Crocus, Hall of Shining Lights, Mercurius—
Arcadios, captain of the Cherry Blossom Knights, knelt on one knee while reporting to His Majesty, King Toma.
"Your Majesty, the first day of the Grand Magic Games has concluded successfully."
"Hmm, I watched it. It was a splendid magical battle."
"Regarding the matchups for the second day, if you have any thoughts, please issue your instructions." Toma tapped the armrest of his throne thoughtfully.
"Well... I'd like to see Bacchus in action."
Arcadios nodded. "Who should he face then?"
Toma waved his hand dismissively. "Anyone will do. Preferably an evenly matched opponent, but definitely not Raizel—that would make it far less entertaining."
"Yes, sire. I will arrange it according to your instructions. If you have no further orders, I shall take my leave now."
"Overseeing everything must be tiring. You've worked hard, Arcadios. Go and rest well."
...
"Who's next? Come on, give me a good workout!" Natsu stood on a bar table at the tavern, with what could only be described as battered guildmates scattered below him.
"Nice one, Natsu!"
"You're too weak, Max, Bisca!" Macao and Wakaba egged him on from the sidelines with their drinks.
"This looks fun. Let me join in for a bit." Gajeel cracked his iron knuckles and entered the fray.
"I heard Quatro Cerberus used a substitute slot to switch in a new participant—Bacchus," Levy announced as she and Mira returned from gathering information.
"Bacchus? Who's that? Never heard of him," Natsu asked in between his scuffle with Gajeel.
Erza furrowed her brows slightly. "He's an S-Class Mage from Quatro Cerberus—the Drunken Falcon, Bacchus of the Chopping Palm. We encountered him during our missions. He's quite strong. I've sparred with him once or twice, but we never reached a solid conclusion. Though that was about one or two years ago."
"On par with Erza?!?" Lucy expressed surprise.
Ultear shook her head. "Not exactly on par. They only sparred briefly and never fought to their full potential."
They had run into Bacchus a few times during missions, and he was always heavily intoxicated.
He relied on unique martial arts and seemed to grow stronger the drunker he got.
They had sparred—both Erza and Kagura had faced him—but Erza hadn't been serious.
After all, Goldmine, the guild master of Quatro Cerberus, was good friends with Makarov, so Erza had to show some respect.
"That was one or two years ago! The current Erza would definitely win!" Natsu shouted while grappling fiercely with Gajeel and Gray.
"Are you already assuming Erza will be the one to face him?"
"I wouldn't mind taking him on myself!"
"What are you guys talking about? Of course I'll be the one to fight him!"
Raizel turned to Carla, who was chatting with Happy and Lily nearby, and asked, "Have you seen any visions, Carla?"
Carla was momentarily stunned, then shook her head. "No, is something going to happen?"
When Raizel took the field today, he specifically tried to sense any unusual energies, but he didn't detect any special magical power or particularly dark auras.
As for the Eclipse Gate, that thing was indeed absorbing magical power beneath the city.
It seemed he'd need to find an opportunity to meet with Arcadios and Toma eventually.
"Not necessarily, maybe the timing is wrong. If you sense anything, let me know." Carla's brows furrowed slightly before relaxing again.
She had great confidence in her precognition.
Since she hadn't sensed anything, there probably wasn't anything major to worry about.
...
Domus Flau —
Amid the enthusiastic cheers of the audience, Chapati Lola enthusiastically announced.
"The highly anticipated second day of the Grand Magic Games now officially begins! For our special guest on the second day, we've invited the famous reporter from Sorcerer Weekly—Mr. Jason!"
"COOL!!!"
"Now this feels right, this is perfect! It has to be Jason," Raizel enthusiastically applauded to welcome Jason.
Having the games without Jason's commentary would be like the West without Jerusalem.
"The competition event for the second day has been announced in advance—it's called Chariot! This event requires participants to remain on connected chariots without falling off while racing toward the finish line! Since the chariots beneath their feet will constantly be moving, even a moment of carelessness could lead to failure. The chariots will travel around Crocus's tourist attractions. Which team will take the lead and be first to arrive at the venue—Domus Flau?!"
The main gate of the stadium was marked with GOAL—crossing through this gate meant first place.
"The Magic Crystal screens at the venue will bring this exciting competition to all the live spectators!"
"COOL!!!"
"The participating contestants are already lined up at the starting line in the city, ready to go!"
Ultear sighed heavily in the waiting room. "Sigh... why do I have to participate in some running event... The 24-hour endurance race was bad enough."
Gray, however, was full of spirit. "When it comes to running, I won't lose to anyone."
Ultear shook her head helplessly. "You should put your clothes back on before saying that."
"What?! When did that happen!"
Just moments before, Gray had treated the audience to an impressive display of lightning-fast undressing.
In the blink of an eye, Gray was left wearing only his shorts.
Even the most advanced magical recording devices couldn't keep up with Gray's speed at removing clothes... leaving the audience amazed, exclaiming they'd learned something new, and vowing to try it themselves when they got home tonight.
Though many were eager to try it on the spot, doing so would likely lead to disastrous public consequences.
Mavis gave a rather fitting evaluation from the stands: "Gray would be invincible if his Ice-Make casting speed could ever catch up to his clothes-removing speed."
Last night— After learning in advance that the next day's competition would be called Chariot, which clearly involved transportation, Laxus and Gajeel voluntarily withdrew.
Laxus didn't want to embarrass himself, and ever since using his Dragon Slayer Secret Art on Tenrou Island, Gajeel had started getting motion sickness from vehicles.
Though Natsu argued loudly about participating, he was quickly subdued by a single punch from Laxus.
"Wendy, it's just us left. Will you go or should I?" Gray had asked.
Wendy shook her head frantically. "When it comes to running on moving vehicles, I don't have much confidence."
"Then it's decided, I'll do it." Gray grinned and gave a thumbs up. "You can always count on me in crucial moments."
"Overconfident."
"Cringe."
"Unbelievable."
These were the evaluations from the three Dragon Slayers regarding Gray.
Ultear rested her chin on her hand as she carefully analyzed Team A's options.
"For running, Erza and Kagura definitely have the advantage, since their stamina is the best among all of us."
The remaining girls replied in unison, "But you were last year's endurance run runner-up."
Ultear suddenly had a bad feeling. "That was just luck, and it was only second place..."
"But you were last year's endurance run runner-up."
And so Ultear was unanimously voted onto the battlefield.