A/N: Episode 188.

Enjoy!

edited on january 3rd, 2025 @ 8:06pm

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𝓒𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚁𝚃𝚈-𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴,
𝓔𝚇𝚃𝚁𝙴𝙼𝙴 𝙻𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙶!

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𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗦 𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗚𝗔𝗝𝗘𝗘𝗟'𝗦 𝗕𝗢𝗗𝗬. "Two attributes?" Rogue questioned to himself as Gajeel grinned.

"Since when has Gajeel been able to do that?!" Makarov asked.

"I didn't account for this either, but I think it evens the odds!" Mavis replied.

"So he absorbed its shadow attribute..." Freed said.

Bickslow laughed. "He's like a monster now!" He exclaimed.

"Although he's always had that quality." Evergreen reminded.

The audience continued cheering. "All right! What happens next is anybody's guess! What do you think's going to happen, Yajima-san?" Chapati questioned.

"Like you said, it's become unpredictable. No one knows just how powerful a Dragon Slayer can be." Yajima answered.

"Although Rogue is a third-generation Dragon Slayer-kabo." Mato chimed in. "I think this fight is just getting started-kabo!"

Shadows came from Rogue's hand. "I see. So this is you as the Iron Shadow Dragon." He claimed as Gajeel charged forward before disappearing.

"He disappeared?!" Evergreen noticed.

"No. He became a shadow." Freed stated.

"That was impudent, using the same Magic as me!" Rogue thinks to himself as Gajeel sneaked behind him. "Too easy. Over there!"

Rogue turned around as Gajeel disappeared again before striking him with his iron club. Rogue then disappeared into a shadow.

Gajeel followed him. "Oh, my! This is..." Chapati started to say.

"Both of them became shadows!" Bickslow said.

"What's going to happen now?" Evergreen wondered.

"I can't tell which is which." Freed commented.

Both Gajeel and Rogue struck each other in their shadow forms. "W-Wow-kabo!" Mato spoke in awe.

"I can't tell what's going on this way." Yajima said.

"H-How can we do a play-by-play report on this?" Chapati questioned. "Well, anyway, this is amazing!"

"Well, can you see them, Bickslow?" Freed asked as Bickslow had his mask off, his Figure Eyes being activated.

"It's hard to see souls on the monitor. But I think the faster one is Gajeel, maybe." Bickslow replied.

"Maybe?" Evergreen quoted.

Gajeel reached an arm out to Rogue, shocking him. "What?! He dragged me out of the shadows!" He thought as Gajeel punched him, creating an explosion.

Rogue disappeared into a shadow as Gajeel did the same, grabbing him by his hair. "I don't know this Gajeel..." Rogue noted.

"Get lost!" Gajeel yelled, throwing Rogue to the ceiling. "Iron Shadow Dragon's Roar!"

Gajeel released his breath attack, making an explosion and stunning everyone. Rogue collapsed to the ground in defeat as Gajeel was breathing heavily.

"U-Um, th-that's the match! That's the match!" Chapati announced as the audience cheered. "The winner is Gajeel!"

"R-Rogue lost-kabo!" Mato spoke in shock.

"What an impressive fight." Yajima complimented.

"So with this, Fairy Tail gains 1 point, a total of 51 points!" Chapati said.

"Sabertooth still has 55 points, but Fairy Tail is slowly catching up!" Mato added.

Laughter was soon heard. "So this is the current Rogue's limit, eh?"

"Huh?"

The laughter continued as the shadow left Rogue's body.

"It disappeared?" Gajeel muttered.

"Stop!"

Gajeel looked over, seeing Frosch in front of Rogue's body as his arms were extended out. "You..." Gajeel started to say.

"Rogue will die! Don't hurt him anymore!" Frosch pleaded.

Gajeel looked at him as Frosch had tears coming out of his eyes. Gajeel then kneeled down. "The match is over. I ain't gonna touch him." He promised.

"Frosch..." Rogue mumbled weakly.

"Rogue! Rogue!" Frosch exclaimed, rushing to him.

"What are you doing here?" Rogue asked.

"Rogue!"

"Hey." Gajeel called out.

Rogue tried to move. "Huh? My whole body is..." He paused, wincing in pain. "Did I lose?"

"He don't remember?" Gajeel thinks to himself, looking to where the shadow had gone. "What was that shadow?"

"Wow! Now that was a magnificent battle worthy of Dragon Slayers!" Chapati exclaimed.

"It didn't turn out the way I thought, but it was incredible-kabo!" Mato commented.

"That's the true pleasure of the Grand Magic Games." Yajima added.

"All right! The tide's turned into our favor, Number One!" Makarov informed.

"Yes." Mavis agreed. "That evil shadow... Magic I know nothing about..."

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Mercurius . . .

Royal guards continued rushing towards Natsu's group as Natsu and Loke were busy taking them out. "Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" Natsu shouted, attacking the guards with streams of fire.

"Regulus Impact!" Loke yelled, attacking some more.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!" Wendy attacks the guards around her with her breath attack.

"Where are our reinforcements?!"

"On their way from sectors 7 and 8!"

"We've got strength in numbers!"

"Stop them!"

"Yeah!"

"For Princess Hisui!"

"Show her what you're made of!"

"Yeah!"

Lucy and her future counterpart stood back to back. "How many of them are there?!" She questioned.

"We shouldn't have come this way!" Future Lucy responded.

"It'll be okay, right? After all, we have Magic..." Carla pointed out.

Happy was still on high alert. "Carla, it's dangerous here, so get back!"

"You too!" Lily told him.

Suddenly, acid appeared below Lily. "Look out!" He yelled, grabbing onto Happy and Carla.

Knepper soon appeared. "You're not getting by me!"

"Him!" Happy exclaimed.

"From the Garou Knights!" Carla added.

"You again?!" Lily questioned.

Knepper laughed. "We still have our mission!"

Wendy soon got attacked by plants. "Hi! Do you remember my name?" Cosmos asked.

Purple paper soon surrounded Samuel and his future self. "This is..." Samuel started to say.

"Come on! At a time like this?!" Future Samuel complained.

"Would you please not belittle the kingdom's strongest executioners?" Kamika said.

"I know, Kamika." Cosmos agreed.

"That scary person isn't here." Kamika thinks to herself, referring to Mira.

Some guards were carrying Uosuke. "Heave-ho! Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"

"Guild wizards."

Natsu turned around. "Huh?"

"I have a good idea of your principles. But now my principle is going to hold sway." Kama appeared without his mask. "No criminal is allowed to exit the palace alive."

"Jeez, you guys are pesty." Natsu insulted.

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"Hurry! Hurry!"

"The Garou Knights headed that way, too!"

"That's encouraging! But we'd better hurry, too!"

Arcadios was putting on some armor as the doors opened. His armor clanged loudly, getting the guards on duty's attention.

"C-Colonel Arcadios! What are you doing here?!"

"Y-You were imprisoned for treason against the kingdom!"

"Where is the princess?" Arcadios asked, ignoring their questions.

"U-Um..."

"Where is she?" Arcadios asked once more.

"O-On the top floor!"

Arcadios continued on his way as the guards took notice of the armor he was wearing.

"Hey, that armor..."

"Yeah, that's..."

"... The White Lily Armor!"

"Battle armor!"

Arcadios recalls his talk with Hisui again, along with Future Lucy and Future Samuel's words. "There's something I have to confirm." Arcadios thinks to himself, recalling the way Future Lucy cried and Natsu comforting her.

"Those weren't the tears of a liar. The one who's lying... is the princess."

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Domus Flau . . .

"At last, it feels like we've reached the finale of the Grand Magic Games' final battle!" Chapati announced.

"Sabertooth is in the lead with 55 points. Fairy Tail is in second place with 51 points. And Lamia Scale has 49 points-kabo." Mato said.

"Gajeel-kun's victory has brought Fairy Tail a little closer to the top." Yajima commented.

"Yes, well, Sabertooth still has Sting and Minerva. It'll be difficult to take them down-kabo." Mato stated.

"Where is Sting, by the way?" Chapati asked.

"Maybe he has some kind of strategy." Yajima replied.

Erza and Minerva stared at one another. "Wrench!" Erza insulted.

"You're next, Erza. But with those injuries, I can see how this is going to end." Minerva claimed.

Minerva soon activated her Magic, grabbing Erza by the ankles and throwing her through the pillars. "Erza!" Evergreen exclaimed in worry.

"That's not like her, dammit!" Bickslow claimed.

"The damage to her leg must be worse than we thought." Freed commented.

Erza collapsed to the ground while Kagura glances at her in worry. "Oh, my! Titania, a.k.a. Erza, is in a pinch! And Minerva's attacks are unrelenting!" Chapati announced.

"How clumsy you are, fairy with flapping wings. Is it about time to end this?" Minerva questioned, activating her Magic once more. "I think I'll publicly execute you, Titania."

"Stand up! Stand up, Erza!" Makarov encouraged.

"Well, this final battle has really cranked up the excitement, but..." Chapati paused as multiple explosions went off, revealing Lyon and Gray. "Uh-oh! Over here, we have an Ice Molding Magic showdown!"

Lyon placed his fists together. "You're stubborn, Gray. I'll give you that." He claimed.

Gray puts his fists together as well. "It's not like you to try and butter me up, Lyon!" He shot back.

Lyon shot icicles towards Gray who easily dodged it. "Juvia!" He called out.

"Right! Water Nebula!" Juvia shouted.

"Ice-Make: Shotgun!" Gray yelled.

"Sky God's Dance!" Sherria intercepted before the attack could hit Lyon.

"Nice, Sherria!" Lyon praised.

"Don't just stand there, Lyon!" Sherria scolded.

"Still, for him to use Juvia's water to attack me... Underhanded bastard!" Lyon exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Sherria asked.

Lyon places his fists together again. "That foul means isn't worthy of Juvia! Stand down!" He ordered.

"Huh?"

"Lyon, come on!" Sherria said.

"Ice-Make: Water Serpent!" Lyon called out as the water serpent attacked Gray.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia yelled in concern.

"Lyon, attack Juvia, too!" Sherria said.

"I'll let you handle her... but you'd better not hurt her!" Lyon told her.

"Then I can't!"

"Has Lyon-sama always been this strong?" Juvia wondered as she blinked. "It's no wonder how Samuel-kun had gotten strong too over the years."

"But I'm not seein' any teamwork. And I can take advantage of that!" Gray claimed, activating his Magic.

"We've got a tag team battle going on here. What do you think, Yajima-san?" Chapati questioned.

"Both Gray-kun and Lyon-kun are good men." Yajima responded.

"That's not what he asked-kabo." Mato commented.

Chapati had steam coming out of his nose. "Well, of course Sherria-tan will be victorious!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah..."

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"Topography effect! Hot wind zone!" Uosuke called out as a gust of hot wind blew through Natsu.

"You're hittin' me with a heat attack? Now I'm really fired up!" Natsu claimed.

Natsu fired his breath attack at Uosuke. "Topography effect! Iceberg zone!"

The flames soon disappeared. "Pain in the ass..." Natsu mumbled.

Wendy dodged the acid coming her way. "Come on, come on! I'll melt you, too!" Knepper said as Wendy landed on the ground.

"You're a Dragon Slayer, right?" Knepper asked.

"That's right. What about it?" Wendy questioned.

Acid flew up into the air. "Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!" Wendy called out, blowing the acid away.

"I think you'll be worth melting down!" Knepper stated.

Kamika pulled out a piece of red paper. "Confetti! Red Dance!" She shouted as the paper turned into flames.

Samuel placed his fists together. "Ice-Make: Shield!" He called out, creating an ice shield in front of him as the flames burned out.

"Yellow paper is the god of lightning!" Kamika claimed as lightning appeared.

"Ice-Make: Water Serpent!" Samuel yelled as a water serpent struck Kamika, who leaped into the air to avoid the attack. She soon landed back down on the ground.

"So this is Ice Magic, huh? Now this will be worth attacking!" Kamika stated.

Loke was hitting on Cosmos. "You're Cosmos-chan, is that right? I'm not interested in fighting cute girls, so let's be friends..." He suggested before getting slammed by a plant.

"I hate flirty men! I think you desecrate beauty, so get lost!" Cosmos insulted.

"It's all of a sudden, so you're nervous and bashful, but that's cute, too!"

"Wrong!"

Yellow light appeared from Loke's fists. "Then what about this? A present from me." He claimed.

"Then these are from me. Spore Bombs!" Cosmos called out as the royal guards watched in amazement.

"Wow!"

"They're executioners!"

"All right, let's help them out!"

"You're not helpin' nothing!" Lily shouted, attacking the guards.

Kama soon flew into the air, striking at him. "Criminal cat, I heard you were a soldier once." He said. "Why did you renounce your country and enter a wizard guild?"

The two of them soon flew back. "I could explain, but you wouldn't understand." Lily responded.

"I'll take a guess. Perhaps it wasn't a country in which loyalty was important." Kama said.

"Shut your mouth, executioner! No one insults Edolas in front of me!" Lily stated.

"Come, then!"

Both Future Lucy and Future Samuel were suddenly on high alert. "Is something wrong-tai? Are you tai-tired?" Uosuke taunted.

"Whether I'm tired or not, that don't matter." Natsu lits his fists on fire. "No matter how many of you come after us, that don't matter. We're gonna break through here. That's all."

Mira was shown running through the palace and looking around.

"You can keep gettin' in our way, but don't think you'll be able to stop Fairy Tail!" Natsu exclaimed before charging forward.

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"E-Everyone! Look at this!" Chapati announced as the Lacrima Vision showed Laxus, Jura, and Orga in a three-way battle.

"Here he comes! Jura of the Ten Wizard Saints-kabo!" Mato cheered.

"Shall I join the contest, as well?" Jura spoke. "My blood hasn't burned like this for a long time."

"So you came out, monster." Laxus said.

Obaba chuckles to herself. "Here's where it gets real! The moment I decided to have Jura participate in this, Lamia Scale's victory was assured! Laxus and Orga might as well be babies!" She said.

"In other words, they're just plain unlucky!" Sherry added.

"He's too strong!" Toby exclaimed.

"Don't get mad about it." Sherry told him sheepishly.

"After you lost so easily! You wanna spin?" Obaba began spinning Toby.

"W-Wait! Wait!"

Orga, Jura, and Laxus all had a stare off with one another. "What is this intensity?" Laxus asked himself.

"It's okay! You can do it! We're here, Laxus!" Freed encouraged.

"The Raijinshuu are with you!" Bickslow added.

"Laxus is nervous?!" Evergreen exclaimed.

"Jura-san, I wanna see you when you're serious." Black lightning soon appeared in Orga's hands. "Do you have the guts to take this?"

"Oh?"

"I'm the Lightning God Slayer." Orga informed. "God Slayer Magic or the title of Ten Wizard Saints? Which is more powerful? I'm sure everyone wants to know that. Well, Ten Wizard Saint? Can you block my Magic? Or is Ten Wizard Saint just your calling card?"

Jura closed his eyes calmly. "Go ahead."

Orga smirked as Laxus watches. "He got the old man in a trap." Laxus thought.

"He took the dare!" Sherry exclaimed.

"Don't fall for it!" Toby shouted.

"Shush it! You wanna spin?" Obaba began spinning Sherry and Toby.

"We're already spinning!"

"Here I go! Lightning God's Charged Particle Cannon!" Orga shouted, firing black lightning straight at Jura.

However, Jura slammed Orga to the ground, leaving Laxus and everyone else stunned.

"Now I remember. You had a bout on that first day." Jura said as the dust cleared, revealing that Orga was knocked out. "You ended the match with just one attack."

The audience cheered. "L-Lamia Scale is now just one point away from Fairy Tail!" Chapati announced as Lamia Scale's point count went up.

"Th-There's no way..." Makarov stuttered.

"What are you saying, Master?!" Evergreen exclaimed.

"I believe in Laxus!" Freed shouted.

"Laxus can surpass even Jura!" Bickslow added.

Jura looked at Laxus. "All right, now..." He muttered as Laxus gritted his teeth.

"Give it up, Makarov. During the seven years you were gone, Jura rose to fifth place in the Ten Wizard Saints." Obaba stated.

"Although no matter what he does, it doesn't seem like he can catch up to the top four." Sherry commented.

"Don't speak of them! You wanna spin?" Obaba asked, spinning Sherry.

"I'm already spinning!"

"The Four Kings of Ishgar. They're not human. In other words, Jura is the most powerful human wizard." Obaba claimed.

"Jura Neekis... In this final battle, he's the one person I was the wariest of." Mavis commented.

"There's nothing I can tell you, Laxus. I'll watch you to the end!" Makarov said.

Jura stepped forward. "I've wanted to fight you for the longest time, being that you're Makarov-dono's..." He started to say.

"Whoa, don't go there! We're not standin' here as an old man with a fancy title or somebody's grandson." Laxus interrupted, removing his coat off of his shoulders. "We're just two men."

"I like that determination." Jura stated.

The wind blew through Jura and Laxus as they stared at one another. Lightning surrounded Laxus's body as he charged forward. However, Jura slammed Laxus down on the ground with his palm.

"Oh, my!" Chapati exclaimed. Obaba smirked while Makarov widened his eyes. "H-He finished this one with one strike, too!"

"Words fail me..." Yajima muttered.

"Wow-pepo." Mato added.

"His character profile is mistaken."

"In this world, there's always somebody higher than you." Jura claimed.

"I know that all too well." Laxus stated as he stood up, yellow lightning surrounding him. "But sometimes, you need to look down, too. 'Cause the other guy might be at your feet!"

Laxus then struck Jura's jaw.

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A/N: Yes, Samuel used the same spell Lyon did. Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 2794 words.