"What is going on with that mysterious person? Is the future your doing?"
On the outskirts of Crocus, within a lush, vibrant forest, adorable young beasts roamed among the trees.
Yet the larger wild animals trembled in fear, not daring to run about recklessly.
The source of all that pressure seemed to be nothing more than a young man dressed in an ancient black robe.
The black-robed young man gently stroked the fur of the fawn before him, his expression soft as he spoke.
"Although I can't see you, I can roughly guess that you've come."
"Mavis."
Mavis, dressed in a white one-piece dress, stood gracefully on the grass.
The beasts nearby could not see her ghostly form at all.
The cute expression she usually wore had disappeared.
She stared coldly at the black-haired young man and asked, "Don't play dumb. The masked person Lucy mentioned—is he one of yours?"
The black-haired young man smiled without answering.
He patted the fawn and sent it away. Then, from his shoulder, an ugly little creature suddenly emerged.
It was the very same small thing that had crawled out from beneath Obra's black robe after Raven Tail's defeat.
And it was precisely because she had seen this creature that Mavis connected what had happened in the royal capital to the young man before her.
The strongest Dark Mage.
Zeref!
Zeref tapped the little monster on the head with his finger and spoke toward the empty space in front of him.
"You're mistaken. That person is not mine."
Mavis froze for a moment.
Then her small face immediately scrunched up, clearly not believing a word he said.
Zeref still wore that gentle smile, as though he could see Mavis's stubborn expression.
His quiet voice continued drifting through the forest.
"It's true. You really have found the wrong person. I am not qualified to command Him…"
Mavis's eyes widened slightly.
Not qualified to command?
Zeref, who could practically be considered the strongest human alive, was not qualified to command someone?
Could it be…
Zeref stood up, brushed the dust from his clothes, and took a deep breath as he looked toward the distant sky.
"The Black Dragon, or perhaps 'He,' might know. But of course… such a thing cannot be asked of them."
Shock was difficult to conceal in Mavis's eyes.
Testing the waters, she asked, "Is it a successor of a god, or…"
Mavis was a ghost.
Normally, those without Fairy Tail's guild mark could not hear her voice. Yet Zeref's self-murmured words sounded as though he were answering her question.
"Yusalk, the god who governs chaos and disorder."
He did not turn back to look at Mavis's shocked expression.
Zeref gazed longingly at the herd of beasts as they gradually disappeared into the distance, his voice distant and faint.
"Mavis…"
"War is about to begin."
"Have you already chosen to stand on Lord Ankhseram's side?"
Mavis froze in place.
She immediately frowned and called out, "Explain yourself. What war?"
"And Ankh is a member of Fairy Tail. Of course I'll stand on his side. What do you mean by asking that?"
"I see…"
The light in Zeref's eyes was obscure and difficult to read.
His tone was complicated as he said, "That's good. Let it remain that way… Mavis, keep walking the path you've chosen."
"There will always be a way."
"Wait—"
Zeref's figure grew increasingly faint.
Mavis seemed to realize something and hurriedly tried to stop him, but as a ghost, she clearly could not detain the strongest human mage in the world.
"What exactly are you planning, Zeref?"
Mavis stood there in confusion, her lonely figure unseen by anyone.
…
The royal capital remained as prosperous as ever.
Most people still had not noticed the undercurrents surging beneath the surface.
They were still wholeheartedly enjoying the festival.
After one night, Chapati had changed his hairstyle again.
His face was flushed with excitement as he introduced the event to all the spectators and participating teams.
At the commentators' booth, the special guest commentator for the day was Mr. Rabian, the famous theater troupe director…
In other words, the same man who had previously tormented Ankh's team into performing on stage.
He bowed after nearly every sentence, his mouth full of "thank you very much," displaying an impressive dedication to the art of bowing.
On the field, the tournament had come up with another fresh spectacle.
A gigantic floating sphere of water had been set up above the arena.
The competitive event was Naval Battle!
Each team would send one member to enter the enormous water sphere and fight inside it.
All contestants would battle within the sphere, and anyone knocked out of the water would be eliminated.
The last person remaining would be the winner.
There was also an additional rule for the finale.
When only two contestants remained inside the water sphere, a five-minute time limit would be added.
During those special five minutes, whoever fell out of the water sphere first would immediately be ranked last, meaning even a strong second-place result could be taken away.
After Chapati finished explaining the rules to the audience, he immediately roared with great excitement.
"All right! Now, contestants from each team, please enter the field!"
The audience erupted in cheers like a roaring sea.
As for why the host and everyone else were so excited…
Splash! Splash!
Sherria was the first to leap into the water sphere. Her cute twin-tails floated behind her, and her expression was full of determination.
Although she was the same age as Wendy, when it came to confidence in this kind of event, Sherria had clearly taken the lead.
Her bright red swimsuit made her look lively and youthful, full of energy.
Next came Blue Pegasus's Jenny.
After her crushing defeat against Mirajane last time, Jenny had chosen a particularly eye-catching swimsuit for this decisive appearance in order to attract attention.
Mermaid Heel sent out Risley.
As expected of a guild named after mermaids, her movements in the water looked even more graceful.
As the obvious representative for a water battle, Juvia was naturally sent in as well. She wore a floral swimsuit and looked full of confidence.
From Sabertooth's side, Minerva entered wearing a surprisingly conservative tight-fitting swimsuit, though her powerful muscle lines still stood out clearly.
And finally, Lucy appeared with enough confidence and presence to overwhelm the entire field in a certain department.
Hmm…
It seemed like there was someone else too?
That guy from Quatro Puppy!
Forget it. His name would not come to mind.
Chapati decisively ignored the beer-bellied dog-man who looked rather out of place in the water sphere and could not help shouting in delight.
"They are all beautiful female mages! The arena has become a breathtaking work of art as each team's mage makes a dazzling entrance in swimwear!"
"Thank you very much times ten!"
Rocker of Quatro Cerberus protested from inside the water sphere, but no one paid him any attention.
As the gong rang, the Naval Battle officially began.
Lucy made the first move, taking out a golden key from her pocket dimension with confidence.
"Future me said I'd lose badly here, but I don't want to give up!"
"Open, Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!"
Aquarius made her shining entrance amid golden light, adding yet another beautiful mermaid in a striking swimsuit to the field.
"Water Typhoon!"
Aquarius, who ran wild in the water, was extremely powerful.
And so…
"Ah… Quatro Puppy has fallen out of bounds as expected."
Rocker, who had been caught up in Aquarius's water tornado, collapsed onto the arena floor.
Hearing the commentator casually announce his elimination, he stuck his butt into the air and cried tearfully.
"You bastards…"
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