After Ezreal collected the Skull Gang's bounty and left the Council's branch, he rode his Shadow Worgen back to his Valorant Island and had a good night's sleep.
The next day, at nine in the morning, after Ezreal had a simple vegetarian breakfast made by Mei Yangyang at the King's Hall, he rode his Shadow Worgen to the guild again.
Around nine in the morning, Ezreal pushed open the guild doors, but the inside was empty, not even Mira, who usually woke up quite early, was there.
"Huh? Did I come too early?" Ezreal stood at the doorway, looking at the empty guild hall, stunned for a second.
Not only was the hall empty, but Ezreal also noticed that there wasn't a single stool in the entire hall. "Where are the stools?"
Ezreal took two steps back and looked up at the sign, which indeed read Fairy Tail.
Just as Ezreal was feeling confused, the back door of the guild hall was blown open by a strong gust of air.
"Boom!"
Behind the door was the beautiful Fairy Tail Lake, and the Fairy Tail members sitting neatly with their stools.
In the open space by Fairy Tail Lake, Ezreal saw Natsu and Marcus standing opposite each other from afar, both radiating fighting spirit.
Flames burned on Natsu's hands, while Marcus held a mace made of gold sand.
Ezreal quickly walked over, grabbing a small stool and a bag of small biscuits from the counter, then jogged through the back door to join the onlookers.
"Hi, EZ."
"Is EZ back?"
"EZ, a true man, long time no see."
"Oh, EZ, good morning."
"Hi, everyone, hello." Ezreal greeted his familiar companions, took his small stool, and sat down next to Gray, Mira, and the others.
Ikaruga, Cana, Gray, Mira, Elfman, and Erza sat in a row, with Happy lying comfortably in Mira's arms.
Ezreal scanned the area carefully; almost all guild members were here, even Laxus, who was sitting in a corner with his Thunder God Tribe.
Master Makarov was also there, but at this moment, acting as a referee, he was glowing with golden light, floating high above Natsu and Marcus's heads.
"Hey, what's going on? It's rare to see everyone here and so early." Ezreal patted Gray's shoulder, tore open the bag of biscuits, and offered Gray two pieces.
"Combat training. Laxus proposed that guild members should hone their skills. Although everyone doesn't particularly like Laxus, they're quite cooperative with this matter."
"Even the Master was brought in to provide guidance."
"Anyway, there aren't many opportunities to take on missions in winter, so everyone has been sparring these past few days."
Gray took the biscuits, munching on them crunchily as he explained.
"Orange flavored, do you have apple?"
Ezreal nodded, then shook his head. "So that's what's happening. No, the front desk only had orange flavored. I swiped them, eat them quietly."
"It's starting, it's starting, look!"
To avoid accidental injury, the two's combat position was at least five hundred meters away from the spectators.
It was in the very center of the grassy area.
Natsu took a deep breath, his gaze fixed on Marcus, the flames on his hands burning even more fiercely, as if to ignite the surrounding air, and the light began to distort.
Marcus was not to be outdone, gripping his gold sand mace tightly, golden light flowing along the shaft, emitting powerful magical fluctuations.
"Natsu!" Marcus roared, launching the first attack.
He flashed, instantly appearing in front of Natsu, his mace whistling as it swung towards Natsu.
Natsu showed no fear, pushing off the ground and sidestepping to avoid the fierce blow.
The mace slammed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Taking advantage of the gap in Marcus's attack, Natsu clenched his right fist, a ball of flame gathering on it, and blasted it towards Marcus's abdomen.
Marcus reacted quickly, blocking with his mace.
The flame collided with the gold sand mace, making a "sizzle" sound, and a wave of heat spread outwards.
The two instantly separated, facing each other.
"Not bad, Natsu, but that's not enough!" Marcus said, brandishing his mace with both hands. gold sand shot out from the shaft, transforming into countless sharp golden spikes that rained down on Natsu.
A flicker of excitement flashed in Natsu's eyes. He quickly moved his hands in front of him, and flames formed a massive shield, blocking all the golden spikes.
This delicate control over flames seemed somewhat similar to Macao's ability.
The "clang, clang, clang" of impacts was incessant, and sparks flew.
"Marcus, is that all you've got?" Natsu taunted.
Marcus smiled. "Natsu, try this!"
He then swung his mace again, striking the ground heavily. In an instant, countless golden sands burst through the earth from beneath Natsu's feet.
The gold sand surged like a torrent, instantly forming a giant sand sphere, trapping Natsu within it.
Inside the sand sphere, Natsu was constantly squeezed by the surrounding sand, which tried to bind him.
But Natsu would not give in easily. He roared, "Fire Dragon's Roar!"
A crimson column of fire spewed from his mouth, instantly melting the surrounding sand.
The sand sphere was broken, and Natsu burst out, the flames on his body burning even more fiercely.
He charged towards Marcus again, the flames on his fists wildly flickering.
Seeing this, Marcus's lips curled into a slight smile. His body suddenly began to turn into sand, and Natsu's punch passed directly through him without causing any harm.
"Natsu, physical attacks are useless against me!" Marcus said triumphantly.
Natsu frowned. "So what? I don't believe your sand can block my flames!"
Natsu clasped his hands together, and flames converged in his hands to form a giant fire dragon. The fire dragon lunged at Marcus, baring its fangs and claws.
Marcus remained unperturbed, manipulating the gold sand to form a sturdy sand wall in front of him.
The fire dragon crashed into the sand wall, creating a huge roar. Cracks appeared in the sand wall, but it still stubbornly resisted the fire dragon's attack.
"Natsu, your flames are nothing special!" Marcus laughed, increasing his magical output and repairing the sand wall.
Natsu gritted his teeth, his magic power surging wildly. "Break!"
With his roar, the fire dragon's power instantly intensified, finally breaking through the sand wall.
Marcus's expression changed, and he quickly retreated. However, the fire dragon was incredibly fast and instantly caught up to him.
Just at this critical moment, Marcus's body completely turned into sand, merging into the gold sand on the ground, dodging the fire dragon's attack.
Natsu watched the vanished Marcus, vigilantly observing his surroundings.
Suddenly, the gold sand on the ground surged, transforming into countless sand arrows that shot towards Natsu.