"Ultear?"
Kagura narrowed her sharp eyes, staring across the arena toward the Heavenly Blue seating area.
Unlike the other members of Heavenly Blue—Flare, Sorano, and Finn—who had all demonstrated their terrifying strength in the arena, Ultear was the only one who hadn't revealed what kind of magic she wielded. Yet, absolutely no one in the Domus Flau assumed she was weak. Given her association with Finn, the entire stadium assumed she was another disaster waiting to be unleashed.
"Be careful, Millianna," Kagura warned softly, never taking her eyes off the Heavenly Blue section. "Every single member of that guild is dangerous."
"Don't worry so much, Kagura-chan!" Millianna chirped, stretching her arms with a carefree, feline grace. "After all, it's just a sporting event!"
"Well..."
Kagura nodded slowly, conceding the point. No matter how impossibly strong the Heavenly Blue was, they were only facing off in a tournament. There was no life-or-death blood feud between Mermaid Heel and Heavenly Blue. Even if Millianna lost, it didn't really matter. Kagura's ultimate goal lay elsewhere.
In fact, testing their skills against a guild of that caliber was a rare, invaluable opportunity for growth.
"I'll try talking to her later!" Millianna beamed. "Maybe I can convince them to let their leader have a sparring match with you. That way, you can grow even stronger, Kagura-chan!"
Leaving those cheerful words behind, Millianna turned and skipped happily toward the arena floor.
"Hmm...."
Kagura sighed helplessly at her friend's boundless optimism. Yet, the thought of actually crossing swords in a spar with Finn—the man who had cleaved the heavens with a single slash—was something she didn't hate. In fact, her warrior's spirit deeply looked forward to the prospect.
Meanwhile, down in the arena tunnel, Finn had already seamlessly initiated his Take Over magic, projecting his consciousness and hijacking Ultear's body. He walked her physical form toward the center of the stage, suppressing a mental sigh.
"This tournament really does drag on too long, Finn thought with a sigh.
Fortunately, the nights he spent back at the hotel suite with Flare, Ultear, Meredy, and Sorano made the daytime activity more than worth it. They were incredibly active, constantly seeking to comfort him and reward him for his "hard work" in the arena. Thinking about the lewd activities awaiting him later tonight, Finn decided to get this match over with as quickly as possible.
"By the way, isn't that cat girl incredibly cute?"
Suddenly, Ultear's voice echoed in his mind. She was currently sitting in the metaphorical "co-pilot's seat" within her own consciousness, a mental construct Finn had designed to allow the host to watch the fight while he controlled their body. She was casually observing Millianna skipping onto the field.
"You're cuter," Finn replied internally, not missing a beat.
He wasn't lying. He vividly recalled the desperate, flushed expressions Ultear made when she tried to hold back her sweet cries in bed, ultimately breaking down and surrendering completely to the depravity he dragged her into. To Finn, that was more appealing than cat ears.
"...Did you just think something perverted about me while piloting my body?" Ultear asked, a sultry edge entering her mental voice.
"I did."
"Should we just do it here? Right now? In the middle of the stadium?" Ultear suggested, her mental avatar flashing a wicked, highly inappropriate smile.
"No. I can't focus on winning if you do that," Finn immediately shot the idea down. "And frankly, you are insane for even suggesting it."
Finn couldn't help but sigh mentally at how unhinged Ultear could be. Meredy, Flare, and even Sorano wouldn't dare suggest something so brazenly indecent in front of tens of thousands of spectators.
"Umm...."
"Hmm?"
Their bizarre telepathic banter was suddenly interrupted. Millianna had jogged over to the center of the arena, stopping just a few feet away from Ultear's body.
"Is it okay if we talk a little bit after the match is over?" Millianna asked brightly.
"Why?" Ultear couldn't help but temporarily assert control over her own vocal cords, wanting nothing more than to finish the fight and drag Finn back to the hotel.
"Well... I was wondering if we could be friends?" Millianna asked, offering a naive, incredibly genuine smile.
"..." Ultear stared at her, completely thrown off guard.
"You guys are all incredibly strong!" Millianna continued enthusiastically. "And Kagura-chan really wants to ask your leader for some swordsmanship pointers, too!"
"Oh?" Ultear glanced over at the Mermaid Heel dugout, her eyes locking onto the cold, stern swordswoman. "Is that so?"
"Yeah!" Millianna nodded quickly. "You saw how powerful Kagura was in her fight yesterday, right? I think it would be great for everyone to learn from each other's skills! What do you think?"
"What if we meet up after the Grand Magic Games conclude?" Ultear suggested smoothly. "We might be a bit too busy to socialize during the tournament itself."
"Okay, that sounds perfect!" Millianna beamed. "But is it okay if we go out for tea and cakes? We know a lot of really good cafes in the capital!"
"Okay. It's a date."
"Are you sure about that?" Finn asked telepathically, mildly surprised by Ultear's easy acceptance.
"She seems incredibly naive. And honestly... I know her. Even though she's grown up, she hasn't changed much," Ultear replied, a sudden, heavy wave of melancholy washing over her mental avatar.
Millianna.
Finn knew her backstory. While she is just a quirky side character now, seven years ago, she had been one of the child slaves in the Tower of Heaven, manipulated and tortured by Jellal. That trauma had forged an intense, murderous hatred for Jellal within her heart.
Frankly, harboring such venomous hatred wasn't exactly healthy, but Finn couldn't blame her. If he had been enslaved and tortured, he would likely have murdered his captors the moment he got free.
The tragic irony, however, was that Jellal hadn't been acting on his own free will back then. He had been brainwashed and manipulated from the shadows by the very woman Millianna was currently asking out for tea: Ultear.
If Finn were a more empathetic man, he might feel bad for the tangled web of trauma. But if he were being honest, it had nothing to do with him. It is simply an unfortunate mess from the past.
"Hmm..."
A sudden idea popped into Finn's head regarding how to use that trauma, but he quickly shelved it. He needed to focus on ending the match.
"Anyway, I'm going to do my best in this match!" Millianna declared, tearing off her heavy cloak to reveal her combat gear. "You'd better do your best too! I'm not weak, nyaa!"
Binding Magic.
Finn instantly recognized her Caster Magic. It allowed her to conjure, extend, and perfectly manipulate highly flexible magical tubes. While it seemed incredibly plain compared to explosive elemental magic, it was actually one of the most efficient fighting styles in existence. It didn't cause massive collateral damage; it simply restricted, suppressed, and neutralized a target's mobility. Combined with her enhanced feline reflexes, Millianna was an incredibly tricky opponent.
"START!" Mato yelled, swinging his arm down.
Millianna moved with blinding, cat-like agility, immediately attempting to flank Ultear and exploit her blind spot.
"Kitten Blast!"
She flung several magical binding tubes forward, utilizing the exact same concussive attack she had used on the MPF machine. It was a perfect two-in-one strike: a blunt-force impact designed to stun, followed immediately by binding suppression!
Yet, controlling Ultear's body, Finn remained completely relaxed. He didn't even bother utilizing Ultear's signature Arc of Time. He casually manifested a glowing, dark-green magic circle beneath her feet, tapping into his multiverse knowledge to utilize an obscure, powerful plant-based spell.
"Corpse-Hunting Briar Tree."
Instantly, the stone floor of the arena shattered. Dozens of massive, thick, dark-green vines erupted from the earth. They were covered in jagged, terrifyingly sharp thorns. Moving with predatory, sentient speed, the briars swept across the arena, completely neutralizing Millianna's binding tubes and hunting the cat girl down!
"W-Wait! Wait!" Millianna shrieked, desperately trying to scramble away.
Her feline agility wasn't enough. The vines instantly overtook her, wrapping tightly around her waist, arms, and legs, hoisting her high into the air!
Millianna squeezed her eyes shut, fully expecting the razor-sharp thorns to shred her skin and cause her to bleed out. But to her utter confusion, the thorns didn't pierce her flesh.
However, a second later, a deep, sickening wave of exhaustion washed over her. Her limbs went completely numb as she realized the briars had absorbed her magical power!
"I give up! I lost! I lost! Please stop absorbing my magic!" Millianna cried out weakly, her head drooping as her reserves hit zero.
"Release," Finn muttered.
The briar tree instantly retracted, gently dropping the exhausted cat girl back onto the stone floor before dissolving into green magical particles.
"Fuh..." Millianna groaned, lying helplessly on the ground.
She had lost in less than ten seconds.
The rest of the stadium stared at the center of the arena in absolute, terrified silence. It didn't matter who stepped up. It didn't matter what magic they used.
Yeah, the conclusion is clear.
Heavenly Blue was completely, utterly invincible.