With his declaration of war, Akira didn't wait any longer; his feet cracked the ground as he disappeared. Then he appeared in front of Ur and swung his fists straight at her.
The speed was so fast that Ur's eyes couldn't even track his movement. But as a veteran mage who had survived countless life-and-death battles, her battle instincts were top-notch. Almost subconsciously, she threw her hands forward.
" Ice-Make: Shield! "
A massive, thick flower-shaped shield of ice manifested in front of her. But against the monstrous strength of the Anos' form, it was completely useless.
Crack! Boom!
Akira's fist smashed directly through the solid ice shield like it was fragile glass. The shattering fragments flew everywhere, and the remaining force of his punch blew Ur backward. She skidded across the frozen golden floor, her boots leaving deep marks before she finally stabilized herself.
" What incredible speed and power... " Ur muttered, a drop of cold sweat running down her cheek. If she hadn't made that shield at the very last microsecond, that single punch would have seriously injured her.
" Behind you, Akira! "
Gildarts' voice rang out as he instantly closed the distance from Akira's blind spot. His hand was glowing with a dense, blinding light of Crash Magic. This time, he didn't use a normal punch. He swung his hand down, aiming to split Akira's entire form apart with his destructive magic.
" Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Empyrean! "
Sensing the extreme danger behind him, Akira didn't look back. He leaned his body forward at an impossible angle, narrowly dodging the glowing hand that grazed past his dark armor. The residual shockwave from Gildarts' attack slammed into the golden floor, creating a massive explosion of light as the colosseum's defense hummed violently to absorb the crash energy.
Taking advantage of his leaning posture, Akira swept his leg backward like a whip, aiming directly for Gildarts' ribs.
Gildarts' eyes widened, and he quickly brought his arms down to block.
Bang!
A dull sound echoed through the arena. Gildarts felt like he had just been hit by a runaway charging dragon. The sheer physical force pushed him back more than ten meters before he planted his feet firmly onto the ground.
And before he could regain focus, another punch filled with dense demonic energy was in front of his face.
Gildarts' eyes widened to the size of saucers. There was no time to dodge, and blocking a strike of this caliber directly would definitely break his arms.
Instinctively, he poured every ounce of his magic into his fist and punched forward, clashing directly with Akira's fist using raw Crash Magic.
BOOM!
A blinding explosion of black-red mana and white, shattering light erupted between them. The shockwave was so violent that it completely shattered the frozen layer Ur had created on the floor, turning the ice into a fine mist. Gildarts was blasted backward, his boots carving deep trenches into the golden ground before he finally stopped, coughing slightly as his right arm trembled from the sheer feedback of the impact.
"Ur! Now!" Gildarts yelled, his voice strained.
Ur was already moving. Capitalizing on the brief second Akira spent overcoming the collision with Gildarts, she slammed both palms onto the ground.
" Ice-Make: Seven Pillar Array! "
Seven towering, massive pillars of ice erupted simultaneously around Akira, trapping him in a tight cage before slamming inward to crush him altogether.
"Immobilizing me won't save you," Akira's deep voice echoed from inside the frozen prison.
Suddenly, a terrifying, dark purple magic circle formed beneath Akira's feet. The air inside the colosseum grew heavy, suffocatingly hot, and smelled of pure destruction. Akira didn't even use his hands, because he has way better options.
" [Jio Graze]. "
A miniature, jet-black sun of dark energy manifested above his head and instantly exploded outward. The intense, hellish heat of the black flames began melting Ur's seven pillars, vaporizing them into thin air in less than a second. The dark explosion expanded rapidly, rushing toward both Ur and Gildarts like a ravenous beast.
"What kind of fire magic is this?!" Ur gasped, quickly retreating as she threw up multiple layers of thick ice walls, though they began melting the moment the black light neared them.
Gildarts stepped in front of her, his face dead serious. He leaped into the air, bracing himself as he brought his hands together, channeling his ultimate spell to completely neutralize the incoming black sun.
" Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Ikazuchi! "
He slammed his hands downward, unleashing a massive wave of Crash Magic that tore into the dark fire, splitting and shattering the black-red energy into scattered sparks before it could swallow them both.
As the smoke cleared, Akira stood in the center of the arena, completely unbothered, his dark eyes glowing with red demonic runes. ' Hmm, not bad. As expected of the favourite spell of the demon king Anos. This spell sure packs some power. ' Akira thought as he secretly wiped away the sweat that was gathered on his forehead.
Well, as a high-tier fire spell, the magic cost to cast this spell was enormous. If it were not for Akira's magic reserves being enormous, then he would really be sucked dry by this spell.
But that cost was way worth it. You can already see the fear beginning to creep into those two's eyes. Gildarts was breathing heavily, his hands still trembling slightly from the sheer force of clashing with the dark magic, while Ur was staring at the melted, scorched ground with wide, tense eyes.
And when fear is generated, Akira would be able to dance more happily.
A dark, terrifying smile stretched across Akira's face in his Anos form. The absolute terror his presence was causing didn't make him hesitate; instead, it made his blood pump with excitement. To a Demon King, the fear of his enemies was the ultimate stage music.
" What's the matter? " Akira asked, his deep voice carrying a playful, echoing weight that seemed to vibrate the very air inside the golden arena. " Is this all the legendary S-rank mage of Fairy Tail and the strongest Ice Mage can do? The party has just started. "
" [Bebesd]. "
Countless jet-black magical spears of pure, dense demonic energy materialized from the circles, pointing directly at the two veteran mages.
Ur and Gildarts used their magic to defend themselves. But this time, they were unable to walk away unscathed, as the demonic energy was too dense for ordinary magic spells to dispel.
As the smoke slowly cleared, both Ur and Gildarts were kneeling on the scorched golden floor, panting heavily. Their clothes were tattered.
"Damn it... his magic isn't just powerful," Gildarts spat out, wiping a trail of blood from his lip as he forced himself to stand. "The quality of his mana is on a completely different level. It's like trying to fight the old man."
Ur supported herself with a freshly made ice pillar, her breathing ragged. She looked up at "Akira, her eyes filled with a mixture of shock and reluctant admiration. "To think a single brat could push the two of us to this extent..."
" Tsk Tsk, you two, why are you so weak? Didn't you eat before coming here? Look at me I didn't even break a sweat. " Akira provoked the two even more. Although he spoke very arrogantly, his almost dry magic reserves spoke a very different story.
Even though he was pretending to be perfectly fine, Akira was actually reaching his limit. Maintaining this huge golden arena while using the cheat-like spells of his Anos form was draining his magic power like crazy.
But even though he isn't in good condition, he couldn't let these two know. If they knew they would fight him to the bitter end. And Akira didn't want to get beaten after completing this assessment. He could lose the fight, but he can't lose being handsome.
So, he kept his body straight and kept that dark, playful smile on his face. He had to act like this whole fight was just a casual warmup for him.
" Let's see if you can survive this... [Greas]— " Akira's voice was cut short because a terrifyingly familiar voice boomed across the entire colosseum.
" That's enough, Akira! "
****
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