"I think this point should go to Gray," Yajima said. "Since Rhodes grabbed him by the collar."
Sure enough, the scoreboard showed a bright 1 next to Gray's name.
"It doesn't matter who he is anymore." Gray clenched his fists, staring at Rhodes. "If I don't get serious, I'll be the one at a disadvantage."
Rhodes nodded lightly. "Alright then. I'll get a little serious too."
"Ice Make… whoa!"
Just as Gray was about to cast his spell, something clamped onto his calf. His entire body sank into the ground in an instant, leaving only his head sticking out.
Rhodes chuckled. "How's that? Feeling nostalgic?"
"Damn it!" Gray cursed. This was too familiar. His body lit up and he disappeared.
When he respawned on solid ground, he looked around cautiously and realized that Rhodes had not used this move on anyone for a long time.
"Why did that idiot Gray force Rhodes to get serious?" Cana complained.
Rhodes getting serious was always trouble.
"It is Mr. Rhodes' summoned beast!" Chapati suddenly grew excited. "The first use of a summoned beast in this event and it is against a guildmate! Mr. Yajima, what do you think?"
"Excellent," Yajima praised. "Even when Fairy Tail's Team A and Team B run into each other, they do not hold back. This kind of competitive spirit will give the audience a far more exciting match."
The arena erupted into cheers.
Mavis gave Yajima an approving look. With someone like him around, the guild could avoid many unnecessary problems.
The match continued, with small encounters breaking out one after another. For now, Rhodes held the highest score.
He was simply walking normally, yet people kept rushing toward him as if offering him points.
Even Simon could not resist trying. He was immediately kicked by Rhodes.
When they reached the central area, Rufus, who had been posing proudly on the highest platform, finally took action.
"I remember everyone's heartbeat, footsteps, and magical fluctuations." He pressed his hands together like a sword, touched his temples, then spread his arms. "Memory Make: Starfall Night!"
Seven streaks of magic shot out like falling stars, each locking precisely onto a different person. They were fast enough to make dodging nearly impossible.
Nearly, because Rhodes stepped forward at just the right moment, letting the attack pass behind him.
Without even turning around, he snapped his fingers.
"One hit missed?" Rufus muttered in confusion. Then he noticed a ring of purple magic circles surrounding him.
With a sharp blast, the circles exploded. Rufus was judged as hit and vanished in a burst of light.
From the audience's viewpoint, a magic circle had appeared behind Rufus. It detonated, and his figure disappeared instantly.
"Amazing! Rufus hit six people at once!" Chapati exclaimed, then asked, "But what happened at the end, Mr. Yajima?"
"The Rufus on the rooftop was an illusion," Yajima explained calmly. "Rhodes saw through the location of his real body."
Jenny chimed in, "That makes sense. It is the same tactic Rhodes uses. And Simon, cheer up, you suddenly dropped to fourth place."
Rufus reappeared at a corner of the map. Adjusting his hat, he said quietly, "A very weak spell, but I have never seen a magic circle activate that fast."
"What was that weak attack supposed to be?" Gajeel complained.
Mira answered, "That was the Amaterasu Type One magic circle. Rhodes can complete its drawing and detonation instantly. Its power is low, but it is perfect for this kind of competition."
Rufus, unwilling to accept it, hurried back to the rooftop to repeat his trick.
The moment he struck his dramatic pose, Rhodes blew him up again, covering him in soot.
After being blasted twice, Rufus finally calmed down.
He decided to earn points quietly and show himself as little as possible. He had arrived confident and ready to shine, but the reality was disappointing.
Still, losing to a Wizard Saint was perfectly normal.
Half an hour later, the match finally came to an end.
"Time is up!"
With the Pumpkin Man's command, all the street "clones" vanished, and the buildings dissolved along with them.
The eight contestants were returned to the center of the arena.
"Based on each participant's accumulated points, the rankings are as follows."
Fairy Tail Team B
Sabertooth
Fairy Tail Team A
Dragon's Treasure
Shining Sun
Lamia Scale
Blue Pegasus
Mermaid's Heel
"Thank you all for your wonderful performances," the Pumpkin Man announced. "The points awarded from first to eighth place are ten, eight, six, four, three, two, one, and zero."
"Since this was the first event, these are also the current total scores and overall rankings."
Chapati shouted from the commentary booth, "In first place is Fairy Tail Team B. And Fairy Tail Team A, which finished eighth in the preliminaries, has jumped straight into third place. Both teams are in the top three. Is Fairy Tail going to dominate this year's Grand Magic Games?"
Yajima smiled. "Congratulations, Fairy Tail."
Makarov and the others cheered loudly. Romeo and Asuka were especially energetic, shouting at the top of their lungs.
"Our guild is in seventh place, but Simon worked hard. I believe we will catch up later." Jenny remained optimistic.
In contrast, Sabertooth's members were in a foul mood despite taking second place. Their Guild Master, Jieman, frowned deeply.
He felt it was time to push Minerva to complete her current task and hurry over. His daughter had been growing more unruly and was already three days overdue.
Rhodes nudged Gray. "Not bad. I thought you would definitely be at the bottom with how you shout at everyone you see."
Gray grumbled, "Thanks to you, I have gotten pretty good at dealing with sneak attacks."
Lyon fell silent. His loss to Gray bothered him, but Gray's reactions made him wonder what exactly he had gone through in the guild.
The contestants returned to their respective teams, and Rhodes was greeted with warm applause the moment he arrived.
Even Gajeel managed to squeeze out a quiet "Good work."
Mira handed the staff back to Rhodes and smiled. "That was amazing. Juvia's affection for you has increased."
Rhodes blinked. "Huh? Why?"
"Because you hit Gray the fewest times, and you even gave him a point."
Rhodes nodded. "That is good. It is beneficial for team harmony."
He looked at the rankings again. "Dragon's Treasure and Shining Sun are both quite strong."
Laxus, who had been paying close attention to the other guilds, said, "That guy Silas from Dragon's Treasure uses an Invisibility Cloak with a magic blowgun. Judging from how he moved, he seems naturally skilled at stealth and ambushes."
"And that big man from Shining Sun, even though he looks similar to Elfman, is surprisingly strategic. He did not use any magic tools during the match."
"A clever musclehead?" Rhodes recalled the scenes he had observed and laughed softly. "Shining Sun seems like a very interesting guild."
Meanwhile, most of the audience was discussing the contestants' impressive performances.
A much smaller group of spectators, however, were focused on something else entirely.
"Hey, do you know where to buy an Invisibility Cloak? The same kind the contestant Silas from Dragon's Treasure used."
"Why would you want something like that?"
"Heheheh…"
...
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