"Are Ultear and Gray participating in this event? If I had known, I would have joined too," Lyon watched Ultear and Gray on the Magic Crystal screen with some emotion.
"A love rival..." Sherry Blendy said.
Both Gray and Ultear deserved the death penalty!
She had fallen in love with Lyon at first sight and had been following him ever since.
Lyon's mouth twitched. "No... they're just my senior and junior."
The Croix Knights sent a slender cheetah knight—a girl with long, well-defined legs.
Wearing athletic shorts, she stood out among the girls, even rivaling the boys, and was much, much taller than Ichiya.
"The race begins!"
...
The race track through the city was very long.
Ultear maintained her steady strategy, staying in the first group and eating their dust.
"In the lead is Lisa from the Croix Knights, closely followed by Gray, Ichiya, Yuka, and Ultear from Fairy Tail!"
"MEN!!!" Ichiya ran, sweating profusely.
"I'm surprised someone with your build can keep up." As Yuka ran, he glanced at Risley from Mermaid Heel, who was matching his pace.
"Don't underestimate round people."
"Slightly behind is Bacchus, a substitute from Quatro Cerberus."
"What a headache... I'm still not fully recovered from last night's hangover," Bacchus yawned as he ran across the moving chariots.
"Bringing up the rear is Sting, who seems to struggle with vehicles!!!"
"Aye! Seriously, don't steal Natsu's character trait!!!" Happy was crying out for Natsu's gimmick.
"After intense competition, the leading contestants are getting closer to the finish line!!!"
Hearing Chapati Lola's voice, Gray immediately formed hand seals. "ICE-MAKE: Ice Floor!"
"Wave Motion: Propel!" Yuka yelled, vibrating the ground. "You can't use magic within my shockwave."
Ichiya rummaged in his clothes, pulled out two fragrant sticks, and stuffed them into his nostrils.
"So it's a wave that negates magic. In that case... Instant Step Perfume, zero-distance attraction!"
With his short legs, he instantly accelerated to an impossible speed, surpassing Yuka's shockwave.
"Oh? Everyone's going all out. My soul is trembling—guess I'll put in a little effort too!" Bacchus, who was last, stomped his right foot heavily as he spoke.
The chariot he was standing on split in two, and the brutal impact caused the connection point of the front chariot to break as well.
"Bacchus's monstrous strength has destroyed the chariot track!!!" Chapati Lola grabbed his head in shock as he watched the broken parts automatically repair themselves.
"What's going on??? The chariots are restoring themselves???"
Yajima promptly explained, "The Lost Magic Arc of Time—the magic used by contestant Ultear."
The scene shifted to Ultear running gracefully, with a glowing Magic Crystal floating beside her.
Ultear simply didn't want to slip on Gray's ice or trip on Bacchus's broken carts.
Repairing the chariot track was just incidental and didn't consume much of her magical power.
However, Bacchus's earlier stomp still affected Ichiya, Yuka, and Risley, causing the three to fall to the ground. Bacchus accelerated past them.
What surprised Ultear was Lisa of the Croix Knights.
Neither Gray's Ice Floor nor Bacchus's stomp had affected her fluid pace.
Her endurance and speed were excellent. Ultear and Gray chased fiercely but still couldn't catch up.
Lisa of the Croix Knights was the first to cross the finish line into Domus Flau.
"The Croix Knights earn eight points! Second place goes to Ultear, and third to Gray."
Ultear had brutally tripped Gray at the last moment to secure second place for Team A.
"Fourth place is Bacchus, fifth is Risley... and last place is Sting, who has already withdrawn."
"The top team in points is still Fairy Tail Team B with 24 points, second is Fairy Tail Team A with 21 points, and third is Blue Pegasus with 16 points!"
"Not getting first is a bit of a shame," Ultear glanced at the celebrating Croix Knights and sighed helplessly.
Mira shook her head and said softly, "Although Lisa isn't an S-Class Mage, she's equivalent to our guild's Jet. Her magic is God Speed, and her speed increases over time. She's the fastest Mage in the Croix Knights."
Erza nodded firmly. "She's quite impressive. Neither the Ice Floor nor Bacchus's stomp could affect her."
...
"Everyone! After a short break, the long-awaited battle segment is here!"
"The first match is between Walter Son, the White Horse Knight of the Croix Knights, and Toby Orca from Lamia Scale!"
Walter Son also had long blond hair, fair skin, and considerable height, living up to the name White Horse Knight.
Mira counted on her fingers as she introduced him to the team. "The Croix Knights have three S-Class Mages: the Golden Lion, the Black Panther, and the Giant Elephant Knight. This White Horse Knight is not an S-Class Mage."
"Awooo—" Toby howled.
"In this match of white horse versus dog, who will emerge victorious?"
"It should be an exciting match," Yajima said.
"Toby, so dog-like! COOL!!!" With Jason's "COOL," the match officially began.
"Awooo!" Toby's fingernails on both hands elongated, turning green and sharp.
"Super Paralyzing Giant Jellyfish!" Toby shouted a nonsensical slogan and charged forward.
Pouncing, left sweep, right sweep, spinning claw strike... All were either blocked or dodged gracefully by Walter Son, who wielded a longsword.
"Awooo! Stop dodging if you have the guts!"
"Very well. Then I'll make my move."
Walter Son twirled his sword and swung it downward, the blade now coated with purple flames.
The flames were clearly extremely hot, the air above them shimmering with heat.
"That looks delicious..." Natsu was already drooling at the flames.
"Oh! Those flames are quite similar to mine!" Macao exclaimed excitedly as he watched the screen.
Raizel shook his head. "It's different. Yours is originally purple flame, while his is purely high-temperature fire. Although this guy isn't an S-Class Mage, just dealing with these flames alone is troublesome." Raizel glanced at Natsu, who was clinging excitedly to the wall, and smiled.
"Of course, if it were Natsu he encountered... he'd better pray for himself."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Toby's paralyzing claws clashed with the flaming sword.
Looking at his scorched red palms and broken claws, Toby wept bitterly...
"It doesn't hurt! It doesn't hurt at all!" Toby lied through his tears.