The scene shifts to Zorn's side.
Natsu was still in the pit, struggling to stand up. He was too hasty, rushing towards Zorn with his fists as soon as he got up.
He didn't even listen to Zorn's advice, and as a result, a single whip kick from Zorn left him in such a sorry state.
"Natsu, was a whole week of special training for nothing? If so, then your path to the S-Class Exam ends here."
Zorn clapped his hands to dust off the dirt, then stood up.
After coldly finishing his words, he pretended to have made his judgment on the matter and walked away decisively.
"How could this be..." Happy's eyes welled up with tears upon hearing this.
He knew Natsu's obsession and dream of the S-Class Exam, and he knew Natsu was always thinking of Igneel. If he didn't pass this S-Class Exam, who knew how long it would be before that dream could be fulfilled.
"It's not over, how can it just end like this!!!" Natsu clenched his fists, and flames surged from his body again, the temperature in the air rising steadily.
The spot where Natsu stood was already somewhat liquefied by the flames, slowly spreading outwards.
His gaze was fixed on Zorn's every move, and his fists were directly covered in Armament Haki.
Zorn's mouth curved slightly. Feeling the surrounding temperature, he understood that Natsu had finally calmed down. Natsu's excitement just now had directly overlooked the most important thing: calmness.
This was also the biggest taboo when performing S-Class missions. For missions of S-Class and above, even a slight oversight in any mission could be fatal.
"It seems you understand!" Zorn's mouth curved slightly. After saying this happily, he had just turned around.
"How about this strike!"
A whooshing sound already came from above him.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist"
The explosive force brought by the orange-red, blackened flames, a kick chopped down from above.
Zorn's Armament Haki directly covered his right arm. He raised his hand to block the attack, while simultaneously dispersing all the force into the ground.
"Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon Fist"
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack"
The ground instantly collapsed. Natsu's first strike failed, and subsequent continuous attacks swarmed in all at once.
Their attacks flickered left and right within the passage, but the aftershocks were well controlled by Zorn within a certain range.
Zorn moved back and forth with great ease, blocking with his physical techniques and Haki, and even had the leisure to further tease Natsu: "Natsu, your physical techniques have improved a lot, but unfortunately, if you're not fighting with the intent to kill me, it's still not good enough!"
Zorn blocked Natsu's punch with his left hand, and his right foot glowed brightly, delivering a light-speed kick.
The moment it hit Natsu's abdomen, Zorn's right foot paused, but Natsu still flew backward rapidly.
"With a bang~"
He directly smashed through the mountain wall, followed by a huge explosion, and countless rubble buried him within.
"Natsu~" Happy cried out in worry, tears welling up in his eyes.
Natsu did not respond for a moment, and Happy's cries faintly echoed within the passage.
"Don't worry, Happy, Natsu is fine." Zorn, unable to bear Happy's worry, spoke up to comfort him, his tone filled with relief.
That pause in his kick just now wasn't Zorn going easy; it was Natsu's body reacting quickly enough, fully covering his abdomen with Armament Haki and compressing the flames, concentrating them at a single point in his abdomen.
This level could already be considered a subconscious body reaction.
"Fire Dragon's... Roar"
As Zorn had said, Natsu indeed blasted away the rubble with a punch, his belly bulging high, and a powerful flame erupted from Natsu's mouth.
Zorn faced the flames that completely covered the entire height of the cave, looking very calm.
He extended his palm, and a magic circle instantly unfolded, a similarly strong beam of light shooting out.
The moment the two attacks collided, a brilliant white light erupted, filling the entire cave passage.
And just then, Natsu's triumphant laughter came from behind Zorn.
"Hahaha, here's my chance! This is the result of all these years!"
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art - Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade"
Orange-red, blackened flames emerged from Zorn's hands, and Armament Haki was slowly added to the flames by Natsu. The red-black flames emitted an extremely dangerous aura.
As Natsu spun at high speed, this strike solidly hit Zorn.
"Rumble~" The cave ceiling was directly scorched and blasted open, all of it falling down. Coupled with the damage from previous attacks, this passage was now an open-air area.
A fireball like a small sun enveloped Zorn, but Natsu was directly blasted away by the aftershock, landing on Happy. He struggled, and with Happy's help, slowly stood up.
Smoke billowed everywhere.
"Did it work? This examination should..." Happy questioned, though this attack was very powerful, they were facing Zorn. He only hoped this strike would earn Zorn's approval.
"Well done! Your strength is barely passable."
Upon hearing the voice, Natsu and Happy stared in disbelief at the unharmed Zorn beside them, murmuring, "Impossible, under such an attack... at such close range."
"Damn it, what's the point of me becoming an S-Class Mage if I can't even defeat you!" Natsu suddenly yelled, stopping Zorn just as he was about to declare him passed. He clenched his fists, his body trembling. In his mind, only by defeating the examiner could he truly meet the standards of an S-Class Mage.
"Sigh, I knew you'd say that! There's no helping it! It seems I still need to test you, to see if you possess that certain something?"
Zorn, hearing this roar, also had no choice. He first sighed, then gradually released his magic power.
All the surrounding rubble slowly floated up under the vibration of this pressure, and the cave passage began to tremble.
"Hmph~" Under Zorn's cold snort, his magic power soared into the sky.
The hurricane caused by the magic power made Natsu and Happy unable to stand steadily, and they trembled with fear, crying out, "Ahhh~ This... this kind of magic power..."
Natsu looked at Zorn in the golden magic power pillar, forcing himself to suppress the fear in his heart, but his body was already beyond his control, stiffening in place.
The other S-Class Mages, Laxus, Ur, Gildarts, and others, also felt Zorn's magic power. They only paused slightly, then pushed even harder against their examinees. All the participating members were instantly sent flying backward.
Makarov was originally sitting comfortably at the finish line, eagerly awaiting the successful examinees, when he sensed Zorn's magic power.
He quickly stood up, his expression stunned, then a trembling voice came out: "This... this... no way, could it be that only one team will pass the first examination!"
...
Zorn's side.
Natsu was still trembling, but he desperately suppressed the fear in his heart.
"Ah~ I... I won't...." Natsu took a deep breath, held it, and shouted out, about to continue swinging his fist at Zorn.
Zorn, however, glared at Natsu with killing intent. Natsu's feet immediately seemed to be fixed, and death instantly enveloped him. Zorn in the light pillar immediately transformed into a terrifying humanoid figure, with demonic red eyes staring at him.
The air seemed to have been sucked out, and Natsu couldn't breathe at all, no matter what he did. His pupils dilated, cold sweat covered his entire body, and his legs slowly bent, his hands supporting him on the ground.
Seeing this, Zorn slowly withdrew his magic power.
Natsu gradually regained his breath, but his body still trembled uncontrollably, and he said fearfully, "I... I surrender!"
Happy's face was covered in tears; he truly felt sorry for Natsu...
Zorn's mouth curved slightly:
"Amazing~ To be able to continue challenging me under such fear, and even to retract it, that's very rare."
"Fear is not original sin. It means you have understood your weaknesses, and this will make you stronger and kinder. This is one of the conditions for becoming an S-Class Mage."
"As I said before, you passed!"
"But... but... I..."
"The chief examiner said you passed. There will be even harder examinations waiting for you later, I believe in you, Natsu!" Zorn squatted down, patting Natsu's head to comfort him, as he had indeed scared Natsu a bit.
"Go and become an S-Class, Natsu!"
"I believe you will surpass me!"
Natsu's shoulders were still trembling, but tears were dripping down, unsure if it was from happiness at passing the examination or from Zorn's recognition of him.
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