The morning of July 7th brought with it a sky of piercing, cloudless blue, a stark contrast to the storm that was brewing within the hearts of the Fairy Tail guild. The capital of Crocus was vibrating—quite literally—with the footfalls of hundreds of thousands of spectators making their way to the Domus Flau. The final day of the Grand Magic Games. The Battle Royal.
In the Fairy Tail waiting room, however, the atmosphere was thick with a tension that had nothing to do with the upcoming fight.
"She's not here," Erza Scarlet said, her voice tight. She stood by the doorway, her armor already equipped, but her usually stoic face was marred by worry. "I've checked the infirmary, the hotel room, the lobby, and the nearby streets. Lucy is gone."
Natsu Dragneel was pacing back and forth, smoke curling from his nostrils in short, angry puffs. "What do you mean 'gone'? Did she get lost? Did someone take her?" He slammed a fist into his palm. "If it's Raven Tail again, I'm gonna burn their guild hall to ash, disqualification or not!"
"Raven Tail has been escorted out of the city by the Rune Knights," Gray Fullbuster pointed out, though he looked equally grim. "It's not them. But for her to vanish on the morning of the finals..."
"Could it be Sabertooth?" Gajeel growled, leaning against a locker, his iron arms crossed. "They're desperate."
"We don't have time to speculate," Mavis Vermillion spoke up. "The horn for the entry procession will sound in five minutes. We cannot field an incomplete team. If we do, we forfeit."
"I'm not going out there without Lucy!" Natsu shouted. "We promised we'd win this together!"
"And we will win," Mavis said firmly. "But we need a full roster to do it. We need a replacement, immediately." She turned her green eyes toward the corner of the room, where a hulking figure sat silently. "Laxus. You're in."
Laxus Dreyar looked up, his eyes crackling with a faint electrical charge. He didn't argue. He knew the stakes. "Fine," he rumbled, standing up. The sheer pressure of his magic power seemed to make the room shrink. "I'll fill the spot. But someone better find the celestial brat."
"I'm on it," Elfman shouted, stepping forward. "A real man finds his lost friends!"
"I'll go too," Lisanna added, her Take Over soul ready.
"And me," Freed said, adjusting his rapier. "The Thunder Legion will scour the city."
Mavis nodded. "Elfman, Lisanna, Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen. You are the search party. Turn the city upside down. The rest of you—Natsu, Gajeel, Erza, Mirajane, Laxus. You are the Final Team. Go out there and bring the trophy home."
In the back of the room, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, Blake watched the scene unfold with an eerie calmness. While Natsu was panic-stricken and Erza was anxious, Blake's expression was unreadable.
He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, his Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) flaring outward like an invisible radar pulse. It swept through the walls of the stadium, across the cobbled streets of Crocus, and punched through the heavy magical wards of Castle Mercurius.
Found you, Blake thought.
He could feel Lucy's signature. She wasn't dead, and she wasn't wandering aimlessly. She was deep underground, within the dungeon complex of the royal palace. He could also sense the presence of the Kingdom's soldiers and the Executioners, the Garou Knights.
Blake had considered intervening earlier, breaking her out before sunrise. But he wanted the gate to open.
Stay safe for a few more hours, Lucy, Blake thought
"Blake?"
He opened his eyes to see Mira looking at him. The "She-Devil" was in her combat dress, but her eyes held a question. She knew him too well. She knew that look of detached omniscience.
"Don't worry," Blake said softly, low enough that only she could hear. "She's in the castle. She's alive. Focus on the win. I'll handle the rest when the time is right."
Mira's shoulders relaxed instantly. She trusted Blake's senses more than her own. She nodded, her sweet smile shifting into a terrifying smirk as she turned to the door. "Alright then. Let's go obliterate everyone."
---
The roar of the crowd was a physical force, a wall of sound that hit the team as they walked out of the tunnel. The sun was high, baking the sprawling urban arena that had been constructed overnight. The entire city of Crocus was the battlefield.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Chapati Lola screamed, his voice hoarse from days of commentary. "THIS IS IT! THE FINAL DAY! THE GRAND BATTLE ROYAL!"
"The rules are simple!" Mato explained, bobbing in the air. "Each member is worth one point. Defeating a team leader is worth five points! The team with the most points when the time runs out, or the last team standing, wins the Grand Magic Games!"
The screens flashed the lineup.
Fairy Tail: Natsu, Gajeel, Erza, Mirajane, Laxus.
The crowd gasped. It wasn't a team; it was a hit squad. It was a gathering of calamities.
"That lineup is illegal!" a fan screamed. "How are they allowed to have three Dragon Slayers and two S-Class monsters?!"
"Strategy," Yajima chuckled from the judge's booth. "Fairy Tail is playing for keeps."
"BEGIN!"
The gong sounded, echoing across the capital.
"Scatter," Erza commanded. She didn't shout; she didn't need to. "Hunting formation. Leave no one standing."
The five mages vanished in five different directions.
---
Mirajane strolled through the park district. She wasn't running. She was admiring the fountains.
Suddenly, the bushes rustled. Hibiki, Eve, and Ren of Blue Pegasus burst out.
"We have you surrounded, beautiful!" Hibiki declared, charging up his Archive magic. "We can download your fighting style and—"
Mira turned. She smiled.
"Satan Soul: Sitri."
There was no explosion. There was just a sudden, terrifying pressure. The air turned cold. Flames of spectral fire erupted around her legs. Her outfit changed to the revealing, geometric armor of her most powerful base form, and her eyes turned into voids of malice.
The Trimens froze. Their survival instincts, honed by years of avoiding angry girlfriends, kicked in.
"Run!" Ren screamed.
They turned to flee, but Mira was already there. She moved faster than their eyes could track.
"Evil Explosion."
She tapped Hibiki on the forehead.
A pillar of green darkness erupted, consuming the Blue Pegasus mages. When the smoke cleared, they were piled atop one another, unconscious, with "I <3 Fairy Tail" drawn on their faces in marker (courtesy of Mira's speed).
"That's three more," Mira giggled, reverting to her human form. "Oh, hello Jenny."
She waved at a camera lacrima. Somewhere in the stadium, Jenny Realight fainted.
---
Laxus walked down the main avenue. He wasn't hunting. He was waiting.
Orga Nanagear of Sabertooth stepped out from an alleyway, black lightning crackling around him.
"Lightning God Slayer," Orga grinned. "I've been waiting for this. Your lightning versus mine."
Laxus didn't stop walking.
"Lightning God's 120mm Cannon!" Orga roared, firing a massive beam of black electricity.
Laxus raised one hand. He didn't cast a spell. He just swatted the beam aside with the back of his hand as if it were a cobweb. The black lightning shattered, striking the buildings on either side.
Orga's jaw dropped. "What?"
Laxus appeared in front of him in a flash of yellow light. He placed a hand on Orga's shoulder.
"You're loud," Laxus said.
A single bolt of red lightning descended from the clear sky.
ZAP.
Orga collapsed, smoking.
"Next," Laxus grunted.
Suddenly, the ground shook. Jura Neekis, the Wizard Saint, turned the corner.
"Laxus Dreyar," Jura rumbled, bowing respectfully. "We have a score to settle from Day One."
The crowd in the stadium went wild. The rematch.
Laxus cracked his neck. "Yeah. Let's make it quick, Old Man. I've got a guild to win for."
Jura slammed his hands together. "Iron Rock Wall!"
Pillars of diamond-hard rock shot up.
Laxus took a deep breath. His chest expanded. Scales appeared on his face.
"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Roaring Thunder!"
Then Laxus fought Jura with all his power, not holding back.
He punched forward. A fist of condensed lightning, infused with the red lightning he had mastered under Blake's guidance, collided with the rock.
In the first match, this had been a draw.
Today, the rock crumbled.
The lightning pierced through the defense, slamming into Jura's chest. The Wizard Saint slid back ten meters, twenty meters, then fell to one knee.
"Magnificent," Jura wheezed, smiling. "You have surpassed me."
He toppled over.
"Five points for the team leader," the announcer shrieked. "LAXUS TOOK DOWN JURA!"
---
Natsu and Erza had somehow ended up in the same plaza.
"Stop following me!" Natsu yelled.
"I am not following you, you are running in circles!" Erza retorted.
Standing before them were the remnants of New Dawn—Kagura Mikazuchi and Millianna.
Kagura. "Erza-san. I will settle this."
"Natsu, leave her to me," Erza said, stepping forward. "Go find the Sabertooth leader."
"Fine!" Natsu rocketed into the sky using his flames.
Erza faced Kagura. The swordswoman of New Dawn was strong, perhaps the strongest outside of Fairy Tail.
"I want you to fight me without holding back," Kagura stated, unsheathing the katana. The gravity in the plaza intensified.
"You asked for it," Erza replied, equipping her Nakagami Armor instantly.
It was a risky move, consuming massive magic, but Erza wasn't playing around. She needed to end this now.
Kagura struck—a slash that could cut the sky.
Erza swung the Nakagami halberd. "Nakagami Starlight!"
The spell cut through the gravity, cut through the space, and cut through Kagura's defense. It wasn't a lethal blow, but the force shattered Archenemy's sheath and sent Kagura flying into a fountain.
"I yield," Kagura whispered, looking at the sky. She knew when she was beaten.
"You fought well, Kagura-chan."
---
Minutes remained on the clock.
Sting Eucliffe stood alone in the center of the plaza. Rogue had been taken out by Gajeel minutes earlier. Minerva had been intercepted by Erza and swiftly dealt with.
Sting was the last man standing for Sabertooth. He was the team leader.
He looked up.
Standing on the rubble of a destroyed fountain was Natsu Dragneel.
Sitting on a broken pillar was Gajeel Redfox.
Leaning against a wall, cleaning her nails, was Mirajane.
Standing with arms crossed, electricity buzzing, was Laxus.
And walking calmly down the street was Erza Scarlet.
The five members of Fairy Tail surrounded him. They weren't attacking. They were just standing there, their magical auras combining into a suffocating pressure that made the air heavy.
Sting looked at them. He looked at the scars, the smiles, the unwavering confidence.
He remembered Lector. He remembered his promise to be strong.
But this... this wasn't a fight. This was an execution.
"I..." Sting fell to his knees. "I can't beat you."
He lowered his head. "I surrender."
The gong sounded.
"IT IS OVER!" Chapati Lola's voice cracked. "WITH A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DOMINATION! THE WINNER OF THE GRAND MAGIC GAMES IS FAIRY TAIL!"
The spell Fairy Glitter was fired into the sky by Cana from the stands as a celebratory firework. The crowd erupted into a deafening cheer.
"FAIRY TAIL! FAIRY TAIL! FAIRY TAIL!"
Natsu grinned, throwing his fist into the air. "WE DID IT! WE'RE NUMBER ONE!"
Gajeel laughed. "Too easy!"
Erza smiled, closing her eyes, letting the cheers wash over her. They had done it. They had reclaimed their title. Seven years of humiliation, erased in five days of glory.
But the celebration lasted exactly ten seconds.
Down in the waiting room, Blake Corvus stood up abruptly. His eyes narrowed, focusing on something no one else could see yet.
"Here it comes," he whispered.
A sound ripped through the air.
It wasn't an explosion. It was the sound of reality tearing. A deep, resonant THRUM that vibrated in the teeth and bones of every mage in the capital. It was a sound of ancient, metallic grinding.
Then came the magic power.
It didn't come from the arena. It rolled over the city like a tsunami of darkness and malice, originating from the direction of the Royal Palace. It was a magical signature so vast, so old, and so hungry that it made the air taste like ash.
Natsu's smile vanished.
Gajeel froze, his eyes dilating. "What... is that?"
Wendy, in the stands, clutched her head. "It feels... wrong."
Laxus turned, his lightning sputtering out.
Every head in the stadium snapped toward Castle Mercurius.
A pillar of ethereal, sickly green light began to rise from the castle courtyard, piercing the heavens. The sky began to swirl, the blue day turning into an unnatural twilight.
The Eclipse Gate was opening.
And history was about to break.