As an earth-based mage, Jura's defensive prowess was, predictably, outstanding, a fact underscored by his moniker, "Iron Rock".
Normally, a single stone wall conjured by him would be sufficient to deter any enemy, but to block Drake's all-out assault, he'd been compelled to erect a veritable mountain of rock.
Even so, the mountain's edges were rapidly succumbing to Drake's flames, melting into molten magma.
The remaining combatants sought refuge behind Jura's rocky bulwark, instinctively forming a temporary alliance against the rampaging Drake.
Soaring above the arena atop an ice griffin, Lyon sought a vantage point from which to launch a counterattack.
However, he seemed to have overlooked the age-old adage: "The nail that sticks out gets hammered down."
Before Lyon could attain any significant altitude, he felt the ice griffin beneath him begin to list precariously, as if inebriated.
Looking down, he observed that the griffin's head and a considerable portion of its wings had already begun to melt.
This was hardly surprising, given the rapidly approaching source of intense heat.
Before Lyon could fully react, a crimson flash filled his vision, and a tremendous force slammed into his shoulder, sending him crashing back down to earth, along with the now-mutilated ice griffin.
After dispatching Lyon, Drake surveyed the remaining combatants from his newly acquired height advantage, his gaze immediately settling upon Minerva, who stood with her hands clasped together in concentration.
The space before Drake shimmered and warped, and a spherical barrier materialized, trapping him within its confines.
Minerva's magic, "Absolute Territory," was a high-level spatial art. It granted her dominion over space itself, allowing her not only to manipulate its very fabric, but also to imbue it with a variety of properties.
She could, for example, drain magic power, generate intense heat, or trigger explosions.
However, she lacked the spare capacity for such complexities at present; merely maintaining the spatial confinement around Drake required her utmost concentration!
"Well done!" Jura offered in commendation, before unleashing his own magical assault.
Three colossal arms composed of solid rock erupted from the ground, spiraling upwards to ensnare Drake's body in an unyielding grip.
"Thunder God's Charged Particle Cannon!"
"Frozen Black Lightning Blade!"
Seizing the opportune moment, Orga and Rufus launched their respective signature spells, converging a concentrated blast of black lightning and an ice blade laced with crackling black arcs upon the trapped Drake.
A cataclysmic explosion ripped through the air, scattering fragments of shattered ice and rock amidst the billowing black smoke, the deafening crackle of electricity reverberating throughout the arena.
"Did we finally get him?" Lyon, struggling to regain his footing, inquired anxiously.
Jura shook his head gravely: "Do not underestimate him; he is not so easily vanquished."
As if on cue, a crimson glow pierced through the dissipating smoke, the intense heat of the flames pushing the darkness aside to reveal Drake, unscathed, at the epicenter of the blast.
"Don't you know the first rule of explosions: if there's smoke, there's no fire?" Drake, having landed gracefully on the ground, said to his assembled opponents: "Now, it's my turn to play!"
Everyone instinctively recoiled, but Drake had already initiated his counterattack.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
The torrent of flames Drake unleashed utterly disrupted Jura and the others' carefully coordinated formation, scattering them in disarray.
Then, Drake moved, selecting Orga as his initial target.
To his credit, Jura reacted swiftly, erecting a towering stone wall before Orga as he attempted to retreat.
However, the wall was reduced to rubble in the blink of an eye by Drake's devastating assault, leaving Orga with no hope of evading the inevitable.
The ensuing spectacle was a macabre ballet of destruction, Orga's body convulsing grotesquely as Drake unleashed a relentless barrage of blows, each strike landing with bone-jarring force.
His eyes rolling back into his head, Orga finally collapsed, his body twisted at unnatural angles, appearing incapable of ever rising again.
Minerva steadied herself, once again activating her spatial magic, attempting to imprison Drake within a confining barrier. However, she was horrified to discover that the space surrounding him was completely beyond her control.
"How is this even possible?"
Minerva was baffled; the intelligence reports were clear: Fairy Tail's Drake wielded Fire Dragon Slayer magic, and should possess no ability to interfere with the spatial fabric.
Jura's brow furrowed in concentration, as he explained gravely: "It's the flames! His flames are so intensely hot that they're warping the very fabric of space.
Your current magical power is simply insufficient to exert control over such a chaotic domain."
Minerva took no comfort from this explanation; she'd never heard of anything so preposterous.
Jura continued, his voice laced with urgency: "Drake's magic amplifies his power through flames; we must find a way to suppress them!"
Rufus pressed his fingers to his forehead, his expression suddenly resolute: "I understand; leave it to me!"
"Lost Blizzard!"
Rufus unleashed his magic at full capacity, flooding the entire arena with its power, and transforming the weather in an instant.
First, a gentle breeze carried snowflakes down, then the wind speed increased exponentially, and the snowflakes grew larger and larger, coalescing into a raging blizzard.
Rufus had conjured a localized blizzard, intending to quell Drake's inferno.
However, the snowflakes were vaporized before they even touched Drake's body.
Amidst the swirling chaos of the blizzard, Drake's flames flickered slightly. However, rather than suppressing the flames, Rufus' magic primarily served to obscure Drake's vision.
But in combat, Drake didn't rely solely on his eyesight. He quickly employed his heightened magical senses to detect a surge of approaching presences.
"Frost Swordsmen!"
Countless giant ice warriors emerged from the swirling snow, surrounding and converging upon Drake.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
Drake swung his arms, unleashing a torrent of flames that had been tempered slightly by the blizzard, the spiraling inferno obliterating the approaching ice warriors in a spectacular display of destructive force.
However, one ice warrior, wielding a giant sword, cleaved through the flames and charged directly towards him.
"Ah, so that was your intention, was it?"
The surrounding ice warriors had all been conjured by Rufus using his Memory-Make magic. But this particular construct was the creation of Lyon.
The two creations differed vastly in terms of strength and durability, and Lyon had successfully closed in on Drake.
Drake commended their coordinated strategy, then, without any hesitation, raised his hand and seized the descending ice sword.
Crack, crack!
Despite being composed of ice, the giant sword Lyon had crafted possessed the hardness of tempered steel. However, in Drake's grip, it fractured and shattered into countless fragments.
Drake stepped forward, and in the blink of an eye, he was positioned behind the ice warrior.
The construct instantly disintegrated as if struck by a high-explosive projectile, and even Lyon was sent flying through the air.
Then, Drake turned his gaze towards Rufus. Rufus shuddered involuntarily, as if beholding a colossal dragon unfurling its wings and unleashing a deafening roar.
When he regained his composure, Drake was already standing directly before him.
Drake pressed his hand against Rufus' face, slamming him headfirst into the ground.
Drake straightened up, Rufus' flamboyant hat, adorned with pink fur trim, rolling to a stop at his feet.
With the defeat of the magic user, the blizzard abruptly subsided, and Drake's vision cleared.
But only Minerva remained before him, and her magic power seemed to be greatly depleted.
Despite appearing to be on the verge of collapse, Minerva wore a triumphant smile. Drake then noticed the countless spatial spheres hovering around him.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom…!
The spatial spheres detonated simultaneously, their combined force focused entirely upon Drake.
The explosions continued for an extended period, before finally subsiding. Minerva, her legs giving way, collapsed to the ground, looking expectantly towards the center of the devastation.
However, the sound of approaching footsteps swiftly erased the triumphant expression from her face.
Drake emerged from the smoke-filled crater, tearing off his tattered shirt, and saying: "Not bad, but you were still a little short."
"Allow me to compensate for that shortfall!"
Drake turned to see Jura standing some distance away.
The scattered rocks littering the ground suddenly began to glow with magical energy, and then launched themselves towards Drake in unison.
Minerva's depleted magical power had not only been used to create the explosive spaces, but also to mask Jura and his magic's presence.
That was why Drake hadn't detected Jura's spell encompassing him.
"King of the Rock Crush!"
Seeing the rocks envelop Drake, Jura immediately detonated the magic power imbued within them.
"Seriously, what is it with you guys and these explosive techniques?"
Even Jura's face betrayed a flicker of surprise. However, his superior combat instincts prompted him to make the optimal decision.
"Rock Mountain!"
A colossal golem constructed of solid rock materialized behind Jura, intercepting Drake's Fire Dragon's Iron Fist.
This was no mere earthen wall with a decorative animal head; it wasn't just an aesthetic transformation, but a substantial augmentation of defensive capabilities.
Even so, the golem was pulverized by the sheer force of Drake's punch.
Jura didn't retreat, instead embracing the pride befitting a member of the Ten Wizard Saints as he advanced to engage Drake in close-quarters combat.
Their fists collided, and the two engaged in a furious exchange of blows.
Jura's designation as a Saint wasn't merely ceremonial; his exceptional combat experience enabled him to seamlessly integrate magic with martial arts.
His punches and kicks were interspersed with a barrage of rock pillars and spears, creating a fighting style that was uniquely his own.
Drake executed a sweeping leap backwards, evading the encroaching thicket of rock spears, and raised his arms to parry Jura's incoming fist.
A grin slowly spread across Drake's face as he opened his mouth towards Jura.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
A cataclysmic pillar of fire erupted, forcing Jura to break off his intended follow-up attack.
"Now I'm all fired up!"
Drake proclaimed, as the power of a Dragon Slayer Secret Art began to coalesce within his hands.
Facing Drake's impending assault, Jura clasped his hands together, his immense magical power causing the very earth to tremble.
"Interesting; then let us settle this in a fair and decisive contest, Mr. Drake!"
Jura bellowed, as he unleashed his signature spell: "Rumbling Mount Fury!"
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Explosive Flame Blade!"
The spiraling vortex of flames collided with the earth-shattering force of the rumbling mountain, the resulting explosion of magical energy blinding all those present.
After what seemed an eternity, the blinding light gradually dissipated, revealing the aftermath of the cataclysmic clash.
Jura lay sprawled upon the ground, defeated, while Drake, supporting himself with his hands on his knees, was breathing heavily.
It appeared that Drake had triumphed over Jura, but only at a considerable cost… or so it seemed.
In reality, Drake had indeed expended a significant portion of his magical reserves, but not nearly enough to warrant his labored breathing.
Drake, adjusting to the suddenly darkened vision, glanced at the figure beside him that appeared to be on the verge of collapse.
"As I suspected, you've finally revealed yourselves, Raven Tail!"
The scene the audience was witnessing was a carefully constructed illusion, designed to obscure the true events transpiring within the arena.
And the only ones capable of such a feat were Raven Tail, who had been skulking in the shadows from the very beginning.
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