The battle between Fairy Tail and Grimoire Heart continued on different parts of the island. 5 of Ben's 7 clones observed the battles while one guarded Wendy and the other infiltrating the enemy's airship.
The 5 observe the battles of Elfman and Evergreen vs Rustyrose, Natsu vs Zancrow, Juvia and Lisanna vs Meredy, Gajeel and Levy vs Yomazu and Zawazu and finally Lucy, Cana and Loke vs Capricorn.
As for the other battle which was Freed and Bickslow vs Kain, Ben's clones thought those 2 can handle it. Freed is smart and worked with Bickslow for years, so they know each other well and have solid teamwork.
Regarding Master and Gildarts, there's nothing to worry about because they are strong. Mira, Ryu and Erza are S-Class mages, so they can take care of themselves. That's why the clones stuck with the exam participants to ensure their safety.
Although they were still worried about the 2 dark mages that haven't appeared yet, Ultear and Bluenote. It would be good if they ran into Gildarts or Master because those 2 should be able to handle them.
Right now, the most exciting battle to watch was the one between Natsu and Zancrow. Ben's clones already had a strange feeling about Zancrow and now the clone that followed them knew why. Zancrow is a Fire God Slayer so it attracted their attention.
'God Slayer Magic. I need to find out where he got the magic from and then find out a way to obtain God Slayer Magic for myself. Is it learned from gods or is it made by humans to match gods? Well, anyway, it is worth researching as it might be able to resolve my Dragon Seed problem for good.' Ben's clone thought while hiding on a tree.
While watching the battle, Ben's clone was intrigued by the color of Zancrow's fire. It is black instead of red or orange like a normal fire. So now he knew that the 3 types of Slayer Magic have different colors.
'Most likely it's because their characteristics are different. But can Slayers of different types eat each other's magic?' Ben's clone asked mentally.
The question was soon answered when Zancrow ate Natsu's fire. But when Natsu tried to do the same thing, he failed and even took damage when he tried to eat the black fire. Zancrow laughed and said that his fire magic was superior to Natsu's.
A god is classified above a dragon as a magical creature. In the past, dragons were considered to be deities until the discovery of gods who are stronger than dragons. So God Slayer Magic is a tier higher than Dragon Slayer Magic, that's why Natsu is unable to eat Zancrow's fire.
This made Ben's clone think that a Dragon Slayer can eat a Devil Slayer's magic, but not the other way around. Being able to eat it also means that the higher-tier Slayer mage is immune to the lower tier's magic.
But then he was confused, as the record that he found in the tomb of Midas the Sun Demon, the battle between him and Escanor the Sun Dragon was fierce. That means they injured each other and Midas' magic affected Escanor.
If a demon's magic is weaker than a dragon's magic, then Escanor shouldn't have been affected. So there must have been something that allowed Midas to injure Escanor. He might find the answer after watching Natsu and Zancrow's battle.
The 2 mages keep fighting and Natsu is completely overwhelmed by Zancrow. But Ben's clone didn't step in because he wasn't in danger. He wants his guild mates to grow stronger and difficult battles are important.
Natsu's attacks weren't inflicting any damage to Zancrow, but Zancrow's attacks were. The black fire inflicting damage to Natsu even if he merely touched it. But he wasn't burned because of his immunity to fire and rather high fire magic resistance.
Ben's clone became impatient as he saw Natsu wasn't able to fight back at all. His attacks were futile and Zancrow gained more magic power by consuming the fire. This prompted Ben's clone to try and jump in, but he didn't interfere unless it was absolutely necessary.
'As a clone, I only have a small part of my main body's strength. I'm even weaker than Natsu right now so I'm not sure if I can defeat Zancrow. The best thing for me to do is observe and help Natsu when he is in a dire situation. My magic power is low, so it might run out shortly after I help Natsu.' Ben's clone thought.
The dire situation came sooner than expected. Natsu had taken too much damage and was lying on the ground. Zancrow was about to launch an attack but Ben's clone interrupted him by firing a light bullet.
It wasn't enough to badly injure Zancrow, but it was enough to stop him. He looked in the direction where the bullet came from and saw Ben's clone calmly sitting on a tree branch. Ben was still pointing his fingers at Zancrow and ready to shoot another light bullet at any moment.
"Bastard, who are you?" Zancrow yelled.
"A mage." Ben's clone replied.
"B-Ben, why are you here?" Natsu asked.
"I'm just watching your battle because I sensed something strange about him. To think he has Fire God Slayer Magic, it's truly interesting. So how is it, Natsu? Want me to take care of him?" Ben's clone offered to continue the battle in his place.
"No! I will do it myself." Natsu hollered as he slowly stood up.
"Hmm, can you win though?" Ben's clone asked, unconvinced.
"I can. I will win and protect my friends." Natsu declared.
"Say that after you can protect yourself. It's good to see you motivated, though. If I determine you aren't capable of defeating him, I will do it myself." Ben's clone said.
"Oi oi oi, weaklings like you are talking about defeating me? Hah, you must be dreaming. I've learned the best magic from the strongest being, god. There's no way people like you will defeat me." Zancrow arrogantly stated.
"Hmm, let's see if that statement is true. All dogs can bark, but their bites aren't always that strong." Ben's clone said with a smirk.
This made Zancrow angry and he sent a attack at Ben's clone. It destroyed the trees that it hit, but it didn't manage to hit Ben's clone. He teleported to avoid to attack and now leaped to a tree on the other side.
It pissed Zancrow off because he felt like Ben's clone was playing games with him. So he wanted to attack but Natsu threw a flaming fist at him. Zancrow was left with no choice but to engage Natsu again and ignore Ben's clone.
The clone just watched the battle continue and tried to learn more about Fire God Slayer Magic. It might help him get Fire God Slayer Magic for himself. Of course, he wanted Sun God Slayer Magic so it can match the other 2 Slayer Magics he had.
'Hmm, if I can't find the method to learn Sun God Slayer Magic, then I will create it myself. But to do that, I need information on God Slayer Magic. Grimoire Heart has this Zancrow guy, so they must have the method. They should keep the information about it on their airship or in their base. I need to investigate it later. If I can't find it, I'll obtain it from this Zancrow guy.' Ben's clone thought as he continued watching the battle.
It continued with Natsu still being pushed around by Zancrow. It kept getting worse so Ben's clone decided to interfere again because Natsu might die. But then there was an unexpected development and it surprised Ben's clone.
Natsu suddenly emptied his magic reserves as he was engulfed by Zancrow's black fire. Ben's clone was about to rush forward and save Natsu when suddenly the black fire started to disappear. Natsu sucked up the black fire and regained some of his magic power.
Ben's clone's eyes widened and he smirked, "So that's how it is."