A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"What?!"

"Our group has defeated two enemies so far!" Lucy boasted happily. "How many enemies did Natsu and Happy defeat?"

This stumped the human and the cat: "Um... this... seems to be..."

"Aaaaaah, there isn't a single one!!!"

"It's all over!! We're going to fail the assessment!!"

"Happy, let's go find the enemy!!!" Natsu sniffed the air, pointed in a direction, and said, "That way!"

"Hey!!"

Seeing the person and cat fly away quickly, Kana muttered speechlessly, "What are those two guys doing here?"

Lucy chuckled softly.

……

Ten minutes earlier, after Loki and Natsu left, Gray faced Silver alone, while Gajeel faced Ethel alone.

"Now it's just us one-on-one again!" Gajeel re-entered battle mode, his Iron Dragon Scales activated. "The third round should be enough to decide the winner!"

Ethel laughed loudly, "I'm almost tired of playing with you! There are still many humans on this island. If I don't deal with you soon, other demons will beat me to it!"

This statement clearly showed that he didn't take Gajeel seriously, but when it came to trash talk, this Iron Dragon was second only to Kira: "Don't worry! Those guys you're talking about will be down there to join you soon!"

The tension was palpable between the man and the demon, their swords drawn, the battle of iron and sword seemingly about to reach its final climax. The next moment, the black iron man and the blue demon erupted simultaneously, colliding heavily!

"Iron Dragon's Claw!"

"Count beads!!"

"Iron Dragon Staff!"

"Onimaru!!"

"Iron Dragon Spear!"

"Da Dian Tai!!"

Both sides exchanged blows several times, devoting themselves wholeheartedly to the battle against the enemy before them, each displaying their unique abilities.

Ethel entered [Slash Mode], her four arms transforming into iron swords, slashing and hacking relentlessly, each strike accompanied by a whooshing sound, entangling Gajeel within them.

Besides the iron dragon scales on his body, Gajeel also used all his magic power for attack. His sharp and heavy steel body, combined with his agile movements, not only was he not bound by the iron net, but he also showed a faint tendency to break through it.

"Isn't there a saying that 'two fists can't beat four hands'? You only have two hands and two legs, but I have four hands and eight legs! You can't possibly defeat me!!"

"Idiot!" Gajeel retorted, "If having more hands and feet equals being stronger, then you're not even as good as a centipede!!"

"Tch! You're quite the talker!" Ethel attacked with both arms, while secretly gathering power in the other two, "Crescent Moon!!"

Stab it!

Even Gajeel's most sturdy iron dragon scale armor could not withstand the demon's "demon sword" spell. The armor was cracked by the crescent moon sword, and Gajeel was sent flying. But he was not one to suffer a loss, and he also left a bloody mark on his opponent.

“Gajeel…” Seeing this, Levy was extremely anxious.

Despite his worried exclamation, Gajeel seemed to receive a boost of support, his mental strength surged again, his scattered magic power re-coalesced, and the iron marks on his body became even more pronounced.

"The Roar of the Iron Dragon!!"

With a roar, Gajeel's magic power surged, and he unleashed a deafening burst of energy that swept through the world, accompanied by wind and rain, as if to tear his enemies to shreds in an iron tornado.

Knowing that the attack before her was not to be easily blocked, Ethel gathered all her magical power, and the cold, dark, and nauseating aura transformed the area several feet around her into a demonic domain.

This was Ethel's final move, a "demon sword" named after herself. The demon sword had not yet been used, but its sword energy had already gathered the soil, gravel, rainwater, dryness, and dust in the area together, and then cut them all off in one go.

"What an astonishing aura!"

Levy watched in shock as the two attacks were about to collide, her heart pounding with worry for Gajeel, and she silently prayed.

"The Demon Sword, one of the Five Great Swords of the Realm, the Child Cutter!!"

Ethel roared again, gathering the sharpness of the demonic sword into the swords formed by her four arms. At the same time, her eight octopus legs lunged forward, slashing towards the iron-colored tornado.

Swish! ! !

With two soft sounds, two silver-white sword beams streaked through the air, and Ethel's iron sword easily cleaved the roaring iron dragon in four pieces!

But Ethel's attack didn't stop!

He had four swords, but he only made two cuts so far, so he continued to slash at Gajeel!

"Oops!!"

At this moment, Gajeel felt as if his time had stopped, all the sounds in his ears had disappeared, the cold wind and drizzle around him were frozen in the air, and the world in front of him was red and black!

The ugly, towering demon brandished two sharp blades and slashed at him head-on, but he was unable to react and could only watch helplessly as the fatal blow landed on him.

That shorty... Levy, looking anxious, was calling her own name, but she couldn't hear her. She was running towards her.

Idiot! Don't come any closer!

Chapter 343 Steel

Pfft!

Two demonic swords slashed across Gajeel's chest, easily piercing his prized scales. In the next instant, blood gushed out, seemingly dyeing the entire world red.

"Ugh—!"

Gajeel felt utterly exhausted, his vision blurred, and his body fell backward: 'Is this the end?'

"Gajeel!!!"

Suddenly, a shout pulled Gajeel back from the brink of death.

An unknown force caused Gajeel to shudder, his eyes, which were about to close, to suddenly open and regain their clarity. He stomped his feet on the ground and stood up again.

Blood continued to flow from the crisscrossing wounds on his chest, but this only added to Gajeel's ferocity. Escaping from the brink of death allowed his magical power to surge in a short period of time!

"Give me iron!!!" Gajeel suddenly shouted.

Levy was stunned for a moment, her mind not yet processing what was happening, but her hands reacted first. With a few light flicks of her magic pen, the solid text transformed into an iron block shaped like "IRON" and flew towards Gajeel.

Gajeel opened his mouth and bit without hesitation, gradually turning eating into sucking, swallowing hard steel as if it were air, his magic power soared, and his strength surged from his body!

"Still alive? You're really tenacious!"

Ethel, who had already turned to leave, noticed the commotion behind her and pointed her iron sword at Gajeel again, "I'll finish you off with my next move!"

"Is that so? Then let's see who takes care of whom!"

Gajeel finally stopped eating, exhaled a breath of stale air, and a vast amount of magical power covered his body, flowing continuously as his Dragon Slayer Magic was activated to its maximum.

He suddenly grinned, a wild and arrogant laugh: "Iron Mode!!!"

……

One month ago.

"Damn it! What on earth did that fire dragon do? How could it enter that state?!"

During the guild tournament, on the night Gajeel was utterly defeated by Kira in the canyon, he sat in a tavern drinking alone, his complaints filled with envy and resentment towards Natsu.

"He's the main character, he can use cheat codes!" Kira happened to pass by and overheard, so he casually said, "How about it? Seeing that your opponent, who was once your equal, has suddenly become stronger than you, you're very resentful, aren't you? Very envious, aren't you?"

Hearing Kira's voice, Gajeel became even angrier: "Shut up! I'm not envious of any Flame Mode!"

Gajeel was incredibly envious: If that damn fire dragon hadn't suddenly unleashed some kind of fire mode, it's hard to say who would have made it to the semi-finals!

Others, however, couldn't contain their curiosity: "How exactly did they do that?"

"Its principle is to use magic amplification to enhance the attributes of one's own magic!"

Kira made up a story half-truthfully, "This process is relatively complicated, but it has many limitations! According to my research, only mages who use certain special magic can do it, and Dragon Slayer Magic is one of them."

Everyone laughed and said, "Then wouldn't Gajeel be able to do that too?"

Gajeel turned his head away disdainfully: "Tch! I wouldn't stoop to that kind of fighting style!"

Saying one thing and meaning another!

Kira smiled inwardly: "Entering this battle mode also requires a certain level of talent from the mage!"

Gajeel frowned: "Hmm?!"

Everyone unconsciously glanced at Gajeel and asked, "Are you saying Natsu has this talent?"

Kira replied, "Natsu had previously received our magic power and briefly entered the state of Dragon Power. He must have comprehended it from that state."

"Dragon Slayers have a special constitution. Once they experience a certain state, their bodies will naturally remember that feeling. However, the power of dragons is not a state that can be easily entered, so Natsu only mastered a simplified version."

Now everyone understood.

"If any of you want to try it, you can come find me. I can let you experience the state of magical amplification, it feels amazing! If not, ask Natsu... Hey, don't go! Maybe you'll have an extra trump card in battle later! The price is negotiable!"

Everyone left without looking back. They knew Kira's cunning nature. Only Gajeel, who had only recently joined the guild and was not yet familiar with Kira, remained quietly seated, watching Kira's retreating figure thoughtfully.

As Kira turned to leave, he felt the gaze behind him and a sinister smile appeared on his face: He's taken the bait!

……

just now.

"Steel...mode?!"

Seeing Gajeel's transformation, Levy froze. After a few seconds, she remembered Natsu's Flame Mode and understood something. "Is it a similar state to Natsu's Flame Mode? When did Gajeel..."

Ethel laughed loudly as she watched Gajeel's aura grow stronger: "Magic Amplification Technique? Is this your trump card? Using such a move as if to erase the differences between species is just too far-fetched!"

"It's always the same old species stuff, it's driving me crazy!" Gajeel suddenly charged forward, his body slightly lowered, like a sharp iron arrow, air resistance was no match for him.

"So fast!" Ethel was startled and raised all four arms to block.

Gajeel appeared in front of his opponent in the blink of an eye, but bypassed the crossed arms that were preparing to block, and launched a straight and fierce strike at the gap in the enemy's defense: "Iron Dragon Sword!"

"Hahahaha!! Useless! In this state, my body is made of steel, you can't possibly... Ugh—!"

Gajeel's all-out sword strike easily pierced Ethel's steel-like skin, causing a torrent of blood to spurt out: "Hehehe... Now you only owe me one sword strike!"

"You damned human brat! I'll never forgive you!" Ethel gritted her teeth in hatred, channeling her magic once more, preparing to unleash her ultimate attack again.