The eyes of the guild members lit up. Who would pass up a chance like this? As long as they could punish Chen Fan, winning the race itself didn't even matter!
Furthermore, since the rules had changed, the usual penalty for last place was essentially canceled. Everyone now had a single goal: 'Don't let Chen Fan win first place!'
Some members who realized they couldn't outrun the top tier simply stopped in their tracks.
"Guys, what's wrong? Why are you stopping?" Erza asked. The field was already splitting into clear tiers: Jet was in the lead, followed closely by Natsu, with everyone else trailing in the third group.
"Yeah, guys! Why'd you stop?" Lucy asked, curious.
"You guys go on ahead! We're staying behind to hold off Chen Fan!"
"That's right! Go! Even if we have to cling to his legs, we're going to drag him down!"
"Everyone...!" A tear glimmered in the corner of Erza's eye.
"Wait, let's all run together!" Lucy suggested. "If we cross the finish line at the same time, we can all make a request together! Everyone can be first place!"
Ding! Everyone's eyes sparkled. It was a brilliant idea. But then, they quickly shook their heads.
"No... you guys have to go. Someone has to slow him down. We're entrusting our wishes to you!" They stood their ground with ironclad resolve.
"Let's go, Lucy..." Erza turned back to the race, her voice heavy with emotion.
"But guys...!" Lucy hesitated.
"Our comrades have placed their hopes on us. We cannot let them down. We have to run for the sake of those who sacrificed themselves!" Erza declared solemnly before sprinting off.
"Uh... is it really that serious?" Lucy muttered.
"Keep running, Lu-chan," Levy urged.
Lucy quickly followed. Behind them, a group of guild members stood across the road with expressions of heroic sacrifice, looking as though they were facing certain death. Even Lucy felt a small wave of emotion. Everyone, your sacrifice won't be in vain!
As soon as Erza and the others were out of sight, the group immediately sat down. "Whew, finally. We don't have to run anymore. And we have the perfect excuse so Erza can't complain!"
"Yeah! Thinking about running that whole way was exhausting."
"The main thing is, if we actually won, Chen Fan is so petty he'd definitely find a way to make our lives miserable later."
"So... are we still going to hold him back?"
"Of course! And we have to give it everything we've got."
"Why? Aren't you afraid he'll get back at us?"
"There are so many of us, he can't remember everyone. But he'll definitely remember the one who came in first. Besides, Chen Fan's got a bad memory. He'll forget within a week."
"Achoo!" Chen Fan, who was currently jogging along, let out a massive sneeze. What's going on? Someone must be thinking about me. Am I really that charming?
Suddenly, a pit opened in the ground right in front of him. Luckily, Chen Fan's reflexes were sharp, and he leaped over it before it could swallow him.
Beep! Beep! Detected: Chen Fan's jump distance does not match his running gait! several drones shrieked simultaneously.
"SHIT! You try jumping the exact same distance as your stride and see how it feels!" Chen Fan barked. "Reedus! I know you're there! You've got some nerve attacking me!"
Reedus Jonah hid behind a large rock, refusing to come out. He was just there to stall for time, and frankly, Chen Fan was terrifying.
In the next blink of an eye, Chen Fan was standing on top of the rock Reedus was hiding behind. "Hey there, Reedus. You really tried to pull that on me? Have you forgotten everything I did for you? Forgotten the 'education' I gave you? Hmm...?" Chen Fan said, his face twisted into a mock-menacing grin.
Reedus yelped and took off running. For someone with such a large frame, he was moving incredibly fastfast enough to give Jet a run for his money. It was clear that, in Reedus's eyes, Chen Fan was the scariest thing in the world.
Suddenly, a faint glow appeared beneath Chen Fan's feet. He jumped back instinctively as the ground turned into a swirling vortex of quicksand. "Max! Get out here!"
"Now, now, don't be angry, Big Brother Chen Fan. I was just sent here to slow you down. It's nothing personal, I'm being forced into this!" Max Alzack raised his hands, his face maintaining its usual easygoing expression.
"Why are you trying to stop me? Shouldn't you be trying to win?" Chen Fan asked, trying to play dumb.
"Come on, Big Brother. Don't play yourself. You're too smart not to know what's happening," Max said.
Chen Fan sighed and shook his head. "Fine. Tell me who else is waiting for me up ahead."
"I wouldn't know about that. But Big Brother, I've actually been wanting to try something for a while."
"Try what?"
"I want to see exactly how long I can last against you!" Max said. As he spoke, the sand on the ground began to swirl, forming a massive Sandstorm.
"Crap. The worst-case scenario really happened." Chen Fan kicked off the ground and dashed forward. He didn't have time to waste here; he had to get that first-place finish.
"Sand Wall!" A massive wall of sand rose up, blocking his path.
"Out of the way!" Chen Fan roared. He reached out and touched the wall with his right hand.
Vroom! The sound of his supernatural power activating filled the air.
The Sand Wall instantly shattered into dust. Max broke out into a cold sweat and whispered, "As expected of 'God's Hand'..."
Beep! Beep! Chen Fan has fouled! Automatic last place! The flying judge drones began wailing in unison.
Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of explosions followed.
Chen Fan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, a smile spreading across his face. "Ah... finally, some peace and quiet."
He turned his gaze back to Max. Max jumped, waving his hands frantically. "Big Brother Chen Fan, every debt has its debtor! This wasn't my fault! Go find the people who started this!" With that, he bolted.
Chen Fan looked up at the sky and pointed a finger. "Listen up! It doesn't matter if I'm in last place! As long as no one else finishes the race, I'll be the winner by default!"
His wordsand his defiant gesturewere projected clearly on the Magic Crystals in front of Makarov and the others.
"That's what he said, Master. What do we do?" Mira asked, looking at Makarov.
Makarov crossed his arms and nodded. "Hmm... then we'll do exactly what he says. Let the brats go all out against him. It's time Chen Fan learns that the rest of the guild isn't to be trifled with."
However, things didn't go quite as planned. Chen Fan began tearing through the route, defeating everyone in his path. Wails of agony echoed across the course, all of which were visible on the Magic Crystals.
"Uh... Master, this is the situation. What now?"
Makarov's eyebrow twitched in irritation. "That brat is actually serious. Send out a message!"
A moment later, Makarov's voice echoed over the entire course. "Listen up, my brats! That bastard Chen Fan is coming! He's broken the rules and is officially in last place, but he just declared that he's going to stop all of you from finishing! He thinks if he's the only one left, he'll be the winner! Brats! Are you going to let him?!"
"NOOO!"
"Then take him down! Whoever beats him will be a hero of Fairy Tail! And more than thatwhoever defeats him will be promoted directly to S-Class Mage!"
"ROAARRR!"
"OHHH!"
The entire guild exploded with excitement. "Is that true?"
"Direct promotion to S-Class?!"
"I'm all fired up now!" Natsu screamed.
"This is going to be a real challenge," Gray noted, his eyes narrowing.
"Beat Big Brother Chen Fan?" Wendy whispered timidly.
"Don't even think about it. Just keep running! If Chen Fan catches us, we're doomed!" Carla said.
"You're right! Let's go, Carla!" Wendy started sprinting with Carla in tow.
"Defeat Chen Fan? Yeah, I'll stick to running," Lucy decided, immediately discarding the unrealistic idea of fighting him.
"You're not going to try, Lu-chan?" Levy asked.
"I'd rather fight a monster!"
Back at the start, Mira turned to Makarov. "That was very effective, Master. But aren't you afraid someone might actually beat him?"
"Hmm... for now, there isn't anyone who can," Makarov said calmly.
"Then aren't you afraid he'll go easy on them?"
"Uh... give me the microphone again!" Makarov thought for a second.
A moment later, an even louder voice shook the air. Makarov had transformed into a giant dozens of meters tall. He held a massive bell and roared, "Chen Fan! If you dare to hold back, I'll make sure you don't see Erza for an entire month!"
Erza's face turned bright red. She cracked her knuckles, making a mental note to teach Makarov a lesson later.
"And Mira won't speak to you for a year!"
"Ara ara! It's true!" Mira called out with a smile.
"And Wendy will never call you 'Big Brother' again!"
"If I don't call him 'Big Brother,' what am I supposed to call him?" Wendy wondered.
"And I'll add even more men to Levy's team!"
Jet and Droy shouted in unison, "Levy only needs us by her side!"
"And Lucy will...???" Makarov paused. Why was there no sound?
"Please, just say something!" Lucy complained.
Hearing this, Chen Fan's motivation hit an all-time high. He began charging through the crowd, sent people flying left and right. "Help! The monster has awakened!" The cries of the guild members grew even louder.
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