"You've been hugging for so long, haven't you had enough?"
Raizel stepped forward, looking at Cana, Lucy, and Lisanna who were jumping around wildly while hugging each other in celebration of Lucy's victory over Reedus.
"Can Lucy, who just evened the score, turn the tide and defeat the incredibly strong opponent, Raizel?"
"Scissors... Rock... Paper!"
"Paper and Rock! Contestant Lucy wins!"
"Contestant Lucy attacks first!"
Lucy adjusted her grip for a long time, trying to find the perfect angle. She slapped down hard.
SMACK!
"Ah~ Failed!"
"Whew~" Raizel breathed a sigh of relief.
He was genuinely afraid Lucy would get on a hot streak and send him packing right away.
"Uh... Contestant Raizel, on whom everyone had high hopes, also failed on his first attempt!"
Makarov commented from the booth, "Even Lucy's card didn't move at all..."
Raizel shook his head helplessly. "This card is too thin, it's really hard to flip..."
The pressure returned to Lucy.
However, she seemed to have lost the favor of Lady Luck she had on her first try against Reedus and failed again.
Raizel adjusted his stance, lowering his position slightly to get closer to the ground.
"Let's see if Contestant Raizel can succeed this time?"
FLIP!
"COOL! Success! It flipped over!"
Makarov nodded with satisfaction. "Now that's Raizel's true skill."
"In that case, only Contestant Cana remains for Team G!"
"Ah~ Contestant Raizel attacks first."
FLIP!
"It flipped over! Two wins in a row!"
"With that, Team D advances to the next round!"
Lucy comforted the defeated Cana.
Cana shrugged helplessly; she hadn't even touched the card. "It's fine, I expected this."
Quarterfinals Match 4: Team A vs. Team E
The match between Team A and Team E was intense.
In the end, only one person remained on each side, with Ultear and Erza deciding the outcome in a duel of aces.
"Contestant Erza attacks first! I wonder if she can seize the opportunity?"
After his match, Raizel returned to the commentary booth. "I think she should be able to. Erza is usually pretty good at flipping cards."
SMACK!
"Ah, too bad. The card spun around once, but didn't flip over! The chance goes to Ultear!"
"Contestant Ultear also failed to succeed!"
FLIP!
"It flipped over! Contestant Erza wins! With that, Team E advances to the semifinals!"
"Let's give a round of applause for Team E! And also a warm round of applause for Team A, who gave it their all!"
Semifinals Match 1: Team B vs. Team F
"Now it's the first match of the semifinals: Team B vs. Team F!"
"The first contestants for each side are Juvia and Macao, with the first attack opportunity going to Juvia!"
"Go Juvia!"
The audience cheered loudly for Juvia.
"Ah... she didn't succeed, but that was a strike filled with strong will!"
It was indeed strong will... but her motivation was purely that she just wanted to meet Gray at the finals...
"COOL! Although it didn't flip over, it was still a powerful strike! Contestant Macao showed good performance in the first round!"
Juvia's second attack still failed, but it was very close.
Raizel couldn't help but nod. "That was very dangerous; it almost flipped over just now."
After Macao failed again, the opportunity returned to Juvia.
FLIP!
"COOL!!! It flipped over!"
The steam jet devices on the sidelines sprayed air in perfect coordination to celebrate the win.
Raizel immediately followed up on commentary. "The current situation is very favorable for Team B. Macao's outstanding performance in the previous round was crucial for Team F, so losing him is a blow."
The Tide Turns
"The tables have turned! Contestant Alzack succeeded in one attempt right from the start! The score is now 1:1!"
Alzack eliminated Juvia instantly.
After Team B substituted Freed, he also succeeded in one attempt, eliminating Alzack directly.
Raizel couldn't help but praise Freed. "Hit the center, a clean success! Freed is truly strong at everything."
...
After Mirajane took the stage for Team F, her powerful strike sent Freed's card flipping into the air.
Jason stood up in excitement. "What's going on!"
Raizel watched the replay. "The card flipped twice in the air—what a shame."
Even Mira muttered to herself in disappointment—if it had flipped half a turn less, she would have won right there.
"Oh? Contestant Freed used too much force this time."
Freed put too much power into his strike this time, losing his balance as he slapped down and nearly fell. Fortunately, he caught himself with a hand on the floor at the last moment.
"COOL! Contestant Mira seized the opportunity!!!"
The camera showed the replay again: Mira, sidestepping and planting her foot firmly, delivered a clean, decisive strike that flipped the card over.
"It seems Contestant Freed is having a hard time believing it."
At that moment, Freed clutched his head in frustration. It wasn't just Juvia who wanted to face Gray in the finals... He too wanted to meet Laxus at the peak...
"The score is tied again at 2:2! Everyone, please applaud!"
"Now entering is Contestant Nab , whose first attempt was unsuccessful."
In Nab's strike, Mira's card didn't even budge.
"Success! A double strike! Contestant Mira flipped it over again!"
"Mira!!!"
"Mira!!!"
Fans supporting Mira waved their cheering paraphernalias and went wild with excitement.
"COOL! A triple strike!!!"
Warren's turn ended without him even touching the card before Mira eliminated him.
Ur applauded as she remarked, "Three consecutive successes—it seems Mira is the hidden dark horse."
"Let's give a round of applause to congratulate Team F on advancing to the finals!"
'How could this be...'
Juvia and Freed were utterly devastated, as if sorrow had flooded their hearts.
They had both failed to reach their idols in the finals.
At that moment, the two of them couldn't hear anything, hanging their heads with arms limp at their sides, walking off like corpses.
Makarov also expressed surprise. "This is truly unexpected. Mira has never shown such strong skills before."
During card-flipping competitions at the Guild, Mira's performance could be summed up in four words: utterly average—not particularly weak, but not particularly strong either.
'Can someone suddenly awaken their potential just by flipping cards...'
'Or did she secretly practice hard at home to amaze everyone???' Makarov's thoughts began to drift off track.
...
Semifinals Match 2: Team D vs. Team E
"Only one finals ticket remains! The second semifinal match is Team D versus Team E!"
Raizel had already put the microphone back and stepped onto the hexagonal platform to compete.
Jason continued the commentary. "Team D is an extremely strong favorite to win the championship, but Team E is also excellent, with outstanding abilities."
"Now, drawing lots to decide the first match-up."
"Wakaba versus Elfman! Contestant Elfman attacks first!"
"MANLINESS!" Elfman roared as he slammed the card down hard!
FLIP!
"Flipped over in one go! COOL!"
"This time, it's Contestant Reedus's turn to attack first. Unfortunately, he didn't succeed!"
"This time he used too much force, the card flipped over in mid-air."
"Reedus's second turn! Ah... still failed..."
"Flip it over! Flip it over!" Erza kept chanting beside them, cheering for Elfman.
FLIP!
"An easy victory! Elfman's unstoppable second consecutive win!!!"
"Who can stop him! Who can suppress this guy!"
Raizel was getting somewhat numb.
'Damn, I never expected Elfman to break through his limits too.'