"The match begins!"
Lucy immediately took out a key: "Open the gates, Leo Constellation, Loki!"
It was rare for her to call Loki to assist right from the start, but Natsu discontentedly said, "I told you to let me handle those two, Lucy. Just watch."
"But..." Lucy wanted to say something.
"Understood!" Loki, without a moment's hesitation, picked up Lucy and leapt far away.
"Hey! Why do you listen to him so much?" Lucy felt a bit frustrated. Her Star Spirit always seemed to prefer following others' orders.
When Rhode was around, it listened to Rhode, and when Rhode wasn't, it followed Natsu. Whose Star Spirit was it after all?
Maybe next time I'll call Taurus!
Panixiu, holding back anger, said, "Arrogant kid, we're not who we used to be!"
Shunipa said, "Brother, show him our 'New Heaven and Earth Destruction Technique'!"
"Okay!" Panixiu leaped lightly onto Shunipa's shoulder, then used his brother's shoulder, clad in heavy armor, as a step, and jumped high towards the sun.
Shunipa, wearing heavy armor, thundered forward.
"What's this, the same old trick," Natsu, when it came to combat, was always sharp. He immediately recalled these two's combined technique.
This Heaven and Earth Destruction Technique was just a strategy where one grabs attention while the other attacks from a blind spot, but these brothers had an extraordinary synergy.
Natsu quickly glanced at Panixiu's position. The sunlight was a bit dazzling.
And Shunipa had already charged up: "If you look up at the sky..."
"The attack will come from the ground." Natsu continued nonchalantly and easily caught a heavy punch from the opponent.
The massive fist clad in a heavy Cage Hand, when squeezed by Natsu, couldn't move an inch.
"Hmph, it's not that easy," Shunipa snorted coldly, and sudden cold air burst from the Cage Hand, directly freezing Natsu.
"That's Ice Magic!" Lucy exclaimed. "It wasn't there when fighting Sherria!"
Shunipa sneered, "How could we show all our moves in the first battle? That's a mercenary's experience, learn well! And then..."
The following voice came from the sky as Panixiu swung a frying pan towards Natsu's head, "When you're stuck on the ground, the attack from the sky will follow!
"Regret your arrogance! New Heaven and Earth Destruction Technique!"
While drawing her whip, Lucy anxiously called, "Loki!"
But Loki casually replied, "Don't worry, that ice is nothing compared to Gray's."
Indeed, the ice that froze Natsu instantly turned into steam with a hiss and vanished in the flames.
The frying pan that came swooping from the sky was also caught by Natsu with one hand, and it looked like both the person and the pan were about to be engulfed in flames.
"It's useless, didn't you forget? My pan can absorb flames!" Panixiu manipulated the frying pan to swiftly absorb the flames rushing toward him, "And when you're too focused on the sky..."
Shunipa's other fist arrived with a voice: "You'll neglect the ground!"
With a thunk, the fist struck Natsu's chest, simultaneously blasting a fierce wind from the Cage Hand.
Natsu was pushed back several meters, leaving his feet dragging on the ground, and stood still a few meters away, lightly patting the dust from his chest, saying with a smile, "That armor seems quite fun."
"Hmph, hope you can still laugh after you lose!" The Panixiu brothers believed they had the victory in their hands, so they repeated their trick—one jumped up again, and the other charged forward continuously.
Natsu didn't look up, just took a deep breath: "Fire Dragon's... Roar!"
Raging flames spewed from his mouth, completely engulfing Shunipa in heavy armor, melting the ground and sending scorching waves impacting the audience seats.
"It's useless, do you think I wear such heavy armor for nothing? No matter how strong the flame is..." Shunipa's boasting voice abruptly stopped and turned into fear, "It's hot! It's hot! What kind of flame is this? Why is the best heat-resistant metal... Brother!"
"What?" Panixiu, in midair, flipped and dove down in panic, using the frying pan to block Natsu's breath.
"This scale... It's far too exaggerated compared to seven years ago!" Panixiu found his frying pan too small, unable to block the surging flames.
He quickly twisted the handle, and the frying pan suddenly expanded several times, like an oversized table covering the tall Shunipa completely, absorbing flames with full force.
Behind, Shunipa was rolling on the ground, struggling to take off the armor while rolling.
Because the fire-resistant metal on that armor was actually ignited, and other parts were melting.
Even knowing the frying pan could absorb flames, Natsu had no intention of stopping the fire, instead, he increased the output of his Magic Power, letting the opponent absorb to his content.
Panixiu, roasted by the fire, was sweating all over, and suddenly felt a pain in his palm, looking down to find black smoke rising.
—The heat was transmitted through the handle, scorching his palm!
"Are you kidding me?!" He dropped the pan with a clang, "How can a tool that absorbs flames..."
Yet the matter wasn't over, the pan, without control, was quickly melted by the flames, turning into a flow of hot iron in the blackened pit baked on the ground.
"Ahahaha..." Natsu spread his arms, flames emerged from them like flaming wings, "Let you recall! Fire Dragon's Wing Strike!"
The Panixiu brothers were swept into the flames, flying backward and falling back down.
Never mind Shunipa's heavy armor, even Panixiu's light armor couldn't escape being burned.
Smoke rose from their bodies, as they murmured:
"Demon, Fire Demon..."
"Again... defeated by this move..."
Other team members covered their foreheads, unable to watch directly, "What's wrong with those two... Why insist on fighting head-on?"
The President of Dragon's Treasure stood up angrily, then sat back down, feeling uneasy.
Pumpkin Man announced the match result, Natsu raised his arms in laughter, and for a moment, the screens around the arena were filled with his goofy smiling face.
Lucy spread her hands, helplessly saying, "In the end, he really handled both of them alone."
"Because he's Natsu," Loki said, "It seems his firepower keeps getting stronger, I feel hot standing this far away. Lucy, watch out for your clothes being burned away by him~"
"No matter how reckless he is, he wouldn't do such a thing, right?" Lucy said, "Also, you should head back now."
"Alright, this date was enjoyable, I'm looking forward to the next~"
Lucy loudly retorted, "This isn't a date at all!"