After speaking, Gildarts stepped back a few paces, leaving enough space between the two.
"No helping it. We will go with Laxus' idea. I will act as the referee and let you two do as you please this once.
But I am saying this now, if the old man throws a fit afterward, you are taking responsibility, Laxus."
"I will explain it to the old man," Laxus replied without even thinking.
His gaze burned into Kabe, and the fists at his sides were already crackling with restless arcs of lightning.
"Kabe, as far as I am concerned, out of everyone around our age, only you, who are freakishly obsessed with getting stronger, are worthy of being my opponent.
To be able to fight you properly, I specifically chose today, the day of the S-Class Exam, for our match.
You are dead set on becoming S-Class this year.
If you do not want to waste another year, then bring out everything you have and show me your full strength."
The moment the words left his mouth, Laxus' whole body erupted in lightning. Without even giving a warning, he charged straight in.
"Thunder Fist!"
Seeing that, the blood of the battle race inside Kabe's veins started to simmer.
"Since you put it that way... do not cry when you lose."
He stepped straight into Laxus' punch and swung his own right fist to meet it.
Their fists smashed together midair.
The shockwave from the impact ripped a deep, circular crater into the grass beneath their feet.
"Tch, these two brats..."
Gildarts clicked his tongue, surprise flashing in his eyes. Then he retreated even farther back, properly taking up the role of spectator.
"Mm..."
Just that one clash was enough to send a huge backlash of force up Laxus' arm, making him let out a muffled grunt.
Hearing that sound, Kabe grinned sharply.
"That all you have? Looks like your strength is nothing special after all."
Before Laxus could retort, Kabe's left hand snapped up, condensing a ki blast that he shoved forward with a casual push.
The blast struck Laxus square in the chest and exploded.
In the billowing smoke, Laxus' body flew backward, trailing blackened smoke, skidding more than twenty meters across the ground before slamming back-first into a tree and finally stopping.
A sharp stab of pain and burning heat in his chest dragged a hiss of breath from his throat.
Before he could catch that breath, three more ki blasts tore through the smoke, shrieking toward him.
Laxus gritted his teeth and rolled aside again and again, choosing not to take them head on.
But Kabe had no intention of letting him off so easily.
More blasts flew from his hands in rapid succession, forcing Laxus to dodge at full speed, his movements a little ragged.
"Dah dah dah dah dah!"
Kabe fired with both hands, his arms a blur as he thrust his palms forward again and again.
He turned into a living artillery battery, bombarding Laxus with a rain of ki.
The barrage was satisfying, but it was meaningless if it did not connect.
Watching Laxus wrapped in lightning, darting around like some oversized electric rat, Kabe finally changed tactics after another volley.
He stopped firing and charged straight in.
The moment the annoying barrage ceased, Laxus did not hesitate. He turned at once and rushed to meet him.
Using his height and long legs, he twisted his waist and swept out with a wide kick... that hit nothing but air.
His rich battle experience kicked in immediately, and he swung his arm in a tight arc, punching toward the low position behind him where an opponent might have slipped in.
The "Kabe" who had circled behind him showed a flicker of panic on his face for an instant.
Before Laxus could smirk, his fist passed directly through "Kabe's" head as if through smoke.
Laxus' expression shifted at once as he stared at the slightly transparent, insubstantial "Kabe" before him.
"An illusion?"
"Wrong. Afterimage Fist."
The real Kabe, having leapt into the air to match Laxus' eye level, answered him from above.
Both his feet crashed heavily into Laxus' chest.
Caught off guard, Laxus screamed and was sent flying yet again.
Kabe hit the ground lightly and moved before Laxus even had the chance to fall.
He flashed forward, driving his knee up into Laxus' abdomen and riding his momentum to slam him straight into the ground.
The impact wrenched a mouthful of bloody bile from Laxus' throat.
Impossible. I cannot even fight back. How can there be such a gap between us?
He roared inwardly, unable to accept that he was being beaten so one-sidedly by someone three years younger.
As his anger rose, the magic within Laxus surged wildly.
Before Kabe could even stand back up from on top of him, a powerful surge of electricity ripped out of Laxus' body and into his.
Bzzzt...
"Ngh!"
Even with Kabe's tough body, his muscles still went numb for an instant under the sudden lightning.
Laxus seized the opening, slipping out from under him in a flash of pure instinct.
"Thunder Dragon's Jaw!"
Almost instantly, Laxus was behind him, fist wrapped in raging thunder as he drove it down in a savage punch.
The blow exploded upon impact, blowing a half-meter deep crater into the ground.
At the bottom, Kabe lay curled on his side, his back scorched black, clothes torn apart.
"Cough... now you see my real power."
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Laxus spoke proudly, convinced he had taken the upper hand.
He waited a few seconds.
When Kabe still did not respond, Laxus hesitated, then reluctantly bent down, reaching to haul his fallen opponent out of the hole.
The instant he moved, the "unconscious" Kabe suddenly opened his eyes, a flash of mischief glinting in them.
"Oh? Laxus, are you trying to help me up?
Did not think someone as antisocial as you actually cares about your guildmates."
He flipped up to his feet in one smooth motion, one hand pressed to his lower back as he hissed in exaggerated pain.
"Tch, ow ow ow... you bastard, where are you aiming?
If my back gets ruined, do you know how many girls are going to cry their eyes out over me at night?"
"You... you were faking?!"
Laxus stumbled back a step, shocked, his eyes wide.
Then his face flushed red, a mix of shame and fury twisting his expression.
"You jerk, how dare you mess with me like that!"
Kabe shook his head.
"How is that messing with you? At most it is a harmless joke between comrades."
Laxus, proud and prickly as ever, was in no mood to listen.
Feeling he had been made a fool of, he stopped holding back at all.
He opened his mouth and unleashed a roar straight at Kabe.
"Thunder Dragon's Roar!"
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