"Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu roared out as he swung his flaming fist towards Leon's jaw. Leon, with the boost of his Acid Drive, dodged the hit easily by leaning back. Natsu immediately followed up with a flaming sweep kick to Leon's ankles, but Leon dodged this too by jumping back. Finally, Natsu shifted his momentum from the sweep kick by spinning on the ground, flipping himself up, aiming another fiery haymaker towards Leon's nose. Boom, a direct hit, the momentum was key. Leon staggered back from the blow before catching himself. "Tch…" Natsu felt a burn on his knuckles, most likely from Leon's acid. That was going to be an issue as long as Natsu wanted to continue using close combat. Screw issues, this was Natsu. He ran forward once again, his entire body covered in fire. "Talons!" Natsu spun around, aiming a flaming roundhouse towards Leon's side.
"Too slow…" Leon replied while leaning his body back, Natsu fiery leg soaring over his body. Leon could feel the intense heat coming from Natsu's leg as it just grazed his shirt. Now it was Leon's turn; acid covered his hand which he held forward. "Acid Palm." A large burst of green acid erupted from Leon's hand, blowing Natsu a great distance away, a green smoke cloud following the Salamander.
"Natsu…!" Lucy squeaked as Natsu flew back.
Natsu caught himself by flipping in the air, his feet planting firmly into the ground to halt his sliding momentum. By the time he regained his balance, Leon was already coming at him with another move. "Acid Dragon's Steel Fist!" Leon swung his fist down towards Natsu, but Natsu jumped back just in time, leaving the ground to shatter at Leon's attack.
"Eyah!" Natsu exclaimed while swinging his leg towards Leon's skull, but he just missed, the flames burning off Leon's hair.
"Ha!" Leon exclaimed as well, aiming another Acid Dragon's Steel fist towards Natsu's chest, but Natsu instead grabbed Leon's arm and flipped him over, his cheeks puffing out.
"Roar of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu roared while unleashing his signature roar, a funnel of red flames crashing down on Leon while Natsu used the momentum from the roar to push himself back and gain distance.
Leon's body now had burn marks all over his body, but this wasn't even close to stopping him. He grinned towards Natsu, admiring the strength of the Salamander before running forward, two spheres of green energy in his palms. "Acid Dragon's Double Corroding Missile!" Leon threw the two spheres towards Natsu simultaneously, the two beams merging into a larger one as it ate at the ground it traveled just feet over.
As soon as Leon formed the two spheres, Natsu did the same, only it was a singular sphere. Natsu placed his hands over his head and jumped into the air, creating an enlarged sphere of orange fire above his head. "Dazzling Blaze of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu yelled as he hurled the blazing sphere towards Leon's double corroding beams, not even waiting to watch as the two attacks entered a struggle. Natsu landed just behind where the two magical attacks were, and began running forward, only to be caught in their explosion.
"Natsu!" Happy flailed as he watched his partner consumed in the explosion.
"You got this, Leon!" Trinity exclaimed.
"You can do it, Leon!" Lucina shouted at the lacrima screen.
"Kick his ass flame brain!" Gray yelled.
"You got this, Natsu-san!" Sting cheered.
Not even seconds after the explosion did Natsu come charging out, head first with flames covering his body; he used the momentum from the explosion to boost his own. "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" Before Leon even had a chance to react, Natsu impacted his gut rather forcefully, winding the acid dragon as he flew back from the impact, crashing into the remains of a building. Natsu smirked despite feeling the sting of the acid from Leon's Acid Drive.
Only five seconds did Leon emerge from the now corroded remains of the building, though his cheeks were puffed out. "Acid Dragon's Roar!" Leon opened his mouth, sending a vortex of acid hurlting towards Natsu.
"Guh!" Natsu's eyes widened at the speed the roar traveled before he dove to the side, just narrowly avoiding the roar that melted the ground he was standing at.
"Acid Dragon's Sword!" Leon exclaimed while he ran forward towards his opponent, a blade of pure acid forming in Leon's hands. Once close to the Salamander, he began to slash expertly, grazing Natsu and his clothing with his blade.
Natsu took heavy exhales every time Leon slashed at him, keeping a rhythm that opposed Leon's so he could dodge. Once he spotted an opening, he swung his leg at Leon's arm, knocking the blade of acid away. Next, Natsu aimed a fiery haymaker towards Leon's skull, but Leon had the same idea and aimed an acid fist towards Natsu's skull; the two attacks collided, creating a shockwave that forced the two slayers back. Fire flared around Natsu's body as he didn't even wait for Leon to move. He rushed towards Leon, spinning in such a motion that would cover a large radius with flames. "Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!"
Upon seeing Natsu rush in, Leon began to spin around in place, acid forming in a protective manner around his person. "Acid Dragon's Swirling Corrosion!" Leon's defense met with Natsu's offense, the two techniques clashing against one another powerfully. This only lasted for about ten seconds before another explosion occurred, this one of too much energy. Natsu and Leon rolled back before hopping up onto their feet, both decently damaged at this point. "Whoa, you're really strong, Natsu!"
"You're pretty tough too…but I'll be taking this win…" Natsu replied with a smirk, standing upright as he tried to slow his breathing.
"Sorry, Salamander, but my guild is depending on me, and I'm not one for letting my guild down. I'm sure you know how that feels, right?" Leon asked as he got into another stance.
"I do…and I'm not letting my guild down either!" Natsu pounded his fist together. "Let's go Leon, give me all you've got!"
"As long as you return the favor…" Leon replied as the area around his person began to tremble. A miniature earthquake occurred as the green aura around Leon's body mixed with a purple one, and his left arm turned a reddish-purple. "Poison Acid mode…"
"A dual mode…!?" Lucy gasped in complete shock.
"Acid and poison…a terrible combination…" Erza thought to herself, watching Natsu with worry. "Be careful, Natsu…"
"Heh…" Natsu showed no fear as Leon entered his dual mode. Natsu's response was a silent, yet loud one. The earth around Natsu began to tremble as his usual fiery aura appeared around his body. Following the fire, lightning began to surround him as the shaking increased, eventually dying down. "Lightning Flame. Let's go!" Natsu placed his right foot on the ground, then blasted forward towards Leon with his fist held back, fire and lightning surrounding his entire arm. "Lightning Flame Dragon's Firing Hammer!"
Leon allowed poison and acid to cover his fist, rushing towards Natsu. "Poison Acid Dragon's Steel Fist!" Leon swung his dual mode arm towards Natsu's, clashing once again with the lightning flame dragon. The two entered a brief stalemate before a shockwave blew them both back, causing them to roll across the ground before picking themselves up.
As soon as Natsu recovered, he jumped into the air, forming a sphere of lightning in one hand and a sphere of fire in the other, bringing them together over his head to create a mixture of the two. "Lightning Flame Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" Natsu threw his arms forward, sending the lightning fire ball hurtling towards Leon like a meteor.
Once again, Leon formed two spheres in his hands, though they were purple and green. "Poison Acid Dragon's Double Poisonous Corroding Missiles!" Leon threw the first beam towards the lightning flame blaze, watching as they exploded on impact. Leon then rushed through the smoke of the explosion, throwing the second towards the airborne Natsu.
"Tch!" Natsu grunted as he visibly had nowhere to go since airborne, so he could only cross his arms. The second beam slammed into the dragon slayer, creating a green and purple smoke cloud. Natsu hit the ground after impact, feeling a little numb and acid burns over his body, but he blocked the pain out quickly after. Leon came forward once again, looking for hand to hand combat. Natsu complied, and the two hopes of Fairy Tail and Black Phoenix entered a seemingly endless struggle. Natsu landed a hit punch on Leon's face, Leon landed a punch to Natsu's sternum; blows were just exchanged between the two and no defense was adopted by either. Eventually, the two made the exact same move, gripping each other by the chest. "Lightning Flame Dragon's Crushing Grip!"
"Poisonous Acid Palm!" Leon exclaimed in time with Natsu. A powerful burst of fire and lightning blew Leon away while a powerful force of poison and acid blew Natsu away, sending the two slayers on opposite sides of what used to be a town.
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"Natsuuu!" Lucy stood up from her seat, watching rather intently.
"He won't be able to keep up for long if that poison gets to him first…" Trinity pointed out.
"Now THIS is a battle!" Jack said while watching the fight intently, showing the most interest in this fight than all the others.
"I must admit…it's quite intense…" Tia said with a nod.
"Place your bets, Knightwalker. The Flames of Emotion or the Acid of Rage…?" Hyde said while turning his head to Knightwalker.
"I don't care who wins…I just want the battle to be other so we can move on…" Knightwalker replied.
"You're no fun…" Hyde chuckled before turning back to the battle.
The hooded female was glued onto the fight like nothing else, not even listening to her male companion's voice. "Come on…"
"Hey! Hey!" The male sighed before giving up. "Alright, fine, fine…"
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Natsu performed an upside down kick towards Leon, aiming for his skull. Leon jumped back in the nick of time, but he wasn't expecting the bolt of lightning to strike him down from the sky, leaving him paralyzed. With this opening, Natsu grinned as he ignited his fist in lightning and flames. "Iron Fist of the Lightning Flame Dragon!" Natsu swung his fist, landing a direct hit on Leon's face, the force sending the Poison Acid Dragon flying back, creating a crevasse in the ground from the sheer force.
It took Leon a bit to recover, but once he did, he hopped up, puffing his cheeks out. "Roar…"
Natsu immediately took notice of the dual roar coming his way. He puffed his own cheeks out, a loud inhalation sound filling the area as the two slayers gathered as much magical energy as they could. "Roar…"
"…Jack. Duck." Tia ordered, immediately hitting the deck after.
"Don't have to tell me twice." Jack replied, already lying down on his stomach.
"Of the Poison Acid Dragon!" Leon threw his head forward, unleashing a massive funnel of poison and acid, cleaving through the ground with ease as it raced towards Natsu.
"Of the Lightning Flame Dragon!" Natsu roared as he threw his head forward, unleashing the funnel of fire and lightning forward. The two roars clashed, creating a massive shockwave that shook the entirety of Clover Town and then some. The two slayers held firm until they could no longer exhale, but by this point the four elements created a catastrophic explosion that engulfed Clover Town, picking up a large amount of wind as a result.
"Eeeppp!" The female shriek while keeping her hand on her robe to keep it from flying off.
"Gah…!" Jack yelped as he used his arm to shield himself from the vicious wind.
"N-Natsu!" Fairy Tail shouted.
"Leon…!" Black Phoenix seemed to shout in unison as well.
When the smoke of the massive explosion cleared, both Leon and Natsu were yards away from each other, obviously heavily damaged. "It's time to end this…!" Natsu roared at the top of his lungs before running forward, pushing himself off the ground head first, now speeding towards Leon. "Lightning Flame Sword Horn!"
Leon crossed his arms as Natsu came forward, spinning around once again, creating a vortex of acid and poison around his body. "Poison Acid Dragon's Swirling Corrosion!" Leon's momentum wasn't strong enough against Natsu's impact, which broke through the corrosion after a brief struggle, and sent Leon tumbling away, motionless on the ground.
"H-Heh…!" Natsu grinned despite the pain and numbing sensations he felt all over his body. He took in heavy breaths. "That…was a great fight…We should fight again sometime Le-…"
Before Natsu could finish, the trembling from before came back, twice as powerful. Leon slowly brought himself up, blood trailing down his head. "I said…I wasn't holding back…." Leon's voice was now in a low tone as green scales appeared all over his body: Dragon Force combined with his Poison Acid mode.
"Now he's in trouble…" Hikaru mumbled to herself.
"Dragon Force…" Laxus scowled slightly at Leon's tenacity. "This kid just doesn't quit…"
"Neither does Natsu!" Happy replied. "He'll pull out a win!"
"Alright! I'll just knock you down again!" Natsu replied to Leon before raising a hand, allowing fire and lightning to flare around it. Natsu slammed his fist into the ground, sending a fountain of fire and lightning towards Leon. Leon kept silent this time, no praise, no wishful thinking. He just darted forward, completely jumping over Natsu's tower of lightning in flames, coating his leg in poison and acid. He swung his leg to the now defending Natsu, but the impact was so great it broke Natsu's guard and sent him tumbling across the dirt. "Gah…!"
"Your time is up…" Leon replied to Natsu while rushing towards him, aiming a plethora of poison acid covered fists towards the Salamander. "I'll show you the true strength of a dragon!"
"Like hell!" Natsu replied as he quickly staggered back up, doing his best to avoid Leon's sudden increase in power. Swaying left to right as all he could do, but he couldn't keep up, so some punches landed, sending him staggering back an extra step. Natsu quickly regained himself and threw a punch towards Leon's face, but Leon ducked with ease and preformed a sweep leg, knocking Natsu's feet from under him. Natsu caught himself on his hands and began to spin around, generating a large amount of fire on them. "Lightning Flame Dragon's Double Claw Strike!" Natsu pushed himself off the ground, now aiming a flaming axe kick towards Leon's head, but Leon blocked this hit. Natsu jumped back with a smirk, but Leon saw it coming. The acid poison dragon leapt to the side, avoiding the bolt of lightning that was going to rain down on him.
"I don't fall for the same tricks twi-!" Leon began, but a second bolt of lightning struck him, throwing him for a loop.
"It's not the same trick!" Natsu replied before pivoting on his heel, landing a fire and lightning infused roundhouse to Leon's head, causing Leon to stagger back a few steps before regaining himself.
"I have a new trick for you…" Leon said in a serious tone before clapping his hands together, creating a purple and green cloud over Natsu's head. "Poison Acid Dragon's Poisonous Acidic Rain."
"Above you!" The hooded female couldn't help but shout, but she covered her mouth almost instantly after saying it.
"Huh…?" Natsu looked up, eyes widened at the large cloud that began to rain poison and acid on him. Natsu ran off, trying to escape the clouds downpour as quickly as he could, letting out an agonizing scream while doing so.
"Natsu…" Lucy clasped her hands together, staring at the screen worriedly.
"Poison Acid Dragon's Steel Fist!" Leon exclaimed while suddenly appearing before Natsu (with the help of his Dragon Force) and returned the favor Natsu gave earlier, landing the direct hit on Natsu's face, sending the hope of Fairy Tail crashing through the remains of two buildings nearby. "I'm not done yet!" Leon replied while opening his mouth, a purple and green sphere forming in his mouth. "Poison Acid Dragon's Wave!" After this exclamation, a large wave of poison and acid launched out of Leon's mouth, double the size of his previous roar. Natsu only just picked himself up, the acid and poison really starting to get to him now despite his attempts to shrug it off. He looked up, only just noticing the incoming wave. It crashed into him, creating a purple and green smoke cloud.
"N-Natsu…" Happy's eyes widened, his paws covering his mouth as he stared in shock.
"Get up, brat!" Makarov urged.
"Come on, Natsu…!" The rest of Fairy Tail managed to shout.
"…Get up…" The female said with a somewhat shaky voice.
"Hm…" the male watched the smoke cloud intently. Was it truly over for Natsu…?
Silence filled the air while the smoke cloud as lingering. A clear decision could not be made while Natsu's status was unknown. A powerful trembling soon took over, and a large tower of fire and lightning rose into the sky, along with Natsu's determined roar. "I'm not finished yet…!"
"There we go!" Sting exclaimed with a grin. "Finish it!"
"I can't lose! I won't lose again!" Natsu roared. "I have to be strong..." Because the last time he lost, it cost them Lisanna. He couldn't afford to be that weak ever again. He couldn't lose until he made it to Joker and made him pay for what he did.
"How strong can you get!?" Leon responded with a widening grin. Natsu's growing strength only bolstered his own excitement. He wanted to see how far they could go like this!
"I won't let them down again…!" Natsu exclaimed while running forward towards Leon, who met him halfway. Once again, the two entered a close combat struggle, shockwaves exploding every time their attacks hit, loud grunts emitting whenever a hit landed. Everyone was on the edge of their seat as it seemed as though it was anyone's fight. Natsu was now more or less adapted to Leon's movements, which aided him greatly in the tail end of this fight. Natsu ducked Leon's incoming punch, then took the opposing dragon slayer off guard as he brought his head up, slamming it into Leon's shin, causing Leon to stagger back, dizzy from the hit. "It's time to finish this…!" Natsu formed two spheres in his hands, fire and lightning of course. He then spun his body around in a clockwise motion while rushing towards Leon. "Secret Art! Crimson Lotus: Exploding Lightning Blade!" Natsu unleashed a powerful force of flames and lightning, consuming Leon within it. The force created a tremendous repulsive force that pushed Leon away as well. Leon let out a scream of pain as the attack consumed him whole. When it finally died down, Leon was on the ground, out of his Dragon Force and out of Poison Acid mode, but he was fading in and out of consciousness, constantly mumbling.
"I can't…fail them…" Leon tried his best to move, but his body wouldn't allow him. His tenacity was incredible, and kept him from falling unconscious. But despite his efforts he couldn't move. "..You win…"
Natsu took heavy breaths, waiting until he was clear he won to power down, falling onto his stomach, giving a weak smile; the poison and acid finally got to him at the very end. "W-We…really need to fight again sometime, Leon…"
(With Leon's defeat…that means Fairy Tail is the winner of the tournament!) Ola exclaimed throughout the minds of everyone. Fairy Tail immediately erupted in loud cheers.
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"Man…that was intense…" Jack stood up, requipping into his Corvus Armor. "But…now that that's over, we're done here, right?"
"That's right…" Tia gave a slight nod before standing up herself. "A large amount of data has been collected…King will be very pleased with this…"
"Impressive work by Dragneel…" Hyde gave a simple nod, looking over to Knightwalker who he caught hypocritically entranced in the match. "Not interested, huh?"
"I wasn't watching…" Knightwalker immediately replied. "Are we done here? Can we go?"
"Yes, yes…we're going…I need to make the final preparations anyway."
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"That was too close…" The female replied while taking a deep, relieved breath. She accidentally removed her hood while doing so. "Whoops..!" Lisanna Strauss, sill alive and well, scrambled to put her hood back on.
"That was excellent…" The male replied while purposely throwing off his robe. He had short blue hair that reached down to his neck, a blue vest covered by a white jacket, black pants and white boots, followed with gray cloves and blue eyes of his own. "I think they're ready."
"W-What?! You're going to go after them now?!" Lisanna gasped.
"Relax…I'll let them recover before doing anything…They passed the second test." The male replied before turning around. "Now, I have to see for myself if they're truly ready to take on Dealer…"
"Ace…don't do anything to rash on them…" All Lisanna could do was shake her head...
"Don't worry…" Ace waved a dismissive hand. "I won't do anything too far. Now Fairy Tail…White Eclipse…Are you ready to face Black Ace…?"
