Tssssssss!
Fire and water madly consumed each other, vaporizing and exploding.
Huge clouds of white steam shot into the sky, shrouding the battlefield and obscuring all vision.
Within the steam, flashes of crimson and azure light could be seen constantly exploding and annihilating each other.
However, MetalSeadramon's assault did not stop.
The instant Natsu used his roar to counter "River of Power," its crimson electronic eyes locked onto Natsu's blurry figure in the steam.
Its massive body sank slightly, and the cannon on its snout lit up again.
But this time, the energy it gathered seemed different—deeper, more violent, causing a large area of the surrounding sea to resonate, the water beginning to boil and surge unnaturally.
"Poseidon Divide!"
With a majestic dragon's cry, MetalSeadramon did not fire the gathered energy as a beam.
Instead, it transformed it into an invisible wave of terrifying power that held the authority to tear the sea apart, sweeping forward in a fan shape across the ocean's surface.
RUMBLE!
The sea, swept by this wave, was cleaved as if by an invisible divine blade.
A massive trench, tens of meters wide and bottomlessly deep, instantly formed.
The seawater on both sides was forcibly pushed away, forming terrifying tsunami walls tens of meters high that crushed their way toward Natsu's position and the sea beyond.
This was an indiscriminate, wide-area destructive attack that harnessed the power of the ocean itself.
MetalSeadramon not only possessed an incomparably hard metal body and a devastatingly powerful cannon on its snout, but on this vast ocean, it was also the absolute sovereign of its home turf, capable of commanding the endless waters.
Every one of its attacks carried the fury and weight of the sea.
Faced with this cataclysmic tsunami, Natsu's expression also turned grave.
He could feel the terrifying power contained within this attack, far surpassing anything before.
"Now that's more like it!"
Natsu squeezed out every last drop of his magic power, his body glowing with a blinding fiery light as he prepared to unleash one Dragon Slayer spell after another to meet this sea-splitting blow head-on.
He threw caution to the wind. Using his remaining strength, his entire body shot forward like a flying red meteor.
Instead of retreating, he advanced, charging straight toward the destructive tsunami, aiming for MetalSeadramon, which was still casting the spell behind it.
"BREAK—THROUGH!!!"
The blazing meteor crashed into the tsunami.
Wherever the flames passed, the thick wall of the tsunami vaporized and was pierced through in an instant, like butter stabbed by a hot iron.
Using his body as an arrow, Natsu forcibly tore a straight through the cataclysmic tsunami.
MetalSeadramon clearly hadn't expected its opponent not to dodge, but to break through "Poseidon Divide" in such a near-suicidal manner.
Natsu's burning figure had already penetrated the tsunami and appeared right before its eyes.
Shocked and enraged, MetalSeadramon hastily tried to interrupt its channeling.
It raised its head to block with its hardest head armor, while the metal shell of its body flared with a brilliant blue light, its defenses at full power.
However, Natsu's all-or-nothing, ultimate headbut had already fallen.
His target was the slightly concave, seemingly weak point at the joint between its snout cannon and its forehead—a subtle dissonance he had vaguely sensed when testing its defenses with his "Claw" earlier.
"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!!"
BOOM!
An indescribable, terrifying boom, as if metal stars had collided, drowned out the roar of the tsunami and resounded through the night sky.
A blinding white light illuminated the sky.
"RAAAWR!" MetalSeadramon let out a piercing shriek of extreme fury.
Its entire massive head was thrown back violently by the terrifying force.
The light from its snout cannon instantly flickered and died, and the channeling of "Poseidon Divide" came to an abrupt halt.
Its massive body lost its balance and, like a battleship struck by a giant hammer, it staggered and fell backward into the sea, kicking up a towering wave.
As for Natsu, after throwing that earth-shattering headbut, the flames on his body instantly extinguished.
His arm hung limply, his magic and stamina completely depleted.
He spat out a mouthful of blood, his vision went black, and he could no longer maintain his posture, falling like a broken kite toward the churning sea below.
"Natsu!" Happy cried out, wanting to fly over, but he was too far away.
Just as Natsu was about to fall into the sea, a dark blue metal tail gently and swiftly coiled around him, catching him securely just before he hit the water.
It was MetalSeadramon.
Although its head was hit by Natsu headbut, its powerful defenses meant it had not taking any damage.
Moonlight once again spilled down as MetalSeadramon floated quietly in the sea, like a dormant behemoth.
"Not bad, Natsu." Ace approached with Lucy and nodded at Natsu.
"To be able to fight MetalSeadramon and even manage to hit it when it has the home-field advantage, you've improved a lot."
"Hmph, next time I'll definitely tear off that metal hide of its!" Natsu grumbled defiantly, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.
He was quite pleased to receive recognition from a "monster" like Ace.
"Th-Thank you..." Lucy finally recovered from the shock of the battle, which had been like something out of a myth.
She thanked Ace and Natsu, her heart still pounding with fear, her gaze toward MetalSeadramon still filled with awe.
"Let's go, it's time to head back." Ace looked up at the sky, where the eastern horizon was already faintly showing the white of dawn.
He looked at Lucy and smiled slightly. "Didn't you want to go to Fairy Tail? Perfect timing, want to catch a ride?"
"A ride?" Lucy was taken aback.
They were so far from Fairy Tail; shouldn't they wait for daytime and take a train?
Ace gestured to MetalSeadramon in the sea.
Understanding his intention, MetalSeadramon slowly approached and stopped in front of them.
"Get on." Ace was the first to jump on, landing steadily.
MetalSeadramon's body was surprisingly stable and even had a non-slip texture.
A slightly recovered Natsu also jumped on excitedly. "Whoa! This is great! Much faster than a boat! And I won't get sick! Haha!"
Happy followed, flapping his wings. "Aye! This feels great!"
Lucy looked at the cold, metallic body, then at Ace's outstretched hand.
A faint blush appeared on her face, but she finally mustered her courage, took Ace's hand, and carefully stepped on.
"Hold on tight," Ace reminded her.
MetalSeadramon let out a low hum.
Its massive body began to move slowly, then faster and faster, cutting through the waves.
It headed in the direction of Fairy Tail like a sea serpent, carving a straight white wake through the sea.
The morning breeze blew against them, carrying the unique fresh scent of the ocean.
Standing on MetalSeadramon's back, Lucy looked at the gradually brightening sky ahead and at the tall, calm figure in front of her, her heart filled with anticipation for the future.
The Fairy Tail Guild.
When MetalSeadramon's massive body appeared on the sea outside the port, it caused quite a commotion.
But when people saw the familiar black-haired figure and the pink-haired man standing on the dragon's back, the commotion turned into excited chatter and cheers.
"It's Ace and Natsu!"
"They're back! And they brought... a dragon?!"
"It's huge! Is that a newly evolve Summoned Beast of Ace's?"
"There's a pretty girl with a huge boobs next to them too!"
When Ace, Natsu, Happy, and the new face, Lucy, walked through the guild doors, a deafening clamor instantly engulfed them.
"Whoa! Ace! Natsu! Welcome back!"