With Gray's unbelievable one-second victory, Hisui completely abandoned any thought of competing for the bye spot.
After all, ending a battle in one second wasn't something achievable alone—it required the opponent's cooperation too.
Seeing Karen's extremely unpleasant expression across the field, Hisui doubted her opponent would surrender easily.
Truthfully, Hisui was quite looking forward to battling Karen.
After all, Karen was a somewhat renowned Celestial Spirit Mage in the magic community.
As a newcomer who lacked neither funds nor time—having devoted most of her days to training—Hisui remained relatively unknown.
'But why isn't Karen summoning her Celestial Spirits?' Hisui wondered, perplexed as she observed her opponent.
Hisui herself didn't summon spirits because she belonged to the "New School" of Celestial Spirit Mages, possessing formidable combat prowess even without spirit assistance.
Karen, undoubtedly an "Old School" practitioner, wasn't summoning any spirits during battle—was this some kind of insult?
'Hum!'
Just as Hisui's confusion peaked, Karen finally moved, beginning her spirit summoning ritual.
"I, the one who connects the path to the Celestial Spirit World! You, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open, Gate of the Aries—Aries!"
Despite Karen's incantation and continuous mana infusion, the Celestial Spirit Gate astonishingly failed to open.
"A failed... summoning?!"
Hisui, who had honorably refrained from attacking during the ritual, stared in shock.
Karen—an established Celestial Spirit Mage—couldn't even open a gate properly?
....
"Wait, she's attempting a Double Gate Opening!" Lucy noticed from Fairy Tail's spectator stands.
"Double Gate Opening?"
The Fairy Tail members exchanged puzzled glances.
They understood the concept, but where was Karen's previously summoned spirit?
No other Celestial Spirit was present on the field.
....
Inside the arena, Hisui realized this too and immediately grew wary, suspecting Karen had hidden a pre-summoned spirit somewhere.
"This woman..." Marco frowned from the sidelines.
He could confirm no spirits were present on the battlefield.
"Her strongest spirit, Leo the Lion... has already been summoned. But... why isn't it here?" Marco couldn't comprehend Karen's bizarre strategy.
Was she afraid of being disqualified for pre-summoning? Then why summon Leo at all?
"Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!!!"
While everyone theorized about Karen's strange tactics, she herself was seething with rage.
"That bastard Leo!!!" Karen's fury burned entirely toward the Lion Celestial Spirit.
Leo had willfully emerged from his gate, then threatened her to break her contract with Aries.
When she naturally refused, Leo simply refused to return to the Celestial Spirit World, occupying her "summoning slot" and blocking all other spirit summons!
Only a powerful Celestial Spirit like Leo of the Zodiac could accomplish such things.
It could be said that Karen prospered because of Leo, and fell because of Leo.
She enjoyed the convenience brought by Leo's strength—his formidable power helped her build her reputation.
But she also had to bear the consequences of failing to properly manage her relationship with the Celestial Spirits.
"Open, Gate of Aries—Aries!"
Unwilling to give up, Karen attempted to open the gate once more, but unsurprisingly, she failed again.
Clearly, her "Double Gate Opening" technique was not yet proficient, and her magic power was insufficient to summon two Zodiac Celestial Spirits simultaneously.
"Damn you, Aries! Answer me already!"
Failing to summon the spirit, Karen didn't reflect on her own shortcomings but instead cursed the Aries Celestial Spirit.
In Karen's mind, all these troubles were caused by Aries.
How dare that spirit incite Leo to stand up for her!
"It seems you're having some unexpected difficulties. Would you like to concede?"
Seeing Karen's furious, impotent rage, Hisui kindly asked.
From Hisui's perspective, Karen clearly no longer had the ability to fight.
"Concede?! I'll never concede! Don't look down on me! I'll teach you a lesson!"
Hisui's goodwill was met with outright hostility.
Karen glared at her with intense anger, as though there were some deep-seated grudge between them.
"..."
Hisui frowned, unable to comprehend where this madwoman's hatred came from—they had never even met before.
But since Karen was so ungrateful, there was no need for further words.
Defeating her outright would suffice.
"Die!"
With a slyre crack, Karen lashed out with her whip, charging at Hisui to vent her fury.
The whip snapped toward Hisui's face—a practiced motion, suggesting she had whipped many before, perhaps even her Celestial Spirits.
Hisui's fingers plucked the strings of the Lyre in her arms.
Magic energy surged, and razor-thin blade-like shockwaves sliced through the air, severing Karen's whip mid-flight.
Hisui's kindness prevailed—the shockwaves only cut the whip, sparing Karen herself.
"Damn it!"
Seeing her whip severed, Karen grew even more enraged.
Losing to anyone was acceptable—except this woman!
Without hesitation, Karen charged again.
She didn't see Hisui's mercy as intentional, assuming it was merely a mistake.
Besides, this was a duel. Hisui's restraint was her own choice—Karen hadn't asked for it, nor would she concede because of it.
'Does she think I'm weak in close combat?'
Amused, Hisui watched Karen grit her teeth and close the distance.
Though she wielded a Lyre, appearing to rely on it for battle, she was far from helpless in melee combat!
"I won't lose!"
Karen threw a punch—she clearly had some training, not entirely powerless without her spirits.
"Thud!"
Hisui raised her forearm, blocking the strike.
The faint impact against her bracer gave her a clear measure of Karen's strength.
"Although I don't know what exactly happened to you, let's end this farce now."
Hisui's expression turned serious.
She had confirmed that Karen wasn't holding back any tricks—her magic was genuinely malfunctioning.
"Shut up!"
Karen glared at Hisui with fury.
This girl was truly obsessive, refusing to concede even when her magic failed, still stubbornly insisting on fighting.
"Bam!"
Effortlessly blocking Karen's wild punches with one hand, Hisui lifted her leg and kicked Karen flying across the arena.
As Marco's student, Hisui naturally didn't focus solely on magic training.
According to Marco's philosophy, a Saint could afford to be mediocre at magic but must never neglect physical conditioning.
"BOOM!!!"
Karen crashed onto the ground, scrambling up covered in dust and grime.
Hisui plucked the strings of her lyre.
The Lyra Constellation Armor on her body shimmered with light, resonating with the celestial chart above as starlight cascaded over her.
The familiar sight sent chills down Karen's spine, reminding her of the terrifying figure that had suppressed Marco over Nord Forest.
"Death Trip Serenade!"
Hisui strummed the lyre, and magic erupted with the melody, swiftly enveloping the entire arena.
Bathed in the magical radiance, Karen collapsed into deep sleep without any resistance, bringing the farce to an abrupt end.
"Hisui wins!"
Marco announced the result, but Hisui felt little joy.
This outcome was nothing like what she had envisioned.
She had hoped for a dramatic, hard-fought victory against a worthy opponent, not this anticlimactic resolution.
"What exactly happened to Karen...?"
At that moment, many shared Hisui's disappointment—especially Karen's comrades from the Blue Pegasus guild.
None could understand why Karen hadn't summoned her Celestial Spirit, instead charging into battle alone.
-------------
Death-Trip Serenade: is a defensive technique used by Orphée on Hades, the three Judges, and Pandora.
Orphée plays a specific song on his Lyre, while singing a peaceful song. This causes those who are listening to fall asleep, but some seem to be immune to its effects.