Juvia Lockser vs Jaxon Metero; the 10th round of this Fairy Tail vs White Eclipse clash. The two wizards stood across from one another in the arena with all eyes on them. Cana leaned in towards Gray, whispering. "Hey, Gray. You fought this guy before, right? Is he dangerous? White Eclipse is looking like he's the greatest thing since alcohol."
"Yeah, I did." Gray nodded. "I think he's some kind of elemental wizard? All I know is that he tried to use a bunch of heat magic to try and melt my ice. But imagine his surprise when it didn't work." He added with a smirk. "Juvia can handle this guy. She just needs to be careful."
"You can do it, Juvia-san!" Wendy cheered.
"Juvia will not lose in front of Gray-sama!" Juvia said aloud, mostly for Gray to hear. And Fairy Tail, of course. She didn't want to fall short when her guild was counting on her.
"This won't last long." Reve said confidently. "After all, it's Jaxon. This is probably the worst matchup they could've gotten. Well, aside from whenever I get to step into the ring."
"Sometimes I wonder where you find that confidence of yours." Taya said with a bemused smile.
"..." Heather was still grumpy about her fight with Lucy. That fight was far closer than it should've been. Thanks to Aira, a majority of her injuries were healed but she still felt sore and bitter.
"Alright..." Jaxon said while looking to Juvia. "You know the White Eclipse tradition by now, don't you? So it's customary that the weaker mage is allowed the first move."
"So you want Juvia to make the first move?" Juvia nearly rolled her eyes at that tradition. But if that's what Jaxon wanted, she would ensure he regretted this decision.
"No..." Jaxon shook his head. "I'll go first." Those words shocked everyone. Any time this tradition came up, it was always White Eclipse forcing the other side to make the first move, or the opposition mocking them into it. Jaxon was the first person to willingly go first. "I don't have any wins against Fairy Tail. So I can't say I'm stronger than any of you yet. That being said, I have no intention of losing in front of my guild today." As Jaxon said this, a light red magic seal appeared briefly atop the arena. Nothing happened immediately, and it vanished just as quickly. "There."
Juvia didn't notice anything at first, but she shook it off. She thought she was being mocked. "Juvia will make sure she does not lose to you!" She whipped her arm back before swinging it forward, sending numerous crescent blades of water towards Jaxon to slice through him. "Water Slicer!"
Lightning appeared around Jaxon's feet and he began to run forward at blurring speeds. "Sparking Sprint!" By focusing lightning magic at his feet, he was able to increase his speed. He ducked and weaved through the Water Slicer, but several of the blades did graze his body, slicing at his torso and his arms. He was able to close the distance between himself and Juvia within seconds, spinning around while aiming his leg out. "Static Kick!" He aimed a lightning infused kick at Juvia's chest, but just before contact was made, his kick fazed right through her due to her Water Body. She prepared for this to avoid the physical and lightning, meaning Jaxon kicked nothing but air. "Wha...!?"
Juvia took advantage of this opening and drew her arm back. "Water Punch!" She socked Jaxon right across the cheek with a powerful punch of water, causing him to tumble across the ground.
"I thought you said he used Heat magic only!" Cana turned to Gray.
"That's all he used against me!" Gray shouted defensively. That was an unpleasant surprise, but Juvia was able to handle it just fine. "But she's still fine!"
"You can do it, Juvia!" Lisanna cheered. But she did feel herself starting to sweat a little bit.
"Whew...did it get a little hotter...?" Mira was fanning herself.
Jaxon caught himself with a flip, sliding to a halt in a crouched position with a bruise on his cheek. He rubbed his cheek to feel it. "Not bad...you're pretty strong. So I really can't afford to make a fool of myself here."
"Stop playing around, Jaxon!" Cygnus shouted from the stands. "You can end this in minutes."
"Seconds." Reve said.
"Are you underestimating Juvia?!" Juvia snarled at White Eclipse.
"No...I'm just making sure you're the kind of opponent I can take out." Jaxon said while standing up. "I bet Gray is surprised at what I'm doing right now. I went into our fight thinking I could beat him with heat magic. I didn't give it my all...which wasn't fair to either of us. So I'm going to rectify that mistake by showing you all what I can really do." Jaxon pointed his hand forward, that red magic seal from before appearing in the sky once again. "Heat Magnifier!" An intense wave of heat washed down onto the arena. It was focused specifically on Juvia, but all of this heat could still be felt throughout the Domus Flau.
"What the...!?" Sting started sweating profusely.
"What is this...?" Rogue said while panting softly.
"It's so hot..." Cana was wiping the sweat from her brow.
"Ngh...Juvia, are you okay?" Makarov asked.
Juvia was sweating pretty hard. All of this heat focused on her was already making her body boil and she was feeling physically unwell to boot. "Juvia is...fine..." She lied through her teeth, glaring at Jaxon as he stood before her. "How are you...doing this?"
"He's manipulating the weather itself?" Levy asked.
"That's correct." Calium said with a slow nod. "Jaxon Metero is our very own Weather Mage. Fighting a man like this when you have a single elemental affinity...it surely won't be easy. If only he had a bit more confidence in himself at times." When he said this, Jaxon turned his nose at the remark. He didn't appreciate being called out like this.
"The best way to deal with a water user like yourself, is to turn up the heat. This works on most people. Those without a heat or fire resistance will no doubt feel sluggish, slow, and dehydrated. It must be especially difficult when your body is so finely tuned to water." Jaxon said while placing his hand on the ground. "Eruption!" A rust magic circle appeared under Juvia, causing the ground to tremble and quake. Juvia already had a hard time moving due to the heat stroke she was experiencing so she had no time to evade the incoming volcanic explosion that erupted under her. Lava spewed from the ground, scorching Juvia while throwing her skyward.
"KYAAAAAAAH!" Juvia screamed out, feeling the intense heat burn into her body. Her water body only made things worse, covering her in burn marks as she hit the ground
"Juvia!" Fairy Tail grew increasingly concerned as the battle started to shift in Jaxon's favor.
Juvia slowly stood up, panting heavily for multiple reasons. But she wasn't giving up yet! "Juvia...willl not...give in that easily!" She held her hands forward, releasing a gigantic beam of water to cut across the arena and strike Jaxon. "Water Beam!" The water Beam only made it about halfway across the arena before the heat caused it to fizzle out. The temperature was so intense, the part that did hit Jaxon only managed to refresh him a little. "...!"
Jaxon pointed directly at Juvia, a yellow magic circle appearing in front of him. "Single Strike!" A bolt of lightning shot from the seal and struck Juvia with a small explosion, zapping the exhausted Water Magic to the point where she fell to her knees, just trying to get her bearings straight.
"No way...!" Romeo gasped. "It's so hot, she can't even attack...! That's not fair!"
"Not fair?" Reve laughed. "I told you, didn't I? This is a bad matchup."
"She's gonna pass out from heat exhaustion at this rate..." Gajeel grunted. Everyone could feel this sweltering heat and it wasn't even focused on them. But Juvia was getting the brunt of it...
Juvia clenched her hand into a fist, shakily making her way to her feet. She was wobbling a little bit, but she stood tall despite it all. Water swirled around her lower body and formed a cyclone, which she used to carry her forward. Whatever the case, she wasn't giving up yet! She still had the power of Second Origin at her side, and with it released, an explosion of water occurred around her. The volume was so great, it wasn't impeded by the heat. "Water Jigsaw!" She rushed towards Jaxon, putting her all into this attack.
"Here she comes!" Waiston exclaimed.
Jaxon knew what he had to do. "Sun Multiplier!" A red magic circle appeared and multiple orbs filled the battlefield. They were so bright, so hot, they were truly comparable to the sun itself. They were all focused near Juvia, which drastically increased the temperature of the already boiling battlefield. The suns were so bright and nearby, Juvia had to cover her eyes, losing all the focus she had. It was so hot, her water evaporated and she fell to the ground with widened eyes, unable to focus on anything but staying conscious. "I won't drag this out!" Jaxon moved forward once again, lightning surrounding his fist.
"Juvia, move!" Gray shouted, knowing damn well she just couldn't in this situation.
"THUNDER PUNCH!" Jaxon swung for Juvia's torso for a direct hit. The BOOM of a thunderclap echoed throughout the arena as Juvia was sent flying, landing on her back harshly. That was the finishing blow and she was unconscious.
"...Juvia Lockser is unable to continue the battle. Jaxon Metero is the winner." Calium stated. With that victory, Jaxon allowed the weather to return to normal.
"Juvia...!" Gray was the first one to rush to Juvia's side. She was completely out cold.
"...Make sure to get her some water." Jaxon said. Despite the rest of his guild, he wasn't going to be cocky or insufferable about it.
"As we thought." Reve, on the other hand, had no problem with this.
"Nice work, Jaxon." Jack said, drinking to that victory. The score was no longer even between the two guilds...
"I told you, didn't I? I'll make sure the wind of fortune blows our way." Jaxon said with a nod. A win like that was just what he needed to get a decent boost to his confidence.
"Looks like they've got a few more threats hidden under their sleeve after all." Laxus crossed his arms. Admittedly, a wizard who could manipulate the weather at his will was an extremely annoying opponent to face.
"I didn't expect they would have someone so dangerous on their side." Mavis frowned. Had White Eclipse actually made it into the previous Grand Magic Games, she would have a much better idea of what they were capable of. But she was going in blind, and the matches were random, so there was very little preparation that could be done in advanced. Very little.
As Juvia was going to get proper treatment, the wheel spun again to reveal the next match. "Our next battle is...Cana Alberona vs Zalen Castle!" Makarov exclaimed.
"Ah!" Before Mavis' eyes could light up, it was Gildarts who smiled. "CANNNNNNNAAAA!"
"Ugh..." Cana already felt embarrassed about this. "Can it, would you, old man!? Save the cheers until after I win!" If he was going to call her name, she'd rather it after she claimed victory.
"Careful, Cana..." Mira told Cana. "I know you're strong, but that's the younger brother of their Ace..." And she remembered vividly how powerful Sidney was after he fought Natsu. Sidney's strength left an impression, and nobody from Fairy Tail knew how strong Zalen was.
"Don't worry." Cana said while rubbing an arm along her sleeve. Despite the fact she completely missed Natsu vs Sidney due to drinking herself unconscious, she was confident in her ability to win this fight. "I'm not losing this fight."
"We do have one trick up our sleeves as well." Mavis said confidently.
"You're up." Reve told Zalen.
"Yeah..." Zalen adjusted his glasses and gave a nod. He briefly glanced towards Sidney, but the ace just looked ahead, waiting for his chance to fight it seemed. With no response, Zalen let out a sigh as the rest of his guild members cheered him on. The two stood across from each other. Zalen took a deep breath while looking towards Cana. "Alright, you know the tradition by now, don't you?"
"Yeah, yeah." Cana waved her hand dismissively, getting her deck of cards ready. She took one final swing from her flask, before preparing to fight. "Enjoy the lead you guys had. Because I'm about to take it back from you!"