Aquarius swept the field with a powerful surge of water, successfully eliminating the most forgettable member of Quatro Puppy.
Lucy clung tightly to Aquarius's waist, terrified that she herself might be caught up in Aquarius's utterly merciless water tornado.
"Great job, Aquarius! You took one down!"
Lucy shouted excitedly.
It was unclear what kind of magic was at work, but the contestants inside the water sphere could breathe safely, and even speaking was unaffected.
Aquarius roared irritably, "I don't need you to tell me that, brat!"
Even as she shouted, Aquarius swung her urn again and unleashed an even stronger current.
Juvia had originally been displeased that Lucy had stolen the spotlight, but after hearing Future Lucy's words last night, she could not bring herself to attack too harshly.
Her whole body transformed into water as she swiftly moved through the fierce ocean currents.
Aquarius's technique had no effect on her at all.
Aquarius froze.
This was the first time a mage had ever completely ignored her magic.
Juvia, who had transferred from Phantom Lord to Fairy Tail, usually looked like nothing more than Gray's hopelessly devoted admirer.
But when it came to strength, she had also been one of the top female mages seven years ago.
Aside from Juvia, the other contestants were all suffering under Aquarius's wide-range waves.
Many had already been forced to the edge of the water sphere and nearly knocked out.
"Perfect chance!"
Jenny, who was fairly good in water, immediately began using her clever little tricks again.
Borrowing the momentum of the waves, she kicked toward Risley in the distance, trying to eliminate her first.
Risley suddenly changed from her short, plump form into a tall, slender figure and said cheerfully.
"Don't underestimate chubby girls!"
Although she could transform into a tall beauty, Risley seemed to prefer her rounder figure.
After changing shape, she nimbly dodged Jenny's sneak attack and took advantage of the moment to kick her from behind.
Splat.
Poor Jenny failed in another scheme and was countered instead. Risley kicked her out of the sphere before she could stop herself.
She happily secured second-to-last place.
However, Risley was soon successfully ambushed as well.
While the two of them were fighting, Sherria quietly circled behind them and opened with a blast of black wind.
Even though Sherria's wind attacks were weakened greatly underwater, she still managed to whip up waves with the wind and send Risley flying out of the sphere.
At this point, only four contestants remained.
Aquarius, still continuously releasing pulses of water, swept her gaze over the remaining opponents.
Sherria was holding herself in place using the recoil from her wind. Juvia ignored her attacks completely.
Even stranger, Minerva also remained unmoved, her figure in the water as steady as a boulder.
"…Ah. I can't deal with this."
Aquarius clicked her tongue, then said, "I'm leaving. Handle the rest yourself."
"Eh?!!"
Lucy stared at her willful Celestial Spirit in shock and protested, "But in water, you're the most reliable one!"
Aquarius winked at Lucy and said in a mocking tone, "I have a date. A date, you know~"
With that, Aquarius turned into starlight and vanished from the water, leaving Lucy to clutch her head and roar in despair.
"She said it twice in that smug voice!"
"So that is the full extent of your arrogance, Fairy woman."
Hearing that voice, Lucy stiffly and slowly turned her head.
Minerva's hands were rolling with a strange distortion as she stared at Lucy with a teasing tone.
"Space Tremor!"
Minerva combined the energy in her hands, then thrust it forward.
The entire water sphere seemed to enter a violent vibration mode, and the surging currents grew even more ferocious.
This time, it was Lucy's turn to experience what a tsunami felt like.
"Virgo! Aries!"
Lucy, whose body was being flung toward the outside of the water sphere like a kite, hurriedly pulled out her Celestial Spirit keys.
Following her call, Aries in a wool swimsuit and Virgo in a maid-style swimsuit made their dazzling entrance, adding a bit of color back into the water sphere after Aquarius's departure.
Virgo supported Lucy from below, while Aries released wool to cushion her.
With the two Celestial Spirits working together, Lucy was finally protected.
Minerva narrowed her eyes in mild surprise, then smiled softly.
"You really are stubborn."
Compared with Lucy, Sherria on the other side was not so lucky.
She had only entered the event because she was curious about what a water battle was like, and she could not bring out her true strength here.
Her wind was difficult to use, and the waves she created with it were far inferior to those of a pure water mage like Juvia.
In the end, she could only regretfully be sent out of the field.
Minerva raised her hand once more.
The hazy energy in her palm, glittering with many colors, swept out again.
A vicious glint flashed in her eyes.
Since your guild dared to challenge Sabertooth, you can pay the price for them.
"Heat Territory!"
Minerva's spell descended.
The water temperature immediately began to rise, and a scalding current hot enough to burn skin surged relentlessly toward Lucy.
Lucy, burning all over, could not help letting out a miserable cry.
Seeing this, Juvia rushed over like a sea dragon.
A sea tornado spun out with a swing of her arms, and the scorching space was immediately relieved.
Juvia stood in front of Lucy, her gaze icy as she stared at the lofty Minerva.
"Th-Thank you, Juvia."
Lucy touched her burning skin, which had broken out in goosebumps, and thanked her gratefully.
"Leave the rest to Juvia, love rival."
Juvia said this without turning her head.
Lucy's eyes instantly turned into dots.
"Eh?"
The next second, Lucy was caught off guard as the wave Juvia had stirred up threw her straight out of the water sphere.
She fell to the ground with a splash, then muttered gloomily, "Why… I wanted to fight too…"
Unlike what was happening in the arena, everyone off the field almost sighed in relief at the same time when they saw Juvia throw Lucy out of the water sphere.
Mirajane relaxed, then looked at Ankh, who had been distracted the entire time, and smiled softly.
"Good thing you spoke to Juvia beforehand."
Ankh nodded.
He was not some heartless employer.
Future Lucy had already said that Minerva would torture her terribly today, so before Juvia went onstage, Ankh had told her that if Minerva showed any signs of targeting Lucy, she was to send Lucy out immediately.
Barring any accidents, as long as Lucy was not injured, the chain of events afterward should not occur either.
The rest of the battle could be left to Juvia.
As long as she was willing to fight with all her strength, she should probably be able to win.
Minerva looked at Juvia's tense body and could not help laughing.
"So your two teams are finally willing to fight Sabertooth openly and fairly?"
"We have always been winning openly and fairly."
Juvia looked at her coldly, the water in her hands surging with unusual ferocity.
"Juvia is very angry. Not only because of what just happened, but also because of what happens in the future."
"Juvia will not let you win this match!"