"What did you say?!"
Ultear's eyes were wide open, her pupils shrunk and shaking. She was staring at Jellal with so much intensity one could think she wanted to drill a hole in his face. A couple feet away Meredy frowned and looked back and forth at her surrogate mother and Jellal.
"What? What is it?" she asked, confused.
"Tell me this is a joke, Jellal." Ultear gulped, her voice pleading.
The man sighed gently through his nose. "I'm afraid it is not a joke." He said grimly. "I could go on and on about Rickard but he's yet to provide me with false information. It is thanks to him we could get on Tartaros' tail the way we did."
Ultear closed her eyes and plopped heavily onto a nearby rock, her face buried in her hands, her elbows pressing against her lap.
Meredy, now seriously concerned over their reactions and her own ignorance, was starting to feel unsettled.
"What's going on?" she asked Jellal, who appeared to be more likely to provide an answer. "Why do you both look so defeated?"
Jellal looked at her. "Meredy, what do you know of the Seven Commandments?" he asked the girl.
Meredy blinked. "They were a member of the Baram Alliance, one of the strongest dark guilds. They were beaten by Fairy Tail. Why?"
Jellal frowned. "Is that all you know?" he asked her.
"Yeah, why? Did I miss something important?"
Ultear sighed heavily and looked at her. "You were very young at the time, so we made sure to not tell you a few things. Regardless of who we were, you were still a child."
Meredy gulped. What's that supposed to mean?"
"They were a guild that did things so vile they were frowned upon even by other dark guilds. Every other leader of the Alliance was at war with them. They consisted of seven mages, each of them so dangerous that individually they could deal irreversible damage to anyone they opposed." said Jellal "I belonged to this guild."
"And one of them, arguably the most dangerous one out of the whole bunch, has gone missing." added Ultear with a hysteric scoff. "Poof, just like that! Gone, with no trace!" She put her face back in her hands and took a deep breath. "Are you sure that's the only one? They didn't cover anything else up?" she turned to Jellal.
"He didn't say anything else, no." The man shook his head. "The last time I have personally checked, the rest was still where they should be. His cell was the only one I could not access."
"Not the only one. You couldn't access his cell, either."
"I didn't have to. They had built a one-man prison just for him, after all. If he escaped the whole country would be on the move. No way of covering that up."
"Well, they covered you up, so there's that." scoffed Ultear.
Jellal frowned. "Calm yourself, Ultear. Your behavior is out of place, to put it lightly."
Ultear sighed and nodded. "You are right. I apologize. I let my emotions get the better of me."
"Is this person really that dangerous?" asked Meredy.
"Yes." said Ultear. "Extremely. I...As embarrassing it is to admit with Jellal around, I was really good at manipulating other people. But this man...He is in a league that I could never even hope of reaching."
"Considering the amount of time that has passed since the breakout and combining it with the fact we've yet to hear of anything on a scale suitable to the situation, I think we can take a breath for now." said Jellal. "Wherever he is, that place is quiet."
"For now." said Ultear. "Even if what you're saying is true, we still have zero clues on where to even begin."
"Perhaps I can be of help."
The trio snapped their heads, startled. Ultear quickly materialised an orb. "Show yourself!" she ordered to the voice.
A figure stepped out of the shadows with a chuckle, their hands raised mockingly in the air. "As spiteful as ever, eh, Ur?"
Meredy's eyes widened. "Rusty?" she gasped.
Rustyrose adjusted his glasses with his right bicep, his hands still in the air. The shock of seeing their old guildmate caused the girls to lower their guard.
"Hey there, Mer. You've gotten big." Rusty smiled at the igirl.
"How did you know how to find us?" asked him Jellal.
"Come, now. You should know your teammates better." smiled Rustyrose. "You were rather easy to sniff out. Don't worry, I haven't told anyone else...yet."
"Why are you here?" asked him Ultear.
"I couldn't help listening to your secret meeting, so I came out with a proposition." he said and lowered his hands out of his own will. "I might know something that'd interest you."
Ultear frowned suspiciously. "And why would we believe you? For all we know you're here to claim vengeance for our betrayal on Heart." she asked.
"We wouldn't." interrupted Jellal and took a step forward. "But that's the world we're in right now. We take what we can and take a risk with every little decision we make."
Rustyrose smiled. "Now those are the words of a true veteran." he said, his glasses gleaming in the moonlight.
People kept grimacing and throwing annoyed looks from behind their mugs at a certain group of people occupying a big chunk of the inn, their laughter and screaming spoiling their drinks.
"Hey, isn't that this guild everyone was shitting on today?" a man with crooked teeth asked his friend.
"Yeah, it is. For doing so poorly today they look rather cheerful." the friend replied and shrugged.
"Well done today my brats!" redfaced Makarov roared on top of his lungs "6th place? Who cares! From now on we are the winners!"
"Master, don't you think you had a bit too much to drink?" Lisanna asked him.
"Nonsense!" he replied and attempted to smack the girl on the butt, only to miss and hit Mira's instead.
"Well, he does have a point." said Gajeel as he watched Mirajane knock Makarov out with her fist, much to Freed and Levy's shock. "Better celebrate than whine. How's Blondie doin'?" he asked Erza.
"She's well." replied the knight. She had long changed out of her uniform into her usual attire of a white shirt and a blue skirt, her red wristbands dosing her wrists." Her treatment was being finished when we were leaving. She should be back soon."
"If she can't go tomorrow, then I will." said the Dragon Slayer and ate the spoon Levy was using to eat her cake with.
"Aren't you the opportunistic one?" scoffed Gray.
Gajeel frowned at the accusation. "It's not even that. You had at least 2 guilds on your ass, one with two teams. That's 3 people tryin' to get a piece of yer ass wherever you go. It's how Laxus said: old man's plan failed. Should have started strong from the start."
Now it was Erza's turn to frown. "Lucy did a great job today. So did Gray." she defended her friend.
"Yeah, she kicked ass." nodded Gajeel, completely disregarding Gray on purpose. "But that Raven chick kicked even more ass."
Erza could not argue further even if she wanted to.
Levy came back after reprimending Mira and putting a cold towel on unconscious Makarov, and looked at her unfinished plate of cake. "Huh? Where's my..." realisation kicking in, the girl scowled. "Gajeel, where is my spoon?"
As Gajeel was now the one being scolded, Erza and Gray excused themselves away from the table.
"He's right, though." admitted Gray on the way back to their original table. "We've got at least 3 enemies now."
"We've always had 7 of them." corrected him Erza. "it just so happens some of them want go hurt us more than the others."
"Can't argue with that."
As the two sat down by the table, Natsu lowered his mug.
"All good?" he asked them.
"Yeah. Just Gramps being himself." Gray shook his head.
"Let him. It's been a while since we could sit like this without trouble." Erza smiled.
"How's Lucy?" Carla asked from Wendy's lap.
"She should be here soon." said Erza and looked around the inn.
"Speak of the devil." smiled Gray and stood away from the table.
Lucy has entered the inn, back in her casual clothes, her uniform packed in the bag that hung over her shoulder. She was covered in bandages and bandaids but she looked relatively well, although she had a limp.
The guild acknowledged her arrival with excitement and soon swarmed her with congratulations of hard work and words of encouragement.
"You were awesome!" gasped Lisanna.
"That was a solid display of your spirits." nodded Freed.
"You may have lost but you were the better man down there!" Elfman gave his thumbs up.
Lucy chuckled nervously and thanked everyone with awkward bows.
"All right, all right, let her sit down in peace!" Gray pushed through the crowd. "She's had a tough day!"
"Lucy!" someone roared suddenly. It was Makarov, who had a sudden spark of consciousness and sat up straight from the bar counter he was resting on, his towel falling off his forehead. "Well done." he said before his lights went off again and plopped back onto his back.
The blonde laughed nervously and cut through the crowd to sit by her team's table.
"What's up with Master?" she asked and put her bag on the floor.
"Perving. Mira." Gray sipped his drink.
"Understandable."
"How are you feeling?" Wendy asked with concern.
"I...I'm not sure." sighed Lucy with a faint smile. "Hard to tell."
"If there is any pain left I could-"
"No, I'm fine. But thank you." Lucy smiled. "Although they did tell me to sit at least one day out, so I guess that's it for me." she added and drank from Erza's mug.
The redhead frowned gently. "If you wish to talk, we will gladly listen." she said.
Lucy shook her head. "I don't really have anything to talk about, but thanks." she said and gave the redhead her mug back. "I'll go get my own. Excuse me..."
Lucy left the table and headed for the counter. Gray scooped over on the bench. "Yeah, no. She's not okay." he stated.
"She almost never drinks." pointed out Natsu. "The thing I ordered for you was the strongest they had." he told Erza.
"I believe that." she replied, a little redfaced. "She didn't even grimace and went to get more..."
"She lost a bet." Natsu told curious Gray, who nodded in acknowledgment with no further questions.
"Well, we can't blame her for avoiding the topic." said Carla. "That must have been the longest 15 minutes of her life."
"Holding it in ain't good either." sighed Gray.
"How are you doing, by the way?" asked him Erza.
Gray shrugged whilst drinking. "Fine, I guess." he breathed out. "I was pretty pissed at the time but now that I think about it not much has changed. Just one more guy to the list of people I gotta put down."
"You looked like you wanted to kill someone." said Lucy, back with a beer of her own.
"They sold you one?" frowned Erza.
Lucy shrugged. "Well, I am technically 24, so..." she said and took a swing.
"One guy? You won't go for that chick?" Natsu asked Gray, disregarding the technically illegal act that unfolded before him.
"Nope." Gray said with a smack of his lips. "I'm pretty sure she belongs to your Miss." he added and pointed at Erza with his finger.
Erza frowned. "Don't be ridiculous. It's not like our opponents have already been set. I may very well not meet her in battle, nor an event."
"It looked like she would make sure it happens, though."
"She's surprisingly fine with being called someone's Miss." blinked Lucy.
"I wish I could relate." threw in Juvia, who was now sitting next to Wendy.
"Where did you come from?" sweatdropped Lucy.
"Hell." said Juvia and pointed with her thumb. A brawl between the two eldest Strauss siblings and the Thunder Legion has started, chairs and mugs flying everywhere.
"Why?" blinked Wendy.
"No one knows."
Erza sighed but did not take any action. It was her day off from babysitting.
"So, uh, Lucy. You sure you're okay?" Gray asked with a pinch of worry in his voice. "We're here for you, you know."
Lucy shook her head. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." she said with a smile. "Just bummed out I lost. I feel like I've failed."
That's not why I/he asked. thought everyone by the table but did not say a word.
"You really did look impressive." Juvia praised with a smile. "Some of your tactics felt nostalgic."
"Well, I'm not too good at coming up with stuff, so I just keep repeating myself." said sheepishly the blonde.
"I was really surprised to see you use hand-to-hand." said Erza. "Watching you felt almost weird for a moment, but it was a great decision to improve yourself in this department. A successful mage has as few weaknesses as possible." she nodded with a smile.
"Thanks." Lucy sweatdropped, unsure of whether she was complimented or insulted. "Cana made me do plenty of physical stuff. Honestly, I hated it..."
"You can tag along on our training if you want." said Natsu and threw his arm over Erza.
"I enjoy living, thanks."
"Speaking of living..." threw in Gray and put his glass down. "How are you feeling? You healed?" he asked Natsu.
Lucy and Wendy looked at him, curious as well. Erza, on the other hand, had an unreadable face.
Natsu shrugged. "I feel fine." he said. "I didn't have any problems, pain and all that."
"That's good." nodded Gray.
"Could you get me some water, please?" Erza asked Natsu out of the blue.
"Why me?" he frowned.
"Because I asked you to." this time it was the knight who frowned. "You're sitting by the edge and you're closer to the bar. Also, because I am your girlfriend. Doing nice things for your partner is an important part of a healthy relationship." she added smugly.
Natsu groaned but complied and left the table.
"What was that?" snorted Gray.
"Something about him is off." Erza said quietly as her eyes trailed on his figure to make sure he was too far away to hear her, her tone serious.
Her team frowned.
"What do you mean?" asked Wendy. "Good off or bad off?"
"I don't know." admitted Erza. "But I can tell you one thing: there was no way for us to train at full strength, because if we did, I would have died."
"What?" scoffed Gray. "How?"
"His growth was so enormous that I was unable to keep up." explained the redhead. "I did incredible progress myself but it was nothing when compared to his."
"And how would that be bad?" asked Gray with a raised eyebrow.
"How is that possible is the better question." threw in Carla. "There's no way his progress was that much bigger than everyone else's."
"It might be bad because he himself doesn't realise how strong he's become." said Erza. "As for how it happened...I have a theory. I think he was hurt for much longer than we thought he was and that put a limit on his capabilities. Upon unlocking a new container the original one was given a chance to finally heal, and when it did, it increased his strength tremendously."
Gray scratched his head. "Well, only on way to find out, I guess." he said.
Natsu came back with water, which Erza thanked him for with a smile. "I wasn't joking, by the way." he then told Lucy, much to her surprise. "You're free to tag along whenever you want."
The blonde raised her hand. "I appreciate the offer, but no, thanks. I want to take a short break for now." she said and chugged her beer down. "Well, I better go to sleep. I'm tired. Night everyone."
Before they could even protest Lucy left the table and vanished behind the door leading upstairs. She climbed half way up and stopped, her back planting against the wall. She slid down to the floor and hugged her own knees, an attempt to calm down in a shape of a deep breath escaping her lips. Shortly afterwards the door downstairs opened, followed by footsteps.
"Sup." said Cana and walked over Lucy, before sitting down next to her with a tired sigh.
"Hey." said quietly Lucy. "What are you doing here?"
Cana shrugged. "Just came to check up on you. Since I don't buy your excuses."
Lucy frowned. "I wasn't-"
"You're not fooling anyone." Cana told her sternly. "You're a shit actress, Lucy. Everyone can see you're hurt."
Silence was her answer.
"When Gildarts died I also thought I could keep it all in, just to myself." said Cana and gripped her bottle tighter. "But you managed to get through to me and helped me cope with his death. It is thanks to you I feel so much better." she smiled and poked Lucy with her elbow. "I know your old man was a different breed but losing a parent is never easy."
Lucy gripped her shoulder.
"He was a horrible man." she admitted quietly. "He hurt so many people...he hurt me, my mom...Honestly, I hated him for it. But when I heard about him, I froze and I couldn't recollect my thoughts. And now..."
Tears started to drop onto her lap, the pent up emotions breaking through the dam.
"I just can't stop crying. Why?" Lucy was now bawling her eyes out, everything she kept inside throughout the day oozing out.
Cana released a short sigh through her nose.
"You cry for those few good moments you two have had." she said. "For the future 'what if's' where you made up or caught up for the lost time. And that sucks, never making them happen. I know that pretty well. But mostly because, at the end of the day, it was still your dad. And you couldn't say goodbye."
Cana reached around and pulled Lucy in for a hug, which the sobbing blonde gave back, her nose buried in the brunette's neck.
"Let it all out, don't let anything stay there." she said softly and caressed the back of Lucy's head. "I'm here for you. Always."
The girls rocked back and forth on the floor, their hug sealed tight. Although they could be heard by certain people downstairs, no one dared to interrupt.
Natsu closed his eyes and stepped away from the door, his plans of changing into his usual clothes discarded.
"You're not going to change?" asked him Erza upon his arrival back at the table.
Natsu ignored her, a determined look in his eye. "I'm taking part tomorrow." he declared to the whole inn and sat back down, leaving them surprised.
"Well, that came out of nowhere." blinked Lisanna.
"Where did that come from?" asked Gray.
Gajeel clicked his tongue. "If you wanna play like that..." he grumbled and took a swing from his mug before getting up. "I'm-"
"I will replace Lucy."
Elfman managed to cut before Gajeel, much to his irritation. The whole guild stared at the giant, including his sisters. "I refuse to let our nane stay in the gutter. I have trained hard for this. Please grant me a chance to do my part." he pleaded to Erza, who acted as the team's captain.
The knight opened her mouth and looked at both Gajeel and Elfman, unable to form a sentence.
"I, uh..."
"Hey, big guy." Gajeel tapped him on the shoulder. "Ya kinda cut the line, y'know."
"I don't care." Elfman said and brushed Gajeel's hand off, much to his shock. "Once a man has made a decision not even a dragon can get in his way."
"Oh no." gasped Levy, along with some other members of the guild.
Gajeel inhaled through his nose and squeezed his fist tightly. He then raised his hand and gently punched Elfman in the gut, a smirk on his face.
"Fine. But if ya embarrass us, I will double what they do to you." he chuckled. "My turn will come one way or another."
Elfman nodded. "I'll take you up on that."
As the others bickered, Natsu sat back down and drank from his mug. Erza looked at him and smiled gently. No matter how hard he tried he could never hide that little twitch of his upper lip from her that indicated concern. He looked pretty upset about Lucy during the game as well.
"What?" he noticed her stare.
The redhead shook her head gently. "Nothing." she told him with a smile. "Go get them." she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, much to his embarrassment.
The door to the inn swung wide open, as a very loud man entered tnside, his drunken laugh deafening everyone in the local.
"All right, you lot! Time to make this a real party!" he roared on top of his lungs and then opened his eyes, his smile extinguished like a lightbulb. "Huh?" he groaned upon looking at all the faces staring at him. "Wait- Did I mistake the inns? Ha ha, my bad!" he laughed once again and slapped his forehead.
"Who the hell is this clown?" frowned Mirajane. Laxus, who was sitting next to her by the counter, shrugged and turned back around.
"Oh no." gasped Erza and sunk a little in her seat. "No matter what, do not bring attention to this table-"
"Well, I'll be damned!"
Erza moaned.
The man, despite his intoxicated state and how crowded the inn was, has managed to spot her from across the room and was now making his way towards her table.
"Well, the cat's out of the bag." she sighed and straightened her posture. "Hello...Bacchus."
Bacchus grinned and unnecessarily slammed his bottle of sake into the table, which made it shake so violently Wendy's juice spilled all over her lap and Carla.
"Yo, Erza!" he said, his voice towering over the already loudly complaining Exceed. "Long time no see!"
"Yes, it sure has." she admitted.
"What happened to ya? I heard you just disappeared! Poof!" he slammed the table again, which was the exact opposite of how one should physically showcase the sound he made.
"That's one way to put it." mumbled Gray under his nose as he handed Wendy a cloth to wipe her clothes with.
"Things happened." said shortly Erza. "How have you been? You look well."
"Pretty good." nodded slowly Bacchus and emptied Gray's mug, who was not paying attention at the moment. "Jobs haven't been too exciting lately, though. I started to miss ya." he smirked.
"Well, I don't suppose I'd look forward to meeting you even if I was able to." said truthfully Erza. "Seeing how the last time we saw each other you tried to kill me."
Bacchus' face has gone pale for a short moment. "I-I did? Ha ha, I don't really remember that." he laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.
"Money tends to do that to people." sighed the knight. "What brings you to Crocus? Are you taking a part in the Games?"
"That I am. A sub." nodded the man. "Warcry got pretty humiliated today, so I'm stepping in. I wanted to give the kids a chance but looks like old dogs have to take matters into their own hands."
"I see."
Bacchus' eyes trailed to Erza's right, where Natsu was sitting. He squinted and pointed his finger at the Dragon Slayer. "Hold on...I think I know you."
Erza got tense. "I think you've had too much to drink, Bacchus." she tried to persuade him out of digging any deeper, praying in her heart that Natsu didn't say a word, either.
"No, I do know you!" exclaimed the drunk and laughed. "You're that dude they put a bounty on few years back! The...Oh, what did they call you...Lizard? No, Basilisk…I know!" he punched his palm. "Salamander! I caught you in that forest outside my town! And hey, you were there as well, Erza!" he added cheerfully.
Erza sighed. "Great..."
Natsu frowned. "Do I know you?"
Bacchus' face froze. "Wha? You don't remember me?"
"Not really."
Erza was just about to summon a blade to prevent any disasters from happening, but to her shock, Bacchus merely threw his head back and laughed. "Oh boy, that's a good one!" he wiped his teary eyes. "Well, I can't really blame you, my memory's pretty shit as well, so I ain't in any place to be pissy about not being remembered by other people." he said. "I will make you remember during the Games, granted we meet each other, that is." he added with a serious, but playful tone, a gentle growl in his voice.
Natsu frowned.
"Don't you have an inn to go back to, Bacchus?" Erza tried to bait him in to leaving.
"That I do!" he exclaimed and picked his bottle up with one hand and emptied Juvia's mug with the other. "Been nice to see ya again, Erza! Hope we fight again soon!" he laughed and left the inn, much to everyone's relief.
"Well, he's something." said Gray and looked at his mug. "Damn it!" he cursed and stood up with a groan to get a refill.
"That was a rather...charismatic man." blinked Juvia.
Erza massaged the bridge of her nose. "We met each other many times on jobs, often clashed for the reward. He may be tough to handle as a person but his skill as a mage if not to be questioned. Neither of us could establish a winning streak on the other."
"That man is Erza's equal?" gasped Wendy.
"He used to. Now he is possibly even more powerful than he was back then." nodded the redhead.
Natsu gasped and snapped his head up, his eyes wide. "That was the guy that threw you into that abyss back then!" he told Erza, his memory finally catching up to him.
"What?!" Gray spat his beer out. "You never told us that you almost fell to your death!"
Erza groaned and planted her face against the table, all of her energy gone. She already knew she had quite a lot of storytelling to do before she could finally go to bed.
On the other side of the city, on a wide balcony, sat a young girl with dirty blonde hair and golden eyes. Her suit, her usual attire, was hanging in the closet of the room behind her, now replaced by blue pajamas with teddybears. She was hugging her knees, her eyes blindly staring out into the night city, thoughts racing in her head.
No matter how hard she tried, Ellia could not pinpoint the emotions coursing through her brain, the image of Lucy screaming at her with teary eyes still imprinted on her eyes whenever she closed them. She groaned and grabbed her head. No matter how much she didn't want to, she just couldn't deny that Lucy had a point. She wasn't her father, she was a person of her own.
The person she wished death upon had already been touched by it, so why was her heart still tainted with so much hatred and despair? Was it the dissatisfaction of not being the one granting it to him? Or perhaps because she didn't get to witness it?
"Damn it." Ellia clicked her tongue and burrowed her head into her knees again. She was actually starting to regret what she'd done today, what the hell was wrong with her?
"There you are." Ellia snapped her head up to see Emilia standing in the door, also in pajamas covered with a pink robe.
"Nice robe." snorted Ellia.
"Unlike the general belief, I too enjoy feminine things." Emilia motioned at Ellia's pajamas with her head and closed the door behind her.
"Fair point." sighed the girl.
Emilia sat down next to her on the cold floor and planted her back against the wall. "Is something bothering you?" she asked.
"Nope." Ellia replied on the autopilot, her voice too fake sounding to convince anyone.
"Come, now. You don't have to keep it in." Emilia insisted. "You've been down ever since your match."
Ellia frowned, which was a dead giveaway on its own. Knowing that there was no way around it, she decided to spill the beans. "I just can't get what she said to me out of my head." she admitted, anger and frustration fueling her voice. "It messed me up. I've felt lost ever since we left the arena, like I'm actually having doubts. There's a voice trying to convince me she was right, and then there's a voice telling me to make her pay even more. I just don't know what to do!" she complained and stomped the floor with her foot.
"Do you regret what you've done?" asked her Emilia.
Ellia exhaled loudly. "I don't know." she said, her voice softening up. She sunk even lower, the bottom half of her face covered by her arms and knees.
Emilia blinked. "I see." she said and looked up at the stars.
Ellia gently shifted her eyes at the older girl. "Hey..."
"What is it?"
"If you got to confront the person you hated...what would you do? How would you feel?"
Emilia looked at her, surprised. This question sounded so childish, so innocent, almost like a small child asking their older sibling about something that was far beyond them. Not that she could blame her: she was in a very vulnerable place at the moment.
"Good question." she replied after a while. "For a long time I thought my blade would do the talking for me, however, the last time I saw her, as well as watching you confront the Heartfillia girl...I no longer think that is the way." she admitted.
"Would you not fight her?" frowned Ellia.
"I most likely would." Emilia nodded slowly. "But, if given a chance, I'd like to ask her a couple things, things that have been dormant at the back of my mind, but have recently resurfaced."
Ellia sighed. "Well, I already did the fighting part..."
"And how do you feel about it? You've won."
"I did."
"Did it give you what you desired?"
Ellia squinted. "No. If anything I'm more confused than before."
Emilia smiled. "Perhaps you and her are still not done yet, then. How you want to take care of this is your own decision." she said and gently tousled Ellia's hair.
The girl groaned and knocked her hand away. "We're not kids anymore." she moaned.
"You'll always be small for me." chuckled Emilia and attempted to tickle her, only to feel her fingers being stopped by rock hard pajamas.
As the girls bickered, Albert smiled under his nose and turned to the other side in his bed. He has truly missed moments like this between his friends.
November 23rd, Domus Flau, Crocus
The second game of Grand Magic Games has started as loudly as the previous one, with the crowd being rowdy and excited. The arena was filled up with people hours before the official start.
Unlike yesterday, the participating guilds have been already waiting in their designated stands, as they all tried to come up with strategies for the upcoming attractions.
"You still going through with your claim?" Elfman, who has replaced Lucy asked Natsu. "I wouldn't mind going in your stead."
"Yeah. I am." said the Dragon Slayer.
"Nervous?" Erza asked him with a cheeky smirk.
"Like hell." he admitted and took a deep breath. "But it's as you said: it's not just for me."
The knight smiled and grabbed his hand with hers to give him some more courage.
"Go wild." she told him, to which he replied with a demonic grin.
"Oh, I will."
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen!" Lola roared into his microphone, Yajima sitting by his side. This time, they were the only ones in the booth. He replaced his long-haited wig with a new one, his hair shaped like a brown helmet."Welcome to the second day of the Games! I am yours truly Chapati Lola, ready to walk you through today's attractions!"
"Good morning." Yajima greeted softly.
"Yesterday was a day full of amazing events and today appears to become a very worthy opponent!" Lola said and looked at his papers. "The event prepared for today is certainly one of a kind!"
"That's one way to put it lightly." smiled Yajima.
"As much as I'd like to talk about it, it appears time is not on my side!" Lola noticed, as Kabo has already made his way to the middle of the arena.
The mascot cleared his throat and bumped his microphone to see if it was working.
"Good morning good people of Fiore!" he exclaimed. "I hope you are prepared for the upcoming entertainment!"
Kabo clapped his hands and, just like yesterday, a giant table with two words written on it appeared in the middle of the arena.
"Today's event is called Obstacle Race!" he announced, much to the intrigued crowd.
"Race?" frowned Orga. "Boring."
"I see. A very intimidating challenge." Ichiya stroked his chin with his hand.
"Well, he did mention some obstacles..." yawned Svenar, still not interest.
"Well, guess you're running." Gray smacked Natsu across the back with his hand. "Should be easy."
"Although the name surely doesn't sound too challenging, you could not be any more wrong." Kabo smirked underneath his mask and clapped his hands once again.
The image above him changed, the name now replaced with a camera footage of a dark maze made out of tall, black, and oily stones, with some sort of beings flying above it, too far away for the camera to fully showcase their appearance.
"A maze?" squinted Elfman. "How is that a race?"
"Well, mazes could be used for a race..." pointed out Wendy. "To see who clears it first."
"Well, at least it looks cool." nodded slowly Zancrow.
"You going?" asked him Erigor.
The God Slayer shrugged. "Dunno. It looks like you'd be more fitting, with that scythe and all that."
Erigor's eyes narrowed. "Watch your mouth."
Zancrow scowled. "Huh? Or what, you gonna blow wind up my pants?"
"It is not in our destiny to battle amongst each other." Arya said with his deep voice and gently pushed the two away from one another. "Let us save this animosity for people truly worthy of our rage."
The two men scoffed and surprisingly complied.
Jellal, again in his disguise, watched the scene but made nothing out of it. He still couldn't get over what happened last night. He shortly looked over at Rustyrose, who merely met his eyes for a split second and looked away whilst adjusting his glasses.
Kabo chuckled. "You will be in grave danger if you consider this event a breeze." he warned. "What you are seeing is just the first stage of the challenge. There are four in total."
The image changed into four squares, numbered from 1 to 4, placed one after another. The first square was in the shape of the maze, while the other three had giant question marks painted on them.
"I see. The stages will be announced as the event progresses, meaning the participants are aware of just the first one." noticed Erza.
"Even if a mage is perfect for this stage, they might be at a heavy disadvantage later on." deducted Rogue. "Interesting..."
"The guilds have 60 seconds to decide who shall take a part! Start!"
As a timer appeared on the screen, the guilds have started to brainstorm.
"Well, no need to prolong this." Natsu cracked his neck and walked up to the railing.
"Good luck!" told him Wendy.
"Kick some ass, flamie." grinned Gray and punched Natsu in the arm.
"Show the what it means to be Fairy Tail!" exclaimed Elfman.
Erza smiled. "You can do this."
Natsu grinned. "Bet your ass I can." he said and jumped down.
"Oh! It appears Fairy Tail was the first to choose their representative! Fairy Tail's Natsu Dragneel has entered the arena!" announced Lola.
Murmurs and boos echoed across the crowd.
"Hey, isn't that the SS-rate?" asked a lady in the crowd.
"He's that criminal they kept hidden!" yelled her husband.
"He's so young...For someone with such a record..."
Natsu sighed and walked to the center of the arena, trying his best to shut his ears down.
"Oh? The Dragon Hunter is in?" noticed Zancrow and grinned. "Change of plans, death metal. I'm going!" he announced and jumped down as well.
"Raven Tail B's Zancrow follows in suit!"
"They both use Lost Magic. This should be a very interesting event." pointed out Yajima.
Natsu looked at the smirking God Slayer with calm eyes. He could see him saying something, probably taunts, but he couldn't make anything out of it.
"This one is mine." smirked Sting and jumped out of his stands.
"Nevermind, count me in." Svenar cracked his knuckles.
"I see the other guilds are not holding anything back." noticed Ichiya. "I shall go."
"Good luck, Master!" the Trimens have bowed as he left the stands with the stairs.
"Look at all these strong men..." Bacchus licked his lips. "I would be no man at all if I passed on this!" he roared and jumped down.
"This should be an interesting experience." Jura smiled under his beard and created an earth snake that brought him down to the ground.
"This is starting to shape up into a quite remarkable parade of monsters." Kagura noticed and placed her hand on Archenemy. "I shall attend it as well." she proclaimed and jumped down as well.
The six mages strolled freely toward the two Slayers standing in the center, as the crowd roared so hard the commentators could barely get a word in.
"Listen to this excitement!" Lola roared into his microphone. "It appears every guild has decided to send their ace in! We even have the fifth Wizard Saint joining in with the rest!"
"There is no denying the strength of this lineup." nodded Yajima.
"Fifth Wizard Saint?" frowned Laxus.
"It appears during our absence Jura has been promoted to the fifth spot on the list." Makarov bit the nail of his thumb. "This might get ugly."
"Well, it is Natsu, after all." sighed Lisanna. "You never know what's going to happen with him in the mix."
The participants have finally gathered together, each one of them eyeing the others up.
"Looks like my turn has come early." Sting told Natsu with a cocky smirk.
"Hey, hey, hey, hit the brakes, kid." Svenar tapped him on the shoulder. "He's mine."
"Huh? Who the hell are you?" frowned Sting, much to Svenar's irritation.
"Aight, you don't look like the sharpest type of a guy, so I'll give you this one..."
As the two argued, Natsu left the scene to have one final moment of peace before the event.
"This place reeks of testosterone." Kagura frowned the bridge of her nose as she watched Sting and Svenar go at each other's throat, as Bacchus tried to join in on the fun with a loud cackle.
"Now, there is no need to be so repulsed." laughed gently Jura. "I hear you are quite a formidable wizard, Lady Kagura. I look forward to testing my strength against you." he smiled at her.
Kagura's face relaxed. "I am curious of your abilities as well, Saint Jura."
The man bowed gently.
"Let us compete at our strongest perfum." threw in Ichiya out of nowhere.
Kagura merely shot him a quick glance and walked away without a word.
"It's that chick from Mermaid." said Gray and leaned on the railing. "I'm curious what she can do."
"No matter how you put it this is a lineup of the highest level." said Erza as she glanced at the eight faces on the screen, a drop of sweat running down her temple.
"There's a true sausage party going on down there." whistled Cana.
"Please spare us from your remarks." sweatdropped Lucy, who was standing next to her.
"I have to admit, I'm excited as hell." grinned Mirajane.
Laxus sighed in defeat. "You said it."
"Now, participants! Please enter your designated circle!" Kabo called to the mages.
Natsu stepped into his circle and took a deep breath.
Sting, who was next to him, smirked one last time.
"Good luck, 3rd rate Dragon Slayer." he taunted before his figure was taken by white light.
A second later Natsu felt strange warmth in his chest and upon opening his eyes he found himself within the maze, dark walls towering over him menacingly. The crowd could no longer be heard, replaced with uncomfortable silence.
"All participants have been scattered randomly within the maze!" Kabo explained the rules. "However, you are all equally close to the exit! You are freely permitted to use magic upon engaging an opponent. There is no time limit - the first to clear all four stages wins the event! And now, the Obstacle Race begins!"
A loud gong echoed across the maze for all to hear.
Natsu took one last deep breath before slapping his face with both hands, his eyes closed.
"All right..." he whispered to himself. "Time to get to work." he mumbled with a low growl and opened his eyes, his pupils shrunk and focused.
"And there they go!" Lola exclaimed to the crowd.
Each of the participants was already focused on the event, their eyes scouting the area for the quickest way out. Natsu and Sting, both with the same idea, have already started to put their noses to use and followed the smell that felt out of the place. It was wild and very repulsive, almost like a wet dog, only enhanced tenfold.
Svenar, on the other hand, grinned and cracked his neck. "Piece of cake." he muttered and bent his knees.
His arms have been set aflame, the flames shaping into a very beautiful set of wings. Svenar kicked the ground and flew up in the air, not willing to bother with going on foot.
"I'll be waiting for you lot at the end line." he said cockily.
All of a sudden he felt as if his head has split in two, the pain shooting down his body down to his toes. Barely conscious, Svenar fell down to the ground, his wings barely flapping in the air to prevent him from crashing like a rock into the ground.
"Oh, Raven Tail A's Svenar has tried to fly over the maze!" noticed Lola. "Unfortunately, the maze is surrounded by a skybox that prevents any out of bounds movements!"
"Dumb prick." snorted smug Mirajane.
Back in A team's stands, Emilia massaged her forehead with her fingers.
"What is this shameful display, Svenar?!" Albert roared next to her. "You're better than that! Stand up and show them your might!"
"What are you doing, shitbrain?!" Ellia yelled next to him.
"Hey, pumpkinhead, looks like you forgot to mention something." livid and still rocked Svenar snarled at the referee, who, although hasn't heard the remark, still felt chills run down his spine. "Damn it all..." he growled and started to run into the maze like the rest of his opponents, his legs a bit wobbly.
A couple blocks away Bacchus laughed out loud at Svenar's misfortune.
"Well, can't blame a man for trying!" he shook his head and ran straight ahead without any plan in his mind.
Back in the arena, the crowd and the guilds have carefully watched the competition on the screen. Each participant had a tracking device on their clothes, that allowed to pinpoint them on the map of the maze.
"Looks like Natsu and Sting are in the lead, both of them heading straight to the exit!" noticed Lola.
"They have their enhanced senses to thank for this." said Yajima. "Dragon Slayers can outperform the best of tracking animals."
"Atta boy!" cheered Makarov.
Natsu took a sharp right, each of his movements precise and confident. He was headed straight for gold.
"So far so good." smiled Erza, her arms crossed on her chest. She knew Gray could tell, but she didn't care – she had to stop them from shaking.
"On the other hand, their magic cousin Zancrow is not doing so well! He is currently going in the opposite way than he should!" said Lola, much to the crowd's entertainment. Zancrow's icon was definitely getting further and further the others, who were all on good track to exit the maze.
"Why am I not surprised..." Rustyrose massaged the bridge of his nose in embarrassment.
His Master, on the other hand, was watching the screen with a smile on his face, despite how poorly his guild was doing at the moment.
Laxus, who happened to glance at his father, scowled and squeezed his arm.
"Careful now, big boy." Mira put her hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "You'll burn a hole in him."
"The irritation felt due to not knowing what's going through that thick head of his is genetic." told her Makarov. "But she's right. Focus on what's important."
Laxus looked back at the screen. "Yeah."
Back in the maze, Jura kneeled down on the ground and caressed it, before standing up and stroking his beard, before resuming his casual stroll through the streets with no pressure whatsoever.
"The vibrations in the earth are particularly strong in this direction..." he thought to himself out loud. "Interesting. I'm very curious of what challenge awaits us next." he smiled and picked up the pace by creating an earth dragon to ride on through the maze.
A couple blocks away, Sting, who was running as fast as he could toward the exit, halted and quickly turned around, his eyes scouting the area.
For the last couple of minutes he could smell someone tailing him, but could not hear a single sound. In quite a bizarre turn of events, the smell that's been following him was now, at least according to his nose, in very close proximity.
"All right, you can come out now." he said loudly and clenched his fist, which started to glow with white light. "I know you're here!"
No answer. Not that he expected one, but he was looking for any sudden movements or sounds. He didn't have any luck.
Cursing under his nose, Sting resumed to run towards the exit, the smell still in his nostrils.
Directly above him by the skybox, in the shadows of the walls resided Kagura, who chipped a piece of the ground out and used her gravity magic to alter it in a way that allowed her to float and beat the race without losing too much stamina.
It was a good idea to follow him. thought Kagura and continued to float above Sting. Luckily he's not the smartest person around here.
On a path directly next to theirs, Ichiya ran through the maze with two bottles stuffed in his nose.
"Stamina perfum!" he wheezed out with a funny voice and took a turn to the right. "Please, last until the end of this competition!" he begged and vanished in the shadows.
Zancrow, who has finally managed to realise he was headed the wrong way this entire time, grit his teeth and roared into the sky.
"Damn it all!" You mocking me, eh?!" he asked the air upon reaching yet another dead end and set his right hand ablaze, before punching the wall that was behind him.
His flames have melted a hole in the wall with such ease the man's anger faded away instantly. With a demonic grin, Zancrow joined his hands together and licked his lips.
"So that's how it is..." he whispered and unleashed a massive torrent of black flames that cut through several walls of the maze, which revealed him several new paths to choose from.
"Oh, it appears one of the participants has finally gotten impatient!" commentated Lola. "Raven Tail B's Zancrow has managed to destroy a part of the maze and is now on his way to catch up with the others!"
"I guess that's one way to do it..." sweatdropped Wendy.
Back in the maze, Bacchus noticed smoke and flames out in the distance and laughed out loud.
"So that's how we're doing this now, eh?!" he roared and delivered a palm strike to the wall, breaking it into pieces. He walked over the debris into the alley and looked to his right, shocked Ichiya watching him from a couple meters away.
"Oh, excuse me." Bacchus bowed gently and struck another wall, breaking it as well. Ichiya walked up to the hole and watched as Bacchus continued to advance forward, breaking every wall that was in front of him.
"Men..." he scratched his chin. "As brutish as this strategy is, perhaps it is the one one should go for..." he wondered and decided to follow the man from a safe distance.
One way or another all eight mages were now advancing toward the exit.
Svenar, who has recovered from his accident, was now cutting through the maze with his transformed legs. After taking a sharp right he was blinded by light coming from the end of the route.
"Finally." he grinned and increased his speed. "I messed up bad and still cleared it as first...None of you trash is anywhere near my level! None!" he cackled and stepped into the light.
Once his eyes have adjusted to the change in lighting, Svenar found himself standing before a vast, empty field. Just when he was about to summon his wings once again he looked to his right and his face has gone pale.
Next to him were Natsu, Sting, Kagura, Jura and Bacchus, all of them arriving by the field at the same time, each of them, with the exception of Kagura and Sting, arriving via a different exit.
"What the-" Sting gasped in surprise and instinctively jumped back from the others, who were just as surprised. "Damn, it reeks in here!" he moaned and, just like Natsu, covered his nose. "And where the hell did you come from?!" he asked Kagura, who simply sighed at the question.
"Now this is an interesting turn of events." said Jura and jumped down from his dragon.
"Looks like we're having ourselves a party in here!" laughed Bacchus, as Ichiya passed him in the exit upon catching up.
Back in the arena the crowd has gone wild for the sudden reunion of the mages.
"This is where things get interesting." smirked Gray.
Back in Lamia Scale's stands, Lyon leaned on the railing and smirked at the screen.
"Now that they are within Jura's distance this event is as good as over." he proclaimed with confidence.
"I never said there was only one exit!" Kabo hummed both to the crowd and the participants, excited. "Welcome to Stage 2: Minefield!" he announced and snapped his fingers.
Bacchus, who was about to run further, stopped in his tracks and took a couple steps back. "Oh boy. This is not wild." he said.
"Do not worry! The mines deal no damage! They do, however, send you back to the beginning, and by beginning, I mean the Labyrinth!" explained Kabo.
"Well that's annoying." muttered Natsu but still ran forward.
Svenar grinned and jumped high in the air, his arms transforming into wings of flames.
"This time nothing will stop me!" he laughed and pierced through the air like a bullet. "See you all at the end!"
"There is no need to be so hasty, young man."
Before Svenar could even react his vision got blurry and his consciousness desperately attempted to run away, as the hand on his neck launched him down to the ground that broke into dozens of pieces upon impact, as he landed right onto several mines that sent him back into the maze.
Jura smiled and retracted the hand he used to chop Svenar's neck with and gracefully landed back on his rock dragon, which continued to advance through the field.
"It's Saint Jura!" Lola had to scream over the crowd that went insane after the man's display of power. "He makes quick work of Raven Tail A's representative and sends him back to the very beginning of the race!"
Albert broke the railing with his punch. "What in the hell are you doing, Svenar?!" he roared on top of his lungs.
"You damn shitbrain!" Ellia yelled next to the giant. "When will you learn to watch your surroundings?!"
Lyon smirked. "This is just the beginning."
"Just how strong Is Mister Jura?!" Toby yelled next to him.
"He's strong, calm down." told him off Yuka.
Sherria blinked slowly, her eyes agape. "Wow." she gasped. "This is the first time I'm seeing Jura in action!"
"Then you better watch carefully." told her Obaba. "Jura is the most powerful human on this continent, no one can oppose his strength."
"I just got chills." said nervously Gray to his team. "Old man is not playing around."
"Now that's a man!" Elfman nodded with acknowledgement.
The display of strength made all other participants vary of just how dangerous Jura was.
Kagura lowered her rock to just a few feet above the ground and carefully watched Jura, who was in front of her. She would rather not fall behind like Svenar did.
Natsu continued to run through the field, his nose picking out the faint smell of the mines, with Sting running in his footsteps.
"What are you, a dog?" he took a shot at Saber's mage. "Quit following me!"
"How about you quit running instead!"
"I am literally running towards the end line, you moron."
"Yeah, and at the same time you're running from me!"
Rogue sighed back in Sabertooth's stands. "This obsession brings out the worst in him..." he shook his head.
Sting grinned. "I bet you have an excuse for your failure on that island as well, don't you?"
Natsu remained quiet but his teeth were grit a bit harder than usual.
"I've heard someone died that day...But I guess it's just one more to the pile for you, isn't it?" Sting continued his taunts with a cocky smirk.
Natsu raised his hand behind his back and released a massive torrent of fire. Sting lit up his fist and punched his way through the flames.
"Too bad!" he yelled.
As the Dragon Slayers bickered at the front, Bacchus, Ichiya and Jura continued to advance at their own pace, with Kagura hovering a couple meters behind them.
"So, what do we do now?" Bacchus asked the men and carefully placed his feet in footprints left by Natsu and Sting. "Do we try to knock each other into the mines, or do we get friendly until we're out of this damn place? I do have some booze on me, you know. To kill time."
"As tempting as this proposition is, I must refuse." smiled kindly Jura.
"I also must refuse!" wheezed out Ichiya. "It is still too early for men to drink!"
Bacchus clicked his tongue. "You're no fun at all..."
Suddenly the entire field was shaken by an explosion from a couple dozen meters behind. As the men turned around to check it out, they were surprised by Zancrow's figure cutting through the air like a bullet, as he used his flames to propel himself a meter above the mines.
"Salamandeeeeeer!" he roared in excitement and flew past confused Sting.
Natsu had only a split second to turn around and counter Zancrow's punch. Their combined flames formed an explosion that blew Sting away, right into the happy trio that followed him.
"Zancrow has managed to catch up! He has crossed fists with Natsu, who was in the lead!" exclaimed Lola.
"It is certainly a clash worth watching." nodded Yajima with a smile. "It is not often a person can witness two Slayers engage each other in combat."
"It's this guy." Wendy shivered.
"Calm down." Gray tousled her hair. "He's got this. Look."
The dust has settled down and revealed the aftermath.
Natsu and Zancrow's fists were still connected, their flames crashing dangerously. Sting shook the damage off with a grunt and started to run forward once again.
Bacchus grinned. "Now this guy has the right idea! Screw friendship!" he roared and attempted to kick Jura, who blocked the strike with his dragon's tail. To his surprise, the tail cracked under the weight of the strike.
Now aware that Jura was much tougher than he thought, Bacchus shifted his focus to Ichiya and struck his stomach with his right palm.
Ichiya's bottles fell out of his nose as he was launched in the air with a scream.
"Oh no! Master's stamina perfum!" lamented Eve.
Ren clenched his fist and looked into the sky. "You may have failed us, but you have done well. Rest in peace, Leader." he said, a single tear running down his cheek.
As Ichiya has miraculously landed someplace safe a couple meters away, Bacchus attempted to strike Jura once again, which turned out to be a feint. He quickly turned on his feet and threw a powerful strike at Kagura, who tried to sneak her way past the men.
The woman raised her blade and blocked the strike just before her chest, a small shockwave shaking the area.
"Well struck." she praised him, her voice a little strained.
"I try my best." he smirked in response.
Back at the front the Slayers have finally broken contact. Zancrow jumped back and then stepped back in with a right high kick, which Natsu blocked. He then knocked the leg back and landed a successful right cross on Zancrow's jaw.
The God Slayer took a step back and smirked at Natsu.
"Looks like someone did some pushups." he taunted, a very narrow trail of blood flowing down his chin from his cut mouth.
Zancrow pushed Natsu's fist away and tried to attack once again, only to be blasted with a pointblank torrent of flames that pushed him back.
He barely managed to land on an already abused spot just between three mines and shook his head, smoke trailing upwards from his clothes. He had a few mild burns that hurt his pride more than his body.
"He managed to burn me?" he whispered as he watched Natsu continue on his way ahead. "Me?!" he roared and set his body ablaze.
Before Zancrow could follow Natsu he had his head knocked into the ground by Sting's fist of light, who immediately ran past him.
"Payback!" he laughed mockingly and jumped over a couple of mines.
Kagura, Bacchus, Jura and freshly resurrected Ichiya have all ran past the downed God Slayer, who has just managed to free himself from the debris, rocked.
"The competition is fierce! Zancrow and Svenar have been left behind!" said Lola.
"The top six is in very close proximity from one another." noticed Yajima. "The lead could change very easily."
Just as he predicted, Jura's rock dragon has sped up and passed the two Dragon Slayers at the front, whilst maneuvering around the mines with pinpoint precision.
"I can sense the disturbances in the earth." he explained to his opponents. "I will see you up ahead, gentlemen."
Sting grit his teeth. "Don't get cocky!" he warned and took a deep breath.
WHITE DRAGON'S ROAR!
A thick beam of light cut through the air next to Natsu's head at incredible speed. Jura swiftly motioned his fingers and had his dragon knock the roar aside into the ground with its tail. The impact caused an explosion that managed to dig up several mines and send them high in the air.
"Not quite good enough." he taunted gently and turned away from frustrated Sting.
The participants were now very close to the finish line. Seeing that the next stage was in sight, Jura decided to get a little more serious.
With a single snap of his fingers he created multiple pairs of hands from the ground and used them to grab Natsu, Sting, Ichiya and Bacchus by their ankles, completely immobilizing them and further extending his lead.
"I shall see you up ahead, gentlemen." he smiled and crawled away.
"Jura extends his lead even further by immobilizing his competition!" said Lola. "Will he keep this pace until the end?!"
"They are being spared by Jura's kind nature." Lyon said with a smirk. "He could break their legs into pieces if he wanted to."
"A man of his level can rarely experience a challenge." said his Master. "Let him have his fun."
Jura could see the end of the field just up ahead. His opponents have long broken out of their jail but they were still too far to catch up.
Just when he was about to cross the line he spotted a shadow on the ground and upon looking up he saw a piece of debris falling onto his head.
As Jura smacked the rock away Kagura jumped over him to complete Stage 2 as the first.
"Oh! Mermaid Heel's Kagura has successfully overtaken Jura to take the lead!" exclaimed Lola. "However we are only half-way through, for now it's time for Stage 3!"
Natsu, Sting and Bacchus have successfully caught up with Jura.
Bacchus was holding one of Jura's stone hands. "Hey monk, how about I shove that hand up your-" he waved it above his head to add to the threat but was interrupted by a gigantic tremor.
The ground has begun to split, as multiple massive figures emerged from underneath, sand abd rocks falling off their giant bodies.
"You're kidding me, right?" asked nervously Gray after looking at the screen.
Kabo smirked devilishly. "Stage 3: Monster Field! Do not worry though, they are holograms! Very realistic holograms, however!"
Three massive beasts, as tall as Domus Flau itself stood before the mages, their roars deafening and their smell stunning. They were hybrids of various animals and creatures, composed of their deadliest attributes.
Suddenly, all participants forgot about their rivalry and prepared for combat.
Sting pinched his nose in disguist. "That explains the stench!"
"And the vibrations that led me out of the maze." Jura added and readied a fighting pose.
Ichiya, who has finally caught up, reached out into his inner pocket. "Men, it seems I can not hold my trump card back any longer..."
More and more monsters were appearing behind the initial trio, successfully blocking the way to the goal.
Kagura frowned and gripped her blade tight. She focused her magic power and unleashed her magic on the men, successfully immobilizing them with her gravity, as their feet sunk deep into the ground.
She then jumped straight at the nearest monster that looked like a bear with eyes and tongue of a snake and swiftly jumped over its palm, only to land on its shoulder, not engaging it in combat.
"No one told us to defeat these beasts." she said and dashed forward straight at the second monster. "We can walk around them and fight only when necessary." she stated as she sliced the monster's head off and used it as a launchpad to proceed further and vanish from sight.
Back with the men Jura has managed to break out of Kagura's influence and smiled. "Well done." he praised her and impaled the bear with multiple earth spikes that carried him high in the air, only to move to the next one.
Natsu grit his teeth. Kagura was already long gone and Jura was slaying the monsters with such ease he could keep his hands in his pockets. He, on the other hand, was still incapacitated by the gravity.
Time was running out.
Natsu closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose. He then snapped his eyes open, his pupils turned into slits, and unleashed his magic power before greedily sucking the air in.
Sting's eyes opened wide in sudden fear, which came mostly from experience. He would recognize this move in his sleep. With some difficulty he jumped to the side, Bacchus doing the same in the meantime.
FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!
Natsu unleashed a massive torrent of crimson flames that covered almost the entire width of the area and devoured everything on their path.
Jura had only but a second to protect himself with a giant golem, which was already yellow in color from the heat.
All the monsters in the way have been reduced to either ashes or a charred mass, depending on their strength.
To make sure the way was completely clear, Natsu focused his magic and heated his flames so much they became white in color by the base of the roar, however at the cost of width.
After a couple more seconds Natsu shut his teeth close like a bear trap, his roar vanishing in the air.
The arena was quiet. The commentators, the crowd, the guilds - they all stared at the screen in awe and fear. Not just them, the participants have also been stunned by what just happened.
The earth was scorched and crumbly, small flames still burning here and there.
The roar has taken almost a half of the monsters with it, their remains falling to the ground with loud thuds and their ashes flowing with the wind respectively.
After a long moment of shock Lola shook his head and lowered toward his microphone. "W-what strength!" he tried to remain professional. "Fairy Tail's Natsu clears the way to victory with one strike!"
The crowd has started to wake up from the shock with impressed clapping and whistling.
"What the hell is up with this kid?!" one man grabbed his head in disbelief.
"Well, he certainly lives up to his reputation, that's for sure!" said another man. He sounded scared. "This could kill anyone!"
"Maybe, but all it killed was the holograms!" defended a young woman.
Lucy looked around with a big smile on her face as the cheers started to pick up.
"Definitely different from yesterday, huh?" Cana poked her with her elbow.
Lucy beamed. "Yup!"
"That's my boy!" Makarov roared on top of his lungs. "Go, Natsu!"
"Are you for real?" chuckled nervously Elfman.
Gray looked at him "Oh, you've never seen him do this?" he asked innocently.
"Hell no! Why do you sound like it's a daily occurrence for you guys?!"
Erza simply smiled with pride at the screen.
Sting stood up to his feet, still shaken, Bacchus and Ichiya doing the same next to him. He looked at the damage and gulped, before grinning in excitement.
"That's more like it!" he cackled.
A couple dozen meters behind the group was Zancrow, who has finally caught up with the rest by propelling himself with flames.
"Hold your ass over there, Salamander! You too, Saber trash!" he yelled.
While Sting's eyebrow twitched at the insult, Natsu ignored him, along with everyone else and bent his knees.
Jura, who has just freed himself out of his golem, smirked at Natsu and turned around to face him.
"Perhaps it'd be in everyone's interest if you stayed here, young man." he said threateningly and raised his right hand.
Natsu's eyes narrowed as he dashed forward straight at the incoming pillars of earth. Jura's, on the other hand, have widened upon feeling something blitz past him at speed so great he could barely see a thing.
His pillars struck the empty ground, that had two footprints with sparks coursing through them.
The Saint threw his head back and spotted Natsu's back way up in the front, as he made his way through the field of dead holograms.
Back in the guild stands Laxus slowly lowered his arms that he kept crossed on his chest.
"Son of a bitch..." he muttered.
"After the spectacular spell, Natsu has managed to get past Jura!"
"Impossible!" Lyon leaned over the railing in outrage.
Jura frowned and created a new, faster dragon. Sting wanted to follow but was forced to counter incoming Zancrow. Ichiya and Bacchus followed Jura, leaving the two behind.
Kagura, who was already halfway through the stage, pushed the debris that acted as her shield from the flames off of her and coughed. She was unharmed but her clothes were dirty and torn from contact with rocks.
"What in God's name..." she pondered and opened her eyes.
She opened them just in time to lock them with Natsu's, who was just passing her. His eyes were not hostile but the way he looked at her made Kagura feel unsettled for that split second they were close.
Natsu turned his head back and ran forward right underneath the punch from a surviving gorilla monster.
Kagura recollected herself and followed him, the rest not so far behind her.
"Will you piss off?!" irritated Sting kicked at Zancrow's head as they ran side by side.
"Learn your place, failed Hunter!" he growled and sent his fire at Sting.
He ducked underneath them so that they hit Bacchus instead of him. Upon getting out of the flames, burned Bacchus scowled. "You're on, punk." he muttered and kicked Zancrow in lower back.
Using this chance Sting ran past them and caught up with Jura, who was already on Kagura's tail.
The woman looked back and tried to immobilize them yet again, however both of them avoided the rain of gravity and continued to run past them.
Bacchus palmstruck Zancrow who blocked it his his right forearm and retaliated with a scythe made out of fire. The drunk jumped over it and followed with a kick that connected with the Slayer's chin.
Zancrow spat some blood aside and blasted Bacchus away with flames which he broke out of and threw a rock that hit Zancrow in the nose.
As the two fought while running, two new monsters emerged from the ground and blocked their way.
Fed up with everything by this point, both men tore through the beasts like through butter and moved along.
Jura, who has overtaken Kagura, trapped a massive snake between two earth drums and moved it out of the way, only to then impale an even bigger snake with spears.
Kagura pushed Sting's kick away with Archenemy and tried to trap his legs with gravity but once again failed. The Dragon Slayer jumped to the side and released yet another roar that successfully stalled Kagura and allowed him to overtake her.
"We are reaching the end of Stage 3 and the competition is as fierce as it gets!" announced Lola.
"We're already there!" announced Kabo.
Natsu squinted snd spotted a massive structure in the distance. Having figured out ot must have been the goal, he stopped running and instead turned his hands and feet into thrusters.
Jura and Kagura, who has finally managed to trap Sting, have also noticed it. While Jura sped up, Kagura cut out a square from the ground and used her magic on it just like in Stage 1.
"Welcome to Stage Four: Race! Whoever crossed the line first wins!" said Kabo.
"Last straight." said Erza nervously.
"Go, Natsu!" Wendy cheered next to her.
Natsu, Jura and Kagura advanced at top speed straight towards the goal. The Saint was unable to catch up with the already far away Dragon Slayer. "Well done." he praised with a bit of bitterness in his voice.
"Oh! It appears that Raven Tail A's Svenar is finally catching up!"
Just as Lola said, Svenar was flying through the field at his top speed, his body battered and bleeding. He cut through the air above horribly exhausted Ichiya and was just a few meters away from Bacchus and Zancrow.
"Damn it...I've just woken up!" he snarled in embarrassment. "I swear I will get back on this monk prick!"
Bacchus blocked Zancrow's kick and looked to the side at the incoming enemy. He grinned devilishly and ran straight at Zancrow and jumped on his shoulder to use it as a launchpad to get to Svenar and grab him by the ankle.
"See you at the end, son!" he cackled and flew off with Svenar.
Zancrow grit his teeth and lit his body ablaze. "Get back here, you prick!" he roared and blasted off.
Svenar, who has already passed Sting and was now just about to catch up with Jura and Kagura looked down, having only just noticed Bacchus dangling below him.
"The fuck did you come from?!" he squeaked.
"From depths of hell!" Bacchus laughed sheepishly and pulled the Take Over mage down to the ground.
Bacchus planted his feet in the ground and slid on it whilst building up strength and magic in his body. With great difficulty he flexed his muscles and pulled Svenar's leg before smashing him into the ground with enough force to bury him in it, second time in this event.
Emilia facepalmed in her stands as Lola and Yajima commentated on the events that have just happened, her teammates yelling next to her.
"Stay down, birdie!" Bacchus laughed and ran after Jura and Kagura, who have both resumed on their way after shaking off the shock.
The event was coming to an end. Natsu was still blasting towards the goal like a meteor, although his speed has seemingly decreased. His magic power was not as high as was a couple minutes ago, the sweat on his face and his hard breathing being a testimony to that. This allowed Jura and Kagura to close the distance and threaten his position.
Kagura gripped Archenemy and flexed the muscles in her legs. If she timed it right she could dash and cut him down in the air. She wouldn't win, but she would secure her number two position. If she failed, however, she could fall behind to 4th place, or even worse.
Jura smiled and decided to not throw the towel in just yet. With only meters left to spare, he made his move before Kagura and raised his hands to erect a massive stone of rock just before the goal.
Natsu, although surprised, regained his composure and enlarged his flames to charge straight forward.
Svenar, who has freed himself yet again, cut through the field in a desperate attempt to catch up. While on his way, he spotted Zancrow. "Hey, God Slayer!" he called out to him.
Zancrow turned to his guildmate and caught up on his plan within a split second. He grabbed Svenar's leg and both men blasted off towards the goal.
Natsu grit his teeth and smashed his figure straight into the thick wall, breaking through like a rock through thin ice. With the final obstacle cleared his feet landed on the goal line as the first participant to do so.
"It's Natsu!" Lola roared into the microphone. "Fairy Tail's Natsu is the winner of Obstacle Race! Fairy Tail receives 10 points!"
The guild exploded in cheers and happiness. Levy and Lisanna picked up Pantherlily and Carla in a group hug, Makarov almost fell off the balcony due to excitement, Gajeel smirked, and Mira whistled as loud as she could, which earned her a smack across the head from Laxus.
"He did it!" Wendy jumped high in the air, as Elfman and Gray bumped their fists with shit eating grins. Erza stared at the screen with awe and pride.
Jura smiled in defeat as he crossed the line as 2nd, Kagura jumping off her rock next to him as 3rd.
"2nd place?! How can you call yourself a Wizard Saint?!" Obaba yelled on top of her lungs as her guild tried to calm her down.
"But you said-" Cherria tried to defend the man.
"I know what I said!"
"You did well Kagura!" Beth cheered her friend. "Great job!"
"She must be frustrated." Arania scratched her cheek.
"Kagura knows no frustration! She will turn this into fuel and bounce back!" Risley puffed her chest out in pride.
Bacchus groaned in disappointment at his 4th place but still clapped for the winner.
"Well done, Mister Bacchus!" Rocker roared on top of his lungs. "This is it! This is what makes us wild!"
After completing the event Sting kicked a pebble in frustration but held no grudge. Unlike the rest he had no magical way to increase his speed and maintain a solid lead throughout the challenge.
At least not without revealing all his cards.
"Tonight is going to be loud." sighed Rufus and adjusted his hat.
"It's his own damn fault for letting himself get too emotional." Orga said with his deep voice. "Should have ignored everyone and just jump on their heads."
"That's not his style, though." Rogue shook his head.
Svenar and Zancrow blitzed through at 6th and 7th respectively. Svenar cursed and kicked the ground as hard as he could in a fit of anger. Zancrow merely scoffed and walked away from the others.
"Such a shameful display!" lamented Albert.
"Screw him, let Master deal with his shit." scoffed Ellia. "Just make sure to do better when it's your turn, big man." she said and punched him playfully, the friendly act making him beam in happiness.
A couple minutes later a half-dead sweaty Ichiya ran across the line and collapsed in exhaustion, having long ran out of ways to increase his stamina.
"Well fought." Hibiki saluted through tears, the rest of his team doing the same in the background.
With all participants past the finish line, the screen changed from camera view to a table.
Fairy Tail, Natsu – 10p
Lamia Scale, Jura – 8p
Mermaid Heel, Kagura – 6p
Quatro Cerberus, Bacchus – 4p
Sabertooth, Sting – 3p
Raven Tail A, Svenar – 2p
Raven Tail B, Zancrow – 1p
Blue Pegasus, Ichiya – 0p
"Now that we have this exciting event behind us, it's time for a quick break!" said cheerfully Lola. "We will be right back with the battle section of the day! Please, do not get too far!" With that said the crowd and guilds left the arena, the excitement still in the air. And they still had a lot to look forward to.
End of Chapter 39. To be continued in Chapter 40: Day Two: Bad Blood.
Second half of the chapter will be out soon.