One by one, their teammates fell, and Gajeel sensed things were going south. He shouted to Juvia, "We've got this! You go on ahead!"
Juvia hesitated. After her time with Fairy Tail, she wasn't the type to abandon her comrades anymore. But… this was just a competition. The goal wasn't to fight—it was to shatter the enemy's crystal.
So, she made up her mind quickly and pushed forward. "Got it!"
No way they could beat Kira in a fight. Even with her joining in, the three of them combined wouldn't stand a chance. Their only shot was to use the time Natsu and Gajeel bought to reach the White Team's crystal tower and smash their crystal first.
Kira didn't bother stopping her. After all, he'd already redirected the paths at the fork, and Bickslow was guarding the crystal tower anyway.
"Alright, Natsu, Gajeel—bring it!" Kira called out.
The moment his words landed, the Twin Dragons lunged forward in perfect sync, charging at Kira. Round two had begun!
Natsu's elbows blazed with fire, boosting his punches' speed and power. Hooks, elbow strikes, claw swipes—his moves came one after another, each punch heavier than the last, leaving trails of scorching flames that carved fiery arcs through the air.
Gajeel, half his body transformed into black iron, was stronger and tougher than usual. He could feel it—his time in Fairy Tail had noticeably leveled up his strength. His body morphed into all sorts of weapons—swords, clubs, whips, spears—turning him into a walking arsenal, prickly as a hedgehog in battle.
Kira, as always, chose to dodge their onslaught. His evasion skills were maxed out, and even with the two powering up their attacks, he danced through their strikes like a butterfly weaving through flowers, completely at ease.
Boom! Bam! Pow! Crack!
The clash of the sage against the Twin Dragons played out on the massive arena screen, broadcast through the magic crystal. The crowd roared, their blood pumping with excitement.
The Kingdom of Fiore was a land of magic, where magic was woven into daily life. Not everyone could wield it, but everyone had a heart that yearned for it. To them, famous wizards like these were superstars, and a battle between mages was as thrilling as watching celebrities throw down. Who could resist that?
With thousands of spectators in the stands, many had hired wizards for missions before. But those were usually small jobs—chasing off bandits, hunting magical beasts—nothing like this. Most never got to see wizards fight up close, especially since clients, who often lacked combat skills, stayed out of the fray during those missions.
The tasks ordinary folks posted were usually more mundane: working as a tavern server, performing in a theater troupe, finding lost items, or teaching kids basic magic—low-risk stuff. Even when wizards showed off their magic during these jobs, they kept it controlled, avoiding anything too destructive.
Right now, every eye in the arena was glued to this fight—the first real clash in the entire canyon. The other wizards were either lying in wait or still racing toward their objectives.
Boom!
A fiery fist and an iron one swung at Kira simultaneously, but he blocked both with outstretched hands, using their momentum to push himself back. Magic surged in his palms, conjuring "Frost" and "Water Vortex" spells.
These spells could douse flames and deflect physical blows. Though Kira' magic wasn't ice-based, he wielded these spells with effortless skill.
Gajeel didn't back down, despite the overwhelming opponent. In fact, he was thrilled by the challenge. With a roar, iron scales coated his body, and he charged forward in a few quick steps. His hands turned into claws, like a true Iron Dragon's talons, radiating unstoppable ferocity.
Too bad his target was Kira, who sidestepped with a single, graceful leap, dodging the attack perfectly.
Before Gajeel's claws could land, several razor-sharp wind blades sliced through the air, leaving thin gashes in the ground.
It was easy to imagine—if Gajeel hadn't dodged in time, or only barely avoided them, those invisible wind blades would've left bloody marks on him. At the very least, they'd have torn his clothes, and that would've been a major embarrassment.
"Hmph, sneaky bastard!" Gajeel growled.
Kira decided it was time to use about a tenth of his strength to teach him a lesson. But before he could act, Natsu's attack came roaring in, forcing him to deal with that first.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!!"
"Water Wall!" Kira countered.
"Water Cannon!"
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Flames evaporated water, and water doused flames. The exchange looked evenly matched, but the difference in magic power consumption was stark—Natsu was already losing ground.
Natsu, as usual, had no concept of conserving magic in a fight. He went all-out against every opponent, a style that didn't lend itself to long battles. Now, he was panting, sweat dripping down his forehead.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
"Water Dragon Bullet!"
Fire and water clashed in midair, canceling each other out in a burst of steam that clouded the trio's vision.
Suddenly, through the haze, the iron man struck.
Gajeel's first attack missed, but he didn't stop. This time, he launched himself forward, hands transforming into twin black greatswords. They swung wildly through the air, enhanced by his dragon scales, sharp and swift like they had a cutting edge.
Kira could tell Gajeel hadn't studied swordsmanship. Even with his hands as swords, his attacks were all brute force, no finesse. Compared to someone like Erza—or even Raven Tail's Ikaruga—Gajeel's swordplay was amateurish.
The blades came fast, but Kira stayed calm, channeling his magic. "Wind Blade!"
Invisible wind formed invisible blades, striking with unseen force. They blocked Gajeel's iron swords, producing a grating screech.
Clang—Scrape—Screech—
The gust from the wind blades forced Gajeel to squint.
The wind blades had no fixed form—they could stretch long or short, curve or straighten, thicken or thin. Their number was unpredictable: one moment three blades, the next five or seven. Their attacks were erratic, impossible to predict or counter. Kira didn't even need to hold them; he controlled them with his mind, relentlessly targeting Gajeel.
The wind blades sliced into Gajeel, cutting through the surrounding steam and clearing the view. But the first thing Kira saw was Natsu's fist flying at him.
Claws, punches, kicks, elbow strikes, knee thrusts, headbutts—Natsu threw everything he had, one attack flowing into the next. His hands and feet moved in perfect sync, his body a coordinated blaze of aggression.
Kira, meanwhile, kept blocking, parrying punches, deflecting claws, and pushing back kicks. At some point, he'd donned a dazzling suit of ice armor.
The frost-imbued armor encased him from head to toe, with only a near-transparent ice visor over his eyes. It wasn't a magical artifact but something Kira whipped up on the spot, inspired by the Twelve Shields' General of Winter, whose magic could freeze even Gray's ice. Against Natsu, who hadn't fully evolved yet, it was overkill.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack… Iron Fist… Claw… Horn… Brilliant Flame…" Natsu unleashed attack after attack, but no matter how hot his flames burned, they couldn't touch Kira. Eventually, Natsu noticed Kira was only defending. "Why aren't you fighting back?"
Kira wasn't attacking because he was using this chance to hone his physical combat skills.
Sure, he always talked about putting Natsu and the others through brutal training, but deep down, he knew he was the one who needed it most.
In terms of technique, Natsu's brawling was instinctive, almost animalistic, giving him an edge no one could replicate. In terms of raw power, Erza and Laxus could send Natsu or Gray flying with one hand—something Kira couldn't match. And endurance? The others could fight for three days and nights without food or rest, while Kira could only manage a day and a night at most.
But with his pride, there was no way Kira would ever admit, "Hey, I need to work on my close combat. Mind training me?" So, he used these "training sessions" for them as a way to secretly improve himself.
Thankfully, his efforts were paying off. During this fight, he'd already noticed several openings in Natsu and Gajeel's attacks. He held back from exploiting them, though—mostly because he was worried one hit would knock them out cold.