Raizel and Laxus successfully reunited in a hidden spot away from the chaos.
Raizel gestured around the perimeter and said, "The area is still large right now. Let's try to circle around the outer edge."
"Who's the target?" Laxus asked.
"Who cares? We'll shoot whoever we see when the time comes."
...
"Droy eliminated!"
"Bisca eliminated!"
Several groups had encountered each other, and everyone's goal was clear—to attack Bisca first, since she was the sharpshooter and the biggest threat.
Bisca was outnumbered, and despite her best efforts to dodge, she was ultimately eliminated.
"Bisca eliminated! Team C completely eliminated!" Jason's broadcast came through quickly over the speakers.
"What's going on?" Laxus asked, crouching low in the bushes.
Raizel, lying on the other side, whispered in response, "It looks like Bisca must have been the [Fairy]. The broadcast said the whole team was eliminated."
Suddenly, another announcement blared.
"Bisca uses [Revival Armor]! All members of Team C are revived!"
"Revival? There's such a thing?" Laxus frowned.
Raizel nodded in understanding. "That must be the Ultimate Weapon. Didn't Kagura find an Ultimate Weapon earlier?"
Elsewhere, Lucy and Natsu complained together to the nearest camera.
"The Revival Armor shouldn't revive the whole team, right? Isn't it supposed to revive just one life?"
Ultear noticed the key point immediately. "Bisca is the [Fairy]. Only Bisca was eliminated from their team, so when Bisca revived, the whole team revived with her because the Fairy is the core."
...
"Where did Raizel and Laxus go?"
"I don't know, I can't see them either."
Wakaba and Reedus were searching for their own teammates, Raizel and Laxus.
"There are people ahead. Here's the plan: you go left, and I'll circle around to the right, getting behind them."
Raizel and Laxus crouched in the bushes on either side of the path, watching Juvia and Freed walking cautiously on the main road.
"What's going on!"
"It's Raizel! Attack!"
Raizel jumped out first with the Chick Water Gun, attacking to draw Juvia and Freed's attention.
Laxus then came from behind with the Ultimate Water Gun, unleashing Rapid Fire.
SPLASH!
"Freed eliminated! Team B completely eliminated!"
After Freed's back was completely soaked, he turned around in shock.
Even with a small plate as a shield, the Ultimate Water Gun's volume was too much, and the entire newspaper on his chest was drenched.
"The match has been going for ten minutes. The circle is starting to shrink, please move inside the circle within one minute."
After the first team was eliminated, Raizel and Laxus, having played as "crouching demons," became the main targets.
Although they frantically hid, everyone suddenly formed an alliance and united to search for the two powerhouses.
"The match has been going for twenty minutes. The circle is shrinking again!"
For ten minutes, everyone searched for Raizel and Laxus but found nothing.
"It's Reedus and Wakaba!" Natsu found Wakaba first using his sense of smell.
Smelling Wakaba's distinct cigarette smoke was easy work for a Dragon Slayer.
"Reedus eliminated!"
"Wakaba eliminated! Team D completely eliminated!"
Reedus and Wakaba met their tragic end in a hail of water gun fire from multiple teams.
Hearing that the whole team was eliminated, Wakaba blinked in confusion and asked.
"What's going on? Was I the [Fairy]?"
"Yes! Replay the footage!" Jason waved a finger.
Wakaba looked up at the crystal screen above—he had indeed drawn the [Fairy] lot earlier, unknown even to himself until now.
"Sorry." Wakaba and Reedus arrived at the prison area (the eliminated zone), finding Raizel and Laxus already there, relaxing.
Raizel shrugged nonchalantly. "No problem. Participation matters more than winning anyway—we never expected to win."
Laxus responded with equal indifference. "I eliminated one team already, so I'm satisfied."
Reedus asked curiously, "Where were you hiding earlier? They were searching for you everywhere."
The group looking for Raizel and Laxus had been quite conspicuous, shouting and taunting as they searched.
"Right here." Raizel pointed at the ground beneath their feet.
"Here???" Wakaba's jaw dropped. "You guys really know how to play."
"What's wrong? The prison is still within the safe zone boundaries."
Raizel now seemed regretful. "I originally planned to call you over to hide with us, but thought you'd definitely be spotted if you came out. Maybe I should have notified you after all."
Wakaba offered another perspective. "Notifying us might have gotten us all eliminated together. You made the right call."
Wakaba felt he was particularly easy to track, the kind who wouldn't even notice being followed.
Raizel pointed at the crystal screen in the prison area.
"Forget it, let's watch their match. It's getting pretty intense."
Laxus nodded in agreement. "They're going all out against each other, like they've got personal grudges."
....
"MANLINESS!"
Elfman had transformed into an unstoppable water-throwing machine around the supply point, scooping and splashing bucket after bucket...
"Lisanna eliminated!"
Elfman performed the ultimate demonstration of "proving one's path by eliminating one's sister," personally sending Lisanna out of the game without hesitation.
"Natsu eliminated! Team H completely eliminated!"
"Contestant Kagura has eliminated Erza!"
Not hearing the announcement of a full team elimination, Bisca frowned.
"What's going on? Erza wasn't the [Fairy] after all."
Having sacrificed Laki as the price, Kagura confidently eliminated Erza.
Now Team C only had Kagura and Bisca remaining.
They had assumed Erza was most likely the [Fairy], but surprisingly, she wasn't.
"Gray has left the safe zone! Eliminated!"
Chased and cornered by multiple opponents, Gray panicked and ran out of bounds.
Though his newspaper remained dry, he was still eliminated.
"Evergreen eliminated! Team E completely eliminated!"
...
"Ten minutes remaining! Final safe zone shrinkage!"
"Contestant Alzack has been eliminated! Team F completely eliminated!"
"Sorry, there were too many people—I couldn't dodge them all," Alzack looked ashamed as he joined the others.
Mira and Wendy had trusted him so much to be their [Fairy], yet he still got hit.
Wendy gently shook her head. "It's alright, Alzack-san. It's just a game."
Mira nodded softly in agreement. "The important thing is having fun in competitions like this."
"Ten, nine... three, two, one! Game over!"
"The final results are in!"
"For the 'Protect the Fairy' Water Gun Battle—Third place goes to Team G with contestants Cana and Lucy!"
"Second place: Team C with contestant Kagura!"
"First place: Team A with contestant Ultear!"
"These three teams will earn five, three, and two points respectively!" Jason quickly announced the competition results.
"Yay!!!" Lucy and Cana happily high-fived.
Their team only had Cana left in the end, but all other teams had been eliminated or disqualified.
Second and third place didn't matter much since they were only one point apart.
Ultear's team only lost one member.
During the game, Ultear kept their presence low-key in the early stages.
Relying on ultimate weapons and super shields, they gained the upper hand in the final showdown.
"Next, let's have Carla draw the afternoon competition event for us."
"Alright, Carla has already drawn it. Please announce the competition event for us!"