Ankh's eyes widened, and he involuntarily staggered back two steps.
The deep gash on his chest rapidly healed amidst a silvery glow.
Dimaria raised an eyebrow, exclaiming in delight, "Such a physique? Impressive."
A faint perverse blush colored her cheeks as she laughed, "So you're an indestructible target, aren't you..."
Frowning, Ankh gently touched the rapidly healing wound on his chest and stared thoughtfully at the broadsword in Dimaria's hand.
He had clearly blocked her attack, so how had the blade still struck him?
"Be careful... Boss. That woman... seems to have the ability to stop time..."
Just then, Sorano, lying behind Ankh, awkwardly warning him.
Dimaria's gaze instantly turned icy.
Rip—!
The sound of fabric tearing echoed through the air.
Before Ankh could even react, Dimaria materialized right behind Sorano, lifting her effortlessly by the neck.
Simultaneously, Sorano's clothes instantly shredded into rags, leaving only a few tattered strips clinging to her body...
"Oh~ Not a bad figure," the perverse Dimaria remarked, her eyes roaming over Sorano's form as an indescribable smile spread across her face.
Sorano's face flushed bright red, but with her arms restrained, she could only kick her legs frantically, trying to break free.
"Put her down!"
Just as Dimaria's smile grew increasingly twisted, Ankh's roar suddenly rang in her ears.
This was instantly followed by an intense, excruciating pain erupting from her jaw, sending her body reeling backward uncontrollably.
Ankh's vicious uppercut sent Dimaria flying high into the air, the sheer physical force nearly knocking her unconscious.
Seeing Sorano in her near-naked state, Ankh had no time to overthink.
He pulled two magical cards from his pocket.
"Get into the cards for now. I'll handle this."
Sorano, her face still flushed, nodded.
Ankh removed his own coat and wrapped it around her before safely storing both Sorano and Cobra into the separate cards.
This was a life-storage Magic using cards, taught to Cana by Sho, Erza's old companion from the Tower of Heaven.
Ankh had happened to be present at the time and learned it as well.
He never thought he'd actually need such Magic for protection, but today he had encountered an enemy whose attacks were seemingly impossible to defend against.
Still... such foes weren't unbeatable.
Dimaria, having crashed back to the ground, rose while rubbing her bruised jaw.
Her gaze was cold and fixed on Ankh as she said:
"I was planning to deal with you later, but it seems you're impatient."
"I'll tear you to shreds first. Age Seal!!"
In the absolute next instant, Dimaria had already raised and swung her blade, completing a lethal slash.
This time, however, no blood sprayed.
Her broadsword struck Ankh's neck, sparking a shower of blinding sparks, yet the sharp edge failed to even break his skin.
"Although your Magic Power surpasses Erza's, your raw strength and combat skills still fall far short of hers."
Ankh cracked his neck.
The steel-colored skin all over his body emitted a dull, cold gleam.
Having transformed his body into solid metal using the Life God Power, Ankh erupted with incredibly dense Death Waves from both hands under Dimaria's astonished gaze, and the two engaged in a fierce, high-speed battle.
...
Off the western coast of Tenrou Island, a luxurious giant warship slowly sailed through the increasingly turbulent waves.
A black-haired young man dressed in ancient attire, his eyes perpetually filled with deep sorrow, gazed toward the raging battlefield on the shore.
"Do you think... there is a possibility that the God Ankhseram might... lose?"
The black-haired youth's eyes seemed to transcend time, lost in memories of the distant past, as he murmured softly.
"After all, Dimaria has inherited the power of the Time God Chronos..."
Behind him, sheltering from the rain inside the cabin, was a voluptuous and stunningly beautiful woman.
She held a brownish-yellow, deer-antler-shaped magic wand, draped in a black cloak, a revealing outer garment, and knee-high, high-heeled boots.
On her head rested a rather large witch's hat, and her body's perfect curves almost reached an inhuman level of perfection.
Even more striking was her vibrant scarlet hair, identical to Erza's, though noticeably longer.
It was intricately styled into four thick braids—two resting on her chest and two trailing down her back.
Hearing the black-haired youth's emotionless question, the woman spoke with absolute certainty:
"Impossible, Lord Zeref. Dimaria will undoubtedly lose."
"The power granted by a God is indeed formidable, but given Dimaria's personality, she will absolutely suffer a crushing defeat due to her own character."
The contest of Magic, in gaming terms, essentially boils down to a battle of "character stats" versus "mechanics."
For instance, Dimaria's Time God ability represents a top-tier "mechanical" Magic that traps opponents in specific rules, naturally leading them to ruin.
When combined with her combat skills, its effects are even more potent.
In contrast, the vast majority of today's Magic Guild members purely compete in "stat" strength, seeing whose physical attacks and elemental blasts are more powerful and fierce.
When combatants are of the same category, it simply comes down to who has the higher level.
But when raw "stats" clash with complex "mechanics," the outcome of the battle often leaves people astonished.
As situations grow more complex, instances of a "power scaling breakdown" become increasingly common.
For example, a child might escape a beating by exploiting the "he's just a child" excuse, or an elderly person could fend off enemies by collapsing to the ground—both are standard examples of the weak defeating the strong through inexplicable, societal mechanics...
The reason Dragon Slayer Magic is famous is because it combines both stats and mechanics.
It possesses the "mechanic" of countering enemies of the same attribute and eating their magic to grow stronger, along with the "stat" beauty of a dragon's raw physical physique, allowing this magic to be universally applied in various matchups.
Dimaria's time stop is indeed an overpowered skill, but unfortunately, her opponent is also someone who perfectly balances raw strength with mechanics—a cheater who essentially has a locked health bar and can crush her instantly once caught...
Losing is inevitable... being able to hold off Ankh right now is already quite impressive.
Zeref shook his head and asked, "What about Invel and the others?"
The woman leaned on her staff, gazing through the curtain of rain toward distant Tenrou Island, and murmured softly, "As you instructed, they have split into two teams to enter the island and prevent the Fairy Tail members from escaping."
Zeref nodded, lifting his face to the relentless downpour and letting the raindrops fall upon his skin.
His voice was muffled as he said, "No need to delay too long. We have done enough. Let that fellow handle the rest himself when he is ready."
No response came—only the howling wind and roaring waves filled their ears.
"Speaking of which, Irene, why aren't you going to the island? Didn't you want to meet Him?"
Still no reply.
Zeref frowned and turned around, only to find the room completely empty—the woman had vanished without a single trace.
"Well... she is already gone..."
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