"Natsu! Lucy!"
Happy, flying in the sky, spotted Natsu and Lucy running from afar. The little guy flapped his white wings, turning into a streak of light, and instantly flew into Natsu's body.
Natsu's aura immediately intensified. He stomped hard on the ground, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared, accompanied by flames gushing from beneath. A pair of white wings spread from Natsu's back, and he charged straight forward.
Gray, already deeply surrounded by ghosts, was not flustered. He posed with his hands, and a massive amount of ice-blue cold air erupted from his body.
"Ice Make—Lancer!"
The cold air around Gray instantly transformed into dozens of ice lances, but the ghosts nimbly dodged them, and the seemingly dense ice lances all struck empty air.
Gray raised an eyebrow slightly. "Something's not right. These ghosts seem to be controlled by a Mage, and a Mage with rich combat experience."
"Who cares if they're controlled or not!" Natsu clashed his fists together, crimson flames immediately igniting his hands. He charged forward fiercely: "Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
A whirlwind of flames swept through, and the ghosts let out piercing screams, suddenly scattering and retreating.
Natsu took a quick step and landed behind Gray. The two stood back to back, ready to fight.
Meanwhile, the surrounding ghosts quickly rushed towards them, beginning to circle Natsu and Gray rapidly.
"What are they doing?" Lucy observed cautiously.
Natsu and Gray were about to attack when suddenly, the ghosts' movements formed a strange magic circle pattern, and the ground began to glow purple.
"It's a trap!" Lucy shouted, "Get out of there!"
But it was too late. Dozens of purple chains stretched out from the magic circle, instantly coiling around Natsu and Gray's limbs.
However, the two, though bound, exchanged glances and both showed playful smiles.
"We're really being underestimated!" Natsu grinned.
Gray snorted, a smile playing on his lips.
The flames and cold air in the air surged violently without warning. Before the surface of the chains could even glow purple, they were instantly vaporized by the sudden burst of crimson high temperature from Natsu's body, turning into wisps of white smoke that dissipated into the air.
"You think this can trap me? Too naive." Natsu stretched his shoulders. Flames condensed into fire snakes with his movements, and a casual flick sent the surrounding charging ghosts scattering.
Their shrill screams hadn't fully erupted before they were drowned out by the explosive roar of burning flames.
"I've seen through the ghosts' movement patterns. Even if there's someone hiding behind them controlling them, with a large-area attack, can you dodge them all?" Gray, with his arms crossed, radiated coldness that spread out like ripples.
Ghosts that got close to him instantly froze into glistening ice sculptures upon touching the ice-blue mist, shattering into ice shards on the ground under gravity.
"Ice Make—A Thousand Ice Blades." He casually raised a hand and waved, and countless ice prisms shot out like a rainstorm in all directions. The attack covered a hundred-meter radius, and the dense, inescapable attacks landed on the ghosts, tearing them to pieces.
Seeing this, the slightly more distant ghosts immediately gathered together. Dark purple light illuminated their bodies, seemingly preparing to cast a magic circle again.
Watching the ghosts frantically re-form the magic circle, Natsu ignited two man-high flames in his hands. The flames spun rapidly in his palms, emitting a piercing shriek.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" The two flames shot out of his hands, collided in mid-air, and formed a giant fiery tornado. Wherever it went, the ghosts had no chance to dodge and were swept into the fiery tongues, burning to ashes.
Gray, taking advantage of this opening, lightly tapped the ground with his fingertip: "Ice Make—Cone Cage."
From his center, hundreds of ice cones burst out of the ground, forming a giant cone that trapped all the remaining ghosts inside.
With a snap of his fingers, all the ice cones exploded simultaneously, and the splashing ice crystals annihilated the ghosts into nothingness.
Lucy stood by, watching everything unfold in stunned silence.
"It's over just like that?" Lucy was a bit dazed.
Natsu and Gray walked back side by side. Happy, released from his possessed state, sat on Natsu's shoulder, looking unusually relaxed.
Natsu said matter-of-factly, "Even if someone is controlling them, these ghosts themselves aren't very strong. If they hadn't kept scattering and not fighting back yesterday, we would have dealt with them much sooner."
Gray also nodded. "It's too troublesome to chase them when they scatter. The Mages in the guild who are good at speed aren't here. If we weren't worried about them creating a diversion, we would have dealt with these guys yesterday."
Happy agreed, raising his small paw, "Aye!"
The situation, which had just been tense, was resolved with such ease in their hands, as if it were child's play.
She shook her head helplessly. Although these guys usually seemed unreliable, at critical moments, they truly were dependable companions.
As they spoke, the communication crystal on their waists suddenly lit up, and Erza's urgent voice came through: "Everyone return to the City Hall immediately! Ghosts are attacking the City Hall!"
Everyone's expressions changed drastically.
Natsu punched a tree: "Damn it! We were tricked!"
When the team rushed back to the City Hall, the sight before them stunned them.
Thousands of ghosts were besieging the Magnolia City City Hall building. Inside, over a hundred ordinary citizens could be seen hiding, while Erza, Cana, Levy, Marcus, and Yukino were entangled by at least a hundred ghosts.
These ghosts were even more violent. Each ghost was a full person's height, their ethereal bodies formed by black smoke, their eyes terrifying dark purple vertical pupils, and their faces grotesque and horrifying, with visible fangs.
Every ghost could release simple Undead Magic. Countless bone spears flew in all directions, and there were also dark 波動 balls with corrosive effects.
These Undead Magic attacks had a strong life-eroding effect. If Erza and the others hadn't fully blocked this group of ghosts, the citizens in the building behind them would likely have been gone with just one hit.
The plaza in front of the City Hall had become a battlefield. Natsu's pupils reflected the sky-obscuring horde of ghosts. The twisted black figures emitted chilling shrieks, and dark purple energy projectiles rained down.
Erza's armor was covered in corrosive marks. She was using her twin swords to construct an impenetrable net of blades, cutting down all the Undead Magic aimed at the citizens.
"Happy! Take Lucy to the side!" Natsu's roar was exceptionally clear amidst the explosions.
The little cat immediately grabbed Lucy's collar and flew to the side wing of the City Hall, where a collapsed section of the wall formed a natural cover.
Gray's ice boots left two white streaks on the stone pavement. He clapped his hands on the ground: "Ice Make—Wall!"
A ten-meter-high Ice Wall rose from the ground, temporarily blocking the ghosts' offensive.
Intense crashing sounds came from the other side of the Ice Wall, and cracks spread at a visible rate.
"These guys are at least ten times stronger than the ones in the forest!" Gray frowned.
Natsu, however, grinned, flames spilling from between his teeth: "Good, I haven't warmed up enough yet!"
He inhaled sharply, his chest expanding like a bellows, "Fire Dragon's Roar!"
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