A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"Time Beam Stream!"

The magic converged into a powerful golden beam, instantly piercing and disintegrating the ice hammer, causing the ice crystals to shatter and scatter.

Although time stop no longer works on Gray and Ultear with the help of the Arc of Time, it is still effective on objects. During the stopped time, Timaria unleashed an invisible attack.

"Ice-made·Lance and Cavalry Dance!!"

With another soft shout, hundreds of sword blades instantly materialized.

After three months of training in the Western Continent, Gray had improved significantly since the Harvest Festival battle, and was now almost on par with the Empire arc in the original work.

"Time Explosion Wave!!"

boom!!

A massive explosion engulfed the ice blade, and a thick, blinding white mist enveloped the battlefield, obscuring everything. No one could see what was happening inside. Then, a rapid series of clanging sounds emanated from within.

A few breaths later, two figures emerged from the white mist. Gray held an ice sword, while Timalia held her dagger. The two landed on the ground and faced each other, their eyes locked in a fierce battle.

“Lord Gray! Let Juvia lend you a hand!!” Juvia volunteered, puffing out her chest as she stood beside Gray.

Seeing his clothes ripped open to reveal two breasts, Gray blushed and quickly turned away, saying, "This is my fight, don't interfere!"

"I remember your opponent in this level is supposed to be Lucy, right? You should save your strength for now; Lucy is very strong right now!"

"What?! Lord Gray actually praised Lucy like that?!"

Juvia's face paled instantly, and two streams of tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks. "They've been getting along so well with Lord Gray behind my back... Ahhh!! Rival! Rival!!!"

"No, that's not true..."

Gray was speechless. In his panic, he could only force a response and explain, "I just didn't want to see you get bullied by her like you were just now, completely helpless..."

"Huh?!"

“What I mean is… if other people see your body, I’ll feel uncomfortable… like that…” Gray scratched his face with his fingers shyly, his face turning half black and half red.

This...this...this...Lord Gray is...concerned about me?!

Juvia's not-so-bright brain started calculating: Lord Gray doesn't like others seeing my body = Lord Gray cares about me = Lord Gray likes me

Her bright, sparkling eyes instantly turned into dancing red hearts: "Lord Gray~"

"Let go! Let go!! She's hitting me!"

"Ahhh~ It's supposed to be an exciting fight between beautiful women, so why is there an extra man here?"

"Yeah, yeah... he's such an eyesore, that naked pervert..."

Not far away, two men hiding behind the frozen grass watched this scene with slightly dissatisfied expressions, pointing and commenting on the battle.

"But youth is truly wonderful..."

"That's right! Gray has finally figured it out. It seems he was stimulated by Natsu and Lucy's rapid development back in the West Continent. You really have to push people when it comes to love!"

A few words were enough to pique Gildarts's curiosity, and he immediately grabbed Kira and kept asking, "Nani? What happened between Natsu and Lucy in the West Continent?"

"Hehehe... Let me explain slowly! It's like this..."

"Ah~ I see! Natsu, that brat, has grown up. He's definitely reached the age where he can enjoy the sweetness of love. I used to think he was with Lisanna... What?! Levy is involved in this too?!"

Just then, another sharp shout interrupted their conversation.

"Namikaze of the Heavenly Dragon!!"

"Ah, it seems the battle over there is about to reach a conclusion!"

Gray is fighting Timalia, so Wendy is naturally fighting Ultear.

In comparison, Wendy's magic is more sophisticated, combining offense and defense, and she can also apply buffs, making her almost an all-rounder. Ultear, on the other hand, has more magic power and an advantage in physical strength.

A tornado several meters high howled past, the gale constantly blowing up the surrounding ice blocks, which then transformed into wind blades that continuously cleaved them into tiny ice particles, bringing a bone-chilling cold wind to the enemy while attacking.

However, Urudia remained fearless in the face of this attack, neither dodging nor avoiding it.

Whoosh-!

Without any hindrance, the tornado passed straight through Urutia's figure, and upon closer inspection, the spot where Urutia had been standing was empty.

"You went through it?" Wendy looked doubtful.

"Time afterimage!"

Ultear's voice slowly emerged from the air, "Using the arc of time, materialize the remnants of my past or future where I am, just like the crystal balls I've materialized of different futures. And then..."

As she spoke, her figure suddenly multiplied into two, then four, each with the same type of magic. From the outside, it was as if she had used the Shadow Clone Technique, making it impossible to distinguish between the real and the fake. The only way to differentiate them was by the amount of magic power.

The four Ultears surrounded Wendy from all sides and spoke at the same time, "The afterimages you create can also use the same magic as me."

"!! That's amazing?!"

Not only Wendy was stunned, but Kira and Gildarts, who were watching the battle, were also stunned.

"No, I didn't sense enough magical power to match the magic she described. It should be a one-time use, meaning it will only be used once at most before the afterimage disappears."

Gildas, being the person he was, immediately realized what was happening and quickly saw the flaw in the magic.

Kira could also see it, but he wasn't as fast as him; that was the difference in experience.

"I see... This magic must be more than that, right? Although it manifests a human, since the target is myself, the energy consumption is not as high as I imagined."

Gildarts could see it, Kira could see it, but Wendy definitely couldn't. She felt both admiration and a sense of unease, her eyes shining as she looked at Ultear: "Ultear-san is amazing!!"

Just then, all the Ultears made their own movements, some taking out crystal balls and infusing them with magic, others clapping their hands together to gather cold air. The four identical streams of magic intertwined, making it impossible to tell where the attack would come from.

In a daze, Wendy felt that she saw Gray's figure in one of the Ultear's afterimages, like a female version of Gray, very cool.

"No! Now is not the time to be daydreaming!"

Realizing something was wrong, Wendy suddenly jolted, then quickly reacted, spreading her arms and casting a spell that seemed to be enchanted: "Crown of the Gods!"

"Storm Mode!!"

With a defensive buff on her body, Wendy simultaneously entered attack mode. She skillfully controlled the gale, raising her magic power to a new level. Then, with a stomp of her foot, the ice surface shattered, and her petite figure rushed toward the nearest afterimage at an astonishing speed.

"Are they attacking head-on? That's definitely Fairy Tail's style!"

The four Ultears had already gathered their magic, but they held back a little because Wendy was a child, thus delaying the release of the energy blast...

"Now!"

With a soft shout, both sides grasped the timing, direction, and intensity perfectly.

"The future has flashed!"

"Ice-Crafted Cherry Blossom Blizzard!!"

"Radiance!"

"Ice-Made Maple Dance"

In a flash, Ultear demonstrated precise magical control, unleashing four spells at Wendy from the front, back, left, and right. Wendy responded with her signature move, the Dragon Slayer technique passed down from Grandine by Periusica, allowing her to hold her own against four opponents.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Technique: Illumination Break - Sky Piercer!!"

The five spells exploded with a deafening roar, wind, ice, and light merging together to create a sky full of ice flowers. These flowers reflected the golden sunlight piercing through the clouds in the icy and snowy landscape, creating a dazzling spectacle that left Kira and Gildarts, the two onlookers, in awe.

"What a beautiful sight!"

"What a beautiful woman!"

Kira: ? ?

Something's wrong with you!

Finally, the icy storm stopped, and the light reflected from the ice crystals gradually faded, leaving only a figure exuding a girlish aura on the battlefield.

"So? Is it over? Who won?"

"It looks like..."

At this moment, Wendy had her arms crossed in front of her to protect her disheveled head. Her clothes, skirt, and stockings were all torn, and her body was covered with tiny ice particles. As for Ultear... there was no Ultear!

The four who just clashed with Wendy were all afterimages of time; the real ones are nowhere to be found.

Wendy's condition is not good.

Chapter 592 Makarov: I'll retire next year!

Wendy only lost to Ultear in this move, but she hasn't fallen yet.

The rules for this test are that candidates can advance as long as they survive until sunset. Kira is confident in her strength. Besides, Ultear takes good care of this girl and has never really gone all out.

Compared to using all her strength to eliminate Wendy, this fighting style, which relies on time afterimages to launch attacks while hiding herself, seems more like Ultear training her combat instincts.

Indeed, as one of the first Dragon Slayers, Wendy's abilities in this area are far inferior to those of Natsu and Gajeel.

What Kira didn't know was that, besides admiring Wendy, Melty was also involved.

Because Melty is one of Wendy's few close friends of the same age, Ultear, as Melty's guardian who is like a sister and mother to her, naturally has to take good care of Wendy. In other words, from the very beginning, Ultear never intended for Wendy to stop here.

As for Gray? Sorry! Boys should have more experience and challenges.

Thump thump thump...slap slap slap...

At this moment, Gray was training with Timalia. The two would occasionally clash with magic or slash at each other with ice swords and daggers, showing no mercy and leaving several afterimages in the air with each move.

Gray's swordsmanship is only so-so. His "Ice Demon Sword" and "Ice Holy Sword" rely mainly on strength and the stability and coldness of the ice form in combat, with little technique involved. While Timaria has the reputation of being a "female knight who gallops across the battlefield," that reputation is basically due to her ability to stop time. Neither of them is as strong in close combat as Erza.

Fortunately, their strengths are very similar, so the visual effects of their fight are quite good.

Suddenly, a strange telepathic connection surged into Gray's mind, and his hair stood on end. His hand movements slowed down by a beat, and Timalia seized the opportunity to kick him several meters away. Gray slid across the ice for several meters until he crashed into a patch of ice grass and finally came to a stop.

"What's wrong?" Timalia stopped what she was doing and looked curiously at Gray, who looked like a floor rag.

Gray shook his head and stood up, his mind a jumble of confusion: What was this inexplicable malice? It felt exactly like when Kira tricked him before!

Looking around, he realized that apart from Juvia, who was standing at the edge of the battlefield, watching the fight closely and looking anxious, everyone else had disappeared.

Where are the Kira? Wendy and Ultear are also missing...

Could Kira be behind this? No, that can't be! He has no reason to attack me in this level! But it seems he doesn't need to consider the time or place to do something like this...

"No, it's nothing!"