Since the events during the previous night, matches in the tournament were rearranged to accommodate the injuries most of the others took while attempting to stop the attack on Black Phoenix. Many members of the other guilds found that they weren't healed enough in the morning to fight in the tournament, so it was continued and shortened by the request of others. The new first matchup was Lucy vs. Yukino. Ola tried to make it so that every guild would have a chance at winning the tournament, but it was a little difficult to do so when a majority was still injured and healing magic only helped them but so much. Quatro Cerberus decided it would better to drop out and help the wounded. "There are always other chances" Bacchus said in response when asked why they'd leave the other guilds to battle it out. Lucy and Yukino took the stage in Clover Town (which was surprisingly left untouched during the attack) and held their keys out. "Let's give it a good match, alright, Yukino?"
"Hai," Yukino nodded. "I can't lose, I have Sabertooth's pride riding on me again…I won't lose…"
"Gate of the Lion, I open thee! Loke! Gate of the Maiden, I open thee! Virgo" Lucy summoned her trusted spirit, Loke, and her faithful servant, Virgo, both spirits appearing in front of her.
"Ready to go." Loke said while adjusting the cuffs on his suit.
"I am ready to assist you in any way possible, Princess," Virgo said with a nod.
"Gate of the Twin Fish, I open thee. Pisces." Yukino held her key out, summoning the black and white twin fish, watching as the floated around her.
"Fiiiiiiiiish…" Happy drooled at the sight of the large fish, entering a trance as he stared at them.
"Honestly, Happy…" Carla let out a sigh as the blue exceed flat out ignored her from being too far gone.
"As long as he makes no attempts to eat them…" Pantherlily replied.
"They'd eat him first…" Cynthia said with a slight giggle.
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Jack gave a yawn while resting on a charred part of the Black Phoenix roof, grinning to himself as he watched the battle between the celestial mages. He glanced over to Tia after a few moments. "How was THAT for scouting? Look at all the people who are fighting now!"
"Hmm…" Tia couldn't help but agree that Jack's methods were effective to a degree. "Don't forget about the other attack that happened along with yours…"
"There was another attack…?" Jack blinked, now turning around fully. "I didn't see anyone…"
"I didn't catch their names, but they did battle with some of the people while you were razing the building. They also razed another quarter of it after you finished…"Tia replied. "It's a shame…I wanted to get data on everyone involved…I suppose it can't be helped though…we already have data on Fairy Tail and White Eclipse…I just wanted to see if there were other threats we needed to be aware about…"
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"Well…last night certainly could've gone better…" The hooded male said while kicking over some burnt debris on the top of the guild.
"We should've help…" The female pouted, letting out a huff after. "We could've stopped so many injuries…"
"That's true…I didn't expect two attacks on the guild…But no one is dead, right?" The male said while attempting to give a positive outlook on the situation.
"Hmph…You're right there…but still…" The female sighed before turning her eyes to the fight. "It's hard watching something like that and not helping…"
"Ah, yeah, I know…But, our time will be coming soon. After this tournament, hopefully nothing else happens…" The male replied with a nod. "Until then, let's just keep watching. Next time we'll help if something bad happens, okay?"
"Fine…" The female gave a slight smile.
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"Hyde…?" Ultear raised a brow as Jellal uttered the name to her and Meredy. "I've never heard of him before…is he the one you're after?"
"That's correct…" Jellal nodded, sighing heavily after. "I remember him; he was a member of the Tower of Heaven, but he escaped before I took it over. He was madder than I, from what I remember…He actually fought the guards and succeeded many times…his punishments were severe, but…"
"He sounds dangerous…" Meredy said while glancing towards Jellal.
"When he escaped on his own, he became known as Dark Phantom or Phantom Black…" Jellal continued. "I should've realized it was him the moment I felt the darkness."
"Phantom Black…?" Ultear raised a brow. "So he's extremely dangerous from what you're saying?"
"Yes," Jellal nodded. "He's a phantom…no attacks have ever made contact with him…I witnessed it myself…It's like he's there, but he's not…"
"Do you think he'll attack again?" Ultear asked with a serious expression.
"I don't think so…" Jellal replied. "He said to the Edolas version of Erza that it was time for him and the rest of his "friends" to go…so I don't think they'll be attacking again…But it wouldn't hurt to keep a close eye on him if possible…I don't know what he's been up to since we've last met but I can assume it won't be good…"
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Lucy and Yukino were really going at it; their battle was now at the point where they both burned through their magic, and were left with nothing but their own fists. Both were damaged quite heavily, and they both refused to be the first one to fall. "I'm not giving up here…" Lucy said while tightening her hands into fist. It had been a while since she actually won a fight on her own, and she didn't want to make Fairy Tail seem like a joke. She took a step forward before running towards Yukino, prepared for the ensuing hand to hand combat.
"I won't be the first one to fall…" Yukino mumbled while running forward, meeting Lucy in hand to hand combat. Lucy threw a fist towards Yukino's cheek, landing a direct hit, and Yukino followed suit, landing her own punch on Lucy's cheek. The spectators remained silent as the two females continued to throw their fist, each time connecting with the face of the other. Eventually, the two threw their fists at the same time, landing the finishing blow on each other. Both Lucy and Yukino staggered for a bit...Lucy was the first one to fall backwards, her consciousness slipping away from her. Yukino was the last one standing... "I..."
Just before there could be any uproar for Yukino, she took one step back...and then she also fell onto her back as well, unconscious.
"It's a draw!" Ola wrote.
"Lucy…" Natsu couldn't help but smile before he went out; deciding to help Lucy into the infirmary himself while Sting went to retrieve Yukino.
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"Not a bad fight all…" The hooded male nodded in serious approval. "That's someone I like to see…"
"She really put her all into that…" The female too gave a nod, a soft smile appearing on her lips.
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"She's more resistant than I thought she would be…" Tia raised a brow at Lucy's fight. "I didn't know she would be that durable…I honestly thought she'd snap like a twig under pressure…"
"What makes you think that…?" Jack asked, not even bothering to look at Tia because he was looking into the sky. He found the fight pretty boring.
"Look at her…she looks so frail…" Tia replied while gesturing to Lucy's figure. "It just looks like she'd snap in one powerful hit…I'm also a little jealous of her figure…" Tia mumbled that last part out, poking her thighs subconsciously.
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Now the next match was certainly an interesting one: Ola, the master of Black Phoenix vs. Rogue. Both were users of shadows, but the way they used their shadows was different, which was the factor that made this upcoming match interesting. Ola stepped into Clover Town, cracking her next and knuckles. "Are you ready, Rouge?"
"Shadow Drive…" Rogue mumbled under his breath, a black aura surrounded his body, causing his hair to spike upwards. His eyes turned a blazing red color as he nodded to Ola. "Ready…"
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"Rogue can do it!" Frosch exclaimed while waving to his dear friend via lacrima screen.
"He's got this! Sabertooth!" Orga exclaimed while throwing his hand into the air.
"Hmph…This should be an interesting bout…" Future Rogue thought to himself while watching his present counterpart battle.
"How many matches are after this…?" Cynthia asked, tilting her head towards Tristan who seemed to be in charge whole Ola was out.
"Hm? Oh, since things were cut short, we have a few matches left…Myself vs. Erza, you vs. Jura, Tayakata vs. Kagura, Luke vs. Lucina, Natsu vs. Waiston, Wendy vs. Chelia and lastly Leon vs. Melody for this round."
"So not a lot, huh…? Alright…" Cynthia nodded and turned her attention to the fight, which was already heated once she turned back. "Whoa!"
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Rouge wrapped his hands and feet in his in shadows, aiming a plethora of punches and kicks towards the silent mage. Ola was nimble and light on her feet, so she was able to dodge most of what Rogue threw at her. At an incoming punch, she blocked, retaliating with her own high kick with the heel of her…heel, however her foot fazed right through Rogue's shadowy state, leaving her with a confused expression. "…?" Rouge then aimed a sweep kick at Ola's ankles, successfully throwing her off her feet, but Ola counted by catching herself on her hands, now aiming her own shadow infused axe kick at Rogue's head, landing the hit, causing the shadow dragon to stumble back. Ola landed on her feet, commanding her shadow to move forward, changing into the shape of a hand to grasp Rogue.
"Not so fast…" Rouge mumbled, his movements now becoming rather erratic, causing Ola's grab to miss. He then began to circle around Ola in attempt to confuse her, his cheeks puffing out in the process. "Shadow Dragon's Roar!" Rogue opened his mouth, unleashing a funnel of shadows towards the silent master.
(The best defense is the best offense~) Ola cooed via telepathy now as her shadow morphed into a sphere around her person, protecting her from the roar, leaving her completely unscathed. After, spikes protruded from the sphere around Ola, catching Rogue off guard as a spike caught his arm, causing him to slow his movements to check his wounds. (See what I mean~?)
"Agh…" Rogue grunted as he felt a large gash on his arm. He couldn't let this slow him down, she he kept moving, now in a zig zag pattern with his katana in hand. "Secret Art: Shadow Dragon's Quiet Rage…" Rogue slashed his katana at the sphere around Ola numerous times, cleaving through the magic which left the master quite surprised. After that, Rogue landed a shadow infused roundhouse to Ola's skull, causing her to stagger back with what was supposed to be a grunt. "Shadow Dragon's Slash!" Rogue took advantage of his offensive and aimed a punch towards Ola, but she recovered much faster than he thought she would and caught his punch, leaving him wide eyed.
(Not so fast, my dear…) Ola said with a smirk, her hair creating a shadow over her blue eyes. She hurled Rogue to the nearest building, now conjuring up several screaming shadows, only this time it wasn't for entertainment. These shadows were out for blood, noted by how quickly they traveled to the temporarily downed Shadow Dragon with their claws extended.
"What!?" Rogue's expression changed as he pushed himself up, quickly using his Shadow Drive boost to escape the ferocious shadows, but they hunted him down quickly, climbing on the remains of some buildings to cut him off.
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"Holy shit…" Cygnus blinked, completely astounded by the shadows and the way the hunted their prey (Rogue) restlessly.
"Those things are relentless…" Jura commented while watching the hot pursuit.
"Come on, Rogue, you can outrun them…!" An injured Sting exclaimed.
"I don't think outrunning them is something he should be concerned with…I can hear those things from all the way over here and this thing doesn't even have that much sound…!" Luke said while placing his hands over his ears to shield them.
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"Geez…!" Jack covered his ears from the screaming shadows. "I can't even hear myself think over these damn things!"
"Too loud…!" Tia groaned as she too covered her ears, wincing as her eyes closed tightly.
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"G-Gah…!?" The hooded male quickly placed his hands on his ears to shield them from the ear-drum shattering screeches. "What's up with those shadows…?!"
"They're screaming that's what!" The female replied while backing away from the noise as far as she could.
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Rogue had to protect himself (or try to) from the noise the shadows gave off. While he was doing this, one shadow managed to get ahead of him, slashing him in the chest. "GAHH!" Rogue cried out as he hit the ground, heavily damaged from the attack.
(Thank you, my shadows~) Ola smirked as she walked forward towards Rogue. (Don't worry, you put up a good fight~) With that, Ola slammed her heel into Rogue's face, rendering him unconscious.
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"Wow, she's ruthless…" Reve smirked slightly.
"Ouch…" Future Rogue felt a pain in his face from Rogue's defeat, and a sting in his arm from the gash. "Idiot…I feel what he feels…how lovely…"
"She's strong alright…" Cynthia gave a nod at Ola's victory. "Now it's my turn!" Cynthia turned to Jura, pointing directly at him. "Are you ready, Jura-san!?"
"But of course, Cynthia-dono…" Jura gave a firm nod.
"She may be strong but she won't beat Jura…" Lyon said with a nod of confidence.
"I still remember that time I accidentally took out Jura…" Chelia rubbed the back of her head rather nervously and sheepishly. "Wasn't the best time…"
"You can do it, Cynthia!" Wendy and Natsu exclaimed at the same time.
"We're gonna take this by storm!" Natsu exclaimed.
"I don't think so, Salamander…" Melody said while placing a hand on her hip. "Mermaid Heel will win this. Milliana may have dropped out, but Kagura-chan and I will be able to take it from here."
"Psh, in your dreams, Smelody!" Natsu replied.
"It's Melody!" The silver haired girl replied with an anime tick-mark on her forehead. "I had amnesia and I still remembered my name!"
"He's not good with names…" Wendy said with a sheepish smile.
"She's going up against the Wizard Saint, hm…" Taya crossed her arms and raised a brow. "I'm interested to see how this one will turn out.
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Cynthia and Jura took center stage (aka whatever spot of Clover Town that wasn't already ruined) and stood across from each other. Cynthia, though having already fought, decided (more so forced) her way into the limited spot Fairy Tail had. She was strong, so she managed to assure the others she'd be fine and not lose control. "Ready?"
"Of course…Let us begin…" Jura gave a slight nod while waiting for Cynthia to charge.
"Before I start, I'm saying thank you because if not for you I wouldn't be here today to get so strong…and now I'll show you that strength!" After Cynthia exclaimed this, her flames erupted around her body, now rushing towards Jura.
"I'm eager to see the strength you've obtained!" Jura exclaimed before pointing two fingers forward. "Iron Rock Fist!" From the ground, a large arm and fist composed of rock and iron flying towards Cynthia.
"That won't work…" Cynthia smirked as she bent her knees, jumping into the air, and on top of the fist that was meant for her, now running along the length of the arm while bringing her arm back. "Iron Fist of the Omega Fire Dragon!" Once getting towards the end of the arm, she leapt off, throwing her fist towards Jura.
"Iron Rock Wall!" Jura exclaimed once Cynthia managed to avoid the Fist. A large wall appeared before the wizard saint, only shielding him from the brunt of Cynthia's attack, shattering after. With his reflexes, Jura quickly grabbed Cynthia and hurled her into the air, causing her to spiral upwards. He then brought his hand forward and controlled the rubble from his fallen wall, now aiming to encase Cynthia in them.
"Gwah…!" Cynthia yelped as she was flung into the air, but she quickly regained herself by spinning, noticing the large amount of rock starting to surround her. With fire trailing around her arms, she began to spin around faster, creating a sort of barrier around her person as the rocks moved in, protecting her from the incoming attack. Just when she felt safe, an Iron Rock Fist slammed into her, sending her crashing into the ground.
"C-Cynthia!" Wendy squeaked once Cynthia hit the ground.
"I can't let my guard down with this one…" Jura said to himself as he didn't even wait for Cynthia to get up, he knew she would so why give her the chance? Jura extended a hand forward, causing the ground around him to split into large boulders of varying sizes, which he lifted into the air and sent all of them raining down on the downed Cynthia. "Rock Avalanche!"
"Ugh…" Cynthia was in a slight daze after hitting the ground, everything a blur for her as she looked into the sky. Slowly, everything came back into focus for her, and she realized that large boulders were coming in her direction. "G-Gah…!" Her cheeks puffed out and she unleashed a massive funnel of slightly dark red fire towards the incoming boulders, only managing to just stop them all at first before she gave it another push, now incinerating the boulders and hopping up. "Nice try!"
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"Man, that little girl is something else…" Jack said while watching the fight, actually showing some sort of interest. "Imagine what would've happened if we managed to snag her when we attacked Fairy Tail…all the magic King would have by now…"
"The Wizard Saint isn't bad himself…" Tia replied with a short nod. "He's quick to react, which is an important trait to have…but I don't think even he would be able to stand against Joker…He might not make it past myself, to be completely honest…"
"I think you're stroking your ego a little too much there, Sis," Jack said with a slight snicker. In the next second, Tia thwacked Jack upside the head with her scepter, an annoyed look on her face. "O-Ow!? What the hell was that for!?"
"Shut up…" Was Tia's only response.
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"It's time to wrap this up!" Cynthia exclaimed as the flames on her arm took the form of a dragon's head. She rushed forward while drawing said arm back. "Secret Art! Radiant Fang of the Omega Fire Dragon!"
Jura clapped his hands together once sensing the large accumulation of magic Cynthia had. He knew a powerful attack was coming and defense was his only real option. As Cynthia neared, a large rock in the shape of armor appeared around Jura defensively, its eyes glowing red. "Rock Mountain!"
"It won't work!" Cynthia roared as she threw her arm forward, a dragon's roar escaping the lips of something. The secret art slammed into the Rock Mountain, causing a devastating explosion, shaking Clover Town so vigorously that even the people inside what was left of Black Phoenix could feel it.
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"Those two are so strong...!" Chelia said while staggering to keep her balance from the rumbling earth.
"She's improved so much over the past year..." Lucy said with an awestruck smile.
"Bring it home, Cynthia!" Natsu shouted with a large grin on his face.
"Take him down, kid." Laxus said, though he refused to raise his voice like everyone else was; it wasn't his style.
"GO CYNTHIA!" Wendy cheered, quite louder than the others.
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Cynthia tumbled across the ground from the explosion, hopping up quickly. She was covered in all sorts of scratches and bruises, but that never stopped her before. "I know you're still up!" Suddenly, the ground began to rumble underneath Cynthia's feet, causing her motion sickness to kick in slightly. "E-eh..." Her face paled as she struggled to keep her balance; she knew something was about to happen.
"I must apologize, but I have to bring this battle to a swift finish! You have certainly improved, Cynthia-Dono, and I hope we can have a rematch in the future!" Jura exclaimed as a powerful burst of energy erupted from the ground, consuming Cynthia whole. "Rumbling Mt. Fuji!"
"O-okay...I take it back...he is powerful...!" Tia struggled to keep her own balance while the miniature tremor went off. As the tremor died down, Cynthia was seen face down on the ground, her clothing torn and blood running down her forehead. She laid motionless on the ground.
"C-Cynthia...!" Wendy's eyes widened at the sight before her.
"I knew she would fall to Jura..." Lyon said with his usual cocky smirk.
(This means that-) Ola started to say, but stopped as Cynthia gave the slightest movements. (Wait...)
"That attack is insanely powerful..." Future Rogue thought to himself, having never had interaction with Cynthia in his time led him to being shocked by her resilience. "She's still standing too...I don't believe this..."
Cynthia coughed up a small amount of blood, her legs shaking as she brought herself up to a stand, her black hair covering her eyes. "Sorry...did you really think that was going to finish me off...?"
"Impressive..." Jura blinked, unable to hide his astonished yet impressed face.
"Now..." Cynthia mumbled as darkened red fire flared violently around her arms. She ran forward once again, letting out a yell. "It's my turn! Secret Art: Crimson Slash of the Omega Fire Dragon!" Cynthia swung both her arms sideways, unleashing a spiraling vortex of dark red fire in Jura's direction, cleaving through the earth as it made way towards Jura.
"...!" Jura immediately placed two fingers up, creating about 10 pillars of iron and rock to protect himself from the Crimson Slash. The Crimson Slash easily cleaved through Jura's defense, and struck the Wizard Saint himself, blowing him away and through several buildings. While he still remained standing at the end of it, one of the rules that was just established came into play. He was pushed outside of the city boundary. This meant...he suffered a ring out.
(She won...?!) Ola gave a look of disbelief as she stared at the defeated Jura, unable to believe the sight.
"No way...!" Lyon's confident look turned into that of shock as the wizard saint of Lamia Scale was defeated.
"I KNEW SHE'D WIN!" Wendy exclaimed while squeezing Carla happily.
"W-Wendy...calm down...can't breath..." The exceed comically replied while her face started to turn blue from lack of air.
"S-sorry!" Wendy immediately released Carla with a sheepish grin.
Jura stood with his arms crossed, a notable smile on his face. "Your conviction today allowed you to win. You are very strong, Cynthia-dono." Jura said, causing Cynthia to smile. He lost fair and square. The youth of this generation were turning into promising wizards.
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"...Maybe it's best we didn't capture her..." Jack said with a large sweat drop while the next match was prepared (Natsu vs. Waiston). "She'd cause way too much damage. But I'd be the one to put her down, just like I was about to with Natsu." Cynthia's destructive power was worrisome, but Jack was still confident in his abilties to defeat her.
"She is very powerful...what on Earthland are they doing with such a mage...?" Tia raised a brow before she got an idea. "King has been looking for a particular type of magic...maybe she could help. But before I do anything else..." Tia opened up an Archive (with the use of the magic of course) and accessed the files on Fairy Tail and its mages. "This will certainly tell us more..." Fairy Tail and White Eclipse were clearly not the only guilds to be wary of anymore. If wizards like Jura were present...
"You go ahead and do that..." Jack said while turning his attention to the Fire Dragon and the Ice Dragon. "I wanna see this one."
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Natsu made the first move, wasting no time as fire covered his entire body. He first aimed a right hook towards Waiston's jaw, but the ice dragon ducked with ease. He then aimed a sweep kick towards Waiston, but the ice dragon dodged that too with a hop. "Come on!" Waiston said with a taunting tone; once he landed on the ground from his small hop, he used his magic to create a glacier that stuck Natsu directly in the chest, causing the Salamander to stumble back some. "What's wrong?!" Waiston then covered his arms in sharp, ridged ice, rushing towards Natsu while swinging his arms. "Ice Dragon's Fang!"
Natsu quickly recovered from the blow, swaying his body to the side to avoid Natsu's attack. The Salamander then landed a flaming kick to Waiston's side, causing him to stagger back. Now on the offensive again, Natsu let out a battle cry while swinging his fist towards Waiston's face. "Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!" Pow! A direct hit, Waiston flew back a few feet before catching himself with a flip.
"Tch..." Waiston could feel the burn all around his face and leg, but he kept going, stopping on the ground to send ice spikes in Natsu's direction as a distraction.
"What's wrong?" Natsu mocked Waiston's tone before turning his eyes to the ice spikes, running forward and leaping over them, though as he leapt an Ice Dragon's Roar made contact with him, causing him to hit the ground, but he caught himself on his hands and flipped up.
"Just "warming up"!" Waiston replied with a smirk.
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"Kick his ass, Waiston!" Reve shouted. "You got this!"
"Natsu's got this!" Gray shot towards Reve. "He may be a flaming idiot but he can beat your ice wizard any day of the week!"
"We're about to find out!" Kuro exclaimed in his usual cheery tone.
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Natsu and Waiston now met in close combat. Fire and ice fist flying towards the opposing element in unison. It seemed Waiston had the close combat advantage because his punches immediately froze the part of Natsu's body it hit, but Natsu quickly burned his way out of them. Natsu reared his arm back, throwing a heavy haymaker toward's Waiston's nose once again, but the ice dragon foresaw this and stepped on the ground, rising into the air due to a glacier. "Too slow!" Waiston exclaimed while looking down at Natsu.
"Tch!" Natsu grunted before getting an idea. He swung his leg at the base (the weakest point) of the glacier, watching as it quickly crumbled.
"Gah...!" Waiston leapt of the glacier, ice coating his legs as he aimed an axe kick towards Natsu.
"I got'cha now..." Natsu grinned to himself as he crossed his arms, blocking Waiston's strike, first ignoring his now frozen arms. He ignored them because he already had a plan in motion, and it began with fire roaring around his body. "Fire Dragon: Crimson Lotus!" Natsu swung his body around, engulfing Waiston in the flames of a dragon. When the attack was over, Waiston was on the ground in KO. "HA!"
"Told ya!" Gray grinned widely towards Reve, subconsciously stripping after, though the action only disturbed Reve.
"Weirdo..." Reve scoffed aloud before letting out a silent sigh.
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"First half of the quarter finals are done..." Jack said over to Tia, who was still doing research.
"Mhm..." Was Tia's only reply. She was still looking through Fairy Tail's files, mostly focusing on Cynthia now. Since she was absent during their initial encounter with Fairy Tail. "Interesting..."
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(The next match is Fairy Tail's Wendy Marvell vs. Lamia Scale's Chelia Blendy!) Ola exclaimed with her telepathy.
"A rematch?" Wendy blinked a few times as she turned to Chelia.
"I was hoping for this..." Chelia said as she stood up, walking over to Wendy. "Hey, Wendy...wanna fight using our dual modes? I think it would be a good match. Black Sky vs. Omega Flame Sky?"
Wendy pondered the thought for a moment before giving a nod, a smile gracing her lips. "Sure! Let's go, Chelia!"