"Not bad, Gray." Cana hooked an arm around Gray's neck with a teasing grin and offered him a bottle of wine. "Want a drink?"
"You have had too much already." Gray pushed her away with a look of disgust.
Natsu complained loudly, "Why did you lose to that guy from Sabertooth?!"
"Because he was strong, obviously," Lucy said. "And his magic felt perfect for this event."
"Do not worry about it. It is a good start," Erza encouraged. "We will work harder for the next round. Our goal is to surpass even Team B."
All the contestants received different reactions after returning to their teams. Some were comforted, others complained to, but aside from Sabertooth, no one showed any real resentment.
Everyone else treated it like a festival, exactly as the announcer had said during the opening ceremony.
"Alright, I will now explain the rules for the battle portion of the competition." Chapati cleared his throat before continuing. "Today's battles consist of four matches. Eight teams will be paired up, and each team will send out one Mage to fight."
"The winning team earns ten points, and the losing team earns zero. If no winner is decided within thirty minutes, the round is declared a draw, and both teams earn five points."
"The results of the pre-match audience votes have been submitted to the staff for tabulation. The match roster will be handed to me shortly. Please be ready."
"Now, before that, I would like to ask Mr. Yajima and Ms. Jenny which battle they are most anticipating."
Yajima replied, "Without question, Jura and Rhodes."
Jenny said, "As for me, rather than Mr. Jura, I would prefer to see Mirajane fight Erza."
Chapati added with a half-joking tone, "If it were up to me, I would like to see Ms. Jenny and Ms. Mirajane compete, but in a modeling contest."
Many in the audience reacted strongly to that suggestion.
They clearly wanted to request that the organizers arrange such an event.
"If it were that kind of match, I would love to participate as well." Jenny sighed. "It is a pity that Mirajane has retired."
The three commentators continued discussing famous Mages until the match roster finally arrived.
"Alright, the battle schedule is here." Chapati accepted the paper from a staff member. "Grand Magic Games, battle portion, Day One, Match One: Fairy Tail Team A, Lucy, versus Shining Sun Jeni."
"It is me?" Lucy blinked in surprise. She had thought the first match would feature someone more well known.
And her opponent seemed to be someone Rhodes was familiar with.
Erza patted her shoulder. "Good luck, Lucy."
"Why did they not pick me?!" Natsu yelled, then added, "Well, Lucy is fine too. Let us see the results of your training."
"If you win, I will buy you a drink."
"Can I borrow your clothes?"
Lucy sighed helplessly. "Leave the match to me."
On the other side, Rhodes frowned. "A rookie from Fairy Tail against a rookie from Shining Sun is fine on its own, but…"
Based on the commentators' earlier discussion, one could guess whose popularity would be higher. Lucy versus Jeni appearing as the first match clearly hinted at manipulation behind the scenes.
Perhaps to make the opening exciting.
Or perhaps Princess genuinely wanted to see Lucy perform as soon as possible.
"Both contestants, please come forward."
The two Mages stepped into the arena and took their positions at the center when prompted by the Pumpkin Man.
Lucy had her Star River whip at her left hip and her key ring at her right. Jenni held her oversized lollipop-shaped staff.
Pumpkin Man raised his hand. "Both ready. Let the match begin."
After shouting that, he dashed toward the edge of the arena as if running for safety, which looked somewhat comical.
Lucy and Jeni, however, did not attack immediately. Instead, they greeted each other.
"Hello, Ms. Lucy."
"Hello, Jeni. I heard Ms. Mira mention you. I did not expect you to compete as a rookie. That is impressive."
Lucy had been in the Celestial Spirit Realm when Jeni last visited Fairy Tail, so the two had not met.
"You too, Ms. Lucy." Jeni stepped back and pointed her staff at her. "I do not want to fight Fairy Tail, but I must win."
"Same for me." Lucy touched her key ring. "So let us go all out."
Jeni swung her staff, sending seven-colored lights rushing toward Lucy. "Sweet Bonds."
Lucy swung a key. "Tarus."
"Moo." Tarus charged toward Jeni, swinging his massive axe, but the seven-colored lights struck him instantly.
His entire body was sealed inside an amber-like crystal, completely immobilized. The axe flew forward from inertia and slammed into the ground between Jeni's feet with a heavy thud.
"…"
Jeni remained calm for a moment, but a few seconds later her face turned pale.
This was clearly not the outcome she had expected.
Locke, the captain of the Shining Sun Guild, commented, "Jeni is nervous. She has not trained enough."
Her teammate Yerol puffed out her chest and said, "She is still young."
Lucy noticed Jeni's shaken expression and almost apologized, but the girl had already retreated far away, so Lucy held back.
"Mira said Gajeel lost his ability to resist the instant he got hit by this move, so I absolutely cannot let it touch me," Lucy reminded herself quietly.
Outside the arena, Gajeel glared at Mira. "Why did you tell her that specifically?"
"What is it?" Mira asked, confused. Her ears were not as sharp as a Dragon Slayer's.
"…"
Gajeel went silent. He could not bring himself to repeat it. "Hmph. I have at least ten ways to break that kind of move. Ten ways."
Rhodes chuckled softly.
Gajeel immediately turned his glare to Rhodes.
On the field, Lucy dodged to the side with quick reflexes, avoiding another seven-colored light while swinging her whip at the same time.
For long-range combat, I should summon Sagittarius, she thought. But arrows can be as dangerous as Tarus's axe. So Scorpio or…
"Open, Gate of Scorpio."
Scorpio of the Twelve Zodiac Gates appeared instantly, sweeping his curved tail in a wide arc and unleashing swirling sand.
Jeni evaded to the side, her movements surprisingly nimble.
But Scorpio's tail tip chased her relentlessly, sweeping across the arena. Sand quickly filled the entire field, making visibility extremely poor.
Jeni finished another roll and coughed lightly into her hand. "So this is a Zodiac Spirit. So strong."
"So strong."
Jeni blinked. She had just heard her own voice.
"An echo?"
"Not an echo, no."
Jeni heard her own voice again. When she turned around, she saw an identical version of herself standing right behind her.
Stunned, she watched her duplicate raise the same oversized lollipop staff and point it at her.
"Sweet Bonds."
The clone's magic hit her perfectly. Jeni found herself instantly wrapped and trapped in her own candy spell, unable to move even her staff.
She stared blankly. "Am I using my own move to hit myself?"