The Oppressive Presence of a Wizard Saint

"Don't scare me," Ifrit said hurriedly. "You know me—I'm very timid. If my hand slips, this photo might end up on Natsu's face. He might be quite surprised by it."

"You—" Laxus nearly crushed his teeth.

"Enough. That old bastard Jose is strong. If you insist on fighting alone and get beaten, that'd be really embarrassing!" Ifrit said seriously.

Laxus fell silent.

He had fought Jose earlier.

Though he really did not want to admit it.

Unless he used that move, it would be difficult for him to defeat Jose.

But Jose would not give him the time to slowly use that move.

"You have to listen to me!" Laxus gritted his teeth.

"Okay, Laxus. An attack is coming—dodge to the left." Ifrit nodded, then immediately tossed the photo to Laxus and ran to the right.

Laxus grabbed the photo. At that moment, Jose's long-range magic attack had already reached his face, forcing him to dodge left.

Only after dodging did he realize something was wrong.

Boom!

A huge hole was blasted through the roof.

Ifrit looked toward Jose, who slowly emerged from the darkness.

He raised his hand and fired a Void Flash.

Buzz—

A black beam three meters wide tore through the darkness, but a Ten Wizard Saint like Jose, whose combat experience was nearly maxed out, naturally would not be hit so easily.

"Phantom Soldiers—"

Countless dark soldiers charged at Ifrit.

Overwhelming magic power pressed down from all directions.

Ifrit retreated and vanished from sight.

"Deceiving the five senses?" Jose snorted. Magic power surged around his body as dark magic formed an inescapable net, covering the entire battlefield.

Ifrit, who had already circled behind Jose, immediately switched to Bombardment and fired a shot.

Boom!

A massive explosion of magic power blasted a huge hole through the dark net.

Ifrit took the chance to slip through it.

Though he had failed to catch Ifrit, the destruction of the net naturally told Jose that he was somewhere nearby.

He did not hesitate in the slightest.

He released an enormous amount of magic power.

"Ghost Arrows—"

Hundreds upon hundreds of dark arrows blanketed the gap in a full bombardment—saturation fire!

Fortunately, Ifrit flew quickly and had long since left the attack's range.

Boom!

A gigantic demon suddenly crashed into the sea, sending waves dozens of meters high into the air.

Ferocious. Terrifying!

It was Deliora!

Deliora's body was even taller than Phantom Lord's headquarters. The moment he appeared, his enormous demonic eyes locked onto Jose.

"Roaaar—"

Deliora let out a furious roar, then swung his massive fist at Jose.

"Heh, deception." Jose ignored it completely. He knew Ifrit's magic merely deceived the eyes.

Wait!

Something was wrong!

There was a fluctuation of magic power!

At the last moment, Jose suddenly realized it and hurriedly dodged aside.

Bang!

A magic bullet grazed his cheek!

That had been close—he had nearly been shot in the head!

Cold sweat broke out on Jose's forehead.

"Death Storm—"

A blackish-purple beam swept across a vast area.

Facing an enemy as powerful as a Ten Wizard Saint, Ifrit always adhered to the principle of firing one shot and changing positions. He could never stay in one place and take hits.

Thus, the attack did not strike him.

Still, he could not help but marvel.

As expected of a Ten Wizard Saint.

The sense of oppression was far too overwhelming!

Wade and Reed were nowhere near his level!

As the Guild Master of a super guild and one of the Ten Wizard Saints, Jose possessed immense magic power, along with extraordinarily rich combat experience and an extremely strong fighting will!

Ifrit's Deception Magic had two applications.

The first was deception. Its effect would not weaken because of the opponent's strength.

The second was fraud, using guidance to manipulate the opponent's emotions.

Perhaps Ifrit had not studied the second application deeply enough, or perhaps it was simply a trait of the magic itself, but his ability to manipulate emotions was currently limited by the strength of the opponent's willpower.

The stronger the opponent's willpower, the weaker the effect of this emotional guidance.

Therefore, guiding Jose's emotions would not be very effective.

Though deceiving Jose's five senses worked very well and could achieve perfect deception, when Ifrit attacked, his magic power was not used in the subtle, infectious manner of Deception Magic. It was a direct application of magic power for offense.

Deception Magic's ability to fool the five senses was unfailing because of the subtle infection of magic power. It could not be detected; even Guild Master Makarov could be infected and affected by it.

But when Ifrit truly attacked, he used Till and Hani.

Till's six functions all involved detonating magic power, similar to how Natsu burned flames or Gray used magic to create ice.

And Hani was so sharp because it was enhanced by magic power, much like Erza using her weapons.

Neither of those methods was an inherent application of Deception Magic.

Simply put, they exposed a flaw at the instant of attack.

Even if that flaw was minuscule, lasting only for a single instant.

Even S-Class mages would find it difficult to notice.

But Jose was absolutely not included among them.

With his immense combat experience, Jose could dodge and counterattack the instant he noticed the flaw.

That was the strength of a Ten Wizard Saint!

Whether in magic power, fighting will, combat experience, or reaction speed, he stood at the very peak!

"What a troublesome brat." Jose kept suffering from Ifrit's magic, his brows deeply furrowed.

At times, all sorts of powerful enemies appeared before him, including Makarov, who had become even taller than a demon.

At times, the ground beneath his feet collapsed, and the sensation of weightlessness felt incomparably real.

At times, everything before him suddenly went black. He could hear nothing, feel nothing.

At other times, he would "see" traces of Ifrit.

Ifrit used nearly every scenario and combination he could imagine to deceive Jose.

Yet Jose could always distinguish deception from a real attack.

The instant Ifrit exposed a flaw, he could snap awake from the "deception," then counterattack while defending himself.

This was the combat strength of a Ten Wizard Saint—it could not be underestimated!

"Fairy Tail brat." Jose once again ignored the deception, counterattacking the instant he dodged an attack. Then he praised Ifrit with some emotion, "I have to admit, you possess a truly terrifying kind of magic."

"A complete deception of the five senses, and you even seek to infiltrate my heart and guide my emotions."

"If you were given time to grow and deepen your mastery of this magic, even I might find you troublesome."

"Or if you worked together with Makarov, I would certainly be defeated."

"But there are not so many 'ifs.'"

"Enough. I have already figured out your tricks. Now it is my turn." Jose asked, "Brat, where is darkness most easily overlooked?"