"Go! Erza! Knock him down!"
Natsu shouted loudly, cheering for Erza, but Erza standing in the arena didn't move.
She merely drew her sword, seemingly waiting for her opponent to make the first move, appearing extremely composed.
"What's going on here?"
Natsu looked at the others in confusion, his sharp instincts telling him something was off.
This didn't seem like Erza's usual fighting style—since when did Erza stand around waiting for others to attack her?
"..."
The group fell into silence, no one bothering to answer Natsu.
When they had explained earlier, he hadn't listened, and now that things were underway, he was asking questions again.
It was ridiculous.
But Natsu had only asked casually, and since no one answered, he didn't mind at all, continuing to watch the arena excitedly.
"Erza... she's another one of Fairy Tail's treasures. If it weren't for that kid Marco, she'd probably be the one being paraded around for bragging rights. That old geezer Makarov... how does he have such good luck?!"
Goldmine, standing in front of the judges' seats, gritted his teeth as he watched Erza in the arena, venting his frustration to Bob beside him.
"Hey, hey! I'm right here, you know!"
Makarov who's sitting on the railing nearby to spectate immediately spoke up.
But the expression on his face made it clear he was delighted—his old friend's reaction was exactly what he wanted to see.
At the moment, only the three of them were watching from the judges' seats.
Marco, Laxus, and Gildarts had already taken their positions below.
As the chief examiners, their role as "judges" was more akin to referees.
After all, the only S-Class candidates they were evaluating were from their own guild.
Whether members from the other two guilds advanced or not wasn't their concern.
As the organizers of the exam, the three chief examiners' main responsibility was to ensure the exam proceeded smoothly and that no accidents—such as injuries or deaths—occurred during the battles.
Thus, when the fights began, they positioned themselves beside the arena, ready to intervene at any moment to protect the participants.
Marco, watching from the side, immediately understood Erza's plan.
He hadn't expected her to come up with such a strategy.
Was she really so confident that her comrades would secure the spot she was giving up?
Just as Marco was puzzling over this, Erza moved. It seemed she had grown impatient, because Rockley, standing opposite her, was equally composed, adhering strictly to the principle of 'if the enemy doesn't move, I won't move either.'
'Just buying a little more time against her is a victory!' Rockley screamed internally.
If, before stepping onto the field, he had still harbored thoughts of fighting Erza, now that he stood before her, those thoughts had completely vanished.
At this point, Rockley's expectations for himself were minimal.
If he could just stall Erza a little longer, if he could give his comrades even a slightly better chance at securing the bye, that would already count as a contribution.
"Attack, Rockley!"
From the stands behind Rockley, Bacchus's voice rang out.
He was even more anxious than Rockley, practically itching to take his place in the arena.
Rockley had just opened his mouth to defend himself when Erza, standing not far in front of him, erupted with magic power.
In the blink of an eye, Erza's sword-wielding figure was right in front of him.
Rockley had no time to react.
His eyes widened as a sharp pain exploded in his abdomen.
'Did she just cut me in half?'
Before passing out, Rockley's last thought was that he felt as if he had been split in two.
"The winner is Erza Scarlet!"
After checking Rockley's condition, Marco announced the victor of the battle.
At the same time, the timer on the judges' panel stopped—the final duration was fifteen seconds.
Fourteen of those seconds had been spent in a standoff, with the actual fight lasting only one second.
When Marco went to check on Rockley, the timer had already been paused, ensuring fairness by not counting that time.
It wasn't until Marco announced the result that everyone finally processed what had happened—had the battle really ended just like that?!
Not only was the audience stunned, but even Erza was surprised.
She looked at her fist in disbelief.
Realizing her opponent hadn't dodged her sword, she had hastily switched to a punch instead.
Had she really hit him that hard?
Watching as Rockley was carried away for treatment in Wakaba's smoke, Erza opened her mouth, wanting to ask why he hadn't dodged.
"Go back. The next group is about to enter."
Marco's words stopped Erza from chasing after Rockley.
Otherwise, even if Rockley hadn't been knocked out, he might have fainted from sheer frustration—it wasn't that he hadn't wanted to dodge; he simply hadn't reacted in time!
"Oh."
Obediently responding, Erza turned and returned to the waiting area.
The mages, finally snapping out of their daze, burst into applause—a sign of respect for the strong.
"Pity. I was hoping to see Rockley's Tear Magic in action, but Erza wiped him out instantly..."
Shaking his head, Marco returned to Laxus and Gildarts.
Even he found the outcome somewhat absurd.
These guys seemed a bit weaker than he'd expected.
"Pathetic."
Laxus's critique of Rockley was mercilessly blunt.
"It's not that he's weak—Erza's just too strong. She's grown again."
Gildarts, ever fair-minded, pointed out that since his last visit, Erza had grown significantly stronger.
She was now on a completely different level compared to the others—practically invincible among them.
"Fifteen seconds. That was fast."
On the judges' panel, Bob covered his mouth, sighing in amazement.
"Fifteen seconds? More like one!"
Makarov chimed in, shooting a sidelong glance at Goldmine beside him.
"..."
Goldmine remained silent.
The gap between the two combatants was so vast that he didn't even feel anger—just an overwhelming urge to laugh.
Sometimes, extreme speechlessness really did lead to laughter.
Meanwhile, Erza returned to the spectator stands after the battle.
"Seriously, Erza? This is what you meant by 'dragging it out as long as possible'?"
Greeting her on the stands were her bewildered companions.
Gray gritted his teeth, feeling utterly fooled.
Fifteen seconds to end a fight—was she for real?
"What could I do? He was too weak. I waited forever, but he never made a move."
Erza shrugged, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
She felt she'd done her best—her opponent just hadn't cooperated.
And he'd been so fragile, collapsing after a single hit.
She hadn't even thought she'd used much force.
"..."
After hearing Erza's explanation, everyone exchanged glances.
How should they put it? It seemed like something Erza would do—this woman had no sense of restraint and was completely unaware of how terrifying a single strike from her could be.
Thinking about it that way, Rockley didn't seem so pathetic after all.
After all, even Natsu and Gray often got knocked out in one hit by Erza during normal times.
"Ugh..."
Gray and Natsu seemed to recall some unpleasant memories, both shuddering in unison as they suddenly understood Rockley's plight.
"Next match—Mirajane Strauss vs. Jenny Realight!"
Just as the Fairy Tail members were complaining about Erza, Marco's voice rang out again, announcing the next fighters.
All eyes turned to Mirajane.
The fifteen-second record—could she break it?
Without a word, Mirajane headed straight to the waiting room.
She had already decided to change her plan.
'That damn bitch had claimed she would drag out the fight, yet she ended up setting a fifteen-second record.'
There was no way Mirajane could lose now.
Even if she got a bye in the next round, she had to surpass that time.
No—not just surpass it.
She had to end the fight in an instant!
After all, Erza's actual combat time had only been a single second!