On the bridge of Crocus, an intense battle was unfolding.
Lyon clasped his hands together, swiftly conjuring multiple ice-formed birds that took flight toward Gray.
However, being extremely familiar with Lyon’s fighting style, Gray seemed to have anticipated the attack.
Before it could reach him, he quickly retreated, dodging the assault while calling out to Juvia beneath the bridge.
"Juvia!"
"Yes!" Merging seamlessly with the river below, Juvia responded.
She raised her hands, and the water around her surged as if it had come to life.
The currents transformed into a towering water column, rising into the air and shooting toward Gray.
Gray reached out his hand, and the moment he touched the rushing water, it froze into countless ice spears, hurtling toward Lyon and Sherria.
"Heavenly God’s Dance!"
Sherria spread her arms wide, her movements resembling a graceful dance.
With a spin of her hands, she unleashed a black whirlwind that collided with Gray’s ice spears, temporarily neutralizing the attack.
"Nicely done, Sherria."
Lyon praised her before gritting his teeth and glaring at Gray.
"But using Juvia’s water for your attack—how despicable! Serpent Dragon!"
A massive ice dragon burst from Lyon’s hands, once again surging toward Gray.
However, Gray’s expression remained unchanged.
With a slight movement of his hand, the speeding ice spears shifted their trajectory, colliding with Lyon’s ice dragon.
The two attacks canceled each other out upon impact.
"Lyon, you should be aiming at Juvia!" Sherria turned back and called out in frustration.
Lyon shook his head. "I’ll leave attacking Juvia to you, but don’t you dare hurt her~"
(Sherria retorted, "That’s impossible!")
"They really are strong," Gray muttered as he observed Lyon and Sherria.
Then, a confident smirk appeared on his lips.
"But their teamwork isn’t great... I should take full advantage of that opening."
...............
Crocus Plaza.
Laxus, Orga, and Jura stood facing each other, none making the first move, as if trapped in a strange state of equilibrium.
(Impressive presence... So that guy, Noel, actually defeated monsters of this caliber?)
Laxus thought to himself as he observed Jura, whose aura felt as immovable as a mountain.
"Jura-san, I’d really love to see your true strength," said Orga from Saber Tooth, breaking the silence.
He raised both hands, black lightning crackling between them.
"Let’s see if you can withstand this attack."
The black lightning compressed within his hands, forming a massive projectile. With a confident smirk, Orga taunted, "Well? Saint Wizard Jura, can you handle this?"
"That works just fine for me," Jura replied calmly.
(This guy... Did he set a trap for the old man?) Laxus frowned as he looked at Orga.
"Thunder God’s Charged Particle Cannon!"
With a loud shout, Orga fired the fully condensed energy blast from his hands.
However, at the very moment his attack was unleashed, he was instantly sent flying.
Crashing through countless stone slabs, he was knocked unconscious without even being able to put up any resistance.
"I remember now... You were also in the first day’s competition..." Jura remained expressionless, as if instantly defeating Orga in a single blow wasn’t something worth reacting to.
He simply stated, "One strike to end the match."
"M-Monster!!"
"That Orga actually—!!"
Seeing Jura’s calm expression, everyone was left speechless with shock.
Some even regretted that another Saint Wizard, Noel, wasn’t present—otherwise, they could have witnessed yet another clash between two of the Ten Wizard Saints.
Makarov’s mouth hung open in disbelief as he muttered, "With Noel unable to participate, there’s nothing left to watch now."
"What are you saying, Master?!"
"We believe in Laxus!!"
"If Noel could defeat Jura, then Laxus can definitely surpass him too!"
Hearing Makarov’s words, the three members of the Thunder God Tribe strongly objected.
To them, Laxus had always been the strongest, and that belief had never wavered.
Even if their opponent was Jura of the Ten Wizard Saints, they were convinced that Laxus would emerge victorious.
On the stands of Lamia Scale, the guild master, Ooba Babasaama, looked at Jura standing in the arena with a contemplative expression and commented, "That Jura... he’s not the same as before. Over the past few years, his ranking among the Ten Wizard Saints has risen to fifth place."
"Leaving aside the four who can’t be surpassed, since Jura lost to Fairy Tail’s Noel, his ranking should drop by one place now, right?" Sherry chimed in.
Ooba pouted and suddenly began spinning her hand in circles.
Sherry, caught off guard, started spinning along with her, her eyes turning into spirals as she exclaimed in confusion.
"Enough talk about those four and Fairy Tail’s Noel! Keep spinning! Keep spinning!"
"Eek—" Sherry let out a wail as she continued spinning uncontrollably.
"The Four Heavenly Kings of Ishgar and Noel Rutherford... Those five aren’t beings that humans can compare to. So in that sense, Jura is the strongest wizard among humans." Ooba stated matter-of-factly.
In the arena, after taking down Orga, Jura shifted his gaze toward Laxus and spoke.
"I’ve always wanted to face you in battle. The grandson of Master Makarov... Noel-dono holds you in extremely high regard."
"Hold it right there..." Laxus interrupted coldly.
"Let me make one thing clear first. The man standing here isn’t some big-name warrior, and I’m not anyone’s grandson. Right now, we’re just two men facing off."
"Good eyes." Jura observed Laxus’s sharp gaze and nodded solemnly in approval.
Silence fell between them again, like the eerie calm before a raging storm.
Then—
With a flash of lightning, Laxus moved, his entire body transforming into a streak of electricity as he charged toward Jura.
Jura remained unfazed, his hand forming a blade as he swung at Laxus.
The instant they clashed, a violent explosion of magical energy erupted at the point of impact, sending shockwaves through the surroundings and overturning everything nearby.
"They’re... evenly matched?!!" Everyone watching the scene gasped in shock.
"Well now, there’s always someone stronger out there."
Seeing himself locked in a deadlock with Laxus, Jura let out a surprised smile.
"You don’t need to teach me that—I’m well aware." Laxus’s eyes flashed sharply.
"But sometimes... you should also take a look at the ground beneath you. The strong ones might be closer than you think."
--------------
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