The audience watching through the Magic Crystal projection gasped in surprise.
Chapati excitedly grabbed the microphone and announced.
"The competition is over! What a thrilling finish! Just seconds before the end, Fairy Tail's Team A member Gray and Team B member Juvia executed a coordinated maneuver that completely bypassed Rufus's blockade!"
"What a pity indeed! With the first event concluded, Sabertooth has lived up to expectations by taking first place. Meanwhile, Fairy Tail Team B's Juvia, with perfect cooperative assistance, tied with Rufus for first place, each earning ten points for their respective teams!"
"Now let me announce the scores for all teams."
"In third place, demonstrating remarkable consistency, Lamia Scale's Lyon with 6 points!"
"Fourth... oh! It's actually Gray! He made a sudden surge in the latter half of the event, not only erasing his negative points but also stealing points from Nullpudding, securing fourth place!"
"Fifth place goes to Blue Pegasus's Eve, whose brilliant strategies proved ineffective against Lyon and Gray, otherwise he might have achieved better results."
"Sixth place is Quatro Cerberus's Jäger... well, he didn't really have any standout moments."
"Seventh and eighth places go to Raven Tail and Mermaid Heel respectively. Nullpudding, who had been targeting Gray throughout the early stages, got counter-targeted, while poor Beth became the decisive factor in Juvia's victory."
Chapati kept up his rapid commentary as the virtual city in the arena gradually faded away.
Rufus stood with a dark expression, glaring at the smug-looking Gray before snorting coldly and turning to leave.
Despite taking first place, Rufus felt anything but pleased.
Juvia apologetically helped Beth up, then rushed toward Gray.
This time Gray didn't evade her, smiling as he looked at Juvia throwing herself into his arms.
"Well done, Juvia."
"Juviiie~"
Holding onto Gray who rarely pushed her away, and hearing his praise, Juvia's face turned red.
Then Lyon popped up and separated the two, launching into a verbal tirade against Gray.
Juvia immediately radiated resentment.
Returning to the competitors' viewing area, Beth said with a guilty expression.
"I'm sorry, Kagura... I didn't earn a single point."
Kagura smiled slightly and patted her shoulder. "Just do your best going forward. Someone has to lose, and I'm no exception."
Compared to seven years ago, Kagura now resembled a more benevolent leader.
Beth looked at her with a moved expression before her teammates swept her up in a group hug.
In contrast, the atmosphere at Raven Tail's side was much tenser.
The man holding the brown mask, Alexei, looked at the defeated Nullpudding and spat out a word.
"Worthless."
Nullpudding clenched his fists, a venomous glint in his eyes. "That Gray... after using that black ice, there was no way to defend against it, I..."
"Don't make excuses when you lose," interrupted the slender youth in a black bodysuit, Kurohebi, his vertical pupils narrowing impatiently.
...
"Nicely done, Gray!"
In the spectator stands, a considerable portion of the audience felt that the cooperation between the two teams during the competition was unfair.
Some even went as far as angrily confronting the Fairy Tail members in the competitors' viewing area.
Natsu and Cana, both known for their sharp tongues, had already turned around to argue with them.
However, the unflappable Erza paid no attention to such matters.
She looked at Gray, who had just returned, and smiled with satisfaction.
Gray let out a sigh of relief and grinned. "It was completely different from fighting. I almost didn't make it."
"But at least Juvia managed to take first place, so the guild didn't lose too much face."
Lucy, in high spirits, nudged him playfully with her elbow and laughed.
"What are you talking about, Gray? Fourth place is pretty good—right in the middle. It won't be hard for us to surpass them!"
Watching the Guild Master and others in the distance waving their flags even more fervently, Gray smiled wryly and relaxed as he said.
"Alright, now it's time to see who we'll be matched against in the battle segment."
...
Over at the Sabertooth camp, Rufus returned to his team with a grim expression.
Rogue silently sighed.
This year's Grand Magic Games was off to an unfavorable start...
Fairy Tail had come back and completely overwhelmed them in every aspect...
Although they were tied for first place, the atmosphere in Sabertooth was somber, in stark contrast to the lively scene where Ankh and the others were enthusiastically high-fiving Juvia.
Gajeel smugly flaunted their success toward the Sabertooth side.
"That masked guy—how dare he put on such a show? In the end, he still couldn't stop Juvia!"
Juvia shook her head. "Rufus's Memory-Make magic is actually quite troublesome. If it weren't for the time limit, even Gray-sama might not have been able to stop him so easily."
Ankh nodded, observing the heated atmosphere in the arena and sensing how the guild was perceived by the audience.
Although the victory wasn't entirely clean, a win was still a win.
Moreover, many spectators seemed to enjoy watching such cooperative performances even more.
No... perhaps it was more accurate to say they enjoyed seeing Mages with such seamless chemistry?
It seemed that no matter the world, what the masses loved to see was always the same...
As the audience's applause and cheers subsided, Chapati picked up the script that had just been handed to him and announced loudly:
"The competitive segment of the first day has concluded. Next, we will proceed to the battle segment."
Yajima seamlessly played along. "The matchups are determined by the audience's voting preferences, right? I really hope we get to see some great matchups!"
Chapati faced the microphone and read from the script in his hand to the vast arena:
"The matchups for the first day have now been delivered to me!"
"Now, for the first battle of the first day, the competitors are!"
"Lucy Heartfilia from Fairy Tail Team A!"
"Versus—Flare Corona from Raven Tail!"
"It's me!"
Natsu, bouncing up and down with excitement, cheered her on enthusiastically.
"Go, Lucy! Show them the results of your three months of special training!"
Erza looked at Lucy gravely and cautioned, "Be careful. The opponent is from Raven Tail, that guild known for using underhanded tactics."
Cana massaged Lucy's shoulders to help her relax, encouraging her.
"Go for it! With the wisdom you showed in the S-Class exam, no one can be your match!"
Seeing the concerned gazes from her teammates and friends in the distance, Lucy took a deep breath, her eyes becoming resolute and confident.
'Raven Tail... the ones who injured Wendy and Carla...'
'No matter what, I must win this match!'
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