Watching Mirajane high in the sky with her hands raised, continuously gathering dark magic, Laxus sighed. Although Mirajane was talented, she fell short of Erza in many aspects. Whether it was magic power, combat talent, battle experience, or even the determination to fight, Mirajane was noticeably inferior to Erza. So Laxus didn't give Mirajane another chance. In a real battle, no one would grant her the opportunity to leisurely gather magic for an ultimate move. Did she really think her enemies were fools? Laxus directly hurled a rapidly moving ball of lightning, which traced an erratic path toward Mirajane in the air. Mirajane, who was gathering magic for her ultimate move, was abruptly interrupted. She had no choice but to forcibly halt the process and release the magic she had accumulated. A torrent of dark magic surged forth, but the lightning ball swiftly zigzagged through the air, easily evading the attack and crashing straight into Mirajane. The lightning ball struck her with a crackling sound. Mirajane used her magic to block it, and thanks to the comprehensive enhancement from her demonic possession, the attack didn't deal much damage. From the sidelines, Marco who was holding Erza noticed that Laxus had indeed changed quite a bit. His attack just now hadn't used much magic power at all—otherwise, Mira would never have been able to withstand it. In the sky, Mira clenched her teeth tightly. She had a fiercely competitive personality, and being toyed with and defeated by Laxus filled her with shame. It wasn't even like Erza's situation—at least Erza's attack hadn't been stopped by Laxus. In a way, this directly highlighted the gap between her and Erza. Laxus had to take Erza's full-power strike seriously, but Mirajane's ultimate move couldn't even be launched. Under these circumstances, Mirajane could technically keep fighting, but she also understood that if this weren't just a test, Laxus could have dealt her a severe blow earlier. Mirajane landed back on the ground and spoke dejectedly. "You never stood a chance to begin with." Laxus stated bluntly. Though it was the truth, his words were undeniably harsh—and he wasn't done yet. "You're eliminated, Mirajane. Your flaws are significant—you're far inferior to Erza." If Mirajane could grudgingly accept the first remark, Laxus's follow-up instantly made her see red. "What do you mean by that?! I'm not that much worse!" Mirajane protested indignantly. Though she knew she was slightly behind Erza and had come to terms with it, Laxus's phrasing was downright excessive! That "far inferior to Erza" made it sound like they weren't even on the same level, which simply wasn't true—the gap between them wasn't that wide! "Your issue isn't talent or strength—you're not far behind her in those aspects." Facing the rebellious-looking little delinquent Mirajane, Laxus began to explain, but then suddenly realized—he was the examiner. He needed to maintain his authority, so why was he foolishly explaining himself to someone questioning him? Halfway through his sentence, Laxus abruptly shut his mouth. Mirajane stared blankly at Laxus, waiting for him to continue, but he just frowned, showing no intention of speaking further. "And then? That's not it—what exactly am I lacking?!" Mirajane asked frantically. "It's your lack of resolve and focus. You don't have Erza's all-or-nothing determination." Laxus remained silent, but Marco spoke up in his stead. Having observed from the sidelines, he had also noticed some of Mirajane's issues. During the battle, Mirajane had clearly been off her game. Perhaps she had been affected by the earlier fight between Erza and Laxus. In any case, she had seemed to be just going through the motions, never fully entering combat mode. This wasn't entirely unreasonable. After witnessing Laxus and Erza's battle, Mirajane had already realized she stood no chance of winning. She had even seen the gap between herself and Erza—it was hard not to be affected. But none of that excused her hesitation and distracted thoughts during the fight. She had been far too indecisive, with too many unnecessary movements and thoughts, nowhere near as focused as Erza had been. Hearing Marco's words, Mirajane opened her mouth as if to argue, but upon reflection, she found she had no rebuttal. Some things don't seem like a problem in the moment—you might not even realize there's an issue. But upon later reflection, the flaws become obvious. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel·fiɾe·net Mirajane wasn't the type to stubbornly deny criticism. Once Marco pointed it out, she immediately recognized her problem. During the fight, she had indeed been distracted by all sorts of thoughts, never fully committing herself, and certainly not as decisive as Erza. Laxus glanced at Marco with a look of approval. Marco had noticed these things too—they were truly on the same level. "Don't worry, these are things you can gradually improve on." Unaware of Laxus' thoughts, Marco offered Mirajane some reassurance. These were just combat experience issues, personal quirks that could be refined over time. In a way, this also suggested Mirajane hadn't taken the "S-Class Exam" too seriously. When it came to matters involving Elfman and Lisanna, she would never be so unfocused. Marco internally mocked, but "family first" was perfectly suited for them, the members of Fairy Tail. Marco himself was a "family first" kind of guy—if anyone messed with Fairy Tail, he'd go all out to crush them. "Hand Erza over to me." In response to Marco's encouragement, Mirajane smiled freely. She accepted these flaws and the reality that she still lagged behind Erza. But rather than discouraging her, it only fueled her determination to work harder and push herself further. Mirajane had always known deep down that there was a gap between her and Erza. She had always regarded Erza as her goal, which was the main reason she kept challenging her. Mira wanted to become stronger so she could better protect her younger siblings. Marco was too powerful and he was a boy, if not, he would have been her target otherwise. "Then I'll leave her to you." Marco nodded and handed the unconscious Erza over to Mirajane. Mirajane wasn't badly injured and could still fly, making her the perfect choice to take Erza back to let her rest. Excessive magic consumption required proper rest, and she would recover after some time. ----------------------------- Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on . (.)com/Newbietranslator