Chapter 294: Two vs Two
"Next up, please welcome the brand-new Fairy Tail duo!!"
Ren stepped onto the stage alongside his several companions.
Boom——!!
The entire Domus Flau arena erupted into a deafening roar. Ren, the undisputed king of day one, had practically toyed with Sabertooth and Raven Tail during the chariot race segment; no one else in the tournament even dared to provoke him anymore.
In actual combat, he had utterly crushed Jura Neekis, the fifth of the Ten Wizard Saints, forcing the legendary earth mage to openly surrender.
Erza had single-handedly cleared Pandemonium—slaughtering all one hundred high-tier monsters and leaving absolutely none for whoever followed her.
The audience hadn't actually seen Laxus fight properly yet, but they had all seen the bloody result: Laxus had steam-rolled Raven Tail's entire five-man elite team almost unscathed.
Natsu and Gajeel hadn't fully shown their true strength in the arena yet either, but standing here alongside these monsters proved that Fairy Tail itself endorsed their power.
After all, plenty of genuine powerhouses had already shone brightly in the earlier matches.
These were cheers completely different from the overwhelming boos they had received on day one!!
In just a few short days, Fairy Tail has won this much popularity and respect!!
One lucky day might just be chalked up to chance; but topping the tournament charts four days straight makes even the most everyday, casual spectators realize that Fairy Tail dominates this era by sheer, absolute might.
Due to the official team reorganization—
[Current Overall Standings:]
Fairy Tail — 41 pts
Mermaid Heel — 36 pts
Sabertooth — 35 pts
Lamia Scale — 34 pts
Blue Pegasus — 27 pts
Quatro Cerberus — 22 pts
"Grand Magic Games, Day Four: Pair Battles!" Chapati Lola's voice echoed through the stadium speakers, hyping up the crowd.
"Match One: Blue Pegasus – Ren Akatsuki & Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki vs Quatro Cerberus – Bacchus Groh & Roka!"
Down in the sandy arena, the four combatants faced off. The tension was palpable, though the atmosphere on one side was significantly more desperate.
"Bacchus-aniki, let's go wild or we'll—"
Roka wiped a bead of nervous sweat from his forehead, his voice laced with anxiety. Their pitiful 22 points came only because Sabertooth had essentially handed them 2nd-place points during a previous event to balance the field.
Still sitting dead last in the rankings, Quatro Cerberus had to win this match right here and now to stay in any realistic title contention.
"Shut it. We just gotta make our Souls quiver—hic!"
Bacchus took a long, deep swig from his gourd. Having been beaten into a swollen pig's head and stripped completely naked just two days ago by Elfman, most men would have been mortified to show their faces in public.
Bacchus merely shrugged it off—he often drank himself unconscious and woke up naked on the curb anyway.
The Grand Magic Games' elite medical staff had him patched up incredibly fast. He wasn't at 100% capacity, but his raw physical prowess was still vastly stronger than anyone else in Quatro Cerberus.
Across from them, the handsome wind mage of the Trimens adjusted his collar.
"Ichiya-san, our score's shaky too; we really need to climb the ranks today."
Ren Akatsuki's expression was dead serious. Blue Pegasus led Quatro Cerberus by only five points, but they trailed the tournament leaders by a massive sixteen points. Tomorrow was the grand final; this tag-team battle was their absolute last chance to close the gap.
[Akarin's Note: Ren Akatsuki is the Blue Pegasus mage who uses Aerial Magic. Do not confuse him with the protagonist, Ren, who is currently watching from the Fairy Tail balcony.]
"Indeed! It is finally time to show this beautiful audience our true, scintillating power!"
Ichiya struck a flamboyant, sparkling pose, pointing dramatically toward the sky as the scent of fresh roses inexplicably filled the arena. "Meeeeen!"
"Begin——!!" the referee shouted, dropping his hand.
Clang——!
As the massive brass gong sounded, both sides moved instantly, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
"Aerial Phantasm: Air Cannon!!"
Ren Akatsuki fired first, thrusting his palms forward. The atmosphere compressed violently before blasting a devastating burst of pressurized air directly at Bacchus and Roka.
Boom——!
The ground trenched under the sheer air pressure. The Quatro Cerberus pair immediately split up, diving in opposite directions to dodge the invisible shockwave.
"No retreat—let's rip them apart!" Roka roared, his eyes going bloodshot.
Swirling his body with a drill-like wind magic, Roka charged straight for Ichiya, aiming to mercilessly wipe out the perceived weakest link of the Blue Pegasus duo first.
"H-hold on! I'm not ready for such aggressive—"
Smack!!
Before Ichiya could even reach into his suit pocket, a wind-wrapped heel slammed brutally into his perfectly squared jaw.
"Should've been ready sooner, you sparkling freak!" Roka yelled, pressing his assault.
Everyone in the Fiore magical community knew the mechanics of Ichiya's magic. He relied entirely on sniffing various magical perfumes to cast his buffs and spells; without giving him the time to inhale them, he was nothing more than a slow, sitting duck.
"Drunken Split-Palm – Moonfall!"
Taking advantage of the opening, Bacchus instantly joined the assault on the staggering Ichiya. His movements were erratic, swaying like a falling leaf before his heavy palm struck Ichiya's shoulder with bone-rattling force.
"Ichiya-san!!"
Ren Akatsuki cursed under his breath and rushed over to assist his mentor, only for Roka to pivot and intercept him with a flurry of spinning kicks.
"Bacchus-aniki—finish that weirdo Ichiya before he sniffs anything!" Roka shouted, struggling to hold the Pegasus mage back.
"Leave it to my Soul!"
Bacchus laughed heartily, his hands blurring as he pummelled the helpless, crying Ichiya with a barrage of heavy, drunken strikes.
"Ichiya-san!! Get out of there!"
"Aerial Phantasm: Air Mirage!!"
Ren Akatsuki desperately released a concentrated orb of rapidly vibrating air. The sphere detonated between him and his opponent, generating a concussive blast that successfully flung Roka aside.
Free from the distraction, Ren Akatsuki dashed at Bacchus with maximum speed, throwing a wind-enhanced right hook aimed at the drunkard's temple.
But the seasoned brawler didn't even turn his head. He simply raised a hand and caught Ren Akatsuki's fist effortlessly in his calloused palm.
"Ichiya's already down for the count," Bacchus slurred, a dangerous glint in his dark eyes. "Now it's just you, pretty boy."
"What?"
Ren Akatsuki's eyes widened in horror. He glanced past Bacchus's broad shoulder. Ichiya lay completely motionless face-down in the dirt, his pristine white suit ruined.
In that split second of distraction, Ren Akatsuki had completely lowered his guard.
"Opening!!"
Bacchus stepped into Ren Akatsuki's guard, slamming a devastating, concentrated palm strike directly into the center of the wind mage's chest. He didn't stop there, instantly chaining blow after heavy blow into his opponent's ribs and abdomen.
"Aargh!!"
Ren Akatsuki coughed up a splatter of saliva, crashing violently into the arena floor. His nervous system was completely paralyzed by the sheer blunt-force trauma of the martial arts assault.
"Done!! That's a wrap!"
Bacchus raised a victorious, muscular arm to the cheering crowd, swaying slightly on his feet.
"I told you to wait! Where is the gentlemanly sportsmanship?!" a deep, rumbling voice echoed from the dust.
Riiip!!
Bacchus turned around slowly, his jaw dropping.
Ichiya rose from the dirt, his previously short, stout body mutating horribly. His pristine clothes shredded into confetti over massively bulging, grotesquely veiny muscles. He now stood nearly eight feet tall, a mountain of pure, concentrated physical power.
"W-what the hell is that—why is he suddenly so savage?!" Bacchus blinked, rubbing his eyes as if the alcohol was finally making him hallucinate.
"Power Perfume?"
Knowing the terrifying rumors of Ichiya's ultimate magic, Roka picked himself up off the ground, his expression turning deathly serious. "Aniki, watch out! That's pure physical enhancement!"
"Ren-kun, thanks to your valiant sacrifice, I could finally cast my spell," Ichiya's voice was completely distorted, sounding like a rumbling earthquake. "For you, my dear student, I dedicate this beautiful bouquet of victory! Meeeeeen!"
"Less talking, more fighting!"
Bacchus and Roka charged forward simultaneously, determined to drop the hulking giant before he could utilize his newfound mass. Bacchus coated his hands in immense magical energy, preparing his ultimate chop.
"Smashing Smile!!"
Ichiya simply grinned, his teeth sparkling blindingly in the stadium lights. He threw a single, unrefined punch.
The sheer kinetic force of the blow shattered the sound barrier. A massive shockwave ripped through the arena, catching both Bacchus and Roka in the chest simultaneously.
"Guh-ahhhh!"
One punch sent both Quatro Cerberus mages flying like broken ragdolls. They skipped across the sand before smashing violently into the reinforced arena wall, cracking the solid stone upon impact.
"T-They're down! Both members of Quatro Cerberus are down in an instant! Winner: Blue Pegasus!!" Chapati Lola screamed, nearly dropping his microphone in shock.
"Ugh…"
Up in the stands, half the crowd felt genuinely sick at the sight of Ichiya's bulging, disproportionate physique, turning their heads away in pure disgust.
"So dashing!" Ren Akatsuki managed to whisper from the ground, gazing up at his mentor in absolute awe.
On the Fairy Tail balcony, Natsu's jaw was practically touching the floor. He stared at the muscular monstrosity panting in the arena. "He's... he's actually amazing!"
"Don't encourage him, Natsu," Gray shuddered, looking mildly nauseous. "That is just purely wrong on so many levels."
"Regardless of his... aesthetics," Erza commented smoothly, crossing her arms. "The timing and tactical sacrifice to secure that victory was undeniably brilliant. Blue Pegasus has earned those points."
MC Ren watched silently, a small, amused smirk playing on his lips. The Grand Magic Games were certainly never boring.
"Moving swiftly along to Match Two!" the announcer shouted, quickly drawing the audience's attention away from the terrifying sight of Ichiya returning to normal.
"Match Two: Lamia Scale – Lyon Vastia & Yuka Suzuki vs Mermaid Heel – Kagura Mikazuchi & Millianna!"
The crowd's energy instantly spiked again. Lamia Scale was currently sitting comfortably in fourth place, while Mermaid Heel was riding high in second. This was a critical battle for the top of the leaderboards.
As the gong sounded, the battlefield immediately transformed into a chaotic warzone of conflicting magical elements.
Lyon wasted no time, clasping his hands together and flooding the arena with a chilling, biting frost. His Ice-Make magic was dynamic and relentless. Massive frozen apes, soaring eagles, and ferocious panthers of solid ice charged relentlessly across the battlefield.
However, they were met with an invisible, crushing wall of despair.
Kagura Mikazuchi stepped forward, her hand resting calmly on the hilt of her sheathed katana, Archenemy. She didn't even need to draw the blade. With a subtle shift of her stance, she expanded her Gravity Change magic across the zone.
The moment Lyon's animated ice beasts entered her domain, they were slammed into the ground by the weight of a dozen atmospheres, shattering into useless powder under their own localized gravity.
On the flanks, a fierce support skirmish broke out.
"Wave!"
Yuka Suzuki fired continuous pulses of anti-magic vibrations, attempting to nullify Mermaid Heel's magical outputs and disrupt their coordination.
"Kitten Blast!"
Millianna countered with incredible agility, leaping gracefully off the arena walls. She fired her magical binding tubes, attempting to tie Yuka down and prevent his disruptive pulses from reaching Kagura.
The battlefield was locked in an intense, high-speed stalemate. Lyon couldn't get his ice constructs close enough to Kagura without them being pulverized, and Yuka was too busy desperately dodging Millianna's relentless, feline-like assaults to properly back up his partner.
Conversely, Kagura couldn't close the distance on Lyon without stepping into a carefully laid trap of freezing spikes and absolute zero defensive walls.
After a fierce, unrelenting thirty-minute brawl where neither side yielded an inch, the time limit buzzer finally echoed throughout the Domus Flau. Neither side could claim a decisive victory; the highly anticipated bout ended in a technical draw.
"Kagura's tough," Yuka muttered, nursing his bruised ribs and panting heavily as he walked back to the Lamia Scale tunnel.
"She hasn't even gone all-out," Lyon said coolly, wiping a layer of frost from his cheek. His dynamic Ice-Make's mobility had been completely cramped and suffocated by her overwhelming Gravity Magic, so he had been completely unable to mount any sort of decisive, finishing strike.
With her legendary blade still remaining sheathed at her hip, Kagura couldn't easily break through his layered, absolute-zero defenses either, so the tactical deadlock dragged inevitably into a draw.
[Akarin Note:
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