433 Is the Climax Happening at the Beginning?

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

October 15, x785.

After the pageant, all of Fairy Tail, followed by a large part of Magnolia's population moved to the southern outskirts of the town. When they arrived, they found a stone stadium. This stadium, created with the use of Fried, Laki, and Levy's magic, would be the venue for this year's tournament.

Unlike last year, there would also be a small fee for admittance for those who were not members of Fairy Tail. The only exception to that rule was Makarov, who was not technically a member of the guild anymore. Though, no one could bring themselves to charge the man who raised most of the current members of the guild.

"Damn it." Makarov muttered as he walked past the ticket booth set up at the entrance of the stadium. "If they had let me know about this beforehand last year, I could have had something like this set up, too."

"Oh, stop complaining, Makarov." Goldmine, who decided to come and witness the Battle of Fairy Tail tournament in person this year, said while smirking. "There's no sense in crying over spilled milk, right? Besides, as a member of the Magic Council, you should be making even more than this."

"Ugh!" Makarov groaned as he cradled his head in his hands. "Don't remind me about that. I'm on vacation, don't make me think about all the paperwork I have to do."

"Hahaha!" Goldmine laughed loudly at his old friend's plight. "Anyway, who do you think will win this year?"

"*Sigh* I'm not sure." Makarov replied after sighing out all his annoyance. "I'll have to see the teams before I can make any predictions."

Like that, Makarov and Goldmine continued to chat while the seats continued to fill. Meanwhile, the members of Fairy Tail participating in the tournament were gathered around the ring.

"Hmm... Some of the teams have been shuffled around." Alfonzo said as he stood with Elicia, Marin, and Sun. "Mystogan's not here this time, either."

"We didn't expect him to be, though." Elicia said. "I'm actually surprised that Saeko took his place on Alzack's team."

"Yeah, she just joined the guild, right?" Marin asked. "Does she have enough training to participate in an event like this?"

"Other than her magic power usage and amount, she's actually quite well trained." Alfonzo replied with a smile.

"I wanna fight her." Sun said as she looked at the new katana hanging on Saeko's waist.

The new katana on Saeko's waist that Sun was looking at was a new magic sword Saeko commissioned from Alfonzo. Like Marin's old daggers, it could also change its weight and mass. However, without [Transformation Magic], she could not change its shape and size.

"Don't you get to fight her during training?" Marin asked curiously.

"Not really." Sun replied while shaking her head. "We mostly go over the ways sword magic can be used."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Marin replied with a nod.

"Anyway, back to the teams, it looks like your dad rebuilt his team, too, Sun." Elicia said as she pointed in Gozaburo's direction.

Following the direction Elicia pointed, Alfonzo, Marin, and Sun saw Gozaburo standing with Macao, Gildarts, and surprisingly, Maes while discussing strategy.

"Seriously?" Alfonzo said with a dumbfounded expression on his face. "First of all, Hughes isn't even a wizard. But since he's a member of the guild, I guess it works. But then there's Gildarts. And something tells me that Fried, Laki, and Levy never expected him to be taking part in the tournament this year."

"Yeah, they're, like, totally freaking out right now." Marin said, pointing towards Fried, Laki, and Levy, who were frantically trying to strengthen every part of the stadium.

"*Sigh* I guess I'd better go and help." Alfonzo said as he started walking towards Fried, Laki, and Levy.

While Alfonzo went to help with the stadium's durability, Elicia, Marin, and Sun continued looking over the teams for this year's tournament. And they were not all that surprised at everything they saw.

Team Steel Threads

Alfonzo Marcus

Elicia Marcus Taylor

Marin Kitagawa

Sun Seto

Thunder God Tribe

Laxus Dreyar

Bickslow

Fried Justine

Evergreen

Team Alzack

Alzack Connell

Bisca Mulan

Max Alors

Saeko Busujima

Team Doting Daddies

Gozaburo Seto

Macao Conbolt

Gildarts Clive

Maes Hughes

Team Strauss

Mirajane Strauss

Elfman Strauss

Lisanna Strauss

Juvia Lockser

Team Ultear

Ultear Milkovich

Meredy

Cana Alberona

Laki Olietta

Team Natsu

Natsu Dragneel

Gray Fullbuster

Erza Scarlet

Lucy Heartfilia

Team Shadow Gear

Levy McGarden

Jet

Droy

Gajeel Redfox

"For the most part, the teams are the same as last year." Sun said while tilting her head. "Still, we didn't get to fight everyone last year."

"Yeah, it should still be fun." Marin said.

"Yeah, I wonder who we'll be facing in the first round." Elicia added with a nod.

As if she were waiting for Elicia's question, Ur finished talking to Alfonzo, Fried, Laki, and Levy about the stability of the ring. Then, she stepped onto the ring and raised her voice with the aid of her magic power.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Ur shouted, cutting through the chatter in the audience. "I'd like to thank you for joining us, Fairy Tail, during our Harvest Festival festivities. And now, for your viewing pleasure, I present to you the Second Annual Battle of Fairy Tail Tournament!"

"Cool!"

With Ur's announcement, the crowd went wild while a certain Sorcerer Weekly reporter shouted just as wildly while snapping pictures of everything around him. While most of the audience had been present for last year's tournament, they were still excited to see who would be crowned as Fairy Tail's strongest team.

"Now, I ask that all the team captains come to the ring for the drawing of lots." Ur said, cutting through the crowd's cheers.

And just as instructed, Alfonzo, Laxus, Alzack, Gozaburo, Mirajane, Ultear, Natsu, and Levy made their way onto the ring. Then, once they were all standing in front of Ur, she tapped the heel of her right boot on the ring's surface, causing a pedestal made of ice, with a circular opening on top, to rise from the ring.

"One at a time, reach into the hole and pull out an ice cube." Ur said while gesturing at the pedestal. "The ice cubes will determine the tournament bracket."

Nodding in response, the eight team leaders looked at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move. Eventually, Alfonzo shrugged his shoulders and took a step forward before reaching into the pedestal.

"I guess I'll go first if no one else wants to." Alfonzo said as he reached into the hole on the top of the pedestal. A moment later, with an ice cube in hand, he pulled his hand out of the hole. Then, he looked down at the cube. "One."

After speaking what he read on the cube, Alfonzo raised it and showed it to Ur, who nodded in understanding. Then, she once again tapped her heel on the ring.

In the next instant, a tournament bracket raised from the ground outside of the ring, next to the place where she would be refereeing the tournament from. And at the very top of the bracket, the name, "Team Steel Threads" was etched into the ice.

"Well, good luck on your draw, guys." Alfonzo said with a smile as he walked towards the edge of the ring.

Hearing that, Laxus snorted before stepping up and taking his own ice cube. Then, after looking at it, he showed the number five to Ur. And like Alfonzo, he also left the ring.

"You're just lucky I didn't draw two." Laxus called in Alfonzo's direction as he hopped off the ring.

Hearing that, Alfonzo only shook his head with a smile.

'It's like he forgot how many times I've kicked his ass over the years.' Alfonzo thought to himself.

Following Alfonzo and Laxus, the rest of the team captains also quickly drew their lots. Alzack drew eight, Gozaburo drew two. Mirajane drew six, Ultear drew seven, Natsu drew four, and Levy drew three leaving the bracket to look like this:

Team Steel Threads Vs. Team Doting Daddies

Team Natsu Vs. Team Shadow Gear

Thunder God Tribe Vs. Team Strauss

Team Ultear Vs. Team Alzack

"Hell Yeah!" Natsu shouted after seeing the bracket. "I can fight Gajeel in the first round. Then, when we win, I can fight Alfonzo or Gildarts. And after we win the second round, I can fight Laxus."

"Don't be overconfident, Natsu." Erza said in a reprimanding tone. "Did you forget that we lost in the first round of last year's tournament? We must be cautious if we want to go further this year."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Natsu said with a grin. Then, with his right hand covered in flames, he punched it into his left palm. "But We've been training really hard since last year. And now's the perfect time to show everyone."

Hearing that, Gray, Erza, and Lucy all nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Gildarts was glaring over in Team Steel Threads direction.

"Does this mean I'll finally get the chance to fight the Kid all out?" Gildarts asked with a smile. "I'm looking forward to how much he's grown."

"But it would be smarter for them to send up one of their weaker members to face you." Maes said with an eyebrow raised. "And we all know they're all smart enough to figure that out, too."

"Yeah." Gozaburo nodded. "And if you somehow end up facing my sweet Sun, you better not hurt her, or I'll make you regret it."

Meanwhile, Macao could only shake his head at Gozaburo and Maes.

'How the hell did I end up on this team?' Macao thought to himself. 'I mean, I know I'm a father, too. But I'm nothing like these three. Besides, I thought they would have figured out Alfonzo's personality by now. There's no way he's gonna give up a chance to fight Gildarts on a stage like this.'

And just as Macao thought, Alfonzo was looking over at Team Doting Daddies, more specifically, Gildarts, with a battle thirsty grin on his face.

"Well, I guess we know who will be fighting Gildarts." Elicia said with a smile while poking Alfonzo's cheek with her right index finger. "And if I know the two of you as well as I think I do, you'll both jump onto the stage as soon as Ur gives the order, won't you?"

"Yeah, you really do know us well." Alfonzo replied. "The rest of you can decide the order for the rest of the round. I'm too excited to think straight."

"This kinda feels like it should be the tournament finale, though." Marin said, sounding a bit conflicted. "I mean, the most exciting fight of the tournament would never be the tournament's first fight in a novel."

"Well then, I'm glad this isn't a novel." Alfonzo said with a laugh.

The girls all chuckled along with the laughing Alfonzo. A moment later, however, Sun's shoulders slumped.

"What's wrong, Sun?" Elicia asked curiously.

"*Sigh* I get the feeling that my dad is gonna want to fight in whatever match I fight in." Sun said in an exasperated tone. "And it's gonna be so annoying… and embarrassing"

Hearing that, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Marin all turned gazes filled with Pity in Sun's direction.

"Well, if you get paired up with him, just kick his ass off the ring in one move." Alfonzo said with a shrug. "That way, you can lessen the embarrassment he'll undoubtedly bring with him."

In response, Sun's eyes sharpened as she nodded her head with grim determination. Then, she glared at her father while calculating the fastest way to knock him out of the ring.

Meanwhile, Ren, along with Shizuka, was watching the teams from the nursing station. And when she saw the look in Sun's eyes as she looked at her father, she could only sigh.

"I hope she doesn't hurt him too bad." Ren said in a tired tone. "But if she does, chances are he'll have probably deserved it."

"Don't worry, Ren." Shizuka said with a smile. "She loves Gozaburo. I'm sure she won't hurt him."

"*Sigh* If you only knew…" Ren said while shaking her head.

"Now, it's time for the tournament's opening match!" Ur said in a sonorous tone as she took a seat on a throne she creatd with her [Ice-Make Magic]. "Would Team Steel Threads and Team…"

When getting to that point, Ur paused while her right eyebrow twitched violently. For the life of her, she never thought she would be announcing a team with a name like the team Gildarts and Gozaburo put together for this tournament. Then, as she glared at the grinning Gildarts, she spat the rest through gritted teeth.

"Doting Daddies please make your ways to ring side." Ur continued.

With that, the two teams mentioned approached the ring. Then, without stopping, Alfonzo and Gildarts both hopped into the ring unprompted.

"*Sigh* It looks like both teams have chosen their fighters for the first match." Ur said in a tired tone. "Then, begin!"