The glowing lacrima orbs hovered in the quiet jungle clearing, casting a pale light over the roots of the Tenrou Tree.
Master Makarov sat on his wooden stump, his eyes darting between the magical screens.
Ace leaned against the rough bark of the giant tree, unfazed by the dense magic of the island.
Gajeel sat cross-legged on the grass, crunching loudly on a thick iron bolt, while Levy leaned forward, her eyes glued to the feeds.
"Look at Gray," Levy pointed to the orb displaying Route F.
Inside the cavern, the fight had shifted into a high-speed game of cat and mouse.
Mest was glowing with a faint purple aura, grabbing Wendy's hand and teleporting rapidly across the stalactites to dodge a barrage of sharp ice lances.
"He's running out of breath," Gajeel grunted. "Teleporting two people back-to-back eats a lot of magic. Gray just needs to corner him."
On the screen, Gray stopped firing ice lances.
He took a deep breath, dropping into a low stance and slamming both hands flat against the cavern floor.
"Ice-Make: Floor!"
A massive wave of freezing energy washed over the entire cavern.
The rough stone ground, the walls, and even the stalactites were instantly coated in a thick, frictionless sheet of ice.
Mest materialized on a high rock ledge, preparing to launch a surprise kick at Gray's blind spot.
But the second his boots touched the frozen stone, his legs flew out from under him.
He crashed hard onto his back with a loud thud, sliding uncontrollably down the icy slope and dragging Wendy with him.
"Checkmate," Loke called out.
The celestial spirit leaped into the air above the sliding duo, his fists glowing with intense, blinding light.
"Regulus Impact!"
Loke unleashed a massive, roaring lion formed of pure light magic.
The blast struck the ground right next to Mest, the concussive force lifting the older mage into the air and knocking him out cold before he even hit the ground.
Wendy sat up, dizzy and overwhelmed by the light, and quickly raised her hands in surrender.
"Gray and Loke win Route F," Makarov nodded, tapping his staff on the ground to extinguish that specific lacrima.
"A very tactical victory. Gray kept a cool head and used the environment against a faster opponent."
Ace watched the screen fade to black.
'Brain over brawn,' he thought.
He knew Mest couldn't use his Memory Control or real offensive magic without blowing his cover as a Magic Council spy.
Forced to rely solely on defensive teleportation, Mest had practically handed Gray the win.
"One down," Gajeel smirked. "Who's next?"
They shifted their focus to Route D. The flooded tunnel was a mess of shallow water and explosive magical residue.
Cana was panting heavily, her clothes soaked and clinging to her. She threw a rapid barrage of glowing magical cards, but Freed easily deflected them with graceful swipes of his rapier.
Lucy stood behind her, commanding Taurus to swing his giant axe, trying to keep Bickslow's floating totems at bay.
Freed didn't look tired at all.
He traced a glowing purple rune in the air with his blade, drawing a bright line across the surface of the water.
"This is the end of the line, Cana," Freed stated calmly. "You step past this rune, and my Jutsu Shiki will strip you of your magic."
"I don't care!" Cana yelled, her voice cracking with a desperate, unyielding fire. "I'm not quitting! Not this year!"
She pulled a specific, glowing card from her deck.
She chanted a rapid spell, throwing the card high into the air.
A massive, localized storm cloud materialized near the ceiling of the cavern.
"Lightning Volley!" Cana screamed.
A barrage of heavy lightning bolts rained down toward Freed.
Ace watched closely.
He saw the subtle twitch in Freed's wrist, the aborted motion to cast a defensive barrier that would have easily absorbed the attack.
Instead, Freed purposely stepped a fraction of an inch to the side, directly into the blast radius.
The lightning struck the water around him, sending a shockwave that threw Freed backward.
He splashed into the shallow water, feigning defeat.
"Freed!" Bickslow yelled, his totems dropping in shock.
"I miscalculated," Freed groaned softly, closing his eyes. "You win, Cana."
Up at the camp, Levy blinked in surprise. "Wait, did Freed just lose? He had her cornered!"
"He threw the match," Ace said, pushing himself off the tree trunk. "Freed respects Cana. He knows she's been trying to pass this exam for years, and he chose to step aside rather than crush her dream."
Makarov sighed, a fond smile touching his lips. "The heart of a Fairy Tail mage is a complex thing. Sometimes, the bond of family outweighs the desire to win. Cana and Lucy pass."
"Well, Mira isn't holding back for family," Gajeel winced, pointing at the screen for Route C. "That's just brutal."
Inside the cavern, Mirajane hovered above the ground in her terrifying Satan Soul form.
Her dark, leathery wings beat slowly, kicking up a harsh wind.
She laughed, a dark, echoing sound, as she fired a relentless barrage of explosive demonic energy at her brother and Evergreen.
Elfman was forced entirely on the defensive. He transformed his right arm using his Beast Soul, crossing it in front of his face to block the explosive blasts.
The sheer kinetic force pushed him backward, his boots carving deep trenches into the stone floor.
Evergreen flew frantically above them, firing blasts of Fairy Dust from her hands, but Mirajane just casually swatted the magic away with the back of her demonic hand.
"We can't break through her!" Elfman grunted, his beast arm bruised and smoking.
On the screen, Evergreen grabbed Elfman by the collar, pulling him behind a shattered pillar. She whispered something frantically into his ear.
Elfman's eyes went wide.
His face turned bright red, and he shook his head violently, refusing the idea.
But Evergreen slapped his cheek hard, pointing an angry finger at Mirajane hovering in the air.
Elfman swallowed hard.
He took a deep breath, stepping out from behind the pillar and puffing out his chest.
"MIRA!" Elfman roared at the top of his lungs. "EVERGREEN AND I... WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!"
Silence fell over the cavern on the screen.
Up at the camp, Gajeel choked on his iron bolt, Levy's jaw dropped open and Ace raised an eyebrow, letting out a sharp bark of laughter.
On the lacrima feed, Mirajane's terrifying, homicidal demonic aura vanished instantly.
She reverted back to her sweet, normal self in a puff of purple smoke.
Her hands flew to her cheeks, her face turning bright red as a massive, delighted smile spread across her face.
"Oh my goodness!" Mirajane squealed, tears of pure joy welling in her blue eyes. "A wedding?! I have to start planning! We need flowers, and a cake, and a beautiful dress—"
While Mirajane was entirely lost in her wedding fantasies, Evergreen flew forward, pressing a glowing hand to Mira's forehead.
"Fairy Dust!"
A point-blank blast of concussive magic struck Mirajane, knocking her unconscious before she could even process the trick.
She fell backward into Elfman's arms, a happy smile still plastered on her sleeping face.
Makarov slowly dragged a hand down his face, groaning loudly. "I can't believe it. She fell for the oldest trick in the book. Route C... goes to Elfman and Evergreen."
Gajeel burst into a fit of rough laughter, slapping his knee. "That's the cheapest stunt I've ever seen! But it worked! Man, I wish I thought of that."
"It isn't stupid if it gets the job done," Ace smirked, crossing his arms. "Though Elfman is going to have a lot of explaining to do when Mira wakes up and asks to see the wedding rings."
"That leaves Juvia and Erza," Levy said, looking at the feed for Route B.
But the screen went dark almost immediately.
Erza stood over a defeated Juvia and Lisanna, her sword resting over her shoulder.
She hadn't even broke a sweat.
"Erza wins Route B," Makarov announced quietly. "She didn't even give them an inch.... that girl doesn't even know the concept of holding back at all!"
Before anyone could say anything else, a sudden, violent earthquake rocked the entire island.
The ground beneath the camp shook so hard that Makarov nearly fell off his wooden stump.
The birds in the dense jungle took flight, screeching in terror.
A massive, suffocating wave of golden magical pressure erupted from the far side of the island, rolling over the camp like a physical, crushing weight.
Levy gasped, falling to her knees as the air grew dangerously thin. She gripped the grass, struggling to breathe.
Gajeel gritted his teeth, planting his heavy boots into the dirt to keep from getting pushed back by the sheer force of the invisible aura.
Ace stood his ground, his eyes narrowing as he looked toward the source of the tremor.
The final glowing lacrima screen, the one displaying Route A, began to violently glitch and crackle.
The feed showed Natsu charging forward, his entire body engulfed in blinding, white-hot flames.
He threw a massive punch, screaming a battle cry.
Gildarts stood perfectly still, but his eyes were glowing with an intense, terrifying white light.
The air around the older mage warped and distorted.
"Crash," Ace whispered.
On the screen, Gildarts unleashed his magic. Natsu was instantly separated into dozens of tiny, miniature versions of himself.
The tiny Natsus ran around in a panic, their tiny voices squeaking before they dog-piled Gildarts in a comical attempt to keep fighting.
Gildarts laughed, snapping his fingers. He reversed the spell, pulling Natsu back into his normal size.
Natsu landed on his feet, panting heavily. He glared at Gildarts, slamming his blazing fists together.
"I'm not done! I can keep going!"
"I know you can," Gildarts' voice rumbled through the lacrima feed, his tone dropping its usual playful edge.
"But let's see if you should."
Gildarts took a single step forward. He unleashed his true magic power.
The screen began to crack.
The magical interference was too strong for the lacrima to process.
The golden wave of magic coming from Gildarts wasn't just dense, it was pure, unadulterated hostility.
It was the feeling of death.
Natsu stopped dead in his tracks.
The flames around his fists died instantly. His eyes went wide, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks.
The hotheaded, fearless Dragon Slayer began to tremble violently.
He took a step back.
Then another.
Natsu fell to his knees, his hands hitting the stone floor. Tears streamed down his face, and he let out a choked, terrified sob.
He couldn't move.
The fear had paralyzed him completely.
"I... I give up," Natsu cried, bowing his head to the ground.
The golden aura immediately vanished.
The earthquake stopped, and the crushing pressure over the island lifted as quickly as it had appeared.
On the screen, Gildarts walked over to the trembling Natsu. He didn't look disappointed. He looked incredibly proud.
He knelt down, wrapping a massive arm around the crying Dragon Slayer, pulling him into a warm hug.
"It takes courage to admit defeat, Natsu," Gildarts said softly. "Knowing fear isn't a weakness. It's the first step to knowing your own limits, and learning how to protect the people behind you."
Gildarts stood up, offering a hand to help Natsu off the floor. "You pass, kid. Welcome to the real S-Class trial."
The lacrima screen finally shattered into tiny pieces, unable to handle the residual magic, plunging the feed into darkness.
The clearing on Tenrou Island was silent.
"He made that hothead cry," Gajeel muttered, still processing what he just saw. "Salamander actually backed down."
"He had to," Ace said, his voice calm, cutting through the lingering tension in the air. "Gildarts showed him the wall he can't climb yet. If Natsu charged into that aura, he wouldn't be fighting to win. He'd be fighting to die. Admitting fear is what separates a brawler from an S-Class mage."
Makarov nodded slowly, looking out into the dense, quiet jungle.
"The preliminary round is officially over," the Master declared. "Five teams have passed. They've proven their resolve, their intellect, and their courage. But the true trials of Tenrou Island... are only just beginning."