The Outcome Is Decided!

Marcus slammed his hands onto the ground!

"The Creation of Sand, The Sand Rebellion!"

With his roar, the ground beneath his feet instantly turned to sand!

Countless grains of sand shot into the sky, as if they had a life of their own, transforming into a surging yellow wave that swept over Natsu relentlessly!

"Good timing!"

Natsu roared and, instead of retreating, charged straight at the sandstorm!

He took a deep breath, his chest heaving high!

"Watch this! Fire Dragon's Roar!!"

Crimson flames, like a destructive torrent, violently spewed from Natsu's mouth!

Boom--!

The crimson torrent of flames collided violently with the surging yellow sand waves!

It wasn't as devastating as I had imagined!

There was no one-sided crushing victory!

Flames and sandstorms clashed, collided, and eroded each other wildly in mid-air!

Final...

Surprisingly, they canceled each other out, turning into ashes that filled the sky!

A tie... an even split?!

The entire guild fell into a deathly silence.

"No... no way?"

"Marcus's Sand Magic... actually blocked Natsu's Roar?"

"Am I seeing things?!"

Even Gray and Erza wore expressions of disbelief and shock.

They knew better than anyone that Natsu had used all his strength in that Roar.

But Marcus actually... blocked it head-on?!

Natsu, the person directly involved, had the most interesting expression on his face at that moment.

He stared blankly at the lingering dust in front of him, his expression shifting from initial astonishment to surprise, and finally to an uncontrollable, ecstatic smile!

"Interesting... very interesting, Marcus!"

He roared excitedly, his fighting spirit completely ignited!

From the other end of the smoke and dust came Marcus's calm and confident voice.

"I told you, Natsu."

"These seven years are not as insignificant as you might imagine!"

Before he finished speaking, Marcus's figure burst out of the dust!

"Sand Creation, Sand Barrier!"

A thick wall of sand rose up from the ground, blocking his way!

"Sand Rebellion!"

The next second, countless sharp sand bullets, compressed from high-density sand, rained down like a storm, piercing through the sand wall and hurtling towards Natsu!

Faced with this sudden and intense attack, Natsu, in his normal state, was momentarily caught off guard and somewhat overwhelmed!

He could only constantly use flamethrowers to change his position, desperately dodging and weaving!

"This guy...!"

As Natsu dodged the sand bullets that rained down like bullets, he felt the occasional scratches on his arm from the sand grains that grazed him, and his shock was beyond words.

Is this still the Marcus he knows?

Whether it's the precision of his magic control or his grasp of timing in battle, he's completely different from how he was seven years ago!

"It's not over yet!"

Marcus's voice, like a death knell, rang out once more!

He clasped his hands together, and the sand bullets that had attacked Natsu instantly coalesced in mid-air, transforming into a giant fist made of quicksand that slammed down on Natsu's head as he dodged!

"Hateful!"

With no way to avoid it, Natsu could only cross his arms in front of his chest and use all his strength to withstand the attack!

"Bang!"

A muffled thud!

Natsu was slammed into the ground by that huge sand fist, kicking up a cloud of dust!

Everyone was stunned by what they saw.

Natsu... he's actually being suppressed?!

Gray's expression also turned serious.

"That guy... it seems we've fallen quite behind in these seven years..."

Just then, from the deep crater created by the sand fist, a terrifying aura, hot enough to distort the air, suddenly erupted!

"Oh oh--!"

With a deafening roar, a figure wreathed in crimson flames and golden lightning soared into the sky!

It's Natsu!

At this moment, he has activated "Lightning Flame Dragon Mode," which is imbued with Laxus's power!

Golden lightning and crimson flames intertwined and surged around him, emanating a terrifying and chilling aura!

"You... you've really ignited my fire, Marcus!"

Natsu grinned, a smile brimming with the fervor of battle!

Marcus looked at Natsu, who had entered Lightning Flame Dragon Mode, and felt the terrifying magical power that was completely different from before and had increased exponentially. His expression became more solemn than ever before.

But he did not back down in the slightest!

"Come on, Natsu!" he roared, unleashing all the remaining magical power within him without reservation.

"Let me see for myself the difference between you and me seven years from now!"

As you wish!

Natsu's figure vanished from the spot in an instant!

When he reappeared, he was already above Marcus!

He raised his right fist, which was wreathed in lightning flames, high into the air, aiming it at Marcus below!

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art - Modified!"

"Crimson Lotus Exploding Lightning Blade!!"

Flames and lightning intertwined and compressed wildly on his fist, ultimately transforming into an unparalleled, sky-splitting blade of light that slashed down furiously towards Marcus!

Faced with this devastating attack, Marcus neither chose to withstand it nor to dodge it.

He simply stood there quietly, dispelling all his magic, a relieved and utterly satisfied smile on his face.

Then, he raised his hand.

I surrender.

The violent lightning strike stopped abruptly less than a centimeter from his head, then vanished into countless specks of light.

Natsu slowly landed on the ground, deactivated his Lightning Flame Dragon Mode, walked forward, and punched Marcus in the chest.

"You've gotten stronger, haven't you!"

Marcus laughed and punched him back.

"You're the one who's been trying to catch up for seven years, and I still haven't been able to."