BOOM!
A deafening roar echoed through the forest.
The ground shook violently, knocking several standing guild members off their feet.
Raizel had held back considerably, but the Fire God Might (Hinukamuy) manifested behind him had delivered a punch that dug a massive crater into the earth.
Dust billowed into the air.
Only Makarov, Ultear, Erza, and Kagura managed to keep their footing effortlessly. Kagura braced herself with her sword, while Ultear steadied Wendy to keep her from falling.
"Winner... Raizel!"
Makarov, completely unfazed, announced the result immediately.
"Such a huge crater!!!" the guild members exclaimed as they scrambled to their feet.
As the dust settled, they saw Natsu lying unconscious in the center of the pit.
While the new members were shocked, the veterans were used to this.
The crater Raizel and Laxus had created on Tenrou Island was far larger—so deep that both of them had vanished from sight.
Compared to that, this was just a pothole.
"Man, I'm getting old," Wakaba and Macao sighed, shaking their heads. They weren't surprised Natsu lost, but they were impressed he lasted that long.
Ultear looked at the unconscious boy with a hint of admiration.
Facing an opponent with such a massive gap in power, Natsu hadn't shown a shred of fear.
Instead, his fighting spirit had risen.
Gray stared at the crater while sweating.
He admitted to himself that even if he were the one fighting, the result wouldn't have been much different.
Erza and Kagura analyzed the fight silently.
'The angrier he gets, the stronger he becomes', they noted.
'Dragon Slayer Magic is frightening.'
As for Wendy, she found the explosions dazzling but didn't really understand what had just happened.
Makarov led the main group back to the Guild, leaving Raizel behind with the "inner circle."
"Gray, you stay behind for now," Raizel ordered.
Raizel deactivated his Take Over and carried the unconscious Natsu out of the pit, laying him on a flat rock.
"Ultear, please."
Ultear stepped forward and she raised her crystal orb.
"Arc of Time: Restore."
The shattered earth began to reverse.
The dirt flew back into the pit, the grass un-flattened itself, and within seconds, the training ground looked as if the fight had never happened.
This was Ultear's daily job.
Since Raizel, Erza, and Kagura destroyed the landscape every time they trained, Ultear was the designated repair crew.
"Alright, the show is over. Time for training," Raizel said, cracking his neck.
That fight hadn't even counted as a warm-up!
"Gray, you start by meditating with me."
...
Meanwhile, it was Devil Instructor Erza's turn to teach Wendy how to read.
Erza took her role seriously.
She had prepared teaching materials and a strict schedule: two hours of lessons, a ten-minute break, followed by two hours of meditation.
The rest of the time was left for Wendy to play.
Raizel had come up with a great idea: he assigned the Three Blade Spirits (At, René, and Pol) to protect her.
This way, Wendy could wander the forest freely without getting lost or hurt.
...
About five minutes later, Natsu gasped.
He jumped up from the rock while looking around wildly.
The guild members were gone.
The Blade Spirits were sparring with Kagura.
Raizel and Ultear were meditating by the lake. Erza was pointing a teaching rod at a blackboard while Wendy studied diligently at a small table.
"Damn it!"
Natsu punched his thigh in frustration.
He knew he had lost badly.
That final punch... the pressure coming from that giant spirit avatar (Hinukamuy) was terrifying.
Even at full power, he couldn't have dodged it.
Raizel had been toying with him the entire time.
"Oh? Awake already? That was quick." Raizel opened one of his eye.
"I will defeat you!" Natsu shouted.
He wasn't scared of him at all, he was excited!
"Alright. I'll be waiting," Raizel nodded, accepting the challenge.
He paused for a second, then added, "But you are still a hundred years too early."
"Tch." Natsu looked away, pouting, but the fire in his eyes didn't die.
Raizel stood up. "Natsu, Gray. Come here."
The two boys walked over.
"Do you want to try the training method Laxus and I used back in the day?"
"Who's Laxus? Is he strong?" Natsu asked.
"He's another S-Class Mage. One of the candidates for the strongest in the guild," Gray answered, a shiver running down his spine.
"I challenged him once. I couldn't withstand a single punch from him. Don't mess with him."
"Oh! Then I want to challenge him too!" Natsu declared.
Challenging the strongest was his hobby.
"If you want to beat him, you have to survive the training first," Raizel said, shaking his head. "He's about as strong as I am."
"Bring it on! I'm fired up!" Natsu slammed his flaming fist into his palm.
"I want to see how you two trained, too," Gray said, crossing his arms competitively.
He didn't want to lose to the new guy.
"First, we run. Head to the waterfall." Raizel pointed deep into the forest.
"Kagura, you practice on your own for a bit. I need the Blade Spirits."
Kagura nodded expressionlessly and began swinging Archenemy solo.
Raizel tossed four weighted bags to the boys.
"Tie these on."
They were 10kg each—one for each arm and leg.
Totaling 40kg.
Inside were plates of high-density metal, so they were compact but incredibly heavy.
These were the "starter weights" Raizel and Laxus used when they were nine.
Gray staggered slightly.
This was heavy for him, but seeing Natsu put them on without complaint, he gritted his teeth.
He refused to lose to this fire-breathing idiot!
"Run! No stopping! Maximum speed!"
Raizel channeled his inner Erza.
Short commands. Loud voice. Strict tone.
"Take Over: Jesmon."
Raizel hovered behind them.
"Blade Spirits, go."
The three spirits—At, René, and Pol—zoomed forward and they began launching small energy projectiles at the boys' heels.
"AHHHH!"
Natsu screamed as he sprinted through the forest.
A small explosion blasted the dirt where his foot had been a second ago.
Raizel followed behind to extinguish any stray fires the spirits caused.
"Run faster, Gray! Unless you want to be roasted to charcoal!" Raizel shouted.
"YES SIR!" Gray, panting heavily, forced his legs to pump faster.
The Blade Spirits were relentless. They used attacks to herd the boys, forcing them to take the hardest, roughest paths toward the waterfall.
"Hah... Hah... Hah..."
Natsu and Gray showed remarkable synchronization.
Even their panting rhythm was identical.
Weighed down, chased by spirits, and yelled at by an S-Class Mage... this was the hardest journey of their lives.
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