On the empty arena floor, Future Lucy and Flare Corona stood facing each other.
"B-Blond hair..."
Flare wore a revealing, open-chest red dress, her two red braids wrapped around her armpits and tied behind her waist. She tilted her head, staring fixedly at Future Lucy with a creepy, unsettling expression.
Future Lucy said nothing, studying her opponent with serious intensity.
First, the sneak attack on Wendy. Then the relentless targeting of Gray during the competitive event. Even though the outcomes had been favorable, Raven Tail's intentions were crystal clear.
To stop your schemes from succeeding, and for the comrades who endured all the mockery and doubt these past seven years—I absolutely cannot lose!
With that thought, Future Lucy silently clenched her fists, her fighting spirit burning bright.
"From now on, the entire arena is the combat zone. Time limit is thirty minutes as well," Pumpkin Head said, walking slowly to stand between them. "During this period, rendering your opponent unable to fight will be considered victory."
With his mind set on seeing that annoying Chase get beaten by Jura, he dispensed with any unnecessary words, briefly explained the rules, and waved his hand.
"I hereby declare the first battle—begin!"
DONG!
As the staff member on the high platform struck the gong, Future Lucy—full of energy—launched the first attack. A golden key spun between her fingers.
"Open! Gate of Taurus: Taurus!"
The muscular Taurus burst out from the magic circle, his double-bladed battle axe kicking up a gust of wind as he swung it toward Flare with a sharp, fierce angle.
The power was strong, but the intent was too obvious. Flare lightly leaped backward to evade.
"Not done yet!"
Future Lucy wasted no time pulling out a second Twelve Golden Key. "Open! Gate of Scorpio: Scorpio!"
Golden light flared as Scorpio made a stylish entrance, his mechanical scorpion tail cannon already primed and ready.
"Sandstorm!"
A swirling vortex of sand howled forward, skimming across the ground and blasting straight toward Flare, who was still mid-air.
Flare sneered and flicked her head. Her long red hair, freed from its elastic bindings, rapidly extended while bursting into roaring flames, clashing head-on with the incoming sandstorm.
BOOM!
The two magical forces exploded mid-air, sending rocks and dust flying in an instant.
Future Lucy seemed to have anticipated this: "Now, Taurus! Use Scorpio's sand!"
"Got it, Lucy-sama!"
Taurus immediately understood. He twirled his battle axe, drawing all the sand to wrap around its blade, then leaped forward and brought down a Celestial Spirit combination technique—Sandstorm Axe!
The devastating strike, enhanced by his monstrous strength, came crashing down. Though Flare dodged in time, the subsequent explosion of sand blasted her off her feet, sending her spinning through the air like a rag doll.
A curtain of sand covered the entire arena.
The continuous, aggressive assault left the skeptical audience stunned.
Even Fairy Tail's own members were taken aback.
"She can summon two Celestial Spirits at the same time?" Future Bisca's eyes widened.
"Since when could Lucy open two gates?" Future Alzack marveled.
Little Asuka just kept shouting, "Lucy is so cool!"
Nearby, Éclair took in their reactions with a puzzled look. Was this really that difficult for Lucy?
"Not bad at all, you idiot Lucy," Chase said with a smile as he walked out from the tunnel.
"Chase? Shouldn't you be in the competitor's rest area?" Future Macao looked at him quizzically.
"Nothing for Team B to do right now, so I figured I'd drop by."
With that, Chase scooped up the delighted Asuka and placed her gently on his shoulders.
If things went as expected, Flare, now at a disadvantage, would try to use Asuka to threaten Future Lucy. Though Future Natsu would likely intervene from nearby, Future Lucy would still have taken a beating in the time it took him to get there.
That was something Chase couldn't tolerate.
Come to think of it, Flare was quite pitiful. Raised with love and protection by the giants of Sun Village, she had barely begun to experience the outside world when she encountered someone as unscrupulous as Ivan.
"You're so casual about it. What if you get picked for one of the later matches, Chase?" Lucy said from inside the card.
Under Chase's influence, her judgment and insight had grown immensely. She could see at a glance that Flare was no match for "herself," so she remained relaxed.
"Haha, I'd be looking forward to it," Chase said, playing with Asuka on his shoulders.
In the span of a few words, the battle on the field had reached its climax.
Future Lucy drew her Stellar Whip, clashing with Flare's so-called "freely burning flame hair." The two were locked in an intense magical exchange, neither giving an inch.
Ultimately, Future Lucy gained the upper hand. At the small cost of sacrificing both her boots, she sent Flare sprawling to the ground!
"My flames can only inflict this much damage?"
Flare slowly rose to her feet, staring darkly at Future Lucy across from her. "Blond hair... damn blond hair..."
She didn't know that under Future Natsu's subtle influence (not that kind of influence), Future Lucy had actually developed some resistance to fire.
Remembering Master Ivan's orders before the battle, the naive Flare's eyes darted toward Fairy Tail's spectator section.
Then—
Her gaze met Chase's smiling eyes directly.
In an instant, Flare's expression changed drastically. She felt an overwhelming coldness and a suffocating pressure.
That man holding a child isn't using any magic... so why did just one look... make my body... stop moving?!
Flare couldn't understand what was happening, but she knew one thing for certain: if she actually tried to threaten that blond girl with a child, not only would it fail, but she would be the one who died!
"Hey, why are you spacing out all of a sudden? You must have stronger magic, right?"
Future Lucy noticed her opponent's odd behavior but didn't take advantage. Instead, she stood her ground and called out. She didn't want to end up like Gray, with everyone thinking Fairy Tail only won against Raven Tail through some boring "personal connections."
"Blond hair!!"
Flare very wisely abandoned any underhanded tactics and refocused her cold gaze on Future Lucy.
A magic circle flared. As she unleashed her magic power without reserve, her red hair flared wildly behind her, burning with even hotter flames—like hellish demon tentacles crawling out from the abyss!
"Now that's more like it."
Future Lucy took a deep breath, twirling her golden key in a stylish arc through the air. "Open! Gate of Gemini: Gemini!"
"Biri biri! Lucy-sama, are we using that?" Gemini waved their little hands in rhythm.
"Biri biri! There's no guarantee it'll work perfectly~" Mini warned.
"It's okay! I've learned the trick from the other me!" Future Lucy said with confidence.
Hearing this, Gemini said no more. Their bodies glowed as they began to transform.
The next moment, a sultry Lucy in a bathrobe made her dazzling appearance.
"OOOOOH!!!"
The audience, which had been fiercely arguing moments ago, erupted into deafening cheers in perfect unison.
Yep—the Fairy Tail world never lacked for perverts.
"Wow! What an amazing twist! Is Lucy-sama planning to seduce her all-out opponent?!" Announcer Chapati had hearts in his eyes.
Beside him, Yajima said nothing, his old face flushed red as he stared without blinking.
"It's nothing like that!!!" Future Lucy shouted, clutching her chest in protest.
"Amazing. Everything that should be showing is showing," special guest commentator Jenny said with a disgusted look.
That casual remark dealt massive emotional damage to six people in Fairy Tail's section: two Levys were severely wounded, two Wendys were heartbroken, and two Mavises touched their empty chests, tears streaming down their faces.
BOOM!
The increasingly ferocious flame hair snapped Future Lucy's attention back to the match.
Putting aside any sense of shame, she reached out and clasped hands with Gemini-Lucy. They channeled their magic together and began chanting the ancient Celestial Spirit ultra-magic incantation.
"Measure the heavens, open the firmament."
"Stars scattered across the sky, show me your radiant light."
"Four Books of Astrology, I, the ruler of constellations, open the gates of the wilds with full directions—All-Sky Eighty-Eight Stars—"
An ancient magic circle opened beneath their feet, and the entire arena was instantly bathed in dazzling golden light.
Deep within the radiance, stars appeared one after another, emanating an unparalleled sacred aura.
Even with her flame hair extending like a tidal wave, Flare seemed utterly insignificant.
Her face pale with terror, Flare frantically drove her flame hair toward the two Lucys standing amidst the golden light and stars.
But it was far too late.
Future Lucy's eyes flew open, magic circles spinning within them: "Urano Metria!!"
Countless golden streams of light intertwined, and countless stars fell from the sky, crushing Flare's flame hair with irresistible force and exploding across the arena!
This time, there were no surprises.
After the pillar of golden light faded, Flare lay flat on her back on the shattered ground, eyes rolled back, unconscious—completely incapacitated.
"Fairy Tail Team A vs. Raven Tail — Winner: Lucy Heartfilia!"
DING DING DING!
The match-ending bell rang, and the entire arena erupted!
***
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