Eliminated Players Re-enter the Game
Watching the fierce approach of Elfman and Wakaba, Macao broke out in a cold sweat on the court.
"Over here!"
"Come to us!"
The attention-seeking fans in the audience started jumping and shouting, urging the eliminated members to join their side of the circle to throw.
Standing alongside the eliminated members, the audience grew even more excited.
They were, after all, massive fans of Fairy Tail, thrilled to get up close and personal with them to play a game.
Ur suddenly exclaimed excitedly from the commentary booth, "It seems the eliminated members will become a variable in the game!"
Makarov nodded in agreement. "Yes, eliminated members can choose not to target their own team members, effectively dodging friendly fire while hunting others."
"WOW!!!"
The audience gasped in amazement once again at the strategic shift!
"COOL! Gray caught the ball!"
"Amazing, Gray!"
Gray's catch was no simple feat—he managed to secure a fastball at such close range.
Gray exchanged high-fives with Erza and Evergreen nearby.
One rule of dodgeball is that catching the ball with both hands saves you and doesn't count as elimination.
"Love rivals..." Juvia glared at Erza and Evergreen from across the court, aura radiating jealousy.
"No way!" Nab failed to dodge a curveball and was directly eliminated.
Lisanna (now outside) caught the ball tossed by the audience and immediately threw it back into the fray.
Cana ducked and covered her head, narrowly avoiding the ball.
"Nice one, Cana!" Raizel gave Cana a thumbs-up from his spot.
"Raizel!" A male spectator shot the ball at Raizel as if using all his strength.
"You've got a grudge against me, huh?!" Raizel dodged the ball and pointed at the spectator as he approached the sideline playfully.
The spectator immediately grabbed Raizel's hand with an apologetic smile, shaking it vigorously.
"Lisanna eliminated Bickslow!"
Lisanna was overjoyed, high-fiving the spectators around her.
"Pass the ball, quick, quick, quick!" Wakaba kept urging from within the crowd, eager for revenge.
"Keep passing, keep it up!" The eliminated Macao joined in with the chatter.
"Elfman's powerful shot! Warren eliminated!"
Facing Macao's super-fast ball, Raizel sidestepped to avoid it.
Natsu slipped and fell while running, and Elfman seized the opportunity, hitting Natsu squarely in the abdomen with a fastball.
"What's going on! Natsu OUT!"
"Why did you eliminate Natsu?!"
The girls around Elfman protested incessantly—they were fans of Natsu!
"A real man gives it his all!" Elfman roared.
As expected, the response of a steel-straight man.
Bickslow was also eliminated, leaving only Loke fighting alone in Team H.
"Everyone, target the teams with three members left!"
"Raizel's team! Ultear's team! Mira's team! Cana's team!"
Natsu (now eliminated) loudly schemed from the sidelines, exuding a sense of living for today without caring about the consequences.
"Tell me loudly, who do we hit?!" Natsu shouted to the crowd.
"Raizel!"
"Raizel!"
The audience responded to Natsu's call, shouting Raizel's name, with a few scattered female voices drowned out by the roaring male shouts.
"Good grief, just ignore the women, huh," Laxus complained crazily as balls flew past him.
Reedus nodded in agreement while panting. "Seriously, that's just too much."
Raizel raised his hand and shouted, "Hitting us isn't really a problem, but while we're playing, we keep hearing 'Die! Die!'... I mean, it's not like we've offended you that much, what's with the death wishes..."
"Hahaha!!" Natsu laughed so hard he rolled on the ground.
Raizel continued, "The audience and members are way too intense, even though everyone looks pretty friendly."
Some overexcited audience members and players raised their hands apologetically.
After Raizel finished his complaint, Jason signaled to continue the match.
"Alright, let's resume the game!"
"Tell me, who's our target?"
"Raizel!"
"Raizel!"
"Raizel!"
Apologies aside, Raizel's team remained the primary target.
"From now on, you must pass the ball properly," Macao commanded, then lobbed the ball to the opposite side!
They maintained rapid passes while waiting for a sneak attack opportunity.
"Don't overthink it—hit immediately when you get the ball!"
"COOL! Player Raizel dodges again!"
The crystal screen above replayed the moment: facing a ball aimed at his shins, Raizel lifted his left foot and elegantly avoided it like a dance move.
"Ha!" Natsu unleashed an angry shot from the sidelines!
The ball flew directly out of bounds...
"Oh!!!" The audience cheered and applauded sarcastically.
"An attack from Elfman takes out Reedus with a quick strike!"
Reedus looked somewhat apologetically at Raizel as he walked off. "I tried my best, but they're all targeting us."
"MANLY MAN!!!"
"Elfman! Elfman!"
"Everyone, let's start a wave!" Natsu raised both hands, urging the audience to get hyped.
Then Natsu ran a full lap around the rectangular playing area.
"We want in too!" shouted spectators sitting courtside.
"AHHHHHHHH!!!"
Watching Natsu jogging toward the stands, the audience went wild with cheers.
Raizel shook his head helplessly and said, "He really enjoys that sort of thing."
"One, two, three!" Natsu counted with his fingers raised.
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!"
A massive wave swept through the crowds!
The audience coordinated perfectly—wherever Natsu ran, that section would erupt in cheers, fans standing up with support signs and shouting wildly.
Natsu completed a full circuit before returning to the court side.
"Alright, let's continue."
Overexcited, Natsu made another error with a lob shot, sending the ball flying off course.
Subsequent shots all targeted Raizel, who stumbled when he tripped over someone's foot while backing away.
Natsu seized the opportunity, hitting Raizel's foot with the ball.
"Raizel OUT!!!"
"Ohhhhhhh!!!"
"Only you left now, Laxus. Do your best," Raizel patted Laxus on the back.
"Raizel! Raizel!" the audience chanted his name.
"Thank you everyone!" Raizel bowed toward the stands.
Then Raizel glared at the remaining players on the court and threatened playfully.
"You're all dead, I'm telling you."
...
"It's Natsu again! He hits Bisca with a shot! COOL!"
"Ahhhh!"
A pained cry came from Lucy.
Unable to dodge in time, the ball struck the right side of her face squarely.
"Game paused, game paused!" Raizel walked out, signaling the ref.
Everyone gathered around Lucy to check if she was okay.
"It hit my cheek, not my eye. I'm fine," Lucy said, applying an ice towel to her face.
Seeing that Lucy was unharmed, Raizel began to lighten the mood.
The spectator who threw it felt somewhat guilty—he was truly sorry for hitting Lucy in the face with that ball.
"Please, give Lucy some time."
Wakaba started giving exaggerated orders to the crowd: "Let me tell you, if anything happens to Lucy, don't even think about holding this competition anymore."
Macao chimed in: "And you can forget about keeping this venue either."
The members began to boast recklessly to distract Lucy from the pain.
"Let's tear down Magnolia too!"