"Are you really sure?"
Lorne's extremely calm voice echoed through the empty underground cavern, carrying a sense of being in control.
Natsu, however, completely failed to grasp this meaning. He only felt his rage about to burst through the sky!
"Hey! Lorne!"
Natsu pointed at Lorne's figure, stomping his feet in anger.
"You bastard! You're ignoring me!"
"I'm talking to you!"
This scoundrel had been staring at that masked wack since just now, completely treating him as air!
Lorne finally slowly turned his head, his gaze falling on the jumping Natsu, his expression still unchanged.
"Oh, Natsu!"
He spoke in a nonchalant tone, delivering a piece of news that instantly petrified Natsu.
"Erza is already on this island. She's here to catch you!"
"..."
All of Natsu's movements, all of his anger, came to an abrupt halt at this moment.
His body stiffened suddenly, and his expression changed dramatically at a visible speed.
Drops of cold sweat silently slid down his forehead.
"I... I..."
He opened his mouth, the sound from his throat a bit hesitant, and his body even began to tremble slightly.
But he still forced himself to say the most stubborn words in a stammering voice.
"I'm not... not afraid of her!"
He said this without any confidence, probably not even believing it himself.
Saul, who was nearby, watched this scene with great interest, finding it very amusing.
She hadn't expected such a development. Her gaze returned to Lorne, with a hint of mocking smile.
"Heh heh... So that's it."
She asked with a smile, "Is that your confidence? Do you think you can turn the tide with the fairy queen?"
In her opinion, this was simply ridiculous.
No matter how strong Erza, the fairy queen, was, by the time she arrived here, everything would already be over.
"What other methods do you have?"
Lorne didn't answer her question. He first looked back at the space above the giant ice crystal again.
The purple light had already reached its peak, and the magic circle was about to fully form.
The glow of the moon drip might penetrate the rock layer and shine down the next second.
Time was running out.
Lorne slowly turned his head back, looking again at Saul, who was still full of confidence.
The corners of his mouth curved into a meaningful arc.
"You'll know soon."
"From this moment on..."
"The offense and defense have shifted!"
The moment his words fell!
Boom—!!!
A terrifying magic power erupted from Lorne's body!
It wasn't the previously restrained, faint aura, but a pure, vast magical aura!
The temperature of the entire underground cavern plummeted, and countless tiny ice crystals condensed in the air, reflecting the purple light of the magic circle, dreamlike yet full of danger!
"This... What is this?!"
Saul's smile instantly froze on her face. She felt the vast and familiar magic power, and her whole body was stunned.
This magic power... This magic power was clearly identical to the powerful magic power that had made her feel a little uneasy in the jungle outside the ruins not long ago!
How could this be?!
How could this be!
Not long ago, this guy named Lorne was clearly not her opponent, easily defeated by her.
In the blink of an eye, he possessed such terrifying power?!
This rate of improvement had completely exceeded her understanding!
It was simply unbelievable!
However, after a brief shock, Ultear quickly composed herself again.
A cold smile even reappeared on her face.
"So that's it, you've been hiding your strength all along?"
"What incredible acting."
She admitted that she had misjudged him.
But... so what?
"Even if you can really defeat me, it's too late now!"
Saul looked up, pointing to the magic circle that was about to be completed, her voice filled with the composure of a victor.
"The ritual cannot be stopped! Deliora will be resurrected immediately!"
"You..."
Her words were not finished yet.
The next instant, her smile completely froze on her face.
Rumble rumble rumble—!!!
Here it came again!
Such violent shaking again!
The entire ancient ruin once again experienced an unusually violent tremor!
Huge stones fell from the cave ceiling, and the ground cracked with hideous fissures.
The ruin... The ruin that had just been righted by the Arc of Time, was now once again beginning to shift!
The ruin seemed to return to its state after Natsu's destruction, completely tilting to one side.
The purple pillar of light above, which had gathered all the moonlight, also began to shift its angle of illumination as the ruin tilted.
The light pillar grazed the edge of the giant ice crystal, eventually shooting towards the rock wall on the other side of the cavern.
The moonlight... had shifted!
The ritual... had failed!
"No... impossible!"
Saul muttered to herself, unable to comprehend everything happening before her eyes.
"Arc of Time... No!"
She suddenly realized, this wasn't her magic!
But this magic was very similar to her Arc of Time.
She subconsciously wanted to cast magic again to right the tilted ruin.
However, when she mobilized her magic power to try to re-manipulate the timeline of the ruin, she found that her control over the Arc of Time had become incredibly weak at this moment!
As if suppressed by some force, she now seemed as if she couldn't use this magic anymore.
"How could this be..."
Saul swayed, an unprecedented sense of powerlessness welling up in her heart.
She had failed.
Not only had the ritual failed.
But there was no possibility of starting over.
She had lost.
Lost completely.
Her gaze was fixed on Lorne not far away.
The immense magic power that man had unleashed, combined with some unknown magic he had mastered, had actually managed to turn the tide.
Cold sweat seeped from beneath Saul's mask.
She glanced at the unfathomably powerful Lorne, then at the fire dragon beside him, who, though not very smart, possessed astonishing destructive power.
Plus Erza, the "fairy queen," who could arrive at any moment... She couldn't stay any longer!
If she didn't run now, she would surely pay a heavy price today, and might even be trapped here by their combined efforts!
"I'll remember you!"
Saul's voice became sharp and venomous. She suddenly pulled out a crystal ball from her embrace, then smashed it fiercely on the ground!
Bang!
The crystal ball shattered, and a thick cloud of smoke instantly enveloped the area where she stood, blocking all sight and perception.
"Trying to run?!"
Natsu roared, about to charge into the smoke.
But the smoke had already begun to dissipate, and the figure of the comical masked man was nowhere to be seen.
That guy had vanished.
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