Zrocker119: As always, I appreciate the amount of feedback that this story has received. I can't believe that we are soon approaching 2K followers. It's just a number I never believed we would ever reach. Now, there is a misconception that I would like to clear up. I've noticed a few reviewers commenting about the possibility of Yhwach making a return through Hikone. I'm sorry to dash anyone's hopes, but that will not be happening.
Like I said at the end of the last chapter, Hikone is the last Bleach character that will be making an appearance. No surprise resurrections or anything like that. Ichigo, Chad, and Renji are the only survivors, while Hikone was born from Grigori infusing a fragment of Yhwach with that of a deceased child.
And to reiterate, Hikone will not be turning into Yhwach or something similar. I know that he's able to resurrect himself as he did in the manga, but for the sake of this story, he died with the rest of their universe. Fairy Tail has enough of a bloated cast for me to keep track of as is without me adding onto it more than I already have.
Now, with that out of the way, enjoy the chapter.
-Chapter 15-
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The moment he stopped speaking, the ground beneath Ichigo's feet exploded as he rushed towards Jura. But his opponent had been waiting for him to make the first move and had been prepared for a head-on assault.
With a subtle flick of his finger, Jura used his earth molding magic to bend the floor of the arena to his will. A trio of earth pillars formed before him, baring Ichigo's path while a dozen others erupted from all around. And with the slightest twitch of his wrist, they shot out.
But even as they converged on him from all sides, Ichigo didn't appear worried. Just as it seemed that he was about to be crushed, he slashed his sword. The sunlight reflected off the blade as it carved through the magically reinforced rocks as though it was nothing more than warm butter, leaving them to fall to the ground as nothing more than pebbles.
Jura didn't seem too dismayed by this casual display of strength. He was fighting a fellow Wizard Saint after all and it would've been boring if that was all it had taken to finish Ichigo off. So with another flick, Jura summoned forth a pillar, only this one was much more intricate, appearing like that of an armored gauntlet. Punching his fist forward, he directed it at Ichigo.
Seeing the incoming attack, Ichigo waited until it was within range before striking. The intent was to cut through like the rest, but unlike before, his blade merely bit into it the rock rather than go fully through. It would seem that Jura had learned that his standard pillars wouldn't do the job and had upped his game.
That was fine by him.
Despite not cutting all the way through like intended, Ichigo had put enough strength into the blow to divert the rock fist off course and away from him. With the way momentarily cleared, Ichigo continued to rush forward but a sudden strike from behind and below sent him careening into the air.
As he flipped end over end, Ichigo caught a gimps at what had hit him. The fist from before had bent and twisted around in a way that something made of stone shouldn't have been able to, which allowed Jura to correct its course and strike him from behind. All the while, the mage had used the first one as a distraction to set up a trap in his path of approach.
Clever, but ultimately useless as it had done little in the way of damage.
Rather than fall back to the earth like Jura and the crowd expected, Ichigo righted himself and created a platform to stand on, literally standing several dozens of meters in the air on what appeared to be nothing. From there he looked down at his opponent with a respectful look in his gaze.
"Wasn't expecting that to come back and bite me in the ass. Nicely done."
Jura accepted the praise with a humble bow. "Thank you. I wasn't expecting you to be able to cut through my pillars with such ease. You certainly live up to the title of Wizard Saint."
The entire arena began to shake as Jura exerted more of his magic power. The ground beneath him molded like clay, reforming into a dozen of his Iron Rock Fists, each coiled around him like serpents and ready to strike.
"You said to come at you with the intent to kill. While I don't fight with such intent as I try to avoid severely injuring my opponents, I get the feeling you would only be insulted should I fail to do so." Extending his index and pointer fingers, Jura thrust his hand forward. "I hope this suffices."
The fist-shaped pillars rocketed up towards Ichigo and the former substitute Shinigami smirked. While it wasn't nearly the kind of high-stakes battle he was used to participating in, he could see that these games would be enjoyable.
But despite Jura's words, he still had yet to feel killer intent from his opponent.
It was time to fix that.
"Getsuga-"
Taking his weapon into a two-handed grip, Ichigo swung it around his head in a circular motion, the blade becoming alight in blue, flame-like power.
"Tensho!" He launched the crescent-shaped wave of condensed spiritual energy, obliterating the approaching pillars.
Jura only had a moment to widen his eyes before the attack was upon him. The subsequent explosion caused the entire stadium to rumble from the sheer raw power of the blast, leaving the entire center covered in a thick cloud of dust.
The crowd and other guilds were shocked by the display. Though it was well known that Ichigo had completed the thirty-year quest and had been given the title of Wizard Saint, many had assumed that it was a fluke. Another Saint had been present to assist him and despite Chrona's interview, the populace had assumed he had done most of the work.
After all, how could a member of Fairy Tail have that much power?
Well, now they were seeing it first hand. Only they weren't aware that he had yet to get serious.
Only those that had trained alongside him were aware of that little tidbit.
From his perch in the sky, Ichigo rested his blade on his shoulder and waited. He had sensed a build-up of magic the moment before his attack had struck, so Jura must have done something to protect himself.
As the dust began to settle, Ichigo's intuition was proven right.
Jura still stood in the same place, mostly unharmed by the explosion with his clothes being left in slight disrepair. The reason for his survival was quite clear. A large, hulking, and armored figure stood behind the mage, its stone hands clasped together in prayer.
Though his expression hadn't changed since this bout had begun, Jura was sweating a bit. If he hadn't been able to bring up his ultimate defense at the last possible moment, then he would've been taken out of the match by that attack.
The scary part? He had a feeling that wasn't the best that Ichigo had to offer.
That attack had been an unspoken warning.
Get serious or Ichigo would.
"I see," Jura allowed his expression to drop into a frown.
Widening his stance, Jura began exerting his magic power to the point that it was practically bursting outwards. But it didn't stop there. His energy rose higher and higher until the entire stadium was encompassed in his power.
"W-what the hell!?" Natsu shouted in surprise. When did Jura get this strong!?
But it wasn't just him. The shock extended to his guildmates as well. The last time any of them had seen a display like this was back on Tenrou Island. When Gildarts had shown Natsu the sheer gap between them. Just what kind of training had he done to reach a similar level in just seven years?
Despite previously voicing her confidence in Ichigo, Mirajane could help but feel a small pang of worry worm into her heart.
In the sky, Ichigo remained unflinching while the tails of his coat flapped uncontrollably in the wind created from Jura's immense amount of magic. If anything, he just felt himself growing more excited. He had known that Jura was an incredibly powerful mage, but what he was currently witnessing blew his expectations completely out of the water.
The magic cut out and Jura brought his hands together in prayer. Dozens upon dozens of Iron Rock Fists erupted from the ground, all of which homed in on Ichigo's position.
The shinigami cracked his neck, a smirk playing at his lips. Ichigo rushed forward, a Getsuga preemptively wrapped around his blade. With the increase in cutting power, he was able to slice through Jura's attack with little to no resistance. As more swarmed him, trying to box him in, he suddenly disappeared from Jura's line of sight.
"Over here."
Jura spun around in an instant, lashing out with a back fist. But even as he turned, he saw Ichigo suddenly beside him, walking in the direction he had just been facing. He corrected his course and struck out, only to for his right shoulder to erupt with a small spurt of blood. H-he hadn't even registered the attack until it had already happened.
Though the pain was immense, Jura didn't allow it to distract him and leaned back, just barely avoiding the tip of Ichigo's blade as it passed by his chest. It still managed to split his shirt open, but it was far better than the alternative.
He tried to retreat but Ichigo didn't let up and pressed his advantage, scoring cut after cut. In an act of desperation, Jura gathered his magic before using it more discreetly.
Ichigo used Shunpo once again, aiming to finish things, but the ground beneath him suddenly shifted. This was enough to throw off his footing and caused him to fumble forward.
This was exactly the kind of opening that Jura had been aiming for.
Capitalizing on this moment, Jura clasped his hands together. The motion caused his wounds to flare up in pain, but he pushed through the sensation. All the Iron Rock Fists disintegrated, turning into thousands of fist-sized stones. Flexing his magic, Jura had them all converge on Ichigo, burying him in literal tones of rock.
Jura flared his energy once more and called out the name of his trump card.
"RUMBLING MT. FUJI!"
The hastily constructed tomb erupted in an enormous pillar of magic that shot hundreds of meters into the air, one that could be seen from miles around. A cloud of dust filled the arena, obscuring everything from the observing crowd.
"Did-did Jura get him," questioned Lyon. He had gone into this fullying expecting their guilds Ace to sweep the competition. But now he wasn't sure. No one in the guild had ever seen him struggle that much in a fight before.
It wasn't just Lamia Scale that was gobsmacked either. The whole stadium watched in silent anticipation as they waited for the smoke to settle. But when it did and Jura's still standing form was revealed, the crowd quickly began to cheer alongside the man's guildmates.
But Lyon and the others quickly quieted back down when they saw that Jura wasn't paying them any mind. The Wizard Saint's attention was fixated solely on the remainder of the smoke that hid what many assumed had to be Ichigo's prone form.
As the cloud thinned further, the cheering stopped entirely as everyone could see a figure standing within the obscuring dust. When it dissipated fully, the crowd and observing Guilds stared in shock at the sight of Ichigo still standing.
But he wasn't unscathed.
He stood at the epicenter of the blast, his left arm raised to protect his face. The limb in question was heavily damaged, covered entirely in 1st to 2nd-degree burns. He must have brought it up to tank a majority of the blast.
When Ichigo lowered his hand, he stared directly into Jura's eyes with an unreadable gaze. And then he was right there. Standing directly in front of Jura with his sword held in a reverse grip.
The Earth Mage didn't even realize what was happening until the pommel of Ichigo's sword had already been embedded in his stomach. Jura doubled over in pain, but it was short-lived as he fell into blissful unconsciousness.
Spinning his weapon, Ichigo placed it across his back and willed the sheath into existence. With his sword secured, he looked at his damaged hand with an impressed look. He hadn't expected Jura to injury him to such an extent.
But no matter.
Tapping into his hollow side, the arm began to emit a small amount of steam. When it settled, the entire arm was as good as new, with the only sign of him having been hurt being the missing sleeve of his clothes.
Looking at his guildmates, Ichigo smiled, clenching his freshly healed hand into a fist and raised it to the sky. Their response was instantaneous. With the awe of the spectacle having faded, they erupted into cheers.
Fairy Tail had scored their first victory. And to make it even better, it had been against the strongest competitor in the games.
He turned his attention to the other guilds, his eyes shining with determination. The message was loud and clear.
Fairy Tail was back.
And they were winning this thing.
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From one of the many rooftops, a trio watched the Games through the use of a crystal ball.
"D-do you think that he's the source?"
"...No. While his powers are otherworldly, he wasn't present at any of the previous games, so he can't be the cause."
"He's right, Meredy. The cause of the strange magic signature is something else." Ultear said to her adoptive daughter before turning her attention to Jellal. "...Are you still adamant about not involving them."
Jellal turned to his companions with a small smile. "They've got enough on their plate as is. Let them worry about the Games. We'll figure out everything else."
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"Gahahaha! Did you guys see the looks on everyone's faces!?" laughed Makarov, his cheeks flushed from the large amounts of alcohol he had consumed.
With Ichigo declared the victor, the first day of the Grand Magic Games had come to a close and Fairy Tail was in high spirits. Sure, with only 11 points, they had finished in 4th place for the day but that was cause enough for celebration.
The entire country had expected them to place in dead last like every other year before. But they had shown them that they were anything but weak.
"Speaking of the star of the show, has anyone seen Ichigo?" Asked the aged Guildmaster. Looking around the bar that they were celebrating in, he spied neither hide-nor-hair of the young man since the partying had begun. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen any of the members of his team.
"He and the others went to see how Wendy was doing," spoke Chad. The members of Team B hadn't known the details around Wendy's condition until a little while ago and it had taken the combined effort of Chad, Laxus, and Mira to keep Ichigo from going after Raven Tail then and there.
They were pretty sure the entire city had felt the anger rolling off him in the moments before they had managed to calm him down.
Once they had succeeded in ensuring that the hybrid wouldn't be doing anything rash, Ichigo had immediately gone to see the young Dragonslayer with his team in tow.
Makarov nodded, understanding why the young man wasn't present. He too wanted nothing more than to rip his son a new one for the stunt his guild had pulled, but he would just have to settle with beating them in the games.
Meanwhile, Ichigo and his team had just arrived at the room Wendy was recovering in. Heading inside, they saw Carla and Porlyusica seated beside the girls' bed, which wasn't surprising. What did surprise them though was the appearance of a red-haired man seated at the foot of her bed idly reading a book.
"Yo, Renji." Ichigo greeted, making sure to keep his voice down as to not awake the recovering girl.
"Ichigo." Marking his page, Renji got up and locked his forearm with his friend. "Felt the fight from here. Seems like you had some fun."
"As much as I could, all things considered." After introducing Renji to the rest of his team, Ichigo turned his attention to Wendy. "How's she doing?"
Porlyusica sighed. "She's eager to rejoin the others, but her magic is still recovering from what Raven Tail did."
Mira looked over the girl with concern. "Will she be able to participate in the games?"
"Yes. But should she is another question entirely." Porlyusica said. "To lose so much energy and throw her back into it at the earliest moment isn't healthy for a girl her age."
Gajeel waved off her concern. "Wendy's a Dragonslayer. She'll bounce back and be completely fine."
Porlyusica fixed him with a glare but knew that it wouldn't be her decision in the end. If the girl wanted to fight, then there would be no stopping her.
"Why don't we ask the kid herself," stated Laxus. Following his gaze, the others saw that Wendy had awoken and was listening in on the conversation.
"Hey squirt," said Renji. "How are you feeling?"
Sitting up, Wendy rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Just tired. Other than that, I'm fine. How did the day go? Did Natsu and the others do well?"
The group looked at each other. With a sigh, Mirajane told Wendy that the first day of the games hadn't gone as well as they had hoped. Though the knowledge of the second team surprised her, Wendy was saddened over the others crushing defeats. The only highlight was Ichigo's victory over Jura, which had managed to keep the mood from being a total downer.
"Looks like our training wasn't enough," spoke Wendy, tears gathering in her eyes.
"Hey now. Don't be like that." Renji patted her head. He was just as disappointed as she was but that didn't keep him from being hopeful. "Today was just a round of bad matchups. Nothing more. Just wait until tomorrow. Everyone's gonna kick ass. You'll see."
Wiping her face, Wendy smiled and nodded.
Mira couldn't help but giggle at how cute the two were being. "Hmhm, you sounded like a father cheering up their daughter just now."
Wendy blushed up a storm while Renji waved the comment off. "You're imagining things."
"I don't know," Ichigo said with a wry smile. "Could've fooled me." That earned him a raised finger which got chuckles out of everybody.
"So, when can the pipsqueak leave her bed?" Questioned Gajeel.
Porlyusica thought for a second before making the mistake to face the young girl. When she saw her hopeful expression, she sighed. "So long as you promise not to do anything strenuous, you can go and watch the games tomorrow."
Wendy nodded and hugged the elderly woman, much to the medics' annoyance. "Thank you!"
"Yes yes, you're welcome. Now, let me go."
Everyone, yes even Laxus, though he was more subtle about it, chuckled at the elderly woman's expense.
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The second day of the games kicked off with an event called Chariot. The contestants would race across the tops of interconnected chariots that stretched from one end of the city and back to the arena. Everyone would be ranked in order of completion while those that fell off would be disqualified.
Natsu and Gajeel chose to represent Fairy Tail. Sting, wanting to show himself superior to his old idol, was selected from Saber Tooth. The only other competitors of note were Quatro Cerberus' Bacchus, a drunkard Natsu and the others had encountered at the bar the night before, and Hikone who was chosen for Blue Pegasus.
While Ichigo watched the event alongside his team, he couldn't help but feel a bit confused by what he was currently witnessing.
"What the hell is happening," he asked.
The cause for his confusion was the sight of Natsu, Gajeel, and Sting trailing at the back of the pack. Each was currently moving at a snail's pace and acted like they were all going to empty their stomachs' contents at any given moment.
"I thought it was just Natsu, but it seems that every Dragonslayer gets motion sickness." Said an equally surprised Mira. She turned to Laxus, who seemed to be sweating a little under her curious gaze. "Do you get sick as well?"
"Not. Another. Word." Laxus ordered with a look that promised nothing but pain to those that refused to heed his warning.
Mira simply giggled but did as requested. Not out of a sense of fear like the others, as after training, she was easily on par with the Dragonslayer, but because she found it adorable how embarrassed he looked.
"I'll take that as a yes," muttered Ichigo before returning his attention to the event, completely missing the glare Laxus sent his way. When he did, Ichigo was surprised by what he saw.
On the chariots, Natsu was experiencing hell itself. His entire body was shaking and his head wouldn't stop spinning as he did his best to trudge on. But damn were these chariots a right pain in his ass. He sometimes cursed his magic. For though it granted him incredible power, sometimes the motion sickness was more trouble than it was worth.
At least he wasn't alone, with Gajeel and that Sting bastard suffering the same fate. A small silver lining if there was one.
"Are you okay, Mr.?"
"GAH!"
Natsu shouted in surprise, almost falling over and stalling his progress. Regaining what little balance he had, Natsu turned to see the kid from the other day casually walking beside him with a concerned look.
What was his name again? Hion? Or something?
All the Dragonslayer could remember was that the kid was from Blue Pegasus and that was it.
"I-Urp-I'm fine," Natsu said shakily as he barely managed to choke down his vomit.
Hikone tilts his head and frowns. "Are you sure? You three seem like you're about to be really sick!"
"D-Doesn't matter," Sting called up from where he was trailing behind. "A-a D-D-Dragonslayer like me doesn't need p-pitty!"
"W-what that bastard said!" Gajeel managed to bite out before concentrating back on doing his best to walk straight.
"Hmmm," Hikone pouted for a moment before looking forward to seeing the rest of the participants far ahead. He looked just in time to see Bacchus stomp his foot, causing a visible wave to rock the chariot he was currently on and several more in front of him before sprinting past everyone and rocketing into first place.
Seeing this, Hikone looked at the barely holding it together Dragonslayers with a sad look. "I wish I could help you, but Mr. Ichiya and the others are counting on me!" He gave the three a bright, upbeat smile before returning his attention forward. "I hope to fight you later!"
They heard only what sounded like static and he was simply gone.
Up at the front of the train of chariots, Bacchus had just dismounted the final one and was fast approaching the finish line when something landed on his shoulders.
Looking up, the drunkard saw only the smiling face of Hikone looking down at him.
"Sorry Mr., but I'm winning this one!"
Before Bacchus could fully register just what the hell was going on, the boy used him as a springboard, sending the older man crashing to the ground. While he managed to turn it into a controlled tumble and cross the finish line, it was a full five-second after the kid, earning him second place for the event.
"And in a surprising comeback, Hikone closes the distance in a blink of an eye and takes first place!"
As the rest of the competitors made their way across the finish line, Ichigo's sole focus was on Hikone, even when his guildmates finished.
"You noticed it, right?" Ichigo and the rest of his team turned to see that Chad had come over from his group. "Ichigo?"
"Yeah," the Shinigami nodded. "That was Sonido."
Mira tilts her head in confusion. "Sonido? What's that?"
"It's a high-speed movement technique. Think of it as an alternative to my Shunpo ability." Ichigo said, still not taking his eyes off the boy. It wasn't just the speed in which the kid had moved that caught his attention.
Initially, he had believed Hikone to be barely stronger than that of a standard Shinigami. But he had sensed the boys' power spike well above that of even a lieutenant. And judging by what he had seen so far, Ichigo believed that the kid wasn't even doing it intentionally.
It was as if everything he did was all by instinct.
Chad seemed to pick up on this as well and looked to his friends. "If any of you are pitted against Hikone, be careful."
Mira, Laxus, and Juvia all shared a look. While Mira had a better understanding of the two due to training with them, even she didn't quite get why they were being so warry of the kid. He seemed to be a very kind and upbeat child. A belief that was cemented further by his open concern for the Dragonslayers motion sickness despite competing against them.
Ichigo saw that they weren't taking their warning seriously and sighed. "Look, the kids a lot stronger than he's letting on, and from what I can sense, seems to be playing fast and loose with his strength. He might cause some serious injuries without meaning to. So please, I'm just asking you all to be cautious."
His plea seemed to finally make some headway as the other's eyes sharped, if just a little. That was all he could ask for.
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There was a brief intermission to allow those that had participated in the previous event to regain some of their spent energy before the first battle began. This time being between Raven Tail's Kurohebi and Lamia Scale's Toby.
It was a rather even fight. Or at least, that is what it appeared to be at first. The moment Toby offered up the concept of a bet and the stakes had been agreed upon, Kurohebi ended the match in an instant.
Toby had kept his word however and had spilled a secret of his, even though that secret had been nothing more than him being unable to find his missing sock, completely unaware that he was wearing it on his necklace.
And under the guise of good sportsmanship, Kurohebi had pointed this out to Toby, much to the Dog-like man's joy. Right before he took the piece of clothing from him and tore it apart.
While everyone but those in Raven Tail was disgusted by the act, little could be done about it.
"Now, to get the bad taste out of our mouth, let's continue onto the second match! It's Bacchus from Quatro Cerberus!"
The drunkard that had placed second in the days opening event entered the arena with a gourd of Saki in hand to the roar of the crowd. The mage seemed to bask in the praise. It was clear that he was a crowd favorite.
"And his opponent! Fairy Tail Team A's...Yasutora Sado!"
Chad blinked. Like Ichigo the day before, he didn't think that he would be fighting so early on. But he wouldn't complain. Though he didn't enjoy fighting as much as everyone else, he couldn't help but get a little excited. It was for the reputation of the guild, so he wouldn't let his friends down.
"Kick his ass, Chad!" Roared Cana, who was much more fired up than anyone. "Make that bastard pay for taking my top last night!"
"..Wait, what?" asked the entirety of Team B. This was the first any of them had heard about this.
Chad paid the question no mind and simply gave the brunette a thumbs up before heading into the arena. As he did, Erza briefly pulled him aside and told him to be careful, explaining that she had battle Bacchus many times in the past with no decisive winner between them.
The warning was appreciated, but Chad was confident that he would bring home the victory with little issue.
When he walked out and into the open, there was some cheering from the crowd, though it was noticeably less than what his opponent had received. Still, it was an improvement from yesterday. Seems that Ichigo's performance and Natsu's impassioned speech in the last event had bolstered their opinion of Fairy Tail.
Bacchus was casually lying down in the center of the arena, head propped up with his gourd of Saki sitting on the ground next to him. He looked at the giant of a man with a bored expression.
"Say, big guy." Bacchus began, "why don't we make a bet like the other two. Make things interesting?" When there wasn't an immediate response, he took that as an invitation to continue. "Your guild is full of many beautiful women."
Chads' eyes narrowed, already not liking the direction this conversation was going.
Bacchus scanned over all the female members of Fairy Tail, stopping when his gaze fell on the Strauss sisters. Sending them a lecherous grin, he pointed to them. "If I win, I get those two all to myself for a night."
...
There was no response from his opponent, only a deafening silence.
Fairy Tail was understandably pissed at the suggestion. Elfman, Mirajane, and Lisanna being the most visibly so, with Ichigo not being too far behind them.
While his facial expression was as calm as ever, Chad clenched his fist with heavily concealed rage. He wasn't normally one quick to anger. So for him to achieve such burning rage this quickly was an achievement in and of itself.
"Don't know what you would want should you win, but I'm sure you'll come up with something. So, do we have a deal?" Continued Bacchus, completely oblivious or ignoring the anger directed towards him.
"...I'm going to break your nose now."
"Wha-"
There was a blur of movement, one that was too fast for all but the most competent of mages to track.
To the crowd, it had appeared as if the two had teleported.
"He's fast," commented Renji. "Seems that creep is more than just talk."
"What happened?" asked Wendy. Since she was still recovering from the incident the other night, she had only caught a glimpse of the exchange.
Erza frowned. "Chad got hit."
In that brief moment, Chad had blitzed forward, intending to follow through with his statement. But Bacchus had moved aside at the last second, swerving around the larger man and striking him in the stomach with an open palm.
But what was more surprising than anything to Erza was that Chad didn't appear to even register the blow. In fact, judging by how he simply turned to face his opponent, it was as if he hadn't been hit in the first place.
Chad looked at his opponent with a blank expression before noticing the bottle of Sake near his feet. Glancing between the two, he kicked it towards Bacchus, who caught it out of the air.
"You sure you wanna give this to me?" asked Bacchus, unconsciously opening and closing his left hand. He was regretting not putting any magic into the strike when he had hit Chad. The bastard was as tough as steel. Though he wouldn't outwardly admit it, that was enough to warrant some level of concern.
Chad responded by slipping into a boxing stance, not quite feeling the need to unleash his Fullbring just yet.
Bacchus only had a moment to chug as much of the alcohol as he could before Chad was upon him. For a man of his size, Chad was surprisingly fast. But even so, once the alcohol began to take effect, Bacchus began to maneuver with fluidity and unpredictability that was unseen in most fighters.
While his magic was nothing more than simply reinforcing his palms to increase the force behind his strikes, when combined with his drunken style of martial arts that made him impossible to predict, Bacchus was a formidable foe to face in close quarters.
The only reason he hadn't laid his opponent unconscious was due to one, simple fact.
Chad was simply that tough. Even before awakening his powers, he had always been more durable than everyone around him. Having been in many accidents such as being hit by a motorcycle or having steel beams land on top of him.
Many would have died or at least been hospitalized. He instead walked away with simple bruises or some broken bones.
But now? Over a decade to become accustomed to his powers and having survived Zangetsu's grueling training?
This man wouldn't be able to hurt him. Even after receiving well over a hundred magically enhanced palm strikes, he had yet to feel anything. Maybe three months of being Zangetsu's punching bag had been overkill.
The only thing making this fight remotely difficult was just how slippery a drunken Bacchus was. An advantage that was easy enough to fix.
Chad feigned an opening and Bacchus went for it and struck the larger man in the sternum with a full empowered palm strike.
Sensing that something was up, Bacchus tried to pull back but a firm grip on his wrist kept him stationary.
"I've thought of something for when I win," spoke Chad. "For the next month...you have to go sober."
Bacchus' eyes went wide with fright at the mere thought of going an hour without a drop of alcohol. He struck with his other fist, only for it to be caught as well. He attempted to free himself, but no matter how much he pulled or twisted, Chad's grip didn't lessen in the slightest.
With a sudden jerk, Bacchus was pulled forward as Chad brought his head down. There was a loud crack as Bacchus' head snapped back, his nose bloodied and broken. He didn't have to experience the pain for long though.
Freeing one of his hands, Chad cocked his right fist before driving it into his opponent's stomach. The ground behind Bacchus shattered, the fissures reaching to the walls of the arena. The only thing that kept the man from flying across to the other side of the arena was the grip on his wrist.
Chad released his hold on the man, letting him crumpled to the ground in an unconscious heap, face in the dirt and his ass in the air. An undignified way to be left after a fight but one that Chad felt matched the man's personality.
The crowd was once again left in a state of shock. For the second time since the Games had begun, members of Fairy Tail had defeated a renowned mage with little difficulty. Were these really members of the guild that had always placed last since the Games had begun?
"T-The winner is Yasutora Sado!"
Once again, the arena was drowned in the cheers of Fairy Tail, with the Strauss siblings being the loudest of the bunch. Though they were more than aware of how strong Chad was, there always existed the chance that he could have lost.
The only ones that were completely confident in the gentle giants' abilities were Ichigo, Romeo, and Asuka, the latter of which would always believe that her big brothers would always be the strongest. Regardless, the sisters did reward him with an appreciative kiss on the cheek when he returned to the stands, an action the earned whistles from many of their guildmates.
Coughing into his fist to hide his embarrassment, Chad took a seat beside the rest of his team. Looking over he spied Ichigo sending him a thumbs up and returned the gesture with one of his own.
"Now that's over and done with, we can move right on into the third battle! We've got another match with Fairy Tail! Please join me in welcoming Mirajane Strauss!"
"Oh, looks like I'm up," Mira said, feigning surprise. Unknown to everyone else, Mira had been informed by the announcers that she would be participating in today's battles. She was even aware of who her opponent would be. "Guess I better head down."
"Good luck," Ichigo said as she passed him by.
She responded with a flirtatious wink that left the orangette red like a tomato, making her giggle. For someone that had witnessed death and destruction on a scale that she couldn't even begin to imagine, Ichigo was way too easy to tease.
"Jenny Realight was originally supposed to participate in today's match, but due to a request from the King himself, there has been a change to the matches lineup!"
With that announcement, Mirajanes surefire attitude was dashed away and was instead replaced with a feeling of confusion. What could have happened that the King wanted there to be a change of contestants?
She wasn't the only one confused. With her intended opponent now known, a majority of the crowd was beyond furious that they wouldn't be able to see two of the countries most beautiful and popular models duking it out.
"Everyone! Please settle down! We are just as disappointed as you are, but the King can not be denied! Now, please welcome Blue Pegaus' Hikone Ubuginu to the arena!"
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-End-