"Being controlled?" Marco clenched his fist and looked at Jellal.
"Let's test it out then."
Marco couldn't be certain if Jellal was currently under control, but he could try to see if he could control this guy himself.
Marco's [Phantom Demon Emperor Fist] could also control enemies.
If Jellal was indeed being controlled by someone else, Marco could challenge that person to see whose control ability was stronger.
However, the [Phantom Demon Emperor Fist] wasn't invincible.
In fact, it wasn't easy to land a hit unless the target was an ordinary person or small fry like those before.
Otherwise, if the opponent was on guard, the control effect would be hard to implement, reducing it to something akin to a mental attack.
Therefore, the simplest method was naturally to knock the enemy unconscious first.
Once the opponent lost the ability to resist, using the [Phantom Demon Emperor Fist] to control them would definitely be effective.
In the end, it all came down to beating the enemy to their knees first.
"Six Stars!"
Jellal extended a hand upwards, releasing six magical spheres from his palm.
The six stars rapidly flew towards Erza.
After nearly being hit by Erza's barrage of slashes due to his arrogance earlier, Jellal had immediately sobered up.
He didn't dare to engage Erza in close combat anymore, that was like attacking the enemy's strength with his own weakness.
Jellal's magic was "Heavenly Body Magic," a lost Ancient Magic.
Because its power was too immense and the user had to bear significant risks—even potentially dying from backlash—it was classified as a forbidden art.
Very few people could use it.
In a sense, the reason Siegrain could become one of the "Wizard Saints" was largely connected to his mastery of "Heavenly Body Magic."
He was the only person in the current world capable of using it.
Actually, the ancient super-magic "Urano Metria" could also be considered a type of "Heavenly Body Magic," but "Urano Metria" didn't belong entirely to the Heavenly Body system.
It was a product of combining it with "Celestial Spirit Magic," and one required the aptitude for Celestial Spirit Magic to learn it.
However, this served to show the power of "Heavenly Body Magic." These "Ancient Magics" and "Old Magics" were truly more powerful than the last.
Indeed, it was a classic case of 'the older the vintage, the stronger the item'—the development of the magic world relied on archaeology.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The terrifying six stars produced an exaggerated effect.
Erza couldn't dodge in time and was hit by one of them.
She was smashed into the ground, looking slightly bedraggled. She immediately requipped into the "Heaven's Wheel Armor," preparing to fight back with ranged attacks.
Jellal was using "Meteor," moving far too fast.
He intentionally created distance, making it hard for Erza to catch up.
She was being used as target practice for his "Heavenly Body Magic," which naturally wouldn't do.
"Heaven's Wheel: Blumenblatt!"
Wearing the Heaven's Wheel Armor, Erza spread her wings and flew into the sky.
More than two hundred swords arranged themselves behind her in a shimmering silver formation.
With her command, the two hundred swords flew out together, shooting towards Jellal like a rain of steel.
"Dark Paradise!"
Facing Erza's rain of swords, Jellal crossed his hands above his head.
A pitch-black sphere formed within his hands—a black hole that seemed ready to devour everything, sucking all matter into endless darkness to be destroyed. Jellal threw the black hole directly forward.
"Buzz!!!"
The "Steel Sword Rain" shot by Erza was completely destroyed by the black hole, causing no damage whatsoever.
Meanwhile, the black hole continued to fly towards Erza, its speed increasing.
"ERZA!"
Seeing this scene, the spectators were extremely anxious. Many shouted out, and some immediately looked towards Marco.
The magical aura of the black hole created by "Dark Paradise" was exaggeratedly strong, and its effect was terrifying.
Erza's "Heaven's Wheel: Blumenblatt" consumed a lot of magic power and was considered a killer move, yet it was crushed like an ant before that black hole.
In terms of destructive power, it was obvious that Erza was far inferior to Jellal.
But this wasn't Erza's fault; it was a problem with "Requip Magic."
The upper limit of Requip Magic was Erza.
There was no helping it; Erza's Requip Magic was too basic. It was Erza's personal ability that had raised its ceiling.
In the past, no one would have imagined that relying solely on the most basic "Requip Magic" could achieve what Erza had today.
However, compared to the inherently terrifying "Heavenly Body Magic," "Requip Magic" still paled in comparison.
Moreover, Jellal himself was a genius, and "Heavenly Body Magic" displayed the powerful might it was meant to have in his hands.
Facing the black hole, Erza gritted her teeth and requipped again.
She switched to the defense-specialized "Adamantine Armor." It was an armor with a white and deep blue base, featuring large shields on both arms.
This armor covered her entire body, capable of defending against attacks from all directions.
"Clang!"
Erza combined the two shields on her arms, and a massive green magical barrier appeared in front of her.
"Buzz!"
However, the black hole didn't crash into the magical barrier. Instead, it was sucked directly into a spatial rift and vanished without a trace.
"Another Dimension!" Marco had finally made his move.
Although he felt Erza's "Adamantine Barrier" should have been able to block the attack, the armor would likely have been scrapped, hard to keep intact.
Better to save some money for the girl who spent all her funds on various armors and had to do missions every month just to pay rent.
The "Flight Armor" was already damaged, and the "Heaven's Wheel Armor" would need repairs.
If the "Adamantine Armor" broke too, Erza would really be bleeding money.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, especially Simon.
Marco had finally acted.
Simon truly didn't believe Erza could defeat Jellal; it was better to let Marco and Master Makarov handle it!
"Marco..."
Seeing Marco step in, Erza looked conflicted.
She wanted to solve the Jellal issue herself and didn't want Marco to interfere.
"Don't force it, Erza. Your magic power is insufficient; you're not suited to fight him any longer."
Before Erza could speak, Marco spoke up first.
He was giving Erza face by only saying "magic power is insufficient."
In reality, Erza's combat style was heavily countered by Jellal. If they continued fighting, the final victor would definitely be Jellal.
It was undeniable that Jellal's strength was indeed formidable, fully worthy of the title "Ten Wizard Saints."
No wonder this guy was so confident, threatening to kill them all.
As a young man, Jellal's confidence was normal.
He felt he was definitely stronger than old Saints like Makarov because Makarov was too old.
And he felt his strength was surely superior to Marco, who was a year younger than him, because Marco was too young.
It was truly a flexible standard of judgment!