"Fire Dragon's—"
"Iron Dragon's—"
Natsu and Gajeel drew in the air at the same time.
Then violent elemental breaths erupted from their mouths, blasting point-blank toward the Twin Dragons.
"Roar!"
A steel storm and a vortex of flame sent Sting and Rogue, who had already activated their Magic Power enhancement modes, flying dozens of meters away.
Sting balanced himself in midair and barely managed to steady his footing after landing, only to see a blazing fist already closing in on his face.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Natsu roared and punched toward Sting.
Sting refused to back down, his movements just as swift as he answered with a Light Fist.
Flame fist and light fist collided.
But in only an instant, the crimson flames swallowed that faint glow like a ferocious dragon devouring fireflies.
"Ahhhhh!"
Sting, who had stubbornly clashed fists with Natsu head-on, could not stop himself from crying out in pain.
When he pulled his fist back, his wrist had clearly been twisted out of shape by the impact.
"Sting!"
Seeing this, Rogue hurriedly transformed into a strange shadow and rushed toward Natsu, trying to help Sting out of trouble.
However, a dark steel blade came for him like the summons of the underworld, nearly slicing off Rogue's scalp while he was distracted.
"Keep your eyes on your opponent, brat!"
Gajeel wore a cruel grin.
His arm had transformed into an iron blade, and the serrated edge along it began to spin.
He immediately swung the iron saw, forcing Rogue to dive into the shadows to evade.
"Shadow Dragon's Flashing Flock!"
Rogue became a high-speed black shadow, attacking Gajeel from every angle.
The sounds of steel clashing rang out again and again.
At the same time, Natsu's flaming fists were raining down on Sting.
He even had time to mock Gajeel and shouting, "Can't handle him, Gajeel? Need my help?"
Gajeel's eyes darkened.
His iron arm suddenly shot backward to the side, grabbing Rogue by the throat as he emerged from the shadows for a sneak attack.
"Shut up, Salamander!"
Gajeel shouted irritably, then hurled Rogue in his hand viciously toward Natsu.
Seeing this, Natsu grinned.
He swept Sting's legs out from under him, knocking the dazed Sting down.
Before Sting even hit the ground, Natsu followed up with a flaming elbow uppercut and sent him flying.
Bang!
The Twin Dragons slammed heavily into each other, both of them letting out pained groans.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
Taking advantage of the opening, Natsu stepped forward and added more damage.
Flames wrapped around both of his arms, and he swept the raging wings of fire toward the two of them all at once.
Poor Sting and Rogue were launched skyward again like rockets, then crashed heavily back down.
"You guys can't keep going like this."
Natsu rolled his wrist and smiled eagerly. "Didn't you say you could use Dragon Force? Show us!"
Gajeel folded his arms and stood calmly beside him, looking down at the Twin Dragons.
The advantage of the Third Generation Dragon Slayers was that they could enter Dragon Force on their own more easily.
The first two generations, however, needed a certain opportunity or trigger to use Dragon Force, and under normal circumstances, they had difficulty activating it voluntarily.
But with the Dragon Crystals Ankh had given them, Natsu and Gajeel had already mastered Dragon Force long ago.
They were even pushing toward a stronger form beyond it.
Covered in dust, Sting struggled to his feet.
After exchanging a glance with his partner beside him, he silently released the Magic Power stored within his body.
White Drive and Shadow Drive had only allowed their movements and Magic Power to keep up with normal Natsu and Gajeel.
They were still far from suppressing them and now.. they had no choice but to use it early.
Dragon Force!
As the powerful Magic Power accumulated inside them erupted, the Twin Dragons' appearances began to change dramatically.
Black and white dragon scales emerged along both sides of their faces.
Their eyes became dragon pupils, and their presence surged back to life.
"Oh—this Dragon Force…"
Gajeel crossed his arms in front of his chest and forcibly took one of Rogue's punches.
Afterward, he shook his slightly aching arm and laughed lowly.
"Doesn't seem all that authentic, does it?"
"White Dragon's Roar!"
Before he could finish speaking, Sting angrily fired a white dragon breath at him.
Gajeel quickly twisted aside and dodged the attack, unable to stop himself from exclaiming.
"A laser?"
Sting turned his head, and the laser-like roar from his mouth shifted with it.
Gajeel hurriedly moved along with the attack.
"Pretty interesting!"
Once the two entered Dragon Force, their combat strength immediately rose by another level.
For the first time since the start of the match, they managed to suppress the arrogant fire-and-iron duo.
Seeing that they finally had an advantage, Sting grew even more excited.
Wrapped in a shining white halo, he rushed toward Natsu and shouted with renewed spirit.
"Take this, Natsu-san!"
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art!"
On the other side, Rogue, who had been using shadow assaults to suppress Gajeel, also revealed himself. Darkness surged into his hand as he roared as well.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art!"
Using Dragon Slayer Secret Arts while in Dragon Force was something even the Twin Dragons themselves had never experienced before.
To put it simply, the confidence they had just lost had come rushing back.
"Holy Nova!"
"Phantom Devour!"
The two roared and unleashed the strongest single-target spells they could currently use at Natsu and Gajeel.
Before them, one man faced a dazzling strike like a falling meteor, while the other stood against a black sphere filled with countless roaring ghostly shadows.
White and black covered the earth.
Light and darkness filled the entire arena.
The explosion of Magic Power thundered out, and Natsu and Gajeel's bodies were completely swallowed by light and shadow.
A huge cloud of dust rose.
Sting and Rogue panted heavily, nervously staring at the two figures already lying on the ground within the smoke.
Even though, from their point of view, those two were no longer moving, the Twin Dragons who had experienced Natsu's raid on their guild knew very well that these two definitely had not gone all out yet.
And at that moment, the two idiots of flame and iron, who appeared battered and miserable as they lay on the ground, were staring up at the sky and discussing a very important matter.
"Should we use Dragon Force to return the favor?"
Gajeel lay lazily on the ground and asked calmly.
Very soon, Natsu gave an answer almost identical to what Gajeel had been thinking.
"No need. This is what makes it fun!"
With that, Natsu sprang back to his feet with a kip-up, his excitement fully restored.
The Twin Dragons immediately grew wary and secretly gritted their teeth.
They had taken their Secret Arts and still acted like nothing had happened.
What kind of monsters were these people?
Gajeel, who had been lying on the ground, also slowly stood up.
Only now, there was a little less interest on his face.
After personally experiencing the Twin Dragons' Dragon Slayer Secret Arts, Gajeel had completely figured out the upper limit of these two brats.
Perhaps the two of them could not even force him and Natsu to use Dragon Force.
Natsu, on the other hand, was only getting more excited as the fight continued.
He rolled his neck, clenched his fists with a grin, and said, "I've already gotten used to your speed. That move just now was pretty strong too. It made my back and waist ache a little."
Hearing this, Sting clenched his teeth so hard he nearly thought Natsu was mocking him.
"But…"
Natsu beckoned toward the Twin Dragons and said excitedly, "The one who wins in the end is gonna be me!"
"You two can come at me together. I'm enough by myself!"
Gajeel rolled his eyes.
Unexpectedly, he did not fight Natsu for the chance to take them on alone.
Mainly because before they went onstage, a certain little someone had tugged on his ear and specifically told him that both Lucys were here, so he should give Natsu more chances to show off.
On top of that, Gajeel had already seen through the Twin Dragons' strength.
There was not much challenge in it, so he might as well hand them over to the Salamander.
Mm…
It definitely was not because he was whipped!