"Chase?!"
The sudden turn of events startled both Wendy and Carla.
Wendy looked timidly at the little demon clutched in Chase's hand. The creature was roughly the size of Lucy's Celestial Spirit Plue, but it radiated an incredibly evil and cold aura. Carla felt the same way, along with a lingering fear and self-reproach—she hadn't even noticed such a danger lurking near Wendy!
"I happened to be passing by and saw you weren't far off, so I came to check."
Chase's fingertips glowed with a faint red light as he tightly gripped the little demon's throat. Like Deliora and Tartaros's Nine Demon Gates, this thing was also a product of the Book of Zeref—an Etherious demon.
"It looks like what Chase is holding is the real body," Mira said, emerging from the nearby bushes, dragging the limp, boneless body of the Raven Tail mage Obra behind her.
"Your awareness is a little lacking, Wendy," Chase said, looking at her.
"Ah! Yes! I'm so sorry!" Both Wendy and Future Wendy inside the card shrank their heads simultaneously and bowed ninety degrees in apology.
"I'm at fault too. I really let my guard down in such a lively place," the two Carlas admitted with a hint of pride.
If Chase hadn't been there, the consequences would have been unthinkable!
"It's okay, Wendy, Carla. Everything's fine now, isn't it?"
Mira discarded the limp body in her hand, her eyes fixed on the struggling little demon in Chase's grasp. "So, Chase—why would Wendy be targeted by something like this?"
Raven Tail, having only recently become an official guild, had yet to make its appearance. She didn't know who they were, but her intuition told her this was no random attack!
"Let's ask," Chase said. Light shimmered on his left hand as the Magic Card "Brain Control" materialized.
Though he already knew the full story, the proper procedure couldn't be skipped.
A dark magical hand reached out from the card, grabbed the little demon's head, and activated the brainwashing effect. After a pained cry, the little demon confessed everything it knew about Raven Tail's operations and plans.
"I can't believe it's the Master's son Ivan—and Raven Tail is actually participating in this year's Grand Magic Games?"
Mira's expression immediately turned serious. Sensing a hidden conspiracy targeting Fairy Tail, she urged, "We need to report this to the Master immediately!"
"It's fine. I'll contact the old man through my cards later."
Chase wasn't worried. The old man had already learned from Gajeel's undercover work that Raven Tail was assembling a specialized team to counter Fairy Tail. They were hardly a threat, considering they had been easily wiped out by Laxus.
"More importantly, Mira—do you want to Take Over this demon?"
Chase held up the little demon toward Mira with a smile. "That magic-draining ability could come in pretty handy."
Going by the plot where this little creature sought out Zeref after the Grand Magic Games and triggered the formal declaration of war between Mavis and Zeref, it was most likely Zeref's "eye" for watching the Games.
But given Zeref's personality, he probably wouldn't go out of his way to cause trouble over something so trivial. Even if he did, Chase had nothing to fear.
At worst, he'd just get his hand "caressed" again.
Recalling Zeref's infatuated expression on Tenrou Island, Chase suddenly froze and broke out in goosebumps.
Maybe... he actually did have something to fear.
"Honestly! Who gives a girl a gift like this on a first date?!"
Seeing how calm Chase was, Mira's nerves relaxed as well. She pouted and pretended to be annoyed.
And last time, it was a magic egg too. Getting a romantic gift from this Card Nerd seemed like a distant dream.
"D-Date?!"
Wendy was immediately drawn to those two words, her cute face turning bright red with even deeper guilt. "I'm sorry! I'm really, really sorry for interrupting your date, Chase and Mira!"
In the end, Mira accepted Chase's "gift" with a smile. Having gained Demon King power and unlocked her Second Origin, she was already far stronger than before. She absorbed the little demon's ability with ease, and a long, arrow-tipped demon tail sprouted from behind her.
Still, all this back-and-forth had taken up quite some time.
Scene change.
Wendy and Carla stood at the entrance of Team B's inn, staring blankly as Chase, Mira, Laxus, Gajeel, and Juvia successfully regrouped. Tears shimmered in their wide eyes.
"Th-This isn't Natsu's inn..."
As twelve chimes echoed across Crocus, Wendy—consumed by guilt—finally broke down. With a loud sob, she collapsed to the ground in tears.
The good news was that as a member of Team A, she had made it back before midnight to the inn designated by the Grand Magic Games organizers.
The bad news was that she had returned to the wrong place.
"Oh my? I was so focused on Raven Tail on the way back that I completely forgot about this..." Mira said, realizing her mistake a little too late.
Laxus and the others looked equally confused.
"It's okay, Wendy. I already contacted Team A and the old man through my cards," Chase said, walking over and crouching down to pat Wendy's head reassuringly. "They still have Elfman as a substitute over there, so there shouldn't be any problems."
He had been so distracted by the unique design of Mira's new demon tail that he had temporarily overlooked Wendy.
He could have used the Trap Card "Swap" to switch her over, but since there was nothing for her to do on the first day of the Games anyway, he couldn't be bothered.
Hearing Chase say that, Wendy, who had been terrified of holding everyone back, finally felt a little better. She wiped her tears and stood back up.
"Wait a minute, Card Nerd—did you just say Team A?" Carla caught a key detail in Chase's words.
At some point, she had stopped calling him by name and instead used the "respectful title" of Card Nerd.
"Heheh. Finally figured it out?" Gajeel grinned slyly.
"That's right. The guild sent more than just Natsu's team this time," Panther Lily added.
"How cruel! You kept it a secret from us!" Carla crossed her arms in mild indignation.
But as she processed the information, she felt a chill at the sheer power of Team B's lineup. Considering Gajeel and Juvia's standing in Phantom Lord, combined with Chase, Laxus, and Mira—this was an all-S-Class team!
As she was still reeling from the shock, a voice suddenly echoed across Crocus from above, loud enough to reach the entire city.
"Good morning, all you guild mages gathered here for the Grand Magic Games!"
"To select the strongest eight teams from the 113 registered entries, we will now begin the preliminaries!"
Looking up, they saw a giant figure wearing a pumpkin mask floating midair through stereoscopic projection.
"Preliminaries? I don't remember this being a thing before," Future Mirajane said in confusion.
While Chase and Mira had been out on their date, she had studied past Grand Magic Games out of sheer boredom.
"I see. So that's why they made everyone stay in the inns before midnight," Juvia mused.
"Heheh. Sounds interesting," Gajeel said, a confident smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.
Being on a team with monsters like Chase and Laxus, it was hard not to feel confident!
"113 teams—so other guilds sent more than one as well," Future Laxus observed.
Even in a world seven years into the future, there weren't that many guilds in all of Fiore.
Other participating teams scattered across the city, including Fairy Tail's Team A, were equally caught off guard by this sudden preliminary event.
BZZZZ!
As if a switch had been flipped, all the designated inns began vibrating uncontrollably. Mechanical gears hidden beneath them lifted the buildings into the air. Wooden pathways extended from each entrance, reaching ever higher into the sky.
The winding paths twisted together like tangled ropes, forming an enormous spherical labyrinth!
"The rules of the preliminaries are simple. The first eight teams to find the exit in the labyrinth will qualify for the main tournament."
"All five members must reach the finish line together to pass. Falling off the labyrinth means elimination. Use of magic is unrestricted during this time, and the organizers are not responsible for any deaths that may occur."
Once all the inns were in position, the Pumpkin Head waved a grand hand. "I declare—the Grand Magic Games preliminaries..."
"The Sky Labyrinth... officially begins!"
***
Dive deeper into the story with 30+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!
patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!