I've Been Looking Forward to This!

"Alright, time to clean up the battlefield~" Ed sat atop a small mountain of piled-up magical beasts, looking at the notes he had removed and complaining, "What a scam. There were even duplicates!"

Of the three notes, two were exactly the same as the ones in Ed's hand. Only one golden note had different writing on it: Come find me. I can see the path you took to get here.

"Seeing the path I came from... no stars in the sky overhead... That's still pretty abstract, but it probably means there's something like a cave facing the direction I came from. Laxus should be waiting in there, right?" Ed looked at the two golden notes in his hand and guessed that they were clues to Laxus's location.

"Tch, even though the area's narrowed down a little, it's still huge. No wonder the magical beasts were so weak. I still have to conduct a wide-range search." Remembering the size of the island when he had first landed, Ed felt a headache coming on.

"But there's no helping it. Time to start looking." Ed prepared to return to where he had landed and search from the outside inward.

He had not gone far when he saw Cana running toward him, panting heavily. "Yo! What a coincidence! You're here too," Ed greeted her casually.

"Coincidence my ass! Other than you and me, there are only Erza and Laxus on this island! You made such a huge commotion, so of course I came to check it out!" Seeing the notes in Ed's hand, Cana said in surprise, "You've already found all the clues?! That fast?! I haven't even run into a single magical beast yet!"

"Is it possible that you followed my trail all the way here, and I already took care of all the magical beasts along the way?" Ed said to Cana, stroking his chin.

"Tch... Miscalculation. I was so focused on chasing you that I didn't consider that at all." Cana looked troubled.

"So, sorry again, but I'll be taking the S-Class spot this time~" Ed waved his hand, then turned into a flash of golden light and vanished from where he stood.

"Tch, spatial magic really is convenient... Ah... It feels even farther away this time... Why is it always like this... When will I ever... Gildarts..." Cana remained where she was, murmuring in disappointment.

Ed had already returned to the place where he had come ashore. He looked at the ship in the distance, then turned back toward the island's interior. "Hmm... This direction. Time to start searching." He immediately began looking.

Time slowly passed. Around three hours later, Ed finally found a massive cave halfway up the mountain. Every now and then, explosions could be heard coming from the forest.

"Looks like Cana hasn't given up yet. Well, that makes sense. She did qualify for the S-Class exam, after all. But this time, I can only say sorry. This should be the place, right?" Ed walked into the cave and shouted, "Anyone here? Laxus? Or Erza?"

"You made it? Pretty fast." A tall figure emerged from the cave. It was Laxus.

Watching Ed approach, Laxus crossed his arms and said, "So it really is you, Ed. I guessed right. Compared to you, Cana is still lacking a little. After all, your reputation has already begun to spread—the spatial mage of Fairy Tail, the Golden Flash, Ed. I've been waiting for you for a long time."

"Oh? I already have a nickname? What an honor." Ed exchanged pleasantries with Laxus, but his hands were already ready for battle. A kunai rested in his grip, prepared to fly at any moment.

"Enough chatter. My test is simple: fight me. If you beat me, or even just lose by a narrow margin, I'll count you as having passed. But if your performance falls too far short of my expectations, then get ready to lie in bed with serious injuries for half a year!" Laxus rolled his wrists and spoke to Ed with killing intent written across his face.

"Ha. That's quite a bit of pressure." Ed lowered himself slightly and began charging up Monster Strength.

"Still, I really want to know just how fast your spatial magic is. Can it surpass my lightning?" The moment Laxus finished speaking, his entire body transformed into a bolt of lightning and charged at Ed at blinding speed.

Ed immediately used the All-Throwing-Shuriken Technique, Kunai Version, scattering Flying Thunder God Kunai throughout the entire area. Then, just as Laxus's fist was about to strike his face, a flash of golden light appeared, and he vanished from where he stood.

"Oh~ So this is where the Golden Flash name comes from?" Laxus missed his strike and turned to look at Ed, who had appeared beside one of the kunai.

"As expected of a spatial mage, you really are fast. But speed alone isn't enough! Lightning Orbs!" Laxus swept both hands outward, creating a vast number of lightning spheres that flew toward Ed.

Just as Ed prepared to dodge sideways, the lightning spheres suddenly exploded.

"Tch, I really can't let my guard down for even a moment." Golden light flashed, and Ed appeared in another location.

"But endlessly taking hits isn't my style. I've been using this move a lot lately, so let's say hello with it—Majestic Destroyer Flame!" As soon as Ed finished speaking, he opened his mouth and unleashed a sea of fire at Laxus.

"Ha, a clash of attacks? Just what I wanted! Lightning Strike Spear!" Laxus raised his hand, gathering powerful magic in his palm before forming a lightning bolt as thick as a water barrel and blasting it straight into the flames.

Boom! Lightning and fire collided, and the lightning pierced directly through the sea of flames. "Tch, as expected, a wide-area attack loses out a bit when clashing head-on with a single-target attack." Ed dodged the Lightning Strike and charged straight at Laxus, intending to test him in close combat.

"Good! I heard you have some Monster Strength move too. Let's see it! Lightning Armor!" Electricity wrapped around Laxus's entire body, making him look as though the Third Raikage had possessed him. He charged toward Ed as well.

What kind of Raikage behavior is this? Though with the blond hair... and lightning... he feels more like a Super Saiyan. Ed's thoughts ran wild, but his movements did not stop. He leaped into the air. "Heaven-Shaking Kick!"

"Lightning Strike Fist!"

A powerful shockwave erupted from where their fist and kick collided. Both men were thrown back by the enormous force. Ed steadied himself after two backflips and looked toward Laxus, only to see him slammed into the ground by the immense strength, leaving a huge crater in the earth.

"Heh, that kick had some power, Ed! Good thing Lightning Armor strengthened my body's defenses, or that one might've hurt quite a bit." Laxus climbed to his feet and dusted himself off, still looking at Ed with fighting spirit blazing in his eyes.

"Then, round two—Raging Volt!" Laxus forcefully swung his arm, and a streak of lightning cleaved down toward Ed along the direction of his swing.

"Who gets the first move in round two isn't up to you!" Golden light flashed, and Ed appeared directly in front of Laxus. He turned his body slightly, the golden Rasengan in his hand already formed, then thrust it forward and slammed it directly into Laxus's body.