The battle kicked off with a bang. Natsu and Gray charged in first, but Racer lived up to his name. Before they even realized he'd moved, he blurred behind them and sent both flying with a lightning-fast roundhouse kick.
The move caught everyone off guard. Even Erza and Jura couldn't react in time.
"Natsu! Gray!" Lucy cried out.
But a voice identical to her own echoed from right beside her. She spun around, only to see her own double standing there.
"Huh?"
Before she could process it, the fake Lucy whipped a long leather lash from her hip and cracked it across the real Lucy's chest, sending her sprawling.
"Idiot!" the imposter sneered.
Happy's head swung back and forth between the two Lucys, his tiny brain short-circuiting. "Wait! What's going on?! There are two Lucys?!"
The others, seeing the tide turning, immediately unleashed their magic.
"Ice-Make: Eagle!"
Lyon's hands erupted in frost. Using a dynamic style similar to Gray's, he conjured a dozen ice birds that flapped their wings and dove toward Cobra, who was closing in. Lyon didn't turn back to help the others; he trusted Gray to get back up.
Cobra, however, moved like he was taking a Sunday stroll, casually sidestepping the speeding ice projectiles. "I hear you," he muttered. "I hear your every move!"
Lyon frowned, sensing something was off. "What did you say?"
Before he could figure it out, a heavy fist caught him in the jaw and sent him tumbling.
On the other side, Hoteye held a book in his right hand while pressing two fingers under his eye, reciting his mantra: "Even if there's no love... as long as there's money, it's all good! BIG MONEY!"
The ground on both sides of the battlefield surged like a tidal wave. The solid earth turned into a churning, muddy marsh, swallowing the Allied Forces' feet.
"Earth Magic?" Jura reacted instantly, swiping his fingers through the air. "Iron Rock Wall!"
Massive stone pillars erupted from the ground. These magically hardened rocks were as tough as steel, instantly cutting off the encroaching sea of soft mud.
"Impressive defense, Jura! Not a single crack!" a voice chirped. "But... a defense that's too tight can become a fatal trap!"
As if on cue, a sweet scent wafted from within the rock enclosure. A pale yellow mist, smelling like expensive cologne, filled the air. Jura felt his fighting spirit drain away instantly.
"What is this?"
Trapped inside the wall, Ren and Eve from Blue Pegasus paled. "Is this Master Ichiya's 'Scent of Lost Will'?!"
"The strongest defenses are always destroyed from within!" the fake Ichiya cackled. "How does it feel? You can't even lift a finger now, can you? MEN!"
"Master Ichiya?! Why?!"
The real Ichiya panicked, waving his hands frantically. "No, no, no! It's not me!"
"Damn it! That guy's a fake—AAH!"
Zip! Zip! Zip!
Racer became a literal blur, streaking through the crowd like a laser beam. Whether it was a punch or a kick, his attacks were unstoppable. The mages could hear the impact of his strikes, but they couldn't catch a glimpse of his shadow.
"Gah!"
Another flash of movement. As the Allied mages were knocked back, bloody welts appeared on their faces and arms. By the time they realized they'd been hit, Racer had already finished his lap and returned to his starting point.
"You guys are way too slow!"
Seeing her teammates in trouble, Erza didn't hesitate. "Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor!"
In a flash of silver light, Erza appeared in her winged armor, dozens of swords circling her. With a wave of her hands, the blades shot out with pinpoint accuracy, targeting the speedster, Racer.
When it came to sword speed, Erza bowed to no one.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Racer didn't panic. He tapped his toes against the air, pivoting and flipping through the sky to evade the barrage. The swords missed, thudding into the ground with a satisfying thwack.
Erza's eyes narrowed. She immediately switched to a saturation attack. "Heaven's Wheel: Blumenblatt!"
Clang, clang, clang...
The swords multiplied in mid-air—ten became a hundred, a hundred became a thousand—raining down like a steel storm.
Even Racer found this troublesome. "That's... actually fast!" he thought, surprised.
His magic could slow down his opponents' perception of time, but it didn't work on inanimate objects. When Erza filled the entire area with high-speed projectiles, even he couldn't dodge easily.
Brain watched from a distance, deep in thought. "So that's Erza Scarlet? She lives up to the reputation."
As the swords rained down, Racer was forced to retreat toward Midnight, using the latter's Reflector magic to shield himself. He panted, slightly rattled, and shouted back: "Jellal! What are you doing?! Why aren't you helping?! She was supposed to be your opponent!"
Jellal, however, just stood there with his arms crossed, giving them a mocking look. "Our deal was for me to 'find and activate Nirvana.' It didn't include doing your dirty work against the guilds."
"You bastard!" Racer snarled, looking like he wanted to punch Jellal, but Cobra held him back.
"Don't be stupid! You know you're no match for him. Besides, he's not our enemy... yet."
"I know! It just pisses me off!"
Cobra looked over at the others. Angel was having too much fun playing with Gemini to care. Hoteye noticed the tension, but simply said: "Don't look at me! I don't work for free!"
Cobra gave Racer a look that said 'deal with it.' "Looks like you'll just have to suck it up for now." (Implicitly: We'll deal with him when the job's done.)
Racer got the message and nodded, silently adding the slight to his mental tally.
Aside from Erza, Jura, and Ichiya, everyone else had been knocked down. The first round had lasted barely a minute, but the Oración Seis clearly held the upper hand.
"Damn it..."
"They're so strong..."
"Only four of them did all this?"
The Oración Seis were unexpectedly powerful and worked together seamlessly. The Allied mages were all elites of their respective guilds, and being dismantled in sixty seconds was a bitter pill to swallow.
Erza's expression turned cold and sharp. "Snap out of it! You aren't the type of people to go down this easily!"
"Follow my lead! I'll take the front—you guys back me up!"
I'll carry us to the win.
The speech was short, but the sheer confidence in her voice acted like a shock to the downed mages. They instinctively found themselves moving to her rhythm.
Natsu and Gray were the first to scramble up.
"Hell yeah! This is nothing compared to our daily brawls at the hall!"
"Compared to getting punched by Kira, this is a massage!"
Lyon looked at Gray, a competitive smirk returning to his face as he helped Sherry up. "We can't let them show us up, can we?"
"Right!"
Nearby, the small man in the white suit stood up, ignoring the dirt on his clothes and the bruise on his cheek. Ichiya struck a "dashing" pose. "To use my own magic against my friends... you shall regret this! MEN!"
"That's our Master Ichiya!!" the Trimens cheered.
Ichiya's words reminded Lucy of something. "Everyone, be careful! They have someone who can shapeshift into any of us and copy our magic!"
Erza is truly incredible, rallying everyone's spirits so quickly, Jura thought, though his face remained a mask of iron. "Go forth without fear! I shall guard your backs!"
His voice was heavy and grounding, radiating a sense of absolute reliability.
"OHHHHHHHH!!!"
With a roar, the Alliance charged back in. Round two was on.