A/n: Just dropped a new fanfic on cricket. Cricket: Template system. Check it out.
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The stadium was electric. The first two matches had been a stunning display of power, strategy, and pure, chaotic energy. Team Strauss had proven their potential, and Team Thunder Legion had cemented its elite status.
Now, the third match was set, and the tension was palpable. It was a clash of titans.
Makarov's voice, now back in its role as announcer, boomed over the crowd. "And now, for our third match! A team of true power versus... well, a team of true mystery! Give it up for Team Brandish, Flare, Juvia, and Laki!"
The four women took the field. Juvia was waving frantically at a very confused Gray. Flare was cackling, her red hair seeming to writhe. Laki looked nervous. And Brandish... Brandish looked like she had just been woken up from a perfect nap. She yawned, a tiny, delicate gesture that was somehow insulting.
"And their opponents!" Makarov continued. "A team of sand, speed, and spirits! Give it up for Team Blake, Cana, Max, and Vijeeter!"
Cana, who was now 100% sober and focused, gave Blake a confident smirk. Max and Vijeeter looked like they were about to be sick, realizing they were now the main event, but they stood their ground.
The crystals were rolled out. Team Brandish got the blue; Team Blake, the red.
Teams:
Team Blake: Blake Corvus, Cana Alberona, Max Alors, Vijeeter Ecor.
Team Brandish: Brandish, Flare Corona, Juvia Lockser, Laki Olietta.
In the stands, the crowd was buzzing.
"This is it! Blake's team!"
"But who's that green-haired girl? She doesn't look like much."
"I don't know, but Juvia and Flare are monsters! This is gonna be a close one!"
Only Blake knew the truth. This wasn't a close one. This was, on paper, an execution.
On Team Brandish's side, Laki and Juvia were already forming a defensive plan.
"Laki-san, Juvia will create a water barrier, and you can use your Wood-Make to—"
"Ugh, this is such a drag," Brandish sighed, cutting them off. She was already bored. "You all handle the three pests. I'll guard the crystal. It's too much work to walk all the way over there."
She strolled over to her team's massive, blue, human-sized crystal... and casually sat down on top of it, crossing her legs. "Just wake me up when it's over."
Flare and Juvia sweat-dropped. "Aye, Brandish-san..."
On Blake's side, his team was in a high-stakes huddle.
"Okay, Vijeeter, Max, Cana... listen to me, and listen very carefully," Blake said, his voice a low, deadly serious rumble. His usual calm was gone.
"What is it, Blake?" Cana asked, picking up on his tension. "It's just four girls. We can take 'em."
"No," Blake said, his eyes locked on the bored, green-haired girl sitting on the crystal. "Three of them are manageable. That one... Brandish... she is the single most dangerous person in this entire tournament. Gildarts included."
His team froze.
"What?" Max stammered. "Her? She looks... lazy."
"Her magic is 'Mass Magic'," Blake explained, his Haki sensing the terrifying, latent power in her. "She can shrink this entire stadium to the size of a pebble if she feels like it. She could shrink our crystal, or us, or the ground beneath our feet. She is the only threat."
The color drained from his team's faces.
"So here's the plan," Blake said, his eyes narrowing. "This fight will be over in ten seconds. Max, the instant the bell rings, you create the biggest, densest sandstorm you have ever made. I want a wall of solid sand between us and them. Vijeeter, you use 'Speed Dance' on me. Cana, 'Sleep' cards, 'Bind' cards... I don't care. You have one job: stop Juvia, Flare, and Laki. Do not let them interfere with me. Do you understand?"
They all nodded, their faces pale but set with determination.
"Good," Blake said. He looked back at Brandish. "Because I'm ending this before she even bothers to stand up."
Makrov announced. "ALRIGHT! TEAM BLAKE VS. TEAM BRANDISH! THE THIRD MATCH... BEGIN!"
BAM!
The second Makarov's voice finished, the field exploded.
"Sandstorm Wall!" Max roared, slamming his hands on the ground. A colossal, 100-foot-tall wall of swirling, dense sand erupted from the center of the field, instantly bisecting the arena and blocking all line of sight.
"Dance of the Wild!" Vijeeter was already in motion, his buffing magic flowing over Blake, amplifying his speed.
"Here they come!" Juvia yelled from the other side of the sand wall. "Water Slicer!"
"Hair Shower: Wolf Fang!" Flare cackled, sending her burning hair over the wall.
"Card Magic: The Sleeping Fountain!" Cana roared, hurling a dozen cards over the sand. "Not today, ladies!"
A flurry of explosions, hissing water, and sleepy-gas erupted in the chaos, the three support mages instantly locked in a blind, magical artillery war.
But Blake was already gone.
The instant Vijeeter's buff hit him, Blake combined it with Soru and Geppo. He didn't run around the wall. He went over it. He was a black blur, a silent missile, crossing the entire stadium in less than two seconds.
Brandish, still sitting on her crystal, looked up, her bored expression finally shifting to one of mild surprise. "Oh. You're fast."
She saw Blake descending on her, his black sword, Tensa Zangetsu, already drawn. She raised a single, delicate hand. "Well, this is annoying. I guess I'll just shrink you and—"
She was too late.
Blake wasn't aiming for her. He knew he couldn't hit her. He was aiming for the crystal she was sitting on.
He poured every ounce of his power into the blade, not Anti-Magic, but pure, unadulterated Haki. The black lightning of his Advanced Conqueror's Haki and the internal-destruction-wave of his Advanced Armament Haki merged, the blade screaming with invisible power.
"DIVINE DEPARTURE!"
He swung the blade in a devastating, horizontal arc.
Brandish, her eyes widening as she sensed the world-breaking power in that single, non-magical strike, was forced to abandon the crystal. She "shrank" herself out of the way, teleporting ten feet to the side with a "Tch. You're making me work."
The Haki-wave hit the crystal.
The outside of the massive, blue lacrima was untouched. It didn't have a scratch.
Thump.
A low, internal hum vibrated from it. Then, with a sound like a collapsing mountain, the entire inside of the crystal imploded into dust. The flawless, hollow shell stood for a single second before crumbling into a million pieces.
The match was over. The total elapsed time: seven seconds.
The stadium was dead silent. Juvia, Flare, and Max, still in the middle of their sandstorm battle, just stopped, feeling the magic of the crystal die.
Blake landed lightly, sheathing his sword as the dust settled. He looked at Brandish, who was standing with her arms crossed, pouting.
"Well," she sighed. "That's that. You're annoying, you know that? I was comfortable."
Makarov's voice, amplified, boomed over the silent stadium. "THE WINNER IS... TEAM BLAKE!"
The crowd, finally processing the sheer, instantaneous speed and power of the victory, exploded.
"What... what just happened?!"
"He didn't even touch her!"
"He finished the game in seven seconds!"
Laxus, watching from the stands, sat up straight, his bored expression gone. "So... that's his real speed."
Blake's team ran onto the field. Cana jumped on his back, whooping. "WE DID IT! Well... you did it, but we helped!"
Blake just laughed, the tension finally leaving his shoulders. "That was way too close."
Match 4: Team Erza vs. Team "Fairy Tail Remaining"
Teams:
Team Erza: Erza Scarlet, Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Lucy Heartfilia.
Team Other: Warren Rocko, Nab Lasaro, and two other B- and C-list mages.
After the sheer, terrifying efficiency of Blake's match, the crowd was ready for another high-speed, S-Class display.
What they got... was Team Natsu.
Team Erza took the field, already arguing.
"I'm telling you, Erza, the plan is stupid!" Natsu yelled. "Why do we need a plan? I just gotta punch their crystal!"
"Because, Natsu, they have Warren!" Erza snapped back, pointing. "He's a telepath! He'll know what we're doing before we do it!"
"So I'll punch them first!"
BONK! Erza slammed his head. "You will follow the strategy! Gray, you will create an 'Ice-Make: Fortress' around our crystal. Lucy, you will summon spirits to guard it. Natsu, you and I will lead a direct, two-pronged assault. Do. Not. Deviate."
"Tch. Whatever," Gray grumbled, already shirtless.
On the other side, Team Other was... surprisingly organized.
"Alright, team!" Warren was projecting his thoughts into all their heads. "We all know we can't beat Erza or Natsu in a straight fight. So we won't. Nab, Vijeeter, Max's cousin, you are on our crystal. Your job is to just... look intimidating. Me and the other one will try to break the crystal."
Mest, his face blank, just nodded. "Got it. Wait for the signal."
Blake, back in the announcer's box, sighed. "This is going to be a train wreck. FOURTH MATCH... BEGIN!"
Erza's team exploded into (mostly) planned action.
"Ice-Make: Fortress!" Gray roared, slamming his hands down. A massive, beautiful, and completely over-the-top castle of ice erupted around their crystal.
"Open, Gate of the Lion! Loke!" Lucy summoned her strongest spirit. "Guard this castle! Don't let anyone in!"
"For my princess, anything," Loke said, adjusting his glasses.
"Alright, Natsu! Let's go!" Erza requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor and charged.
"I'M ALL FIRED UP!" Natsu charged... in the opposite direction, toward a food stall he'd just noticed.
"NATSU, YOU IDIOT! THAT'S THE WRONG WAY!" Erza roared, changing direction to retrieve her wayward Dragon Slayer.
While the "main attack" was already a complete disaster, the real plan was in motion.
"They're distracted!" Warren telepath-screamed. "Other one, NOW!"
Other one, he has a minor teleport ability, who had been standing on the far side of the arena, vanished. He reappeared inside Gray's ice fortress, right behind Loke and Lucy.
"Huh?!" Lucy yelped.
"Sorry," Mest said politely. He grabbed crystal. "Direct Line!"
He teleported again, this time taking a crystal with him, and reappeared 200 yards away, safely behind his own team's lines.
"WE GOT THE CRYSTAL!" Warren announced triumphantly. "LET'S BREAK IT! Nab, be on guard"
Nab, who had been standing still, finally cracked his knuckles. "Alright... time to..."
He never finished.
Back at Team Erza's base, Natsu and Gray had just been slammed together by an irate Erza.
"YOU... ARE... THE WORST... TEAM... EVER—"
"Erza!" Gray yelled, pointing. "He took Crystal!"
"AND HE'S GOING TO BREAK THE CRYSTAL!" Natsu added, seeing Nab taking defensive position and Warren charging his attack to break the crystal.
The four of them looked at each other. Their plan was in shambles. Their crystal was gone. An enemy was charging their attack on the crystal.
A terrifying, single-minded synchronicity fell over them.
"Gray... " Natsu said, his voice low.
"I know," Gray replied, his body already glowing with ice-magic.
"Get him," Erza commanded.
Natsu didn't aim at Nab. He aimed at the other side of the field.
"FIRE DRAGON'S... ROAR!"
Gray didn't aim at Nab. He aimed at the other side of the field.
"ICE-MAKE... LANCE!"
The two S-Class-level attacks, born of pure, rivalrous rage at having their teammate stolen, rocketed across the stadium. They weren't coordinated. They were just two separate, powerful attacks. But they were so fast, so strong, that they merged mid-air.
A massive, swirling vortex of black ice and crimson fire—an accidental Unison Raid—tore across the field.
Team Other, who had been cheering Other one's success, just stared in open-mouthed horror.
"Uh... Warren?" Nab stammered.
The Unison Raid didn't hit them. It didn't hit other one.
It flew directly over their heads and hit their crystal with the force of a meteor.
KABOOOOOM!
The entire crystal, and the 50 feet of earth around it, was instantly vaporized.
The field was silent. A terrified Other one quickly teleported a very confused crystal back to Erza's team base.
Blake just stared at the smoking crater. He sighed and lifted the mic.
"The... uh... winner is Team Erza."
The crowd went wild. Team Erza had easily won, not through strategy, but by pure, accidental, overwhelming, and badly aimed spite.
Erza just face-palmed. "I need a drink."
The semi-finals were set: Team Strauss vs. Team Erza Legion. And Team Blake vs. Team Laxus.