"We're at the exit!"
At the exit, Bacchus shouted excitedly.
The Quatro Cerberus team and Fairy Tail's Teams C and D stopped together near the way out.
Both sides looked at each other, and for a moment, the atmosphere became a little awkward.
Who should go out first?
That was a serious question.
After all, none of them knew how many advancement spots were still left.
Because of that, which team exited first truly mattered.
"I've got an idea," Wakaba said, cigarette in his mouth. "How about each side sends one person out first? Two people go together, check the situation outside, then come back and tell us."
"But can someone come back in after going out?"
Before Bacchus could answer, Warren immediately raised a question.
Sending one person from each side outside to check would indeed let them confirm how many teams had already advanced.
And since a full team had to exit together for advancement to count, a single person going out would not lock in a qualifying spot.
But the problem was whether that person could return after leaving.
If going out meant they could not come back, then those still inside would remain unaware of how many teams had already advanced.
"Want to test it?"
Macao suggested, a sly glint in his eyes.
This suggestion was beneficial to Fairy Tail.
After all, they had more people, losing one person would not affect them much.
Quatro Cerberus was different.
They already had fewer members, and if one left, the numerical gap would only grow larger.
At this moment, the members of Fairy Tail's Teams C and D could not be sure whether Teams A and B had successfully advanced.
Although they believed there should be no problem, luck was still a factor in this event. Perhaps Teams A and B had not gotten out yet.
Because of that, no matter what, they had to fight for the advancement spots with everything they had. They absolutely could not slack off.
If there were not enough qualifying spots left, then they really would have to settle things with Quatro Cerberus at the exit.
That was something both sides had already agreed on earlier.
If it came down to it, they would fight at the entrance and decide who left first.
Neither side would sneak out.
"We'll send one person, and you send two. That way, if we have to fight later, neither side suffers too much."
Bacchus finally reacted and agreed with the proposal.
The two guilds had a good relationship.
If a fight could be avoided, then it was best to avoid it—but only if it did not affect their chance to advance.
Asking Quatro Cerberus to give up an advancement spot was impossible.
"All right, let's do that."
Macao nodded.
He looked toward his companions and finally decided to send Marcus and Vijeeter out first.
Among the two teams, everyone else was already over eighteen.
Only those two had yet to reach eighteen, so naturally they deserved a little extra care.
On Quatro Cerberus's side, they decided to send Warcry, the mage wearing a dog-head hooded mantle, outside first.
Although Warcry was rather unhappy about it, he still obeyed Bacchus's arrangement.
The three of them walked out of the exit together and immediately saw several groups of mages gathered outside.
All three were startled.
Seeing so many people, they thought for a moment that there were no advancement spots left.
"Team A and Team B really advanced!"
When Marcus and Vijeeter saw Lucy, Hisui, Freed, and the others, they let out sighs of relief.
Now there was no pressure on them.
Even if they let Quatro Cerberus leave first, it would not matter.
Fairy Tail had already advanced two teams.
If more of them got in, that would only be icing on the cake. It might be better to help their brother guild, Quatro Cerberus, when they needed it.
"Five teams! There are only five teams!"
Warcry, however, did not pay much attention to the fact that Fairy Tail had already advanced two teams.
He counted carefully.
There were only five teams currently outside: Fairy Tail Team A, Fairy Tail Team B, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Mermaid Heel.
That meant there were exactly three advancement spots left.
"Hurry back! Tell everyone to come out quickly!"
Warcry immediately shouted to Marcus and Vijeeter.
Then the mage in the dog-head hooded mantle turned and rushed back in.
No one stopped him.
He quickly passed through the entrance and returned to the exit area inside the labyrinth.
"Hurry, hurry! There are still three spots left! The last three!"
Warcry shouted loudly, but the sound of fighting drowned out his voice.
At that very moment, Quatro Cerberus and Fairy Tail's Teams C and D were working together to suppress a group of mages.
It was an alliance made up of several weaker Mage Guilds, and they had also managed to assemble a complete map.
"What?! Only the last three advancement spots are left?!"
Although the battle was fierce, some people still heard Warcry's shout.
All at once, everyone began fighting even harder.
Before anything else, they had to defeat the opposing small-guild alliance.
As for how the three spots would be divided, that could be decided afterward.
On the Quatro Cerberus and Fairy Tail Teams C and D side, however, there was no longer any psychological burden.
They could all advance together.
All they had to do was defeat the enemies in front of them.
Marcus and Vijeeter quickly returned to the labyrinth as well. Seeing everyone in the middle of combat, they did not hesitate and immediately joined the fight.
"They can go out and come back in?!"
Outside the labyrinth, everyone who had already advanced was stunned when they saw Warcry, Marcus, and Vijeeter leave and then return.
They truly had not tried it before, so they had no idea.
"If the entire team comes out, they can't go back in," Marco explained.
After all, a whole team exiting represented successful advancement.
If the whole team did not come out, then it did not count, so naturally they could still return to the labyrinth and continue fighting.
"In that case, Quatro Cerberus and our Teams C and D should be able to advance."
Watching the broadcast footage, Freed made his judgment.
The battle at the exit was completely one-sided.
Quatro Cerberus and Fairy Tail's Teams C and D had utterly suppressed the small-guild alliance.
Macao, Wakaba, and the others were not weaklings!
...
Before long, the battle ended.
Quatro Cerberus and Fairy Tail's Teams C and D all ran out from the exit.
"The preliminary round is officially over!"
Once all eight advancing teams had appeared, King Toma immediately announced the result.
At the same time, all the remaining teams still inside the labyrinth heard the news.
They no longer needed to keep struggling.
"Fairy Tail has actually advanced with all four teams! This is truly shocking! It seems their strength has not weakened the way many people imagined. The formation of the boss team did not cause Fairy Tail to lose its competitiveness!"
King Toma's tone was full of surprise.
Clearly, he had not expected this result.
And he was not the only one.
Everyone was surprised.
Fairy Tail's Teams A and B taking the top two places and advancing easily had already been shocking enough.
But now?
It was not just two teams.
All four of Fairy Tail's participating teams had advanced!