"As of now, participant Rufus has reached seven points in the city, ranking first!"
"Next is contestant Juvia, currently in second place with five points. The other contestants are hovering around two or three points each, with only... contestant Gray currently at negative three points, placing last."
Natsu frowned impatiently, muttering from the sidelines, "What the hell is Gray doing..."
Erza shook her head, her gaze resolute. "Have faith in Gray. Look... hasn't he already found his rhythm in the match?"
...
In the virtual city, Gray stood alone blocking Rufus and Nullpudding's path, his confidence barely concealable.
"Go, Juvia. Time is running out—you take first place."
Juvia looked at Gray with concern. "But... what about you, Lord Gray?"
"Since I can't win first place anyway, I might as well clear the path for you."
Gray extended his hand, generating black ice blades from his palm, while his other elbow morphed into a weapon as well.
"Besides, this suits my style perfectly."
After a moment's hesitation, Juvia nodded firmly. "Understood, Lord Gray!"
With that, Juvia turned and sprinted into the city.
Watching her retreating figure, Nullpudding sneered.
"You think you can stop me? The same guy I was just beating up?"
Whoosh—
Before his words faded, a dark, icy streak flashed before his eyes.
A sharp pain erupted in Nullpudding's chest as bone-chilling cold seeped into his body.
Gray closed in instantly, his expression icy, dual blades whirling like dancing butterflies as he struck.
"Ice Make: Sevenfold Dance!"
Ice spikes exploded from Nullpudding's chest, sending him flying like a sandbag before he was forcibly teleported away.
Having defeated one opponent, Gray swung his ice blades toward Rufus.
Rufus's eyes flickered, his fingers pressed against his temples as the magical glow of a Möbius strip lit up once more.
"Such Magic is useless against me. My Magic is Memory-Make."
Rufus fixed his bright eyes on Gray and murmured, "Memory: Oblivion."
The unstoppable ice blades shattered abruptly.
Gray's expression tightened briefly before he twisted mid-air, regenerating dark ice blades for another strike!
Startled, Rufus hastily retreated, his form blurring into an illusion as he vanished from the street...
"He ran? What was that move just now..."
Gray swung his ice blades in frustration.
When Rufus used his Magic, Gray had genuinely forgotten how to form his ice blades for a moment.
Fortunately, his heightened combat instincts kicked in, allowing muscle memory to recreate the required forms instantly.
"Next... it's time to pay your dues, Raven Tail."
Gray crouched and slammed his palms onto the ground.
Dark ice spread like a plague, rapidly engulfing the earth and structures.
Bit by bit, the entire city seemed to be transforming into an ice sculpture.
Eve, far across the city, shuddered, feeling the heat of his own breath as he remarked, "This was my idea..."
Gray forced the whole city into black ice, the piercing cold creeping upward from the ground.
"Found you..." Gray's eyes lit up as he launched an ice blade toward a cluster of Nullpudding duplicates in the distance.
"Thud..."
Nullpudding, who had been sneak-attacked by Gray while playing dead, cried out in pain and glared venomously at Gray before being teleported to another corner.
Gray naturally wouldn't let him off easily.
Taking advantage of the favorable environment he had created, he ignored the other guilds and focused solely on pursuing Nullpudding.
Amid the clashes between several teams, Juvia managed to land a solid hit on Jäger through sheer strength.
She was rejoicing when a faint, illusory shadow suddenly appeared beside her.
Rufus emerged, golden light shooting toward her like arrows.
Without even turning her head, Juvia remained calm as Gray materialized like a ghost from nowhere, instantly summoning an ice shield to block the attack.
Rufus glanced anxiously at the countdown screen in the sky—only one minute remained...
Juvia, currently in second place, was just one point behind him, and even Gray had shaken off his negative score.
No... he had to temporarily abandon these two who were sticking together.
His eyes darted around before locking onto an unlucky soul in the distance pretending to be a copycat.
Using Carrot Magic, Beth, the weakest combatant of Mermaid Heel in this match, was awkwardly watching the three-way battle unfold.
Rufus's eyes lit up, and he dashed toward Beth.
Gray realized the stakes as well, charging headlong toward Beth with Juvia close behind.
Beth: ...
'Help!!'
As the contestant competing for last place, Miss Beth's first reaction upon seeing three bandit-like Mages charging at her was predictable...
"Water Tornado Crushing Fang!"
Combining water and wind elements, Rufus used Memory-Make to instantly recreate a powerful Magic Power from his memories, launching it toward Beth.
In despair, Beth could only flee, glancing back at the approaching sea tornado.
"Not a chance!"
Gray slammed his fists into the ground.
An ice geyser erupted like a fortress in front of the sea tornado, freezing even the storm solid.
"Bastard!"
With time running out, Rufus gritted his teeth and turned his assault toward Fairy Tail's water-and-ice duo.
"If I can't score, neither can you! You'll stay in second place too!"
A fiery sandstorm, blending flames and grit, surged toward Gray.
Shielding Juvia, Gray subtly gave her an inexplicable look.
Juvia blinked in confusion.
Gray spread his palms, and snowflake-like ice mirrors bloomed, dark ice devouring the flames and sand like a demon.
"Ice Make!"
As the flames and dust dispersed, Gray took aim at Rufus.
An ice cannon materialized on his shoulder and fired explosively toward him.
Rufus smirked and chuckled, "Naive."
His body dissolved into afterimages again, and Gray's water cannon attack passed through him as if hitting empty air.
Wait...
A water cannon?!
Returning to his solid form, Rufus was horrified and whipped his head around to look into the distance.
Gray raised a fist and roared, "Go, Juvia!"
The water-constructed Juvia began to solidify mid-flight, her heart filled with determination to fulfill Gray's plan.
She shouted, "Sorry, Miss Beth!"
The unlucky Beth was knocked down by Juvia's water bullet, lying on the street as she tearfully complained.
"Just as expected... in the end, it's always the bystanders who get hurt..."