"So His Majesty is also a member of the Fairy Tail guild?!"
For a moment, the entire court was shaken.
They stared at the Fairy Tail guild emblem on Makarov's body, and their spirits immediately lifted.
"Ugh…"
Among them, the Chancellor of the Kingdom of Fiore, the Captain of the Royal Guard, and the Princess of the Kingdom of Fiore, who was also the kingdom's first heir, all sighed helplessly and covered their faces with their hands. They were all important figures in the Kingdom of Fiore, after all, and they still had their dignity to maintain...
"Your Majesty, why have you betrayed your country?!"
The other ministers, especially those who had only recently been appointed, looked at Old Toma's exceptionally eye-catching emblem and were momentarily stunned before helplessly asking him.
"Silence! You know nothing about Fairy Tail's power!"
Old Toma merely pulled up his pants, sat back down on the throne, and proudly lectured the assembled ministers.
Clearly, Old Toma had already become a qualified Fairy Tail member. His sense of belonging to the Fairy Tail guild was now far greater than his sense of belonging to the Kingdom of Fiore, which his family had governed for more than four hundred years!
"Has His Majesty gone mad?!"
Seeing Old Toma angrily rebuke them for Fairy Tail's sake, the ministers were stunned. They then turned to the veteran ministers beside them and quietly asked.
"..."
The veteran ministers who had worked in the vast Kingdom of Fiore for many years all wore dark expressions after hearing the newly appointed ministers' words, yet none of them said anything. Clearly, even these veterans had no idea how to respond to the current situation.
"All right. Since there is nothing else, this meeting is adjourned!"
"All you need to remember is to strengthen the defenses around the capital during the Grand Magic Games!"
"As for the Grand Magic Games, they will naturally be held regularly."
"Remember, I am not asking for your opinions. This is an order from the king."
Just as the atmosphere became awkward, Old Toma, sitting upon the throne, coldly addressed the assembled ministers. His words were icy, piercing straight into their hearts.
"This…"
Some ministers seemed to want to say something, but before they could speak, Old Toma simply descended from the throne and left the palace under the protection of several knights. It seemed that Old Toma had truly only come to notify them. He had absolutely no intention of discussing the matter with them any further.
"Everyone, shouldn't we start considering the matter of Princess Jade ascending the throne?"
"I think this king is pretty much finished!"
After Old Toma left, the ministers began openly discussing rebellion.
However, Old Toma, who controlled all the Magic Knight Corps within the Kingdom of Fiore, did not care in the slightest about their schemes. Ever since joining the Fairy Tail guild, Old Toma had realized one thing...
In this world, where individuals possessed overwhelming personal power, where people could casually burn kingdoms, destroy continents, and even shatter the stars...
Scholars were the most powerless existence. Personal strength was supreme!
The strong could not only casually control the lives of the weak; even if the world itself ended, for the strong, it was merely a matter of changing worlds and continuing to live...
Of course, although the ministers had already begun considering replacing Old Toma with Princess Jade, Old Toma was still the king. No matter how incompetent he was, he remained the king of the Kingdom of Fiore, the magical kingdom with more than four hundred years of history!
Thus, although the ministers were unwilling, they obediently organized the events of the First Grand Magic Games and prepared for the successful hosting of this grand event involving the entire continent of Ishgar...
Meanwhile...
Throughout the vast Kingdom of Fiore, and even across the entire continent of Ishgar, the mages were cheering excitedly. Without a doubt, the Grand Magic Games would be a carnival for all mages!
Within the Kingdom of Fiore, the mage guild Lamia Scale.
"Hehehe…"
The guild master of Lamia Scale, Granny Ooba, was excitedly looking at the newspaper in front of her.
"The Grand Magic Games?"
"The guild that wins the Grand Magic Games will be granted the honorary title of the second-strongest mage guild on the continent of Ishgar? Furthermore, as long as the mages participating in the Grand Magic Games pass the preliminaries, each of them will receive a reward of one hundred thousand J, while the victorious guild will also receive a collective prize of thirty million J?"
"Looks like the Kingdom of Fiore has really gone all out for these Grand Magic Games! I imagine quite a few powerful individuals will participate in this grand event!"
Granny Ooba excitedly read the information about the Grand Magic Games published in the newspaper.
"Granny Ooba, I think this rule is a little strange! Why can the winner of the Grand Magic Games only receive the title of the second-strongest mage guild on the continent of Ishgar? Why not the strongest?"
A mage in the guild asked the same question as the ministers in the royal palace.
"This…"
Granny Ooba looked puzzled. Clearly, she had no idea what Old Toma was planning.
"Perhaps it was a printing mistake?"
After thinking for a moment, Granny Ooba offered her explanation.
"I'm afraid that's not the case!"
Just as Granny Ooba finished speaking, Jura, with his bald head and monk's robes, already possessing the bearing of a grandmaster, walked up to her and interrupted.
"Mr. Jura, you're back!"
"It's Mr. Jura…"
"Mr. Jura, did you defeat quite a few more monsters this time?"
As the monk-like man appeared in the guild hall, he immediately drew excited exclamations from the assembled mages.
Clearly, Jura currently held extremely high status and prestige within Lamia Scale.
At the same time, because Jura was one of the Ten Wizard Saints of the continent of Ishgar, he spent most of his time away from the guild. Thus, whenever Jura appeared in Lamia Scale, he would always cause countless mages to cry out in excitement.
"Mm!"
Jura merely nodded calmly in response to the greetings from the mages.
At Jura's level of strength, the cheers of those around him, as well as rumors and gossip, could no longer affect his state of mind. Praise or ridicule were both meaningless in his eyes! His mind was as unshakable as a solid rock.
"Jura, do you know something about the inside story behind these Grand Magic Games His Majesty the King organized?"
Granny Ooba saw that Jura seemed to know something and immediately asked him.
"No! I don't know what exactly His Majesty Toma intends to accomplish by holding the Grand Magic Games..." Jura shook his head before calmly continuing, "However, I do know why the winner of the Grand Magic Games can only receive the title of the second-strongest mage guild on the continent of Ishgar."
"Oh? Why is that?"
Granny Ooba asked softly.
"I'm afraid it's because the Fairy Tail guild cannot participate in this year's Grand Magic Games!"
Jura thought for a moment before giving Granny Ooba his answer.
"You're saying Fairy Tail can't participate in this year's Grand Magic Games?"
Granny Ooba was shocked.
"Yes! A few days ago, I went to the Fairy Tail guild to find Mr. Makarov. I wanted to talk to him about the recent gathering of the Ten Wizard Saints..."
"However, when I arrived at the Fairy Tail guild, I discovered that neither Mr. Makarov nor Mr. Evan was there! Even the Fairy Tail guild itself had become slightly smaller! This left me puzzled. So I planned to enter the guild, which looked considerably smaller than before, to investigate the situation and get to the bottom of things."
"However, after I entered the Fairy Tail guild and asked the Fairy Tail members stationed in Magnolia Town, I learned that all the powerful mages of the Fairy Tail guild had gone to the northern continent of Guiltina to train! Those who remained behind were all people who lacked confidence in their own strength!"
"I think that since Fairy Tail's main forces are currently absent, Fairy Tail probably won't participate in this year's Grand Magic Games. Since Fairy Tail isn't participating this year, then what we're competing for naturally isn't first place. We can only compete for second place."
Jura explained his speculation to Granny Ooba.
Yes. Although Jura was a member of Lamia Scale, he knew very well that throughout the entire continent of Ishgar, the truly strongest mage guild could only be Fairy Tail.
Indeed, Jura deeply understood the gap between Fairy Tail and Lamia Scale. Someone like him, who had already reached the pinnacle of Lamia Scale, would struggle even to rank among the top thirty in the enormous Fairy Tail guild!
As for titles such as one of the Ten Strongest Mages of Ishgar or one of the Ten Wizard Saints, they were even more laughable...
"Makarov actually took those Demon Generals to the northern continent…"
"Doesn't that mean this year's Grand Magic Games champion has already been reserved for Lamia Scale?"
Granny Ooba spoke excitedly after hearing Jura's words.
"Hmm?!"
Jura was momentarily stunned.
"Granny Ooba, there are countless powerful mage guilds throughout the continent of Ishgar, and every major guild has powerful individuals. We cannot become careless simply because Fairy Tail's mages aren't participating!"
After recovering from his surprise, Jura advised Granny Ooba.
"Jura, you're underestimating yourself. Without those monsters from Fairy Tail! Who else across the vast continent of Ishgar could possibly be a match for Lamia Scale, or for you, Jura?! You are the strongest human…"
Granny Ooba praised Jura's strength, clearly extremely confident in him.
In Ooba's eyes, Jura was an existence second only to the monsters of Fairy Tail. One could say that Jura was a monster among ordinary humans, and an ordinary human among monsters...
With Fairy Tail absent, Jura himself was the greatest monster, the ultimate demon in the eyes of ordinary people!
"I've decided! This year's champion of the First Grand Magic Games held by the Kingdom of Fiore belongs to Lamia Scale!"
Granny Ooba smiled excitedly.
In Ooba's eyes, apart from Fairy Tail, there was no mage guild capable of competing with her Lamia Scale!
"This…"
After hearing Granny Ooba's words, countless beads of sweat appeared on Jura's forehead. He suddenly felt an enormous amount of pressure.
Yes. Even with Fairy Tail absent from this year's Grand Magic Games, Jura still had no confidence that he could win the championship!
Elsewhere...
Apart from Lamia Scale, the other mage guilds were also excited about the Grand Magic Games.
"Hahaha…"
"The Grand Magic Games? Looks like this year will be the day Sabertooth makes a name for itself!"
"It's time to tell this world that only strength is eternal!"
Within the mage guild Sabertooth, a burly man sat upon the magnificent throne symbolizing the guild master's position. He arrogantly laughed toward the mages beneath him.
"Oh!!"
As soon as the burly man's voice fell, the mages of Sabertooth immediately shouted loudly.
Sabertooth was a mage guild that believed in survival of the fittest and strength above all else. Within this guild, only the strong were worthy of having a voice.
And these Grand Magic Games organized by Old Toma were exactly to their liking. In their eyes, this was the perfect opportunity to prove Sabertooth's strength to the entire continent.
Mage guild Blue Pegasus.
"Aiya~"
"Although we don't need to prove anything through this competition, it's rare to have an occasion where the strongest mages from various mage guilds can gather together and interact, so let's go have some fun~"
The guild master of Blue Pegasus, Bob, who wore heavy makeup, had a completely bald head, and was dressed in a woman's dress, smiled as he looked at the mages inside the guild.
"Leave this to me, Master Bob!"
"I'll show the entire world that the mages of Blue Pegasus aren't just good-looking, but powerful as well! MEN!!"
Blue Pegasus's ace mage, Ichiya, adjusted his suit before striking an ugly pose and speaking smugly.
"That's right, Master!"
"Leave it to us!"
After Ichiya finished speaking, the members of Blue Pegasus's host club all stood straight and smiled.
"My~"
"With all these handsome men in our guild, I can really rest easy~"
Bob looked at his host-club members and smiled happily.
Elsewhere, mage guild Quatro Cerberus.
"Brothers! The Grand Magic Games are coming! Let's charge in wildly!"
Quatro Cerberus's guild master, Godman, shouted toward the mages inside the guild.
"Oh!!"
As soon as Godman's voice fell, loud cheers erupted throughout the enormous Quatro Cerberus.
Apart from Fiore Kingdom's veteran mage guilds—Lamia Scale, Sabertooth, Quatro Cerberus, and Blue Pegasus—a black airship was slowly moving high in the sky. This was the newly established light mage guild of the continent of Ishgar, Heart of Light.
"The Grand Magic Games?"
Precht, the second guild master of Fairy Tail and the current guild master of the light mage guild Heart of Light, sat upon the simple wooden chair symbolizing the guild master's position and silently pondered...
Before him stood the former members of the dark mage guild Grimoire Heart, along with several mages who had recently joined Heart of Light.
"The rules of the Grand Magic Games state that each guild sends five mages. Those five mages then compete against mages from other guilds in a multi-rule, multi-event competition, with the winner determined through a points system. Furthermore, the guild masters of each mage guild are not allowed to participate... The guild masters aren't allowed to participate? What a pity~"
Precht sat in his wooden chair and looked at the newspaper, raising his eyebrows. Having recovered his magic heart, Precht had originally wanted to personally enter the competition and have some fun with the youngsters...
However, after seeing the Grand Magic Games rules printed in the newspaper, which prohibited guild masters from participating, he could only sigh helplessly. His words were filled with regret over the unfortunate rule.
"Master, please rest assured! Even if you cannot participate, I will lead the guild's mages and achieve a good result..."
Blunote stood beneath Precht and comforted him.
In fact, after years of desperately working hard, Blunote had now embarked upon the correct path of magic, and his strength had reached the threshold of the Heavenly King level. Even against an old Heavenly King-level powerhouse like Warrod Sequen, who wasn't particularly skilled in combat, Blunote might not necessarily lose!
With Fairy Tail not participating in the competition, Blunote was undoubtedly the biggest trump card in the Grand Magic Games...
"The rules say that guild masters aren't allowed to participate... In other words, as vice guild master, you probably can't participate either, right?"
Precht repeatedly examined the rules in his hand before seeming to understand something. He softly asked Blunote, who had volunteered.
"Eh?!"
"Is that how it works?"
Blunote's body trembled slightly before his expression darkened.
"That's probably how it works…"
Precht gently nodded. Since the rules only stated that guild masters were prohibited from participating, without specifying whether it meant only the main guild master or vice guild masters as well, Precht figured it probably meant that neither could participate...
"However, I don't think it's a problem!"
Blunote hesitated for a moment before seemingly thinking of a good solution.
"Oh? Do you have a solution?"
Precht looked at Blunote and asked softly.
"It's very simple…"
"Huayuan, starting today, you are the vice guild master of Heart of Light!"
Blunote looked toward one of the guild's officers standing opposite him and coldly spoke.
"Eh? I'm the vice guild master now?"
The man Blunote pointed out, a fat man with pale, dry skin, looked shocked after hearing Blunote's words.
"Of course. You're only holding the title. You won't have any of the vice guild master's authority!"
"As for why you're being made vice guild master? Because you're the weakest among all of us. Besides, with your strength, going to the Grand Magic Games would only embarrass us, so you might as well stay in the guild and get some rest!"
Blunote spoke harshly and mercilessly to Huayuan.
"Uh…"
Huayuan's body trembled slightly after hearing Blunote's words, and he was speechless for a long time.
"I want to compete too!"
Tears welled up in the corners of Huayuan's eyes.
Yes, he wanted to compete as well. However, he wasn't fighting for victory! He wanted to use the opportunity to show off while announcing his guide to finding a wife to the entire continent!
Huayuan hoped that he could take advantage of this opportunity to find himself a sweet romance!
"Then the problem is finally solved!"
Seeing Huayuan fall silent, Blunote immediately smiled.
"Excellent! As expected of Blunote! You solved the problem so easily!"
"Then next, we need to select the five participants who will represent us in this year's Grand Magic Games!"
"If you two newcomers don't want to return to serve your sentences in the Mage Prison BLACK VOX, then perform well! If you perform well, naturally you won't have to go back…"
Precht sat upon the wooden chair symbolizing the guild master's position. He first praised Blunote before looking toward the two mages standing at the end of the officer line, both wearing black cloaks bearing the insignia of Mage Prison BLACK VOX.
These two black-cloaked mages had been released from prison by Precht using his connections within the Magic Council. His reasoning was that rather than leaving these two reasonably powerful fellows sitting around in prison, they might as well be released to make some contribution to the entire continent of Ishgar!
"We understand!"
The two black-robed mages exchanged glances after hearing Precht's words before removing their cloaks and revealing their true identities.
They were none other than former prisoners Jose Porla and Zero, the alternate personality of former Magic Development Bureau Director Brain. Without a doubt, both possessed magic power and strength at the level of the Ten Wizard Saints.
"As long as you don't make us return to prison and get tormented by those demons from Fairy Tail, we'll do anything you ask!"
At this moment, these two mages, who were considered powerful even across the entire continent of Ishgar, knelt on one knee before Precht and sincerely pleaded with him.
All they wanted was for Precht to keep them away from Fairy Tail. For this wish, they were willing to give everything they had...
"Excellent!"
Precht looked at Joseph and Zero, whose sincerity clearly wasn't feigned, and smiled faintly before nodding in satisfaction.
"In that case, we have three participants for Heart of Light. Two spots remain!"
Blunote folded his arms before his chest and calmly spoke about the current situation.
"Then the final two spots! Compete for them with your own strength!"
Blunote looked toward the officers of Heart of Light and spoke coldly.
"Good!"
As soon as Blunote finished speaking, the mages of the enormous Heart of Light rubbed their fists and eagerly prepared themselves.
In an instant, terrifying magic power erupted throughout the enormous airship...
As for the three spots Blunote had already reserved, no one dared to compete for them. They also knew that they couldn't win them anyway! After all, no matter how weak Joseph and Zero were, one was ranked at the bottom of the Ten Wizard Saints, while the other was a monster capable of fighting someone at the bottom of the Ten Wizard Saints. They were not opponents that these mages, whose strength merely matched the S-Class mages of ordinary mage guilds, could contend with...
Elsewhere...
Within the Magic Council.
"This time, Fairy Tail cannot participate because they have something else to deal with!"
"So we must represent Fairy Tail and show our style and achieve an excellent result! We must tell the other mage guilds exactly how powerful our Magic Council is!"
Jellal stood before the Five Demon Generals, his hands behind his back, loudly lecturing them.
Before him were Macbeth, Sawyer, Surano, Richard, and Erik!
"By the way, have you decided who will participate?"
Compared to Jellal, who was fired up like he'd been injected with adrenaline, the Five Demon Generals all looked somewhat listless. Surano in particular was openly disrespectful toward Jellal and had already begun dozing off.
"Since it's a five-versus-five competition, I'm definitely going to participate…"
"However, in the first few matches, I'll serve as a guest commentator and explain the matches!"
"So before I participate, you guys can play with the people from the other guilds first!"
Jellal answered Surano's question.
"I see…"
Surano yawned. When she heard that there were only five spots available, she had originally wanted to find an excuse not to participate. However, after hearing Jellal's words, she knew there was probably no loophole for her to exploit, which left her somewhat disappointed.
"What a pity!"
"Yeah! Yeah!"
As for the other members of the Five Demon Generals, they felt more or less the same as Surano. None of them were particularly willing to participate in these so-called Grand Magic Games.
"Don't look so listless!"
"This year's Grand Magic Games aren't as simple as you think…"
"As far as I know, many powerful mages besides us will participate."
"And we might even encounter some familiar faces in the arena! For example, your former guild master, Zero!"
Jellal looked helplessly at the five listless Demon Generals, sighed, and told them that their former guild master Zero might also participate.
"Hmm?!"
As soon as Jellal finished speaking, the Five Demon Generals were all stunned, each revealing a surprised expression.
"You mean... that guy Zero is participating too?"
Erik's body trembled slightly as he looked at Jellal with excitement.
"Of course!"
Jellal gently nodded.
"Excellent! Leave Zero to me. Don't fight over him!"
Erik rolled his neck, intending to personally have a little chat with Zero.
"Hey, hey, hey! Zero should be my prey! Erik, don't steal what belongs to someone else!"
Macbeth was visibly displeased after hearing Erik's words. He looked at Erik and spoke coldly.
"What did you say?"
Erik's expression became displeased.
"What, you want to exchange a few blows with me, Erik?"
"You should know that you're not my opponent…"
Macbeth smiled lightly at the dissatisfied Erik. Although his talent was inferior to Jellal and Ultear, he was still the strongest among the original Oración Seis.
"Hehe, since the two of you can't reach an agreement, why don't you let me deal with Zero? What do you think?"
Richard interrupted.
Richard knew that Macbeth and Erik both had grudges against Zero, but he also had quite a grudge against Zero! It was precisely because of Zero—or, more accurately, Zero's other personality, Brain—that he had been separated from his beloved younger brother. Richard had never forgotten this matter.
"Hmph. What's the point of you three men arguing over this? Why don't you leave that Zero guy to me?"
Surano appealed to the principle of ladies first as she spoke to Richard, Macbeth, and Erik, who were arguing.
"No!"
Richard, Macbeth, and Erik almost simultaneously shook their heads at Surano.
"Stingy!"
Surano puffed out her cheeks angrily and spoke coldly.
She then joined the argument...
"What a hassle!"
Sawyer, whose strength was the weakest among them, helplessly sighed. Compared to the others, his magic wasn't particularly suited for offense.
"Hehe…"
Jellal merely smiled lightly as he watched everyone argue.
And then...
Time flew by.
Soon...
The day of the First Grand Magic Games organized by Old Toma arrived without a sound.
On this day, all the mage guilds across the continent of Ishgar that had confidence in their own strength gathered in the capital of the Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.
With so many powerful individuals gathering, security throughout the enormous Crocus was also increased!
Countless Magic Knight Corps were stationed throughout the capital to maintain order!
However, as more and more mages gathered in Crocus, even the Kingdom of Fiore, which spent hundreds of billions of J every year maintaining the expenses of its knight corps, began to feel a little overwhelmed!
Old Toma naturally had a solution for this. He summoned the Fairy Tail mages who had remained behind and brought them to Crocus to serve as guards!
"Although our guild didn't send a team to participate in the Grand Magic Games this year, we are still participating in this grand event in another form. At least we get to leave a mark belonging to Fairy Tail at this great event!"
On the street, Marcus Arloze casually smiled at everyone around him with his hands in his pockets.
"Exactly!"
"When I first saw news of this grand event, I even wanted to call back our main forces from the northern continent!"
Wakaba and Macao stood beside Marcus and agreed with him.
In fact, when Wakaba and Macao saw the news about the Grand Magic Games, especially the enormous prize money for the victorious guild, they really had considered calling Makarov and the others back.
However, just as they were about to call Makarov and the others back to participate in the competition, they received a request from Old Toma. As a result, notifying Makarov and the others was put on hold.
"But there are really a lot of mages participating in the competition this year!"
"As expected of a continent-wide grand event!"
Marcus looked at the crowded streets and couldn't help sighing.
This was a scene they could hardly ever see in their entire lives in Magnolia Town!
Even during the annual Harvest Festival, Magnolia Town never had this many people.
"Exactly!"
Wakaba nodded. As he spoke, he lit his pipe again and puffed away at it.
"Guards! Are there any guards?! Someone stole my wallet!"
Just as Marcus, Wakaba, and Macao were wandering the streets under the pretense of conducting patrols, a shrill voice reached their ears.
"Hmm!"
In an instant, Marcus, Wakaba, and Macao sprang into action.
"Apprentice of Desert King Ajeel! Sand Clone!"
Marcus's body instantly transformed into countless grains of sand and swept through the crowd. In the blink of an eye, he arrived before the thief and transformed into four or five clones, surrounding him.
"Your path ends here!"
Marcus looked at the thief and spoke coldly.
"Mind your own business!"
The thief cursed angrily before suddenly flying into the air and drifting toward the houses along the street.
"Not a place you should be coming to!"
However, the thief hadn't expected that two people would already be waiting for him on the rooftops of the buildings. They were none other than Macao and Wakaba!
"Whoosh!"
With a howl, endless smoke swept toward the thief!
"Damn it, I can't see!"
As the smoke blew toward the thief, it immediately blocked his vision.
"Goodbye!"
Finally, while the thief couldn't see, Macao unleashed a whip made of flames toward him.
"Ah!"
The next second, accompanied by a scream, the thief collapsed helplessly onto the ground.
"When the forest is big enough, you'll find every kind of bird..."
As the thief fell to the ground, the farce finally came to an end. Wakaba and Macao, standing on the rooftop, looked at the fallen thief and helplessly sighed.
With Old Toma organizing the Grand Magic Games, those who came to the enormous Flower Capital of Crocus weren't merely the mages who had come to compete. Countless people looking to make a quick profit through crooked means had also arrived!
It could be said that the Flower Capital of Crocus was extraordinarily chaotic at this moment! Every kind of person could be found inside...
This was also why Old Toma had called upon the Fairy Tail guild to maintain order.
For the successful hosting of the grand event, Old Toma had poured his heart and soul into it. Of course, he had no complaints whatsoever! Everything was for Fairy Tail.
Thus, on the following day, the First Grand Magic Games officially began!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Accompanied by the booming of ceremonial cannons, the Grand Magic Games were held at the Toma Brau Arena in the western part of the Flower Capital of Crocus!
The enormous arena was filled with warriors holding weapons! Every statue had its own legendary history, symbolizing the warriors of the kingdom's legends!
"Everyone, welcome to the arena of the First Grand Magic Games hosted by the Kingdom of Fiore!"
"I, Pumpkin, will be your host throughout the entire competition!"
"In addition, our First Grand Magic Games has invited three guests to commentate on the matches for everyone. They are the current chairman of the Magic Council ERA, Lord Warrod, Council Member Jellal, and Lord Precht, the guild master of the mage guild Heart of Light…"
"Now, let's have our three guests greet everyone!"
Inside the arena, a short man wearing a pumpkin mascot costume held a microphone and loudly addressed the sea of spectators.
"Hahaha, hello everyone! I am Warrod Sequen, Chairman of the Magic Council!"
As soon as Pumpkin finished speaking, the cameras positioned throughout the arena immediately turned toward Warrod Sequen, who was sitting in the commentary booth above. As the camera switched, Warrod immediately waved toward everyone. Warrod was all about being approachable.
"Hello to everyone in the Kingdom of Fiore! I am Council Member Jellal."
Jellal expressionlessly greeted everyone in the kingdom.
"Lord Jellal!!"
As soon as Jellal spoke, countless female spectators in the stands immediately erupted into screams. After all, Jellal ranked near the top of the list of mages most suitable to be boyfriends.
"Hehe…"
Jellal could only force a smile in response.
"Mm!"
Meanwhile, Precht, sitting beside Warrod, nodded toward the camera, which counted as his greeting to everyone. As one of the highest-ranked Ten Wizard Saints, Precht had to maintain a colder demeanor. He couldn't lose the bearing of a grandmaster.
"Hehe, as far as I know, Senior Warrod, Mr. Jellal, and Senior Precht are all connected to the same mage guild. Is that true?"
Pumpkin, serving as both mascot and host, continued questioning the guests.
"Of course! To tell you the truth, we were all once mages of the Fairy Tail guild!"
Jellal took the microphone and spoke enthusiastically.
"Fairy Tail?! I don't think I've heard much about this guild. Is it very powerful?"
Pumpkin continued questioning Jellal.
"Of course! Fairy Tail is the strongest mage guild in the Kingdom of Fiore, and even in the entire world of Earth-land. There is no other!"
Jellal played along with Pumpkin and gave Fairy Tail some publicity across the entire continent.
"Is it really that powerful?"
Pumpkin looked shocked after hearing Jellal's words.
However, the shocked expression on Pumpkin's face looked incredibly exaggerated...
"It really is that powerful…"
"The reason the winner of our Grand Magic Games can only be awarded the title of the second-strongest mage guild on the continent of Ishgar is because Fairy Tail, the strongest mage guild on the continent of Ishgar, is currently dealing with an extremely difficult mission and cannot participate…"
"If Fairy Tail participated, then the other mage guilds wouldn't even need to compete! Because Fairy Tail is the strongest…"
Jellal continued following Pumpkin's lead, speaking endlessly. In short, he was doing nothing but praising Fairy Tail.
"Oh my, what a pity!"
Pumpkin simply played along with Jellal, discussing Fairy Tail.
The two of them continued their awkward conversation for more than an hour, yet they still showed no sign of stopping...
"What is wrong with these two guys?!"
The guild masters and members of the various mage guilds who had successfully passed the preliminaries all wore impatient expressions from the stands.
Among them, the guild master of Sabertooth was particularly irritated by the situation...
"Damn it! Are we going to compete or not?!"
The guild master of Sabertooth folded his arms before his chest, his expression furious as terrifying magic power rose and erupted from his body.
"Ahem, we can start the competition now!"
Seeing that Jellal and Pumpkin could probably continue praising Fairy Tail for several more hours, Warrod, this senior member of Fairy Tail, could no longer stand it. He snatched the microphone from Jellal and spoke softly.
"Uh…"
"Sorry, everyone watching the Grand Magic Games!"
"Whenever I start talking about powerful beings, I simply can't control myself, so I ended up talking a little too much. Therefore, I hereby announce that the First Grand Magic Games of the Kingdom of Fiore, Year X785, officially begins!"
"Now, let's welcome the competitors who passed the preliminary round into the arena!"
After hearing Warrod, Pumpkin finally remembered that they were currently at the competition venue.
As a professional host, Pumpkin immediately changed his demeanor, raised the microphone in his hand, and loudly addressed everyone present.
As Pumpkin's voice fell, an inspiring melody immediately began playing throughout the arena!
"First to enter our arena is Blue Pegasus!"
Pumpkin held the microphone and announced the first mage guild to enter the arena.
"MEN!!"
As soon as Pumpkin finished speaking, accompanied by a shower of fireworks, an extravagant sofa suddenly appeared in the center of the arena. Sitting upon it was none other than Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki! Ichiya sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, loudly shouting his signature catchphrase! Beside Ichiya were four handsome and beautiful mages dressed in suits and elegant formalwear: Hibiki Lates, Ren Akatsuki, Eve Tearm, and Jenny Realight.
Without a doubt, Blue Pegasus was the beauty-and-handsomeness representative among the mage guilds...
"Blue Pegasus! Blue Pegasus! Blue Pegasus!!"
As Blue Pegasus entered the arena, the mages sitting in the stands began cheering.
It seemed that this mage guild, composed of host-club members, a princess, and a model, had astonishing fame and popularity throughout the enormous Kingdom of Fiore and even across the continent of Ishgar!
"We love you all the most~"
At this moment, the mages of Blue Pegasus were expressing their love to the spectators surrounding them.
"The next mage guild to enter is... Sabertooth, which recently changed guild masters and has gained enormous popularity throughout the Kingdom of Fiore through its iron-fisted leadership!"
Before Blue Pegasus could interact with the surrounding spectators for long, Pumpkin immediately announced the next mage guild's entrance. It seemed Pumpkin's favoritism toward mage guilds belonged exclusively to Fairy Tail.
"So fast…"
The members of Blue Pegasus were speechless as they watched Pumpkin interrupt them.
"Sabertooth number one!!"
As soon as Pumpkin finished speaking, the mages of Sabertooth immediately entered the arena. Leading them was a young man with blue hair, followed by four seemingly ordinary mages.
"Sabertooth? Never heard of them! Is it some unknown little guild?"
Sabertooth's popularity was quite ordinary. Although Sabertooth had a history no shorter than Fairy Tail's, unlike Fairy Tail, Sabertooth had always been a small, obscure guild. The reason Sabertooth had recently begun to emerge was simply because it had suddenly changed to a powerful guild master.
"Next, the mage guild entering is Quatro Cerberus!"
Pumpkin gave Sabertooth no opportunity to say more before immediately announcing the next mage guild's entrance.
"Eh? We don't even get a chance to show ourselves?"
The members of Sabertooth helplessly questioned Pumpkin.
"WILD!"
Before the members of Sabertooth could say anything more, the mages of Quatro Cerberus entered the arena under the leadership of Pacas.
"Hahaha, this year's grand event is really wild! The elites of every guild have all arrived…"
Pacas swaggered into the arena. He glanced at Ichiya sitting on the sofa before laughing loudly. In Pacas's eyes, apart from Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki, no one else in the enormous arena was worth worrying about.
"A troublesome guy has arrived!"
At this moment, Ichiya, who had originally looked relaxed, gradually became serious. He knew that from this point onward, the various powerhouses were beginning to enter.
"The next guild is... Lamia Scale!"
Just as Ichiya and Pacas were faintly confronting one another, Pumpkin announced the fourth mage guild to enter the arena.
"Boom!"
"Ah, at first glance, they're all familiar faces!"
Accompanied by a burst of colorful smoke, Jura, who was as calm as still water, led the mages of Lamia Scale into the arena.
At the same time, he smiled and nodded toward the assembled mages.
"The monster has arrived!"
As Jura entered, Ichiya and Pacas exchanged glances almost simultaneously, their expressions becoming tense. Clearly, Jura's arrival placed enormous pressure on everyone.
"The fifth guild to enter is…"
"Ah, this guild is quite extraordinary. The guild master of this guild is currently sitting in our guest booth!"
Pumpkin held the commentary notes in his hand and was shocked upon seeing the fifth mage guild. He excitedly shouted.
"Let's welcome the mage guild Heart of Light!"
As Pumpkin's voice fell, a tremendous wave of magic power enveloped the entire arena...
"This is…"
The mages standing in the arena were all shocked.
The next second, under the leadership of Blunote, the competitors from the mage guild Heart of Light officially entered the arena...
"This is! Hahaha, it seems some troublesome opponents have finally arrived."
Jura looked at Blunote and the mages behind him, his expression startled before he softly laughed.
Originally, Jura had been somewhat disappointed after confirming that Fairy Tail would not participate. After all, at his level, finding an evenly matched opponent was simply too difficult. However, when he saw Blunote and the mages behind him, Jura suddenly felt ripples stirring within his previously tranquil heart. His heart finally began to burn...
"That is the Grand Mage Blunote, former Ten Wizard Saint Joseph, and the great villain Zero, who is said to possess strength comparable to the Ten Wizard Saints!"
"Behind those three are the Cherry Blossom Swordsman Ikaruga and the Explosion Maniac Azuma!"
"The competitors from the mage guild Heart of Light are all monsters!"
Ichiya immediately recognized the competitors from Heart of Light. He couldn't help muttering softly while his mind rapidly calculated how to deal with these people.
"Next is the sixth team participating in the Grand Magic Games…"
"Wow! The next team is truly shocking. This team comes from the Kingdom of Fiore and represents the royal family in the Grand Magic Games. They are the Kingdom of Fiore's trump-card Magic Knight Corps, directly subordinate to the royal family—the Hungry Wolf Knights!"
Pumpkin deliberately adopted a surprised expression as he announced the sixth participating team.
"The dignity of the royal family cannot be questioned!"
As soon as Pumpkin finished speaking, the five strongest members of the Hungry Wolf Knights arrived in the arena. The leader wore black armor and carried two scythes on his back, bearing a resemblance to the Grim Reaper, Bradman. Unfortunately, this man did not possess power comparable to Bradman.
"The seventh team to enter, and also the second team to pass the preliminary examination…"
Pumpkin gave the Hungry Wolf Knights no time for further introductions and began announcing the seventh participating team.
As Pumpkin read the team's name, he secretly thought to himself, "It's truly surprising. I had already given the Hungry Wolf Knights a plan to pass the preliminary round ahead of time, yet they still lost to them…"
"The seventh team comes from the Magic Council. They are the Council's trump-card special attack team! The Demon Extermination Squad…"
After thinking for a moment, Pumpkin loudly announced the seventh team participating in the Grand Magic Games.
"That is…"
As soon as Pumpkin finished speaking, Zero, standing behind Blunote, suddenly trembled. He never expected to see those children under circumstances like this.
"Boom!!"
As powerful waves of magic power were released from the competitors' entrance, Macbeth, Erik, Richard, Surano, and Liza made a powerful entrance!
The magic power of the five swept across everyone like a storm. Under the guidance of Warrod, Precht, and the others, their magic power far exceeded that of the original timeline. Even Joseph, who had spent many years cultivating at the threshold of the Ten Wizard Saints, was intimidated by their magic power...
"Looks like this year's Grand Magic Games will be even more intense than I imagined!"
Jura silently thought to himself.
"Is this the Grand Magic Games arena?"
"How boring!"
"This year's winner will definitely be us…"
"A competition without Fairy Tail is really boring."
At this moment, the Five Demon Generals, who were the protagonists of the entire arena, showed no awareness of their position. They arrogantly looked at everyone present, seemingly not putting any of the other participants in their eyes.
"Finally, let me announce the eighth participating team! This final team is extraordinary! It can be called the strongest and most invincible team. It is the guest team formed by the guests of our Grand Magic Games! Every member is a Ten Wizard Saint…"
Just as the Five Demon Generals stood in the center of the arena chatting as though no one else existed, Pumpkin announced the final team participating in the Grand Magic Games!
"Boom!"
As soon as Pumpkin's voice fell, an enormous wave of magic power enveloped the entire Grand Magic Games arena!
Immediately afterward, a short elderly man and a tall, thin middle-aged man holding a glass of red wine walked out from the entrance.
"Good morning, everyone~"
After entering the arena, the two smiled and casually greeted the assembled mages.
Yes, this team consisted of only two people. However, despite having only two members, not a single team dared to underestimate them, because these newcomers were no ordinary mages. They were renowned throughout the Kingdom of Fiore and even across the continent of Ishgar...
"Is that one of the Ten Wizard Saints, Hyberion, and Wolfheim?!"
"What is going on? Are the Ten Wizard Saints participating too?"
"I always thought this was just a gimmick…"
"How are we supposed to compete now?!"
As the two entered, the mages throughout the arena were shocked. After all, these newcomers were among the highest-ranked members of the Ten Wizard Saints. Hyberion and Wolfheim existed on an entirely different level from them. They were monsters among monsters...
"Yes, Mr. Hyberion and Mr. Wolfheim will join Mr. Jellal, one of this year's Grand Magic Games guests, Senior Warrod, and Senior Precht to form the Ten Wizard Saints team and compete alongside everyone!"
As the assembled mages remained stunned, Pumpkin, the host, held his microphone and continued speaking.
"Eh?!"
"Even the guests are competitors?"
"Precht, Jellal, Hyberion, Wolfheim, and Warrod Sequen! The strongest members of the Ten Wizard Saints on the continent are all here! Apart from the mysterious Evan, who is ranked first among the Ten Wizard Saints, all the monsters on the continent have gathered…"
"Wait, then what the hell are we supposed to compete for? The Ten Wizard Saints are here…"
"Did the Grand Magic Games actually intend to let us win this year?"
As soon as Pumpkin finished speaking, the entire arena descended into chaos. The competitors who had originally been eager to prove themselves were all frozen in place. No one had expected that this year's competition would feature a team composed of five powerhouses ranked among the highest members of the Ten Wizard Saints.