Undoubtedly, Natsu and Stinger ended up as the last two.
When other contestants had already boarded the third vehicle, the two of them just got up, shakily walking forward.
Calling it walking is an exaggeration; they resembled two rusty-jointed robots awkwardly pushing forward instead.
Fairy Tail A Team and Sabertooth had a rare synchronization, both looking too awkward to bear watching.
Oroga asked, "Are all Dragon Slayer Mages like this?"
"I thought only Stinger and I were special... It seems Natsu Doraguniru is not an ordinary person either." In Rogue's memory, Gajeel never got motion sickness.
Rufus asked, "You're not suggesting that motion sickness is a sign of strength, are you?"
Rogue nodded, "In a certain sense, yes. For Dragon Slayer Mages."
Only by getting motion sickness could one be considered a true Dragon Slayer Mage; both Rogue and Stinger had this piece of knowledge in their memories.
However, they couldn't recall the more detailed reason.
They remembered someone teaching them this, but ultimately attributed the lapse to being too young at the time and forgetting.
This round seemed hopeless for Stinger; the group turned to other screens to see how others were performing.
In front of them was Mr. Yiye.
The Blue Pegasus S-Class Mage had relatively short legs, giving off an impression of being too weak to run properly.
But his devoted fans didn't mind, thinking Mr. Yiye simply hadn't exerted himself yet.
Further ahead, evenly matched were Lamia Scale's Yuka and Mermaid's Heel's Liseli.
Liseli, despite her full figure, wasn't slow at all, and her balance at the connection points surpassed Yuka's.
Leading at the forefront were Dragon's Treasure's Voya and Rays of the Rising Sun's Locke.
Voya wasn't running; she relied on a skateboard. To cross between the war chariots, she either used stylish flips or slid the skateboard along the chains with ease.
Locke was much simpler, keeping up with Voya's skateboard speed through pure quick running.
Mira was a few body lengths behind the two, struggling while holding her skirt, trying to catch up.
Elfman and Lisana, upon seeing her expression on screen, blamed Makarov from both sides.
"Why would you give sister an inconvenient skirt for the costume?"
"And high heels? President, do you have any idea how uncomfortable high heels are?"
"She usually wears this kind of thing," Makarov replied pitifully, "Rhode didn't remind her to change beforehand either..."
"Now you're shifting the blame to brother-in-law?"
"How terrible."
"…" Makarov was crestfallen, remembering that Mira always fought in high heels.
The Strauss family really was troublesome.
...
Compared to the first day's "Secrecy" competition, the first half of the second day's "War Chariots" was somewhat dull for the audience.
Because it was nothing but various running scenes.
Currently, the biggest highlights were Voya's skateboarding skills and Mira's beauty.
Other aspects... were just following the big screen's perspective and viewing the scenery along the Royal Capital.
As commentator Jabadi mentioned, the war chariots would pass by famous tourist spots around the Royal Capital...
Rhode suspected that this event was designed by the organizers specifically for promoting tourism in the Royal Capital.
However, the audience's atmosphere was fairly good.
Because today's guest, Jason, was in high spirits throughout.
He enthusiastically praised every contestant, highlighting Mira's strength and Natsu's perseverance.
He even talked about Mira's husband, yesterday's competition, the recent Star Spirit events, and Fairy Tail's matters with intimate familiarity.
He might as well have written his Fairy Tail fandom all over his face.
Thanks to his infectious enthusiasm and the exciting performance of the two Fairy Tail teams yesterday, the audience didn't feel bored.
Jason could be said to have perfectly helped the audience through the "garbage time."
The competition entered the second half.
Yuka began using his 'Fluctuation' magic to propel himself forward, not only increasing his speed but also disrupting the magic of those behind him.
Liseli used Gravity Magic to slim down, becoming not only incredibly fast but also able to run along the sides of the war chariots, bypassing Yuka's interference and overtaking him.
Mr. Yiye was unfortunately affected by Yuka's magic, falling behind, but soon took a deep breath of 'Fragrance of Swift Foot,' exploding with astonishing speed to overtake Yuka, chasing the first rank.
Finally, seeing magic demonstrated in the Mage competition, the audience erupted in cheers.
Liseli's transformation especially amazed countless people.
At the forefront, Voya performed a jump on her skateboard, patting a box on her back in midair, its lid opening to release something, while the skateboard folded and neatly entered the box.
The thing flying out was caught by her, gently slapped open to transform into a magic-powered two-wheeled vehicle.
While still in the air, Voya had already mounted the vehicle, landing with a twist of the handle, speeding away swiftly.
"Oh my, Voya has taken out a magic-powered bike!" Jabadi exclaimed in surprise, "I just wonder, in a 'race,' aren't skateboarding and biking considered cheating?"
"Uh... This is the Great Demon Fighting Martial Arts," Yajima said, "I remember the organizers' regulations for Holding Magic Masters are 'allowing use of tools that can be brought into the venue by one's own power.'"
Jabadi suddenly realized, "I see. Regardless of mages who have mastered Requip Magic, an ordinary magic-powered bike can't be brought into the arena by one's own power. Voya..."
He trailed off; obviously, what Voya had was a specially-made, collapsible, portable model.
Asking where to buy it would just be another advertisement for Dragon's Treasure.
The bald-headed Locke similarly sprang into action. His shoes suddenly vanished, then after running a couple of steps barefoot, metallic combat boots appeared on his feet.
The combat boots seemed to greatly enhance leg power, allowing Locke to catch up to the magic-powered bike with just his running.
Rhode was slightly disappointed, "I thought he'd remove weights, his skin turning red, becoming so fast he's a blur to the eye."
Gajeel didn't understand what Rhode was talking about, casually replied, "His skin didn't change, but your wife did."
Mira originally ran holding her skirt; this look didn't just lack a demon's vibe, but made her seem small and pitiful.
But with her command, "Receiving·Demon Shadou," her whole being transformed into a Shadow Elf, her clothes turning into attire convenient for movement.
"COOOOL!!! Demon Mira's Receiving Magic, and it's a form never seen before!" On the commentary stand, Jason stood up, fists clenched and raised, wishing he could take pictures on the spot.
Shadow Dragon Rogue pursed his lips.
He had seen this form before; her kicks hurt a lot.
However, this time Mira didn't transform to kick people, but ran nimbly, blending into Locke's shadow.
Then, as if using Locke's shadow as a springboard, she jumped out again, merging into Voya's shadow.
Not only that, she playfully extended a hand, grabbing the vehicle's frame, as if to assert her presence.
Voya noticed the hand but was too focused to care, as the finish line was right ahead, leaving no room for distraction.
She calculated the distance, leaping directly from the vehicle, pouncing toward the finish line.
Mira, of course, timed it right, almost simultaneously lunging for the finish line.
The red ribbon snapped, the Pumpkin Man at the finish line clearly saw who came first, loudly announcing, "First place, Fairy Tail B Team, Mirajane!"
The second-place Voya should have been happy; completing the promotional task perfectly and achieving a high ranking.
But...
She glanced at the celebrating Mirajane, unwillingly squatting down, hand on her chest, drawing circles with the other.
"If only it were a bit bigger, I would've won. If only it were a bit bigger, I would've won, why did I lose because of this..."
Voya murmured to herself.