Chapter 43: Natsu vs. Erza
Inside the battle circle, Natsu and Erza began the traditional pre-battle greetings and demonstrations.
The red hair is like fire, the cherry hair is like flowers, and the pure white dragon scale scarf arouses the fighting spirit of the two people even more.
"How many years was it when I last competed with you like this?"
"I was still young then, but now it's different!!! I must beat you today!!"
Erza suddenly opened her eyes, her eyes full of fighting spirit: "Then I'll show you my real skills! It's been a long time since I tested my true strength!"
"You're welcome, come on!"
"Change clothes!"
The dark red armor was instantly put on, which had special effects against fire, the Flame Emperor Armor!
It is a fire-resistant armor. Although it has many leaks, it does not affect its fire-resistant properties because this armor was also made by Kira.
In the battle circle, Erza, who changed into the Entei armor, had twin ponytails. The armor had a red base with black patterns and orange decorations. There were wings on the back, and a matching fire sword.
As a wizard who uses dressing magic, Erza has the most clothes in the entire guild. In order to store all her clothes and armor, she even rented five connected dormitories in the girls' dormitory.
Erza's clothes mainly come from two stores. The store that specializes in her ordinary clothes for daily life is the most trendy and most popular fashion store among women, fashion brand - Heart Kreuz, referred to as H-K.
Originally, Erza asked this store to also be responsible for her armor, but they are a fashion store after all, and they don't make armor. For this reason, Erza almost used force to coerce them, but fortunately she was stopped by Kira who was "passing by".
After Kira's earnest mediation, both sides agreed to make concessions, with H-K designing the armor and Kira being responsible for forging it.
Kira's method of forging armor, or forging magic weapons, is actually similar to Wendy's additional magic, except that the attached object is inorganic matter and it takes longer.
Of course, this is only similar in effect, the principles are different.
Everything in the world has a name. If you know its true name, you can harness its true power. This kind of magic is called Word Magic.
All things here not only refer to objectively existing things, but also include various man-made things. It is because of the ability to use such man-made things, such as text, technology, and ideas, that word magic appears powerful.
"Start!!!" Markov was still wearing his little hat with two tails. Today, he also came to watch the game and acted as a referee.
"Oh oh oh oh!" the people around cheered!
It finally started! We've been waiting for quite some time, and I don't know what they've been watching for so long!
"Roar la la la la——!" Natsu took the lead in attacking, rushing forward, which was the most direct move. As always, he started with the move that everyone was most familiar with, the Fire Dragon's Iron Fist.
Erza simply stepped back and barely dodged it. This was the most effortless dodge, but behind it was the most subtle observation and the most skilled technique.
Although the first move was dodged, Natsu was not panicked at all. If she was hit so easily, she wouldn't be Erza!
The fire fist was powerful, and it hit downwards using the inertia of the forward rush. At the same time, the right foot was raised to kick in anticipation, directly attacking the face.
The second move that follows perfectly borrows the remaining power of the first move, exerting force again before the move becomes old, taking a two-pronged approach and including anticipation.
If it were an ordinary person, even if he could react after the first move and jump up in time to avoid the connected uppercut, he would still be kicked head-on by the "ham" that was launched at the same time.
It has to be said that although Natsu's IQ is not high, his combat wisdom is very strong. In the original plot, no matter what enemy he faces, he can always find the opponent's flaws and attack habits in a very short time, and dodge or take advantage of the gap between attacks in time for the next move.
Since Natsu was raised by a dragon since he was a child, his attack style is similar to that of a wild beast, almost instinctive, and he does not have any special habits. Therefore, he can always make corrections many times during the battle, which is one of the reasons why he often cheats.
After nearly ten years of fighting in this guild, Erza and Natsu are so familiar with each other that their every move is predictable.
Facing this move, Erza just jumped to the ground calmly, turned sideways, and then slashed with the sword in her hand!
At this point, Natsu's moves were exhausted, and his three attacks all missed. At the same time, standing on one leg, it was almost impossible for him to maintain his balance. He could not attack in a short period of time, and he had to dodge the oncoming blows.
The attack and defense changed instantly!
Everyone in the guild knew that Erza was terribly serious in some aspects, and even now, she was not someone who would show mercy.
Just when everyone thought the outcome was decided, Natsu pushed his hands onto the ground, did a front flip to avoid the sword, and then spit out blazing flames in the air!
“It’s so hot!!!”
"Hey! Natsu!! You bastard!!!"
Erza dodged the fire attack, but the surrounding extras couldn't and suffered from the kiss of the flames.
His outstanding insight, accurate judgment, quick reaction, extraordinary physical fitness and rich combat experience were fully demonstrated in the first wave of tests.
Although there were only a few simple moves and the two sides didn't even touch each other, it was enough to attract the attention of everyone around them. Even Lucy, who was originally thinking hard with her head down, was amazed by their skills.
"Amazing! As expected of Erza!"
"How's it going? We're evenly matched, right?"
"Did not see it."
Erza usually fights two at a time, so Gray certainly won't admit that Natsu and Erza are evenly matched. Wouldn't that mean that he is inferior to Natsu?
Kira gave his analysis on the side: "Hehe... Natsu has finished warming up, but Erza hasn't! Don't blink, watch carefully! What's coming up will be even more exciting!"
The next moment, the fire fist and the sharp sword collided again!
Ding! Ding!! Ding!!!
The second confrontation lasted ten minutes. Both men fought at full speed, with continuous blows and collisions, which created tiny sparks on the armor and left shallow scars on their fists.
Even the sword of the Entei suit was marked red by Natsu, and even the sharp claws of the Fire Dragon King were shaken slightly!
"Huh? Natsu's anger is getting even hotter! That's progress!"
Kira's praise for Natsu aroused Gray's envy and jealousy: "Tsk..."
"Gray, you don't have to be too upset. Your ice-making magic is stronger than before! Oh, and give me some ice to cool you down!"
"No, doesn't your magic also allow for ice?"
"Every profession has its specialties! You are a professional when it comes to ice making, hurry up!"
“It’s so noisy!”
Under Kira's repeated urging, Gray finally and reluctantly built four half-person-high ice fences to surround the battle circle where the two men were fighting, and also kept the onlookers outside the fences.
The temperature around them suddenly dropped, but no one thought that Gray did a bad job, because the surroundings had already been burned hot and dry by Natsu, and there was a serious lack of water in the air. Now was the time to add some ice to cool down.
Now they don't have to worry about being burned by Natsu's fire.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
"The sword horn of the fire dragon!"
The flames attached to Natsu's body, exerting extraordinary power, but Erza was able to block with her sword at the most precise point every time, eliminating the flames released by Natsu.
The armor is just a bonus buff. The source of Erza's strength lies in herself. In terms of swordsmanship alone, no one in the entire Fairy Tail can compare to Erza.
Watching the two people fighting fiercely, Gray suddenly thought of a question that he had not noticed before: "Speaking of which, do the wings on the back of the Flame Emperor's armor really have the ability to fly?"
"No, it's not! It's just a decoration!" Kira is very familiar with this point, after all, the armor was made by him. "Although I also wonder why H-K designed the armor like this, but Erza seems to like it unexpectedly."
"Not only this set, but Erza's other armors also have wing designs, but most of them are just decorations, and only a few can fly."
"Also, Erza's armor is mostly exposed. I found it strange when I was forging it. It's obviously fireproof armor, but there are so many gaps. I don't know what the designer was thinking - but it's really beautiful in battle."
