The royal capital, Crocus, was covered by a sky thick with dark clouds.
Within the dim city, unease gradually began to settle over people's hearts.
At the Grand Magic Games venue, the spectators had all realized this was no ordinary change in the weather.
Even so, the emotion surging through them had not yet calmed.
Because just moments ago, the final team battle of the Grand Magic Games had finally come to an end!
Within the city, the five members of Fairy Tail gathered at a crossroads.
Each of them carried wounds, but their faces were filled with resolve and confidence.
During the team battle, Mavis had long since prepared the battle plan for everyone, and their point-scoring strategy had gone extremely smoothly.
Gray successfully faced off against his old rival, Rufus.
Although Rufus's magic was highly effective against Molding Magic, the black ice Gray had gained through an experience close to death was not something Rufus could obtain through memory alone.
In the end, Gray spent some effort defeating Rufus. Afterward, he reunited with Juvia, and together they faced Lyon and Sherria.
Because Gray had already consumed a lot of energy, they were at a disadvantage at first.
But through their seamless teamwork and Unison Raid, they claimed victory once again!
Gajeel's side had been much easier.
He wandered around for half the day and only caught a few small fry from Quatro Puppy.
Fortunately, near the end, he finally ran into someone who could fight.
That person was Rogue.
Rogue without Future Rogue's help!
Needless to say, it was another one-sided fight.
Erza, on the other hand, fought a true hard battle. First, she fought Kagura, who had grown much stronger, for a long time.
Just when she was finally about to defeat Kagura, who possessed a specialized spatial weapon, Minerva appeared to take advantage of the situation.
In the end, Erza had no choice but to release her Second Origin, and with one decisive burst, she knocked Minerva unconscious again.
Laxus's experience was no less intense.
First, he ran into Ichiya.
That one was simple enough. While Ichiya was striking a handsome pose, Laxus knocked him out with a single punch.
Later, he encountered Orga, who had no idea what he was getting himself into and came to provoke him, declaring that Lightning God Slayer Magic was superior to Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic.
Laxus thought that sounded a little interesting.
Then he knocked him out with one punch too.
Finally, he ran into Jura, a genuinely tough opponent.
Laxus fought him all the way until now, only seizing an opening at the end to use a Dragon Slayer Secret Art and defeat Jura.
With that, Jura had lost consecutively to two of Fairy Tail's aces.
His position among the Ten Wizard Saints as the "strongest human" was probably no longer secure…
After dealing with powerful opponents in different parts of the city, the five Fairy Tail mages stood shoulder to shoulder.
At that moment, they were looking at Sting, who had fallen to his knees in front of them, hugging Lector and crying bitterly.
Sabertooth had undergone a huge upheaval last night.
Their former master, Jiemma, had intended to humiliate the Twin Dragons and then expel them.
But when Lector spoke up for Sting, it enraged Jiemma, who attacked him in fury.
Believing Lector had been killed, Sting exploded with tremendous power in his grief and rage, landing a punch that heavily injured the careless Jiemma.
But there had been another twist.
Minerva suddenly appeared and said she had saved Lector.
If Sting wanted him back, then he had to lead Sabertooth to victory in the Grand Magic Games.
Minerva deliberately tried to imitate Fairy Tail's path of growing stronger through bonds, and Sting, having steeled his resolve, became Sabertooth's new master under Minerva's urging.
Because of that, during today's Grand Magic Games, he had spent a great deal of effort deliberately avoiding Fairy Tail's contestants and targeting easier points instead.
But in the end, when only Sting and all of Fairy Tail remained on the field, Sting still broke down.
Even Minerva had shed tears of frustration, her eyes full of venomous resentment.
All of Fairy Tail's members together were worth nine points.
After Sabertooth chased points throughout this round, the gap between them and first-place Fairy Tail had continued to shrink.
But that final gap… was ten points!
In other words, even if Sting defeated every Fairy Tail member and earned nine points, he still would not be able to close the gap.
As if unable to accept reality, and seeing the unshakable will on Erza and the others' faces, their absolute refusal to believe they would lose, Sting's mind completely collapsed.
One point…
They were short by just one point…
"Don't let yourself regret losing by one point, kid!"
Sting remembered what Natsu and Gajeel had said to him back on the chariot, their faces pale with nausea as they fought for one or two points, and at last, he fully understood the true meaning of the Grand Magic Games.
Fortunately, the broken Sting saw Lector, whom Erza had rescued from Minerva.
Man and cat hugged each other and cried, and only then did Sting's heart begin to recover.
After Sting understood the situation, he gave up in despair and surrendered helplessly.
With that, the Grand Magic Games officially came to an end!
The victor, the strongest guild in the Kingdom of Fiore, had returned to Fairy Tail!
As salutes and fireworks burst across the sky, Chapati's passionate voice spread through the city, and the entire arena fell into a heaven-shaking celebration.
Makarov finally revealed a smile.
Just as he thought one matter had finally been resolved, bad news arrived again!
The King of Fiore, Toma, came personally to the Grand Magic Games venue, which had just ended.
He bowed deeply and begged the mages gathered in the royal capital to join forces and help Fiore survive its crisis.
"Soon, an unknown number of dragons will descend upon the royal capital. I humbly ask everyone to work together and protect this city!"
Looking at Toma trembling as he bowed on the stage, the guild members summoned by the king immediately grew restless after hearing those words.
Some were shocked, wondering why dragons would appear at all.
Some doubted the king's intentions. Others wore grave expressions, their faces full of concern.
The first to react was naturally Makarov.
Red-faced and spitting with rage, he shouted at Toma, "What about my children?! Where are Ankh, Natsu, and the others?!"
"This is the matter Lord Ankh entrusted to me."
Toma's eyes were firm.
As Fiore's highest leader, he could not fall into panic.
"Lord Ankh told me that he is already dealing with the people causing chaos in the royal capital and summoning the dragons. However, closing the Eclipse Gate will take time."
"He will close the Eclipse Gate as quickly as possible, but a few dragons may still emerge before then. He hopes to receive our help!"
Toma hurriedly explained.
These were all things Ankh had specifically entrusted to him before he went to confront Soda and Rogue.
The old king understood that, at a time like this, not causing trouble for the important people and helping handle whatever slipped through the cracks was already a great contribution.
"How could we let Ankh-dono and Fairy Tail face this alone?"
Lamia Scale was the first to declare their stance.
Jura folded his hands and stood solemnly on behalf of the entire guild as he responded to Toma.
"Makky's children are all fighting~ How could we hide behind them~?" Blue Pegasus's master, Bob, said with an easy smile.
Kagura, whose head was wrapped in bandages, also nodded and said in a low voice, "We are duty-bound."
"Wild Four!"
Mermaid Heel and Quatro Puppy agreed as well.
On Sabertooth's side, everyone remained silent for a long time, then they all turned their gazes toward Sting.
Their young lady had disappeared, and their new master, Sting, was now their only pillar.
Sting and Rogue exchanged a glance.
Seeming to see the light in his partner's eyes, Sting broke into a grin and shouted in response, "Leave it to us!"
"I… will become a Dragon Slayer like Natsu-san!"
"Sabertooth will definitely become a guild like Fairy Tail!"