AN: Thank you Goku275, AliceCullen3, and manu. Also, manu, I do not know what you mean by 'history,' but I am not interested in writing a story about those ships.
"Ice Make: Shield!" shouted Lyon, hastily constructing a barrier between himself and Gray. The battle had turned against him very quickly, all because of the Fairy's new magic.
"Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction Bow!" yelled Gray, letting loose an arrow of purple ice. The projectile pierced Lyon's defense and struck the Lamia in the chest, bursting into a spiky clump of ice. Lyon fell to the ground, defeated.
This outcome was to be expected, given an Ice Devil Slayer's immunity to standard Ice Magic and Lyon's refusal to attack Juvia. Although, not everybody present was aware of how inevitable the Lamia's defeat was.
"Lyon!" cried Sherria, distraught. She turned away from her fight with Juvia, which proved to be a mistake.
"Water Nebula!" exclaimed Juvia. Two waves of water formed around her opponent, spinning in a helix shape as they blasted the god slayer skyward. "Water Slicer!"
With a watery slash, Juvia finished off the airborne Sherria. As the god slayer fell to the ground, the Fairy turned toward her teammate, beaming.
"We did it, my Gray!" cheered Juvia as she hugged/tackled the shirtless Ice Mage.
"How… lovely…" murmured Sherria as the last of her consciousness faded.
+2 points for Fairy Tail A.
Kama swung his scythes at Erza in an X pattern, which the Fairy blocked with her katanas. He twisted to avoid her follow-up slash, which still left a shallow cut on his torso.
"How does Titania still have so much strength?" wondered the Garou Knight, frowning. "She suffered numerous injures defeating the leader of Mermaid Heel, yet it feels as if she is more powerful than when we clashed during the team battles! Could she have realized…"
During their fight, Erza's strength had skyrocketed the moment that Lucy was injured by Neppa. One of the Celestial Spirit Mages from Fairy Tail who was currently imprisoned in Mercurius.
As he weathered a flurry of strikes, gaining several more cuts in the process, Kama grimaced. "How did she figure it out? When? Does anybody else… Wait! None of her guildmates are in the audience today! Mercurius has been infiltra—"
Taking advantage of his distraction, Erza ducked under the swing of Kama's scythes. As she rose, the Fairy struck his hands with the hilts of her blades, knocking away the Garou Knight's weapons. Erza then returned the katana in her right hand to storage and punched Kama square in the face.
"Argh!" he choked out. It felt as if a miniature train had just rammed into him with the force of a regular-sized train moving at full speed. Stars filled his vision as the world around him blurred.
A moment later, a shock of agony ran through his back as he collided with a pillar. The pain was too much for Kama, and he ended up blacking out. In his last moment of consciousness, he heard Erza whisper something, though he was too disoriented to make out her words.
"That was for Lucy and Yukino."
+5 points for Fairy Tail A.
Laxus and Jura exchanged devastating punches, with the former's coated in lightning. The Fairy ended this clash, though, by delivering a strike to his foe so blindingly charged with electricity that the people in the audience had to avert their eyes.
"I am astonished," stated Jura after the lightning faded, noticeably worse for wear. For his part, Laxus was panting heavily after using such powerful magic. "This is one of the most impassioned fights I've had in these past several years. You are a monster, just like they all say."
"Natsu… what was it he always says at a time like this?" muttered Laxus to himself. Memories of the Fire Dragon Slayer, who used to be much weaker than him, flowed through the Fairy's mind. While being surpassed may have frustrated his former self, the current Laxus — the one who existed thanks to Natsu and the others — was simply excited.
Now, it was his turn to struggle and grow, never giving up until he reached his goals.
"I'm all fired up!" declared the dragon slayer with a grin.
"Come at me," replied Jura, smiling just as broadly. "We'll do this until one of us reaches his limits!"
Lucy, Millianna, Minerva, Sorano, Yukino, and the five Exceeds moved through Mercurius as quickly as possible, only pausing to hide as guards passed by. They went completely undetected, at least until they exited a hallway and found themselves in a room with…
"So my hunch was correct. You Fairies discovered the truth and infiltrated Mercurius to rescue your comrades. Although, the fact that you are working with a criminal from Oración Seis is something of a surprise."
…Arcadios and his Cherry Blossom Holy Knight Squadron, all armed and prepared to fight.
"That seems like a lot of manpower for a mere hunch," observed Minerva as she and the others recovered from their surprise. "What tipped you off?"
"It seemed strange that nobody from Fairy Tail — a guild infamous for its strong bonds — attempted to visit Lucy and Yukino yesterday," explained Arcadios. "Seeing nobody from your guild in the audience added to my suspicion, and the sheer intensity with which your guildmates struck at the Garou Knights pushed me to act on my theory."
Sorano snorted. "Well, your decision was pointless. I have a decent understand of how strong this kingdom's knights are from when you tried to kidnap my sister a few days ago, so I know that you aren't strong enough to stop us."
"You're probably right," admitted Arcadios. "As much as it pains me to say, you five ladies and your cats could defeat my entire squadron with ease. However, our goal isn't to defeat you."
This caused Sorano and the Fairies to pause. If stopping them wasn't Arcadios's goal, then what could it be?
"In addition to my knights and I, Princess Hisui and a small contingent of guards departed from the Domus Flau," stated Arcadios. "The princess has gone to the Eclipse Gate, in order to open it and kill Zeref. So, you see, our goal here is merely to buy her enough time to complete the Eclipse Project, no matter the cost."
The girls and Exceeds gasped. If the gate opened, then things would unfold just as F-Blaze said and countless people would die. Worse, it was clear that Arcadios and his squadron were too devoted to their mission to listen to any explanation.
It would be a fight, against both the knights and the clock.
"Let go already!" Gray yelled at Juvia. She had been hugging him long enough that it would have been uncomfortable even if the hug had been mutual. "We're still on a battlefield, for crying out loud!"
"Fine…" said Juvia, pouting as she released her grip. "But I will never let go of my feelings for you, my beloved Gray."
Gray sighed, rubbing his temples. "Juvia, plea—"
Before the devil slayer could finish his thought, he and his teammate felt a crushing weight bear down on them.
"Terrain Effect: Gravity Zone!" laughed Uosuke. The Garou Knight was sitting on the roof of a nearby building, his feet dangling off the edge. "Looks like I caught you two."
"Grr…" growled Juvia, growing angrier with each of Uosuke's laughs. It didn't take long before she snapped. "How dare you! Don't you look down on my Gray like that!"
With that, the Fairy transformed her body into water and shot at the Garou Knight. Before she could make it to him, though, Juvia found herself subjected to another of his spells.
"Aaaaahhh!" screamed Juvia as her liquid body began to bubble and steam. She reverted to her flesh-and-blood self, crashing back down to the ground due to the still-increased gravity.
"Terrain Effect: Boiling Water Zone," stated Uosuke, still chuckling. Juvia did not respond, barely conscious and groaning in pain. "I knew you would fall for my taunt… hook, line, and sinker! I've heard about love making a person stupid, but you take it to a whole new lev—"
The Garou Knight was forced to break off his insults and move as a hammer made of ice slammed down where he was sitting. He turned to look at his remaining opponent.
"Don't you look down on Juvia like that!" yelled Gray, furious. Despite still being inside Uosuke's Gravity Zone, he was standing tall. He brought his hands together. "Ice-Make: Ice Cannon!"
A cannon formed in the Fairy's hands, firing dense balls of ice at Uosuke. The Garou Knight moved to avoid these projectiles, getting clipped in the right leg by one. The amusement was gone from his face.
"It's time to turn up the heat!" shouted Uosuke, irritated. He dispelled his Gravity Zone to put his full strength into his next spell. "Terrain Effect: Lava Zone!"
The ground cracked as lava erupted from it. Uosuke, still on the rooftops, was safe. Gray, however, was…
"I've felt hotter!"
…Perfectly fine. Using his Ice Devil Slayer Magic, he froze the area around himself and Juvia (now passed out), lava and all. Still burning with rage, Gray gave the Garou Knight a look that could kill.
"Ice Devil's Rage!"
"Terrain Effect: Hot Wind Zone!"
As a stream of purple ice surged toward Uosuke, he attempted to defend himself. Except, Gray's spell cut through the combined heat of the wind and the remaining lava like it was nothing. The attack hit the Garou Knight dead-on and he was sent flying. When Uosuke eventually landed, he did not get back up.
Gray walked over to his fallen comrade as the Terrain Effects faded. He gave her a light pat on the head before leaving. A smile bloomed on Juvia's unconscious face.
+1 point for Garou Knights, +1 point for Fairy Tail A. Team Garou Knights eliminated.
"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Roaring Thunder!" bellowed Laxus, striking Jura with his fist and unleashing a flood of lightning upon the Lamia.
Jura fell on his back, blackened and smoky. "You got me."
The crowd roared with applause at the Fairy's victory, although Laxus didn't pay much attention to them. Instead, he looked at the scoreboard and thought about what was next.
"Good," said the dragon slayer to himself. "Our scores are close enough for that."
+5 points for Fairy Tail B. Team Lamia Scale eliminated.
The five remaining competitors all met up in an open area, one not yet damaged by the fighting.
"It appears that, despite some complications, our plan succeeded," stated Erza.
"That's an understatement" commented Gray, still a bit bitter. "Juvia, Gajeel, and Rogue were all eliminated. And by the Garou Knights at that."
"At least we still won in the end," said Wendy, trying to cheer up her teammate. As she spoke, she healed Erza and Gray of their injuries.
"Yeah," agreed Natsu. "Besides, even with the handicap of two-on-three, we'll still beat you."
"Actually, I was thinking about that," interjected Laxus, drawing the others' attention. He turned to Natsu and spoke "Since the scores of our two teams are close enough and everyone on Team A is a member of your team, I think I'll drop out and let you handle them by yourself."
Natsu's eyes widened, and a broad grin broke out on his face. "Really? Awesome! I owe you one, Laxus!"
"You better win, though," added the Lightning Dragon Slayer with a stern look on his face. "Because there's no way in hell I'm doing whatever Team A says for a full day!"
"You bet I will! I'm all fired up!"
With that, Laxus left the battlefield, officially withdrawing from the competition. The remaining four Fairies locked eyes and prepared to fight. The final battle of the X791 Grand Magic Games was about to begin.
+1 point for Fairy Tail A.
Current Rankings
1st: Fairy Tail A, 60 points. 3 members remaining — Erza (Leader), Gray, Wendy.
2nd: Fairy Tail B, 55 points. 1 member remaining — Natsu (Leader).
3rd: Garou Knights, 45 points. 0 members remaining.
4th: Lamia Scale, 43 points. 0 members remaining.
5th: Blue Pegasus, 42 points. 0 members remaining.
6th: Mermaid Heel, 39 points. 0 members remaining.
7th: Quattro Puppy, 15 points. 0 members remaining.
Omake
Kagura watched in wonder as Erza fought Kama. Despite how drained and injured she must have been, Titania was more than a match for the Garou Knight.
"As expected of my big sister," thought the Mermaid, her previous fury forgotten. Then, realizing her choice of words, Kagura blushed. "I-I mean, as expected of the woman who beat me and is like a big sister to me! W-wait! That's still…"
Her thoughts continued on like this until Kama's defeat snapped her out of it. Thankfully for Kagura, nobody noticed her minor freak-out.
AN: And then there were two… teams. By the way, is it sad that I only realized that Gray's Ice Devil Slayer Magic made Lyon into easy picking after I started writing this chapter? Or is it funny? Or maybe both?
Whatever the case, goodbye for now!