"Apparently, the masters of the two guilds are father & son, so this could be seen as a familial clash, people!" Eric couldn't care less about the announcers as he was purely focused on the fight, watching as Lucy stood ready with her hand near her keys while the blonde guy, Jerome, had already unsheathed his blade.
He knew that Flare would be replaced by someone else since she wasn't in Raven Tail in this timeline and he had this nagging feeling he knew exactly where this guy was from, but even with Archive, it was taking him a while to figure out just where he was from.
'Ah, well. I'm sure it will come to me eventually. For now, I have to make sure that this fight is kept fair, which means keeping my eye out for any foul play. After all, a fair fight won't be ruined on my watch.'
"Let the fight…begin!"
"Gate of the Golden Bull, I open thee: Taurus!" Immediately, Eric was mesmerized by how the world around Lucy shifted before a rip in space was opened by a golden magic circle, a minotaur-like being with a giant two-bladed axe rushed out of it.
Heaving the axe back, Taurus swung the axe with a bellow only for Jerome to easily parry it, Eric watching as the man spun & swung his blade at the unguarded side of Taurus.
"Gate of the Scorpion, I open thee: Scorpio!" However, just as the blade was nearing Taurus, a wave of sand picked up Jerome & blasted him away while also pulling Taurus back with a sand shield.
'Corrosion? If that's his magic, that's one nasty attack.' Eric thought with a frown as he saw the pitch black sand of the shield rotting away as well as the jagged black scar carved through the ground as Jerome had used his blade to stop himself from being slammed into the wall.
"Taurus! Use Scorpio's sand to boost your attack!" Eric turned back as Lucy shouted her orders, watching as Taurus' axe was surrounded by a giant storm of sand before the minotaur leapt into the air.
"Sandstorm Axe: Aldebaran!" Taurus roared as he swung his axe down, Eric waiting as he watched Jerome tense before the man launched himself forward.
"Corrosion Magic: Dance!" With a soft chant, a purple miasma leaked out of Jerome's sword as he swung the blade at the sandstorm, Eric watching in awe as the corrosive mist easily ate away at the sand & at Taurus' body.
Exclaiming in pain, the beast was quickly pulled back by Scorpio's sand while Jerome growled as even more sand slammed into him, the miasma managing to keep him safe before a small sadistic smirk appeared on his face as he saw Lucy's look of horror.
'Yeah, that shit is definitely lethal.' Eric thought with a grimace as he saw the skin peeling off of Tauru's left side while pus began to spew from his open wounds, the beast disappearing in a flash of gold as Lucy glared at the smirking swordsman.
"It appears that Jerome & his blade are using some form of Corrosion or Decay magic. While heavily frowned upon, it is not illegal magic and therefore, Jerome cannot be eliminated!" The announcer shouted, though Eric noticed that both him & the crowd have lost their cheerfulness as tension loomed in the atmosphere.
"What's the matter? I thought you were going to prove to everyone how strong Fairy Tail is." Eric heard Jerome say to Lucy in an amused tone, to which the blonde just frowned as she dismissed Scorpio and threw three keys from her hi-!
'Wait, three?!' Eric thought with wide eyes as he realized what the blonde did, Lucy giving a smirk as a golden glow echoed from each key.
"Second Origin: Release!"
"Wait, what?" Eric heard Screecher say in astonishment and honestly, he couldn't blade the man as he watched Lucy's ethernano spike to over double of what it previously was.
"Gate of the Lion, I open thee: Regulus! Gate of the Goat, I open thee: Capricorn! Gate of the Twins, I open thee: Gemini!" The world around Lucy was a bright golden flash as three beings appeared from different magic circles, a humanoid goat & an orange-haired man in suits appearing in front of Lucy like body guards while a pair of miniature blue humanoids appeared next to her.
"Not just one or two gates, people! No, Lucy Heartfilia has shown that she's capable of opening three gates
"We saw Taurus. What happened?" Leo asked as he adjusted his cuffs, Capricorn straightening his tie and the Gemini twins bouncing on their heels as Lucy pointed at a frowning Jerome.
"He uses some type of Corrosion magic. Buy me time. Leo, focus on supporting Capri with mid-to-long range attacks, but jump in with short range if you can. Gemini, transform into me. We're using it."
"You sure?" The twins chorused, Lucy smiling as she nodded while Leo & Capri nodded as they began walking towards Jerome, who frowned before blinking at Lucy's squeal.
'Oh yeah, she was in a towel.' Eric thought with an amused smile as he watched Gemini transform into Lucy, albeit they were in nothing but a towel.
"Damn, those are some big knockers."
"Bacchus, control yourself." Eric muttered with a sigh, though he couldn't help but be disappointed as he heard Warcry & Leo whistle, turning to Screecher only to snort at how the man was conveniently looking up at the sky.
"Why that form?!"
"Well, this is the one we last saw you in." Eric heard Gemini say and turned back to see the blonde letting out a sigh of disappointment before she froze as Jerome disappeared & reappeared behind her with a burst of speed.
"Whoa there! Where do you think you're going?" That same instant, Capricorn was in front of Jerome & kicked away the blade by the hilt before Jerome could even swing it, leaving the swordsman open just as a fist coated in light smashed into his face & sent him flying backwards.
"Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens…" Immediately, the atmosphere on the battlefield changed as Lucy & Gemini began chanting together while pressing one of their hands together with each other.
"All the stars, far and wide…" Eric saw the panic on Jerome's face as Lucy continued chanting, the swordsman rushing for his blade only to growl as Capricorn appeared in front of him.
"Corrosion Magic: Heavy Brawling!" He heard the swordsman chant and watched as a purple miasma coated his fists & feet.
The man skidded to a stop in front of Capricorn before lashing out with a spinning heel kick only to grit his teeth as a shield of light stopped his blow from connecting.
"Show me thy appearance…With Such shine."
"No! No! No!" Eric smirked as he watched Jerome lash out to try & get his blade only for Regulus' light shields to ward off his attacks while Capricorn easily moved around the shields to try & counter.
"Oh Tetrabiblos…I am the ruler of the stars…" Having forgotten about the blade, Jerome spun towards Lucy & rushed towards her, leaping towards her while pulling his leg back for a vicious kick only for Capricorn to jump in and capture the attack.
He did not escape unscathed though as miasma ate away at his left side, but the goat didn't care as he spun & threw Jerome away with a roar before a hammer fist coated in light smashed Jerome into the ground.
"Aspect become complete…Open thy Malevolent gate. Oh 88 Stars of the heaven…Shine!"
"Now, Regulus!" Eric heard Capricorn say and he watched as the goat & the orange-haired spirit disappeared in golden flashes of light just as the world was transformed into an iridescent void with celestial bodies & stars floating everywhere.
"Urano Metria!"
'Gotcha!' Eric smirked as he used his Gravity magic and gripped the miniature puppet & the big guy from Raven Tail just as he felt their magic flashed, those on the Raven Tail balcony surprised to see the tall blue-skinned guy being pinned to the ground just as Lucy's spell activated & unleashed a kaleidoscopic beam into Jerome.
'Ah, I just love it when I can fuck with the canon.' Eric thought with a pleased grin as he watched Jerome being knocked out by Lucy's beam, the blonde gasping for air but still standing as her foe was lying out cold on the ground.
"And with a beautiful beam, Lucy Heartfilia has won the first round for Fairy Tail Team A!" Eric couldn't help but chuckle at the cheers that came from both Fairy Tail teams & their guild as well as cheers from Quatro Cerberus.
He noticed how a few people in the crowd cheered half-heartedly, but couldn't care less for them as he focused his eyes towards the Raven Tail booth.
"Next time I see you guys trying something shifty, I'm coming over there and I'm killing everyone in that booth." Eric didn't know if his message had been sent, but it appears that it has as the entire booth looked over at him, to which he just smirked & gave a wave before turning just as Bacchus turned to him.
"Something happen?"
"Just making sure a few crows know their place on the pecking order." He said with a cryptic smile, Bacchus glancing over at the frowning Raven Tail before he chortled & nodded.
"Try not to break them."
"Hey, that's depends on whether or not they behave." Eric said with a shrug, to which the drunk snorted before the two turned to the battlefield just as Lucy was finally carried off by Natsu & the rest of her team.
"Now then, let us hope the other matches are just as entertaining! On the left side, we have a mysterious man that is part of the same guild as Lucy, so let's see if he's just as strong. Give it up for Mystogan!"
'Heh, he looks awkward.' Eric couldn't help but notice how awkward Jellal looked while walking with Mystogan's staves, the man adjusting the belts that held the staves to him constantly while adjusting his mask so he can see better.
"And his foe needs no introduction! After all, this is the man known to be the strongest human mage in Fiore and the number five of the Wizard Saints! Give it up…for Jura Neekis!" The crowd roared as Jura walked out of the tunnel and Eric couldn't help but blink a few times as he saw Jura's ambient ethernano.
'Jellal, Makarov & Laxus have more, but the potency of it…dear fucking gods, how the fuck am I supposed to keep up when the lower ranks of the top guns make me look like a child? Granted, I'm not that far behind them all, but still!' Bacchus saw Eric's grumbling and chuckled as he realized that the dragon slayer probably saw Jura's ethernano, deciding to keep that bit of info to himself as they watched Jura & Mystogan(Jellal) ready for battle.
'Enough, Eric. This is a chance to observe a fight between the strongest in the Grand Magic Games. Hopefully, this fight goes different than the anime.'
'It was exactly like the anime.' Eric was disappointed as he watched the dark-skinned Ren from Blue Pegasus fighting against the web woman Arana, not even caring to watch their battle as he replayed the battle between Jura & Jellal in his head.
Don't get him wrong. He was absolutely entertained by the sheer mastery of both wizards and their variety of magic, specifically Jellal, but the end of the fight was really disappointing with Jellal losing due to outside interference.
Truthfully, he wished Jellal had used more spells and that Jura had shown more of his Earth Magic, but he supposed he should be happy with the showing that they got.
"And with a blast of wind, Ren has win his match for Blue Pegasus."
"Oh, it's over?" Eric asked as he finally tuned out from his mental moping, Bacchus snorting as Leo chuckled & nodded.
"Yeah, it was a pretty solid fight."
"Huh, guess I should have paid attention."
"Now, for the final match of the day, we have an absolutely amazing match! On the left, he is known as the Booming Thunder of Sabretooth! Give it up for Orga Nanagear!" Eric watched as the crowd roared the moment the announcer finished speaking, a massive & muscular man with a long spiky man of light green hair walking out with a stoic face while rolling his shoulders.
"And his opponent is from the group that finished first in the preliminaries and is known as the Teary Hound! Come on out, Warcry!"
"Good luck." Eric said as Warcry crouched, to which the man just gave them a nod before leaping from the balcony and landing with a soft grunt on the floor.
'Orga is definitely stronger, but hopefully with our training, he won't lose in one attack like he did in canon.' Eric thought with a frown as Orga and Warcry stood just a few paces away from each other, a few tears already flowing from Warcry's eyes while sparks of black-yellow electricity ran around Orga's body.
"Are both fighters ready?" Mako asked as he looked at the two men, both nodding as Warcry lowered himself to all fours and Orga squatted slightly while putting his hands out in front of him with his palms a few inches apart.
"Then let the match…begin!"
"120 mm Black Lightning Cannon!" Within the next moment, the ground under Warcry cracked as he bolted out of the way just as a beam of black-yellow lightning carved a jagged scar through the ground & up to the walls of the arena.
'Okay, so don't get hit by those.' Warcry thought with a frown as he ran in a wide circle on all fours, tears now flowing freely before he growled as he launched himself at Orga.
Spinning through the air, Warcry gave a howl as he slammed his leg down with an axe kick, but Orga saw it coming as the behemoth swiftly spun out of the way while lashing out with a kick of his own.
Blocking it with difficulty, Warcry felt himself being launched back with the kick, but flipped over to land on the ground and rocketed to the side just as a black-yellow bolt of lightning barely missed him.
"Lightning God's Carriage!" With a chant, a black-yellow magic crest appeared behind Orga before swiftly disappearing as the man was coated in a black-yellow sparking aura, stray bolts scorching the ground below him before he rocketed forward.
"Tear Magic: Overdrive!" Warcry howled as tears began pouring out of his eyes, his body bulking & steaming and his ethernano soaring just as both men pulled a fist back and sent it flying forward.
As soon as their fists clashed, a deafening boom made the crowd yelp while the mages just looked on in awe & excitement as the air twisted with the sonic boom.
"Oh my god! A thunderous clash between the two men has nearly shattered the ears of everyone present!" The announcer shouted as Warcry & Orga were sent flying away from each other, but both men just flipped around before launching themselves back into the battle.
"Tearing Fang!" Warcry exclaimed as he spun through the air while lashing out with a hook kick, capturing the fist Orga sent flying at him and pulling the man towards him before landing his first blow of the match with a knee to the side.
Orga gave a slight gasp as pain sparked from his side before grinning as he quickly gripped Warcry's pants and pulled the Hound towards himself, pinning Warcry's arms to his side with a tight bearhug while the electricity surrounding him grew even denser.
"Lightning God's…Rampage!" With a deafening roar, the two men were surrounded by a pillar of black-yellow lightning, the Quatro mages stopping themselves from running in as Eric and Bacchus held up a hand while the lightning pillar continued for a few seconds before dying down.
As the lightning finally disappeared, the crowd & Sabretooth's mages cheered at the sight of Orga raising his hand to the crowd while Warcry laid in a charred crater, his dog poncho & parts of his pants burned to a crisp.
"Ah, it appears that Sabretooth's Orga has delivered a devastating blow to Quatro Cerberus' Warcry as the man is down for the count! However, will Warcry stand up?!" Everyone waited anxiously as they watched Orga walking out of the crater before the man stopped at the top as he heard a groan behind him, turning around to see Warcry stumbling to his feet while gripping his side where a dark blue bruise was beginning to form.
"Hah…man, you…you're strong." Warcry wheezed out as he made it to his feet, smirking proudly at Orga looking a bit out of breath as the Lightning God Slayer snorted before turning around.
"The same to you. Most people don't usually stand up from that attack. So, you wanna keep going?" Orga asked as the aura of lightning returned, to which Warcry simply stared at the man before the god slayer's eyes widened as Warcry grunted and launched himself out of the crater.
"Hahaha! Of course! We of Quatro are the most tenacious mages there is in Fiore! Why?! Because we are the wild!"
"Four!" The Quatro mages in the crowd and booth cheered, making Orga smirk as tears flowed freely from Warcry's face once again before the god slayer took a deep breath.
"Nice! I like you guys! Lightning God's Bellow!" With a roar, a black-yellow magic crest appeared in front of Orga before a monstrous beam of yellow lighting shot out towards Warcry.
However, the Hound simply grinned as his tears began flowing more before the god slayer's eyes widened as tints of pink appeared in the formerly crystal clear tears.
"Tear Magic: Bloody Howl!" With a lunge, the ground under Warcry cracked as the man easily dodged the beam and launched himself towards Orga, who quickly dismissed his blast while readying himself for battle.'
With a howl, Warcry crouched even lower just as Orga lashed out with a kick to his side, sliding under the attack and under the large man before spinning around and wrapping himself to his back.
His arms flashed out and wrapped around Orga's neck in a chokehold while his legs wrapped around the man's arm and pinned them to his sides.
"OH! Warcry has defied our expectations, people! He now has Orga in a devastating chokehold and if the man does not get out soon, this might be a win for Quatro Cerberus!" The announcer exclaimed with glee and the crowd cheered with him as Warcry tightened his grip on his chokehold, Orga gritting his teeth and clenching his muscles as he tried to escape.
"Give! Up!" Warcry growled as Orga fell to his knees, to which the god slayer growled as his electricity intensified.
"You! First! God Slayer Secret Art: Heavenly Judgement!" Before Warcry could even move, the two men were enveloped in a sphere of black lightning that quickly sparked yellow before imploding on itself, obscuring them in a bright yellow flash that was followed by easily an ear-shattering sonic boom.
"It appears that Orga had foregone all defences and resorted to a purely offensive move that put both mages at risk! What happened and who is the victor?" Eric didn't worry about the results as he simply let out a sigh of disappointed, a slightly proud smile on his face as he saw Warcry lying on the ground & out cold while Orga sat on his knees right in front of the man while heaving deep breaths.
"I take it Warcry lost?" Bacchus asked as he heard Eric's sigh, nodding as the dragon slayer simply nodded.
"At least he showed what he is capable of and shown how strong Quatro Cerberus has become."
"Yep, we're all proud of the teary-eyed dumb ass." Screecher said with a soft smile just as the crowd roared when Orga walked out while pulling Warcry out with him, surprised to find the man becoming weightless before looking up at the Quatro booth to see Eric Creed smiling in thanks with a hand raised.
The two men nodded at each other just as Eric pulled Warcry towards them, Bacchus catching the man and nodding to the others as he walked out of the booth to take him to their medical tent.
"And with that round, we end off Day 1 of the Grand Magic Games! Today was truly an amazing opening day and hopefully, tomorrow will be just as spectacular! This is your announcer signing off!"
