Rhodes heard the sharp whistling of something cutting through the air behind him. Instinctively, he raised his right arm, his armored pincer catching the incoming blow.
The metal-on-metal collision rang out as the iron rod struck with tremendous force from above. The impact reverberated through Rhodes' arm like a hammer against a steel anvil.
"Tch... I figured someone would get in the way," he muttered, squinting through the swirling dust.
Barely visible through the fog of debris, the shape of Gajeel Redfox emerged, Iron Dragon Slayer, standing tall with a smirk of amusement.
He leapt onto the back of the Rift Herald, iron rod reverting into his hand. "Tch. Even with all this smoke, you still blocked it? That brain of yours really is something, huh, Fairy Tail strategist?"
"To be honest," Rhodes said coolly, stepping forward and leaping upward, "I've just had a lot of practice deflecting flying junk."
Gajeel tensed to meet him, only to stumble as the surface beneath him gave way. "What the—? It vanished?!"
The Rift Herald, responding to its master's silent command, had disappeared the instant Rhodes left its back.
In midair, Rhodes twisted and whipped his tail, heavy as iron, directly at Gajeel's waist.
"Lesson one: don't stand on someone else's summon without permission!"
The blow landed clean. Gajeel's body arched from the force as he was sent flying sideways like a missile, disappearing into the thick dust with a loud crash.
A few seconds passed before a massive, jagged sword came hurtling from the haze.
"Iron Dragon's Sword!"
Rhodes raised both of his pincers. With a clench, he caught the serrated blade in mid-swing. The strength behind it was immense, but the crushing grip of his claws dug into the iron, pinning it with a metallic screech.
Then—SLAM! With a spin, he flung Gajeel up and smashed him into the dirt.
Gajeel groaned but recovered quickly. The sword dissolved into iron dust, and his body was now coated in black, metallic scales.
He raised his arm, proudly showing it off.
"Iron Dragon Scales," he declared. "With these, your attacks can't touch me!"
Rhodes arched a brow. 'I heard the same thing about Fire Dragon Scales. That didn't stop Natsu from getting burned by black flames and screaming.'
He surged forward, pincers snapping with force.
Gajeel charged in as well, fists swinging like wrecking balls. The iron scales added weight and impact to each punch.
The battlefield echoed with the BOOM of every hit—shockwaves rippling through the air, rustling clothing and scattering the haze around them with every blow.
Their melee was a storm of heavy strikes and brute force, neither giving an inch.
Then Rhodes spun again, tail whipping around in a vicious arc.
Gajeel crossed his arms to block it, skidding backward from the hit. Chunks of broken iron fell from his forearm.
Rhodes tilted his head. "Wait... I thought these scales made you immune to attacks. Why are your arms shaking?"
Rhodes had to admit that this kid's punches and kicks were very heavy, but compared to Mira, he still needed to practice more.
Gajeel gritted his teeth, fighting to stop the tremors. "Tch... You're not bad. Way tougher than those other three losers I trashed."
He was solid like steel, but his mouth? Even harder.
Rhodes chuckled under his breath. "Don't waste your breath trying to provoke me. I don't have time to play games."
Sure, part of him wanted to take over the Mountain Dragon's Soul and drive Gajeel's face into the dirt, but that wasn't his mission right now.
Through the vision of his summoned Crab, Rhodes observed the situation. The two right legs of the "Six-Legged Walker" had grown thicker, an emergency adjustment just barely keeping the massive guild fortress balanced.
But even now, it was still inching forward.
Jose wasn't done. He wouldn't stop until he blasted Fairy Tail to rubble.
Time to tear the rest of it down.
Rhodes turned on his heel and began to retreat.
"What's wrong? Afraid of me, the mighty Iron Dragon?" Gajeel yelled after him, puffing his chest.
Rhodes didn't even glance back.
That taunt was pathetic. Not even worth replying to.
"Bastard!" Gajeel growled, veins bulging in his temple. Being ignored was the worst insult of all.
He inhaled deeply, iron magic swirling around his throat. "Iron Dragon's Roa—"
A high-heeled shoe slammed into the side of Gajeel's face like a missile.
The blow shattered the iron scales on his jaw. His cheeks dented visibly, and the breath he'd built up was replaced with a mouthful of blood and a couple cracked teeth.
The kick sent him flying.
Before he even hit the ground—
"Requip: Black Feather Armor!"
A second figure flashed forward in a blur of crimson.
SHING! A crescent-shaped arc of light sliced across the battlefield.
"Sword of the Fairy Queen!"
Gajeel's battered body took the full brunt of the slash. His clothes shredded. Scales cracked and scattered. The blade had pierced through his Iron Dragon defenses, leaving deep gashes across his torso and arms.
He finally crashed into the dirt, rolling through dust and rubble. Blood pooled beneath him, mingling with broken iron scales.
With trembling limbs, Gajeel forced himself back to his feet.
"Pah—!" He spat blood and bits of his own armor to the side.
Then he looked up, and what he saw didn't frighten him. It thrilled him.
"Fairy Queen and Demon Mirajane, you came just in time!"
"Leaving him to you," Rhodes said as he summoned his Blue Sentinel to refresh the buff on himself. He gave Mira one too, then casually turned and walked away, his steps light but purposeful.
Before disappearing into the haze of dust and shifting metal, he tossed back a final remark:
"That guy's the Iron Dragon Slayer who wrecked our guild and attacked Levy. No need for mercy, wrap it up quick and clean."
"WHO are you underestimating?!" Gajeel growled, insulted to his core.
He was one of Phantom Lord's trump cards. A true Dragon Slayer. What if it's two-on-one, or even three-on-one? Bring it on. Did they think they could finish him that easily?
But then he caught the looks in the eyes of the two women standing before him, Erza Scarlet and Mirajane Strauss.
"Requip: Fairy Armor!"
"Take Over: Demon Soul – Halphas!"
"AAAAAARGH!!!" Gajeel's scream echoed through the battlefield as he was suddenly swallowed in a flurry of flashing blades, black magic waves, and raw magical pressure.
He couldn't even tell how many times he'd been hit.
Iron scales? Please. Even if his bones were made of steel, they would've shattered.
From far away, Rhodes could hear Gajeel's tortured wails, and if he wasn't mistaken, Lucy's startled squeak mixed in.
She was probably witnessing the full destructive power of Erza and Mira's tandem assault for the first time.
Heh... maybe she got too close. Hopefully not close enough to get blown off her feet.
But everything was going according to plan.
Fairy Tail's strength wasn't just raw magic, it was strategy.
Divide and dominate. Target the isolated reinforcements and crush them swiftly.
It was an essential tactic for an external strike force.
Technically, this counted as an ambush on reinforcements, they had surrounded Gajeel while simultaneously focusing on crippling the Walker's mobility.
This was precisely why Mira and Erza had been assigned to the mobile team. What fool would ever send either of them into a one-on-one when the terrain allowed for a tactical 2v1 beatdown?
Rhodes tapped his comm crystal. "Warren, status on the assault team."
"They've scaled the Walker's frame along the remaining legs," came the reply. "Natsu's up there too, but... he's complaining about motion sickness again."
"Of course he is..." Rhodes sighed. "Don't worry about him. Happy will keep him airborne. What about the insect force?"
"They've deployed and are still multiplying."
"Good." Rhodes narrowed his eyes at the towering Walker in front of him. "Patch me through to the assault team."
Warren shifted his fingers and made the connection.
"This is Rhodes. Do you have eyes on Jupiter's power crystal?"
Cana's voice came in through the telepathic link: "Negative. Phantom's flooding the area with grunts. We can't get close to the barrel!"
"Ugh... I've got a plan... urgh... Happy... not now..."
"Do what Natsu says," Rhodes said flatly. "Gray, coordinate with them."
He wasn't going to micro-manage like a chess master. Natsu didn't need someone yelling 'move the cannon five degrees to the left.' He just needed trust.
"Aye!" Happy chirped.
"I'm on it," Gray added calmly.
"Before that," Rhodes said, "brace for an earthquake. I'm counting down. Five... four..."
"Wait, wait, wait—!" There was shuffling over the channel, a few grunts of effort, and then silence as everyone hunkered down.
The wings on Rhodes' back flared open, violet and sharp like blades of armor.
Then, like a spear of pure purple lightning, he rocketed forward, straight into the second mechanical leg.