SaberLeomon moved.
It didn't charge or pounce—instead, its massive body shuddered violently!
With a deafening roar, the countless thick hairs of its mane stood straight up.
Venom gathered at the tips, forming tiny, eerie purple droplets that shimmered in the moonlight.
"Infinity Arrow!"
The sound of projectiles ripping through the air echoed like a torrential downpour.
Thousands of venomous, needle-like hairs shot outward from SaberLeomon's back!
The needles tore through the air with a piercing shriek, leaving trails of purple venom behind them.
These hairs were hard enough to pierce solid Digizoid armor, carried enough poison to paralyze a dragon in three seconds, and moved faster than sound.
This was SaberLeomon's ultimate technique.
But Mystogan didn't move.
He simply raised his left hand.
Three staves—gold, silver, and crimson—rose from the ground, spinning wildly as they formed a triangle above his head.
"Hourou Shin!"
His low voice echoed from beneath the mask.
The three staves reached maximum speed, their lights weaving together to form a massive magic circle over three meters wide.
At the center, the three different magic attributes compressed and spun, creating a violent, tri-colored whirlwind!
The whirlwind crashed downward—not at SaberLeomon, but right into the ground in front of Mystogan.
BOOM!
The moment the whirlwind hit the ground, it set off a massive shockwave.
The stone pavement was ripped apart, sucking rocks and debris into the storm.
The whirlwind expanded like a living creature, instantly growing into a massive tornado thirty meters tall. It shielded Mystogan completely at its center.
Just then, SaberLeomon's "Infinity Arrow" hit.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Thousands of needle-like hairs slammed violently into the tri-colored tornado.
Each one had the terrifying force to pierce steel, but the violently rotating magic deflected, repelled, and shattered them on impact!
The gold magic made the tornado sturdy, the silver magic made it flexible, and the crimson magic made it corrosive.
This three-layered spell, "Hourou Shin," was Mystogan's ultimate defense, honed over years.
It had once even blocked a full-power strike from a Wizard Saint.
But SaberLeomon's assault didn't stop.
It roared again as the hairs on its back quickly regrew, shooting out even faster than before!
The dark purple arrows shrieked through the air, stabbing viciously into the tornado.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
This time, the venomous arrows managed to pierce the tornado's outer layer.
However, after pushing just a meter deep, they got stuck in the raging magic, unable to advance another inch.
It was a stalemate.
SaberLeomon's amethyst eyes flashed with a savage light.
The muscles in its thick limbs bulged, and its dark claws dug deep into the ground.
It tensed every muscle, trying to push the venomous arrows further using sheer physical strength.
BOOM!
The tri-colored tornado exploded! It didn't collapse; Mystogan detonated it on purpose.
A terrifying blast of magic expanded outward, instantly shattering and vaporizing all the projectiles SaberLeomon had fired.
The shockwave slammed hard into SaberLeomon.
The massive beast grunted, sliding backward and plowing four deep trenches into the earth.
It quickly steadied itself, shaking its head as the fierce look in its eyes grew even wilder.
The moment SaberLeomon regained its footing, Mystogan was already moving.
He gripped the "Nothingness" staff with both hands, its colorless crystal emitting an eerie glow.
"Mist Illusion Abyss!"
His low voice echoed.
No magic circle appeared, and no magical energy could be felt.
Instead, an invisible mental wave spread outward from Mystogan like a tide, instantly swallowing the entire street.
Just as SaberLeomon prepared to charge, its movements completely froze.
An overwhelming, irresistible wave of drowsiness surged from deep within its soul.
This wasn't physical tiredness; it was forced mental hibernation—a command to sleep aimed straight at its consciousness.
Its eyelids grew heavy, and strength quickly drained from its limbs.
The savage light in its eyes faded, replaced by a confused, sleepy haze.
It let out a weak whimper.
SaberLeomon shook its massive head, fighting the exhaustion.
But "Mist Illusion Abyss" was Mystogan's signature sleep magic, capable of knocking out elite mages like Erza.
Caught off guard, even a Mega-level Digimon would struggled to resist it.
Its front legs buckled, and its colossal body began to collapse.
Its huge fangs struck the ground with a dull thud as its eyes slowly fluttered shut...
"Wake up!"
Ace's voice erupted like thunder deep inside SaberLeomon's mind.
Pure Digital Soul flowed with his command, burning away the forced sleep like a fierce flame!
SaberLeomon's eyes snapped open, the wild ferocity reigniting in its amethyst pupils.
It let out an angry roar, standing up straight and aiming its massive fangs right at Mystogan.
"To resist 'Mist Illusion Abyss'..."
A flicker of surprise crossed Mystogan's eyes before settling into serious focus.
He took a deep breath and drove the "Nothingness" staff firmly into the ground.
At the same time, his four other staves—gold, silver, crimson, and light blue—rose up.
They slammed into the earth, forming a perfect pentagram with the colorless staff.
Five staves, five attributes, five directions.
"Skyscraper!"
Mystogan formed a complex hand sign over his chest.
The five staves erupted with blinding light. T
he colors twisted together high in the air, transforming into a massive magic circle that covered the whole street.
As the circle slowly rotated, countless distorted illusions began to pour out of it.
These visions felt eerie and fake.
The light warped, colors flipped upside down, and sounds scrambled together.
It looked like a crazy nightmare stitched directly into reality.
This was "Skyscraper," Mystogan's ultimate illusion magic.
Instead of attacking the body, it targeted a person's emotions, memories, and mind.
Anyone trapped inside would be forced to witness their deepest fears and most painful memories.
Their negative emotions would be amplified until they mentally collapsed, defeating them without a single physical blow.
Even Laxus had suffered severe mental damage and emotional turmoil from this spell.
Now, the target of the "Skyscraper" was SaberLeomon.
Illusions surged into SaberLeomon's mind like a tidal wave.
It saw countless Digimon corpses, burning forests, and visions of itself being torn apart by stronger monsters.
SaberLeomon growled uneasily, its massive body trembling.
It tried to attack the visions, but its sharp claws just passed through thin air.
The illusions grew more real, and the fear grew stronger.
Its mind started to slip, and its attacks turned wild and sloppy as it frantically clawed at enemies that weren't there.
Ace frowned.
The power of "Skyscraper" was far beyond his expectations.
Even though SaberLeomon was a Mega-level Digimon, it was still a wild beast at heart; mental defense wasn't its strong suit.
Against an illusion spell designed specifically to break emotions, it was losing its grip.
If this kept up, SaberLeomon would exhaust all its energy fighting ghosts, or worse, suffer permanent mental damage.
"It seems one isn't enough," Ace muttered to himself.
He raised his right hand, palm facing the sky.
Dark gold Digital Soul poured out of him once again, drawing a second summoning circle in the air.