Chapter 318

Gajeel vs. Rogue is the 318th chapter of Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail.

In the underground, future Lucy leads the Mages through until they are confronted by the army. Mirajane leaves to find the missing Yukino while the others fight. Meanwhile, Gajeel battles Rogue, who has been taken over by an entity calling himself "Shadow". As Crime Sorciere senses the dark Magic once again, Natsu is hit by a Magic attack from the army while Gajeel eats Shadow's shadow and enters a new form.

Summary
While coursing through the underground path, the future Lucy explains to the Mages that she explored the area to make sure they wouldn't be captured by the army. As Mirajane mentions sending a flare for their guildmates, the group is suddenly confronted by the army. Natsu readies to fight, citing their Magic as the reason why they won't be captured. However, the group notices that Yukino and Arcadios have disappeared. Rather than fight, Mirajane leaves to find Yukino while the rest fight the army. At the same time, Carla is conflicted as to what to do.

In the games, Rogue struggles while hearing the voice of his "shadow". As he starts screaming, Gajeel asks him to calm down, resulting in Rogue attacking him, much to everyone's surprise. Gajeel realizes he's not fighting Rogue and asks his attacker who he is, for which he is met by the response: "Shadow". As he is kicked again, Gajeel recuperates and attacks with his Iron Dragon's Sword, which his opponent avoids and retaliates against. As Gajeel looks around, not seeing his opponent, "Shadow" appears behind him from his shadow and attacks. Despite his attempts, Gajeel is unable to fight back, as Mavis notes him to be against an evil Magic she's never seen before. "Shadow" tells him that he's not as strong as Natsu, just as he thought, though he adds that it wouldn't matter since even he can't stand up to him now.

On the rocky cliffs, Jellal, Ultear and Meredy sense the mysterious Magic once again. Ultear notes it to be coming from town, to which Jellal tells them to remain calm, stating that if future Lucy is with Natsu, there is no need to worry.

In the underground, Lucy is told to stay back from the battle, though she claims that she's fine. As the Mages battle, the knights are surprised at their abilities given that they're so young. As Natsu grabs one of the knights and knocks down several of the others by tossing his body, he is hit from behind by a blast of Magic. However, the blast does not hurt him. Despite being surprised, Natsu shrugs it off, saying that such Magic wouldn't hurt a specialist such as himself.

Meanwhile, a near-defeated Gajeel is held by the throat by his opponent. As his throat is squeezed, Levy screams from the crowd for it to stop. At the same time, Frosch, feeling the need to do something, heads towards the city. "Shadow" then declares that Gajeel will disappear forever as he begins to attack. As he is on the ground, Gajeel starts feeding on the shadow, to everyone's surprise. Standing up, Gajeel tells "Shadow" to get out of the body. Asking if he means Rogue, Gajeel begins claiming that he's not Rogue, but Rios, who was his disciple. Gajeel claims he would've been feared and not admired and states that he will help make him remember that fear as he enters Shadow Iron Dragon Mode.

Battles & Events

 * Lucy Heartfilia's Rescue from Mercurius
 * Grand Magic Game
 * Gajeel Redfox vs. Rogue Cheney

Spells used

 * Shadow Dragon's Crushing Fang

Abilities used

 * Battle Mode Shift (戦闘モードシフト Sentō Mōdo Shifuto)
 * Shadow Iron Dragon Mode