A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter!
Enjoy!
CHAPTER ELEVEN: DAY 3, PANDEMONIUM
"Hey, did you hear?"
"About last night, right?!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Apparently, somebody attacked Sabertooth's inn!"
"What kind of fool would pick a fight with Saber?!"
Two of the citizens laughed as Yukino overheard them. "Beats me!"
"Well, brawls happen outside the arena every year, right?"
"This is a festival, so they should take it public!"
The citizens continued to laugh as Yukino looked up at the stadium. "Natsu-sama...?" She wondered.
"A guild that makes its family members cry ain't no guild at all!"
"Don't tell me he did it for..."
At the stadium...
Chapati had on a different colored wig. "We're at the halfway point in the Grand Magic Games. The beginning of the third day!" He announced.
"I wonder what kind of passionate dramas we'll see today?" Yajima said.
Siegrain had arrived to the stadium wearing his usual attire. He leaned on a nearby wall and away from the audience.
"While I can enter the stadium as myself, Jellal can't. That's why I had him disguise himself as Mystogan. If he needs to come here, he won't get found out." Siegrain noted. "Or so I hope... because today's guest commentator is..."
"Our guest today is Lahar-san, from the Magic Council." Chapati said.
"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Yajima questioned.
"Thank you for this opportunity." Lahar replied.
"...Lahar. The guy who arrested him in the first place. Doranbolt should be around, as well." Siegrain finished his thought.
"Lahar-san, you're the Captain of the Enforcement and Detention Corps..." Chapati trailed off.
"Yes." Lahar nodded. "I won't stand for any shenanigans during the tournament."
This caused the audience to laugh. "That's the captain for you. He never forgets his duties." Chapati teased.
"I'm going to announce the competition for this, the third day of the Games! The name of the event... is Pandemonium!" Chapati announced. "There will be one participant for each guild. Please choose your representative!"
"I'll do it! I gotta continue what I started last night!" Natsu declared.
"You don't get to decide all by yourself!" Gray exclaimed.
"If it's a revenge match, I wanna do it, too!" Lucy claimed.
"No. I'll go." Erza said with her arms crossed. "You going out there may only make things more complicated."
"I agree! Good luck, Erza!" Lucy cheered.
"Fight!" Wendy encouraged.
"Let me do it!" Natsu exclaimed with his fist raised.
"Would you calm down?!" Gray told him.
"I'll participate for B Team." Cana said.
"Wait a second! It's about time that I get to do something!" Gajeel protested.
"Cana, how could you go, when you're a reserve member?" Mira asked.
"What happened to Mystogan?" Laxus questioned.
"Juvia hasn't seen him yet today..." Juvia responded.
"With the guest commentator being a member of the Council, I should be able to participate, right?" Cana whispered over to Mira.
"That's true..." Mira answered.
"If Er-chan is gonna do this, let me go too, Kagura-chan!" Millianna said.
"I'll allow it." Kagura replied.
"I'm not gonna lose, Er-chan!" Millianna declared, rushing by Erza.
"Right!" Erza said.
"From Mermaid Heel, it looks like Millianna is taking the field!" Chapati announced as Millianna appeared on the Lacrima screen.
"That girl!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Millianna..." Natsu trailed off.
"She's the one who was wearing the hood. I didn't know she was in a guild." Gray said.
"Don't cause trouble in front of the Council, Orba." Alexei said in which Orba nodded.
"I'll be the rep for Blue Pegasus." Hibiki stated as the girls cheered.
Orga clenched his fist. "Like I said last night, I'm participating in this one. I'll use my Black Lightning to blast them all to smithereens." He said.
"Even though we don't know what kind of competition it's going to be?" Minerva asked.
Rufus chuckled. "Do what you want." He said.
"If Natsu Dragneel isn't gonna be in it, I don't care what happens." Sting thought.
"Jura-san is going to do it?" Sherria questioned.
"On Obaba's orders, so we can't do anything about it." Lyon responded.
"My sock..." Toby cried out.
"Just buy a new one!" Yuka exclaimed.
"Count on me." Jura nodded.
"All of the participants have been selected!" Chapati announced as the competitors began showing up on the screens.
"From Sabertooth, Orga! From Lamia Scale, Jura! From Blue Pegasus, Hibiki! From Raven Tail, Obra! From Mermaid Heel, Millianna! From Quatro Puppy, Novali! From Fairy Tail A, Erza! From Fairy Tail B, Cana! These are our eight competitors!"
A dark purple Magic Circle appeared in the sky and a large castle appeared. "What is that?" Erza wondered.
"Wow..." Millianna mumbled.
"Begin analysis." Hibiki started using his Archive as the castle suddenly landed.
"Pandemonium, a temple haunted by evil monsters!" Mato said.
"It's huge!" Cana exclaimed.
"Haunted by monsters, he says?" Jura repeated.
"That's the idea-kabo. There are 100 monsters inside this temple. That being said, they're actually magical manifestations that we created, so everyone can relax. There's no danger of you being attacked. The monsters are D, C, B, A, S! Those are the five levels of battle power the monsters are divided into. This is how it breaks down. Incidentally... if you're curious about just how strong the D-class monsters are..." Mato began.
The Lacrima screen showed up as a monster roared, freaking out the audience. "Ones like these and ones even stronger, 100 of them wandering around the temple... That's Pandemonium-kabo!" Mato said.
"Please note that as the class of monsters goes up, their fighting strength increases exponentially. The S-class monster is so strong, that there's no guarantee even one of the 10 Great Wizard Saints can defeat it-kabo." Mato informed, making Jura gulp. "In order, each of you will choose the number of monsters to battle. It's called your 'right to challenge'."
"Right to challenge?" Erza repeated.
"For example, if you choose three monsters, three of them will appear inside the temple. The person who choses them enters the temple alone. If the player successfully destroys them, he or she gets three points. The next player then has the right to challenge up to 97 of the remaining monsters. And so on and so on, until there are zero monsters left!" Mato explained. "Alternatively, if everyone runs out of magic power, the game is over at that point."
"It's like a counting game." Millianna commented.
"That's right! Assessing the situation when your turn comes around becomes important! However, as I mentioned before, the monsters are ranked. Whether the player uses their right to challenge one or five, the monsters appear randomly." Mato stated.
"In other words, you need a strategy to avoid running into the S-class monster, right?" Hibiki asked.
"If it's random, having a strategy like that won't do you any good." Orga informed.
"Not true. Between probability theory and my Archive, strategy will work to some extent." Hibiki stated.
"Irrespective of the monster's ranks, you'll get one point for each monster you destroy. Once you enter the temple, you can't exit until you've succeeded." Mato said.
"What happens if we go down while inside the temple?" Cana questioned.
"The number of point you've earned during your turn stays as is, but the number of destroys you've had that turn goes to zero, and you're out." Mato answered. "Alright, let's decide on the order. Please draw your lots." Mato said as the competitors drew their sticks.
"With this competition, I thought winning or losing all depended on the luck of the draw..." Erza said.
"Luck of the draw? I don't know about that... More than the order of the battle, pacing yourself and situational judgement are important in this game." Mato stated.
"No." Erza denied. "This isn't a game anymore."
Mato was left in confusion as Erza walked forward towards the castle. "All 100 will be my opponents!" She declared. "I exercise my right to challenge... 100!"
Everyone looked in shock while Natsu, Gray, and Siegrain cackled.
"Well, that's my sister for you." Siegrain thinks to himself before he smiled.
A/N: Another chapter is finished!
Thanks for reading!
~ Kaleb.