As Gray and Juvia were discussing the terms of their bet, the previously clear sky suddenly began to snow.
"Oh—what's this? Snow is falling over the town!" Chapati exclaimed in surprise upon witnessing the scene.
"It's Hibiki." Guest commentator Jenny flicked her hair, recognizing the magic immediately.
As a member of Blue Pegasus, she was very familiar with her guildmate's abilities.
Inside the Magic Town
Blue Pegasus' Hibiki knelt on one knee, placing his right hand on the ground.
He murmured softly, "I didn't expect there to be mages with such strong cold resistance here… That was a miscalculation. But, I see them… over there!"
Using the snowfall to sense the locations of the remaining participants, Hibiki swiftly unleashed his ice magic.
In an instant, he struck Beth, Jaeger, and Nullpudding, earning himself +3 points.
However, Hibiki immediately paid the price for revealing his position—Lyon struck him with an Ice-Make spell.
As the participants of "Hidden" gradually learned how to identify their real opponents, intense battles broke out across different parts of the arena.
The cycle of landing hits and being hit repeated continuously, and time continued to pass.
"Come to think of it, Sabertooth's Rufus hasn't made a single move yet. He hasn't defeated anyone, nor has anyone managed to hit him." Chapati suddenly noticed something odd—Rufus had remained completely silent throughout the match, neither attacking nor being attacked.
"This competition is far too dull…"
At that moment, Rufus' voice echoed through the arena, reaching everyone's ears.
Only then did they realize—at some point, Rufus had positioned himself atop the tallest spire in the town, watching over the battlefield from above.
"I remember everything—every heartbeat, every footstep, the nature of every bit of magic. I remember. I remember it all."
"Memory-Make."
As Rufus' words fell, multiple magic attacks, shimmering like stardust, shot out like homing missiles, accurately striking various participants scattered throughout the town.
"Hehehe, you're standing out too much."
Nullpudding, having dodged Rufus' attack, leaped into the air.
Spikes formed around his fists as he threw a punch at Rufus, who was standing atop the spire.
Bang!
The moment his attack landed, Rufus' body shattered into pieces.
"Damn, it was a copy!" Nullpudding's expression changed instantly.
"Relax, that was merely a memory of me standing there."
Rufus' voice came from behind him.
Before Nullpudding could react, he was struck by another of Rufus' spells.
Adjusting his hat with one hand, Rufus smirked enigmatically, as if everything was unfolding exactly as he had planned.
"There's no need for me to set traps or use decoys. Organizers, this game is far too dull. For me, there's no need to hide. Even if they find me, they won't be able to land a hit. The only thing left behind is the remnants of my memory."
"Do you really think so?"
A voice suddenly spoke up behind him.
Rufus' smirk faltered slightly.
With mild surprise, he turned his head—only to see Gray standing behind him, wearing a cold, unreadable expression.
Gray let out a small sigh, his expression bored as he spoke.
"I was planning to enjoy this game a little longer, but I didn't expect an idiot like you to break the rules so blatantly. Oh well, time's almost up anyway. I'll just use you to wrap things up."
"Oh? What are you saying? Do you really think you can hit me?"
Rufus' smile returned, his tone dripping with mockery as he looked at Gray with amusement.
Hearing this, Gray's lips curled into a similar smirk. "I think I can."
Bang!
Before Rufus' smirk could even fully spread, it was replaced by a look of pure shock.
His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the ice spear that had pierced him—his own body struck down.
As if refusing to accept reality, his dazed gaze remained locked onto the wound.
"Blindly believing in your so-called 'invincibility' will only lead to a miserable downfall, Sabertooth." Gray's voice was calm yet sharp.
"Since what exists here is merely your 'memory,' then I will erase it. And with it—shatter your pride."
Gray's voice reached Rufus' ears.
"It ends here!!"
At the same time, Chapati announced the conclusion of the first match.
The magical town dissolved back into a flow of magic, quickly disappearing from everyone's sight.
Soon after, the scoreboard appeared, displaying the final rankings.
Overall Rankings:
Fairy Tail A - 10 points
Sabertooth - 8 points
Lamia Scale - 6 points
Blue Pegasus - 4 points
Mermaid Heel - 3 points
Fairy Tail B - 2 points
Quatro Cerberus - 1 point
Raven Tail - 0 points
"These are the rankings!" Chapati announced.
"Since this was the first event, these standings will serve as the preliminary overall ranking!"
"What were you doing out there, Lyon?!" Lamia Scale's guild master, the old lady, spun her arms around in frustration.
The other Lamia Scale members, afraid of getting caught in the storm, frantically tried to calm her down.
"Not bad, I guess."
"Yeah, not too bad."
The members of Blue Pegasus looked at the rankings with relaxed expressions, seemingly satisfied.
"Ahh, this is terrible..."
"Ahaha, Beth really tried her best."
The members of Mermaid Heel, ranking in the middle, had mixed feelings about their placement.
Chapati, in an astonished voice, exclaimed:
"What an incredible turn of events! The winner of this event wasn't Sabertooth, but Fairy Tail! Could it be that the once-mighty champions are finally reclaiming their lost crown? Gray Fullbuster of Fairy Tail has displayed strength that caught everyone's attention, even outshining Sabertooth's Rufus! Let's look forward to what Fairy Tail has in store for us next!"
"Isn't Fairy Tail the weakest guild in Fiore? Why do they seem so strong?"
"Damn it! Sabertooth just slipped up this time! Next time, we'll definitely crush Fairy Tail!"
"Fairy Tail... They suddenly seem so cool!"
"Why did that guild even end up as the weakest in Fiore? I really don't get it."
Standing in the center of the arena, Gray simply stood still, his eyes gently closed as he listened to the gasps, curses, and cheers from the audience.
A faint smile slowly appeared on his face.
Then, he opened his eyes and walked toward his Fairy Tail A teammates.
"I'm going to take a break. The rest is up to you guys."
As he passed by them, his slightly amused voice reached their ears clearly:
"Don't waste the lead I gave you."
"Don't worry, we'll hold onto first place till the end!" Natsu grinned confidently.
"Now, we move on to the battle portion! Contestants whose names are called, please step forward immediately!" Chapati's voice echoed through the arena.
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