Chapter 214
Hot Love and Freezing Spirit
NO POV
It wasn't too long before everyone returned to the arena, the cheers from the crowd still reverberating throughout it due to what had transpired before. There was newfound excitement that could be felt everywhere.
"Day Four's battle rounds are about to begin, and the crowd couldn't be more excited!" said Chapati. "And with a recent change up with the teams of Fairy Tail, one can't help but wonder who the final five made the team! You do have quite the history with them."
"Sorry, but no comment," Yajima said, a wink evident in his voice. "But I will say that today's matches won't be your typical stage combat. Today, they will be tag team matches."
"True, but that's what makes them so exciting!" Rabian said with enthusiasm. "Two-on-two matches are the perfect chance for the teams to show off their choreography! Thank you so very much!"
"In any case, why don't we get down to business and announce the battle lineups?" continued Chapati. "Now, would everyone please turn your attention to the lacrima-trons!"
The teams were then displayed on the display in the middle of the arena.
"Match One will feature Blue Pegasus against Quatro Puppy! In round two, the ladies of Mermaid Heel will face off against Lamia Scale! And finally, what could be considered today's biggest highlight, Sabertooth against Fairy Tail! We also have the Crocus Fighter's Tournament championship match with Orga Nangear from Sabertooth defending his title! So put your hands together as we give a warm Dormus Flau welcome to the new and approved Fairy Tail team and our newest challenger!"
Every member in the Fairy Tail area was on their feet, wearing proud smiles and filled with anticipation as they kept their eyes on the entrance. They knew who would be coming from it and couldn't be more confident.
"It's just like I've been saying before," smiled Cana.
"With a team like this, we'll surely become number one again," agreed Juvia. "I can't even imagine us losing now."
"Master sure outdid himself, didn't he?" said Mira spoke to Lisanna. "Not to mention, we've got a strong representative for the Crocus Fighter's Tournament."
Lisanna nodded in agreement.
Sieri and Bisca each carried their daughters on their shoulders while they proudly held up their hand-drawn banner.
"Asuka, Lapis. You two ready to go?" asked Sieri.
"We're ready, Mama!" said Lapis.
"Make sure you two cheer extra loud!" said Bisca. "And hold up that banner with pride!"
Makarov was also grinning under his mustache. "The spirit of our guild is an unstoppable force," he said to Mavis. "And these six kids embody that spirit wholeheartedly."
The First Guildmaster nodded as six shadows came into view at the entrance.
"It's time we show the entire world the kind of power our spirit and our bonds can wield," she said with confidence and conviction.
The six shadows stepped into the light, and the crowd began cheering so loud that the entire arena rumbled from the noise as the six Fairy Tail members stood as one, their eyes focused on the competition.
The new Fairy Tail team, including the sixth, embodied Natsu, Gray, Erza, Gajeel, Laxus, and Willy.
"We've been waiting for this moment, folks!" Chapati spoke out amongst the uplifting uproar. "But it is my pleasure to introduce THE NEW TEAM FAIRY TAIL AND WILLY FALCONER!"
WILLY'S POV
As we made our way to the center of the arena, the crowd was cheering so loudly that I almost felt like covering my ears. It was quite the change in attitude compared to Day One. However, my eyes remained on the competition, determined and ready to give it my all.
"With an entrance like that one, I don't think the audience can take the anticipation for today's final two matches," Chapati spoke enthusiastically. "I sure can't wait!"
"The fans are looking forward to it, that's for sure," agreed Yajima. "I'll admit they had me worried, given what happened before. But it seems it was for nothing."
"I'm so thankful I get to be a part of such fiery and dramatic matches today!" Rabian spoke excitedly.
I could see from the looks on Sabertooth's faces that they were still confident that we didn't stand a chance against them and showed no remorse for what happened with Lucy. That made me all the more ready to crush that confidence, and I was sure Natsu and the others felt the same.
"I'm getting fired up now," I heard Natsu growl quietly, his voice soaked with venomous anger.
The rest of us remained silent. Then, we and the rest of the teams returned to our respective areas in the stands as Chapati announced who would be fighting.
"All right, folks! Are you ready for some magic battles?!" he said with excitement. "First up, it's Blue Pegasus' Ichiya and Rabbit versus Quatro Puppy's Bacchus and Rocker!"
The two teams in question came to the center of the arena, Bacchus and Rocker looking ready to rumble while Ichiya and the Rabbit were neutral. Speaking of the Rabbit, as soon as I saw them, I couldn't help but wonder who was underneath the suit. It had to be hot underneath it and could be a detriment in a battle. I also couldn't help but think about how strong they were, this being the first time I would see them fight. However, when it came to who would win, I had confidence that Quatro Puppy would be the victors, considering that Bacchus was fighting again.
But as we waited for the match to begin, I heard a cheerful voice chirp behind us.
"Hey, you guys. Mind if I watch the matches with you?"
I turned around just as Mira came walking up.
"Mira? Now you're the one visiting the team?" said Laxus.
"Why not? I figured I'd pay it forward since Willy did so for our team," said Mira. "It's not like it's against the rules, and the master doesn't mind. Besides, the view's much better from here."
"Well, you're free to do as you like," said Erza. "As they say, the more, the merrier."
Mira stood beside me while I didn't say a word as I returned my attention to the arena.
The two teams gazed at each other until Ichiya and the Rabbit stepped and held their hands out, offering handshakes to their opponents. From the looks of things, it appeared to be a gesture of sportsmanship. Bacchus and Rocker were confused but obliged.
Then, as they returned to their positions on the field, Ichiya addressed his partner.
"Now, my loyal companion, it's time to share your handsome face with the world! Obscure yourself no more and unmask your true glory!"
The Rabbit nodded and then removed the top of its head, revealing its true face underneath. But what I saw made my eyes go wide as I blinked.
It was the golden furred exceed from back when we returned from Edolas. Aside from the fur, ears, and tail, it looked like a copy of Ichiya.
"Holy crap!" exclaimed Natsu.
"It's that cat from Extalia!" Gray also exclaimed.
Erza was more disgusted and horrified than shocked, enough to start looking blue at the gills.
"I don't... feel so good," she croaked feebly as she fell backward into Gajeel.
I reacted differently, as a sword of water materialized in my hand. "May I skewer them both?" I spoke in an icy tone.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Put down the sword, Willy!" Mira squeaked in alarm as she grabbed my hand, lowering it. "We're already in hot water because of what happened to Ryuzetsu Land, so let's not add murder to our list of charges!"
Rocker and Bacchus were also baffled at this reveal, but that didn't stop them from fighting as the gong sounded, starting the match. Bacchus immediately made the first move, shooting forward with incredible speed and getting close to the golden exceed. The feline saw him coming and casually held up an open paw intending to block, but Bacchus proved too quick as he attacked with a powerful palm strike smack on his cheek, knocking him out cold instantly.
Seeing that it was two against one now, Bacchus and Rocker attacked Ichiya, pummeling him with devastating blows. Ichiya was thrown and beaten around like a punching bag, overwhelmed by the assault as it appeared. Before long, he was lying on the ground, bruised and battered, beside his furry counterpart.
"Oh no! Ichiya has joined his double on the ground, and it doesn't look good for Blue Pegasus!" Chapati cried. "Is that it?! Have Bacchus and Rocker delivered the final blow for their team?!"
Bacchus and Rocker were celebrating, believing that they had won. However, Ichiya slowly struggled as he got on his fours, miraculously still conscious, much to their and the crowd's surprise.
"Wait a minute! It's not over yet!" Chapati cried out again. "Ichiya appears to be slowly getting up! Will he be able to stand?!"
Then, Ichiya exploded in a radiant flurry of sparkles. In addition, his body slowly grew in size, growing buffer by the second while his magic power grew. Soon, he towered over his opponents, looking even bigger and more buffer than Elfman. His clothes were destroyed, save only his pants which were now shorts, and he radiated with magic power.
As he faced his opponents, wearing a scowl of revenge, Ichiya made a bellowing declaration.
"Nichiya, my dear friend, I dedicate the parfum of victory to you!"
Not backing down, Bacchus and Rocker both charged, intending to take down the titan. But as they were about to attack, Ichiya took one look at them and flashed and strange smile, which immediately made them stop in their tracks in confusion. Then, seizing his chance, with a thunderous roar, Ichiya swung with a powerful uppercut nailing both Bacchus and Rocker and sending them soaring into the air and crashing into the wall on the side of the arena, resulting in a double KO.
"And after a devastating charm offensive from Ichiya, Quatro Puppy's down!" announced Chapati. "The winner is Blue Pegasus!"
As the crowd cheered, I couldn't help but stare in disbelief.
"No way... You got to be kidding me."
"He was strong enough to defeat Bacchus?" murmured Erza, who was just as shocked.
"Him and his little lackey," commented Gajeel.
"I guess he's not just some crazy idiot," said Gray.
"You kidding? He's awesome!" Natsu smiled eagerly.
"That's why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover," said Mira. "Ichiya may be small, but he's got power. That, and a manliness complex that'll give Elfman a run for his money."
"That still doesn't make him any less creepy," I shuddered.
Ichiya celebrated his victory by blowing kisses at the crowd as they cheered. Then, he went over to Nichiya, picked him up, and carried him out of the arena.
"Well, that was an amazing match, don't you think?" Chapati asked.
"I... guess you could say that," Yajima said doubtfully.
"I found it to be very gross and sappy for my liking, thank you very much," Rabian commented sootily.
"Well, then, how about we dive into match two?" Chapati said. "For this one, we have Lyon and Yuka from Lamia Scale going against Kagura and Milianna from Mermaid Heel!"
I returned my attention to the arena as the next participants walked towards the center.
"Milianna! Make sure you're careful!" Erza called out. "Lyon and Yuka are formidable foes, so stay focused!"
"Well, well. Didn't figure you to be a Mermaid Heel fan," Gajeel smirked at her.
"Well, I've known Milianna for a long time," Erza smiled back. "She is considered a best friend, so can you blame me for supporting her?"
Laxus glanced over at Gray, who looked grumpy as he stood further back. "What about you?" he asked. "Ain't you gonna cheer for your ol' buddy, Lyon?"
"Why would I need to do that?" Gray huffed. "It doesn't make sense to cheer for another guild, not when we're considered rivals."
"Are you sure it isn't because you're shy about cheering for your childhood friend?" asked Mira. "There's nothing wrong with that, you know."
Gray looked away, not saying another word.
Mira then whispered in my ear. "He may not look like it, but Gray cares about Lyon but doesn't want to show it. He's the same with Natsu."
"Is that so?" I murmured.
Then, I took notice of Natsu, who was strangely silent as he leaned on the railing, looking sullen.
"Hey, Natsu. You OK?" I questioned him. "You're not usually the kind of person to be brooding."
"I was just thinking about Lucy, Elfman, and the others," he replied. "I bet they wish they could see the matches, too."
Upon hearing that, I remembered something. "I wouldn't worry about that, Natsu," I told him. "While you guys were discussing the team members, I asked Tu Chi for a favor."
"What kind of favor?" puzzled Natsu.
"Well, I felt the same as you did when I started thinking about it," I explained. "Then, I remembered the lacrima-trons in the bar, so I asked Tu Chi if there was a way we could get one to the infirmary."
"Oh, yeah? And what did she say?" wondered Laxus.
"She said to leave it to her and that she'll handle it," I replied. "Hopefully, she'll pull some strings and make it happen, especially since we're against Sabertooth. I wouldn't want anyone to miss out on it."
"Well, that's pretty considerate of you," said Mira.
"But let's also make sure to remember all the details," said Erza. "That way, we'll be able to tell them about it."
"Yeah. That's a great idea," said Natsu, looking more cheerful. "Let's do it!"
Both teams appeared ready for action while waiting for the gong to sound. But then, Kagura walked towards the other side of the arena until she stood in a corner, leaving Milianna to face Lyon and Yuka alone. At first, I wondered what she was up to leaving her teammate, but then the gong sounded, and the match was underway.
Millianna whipped off her cloak, jumped into the air, and used magic to summon a tendril like her match with Semus. Then she swung it around like a whip, utilizing her speed while the Lamia Scale boys dodged. Then, seeing that Kagura was standing to the side watching the fight, Lyon unleashed an array of bird-shaped ice arrows, utilizing the same style of magic as Gray. However, Millianna prevented the attack from reaching her by whipping her tube in a spiral and destroying them.
Yuka then attacked, using his Wave magic to fire multiple blasts, but Milianna started running on all fours like a cat, gracefully leaping and bounding around to avoid them. She then used the same move she did back with the MPF and released a Kitten Blast, but unlike before, the tendril exploded in a bright pink light, temporarily blinding Yuka. Seizing her opportunity, Milianna pounced on Yuka's shoulders and started pummeling him with multiple punches to the face.
Millianna leaped away from Yuka and took off her gloves, revealing the claws underneath them, her nails long and sharp while painted red. After she did, she lunged forward at the Lamia Scale boys with great speed and rapidly scratched them in their faces, leaving multiple gashes.
"Oh, man, that's gotta hurt!" Chapati commentated. "Who would've guessed a cute cat girl like Milianna would be so incredibly vicious in battle?!"
"It's all because of her speed," surmised Yajima. "The way she moves all cat-like would confuse any opponent."
"Well, well. She's certainly not holding back in this fight," said Erza. "She must feel confident knowing that Kagura's backing her up."
"I'll say," I agreed. "She's holding her own against those guys and hasn't taken a single hit yet. Not to mention they're considered two of Lamia Scale's strongest. I gotta admit, that's impressive."
Millianna resumed her attack by firing her tube again, only for Yuka to conjure a shield of his Wave magic to block and dispel it. Millianna tried again, this time firing multiple tendrils at once. Yuka tried blocking with his shield again, but due to the overwhelming number, some tendrils found their way to him from behind and quickly wrapped themselves around him. Lyon tried using his magic to help his teammate but soon found himself tangled in them too.
But then, Lyon used his Ice-Make magic. This time, he created a small little mouse made of ice. Almost immediately, Millianna became fixated on it and started chasing it as it darted around, the tendrils disappearing as he did. Now free from their trap, Lyon used his magic again, conjuring a massive ice tiger. Millianna started running away as it chased her, but she was so frightened that she didn't look where she was going and ran face-first into the arena's wall, falling unconscious upon impact and taking her out of the fight.
Kagura stepped forward, looking as stone-faced as ever as she readied herself for battle. As she did, Yuka, without any hesitation, attacked her with a blast from his wave magic. Kagura avoided the attack by tilting her head to the side, not bothering to move as the attack shot past her. Yuka tried again, firing multiple shots, but Kagura sliced and redirected the blasts, not letting any touch her and without drawing her sword. Then, she launched herself at Yuka, going faster than Yuka could process as she appeared just behind. Before Yuka could react, Kagura gave one single swing of her Archenemy, striking Yuka right on the back and taking him out. The crowd went wild with cheers.
"Holy smoke! This match just got intense, folks!" Chapati screeched. "Kagura just took out poor Yuka in a matter of seconds, and she didn't even use her magic or draw her blade, nor could he get in a single blow! This tag match has become a one-on-one fight between Kagura and Lyon!"
"Crazy. She's stronger than I figured," murmured Laxus. "She was able to take out Yuka like it was nothing."
"No kidding," agreed Mira. "She's not only powerful, but she's fast, too."
"Kagura Mikazuchi," Erza hummed. "She's quite the skilled fighter."
"I'll admit she ain't bad," rumbled Gajeel with a cocky smirk. "But I bet she can't cut through my Iron Dragon Sword."
"I wouldn't sound that confident if I were you," I warned him. "This is the same person that annihilated a celestial spirit in a split second a while ago. If anything, I'd say she'd give Erza a run for her money. The crazy thing about her is that she's still holding back, and considering that Lyon couldn't even touch Milianna before, he might be in trouble. Then again, I don't think Lyon's shown the full extent of his power either." I then smirked a little. "This match just got a lot more interesting."
Lyon and Kagura gazed grimly at each other, waiting for one to make a move until Lyon launched a swarm of ice dragonflies. But Kagura avoided them using that same speed, rapidly closing the distance between them, and before Lyon could attack, she swung her sheathed sword striking him right on the side and knocking him to the ground. It seemed that Lyon had lost this match, but then a scowling Gray suddenly approached, cutting in between our group.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, LYON?!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "IF YOU'RE CALLING YOURSELF MASTER UR'S STUDENT, STOP SCREWING AROUND AND GET SERIOUS ALREADY! IF SHE SAW YOU RIGHT NOW, SHE'D BE COMPLETELY EMBARRASSED! I KNOW YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT!"
Me, Natsu, Laxus, and Gajeel couldn't help but stare at him while Erza knowingly smiled.
Mira lightly laughed. "See? I told you?" she said to me.
Gray's words seemed to have given Lyon a second wind as he stood up again and, using his magic, conjured three animal-like creatures made of ice, an ape, a tiger, and a dragon. All three pounced at Kagura as she jumped into the air to avoid them, but the ice dragon shot toward her and rammed her, forcing her to the ground. Kagura landed on her feet like a cat, and the ice creatures came at her once more, but then, she held up her sword horizontally, and a magic circle appeared above them. Upon activation, Lyon and his ice animals shot up in the air, hovering while appearing paralyzed.
Kagura made a large jump, shooting high into the air. Next, with one strike, she took out the three ice beasts, leaving Lyon wide open and alone. Then, she rapidly descended from above, about to deliver a powerful strike to him, but just as her sword was about to make contact, the bell sounded, causing her to stop, her weapon just inches away from Lyon's face.
"You know what that bell means!" Mato called out. "Time is up! Therefore, I declare this match a draw!"
"You heard the man, ladies and gentlemen!" said Chapati. "And since the match ended with a tie, Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel will each receive five points!"
"That was pretty close," I thought. "If that bell hadn't sounded, Lyon would have been done for. Kagura had him completely licked with her gravity magic, which was also impressive."
The crowd applauded and cheered as Lyon and Kagura slowly lowered back to the ground as she stopped her magic. Milianna and Yuka soon regained consciousness, and the two teams left the arena.
"The crowd is still cheering after that match," Chapati resumed commentating. "But this next match will surely be just as exhilarating, if not more!"
Then, Natsu and Gajeel took their leaves from our area, leading me to guess who was fighting next, making me feel excited.
"So, it's finally our turn, huh? And something's telling me that this match will be a doozy. And after that..."
I looked towards the Sabertooth area in the crowd and saw Orga, who happened to look in our direction. When our eyes met, he flashed that same cocky smirk while holding his belt over his shoulder.
I clenched my hands into fists as I glared but stayed silent.
"It'll be my turn. I've got a lot of power stored up, and I'm ready to let it erupt."
Thank you very much for reading this latest chapter!
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Until then, Dragomaster, signing off!