"EH?! Me?!"
Lucy stared at the massive Lacrima screens in absolute shock. Of all the match-ups the sponsors could have chosen for the opening round, why did it have to be her?
The atmosphere in the Fairy Tail dugout was incredibly gloomy. Gray had just failed them completely, getting utterly thrashed in a massive Unison Raid that had yielded absolutely zero points. What was worse, the crowd was currently treating Fairy Tail like complete garbage, sneering at their disastrous performance.
"Geez, they're so weak," a spectator scoffed.
"What a waste of Rufus's setup!"
"If literally anyone else had been in Gray's place, the result would have been different."
Everyone knew Heavenly Blue's masked archer was absurdly strong, but she had still fought completely alone against a combined assault. When a coordinated strike failed so miserably, the mage spearheading the final attack—Gray—naturally took the brunt of the blame.
Did Rufus Lore realize this? Absolutely. The Sabertooth prodigy knew from the start that defeating Meredy was a long shot, so he had strategically manipulated the alliance to ensure Gray took the final shot, allowing Sabertooth to dodge the public humiliation of failure. Still, Rufus felt the sting of defeat. He had genuinely wanted to win.
"Dammit!"
Gray slammed his fist into the wall, completely unaware of the Sabertooth politics. All he knew was that he had been utterly humiliated. He had failed when everyone had entrusted the final strike to him.
"Is he going to be okay?" Lucy asked worriedly, looking at Gray's trembling shoulders.
"Don't worry about him. You need to focus entirely on yourself right now," Erza ordered, her voice uncharacteristically tense. "You are facing Heavenly Blue next."
Erza wasn't worried about Gray. He had just lost a simple competition; it wasn't a life-or-death battle. But Erza was incredibly worried about Lucy.
It has to be him, right? Erza thought, her eyes narrowing toward the Heavenly Blue dugout.
It was just a hunch, but the way the masked leader carried himself, the sheer, overwhelming power of his subordinates... it practically screamed Finn Hoen. And knowing that ruthless man, Erza knew he wouldn't hire a single weak mage. If the archer was any indication, the woman named Flare was likely S-Class or higher.
"Don't worry. I'll do my best!"
Lucy tightened her ponytail, slapping her cheeks to psych herself up. She was a member of Fairy Tail! Even if her opponent was terrifying, she wouldn't give up. She was going to win this battle and reclaim the dignity her guild had lost!
"GO LUCY!"
"DO YOUR BEST!"
"DON'T LOSE!"
Her guildmates cheered, though a subtle, nervous undercurrent laced their voices.
"WIN THIS MATCH, LUCY!" Natsu roared, practically hanging over the railing.
Lucy offered him a determined smile and stepped out toward the arena.
Across the stadium, the Heavenly Blue dugout was entirely devoid of pre-battle tension.
"Finn-sama, please possess me too," Flare requested calmly.
"..."
Finn sighed inwardly. He looked across the arena at Lucy, who was practically vibrating with desperate, heroic determination to save her guild's pride.
Meanwhile, Flare was just casually asking him to hijack her body and fight the battle for her, completely bypassing the concept of fair sportsmanship.
"Alright," Finn agreed instantly.
"Thank you, Finn-sama," Flare smiled warmly.
Without hesitation, Finn activated his Possession Magic, seamlessly transferring his consciousness into Flare's body. He knew it was wildly unfair. But Flare was his woman, and Earthland was not a fair world. If the other guilds couldn't detect that he was puppet-stringing his entire roster to sweep the tournament, that was their own fault for being weak.
Besides, Flare had recently developed an entirely new fighting style. Her original Hair Magic was incredibly dangerous—capable of whipping around with the force of extra limbs—but after becoming deeply attached to Finn, she didn't want to risk damaging the crimson hair he loved running his fingers through.
Consequently, she had learned a new, highly versatile string- and cloth-based magic. And surprisingly, her overall magical capacity had skyrocketed. It wasn't because she was training rigorously. It was a direct result of Finn practicing a specific Dual Cultivation technique he had downloaded from his DxD counterpart. By enduring Finn's monstrous, dragon-fueled stamina in the bedroom almost every night, Flare's physical durability and raw magical output had naturally evolved to keep up with him.
Honestly, the DxD Finn was definitely the one who benefited the most from Finn of Fairy Tail since Fairy Tail's world was overflowing with Dragon Slayer and God Slayer magic concepts, which was so useful for Finn DxD, who would face many mythological battles.
But that was a problem for another dimension.
Right now, Finn—piloting Flare—stepped onto the arena floor.
"You aren't nervous?" Finn asked, using Flare's voice, as he felt Lucy's intense gaze.
"I am. But for my guild, I'm going to give it everything I have!" Lucy declared, clutching her golden keys tightly.
"Good. Then I will allow you to show exactly what you're capable of. Don't disappoint your guildmates, alright?" 'Flare' replied smoothly.
The words sounded incredibly arrogant, implying Flare already knew she was going to win and was merely indulging Lucy.
But Lucy didn't get angry. She knew Flare was vastly out of her league. "Thank you. But you'd better give it your all too, or you'll disappoint your own team."
"Don't worry. I will."
While Finn maintained the confident facade externally, Flare's consciousness suddenly chimed in from the mental passenger seat.
"Finn-sama, this girl has a wonderful spirit. You should make her your woman, too."
"..." Finn sweatdropped in the cockpit.
There was no time to respond. Chapati Lola's voice echoed across the stadium.
"Now for the first match of the battles! BEGIN!"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The gong rang, and Lucy immediately made her move.
"Here goes!" Lucy whipped a golden key from her belt, thrusting it high into the air. "Open! Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!"
"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
A massive plume of golden smoke erupted, revealing a towering, hyper-muscular bipedal cow wielding a gigantic, double-bladed battle axe.
It was a highly dangerous opening move. Taurus was renowned for his devastating physical strength; a single clean hit from that axe was usually enough to instantly KO any mage not specialized in close-quarters combat.
Yet, Finn didn't even flinch.
He analyzed his own vessel. Unlike the other members of Heavenly Blue, Flare had chosen to wear a beautifully tailored azure kimono patterned with the guild's signature morning glories. It was an elegant, surprisingly conservative choice that perfectly showcased her refined devotion to Finn.
As Taurus charged, Finn smoothly channeled magic into the thick, luxurious silk obi tied around Flare's waist.
"Be careful, moo!" Taurus yelled. As a notorious pervert, the celestial spirit couldn't help but go a little easy when facing a beautiful, masked woman in a tight kimono who wasn't even moving to dodge.
"Don't worry about me," 'Flare' smiled softly. "You're the one who is about to lose."
The silk obi suddenly unraveled, shooting forward with terrifying speed. Instantly, the fabric expanded and hardened, weaving itself into the shape of a colossal, ten-meter-wide magical hammer suspended high in the air.
"Obi Magic: Hammer Weave."
"Moo?!"
Taurus skidded to a halt, completely stunned as the massive fabric hammer blotted out the sun above him.
Finn casually flicked his wrist downward.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!!
---
You know what?
Let's just do this project of fanfic.
I have written four chapters anyway. As for when I'll start it, I'll wait until I finish 100 or so chapters before I start uploading it.
As for the "Checking Out at 5:15 PM," I am sorry.
Wait till December or so, okay?
In early December, I should have finished my third semester of study, my thesis, my postgraduate study, and my notary studies.
Thanks to you all!
As for HigeHiro, after a moment of thought, I might not add it since I have to say Sayu is too gloomy, so it might not be suitable for this story that is light and fun. I will still add Bocchi, Yofukashi, and probably Deira, Heisei Remnant Soldier Sumire-chan, or Seitokai ni mo Ana wa Aru!
Mama is good.