Looking at the seven paths with their entrances already sealed, Cana helplessly brushed back her damp long hair. "As expected, since we were the last to reach the shore, we don't have the right to choose our route."
"It's nothing. Isn't there a saying that a loss is a blessing?"
Lucy winked at her partner. "Besides, my luck is actually quite good. I can definitely help you pass the exam and become an S-Class Mage."
"Then I'll thank you in advance, Lucy."
Cana replied with a smile. After reuniting with Gildarts, her obsession with becoming an S-Class Mage had long since vanished, but seeing how motivated Lucy was, she knew she had to give it her all too.
The two walked hand in hand into the final Path 1. As soon as they entered the passage, a large flag blocked their path, with a big character 'Fight' written on it.
"We don't have to face an S-Class trial; looks like our luck isn't bad." Cana looked relieved. In the three previous exams she had participated in, she had lost to the guild's current S-Class Mages every time.
Being struck by Laxus's lightning, being chased and slashed by Erza.
Being pinned to the ground and rubbed into the dirt by Mirajane...
Cana didn't want to experience those memories of being one-sidedly beaten up ever again.
"Actually, we're the ones with good luck."
In the center of the passage, a burly man and a young woman stood side by side, having waited for a while. It was Elfman and Evergreen, who had arrived first.
Evergreen partially covered her face with her feathered fan. "Oh, it's you two. Sorry, but it looks like only we can continue down this path."
"For the sake of our dreams, a real man won't go easy on the opposite sex!" Elfman bumped his fists together, eager for a big fight.
"Fine! If that's how it's going to be, let's settle this!"
Cana and Lucy reached for the pouches containing their magical items at the same time.
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Power of destruction! Reveal your form!"
"Open! Gate of the Taurus! Taurus!"
"Moo—!"
Taurus appeared carrying his giant axe, his eyes lighting up the moment he saw Lucy. "Miss Lucy is looking beautiful today too!"
Lucy facepalmed. "This is a battle, Taurus!"
Meanwhile, the card Cana threw erupted with brilliant radiance in the air, and the solid phantom of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon raised its head within the light. She immediately looked at Elfman. "You'd better be careful, my Blue-Eyes is very strong!"
"A dragon... how impressive! But a real man isn't bad either!"
"Take Over — Beast King Soul!"
Elfman didn't show a shred of fear, instantly performing a full-body Take Over of the Beast King's power, meeting the oncoming Blue-Eyes White Dragon in his half-human, half-beast form.
Beside them, Evergreen adjusted her glasses. Watching the charging taurus Celestial Spirit, she had already decided how to deal with him.
However, to everyone's surprise, when Taurus charged closer and saw Evergreen's face, he suddenly slammed on the brakes. His attitude did a 180-degree turn, and he groveled at her feet with a fawning expression.
"My lady, could you let me see your un..."
"Close! Gate of the taurus!"
Lucy embarrassedly sent Taurus back to the Spirit World.
She had actually forgotten that this black-and-white colored guy was a perverted bull. Sending him to fight Evergreen was undoubtedly a waste of effort.
"What a pity, Lucy. Your Celestial Spirit doesn't seem very reliable." Evergreen chuckled. "But that's fine; it saves me some effort."
"Don't underestimate me!"
Lucy reached for the key pouch at her waist again. "Open —"
"Don't think you'll succeed!"
Evergreen took off her glasses, her eyes flashing with an eerie magical light. It was the 'Petrifying Eyes' that had petrified the contestants during the beauty pageant.
As long as their gazes met, the target would be instantly petrified.
"Lucy, watch out!" Cana exclaimed.
But she was currently entangled with the Beast King-transformed Elfman. The claw strikes of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon collided fiercely with Elfman's Beast King fist, causing loose stones to rain down from the passage ceiling.
The weakness of the 'Petrifying Eyes' was no secret in the guild. Since Lucy dared to take on Evergreen, she was naturally prepared.
A flash of starlight appeared, and a pair of cartoon crab-shaped glasses suddenly appeared on the bridge of her nose. Behind her was Kaisa, the Cancer Celestial Spirit.
"Not bad reflexes." Evergreen elegantly put her glasses back on and waved her hand, instantly firing countless shining fairy light bullets.
Kaisa stood in front of Lucy, his two scissors effortlessly blocking all the attacks.
And Lucy's counterattack was launched simultaneously.
Suddenly, Evergreen felt the ground beneath her vanish. A pink-haired girl in a maid outfit emerged from the ground, locking her arms and pressing her into the soil.
Seeing Evergreen buried up to her waist in the blink of an eye, Lucy couldn't help but give a thumbs up. "Well done! Virgo!"
Evergreen was shocked. "This is... dual gate opening!"
That's right, the Celestial Spirits summoned by Lucy weren't just one.
At the same time Kaisa appeared, Virgo, the virgo Celestial Spirit, had already been commanded by her to approach the opponent secretly using earth magic.
Now that Lucy had unlocked the second magic source, she had mastered "dual gate opening" and was a Celestial Spirit Mage capable of summoning two Celestial Spirit partners at once.
"Sorry, looks like I won~"
Looking at the approaching Lucy, Evergreen felt immense regret. After the Harvest Festival civil war, she and the Thunder God Tribe had been taken out for training by Laxus, so she never had the chance to learn more about Lucy.
She had thought the opponent was just a fledgling girl who could be easily handled, but she never expected to fall into such a predicament due to her own arrogance.
Evergreen wasn't skilled in close-quarters combat, and now that most of her body was dragged into the ground by Virgo, the virgo Celestial Spirit, she couldn't even lift her arms, let alone resist.
"Damn it..."
In her frustration, Evergreen's body was completely swallowed by the soil, leaving only her head exposed, at the mercy of Kaisa, the Cancer Celestial Spirit, who was grooming her hair like a professional hairdresser.
At the same time, the tall body of the Beast King Elfman crashed down. A red-eyed dragon breathing black flames, along with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, used pure strength to pin this "beast" firmly to the ground.
This was Cana's third monster card, the 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon'.
Watching Elfman struggle in vain no matter how hard he tried, Cana, who was controlling the two card dragons, wiped the sweat from her forehead. In her other hand, she was still holding a Cyber Dragon card.
As expected, as long as she had powerful cards, she could be very strong too.
Evergreen was defeated by her own arrogance, contempt, and lack of information.
Elfman's strength, which he took such pride in, was suppressed by even greater strength.
Both sides had originally thought there would be a fierce battle, but no one had expected that the group that seemed stronger on the surface, Elfman's team, would be defeated so quickly.
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