Ace vs. Ace

"Release... Dragon Force: Abyss Mode!" (Feng Lan)

"Full Body Take Over... God of Death: Thanatos." (Gale)

Feng Lan's entire body gradually became draconic, transforming him into a fearsome humanoid dragon.

Gale's silver hair turned deathly pale, and paired with his blood-red eyes, he looked as terrifying as an evil spirit. A pair of pitch-black wings sprouted from his back, while he gripped a massive scythe made of bone, three sinister skulls hanging from its blade.

The people nearby could not help but gasp.

Rahar adjusted his glasses and explained, "Dragon Force... is the power of dragons from ancient legends. Thanatos... is a deity from ancient Greek mythology."

Natsu looked at Feng Lan and Gale. "A god and a dragon? That's amazing..."

Happy said worriedly, "That Gale guy looks really strong... but Feng Lan will win!"

Dada Liya nodded. "That's for sure~ Feng Lan is the strongest!"

"Water Dragon's Shattering Fangs!" Feng Lan's dragon claws, coated in peacock-blue water currents, slashed at Gale.

"Soul Lock Ring." Gale swung his scythe, tracing a complete circle through the air as blade met claw.

Black and blue magic power collided, and the powerful magical shockwaves forced the onlookers to struggle just to remain standing.

Feng Lan flapped his wings and soared into the sky. "Water Dragon's Winged Strike!" Countless water-forged daggers flew toward Gale.

Gale spun his massive scythe at high speed, shredding every water blade. "Soul Cannon!"

In an instant, countless translucent ghosts gathered in Gale's left palm, gradually forming a grayish-white sphere.

With a swing of his left hand, the sphere fired an intense beam of magic.

Feng Lan raised both claws before his chest and forcibly blocked the powerful magical beam. "Even with dragon scales protecting me, I can still be hurt... Impressive! Extremely impressive!" (Dragon Force was toned down here, so its defense was not that absurd. Just overlook the part with Gildarts; Gildarts couldn't beat the protagonist anyway.)

Gale was briefly stunned, then revealed a wicked smile. "You took the Soul Cannon head-on and came out completely unscathed... Not bad. It's been a long time since I've encountered such a strong opponent!"

Feng Lan pressed his palms together, gathering magic power between them. "Water Dragon's Raging Torrent!" Powerful Water Magic Power converged and swept toward Gale.

"Necrotic Guard!" Gale drove the handle of his scythe into the ground, and countless ghosts instantly burst from the earth to wrap around him.

"Boom!" After a thunderous explosion, no one remained on the ground. The next second, Gale appeared behind Feng Lan and placed his massive scythe against Feng Lan's neck.

"What!?" Just as Gale believed he had won, Feng Lan turned into a puddle of water and splashed onto the ground.

"Water Make: Substitute!" Then Gale saw the real Feng Lan hovering behind him.

"Soul Severing Spirit!" Gale gripped his massive scythe with both hands and swung it at Feng Lan with all his strength.

Feng Lan clapped his hands, and several blue magic circles appeared behind him. "Rain Judgment!"

Dozens of water swords instantly formed behind Feng Lan and, at his signal, flew toward Gale all at once.

Seeing this, Gale had no choice but to halt his attack and switch to defense.

"Water Silk Cage!" Feng Lan spread his hands. Several blue threads extended from each finger, and under his control, they enclosed Gale within a cage.

Gale swung his massive scythe with all his might, severing every water thread before charging at Feng Lan again.

Feng Lan slowly extended his right hand. "Abyssal Charter." A massive cube of water enveloped Gale.

"Ah..." As Gale stood there in confusion, he felt an invisible force crushing his body and internal organs. "Is this water pressure...?"

Then Feng Lan swung his right hand. "Crush!" The water cube instantly exploded, blasting Gale heavily into the ground.

Gale struggled to rise. "Ugh... You're far too strong. Let's settle this with the next move!"

Feng Lan smiled faintly and tightly wrapped his body in raging water currents.

"Soul... Nether Requiem!" Countless ghosts flew from Gale's massive scythe, each lunging at Feng Lan like a savage beast to tear into him.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art! Abyssal Deep... Vast Sky Whale!" Feng Lan slowly rose into the air. The immense magic power he unleashed condensed the water currents into an incomparably gigantic whale that enveloped him.

Then the whale plunged toward Gale at tremendous speed, crushing everything in its path. Even Gale's magic was smashed to pieces by its charge.

"BOOM!!!" A world-shaking explosion rang out, and everyone anxiously held their breath over the outcome.

As the smoke dispersed, Feng Lan stood there in human form, one hand on his hip, while Gale lay on the ground spread-eagled.

"Cough, cough!" Gale coughed twice, climbed to his feet, and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "I lost! You're way too strong!"

Feng Lan waved his hand. "Not at all. You're also a rare expert. I look forward to our next match."

Gale nodded. "Yeah! I'm looking forward to it too!"

With that, Gale left the area.

Gray rubbed the tip of his nose. "Hmph, dragon versus god... looks like the dragon won~"

Rahar stared at the scene before him in utter shock and sighed, "That was incredible... absolutely spectacular... I've never seen a battle on this level before."

Natsu said proudly, "That's Brother Feng Lan! That's Fairy Tail's strongest!"

"Yeah~ Fairy Tail is really strong, you know~" Happy said from atop Natsu's head.

Dada Liya stroked his chin. "Hmm... That Gale wasn't weak either... I'll reluctantly admit he's a worthy rival for Feng Lan~"

Lisanna ran over to Feng Lan. "Brother Feng Lan, are you okay?"

Feng Lan patted Lisanna's head. "Hehe, don't worry. I just used a little too much magic power. I'll be fine after resting for a bit."

"As expected of Fairy Tail's ace wizard... That was truly astounding." Luca's voice came from the side.

Feng Lan turned to look at him. "Captain, are your injuries alright now?"

Luca laughed heartily. "Haha! I'm fine, I'm fine! Watching your battle got my blood pumping so much that I couldn't stay still!"

Natsu walked over and said, "Hehe! Actually, Brother Feng Lan didn't even use fifty percent of his strength~"

Rahar and Luca looked at Feng Lan in disbelief. "Not even fifty percent this time!?"

Feng Lan shrugged. "Yeah, Gale was about the same..."

Gray asked in surprise, "Brother Feng Lan, are you saying that Gale also used less than fifty percent of his strength!?"

Feng Lan nodded. "Yeah, around fifty percent at most... You didn't think Thanatos was the only Take Over he had, did you?"

Lisanna asked in surprise, "Eh~ Isn't it?"

Feng Lan explained, "Of course not. Can't Lisanna Take Over forms like White Cat Soul, Flying Bird Soul, and Swimming Fish Soul too? She has many different animal souls, right?"

Lisanna asked curiously, "Then... what other Take Overs does Brother Gale have?"

Feng Lan thought for a moment. "I'm not sure either. Aside from the God of Death... I only know he has one more: Sea God, Poseidon."

At that moment, Luca walked over and asked Feng Lan and the others, "By the way, you all should be heading out, right? But because of the Dark Guild, the Train probably won't be running for another day or two... so..."

Feng Lan nodded. "That's right. What do you mean, Mr. Luca?"

Luca scratched his head. "How about we take you there? We can count it as a thank-you gift!"

Feng Lan considered it. "Then we'll take you up on that."

Luca waved behind him. "Someone, bring a car and give these friends a ride!"