"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
Everywhere around the town of Magnolia, the citizens stopped whatever they're doing after hearing the multiple explosions, wondering in fear who will dare attack them.
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
In front of a mage's guild, it's members were looking at an event in awe and fear.
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
Even the guild master, the strongest mage in the area, felt some sweat running down his head.
"Boom!"
All because,
"Boom!"
Kate was keeping up with Natsu boosted dragon flames mode.
"Boom!" "Boom!"
With just steel boots and gauntlet.
"Damn! She is really keeping up with him." A man with a brown, pompadour haircut, triangular sunglasses, and was wearing a leather jacket with simple pants and shoes exclaimed.
"I don't think so Wakaba." By his side, was a man having a dark blue hair. Linear dark eyebrows with dark hair. And a flat nose. He wore an open white jacket with a dark shirt underneath and metal snake necklace.
"What do you mean Macao?" The now identified Wakaba asked the now identified Macao.
Macao thought of how to explain it before answering "I'm no Natsu, but I do know how fire magic work. And one thing I can say for sure is that metal is a terrible idea to block against fire." He looked at the fight with a serious expression. "And Natsu flames are way hotter than ordinary flames. Adding the fact that Natsu is using his boosted form while she's only using those gauntlet and boots,"
"Boom!"
"And that she's keeping up with him despite only defending,"
"Boom!" "Boom"
"Means she's holding back." Everyone who heard it just got nervous, as they wondered how dangerous she might be when going all out.
Mirajane said nothing, but it was clear from the look on her face that she knew more than they did, as she was able to recognize herself in Kate. 'Looks like fairy tail got another s-class mage.' she thought to herself.
Meanwhile, in the fight;
"Boom!" Kate blocked another strike from Natsu who went back to create some distance, again, before charging back for a flaming kick.
Throughout the whole fight, she kept on the defensive to analyze her opponent and From what she found out, He's been using hit and run tactics, rushing in blazing in flames to launch some strikes powerful enough to detonate upon contact, hence, the reason for the explosion.
But Kate didn't seem to have any problem, as she has been either dodging the attacks with some few sidesteps, deflecting them with minimal effort, or blocking them at the last moment.
All in all, she was handling him on her own thanks to two experiences.
The first being her own self defense she practiced with Hinata till it developed into her own personal fighting style,
And the second being Acier memory in a battle against a similar firepowered individual.
'This is really nostalgic.' she thought to herself as she she raised her left arm to block the kick aiming for her head.
"Boom!" The explosion was so loud, she was sure her original self will have been blown out to bits. But for her Acier self,
Hardly a tickle.
'But it's getting boring.' She realized, unfortunately, as she grabbed his outstretched leg with both hands and twisted her body till she faced the opposite direction. 'Might as well wrap it up.' with her legs wide and firm, she swinged the entire 140 pound mage over her shoulder straight to the ground.
"BOOM!" The slam was so powerful, it literally created a 2 magnitude earthquake across the entire town. Despite her holding back from creating a full town level earthquake, it was still enough to knock out the flame out of him, and hopefully his consciousness.
Of course, for the spectators, it was something else.
"Damn! Did you guys felt that!?"
"She almost created an earthquake just from slamming him to the ground."
"And the way she just swing him, she's just like Ezra."
"It's over. There's no way Natsu is surviving that."
But just when everyone thought it was over, Natsu suddenly leaped off and away from Kate.
'How in the world.....?' but Kate didn't have time to ponder as Natsu rushed back in with a barrage of punches and kicks, now switching his tactics to close quarter combat.
Unfortunately, that tactic was way worse than before.
Every jabs and crosses were deflected with a simple hand wave. Every hooks and haymakers dodged by either sidestepping or ducking. Even the kicks, which was like a three year old was advoided without any resistance.
Curious, Kate couldn't help but ask "Hey, why don't you switch back to the move you used earlier? Even I gotta admit you had a better chance of beating me back then than now."
"SHUT UP! STOP MAKING FUN OF ME! JUST YOU WAIT. I'LL BEAT YOU, THEN EZRA, THEN LAXUS, THEN EVEN THE THE OLD MAN! THEN I'LL BECOME THE GREATEST S-CLASS MAGE EVER!" Natsu answer was that of a proud kid who was humiliated in public. Which was not surprising based from his earlier claim.
"You want to become s-class with such a wild clumsy style? For real?" Kate really wondered if she heard it right. Though you can't blaim her. Natsu fighting style does resemble that of a wild animal. And a wild animal fighting on a hand to hand close quarter like a human..... I'm pretty sure you readers can imagine it.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!? MY FIGHTING STYLE IS NOT CLUMSY! I LEARNED IT FROM MY FATHER IGNEEL, AND HE'S THE BEST DRAGON THERE IS!"
"Oh." Was the only response she gave as she now remembered where Natsu got his magic, alongside many other things. That said, it's no surprise the dragon taught him how to fight.
Except, it was how dragons fights. Not how humans fights.
"You know what? Out of the pity I have for you, I'll show you a thing or two." She said finally as she easily his right jab. At first, she wanted to humiliate him. But now, seeing his pitiful fight made her feel uncomfortable. "Human combat lesson one: combo. The art giving a flawless beat down to your opponent."
"What are you - Whoah!" A surprised Natsu didn't even finish as Kate just made a sweep, stumbling him out of balance. "Step 1: Neutralize your opponent defense."
"Step 2: land as many hits as you can without giving your opponent any time to recover." She then gave multiple jabs and crosses to his chest and face. And some few hooks and haymakers to the the side of his head. And even some few side kicks to his ribs. Then, finally, a roundhouse kick to his head. Not that powerful to launch him, but still strong enough to stun him.
"And step 3: Always conclude with a heavy powerful strike. Like this." She then gathered as much magic to her right gauntlet for maximum impact before launching it for a powerful uppercut.
[SHOYUKEN!] The gauntlet connected to Natsu jaw, creating a sonic blast upon contact.
"BOOOOOOOH!" The strike was so powerful, it not only dragged Kate some couple of feet above ground, but also launched Natsu dozen of miles in the air.
She soon landed gracefully on the ground, while Natsu slammed down with the same speed he went up with.
She didn't need to check on him as the system gave her the confirmation.
[Notice! Objective: defeat Natsu Dragneel, elite rank; Complete.]
[Reward: 5 exp.]
[Side objective 1: achieve a flawless victory without being hit; complete.]
[Reward: 3 exp.]
[Side objective 2: demonstrate control and mastery by preventing collateral damage; complete.]
[Reward: 3 exp.]
[Total exp: 11.]
[Level up.]
[Reward: Full HP and MP, +30 HP, +30 MP, 1 gacha draw.]
[Proced to draw?]
She soon dispelled her take over, turning back to the young, black ravenet. Despite the slight ache on her arms and legs, mostly her right hand, she was perfectly fine, although tired.
Makarov came over to check out on Natsu. After confirming that he was passed out, the guild master announced "Natsu is out of commission. Winner: Katherine Bishop!"
"Wow! She won!"
"And she wasn't even being serious. Nor did she destroyed anything."
"So strong! We got another S-rank mage! That's awesome!"
The entire audience were happy. So what if they lost their bets? They got another s-class powerhouse in their guild. And that alone was better than anything else.
Hearing their praise, Kate couldn't help but feel shy as she isn't used to be the center of attention. She quickly decided to wrap it up and get it.
"So? My reward?" She asked Makarov.
The guild master just turned around and started walking back to the guild. "Follow me brat. We'll discuss it inside." Despite his brunt remark, his tone was that of acceptance and pride, making Kate smile as she followed him. 'Seems like this guild isn't so bad after all.'