"Lightning Dragon's... Breakdown Fist!"
Laxus's figure flashed, and he appeared on Mirajane's side.
His fist, wrapped in violent thunder, tore through the air with a sharp howl as it smashed toward the charging Leo.
Leo's pupils shrank, and he crossed his arms to block.
Boom!
Thunder exploded.
Leo's defense was like paper before absolute power.
His entire body was blasted away by the violent lightning and slammed heavily into the arena's protective barrier.
Golden light flickered around him, and his figure became faint and unstable. That single blow had nearly forced him back to the Celestial Spirit World.
"Leo!"
Naturally, the sight distracted Lucy for a moment.
But not only did that fail to help Leo, it also caused Lucy herself to be kicked away by Mirajane.
Summoning two Celestial Spirits at once while personally fighting Mirajane was too much.
Even with layers of buffs from Wendy and Levy, Lucy was struggling to hold on.
"Lightning Strike!"
Laxus raised his hand, and a thin bolt of golden lightning struck down with perfect accuracy, landing on Leo in an instant.
The electricity paralyzed Leo's entire body, and his form became completely translucent before returning to the Celestial Spirit World.
One of Fairy Tail Team A's combatants had fallen, and the battle had not even lasted a full minute.
Everything happened in flashes of lightning and fire, giving no one any chance to breathe.
Fairy Tail Team A's carefully planned opening combination had been like a castle built on sand in front of the final boss team's absolute strength and rich battle experience. It was crushed by a single wave before it could produce any real effect.
So-called tactics appeared so pale and powerless in front of an overwhelming gap in individual strength.
The only reason they had lasted until now was because Lucy, Hisui, and Juvia were each capable of stopping an opponent one-on-one, preventing the situation from collapsing instantly.
"The gap is too big..."
Cana gasped heavily, a bitter smile appearing on her face. The cards in her hand hung weakly at her side.
Facing this kind of situation, her resistance felt futile.
Gray had not even used his full strength.
"Sky Dragon's... Roar!"
Wendy stood in front of Laxus. She had fully entered battle mode now.
Although she did not like fighting, as a Dragon Slayer, her combat power was absolutely not weak.
"Too slow."
Laxus's cold voice rang out.
His figure vanished again, directly dodging the Sky Dragon's breath.
In the next instant, he appeared beside Wendy.
His lightning-wrapped fist struck out with terrifying pressure, stopping right before Wendy's cheek.
The arcs of electricity dancing over his fist lit up Wendy's pale face.
Wendy froze.
The blood in her body seemed to stop moving.
She could clearly feel that if this punch landed, all the protective magic on her body would be torn apart like paper.
Even her dragon scales would not be able to withstand it.
"The outcome is decided."
Laxus withdrew his fist and spoke casually, not actually bringing the punch down.
Wendy's expression fell. She lowered her head and obediently walked off to the side.
Laxus not hitting her was because they were guildmates.
Wendy knew very well that if she had taken that punch, she would definitely have been unable to keep fighting, so she should honestly stand aside.
Gray also stopped fighting.
Cana had already been completely trapped by his ice prison.
Leaning against the side of the ice cage, Cana waved her hands repeatedly, showing that she no longer had the strength to continue. Her magic power was nearly exhausted.
With two more teammates removed at once, the battle was almost officially over.
No matter whom Laxus and Gray helped next, they could quickly end the fight.
The overall gap between the two teams was far too great.
...
"It's over."
On the Guild Master viewing platform, Marco spoke and gave his conclusion directly.
The Guild Masters around him could also understand the situation clearly.
Their expressions were extremely complicated, because Fairy Tail's final boss team was indeed even stronger.
Even against Fairy Tail Team A, they had almost won by crushing force.
Both were called "S-Class," but the difference was far too obvious.
As the Guild Masters sighed inwardly, the battle below also reached its end.
Levy and Juvia were eliminated.
Lucy and Hisui were defeated one after another as well. Fairy Tail Team A completely lost its ability to fight, and the battle was declared over.
The entire arena fell into a brief silence.
Then, deafening cheers erupted, almost powerful enough to lift the roof.
"Too strong! They really are monsters!"
"So this is the final boss team?! They're completely different-level mages!"
"Fairy Tail Team A was already really strong, but... this is the gap!"
The spectators discussed excitedly, clearly shaken by what they had just witnessed.
Everything had ended far too quickly. It had been almost impossible to keep up.
"It's... it's over! A completely overwhelming victory! The final boss team has easily defeated the points tournament champion, Fairy Tail Team A, with absolute power! They have defended the honor of Fairy Tail's highest combat strength! Let us cheer for the winners, and let us also applaud the challengers who gave everything they had!"
At that moment, King Toma's excited shout rang out as well.
His voice was hoarse as he announced the result of the battle.
As King Toma's words fell, cheers and applause once again swept across the entire arena like a tidal wave.
In the center of the arena, the five members of the final boss team gathered together.
Laxus still stood there coolly with his arms crossed.
Erza's expression remained calm. Mirajane had released her Demon form and returned to her gentle smile, looking like a completely different person from a moment ago.
Natsu and Gray, meanwhile, were especially excited, clearly enjoying the cheers and praise from the crowd.
The members of Fairy Tail Team A supported one another as they stood back up.
They had lost, but there was no discouragement in their eyes.
A single defeat would not crush them. If anything, it would become fuel that pushed them to keep growing stronger.
Besides, Lucy and Hisui already had enough strength to be selected for the final boss team.
They had confidence in their own power.
Juvia, Wendy, Levy, and Cana were not shaken either. The strength of the guild's S-Class Mages was something everyone had seen with their own eyes.
From the beginning, they had not truly believed they could win the battle.
Amid the cheers, the members of Fairy Tail Team A left the stage. The audience did not hold back their applause and encouragement for them either.
Fairy Tail Team A had not performed badly, nor were they weak. Everyone had seen their strength throughout the past few days of competition.
The final result had turned out this way only because the final boss team was too strong.
After Fairy Tail Team A stepped down, King Toma's voice once again rang through the entire arena.
"I hereby announce!
"The final winning guild of this year's Grand Magic Games is... Fairy Tail!"
Bang, bang, bang!
Celebration cannons fired into the sky above the arena, bursting open with thunderous sound. Golden streamers drifted down from above, and stirring music began to play, bringing this unquestionable victory belonging to Fairy Tail to its conclusion.
This year's Grand Magic Games had also reached its end.
On the viewing platform, watching that "golden rain," Makarov was grinning so hard his eyes nearly disappeared. Standing on the railing, the old man slapped Goldmine's shoulder hard.
"Hahaha! Did you see that, Goldmine? This is Fairy Tail! What do you think? Isn't the title of number-one guild fully deserved?!"
Although those words were directed at Goldmine, in truth, he was asking everyone present.
Especially that old woman, Ooba Babasaama!
"..."
Faced with the old man's question, Goldmine, Bob, and the others could only smile bitterly and shake their heads.
Whatever competitive spirit remained in their hearts had already been completely extinguished by that brief, crushing battle just now.
"Hmph."
Even Ooba Babasaama, who had been nagging nonstop, finally shut her mouth. She had nothing to say either.
The gap was simply too large.
"So, about reclassifying mage ranks?"
Seeing this situation, old Makarov continued speaking.
"No objection."
Goldmine was the first to raise his hand and express his agreement.
Just look at those "monsters" down below.
What was there left to argue about? Without question, they were existences standing above ordinary S-Class.
Moreover, even the A-Class Mages from Fairy Tail Teams A and B stood completely above ordinary A-Class Mages.
The mage ranking system really did need to be changed.
The other Guild Masters naturally had no objections either. They all expressed that it had to be changed, even if only for their own sake.
Otherwise, if clients used Fairy Tail's mages as the standard for judging mages from other guilds, everything would become a complete mess.
That was not something that could be matched just because someone wanted to match it.
"That's more like it."
Makarov smiled proudly, unable to hide how happy he was.
Seeing the younger members of Fairy Tail perform well made Makarov happier than anything else.
Happier than seeing beautiful women, even!
...
On the other side, Marco walked over to the members of Fairy Tail Team A, a look of approval appearing on his face.
"Don't feel discouraged. You all performed very well."
Looking at the girls, Marco offered them a few words of comfort.
"Your tactical intent was good, and your execution was already very solid. But a gap in raw strength isn't something teamwork can easily make up for."
Marco continued speaking.
No matter how one looked at it, the girls had already done their best.
They had not been crushed instantly.
"We were the ones who dragged everyone down. Lucy, Hisui, and Juvia didn't perform badly. It was our strength that fell too far short."
Levy shook her head.
She could tell that Lucy, Hisui, and Juvia were actually strong enough to trade blows with members of the final boss team.
Unlike her, Wendy, and Cana, who had been defeated very quickly.
Of course, Wendy had something to say about that too.
After all, she was still young.
She was participating across age groups, and not just by one or two years. Being unable to fight Laxus was understandable.
"Yes. We're still too far from S-Class."
Cana shook her head helplessly.
She had already accepted this result.
After failing the exam so many times, everything had already been made clear. Her strength truly had not reached Fairy Tail's S-Class standard.
That was not something she could force.
"I didn't do well enough. If I had been a little stronger..."
Wendy pouted, her face full of self-blame.
If she had been able to stop Laxus, the final result would definitely have been different.
They were both Dragon Slayers, yet she was still far too far behind.
"How could we blame you? By the time we needed you to stop Laxus, the situation had already deteriorated beyond recovery. You're a support mage. We were the ones who failed to complete the plan."
Hearing Wendy blame herself, the girls of Fairy Tail Team A immediately began comforting her.
How could they possibly criticize Wendy?
None of them would have performed any better against Laxus.