Chapter 309: Victory
Everyone was scared witless.
Makarov, on the other hand, was about to faint from fright. The capital—the entire royal capital—how much would that cost?
Oh, right, the Grand Magic Games organizers said they could fight freely and wouldn't have to pay for damages.
That's good! That's good!
Soon, all the hovering lacrima cameras focused entirely on the five elite members of Sabertooth. The dust slowly settled over the pulverized cobblestones of the arena, revealing a scene of utter devastation.
At this moment, all five were collapsed on the ground, having completely lost their ability to fight. Sting, Rogue, Rufus, Orga, and Minerva lay bruised and battered amid the rubble, their once-proud magical auras completely extinguished.
[The battle is over!] Chapati Lola's voice shrieked through the magical amplification system, breaking the stunned silence of the Domus Flau.
[It's Ren!! Contestant Ren has defeated all five top members of Sabertooth entirely alone, earning a flawless 9 points for the survival game!!]
Chapati gripped his microphone, his hands visibly trembling from the sheer adrenaline of the spectacle.
[With this final sweep, Fairy Tail has earned a staggering total of 65 points!!]
[So powerful——!!]
[Ren is simply outrageously strong!! He is in a realm of his own!]
[The ultimate winner of this year's Grand Magic Games is... Fairy Tail!!]
BOOM——————!!
"Ren! Ren!!"
"Fairy Tail!!"
"Fairy Tail!!"
Enthusiastic, deafening cheers erupted from the massive audience, shaking the very foundations of the stadium. Some shouted passionately for the resurrection of Fairy Tail, but even more were frantically calling out Ren's name.
[Listen to this grand cheering!! The former strongest guild, Fairy Tail, has been completely resurrected and reclaims their rightful throne!!]
"Congratulations, Maa-bou."
Yajima smiled warmly, adjusting his chef's hat as he offered his sincere congratulations from the commentator's desk. As Makarov's childhood friend, Yajima truly cared for him and had been deeply worried when Fairy Tail was struggling through their seven years of decline.
"They actually made it through the final day with a complete, indisputable victory!! And... they even destroyed the royal capital in the process!!"
The official mascot and organizer, Mato the Pumpkin Head, stood by the arena gates with his mouth wide open, completely dumbfounded. According to his original estimates, Crocus was such a massive, fortified city that even with intense combat damage, how much could really be destroyed?
But the absolute power of this destruction had greatly exceeded his wildest nightmares. Even with the kingdom's finest earth and restoration magic, it would take at least months to repair the flattened city blocks.
"Truly impressive! What a terrifyingly handsome man!"
Risley Law of Mermaid Heel remarked with deep emotion, fanning her flushed face as she looked at Ren.
"I told you, that guy is an absolute monster!"
Millianna said, her cat-like eyes wide with a mixture of awe and lingering dread. She would always remember what happened at the Tower of Heaven all those years ago.
Back then, Ren was already an invincible monster who defied logic, and now, he seemed to have evolved into a walking natural disaster.
"Well done, Fairy Tail,"
Jura Neekis murmured from the Lamia Scale resting area, his expression solemn yet respectful. In truth, he had long anticipated this exact result, but he was still profoundly shocked by Ren's earlier words during the tournament.
He, a revered Wizard Saint, had exerted all of his strength just to reach a Magic Power Finder (MPF) value of over 9,500. Yet, Ren had casually stated that his own MPF value was an astronomical 110,000.
The sheer difference between his peak output and Ren's casual values was more than elevenfold.
Jura simply couldn't imagine possessing such a bottomless reserve of ethernano within a human vessel. But seeing Ren's casual, devastating attacks and how he had effortlessly withstood so many ultimate strikes without a single scratch, the values Ren mentioned were very likely the terrifying truth.
A Mage's magic power naturally provides them with an invisible barrier of magic resistance. The stronger the core magic power, the higher the passive magic resistance of their physical body.
This fundamental law of magic was why spells that looked terrifyingly powerful often didn't seem lethal when they hit an exceptionally strong Mage. The ethernano naturally repels weaker, invasive energy.
With Ren's MPF value being so absurdly high, anyone with an MPF value under 50,000 probably couldn't even break through his passive defense.
As for the members of Sabertooth, forget reaching an MPF over 50,000—they likely didn't even have a single member who could score over 10,000. Naturally, they couldn't even scratch Ren's skin, let alone break his defense.
"Yeah! Although I already knew Mr. Ren was incredibly powerful, this is just too much to process."
Lyon Vastia sighed, offering his shoulder to support Jura. Jura had received simple, emergency treatment from Sherria Blendy's Sky God Slayer healing magic, but it would still take considerable time for a full recovery from his previous battles.
Lyon had always wanted to try and surpass Ren, fueling his rivalry with Gray, but the gap was simply too vast to bridge.
From the Blue Pegasus balcony, Ren Akatsuki smiled gracefully, ensuring his collar was perfectly popped. "Congratulations on your victory, Fairy Tail."
[Akarin's Note: Ren Akatsuki is the handsome air-magic user from Blue Pegasus, not to be confused with our protagonist, Ren.]
"Sigh, let's just consider it a grand celebration for the triumphant return of the Tenrou Group,"
Eve Tearm said nonchalantly, brushing his blonde hair aside. They at Blue Pegasus didn't care particularly much about winning or losing the tournament, as long as they looked fabulous doing it.
Moreover, no matter how much their pride stung, their guild really didn't have any monster strong enough to contend with the absolute force that was Ren.
"Mr. Ren is still the same as before, a true monster among monsters."
Hibiki Lates shook his head, tapping away at his magical Archive terminal. Since Ren could defeat the Oración Seis, one of the strongest Dark Guilds of the Balam Alliance at the time, entirely by himself, he could naturally crush the current strongest official guild, Sabertooth.
"Meeeeen!"
Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki struck a dazzling pose, sniffing the air dramatically. Although they lost, the group's overall mood wasn't bad.
Fairy Tail was an old and dear ally of Blue Pegasus. During the joint Nirvana operation seven years ago, Fairy Tail had provided the main assault force, and they all deeply remembered that kindness and shared perfume.
"Did I really offend a guy like that at the bar?"
Bacchus Groh of Quatro Cerberus felt a sharp toothache coming on, taking a nervous swig from his gourd. Why had he been so hopelessly mouthy and confident back then?
Having an anomalous monster like Ren participate in the Grand Magic Games was practically cheating against the rest of the continent.
Many veteran mages shared Bacchus's exact thoughts. The highly anticipated finals of the Grand Magic Games had completely devolved into Ren's personal, uncontested one-man show.
Looking at the sheer destruction, many felt that Ren alone could probably defeat every single participating member of the Grand Magic Games simultaneously.
Down in the ruined arena, the suffocating, golden heat radiating from the center of the crater finally began to dissipate. Ren's towering, overly muscular body slowly shrank, returning to its original, leaner state.
"Whew! This power is truly terrifying to maintain."
Ren muttered to himself, exhaling a breath of scorching hot air. His base body had become incredibly strong after such a long period of system-based training.
However, after forcefully receiving the Take Over of Escanor and then returning to normal, he still felt deeply uncomfortable. A faint, lingering stinging pain prickled beneath his skin, as if his very blood had been brought to a boil.
Ren knew perfectly well that this was the inevitable side effect of transforming into the Lion's Sin of Pride, Escanor. Escanor's unique magic power was 'Sunshine.'
This divine power would gradually and uncontrollably increase as the sun rose, reaching its absolute, terrifying peak exactly at noon, possessing immense magic and extreme danger to both the user and the surroundings.
Because it was primarily drawing upon the ambient, natural magic of the sun itself, his own internal ethernano consumption wasn't particularly large. But the physical toll on a human vessel channeling the power of a star was undeniably heavy.
Next, at the center of the restored Grand Magic Games Arena, everyone from Fairy Tail attended the official awards ceremony together.
Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy, and the rest of the guild crowded the podium. Everyone held up the gleaming golden trophy representing the championship of the Grand Magic Games, their faces beaming with bright, tearful smiles.
Along with the trophy, they were awarded the grand prize money of 30 million Jewel, officially ending their years of financial ruin.
Countless magical reporters from the Weekly Sorcerer and other publications swarmed the stage, eagerly interviewing Ren. Despite his fatigue, he answered their rapid-fire questions one by one with a calm demeanor.
The chaotic, joyous awards ceremony lasted for over an hour before the festivities gradually subsided into the evening.
High above the cheering crowds, in the secluded royal observation box, Princess Hisui E. Fiore watched the celebratory scene at the Grand Magic Games Arena. Her usually gentle expression had turned incredibly somber, her emerald eyes reflecting a heavy burden.
"Everything that person from the future said... it has all come true. Fairy Tail really did win the Grand Magic Games!"
She clutched her hands tightly over her chest, feeling a cold dread wash over her heart. The timeline was aligning perfectly with the horrific prophecy.
"From now on, the Eclipse Project will be officially changed to the second phase."
She turned to Arcadios and the kneeling royal guards, her voice devoid of its usual warmth. "Move the modified version, the Eclipse Cannon, to the surface immediately!"
Evening.
Fiore Royal Palace.
The Eclipse Gate was moved to the surface.
Grand Magic Games Arena.
All the guilds that participated in the Grand Magic Games, including those who took part in the preliminaries, were summoned here.
The King of Fiore, Toma E. Fiore, with a somewhat pale face, explained the reason for summoning everyone.
"...Therefore, although it is saddening that there is no time to enjoy the afterglow of the Grand Magic Games, right now... it is a critical moment concerning the life and death of the nation..."
"You say there are ten thousand Dragons? Is this true?"
Makarov asked once more in disbelief. Dragons were creatures of ancient legend. A single Dragon could destroy a country. Ten thousand Dragons—that number was too exaggerated; it was almost impossible for humans to defeat.
[Akarin Note:
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