A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"It seems those rumors were true after all..."

Rumors? What rumors? Oh, I remember now!

Tips from certain insiders reminded viewers of rumors they often saw in the newspapers, such as "Fairy Tail mages destroyed half a street while on a mission" and "Fairy Tail mages destroyed a mountain to hunt monsters."

"That's terrifying!"

Physical and mental strength began to wane, and magic power and energy were about to be exhausted.

Gray's attack faltered, the number of ice blades decreased sharply, and the offensive slowed down; the fire ape's flames showed a weakness, the temperature began to drop, and the fire wall became thinner.

Dispel stepped out from behind the protective shield, tidied himself up a bit, and then continued with his final explanation: "Gray and Cana have unleashed their ultimate moves. As you can see, after a period of fighting, both of them are showing signs of weakness, which can also be seen from their magic."

"According to my estimation, their physical strength, magic power, and mental energy are almost depleted, and this clash is about to end! So the question is, in this situation, who will emerge victorious? I think it depends on their individual willpower and belief!"

There's no theory of "which side wins and which side loses" or any agreement of "I have an absolute reason not to lose." The quarterfinals between Gray and Cana are about to come to an end.

The last ice blade melted, and the last flame disappeared into the air. The battle between man and fire demon ape ended at the last moment when they both lost their energy support!

Steam filled the air, and mist shrouded the arena, obscuring the view. A moment later, a gust of wind blew in from afar, dispersing the steam and revealing two figures:

Gray knelt down, panting heavily, looking as if he had just been pulled out of the water. His hair, face, and bare upper body were soaked, but he was conscious, just severely dehydrated.

Kana collapsed. The Fire Demon Ape, having exhausted its energy, transformed back into a card and lay quietly in her hand. Kana herself had fallen into a deep sleep due to mental exhaustion.

"Match over! Congratulations to Gray for winning!!"

"Ooooooo!!!"

"Oh oh oh!!!"

The outcome was decided, and cheers erupted in the arena. Both the audience and the guild members were surprised and delighted by today's battle.

"I never imagined that Gray and Cana would become so strong! Back then, they were just two little brats..." the older generation sighed, especially Makarov, whose eyes welled up with tears of joy, a poignant reminder of the passage of time. "We really are getting old!"

Kira, Natsu, Erza, Lucy, and the others came up and carried Gray and Cana off the stage, sending them to rest. What Gray and Cana needed most right now was a good bath and a good night's sleep, followed by a big meal.

Before leaving, Kira glanced at the arena. The clash between ice and fire had undoubtedly caused irreversible damage to it, leaving it riddled with cracks and holes.

'Gray's final attack is somewhat similar to the Ice Demon King's magic...'

As Kira pondered, he recalled the scene when he, Gray, Winter, and the Ice Demon King used a combination spell to escape from the Black Dragon. "It seems that he received some of the Ice Demon King's magic power at that time, and his body memorized the magic fluctuations, so he can create similar ice now?"

After all, he's the second male lead in the original work, so it's not surprising that he has such a bizarre way of acquiring skills!

Looking at Gray, who was slumped in his chair and gradually falling asleep, Kira clicked his tongue in amazement: "First Natsu showed his Flame Mode, and in the blink of an eye you can create ice of the same type as the Ice Demon King. The strength of the two of you really does rise in tandem!"

The second match ended, but due to damage to the stage, it would take some time to repair, so the third match was delayed for half an hour.

Half an hour later, the red and blue figures stepped onto the stage at the same time and stood facing each other under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

The dashing female knight, Erza; the mysterious mage, Mystogan.

Two of the strongest candidates from Fairy Tail will meet in the quarterfinals ahead of schedule, and are about to start this thrilling final battle!

Chapter 167 Erza and Mystogan Clash Again

After the Tower of Paradise incident, the identity of "Jeral" was wanted by the Council. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Mystogan specifically asked the guild members not to announce his identity to the outside world, otherwise the Council might send people to keep an eye on him because of his appearance.

Everyone readily agreed, including Kira and Dispel, even though he had already subtly hinted at these things in the novel.

Without explicitly stating his identity, ordinary people don't know what Mystogan looks like, and they only saw his magic for the first time yesterday. They originally thought that was his full power, but after the battle between Gray and Cana, the uninformed onlookers felt that their magical worldview had been refreshed, and they developed a strong curiosity about the true strength of Erza and Mystogan, these two S-class mages.

On the stage, Erza looked at Mystogan and said sincerely, "I'm really looking forward to today's match!"

Mistgang paused for two seconds, then said, "I remember we should have already fought yesterday."

Erza shook her head: "Yesterday's battle was not decided, and for other reasons, you did not use your full strength!"

“I’m not interested in pointless battles, and you should have felt yesterday that my magic wasn’t very effective against you. If possible, I’d rather just admit defeat.”

“That’s a real shame. The competition doesn’t allow surrendering in this situation,” Erza said with a slight smile. “So many people are watching. If I just admit defeat, they’ll be very disappointed, and I might even get a scolding from the president later.”

Mystogan nodded silently. Indeed, if he were to admit defeat so easily, there might be situations like "audiences demanding refunds" or "Fairy Tail's reputation being damaged," which would be a huge mistake on his part.

"You've been working on Edolas's schemes for so many years, this is a rare opportunity, so it's okay to indulge yourself a little!"

"This is a rare opportunity, so let's have a good fight!"

Erza continued to use words to seduce Mystogan, her smile and relaxed words merely a facade to conceal the barely suppressed fighting spirit deep within her heart.

Throughout the entire Fairy Tail series, Mystogan has never had a serious fight with anyone!

The most exciting match was yesterday's, but the two only went so far as to stop, and because of the competition, they didn't get to fight to their hearts' content!

"It seems there's no other way!" Mystogan sighed, pulled a magic wand from behind his back and held it up in front of him, staring directly at Erza.

"Fairy Tail Tournament Quarterfinals, Match 3: Erza vs. Mystogan, begin now!"

"Oh oh oh oh!"

As Dispel announced the start of the match, the audience began to cheer, and the two fighters each used their swords and staffs to begin their battle.

"Change gear, Black Feather Armor!"

Erza donned her light, black armor and sped across half the arena like the wind, her black-feathered sword slashing at Mystogan.

clang!

Mystergan raised his staff diagonally to parry, steadily blocking the incoming slash.

The instant he caught it, his hand didn't tremble, his feet didn't falter, his eyes were calm and unwavering. Hidden within that seemingly wooden, slender staff was a metal mineral as hard as iron, and at the same time, a spell was released from it: "Dreamscape!"

In the past, whenever he joined the guild, Mystogan would use the Illusionary Dream to put his companions to sleep. This Illusionary Dream was even more powerful than the Illusionary Dream. However, the sleep magic that usually worked every time failed him for the first time today.

Having prepared in advance, Erza steadied her mind and strengthened her will, intending to resist the invisible magic with her own perseverance. Her bat-like armor granted her the ability to fly at high speed. Erza circled behind Mystogan and slashed diagonally upwards with her longsword once again.

"Fighting drowsiness with action? That's brilliant!"

That's the advantage of fighting Mystogan; no matter what move you use, he'll sincerely and politely praise you.

Erza, unusually distracted during the battle, thought: 'As expected of a prince, so well-mannered… Wait! Is he only refraining from fighting because he doesn't want to talk?'

The sneak attack from behind naturally failed. Mistgang could pinpoint the location of the attack by sound, as if he had eyes in the back of his head. Without turning his body, he was fully aware of the attack from behind.

He deftly deflected the attack by swinging his staff backward, striking the longsword squarely in the front. At the same time, he drew another staff with his other hand and struck Erza's head.

"Distracted during battle? That doesn't seem like something that would happen to you!"

Only after a close encounter did I realize that Mystergan's strength was indeed extraordinary.

First, a familiar voice rang in Erza's ears again, reminding her of Jellal, which made her heart flutter and weaken the strength of her longsword. Then, two attacks came from the lower left and upper right, respectively, with such tricky angles that even she, a veteran of countless battles, found them difficult to handle.

But Erza quickly regained her composure, pressed her left hand firmly on the ground, lifted her body sideways, and used the momentum to flip to the right, barely dodging the attack of the two staffs in an almost impossible posture. She spun around, landed, and plunged her longsword into the ground to offset the inertia. Her movements were fluid and without any pause, and even her breathing was steady, as if she had practiced it hundreds or thousands of times.

"Sorry, and also, I'm going to get serious now!" Erza looked up, her eyes serious.

"Wow, that's impressive! No wonder it's an S-rank battle. Their speed, reaction time, attack, and dodging are all so much better! They're completely different from those two who just bombarded us with magic and special effects!"

"Hey, that's not what you just said!"

"Erza truly lives up to her title of 'Fairy Queen' by performing such thrilling and dangerous stunts!"

The audience gasped in amazement, but on the stage, the battle did not pause after that move ended.

Mystogan held his two magic wands horizontally in front of him and spoke calmly: "Maple Dance!"

The voice was deep, yet seemed to be filled with magic, drawing the audience in unconsciously. Countless deep red maple leaves spun out from the magic circle, and with a gentle breeze, they instantly covered the entire arena.

It is early summer now, but the scene before me seems to be late autumn. The summer heat has dissipated, the autumn sky is clear and the air is crisp, all the flowers have withered, and the maple leaves are dancing wildly. A sense of calm, leisure, and tranquility wells up in my heart, making me want to put down everything and immerse myself in the endless maple leaf marsh.

"What is this?! What is this?!" Dispel shouted, thoroughly enjoying himself. "This is magic that Mystogan has never shown to anyone before! Look, everyone, how beautiful it is! These deep red maple leaves make me feel the arrival of autumn..."

Except for a few with stronger willpower, everyone present forgot the tension and excitement they had just felt. They put aside all thoughts and immersed themselves in the tranquil scenery, murmuring to themselves, "So beautiful..."

Even within the Fairy Tail guild, many were captivated by the Maple Dance before them, immersing themselves in the false illusion.

Kira nodded to himself as he watched the scene unfold before him: "The quality of this magic is quite high. Only Mystogan could have done this. Speaking of which, his talent in this area is truly remarkable!"

He then glanced at the dazed Lucy, Natsu, and the others, and couldn't help but think, "If I were to secretly punch them right now, they probably wouldn't wake up..."

Clang!

Suddenly, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, the sound of swords clashing resounded throughout the entire arena!

Erza tore through the illusion with her twin swords, kicked up a little dust with her foot, and flew rapidly at low altitude, attacking Mystogan once again!

Everyone awoke with a start, only to find that the maple leaves in front of them had completely disappeared, as if they had never appeared at all.

"What kind of magic was that just now?"

"It must be illusion magic... I completely forgot I was watching a match!"

"I think I saw a beautiful woman waving at me..."

"Don't even mention it, I was already holding hands with them, and then I woke up to find out it was all fake..."

As the audience chatted, they turned their attention back to Mistgang on the field. They knew that he was the one who had cast the illusion spell earlier.

One audience member, his eyes glued to the magic wand in Mistgang's hand, exclaimed, "I wonder what kind of magic is coming next, I can't wait..."

The person next to him rolled their eyes at him: "Are you expecting magic? I'm too embarrassed to call you out on it!"

"I've decided, I want to learn magic too!"

"..."

Chapter 168 Two People Who Restrain Each Other

Erza's ability to break free of the illusion and regain consciousness in such a short time was entirely within Mystogan's expectations. He had already learned yesterday that her right eye was a prosthetic eye, which halved or even completely negated her immunity to illusions, so he hadn't expected to be able to delay her for long.

"Penglai is here!"

Mystogan planted a magic wand in the ground and then drew another, transforming into a "three-wand style" fighter. Taking advantage of the brief opportunity, he launched an attack. The three magic wands clashed together, and the magic combined to create a whirlwind that rushed towards Erza.

But Erza deciphered the Maple Dance faster than he had anticipated!

"Change gear, Wind God's Armor!"

The upper body is covered by a tribal-style robe with fur at the collar and triangular patterns on the cuffs. A fur-lined belt is worn around the waist, and white bandages are wrapped around the forearms from the wrists to the elbows. The lower body consists of black trousers and a pair of light boots. A pair of wings are worn on both sides of the head, and the hair is tied in a low ponytail.