Two-Quarters of the Truth

Ifrit had rarely fought anyone at such close range. It could even be said that he had absolutely no experience in it!

This was not a rare oversight. Mainly, he had no cheat ability, and his energy was limited.

The situation was critical.

Ifrit helplessly called for assistance from outside the field.

Whoosh.

There was no visible movement. It was as though Lucy had grabbed him and dragged him backward.

Ifrit also felt his neck tighten as someone grabbed his cloak and pulled him back, helping him evade Wade's fatal claw strike!

Ifrit concealed himself again, lest the enemy pursue him relentlessly.

Wade's eyes searched for him, but it was clearly futile.

Wade then looked at his brother. Why had he not called out his position?

Reed was currently caught between shock and thought.

Behind a distant boulder, all three of his eyes were wide open!

In that instant, he had seen it!

Though only vaguely.

There really had been a deeply hidden figure who saved that fraud mage!

"Haaah—"

He let out a shocked breath, his heart filled with complex feelings: astonishment, admiration, and considerable fear.

What an incredible fraud!

His magic was all about deceiving people!

Even his staff was a deception, meant to make people lower their guard before he drew a sharp weapon!

He even clearly had an accomplice, yet had pretended all along that he was alone, keeping that accomplice hidden in the shadows!

That was right!

Reed remembered having crossed paths with this fraud mage on the street before.

At the time, the other man had not been on guard, so he had not used layered Illusion Magic.

Thus, Reed had immediately noticed the strange sensation of subtly warped space beside the fraud mage.

But at the time, he had not considered this possibility. He had merely assumed it was an application of spatial magic.

Magic was magic, not stage tricks. He had wanted to expose it then.

But thinking about it now, it was fortunate that he had not exposed him!

Otherwise, without a barrier to trap this man and with Gade not at his side, if he had truly angered such a powerful opponent, the slightest lapse in attention would have gotten all of them killed!

As for that so-called trick—turning a card into ice cream.

He had merely handed the card to the invisible assistant, then accepted the ice cream the assistant handed back to him!

That was it!

The truth behind that fraud mage!

Reed had figured out every key point!

He felt as though he had attained great enlightenment!

Though the thought still terrified him.

Realizing it now was definitely not too late!

Reed shouted.

"There are two of them!!!"

"There's another person hiding in the shadows!"

"Gade, all of that is an illusion!"

"This is no time for you to kneel there and rest!"

"This is no longer the time for you to be stubborn!"

"Hurry up and attack them with Wade!"

Reed's chest heaved violently.

They!

Were about to defeat one of the world's most powerful deceptive mages!

Though they were enemies, at that moment, Reed was deeply impressed by Ifrit's strategy!

It was too terrifying!

The more he thought about it, the more frightening it became!

Only because he possessed a way to observe his opponent had he discovered it.

Otherwise, he could not imagine what kind of powerful person it would take to ensure they were not brutally slaughtered by this man!

Gade? He was nowhere near qualified!

In the unconscious depths of his mind, Reed had already regarded the three of them as challengers taking on a powerful and brilliant opponent!

Excitement and fear flushed his face red. He released his magic power with all his strength, locking firmly onto Ifrit's figure!

"Two people?" Wade tilted his head and grinned. "I see. No wonder you were able to dodge my attack in such a strange posture."

"..."

Ifrit pressed his tongue against his upper teeth and rubbed it from side to side. It was a rare, unconscious habit of his. Reed had genuinely surprised him.

This guy really was smart.

He had actually guessed two-quarters of the truth.

Since Ifrit had joined Fairy Tail, this was the only intelligent person who had reached this level through pure guesswork.

However.

Admiration was admiration.

During battle, he would not waver in the slightest.

Reed had "exposed" him and was now persuading Gade.

Did he want to make it three against one?

A good idea, but you came to your senses too late.

Ifrit secretly used magic, guiding Gade's heart—

Anger!

Keep getting angry!

Sustained anger!

And feel that stifling frustration!

Finally, defend your pride with everything you have, arrogant Gade!

Crack.

Gade's mind had already been riddled with holes by the anger Ifrit had previously drawn out. Now, Ifrit completely broke it!

His mind lost its defenses, his emotions shattered his restraint, and he lost the ability to resist!

Gade's entire body trembled as though he had Parkinson's. His emotions had already seized control of his body. The hormones within him surged like an explosive withdrawal reaction, and his sense of self had completely collapsed!

It was like an ordinary person suddenly facing a fight: under the effects of adrenaline, their intelligence dropped, their whole body shook, and they were completely controlled by emotion, their actions no longer under their own command!

Gade shoved Wade, who had once saved his life, more than thirty feet away. With bloodshot eyes, he roared at him, "Get lost! I don't need anyone meddling in my fight! Otherwise, I'll kill you too!"

Rejected by Gade, Wade looked at Reed. Reed was dumbfounded as well.

They had never encountered a situation like this before.

Whenever Gade fought an enemy, he either killed them instantly or crushed them from start to finish.

He had indeed never worked with Wade.

Reed had always known Gade was even prouder than he was. Once Gade made a move, he would not allow anyone else to interfere. Otherwise, he would kill even his teammates!

But the situation was critical now! If the three of them did not work together, they would be finished!

He had truly never expected Gade's pride to be this strong!

Reed's hesitation made Wade unsure whether he should act, causing them to miss their chance.

But it might also have eased the internal conflict.

After all, Gade really might attack Wade right now.

He looked terrifying, like a madman in the middle of an episode!

"You damned fraud! I'll kill you! Aaaah!" Gade charged furiously at "Ifrit."

Ifrit raised his hand and fired a shot.

It hit, but the bullet lodged in Gade's muscles.

"What tough flesh." Ifrit could not help but remark.

"Your ten seconds are up." He said to Gade, "Now let me count."

"Ten."

Rumble, rumble.

In Gade and Wade's eyes, the entire earth suddenly shook as the ground split apart.

They could not keep their footing and hurriedly steadied themselves, only to feel a powerful sensation of weightlessness!

They looked down and saw lava below, scorching heat blasting against their faces!

Along with the broken slabs of earth, they fell toward the lake of lava beneath them!

Gade and Wade instinctively crouched down. Their first reaction was to kick off the slabs beneath their feet and use their jumping power to escape danger.

Even knowing it was an illusion, when someone saw an incomparably real flying knife stabbing toward their eye, how could they possibly resist their instincts?

That realistic physical sensation would make any powerful person react instinctively in the face of such a life-threatening crisis. It was trust in the five senses, etched into human genes!

Of course, when they treated Ifrit as an enemy, that very trust would harm them!

"Nine." Ifrit switched to Wind Blast and flew toward Wade. He raised Hani high and slashed down at that neck covered in bite marks!

"Not good!" Reed was horrified.

Though he had coldly said that Wade's death would simply mean he was too weak, from a practical standpoint, if Wade died, then only one-armed Gade and Reed would remain. They would be slaughtered one-sidedly!

Wade could not die!

He had intended to use his ability only at the most critical moment.

But—

He had to save Wade!

Ifrit suddenly felt his body grow heavy, while the surrounding magic power became chaotic. His strength was greatly weakened.

"Hm?"

The moment doubt arose, Ifrit immediately withdrew his blade and retreated!