Chapter 343 Steel
Phew!
The two demon swords slashed across Gajeel's chest, easily piercing the scales he was so proud of. The next moment, blood spurted out, as if dyeing the entire world red.
“Ahhh!”
Gajeel felt that he was running out of energy, his eyes gradually blurred, and his body fell backwards: "Is this the end?"
"Gajeel!!!"
Suddenly, a shout pulled Gajeel back from the brink of life and death.
An unknown force came from somewhere, but it shook Gajeel's whole body. His eyes, which were about to close, suddenly opened. He regained clarity in an instant, stomped his feet on the ground, and stood firm again.
The cross wound on his chest was still bleeding, but it made Gajeel even more ferocious. He escaped from the boundary between life and death, and his magic power soared in a short period of time!
"Give me iron!!!" Gajeel suddenly shouted.
Levi was stunned, and before her brain could react, her hands reacted first. She waved the magic pen a few times, and the solid text turned into an iron block in the shape of "IRON" and flew towards Gajeel.
Gajeel opened his mouth and started biting, accepting everything that came his way, gradually changing from eating to sucking, swallowing the hard steel into his stomach as if it were air. His magic power soared in no time, and strength gushed out of his body in an endless stream!
"You're not dead yet? You're really tenacious!"
Ethel, who had already turned to leave, noticed the movement behind him and pointed the iron sword in his hand at Gajeel again, "I will definitely finish you off with my next move!"
"Really? Then let's see who will defeat whom!"
Gajeel finally stopped eating and exhaled a breath of foul air. A vast amount of magic power covered his body and kept flowing, and the dragon-slaying magic was running to its extreme.
He suddenly grinned, and his smile was arrogant and unruly: "Iron Mode!!!"
…
One month ago.
"Damn it! What on earth did that fire dragon do? Why did it enter that state?!"
During the guild tournament, on the night when he was beaten by Killer in the canyon, Gajeel sat in the tavern drinking alone, complaining with envy and dissatisfaction towards Natsu.
"He's the protagonist, so he can cheat!" Kira happened to pass by and heard it, so he said casually, "How about it? Seeing that the opponent who was equally matched with you before suddenly became stronger than you, you must be very unconvinced, right? You must be very envious, right?"
Hearing Kira's voice, Gajeel became even angrier: "Shut up! I'm not envious of the Fire Mode!"
Gajeel was extremely envious: If that bastard Fire Dragon hadn't suddenly changed into some kind of fire mode, it would be hard to say who would have made it to the semi-finals!
Others couldn't help wondering: "How did they do that?"
"Its principle is to use magic amplification to improve the properties of one's own magic!"
Kira made up a half-truth , "This process is relatively complicated, but there are many restrictions! According to my research, only wizards who use certain special magic can do it, and dragon-slaying magic is one of them."
Everyone laughed and said, "Then doesn't that mean Gajeel can do it, too?"
Gajeel turned his head away in disdain: "Tsk! I don't even bother with this method of fighting!"
Say one thing and mean another!
Kira smiled in his heart: "To enter this combat mode, the wizard's talent is also required!"
Gajeel frowned, "Huh?!"
Everyone looked at Gajeel unconsciously and asked, "Are you saying that Natsu has this talent?"
Kira replied: "Before, Natsu had received the magic power of several of us and briefly entered the state of dragon power. He should have realized it from that state."
"The Dragon Slayer has a special physique. Once a certain state is experienced, the body will naturally remember that feeling. However, the power of the dragon is not a state that can be easily entered, so Natsu only comprehended a simplified version."
Now everyone understood.
"If any of you want to give it a try, you can come to me. I can let you experience the state of increased magic power. That feeling is super cool! If you don't know how to do it, ask Natsu... Hey, don't leave! Maybe you can have an extra trump card in the future battle! The price is negotiable!"
Everyone left without looking back. They knew Kira's nature as a profiteer. Only Gajeel, who had just joined the guild and was not very familiar with Kira, still sat quietly in his seat, looking at Kira's back thoughtfully.
Kira turned to leave and felt the gazes from behind, a sinister smile appeared on his face: I've taken the bait!
…
Now.
"Steel... Mode?!"
Seeing the changes in Gajeel, Levy was stunned. After a few seconds, she remembered the fire mode that Natsu had used, and understood a little bit, "Is it a state similar to Natsu's fire mode? When did Gajeel..."
Ethel looked at Gajeel, whose momentum was gradually growing stronger, and laughed: "Magic Amplification Technique? Is this your trump card? Using this move is like bridging the gap between species, isn't it too fantastical?!"
"It's always endless, I'm so fed up with it!" Gajeel suddenly rushed forward, his body sinking slightly, like a sharp iron arrow, and the air resistance was useless in front of him.
"So fast!" Ethel was shocked and raised four arms to block.
Gajeel arrived in front of the opponent in the blink of an eye, but he avoided the crossed arms ready to block and sent a fierce attack towards the gap in the enemy's defense: "Iron Dragon Sword!"
“Hahahaha!! It’s useless! In this state, my body is made of steel. It’s impossible for you to use your strength... Ugh——!”
Gajeel used all his strength to slash the sword, easily cutting through Ethel's iron skin, and immediately a large amount of blood spurted out: "Hahahaha... In this case, you only owe me one sword!"
"You bastard human brat! I will never forgive you!" Ethel gnashed his teeth in hatred, cast the spell again, and prepared to use his ultimate move again.
Gajeel did not dodge or evade. He gathered his magic power, put his hands together, and activated the dragon-slaying magic in his body to its maximum. With the surge of magic power, a several-meter-long sword slowly took shape in his hands.
"Demon Swords, Five Swords of the World, Boy's Cut!!!"
"Dragon-killing Secret·Infernal Demon·Iron Sword!!!"
Demons and humans, demon swords versus demon swords, spells versus magic, two attacks that abandon defense break out at the same time.
Ethel gathered the magic power of his four arms together, and with the help of the forward force, prepared to break the surface with a point; Gajeel also gathered all his magic power in his hands, relying on the gravity of steel, intending to use force to break the cleverness.
clang!!!
With a loud bang, the most extreme attack brought about the most extreme explosion.
At the intersection of the knife and the sword, there was a thunderous energy wave, a deafening metallic roar, and a violent gust of wind that shook the world!
Energy, roars, and strong winds swept around, and the few remaining demon soldiers and wizards were all affected. They were blown away, knocked over, and those who were closer were even cut by the wind blades, leaving them in a miserable state.
The swords clashed for several breaths, the magic power canceled each other out in the collision, but became stronger under the urging of both sides. But in the end, the dragon-slaying secret was more powerful, and the demon sword could not break its edge, and it collapsed!
"How is it possible?!!!"
As the head-on blow was about to fall, Ethel's body and mind were torn apart. The pride of being an Atlias and the contempt for humans turned into unwillingness to be defeated by humans, and endless resentment!
Then it expressed its resentment and anger: "Damn humans!! I will definitely come back... Ugh——!"
Swish!
The giant sword fell heavily, mercilessly splitting Ethel in half, and then fell to the ground with a "bang", blood and flesh splattered!
“Ha… huh…”
Gajeel gasped and exited the energy-consuming "Steel Mode". He stared at Ethel's body, fearing that the other party would suddenly revive and attack.
Levi trotted over to greet him, "Gajeel! How are you?"
"Don't worry, I'm fine!"
Gajeel was slashed twice by Ethel before, and his injuries were not light. But after eating enough iron blocks, his physical strength and magic power were restored, and his wounds were also relieved.
"Thanks to your help, I was able to defeat this guy just now! Thank you so much!"
Hearing the other person's tone suddenly become so gentle, Leibi's face turned red and she said shyly: "It's... It's okay... I didn't help much..."
Having just overused his magic power, Gajeel had to sit on the ground to rest, but his gaze turned to the snowy world in the forest in the distance.
"I wonder how Gray is doing?"
