Erza stomped the ground, her twin swords slashing through the air, stirring up a gust of wind. She crossed them in front of her, slicing upward in a diagonal arc from both sides.
Mistgun lunged forward, meeting her head-on. Even in flip-flops, his speed was superhuman. His black cloak billowed wildly behind him, and his bandaged right arm hefted a nearly two-meter-long magic staff. With no hesitation, he brought it crashing down toward Erza's delicate face.
His fighting style was less like a mage and more like a warrior.
The staff collided with Erza's crossed swords, sparking briefly at the point of impact. A fierce gust radiated outward, and the two locked in a struggle, evenly matched for the moment.
They broke apart, leaping back, only to charge again!
"Skyscraper!"
Mistgun's low, calm voice echoed faintly. Erza's vision blurred as a strange pillar of light erupted from the ground, obliterating half the canyon. The light was quickly swallowed by darkness, plunging the surroundings into pitch black.
A chilling, sinister magic filled the battlefield. A bloodthirsty beast tore through the darkness, its grotesque face roaring, baring sharp fangs and claws unlike anything Erza had seen. In the warped space behind it, countless blood-red eyes glowed, as if frenzied beasts were clawing their way through the rift.
"These beasts… No, it's an illusion!" Erza realized.
She closed her eyes, focusing. In an instant, she requipped, slashing her sword horizontally. The space—and the beast—shattered. Looking around, she was back in the real battlefield, twin swords in hand, surrounded by sword marks.
"Impressive. You saw through the flaw that quickly. As expected of you!" Mistgun praised.
Erza opened only her right eye. "My right eye is artificial. Magic and illusions targeting the eyes or mind only have half the effect on me, so I noticed something was off right away."
Before she could finish, a rustling sound filled her ears. Mistgun, knowing his illusion magic would eventually be seen through, had seized the moment Erza was distracted to unleash a new spell.
Five magic staves of different designs surrounded Erza, their tips crackling as their magic resonated.
"Five-Layer Magic Circle: Sacred Song!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
White, yellow, blue, purple, and black magic circles materialized above Erza's head. A brilliant laser beam shot down toward her!
The dazzling display drew gasps and cheers from the audience, their excitement surging.
The spell looked flashy and had a poetic name, but it only had two effects: restricting the target's movement and putting them to sleep.
Erza didn't know it lacked raw destructive power, but she remained unfazed. Requipping into her Heaven's Wheel Armor, she unleashed a burst of magic, breaking free from the binding light. "Heaven's Wheel: Circle Sword!"
Gray and Elfman had already left this battlefield, so Erza had no reason to hold back. A storm of sword blades rained down, but Mistgun stayed calm, pointing two fingers forward. "Three-Layer Magic Circle: Mirror Water!"
Three radiant magic circles appeared in front of him, reflecting the sword rain back. The two waves of blades clashed in midair, clanging loudly. The uncontrolled swords fell to the ground in heaps.
Facing the returning sword rain, Erza was unshaken. Over a hundred blades orbited her, moving as if extensions of herself. Gripping her twin swords, she slashed rapidly, leaving afterimages that made it look like she had eight arms, wielding a thousand swords to attack and defend simultaneously. Her queenly aura was undeniable.
Mistgun, meanwhile, was frustrated. He wasn't fond of fighting, had no interest in this competition, and didn't want to battle his guildmates. If Makarov hadn't insisted everyone participate, he wouldn't be here!
But since he was, he'd give it his all.
The problem was his opponent. Erza seemed to counter him perfectly. My magic relies on illusions or sleep effects. If she's immune to those, most of my spells are useless. And in terms of physical combat…
Mistgun sighed, gripping a staff with both hands and holding it horizontally like a spear, adopting a fighting stance.
To fight in Edolas, where magic was unusable, he'd trained extensively in physical combat…
---
On another battlefield, things wrapped up much faster.
Without magic, Elfman and Gray were evenly matched—a conclusion drawn from their usual guild brawls. But with magic, Elfman's Beast King Soul gave him a clear edge in raw physical strength.
However, this fight wasn't about brute force. The Beast King Soul boosted both offense and defense, but Gray's Ice-Make Magic was versatile—high attack, strong defense, and fast. Against Elfman's raw power, Gray used finesse to outmaneuver him, quickly gaining the upper hand.
"Beast King's Full-Power Strike!!"
"Ice-Make: Snow Cannon!!"
No matter how mighty the Beast King was, it couldn't withstand a compressed avalanche of ice. As both unleashed their big moves, the fight ended after a few minutes.
With a deafening crash, Elfman collapsed, exhausted. Gray, nursing a swollen face, applied ice to it while jogging back to support Mistgun.
---
Meanwhile, Lucy had sneaked past the canyon's center, reaching the Red Team's mid-lane, where she encountered Evergreen guarding the crystal tower.
"Didn't expect anyone to make it this far," Evergreen said, standing beneath the tower. She twirled her hair, adjusted her glasses, and wore a dress straight out of a fairy tale, half-covering her face with a fan in a seductive pose.
Everyone in the guild knew Evergreen had an obsession with fairies. She'd loved fairy stories since childhood and joined Fairy Tail purely for its name. She was also fiercely proud, believing herself the guild's most beautiful woman. For these reasons, she harbored a grudge against Erza.
In this competition, Erza had assigned her to guard the tower. Evergreen initially resisted, but after Erza "convinced" her in just one minute, she complied—and learned firsthand why Erza was called the "Fairy Queen."
"Coming to steal the tower alone? You must have a death wish!" Evergreen sneered.
Her mocking tone pissed Lucy off. Who's she looking down on? I'm a Celestial Spirit Mage with eight Zodiac keys! Does she know what kind of power that represents?
Lucy wanted to snap back but bit her tongue.
No, I can't lose it! People might be watching. To boost my rep in the magic world and land high-paying jobs, I've got to stay classy. Stay calm, Lucy. You've got this!
Unbeknownst to her, the audience's attention was glued to Erza vs. Mistgun, Gray vs. Elfman, and the upcoming Erza vs. Gray and Mistgun. Hardly anyone was watching her.
Lucy glanced around and spotted Droy and Tono in the corner. She froze, realizing, "The Red Team still has this many people?!"
She'd thought she could sneak in and take the tower, but now it was one against three?
She knew Droy well—Rebby's teammate, a plant magic user. As for Tono…
Okay, she barely knew the guy. She'd only heard his name during this competition. He was a 15-year-old kid who used light magic, emitting energy from his body to attack those around him. He seemed kind and approachable.
Kira had once called him "a man destined to become light" and said he had high hopes for his future.