"This girl..."
On the judges' platform, the three guild masters exchanged glances.
Goldmine and Makarov both turned to Bob.
"It seems there was a breakdown in communication with her Celestial Spirit," Bob said gravely.
He had warned Karen about this before, but clearly, she hadn't taken it seriously.
If anything, Marco's influence might have made her treat her spirits even more harshly, leading to today's embarrassing outcome.
"Let's hope she learns her lesson," Makarov sighed, shaking his head.
Bob remained silent.
He knew if Karen were capable of learning, she would have changed long ago.
Now, he was considering advising her to abandon the path of a Mages—if this continued, he feared she would eventually pay a terrible price.
Of course, Bob doubted he could convince Karen to quit.
The girl's stubbornness and obsession reached absurd extremes.
Amid the crowd's murmurs, the duel between the two Celestial Spirit Mages concluded, and the next match began.
Elfman and Bacchus now stood in the arena.
Bacchus wore a determined expression, confident of his victory, while Elfman, encouraged by his friends, prepared to give his all.
.....
"Bacchus wins!"
The fight ended swiftly.
Bacchus, older and more experienced, naturally outmatched Elfman, who was still developing his skills.
Both were close-combat specialists, but Bacchus, a traditional physical combat mages, completely outclassed Elfman in both magic power and physical abilities, making his victory effortless.
"YEAH!!!"
After defeating Elfman, Bacchus let out an excited cheer—not for himself, but for Quatro Cerberus.
Following Karen unexpected loss in the previous match, Bacchus' win now widened the gap between Quatro Cerberus and Blue Pegasus.
Currently, Fairy Tail had secured six victories, Quatro Cerberus four, while Blue Pegasus had only managed two.
....
"There's still a chance!"
In Blue Pegasus' waiting area, Hibiki Lates encouraged his teammates.
Among the remaining three matches, two belonged to Blue Pegasus—they still had every opportunity to turn things around!
Though their remaining opponents were both mages from Fairy Tail, Bacchus had already shattered Fairy Tail's invincible aura, proving their magic users weren't unbeatable.
"If Bacchus can do it, so can we!" Hibiki pumped himself up.
But soon, his hope turned to despair.
....
"Juvia, wins!"
"Cana, wins!"
The next two matches were both won by Fairy Tail's magic users.
The myth of Fairy Tail's invincibility continued!
Juvia had a relatively easier victory—her mastery over water elements far surpassed others her age, showcasing her innate talent for Awakened Magic.
Cana's win was harder-fought.
Her opponent, Semmes, was a well-balanced magic user in both offense and defense, much like Cana herself.
But being well-rounded and balanced sometimes just meant "mediocre."
Semmes was a slightly mediocre magic user, which was why he lost to Cana, whose potential hadn't even fully bloomed yet.
Though Fairy Tail secured two more wins, Hibiki found some relief in the fact that Quatro Cerberus hadn't won either.
If he could win his match, Blue Pegasus would only be one victory behind Quatro Cerberus.
"Final match—Lisanna vs. Hibiki Lates!"
Hearing Marco call his name, Hibiki took a deep breath and stepped onto the field.
Now, he carried the hopes of Blue Pegasus, the last shred of their pride.
However, upon seeing the young girl standing opposite him, Hibiki felt that even if he won, it would be an unfair victory.
The adorable girl before him was clearly several years his junior.
"Begin!"
At Marco's command, Hibiki immediately activated his magic.
A screen inscribed with magical incantations and a keyboard materialized before him, resembling a virtual computer.
"Flash Strike!"
Though Hibiki felt like he was bullying a child—and an adorable little girl at that—he couldn't afford to hesitate now.
The pride of Blue Pegasus was at stake, and he had to win no matter what.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Ancient runes shot from Hibiki's screen, hurtling toward Lisanna and exploding around the young girl.
At this moment, Lisanna had just completed her Cat Soul Take Over.
Nimbly dodging attacks, she charged toward Hibiki Lates.
"I knew you'd do that!"
Hibiki wasn't surprised.
He knew exactly what magic this girl specialized in.
While his Archive Magic wasn't particularly combat-oriented, its intelligence-gathering capabilities were formidable—he'd already thoroughly researched Lisanna's abilities.
"Flash Shield!"
As the cat-eared girl reached him with claws extended, Hibiki waved his hand, summoning a golden glowing barrier that blocked Lisanna's strike.
"Sorry, little girl, but you've already lost."
Hibiki spoke while looking at Lisanna, who was currently standing right atop the Explosion Sigils he'd prepared earlier.
One mental command would send her flying.
"When did you—?!"
Lisanna looked shocked, having completely failed to notice the sigils.
"While you were busy dodging attacks."
Hibiki answered with a smile, even winking at her in an attempt to be charming.
"Eek~"
Lisanna shuddered involuntarily before quickly backing away and raising her hands in surrender.
"I yield."
She knew getting hit by those sigils would hurt—not enough to knock her out completely, but enough to guarantee defeat.
Since she hadn't expected to achieve much this time anyway, she conceded gracefully.
"Hibiki Lates wins." Marco appeared to announce the match's outcome.
"Don't be discouraged. Try harder next time."
After declaring the result, Marco patted Lisanna's head reassuringly.
This first round had seen only Elfman and Lisanna—the sibling pair—eliminated, and he worried about their morale.
"Yeah! I'll do better next time!"
Lisanna clenched her fists and smiled at Marco, signaling he needn't worry about her.
"..."
Witnessing this heartwarming exchange, Hibiki's mouth twitched, his victory feeling slightly hollow.
The girl who'd just recoiled from him like he was poison now acted completely differently—was his charm failing?
"First round complete. The bye privilege goes to Gray of Fairy Tail guild. Short break before second round draw."
After Lisanna and Hibiki left the arena, Marco remained to announce the next phase.
The single bye slot had been decisively claimed by Gray, who'd ended his match in one second, becoming the first quarterfinalist.
"Give it your all—let's make the top eight a Fairy Tail sweep!"
In the waiting area, Gray stood coolly with hands in pockets.
Having already advanced, he had every right to make such declarations.
"Easier said than done. The second round could have internal matches—I won't hold back." Erza spoke seriously.
While she too hoped to avoid fighting guildmates, the odds were slim with so many Fairy Tail members advancing.
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Please read my new FT fic : Fairy tail : I am Akhnseram