The shimring, water-like portal behind them was likely created by an illusion-type magic circle. Rhodes guessed it was probably Mystogan's work.
But when he got a good look at the figure standing before them, it wasn't Mystogan at all—it was a tall man with short blond hair and a heavy coat draped over his shoulders.
Cana's eyes widened. "Laxus!"
At least this ti, the coat he wore actually suited the cold season.
"It's you two." Laxus scratched his head, looking completely uninterested. "You sure took your sweet ti getting here, Cana. And, who's this guy?"
Cana bristled. "Laxus! Don't be a jerk!"
"Huh? What did I say?" Laxus raised an eyebrow, playing innocent. "There are so many freeloaders in the guild. You expect to rember every one of them?"
Rhodes chuckled under his breath.
'Wow. This guy could give Natsu a run for his money in the art of pissing people off.'
He was that kind of guy, the textbook arrogant, edgy type. Rhodes knew the best way to deal with soone like this wasn't to get mad, but to play it cool.
He rembered what he'd told Cana days ago: "S-Class wizards are hard to beat in power, so we should look for flaws in their personalities. Erza's too earnest, Mystogan hates revealing his identity, and Laxus... well, he's ridiculously arrogant."
So Rhodes just smiled and replied casually, "Could you explain the rules, please? If it seems too hard, maybe we'll just give up and save you the trouble."
Cana blinked in surprise. Rhodes was really keeping it together?
She couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, he was clearly doing this all for her.
Laxus narrowed his eyes but looked mildly amused. "Huh. At least you know how to behave. Fine. The old man asked to run this test, so here's how it works."
He pointed toward a flag lodged in the cliff wall. "See that flag? Behind is a magic circle. If one of you can grab the flag and step into the circle, you pass."
Rhodes frowned. That was going to be tough.
Behind Laxus was a narrow gorge, sothing like a natural stone corridor. One way in, one way out. It was the perfect place to bottleneck enemies.
The flag itself was stuck in a rock wall about ten ters off the ground. To get it and reach the circle, they'd have to rush through dozens of ters of tight space, while being under constant threat from Laxus's lightning-speed attacks.
This wasn't just a test of retrieval. It was practically a duel.
Laxus smirked, clearly enjoying their silence. "That's right. Unless you beat , there's no way you're getting that flag."
Rhodes stayed quiet. He wasn't about to admit it aloud, but if st was in this round, he could probably teleport straight to the goal in a flash.
Now that he thought about it, maybe the Master had given st a bit of an unfair advantage. Space magic was like cheat codes in a trial like this.
"But hey," Laxus continued, crackling with electricity, "if you think you can take down, hah! You think you two have what it takes? Co on, try !"
"Don't look down on us!" Cana snapped, fanning out her magic cards with a fierce glare.
Laxus barked out a laugh. "Let warn you now, if you wanna fight, I won't be holding back. Better to admit defeat before you get fried."
Rhodes raised his hand calmly.
"Summon: Raptors!
Summon: Krugs!"
With a flash of magic, a flurry of large birdlike raptors and Krugs burst into view, eight summoned beasts in total, forming up in front of Rhodes in tight formation.
A flicker of surprise crossed Laxus's face. "Oh? A swarm strategy? That's your play? How boring."
Cana threw her entire deck of cards into the air. "It's about ti soone knocked that arrogance out of you!"
Golden-glowing cards rained down like cots, but Laxus rely stepped aside, letting a dozen embed themselves harmlessly in the ground.
Cracking his neck, he scoffed, "All these years and you still haven't improved, Cana."
"Feather Fury!"
The Raptors spread their wings wide, unleashing a volley of razor-sharp feathers while simultaneously charging forward in formation.
"Decent aim, but not nearly strong enough!" With a swipe of his hand, Laxus released a burst of golden lightning. It arced out, incinerating the incoming feathers midair with ease.
The charging Raptors fared no better. Laxus slamd his fist into the largest, sending it flying, then kicked another clean off its path. Lightning surged from his boot through the creature and chained into the others, bringing down three more.
Only one Raptor remained, and it was making a beeline for the flag embedded high up on the canyon wall.
"Too predictable!" Laxus smirked, his entire body bursting into light as he dashed forward like a golden thunderbolt. In an instant, he intercepted the bird and kicked it straight down from midair.
"Now!" Cana shouted. She flicked her wrist, launching three spell cards with deadly precision toward Laxus while he was airborne.
"Starlight Burst!"
A blinding explosion of light detonated in midair, dazzling like a flash grenade.
"Fountain of Prayer!"
A barrage of water blades shot forth, slicing through the haze to pelt Laxus.
"Fated Storm: Thunder Strike!"
A surge of lightning crackled from the final card, targeting the now-soaked Laxus with an electrified strike.
From Cana's perspective, this combo was airtight. Laxus wasn't a Dragon Slayer, after all. Using lightning magic against a lightning user might sound foolish, but in theory, catching him drenched could make it work.
Honestly, for most mages, this kind of chain attack would've been ga over. It was quick, layered, and devastating. Ti to pop the victory champagne.
But Laxus wasn't most mages.
Seeing that, Rhodes sprang into action, summoning another squad of Raptors for a ranged volley.
He followed up with a group of Murk Wolves, two of them stacked atop each other, spinning like a drill as they lunged forward. Behind them, a larger two-headed wolf charged with a wild, spiraling leap.
"Fang Rush! Twin-Fang Lancer!"
"Take over—Raptor!" Rhodes shouted as he leapt into the air, wings flaring wide.
But Laxus, still alight with crackling magic, sneered in midair. "Seriously? You think that level of lightning works on ? Do you even know who you're fighting?"
Laxus ripped off his soaked coat, lightning crackling wildly across his body. With a fierce surge of power, bolts of electricity shot out, disintegrating the barrage of feathers that had been launched at him.
With a swift movent, Laxus drove his knee upward, striking the twin-headed wolf square in one of its jaws. Electricity surged through its entire body, scorching its fur. The beast let out a pained howl before collapsing to the ground in a cloud of black smoke.
Without missing a beat, Laxus brought both elbows down like thunderbolts, blasting two other regular wolves that leapt at him. Sparks flew, and the wolves dropped, charred and motionless.
As his boots touched the earth once more, a flash of movent caught his eye, Rhodes, in his avian form, had already soared toward the cliffside and gripped the flagpole with his talons. With a hard tug, he yanked the flag free.
Laxus narrowed his eyes, lightning crackling from his temples. "Tch. You little punk. You really think you can just ignore ?" he growled, his tone laced with irritation.
"Nice one, Rhodes!" called out Cana cheerfully from behind. She flipped two cards into the air. "Sun's Explosion! Emperor's Wind Blade!"
"Enough of this!" Laxus swung his right arm back, unleashing a torrent of blinding lightning. It collided with the explosion and slicing winds mid-air, swallowing them whole in a flash of raw power. The surge didn't stop there, it barreled forward, heading straight for Cana.
"Wahhh—!"
Cana cried as the lightning struck her, sending her tumbling with a puff of smoke rising from her hair.
anwhile, Rhodes, undeterred, dashed toward the magic circle ahead.
But Laxus spun around and lunged after him, only to be stopped cold as a magic card beneath his foot snapped in two, activating its trap. Ice erupted from below, freezing his legs in place.
Cana, a bit singed but smiling through it, held up another card. "Ice Pillar of Doom~"
The towering ice structure ford instantly, then shattered just as fast.
In a burst of electricity, Laxus broke free and reford mid-air as a bolt of lightning. He reappeared in front of Rhodes and slamd a kick into his abdon.
Rhodes was sent flying back, carving a long trail through the ground. But with a quick tumble, he flipped upright and landed beside Cana again.
The flag, however, was already clutched in Laxus's hand. He stabbed the pole into the dirt and glared at them, voice low and crackling with nace. "I said... enough."
Lightning surged across his entire body, flickering from his eyes and even sparking between his gritted teeth. He stood tall, surrounded by electric fury, looking every bit like a wrathful Thunder God.
Cana rushed to Rhodes' side, her tone soft with concern. "You okay?"
Rhodes exhaled and released his Take Over magic, his talons fading away. "Yeah, sorry. I almost had it."
Cana gave a small smile, despite the static still buzzing in her hair. "I couldn't hold him off either. This guy's way tougher than I expected."
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