On the other side of the stands.
A disguised Thought Projection sat quietly, observing everything with a sharp gaze.
"Makarov, don't disappoint me."
The Thought Projection belonged to none other than Precht.
With Precht's unparalleled power, one that stood at the pinnacle of wizardry in Ishgar, he could project his thought form across hundreds of kilometers, much like Jellal and Siegrain had done at the beginning of the story.
At this moment, Precht's eyes were locked onto Makarov in the stands and the pure white figure beside him.
"Could it be… Am I seeing this right?!"
"The person next to Makarov—is that Mavis?!"
"No! That's not Mavis herself but her soul—a Thought Projection like me?! Only members of the Fairy Tail guild can see her."
"But Mavis's Thought Projection leaving Tenrou Island? That's unimaginable!"
Precht's face was full of astonishment and disbelief.
Since leaving Fairy Tail and founding the dark guild Grimoire Heart, dedicating himself to protecting Mavis from the shadows, this was the first time Precht had been left speechless with shock.
"Hmm?"
In the stands, Mavis, with her sharp senses, seemed to detect something. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, revealing a hint of puzzlement.
"Mavis, is something wrong?" Makarov asked immediately, noticing her reaction.
"I feel someone watching me. Although the gaze isn't hostile..." Mavis replied truthfully.
"I thought only Fairy Tail members could see you! Could it be a guild member who's been away? Is it the second master, Precht? If someone is watching you without hostility and hasn't left Fairy Tail officially, it must be him!" Makarov speculated excitedly.
Makarov's thoughts immediately went to Precht, whom he longed for.
If Second Master returned to Fairy Tail, Makarov could focus all his efforts on stepping into the 'inhuman' realm.
"Not entirely sure." Mavis shook her head gently, her expression unclear.
---
On the other side.
Bang!
With a faint sound, a pumpkin suddenly appeared in the center of the arena.
"Pumpkin~"
Holding a microphone, the pumpkin figure spoke in a clumsy accent, loudly announcing:
"Pumpkin?!"
In the audience stands of the Domus Flau, the spectators looked puzzled.
It was clear that everyone was seeing this pumpkin for the first time.
The pumpkin casually moved to the largest stage in the arena.
Well, the Domus Flau Arena was enormous...
To speed up the matches, the arena was divided into 49 stages, arranged in a seven-by-seven grid. Each stage had an area of 500 square meters.
The magicians would compete on these stages, and stepping out of bounds, being knocked unconscious, or voluntarily surrendering would result in a loss.
At the very center of these 49 stages was the most special one. This stage hosted the competitors with the highest betting odds and was considered the audience's favorite.
Even the size of this central stage was larger than the other 48.
At the top of this stage was a massive octagonal screen, broadcasting the match in real-time to the audience.
At this moment, the pumpkin figure stood on this central, largest stage.
"I am the referee for this competition, Pumpkin!"
"And the match we're about to witness will feature a contestant you won't want to miss!"
"He is the man who has achieved 30 consecutive victories in this arena, known as the one most likely to be crowned the King of Combat—Fiore Kingdom's strongest strongman, Jack Warren!!"
"Let us welcome the man with the highest winning streak in the arena, 'Ogre' Jack Warren!!"
The pumpkin loudly announced the upcoming contender.
"Woah!!"
As the pumpkin finished, a man nearly three meters tall, resembling a polar bear standing upright, appeared on the stage, clad in Viking attire.
Upon stepping onto the stage, he roared toward the audience in the stands.
"Warren! Warren! Warren!!"
As he appeared, the stands erupted into thunderous cheers, a testament to his immense popularity.
"This cheering is overwhelming," muttered the mages of the Fairy Tail guild from their section of the stands.
"Don't get too excited. Jack Warren's opponent this time has quite a reputation! Surely, this will be an exciting match..."
"That's right! She's from Magnolia Town, representing the Fiore Kingdom's premier guild of magicians, Fairy Tail. She's the S-Class Mage known as the 'Fairy Queen,' Erza Belserion!!"
"Let's give a warm welcome to Erza, making her tournament debut!"
Following Jack's entrance, the pumpkin announced his opponent.
"Erza? Never heard of her!"
"I think I've heard of Fairy Tail..."
"A mage guild? Aren't they just a bunch of mercenaries who take on any job for money? Basically, glorified errand boys!"
"Hahaha! Exactly!"
"There's no way she can compete with Jack Warren!"
The audience seemed unimpressed with the Fairy Tail guild's reputation.
After all, the Fiore Kingdom was vast...
And Fairy Tail's primary area of activity was in the western region of the kingdom.
No matter how famous Fairy Tail was across the continent, that was only true locally or within the magical communities of Ishgar, both light and dark.
"These people are so rude," grumbled the Fairy Tail members in the stands, clearly annoyed.
"Erza Belserion is here."
Amid the audience's skepticism, a 15-year-old girl with radiant crimson hair and striking beauty stepped onto the stage. Dressed in knight's armor, her valiant presence silenced the crowd.
"..."
For a moment, the doubters were stunned into silence.
"Hahaha..."
"Is this a joke?!"
"Whose kid is this?"
"That's just a little girl, isn't it?"
"Hey! Kid! Where are your parents? How did you end up here?"
"Get off the stage! Your opponent is the infamous 'Ogre'!"
"That guy really kills people!"
A wave of mocking laughter swept through the stands.
"Hey, kid! No matter who you are..."
"Once you're on the stage, there's no way out but death."
The so-called "Ogre" sneered as he approached Erza. Initially uneasy about facing someone from the renowned Fairy Tail guild, his fears vanished when he saw his young opponent.
"May I start the match now?"
Erza stood there, seemingly uninterested in even looking at the large man before her. She glanced at the pumpkin referee instead, asking.
"Hey! Didn't you hear what I just said?"
"Fighting me could really cost you your life..."
Enraged by Erza's repeated indifference, the giant man growled down at her.
"Uh..."
"Three, two, one!"
"The match officially begins."
Slightly taken aback, the pumpkin referee quickly announced the start of the match.
"It's really starting?!"
"This is insane! That girl will definitely be killed by Jack..."
"Someone stop this match!"
As the fight commenced, the audience grew visibly anxious. Many couldn't bear to watch what they thought would be a gruesome scene.
"You've lost your chance to back out!"
"Take Over: Beast Soul—Giant Bear!!"
With a roar, the giant man activated a magic circle, transforming into a massive four-meter-tall white bear. He raised his massive fists overhead and brought them down toward Erza.
"No!!!"
"Ahhh!"
Countless spectators covered their eyes, unable to watch the presumed tragic outcome.
"Crush her, Jack!"
Of course, a few sadistic fans cheered eagerly, waiting to see Jack pulverize Erza.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
However, as those who had shut their eyes counted silently, the declaration of Jack's victory never came.
Curious, they slowly opened their eyes, only to witness an unbelievable sight: the massive Jack's barrel-sized fists were effortlessly caught by Erza's single hand.
"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"
Jack was in a panic. He felt as if his hands were caught in a hydraulic press—no matter how much force he applied, he couldn't free himself from Erza's small grip.
"Is this the so-called strongest of the arena?!"
Erza shook her head, her eyes filled with disappointment.
"I didn't have high expectations for amateurs outside the mage guilds. But I didn't think you'd be this weak. Forget comparing you to Mirajane; you're not even a tenth as strong as Elfman! Aren't you the 30-match winning champion of this arena? This level is just too disappointing."
"What did you say?!"
Jack lost his composure. Since his debut, no one had ever called him weak.
"Get off the stage."
Responding to Jack's outrage, Erza delivered a simple punch...
To Jack, it seemed as though her fist grew larger and larger until she appeared like a colossal dragon before him.
"A dragon!"
In that moment, Jack gave up resisting.
"Boom!"
Under the overwhelming power, Jack was sent flying out of the arena like a rocket, unconscious with eyes rolled back and foam at his mouth.
"The battle is over."
Erza softly declared the end of the fight.
"Uh! Jack has left the stage. The winner is Erza Belserion of the Fairy Tail guild!"
The pumpkin referee announced the match's conclusion through his microphone.
"A one-hit KO?!"
The audience was in disbelief. The undefeated champion of 30 consecutive matches had been defeated by a Fairy Tail mage with a single punch, without using any magic.
"Boom!"
Meanwhile...
Other matches were concluding as well.
Laxus, hands in his pockets and headphones on, obliterated his opponent and the stage with a single lightning strike upon stepping onto the arena.
"Too weak."
Mirajane used only partial Take Over magic to crush her opponent effortlessly.
"..."
Ultear froze her opponent and the referee into ice sculptures with a chilling gust.
"Pathetic."
Eresh unleashed a fraction of her dragon might, overwhelming her opponent and leaving them unconscious.
"Ahahaha! I'm all fired up now!"
Natsu's Fire Dragon's Roar sent his opponent flying...
And the blast didn't stop there—it continued toward the neighboring stage, targeting Gray, who had just defeated his opponent.
"Idiot! Do you want to die?!"
Enraged, Gray retaliated by launching countless ice spears at Natsu across the stage.
"Boom!"
As fire and ice collided, a cloud of mist enveloped the arena.
One-hit KOs! Every encounter involving Fairy Tail's mages ended the same way.
No matter how impressive their records, the arena fighters were utterly outclassed by Fairy Tail.
Their strength was on a completely different level.
"Are these Fairy Tail mages monsters?"
"Haha, they're unbelievable!"
"They're so strong that no one else stands a chance!"
"If you face a Fairy Tail member, you're done for!"
The audience, finally acknowledging the strength of Fairy Tail's wizards, wiped away their nervous sweat and laughed.
"Go, Fairy Tail!!"
Someone was the first to shout the guild's name...
"Fairy Tail, go!"
"They're incredible..."
"Fairy Tail is the strongest!"
From that moment, the entire arena was united in support of Fairy Tail's mages.
"Hahaha..."
"Of course!"
"No one can stop Fairy Tail from making money!"
On the stands, Makarov crossed his arms triumphantly.
"Master, tone it down..."
The other mages around him sighed in exasperation.
But just as Makarov's excitement reached its peak, another loud explosion signaled the end of another match.
"What's this?!"
Makarov narrowed his eyes as he sensed a powerful magical presence.
"Haha, too weak!"
"Hey, Fairy Tail mages! Let's see who's stronger!"
"Who's the most powerful guild in the Fiore Kingdom, or even the entire Ishgar continent?"
With one hand in his pocket, Rustyrose, stood atop his defeated rival, snatching the referee's microphone to issue his challenge.
"Jose..."
Makarov squinted at this. Messing with someone's income was akin to killing their parents. It seemed he had been far too lenient with Jose Porla. The man had grown bold enough to send mages from his guild to cause trouble for them.
"Another Wizard Saint, just like the old man? Interesting."
Lightning crackled around Laxus, and a sharp glint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes. He wouldn't mind facing off against Jose Porla, the Phantom Lord guild master ranked among the 'Ten Wizard Saints.'
Jose Porla: "It wasn't me! I have nothing to do with this! This was all the idea of your Fairy Tail guild's second master, Precht! I'm innocent, I swear!"