddenly shone with dazzling Magic Power.

Then, Allen let out an angry roar, "Holy Spear Slash!"

Gram thrust forward with lightning-like speed. Simultaneously, powerful surges of Magic Power shot out from the tip of Gram like arrows released from a bow. For a moment, the many cultists in front of Allen had no time to react before they were mowed down in swathes under this incomparably sharp assault.

Laxus, on the other side, was equally formidable. The lightning armor covering his body suddenly erupted with a surge of immense energy, instantly forcing the cultists surrounding him back a considerable distance. Then, Laxus took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and with a roar, shouted, "Roar of the Thunder Dragon!" A pillar of lightning as thick as a giant python spewed from his mouth, sweeping across with world-destroying might. Any cultists within Laxus's vicinity fell like wheat being harvested.

The battlefield fell into a temporary calm, and Allen and Laxus had a moment to catch their breath.

Seeing their numerous followers fall, the Black Robed Figure by the altar became enraged. The face hidden beneath the shadow of his black hood contorted in anger. He then abruptly turned towards the altar, clasped his hands together in a prayer-like gesture.

In the next instant, the seemingly ordinary altar suddenly began to glow with an eerie light, as if activated by some mysterious power. Following that, an incredibly powerful gravitational force surged outwards from the center of the altar like a tide. The Black Robed Figures who had just fallen could not resist this terrifying force; they were drawn into the altar one after another like puppets losing control.

As more and more Black Robed Figures were drawn in, the Magic Power fluctuations within the altar grew increasingly violent, as if a massive fusion of Magic Power was brewing, ready to be born.

Allen, standing below, was greatly alarmed. He knew in his heart that if this ritual was not stopped now, the consequences would be unimaginable. Thus, he stepped forward without hesitation, attempting to rush towards the altar to stop this evil ritual.

However, to Allen's complete surprise, the Black Robed Figure who had been guarding the altar possessed the strength of an A-Class Mage. Before Allen could even get close to the altar, the Black Robed Figure flashed and instantly appeared before him, blocking his path with Magic Power. Although Allen wanted to break through the Black Robed Figure's defense as quickly as possible, the fact that the Black Robed Figure was only defending and not attacking made it difficult for Allen to escape his entanglement and obstruction in a short period.

Anxious, Allen knew he could not delay any longer. He made a decisive move and shouted loudly to Laxus not far away, "Laxus, hurry and stop that ritual! I'll take care of this guy quickly and come to support you!" Hearing Allen's shout, Laxus offered no verbal response. He simply nodded with a determined look in his eyes, then rushed towards the altar with the speed of lightning.

As Laxus got closer and closer to the altar, the Black Robed Figure showed no signs of panic. Instead, he let out a chilling, eerie laugh, "Hehehe... you overconfident fools, it's too late to try and stop it now! The Demon created by the great Lord Zeref is about to emerge, and then the entire world will be plunged into endless darkness and fear!" After saying this, the Black Robed Figure's voice suddenly paused, and then his tone became increasingly ferocious, "If it weren't for you two interfering, the great Lord Zeref would have descended too. It's all your fault!!!"

At this point, Laxus had already reached the edge of the altar. He intended to make the entire ritual fail by destroying the altar itself. But, as the Black Robed Figure had said, the ritual was already complete. Although Laxus destroyed the altar, the Magic Circle within it was still functioning.

Laxus attempted to attack the core of the Magic Circle, and the lightning in his hands shot towards the core. However, at that moment, a powerful surge of Magic Power erupted from within the Magic Circle, blasting Laxus away. A colossal Demon materialized within the Magic Circle.