`The Fairy Tail guild members made their grand entrance one by one, each familiar face sparking wild cheers from the crowd.
"That's the Fairy Queen, Erza! She's so gorgeous!!"
"Mira, I love you!!"
"Lord Kira is so cool!"
"Keep it up!!"
"…"
"Tch! Why the heck am I even doing this?" Laxus grumbled, his face sour. "This is like some childish game!"
"If you're so annoyed, you could just sit this one out and watch the title of 'strongest' slip right into our hands," Kira teased, waving to the crowd with a grin. "If you want to be the best and take over the guild, you've got to earn everyone's respect. Strength alone won't cut it."
Erza stepped forward, her tone serious. "This tournament is about the future of Fairy Tail. Even Mystogan showed up for it. How could you think of skipping out?"
Mystogan stayed quiet, clearly not thrilled to be there. Deep down, he'd rather be anywhere else, but the guild master's desperate pleas about the tournament's importance—something about the guild's future and a whole lot of blah blah blah—had dragged him here. Plus, Kira and Dispear's relentless convincing left him with no choice.
Natsu, on the other hand, was practically vibrating with excitement, cracking his knuckles. "I'm definitely making it to the end!"
The others were just as pumped. Gray stripped off his shirt, Cana set down her bottle, Elfman roared about being a "real man," Lucy polished her Celestial Spirit keys until they gleamed, and Loke spun the ring on his finger…
Wait, Loke?
"Why are you here?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide with confusion and surprise.
"Sorry, Lucy, but I'm temporarily breaking our contract for this one," Loke said with a grin. "I've been looking forward to this battle for ages, and everyone said they wanted me in on it. So, let me take the stage as 'Loke' for this grand finale!"
"Ha… haha…" Lucy forced a stiff laugh. "How did I not know about this?!"
Loke went on, "Don't worry, I've created a gate to use my own magic, so I don't need your key. Besides, you're plenty strong without me now!"
And yeah, she still had eight other keys!
"This isn't about whether I'm strong or not! How could you just decide this on your own? What kind of selfish Celestial Spirit are you…?" Lucy muttered, too exasperated to keep arguing.
As they bantered, a massive silver-white labyrinth rumbled up from the ground, its booming rise drowning out the crowd's cheers.
Of course, the labyrinth was Kira' creation, built with materials tough enough to withstand the chaos this crew was bound to unleash. The traps and mechanisms inside were designed to be challenging—and, most importantly, fun.
"And don't worry about fairness," Kira said, addressing the skeptical looks from a few guildmates. "I only set up the trap modules. The actual placement was handled by the master and Dispear, so even I don't know the specifics. No loopholes to exploit here." He smirked. "So, relax—everyone, including me, has to play by the rules."
Laxus finally looked away, still grumbling.
But not everyone was convinced. Cana, Lucy, Gray, and a few others stuck to Kira like glue. Juvia trailed Gray, Loke shadowed Lucy, and Marcus and some others kept their distance but locked eyes on Kira, clearly planning to follow him through the same entrance.
Kira threw up his hands. "Fine, follow me if you want. It's not like it'll help you!"
DONG! DONG! DONG!
The massive bell rang three times, signaling the start of the preliminary round.
After explaining the rules to the audience, Dispear stood and announced, "Let the preliminary round begin!"
BOOM!
The labyrinth was a colossal rectangular structure with four entrances—one on each side: east, west, north, and south. All four opened simultaneously, and over a hundred Fairy Tail members poured in.
"Magic crystals are placed throughout the labyrinth, allowing the audience to watch the action on the screens above," Dispear explained. "The labyrinth is filled with traps and obstacles, testing the wizards' strength, reflexes, and, of course, a bit of luck."
On the judges' panel, the conversation started to drift…
Dispear, sounding like a seasoned host, continued, "A huge thanks to the mayor for sponsoring this event and to 'Sage' Kira for his incredible support. Hope Cottage: bringing magic to your dreams!"
The mayor chimed in eagerly. "I hear this labyrinth was built by 'Sage' Kira himself. Its special materials can withstand most attacks—a breakthrough in construction! Is it true the Fairy Tail guild hall is made of the same stuff?"
Makarov nodded with a cheeky grin. "Yup, yup! Now we don't have to worry about those kids wrecking the place!"
A reporter leaned in. "So, where can we buy this material?"
Dispear's eyes lit up. "Head to Hope Cottage on Magnolia's main street—Kira' shop! Place an order now, and…"
The blatant advertising didn't dampen the electric atmosphere; if anything, it drew even more attention from the crowd.
---
Inside the fully enclosed silver-white labyrinth, built-in lighting illuminated the chaotic interior. From the outside, it looked like a five-story structure, but once inside, it was anything but straightforward. Warped spaces, upside-down staircases, traps every three steps, and mechanisms every five made it nearly impossible to navigate. Even Kira felt a little dizzy looking at it, and for everyone else, it was a nightmare.
At the east entrance, Kira stepped in and immediately scanned his surroundings, getting his bearings. He had the biggest entourage trailing him—everyone assumed the labyrinth's creator would know the way.
"This place is a mess. What's going on here?" someone muttered.
"It's making my head spin…" another complained.
A sudden yelp grabbed their attention. "Why can't I use my magic?!"
It was Lucy, fumbling with her Celestial Spirit key for Pictor.
Kira smacked his fist into his palm, as if remembering something. "Oh, right, forgot to mention—no magic in here."
"This round is all about brains, memory, and a sprinkle of luck!"
Gray tugged at his hair. "I knew it wouldn't be that easy. I was gonna build an ice staircase to climb straight up…"
Cana stepped forward, eyeing Kira. "So, if magic's off the table, doesn't that make you just a regular guy?"
"Yeah, his close combat skills are kinda weak, right? Wait, why are you asking—oh…" Gray trailed off.
Cana, Gray, and Loke surrounded Kira, cracking their knuckles with mischievous grins. Clearly, they'd been holding grudges and saw this as their chance for payback.
"Think you can catch me?" Kira raised an eyebrow. "You'll have to keep up first!"
And with that, he bolted.
One guy running, a pack chasing him—it didn't take long to trigger a trap.
Gray, hot on Kira' heels, stepped on a suspicious tile. A flash of magic shot out.
"What the—?!"
He dodged just in time, and the magic hit a random guildmate behind him. Words floated up in the air:
[Trap Triggered! Frozen in Place for 3 Minutes]
Gray wiped the sweat off his brow. "So that's a trap, huh? Looks like if you're quick, you can dodge them. No big deal."
Cana wasn't so sure. "Don't get cocky. These are Kira' traps. You know how he is—something like getting stuck in place is probably the tamest trick he's got!"
"Let's keep moving!" she urged.
The trapped guildmate shouted after them, "Hey, you're just leaving me here?!"
"Oh, right," someone nearby said, turning back to tickle the stuck guy mercilessly. "Almost forgot to settle that score from last time!"
"Hahaha, stop it, hahaha!"
[Contagious Trap Triggered! Frozen in Place for 3 Minutes]
"It's contagious?! Damn it, I knew Kira' traps wouldn't be that simple!" the tickler groaned.
The others nearby backed away in a panic and then bolted without looking back.
"Hahaha, serves you right!!"
"Ugh, I regret everything…"
Similar chaos unfolded across the labyrinth.
[Trap Triggered! Turn into a Piglet for 3 Minutes!]
"Oh no! Levy's a piglet!"
"Don't worry, we still love you!"
"Wahhh, this is so embarrassing!"
[Trap Triggered! Senses Reversed for 5 Minutes!]
"Marcus, why are you running backward?"
"Idiot, that's a wall!"
[Trap Triggered! Roll Six Sixes to Proceed!]
"This is impossible!"
[Trap Triggered! Reveal Your Most Embarrassing Secret!]
"Ugh, no way! I… I can't say it!"
[Trap Triggered! Walk on Your Hands to the Next Button to Recover!]
"What?! It's that far?"
[Trap Triggered! Wear a Bunny Girl Outfit!]
"Wow, Mira's outfit… is this really a trap? Can I get more of these? (whispers)"
"It kinda suits you~"
[Trap Triggered!]
[Trap Triggered!!]
[Trap Triggered!!!]
[...]
"I swear, I'm gonna kill Kira for this!!!"
---
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