"So strong—!!!"
Natsu's hair stood on end, and intense flames burst from his head as he witnessed the destructive power of Qi Yan's attack.
Natsu was filled with shock and excitement; it was truly too powerful. The moment Qi Yan unleashed that slash, he felt as if the sky itself had been torn open.
The previous characters Qi Yan had taken on gave him different impressions. Ulquiorra felt well-rounded, with extremely strong overall abilities.
Tsugikuni Yoriichi gave him a sense of danger; every time he saw Tsugikuni Yoriichi's eyes, he felt a chill down his neck.
Fushiguro Toji was the character he had suffered the most from; in that form, Natsu felt like Qi Yan was a humanoid Giant Dragon.
Ace was his favorite; the wild flames were something he tasted once and could never forget.
And in the form of this old man with a Whitebeard, Natsu felt only two words from him: power.
Unrivaled power.
A single strike that split mountains and severed seas.
It was truly too strong, too strong.
Without a doubt, this was the strongest character he had seen Qi Yan embody so far.
Lucy and Happy were also stunned. They had thought Qi Yan was already as strong as a monster when he took on the 'Tyrant' form, but seeing Qi Yan embody Whitebeard, they realized Qi Yan had an even stronger transformation.
Moreover, this transformation was terrifying; they couldn't imagine such a powerful human existing.
Sherry and her two companions were now slumped on the ground. The previous attack wasn't aimed at them directly; they were only slightly affected by the aftermath. But after witnessing the terrifying destruction Qi Yan caused, the three had long lost any will to fight.
They stared at Qi Yan with terrified expressions. If the power gap wasn't too great, they might have tried to fight, but with the current disparity, any resistance would be meaningless.
While Qi Yan and Sherry's group were in a standoff, Gray and Lyon were also fighting.
"Lyon, do you know what you're doing?! Ur sacrificed herself to seal Deliora! Yet you still want to destroy what Ur left behind!"
Gray angrily questioned Lyon.
Lyon took off his helmet, revealing his true face: a cool, handsome man with light blue hair.
"How did you lose your memory, Gray? I remember Ur was killed by you. How can you still live shamelessly? If you have any sense of shame, then don't get in my way. I'm going to revive Deliora."
"I won't let you succeed."
"Alright then, let's settle this."
"Ice-Make: Great Eagle!"
Lyon raised his hand, creating a large number of ice eagles that flew rapidly towards Gray.
"Ice-Make: Ice Shield!"
Gray quickly conjured a shield in front of him.
The ice eagles swiftly bypassed the ice shield and struck Gray.
"Ughhhh!!!"
Gray let out a painful cry.
Lyon said calmly, "You specialize in 'static' molding magic, and I specialize in 'dynamic' molding magic. Did you forget that my magic moves?"
"Ice-Make: Great Hammer Soldier!"
Gray awkwardly burst out of the ice and quickly cast a spell.
A massive ice hammer formed above Lyon's head and smashed down towards him.
Lyon calmly raised a finger: "Ice-Make: Great Ape!"
A giant ice ape was created, raising its arms to block above Lyon's head.
Crack—!!!
The great ape's arms and the ice hammer shattered together.
Lyon said disdainfully, "Simply pathetic. You're still the same as before, casting magic with both hands."
"Didn't Ur teach us that? Single-handed molding makes it easy to lose balance!"
"I'm different. My abilities have long surpassed Ur's."
"Don't be so conceited."
"I'll return the sentiment. Since we were kids, have you ever hit me once?"
"I'm not the same as before!!!"
"Ice Geyser!!!"
Gray placed his hands on the ground, and a large amount of ice surged upwards from beneath, like a spring.
Crack, crack—!!!
Lyon used the same magic with one hand, completely nullifying the ice geyser Gray released.
"It's the same. I'm your senior disciple, I'm stronger than you. I can do single-handed molding, you can't. Nothing has changed. Although the paths we chose are different, it's as if time has frozen in the past."
Lyon raised his palm, and an ice dragon roared up from the ground, sending Gray flying.
"Ugh—!"
Gray fell heavily to the ground.
"Ur was my goal, surpassing Ur was my dream. But that dream was taken from me by you. I can no longer surpass Ur. So there's only one way: Deliora, whom even Ur couldn't defeat. If I can defeat it, then I will surpass Ur, and my dream will come true." Lyon's expression was now bordering on madness.
Gray listened to Lyon's words in disbelief: "Are you serious? Is that your true goal? You should know how terrifying Deliora is. Stop it, it's impossible!"
Lyon's face contorted into a snarl as he listened to Gray's words.
Boom!!
A large amount of ice rose from beneath Gray's feet.
"Ugh—!!!"
"You tell me to stop, you say it's impossible?! We told you the same thing back then, you haven't forgotten, have you? It's because you wanted to challenge Deliora that Ur died! You have no right to say Ur's name! Disappear! Disappear!"
Suddenly!!
Rumble—!!!
A violent sound erupted, catching Lyon's attention. Lyon looked in the direction of the sound, and his pupils constricted. He witnessed an extremely shocking scene.
A huge mountain in the distance was split in half by a single strike, and the distant sea was torn open.
"What... what is this?"
This destructive power exceeded Lyon's understanding of magic.
Qi Yan noticed the situation and walked over step by step. As he passed Lyon, Lyon's nerves instantly tensed. He felt as if a terrifying monster had walked past him; he had never experienced such a dangerous feeling before. He forced himself not to attack.
Qi Yan came before Gray, a smile on his face: "Pathetic. Getting beaten so badly, yet you said cool things like 'I'm your opponent.' How long has it been since you were knocked down?"
"..."
Gray had nothing to say; he had indeed lost, and badly.
Then, Qi Yan's tone shifted: "However! No matter how weak you are, you're a Mage of Fairy Tail. I don't care how much I bully you, but I won't allow outsiders to bully you. No."