Chen Fan's face fell as he watched Erza approach. To be honest, he hated fighting female Wizards; it made him feel like he couldn't go all out. Usually, when he encountered them, he relied on intimidation or clever tricks.
But those tricks wouldn't work on Erza. She stood before him with a deadly serious expression, and seeing her in her Purgatory Armor made it clear she intended to trade blows head-on.
"Erza, can we wait a bit? You wouldn't really want to fight me after I've been battling for so long, would you?" Chen Fan said, putting on a pitiful act.
"Words are useless! Chen Fan, you have repeatedly..."
"Stop, stop, stop! The more I hear, the more it sounds like I'm the bad guy here. This is all the Master's fault! He's the one who changed the rules at the last minute! Go talk to him!"
"I will settle things with the Master myself," Erza said firmly. "But for now, I am fighting with everyone's wishes on my shoulders!" With that, she launched her attack.
Chen Fan shook his head helplessly as he engaged her. These people were completely unreasonablethey were the ones who sought him out, yet they acted like they were the ones serving justice.
Back at the Lacryma, Makarov shuddered involuntarily. Mira giggled and said, "Master, Erza said she's coming for you later!"
"Don't try to scare me! I've seen it all," Makarov blustered.
"Is that so? But Master, you're one of the Ten Wizard Saints," Mira said with a smile.
Makarov immediately ran over to Mira, acting spoiled. "Mira, don't say that! Erza's going to bully me! You have to protect me!"
"Alright, alright. But Master, why did you make Chen Fan fight everyone in the guild?" Mira asked curiously.
Makarov sat back on the platform, crossing his arms and falling silent for a moment. "Chen Fan changed too quickly, and the children haven't adapted yet. Fairy Tail isn't a one-man guild. Chen Fan has the talent to become a Master. I've heard Erza mention ithis power isn't magic, it's an 'ability.' He can control every vector he touches. Just thinking about it is terrifying."
"True," Mira agreed. "I heard that with just a stomp of his foot, he could destroy a whole city. It's really..."
"With a being as transcendental as Chen Fan, it's no wonder the Magic Council wants to stick their nose in. People can only feel safe when power is in their own hands," Makarov said, his smile fading.
"But having such a reliable strength makes the guild trust him even more, doesn't it?"
"True. My only fear is other guilds targeting Fairy Tail. Chen Fan is only one man. If only someone could be by his side to help him!" As he spoke, Makarov glanced meaningfully at Mira. Mira pretended not to notice.
She wasn't sure of her own heart yet, and Chen Fan himself seemed to be wavering. Although he acted like a playboy with his flirtatious talk, he only truly cared for a few people. Everyone in the guild was like family; a sudden change could disrupt the entire atmosphere.
Meanwhile, Chen Fan's fight with Erza was in full swing. The Purgatory Armor didn't do much against him. He simply stood his ground and reflected all the impact back. Of course, he didn't use much strength, opting for a simple one-to-one reflection.
Seeing that her current armor was ineffective, Erza shouted, "Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor!"
She leaped into the air. "Blumenblatt!" Countless swords materialized behind her, spreading out like wings. With a sharp sound, every single blade rained down on Chen Fan.
BOOM!
A series of explosions followed, kicking up a massive cloud of dust that obscured the battlefield.
"Did she do it?" The crowd around the Lacryma watched intently. Erza, however, remained on guard.
"No! He's not down! Chen Fan hasn't been defeated!"
As the dust settled, Chen Fan was standing perfectly fine in the center of the crater.
"I knew you wouldn't be taken down that easily," Erza said.
"Why go through the trouble then? You know my ability. Even if I've used up a lot of stamina, an attack of this level isn't enough to beat me. It's meaningless," Chen Fan said flatly. He reached down, pulled one of the swords from the ground, and gave it a casual flick.
Snap!
The blade instantly shattered into magic particles and vanished.
"I know I'm no match for you," Erza admitted. "But there's no harm in trying. Besides, none of us actually expected to beat you."
Chen Fan looked curious. "Then why keep coming one after another? Wait!"
Erza gave him a victorious grin. "Heh, you finally realized? This is a road marathon. Naturally, we have to finish the race."
"Are you all just stalling for time?"
"Exactly!"
"But who's left? I thought I'd beaten everyone!" Chen Fan said, racking his brain.
Natsu, his face swollen like a pig's from the earlier beating, chimed in, "There's still Happy!"
"You didn't see that coming, did you? We were all just stalling! Although I didn't expect us to lose this badly!" Gray added with a smirk.
"Happy should be nearing the finish line by now. Just you wait for your punishment, Chen Fan! Haha, we win!"
Chen Fan slapped his forehead. No wonder they had been coming at him in waves; they were just creating a distraction so he wouldn't realize who was missing.
He sat down on the ground, truly exhausted. Even a computer has a processor that heats up after running for too long, regardless of how good the radiator is.
"Alright, you win," Chen Fan said, throwing up his hands.
Despite his admission, Natsu, Gray, and Erza didn't feel like celebrating. The gap was simply too large. Chen Fan hadn't even used a tenth of his power. They had seen the strength that destroyed Nirvana with a single kick; the memory still made them tremble. If Chen Fan were serious, they wouldn't have stood a chance. They would have been crushed in an instant.
Chen Fan looked at their expressions and understood what they were thinking. Erza was competitive and would undoubtedly use this to push herself further. Her magic was stable and methodical, even with her Requip variations, which meant she was a perfect target for his counter-measures.
Natsu was someone who grew through failure. He needed a goal to chase, and Chen Fan decided to give him onebeating him.
As for Gray, Chen Fan admired his steady growth. He had the potential to become a truly powerful Wizard.
"You don't need to be so depressed. Magic is a vast field. I don't know what the Master was thinking, but I can see how this might shake your confidence."
"Who said our confidence is shaken? Just you wait! Next time, I'll definitely beat you. Talk to us after you actually become one of the Ten Wizard Saints," Natsu laughed.
The group froze for a moment. It was true. Chen Fan was someone even Mr. Jura of the Ten Wizard Saints looked up to. Who were they to underestimate him just because they were around the same age? Jura respected Chen Fan deeply and never let his age affect that respect.
The strong deserved respect. They realized their challenge might have been a bit of a joke. They needed to re-evaluate their own positionsand Chen Fan's. They needed to get stronger. Much stronger.
"Just you wait! One day, I'll beat you!" Natsu and Gray shouted together.
"I'll be waiting for that day!" Chen Fan stood up, waved a hand, and walked toward the setting sun. The afterglow of the sunset stretched his shadow across the ground as he walked. Don't ask whyChen Fan just thought it looked cool.
"Tch... there he goes, acting cool again. Let's head back and figure out how to punish him."
"Yeah, let's make it hurt!"
Walking a short distance away, Chen Fan felt a sudden shiver. Damn, he had completely forgotten about the penalty game.
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