Laxus raised his hand, and a wooden flagpole impossibly crackled with electricity as it embedded itself in the mountain wall.
A thunderball appeared in his palm, and with a wave, it transformed into a long whip that lashed toward Rhode and Kana.
The two of them jumped to the sides, but the Beaked Birds caught by the Thunder Whip vanished.
Laxus slammed his fists into the ground, lightning sketched two serpentine arcs along the surface, hitting Rhode and Kana.
"Waaah~"
"Aaaah~~"
Light burst from the two of them as they screamed. Rhode felt tingling all over, summoning his magic power to resist, preventing further damage.
Before Kana could stand up, she flung two cards: "Sun's Bursting Flame! Emperor's Wind Blade!"
The tempest and flames surged forward, kicking up dust toward Laxus.
Laxus, enveloped by lightning, blocked with one arm covering his face as he charged out from the flames and wind blades. His purple shirt slightly torn, yet without a scratch.
Kana kept moving, leaping backwards, releasing golden-glinting cards with ambidextrous agility.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The cards exploded when landing or right in front of Laxus, marginally slowing his advance.
A few stuck to the ground inertly.
"Receiving·Shadow Wolf!"
Rhode morphed into a werewolf, dashed toward Laxus, and swung a claw down.
Laxus caught Rhode's wrist, and Rhode pressed his left hand to his own chest: "Summoning·Shadow Wolf!"
Three wolves appeared behind Laxus, two ordinary wolves biting his right arm and left waist, while a Two-headed Wolf lunged at his shoulders.
Kana seized the moment to sprint forward, scattering cards before heading toward the flagpole.
"You've got to be kidding!" Laxus unleashed lightning all over.
The three wolves were paralyzed, but Rhode gritted his teeth, using a backward wolf claw to grip Laxus' wrist, while the left hand performed the Black Wolf Heart Stealer.
The sharp wolf claw tore a large piece of fabric from Laxus' chest, exposing a black tattoo, tracing a few bloody lines.
But Rhode received a punch to his chest, golden lightning burst through his body.
"Uwaa~" In his werewolf form, Rhode retreated a few steps, crouching and coughing, "Cough, cough..."
Thankfully, he didn't cough blood, but all his wolf fur stood on end, making the normally fierce werewolf form look somewhat silly.
Laxus ignored Rhode, turning to chase Kana, but explosive cards beside his feet released thick grey smoke.
Fool's Smoke.
"This is..." Laxus covered his mouth and nose, the smoke seemingly had a hypnotic effect.
As he was about to rush out, two more cards exploded.
The scene before him changed, a hideous demon opened its mouth to devour him.
Magician's Illusion Array.
Demon's Intimidation.
Laxus' expression remained unchanged. Such illusions might trouble mages below S-Class but had little effect on him.
Nevertheless, even a toe guessed that Kana had filled the smoky area with traps.
Laxus leapt, exiting above the smoke, regaining his view, spotting Kana already scaling the cliff.
By now, Rhode had circled to the smoke's opposite side, raising his hand, a wolf-shaped shadow flew up, biting Laxus's ankle.
"You bastard!"
"Heh... Wolf Spirit!" A smile cracked Rhode's wolfish face, his right hand swung down, "Get down here!"
Caught off guard, Laxus was yanked down, landing in a crouch, dispersing the Wolf Spirit with a punch.
Standing at the smoked edge, he raised a hand and shot lightning toward Rhode.
While Rhode dodged, Laxus lifted his right hand, forming a half-human sized thunderball connected by lightning, crashing it like a yo-yo into Rhode.
"Thunder Pressure Bomb!"
"Aaaaah~~" Rhode felt searing pain; the lightning's power far exceeded before.
Almost all Rhode's wolf fur was scorched, and he toppled backward onto the ground.
Laxus flicked his hand, sending the thunder yo-yo spinning toward Kana.
Kana had already pulled out the flagpole, leaping off the cliff, hearing Rhode's scream behind her: "Rhode!"
Rhode strained to give a thumbs up, his voice raspy: "Hurry..."
Not sure if she heard him.
Kana ran clutching the flag, but no way could she outrun Laxus's lightning.
"Wall of Strength!"
Kana sprinted, throwing a card backward.
The thin defense broke instantly, Stone Beetles emerged from the cliff, but too late, the thunderball struck Kana's back, engulfing her in lightning.
"Aaaaah..." Kana screamed, eyes almost rolling back, crumbling to the ground.
The flagpole fell, nearly touching the edge of the Magic Array.
"Just a bit more..." Trembling, her elbows propped her up, black hair falling, dusted with dirt.
"Almost there..."
Kana strained to lift her head, determined to crawl if she must, until she reached it.
Too bad, what appeared before her was Laxus's lower leg.
Laxus mercilessly raised his leg, kicking Kana out of the narrow passage.
Rhode, reverted from werewolf form, managed to catch Kana after scrambling forward a few steps, gently laying her down.
"Kana, Kana?" Rhode lightly patted her cheek, "Are you okay?"
Kana's eyelashes fluttered, she opened her eyes.
She bit her lip, tears welling up, grasping Rhode's sleeve with effort: "Just a little more..."
"It's okay, it's okay, it's not over, we still have a last resort." Rhode comforted her as best he could, any movement was enough.
"We, let's try one more time." He supported Kana to stand, the two helping each other, heading toward the passage entrance.
Laxus stood at the passage's other end, guarding the Magic Array.
He casually kicked the flagpole aside, folded his arms, watching the two approach, "You two, isn't it about time to give up?"
"Laxus, there were many ways to subdue Kana back there, right?" Rhode met his gaze, "Wasn't kicking her a bit much?"
"Hah? What nonsense are you spouting? You think the S-Class exam is some child's play?" Laxus dismissed,
"Listen, Kana, you've taken these exams more than once or twice, haven't you realized your level yet? Weaklings don't deserve the same title as me!"
Kana stubbornly stared at him: "I won't give up that easily!"
"So what? With all those spells and traps, you took my attack head-on; you're already out of magic power, aren't you?
Gonna rely on him next? That half-baked summoning magic and receiving magic? Don't make me laugh!"
Laxus dismissed these two, barely able to walk, out of mind.
If not for tricks, they'd never have lasted this long, nor even touched the flag.
Thinking of tricks, Laxus raised a hand and split the Stone Beetle that had emerged to guard Kana from the mountain wall in two with lightning.
He extended a hand, beckoning: "Come on, show me what else you've got?"
"Then watch my final move."
Rhode removed Kana's arm from his shoulder, letting her stand behind him.
Then extended his arm: "Receiving·Cyan Engraved Golem!"