"Win? That's not necessarily true, Pumpkin."
"Being first does give you an advantage, but 'Pandemonium' isn't that simple, Pumpkin."
Pumpkin Head held the lottery box in his hands. As the designer and referee of this event, he felt it necessary to remind Mira.
The core rule of Pandemonium was for competitors to compete based on the number of monsters they defeated.
There were five grades—S, A, B, C, and D—with a total of 100 monsters. The higher the grade, the fewer there were. The sole S-Class monster was even said to rival a Ten Wizard Saint!
Competitors, in lottery order, would take turns entering Pandemonium to challenge as many monsters as they wished. Regardless of grade, each monster was worth only one point.
The event would continue until all 100 monsters were defeated or all competitors were incapacitated. Rankings would then be determined by total points.
So, this competition required careful control over each challenge's quantity, timing, and the ability to judge and avoid the potentially troublesome S-Class monster—all of which were crucial!
"That may be true, but for me—"
Mira ignored Pumpkin Head's warning, smiling as she said, "It's no longer a 'game.'"
No way... don't tell me—
Watching Mira's determined back, Pumpkin Head's lips twitched. A certain image flashed in his mind—that bastard Chase making a mess of the preliminaries he had so carefully designed.
A sense of impending doom arose.
Under the stunned gazes of the other competitors, Mira walked slowly toward the entrance of Pandemonium and stopped at the foot of the stairs.
If it were that pervert boyfriend and that annoying Erza, this is probably what they'd say next, right?
"I'll clear Pandemonium myself. Challenge count: one hundred!!"
Her domineering and confident declaration echoed through the arena via the speakers, leaving every spectator stunned.
"Wh-Wh-Wh-What?! Mira is challenging all the monsters on her very first turn!"
As Chapati's excited, nearly cracking voice rang out, the silent arena erupted like an awakened volcano into deafening cheers.
"OOOOOH!!!"
In the original story, the audience might have scoffed at Mira's arrogance, thinking she was biting off more than she could chew.
But now, after witnessing Fairy Tail's unreasonable strength over the past two days, they were left with nothing but shock and anticipation for the upcoming Pandemonium battle!
"Haha! This is Fairy Tail!!" The loyal fan—the refund guy—stood up excitedly and shouted.
The spectator whose shoulder he accidentally stepped on turned around and showered him with a torrent of blessings.
In contrast, the Fairy Tail members from both worlds were unusually calm.
For once, no one was bickering. They wore knowing smiles and quietly watched Demon Mira step into Pandemonium.
"That said, I do have a question for Mr. Yajima," Chapati asked curiously. "With the rules of Pandemonium, if a competitor is strong enough, wouldn't defeating just 51 monsters guarantee first place?"
"You're wondering why she chose to challenge all of them, right?" Yajima adjusted his chef's hat and smiled. "Because they're Fairy Tail."
"Well... that's an unarguable answer."
"As Chase's girlfriend, Mira probably wants to win in the most stylish way possible."
"Thank you for your answer," Chapati said, feeling a bit wounded from being hit by such an unexpected dose of couple fluff. "Now, let's turn our attention back to the action—the monsters are appearing one after another!"
On the holographic screens visible to all, Mira had already reached the depths of Pandemonium.
Dense hordes of monsters surged from all directions—covering the ground, perching atop thick stone pillars, or lurking in the deep darkness—forming an airtight encirclement.
Dressed in her black dress, Mira looked like a helpless lamb before them.
Fairy Tail Team B.
"Apparently, even B-Class monsters are quite troublesome. Will she be okay?" Future Cana asked instinctively.
Pumpkin Head had earlier demonstrated the destructive power of the weakest D-Class monsters so the audience and competitors could grasp their strength.
"Don't worry. For my girlfriend, the more monsters there are, the faster it'll end," Chase said with a confident, mysterious smile. "The outcome was decided the moment she—having drawn first place—stepped into Pandemonium."
"The more monsters, the faster it ends?" Future Cana was utterly confused.
Due to having sealed herself away for over two years, this world's Mira had always struggled with insufficient magic power and was terrible at prolonged battles.
How, in Chase's world, had she become the complete opposite?
"I see. Heheh. Looks like Pandemonium was tailor-made for that monster," Gajeel said, catching on.
"That's right! Mira has that magic!" Juvia realized, the same Take Over form flashing in both their minds.
"Interesting. Let me see just how different this Mira is from ours," Future Laxus said, growing curious. He looked up at the screen.
There, the roaring monsters bared their fangs and claws, launching an assault on Mira within the encirclement!
"Oh my, as cute little monsters, you should be on your best behavior when meeting someone for the first time~"
Mira kept her hands resting on her black dress, tilting her head with a sweet smile. She showed no intention of attacking or dodging.
Cute?
Just as the audience was baffled by her strange choice of words, the holographic screen suddenly erupted with a magic circle crackling with black lightning.
"Take Over — Demon King Soul!"
Fierce winds whipped up from the surging magic power. Within the vortex, her white hair billowed wildly as Mira slowly opened her crimson, glowing eyes.
Like a dangerous yet alluring Demon Queen, Mira reappeared before the spectators. Her body was now covered in pitch-black bone armor, curved horns atop her head, and demonic wings shimmering with deep black light!
Demon King Mira glanced calmly at the dozen or so monsters charging at her and casually snapped her fingers.
HUM!
An invisible pulse rippled outward from the magic circle at her center.
Like pressing a pause button, wherever the wave passed—whether it was the physically formidable D-Class monsters or the fire-breathing C-Class monsters—they all stopped their attacks.
Compact demonization magic circles lit up one after another, transforming them into pitch-black, terrifying forms—truly becoming "monsters."
Under Demon King Mira's control, the empowered monsters turned around and tore into the horde surging from behind.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Violent collisions shattered the ground and pillars, fiery breath blasted forth in bursts, and the entire Pandemonium filled with smoke and dust.
With just a single snap of her fingers, she had turned a hopeless one-versus-one-hundred situation into a chaotic monster-on-monster melee in an instant?!
The entire arena fell into dead silence.
***
Dive deeper into the story with 30+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!
patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!