"Full Counter." Rufus said with a smirk as he swung his sword towards the Ice attack.
"Hey, that's Meliodas' attack!" Max exclaimed.
"How is he able to use it?!" Jet shouted.
"Full Counter…" Makarov said silently to himself. "An attack that can counter any direct magical attack at double the force, even something of the likes of Acnologia's caliber. And now Rufus has access to such a powerful ability. But Meliodas never used Full Counter in this tournament…"
"It was from the very first Grand Magic Games!" Laki exclaimed. "I remember...Meliodas used Full Counter on the last day to deflect one of Orga's attacks. Rufus was watching from the vehicle…"
"I can't believe it...I didn't calculate Rufus' past participations at all…" Mavis said as she began to tear up.
"N-no don't cry! Gray will figure something out!" Makarov said reassuringly before turning back to the other guild members. "Help me cheer her up!"
---
"What the-" Gray widened his eyes in shock as his attack flew towards him. 'Isn't this Meliodas's technique.'
Gray immediately put his arms up in front of him as all of the ice swords he had sent towards Rufus went flying towards him instead. Several swords hit Gray's body, slashing at him as he was sent flying backwards into another building, causing the entire building to come crashing down on him.
"With Full Counter, I can reflect any magical attack sent at me with double the force, if I recall." Rufus said as he sheathed his blade again.
"D-dammit…" Gray grunted as he pushed several large pieces of debris off of himself, slowly getting back up. His entire body was badly bruised with cuts of varying sizes all over his body. There was one particularly large gash at his right side. He held his side as he felt blood ooze into his hand. Ice began to emit from his palm, freezing over the deep wound. 'This will have to do for now.'
"Oh, you're still able to stand despite being hit with your own attack at double the force. Perhaps I underestimated the resistance an Ice mage has to their own attacks." Rufus commented as he watched Gray emerge from the rubble.
"When the hell did you learn about Meliodas' attack?!" Gray questioned.
"Several years ago, Meliodas used this technique against Sabertooth in the very first Grand Magic Games. Naturally, I memorized it. I've experimented with the principle over the years and I can conclude there is not a single thing you can do to win against me now." Rufus answered.
"Then I'll just prove you wrong!" Gray shouted as he crouched down and put both palms on the ground.
"Ice Make - Geyser!"
As large spikes of ice began to rise from the ground in front of Gray, they vanished moments later.
"Already forgot-" Rufus' eyes widened as he saw Gray had already formed an ice cannon in his hands and was pointing it towards Rufus.
"Try and counter this you masked creep!" Gray shouted as he shot straight at Rufus.
"You just never learn do you?" Rufus commented as he quickly drew his blade once again. "Full Coun-"
At that moment Rufus swung his sword at the cannon shot, his eyes widened as the object did not reflect back at Gray.
"W-what?!" Rufus felt a sharp pain in his chest as a large chunk of debris slammed into him, knocking him to the ground and causing him to cough up blood.
"Full Counter can only reflect magic attacks!" Gray shouted as he dashed straight towards Rufus, holding two blades of ice in his hands.
"Cheap tricks will only get you so far." Rufus said as he regained his composure. He quickly got back up on his feet and wiped the blood dripping from the side of his mouth. Just as Gray was within striking distance of Rufus, Rufus raised his right hand up at Gray.
"Memory Make: Karma of the Burning Land!"
At that moment, the ground beneath Gray's feet ignited, melting into molten rock. Gray's swords began to melt as the rest of his body caught on fire.
"Agghhh!!!" Gray shouted in pain as the flames seared his body.
"If my memory serves, Ice mages are naturally weak to-" Rufus' smug smile vanished as he saw Gray's body suddenly begin melting as if it were a body made of ice. 'An ice clone?! When did he-' Rufus turned around as he heard footsteps behind him and saw Gray lunging straight at him with his right hand wound back and surrounded by a gauntlet of ice.
"Forgotten!" Rufus shouted as he watched Gray's ice gauntlet suddenly vanish. Despite the gauntlet disappearing, Gray continued on, his hand a tight fist as he threw the punch straight at Rufus' face.
"Even if you get rid of my magic, this fist has many names behind it!" Gray shouted as his fist sunk into Rufus' face. Blood gushed out of Rufus' nose as his body was sent flying across the street, rolling and tumbling across the ground until coming to a stop several meters away. Gray panted heavily as he shook his hand off and looked at Rufus' limp body. He began to slowly walk towards Rufus and noticed on the ground next to him, his fancy red hat.
"Put that into your memory." Gray said with a smirk as he put on Rufus' hat.
"WHAT A BATTLE! WITH ALL ODDS AGAINST HIM, GRAY HAS JUST EARNED A POINT FOR FAIRY TAIL!" Chapati announced.
---
"Good. Looks like Gray won." Meliodas said as he flew above the buildings of Crocus. 'Can't believe that Rufus' guy knows how to use Full Counter now.'
As Meliodas continued his flight eastward as per Mavis' plan, Chapati's voice echoed throughout the city.
"AND WE HAVE SEVERAL MORE INTENSE BATTLES TAKING PLACE. ERZA SCARLET VERSUS KAGURA MIKAZUCHI. LAXUS DREYAR VERSUS LYON AND SHERRIA. AND GAJEEL REDFOX VERSUS ROGUE CHENEY! JUST WHO WILL COME OUT ON TOP!"
"Well, well, well. Looks like everything is going according to what Mavis said. Which means I should run into Jura right about-" Meliodas looked down at the street beneath him and saw Jura walking down the middle of the street. Jura noticed Meliodas' presence behind him and turned around. The two of them locked eyes as Meliodas descended towards the ground, landing at the far end of the street from Jura.
"Yo, Jura!" Meliodas said with a friendly smile.
"Meliodas. I was wondering when I would run into you. You'll certainly be the biggest challenge to overcome in this tournament." Jura said.
"AND IT LOOKS LIKE MELIODAS AND JURA HAVE RUN INTO EACH OTHER! GET READY FOLKS! THIS WILL CERTAINLY BE A BREATHTAKING BATTLE OF THE CENTURY!" Chapati announced.
"As much as I want to have a fun fight with you, I have to make sure I win this one." Meliodas said, his lighthearted tone turning serious. Jura noticed the shift in tone and he looked at Meliodas with a serious expression.
"Very well then." Jura said as he raised his hand out in front of him.
Meliodas immediately leaped forward and Jura's eyes widened as Meliodas instantly closed the gap between them. 'Such speed! However…'
"Rock Mountain!"
Jura clapped both hands together and between him and Meliodas, a huge rock formation shaped like a human clad in spiked armor rose from the ground. Meliodas wound his fist back as darkness enveloped his hand.
"Like I said!" Meliodas shouted as he threw the punch at the titanic rock formation. "I have to win this one!"
A loud rumbling sound echoed throughout the entire city that could be heard from the stadium. The ground shook as several participants stopped in their tracks for an instant and stared in the direction of the sound.
"What was that?!" Sherria exclaimed as she saw a huge cloud of dust and smoke coming from one part of the town.
"That came from Jura's direction. Don't tell me he…" Lyon commented.
"That force…" Minerva commented.
"Gee hee...Looks like he's done with his opponent." Gajeel said.
"U-U-UNBELIEVABLE!" Chapati announced. The huge cloud of dust in the area began to clear, revealing Meliodas standing over the unconscious body of Jura. Behind Meliodas, was the huge human shaped titan made of rock with a gaping hole in its body.
"AND WITH THAT, MELIODAS HAS EARNED FAIRY TAIL FIVE POINTS!"