"Sure enough, it's you two."
Looking at Mirajane and Erza, Laxus spoke. He stretched his limbs a bit. Although he looked calm on the surface, he was actually quite excited inside—after all, this was his first time doing this job. Previously, he had been one of the examinees.
However, Laxus was still very clear about what to do. After all, he had participated in the exam twice. It was just that he hadn't yet figured out his own S-Class standard, so he would strictly follow the requirements of Gildarts Clive, and would even be a bit stricter.
The reasoning was simple. Gildarts had maintained such a high standard for S-Class mages for so long, he couldn't lower it when it came to him. In a sense, this could also be considered a kind of "inheritance."
Everyone had been held back by this standard before, so naturally it had to continue. The hardships he had experienced, those who came later would have to experience them as well!
"Are we going one by one?"
Erza was also very straightforward. Without another word, she prepared to start fighting. After all, it was impossible to pass by talking—whatever needed to be said could be said after the fight.
"You two are a team?"
Laxus asked with a puzzled expression.
Although Laxus didn't involve himself much in the affairs of these kids, he still understood the general situation. Erza and Mirajane often fought, just like Gray and Natsu. These two girls shouldn't be on the same team, right?
"Of course not!"
As expected, Erza and Mirajane both denied it immediately. The two even stepped away from each other, as if afraid of being misunderstood.
"Then we'll go one by one. Only people from the same team can fight together."
Laxus spoke, which made both Erza and Mirajane show surprised expressions. So this was the meaning of forming a team? They could actually fight together as two people?!
But thinking about it, it made sense. When two people took on a mission together, of course they could fight together. The S-Class Mage Exam they were participating in was, in a sense, like a rehearsal for an S-Class mission wasn't even the enemy blocking their path an S-Class mage?
"Then I'll go first!"
"Why should you?! I'll go first!"
As for who would go first, Erza and Mirajane began arguing again. It looked like the two were about to fight over who would take the field first.
"..."
Laxus was speechless. In his mind, he began to wonder how Moen managed relationships among these people, how exactly did he make these kids get along peacefully?
"Erza arrived first, so Erza goes first."
After thinking for a while and still not figuring it out, Laxus couldn't stay silent any longer as Erza and Mirajane were about to start fighting. He spoke and made the decision.
As the examiner, Laxus's words naturally carried weight. Although Mirajane still looked unwilling, she could only step back a few paces and let the armored Erza face Laxus.
"Lightning Empress Armor!"
Without any hesitation, Erza directly summoned her trump card.
"Lightning Empress Armor"—this was a set of armor with a light green base, adorned with lightning patterns, covered in golden threads, and designed with a Chinese-style appearance. At the same time, it also came with a lightning spear as a weapon.
However, Erza gave up using the lightning spear as her weapon. Because of Moen, Laxus's identity as a "Lightning Dragon Slayer Mage" was already known to everyone. Therefore, Erza wouldn't foolishly use lightning to attack Laxus that would just be charging him. Using lightning in front of him would be like showing off trivial skills before an expert.
"Clang!"
Erza still held a longsword as her weapon. Her expression was serious even while wearing the Lightning Empress Armor, she didn't dare reveal any openings.
"You actually prepared your equipment in advance!"
Seeing the "Lightning Empress Armor" on Erza, Mirajane widened her eyes. She hadn't expected Erza to be so thoroughly prepared.
"Gathering information beforehand and making preparations is a mage's duty."
Erza glanced at Mirajane and spoke.
These words made Mirajane turn her head away in annoyance, no longer looking at Erza. Wasn't that basically calling her an idiot for not preparing anything?
"It's nothing but useless effort."
Seeing the "Lightning Empress Armor" on Erza, Laxus let out a disdainful laugh.
Did these people really think they could resist his power with such external tools? It had to be said, they were underestimating him far too much.
"I'm going in!"
Erza didn't know what Laxus was thinking, but when it was time to act, she would not hesitate, nor would she retreat.
With a loud shout, Erza charged straight toward Laxus.
"Crackle! Crackle!"
Lightning gathered on his fist, terrifying waves of magic power surged around his body, and the expression on Laxus's face had already turned arrogant.
"Boom!"
Without any suspense, the charging Erza was sent flying back. Her sword didn't even touch Laxus before she took a punch to the abdomen, her whole body blasted away like a cannonball.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
After crashing through three trees in succession, Erza finally stopped and landed on the ground. She staggered, planting her sword into the ground to barely steady herself.
"..."
Seeing this sudden scene, Mirajane Strauss, who was watching from the side, widened her eyes in shock.
"So this is the power of an S-Class mage?"
At that moment, Erza and Mirajane had almost exactly the same thought.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
The "Lightning Empress Armor" on Erza's body was already covered in cracks. With just a single punch, Laxus had shattered this armor specifically meant to counter lightning magic. Its special defense against lightning was like paper, it didn't play any role at all!
"With just one punch the Lightning Empress Armor…"
This made Erza even more shocked. Of course, she felt that the "Lightning Empress Armor" must have still played some role at least she herself hadn't been seriously injured but it was also possible that Laxus had held back.
"Don't expect to use external tools to block the power of lightning."
Looking at the shocked Erza and Mirajane, Laxus spoke slowly, carrying the demeanor of an expert. He truly didn't think this was anything worth being proud of. After all, Erza was four years younger than him.
With such an age gap, wasn't it normal for her to have no way to fight back against him? Not everyone was a monster like Moen.
When they grew older, the gap between him and Erza and the others might shrink, but right now, Erza and Mirajane were still children, only fourteen years old. They hadn't fully grown yet, and even the best talent had not yet been realized.
Laxus wouldn't use his current strength to measure Erza's talent, but rather compare her to himself at fourteen. He had to admit—Erza's talent was indeed astonishing.
"It's not over yet!"
Looking at Laxus, Erza gritted her teeth and spoke. She changed her outfit again this time into a lighter set of equipment.
Her hairstyle remained a ponytail, tied with a small green tube. Her lower body wore red-based lantern pants with yellow flame patterns, while her upper body had only a white bandage tube top. Barefoot, she held a long blade that emitted an extremely dangerous aura.
"Even if armor isn't very useful, you don't have to abandon it completely, right?!"
Seeing Erza's outfit, Mirajane was confused. If she took another punch like this, it wouldn't be the armor breaking anymore!
"Haa…"
Erza gripped the long blade with both hands and let out a long breath. The magic power in her body instantly erupted, all of it concentrating into the blade—"Clear Heart Clothing" plus "Demon Blade Benizakura." This was her strongest offensive setup, abandoning all defense to push attack power to the absolute limit, a desperate gamble!
Erza already understood in her heart that the gap in strength between her and Laxus was huge. Even wearing layers of heavy armor, she would only be beaten down, and the armor would be shattered like the "Lightning Empress Armor." Rather than taking hits miserably, she might as well abandon defense and show Laxus her power!
Looking at Erza as her magic power erupted, Laxus's expression finally changed. He was no longer as indifferent as before.
An Erza like this was already worthy of his serious attention. It also made Laxus sigh inwardly, there were indeed many gifted children in the guild, but they were all overshadowed by Moen's brilliance.
Erza swung the long blade. Its name was "Demon Blade Benizakura." For the current Erza, this was a nearly uncontrollable killing weapon. Without going all out and unleashing all her magic power, she wouldn't even be able to hold this blade.
Therefore, taking out this blade truly meant going all in for a full-power strike.
"AAAAAH!!!"
Swinging the blade, Erza's magic power exploded as she charged toward Laxus. This overwhelming momentum caused Mirajane's expression to change—Erza had never fought her like this before. It proved that there was indeed a gap between them.
"BOOM!!!"
A loud explosion made Moen, who had not yet arrived, raise his head. Everyone's attention turned toward the direction of the blast.
Now, those companions who had taken the wrong path or couldn't find the location finally had a target. The flashing lightning made it obvious that Laxus was fighting. Gray immediately changed direction and rushed over.
As for Moen, he was already close. He had long sent his crows to lock onto Laxus's position, so he easily brought Cana and Joey over.
Speaking of which, what they saw along the way on Tenrou Island was quite interesting.
Tenrou Island truly deserved to be called a "paradise." The natural environment here was extremely ancient, and many strange creatures lived on the island. Some were enormous and clearly abnormal, and some could even speak.
The strange creatures they saw along the way made the legend that "fairies once lived on this island" seem somewhat believable. After all, in Moen's impression, these talking animals could also be called "fairies."
Of course, the "fairies" Moen referred to were clearly different from the "fairies" of this world.
By the time Moen brought Cana and Joey to the scene, the battle had already ended. Laxus was completely unharmed, while Erza had exhausted too much magic power and lost the ability to fight. In the end, she still hadn't been able to injure Laxus, who had turned into lightning.
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