A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter!
Enjoy!
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: DAY 3, PANDEMONIUM
Natsu and Sebastian had a stare off with Jiemma. "Fairy Tail... Black Sun..." Rufus muttered in disbelief.
"Natsu... san?" Sting mumbled.
"You came here to pick a fight with the Master?" Orga asked.
"That's suicidal!" Lector exclaimed.
"Fro think so, too..." Frosch added.
"Are you serious, kid?" Jiemma questioned.
"Anybody who doesn't think of their comrades as comrades is on my list!" Natsu claimed.
"Is he talking about Yukino?" Rogue wondered.
"That's got nothin' to do with you! Who would storm in here over something like that?!" Sting asked himself.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I suppose you've got your reasons." Jiemma said.
"Bullshit." Sebastian said in anger.
"Dobengal. Deal with them." Jiemma ordered.
"Yes, sir!" Dobengal replied, appearing next to Jiemma.
"You're avoiding me?" Natsu accused.
"A guild soldier like you needs 100 more years of experience. If you want a shot at the top, you'll have to prove yourself. Show me what you can do." Jiemma said.
"Fight me!" Natsu exclaimed, charging forward.
"You're not getting near the master!" Dobengal said, running up towards Natsu. His arm extended and turned into rainbow transparent magic, and he attacked Natsu. "I, Dobengal, am not taking part in the Grand Magic Games," Dobengal appeared behind Natsu and Sebastian. "but when it comes to skill, I'm just as strong as any of the participants here. I'm gonna show you the power of Sabertooth!"
Dobengal threw some smoke balls as colorful smoke appeared. "A smokescreen, huh?" Natsu said as Dobengal sent rays of light down at Natsu and Sebastian, in which they both dodged.
"You don't know who you're messing with. You should withdrawl immediately. Get out!" Dobengal informed.
Sebastian dodges his oncoming attack. "Wrong. I don't think you know who you're messing with. Now get outta our way!" He claimed, punching Dobengal with a fist covered in orange-red flames, knocking him out and sending him flying past Sting and into a door. Sting's eyes widened. "We don't got business with you, asshole!"
"I don't believe it..."
"Dobengal's down?!"
Frosch screamed in shock. "He's one of the top ten strongest wizards in our guild!" Lector exclaimed.
"Master, let me..." Sting started to say.
"Don't do a thing." Jiemma interrupted as Natsu charged forward. "Kid, there aren't any like you in my guild. Amusing."
Natsu threw his fist forward as Jiemma used his arms to block it. "Is that all... you've got?!" Jiemma challenged, his magic power sending both Natsu and Sebastian back a bit. Sebastian's right leg got covered in orange-red flames as he swung it at Jiemma's stomache, making Sting and Rogue watch in shock.
Natsu then threw another punch at Jiemma's face as the rest of the guild watched. Natsu then sent a wave of flames at him and threw multiple punches at him. All anyone could see was the flames that came from it.
Lightning soon coated with Natsu's flames. "Firing Hammer..." Natsu started to say. "...of the Lightning Flame Dragon!"
His attack caused an explosion outside of the inn. Soon enough, the smoke was blasted away by Minerva who had used her Magic.
"Minerva!" Jiemma exclaimed.
"My lady!" Sting said.
"A witch." Sebastian commented, getting Natsu's attention.
"You know this chick?" Natsu muttered.
"Ran into her on a few of my jobs." Sebastian whispered. "If there's anyone in Sabertooth you shouldn't piss off, it's her."
"Shall we end this evening's entertainment here?" Minerva suggested.
"Huh?"
"Minerva, I didn't ask you to step in..." Jiemma scolded.
"Of course, if this had continued, you would have won, Father." Minerva claimed.
"Father?" Natsu quoted.
"However, the world cares about appearances. Even though these two came here and attacked you, if the master of Sabertooth annihilated two participants in the Grand Magic Games, it would cause difficulty for all of us." Minerva said.
"I'll tell ya one thing... if anybody's gettin' wiped out, it's him!" Natsu exclaimed.
"My father has somewhat warmed to this battle, but cannot back down in front of his subordinates. What do you think? Will you allow us to save face?" Minerva questioned as she used her Magic, but nothing appeared in her hands. "What?"
"Natsu!"
The sound of Happy's voice was heard at the entrance as he rushed over towards Natsu, who hugged him. "Impossible! How did you-" Minerva started to say.
"It was me."
An arrow rushed towards Minerva who stopped it with her Magic. Sebastian grinned as he saw Raden in his Battle Form, holding his bow. "Raden! Just in time!" He said.
"I managed to save Happy before the witch got to her." Raden explained as Minerva deactivated her Magic, letting the arrow clatter to the ground.
"Thank you, Raden." Natsu thanked the Exceed.
Raden deactivated his Battle Form, turning back into his Exceed form. "It's not a problem, Natsu. I'm used to saving Sebastian a bunch of times." He replied, causing an irked expression to appear on Sebastian's forehead.
"I think it's about time we get out of here, Natsu." Sebastian said.
"Yeah." Natsu agreed, picking Happy up.
"We'll settle this dispute at the Grand Magic Games, this ain't over." Sebastian informed.
"If you call yourselves a guild, take care of your comrades. That's all I wanted to say." Natsu added.
Sebastian and Natsu soon took their leave with Happy and Raden as Rogue watched them go. "Comrades... We don't have that kind of bond in our guild." He thought.
"Y-You're that strong, Natsu Dragneel?!" Sting thinks to himself.
"Hey! I'm gonna compete tomorrow! I can't just let him get away with this carnage!" Orga claimed.
"You mean you're going to unleash the power of Black Lightning, right?" Rufus asked.
"Certainly, this was rather one-sided carnage, but without something like this, we would've lost our spark." Minerva said. "Anyway, we need someone to replace Yukino. I think I'll get in on the fun."
"Huh? You and Natsu fought Sabertooth?!" Kida exclaimed once Sebastian and Raden were back at the inn.
"Well, considering after you told us what they did to Yukino, I'd say they had it coming." Orion grinned.
"Don't encourage his behavior, Orion-san!" Aster scolded.
"I'm just saying. Kicking a girl out just because of one loss? That's cruel." Orion defended.
"I wonder what's gonna happen to her now." Cyana mumbled.
"Who knows..." Kida replied, causing everyone else to look down in worry.
"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.
"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-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.
"Count on me." Jura nodded.
"You better not lose, Orion." Sebastian told him.
"I won't." Orion promised.
"Good luck, Maxim!" Helena wished him luck, making Maxim nod in response.
"From Sabertooth, Orga! From Lamia Scale, Jura! From Blue Pegasus, Hibiki! From Raven Tail, Obra! From Mermaid Heel, Millianna! From Quatro Cerberus, Novali! From Fairy Tail A, Erza! From Fairy Tail B, Cana! From Black Sun A, Orion! From Black Sun B, Maxim! These are our ten 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 and Gray cackled.
A/N: Sorry for such a late chapter!
Thanks for reading!
~ Kaleb.