Chapter 396: Possession Magic
"Oohhhhh! Feel that spirit! The sheer intensity in the air! I can’t wait to see these matches begin!" Chapati Lola roared, practically vibrating in the commentator’s booth.
"Me too," Yajima nodded wisely.
"Hmm... I’m incredibly curious about the man leading Heavenly Blue. He seems impossibly handsome, even with half his face covered. I’m dying to see what he looks like without his shirt," Jenny Realight mused, leaning over the desk with a playful, assessing glint in her eye.
As a prominent member of Blue Pegasus—a guild that practically functioned as a modeling agency for Fiore’s most beautiful mages—Jenny had an impeccable radar for physical attractiveness. She could easily tell that Finn was top-tier.
Down in the arena, her guildmates heard the broadcast loud and clear.
"Is that okay, Hibiki?"
Eve, Ren, and the oddly ignored humanoid rabbit all turned to look at Hibiki Lates. It was an open secret in the guild that Jenny had harbored strong feelings for him for years.
"Well, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it," Hibiki shrugged effortlessly. As a notorious playboy, he rarely let jealousy get the better of him. Besides, the only woman he had ever truly fallen for was a celestial spirit mage who had passed away years ago.
Across the field, however, a very different kind of jealousy was brewing.
They’re so arrogant, Jellal thought, grinding his teeth beneath his mask as he glared at Heavenly Blue.
He didn’t know why, but the tall, masked leader filled him with an intense, irrational irritation. That irritation had been simmering ever since Erza had returned to their lodgings early that morning, looking flushed, thoroughly exhausted, and suspiciously secretive.
Did something happen between Erza and that man?
The mere thought made Jellal’s stomach twist into painful knots. Yet, what could he possibly do? He was a wanted fugitive hiding behind a stolen identity. He had zero standing to demand answers.
"Just keep quiet, Mystogan," Natsu whispered fiercely, elbowing him.
"Yeah, lay low," Gray added out of the corner of his mouth.
"Don’t say a single word," Gajeel growled.
The Fairy Tail B team was sweating bullets. Every time Jellal looked like he was about to speak, they panicked. If his true identity was exposed, the entire guild would go down in flames.
Nearby, Mirajane observed the standoff with narrowed eyes. She had spent the last few months working closely with Finn, studying his habits, his posture, and his distinct magical signature. The way the masked leader of Heavenly Blue carried himself, the flawless way he deflected Jiemma’s provocations... it was far too familiar.
No way, right? Mirajane thought, a chilling realization dawning on her.
She wasn’t the only one connecting the dots. Lisanna, Cana, and Mavis were all secretly arriving at the exact same conclusion: Heavenly Blue was Finn’s shadow operation.
Should I talk to him? Mavis floated silently above her guild, chewing on her lip nervously.
She wanted to confront him, but she was terrified. If she provoked him, Finn might casually leak the apocalyptic secrets she had been hiding for over a century.
Then again, as long as I don’t interfere with his plans, we should be fine, Mavis reasoned.
She understood Finn’s personality. It was precisely because of that ruthless reliability that she hadn’t intervened when the women in her guild began falling for him. He was dangerous, yes, but he kept his promises and aggressively protected those he considered ’his.’
Take the current situation, for example. Finn had likely orchestrated the meeting between Fairy Tail and Crime Sorciere, laying the net perfectly to catch all the big fish at once. It was a terrifyingly brilliant manipulation of Jellal’s stalker-like attachment to Erza. Yet, Mavis also knew that if Fairy Tail failed to win the tournament, ending up working directly for Finn wouldn’t be the worst fate in the world. Even Mavis had been secretly drooling over the massive paychecks Mirajane, Elfman, and Cana had brought back after working for him over the last few months.
Suddenly, Erza broke the tension in the arena. She took a step forward, looking directly at Finn.
"You are incredibly strong," Erza declared, her voice ringing out clearly. "I look forward to crossing swords with you in the arena."
"The matchups are decided by the organizers, not by us," Finn replied, adjusting his mask slightly. "But if we do meet, I expect you to give it your all."
Finn was genuinely surprised she had spoken up. He was playing a character, and he assumed Erza would play along to protect his cover.
"What’s up, Erza!"
Suddenly, Jellal—unable to control his simmering jealousy—stepped squarely in front of Erza, physically blocking her line of sight to Finn.
Finn merely rolled his eyes behind his mask and turned away, completely ignoring the posturing fugitive. Ultear and Meredy shared an exasperated look and followed Finn’s lead.
Sorano also turned away, though she couldn’t help but cast a lingering, deeply gentle glance toward the Sabertooth ranks.
"Hmm?" Yukino blinked, noticing the masked woman staring at her. Who is she? Why did her gaze feel so warm?
Before the tension could escalate any further, Chapati Lola’s voice echoed across the stadium, detailing the rules of the Grand Magic Games.
The tournament would last for five days. Each day consisted of a unique competitive ’Event’ in the morning, followed by one-on-one ’Battles’ in the afternoon.
For the Events, teams would be ranked based on their performance. First place earned 10 points, cascading down to 0 points for last place.
For the Battles, matchups were decided randomly by the sponsors. A victory awarded 10 points. A draw awarded 5 points to both fighters. A loss awarded 0 points.
"After five grueling days, the guild with the highest total points will be crowned the champions of Fiore!" Chapati yelled. "Now, let us begin the very first event of the Games: Hidden!"
The crowd roared in confusion. Hidden? What kind of event was that?
"Will all guilds please select one participant and send them down to the arena floor!"
Standing in the center of the stadium, a massive pumpkin mascot cheerfully waved at the competitors. Finn stared at the mascot, his eyes narrowing slightly. He knew perfectly well that the King of Fiore himself was sweating inside that ridiculous costume, completely oblivious to the catastrophic reality of his daughter’s Eclipse Gate project.
"So, who’s going?" Ultear asked, turning to Finn. Flare and Sorano also looked to him for orders.
Finn thought for a moment. "Meredy, you’re up."
"Eh?! Me?!" Meredy squeaked, pointing at herself. "You haven’t even told me what kind of magic I’m supposed to use to hide my identity! If I use my Sensory Link magic out there, the entire Magic Council is going to instantly realize I’m a wanted criminal!"
She spoke freely, completely unbothered by the surrounding guilds. Finn had subtly erected a localized sound-dampening barrier the moment they stopped walking.
But Meredy had a valid point. Sensory Link was an incredibly rare Lost Magic. If she used it on a continent-wide broadcast, Crime Sorciere’s cover was blown.
Finn sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Fine. I’ll just possess you."
"....."
"Eh?"
"Can you even do that?!" Meredy stammered, taking a step back.
"Don’t worry. Your consciousness will remain entirely intact," Finn explained calmly. "Think of it like you’re sitting in the passenger seat. I’ll just be driving your body for the duration of the battle."
Finn felt it would be a waste of time to send her in blind with unfamiliar magic. It was more efficient to just hijack her physical form and handle the event himself.
"Well... alright then. Please take care of me," Meredy agreed cautiously. She was intensely curious to see how he fought, and she trusted him completely. She knew Finn wouldn’t use her body to do anything perverted in front of a stadium of millions. He was protective of his inner circle.
"Excuse the intrusion," Finn murmured.
Using his incredibly advanced Possession Magic, Finn flawlessly hijacked her physical motor functions. It felt exactly like plugging into an incredibly realistic VR headset or sliding into the cockpit of a mech suit. In Finn’s mental landscape, a miniature version of Meredy materialized beside him, floating comfortably in a spectral chair.
"So, what’s the plan?" Meredy asked, looking at the massive mental monitors displaying her own physical eyesight.
"Just sit back and watch."
Down in the arena, ’Meredy’ stepped forward with sudden, terrifying confidence.
As she walked toward the center of the field, a brilliant flash of golden light materialized in her right hand. The light quickly condensed and solidified, forming a beautiful, elegantly designed longbow made of pure, radiant energy.
Without saying a word, Heavenly Blue’s archer had entered the game.
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By the way, I might have said this before, but I have uploaded my new original story. The title is "Checking Out at 5:15 PM" with the name "OnlyPureLove44," or I might change it to Akikan in the future.
Regardless, there are more than 33 Chapters now.
You can check when you want to read more of my work.