Laxus, covered in crackling lightning, wore a cold smile on his lips.
"Even though I hesitated on the trip back, I will not hesitate to surpass you!"
Jet sprinted with all his might.
He thought that if he lost the championship this time, his whole year would become a complete joke!
Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel—the three powerhouses—burned with a strong desire to win.
If they could beat Ankh, Erza, and Laxus all in one race, they would have bragging rights for an entire year!
Erza had changed into a rabbit onesie.
Who knows what she was thinking? Perhaps seeing Jet had inspired her with the story of the tortoise and the hare?
The six of them began a wild sprint, no longer saving their Magic Power or energy.
This led to a fierce, back-and-forth chase where all six runners stayed in practically a straight line.
As their speed increased, it seemed they were just a finger's width away from catching up to Ankh ahead of them!
They caught up!
Joy spread across everyone's faces at the exact same time.
Then, Natsu's foot suddenly tripped over a loose brick on the road...
Without a single moment of hesitation, the instant Natsu lost his balance and began to fall, he made a purely instinctive decision.
He reached out and grabbed Gray's ankle as Gray passed by him.
True to his role as Natsu's best friend, Gray made the exact same choice during his panicked fall.
He sneakily yanked Laxus's clothes from behind.
Laxus was clearly no pushover.
As he fell, he elbowed Gajeel to get revenge.
Gajeel, being a straightforward guy who was caught off guard by the surprise attack, could only throw his hands forward to protect himself.
Unfortunately, this pushed Erza, who was right ahead of him, causing her to stumble forward.
Clumsy in her giant rabbit outfit, she immediately lost her balance and flew forward like a rolling ball.
"Thud!"
"Oof!"
Ankh, who was sleeping, suddenly felt something jab his ass.
He let out a pained cry and instinctively shot forward like a spring.
Then...
Ankh opened his eyes, rubbed his ass and confusedly picked up the finish line ribbon that was now draped across his chest...
Hiss…
"I won?"
Ankh stared blankly at the crowd gathered at the finish line and the celebratory confetti marking the champion's victory.
He was completely bewildered.
'Wait… I won while being AFK?'
Mirajane hung the medal around Ankh's neck, raised his hand and spoke with a warm smile.
"Congratulations on winning the championship, Ankh."
Beside them, Jason's eyes sparkled as he cheerfully announced the results.
"Ah!! The champion has been decided, and what a dramatic turn of events! Just as the six were about to overtake Ankh, a chain reaction of falls occurred, and the Fairy Queen headbutted Ankh straight across the finish line! Truly an eye-opener!!"
Ankh: …
'Indeed, it really was an eye-opener.'
"Oh! It looks like the second, third, and fourth places have been decided too!"
Hearing Jason's explanation, Ankh turned around and saw several small figures crossing the finish line.
Happy raised his paw excitedly to greet the surrounding audience, while Carla and Wendy beamed with joy as they wore their medals.
"Second place: Happy! Third place: Carla! Fourth place: Wendy! Following the guild's Wizard Saints member taking first place, the next three spots were swept by the guild's top three most adorable members!"
When Jet and Laxus had surged forward earlier, they overturned many faster runners but deliberately avoided these seemingly harmless rookies.
Because of this... the award podium now presented an overwhelmingly adorable scene.
"You have got to be kidding me."
The six dazed contestants looked up at the figures standing beyond the finish line.
Their competitive spirits were completely shattered.
"Losing to Ankh is one thing, but losing to two cats and a little girl..."
Laxus covered his face with a sigh.
'How utterly humiliating...'
Erza shook her head and spread her hands. "We have no choice but to accept the results."
Natsu looked ready to cry. "Happy..."
Jet, however, seemed at peace. "Happy was the one who woke me up. Losing to him is my way of repaying the favor."
Gajeel lifted his head, sensing that something was wrong. "Hey, have any of you noticed..."
"Charge!!"
Right then, nearly all the other contestants had gathered together and were stampeding toward them like a giant tidal wave.
Gajeel suddenly realized what was wrong.
He pointed at the nearby finish line and shouted, "Wait! We haven't crossed the line yet!"
"Hold on!!"
The six of them immediately snapped back to reality, scrambling to get up and dash across the line.
But the flood of contestants had already swallowed them.
Fortunately, they were Mages, otherwise there would have been multiple trampling victims.
All the Mages surged across the finish line like a rushing river.
Even Lucy raised her hands cheerfully.
"Great! No punishment game for me!"
Levy looked apologetically at Gajeel, who had been trampled by everyone.
Blushing, she said, "Sorry, Gajeel... I really didn't want to be last either."
Juvia anxiously called out to Gray: "Get up quickly, Gray-sama! You have become last place!"
Jason cheered at another unexpected twist: "Cool! The six who were fighting for first place suddenly got overtaken by everyone and became strong contenders for last place! This is really... huh? Erza and Laxus crossed too!"
"As expected of S-Class Mages! Their ability to seize opportunities is absolutely unmatched!"
Erza's cheeks flushed slightly red, while Laxus remained calm under Freed's admiring gaze.
"You still have a long way to go, Natsu. Hurry up and stand!"
'How thick-skinned he is (¬_¬)'
"How dare you rush us! This is all your fault!"
Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel were fuming.
Seeing the situation turning dangerous, Jet immediately activated his God Speed Magic to secure a safe position.
However... at this point, how could the others let their guard down?
The three boys leapt over and grabbed Jet all at the same time.
"Oh!! A group finish! Unbelievable! Four people tied for last place!"
Makarov revealed a smug expression, grinning slyly.
"Are you ready for it?! Punishment game!"
Gray tried to negotiate: "Master, at least give us a losers' bracket revival match!"
Makarov immediately shook his head: "No! Just like there are no second chances when missions fail, the same goes for competitions!"
Natsu swallowed his frustration.
He pounded his fists together as he resigned himself to his fate.
"Fine, Master! Just tell us what the punishment game is already!"
Makarov raised a copy of Sorcerer Weekly with a sly grin, laughing, "This is your punishment!"
"You must publish extremely embarrassing, cross-dressing photos in the next issue of Sorcerer Weekly! It will be a super luxurious 20-page spread, so we will be doing close-up interviews with you for an entire week!"
"Punishment game, yay~"
"WHAT!!"
The four hot-blooded men's faces twisted into expressions that were even more devastated and darkened than when they had placed last.
Jason, naturally bursting with excitement, enthusiastically ran toward them.
"That's right! Let's go pick out clothes right now!!"
"NO WAY!!"
The four guys, who would rather die than submit, began fleeing into the distance once more.
This time, a passionately excited Jason was chasing in hot pursuit.
"Looks like they still have plenty of energy," Lucy commented with a laugh as she watched the figures running off into the distance.
Juvia, streaming with tears of joy, prayed: "Thank you, Gray-sama! I will definitely keep this issue of Sorcerer Weekly until the day I die!"
"You had better not say that in front of him..."
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