This chapter's song is I Can't Stop by Flux Pavilion.

Jason starts the next match with a cry of, "Go!" and letting Jenny and Orion fight.

I'd be paying close attention to this, normally, mostly because Orion is one of my best assassins and I love supporting my Family, but in an unexpected burst and drain of my magical power, several Zodiac spirits come through their gates.

First of them all is Leo, who is quickly accompanied by Virgo, Gemini, Aries, Sagittarius, Taurus, Scorpio, Capricorn and Cancer. Those who participated in Lucy's battle yesterday are still injured, and I can feel my magic being the only thing from stopping them from both excruciating pain and vanishing back into the Celestial Spirit realm.

"WHY WOULD YOU HURT LUCY?" yells Leo, Regulus powering up in his fists.

"Calm down, Leo. You cannot hurt me and you know it." I say dismissively, examining him with my eyes in a tired fashion. Leo, ever since his other key has been possessed by Lucy Heartfilia, is extremely protective of her. When I battled her some time ago, he was not pleased at all. This time, it wasn't even me.

"No, but we can hurt your Family." he spits the last word, as if that will correct any hurt feelings he has over his beloved Lucy getting hurt by Morrigan. (83)

So far, he's the only one that has spoken, but I think that he's the most angry. The others wouldn't really hold much or a grudge against anyone hurting their Lucy if it is in the name of battle, not even Horologium, who is probably so damaged he'll likely only be fully healed in a month, their time. (84)

I'm about to respond again, when I hear a, "KO!" from Jason.

I push aside Leo to look at the field, and find Jenny still standing while Orion is twitching on the ground.

I guess the other spirits don't think this is such a bright idea as most of them vanish with poofs of magic, and only Leo and Virgo remain.

"Apologize to our Hime." she demands, her eyes attempting to pierce me.

I look at the both of them, and narrow my eyes. Both are determined, however, and, as punishment, I cut off my flow of magic to them, causing them to vanish in Forced Gate Closures. I would punish them, but what good would that do? Not very much, especially considering how long I have possessed their keys, and exactly how long I will continue to do so.

Sighing in annoyance, I sit down again, both agitated and irritated, waiting for the next match, between Eve and Morrigan to start.

Morrigan's POV

"The next battle will be Eve Tearm of Blue Pegasus against Morrigan!"

Glaring up at the box, I sighed at the name, then, just as I did last time, cast off my cloak to Hugo. The raven had been my loyal partner since I accidentally killed him when we were mere kids, pushing him from a tree. The dove had turned black the minute I bound Hugo's soul to it. My skin, once golden, turned near-white and hasn't changed tone since.

Hugo was my younger brother; and my ability to bind souls to other living animals was one that not even Listener knew about. I dislike keeping such a secret, but I believe it to be for the better.

Now, across from me and looking up at my brother is a young blonde. I know he uses snow magic from his first-round fight, but little else; so I must step with caution.

"Eve Tearm!" I called, smirking. "I cannot see the end of this battle. You must be worthy if you can last more than five minutes."

He just crouched a little, readying himself. Under me, wind swirled, lifting me in the air as snow began drifting around him. As soon as I heard the battle begin, I decided to take a less magical approach to this fight.

I reached out, my sword appearing in my right hand.

"White Out!" Eve yelled, and the temperature dropped as snow swirled into the arena. Feeling the metal quickly growing colder in my hand, I summoned a swirl of warm wind from above, the air around me was heated, and I swung my sword at the young Trimen, who dodged.

The metal blade slammed against the stone and, with a thundering ring, my sword cracked and exploded.

The entire world seemed to stop in that moment. I had fought with that sword since before I joined up with Listener, cleaned it every night, sharpened the edge whenever it dulled. I had kept that sword since I first led Hugo on a journey, running from our hometown.

And this... this brat... Just broke it.

A powerful wind blasted out around me, knocking Eve off his feet. The blonde seemed... I couldn't describe it. I heard someone shout to 'get out of there.' Eyes flashing, I recognized the emotion finally: he was fearful. Terrified, even.

As he should be.

I'll put the damn brat in the infirmary's ICU if I have to resort to clawing his eyes out myself.

Listener's POV

I pity that man in the arena against Morrigan. He might be powerful, but he's got a strong possibility of dying out there. I don't know if I should try and stop it before it starts or not. Hopefully, Morrigan can just injure him. I don't care what she does, as long as she doesn't kill him. Injure him enough so that he almost dies, sure, but anything more than that and I'll have to intervene.

I hope she knows that.

Oh, wait, she's Morrigan. Of course she does.

I am regretting the limitation, though, but I don't think she'll really care, mostly because we can kill him later, if she really wishes.

I cringe with every impact, and boy are they loud. Her fury is not one to be tested.

Minutes later, though, Morrigan has injured Eve to the point of intensive care, and everyone is thinking she might just continue. I'm not even sure what she's going to do, but it'll be close either way.

Finally, she lets up, and, nearly vibrating with energy, she stops, still glaring at his unmoving body.

Everyone leans in to try and see if he's alive. Eve gives a tiny groan, letting us know he's still kicking (85) and the crowd gives out a sigh of relief. Morrigan glares at him some more, then walks off to the team quarters, probably to go punch some equipment through the wall. I hope she can reconjure that hatred tomorrow; I suspect she'll need it.

Meanwhile, her sword is still in pieces down there, along with Eve, whose carefully being picked up and carried to the infirmary by Jenny, whose relatively unscathed even after tumbling with Orion.

Using Telekinesis, I bring up the pieces, and lay them down carefully to one side on a table, already thinking about how to reforge it into a whole sword again. She'll be happy about that.

Next battle is between Cobra and Sting. I watch as Morrigan approaches the Dragon Slayer, saying to him, "Kick his ass." in encouragement.

I smile, and settle in with a gobletful of blood for the battle. Considering how well Cobra performed against Natsu last round, Sting will be beaten to a pulp when Cobra's done with him.

I wince yet again before smiling as Cobra slams Sting into the ground, sending vibrations into the floor of the stadium, the ice long melted, and I smile yet again as the White Dragon Slayer cannot get back up.

"Cobra wins!" Jason states into the microphone, and I believe he's finally realizing that we are winning everything possible, so you might as well cheer for the winners.

"Next up is Nightshade and Minerva!" he says, and I look at the people waiting for the battle to begin.

It will be a tense battle.

The battle starts, and Minerva immediately unleashes her Territory magic, teleporting some rubble directly over Nightshade's head. Smirking, Nightshade summons her magic up, and tentacles sprout from the ground, holding up the rocks, then flinging them at Minerva. Her shocked expression at the fact that there were tentacles that weren't there a second ago is priceless.

She's almost buried under piles of rubble, had she not teleported away. Her movements are tracked, however, and as soon as she sets down, she's seized by tentacles from Nightshade's magic. Her visor glints in the sunlight, the black ebony enchanted piece completely blocking her eyes and her sight. Minerva, taking in the appearance of her opponent, seems shocked at both her choice of apparel and her magic.

Nightshade is wearing her hair in two pigtails at the back of her head, held in form with twin ponytail holders, longer than normal to keep them in place and at her back. A few strands still linger at the front of her face, but don't seem to bother her, as the visor probably indicates. The accessory is held in place by her ears, pointed and dangling with gems. A choker collar necklace with spikes on it encircles her neck. Accompanying it is a small covering from her neck to her breasts, which covers her back slightly, in black and gray, providing a small window for her cleavage, on display from the armor that covers her midsection and her chest. The shorts, black and red, expose her thighs down to her knee high boots, black leather. A belt, dark brown and accented red, is on her waist; she's got enough supplies for anything. Her right arm is adorned with a small black band, circling her bicep and tricep. Her hands on both sides are in fingerless gauntlets, bordered red at the ends nearest her torso. A smile on her lips ensures that the Territory mage opposite her is terrified.

Minerva, on her part, teleports herself out of the tentacles' hold, only a little worse for the wear. Her previously chic and whole boots are torn already, and her dress, revealing as it may have been, is now dangerously close to exposing her. The only thing not messed up about her appearance is her hair. (86)

"How are you able to do that?" Minerva asks, probably hoping to confuse her opponent.

"Simple. I have sensory magic." She replies, and throws her fist backwards, hitting Minerva as she teleports to directly behind Nightshade.

"Nothing surprises me." she continues, slamming her body down, swiping her legs around and tripping Minerva. The Territory mage goes down as Nightshade rights herself, spawning tentacles and suspending Minerva in the air, pulling her limbs as far apart as she could, even twisting some out of their sockets, making Minerva scream in pain.

"Are you ready to give up yet?" Nightshade says, her arms crossed and looking at her opponent with satisfaction.

Minerva's face contorts in humiliation, and she teleports again, tearing off Nightshade's visor and tumbling away from her opponent, triumphantly holding it up before the crowd.

Nightshade immediately gasps, her magic flaring out as her hand goes to cover her eyes. (87)

Everyone on our team exchanges glances, and then Morrigan leads the applause for Minerva.

"Great job, numbskull! You've ensured defeat. Your humiliating, awful, painful, defeat." she yells, and starts slow clapping.

Minerva looks sideways at the section of the crowd yelling and cheering, and then again at the visor. One more glance up at where Nightshade is seems to terrify her, and Nightshade tackles her, slamming both of them into the ground, but Minerva switches their positions through teleportation, and explodes the ground beneath her.

Unfortunately for Minerva, tentacles reach up, catching Nightshade while, again, restraining Minerva, holding her up and shaking her upside down. The skirt of her dress flips down, just barely covering her parts, and Nightshade stands up, the back of her armor scorched from the explosion. Her hair almost covers her eyes, and the mage pulls back her bangs, hiding her eyes with the same hand. The other takes ahold of Minerva's head, pulling it to look at her.

"You wanted to see my eyes?" Nightshade states, forcing her opponent to gaze into them.

Minerva almost instantly starts screaming, as Nightshade doesn't break eye contact as she conjures up a sword. Slashing this way and that, the blade almost dances across Minerva's flesh, carving into her with precision until Nightshade felt that is enough. Bringing out a dagger, she sets herself the task of carving the Black Hand into Minerva's stomach, just barely breaking the skin, but with enough pressure to make sure that it will scar. The blood flows from the previous cuts down to Minerva's head, with her choking on her own blood and the visual contact between the two is broken.

The rest of the team from the Black Hand sits in almost terrified awe, as Kessie eats popcorn. "You didn't need foresight to see this coming." she says, and offers the bag of popcorn around. "Popcorn, anyone?"

Several people, including Morrigan, take the offer, as Kessie conjures up a bag of popcorn for everyone, regardless of their answer. Morrigan tosses the popcorn, kernel by kernel, into the air, with her magic guiding it into her mouth. She snacks on the tasty treat as she nods her head in agreement with Kessie. "Indeed, the moment that Minerva took away Nightshade's visor, she sealed her fate."

The carving done, Nightshade puts away the dagger, instead bringing out a whip while backing up a bit for proper room. Lashes arrive on Minerva's skin, making it raise itself in welts and go from red from blood to red from both heat and the whip's strike. The whip marks her all over, tearing off much of Minerva's clothes and revealing almost everything she has to the world. She's crying from the pain, and the Saber Tooth guild is roaring for her to stop.

I tilt my head to the side. Minerva's actually not close to death; a whip is used for torture for a very specific reason. It doesn't really allow people to die when it's used on them, unlike a battleaxe. (88)

Nightshade is, however, dangerously close to losing control, which I can recognize after years of being around her.

I signal Jason, who announces immediately, "Nightshade wins!" in an effort to stop her.

A few moments later, the whip stills, and Nightshade, panting, lets it disappear, as well as the tentacles holding Minerva in place. She drops unceremoniously to the floor, and groans.

Good. She's alive.

Nightshade takes one last look at her bleeding body, as Minerva's guildmates run out onto the field to help her. Nightshade turns around, and exits the stadium, before flashing a one eyed look up at my box. The green eye is unmistakable, but hopefully Bickslow wasn't paying attention.

Everyone is shocked about the outcome and events of the last battle, except for our family members, who, I am told by Morrigan, started taking bets on how long Nightshade would torture Minerva. (89)(90)

Jason, desperate to get the conversation away from this, starts the next match. "It's Ortelloth against Gajeel of Fairy Tail! Stay to watch the climactic battle of the Iron Dragon Slayer versus the person who took down Jura the Wizard Saint!"

Unfortunately for Ortelloth, her eruption magic doesn't quite work against Gajeel's metal. She just ends up hurrying her own defeat by pulling it out of his body.

Midnight is facing down Rocker, next, and after that is Rogue and Racer, and the last battle is slated to be Millianna and Vidaldus, but Arana is still there, and we can't have her working with someone against one of mine.

I spend the majority of the remaining battles trying to figure out who she could fight that hasn't fought today, or been eliminated. Finally, as Vidaldus strikes the last blow on Millianna, slamming her into the walls of the stadium, which she slid off of without getting back up, I think up a solution.

I run out the doors to get to Jason's box as soon as I can, and tell him who Arana is facing.

He shrugs, then turns around and announces that she will be fighting.

On the field, I pull out a soul gem made of onyx, and watch Arana enter the field across from me. Making a conjuration spell focus on the object in my hands, I murmur an enchantment. "Solvo unus anima continentur intra hoc gemma."

After a few seconds, a sort of smoke exits the container, taking the form of a lanky man with animal traits and a sinister grin on his face.

He turns to face me, asking, "If I do your bidding, I'm free to go, right?"

"Once you defeat that woman, yes." I nod towards Arana on the opposite side of the stadium.

The gem is back where it's supposed to belong as I exit, watching what's happening on the field. Jackal is sizing up his prey, then smiling again as people everywhere look confused at the appearance of the demon. (91)

I hurry back to the private box to watch Jackal use his curse power to hit Arana with a powerful kick in the stomach, his skin so hot that it burns away any threads that dare to touch him.

I watch from my throne as everyone looks on at the sight of a demon beating up a member of Mermaid Heel, especially so easily.

After about 5 minutes, Arana cannot get back up, and Jason announces that Jackal wins. As soon as that's done, Jackal turns to face me, and I nod, releasing him from his confinement. The former demon disappears, and everyone looks around confused, even the team members.

Bickslow peeks at me, and then opens his mouth to ask me, only to be cut off by Jason.

"The victors of today's matches are Noctus, Jenny, Morrigan, Cobra, Nightshade, Gajeel, Midnight, Rogue, and Vidaldus!" the excited announcer nearly screams into his microphone.

And with that, it's the end of the second day of the Grand Magic Games.

Bickslow asks me as we're walking back to the palace, at a calm pace with a fur muff warming my hands. (92)

"How did you get Jackal there?" he asks, watching my expression. We keep walking, although I look ahead, before glancing at his own face.

I laugh. "There is still much magic that you do not know about in this world. I kept the demon souls from the Book of Zeref that I encountered, after the whole Tartaros guild thing that occured a couple of years ago. I thought it would be worthwhile to capture their souls, in the event that I ever needed to use them. They've definitely come in handy now." I explain, and he nods, swallowing the explanation.

"Why didn't you stop Nightshade?" he questions once we're at the palace gates.

"A whip won't really kill someone, that's why it's preferred as a torture weapon. The welts raised by the hits can't kill someone, although if she had kept up with the knife, I would have had to, eventually. I didn't want to do that, in any case, just like how I didn't want to intervene with Mirajane and Noctus, but I did. Do you have any more questions?" I ask him in turn, and he remains silent, so I take that as a no.

Hopefully the next day is eventful, much like this one has been.

The next day, as always, starts with a challenge, letting the people wonder who will be facing who later on in the same day.

"Today, instead of everyone competing, only a select few will! We need volunteers of three from each side for a water-based challenge!" Jason states, and almost immediately Morrigan steps out of the line up, as does Midnight and Vidaldus. On the other side, out step Levy, Erza, and Rogue.

"Contestants, please change into a swimsuit!"

83- His obsession with her doesn't even make any sense. She is a Mate to a Dragon Slayer, and has been for some time. He should move on, but, of course, he isn't exactly the sharpest guy ever. 84- Remember how long a simple night is there? 85- Metaphorically. He's in no place to be kicking right now. I think Morrigan broke his leg. That's the least of his injuries, though. 86- I love her hairstyle, so much. How does she do that? It's so elegant. So chic. So lovely. Oh, wait, she's an enemy. Shucks. 87- She seriously hates them. 88- Long story. Torture victims with gold to hide are fun to mess with. 89- This is our Family. It's quite cozy. 90- Kessie won. 91- It's not actually him. More his soul, or essence. 92- Why? Irrelevant. I love it.