Only half a month remained until the S-Class trials.
That afternoon, Ace had just returned from training outside the city.
As he was about to check the request board for a suitable mission for a final sprint, a figure blocked his path.
It was Mirajane.
Her form-fitting purple combat attire for the day perfectly accentuated her figure.
Her long white hair was tied into a high ponytail, and her face wore a sharp, persistent, and even somewhat resolute expression.
She was locked onto Ace without blinking, her eyes churning with complex emotions—unwillingness to concede, desire, the need to prove herself, and a deep-seated shadow that Ace couldn't quite comprehend.
"Ace," Mirajane's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable force.
"Fight me. Now."
The guild hall fell silent in an instant.
All the clamor of training and chatter vanished as everyone's gaze snapped to the two of them.
Even Master Makarov, paused his action of wiping a mug, his brow slightly furrowed.
'Her again?' everyone grumbled inwardly.
Mirajane's "obsession" with Ace was plain for all to see.
But this time, the atmosphere seemed different from any of her previous provocations.
There was no hostility, no mockery, only a heavy, almost solidified seriousness.
With the S-Class trials just around the corner, this might be the last, and perhaps only, chance before the exam.
In the original story, it was shortly after becoming an S-Class Mage that Mirajane suffered psychological trauma from a tragic mission, losing her ability to use magic and thereafter becoming the guild's gentle poster girl.
However, Ace didn't know if this world's trajectory would be exactly the same.
"Alright." Ace didn't ask any further questions, nodding crisply.
He understood this persistence and respected this fighting spirit.
"To the back mountain."
The two walked out of the hall one after the other, followed by a large crowd of onlookers holding their breath.
This was perhaps the most anticipated fight before the Exam.
....
"Take Over: Satan Soul!"
A pillar of dark purple magical light shot into the sky.
Mirajane's figure twisted and expanded within the light, transforming into that powerful demonic form.
The demon Mirajane had descended once more!
This time, the aura she exuded was more solid and dangerous than during their previous spar in the guild.
The dense dark magic almost formed a tangible vortex swirling around her.
'She's gotten stronger, as expected,' Ace thought with a shiver.
Mirajane's progress from over a month of frantic training was visible to the naked eye.
She was holding nothing back, going all out from the very beginning.
"Leomon!" Ace shouted, and the light of summoning shone beside him.
The majestic golden lion, wielding the "Lion King's Blade," stepped out of the light.
Its golden mane flowed as if in a wind, its righteous aura standing in stark opposition to the dark magic before it.
"Roar!" Leomon let out a battle cry, its blazing eyes locked on the demonized Mirajane.
It could feel the surging dark power from its opponent, as well as the resolute will contained within.
This was going to be a tough fight.
Mirajane instantly condensed dozens of fist-sized orbs of dark light, each packed with terrifying energy, and fired them at Leomon like a cannon.
The orbs shrieked as they tore through the air, their speed astonishingly fast.
Leomon's eyes narrowed, not daring to be careless.
The "Lion King's Blade" was unsheathed in an instant, becoming a golden curtain of steel.
Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang.
A dense rain of impacts exploded! Leomon swung its longsword so fast it created an impenetrable defense, precisely parrying or shattering every incoming orb of dark light.
The shockwaves from the explosions constantly erupted around it, filling the air with dust and smoke.
However, the number of orbs was too great, their speed too fast, and their power far surpassed previous encounters.
Although Leomon's defense was flawless, its feet were forced back by the ferocious assault, plowing two deep furrows in the ground beneath it.
"Move Back!" Cries of alarm came from the crowd of onlookers.
Mirajane had changed her usual style of close-quarters combat, instead opening with such a violent long-range bombardment.
It was clear she intended to suppress him with absolute power and end the fight quickly!
"Is that all?" From within the smoke, Leomon's steady growl was heard.
It stomped its foot, halting its retreat, and a golden fighting spirit erupted from its body, blasting away the surrounding smoke and residual dark energy.
"Fist of the Beast King!"
A massive, golden, lion-headed energy wave roared out, blasting straight toward Mirajane.
This was the fruit of its arduous training, a result of compressing its fighting spirit to the absolute limit, its power far greater than before.
Mirajane's red eyes flashed.
Without dodging, she curved the fingers of her right hand into a claw.
Dense dark magic gathered and swirled at her fingertips, forming a miniature black vortex!
She swiped her claw, and five distorted dark claw marks that seemed capable of tearing space itself met the Beast King Fist.
BOOM.
The two powerful energies collided in mid-air, creating a deafening explosion.
The golden fighting spirit and the dark magic eroded and annihilated each other, forming a chaotic storm of energy that spread outwards, forcing the onlookers to retreat again and again.
"I feel it... Now's the time!"
A stroke of inspiration hit Ace.
His magic surged wildly through the invisible channel of their bond toward Leomon.
'Leomon! Answer my heart, answer your will! Surpass your limits, break your shackles! Toward a higher, stronger form—Evolve!'
"ROOOOAAARRR—!!!"
As if hearing Ace's call and feeling the scorching energy and absolute trust from its partner surging within, Leomon threw its head back and let out a roar that shook the sky.
Its entire body erupted in an unprecedented, blindingly brilliant golden light.
The light was so intense that everyone instinctively squinted.
Within the golden light, Leomon's form began to change drastically.
Its body expanded further, becoming more burly and majestic, its muscles filled with explosive power.
The golden fur that covered its body did not grow longer, but instead became shorter and sleeker, clinging to its skin and glinting with a cold, metallic luster.
Its eyes were no longer just majestic and righteous; they now held the sharpness and focus of a martial artist, as if they could see through the flaws in any technique.
The light of evolution faded, and a brand-new form made its shocking debut.
GrapLeomon!
Leomon's Ultimate form, the king of fighters who had discarded the massive "Lion King's Blade" to concentrate all its power into its fists.
"It... it evolved?!"
"What... what powerful pressure!"
"It's completely different from before! It feels... more dangerous!"
The crowd cried out in astonishment.
Leomon's evolution brought a visual and atmospheric impact that was just as stunning.
Mirajane flapped her wings and her figure vanished like a phantom, reappearing above and to the side of GrapLeomon in the next instant.
She clasped her hands before her chest, and highly concentrated dark energy formed a bolt of black lightning that struck down.
"Evil Spark!"
She swung her hands rapidly, and a storm of Evil Sparks rained down, even denser and faster than before.
However, GrapLeomon merely raised its fists, which were covered in white gauntlets, and assumed a standard fighting stance.
It faced the whistling dark lightning.
"Lion Cyclone!"
GrapLeomon's deep voice sounded.
It pulled back its right fist as immense fighting spirit and data energy gathered madly.
The battle crest on its gauntlet lit up with a dazzling light, and then, it threw a punch!
It was no longer a lion-headed energy wave, but a golden fist of chi condensed to the extreme, shaped like a rotating drill that thrust forward.
The air shrieked as it was torn apart where the fist passed!
This was the upgraded version of its former "Fist of the Beast King," with more concentrated power and greater piercing strength.
BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG.
A series of impacts so dense it made one's scalp tingle rang out.
The Evil Sparks were annihilated before the lion-shaped energy wave.
No.... The exploding dark energy couldn't even touch its body, being obliterated right before its fist!
"What?!" Mirajane was horrified.
"It's not over!" Unwilling to concede, Mirajane spread her demonic wings wide.
Countless dark energy bullets once again shot from her hands like a machine gun, forming a barrage with no blind spots that blanketed GrapLeomon!
This time, the power and speed were even greater!
GrapLeomon's eyes sharpened.
Its footwork shifted, and its figure instantly became a blur.
It actually weaved and dodged through the dense barrage.
The bullet-fast dark energy projectiles were either dodged by a hair's breadth or lightly deflected by its gauntlets.
Its footwork was exquisite, as if it had predicted every attack trajectory, strolling through a hail of gunfire as it rapidly closed the distance to Mirajane.
"How is that possible?!" Mirajane's expression finally changed.
This kind of movement was completely beyond her comprehension.
Seeing GrapLeomon break through her barrage and close in, a ruthless glint flashed in her eyes.
The dark magic on her claws became highly compressed and spun, forming two violently twisting dark vortexes that emanated a terrifying aura of tearing everything apart!
"Evil Explosion! Tear it apart!"
She crossed her claws, bringing the destructive dark vortexes down to viciously claw at GrapLeomon's head and chest!
This was her ultimate killing blow, containing all her current magic and imbued with a tearing attribute!
Faced with this ultimate attack, GrapLeomon remained calm.
The instant the claws were upon it, its upper body leaned back at an impossible angle, allowing the dark vortexes to graze past the tip of its nose by a razor's edge.
At the same time, its right leg, like a fully coiled spring, shot upwards in a vicious kick.
At its ankle, a rapidly spinning turbine-like vortex of golden fighting spirit had appeared out of nowhere.
BANG—!!! CRACK.
The heavy kick struck after she had initiated her attack.
The rotating vortex of fighting spirit delivered terrifying piercing and tearing effects.
The dark magic defense on Mirajane's arms was instantly shattered.
As if struck by a battering ram, she let out a pained cry and was sent flying backward like a broken kite, crashing heavily into the reinforced wall at the edge of the training ground and becoming deeply embedded in it.
Her Full-Body Take Over was instantly dispelled, returning her to her human form.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and her arms hung limply at her sides.
Master Makarov had appeared by Ace's side at some point.
He looked at Mirajane being carried away for treatment, then at Ace and GrapLeomon.
He sighed and patted Ace's shoulder.
"You brat, you don't know how to go easy on her... But, that was a good fight. That girl, Mirajane, carries too heavy a burden in her heart. Perhaps this defeat will allow her to see some things more clearly."