Black Bull Banishment

by stringdog

To save Asta and Nero from execution following the Elf Incident the Wizard King has struck a deal with Damnatio Kira. What is the deal? Why to banish the Black Bulls to a place called Earth Land for 6 months while he works to clear Asta and Nero's names. What could possibly go wrong with this?

14. Chapter 14: Ki to Winning Hidden

Here is the fourteenth chapter of this story released when I wanted it to be in keeping with my self-imposed upload requirements for this series. The opening ceremony has come to a close, everyone knows who is in the games, surprises and all, and the first event has been announced. That means that it is time for the Grand Magic Games to start, the first 8 competitors are now but how will they fair? Well, it's time to see that as it's time to play Hidden! That is all the administrative stuff I have for you and as there was no questions asked since the last chapter or guest reviews to answer I will end this here. Do keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from those who enjoy my work. Anyway, that is it for pre-chapter note so it is time to end it so that y'all can sit back and enjoy the fourteenth chapter in Black Bull Banishment.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these two great animes.

Chapter 14: Ki to Winning Hidden

"It is time to begin the action in this year's the Grand Magic Games we start with the first contest; Hidden." Chapati announced to the cheering crowd as the eight competitors in the event got ready for it. "The competitors have stepped forward and are locked in for this event so the long wait for action after the end of last year's games is at long last over. I see that our beloved mascot Mato had taken to the field so it's time to learn the rules of Hidden and trust me folks you'll want to pay close attention to them."

"Alright, we have our participants for Hidden." Mato said as the crowd cheered, and the 8 competitors surrounded the short man in a pumpkin headed costume. "You all look ready so I can't wait to see what you do in this event, pumpkin."

"Now there are two questions that have to be on everyone's minds for this event." Chapati said to the cheering crowd, his voice carrying over Mato's. "The first and most important one is what exactly will Hidden entail? That one will be answered shortly. The other is of course who is the favorite in this event? Yajima, your thoughts on the second question?"

"A good question." Yajima said as he pondered it. "The obvious answer is that Rufus Lore of Sabertooth is the oddsmakers' favorite for this given what we've seen from him and Sabertooth over the past few years, but this is a surprisingly open competition compared to ones in years prior. We've not seen Lyon Bastia of Lamia Scale in the games before and he's seen as a strong competitor, not to mention that Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Lockser of Fairy Tail will be dark horses in this as they've been missing for 7 years so we don't know how good they are after such a hiatus. Then there are the unknown commodities like Nalpudding of Raven Tail and Asta of the Black Bulls and given the surprises both Guilds pulled to qualify we really can't count them out."

"A thorough and detailed analysis of the competitors from a seasoned chef and wizard." Chapati said approvingly. "How about today's special guest, the lovely and stunning Jenny Realight of Blue Pegasus and Fiore's current number one model. Who do you think will win this?"

"My favorite for this is obvious, I'll be supporting my guildmate Eve of course." Jenny said. "He's got this one in the bag, I know it."

"An expected endorsement from Miss Fiore there and now let's go down to the arena to get the rules." Chapati said as he shut up to allow the crowd to hear them.

Asta was glad for this as he grinned and waited to hear them while also making sure he got a good sense for the ki of his 7 fellow competitors. As Asta did this he noted that the two from Fairy Tail, their Gray and a woman called Juvia who he was sure that Nero had mentioned was talented, exchanged some friendly banter nearby. He picked up on them the most because Juvia's ki was a lot like Noelle's, unique in its own right of course, but he could clearly feel similarities between them, and a lot of her attention was on Gray showing that she clearly trusted him a great deal.

To Asta it was odd that they had two teams in this mainly because the Black Bulls had only put forth one team, but seeing them getting ready to face off he realized that he didn't care that Fairy Tail had two teams in the. At the end of the day, they were all his opponents in this event regardless of Guild and he was going to win it. Results were all that mattered and today he'd show the place he was calling home for 4 more years that he could really get them and do so against some of the best that the kingdom had to offer.

Even when that Lyon guy who seemed to have some rivalry with Gray that kinda reminded Asta of his own one with Yuno only with more strained history got involved, and upset Juvia for some reason, Asta just ignored it. What he couldn't ignore was Gray's sudden question to Mato that would ultimately delay the rules explanation for a few moments as it was something that Asta had been curious about himself.

"Before we start all this I have a question." Gray said looking at the mascot. "What are you exactly?"

"Yeah, I've been wondering that as well." Asta said. "Like is he a real pumpkin thing or just some guy in a costume?"

"Me? Why I am a pumpkin as you can see." Mato said getting nervous and defensive which was good enough for Asta.

"Was I not supposed to ask you or something?" Gray asked a little confused now.

"He certainly looks like a pumpkin to me." Juvia said.

"I agree, not as good as a pop-potato but still a good vegetable." Asta said.

"Ok I have a question for you as well." Gray said looking at Asta as he was sure he'd seen the Black Bull boy before and what's more he was had a good idea where. "But before that it's obvious this mascot looks like a pumpkin, but I am wondering what's inside it. Like is it a helmet thing or a spell or what?"

"He's always been a part of the games since they began." Eve said with a shrug. "So, I never really thought about it. These things tend to have mascots to help hype them up and Mato's been great at that so why question it."

"Yeah, it's clearly not a real pumpkin, I'd know, so I just figured it's some event staff guy in a costume to help the games out." Beth added her accent thick and unique to Asta as he'd never heard one like that before. "Good job sir, you've created a great mascot and as a farm gal I really respect the choice of a noble pumpkin as the centerpiece."

"Thank you." Mato said. "But honestly I only really do it because I have so much fun-kin doing it!"

"Those bad puns will get old quick." Gray said.

"Ha, fun-kin." Asta said with a grin. "That's a good one."

"Thank you." Mato said with a nod at Asta.

"Alright now you're turn." Gray said turning to Asta glad the boy had spoken to give him a chance to address him as well and Gray cut right to the point. "Weren't you at that magic ball Count Balsamico held 3 months back? I swear I saw you at it, that messy gray hair of yours is rather distinctive. You were dancing with a silver haired girl, the same one on your team in fact, I'm sure of it."

"Oh, so I don't have to worry about at least that girl." Juvia said. "I was nervous, my finely attuned senses towards love rivals were telling me that we use the same magic and I'm the only water wizard for my darling Gray but if she was dancing with this boy then maybe she won't be a threat."

"Huh me?" Asta asked turning to Gray as both ignored Juvia be it by long practice in Gray's case or too focused on Gray's question to notice her in Asta's. "Yeah, he's a good client of ours when it comes to the gear we make so when we heard about his magic ball we decided to see if we could attend as guests as it sounded fun. It was a grand time, great food, good entertainment, well worth the trip. As for that girl, yeah that's my friend Noelle, we joined the Black Bulls at the same time, so we had a dance at the end, it was a lot of fun. As was my dance with Mimosa, who I've known for almost as long, shortly after we arrived."

"I thought so." Gray said as Juvia's sharp sense, at least in her mind were sharp, picked up a love triangle in the Black Bulls so she might have to seek these women out and get advice on how to handle rivals, separately of course. "Odd that another Guild would be there when we were the ones with the job to apprehend Velveno."

"I mean it was a magic ball, I'm sure many there were many in attendance who were part of other Magic Guilds." Asta said. "We weren't there on a job or anything though, just having a fun night out and the entertainment you provided was pretty good. Wait, I think I saw you there as well, you danced with my guildmate Nero, right?"

"Secré?" Gray asked confused and realized his mistake the moment he said another girl's name as Juvia went stiff and Lyon seemed to sense some opening.

"Er yeah I think that's her name though we all call her Nero, long story." Asta said as the name rang a vague bell, but he'd never actually heard Nero use or answer to any name other than Nero. "She said she danced with the ice guy from Fairy Tail at the end for a bit but I was with Noelle at the time, so I didn't learn until afterwards that she'd done so."

"Gray, darling." Juvia said in a sickly-sweet tone her eyes bulging and crazy from behind him as Gray felt a shiver go down his spine and opted not to turn to face Juvia's strained smile that she was no doubt giving him. "What's this about you dancing with another woman? You know that if you want a dance, I'll always be around to dance with you, my love."

"Er, well, first off it's not like I can't dance with another woman." Gray said defensively, this was one of the reasons why he'd not been able to give Juvia the answer she deserved because she really needed to calm down on the jealousy front. "And besides, it was a magic ball and she approached me not the other way around. Also, she said her name was Secré which clearly was a lie, so I doubt she had any romantic motives but likely just wanted to sound me out because of the games coming up which is a fair strategy. Now that I think back on it, she also sounded a little like Mira for some reason only much more reserved and I don't think of Mira like that at all."

"Still, you shouldn't be looking at other women." Juvia said as Gray just kept digging for what appeared to Asta to be no reason at all. "If I find this girl, I'll…"

"Hey, pumpkin boy, I've got a little problem here that I want to vent to you before we start you see." Nalpudding said interrupting Juvia and getting all of their attention as he was addressing the mascot so it was likely important. "I don't know what this game is all about as is the rules of the games in general, but I think something is rotten here and that something is that is that there are two fairy twerps in this here event. Doesn't seem fair to me that no other guild will get the chance to have two members in each round, that gives them an unfair advantage as far as I can tell."

"What are you saying?" Gray asked turning to glare at Nalpudding, Juvia having a matching glare on her face as she forgot about another nonexistent rival to defend the honor of her Guild.

"I get that there is concern but it can't be helped, it is the rules after all." Mato said with a shrug. "We never actually expected that one Guild could get two teams past the preliminary round. It is an amazing feat when you stop and think about it."

"I for one have no problem with Fairy Tail having two teams in the games." Rufus said his tone coming off as almost arrogant as he spoke which reminded Asta of the nobles who coasted on their mana a bit though this guy's ki didn't come off as superior to others the way some of the nobles' ki did back home though Nalpudding's ki was dripping with malevolent hatred. "In fact, I recall an old saying I heard a long time ago that says that two heads aren't necessarily better than one."

"Yeah, I say bring it on." Asta said with a grin supporting the idea of two Fairy Tail mages in the games. "Who cares that they got two teams in, they abided by the rules that were fair for all of us and did it. My Guild didn't do that because we don't need two teams to win this but if we did I wouldn't care because I'll beat anyone who gets in my way, doesn't matter if they're in the same Guild or not. Even did that once with a guildmate on another team for some competition we were in so it can be done."

"I ain't going to raise no fuss over this." Beth said. "They rules were fare for all of us so we can't complain as far as I'm concerned."

"I for one embrace this." Lyon said. "A chance to best my rival and to do so in front of the beautiful Juvia to show her how much better I am is one I am eager to embrace."

"Creepy." Juvia said with a shiver as Gray just looked at her, she really couldn't handle her own medicine now that Lyon was crushing on her.

"That Asta kid said it right, we all had the chance to get two teams into the games and with over 100 Guilds it was a longshot that only one got in, let alone two, so managing it is impressive." Eve said. "Plus, it means that there are more lovely ladies in this games with Juvia and Mira."

"I said I am only interested in my darling Gray." Juvia said getting annoyed at all these other men hitting on her and yet her beloved wouldn't even give her the time of day but she'd change that because she had a great motivator to win this for Fairy Tail Team B. "So back off and bother some other women."

"You giving us some advice or something pretty boy?" Gray asked ignoring the chatter as he looked at Rufus, the guy's attitude was really starting to get to him. "Some words of wisdom from the reigning champ?"

"I'm just saying is that having a comrade could prove to be a disadvantage." Rufus said still smiling at Gray. "There are countless ways in which a comrade can be used against you in this situation. Perhaps they leak information or be held hostage it could easily force your hand. You'd be wise to remember that."

"Yeah, sure I'll make sure to write it down sometime." Gray said. "And besides, anyone who tries to take Juvia hostage would have a hard time doing so."

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy beating you." Asta said with a grin as he finally got a sense for Rufus while Juvia swooned over Gray's complement. "You remind me a bit of Mimosa's pompous brother minus the extreme dislike for commoners, this will be fun."

"Fine, I guess there will be two fairies in this, but I still say that it is an unfair advantage." Nalpudding relented. "I'll just have to crush both of them, not going to complain about doubling my fun there."

"Alright now that that is settled." Mato said thrusting his arms out wide clearly glad to move on from this. "Open the field!"

There was a sudden surge of magic that everyone but Asta felt and suddenly buildings began to form in the arena filling it was the illusion or creation magic it wasn't clear though the buildings certainly looked real enough. What was clear was that it was a massive spell requiring a lot of magic and fine control over it that stunned those who'd not seen the elaborate nature of the games though no one knew who's magic this spell belonged to.

"What the…" Gray said his eyes wide.

"Oh my." Juvia added her hand over her mouth at the sight.

It took a good few moments as a whole town was built up in the arena using magical energy as the crowd gasped in amazement while several people commented on what they were seeing. It was built in stages but as the spell continued the stages got larger and larger until it was complete and a full-scale town was formed. It was incredibly detailed with buildings on average 3 stories tall, wide paved streets, narrow alleyways, raised bridges and even taller spires on some of the buildings.

Asta just marveled in amazement at what had been created and it took him a moment before he realized that he was on his own in a section of the town. How that had happened when he'd been near the others at the start, he didn't know but he presumed that this was just part of the game and the magic of the creation as he looked around a market area that he'd ended up in and began to walk around it.

"I see, it's just like when we were kids at the orphanage and we played hide and seek." Asta said as he halted and looked around his senses now on high alert as he began to seek out the ki around him. "So that's what this game is, some large scale hide and seek thing, cool and seeing as I can read ki this will be easy."

Asta grinned at that as he focused on reading the ki around him. He still wasn't as good at it as Yami was, though he felt like he was getting there, but Asta had really gotten the hang of it over the years and in moments he was able to determine the locations of a few of the people in the game that were in easy striking distance of his position.

He'd not yet had the time to assess everyone's ki and determine who was who by it like he could with the Black Bulls, though he did have a good send of the ki of four of the others' in this event, but for now it was his key to winning this game so just being able to sense ki was going to be, well, key. Of course Asta wasn't yet aware of the little twist that was about to come.

"So that those in the stadium, and who have access to it at home, can see all the action about to unfold we've got lacrimas all over the place projecting what is going on in crystal clear lacrima vision." Chapati announced and Asta could hear his voice as he wandered around the fake town his senses locked on his first target, a healthy and good feeling key that had a strange earthiness to it which meant that it wasn't one of the four he was sure he could identify, and began to head towards it though he was keenly aware of any other ki he felt in his nearby area. "I bet the contestants wished they had this in the arena but that would be too easy."

"I don't need it when I have ki." Asta said with a grin.

"And now for the rules of Hidden, which will last half an hour after the gong sounds to start it." Chapati continued which did get Asta to pause as he listened intently to the announcer so that he knew the rules. "This is a game of hide and seek but rather than what we played as children, in Hidden all the players are hiding and seeking at the same time which is just one of the twists to it."

"Twists?" Asta asked to no one in particular. "So long as they aren't like that old man's fake monsters in the Underwater Temple it can't be that bad."

"The main objective of Hidden is to locate the other players in the game and then once you've found them you have to land an attack on them to score a point." Chapati continued interrupting Asta's out loud thoughts and bringing his attention back to the rules. "Successfully connecting your attack, regardless of the damage it may or may not do, will be awarded a point while the person who took the attack loses a point but of course it's not as simple as that."

There was a pause and Asta saw the same magic that had been used to manifest the town begin to appear around him again but only for a moment before it faded away and revealed hundreds of immobile figures in various poses and expressions. That alone was strange enough but to add to it they were all doubles of the competitors in the game.

It was strange and surreal to Asta to be surrounded by a lot of copies of himself, as well as the others in the event, but he just grinned at this as they were really cool and as they weren't real but magical constructs, they had no ki to them so whatever their purpose was they'd not affect him. He did wonder how the others would react.

---

"What the hell?" Noelle said her eyes wide as she looked at the camera. "There, there are so many Astas."

Their team had returned to the box for their Guild, they didn't bother with the one reserved for their team as they were small though all, but the other teams bar Fairy Tail Team A had gone to their respective boxes to watch the event. For some reason Fairy Tail Team A had opted to remain on the field in the circle at the edge that hadn't been turned into a town though the Black Bulls didn't really care why they'd chosen to do that.

"Oh my." Mimosa said her hands over her mouth and blushing as she looked around at all the Astas present. "They all look the same as well, to think of so many Astas around, its…"

"Revolting." Zora said which was of course not what Mimosa was going for but did serve to stop her train of thought. "To think of all those loud-mouthed runts in one place, if they could talk that would be torture of the worst sort."

"Lot of eye candy though." Vanessa said. "Plenty of attractive or cute men in this event."

"So many of those beautiful ladies." Finral added enjoying the view of all the Juvia and Beth clones on the battlefield.

"One of Asta is annoying." Nero said. "That many would be so much worse."

"Real manly test here." Magna said.

"Ha, more enemies." Luck added. "Can they move, it would be fun to fight so many at once. I hope there's an event like that in the games."

"How will he find the others though?" Noelle asked as she tried not to think of all the Astas there that were wearing his excuse of an outfit though she'd finally gotten used to him not wearing a shirt and clones weren't the real thing, not that she wanted the real thing that of course.

"The constructs are magic." Luck said as he sensed the mana coming from the arena. "So, they mess with mana sense if you don't have fine control over it."

"It's low-level magic that they're giving off but I can see that." Mimosa said. "But Asta can't sense magic."

"No but our magicless freak can read ki." Yami said with a grin. "Which isn't magic and only given off by living things, which those clone things aren't. That's how he will win this for us. They others just don't know that they've lost yet."

The Black Bulls all grinned or nodded at that as they understood what their Captain was saying about them. Asta's unique nature and his ability to read ki gave him a clear advantage in this event and while the others could be a threat, they all had faith in Asta that he'd win this for them. As such they began to cheer for him as loudly as they could.

---

"Now I know that all these doubles are pretty, but these copies aren't just for show folks." Chapati said interrupting any chatter and getting Asta's attention again as he inspected one of his own copies which did look a lot like him. "Attack one of your fake competitors by mistake and it will cost you a point. On that note, get ready to disappear from sight or fade into your surroundings to hide in plain sight because it is time to play Hidden!"

At that there was a loud gong sound that Asta presumed meant that it was the start of the game and instantly he was on the move. The game wasn't so much about hiding as it was seeking and Asta was going to do just that as he headed towards the nearest source of human ki that he could find, that earthy one he'd sensed at the start. However, it was as he was running that somewhere in the distance, he heard a female yell of surprise followed by a strange sound that he'd not heard before but which he presumed meant that one of the women in the event had just taken a hit to start the event.

"Oh, and there goes our first point as with that bear hug attack on one of the Gray copies, Juvia from Fairy Tail Team B has lost a point." Chapati announced which surprised Asta as they were in the same Guild, but it just went to show how convincing the copies were he presumed as he didn't know that Juvia had simply hugged one of the Gray copies because of her massive crush on him. "She will be put into a ten second time out after being transported away from the hit and then forced to restart in that new part of the arena."

Asta deduced that the second noise had to have been Juvia being transported away. It made sense that you'd be teleported away after losing a point as that would prevent a capture and repetitive hits to build up points and that was confirmed to him a moment later.

"This will happen if you are attacked by another player as well." Chapati said confirming Asta's theory. "You are allowed as many restarts as you need but remember that the clock is ticking and whoever has the most point at the end of the half hour time limit for this event wins."

It was good to know and Asta swore to avoid it as he refocused on the game and began to go after the ki he was sensing. He couldn't waste any time, he had to seek out and land as many hits as he could while avoiding any in return. The clones complicated some things, but he was sure that his swords would just cut through them and as it was nullifying the magic it theoretically shouldn't be recorded as a hut. Asta wasn't going to test that unless he had to though as he hunted down his first competitor.

As he was running he though he heard the noise again and it told him that someone had been hit again but he just ignored it. That meant that he was up another spot as someone else was on minus one, unless the hit had been from or on that Juvia girl, and possibly someone was now in the lead. Asta couldn't allow that as he honed in on his opponent.

It was certainly a strange sight to those watching, not that Asta realized, as most were still figuring it the game but they all saw how Asta seemed locked on as he weaved his way through the clones and that didn't bode well. The Black Bulls were an unknown commodity in the games and soon they'd reveal just how good they were.

All Asta could do was focus on finding the others and getting points especially as he heard that the little guy from Raven Tail, who's ki Asta would be able to recognize easily due to the malice in it, had taken the lead. He couldn't let that stand as he charged through the field and sought his own first point. He was so focused that he was ignoring the comments from the commentators about how to find your opponent because he had his way of doing it and it was pinpoint accurate so he would soon have that first precious point, nor did he notice that another hit was registered on one of the other competitors.

However, as he ran, he suddenly sensed a second ki, one with an icy feel to it but actual ice not anything negative, and he grinned as he was sure that it was that Gray guy's ki. Asta now had two targets to go after and as he rounded a corner, he saw his initial target burst up from under the ground where she was hidden and send, of all things, vegitables, carrots to be precise, out as she appeared in her hole.

The girl was the Mermaid Heel person, Beth if Asta recalled correctly, and she was attacking Gray from Fairy Tail confirming the icy ki he'd sensed as he'd approached. Helpfully they were fighting in the center of a wide street that had no copies near it, just on the edges, so there wasn't much risk of hitting a copy here.

"Damn it, I missed him." Beth said as Asta closed in on her and pulled out the Demon-Slayer sword from his grimoire. "Thought I had a good strategy there as well."

Usually, he'd go with the Demon-Dweller in this situation but he'd gotten the sense of another icy-like ki that wasn't Gray's, though there were a lot of similarities to it so it had to be the guy Asta had pegged as Gray's rival, coming towards him from the other end of the street. Given what was going on, Asta was sure that this newcomer would try to use his impending victory over the Beth girl to get a cheap point. Well, he sure as hell wasn't going to allow that as he neared his first point.

"Back to the…" Beth began but she didn't even get to finish her sentence before Asta was on her and lightly tapped her on the head with the edge of his sword causing her to yelp in surprise before vanishing.

"All right my first point." Asta said in triumph.

Gray just blinked at that. One moment he'd been here after his second lost point from that Nalpudding guy who seemed to have it out for him, the next he was evading missile carrots and looking at Beth who had just popped up from a hole she'd likely created in the ground.

Then, before gray could counter though he saw the Black Bull guy, Asta, running down the street with a glowing, and strangely dirty, book next to him. The boy then pulled a massive sword from it, one that would make Erza jealous, and bring it down for a light tap on Beth's head which made her vanish and scored him a point. It looked like the kid had some variant of Requip Magic and the same penchant for massive weapons that Erza had.

"Begone, I need a moment with my rival." A new, very familiar, voice said behind Gray, and he instinctively leapt back as Lyon appeared and sent a flash of ice at Asta the moment Beth vanished clearly using the moment Asta got his first point to his own advantage.

"Nah, not happening." Asta said with a grin as he turned the sword in his hands, squared up, and then swung it as the ice came at him. "Better luck next time because I'm here to win."

The ice attack was fast, and it almost reached Asta before he could react but Asta had had more than enough training and, thanks to his ability to read ki, forewarning of the attack to hit ice with the flat of his sword with a gong like sound as he hit it as hard as he could. He pushed through the hit and launched the attack back at the Ice Mage in a fancy blue outfit that sounded a little like that annoying elf that had led the Eye of the Midnight Sun and who'd caused so much trouble for Asta back home.

The man didn't have a chance as he just gave Asta a wide eyed stare before his own magic was rebounded on him at twice the speed he'd sent it at Asta. A split second later it slammed into the center of his chest and blasted him back down the street where he slammed into and through the building at the far end before vanishing for his time out as he passed through it.

"And with that impressive opening attack Asta from the Black Bulls has just scored two points in quick succession to take the lead from Nalpudding." Chapati said sounding amazed because he was. "The hit on Beth was expected as he was clearly after her and got her from behind while she was distracted trying to take out Gray but what was that to hit Lyon of Lamia Scale? It looked like he reflected the magic back at him with that sword but how?"

"How indeed but as he was the one to reflect the magic the point is his." Yajima said his eyes just as wide as Gray's were as both of them stared in shock at what they'd just seen. "It looked like some archaic form of Requip Magic what with that old looking book of his, likely something not common to this area but we know that the Black Bulls came to Fiore from a different kingdom, so it is probably some kind of magic from his homeland. Requip gear has many properties and styles, we've all seen Erza Scarlet in action after all, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that one of the items can do that and I'm certain that that was some kind of Requip Magic that Asta just used."

"Alright two points." Asta said with a cheer as he raised his sword over his head.

"What the hell just happened?" Gray asked looking at Asta making sure he was in a fighting stance just in case. "What did you do to Lyon?"

"Reflected his magic back at him." Asta said simply as he sensed the incoming ki of another person, this one close enough to Noelle's to tell him that it was likely the Juvia girl, and was about to get ready to intercept her when he detected a second source of ki one of extreme malice that was now mixed with bloodlust, and realized what was going in. "But if you excuse me, I'll be back later when there are more points to claim."

With that Asta fell back and dashed into a nearby alleyway to hide and take out the Demon-Dweller sword while putting away the Demon-Slayer one for the moment. He'd gotten a feel for the game and what was going on hence why he'd been ready to take out Juvia and then Gray but the malicious ki he'd sensed had been a little off putting.

However, he'd sensed that it was directed at Gray not him, so Asta was going to fight smart and retreat for the moment. Then, when that malicious ki appeared use Black Slash, a move he'd perfected over his time in Earth Land, to take out that malicious guy from range before he dealt with Gray and likely Juvia for a total of 3 more points.

Gray was just blinking in shock at what had just happened. In quick succession he'd been found by three people, one as part of a trap that he'd stumbled into that had led to the others attacking, and the next he was the only one left standing here. Beth had clearly planned her ambush for whoever showed up during it, but that Asta kid had tracked her it seemed, how Gray wasn't sure, so as to get the point from her and then Lyon had appeared to try and get rid of Asta but then Asta had done what he'd just done.

Whatever his sword was, it was something else and he was sure Erza was gushing over, and analyzing, it right now but he couldn't focus on that. He was down 2 points already and that Asta kid had shocked everyone by gaining two, so he needed to get some before…

"You can't hide from me my darling, my Gray-dar will always find you." A very familiar voice said from above him and Gray looked up to see Juvia leaping off the top of the building and down at him where he stood.

Instinct allowed Gray to leap back and avoid her, both battle instinct and avoiding Juvia instinct, but not before he realized that what Juvia was wearing was more akin to a black dress than a coat as he'd initially thought it was. That was because as she leapt, and the lower part fluttered in the wind he got a very clear view up it and saw that she was wearing a pair of blue panties that really went with her hair and which would give even Lucy's risqué stuff that Erza had found a run for their money. It was certainly a great view, Gray wouldn't lie there, but not what he wanted to see right now.

"Damn it what is with everyone just appearing around me all of a sudden." Gray said as Juvia landed on the street near him, and their eyes met. "This is supposed to be Hidden but I can't seem to hide."

"I always know where you are my darling though I'll admit I had expected Lyon to be here as well." Juvia admitted as she rose to her full height and for once around him she actually had a serious look on her face. "I was hoping to kick him away so that we could chat for a moment, and I could get back to zero points but it seems to not be the case. Where is he?"

"That Asta kid reflected his ice back at him with a sword that I think he pulled out of some book with him, didn't you hear?" Gray asked.

"I was too focused on finding my beloved to pay attention to the announcers." Juvia said simply which Gray could totally believe. "But this works for me even if I didn't get the point from Lyon that I wanted."

"Yeah, well I didn't need your help to deal with Lyon." Gray said. "Or Asta's but he was just defending himself against Lyon."

"I know you don't need my help to beat Lyon and that's not what I was going to do, his defeat would have simply been a bonus for me and aid me in my own path here." Juvia said. "Despite how I feel, I'm actually determined to beat you in this event. It is for the sake of our love and the promise Master made us when we formed a second team."

"Why am I not surprised that it has something to do with me and that the Master is involved." Gray said with a sigh. "So, what is this promise?"

"To me it's everything." Juvia said as her cool façade seemed to start to break as she spoke. "In order to ensure that Team B agreed to participate in the games as well, Master promised us that the members of the winning team get to do whatever they wanted to the members of the losing team for an entire day. Anything that we want mind you, so of course I can't pass this up, the chance to, you know…oh my just thinking of it makes me tingly my darling Gray."

"What the hell?" Gray asked as Juvia started to blush and shiver in a very distinctive manner that was hard to ignore but Gray was too pissed at the Master to focus on the girl who was clearly having a very erotic moment that was about him near him and turned to the nearest lacrima camera thing. "Hey gramps, if you're going to do this then they'd better be fair and work both ways so that if our team wins, we get the same reward."

"I want my wish granted Gray so I'm not planning on losing to you, I'll do whatever it takes to make it happen." Juvia said suddenly getting serious and getting Gray's attention by the rapid switch in her demeanor though Gray knew that the Master would allow for the rules to go both ways, so he turned back to her and got serious. "Even if it means defeating you in battle."

"Bring it on, I'm not going to lose this." Gray said with a smile. "Can't say I'm opposed to that reward myself."

"Must be my lucky day, two fairies for the price of one." Nalpudding suddenly yelled leaping up behind Gray and Juvia as they were squaring off for their fight. "Now I've got…"

Before Nalpudding could finish or even get close to the pair as he cocked back his now spikey arm, though Gray still managed to ask what the hell Nalpudding's problem was as he was only going after Fairy Tail it seemed, there was another roar and a vertical slash of pitch black magic shot through the air. Oddly, it didn't felt like any magic that Gray or Juvia had experienced before, or even felt like magic at all, but it was clearly an attack and slammed into Nalpudding's side.

The short, purple skinned, man let out a surprised grunt of pain as he was blasted to the side by the force of the blast and through a window in a building at the end of the street to disappear out of sight. It was the same building that Lyon had been thrown into so now there were two marks on it.

"And Asta of the Black Bulls shows off some ranged magic from those swords of his, as well as a second sword it would seem." Chapati's voice said as Gray and Juvia turned to see that Asta had returned and was grinning at them holding a shorter, narrower, sword with a bucked hilt that was clearly the one he'd used for his ranged attack but as he ran, he returned that sword to his book and took out the long great sword that he'd used earlier. "Who'd have thought that but that's another point for him giving him three so far and taking a point from Raven Tail's Nalpudding."

"You're back?" Gray asked shocked as he looked to the boy standing at the end of the street grinning at them and brandishing his large sword. "How?"

"Oh, I never left, just hid in a nearby alleyway." Asta said as if it was nothing. "I felt the ki of Juvia approaching and was going to take her out as you stood there but then I felt that purple guy's malicious ki and backed up to let him arrive as well so as to try get all three of you rather than pick you off one at a time. It worked I see and now it's your turns."

"I see, the Black Bulls are a lot more than we expected them to be." Juvia said as the three squared off in the open area. "We shouldn't be surprised after you guys came 3rd in the preliminary."

"We're used to being underestimated and now, I'm going to take both of you down." Asta said as he charged. "Because a winner gets results and I have a goal that I must reach to do so."

"Not if I have my way." Gray said as he set his stance and made the motion for his two-hand cast though Juvia just stood where she was in a ready stance as swords had no affect on her unless they were magically enchanted with something like lightning that could affect her water body spell or whatever magic she used that basically made her immune to piercing damage. "Ice Make Ice Geyser!"

"Not a problem." Asta roared as Gray slammed his hands into the ground and a series of ice spikes erupted from it and tore at Asta.

That was because Asta just slashed at it with his sword and shattered it, the ice bursting into thousands of pieces before it vanished as he nullified the magic with the edge of his sword and continuing on past Gray. The man was too far to the side to hit without Black Divider, though he instinctively leapt back which put him further out of range, not that Asta wanted to use that move just yet, so he focused on the girl, Juvia, and closed in on her.

"What on earth?" Gray asked as he leapt back his eyes wide as he assessed what had just happened. "That sword as has some serious strength to it to shatter my ice."

"Yeah, well it won't work on me." Juvia said as she set herself and Asta got in range, swinging his sword at her as he came to a stop right in front of her. "My body is made of water, a sword can't…"

Juvia didn't get to finish her statement as Asta had reached her and swung his sword with a roar to slam the edge of it right into Juvia's gut as hard as he could. Gray stared in wide eyed shock once again as the sword didn't pass through Juvia thus allowing her to counter as he'd expected, that had clearly been her plan and it was a good one against a sword user. However, rather that do that the sword slammed right into her gut under her ribcage bending her over the blade with a gasp of pain as the air was driven from her lungs.

She was held there for a moment before Asta blasted her back and off the sword with a roar as he finished the move sending Juvia flying back hard and fast to crash through a few of the clones that were on the edge of the area before hitting the wall of the house at the end of the street and going through it making a third hole in it thanks to Asta's various sword attacks. Thankfully, as with Lyon, Juvia vanished as the hit was recorded before she hit the far wall but still it was a heavy hit made even more unbelievable by the fact that the edge of a sword had done that to her.

"Just what are you and what is that sword?" Gray asked as Asta turned to him grinning at securing his 4th point in the event.

"I'm just a Magic Knight going to be the Wizard King and beating you lot is great practice for that." Asta said as he charged though Gray didn't understand any of what Asta had just said. "Now for my 5th point."

"Not this time." Gray said as he made his stance again as Asta leapt high in the air, the sword in two hands and raised over his head. "Ice Make Shield!"

The plan was simply, block the sword and then counter with an attack to Asta's body as he was stuck there to get a point. That was why Gray made the large, clear, ice structure that was his Ice Make Shield with the various feather like leaves to it. It was big and strong and would block the sword as Gray had made sure to strengthen it so that the sword didn't shatter it like before. At least that was the plan but Gray really should have focused on Asta's body rather than the sword.

That was because Asta just roared as he brought the sword down on the sudden ice shield and slashed through it, shattering a path for himself, and Gray realized with a shock nullifying the spell to send the rest of the shield crashing down around it. All Gray could do was stare in disbelief at what that sword could do, it's edge could nullify magic, which was why it had worked on Juvia, as Asta passed the shield as if it was nothing and brought the sword back to his earlier position.

"So long as you use magic, I can cut through it!" Asta roared as he brought the sword down and slammed it into Gray's shoulder with enough force to crack the ground around them and drive Gray into it.

The blow hurt like hell though Gray was thankful that the sword was a blunt weapon as he crashed to his back and Asta landed over him with a grin as he brought the large sword up to rest it on his shoulder. The last thing Gray thought before he vanished for a third time was just who the hell was this kid?

"My what a shocking series of events." Chapati said as Asta turned and began to scan for any nearby ki but there wasn't anything in his immediate area, so he had a moment to catch his breath and focus. "With that astounding display of swordsmanship, Asta from the Black Bulls has defeated both of Fairy Tail's teams' members in this event in a matter of moments to boost his lead to five points. This is truly the upset of the games so far and this is just the first event folks."

"It is certainly unexpected, but it just goes to show you not to underestimate your opponents." Yajima said simply. "Asta's got some serious skills and power it seems, and the records do indicate that he's an S-Class wizard for the Black Bulls, one of only two other than their Guild Master to hold that rank in the Black Bulls, so he shouldn't be underestimated in this games. Still, his senses are sharp and keen which is no doubt why he's currently in the lead."

"Yes, but now it is Eve's time to shine." Jenny said with a smile as snow began to fall. "I knew he'd have a clever plan for this."

Asta heard the commentators as he ran but ignored them as for some reason snow began to fall. He wasn't sure why though clearly one of the others knew Snow Magic, so he'd better find that person and get some more points, while getting rid of this snow along the way. Five was nice but he wanted as many as possible because you never know what tricks the others might have up their sleeves that could allow them to gain a lot of points in one fell swoop.

---

"What the…" Natsu began his eyes wide as he stared at the result of the exchange on the lacrima screen he, Lucy, Elfman, and Erza were watching the event on. "Between that Raven Tail guy and the Black Bull, we're already down. Damn it Gray, you've got to do better than that."

"As concerning as the Raven Tail guy's targeting of Gray is, which it is as he's clearly talented and better suited for this event than Gray is, there's something I'm more concerned with." Lucy said. "That Asta kid, his sword just hit Juvia. That shouldn't happen."

"It is certainly strange." Erza said thinking on it with her armored hand on her chin. "I've got a few swords that would work on Juvia, but they would only work because of their effects, the blades themselves would just pass through her. That great sword seems to be able to both reflect magic with its flat and nullify or cut through it with the edge. That's the only explanation for what we just saw. The other sword clearly has a different property to it that allows it to project magic which is also a useful thing to have."

"Wait there are weapons that can do that?" Elfman asked looking to Erza.

"I don't have any myself, but I have heard of a scythe that can cut through magic though it belongs to someone who is part of a group that is more of an urban legend from what I've heard." Erza said with a nod. "Regardless, I have heard of that ability being imbued within a blade's weapon so it's not unthinkable that this Asta kid managed to find a sword like that. Clearly, he's got a talent for finding and using sword weapons, I can respect that."

"So, his magic is Requip?" Lucy asked. "Because I'm really confused as to what it is as he's got that strange glowing book that looks a lot like the book that Velveno created when he used some Spatial Magic during the magic ball only this book is different to that one."

"If I had to guess, based on the book we've seen him to store his swords, he's got some form of Requip Magic." Erza confirmed. "It's not unheard of to have a storage item for it though it is certainly not common for those of us who use Requip Magic to rely on magic item. For me, the magic is its own pocket dimension but for him it must be that book. It's fascinating and I really want to get a close look at those swords, they're unlike any I've seen or used and if he can tell me where to get a pair like them for myself, I will definitely get them."

"Make those three swords." Natsu said pointing as Asta drew another one which was different to the others as it had a strange bulbus head thing and didn't look like any kind of sword that Erza knew of. "And, um, the third one has its own power."

"Causality breaking." Erza said instantly understanding it as they watched the snow begin to be drawn to it as Asta charged for Eve's position, which he seemed to be aware of, while the others either hid or looked for each other. "The third one allows that Asta boy to draw in the effects of magic around him and into that sword. If I had to guess he's affecting the magic at its root cause and thus negating the effects."

"So those swords use something kind of like Wave Magic?" Lucy asked. "You know, that magic that Yuka in Lamia Scale uses."

"Perhaps but I'd need to learn more." Erza said as Asta neared where Eve was just as Eve launched his attack revealing why he was making it snow. "But one thing is for certain, we can't underestimate those Black Bulls, not after what we've just seen."

"True but we should focus on Gray." Elfman pointed out as Nalpudding began to engage Gray again though this time Gray was being tactical and using the clones as shields to keep Nalpudding at bay lest the man hit a clone and lose a point.

"Come on Gray." Natsu yelled. "I know that you can still win this."

The others nodded as they got back into supporting Gray after the shock of what they'd just witnessed. They may be down, but they weren't out, and they were going to give it their all to support Gray as he tried to win this event.

---

"What just happened?" Romeo asked as Fairy Tail stared in shock at the blow Juvia took followed by the hit on Gray, after cutting through his ice shield, that beat both of them and pushed the Asta kid he'd met once to 5 points in the event. "I thought Juvia was basically immune to bladed or piercing attacks. How did a sword of all things affect her?"

"She should be, but that sword is something else." Macau said thinking on what he'd seen. "And it comes from that book so it's got to be some Requip Magic there. First Master, any thoughts?"

"No, none." Mavis said and she was as shocked as the others as they all watched. "That kid, Asta was it, he's an anomaly. For whatever reason I can't seem to strategize around him at all. Those swords, they cut magic or reflect it, that I can understand but otherwise I don't get him, and I can't explain it. Also, I've never seen a book like that before."

The others just stared at the First Master in surprise. They didn't really know why she was here, but she was held in high esteem in the Guild for her tactical genius and even she couldn't get this Black Bull kid. Whoever he was he was something else for sure.

The only person who wasn't shocked or reacting in anyway was Makarov himself. He was deep in thought as he watched Asta move and use that floating book. It had been a long time since he'd seen one of those and never one with a cover, or a 5-leaf clover if Makarov was seeing things right as the book was rather dirty, but otherwise it was clear what it was to him that the book was a magical grimoire of the kind only Makarov knew the truth about that he was aware of.

That begged another question that he would have to try and answer as the event continued. What in all of Earth Land was someone from the Clover Kingdom, a place in a different world, doing here?

---

"Go Asta, give them hell you little runt." Magna cheered as they watched Asta rack up 5 points right at the start of the event. "That's what a real man does."

"Ha, this event looks fun, shame I couldn't be in it." Luck said with a laugh. "Oh well, I've got the next combat based one. Come on Asta, win it so that I can be in a battle later."

"He may be a loudmouthed commoner, but he is still Asta." Noelle said with a flick of her pigtails. "I expect no less from him."

"Yes, Asta is really amazing." Mimosa added with a smile in a tone that made Noelle uncomfortable, and she didn't know why, or really continued to refuse to admit why. "I know that he will win this event."

"He may be a moron most of the time but put him in a battle where he has to fight to win and he's going to do it." Nero said. "No matter what which can be annoying, but we know that Asta won't give up until he's either won or knocked completely out and the latter is really hard to do."

"Woah go Asta." Vanessa slurred. "Win this for us and so we can get better booze in."

"And food." Charmy added as she continued the feast, she'd been enjoying with the event the entire time while the others just picked at the food that her Sheep Cooks were whipping up for them.

"Um guys." Finral asked as the snow began to fall. "Why is it snowing."

"Because that little blond kid is using Snow Magic." Zora said as he watched, he acknowledged Asta, but he didn't need to cheer him on right now as he was sure the annoying runt would win this. "He's using it to get around the abundance of magic that is making mana sensing hard to find his opponents. That's really clever, that kid's got some cunning to him. I'd do something similar if I had that kind of magic or if my Ash Magic could replicate it as there are ways to mirror that with my attribute."

"What do you mean?" Noelle asked.

"When you get cold you shiver, and your breath can be seen." Zora explained in a bored tone. "So, he's using it to find the real people because a copy is just that, a copy, so it can't breathe."

"It's a wise tactic." Yami said. "Not as good as ki but it will do well to get some points."

"Yeah, but look at Asta now." Mimosa said pointing to the screens. "He's got his third sword out."

"The Demon-Destroyer Sword." Nero said with a nod as they watched the snow begin to be sucked into it. "A perfect counter to this kind of spell. He's used it for poison in the past, but this works just fine as well."

"Alright so manly." Magne said. "You got this in the bag Asta."

All the others could really do was nod at that and sit back to enjoy the show. Asta was going to win it for them, they knew it. The only question was by how much and that was what they were watching for as Asta neared Eve to get another point in Hidden.

---

The snow was annoying and chilled Asta, so he pulled out his Demon-Destroyer Sword to deal with the issue. Thanks to it's special ability, Causality Break, the Demon-Destroyer sword could absorb spells that had been cast which by extension could remove the effects of the spell because it removed the direct cause of it. It was most useful for dealing with poison spells, that had been how Asta had discovered what it did right after getting it following his battle with the real Licht, but here it allowed Asta to absorb the snow around him as he ran for the source of it, black tendrils roiling around his sword as he did.

"Oh my." Chapati said as Asta ran, his senses alert and heading towards a group of four that had to have the person in it as he recognized three of the ki signatures in the group but not the final one which had a tinge of cold to it that wasn't like the two ice wizards, so it had to be the caster of this snow spell. "It looks like Asta has a third sword that is negating the effects of the spell."

"Frustrating for sure." Jenny grumbled as Asta ran but he suddenly felt the ki of three of the people move away as if teleported which would imply, they were hit, and it was the three he'd already identified as ones he'd felt before in the event. "But Eve can still manage to score some points."

"That is correct as Eve uses his Snow Magic to find Nalpudding, Beth, and Juvia and lands hits on all three for a flurry of points." Chapati announced. "And with that he moves into second with three…"

Before Chapati could finish Asta rounded the bend to see Eve, the short blond guy in clothes Asta still didn't understand as he'd never seen things like them in his own world, and charged. As he did, though, he felt the ki of the ice guy he'd reflected his ice back at him approaching as well.

Reacting on instinct, Asta drew Dweller and fired off a Black Slash right away that tore through the air moments before a series of ice birds were fired off by Lyon. The latter was faster in the air but Asta had been closer and attacked sooner so his attack hit Eve in the back and staggered him forward causing the ice to miss and shatter on the wall as Asta got another point in the event.

"…make that two point as Asta appears out of nowhere with another one of those sword slash ranged attacks like the one he used on Nalpudding earlier which gives him a whopping 6 points!" Chapati said excitedly. "But now he and Lyon are once again about to lock horns."

"I can handle the cold from Eve thanks to a lifetime of training in it but I'm not going to engage you again." Lyon said as he looked to Asta while Eve vanished for his time out. "You're too annoying and I don't trust any of your swords. Safer to retreat and deal with the others than to engage you in battle."

"Aw man." Asta said as he sent out another Black Slash at Lyon, but Lyon erected an ice wall that took the blow and gave him the moment he needed to get away. "Oh well, back to the game then."

At this point the event had been going on for a good 15 or so minutes and everyone had sorted out their own strategies for it, so it devolved into a focus on points. Asta's 6 would make him a target but the commentary had made everyone wary of him so they'd all changed tactics to avoiding him and getting points any other way they could.

After all, it was safer to avoid risking a point against a clearly strong opponent when they could use their strength on another who was more likely to be hit by them and build up their points that way. This resulted in a more free for all attitude as the fighting intensified though now that they all knew what was at stake no one was letting their guards down to allow another blow despite the increased intensity of the fighting that was going on.

This was certainly the case as Lyon and Beth crossed paths in a sparsely populated area and carrots and ice flew at each other. It became quickly apparent that Lyon had the power and skill advantage in that matchup so Beth retreated and led Lyon to an area with more clones to use them as cover to engage in a more cat and mouse game as both tried to land shots on the other and avoid the clones but it was too hard to avoid accidentally hitting one of the clones. As such Beth used the chaos to escape and regroup her thoughts to decide her next move.

At the same time, Nalpudding had found Gray once again and was engaging him in a furious battle that put Gray on the defensive. To add to it, Nalpudding had attacked Gray in an area rich with copies that ensured that Gray's ranged or area spells couldn't be used effectively lest he hit them and lose another point while Nalpudding's Needle Magic was clearly designed for use in close combat and the man had excellent control over it.

As such Nalpudding had the advantage in the matchup as Gray used a mixture of hand held ice make spells like swords and evasion to retreat and hold Nalpudding at bay as he tried to figure out a way to score points to improve from his pathetic negative three right now. It wasn't easy and as Gray did his best to evade Nalpudding he was starting to realize that he wasn't the best for this event thanks to the clones, which they didn't know about, but still he was going to give it his all to try and claw back into the event.

Meanwhile, the final matchup that had formed was Juvia and Eve who were engaged in a long range and moving battle of snow and water while also staying clear of Asta whenever he tried to get to them. This was a wise strategy and prevented Asta from gaining anymore points as he tried to increase his lead but couldn't much to his frustration.

This played right into Rufus's strategy as he had yet to appear and this was noted by the commentators but that was about to change as Rufus at last made his presence known. He appeared with less than 5 minutes remaining in the games as he was at last ready to land a decisive blow that would guarantee victory for Sabertooth even with Asta's 6 points, providing he landed all of his hits which he fully intended on doing.

"For the most part I find this game boring." Rufus mused to himself as he stood atop a spire that was the highest point in the manifested town. "Well, other than that Asta kid's impressive score and seeming ability to mask his magic for even I cannot memorize it, the others have shown me little to be impressed with."

"Wait a moment, Rufus has appeared." Chapati said getting everyone's attention as they turned to see Rufus atop the spire, all currently in different places having either evaded or fled from their current battles with one exception.

That was the ongoing battle between Gray and Nalpudding. Unfortunately for Gray, Rufus's was appearance enough of a distraction in the intense battle he was in to allow for the latter to break through the former's defense thanks to his relentless and focused assault on Gray that kept up even with Rufus's appearance. As such Nalpudding landed another hit on him thus teleporting him away for a time out much to Gray's annoyance and now he was really pissed at Raven Tail because it was clear that they were after Fairy Tail and nothing else.

"Huh, he's up there but his ki, it feels off as if my eyes are deceiving me but that's the advantage of ki, when my eyes are lied to, I still know the truth." Asta said as he paused where he was and drew the Demon-Slayer Sword as he felt he'd need the greater defense while dropping the Demon-Dweller Sword that he'd been using when Rufus appeared. "Best to be on guard with him up there."

"I've committed the song of this event to memory." Rufus mused his voice traveling over the whole field for all to hear as he got their attention. "The rhythm of their beating hearts, the footsteps they've made to this point, and with one exception the tone of their magic as they've used it. I have all the data and locations inside my mind."

At that Rufus raised his hands to his head as a red magic circle appeared behind him and yellow light shot out around it in a mix of dotted and helix patterns. It was time for him to act and thus turn the tides of the event in his favor right at the end to ensure victory for Sabertooth.

"Memory Make Magic." Rufus said as the whole field, the arena for that matter, turned from day to night with the forms of the seven other competitors glowed. "Ah there you all are."

"Wait why am I glowing?" Asta said jumping up and down trying to get it off him but he stopped as he suddenly sensed the ki of the man on the spire and knew what was coming so he braced and prepared. "This isn't good."

"Night of Shooting Stars!" Rufus yelled as he the yellow light closed in on him and his whole body glowed before suddenly 7 beams of light shot up and around to bear down on the competitors where they were marked in the arena.

5 yells of pain were heard almost simultaneously as Gray, Juvia, Lyon, Eve and Beth were all struck with the blast before they had time to react. Only Asta and Nalpudding either had the foresight thanks to ki in Asta's case, or the skill and size advantage in Nalpudding's to avoid being hit.

"Ha, you should really learn something about the word hiding." Nalpudding said as he launched himself up at Rufus, he may be here to deal with the Fairy brats but this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. "Because now…ahhhhh!"

Nalpudding hadn't been able to finish his boast when he was struck in the back by the spell that had just been used and blasted up and past a shocked Rufus. That hadn't been his intention and shouldn't have happened as there was still a smoking crater in the ground from Nalpudding's evasion of the attack so it wasn't the blast that Rufus had sent at him. However, Nalpudding had still been hit by it and his smoking body vanished from the recorded hit as he passed over Rufus's head.

The answer to that was of course Asta who rather than move from his position had grinned, tensed his knees, and swung his sword at the right moment while taking a step back to avoid the spell landing on his body but rather hit the flat of Slayer's blade. As with Lyon's ice, he pushed through the spell and launched it back and at Rufus at twice the speed and intensity that Rufus had sent it out at.

Even with Afterimage, Rufus might have had a hard time evading the rebounded attack. However, in his haste to take the fight to Rufus after avoiding it, Nalpudding hadn't seen the spell come at his back and put himself in the path of it taking the hit and giving Asta a point.

"I don't believe it." Chapati said in amazement as Asta looked up at Rufus and grinned, tensing his impressive leg muscles before he dropped Slayer and picked up Dweller, he'd need the lighter blade which had a ranged attack, before he launched himself at Rufus just like Nalpudding had. "With that deflection Asta not only prevents Rufus from taking the lead but increases his own by deflecting the attack into Nalpudding and is now on a course to engage Rufus in what could be the a critical moment in this event. If Rufus can counter and land a hit on Asta then he'll force them into a tie and with the magic, we just saw Rufus should have enough time to land one more hit to win this event."

"Impressive but you won't get me." Rufus said with a smile as Asta neared him. "I still…"

"I know, that's not the real you." Asta roared as he swung through the afterimage on the spire and making it disappear while giving him the moment to twist in the air and look down at the spire he'd just passed over. "You're ki is telling me where you are plain as day. Black Slash!"

At that Asta slashed the stored Anti-Magic in his sword diagonally and down at the spire top as Rufus reappeared there ready for his own counterattack on with some gloating thrown in as well. Rufus got neither as he stared in wide eyed shock that the Black Bull member had known that the image of him on the spire had been a fake and used it to his advantage to get past Rufus and counter from the air with that strange magic of his.

That was all Rufus got to process before the diagonal slash of black magic struck him cleanly in the chest taking him from shoulder to hip and blasting him back and down with the force of it. The attack didn't feel like any magic Rufus had experienced before and only caused a bruise but still it was a painful hit to take, and he crashed back first into and through the roof of a nearby house. Between the hit and gravity he continued down to crash through the next two floors and land in a crater on the first floor of the building.

"Well that's the first time in quite some time that someone has gotten the better of me, I'll have to mem…" Rufus began as he was teleported away for his 10 second time out but as he was vanishing he realized something, he couldn't memorize the spell that had just been used on him because it wasn't a spell at all.

No, Rufus realized, what he'd been struck with was something he'd never experienced or expected to find in his life because his memory couldn't recall anything like that existing in Earth Land. It went beyond simple nullification magic like Wave Magic because it was the pure antithesis of magic and as such Rufus couldn't use it.

What he'd been hit by was Anti-Magic by a boy with no magic at all. Whoever the Black Bulls were, Rufus realized, they were not a Guild that could be taken lightly at all if they had that kind of power on their side.

Asta of course noticed none of this as he landed on a roof and slid along it as he yelled in triumph at his hit his sword held aloft as the sky turned back to normal. He'd hit the fancy man from the top Guild and really showed his mettle. There was no way that he could lose now.

"I, I don't believe it." Chapati said as the crowd and Guilds that were in the games stared in utter shock, especially Sabertooth, at what had just happened. "Asta of the Black Bulls, a Guild that has only been around for two years and is in their first ever Grand Magic Games just landed a hit on Rufus of Sabertooth, one of the 5 wizards who turned Sabertooth into the top Guild in Fiore. This is truly a shock for all."

The others in the games were just as shocked and were getting ready to act when suddenly a bell tolled. That was it for the event and the suddenly the event was over, and the magic melted away returning everyone to the now unmarred ground as Asta continued to yell in triumph where he stood.

"And with that the event is over and I've got to say that was something none of use saw coming." Chapati said his voice thick with amazement. "At the end of that event the winner is Asta of the Black Bulls with an impressive eight points. In second with 5 is Rufus Lore of Sabertooth. Third with only one point is Eve Tilm of Blue Pegasus to round out the medalists, not that they're given out in the event at the Grand Magic Games. As for the others, fourth with minus one point is Nalpudding of Raven Tail followed by Lyon Bastia of Lamia Scale with negative 2, and Beth Vanderwood of Mermaid Heel with negative 3. Rounding out the scores with negative 4 and negative 5 is Fairy Tail's Team B and A respectively."

"It was certainly an unexpected result in the end." Yajima said as the scores went up for the points each Guild had earned so that everyone could see them. "But in the end, we saw an upset with the Black Bulls winning Hidden and getting 10 points for it, so they start the games in the lead. They are followed by Sabertooth with 8, Blue Pegasus with 6, Raven Tail with 4, Lamia Scale with 3, Mermaid Heel with 2, Fairy Tail Team B with 1, and Fairy Tail Team A with zero. Of course, the battles can really change that so we're far from over for the day."

"We came third so a good start, but I have faith in my Guild." Jenny said. "We're going to get right back into this with the battles, I know it."

"Very true, the battles can change everything." Chapati said as the crowd finally began to cheer or jeer, and the various Guilds assessed their team's, or teams', performances. "That ends the first event, we have the battle order here as chosen by the fans. That will come after a quick break to process this upset, and boy do we have a great battle to start off. First off we have Fairy Tail Team A's Lucy Heartfilia against Flare Corona of Raven Tail."

In the area Asta was done cheering and began to head back to the Black Bulls for the celebration with them while Gray walked off and into the tunnel ignoring his team as Natsu shouted at the crowd and Lucy tried to comfort him with kind words that would set Juvia off normally if she too wasn't upset herself and heading back to her own team, not that it would be an issue as Lucy didn't have feelings for Gray.

Gray ignored them and with the announcement that Lucy would be in the first battle she turned her attention to it and the crazy eyed redhead in Raven Tail. She was nervous for it but she was going to do her best and win the battle for Fairy Tail no matter what.

---

As Lucy was mentally preparing for her upcoming battle with Flare, Gray walked into the tunnel and stripped off his shirt to think on the event. He couldn't fault Asta, that kid had taken the event seriously, looked for his opponents with whatever skills he had to do so, and engaged them in combat. He was seriously skilled with those swords but nothing on Erza in Gray's mind and he'd shown it there to win fair and square in the event.

Gray of course wanted to avenge his loss but that was more a matter of improvement against an opponent he could admit was better than him at the moment rather than anything else. He didn't intend to lose to Asta again, he just needed a strategy to get around those swords as they were something else. However, there were people Gray didn't like from the event and it was those he was dedicated to getting even with after what went down.

The first was that asshole from Raven Tail who'd spent almost the entire games attacking him and basically ignoring everyone else. The man had skills but in a fair fight without clones Gray knew that he could take him, this just hadn't been the arena for Gray's skills to flourish in as he was always aware of the doubles, but he'd get that guy back for targeting him and disrespecting Fairy Tail.

The other was that pompous bastard, Rufus. He'd not taken the event seriously and just stood there for his grand attack and had Asta not beaten him at the end he would have gone on smirking as if it was nothing as he won the event for Sabertooth. Those were Gray's targets going forward.

"Raven Tail and Sabertooth." Gray said as he punched the wall hard enough to crack the stone. "I will have payback on you, I won't lose to either of you again, I swear it. Asta, you're honorable but I'll still face you too, once I deal with those bastards, you're next and this time I'll beat you."

Asta naturally heard none of this as he hurried back to enjoy the victory with his squad and see the battles and what he might be able to learn from them. They were coming soon, and he couldn't wait to watch them and support whoever they had in their assigned battle today as they continued to press towards victory in the Grand Magic Games.

---

Fairy Tail just stared in shock at the results as the strange, short, sword wielding boy from the Black Bulls called Asta finally stopped yelling his victory now that Hidden was over. Nearby the Black Bulls in their special box as one of the Guilds in the games were also cheering or at least looking pleased at their victory. They were the only ones though as the rest of the crowd was stunned to silence by the whole surprise Black Bull victory in the first event, especially with how Asta had beaten Rufus at the end.

One thing that everyone in Fairy Tail was still trying to understand was what kind of magic the boy had used during the event. He'd been able to predict and act near perfectly in the event be it to find where someone was or counter an attack as he did against both Lyon and Rufus's attacks. To add to it Asta had used his large sword, one of the three swords that he had stored in some strange book that was floating by his side, to deflect the attacks from Lyon and Rufus with the second one being used to gain another hit on Nalpudding rather than Rufus.

That was just the flat of the blade however as the edge of that blade, while appearing blunt, seemed to be able to cut through, negate, or ignore magic as he showed at the start with both Gray's ice and Juvia's body. Overall, the common consensus was, as Erza had said to her teammates, that Asta used some variant of Requip Magic that revolved around the book but no one understood it, or at least almost no one.

The only person who seemed to not be shocked so much at the victory by the Black Bulls but more by what he had witnessed during the event was Makarov himself. The 3rd and 6th Guild Master of Fairy Tail was staring at Asta with worry on his face because he knew exactly what that book was and what it meant even if it had been around 7 decades since he'd last seen the only other one, he'd encountered in his life. It was so much that Mavis turned to him from where her apparition was standing to address him now that the event was over, and Lucy had been announced as one of the first battlers.

"6th Master?" Mavis asked Makarov her smart, tactical brain quickly calculating what it might be. "Something's bothering you, I can tell. You know what kind of magic was just used, don't you?"

"Kind no, whatever that kid was using didn't even feel like any magic I've felt before, hell it didn't even feel like he was using magic all, but it also wasn't something like curses or alchemy either, so I don't know what it was." Makarov said shaking his head as he thought on how best to tell the others as he had a feeling he couldn't give away the full truth as for whatever reason the Black Bulls were hiding it so he needed to confront them first. "But I do know what that item he used is."

"The book?" Mavis asked as the rest of the Guild that was present turned to their First and 6th Master's conversation to listen intently as this seemed important and then they could discuss the event as a whole and Lucy's upcoming battle with Raven Tail's Flare. "What is it?"

"Book isn't the right word for it except in the technical sense." Makarov said as the arena was cleared but for Lucy who was waiting for her match to start. "If it is what I am certain it is then it's called a grimoire."

"A grimoire?" Mavis asked as those who'd been on Tenrou Island shuddered at the word.

"Does that mean that he's tied to Grimoire Heart somehow?" Levy asked worried. "Because I thought we got rid of them on Tenrou Island before, you know…"

"No, he's not evil or anything, that book being called a grimoire has nothing to do with Grimoire Heart." Makarov said as he figured out how to explain it without revealing the full extent of what the book meant. "Rather a grimoire is a spell book used in a land far from here, a different continent entirely in fact, that is the core of that continent's magic system."

"What do you mean?" Mavis asked. "And how do you know this, and I don't?"

"Because the only person I've met from that land came to Fairy Tail long after your passing first Master." Makarov said. "He showed up one day, must have been over 70 years now back when I was in my 20s, and was looking to learn more about Fiore. He was from that land and carried a grimoire, though his was a really strange one as it had no cover, that maximized his Time Magic to its fullest potential. He was accepted into Fairy Tail and became a close friend of mine. During his time in Fairy Tail we grew together and reached S-Class one year apart, but he only remained in the Guild for 6 years before he had to return to his homeland as he'd been gone for too long."

"Time Magic?" Mavis asked as she recalled all those who'd born the Fairy Tail emblem since she, Precht, Warrod, and Yuri had created the Guild and there was only one who used that kind of magic, it was hard to forget magic that could affect time. "You're referring to Julius Novachrono, aren't you."

"You know him?" Makarov asked surprised looking at her. "But you were dead long before he showed up."

"Just because I am like this doesn't mean that I do not know all who have been part of Fairy Tail." Mavis said with a slight pout. "I know everyone who has been marked for they are all my family. I remember Julius, he was a talented and powerful wizard who used some strange kind of lost Time Magic, or at least that's what he called it, and reached the rank of S-Class despite only being around for 6 years in total mainly because he was powerful and efficient. He was a kind and compassionate man who always strove to make sure that all were equal."

"That's Julius for you." Makarov agreed with a nod. "He explained how classist his homeland was and how he respected how little classism we had here. He wanted to use Fiore as a model for his homeland when he left to go back there."

"So, he came from a classist society." Mavis said. "That does explain his views."

"He was a rare noble in his homeland that didn't care for that thing and he hoped to rise in the system to achieve it." Makarov said though he knew that Julius had manage that, but he couldn't say it, at least not until he found out why the Black Bulls were here because he was sure that Julius was behind their presence in Earth land. "In a land where magic was everything and your power levels and birth determined your spot in society, he bucked the trend by wanting the best for those who were disadvantaged or who were looked down on despite their power because of their births."

"Huh?" Mavis asked confused.

"Even if you were born with a lot of magic, if you weren't from a noble family, you were still discriminated against there despite magic being everything." Makarov explained. "Julius even told me of two of his friends there who were both powerful but because one was a scarred bastard son of a noble's commoner mistress and the other a foreigner, they had faced prejudice in their lives, the latter still did in fact."

"I can see why he was accepted into Fairy Tail, he has our noble heart." Mavis said. "What else do you know about his homeland?"

"Other than that, they use grimoires there not too much, Julius didn't talk much about it as he was focused on learning about Fiore and the surrounding countries while he was here." Makarov said. "What he told me was that it was a continent where everyone, at least as far as he knew back then, had magic though for almost all the people there could only use a single kind of magic that they were born with, what they called an attribute, and for him his attribute was Time. He was unique in that regard apparently and he also had a rare coverless grimoire as most had a cover with the symbol of one of the nations that corresponded with the suits of a pack of cards for some reason."

"Huh interesting." Mavis said. "Strange that they'd only have access to one kind of magic though."

"It's just how the Ethernano worked there apparently." Makarov said. "He said that there was at least one kind of exception to this if the person was mixed race, that is half human half something else as there were other races there apparently, but they were extremely rare and lived in different societies due to past issues between the races. Other than that, there are some attributes, he described on as Paint Magic that is somewhat similar to Reedus's that does allow a wielder to use other attributes via the one that they have but attributes like that are rare according to Julius. Most use a magic like earth, water, fire, wind or a derivative of them."

"Seems like there is an endless number of possibilities." Mavis said thinking on it. "And these Black Bulls are from that land?"

"Almost certainly, that grimoire fits the description of a normal one to some extent though it is more beat up than the ones that Julius described to me." Makarov said. "I'll confirm in the battles later however but they all seem to have them. What magics do they have? Does anyone know?"

"Honestly we've not had much experience with the Black Bulls since they came here a little over 2 years ago." Macau said. "Some of us have met them but that's really it. We don't know much more than that about them."

"Alzack, Romeo, and I ran into three of them when they first showed up in Magnolia." Bisca said. "Asta was one of them and he was with two girls, Mimosa and Noelle, the latter is the girl on their team and the two girls had crazy levels of magic, so much so that I couldn't get a good read on Asta but at the time I didn't know what they used. From what I've heard Mimosa uses Plant Magic and Noelle uses Water Magic."

"That would be correct, it was in that great profile of them in Sorcerer Weekly." Macau said with a grin at the memory of the images from that issue. "I'll never forget that spread."

"Oh yeah that was one of my favorites." Wakaba added as Romeo sighed at the horny men. "Great lingerie spread, and that Vanessa woman is right up there with Jenny. She's easily a top 5, if not top 3, model in Fiore while Mira was gone. I think she uses something called Thread Magic though I didn't really read the profiles on her."

"I'll have to check this out, for, er, research purposes of course." Makarov said with a cough as he got a glare from some of the female members around him. "What about the others?"

"I believe Natsu said that they have a Transformation Magic user, one who's on Mira's level." Romeo said. "Though he didn't confirm that she was actually a member of the Black Bulls, or that she was in fact a she apparently."

"Oh yes the woman we met in their store." Happy said helpfully. "I still don't think Erza read that right though."

"I wouldn't let her hear that." Lily said. "She wouldn't like that."

"Oh yeah." Happy said. "Well, Erza is convinced one of them has Transformation Magic that is apparently pretty strong so ask her about it."

"I see." Makarov said. "And who is their Guild Master?"

"The big man in the middle." Macau said nodding at the Black Bulls who were welcoming Asta back now that the event was over as a short girl with cotton sheep around her began to push an immoral amount of food on Asta. "Yami Sukehiro. I've not actually met him, nor do I know what kind of magic he uses but the rumors are that he's on the level of a Wizard Saint."

"If he's their Guild Master then that would make sense, Julius said those who held that kind of rank in his homeland, though they didn't have Wizard Guilds there, should be considered Wizard Saint level and Julius himself was certainly at that level." Makarov said as he kept his expression neutral but internally he was stunned as he had heard that name before, Yami Sukehiro was the foreigner Julius had spoken of and a wielder of Dark Magic, but it made sense as he was one of the few Julius seemed to trust implicitly. "I should go see him, welcome him to the games and all that because after that display they're going to be tough to beat. Does anyone know where they are staying?"

"The Grey Deer Tavern." Macau said and that all but confirmed everything to Makarov as Grey Deer was the name of Julius's Magic Knight Squad back when he'd been part of Fairy Tail as well. "They own it from what I've heard so that is where they are based."

"Very well, I will go and see them after the games end for the day, alone." Makarov said. "For now, though we need to focus. We have to do better after that loss especially seeing as Lucy is up against Raven Tail and they've defiantly got something planned. She'll need all of our support so let's give it to her."

The others nodded at that as the first battle neared. Hidden hadn't been good for Fairy Tail but it was just one event, they would bounce back, they knew it and that bounce back started with the battles that ended the day with Lucy facing Flare from Raven Tail and that did make Makarov nervous because it was Raven Tail, but he had faith in Lucy and knew she'd do well when the Grand Magic Games resumed.

I think that is a good place to end this ling chapter. Usually, I would have ended it with the cliffhanger of Lucy v. Flare's battle beginning but this chapter was getting way too long and I wanted to have this chat with Makarov to end it. For those wondering about the games and scores, which were hard to sort out as they were confusing, and the anime scores make no sense seeing as after Rufus's attack Eve is listed at second with 5 points, but the event ends moments later, and Blue Pegasus somehow ends up 5th so it's not logical there and thus I did my best to work out the scores as they were. I know some would like Gray to have been better or score higher but remember that Hidden really isn't to his skill set given his habit of ranged and area moves to start fights and the clones there and I do want to show the bounce back and growth of Fairy Tail so he didn't do so well but as we saw Asta's presence, and his Anti-Magic, were big in this. Can the Black Bulls keep it up in the battles? Well stay tuned for that as that is next up with other battles being narrated on by the Black Bulls but as I tend to err on the side of respecting canon when there is no outside influence expect most of the canon battles to follow their normal path with an overview, interpretation, and/or reaction from the Black Bulls. Also, to any confused as to why Master Mavis seems to have a problem regarding Asta, that's actually a deeper reference to how the villain in the final arc of Black Clover that is currently ongoing attacked Asta right at the start to get rid of him because he was the one thing that he couldn't foresee in his plans, so he went to eliminate Asta to remove him as a threat. That is why Mavis too can't seem to predict around Asta, a nod to that part of Black Clover. Lastly, for those curious as it came up in this chapter and will come again in future ones so best to explain it now so as to not do so again, whenever one character from one of the series says that a character from the other sounds like someone they know (here Nero sounding like Mira) it is a reference to the characters sharing an English VA as there is a lot of actors in both series. The exceptions to this are characters who have yet to be met by one series so the examples of this would be Lucy and Laxus's VAs as they voice Loropechika and Dante respectively in Black Clover and as the Black Bulls have yet to meet those characters there won't be references to similar soundings. The other exception is for the replacement VAs for Eve (replacement voices Luck) and Mest (replacement voices Solid) as for them the originals matter though neither will get it as Eve's original hasn't had a VA credit since before Black Clover came out and Mest's original VA voices Damnatio Kira in Black Clover who was never met. The exception to the replacement exception would be Bickslow given who his original VA was so the replacement (GMG arc was last time Bickslow's original VA appeared in Fairy Tail thankfully) would be used but he barely has any credits of note in Black Clover. Anyway, that is all I have for you however 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