In the darkness-shrouded amusement park, Sho's cold words still echoed.
Erza's breathing was ragged, and the hand holding her sword trembled slightly.
Facing the boy who was once like a little brother to her, a crack had appeared in her proud fighting spirit.
"Sho... You're being controlled, aren't you?" Erza's voice held a final shred of hope. "Is someone forcing you to do this? Tell me, and I'll help you—"
"Help?" Sho laughed, his smile dripping with mockery. "Nee-san, you're still so naive. No one is forcing us. This is our own choice!"
A few more cards materialized between his fingers, and magical power began to gather on their surfaces.
"Besides..." Sho's gaze drifted to Ace, a flicker of apprehension in his eyes. "Jellal was right. With your strength, plus this man, we are indeed no match for you."
"Jellal?" Erza's pupils contracted abruptly. "He... he's still alive?"
"Alive and well," Sho's smile twisted. "And he's stronger and more brilliant than before. He's the one who told us your whereabouts, the one who devised this plan for us."
He paused, glancing at Natsu who was trapped by the cube chains and then at Gray who was catching his breath after just escaping the Dark Moment.
"So, we won't fight you head-on. We are merely... the bait to execute the plan."
Before his voice had faded, Sho suddenly tossed all the cards in his hand into the air!
Dozens of cards exploded mid-air, transforming into countless points of light.
The lights didn't attack anyone but swiftly reassembled, forming a massive, glowing arrow that pointed toward the amusement park's eastern exit.
"Come and get me, Nee-san!" Sho turned and ran, his figure vanishing into the darkness in a flash.
"If you want to know the truth, then chase me!"
"Sho! Wait!" Erza wanted to give chase, but her feet felt rooted to the spot.
She looked at Ace, her eyes filled with a complex struggle—reason told her this was an obvious trap, but her heart wouldn't let her ignore Sho.
He was the little brother she had once sworn to protect...
Ace sighed, walked to her side and gently squeezed her shoulder.
"Go if you want to," he said. "I'll go with you."
Erza looked at him with a flash of gratitude in her eyes
. But then her gaze shifted to Natsu and Gray who's still in danger.
"They'll be fine," Ace said, his eyes sweeping over the two as the corner of his mouth curved into a barely perceptible arc.
"Trust me."
Erza hesitated for a second before finally nodding.
She requipped into a suit of light armor for mobility and together with Ace, chased after Sho in the direction he had disappeared.
The moment Ace and Erza's figures vanished through the eastern exit, the atmosphere in the amusement park changed.
Wally remained where he was, the cube chains holding Natsu fast.
Simon's figure flickered in and out of sight within the darkness, maintaining the Dark Moment domain.
Millianna, meanwhile, crouched beside Lucy, reinforcing her bonds with ropes and taking the opportunity to pinch Lucy's cheek.
"Meow~ Such nice skin~"
"Let go of me!" Lucy struggled.
"Don't be in such a hurry, little kitty~" Millianna's smile widened.
Just then—
Crack.
A crisp shattering sound rang out, exceptionally clear in the silent darkness.
Everyone—including Wally, Simon, and Millianna—whipped their heads around to look at the source of the sound.
It was where Gray was.
Fine cracks, which had appeared at some point, now covered the surface of Gray's body.
The cracks spread at a visible rate, from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, from his torso to his limbs.
In a flash, his entire body looked like an ice sculpture on the verge of shattering.
"What is this...?!" Simon's pupils shrank.
The next second, Gray's "body" completely disintegrated!
It wasn't the shattering of flesh and blood, but a spray of countless ice crystals!
The crystals reflected the faint light as they fluttered down like snowflakes, leaving behind only an empty shell encased in a layer of ice.
It was a lifelike "substitute" Gray had created with his ice magic.
The real Gray had used "Ice-Make: Decoy" to replace himself the moment the Dark Moment domain appeared.
His real body had slipped into the shadows, observing from the darkness all along.
"When did you..." Simon didn't get to finish his sentence.
Because the real Gray was already dropping from the shadows on the ceiling.
He clasped his hands together before his chest as a terrifyingly cold aura condensed with frantic speed.
"Ice-Make: Lancer!"
Dozens of ice lances materialized in an instant, shooting toward Wally, Simon, and Millianna from every angle.
The tip of each lance gleamed with a bone-chilling light, their speed so great they left white trails in the darkness.
"Tch!" Simon immediately retreated, unleashing his Dark Moment domain at full power in an attempt to slow the ice.
But with Gray already prepared, this level of delay was no longer enough.
"Cube—Defense!"
Wally reacted with extreme speed.
The cube chains binding Natsu instantly disassembled and re-formed in front of him, constructing a thick cube shield wall.
The ice lances slammed into the shield, erupting in a dense barrage of impacts.
Countless cracks appeared on the shield's surface, but it just barely held.
Millianna, on the other hand, nimbly flipped and weaved through the gaps between the ice lances like a cat, narrowly avoiding every attack.
But they had all overlooked one thing—
Natsu was free.
"Aaaaaah—!!!"
A deafening roar erupted from behind Wally.
Freed from the cubes' restraint, Natsu's magic erupted like a volcano.
His entire body ignited in scorching flames, his hair stood on end and his eyes transformed into draconic slits.
"How dare you trap me with those blocky things!" Natsu bellowed, his feet cracking the ground beneath him.
"I'll burn you to ashes!"
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
His flaming fist shot toward Wally's back like a cannonball!
Wally hastily redirected his cubes to form a defense, but in his haste, the defense was far from as sturdy as before.
BOOM—!!!
The cube shield was punched straight through.
The fiery fist, its momentum barely diminished, slammed heavily into Wally's back, sending him flying.
He crashed through three arcade machines before coming to a stop.
"Cough, cough..." Wally struggled to get up, but the cube armor on his back was mostly shattered, its dark red light flickering unsteadily in the cracks.
On the other side, Simon had already merged back into the darkness, attempting to activate Dark Moment again.
But this time, Gray was prepared.
"The same trick won't work twice," Gray said coldly, pressing his hands to the ground.
"Ice-Make: Ice Geyser!"
With him at the center, a frigid aura spread out madly.
The floor, walls, ceiling—everything began to freeze over.
Its not an attack, but a change in the environment.
In an extremely cold environment, the concealing effect of darkness would be greatly diminished, as the temperature difference would expose one's position.
"Found you," a cold glint flashed in Gray's eyes as he raised a hand and aimed at a shadowy corner.
The ground exploded as a thick pillar of ice erupted from the shadows.
Simon was forced to reveal himself, leaping away at the last second, but his left leg was still grazed by the ice pillar and was instantly encased in a thick layer of ice.
"Damn it..." Simon gritted his teeth, using dark magic to melt the ice on his leg, but his movements were now noticeably sluggish.
Seeing the situation turn sour, Millianna immediately retreated.
At the same time, she flung out several ropes, not to attack, but to wrap around nearby pillars and swing toward the exit.
"Trying to run?" Gray raised his hand, and several ice arrows shot out.
But Millianna's movements were extremely agile.
She changed direction continuously in mid-air, and all the ice arrows missed.
She landed at the exit, glanced back at the group, especially at Lucy tied up on the floor and hesitated for a moment.
"Millianna! Forget the mission, retreat!" Simon yelled hoarsely.
Millianna bit her lip, finally turning and rushing into the passageway, disappearing from sight.
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