One Strike

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Time seemed to stand still as the tension between the two figures grew.

"This is exactly what Ur taught us, isn't it?" Gray shouted, his voice echoing. "Using one-handed Ice-Make sacrifices balance!"

Lyon smirked confidently. "I'm not the same. My abilities have long surpassed Ur's."

"Don't get cocky!"

"I could say the same to you. Have you even landed a single hit on me?"

"I'm not the same as before!" Gray bellowed.

"Ice-Make: Ice Geyser!"

Gray slammed his hands to the ground, and massive spikes of ice erupted upward toward Lyon.

Crack!

Lyon countered effortlessly with a one-handed Ice-Make spell identical to Gray's, canceling it out.

"See? We're the same, Gray. But I'm your senior—I'm stronger. I can do one-handed casting, and you can't. Even though we've chosen different paths, time feels frozen. Nothing's changed."

Lyon opened his hand, and a magic circle formed beneath Gray.

Whoosh!

"Ugh!"

An ice dragon burst from the ground, slamming into Gray and sending him flying.

"This is why I must melt that ice and clear the path forward!" Lyon declared.

"My goal was always to surpass Ur! But you robbed me of that dream. Without Ur, there's no one for me to surpass."

Lyon's voice turned fierce. "There's only one way to make it right. If I can defeat Deliora—the demon even Ur couldn't kill—then I'll have surpassed her. My dream will finally come true!"

"Are you serious?!" Gray yelled, his disbelief etched on his face. "That's your real goal? You know how dangerous Deliora is!"

"Stop this madness—it's impossible!"

Lyon's anger flared. "Impossible? You, of all people, dare say that to me?!"

His voice trembled with rage. "Do you remember what we told you back then? When you recklessly challenged Deliora, it cost Ur her life! You have no right to speak her name! Disappear!"

Whoosh!

Ice erupted around Gray, engulfing him completely.

"Gray!" Lucy cried, starting forward, but Uchiha Kitaro reached out, stopping her.

"Kitaro! Do something—save him!"

"This is between them. It's not for us to interfere," Kitaro said calmly.

"But—"

Moments later, Gray's battered form landed at Lucy and Kitaro's feet like a discarded rag.

"Gray! You bastard!" Natsu roared, rushing toward Lyon.

Before he could close the gap, a freezing aura surrounded him.

"What the—?! I can't move!"

In seconds, Natsu was frozen solid, encased in ice except for his head and limbs. He flailed helplessly, looking more like a turtle flipped onto its back than a fierce dragon slayer.

"Natsu!"

"Kitaro, save Natsu!" Happy pleaded.

Kitaro sighed. "You wanted an S-Class mission, didn't you? This is what it feels like. Maybe next time you'll think twice before sneaking off with a job."

Lucy and Happy shook their heads furiously. This level of danger was far beyond what they expected.

Lyon's gaze shifted to Kitaro. "Are you going to stand in my way too?"

Kitaro shrugged. "I don't care about your fight with Gray or your delusions of grandeur. But I think you should stop here."

"Then disappear along with the rest!"

"Ice-Make: Snow Tiger!" Lyon roared, summoning a massive ice tiger that lunged at Kitaro.

Kitaro's hand clenched into a fist, a faint hum of power vibrating around him.

Wham!

With a casual punch, he shattered the air itself.

Crack-crack-crack!

The ice tiger disintegrated as an overwhelming wave of energy radiated outward. The ruins trembled violently, and walls crumbled as the ground cracked and shifted.

Lyon quickly formed a protective ice shield around himself.

Shatter!

The shield, no match for the vibrations, fractured almost instantly.

"Argh!" Lyon screamed as he was hurled backward.

The cultists and their moonlight ritualists tumbled down with him, scattered like leaves in a storm.

As the dust settled, silence fell.

Lucy, Happy, and even the battered Gray and Natsu stared in stunned disbelief.

Everything in front of Kitaro—half the ruins—was gone. Only the ground beneath his feet and behind him remained intact.

Kitaro snapped his fingers. "Done."

"He's a monster!" Lucy exclaimed.

"One strike… again," Natsu muttered in disbelief.

This wasn't the first time Kitaro had wiped out an enemy with a single move. He had obliterated the Iron Forest Guild in one blow, and now he had effortlessly defeated enemies that Gray and Natsu couldn't handle.

Lyon, battered and bleeding, crawled out of the debris, forcing himself to his feet.

Kitaro looked down at him with a calm, almost bored expression. "It'd be easier to stay down."

"I… won't… let anyone… stop me! My dream isn't over yet!" Lyon growled.

"Ice-Make: Snow Dragon!"

Lyon summoned another ice dragon, this one larger and more ferocious than before, and sent it barreling toward Kitaro.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

With a single-hand sign, Kitaro unleashed a massive fire dragon from his mouth.

Hiss!

The fire dragon collided with the ice dragon, instantly vaporizing it in a burst of steam.

Boom!

The fire dragon roared onward, striking the ruins and causing a massive explosion.

"Argh!" Lyon screamed as the force of the blast hurled him away.

When the dust cleared, a giant crater revealed Deliora, its frozen form now exposed beneath the debris.

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