Chapter 202

Erupt, Geyser Rush!

As all of Fuzen's ghouls shot swarmed at me, I punched my fists, held out my arms, and conjured a pair of giant stars from my hands.

"WATER DRAGON: DOUBLE STAR!"

I threw them both at once and took out some of the ghouls as they zipped through the air, cutting through them.

"Behind!"

I instinctively jumped up in a backward flip in time for two more shades to shoot past me. Then, as I landed on the ground in a crouch, I took a deep breath while aiming at them.

"WATER DRAGON ROAR!"

A powerful spiraling torrent of water unleashed from my mouth as I blasted the two while taking out some others simultaneously. While continuing to use my breath attack, I turned to make it curve in an arc, taking out the rest of the ghosts at once.

"That takes care of them! Now to take out their castor!"

But as I dashed toward Fuzen, more ghouls reappeared one after the other and attacked me again. Caught by surprise, I quickly backpedaled, created a pair of water swords, and started cutting and slicing any of them at got close.

"Geez, how many of these things are there?! That's going to be a problem!"

Then, Fuzen raised a hand that glowed eerily with violet light as he shouted a spell.

"DEATH PLASMA SHOT!"

A strong streak of violet lightning erupted from his hand like before, but this time, the face of a skull briefly showed as it shot at me. I managed to narrowly avoid it by leaning backward, but I could sense that this spell was significantly stronger than before.

Fuzen continued to fire his spell while his shades continued to attack, while I avoided them and cut through the ghostly soldiers.

"What an overwhelming assault!" cried out Chapati. "Fuzen's got Willy on the defensive as he attacks not only with magic but also with those frightening ghouls!"

"Damn it. Every time I take out these things, more take their places! Not to mention I'm getting the vibe that if I let even one of them touch me, I'll be in trouble! And I don't know if it's just me, but his attacks have gotten even stronger now!"

"What's the matter, Willy?" I heard Fuzen taunt. "Having a hard time keeping up with my shades? If you think that's difficult, let's see how you handle this!"

While holding out his hand, multiple violet blasts shot in my direction from his fingers, and I quickly deflected them using my swords. Some of his shades attempted to attack, but I also avoided them. I turned around and started running toward the wall while moving in rapid zig-zag movements to evade all the incoming attacks.

"WATER DRAGON WINGS AND AQUA JET!"

I ran up the wall, and when I reached the top, I jumped, and a large pair of wings sprouted from my back while the bottoms of my feet exploded with water, sending me high into the air.

"Holy mackerel!" Chapati cried. "Willy has suddenly sprouted wings and is now soaring high like a bird!"

"SO FREAKING COOL!" crowed Jason with excitement.

As I climbed higher, I glanced back down and saw the ghouls pursuing me. When I was high enough above the arena, I curved upwards, flying upside down, flipping back up, and diving toward the center of the floor, where Fuzen remained where he stood.

"It's no use!" I heard him shout out. "No matter how much you run or fly away, my shades won't stop until they've captured their prey! And if even a single one touches you, your life force will be weakened, and you'll become as helpless as a baby!"

"Drain my life force?! That sounds pretty dangerous!" I thought. "Guess this confirms my bad feeling, but all I need to do is don't touch them, and I should be fine. But at the same time, I can't play cat and mouse with these guys forever!"

I continued to curve, dip, loop, and zig-zag around as I flew while the shades continued to pursue me. Then, I swooped down towards the ground and shot straight toward my opponent.

Fuzen smirked. "I see what you're doing," he said. "You're planning on drawing those soldiers over to me and then, at the last minute, swerve and cause them to run into me. A two-bit strategy at best!"

He aimed with his hand, and a few more shades appeared and released another array of blasts. I narrowed my eyes, knowing I was cornered, but I also expected this to happen.

I quickly dispersed my wings while leaning forward, placing my hands firmly on the ground, and performing a handstand. After that, I started spinning around rapidly while in that position and stretching my legs as I shouted the name of a new spell.

"WATER DRAGON WHIRLPOOL SPIN!"

Water enveloped my form, becoming a giant whirlpool that rapidly increased in size. As it raged and swirled, it blocked and washed away any ghouls that ran into it and shielded me from the incoming shower of blasts.

I kept this up for a good few seconds before using my arms to launch me inside of the whirlpool. While in midair, the vortex dispersed by bursting, and I saw Fuzen on the ground, his arms raised to shield himself. Not wanting to give him a chance, I sucked in some air while aiming in his direction.

"AND WATER DRAGON ROAR!"

I released another breath attack, but Fuzen was quick to counter.

"DEAD WAVE!"

From his hand, he launched a powerful beam made of ghosts. The two attacks clashed against each other, pushing each other back and forth, trying to overpower one another. After a few seconds, the two attacks became unstable, resulting in an explosion that released a powerful shockwave that blew across the arena as water rained everywhere.

I felt the wind buffet me as it blew me backward while airborne, but I managed to land safely on the ground. As the smoke from the explosion dissipated, I straightened up, panting from all the movement and magic I used. However, I still had some fight in me as I stared at Fuzen, who, aside from being slightly wet, was hardly winded.

"I have to admit, that was quite impressive, Willy Falconer," he said with a smirk. "I never expected you to block my attack and take out my soldiers simultaneously. You had me fooled."

"What can I say? I like to keep people guessing," I told him as I brushed the dust off my shoulder.

"Your magic, strength, and agility are also impressive," continued Fuzen. "And out of all the opponents I've faced, you're one of the first to last this long against me." His smirk deepened. "But that means I get to take my sweet time destroying you."

"Well, gee, don't I feel lucky," I said sarcastically. "Instead of spouting all this cheap talk, why don't you come at me already?"

Fuzen chuckled. "Well, someone's eager. But I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss that if I were you," He paused, giving me a dark look. "After all, words can be potent weapons, and they will lead to your downfall."

I took a defensive stance. Fuzen's eyes

suddenly snapped wide as he dashed forward until he was right in front of me and started swinging at me rapidly. I quickly avoided and dodged the attacks, but then I heard him speak as he attacked.

"I heard that Makarov and my master have a history together due to family drama, and Ivan's been painted the villain. But I wonder who the true villain is around here?"

I straightened my hands as my water magic cloaked them, morphing into blades, and started slicing and swinging at him but got nothing but air as he avoided them easily before reappearing a few feet away. Then, I turned the water in my hands into giant stars and threw them at once, and Fuzen suddenly disappeared. I looked around my surroundings, trying to see where he had gone.

"He's gotten faster than before!"

Then, I felt the hairs on my neck stand up, sensing danger from behind. I clenched my fist and whipped around, slugging, but my attack whiffed once again as Fuzen reappeared in my vision.

"After all, you're quite a villain yourself, aren't you?" he snarked. "A pretender playing the good guy to get something out of your position."

I jumped back, caught off guard, but dismissed his comment as I managed to get a good distance from him and held out my arms, making water erupt from them.

"It seems like he's trying to provoke me as he did in the preliminaries," I thought. "Well, sorry for you, buddy. That trick may have caught me off guard last time, but I won't fall for it again!"

I ran a few steps, jumped up, and attacked with another spell.

"WATER DRAGON WING ATTACK!"

I released shockwaves of water toward Fuzen, but with a wave of his hand, a linear chain of explosions erupted in front of him, stopping the attack as he continued to talk while firing another wave of bullets.

"You know, Master Ivan and I were talking a while ago. He mentioned some interesting things. Mostly about how much of a pariah you are, that is. A pariah that's been dragging down friends and family alike."

I summoned a pair of swords and rapidly sliced and cut through blasts, continuing to ignore him.

"Speaking of which, that reminds me," Fuzen continued. "There's a woman named Sieri who is like a mother to you, right? And she also has a little girl named Lapis."

My eyebrow twitched in response.

"There's something about them that confuses me, so perhaps you can clarify." He paused before giving me a malicious and taunting smile. "How can they be so forgiving toward you like nothing ever happened when you ran away, disappearing for seven years? And because you weren't around, their precious Finn is gone forever. Such a sin is way too unforgivable if you ask me."

At that moment, I became infuriated as I shot toward Fuzen and angrily attacked him with an Iron Fist.

"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!"

But just as I swung my fist, a powerful wave of vertigo struck me in the stomach and spread all through my body, which in turn caused me to stumble as I punched. Fuzen easily avoided it, and before I could react, he had his hand hovering over my stomach.

"DEAD WAVE."

He then unleashed a powerful blast into my gut, causing me to yell out in pain as it sent me backward until I landed on the ground skidding to a stop. Gritting my teeth, I struggled to get back on my feet, but along with the weakness, my arms and legs felt like jelly as I managed to stand up.

"Wh-What's going on?! Why do I feel so weak?! I can barely stay on my feet!"

"Something the matter, Willy?" I heard Fuzen say in front of me. "You're looking like you're about to fall asleep. Perhaps you need something to wake you up! Let me help you!"

Sensing an attack, I immediately jumped to the right in time for a streak of lightning to narrowly miss me as it struck the ground with a mighty crack. As it did, the ground exploded, making rubble fly in all directions. Fuzen then attacked with another shower of blasts.

I conjured my swords and tried deflecting them, but as I did, I noticed another change in this attack. I wasn't sure if it was because of my weakness, but the barrage felt stronger and faster than before.

Then, unable to keep up, I felt a couple of the blasts strike me in my left thigh, right forearm, and the left side of my neck. Those shots made my defenses crumble, leading to the barrage blasting over my body as I took them. And while I was assaulted, I didn't realize that my body had taken a slight black glow.

NO POV

Over in another part of the stands on the other side of the arena, Lisanna and the Thunder Legion were watching everything unfold.

"Oh, no! What happened?! Willy's losing!" cried Bixlow. "He was doing just fine a moment ago! Don't tell me that those Raven Tail punks are playing dirty again!"

Then, they heard Warren through his telepathy. "Hey, Lisanna. Thunder Legion. Do you see anything suspicious over there?"

Lisanna then looked through her binoculars towards the Raven Tail box and saw the team standing idly in the stands while watching the battle. "Nothing out of the ordinary over here. They're just standing there," she replied. "What about you, Bisca?"

"No movement from Ivan yet," replied Bisca. "He's just sitting there enjoying the show."

"They pick now of all times not to fight dirty?" huffed Evergreen. "Does that mean this Fuzen fellow's stronger than expected?"

Lisanna frowned with worry as she looked back to the arena as Willy continued to take the blows. "Come on, Willy. Hang in there," she quietly begged. "Don't let that guy beat you."

"Fear not, Lisanna," Fried reassured her kindly. "Willy may be at a disadvantage now, but I'm sure he'll win. He's a strong and capable wizard, so have faith in him."

Lisanna squeezed her binoculars a bit but spoke bravely. "Yeah. You're right."

"Willy! Shake it off!" Elfman yelled.

"Something doesn't feel right," said Gray. "Willy was doing fine until that guy started talking trash."

"Did one of the shades end up hitting him after all?" Lucy asked Erza. "But then, I didn't see any of them hit him."

"I'm not sure," Erza spoke with a frown. "But something happened when Fuzen started talking about Sieri and Lapis. And because of that, Willy's at a disadvantage now."

WILLY'S POV

I could hear Fuzen laughing like a child playing with a new toy as he continued to assault me with his blasts. Every one of those blasts hurt, and I could feel myself growing weaker as I tried my best to endure.

The blasts soon ceased. My clothes were tattered and ripped, and my skin was littered with ash and burns, but I somehow managed to stay standing. I stomped my right foot, making it erupt with water, and I charged and swung with a kick using my little strength.

However, that would prove to be a huge mistake as Fuzen caught me by the ankle, tightly squeezing as he spoke with a dark smile.

"DARK PLASMA CHARGE!"

Immediately, lightning coursed through my body, and I couldn't help but scream in agony as I convulsed and writhed but couldn't break free. My world then swung as I was sent to the ground bouncing once before I felt a powerful blow to my stomach, sending me flying and slamming into the wall. As I fell to the ground, I felt chunks of rock fall on top of my form as I twitched and trembled from the shock.

I was disoriented and hurting all over, and I could feel the taste of blood in my mouth. I slowly struggled to get back up, groaning a bit. When I managed to get on my knees and look forward, I could see Fuzen slowly strolling towards me like he had all the time in the world.

"I'm impressed that you're still struggling," he said. "But you and I both know it's pointless to do so."

I heavily panted, trying to get back up, but I could barely get on my fours, let alone stay up.

"You know, I can't help but feel so sorry for you, Willy Falconer," he went on. "Here you are fighting in this tournament, giving it your all, yet everyone in this arena is waiting for you to fail so they can have a reason to demean you. After all, everyone in this arena knows who you are."

I shut my eyes, trying to tune out his words, but I could still hear him.

"You keep pretending that you're a "good guy," even after all these "misunderstandings" you so keep saying they are. But there's no denying that you're a traitor to your guild, someone who won't hesitate to betray those you've allied yourself with to survive in the world — even your closest friends and family. In a way, you're just like us in the Raven Tail guild."

The weakness continued growing as my vision because to flicker from normal to fuzzy as I tried to stay conscious.

"Y-You're wrong!" I managed to choke out while opening an eye. "I'm nothing like you, and I'll never be like you and those scumbags!"

Fuzen held his hand up, and two ghosts came out from it. They tightly bound themselves around my body, pinning my arms and legs, and lifted me into the air. As they squeezed, I felt more searing pain shock my body enticing another scream from me.

"Then, let's change that, shall we?" said Fuzen. "Since you're insistent on taking more punishment, let's see how you fare against this?!"

He flicked his finger, and two tendrils came out from my binds. One forcibly raised my left arm while wrapping itself around it and keeping it in place. The other kept its end hovering just above my forearm, sparking with lightning magic as it did.

Then, its end began to change, and my eyes widened, for the shape it took was the Raven Tail emblem, and it was right above an area that filled me with dread.

My Fairy Tail guild mark.

Before I could even cry out, the tendril slammed right onto the surface of my forearm. I couldn't help but let out a shrill scream as my skin sizzled and overwhelming pain coursed through my arm.

After a few seconds, the tendril moved away, and where my blue Fairy Tail guild mark should be, there was now a smoking black Raven Tail symbol.

"How's this? Since Flare missed out on doing this to that Lucy girl, I figured I'd take a page from her book!" Fuzen cruelly mocked. "Now you have a Raven Tail emblem just like us! It suits you very well!"

As he started to laugh, I couldn't help but stare at the mark, unable to speak.

NO POV

To say that Makarov was irate was an understatement. The veins on his head were showing even more visibly than before. The other Fairy Tail members were just as mad and disgusted.

"That scumbag! How dare he do that to one of my children?!" the old man snarled.

"That guy's gone way too far!" agreed Warren. "Someone's got to stop the match right now!"

"But the only one who can stop it is Mato!" said Max. "There's nothing we can do!"

"Damn it! Just when I thought those jerks couldn't stoop any lower!" Laki spoke angrily.

Tu Chi gripped her staff, but she showed no emotion.

Sieri was also angry as she balled up her hands into fists. Then, she felt someone tug at her clothing, prompting her to look down. She saw her daughter Lapis staring worriedly at the arena on the brink of tears.

"Momma, is Willy going to lose?" she asked worriedly.

Sieri took a deep breath to calm down. Then she got down to her level. "To be honest, it looks pretty bad for him, sweetie," she said calmly. But then she smiled. "But that's why we got a secret weapon to help him. Remember?"

Lapis gasped in realization. "Oh, yeah! That's right!"

Sieri looked across to Alzack. "Hey, Alzack! Now's time we bust it out!"

Alzack nodded. "You got it," he acknowledged.

The other Fairy Tail members felt puzzled.

"Wait, what are you guys talking about at a time like this?" wondered Nab.

"You'll see," smiled Alzack. "Asuka. You ready?"

Asuka gave an enthusiastic nod. "Yeah! Let's do it!"

Over with Team Fairy Tail B, Mira was also angry as she silently glared toward the arena. She looked so intimidating that even Laxus and Jellal kept their distance from her.

"Oh, man. Haven't seen her glare like that in a while," murmured Laxus.

"Geez, and I thought Erza was scary," cringed Gajeel. "Even I'm starting to get chills."

"Well, can you blame her?! This scumbag's just branded Willy like he's cattle!" snapped Cana crossly. "He's lucky she hasn't gone into the arena and kicked his ass! If she hasn't, then I certainly would have!"

"I know. It's awful," said Juvia. "To not only be tortured but also be humiliated like this."

WILLY'S POV

Aside from feeling angry and humiliated, a dark feeling came over my body. It was as if something was pulling me into the dark hole that was robbing me of what confidence and strength I had. I felt on the brink of blacking out as I feebly wiggled, trying to get free.

"What's wrong? Weren't you saying that you're going to beat me?" Fuzen taunted. "To triumph over your enemy against all odds and show everyone what a hero you are?"

I heard some of the people in the crowd.

"How pathetic! This guy's going to lose just like the blonde from before!"

"Raven Tail's already leading in the Grand Magic Games, and now their representative will win too!"

"Not to mention he looks miserable! Pretty fitting for the traitor!"

"Hopefully, when he loses, he'll return to whatever hole he crawled out from!"

"Hear that? No matter how much you try, no matter how hard you work, this will always be the outcome," Fuzen taunted. "At the moment you lose, everyone in this arena will mock and boo you out of the arena! Even your guild will want to kick you to the curb! And when all that's done, you'll be sure that it'll be because you're a pathetic loser!"

I felt those words cut me like a knife, piercing me straight into my emotions as flashbacks to when Satoshi, Midnight, and other foes I met almost saying the same lines of dialogue came to mind while the words of the people in the crowd seemed to echo in my head on repeat. At that moment, my will began to crumble as I bit my lip, and my eyelids grew heavy.

"Could he be right? Am I wasting my time fighting for nothing? Was everything I've worked so hard for pointless?"

Then, just as I was about to give in, a pair of voices shouted out loud and proud.

"You can do it, Willy!"

My eyes then opened, glancing towards the crowd, and I saw something that made them go wide.

Over to where the rest of Fairy Tail was, and while being carried by Sieri and Alzack, I saw Asuka and Lapis holding up a banner with a hand-drawn picture of me that had "Go, Willy!" on it.

"Don't give up, Willy! We believe in you!" shouted Asuka.

"Yeah! Show that meanie who's boss!" Lapis yelled out. "Hang in there!"

"Come on, Willy! Knock that lousy punk into next week!" Sieri also shouted. "Show that guy what you're made of!"

The other Fairy Tail members were cheering, too, while Nab was waving our guild's flag.

At first, I couldn't believe what I saw, but a smile slowly tugged my cheeks as my eyes began to burn slightly.

"You guys..."

I could feel my strength return significantly, and I struggled with my bindings again, managing to move my arms up slightly.

Surprise crossed Fuzen's face as his hand seemed to be driven back as I forced him against my bindings. However, he raised his hand back, upping the power of his ghosts, making them bind me tighter.

"You shouldn't be able to fight back!" he scowled. "Stop your pointless struggling and surrender! You're nothing! Just a stain on this world that doesn't belong here!"

But this time, I could feel my strength continue to return as I resisted even harder and began to glow in a shade of blue.

"No... I'm - NOT!"

I broke free of the shades with a mighty yell while destroying them simultaneously.

"I don't believe it!" Chapati cried in excitement. "Just when we thought he was done for, Willy Falconer managed to get his second wind and broke free from Fuzen's magic!"

"SO UNBELIEVABLY COOL!" screeched Jason.

As I landed back on the ground panting, I looked at my hand, opening and closing it to test my muscles.

"I managed to get my strength back. But how? Was it because of adrenaline after seeing the others cheering for me? No. It might have been part of it, but it's something else. And also, how did I end up weak in the first place? It didn't start until he began taunting me again, just like the last time, and I didn't even touch any of his soldiers. Plus, he began growing faster and stronger, even with my current state. So, what's the deal?"

At that moment, I remembered when I fought Fuzen in the preliminaries and when Fuzen fought Bora. After taking a few seconds of thinking, I had a hunch. Then, I stood up, clapped my hands together, and let my magic power radiate throughout my body as I began chanting a spell.

"O, MIGHTY OVERFLOWING RIVER! CLEANSE ME WITH YOUR WATERS AND REJECT THE IMPURITIES!"

I punched my hands together and spread my arms wide, making a blue magic circle appear before me. Then, it passed over me, bathing me with its glow as my body began to glow with its light. At that moment, a shade flew out from my body and evaporated into the air.

"Well, Fuzen, I gotta say, it took me a bit," I said. "But now, I got you figured out."

"What do you mean by that?" Fuzen asked, scowling with confusion.

"I mean, I understand what's been going on throughout our fight," I told him. "Based on what I've seen, your magic allows you to use ghostly specters to use spells and create soldiers that drain a target's life force with a single touch. But there's another ability you've been using."

I paused before responding.

"You have to power to feed on your target's misery, am I right?"

Fuzen's eyes narrowed, confirming my suspicions.

"First, you implant one of your shades inside of your opponent through any physical blow," I continued explaining. "And I'm willing to bet you implanted one in me back at the preliminaries and one into Bora in your previous match. Next, you find the one thing they fear or are the most insecure about. Their status, their most embarrassing moment, to even what they did in the past. Then, you keep picking and picking at it, like a scab to a cut, until they can't help but get emotional. From there, the shade you implanted sucks up whatever misery they're feeling like a parasite, weakening them while you feed on it to enhance your abilities. However, the effect is negated if the target experiences positive feelings."

Fuzen scowled, but then he smirked. "Very good, Willy Falconer," he said. "It would seem that you're more cunning than I thought. But how were you able to expel my shade from your body?"

"A new support spell I learned known as Damona's Blessing," I replied. "It cleanses the user of any abnormal effects caused by magic and expels any foreign substances inside the body."

"That's a neat little trick, but what does it matter?" huffed Fuzen. "I can still reduce you to being as weak as a baby!"

He snapped his fingers, and more of his soldiers materialized around him while I didn't move. The shades attacked me at once, their red eyes gleaming and their claws brandished. One shot straight through me, then another and another, but I remained standing without feeling any weakness. The shades repeatedly shot themselves through my body, but nothing happened.

"Wh-What is this?!" demanded Fuzen. "Your life force should be completely drained!"

I gave him a smirk. "Oh, I forgot to mention something else. An additional benefit from Damona's Blessing," I said. "It not only does what I said before, but it also protects me from any magic that causes abnormalities, so your shades won't be draining my life force anytime soon."

Fuzen's eyes went wide as he stared in disbelief. But then he began to chuckle, which eventually evolved into laughter. He then gave me a maniacal look of excitement.

"Interesting! Very interesting, Willy Falconer!" he said. "I knew you were different than the others, but now I'm thrilled!"

His body began to radiate in an eerie purple glow. His muscle mass began to grow and swell until the top of his shirt ripped apart, unable to contain it. He grew taller until he was about six to seven inches taller than me.

"And to thank you for entertaining me," Fuzen continued, his voice a little deeper. "I'm going to crush you with everything I got! And with the delicious misery I took, you won't stand a chance against me!"

I simply stood there, not intimidated. "I got to admit, you certainly have an incredible amount of strength and tenacity," I said. "I can see why Raven Tail has so much faith in you. I'm surprised that Ivan didn't make you a participant in the Games. However, while you're putting up a great fight, we all know that there's no point in doing so anymore, and there's only one thing you can do to make it stop and make all of us happy."

I paused while giving him a hard glare.

"Surrender."

Fuzen was taken aback. Then, he laughed before his expression turned into an angry smirk. "You think you're being smart by turning my words back on me?!" he snarked. "This battle will only end when I crush you like the bug up are!"

He lurched forward, swinging with a fast punch, but I quickly jumped back just as it slammed onto the ground. He continued to attack, swinging and punching at me while his hands radiated with his magic, while I continued to avoid him easily.

Then, growing impatient, he held his hands in front of him and bellowed at the top of his voice.

"PLASMA DEATH WAVE! ! ! MAX POWER!"

He released a powerful blast again, which appeared to be his strongest. However, I dodged the attack while shooting toward him and closing the distance in seconds. When he realized I was in front of him, I clenched my hand and delivered a devastating Iron Fist square in the gut, making his eyes bug out of their sockets while throwing up some spit as he was knocked back.

I followed up by pursuing and giving him a swift kick to his right side, sending him back further until he skidded to stop. He appeared stunned as he hacked up another glob of spit, struggling to get up.

I charged my magic power and clenched my right hand into a fist, ready to finish him off as I let out a yell.

"WATER DRAGON GEYSER RUSH ! ! !"

I slammed my fist into the ground, and several water pillars erupted, shooting straight toward my target. Before Fuzen could react, the pillars surrounded him in a ring combining into one, which created a giant explosion of water that shook the arena.

Fuzen screamed as he flew into the air before falling to the ground, flat on his back. His body was drenched and battered while back to its normal state, and he also had a spectacular bruise on his stomach where I punched him.

Mato quickly rushed over to him and saw that he couldn't move, therefore no longer able to continue the fight. The bell then sounded.

"And that's all she wrote!" Chapati's voice yelled out. "Things looked dicey for a moment, but Fuzen is down for the count!"

"The winner of this fight and moving on to the finals is Fairy Tail's Willy Falconer!" Mato called out.

The crowd then cheered. I let out a breath feeling a sense of catharsis, and I turned around, about to leave. But not before I heard Fuzen call out to me.

"Wait a minute, boy. I'm not finished with you yet."

I stopped and looked back to find Fuzen managing to regain consciousness, chuckling weakly.

"You were holding out on me, weren't you? Testing the limits of my power, so to speak?"

"And what if I was?" I replied. "And why should it matter?"

Fuzen coughed a bit, still smirking. "Fair enough. Fine. I'll admit I've lost this fight, but at least I've left you with a parting gift." he sneered.

Knowing what he was talking about, I looked at my arm, which still had the black Raven Tail symbol.

"That mark on your wrist will serve as proof that you are nothing but a traitor," he continued. "Proof that you don't belong to either a dark guild or a legal one. You'll forever be ostracized, frowned upon by society, and will always have nothing. And the best part? You'll never be able to get rid of it. Even with healing magic, it'll stay there."

He then laughed as I turned around to face him. But then, I held up my arm and focused my magic power throughout my body while holding up my left arm. Almost immediately, along with the rest of my wounds, the mark faded away, and my blue Fairy Tail mark returned to view, which made Fuzen's smile disappear in seconds.

"I think you'll find that I'll be just fine, even though that hurt like heck," I told him. "Just for the record, the only mark I need is this one, and if you ever think to mess it up again," I gave him a dark look full of hate. "I'll give you much more than a bruise and a shower."

Fuzen seemed speechless, unable to say a word as I turned around and walked away.

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Thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you in the next chapter!

Dragomaster, signing off!