The ice prison was lifted.
Seeing Evergreen lying unconscious amidst the shattered ice, the guild members, who had already been brought to the second floor by Makarov to watch the battle, immediately erupted in cheers.
"Well done, Gray!"
"As expected of a member of the strongest team!"
"Lord Gray~"
"By the way, how is he not tired after using so much magic...?"
"…"
Gray didn't take his companions' praises to heart. He knew that if Hope hadn't helped him unlock his second magic source, the outcome of his battle with Evergreen would still be uncertain.
But he had already defeated one, so Natsu and Gajeel must have also... Swoosh!
Just as Gray was thinking this, a figure flew past him at high speed and heavily crashed onto the icy floor behind him.
Gray turned to look and found it was Bickslow. His helmet was nowhere to be seen, and he lay on the ground, his eyes vacant and disheveled.
Gajeel came over to Gray, looking down at Bickslow. "This guy is quite handsome, he has half of my magnificence."
"Ew~"
Gray gave the narcissistic Gajeel a disgusted look. "Compared to you, who has iron nails in your face, I think Bickslow is more pleasing to the eye."
"Ice-user, what kind of look is that? No wonder you and Juvia hit it off."
"Bastard, I warn you not to make personal attacks on Juvia! And isn't it weirder that Levy would fall for you?"
"Isn't that precisely my charm! And don't you dare speak ill of Levy!"
"You were the one who started talking about Juvia first!"
"I think you want to fight!"
"Let's fight then!"
"…"
On the second floor, seeing the two suddenly fighting amongst themselves in the hall, Juvia and Levy immediately blushed under the playful gazes of everyone.
The sour smell of love in the air made Bickslow, a single dog, wake up from his semi-conscious state. He struggled to stand up, his gaze fixed on Gajeel, who was arguing with Gray.
Bickslow's magic is 'Human Possession,' which allows him to attach a portion of his soul to inanimate objects, thereby controlling them to unleash various magical and physical attacks.
However, when facing Gajeel, who can transform his skin into hard scales, the damage he could inflict was negligible, and he would, in turn, be brutally beaten by Gajeel.
Watching the two arguing, Bickslow was ecstatic.
He hadn't had a chance to use that magic when Gajeel was chasing and beating him earlier.
Purple light flickered in Bickslow's eyes, which was precisely the same 'Eye Magic' ability as Evergreen's before. However, Evergreen's Eye Magic was petrification, while his allowed him to control the target's body by looking directly into their eyes.
Just as Bickslow thought he was about to make a miraculous comeback, he saw Gray and Gajeel turn their heads to look at him, and he was dumbfounded.
Gray was wearing ice glasses.
Gajeel's eyelids were lowered like a roller shutter.
Bickslow's 'Control Eye' and Evergreen's 'Petrification Eye' share the same weakness: they must directly meet the target's eyes without obstruction to activate.
And now... "Iron Dragon's — Steel Fist!"
A fist the size of a sandbag, covered in iron scales, struck in the form of an uppercut, sending Bickslow, who had already given up resisting, flying into the air.
Watching Bickslow's head stuck in the ceiling, Gajeel clapped his hands in satisfaction and looked with Gray towards Natsu's battlefield.
Actually, among the Thunder God Tribe, Evergreen was mainly responsible for long-range attacks, Bickslow for control and harassment, while Fried, as the captain of this team, was the absolute core.
It's just that this absolute core wasn't having an easy time now.
In front of Natsu, who had activated Dragon Force, the Mages in the entire Ishgar continent who could handle him could be counted on one hand.
Fried was hailed as the person closest to an S-Class Mage in Fairy Tail, but 'close' is not 'becoming.' Facing Natsu in Dragon Force, who could instantly defeat one of The Six Members of Grimoire Heart, he could only struggle to hold on.
Even so, it was also because a buff was triggered that automatically reduced damage by fifty percent when Natsu fought guild companions. Otherwise, Fried would have been knocked down long ago.
Seeing Bickslow and Evergreen successively defeated, and so quickly, a sense of powerlessness rose in Fried's heart.
The Thunder God Tribe had only been away from the guild for about two months for a mission. How was it that upon their return, Natsu and Gray, who were not their opponents before, could now beat them down... Is this right?
"Fried, give up."
Natsu looked at Fried, who stumbled back after being hit by his punch. "Aren't we comrades? There's no need to fight to the death like enemies."
Fried's face showed an inexplicable emotion. "Comrades... after what I've done, Natsu, do you still consider me a comrade?"
"Of course!"
Natsu clenched his fist. "Not just you, Evergreen, Bickslow... the Thunder God Tribe are all my comrades. You just made a small mistake."
He still thinks we're comrades even now.
Fried was somewhat moved, but he gathered his magic power again. "Natsu, what we've done is irreversible. Attacking fellow Fairy Tail members is not a small mistake that can be easily dismissed."
"How is that possible? I fight with Gray every day, and the Master at most punishes us by making us clean the toilets for a month."
Natsu said mysteriously, "Let me tell you, that guy Gray also takes off his clothes when he cleans. One time, he casually threw his clothes, guess where he threw them..."
"Mmm mmm mmm mmm!"
Gray fiercely covered Natsu's mouth. "Bastard! Didn't I treat you and Happy to a meal? Why are you still blabbing! What happened to keeping it a secret?!"
Natsu forcefully broke free from Gray's hand, looking indignant. "You didn't want that shirt anyway, so what's wrong with talking about it?"
Gajeel was laughing so hard his stomach hurt.
The spectators on the second floor also had various expressions.
Makarov shook his head and sighed helplessly. The actions of the three brats below were completely unlike being in a serious battle. You guys, at least be a little serious, old man!
"Natsu, I'm going to use my last trump card, be careful." Fried didn't launch a sneak attack like Bickslow, but instead warned Natsu aloud.
Gray and Gajeel wisely moved away. Natsu looked at Fried, who was surrounded by dark magic power. "Do you still want to continue fighting...? Good! I'm fired up!"
Before Fried's eyes turned completely black, his entire body was instantly covered by dark magic power. Both of his teammates had 'Eye Magic,' so how could he, as the captain, not have it?
However, unlike Bickslow and Evergreen, Fried's Eye Magic, 'Dark Eye,' was not a magic for damage or control, nor did it require direct eye contact with the target.
The function of 'Dark Eye' was to obscure his magic, 'Dark Ecriture,' and it was also the key to activating a forbidden magic.
'Dark Ecriture' · Forbidden · Darkness!"
As a row of magic characters appeared on his chest, Fried suddenly transformed into a terrifying, demon-like form, and his magic power sharply increased by more than thirty percent.
"Natsu! Let's settle this!"
Fried charged forward, black magic characters flowing on his demonized arm. Out of respect for Natsu, since he couldn't turn back, he could only respond with his full power.
As if sensing his comrade's feelings, Natsu's face broke into an excited smile. He channeled seventy percent of his strength and threw a punch blazing with fierce Dragon Slayer flames.
"Fried, thank you for the guidance!"
"Fire Dragon's — Iron Fist!"
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