"Hm? That look… Could it be you're the legendary 'Tyrant'?"
Seeing Kael's transformed form, Gajeel immediately pieced together his opponent's identity.
Phantom Lord had gathered a great deal of intelligence on Fairy Tail. Very few people had ever seen Kael's true form, but his various transformations were well documented. And since this man had stepped out after Erza—while the other known S-Class wizards were accounted for—there was only one possibility left.
The Tyrant.
In truth, the Tyrant had only made a handful of public appearances. He'd shot to fame overnight after annihilating a bandit horde tens of thousands strong, and more recently, he'd wiped the dark guild "Eisenwald" off the map.
In Gajeel's mind, though, none of that was particularly impressive. Bandits were trash, at best mixed with a few low-level wizards, and Eisenwald wasn't much better. Gajeel had crushed plenty of dark guilds himself; they just hadn't made as much noise.
"Brat, you were acting pretty high and mighty a second ago,"
Kael said, his voice laced with lazy contempt, as if Gajeel didn't even register as a threat.
"Destroying a guild and then strutting around like you own the place… it's a bad look, don't you think?"
"So what if I was?"
Gajeel let out a ferocious laugh.
"Good. I like it when things are straightforward. Since you've admitted it was you, I can relax."
"Huh? Relax? You should be worrying about your life!"
[Both contestants have entered the arena!]
[Fairy Tail vs. Phantom Lord, Match 5!]
[Start!!]
Clang!
"Ha!! Iron Dragon's Club!"
Gajeel whipped his leg around—his foot instantly transforming into a heavy iron pillar aimed straight at Kael's head.
"Heh!"
A vicious grin split Gajeel's face. The Iron Dragon's Club suddenly sprouted dozens of iron spikes, lunging toward Kael—and struck nothing but air.
"What?!"
Kael's voice drifted in from Gajeel's blind spot.
"Too slow."
Gajeel barely had time to turn before a foot slammed into his face.
Bang! "Uwaaah!"
Whoosh!
His body rocketed sideways like a projectile.
Boom!
He crashed into the arena's inner wall, the impact carving a massive crater into the stone.
"You bastard!"
Gajeel hadn't expected to be kicked across the room the instant the match began. To him, it was pure humiliation. He tore himself out of the rubble and charged Kael in a burst of speed.
But he didn't even make it halfway.
Kael's figure blurred—then reappeared directly in front of him.
Smack!
Kael grabbed a fistful of Gajeel's hair and drove a knee brutally into his face.
"Uwaah!"
Gajeel screamed.
Kael didn't let go. Still holding him by the hair, he swung Gajeel up and began hammering him into the ground again and again.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sight made the crowd's hearts seize. In the stands, Natsu felt a cold shiver—an ugly reminder of the time Kael had dominated him in the exact same way.
"Bastard!! Iron Dragon's Sword!"
Gajeel forced his arm to transform into a serrated iron blade and slashed at Kael.
Smack!
Kael caught the Iron Dragon's Sword with his bare hand and squeezed.
Snap!
The iron blade shattered cleanly in two. Kael picked up the jagged shard and dragged it across Gajeel's chest.
Splurt! "Uwaaaaaah!"
A deep wound tore open across Gajeel's torso.
"Iron Dragon's Lance!"
Gajeel lashed out with his leg, extending it into a long, sharp lance aimed at Kael's throat. Kael tilted his head slightly, the metal grazing past.
At the same time, Kael seized the lance with one hand. With the other, he brought the broken sword shard down on the iron pole.
Snap!
The lance was severed cleanly. Kael tossed the broken piece aside and gripped the remaining iron lance with both hands.
He gave it a casual test swing and nodded.
"Mm… this is actually pretty comfortable to hold."
A vein throbbed in Gajeel's forehead. To him, this was the ultimate insult. If Kael were taking him seriously, he'd have drawn his own weapon. Using Gajeel's iron creations against him was a blunt declaration that Kael didn't think Gajeel was worth the effort.
Kael held the lance in one hand and walked toward Gajeel at an unhurried pace.
"Iron Dragon's Club!"
Gajeel threw everything into the next strike. He swung his leg, forming a gargantuan iron club at least two meters thick.
Rumble!
The massive club tore through the arena floor, pulverizing stone like glass—a blow that could have leveled a house.
Smack!
Kael didn't budge. He placed a single hand against the side of the iron pillar.
The rapidly moving club stopped dead, shuddering violently in place.
"How is this possible?!"
Gajeel's pupils contracted. His strongest physical attack—halted with one hand.
The corner of Kael's mouth curled. He lifted a foot and kicked the massive iron club with explosive force.
The momentum reversed instantly, sending the giant pillar—and Gajeel along with it—hurtling backward.
Boom!
Gajeel managed to revert his leg in time, but the recoil was staggering. He transformed his hands into iron picks and dug them into the floor to slow himself down, carving two deep trenches before finally coming to a stop.
Before he could even breathe—Kael was already hovering above him.
Kael gripped the stolen lance and brought it down like a guillotine.
"Iron Dragon's Scales!"
Gajeel desperately coated his arms in jet-black scales and crossed them to block.
Boom!!
The ground beneath his feet disintegrated.
"Uwaaah!"
Gajeel cried out. The scales prevented the blade from cutting him, but the sheer force felt like it wanted to snap his arm bones in half.
"Weren't you very arrogant just now?"
Kael asked, raising the lance in one hand like a casual walking stick—then slamming it down again.
"Why aren't you arrogant now?!"
Boom!
The ground shattered even further.
"Keep that same energy! Come on! Arrogance!"
Between every sentence, Kael hammered Gajeel with the lance, driving him into the dirt like a nail.
Boom!
The final strike launched Gajeel through broken earth. He tumbled, then rolled out from a pile of debris across the arena.
Gajeel staggered up and inhaled hard—his chest swelling to an unnatural size.
"Iron Dragon's Roar!"
A violent storm of gray wind erupted, packed with razor-sharp iron shards.
Kael didn't even flinch.
He spun the stolen lance into a rapid blur, forming a defensive wall of wind.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The shockwaves and fragments were batted away like nothing more than annoying insects.
"No… This can't be happening…"
Gajeel muttered, eyes wide with disbelief.
Kael hurled the lance at him with railgun force.
Gajeel dodged by a hair's breadth—but the moment he moved, Kael was already in his face.
"Iron Dragon's Hard Fist!"
Gajeel swung a desperate punch, his fist covered in scales.
Smack!
Kael caught it in his palm like he was catching a ball. Then he twisted outward—
Crack! "Uwaah!"
As Gajeel screamed, Kael drove a sharp kick into the back of Gajeel's knee.
"Waaah!"
Gajeel buckled and dropped, forced onto one knee in the dirt—right in front of Kael.