Natsu raced toward the front entrance of the passageway.
"What the…? Four paths are already taken!"
He saw that passages A, B, F, and H had been sealed off, no doubt by Freed's enchantment. Levy's group and Elfman's group must have come through before them.
"Which one, Natsu?"
"Ahhh, let's go E! Erza's gotta be in E!" Natsu shouted, pointing toward the E route.
Happy nearly jumped in shock. "Why pick Erza?! She's crazy strong! You've been beaten by her so many times before…"
"Exactly—that's why I wanna beat her this time!" Natsu declared. "Just you wait, Erza—!"
With that, the two charged headlong into passage E.
…
By the time Lucy and Cana arrived at the passage entrance, seven routes had already been taken. Only the C path remained.
"Guess we really are the last group," Cana muttered, glaring at the single open route. "My card reading came too late."
Lucy tried to be upbeat. "It's okay! Sometimes being last can bring good luck, you know? Let's just give it our all, Cana. We're definitely aiming for S-Class!"
Cana's lips twitched into a small smile. "Thank you, Lucy."
They proceeded into the C route side by side.
"It's brighter than I expected," Lucy noted. Despite being underground, the passage was softly lit.
Cana nodded. "It's caused by 'Emmanuel Beetles.' In summer, they emit light. Probably extra bright now because of all the island's magic."
Suddenly they heard a voice echo up ahead.
"That voice…who is it?" Lucy whispered.
A short distance away, a sign reading "Fight!!" was planted in the ground.
Bickslow stood there, smirking. "Ka ka ka! Cana and Lucy—bad luck for you."
Freed stood nearby, arms folded. "So we're your opponents?"
Lucy and Cana both froze upon seeing Freed and Bickslow together. The sign reading "Fight" indicated that only the winner could pass. This was either good news—they'd avoided the S-Class mages—or horrible news, because Freed and Bickslow were extremely dangerous in their own right. Two on two, Freed and Bickslow might be nearly unstoppable.
"Oh no… The Raijinshuu," Lucy gulped.
"So we have to fight you?" Cana clenched her fists.
Bickslow gestured to a large, sealed exit. "Only one team gets to open that. The losers stay here."
Freed gave them an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but your journey ends now, Cana. The only one who can fill Laxus's shoes is me."
Cana's body trembled, but she forced herself to raise her chin defiantly. "I… I have a reason I need to become S-Class! Fine—if we have to battle, then so be it!"
Bickslow's grin widened. "Kill them, baby!" He pointed at Lucy and Cana, sending five floating dolls racing toward them.
"Open, Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!" Lucy called, instantly summoning one of her Zodiac Spirits.
"Click!" A tall, bow-wielding figure appeared. Lucy had learned to act quickly in combat—no hesitation.
"Sagittarius, shoot them down!" Lucy ordered.
"Understood!"
Arrows flew in rapid succession, piercing all five of Bickslow's dolls.
"Nice job! I took out your babies!" Lucy exulted.
Cana cheered, then flung a glowing card at Bickslow. "Death Icicle!"
Boom! A streak of light struck from her card, aimed at Bickslow. But a laser beam sizzled out from one of the dolls, disintegrating Cana's card in midair.
"What—?!" Cana gasped.
To Lucy's shock, the five dolls started hovering again, completely undamaged.
Bickslow laughed. "Oh, forgot to mention—my real magic doesn't control the dolls themselves, but their souls."
"Damn it! Fire of the Sun!" Cana hurled another card, producing a burst of flames.
Boom!!
A doll fired another laser, snuffing out the flames.
"Tch… So this is the power of two guild veterans?" Bickslow teased. "Is that all you've got, baby? You should give up on being S-Class right now."
Cana's time in Fairy Tail was indeed longer than most, nearly on par with Gildarts, Macao, and Wakaba in seniority. Hearing Bickslow mock her as though her skill was worthless made her grit her teeth.
"Don't underestimate me!"
"Transform!" Lucy commanded, summoning her whip. She flicked it forward, but again, Bickslow's dolls intercepted and Freed's watchful presence stifled them.
"You Celestial Spirit wizards are strong in magic," Freed said coolly, "but physically you're not at our level."
Lucy narrowed her eyes. "We'll see about that."
Bickslow's dolls unleashed a fresh barrage of lasers. "Pew—pew—!"
Lucy whipped out another key. "Open, Gate of the Twins—Gemini!"
Two small figures instantly appeared, right beside Bickslow.
Poof!
A duplicate of Bickslow himself materialized, matching him in every detail.
"Wh-what?!" Freed and the real Bickslow recoiled.
"Two Bickslows?!" Cana exclaimed.
"Who the hell are you?!" the real Bickslow snarled.
"Who're you calling fake?!" the duplicate snapped, voice identical.
Freed asked warily, "Which one is the real Bickslow?"
The first Bickslow jabbed a thumb at his chest. "I am, obviously! That's a phony!"
The second retorted, "You're the phony! I'm the real deal, baby!"
His eyes blazing with fury, Bickslow tried to command his dolls to attack the copy—but discovered they wouldn't fully obey. It was as if the impostor was competing for control of them.
"Screw you!" roared the real Bickslow. One of the dolls turned and socked him across the jaw.
Smack!
"Gwaaah!" Bickslow tumbled backward, stunned. "H-how?! My own babies attacked me? You're the fake, damn it!"