Erza's sword point was aimed directly at Gajeel's chest; just one more inch, and the battle would be over.
However, just as the sword tip was about to make contact—
"Clang!"
A dark red tachi light suddenly struck, precisely hitting Erza's blade, sending sparks flying!
Ikaruga's figure appeared like a ghost, her blade blocking in front of Gajeel, her eyes cold.
"Do you take me for granted?"
Gajeel stumbled back two steps, his iron-gray skin already covered in cracks.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, a ferocious smile spreading across his face: "Thanks!"
Gajeel retreated three steps, a large amount of steam rising from the cracks in his body, his iron-gray skin gleaming with a metallic luster, and his wounds healing at a visible rate.
"Adjust your magic," Ikaruga said to Gajeel without turning her head, the sleeves of her white kimono fluttering without wind, "Focus on suppressing the opponent."
Erza's crimson hair flew in the surging sword energy, she held her sword with both hands, the tip slightly lowered: "Then we'll see if you two can manage it."
Gajeel grimaced and stretched his neck, making a sound like metal grinding: "Woman, don't get too arrogant!"
His arms suddenly transformed into two spiked Iron Dragon Rods, "Iron Dragon Rod!"
Just as Gajeel suddenly launched his attack, Erza's figure blurred—
"Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor!"
A golden magic circle appeared beneath her feet, and pure white wings spread behind her, her entire being shooting into the sky like an arrow released from a bowstring.
Gajeel's Iron Dragon Rods only shattered an afterimage, creating a three-meter-diameter crater in the ground.
"Strength alone isn't enough."
Erza's voice came from above.
Gajeel looked up, only to see dozens of light swords raining down like a storm.
"Heavens Wheel: Blumenblatt!"
"iron dragon's Body!" A magic circle spread out under Gajeel's feet, the color of his body suddenly deepened, and the light swords striking his metallic body sent out dazzling sparks.
Even so, several light swords penetrated his defense, cutting fine iron filings from his body.
Ikaruga's figure suddenly appeared in front of Gajeel, her tachi dancing into a dark red curtain of light.
"Mujoryu: Shishōkōdan!"
The sword light, like a net, cut down all the remaining light swords.
Ikaruga's blade shifted, and she transformed into a white lightning bolt, heading straight for Erza in mid-air.
"Mugetsu Style: Sword Flash!"
Erza's pupils constricted slightly, and she hastily blocked with her sword.
The shockwave of the sword clash exploded in the air, shattering the treetops within a hundred-meter radius.
The two separated on contact, each landing on the top of an ancient tree.
"Your swordsmanship has improved again," Erza praised, her eyes burning with fighting spirit.
Ikaruga did not reply, only slightly lowered her stance.
Dark red magic began to condense on her blade, and the surrounding air twisted due to the magic.
Gajeel took the opportunity to take a deep breath, his chest expanding like a bellows—
"Iron Dragon's Roar!"
A torrent of black metal spewed from his mouth, pulverizing all trees in its path.
Erza, however, did not dodge, and the long sword in her hand suddenly changed form.
"Requip: Adamantine Armor!"
Heavy golden armor instantly covered her entire body, and the torrent of iron sand struck the armor, emitting a grating, teeth-aching friction sound.
When the smoke and dust cleared, Erza stood unharmed in her original spot, without even a scratch on her armor.
"This level isn't quite enough," Erza smiled.
Fury flickered in Gajeel's pupils, and iron filings spun around him like an iron sculpture: "Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Karma—"
His words cut off abruptly.
Erza's figure had appeared before him at some unknown moment, her Adamantine Armor replaced by the Black Wing Armor, known for its speed.
"Sleep."
Erza, clad in black armor, heavily punched Gajeel in the abdomen.
This punch, seemingly light, contained terrifying power.
Gajeel's iron armor shattered like glass, his entire body bent into a shrimp-like shape, his eyes bulging.
"Bang!"
Another elbow strike landed on the back of his neck.
Gajeel's body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Ikaruga's rescue was a step too late.
Her blade sliced through the spot where Erza had just stood, but only cut an afterimage.
"One down," Erza said, standing beside Gajeel's limp body, flexing her wrist, "Now, I'll focus on you."
Erza withdrew her sword stance, her gaze returning to Ikaruga.
"Now, it's just us."
Ikaruga nodded slightly, her left thumb lightly pushing the tsuba, and the dark red tachi slowly unsheathed, its blade reflecting the sunlight with a cold, sharp glint.
On the grassland, the wind stilled, and the clouds were motionless.
Ikaruga's blade tip dipped slightly, taking the Mugetsu Style drawing stance.
An eerie luster flowed over the dark red blade, as if it had drunk its fill of blood.
The air between them began to twist, and invisible sword energy plowed fine cracks into the ground.
"Mugetsu Style: Shishi Shigen."
Ikaruga's figure suddenly vanished.
The next instant, dozens of dark red sword lights struck Erza from all directions, each one precisely aimed at the seams of her armor.
The sword lights were so fast that they didn't even leave afterimages; only a sharp whooshing sound remained in the air.
"Requip: Adamantine Armor!"
Dazzling golden light erupted around Erza. Heavy armor instantly covered her entire body, and the sword lights striking the armor sent out blinding sparks.
Just as Ikaruga's last strike fell, Erza suddenly removed her armor—
"Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor!"
Pure white wings suddenly unfurled, and Erza shot into the sky like an arrow released from a bowstring.
Ikaruga's blade only shattered an afterimage. Erza, in mid-air, held her sword with both hands, and spiral-shaped air currents wrapped around the blade.
"Heavens Wheel: Blumenblatt!"
Hundreds of light swords poured down like a storm.
Ikaruga's pupils suddenly constricted, and her blade danced in front of her into a dark red curtain of light.
"Mujoryu: Shishōkōdan!"
The barrier woven by sword light collided with the light swords, erupting in a deafening roar.
The air blast swept away shrubs within a fifty-meter radius, and the ground was plowed with crisscrossing gullies by the sword energy.
In the smoke and dust, a tear appeared in Ikaruga's kimono sleeve, and a strand of pink hair slowly drifted down.
Before the dust, thick as a dense haze, had fully settled, Erza and Ikaruga simultaneously launched their attacks.
Twelve magic swords floated behind Erza, forming a rotating silver wheel, their blades emitting a cold, sharp gleam.
Ikaruga's tachi glowed with a pure white halo, and fierce sword energy, like a frosty blade, cut through the twisting air, instantly shredding the surrounding grass and trees into powder.
"Heaven's Wheel: Meteor Shower!" The moment Erza raised her arm, the twelve magic swords suddenly split into hundreds of tiny light blades, pouring down like a reversed Milky Way.
Each blade glow trailed a brilliant wake, like falling stars, precisely targeting Ikaruga's vital points.
Ikaruga lightly stepped on a broken tree stump, and as her cherry-blossom hair flew, her tachi drew an arc like a silver moon, her clear voice bursting forth with sword energy: "Mugetsu Style: Yaegiri!"
Eight pure white sword energies rose in succession, forming a barrier in front of her.
The sword energy and magic swords collided with a thunderous roar, shaking loose rocks from distant mountain ridges, and a blinding ball of light, like a small sun, exploded at the point of energy collision.
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