“Requip: Heaven’s Wheel Armor!” “Take Over: Satan Soul!” Caelan watched the two girls unleash their full magical power, a small, approving smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
‘Not bad.
They’ve really grown a lot over the past two years.’ “Don’t look at us like some old man, Caelan!” Mirajane yelled, annoyed by his relaxed demeanor.
“Dark Spark!” Mirajane’s fists ignited with crackling, dark demonic energy.
She lunged forward, unleashing a lightning-fast flurry of punches and kicks.
However, Caelan simply swayed side to side, effortlessly dodging every single strike without even moving his feet.
“Dammit!
Dammit!” Mirajane cursed, swinging wildly.
“I couldn’t hit Finn, and now I can’t hit you either!” “I literally taught Finn how to fight,” Caelan chuckled.
“If you couldn’t touch him, what made you think you could touch me?” Suddenly, Erza’s voice echoed from the sky behind him.
“Do not forget about me!” “Heaven’s Wheel: Trinity Sword!” Erza swung her swords in a rapid, triangular motion, launching three massive blades of compressed Magic Power directly at Caelan’s back.
“Speed is weight.
Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light, little girl?” Bam!
“Waaahhh!!” In one fluid motion, Caelan kicked Mirajane squarely in the chest, sending her rocketing backward.
Immediately after, he tapped his foot against the dirt and vanished into thin air.
Erza’s Trinity Sword slashed harmlessly into the empty ground, leaving three deep trenches.
Erza’s instincts screamed at her.
She looked up just in time to see Caelan materialize directly above her.
With a casual downward axe kick, he slammed Erza out of the air, crashing her heavily into the dirt.
Groaning, the two girls slowly picked themselves up, looking considerably more battered than they had a minute ago.
‘He’s so strong!’ they both thought simultaneously.
Caelan looked at them and sighed, shaking his head.
“Is that really all you’ve got?
If you’re holding back, then neither of you is passing this exam.” Hearing his mockery, the competitive fire in both girls flared to an absolute maximum.
“Don’t you dare look down on us!!” they yelled in unison.
Their magical auras exploded, and the two of them charged at Caelan side-by-side with terrifying intensity.
“Ama no Murakumo.” A blade of solid light materialized in Caelan’s right hand, while his left arm turned pitch-black with Armament Haki.
The three of them instantly clashed in a chaotic, high-speed brawl.
Caelan casually parried Erza’s swords with his light blade while simultaneously blocking Mirajane’s demonic strikes with his Haki-coated fist.
Despite their relentless, highly coordinated assault, Caelan dismantled their attacks with effortless precision.
“Dammit!” Mirajane gritted her teeth, sweating heavily.
“If this keeps up, we’re going to run out of Magic Power before we even land a hit!” She leaped backward, creating distance.
“Dark Rage!” Seeing the volatile demonic energy gathering around Mirajane, Erza quickly backed away to give her space.
Mirajane threw her arms out, spinning her body violently.
A massive vortex of dark energy erupted from her core, pulling the surrounding air into a suffocating, violent tornado.
“Go!
Dark Hurricane!” The pitch-black tornado roared toward Caelan, tearing the earth apart and violently uprooting massive trees as it sucked everything into its path.
Faced with the massive storm, Caelan simply vanished in a flash of golden light—reappearing directly in the calm center of the tornado.
He pointed a glowing finger straight down.
A searing laser blasted into the base of the vortex, completely disrupting its magical flow.
The tornado instantly shattered, dropping splintered trees and massive boulders harmlessly from the sky.
But Erza had already anticipated the opening.
Having switched into her Black Wing Armor, she rocketed toward him from above, gripping a massive battleaxe with both hands.
“Black Wing: Moon Flash!” “Armament.” Instead of dodging, Caelan simply raised his Haki-coated right arm to intercept the devastating axe strike.
He could have easily stepped aside, but after the massacre a few months ago, his lazy nature had faded just enough that he actually wanted to test their limits.
The moment the axe collided with his arm, a massive shockwave erupted, sending streaks of black lightning arcing across the clearing.
“Haaaaaahhh!!” Erza roared, pouring every ounce of her remaining Magic into the strike.
“Go down!!” But Caelan didn’t budge a single inch.
He looked at her calmly, then slowly raised his free left hand.
Realizing she was trapped, Erza tried to pull back, but Caelan had already grabbed the handle of her axe.
He raised a glowing finger and flicked her squarely on the forehead.
The sheer force of the flick sent Erza tumbling backward, crashing into the dirt for the second time.
But Mirajane wasn’t done.
She had used the distraction to gather the absolute last dregs of her Magic Power.
“Soul Extinctor!!” A colossal, devastating beam of dark energy erupted from her hands, completely engulfing Caelan’s position.
The blast was so intense it carved a massive trench through the mountain peak before finally dissipating into the sky.
Mirajane fell to her knees, panting heavily.
That attack had completely drained her.
“Did…
did we get him…?” Erza, battered and bruised, used her sword to push herself up from the dirt.
“I…
I hope so.” But suddenly, the sky above them lit up like a second sun.
The two girls looked up, their eyes widening in sheer, unadulterated terror.
Thousands of glowing light bullets hovered in the air, falling toward the mountain like a meteor shower.
Fwip!
Fwip!
Fwip!
Fwip!
Far below on the ship, Natsu and the others stared up at the mountain, completely mesmerized by the beautiful, glowing rain.
“Wow…
it’s so pret—” Before Natsu could finish his sentence, the entire top half of the mountain erupted in a deafening series of apocalyptic explosions.
KABOOM!
KABOOM!
KABOOM!
Makarov broke out in a cold sweat, gripping the ship’s railing.
“That crazy brat!
Why did he use that move?!” He vividly remembered seeing the exact same attack just a few months ago, when Caelan had used it to completely wipe out thousands of dark mages in a single volley.
“They…
they should be able to survive that…
right?” Makarov prayed quietly.
When the explosions finally ceased, the mountain peak had been completely leveled into a smoking, cratered wasteland.
Caelan landed softly in the center of the destruction.
The clearing was dead silent.
Erza and Mirajane were both lying completely motionless in the dirt, covered in soot and bruises.
“Oops.
Did I overdo it?” Caelan muttered, scratching his cheek.
“Hey~ Are you guys still alive?” Suddenly, a trembling hand reached out and grabbed a nearby sword.
Gritting her teeth, covered in burns and bruises, Erza forced herself to stand up.
Her legs were shaking violently, but she stood tall, looking directly at Caelan.
“I…
I win…” she gasped out, a faint, victorious smile crossing her lips.
Her eyes immediately rolled back into her head, and she collapsed entirely unconscious into the dirt.
An hour later, Caelan slowly walked down the trail toward the ship, casually carrying an unconscious girl under each arm.
As soon as he stepped on board, Makarov leaped into the air and bashed him over the head.
Smack!
“You idiot!
Is that an attack you use on your own guildmates?!” “Relax, old man.
I held back immensely,” Caelan yawned.
“If I hadn’t, the entire island would be gone, not just the mountain peak.
Have Lisanna patch them up.” Lisanna and the others quickly rushed over, taking the two girls to the medical cabin to bandage their wounds and let them rest.
Makarov walked over to Caelan, who was already settling into a beach chair on the deck.
“So?
Which one of them won?” “Erza.” “She actually stayed conscious longer?” “Yeah.
At the end there, she was completely passed out just like Mirajane.
But through sheer willpower, she forced her body to stand back up.” Caelan smiled softly.
“Their strength is practically identical right now.
And even though they hate each other, their teamwork was absolutely flawless.
Give them a little more time, and they’ll both be incredible Mages.” By the time the ship returned to Magnolia, it was already noon the next day.
The two girls still hadn’t woken up, so Makarov had them transferred to Porlyusica’s treehouse clinic in the forest.
Unsurprisingly, Porlyusica yelled at Makarov and threw a broom at his head before treating them.
It wasn’t until late that afternoon that Erza and Mirajane finally woke up.
“Since you’re awake, get out,” Porlyusica demanded coldly, pointing at the door.
“I hate humans.” The two girls quickly thanked her and left.
From the aches in their bodies and the memory of the fight, they both knew the S-Class trial was over.
When they finally walked through the doors of the Fairy Tail guildhall, they were greeted by the deafening roar of a massive banquet already in full swing.