206. Black Fire

The battles between Fairy Tail & Grimoire Heart's Mages happen in different locations on Tenrou Island. 5 of Ben's 7 clones are observing some battles while one guarding Wendy and the other one infiltrating the enemy's airship.

The 5 clones observe the battles of Elfman & Evergreen vs Rustyrose, Natsu vs Zancrow, Juvia & Lisanna vs Meredy, Gajeel & Levy vs Yomazu & Kawazu, and lastly Lucy, Loke, & Cana vs Capricorn.

As for the other battle like Freed & Bickslow vs Kain, Ben's clones thinks that those 2 can handle it. Freed is smart and he has worked with Bickslow for years, so they know each other well and will have good teamwork.

Then for Master & Gildarts, there's nothing to worry about them because they are strong. Mira & Erza are S-Classes, so they will be able to take care of themselves. That's why the clones stick with the exam participants to ensure their safety.

Although they are still worried about the other 2 Dark Mages that haven't made their appearance, Ultear and Bluenote. It will be good if they meet Gildarts or Master because these 2 should be able to handle them.

Right now, the most exciting battle to watch is Natsu's battle against Zancrow. Ben's clones already have a strange feeling about Zancrow and now the clone who follow them know the reason. Zancrow is a Fire God Slayer Mage so it attracted their attention.

'A God Slayer Magic. I need to find out where he gets the magic and then find a clue on how to obtain God Slayer Magic for myself. Is it learned from Gods or is it made by humans to match Gods? Well, anyway, it is worth researching as it might be able to take care of my Dragon Seed forever,' thinks Ben's clone while hiding in a tree.

While looking at the battle, Ben's clone is intrigued by the color of Zancrow's fire. It is black instead of red or orange like a normal fire. So now he knows that the 3 types of Slayer Magic he knows have different colors.

'Most likely it's because their characteristics are different. But can Slayer Mages from different types eat each other Magic?' ponders Ben's clone.

The answer comes soon when Zancrow eats Natsu's fire. But when Natsu tries to do the same, he fails and even takes damage when he tries to eat the black fire. Zancrow laughs and says that it's because his fire magic is superior to Natsu's.

God is classified higher than Dragon as Magical creatures. In the past, Dragons were considered as deities until the discovery of Gods who are stronger than Dragons. So God Slayer Magic is a tier higher than Dragon Slayer Magic, that's why Natsu can't eat Zancrow's fire.

It makes Ben's clone thinks that a Dragon Slayer can eat a Devil Slayer's magic but not the other way around. Being able to eat also means that the higher-tier Slayer Mage is immune to the lower tier's magic.

But then he gets confused because, in the record that he found in Midas the Sun Demon's tomb, the battle between Midas & Escanor the Sun Dragon was fierce. That means they injured each other and Midas' magic affected Escanor.

If Demon's Magic is weaker than Dragon's magic, then Escanor shouldn't get affected at all. So there must be something that made Midas could injure Escanor. He might find the answer after watching Natsu & Zancrow's battle.

The 2 Mages keep fighting and Natsu is completely overwhelmed by Zancrow. But Ben's clone doesn't step in because Natsu is still not in danger. He wants his guildmates to grow stronger and difficult battles are important.

Natsu's attacks aren't inflicting any damage to Zancrow but the opposite of it happens. The black fire inflicts damage on Natsu even if he just touches it. But he doesn't get burnt because he still has immunity against fire and rather high magic resistance.

Ben's clone is getting impatient as he sees Natsu can't fight back at all. His attacks are futile and Zancrow even gets more magic power by eating his fire. It makes Ben's clone wants to jump in and help but he holds himself from interfering unless it's very necessary.

'As a clone, I only have a small part of my main body's strength. I'm even weaker than Natsu now so I'm not sure if I can defeat Zancrow. The best thing to do is to observe and help Natsu when he is in dire situations. My MP is low, so it might run out shortly after I helped,' thinks Ben's clone.

The dire situation comes faster than he thought. Natsu has taken too much damage and now lays on the ground. Zancrow is about to launch an attack on Natsu but Ben's clone interrupts him by shooting a Light bullet.

It's not enough to injure Zancrow badly but it's enough to stop him. He looks in the direction of where the bullet came from and sees Ben's clone sitting on a tree branch calmly. Ben is still pointing his fingers at Zancrow and ready to shoot his Light Bullet anytime.

"Bastard, who are you?" asks Zancrow.

"A mage," replies Ben's clone.

"B-Ben, why're you here?" asks Natsu.

"I'm just watching your battle because I sensed something from him. To think that he has Fire God Slayer Magic, it's truly interesting. So how is it, Natsu? Want me to take care of him?" asks Ben's clone while smirking.

"No! I will do it myself," says Natsu while getting up slowly.

"Hmm, can you win though?" asks Ben's clone.

"I can. I will win and protect my friends," says Natsu.

"Say that after you can protect yourself. But well, it's good to have motivation. If I see you aren't capable of defeating him, then I will do it myself," says Ben's clone.

"Oi oi oi, weaklings like you are talking about defeating me? Hah, you must be dreaming. I've learned the best magic from the strongest being, God. There's no way people like you can defeat me," says Zancrow arrogantly.

"Hmm, let's see if what you said is true. All dogs can bark, after all, but their bites aren't always that strong," says Ben's clone while smirking.

Zancrow gets angry and sends a roar attack at Ben's clone. It destroys the trees that get hit by it but it doesn't hit Ben's clone. He has teleported away to avoid that roar attack and now leans on a tree on another side.

It makes Zancrow pisses because he feels like Ben's clone is playing with him. So he wants to attack again but Natsu attacks him first using a fire-coated fist. Now Zancrow doesn't have another choice but to fight with Natsu and ignore Ben's clone.

The clone just watches as the battle goes on and tries to learn about the Fire God Slayer Magic. It might help him to get God Slayer Magic for himself. Of course, he wants Sun God Slayer Magic so it can match the other 2 types of Slayer Magic that he has.

'Hmm, if I can't find the method to learn Sun God Slayer Magic, then I will make it myself. But to do that, I will need information about God Slayer Magic. Grimoire Heart has this Zancrow guy, so they must've had the method. They should have kept the information in the airship or their base. I need to investigate it later. If I can't find it, then I will get it from this Zancrow guy,' thinks Ben's clone while still watching the battle.

The battle continues with Natsu still being pushed by Zancrow. It keeps getting worse so Ben's clone decides to interfere because Natsu might get killed. But then something unexpected happens and it surprises Ben's clone.

Natsu suddenly emptied his magic power as he gets engulfed by Zancrow's black fire. Ben's clone is about to rush and save Natsu when suddenly the black fire starts to disappear. Natsu eats the black fire and recovers some of his magic power.

Ben's clone widens his eyes and smirks, "So that's how it is."

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