Chapter 102: Winning Streak
"It's my turn."
Gray Fullbuster said, his voice cold. He shrugged off his jacket and stepped from the lounge onto the arena floor. The later the appearance in a gauntlet match, the more it had to be left for the stronger Mages. After him were the true monsters, Erza and Ren, so it was naturally his turn to thin the herd.
"Go, Gray!"
"Let them know the power of Fairy Tail!"
Fairy Tail had won two consecutive matches in a stunning display. This had invigorated everyone in the guild, allowing them to finally vent some of the frustration and humiliation they had felt since their home was destroyed.
Just as Gray stepped onto the stage, the sky, which had been clear and sunny, suddenly began to darken. Clouds gathered, and a soft, melancholic rain began to fall.
"Hmm? Why is it raining?" Lucy asked, looking up.
Immediately after, a girl holding a simple blue umbrella emerged from the Phantom Lord tunnel. She was beautiful, with blue hair, a blue coat, and a blank, doll-like expression.
"Indeed," Makarov said from the lounge, his voice grave. "It is Juvia of the Great Deep. She is the Rain Woman, one of the Element 4."
[Akarin's Note: Juvia's title is Juvia of the Great Deep (大海のジュビア Ooumi no Jubia). "Rain Woman" is her common nickname, as her magic causes it to rain wherever she goes, reflecting her inner gloom.]
Makarov was surprised. To see the opponent's mere appearance cause a change in the weather...
"This girl has such strong water magic talent!" he murmured. To be able to inadvertently, passively, cause weather changes is a sign of extraordinary, S-Class-level talent in the entire magic world.
In the Phantom lounge, Jose Porla sneered at his remaining Element 4. "I didn't expect you to let them defeat two of you. But Juvia and Aria are not that easy to deal with."
In the arena, Juvia looked at Gray with her listless, empty eyes. "I'm sorry, but whether you're a man or a child, destroying the guild is unforgivable," Gray said with a serious expression, getting into his Ice-Make stance.
Juvia looked at Gray. Her eyes scanned his face, his defined, muscular (and shirtless) form, his determined expression.
Her heart, which had always been cold and gloomy, suddenly... pounded.
Doki-doki!
Her face, which had been pale, gradually turned a bright, beet red. "Is…is that so…" she stammered, her umbrella wavering.
"Then... Juvia concedes. Please, take care."
Gray was completely dumbfounded. "Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?! The match hasn't even started!"
Juvia, however, felt her heart pounding wildly. 'He's... he's so cool!' she thought, her mind racing. 'He's exactly Juvia's type! Oh, Juvia deeply desires to make him her own! Juvia wants to obtain this man!'
"Fairy Tail VS Phantom Lord, third match!"
"Start—!!!"
Clang—!!!
"Water Lock!!"
The instant the gong sounded, Juvia's shy demeanor vanished. The rainwater on the ground suddenly shot up, forming a huge, inescapable sphere of water in the blink of an eye, trapping Gray inside.
"What?!"
Gray, who had relaxed his stance, didn't expect her to ambush him after trying to concede. He was now trapped in a sphere of dense water, unable to breathe.
Swish!
A wave of intense cold erupted from inside the sphere. Gray released a massive burst of cold air, freezing the water sphere from the inside out. He then shattered the ice sphere, landing on the ground, coughing.
"Oh, you scoundrel!" he yelled, glaring at her. "Were you trying to make me let my guard down?!"
"Juvia is a woman in love!" she declared, though it made no sense.
"You're just as crazy as the rest of your guild!" Gray said. He then, out of habit, began to take off his clothes, tossing his shirt aside.
"Why is he taking them off?!"
"Is that some kind of battle strategy?!"
The audience was somewhat bewildered by Gray's actions.
"Gray! Your stripping habit is back!" Lucy yelled, embarrassed.
"He just... does that," Mira sighed, though she was smiling.
Juvia's heart also fluttered as Gray took off his clothes. "Oh... my... in broad daylight... he's so... bold!" She wasn't mentally prepared for this.
"Ice-Make: Lance!"
Gray, now serious, used his molding magic with both hands. He created a large number of sharp, javelin-like lances of ice and shot them towards Juvia.
Boom boom boom!
The lances passed through Juvia's body, landing harmlessly on the ground in the distance. Juvia's body was pierced, but it showed no blood, merely turning into rippling water before reforming. Gray's attack had caused no damage whatsoever.
"Juvia's body is made of water," she said, her voice flat.
"Water?!"
Gray was very surprised. A body made of... water? Like a Logia? This was a terrible matchup for him.
"You attacked me," Juvia said, a small, pained expression on her face. "But Juvia isn't sad, because this is a match. Goodbye, budding love! Water Slicer!!"
Juvia swung out several sharp, invisible blades of water, which slashed at Gray.
"What nonsense are you spouting?!"
Gray quickly dodged, but the blades were too fast and numerous. He was still hit, sustaining several shallow, but painful, wounds on his body.
"Tch! If a long-range attack won't work... how about this! Ice-Make: Battle Axe!"
Gray rushed in front of Juvia, created a massive, two-handed battle axe from ice, and swung it forcefully, cutting Juvia in half at the waist.
However, just like the lances, Juvia's elementalization rendered Gray's attack completely ineffective. Her body split into water and then reformed, her expression unchanged.
Juvia looked at Gray and said, "You can't win against me. Juvia's body is water. Your ice is just... solid water. If you surrender, Juvia won't hurt you."
"Hey! What are you joking about?" Gray shot back, frustrated. "At this point, neither side can back down, right? Don't say such useless things! Let's have a real fight!"
At this moment, the rain, which had been a light drizzle, grew heavier, colder.
"Damn it," Gray muttered, wiping the water from his face. "This rain is really annoying."
Upon hearing this, Juvia's body trembled involuntarily. Her head snapped up, her blush gone, replaced by a look of deep, familiar despair.
She softly said, "This person… is also... just like those guys…"
"They're all... all the same—!!!"
Juvia suddenly shouted in anger, her magic power exploding, leaving Gray a bit confused.
"Juvia will never fall in love again—!!!"
Juvia herself seemed to boil with emotion, and literally... her magic began to boil.
"So what exactly are you spouting nonsense about?!"
Gray was completely baffled by Juvia at this point. He was just here for a match! How did it get tied into love, and now out of love?!
Swish—!
Juvia's body transformed into a stream of superheated, boiling water and charged towards Gray.
"Water Jigsaw!"
Gray quickly dodged the main blast, but just a brush past, and he couldn't help but gasp, his skin scalding.
"Hiss~~! So hot—!!"
"Ice-Make: Shield!"
Boom—!
The boiling water stream attacked the shield, and to Gray's horror, the boiling water melted his ice shield on contact.
This left Gray completely dumbfounded. "Eh?! No way! My ice... it melted?"
"Ugh ah ah ah ah ah!!"
The water stream, no longer blocked, knocked Gray down, then sent him flying into the air.
"Water Nebula!"
In mid-air, Gray was continuously trapped and attacked by the stream of boiling water, tossed around like a ball.
"Damn it!" he thought, trying to orient himself. "I can't block it... I can't hit her... I have to find a chance to freeze all of the water at once!"
"I won't lose to you!" he roared, his voice muffled by the water. "I won't lose to you, Phantom Lord!"
He focused all his magic.
"Freeze! Ugh ah ah ah ah ah!!!"
"Ice-Make: Ice Geyser!!!"
Gray, from within the water prison, released a powerful, uncontrolled burst of cold air from his hands. The sub-zero magic power exploded outward, and the boiling water stream rapidly began to freeze. His magic was so cold, and his will so strong, that it even began to freeze the rainwater falling from the sky.
"Ah ah ah ah ah!!"
Juvia, who was the water, was caught in the massive, sudden freeze.
Bang—!!!
The giant, frozen mass of water shattered, and Juvia, no longer in her water form, fell and lay on the ground, defeated.
"Juvia…lost?!"
At this moment, the dark, gloomy clouds that had covered the stadium began to part. The rain stopped.
For the first time, a ray of warm, bright sunlight broke through, illuminating the arena.
"Oh! It's… it's finally clear."
This was the first time Juvia had ever seen a blue sky. It turned out... the blue sky was so beautiful.
In Juvia's eyes, Gray, standing over her, his chest heaving, shone brightly under the sunlight, more dazzling than any prince.
"Hey! Are you okay? Do you... do you want to keep fighting?"
Seeing Gray, who was clearly an enemy, show such concern for her after such a brutal fight, Juvia's eyes formed into literal hearts.
"So... so bright... my darling..."
And then, she happily fainted.
"Victory decided!!" Chapati screamed.
"Winner: Fairy Tail's Gray Fullbuster!!!"
"OH OH OH OH OH OH!!"
"Well done, Gray!"
"Three in a row! Three in a row!"
Everyone in Fairy Tail cheered, while on the other side, Phantom Lord's morale was at an all-time low.
"What's going on?"
"Even Juvia… How is that possible?!"
"Useless! All useless!" Jose Porla screamed, completely losing control. "To be defeated by mere nobodies from Fairy Tail!"
They had fought three matches and lost all three. And they had lost to some unknown, non-S-Class Mages from Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail hadn't even sent out an S-Class Mage yet. Jose's arrogant pride couldn't accept this humiliation.
"Gihi. It can't be helped," Gajeel said, still chewing on his iron. "Juvia has no resistance to handsome men. It's her weakness. Anyway, the true outcome of this duel isn't decided by these previous wins and losses. We just need to win all the remaining matches."
Gajeel's words calmed Jose slightly, but his expression remained very grim.
Jose turned to the last, and most powerful, of his Element 4. A large, cloaked man who seemed to be weeping.
"Aria. Listen. No matter what, we absolutely cannot lose this time!"
Aria of the Great Sky smiled faintly from under his blindfold. "Heh heh heh… What are you saying, Master Jose? Such sadness... This game ends with me."
[Akarin's Note: Aria of the Great Sky (大空のアリア Taikū no Aria) is the strongest member of the Element 4. His magic, Airspace, allows him to control the air, make himself intangible, and drain his opponents' magic.]
Gajeel's face revealed a terrifying smile. "Oh, oh, that sounds really reliable. Then let Fairy Tail enjoy their last hurrah."
"The fourth match is about to begin!" Chapati's voice boomed. "Please, both contestants, step forward!"
"I'm up!" Gray said, his body bruised and scalded, but his spirit high from the victory.
[Akarin Note:
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