3 Chapter 03

"Is this getting any good?" asked Medici with his hand on his chin as he boredly looked at the other matches of the day. The first one was, in the common opinion in the lodge, trash.

The two mages participating in the next match were, after all, even weaker than Lucy. For the Angels, it was akin to a miracle to be weaker than her. The only thing that this girl had was this strange magic, Uranos Metria. Perhaps it could harm a demi-god from a non-fighting pathway, but against, for example, Beyonders of a combatant pathway like Medici, or a demi-god that was not present for now in the lodge, this spell proved to be just a damp squib.

And, of course, the long incantation of the spell. Any Beyonder should have the time to pray to a mysterious existence at least three times before the spell could be finished. It only worked because Bethel let her do her thing.

After the little fight of the two weaklings, Medici stood up from his perch to go out, but Adam suddenly closed his book.

"You should not go out now, my friend," his gentle voice resounded inside the lodge. "The next fight could be worthy of your attention."

Medici looked at Adam with a smile etching on his face. "Well, if you say so!" he exclaimed as he went back to the balcony to watch the coming match. Mato started to speak the names of the two new participants.

"For the match that will close the first day of this tournament, we have two incredible participants!" started Toma as the two faces of the participants appeared on the Lacrima around the stadium.

"Mystogan from Fairy Tail team B versus The Saint Wizard ranked fifth in the rankings of this order, Jura Neekis from Lamia Scale!" The cheers of the public at the announcement were deafening, to say the least.

Medici smiled at hearing this. "Hey, Bethel! How do you feel about the fact that nobody cheered for you during your match?"

Bethel continued to look at a book about Lightning Magic from Earthland. As he heard Medici, he frowned for a bit before reading the book again.

Medici snorted at his reaction, but suddenly, Amon materialized at his right, sitting on the balcony directly.

"Well, it seems that Blueberry is going to fight," he said as he readjusted his monocle.

"Blueberry?" asked Medici with a strange face.

"Yeah, the leader of the group that was tailing us," he replied as he munched on an apple. Strange thing to do for a Mythical Creature, but well, how could he judge Amon by common "Is he strong?" asked Medici to the Angel of Time.

"Do you want a reply from our point of view or from another weakling's perspective?" replied Amon with a knowing smile.

Medici looked at him as he crossed his arms, overseeing the arena. "Just give an opinion from the point of view of an Angel."

"Well then, he is a weakling," stated Amon as he looked down to follow Medici's gaze, which was fixed on Mystogan, the staff-wielding mage, with a bored expression as he heard Amon's reply.

"And here I was hoping to see a good match. I'm just staying because you said it will be good, Adam!" exclaimed Medici as he turned his attention back to the Fairy Tail lodge with a smile.

"Did their redhead just lock eyes with me?" he asked Amon, who just shrugged with a smile. "Perhaps she has a crush on Blueberry, seeing the despair when I take the Fate of someone they love just before their eyes." Amon's eyes seemed to contain endless glee as he said his little tirade, but nobody listened to him; everyone was fixated on the start of the fight, even Ouroboros, as he removed his sleeping mask to look at Mystogan starting to use his magic.

The entire arena seemed to shift as Jura used his magic to create dozens of pillars made of the ground to attack Mystogan. As he dodged every pillar, five staves found themselves around Jura.

"Five Layered Magic Circle: Sacred Song," he incanted. A column of pure magic erupted from the ground to form five magic circles of different colors above Jura.

"Hey, he and this bald guy are not that shabby," said Medici as he looked at the fight. "But it shows that this Mystogan is not using his best magic; he has a slight delay between each movement. These things are only seen in people that don't have a lot of knowledge about a certain fighting style. I guess that happens with magic too."

"This young man holds the power of stars inside of him," came the voice of Bethel as he appeared suddenly at the right of Medici, gazing at Mystogan with his blue eyes.

Suddenly emerging from the dust created by Mystogan's attack, an enormous fist made of rock was sent toward Mystogan at great speed.

"Three Layered Magic Circle: Mirror Moon," Mystogan incanted. As the fist impacted the magic circle, it was sent back toward Jura.

"Ha!" cried Jura as he redirected the giant rock fist toward Mystogan. "Urgh!" groaned Mystogan as the massive rock structure sent him crashing onto the arena floor.

"Well, this is quite the fight compared to the others," noted Medici, his eyes fully engaged in the intense battle. "Meteor!" Mystogan exclaimed, his speed transforming him into a beam of light that streaked across the battlefield. Amon arched an eyebrow. "It seems to be an ability related to the stars," he commented, earning a nod of approval from Bethel.

Mystogan continued his rapid movements, but Jura summoned a brick wall and used the bricks to repel Mystogan from the sky. "Grand Chariot!" Mystogan declared, casting seven magic circles in the sky that showered beams of magical light onto the arena. "Rock Mountain!" exclaimed Jura, clapping his hands and summoning a colossal rock structure to shield him from the incoming projectiles.

After the dust settled, Jura emerged unharmed, smiling confidently. Mystogan assumed a peculiar pose, pointing his fingers toward the ground before slowly drawing his right hand toward the sky. Instantly, the sky darkened, and the wind intensified. "A meteor," Bethel observed, looking toward the darkened sky. "A potent attack against someone lacking a movement technique." "Quite weak, in my opinion," said Medici dismissively, tearing his eyes from the battlefield. The defeat of Jura seemed to have dampened his interest.

"AHAHAHAHA!" echoed a laugh from Mystogan as he rolled on the ground. Suddenly, his body convulsed, and he lost consciousness. "What?" frowned Medici, scanning the surroundings for any signs of an attack on the Fairy Tail mage. Finding nothing, he scratched his face with his gloved hand and shot a questioning look at Bethel. "It seems someone used a form of sharing magic, allowing the user to share their state with a target. That's how the condition affected the poor Fairy Tail mage," explained Bethel, glancing somewhere before teleporting.

On one of the statues in Crocus, Ultear and an unconscious Meredy were visible. Ultear, carrying Meredy on her shoulders, prepared to leave when a door materialized beneath them, transporting them away.

"I declare Jura Neekis vict-" Mato was in the middle of his congratulatory speech when a door appeared, and from it emerged Ultear and Meredy. As soon as they appeared, Jura assumed a fighting position. "Ultear and Meredy from Crime Sorciere," he declared, and Bethel materialized behind them. Jura frowned upon seeing Bethel, knowing from the fight that Mystogan was actually Jellal, the guild leader from Crime Sorciere. As a friend of Fairy Tail, Jura chose not to reveal their identities, even though the three of them were among the most wanted members of the independent guild. He felt indebted to Fairy Tail and did not want to disrupt the plan they had devised.

Bethel continued to gaze at Ultear with piercing eyes. Jellal, still disguised as Mystogan, and Meredy woke up as if their injuries were inconsequential, as if someone had erased their wounds from reality.

"Freeze," said Bethel, transforming the entire arena into a glacier. The spell was much stronger than during his fight with Lucy, clearly indicating that he had been holding back significantly.

Mystogan and Ultear managed to dodge the attack, but Meredy found herself trapped inside a pillar of ice. In an instant, a pillar of rock hit the icy prison, breaking it and freeing the girl.

"You are not allowed to take preemptive action against criminals wanted by the Magic Council," Jura admonished Bethel. Bethel, looking at him, moved his hand but before any power could come out of Bethel another presence appeared in front of him, holding his hand. The guild mark of the Twilight Hermit Order could be seen on the glove of the newcomer.

The man that appeared wore a black robe and a classic hat. While he looked unremarkable, Bethel, upon seeing him, formed a smile and uttered a single word, accompanied by the sound of a book closing from the Twilight Hermit Order's lodge. 

"Merlin."

"What were you trying to do, Bethel?" asked the man, locking eyes with the ancestor of the Abraham family. Bethel locked eyes with Merlin as a hand came and placed itself on top of both Merlin's and Bethel's. Looking at their reflections in the monocle of the newcomer, Bethel and Merlin found themselves face to face.

"Well, if it isn't my 'best' friend Merlin!" Amon, the newcomer, declared cheerfully, a beaming smile adorning his features.

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Well, I wanted to make the chapter with the following part but I am too sleepy so I'll let you on a cliffhanger

I couldn't skip the Jellal's fight as it was necessary for the plot I hope that I didn't bore you

See you soon :)