Mard Geer's Absorption Curse could absorb an opponent's Magic.
Against Mages, it was a trump card that had never failed him.
But this time, things did not go as he wished.
The Magic on the blades was only weakened slightly.
The arm blades, shoulder blades, leg blades, tail blade, and Tactical Arm still came rushing toward him.
"Thorn Protection!"
Dozens of thorns instantly wrapped around Mard Geer.
But the blades continued forward with unstoppable force, stabbing straight toward the Underworld King at the center.
BOOM!!!
The thorns exploded in midair, and Mard Geer was blasted backward from the explosion. His clothes were already in tatters.
The Book of E.N.D., however, had been protected perfectly.
...
At the same time, Tempester and Torafuzar, who had been completely unable to deal with Natsu and Gajeel, decided to go all out.
A dense layer of Magic Barrier Particles surrounded Tempester and Torafuzar as their bodies began to grow even larger.
"If we do not unleash the true power of our Etherious forms, I fear we will not be able to bring them down."
"Then we'll get serious too."
"Lightning Flame Dragon Mode."
Flames wrapped around Natsu's body, and arcs of lightning flickered faintly within them.
"Iron Shadow Dragon Mode."
Gajeel's eyes glowed blue, and his entire body turned deep blue.
After the Grand Magic Games, Gajeel had obtained a trace of Shadow Magic from Rogue, successfully awakening his Iron Shadow Dragon Mode.
Twin Dragons versus Twin Demons!
"When the hell did you learn that?!" Natsu was stunned.
"I ate Rogue's shadow. My strength has surpassed yours now."
"Isn't that some kind of shady bad thing?!"
"Still not as bad as you!"
"Mine is double Fire Dragon plus Laxus's lightning, so obviously I'm stronger!"
"Then prove it. Let's compete and see who defeats his enemy first."
"Fine by me, you scrap metal bastard!"
"The loser has to write a victory song for the winner!"
Tempester and Torafuzar prepared to ambush them while they were arguing.
"Don't get in the way!"
Natsu and Gajeel each threw a punch, blasting the two demons away.
Then, as if moving in sync, they stomped their right feet down and charged forward. Their fists rained down like a storm against Tempester and Torafuzar.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus: Exploding Lightning Blade!"
"Iron Shadow Dragon's Roar!"
For a moment, Torafuzar and Tempester were beaten so hard they were left dazed.
Then Natsu and Gajeel stopped again and started arguing.
"I shall invite you to the deep sea of the Underworld. Tenchi Kaimei!"
Torafuzar spread both arms.
In an instant, surging black water swallowed Gajeel and Natsu.
The dark water overflowed and even affected Makarov and the others in the distance.
Underwater, Gajeel and Natsu held their breath while observing their surroundings.
'How huge is this water Magic's range?!' Gajeel could not help thinking.
Natsu and Gajeel's fight had already smashed a huge pit into the plain, and now the two of them were submerged inside that pit.
Torafuzar swam through the black water like a real shark, charging toward Natsu and Gajeel.
'I can't use my flames!'
Natsu wanted to counterattack, but he could not produce even the slightest spark.
'This isn't ordinary water. Just being soaked in it is making my Magic Power disappear?'
Gajeel could feel his Magic Power draining away.
"Salamander, get out first!"
Gajeel was in much better condition than Natsu, so he hurriedly urged him to leave.
Natsu knew this was not the time to be stubborn.
He could barely hold his breath in here at all. Tempester had disappeared too.
He nodded toward Gajeel and began swimming upward.
Torafuzar blocked Gajeel's path with a confident smile.
"This black water is poisonous. It kills in five minutes. No—rather, humans cannot hold their breath underwater for that long in the first place."
Several metal bands instantly appeared over Gajeel's mouth, sealing it shut.
Then he swam toward Torafuzar.
"Deep Sea Impact!"
Magic wrapped around Torafuzar's right fist as he punched toward Gajeel's chest.
Gajeel turned into shadow inside the black water, circled behind Torafuzar, and returned the blow with Iron Dragon's Sword.
Iron Dragon's Sword struck again and again, but Torafuzar's defense was absurdly tough.
He endured the slashes head-on, turned around, and threw another punch.
Gajeel and Torafuzar's fists collided.
The Iron Dragon's Scales, known for their hardness, shattered.
Gajeel gripped his aching wrist tightly.
"I can change the hardness of my body. I am Torafuzar, the one with the greatest defense among the Nine Demon Gates. Your iron cannot shatter me so easily."
Gajeel spread his arms.
He made a bold decision.
First, he emptied all the Magic Power in his body, then began absorbing the tiny amount of carbon within the black water.
As the carbon content inside his body rose, the hardness of his carbon steel began to increase.
While Torafuzar laughed arrogantly, Gajeel was feeling the change in hardness across the surface of his body.
When he realized it had exceeded the threshold, Gajeel even expelled some of the carbon on his own.
Carbon steel was an iron-carbon alloy with a carbon content between 0.0218% and 2.11%.
It was also called plain carbon steel.
Generally speaking, the higher the carbon content, the greater the hardness and strength, but the lower the plasticity.
Torafuzar noticed Gajeel's change and froze.
Gajeel's body changed color again, from deep blue to dark silver.
"He absorbed the tiny amount of carbon inside Tenchi Kaimei?!"
'Carbon Steel Dragon Mode!'
Gajeel roared, and his right hand transformed into a massive sword.
"Steel Dragon's Sword!!!"
Gajeel accelerated and flashed past Torafuzar.
A pentagram-shaped wound appeared across Torafuzar's body.
Then Torafuzar's body broke into several pieces and sank to the bottom.
Tenchi Kaimei vanished.
The black water disappeared as though it had never existed.
Tempester, who had vanished earlier, suddenly appeared again.
He had been hiding inside Tenchi Kaimei the entire time. The black water had blocked their vision and affected their sense of smell.
Both Gajeel and Natsu had thought he had already left.
"Not good..." Gajeel barely lifted his head and glanced at Tempester standing behind him.
"Although Torafuzar was killed by you, you have exhausted your Magic Power as well. Go to hell, human."
But suddenly, a bolt of lightning fell from the sky, forcing Tempester to retreat.
Then Laxus, transformed into lightning, appeared in front of Gajeel with his arms crossed.
"No matter. I'll simply deal with you first," Tempester said.
Flames wrapped around his entire body as he flew toward Laxus.
"Lightning Flame Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Laxus's punch landed on Tempester's face like a heavy cannon.
Tempester was sent flying backward and landed sitting on the ground, staring at Laxus in disbelief.
Whoosh!
Four tornadoes rushed toward Laxus, surrounding him from all sides.
Lightning crackled around Laxus's body. Like a bombardment, the electricity blasted the tornadoes apart.
"Lightning Dragon's Jaw!"
Laxus leapt high into the air, clasped his ten fingers together, and smashed them down onto Tempester's forehead.
Rings of lightning exploded across the ground, and the earth centered around Tempester caved in once again.
Tempester struggled back to his feet, chanting an incantation.
Circles of flame surrounded Laxus.
The arcs of lightning around Laxus's body directly forced the flames apart.
"What a lukewarm fire."
"A flame like this couldn't even burn me."