Chapter 689 - 689: The Tournament

After hearing Selene and Irene's theory, Mira could not help sighing.

"Helios, the Sun Dragon God... Another terrifying existence we know almost nothing about."

Raizel looked between Selene and Irene.

"Do you have any countermeasures?"

Selene shook her head without hesitation.

"No. For now, our plan is simply to deal with whatever comes. Fairy Tail is on our side, along with Irene, Mercphobia, and me. No matter how I look at it, I can't imagine us losing."

And if that still somehow was not enough, they could always add Zeref and August to the equation.

Erza hesitated.

"But... what if they really do turn Guiltina into a purgatory?"

Her concern was entirely reasonable.

Even if Raizel and the others could ultimately defeat Ignia and Helios, that victory would mean very little if the continent had already been reduced to ashes by then.

Selene and Irene had considered that possibility too.

After all, they also had Misaki, Kiria, Enny, and Luso at the castle to help brainstorm.

"That's where Mercphobia and the rest of you come in," Selene explained. "We've already contacted him."

"If Guiltina really is engulfed in flames, Mercphobia will take the lead in extinguishing them. Once he returns to his true form, he can turn an entire city into an ocean in moments."

As for transporting people across the continent, Irene, August, Raizel, Ultear, and Selene were all capable of moving groups over vast distances at high speed.

If Guiltina truly became a sea of fire, they could simply take along Mages specializing in extinguishing flames—Water, Earth, or Air Magic users.

It would be impossible to prevent every loss, but at least they could limit the devastation.

Of course, the simplest and most effective solution would still be to find Ignia and stop his plan before it ever reached that point.

Unfortunately, they were stuck on the very first step.

No one could find Ignia.

Selene offered one final reassurance.

"For now, the idea that Ignia intends to join forces with Helios and turn Guiltina into a sea of fire is still only a theory. I'll keep a much closer eye on developments across the continent."

At present, it was simply the most plausible explanation Selene had managed to come up with for Ignia's mysterious plan.

Raizel nodded.

"Then I'll contact Elefseria later and ask him to keep watch as well."

Elefseria had lost his heart and with it most of his former power.

Ignia probably had little interest in targeting him now; if he had wanted the Law Dragon dead, he could have killed him long ago.

Raizel mainly wanted Elefseria to monitor unusual developments across Guiltina and contact him immediately if anything happened.

Then another thought occurred to him.

He looked toward Selene.

"Is this what you and Mavis wanted to announce this afternoon?"

Selene immediately put on a mysterious expression and raised one finger, wagging it from side to side.

"No. That's something else."

She smiled.

"You'll hear about it this afternoon."

Afterward, Selene and Irene returned to the castle, while Ultear and the others headed toward Fairy Tail.

Raizel, meanwhile, stayed behind.

He still had dishes to wash.

They had spent so long discussing Ignia that breakfast cleanup had been completely forgotten.

...

Once they reached the guild, Ultear and Mira gathered the stronger members into a meeting room and explained Selene and Irene's theory to Makarov, Ur, and the others.

At this point, there was little reason to care about the confidentiality agreement surrounding the Hundred Years Quest.

Most of its secrets had already leaked so thoroughly that barely anything remained secret anyway.

Better to explain everything now than have to waste time doing it during an actual emergency.

After listening to Mira and Ultear, Ur nodded.

"If we need Water Magic, I can help. I've been studying it for the past few years."

Several years earlier, Ur's Ice-Make Magic had reached a bottleneck, so she had begun studying other forms of Magic related to ice and water in an attempt to broaden her understanding.

The guild members started pooling ideas and recording suitable candidates.

Juvia, as a Water Element, was an obvious choice.

Ultear's magical crystal spheres contained Sea King Dragon power.

There was Aquarius, the Water Bearer Celestial Spirit.

Cana possessed water-element cards.

Levy and Fried could also produce useful effects through their respective forms of Letter Magic.

For sand and earth, there was Desert King Ajeel, along with Macao, who had been learning Sand Magic from him.

Jura and Richard could also contribute in their own ways.

If Ajeel unleashed Sand World, he would be exceptionally effective at smothering massive fires.

For air and spatial support, there was Minerva of Sabertooth, along with Eve Tearm and Ren Akatsuki of Blue Pegasus.

Many other names Raizel did not personally recognize were added to the list from various records and recommendations.

For guilds with whom Fairy Tail had close relations, such as Blue Pegasus and Sabertooth, Makarov and Ur would contact them directly.

And beyond them, there was still Guiltina's Magic Council, MNP, along with the continent's native Mages and alchemists.

As long as everyone could react immediately, even a continent-wide disaster should be possible to contain before the losses became catastrophic.

...

That afternoon, every Fairy Tail member currently in Magnolia gathered in the guild hall.

August, Dimaria, and Brandish were there as well.

Raizel had tried asking Mavis beforehand exactly what she intended to announce.

She had chased him away.

That alone made him suspect this "major announcement" probably was not quite as grave as she had made it sound.

Lucy leaned toward Cana and Levy, lowering her voice.

"What do you think this important announcement is? Even August-sama came."

Cana took a long drink before answering casually.

"August-sama being wherever the First is isn't exactly unusual, is it?"

Levy glanced at the clock.

"It's almost time anyway. We might as well stop guessing."

A flash of crimson light appeared.

Irene and Selene arrived with Enny, Luso, Misaki, and Kiria.

At almost the exact same moment, the clock reached two in the afternoon.

Selene and Mavis stepped onto the stage together and turned to face the guild, calmly accepting everyone's curious stares.

Mavis smiled brightly and waved.

"Hi, everyone! Good afternoon! It's Mavis!"

That greeting alone immediately established that whatever this supposedly major announcement was, the mood was going to be considerably more cheerful than expected.

Selene continued.

"We gathered everyone here today because there's something we'd like to announce."

She and Mavis exchanged a glance.

Then they spoke in perfect unison.

"We're holding the World Mage Championship!"

"Mage?!" Gray repeated.

"World?!" Gajeel shouted.

"CHAMPIONSHIP?!" Natsu roared louder than both of them.

Raizel helplessly shook his head.

'Of course these two would come up with something like this. Anything for a bigger spectacle.'

Natsu immediately looked left and right between Lucy and Gray.

"What's a championship?"

Lucy gave him the simplest explanation possible.

"It's basically a tournament, except there's a minimum skill level. Not just anyone can enter."

Explaining the full structure of a championship to Natsu would have been needlessly complicated, so she wisely reduced it to something he could understand.

"Ohhh!"

The moment he heard the word tournament, everything clicked.

Natsu's eyes lit up.

"NOW I'M FIRED UP!!!"

Selene's voice took on an almost seductive enthusiasm as she continued.

"Mages from Guiltina, Ishgar, and Alakitasia will gather and compete against one another!"

"Those who reach the Top Sixteen, Top Eight, Top Four, and runner-up position will each receive prestigious titles!"

Her smile widened.

"And above all else, they'll compete for the greatest honor of all—"

"The title of the strongest Mage in the world!"