Here is the twenty-eighth chapter of this story released when I wanted it to be in keeping with my self-imposed upload requirements for this series. At long last the battle many in Fiore have been waiting for, one made even better after the recent merging of the two Fairy Tail teams, is at hand as four Dragon Slayers representing the current and former top Guilds in Fiore take the field in the final tag battle of the day. It may not have first place going into the final day at stake but that won't deter any anticipation as the Battle of the Dragon Slayers finally begins. That is all the administrative stuff though and while there were no questions that required answering there was one guest review that requires a response which I will do now. Do keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from those who enjoy my work.

To Brayden (guest), thank you for your review and support, glad to see you like my work. As for your suggestion, well you're not the first to suggest that and while I'll admit when I started this story I was set on the main pairings being Astelle and NaLu, I am open to Asta having a poly relationship with Noelle and Mimosa as my main thing there is that Asta is with Noelle and I can add a second so long as she's there. NaLu won't change, that is set and while it will be an extremely slow burn I intend to eventually have those two together but adding Mimosa to Asta and Noelle is something I may do. The one stipulation though is that, for obvious reasons, I will not have Noelle and Mimosa become intimate with each other, otherwise, if people wish to see that kind of relationship let me know so I can gage support. Of course nothing will happen anytime soon, Asta has his legendary density to overcome first, as does Noelle with her tsundere nature, but who knows what will happen in time. Do keep reading and enjoying my work.

That is it for the pre-chapter note so it is time to end it so that y'all can sit back and enjoy the twenty-eighth chapter in Black Bull Banishment.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these two great animes.

Chapter 28: Dragon Slayer Showdown

"At long last, the battle that we've all been waiting for even if the positions at stake in this battle and going into the final event aren't what we'd expected when the Grand Magic Games began but then again no one saw the Black Bulls coming." Chapati said his voice serious as the crowd went silent and the Twin Dragons Slayers of Sabertooth and the two male First Generation Dragon Slayers of Fairy Tail walked out into the arena as Chapati continued talking. "Coming into the Games one of these two Guilds was considered the strongest in Fiore seven years ago before tragedy struck them low and from which they was only recently resolved, while the other Guild currently holds the title of Fiore's strongest."

Chapati paused for a moment to let his words sink in. The stadium was unnaturally quiet as the eerie calm descended over it and the four Dragon Slayers came to a stop facing each other with serious looks on their faces as they got ready to face off in a battle for which the anticipation had been building for days and which meant that the winner had a better shot at taking the top spot from the Black Bulls in final event as it was already confirmed that they would hold it going into the final day of the Games.

"In addition, both are behind and chasing the surprise Guild of the Games in the Black Bulls so this is going to be one great match as the winners will position their Guild right behind the Black Bulls with one day remaining." Chapati continued after a moment. "For Fairy Tail it's the Fire and Iron Dragon Slayers Natsu and Gajeel and they will be facing off against the White and Shadow Dragon Slayers of Sabertooth Sting and Rogue. Four Dragon Slayers in one match, something we've never seen before so this will be a showdown on a scale that we can't even begin to imagine."

"So who's got the edge?" Noelle asked quietly to Nero who was next to her as most of the Black Bulls lent on the edge of their box, with a space for Yami to see from his seat, as Chapati paused again while the four Dragon Slayers seemed to have a stare down as the silence remained but for a few murmurs here and there hence Noelle's desire to keep her voice low. "Fairy Tail or Sabertooth's Dragon Slayers."

"Hard to say." Nero replied just as quietly. "All four were trained by actual Dragons but from what I've heard Sabertooth's have lacrima implanted as well which makes them Third Generation apparently. Something about being a mix of the first two generations, I don't really understand that though. However, that alone isn't enough to tip this and there's a hunger in Fairy Tail that Sabertooth has forgotten having been feasting at the top for years now. Add in that I get a similar feeling from Natsu as I do from Asta and that's something that can't be overlooked."

"True, there is something intangible about Asta that makes us all better." Noelle said with a small smile and a glance at Asta though it fell a little when she noticed Mimosa doing the same but she pushed past the jealousy she had at times around Mimosa as she really didn't know why she was jealous of her cousin at the moment, and caried on. "Course I don't see that in Natsu either though I've only met him once and that was earlier today. Sure, he's a meathead like Asta and acts a bit like him but I don't get the same feeling that I get from Asta. Also that burning scent coming from him was a bit much, Asta's scent is much nicer and a whole lot more comforting to me."

"Er, ok, let's come back to that scent thing some other time as it is probably part of that change to your magic." Nero said a little surprised as Noelle went bright red at what she'd said which Nero took as a sign to add. "And of course you don't see what you see in Asta in Natsu but that's something you need to realized and accept on your own. When you do you will be stronger, same for Mimosa but the Games should be the focus right now, you two can work on that after they end."

"Yes they are." Noelle said quickly as the crowd began to pick up again and shifting back to the original question. "So, based on what you just said, who do you think will win this match?"

"Fairy Tail." Nero said simply as the cheering started to intensify. "Their drive and bond is what will carry them over the edge. I've observed both and both are strong in their own rights but their strengths are fostered in different ways. When they clash it will be Fairy Tail's strength that wins out, at least based on what I've seen."

"This is it folks, the crowd is revving up and so are we!" Chapati said cutting off any chatter from the Black Bulls, and the rest of the stadium for that matter, as the moment the final battle of the four day began drew ever closer. "I don't blame them because the time in nigh, the Dragon Slayers are on the battlefield leaving the only question remaining as who will win this match? Fairies or Tigers?"

There was a pause again but none of the Black Bulls spoke as the tension in the stadium rose another notch. There was no need for words in a moment like this as the battle was about to start and they had to focus on it as Mato popped up in his referee spot though he too allowed the moment to drag on for a few more heartbeats before finally speaking so that the whole crowd could hear.

"Everyone's been dying to find out who will win this final battle." Mato said. "So there's no pressure on you four as you duke it out over the next 30 minutes. The time has come though so without any more anticipation let the match begin!"

At that Mato raised his hand and the gong sounded starting the final match. Instantly Sting and Rogue rushed at Natsu and Gajeel but before they had gone more than a few paces the fairies were on them with a greater level of speed than the tigers, or the Black Bulls watching, could have expected as Natsu closed in on the blond Sting and Gajeel the raven haired Rogue showing right at the start what the desired matchups between the two Guilds were. Unbeknownst to all but Sabertooth, it was Sting and Rogue's personal rivalries and desires to beat Natsu and Gajeel respectively that drove the matchups.

At the same time Natsu and Gajeel punched their opponents in the face before they could get their own attacks off, followed up by Natsu at least kicking Sting away. The interesting thing about the attacks, though, was that so far the Fairy Tail members hadn't used their Dragon Slayer magic at all but that would change soon as Sting recovered and countered with a roar attack from his mouth that blasted a concentrated beam of pure white magic out and at Natsu who dodged it while still in the air with a twist of his body.

"Huh, so that's what 'white' means." Gordon mused as they watched the beam arc around while still coming out of Sting's mouth and at Gajeel giving Rogue an opening to use his Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic which was currently concentrating in his right hand in a claw or slash based attack as he leapt. "I was curious about that. I thought it would be Light Magic of some sort but it seems to be its own attribute. Given how pure that color is it could well be some kind of holy magic."

"Also that roar attack was a lot different from what Wendy's looked like when we saw it yesterday." Nero muttered as Rogue attacked but Gajeel defended by turning his right arm into saw-like blade that extended out to block the attack. "More focused and concentrated than the vortex style. Could it be a higher level of control due to the lacrima in him?"

"Perhaps, though we won't know for sure until we see Rogue's roar but it is interesting nonetheless." Gordon said as Gajeel tossed Rogue back to hit the ground hard and kick up dust that obscured everyone's vision for a moment. "If it is due to the lacrima and is some fusion of the two ways to learn Dragon Slaying Magic that we know of in this world then it really drives home that the fusion style is its own generation. Also explains why there are three generations."

"Based on how it was written in my grimoire I think there's at least one more way to become a Dragon Slayer in this world though naturally I have no idea how that occurs." Noelle said as she sniffed and she got a slightly startled look on her face. "Huh, that move was more planned than I thought."

"What do you mean?" Mimosa asked. "And how can you tell?"

"I got a whiff of Natsu, he was ready for it and was waiting in the dust." Noelle said rubbing her nose, she was starting to get used to smelling more than normal, the large crowd was actually helping force her to get it under control, but it was still a lot to deal with. "What I don't…"

"He grabbed the black haired guy under the chin." Asta said reading the ki of the combatants as the dust cloud vanished to show exactly what Asta had said as Natsu used his improvised human battering ram to slam into Sting before glowing with fire in his hand. "And now he's attacking. Clever, I wonder how he was able to plan that in the smoke though. Ki is one thing, that doesn't require vision, but that's not a thing here as far as I know."

"He used his sense of smell." Noelle said almost automatically as the blast of fire formed a series of tendrils that tossed Sting and Rogue back to hit the ground hard. "At least that's how I could tell Natsu was there. This enhanced sense of smell is still heady but it's definitely got its uses."

"Then practice it to see how you can use it Noelle." Yami said as the two tigers got up a little battered but nowhere near out of it. "This battle is far from over so you specifically need to keep a close eye on it now that your magic is similar to theirs."

"Yes sir." Noelle said as there seemed to be a lull in the fight while the Dragon Slayers exchanged some words with each other following the opening exchange. "I'll learn all I can from this."

"I'm wondering if Noelle's Sea Dragon Roar is going to be like that white thing or the wind attack we saw from that girl." Asta mused during the lull. "Or will it just be her normal one from her mouth?"

"Good question." Mimosa said thinking on it. "Noelle, do you know if your attack has changed or not?"

"Not really had the chance to test it out." Noelle admitted as suddenly there was a surge of magic in the arena. "There's a lot…ok what is that? Nero, Gordon, Gauche, you three know the most about this world's magic, any idea what those two are doing down there?"

All the Black Bulls just stared at what Noelle had voice in surprise as the magic seemed to rise off Sting and Rogue, their hair standing up as the what looked like pure white and pitch black smoke rose from them respectively. To add to it they glowed as their magic power increased, though Asta couldn't sense that but he did sense a big increase in the determination in their ki so between that and the visual he got a sense for what they were doing. They weren't pushing their limits yet but they were at least closing in on them as they faced Natsu and Gajeel.

"No clue." Nero admitted as Gordon nodded in agreement and Gauche just shrugged before pulling out a picture of Marie. "It seems to be a boost spell similar to what we'd know as Reinforcement Magic but more generalized. Given that these are Dragon Slayers it could also be a spell unique to that kind of magic that specifically boosts the user for a period of time."

"So Noelle might get a cool boost like that?" Asta asked causing Noelle to go bright red and Mimosa to pout a little, she'd have to work even harder to catch up to Noelle and be able to fight by Asta's side too and that included figuring out a way to get her magic to evolve like how Noelle's had. "Though with Noelle that would be water coming off her, right?"

"Yes but if I had to guess it will take a lot of training and practice and likely be some specific spell in her grimoire that is a mix of what we know and how Dragon Slayer Magic works in this world." Nero said. "It seems like it takes that and shows the gap of training between the pairs that Fairy Tail's disappearance caused."

"It's not going to deter the fairies." Yami said with a drag on his cigarette as Chapati commented on the staring match now going on between the Dragon Slayers following the boost spell the Sabertooth ones used and the thickness in the tension that the whole stadium could feel. "Their ki is just as strong. No, that little opening exchange was nothing more than a test of strength between the groups to gage what each side could do. Now that that is over the real battle can begin."

Yami was right as before anyone could say anything more Sting suddenly rushed forward no longer smoking magic or whatever it was that he was doing to close in on Natsu with a speed that was much faster than before and punch him, his fist glowing white with power. Despite the sudden increase in Sting's speed, though, Natsu managed to block that attack but a follow up punch with more White Magic, likely a spell that concentrated it around Sting's fist, slammed into Natsu's face and led to a barrage of punches on the Fire Dragon Slayer.

"Huh so at the very least that was a boost to speed and power with their magic so it looks more like a whole body Reinforcement Magic spell rather than a specialized Dragon Slayer powerup per se though I could be wrong." Nero mused as Gajeel tried to help but before he could do a shadow mass intercepted him with speed and evasion based attack that occupied the Iron Dragon Slayer until it forced him back with a hit before reappearing to show that unlike with Sting, Rogue was still smoking magic off his body as his eyes glowed red. "And the Shadow Dragon Slayer version keeps that cloak of magic. Interesting."

"That one will be tough." Yami said as Rogue turned to a shadow and shot at Gajeel though his movements were visible due to the sunlight but he used the changing properties of being a shadow to avoid an iron sword arm that Gajeel had made before punching him in the face with enough force to send him back right at the same time that Sting kicked Natsu in the face resulting in the Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers hitting each other in a back to back formation. "Been a while since I've seen Shadow Magic of any kind in action, tricky stuff to deal with especially because it can hide your ki if you can fully meld into it."

"It can?" Asta asked confused as Natsu and Gajeel seemed to get annoyed with each other while Sting and Rogue got high into the air for their own attacks before coming down with enough force to kick up a whole lot of dust as they slammed into their targets. "I didn't know that."

"Well I've only ever encountered one Shadow Mage in my time, well his father was one as well but I never really met him." Yami said thinking on the man he'd made his Vice Captain after becoming a Captain of his own Squad and the complicated history he had with Nacht Faust. "But when he's fully in shadows, which he can do, he's got no physical body and without a physical body I can't read his ki. Magic can be used to hide from mana sensing but to hide from ki is a different level. Course once he materializes any part of his body then I can sense him as I know his ki well."

"Well Natsu's pissed, I can read it in his ki." Asta said as the smoke cleared and Sting continued his assault on Natsu getting a few hits in before leaping over him and kicking Natsu in the back that sent him crashing to the ground while Rogue was unleashing a flurry of punches at Gajeel that he could barely block and which resulted in his headband being snapped from an uppercut that Gajeel only just managed to avoid. "But his ki is out of line with his teammate's, they're not working together as a team should."

"No they're not." Yami agreed as the Sabertooth Dragon Slayers pushed their advantage and began to land hits on their chosen opponents driving them back as the crowd cheered at what was going on. "Whereas the tigers are working as a unit, that's some damn impressive teamwork they have. That takes years of trust and fighting together to accomplish. That Guild may be all about raw strength but those two at least are a proper unit."

"I can see why they're collectively called the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth." Nero said as Sting managed to get Natsu into the air as Natsu blocked his blows before landing some glowing white spell on Natsu's gut as he blasted Natsu back to land on his feet with a glowing white mark on his abdomen visible due to the fact that Natsu's shirt had been destroyed there by the blow and the fact that it glowed bright white for all to see as Natsu seemed to be in pain from it as he tried and failed to move. "Huh, I wonder what that spell was that Sting just landed. It looks a little like Trap Magic of sorts."

"It's nothing like what I can do so I'm not sure it's Trap Magic though it seems to have a similar effect to that trap I make that roots you in place only this is applied directly to the body." Zora said intrigued by the mark. "But the magic circles here are different to what I use. I'll pick up a book after this to see what more I can learn, adapting to their styles could really help. That mark looks like it paralyzes though, could be a useful one to learn even if it requires physical touch as sometimes people don't step where you want them to step."

"Doesn't look good for Natsu then." Gordon said as Rogue was constantly evading Iron Dragon Slayer attacks coming from Gajeel's arms while toying with him before coming in for an attack as Gajeel seemed to stop and stand still after constantly missing. "Nor Gajeel for…never mind."

The others looked impressed at that as Gajeel had, without looking, grabbed Rouge's wrist as he'd been about to attack him and held him there with Rogue still in the air the black shadows rising from his body. It showed that despite his boost spell being active Gajeel had managed to catch it showing some damned impressive reflexes and observations to be able to predict well enough to intercept the attack.

That alone would have been impressive but Natsu one upped it before the Black Bulls could comment on Gajeel's actions when Natsu suddenly punched Sting in the face with a burning fist as Sting had been about to hit Natsu as he stood there paralyzed. The force of the hit blasted Sting back though he landed on his feet before sliding back a few paces.

"What just happened?" Asta asked his eyes wide. "Didn't you say he couldn't move?"

"I did." Zora said amazed as the other battle continued with Gajeel pulling Rogue in to elbow him hard in the face with the elbow on the same arm he was using to hold Rogue. "But that little Asta-like brat burned it off with the fire inside his body. That's something only that crazy Captain lady would, or could, do. Great, the pink haired kid is a mix between Asta and that Captain, I've found new nightmare fuel."

"That does seem to be an accurate assessment of Natsu." Nero said as Natsu ignited his fist again and punch Sting just as Gajeel kicked Rogue after letting him go so that the Twin Dragons were blasted into the wall with enough force to crater it. "Seems like Fairy Tail can counter that boost spell that the Twin Dragons used but I feel like there is still more to come. We've seen enough to know that this isn't enough to win it, or that this is all that either side can give."

That was shown as Sting and Rogue got out of the wall and back to the middle of the battlefield only to take a few more hard blows from Natsu and Gajeel respectively. That just caused another brief lull before Sting suddenly glowed white again and his magic power shot up even more before suddenly the whole arena was illuminated in a blinding and expanding sphere of white light that made it hard to see.

"What's going on?" Asta asked. "All I can sense is that blond guy standing there and nothing more."

"He's focusing all of his magic power into a single spot." Luck said his expert mana sensing allowing him to deduce what was going on and getting really excited at what he was sense. "Oh man is that kid powerful, I really want to fight him because this is going to be huge."

Luck was right as a moment later Sting unleashed his spell, a White Dragon Slayer Secret Art they'd later learn, and attacked Natsu with a punch as that was where the spell had been concentrated. The result was a blast of white light that rocked the stadium, kicked up the ground and send debris and dirt everywhere. Most of the Black Bulls couldn't see what was going on but when their Captain and Asta could read ki they didn't need to see to know what was going on.

"Huh, impressive." Yami mused. "I see the Sisgoleon comparison now. Fire and toughness though that Natsu kid isn't a wild beast like she is though I feel liked she'd have a lot of fun with him."

"She'd also have punched the punch with her own." Asta said. "Not caught it in one hand."

As Asta spoke the dust and light cleared to show that to be the case. Natsu was standing there as if nothing had happened, her right arm out and hand over Sting's outstretched right fist. It was an unreal and Sting was clearly rattled by what Asta had done, they could all see that and Asta and Yami felt it in the teen's ki. Likely Sting had never had that attack blocked before and it really shook the kid.

While this was happening Rogue went after Gajeel again only to be punched back, hard by his opponent. The Shadow Dragon Slayer stayed on his feet though he was bent forward with his hands on the ground, but his reinforcement boost was gone as the battle again shifted to Fairy Tail's side in the wake of Sting's attempted counter being blocked.

All the Black Bulls could do was watch as Natsu and Gajeel used the shift in momentum to take the fight to the Twin Dragons and began to really land a series of blows both physical and with their magic until Sting and Rogue where lying face down on the ground next to each other in identical positions. It hadn't lasted long but it was clear that when it came to raw strength and power that the Dragon Slayers of Fairy Tail had the edge.

It was such that it seemed like the match might be nearing its end but after so many twists in it already the Black Bulls didn't expect it to be over just yet as Sting and Rogue tried to get up showing that they still had fight left while Chapati commentated on the situation. That was confirmed as the Twin Dragons got to their feet and surged with magic once more.

This time though it was different than before. The surge was more primal and powerful than the it had been when they'd used that boost spell before there was a sudden explosion of whiteness that shot up around Sting, the lose ribbons on his outfit and hair flying up as he did, a white cocoon around him it seemed. A second late Rogue too entered the state only with the blackness of shadows and the tattered remains of his cloak, no one had realized until that moment that it had been almost full ripped off him, and the skirt like thing around his waist flapping as if a wind was rushing up.

That wasn't the only change though as the Black Bulls noticed what appeared to be white and black markings appear on the Twin Dragons' faces in line with their magic while more white markings appeared on Sting's arms and the sides of his chest that were visible though from this distance they couldn't make out any finite details other than the color and shape of the markings. Likely they were there on Rogue's body as well but as only his face wasn't covered by clothing that couldn't be confirmed. One thing was certain though, this was a level beyond what the pair had done before.

"Well they're really surpassing their limits now." Yami said with a grin. "This is getting good. Those two are now giving everything they've got to this battle. That shows the caliber of the fairies to push the tigers to this point."

"This seems different to that boost spell." Noelle said feeling a tug in her mana at what she was seeing as if it knew what was going on but wasn't ready for it. "This, this is instinctual, a state of Dragon Slayer magic that isn't a spell."

"Do you know what it is?" Asta asked.

"I, I don't know what it's called but I can feel my mana reacting to it." Noelle said a confused look on her face as she tried to understand it herself. "Like it knows what this is but I don't because I'm not ready for it as this is the peak of what a human trained in Dragon Slayer Magic can achieve. I really don't understand the change my magic went through and now all this is adding to my confusion."

"If I had to guess this is a final state so to speak." Gordon said. "A high level technique that is something that those two can control at will but likely not for long though that is just my theory on it I could be off. It's certainly something to behold, though, and I will certainly look into it more."

"So Noelle might be able to do that as well?" Asta asked.

"Probably." Gordon said. "But not yet."

"No, something tells me I can't at the moment." Noelle agreed as the updraft of raw magic ended revealing the hair on the Twin Dragons' heads was now standing on end and their canines had become noticeably sharper in addition to the markings on their faces and at least Sting's body. "But I am going to watch closely and see how this plays out as I may be able to achieve that change myself one day."

"Well it looks like Sting feels that this is enough to take them down alone." Nero said as Sting walked forward while Rogue remained where he was causing Chapati to commentate on it before the crowd got quiet. "He's confident at least, I'll give him that."

The pause only seemed to last a moment before Sting suddenly attacked his speed now at a level that was almost impossible to track with the naked eye, though Asta and Yami could with ki as it wasn't as fast as what that Patry bastard could do. Regardless, Sting was on Natsu in a moment landing a punch that sent the Fire Dragon Slayer flying back. As Natsu flew, Gajeel attacked with a kick that saw his leg turn into an iron bar only for Sting to duck under it and blast Gajeel in the side with White Dragon Slayer Magic.

However, neither hit put the Fairy Tail members on the ground as Natsu used a one handed handspring to push off the ground and land feet first on the arena wall that he then pushed off with a blast of fire to boost his speed as he flew at Sting. Meanwhile Gajeel landed on his feet with his right hand on the ground to steady himself as he slid back over it before getting his feet under him and pushing off the ground to also charge at Sting.

Both teammates were going straight for the White Dragon Slayer and reached him at the same time before launching a series of punches and strikes at Sting. However, none of them landed as he just blocked, deflected, and redirected the blows in a heated exchange that was hard to track with how fast it was.

This only lasted for a moment though before Sting got the upper hand in the exchange first by knocking Gajeel away with a kick and then catching Natsu's flaming fist in his hand like Natsu had done to him only it was the other hands and tossing him away as well. The result was that Natsu was thrown into Gajeel as the latter fell to the ground.

This tangled the Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers up momentarily but that was just the opening that Sting needed. He used it to leap high into the air before he unleashed a breath attack on the scale the likes of which the Black Bulls hadn't seen before. It was different to his first one during the opening exchange and unlike that one, this new breath attack slammed into Natsu and Gajeel on the ground before exploding in massive ball of white light that obscured all vision, kick up chunks of arena floor and actually shook the entire stadium with the force of its impact.

"Can you sense them?" Nero asked as the light began to fade but the dust and debris remained. "Or smell them?"

"There's so much dust in the air that I can't tell." Noelle said. "I'm still getting used to this and so far the only one who's scent I can easily pick out is Natsu's due to how pungent fire and its effects can be. Sorry."

"Um…" Asta said as he tried to sense their ki while Yami didn't bother as he already knew they were out of his range. "I don't think so. Which means…oh that would explain it."

The dust had cleared and the Black Bulls just stared at the massive hole in the arena floor that covered more than half of it. The power of Sting's breath attack had blown right though the floor of the arena and several levels as well showing that there was a series of levels beneath the floor that extended deep into the mountain they were on.

It seemed that driving your opponents through the floor wasn't enough to knock them out of the fight though as Chapati implied with his commentary, likely due to them still being within the technical bounds of the battlefield just under it now rather than on it. Whatever the reason, lacrima vision screens appeared around the stadium like with he Pandemonium event to show the fight as it was going on.

What they showed was that Natsu and Gajeel, and several large chunks of rock, were actively falling down the massive hole Sting's attack had caused but were still conscious despite this. As such, Sting dove down into it to follow them and end the fight once and for all his form still in its changed state.

However, even with the powerful attack they'd just taken, along with currently falling, Natsu and Gajeel weren't giving up as they used the falling chunks of rock to stabilize themselves before Natsu leapt at Sting with some Fire Dragon Slayer attack that hit Sting in the face spinning him up and back as Gajeel got above him to unleash an Iron Dragon's Roar into Sting's back that drove him down hard and fast so that he slammed chest first into the first level that he hadn't destroyed when he'd created the massive hole as dust and debris covered him.

"So that's what the Iron Dragon's Roar looks like." Gordon mused as they watched what was happening on the lacrima vision screens. "Basically like the Sky Dragon's one only made of what looked like thousands of small bits of iron. Fascinating."

No one responded to Gordon though as they were too transfixed on the fight to do so. That was because as the dust cleared it showed Sting getting up, hands pressed together to his side, before he turned and open them wide to blast off a series of White Dragon Slayer beams that slammed into Natsu and Gajeel as they fell to the ground to be on the same level as Sting though Sting was now in the air again. The hit was intense and clearly caused a lot of pain and damage to the First Generation Dragon Slayers.

Despite this Natsu managed to get his feet under him after bouncing off the floor a few times right as Sting landed again with enough force to crack the ground. The White Dragon Slayer wasn't giving up as he pushed off it, fist glowing white as Natsu tried to meet him but only able to block it as white light shot out from the impact before Sting pushed through the block and blasted Natsu back, hard.

That didn't deter the fairies though as Gajeel attack in the aftermath of this only to be kicked back again while Natsu recovered for another one of his fire punches but Sting again caught the punch and then punched Natsu away. What followed from that was a series of exchanges that saw Sting either knock back the Fairy Tail members or evade them until he put some distance between them and blasted out a shot of White Dragon Slayer Magic at them that exploded filling the screens with smoke from an explosion blocking their view.

No one could see and with the fight so far away and underground not even Yami or Asta could tell them what was going on. Despite this, the crowd cheered at what they were seeing as it was by far the best battle of the Games.

The most recent part of it had been an intense series of exchanges that only lasted a moment but seemed to show that Sabertooth was back on top in this battle. That said, the Black Bulls weren't going to comment on or consider that after all they'd seen though it was clear that this was the true battle that all before it had been leading up to. This and that underground area would be where it would all be decided.

Finally the smoke cleared to reveal Sting standing there with Natsu on his chest and Gajeel on his side before him. At the same time the Black Bulls noted that Rogue had dropped down sometime during the chaos and was standing on a rocky outcropping above it still in his changed from though now completely without his cloak and a katana on his left hip though no one could explain how it got there as there'd been no sign of him having one until that moment. He seemed to be talking to Sting as the lacrima vision showed the scene from the ground level.

"So have Sabertooth won?" Mimosa asked as Chapati commented the same thing. "Or will Fairy Tail still fight on because it looks like they're out of this fight."

"Not sure." Nero said. "But I bet that they give it a few moments just to confirm that Fairy Tail are out cold. This is a battle of Dragon Slayers after all. We saw what a Dragan and a God Slayer could do against each other and they weren't even fully grown like these four likely are. They'll want to make sure that this is over and no doubt have some magic that will confirm that."

"Why are they dragging it out though?" Noelle asked as the white markings on Sting vanished showing that he had deactivated whatever that change had been, which most of them had mentally comparing to how Black Asta boosted Asta in a way as that was the best comparison they had for what the Twin Dragons had done even if they'd only seen Sting actually fight in that state. "Surely they should just call it now that they are on the ground and not moving."

"It does seem odd." Yami said as Fairy Tail shouted encouragement to their combatants or made that hand gesture their master had made during Laxus's battle with his father the day before while Rogue finally leapt down to Sting's level his own transformation gone as well and they exchanged a few words. "If I was the ref I'd have called it by now. Only explanation is that it's too far away to confirm…or that."

The Black Bulls blinked at that as suddenly Natsu and Gajeel were on their feet again. It seemed like they'd been playing dead, laying down to confuse the Twin Dragons into thinking they were out and forcing them to drop their changed forms before getting up and resuming the fight which also meant that the judges had magic to confirm this hence why the fight hadn't been called yet. Just like when it seemed like the Sabertooth Dragon Slayers were down a few moments ago, the Fairy Tail ones had gotten up to resume the fight and the crowd cheered at that.

"I can't tell if they're tough, stubborn, or just at Asta level of pushing though pain." Noelle noted as the fight was about to continue. "Or some combination of the three."

"Third one." Nero said as the others nodded. "Though a moment longer they would have called it I feel. There's not much left both in time or what they can all take. I think this is the endgame of the battle."

"They're pushing past their limits, no wonder this is a Guild that Julius was a part of when he was in this world." Yami said with a grin. "Not bad, shows their strength and talent. Plus getting up after a beating like that, it demoralizes the other side. I doubt those tigers have ever faced something like this before. This will be good when it resumes."

"Yeah it's what I'd do." Asta agreed as the four Dragon Slayers chatted for a moment before Natsu and Gajeel suddenly started arguing.

"And that's what you and Noelle do." Nero pointed out.

"Hey, I don't argue on the battlefield." Asta said before correcting himself. "Well I argued with Zora during the Royal Knights Selection Exam but that was different, he needed it."

"I didn't." Zora said.

"You don't with me either normally or then." Mimosa said with a smile. "But Noelle, well…"

"I call Asta out when he's being to reckless." Noelle said which Mimosa agreed with and it was a good thing as she didn't want Asta to die but so long as she could heal him she didn't mind him being a little reckless. "Not that he listens to me, idiot."

"That's also true." Nero said and the others nodded. "But Asta will trust us so we know that it's all good in the end. That, on the other hand, is not what we do."

What Nero had been referring to had been Natsu and Gajeel suddenly getting into a fight with each other as they all watched. It was, frankly, an embarrassment for Fairy Tail to see it happen in the middle of a battle.

The spat ended, however, when Natsu suddenly pushed Gajeel into, of all things as they'd not noticed it until that moment, a mining cart that was on a rail in the underground area and which ran down deeper into the mountain likely meaning that Gajeel was out of the battle now. The grin the lacrima vision showed as Natsu turned away showed that it had been deliberate.

"Nor do we do that." Nero said as they all stared at what Natsu had done. "Why would he…oh, he's petty, I see it now."

Natsu had suddenly ignited the fingers on his left hand to read 'come on' as he took on Sting and Rogue on his own. It was the reverse of what Sting had done against him and Gajeel a moment ago and clearly that had stuck with Natsu. Now he was flipping the switch on Sabertooth as Chapati commentated on that and how historic this could be as the battle shifted to the next stage of it.

There was a new level of intensity in the battle as the crowd got ready for what had to be the final exchange if for no other reason than that the time limit was running out. The Black Bulls just watched intently as the screens showed Natsu's determination waiting for it all to start.

That came a moment later when Sting and Rogue ignited their change once more showing that they could do it pretty much right after they'd just done it, that or willingly dismissing it preserved whatever time limit that powerup had for a bit. Whatever the case, they could still use the power and Sting quickly attack again with a punch of his White Dragon Slaying Magic that Natsu blocked as red light emanated from the block. The big difference this time, though, was that Natsu was holding his ground a lot better than had had before when facing a powered up Sting.

The block held for a few moments before suddenly Natsu ignited and flames shot out from behind him. None of the Black Bulls were sure what this meant but it seemed to be the final boost that Natsu needed before he suddenly punched Sting in the face with a flaming punch, that the Black Bulls understood thanks to Mereoleona Vermillion's favorite tactic in combat being to fire punch things until she won, and blasted the White Dragon Slayer back.

However, as that was happening Rogue, who the entire fight had yet to engage Natsu and their only contact had been right at the start when Natsu had grabbed him to use him as a battering ram to hit Sting with after he'd been knocked back by Gajeel as it appeared his target had been Gajeel the entire time, finally moved into position to attack Natsu with a Shadow Dragon's Roar. Natsu, however, seemed to be ready for it and sent out a Fire Dragon Roar in response.

"So it seems just the White Dragon's Roar is a concentrated blast and not a vortex." Gordon said as the two roars, both in the swirling vortex style with one of black shadows the other of flames, collided for a moment. "I wonder which…that was quick, Natsu's strong."

The rest just nodded at that as Natsu's Fire Dragon's Roar quickly overpowered Rogue's Shadow Dragon's Roar and slammed into him blasting the Shadow Dragon Slayer back with an explosion. However, Sting was still in the fight as he got up from Natsu's earlier punch and leapt at Natsu while Rogue did the same a moment later.

"I'm really seeing the Asta in him." Nero said as they watched Natsu grin as he deftly blocked, evaded, and counter attacked against the Twin Dragons with a mix of physical strength and his magic, his whole style adapting and improving to fully counter the powered up Twin Dragons. "He doesn't give up, only seems to get stronger as the battle progresses. He's able to learn from his beatings, assess the battle, and then get stronger mid fight to match and exceed his opponents' strength and skill. That is a rare talent indeed."

"Yup that's just like Asta." Luck said. "He has a habit of pulling wins out of his ass when he seemed down for the count."

"Only he's the original." Magna added. "So he's better at it."

"In a fight I'd say Asta has the upper hand due to his Anti-Magic." Nero agreed as they watched Natsu easily handle the Twin Dragons now. "But there are some martial skills there that could exceed him if Natsu and him were to ever come to blows so best for Asta to keep Natsu at sword range. Still, I think only Erza and Laxus in Fairy Tail would actually stand a chance of beating Asta in a fight."

"All this is good but there is one important question to ask about Natsu." Vanessa said speaking for the first time all fight. "Is he as dense as Asta in other matters?"

"No question, he rivals Asta in that aspect as well." Nero said as both Noelle and Mimosa glared at her but she ignored them as their glares said everything. "I didn't see much of Fairy Tail after their return but what I saw told me that that blonde girl, Lucy, is, in my opinion, hopelessly in love with him and in denial to herself while Natsu doesn't realize that she likes him. Also I think the white haired girl, the one with short hair not the longer haired one who can turn into some kind of demon, also likes him and is open to herself about it but in a weaker position."

"That sounds extremely familiar." Vanessa said getting glares from the royal cousins turned on her as all this went over Asta head. "Guess there's a male archetype for this. I'm sure it will all work out in the end though."

"It will, so long as those in question accept it and then decide what to do from there." Nero said as Natsu avoided a White Dragon's Roar attack and countered with his own Fire Dragon's Roar that landed and threw Sting back before Natsu went to deal with Rogue. "But this will be over soon, it's just a matter of time before one of them uses a move that the other side can't bounce back from."

They didn't say anymore after that as Natsu first threw Rogue to the ground and then punched Sting back and into a pile of rubble. The lacrima screen showed a close up of Sting's face after that, his eyes wide and jaw clenched as he panted where he was. This was all taking a toll on the Twin Dragons as Natsu really showed what he was made of and no doubt shocked them by managing to keep pace with the Twin Dragons in their powered up forms.

However, despite being badly beat up, Sting and Rogue showed their tenacity as they rose and suddenly first Rogue and then Sting clenched their fists, right and left respectively, and formed massive balls of their particular kind of Dragon Slayer Magic that formed behind them. The balls got bigger as they began to merge together in some form of Union Magic that changed and strengthened their magic even more than it already was while Natsu just stood there facing it.

"A Unison Raid." Gordon said as the magic got bigger and stronger before it suddenly vanished to appear in their palms as condensed magic that began to merge together to form a singular attack. "I read about this early on, it's what they call Union or Compound Magic here. It's really hard to pull off though from what I read as it can take years of training to accomplish compared to how we manage to do it relatively easily. This is working though and the sheer power that it's creating, I'm not sure that Natsu kid can handle it."

"He will." Asta said, he'd been watching the screen closely and knew that it was only a matter of time as Mr. Yajima explained the nature of a Union Raid though Gordon had already done a decent job explained it already. "He's won this, just watch."

They did as the Twin Dragons punched out at the same time, their magics merged and blasting at Natsu. However, Natsu didn't move an inch as the attack came at him, he just stood there before he gathered Fire Dragon Slayer Magic in his hand and countered with some flaming bird that appeared before him, which like Sting's punch on Natsu earlier that he caught was a Dragon Slayer Secret Art, before he punched out and at the Unison Raid attack.

The Fire Dragon Slayer Magic hit it and then burst through the magic and washed over Sting and Rogue before blowing up as it hit whatever was behind them. The force of the explosion blew a hole right out of the side of the mountain that shook the whole stadium as once again the lacrima vision screens were filled with smoke before they went out entirely. Chapati did his best to commentate on what was going on and noted that the issue with the lacrima vision was technical difficulties that would be resolved soon.

Chapati was right as soon the screens came back in to reveal a strange scene before them. Sting and Rogue were standing as rubble rained down, dust and smoke billowed off the ground and light poured in from the hole in the side of the mountain that Natsu had just made.

This only lasted a moment before Rogue, who lost his sword and had his clothes ripped up showing his Guild Mark was black and on his left shoulder, pitched forward and he hit the ground unconscious before he landed. At the same time Sting fell to his knees before he too pitched forward to hit the ground completely out cold as well. There was no doubt anymore, this was it and the battle was over as Chapati announced it which meant that the judges had confirmed that the Twin Dragons had been knocked out.

"There it is and we can hardly believe it but with barely any time remaining in the match there is only one man left standing!" Chapati announced to the cheering crowd. "Fairy Tail's Natsu Dragneel!"

At that the bell sounded to signal the match had officially been called and giving Natsu the win. He just smiled on the screen, arms raise and laughing where he was as the crowd erupted at the confirmation of his win.

"Let's hear it for our victor who took down the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth all on his own at the end, your winner of the final tag battle! Natsu!" Chapati announced. "This is a huge win for Fairy Tail as it reasserts itself over Sabertooth and secures them second place going into the final event."

"Behind us." Asta said.

"Shut it Dorksta." Noelle said. "Let the commentator finish."

"What a way to end the final battle!" Chapati continued getting their attention again. "And we're going to give our Guilds a day to rest and recover before the final event. Folks, the Grand Magic Games this year will culminate in one, ultimate, match that is for all the glory. It will put every member of every team on the field at the same time to fight it out in a Grand Magic Games Battle Royale! Only one Guild will take the title though and the way the points will work all 6 Guilds are going to be in the running so you won't want to miss this all or nothing final event!"

That was it for the announcement, no words, no thanking of the special guest commentator, nothing as the scores went up on the lacrima visions. This was the confirmation that had been known after the first tag battle; the Black Bulls, the surprise of the games, topped the table at 48 points after 4 days of events and battles.

In second was Fairy Tail and they were the only Guild that was even close to the Black Bulls with their 45 points. Third place and 10 points behind Fairy Tail with 35 was Lamia Scale while Sabertooth had dropped to a, for them, stunningly low 4th place at with 33 from their one point in the Naval Battle though they'd only gone up because of the merging of the two Fairy Tail Teams to bring the number of teams back to an even number for the tag battles. Hot on Sabertooth's heels, though, was Mermaid Heel with 32 in 5th while Blue Pegasus rounded it out in last at 27 points.

All this meant one thing, the Black Bulls were now the Guild to go for, along with Fairy Tail of course as they'd reestablished their reputation as a top tier Guild over the last few days, and Yami just smirked at that as he rose from his seat to walk to the edge of their box to look out and bask in the attention that being in first garnered them. However, Yami had only one person to look at despite all the attention he was getting as he look over to Fairy Tail's box and locked eyes with Makarov.

It was on and both men knew that the Grand Magic Games would come down to their teams in the end as they exchanged a glance. Of course the other Guilds had their own things to say about both chart toppers as the fourth day came to an end.

The was because the moment that Chapati had declared what the final event would be, all around the colosseum in the various boxes that housed the Guilds of the Games they were preparing for one thing. They were all staking their claims on who in the top two Guilds that they wanted to face in the coming Battle Royale.

"A Battle Royale, well there's only one opponent for me then." Lyon said after the announcement as those not in the Black Bulls or Fairy Tail noted what was at stake. "I'm coming for you, Gray. Once I've beaten my rival then I can repay Asta for Hidden but that is only a bonus as Gray is who I want."

"My opponent will be the would be heir of Fairy Tail." Jura said with a smile at the thought of the fight to come while the others in their team made their own mental claims on members of the top two placed Guilds. "Laxus, show me what you've got."

"Titania." Kagura said in the Mermaid Heel box looking over at the redheaded swordswoman. "I shall get my answers from you when our blades meet on the battlefield the day after tomorrow."

"Finral, you will pay for what you did to me." Millianna added with a growl in her throat. "After that humiliation and terror that you put me through I will get my revenge. I won't fall for a stunt like that again, this time I will show you just how sharp a cat's claws truly are."

"Let's go after Gajeel boys." Hibiki said to his fellow Trimens. "He really showed his stuff in that battle even if Natsu pushed him into a cart towards the end so I say we see if we can do what Sabertooth couldn't and beat him."

"Yeah and avenge master." Ren said to which Hibiki and Eve cheered in agreement. "So we're coming for Asta and Noelle of the Black Bulls as well."

"The new Guild is in our spot; we'll take them down to win this." Laxus said looking to the Black Bulls who were in their suite ready for the upcoming Battle Royale and standing atop the table for it so even Fairy Tail was staking their claims, the three that were present at least, as they too had an obstacle in their way to the returning to their status as the number 1 Guild in all of Fiore. "It's fitting that we're still not there yet only now the Black Bulls are the ones who we must beat after dispatching Sabertooth just now and we must be the ones to beat them. Looks like I'll be testing that lightning boy, see what that blue lightning of his tastes like just as I'm going to deal with that Lightning God Slayer in Sabertooth."

"They've got a fire user; I know how to handle loud, annoying, punks who use that kind of magic." Gray said with a grin as his eyes found Magna. "I want Asta for beating me in Hidden, but first Rufus as I really owe that bastard for his arrogance, then I'm going after that fire guy to build up to Asta."

"Leave Asta, he's mine." Erza said seriously that brokered no argument from the others. "His talent, abilities, and skills are too great for anyone else to handle other than Laxus though my fighting style is better than his when it comes to facing Asta. We shall cross swords in the Battle Royale to see who is the best swordsman in Fiore."

"He's yours, I don't mind, but there are others there as well." Laxus noted. "And Gajeel and Natsu will want pieces of them as well. Don't forget that there are three Dragon Slayers here not in our Guild, Natsu just beat two of them but there is still one more remaining if your report from earlier is accurate."

"It is, she's one for sure, we saw her grimoire thing change." Gray said. "Lightning would be best against water but I know from ice not mixing with fire that water is to fire what ice is to fire so I say leave her to Natsu. Let's see what a Sixth Generation Dragon Slayer is all about but I assure you, that Natsu's fire is strong enough to boil the sea itself. When we congratulate him we will let him know that his opponent has to be the Sea Dragon Slayer, Noelle Silva."

"That just leaves either their Spatial Magic user who won Chariots and successfully contained Millianna or their reserve who all we know is that she uses Cotton Magic which is the same kind as that ram Spirit of Lucy's." Erza said. "Either could be tricky but I trust that Gajeel can handle either of them without an issue. Let's go find our teammates and congratulate them though, we can all strategize as a Guild later once we regroup with them, for now we celebrate a big win over Sabertooth. Let it be a motivator for the Black Bulls, the only obstacle left in our way back to the top."

Laxus and Gray nodded at that before they turned to leave their box and find Natsu and Gajeel wherever the latter ended up after Asta's little stunt. It was time to celebrate putting Sabertooth in their place and then get ready for the true battle of the Battle Royal; Fairy Tail v. the Black Bulls.

Of course the Black Bulls didn't know any of this as they left the Colosseum and returned to their tavern via Finral's portal. They'd maxed the day out with their third event win and first battle round win, Noelle's magic had evolved in the wake of her victory, and they'd ended the day atop the standings.

It was time for a day of rest and planning because after that it was the Battle Royale and they fully intended on winning it to secure their spot as the new top Guild in Fiore in what had to be one of the swiftest rises to the top in history. Soon that title would be known as the fourth day came to an end and only one remained in the Grand Magic Games.

I think that's a good place to end the chapter and the fourth day of the Grand Magic Games. I know I usually end a day with a Hisui seen but with her doubts assuaged by Future Rogue's machinations there really isn't much need for her to show up at the end of this long chapter though she may appear one more time before the end of the games as the next chapter or two will deal with the break before we finally move onto the Battle Royale and boy can I not wait for that. I've fully planned it out and it's going to last at least 7 chapters so there's a whole lot of action coming in this story. That is all that I have for this chapter, however, as it was a pretty straightforward reaction chapter as the Black Bulls watched the Battle of the Dragon Slayers and tried to understand it as best they could so I will now end this chapter off here. If you liked this please favorite, follow, leave a review, or let me know in a PM and I will try to answer any questions posed in reviews and PMs as best I can. Until next time.

Stringdog