"Eve, this is the perfume of victory!"
"Do your best, Eve!"
"Both contestants faced each other in the competition segment on the first day and are now set to duel again in the battle segment!"
As the gong signaling the start of the match rang out—
"Snow Magic: Snowfield Assassin!" Eve took the initiative.
From a white magic circle, razor-sharp snowflakes and freezing winds merged, rushing toward Rufus.
The blizzard passed directly through Rufus's body.
"What's there is merely a memory I left behind."
Eve was surprised—when had Rufus moved behind him? But Eve didn't dwell on it, simply charging toward the new Rufus.
"MEN..." Eve suddenly stop himself.
Because right in front of him, an illusion of Ichiya suddenly appeared, soaking in a bubble bath!
"Teacher... what are you doing here?" Eve stared in horror.
"That is your memory." Rufus had already circled behind Eve, delivering a swift, brutal chop to the back of his neck.
The stands of Blue Pegasus were in chaos.
"Why on earth does Eve have such a traumatic memory?!?"
"Senpai, I'm asking what exactly you were doing..."
"I don't remember at all! Perfume... men..." Ichiya deflected.
"Night of Falling Stars!" Rufus pressed his index and middle fingers against his temples.
Behind him, a magic circle with a white background and red border rotated.
Over a dozen golden beams shot out from the magic circle, crashing violently into Eve.
"Eve has been directly hit!"
Amidst the explosive lightning, Eve's body shattered.
"Not quite—it turns out that was a snow-made substitute!"
Rufus merely smiled, adjusting his red top hat.
"Eve used to be with the Magic Council, right?" Yajima asked Laharl.
Laharl nodded. "Yes, he was once a member of the Rune Knights. He was already an outstanding talent back then. It seems his strength has reached new heights since joining a guild."
"Behold my blizzard!" Eve yelled from the perimeter.
The entire arena was engulfed in a blinding snowstorm.
"Equally useless." Rufus stood perfectly still with his hands behind his back.
"Who said it's useless? My blizzard is a sensory magic specifically designed to locate your true body!"
"There! White Fang!" Eve fired a concentrated blast of snow magic toward his diagonal rear.
Sure enough, Rufus's true body had leaped high into the air exactly there.
"A pity. That sensory magic is also in my memory—Memory Make." Rufus once again pressed his hands against his temples.
"It's appeared!"
"What kind of Make Magic is that?" Gray and Lyon watched intently. Mavis narrowed her eyes, observing Rufus.
"Magic that transforms memories into forms—an Ancient Magic. He's using true Ancient Magic." Makarov wasn't very familiar with this style.
"Memory... what the eyes can see does not represent everything, does it?"
Searing red magical power spread rapidly across the snowy arena floor.
"Burning earth... raging flames!" Rufus slammed one hand onto the icy ground.
Rocks and geysers of flame erupted beneath Eve, sending him flying before he crashed heavily into the dirt, unconscious.
"The match is over! Facing Rufus, Eve performed excellently but was ultimately defeated!" Chapati Lola announced.
"Eve actually lost, but he really did put in a lot of effort," Ren Akatsuki shook his head helplessly in the stands.
"Teacher, our ranking has dropped again. What should we do?"
"Rest assured, let it soothe you like the perfume of flowers, you two."
Behind Ichiya stood the person dressed in the ridiculous blue rabbit suit, mirroring his dramatic poses.
"We still have a secret weapon that hasn't been unleashed yet."
"Is it him?" Hibiki and Ren had no idea where Ichiya had recruited this mascot from, but out of respect for their teacher, they had never dared to ask.
The rabbit-suited figure crossed his arms and nodded at Ren and Hibiki, radiating a strange, composed aura.
"We have a secret weapon! This is important, so I said it twice."
"Thank you for your guidance!" Ren and Hibiki bowed excitedly to Ichiya.
"But speaking of which, who is this guy's true identity... He still refuses to reveal himself to us."
"He should be an official member of our guild, right? Otherwise, it would violate the tournament rules." Hibiki and Ren couldn't help but feel some doubts.
"Next up, the third match will begin immediately, kabo! From Fairy Tail Team B... Ultear Milkovich! Versus the Giant Elephant Knight 'Titan' from the Croix Knights!"
"It's Ultear taking the stage!"
"Ultear, do your best!"
"This woman probably doesn't need our encouragement... she's terrifying," Gajeel muttered.
Then Gajeel received a piercing death glare from Kagura. "She's amazing! Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue! Definitely a slip of the tongue!" Gajeel stepped back, frantically waving his iron-scaled hands.
Feeling the death glare fade away, Gajeel let out a heavy sigh of relief.
When Ultear made her entrance, she was met with enthusiastic, almost feral cheers from the male audience.
The reason? She was simply stunning!
Her voluptuous figure, standing over 1.7 meters tall, held a deadly allure just by walking onto the field.
Wearing a tailored white shirt and dark trousers that accentuated her long legs, paired with black heels making her appear even taller, she looked like a supermodel ready for war.
Her dark, smooth hair cascaded down her back perfectly.
Holding her crystal ball against her waist with slender arms, she exuded endless charm and confidence.
"Both contestants, please step forward. Ice Arena—the match begins!"
"The Ice Arena is highly advantageous for Ultear!"
Ultear's magical power began to surge, frost forming at her feet. "With Erza and Natsu performing so well today, I can't afford to fall behind."
"ICE-MAKE: White Rose Garden!"
With her hands forming rapid seals, Ultear summoned eight massive ice roses that erupted from the frozen ground around her, spiraling rapidly toward Talant from all directions like razor-sharp drills.
Talant swung his heavy hammer in a brutal spinning motion, shattering the incoming ice roses to dust.
"I noticed it during the MPF test—you have a natural strength. But at the same time, your massive build means your speed isn't all that great." Ultear didn't mind the shattered ice roses.
"Arc of Time." The green crystal ball floating beside her glowed brilliantly.
The ice roses, smashed to pieces on the frozen floor, reversed time.
The shards reassembled in mid-air, transforming flawlessly back into blooming, lethal ice roses.
The green crystal ball pulsed once more, and the ice directly beneath Talant's heavy boots rapidly melted.
As Talant exerted force to swing his hammer again, his feet slipped on the sudden puddle.
Losing his balance, he fell heavily onto his back with a loud thud.
"ICE-MAKE: Rose Garden!" Ultear commanded, unleashing the reassembled roses directly at his vulnerable chest.
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