Soon, a medical team checked Ilina's injuries and prepared to carry her away.
"Um..." Lucy, who hadn't left the arena yet, approached Ilina and tentatively spoke.
Looking at Ilina's injuries, Lucy found it hard to say anything.
There was a noticeable bruise on her chin, likely filled with congealed blood.
The soft armor on her abdomen was dented inward, and her arm was already splinted and wrapped in bandages.
Ilina glanced at the hesitant Lucy and said, "I heard him. Actually, he went easy on me."
As an expert archer, Ilina's hearing was exceptional. Capricorn hadn't lowered his voice, so she had heard everything he said earlier.
"You're strong. Congratulations."
These injuries were nothing to Ilina—she had suffered worse. Ishgar's medical technology was highly advanced; even severe bone fractures were just a matter of recuperation, and her condition was far from that serious.
Her arm was diagnosed with only a minor bone fracture, and the earlier weakness and drooping were just due to the numbing force of Capricorn's punch.
Ilina's congratulations were sincere.
She could tell that Lucy had trained in close combat; otherwise, she would have been caught by Phantom much earlier.
Using a black panther against a black panther—Lucy, as a Celestial Spirit Mage with so many Zodiac spirits, had won fairly.
"Thank you. You're very strong too," Lucy could see Ilina was genuine and nodded firmly.
Amid the enthusiastic cheers of the audience, Lucy left the competition venue.
Back in the corridor, she slipped and nearly fell, bracing one hand against the wall while using the other to rub her leg.
She had been gritting her teeth and enduring the pain throughout the match. When Taurus pushed her away and she fell to the ground, her foot had been injured.
Dragging her injured leg through various evasive maneuvers, it was remarkable she had held out this long.
"Lucy, can you still walk?"
"Aye! you look terrible as always Lucy!"
"Let me heal you first, Lucy-san."
From the shadows of the corridor came the voices of Natsu, Happy, and Wendy, as the two humans and the cat ran toward her.
Lucy was taken aback, she didn't expect Natsu and the others to come.
It seemed they had noticed her limping after all.
Whether others had noticed or not, Natsu had been aware of Lucy's foot injury for quite some time during the match.
But seeing Wendy with him, it was likely everyone had figured it out.
Wendy knelt down and applied healing magic to Lucy's injured calf.
"All done." Wendy stood up and smiled at Lucy.
"Hop on." Natsu turned around, crouching slightly and bending his back.
"I can walk now..." Lucy's fair cheeks gradually flushed a deep red.
But her body was honest, obediently letting Natsu carry her on his back.
Wendy's healing had only temporarily relieved her pain; she still needed to visit the infirmary for proper treatment and rest.
...
Natsu and Wendy's return drew everyone's attention in the waiting room.
"How is Lucy?" Erza asked.
Natsu nodded. "No problem. She said she wants to rest after taking a bath."
Wendy continued, "They're just superficial injuries. She just exhausted her physical and magical power, so she'll be fine after some rest."
"I'll go check on her first," Layla whispered into Ur's ear.
The audience's cheers were too loud—it was hard to hear otherwise.
Ur and Layla had hit it off instantly, having enjoyed their conversation the last time they met.
Ur nodded and said, "I'll take you there so you don't get lost."
After all, the second match wasn't for their members, and Ur wasn't particularly interested.
"The second match is starting."
Since Lucy was fine and both Layla and Ur were visiting her, Erza and the others decided to watch the match first.
"The second combat event of the first day of the Grand Magic Games!" Chapati Lola's voice boomed.
"Ren Akatsuki of Blue Pegasus vs. Arania Webb of Mermaid Heel! Begin!"
Ren used Air Magic, allowing him to freely manipulate the wind.
Arania wore a full-body yellow spider bodysuit, had light green curly hair, and a tall figure.
"Hey, shouldn't a handsome guy from Pegasus think twice about attacking a woman? Ren," Arania said, one hand on her hip and the other brushing through her curls.
"The two are facing off—it seems like their strength is evenly matched."
"Yes, this should be an exciting match," Yajima nodded in agreement.
"Ladies first. You can make the first move." Before Ren finished speaking, a golden magic circle appeared in front of Arania, continuously shooting out spider silk from within.
Caught off guard, Ren was hit by the silk, which formed a sticky web binding him.
However, the silk wasn't very tough or strong. Ren simply used air to cut around himself, shredding the spider web to pieces.
"I really don't think I can bring myself to fight a woman..." Ren was still hesitating.
"But we only have 3 points... Never mind, I'll get serious."
"Take this! Air Illusion!!!" Ren formed hand seals.
A deep blue sphere of air centered on him rapidly expanded outward.
The deep blue sphere shattered the incoming silk once again, then enveloped Arania, who was still on the field.
The air inside the sphere compressed continuously before rushing toward her.
"Ahhh!!!" Arania screamed in pain inside the air sphere.
A strong wind messed up Ren's hairstyle. As the wind gradually dissipated, Arania fell to the ground from mid-air.
Ding ding ding ding!
The victory chime sounded once more.
"The winner! Ren Akatsuki of Blue Pegasus! With this, Blue Pegasus's first-day score is 13 points!"
"Meanwhile, Mermaid Heel still has zero points."
"How annoying... I was too careless..." Arania muttered, her palms on the ground, her eyes dim and tone slightly dejected.
"Ren has improved a lot since last year's battle against Oración Seis." Erza watched Ren's Air Illusion technique and nodded thoughtfully.
"Does that mean Ichiya must have gotten stronger too?" Natsu said with keen interest.
Erza gave him a look that clearly said, Are you crazy?
"What are you talking about? Ichiya himself is a very powerful Mage. Although his personality is problematic, he's definitely the strongest Mage in Blue Pegasus aside from Master Bob."
Their conversation was overheard by Raizel.
Master Bob's strength was sufficient to qualify as one of the Ten Wizard Saints.
As for why he hadn't become one... probably due to concerns about corrupting public morals.
Just imagine a middle-aged, bald, pot-bellied man with stubble all over his face, who loves wearing women's clothing and wings, dressed in a pink sleeveless tank top.
The thought alone was terrifying!
"...I had no idea," Natsu had cold sweat on his forehead, his lips twitching slightly.
...
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