The moment prize money was announced, even Lucy and Cana quietly joined the registration list.
After a brief discussion of the tournament rules with Makarov, Rowan spread his wings and flew out beyond the town limits. Scanning the landscape from above, he soon found a modest mountain that fit his needs.
He raised his staff.
"Mountain-bearing."
Ancient magic flowed into the words.
It was one of the old spells he had learned from Dumbledore, a ritual-scale working that demanded patience rather than finesse. The casting time was long and the spell impractical in combat. Any enemy with sense could simply leave the area before it took effect. Rowan had never trained it for battle.
That didn't matter.
He wasn't trying to fight anyone.
He was building a stage.
The final word fell into place.
The ground trembled.
The mountain shuddered, cracked free from the earth, and slowly tore itself loose. Stone screamed as roots of bedrock snapped, and then the entire mass rose into the air, floating obediently before Rowan.
He guided it carefully toward the great lake beside Magnolia.
As he crossed above the city, a thought flickered through his mind. Slow as it was, this spell would be devastating if used destructively. Dropping a mountain from this height would erase a town as surely as any forbidden magic.
Below, citizens and visiting tourists stared upward in frozen disbelief, mouths hanging open.
"Is… is this part of the Harvest Festival?" someone whispered.
Rowan's voice rolled across the city, amplified by magic.
"Please remain calm. I'm Rowan Mercer of Fairy Tail. At two o'clock this afternoon, our guild will host the First Fairy Tail Grand Magic Tournament on an island in the lake. Everyone is welcome to watch from the shore and cheer us on."
With precise control, he lowered the mountain into the lake near the shore.
Then he raised his staff again.
A focused arc of plasma swept across the stone, slicing the mountain cleanly in half. The upper portion collapsed into the water, leaving behind a broad, circular platform rising above the lake's surface.
The arena was complete.
There were no decorations. No stands.
They wouldn't survive the fighting anyway.
The island sat close enough that spectators could line the shore, safe from stray magic while enjoying a clear view. The guild mages, in turn, could fight without holding back.
Word spread instantly. Townspeople and visitors flooded toward the lakeside, excitement replacing fear. Seeing a mountain lifted and reshaped before their eyes shattered any vague notions they had about how strong mages truly were.
Even Fairy Tail's own members stared in stunned silence.
Destroying a mountain was one thing. Erza and Natsu could manage that.
Lifting one cleanly from the earth and moving it intact was something else entirely.
Even Makarov couldn't do that.
"Honestly," Laxus muttered, watching Rowan return to the guild in a flash of motion, "this cat gets harder to read every time."
He had once believed Rowan's lightning magic was his greatest strength, something Laxus could counter easily. Now he wasn't so sure. The sheer breadth of Rowan's abilities unsettled him more than raw power ever could.
"Not bad," Laxus said aloud. "If I win, you can be my cat."
"Win first," Rowan replied flatly.
He turned to Makarov. "The arena's ready. We can begin."
Makarov nodded and faced the gathered guild. "The rules are simple. Draw lots. One-on-one elimination. You lose if you're knocked unconscious or surrender. Know your limits."
Cheers erupted.
"I'm taking Laxus down this time!"
"Try beating me first, Natsu!"
"Don't underestimate us!"
Rowan leaned closer to Makarov. "Jellal and Mystogan aren't participating?"
"I contacted Jellal," Makarov said. "He said he already lost to you once. As for Mystogan… you know him. He won't fight in front of a crowd."
That made sense.
"This tournament is voluntary," Rowan said, unfazed.
He lifted a paw, iron sand tearing free from the earth and compacting into a massive metal platform. "Everyone aboard. I'll take us over."
The weight barely registered.
As Rowan carried the guild toward the island, the lakeshore erupted in cheers that rolled across the water like a tide.
Fairy Tail had never looked more alive.