Fred participated in the competition to clear the obstacle of George for Laxus.
Even if he was defeated in the end, consuming a lot of magic power would also ease the burden for Laxus.
Although Laxus would undoubtedly look down on him for doing so, he had to do it for Laxus. This is not cheating; it's just a strategy.
"Your strength is decent, let's begin."
George nodded and lifted his cat paw to gesture towards Fred.
He wasn't very clear about Fred's magic, and it wasn't just him who was unclear; none of the other magicians in the guild were either, knowing only a general idea.
Because the Thunder God and Laxus are both quite lonely and don't play much with others.
George only knows that Fred is proficient in runes and dark magic now.
He had already experienced the power of the runes at the guild's entrance; they were indeed formidable. It took him and Lepi quite a while to break them.
The dark text he had just seen Fred use in the battle was the use of a Western sword to leave "fear" and "pain" magic texts on the enemy, thus making the enemy feel fear and pain.
With this, Fred could easily defeat opponents who were affected by the dark texts.
Fred's close combat and swordmanship are also very impressive.
However, considering that Fred is the leader of the Thunder God and has a record of defeating S-class mages multiple times, it is likely that his methods are not limited to this.
"Taboo · Dark Script · Darkness!"
Only to see Fred directly opening up, using the Western sword to perform dark magic texts on himself.
The dark power that was imbued with the dark magic texts entered his body, and in a blink of an eye, his body transformed from human form into a demon-like one with two horns on top of his head.
His physical strength and magical power increased dramatically.
"Dark Text · Wings!"
Following that, the second dark text was engraved on his body, and a pair of black energy wings spread out from his back.
In a flash, he transformed into a beam of black light and attacked George.
"Interesting."
Seeing that dark magic texts could be used in such a way, George was also dazzled by the sight.
The magic texts he had been studying were similar to those of Lepi's, using texts to unleash various magical effects.
He had never expected that he could also perform magic texts on himself to strengthen himself.
Indeed, many of the magic in the library are just basic magic, and truly powerful mages will further develop these basic ones according to their own conditions after learning them.
Like Elza, who developed ordinary transformation magic into stronger knight magic.
That's why most magicians in this world only learn one kind of magic.
Because, aside from the truly exceptional talents like Gerard, it's already very difficult for ordinary mages to develop a high-level usage of a single kind of magic.
"It's over!"
Just as Fred circled behind George and prepared to launch a surprise attack, George's body suddenly expanded rapidly, transforming from a palm-sized kitten into a giant beast over thirty meters in size.
Surrounded by electrical sparks, George's claws swatted at the demonized Fred, who had transformed from a human, as if swatting at a fly, with lightning-fast speed. The claw struck the ground directly beneath Fred's transformed body, knocking him unconscious and sending him crashing into the ground of the arena.
"One strike to kill!"
Everyone from Fairy Tail, who had been worried about George, instantly stared in shock. Even on the other side of the arena where the fight had just ended, Laxus was wide-eyed with surprise.
Laxus had a feeling that Fred might not necessarily be able to defeat George, but he never expected that George would kill him with a single move.
As a demonized Fred, who had defeated several S-class mages, his strength was definitely not weak.
"The winner is George!"
Mirajane, regaining her senses, flew up to George's side and announced the result of the match.
George subsequently regained his normal kitten size.
Although Fred was not weak in his demon form, unfortunately, he was so large and had such powerful magic that he surpassed Makarov's transformed power limit.
Even in his demon form, Fred was far from being able to compare.
Furthermore, cats have fast reflexes. Even if Fred tried to attack, he wouldn't have had a chance as George's paw slapped him down.
The fifth round of the competition ended, and the final draw for the last round began.
Laxus vs. Elza, George vs. Lucy; the winners of both matches would determine the champion.
The losers would then compete for second and third place.
Half an hour later, the semifinals commenced.
By the time of the semifinals, following Makarov's instructions, the matches were not conducted simultaneously but were split into two separate contests.
In the first match, George vs. Lucy.
Without a doubt, Lucy was defeated. However, she did not admit defeat directly. Instead, she summoned Aquarius from the water outside the arena, threatening to flood the entire island.
This proved that when she erupted, her strength was indeed formidable.
In the second match, Elza vs. Laxus.
To be honest, this was the most exciting match to watch. Even George watched it attentively.
Because both Elza and Laxus are truly S-class mages who have passed the examination of the guild master within Fairy Tail.
Their strength is also at the top of S-class mages, and perhaps even surpassing the strength of the Holy Ten.
Although Elza's strength may have been weaker than Laxus's in the past, after the incident of Ecosia Tower, where she defeated a top S-class mage named pigeon and discovered her true self, it was still uncertain who would win.
Either way, George is uncertain about this battle; he doesn't know who will win in the end, Elza or Laxus.
The battle began, and Elza directly put on the Thunder Emperor's Armor, which had high resistance to lightning.
Wearing the Thunder Emperor's Armor, Elza held a thunder gun and braided her hair with silk ribbons, looking imposing and leading the spectators on the sidelines to cheer her on.
Laxus, in turn, took the battle very seriously and used the Dragon-Slaying Thunder Magic.
The battle between the two was intense and back-and-forth.
In the end, Laxus's Dragon-Slaying Thunder Magic was more powerful, absorbing Elza's released lightning and destroying her Thunder Emperor Armor. He took advantage of her slow reaction time and knocked her unconscious before she could switch to another armor.
However, Laxus himself was exhausted as well, and it could be said that he barely won by a hair's breadth.
"I never expected Elza's strength to have reached this level!"
At that moment, Laxus realized that he had truly underestimated the mages of the guild.
He had always looked down on Elza, but now he realized that her strength was only slightly inferior to his.
Moreover, the strength of Nuo and Gray in the previous battle was stronger than what he had anticipated.
Does that mean his ideas are really wrong, and the old man's ideas are correct?
Half an hour later, Mirajane flew in the air and announced to everyone through a microphone:
"Now, we will proceed with the final match."
This match will determine who is the strongest mage in Fairy Tail this year.
At the same time, it will also decide the candidate for the next guild master of Fairy Tail.
"Is it Laxus, who has the Dragon-Slaying Thunder Magic, or our future Cat Cat President George? Everyone please look forward to it!"
