"...."
When those words left Meredy's lips, the entire arena fell into a stunned, breathless daze.
Was she seriously challenging all of them at once?
Up in the stands, Ultear let out a long, exasperated sigh. "That is definitely something the real Meredy would say."
Sorano and Flare nodded in agreement. They knew Finn's combat style intimately; he was a ruthless pragmatist. He usually crushed his enemies instantly without giving them a glimmer of hope or an opening to counterattack. He didn't care about honor, only results, knowing history was written by the victors. But Meredy? She clearly wanted to have a little fun with her newly borrowed power.
"Now that I've actually said that, can you actually win?"
Inside the mental cockpit, the spectral projection of Meredy turned to look at Finn, genuinely curious to see if he could handle the combined assault of the continent's top mages.
"I can."
Finn wasn't being arrogant; it was just a statistical fact. With his Manager and the downloaded combat data from his alternate selves across the multiverse, fighting these seven was a walk in the park. His true enemies were Acnologia, Zeref, and the Dragon Gods. If he couldn't effortlessly sweep a local tournament event, he had no business aiming for world domination.
"Still, if I win this for you, what are you going to give me?" Finn asked, turning his gaze to her spectral form.
"Eh?!" Meredy jumped in her seat.
"I'm following your whim and fighting them all at once. Isn't it a bit unfair if I don't get a reward?" Finn wasn't even entirely sure why he was flirting right now, but he figured he might as well lean into it. He had already accepted that he wasn't going to live a quiet, monogamous life. The women of Earthland were simply too incredible, and his magical stamina was limitless. Yeah, let's just embrace the harem king route, he decided. Besides, he knew the logic of the Fairy Tail universe: emotions and the "power of love" literally translated into raw magical strength. Therefore, statistically speaking, the more lovers he had, the more invincible he became.
"Did you just think of something incredibly stupid?" Meredy narrowed her spectral eyes at him.
"No, I'm just realizing my own genius!"
"..."
Down in the holographic city, the sheer humiliation of Meredy's taunt finally shattered the competitors' shock, replacing it with boiling rage.
"You bitch!" Gray cursed, his eyes narrowing.
Despite the anger, Finn analyzed the board coldly. This wasn't a one-versus-eight battle; it was eight one-on-one battles happening concurrently. He could easily use them as human shields or bait them into friendly fire. Even if they somehow managed to land a hit on him, they would only gain a single point, while he had already secured a massive lead.
"Actually, I won't even move from this spot," Finn declared, speaking out loud through Meredy's mouth. "Attack me however you want. Group up, use dirty tricks, ambush me—just try to make this interesting. Because right now, fighting you all is so boring I might fall asleep."
"...." Meredy buried her face in her hands inside the cockpit.
The sheer disrespect of the declaration was the final straw.
"Did you hear her?" Rufus Lore muttered, placing two fingers against his temple. Using his Memory-Make magic, he established a localized telepathic link with the remaining competitors. "Let us cast aside our guilds for a moment and teach her a lesson."
"Let's do it." Beth and Eve agreed instantly.
"What do you think, Gray?" Lyon asked, while Juvia looked to her beloved for guidance.
"Let's go. We need to show this new guild they can't just look down on us!" Gray agreed, his competitive spirit flaring. He needed to win this prize money to clear Fairy Tail's debt, or they would all be at Finn Hoen's mercy forever.
(Ironically, Juvia was secretly thinking that if Fairy Tail did lose, she wouldn't mind joining Mirajane and Cana on Finn's payroll. The money was incredible, and it would ensure Gray-sama was taken care of without him having to freeze in the wild.)
"YOU ARE SO ARROGANT! DO YOU THINK YOU CAN WIN, HAH?!"
Nullpudding snapped first. The stocky Raven Tail mage launched himself off the ground like a rabid rabbit. Activating his Needle Magic, massive, lethal spikes erupted from his arms as he brought them down toward Meredy like spiked hammers.
"DIE!"
He knew his main mission was to humiliate Fairy Tail, but he couldn't suppress his rage toward this masked sniper!
"TRY THIS!"
Despite Nullpudding's incredible speed and the element of surprise, Meredy's body reacted with terrifying, mechanical fluidity. She didn't flinch. She simply pivoted and drew her bow, aiming the arrow of blinding light directly at the airborne mage.
"Eh?"
Nullpudding froze. He was suspended in mid-air. He had absolutely zero leverage to dodge.
"Slowpoke," 'Meredy' mocked coldly.
She released the bowstring. The arrow of light crossed the distance in a fraction of a second, slamming into Nullpudding's chest like a magical cruise missile.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The explosion blasted Nullpudding out of the holographic city entirely, sending him crashing into the outer walls of the Domus Flau, completely unconscious.
The entire stadium went dead silent. The sheer gap in power was undeniable.
Standing atop the spire, her bow glowing in the night, Meredy looked down at the remaining competitors with a devilish, arrogant smile.
"Come on. Are you all afraid~?"