Riyao vs. Natsu

Natsu saw the Riyao descend, grinned, and without thinking twice, he pushed off with his foot and charged straight at it.

This time, Natsu truly went all out.

Blue and orange flames intertwined and burned on his fists, much stronger than when he fought Lucy earlier.

The flames left two long trails in the air, and the sand on the ground crackled and popped from the intense heat.

Gildarts stood in the stands with his arms crossed, raising an eyebrow.

"Not bad, Natsu is growing quite fast."

He squinted and carefully observed the flames on Natsu's body.

Riyao stood still, facing the approaching fiery fist; the scorching heat made his hair curl slightly.

He squinted, but his expression remained completely calm.

"Alright, then I'll try out this new move."

He took a deep breath, and magic flowed through his body.

[Life Mimicry - Azure Dragon Form]

A dark green light exploded from Riyao's body, and magic spread outward like a tide.

His figure changed in the light.

After activating the Second Origin, the Azure Dragon Form is slightly different from before.

The dragon's horns were longer and more upright than before, and the arc extending from its forehead was sharper.

The dragon scales changed from a deep blue to a texture like black jade, gleaming with a warm luster in the sunlight.

The dragon's tail also grew longer, and the tip of the tail swayed gently on the ground, sweeping out a shallow groove.

Riyao dodged to the side, and Natsu's fiery fist grazed past his chest.

The force of his punch lifted his long, dark green hair, a few strands fluttering in the heat of the flames.

In the audience, Mirajane's eyes lit up.

"Great, the Azure Dragon Form looks even better now, and you didn't even tell me."

She leaned forward, her hands on the railing, her eyes full of admiration.

Erza, standing nearby, squinted and scrutinized the woman for a long time.

"Has anything changed? I can't see any difference."

"The horns have grown longer, the scales have changed color, and the dragon's tail has grown longer."

"... You have a very keen eye."

Mirajane didn't answer, but the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

On the field, Riyao's knee slammed into Natsu's abdomen.

Natsu reacted extremely quickly, twisting his waist and raising his leg to block the attack with the outside of his shin.

The dull thud of knees hitting calves echoed across the training field.

"Hey, look behind you."

Riyao's lips curled into a smile.

"Hehe."

Natsu didn't even turn around, he jumped back and barely dodged the dragon tail that Riyao swung from behind.

The sound of the wind from the dragon's tail was sharp and piercing. If you were hit, it was hard to say whether your bones would break, but you would definitely be sent flying.

"Wow, you've grown up."

Riyao looked at Natsu, his tone carrying a hint of approval.

The spectators on the sidelines were speechless.

Who would fall for such a naive trick?

Well, Natsu has fallen for this trick many times before, but today he's finally learned his lesson.

Riyao didn't care, and raised his right hand, spreading his five fingers.

The temperature on the field suddenly dropped.

A chill ran down the spine of the audience.

Despite the bright sunshine, snowflakes began to fall from the sky above the training field.

White snowflakes fell onto the field, onto the stands, onto Natsu's flames, making a soft hissing sound.

Gildarts reached out and caught a snowflake, watching it melt in his palm.

"What new tricks is Riyao up to this time?"

As soon as the words were spoken, ice crystals began to condense in the air.

The ice crystals rapidly elongated and took shape, transforming in the blink of an eye into dozens of ice swords that hovered above Riyao's head, their tips all pointing at Natsu.

Riyao grinned and flicked his finger forward.

Dozens of ice swords shot out simultaneously, a rain of swords sweeping towards Natsu.

Natsu's pupils contracted, and he darted and jumped around the training field like a cat being chased.

Ice swords pierced his back one by one, leaving patches of white ice marks on the ground.

"Damn it! Stop using only ranged attacks!"

Natsu dodged and shouted, his voice filled with frustration.

Where the ice sword fell, the ground quickly froze into a smooth ice surface.

Riyao slipped and glided towards Natsu like an ice skater, casually grabbing an ice sword from the air and using it as a cleaver, completely lacking any skill.

Swords rained down from the sky, while the Riyao on the ground as it relentlessly attacked Natsu.

Natsu was chased all over the field and couldn't find a chance to fight back.

Every time he managed to get a foothold and prepare to counterattack, Riyao's ice sword would arrive, forcing him to continue dodging.

"Ugh!! So annoying!!"

Natsu finally couldn't take it anymore.

Flames erupted from his body, spreading outwards from him and engulfing the entire training ground in an instant.

Several members who hadn't gone up to the audience quickly backed away, their shoes almost melting from the heat.

"Natsu, watch out! You almost burned us!"

As the flames subsided, Natsu stood there, small dragon scales appearing on his face.

Scales covered his cheekbones and chin, gleaming with a metallic sheen in the flames.

His eyes changed too; his pupils shrank to a vertical line.

Riyao saw this, the corner of his mouth twitched.

Well, this kid has made himself angry.

What kind of talent is this?

The ice began to melt under Natsu's continuous flames, turning into water, which was then evaporated into white steam.

The entire training ground was shrouded in fog, and visibility dropped sharply.

Natsu, enveloped in flames, transformed into a phantom of a Fire Dragon.

Flames coalesced on his body into the outline of a dragon—dragon head, claws, and wings. Though it was only a phantom, the oppressive aura was overwhelming.

The phantom of the Fire Dragon crashed into the Riyao, moving as fast as a burning meteor.

Riyao pushed off with his feet, riding the wind, and his whole body floated lightly into the air.

The phantom of the Fire Dragon missed its target and exploded in a ring of flames on the ground.

Natsu looked up from the flames at the Riyao in mid-air and roared in anger.

"Damn you, Riyao!! Don't fly!!"

"You can fly too, it's not like I won't let you fly."

Riyao shrugged, looking innocent.

[Fire Dragon's Roar]

Natsu opened his mouth and spewed out a huge torrent of fire, which shot straight into the sky.

Riyao lightly shifted half a meter to the side, the flames grazing his clothes without even touching him.

The air temperature dropped again.

The ice swords reformed in the air, more numerous and denser than before.

Riyao slashed his finger downwards, and the rain of swords poured down once more.

"Sword, come!"

Flying on a sword is the coolest thing ever!

Natsu dodged most of the ice swords, with only a few grazing his arm and shoulder, leaving shallow bloody marks.

But the ice sword that landed didn't remain idle.

After the ice sword pierced the ground, it underwent a second transformation: the blade melted and stretched, turning into chains of ice that wrapped around Natsu from all directions.

The chains moved silently, slithering along the ground like snakes.

Wow! What is this?!

Natsu looked down and saw that his ankle was already bound by ice chains.

Just as he was about to break free, his arms were entangled, then his waist, and then his chest.

The ice chains tightened, binding him up like a dumpling.

Gray's eyes lit up as he watched from the audience.

Ur nodded, a slight smile appearing on his lips.

"Gray, you saw that? That's advanced usage. You should learn it properly."

Natsu gritted his teeth, and the flames on his body exploded again.

The ice chains began to melt under the high temperature, but before they could completely break, new ice chains wrapped around them.

Riyao hangs in mid-air, arms crossed over its chest.

"I'm tired of it."

Riyao snapped his fingers.

A tornado swept up in the center of the training field.

The wind howled, and the icy chains and unmelted shards of ice swords on the ground were all swept up by the tornado.

The ice crystals spun rapidly in the wind, emitting a piercing sound as they cut through the air.

Natsu was thrown into the air by the tornado, his body tumbling uncontrollably through the air.

Driven by the tornado, shards of ice sword flew like countless knives, slicing through his body from all directions.

The shattered ice sword was swept into the air by the tornado and reformed.

All the ice crystal fragments came together and quickly took shape, transforming into a giant ice sword.

The ice sword hovered directly above the tornado, its tip aimed at Natsu, who was tumbling in the wind, and its blade blocked out most of the sunlight from the training ground.

The spectators on the sidelines all stared wide-eyed.

Erza touched her chin, her brows furrowing slightly.

"Has Riyao gone too far?"

Mirajane shrugged, her tone relaxed.

"Riyao knows its limits... right?"

Natsu was disoriented by the tornado, but when he saw the giant sword above his head, his pupils contracted sharply.

He took a deep breath, stopped struggling, and instead used the tornado's rotation for leverage.

His arms swung in the whirlwind, and blue and orange flames gathered between his palms. The two flames intertwined and spun, forming a huge vortex of fire.

[Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Azure Lotus Blazing Blade]

A burst of exploding, spinning flames erupted, hurtling towards the massive ice sword above.

Boom!!

The flames and the ice sword collided, producing a deafening explosion.

Ice crystals scattered and danced in the air, and sunlight pierced through the shattered ice, refracting a magnificent rainbow in the sky above the training field.

A rainbow stretched across half the training field, and the ice shards sparkled in the sunlight, like a meteor shower in broad daylight.

The shockwave from the explosion shattered the tornado, Natsu fell from the sky, leaving two deep footprints as he landed.

His flames still burned, his fighting spirit had not yet subsided.

"Again!!"

Natsu raised his head, about to rush towards the Riyao in mid-air.

Riyao's figure appeared in front of him in an instant, moving with the speed of teleportation.

He clenched his right fist and gently tapped Natsu's head with it.

Thump.

The sound wasn't loud, but Natsu seemed to have lost all power, collapsing straight down and falling into a sweet sleep.

Riyao withdrew his fist, clapped his hands, and gave an OK sign to the audience.

The guild members all wore calm expressions that said, "I knew it would end up like this."

Mirajane released the railing and let out a long breath.

Erza shook her head, but a smile played on her lips.

Gildarts laughed heartily, slapping his thigh.

Levy peeked out through the gaps in her fingers covering her eyes.

Lucy lay on the ground, struggling to raise one hand, and Riyao gave her a thumbs up.

Riyao bent down, picked up Natsu who was snoring, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and headed towards the infirmary.