The structure of the Grand Magic Games was quite clever—every day's match was crucial, but even if a guild lost on one of the days, they weren't completely out of the running for the championship.
For example, after three days of competition, Fairy Tail ranked first with a total of forty-seven points—just one point ahead of the second-place guild, Sabertooth. It looked like they could be overtaken at any moment.
Of course, for a guild like Raven Tail, which had only earned three points in three days, hopes were pretty much dashed.
Speaking of Sabertooth, they had become famous almost overnight, forcing everyone to reassess the once-obscure little guild.
To avoid any upsets, Charles personally participated in the fourth day's javelin throwing competition and secured a full ten points.
Then, in the 2v2 battle against Mermaid Heel, Kagura and Stella easily secured victory and another ten points.
With that, Fairy Tail leapt ahead with a staggering sixty-seven points, leaving the rest far behind.
Other guilds could only hope that Fairy Tail would slip up in the final match. But would Charles let things go their way?
Day five of the Grand Magic Games—the final match: a full-scale melee involving every participant.
Everyone on the field was an enemy, except for one's own guildmates.
Each five-person team designated one captain and four regular members. Defeating a captain earned five points, a regular member one point. Guilds could decide for themselves who would act as captain.
Fairy Tail entered the arena to thunderous cheers from the crowd.
The stage had been transformed by magic into an entire town. Everyone had to search for enemies while navigating the complex terrain.
Stella summoned her Dragon-Sin Sword and asked, "Charles, how do we play this?"
Charles replied, "The key to this match is grabbing points quickly. So, let's go say hello to our opponents!"
"Magic Domain" + "Morning Peacock"
One of Magic Domain's side effects was that it allowed magical attacks to strike any point within its range—perfect for this kind of battle.
Charles's Magic Domain practically covered the entire battlefield. Everyone suddenly felt as if they were being hunted by the most terrifying predator.
Moments later, they saw searing fireballs flying precisely toward them like guided missiles.
On the projection screen above, Fairy Tail's score shot up rapidly, stopping only after gaining nineteen points.
With just one spell, Charles had cleared the field—eliminating every weaker mage. Even the "town" had been reduced to rubble.
But Charles didn't look satisfied. He had expected to earn at least twenty-five points. Still, these were some of the kingdom's top mages. If they were all eliminated in one go, it would be boring.
Charles stretched his arms and said, "Well, we've already secured the win. Now go wild and have fun."
The other four glanced at one another, then all showed expressions of defiance. Seeing Charles this fired up lit a fire in them too. They split up, each heading off to hunt their own targets.
Charles, however, remained still, turning his gaze toward a section of the ruins.
"So they're teaming up?"
From that direction, Charles sensed several powerful presences approaching. With the battlefield already in ruins, it didn't take long before he saw several figures closing in.
Jura and Lyon from Lamia Scale, Ichiya, Ivan, and Ren from Blue Pegasus. Minerva, Orga, and Rufus from Sabertooth.
Nearly all of the top-tier mages of this year's Grand Magic Games had gathered around Charles.
Charles glanced in another direction, then turned his attention back to the group.
In the shadows, Raven Tail's armored Ivan felt a chill in his heart when Charles looked his way—wondering if he had already been discovered.
Still, he wasn't ready to give up. Having once been part of Fairy Tail, Ivan knew there was a secret magic known only to the guild's masters—Lumen Histoire.
After the Tenrou Island incident, Ivan believed the only survivor who possessed that knowledge was Charles.
And now, this was the best chance to seize that secret.
That was why Ivan had gone to such lengths to obtain a spot in the Grand Magic Games. He wasn't about to give up now.
The approaching group stopped—but instead of standing together as a united front, they spread out slightly, as if wary of one another.
Charles raised an eyebrow. "What's this supposed to be?"
Jura put his hands together and said, "This is the Grand Magic Games, after all. Of course we're going to settle things with magic. I've been wanting to test myself against your Dragon Slayer magic for a while."
Ichiya struck one of his odd poses and said, "Same here. Let's have a fair and fabulous duel!"
Minerva bit her lip. Her original plan had been to join forces with other guilds and take Fairy Tail out first—that would've been the smartest move. But it seemed she hadn't even gotten the chance to initiate the plan.
Charles wasn't surprised. Mages like Jura had their own pride. There was no way they'd stoop to ganging up on a single opponent.
Without that pride, none of them would've made it this far.
Charles grinned. "Perfect. I'm fired up now."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone moved.
Jura remained motionless, but a multitude of stone pillars burst from the ground, aimed not just at Charles but at everyone else too—his way of testing the waters.
Charles leapt onto one of the pillars and saw that the others had also dodged the attack in their own ways.
But Lamia Scale wasn't finished—Lyon's ice serpent lunged toward Charles.
At the same time, Ren fired a compressed air cannon, and above, Ivan summoned a magical storm.
Although this was a free-for-all, it was obvious who posed the greatest threat—so most of the attacks were focused on Charles.
Then again, maybe Charles had simply pissed off too many people.
For example, in Blue Pegasus, in order to shield Ichiya and the others from Charles's Morning Peacock earlier, Hibiki had poured out all his magic power. Charles hadn't really paid it any mind—but apparently, others had.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Charles punched the ice serpent to pieces. His fire-infused arms extended to devour the air cannon, and the magical blizzard was instantly melted.
Just then, Orga—his body crackling with black lightning—charged forward and threw a punch.
"God Slayer Magic, huh!"
Charles countered with a punch of his own. The black lightning and red flames exploded, shattering Jura's stone pillars.
Orga roared and poured all his strength into his fist—but still, he watched in horror as Charles's punch pressed forward, unstoppable.
At the same moment, Ichiya entered his muscle-packed state and swung a punch at Charles from behind.
Charles raised a hand to block it and casually flung Ichiya away. Midair, the space around Ichiya warped, and his entire body froze.
"Ichiya-sama!"
Ivan and Ren cried out in shock as Ichiya's muscles deflated, and he passed out with eyes rolled back.
Minerva licked her lips—she had drained all of Ichiya's magic with her space magic.
That was her strategy. In the end, this battle would be decided by points. There was no need to go head-to-head with a monster like Charles. The other participants' points were much easier to collect.
Rufus stood atop a ruined structure and activated his Memory Make Magic. A massive magic circle unfurled, unleashing a barrage of magic blasts that fell like a meteor shower on everyone.
The sudden resurgence of Sabertooth escalated the chaos of the battlefield even further.
(End of Chapter)
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