The second day of the Grand Magic Gas dawned bright and loud.
The arena was packed once again, every seat filled. As the thirty remaining guild teams entered, the cheers were deafening. Yesterday, Fairy Tail’s supporters had been little more than Macau and a few familiar faces. Today, nearly a quarter of the crowd was shouting their na.
All of it traced back to one mont.
Rowan rcer’s single-shot victory.
People admired strength. Always had. Show enough of it, and followers appeared without being asked.
After the host’s brief opening remarks, the spotlight returned to the pumpkin mascot.
"Now," Mister Pumpkin announced, his projection hovering above the arena, "I will explain today’s rules. Today’s event is the individual match round."
A ripple of anticipation spread.
"Using our magic system, contestants will be randomly paired, excluding mbers of the sa guild. Each fight is one-on-one. A win earns ten points for your guild. A loss earns zero. A draw earns five points each."
As his image faded, ten glowing magic circles flared to life across the arena floor. Ten circular platforms rose smoothly into place.
"One more rule," Mister Pumpkin added. "A match is decided when one fighter is incapacitated or surrenders. Killing an opponent results in imdiate disqualification and the elimination of the entire guild."
Rowan’s ears twitched as he studied the spellwork beneath the platforms.
"Interesting spatial arrays," he muttered. "I should take a look at these after the Gas."
He had noticed it the day before. The arena’s magic wasn’t just summoning platforms. It could deploy, retract, and relocate objects seamlessly. Large-scale teleportation magic existed in this world, but it was tightly controlled. Nothing like it appeared in Fairy Tail’s library.
Either the cost was extre, or the technique was treated as a national secret.
Either way, it was worth learning.
Especially if it could be combined with his own gate-based teleportation thods. Improved capacity. Better stability. And if he was lucky, maybe a clue or two related to ti magic.
"Now," Mister Pumpkin announced, "we begin the first draw!"
The massive screen flickered. One hundred and fifty nas scrolled rapidly.
"Stop!"
The nas froze.
As the first matchup appeared, the arena erupted.
Fairy Tail’s Rowan rcer.
Sabertooth’s Oga.
The two most eye-catching performances from yesterday. Both lightning users. Both one-shot victories. And now, matched imdiately.
The crowd leapt to its feet.
Rowan stared at the screen, unimpressed.
"That figures," he thought. "So much for ’random.’"
It was obvious. The organizers wanted fireworks early. First-ti event, nationwide attention, future installnts riding on success. You didn’t leave excitent to chance.
Just like entertainnt shows from another world. If you wanted reactions, you arranged them.
Looking closer, Rowan noticed a pattern. Most matchups paired fighters of similar caliber. Strong versus strong. Average versus average.
That way, no guild pulled too far ahead too fast. Suspense stayed alive for the later rounds.
Or maybe the Kingdom wanted to observe everyone’s magic firsthand.
Either way, the Gas weren’t as simple as they looked.
"First group, step forward!"
Nineteen mages and one cat moved onto the ten platforms.
On one of them, Oga crossed his arms and looked down at Rowan with open disdain.
"So you’re my opponent," he said loudly. "A cat. I heard you beat Laxus?"
Rowan tilted his head. "You know him?"
"Don’t need to," Oga scoffed. "I only know he used Dragon Slayer lightning. Supposedly strong. Yet he lost to a cat." His lips curled. "Disappointing."
Oga had always considered Laxus a future rival. Another lightning wielder. Another user of Lost Magic. Soone worth surpassing.
Instead, Laxus had fallen. And died to a dragon, no less.
To Oga, that erased him.
"I see," Rowan said calmly. "Good. Then this stays simple."
Oga frowned. "What’s that supposed to an?"
"Nothing," Rowan replied, spreading his paws lightly.
If Oga had been Laxus’s friend, Rowan might’ve gone easy. Since he wasn’t, there was no reason to bother.
"Match begin!"
The gong thundered.
Oga thrust out his hand. "God-Slaying Magic: Black Thunder Sphere!"
A massive black orb swallowed Rowan whole, lightning raging inside it like a storm imprisoned in glass.
Gasps rippled through the stands. So spectators clutched their seats. A few cat-loving fans cried out in panic.
Then sothing strange happened.
Every bolt of black lightning rebounded.
Not scattered. Not deflected.
Reflected.
Like sparks hitting a mirror.
The sphere collapsed inward as Rowan raised a paw. Cyan lightning surged outward, wrapping the black orb, compressing it until it fit neatly into his grasp.
"That is... interesting," Rowan said thoughtfully.
The power inside was real. Sharper than ordinary lightning. Purpose-built to destroy sothing higher.
But against soone who had already brushed the essence of lightning itself, it wasn’t enough.
"You and I," Rowan said evenly, "aren’t playing the sa ga."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"And honestly? You’re still a step below Laxus."
With a flick of his paw, the condensed sphere shot back toward Oga.
The arena fell dead silent.
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