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Although he'd defeated Jose, Gajeel had exhausted all his strength.
The destructive power of that final magic black hole wasn't to be underestimated. Even though Gajeel hadn't been trapped for long, he'd still suffered significant injuries, demonstrating just how immense that power was.
If his Dragon Slayer iron body hadn't reached a certain level of mastery, Gajeel couldn't have fought Jose for so many rounds, much less devised the strategy of trading injuries to make Jose drop his guard.
Though he'd won the battle, Gajeel couldn't be happy about it. Powerless, he plopped onto the ground and looked worriedly toward another battlefield, shouting toward the still-standing half of Sabertooth's building. "Rogue! Get me some iron!"
"Yes, Boss!"
Hearing that his admired big brother needed his help, the usually taciturn Rogue immediately grew excited. He knew about Gajeel's Magic—Iron Dragon Slayer Magic—which allowed him to recover stamina and Magic Power by eating iron.
Rogue immediately started rummaging through the rubble. Seeing this, his companions also sprang into action, searching for iron objects to replenish Gajeel's strength.
However, Rogue suddenly noticed black figures that seemed to be moving through the shadows on the ground.
Was he seeing things?
Amidst the rubble, the pink-haired youth trembled as he supported himself to stand. His clothes were tattered, and blood stained the corner of his mouth.
A suffocating Magic Power fluctuation permeated the air. Every breath felt like inhaling sticky darkness, making Natsu—whose Magic Power was depleted and who was severely injured—feel incredibly uncomfortable.
Even so, Natsu had no intention of bowing to Jiemma. "It's not over yet... The warm-up has just finished."
Jiemma raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. You are more resilient than I thought. But how much more can you endure?"
Magic Power and dark energy intertwined in Jiemma's hands, condensing into a giant war blade. He flickered, instantly appearing before Natsu.
The blade sliced through the air, emitting a piercing shriek. Natsu barely managed to dodge, but a deep gash was still left on his shoulder.
"Too slow," Jiemma scoffed, then flickered again, landing a punch on Natsu's abdomen.
Natsu's eyes bulged, and he fell to his knees, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
No matter how tough Natsu's words were, it couldn't change the fact that he was at his limit.
"Farewell, annoying Fairy Tail brat!"
Just as Jiemma raised his dark war blade, preparing to deliver the final blow, a double-bladed great axe suddenly appeared from his side. A humanoid bull, possessing immense strength, forcefully cleaved the war blade in two.
Taurus!
Looking at the suddenly appearing Celestial Spirit, Jiemma's face showed disdain. Just as he was about to wave his hand in retaliation, a handsome man in a suit and sunglasses leaped out of the Celestial Gate. Accompanying him was an incredibly bright light.
The dazzling brilliance forced Jiemma to close his eyes. When he opened them again, the two figures and a blonde girl had already shielded Natsu behind them.
"Yo, Natsu, haven't seen you in a few days and you've run into a tough opponent, huh?"
Now restored to his Leo identity as a Celestial Spirit, Loke hadn't forgotten that he was also a member of Fairy Tail. He looked coldly at Jiemma. "You actually beat my comrade into a pulp. It seems you're ready to be taken down by me."
Before Jiemma could say anything, Natsu, held by Lucy, became displeased. What did he mean, he'd been beaten? He'd clearly been pressing Jiemma earlier. If it weren't for that demonic power... Thinking of this, Natsu couldn't help but worry for Loke and Taurus. "His demonic power is very strong—it can absorb Magic Power. You absolutely must not let him touch you."
Natsu's warning went unheeded. Loke and Taurus had already begun fighting Jiemma.
Taurus, although he couldn't use Magic to fight, was still the strongest Celestial Spirit among the twelve zodiac signs, and he could still pose a slight threat to Jiemma.
The ground trembled. Taurus's full-force blow with his great axe, though withstood by Jiemma's living armor, still caused the ground beneath his feet to crack in layers.
"What immense strength, but this is as far as it goes!"
Magic Power formed countless spear-like spikes around Jiemma, raining down on Taurus. The slow-witted bull, not skilled in speed, couldn't possibly evade this attack.
Just as Taurus was about to become skewered, a starlit gate appeared at the perfect moment, carrying Taurus away and causing Jiemma to freeze in surprise.
However, the next instant, the radiance of the Golden Lion enveloped him.
Lion Brilliance!
Loke's powerful light Magic landed on Jiemma, scattering much of his living armor. He then quickly retreated, giving Jiemma no chance to get close. He'd taken Natsu's warning to heart.
The living armor grew wildly, restoring itself. Jiemma, having recovered his senses, felt the pain in his chest and glared fiercely at Loke.
Invisible Magic Power fluctuations spread. Jiemma crossed his hands over his chest, and the red patterns on his armor began to emit dazzling light, condensing into a large number of black fireballs around him that descended toward Loke.
Lucy, supporting Natsu with one hand, put away Taurus's key and took out another Celestial Spirit key. "Open, Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!"
Scorpio, dressed in hip-hop attire, immediately responded to Lucy. After passing through the Celestial Gate, he immediately used his scorpion tail to fire a sand laser cannon, intercepting the black fireballs one by one.
At the same time, Lucy closed Loke's gate, sending him back, and then drew the Libra key in front of her. "Open, Gate of the Scales! Libra!"
Libra, dressed in revealing dancer's attire, danced gracefully under Lucy's command, the Libra ornaments on her hands emitting a green light.
Jiemma suddenly felt his body become incredibly heavy. Invisible gravity pressed down on him relentlessly. The ground beneath his feet, softened by Taurus's earlier attack, instantly gave way, and he was completely sunken into the ground by the gravity, with only his upper body exposed.
With Libra's gravity restraining Jiemma, Lucy immediately recalled Scorpio and reopened Loke's Celestial Gate. Loke appeared once again.
Accompanied by a continuous shower of light, Jiemma, suppressed by gravity, was unable to retaliate for a time.
"Lucy! You're amazing!"
Natsu looked at Lucy in surprise, as if seeing her for the first time.
Praised by her comrade, Lucy was very happy. In these past few months, besides training her Magic Power and Haki, most of her other time had been spent learning tactics under Erza's guidance.
After all, her Magic Power couldn't allow the Celestial Spirits to exert their full strength, so she'd developed the "Double Open Gate" tactic—switching Celestial Spirits back and forth, combining their special abilities to defeat or suppress enemies.
Taurus's immense strength, Scorpio's sand, Libra's gravity, Virgo's tunneling... these were all excellent methods of restraint and interference, and when combined with Celestial Spirits focused on combat, they could achieve very good results.
Her first practical use of Celestial Spirit tactics had yielded good results.
However, Lucy clearly felt tired now. Constantly opening and closing Celestial Spirit gates, repeatedly summoning Celestial Spirits—it was a huge drain on her Magic Power.
Although she'd temporarily suppressed Jiemma, Lucy felt she couldn't hold on much longer.
After all, the opponent was the one who'd severely injured Natsu. His Magic Power and demonic power weren't something a novice Mage like her could contend with.
Yet, what she'd feared most came to pass.
Annoyed to the point of madness by the constant harassment of various Celestial Spirit abilities, Jiemma roared, channeling all his power, and suddenly unleashed a dark ring.
With a whoosh, Loke and Libra were both scattered by this burst, forced to return to the Celestial Spirit World.
This was the most direct manifestation of the Magic Power gap. No matter how many tricks you had, if your raw strength wasn't enough, it was useless.
"The buzzing is so annoying."
"You damnable Fairy Tail brats, watch me now as I—"
But before he could finish his threats, Jiemma felt a dizzying sensation. In an instant, his Magic Power, demonic power, physical strength, and mental energy all rapidly weakened.
Jiemma looked down and was horrified to discover that his shadow, unnoticed, was missing a large, uneven portion, looking riddled with holes and utterly chilling.
At some unknown point, a group of pitch-black monsters—finger-sized, eyeless, and with only mouths—had silently appeared and were gnawing at Jiemma's shadow.
Every piece of shadow eaten caused Jiemma's strength and spirit to weaken by a fraction.
At this moment, more than half of Jiemma's shadow had disappeared.