"Five simultaneous attacks, and they had no effect at all? What kind of magic is this?" Rufus exclaimed in shock when he saw that his attack had done nothing.
"If it were that easy, we wouldn't need all five of us to act together," Orga replied nonchalantly. Despite his light tone, his eyes were filled with seriousness.
It was unprecedented for the five members of Sabertooth to team up against one person. But they had no choice; Calvin's overwhelming magical pressure had already made them keenly aware of the gap between their strength and his.
Their strategy was simple: focus all five on taking down Calvin. If they won, anything was possible. If they lost, they would have no choice but to accept defeat.
However, none of the five believed they would lose.
Individually, none of them could beat Calvin, but Minerva had done her research. She knew that Calvin could summon a maximum of three creatures at once. As long as Orga, Rogue, and Sting were strong in direct combat and could hold off his summons, Calvin would be an easy target for Rufus and Minerva.
The five moved quickly, and none of the competitors dared approach them. Calvin, who had no intention of avoiding them, remained where he was, waiting for the group to arrive. As they finally came face to face, Calvin relaxed while Sabertooth appeared tense and ready for battle.
"Five against one, huh? It's a bit embarrassing, but I have to admit it's the smartest strategy," Calvin said with a smile, gesturing for them to come at him with a teasing flick of his fingers.
"Hmph, if you're so confident, don't blame me for ganging up on you," Minerva replied with a sly smile, though there was a deadly sharpness behind her words.
With that, she moved her hands in an intricate pattern, surrounded by strange magical energy. Simultaneously, Rogue, Sting, and Orga launched their strongest attacks toward Rufus.
"White Shadow Dragon's Fang Flash!" Sting and Rogue unleashed a combined dragon force attack, intertwining light, and dark magic in a devastatingly powerful fusion technique that they hadn't managed to use in their previous battle.
"Thunder God's Charged Particle Cannon!" Orga's hands crackled with dark lightning, which he condensed into a massive cannonball-like blast aimed directly at Rufus.
Everything happened so quickly that Calvin barely had time to react, wondering, "Why are they attacking their own teammate?"
In the blink of an eye, Calvin realized what had happened—the scenery had changed. Though he could still see Rufus smiling at him, Minerva's figure was now in front of him, and two deadly attacks were closing in from either side.
"They swapped positions!" Calvin quickly deduced the situation. But there was no time to think—the attacks were already upon him.
However, Calvin was no ordinary person. His battle-hardened instincts kicked in, and he immediately activated two of his most potent techniques.
'Makyo Art No. 4: Black Coffin' and 'Makyo Art No. 6: Susanoo.'
A dark, translucent blue aura surged from Calvin, and at the same time, a black cube with countless cross-shaped swords materialized around him, sealing him in a protective barrier.
This was an incomplete version of the Black Coffin technique, designed for defense rather than attack. Its thin exterior belied its impressive durability—breaking through it was no simple feat.
But neither Sting and Rogue's combined magic nor Orga's charged particle cannon were simple attacks. Together, their onslaught overwhelmed the Black Coffin's defenses, shattering it.
As the black fragments dissolved, they revealed the shimmering blue form of Calvin's Susanoo—a massive skeletal giant clad in armor. Its torso was incomplete, but it still boasted multiple arms, each holding a different spectral weapon. It wielded a dark blue flame and a heavy shield in its left arm while its right arm gripped a deep-colored magatama and a longbow.
Before anyone could fully comprehend the sight of the colossal giant, two powerful attacks crashed into it simultaneously.
Boom!
The explosion reverberated through the area, destroying nearby buildings and even forcing the three attackers to stumble back. Fortunately, Minerva could block the shockwaves with her space magic, preventing them from being seriously injured.
As the dust settled, the five members of Sabertooth anxiously waited to see the results of their attack. They hoped that, at the very least, their combined effort had wounded Calvin.
But the more significant the hope, the bigger the disappointment.
When the smoke cleared, the battered Susanoo remained standing, with Calvin unharmed at its center.
Though the Susanoo appeared fragile and on the verge of collapse, its presence only filled the Sabertooth members with dread. Even with their most potent combination, they had failed to harm Calvin.
Even worse, Calvin was still able to mock them.
"That was close. If I'd taken those attacks without any defenses, I'd probably be dead. You must have a lot of faith in me to think I could withstand such an assault," he said, his tone lighthearted.
None of the Sabertooth members responded. They glared at Calvin grimly, stunned by his overwhelming defense.
Calvin was unlike the Dragon Slayers or fighters like Erza, who seemed unbreakable no matter how many times they were hit. His body was fragile—a single blow could be fatal. Because of that, Calvin had mastered defensive magic from a young age, learning his first barrier spell under Makarov's guidance.
Ignoring their silence, Calvin sighed, "How boring. But I must admit, getting ganged up on like that is terrifying. I guess that's why I love doing it to others."
With those words, Calvin's demeanor shifted. A commanding aura surrounded him, and the five Sabertooth members instinctively stepped back, gasping for breath under the pressure.
"Perfect timing," Calvin sneered. "I thought you were standing a little too close for comfort."
Without realizing it, Calvin had slipped seven cards between his fingers.
Watching this unfold from the castle, Princess Hisui bit her lip nervously.
"Seven cards… Could what he said really be true?"