"Is that so?" Ivan smiled sinisterly, the smile full of ill intentions.
He didn't attack directly but suddenly raised his right hand, palm facing Shane. A strange, invisible Magic Power fluctuation spread instantly.
In the next moment, an unexpected figure appeared abruptly in front of Shane!
Scarlet long hair, a resolute and familiar face, a suit of heroic armor, holding a longsword flashing with cold light tightly in hand.
It was Erza!
This "Erza" had cold eyes, without any emotional fluctuation, like an exquisite marionette.
The moment she appeared, without the slightest hesitation, she exerted force under her feet, rushing forward, raising the longsword high, and chopping down at Shane's head with a sharp whistling sound!
The sword wind howled, blowing the hair on Shane's forehead.
Ivan watched this scene, a smug and cruel smile appearing on his face. He seemed to want to appreciate the shock, hesitation, or pain that might appear on Shane next.
"How about it, brat? This girl is often with you, right? Experience properly what it feels like to be attacked by someone familiar and close to you!"
However, facing this sudden "betrayal" and fatal slash, Shane stood on the spot, not even moving his feet by half an inch.
It was just that the burning Eyes of Karma in his eyes shone brightly at this moment!
The flames seemed about to burst out of his body, burning away illusions.
No weapon manifested, not even any defensive posture made.
Just a split second before that cold longsword was about to touch the top of his head, Shane moved.
The Heart Fire guarding around his body, like snakes seeing their king, licked, attached, and gathered on his right hand.
Accompanied by Shane's simple and neat single-handed swing—Crack!!!
A shattering sound like glass or some solid structure being broken instantly exploded!
That aggressive "Erza," along with the longsword in her hand, under the invisible impact and high temperature brought by Shane's swing.
Like ice and snow thrown into the blazing sun, shattered inch by inch instantly, turning into countless flying light spots and Magic Power fragments, completely dissipating in the air.
Not even a trace was left.
From beginning to end, the expression on Shane's face didn't change at all, still that calm look carrying a trace of indifference.
He shook his hand, his gaze falling back on Ivan whose expression changed slightly, and said lightly, "First, this level of illusion can't affect me."
"Secondly—" Shane paused.
"Erza would never attack me."
The smug smile on Ivan's face froze, replaced by an expression of uncertainty.
Looking at Shane's pair of strange eyes that seemed to be burning, and glancing at the rapidly dissipating Magic Power fragments on the ground, he understood instantly in his heart—this brat's eyes could see through illusions!
"Tsk, troublesome ability." He spat.
Seeing him standing still, Shane waited no longer.
He gripped the void with one hand, dim light condensing. That pitch-black longsword whose body seemed able to absorb surrounding light appeared in his hand out of thin air.
Without superfluous words, Shane moved like a cheetah rushing forward. The black blade cut through the air, slashing straight at Ivan's face with a sharp arc!
Ivan was an S-Class Mage after all, reacting extremely fast.
In the nick of time, Magic Power erupted under his feet, his body floating back as if weightless, dodging this sharp slash by a hair's breadth.
"Hmph!" Ivan, having pulled away, sneered. "Interesting! But don't think seeing through my illusion qualifies you to be arrogant in front of me!"
Before his voice fell, Shane suddenly felt a strange binding sensation coming from under his feet.
He looked down. At some point, countless palm-sized paper dolls with weird faces drilled out from the shadows on the ground like living things, densely hugging his feet and ankles.
Strong binding force made it difficult for him to move.
"It's over!" Ivan seized the opportunity, waving his right hand forward violently.
Instantly, more paper doll shikigami surged from all directions. They rotated and gathered at high speed, like being twisted into a pale torrent by invisible force, making hissing whistling sounds, shooting explosively toward the immobile Shane with astonishing speed!
Shane's gaze sharpened, not panicking.
He stomped his foot violently. Crimson sparks exploded abruptly centered on his feet. Scorching Heart Fire instantly swallowed and burned the shikigami winding around his ankles into ashes.
The moment he broke free, the torrent of paper dolls had arrived in front of him! Shane exerted force with his waist and abdomen, twisting his body sideways at an extremely tricky angle.
Hiss—!
Although his reaction was already fast to the extreme, the edge of the attack still grazed his waist side. A shallow blood mark appeared, oozing blood beads.
Shane looked down at the wound on his waist, his eyes moving slightly.
He could feel that Ivan's Magic Power condensation was extremely high. Just grazing caused damage far exceeding ordinary Mages.
He couldn't help sighing in his heart: "As expected of an S-Class Mage—the 'quality' and 'quantity' of Magic Power are indeed not comparable to small fries."
One must know that even when facing the attacks of Ultear strengthened by magic experiments before, his [Magic Resistance B] could basically withstand them. But Ivan's grazing attack actually broke his defense and injured him.
Seeing the attack work, even if just a minor injury, Ivan's confidence, shaken by the illusion being broken, recovered rapidly.
That confident smile of controlling everything returned to his face.
"Have to admit, brat, your swordsmanship and that troublesome flame do have something."
Ivan looked at Shane, his tone carrying a teasing like a cat catching a mouse. "But if—you can't even get close to me, what's the point?"
With his words, the sky full of pale paper dolls danced and hovered around him like a disturbed swarm of locusts, forming an airtight mobile barrier, guarding him firmly in the center.
The fluttering paper made annoying rustling sounds, creating a suffocating oppression.
"Indeed," facing Ivan's ridicule, Shane actually nodded in agreement, "not being able to get close is a bit troublesome."
As his voice fell, the attire on his body changed abruptly.
That iconic pure white cloak dissipated like a phantom.
Replacing it were two deep red ribbons hanging elegantly from behind his shoulders.
The black blade in his hand also disappeared, replaced by a wild-styled deep red longbow almost as tall as him, held steadily in his grip.
"Then let's switch someone else to deal with you."
Shane said softly, retreating instead of advancing, pulling away to a distance more suitable for bow and arrow.
He drew the bowstring virtually with his right hand—
An arrow purely composed of Magic Power, flashing with gentle brilliance, condensed instantly.