Chelia rested on an infirmary bed, her body still covered in serious burns and heavy injuries. On both sides of the bed, Wendy and Aira had their arms extended, attempting to heal the sky god slayer, but it was evident they were having some trouble as their combined healing efforts weren't as powerful as Chelia's. Around the two, Sherry, Carla, and Zain were keeping watch over Chelia's condition. "Is it working…?" Sherry asked as she carefully watched over her younger cousin.
"Her injuries are pretty bad…" Zain started, opening a book to see how one should deal with a condition such as Chelia's.
"How about the healing?" Sherry asked the two healers.
"It's…working…somewhat…" Aira replied.
"There's something odd about Chelia…" Wendy grunted slowly, putting her best efforts into healing her friend.
"Something odd?" Sherry was obviously confused by the statement.
"She feels…darker…" Wendy replied. "I don't know what it is, but I think it's stopping us from healing her…"
"If she's not better by tomorrow…" Sherry started.
"I'll…be fine…" Chelia said weakly as she finally started to regain consciousness, though she was still groggy.
"Chelia…!" Wendy stopped healing for a second, looking over Chelia in her condition.
"She's awake…a lot sooner than I thought she would be…" Zain said while looking up from his book.
"She shouldn't be…" Aira mumbled to herself.
"Chelia…" Sherry started, unsure on what to say at first. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Chelia gave a slow nod, sitting up, though she winced rather noticeably. "I-I'm fine…"
"No you're not." Wendy stated.
"Yes I am, Wendy." Chelia replied, a glow appearing around her body as she began to try and heal herself, but with her current condition, she found it rather difficult to do so. "See?"
"Chelia, you shouldn't push yourself," Sherry said to the sky slayer. "Just rest, okay?"
"I'm telling you I'm fine…!" Chelia snapped, oddly out of character as a faint black aura appeared around her body for a few seconds, fading after. "O-Oh! I-I'm sorry…! I didn't mean to…!"
Carla floated up to Wendy's ear, whispering, "Did you see that…?"
Zain leaned closer to Aira, whispering into her ear. "That…You saw that, right…? It…wasn't just me…?"
"No…I saw it too…" Aira nodded slowly as she whispered back.
"I think it's better we just leave her to rest," Zain nodded to Wendy and Sherry. "She should feel well enough in the morning to heal herself, and she should be able to participate in the games."
"Alright…I thank you all with the love in my heart!" Sherry nodded, a slow smile appearing on her face.
.
.
Kagura and Daryan sat at a table in a restaurant. It was clear that Kagura wasn't really into it, but she had to keep her word to Daryan and go on a date with him, despite how much she really hated the idea. Daryan just gave a smirk as he raised his hands onto the table, grabbing a menu as he sat back in his chair. "Aw, lighten up, sweetie! The moon is nice out tonight, yeah?"
"Don't call me that." Kagura replied as she glared at the dragon slayer before her. "I'm only here because I keep my word."
"Oh, I know," Daryan said with a nod. "But, you're only gotta hate it more unless ya loosen up and try to enjoy yourself."
"I have no reason to." Kagura replied as she grabbed a menu, purposely keeping her responses short.
"It was just a suggestion…but hey, I think I can get at least an approving look from you tonight; bet." Daryan nodded.
"I'm done with bets…" Kagura responded with a mumble.
"...Hm." Daryan was trying to strike up a conversation, but Kagura really wasn't going for it. "So...how'd you get so strong?"
"Training." Kagura replied.
"...Any reason?" Daryan asked.
"None of yours." Kagura shot back.
"...Man..." Daryan began to sweat. She really wasn't making this easy on him. He couldn't lead that he thought she was the girl of his dreams either.
.
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Lisanna and Cynthia had just finished doing some shopping around town, and they dragged an unlikely Elfman to help them. The three were making their way back to the hotel as they were engaged in conversation. "Are you sure this stuff will help my arm?" Cynthia asked Lisanna as the three continued their walk.
"That's what the scary lady said…" Lisanna nodded as she held a large shopping bag in both of her hands. "And she's done a lot to help the guild, so I think we can trust her."
"A Man would have no reason to lie anyway!" Elfman commented.
"But she's an old lady…" Cynthia started before shaking her head. "Never mind…At least I'll be able to have two arms again soon!"
Lisanna let out a soft giggle at Cynthia's happiness. "That's right. We just have to get back to the hotel and…" Before Lisanna could finish, her eyes widened at the sight of a figure appearing before the three, a wolf-like figure, their body shaded by the darkness of the night, and the red eyes glowed in the moonlight. "W-What is that!?"
The werewolf let out a howl before lunging forward with amazing speed, aiming a slash towards the defenseless Lisanna, but before the slash could connect, Elfman stepped forward in his Lizardman takeover, taking the full force of the slash, his scales minimizing the damage he took. "No one lays a hand on my little sister…" Elfman said in a low tone. "Lisanna, go back to the hotel, I will hold him off."
"Elfman, let me help!" Cynthia pleaded, entering an offensive stance, completely forgetting about the cast around her arm.
"Cynthia, your arm…" Lisanna started.
"I don't need it!" Cynthia replied, allowing flames to flare around her body…only for them to retract as she winced in pain, gripping her arm. "O-Ow…!"
"Get back! Elfman yelled as he quickly changed into his Weretiger takeover, using his speed to rush at the werewolf, who returned the rush.
.
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In Bar Sun, Fairy Tail used the spot as an area to plan their next move for the second day. Makarov sat on a table, cross legged as he began to think of a few ideas. "We're in second place now…"
"Doesn't matter!" Natsu interrupted with a grin on his face. "We're not that far behind, so all we gotta do is win the event and the match tomorrow!"
"We're taking the fifth day as well…I've already decided on that," Laxus said with an already cocky tone.
"What about Cosmic Star?" Lucy asked while toying with a glass of water.
"We'll find a way to deal with them…" Erza replied with a nod. "I'm interested in that Magnus, however."
"He OHKO'ed Chelia-san like it was nothing…" Juvia said while glancing around. "But Juvia wonders what he was so distracted by..."
"They're powerful…but I don't trust them at all…" Gray said while crossing his arms. "I think they're gonna pull something at tomorrow's event…"
"Oh, that reminds me…!" Cana said as she stumbled up, obviously quite tipsy from taking a few drinks. "I can help with tomorrow's event!"
"You can?" Erza looked towards Cana, a brow raised in interest. "You want to have a temporary spot on the team?"
"Yes, just for tomorrow. I can help boost us to first place again, and I can just you all to handle the rest for the battles and the last day!" Cana nodded. "I have a secret weapon…"
"Secret weapon? Well, this should be interesting…I say we let her have a chance…" Laxus nodded slowly.
"Aye, so Gray, lemme have your spot for tomorrow?" Cana asked, but it was more of a demand from the drunk female than anything.
"Alright…" Gray nodded.
"Oh…since we're asking…" Lucy started as she looked around, but remembered Wendy was probably back at the hotel. "Ah, I'll just have to ask her tomorrow."
"G-Guys…!" Cynthia ran through the front doors of the bar, panting heavily along with Lisanna. "H-Hurry…!"
"Cynthia, Lisanna!?" Natsu sprang up from his seat and rushed over to the two, a clear look of worry on his face. "What's going on!?"
"We were jumped…but Elfman is holding off the attacker…!" Cynthia nearly shouted, and with that, Natsu immediately ran off, Happy following right behind him.
.
.
In another area of the city, Luke, Evanee, Selene, Tsami, Melanie, and Blues were surrounded by black Skeleton warriors, all holding swords and shields. "This is why I hardly go out…" Luke groaned as he got into a fighting stance.
"Stop whining…" Evanee groaned towards the copy mage as the skeletons circled around them, stones covering her fist.
"This isn't exactly how I intended to spend my night…" Blues said as he allowed water to cover his fist, and the water dragon slayer made the first move, dashing forward towards one of the many skeletons surrounding the group of six. The skeleton he was aiming for immediately attempted a quick slash, but the dragon slayer dodged, swaying his body to the side, and landed a powerful punch to the ribs of the skeleton, sending it sliding back, but not defeated. "Durable…?"
"You're not hitting it hard enough!" Selene shouted as diamonds coated her arm; she brought her forearm up, allowing the sword of another warrior to strike against it…and to Selene's surprise, the diamond cracked slightly; a hairline fracture. "W-What…?"
"Selene, look out!" Luke shouted as fire covered his fist, which he brought into the skull of the warrior, sending it stumbling back. Luke thought he was in the clear, but a warrior with a large mace appeared behind him; luckily for the copy mage, the diamond dragon slayer had his back, throwing a punch towards the mace, easily shattering into pieces, and followed up with a roundhouse, her leg coated in diamond to increase the impact, sending the warrior flying to the side. Luke turned to Selene with a slight grin, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess we're even now."
Eavnee threw a potent right hook towards the jaw of a warrior, sending it sliding back across the ground; she quickly turned after, noticing another warrior with a battle axe attempting to cleave her in half, but she easily dodged by jumping to the side the battle axe literally cleaving through the ground. "What kind of power…?" As Evanee thought to herself, she turned around, only to see the warrior she punched before coming it, but its attack was cut off by a beam of light slamming into its side, incinerating it.
"I got your back, Evanee-chawn!" Tsami said in a cheery tone.
"You know!" Blues started as he swayed from an incoming slash, bringing his right leg up to slam into the skeleton's chest, but the skeleton blocked the kick with its shield. "These things kinda remind me of something…!"
"Blues, look out!" Melanie shouted as she unleashed a quick water dragon roar (her only real offensive move at the moment) upon a skeleton attempting to flank Blues.
"Ah! Where are these things coming from….it's like a graveyard…!" Blues groaned.
.
From a building nearby, just far enough from the nose of a dragon slayer, Magnus watched with a slight smirk forming on his face. "Just as we planned…" But behind that smirk, there was a heavy sadness. Just as he planned...
.
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Elfman was now in his Beast Soul takeover, having deduced that the wolf he was fighting had to be a person, Elfman no longer felt the need to hold back considering this person had the audacity to attempt an attack on his younger sister. However, to Elfman's surprise, the wolf was faster and stronger than he thought, and he was hardly able to land any hits on it, while he was obviously on the losing side of the battle. Elfman through a quick punch, but the wolf dodged, and rammed into Elfman, causing the man to stumble back. "T-Tch…!"
"Elfman!" Natsu shouted as he came in with a flaming fist, but not even the surprise attack from Natsu could catch the beast off guard, as it jumped back, allowing Natsu's fist to hit the hard ground, causing Natsu's hand to turn red comically as he started rolling around. "It doesn't hurt!" The dragon slayer said repeatedly to himself.
"I could smell you coming from a mile away, Dragneel…" The wolf said as a smirk on its lips.
"It talks?!" Happy shouted in obvious surprise.
.
From an alleyway, Gaia crossed her arms, a frown forming on her lips as she watched. "Just as Magnus said…everything's going exactly as he wanted it…"
.
.
"Kagura…!" Milliana ran through the doors of the restaurant in which Daryan and Kagura were having dinner, the presence of the cat loving mage irritating Daryan.
"Can't you see we're busy…?" Daryan groaned.
"What is it?" Kagura asked, completely ignoring Daryan, and all in favor of Milliana's sudden appearance.
"There are skeletons roaming everywhere around the town, fighting the guild members!" Milliana reported.
Kagura immediately cut her eyes at Daryan…but she then realized something. "It can't be you…"
"What!?" Milliana's eyes widened. "What are you saying!? He's the only one in the area who could do something like that!"
"That may be true…but Milliana; he's never had the chance to do that. I've been with him since the games ended today." Kagura replied. "I've been keeping an eye on him too. It's not him…it's impossible…" As much as she would love to accuse him, she couldn't. She was Daryan's ailbi.
"I have a question…" Daryan started while leaning back in his chair. "What color are those skeletons, eh?"
Milliana pondered the question for a few seconds before recalling the color. "Black…"
"Ah…then it couldn't be me…mine are the regular color…" Daryan nodded. "But...where did these things come from? I don''t..."
"Then who…?" Milliana started.
.
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"The hell is going on!?" Bacchus asked as he engaged combat with a few skeleton warriors, using his palm strikes to attack them, but found that the shields they were using were extremely durable, not even a crack appearing on the shields.
"Hell if I know…." Reve replied while using his pistols to fire at a few warriors coming from east of the city. "Hey you!" Reve shouted to Toby, who was also dealing with a few warriors.
"WHAT IS IT!? OON!" Toby shouted.
"You're a dog, right!?" Reve asked.
"I don't see what that has to do with anything, oooon!" Toby replied, jumping back a few times from slashes of a skeleton.
"Dogs like bones! So, do something about this!" Reve ordered.
Before Toby could respond however, a skeleton slashed at him; he dodged it…but the sock on his neck was slashed into pieces, shattering the hopes and dreams of the mage. "M-My sock...!"
"Oh for crying out…" Reve groaned.
"Shut up and keep fighting!" Sting growled, but only because he was dealing with three warriors.
"Don't tell me what to do, last place," Reve said with a smirk as he got back to work, though his comment did anger Sting somewhat.
From nearby, Alex was watching with a hood to cover her face. "...Yeah...I guess I can't be surprised..."
.
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"This isn't how I wanted to spend my night thank you very much…" Kairi groaned as she, Heather, Skye, and Saeko were surrounded by many skeleton warriors…in what should've been the comfort of their own room in the hotel.
"The stars say these things are very dangerous…" Saeko commented.
"They remind me way too much of a certain person's trick…" Heather mumbled to herself as poison started to cover her fists.
"Requiem!" Sky shouted, requipping into her trusted blade, gripping it by its handle. "Let's take care of these things quickly…"
"No kidding…" Kairi nodded, allowing a magic circle to appear over her body as she entered her Angel Soul takeover, just as the skeletons began their charge.
From the building nearby, Yakuza observed the ladies engage the skeletons with a sigh and a bored expression. "...And as expected, things are going just according to plan..."
.
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Correll, Layanna, Lahar, and a few council guards also found themselves dealing with a few warriors as well. "Heh, I guess they want some…" With a smirk, Correll pulled his fist back, a magic circle appearing around it as it grew in size, also known as the Titan's Fist; Correll threw his fist forward, only for it to collide with the shield of a warrior, causing it to slide back.
"These things are extremely dangerous, Correll…" Layanna nodded as she requipped her own blade, Angelica, and held it at her side.
"Do we need to evacuate for the time being?" Lahar asked as he started to prepare runes.
"Don't worry about it," Correll said. "We're not the only one's fighting. We'll only evac when lives start getting in danger."
.
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"Looks like things are pretty hectic down there…" Ruika said while glancing at the keys on her key ring.
"It provides for a lovely show, don't ya think?" Maggie asked while sitting on the roof of the building she, Ruika, Sora, Diana, and Kiora were on.
"I wonder who's behind this…" Diana tapped her chin a few times.
"Sora thinks that looks fun…" Sora nodded a few times, wanting to play, but she decided it was best for her not to get involved in the long run.
"Yes…they're having oh so much fun down there…" Kiora said with a slight taunting giggle. The mage then turned around, her eyes narrowing as she spotted several warriors approaching them from the roof. "They're here too!?"
.
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The guild masters quickly held an emergency meeting within Bar Sun, the only place where the skeletons didn't seem to attack, and while the other members of the guilds went out to fight. "What the hell is happening out there!?" Makarov asked while placing his hands on the table.
"What do you think we know, Makarov?" Goldmine asked.
"I have Blues Pegasus assisting with the efforts…" Master Bob said while placing his hands on his cheeks, completely at a loss.
"Whenever I find out who's responsible for this I will give them a brutal spinning…!" Ooba shouted with her anger evident.
"I think we should all calm down first…" Calium chimed in. "There are many capable wizards out there, along with the Council; I think they will be able to handle it…"
"Thinking doesn't mean they will." Kama interrupted. "I am as concerned about the well-being of my children as you all are, but we must be ready to take some form of action in case they don't make it."
"I believe in my children," Makarov said with a nod.
"As I do mine…" Calium nodded as well. "I think we should focus our efforts in finding the culprit…they must still be in the area…"
"Hm…yes…" Karma nodded, turning around to face the window, a smirk on his face. "Excellent work, Magnus…everything is falling into place just as you said…" Karma thought to himself.
.
.
[Flashback, the end of Day 3.]
"Where is Daryan?" Gaia asked.
"He's out with Kagura." Hiruka nodded. 'I wanted to peak in on them, but he told me it was for the best he do it on his own. I think he really likes her!"
"Well, he made a pretty bad first impression." Alex rolled her eyes. By this point, her red hair returned. "I don't think she likes him at all."
"This works out for us." Karma said while pacing along with his walking stick. "We can use this to our advantage."
"What...are you talking about?" Yakuza looked over at Karma.
"We need to ensure we win these Games by any means necessary. I care not about the lengths we go to do it." Karma told everyone. "So if that means sabotaging tonight and tomorrow, so be it."
"Are we really going to cheat our way through these whole Games?!" Alex blurted out. "Things were already bad in Bosco! I thought we were stronger and better than that! They didn't catch us before, but we might not be so lucky this time!"
"WE. ARE. WINNERS!" Karma clenched his hand around his walking stick. "I am a winner! I did not pull this group of misfits together to question my every word! I did not save your lives for you all doubt me! I am the master and what I say goes! You already failed us once, Alex. You are lucky I haven't kicked you out for your failure."
'Ngh..." Alex flinched, but Gaia stood in front of her.
"...It's too late to turn back." Magnus closed his eyes. "The moment Daryan hit Risley Law with his attack on day 1, we were already cheating. The only thing we can do now is finish what we started with dirty hands."
"That's the spirit." Karma smiled.
"...Leaves a poor taste in my mouth." Shadowlore admitted. "But whatever. What's the score looking like, Magnus?"
"We will win the Grand Magic Games with the highest point total." Magnus answered, already knowing that question was coming. "There won't be a single thing any of the guilds can do to stop us. The future has already been decided."
"Good boy, Magnus." Karma planted his hand on Magnus' shoulder. The blonde grimaced from the contact. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be alive right now. That goes for the rest of you as well. Yakuza, you were abandoned as a child and left to rot, and who was it that picked you up from the streets!?"
"It was you..." Yakuza sighed.
"Daryan was only a child when he suddenly appeared from the sky one day! If not for me, who knows where he would be right now." Karma scoffed. "Magnus' entire home was destroyed, and I picked him up from the rubble! Gaia and Alex were wounded, and from the generosity of my heart, I healed them. Shadowlore, your powers are the direct result of my intervention."
"..." Nobody could say a thing.
"Remember, you owe me your lives and your unyielding fealty. The world will recognize me, Karma, as the man behind Fiore and Bosco's strongest guilds! They will have no choice but to respect my leadership!"
"..." Gaia narrowed her eyes. It was clear she was beginning to lose her patience, and yet...nothing he said was wrong. Everyone here did owe him their lives.
"Now then." Karma turned to Magnus. "You already know what I'm going to ask if you, isn't that right?"
"Yes." Magnus nodded. "The plan that you want..."