BlackWarGreymon showed no fear towards Laxus desperate attack.
The instant the Breakdown Fist was about to connect, it executed a swift side kick backward as if it had seen the attack coming, striking with perfect precision at the weakest point of Laxus's power flow—his wrist.
Crack!
A crisp sound of bone breaking echoed loudly.
Laxus's wrist bent at a grotesque angle, the lightning on his fist instantly fading.
He screamed and was knocked back again.
BlackWarGreymon slowly turned around and looked at Laxus, who was clutching his wrist, his face was full of pain and disbelief.
For the first time, it spoke in that hoarse, deep voice.
"Power, acceptable."
"Speed, too slow."
Every word was like a cold iron hammer, smashing against Laxus's proud heart.
In his past battles, he had always believed in absolute power, crushing his opponents.
As long as his attacks landed, his opponents would be either dead or crippled; who cared about speed?
But now, he was being judged as "too slow" by this monster.
Laxus was at the end of his rope.
His wrist was broken, his chest was badly wounded, his magic power was gone, dark energy was eating at him, and his vision was blurring.
But he still glared stubbornly at BlackWarGreymon, refusing to fall.
BlackWarGreymon seemed to have lost its last shred of patience.
It stomped its foot, shattering the ground, and its figure instantly appeared in front of Laxus.
The heavy armor on its shoulder slammed viciously into the wound on Laxus's chest.
"Pfft!"
Laxus's eyes bulged, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, his feet leaving the ground from the impact.
Before he could land, BlackWarGreymon had already caught up, wrapping its arms around him like an iron hoop.
Then, it brought its own forehead down hard against Laxus's in a brutal headbutt.
THUD!
Laxus's vision went black, as if countless stars had exploded.
His consciousness instantly plunged into darkness and ringing, his nose collapsed, and blood covered his face.
BlackWarGreymon released its arms, and Laxus fell to the ground like a limp ragdoll.
But it wasn't finished.
It raised its armored foot and mercilessly stomped down on Laxus's right knee.
CRACK!
Even in his semi-conscious state, Laxus's body jerked violently.
Watching BlackWarGreymon coldly, precisely, and vengefully beat down the defenseless Laxus, Ace felt a chill run down his spine.
"That's enough!!!"
A roar filled with fury, heartache, and authority exploded like a clap of thunder.
A short figure instantly appeared between BlackWarGreymon and Laxus.
It was none other than Guild Master Makarov, who had finally arrived.
The old man's hair and beard were standing on end, his small body erupting with a terrifying pressure as heavy as a mountain.
His eyes were wide with anger.
He slammed his right fist into the ground, and a shockwave spread out, shielding Laxus behind him.
"The trial ends here! No more fighting!" Makarov's old eyes turned red as he looked at his grandson's miserable, life-or-death state on the ground.
"Damn... old man..." Laxus hadn't completely passed out yet.
He struggled, using his one good left hand to claw at the ground, dragging his broken-legged, heavily injured body, and actually tried to crawl towards BlackWarGreymon.
A long trail of blood was left behind him. "Don't... need your help... I... can still..."
However, BlackWarGreymon wasn't even looking at him.
From the moment Master Makarov appeared and released that powerful magic and pressure, its eyes had been locked onto the short old man.
A cold, violent, and hostile intent, filled with flashes of memory, rose from it.
It remembered... back when it was a SkullGreymon in the guild, it had been completely dominated by this old man.
The humiliating memory played in its mind like a slideshow.
Its newborn consciousness, filled with dark and destructive tendencies, instantly transformed that vague, negative "memory" into clear hostility.
It slowly adopted a fighting stance, locking onto Makarov.
'BlackWarGreymon wants to fight the Master too?'
'I have to recall him now! Or else he's going to cause even more trouble!'
"BlackWarGreymon!" Ace shouted, thinking fast while putting on an impatient expression.
"That's enough... I'm almost out of magic power! You have to come back immediately!"
BlackWarGreymon slowly turned its head, looking at Ace again.
In its eyes that burned with black flames, it seemed to want to say something, but in the end, it only gave Ace a deep look.
The next second, a jet-black Magic Circle appeared at its feet, slowly swallowing its dark form and recalling it.
All that remained was a scene of devastation and a suffocating, lingering darkness.
Ace let out a long sigh of relief.
The ups and downs he had experienced in such a short time were too much.
His body went limp from exhaustion, and he nearly collapsed, but Lisanna quickly supported him.
Master Makarov also breathed a sigh of relief.
But as he looked at the heavily injured Laxus on the ground, then at the exhausted Ace who had successfully recalled the terrifying monster, his expression was incredibly complex.
He quickly knelt down and began to treat Laxus, healing him with holy light magic.
Gildarts walked over, helping to deal with Laxus's broken bones and severe injuries.
Erza, Mirajane, and the others also gathered around, falling silent as they looked at Laxus's tragic state.
Ace also saw Erza and Mirajane, wondering if they had already passed the trial after Gildarts went easy on them.
If so, that meant he had ended up facing the two most difficult opponents.
After a long while, once Laxus's injuries were stabilized, Master Makarov slowly stood up.
He surveyed the scene, his gaze sweeping over Erza and Gray, who were covered in wounds but still standing tall; Mirajane and Elfman, who were drained but determined and Ace, who was being supported by Lisanna with a clear look in his eyes.
The short old man took a deep breath, suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and solemnly announced.
"I declare that this year's Fairy Tail S-Class Mage Exam—"
"Is now over."
"Based on trial performance, power assessment, and the will and abilities demonstrated in the final test..."
His gaze passed over the three of them one by one.
"Erza Scarlet."
"Mirajane Strauss."
"And—Ace."
"The three of you have successfully passed the trial and are officially promoted to Fairy Tail's—S-Class Mages."
"Congratulations!"
Erza straightened her chest, her hand on her sword hilt, her eyes resolute.
Mirajane showed a gentle smile, but deep in her eyes, there seemed to be a sense of relief.
Elfman let out an excited growl, "MY SISTER IS A REAL MAN!"
Supported by Lisanna, Ace gave a slight bow.
A great weight lifted from his heart, but what he felt more was the exhaustion from the fierce battle.
'Right, i need to check what rewards I got for defeating Mystogan and Laxus?'