When Natsu and Gajeel reached the canyon, they were pumped.
"I'm all fired up!" Natsu roared.
"Gehehe… A brawl in the canyon? Now that's interesting. This time, I'm gonna make Kira eat dirt!" Gajeel growled, still stinging from the times Kira had gotten the better of him.
"You two aren't seriously planning to take on Kira, are you?" Alzack asked, a bit concerned for their safety—or at least their mental well-being. "The White Team's got Kira, sure, but also Bickslow from the Thunder God Tribe, and… and…"
He almost mentioned Bisca, not wanting to fight her himself, but seeing Natsu and Gajeel's battle-ready faces, he swallowed his words.
"Juvia thinks a head-on fight's a bad idea," Juvia chimed in. "We should split into two groups: one to hold off Kira's attack, the other to race to the White Team's territory and smash their crystal ball."
But Natsu and Gajeel weren't listening to any strategies. "Whatever, let's just fight!" they shouted in unison.
With that, they charged down the central path without looking back. The other three exchanged glances and hurriedly followed.
A few steps in, Gajeel yelled at Natsu, "Hey, Fire Dragon!"
"What?" Natsu replied, not breaking stride.
"Let's make a deal. I'll take Kira. You handle the rest!"
"No way!" Natsu snapped. "I'm settling things with Kira. We agreed on that ages ago!"
"When was that?" Gajeel asked.
"Before you even joined the guild!"
"Guess that guy's not too popular, huh?" Gajeel smirked wickedly. "But let Iron Dragon take this one. You can have him next time."
"No deal!" Natsu shouted, fuming. "You go fight Bickslow or someone!"
"Don't just decide my opponent for me!" Gajeel shot back.
"You're doing the same thing!"
"You wanna fight right now?!"
"Bring it on!"
Just as they stopped and raised their fists, ready to brawl with each other, a voice cut through the air.
"Rock Prison!"
"What?!"
Both reacted instantly, leaping to either side to dodge the earthen cage that shot up from the ground.
"It's Kira!"
"Guess going on the offensive was the right call!" Gajeel cackled. "Yo, Fire Dragon, in this situation…"
"Yeah," Natsu said, flames flaring around his hands, "first one to him gets him!"
Kira stepped forward slowly, a warm, spring-like smile on his face. "Natsu, remember what I said back in Xonia? I promised you some devilish training when we got back. Got sidetracked with the Phantom Lord mess, but now's the perfect time to make good on it!"
Natsu's eyes lit up with excitement. No question about it—out of him and Gajeel, Kira had chosen him as his opponent.
"Let's do this! Fire Dragon's… Wing Attack!!"
Kira's red hair flared wildly, his sky-blue eyes glinting with a faint white glow. One hand behind his back, he waved the other casually at the fiery wings. "Freeze!" he said coolly.
In an instant, the flames were encased in ice, dropping to the ground with a thud and leaving a small crater.
"He froze my fire?!" Natsu gaped.
Natsu was no stranger to ice magic, having sparred with Gray countless times. But Gray's ice only ever canceled out his flames—or at least, that's how fire and ice were supposed to work! Until today, Natsu had never heard of ice that could freeze fire itself. He stood there, stunned.
"What're you spacing out for? Iron Dragon Club!"
Gajeel's shout snapped Natsu back to reality, and he launched a fierce strike at Kira.
"What's wrong? If you're too scared, just keep moving. I'll handle this place alone!" Kira taunted, effortlessly sidestepping the iron club and closing in.
By now, Juvia and the other two had caught up.
"It's Kira?"
"He's alone?"
"I feel like he could take all five of us by himself…" Alzack muttered.
The Black Team's five members knew this wouldn't be easy. Whether they tried to bypass Kira to attack the White Team's crystal or defend their own from his assault, they'd have to get through him first.
In their hearts, maybe only Natsu and Gajeel were itching for a one-on-one fight. Sure, they wanted to win the competition, but more than that, they wanted to throw down with the guild's heavy hitters. As for claiming first place and the title of "Strongest Mage"? Nice to think about, but everyone knew none of them could touch Gildarts, who wasn't even competing.
Still, if luck was on their side and they snagged first place, that'd be pretty sweet!
Just then, Natsu shouted to the others, "I'll hold him off here! You guys go!"
"You think you can stop me all by yourself?" Kira raised an eyebrow, amused at Natsu's confidence. "You're getting cocky, Natsu!"
"Ice isn't your style, Kira!" Natsu grinned, cranking up his magic as his flames burned hotter. "Show me your real power and fight me for real!"
The battle kicked off in a flash. Natsu charged, throwing a flurry of punches at Kira. The other four exchanged glances and sprang into action.
Gajeel swung his iron sword and club, darting into the fray with sharp instincts, filling the gaps in Natsu's attacks.
Alzack fired off a barrage of bullets—slime bullets, explosive bullets, storm bullets, a chaotic mix shooting from his guns. Bisca leaped into a dance of encouragement, boosting her four teammates' magic attacks. But against Kira, their efforts still fell short.
The warrior, the shooter, and the support had all made their moves. The mage wasn't idle either—Juvia unleashed several water slashes, weaving seamlessly into Natsu and Gajeel's attacks. Her fluid, shapeless water filled the last gaps in their offense.
Yet Kira, facing all five, didn't falter for a second.
First, he threw up a [Wind Wall], deflecting Alzack's bullets. Then, with clever precision, he used Juvia's water to counter Natsu's fire, blocked Juvia's water with Gajeel's iron, and melted Gajeel's iron with Natsu's fire.
Years of training had honed Kira's close-combat skills. Against Natsu and Gajeel's four-fisted, four-legged assault, he dodged with ease, his movements smooth and fluid, even landing a counterattack or two.
If you broke down the team's combat stats, the warriors—Natsu and Gajeel—dealt the most damage, landing blow after blow. With Bisca's dance boosting them, each punch hit harder than the last.
But once Kira got used to their melee onslaught, he switched to magical counterattacks. "Repel!"
The scattered bullets froze in midair before flying back toward Alzack.
Alzack reacted quickly, firing more shots to intercept the returning bullets. Dozens exploded in a shower of colorful sparks, shell casings clattering to the ground.
"Repulsion!"
An invisible wave pulsed from Kira, sending Bisca—who'd been circling the battlefield's edge—flying. She crashed into a stone wall and passed out.
"Frost!"
The temperature plummeted, freezing Juvia's flowing water into solid ice, breaking her control. The ice shattered under the combined punches and kicks of Kira, Natsu, and Gajeel. Whenever Juvia tried to attack with water, Kira's three-foot radius of frigid air became an impenetrable barrier.
The extreme cold cloaked Kira's path in frost, covering the ground, grass, and rocks in silvery white. Only the area around Natsu still held any warmth.
"This ice is colder than Gray's…" Alzack said, his voice trembling.
Kira glanced back, noticing Alzack was still standing. Pointing both hands at Alzack and Gajeel, he called out, "Magnetism!"
A magnetic force yanked Gajeel's iron-infused body through the air, crashing into Alzack with a heavy thud.
"Argh! You're in the way!" Gajeel roared.
"You're the one who crashed into me!" Alzack shot back.
After days of traveling together, Fairy Tail's members had grown comfortable with Gajeel, the former Phantom Lord mage. The fear and dislike were gone, replaced by familiarity and playful bickering.
"Rock Barrage!"
Kira didn't let up. With a stomp, the ground within a meter of him cracked open, and countless stones floated up, hovering like bullets made of rock.
Before anyone could react, the stones shot out chaotically across the narrow path. Everywhere except a half-meter radius around Kira was in their line of fire.
Natsu smashed a stone aimed at him with a single punch. Gajeel shrugged off the hits, unbothered. The stones passed harmlessly through Juvia's watery body. But for Alzack, the impacts sounded painful.
The barrage was relentless, and no one could spare a hand to help Alzack. Under the storm of rock bullets, he collapsed, out cold.
"Three left," Kira said calmly.