While Cana and Lily were looking at Chase with the despair of invincibility, the participants in the other three "Intense Combat" exam areas had also deeply experienced the terror of the guild's active S-Class mages when they got serious.
On the cracked, shattered ruins.
Natsu supported himself on his hands, gasping for breath. The chaotic fire magic around him had completely scattered. The crimson dragon scales representing Dragon Force had long since vanished, replaced by sword and blade wounds.
Across from him, Erza, in her Purgatory Armor, walked slowly. Her serrated heavy blade dragged along the ground, crushing rocks, emitting a suppressed grating sound.
Natsu frantically drained his magic power, wanting to continue fighting, but his severely wounded body wouldn't obey. He had barely managed to stand and take a few unsteady steps before collapsing back down.
"Dammit! How can you be this strong?!" His face was filled with regret.
"Natsu..." Happy saw his stubbornness and wanted to speak, but hesitated.
He wanted to persuade Natsu to just give up. He could always try again next year. At the same time, he felt terrible that his own weakness had prevented him from being of any help.
On the turbulent beach.
Elfman, having relieved his Sacred Beast King state, and Evergreen leaned against each other. After the fierce battle, their spirits were languishing. Their eyes were downcast as they looked despairingly at Mira, standing in the pitch-black storm.
"A-as expected, it's still no good... defeating Mira-nee..."
"A man never says no! If you believe in me, then give me everything you've got, even tomorrow's share!"
With that, under Elfman's puzzled gaze, Evergreen took a hard step forward, walking up to Mira.
In the smoke-filled underground space.
Lucy and Éclair sat limp on the ground, covered in wounds, looking quite embarrassed and pitiful.
Against a slightly serious Gildarts, no amount of teamwork was of any use. The situation was almost completely one-sided.
"Though your performance far exceeded my expectations, you're not as impressive as that brat Chase made you out to be," Gildarts said. His clothes were only slightly dirty. Seeing the thought of giving up and surrendering in Lucy's eyes, he felt it was necessary to provoke her a little. "It looks like I won the bet with him. You don't pass this trial. Go back."
Having never fought Chase, he was still the guild's undisputed strongest mage. No participant had any hope against him. That wasn't in line with the original intention of the S-Class Trial.
So, for Gildarts, strength wasn't the deciding factor for passing. As long as a participant could knock him back a few steps from the front, that was enough to qualify.
What he tested, the point, was actually the participant's spirit and will. And that varied from person to person.
For example, Natsu, who would charge headfirst no matter how strong the opponent, needed to have the judgment to know when to sheathe his blade, to realize that "fear is not a sin."
Lucy's situation was the complete opposite of Natsu's. She needed the courage to remain fearless even in the face of danger.
"A bet with Chase-nii?" Lucy murmured.
"Well, it's nothing special to mention," Gildarts said, stretching his muscles. He showed a gentle smile and waved to Lucy. "Come with me. I'll take you back to the temporary camp for treatment. Even with Tenrou Island's special magic recovery, leaving wounds like that too long could leave lingering problems."
With that, he turned and walked toward the passage exit.
Lucy stared blankly at the ground.
She didn't know what the bet between Chase-nii and Gildarts was. But she was clearly aware of one thing.
Chase-nii had placed great expectations on her.
Phantom Lord's attack, father Jude's change, defeating Sorano of Oración Seis, solo training at the Demon Village...
Recalling all her past experiences, her growth, and the fact that she was now on the stage of the S-Class Trial, she couldn't have come this far without Chase-nii.
Though he sometimes made her furious and often took pleasure in teasing her, that very Chase-nii believed more than anyone that she could become a fully capable S-Class mage!
And yet, for a moment, she had thought, "It's just a trial. Giving up is no big deal..."
"Wait! Gildarts!"
Lucy unsteadily got to her feet and called out to Gildarts. "I-I can still fight!"
If before, her reason for participating in the trial had been to try her luck, get an S-Class title, and show off in front of Natsu and the others, now she had a deeper awareness.
To prove herself. To live up to Chase-nii's expectations. To show everyone in the guild that his little sister was no coward!
"Oh?" Gildarts turned his head. Seeing the extremely firm expression on the blonde girl's face, a pleased, faint smile appeared on his face.
This was the answer he had hoped to hear.
Well then, next—
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Could you... say it again?"
BOOM!!!
The moment the words left his mouth, Gildarts burst into an aura several times more horrifying than before.
A white magical storm explodes. His tattered cape swayed violently. The ground trembled, debris rolled. The entire space seemed shaken by that magic power, emitting a dull, oppressive roar.
Standing deep within the magical storm, Gildarts looked like a vicious demon from purgatory, radiating an icy suppression capable of crushing any will to resist!
Its intensity was just right, slightly lower than when he had faced the hotheaded Natsu in the original story. Enough to make Lucy feel extreme despair without knocking her unconscious on the spot.
What Gildarts was thinking at that moment was: "If Lucy can withstand this pressure, she'll pass the trial."
However, he had ultimately underestimated Lucy's resolve. Or rather, he had completely failed to imagine that this seemingly soft, weak girl could be so tough once she had set her mind.
"O-open! Gate of Gemini, Gemini!"
Lucy braced herself against the heavy pressure and closed her eyes. Gemini, transformed into her, held hands with her, chest to chest, and together they chanted the ancient, obscure incantation of the Ultra-Magic.
"Measuring the heavens, opening the firmament." x2
"Stars scattered across the sky, show your shining light before me." x2
"The Four Books of Astrology. I am the ruler of the constellations. Open the wild gate with the complete bearings. All-Sky Eighty-Eight Stars—" x2
An ancient magical array suddenly unfolded beneath their feet. The blinding golden light it emitted forcibly tore an opening in the gray-white torrent of magic power.
The stars of the heavens appeared. A sacred aura filled the entire space.
"W-wait?! This magic?!" Gildarts's expression changed dramatically.
On those stars suspended around them, he actually sensed a dangerous aura that made his hair stand on end!
I shouldn't have provoked her. A-am I going to mess this up?
In the brief moment of panic, the two Lucys, their magic power accumulated to the extreme, simultaneously opened their eyes, golden magical arrays turning within them.
"Urano Metria!!" x2
The stars that had sealed the space rapidly plummeted toward Gildarts!
A few drops of cold sweat appeared on Gildarts's forehead. He hurriedly stomped his foot, creating a large Crash magical array on the ground that cracked on impact.
"Don't think so! I'm going to help Lucy become S-Class. Absolutely!"
Beside him, Éclair gritted her teeth. Ignoring the searing pain throughout her body, she swung her magic staff with all her might.
HUM.
The unfolding Silent Magic array covered the Crash array. Though only for an incredibly brief second, it successfully disrupted Gildarts's timing for activating his magic.
CRASH!!
Urano Metria successfully hit. A golden pillar of light rose from the ground, piercing through the surface and reaching into the sky!!
The huge commotion echoed across the entire island of Tenrou. Both the participants who had successfully passed and those still in fierce battle felt this unparalleled impact.
Even Makarov, quietly waiting in the camp for the results of the first test, jumped in surprise.
The gravure magazine in his hand fell to the ground with a thump.
"Th-they're going this hard? This year's S-Class Trial..." The old man stared blankly at the two locations where the big explosions had almost simultaneously occurred. He suddenly felt that setting the exam venue on Tenrou Island, with its protective buff, had been a very safe choice.
***
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