On the sidelines, a reporter overheard Dispear and Happy's conversation and could barely contain their excitement. "COOL! Are you saying this 'Fire Emperor' is like the main character from Breaking the Sky?!"
The reporter's voice carried, and the crowd erupted instantly.
"The Fire Emperor? You mean Natsu, that wizard, is the Fire Emperor?"
"Yeah! With that scarf and his fire magic, it's like they're the same person!"
"Breaking through in the heat of battle, unlocking a new ultimate move—it's straight out of the book!"
Clearly, a ton of Kira' readers were in the audience. His novel Breaking the Sky had fueled countless people's magical dreams.
Kira, the mastermind behind it all, was so stunned he couldn't speak. Of everyone, he was the most shocked by Natsu's transformation, because he recognized it instantly.
He vaguely recalled a moment from the original timeline, seven years later, during the Grand Magic Games. In the four-way dragon battle, Sting and Rogue had used a similar technique, entering a state they only tapped into once in the entire series: Holy Light Mode and Shadow Mode.
This magic, if he remembered right, was called Mana Amplification!
It was a spell that massively boosted a wizard's overall strength and elemental attributes.
Sure, in the Grand Magic Games, Sting's Holy Light Mode and Rogue's Shadow Mode hadn't been enough to beat a regular Natsu and Gajeel, but that didn't mean the technique was weak.
And now? The one using Mana Amplification was Natsu.
"Is this your hidden trump card?" Kira said, genuinely impressed. "Gotta say, it's pretty dazzling. This state's amped up your power big time—you could probably take on two Grays, no problem."
Natsu flashed a bright grin. "Yup! Back in Zonia, facing Acnologia, I tapped into your amplification magic and everyone's power. After we got back, I've been secretly training to get back to that state. Kinda bummed I could only pull this off, though."
Kira nodded quietly, piecing it together. "Makes sense now."
It wasn't much different from Lightning Flame Dragon Mode or Fire Dragon King Mode, was it?
Kira could tell Natsu's fiery mode was a cut above Sting's Holy Light or Rogue's Shadow Mode in terms of raw power boost.
"Dragon Force isn't something you just stumble into," Kira said. "Pulling off this level of Mana Amplification is already impressive. It might be a bit late to say this, but Natsu, I'm officially recognizing your strength!"
Kira' words were subtle, but they hit their mark, riling up the two across from him. Natsu's grin widened, while Gajeel's mood soured even more.
"Oh, and as fellow Dragon Slayers," Kira teased, "I wonder when Gajeel's gonna unlock his own Steel Mode?"
Ouch!
It was like Kira had stabbed Gajeel right in the heart.
Sure, Gajeel's skin and muscles could harden like steel, but no amount of toughness could block a verbal burn like that.
"Just a fancy Mana Amplification, huh? Big deal!" Gajeel scoffed, trying to play it cool. "I don't need some flashy trick to outdo this fire-breathing lizard!!"
What else could he say? Admit he was outclassed? No way! Gajeel's current mindset: lose the fight, win the trash talk. At all costs.
Ten minutes into the battle, and it was reaching its climax. All three let loose, unleashing their pent-up fighting spirit with no holds barred.
First up, Gajeel decided he was back in the game. Yelling "Ora ora ora!" he charged forward—only to get slapped down by Kira, quite literally.
It wasn't a regular slap, of course. Kira summoned a black hand of gravity, controlling a two-meter radius around him. With a flick of his wrist, he cranked the gravity field to ten times normal, smashing a crater into the ground—and pinning Gajeel right in it.
"Damn… it…" Gajeel growled, struggling but helpless.
Meanwhile, Natsu came barreling in, shouting "Muda muda muda!" with flames roaring sky-high. The air around him grew dry and scorching.
Kira tried the same gravity trick, but Natsu reacted in time, dodging with a quick sidestep. His momentum didn't falter, and in a blink, he was right in Kira' face.
That alone showed the gap between Natsu and Gajeel.
"Fire Mode, huh? Not bad!" Kira said, clearly impressed.
Spurred on by the praise, Natsu's fighting spirit surged. His fists and feet moved faster, unleashing a flurry of punches that left dozens of fiery afterimages in the air. Kira backpedaled, dodging with quick sidesteps while blue light shimmered in his hands.
"Ice Pillars!"
Kira threw an uppercut, landing a precise hit on Natsu's wrist through the flurry of afterimages. At the same time, several sharp-tipped ice pillars shot up from the ground, blocking the fiery punches.
"Did he stop it?" the crowd gasped, but what happened next defied expectations.
The fiery afterimages arced through the air, slamming into the ice pillars. Instead of fizzling out, the flames melted and vaporized the ice, leaving irregular craters in their wake. Ice magic of the same level was no match for Natsu's attacks in Fire Mode.
The clash of fire and ice filled the air with the sizzling sound of evaporating steam.
To the unaware onlookers, it looked like Natsu was actually overpowering Kira. The crowd stared in disbelief.
Could Natsu really beat Kira?
It was unthinkable before, but now Kira seemed stuck on the defensive. Even his ice magic, supposedly the perfect counter to fire, wasn't cutting it. What else could he do?
What they forgot was that ice magic wasn't Kira' specialty. His true strength lay in his vast magical reserves, sharp mind, versatile magic, and superhuman ability to learn and adapt.
In the entire arena, probably only Makarov and Dispear still had faith in Kira.
Gajeel finally clawed his way out of the gravity field. Getting crushed by Kira twice in a row didn't dampen his spirit—it only fueled his pride and resilience.
His hands morphed into black iron—a sword in one, a spear in the other—and he charged.
With another opponent in the mix, Kira' reactions slowed just a fraction, his adaptability strained.
Natsu didn't miss it. Seizing the moment, he put even more power into his fists. Kira crossed his arms to block, but Natsu's punch suddenly hit harder than expected, forcing Kira back. His feet skidded, leaving two half-meter-long gouges in the ground.
Natsu pressed his advantage, unleashing his signature move: "Fire Dragon's Roar!!"
Oh, this kid's getting cocky, huh?
You've had your fun, but big bro's done playing.
Kira didn't flinch. He extended three fingers on each hand, forming a triangle in front of him. Magic surged, shaping a white triangular pyramid that quickly turned into a transparent prism, shooting toward the roaring flames.
"Oxygen Deprivation!"
Everyone knows fire needs oxygen or an oxidizer to burn. Strip the air of oxygen, and fire magic's power plummets—or fizzles out entirely.
This was science-fueled magic.
BOOM—Pfft!
The clash was instant. The Fire Dragon's Roar faltered and vanished completely. Even Natsu's Fire Mode flickered out the moment it touched Kira' spell.
"What the—?!" Natsu's voice shot up several octaves, his shock echoing through the arena.
"What just happened?! Why'd the Fire Dragon's magic disappear?!"
Gajeel was just as stunned. Since when was Dragon Slayer magic so easy to shut down?
Taking advantage of his height, Kira glanced down at the two shell-shocked Dragon Slayers with a cryptic smirk. "The science behind it might be a bit much for you two illiterates to grasp. Time to end this!"
Magic surged again as Kira tapped into a tenth of his magical reserves. White light coated his right arm. He crouched low, then slammed his fist into the ground.
"Earth Shatter!"
The ground cracked and buckled, rocks and quicksand erupting from below in a massive explosion of energy. The live-feed magic crystals flickered with static from the sheer force.
The energy surged from Kira' fist into the ground, then burst upward, overwhelming Natsu and Gajeel. Despite their attempts to block with fire and iron, it was futile. Caught off guard, they were swallowed by the relentless onslaught, blasted back, and knocked out cold.
When the dust finally settled, Natsu and Gajeel were unconscious, half-buried under piles of rubble.
"Natsu!" Happy cried from the judges' stand, his voice full of worry.
Dispear patted him reassuringly. "Don't worry, Kira knows what he's doing. They'll be fine after some healing."
Seeing the Twin Dragons out for the count, Kira knew it was time to wrap things up. He brushed the dust off his clothes and strode toward the Black Team's crystal tower.
The live feed captured only his retreating figure, his white cloak slightly dirtied, billowing in the wind as if proclaiming his victory.
A faint voice carried on the breeze.
"Not bad, kids!"
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