Chapter 270: Sorano vs. Aria
Happy instinctively ducked behind a pillar, peeking out nervously to watch.
"How sorrowful..."
Aria thrust his right palm forward. An invisible blast of air shot toward Natsu.
Though he couldn't see it, Natsu's keen senses screamed danger. He leaped to the side just in time.
BOOM!
The invisible attack struck the ground behind him, shattering the stone floor and sending debris flying.
Aria didn't speak again. He thrust his left palm, sending another invisible blast. Then his right, then left again, unleashing a barrage of unseen attacks.
Natsu, unable to see the attacks, was forced to rely entirely on instinct to dodge. Having never faced an opponent like this, he inevitably made mistakes. Soon, he was hit several times.
But Natsu wasn't one to take a beating lying down. He stomped his right foot, launching himself toward Aria.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Flames wreathed his fist as he punched.
"Hmph!"
Aria thrust his right palm. Natsu, sensing the attack, punched directly into the invisible force. His fist connected, but the impact stopped his charge dead.
Before he could recover, a dozen more invisible blasts came flying. Natsu twisted and dodged, but two of them still clipped him.
BOOM! BOOM!
Knocked into the air, Natsu flipped and landed on his feet. Explosions echoed behind him as he glared at Aria.
Natsu was panting heavily. The constant dodging, the hits he'd taken, and the earlier fight with Totomaru had drained a lot of his stamina.
"Impressive! I didn't expect you to still be standing."
Aria knew the power of his attacks. For Natsu to take several hits and still stand firm was a testament to his incredible physical resilience.
"Dammit!"
Natsu ignited his fists again and charged.
'What is with this guy? I've never seen Natsu get beaten up like this without landing a hit... except back at the guild!' Happy thought, worried. Then, remembering Natsu's daily beatings at the hands of Noah and the S-Class wizards, he almost laughed, his worry momentarily vanishing.
'No! Focus! Natsu's in trouble!' Happy shook his head, forcing himself to pay attention to the battle.
"However, before my Airspace magic, you cannot defeat me."
Aria thrust his palm again. Natsu punched the invisible blast, dispersing it, but a flurry of follow-up attacks forced him on the defensive. He dodged most, but the last one caught him square in the chest.
Natsu was knocked back, but he rolled and sprang to his feet immediately.
'Invisible magic... what do we do?!' Happy watched anxiously. Natsu was on the defensive, taking damage bit by bit. If this kept up, he would lose.
"Standing up again, Fire Dragon?"
"I can't fall here! I am a wizard of Fairy Tail! I'M ALL FIRED UP, YOU BASTARD!" Natsu roared.
"Airspace... Zetsu!"
Aria thrust his palm. This wasn't a single blast, but a continuous volley of dozens of invisible attacks.
Natsu sensed the immense danger. He couldn't just tank this.
"Fire Dragon's ROAR!"
Natsu took a deep breath and exhaled, a torrent of dragon fire meeting the invisible barrage.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The attacks collided in mid-air, triggering a chain of explosions that pulverized the floor and filled the room with smoke and dust.
Using the cover, Natsu took a few deep breaths to steady himself. But when the smoke cleared... Aria was gone.
"Wh-Where is he?"
Natsu looked around frantically. He couldn't see him, but suddenly, Aria's voice echoed from all around.
"It is over, Fire Dragon... Now, I shall grant you unimaginable pain! Airspace... Metsu!! This magic will completely drain your magic power!!"
Aria suddenly appeared behind Natsu, both hands aimed at Natsu's head, magic circles glowing in front of his palms.
"Cr-Crap!"
Natsu hadn't sensed him at all. Caught off guard, he was hit by the spell. He tried to move, but his body was paralyzed.
"NATSU!!" Happy screamed, helpless.
"Ugh... AHHH!"
Natsu groaned in agony as he felt his magic being ripped away. For a wizard, magic was life. For someone with as much power as Natsu, having it drained was excruciating.
"There is always someone stronger, young dragon! How sorrowful! In this Airspace, any wizard's magic becomes nothingness."
Aria wept openly as he spoke, still maintaining the spell.
Suddenly, a beam of light shot toward him. A voice rang out: "You're right. There is always someone stronger. But it certainly isn't you."
The beam was powerful. Aria dared not take it head-on. He broke the spell, releasing Natsu, and dodged to the side.
He landed and looked back. Natsu was leaning against the wall for support. Standing in front of him was a young woman with light blue hair.
"Sorano!" Happy cheered.
"Oh... how sorrowful... Not only the Fire Dragon, but even an angel will perish by my hand..." Aria said, his tone joyful despite his words.
"I've been searching forever and haven't found a single Element 4 member. Just grunts," Sorano said casually. "If I hadn't heard the explosions over here, I wouldn't have found you either."
Seeing Sorano, Happy relaxed. She was much stronger than Natsu, and her magic was versatile. She wouldn't have trouble with invisible attacks.
"Hehehe... If Sorano is to be my opponent... even I must get serious!"
Aria laughed as he reached up and untied his blindfold. He opened his eyes, which had been closed until now.
"The magic circle is glowing!"
"Is it finished?!"
"Is this the end...?"
"Didn't Noah say it was delayed?"
"EVERYONE GET DOWN!!!"
"Getting down won't help against that!"
Outside, the guild members panicked as the giant's movements suddenly accelerated. The magic circle in the sky was completed in seconds and began to shine with a blinding light.
Makarov stepped forward, his magic surging.
"Don't worry, Gramps. Watch this."
Noah stepped up beside Makarov.
"His magic power is decent. That's how he sped up the casting. But... if his magic is strong, I just have to scatter it."
Noah waved his right hand.
The glowing magic circle in the sky suddenly... dimmed. It looked as if an invisible eraser had wiped away half of the intricate design.
The Magic Giant shuddered, seemingly glitching, and then started drawing the missing half of the circle again, though faster than before.
"Noah... what did you...?" Makarov asked, staring at Noah in disbelief.
"The circle completes when it's filled with enough magic, right? So I just scattered half the magic in it. It reverted to a half-finished state. Now it has to redraw it. Simple, right?"
"Th-This..."
Makarov was speechless. He had never seen anything like it. Usually, you either destroy the circle or put up a defense. Scattering half the magic to force a "redraw"? What kind of strategy was that?
The panic among the guild members vanished, replaced by speechless stares at Noah. A few, distracted by his casual display of power, nearly got hit by Shades.
But realizing the immediate threat from the sky was gone—and that Noah could apparently just "erase" the enemy's ultimate spell—they relaxed and refocused on fighting the Shades.
"Come to me, Angel!"
Inside, Aria faced Sorano. The air around him began to churn, expanding outward in all directions.
"Airspace of Death... Zero! Activate! This Airspace devours all life within it!"
"Whoa!"
Natsu shielded his face from the intense wind pressure. Happy grabbed onto Natsu's scarf, flapping in the gale like a flag.
"Magic that devours life?" Sorano's expression darkened. She waved her hand, and a massive angel appeared beside her. "Why? Why can you talk about taking lives so lightly?!"
"Now, accept it all!" Aria grinned savagely, shouting over the wind. "Can you withstand this Airspace?"
He thrust both palms forward, and the hurricane-force winds surged toward Sorano.
"Hmph. Why should I withstand it?" Sorano said coldly.
She pointed her finger. Light began to gather in front of her angel.
"Who says I have to go in? I'll just blast you from here."
The angel finished charging and fired a massive beam of light. It tore straight through Aria's Airspace, aiming directly for him.
"Eh? Impossible! It broke through the Airspace?!"
Aria watched the beam approach, panic finally replacing his arrogance.
"Wai—"
Before he could finish, the beam slammed into him.
BOOM!!!
The blast not only knocked Aria out cold but also blew a hole straight through the Magic Giant's wall, revealing the sky outside.
"...One hit!" Happy gasped.
"Sorano is dangerous," Natsu muttered, his face pale.
"People like you, who don't value life, don't deserve sympathy," Sorano said disdainfully, looking down at the unconscious Aria. "Just accept your judgment."
~~~
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