"Ice Make: Battle Axe!"
Gray conjured a long battle axe and swung it at Natsu, who barely dodged the strike while still catching his breath.
"..."
Gray frowned, sensing something was off.
"Ice Make: Lance!"
Though doubts lingered in his mind, since he had already decided to go for the decisive blow, Gray naturally had no reason to retreat now.
Countless ice lancers shot forth, forcing Natsu to roll and scramble across the ground in a desperate attempt to evade.
The flames around him seemed to dim.
"Ice Make: Super Freezing Ice Arrow!"
Gray's frown deepened, but his hands never stopped moving.
A massive surge of magic erupted from Gray as an exquisite ice bow took shape in his hands.
"Hum!!!"
As Gray drew the bow, the swirling frost from his surging magic nearly froze the entire arena, the sheer force of it awe-inspiring.
This move did have a slight delay in its startup, making it unsuitable as an opening against strong opponents, as it could easily be interrupted.
But now, with Natsu struggling to fend off the ice lancers and the Ice Cannon shots, this was the perfect opportunity.
"NOW!"
However, just as Gray steadied himself to fire, Natsu suddenly roared, sending a jolt of alarm through Gray's heart.
'Clang clang clang clang clang!!!'
A surge of passionate music erupted from the sidelines, the sound was quite loud, as Happy pressed the switch on the speaker.
"AHHHHH!! I'm fired up!!!"
Hearing the music, Natsu instantly shook off his earlier exhaustion, his entire body blazing anew as magic erupted from him.
"Damn it! He was faking it after all!"
At this moment, Gray finally realized what was happening.
"Natsu, you bastard! You actually played mind games too!"
Gray's expression twisted, but he was already committed—the arrow was nocked and ready to fly.
The crystal arrow, forged from magic and radiating a dense ice-blue glow, had fully formed.
"Hum!"
Gray released the bowstring, and the ice arrow shot straight toward Natsu.
Unfortunately, Natsu, now bursting with magic, moved with incredible speed, dodging the arrow effortlessly and charging straight at Gray.
"BOOM!"
The ice arrow struck the "Crystal Wall," exploding into a dazzling display of ice-blue light.
The terrifying frost magic startled even the spectators outside the "Crystal Wall."
"You fell for it!"
Natsu roared, his eyes gleaming with triumph, a wild grin spreading across his face.
He had finally cornered Gray.
"Ice Make: Ice—"
Gray, of course, ignored Natsu's charge, frantically trying to conjure an ice shield for defense.
"Wham!"
But it was too late.
Natsu, now right in front of him, gave Gray no chance to react.
Natsu threw a punch, forcing Gray to abandon his ongoing use of molding magic and focus solely on blocking the attack.
"Bam! Bam! Bam!"
The fight quickly escalated into a brutal, close-quarters brawl—exactly the kind of rhythm Natsu loved and thrived in.
...
Amidst the exhilarating BGM, Natsu felt his fists packing more power than usual, hammering Gray relentlessly without giving him a chance to counter.
"I never expected the Salamander to be faking it! He was deliberately playing weak!"
The sudden shift in the duel's momentum naturally left the spectators stunned.
After all, Natsu had always been known for his straightforward, head-on fighting style—and just moments ago, he had indeed been getting led around like a dog by Gray.
His sudden tactical shift caught everyone off guard, even Gray himself, who hadn't seen it coming.
"Honestly, Natsu's acting was pretty terrible."
Marco, serving as the referee at the edge of the arena, couldn't help but comment.
"Absolutely terrible." Laxus twitched his lips, barely holding back a smirk.
"But the kid's clever. He actually thought of a way to turn the tables." Gildarts looked on with pride, satisfied with both boys' performances.
One had fully utilized his magic's strengths, exploiting his opponent's weaknesses, while the other had cleverly used his enemy's preconceptions against him to stage a comeback.
And that was exactly what had happened.
Natsu's exaggerated performance had gone unnoticed solely because of the "reckless brute" stereotype he had built up over time.
No one had expected him to suddenly start thinking strategically mid-battle—let alone pull off a feigned weakness tactic.
Despite being very familiar with Natsu, Gray had sensed something was off but still hadn't anticipated this move.
"He lost fair and square."
Marco gave his assessment—Gray had ultimately been outplayed in tactical execution.
He could have kept leading Natsu around, but he couldn't resist the urge to defeat him head-on.
That momentary lapse had given Natsu, in a stroke of inspiration, the opening he needed.
"But seriously, Natsu even set up a little gimmick? Having Happy play BGM at the crucial moment?"
Marco glanced at Happy, who was cheering excitedly from the stands.
Clearly, the BGM had been a prearranged plan between Natsu and Happy.
Though it might not have been intended for this exact scenario, the pre-fight preparation had still given Natsu an edge.
...
"Bam!"
Gray crashed onto the ground, his body drained of strength.
His last-ditch attack had consumed too much magic power, squandering all the advantages he had gained from earlier maneuvering.
Meanwhile, Natsu, already superior in both magic reserves and physical endurance, now had the BGM's boost on his side.
Gray stood no chance.
Yet, stubborn as ever, Gray forced himself back up and charged at Natsu again—he wasn't going down without a fight.
"Bam!"
Gray hit the ground once more—this time, he couldn't rise again.
"Aaaaah!!! I won!"
Finally knocking Gray down, Natsu clenched his fists and roared triumphantly—he had stood victorious in the end, backed by his signature BGM.
That said, Natsu wasn't unscathed either.
His face was bruised and swollen from Gray's fierce counterattacks—this hadn't been an easy win.
"Winner—Natsu!"
Marco appeared beside the two and announced the result.
In the stands, the Mages from the three guilds stood up and applauded, offering their cheers to Natsu and Gray.
Marco checked Gray's condition—nothing serious.
For these two, ending up in such a state was practically routine.
However, in the past, it had always been Gray who stood victorious in the end.
Now, this was the second time Gray had lost to Natsu in battle.
For someone accustomed to winning, suddenly starting to lose couldn't be easy to accept.
But the one who had always been losing had also been carrying the weight of that pressure as he pushed forward.
Now that their roles had reversed, it all depended on whether Gray could accept the fact that he had become the one chasing from behind.
"Keep at it, Gray." Marco sighed as he helped Gray up and took him back to the rest area for treatment.
"I leave him to you, Granny Porlyusica." Marco handed Gray over to Porlyusica, who was in charge of the medical team.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Now get out of here—don't bother me."
Granny Porlyusica glanced at Gray before impatiently waving Marco away.
She was thoroughly annoyed being here.
She hated crowded places like this, especially when it involved a bunch of people fighting.
If her old friends hadn't practically dragged her here, she would never have agreed to handle any medical duties.
Humans were always fighting, always killing each other. If they wanted to brawl, fine—she wasn't going to heal them.
"I'm leaving now."
Marco didn't know what Porlyusica was thinking, but he could guess it was her usual tsundere spiel about how "humans are the worst."
After setting Gray down, Marco left immediately without lingering—there was still work to be done.