Mermaid Heel had also gained prominence in recent years, and for good reason—a guild composed entirely of women is quite eye-catching.
They've also recruited some promising female mage trainees, so their fanbase is unprecedentedly large.
The guild's old perverts suddenly had hearts in their eyes as they watched the female Mages from Mermaid Heel enter the stadium.
Raizel was watching too... but only because one of the girls had a rare iron fan as her weapon.
"So there's a guild like this," Happy muttered.
He didn't overthink the appeal, he just wondered if real mermaids were edible!
"Fifth place goes to the shining blue wings in the darkness, Blue Pegasus!!!"
They were all familiar faces—Ichiya, Eve, Ren, Hibiki, and Jenny—all striking the exact same pose, trying to look cool.
"Thank you for your support!!!" Jenny waved her arms at the audience with a dazzling smile.
"Next is the fourth place in the preliminaries... Sabertooth! The five new members who joined last year are incredibly strong. As a newly established guild, they've managed to secure fourth place in the brutal preliminaries!"
The members of Sabertooth were relatively young.
The ones who looked older were Minerva and the God Slayer Mage, Orga Nanagear—a muscular guy similar to Elfman.
Though not actually old, he looked weathered.
Rufus, Sting, and Rogue couldn't hide their youthful energy, though their expressions were a bit arrogant.
"Next is the third place in the preliminaries, the goddess of love and war, and also the sacred destroyer, Lamia Scale!" The leader was a familiar face.
Though he had matured significantly compared to before, the Fairy Tail members recognized him instantly, leaving them shocked.
"What's going on?!?"
"Lyon?!?"
"We haven't seen him in so many years, has he betrayed us?"
Everyone stared at Ur, who was calm and composed, still chatting with Layla.
Makarov also looked unfazed.
"How can you still chat so calmly?" Raizel looked at Ur with confusion.
Ur replied without changing her expression, "Simple. I knew beforehand. He was saved by Jura in the past, and in return, he agreed to help Lamia Scale participate in this competition as a guest."
"And you kept it from us?"
"To give you a surprise," Ur smirked.
"It seems you knew too?" Raizel could tell Makarov was in the know since he didn't freak out.
"I knew," Makarov nodded sheepishly, then quickly added, "He hasn't officially left the guild. He's just helping them out this time, so I allowed it."
"Why are you only in third place in the preliminaries?! You must not have been serious! You bunch of fools!" The Lamia Scale Guild Master, Ooba Babasaama, shook her hands angrily from the stands.
"It's our turn! Get ready! Get ready!" Makarov suddenly pulled out a flag.
Not only was Makarov prepared, but the cheers from the audience also resounded through the skies.
Fairy Tail has its own support color—the orange from the guild flag, the warmest color in the palette.
The glow of sunset, the shimmer of lanterns, and the radiance of the sun all possess a rich orange hue.
Orange embodies joy, vivacity, exuberance, health, warmth, and passion.
As the base color of Fairy Tail, it is perfectly suited. When selecting the guild's support color, orange won by a landslide in the votes.
Watching over a dozen square formations on the field waving orange flags, dyeing the scene in vast swathes of orange, felt surreal.
This should be Fairy Tail's home ground!
Not joining in the flag-waving and cheers would almost feel like stumbling into a den of villains... making Fairy Tail seem like the ultimate antagonists.
"Let's give a warm welcome to the undisputed top guild of the Fiore Kingdom! Team A of Fairy Tail!"
"What's worth mentioning is that Team A is entirely composed of female members!!"
Had Chapati Lola not added that remark, it might have been fine, but with that addition, the audience grew even more excited.
Amid the enthusiastic cheers of the crowd, Ultear and Erza, along with the others, wore Team A's unified attire.
Ultear and Erza led the way, with Kagura, Lucy, and Cana following behind.
Cana even held high the Fairy Tail flag, waving it vigorously.
"FAIRY TAIL!!!"
"Ultear!!!"
"It's the Fairy Queen, Erza!!! And Kagura!!!"
"Miss Lucy!!!"
"How could anyone not cheer for Cana!!!"
As they made their entrance, the cheers were incessant.
Dressed in form-fitting bodysuits primarily in purple, with white accents at the collar, waist, and cuffs, the upper body appeared sleek and efficient, devoid of excessive embellishments.
Thanks to their regular, intense training, their figures were exceptional, allowing their athletic contours to stand out.
As for Makarov, he stood on the spectator stands, waving flags and shouting cheers with the force of an entire platoon.
"Lucy, do your best!"
A familiar voice reached Lucy's ears from Makarov's direction.
At first, she wondered if she had misheard.
Turning to look, she saw Layla, dressed in a pink gown, quietly emerge from behind Ur.
One hand was cupped beside her mouth like a megaphone, while the other waved high to catch Lucy's attention.
For Layla, who had received extensive noble education, this was already a rather unconventional form of support.
Lucy smiled and nodded vigorously at her mother, waving back energetically in response.
She truly hadn't expected her mother to actually rush over just because of an offhand comment in a letter.
For her, this was undoubtedly the greatest surprise and support.
But Lucy's moment of emotion didn't last long...
"Ultear and Erza, you must do your best too!" Layla joined the ranks of those cheering for Ultear and Erza.
There's a reason why Ultear and Erza enjoy such high popularity.
Not only are they incredibly strong, but they're also stunningly beautiful!
After over a dozen features in Sorcerer Weekly magazine—yes, over a dozen, Raizel had lost count of the exact number—Ultear, Erza, Mira, and Kagura were the most frequent appearances in the magazine.
Although Mira had semi-retired in recent years, she still managed to find time for cover shoots. While Wendy dominated in Magnolia, Ultear and Erza were celebrated throughout the entire Fiore Kingdom.
Erza kept reminding herself to remain elegant... but she simply couldn't hold back anymore!
Ichiya's approach immediately broke through Erza's defenses, and she sent him flying across the arena with a single punch
Ichiya's three underlings hurried to help him up from the ground.
There was no other reason—it was simply too repulsive.
Though it felt offensive to say, whenever Ichiya got close to Erza, she experienced a physical discomfort.
"Well done," Kagura secretly gave a thumbs up.
If Erza hadn't taken action, she would have drawn her sword.
Who knows what the mages of Blue Pegasus had been doing all day... they kept flaunting themselves without any regard for others' discomfort!