Chapter 209

Battle in the Finals

I was now standing inside the hallway leading to the arena bracing myself for the coming fight again. I was raring to go and eager to beat Bacchus. Yet, at the same time, despite these feelings, especially considering my recent history and past interaction with him, I also couldn't afford to get too confident or emotional after witnessing his strength firsthand.

"Keep your eyes on the prize, Willy. Once you get through this match, you'll only have one more to go. This match will be my chance to see how I stack up to an S Class wizard after my training."

I then recalled day two of the games when Elfman fought Bacchus and when he came to the bar. I can still remember what Bacchus previously said as I stared at my palm before clenching it into a fist.

"And for that matter, it's time for me to get some good old-fashioned payback."

With those thoughts in mind, I marched towards the opening and into the arena. The crowd began cheering wildly as I made my way to the center.

"Whoa, nelly! Even though it's the last match of the day, the crowd is still pumped and ready for more!" I heard Chapati speak. "And if you think that's awesome, we've got something else for you ladies and gents! Along with Lahar, we've got another special guest joining us! Please welcome your current Crocus Fighter's Champion, Orga Nanagear!"

At that, I couldn't help but glance at the crowd, and my eyes eventually found the commentator's box. Sure enough, not only did I see Chapati, Yajima, and Lahar, but I also saw Orga, too.

"It's an honor to have you here, champ," said Chapati. "Thank you for joining us."

"Feeling's mutual," I heard Orga reply.

"So, champ, tell us. Down in the arena are two powerful mages, but whoever wins will be your challenger for your championship," said Chapati. "Do you have any favorites?"

"In my opinion, I wouldn't care less who my opponent will be," said Orga. "But if I were a betting man, and I am, I'd put my money on the guy from Quatro Puppy. At least he's an opponent worth fighting."

"I don't know about that," commented Yajima. "Fairy Tai's been on a roll today with the last few matches, so my money's on Willy."

"With all due respect, Mr. Yajima, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with Orga," said Lahar. "Especially when you consider Willy's opponent. If you recall, in his last match, Bacchus lost only because his previous opponent outlasted his stamina with his own. Not to mention, Bacchus is an S-class wizard, so while he may have gotten lucky thus far, I'm afraid this is where Willy's luck runs out. He doesn't have a chance of beating him."

"Oh, great, just when I thought they couldn't get any more annoying."

While ignoring the commentators, I turned my attention forward as I saw Bacchus approaching the center. The guy no longer had bandages on his arms and looked as healthy as a horse. And just like with Elfman's match, he carried that same bottle of alcohol while sauntering with confidence. When the two of us reached the center, Mato quickly approached.

"All righty, you two!" he said. "I want a good clean fight! In addition, the match will continue until one of you gives up or gets knocked out! However, I can stop the match at any time!"

"Man, I've been looking forward to this," Bacchus smirked. "And something's telling me, things are about to get wilder today!"

I cracked my knuckles and did a couple of hops switching from one foot to the other as a warm-up.

Bacchus chuckled. "It looks like you're raring to go, too, kid," he said. "Quick to cut the small talk and get right down to business."

"Sorry, but I make it a habit to stay focused on my objective," I told him as I finished. "And my current is to beat you."

Bacchus leered. "Is that so? Well, I hate to break it to you, kid, but that ain't gonna happen," he said. "Because I'll be winning."

"We'll see," I said.

I then took a stance, and Bacchus did the same as the two of us got ready.

"Oh, boy! It looks like both of our competitors are raring to go!" said Chapati. "After all, this battle will determine who will face Orga for the championship! Will Willy Falconer seize another victory for Fairy Tail, or will Bacchus get some redemption for Quatro Puppy?! What kind of battle will be in store for us?!"

"This battle should be one of the most entertaining yet," commented Yajima. "I'm looking forward to it!"

"Then let's get this show on the road!" said Chapati.

Mato then raised his hand and swung it down with a chop.

"LET THE FINAL ROUND BEGIN!"

The gong sounded, signaling the start of the match, but despite that, I didn't move while keeping my eyes on Bacchus, as did he.

Mato appeared to be confused as he looked back and forth at us. "Um, you guys? You do know that the match has started, right?"

"Oh, man. He is good," I thought. "Despite being a drunkard, Bacchus has no openings in his form. It's perfect, as expected from someone on Erza's level. I can't find anything unguarded."

"Um... what's going on here?" wondered Chapati. "They just seem to be standing there."

"It would appear they're waiting for one of them to make the first move," said Lahar.

"I can feel the tension just by looking at them," commented Yajima. "That's a surefire sign that this match won't be like the others."

Then, after a few more tense seconds of silence, Bacchus suddenly dashed forward with a right palm aimed at my stomach. Reacting quickly, I met him with a punch with my right blocking the incoming attack and countering with a swing of my left.

Bacchus ducked out of the way, and as he did, I quickly swung with a leg sweep, only for Bacchus to jump back while gaining distance. Bacchus charged again while thrusting forward with a palm, and I again met him with a punch. However, Bacchus ducked and, while turning and jabbing with an elbow aimed for my side, but with my other hand, I managed to catch it just before it connected.

The two of us stared at each other as we remained locked together with our hands. Then, I attacked Bacchus with a flurry of punches, elbows, and kicks while blocking any incoming attacks, as Bacchus did the same with his hands.

This continued for a few seconds before we pushed away from each other. Then, Bacchus lunged for me with a palm thrust while I ignited my right fist with water.

"CHOP-HANGING PALM!"

"WATER DRAGON: IRON FIST!"

Both our attacks collided with tremendous force, creating a powerful sonic boom-like shockwave and knocking us backward simultaneously. As I went sailing, I flipped, righting myself in midair, and planted my feet, managing to skid myself to stop. My right hand rang with pain as I shook it a few times to try and work it off.

"Damn. I knew he was strong, but feeling his brute strength firsthand is a different story! And what was just from one attack!"

He shot toward me again with incredible speed, and I instinctively swung with another iron fist to counter, but at the last second, Bacchus rapidly disappeared.

"Behind!"

I moved my head to the side in time for his palm narrowly miss my cheek while catching it with my hands. Then, with a quick heave threw him over my shoulder, sending him flying, and jumped into the air while flipping forward, raising my leg.

"WATER DRAGON TALON!"

As water generated from my leg, I swung my leg in a powerful axe kick straight to the ground while I predicted Bacchus would hit. However, Bacchus stood on his hands and sprung backward, managing to avoid me, as my foot slammed into the ground.

After flipping a few times, I pursued him attempting to catch him off balance with another roundhouse kick. But as soon as he landed on his feet, Bacchus stopped me by the ankle just before it hit him and threw it aside, making me spin in midair.

As I managed to stop myself while landing on the ground, Bacchus attached me again with a flurry of palm strikes. While using my forearms to block them, I could feel the power behind them all which made them ache, but that didn't stop me from attacking as I met him with rapid Iron Fists.

NO POV

Over at the Fairy Tail box...

Everyone watched in stunned silence as Willy and Bacchus traded blows.

"What an incredible collision of fists!" Chapati commentated with excitement. "Both sides seem to be evenly matched in strength and speed!"

"Give me a break," scoffed Orga. "If you think this is impressive, you haven't seen anything yet. Besides, that's nothing when it comes to my power."

"This is crazy! Willy's actually keeping up with that guy?!" Macao spoke in surprise.

"I knew he had three months' worth of training," said Wakaba. "But this guy's supposed to be on Erza's level. So how the heck did the kid get so strong?"

"Not just that, he's not even breathing that hard," added Laki.

"Atta, boy, Willy!" Sieri cheered. "Give 'em the old one-two and knock him out!"

"Yeah! Show everyone what you made off!" Lisanna yelled out.

Lapis and Asuka raised their banner high as they cheered, too. "You can do it, Willy!" the two girls encouraged. "We believe in you!"

Makarov remained silent as he watched the ensuing fight.

Tu Chi also didn't say a word as she kept her eyes on Willy.

WILLY'S POV

The exchange of blows and parries continued until we got into a brawler lock, clasping our hands while pushing against each other, trying to overpower one another.

"Not too shabby, kid," Bacchus acknowledged. "You've lasted a lot longer than Elfman ever did. That proves you're a cut above the rest!"

"You ain't no slouch yourself!" I grunted. "But you and I both know this isn't all you got. So, how about we quit with the warm-up and start putting in a bit more effort?"

I then leaned backward and used the momentum and leverage to throw him away while springing back to my feet and turning around.

Bacchus couldn't help but chuckle. "All right then, you want ta get to the real fight, don'tcha? Then how's about we take things up a notch?"

He then grabbed his bottle, uncorking it and lifting the opening to his lips. But that was the moment I was waiting for. I quickly dashed forward while jumping into the air, straightened my hand into a blade while enveloping it with water, and promptly slashed, shooting past my opponent before landing in a crouch.

At first, there was silence. But as I turned around, Bacchus's bottle split in half, spilling its contents all over the ground and on its owner.

"Hey! That's not wild!" exclaimed Bacchus indignantly.

"Sorry, Bacchus. While I intend to give you a good fight, don't think for a minute that I'm underestimating you," I said. "Besides, I think I like you better when you're sober."

"What a strategic move by Willy!" Chapati continued speaking. "He's managed to cut off Bacchus's supply of booze, preventing him from getting hammered!"

"That should deter his unpredictable attacks a smidge," said Yajima. "But Willy's still got a long way to go considering that he has yet to land a hit. Then again, the same can be said for Bacchus."

"Please. Even I could have figured that out," scoffed Orga. "I'm surprised the kid hadn't gone for that sooner."

I punched my fists together while slamming my right into the ground.

"WATER DRAGON GEYSER RUSH!"

Several water pillars erupted from the ground gunning toward Bacchus, surrounding him in a circle, and exploding. But amidst the cloud of dust and water, I saw Bacchus emerge from above, appearing unscathed as he shot into the air.

As he started falling to the ground, I braced my feet while taking a deep breath aiming carefully where he would land.

"WATER DRAGON ROAR!"

I released a powerful breath attack from my mouth, but Bacchus had already landed on the ground and jumped out of the way to avoid it. I launched myself into the air using Aqua Jet while releasing streams from my hands.

"WATER DRAGON WING ATTACK!"

I swung my arms, releasing multiple shockwaves of water. Bacchus, while smiling, rapidly moved his body, avoiding them all with ease, not a single one hitting him. He then took a stance, bringing his right palm back.

"Let's see how you handle this, kid! CHOP-HANGING PALM, UNDER MOON!"

He thrust his palm into the open air creating a powerful and fast stream-like shockwave toward me. I quickly punched my fists and then slammed one into the ground.

"WATER DRAGON GEYSER WALL!"

A geyser shot forth from the ground to protect me from the shockwave, but as it struck it, it went straight through it, past the right side of my face, and hit the wall behind me. I froze a few seconds from shock before glancing back to see that the shockwave had left a sizable impression on the wall.

"You're kidding me! He's strong enough to create shockwaves that can travel?!"

Bacchus thrust out his palms a couple more times, and I jumped into the air just as the shockwaves hit and destroyed my Geyser Wall in an explosion of water.

"Didn't think he'd have a long-distance attack. If I keep fighting like this, he'll keep canceling them out with those shockwaves, and I'll never hit him. Which leaves me with only one option despite it being risky."

I then used Aqua Jet to launch myself toward Bacchus as a long tendril of water shot out from my butt while flipping forward.

"WATER DRAGON AQUA TAIL!"

The tendril morphed into the shape of a tail, and I slammed it straight at Bacchus, only for the guy to jump back to avoid it. Then, wanting to keep up the pressure, I shot toward him and attacked with fists, kicks, and whips from my tail. But despite this, Bacchus effortlessly parried and blocked them.

"And Willy goes on the attack again, but he just can't seem to land a hit on Bacchus!" Chapati continued with his commentary. "It's like Bacchus is doing the toying now, even while sober!"

Bacchus then counterattacked with more rapid palm thrusts forcing me to dodge by bending backward and parrying his blows. But as I did while tilting my head sideways, his thumb narrowly scraped the side of my cheek, forcing me to jump back defensively. When I managed to get some distance, I wiped my cheek with my thumb noticing it was stained with blood.

"I knew it wouldn't be easy, but this is insane. His strength and reflexes are on another level," I thought as I wiped it off on my shorts. "But on the plus side, I still have somewhat of an advantage. Since I took care of his bottle, he isn't getting drunk anytime soon, so I won't have to worry about his unpredictability. Plus, despite how he looks now, he should still have some damage from his match with Elfman. All I need to do is land one good hit."

I then spread my legs apart while punching them together.

"WATER DRAGON CLONES!"

While throwing my arms at their sides, numerous clones of me appeared in multiple bursts of water, numerous enough to make a small army.

"This'll take a lot of magic, but not even Bacchus shouldn't be able to avoid what I got in store for him!"

"So, you're trying out your little clone trick on me, eh?" Bacchus rumbled as he stanced up again. "Well, bring it on! I want my soul to be shaken and stirred!"

The clones and I charged simultaneously, attempting to dogpile him with attacks. Bacchus easily parried and blocked whichever came close enough and destroyed them upon impact, two or three at a time. However, I hid amongst them while dashing around to keep him confused.

"So, now he's using clones to hide?" I heard Orga scoff. "How lame."

"I'll admit it is an effective strategy," said Lahar. "Any normal person can't possibly tell which one is real, but for someone like Bacchus..."

Then, I saw Bacchus shoot in my direction, and before I could react, he was in front of me and swinging a palm, forcing me to cross my arms just in time to block it. However, the power alone sent me skidding back a few feet, even though I stayed standing. My forearms ached even more as they trembled from the recent impact.

Like a predator with its wounded prey, Bacchus pounced, preparing to continue his assault on me, only for a few of my clones to jump in, cut him off, and glomp onto him. Bacchus tried to shake them off, but more clones dogpiled onto him, doing their best to prevent him from moving.

"Now! While he's wide open!"

I clenched my right fist and began focusing my magic, my entire body exploding with a blue aura made of water.

"DRAGON SLAYER SECRET ART! AQUA LOTUS: SHARK SURGE FIST!"

I launched forward with increased speed and strength, the water taking the shape of a shark around me, and I slammed my fist directly into my target, creating a large and powerful explosion.

As I stopped a few feet away, I looked back at the cloud of dirt and dust as water came raining down, panting from slight exhaustion.

"That took a lot out of me, but that had to have done something. Even Bacchus couldn't have dodged that."

"What an overwhelming attack! Willy seizes an opportunity and unleashes a powerful assault!" Chapati cried. "But was that enough to put down his opponent?!"

I stared at where Bacchus was, trying to see any sign of him. But then, a sudden gust of wind split the dust and water apart as something shot by me. The hairs on my neck stood up, sensing someone standing behind me. As I stood there frozen and processing, I heard a cackle and a hiccup, followed by a voice saying two words.

"Got ya."

When I heard those words, a salvo of hits assaulted my body from seemingly all over, each one heavily knocking the wind out of me. While stunned, disoriented, and unable to breathe, I felt one more powerful strike right on the stomach that sent me flying across the arena before my vision went black.

Thank you very much for reading!

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Until then, I hope to see you in the next chapter!

Dragomaster, signing off!