Seeing the figure appear behind her, Cana's tense nerves quickly relaxed.
Future Lyon and Future Sherria were both powerful mages. Alone, even with Chase's Magic and Trap Cards at her disposal, she had been struggling. Defeat was only a matter of time.
So Macao's arrival was incredibly timely!
But the question was—
"Macao?"
Cana furrowed her brow in confusion. "Weren't you heading off in the other direction to intercept other teams?"
Future Macao let out a long breath, his gaze fixed on Future Lyon and Sherria across from him. "I got lucky. Ran into those three from Blue Pegasus who aren't good at direct combat. Took care of them and came to support."
Despite his words, his injured body and the fatigue he couldn't hide made it clear that his fight with Ren, Hibiki, and Eve had been far from easy.
"I see. So these seven years weren't completely wasted on you~" Cana raised her hand and gave his shoulder a firm pat.
"Hmph. Of course not. How else could I have led those idiots this far?!" Future Macao puffed out his chest with pride.
While affirming his own achievements, he also took the opportunity to belittle Future Wakaba and the others.
Classic Fairy Tail tradition.
"So, reliable old man, how about a proper team-up for the first time in a while?"
"Old man?! I'm nowhere near that age yet!" Future Macao protested.
"Haha! If it bothers you that much, I'll put it differently."
Cana stepped forward to stand beside Future Macao, revealing the tarot card between her fingers. "Fairy Tail drinking buddies, fighting side by side for the first time in ages!"
"The strongest drinking squad? Sounds interesting."
Future Macao paused for a moment, then, mimicking Natsu's style, clashed his fists together and ignited purple flames. He grinned. "I'm fired up!"
In an instant, Fairy Tail's momentum surged, completely overturning their earlier disadvantage!
"Hey, what's up with that old guy? He looks pretty strong."
"Seriously? He took out Blue Pegasus's three-man team by himself?"
"Did anyone see the fight? Spill the details!"
The audience buzzed with discussion.
Several battlefields across Crocus were unfolding simultaneously. Most attention was on heavy hitters like Erza, Future Jura, and Future Minerva. Few had paid attention to Future Macao, a stranger who hadn't appeared in any Grand Magic Games matches before.
(As acting guild master, Future Macao hadn't been eligible to participate in previous tournaments.)
"Allow me to give a proper introduction to Macao."
Noticing the audience's confusion, Chapati grabbed his microphone excitedly. "During those seven difficult years after Fairy Tail's core members vanished, he led the guild as acting master. Without him, we might not have the Fairy Tail we see today!"
"Of course, the efforts and trust of the other guild members were also indispensable~" Yajima thoughtfully added.
"What a resilient guild, pumpkin," the Pumpkin Head chimed in.
No further explanation was needed. A few simple words from three authoritative figures spoke louder than a thousand from ordinary people.
Especially since the audience, being at the venue, was emotionally vulnerable.
And so, cheers of admiration specifically for Macao and the left-behind members rang through the entire arena!
Fairy Tail Stands.
Laki, Jet, Alzack, Warren, Romeo, and the others were in tears. Some of the more emotional ones were openly sobbing.
Though similar scenes had occurred many times over the previous days, this moment's cheers carried a completely different meaning for them.
Fairy Tail mages generally didn't care about outsiders' opinions. But standing in this moment, recalling the sorrow and humiliation of those seven years, how could they hold back their tears?
Only now did they finally understand why the Master had chosen the relatively weaker Macao over stronger options like Chase and Gildarts.
It wasn't about Team A/B balance or creating a "weakness." It was about letting Macao represent them all and restore their honor!
"Damn it. He's actually wearing that look of enjoyment..."
Future Wakaba, usually so easygoing, clenched his fists with fierce reluctance. "The strongest drinking trio should have included me too!!"
Lucy leaned over to Levy and whispered, "Levy-chan, were they three really like that?"
"Ahaha... I think they've been that way for a long time?" Levy scratched her head awkwardly.
Come to think of it, Cana had indeed seemed quite interested in Macao for a while, though she'd stopped after Gildarts returned.
"There's something going on~!" Happy suddenly popped out from the abyss of Lucy's chest, his tongue curled.
Both women jumped. Lucy was especially flustered. "When did you crawl in there, you dead cat?!"
"First the card nerd, now a middle-aged pervert. Why does Cana always hang around such weird men?"
Gildarts overheard their conversation and secretly felt he should keep a closer eye on Cana.
"Oh my, oh my. More reliable than I expected, Macao," Mirajane said with an appreciative smile.
"After all, he was the acting master for seven years," Chase replied calmly.
Though he had a "weak against internal fights" debuff, seven years later even Max had been able to force Future Natsu to use Lightning Fire Dragon Mode.
As acting master, Macao couldn't be that weak. Such performance was hardly surprising.
"What an excellent master you are, Third Master~"
Both Mavises tilted their heads to look at Makarov, smiling sweetly.
Receiving the First Master's praise sent Makarov soaring. He leaped onto the stand's railing and shouted at the other guilds with utter arrogance:
"Wahaha! See that, you bastards? Whether it's the Tenrou group or the left-behind group, they're all shining stars of Fairy Tail!"
As it turned out, Future Macao didn't disappoint. Taking on the Blue Pegasus trio alone was already enough to amaze everyone!
Across the arena, Future Bob, who had originally come from Fairy Tail, cupped his cheek with a heart-shaped expression. "That Makarov-chan hasn't changed one bit~"
Future Goldmine, on the other hand, was furious. "We've already been eliminated! Do you have to keep rubbing it in?!"
On the field.
"The cheers for Lamia Scale are suddenly gone."
Future Sherria puffed out her cute cheeks, glaring angrily at Future Macao. "An old man showing off like that!"
Hearing that, Future Macao's mouth twitched in embarrassment.
He could argue back when Cana said it, but in front of a little girl about the same age as his idiot son, he really was an old man.
But why add the "weird" part?!
"Heavenly God's Howl!"
A blast of pitch-black wind rushed toward him, snapping Future Macao back to the battlefield.
He reacted quickly, slapping a purple magic circle before him. "Purple Flame: Curtain Wall!"
Purple flames erupted from the ground like an unshakeable wall, blocking the raging wind.
The wind died. The wall remained.
"How is that possible?!" Future Sherria's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Hey, little one from Lamia Scale. Let me teach you something while we're here."
Future Macao's lips curved upward as he stepped out from the fading wall of fire. Then he clenched his right fist tightly.
VWOOM!
Blazing purple flames roared to life.
"A person's face may age with time, but the fire of passion in their heart never dies out—it only burns brighter!!"
***
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