Water surged upward, enclosing Rowan in a floating sphere.
Water Lock was Juvia's signature spell. Once caught, the target lost all leverage, suspended in a dense water prison. Struggle too long, and the fight ended in suffocation.
"Water Blade Barrage!"
Without hesitation, Juvia followed up. More than a dozen blades of compressed water formed and slashed in from every direction.
Rowan remained calm.
"Apparition."
His form blurred and vanished. In the next instant, he reappeared behind Juvia, completely outside the water sphere. The blades carved through empty air.
"Seven hundred million volts."
Lightning erupted from Rowan's body and raced along the wet ground straight into Juvia's liquefied form.
Water transformation ignored physical force, not magic. Worse, lightning naturally overwhelmed water-based spells. The current ripped through her, forcing her body to reconstitute as she cried out and staggered.
"Water Whip!"
Gritting her teeth through the convulsions, Juvia lashed out, a water-forged whip snapping toward Rowan to interrupt the flow of electricity.
A flash of light.
Rowan slipped past the strike with effortless speed, his small frame moving like a bolt of lightning itself. He stopped directly in front of her.
"Sorry, Juvia."
His wand touched her forehead.
"Sleep."
She collapsed instantly.
"Platform Eight, winner: Rowan Mercer!" Mirajane announced as she swooped past.
Spectators buzzed with disbelief.
"Juvia's S-rank, isn't she? That was over way too fast."
"Rowan's gotten terrifying."
Most of the guild still remembered him as he was during the Phantom Lord conflict. Strong, yes. But not like this. This hadn't been a contest between equals.
After reviving Juvia and ensuring she was unharmed, Rowan turned his attention to the remaining matches.
Laxus continued his rampage, knocking out opponents in a single strike. Even capable fighters like Salusuke from Levy's team didn't last a heartbeat.
Evergreen defeated Elfman cleanly. Forced to fight with his eyes closed and facing an airborne opponent, he never found footing before petrification ended it.
Levy defeated Gajeel, though Rowan could tell Gajeel had held back. Why, he chose not to speculate.
The longest and most brutal match was Gray versus Bickslow. They exhausted every ounce of magic they had, collapsing almost simultaneously. The judges ruled a draw. Both were too injured to continue.
That left thirteen winners advancing.
Rowan.
Laxus.
Erza.
Evergreen.
Levy.
Freed.
Cana.
Macão.
Wakaba.
Bisca.
Alzack.
Warren.
Lucy.
Yes. Lucy had made it to the top thirteen.
In Rowan's view, she'd always been stronger than she believed. Even ignoring the rest of her spirits, Aquarius and Leo alone rivaled top-tier mages from other guilds. She simply lacked confidence.
Today, though, she didn't need strength.
She needed luck.
And she had plenty of it.
Fourth-round drawing.
Lucy pulled a bye.
Straight into the top seven.
"I did it!" Lucy sprinted over to Natsu, who was sitting on the ground sulking. "I'm top seven! That's fifty thousand! Next month's rent is safe!"
Natsu barely looked up. "You know the guild has free rooms, right?"
"I like living alone," Lucy replied. "It's more… me."
Seeing his mood, she added gently, "Hey. Losing to Erza isn't embarrassing. It's Erza."
Happy, chewing on a fish beside him, muttered, "Scandal."
The fourth round passed quickly. Rowan defeated Warren in a single exchange. Mind-reading magic meant nothing against someone who could shut his thoughts away entirely.
By the end of the round, the final seven were set.
Rowan.
Laxus.
Erza.
Evergreen.
Freed.
Cana.
Lucy.
The Thunder God Tribe had proven their reputation. With Bickslow already out, Evergreen and Freed advanced without much resistance.
Fifth-round matchups were drawn.
Laxus versus Cana.
Erza versus Evergreen.
Rowan versus Freed.
Lucy drew another bye.
"I swear," Lucy said, clutching her slip, "the goddess of luck is personally watching over me today."
Laxus defeated Cana decisively.
Erza versus Evergreen looked promising on paper. In reality, it ended fast. One of Erza's eyes was artificial, immune to petrification. Once that advantage vanished, Evergreen fell in moments.
Then came the final match of the round.
Rowan Mercer versus Freed.
Freed stepped forward, drawing his enchanted rapier, expression resolute.
"I know how strong you are," he said. "But I have to win. If I don't, Laxus can't become master."
His grip tightened.
"I may not hold the guild's S-rank title, but I've defeated plenty of S-rank dark mages outside these walls."
He looked straight at Rowan.
"You're the only real obstacle left."