"Dragon Force is just the most basic form?"
Future Rogue stared in disbelief at Gajeel, who was bickering with Natsu as if no one else existed.
As third-generation Dragon Slayers, they had only awakened this power after barely managing to kill a dragon!
"Damn it! They're completely ignoring us!"
Future Sting, clearly less composed than Future Rogue, was thoroughly provoked by his expected rivals' casual attitude.
His pride wounded, he stomped forward heavily, crossing his hands behind his back. Brilliant pure white light gathered between his palms.
"White Dragon's Radiance, purifying all things in the world. White Dragon's—"
"Holy Light Rain!!"
SWISH SWISH SWISH!
Countless white light arrows shot forth, carving sharp trajectories through the air and striking directly at Natsu and Gajeel, who were passionately shouting at each other.
Sensing the magic power approaching, Natsu and Gajeel simultaneously pulled their foreheads back. With agile steps, they dodged to a safe distance.
BOOOOOOM!!
The white beams landed where they had been standing, exploding into massive spherical flames!
Perhaps the arena had already been pushed to its limit by Lucy and Minerva's magical clash earlier, or perhaps Future Sting's attack was simply that powerful.
A gap over ten meters wide was blown straight through the arena floor. Cracks spread across the surrounding ground. Debris fell, revealing the underground structure below!
"Ooooh! One attack shattered the arena floor! What terrifying power!!" Chapati shouted excitedly.
"They are Dragon Slayers, after all." Yajima nodded slightly, acknowledging the destructive force.
In the few seconds of commentary, Future Sting and Future Rogue had already burst forward.
Their targets were clear: each one going after the "big brother" they had once admired!
The battlefield split in two.
Future Sting closed in rapidly, his holy-attributed fists raining down on Natsu like a storm.
Natsu chuckled lightly, showing no intention of backing down. He clenched his flame-wreathed fists and chose to meet the assault head-on.
ORA ORA ORA!
Both unleashed their Dragon Slayer Magic in a fierce exchange. White light blazed, flames erupted.
Shockwaves stirred the air, thrilling the audience.
"You really are strong, Natsu-san! I've been looking forward to this for so long!"
Future Sting shouted excitedly as he swung his fists.
This evenly matched magical brawl made him feel a long-forgotten rush of excitement.
But Natsu, usually the one who loved fighting, appeared unusually calm. Rarely did he show such composure, with even a hint of disappointment beneath the surface.
The next moment, the power of his flames spiked dramatically.
A heavy fist burned through the dense white light and slammed squarely into Future Sting's face!
Blood sprayed. Future Sting stumbled backward, his feet carving two deep grooves in the ground.
"Hey, did you really kill dragons with this power?" Natsu withdrew his fist and asked again.
If so, the dragons that raised you must have been pretty weak.
"Heh, of course we did."
Future Sting raised his hand to wipe the blood from his lips, smiling confidently. "Got you."
The moment the words left his mouth, a magic circle flickered on Natsu's abdomen, revealing a white dragon-shaped seal.
"A binding effect similar to that bastard Chase's Hexagram Curse?"
Feeling his body locked in place by the restraint, Natsu was briefly startled, then smiled faintly. "No. The two aren't even comparable!"
Flames burst forth, burning away the "White Dragon's Divine Judgment."
"Though it's hard to believe, being able to hold you even for a moment is more than enough, Natsu-san!"
His yellow bangs swaying in the gale, Future Sting suddenly appeared behind Natsu, his right arm charged with terrifying magic power.
Given everything that had happened, he wasn't surprised that Natsu could break free from the sacred mark's binding. That had just been a feint.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Holy Nova!!"
A blazing white light erupted from below, exploding into a violent energy storm like a volcano on the arena floor!
Natsu was unavoidably hurled into the air by the blast, but Future Sting's assault didn't stop there.
He bent his legs and launched himself upward, becoming a white streak of light in hot pursuit.
Unfortunately, Natsu had already predicted his trajectory.
After using his magic to dispel the corrosive effects of the Dragon Slayer Secret Art, Natsu's right foot burst into roaring flames, twisting his entire body 180 degrees. "Fire Dragon's Talon!"
The flame-wreathed aerial kick struck Future Sting dead on, exploding into brilliant sparks and sending him crashing back to the arena floor.
BOOM!
The already fragile ground shattered again. Smoke billowed.
Future Sting flipped out of the smoke cloud. His abdomen was caved in, and both cheeks puffed up rapidly.
His white magic power climbed higher, the surrounding light dimming. Seizing the moment when Natsu descended from above, he opened his mouth wide as a magic circle blazed before him. "White Dragon's—Holy Breath!!"
Natsu's lips curled with fluid-like flames, starting almost instantly. "Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Slightly earlier in time, while the two were passionately brawling, on the other twin-dragon battlefield.
Future Rogue melted into the shadows, diving underground. He moved in unpredictable patterns around Gajeel, constantly adjusting his position as he carefully sought the perfect opening.
"Compared to this boring little game, I think I prefer the fire dragon's side over there."
Growing a bit impatient, Gajeel stomped his foot heavily into the ground. "Iron Dragon Staff!"
BAM BAM BAM!
Centered on his foot, countless steel pillars burst from the ground, constantly constricting Future Rogue's movement range.
But this was exactly the opportunity the calm Future Rogue had been waiting for.
Moving through the shadows cast by the iron pillars, he silently made his way behind Gajeel.
Future Rogue shaped his hand into a blade of shadow and slashed straight at Gajeel's unguarded back. "Shadow Dragon's Slash!"
CLANG!
Sparks flew as the sound of metal clashing rang out.
Future Rogue's pupils contracted sharply. So... so hard!
"Kihi. Iron Dragon's scales aren't so easy to cut."
Gajeel slowly turned his head, his smile made unsettling by the dragon scales on his face.
In his Dragon Force form, his physical strength rivaled steel. Even Natsu had struggled against it the first time, let alone now after his magic power had grown through countless battles!
"A real slash should look like this!"
Gajeel raised his right arm, which had transformed into Iron Dragon Sword form, and brought it down with force against the stunned Future Rogue.
A flash of cold steel. The arena floor was cleaved into a massive trench dozens of meters long with a perfectly clean cut!
Black mist seeped from the bottom of the jagged greatsword. Future Rogue had turned into shadow in time, avoiding the fatal blow.
"Sorry, Gajeel-san. I'm not like Sting, who only knows how to charge straight ahead."
Future Rogue's eyes were cold as he responded to Gajeel's earlier words. He raised his ethereal arms. "Shadow Dragon's Shadow Bind!"
Black threads of magical energy shot forth like flexible ropes, tightly binding Gajeel.
"This is a shadow prison that no one can escape. Even you, Gajeel-san—"
"Iron Dragon Spear: Demon Fire!!"
Before he could finish, a high-speed steel spear pierced through the shadow threads, violently shredding them to pieces. "Kihihi! Don't forget, I'm a 'dragon' too!"
Gajeel charged through the tattered black curtain, laughing. His right arm transformed into a steel hammer.
Future Rogue was startled. Though his combat instincts made him elementalize in time, the shockwave that followed still scattered him.
The dispersing shadow quickly reformed in the air.
When he reappeared in solid form, Future Rogue's chest was already puffed high, his body saturated with pitch-black magic. "Shadow Dragon's—"
"Realizing now that dragon versus dragon battles require a proper greeting first—don't you think that's a bit slow?"
Gajeel took the hint, throwing out a taunt before leisurely opening his mouth to inhale. "Iron Dragon's—"
"ROAR!!!" x4
Four dragon roars rang out almost simultaneously.
Flame, white light, steel, and shadow—four Dragon Slayer attacks collided in pairs, exploding into a massive fireball that engulfed the entire arena.
In an instant, gale-force winds howled. Shockwaves laced with destructive energy swept across the entire venue!
This time, neither Chase nor Makarov had any intention of stepping in to collect protection fees.
The Grand Magic Games organizers seemed to have learned their lesson. They had stationed guards specializing in defensive magic around the spectator stands before the Battle of Four Dragons even began.
The terrifying commotion lasted for dozens of seconds.
When the arena came back into view, the scene had been completely transformed.
The previous craters now covered the entire area. The ground had been blown away entirely, leaving nothing but a massive, smoke-filled chasm!
Debris and rocks tumbled continuously into the deep pit.
The audience was utterly stunned.
"Oh my! The earlier attack actually blasted through the arena's surface!"
Like a bomb dropped into calm waters, Chapati's electrifying commentary ignited the crowd. Cheers erupted without pause.
"A-Amazing! This is a battle between Dragon Slayers?!"
"Whether it's Fairy Tail or Sabertooth, they're all monsters!"
"Hey! Who are you calling a monster? Take down those annoying magic barriers already—I can't see anything!"
"But... if we take them down, we'll die, right?"
"If you're scared of dying, don't sit here! You can still watch from outside!"
Amid the heated audience discussions, the smoke inside the deep pit gradually cleared, revealing what looked like some kind of underground ruin.
The magic cameras zoomed in, projecting the scene clearly onto the big screen.
There, amid piles of rubble, Natsu and Gajeel stood facing Future Rogue and Sting.
"Even with Dragon Force, we can't gain any advantage. Those two really are stronger than we imagined..."
Future Rogue's expression was grim as he let out a heavy sigh.
"That's exactly what makes them worth defeating, isn't it?" Future Sting clenched his fists with excitement.
Through their relatively evenly matched roars, both realized that the gap in strength wasn't that large.
This discovery shocked them—they had implanted Dragon Slayer crystals and proudly called themselves "third-generation Dragon Slayers."
Just as they were gathering their magic power and preparing for an intense battle, Natsu, who had finished warming up, made his move.
"I see. I've got a good grasp of your power now. So..."
Natsu stepped forward with a confident smile. "Including the iron dragon, all three of you come at me together!"
VWOOM!
Flames danced and flickered on his raised fingertips like a declaration of war, igniting the atmosphere!
Unlike the original story where he needed to avenge Lucy and the others who had been brutally beaten, Fairy Tail was now firmly in first place.
Through their brief exchange earlier, Natsu had already gauged the strength of his two opponents. He found this uneven tag battle uninteresting—he couldn't "get fired up."
So, to make the fight more enjoyable and to knock Chase and his team down a peg (the internal competition between Teams A and B was still very much alive), he had decided to make Gajeel his rival instead!
The entire arena was shocked.
"What did you say?!" Future Sting was furious.
"All three of us together—what do you mean by that?" Future Rogue's gaze turned dark.
But their questions went unanswered. An irritated Gajeel was already going head-to-head with Natsu. "Damn fire dragon! You stole my line?!"
"Pfft. You think you can take on three?"
Natsu laughed, pointing at Future Sting and Future Rogue. "Even those two would be tough for you!"
"You sure talk big. Maybe I should just beat you down first." Gajeel cracked his knuckles.
"Come on, try it, you scrap heap!"
"Kihi. Better than being a little candle flame that only knows how to light birthday cakes!"
"Bastard! Where did you hear that description?!"
Natsu snapped first, red magic power surging wildly from his body as if ready to throw down at any moment.
Gajeel wasn't intimidated, unleashing equal magic power to match him.
"Wh-What's going on?! Teammates Natsu and Gajeel are about to fight each other?!"
Chapati shouted in bewilderment, voicing the audience's confusion.
Yajima glanced at Makarov, whose mouth was twitching uncontrollably in the guild seats. He couldn't help but laugh. "For Fairy Tail, having both of them selected at the same time seems rather unfortunate..."
Deep in the underground ruin battlefield.
Watching Natsu and Gajeel bickering again, Future Rogue and Future Sting felt deeply insulted.
It was one thing that there had been no real battle at first. But now, having witnessed their Dragon Force, those two could still act so carelessly—and completely ignore them!
"Hey, Rogue. Let's use that move."
Future Sting forced down his anger, speaking coldly. "We need to make them pay for their arrogance."
Future Rogue said nothing. He simply raised his right hand, making his stance clear.
BOOM!!!
Both simultaneously unleashed their full magic power, condensing pitch-black and holy white orbs in their palms.
As they clashed and rubbed against each other, the two high-density orbs began to merge, stirring up an incomparable storm of terror, their power multiplying exponentially.
This was something that required their wills, beliefs, and magic power to become completely one.
Unison Raid!
***
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