Chapter 394: The Grand Magic Games Begin!
"Now, the moment you have all been waiting for! The Grand Magic Games officially begin!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM!
Massive fireworks detonated above the sprawling Domus Flau arena in Crocus, raining vibrant sparks down as tens of thousands of spectators screamed at the top of their lungs. The sheer volume of the cheering crowd was deafening.
"LET’S GO!"
"I WANT TO SEE THE MATCHES RIGHT NOW!"
"SABERTOOTH IS NUMBER ONE!"
"I will be your lead commentator, Chapati Lola!" the announcer’s voice boomed over the magical amplification system. "And I have the great honor of being joined by our esteemed analyst and former Magic Council member, Mr. Yajima!"
"Nishe to shee you all," Yajima, the elderly man in the chef’s outfit, greeted the crowd warmly.
"Thank you for being with us, Mr. Yajima! And for today’s special guest commentator, we have the reigning star of the Miss Fiore Pageant from Blue Pegasus, Jenny Realight!"
"We’re going to win it all this year~!" Jenny cheered, striking a glamorous pose in a stunning dress that immediately sent a wave of fanatical screams rippling through the male demographic of the audience.
"Now, let’s meet our competitors!" Chapati yelled, whipping the crowd into a frenzy. "First up, they ranked eighth in the midnight preliminaries, but will they be able to reclaim their former glory? Don’t let the dainty name fool you—this guild is a band of wild ruffians. Give it up for Fairy Tail!"
The massive gates ground open. Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Elfman, and Erza stepped out into the glaring sunlight of the arena.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
The deafening wall of cheers instantly inverted into a tidal wave of vicious booing and jeering.
"What?! They’re booing us?!" Natsu gasped, flinching back alongside Gray and Elfman.
Chapati Lola didn’t miss a beat. "Fairy Tail has famously come in dead last every single year since the games began, but miraculously, they’ve cleared the preliminaries! This year, they are guaranteed at least eighth place! The whole continent is buzzing about the return of their core roster from Tenrou Island. Will these long-lost legends reclaim the number one spot in Fiore?!"
"I am... sho very happy for them. Congratsh, Fairy Tail," Yajima smiled kindly, though his voice was entirely drowned out by the hostile crowd.
Lucy let out a heavy, depressed sigh, her shoulders slumping under the weight of the continent’s mockery. Usually, Erza would step in right about now, offering words of stoic encouragement to keep their spirits high. But today, Erza was entirely silent, marching forward with a strange, distant look in her eyes.
"What’s wrong, Erza?" Lucy whispered, leaning in closely. "Did... did that Chief guy do something terrible to you last night?"
Lucy wasn’t exactly sure what had happened. After Wendy recovered, everyone had collapsed from exhaustion. Lucy had tried to stay awake to wait for Erza’s return, but had fallen asleep. When she woke up this morning, Erza was already back, acting completely unreadable. It left Lucy highly suspicious and wildly curious about exactly what Erza had been doing all night with a dangerous man like Finn.
"It’s nothing," Erza replied quickly, her posture stiffening. "Don’t let the crowd affect you, Lucy. We are going to win this."
In truth, Erza was distracted, secretly wondering if Finn was actually going to participate in the Games. She prayed he wouldn’t. Given the overwhelming, addictive intensity of what they had shared just a few hours ago, facing him in the arena would make her emotional state incredibly complicated. But, knowing she couldn’t exactly explain that to Lucy, as Lucy was silly, Erza kept her mouth firmly shut.
"...I don’t know why, but I feel like you’re thinking something incredibly rude about me right now," Lucy narrowed her eyes.
"It’s just your imagination."
Regardless of the crowd’s hostility, a small, fiercely loyal pocket of the stands was screaming their lungs out.
"FAIRY TAIL! FAIRY TAIL! FAIRY TAIL!"
Led by Makarov, the rest of the guild was cheering with everything they had. Even Mavis had manifested, throwing her tiny fists into the air with a bright, beaming smile.
Following Fairy Tail, the other surviving teams began marching into the arena one by one. Mermaid Heel, Blue Pegasus, and Lamia Scale all made their grand entrances. Amidst the Lamia Scale roster, a clumsy, pink-haired girl tripped over absolutely nothing, face-planting into the dirt.
"Who’s that?" Natsu asked, tilting his head.
Before they could dwell on the familiar faces in the other guilds, the announcer’s voice took on a sharper edge.
"Now, for the next team! The Midnight Marauders! Raven Tail!"
"Ivan?! What the hell are you doing here?!" Makarov screamed from the stands, his face turning purple with rage. "You’re a Dark Guild!"
"How did they even get in?!" Gray yelled.
Chapati Lola quickly clarified for the audience. "Despite their notorious past, Raven Tail has recently been approved by the Magic Council as an official, legal guild! They are fully permitted to compete!"
There was nothing Fairy Tail could legally do. But Makarov’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. He knew he had to watch his estranged son’s guild closely. That suspicion was violently validated a moment later.
As Raven Tail swaggered past, the bizarre, masked creature known as Obra suddenly manipulated a small, shadowy puppet. He made the puppet stumble and collapse to the ground, pantomiming a girl falling into a coma.
"That was you?!" Natsu roared, his fists instantly igniting. "You’re the ones who attacked Wendy! You’re going to pay for that!"
The provocation was absolute. Raven Tail had painted a massive target on their own backs, but Ivan merely sneered, looking at Fairy Tail like prey waiting to be slaughtered.
As the tension peaked, the crowd began to murmur in confusion. Six teams had been announced. The undisputed champions, Sabertooth, had to be one of the final two. But who was the other?
"Now, taking second place in the preliminary round! This is a massive shocker, folks! I never saw this coming! Securing the third position in the games... it’s Fairy Tail Team B!!!"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAATTTT?!"
The entire arena, including Fairy Tail Team A, erupted in absolute shock.
"Sis?!" Elfman gasped.
"Gajeel?!" Natsu yelled.
"Juvia!!" Gray stared in disbelief.
"And Laxus?! Is that even allowed?!"
Marching out of the tunnel were Gajeel, Mirajane, Juvia, Laxus, and a mysterious, fully cloaked man introduced as Mystogan.
"What is Mystogan doing here?!" Erza whispered, her eyes widening. After the Edolas incident, the real Mystogan had stayed behind in the alternate world. The only logical explanation was that the man beneath the mask was Jellal Fernandes, using the games as a cover.
Chapati Lola quickly clarified the uproar. "According to the newly updated rulebook, large guilds are permitted to enter a maximum of two teams! If a guild failed to read the fine print or their second team was eliminated in the midnight maze, they only have themselves to blame!"
Fairy Tail Team A and Team B instantly started bickering, completely blindsided by Makarov’s secret secondary roster. But the announcer didn’t give them time to argue.
"Now, for the team that took second place in the preliminaries! Yes, you all know exactly who I’m talking about! Powerful! Unequaled! The undefeated champions of Fiore! SABERTOOTH!"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!!!"
The crowd’s roar was deafening, the arena practically shaking as the five members of Sabertooth entered. Yet, despite the fanatical worship, Sting, Rogue, Rufus, Orga, and Yukino walked out looking distinctly gloomy. Their usual arrogant swagger was completely gone, replaced by a grim, humiliated tension.
It took a few seconds for the crowd’s collective brain to process the announcer’s words.
"Wait... Sabertooth isn’t number one?!"
"He said they placed second in the preliminaries!"
"Huh?! Who the hell took first place?! Who could possibly beat Sabertooth?!"
Absolute confusion swept through the Domus Flau. For the last seven years, Sabertooth had been an insurmountable wall of power. No guild on the continent even came close to matching them. So who on earth was the first seed?
"Now, this is the biggest surprise in the history of the Games!" Chapati Lola screamed, his voice cracking with sheer hype. "First place doesn’t belong to Sabertooth! The team that crushed the Sky Labyrinth is a brand-new, officially registered guild! They have come entirely out of nowhere, rising like a dark comet to seize the crown! I am dying to see what they can do, and I know you are too!"
Down in the arena, Erza’s breath hitched. A strange, sinking intuition gripped her heart.
"THE TEAM THAT DETHRONED SABERTOOTH! THE NEWEST, MOST MYSTERIOUS GUILD IN FIORE!"
The massive gates slowly groaned open.
"HEAVENLY BLUE!"
A tall man wearing a sharp, dark blue coat and a sleek mask walked out of the shadows. Trailing closely behind him were four stunning women, their faces similarly concealed behind elegant masks, their matching uniforms radiating an aura of untouchable, chilling authority.
As they stepped fully into the light, the deafening noise of the arena completely evaporated.
Gulp.
The silence was suffocating. Every single mage in the arena felt the oppressive, terrifying density of the magic power rolling off the five masked figures.
First place. The guild that had casually swatted aside the absolute best.
In that single, breathtaking moment, the name Heavenly Blue was violently burned into the memory of the entire continent.