With advance intel and all the guilds gunning for Fairy Tail, everyone was on guard.
So the Ice Lances didn't have the desired effect. The competitors dodged using their respective magics.
Future Minerva didn't even move. The ice spears headed her way simply vanished into distorted space.
"The pervert's attacks all missed! Lucy's harassment strategy has completely failed!"
Chapati unprofessionally injected personal sentiment into his commentary. "The female mages in this event seem to have stronger mental fortitude than expected!"
Gray was losing it: "That's a Celestial Spirit, Gemini transformed!"
Lucy was broken: "I told you, that was NOT my intention!"
"Not a complete failure, though." Yajima pointed to a certain area of the water sphere.
There, Rokka of Quartet Cerberus had been so busy shouting his catchphrase that he got caught and frozen solid.
The ice sculpture sank rapidly under gravity, about to fall out of the sphere. Rokka forcibly erupted his magic power and shattered the ice binding him.
"Magic of this level could never trap a WILD soul!" Rokka raised his arms and roared.
And then the water current shifted beside him. A pale, powerful foot shot out and stomped mercilessly on his face.
SPLASH.
Rokka spat out a mouthful of blood and went flying out of the sphere, crashing face-first into the ground.
"One down, easy." Jenny waved her hand with satisfaction.
"Oh my! Jenny of Blue Pegasus lands a successful sneak attack. Rokka is eliminated!"
"But it seems only Quartet Cerberus is disappointed. The audience is cheering loudly!"
Theater director Labian chimed in alongside Chapati's commentary: "Thank you very much! Thank you very much!"
This time, it wasn't just a verbal tic. He was genuinely grateful to Jenny for getting rid of that disgusting man.
"So what was even the point of me being here..." Rokka was having an existential crisis.
No one cared. The battle inside the water sphere continued uninterrupted.
Realizing the advantage of Ice-Make Magic in this environment, the competitors instantly formed a consensus: Lucy was the priority target.
Sherria of Lamia Scale and Risley of Mermaid Heel attacked from two directions.
"Gemini, transform into Juvia!"
Completely done with the Gray strategy, Lucy abandoned it entirely. At the same time, she traced an arc through the water with her golden key. "Open! Gate of Aquarius!"
The water churned as Aquarius appeared, holding her jar with a sour expression on her face.
Her stunning beauty and mermaid body drew cheers from the entire audience.
With Fairy Tail's honor on the line, Aquarius surprisingly held back her usual indiscriminate attacks and sent a jet of water at Risley.
Risley shifted from her plump form to a slim, beautiful figure, using Gravity Magic to counter.
On the other side, Gemini-Juvia's Water Cutter clashed with Sherria's Heavenly God Blade.
The battle was on. Magical blasts from both sides exploded with fierce shockwaves, stirring up turbulent currents inside the water sphere.
After the two perverts had been eliminated, the competition had finally returned to the highlight everyone had been waiting for!
"You're all strong, but in the water, Juvia and Aquarius are invincible!"
Even fighting two-on-one, Lucy was full of confidence.
Meanwhile, a figure had silently crept up behind her.
"Haha, wide open!"
The opportunist Jenny tried to replicate her earlier success against Rokka. She burst forward, her long leg aimed at Lucy's completely unguarded back!
Though she sensed the danger, Lucy did something strange. She didn't dodge. She didn't even turn around.
Slow reaction. As expected, the Celestial Spirit Mage herself is the biggest weakness.
Just as Jenny was thinking that, a blinding golden light flashed before her eyes.
A solid, powerful arm shot out and caught her kick cleanly!
"Y-You?!" Jenny's breath caught as her eyes widened.
"Your fighting style hasn't changed at all, Jenny."
The golden light faded, revealing Loke in a black suit, a handsome smile on his face. "Sorry. Lucy's back is guarded by her prince!"
His previous master, Karen, had been a Blue Pegasus mage, so he knew Jenny fairly well.
Lucy turned around and fired back: "You're nowhere near being a prince!"
"Leo-chan, it's been a long time, hasn't it~"
From the Blue Pegasus section, Master Bob spoke with a blush and a sigh of nostalgia.
The three handsome men also wore expressions of reunion.
"Wait!"
Only Ichiya's pupils contracted as he noticed the crucial detail. "Counting Leo, how many Celestial Spirits are on the field right now..."
"Th-Three Celestial Spirits! Unbelievable! It turns out Double Gate Opening wasn't Lucy's limit!"
Chapati shouted with immense excitement. "She was hiding her true strength during the first day's battle?!"
"That does seem to be the case~" Yajima said with a meaningful smile.
Alerted by the commentary, the audience, who had been engrossed in the swimsuit-clad magical duel, finally caught on. Stunned expressions spread across their faces.
Even if they weren't mages, they had all heard about Celestial Spirit Magic. They knew that a Double Gate Opening was already quite impressive.
And yet this blonde girl could manage a Triple Gate Opening?!
"I never expected Master Makarov to have kept this up his sleeve..."
Future Jura, standing at the edge, suddenly understood.
The other competitors who had previously dismissed Lucy as an easy target now broke out in cold sweat. The pressure was immense.
Every single member of Fairy Tail was a tough nut to crack!
They weren't the only ones. Even Yukino, who had been watching from the sidelines after being recruited as a sergeant, and Princess Hisui inside the palace, were both shaken.
No one understood the significance of a stable Triple Gate Opening better than they did, being fellow Celestial Spirit Mages themselves.
Inside the massive water sphere.
With Loke joining the fight, the battle instantly became more intense, splitting into three separate fronts.
The only one who hadn't engaged in combat was Future Minerva, who had remained in place from the very start.
"So, will she join forces with the other three to gang up on Lucy? Or wait for them to exhaust each other first?"
Chapati keenly observed this. "Minerva has become the deciding factor!"
All eyes turned to Future Minerva.
Future Minerva hung her head low, her flowing hair covering her face in the water. Her expression was unreadable.
Lucy frowned deeply. Being the closest, she could clearly feel the suppressed rage and chilling cold emanating from her opponent.
Soon, Future Minerva moved. The space around her twisted, and she vanished from her spot.
When she reappeared, she was right beside Risley of Mermaid Heel.
BOOM!
A clean, brutal burst of Spatial Magic exploded. Risley took the full force and was knocked out of the sphere.
Future Minerva vanished again.
BOOM! BOOM!
Two more explosions rang out. Sherria and Jenny were hit simultaneously, barely able to resist before being violently "cleaned" out of the arena.
In mere seconds, the only one left inside the water sphere was Lucy, protected by her Celestial Spirits!
"Join forces with weaker opponents? Wait for the right moment? Don't make me laugh!"
Amid the smug laughter of Future Sting, Future Rogue, and the others, Future Minerva spread her arms wide and raised her head with arrogant pride.
"Sabertooth has never needed such pathetic tactics. Let me make this clear—"
"The guild I belong to—WE are the strongest!!"
***
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