Erza and the enormous magic array she held up, twenty meters wide, stood like a rock amidst the torrent, sheltering everyone behind her.
Joseph's dark purple energy stream hit the magic array, emitting a dazzling light, yet it could not shake the Vajra Armor.
Only the land on both sides of the array was ravaged by this violent energy. When the attack ceased, the ground in a large conical area behind Erza was half a foot higher than its surroundings.
Erza's shield parted, and she took two steps back, seemingly not unscathed.
The terrified Ghost members realized they hadn't died under the President's attack. Some dropped their weapons directly, some knelt weakly, while others fled the battlefield without care.
Only a few Ghost Soldiers continued to attack.
The Fairy Tail members wanted to cheer for Erza but were interrupted by Rhode: "Seize the time to clear the remaining enemies and prepare for the final showdown!"
Natsu and Gray were both present, but Mira and Hapi hadn't appeared.
"Understood!"
"Wolian, get over here immediately!"
"Got it!"
Wolian quickly rushed over, letting Rhode place a hand on his shoulder.
Maintaining bodily contact, Wolian allowed Rhode to choose his communication target independently and speak without opening his mouth, making it faster and more accurate to convey orders.
"Sniper team, shock bombs, fire in batches! Loki, move!"
"Summoning, Cyan Engraved Golem!" After issuing a few commands, Rhode summoned two golems and continued to shout: "Natsu, Gray, Kana!"
The golems bestowed the Crown of Insight upon the four, then one followed Natsu and the other followed Gray as they ran.
The first to act was Loki. His injured arm was simply bandaged, and he stood behind Erza, revealing the ring on his finger, emitting a strong light towards Joseph's eyes.
"A little trick." Joseph pulled up his cloak slightly with his left hand to shield the light and pushed forward with his right hand. A crooked purple lightning zigzagged towards Loki.
"No way!" Erza stepped left, raising one half of her shield, and intercepted the lightning with a grunt.
When the sniper team's bullets reached Joseph, causing a deafening noise, Loki's ring shone even brighter.
Kana stood in front, while Gray and Natsu had already run to the sides, and the three launched their attacks simultaneously:
"Emperor's Wind Blade, Destiny's Call Thunder!"
Kana crossed her arms, holding six cards between her fingers, and flung them out fiercely. Three turned into giant wind blades almost two meters long, and three became lightning as thick as an arm, striking Joseph head-on.
"Ice-Make: Ice Cannon!"
Gray turned sideways, making a bow-drawing motion with his arms, producing a cannon tube like a single-soldier rocket launcher. When he pulled the trigger, ice and snow combined cannonballs shot toward Joseph's left side like a laser.
The powerful recoil even caused him to lean back, his front leg involuntarily lifting.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Natsu braced himself, taking a deep breath, forming a tube with his hands in front of his mouth, and executed his breath in the most standard posture.
Flames spewed from between his hands, like a dragon's mouth, concentrating into a trumpet-shaped scorching fire flame, and striking towards Joseph's right side.
Although Joseph's vision was obstructed by the strong light, and his hearing was limited by the shock bombs, he still responded.
He simply released the cloak shielding the light, pushed his palms forward, suddenly opening them to the sides, pulling the purple-black magic power in his palms into a half-circle like it was elastic.
"Dark Arc!"
The purple-black arc energy wave expanded outward and flew out, shooting diagonally downward due to Joseph's higher position.
This arc neutralized the wind blades, dissipated the lightning, cleaved the ice cannonball, and scattered the dragon's fire flame.
Not only that, the arc continued to spread, seemingly aiming to cleave everyone in two.
Erza once again merged the large shield to protect everyone behind her, being pushed back a step by the arc. Two golems shielded Natsu and Gray; their legs, far harder than rock, were inscribed with three-inch deep marks.
"Elfman! Mira! Wakaba!"
During the third round of shock bomb shooting, Rhode's shouted voice could not be heard, but through Wolian's magic, it entered the minds of the three.
"Smoke Maze!" A wisp of smoke trailed from Wakaba's pipe, expanding when it reached Joseph, further blocking his vision and hearing.
Although only the size of a basketball, it perfectly covered Joseph's head and was difficult to disperse for a moment.
"Man!" Elfman ran a few steps, leaping over the heads of those in the front row, receiving the Beast King's Soul mid-air.
He sprinted forward with large strides, jumping towards Joseph at the top of the ruins, delivering a punch to the side of Joseph's face.
Perhaps Elfman's steps were too heavy, or his fist wind too strong, but Joseph caught his fist with clawed fingers.
His forearm seemed to tremble, almost pressing against his own face: "Exaggerated brute force... I'll reward you with the most painful torment, Dark Erosion!"
Black energy emerged from Joseph's palm, climbing like a snake from Elfman's fist up his arm.
Elfman instinctively sensed something was wrong. Although his fist broke free of the palm, the dark energy remained connected to Joseph's hand, continuing to climb.
Moreover, a stinging sensation began spreading from Elfman's arm: "Ugh..."
Brought to the high airs by Hapi, Mira dove down from the sky at high speed, receiving Satan's Soul midway.
With a fierce flap, her black devil wings folded, accelerating to an astonishing speed. She clenched her fist, aiming straight for Joseph's head.
Joseph couldn't evade, and the punch landed solidly.
Standing at a height, Joseph toppled into the ruins, the top sinking in, and debris and rubble again buried the Ten Wizard Saints.
The darkness on Elfman's arm vanished, and Wakaba's smoke mass was dispersed by the strike.
By now, the remaining Ghost Soldiers had also been completely wiped out.
"Success..."
Rhode heard someone trying to declare victory, and quickly sent a message to intercept:
"Mira, Elfman, fall back!"
"Everyone! Attack magic! Bursting Magic Crystal! Fire!"
Upon command, Mira grabbed Elfman's arm, pulling back.
Instantly, flames, ice, smoke, wood, wind blades, lightning, flying swords, black magic bullets, bursting magic crystals...
All sorts of attacks, colorful lights all flew toward the ruins.
Cuts, explosions, and thunderous sounds echoed continuously.
The highest part of the ruins was blasted into a large pit, with the building debris nowhere in sight.
An ordinary person facing the entire guild's firepower would likely be untraceable, yet Rhode remained vigilant:
"All squads, maintain formation and retreat orderly!"
When the attack ceased, a conspicuous purple-black spherical barrier remained in the pit.
Joseph's appearance was indeed wretched, his hair unkempt with strands over his forehead, a noticeable wound on his temple with blood flowing down his cheek, and his mouth corner stained with blood.
His robe and cloak were in tatters, his exposed arms bleeding profusely.
His trousers had turned into shorts; missing a boot, with a wound on his leg as well.
After the barrier disappeared, Joseph hung his head, bent over, with arms drooping in front of him:
"Hehehe... Hoho..."
Joseph let out a sinister laugh, looking up with a menacing expression on his face:
"Well done, you… well done!"
Joseph's body seemed coated in a layer of purple-black light, massive magic power exploded, as if countless evil spirits roamed around him.
"Brats of Fairy Tail!"
With a loud boom, Joseph didn't seemingly use any magic, yet the ground under his feet sank another layer.
If he seemed disgusting before, now he was downright horrifying.
The weaker members, like Lucy, couldn't help but feel fear!