"I'm up." Kagura, holding her sealed blade, Archenemy in her right hand, walked toward the pumpkin head mascot.
"Do your best, Kagura!" Lucy cheered, clenching her fists.
"Let's go." Gajeel was exceptionally aloof.
"Good luck, Gajeel-san!" Gajeel received Wendy's encouragement... and the lazy yawns of the other three men.
"Those three!!!" Gajeel gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Be a man and win! Kagura! Gajeel!" Elfman clung to the wall, shouting his support.
"How many times do I have to say it... Kagura isn't a man," Lisanna pulled on Elfman's arm, sweating nervously.
"Gajeel! Kagura, do your best!" Levy waved and shouted.
"Kagura, good luck." Raizel raised his hand, making a loose fist and twisting it slightly.
Mira, Ur, and the others also cheered loudly.
Raizel's voice wasn't loud, but Kagura recognized his lip movements and nodded slightly in response.
"The moment has finally arrived! What exactly is Hidden? Let's wait and see!" Chapati Lola's voice boomed.
"Which contestant does commentator Yajima-san favor?"
"I don't fully understand the rules yet, but I'm leaning toward contestant Kagura. Contestants Gajeel and Golden Lion Knight Ren also seem quite strong."
All eight participants gathered around the pumpkin head in the center of the arena.
"Even though we're all guild members, I won't hold back if I face you." Kagura, brimming with fighting spirit, looked at Lyon and Gajeel as she spoke.
"Just what I wanted!" Gajeel crossed his arms and smirked.
"Kagura, I've been looking forward to this battle for a long time." Lyon stared at Kagura, equally fired up.
Lyon had temporarily left the guild to grow stronger, but losing to Kagura in the past was the key reason.
He couldn't hold a grudge—after all, he was outmatched—but now that they had crossed paths again, he was determined to redeem himself.
"I have a question. What exactly are you, this pumpkin head?" Gajeel narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the mascot.
"Kabo..." Under Gajeel's intense gaze, the pumpkin head leaned back slightly before rubbing its hands together.
"As you can see, I'm a pumpkin, kabo. I'm the event mascot, kabo."
"Isn't this just cosplay?" Eve Tearm placed one hand on his hip and bent slightly to examine the mask.
"Probably a staff member from the organizers," Beth from Mermaid Heel chimed in.
"Putting so much effort into playing a role truly deserves praise!" Eve suddenly bowed to the pumpkin head.
"No... I enjoy it myself, so it's fine, kabo," the pumpkin head waved its hand dismissively.
"I assume our purpose here isn't to gather and chat, right?" Seeing the pumpkin head about to continue, Golden Lion Knight Ren tapped the ground with his spear.
"No problem! Opening the arena!!!"
As the pumpkin head gave the command, amidst the astonished gazes of tens of thousands of spectators, buildings began to rise from the sandy arena floor accompanied by deep tremors.
Their speed quickly accelerated, and clusters of structures emerged in succession.
From the upper spectator stands, it was easy to discern the layout.
"A town? What kind of technique is this?" Ur stared in shock as the arena below magically transformed into a town.
"Whoa!!! A whole town actually appeared inside the colosseum!"
"This is too incredible!" Makarov couldn't remain seated.
"It doesn't seem to be a mere illusion either..." Mavis narrowed her eyes in contemplation.
"The town is enormous!"
"So cool!!!" Even Natsu and Erza, who were watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but widen their eyes in amazement.
"What's going on?!" Gajeel merely glanced up at the buildings, only to discover that everyone around him had vanished, including the pumpkin head.
Kagura also noticed her position had suddenly changed, with all surrounding people gone, but she didn't panic or rush to move.
Instead, she utilized her Gravity Magic to gracefully ascend to a rooftop and survey her surroundings.
From her elevated position, she spotted Rufus standing on a distant rooftop with his hands behind his back, showing off.
It was quite far, but Rufus's flamboyant red clothing was conspicuous.
"So that's how it is. We're playing hide-and-seek here, right?" Eve leaned against a wall in the shadows below and remarked.
"Audience members in the venue can enjoy a clear view of the town's situation through the Magic Crystal projections!" As Chapati Lola provided commentary, at least four giant crystal screens appeared in each section of the spectator stands.
One screen showed the overall situation, while three others focused on the star participants, allowing for instant switching to any battle arena if conflicts arose.
"Incredible, they're really splurging." Raizel couldn't help but marvel, noting that just the crystal screens alone outclassed what was available at the Fiore Garden Square.
King Toma E. Fiore was clearly determined to make this a grand event!
"The eight participating contestants have no way of knowing each other's movements in the town." The rules of Hidden were simple: each participant was both the hunted and the hunter.
They must find each other within this town, after which magic use was unrestricted, and they must attempt to land a single blow on their opponent.
Regardless of whether damage was inflicted, anyone who successfully attacked would be awarded points by the tournament.
"What is this?!?" Figures suddenly began materializing beside Gajeel, identical to the magical phenomenon that created the town earlier.
As the light gradually faded, replicas of all eight participants appeared throughout the town in massive numbers.
Gajeel found himself instantly surrounded by dozens of copies, making his movement difficult.
"If only it were Gray-sama on the field, then I could fill my eyes with Gray-sama!" Juvia expressed disappointment upon seeing only Gajeel copies near the screen, murmuring quietly.
"So many identical people have appeared," Lucy frowned.
"Blegh..." Natsu's expression instantly turned green.
"Does this make you want to vomit too?" Gray questioned in confusion, since this wasn't transportation.
"Suddenly seeing so many Gajeels, I can't adjust to it. So gross."
"...."
Gray reasonably suspected that Natsu would react the same way if he were the one replicated on the field.
"This makes things quite tricky—even we can hardly tell them apart anymore," Erza looked up at the screens.
"These are replicas of everyone! If anyone accidentally attacks a replica, their team will immediately lose one point! If attacking a replica, you must respawn in another area after ten seconds. Additionally, if attacked by a Mage, one point will be deducted, and you must also respawn in another area after ten seconds!" Chapati Lola explained.
"The match lasts thirty minutes! As long as it's within the time limit, you can respawn again and again! The team with the highest score at the end wins first place!"
"Come on! Vanish into silence! Like a black cat lurking in the night!"
BOOM— As the massive gong was struck, Chapati Lola shouted loudly.
"Hidden begins!"
...
"Rather than playing hide-and-seek, it's more like a competition to find the real enemy, isn't it?"
"Finding people? That's what I'm best at! Tch."