sovbooks Chapter 324 Despair, the true strength of Fairy Tail's active S-class mage!
Chapter 324 Despair, the true strength of Fairy Tail's active S-class mage!
Chapter 324 Despair, the true strength of Fairy Tail's active S-class mage!
Compared to the fact that Fried, Biggleslow, Levy, and Gajeel started fighting as soon as they met, the other group's "battle" seemed much more harmonious.
Or rather, it's very perverse.
"Ahhh, Lord Gray! It's Lord Gray! Juvia's luck is just too good!"
Upon seeing that his opponent was Gray, Juvia instantly became obsessed, two hearts popping out of her eyes. She stuck out her butt and wriggled her body, nudging him with a face full of infatuation.
Before she even knew what kind of opponent she would face in the passage ahead, she had already mentally prepared herself for a fierce battle. Even if she encountered an active S-class mage, she would definitely go all out and leave no regrets.
And now—
Yes, that belief remains unchanged; my mind is still full of thoughts of having a big "battle" with Gray.
"Hey! We're competitors now, don't come any closer!"
As Juvia rapidly approached, Gray's expression was a mixture of disgust and fear, and goosebumps covered his entire body.
He kept backing away, afraid of being bumped by that big, swaying buttocks.
"If it's Lord Gray, Juvia is willing to surrender unconditionally and then marry him."
Juvia was completely absorbed in his own fantasy and had no fighting spirit whatsoever.
As their partner, Loki and Lisanna stood by, staring at each other.
"So what exactly is going on now?" Lisana asked.
"Let's wait until they're done being intimate," Loki said, adjusting his glasses.
"So, that was intimate behavior?" Lisana was shocked.
Despite having witnessed such scenes countless times, hearing Loki say these words was still somewhat beyond her comprehension.
While Gray of Edolas is infatuated with Juvia, the intensity of his expression of love is incomparable to that of Juvia here!
"Speaking of which, Lisanna has really grown a lot in the two years she's been gone," Loki said, looking at Lisanna with a sigh.
Unlike his admiring gaze towards other beautiful girls, there was no hint of "scumbag" in his eyes; his calmness was surprisingly genuine.
It's not that Lisana isn't pretty, it's just that he had the most terrifying experience during his best years. He only secretly glanced at Lisana and was beaten to a pulp by Mira, who was the guild leader at the time. From then on, he never dared to have any improper thoughts again.
"I never expected that Loki's true identity was a Protoss. No wonder I didn't see you in Edolas."
"Haha, this is all thanks to Lucy's help."
Just as the two, who were on a fairly good relationship, were chatting leisurely, Gray's voice suddenly rang out: "Feed Loki! Never mind, get ready for battle!"
"Gray sitting on Juvia's lap doesn't seem very convincing when he says things like that."
Lisana smiled, raised her hand, and pointed to Juvia, who was lying on the ground, smoking from all seven orifices.
"What?! When?!" Gray was startled and jumped back at lightning speed.
Seeing that Juvia was about to follow, his expression instantly turned serious, and he spoke up to stop her, "That's enough, Juvia!"
"Didn't we agree beforehand that we'd give it our all in the assessment? If it ends like this without even a chance to compete, I absolutely cannot accept it!"
Upon hearing this, Juvia's movements suddenly froze, clearly sensing the intense fighting spirit in Gray's eyes that was anything but a joke.
Among all the contestants, she was still a newcomer to the guild, so her yearning for becoming an S-class mage was the lowest. Even if she lost, it wouldn't have much of an impact, not to mention that her opponent was the man she was obsessed with, Lord Gray. Surrendering would be an incredibly happy thing.
But similarly, if it's Gray's request, she'll respond with the utmost passion!
"I understand, Lord Gray. Juvia will fight with all her might to defeat you!"
"Hehe, bring it on!"
boom!
The two, having reached a consensus, simultaneously unleashed their magic. The clash of their powerful auras shattered the relaxed atmosphere of their earlier playful banter, bringing with it a sense of oppressive urgency.
"Although things have finally returned to normal, but—"
Lisana pointed at the two who immediately stripped off their clothes, revealing themselves completely, and sharply criticized, "Aren't your movements a bit too synchronized? Is this some kind of mandatory procedure?!"
"More than that, you should worry about yourself, Lisanna. Although it goes against my principles, it's to help Gray reach the top."
"I will show no mercy in claiming the throne."
Loki stretched his limbs as he stepped forward, magic gathering in his palms and emitting a dazzling golden light.
Lisana's expression changed slightly, and a magic circle for receiving the entire body lit up on her body as well.
The battle between the two groups has officially begun!
Examination room C, a dimly lit underground passage.
Kana and Lili walked carefully on the soft black soil.
"Seriously, is it still not over? Isn't this passage ridiculously long?!"
Kana's hair was disheveled, and she looked quite disheveled and dirty.
"Could it be that we've chosen 'Quiet,' which represents one-ninth of good luck?" Lili asked in a deep voice.
Covered in mud, he cautiously surveyed his surroundings.
Upon entering, they encountered a series of traps, including "a thousand knives," "a giant rolling boulder," "a thorny cave," and "a pink hammer."
Although they managed to pull through, they were left feeling rather neurotic.
"No, if I'm not mistaken, we probably drew the worst possible lot." Kana sighed heavily.
The strange traps from before were quite recognizable; some even had chibi versions of Dark Magician Girl printed on them, making it easy to guess which examiner was guarding the front.
"The worst possible fortune?"
Just as Lili was about to ask Kana for more details, his view suddenly opened up.
Sunlight streamed through the gaps, large and small, refracting back and forth in the spacious cave, illuminating the entire space.
A deep blue cloak swayed gently, and on a throne made of black rocks in front of him stood a figure with a calm and dignified aura.
The strange starfish-shaped hair, held in place with special hairspray, made it difficult for Rili to immediately identify who this person belonged to in the guild.
"You did quite well to get here by overcoming all the obstacles, but unfortunately, that's where you end up. I was just a fool—"
Hearing the commotion, Chase slowly turned around. When he saw that it was Kana and Rili standing in front of him, his prepared boastful lines came to an abrupt halt. "Kana? What are you two doing here?"
As an examiner, he had two designs in the initial stage of the S-level assessment that could be considered behind-the-scenes manipulation.
Firstly, it's an Easter egg suggesting Erza guard the E-path, the purpose being to give Natsu, who's blindly choosing E, a little shock.
Incidentally, Gildarts also chose the first letter of his name;
Secondly, he remembered that in the original story, only the C lane, which no one wanted, was left in the end. According to the normal plot development, Lucy should have been left behind by everyone.
If you stay here, you'll most likely run into her.
Unfortunately, Chase didn't expect that the silly Lucy would be so clever this time, knowing to use Gemini Gemini to break Fried's spell!
A series of butterfly effects have led to the current situation.
In a sense, Lucy's cleverness inadvertently made it more difficult for her to advance.
Chase is well aware of her growth process; she might inevitably get a beating along the way, but no matter what, she'll make sure she gets through the game smoothly. Gildarts, however, might not be so lucky.
This was also true for Kana; following the script set by Chase, she encountered her own father.
Lucy's actions can be described as a scheme that harmed two beauties (including herself)!
Seeing Chase's dejected look, Cana, who had just been looking worried, instantly became annoyed: "You actually look disappointed, you bastard Chase!"
Stop looking down on me!
"Oh? Sorry, sorry, I was just a little surprised."
Chess stepped down from the throne, smiled and apologized, then turned to Riki next to Kana, "Is Riki your partner?"
"Mind your own business!" Kana was still annoyed.
That bastard, does he even know what kind of feelings and awareness I had throughout the entire journey?!
"I couldn't refuse because of my guildmates' request."
Lili, on the other hand, seemed relatively calm, focusing most of his attention on Chase's starfish head.
He really wanted to ask why he had chosen such a strange hairstyle, but he felt it wasn't appropriate for the current situation.
"I see, you have a good eye, Kana." Chess nodded slightly.
Looking at the entire guild, whether in terms of combat skills or the ability to handle complex environments, Riki is indeed a very good partner choice.
As for Lucy's partner being Eclair, he already knew about it from the Silent Magician.
"Do you even need to tell me? I'm absolutely determined to become an S—"
"Well then, let's choose the challenge method: playing cards or fighting?"
"Couldn't you have waited until I finished speaking before explaining the process, you jerk?!"
Lili stared blankly at Cana, who was spitting as she spoke to Chess, and murmured, "So, this woman's aura is this strong?"
"By the way, since this is a formal assessment, if you choose card duel, we will enter a game called 'Dark Game,' where life points are linked to mana."
Chess completely ignored Kana's scolding and began explaining the rules on his own: "Once your life points reach zero, your body will suffer from magic deficiency."
During his time on Tenrou Island, besides traveling around with Mira and Erza, he also deliberately prepared a Dark Game testing ground.
It was originally meant to scare Lucy (Tenrou Island can replenish magic power in time), but it seems to work quite well against Cana as well.
"It sounds like I have an advantage here," Kana quickly figured out the situation.
In card battles with equal health, her significantly lower magic power compared to Chess gives her a huge advantage, but—
"But he's carrying a cash bag, Chase."
Cano flicked a few tarot cards through his fingers and declared firmly, "I choose to defeat you head-on!"
After recognizing Gildarts, her obsession with becoming an S-class mage lessened, and she no longer cared about such an empty title.
In her current understanding, a 5th-level mage in the guild should be a strong person who represents reliability and safety, like her bastard father and Chess!
The S-rank earned through playing cards obviously doesn't have this meaning. When a partner is in deep danger, the enemy won't start any card battles with you!
"I see."
Chess was taken aback at first, but after sensing the burning fighting spirit in Kana's eyes, he laughed and said, "Come on! I accept your challenge!"
hum!
In response, dark golden magic surged, and a powerful hurricane swept across the area!
A terrifying aura pressed down like an overwhelming tide. Riki drew the magic sword from his back, which could change size at will, and instantly entered the battle mode of a muscular giant.
At the same time, Kana forcefully threw out a card from her hand: "The Fate of Summoning Lightning!"
The card flew out and lit up a magic circle. Immediately afterwards, several bolts of lightning struck down from the sky, turning into a lightning cage that enveloped Chase.
Thunder roared throughout the entire cave!
"This level of magic can't restrain Chess for too long. Now's the time, Lili! Lili?"
Kana was about to have Lili, who was good at close combat, entangle Chess and prevent him from activating his cards when she turned around and saw the big guy Lili covering his ears and squatting in the corner, trembling.
"That's a bit careless. You didn't even know your partner's weakness is that they're afraid of lightning."
Chase swung the sealed man's right wrist, shattering the lightning. He strolled leisurely through the broken lightning, shaking his head with amusement.
"What?!" Kana stared wide-eyed in disbelief, her expression one of utter shock.
It's no wonder she didn't understand; who would have thought that Rili, who looked a hundred times more mature and experienced than Happy, would be afraid of thunder!
"I'm so sorry, Kana. I... I'll try my best to overcome this!"
"You can't even speak clearly anymore!!"
Kana suddenly had the illusion that choosing Lili wasn't a particularly safe option, and then felt guilty for having such a thought. But Lili came over to help without saying a word.
"Then, the sun's blazing heat, the emperor's wind blades!"
She shook her head vigorously to clear her mind, and then threw two cards at the approaching Chase.
The blazing flames burned even more fiercely under the influence of the wind blades, and the two amplified each other, completely blocking Chase's movement routes from all directions.
Chase calmly revealed the card at his fingertip: "Magic Card - Whirlwind".
Whoosh!
A black tornado with magic nullification ability roared up and instantly wiped out Kana's card chain attack.
The remnants of wind, fire, and electricity leaped in mid-air. Seizing this opportunity, Lili, who had finally recovered, leaped out, his greatsword slashing out with a sharp and swift arc.
A second before being struck, the light of a trap card suddenly shone from beneath Chase's feet.
Then, Riki missed his target and his blade struck the magician's hat with a large question mark on it.
"Gone? What kind of magic is this?" Lili stared in astonishment at the strange hat that had been cut open and was now empty.
"The Magic Hat is a trap card that can evade attacks."
As she explained, Kana spread out divination cards in front of her, performed a simple calculation, and pointed to the second top hat from the left. "Chess's over there!"
"clear!"
Lili, a former soldier, had no doubts and swung his sword diagonally with a backhand grip.
Clang!
The top hat split open, and the sound of metal clashing rang out.
Chase used the sealed man's right wrist to steadily block the blade, while simultaneously exerting force with his legs planted firmly on the ground, the resulting impact sending Lili staggering backward.
That wasn't all. Chase gave Lili no chance to catch his breath, lunging forward and swinging out his grip on the sealed man's left wrist!
"Don't even think about it! Seal the lightsaber!"
Three lightsabers struck from different angles, forming a blockade and interrupting Chase's attack.
Lili took advantage of the situation and jumped away.
"What is this?" Chase was slightly taken aback, looking at the strangely familiar lightsaber with some surprise.
"I take inspiration from your card magic, and then add a few minor modifications."
Kana smiled, raised her arm, and snapped her fingers lightly.
Boom!
The energy hidden in the three lightsabers was released instantly, exploding into a sky full of fire like a powerful magical bomb!
The cave trembled violently, and loose rocks continued to tumble down, disappearing into the billowing smoke.
"Is it resolved?" Lili asked in a deep voice.
"This is my most powerful card so far. Even if things don't go that smoothly, it should still be able to cause some damage—of course, without taking any harm at all!!"
Before he could finish speaking, Chase, equipped with the four-piece Sealed set, burst out of the thick smoke like a violent monster, appearing in front of Kana and Rili with a tearing hurricane, grabbing their heads with one hand each.
"The Card Master - Meteorite!"
The man and the cat were forced to slam against the cave wall, sending up a shower of flying rock fragments!
The large cracks spread in all directions along the constantly crumbling rock wall, and when they reached their end, the entire cave collapsed with a roar!
Sunlight streamed down the ground, and a gentle breeze blew across the island.
When the commotion gradually subsided, Kana and Rili, who had struggled to their feet from the pile of rubble, were already covered in wounds.
"Without even summoning card spirits, he possesses such terrifying combat power on his own—this is—"
Lili's chest heaved violently, his gaze fixed on the figure with the fluttering cloak standing in front of him, his pupils filled with despair.
"The true strength of the current $-rank mages in Fairy Tail—"