"I'll be taking the championship!" Natsu roared.
Just as everyone in the lead pack was making their final victory declarations, Kagura suddenly bared her fangs and activated her Gravity Magic at full power.
The massive gravitational pull caused all the front-running members to tumble into a disorganized, groaning heap.
Everyone had fallen just about ten steps short of the finish line.
The members were completely dazed from the heavy fall and couldn't get up immediately.
Kagura wasn't spared either.
She had miscalculated; her intention was just to slow everyone down so she could sprint past, but she hadn't anticipated Natsu accidentally tripping over his own feet under the sudden pressure.
Natsu's clumsy fall ended up affecting everyone like a bowling ball hitting pins, ultimately dragging Kagura down into the pile herself.
Standing outside the finish line with his microphone, Jason shouted enthusiastically.
"An unexpected event! Who would have thought they'd all collide together right at the very end!"
When Jet had recklessly caught up to the main group earlier at super-speed, he disrupted many people's footing, which compounded Kagura's gravity trap.
However, Ultear had reacted swiftly to the chaos and managed to dodge the trap entirely.
Meanwhile, Happy, being too slow, was trailing far behind Jet, which kept him perfectly safe from the collision.
This series of fortunate events led to the current miraculous situation.
Through the clearing dust, two figures—one tall and one short—appeared running side-by-side on the paved street.
"What?!" Jason screamed into the mic. "Appearing now with a COOL entrance... are Happy and Ultear!"
"It's Happy! Happy's here! Go Happy!"
"Happy, charge!!!"
The residents of Magnolia were cheering wildly, shouting their loudest encouragement for the little blue cat.
"Go Ultear!"
As they approached the finish line, Ultear deliberately slowed down a bit.
Happy getting first place, and achieving such an inspiring victory with his short little legs, was a heartwarming scene she really wanted to see.
The powerful members who had fallen in a heap sat on the ground, staring blankly as Ultear and Happy happily ran right past them.
Makarov and Mira had already stretched the red finish line tape and were waiting.
Raizel and Laxus each held a party popper at the ready.
"Come on... the finish line is right there!" Jason narrated. "Happy is in the lead now! Ultear is close behind!"
"Yay!!!" Happy hopped and skipped across the finish line, breaking the tape.
"Happy is first! Ultear is second!" Jason roared.
"Goal! The champion of this year's 24-hour Endurance Run Championship is... Happy!!!"
"At this very moment, history has been dramatically rewritten! COOL!!!"
Bang! Bang!
Raizel and Laxus pulled hard on the strings.
Two loud party popper sounds rang out, and colorful confetti and streamers fluttered beautifully in the wind.
"I won, I'm the champion!" Happy jumped for joy, tears in his eyes.
"Happy! Happy! Happy!" The residents of Magnolia chanted Happy's name in unison.
"Congratulations, Happy!" Mira congratulated him with a warm smile.
"Mhm, mhm, you ran very well, Happy, and you too, Ultear," Makarov nodded happily with his hands clasped behind his back.
Ur, Erza, Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Kagura, and Jet all wore stunned expressions from the ground, completely dumbfounded by the sight of the cat taking the crown.
Natsu: "No way?"
Gray: "We got tricked."
Gajeel: "We actually lost to a cat! The champion is a cat!"
Kagura: "A miscalculation..."
Ur smiled wryly. "Oh well, since it's Happy, I can accept it."
Erza nodded in agreement. "Mhm, this kind of ending seems pretty good too. Happy being the champion is also quite interesting."
Jet sighed in defeat. "Happy was the one who woke me up in the forest; I have nothing to say. For this time's championship, Happy truly deserves it."
While everyone was sighing with emotion and accepting their defeat, Wendy and Carla suddenly rushed past them and crossed the finish line.
"Wendy! Carla!" Mira cheered.
"Third place goes to Wendy! Fourth place is Carla!" Jason announced.
Suddenly, a massive rumbling sound echoed.
A large group of the remaining guild members rushed over from behind the fallen leaders in a panicked stampede.
"What's going on?!" Natsu yelled.
"Of course no one wants to face the punishment game! MOVE!" the stampede cried out.
"Don't step on me!!"
"Ouch!!! It hurts, it hurts!"
While the boys were getting trampled, Ur, Kagura, and Erza swiftly got up and followed the large group across the finish line.
"Ur, Kagura, and Erza! You're all so sneaky!" Gray yelled from under a boot.
"The whole group seized the chance to cross the finish line together!" Jason commentated.
The four girls were covered in dusty footprints from everyone, but they had safely crossed.
"Gray-sama, hurry up!" Juvia called out from the safe zone.
"Natsu! Get up quickly!" Lucy urged. "Everyone, hurry and get up!"
"Are you kidding me! Super high speed..." Jet tried to activate his magic to escape last place.
However, Jet found he couldn't increase his speed at all, because three desperate people—Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel—were directly clinging to his legs and back, dragging him down.
"Goal! Four people crossed the finish line simultaneously!" Jason yelled.
"WHATTTT?!!" the four of them shouted as they tumbled over the line together.
Jason enthusiastically announced the final results while holding up his microphone.
"This year is full of surprises! But the process was COOL! Even the outcome was COOL! The last place actually ended in a four-way tie between Natsu, Gajeel, Gray, and Jet! They must all face the punishment game."
"Hehe, are you mentally prepared?" Makarov approached them with an evil grin.
Natsu and Gray were still trying to negotiate for a different outcome.
"Wait, Gramps! Since it's a tie—"
"Rejected! Rejected! This won't do, don't say such spineless things!" Makarov scolded. "As Mages, this is like making mistakes at work—there are no do-overs. Just accept the punishment game obediently, understood? All four of you together."
Natsu clenched his fist and said resolutely: "I understand! Bring it on! Tell us, what's the punishment game?"
Makarov praised Natsu's courage: "Very brave! Then I'll announce this year's punishment game content! It's this!"
Makarov took out a pristine copy of Weekly Sorcerer magazine.
"Weekly Sorcerer? What does it have to do with weekly magazines?" Jet asked nervously.
"All four of you must appear in super embarrassing photos in the issue of Weekly Sorcerer published two weeks from now—a luxurious twenty-page feature!"
"And additionally!" Jason chimed in eagerly.
"There's more?!" Gray was completely shocked.
"You must also share a super embarrassing story in the report."
"NAANIIIII?!!" The four were already in a state of stunned disbelief, their souls seemingly leaving their bodies.
"Embarrassing photos... won't they be too cringey to look at?" Lucy shook her head vigorously—this wasn't something to think too much about, or she wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
Juvia held her flushed cheeks with both hands.
"Whether for collection or viewing, I'll definitely buy it, Gray-sama!"
"Don't buy that kind of thing!" Gray screamed.
"That's how it is! Now let's go pick out costumes!" Makarov ordered merrily.
The four of them immediately ran away in tacit understanding, sprinting down the street.
"Wait for me!" Natsu yelled.
"Who would wait for you!" Gray shot back.
Lucy watched the energetic backs of the four fleeing boys. "Sigh, they're running again."
Erza nodded approvingly: "It seems they still have plenty of energy."
Lucy complained, sweatdropping: "That's not the issue here..."
Juvia's tears kept flowing in a mix of joy and anticipation: "Gray-sama's photo shoot!"
Meanwhile, Happy tugged on the Master's cape. "Oh right! Master, I won the championship! Is there any prize for the champion?"
"You've already received it!" Makarov smiled warmly. "Everyone's enthusiastic congratulations!"
"What?!" Happy cried waterfalls of anime tears...
What had he been running so earnestly for all day and night?!
In the end, the four of them—Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, and Jet—failed to escape.
After running out of the park, they accidentally triggered the rune spell Freed had previously set up on the street, got trapped inside the barrier, and were swiftly captured again by the Master.
"Who wants to wear such flashy clothes?!" Natsu complained loudly from inside the boutique's changing area.
"I absolutely refuse to wear this!" Gray protested.
"I can't even fit into these clothes!" Gajeel grumbled.
Makarov stood guard outside the fitting room with his arms crossed, smiling wickedly.
"No problem at all! We've thoughtfully prepared many sizes!"
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