"Is it you?!"
Freed's face darkened, and he slashed his sword across Bickslow.
"Ow!!"
"Waaah!!"
Bickslow yelped in pain. Freed's Dark Écriture was potent; by writing certain runes on an enemy's body, he could inflict specific effects.
"Bickslow!" Freed shouted, "I'll leave these two to you!"
Suddenly––
**Zzzt-zzzt—!!**
The dolls floating overhead fired lasers straight at Freed.
"What?!"
Both Freed and Cana were taken aback.
**Boom, boom, boom!!**
"Aaaagh!!" Freed cried out in agony.
"Cana, don't just stand there!" Lucy urged.
Cana jolted. "Fountain of Prayer!"
She flung a card.
"Don't think your cheap trick can—" Freed began, thrusting his sword at the card.
"Whoa—whoa—!"
From the card, a burst of water gushed over Freed and Bickslow.
"Aaahhh!" Both men screamed; when the magic faded, they lay on the ground, unmoving.
"Freed and Bickslow are both down?"
"Did…did we succeed?" Lucy whispered.
Just then, the door to the next stage swung open.
"Look! The passage is open!"
"…does that mean?"
"We did it!!"
Lucy and Cana exchanged an ecstatic glance. They high-fived.
"Lucy, that Celestial Spirit that looked exactly like Bickslow—how did you do that?" Cana asked.
"It was Gemini of the Twins," Lucy explained. "I got it from Oración Seis's Angel. Gemini can transform into any person who has similar magic power, duplicating their magic and memories."
She exhaled. "It can store two transformations max. Honestly, for the S-Class trial, I considered copying Erza or Mira, but their magic levels are too high. I thought about Natsu and Gray—Natsu's is borderline, but eventually I remembered how Gemini copied Bickslow back when we first fought Oración Seis. Turned out to be a good choice."
Cana stared, impressed. "Lucy… you're actually really strong, huh?" She'd always seen Lucy as more of a commentator or comedic presence.
Lucy puffed out her chest. "Of course I am! I've been working hard."
Cana grinned. "I'm lucky to have you as my partner. Let's move!"
"Right!"
They dashed through the opened door, disappearing deeper into the trial.
…
The moment they were gone, Bickslow sat up. "Guess that's that, Freed."
"Yeah." Freed gave a slight smile. "If it had been anyone else, I'd have fought seriously. But we owe those two a debt from the Harvest Festival. I decided beforehand that if we ran into them, I'd let them pass."
Bickslow smirked. "All that talk about 'inheriting Laxus' was just for show, huh?"
"Mm. We'll inherit his old debts, too… and eventually, Laxus will return." Freed nodded. "By the way, Lucy's cosplay skill is pretty impressive. She can copy me so precisely? That means her magic's not far off from mine."
"Yeah, she'll get even stronger."
"…And they were lucky not to run into an S-Class."
…
**Route E**
"Erzaaa!! Show yourself!! Let's settle this!!"
Natsu shouted as he and Happy prowled through the tunnel.
"Are we sure this is Erza's path?" Happy murmured, nervously.
"No doubt about it! I entered the 'E' path to face Erza. I'll beat her here and become S-Class!" Natsu declared.
Just then, the tunnel opened up.
"Hey—nobody's here…"
"Uh…"
Natsu and Happy froze at the sight of a lone figure with long black hair, pale skin, and a familiar, handsome face.
"S-Su Yan?!" Natsu blurted, hair standing on end.
"Oh?" Su Yan regarded them calmly. "I didn't expect you two would come here."
Happy burst into tears. "We're doomed! The biggest boss at the very first stage?"
Over the past months, Happy had learned more and more about Su Yan's overwhelming strength. He realized how hopeless a direct fight would be.
But Su Yan just gave a faint smile. "Well, Natsu, you've always wanted a challenge, right? Here's your chance."
Natsu's legs trembled, but then he clenched his fists and looked Su Yan in the eye. "I'm already on fire!!"
…
**Route D**
The moment Lisanna and Juvia stepped into the passage, they ran into Erza—and were almost instantly overpowered.
"She's so strong! Is she really on another level…?" Juvia gasped. Formerly one of the Phantom Lord's four Elemental wizards, Juvia had assumed she could match an S-Class wizard like Erza. But now, she saw how refined Erza's fighting style was.
"She's wearing the Sea King Armor," Lisanna noted. Juvia's water-based magic was useless against Erza's watery defenses.
Erza stood calm and resolute in a gleaming sea-green mermaid-like armor, complete with fins and a trident-like sword. It vastly boosted her resistance to water magic, negating most of Juvia's attacks. Even Juvia's shape-shifting and fluid offense couldn't breach Erza's sophisticated techniques.