Phantom Lord Duo vs. Erza

Gajeel couldn't wait any longer; he pushed off with his foot and shot forward.

[Iron Dragon Sword]

The other hand deformed as it ran, a flash of metallic luster, the arm transforming into a longsword covered in serrations, the serrations gleaming coldly in the dim light of the cave.

Don't blame me if you get hurt!

He swung his serrated sword down at Erza's head, the blade tearing through the air with a sharp whistling sound.

"Innocent."

Erza spoke in a flat tone, without even lifting her eyelids.

She held the knife in one hand, Edgeless, the blade precisely struck the side of the serrated sword, deflecting its attack.

Gajeel's slash went astray, the blade slid past Erza's side and struck the air.

Immediately afterwards, Erza spun around and kicked, the sound of the wind cutting through the air, landing solidly on Gajeel's chest.

Bang!

Gajeel was sent flying, his back slamming into the stone wall, sending rubble crashing down.

Juvia appeared behind Erza, her feet moving silently, like water seeping from the ground.

With a wave of her hands, two streams of water shot out from her palms, their edges as sharp as blades, slashing at Erza's back from both sides.

"Be careful, Erza."

"I've been underestimated."

As soon as Erza finished speaking, magic swept across her body, and her armor changed into the Sea Empress Armor.

The light blue armor radiated a soft sheen, and the patterns on the armor flowed with a halo like ripples on water.

She cleaved the water with her sword; the moment the blade sliced into the water, water splashed everywhere, blocking most of the attack.

The remaining water flow hit the Sea Empress Armor but left no mark; the splashed water droplets slid down the armor.

Erza followed up with a series of sword swings, the blade flashing as it slashed towards Juvia's body.

Juvia was completely cleaved in two, but there was no blood and no screams.

She shattered into a puddle of water, splashing onto the ground with a splash. The water flowed rapidly across the ground, slid far away, and then reformed into a human shape.

"So it really won't work?"

Erza muttered to herself, tapping her fingers lightly twice on the hilt of her sword.

"..."

Juvia didn't answer, but her expression betrayed her.

When Erza her sword just now, there wasn't a trace of hesitation in her eyes; she truly wanted to shatter herself, not just the water.

That sharpness sent chills down Juvia's spine, even though her body was made of water.

"Hey! Juvia, don't get distracted!"

Gajeel crawled out of the rubble, his hands transforming into two iron rods, which he crossed in front of him to block Erza's follow-up slash.

Each strike was powerful and heavy; the blade struck the iron rod, sparks flying and the impact numbing his arm.

Ta-da!

With three swift slashes, Gajeel's feet plowed two shallow furrows into the ground.

Juvia snapped out of her daze, gritted her teeth, and stretched out her hands, releasing a surge of magic.

Four streams of water shot out from her palms, meandering upwards, wrapping around Erza's limbs, and tightly binding her wrists and ankles.

Gajeel seized the opportunity, sweeping his iron rod horizontally with a whistling sound, striking Erza's side.

Erza strained her arm, her muscles tensing, and forcefully tore apart a stream of water. With a flick of her wrist, she held the Edgeless sword horizontally to her side, blocking the sweeping iron rod.

Clang!

The clanging of metal echoed through the cave.

Using the momentum, she slid backward a few steps, simultaneously turning and cutting off the remaining three streams of water. The water exploded in the air the instant the streams broke apart.

Immediately afterwards, her armor changed again, Thunder Empress Armor covered her entire body, with arcs of electricity crackling and popping on its surface.

She transformed into a bolt of lightning and charged towards Juvia.

The patterns on the Edgeless lit up, with golden lines spreading from the hilt to the tip.

Juvia had no time to react and was stabbed through the skin by Erza.

But she did not back down. Her body exploded instantly, turning into a huge torrent of water that enveloped Erza from all sides, trying to trap her in the water.

The water flow formed a sealed sphere, completely submerging Erza inside.

Erza smiled.

Inside the water sphere, a smile curved her lips.

A lightning bolt pattern lit up on the Edgeless sword, with lightning crackling across its surface.

Sizzle!

Lightning erupted from the blade, and the current traveled along the water, instantly engulfing the entire water sphere.

Juvia was electrocuted, her body convulsing, water splashing out with a whoosh, and she lay sprawled on the ground, wisps of smoke rising from her hair.

"Mama... ma..."

[Iron Dragon Sword]

Gajeel raised his right hand, his arm making a metallic scraping sound as it transformed.

His right hand transformed into a massive iron sword, wider than his body, which he raised high before crashing down.

Erza glanced up, watching the massive iron sword hurtle down on her.

She retreated continuously, her iron sword missing its mark and crashing to the ground, creating a long crack in the earth.

But the iron sword didn't stop. Gajeel twisted his wrist, and the iron sword swept across, carving a furrow in the ground.

Erza thrust the Edgeless into the ground, the blade digging deep into the rock.

The iron sword struck the Edgeless, producing a piercing metallic scraping sound, and was abruptly stopped.

She stepped onto the blade of the iron sword, ran along it, and charged towards Gajeel.

Seeing that he couldn't retract his iron sword in time, Gajeel raised his other hand.

[Iron Dragon Spear - Ghost Firewood]

His left hand transformed into the shape of a spear, its tip gleaming with a cold light.

Immediately afterwards, the spear tip became a blur, unleashing a dense barrage of piercing attacks towards Erza.

Erza her Edgeless, making her even faster.

The blades flashed in a continuous barrage, deflecting the piercing attacks while simultaneously striking Gajeel repeatedly, each collision sending sparks flying.

"Shoot him! Edgeless!"

The Edgeless sword extended rapidly, like a bolt of lightning, its tip precisely striking Gajeel's chest, slamming him against the cave wall with a loud bang, creating a crack in the stone wall.

She then leaped, flipping in mid-air to dodge Juvia's water ball attack from behind.

The water ball flew past her feet, but just before it hit Gajeel, it suddenly scattered and transformed into Juvia.

Juvia landed, shook the water droplets off her hands, and stood next to Gajeel.

Erza looked around and saw that besides the Juvia in front of her, there were five other Juvia who emerged from various corners of the cave and surrounded her.

"Phantom Magic? Or clone magic?"

"This is a water clone created by Juvia's manipulation of water flow."

Six Juvia spoke at the same time, their voices coming from all directions and overlapping.

Then they scattered and attacked simultaneously from different directions.

Juvia is arguably the best on the continent when it comes to manipulating water.

Under her control, the water flow transformed into water arrows, water whips, water swords, water balls, water needles, water rings...

Attacks of all shapes and sizes came from all directions, densely filling the entire cave space.

Erza switched to her Flight Armor, which made her armor lighter and increased her speed significantly.

A tornado pattern lit up on the Edgeless sword, with a whirlwind swirling around it.

She dodged and weaved through Juvia's attacks, her body weaving through the dense barrage of blows. Water arrows grazed her cheeks, water whips swept past her feet, and water swords stabbed at her from behind.

They all dodged it.

Juvia was startled, staring wide-eyed at Erza's actions.

The attack density was like a downpour, coming from all directions, yet I managed to dodge it without even getting a touch on the hem of my clothes.

She gritted her teeth, seized the moment Erza hit the ground, and manipulated the water to wrap around Erza's ankles.

Gajeel!

[Iron Dragon's Roar]

Gajeel's cheeks puffed out, and his entire chest cavity seemed to swell.

He opened his mouth, releasing a whirlwind of silver-gray iron filings. The iron filings spun and rubbed against each other in the air, making a piercing noise, like a metallic storm, and crashed towards Erza.

Erza closed her eyes and calmed herself down.

The surrounding noise seemed to disappear, leaving only the sound of my own breathing.

She gripped the Edgeless handle with her right hand, and stroked the blade with her left, her fingers sliding from the hilt to the tip.

The instant his eyes opened, a sharp glint flashed in his pupils.

Draw your sword.

A flash of light, and the roar was cleaved in two.

With the aid of the Edgeless, a circular blade of light was unleashed, spreading outwards and cleaving the storm of iron filings in two, scattering the iron filings across the ground.

Even with the Iron Dragon protecting him, Gajeel was knocked down by this strike, lying face down on the ground, his Iron Dragon covered in knife marks.

All six Juvia were cleaved in two, and the water exploded in the air.

Then all the water flowed together and coalesced back into Juvia.

She lay on the ground, gasping for breath, all her magic drained from her body.

She raised her hand, which was trembling slightly.

Juvia is out of strength.

Erza sheathed her Edgeless, walked up to the two men, and looked down at them.

"Well played."