"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Countless silver blades rained down from the sky, completely enveloping Bacchus.
Bacchus dodged and weaved, trying to avoid the incoming blades, but they were too dense and fast for him to evade entirely.
With magic power surging, Bacchus had no choice but to reinforce his body with magic, enduring the impact of the blades head-on.
"Drunken Splitting Palm: Moonlight!"
He swung his palms repeatedly, sending out crescent-shaped shockwaves to deflect the silver flying swords.
"Dammit!"
Exhausted from the relentless assault, Bacchus grew uneasy.
Could it be that Erza was only now starting to get serious?
"Whoosh!"
Erza, high in the sky, swiftly descended toward Bacchus, raising her twin swords for a powerful slash.
Before she reached him, several flying swords shot toward Bacchus at an even faster speed, preventing him from focusing on defending against her attack.
Caught off guard, Bacchus barely managed to block.
"BOOM!"
The force of the strike sent him flying backward, crashing into the Crystal Wall before sliding to the ground.
"Whoosh!"
Erza showed no signs of stopping.
The silver blades circling behind her like a halo spun rapidly.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
One after another, the silver blades shot out, relentlessly suppressing Bacchus as he struggled to his feet.
Bacchus stopped blocking and instead began running frantically, the silver blades hot on his heels.
Of course, he wasn't fleeing aimlessly—he was looking for an opening to counterattack.
Continuing as before would only lead to him being worn down.
He refused to wait for death; even if he lost, he would go down fighting!
"Raaaaah!"
With a furious roar, Bacchus leaped into the air, lunging at Erza.
"Take this!"
Despite fighting this long, Bacchus hadn't landed a single hit on Erza—an unacceptable outcome.
"Clang!"
Unfortunately, this punch still missed, effortlessly deflected by Erza's sword.
If Bacchus couldn't hit her on the ground, he stood no chance in the air.
Now airborne and unable to fly, Bacchus was utterly defenseless against Erza's rapid aerial combo.
"BOOM!!"
With a final kick from Erza, Bacchus plummeted to the ground like a missile.
Lying on the ground, Bacchus felt stars dancing in his vision.
Combined with his drunken state, the world around him seemed to spin uncontrollably.
In his dazed and dizzy state, he saw Erza, clad in magnificent armor, standing before him, her blade poised at his neck.
'Am I going to die?'
Bacchus's eyes widened involuntarily as countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
"Erza Scarlet Wins!"
Just as Bacchus was lost in his thoughts, Marco's voice rang out, reminding him that this was merely an S-Class trial.
Erza's overwhelming pressure had made him genuinely believe he was about to die.
"You alright, Bacchus?" Marco reached out, patting Bacchus to check his condition.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine."
Bacchus shook his head vigorously, grabbing Marco's hand to pull himself up.
"Erza, you're truly strong. But I won't admit defeat so easily!"
Looking at Erza standing beside Marco, Bacchus attempted to throw out a tough remark.
"Not giving up? Want to keep fighting?" Erza was surprised.
She hadn't expected Bacchus to say something like this.
"Ahem! Let's call it a day. Next time, next time!"
Bacchus choked on his words and waved his hands in refusal.
He wasn't talking about not giving up this time—he needed to go back and reflect first.
"Alright, clear the field now." Marco shook his head with a helpless smile.
Bacchus was another troublemaker at heart.
Bacchus and Erza obediently left the arena, making way for the battle between Natsu and Hibiki.
This match ended quickly.
Hibiki wasn't particularly adept at dealing with opponents who fought with a straightforward, brute-force style.
Natsu, brimming with morale and determined to claim first place, went all out, forcefully breaking through Hibiki's defenses.
"Bam!"
Hibiki collapsed to the ground, his face bruised and swollen.
"Don't... hit... the face..."
After uttering his only request, Hibiki's head lolled to the side as he passed out.
"Huh? Where else am I supposed to hit if not the face?"
Natsu was utterly confused, but Hibiki was in no state to answer him.
"Natsu, wins!"
"Yay! I won!!!"
The moment Marco announced the result, Natsu leaped up in excitement.
His gaze locked onto Erza, eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
"So my final opponent is Natsu after all?"
Erza's expression remained unchanged, though her tone carried a hint of disappointment.
It couldn't be helped—this outcome held no challenge for her.
Beating Natsu? That was child's play.
"The finals are an internal match between Fairy Tail members. Truly befitting the top-ranked Wizard Guild in Fiore."
The Mages who had been spectating all along were thoroughly convinced by this final matchup.
After all, throughout the entire S-Class examination, Fairy Tail had consistently led the pack.
Even if they didn't want to admit it, they couldn't deny that the luck of the draw hadn't favored Fairy Tail much.
With slightly better luck and fewer internal matches, perhaps even all four semifinalists would have been from Fairy Tail.
"The finals will commence tomorrow at 9 AM—Erza vs. Natsu."
With both semifinals concluded, Marco announced the time for the final match.
Truthfully, for this S-Class examination, the upcoming final hardly mattered.
The three guilds had already decided on their S-Class candidates in their leaders' minds.
Though not all of Fairy Tail's examinees had completed their trials, this final was undoubtedly the most predictable matchup.
...
"Erza Scarlet, wins!"
At nine the next morning, less than two minutes into the battle, Natsu was already sprawled on the ground, his head covered in lumps, his body twitching.
"This... this feeling..."
Bruised and battered, Natsu mumbled incoherently, as if reliving some unpleasant memory.
"Congratulations, Erza. You've secured first place in this examination."
Marco smiled as he spoke to her, though there was no medal or trophy for the top rank.
"Does that mean I'll be promoted to S-Class Mage?"
Erza nodded, indifferent to the title of first place.
Her only concern was whether she could advance to S-Class.
Marco looked up at the old man Makarov on the judges' platform.
The elder was standing on the railing, so there was no worry about not seeing him clearly.
"I think... there shouldn't be any problems. If even you didnt get promoted, who else would qualify?" Marco nodded, giving Erza a firm answer.
He didn't think his guild master would pull any unexpected tricks.
"That's wonderful!"
Hearing Marco's words, Erza finally broke into a smile.
She was about to become an S-Class Mage, finally able to take on S-Class missions from the second floor and stand side by side with Marco.
Erza turned to look at Marco, but his figure had already disappeared, reappearing on the judges' platform.
"Honorable guild masters, may we announce the results now?" Marco addressed the three elders.
They had stopped their discussions, apparently having reached a consensus.
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