Ten minutes later, the matches kicked back off.
It was like all the real fireworks of the day had gone off right at the start—nothing too exciting in the rounds after that.
Fourth match: Freed vs. Evergreen. This Thunder God Tribe showdown saw Freed's rune magic shine big time. Evergreen didn't even get a chance to unleash her fairy magic before she tripped right into his trap spells. They kept it light, no real damage, and wrapped up in under ten minutes.
Freed took the win, but he wasn't thrilled. No sign of Laxus anywhere. "First day without Laxus... I miss him already..."
Fifth bout: Bisca vs. Natsu. Against Natsu, Bisca just couldn't keep up. Even pulling out Kira's super cannon didn't help—her explosions were useless against a guy who eats fire, and her bullets couldn't even tag his shadow. One punch from Natsu, and she was out.
Offstage, Alzack stormed over to settle the score with Natsu, but the still-pumped Natsu sent him flying with another haymaker. Later, he and Bisca ended up cuddling all lovey-dovey anyway.
Sixth: Bickslow vs. Marcus. Seventh: Mira vs. Wakaba. Total one-sided beatdowns. Marcus and Wakaba didn't stand a chance.
Sure, in Kira's stories, sand-magic Crocodile and Gaara were beasts, and smoke-wielder Smoker wasn't slacking either. But these two? Even going all-out, they couldn't touch that level. Both lasted less than ten minutes before Bickslow and Mira claimed victory.
Final match: Elfman vs. Loke. One guy's a brute who'd dumped all his points into raw power. The other's balanced across strength, speed, defense, smarts, and charm. Total reps of the max-power build versus the all-rounder playstyle.
"Ooooh! A real man goes all-in to make the quarters!"
Elfman roared it out, channeling Beast Soul: King of Beasts. He ballooned up to three or four times his size—muscles, fur, skin, horns, bones, everything pulsing with insane energy. It cranked his beast form's attack, defense, and close-quarters game to the max.
Loke's Lion's Power flared up in his hand, shining like a thousand suns. He threw a punch that shattered into countless starlights hurtling at Elfman—each one packing his full-force serious blow. They hammered Elfman with thuds like drums.
He'd lost face to Bisca yesterday—today, he was getting payback from Elfman!
The starlights faded, smoke but no real hurt. Technique-focused Loke was outmatched against power-tank Elfman. Every attack? Either blocked or smashed apart. Zero impact like he'd hoped!
"What a brute!" Loke adjusted his shades, then looked up at Elfman's massive frame. "Lion Star Impact!"
A golden lion roared in fierce, its bellow like thunder crashing from the heavens, charging on all fours like a gale-force storm.
Hey, Loke's been around for who-knows-how-long as a Celestial Spirit. Back at full strength? Elfman couldn't hang. Loke sealed the win quick with his golden lion power.
And with that, the quarterfinalists were locked in: Kira, Gray, Mystogan, Freed, Natsu, Bickslow, Mira, and Loke. Compared to the last round, way less filler—real heavyweights this time.
After the matches, Fairy Tail folks regrouped at the guild hall bar, buzzing about the last couple days' action. And hyped for the semis, quarters, and finals ahead.
Old-timer Macao chugged a beer, slurring a bit. "Lemme tell ya, takin' out the Master and Gildarts, our quarterfinal crew's got some S-Class spots up for grabs. Yesterday and today? Laxus and Erza got bounced. This tourney setup needs tweaks, big time!"
His smoking-drinking buddy Wakaba across the table picked up. "Besides those two, we've got five S-Class left. Only three slots—who d'ya think snags 'em in the end?"
"Uh... Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel?"
"Hard to call! Cana's leveled up a ton lately—she went toe-to-toe with Gray today!"
"Makes Elfman look a bit behind... Losing to Loke today?"
Elfman overheard and got salty. "A real man bounces back! Loke, rematch!"
Loke rubbed his sore, reddened wrist from the chair—he was beat after these two days. Ignored the challenge. "Nah!"
Gray jumped in. "Freed's solid too—just off his game today. Wasn't his flashiest."
Cana, hugging her barrel. "Heh heh... 'Cause Laxus didn't make quarters! And he's the one who screwed it up. Look over there—been moping solo since yesterday, ignoring everyone!"
Gray glanced back—yep, Freed off in the corner, radiating gloom in a half-meter aura around him.
Kira listened quietly to the chatter, eyed Freed, then shifted to Mystogan not far off. He was solo too.
Still wrapped head-to-toe in that airtight robe, perched by the window gazing at the moon. Five staves leaned against the wall within reach. No downer vibe like Freed's—instead, he had this brooding prince aura.
"Gotta say, the guy's got style down pat!"
Kira quipped, turning to Erza beside him. "So... how's it feel getting edged out by Mystogan?"
Erza's eye twitched a bit, face straight. "Not great, but I lost fair and square. Next time, I'll get him back!"
As she said it, her spoon digging into the strawberry pudding got a little more aggressive.
"Uh... that spoon's innocent... Never mind!"
Kira cut his teasing short—the iron spoon snapped in her grip.
Talk a big game, but those hands don't lie—she was totally salty! Normal, though—who'd guess Mystogan had that many tricks up his sleeve?
Seeing Erza's glare sharpen, Kira just chuckled inside.
"You laughing at me?"
"N-no..."
Over on the other side, freshly minted quarterfinalist Natsu was lording it over Gajeel. "Hey, who's this chump quietly munching iron over here?"
Happy, tagging along: "It's Gajeel, aye!"
"Oh! Gajeel, huh... Oh yeah, Gajeel—I made quarters! Weird, how come your name's not on the list?"
"'Cause Gajeel didn't make the semis, aye~"
"Nani?!" Natsu faked total shock. "No wonder I didn't see you out there today—Gajeel, you didn't pass the prelims?!"
He cracked up smugly after the bit. "Aw, that's rough... Wahahaha!"
Lucy just stared, speechless. "Are you guys kids or what?"
Natsu's taunt hit home—Gajeel got pissed, grabbing his collar. "You wanna go, punk?"
Natsu didn't flinch, kept pulling faces. "Bring it! Who's scared? You prelim dropout..."
Thud thud thud... smack smack... boom boom... pfft pfft...
They went at it, full-on brawl, fists flying.
"So what if you made quarters? Big deal, showoff!"
"I'm just stoked—I'm better than you! Mad? Hit me!"
Maybe their noise set Erza off—she slammed her right hand on the table, stood up roaring. "Shut it! You two, behave!"
They ignored her, so Erza rolled up her sleeves and dove in.
Kira turned away slow. "Idiots... Picking a fight right in front of Erza? Volunteering as the punching bag? Asking for it..."
He scanned the room—guild was all there, even Dispero and the Master knocking back drinks. Just one missing: "Speaking of, haven't seen Laxus all day. Where's he at?"
New week, new grind! Thanks for the support, readers!!!