"Ice Shell?!" Ultear covered her mouth in shock.
"You know about Ice Shell?" White Night turned and looked at Ultear.
Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy, Happy, and Arlen all turned toward her as well.
"I heard Mavis and my mother mention it before. Just like Absolute Ice Seal, Ice Shell is a forbidden spell that sacrifices the caster's life to freeze everything into eternal ice," Ultear explained, staring directly at White Night. "So that's it… the reason you gathered moon power was to melt the ice sealing Deluge Beast."
"What?!" Lucy exclaimed. "You're trying to revive that demon?! Are you insane? Didn't you say it destroyed countless towns?!"
"And didn't you also say your master gave up his life to seal it away?" Natsu added, completely unable to understand.
"You certainly know quite a lot," White Night said calmly to Ultear.
"What happened to my subordinates?" White Night ignored Natsu and Lucy and instead looked toward Arlen.
"At the very least, they're alive. Your plans have already failed, so are you still going to continue this meaningless farce?" Arlen replied casually.
"Meaningless?!" White Night's expression twisted. "What do you know?! Surpassing my master was always my greatest dream! My master died sealing Deluge Beast away, but if I can revive it and defeat it myself, then that proves I've surpassed him!"
"I think your brain's broken," Gray said flatly.
"He really is a lot like Lyon," Ultear whispered quietly to Arlen and Erza. "Always talking about surpassing his master. If my mother had done something like this back then, Lyon probably would've turned out exactly the same."
After thinking about it, the others realized she wasn't wrong. In some ways, Lyon and White Night really were alike—both hopelessly stubborn.
"There's no point talking any further," Arlen said calmly. "You have your convictions, and that's your business. But we absolutely won't allow you to release a demon like this."
"And I can tell you one more thing with certainty: even if you revive Deluge Beast and defeat it afterward, it still wouldn't prove you surpassed your master. Because this creature is already effectively dead. Endless years sealed in ice have slowly drained away its life force."
"That's impossible!" White Night roared back. "You're lying!"
If what Arlen said was true, then what about his dream? What about everything they had sacrificed for?
Arlen merely looked at him indifferently. Whether White Night believed him or not made no difference. The outcome had already been decided, and Arlen had never been the type to win arguments with words.
"As long as I defeat all of you, I can restart the Moon Drip ritual," White Night declared.
Whether it was confidence or sheer delusion, even now he still believed he could defeat everyone present.
"Then come try it!" Natsu cracked his knuckles, his face full of excitement and battle spirit.
"I'll handle this," Arlen interrupted before Natsu could rush forward. "We still need to solve the villagers' curse afterward. Don't waste time."
"Fine," White Night said coldly. "Then I'll defeat you first before dealing with the others."
He removed his helmet and flung off his cloak, revealing a handsome face filled with wild arrogance.
"Ice-Make: White Dragon! Ice Tiger!"
White Night thrust out both hands as magic circles lit beneath his feet. A lifelike ice dragon and a savage ice tiger charged at Arlen from both sides.
"No wonder he's so confident," Arlen remarked. "He can simultaneously use two different Ice-Make constructs."
"Whoa, that's amazing!" Lucy gasped. "I've never seen someone use two Ice-Make spells at once!"
"Using different Ice-Make spells with both hands at the same time may look impressive and gives more attack variations," Ultear analyzed, "but each construct is weaker than a proper dual-handed cast. And the control becomes unstable. One mistake at a critical moment and the whole thing collapses."
"Gravity Impact."
A magic circle appeared beneath Arlen's feet. He casually pushed forward with one hand, and an invisible wave of gravity compressed the air ahead of him, instantly crushing both the White Dragon and Ice Tiger.
"Wind Scar."
Arlen immediately drew Alaya Consciousness and slashed forward. Three golden gale-like sword waves tore through the air toward White Night.
"Ice-Make: Ice Wall Giant Ape!"
White Night frowned deeply, finally realizing just how terrifying Arlen truly was. With a single move, Arlen had destroyed both constructs and launched such a deadly counterattack.
Without hesitation, White Night focused completely. His hands rapidly formed seals as a giant ice ape appeared wielding a massive diamond-shaped ice shield.
Boom!
Wind Scar slammed into the giant ape's shield with a deafening explosion. Cracks instantly spread across the construct before it shattered into countless chunks of ice.
Still, it had barely managed to block the attack.
"It's been a long time since I fought in close combat," Arlen said with a faint smile. "Try not to disappoint me, White Night."
In the next instant, Arlen blurred forward and appeared directly before White Night, his blade descending in a swift slash.
Startled, White Night immediately formed savage tiger heads around both fists and engaged Arlen in close combat.
The underground cavern echoed with continuous clashes as sparks and shattered ice scattered through the air.
After dozens of exchanges, White Night gradually fell into a disadvantage. His clothes were sliced apart in multiple places, and thin cuts slowly appeared across his body.
"Ice-Make: Blue Hawk!"
White Night leapt backward to avoid Arlen's diagonal slash. Extending one hand forward, magic surged violently as over a dozen majestic ice hawks shot toward Arlen's face.
Arlen remained completely calm.
With several swift sword strikes, he shattered every incoming hawk. Then gravity magic activated again.
White Night suddenly felt his body become unbearably heavy.
Arlen seized the opening and slashed downward.
White Night's body split cleanly in two—
Only for it to turn into shattered ice fragments.
Clearly, he had used an ice substitute at the final moment to avoid a fatal hit.
"Wind Scar."
Without hesitation, Arlen suddenly slashed toward an apparently empty corner of the cavern. Three gale-like sword waves tore across the ground, carving deep trenches behind them.
White Night's hidden figure appeared instantly as the attack struck him head-on.
He groaned in pain as his body was blasted backward, smashing violently into the stone wall. The impact created a massive crater lined with cracks.
His clothes were torn apart, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"You lost," Arlen said indifferently as he sheathed Alaya Consciousness once more.