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29.29% Fairy Tail: Metal and Threads / Chapter 202: Miss Fairy Tail and Laxus' Announcement

Chapter 202: Miss Fairy Tail and Laxus' Announcement

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

 

October 15, x784.

 

A few minutes after all the ballots were collected, the pageant staff managed to tally all the votes. Luckily, this was just an internal Fairy Tail competition. Otherwise, counting the votes would have taken much longer.

 

Still, as soon as the votes were counted, they wrote the name of the girl with the most votes onto one of the cards Warren had been reading from for the pageant, placed in an envelope, and handed it to him.

 

As soon as Warren had the card with the winner's name on it in hand, he picked up his microphone and made his way on to the stage.

 

"Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come." Warren said as he walked across the stage, stopping in its center. "All the participants have shown us just how beautiful they are, the votes have been cast and counted, and now it's time to announce the first ever Miss Fairy Tail."

 

With Warren's announcement, the crowd burst into a round of applause.

 

"But before we get into that, everyone, help me welcome all the contestants back onto the stage." Warren continued.

 

With that, the applause intensified as the fourteen contestants entered the stage. As they did, they all lined up behind Warren. Then, they each struck a pose that they thought was the most charming. Meanwhile, Warren discreetly made his way to the side of the stage so that he did not stand out.

 

"Sun~~~~~!" Gozaburo shouted from among the cheering crowd. "Daddy voted for you~~~~~!"

 

With Gozaburo's shout, Elfman decided he could not be outdone.

 

"Lisanna~~~~!" Elfman shouted. "Big brother voted for you~~~~~! Now, win this thing like a real man~~~~~!"

 

With those two loud shouts, Lisanna and Sun's faces reddened in embarrassment. Meanwhile, the other participants, except for Evergreen, smiled at them with amusement. Evergreen, on the other hand, looked at them disdainfully, thinking that there was no way she would lose even if she lost those two votes.

 

"Now that all the participants are here." Warren said, seeing the signs that Lisanna and Sun were moments away from attacking their overenthusiastic family members. "In my hands, I hold the name of the winner. So, the question I have for everyone is… Are you ready?"

 

"Yeah~~~~~~~~~!" The crowd shouted excitedly.

 

"Then…" Warren said, holding the envelope up and starting to open it slowly.

 

At the same time, the lights in the guild hall turned off. Then, spotlights fell on the stage. Now, the only thing visible in the entire guild hall were the fourteen contestants, Sun, Cana, Lisanna, Juvia, Ultear, Marin, Lucy, Laki, Erza, Evergreen, Bisca, Ren, Ur, and Elicia.

 

"The winner and first Miss Fairy Tail is…" Warren continued, doing his best to build suspense.

 

At that moment, all the spotlights turned off, leaving the guild hall in total darkness for a moment.

 

"Ultear Milkovich!" Warren shouted loudly.

 

As Warren's shout sounded, A spotlight fell on the shocked Ultear.

 

"What?" Evergreen's voice sounded from the darkness. "This is impossible! How could I lose?"

 

"Show some class." Ur's voice was the next to sound in the darkness.

 

*Bang!*

 

"Yes, Ma'am." Evergreen could be heard replying in a tearful tone. Then, she lowered her voice to a whisper. "Violent old hag."

 

Unfortunately, everyone in the guild hall at the moment was a bonified superhuman thanks to the magic power coursing through their bodies. So, most of them heard Evergreen's whisper. Naturally, that included Ur.

 

"What did you say?" Ur asked angrily.

 

"Kya~~~~~! I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" Evergreen screamed in terror.

 

A moment later, the sound of high heels walking towards the backstage could be heard accompanied by the sound of something… or someone struggling as it was dragged along.

 

Meanwhile, everyone else in the guild hall prayed for Evergreen's well-being as Warren wiped cold sweat from his forehead before he continued.

 

"Anyway, Ultear, as the winner of the Miss Fairy Tail pageant, please step forward." Warren said, breaking the awkward atmosphere.

 

As instructed, Ultear stepped forward. Though, she was still amazed that she somehow managed to win, her facial expression had returned to normal.

 

As soon as Ultear separated from the rest of the contestants, who were all clapping for her victory, Three members of the pageant staff approached her. The first carried a silver tiara while the other two carried a large sash with the words "Miss Fairy Tail, x784" stitched onto it.

 

First, the sash was draped over Ultear's right shoulder, hanging diagonally, with the other side resting on her left hip. Then, the tiara was placed atop her head.

 

With that, Ultear had officially been crowned the first ever Miss Fairy Tail and the crowd went wild.

 

"Congratulations, Ultear." Warren said, making his way to the center of the stage where Ultear stood. "As the winner of the Miss Fairy Tail Pageant, would you like to say a few words to the audience?"

 

After asking the question, Warren extended the microphone to Ultear, who took it with an unsure expression on her face.

 

"Um… I really don't know what to say. Ultear said after a few false starts. "I went into this pageant not really expecting to win. I mean, there are so many pretty girls in our guild. Still, I won, somehow. So, I wanna thank everyone who voted for me. I have to thank Elicia, too. Without her, I would not have looked so great today. Lastly, I wanna thank my mother, Ur. Without her great genes, I wouldn't have been pretty enough to win, either."

 

"Damn right!" Ur's voice sounded from backstage. "And don't you forget it!"

 

That exchange received a chuckle from almost everyone in the hall.

 

"Anyway, thank you all once again." Ultear continued after the chuckles died down. "I'm honored to be the guild's first Miss Fairy Tail."

 

Then, Ultear bowed her head slightly in gratitude before handing the microphone back to Warren.

 

"And that brings the program to an end." Warren said once the microphone was back in his hand. "Now, everyone should look forward to tonight's Fantasia Parade. Until then, the rest of the day---"

 

Before Warren could finish, a bolt of yellow lightning appeared on the stage next to him. A moment later, the bolt of lightning revealed itself to be Laxus.

 

'So he really did end up interrupting the pageant… well, sort of.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'But still, I wonder what he's up to? This doesn't seem nearly as hostile as I was expecting it to be.'

 

Upon Laxus appearing on stage, everyone tensed. However, Laxus took no action other than holding his right hand, palm up, towards Warren.

 

Warren, understanding that Laxus had something to say, handed him the microphone with skepticism in his gaze.

 

Mic in hand, Laxus did not start speaking immediately. Instead, he gazed over the crowd. Eventually making eye contact with Alfonzo before continuing to Makarov.

 

However, his gaze did not linger on Makarov for long, either. Instead, he made sure to look at everyone in the audience before turning around and doing the same to the girls on stage. Even Ur and Evergreen, who came out as soon as Warren had been interrupted.

 

"For as long as I can remember, the only thing I've ever wanted was to make the guild strong. The strongest." Laxus began as he turned towards the audience once again. "And to do so, I thought that removing all the elements I deemed weak was the way to do it."

 

Surprisingly, no one spoke up to interrupt. Instead, they all stared at Laxus with solemn expressions.

 

"Eventually, I was made to see how wrong I was about that, thanks to a new kid who didn't seem to care what I thought." Laxus continued, glancing at Alfonzo. "Even if it took years for him to knock some sense into me."

 

A few of the guild members who have been with the guild long enough to remember the first time Alfonzo and Laxus fought could not help but chuckle at the memory. Still, no one interrupted Laxus impromptu speech.

 

"I still want the guild to be strong." Laxus said, letting his gaze pass over everyone in the audience. "So, after hearing about this pageant, and having a talk with the kid from back then, I came up with an idea to test the strength of our members and motivate them to continue improving."

 

That last statement caused those in the guild hall to focus even more.

 

"Just outside the town, Fried and I set up a battleground for a tournament." Laxus said. "This tournament will be a team tournament. For teams of four, specifically."

 

"You chose that number because of your own team, didn't you?" Alfonzo asked, the first to interrupt since Laxus started speaking.

 

"And so what if I did?" Laxus barked back with a slight frown. "I'm the organizer of this tournament, so what's wrong with getting a little advantage for myself?"

 

"Or maybe you made it four on four because you knew you had no chance of winning a one on one tournament with me here." Alfonzo said with a grin.

 

"What did you say?" Laxus growled. "Are you asking for a fight?"

 

"Huh? I thought that's what you were doing." Alfonzo replied with mock confusion in his tone. "I mean, that's why you organized this little tournament, right?"

 

With that, the veins on Laxus neck and forehead bulged. Still, he managed to calm himself down a few moments later.

 

"I'll deal with you later, during the tournament, Alfonzo." Laxus said threateningly. Then, he turned his attention back to the entire crowd. "Anyway, the reason the tournament is four on four is simple. Although individual strength is important, so is team work and strategy."

 

Originally, some of the people in the crowd giggled at the exchange between Alfonzo and Laxus. However, as soon as Laxus got back on topic, the serious atmosphere in the guild hall returned.

 

"And those things, along with individual strength will be tested during the tournament." Laxus continued. "In each round, the matches will consist of two one on one fights and a two on two fight. With the winner of the round being the one to grasp two victories first."

 

To that, the atmosphere in the guild hall started to change. It was heating up. As members of Fairy Tail, everyone.. Well, almost everyone had grown to enjoy fighting in some capacity. And a tournament like this one, where they could use all their skills, was something they looked forward to.

 

Though fights between guild mates happened several times a day on a daily basis in the guild hall, those brawls restricted the use of magic. Otherwise, Makarov would interfere and no one wanted that. But now, even though it was not a free for all, they could all use their magic without the fear of destroying the guild hall.

 

"And to make sure that things don't go too far," Laxus continued as the atmosphere got more lively, "I ask that Gramps be the referee for the tournament."

 

Meanwhile, Makarov, who was completely surprised by his grandson's change in attitude was stunned into silence. Then, when Laxus asked him to be the referee for the tournament, instead of answering immediately, he looked towards Alfonzo.

 

"How did you…?" Makarov asked, not sure how to form his question.

 

"Like Momma used to say, 'nothing gets someone to act right better than a good ol' fashioned ass kicking'." Alfonzo said with a proud smile on his face. "In Laxus case, though. It took a few more than expected. But I guess if it doesn't work the first time, you just have to keep hitting them until they get their shit together."

 

Hearing that, Laxus eyebrow started to twitch uncontrollably. Still, he managed to keep it together and not lash out.

 

"Well, Gramps, will you be the ref?" Laxus asked, doing his very best to keep his anger from bursting out.

 

"Uh.. Yeah… Sure…" Makarov stuttered out, still overwhelmed by his grandson's change. But as an experienced wizard, he managed to get himself together eventually. "I'd be happy to oversee such a constructive event for the guild."

 

"If you can call a fight between guild mates constructive." Alfonzo murmured, which was ignored by everyone in the vicinity.

 

"Good." Laxus said while nodding in satisfaction. "Then, allow me to announce the tournament, The Battle of Fairy Tail. The tournament will begin in one hour. Until then, choose your teammates wisely and make all the necessary preparations. Fried will let everyone know where to gather."

 

With that, Laxus turned into a bolt of lightning before flashing away. A moment later, the microphone fell to the stage.

 

*Bam!* *Screech!*

 

The amplified sound of the microphone striking the stage and the feedback that followed finally ignited he atmosphere in the hall.

 

"Aww Yeah! I'm all fired up!" Natsu shouted as he was engulfed in flames while standing up from his seat.

 

"This is perfect." Gajeel, who had been laying across several seats in the back row sat up. "I'll finally be able to get some payback on those four. But first, I gotta find a team to join."

 

Just like that, the wizards of Fairy Tail began to bustle about, forming teams and getting the information from Fried.

 

Meanwhile, Elicia, still in her bikini, approached Alfonzo with a smile before clinging onto his left arm.

 

"So, who are we gonna add to our team?" Elicia asked.

 

"That's a good question." Alfonzo replied with a battle hungry smile. "But no matter who we decide on, this is gonna be fun."


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
SixthSense1029 SixthSense1029

You can read 5 chapters ahead on my Patr3on at:

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Comments, Reviews, and Power Stones are always appreciated.

next chapter

Chapter 203: Battle of Fairy Tail; Part 1

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

 

October 15, x784.

 

After Laxus announced the Battle of Fairy Tail tournament, the clock was just about to hit one in the afternoon. Meaning, the guild had around seven hours to complete all the preparations as well as the tournament itself, before they would have to put on the Fantasia Parade.

 

So, all the members of the guild moved quickly to form their teams and rush to the eastern outskirts of Magnolia to get the tournament started as quickly as possible.

 

By 1:30 pm, all the teams who would be participating, as well as all the members of the guild who would spectate gathered around a large stone stage that had been created with a liberal use of Fried's enchantments.

 

On top of that, upon arrival, the members of Fairy Tail noticed that quite a few citizens of Magnolia had also shown  up to the impromptu event. Apparently, with the guild moving around the town in full force, a lot of people were attracted.

 

So, upon seeing all the people, Makarov requested Laki to use her magic to create raised seats for all the spectators to watch the battles from. In return, Laki's team would be fighting in the last match of the first round of the tournament.

 

Agreeing to Makarov's request, Laki created two sets of stands, on opposite sides of the ring, for the spectators, using a spell whose name no one understood.

 

After that, Makarov explained the purpose of all the members of Fairy Tail gathering and the rules of the tournament, which included Makarov being able to stop the fight when he deemed one side unable to continue and a fighter losing if they were knocked down for a ten count or coming in contact with a surface outside of the ring.

 

Although not mentioned, the killing or maiming of an opponent was strictly forbidden, as well.

 

After hearing Makarov's explanation, the townsfolk were quite excited to witness such a tournament.

 

Meanwhile, the captains of the eight teams that were quickly thrown together for this tournament drew lots to determine the tournament bracket.

 

After the lots were drawn, the first round of the tournament looked like this:

 

Match 1:

Team Alzack  Vs.  Team Natsu

Alzack Connell  Natsu Dragneel

Bisca Mulan  Gray Fullbuster

Max Alors  Erza Scarlet

Mystogan  Lucy Heartfilia

 

Match 2:

Team Shadow Gear  Vs  Team Steel Threads

Levy McGarden  Alfonzo Marcus

Jet  Elicia Taylor

Droy  Marin Kitagawa

Gajeel Redfox  Sun Seto

 

Match 3:

Thunder God Tribe  Vs.  Team Seto

Laxus Dreyar  Gozaburo Seto

Bickslow  Masa

Fried Justine  Macao Conbolt

Evergreen  Wakaba Mine

 

Match 4:

Team Strauss  Vs.  Team Ultear

Mirajane Strauss  Ultear Milkovich

Elfman Strauss  Meredy

Lisanna Strauss  Laki Olietta

Juvia Lockser  Cana Alberona

 

This information, along with a tournament bracket, appeared on a board made of ice that appeared on one side of the ring. Naturally, Ur was responsible for its creation and updating as the tournament went on.

 

"Now that everyone is up to speed on the rules…" Makarov said, amplifying his voice with his magic power from the side of the ring opposite the tournament bracket. ".. let the first match of the first round… Begin!"

 

With that, the wizards of Team Alzack and Team Natsu took their positions on opposite sides of the ring. Meanwhile, the rest of the teams took seats in the first row of the stands.

 

"Now, both teams, send up your first fighter." Makarov commanded.

 

"Oh Yeah! I'm all fired up!" Natsu shouted as he leapt into the ring.

 

"So, I guess we're not gonna talk it out, huh?" Lucy muttered after Natsu just jumped ahead.

 

"What did you expect from someone with fire instead of a brain in his head?" Gray asked.

 

"Gray, your clothes." Lucy replied with a deadpan.

 

"Damn it, not again!" Gray exclaimed.

 

"Don't worry about it, Lucy." Erza said with a reassuring smile on her face. "Natsu is strong. So, no matter who they send, he won't go down without a fight."

 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ring,.

 

"I guess I'll go first." Max said with a smile. "Honestly, I think Mystogan and I are best suited for fighting one on one while you two are better suited for the team battle."

 

To that, the other three members of Team Alzack nodded in agreement. Then, Max jumped up into the ring, landing on it at the same time as Natsu.

 

"Are both fighters ready?" Makarov asked once Natsu and Max were in the ring. Receiving a nod from both fighters, Makarov continued. "Very good. Then… Fight!"

 

Max, a slim young man of average height with flaxen hair styled in a bowl undercut with two long bangs that both framed and covered the sides of his face, opted to make the first move as Natsu began sprinting forward.

 

Flaring his magic power, Max crossed his right arm in front of his chest. Then, a massive amount of sand materialized and started spiraling around it. After that, he thrust his hand forward, towards Natsu.

 

"[Sandstorm Magic: Sand Wave]." Max chanted as the sand revolving around his hand shot forward in the form of a large wave of sand.

 

Undeterred, Natsu formed his hands into a trumpet before bringing them to his mouth.

 

"[Fire Dragon's Roar]." Natsu chanted as he blew a stream of fire between his hands.

 

With great speed, Natsu's flames rushed forward, impacting the wave of sand roughly halfway between himself and Max. Shortly after the collision, a portion of the sand was superheated and turned into molten glass.

 

Meanwhile, the rest of the sand rushed past Natsu on either side. At the same time, Natsu restarted his dash, increasing his speed by expelling fire from his back that acted as a thruster.

 

"What the hell?" Max exclaimed in surprise after seeing Natsu's new speed. "How did he get so fast?"

 

Although he was surprised, Max reacted quickly, condensing more sand around both of his hands. Then he whipped them towards Natsu, sending the sand flying at him.

 

"[Sandstorm Magic: Sand Blades]." Max chanted as multiple sand slashes flew from his hands towards Natsu.

 

Natsu, seeing the incoming sand blades, put on a show of acrobatics to avoid all the incoming attacks while losing a minimal amount of momentum. Eventually, Natsu reached Max with his right hand covered in flames.

 

"Sorry, Max, but it looks like this is my win!" Natsu said excitedly. "[Fire Dragon's Iron Fist]."

 

"I don't' think so, Natsu." Max said while a large amount of sand was generated around Natsu. "[Sandstorm Magic: Sand Rebellion]."

 

The moment Max's chant ended; the sand that materialized around Natsu began to spin at high speed, subsequently stopping the flame imbued fist before it could reach its target. A moment later, Max gestured with his hands and the spinning mass of sand exploded.

 

A few moments later, the dust cloud created by the explosion settled. Now, the only thing that could be seen where the spinning mass of sand once stood was Max with a confused expression on his face.

 

"Did he avoid my attack? Impossible." Max questioned himself while looking around the ring. "Then, where is he? He should at least be injured."

 

"Up here!" Natsu shouted.

 

Looking up to the direction of the voice, Max was caught off guard when he saw Natsu falling from the sky with flames blazing around his right foot.

 

"[Fire Dragon's Talon]." Natsu chanted as he fell with his foot aimed at Max.

 

"[Sandstorm Magic: Sand Wall]." Max chanted, quickly erecting a defensive wall of sand.

 

Unfortunately, with the added momentum due to gravity, Natsu's flaming kick was strong enough to cleave straight through Max's sand wall. Then, with no time to cast another spell, Max was forced to defend himself by crossing his arms between himself and Natsu's kick.

 

Unfortunately, that was far from enough to stop the force behind Natsu's kick. Instead, Max was sent flying backward after his arms slammed into his face. Then, after hitting the ground, he was sent rolling backward toward the edge of the ring.

 

At the same time, while Max was rolling away, Natsu did not notice the sand that was left over from Max's sand wall had circled around his feet. Then, before he could react, it surged upward while covering his feet and swung toward the ground outside the ring.

 

"Damn it." Natsu cursed as he channeled his flames into his feet to free himself.

 

Unfortunately, all that did is turn the sand into glass, restricting his movement even more.

 

Eventually, Natsu was slammed into the ground outside the ring. Meanwhile, just before Max rolled of the ring himself, a platform made of sand rose from the ground and stopped him from falling off the ring.

 

"Damn, that was close." Max said while lying on his back, halfway on the ring and halfway on the sand platform.

 

"Ow.. That hurt." Natsu said after pulling his head out of the ground. Then, he looked around to see where Max was. However, once he noticed that he was outside of the ring, he panicked. "No way! Did I lose? But I wanted to fight some more!"

 

However, at that moment, Makarov made his ruling on the fight.

 

"Natsu Dragneel is out of the ring." Makarov said. "Winner by ring out, Max Alors."

 

With that, the crowd, consisting mostly of regular civilians went wild due to the exciting display of magic. Meanwhile, Max picked himself up and slowly returned to his teammates.

 

"Come on, Man!" Natsu shouted. "Gimme a rematch! If it weren't for that stupid ring out rule, I wouldn't have lost."

 

*Bang!*

 

"Cut it out, Natsu!" Erza shouted as she appeared behind Natsu and slammed her fist on the top of his head.

 

"Uh… I don't' think he can hear you." Lucy said after looking at Natsu.

 

"Huh?" Erza exclaimed in confusion after hearing Lucy. Then, when she looked down, she saw Natsu lying on the ground with his eyes spinning. "Oh no, Natsu, are you okay?"

 

With that, Erza started shaking Natsu violently. Had he been awake, there was no doubt that his motion sickness would have been triggered due to the violent shaking.

 

"Teams, send your second fighters to the ring." Makarov announced at this moment.

 

"Erza, I think you should fight in the next match." Gray said, approaching Erza. "We need to win this fight and you're the strongest member of our team. Otherwise, we're out of the tournament."

 

"*Sigh* You're right." Erza said, calming down quickly. "Take care of Natsu. I'll get us to the third fight of the match."

 

Nodding in response, Gray picked up Natsu and brought him to where Lucy was standing before dropping him on the ground.

 

"Seriously, Gray?" Lucy asked in surprise. "That's what you call taking care of him?"

 

"Eh… He'll be fine." Gray said carelessly.

 

Meanwhile, Erza jumped into the ring. At the same time, Mystogan, a man of above average height, standing at roughly 6' (183 cm) tall wearing a dark blue cloak, shirt, pants, and bandana with a silver forehead protector, as well as a black mast that covered everything below his eyes and five staves on his back that were held there by a dark green strap wrapped diagonally across his torso. also landed on the ring from Team Alzack's side.

 

"How did Alzack manage to convince Mystogan to join his team?" Elicia asked curiously from her seat in the front row of the stands.

 

"More important than that, how did Alzack even find the guy." Alfonzo asked. "I mean, I know I taught him how to use [Magic Power Detection]. But he's usually sleep when Mystogan shows up at the guild. How does he even know his magic power signature?"

 

In response, Elicia, Marin, and Sun all shook their heads. Not even Marin and Sun knew who Mystogan was until Alfonzo and Elicia explained it to them, as they had also always been asleep when Mystogan showed up at the guild hall.

 

Team Steel Threads were not the only ones who were wondering how Mystogan ended up joining Team Alzack. As a result, the whispers from all the Fairy Tail wizards could be heard through the tournament venue.

 

"I wasn't expecting to see you here, Mystogan." Erza said, [Requipping]  along sword into her right hand. "You don't usually mingle with the rest of the guild."

 

"This is the first time the guild has done anything like this or the pageant, so I was interested." Mystogan replied quietly. "And when I saw that Alzack, Bisca, and Max would not be able to participate because they could not find a fourth member, I joined their team because I felt bad for them."

 

"I see." Erza replied. "Well, I approve of your reasoning. Still, I won't lose. Even if your reason for participating is rather noble."

 

"We'll see about that." Mystogan said, reaching for one of the staves on his back.

 

"Both fighters seem to be ready." Makarov said after looking at two of his S-Class wizards in the ring. "Fight!"


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
SixthSense1029 SixthSense1029

You can read 5 chapters ahead on my Patr3on at:

https://patr3on.com/SixthSense1029

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy the story.

Comments, Reviews, and Power Stones are always appreciated.

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