Purgatory Armor has strong destructive power and good defense; it's quite comprehensive armor, but its downside is a lack of flexibility.
——Compared to Rhode's speed, it's not flexible enough.
The Cyan Rune Golem was once blown away by her attacks damaging the terrain, and Wendy also tripped twice by accident, yet Rhode remained unharmed.
"Reequip: Thunder Emperor's Armor!"
The light blue base adorned with golden patterns representing lightning, even her hairstyle changed to a coarse braid after reequipping.
The tip of the long spear in her hand was crackling with strands of electricity.
This time, the reequipping balanced speed and attack power, but its drawback was obvious — the back was completely exposed, and it had nearly no defense against anything other than lightning magic.
"Azure Thunder!" Erza twirled the spear, and blue lightning shot out from the Thunder Emperor's Spear.
"Ugh..." Rhode dodged two of them, but was hit by the third because dodging further would have hit Wendy.
Luckily, even though he was hit, he only felt numbness all over, and despite the small arcs of electricity jumping around him, there was no further damage.
Seizing the chance, Erza quickly stepped forward, thrusting with the spear, but stopped about a foot from Rhode.
She exerted force, but felt a pushback preventing the spear from advancing: "Wind?"
Rhode spread his arms, and a whirlwind formed in front of him, enclosing Erza like a wall.
The wind speed gradually increased, and the wall grew thicker, to the point where Erza could no longer see Rhode's silhouette from within.
Erza thought this magic looked familiar: "Isn't this... Ailiger's Magic Wind Wall?"
"It is, and it isn't."
Rhode's voice seemed to be carried by the whirlwind wall, swirling around Erza, sounding as if it came from all directions.
"I borrowed the concept of the Magic Wind Wall along with other wind magic techniques and pondered over it together with Wendy's Dragon Slayer's Secret Art to develop magic suitable for me."
Wendy didn't have much of a secrecy mentality regarding her magic, or you might say most people in the Guild weren't stingy in teaching others their magic; teaching a companion was just a matter of one sentence.
Whether or not they could master it was another matter.
And the knowledge of other wind magic naturally came from the Guild's library — the more Rhode studied, the more he felt it was like a treasure trove.
Erza swung the spear, stabbing left and sweeping right, yet every attack was bounced back with no effect on the spear tip.
Rhode, on the other hand, merged into the wind wall from outside, his blue-white dragon scale-like wings allowing him to glide effortlessly through the wind, his figure agile within the clouds.
"For anyone trapped, it's hard to escape without effort, but I can ride the wind, boosting my speed to the limit of my reflexes."
If facing an outsider, Rhode would undoubtedly charge in without a word, but facing a member of his own, he didn't mind chatting a bit more.
"Cloud Dragon Shadow Flash!"
Erza snapped her head to look in the direction of the shadow but was punched in the back, causing her to lunge forward.
Without a glance, she swept the spear backward, only to be struck hard in the chest, forcing her to retreat.
Continuously, left, right, and from behind...
Rhode seemed omnipresent and yet was invisible, untouchable.
Erza's body already bore multiple wounds, and even the spear was knocked from her grip.
Finally, as the wind wall disappeared, Erza was sent flying from a final heavy blow, breaking a stone pillar and crashing into the wall behind.
Rhode flickered into position, following up and stopping his fist just in front of Erza's nose, the force of his punch causing her hair to flutter.
Despite her injuries, Erza laughed: "I lost."
If she guessed right, Rhode probably intended to use this move with the Crown of Embers.
If all the attacks before had included that peculiar additional magic, she wasn't sure if she could still be standing now.
Come to think of it, Rhode seemed to never have intended to use the Crown of Embers from the start. Because they were companions, he wouldn't take it out unless he absolutely had to?
If that's the case... In terms of strength and valuing companions, Erza felt Rhode deserved high marks.
The armor on her body returned to its usual form, and she added: "Rhode, Wendy, you've passed."
"Great!" Wendy cheered with a small jump.
Rhode chuckled and helped Erza up: "Wendy, come help heal Erza."
"Okay!"
Erza said, "I'm fine; the next stage might be tough; don't you want to conserve your magic power?"
Rhode smiled and waved at the golem: "Come, Xiaolan, show some charm."
The golem, not understanding charm, scratched its head and transferred the Crown of Insight from Rhode to Erza.
Erza understood there was no point in conserving.
As they talked, Rhode summoned a Crimson Marked Tree Monster to give Erza the Crown of Embers.
Watching Wendy heal Erza, Rhode pondered over who the jerk was who faced Mira; what if Mira got hurt?
...
"Soul... Extinction!"
On Route A, Sand Beach Exam Venue, Mira, who was in Rhode's thoughts, had already activated Satan's Soul.
She pushed forward with both hands, unleashing the terrifying dark attribute magic power from her palms, engulfing one person and one cat in front.
"Aaaah..."
"Waaa..."
Kana and Li Li screamed simultaneously, flying backwards, skipping over the shallow sea surface, over the bay, and crashing into the opposite sandy beach.
Mira propped her chin with one hand, looking slightly bashful as she said, "Oh dear... Did I overdo it?"
The sight of Satan's Soul in such a slightly shy posture would definitely seem adorably contrasting to Rhode.
But Kana clearly didn't think so. She struggled to get up, holding her left arm with her right hand, complaining, "That Mira... even after a two-year gap, she's still terrifying."
Li Li, who had been chastised by Mira before, panted while leaning on his sword, "Truly S-Class, just as formidable as always."
Both of them had bruises, Kana's clothes were torn, and Li Li's fur was smoking, showing signs of burns in several places.
Despite this, they still felt that Mira had held back.
Kana thought for a moment, sighed, and said, "It's all Rhode's fault."
Blame him for constantly dragging Mira to train together!
This guy, making his wife so strong, is he not worried about future life?
"Seems like they aren't so easy to give up." Mira fluttered her wings, flying in front of Kana and Li Li.
Kana retreated, shot three golden light-emitting cards with each hand.
Mira raised her left hand, shooting a black magic ball that crushed two cards and flew towards Kana.
Boom!
"Wah..." Kana dodged in time, but the blast's shockwave made her landing somewhat awkward.
Li Li flapped his wings, brandishing a large sword at Mira, preventing her from pursuing Kana further.
Li Li's current sword was rather ordinary, nowhere near the former 'Mother of Destruction' that Gajeel had spoiled.
Hence, his attack power appeared much less impressive, Mira grasped the sword tip easily with one hand, kicking Li Li in the abdomen, sending him flying back towards Kana.
Li Li spread his wings to slow down, while Kana extended her arms to catch Li Li's back, but still was pushed back a few steps.
Mira pursued but stopped at the spot where Kana originally landed.
——A card emitted light, enveloping Mira, and when the light dissipated, Mira was already encased in ice.
Kana giggled, "Death God's Ice Pillar! Checkmate, Mira."