Even as he complained inwardly about how difficult she was to deal with, the Saiyan blood flowing through Kabe's body was already beginning to boil.
Irene could be counted among the very strongest fighters in the world of Fairy Tail, and she was easily the most powerful opponent Kabe had encountered so far.
And the moment he realized he was about to fight someone of that level, the battle-hungry instincts of a Saiyan quietly began to overpower his reason.
"Then come on. I will be waiting for you up in the sky."
The instant he finished speaking, he shot upward into the air first. Irene refused to be outdone and immediately used her magic to support her body as she followed after him.
Because the warship had suddenly lost power and come to a halt, Brandish, Heine, and Juliet all ran out from the cabin.
When they looked up and saw the two of them rising higher and higher into the sky, all three wore completely baffled expressions.
Brandish raised her head and stared upward.
"What is going on with those two? Did the Empire realize something was wrong and send people after us?"
Juliet walked over to the railing and looked behind them.
"No. Other than a passing merchant ship, I do not see anything at all."
"...Why do I feel like Lady Irene is about to fight that guy? If you pay close attention, even the quality of Lady Irene's magic feels different now."
Heine carefully sensed the change first and was the first to realize something was off.
At her words, Juliet and Brandish also focused and tried to perceive Irene's aura more carefully. Sure enough, there was now a faint trace of volatility mixed into Irene's magic.
"What is going on? Why did Lady Irene suddenly get in the mood to spar with Kabe?"
"Who knows. Maybe she was just bored."
Though they had no idea what exactly was happening, that did not stop all three of them from collectively raising their heads and watching the show.
This was Lady Irene, after all. Even the three of them rarely ever had the chance to witness her make a move.
...
High in the sky, Kabe twisted his waist, rolled his shoulders, and went through a few warm-up stretches before taking the initiative to warn her.
"Be careful. I am a close-combat mage. Even you are going to feel it if I get in close."
Although she did not truly believe Kabe could break through her defenses, Irene was not the sort of person who would underestimate an opponent.
"That does remind me. Enchantment Magic: speed, reaction, defense, stamina, magic... raise them all."
Watching Irene stack layer after layer of buffs onto herself before the battle had even properly begun, Kabe was left speechless on the spot.
"Hey, hey, that is cheating, is it not? We have not even started yet."
After boosting herself from head to toe without a single blind spot, Irene's whole body radiated an intense purple-red magic power visible to the naked eye. Then she smiled faintly at Kabe.
"No. The battle began the moment you accepted my challenge."
The moment she finished speaking, she pointed her staff at Kabe and called out sharply,
"Enchantment: Explosion."
The instant she moved, Kabe's instincts screamed danger. He immediately crossed both arms in front of himself and formed a defensive barrier around his body.
But it lasted only a single moment.
With a deafening explosion, the barrier was blown apart.
The horrifying impact, along with a wave of terrifying heat, instantly swallowed Kabe's entire body whole.
Down below on the warship, the three girls watched in shock as a miniature sun seemed to erupt out of nowhere, and all of them broke out in a cold sweat for Kabe.
But before they even had time to worry about his condition, the next second, scorching winds and blazing heat came roaring down onto the vessel.
The entire warship lurched violently, and the three girls on the deck nearly lost their footing and fell.
Brandish reacted the fastest and immediately shouted to Heine and Juliet,
"Hurry and move the ship away. If we get dragged into Lady Irene's magic, the three of us are dead."
Heine and Juliet knew perfectly well that she was right. The three of them rushed back into the cabin at once and controlled the airship into a rapid descent, steering it away from the battlefield as quickly as possible.
...
In the sky, the explosions continued without pause.
Under Irene's massive supply of magic power, gigantic explosions kept detonating endlessly across a radius of a thousand meters around Kabe.
At the center of the destruction, Kabe's upper clothes had already been obliterated by the shockwaves and flames, leaving behind only a tattered pair of titanium-alloy pants.
'Now this is what I call a fight! Damn it, I am fired up now!!!'
His fighting spirit had been completely ignited.
Facing the endless explosions, he abandoned defense altogether, spread both arms wide, and began to roar in a low voice.
"Hrrrgh...!!"
At first, the sound was heavy and restrained, as though something deep inside him was being forced down.
But as a violet-black aura began to rise from the surface of his body, Kabe stopped holding back completely, letting his power explode outward in a violent release.
"Haaaaah!!!"
A savage, overbearing aura swept across the sky, forcibly scattering the entire field of explosions.
The shock of that surge caused Irene's heart to tremble, and even the spell she had been maintaining was interrupted on the spot.
'What is this power? This does not feel like magic at all!'
"Irene!!!"
In the instant she lost focus, Kabe roared her name and shot toward her like a cannonball wrapped in blazing aura.
Though she still wore a human form, Irene's essence was still that of a dragon.
Her draconic instincts, combined with the enhancements of Enchantment Magic, allowed her to steady her mind and react in time to Kabe's attack.
"Do not shout an elder's name so casually, you little brat!"
Snapping that back at him, she raised her free left hand and met the fist Kabe had thrown straight at her.
The iron fist of the Sage Dragon.
When it came to close combat, the Mother of Dragon Slayers was every bit an expert herself.