"Ice-Make: White Tiger!" A surge of magic poured from Lyon's body. As he clasped his hands together, a mighty tiger made entirely of ice leaped from the void. The white tiger seemed almost alive, transforming into a true king of beasts as it pounced toward Laxus with lifelike movements, rivaling the summoning beasts of Calvin.
However, to Laxus, this formidable ice tiger was no more threatening than a paper tiger. He wanted to avoid countering it with magic, unsure if blocking an attack might be a successful hit by the opponent, which would cost him points since he still had none.
Retreating quickly, Lexus didn't rely on his lightning speed to dodge. Instead, he moved cautiously within a small range, continuously shooting lightning orbs at Lyon. While not very powerful, these orbs were incredibly fast and numerous, making them difficult to avoid entirely.
Lyon, Lamia Scale's second in command, was no slouch. He deftly dodged the lightning orbs while controlling the advancing white tiger. However, the distraction made his control over the tiger less precise.
Laxus exploited this weakness, luring the white tiger toward a nearby duplicate. As it lunged to attack, Laxus seized the moment, transforming into a flash of lightning. With a crackling sound, he appeared above Lyon, striking down with a lightning bolt.
Despite the speed and ferocity of the attack, Lyon managed to dodge, but his face showed no relief, only intense concentration. His whole attention was on controlling his ice tiger, not to attack but to stop it from hitting the nearby duplicate.
"Stop now!" Lyon exerted maximum control, halting the tiger just before it struck the duplicate. Fortunately, he specialized in moving ice constructs; otherwise, his score would have dropped into the negatives.
This exchange, though brief, was intense. After dissolving the ice tiger, Lyon and Laxus faced off again, weighing their options. Analyzing the situation, Lyon knew that a confrontation with Laxus, a lightning dragon slayer and Makarov's grandson, was risky.
"In this competition, speed is crucial. Whoever lands the first hit wins the exchange. Against a lightning user like Laxus, my ice won't be fast enough," Lyon thought quickly, considering whether to retreat or continue the fight.
Just as Lyon decided to feign an attack and withdraw, Laxus struck again, lightning flashing towards Lyon. Dodging narrowly, Lyon shouted in frustration, "Don't think I'm easy to bully, you bastard!"
"Ice-Make: White Dragon!" Lyon called out, his hands forming a fist pressed against his other palm. The ground turned white, and a sleek, fierce ice dragon emerged, rushing toward Laxus with incredible speed and agility.
The ice dragon was a significant upgrade from the tiger, and Laxus couldn't afford to be careless. Although confident he wouldn't be hurt, a glancing blow would cost him precious points.
"Challenging a dragon slayer with an ice dragon? Bold move," Laxus chuckled, enveloped in lightning. His speed rivaled that of Jellal's Meteor, making their clash intense yet contactless, avoiding all duplicates. The spectators were mesmerized.
But not all were impressed. Hidden among the crowd were two ghostly white magic wolves sneaking up on the dueling mages. Taking advantage of their distraction, the wolves suddenly accelerated and attacked Laxus and Lyon.
Boom!
The wolves exploded with moderate force, catching the unprepared mages off guard. Both knew the battle was over—they had been defeated.
"Who was it?" Lyon shouted, but before the dust settled, the arena's magic teleported him away, and he did not see his attacker.
Laxus shook his head, less agitated than Lyon. "I was careless. Remember this, you brat!" he said calmly before being teleported.
The attacker, revealed to be Calvin, walked through the area. "One-hit defeats are nice. I'm starting to see why some people enjoy sneaky attacks. This makes three points for me," he said, with a hint of arrogance.
Looking at the sky, Calvin murmured, "Looks like it's going to snow..." before blending into the crowd of duplicates.
Soon after Calvin left, snowflakes began to fall, and the temperature dropped, creating a frosty breath that revealed one's location. This was the work of Hibiki from Blue Pegasus, using his pure snow magic.
Hibiki located several participants with his magic, including Calvin, Laxus, Yago, and Beth. He didn't hesitate to launch simultaneous attacks on all four.
Yago and Beth were hit, but S-class mages like Calvin and Laxus easily dodged. Hibiki, exposed after using his magic, was quickly attacked by the cold-resistant Lyon, losing a point and returning to zero.
The current scores were as follows:
Calvin: 3 points
Laxus: 1 point
Rufus: 0 points
Lyon: 0 points
Hibiki: 1 point
Yago: -2 points
Beth: -2 points
Nalputink: Unconscious and disqualified, ensuring the last place.
With the advantage, Calvin remained at the top.