"Natsu lost!"
As Natsu and Erza blurred past each other in mid-air, swapping positions before landing, Goku announced the result of the duel. At the precise moment they crossed paths, Erza had driven the hilt of her sword deep into Natsu's abdomen with practiced, brutal efficiency.
Sure enough, the words had barely left Goku's mouth when Natsu let out a strangled wheeze and collapsed face-first onto the cobblestones with a heavy *thud*.
To the crowd, this was hardly a surprise. Erza's dominance was a known constant in Magnolia; Natsu challenged her as often as he breathed, and his win-loss record remained a solid zero on the victory side.
"My turn!"
Goku stepped out from the crowd, standing opposite the Titania. He began a rhythmic series of warm-ups—stretching his hamstrings, rotating his shoulders, and bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. His tail swished behind him with palpable excitement.
"Do you need a moment to recover your magic power?" Goku asked politely.
"No. Dealing with Natsu required almost no magical expenditure," Erza replied, her voice steady, though her expression shifted. She shook her head and her eyes narrowed, becoming as sharp as the steel she wore. While she could handle Natsu in her sleep, she felt an instinctive, primal caution regarding the boy standing before her.
"Good thing Natsu's passed out right now," Lucy muttered from the sidelines, having dragged the unconscious Dragon Slayer out of the blast zone. If he had heard Erza's comment about him being "no effort," he would have jumped up for a Round 2 immediately.
Nearby, Cana Alberona, clutching a barrel of ale, began her usual routine. "Bets are open! Place your bets! The match of the century: Titania vs. The New Kid! Odds for Goku are fifty-to-one!"
"Fifty-to-one?!" Lucy's jaw dropped. Then, a predatory glint appeared in her eyes. She abandoned Natsu and scurried over to Cana. 'Goku, my dear little brother, my rent for the next six months is riding on your shoulders!'
Most of the guild members were oblivious to the true details of the Eisenwald incident. They assumed Erza, Gray, and Natsu had done the heavy lifting while Goku provided "utility support" with his repair magic and the basics of Giant Magic. In their eyes, Goku was a prodigy, sure—but beating Erza? Maybe in ten years.
Consequently, while Natsu's odds had been ten-to-one, Goku's were astronomically higher. A few risk-takers were willing to throw away a few jewels on a whim, but the bulk of the smart money was moving toward Erza.
Lucy, however, was a witness. She had seen Goku liquefy the "Death God" Erigor with a single punch. She had seen him vaporize a Zeref-born demon with a casual beam of light. Even if he wasn't stronger than Erza, she knew the gap was paper-thin.
"Fifty-to-one on a fifty-fifty fight? That's not gambling, that's an investment!' Lucy didn't bet everything—she wasn't quite as reckless as Natsu—but she put down a massive chunk of her savings. If she won, she'd be set for the year.
As she placed her bet, she noticed a few others sliding jewels toward the "Goku" side: Happy the cat, Gray (who was currently missing his shirt), and—to her shock—Master Makarov himself, who was trying to look inconspicuous while dropping a heavy pouch of gold.
"Begin!" Makarov shouted, scurrying back to his referee position with a mischievous grin. No one knew Goku's ceiling better than his teacher. Sometimes, the Master felt that without using Fairy Law, even he might struggle to pin the boy down.
...
The Clash of Breath and Steel
Erza didn't hesitate. She knew that against a master of speed like Goku, giving him the initiative was a death sentence.
"Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor!"
In a burst of silver light, she donned the multi-winged plate. "Heaven's Wheel: Pentagram Sword!"
Dozens of magical blades materialized in the air, spinning with a high-pitched hum before launching toward Goku. They moved in an intersecting pattern designed to cut off every possible avenue of escape, forcing him to use his teleportation.
Erza had been studying Goku's Apparition. She noticed that at the moment of displacement, there was a microscopic delay—a flicker in reality. For a normal mage, that window was invisible. For the Titania, it was a target.
"Breath of Ki: First Form—Flowing Torrent Strike!"
Goku didn't teleport. He didn't use Giant Magic. He didn't even fire a Kamehameha. He decided to use the techniques he had refined during his time in the world of Demon Slayers. Erza was the perfect high-level opponent to field-test these experimental forms.
Taking a sharp, focused breath, Goku's hand became as rigid as a blade. His blood flow accelerated, surging through his veins like a roaring river. He moved.
To the spectators, Goku seemed to vibrate for a split second. A hundred "clangs" rang out simultaneously. In the blink of an eye, every single magical sword in the air was struck at its weakest point and shattered into shimmering dust. Goku stood back in his original position, his hand held out like a knife.
"What?!" The guild members gasped. Even to the trained eye, it looked as though the swords had simply exploded on their own.
Only Makarov saw the truth. 'So, his claim about challenging me wasn't a joke after all...' he realized. Even without the Giant Magic he had taught him, Goku was already a functional S-Class powerhouse.
"Heaven's Wheel: Blumenblatt!"
Erza's shock lasted only a fraction of a second. She immediately transitioned into a more aggressive barrage, sending a whirlwind of blades at Goku while she herself lunged forward, dual-wielding silver broadswords. She used the glare and the sheer volume of the projectiles to mask her own approach.
"Breath of Ki: Second Form—Bursting Gale Slash!"
Goku swung his hand in a wide arc. A series of invisible ki blades flew forward, manifesting as literal distortions in the air. They tore through Erza's magical swords like a hot knife through butter and kept going straight for the Titania herself.
"Not good! Heaven's Wheel: Trinity Sword!"
Erza dug her heels in, crossing her blades in a triangular defensive stance. The impact of the ki blades was like being hit by a freight train. She managed to block the force, but her two magical swords shattered into fragments under the pressure.
The air in the plaza grew cold. The "Strongest Woman in Fairy Tail" had just lost her weapons in the opening exchange.