"Ice Make: Geyser!"
Gray slammed his hands onto the ground.
A magic circle appeared beneath Kagura, and a massive volume of ice spikes erupted from the ground like a frozen geyser, launching Kagura into the air.
"Archenemy: Strong Form!"
Though suddenly sent skyward, Kagura remained completely calm.
She infused her scabbard with Magical Power and slammed it heavily down onto the rising ice.
CRASH!
The massive ice pillar gradually crumbled under the sheer weight of the strike.
Using her Gravity Magic to adjust her falling speed, Kagura landed steadily amidst the debris.
"Ice Make: Hammer!"
Gray's next move followed immediately.
A massive ice hammer appeared above Kagura's head, its enormous shadow engulfing her.
"Archenemy: Slashing Form!"
Kagura didn't flinch.
After unsheathing Archenemy, she executed a swift diagonal slash, cleanly splitting the giant ice hammer in two before it could crush her.
"Ice Make: Ice Cannon!"
Gray didn't let up.
He created a huge, intricate bazooka made of ice, mounted it on his shoulder, and fired a cannonball of dense ice carrying immense impact force toward Kagura.
"Gravity Change: Nullify!"
"It's Gravity Magic again! She's countering everything! COOL!" Jason shouted.
Kagura unleashed her Gravity Magic at full power.
The cannonballs rapidly slowed down upon entering her gravity field, losing all momentum before dropping harmlessly to the ground.
"Ice Make: Floor!"
Gray froze the ground again.
Then, creating two Ice Blades attached to his elbows, he slid across the ice to close in on Kagura once more with blinding speed.
"Ice Blade: Seven Slice Dance!"
Gray spun on the ice, his movements blurring as he struck at Kagura in rapid succession from multiple angles.
"Archenemy: Soaring Form!"
Kagura stood her ground. Her unsheathed blade slashed out a cross-shaped wave of energy that shot toward Gray, intercepting his dance.
...
The two exchanged blows for a long time, move for move, neither giving an inch.
Finally, during a fierce close-quarters exchange, Kagura suddenly deactivated her gravity suppression.
Faced with the abrupt disappearance of the pressure he had been fighting against, Gray overexerted his movement. Despite his best efforts to adjust his balance, he stumbled on the ice.
Seizing this fleeting opportunity, Kagura struck.
"Archenemy: Slashing Form!"
She defeated Gray with a single, decisive strike!
"Let's congratulate Contestant Kagura! She has successfully defeated Contestant Gray and advances to the semi-finals!!!"
"Let's also give a round of applause to Contestant Gray for delivering a very exciting match! SO COOL!!!"
Gray held no grudge about being defeated by Kagura.
In fact, he was currently focused on arguing with Natsu in the waiting area.
"I lasted longer than you!"
"I fought a Dragon Slayer! You just tripped!"
The two quarter-finalists, disregarding their injuries, nearly started fighting again over who was truly the "Fifth Strongest" in the guild.
Fortunately, Erza intervened promptly, giving each a hard knuckle rap on the head, preventing them from brawling in the rest area.
Raizel looked at Kagura, gave a thumbs-up, and praised her, "Well fought."
Kagura didn't show much elation.
Instead, she shook her head critically and said, "There's still room for improvement. I was careless when I got hit, and I forgot the ground behind me was an Ice Floor. These were critical mistakes."
Seeing that Raizel was about to critique the match further, Ultear quickly cut in; otherwise, Kagura and Raizel could discuss battle tactics for hours.
"Alright, alright, the match is over, no need to discuss it further. How about thinking more about tomorrow's Fantasia instead?"
"Fantasia! It's my first time participating, I'm really looking forward to it!!!"
Hearing the keyword, Lucy's ears perked up as she joined the conversation.
Raizel knew Lucy had signed up too, apparently dancing with Levy and Bisca.
Though Raizel hadn't watched their specific dance routine since they'd been practicing in secret.
"How are the preparations for tomorrow night's parade float going?" Raizel asked.
Lucy still seemed somewhat nervous.
After taking a deep breath, she replied, "We've been practicing, but I'm still a bit anxious."
"Relax, this is all about the atmosphere. Minor mistakes don't matter."
As the "Head of the Atmosphere Team," Raizel would handle it—if there were small errors, they'd just cheer louder to cover them up.
"Yes, Lucy-chan dances very well," Levy stood behind Lucy, placing her hands on Lucy's shoulders to comfort her.
"Thank you, Levy."
"How about we all have a barbecue tonight? At my place, with a bonfire party?" Raizel suggested.
Normally the guild's outdoor café would have been a good option, but unfortunately, it was too crowded with tourists now.
Everyone clearly got excited about Raizel's suggestion and quickly agreed.
"Gajeel, are you coming along?" Raizel looked at Gajeel, who seemed interested but was crossing his arms and turning his head away in his usual tsundere style.
"Gajeel-san, please join us?" Juvia asked gently.
She thought this was definitely a good opportunity to help Gajeel integrate into the guild faster.
Actually, everyone had pretty much accepted Gajeel by now.
Fairy Tail members, deeply influenced by Makarov, shared a common trait—they didn't hold grudges.
What was past was past.
Besides, everyone could tell that Gajeel had gone easy on guild members during the competition, not letting opponents get injured and allowing them to keep their dignity.
"Gajeel's coming!" Natsu threw an arm around Gajeel's neck, making the decision for him.
"Are we that close?! Don't get so near me! And don't decide things for me!" Gajeel yelled, sweatdrops forming on his head.
"Now, now, don't worry about the details," Natsu waved dismissively, dragging him along.
...
Night fell, with warm bonfire light illuminating a corner of the eastern forest.
Everyone enjoyed the barbecue with beer and drinks.
The girls were having fun, playing with magic bubble guns—the bubbles shimmering brilliantly in the firelight.
Raizel turned to Ur and asked, "Not going to play with them?"
Ur took a sip of beer and calmly shook her head with a smile. "I'm past that age. It's fine, watching them play is enough for me."
After eating and drinking their fill, people chatted in small groups or played games.
Lying on a deck chair and gazing at the stars, Raizel suddenly had an idea.
"Everyone, how about we all lie down and look at the stars?"
When all eyes were on him, Raizel continued, "With the sky as our blanket and the earth as our bed, let's just lie on the ground and watch the stars."
Everyone was quick to act. Wendy cleared the area with wind magic, and soon they were all lying on the soft grass.
"Why did I want to look at the stars?" Raizel mused aloud. "The starry sky we see when we look up differs depending on where we are and when we look."
"Here, everyone should look more toward the south. The stars we see here are different from what we'd see in Crocus," Raizel explained, pointing upward.
Magnolia was located in the southwest, while Crocus was in the north.
"The nearest star to us is actually incredibly far away. The light we see from it has traveled for a very, very long time..."
Raizel's voice softened. "What's romantic is that we happened to look up just as its light reached us—a truly happy encounter."
"But what I find even more romantic is that we can gaze at the starry sky above, then turn around and see each other right here. That's the romance between people."
He looked around at his guildmates—Natsu snoring, Lucy pointing out constellations to Wendy, Gray and Juvia chatting, Erza smiling at the fire.
"So I'm truly grateful to all of you for being willing to watch the stars with me here today."
Stars light-years away, and each other just a turn apart.