After greeting a few familiar faces, Charles and his team returned to their room.
Even someone with the dullest senses could detect the hostility in the lobby—and it was all directed at Fairy Tail.
Charles understood exactly what those small-time guilds were thinking. With Fairy Tail's core members missing, they saw it as a toothless tiger. This was their chance to step on Fairy Tail's back and make a name for themselves.
These opportunists were small-minded at best. Charles didn't even deem them worthy of his attention.
Thankfully, unlike seven years in the future, the Kingdom didn't pull any shady pre-dawn preliminaries this time. Everyone was allowed a proper night's rest.
The next morning, just as Charles and the others were enjoying breakfast, he suddenly sensed an intense magical disturbance.
He opened the window to see massive structures levitating into the sky, assembling themselves into a floating coliseum.
Through amplification magic, a peculiar voice echoed across the city for all to hear.
"Mm-hmm! Esteemed participants of the Grand Magic Games, the preliminary round of the first-ever Grand Magic Games is about to begin. Please prepare yourselves.
The format of the preliminaries is…"
The voice deliberately dragged out the suspense before finally declaring, "Battle for control. All participants will enter the arena and compete to seize eight magic crystals that will be dropped into the field.
Each crystal must be placed on a designated platform to begin charging. Once fully charged, the platform will ascend, carrying the team standing on it to the main arena for the official competition.
That concludes the rules. Once all participants are in place, the preliminaries will officially begin. Best of luck to all!"
Charles stroked his chin. Unlike the battle portions, the events of the Grand Magic Games varied each year. He had no clue what the Kingdom would come up with for this first edition.
But this "battle for control" was simple enough: to pass the preliminaries, one had to seize a crystal and defend the platform until the charge completed.
Of course, there was also the option of attacking another team's platform midway and stealing their progress. So for defenders, enduring until the end was critical.
Charles stepped onto the staircase that extended before him and said with determination, "Alright, let's go claim our first victory!"
"Yeah!!" The others echoed his cry and followed him to the battlefield of the Grand Magic Games.
As Charles stepped into the arena, he saw mages trickling in from all directions.
Everyone who entered immediately took up a defensive formation, wary of those around them.
Some guilds, like Lamia Scale, remained relaxed and composed, brimming with confidence—much like Charles and his team.
It didn't take long for all the participants to enter. With a loud boom, every entrance slammed shut.
"Now, the preliminaries begin."
As the amplified voice faded, eight glowing orbs appeared high above the arena—the magic crystals they were to fight for.
A moment of silence hung in the air before someone shouted, "Get them!"
Suddenly, the crowd surged forward, a chaotic mass scrambling for the descending crystals.
Sting rolled his wrists and looked at Charles, who hadn't moved. "Charles, aren't we going to grab one first?"
Charles didn't answer directly. Instead, he mused, "I was just thinking… if we eliminate everyone else right here, would we be declared the champions?"
The others' eyes lit up. Stella exclaimed, "As expected of Charles! What a brilliant idea!"
Charles chuckled. "But on second thought, let's not. This is the Kingdom's first official Grand Magic Games—we shouldn't completely steal the show.
Besides, it'd be a waste to head home so soon. Let's treat this as a special event and enjoy ourselves a bit."
With that, Charles raised his fist. Flames erupted, devouring a wave of incoming magic attacks and blasting away several mages attempting a sneak attack.
Sting exploded with rage. "Damn you bottom-feeders! You should be grateful we hadn't moved yet. How dare you target us?!"
Charles glanced at the floating crystals. Because the guilds were all interfering with one another, no one had successfully secured a crystal yet.
He said, "Alright then. Let's play."
He didn't need to say more—his team had been itching to move.
Sting and Rogue dashed out to the left and right, their bodies cloaked in white and black magic energy.
"White Dragon's Straight Punch!"
"Shadow Dragon's Slash!"
Though not yet at their future peak, their Third-Generation Dragon Slayer magic was still formidable. The two sent a group of mages flying with ease.
Kagura placed her hand on the hilt of her blade. No one saw her unsheathe her sword, yet every mage who charged at her was flung back in an instant.
Her magic was Gravity Magic, but she preferred to fight with martial arts and swordsmanship—she was a master swordswoman capable of dueling even Erza.
Something about her evoked memories of a blind admiral from another world, and Charles had even taught her some tactics inspired by that.
Under his guidance, her swordsmanship had grown rapidly, and she had learned to combine her sword skills with magic.
That last move had been a fusion of Iaido and Gravity Magic: Graviton Blade – Iaido Form.
Using her custom magic sword Garuda, crafted by Charles and imbued with amplification magic, Kagura's power was undoubtedly top-tier in the Games.
Those mages hadn't been struck by her blade—they had been crushed by the sheer gravity released from her high-speed draw. Most didn't even realize what had hit them.
Jura, standing nearby, furrowed his brow seriously. Just as Charles had predicted, Jura had joined the Games this year to assess Fairy Tail's current strength.
He had assumed Fairy Tail would decline after the Tenrou Island incident, but these new members were displaying power that even a Wizard Saint couldn't ignore.
Noticing his gaze, Charles turned and asked, "Jura, aren't you going to grab one of the crystals?"
Jura replied with a gentle smile, "My teammates have already begun."
Stella soared through the air with her dragon wings, dodging spells as she closed in on one of the crystals.
Suddenly, a cold mist swept across the battlefield, causing many mages to shiver involuntarily.
A massive ice serpent materialized—Lyon's Ice-Make Magic in action.
Standing atop the serpent's head, Lyon directed its tail to sweep away nearby mages as its jaws lunged toward Stella.
Stella frowned. She remembered seeing this man yesterday—apparently a friend of Charles.
She didn't know why he was attacking now, but that didn't stop her from retaliating.
"Princess Dragon's Maw!"
Stella raised her hand and released nine fire dragons, which tore into the ice serpent. With her other hand, she grabbed the magic crystal.
Lyon was stunned. Even before the fire dragons reached his serpent, it began to melt.
On instinct, he summoned an ice eagle and leapt onto it, retreating to a safe distance. When he looked back, he saw his powerful creation completely devoured and reduced to vapor in mere seconds.
"What kind of monster is this girl?!"
Stella didn't pursue him. She returned to Charles, who now led his team to one corner of the arena and placed the crystal on a circular platform.
A magic circle lit up beneath their feet, and glowing lines began to appear across it. Judging by the speed, it would take about ten minutes to charge fully.
Charles glanced around. Several guilds were intentionally avoiding the remaining crystals, clearly hoping to snatch a platform once another team had nearly completed its charge—to minimize the cost of defense.
Charles muttered coldly, "Annoying."
Then he knelt down, and a crimson magic circle appeared before him.
Sting and Rogue grinned and mirrored his stance on either side, their own black and white circles flanking Charles's red.
"Fire Dragon's…"
"White Dragon's…"
"Shadow Dragon's…"
"ROAR!" ×3
Red, white, and black torrents of energy surged forward, clearing out half the battlefield in a single breath.
All the covetous gazes aimed their way disappeared in an instant.
(End of Chapter)
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