Chapter 286: One Person Suppression
For the duel events, the tournament matches opponents based on match-ups decided by the organizers or fan interest, but for the competition part, there are no requirements, and anyone can be sent up representing their team.
"With yesterday's performance, do you still have the nerve to go up?"
Gray Fullbuster complained bluntly, leaning against the stone railing of the spectator balcony. His arms were crossed, and his expression was a mix of annoyance and lingering second-hand embarrassment.
"I just didn't perform well yesterday! That's all there is to it!" Natsu Dragneel shouted back defensively, though his face was still slightly pale. The mere memory of the previous event was enough to make his stomach churn.
Competing in a vehicle yesterday was simply Underworld for a Dragon Slayer. The motion sickness had rendered him completely useless, turning what should have been a display of power into a comedy sketch.
"Since Erza is going up for Team A, then for Team B, let me go!"
Mira Jane Strauss stepped forward, her white hair swaying gently. Since she lost her magic power years ago, it had been a long time since she sparred with Erza or competed on the same stage. They had both appeared in duels on the previous days, so it made sense they would compete in the special competition part now.
"If Little Erza is going out, then I'll go too-meow!"
In the Mermaid Heel booth, seeing Erza step onto the field, Millianna pumped her fist excitedly. The cat-loving mage also wanted to participate, driven by her childhood bond with Erza.
"I agree," Kagura Mikazuchi nodded stoically, her hand resting on the hilt of her blade, Archenemy. She trusted Millianna's capabilities, even if her demeanor was playful.
"Eh? That girl."
In the Fairy Tail stand, Lucy Heartfilia squinted at the arena below. She saw Millianna stepping out and recognized her identity as well from their encounter at the Tower of Heaven.
Natsu also recognized her, blinking in surprise. "Millianna? She joined a guild too? I thought she was traveling."
"People change, and everyone needs a place to belong," Ren commented calmly from his seat. He watched the proceedings with a keen interest. As a transmigrator, he knew exactly what legendary moment was about to unfold, but seeing it live was a different beast entirely.
On the Raven Tail side, the atmosphere was sinister.
"Don't pull any small tricks in front of the Council Members, Obra," Ivan Dreyar warned in a low, dangerous voice. "We need points, not a disqualification."
Obra, the strange imp-like creature, merely nodded silently.
"I'll handle things for Pegasus!" Hibiki Lates announced with a charming smile, flipping his hair.
"Kyaaa! Hibiki-sama!"
His declaration caused quite a few girls in the audience to cheer; the handsome guys of Blue Pegasus were extremely popular among the girls, regardless of whether they won or lost.
"Wait, based on the name 'Pandemonium', no matter how you look at it, I should be the one going up," Ren interjected, looking at the Blue Pegasus section from a distance. He wanted to stop him. Pandemonium sounded like a chaotic, combat-heavy competition, and Hibiki's Archive magic wasn't primarily suited for heavy combat.
Hibiki said with a grin, a sparkle appearing near his face, "Don't worry! I have a way to handle it! Information is power, Ren-kun!"
Ren couldn't help but complain, "You don't look reassuring at all."
Ichiya struck a bizarre pose, sniffing the air. "Trusting your comrades, that is our guild's most important principle! Men!"
"I'll go. I'll blast them all away with Black Lightning."
In the Sabertooth balcony, Orga Nanagear stepped forward, black lightning crackling around his massive fists.
Minerva Orland, the young lady of Sabertooth, fanned herself with a bored expression. She complained, "You're going to blast them without even knowing the competition's content? Typical brute."
"Is Mr. Jura going up?"
In the Lamia Scale section, Sherria Blendy was a bit surprised. Usually, the Ace would save their strength.
"Grandma's orders, nothing I can do!" Lyon Vastia laughed. He didn't care much about rankings; otherwise, he wouldn't have skipped so many previous tournaments. However, with Fairy Tail's return this time, it had somewhat ignited his competitive spirit.
Being in second-to-last place until now was a bit unsightly; it was time for Mr. Jura, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, to step up and earn some points to stabilize their standing.
"Yes, leave it to me," Jura said, his voice deep and resonant like the earth itself.
The participants gathered in the center of the Domus Flau.
The host, the pumpkin-headed mascot named Mato, waved his hands enthusiastically. "Kabo! Sorry about the day off yesterday due to the unexpected situation! Now, I will begin explaining the rules of Pandemonium!"
As Pumpkin Head finished speaking, the arena's massive materialization magic activated. The ground rumbled, and purple magical energy swirled in the air.
Rumble... Crash!
A massive, ominous temple filled with horror elements rose from the ground, towering over the contestants. It looked like a castle from a nightmare, adorned with gargoyles and twisted spires.
"The temple where evil monsters nest, Pandemonium."
"Inside this temple, there are 100 monsters. Although they are just materialized by our magic and won't attack everyone in the audience, the monsters' combat power is set to five Ranks: D, C, B, A, and S."
A holographic display appeared, showing the breakdown.
"The quantities are distributed as follows: 50 D-Rank, 30 C-Rank, 15 B-Rank, 4 A-Rank, and 1 S-Rank."
"By the way, just how strong is a D-Rank monster? Kabo!"
A giant Magic Circle screen was projected, showing a simulation of a monster covered in iron-hard scales. With a casual swing of its tail, it destroyed a stone pillar, and with one charge, it demolished a brick house.
"As you can see from its strength, there are a total of 100 of these wandering inside Pandemonium."
Mato's voice dropped to a serious tone. "Please remember, for every Rank higher, the combat power doubles. An S-Rank monster is something even the Ten Wizard Saints cannot guarantee a win against! It is a true boss-level threat!"
"Hmm?"
Jura raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. Even for a Saint, that was a bold claim, sparking his interest.
"Please choose the number of monsters to fight in order. This is called the Right of Challenge. If you choose 3, then only 3 will appear in the temple. After successfully defeating 3 monsters, that contestant earns 3 points, and the next contestant will choose from the remaining 97."
"This repeats until the number of remaining monsters is 0, or when everyone's magic power is completely exhausted, the competition will be declared over."
Millianna frowned and said to the host, "This seems like a numbers game!"
"Exactly. Instantaneous judgment of the situation is very important. However, as mentioned earlier regarding the monster Ranks, whether you choose one or five, the Ranks of the monsters that appear are random."
Hibiki said while analyzing, his fingers typing on a holographic keyboard generated by his Archive magic, "In other words, the strategy is to avoid encountering the S-Rank monster. Statistically, one should start small to gauge the distribution."
"If it's random, that kind of strategy is useless," Orga grunted. He didn't like things that required thinking.
Hibiki said confidently, "No, probability theory can become a certain strategy within my Archive."
"Regardless of the monster's Rank, only the number of monsters defeated counts. Once you enter the temple, you cannot come out until the challenge is successful. If you fall inside the temple, the points earned previously remain valid, but the kill count for the round you fell in won't be counted, and the contestant must withdraw."
Gray frowned deeply and said, "This really is a difficult multiple-choice question! If you're greedy, you lose everything."
Lucy also nodded, looking worried. "Yeah! The number chosen has a significant impact on what follows. If you accidentally pick an S-Rank in your first draw, it'll be bad."
Ren smiled, leaning back in his chair with absolute confidence. "This event isn't as complicated as you think. You just have to pick them all."
"Pick them all?!" Lucy and Gray looked at him as if he were crazy.
"Then, everyone, please start drawing lots to determine the order!" Mato shouted.
Sticks were drawn.
Erza looked at the number on her stick. "Number 1."
Millianna looked at Erza's number and smiled. "Little Erza is number 1? I'm number 2. It'll be me after you're done-meow."
Erza breathed a sigh of relief, closing her eyes for a moment. "I thought the outcome of this competition depended on drawing luck. Of course, my luck has always been the best."
"Drawing luck?" Nobarly scratched his head. "Number 1 is indeed a good draw because the pool is full, but you still need to judge your own strength and then decide on the number of monsters to challenge..."
Erza stepped forward, her armor clanking softly. She looked Mato in the eye.
"No need! All 100, I'll take them all. The Right of Challenge is 100!"
Erza's words startled almost everyone in the Grand Magic Games venue. The silence that followed was deafening, broken only by the wind.
Ren laughed, clapping his hands once. "See! That's Erza!"
After a moment of surprise, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy all had smiles on their faces. The worry vanished, replaced by a fierce pride.
Right! That's Erza!! That is the Titania of Fairy Tail!
"You... you're joking! How can there be a setting where one person can wipe them all out!!"
The host, Pumpkin Head, was a bit panicked, waving his arms. "If you fail, you get zero points! Are you sure?!"
Erza didn't answer. She walked in without looking back.
The heavy gates of Pandemonium slammed shut behind her.
Soon, the big screen displayed the footage inside using Lacrima vision. Over a hundred giant monsters of various forms were lurking in the twisted corridors of the temple, watching as Erza walked in step by step.
There were no pleasantries; they immediately rushed at Erza. A horde of D-Rank Cyclops and lizard-men charged, their roars shaking the camera feed.
"Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor!"
Erza's voice cut through the noise. A flash of light erupted, and she was clad in silver armor with glorious metal wings.
"Blumenblatt!"
She dashed forward, passing through the first wave of monsters. Behind her, dozens of swords slashed simultaneously. The D-Rank monsters didn't even have time to scream before they were cut into particles of magical light.
But the C-Rank monsters were smarter. Stone Golems and Fire Spirits attacked from the distance.
"Requip: Flame Empress Armor!"
Erza switched instantly, her armor turning red and orange. She absorbed the fire breath of the spirits and retaliated with a vortex of flames, incinerating the golems.
"She's... she's not stopping!" Hibiki gasped, watching his calculations shatter.
The B-Rank monsters, massive beasts with high speed, tried to flank her.
"Requip: Black Wing Armor!"
Erza's speed increased exponentially. She became a black blur, zigzagging through the monsters. With every pass, a monster fell, sliced cleanly in half. Her movements were a dance of death, precise and beautiful.
"Thirty down! Forty down! Fifty down!" The commentator screamed.
Erza was panting now. Sweat poured down her face. The sheer number was taking a toll on her stamina. Bruises began to appear on her skin where attacks had grazed her.
"Requip: Giant Armor!"
She hurled a spear with the force of a siege weapon, piercing through three A-Rank armored knights in a single throw.
Rumble——!!
The temple shook. From the deepest shadow, a pressure unlike any other emerged.
"It's the S-Rank monster!" someone in the crowd shouted.
A small, humanoid demon with a single eye and four arms appeared. It didn't roar. It simply vanished and reappeared behind Erza, striking her with a force that cracked the ground.
"Gah!" Erza was sent flying, crashing through a stone wall.
"Erza!" Natsu screamed.
Erza stood up from the rubble, blood trickling from her forehead. Her armor was shattered.
"You are strong," she whispered, her eyes burning with an indomitable will. "But I have friends waiting for me. I have a guild to protect!"
A green light enveloped her. She discarded all heavy defenses. She donned the Clear Heart Clothing—simple hakama pants and a sarashi bandage around her chest. In her hand, she held the demon blade, Benizakura.
"She abandoned defense for pure offense?" Jura muttered, impressed.
The S-Rank monster charged. Erza charged.
They met in the center of the temple.
Shockwaves of magic power exploded outward, shattering the windows of the materialized temple. For a moment, the camera couldn't even track them.
Then, a single flash of the blade.
Slash!
The S-Rank monster froze. Slowly, a line appeared down its center, and it dissolved into light.
"She... she did it!"
Only a few D-Rank stragglers remained, trembling in fear. Erza didn't hesitate. She raised her sword and finished the job.
Along with the last monster falling to the ground, the temple began to fade.
Erza stood amidst the fading magical particles, battered, bruised, but standing tall. She raised her fist to the sky.
[Un... un-unbelievable!! She actually eliminated all 100 monsters by herself!!]
The announcer's voice cracked.
[Is this the strength of the guild known as the strongest seven years ago?!]
The entire arena erupted in a roar that shook the capital.
[One person suppressed Pandemonium!! Fairy Tail Team A receives 10 points!!]