The stadium was a warzone of cheers, laughter, and pure, unadulterlared chaos. The 2-on-2 matches had concluded in the most Fairy Tail way imaginable.
Their own chaotic infighting had eliminated Team Erza, and Team Blake had been eliminated by Blake's own overwhelming power, knocking out his partner. The crowd was loving it.
After the 2v2 matches were over, Makarov, who was still wiping tears of laughter from his eyes after Blake's humiliating self-KO, retook the mic. His voice was a high-pitched cackle of pure joy.
"WHAT A DAY! WHAT A TOURNAMENT!" he roared. "Our semi-finals have been decided by technicality, friendly fire, and pure, wonderful, guild-wide incompetence! I LOVE YOU ALL!"
A massive cheer went up.
"BUT NOW," Makarov continued, his voice turning serious, "IT IS TIME! The objective is gone. The teams are dissolved. The four mages who proved victorious in the 2-on-2 matches will now face each other! The final battle... will be a BATTLE ROYALE!"
The stadium exploded. This was what they had been waiting for. A true, no-holds-barred, all-out brawl to determine the real number one.
"LET'S WELCOME OUR FINALISTS!"
"From Team Strauss, the manliest man in the guild... ELFMAN STRAUSS!"
Elfman strode onto the field, his fists raised, roaring "MANLY!" at the crowd.
"Also from Team Strauss, the sweet and speedy... LISANNA STRAUSS!"
Lisanna ran out, waving, blowing a kiss to her siblings.
"From Team Blake, the undisputed Ace of cards... CANA ALBERONA!"
Cana, now sober and focused, walked onto the field, her eyes sharp. She gave a single, confident nod to Blake in the stands, who just smirked and gave her a "you got this" gesture.
"AND FINALLY!" Makarov boomed, his voice full of pride. "The Demoness herself... MIRAJANE STRAUSS!"
Mira glided onto the field, her hands clasped, her smile as sweet and serene as a summer's day.
The four finalists gathered in the center: Mirajane, Cana, Lisanna, and Elfman.
The Strauss siblings looked at each other. The crowd was buzzing.
"It's a three-on-one!" someone yelled.
"This isn't fair! Team Strauss is gonna jump Cana!"
"Place your bets! Place your bets!"
Makarov raised his hand for silence. "This is a BATTLE ROYALE! The last mage standing will be declared the Strongest Mage in Fairy Tail for X784! ARE YOU READY?!"
"BEGIN!"
The bell rang.
Mirajane's smile widened. Lisanna immediately went into her Animal Soul: Cat form, her senses sharp, her body low to the ground. Cana drew a card, her eyes darting between the three siblings, knowing this was a trap.
But Elfman didn't move. He just stood there, his fists clenched, his massive frame shaking.
"Elf-niichan?" Lisanna asked, her fighting stance faltering.
"Come on, Elfman," Mira said, her voice still sweet, but her eyes hardening. "This is the final."
"No." Elfman's voice was a low, strained rumble. He looked at Mira. He looked at Lisanna. He looked at his own hands—the hands that had almost taken Lisanna's life two years ago, the hands that were meant to protect.
After seeing that he had to fight his own sisters. He raised his head, his eyes clear and full of manly conviction.
"I... I FORFEIT!"
The entire stadium, and his sisters, gasped.
"Elfman, what are you doing?!" Lisanna cried.
"Master!" Elfman yelled, turning to the announcer's box. "A man's strength isn't for a title! A man's strength is to protect his family!" He slammed his fist over his heart. "A man will NEVER strike his sisters! My fight is over! I've already won, because my sisters are safe and strong! This battle... is not a manly one!"
Makarov, who had been about to scold him, froze. A slow, proud tear welled in his eye. "Elfman... you... you magnificent fool." He grabbed the mic. "A TRULY MANLY DECLARATION! ELFMAN STRAUSS HAS FORFEITED THE MATCH! LET'S HEAR IT FOR HIM!"
The crowd, moved by his speech, gave him a standing ovation. Elfman, his duty done, walked off the field, leaving the three women to face each other.
---
The field was silent again. It was now Mira, Cana, and Lisanna.
"Well," Cana said, cracking her neck. "This just got more interesting."
"Don't count me out, Cana-san!" Lisanna said, her resolve returning. She was the underdog, and she knew it. She had to strike first, and she had to strike smart. She wouldn't attack her sister, Mira.
"Animal Soul: Harpy!" Lisanna transformed, sprouting white wings, and shot into the air, her talons extended, diving straight for Cana.
"Lisanna, no!" Mira called out, but it was too late.
Cana didn't even flinch. She just watched the diving Take-Over mage with a calculating eye.
"You're fast, Lisanna," Cana muttered. "But not fast enough."
Just as Lisanna's talons were about to hit, Cana simply sidestepped.
"Card Magic: The Sleeping Lightning."
She didn't throw the card. She just activated it. A localized, non-lethal burst of paralysis-magic erupted from her body.
Lisanna, moving too fast to stop, flew right into the magical field. Her body seized up instantly, her wings freezing. She dropped from the air like a stone, crashing onto the ground, completely paralyzed.
"And... Lisanna gets eliminated first," Blake's voice could be heard from the stands, sounding both bored and proud.
Elfman ran out, scooped up his paralyzed-but-unharmed sister, and carried her off the field.
The crowd was stunned by the sudden, one-shot elimination.
Now, there were two.
The stadium, which had been loud and chaotic, fell into a deep, reverent silence. This was the real final. Cana and Mirajane. Drunkard vs Demoness.
---
"I knew it would come down to us," Cana said, her voice dropping its lazy, drunken drawl. She was completely sober, her eyes sharp, and her magic crackling.
"My, my, Cana-chan," Mira replied, her smile returning, though it didn't reach her eyes. "You've gotten so strong. Blake's been a very good influence on you."
"He taught me to stop holding back," Cana said, taking a low stance. "And so did my dad."
She stomped her foot.
KRA-KOOM!
The entire stadium floor shattered as a wave of pure Crush magic erupted from her body, a miniature version of Gildarts's own power. The ground between them turned to rubble.
Mira, however, was already in the air, her form shifting.
"Take Over: Satan Soul!"
The demonic power flooded the arena, a wave of darkness meeting Cana's raw, physical power. Mira, in her full, terrifying glory, hovered above the wreckage.
Mira dived, her speed a demonic blur, claws extended for a hand-to-hand assault.
Cana's eyes narrowed. She didn't retreat. She met the charge. She coated her own fist in the shimmering, spatial-warping energy of her Crush magic.
BOOM!
A demonic claw met a Crushing fist. The resulting shockwave was so powerful that it blew the first row of spectators back into their seats. The ground beneath them turned to liquid.
"WHAT'S THIS?!" Makarov roared, his beard blowing back. "CANA IS MEETING SATAN SOUL IN A HEAD-ON PHYSICAL BRAWL! SHE'S DISINTEGRATING MIRA'S MAGIC WITH EVERY BLOW!"
In the stands, Blake crossed his arms, a proud, sharp smirk on his face. That's my girl.
"You're strong!" Mira hissed, the two of them locked in a stalemate of pure power.
"I've been training a lot!" Cana roared back. She broke the lock, spun, and threw three cards. "Card Magic: The Shifting Sand, The Lightning, and The Tower!"
A pit of quicksand opened at Mira's feet, a bolt of lightning shot from the sky, and a stone pillar erupted to crush her. It was a perfect, three-pronged trap.
Mira was unimpressed. "Evil Explosion!"
A massive, 360-degree blast of dark energy erupted from her body, vaporizing the lightning, shattering the tower, and blasting the sand away. She shot through her own explosion, her fist cocked.
"This isn't a game, Cana! Demon Blast!"
She punched the air, sending a massive, dark orb of concussive force.
Cana, her cards useless at this speed, was forced to use her father's primary skill. She met the blast with her own palm. "Crush!"
The orb hit her hand and... cracked. The dark magic splintered, like glass, and shattered around her.
"She's fighting even with Mira!" Lucy stammered in awe.
"This is... a MANLY BATTLE!" Elfman wept from the sidelines.
The fight was a brutal, beautiful stalemate. Mira's demonic speed and flight gave her an edge, but Cana's raw, defensive power was absolute.
Every time Mira unleashed a devastating magic attack, Cana would meet it with a perfectly timed Crush, shattering the spell.
Every time Mira tried to get in close for hand-to-hand combat, Cana would meet her claw for fist, her Crush magic canceling out Mira's dark energy.
"This is getting boring, Mira!" Cana panted, skidding back from another impact. "Are you going to run all day, or are you going to fight?"
"Boring?" Mira's voice was dangerously quiet. She landed, her feet touching the ruined earth. "You're right. I've been... polite."
She began to draw in a massive amount of dark energy. The sky above the stadium, despite the afternoon sun, began to darken. The air grew heavy and cold.
"This is my strongest move, Cana," Mira stated, a sphere of pure, swirling darkness gathering between her hands. "This is the spell that crippled countless enemies. Surrender now."
Cana's face was grim. She was bruised, bleeding, and breathing heavily. She knew her normal cards and her fledgling Crush magic couldn't stop that. It was too big, too dense.
I have... one chance.
She held out her hand. A White light enveloped her hand.
"Is... is that...?!" Makarov stood up in his box, his eyes wide.
Cana was preparing her ultimate crush magic.
"You can't be serious!" Blake muttered from the stands, his own calm breaking.
The two women stood opposite, gathering the two most powerful spells of the entire guild. The air crackled, ready to tear itself apart.
"MIRA!"
"CANA!"
They were both about to unleash their ultimate attacks.
"SOUL EXTINCTION!" Mira shrieked, unleashing the blast.
"Purifying Truth: Absolute Heaven!" Cana roared the ultimate magic of her father's magic.
Two magics collided with each other for an agonizing moment, the air screaming as the two magics tore at each other.
Then, it shattered.
The beam engulfed Cana in a catastrophic explosion. The entire stadium was blinded by the flash.
When the smoke cleared, Cana was on her knees, her clothes in tatters, her body covered in burns and bruises. She was panting, her magic completely drained. She looked up at Mira, a bloody, defiant, pained grin on her face.
"That... tickled... Mira..."
And then, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed, unconscious.
The fight was over.
Mira landed softly, her Satan Soul form receding, leaving the kind, gentle, and utterly exhausted woman in its place. She knelt, brushing the hair from Cana's unconscious face.
"That was a good fight, Cana," Mira whispered, her own voice full of respect.
Makarov's voice, thick with tears, boomed over the arena.
"THE WINNER! AND THE NEWEST REIGNING CHAMPION... THE STRONGEST MAGE IN FAIRY TAIL... IS MIRAJANE STRAUSS!"
The stadium, silent in awe, exploded. Everyone cheered and congratulated her. Elfman and Lisanna were the first on the field, tackling their sister in a group hug. Blake was already there, lifting Cana's unconscious form into his arms with a look of fierce pride.
The tournament was over.
Then that evening, the Fantasia Parade happened. It was, after the intensity of the tournament, a release of pure, unadulterated joy. The whole of Magnolia was celebrating happily, lining the streets as the massive, glittering floats began their procession.
It was a spectacle of its own.
Natsu, of course, had a float shaped like a dragon that kept accidentally setting fire to Gray's ice sculptures. Erza's float was a dazzling, mobile armory, with her requipping in time to music. Lucy, Brandish, and Juvia had a "Water & Stars" float, with Juvia creating a massive, dancing water-dome over them while Lucy's spirits danced.
But the final two floats earned the biggest cheers.
The "Runner-Up" float was a giant, rolling barrel. Cana, now awake and happily chugging from a massive mug (despite Blake's protests), was sitting on top of it. She was surrounded by the guildmates, who were performing magic for the people to enjoy.
Blake was walking beside them; he was content to be the ground crew for his girlfriend, and he also didn't have any magic to do the tricks.
And finally... the Winner's Float.
Mirajane stood on a platform shaped like a massive, white-and-gold Fairy Tail emblem. She was in a simple, beautiful white dress, smiling and waving to the crowd. And as the float reached the center of town, she closed her eyes.
A soft, dark energy enveloped her. She didn't transform into the demonic Sitri. She grew a simple, elegant pair of dark, leathery wings. She grew small, graceful horns. She was Satan Soul: Demon-Angel. It was a form of pure grace and terrifying power. She floated into the air above the crowd, a perfect, beautiful paradox—the demon and the angel, the strongest and the gentlest.
The crowd roared. It was a perfect end to a perfect day.
The parade, as was tradition, ended in a brawl when Natsu's float accidentally set fire to Gray's, and the ensuing fight crashed into the town square, but everyone was too drunk and happy to care. Fairy Tail was home, they were strong, and they were, as always, a complete disaster.