"Spatial magic?" Erza narrowed her eyes for a moment, wondering if Ultear was using the same type of Transformation Magic she herself employed.
But the sensation she felt from it was different.
"No. My magic is called Arc of Time," Ultear replied.
Since her goal now was to stall long enough for Meredy to get away, she didn't mind explaining. After all, Arc of Time wasn't the sort of magic one could counter simply by knowing its name.
"Every phantom image of a crystal ball represents a 'future', a point where it might appear," she explained with quiet confidence.
"I have infinite expectations for the future, which means there can be an infinite number of crystal balls. Arc of Time allows me to guide them to the future I desire."
Her eyes glinted as she tilted her head slightly. "So… what will your future be?"
"Cana," Erza said firmly, instantly understanding Ultear's intention. She shot Cana a meaningful glance.
"I get it." Cana immediately spun on her heel and broke into a sprint, chasing after Meredy.
This black-haired woman was clearly dangerous. If both she and Cana were tied down here, Grimoire Heart's plan might succeed.
But Ultear had no intention of letting anyone interfere. With a graceful sweep of her arm, dozens of crystal balls materialized in full and hurtled toward Cana like a glittering storm.
Though the method was different, the wave of projectiles was strangely reminiscent of Erza's own magic.
Cana, like Meredy, didn't even look back. She trusted Erza to handle it.
And Erza, just as expected, re-equipped in an instant. Golden light flashed as she donned her Adamantine Armor, stepping forward with her massive shields raised to block every incoming crystal sphere.
A barrage of deafening explosions erupted against the magic circle embedded in the shields, fire and smoke billowing around her.
When the haze cleared, Erza stood unharmed, and Cana had already vanished into the forest, hot on Meredy's trail.
Ultear let her hands fall to her sides. "No matter. That woman won't be able to stop Meredy anyway. In fact… she'll die."
"Don't underestimate Fairy Tail." The Adamantine Armor shimmered and vanished, replaced by sleek, black, winged armor. "Requip: Black Wing Armor!"
"Reequip Magic… impressive speed," Ultear observed calmly, "but unfortunately for you, we aren't well-matched."
As Erza charged, Ultear gently waved her left hand. "Guide the time of that sword to the future… and rust it away."
The blade in Erza's hand corroded instantly, its gleaming steel crumbling to flakes of rust before disintegrating completely mid-swing.
"That armor… send it to the future!" Ultear flicked her right hand, launching a crystal sphere at Erza.
The Black Wing Armor dulled, cracked, and shattered in seconds, falling away in pieces to reveal the garments beneath.
"What?!" Erza's eyes widened in shock. She had no time to react before a crystal sphere slammed into her chest, knocking her backward through the air.
"Supersensory Impact!"
An overwhelming number of crystal ball phantoms flared into existence, then solidified all at once, raining down toward the fallen Erza like a meteor shower.
"Flight Armor!"
Reacting on instinct, Erza re-equipped yet again, black feathers vanishing as lightweight, wind-swept armor appeared. She shot out of the blast zone just as the crystal spheres detonated in a chain of thunderous explosions, then darted in and swung twin blades at Ultear.
"A speed-based transformation," Ultear noted, stepping back smoothly. "But speed is still no match for time."
Both of Erza's blades warped and crumbled into useless scrap metal, even as more crystal spheres arced in from all sides.
Erza tried to push her speed further, darting around the incoming strikes, but her leopard-print Flight Armor corroded in moments, reduced to worthless fragments.
"Ahhh!"
The next wave of crystal spheres slammed into her from every direction, each blow tearing at her armor and leaving fresh wounds across her body.
"Purgatory Armor!"
Erza charged forward once more, and before closing the distance to Ultear, she drove her massive serrated greatsword into the ground.
A tremendous shockwave tore through the earth, racing toward Ultear and forcing her to leap aside.
Erza seized the opening, closing in with two quick steps before swinging her blade in a wide horizontal arc.
This time, the greatsword grazed Ultear's side, slicing through her clothing, but that was the extent of the damage.
The mighty Purgatory Greatsword succumbed instantly to Arc of Time, corroding into nothing but a pile of reddish-brown rust.
Dozens of crystal spheres formed before Erza, each glowing with a pale violet light, then rushed forward in unison to engulf her.
Her Purgatory Armor shattered beneath the assault, and she hastily re-equipped into her Adamantine Armor. But after deflecting only two or three strikes, even that legendary defense crumbled under the relentless temporal erosion.
Erza was forced to admit it. Ultear had been right. Against the Arc of Time, her own magic style was at a severe disadvantage.
"Aaaahhh!"
A cry tore from Erza's throat before her knees gave way and she collapsed to the ground.
Her white shirt and blue pleated skirt were shredded from the barrage, her body marked with bruises, gashes, and streaks of blood.
She pressed her fists into the dirt, forcing her battered frame to rise despite the tremors running through her limbs.
"Still don't understand?" Ultear's tone was almost mocking. "No matter how many armors you summon, no matter how many weapons you equip, you cannot defeat time itself."
To drive the point home, Ultear casually restored the tear in her clothes right in front of Erza, an elegant display of power that made it clear she hadn't even fought seriously yet.
Erza lowered her head, rain running down her hair, dripping from her bangs. "Cana trusts me," she said softly.
Ultear tilted her head. "What?"
"Mira trusts me too," Erza continued, lifting her gaze slightly. "She believed I could handle things here. That's why she left without worry. My comrades place their faith in me and my strength. Before I defeat you, I absolutely cannot fall."
Something in Erza's eyes made Ultear's composure falter for the briefest moment.
But then the dark mage snapped her hand out, crystal spheres spiraling into the air before crashing toward Erza in rapid succession. "Don't underestimate the leader of the Seven Kin of Purgatory!"
The spheres slammed into her, back of the head, chin, chest, back, arms, legs, each blow staggering her, threatening to send her to the ground.
Yet Erza did not fall.
"Why?" Ultear demanded, her tone slipping toward hysteria. "Why push yourself this far? Why insist on standing in my way?"
Gasping for breath, Erza met her gaze head-on. "If I let you go, you'll bring danger to Cana… and to everyone else. I have to stop you."
Ultear's eyes widened, her voice growing sharp and frenzied. "You're worried about that woman? There's no need. By now, Meldy will have killed her!"
"No," Erza said, steadying her breathing. "Quite the opposite. Cana won't lose, and neither will I!" Her voice rose in a defiant cry. "Requip, Giant's Armor! Spear of Poison Dragon!"
She hurled the massive spear at Ultear with all her strength.
"I told you, no weapon can withstand time!" With a flick of her wrist, Ultear reduced the spear to a heap of rusted fragments.
At the same moment, she launched a crystal sphere toward Erza, unleashing Arc of Time upon the Giant's Armor.
Erza didn't dodge. She charged straight in, allowing the armor to decay and fall away, re-equipping mid-stride the moment the sphere made contact.
"Requip, Sea Empress Armor!"
The crystal sphere slammed into the gleaming green armor, but Erza only narrowed her eyes, her right hand curling into a phantom grip as she drew it through the air in a slashing motion toward Ultear.
Ultear hesitated. She was unarmed… Was she attempting…?
Her suspicion was confirmed in the next instant.
As the arc of the swing reached its peak, a curved scimitar shimmered into existence in Erza's hand, the blade flashing as it connected solidly with Ultear's side.