Natsu was caught off guard by the sudden, high-speed attack of Erza Knightwalker Ten Commandments Spear.
The force of the heavy thrust sent him flying backward.
"Natsu!"
Seeing this, Lucy and Gray cried out in alarm and immediately cast their magic to help him.
"Sagittarius, fire your arrows!"
"Ice-Make: Hammer!"
A massive hammer made of ice formed above the "fake" Erza and slammed downward.
At the exact same time, arrows shot by the Celestial Spirit Sagittarius flew toward her.
Knightwalker gazed at the ice hammer looming overhead.
A mocking smile curled on her lips as she twisted her body sideways, effortlessly dodging the giant strike.
With a single hand, she snatched the incoming arrows right out of the air.
She caught them all as if she were performing an acrobatic trick.
"Dammit!"
At that moment, Natsu felt a sudden surge of rage.
He had just barely grabbed the spear shaft to avoid being stabbed.
Gripping the upper part of the spear, he yanked Knightwalker toward him with explosive force and unleashed a fiery punch.
Knightwalker raised the spear shaft to block Natsu's blazing fist.
The heavy impact bent the weapon before it bounced back, sending her flying backward.
Clenching his fist, Natsu stared at the familiar face in front of him.
He roared with lingering fear, "Who are you?! Why are you disguised as Erza?"
The woman's beautiful face tightened with anger as she replied coldly, "I am Erza Knightwalker, captain of the Second Magic War Squad of the Edolas Kingdom! I have never impersonated anyone!"
As soon as she finished speaking, her spear gleamed with a white light.
Her movements became impossibly fast as she charged at the group all by herself.
Startled, Natsu hastily threw a punch in response, but he only hit empty air.
Instead, Knightwalker struck him hard across the back with her spear, sending him crashing to the ground.
Then, moving like a ghost, Knightwalker flickered across the area.
She quickly thrust her spear at the other guild members one by one.
Compared to their flawless battle against the airship fleet earlier, this Erza Knightwalker single-handedly changed the tide of the fight the moment she joined in.
Gray, angered by this fake Erza's arrogance, rushed forward to stop her.
But before he could even get close, he was forced back by her amazingly fast spear thrusts.
Lucy watched Knightwalker's blurring figure with a serious expression, her mind racing.
'This woman just said her name is Erza Knightwalker... meaning she naturally looks like this and has this name.'
'And... this is another world. So many stories have plots like this... In some parallel world, there might be another "you"—identical in appearance, but different because of how they grew up.'
'So... she is the Erza of this parallel world?'
As a novelist, Lucy had a vivid imagination.
She quickly pieced together this Erza's background, even though she still found it hard to believe.
'Erza... no matter which world she is in, she is strong...' Lucy clicked her tongue, anxiously watching as this Erza easily broke through Gray and Natsu's defenses.
'She is probably just as powerful as the Erza from our guild!'
Just as Gray and Natsu were on the verge of defeat, and their friends were trapped in a terrible situation, another crimson figure burst onto the battlefield at blinding speed!
"Requip! Flight Armor!"
Earthland Erza's Heaven's Wheel Armor shimmered and transformed into a lightweight, leopard-print leather combat suit, massively boosting her speed.
The two Erzas now moved at almost the exact same speed.
The Earthland Erza, wielding twin swords, blocked Knightwalker's attack and stated coolly.
"So you are the other me from Edolas? You are nothing like me."
"Hmph!" Knightwalker snorted coldly.
She twisted her waist to thrust her spear once more as she mocked her, "An Erza raised in a world filled with Magic Power truly speaks without shame."
"The strong survive, and the weak perish! This is the absolute truth in any world!"
In this high-speed battle that tested their reflexes, Knightwalker took advantage of a brief pause after a shockwave.
The spear in her hand immediately glowed and changed shape.
The Sonic Spear, which was made for fast stabbing, transformed its tip into a blue crystal.
She thrust it toward Erza once again.
This attack was slower, but the air between them rapidly compressed and gathered at the tip of the spear.
Suddenly, it exploded toward Erza!
"Vacuum Spear!"
Struck by the invisible attack, Erza cried out in pain and slammed hard against the Magic Formula barrier behind her.
Knightwalker pressed her advantage.
Her spear glowed red as it transformed into a large lance with a fierce crimson blade.
She brought it down on Erza with a blazing red light!
"Burst Spear!"
'Requip? No, that is not right...' Erza calmed herself, instantly analyzing her opponent's magic in her mind
Then, a red light wrapped around her body as the scorching Flame Empress Armor appeared!
BOOM!!
When the Burst Spear hit the Flame Empress Blade in Erza's hand, a massive explosion instantly erupted.
Flames and thick smoke quickly spread across the entire battlefield.
"As expected of Erza..."
Everyone watching the clash between the two Erzas unconsciously wore expressions of panic.
Natsu could not help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
He muttered, "Two Erzas... what a terrifying nightmare..."
Lucy looked at him, completely speechless. "Was it really necessary to say that about your own guildmate?"
As the smoke cleared, both Erzas stood revealed.
Erza, wearing her Flame Empress Armor, had blocked all the explosive damage from the Burst Spear using the flat side of her blade.
Lowering her sword, she thoughtfully studied the spear in Knightwalker's hand and said seriously.
"By changing your spear's form, you boost your combat ability. In a way, it is very similar to my Requip magic."
"You are doing the same thing." Knightwalker naturally recognized the meaning behind Erza's earlier Requip magic.
Raising her spear, she pointed it arrogantly at Erza and laughed.
"But the effects of the Ten Commandments Spear go far beyond that. Just like the others, you will become another soul sacrificed for the kingdom beneath this spear!"
"Bullying the weak... this version of myself is truly awful," Erza said coldly, her Flame Empress Blade bursting into raging flames.
"Stop lecturing me!"
The two Erzas swung their weapons, once again exploding with amazing combat power in an epic clash.
Meanwhile... Gajeel was growing more and more delighted while fighting Lily.
He could not bring himself to defeat the black cat right away because he wanted to test the cat's strength and recruit him as his flying partner.
However, holding back like this made the spectators, who had already finished their own battles, grow impatient.
Laxus watched in boredom as Gajeel jumped around teasing the cat.
Finally unable to hold back, he turned to Ankh beside him and said.
"I am going to capture that black cat. That iron-skulled guy is taking too long."