Are You Going to Fight Both of Us?

Having dealt with the pawns inside the tower, Jiang Bai and Erza began walking side by side toward the top.

Strangely, they encountered no further obstacles along the way.

The only sound in the empty corridor was the sound of their footsteps, as if all the members of the Dark Magic Cult had been drawn to Natsu and Gray.

Just as the two were about to step onto the stairs leading to the next floor, a woman dressed in a plain-colored kimono with a graceful figure appeared silently in front of them, like a ghost.

"This young lady has been waiting here for quite some time."

One of the Trinity Raven, the Ikaruga, held a katana and bowed slightly. Although his tone was respectful, his narrow eyes gleamed with an extremely dangerous light.

"Oh?"

Jiang Bai raised an eyebrow, a playful smile curving his lips.

"Do you want to take on two opponents?"

"No."

Ikaruga shook her head, her gaze passing over Jiang Bai and landing directly on Erza.

"This humble woman knows she is no match for Lord 'Infinity',"

She said slowly,

"Therefore, this humble woman only wishes to spar with the 'Titania' in swordsmanship."

"Lord Jellal said that Lord 'Infinity's' opponent is him."

"Ha! He really thinks he's something special."

Jiang Bai let out a disdainful sneer.

He had lost patience with these guys and was tired of playing this boring game of level-by-level challenges.

All he wanted to do now was to instantly kill this annoying woman in front of him, then rush to the top of the tower, grab Jellal by the collar, and demand to know where the innocent people who were being held captive were.

Just as Jiang Bai began to unleash a massive surge of magical power, a soft hand gently pressed down on his arm.

"Jiang Bai, you go first."

Erza's voice was calm and firm, her gaze fixed on the opposite Ikaruga, her eyes burning with an unprecedented fighting spirit.

"I feel that fighting her will allow my swordsmanship to improve to a new level."

Jiang Bai glanced at Erza's serious profile, then at the equally battle-ready woman in a kimono opposite him, and finally withdrew his magic.

"Alright, then be careful."

After saying that, Jiang Bai ignored the tense atmosphere between the two and strode towards the passage behind Ikaruga.

He walked slowly, his back to the Ikaruga, completely unguarded and utterly unconcerned about whether the other party might attack him from behind.

Jiang Bai even harbored a tiny sliver of expectation.

If she dares to make a single move, I can easily take care of her too.

Unfortunately, until Jiang Bai's figure completely disappeared around the corner of the passage, Ikaruga just stood there quietly, his hand gripping the hilt of his knife tighter and tighter, but he never made a move.

When Jiang Bai's aura completely disappeared, only two women, both proud of their swords, remained in this space.

Now, it's just the two of us left.

The Ikaruga slowly drew its katana from its sheath; the sharp blade reflected a chilling glint in the dim light.

"Let me show you your power, Titania!"

"Requip!"

Erza a low shout, but what appeared on her body was not any magnificent magical armor.

Instead, he was dressed in an ordinary training outfit: a white bandage-covered top, red flame-patterned trousers, and bandages wrapped around his feet.

She discarded all the magical armor that could provide additional bonuses, and simply swapped her weapons for two ordinary katanas.

Unlike the original story, Erza doesn't have any inner conflicts that require her to use armor to disguise or protect herself.

Faced with this pure swordsman, Erza chose to respond to his challenge with the purest swordsmanship.

The Ikaruga's pupils contracted sharply, then its face revealed anger at being slighted. "Titania, what do you mean by this? Are you looking down on me?"

"No,"

Erza shook her head, crossing her twin swords in front of her chest.

"To deal with a swordsman, using a sword is the greatest respect."

Before the words were even finished, the two figures vanished from their spot!

"Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!"

A series of rapid metallic clanging sounds erupted in the corridor, sparks flying, so fast that they were almost invisible to the naked eye.

Ikaruga's Moonless Style swordsmanship is unpredictable and its blades can even cleave through space, unleashing invisible strikes.

However, Erza's twin swords acted like the strongest bulwark, precisely blocking every attack.

Her swordsmanship was expansive and powerful, full of beauty and grace, with no superfluous movements; every strike was aimed directly at a vital point.

"Moonless Style: Yaksha Flash!"

With a sharp Ikaruga, the sword light transformed into a sky full of stars, slashing towards Erza from all directions.

Erza advanced instead of retreating, her twin swords swirling into a silver whirlwind, shredding all the incoming blades!

"How is this possible... my strike..."

The Ikaruga's face was full of disbelief.

Erza shattered the sword net and appeared directly in front of Ikaruga.

He raised his right sword high and brought it down with a dull whistling sound.

The Ikaruga could only hold its katana horizontally above its head and take the hit head-on.

A loud bang.

The Ikaruga felt an excruciating pain, as if the webs between its thumb and forefinger were being split open, and its hands trembled uncontrollably.

The katana emitted a painful hum.

The Ikaruga, and it knelt down on one knee.

Erza's left-handed knife followed closely behind, slicing horizontally towards Ikaruga's neck.

The Ikaruga then rolled to its side.

The katana grazed past the Ikaruga's hair.

Ikaruga straightened up, gripped her katana tightly, and stared at Erza aura remained unchanged.

The Ikaruga decided to hold back no longer and unleash its final, deadly attack.

The Ikaruga lowered its center of gravity, and the blade traced a semicircle in mid-air.

"Moonless Style - Garuda Flame."

Blazing flames appeared out of thin air and adhered to the invisible slash.

A massive firestorm swept through the entire passage.

This slashing attack possesses both cutting and high-temperature destructive power.

Erza still hasn't changed her fireproof armor.

Erza her twin swords at her waist.

With legs slightly bent, all muscles in the body were taut to the extreme.

Erza charged straight into the firestorm.

Both swords were drawn simultaneously.

There were no magical lights or shadows, just a final strike that gathered all the power of the body.

The sword wind materialized, forcefully splitting the oncoming firestorm in two.

Erza burst out of the fiery tunnel.

With lightning speed, the right-hand knife struck the Ikaruga's chest.

The Ikaruga desperately raised its katana to defend itself.

The two blades collided.

"Clang!"

A crisp sound.

The famous sword in the Ikaruga's hand snapped in two with a single blow.

Erza's knife tip stopped steadily half an inch in front of the Ikaruga's throat.

The outcome is decided.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the tower, the battle between Gray and Owl had entered a fierce stage.

After successfully absorbing Natsu, Owl's power increased terrifyingly.

His jets spewed fierce flames as he nimbly flew through the air, his Owl face beaming with smugness.

He opened his mouth wide, and streams of scorching flames, like the Fire Dragon's Roar, relentlessly bombarded Gray on the ground.

"Coo coo! How was it? My flames were pretty powerful, weren't they!"

The ground was scorched black, Gray dodged awkwardly, using Ice-Make Magic to create Ice Shields to defend himself.

"Does this even deserve to be called fire?"

Gray wiped the sweat from his face and retorted without holding back.

"It's nowhere near as good as that idiot's flames!"

That's what he said, but Gray knew very well that the situation was not optimistic.

The owl remained in the air, maintaining absolute air superiority. On the ground, I had very limited attack options and it was difficult to inflict effective damage on it.

If this continues, we'll just be worn down and die.

We have to find a way to bring him down from the sky!

Just then, the owl unleashed another burst of flame.

Gray stumbled, seemingly exhausted and unable to dodge in time. He was swept by the aftershocks of the flames, let out a muffled groan, and knelt on the ground.

"Coo coo! An opportunity has been found!"

A glint of greed flashed in Xiao's eyes as he witnessed this.

In his view, Gray had reached his limit.

If I could devour this powerful ice mage as well, my strength would definitely rise to another level!

With that thought, Owl no longer hesitated. He extinguished the flames, adjusted the angle of the thrusters, and like a cannonball, with its gaping maw, it descended from the sky, heading straight for Gray on the ground!

Closer! Closer still!

Just as Owl was about to swallow Gray whole, Gray, who had been kneeling on the ground and looking weak, suddenly shot out a sharp light from his eyes!

Now!

Instead of dodging, Gray went to meet it head-on, letting the immense darkness engulf him.

In the instant he was swallowed, he even heard Happy's desperate cries on his shoulder.

"Success! Cluck cluck!"

The owl landed steadily on the ground and patted its swollen belly with satisfaction.

The feeling of swallowing two powerful mages at once is simply wonderful!

However, he didn't even have three seconds to be happy.

An extreme chill suddenly erupted from his abdomen!

"Ugh... Ahh!!"

The owl let out a scream of extreme pain as his body began to freeze at a visible speed, a thick layer of frost spreading from the inside out.

"Snap! Snap!"

With a teeth-grinding cracking sound, countless incredibly sharp ice spikes burst forth from his body like bamboo shoots after a spring rain!

"Bang!"

The owl's massive body finally couldn't withstand the destructive force from within and exploded!

Amidst the swirling ice shards, Gray's figure reappeared.

In his arms, he was still holding the cherry-haired boy who had been unconscious but had finally been safely rescued.