Here is the seventeenth chapter of this story released when I wanted it to be in keeping with my self-imposed upload requirements for this series. Makarov has met with the Black Bulls and learned why they are here and thus they've begun to develop their relationship but the games of course come first. Unfortunately someone else learned about the Black Bulls true origins as well and that could be bad in the long run as the info was just what he needed to get his plan back on track but no one knows that yet. That is all the administrative stuff I have for you as there are no questions that require answering though there is one guest review to respond to as well as a clarification to make first as there is still come confusion following the events of the last chapter to clear up and thank you to the guest who made a battle suggestion, I'd thought of that and now I've got a clearer picture on how it might work if I do go with that strategy. Do keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from those who enjoy my work and onto the clarification.
What I need to clear up is how Future Rogue succeeded in being undetected. I thought I'd been clear last chapter but as the reviews pointed out there was one part of the manga I'd forgotten to address which might imply that Yami can sense ki when someone is using Shadow Magic to hide in shadows and the key word is might. I did check that chapter out, thank you to the reviewer who pointed out the chapter location (336 for those curious), and in no way does it confirm that Yami can sense someone's ki when they are merged in a shadow. Based on my own interpretation of the scene in the manga, Yami reading Nacht's ki while Nacht is fully merged with the shadow using his Shadow Magic is one of three possible explanations for it and in my opinion the second in terms of likelihood. That is because in no way does Yami call to a patch of unoccupied shadow and call out 'Nacht'. Instead he calls Nacht and the next panel shows that Nacht's upper body is already out of shadows thus giving Nacht a physical presence. If the manga had shown a shadow corner after Yami said 'Nacht' and then he appeared that would confirm it but it doesn't so it is, as far as I am concerned, unconfirmed that Yami can read the ki of someone fully merged in a shadow with Shadow Magic. This is also backed up by other evidence in the anime that shows that being in a shadow does prevent ki detection on at least two occasions, the first in episodes 88 when an Eye of the Midnight Sun member uses Shadow Magic to hide in Asta's shadow and is not detected by him and the second in episode 168 when Asta runs to find Yami after recovering following Yami being captured by the Dark Triad and runs right over where Nacht is hiding before being stopped by Nacht's magic and then Nacht appears and it's not until Nacht speaks that Asta notices him. Therefore, I interpret that scene in chapter 336 as Yami noticing Nacht's presence the moment part of his body emerged from the shadows and not while it was still in them and thus asked his question because Nacht was the best person to give a report on the situation at hand. The third explanation is simple prediction given that Nacht was the best for it and thus likely to come tell Yami his findings, but the timing is too coincidental for it in my book. Therefore, based on how I saw it, I deduced and will be going with this for the remainder of my story, that while in shadow a person cannot be detected by their ki making it one of the few ways a living person can avoid that (nonliving beings don't give off ki based on Yami's description of it in episode 34 though nature does give off ki). Future Rogue doesn't know how lucky he got there. I hope that clears up any confusion, I know that that chapter in the manga can be interpreted a few ways and if you disagree that is fine as there can be other interpretations but this is how I interpret it and how it will be applied in my story.
To KGBeastboy (guest), thank you for your review and you raise something I hadn't considered, Asta would seem to be a mix of Erza and Mira if they encounter him in Black Asta which he still has yet to reveal to them of course. As for S-Class status, they may learn that before then though but if they see that combination, much to the nightmares of the rest of Fairy Tail, they will understand it I am sure. As for the Sabertooth stuff, I don't think Jiemma would replace Rufus for coming second in an event, he'd be annoyed that it wasn't first and would certainly not accept any excuses for it, but it's still second not last so they got 8 points and Olga made up for it in the battle. Don't forget that he let Sting's last place in Chariots slide and he also didn't seem to be annoyed at Olga for coming fourth in the third event so I'm sure he'd let Rufus coming second off with just a stern warning to not let it happen again and then when Yukino loses he really loses it with her being new adding to why he expelled her. I don't really intend to show what goes on behind the scenes at Sabertooth, for the most part it isn't worth it though I will probably show one chapter after the Black Bulls make other canonical changes that come at the expense of Sabertooth, and which will also set things up for the Battle Royal nicely. Do keep reading and enjoying my work.
Anyway, that is it for longer than normal pre-chapter note so it is time to end it so that y'all can sit back and enjoy the seventeenth chapter in Black Bull Banishment.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these two great animes.
Chapter 17: Shortcut to Winning Chariots
"Welcome to the second event of the Grand Magic Games!" Mato said to the gathered competitors for the event. "It's time for me to explain how Chariots will work."
Finral stood with the others at the start line in Crocus which was actually behind the end of a long snake of wooden platforms on large wheels as far as the eye could see that were currently on the road in the Capital of Fiore that went from where they were all the way up to the Domus Flau Colosseum. It was not what Finral had expected when they got word that morning that they had to choose their competitors before the rest of the team went to the stadium due to this event not starting in the arena and then report to this location. That had been confusing but so to had the name given for the event, Chariots.
The Black Bulls had no idea what that meant when it was announced but based on the name it sounded like some motion-based event at least so that ruled out Luck who would take the next combat-based game or Noelle who was their pick for any water or intellect-based games so that just left Magna and Finral. Magna had been healed from his battle the day before but was still a little sore and Chariots gave off a potential race sound to it which meant that Finral's magic was probably the best for it. As such he'd been volunteered for the event and sent to the starting position for it before he could protest it.
Finral accepted it though and knew that he had to give it his all and he intended to, especially with so many lovely ladies cheering in the stands, but he was still nervous about messing it up especially when he got to the start point and saw who else was in the event. It seemed that Sabertooth had gone all out sending arguably the strongest member of their current team, according to Nero, in the White Dragon Slayer Sting Eucliffe and Fairy Tail Teams A and B weren't far behind that idea with their own Dragons Slayers in Natsu Dragneel and Gajeel Redfox respectively.
As for the others, there were a mix bag to Finral with the only one he really recognized being Ichiya of Blue Pegasus because as creepy as the small Casanova was still one of their top wizards but the others he didn't know well. Yuka of Lamia Scale Finral only knew because he used Wave Magic which was a magic similar to Asta's Anti-Magic just not as effective but the other two, Blacksnake from Raven Tail and Lislie from Mermaid Heel where mysteries to him.
Regardless Finral knew better than to count out the gothic man from the Dark Guild pretending to be legit and the chubby girl from Fiore's version of the Blue Rose Knights. They were showing that a Guild could come from nowhere and do well so they also knew that just because a competitor was unknown or not from one of the big name Guilds they shouldn't be discounted.
That meant that one thing was certain to Finral, this event was going to be a tough given who was in it, but he was ready for it. He wouldn't let the Black Bulls down as he and the others paid close attention to Mato as they waited for the rules.
"The rules are simple, pumpkin." Mato said as he gestured to the last cart thing. "You are to start on this final chariot and when the event starts make your way over the chariots to the finish line in the Domus Flau Colosseum where your place will be determined by where in the order you cross the finish set up there. Basically, it's a standard race and there will be people cheering in the streets and at the stadium as they watch it unfold on lacrima vision."
"Sounds pretty straightforward." Natsu said his arms across his chest. "Is there a catch?"
"No catch." Mato said shaking his pumpkin head. "Well unless you count the fact that the train of chariots, while long, doesn't reach the Colosseum from where we are right now so they will be moving at a slow and steady pace up to it. Oh, and if you fall off and hit the ground you're disqualified."
"Moving!" Natsu said his eyes wide, he'd not considered that this event would entail moving vehicles even with the name as he just wanted to take part in it.
"Well, this was dumb." Sting said but when Natsu had declared he'd do this event he had known he would have to challenge the Dragon Slayer he'd once looked up to and now he was regretting giving into that desire as he was faced with the weakness all fully fledged Dragon Slayers, that he was aware of, had. "Not good."
"Ha, I've got you now Salamander." Gajeel said with a laugh as he too had entered, insisting on it to his team just as Natsu had done, because it was a chance to beat Salamander in an event. "I don't share that weakness of yours, so I've got this."
"I'd say that those are some pretty big catches." Finral said ignoring the Dragon Slayers as he looked to Mato already formulating his plan. "But can I ask for a clarification on the rules?"
"Certainly." Mato said with a nod his tone as jovial as ever. "That is why I am here, pumpkin."
"The rule about not touching the ground, does that mean that so long as we only touch these platforms we're good?" Finral asked and saw the confusion on the pumpkin's face and tried to clarify his question without revealing his plan. "So, if I was to say avoid some of the platforms with my magic but not touch the ground in the process, would that be acceptable?"
"Oh yes that is more than allowed, this is the Grand Magic Games so magic is allowed in all the events." Mato said. "Only the ground is out of bounds in Chariots. If you wanted to leap over a chariot or event force an opponent to do so, providing you don't touch the ground you will fine."
"Thank you, that clears everything up nicely." Finral said with a nod as his plan came to him, well two did but he decided that unless there was an issue that required it he'd stick to the safer one as both were likely to win it for him so best to stick with the one less likely to get him disqualified just in case.
"Alright if that is all, please step onto the last platform." Mato said and all the competitors, even the two Dragon Slayers who knew that they'd be motion sick on it, did so. "And remember, don't fall off."
"Alright folks, we are ready to start the event of day 2." Chapati's voice said, his voice carrying to the competitors through speakers in the city as Mato slipped away due to attending the games in his formal capacity today as King of Fiore and not as the beloved mascot Mato. "And what a field we have as we get ready for Chariots. With me today as always is Mr. Yajima."
"Pleasure to be here." Yajima said with a nod that Finral of course couldn't see.
"And our special guest commentator for the day, the editor of Sorcerer Weekly, Jason." Chapati added. "Any opening words Jason?"
"So cool." Jason said excitedly.
"Glad to have you and now to quickly go over the rules before we start for the crowd though our wonderful mascot Mato, who will not be present for the rest of the day, has just gone over them for the competitors." Chapati said as Finral made sure that he was lined up for the event. "The rules are simple, whoever reaches the finish line in the Domus Flau Colosseum first wins, and they can only reach it by running on the chariots that will be moving slowly through Crocus to get here. Magic is of course allowed, and the only rule is that you can't touch the ground or else you will be disqualified. Seems pretty straightforward, right Mr. Yajima?"
"It's a simple event but the slow moving of the chariots will add an interesting factor to it." Yajima said. "It will cause all the participants to assess their strategies as they traverse them."
"And who would you say is the favorite for this event?" Chapati asked as Finral got ready for the start.
"Hard to say." Yajima said his tone contemplative. "Sabertooth is always one what with them being the top Guild and all so pay attention to Sting in this, and we know that Ichiya is a top-level wizard in Blue Pegasus with several tricks up his sleeves. Lislie has her own tricks as well and Yuka's Wave Magic can be a really tricky thing to handle if you're not prepared for it. Course there is also the Fairy Tail wizards, you can never count them out in an event. Let's also not forget how well we've seen the Black Bulls and Raven Tail do so far despite coming into the games as unknowns, yesterday's first battle notwithstanding. Really I'd say this is wide open for all of them short of a real surprise that makes this event easy or really challenging for one or more of them."
"As always a good and detailed analysis of what to expect from the upcoming event." Chapati said. "Jason, any final words before it starts?"
"This is going to be so cool!" Jason said sounding really excited for the event to start.
"Alright and on that note, let's begin!" Chapati said and there was a loud gong sound that kicked off the event and suddenly the chariots began to move.
The moment they did Finral held back for a few seconds as he pulled out his grimoire to use his main spell and watched as the others begin running. None of them seemed to use magic, likely saving it for when they had a better sense of the chariots and their movements, as Blacksnake took the lead first with Yuka, Ichiya, and Lislie following him in a close group but the magicless speed of them was noticeable slower than Blacksnake. However, what Finral wasn't prepared for was that they were the only ones to set off and he looked to his sides at the three Dragon Slayers.
All were moving but at a pace that even the chariots could beat as they tried to go forward but were green in the face and looked like they would puke their guts out. That was when Finral got it, they had motion sickness and he recalled Nero saying something about this being a side effect of learning Dragon Slayer Magic.
Well that just made his life easier as he set off at a jog to get to the next platform and then when he was at the top of the stair things that the chariots had he looked out to the farthest point on the chariots and made a portal to it as his grimoire glowed. He connecting the portal to one at the base of the stairs before him and ran into it.
"Well, this has started a little…" Chapati began as Finral ran through his portal and appeared at the next one suddenly several chariots in the lead in a second and had made sure that the mark he could see was on the chariot and not in the air just to be safe. "What just happened?"
"That was so cool!" Jason said as Finral ignored the commentary and continued on his path with the method he'd selected for moving along the chariots.
"So that is the wizard behind the portals, I always wondered who it was as we never actually saw the caster, but I didn't expect him to be on the Black Bulls team." Yajima said as Finral continued to increase his lead by creating spatial portals as far ahead as he could manage safely manage. "Clever that. The rules state that he can't touch the ground, it says nothing about using Spatial Magic portals, a really rare ability, to go from chariot to chariot. We had a special rule prohibiting this in the preliminary as the purpose was to navigate the Sky Labyrinth, but this is a different event and Finral has no such restriction now."
"You know of this magic?" Chapati asked confused.
"Yes but only because I've seen it as a restaurateur." Yajima said as Finral emerged from a portal and ran into the next one he made. "The Black Bulls are surprising everyone with their skills in this event, but people forget that on a per member basis they may be one of the wealthiest Guilds in Fiore as their non-Guild activities are notable and profitable. Be it their magic items like their brooms that revolutionized the individual transport system in Fiore, the foods they make that even as a chef myself I must admit are top quality, the merchandise they have, and of course the marketing their lovely ladies do for their Guild and anyone wishing to hire them as models, so they really rake it in."
"And this Spatial Magic is one of those services?" Chapati asked. "I didn't realize."
"It is though it is the most expensive of all the services the Black Bulls offer in addition to their Guild work." Yajima said. "They have this special Spatial Service for those able to pay the really high prices that will do near instant travel or deliveries providing that the wizard using the magic has been to where you want to go or send something. The are cheaper than the travel service and I've used it to get some of the freshest ingredients for my most expensive dishes for my clientele who are willing to pay for them as I factor in the delivery cost as well."
"It's true, we've had to pay them for it to do some of our most exotic shoots but as Vanessa is one of our models we get a good rate so long as she's paid well for the shoot." Jason said as Finral continued his trip through the chariots and was now over half the length of the entire train of chariots ahead of Blacksnake. "Finral Roulacase, I should have recognized the name when I saw it, he's their Spatial Magic user."
"I see, well it looks like this is a foregone conclusion for the top spot." Chapati said clearly satisfied with what he was being told. "Right?"
"I'd say." Yajima said. "Finral is almost at the first chariot and they're only just climbing the mountain to the colosseum, which is really impressive as the organizers never factored in that someone would reach the start of the chariots before the first one reached Domos Flau. This is something else from the Black Bulls. First Hidden and now Chariots, they've taken the games by surprise with some impressive magic and skills."
There was a cheer at that from the fans in the stadium and Finral could actually hear the cheer because he'd done just as the announcers said and reached the first chariot in the order as it turned the penultimate bend to reach the stadium which the chariots would drive past so that you leapt out into the arena and then ran several meters to the finish line.
For Finral, all he had to do now was catch his breath, he was still running between his portals after all and he wasn't like Asta when it came to stamina, while also letting his mana recover a little as he waited for the moment knowing that short of Spatial Magic no one would come near him. That was confirmed a few minutes later as the chariots pulled up to the stadium and the off point was marked so Finral leapt from the first chariot as soon as he was allowed to and onto the arena floor as the crowd erupted.
He still needed to cross the finish line and so he did, running fast even though he didn't need to and breaking the white tape that was across it, his arms raised, a smile on his face and tears in his eyes as confetti was blasted into the air around him the moment the tape was broke. The crowd was cheering, and he saw many lovely ladies but that didn't matter really because he turned to the Black Bulls to see them all, but Yami, on their feet in their suite with the more exuberant members leaping up and down cheering for him as Magna waved their flag high to signal their win.
"And in what has to be record time, Finral Roulacase of the Black Bulls has crossed the finish line and secured 10 points for the Black Bulls." Chapati announced from above where Finral was. "The others aren't even halfway along the path to the finish line and Finral has already finished, this is really something else and the Black Bulls now have back-to-back event wins."
"I'll say." Yajima said as the other Guilds present processed what they'd seen. "The Black Bulls really are the surprise of the games."
"So cool!" Jason added pumping his arms up and down in excitement.
Finral barely heard this as he basked in the attention and adoration of the crowd but most of all he was pleased to have done what he had to do for his Squad. He'd won and really shown his worth and that was all that truly mattered, well that and he'd get some dates out of this but that would come as would the memory of Lady Finnis which would inevitably prevent him from going on any of those dates. For the moment, though, Finral enjoyed his victory.
"I didn't realize that one of the Black Bulls had that kind of magic." Makarov said as he stared in shock at the results before looking over to Yami who gave him a smirk and a nod as if he knew that Makarov would look at him. "To have a gem like that in their Guild, that's unbelievable."
"You get what happened, First Master?" Mavis asked him, she knew the full story now having been there the night before but unnoticed due to her being a projection and Makarov had explained it all in further detail in his room that night but still this was beyond what he'd so far told her. "That was Spatial Magic but it's not like how Territory or Requip works."
"No that is the Spatial Magic that their homeland is known for." Makarov said. "Julius explained it to me when he talked about some of the cool magic he knew. Spatial Magic is a rare and strange magic here and it is there as well as there are those who can trap others in pocket dimensions, which we have as well, as well as those who like Finral there can basically create warp gates that can transport people miles in an instant. From what Julius said the only real limits on that are the wizard's magic power levels and some other factor like whether or not the person has been there. We have Teleportation Magic here, which is a variant of Spatial Magic, but nothing like those portals."
"I see, that makes sense." Mavis said thinking on it. "And from what I saw it seemed like Finral was using a localized version of it by warping himself to points he could see rather than straight here to play it safe. It shows that vision is also important in his magic."
"That is from what I gathered pretty much ubiquitous with that kind of Spatial Magic." Makarov said. "He probably could have just created a portal to the finish line and won but he likely wasn't sure if that would be allowed so he went for a hopping approach that would be more likely and as he wasn't disqualified it is clearly the case. Still, it's impressive, I wonder if he has the truly unique Spatial Magic from his homeland that Julius spoke of."
"Truly unique?" Mavis asked.
"Offensive Spatial Magic." Makarov said surprising Mavis as she had no idea what that was. "Julius explained it to me, it is a trait of their noble House of Vaude apparently and it allows the user to basically warp things away with Spatial Magic. Apparently those with that kind of Spatial Magic can teleport stuff out of existence so it's lethal and strong magic. Still, in this event that Spatial Magic like Finral's meant that there was no way he was losing it."
"No doubt." Mavis said. "These Black Bulls, they really are something we've never dealt with before. I will begin my tactical plans for them right away because I need to be ready should we face them in a larger battle event and I've really got to figure out why I can't seem to strategize around that Asta kid."
"Yes First Master." Makarov said as he looked to Yami and the Black Bulls who were still cheering for Finral. "We will need all your skills if we are to beat them because I doubt they're done surprising us."
"What did we just witness?" Gray asked his eyes wide as Fairy Tail Team A processed the quick victory by the Black Bulls in Chariots, their second surprise event victory in as many events. "That power and book, I've seen them together before."
"Yeah it was the magic that Velveno used to redirect Scorpio's sand onto me in the magic ball." Lucy said. "You said that a few of them were there Gray so clearly this Finral guy was one of them and Velveno copied his magic at some point before the ring appeared."
"It's really incredible magic." Erza said. "And useful too. Spatial Magic but not like the kinds we are used to like my Requip, that is almost a pure kind of Spatial Magic similar to Teleportation Magic just a bit more versatile. He can transport himself from one place to another through space, and likely other people and things, with those portals."
"These Black Bulls are shocking to say the least." Elfman said. "Just who are they?"
"I don't know but I did some digging last night after everyone went to bed what with Natsu so set on being in this event and the surprise we saw in Hidden yesterday." Erza said. "And I didn't find much. According to the official records that I could find, they're not from Fiore originally and have been an official Guild for 2 years, which they formed shortly after arriving here, but their membership is small at 14 registered members according to the public records and of them only three are S-Class. Their Guild Master, a man called Yami Sukehiro, Asta which was no surprise after what we saw, and someone called Luck Voltia. The last we don't know but by process of deduction he's got to be the blond kid on their team."
"The one smiling oddly?" Lucy asked looking over and seeing the guy in question who wore a green smock and had his book that all the Black Bulls seemed to have in a large leather holder that was strapped over his upper chest with the same open robe that almost all the Black Bulls wore. "He's S-Class?"
"It has to be him though of course he could be their reserve and that's a different kid, but I doubt it." Erza said. "They've shown their skills and how they are willing to go all out to win the games, so Luck has to be the last one of the males as the other three we know and the girl is Noelle, right?"
"That's what Asta said." Gray said with a nod. "He called her that yesterday when I asked him about being at the Count Balsamico's magic ball as I saw him dancing with her at the end."
"Then we really need to be wary of them." Erza said. "Because they've just won two events with an ease that no one expected while displaying abilities that would put those members in the upper echelons of the top Guilds. I'll be out competitor next event and break their streak but still be wary, especially if we face them in the battle round next."
"Agreed." Elfman said.
"Right but for now let's support Natsu." Gray said as they looked to the lacrima screens to see that the top four of the leading pack fighting for second place were a little over halfway at this point but the three at the back were clearly fighting to avoid coming last. "Why did we choose him for this event again?"
"Because he said he was going to do this and you know Natsu, once he sets his mind to something nothing will stop him." Lucy said with a sigh, it was one of Natsu's best qualities at times, but it could also cloud his judgement and make him ignore something obvious. "Though Chariots should have given it away."
"Well let's support him anyway because even with that, any and all points are valuable in the long run." Erza said as they focused on the trio of motion sick Dragon Slayers at the back of the race. "Even one point could be key to winning the games in the end so let's show our support for Natsu to get at least two points out of this event."
The others nodded as they turned their support to Natsu though all had similar thoughts in their minds after two events, a thought which Elfman had verbalized but still rang in their heads. Just who were the Black Bulls?
"Wait what just happened?" Yuka asked as he ran over the chariots and the announcement came in that the first participant had crossed the finish line. "Someone won?"
"It would seem that the Black Bulls really have some surprises for us." Ichiya said as he led the three-person pack that was him, Yuka, and Lislie as they trailed behind the clear leader of the remaining competitors in Raven Tail's Blacksnake. "Yesterday in Hidden and today in Chariots they've won with abilities no one could have seen coming though I'd say yesterday was more surprising than today."
"Still, plenty of points on the line boys." Lislie said. "And don't count out chubby power because I'm going to beat you."
The men just grunted as they focused on running as they tried to decide when to act as the tactics of the race came into play. They may not be able to win after what the Black Bull in the event did, seriously the guy had Spatial Magic that allowed him to make some kind of portal from one point on the chariots to another which made him pretty much a lock to win, so they were all fighting for second place and the 8 points that came with it.
That was currently Blacksnake, and he had a sizable lead on the other three, not that he cared as he was just participating in the event on his Guild Master's orders as they waited for the moment to strike at Fairy Tail and secure what Ivan wanted from them. They didn't care for where they came in an event, just complete it while hiding their true objective for being here, and crush any fairies that got in their way of course. Still, it would annoy the other people if Blacksnake beat them so he would do that just to be petty and deny them all those points that they clearly cherished.
He was right and the others did care about getting as many points as possible so those who were in the trailing group were trying to catch up Blacksnake though at least Sabertooth would suffer from this event and Fairy Tail would remain in last based on who they'd chosen for Chariots. Seriously, three Dragon Slayers in a vehicle-based event was not a good idea but they'd done it and as such would be fighting for the last three spots.
The fight at the back was serious, so much so that they'd not cared when Finral had used his portal to take the lead though Gajeel was pissed now that he had the same weakness as Salamander, and the three were battling for what little points they could get. Still, every little helped and with the surprise Black Bulls winning two events you needed that it seemed as second event continued to play out to determine the placings behind its surprise winner Finral Roulacase.
"Woohoo, Finral did it." Asta cheered as Finral continued to enjoy his victory down in the arena. "I knew he had it."
"The moment this was confirmed to be a race we knew it." Noelle said though she was still glad he'd pulled it off. "Only an idiot would have failed to win this with Spatial Magic."
"That wasn't battle based so it didn't look fun, but we won." Luck said. "Which is important, right?"
"Course it is." Magna said. "Makes up for my loss yesterday."
"That it does." Luck said as he began to shadow box. "I hope I get to battle later though; I really want to fight someone strong."
"Whoever battles will have to win it or I'll kill you." Yami growled.
"Yes Captain Yami." They all said.
"Good now focus on the rest of this race because whoever is in it may be an opponent in a battle so best to know what they can do." Yami said as they all focused on the lacrima visions. "Though can someone tell me what is up with those three guys at the back of the race. Why do they look like they're about to puke?"
"Dragon Slayers have one major weakness." Nero said looking at the screen and easily identifying the three competitors and what their issue was. "They suffer from motion sickness."
"Huh that has been mentioned before but it's certainly something else to see it in action." Yami said as he watched. "Why do they have it?"
"An aspect of their magic is that they're senses are well above average for a human, at least from what I read." Gordon said. "So, any motion in a vehicle makes them sick as it messes with their enhanced senses apparently. Here vehicles are more varied and prevalent to the things we use back home as they have many kinds of vehicles while we mainly just have brooms and other magical items like carpets or spells that we use to fly."
"There are also boats." Yami said recalling them well. "But yeah I've noticed, the tech here is a lot more sophisticated than we have. We're going to make a killing on the toilets alone when we get back."
"True, I've made sure to really adapt their magic items to our own as the benefits are great for those with little magic back home." Nero said. "But yes that is why those three are sick. My reports noted that this is normal for Natsu and Sting, along with Rogue Cheney the other Dragon Slayer in Sabertooth, and I've even seen this effect in Natsu before at the magic ball, but I'd never heard Gajeel had it."
"Must be some level of magic improvement that led to him reaching whatever threshold of skill is needed to trigger this motion sickness effect." Gordon theorized. "He's been training hard, hasn't he?"
"Correct, him and his exceed partner, for some reason all the Dragon Slayers I've discovered other than Laxus have one so presumably there's something different about Second Generation Dragon Slayers, were training hard for the games." Nero said. "Perhaps it is something like that. Would explain why there's no reports on Wendy Marvel, the final Dragon Slayer I know of, not being motion sick. Given her age she just might not have reached the necessary level of magical development to become motion sick. Magic power works differently here after all."
"Well for all the theories it's clear that at least that pink haired guy is doing his best." Yami said as they watched the lacrima vision of that portion of the race. "The emblem is Fairy Tail's and he's clearly pushing past his limits to be the best of that group. Not bad and a few points are worth it in the long run."
"With how the battles are set up in such a way that a winning one can really boost you while losing can be a major hinderance I can see that." Noelle said as Finral still hadn't returned but he had won so they were going to let him have his moment in the spotlight. "We got 10 points yesterday, but all came in the first event as we lost our battle, so we ended the day in 5th. There are a lot of tactical implications in the points it seems."
"Yeah but we've got 20 now and 30 when we win our battle." Asta said showing his confidence in the Squad as he watched the rest of the race. "So how will the others do?"
"It's clear who's going to come second." Magna said. "That Raven Tail guy. Even without cheating like they did in the battles; he's got the speed on this."
"He's got the lead and I think it will hold." Noelle said. "So, the others…oh looks like they're doing something."
"So that's Wave Magic." Nero said as they watched Yuka use Wave Magic from his palms to boost his speed and put Ichiya and Lislie behind him with his magic which also prevented them from using their own magic to counter his boost though that advantage was only temporary. "It nullifies other magic but not as well as Asta's Anti-Magic and there are ways around it. See, both of them have a way to do so."
Nero was right as Lislie used some form of Gravity Magic to evade the Wave Magic by running on the side of the chariot to get around Yuka and despite her portly build she showed some impressive speed as she got ahead of Yuka. A moment later Ichiya showed his strange skills by pulling out two vial things from inside his jacket and shoving them right into his nostrils before snorting or inhaling the contents.
"What did that creepy troll just do?" Noelle asked confused while the commentators explained that Lislie's precise magic was Gravity Manipulation Magic.
"He shoved something in his nose." Asta said. "That's really odd."
"And gross." Magna said.
"Clever though." Nero said as Ichiya suddenly had a boost of speed and sprinted past both Yuka and then Lislie as the latter got back on the platforms with a newer, slimmer figure for some reason that she kept and showed its advantage as she began to pull away from Yuka but continued to trail a still speeding Ichiya. "I'm not sure what magic it is but involves smell or at least nasal inhalation to use. Likely some kind of potion or powder-based magic they have here and certainly a way around Wave Magic."
"The man may be an annoying womanizer, but he's got power, I'll give him that." Mimosa said as she watched. "And he should maintain that spot until the end, right?"
"From here on out it's pretty much set for the next 4 spots after Finral." Yami said as the Raven Tail guy reached the Colosseum and leapt off the platform to run across the line in second.
"And there is our second-place finisher, Raven Tail's Blacksnake." Chapati said though it was clear Blacksnake didn't seem to care about it as he just headed out of the arena the moment he was across the finish line, which was true given his Guild's true intentions for the games but no one knew that just yet, and right as Ichiya leapt off the chariots to run to the finish line. "And into third it is Ichiya of Blue Pegasus."
That was to be expected after the brief moment of competition between the trio behind Blacksnake and shortly after Ichiya a once again chubby Lislie crossed the line in 4th with Yuka trailing behind her for 5th. From there on it was just the three Dragon Slayers left and no one really spoke during that as the battle between them was so intense despite being a slow-motion struggle against their motion sickness that no one could say anything as they watched Natsu and Gajeel give it all for just two points while Sting seemed to give up and accept last place in the event.
To say it was tough but inspirational was an understatement. Yami had been right about Natsu surpassing his limits for the 2 points that were still available, as did Gajeel just to secure a single point, as they practically crawled and strained through their motion sickness to reach the finish line and even getting off the chariots at the end didn't fully cure them, they were still feeling it as they staggered to the finish line. Despite that Natsu was able to push past Gajeel and claim the first two points for Fairy Tail Team A while Gajeel came 7th for one point thus ensuring that Sting got 0 for Sabertooth.
"And there it is, Chariots is over!" Chapati said as Sting crawled across the line in last, Finral was now back with the Black Bulls having returned during the battle between Natsu, Gajeel, and Sting, and been welcomed with mana recovery food from Charmy and congratulations but they'd then turned their focus on the final part of the race as it was still going on at that point. "And here are the results. Mr. Yajima, care to do the honors for us?"
"Certainly." Yajima said. "In first place by a large margin was Finral Roulacase of the Black Bulls giving them 10 points and their second event win in as many events. Second for 8 points was Raven Tail's Blacksnake followed by Ichiya of Blue Pegasus who gets 6 points to round out the top three. Just outside of that is Lislie of Mermaid Heel who's 4th place showing nets Mermaid Heel 4 points. In the lower half it was Yuka of Lamia Scale in 5th and receiving 3 points, Natsu of Fairy Tail Team A gets 2 points, Gajeel of Fairy Tail Team B gets 1 and in last with 0 points is Sting of Sabertooth."
"A clear and succinct round up of the results." Chapati said. "And your thoughts on how the event played out to end in these results?"
"It was certainly a little unexpected as I think going into it no one had the top two being Finral and Blacksnake." Yajima said as the scoreboard came up with the new standings for the Guilds following Chariots. "But the Black Bulls and Raven Tail have excelled at that though in different manners, and they continued it in Chariots while Fairy Tail and Sabertooth chose the wrong competitors. So that means that going into the second day battles the leaderboard has had a bit of a shakeup it seems."
"That it has because in first with 22 points each we have a surprising tie between Raven Tail and Blue Pegasus." Chapati said. "Then, in third with 20 points from their two event wins it's the Black Bulls. Rounding out the top half of the leaderboard in 4th its Sabertooth with 18 which is lower than many would have expected from them even at this early juncture. 5th is Lamia Scale at 16 points and then we drop off to Mermaid Heel in 6th with 6 and a tie in last at 2 points for both Fairy Tail Teams."
"Certainly not the results we were expecting at this point in the competition, but it is still early." Yajima said as the Black Bulls processed their results and were pleased with them. "And with 10 points available to those who win their battles as a win can really shift one's position, just as a loss can, so we could see a very different spread and rankings when the day ends."
"Agreed." Chapati said. "Jason, any words before we announce the first battle as decided by the fans?"
"The whole event was so cool!" Jason said excitedly. "I can't wait for the battles, there's a special one coming up that will really make the games but it's not the first one up."
"That there is folks, but we've got to build up to that battle." Chapati said. "But that is it for the event so time to take a break but get ready for what is to come because next up is the battles and they are going to start off with our second place finished in Chariots, Blacksnake of Raven Tail, facing Lamia Scale's Toby Olorta!"
I think that's a good place to end this chapter as Finral has secured the second win for the Black Bulls, and did so safely just to make sure, thus putting them in third after the second event despite Magna's loss. I know that in the actual race that Ichiya lost to Yuka and Lislie but as this race didn't have Bacchus to disrupt things by breaking the chariots thanks to the Black Bulls knocking out Quatro Cerberus in the preliminaries there was nothing to disrupt Ichiya thus allowing him to get ahead of Lislie and Yuka and claim the third place spot. Next up is the battles and who will be selected from the Black Bulls to face Elfman? Well that will be revealed soon as that battle is coming up but for now that is all that I have for y'all so I will leave this chapter off here. If you liked this please favorite, follow, leave a review, or let me know in a PM and I will try to answer any questions posed in reviews and PMs as best I can. Until next time.
Stringdog