Chapter 274: Natsu vs. Gajeel
Natsu wreathed both hands in flames and sidestepped Gajeel's thrusting iron club. He wrapped his arms around the extended limb, using his entire body to pivot and fling Gajeel into the air.
Gajeel twisted mid-flight, retracting his arm to its normal length. Just before crashing into the far wall, he corrected his posture, planting his feet on the vertical surface and bending his knees to absorb the impact.
CRASH!
The wall cracked under his feet, sending stone chips flying.
Before Gajeel could even look up to counter, Natsu was already in the air.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
A flaming punch aimed straight for Gajeel's face. Gajeel couldn't dodge in time; he raised his right arm, transformed into an iron club, to block.
CLANG!
Fist met iron with a deafening ring.
Gajeel blocked the blow, but the force drove him deeper into the wall, spiderwebbing the cracks further. The flames from Natsu's fist exploded outward upon impact.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions rippled across the room, destroying furniture and decorations. Smoke billowed from the point of impact, obscuring both fighters.
"Hmph!"
Gajeel kicked off the wall, leaping out of the smoke cloud. But Natsu was right on his heels.
"HAAAA!"
Natsu exhaled sharply and threw a powerful right hook, catching the unprepared Gajeel square in the face. Gajeel flew across the room and smashed into the opposite wall.
THUD!
More dust rose, and the second wall cracked under the impact.
"Tch!"
Gajeel wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. He looked up just in time to see Natsu flipping through the air above him, a flaming heel descending toward his head.
"Fire Dragon's Talon!"
Gajeel hurriedly raised his iron-club arm to block.
BOOM!
A more intense explosion shook the room, filling it with smoke. Natsu used the force of the blast to backflip away.
Gajeel pushed off the wall and landed on the floor, clearing the smoke. He cracked his neck and shook out his limbs. He didn't seem badly hurt.
"You're getting carried away, trash! Don't push your luck!" Gajeel grinned arrogantly.
"You're the one who attacked our guild and tried to hurt my friends! I'm gonna smash your face in and turn you into scrap metal!" Natsu roared, reigniting his fist.
"Sounds like fun! Try it if you can!" Gajeel sneered, unfazed.
"HAA!"
Both roared as they charged.
Flaming fist met iron club, and they passed each other. Natsu spun and delivered a flaming kick to Gajeel's back, sending him stumbling forward.
Gajeel recovered instantly, extending his left arm into an iron club and swinging it at the distant Natsu. Natsu leaped over the sweep, flipped in mid-air, pushed off the extended iron pole with his hand, and delivered a flaming kick to Gajeel's face.
Suddenly, Natsu sensed danger. He pushed off the iron pole with both hands, flipping away.
In the next instant, Gajeel's right arm transformed into a massive iron sword with serrated teeth, slashing through the space Natsu had just occupied.
Natsu landed and turned to look at the weapon.
"What is that dangerous-looking thing?!"
"Iron Dragon's Sword. It shreds anything it touches. Want to test how sharp it is?"
As he spoke, the teeth on the blade began to spin like a chainsaw, emitting a menacing buzz.
"That's nothing!" Natsu scoffed.
"Gi hi!"
Gajeel yelled and leaped, slashing down at Natsu. Natsu dodged to the side. The sword struck the floor, slicing through stone like butter. Dust and debris flew as a massive fissure opened in the ground.
Gajeel swung the sword horizontally. Natsu jumped over the slash. The blade carved a deep gash into the wall behind him.
"What's wrong? Not blocking anymore? Huh?"
Gajeel swung the chainsaw sword wildly, forcing Natsu to dodge left and right.
"I thought it was 'nothing'? Then try blocking it!"
Gajeel slashed again and again, but Natsu evaded every strike. Finally, Natsu flipped backward, creating distance. They both paused.
"You're surprisingly agile."
"So are you, for a hunk of junk."
"Enough playing around. Let's settle this, Fire Dragon!" Gajeel retracted the sword, his expression serious.
"I'm all fired up, scrap-metal bastard!" Natsu wiped his mouth, glaring back.
Suddenly, a magic circle appeared beneath Gajeel's feet. His skin transformed, taking on the texture and color of iron scales.
"Dragon scales!" Happy gasped from the doorway.
"This will crush you! Iron Dragon's Hard Fist!"
Gajeel leaped at Natsu, throwing a punch. Natsu recognized the power behind it instantly. He raised his arms to block, reinforcing them with flames.
CLANG!
Natsu blocked the punch, but the force sent him flying into the wall. He landed and shook out his arms. Even with the fire reinforcement, that had hurt.
"Gi hi hi!"
Gajeel pressed his advantage, raining punches on Natsu. Natsu countered with his own flaming fists.
BANG!
Their fists collided, sending shockwaves that blasted the rubble across the room.
Gajeel launched a kick. Natsu ducked. The wind pressure from the kick tore a gash in the floor and nearly blew Happy away from the door.
'Iron scales increased his attack power!' Happy realized.
Natsu, having ducked the kick, punched Gajeel in the gut. Gajeel didn't dodge or block. He took the hit head-on.
The flames on Natsu's fist extinguished upon impact with Gajeel's face. Gajeel grinned. "Steel scales nullify all attacks."
Natsu's expression cracked. He pulled back his trembling right hand, shaking it frantically.
"OWWWWW! THAT HURT!!!"
"Stop struggling! Just go down!" Gajeel laughed and punched Natsu. Natsu leaped back to dodge.
'His defense went up too!' Happy watched anxiously.
"You hard-headed jerk! I'll blow you away with this!"
Natsu took a deep breath, his chest expanding. Gajeel mirrored him, inhaling deeply.
"He can use a breath attack too?!" Happy peeked back into the room.
"Fire Dragon's ROAR!"
"Iron Dragon's ROAR!"
Two torrents—one of fire, one of iron shards and wind—erupted from their mouths. They collided in mid-air, stalemating for a split second before exploding violently.
The blast demolished half the room. Smoke and dust billowed everywhere, blinding both fighters. The shockwave cleared the dust and blew away most of the debris.
When Happy looked back in, the two dragons were standing in the center of the ruined room. Both had tears in their clothes.
"Looks like the difference in our elements is showing, Fire Dragon," Gajeel grinned. "Even if your breath engulfs me in fire, it can't damage steel. But my iron shards... they cut you."
He gestured to his own unharmed body, then to the small cuts and bruises on Natsu.
"Hah? What are you talking about? Are you still asleep?" Natsu mocked.
Gajeel paused. Suddenly, the scales on his face and body cracked and shattered, and blood began to trickle down his face.
"My fire isn't ordinary fire," Natsu said, ripping off his tattered vest and gathering his magic. "Fire Dragon's Flame destroys everything."
"If you don't fight seriously, you're going to get broken, Iron Dragon Gajeel. Let's end this probing!"
Flames roared around Natsu, cracking the ground beneath his feet and sending hot wind blasting outward.
"Now that's more like it! The sky isn't big enough for two dragons! Fall, Fire Dragon Natsu!"
Gajeel gathered his own magic, crushing the floor beneath him. Shockwaves of power radiated from him.
The two auras collided in mid-air, evenly matched.
"HAAA!"
"RAAAH!"
They leaped at each other.
They met in the center, fists colliding. A massive shockwave exploded outward, shattering the ground and sending boulders flying.
"Waaaah!" Happy clung to the doorframe, flapping in the wind like a flag.
"ORAAAAA!!!"
"DORYAAAAA!!!"
Natsu and Gajeel traded blow for blow.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each collision thundered through the castle, sending shockwaves rippling in every direction.
~~~
Get early access to 50+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn