On the battlefield, facing Kira's merciless punch, Levy—under triple gravity—poured all her strength into twirling that slender magic pen in her hand: "Guard!"
The words took on meaning, and a barrier materialized out of thin air, blocking the space between Levy and Kira, stopping his fist dead!
Dispel was totally caught off guard: "Oh my god! She blocked it!!! Kira's twenty years of kung fu just fizzled out!!"
With his attack failing, Kira twitched at the corner of his mouth: "That Dispel's so damn loud—gonna have to deck him when we get back!"
"Huh? What was that?? I think I heard Kira trash-talking me. No way, right? Is this guy panicking? Is that all the grace he's got? Wonder what this super random stranger passing by thinks?"
Jet and Droy: "Kira, you jerk! Treating Levy like that—we're not done with you!!"
Some mysterious drunk lady: "That's just how Kira is! Hic—super petty."
A washed-up male celeb with an identity shrouded in mystery: "Hitting a cute girl with full force? I look down on him!"
A shirtless stripping pervert: "The guy's got a short fuse. We all steer clear of pissing him off, or we'd face his wild revenge."
A pink-haired ninja with his face wrapped in a scarf: "Everyone's right—I'd love to school him every day!"
Kira: "..."
You four are in for it!
"Shatter!"
Fueled by rage, Kira bellowed and smashed the guard shield into pieces.
Levy was sweating bullets: He wouldn't mistake me for Natsu or something, would he...
"I... I give up!!" Seeing the fist coming down, in a desperate flash, Levy remembered she could just forfeit. "I surrender! Don't hit me!"
Kira nodded, pulling back his fist and the spell, accepting the surrender.
Dispel announced right away: "Match over—Kira wins! Both fighters, please exit the stage promptly!"
Kira helped Levy off the platform, and the second they sat down, two... wait, no, two figures rushed over, yelling their heads off.
"You bastard, how could you do that to Levy?!"
"I told you to go easy on her! If that punch had landed, she'd be in real pain!"
"Hmm?" Kira shot them a sideways glare. "You two teaching me how to do my job?"
They hung their heads in defeat: "Sorry!"
"You idiots don't get it—girls are meant to be cherished!"
Everyone else: "..."
Is that what he meant?
"Bowing to a stronger fist like that—do you even like girls?!" Kira scowled and barked. "And instead of checking on Levy right now, what are you doing bugging me?!"
The two snapped to it: "Oh yeah!"
They turned around—and...
"Levy, you okay?"
"I'm fine, guys—don't worry!"
Lucy, Bisca, Mira, and the others had Levy surrounded, no room left.
Jet and Droy could only hug it out and cry: "Damn it, too late..."
The first match didn't get much cheering—thanks to Dispel's antics, the crowd treated it like a total comedy show, zero tension.
Truth is, the famed "Sage" up against this unknown, fragile little girl? Everyone knew how it'd end. Fans weren't expecting some epic magic showdown; if anything, this opener was the least hyped bout of the day.
Compared to the first, the second match was bound to be way more thrilling—
"Next up, the second match! Gray and Cana, please enter the arena!"
"My turn?"
Gray stood from his seat and strode toward the stage. He seemed in a great mood today, full of energy—probably 'cause his prelim ranking beat Natsu's yesterday.
Cana set down her bottle and headed up with a fired-up vibe. For once, she wasn't sloshed—the orphanage kids were watching from the stands, and she didn't want to set a bad example.
Gray and Cana were both from the guild's early young crop, old pals and rivals who knew each other's strengths inside out. They'd both powered up lately, but from yesterday's prelims—one first in the losers' bracket at eighth overall, the other second in winners' at ninth—the gap was pretty even.
The second they stepped onto the field, the crowd's cheers exploded.
The loudest? "Lord Gray, you gotta win!" And "Go, big sis Cana!" No surprise who those came from.
Gray stripped off his shirt, hitting his prime battle mode. His silver necklace gleamed in the sun, the black guild mark stamped on his chest giving off that ripped, powerful vibe—his muscle lines had Juvia drooling in admiration.
Cana pulled out her cards, her eyes sharpening with focus.
The match order dropped yesterday, and she'd made up her mind: use this to climb over Gray, become the guild's top shot at S-class!
Back in guild brawls, she'd always come up short. Beat him here, and this year's S-class trials? Hers for the taking!
"Bring it, Gray!"
"Why're you suddenly so fired up?" Gray blinked at her in confusion, but shook it off quick, hands ready at his sides. "Whatever—I'll just beat you, that's all!"
"Fairy Tail Grand Magic Games Semifinals, Round Two: Gray vs. Cana—fight!"
With Dispel's starting signal, two arcs sliced open the battle.
"Ice-Make: Lancer!"
A bunch of ice lances shot from Gray's wrists—his upgraded go-to lancer spell, more stable, piercing power jacked up, way more destructive, faster, and in greater numbers. His overall boost meant every move hit harder.
At the same time, Cana flung a red card forward. The magic crystal zoomed in, flashing the card's face on the screens so the crowd could see: a snarling, fang-baring red-furred monkey wreathed in flames.
The tough card smacked into an ice lance, shattering it on impact.
"These cards are that sturdy?" Cana was shocked—didn't expect Kira's cards to be so solid. Her eyes sparkled at the deck on her hip. "Does that mean I can just fight with 'em straight-up?"
If these could slice through Gray's ice, she'd have this in the bag!
Nothing like good gear to boost your confidence!
Cana was pumped, drawing another card and hacking at the incoming lances—one, two, three, four... nah, she stopped at three. Hands stinging too much.
Ding! Boom!
The tossed card hit the ground, kicking up smoke. Under everyone's eyes, the fire-attribute summon beast from the card—the Demon Ape—emerged onto the field.
The Demon Ape was about the size of a Kamaitachi, under half a meter tall, scrawny but packing a punch.
It walked upright like a beast, no slouched monkey hunch—arms long past its knees, six ears sprouting from its head sides, gold hoops dangling from 'em. Its eyes glowed with fiery gold flashes, full-on special effects vibe, covered in vibrant, eye-catching fire-red fur that looked steaming hot.
"This is the fire-attribute demon beast?"
Cana muttered to herself. From the card art, it should've been flashier, but whatever—as a repeat customer, she knew the Cottage's stuff: promo images vs. real deal? Bigger gap than man vs. pig.
At least the power was legit, which kinda made up for the letdown.
The second the Fire Demon Ape showed, the arena temp shot up degrees. Gray's ice started melting—lances dripping water, tips blunting, accuracy tanking. Cana dodged 'em easy.
"So hot!" Gray wiped sweat from his brow, grumbling, "Since when did Cana switch to these summon cards?"