The third day's matches kicked off in full swing, with Pandemonium as the event.
Pandemonium was a special structure created by magic, housing 100 monsters across four ranks: S, A, B, C, and D.
In drawn order, each contestant entered Pandemonium, chose how many monsters to challenge, and that number of monsters would appear at random, with unpredictable ranks.
They said the single S‑class monster had Ten Wizard Saint–level power! But that was just talk—the kingdom really lacked a proper grasp of top mages.
The Saints had indeed looked a bit underwhelming, like anyone could take a shot at them. But in magic power, technique, and combat discipline, each one was elite.
It was just that, in the original storyline, every Saint who showed up ran into peers or outright exceptions, which made the title of "continent's finest" seem unearned.
That S‑class monster in Pandemonium? Drag it outside and it'd be a Saint's plaything.
This time Laxus stole Erza's script. Drawing the first slot, he went straight for the full hundred.
In the original storyline Erza had a brutal fight there, largely because of the magic drain.
Laxus had a much easier time; as a Dragon Slayer, he could eat magic of his element to replenish himself.
A few of those hundred used lightning magic, giving Laxus chances to top up and, in the end, clear Pandemonium.
From there it went like the original: Laxus took all the points, and the rest were ranked by magic power checks.
With the First Master's authorization, Cana unleashed Fairy Glitter and blew past the upper limit, taking second.
The battle segment afterward, however, took a turn.
Raven Tail cheated in their fight with Fairy Tail, masking the arena with illusion magic.
Charles saw through the trick but did nothing—Laxus was on the field.
Even after the grind of Pandemonium, Laxus was not about to lose to a bunch of skulking cowards.
Sure enough, when the illusion broke, the entire Raven Tail squad lay sprawled on the ground.
Their black‑robed leader also revealed his true face.
In the final match of the first Grand Magic Games, someone had used the same method to gang up on Charles, trying to force him to reveal Fairy Tail's secret—the location of Lumen Histoire.
That man was Makarov's son and Laxus's father, Ivan Dreyar, who had long since betrayed Fairy Tail.
In that match, Charles exposed the Raven Tail lineup as demons from the Books of Zeref, and the Council immediately reclassified Raven Tail as a dark guild.
He hadn't given up, it seemed, having usurped Raven Tail and forced his way back into the Games.
But he couldn't seriously think Laxus was still the Laxus who resented Fairy Tail and could be used?
For someone expelled from the guild and still intent on harming it, Laxus showed no mercy—even if that someone was his father.
Raven Tail, having violated multiple rules, was summarily stripped of its right to compete.
To be honest, Charles felt targeted. Everything about Laxus being slated for that bout reeked of oddities.
This was Ivan's last chance to make solo contact with Fairy Tail before the final day—and putting Laxus across from him was clearly what Ivan wanted.
It was hard not to suspect the kingdom had cooperated.
Short on sleep, Charles was especially irritable; when he heard the news, even his companions jumped at the sudden flare of magic.
He mastered himself and squeezed Stella's hand on his to signal he was fine.
Thankfully, the bad streak finally broke. When Charles returned to the hotel, the three from Crime Sorcière were waiting—with someone both familiar and unfamiliar.
"So it's you again from the future, huh? Lucy!"
Indeed, it was Lucy—only not the optimistic, resilient Lucy Charles knew.
Sadness, pain, despair… just seeing her haggard face made those feelings palpable to all.
For a moment, Charles didn't even know how to ask what had happened. The others stayed silent as well.
Lucy looked at her own face, then remembered the nightmare she'd had last night. Maybe it wasn't a nightmare at all, but fragments of her future self's memories.
Future Lucy wiped her tears and forced a smile. "It's so good… to see everyone again."
Natsu clenched his teeth and muttered, "No it isn't. Lucy, you don't look like Lucy at all."
On a normal day, several guildmates would have leapt in to roast Natsu for that, but no one had the heart.
This time Future Lucy's smile held a trace of the old her. "Figures—Natsu is still Natsu."
Future Lucy took her past self's hand. "I came back to stop it all from happening! Even if this is a different world, as long as you don't suffer our tragedy, that's enough!"
Charles asked, "So our plan went wrong? The Eclipse Gate still opened?"
Future Lucy shook her head. "No. Charles, you protected me from the kingdom. The Eclipse Gate didn't open."
Lucy suddenly spoke. "Then Acnologia appeared. Was it him who killed everyone?"
Future Lucy met Lucy's eyes—she guessed her past self might have pieced something together.
But Future Lucy shook her head. "Acnologia was indeed the trigger—but it wasn't entirely him."
That made even Charles frown in confusion, but he didn't press, simply waiting for her explanation.
Future Lucy hadn't come to be coy. She said it straight. "I'm actually from seven years later. Acnologia appeared out of nowhere, but by then Charles was already very strong. The battle was brutal, but with everyone's help, we beat Acnologia."
All eyes turned to Charles. Truth be told, Acnologia was still a shadow on everyone's hearts. The thought that Charles could defeat him was staggering!
Future Lucy didn't smile; her sorrow only deepened. "But the nightmare had only begun.
We learned later that the anomalous magic surge on the day of the Dragon King Festival combined with the immense magic already amassed in the Eclipse Gate to create a magic lifeform.
That magic lifeform seized Acnologia's corpse and became the Undead Black Dragon—the true source of disaster in this world.
The Undead Black Dragon not only possessed all of Acnologia's abilities—it even devoured Zeref and ultimately became the immortal, indestructible true Wings of Despair.
In the end, even Charles couldn't defeat it. To beat it, there is no other way. We have to stop everything before it appears."
After hearing her out, Charles fell into thought.
In the original storyline, the black entity that drove Future Rogue to darkness was said to be Rogue's own shadow, and Charles had suspected a tie to his Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic.
But now it seemed the Eclipse Gate was inextricably involved.
Before, it took the growth of Rogue's own darkness to affect him. This time, it had escalated into such a catastrophe.
Charles's eyes lit. Perhaps whether the Eclipse Gate opened was the key!
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