He couldn't hold back any longer.
Juvia had been twisting and posing for nearly half a minute after he took his stance...
"Ah... alright..."
Juvia had been lost in fantasy and only now remembered this was a match.
'Juvia must work hard!'
"Water Lock!"
Juvia swung her right hand, sending a swirling water tornado toward Gray to trap him.
"Ice Make: Freeze!"
Gray didn't dodge or evade; instead, he placed his hands on the ground, completely freezing the incoming water tornado into a sculpture.
"Gray-sama is so amazing!" Juvia squealed.
"Can you save the compliments for later! We're in a match!"
"Ice Make: Super Freeze Arrow!"
Gray formed hand seals, instantly creating a large ice bow.
Magical Power continuously gathered into ice arrows that shot rapidly toward Juvia.
Thwack!
The ice arrow hit Juvia directly in the abdomen. However, a circular water hole appeared where it struck.
Juvia had turned her abdomen into liquid, allowing the ice arrow to pass through without causing any damage.
Forcing a serious expression, Juvia said, "Gray-sama, physical attacks are ineffective against Juvia."
'It seems I'll have to get close and freeze her entirely like before,' Gray thought, frowning deeply.
Juvia's Water Body immunity to physical attacks was too restrictive—it seemed he could only approach and freeze her completely, just like during their first battle during the Guild War.
"Water Slicer!"
Juvia swung her right hand, sending several high-pressure water blades cutting toward Gray to block his advance.
"Gray-sama, Juvia has already seen through your plan."
"Water Cane!"
Juvia lashed out with a whip made of water, snapping at Gray's heels.
"Contestant Gray is in a difficult position! Currently, he can only continuously dodge!" Jason shouted.
But the situation quickly reversed.
"I'm getting serious!"
Saying this, Gray instantly removed his shirt, revealing his torso.
This action directly reversed the momentum of the battle.
Juvia's previously serious expression vanished, replaced instantly by hearts in her eyes.
'I must end this quickly! Can't let so many girls see Gray-sama's abs!'
A blazing fire seemed to burn within Juvia's heart.
Her emotions ran so high that her entire body temperature kept rising, with steam continuously emerging from her body.
'It's appearing—the Steam Princess!'
Feeling the temperature rise, Gray recalled this had happened during his previous battle with Juvia.
It was her Sierra form.
"Again with this? Whatever, I'll just freeze everything."
"I am Ur's disciple!"
"Ice Geyser!"
Meanwhile, Juvia had completely lost focus on the fight.
"Gray-sama!"
A clash of flash-freezing ice and boiling hot water ensued!
HISS—
The arena filled with dense steam, completely blocking visibility for the audience.
"Contestant Juvia is unable to continue fighting! Therefore, the winner is Contestant Gray!!!"
As the steam cleared, Juvia was revealed to be completely frozen by Gray's ice, though Gray's body was bright red from scald burns and didn't look comfortable either.
After Juvia and Gray left the arena, Ultear stepped in.
She used her Arc of Time magic to repair the arena, conveniently making the melted ice and water puddles disappear instantly, restoring the stone slabs to their original state.
Jason raised his microphone and shouted to the sky.
"Everyone! What comes next is the exciting moment, the match everyone has been waiting for! COOL!"
"Let's first welcome... LAXUS DREYAR!!!"
Laxus crossed his arms, his iconic fur-rimmed coat draped over his shoulders as he emerged from the tunnel.
"LAXUS!!!"
The roar from Laxus's fans was deafening, lasting for what felt like an eternity...
Lucy was slightly taken aback by his popularity and took a step back.
"Laxus is so insanely popular... and it seems like all his fans are women..."
Raizel, having seen this countless times, said nonchalantly, "You'll get used to it."
"Now, let's welcome with our warmest applause—the Titania, ERZAAAA BELSERIOONNNN!!! COOL!"
"Hmm... your commentary is clearly biased, as expected..." Raizel muttered, noticing that Jason seemed to openly favor Erza.
Erza emerged from the tunnel wearing her Heart Kreuz Armor, emblazoned with the Fairy Tail Crest, and a blue skirt.
Erza's fans were no less enthusiastic than Laxus's, with the male fans matching the energy in their cheers.
Laxus and Erza had never faced each other in an official competition, so the audience was highly anticipating this match.
They had sparred privately before, but that was several years ago, and they hadn't fought seriously in the past two years.
Jason turned to Makarov and Ur and asked, "What are your thoughts on this match?"
"You go first." After exchanging a glance, Makarov gestured for Ur to speak first.
Ur carefully considered her words before delivering a well-reasoned analysis. "Both are incredibly talented and hardworking, powerful competitors. But if I had to choose one, the logical choice would be Laxus. He's a few years older than Erza and has spent more time on Magic training."
"Moreover, the Dragon Slayer Mage's robust physique and extraordinary stamina are advantages Erza doesn't possess."
Ur had known Laxus and Erza for about the same amount of time—essentially, she'd watched both of them grow up.
Although Erza was a girl and lived in the girls' dormitory with her daughter Ultear, Ur didn't have any strong bias toward either competitor.
For her, either one winning was acceptable.
"And what is Makarov-san's opinion?"
"Hmm..." Makarov pondered for a long moment before speaking.
"Both sides are exceptionally strong, making it difficult for me to choose. While Laxus may have an advantage in raw Magical Power compared to Erza, as everyone knows, a match isn't solely determined by Magical Power. Physical skills, combat awareness, mental fortitude, and even the competitor's condition on the day of the match are crucial factors. Therefore, I believe Erza also has a chance of winning."
...
"I will give it my all!" Erza declared.
"Bring it on!" Laxus smirked.
"We can see! Contestant Laxus has thrown off his coat!"
Laxus pulled off his draped coat and flung it aside, yellow electricity crackling menacingly around his body.
"Requip!"
Erza changed into her Black Wing Armor, which featured a white cross on the chest and bat-like wings on the back.
"This is the Black Wing Armor, which enhances the destructive power of a single strike and increases speed!"
"The two have clashed!"
Erza swiftly closed in on Laxus and swung her sword down.
Laxus stood his ground, his fist covered in lightning as he blocked the strike with his bare hand.
In the close-quarters combat, Laxus seized an opportunity.
He grabbed Erza's arm, and the lightning around his hand intensified, enveloping Erza's form in a shock.
ZZZT!
Erza swung her sword horizontally with one hand to break free from Laxus's restraint, then performed several backflips to create distance.
While mid-air, she used Requip again, changing into an armor with a light green base, shoulder guards, and lightning patterns, wielding a thunder spear as her weapon.
"Lightning Empress Armor! COOL!!! This armor enhances resistance to lightning!"
Laxus wasn't concerned.
The Lightning Empress Armor could only block up to fifty percent of his damage at most—it merely improved her margin for error.
"Thunder Bullets!"
Laxus used both hands, firing consecutive spheres of lightning from his palms.
Erza leaped high into the air, spinning her thunder spear continuously to deflect the barrage.
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