That's right, Laxus was also aiming for the chance to order his opponent around for an entire day.
Just thinking about bossing Erza around while she couldn't even get angry made him happy.
He, Laxus, would never admit that he usually didn't dare to order Erza around...
When Erza unleashed her intimidating aura, even he had to steer clear.
But it wasn't something to be ashamed of.
When Erza got angry, even Raizel and Makarov could only bow and nod.
"Yes, yes, you're right..."
The only disappointment for Laxus was that Natsu was on the same team, so he couldn't order Natsu around later!
"Don't you think it would be fun to make Erza and the others imitate Happy later?" Natsu had already lost himself in fantasy.
"Is... is that really fun?" Elfman couldn't understand Natsu's idea at all.
...
"I see."
After learning the whole story, Kagura nodded in understanding.
"So I won't be holding back." Gajeel grinned, baring his iron teeth.
"Suits me just fine."
Before the match began, Kagura had already unwrapped the bandages of her blade, Archenemy, ready to draw her sword at any moment.
Just as Kagura and Gajeel were poised for a confrontation, ready to clash, snowflakes suddenly began to fall from the sky.
"What's going on?! It's suddenly snowing in the town!!!" Chapati Lola shouted in shock.
Of course, Crocus could have snow in the winter, but it was currently June.
How could it possibly snow at this temperature?
"The snow, it must be Eve!" Jenny from Blue Pegasus exclaimed excitedly from the stands, watching the drifting snowflakes.
The camera scene shifted to Eve, who was currently kneeling on one knee, one palm pressed against the ground.
"I didn't expect so many Mages to be unafraid of the cold. That was my mistake." Eve sensed the surroundings for any magical power resisting the cold, but to his disappointment, there were very few.
"However, when the temperature drops, real people will definitely exhale visible breath when they breathe."
"The replicas can't do that, right?"
"Exactly," Ichiya, Ren, and Hibiki said in unison from their waiting room.
"I sense it! Over there!"
Suddenly, Eve launched a series of rapid snow magic attacks, hitting Beth and Yeager consecutively.
He also attacked the Golden Lion Knight Ren, but missed.
Ren was particularly conspicuous now, as the flames burning on his spear were real, melting the snow around him instantly.
"Contestant Eve scores two points in a row! He's now facing off against Contestant Ren!" Chapati Lola yelled.
"White Whirlwind!"
Finally, Eve could hold back no longer. He swung his hand, sending a massive snow tornado roaring toward Ren.
"Lion Slash!" Ren remained unfazed by the oncoming snow tornado.
He slashed diagonally downward with his spear, unleashing a massive, crescent-shaped red flame blade toward the snow.
The crescent flame blade sliced the snow tornado in half diagonally, causing it to evaporate mid-air, then continued its momentum, flying straight toward Eve.
"What?!" Eve's pupils contracted sharply.
He hadn't expected Ren's Lion Slash to be so powerful.
Having underestimated the heat, he could only block momentarily with an ice shield formed from snow, but it shattered.
He was struck hard and vanished from the spot, respawning elsewhere.
"Woo-hoo!!"
The excited cheers came from male spectators getting overly enthusiastic about the clash, while the sighs were from female supporters of Eve.
It must be said, there were quite a few female fans supporting Blue Pegasus—unsurprising for a host club.
"Contestant Ren scores one point! Contestant Eve loses one point!"
More encounters were occurring throughout the arena, with battle sounds echoing from all directions as the competition for points intensified.
"Speaking of which, Rufus of Sabertooth has been inactive—neither defeating anyone nor being defeated," Chapati Lola commented while observing the scoreboard.
"This competition is dull," Rufus remarked, standing with his hands clasped behind his back at the highest point of a building.
"Is that so? I don't quite agree." A calm, unwavering voice interrupted Rufus just as he was about to show off.
"You? When did you get up here?" Rufus couldn't hide his surprise.
Narrowing his eyes, Rufus studied Kagura's expression and movements, immediately confirming that the person before him was real.
'Shouldn't Kagura be confronting Gajeel?'
"Don't you think standing in such a high place makes you too conspicuous?" Kagura had spotted Rufus while observing from a rooftop at the start of the event.
She couldn't stand anyone showing off like that.
Though she appeared to wander aimlessly after descending to the streets, her true target had always been Rufus.
Winning the game meant little to Kagura right now, but Rufus had to be eliminated.
"No matter. I've already memorized it—Memory-Make."
Feigning composure, Rufus snorted coldly and pressed his index and middle fingers near his temple.
A white magic circle edged in red materialized behind him, and the sky above the town began darkening rapidly.
Kagura, Gajeel, Lyon, Eve, and the remaining participants all emanated a glowing light, standing out distinctly in the encroaching darkness.
"Archenemy: Tachi Form."
An anti-gravity magic circle appeared beneath Kagura's feet.
With a heavy stomp of her right foot, she closed the distance to Rufus in the blink of an eye, bringing Archenemy down in a vicious vertical slash.
But Kagura had miscalculated.
Her attack passed right through him—the anticipated image of Archenemy cleaving through his skull didn't materialize.
"Don't worry, you won't lose points. That was merely an illusionary memory I left behind." Rufus expected to see panic on Kagura's face, but he soon realized he was mistaken.
Her breathing remained steady, her magical power stable.
There was no trace of the anger or frustration he anticipated—just an impassive stare fixed on his real body perched on a nearby chimney.
"Memory-Make... a form of Molding Magic?" Kagura asked, her sword resting at her side.
Rufus paused at her question but answered nonetheless. "Correct. Memory-Make is a type of Molding Magic—an ancient art that materializes spells and objects perfectly from memory. It can also incorporate personal understanding of remembered magic to create new, combined spells."
"For example... I've already memorized your weapon."
As soon as Rufus finished speaking, a perfect, second copy of the sealed blade Archenemy materialized in his right hand, which he flourished with theatrical flair.
"Archenemy: Strength Form."
Unaffected by his boasting, Kagura silently launched another assault.
Archenemy slammed heavily onto the rooftop, shattering the bricks and sending debris flying in all directions.
Rufus swiftly leaped backward several times, dodging both Kagura's blade and the scattering fragments of stone.
"I've wasted too much time with you. You've disrupted my plans." Rufus had originally intended to use the Night of Falling Stars magic from his memories to defeat all the members in a single strike, but Kagura had interrupted his spellcasting.
Fortunately, there was still enough time in the match.
As long as he dealt with Kagura first, using the spell again wouldn't be an issue.
...