And how does one get consumed by darkness? Invel created an emotional situation on purpose so Gray's darkness could spill out. Essentially darkness is driven by negative emotions - that's how a heart becomes dark. DeS magic sped up the process, eating away at Gray's soul.
Darkness is just as much an emotional power as PoF. They might have different mechanics - but the outcome is the same - emotions or state of ones heart = more MP. Gaining power through darkness is not the same as going all out... DeS/darkness are basically written in such a way so Gray could get a power up.
Gray got consumed by darkness because of the magic he uses. Invel never intended to create an emotional situation.
I agree that Gray being taken over by darkness is a power-up. But I disagree that it is as much of an emotional power as PoF. If anger is nakama power, then almost every fight in Fairy Tail resulted in the use of PoF. I don't mind saying Gray received a power-up, but it wasn't Power of Friendship.
Decimated, destroyed, rekt, whatever adjective you prefer, the point is that Invel took Gray's base punches worse than he took Zeroth. Zeroth didn't even move Invel and yet basic punches crushed him into the ground and sent him flying into a wall. Zeroth merely got Invel interested in Gray and yet basic punches forced Invel to use his trump card. And I personally can't see any blood when Invel got hit by Zeroth.
There was blood coming out of his mouth... Gray's base punches didn't do much to Invel except irritate him. That is why he used his "trump card". Looking back at the panel again, all I see are scratches and bruises on Invel's face. No major damage.
Also, as
[B]Emperor Spriggan[/B] said, Invel is terrible at CQC. That is why basic punches crushed him into the ground and sent him flying into a wall. I really don't see what your point is. Gray has proven to have good physical power so it is only reasonable for Invel to get beaten up like that.
I don't see what's so hard to understand about this. FDKM > Base. Therefore, Natsu in FDKM would have an easier time beating Jacob than in base. Therefore, if he wanted to beat Jacob quickly, he would go FDKM. How is this so hard for you to comprehend? You're arguing that Natsu should have restricted himself for absolutely no reason at all. Why on earth would Natsu stay in base and take Jacob out in a couple of hits if he could go FDKM and take him out in one?
I'm just pointing out the discrepancy between Natsu's fight with Neinhart and his fight with Jacob. Why would Natsu resort to FDKM if he didn't need to? He could beat Neinhart without using FDKM, so wouldn't it make more sense for Natsu to conserve his energy and defeat Jacob in Base Mode? But he didn't. And let's assume Jacob is more durable... Natsu could have just used a FDK spell to defeat him. But he didn't.
He had to use FDKM. That is all I'm trying to say.
Um, I'm free to twist my own words however I want, especially considering that I admitted
my earlier wording was inaccurate and I corrected it.
Font of writing can convey the tone of the dialogue but in no way does it convey the INTENT of the speaker. And how exactly do you expect me to distinguish between an "angry" font and a "frustrated" font anyways?
You told me earlier that I can use whatever adjective I want, yet the point is still the same. I'm basically saying the same thing.
As far as I'm concerned, the tone of a character is an indication of their intentions. If they sound angry, it's likely that the're giving it their all. You don't need to differentiate between anger and frustration because the meaning is the same. Natsu was trying just as hard against Jacob as he did with Neinhart.
No, the flames of END are a result of Natsu becoming END. END has flames. He's a fire demon. Flames are a part of his body.
The flames stayed with Natsu when he discovered Lucy "dead", they stayed with him when he busted out, they stayed with him while he rampaged across the battlefield destroying Alvarez troops, they stayed with him when he encountered Gray, and you're telling me that after staying with Natsu throughout all of that they just decided to disappear once Natsu actually started fighting someone?
If flames were part of E.N.D's body like Atlas Flame, it would have stayed there permanently. But it didn't.
The only reason why it seems long is because we're reading the manga. If this scene was animated, it would all happen very quickly. From the time he discovered Lucy "dead" to the time he busted out would only be a few seconds. As for the Alvarez troops, I wouldn't call it rampaging across the battlefield. It was more like destroying an area nearby. And he only met Gray for a couple seconds. I don't see how you can say this lasted for a long time. It doesn't matter though, Natsu said he wouldn't hold back so we'll soon see how strong he truly is.
I don't remember anything about Kama but isn't Racer only good at CQC because of his speed magic?
But you keep ignoring the fact that Neinhart is not suited for direct combat, and his magic is largely non-offensive. Does an increase in MP mean that his stamina/endurance increases? Sure, I'll give you that. But is that really saying much considering how low his endurance and stamina was in the first place?
If I remember correctly, Kama was fighting on par with Natsu. Granted, he did have two scythes. As for Racer, even when he isn't using his speed magic, he can still land a few hits on opponents like Lyon and Jellal.
Well, Jacob's stats aren't that high to begin with. So even if Neinhart was below Jacob, his enhanced version should at least put him on par with Jacob. Besides, Neinhart's MP increased so much to the point Brandish's magic wouldn't work on him. That tells us a lot.
