"Little sister from Lamia Scale, if I remember correctly, you're Wendy's new friend, right?" With one arm around Mira's slender waist, Calvin turned and smiled at Sherria.
Mira also looked at the young girl curiously. She had heard about Sherria from Wendy but knew nothing about her abilities.
Feeling the intense gazes of the two in front of her, Sherria couldn't help but shiver as a cold chill ran down her spine. Instinctively, she took a defensive stance, her magic power surging.
"There's no need to be so afraid. We won't hurt you," Mira said softly, her heart filled with compassion.
Feeling slightly exasperated, Calvin reminded her, "Mira, we're still in the middle of the competition, and she's our opponent…"
It took Mira a moment to realize that we're still competing! She had been so caught up in the romantic atmosphere with Calvin that she had completely forgotten where they were, distracted by the serene environment and Calvin's sweet words.
"We should finish this quickly. She's a Sky God Slayer Mage, and quite strong, but still, it feels a bit wrong to go all out against a young girl. Mira, I'll leave it to you," Calvin said, his voice full of righteousness.
"You're just passing her off to Mira because you don't want to bother," thought every member of Fairy Tail watching from the stands, their thoughts uncannily aligned.
Natsu even yelled it out loud, and Happy nodded in agreement.
"I've always suspected that Calvin has a soft spot for cute girls. He used to pamper me so much, but now that I'm older, he barely pays attention to me!" Cana complained with a stern expression.
"No, it's definitely because you drink way too much!" everyone thought in unison again.
Natsu voiced it again, and Happy nodded again, earning a glare from Cana.
"Do you really think I can bring myself to fight a little girl? I feel worse about it than you do!" Mira retorted, pouting as she lightly punched Calvin's chest.
"Uh... Mira, let me remind you again, we're still in the middle of a match!" Calvin said nervously.
"We're still in a match, you idiot!" Mira scolded, embarrassed.
"Ahhh! Mira has a boyfriend now! So, what were my seven years of waiting for?" one heartbroken man shouted from the stands.
"This is unforgivable! How dare he touch Mira with those filthy hands! I don't care if he's a Dragon Tamer—I'll kill him!" another cried out.
Unbeknownst to Calvin, male spectators had gone berserk, hurling curses. There were all sorts of men, but they all had one thing in common—they were single.
It was a sad sight. Single men, after all, were often more miserable than dogs. Of course, no offense to dogs.
"You all are ignoring me, aren't you? Don't underestimate me!" Sherria couldn't stand it any longer. She was the most promising rising star on the Lamia Scale, yet she had never been treated with such disdain.
Besides, Calvin was so strong it felt like cheating. She decided to unleash all her pent-up frustration.
Her first move was her most powerful.
"God Slayer Secret Art: Heavenly Cloudburst!"
Dark winds, as black as ink, gathered into cloud-like forms and swirled toward Calvin and Mira. Calvin immediately prepared to defend. Though the attack seemed light and airy, the highly condensed wind was far from harmless—one wrong move could be fatal.
"She may be young, but a God Slayer Mage is no joke," Calvin said with a faint smile, his voice tinged with admiration.
"Yes, she's very impressive. I wasn't nearly as strong at her age," Mira agreed.
However, admiration aside, Calvin wouldn't let the attack hit them. With a swipe of his fingers, a transparent barrier appeared before them, quickly blocking Sherria's magic.
"Space Sever," Calvin said casually, finally naming the spell.
"That's amazing! When did you learn that defensive array?" Mira asked, her face full of surprise.
"This isn't a defensive array. It's just a byproduct from my research into spatial magic," Calvin answered, calm but with a hint of pride.
Though it was an unintended byproduct of his failed experiments, Space Sever was Calvin's most potent defense spell. Creating walls of different dimensions with magic theoretically could block any magic attack. It consumed little magic, could be cast quickly, and had incredible defensive strength.
However, since it was a byproduct, it had significant flaws. First, it could only block attacks from one direction, so Calvin hadn't used it against Rufus and Orga's combined attacks earlier. Additionally, if an enemy's attack surpassed its defense limit, the barrier would become useless, as though it didn't exist at all.
Still, it was enough to block Sherria's incomplete God Slayer secret art.
"My strongest magic was so easily blocked… this man is truly unfathomable," Sherri thought with a heavy heart. She had already understood the gap between her and Calvin, but the reality of it still stung.
However, she wasn't one to give up easily.
One after another, Sherria unleashed her God Slayer magic, but for some reason, Calvin simply kept defending, never counterattacking. While others might think Calvin was showing mercy, Mira knew better—he was observing Sherria's magic closely. More specifically, he was studying her God Slayer magic.
The fight lasted quite a while, only ending when Sherria finally ran out of stamina and magic power.
Throughout the battle, she neither fled nor surrendered. She continued to try breaking through Calvin's defense, earning the approval of many older spectators. But the reality remained harsh—while Sherri was utterly drained, Calvin still had the energy to flirt with Mira.
It felt as though Calvin had been toying with her the whole time.
It was enough to make anyone angry.
The group of men watching from the stands were agitated by this.
"God Slayer magic truly operates on a different level from ordinary magic. Could gods actually exist in this world?" Calvin furrowed his brows, lost in thought.
Just as Mira had suspected, Calvin had been analyzing Sherria's God Slayer magic. He wondered if it could be effective against Acnologia, the black dragon. Knowing he might face the dragon again one day, Calvin wanted to be prepared.
He was beginning to consider learning God Slayer's magic himself. One of the God Slayer Mages he knew had already passed away, and it was unlikely Orga from Sabertooth would cooperate with him. That left only one option—the exhausted Sherria lying in front of him.
…
Meanwhile, another fight was taking place elsewhere, one that many had eagerly anticipated.
On one side was Kagura, widely regarded as the most potent female mage of the current generation. Erza had single-handedly crushed the Oración Seis on the other side.
Both were experts in close-quarters combat, and many expected a fierce battle.
So, could someone explain to the confused audience why neither of these two girls had made a move after meeting on the battlefield?
Kagura stood nervously, shyly glancing at Erza, looking like a timid little girl.
What happened to the cold, proud Kagura?
"Miss Erza… I-I must draw my sword against you," Kagura whispered after what felt like an eternity.
"Hm, I've been looking forward to testing my strength against the one called the strongest female mage of this era!" Ezra replied with burning determination.