"Miss Mira is really so strong..." Lucy murmured, watching the Lacrima screen in complete awe.
Mira simply shifted her weight lightly, performed a flawless backflip in place, and kicked Elfman squarely under the chin, sending his massive body flying backward into a jagged rock.
"Soul Extinctor!" Mira chanted, condensing a terrifyingly dense black magic bullet in the palm of one hand.
"Please wait!" Evergreen yelled.
She threw her fan aside, spread her arms wide and bravely blocked Elfman's front.
"Be careful, or I will blast you away too," Mira warned, her demonic voice echoing in the cave.
"Wait! Let me tell you something interesting first!" Evergreen pleaded.
"Hmm?" Mira frowned slightly, genuinely puzzled by Evergreen's sudden burst of confidence in the face of defeat.
...
Meanwhile, in another cavern—
"Mr. Mest, are you okay?" Wendy asked, running over to her fallen partner.
"I'm fine. I just never expected Ultear to be this ridiculously strong," Mest groaned, sitting up and rubbing the sore back of his head.
"Ultear-san is very strong," Wendy nodded sympathetically.
"But as Mystogan's dedicated disciple, I absolutely cannot admit defeat! Bring it on!" Mest yelled, scrambling to his feet and raising his fists.
Only cold silence answered him.
"Where is she?" Mest blinked, looking around the empty, frost-covered cave.
"We have already officially lost. Ultear-san has returned to the first gathering point," Wendy explained.
"How come I didn't know that?!" Mest exclaimed in shock, clutching his head in embarrassment.
"Ultear-san left first while you were unconscious, Mr. Mest."
"Ah... still no hope for me this year..." Mest sighed. His arms hung limply at his sides, his whole demeanor utterly defeated.
"It is all my fault I couldn't help you at all. I was really determined to do my best," Wendy said, looking down at her feet and feeling deeply ashamed.
"No, it is alright. More importantly... are you hurt?" Mest asked, his tone softening.
"Yes," Wendy nodded, covering her face.
Further up the passage, Ultear was walking alone, pondering silently.
'Is Mest... really this weak?' she thought, growing increasingly uneasy.
He has participated in the S-Class Mage exam before, and there was even one time he supposedly nearly succeeded.
Logically speaking, someone this weak shouldn't have ever come close to passing.
Ultear stopped in her tracks, her brow furrowing.
'Wait, have I actually fought him before? I remember Mest almost succeeding in the last exam... But... who was his partner last time? No, why can't I remember that at all?'
'Why are my specific memories of Mest so particularly vague? And it seems the gaps are only about him...'
Whenever Ultear tried to deeply recall past matters related to Mest and the other guild members, her memories abruptly cut off, like a book missing several pages.
'Something is very wrong!'
Although Ultear hadn't fully sorted out her chaotic thoughts or deduced the exact nature of the memory magic, she immediately felt it was incredibly unwise to leave Wendy alone with a stranger like Mest.
Earlier, Ultear had wanted Wendy to leave the cave with her first, but Wendy had politely insisted on waiting until Mest regained consciousness before leaving his side.
Unable to forcefully persuade the stubborn girl, Ultear had no choice but to agree and walk ahead.
"Wendy!" Ultear yelled.
She whipped around and began sprinting frantically back the way she came, silently praying to the gods that she was just overthinking things.
"Ultear-san?" Wendy, who was walking alone down the tunnel, heard Ultear's echoing call.
"Thank goodness! You are safe!" Ultear rushed forward and hugged Wendy tightly, letting out a massive sigh of relief.
"Why do you say that?" Wendy tilted her head, completely confused by the older girl's panic.
"Where is Mest?" Ultear demanded, looking sharply behind the young Dragon Slayer but seeing no sign of the man at all.
"Mr. Mest said that since it is rare for him to visit Tenrou Island, he wanted to look around the forest for a bit. I told him Raizel-san said we all need to gather at the beach, but he said it's fine and he will come over later by himself," Wendy explained, repeating Mest's exact words.
'As long as she is fine, we don't need to worry about him for now,' Ultear thought, releasing her breath.
However, she felt it was absolutely necessary to immediately discuss this terrifying memory anomaly with Raizel and the Master.
"Let's go to the gathering point first," Ultear said, taking Wendy's hand.
...
By the time Wendy and Ultear arrived at the beach, most of the members had already gathered around the campfire.
"Only Gray and Loke, along with Evergreen and Elfman's group are missing, but they should be here soon," Raizel noted, pointing at the hovering Lacrima screens.
Gray and Loke had unfortunately encountered another powerhouse opponent—Laxus.
Laxus had actually gone fairly easy on them, only fighting seriously after their raw magical power and team coordination met his strict expectations.
However, Gray and Loke, upholding the stubborn Fairy Tail spirit of never giving up and treating the beating as a valuable learning experience, fiercely fought Laxus to the bitter end, ultimately displaying remarkable spirit.
Even though they still couldn't defeat the Lightning Dragon Slayer, Laxus smirked and let them pass.
"Gray, Loke, congratulations on passing the first exam!" Lucy cheered at the passage entrance as the trio emerged from the trees.
Gray and Loke, both completely covered in dirt and bruises, limped out of the passage alongside a spotless Laxus.
"I honestly don't think this is something worth congratulating—we lost," Gray grumbled, rubbing a sore shoulder.
"Losing to Laxus isn't something to be discouraged about, Gray. He is a few years older than you," Ur smiled, comforting her disciple.
It is worth mentioning that Loke wasn't particularly old among Celestial Spirits.
He had actually just taken over as the new Leo not that long ago.
If converted to a human age, he was about the exact same age as Gray.
"But at this same age, Laxus was probably still way stronger than us, right?" Gray muttered in rebuttal.
"Were Gajeel and Levy the ones who actually chose the 'Quiet' route?" Gray asked, looking at the completely spotless Gajeel and Levy, who looked like they were on a relaxing tropical vacation.
"Yes! We were really lucky!" Levy beamed, throwing up a cute peace sign.
"What's lucky about it?! I didn't even get a chance to punch anyone!" Gajeel complained loudly.
"Where's Natsu?" Loke asked, looking around the beach.
"He's right here," Happy sighed, pointing a paw at Natsu.
The pink-haired boy was sitting on a rock nearby, completely silent and posing exactly like a statue as he deeply pondered Gildarts' lesson.
"By the way, he has been holding that exact pose for quite a while now," Lucy added quietly.
"What's wrong with that idiot?" Gray asked, looking highly puzzled at Natsu's bizarre, philosophical condition.
"That is a very long story," Happy sighed helplessly, spreading his paws.
"I will now announce the first round results!" Makarov boomed, walking out from the forest edge with his hands clasped behind his back.
He had eaten way too much BBQ earlier and had gone for a walk to digest...
"Kagura and Lucy defeated Freed and Bickslow in the combat route and advanced!" Kagura remained stoic and expressionless as usual, while Lucy puffed her chest out, looking quite proud of her Lucy kicks.
"What?! That's amazing!" Gray and Loke couldn't believe it.
"Natsu and Happy passed Gildarts' test and advanced!" Makarov continued.
"I DONT BELIEVE IT!" Gray wailed dramatically, clutching his head.
"But I didn't do anything at all!" Happy cheered proudly with his paws on his hips.
"Levy and Gajeel were lucky enough to choose the peaceful route and advanced!"
"Calling us lucky?!" Gajeel grunted, fiercely questioning Makarov's wording.
"Gray and Loke passed Laxus' assessment in the intense combat route and advanced!" Makarov announced.
"Wait, did Juvia and Lisanna lose?!" Gray remarked, genuinely surprised.
"AHHHHH!"
"What happened, old man?"
Makarov sighed heavily, shaking his head with his hands still behind his back.
"Juvia and Lisanna unfortunately encountered that woman... that terrifying female knight who completely refuses to know how to go easy on others!!!"
"As expected," Gray nodded.
He wasn't surprised in the least anymore.
Erza had always been extremely violently enthusiastic about everything she did.
Having been her exam partner in previous years, Gray had encountered this absolute nightmare firsthand.
Erza truly was the final boss of the S-Class Exam...