Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS! Read at your own risk. There's still original stuff in here, but if you haven't gotten to this point in the anime/manga, then some things may be ruined for you. I advise catching up to the anime/manga if you haven't already (for more reasons than just reading my story)! Thank you and enjoy!

Fairy Tail—The Master and the Dragon

Chapter 112

"Hey, did you hear?"

"No, what?"

"Someone stormed into Sabertooth last night!"

"You're kidding me. Who would be crazy enough to pick a fight with Sabertooth?"

"Who knows? Though brawls happen every year, right?"

"Man, it's a festival! They need to do this stuff in public!"

Yukino froze. The idle chatter of a small group of people in the crowd had shocked her. 'Sabertooth…was attacked? It couldn't be…Mr. Natsu?' A smile crept onto her face. Her cheeks flushed a rosy pink. "Don't tell me he did it for me?"


The fanfare within Domas Flau was just as electric as the first two days.

"Here we are—the halfway point of the Grand Magic Games! Let's start the third day!"

At Chapati's announcement, the crowd roared. With all the excitement and surprises from the first two days, the cheers were louder than ever. The energy of the crowd was identical to that of the announcers. They couldn't conceal their joy even if they wanted to.

"I wonder what kind of passionate dramas we'll see today?" Yajima wondered.

"Our guest for today is Mr. Lahar from the Magic Council!" Chapati introduced.

Yajima smiled at his former colleague. "It's been quite a long time, hasn't it, Lahar?"

Lahar returned the smile and bowed his head in respect. "Yes it has, Mr. Yajima. Thank you for this opportunity."

"Mr. Lahar, you're the Captain of the Custody Enforcement Unit, correct?"

"Yes, that is correct. And I won't stand for any shenanigans during the tournament."

"That's the Captain for you! He never forgets his duties!"

The crowd laughed at Lahar's light-hearted joke.

Nikolias frowned and huffed. "Great. What the hell is someone from the Council doing here?" he growled.

Ash raised an eyebrow. "You have a beef with them or something?"

"Beef? No. They're just pricks," Nikolias replied.

Ash sweatdropped. "That…sounds like beef."

Sky cutely held up her fists. "If Nikolias doesn't like them, then I don't either."

Nikolias put a hand on her head. "Very wise, Sky. Very wise."


From below the stands, Doranbolt patrolled the concourse with a less than enthusiastic expression. "Damn it, Lahar. Why'd you force me to come here?"

His thoughts went back to a couple of months ago, when Lahar had informed him that he had been invited to the Grand Magic Games as a guest and then promptly told him to accompany him. Doranbolt had tried to refuse, but Lahar's words had kept him silent.

"You want to see Fairy Tail alive and well, don't you? Don't you wonder about them?"

Doranbolt frowned as he recalled those words. He tried to refuse by claiming that the way he was now, he wasn't worthy of worrying about them. But Lahar had predicted his words before he had even gotten to speak them.

"You're still hung up on what happened seven years ago, aren't you? About your perception that you abandoned Fairy Tail. But you know, in spite of what occurred, they're looking forward. The only one dragged down and trapped by the past is you."

Lahar's words played through his mind as he walked in silence. Suddenly, a figure running through the crowd caught his attention. A familiar head of blue hair.

"Oh no!" Wendy cried as she ran with Romeo, Happy, and Carla towards her team's section. "The match is going to start soon!"

"It's all your fault, Happy! You just had to stop for a fish-kebab at that food stand!" Carla snapped.

"I couldn't help myself! It smelled so good!" Happy purred, his cheeks stuffed with fish meat.

"Whatever! Just hurry!" Romeo shouted.

They had just ducked into the tunnel when Chapati's announcement of the next round came through the speakers.


"Now it's time to announce the competition for the third day of the Games! The event is called…Pandemonium!"

"Pandemonium?" Ash questioned with a raised eyebrow. "What's that?"

"The Capital of Demons," Mira replied. "A place where demons lurk."

Sky trembled. "So, it'll be…scary?"

"It's just a damn name," Gajeel grumbled. "Why're you freakin' out?"

"As with the other competition rounds, there will be one participant from each guild," Chapati continued with his explanation. "Everyone, please announce your representative!"

Over in Fairy Tail A Team's section, Wendy came running in. She bent forward as she tried to catch her breath. "Sorry! I'm late!"

Lucy shook her head with a smile. "No, you're right on time. We were just about to decide who was going to participate."

"I'll do it!" Natsu declared, fists clenched and a serious look on his face. "I need to continue what I started last night!"

"You don't get to just decide that on your own!" Gray snapped.

"If we're talking revenge matches, I want to do it, too!" Lucy said.

"I'll go," Erza said, her few words and tone leaving no room for debate. She turned to Natsu. "If you go out there, things may only get more complicated." She began walking forward towards the arena.

Lucy nodded. "Right! Good luck, Erza!"

"Fight hard!" Wendy cheered.

"Let me do it, damn it!" Natsu barked.

"Shut up already," Gray grumbled in annoyance.

Over in Fairy Tail B Team's section, the group began their discussion.

Nikolias put a hand to his chin. "Pandemonium…if Mira's right, it could involve a lot of intensive fighting."

"And let me guess. You nominatin' yourself?" Gajeel growled. He pointed to himself. "I wanna do somethin'. I'll take this one!"

"Are you forgetting that you participated yesterday?" Ash pointed out. She smirked teasingly. "Or wait. You just want to make up for looking sluggish?"

Gajeel ground his teeth together. "Oi!"

Nikolias turned to Gajeel. "Of course I'd willingly take this one, but that wasn't my point. For all we know, Pandemonium could simply mean 'chaos', like finding something or fighting something with your senses disoriented. If the latter ends up being true, I'd probably be the worst choice. What I'm trying to point out is that we need to think this through the best we can with what we know."

"Wow, darling. You sounded a lot like Gracie there," Angel said.

Mira placed a hand to her chest. "I'll do it."

Nikolias nodded. "Probably the safest bet for whatever's thrown at us."

"No objections here," Laxus sighed indifferently.

Gajeel clicked his tongue and looked away. "Fine. Whatever. She can do it."

"Juvia believes Mira will do splendidly," Juvia added.

"Good luck, Mira," Sky breathed.

"Kick some ass!" Ash cheered.

Over in Mermaid Heel's section, Millianna beamed when she noticed Erza walking towards the center of the arena. "Erzy's gonna do this? Yay!" She turned to Kagura. "Please, Kagura, can I go?"

Kagura nodded, arms crossed and eyes closed. "I'll allow it."

"Yippee!" Millianna cheered. She leapt nimbly over the railing, landed gently on the ground, and ran towards the center. When she reached Erza, she ran past her and called over her shoulder, "I won't lose, Erzy!"

Erza smiled warmly. "Of course."

"It looks like we have Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail A Team, Mirajane Strauss from Fairy Tail B Team, and Millianna from Mermaid Heel!" Chapati cried.

Lucy gasped when she saw Millianna. This was the first time she had seen this member of Mermaid Heel without their hood on. Seeing her face brought back memories. "It's that girl! Erza's old friend from her childhood, right?"

"I didn't know she joined a guild," Gray said.

Over in Raven Tail's section, the leader looked to Black Snake. "Don't cause trouble in front of the Council, Black Snake."

Black Snake nodded as he wordlessly stepped forward.

In Blue Pegasus's section, Hibiki offered to participate. "I'll be the rep for Pegasus."

In Sabertooth's section, Orga cracked his knuckles. "Like I said last night, I'm participating in this one. I'll use my black lightning to crush them all!"

Minerva smirked. "Really? Even though we don't know what kind of competition it is?"

Sting waved a hand. "Do what you want." He looked over at Fairy Tail A Team's section. 'If Natsu Dragneel isn't participating, I don't care.'

In Lamia Scale's section, Oba Babaasama pointed her bony, spinning finger at Jura. "Jura! Get in there and win this! And don't you lose again!"

Jura smiled and closed his eyes. "Count on me."

"And with that, all participants have been selected! Joining Erza, Mirajane, and Millianna will be Orga from Sabertooth, Jura from Lamia Scale, Hibiki from Blue Pegasus, Black Snake from Raven Tail, and Novali from Quatro Cerberus! There are your eight competitors!"

Once all eight members were in the arena, a massive dark magic circle appeared in the sky above. The entire stadium shook as a terrifying structure slowly descended from inside the magic circle. It was black in color and a faint dark mist hovered around it. What appeared to be twisted roots wrapped around the structure in places. Four towers floated around it at equal distances, held in place by heavy, thick chains. A long, sharp spire protruded from the base of the castle. From the entrance to the castle, a long ramp had already been extended.

No one could hide their shock.

"What is that?" Erza asked.

"Amazing," Millianna breathed.

Hibiki activated his Archive and began to analyze the structure.

The structure gently landed in the arena, but from its massive size a tremor still spread through the arena. In fact, the castle was so large that the entirety of it hadn't even left the magic circle.

"There it is!" Mato, the pumpkin-headed mascot, cried. Amidst the chaos of the descending castle, he had appeared in the arena to explain the rules to the competitors. "Pandemonium, a temple haunted by evil monsters!"

"It's quite large," Mira gasped.

Jura stroked his beard. "Evil monsters, you say?" he asked Mato.

"That's righte-o!" Mato said. "There are 100 monsters lurking inside of this temple. That being said, they are in actuality magical manifestations that we created, so you all can relax. There's no danger of you being attacked." He raised his hand and a small screen appeared above his palm. Displayed was a chart of sorts. "The monsters have been divided into levels based on their power; D, C, B, A, and S! This is how it breaks down."

Hibiki leaned in to study the screen. "I see. So not only have they been divided into groups based on power, but the number of monsters that appear in each group differ based on their power. So we can expect 50 monsters to be within the D-ranked level, 30 in the C-ranked level, 15 in the B-ranked level, 4 in the A-ranked level, and only 1 S-ranked monster."

"That's correct!" Mato agreed as the screen vanished. "Oh, and incidentally, if you're wondering how strong a D-class monster is…" He raised his finger and another large screen materialized, this time large enough to clearly broadcast to the whole audience.

On the screen, a large white monster could be seen lumbering through the castle. Its skin appeared metallic, like armor. A large, serrated tail waved around, and sharp, jagged teeth lined its powerful jaws. It roared and suddenly lunged towards a twisted pillar, easily demolishing it as if it were dry sand. The whole audience began to tremble.

"This monster, ones like these, and ones that are even stronger! 100 of them are wandering around inside! This is what Pandemonium is!" Mato cried.

Happy gulped. "Even though he said they're just magical manifestations, I'm sure getting attacked by one would still hurt, right?"

"I hope Erza and Mira will be okay in there," Carla prayed.

"This is quite the extravagant competition, isn't it?" Mavis gaped.

"True, though it feels like they're going a bit too far," Makarov said.

Sky shivered and grabbed onto Nikolias. "Will they…be okay?"

"That D-ranked monster is terrifying. I can't imagine what a C-class monster will be like, let alone the S-class monster," Angel said.

Nikolias narrowed his eyes. "I'll admit, this competition is more challenging than I thought. But there's no need to worry. Even an S-class monster doesn't hold a candle to Mira or Erza."

Mato continued his explanation. "Please note that as the class of monsters goes up, their fighting strength increases exponentially. In fact, the S-class monster is so strong that there's no guarantee even one of the Ten Great Wizard Saints can defeat it."

"I see," Jura said. "That is quite a powerful monster."

"In order, each of you will choose the number of monsters to battle. It's called your 'right to challenge'," Mato explained.

Erza raised an eyebrow. "Right to challenge?"

"For example, let's say the first player were to choose three monsters. Then three monsters will appear inside of the temple. The player would then enter the temple alone. If the player successfully destroys them, then they will get three points. Then the next player could challenge up to 97 of the remaining monsters. This will go on and on until there are zero monsters remaining. However, if everyone were to run out of magic power, the game will be over."

Millianna put a finger to her chin. "So it's kinda like a counting game?"

"Correct! Assessing the situation when your turn comes around becomes important! But keep in mind what I said before. These monsters are ranked. Regardless of whether you use your right to challenge one monster or five, the monsters appear randomly."

"So you need a strategy to avoid running into the S-class monster," Hibiki theorized.

Orga clicked his tongue as he shot Hibiki a sideways glance. "If it's random, having a strategy like that won't do any good."

Hibiki met his gaze with a knowing smirk. "Not at all. Between probability theory and my Archive, strategy will have some effect."

"It's worth noting that, irrespective of the monster's rank, you only get one point for each destroyed monster," Mato added. "And once inside, you also can't leave the temple until you've succeeded."

"If that's true, what happens if we're defeated by the monsters inside?" Mira questioned.

"The points you've earned during previous turns will be unaffected, but the number of points you've accrued during that turn falls to zero and you're out for the remainder of the game."

Makarov scratched his chin as he listened to the rules. "I see. So being too greedy comes with dire consequences."

"But if you only challenge one monster each turn, you'll fall behind," Happy said.

Carla put her paws on her hips. "Not only that, but you also have to consider how much magic you'll be able to recover in between your turns."

Mavis smiled. "Well then. We'll just have to see what happens with the two from our guild."

Mato held out his hands and magically a small box with lots inside appeared. "Now then! Let's decide the order! Please draw your lots."

One by one everyone pulled out one of the eight lots.

Erza looked at her lot. Magically the number "1" appeared on the tip. "I'm first."

"How lucky! That means you'll have the most chances," Mira said with a smile. She held up her lot where the number "8" had appeared. "My luck wasn't as good I'm afraid."

Erza looked up at the massive castle. "With this competition, I had assumed winning or losing depended entirely on the luck of the draw."

Mato tilted his head. "Luck of the draw? I don't know about that…More than the order of battle, pacing yourself and situational judgment are important in this game."

Erza game a small smile. "No, this isn't a game anymore."

"What do you mean?" Mato asked.

Erza walked up to the castle and stood by the long ramp. She had made her decision.

"All 100 monsters will be my opponents. I exercise my right to challenge 100!"

There was no moment of hesitation. There was no wavering. Her gaze was filled with determination. She was going to challenge all 100 of the monsters at once, and there wasn't a doubt in her mind that she would be victorious.

Competitors and audience members alike, everyone's jaws had dropped at Erza's declaration. Even the commentators were left speechless. However, while most were stunned, Natsu and Gray couldn't hold back their laughter.

"A…All 100?!" Mato stammered. "That's impossible! The game isn't set up for one person to destroy them all!"

Erza turned to him, unfazed. "I don't care. The rules don't forbid it, do they?"

Mato began to sweat. "Well…no, it's not against the rules, but…"

Erza turned forward and strode towards the beckoning ramp. "Then there isn't a problem."

Mira beamed. "Be careful in there!"

"100 monsters against just Erza," Ash muttered.

"It seems quite foolhardy to take on so many at once," Angel sighed.

Sky tugged on Nikolias's shirt. "Will she be okay?"

Nikolias smirked. "Knowing Erza? She can do it."

As Erza climbed the ramp, the haze surrounding her began to thicken. Soon, she couldn't even make out her surroundings, save for the ramp and the gaping entrance to the castle. Only the sounds of the crowd let her know they were still out there.

As she entered, the darkness intensified. A small blue light at the end of the hall was the only reason she could remotely see where she was going. She could just make out spiked pillars that evenly lined the narrow hall. Her footfalls echoed ominously in the eerily heavy air.

Once she arrived at the end of the hall, she found herself in a round room. A tall structure sat in the middle, surrounded by four torch pillars holding blue flames that provided the only source of light. The strangest part of this area, however, was the fact that there was a floor on the ceiling, complete with a red carpet and a set of stairs that led to the underside of a second-floor path. It was as if the entire room had been flipped on its head.

While Erza took in her surroundings, the audience was watching on Lacrima Vision.

Gray crossed his arms. "The inside is surprisingly big."

Lucy turned her head. "Is it just me or is it upside down?"

Natsu quickly put a hand to his mouth. "It's making me sick just looking at it."

Erza entered the center of the room. "I am Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail A," she announced at the structure. "I challenge 100."

She made her declaration. And the castle responded.

Crawling out of every crevice and doorway, a little more than a dozen monsters began to fill the room. Some were the same as the white armored monster everyone had seen before. The rest were red monsters that charged at her on powerful hind legs. Appearing on top of the structure in the middle was a four-legged blue creature with a tail like a scorpion. The red and blue monsters had the same metallic-like outer armor as the white ones.

Everyone in the audience gasped at seeing all the monsters flood the room.

Wendy gulped. "There are so many."

"They all seem so strong," Lucy said.

"She really means to take on all of those by herself?" Gray sighed.

Natsu smiled. "Of course she does. Erza means it when she says she'll take on all 100. I can totally get where she's coming from."

"Juvia hopes Erza will be alright," Juvia said worriedly.

"She'll get through it somehow," Gajeel said apathetically.

"It'll be a hell of a show," Laxus smirked.

"I still say it's foolhardy," Angel huffed. "Why take on so many at once? If anything, it puts her at a disadvantage."

"Erza knows what she's doing," Nikolias assured. "She knows she can win. So we need to have faith in her."

""Good luck, Erza!"" Ash and Sky shouted.

In the audience, Doranbolt put a hand to his head. "Honestly, she's just as reckless as always." However, even pressing a hand to his face, he could not hide his smile. 'She hasn't changed one bit in the past seven years.'

As all the monsters lunged for her, Erza became engulfed in a bright light. "REQUIP! HEAVEN'S WHEEL!" Now wearing her Heaven's Wheel Armor, two blades clutched in her hands, she leapt upwards, slicing through the monsters that managed to reach her first. Her blades cut right through their bodies and they vanished into thin air.

Continuing upwards, she swiftly cut through the blue monster atop the tall structure and stood at its tip. She held her blades to the side. "BLUMENBLATT!" Swords constructed of blue magical power appeared around Erza in a circular pattern before shooting forward like beams of light. Each blade punctured the armored hide of a different monster.

As Erza's attack made quick work of the white and red monsters, a small black creature evaded every attack on four thin legs. It was no larger than a dog, and the entire front of its body was nothing but one large eye. Even as it nimbly maneuvered through the chaos, Erza still managed to detect it. However, she left it be. As the monsters began to fall, more were quickly taking their place. There was no time to rest or pay heed to the monster that was running away. She quickly requipped into her Black Wing Armor, pushed off of the structure, and fell three more white monsters with a single slash.

"AMAZING!" Chapati cried. "Erza has begun a preemptive strike with an omni-directional attack! Those D-Class monsters are dropping one after another!"

"To think 17 monsters could be dispatched so simply," Yajima nodded with admiration.

Romeo watched the screen closely. "Was she trying to destroy them all at once?"

"No," Mavis replied. "By performing an omni-directional attack, she was able to learn the responses, the abilities, and the defensive capabilities of each type."

"Also, in an instant, she was able to calculate which armor to use against each kind of monster," Makarov added.

"Plus, Black Wing Armor gets stronger with each strike!" Happy cheered.

"That would explain her sheer force strategy to reduce their numbers," Carla nodded.

Gliding back on her wings, Erza swung her sword. A blade of air shot out and made quick work of another two monsters. One of the red monsters attempted to shoot Erza out of the sky by firing a stream of flames from its large maw. The attack hit its mark, creating a smokescreen.

"Oh no! Erza!" Wendy cried worriedly.

"So those things breath fire," Gray said, not a hint of worry in his voice.

"No sweat! If it wants to fight with fire…," Natsu smirked.

Lucy beamed. "Right! Her Flame Empress Armor!"

And sure enough, once the dust settled, everyone could see Erza standing there, unharmed, now wearing her fiery red Flame Empress Armor. Clutched in her hand was the sword she normally used while wearing her Sea Empress Armor. There was no noticeable damage that she received from the monster's flame attack. Seeing this, the monster once again unleashed a powerful stream of flames. However, Erza simply swung her Sea Empress sword and pushed the flames aside. She leapt up and, with a battle cry, swung her sword downwards. Blades of water shot out and easily cut through more monsters.

"INCREDIBLE!" Chapati roared. "Those fire-breathing C-class monsters went down like nothing! In no time at all, Erza has wiped out 23 D-class monsters and 5 C-class monsters!"

The monsters continued their unified assault on Erza, flanking her and attacking straight on all at once. Beams of magic shot from their mouths. Right before the attacks could land, Erza reacted and held out her hand, summoning a magic circle. The Flame Empress blade appeared in her left hand right before the attacks exploded. With her dual-wielding Flame and Sea blades, she was able to repel much of the attacks and counter, destroying the monsters around her, but for the first time, Erza had received some damage. She panted heavily as she remained on guard, waiting for the next monster to appear.

And shortly thereafter, a massive blue monster appeared before her, blue magic already collecting in its mouth to fire an attack. Erza readied her weapons. "So you're S-class? No, that's not quite right."

The monster responded by increasing the power of its magic. However, before it could even finish charging its attack, Erza quickly requipped into her Sea Empress Armor. Her Flame and Sea blades had vanished and instead, she wielded her Lightning Empress Armor's spear. Lightning crackled around the steel as she swung her spear. The monster was struck with intense bolts of lightning and vanished.

Nikolias scratched his chin. "Impressive. No matter what elemental type her opponent is, she quickly analyzes the situation, selecting an armor that provides defensive immunity and a weapon that provides an offensive advantage."

"She's badass!" Ash cried with a glowing smile.

"Go Erza!" Sky cheered.

"She has fast judgment and a lot of confidence. It's pretty terrifying," Angel smiled.

More of the same large blue monsters appeared, but Erza was undeterred. Her Lightning Empress spear still crackling with electricity, she swung it over and over as she acrobatically maneuvered through the air, electrocuting monster after monster and striking them down with a single blow.

However, one monster managed to avoid the attack and lashed out at Erza with a clawed hand. The physical attack connected with Erza's body, sending her crashing into the wall. Realizing that these stronger monsters were beginning to adapt, Erza adapted as well. In less than a second, she requipped yet again, this time into her Flight Armor. In her hand was the massive black spiked mace from her Purgatory Armor. With blinding speed that shouldn't have been possible with such a large, heavy weapon in hand, she shot forward and sliced through all the monsters in the room.

"Th…THIS IS BEYOND WORDS! 32 D-class, 15 C-class, and 5 B-class DESTROYED! Erza has already beaten over half of the 100 monsters!" Chapati cried in astonishment.

Hibiki closed his eyes. "That's Erza for you."

"Every move is polished and not a single movement is wasted," Jura assessed.

Millianna's eyes sparkled as she watched her dear friend. "I wonder if Wally and Sho are watching, too."

Orga clicked his tongue. "Nonsense. Is this really anything to make a fuss about? Just look at her. She's all beat up and exhausted after only 52 monsters."

Natsu gripped the railing and roared with a massive grin, "GO, ERZA! SMASH THEM ALL TO PIECES!"

"It looks like she's having a tough time in there," Lucy said with concern.

Dropping her blade as a support, Erza took a knee. Several cuts and bruises decorated her skin. She tried to catch her breath. Yet still, her determined gaze never faltered. She looked up at the hoard of monsters that was approaching from in front of her. Most of them were the same white, red, and blue monsters she had been facing up to that point. However, behind them was a red behemoth of a monster, its red glowing eyes fixed on Erza as it stomped its way over. Pushing herself to her feet, Erza requipped from her mace into dual-wielding her Sea Empress blade and Lightning Empress spear. Pushing off the ground, she used the incredible speed from her Flight Armor to slice through several of the monsters. However, she couldn't evade a tail slam from one of the blue monsters that connected with her stomach. She was sent careening yet again into a wall. The other monsters attempted to fire beam attacks at her while she was down, but she didn't stay down long enough to be hit. She leapt away, practically flying as she outmaneuvered the concentrated magic attacks. As she soared through the air, she twirled her spear and summoned a magic circle at its tip. She aimed the circle at the monsters and fired off a powerful lightning attack.

The castle rocked as attacks from Erza and the monsters punctured the thick walls. The audience was entranced by the show, most of their excitement and joy being replaced with concern for Erza's safety. Even to their untrained eyes, it was clear Erza was taking damage and tiring.

Erza landed on the ground, her breathing even heavier than before. Her injuries from the damage she had received were getting harder to ignore. Still, in spite of it all, the hoard of monsters had been dispatched, save for one: the red behemoth. It towered above her so much that its upper half was obscured in the darkness of the dimly lit room.

"Oh wow! Even wounded, Erza smoothly dispatched of all those monsters! But now, she must face an A-class monster!" Chapati commented.

The red behemoth drew back a massive fist before throwing a punch at Erza faster than a missile. For something so large, it clearly had some speed mixed in with its raw power. The ground erupted into chunks of stone as the monster's fist smashed into it. Everyone immediately lost sight of Erza.

The crowd gasped. Had Erza been beaten after taking out so many monsters? Did her fatigue and wounds become too much to bear?

Risley hissed. "That was a heavy hit."

"Taking a hit like that must be the end," Beth thought.

Kagura had been watching closely. She had seen what everyone else had seen, but her thoughts were different. "On the contrary. I believe she used its weight against it."

As the dust began to settle, two things became clear on the Lacrima Vision, and both were shocking enough that the crowd was roaring.

The red behemoth's right arm, the one that it had used to strike Erza, had completely crumbled away up to the elbow.

And Erza was still standing. She had requipped into her Adamantine Armor, Erza's ultimate defensive armor. She had held up one half of her shield to block the attack, using the monster's own strength against it. In her other hand she held her lance from her Giant Armor. With the monster thrown off, Erza quickly requipped into her Giant Armor, though she kept the left shield from her Adamantine Armor. She reared back and thrust her lance at its chest. The might of this weapon easily overpowered the monster and pushed it through the thick walls of the castle and outside. It fell to the ground below and disappeared out of sight.

A small black creature bounded out of the hole to escape the room. It bounced along a bridge that connected the tower they were in to an adjacent one. Erza noticed this and gave chase through the hole and across the bridge.

As she ran over the bridge, several monsters appeared from below and fired beams of magic at Erza. However, with her shield readied, she handily blocked each attack. She then countered by hurling her lance in a straight line at the monsters. Her Giant Armor's ability to strengthen projectiles allowed the thrown lance to easily dispatch all the monsters.

The red behemoth, having recovered from the attack from before, leapt up to continue its fight with Erza. Erza angled herself downwards and pushed off the bridge. She quickly requipped into her Morning Star Armor, dual-wielding her blades from her Heaven's Wheel Armor. Using these blades, she fired a point-blank Photon Slicer at the A-class behemoth. The blast exploded, finally destroying the monster. The force also allowed Erza to fly backwards and land on one of the spikes that adorned the outside of the towers.

The monsters, however, would not allow Erza a moment's rest. Several more leapt up to reach her. Yet no matter how many monsters attacked, no matter what kind of monster attacked, Erza had an answer. She continued to rapidly requip for whatever challenge approached.

Her Purgatory Armor with her Robe of Yuen's bisento and one of her Flight Armor's one-handed swords. With these two weapons she handily sliced through several monsters at once.

Her Lightning Empress Armor, fending off attacks with her Adamantine Armor's right shield and countering swiftly with her Black Wing Armor's sword. Even when a monster managed to crack through her shield, she was able to throw her sword with enough force to pierce through the monster's chest. She then quickly summoned her Lightning Empress Armor's spear. Landing on one of the chains that connected the towers, she thrust the shaft of the spear down onto the metal. Lightning sparked to life and filled the air, electrocuting all the monsters in the air around her.

Her Robe of Yuen and a massive black sword. With one swing, a large monster was cut in half and sent flying into one of the tower walls.

Her Giant Armor and Purgatory Armor's sword. With a mighty roar, she swung the blade and sliced through several monsters.

No matter what the monsters tried, they couldn't gain an advantage.

The crowd was stunned, but they all shouted with excitement as they marveled at Erza's performance. Her Fairy Tail guildmates were all smiles at the show she was putting on.

"THE TERRIFYING TITANIA!" Chapati shouted into the microphone. "She requips over and over, steadily crushing the monsters! While she's taken damage and depleted a lot of her magic, somehow, unbelievably, there are only FOUR MONSTERS LEFT! Two B-class, one A-class, and the one S-class monster are all that remains!"

The crowd erupted at this announcement. They hadn't been counting, or even paying attention to the counter on the screen for that matter, so they were all the more shocked. They couldn't believe that one person had actually managed to defeat 96 monsters single-handedly.

Lucy wrung her hands together. "Those are all strong monsters left."

Wendy mimicked Lucy's actions and wrung her own hands. "She didn't manage to take down the S-class monster early either."

Natsu showed no signs of nervousness, however. "S-class, my ass."

Gray smirked. "We all know how awesome S-class Erza is!"

Erza landed on the ground, using her large sword as a support as she tried to catch her breath. She had been fighting non-stop since the event began, so it was only natural for fatigue to have set in. Her Giant Armor vanished and was replaced by her Heart Kreuz Armor. She looked up to see one of the red behemoth monsters on one of the tower walls, its strong fingers digging into the stone. Its red eyes were fixed on her as it leapt towards her. She lifted her blade and charged forward. Watching her move, no one would have suspected she had been fighting with such intensity for so long. There was no sign of exhaustion in her movements. As she ran forward, the small black creature hopped in front of her feet, but she ignored it and focused on the monster flying towards her.

The behemoth brought both of its fists back before swinging them down like a wrecking ball. Its large fists met their target. A cloud of dirt sprouted up like a smokescreen. But when it cleared, the monster could see that its attack had in fact been blocked.

Erza had met the attack head on. The force had been enough to break the stone bridge underfoot, but she had requipped into her Adamantine Armor for added defense. In her hands, holding back the strong fists of the behemoth, was the hammer she received from Jean-Luc during the ordeal with the Infinity Clock.

As she held back the strength of the red behemoth, the last two B-class monsters attempted to flank her. They were going for a three-pronged attack.

And then—

SCHLING!

The red behemoth was cut in two. Before its large body could fall to either side, it vanished.

Erza had requipped into her Clear Heart Clothing and sliced through the final A-class monster with her Demon Blade, Benizakura, like it was butter. She held her blade at the ready and leapt up. She managed to evade the strike from one of the monsters while in midair and simultaneously strike at its exposed neck. As she flew by she performed a circular slash by spinning her body, cutting through the back of the monster. She landed on its tail and pushed off to redirect her body towards the other monster. As she passed by underneath, she performed another spinning circular slash to cut through the length of the monster's underbelly. Both monsters vanished before their broken bodies could fall.

"Finally…finally it's down to the last one!" Chapati cried. "Just what kind of monster is an S-class monster?!"

Erza landed on another chain and took a knee. Sweat shone on her body. She tried to take slow, deep breaths to calm her breathing. Her wounds ached and stung as the wind licked them. But she wasn't about to stop. She rose to her feet and turned around, her eyes locking onto her target—the small black creature. It cowered atop one of the towers above Erza, looking down at her nervously with its one eye.

"I knew it," Erza shouted up at the creature. "You're the S-Class."

""WHAT?! But it's so tiny!"" Natsu and Gray shouted in unison.

"I think it's cute," Wendy smiled.

"I dunno. I'm getting a bad feeling," Lucy muttered.

"You're kidding. That's supposed to be the big bad S-Class monster?" Ash gaped.

"It must be a joke," Angel shrugged. "Like something you don't have to necessarily crush to defeat, but an agile being you have to catch."

"That don't make any sense," Gajeel huffed. "If things had gone as the game creator meant it to, that thing could have had a one-on-one with someone not completely exhausted. Doesn't seem like much of a challenge to me."

"Well excuse me for having a thought!" Angel barked, pouting and puffing out her cheeks.

Sky looked up at Nikolias. "What do you think?"

Nikolias narrowed his eyes. "I don't really know myself. But one thing's for sure. My instincts are screaming that there's more to that thing than meets the eye."

Erza fully turned towards the creature. Her Benizakura vanished, and she quickly requipped to two plain katanas. Everyone in the crowd was perplexed. Erza's choice to wield two swords as opposed to one, the heightened look of concentration and tension on her face, the way she never dropped her guard against this final foe. No one could understand why when she was facing such a small and weak looking opponent. She parted her lips and uttered but one word to the creature.

"Come."

In response to Erza, the creature's large eye snapped wide open and began to glow a bright purple. Waves of magic power emanated from the creature as it became obscured from view.

Mato was panicking down below. "That's why I said it was impossible for one person to challenge all 100! The game is set up so that when the S-Class monster is the last one left, its power is tripled!"

Chapati clutched the microphone tightly. "What could Pandemonium's final monster be?" The light faded and everyone gasped. Erza and the creature were gone. "Wh…Where did they…?" Before he could finish asking the question, the Lacrima Vision screens all flashed, changing their display to that of the arena atop the floating castle. The sky was dark, as the arena was amongst the clouds, but there were several torch pillars with bright blue flames encircling the outskirts of the platform. There everyone could see Erza, pinned down against one of the torch pillars under the foot of a giant black creature. It had the outer appearance of armor, much like that of a knight, but its head was that of a demon with sharp fangs and long horns. "Oh my! The battle somehow ended up in the arena! The S-Class monster, now super-sized, is bearing down on Erza!"

"I'm surprised they set the game up like this," Yajima said.

"An unexpected ambush," Lahar agreed. "I see. Truly fitting for a place called 'Pandemonium'."

Try as she might, Erza could not break free from the monster's foot. The weight was overpowering. All she could do was provide enough strength to avoid being completely crushed.

The monster suddenly began to twist its massive body. With its armored foot, it swiftly flung Erza across the arena. She slid against the stones, her arms up to protect her head, as her exposed skin was cut up and bruised even further. It charged after her, drew back its foot and lashed out with another kick.

Erza managed to react and put up a guard with her swords at the last moment. Her blades caught the monster's foot, but its strength still pushed through her guard and sent her flying into the air. The monster leaped into the air and swung its hands at Erza to swat at her like she was a gnat. However, with incredible dexterity, she evaded the blows while swinging her swords.

A look of shock spread over the monster's face as it watched its fingers and hands break into pieces and rain down to the ground.

And Erza took full advantage of this opening. Repositioning her body, she drew both her blades high over her head. With a fierce battle cry, she swung down with an X-shaped slash at the monster. Her attack met its mark, shattering the left side of the monster's head as she continued forward.

The monster recovered from its shock and countered with another swift kick. The kick landed and sent Erza crashing back to the ground, kicking up a storm of dirt.

Yet still Erza persisted. Despite being injured from head to toe, the fairy that should have fallen instead soared. Her eyes shining with unflinching determination, she pushed herself into the air to continue the assault on the monster. Her blades were beginning to chip but held strong as she raced for her target—the massive eye nestled in the chest cavity of the monster. She evaded blows from the monster's hands and feet. She parried and deflected countless attacks. And right when she was about to reach the eye, she requipped her two blades back to her Demon Blade. With a couple of swift cuts, Erza sliced through the eye and landed gracefully on the ground.

The monster's body immediately began to crumble to dust the moment its large chest eye had been sliced.

And amidst the destruction in the arena, a battered, bruised, and bleeding Erza stood triumphantly, her blade pointed to the sky to signal her victory.

The crowd was as stunned as the judges. Tears of joy flowed down the faces of countless Fairy Tail members as their hearts swelled with pride. Natsu and Gray fist-bumped in celebration. Mavis threw her arms in the air with glee.

Chapati recovered from his stupor to announce the results. "U…U…UNBELIEVABLE! She actually did it! She actually managed to do the impossible and defeat all 100 monsters by herself! Fairy Tail A Team's Erza Scarlet sweeps the round! It's an absolute, undisputed victory! Could this be the true strength of the most powerful guild seven years ago?!"

In a flash of magic, Erza was teleported out of the castle and back to the arena. The castle also vanished back within the large magic circle before the circle itself shrank away.

Once everything sank in, the crowd woke up and erupted with cheers. Some were shocked at how amazing Erza's performance was. Others recalled the rumors and stories about Fairy Tail's most powerful female wizard.

"The crowd can't get over it!" Chapati cried.

Yajima's body shook as he chuckled. "What a show. It's honestly too much to handle."

Lahar nodded. "Yes, I find myself left speechless."

Fairy Tail A Team rushed from their balcony to greet Erza.

"You guys…" Erza lowered her arm and smiled. "I'm sorry. That took longer than I expected." However, much to her surprise, they all immediately got in her space with large smiles.

"You're seriously incredible!"

"Fight me later!"

"I'm all choked up from that!"

"You moved me to tears!"

Gray, Natsu, Lucy, and Wendy all voiced their heart-felt praise.

"Now, now," Erza chuckled. "You need to compose yourselves. Victory isn't ours yet."

As he watched Fairy Tail A Team congratulate Erza, Mato could only watch with disbelief. "Did she just say…it took longer than she expected? But…but wha…?"

Mira beamed. "She really is in a league of her own."

"Erzy really is the strongest!" Millianna purred. "She's full of life!"

Orga clicked his tongue. "I don't like this."

The crowd started to unify with their awe and began to chant Erza's name over and over. Erza's eyes scanned the crowd and with a smile she raised her fist. The cheering only increased in volume.

"And there you have it! The booing that greeted Fairy Tail on Day 1 hardly seems real after hearing these cheers!" Chapati shouted. "With that victory, Fairy Tail A Team sweeps the Pandemonium event and scores 10 points!"

"Anyone would cheer after witnessing that!" Yajima agreed.

"It was a moving performance," Lahar added.

Lector's mouth moved up and down. "Th…that was nothing! We could've totally done that too!"

"F…Fro thinks so…too?" Frosch said.

Minerva's lips curled up into a playful smile. "Interesting. It would seem that Fairy Tail isn't all talk."

Beth's eyes were wide. "She's amazing. I've never seen anyone like that before."

"No wonder she's got the name 'Titania'," Risley said.

Kagura's eyes narrowed. 'Erza Scarlet. She's one who knows Jellal very well.'


With Pandemonium now concluded, there was a long pause before the Games continued. No one predicted that all 100 monsters would be defeated by one person, leaving all seven other competitors out of the action, and therefore unable to earn any points. Those running the show had to quickly come up with some kind of supplemental challenge to find where everyone else placed. Once they came to their decision, they relayed it to Mato to inform the other competitors.

Mato, still shaken from what he just witnessed, walked over to the seven waiting mages. "So, after some deliberation, it has been concluded that the seven remaining teams still need to be ranked as well. And while it's a little bland compared to what we had prepared, we've prepared a simple game." He snapped his fingers. A black pedestal floated down beside him. Held above it by magic circles was a small crystal orb.

Novali scratched his head. "What is it?"

"Magic Power Finder, or MPF for short!" Mato declared, trying to play up the device.

Jura stroked his beard. "So in other words, it's a device that measures one's magic power."

"Exactly. If you use magic on this device, it will display the magic power in numeral form. We'll be using the number that is displayed to decide the rankings for the remaining teams."

Hibiki sighed. "So, it's a pure test of strength that they fell back on. That might put me at a bit of a disadvantage."

Mira giggled. 'I guess it worked out that Nikolias didn't take part in this competition…'

Mato twirled around. "Well than, shall we begin?! We'll go in the same order that was determined before."

Millianna grinned and threw off her cape. All that covered her now was a black bikini top with magenta straps, long black gloves, very short black shorts, and purple and black striped thigh socks held to her shorts by suspenders. "Then I guess that means I'm up first! Here we go!"

Chapati's face flushed. "Oh my! Millianna discards her cape to reveal a skimpy outfit!"

A magic circle appeared before Millianna's hands. She aimed at the orb and fired out a spiraling pink stream of magic. "KITTEN BLAST!" The attack struck the orb. Numbers began cycling above the orb before landing on "365".

"Millianna's score is 365!" Chapati announced. "Although, without a benchmark to compare against, I'm not sure if that's high or not…" The crowd murmured amongst themselves as well, unsure whether to cheer for her score or not.

Lahar adjusted his glasses. "I may be able to offer some insight. We Rune Knights use MPFs in our training. This is quite a high number. It would rank her among squad captains."

"Oh! So it's quite a good score after all!"

Hearing this, the crowd began to cheer wildly. Millianna threw her arm in the air. "Feelin' full of life!"

Beth pouted. "Millianna's true strength isn't in raw power, though."

Risley nodded. "It may be a good score, but she might be at a disadvantage."

Next to step up was Novali. He reared back and fired his magic at the device with everything he had. And what appeared above the orb was…

"124 is the score for Novali of Quatro Cerberus!" Chapati announced. "That seems to be a tad on the low side!"

"It would appear I'm up," Hibiki said calmly. The girls in the audience all swooned.

"This is gonna be rough," Eve admitted. "Hibiki's power is his knowledge."

"If only I entered this one," Ren sighed.

Ichiya struck a pose. "Have faith in your friend, you two."

Eve was shocked. "Master Ichiya?! You've recovered?!"

"Glad to see you back in action, Master Ichiya!" Ren smiled.

Ichiya nodded. "Mm. Jenny handed the baton back to me."

Hibiki strode up to the orb and unleashed his magic. The numbers began to cycle and landed on…

"Hibiki of Blue Pegasus comes in at 95!" Chapati announced.

Tears fell from Hibiki's face as he fell to his hands and knees. "Ah…how humiliating…"

Ren sweatdropped. "This is the result of our faith?"

Ichiya struck another pose atop the balcony. "Men! But there is much we can learn from failure. Let's use this experience and work even harder!"

""Yes, Master Ichiya! We would love to!"" they both cried.

"Stepping up next is Black Snake of Raven Tail!" Chapati declared.

Black Snake stopped before the orb. He held up his hand and wordlessly shot a blast of sand at the orb. The blast hit its target and the numbers began to cycle.

When the numbers stopped, there was a confused murmur that spread throughout the audience. Even the judges were shocked.

"I…I don't know what I'm seeing!" Chapati stuttered. "Black Snake's score…it's 75!"

"Wha…?!" Natsu questioned.

"That's gotta be some kind of joke, right?" Gray growled.

"That can't be right. He was definitely much stronger when he fought Toby," Lucy said.

"I agree. Something is wrong," Erza said. She was now in her street clothes of a button-down white shirt and black skirt. Her entire arms, legs, and torso were covered in bandages, with smaller bandages covering cuts and bruises on her face and neck.

Lucy sweatdropped. "Umm…shouldn't you still be in the infirmary?"

Nikolias ground his teeth. "Raven Tail…what game are you playing?"

"I can't say that was their best effort," Angel hummed. "Could they be playing it safe because there's a Rune Knight watching closely?"

"Even though they're in last in this competition, something about this still pisses me off!" Ash snapped.

Sky nodded. "It's very odd."

Over in Raven Tail's section, Flare was looking on with contempt. "What are you doing, Black Snake?! How stupid are you?!"

"Be quiet, Flare," the leader demanded. "We must play our cards carefully with someone from the Council watching everything. There's no need to bring unnecessary attention to ourselves."

Flare immediately shrank back. "R…Right."

"Aaaaalright!" Mato said. "Currently we have Millianna of Mermaid Heel in the lead with 365!"

"Yay! I'm number 1!" Millianna purred as she danced about.

"We'll see about that," Orga grumbled as he stepped towards the orb. The crowd took notice and erupted into cheers.

"Oh, there he is!" Chapati cried. "Sabertooth's Orga is taking the field! Just listen to that crowd!"

"They may be in third, but they are clearly still fan favorites," Yajima noted.

Orga held up his large hands. In between his palms, black and yellow lightning began to collect into a small orb. "120MM BLACK LIGHTNING CANNON!" he bellowed. The orb fired out as a powerful beam of electricity. It struck the MPF and the numbers flew about before settling on 3,825.

"O…Over 3,000?!" Chapati squeaked.

Lahar was speechless. 'In all my life, I've never seen a score like that!'

Millianna's jaw was on the floor. "That's almost ten times my score!"

""The hell was that?!"" Natsu and Gray gasped.

"Wow," Lucy breathed.

Laxus smirked. "Interesting."

Orga pulled out a microphone and began proudly singing. "The strongest, the strongest, number one! Sabertooth kicks the ass of everyone!"

Chapati cleared his throat and kept things moving. "Now, after a showing like that, can Jura, one of the Ten Great Wizard Saints, surpass it?"

The crowd immediately went silent, eagerly awaiting Jura's move.

Jura strode forward with his eyes closed. 'After my loss to Nikolias, I must use this opportunity to show what I can do.'

Sheria looked on nervously. "Jura will win, right?"

Lyon chuckled. "Of course he will. I'm actually more concerned about something else."

Sheria looked behind her in confusion.

Jura stopped in front of the MPF. "Is it alright if I take this seriously?"

"But of course, go right ahead!" Mato cheered.

Jura put his hands together in concentration. A massive aura surrounded him, shaking the ground as if there were an earthquake.

"What incredible pressure…," Lahar muttered.

Jura's eyes snapped open. "RUMBLING MT. FUJI!"

A pillar of magic power erupted from beneath the MPF, engulfing it in a tower of light that reached the sky. The ground burst apart, sending chunks of dirt and stone in all directions. The magic power only lasted a few seconds. When it faded, the MPF sat among a cloud of dust with the number 8,544 sitting above it.

"Unbelievable! A score of 8,544!" Chapati shouted. "That's a new record for the MPF! The title of 'Ten Great Wizard Saint' truly isn't just for show!"

"No freakin' way!" Natsu yelped.

"That old man's a monster!" Gray remarked.

Orga was stunned. He couldn't believe his score had been bested.

Erza smiled. "That's unsurprising, honestly."

Lyon crossed his arms with an arrogant smile. "Those who have earned a position with the Ten Great Wizard Saints are far too powerful. Honestly, shouldn't their participation be limited?"

"So that's what you were worried about," Sheria nodded in understanding.

"He really is remarkable," Makarov grumbled. "That strength is on par with Gildarts."

Mavis giggled happily. "That's true, so it's all the more impressive that Nikolias beat him so handily!"

A bead of sweat rolled down Gajeel's face. "Oi, Laxus wasn't kidding. What's with that unreal power?"

Ash stepped back. "Nikolias beat someone that strong? And he made it look easy…"

"Jura's power is impressive. That much I could tell while fighting him," Nikolias replied. "Seeing a number like that really doesn't shock me."

Sky tugged on his sleeve. "I'm nervous for Mira now. Can she win?"

"She mentioned before that her and Erza combined probably couldn't defeat him," Angel said. "After seeing his power on full display, I can see why. Well, third place overall isn't so bad, right?"

Nikolias blinked as he processed what Angel said. He turned to look at her. "Wait, Mira said that?"

Angel nodded. "Yes. Why?"

Nikolias grinned wide and shook his head. "Seriously? She's being way too modest."

"And now for our final challenger," Chapati announced, "we will have Mirajane Strauss of Fairy Tail B Team!"

Mira tilted her head cutely. "Alright, I'm up!"

"Just do your best!" Mato said, trying to offer encouragement. He knew Jura's act would be a tough one to follow.

Mira bowed politely and walked towards the MPF. She stood before it and put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "Let's see…the score to beat is 8,544. That'll be tough…" She beamed and held up her finger. "Oh, I'll use that then!" In a flash of light, Mira took on her Satan Soul: Snow Maiden form.

"Oh my! Mirajane has taken the Snow Maiden form that she used in her fight with Jenny!" Chapati observed.

"A truly powerful form, but I'm unsure if it will be enough to defeat Jura's score," Lahar said. "From what we witnessed in that fight, it may not even be enough to pass Orga's score for third place."

Nikolias grinned wickedly. "Oh, just you watch, you bastard," he whispered softly. "You've only seen a sliver of the Snow Maiden's power."

Mira held out her arms. Frigid winds began to whip around her wildly, blowing her kimono and hair violently about. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the power welling up inside of her. 'Remember what Kiyu taught you.' She slowly brought her hands closely in front of her, her palms facing each other. In between her open palms, a pale blue ball of snow and ice began to swirl about. Her lips curled into a smile. She extended her arms and aimed the wintery sphere at the MPF. Her eyes snapped open, her icy blue eyes glowing faintly. "ABSOLUTE ZERO!"

Suddenly, the MPF was encased in clear ice several meters thick. Even with the sun shining down, there were no signs of it melting. The air around it seemed to freeze upon contact.

Mira moved her hands to surround the sphere she had created. She then slammed her hands closed, destroying the sphere with ease. As soon as the sphere had been destroyed, the ice around the MPF exploded with enough force to shake the ground. The MPF lay in small, broken pieces, scattered across the arena floor. With the apparatus broken, the numbers had trouble remaining, but everyone could still clearly see the readout.

Chapati gripped the microphone tightly. "N…NO WAY! 9, 666?! Not only that, but Mirajane completely destroyed the MPF!"

"I've never seen an MPF be destroyed before," Lahar gasped.

Mira released a slow, frigid breath. Her hands slowly came down to her sides. "That's still quite exhausting to use. Yet Kiyu made it look so effortless. I still need more training…"

Nikolias pumped his fist. "That's my girl!"

"With that score, Mirajane places second! Incredible! What is this guild?! It's a one-two finish in the competition part! Can anyone stop Fairy Tail now?!" Chapati cried.

The crowd erupted into cheers.

Mato gulped. "I'm going to need to think a bit…"

"And now with the competition complete, I'll announce the current standings!" Chapati looked down to the paper in his hand. "Raven Tail received 0 points for the round but remain in first place with 42 points overall! However, because of that and Fairy Tail's strong showing, Fairy Tail B Team is closing the gap quickly! With Mirajane's 8 points, Fairy Tail B is now at 40 points and stay in second place! Sabertooth remains in third place with only 4 points for the round and 32 points overall! Mermaid Heel received 3 points for the round, but they are still in fourth place with 24 points! In fifth place, arguably one of the bigger surprises up to this point, is Fairy Tail A Team! Erza's remarkable showing and first place finish pushes Fairy Tail A to 22 points overall and shoots them all the way up to fifth from last place! Blue Pegasus gained only one point in the round and fall to sixth place, though they are right behind Fairy Tail A with 21 points! Lamia Scale gained 6 points, and while they also drop in the standings, they are right behind their closest competitors with 20 points overall! What a close three-team race between those teams! Lastly, Quatro Cerberus gained 2 points in the round and move to 15 points overall!"

Natsu pumped his fists. "Alright! We shot up the ranks!"

Lucy nodded. "And we're only just getting started! We'll keep climbing and win this!"


Over in Raven Tail's section, Nullpudding handed the leader a piece of paper. "Master Alexei, I have the list of battle matches for you."

The leader, now identified as Alexei, took the paper. "I see. The management is well-informed if these are the matchups. Now then, for the sake of our true purpose, shall we begin?"

Current Standings:

Raven Tail42 pts

Fairy Tail (B Team)40 pts

Sabertooth32 pts

Mermaid Heel24 pts

Fairy Tail (A Team)22 pts

Blue Pegasus21 pts

Lamia Scale20 pts

Quatro Cerberus15 pts