"Rogue" clenched his fists, feeling the surging dark power within him, and fell into extreme arrogance.
"Now that I have this invincible power, let alone you, even that Fire Dragon Natsu would be easy for me to crush!"
But before his arrogant words had even faded—
"Heh..."
An utterly disdainful sneer suddenly came from within the thick dust.
"Rogue's" laughter came to an abrupt halt. He snapped his head around and stared fixedly into the depths of the dust.
The next second.
Boom!
Violent magic power directly blasted away the surrounding dust.
Gajeel burst through the dust like a cannonball fired from its barrel.
He moved so fast that "Rogue" had no time to react.
Bang!
A thick hand like an iron clamp seized "Rogue" by the collar and forcibly lifted his entire body into the air.
"Rogue's" eyes widened, his face filled with horror.
At that moment, Gajeel had completely activated Black Iron Mode.
The skin all over his body had turned a deep black, gleaming with a cold, hard metallic luster.
That devastating barrage of dense black lines from earlier had left only a few shallow white scratches on his black steel skin.
They had not broken through his defense at all!
Without another word, Gajeel pulled back his right fist, his muscles bulging high.
Bang!
A tremendously heavy steel straight punch smashed viciously into "Rogue's" face.
"Rogue's" features instantly twisted as blood sprayed wildly from his mouth. His entire body was knocked backward.
Gajeel gave him no chance to catch his breath.
He charged straight in.
A storm of fists rained down crazily upon "Rogue."
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The dull impacts rang throughout the arena like a rapid drumbeat.
"Rogue" was driven back again and again, utterly unable to fight back. With a roar, dense shadows