Sun and Marin Vs. Erza

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Tenrou Island.

December 15, x784.

"Did you feel that?" Alfonzo asked while sitting in a camping chair at the camp the S-Class Fairy Tail wizards set up while preparing for this year's exam.

"Are you talking about the fact that Cana and Lucy passed the first round, or all the animal life that was just snuffed out?" Elicia asked in a curious tone from atop Alfonzo's lap.

"Yes." Alfonzo replied with a wry smile.

"Well, we both already knew that Cana would pass if she ran into Gildarts in the first part of the exam." Elicia said with a smile. "I mean, we all already know that Cana is an S-Class wizard in all but name, right?"

"Yeah." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "Honestly, Cana has just been unlucky. I mean, she's done well enough in every exam she's taken to get promoted. Unfortunately, there was always that one person who did just a little better."

"Yeah, that rule that only allows one person to pass each year is stupid." Elicia said with a pout. "Otherwise, we would have become S-Class at the same time."

"I know." Alfonzo replied while combing his fingers through Elicia's hair. "That rule will probably change after Gramps retires. I mean, I doubt the next guild master will stick to the traditions like that old fossil."

Meanwhile, at the rest area set up for the participants to rest between parts of the exam.

*Sneeze!*

"Master, are you feeling okay?" Fried asked while soaking in the hot spring at the back of the mountain where the six tunnels were. "Have you perhaps caught a cold?"

"No, I'm fine." Makarov said, waving off Fried's concerns. Then, he smiled lecherously as he continued. "It's probably because there's a pretty lady talking about me."

"I'm actually surprised you managed to beat us here, Levy." Bickslow said, while also relaxing in the hot spring. Then, he pointed at Gajeel and continued in a confused tone. "But what's wrong with him? Shouldn't he look happier after the two of you passed?"

"*Sigh* Gajeel is upset because we picked the cave with a free pass to the next round." Levy replied exasperatedly. "I swear, all the male Dragon Slayers I know are the same. Just battle junkies."

"Hey, I'm nothing like Salamander/Natsu!" Gajeel and Laxus, who just entered the rest area after taking Elfman and Evergreen to the camp, shouted simultaneously.

Turning their heads towards the new arrival, the group saw Laxus, who was only wearing a pair of swimming trunks as he approached the hot spring.

A moment later, Fried started wading through the hot water towards Laxus with sparkling eyes.

"Laxus, would you like me to wash your back?" Fried asked.

"Sure, why not." Laxus replied, taking a seat near the hot spring to wash off before entering.

Meanwhile, both Levy and Gajeel inched closer to Bickslow. Before asking a question quietly.

"Hey, Bickslow." Levy said in a whisper. "I've always wanted to ask this. But I was kind of scared."

"Yeah, what's up?" Bickslow replied nonchalantly.

"Are those two… you know?" Levy asked, her face reddening as she spoke.

"Are they… what?" Bickslow asked in a confused tone.

"Come on, you know…" Levy said, her face reddening even further.

"Huh?" Bickslow exclaimed in confusion.

"Would you stop dancing around the question, Pipsqueak." Gajeel interrupted impatiently. Then, he turned his attention back to Bickslow. "Are those two gay?"

Hearing Gajeel's question, Bickslow was initially startled. A moment later, however, he started scratching his head while wearing an unsure expression.

"Honestly, I'm not sure." Bickslow replied. "But… I wouldn't be surprised if Fried would swing that way for Laxus. Not sure about any other guys, though."

Hearing that response, Levy and Gajeel felt that was probably the best they would get as they nodded in understanding.

Meanwhile, Sun and Marin finally reached the battle area of their cave.

"You've arrived." Erza, who stood facing the entrance with her [Soul Weapon] stabbed into the cave floor and her hands resting on its pommel, said as soon as the two entered the area.

Meanwhile, after hearing Erza's voice, Sun could not help but smile as she gripped the hilt of her shirasaya. At the same time, Marin also gripped the hilts of her daggers in preparation for combat.

"I've been looking forward to this, to be honest with you." Erza said, pulling her sword from the ground. "This will be the first time we've been able to go all-out when facing each other, Sun."

"Yeah, I've always wanted to see exactly how I stand up to you, Erza." Sun replied as she dropped into an iaido stance.

"Very well then, show me what you are capable of." Erza said, taking her fighting stance.

"Did you two forget about me?" Marin asked as she pointed her left dagger towards Erza. "[Transformation Magic: Shoot to Kill]."

*Clang!*

"Of course not." Erza replied as she casually deflected Marin's attack. "I know very well how skilled you are as a wielder of daggers and a wizard, Marin."

A moment later, Erza flooded her body with magic power and dashed forward at high speed, closing the gap between herself and the team she was facing in the blink of an eye.

"She's fast." Marin exclaimed, crossing her daggers in front of her to block Erza's downward slash.

At the same time, Sun took a deep breath that was audible to both Erza and Marin as she unsheathed her sword in a quick draw slash.

"Water/Sword Compound Magic: First Form: Water Surface Slash]." Sun chanted as she drew her sword faster than most people could follow with their eyes.

Luckily, Erza was not like average people. Reacting quickly, Erza released her left hand from the hilt of her [Sol Weapon]. Then, she [Requipped a second longsword into it in a reverse grip before she used it to block Sun's technique.

Unfortunately, she was not expecting the force behind the slash as she was sent sliding to her right.

Taking advantage of Erza's unbalanced state, Marin took a step forward and slashed the dagger in her right hand at Erza's chest.

Able to block the slash, Erza was unable to block Marin's following stab. Though it did not land cleanly, it grazed her chest plate, leaving a small knick on her armor, and chained into a dance-like series of stabs and slashes.

"[Transformation Magic: The Claws and Fangs of Violation]." Marin chanted as she danced around Erza, continuously changing the distance and [Transforming] her daggers to make sure that each of her slashes would be able to reach her opponent.

At least, that's how it used to be. Now, after gaining much more combat experience, Marin even worked in feints. There were also times when she did not extend her daggers, leaving Erza in an awkward position after trying to block an attack that never came.

"[Water/Sword Compound Magic: Second Form: Water Wheel]." Sun chanted as she summersaulted towards Erza.

Taking advantage of one of the times when Erza went to dodge one of Marin's slashes that did not extend towards her, Sun flipped through the air and brought her shirasaya down on Erza.

Noticing the strength behind Sun's slash, Erza quickly crossed both swords overhead to defend. At the same time, she was covered in the light of her [Requip Magic].

"[Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor]." Erza chanted.

*Clang!*

As the light around Erza faded, she was surrounded by a dozen long swords while dawning the silver [Heaven's Wheel Armor].

Realizing that being so close to Erza in this situation was dangerous, Sun put more power into her shirasaya before pushing herself backwards with all her might. Simultaneously, Marin pointed her daggers towards the ground just in front of Erza and extended their blades at high speed to push herself backwards and get a little extra breathing room, as well.

Then, while controlling the dozen floating swords telekinetically, she fired them all at Marin and Sun from all directions.

While Marin performed her [Claws and fangs of Violation] spell once again to defend from the incoming swords, Sun took another deep breath that overshadowed the sounds from the swords cutting through the air.

"Water/Sword Compound Magic: Third Form: Flowing Dance.]" Sun chanted.

Stepping towards the incoming swords, Sun moved in a flowing pattern while moving her blade elegantly to deflect, block, and parry all of Erza's swords. At the same time, she slowly closed the distance between the two.

Seeing this technique, Erza could not help but feel impressed by the fluidity with which Sun advanced and defended herself simultaneously. Still, that did not slow down her flying sword assault. In fact, she intensified the attack by adding more swords to the mix.

"[Transformation/Telekinesis Magic: Growl]." Marin chanted as the dagger in her left hand broke down into a cloud of dust.

At the same time, Marin [Transformed] the bracelet on her left wrist into one of the backup dagger she received from Alfonzo in Edolas.

"Ugh… This still puts too much pressure on my mind." Marin complained as she controlled the cloud of dust her dagger [Transformed] into to clear a path for Sun to approach Erza. "Hurry, Sun. You gotta end this quickly."

Heeding Marin's request, Sun flooded her body with magic power as she increased her speed. Then, she rushed forward at Erza, who was still controlling the many swords to try and stop her. Unfortunately, with Sun's physical strength and the added speed her magic power provided, Erza's swords were unable to keep up.

A moment later, as she reached the proper distance, Sun leapt high into the air, nearly touching the cave's ceiling. Then, she raised her sword overhead as she began to fall.

AT the same time, Marin raised both her daggers and pointed them at Erza while controlling the dust cloud to approach her, as well.

"[Transformation Magic: Double Shoot to Kill]." Marin chanted as both of her daggers extended towards Erza.

At the same time, as she reached the proper distance, Sun swung her sword downwards with a forceful, yet graceful, slash.

"[Water/Sword Compound Magic: Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin]." Sun chanted.

Meanwhile, Erza quickly assessed the situation she found herself in. Then, after tightening the grip on the swords in her hands, she swung the two swords at high speed.

"[Pentagram Sword]." Erza chanted as she swung the two swords, creating a streak of light in the form of a pentagram.

*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!* *Swoosh!*

In the next instant, three of Erza's five slashes deflected Sun and Marin's blades. Meanwhile, the wind pressure from the other two dispersed the cloud of dust under Marin's control. At the same time, Erza somehow managed to force all the dust in one direction.

Meanwhile, Erza gathered all her swords around her as she shifted her position slightly to get Sun and Marin in a line.

"[Blumenblatt]." Erza chanted as she dashed forward.

A moment later, Erza was standing behind Marin, who had attacked from a further distance. Then, she [Requipped] back into her [Heart Kreuz Armor] and sheathed her [Soul Weapon].

*Click!*

As soon as the sound of the handguard making contact with the sheath could be heard, blood splattered from all over Sun and Marin's bodies from nonlethal areas, all their magic was cancelled, and they both fell to the floor, unconscious.

"I must admit." Erza said in a serious tone while pushing her hair out of her face. "Your personal strength, technique, magic power density, and teamwork all qualify you to become an S-Class wizard, Sun."

Then, Erza made her way over to her unconscious guild mates. Reaching Marin first, she picked her up and slung her over her left shoulder, before doing the same to Sun and carrying her over her right.

"So, allow me to congratulate you on passing the first part of the exam." Erza said as she started walking towards the entrance that opened just as she announced that Sun had passed. Then, with a warm smile on her face, she continued. "For now, get some rest, you've earned it."

As she walked, Erza took the opportunity to spread her [Magic Power Detection] past the confines of the chamber where she battled with Sun and Marin. Wanting to see the situation of the other battles, she was not surprised when she saw that only Ur had yet to finish her battle.

"I feel kind of bad for Gray and Meredy." Erza said as she stepped through the entrance. "As her disciples, Ur will probably be much harsher on them than she would have with any of the other candidates. For now, I can only wish them luck."

With that, Erza continued making her way to the resting area, hoping that Sun and Marin would regain consciousness before the next part of the exam began.