"Huh???"
The reaction was unanimous.
Makarov froze. The guild members froze. Even Laxus, moments away from detonating the cathedral with raw lightning, stared as if he'd misheard.
"The… Fairy Tail First Grand Magic Tournament?" someone echoed.
Rowan stepped forward, voice steady. "Exactly. A guild-wide magic competition. Everyone fights openly, and the winner earns the title of Fairy Tail's strongest mage."
He gestured around the damaged cathedral and the uneasy city beyond. "The beauty pageant was interrupted, the town's shaken, and outsiders think something went wrong inside the guild. We turn the chaos into an announcement. A tournament."
His gaze swept the room, then settled on Laxus. "You want to prove yourself. You want to lead Fairy Tail to the top. Then do it the right way. Become the strongest mage first. Only then does anyone have the right to claim the master's seat."
The idea landed like a stone dropped into still water.
Rowan continued calmly. "Make it an annual tradition. Every Harvest Festival, the afternoon hosts the Grand Magic Tournament. At night, the parade. The town gets a spectacle, the guild gets motivation, and strength is decided in the open."
Silence.
Then Natsu burst out laughing. "I'm in! I've been waiting forever to fight everyone seriously!"
Gray stripped off his shirt on instinct. "If that's the deal, I'm not sitting out."
"That's how it should be!"
"Yeah, let's go!"
"Finally, a proper brawl!"
The guild's usual bar-fight energy ignited instantly. Not everyone looked thrilled. Lucy shrank back slightly, and Cana yawned, clearly more interested in alcohol than competition.
Makarov turned his eyes to Laxus. "What do you think?"
Laxus was quiet for a long moment. Then he looked up.
"If I win," he said slowly, "you hand the guild to me."
Rowan answered without hesitation. "If you prove you're the strongest, I won't object."
One by one, the others nodded. Despite everything that had happened, Fairy Law had already revealed the truth of Laxus's heart. And if strength truly backed his ambition, the guild would accept it.
Even so, many eyes drifted back to Rowan.
Calm. Reliable. Always cleaning up the mess. If anyone already felt like a master, it was him.
Makarov frowned slightly. "Rowan. You're certain? Laxus is a lightning dragon slayer. Your lightning magic won't work on him."
Rowan replied quietly, "I wouldn't suggest this if I wasn't sure."
That was enough.
Makarov straightened and spoke with authority. "Very well. The champion of the Fairy Tail First Grand Magic Tournament will become the guild's acting successor. Laxus, if you win, you inherit the position. If you lose, you apologize to the guild and return to missions without further trouble."
Laxus laughed and shrugged his coat back on, lightning finally settling. "Fine. Winning publicly and taking the seat in front of the whole city doesn't sound bad at all."
Across the hall, Freed and Bickslow exchanged looks and released matching sighs of relief. This path was better than civil war. Better than blood.
Rowan raised a paw again. "One more thing. If first place carries that much weight, second and third should earn something too."
Makarov chuckled. "Fair enough. Top ten get prize money. Second place, two hundred thousand. Third, one hundred thousand. Fourth through tenth, fifty thousand each."
The guild erupted.
"As for the arena," Makarov began—
"I'll handle it," Rowan said.
A closed space wouldn't survive this tournament. Not the guild hall. Not the streets.
It needed scale.
It needed spectacle.
And Rowan already had the spell in mind.
Ancient Magic.
The Mountain-Bearing Spell.