Chapter Text
The air was electrifying in the Domus Flau coliseum. Fireworks of color smoke exploded in the sky as millions of balloons of every color in the rainbow floated overhead, accompanied by an unseen orchestra. Hundreds of thousands of fans were in the audience were cheering their hearts out. And down in the actual coliseum itself, Akko, Galo, and Michiru were among the hundreds of men and women (and whatever that fish with legs was supposed to be) gathered that had gathered to compete.
“Look at all these people!” said Akko, throwing her arms out to gesture. “There must be a thousand people here! I thought that knight guy was supposed to be super strict with the selection!”
“I think that was just intended for outsides like us,” said Galo thoughtfully. “I mean, it makes sense. We’re not from this world, so he doesn’t know a thing about us.”
“Plus, Akko’s a kid,” Michiru pointed out.
“Hey, you’re only a year older than me!” Akko pointed out.
“But I’m legal adult,” said Michiru in a condescending way. “So too bad for you, kid.”
Akko stuck out her tongue, and Michiru answered in kind with a lizard tongue. Very mature.
“All right! It’s that time of year again, folks!” an enthusiastic voice filled the air, making Akko and Michiru jump in surprise. “The annual magic festival! The Grand Magic Games!”
The crowd exploded in another wave of cheers even loud than the last one, it practically shook the stadium. You could tell who the outsiders were among the participants based on the way they reacted. They looked just as alarmed as Akko and Michiru were while the veterans took it in stride; some of them were even egging the crowd on.
“In a moment, the curtain will rise on the ninth annual Grand Magic Games,” said the announcer. “I am your emcee, Chapati Lola. And with me as always is former Magic Council member and owner of Hargeon’s famous 8-Island restaurant, Yajima, who will provide the commentary. Mr. Yajima, I look forward to working with you again.”
“It is always a pleasure, Mr. Lola,” a wizened voice joined in. “Even though my wizarding days are behind me, I look forward to seeing what new magic our competitors bring.”
“And joining us as the third commentator for this year’s Grand Magic Games,” said Chapati Lola, “Is none other than the organizer of this year’s events and our own benevolent ruler, Queen Hisui E. Fiore! Welcome, your majesty!”
“Mr. Lola, you don’t need to call me ‘your majesty,’” said Hisui humbly. “For the duration of the game, please just treat me as another commentator.”
“Very well, your ma – I mean, Miss Fiore,” said Chapati Lola. “Now, Miss Fiore, I hear that a special decree was passed recently for this specific year. Mind filling it in for the people at home.”
“Gladly, Mr. Lola,” said Hisui chipperly. “After the…poor turnout from last year’s Games, I felt that a change was needed to make this year more successful.”
‘Yes, I remember,” hummed Yajima. “That was the year all the major guilds from the previous year chose not to participate. Sabertooth, Lamia Scale, Mermaid Heel, Blue Pegasus, Quatro Cerberus, and Fairy Tail all decided to abdicate that year.”
“Yes, and it led to a major decline in audience numbers,” Hisui admitted. “To that end, I recently passed a decree that anyone could join the Grand Magic Games, regardless if they are members of a guild, or even from Fiore. I’ve even personally invited a few participants that I think will really get the crowd excited.”
“While a clever idea, it’s not without its detractors,” said Yagima. “Namely those in smaller guilds who believe the participation of competitors outside guilds defeats the original purpose of naming Fiore’s strongest guild, as well the number of participants allowed to compete. And forgive me for saying this, but I can’t help agreeing. The number of participants rank in the seven hundreds – much bigger than the number of wizards that competed two years ago.”
“I understand your concern,” said Hisui. “The original purpose of the Games was to decide who was the best guild in Fiore, but after the Dragon Invasion and the Alvarez War, I felt that the Games needed a new direction. One more focused on entertainment rather than competitiveness. There are still rewards, don’t worry, but this way make the guilds less pressured to win and just focus on having fun.
“As for the numbers, don’t you worry. Because soon those seven hundred participants will be whittled down to sixteen groups.”
“How’re they gonna reduce seven hundred to sixteen groups?” Michiru asked curiously.
“I’m glad you asked, Miss Raccoon!” shouted Chapati Lola excitedly.
“They heard me?” Michiru yelped in surprise, which quickly morphed to irritation when she realized his words. “And I’m a tanuki!”
“In order to narrow down the number of teams competing in the Grand Magic Games,” Chapati Lola explained, “We will start with a series of preliminary matches. Now, will all participants turn their attention to the sky.” Everyone did so. “In a few moments, a hundreds Lacrima orbs will be magically dropped into the stadium. There will be one orb for each group, so don’t try stealing them. we will explain what these orbs are for once every group has one.”
“Now, drop the orbs!” said Yajima.
Over a hundred flashes of light burst open in the sky and an equal number of pale-blue reflective stones appeared in their place. As the orbs fell everyone scrambled in all directions in a desperate rush to grab them before the other competitors. Some participants launched themselves, either wings or some type of magical propulsion, and snatched the orbs out of the air.
The ones that made it to the ground were immediately snatched up in seconds. There were a few skirmishes where players used magic to fight over a single orb. One man tried to threaten Michiru with a handful of fire until she sucker punched him with a gorilla fist. Unfortunately, her orb was snatched out of her hand when she wasn’t paying attention. Akko tried crawling through the sea of legs, hoping to collect one they had missed. She should’ve known better and was constantly trampled on by much larger men and women, covering her body in foot prints like a cartoon character.
“You okay, Akko?” asked Michiru after shoving everyone away and peeling the witch off the ground.
“I’m fine – used to it,” Akko admitted. “Did you get one?”
“Nah, came up short,” said Michiru, shaking her head.
“I GOT ONE!” Akko and Michiru looked to their right, finding Galo standing on a pile of drowsy men, holding an orb triumphantly to the sky.
“Way to go, Galo!” cheered Akko as the hot-blooded firefighter joined them, spinning the orb on his finger. “You’re so awesome!”
“Aw, it was nothing,” said Galo, grinning proudly.
The scramble for the orbs went on for several minutes before the dust finally settled. Every group had a Lacrima orb among them, along with a few bruises and black eyes.
“Now that everyone has a Lacrima, it’s time for the grand reveal!” said Hisui ecstatically.
She snapped her fingers over the PA system, which sounded like a gunshot echoing throughout the coliseum. All at once, the Lacrima orbs glowed and black numbers appeared on each of them. Akko looked at the orb in Galo’s hand.
“It’s an eight,” she said. “Is that good?”
“I dunno?” Galo shrugged.
“The preliminaries will consist of a single event spread out into eight rounds,” Chaptai Lola explained. “At the end of each round, two groups will advanced to the main event. The number you have received will determine which grouping you’re in. The other groups will wait in their designated lobbies indicated by the signs.”
Akko looked around and noticed magical transparent screens popped into existence over the stadium’s eight entry corridors, each one marked with a number between one and eight.
“In order to ensure that everyone plays on equal footing,” said Yajima, “all groups that are not participating at the time will remain inside until their number is called. Likewise, anyone from groups that have already competed are expressly forbidden from sharing information with their friends in other groups. Anyone caught cheating will be ejected from Domus Flau. This is your only warning.”
“Wow, no pressure or anything,” said Michiru sarcastically.
“So we’re number eight,” said Galo, checking the orb again to make sure. “Guess that means we’re in the last group.”
“Aw, but that’ll take forever!” Akko whined childishly.
“Nothing we can do about it,” said Galo. “Not unless you want to call it quits.”
Akko turned her back to him with her arms crossed in a huff. Stupid Galo. He knew she’d never want to miss out on magic games, even if it meant waiting an eternity.”
“Group one, stay where you are,” said Hisui. “Everyone else, please go to your respective lobbies and wait to be called.”
Akko leaned back against the wall of the lobby with her hands folded behind her head, letting out an impatient sigh. Michiru was on her left going through social media on her phone, and Galo was stretched out on the floor with his hands acting like a pillow, looking ready to take a nap. Akko could be surprised if he got any shut-eye with the level of noise in the lobby.
There were almost eighty people crammed into their small lobby, which made it difficult not to bump into anyone. It felt like Akko was back in Shinjuku where she was forced to squeeze onto a train with a hundred strangers like a can of sardines. Most of them kept to themselves or their own groups. From what she could tell most people signed up in groups of threes and fours with five being the max total, though some appeared to be on their own. These particular people exuded confidence. Unfortunately, Akko’s group happened to be standing next to a particularly rowdy bunch.
“Wild!” one man chanted.
“Four!” the other four men screamed.
“WILD!”
“FOUR!”
Akko exhaled another sigh.
“Moaning isn’t gonna make time move any faster,” said Michiru, giving the little young an annoyed side glance.
“It’s just not fair!” Akko complained, flailing her arms like a child throwing a tantrum (Michiru leaned sideways to avoid getting hit.) “I wanna go out there and play some magic games right now! Why do we have to wait!”
“There’s no point in complaining,” said Galo, his eyes closed. “You heard the guy. Too many people signed up, so they have to cut the competition. All we can do is wait.”
As he said that, the muffled sound of a thousand screaming voices reverberated in the lobby and the walls and ceiling quivered slightly.
“Sounds like they started,” Michiru commented.
“Aww, I should be out there!” Akko whined childishly.
“If you’re that bored,” said Galo, opening one eye, “then find something to keep yourself busy.”
“Like what?” asked Akko.
“Potion! Ether! Spell scrolls!” A chirper, and familiar, young girl barked through the throng of competitors. “We have all your needs Resleriana’s mobile atelier!”
“Is that…?” Akko gasped.
Akko stood on her tiptoes, trying to peer around the “Wild Four” muscleheads. A small group of interested players were forming a line in front of a little cart that had rolled in through the entryway. It was stocked with all kinds of bottles with different colored liquids, small burlap bags, and a pile of scrolls. Standing behind the cart was Resna, the Alchemist Akko and her friends ran into back in the Hollow★World. Michiru and Galo, who were also stunned to see Resna, walked over with Akko as the alchemist was finishing a transaction.
“That’s two bottles of hi-potions, two bottles of ether, and one Firaga scroll,” Resna recounted, stuffing the items in a burlap bag. “Your total comes to four thousand five hundred munny.” The customer threw down a pile of yellow diamonds on the counter. “Thank you! Tell your friends!”
“Resna?” asked Akko curiously when the customer walked away.
“Oh, hey, it you guys!” Resna waved at them cheerfully. “Let’s see…Akko, Michiru, and Galo, right?”
“Why do they have to say it in that order?” Galo complained. “I think I have a lot name recognition – OOF!“
Michiru elbowed him in the stomach.
“Didn’t think we would run into you so soon?” said Akko excitedly. “How did you get here from Hollow★World?”
“I walked, silly,” Resna laughed.
“…How?” questioned Michiru dumbfoundedly.
“So you’re selling the stuff you make with alchemy?” asked Akko, looking over Resna’s wears.
“Yup!” said Resna brightly. “Even though alchemy is my passion, I still need money for all sorts of things I can’t find out in the wild. The cost for cauldron cleaner alone nearly puts me in the red. Lucky for me, I managed to snag a vendors license for the Grand Magic Games!”
“Do a lot of alchemist sell stuff at the Games?” asked Michiru curiously.
“Of course they do,” said Resna. “The Grand Magic Games is the biggest magical event in the entire galaxy. People from hundreds of worlds comes to see the Games, which makes it the perfect spot for alchemist’s to sell their products. In fact, on the way here, I ran into a lot of famous alchemist such as Miss Marie, Miss Judie, Miss Shallie, and Miss Rorona.”
“Rorona’s here?” said Galo curiously. “We should pay her a visit when we’re done.”
“So what’re you selling?” asked Akko, pouring over the items with keen interest.
“Just about everything you could need to give it your all in the Games!” said Resna cheerfully. “I have potions – regular, high, and mega – to heal your wounds after a tough battle. Different types of ethers to restore your magical power. And, last but not least, magic scrolls that will teach you all sorts of new spells.”
“I can learn new spells by reading some rolled up paper?” asked Akko, her eyes lighting up. You could practically see her tail wagging.
“Reading?” Resna giggled like Akko told some hilarious joke. “That’s funny, Akko. ‘Reading.’ Everyone knows you automatically learn the spell when you buy it.”
“Pretty sure that’s not how it works,” Michiru commented.
“Since you guys helped me with those creepy clothes in the other world,” said Resna, clapping her hands with a proud smile, “I have the perfect spell just for you. Hold on a minute….”
The redheaded alchemist disappeared underneath the cart. There were a loud clattering noises coming from behind that sounded two frying pans banging together, a frightened chicken, and a cannon going off. Akko was pretty sure she saw a hub cap roll away from the stand. Then, after a couple of raucous minutes later, Resna popped back up holding a thick scroll with a lightning symbol stamped on the front.
“This is the Thunderbolt Spell - Fros Jawana,” said Resna. “It’s a weather controlling spell that can call down a bolt of lightning to vaporize your enemies.”
“Sugoi!” said Akko, her eyes flashing with stars. She moved to take it, saying, “Thanks, Resna – “
“Whoa, hold up!” cried Resna, snatching the scroll out of Akko’s reach. “I’m not just gonna hand it over to you. This is a super rare item. It took me a week to brew the mixture just right. You want it, you need to pay five thousand munny.”
“Five thousand!” Akko shrieked, her jaw dropped and eyes bulging. “I don’t have that kind of cash!”
“Yes, you do,” said Galo nonchalantly.
“Huh?” Akko sputtered dimwittedly.
“We’ve been killing a lot of monsters lately,” said Galo matter-of-factly. “And everyone knows that when you kill monsters, they drop mummy and occasionally rare items, which are automatically transferred to you’re the party that kills them. Check your pockets.”
“This isn’t a video game, dummy,” said Michiru in disbelief. “She’s not gonna – “
“Holy cow, look at all this money!” yelled Akko as she pulled out a small pile of yellow diamonds from her pocket.
Michiru paused, staring wide-eyes as Akko dumped the pile on Resna’s counter. She then reached a hand inside her jacket, feeling around inside until her finger bumped into something unfamiliar. When she pulled it out, she realized there was a box with a free AP UP.
“…I don’t even know what to say to this,” Michiru admitted.
“Just go think about it,” said Galo, clapping his friends shoulder cheerfully. “Always works for me.”
“And…that’s five thousand munny,” said Resna after counting up the diamonds before sliding it into her bag. She offered the scroll to Akko. “Here you go: one Thunderbolt spell.”
Akko grabbed the scroll and, in that instant, something in her brain clicked. Suddenly, she knew everything inside the scroll without having to see it. The form, the incantation, the wand movement – everything was automatically uploaded into her brain like a computer.
“Yatta! That was unrealistically convenient, but I don’t care!” Akko cheered.
“You might know the spell now, but it’s a whole lot different when put into practice,” said Resna sagely. “You might want to train up for a bit before your round starts.”
“Where’re we gonna do that?” asked Michiru, gesturing over her shoulder. “I don’t think these guys’ll be happy with Akko throwing lightning around.”
“You can use the practice field,” Resna suggested.
“You mean that place where the knights were training earlier?” asked Galo.
“I guess so,” said Resna, shrugging. “Now, not to be rude, but I got other customers waiting.”
Akko, Michiru, and Galo turned around and realized that there were a dozen men waiting impatiently in line behind them. The world-hopping trio laughed sheepishly and sidled out of the way.
Akko, Michiru, and Galo walked around the length of the coliseum after getting permission to leave the lobby on the condition that one of the guards accompanied them. They were serious about the “no peeking” rule because the guard had one of those crystal balls and promised to report them if they tried anything. Not that Akko would. She has never resorted to cheating, not even during the broom race in her first semester, despite wanting so desperately to beat Diana.
They were unsurprised to see Arcadios still there. The poor man was sitting on the sidelines, his upper armor set behind the bench, holding an ice pack to his back. He didn’t notice Akko’s party at first – he was intently focused on the practice field.
A woman with long, flowing blonde hair stood in the center, surrounded by a swarm of defeated monsters. The creatures weren’t Life Fibers, but they looked just as deadly. Black dogs the size of a fully grown man with knife-like teeth, golems made of steel, ogres were bulging muscles bigger than Akko’s head, and a red-and-black demon that must have twenty feet tall. All of them were downed with some kind of fatal injury while the woman appeared unharmed. The woman appeared to be holding a weapon – it looked like a white floral lance – but it disappeared before Akko could get a good look at it. The monsters dissolved shortly after like defeated enemies in a video game.
The blond woman walked over to Arcadios and bowed.
“Thank you for allowing me to train here, Sir Arcadios,” said the woman respectfully.
“I’m the one who should be thanking you, young miss,” Arcadios praised. “I have never seen such a finer display of natural talent and hard work. You bested the most difficult course not only in record time, but without so much as a scratch. I would gladly follow you into battle, miss.”
“Please, you’re too much,” said the woman, scratching her cheek shyly. “I’m not really that special.”
“I beg to differ,” said Arcadios. “At least tell me your name.”
“My name?” the woman blinked. “My name is Bianka Ataegina. But everyone calls me Durandal.”
“I look forward to seeing you in the competition, Durandal,” said Arcadios. “There is no doubt in my mind that you will make it to the main games. Maybe even win the entire competition altogether.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said Durandal humbly. “I’m sure there are plenty of people who are stronger than me.”
“I suppose we’ll see,” Arcadios hummed. “Good luck to you, Durandal.”
“Thank you, sir,” said Durandal, bowing one more time.
Durandal pivoted on her heel and walked back in the direction that Akko and the others came from, passing the heroes along the way. She locked eyes with the little witch. There was something meaningful in her gaze, like she was sizing Akko up. The exchange felt like an eternity, even though it was only half a second. Durandal was the first to break eye contact and disappeared around the bend.
“Ah, Akko and friends!” Arcadios called from the bench once noticing them. “Come to practice, I see? Good. Never skip your training, even before a big match. It could save your life one day.”
“Right,” said Akko as they approached the bench. She gestured over her shoulder and asked, “Who was that?”
“Her?” said Arcadios surprisingly. “She calls herself Durandal. She’s one of the outsiders competing in the Games, personally invited by Queen Hisui herself. I was weary about the queen inviting foriegners, but if all of them are like her, this should be an exciting year.”
“Is she that good?” asked Galo.
“One of the best warriors I’ve seen in decades,” Arcadios praised. “In my honest opinion, I think she’ll one of the top contenders in the Games.”
“So you think she’ll win?” asked Michiru curiously.
“Hmm…it’s hard to say,” said Arcadios honestly, stroking his beard in thought. “I imagine she’ll at least make it to the final round, but where or not she’ll win is another story. After all, he was also personally invited by the queen.”
“Who’s ‘he?’” asked Akko.
“Natsu Dragneel,” said Arcadios. “He is both famous and infamous in Fiore. His guild – Fairy Tail – won the championship two years ago, then he melted Domus Flau when he rudely interrupted the Games last year. He defeated the Fiore Army’s best knights, defeated the Black Wizard Zeref, and slayed the Black Dragon Acnologia.”
“He sounds awesome!” cheered Akko.
“He would be…if he showed a little restraint and didn’t cause millions of jewels in collateral damage,” Arcadios held his head and sighed exasperatedly as if fighting an imminent migraine. “And he still hasn’t returned the royal crown that he stole two years ago.”
“Wait, what?” said Michiru, dumbfounded.
“But never mind that,” Arcadios waved it off. “You came to practice, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I’ve got this new spell that I’m dying to try out,” said Akko excitedly.
“Well, if you want to start training, just step inside the ring,” said Arcadios. He gestured to a chalk outside to the left, which reminded Akko of a football (soccer to the uncultured masses) field. “Once you’re inside, I will activate the projection Lacrima. It will create magical constructs that represent various monsters. Since I don’t know the level of your ability, we’ll start with the beginner’s course. When you are ready, step inside the arena.”
Akko checked her pocket to make sure she still had the blue necklace before walking onto the field. She, Galo, and Michiru stood on the right half and drew their weapons, facing the opposite side. Arcadios held up a Lacrima Orb and traced a circle on the surface with his finger. A moment later, seven monster magically fabricated onto the field: four Armor Life Fibers and three Yarns. Though unlike the ones in Hollow★World, these were blue.
“They have Life Fibers on this world, too?” said Akko, surprised.
“Seems so,” said Galo.
“If you are ready – begin!” shouted Arcadios.
“Gonna take ‘em out in one shot!” Akko declared, pointing her Keyblade to the sky. “Fros Jawana!”
A little spark of electricity shot from the tip of Shiny Future into the air, where it seemingly dissolved. But then, literally a second later, a black cloud formed when it faded, rumbling ominously. The Life Fibers tilted their heads back and stared curiously. A bolt of lightning was expelled from the thundercloud and smacked the ground with a mighty impact that created a small hole in the dirt –
Four feet to the right of where the Life Fibers were standing.
A period of awkward silence passed through the field.
“…And that’s why we’re practicing,” said Akko, nodding her head sagely.
“Don’t try to act cool; you totally screwed up!” Michiru snapped.
The Armors flew forward and swiped their claws at the pair. Michiru spun around and puffed her tail ten times its size, causing the Armor to bounce off the back of fluff and outside the ring, over the edge of mountain. Akko leapt backwards as the monster’s claw dug into the ground, then bounced back and slashed her Keyblade across its exposed neckline. Unlike normal Life Fiber monsters, the Lacrima simulated creatures exploded into little particles. Galo took out the remaining two by freezing the ground and sliding across the field, clotheslining them both with his staff. Once they were down, he flipped around and slapped his weapon on their helmets, causing the metal to cave in.
“Well, at least these guys are easy,” said Galo, shouldering his staff.
“Yeah, we’ve fought them so many times, we’re practically experts by now,” said Akko confidently.
“And apparently collecting pocket munny without realizing it,” Michiru commented.
Their conversation was cut short as Galo’s left shoulder was suddenly encased in a thin layer of ice, making girls yelp in surprise. Galo winced as he dropped to one knee before clenching his fist and shattering the ices with his knuckles.
“Don’t let yourself get distracted!” Arcadios yelled from the sideline. “You enemy is not defeated yet!”
Galo jumped to his feet and spun around, looking skyward. The Blue Yarns hovered ten feet in their air, spinning in circles and shooting balls of blue mist at the heroes. Michiru stepped forward, expanding her gorilla arm, and tried to punch them. But when she touched them, his entire hand suddenly froze over, sending a painful sensation down her limb like she was being pricked by a thousand needles.
“YOW!” Michiru cried, shrinking her frozen hand to normal size. “That stings! Is that what it’s like when you freeze people?”
“Pretty much,” said Galo, kneeling next to her. “Akko, hold them back while I help Michi.”
“Got it!” said Akko, who dash forward and started waving her arms. “Hey! Come and get me, you stupid balls of string!”
If it was possible, the Life Fiber monsters were definitely it insulted as they completely forgot about Galo and Michiru and focused all their attention on Akko. They twirled around and spat out more balls of mist. Akko dashed sideways, letting the sphere hit the ground and freeze patches of dirt in ice. Akko ran toward the opposite end of the arena, then spun round facing the Blue Yarns following her.
“Fros Jawana!” Akko chanted, pointing her Keyblade to the sky again. Unfortunately, the Blue Yarns, being as small as they were, effortlessly dodged the bolt that came down. “Aw, come on! I’m totally got ripped off!”
“NO REFUNDS!” Resna yelled somewhere in the distance.
Akko bound out of the way as the trio of Blue Yarns blasted her with ice.
While that was happening, Galo held Michiru’s frozen hand delicately while rustling around his pocket for something. He pulled out a silver pouch and tore the top open with his teeth. Inside was a strangely warm-pink hand warmer. Galo pressed the hand warmer into Michiru’s palm and the Beastman hybrid stared in awe as the ice around her fist instantly melted, feeling gradually returning to her fingers.
“Whoa, that’s awesome!” said Michiru.
“Emergency heat packs,” said Galo proudly. “Burning Rescue always has them on hand in case of a misfire with the equipment.”
“And how many times have you ‘misfired?’” asked Michiru with a knowing smirk.
“…Hey, look, Akko’s in trouble!” Galo quickly jumped to his feet. “Imma coming, kid!”
Michuru sweatdropped.
Akko flipped backwards (Hey, she can do a standing flip now!) as the ice exploded where her feet had been. She pointed the Shiny Future heavenwards and shouted (“Fros Jawana!”) The third time was the charm as a bolt of lightning finally struck down one of the Blue Yarns. It didn’t destroy the Life Fiber monster, but the Yarn’s eyes noticeably turned to swirls as it slowly floated toward the ground. Akko took this chance to run up to the monster, ducking underneath the freeze bombs from the other two, and slashed her Keyblade across the Blue Yarn’s body. Like the Armors, this monster exploded into magical particles instead of loose fibers.
“Yatta! I’m finally getting the hang of this!” Akko cheered.
“Nice work, Akko,” Galo complimented as he came up beside her and struck a pose. “Now it’s my turn to get in on the action!”
Galo rushed forward with an over-exaggerated battle cry. The Blue Yarns twirled and released more freeze orbs. Galo smashed them to mist with his staff and leapt into the air, reaching and impressive height until he was on the same level as the Life Fiber monsters. She swung his staff at the twin balls of twine, which released its instant freezing mist on contact. Galo landed with his back turned to the Life Fiber creatures and struck another cool pose while flashing a grin at Akko….
Then let out an undignified yelp when he suddenly felt his butt freeze up.
“Cold! Cold! Cold! Cold!” Galo yipped like a wounded puppy. He pulled out two of his heat packs and slapped them on his cold buns, sighing with relief as they melted. He looked back up at the sky and realized that the two Blue Yarns were still hovering in place. “Hey, no fair! Why aren’t they gone?”
“You don’t attack enemies with the same elements,” Akko said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which it honestly was. “Haven’t you ever played a video game before?”
“Yeah…guess that kinda makes sense,” said Galo, playing with his fingers sheepishly.
The Blue Yarns twirled in the air and prepared to shoot more freezing orbs. Akko jumped in front of Galo, holding her Keyblade up defensively and shouted, “Galo, look out!” But the Life Fibers had no chance to attack when a pair of giant furry hands clapped together on top of them. Michiru grinned smugly as she separated her giant hands and watched the Life Fibers floated listlessly to the ground, flat like paper, and dissolved into magic particles.
“That was fun,” said Michiru, clapping her hands for a job well done.
“I could’ve taken them,” said Galo, crossing his arms and pouting with a huff.
“I know you could,” said Michiru, patting his shoulder considerately. “But let’s just stick to our strengths.
Now that the field was clear, Akko ran over to Arcadios with stars in her eyes and asked excitedly, “So, how’d we do? Did we do awesome? I bet we did awesome!”
“Well, after taking into consideration your fighting style, techniques, and team dynamics…,” Arcadios hummed, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “It terms of ranking, I would give you…a ‘C’”
“A ‘C?’” Akko, Michiru, and Galo repeated, flabbergasted.
“C’mon, we did way better than that!” Galo complained.
“Your performance was sloppy and all over the place,” said Arcadios critically like the drill instructor that he was. Akko felt the urge to stand at attention. “There was no cohesion between you three. You were all doing your own thing and trying not to get in each other’s way.” He pointed at Michiru. “You met the enemy’s attack head-on without taking a moment to consider the dangers.” He pointed at Galo. “You have no sense of elemental affinity.” He pointed at Akko. “And your spellwork is just poor. It took you three tries before you hit anything.”
The heroes grimaced, but they couldn’t argue with his evaluation.
“W-We’ll do better?” stuttered Michiru. “We have time, right?”
“That depends,” said Arcadios. “What slow are you three in?”
“Well, the third round just started minutes ago,” said Arcadios. “So you should have time for a few more courses.”
“Let us try again!” Akko requested, clenching her fists. “We’ll do better this time, I promise.”
“Well, I can’t say no to such an earnest request,” said Arcadios, chuckling. “All right, get back on the first. I’ll set up another scenario. This one will be more advanced.”
“Yes, sir!” Akko saluted.
Akko, Michiru, and Galo returned to the field, feel more pumped to prove themselves. Arcadios activated the magical simulation. This time there were ten Strands and three Blue Yarns. With confidence brimming in their chests, the trio charged into battle –
Unaware that they were being watched from the shadows of the coliseum.
The armored wizard, Ivan, watched them carefully from the darkness of the entrance tunnel. He keenly observed Akko as she ripped through the Strands using Keyblade with little to no effort.
“That girl will be in the eighth slot with you,” Ivan said in a raspy voice, turning around. “I want you to eliminate her. Permanently.”
Durandal land against tunnel wall, arms crossed, her head lowered and eyes closed in thought. When she opened them, she gave the disgraced wizard a scolding look.
“A mighty wizard like you is afraid of a child?” said Durandal, her voice tinged with a mocking tone. “Sorry, but I never agreed to ‘eliminate’ anyone. My terms of our agreement state – “
“I know what the terms of the deal are – I wrote the damn contract!” Ivan snapped. “I know we only agreed to defeat Fairy Tail during the tournament – “
“Defeat, not kill,” Durandal emphasized.
“Fine, fine, no ‘elimination!’” Ivan snarled. “But you still have to take that girl out of the running. She stands between you and the main event – “
“Not really,” said Durandal coolly. “The rules are that two groups from each round will advance. They could just as easily take the second spot – “
“Then stop them!” shouted Ivan.
“Why? What’s so important about them?” Durandal questioned.
“Because I said so!” yelled Ivan. He looked ready to hit the woman, but he restrained himself. He wasn’t foolish enough to believe he could take her in a fair fight. “I wrote the terms of the agreement, and I say –take – out – that – girl! Unless you don’t want the information I have on your sister.”
“How do I know you’ll uphold our deal?” asked Durandal, leering at the wizard sternly. “How do I know you even have anything on her?”
“Do you have a choice?” Ivan hissed cruelly. “Or are you just going to spend another eight years wandering aimlessly hoping to find even the smallest scrap of information on her?”
Durandal said nothing, only glaring at him with mutual loathing. She pushed off the wall and ventured deeper inside the coliseum until she rounded the corner.
“That woman is more bullheaded than Laxus and Makarov combined,” Ivan spat. He head out his hand, summoning a paper doll from a pool of darkness in his palm. “Still…fools like her are hard to come by….”