After the Town Maze ended, everyone was teleported out.
Ikaruga had been so caught up in killing monsters that she didn't react even after coming out, only calming down when she saw her sister, Chine.
Her luck was terrible; she constantly triggered traps and was forced to fight monsters. From start to finish, she killed no less than three hundred monsters, which was truly ridiculous.
Meredy was also gambling fiercely; if Jellal and Ultear hadn't held her back, she definitely would have rushed back into the Town Maze to find that old woman and gamble again. She suspected that shameless person was cheating.
She had clearly intended to stop playing for the last three rounds, but she got stuck on the last four rounds and kept losing.
Meredy's head was steaming with anger: "My luck couldn't possibly be that bad! I don't believe it!"
She had already suffered over fifty different kinds of punishments, and now being told it was all for nothing was something she simply couldn't accept.
Ultear hadn't expected Meredy to suffer such a beating in a game. Suppressing a laugh, she hugged Meredy and comforted her: "There, there, don't be angry. That was just illusory damage, and aren't you perfectly fine now."
Meredy looked extremely wronged, almost bursting into tears: "But I felt it myself..."
Jellal smiled and said, "Just take it as training. Don't gamble again in the future."
"Mhm, I won't gamble ever again!"
...Gray also returned from the other side, looking completely miserable. Most of his punishments involved spinning, and he was so dizzy he felt like throwing up now.
Laxus laughed loudly and said, "How useless, Gray. You can't handle just a few spins?"
Gray immediately grew furious: "That was over a thousand spins! Try it yourself if you dare?"
"I'll try if you want me to! I'll spin for you later!"
"If you can spin a thousand times without getting dizzy, I'll call you Dad right then and there!"
Laxus confidently said, "No problem. If I get dizzy, I'll call you Dad!"
Erza rubbed her forehead. Fighting over who gets to be called Dad—are young boys this childish nowadays?
Gildarts is much more reliable... Then she saw Gildarts walk over: "I don't believe you can spin a thousand times without getting dizzy either. If you lose, call me Dad. If you win, I'll call you Dad!"
Erza: "..."
...Elfman also returned. Compared to the mockery Gray received, the people here were much more sympathetic.
They all stepped forward to pat his shoulder, telling him not to dwell on it, that it wasn't his fault, and that no one could have done anything in that situation.
This round of comfort instantly moved the Man to tears, streaming down his face.
Acnologia looked at Elfman, who was crying while hugging him, and said flatly, "You can cry while hugging me, but if you dare wipe snot on me, I will twist your head off and shove it up your ass!"
(⊙﹏⊙)
Elfman was instantly terrified and quickly withdrew his hands. Big Brother, it was just a joke, don't take it so seriously.
At this moment, the host's voice rang out: "The second stage, Town Maze, has concluded! The winner is Rufus Noah of Sabertooth! Ten points are added to his team, and ten points are deducted from the other teams!"
"Next, we announce the Guild scores!"
"First place, Sabertooth, with a total score of 57 points!"
"Second place, Fairy Tail First Team, with a total score of 40 points!"
"Third place, Grimoire Heart, with a total score of 38 points!"
"Fourth place, Raven Tail, with a total score of 36 points!"
"Fifth place, Mermaid Heel, with a total score of 35 points!"
"Sixth place, Lamia Scale, with a total score of 34 points!"
"Seventh place, Fairy Tail Second Team, with a total score of 32 points!"
"Eighth place, Sword Guild, with a total score of 31 points!"
"Ninth place, Sword Guild, with a total score of 30 points!"
"Tenth place, Crime Sorcière, with a total score of 27 points!"
Everyone watched with pounding hearts. Wow, the gap between first and tenth place was a full thirty points—that was too exaggerated. If Crime Sorcière didn't step up, they would lose all their points... Night fell. After two days and two nights of competition, the competitors were exhausted, and the audience was also tired. The Grand Magic Games entered a rest period, with the second stage of the competition resuming tomorrow.
Acnologia originally planned to take everyone back to the dorms to rest, but he ran into Hades halfway, who called out to him. Seeing that the other party had something to say, he first let Irene take the others back.
The two came to a riverbank. Looking at the glittering water surface, Acnologia said faintly, "Just say what you need to say. Don't forget, we are still considered enemies."
He had no interest in Hades. Since the Guild Master chose to spare him, he would show some respect.
Hades, wearing a large cloak and still sporting the Demon Helmet, spoke: "There is one thing I want to tell you. I wouldn't have participated in the Grand Magic Games if I hadn't sensed something very strange here."
"Strange?"
Acnologia knew Hades wasn't the type to make baseless claims, so he felt a bit confused and asked, "What did you sense?"
Ever since he learned that the Eclipse Gate was in the hands of the King of Red Dragons, Osta, and that the Future Man Incident from the original work wouldn't happen, he had treated the Grand Magic Games as a normal festival. Had he overlooked something?
Hades looked serious: "There are two aspects. First, there is a very evil aura in the Royal Palace. This evil aura is different from that of demons, and its specifics are unknown."
"Second, based on my observation, the illusory magic space is draining the Magic Power from everyone's battles and transmitting it somewhere. The Grand Magic Games feel to me like they are being held specifically to collect Magic Power."
He originally intended to find Makarov, but Acnologia gave him a stronger feeling—an unfathomable power, like the legendary Abyss of Magic. That's why he sought him out.
"Evil aura? I hadn't noticed that..." Acnologia's eyes showed contemplation.
The Grand Magic Games is collecting Magic Power, just like in the original work. Did Future Rogue appear?
Just like in the original work, deceiving Princess Hisui and opening the Eclipse Gate?
But the Eclipse Gate is in the Shadow Dragon's Space. Why would Osta kindly open the gate and let Future Rogue out?
But if it's not because of the Eclipse Gate, why would the Fiore Kingdom collect Magic Power? What are they trying to do?
"Zeref has already guaranteed that as soon as the Eclipse Gate appears in the present world, he will immediately close it. The Dragon King Festival storyline should be gone."
Acnologia felt his mind was a little confused. Could a new unknown enemy have appeared?
Hades watched him remain silent for a long time, then said, "That's all I have to say. Since your Fairy Tail is the Guild of Justice, I'll leave this matter to you."
"If anything bad happens afterward, I will immediately leave with the Grimoire Heart members."
After he finished speaking, he turned and left.
This might be the last time he helps the Fairy Tail Guild. In the future, they will each go their separate ways. Whether they cross paths again depends on fate.
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