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*****
The final day of the Grand Magic Games had arrived.
When George entered the venue with Laki and the other three, he noticed something different. In addition to the usual cheers, many members of the audience were now waving small flags. Each flag bore the emblem of the guild the spectator supported.
A quick glance around revealed that nearly 80% of the flags bore the emblem of Fairy Tail.
"Master, looks like everyone really likes us!"
Hearing the audience loudly chanting their guild's name and waving those flags, Laki and the others couldn't help but get a little emotional.
They remembered all too well how, on their very first appearance, no one had even recognized their guild. Back then, hardly anyone cheered for them.
And now? The majority of the crowd were their supporters.
It was all thanks to their guild master. If it weren't for him, with the original main force of Fairy Tail missing and only the four of them remaining, who knew what state the guild would be in?
"People like strength. These cheers are just superficial. What matters most is improving yourselves on the inside."
George wasn't particularly moved, let alone touched by the crowd's response.
He was always rational. The reason the audience cheered for him now was simply because he and his team were strong. If they weren't, no one would even glance their way.
That was reality.
So, it was crucial not to get caught up in applause or admiration. The only thing that truly mattered was staying focused and continuing to strengthen oneself.
That was the principle George constantly reminded himself of.
In the vast multiverse, with his current power, wealth, status, women—those things were all within easy reach. Glory and praise came endlessly.
But they were all built on one foundation: strength.
Without strength, nothing else mattered.
"Welcome, everyone, to the final match of the Grand Magic Games! Now, let's have our very own Mr. Pumpkin explain the rules of today's battle!"
After the host's opening, the floating projection of the mascot, Mr. Pumpkin, reappeared above the arena.
"For the third and final match—a Battle Royale—the rules are simple.
We will randomly teleport all thirty teams into a town that has been temporarily constructed at the center of the arena. Once the match begins, it will be a free-for-all between all participating teams.
Each guild will earn one point for every opposing mage they defeat. Defeated mages will have their points reset to zero and be removed from the match. The time limit is four hours.
At the end of four hours, the team with the highest combined score across all three matches will be crowned the Strongest Mage Guild in the Kingdom, receiving a trophy and a prize of 30 million jewels!"
After Mr. Pumpkin explained the rules, the crowd of mages began buzzing with conversation.
This final brawl was clearly designed to test each guild's overall strength. With thirty teams and a total of 150 mages thrown into a small town to battle it out, the stronger teams were naturally more likely to rack up points.
But raw power wasn't everything—strategy would be just as important.
"Should we take the offensive or play defensively?"
Laki turned to George for guidance.
In this kind of all-out brawl, there were typically two viable strategies: active engagement or passive waiting.
The aggressive strategy involved actively seeking out opponents early to quickly gain points. However, this would drain a lot of stamina and magic power, leaving one vulnerable to being picked off later.
The passive strategy was to remain hidden at the start, wait until other mages were exhausted or eliminated, and then strike to steal their hard-earned points.
The former offered early momentum and control, but at high cost. The latter was less taxing but came with the risk of missing out on points if opponents hid well or ran out the clock.
"You four stay on defense. I'll go on the offensive. I'll probably attract a lot of attention—just converge toward me once you pick up on the disturbance,"
George instructed after some thought.
His plan was simple: steamroll everyone. As long as he could take down more than half the competing mages, victory was guaranteed.
While the contestants were still strategizing intensely, a massive magic circle lit up at the center of the arena. Then, a temporary town was summoned and materialized in the middle of the battlefield.
For most of the participating teams, claiming the title of the strongest guild was already out of reach.
Still, every guild was determined to fight for as many points as possible.
After all, even if they couldn't claim the number one spot, the leaderboard would still rank every guild based on their total points. The higher the points, the higher the ranking—every guild wanted to climb as far up that list as they could.
Once the Grand Magic Games ended, the entire kingdom would likely judge a guild's status based on this ranking. That included clients looking to post jobs to guilds.
So whether it was for honor or for their guild's future missions, no one was going to throw the final match.
Many mages from smaller guilds had already made up their minds: once they entered the town, they would avoid the powerful guilds, pick off weaker opponents, earn a few points, and then hide until the match ended.
Bang!
With the loud clang of a gong, the third match officially began.
All thirty teams, a total of one hundred fifty mages, were blindfolded and led into the temporary town, one by one, placed inside designated buildings.
The Grand Magic Games arena had been carved out of a mountain, making the area massive in scale.
Add in the many structures in the town that blocked line of sight, and it became clear—even with 150 participants, it wouldn't be easy to find each other.
To get an idea of its size: the spectator stands alone could hold almost the entire population of Crocus, the capital city, along with many travelers from neighboring towns and even other countries.
In fact, a direct comparison would reveal that this entire arena wasn't much smaller than a medium-sized city.
"Let the match begin!"
The host's voice rang out through the arena as the mages inside the town all simultaneously removed the enchanted blindfolds covering their eyes.
"…Why does this feel like one of those game shows from my previous life?"
George muttered to himself, tossing the blindfold aside.
He glanced around. He was currently in the master bedroom on the second floor of a residential building within the temporary town.
Stretching his limbs, he walked out onto the balcony. With a flap of his wings, he took to the sky, expanding his spiritual perception to its limit.
Almost immediately, he sensed someone creeping out cautiously from the nearby buildings.
"There's one!"
At the same time, the other mage noticed George—and his face immediately went pale.
Without hesitation, he wrapped himself in a wind spell and bolted in the opposite direction at top speed.
"Sleep."
With a blur, George flashed behind him, casting a stunning spell to knock him unconscious.
"Steel Fang Guild's Asiba has been eliminated by Fairy Tail's George!"
The announcement rang out across the arena.
Just as George was about to search for his next target, four more announcements boomed across the sky at the same time, making his brow furrow tightly.
"…Are they targeting me already?"
(End of Chapter)