Chapter 207

Dominating Fairies

The following day, Domu Flau was once again packed with people. Everyone was raring to see what other surprises awaited them for day three of the games. But as we made our way to the arena stands, I couldn't stop thinking about Yukino, primarily worried about how she was doing.

Just as anyone would expect, she was already gone by the time anyone in the hotel checked up on her. According to Mira, she left a note for her and Team B, thanking her for their hospitality and the rest of us for our kindness. No one else has seen or heard from her since then. But as much as I was worried about her, I knew I had to focus on the games, especially considering the altercation Natsu caused the other night and my match with Bacchus. I couldn't afford to be sidetracked.

"Welcome everybody to day three of the games, which puts us at the halfway point!" Chapati announced.

"I wonder what heated drama will await us today?" questioned Yajima expectantly. "It would certainly have to top all the battles and eye candy over the past few days."

"Well, I, for one, will be on my best behavior today," Chapati went on. "Because today's special guest is the head of the Magic Council's Custody Enforcement Unit, Marshall Lahar!"

Upon recognizing the name, I glanced over toward the commentator's stand, and sure enough, the very man in question was sitting next to the two men plain as day.

"I remember that guy," I thought. "He's the one that arrested Jellal and me a while back. I didn't think he was still around. Then again, considering that, I honestly couldn't care less."

"It's been a long time, Lahar," said Yajima. "It's a pleasure to have you here."

"The pleasure's all mine," Lahar spoke with a smile. "Thank you for having me."

"As the Chief Marshall of the Custody Enforcement Unit, it's your job to catch the bad guys, correct?" asked Chapati.

"Yes, and let that serve as a reminder to would-be cheaters participating in the games," Lahar went on. "I'll be watching you."

The people in the crowd laughed, but I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Where was he when Lucy got cheated from her match on the first day? Not to mention I haven't forgotten how he and his jerk of a partner Doranbolt treated me a while back. What a load of crabs."

"All right, folks! Let's kick off today's event with a game that's sure to be exciting!" said Chapati. "And that game is known as Pandemonium!"

"I wonder what that could mean?" questioned Carla. "Usually, it means chaos or panic, but it can sometimes be referred to as a den of monsters or demons."

"Maybe it'll be a haunted house game," Makarov teased. "The players will walk down a dark hallway when suddenly," He made a scary face while talking spookily. "A scary ghost pops out of nowhere!"

Romeo, Happy, and Carla couldn't help but jump.

"If that's what's going to happen, then I might be too scared to watch," gulped Happy.

For some unknown reason, Mavis was also frightened, tears of fear welling in her eyes. "How scary!" she squeaked. "A game like that sounds terrifying to me!"

Everyone couldn't help but stare at the first master in bafflement.

"Um, Master Mavis, with all due respect, you're a ghost yourself," I pointed out. "So, how could you possibly be scared?"

"As usual, we will have one team member compete in this event," Lola announced. "So make sure you choose wisely!"

It wasn't long before eight wizards made their way to the center of the arena, and eight different mugshots were displayed to the crowd through lacrima screens.

"And that's it, folks! All of the competitors have been chosen!" announced Chapati. "And those eight are Orga from Sabertooth, Jura from Lamia Scale, Hibiki from Blue Pegasus, Obra from Raven Tail, Millianna from Mermaid Heel, Novali from Quatro Puppy, Erza from Fairy Tail A, and Cana from Fairy Tail B! Let's give them a round of applause!"

The crowd responded in a chorus of cheers.

"So, Erza's competing instead of Natsu, eh?" I thought. "I would have thought that Natsu would be the one to compete, but I suppose this is for the best. After last night, it's best to keep Natsu under wraps for the time being." I looked across at Orga. "And it seems like Orga's competing again, too. I only managed to get a brief glimpse of his power back in his match with Warcry. Hopefully, I'll see more of his power in this contest."

Then, a large magic circle appeared in the sky above the arena. And from it, a giant stone castle-like structure emerged. It was upside down while appearing ancient and demonic, having several spikes and skeletal designs around it.

Eventually, it finished emerging with a rumbling boom, and a pathway leading up to its entrance appeared in front of the competitors.

Mato then stepped forth before the competitors. "Competitors, before you is a castle filled with vicious monsters!" he spoke in excitement. "That is Pandemonium!"

"I take it we're to do battle with these creatures, then?" asked Jura.

"You are correct!" Mato spoke cheerily. "Approximately over one hundred monsters are lurking inside! But no need to be concerned. There's no chance of them escaping or attacking the crowd. They're magical projections created solely for this game and are classified by their degree of difficulty into five classes: D, C, B, A, and S. Their distribution will be shown here."

A few screens of the lacrimation then showed the different classes of monsters. There were a total of fifty D class monsters, thirty C class, fifteen B class, four A class, and one S class.

"And to give you a ballpark of their strength, check out this D-class monster!" added Mato with an ominous chuckle. "Remember, they're the weak ones!"

Another screen popped up, showing a large, spacious room inside, which was a bit dark, with a few torches for light, several spiked pillars lining the corridors, and a thick smoky fog blanketed the area, making it too ominous for my liking.

A strange four-legged creature stepped forth. It was white, about the size of a large animal, bulky, had a long tail with spikes lining it, was eyeless, and had razor-sharp teeth and claws. The creature let out a snarl as it turned its attention to one of the pillars. Then, it pounced toward a pillar and, with one mighty swipe of its claw, reduced it to rubble in seconds.

The entire crowd gasped in either awe or fear.

"The entire Pandemonium is filled to the brim with these vile creatures and more!" said Mato. "Monsters of a higher class are about two times stronger than the ones below them. And if you think that D-class monster looked nasty, you'll lose your marbles when the S-class monster shows up! I'm unsure if even a Wizard Saint can beat that thing."

"Well, it looks like Makarov was somewhat correct with his theory," commented Tu Chi.

"And despite them being magical projections, they can still hurt you can't they?" Happy spoke worriedly.

"I'm just hoping Erza and Cana come out of this unscathed," said Carla.

"These games keep getting more extravagant by the second!" gasped Mavis.

"It's a little too much, in my humble opinion," muttered Makarov.

"Here are the rules of this game!" went on Mato. "You will all take turns choosing the number of monsters you wish to fight in each round. This is what we call the competitor's "right to challenge."

"Right to challenge?" repeated Erza with interest. "So, does that mean we get to decide?"

"Correct, again!" said Mato. "For example, if you decide to fight three monsters, then that's how many will appear inside. After that, you will enter the castle alone to defeat them, and if you do so successfully, you earn three points! The next challenger will choose another number of monsters out of the ninety-seven that remain. The process repeats itself until no more monsters are left, or if all challengers run out of magic power, whichever happens first."

"So, there's math involved in this, huh?" questioned Millianna.

"Yes, to a degree. Choosing your numbers carefully and judging the situation will become very important after the first round," Mato continued. "However, don't forget that all the monsters have different ranks, so no matter what number you pick, they will be chosen randomly."

"So, we'll also have to strategize to avoid going up against the S-Class monster," surmised Hibiki

"How the hell are you going to strategize against that?" Orga scoffed while glancing at him. "He just told us that they'll be chosen at random."

"You can't, champ, but I can," Hibiki spoke confidently. "I know all about probability, and my Archive magic can help me a little, too."

"The number of monsters you defeat also determines how many points you earn, regardless of their ranks," Mato added. "Once you've entered the castle, you're not allowed to leave until you've completed your challenge successfully."

"And what happens if you get knocked out inside?" asked Cana.

"You'll keep all the points you've accumulated in the previous rounds, but you'll be out of the games," replied Mato. "And if you accumulated points on the turn, you're knocked out, and you'll also lose those points."

"So defeating as many monsters as possible is ideal, but you also can't go too overboard," I spoke thoughtfully. "Not to mention, if you fight one monster per round, there's no way you'll get enough points to win."

"And they also need to factor in how much magic power they'll be able to recover after each round," added Carla. "They've made this game quite the conundrum, that's sure."

"I'm sure that Erza can handle herself," said Lisanna. "But is Cana going to be all right? You heard what the guy said about the S-class monster."

I glanced over at her. "Come on. Have a little faith in her," I said. "This will be the perfect opportunity for her to show the fruits of her training. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"I'm curious to see how many they will choose," said Mavis. "But I agree with Willy. I think they'll both be just fine."

Mato then made a small box appear in his hands with eight sticks inside it. "Now, I'd like everyone to draw a straw to decide the order you'll go in."

He first went over to Erza and Cana, and the two pulled out their sticks. A magic circle then appeared on the ends showing their numbers, Erza getting number one and Cana number eight.

As soon as she saw her number, a glimmer flashed in Erza's eyes as she looked up at the castle, wearing a look that reminded me of Natsu and Gray.

"How interesting," the redhead spoke aloud. "I assumed victory in this event relied solely on the luck of the draw."

"It's far more than that," said Mato. "It's more about pacing and judgment than the order you go in. It's a pretty complex game if you think about it."

Erza looked at the pumpkin man, a confident smile appearing. "No. This isn't even considered a game anymore."

Mato and the other challengers were puzzled as Erza took a few steps toward the pathway leading to the castle. Our group and the rest of the crowd were puzzled, too, wondering what she could be thinking.

"Inside this castle, await one hundred monsters," Erza spoke out, her smile changing into a confident and brave scowl as she spoke loud enough for everyone to hear her. "I choose to challenge... all of them!"

Immediately, Mato and all the challengers' jaws dropped in shock at this declaration. Even Jura's eyes were a bit wide in surprise. The crowd also went into stunned silence, considering Mato's explanation of the game and the monsters.

"So, that's why that look in her eyes looked familiar," I thought. "It's the same look Natsu always gets whenever he's about to do something reckless."

"SAY WHAT?!" Mato couldn't help but exclaim. "You can't be serious about that, are you?! This event was designed this event for multiple competitors!"

Erza looked back. "I don't care," she responded.

And without saying another word, she started her journey up the pathway heading toward the castle.

"Is she out of her mind?!" Sieri cried. "I've heard stories about Erza's strength, but don't you think this is being reckless?!"

"Don't you worry, Sieri," said Tu Chi. "It would seem that victory isn't the only thing on Erza's mind. She intends to make a statement."

It wasn't before Erza stood inside the castle in the middle of the room.

"My name is Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail's Team A!" she proclaimed aloud. "I will face one hundred monsters!"

Immediately, all the monsters came crawling out of every nook and cranny of the room, from the bottom of the floor to the tops of the ceiling. And they all had their sights set on her, but undaunted and ready to fight, Erza leaped into action as her battle began.

While using her Requip magic to change and mix up her armor and weapons, she quickly started mowing down one monster after the other. The entire Pandemonium castle shook and rumbled with every explosion and attack as numbers dropped while she remained standing. Even when some of the monsters managed to get a few hits on her, she refused to back down and returned the favor with a vengeance.

As everyone watched the play-by-play through lacrimation, I stared in silence but couldn't help but feel awestruck by this display. I remembered fighting Erza back when I first came to Fairy Tail, and I've seen her fight back when we went on that job together, but never in my wildest dreams have I seen her dominating the way she was. The crowd loved what they saw, too, cheering wildly in encouragement as she kept up the good fight.

Soon enough, only the S-class monster remained, and everyone was waiting to see what horror awaited Erza. However, what we saw was something we didn't expect to see. The creature turned out to be relatively small, colored black, had four yellow-like legs like a bug, a large red eye with a purple sclera, and two horns on the sides. And to add to that, it was slightly trembling in fear as Erza stared it down.

At first glance, anyone quickly began commenting on the creature's appearance.

"That's supposed to be the S-Class monster?" wondered Lisanna. "It looks too cute and tiny to be called an S-Class monster."

But then, Erza used her Requip again, changing her attire into white bandages around her chest and a red hakama with a gold flame-like pattern at the bottom legs. She also had her hair tied into a long ponytail and had summoned two long swords into each of her hands.

"Why's she using two swords against tiny?" snickered Happy. "Seems a bit overkill if you ask me."

"She's gearing up for the real fight," said Pantherlily. "Look at the stance she's taking."

Erza then pointed her sword at the remaining monster, her eyes stone cold yet filled with a fire that wouldn't go out. "Come at me," she beckoned.

In response, the creature's eye opened wide and released a bright purple light illuminating the entire arena. After a few seconds, the light dimmed, and Erza and the S-class creature were transported to the top of the castle. However, the S-Class monster had undergone a dramatic change.

It stood several feet tall its appearance was like a giant wearing spikey armor, the face demonic with gleaming yellow eyes with a third in the middle of its forehead and sharp claws and teeth.

Erza didn't seem intimidated by this, but before she could make her move, the S-Class monster lunged at her at an incredible speed, raised its foot, and stomped right on top of her. The redhead tried to stand her ground, but the creature pushed her back until it pinned her up against a torch. Then, it shifted its weight and gave the redhead a powerful kick sending her skidding across the floor.

"It looks like Pandemonium has become a one-on-one fight!" crowed Chapati. "Not only that, but the action has been moved to the top of the castle, and it looks like Erza's entirely overwhelmed by the now enormous S-Class monster!

"Don't say I didn't warn you!" squealed Mato worriedly. "The S-Class monster was made to have its power increased triple-fold if it became the last one standing!"

"This certainly was a surprise," commented Yajima. "I never would have guessed that critter would turn out to be the alpha beast."

"Agreed," concurred Lahar. "An effective ambush like that makes this event worthy of the name Pandemonium."

But despite taking this blow and having taken heavy damage, Erza got back up, rallying herself with a yell, and gunned straight for the S-Class monster, giving it two mighty and rapid swipes of her sword while the creature retaliated by swiping its claws. But despite this collision, the S-Class monster's hands shattered into pieces, much to its disbelief. Erza attacked again, using her swords to slice it right across its face, but the beast swiftly countered, swatting the swordsman to the ground like a bug creating a cloud of dust from the impact. The S-Class creature smiled triumphantly, believing it had won, but Erza exploded forth from the dust, now wielding a single sword. She rapidly sliced at the center of the S-Class monster's chest with one more mighty yell and finished with a decisive diagonal cut, landing just behind it in a crouch.

The titan remained motionless for a moment. Then, a crack appeared on its chest. And then another. And then another. More cracks spread throughout its body until it finally exploded into pieces. As its shards rained down upon her, Erza, battered, bloody, but unbeaten, stood tall and victorious as she raised her sword proudly towards the sky, silently declaring that the battle was over and she was the victor.

The crowd went wild with cheers at this spectacle, chanting the redhead's name as Chapati's excited voice echoed throughout Dormus Flau.

"THAT WAS UNBELIEVABLE! ERZA SCARLET HAS SINGLE-HANDEDLY DEFEATED ALL ONE HUNDRED MONSTERS, SWEEPING THE ENTIRE ROUND IN AN ABSOLUTE, UNDISPUTED VICTORY! LET IT BE KNOWN THAT WE HAVE JUST WITNESSED HISTORY! THE STRONGEST GUILD FROM SEVEN YEARS AGO HAS RETURNED FROM THE GRAVE!"

The castle then faded into the magic circle and descended to the ground as Erza reemerged from it, still standing proud and tall. It was then that Natsu and the rest of Team A all rushed over to the redhead, hugging her while jumping, Lucy and Wendy crying their eyes out with joy while Natsu and Gray were beaming from cheek to cheek.

Everyone in our guild was cheering wildly, some crying out of joy. Even Makarov was bawling his eyes out. I smiled so much that I didn't even care if my cheeks were hurting as my heart was full of pride.

"The crowd is still going crazy over that awe-inspiring performance!" Chapati spoke out, now a bit calmer. "The booing that greeted Fairy Tail on day one seems like a distant memory! You can feel the love from those cheers!"

"Anyone would go gaga after seeing a performance like that," chuckled Yajima. "I thought the suspense would kill me."

"Even I have to agree," spoke out Lahar. "That was breathtaking and incredibly inspiring!"

"And with that, Fairy Tail A takes first place in Pandemonium, earning themselves ten points!" Chapati went on. "But due to this, we're going to need to come up with a new event to place for the rest of the competitors, so please bear with us for a brief moment."

Team Fairy Tail A left the arena, and after waiting for a few minutes, Mato returned. But this time, he had a strange object following him. It was a floating lacrima held by a black and red holder with a yellow magic circle hanging above it.

"Sorry for the wait, competitors, but after some deliberation, this is how we'll decide the rankings for you," he said, gesturing at the device. "It's going to be a bit anti-climatic compared to Pandemonium, but it'll do."

"What the heck is that thing?" wondered Novali.

"This is the Magic Power Finder, or MPF for short," explained Mato.

"So, as the name suggests, it's to determine a wizard's magic power?" questioned Jura.

"Righty-O!" confirmed Mato. "All you have to do is cast a spell onto this device will display your magic power in numerical form, and we'll use the numbers to decide the rankings for the remaining teams. Quick and easy, right?"

"So now it's become a contest of strength?" I hummed.

Then, I noticed Cana, who was guzzling down a bottle of beer. Not only that, but there were now several barrels sitting behind her, and she was three shakes to the wind.

"Hold on... when did Cana start drinking?!" exclaimed Romeo. "And how did she get all that in the arena without anyone noticing?!"

"Well, Team B ain't scoring any points this round," sighed Macao. "But it figures that Cana would start boozing it up."

"Now then, let's begin, shall we?" Mato addressed the remaining challengers. "We'll go in the same order you drew your straws."

Millianna then stepped forward. "Then, I guess it's my turn since I drew number two!"

She threw off her cloak, tossed it aside, and, aiming at the MPF, summoned a magic circle with a wave of her hands using a spell.

"KITTEN BLAST!"

A long tube-like tendril came spiraling out from the circle and slapped straight into the MPF as it displayed the number three hundred and sixty-five.

"Millianna has scored three hundred and sixty-five," said Chapati. "But without a benchmark to compare, I'm not entirely sure if that's considered high or not."

"Perhaps I can be of assistance," Lahar spoke. "The Rune Knights use MPFs for our training often, and I can safely say that she did pretty well. That score alone would qualify in making her squad captain."

Millianna seemed to like the sound of that as she cheered with excitement.

Next, Navali took his turn, but much to his utter disbelief, he only managed a score of one hundred and twenty-four. After that, Hibiki took his turn on the MPF but got an even lower score, with a total of ninety-five. Then, coming after him was Obra from Raven Tail. Immediately, I focused on him, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious, considering their interference in Lucy and Gray's matches. However, instead of using magic, Obra spread his arms as a little creature jumped out from his person and slapped the MPF, clocking in a pitiful score of four, much to my confusion.

"Sorry about that, but we can't do any do-overs," said Mato. "But as it stands now, Millianna retains the lead!"

Orga then stepped up, smirking with confidence. "Oh, yeah? I'm about to change that."

The crowd then began to cheer with excitement as the man raised a fist in confidence.

"Oh, my! Here comes Orga from Sabertooth, the current Crocus Fighter's Champion, and the crowd is going berserk for him!" Chapati roared with enthusiasm. "How will our champion fare in this event?"

Orga then faced the MPF as he held out his hands. His body crackled and sparked with black lightning while he generated a sphere of it in his hands.

"ONE HUNDRED MILLIMETER BLACK LIGHTNING CANNON!"

With a mighty roar, he released a powerful beam of black lighting at the MPF, which displayed a score of three thousand eight-hundred twenty-five.

"Holy moly! That score is almost at four thousand!" cried Chapati. "That's ten times more than Millianna's score! Just as what you'd expect from our champion!"

Everyone in our area was just as shocked.

"You got to be kidding me!" screeched Warren. "That score can't be correct!"

"I never imagined he'd be that powerful," murmured Makarov. "Even I have to agree that's impressive."

Orga then took the microphone and spoke aloud to the audience. "Let that be a warning to those who doubt my strength!" he rumbled. "I don't care who goes against me, a lousy drunkard or some kid who can shoot water! I'll turn them all into black chili and still be your Crocus Fighter's Champion!"

The crowd cheered again wildly for Orga as he raised his fist proudly for a second time.

I remained silent as I looked at the score and then at Orga. "I suppose that confidence truly isn't just for show," I thought. "He certainly has the power to back it up."

"Things are starting to heat up as the heavy hitters appear!" Chapati spoke eagerly. "But has Orga set the bar, or will the next competitor, the Wizard Saint Jura of Lamia Scale, surpass that incredible score?!"

The very man in question calmly stepped up the MPF being as silent as a calm ocean. Then, he silently put his hands together as a golden aura of magic power shrouded his body, and the entire arena began to rumble.

"RUMBLING FUJI!"

As soon as he called out the name of his spell, the MPF was engulfed by a powerful eruption of magic from below it, its light blinding everyone in the arena. The light then dimmed down, and when I could see, the MPF displayed a score of eight thousand five hundred and forty-four.

"Holy Smoke! Jura easily surpasses Orga with a whooping score of eight thousand five hundred and forty-four!" exclaimed Chapati. "That is incredibly mind-blowing! It's a new MPF record!"

Everyone couldn't help but be gobsmacked. Even Orga was taken aback by this.

Tu Chi, on the other hand, was chuckling. "Just what I would expect from Jura," she said. "He's been keeping up with his training and proven that he isn't a Wizard Saint for nothing."

"I knew he was strong, but yowza!" commented Makarov. "He might be on the same level as Gildarts!"

"That may be so, but don't forget that someone down there has his blood running through her veins," said Mavis. "And she has yet to show everyone what she's got."

"We now come to our final challenger, Fairy Tail B's Cana Alberona!" announced Chapati. "But I certainly wouldn't want to follow Jura after that daunting performance."

Cana then stepped up to the MPF, looking as plastered as can be, and based on that, everyone feared the worst, but then Cana ripped off her jacket while wearing a smile of confidence, now sober as a strange red pattern appeared on her arm.

"What's that on her arm?" I couldn't help but ask. "I don't remember seeing that before."

Makaro then gasped as he looked across at Mavis, appearing to recognize it. "Um, First Master. Don't tell me that you..."

The First Master smiled at us. "To answer your question Willy, that pattern symbolizes one of the three grand fairy spells," she said. "And I lent it to Cana for this special occasion, which will no doubt give her the victory."

My eyes widened at this, while Makarov looked horrified.

"There's no need to worry," reassured Mavis. "I'll admit, wielding that spell is not easy. It takes immense amounts of concentration and power, but thanks to her training, Cana has both, so I know she won't fail us."

Cana raised her fist with the emblem into the air as an intense golden light erupted from where she stood as she spoke out an incantation.

"GATHER! O, RIVER OF LIGHT GUIDED BY FAIRIES! SHINE YOUR LIGHT SO THAT I CAN CRUSH THE FANGS OF WICKEDNESS!"

From above, the light formed a massive halo and surrounded the MPF. Then while aiming her fist at the device, Cana delivered the final blow.

"FAIRY GLITTER!"

The halo of light rapidly constricted itself around the MPF, creating a powerful explosion that shook the entire arena even more than Jura did. Dust, smoke, and rubble flew everywhere. When the smoke cleared, the only thing that remained of the MPF was a big, bold score of nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine.

"OH MY GOODNESS! I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT I'VE JUST WITNESSED, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Chapati screamed with excitement again. "CANA HAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED THE MPF, AND HER SCORE AND POWER ARE OVER NINE THOUSAND! FAIRY TAIL HAS SINGLE-HANDEDLY TAKEN TODAY'S EVENTS BY STORM TAKING FIRST AND SECOND PLACE! IS THIS THEIR TRUE STRENGTH?! CAN NO ONE STOP FAIRY TAIL NOW?!"

"There's no stopping us!" Cana answered. "We've only begun to rock your world! 'Cause Fairy Tail will be number one again!"

The crowd, including us, cheered once more as Cana took one more bow before rejoining her team.

Thank you very much for reading!

If you're new, feel free to leave a review!

And as always, I'll see you next chapter!

Dragomaster, signing off!