Chapter 499

"What is the structure of your ice..."

"Why does even Demon World ice have no effect on you!"

Inbel watched helplessly as the ice blade in his hand began to shatter, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He did not charge forward again, but asked the question he had long wanted to know.

"Why? Does frost vary by region?"

"The temperature of your ice and my ice is completely different."

"The gap in rank is too great."

Hiburiya Tōshirō smiled slightly, but the mockery in his eyes was utterly unhidden.

He made it perfectly clear to Inbel.

Inbel did not understand how vast the gap between them was.

But now, the mockery from Hiburiya Tōshirō struck him directly.

Without hesitation, his figure surged forward again, and as light flared continuously in his hands, two ice blades materialized.

Frosty winds whirled wildly around them, growing more violent with every clash.

Yet no matter how they fought, Inbel remained on the defensive; the armor covering his body had begun to frost over with ice he could not control.

He, whose hands had not felt cold in so long, was now gripped by fear.

The more he fought Hiburiya Tōshirō, the clearer it became: the other had not even used his full strength.

Otherwise, he would not merely feel a chill—he would be frozen solid.

It would be hard to believe, even if told: the Winter General himself was being suppressed by someone who also controlled ice.

Moreover, even he could sense an unnatural, alien coldness.

It was a cold Inbel had not felt in countless years.

"It's time to send you to the afterlife."

"Ice Heaven, Hundred Blossoms Burial!"

As Hiburiya Tōshirō gently swung his Zanpakutō,

Inbel's body began to sprout layer upon layer of ice flowers.

Just like the technique he himself had once unleashed.

"It's just like Ice Heavenly Blossom Burial..."

The technique bore nearly the same name, yet the rank difference between them was immense.

As each ice blossom bloomed, Inbel felt his body's sensations fading further and further away.

The thought that their coldness was not even on the same level kept circling endlessly in Inbel's mind.

Only after Inbel's entire body was covered in ice blossoms did his aura gradually vanish with the frost.

The surrounding blizzard slowly subsided, and a sliver of sunlight reappeared in the sky.

In Jellal's eyes, a complex expression flickered briefly.

The Twelve Sacred Shields were nearly all dead—those he had carefully nurtured as weapons against the Black Dragon Acnologia.

They had now been almost entirely eliminated.

And each time, by sheer coincidence, the Twelve Sacred Shields faced opponents whose elemental affinities clashed violently with their own.

Not just Inbel—even August and the others were the same.

All of them were opponents they could not easily overcome.

It was as if they had been forcibly thrust into a puppet show, and though they had intruded, invisible strings of puppets had been quietly sewn into their bodies.

On the other side, after receiving the full message from the Fapingyi Society and the Fiore Kingdom,

the Ten Saints arrived in Magnolia Town and, upon seeing the devastation around them, their expressions grew even darker.

They had already reached the town's outskirts moments ago.

Whether it was the blizzard blotting out the sun, the Five Dragon Annihilation far stronger than a Super Magic,

or the cherry blossom rain like blades, all filled them with deep terror.

"Friends, we should first locate Master Makarov."

Jura Leiji looked at the others around him, his expression becoming solemn.

Since when had Makarov become the pillar of their group?

Even though Makarov was not the strongest among them, he had somehow become the one who could most decisively determine their course of action.

"I agree. Right now, we can't help here."

"Perhaps Makarov will understand this situation better."

Ulfheim nodded, a flicker of fear visible in his eyes—he still remembered vividly how powerful these foes were.

There was no time to waste here now.

They said they were going to find Makarov, but deep down, he likely feared facing these death gods even more.