'With that final blow, Mira comes out victorious from the second round of the day! Giving Team Fairy Tail B 10 points!' exclaimed the announcer, right after which the crowd cheered out loud as Mira waved her hand around the crowd with a smile and walked away.
'Looks like Team Fairy Tail B is changing gears already' said Rofus as he looked at the points table.
'They're just getting lucky' replied Sting.
'I wouldn't call that luck though' added Rogue, stirring the air around them in a mist of confusion.
'What makes you say that?' asked Sting curiously.
'Before the games began, I knew Natsu Dragneel and Gajeel Redfox had returned from Tenrou Island' said Rogue with a determined look.
'Given so, those two are still first generation dragon slayers, meaning we have nothing to fear about them, but' he added with slight hesitation.
'It's that man with the silver staff, Cole McGrath, we can't afford to keep our guard down around him' he explained, right after which Reaper tapped his back.
'You all sound like you're worried' interrupted Reaper with a half-smile.
'Hold on, Reaper.. Didn't you mention earlier, about Cole being your twin brother?' asked Sting. Reaper paused for a moment, and then looked at Cole by slightly turning his neck, to see him chatting with his team mates.
'You got that right' replied Reaper as he sat down near everyone.
'Then it's possible, he must be having an equal amount of power Reaper does, if that's so… then..' thought Rogue, right after which his mind began to erupt with flashbacks of a child wounded and houses burning. Rouge held his head as he began to feel uncomfortable around everyone.
'Hey, you alright?' asked Reaper as he patted his back.
'Get your hands off of me!' yelled back Rogue, right after which he ran away.
'Rogue?' yelled Frosh, in deep concern over his actions.
'What's up with him?' asked Sting curiously. Yukino didn't reply and kept looking as Rogue left the scene.
'Now then, ladies and gentlemen, it's time we announce the contenders for the next battle round!' said the announcer, soon after which the crowd cheered loud as a giant screen popped right in front of them.
*Alright, let's see who's it gonna be this time, our second team hasn't had a match up until now*
Cole kept staring at the screen with a determined look, soon after which the names of the two competitors popped up. 'Erza Scarlet vs Baccus Groh!' read out the giant screen.
'It's my turn, finally..' said Erza as she stood up and closed her eyes with determination.
'Erza huh! I guess I'm gonna have a lot of fun!' said Baccus with a smile on his face.
*Come on Erza, you can do this*
Cole looked at her, as she stepped into the arena and halted at one end of the battle ground. '
Erza closed her eyes as she drew out her sword with a confident look. Baccus could only smile as he placed his bottle on the ground and posed, seconds before the gong was struck, signalling the start of the battle. Erza opened her eyes soon after which she dashed towards Baccus with great speed. Baccus waited for her to close in, and halted her slash with his bare hands.
*This guy is pretty good*
Cole kept a close eye over the battle as Baccus kept countering Erza's attack.
'He's pretty fast' said Master Mavis as she appeared behind Cole all of the sudden.
'You got that right' replied Cole.
'These two have fought before' mumbled Mira, catching the attention of Cole and Master Mavis.
'So, what happened after they fought?' asked Cole curiously.
'There hasn't been a clear winner from their previous battles.. however' replied Mira, soon after which a sharp sound of a piece of metal snapping into two echoed across the stadium. Erza's eyes widened as her sword shattered right in front of her, Baccus saw this as an opportunity and immediately kicked Erza, sending her flying across the battlefield. Cole turned his attention right towards Erza, who was panting as she held her broken sword.
'The battles they fought, was seven years ago, by that time, Baccus would have definitely grown in experience and strength by now' added Mira, completing her statement. Cole grunted as Baccus waved his hands around the crowd, making them cheer out loud for him.
'Erza..' mumbled Reaper as he watched with a little bit of anticipation.
'I'm not done yet!' yelled Erza as she re-quipped into her lightning empress armor and fired lightning bolts aimed at Baccus. Baccus smiled and moved swiftly across the battlefield, dodging out her attacks and closing in simultaneously. As Baccus approached, before he could strike, Erza swept her staff, forcing Baccus to bend himself, right after which she delivered a swift kick onto his face, leaving him vulnerable.
'Take this!' she yelled as she fired a lightning bolt aimed directly at him, knocking him a couple of meters away.
*No way..*
Cole grinned as a thought pondered into his mind, watching Erza fight.
'Looks like the lovely Erza Scarlet has finally found her rhythm, and it's about time! There's still 15 minutes to this match and it looks like both sides have warmed up!' said the announcer as Baccus stood up. Baccus stood up as he twisted his neck and looked at her with a smile.
'That was pretty good Erza, where did you come up with a trick like that?' asked Baccus as he took the broth he had placed earlier on the ground.
'Lets just say it was a gift from a friend of mine' she replied with a smile as she slightly turned her neck around and looked at Cole.
'Well then, since I'm all warmed up, I guess it's time we step things up a bit!' yelled out Baccus after taking sip of alcohol and swirling his tongue out. 'I couldn't agree more..' replied Erza as she switched to her all attack armor and held her sword right against him. Seconds later, Baccus unleashed a burst onto Erza, attacking her ferociously from all directions. Erza dodged out most of his punches and attempted to strike back, but only missed as Baccus was way too fast for her to hit. Erza couldn't keep up to his attacks and immediately tried to switch to her adamantium armor.
'Not so fast!' yelled out Baccus, as he struck her before she could complete, knocking her away, right after which he followed the attack with a fierce kick. Erza spat out a lot of blood as she was airborne.
'No.. Erza!' yelled out Natsu as he watched Erza fall onto the ground.
'Face it, you've lost this one' said Baccus with a smile, as Erza tried to get up, but couldn't due to her wounds.
'She shouldn't have tried to requip like that, it was too much of a risk and she panicked like that. I'd never would have thought I'd see Erza make a mistake like that' said Gray as he folded his arms.
'Hey! The match ain't over yet! Erza! Get up and beat the crap out of him!' yelled out Natsu, catching her attention.
'Come on Erza! you can do it!' added Lucy.
'Natsu.. Lucy..' whispered Erza as she looked at her team cheering out for her.
'Don't tell me that's all you've got!? Come on Erza! I know you're a lot stronger than that!' yelled out Cole, clenching his fist with lightning, catching her attention, along with the rest of the guild mates.
'Cole..of.. of course.. you're.. right..' mumbled Erza as she stood up and tightened her fist. Baccus gave a smile as he turned around and looked at her.'Erza dusted off her clothes and wiped off the blood on her face.
'This ends now!' she said, as she was about to re-quip into a new armor, only to get interrupted by the gong, signalling the end of the round.
'Incredible! This match has turned out to be a tie, a first for this year's tournament!' exclaimed the announcer. Erza changed back to her normal attire and didn't look to happy.
'That concludes the third round of today's battle rounds, giving both Fairy Tail A and Quatro Cerberus 5 points each' said Mr Yajima, right after which the contestants left the arena.
'See, what did I tell ya? They're getting really lucky, if it wasn't for the timer, Baccus would have had this in the bag' said Sting in a confident tone. 'Your assumptions do make a lot of sense' replied Rufus.
'I already told you guys not to worry about those Fairy Tail losers, I mean come on, our team is definitely the best' added Lector confidently.
'Oh well, you win some you lose some' replied Reaper as he stretched himself out of laziness.
'But our goal is to win, and that's what we're gonna have to do, if we have to keep Master Jiemma happy' replied Yukino.
'I couldn't care less' said Reaper as he cracked his knuckles and looked around.
'Hey, Erza.. don't be so hard on yourself' said Wendy as Erza sat down and looked upset.
'I'd rather not speak of what happened out there' she replied as she looked at her.
'Look on the bright side, we did get 5 points in the end' said Lucy in an attempt to cheer her up.
'Those 5 points could have easily been 10, all because of one mistake I let my guild down' she replied while staring at the ground.
'There's a long way to go in this tournament, so don't lose hope yet' said Gray.
'Yeah, and by the way, what were you gonna re-quip to during the last minute?' asked Natsu curiously.
'It's a secret I'm not willing to disclose, you'll all come to know about it the time comes' she replied with a bold look.
'Do you think she would have won if she had more time?' asked Gajeel.
'Don't know, all I could see was Baccus being pretty comfortable out there, so in a way she got lucky' replied Laxus.
'Either Baccus has grown a lot in strength.. or' said Juvia. 'Or Erza's gotten rusty' added Laxus.
*Probably did, she didn't look like she was at her peak out there* Cole wondered as he looked at her.
'Ladies and Gentlemen, the time has come for the final matchup for Day 2 of the Grand Magic Games!' said the announcer, soon after which everyone turned their attention towards the giant screen.
'It's gonna be Yukino Agria vs Kagura Mikazuchi!' exclaimed the announcer, right after which the crowd cheered loud, as one of the members of Sabertooth was up next.
'Go break a leg Yukino' said Reaper with a confident smile as he patted her back. Yukino didn't respond and simply walked away from the pavilion, towards the arena.
'Kagura huh, that name does ring a bell' said Reaper, soon after which he seemed a bit surprised, as Kagura stepped into the arena.
'Of course... (Reaper gets a flashback of his fight with Kagura, which he almost lost)'.
'Yukino's got this in the bag! it's gonna be 10 points for us baby!' said Lector confidently.
'Hey, this Yukino looks a lot like you don't you think?' Cole asked as he looked at her and Ursa simultaneously.
'That's because.. she's my cousin..' replied Ursa in a faint tone.
'Your cousin?!' exclaimed Cole, soon after which he remembered Ursa talking about her long ago.
'Yeah, I was so happy to see her, but.. I'm too scared, what if she doesn't recognize me?' said Ursa with tears flowing down her eyes.
'She probably does, you just need to go and talk to her' said Laxus as he kept his hand on her shoulder.
'You really think so?' asked Ursa as she felt uplifted by their words. Soon their conversation was interrupted as the gong was struck.
As the battle starts, Yukino first greets Kagura and says that they should also make a bet like the rest of the battle participants of the second day have done, to which Kagura replies that she has no interest in casual bets. Yukino replies that they should bet something more serious then, and proposes they wager their lives, to which Kagura agrees.
Yukino then starts the battle by using her Celestial Spirit Magic to summon the Paired Fish, Pisces, much to the surprise of Lucy Heartfilia and the likes of Happy. The two fishes rush towards Kagura from two different angles, but Kagura manages to dodge them by jumping. Seeing this, Yukino opens the gate of the Heavenly Scales, Libra, and the audience are shocked to see that she is able to summon two Spirits at once.
'No way?! She can summon two spirits at once? How can she still be standing after using that much power?!' exclaimed Lucy. Yukino then orders Libra to alter the gravity of Kagura by the use of Gravity Change, while Pisces wraps around Kagura and heads for a direct attack. Kagura, however, uses the same Magic to nullify the increase of gravity on her and dodges Pisces attack by jumping again.
'Ain't no way Kagura is gonna lose this one, she taught me all I needed to know about Gravity Magic' said Riley with a confident tone.
'Damn, she's stronger than before' thought Reaper as he kept a keen eye over her moves.
'I shall not spare the life of someone who sides with evil' said Kagura, surprising Yukino as she watched her land.
'What do you mean? I have no idea what you're talking about!' replied Yukino, soon after which she opened the 13th gate. As Kagura grabs the hilt of her sword and charges towards Yukino, Yukino opens the gate of the Snake Charmer, summoning Ophiuchus. Kagura continues her charge -now with Ophiuchus in the way- and prepares to use "The Blade of Resentment", Archenemy, which quickly cuts the giant serpent into four without the need of unsheathing it. With this, she manages to get face to face with Yukino and attacks her with her Style of the Undrawn Long Sword. As Yukino was lying on the ground, Kagura approached her with her sword. Yukino prepared for the worst, but watched as Kagura withdrew her sword, ending the battle.
'That concludes the final match of today's Grand Magic Games!' exclaimed the announcer.
'This match has given Team Mermaid Heel 10 points, while Team Sabertooth has been left out with 0 points. It might as well not be their day today, considering the close finish we had during the big race' added Mr Yajima.
'Well that's it for today folks!' said the announcer, soon after which the points table was displayed on the big screen.
'If you bet your life on something, make sure you work for it, be glad I spared your life' said Kagura as she took her sword and began to walk away. Yukino stood up from the ground and walked away in disappointment.
'Damn, master Jiemma doesn't look so happy right now' said Sting as he looked at him sitting in the crowd. Reaper turned his head and looked at Jiemma. 'I guess we're gonna get one hell of a lecture today' added Lector soon after. Reaper stood up and cracked his knuckles as he looked around.
'It's just a stupid game, come on' added Reaper as he turned around and looked at their faces.
'The master tends to take the reputation of the guild pretty seriously, something you wouldn't understand' replied Rufus.
'What do you mean huh?' asked Reaper with a slightly louder tone.
'All I'm saying is that Yukino has disappointed her guild, it's pretty shameful' replied Rufus, soon after which Reaper lifted him up by his collar and charged his other fist in anger, only to get interrupted by Sting separating them.
'It's how things work Reaper! There is no place for the weak!' replied Rufus as he held his neck. Reaper didn't reply back, and turned around to get a glimpse of Cole talking to his guild members.
'I hope she's alright..' mumbled Ursa as she felt concerned over what had happened to Yukino.
'Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be fine, you win some and lose some, at the end of the day it's just a game don't you think?' replied Cole in order to cheer her up.
'Yeah, you're right..' replied Ursa with a smile.
Hey everyone, Evil Cole here, it's been two months and I know how painfully long it has been for me to post an update to this series .The thing is, I had been pretty busy with all the applications to different universities (Thankfully I got admitted to one and have started classes). Now that things have turned back to normal (Almost), I decided the fact that it was time for me to resume the series, after a long and unintended break. Although it won't be like last time, that is, me posting a new chapter almost daily, I'll make sure atleast one chapter is posted every Sunday, starting from here you all for your patience~
Also guys, feel free to PM me , asking anything related to this, or just to talk. :)
Kudos~