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"Natsu lost!"
Watching Natsu and Erza flash past each other in mid-air, swap positions, and land on the ground, Goku announced the result of the duel.
At the moment the two met, Erza had slammed the hilt of her sword hard into Natsu's stomach.
Sure enough, just as Goku finished speaking, Natsu fell with a "thud."
However, no one present was surprised by this.
Because everyone was well aware of Erza's strength; it wasn't the first time Natsu had challenged Erza, and he had never won.
"My turn!"
At that moment, Goku stepped out from the crowd, stood opposite Erza, and began to Move his body, warming up for the battle.
"Do you need to recover your magic power?"
"No need, dealing with Natsu barely consumed any magic power."
Erza shook her head, her expression becoming solemn.
Beating Natsu took no effort at all, but against Goku, she wasn't entirely confident.
"It's a good thing Natsu is unconscious right now."
Lucy, who was dragging Natsu out of the combat zone, couldn't help but comment after hearing Erza's words.
Nearby, Cana, holding a wine barrel, started shouting again: "Bets are open, bets are open! Goku vs. Erza is fifty-to-one!"
"Fifty-to-one?"
Lucy was stunned for a moment, then her eyes lit up. She dropped Natsu and walked toward Cana.
"Goku, I'm counting on you for next month's rent."
Others didn't know Goku's true strength, assuming the lullaby incident was mainly resolved by Erza, Natsu, and Gray.
After all, in everyone's eyes, Goku used support-type Ki Magic, and his Giant Magic was just starting.
He was just naturally a bit stronger.
If it were ten years later, they might think it possible, but right now, Goku was definitely no match for Erza.
So, while Natsu vs. Erza had been ten-to-one, Goku vs. Erza was now fifty-to-one.
At least Natsu's reputation had grown over the years; he had completed many difficult missions, and his strength was genuine.
A few people were still willing to take a gamble and try their luck.
However, as a full participant in the lullaby incident...
She had personally seen Goku blow away the S-Class Mage, Erigor the Shinigami, with one punch, and saw him blast the lullaby to dust with a single burst of Ki Magic.
Regarding Goku's strength, she felt that even if he wasn't as strong as Titania Erza, the difference wouldn't be much.
Therefore, the result of this battle should be fifty-fifty.
Fifty-fifty odds with a fifty-to-one payout—what was there to hesitate about?
Besides, she wasn't betting her entire savings, only half.
If she lost, she'd just have to live more frugally and team up with Natsu to grind more missions.
If she won, she wouldn't have to worry about rent for a year or two.
While everyone was betting their money on Erza, expecting to make another profit, Lucy quietly placed half her savings on Goku.
Then she noticed that she wasn't the only one; Happy the cat and Gray had also bet on Goku.
Even Master Makarov, while no one was looking, placed his money on Goku.
"Begin!"
Makarov, having placed his bet, returned to the referee's position with a grin and announced loudly.
No one knew Goku's strength better than his Master. Sometimes he even felt that if he didn't know the guild's Super Magic, he might not be a match for Goku.
So, for this battle between Erza and Goku, he favored Goku.
It just so happened that the guild's funds were tight.
"Requip: Heavens Wheel Armor!"
Well aware of Goku's strength, Erza took the initiative and attacked immediately.
"Heaven's Wheel: Circle Sword!"
magic swords appeared around Erza, rotating at high speed and shooting out simultaneously, sealing off all of Goku's room to dodge.
She wanted to force Goku to use spatial magic to avoid this attack.
Having seen Goku use spatial magic several times, she had noticed long ago that there was a brief pause the moment he disappeared and reappeared.
This pause might mean nothing to others.
But for her, as long as she paid attention in advance, she could seize that moment to end the battle.
"Breath of Ki, First Form: Flowing Strike!"
Facing the rain of magic swords that covered all available space, Goku did not use Apparition to dodge.
Similarly, he didn't use the Kamehameha to destroy them directly, nor did he use the Giant Magic he had just learned.
He used a new Move he had conceptualized in the demon slayer World.
Erza's strength was great—stronger than the Nine Pillars and even Kibutsuji Muzan. She was perfect for testing his newly created Moves.
To see if there were any areas worth improving or streamlining.
Since those new Moves were created, he hadn't encountered a suitable opponent to verify them.
Originally, he planned to challenge the Master, but challenging the Master required reaching S-Rank first.
Later, because he was learning Giant Magic, he hadn't had time to find a Mage in the guild to test them.
In the fights against Erigor and the cursed lullaby, he had used fatal blows because he was concerned they might harm many civilians.
Now, sparring with Erza, he could finally experiment with peace of mind.
Goku used his hand as a blade, took a deep breath, and his blood surged at high speed, turning into a rushing river that instantly swept away all the incoming magic swords.
By the time his figure returned to its original spot, all those magic swords had exploded in mid-air, vanishing into specks of starlight.
"What!"
The onlookers' eyes widened in shock.
They saw Goku Move, yet he also seemed not to have moved, but Erza's sky-filling magic swords had all been destroyed at once.
Only true magic Masters like Makarov could see clearly what had just happened.
"So, it was true when he wanted to challenge me from the start."
Makarov finally understood that even without learning his Giant Magic, Goku's own strength had already reached the level of an S-Class Mage.
So his initial claim about challenging him wasn't a joke after all.
"Heaven's Wheel: Chaotic Sword!"
Seeing her attack forcibly broken in such a way, Erza was also incredibly shocked.
But with her rich combat experience, despite her shock, her hands didn't slow down.
Countless light swords condensed and shot after Goku one after another at top speed.
At the same time, she held two magic swords herself and, under the cover of those radiating swords, closed in to slash at Goku. "Breath of Ki, Second Form: Bursting Wind Slash!"
Goku slashed his hand-blade toward the air, and countless Ki blades flew out, shattering all the light swords while simultaneously slashing toward Erza.
"Oh no! Heaven's Wheel: Trinity Sword!"
Facing the countless Ki blades, Erza immediately skidded to a halt. Her two swords traced a triangle in the air, blocking the Ki blades.
The Ki blades vanished, and the two magic swords in her hands also shattered completely.