148 The One Who Stands at the Top
July 2nd, X787
Meliodas stood in the waiting area with his group as they waited for Chapati to announce the start of the next event.
"WELCOME BACK EVERYONE. TODAY IS THE SECOND DAY OF THE GRAND MAGIC GAMES! YESTERDAY'S EVENT HAS SABERTOOTH IN THE LEAD BUT REMEMBER IT'S ONLY THE SECOND DAY SO IT'S STILL ANYONE'S GAME!" TODAY WE ALSO HAVE A SPECIAL GUEST WITH US TODAY. HERE SITTING WITH ME TODAY IS LAHAR OF THE MAGIC COUNCIL!" Chapati announced.
"It's great to be here today." Lahar responded. "I am Lahar, the Captain of the 4th Custody Unit. I look forward to watching all of your performances today!"
"NOW THEN, WE WILL GET TO THE SECOND EVENT! CAN TODAY'S PARTICIPANTS PLEASE STEP FORWARD!" Chapati continued.
Meliodas looked back at his guild mates who were looking at each other anxiously.
"Which one of us should go?" Laki asked.
"If it's a race, count me in...although they don't tell us until after we decide to join…" Jet replied.
"No problem then. I'll go." Meliodas said nonchalantly as he started walking out into the main arena.
"Great! This should be an easy win then." Jet commented.
"Good luck Meliodas!" Laki cheered.
"Show them the power of Fairy Tail!" Max shouted.
"I hope this isn't a cooking competition or something…" Alzack said to himself quietly.
Meliodas walked out to the middle of the arena where the other contestants were standing. There were almost thirty people standing in the arena next to him as they stood by in an unorganized gaggle.
"How lucky that I get to go against you in this competition." Yuka said as he approached Meliodas. Meliodas noticed him and gave him a small wave.
"Good luck." Meliodas smirked.
"NOW THAT EVERYONE IS GATHERED HERE, I WILL GO OVER THE RULES OF THE EVENT. THE EVENT IS CALLED "KING OF THE HILL!" Chapati announced. Suddenly the arena around them began to morph. The center of the arena began to rise into a large mountain that pushed back the contestants. Meliodas stared in awe at the huge mountain that rose out of the ground that towered over the statues of the arena.
"AT THE VERY TOP OF THIS MOUNTAIN IS A PLATFORM. THE GOAL OF THIS EVENT IS TO STAY ON THAT PLATFORM AS LONG AS YOU CAN WHILE KNOCKING THE OTHER PLAYERS OFF THE PLATFORM. THE ONE WHO HAS THE MOST TIME ON THE PLATFORM AFTER THIRTY MINUTES IS THE WINNER!" Chapati finished.
"All the way up there?" Yuka questioned as he looked up at the huge mountain. "I can barely see the top from down here."
"Well, well, well. This will be a fun challenge." Meliodas said with a grin as he began to stretch his legs.
"BEFORE WE START, LAHAR, DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE TO GIVE TO THE PARTICIPANTS?" Chapati asked.
"This will be a test of speed in making up the mountain first, endurance in staying on the platform, and power in knocking those around you off the platform. Since this will be happening over the course of thirty minutes, I would prioritize endurance and focus your energy on staying on the platform rather than fighting others." Lahar said.
"AND YOU HEARD IT THERE FOLKS! CONTESTANTS, GET READY!" Chapati continued.
"3...2...1...EVENT START!"
As Chapati announced the start, a fight immediately broke out at the base of the mountain with over a dozen of the participants while some others snuck away and tried to climb the mountain.
"Climbing this will be a breeze with my magic." Yuka commented as he jumped up into the air. He put his arms out behind him, causing jets of blue magic to shoot out from his palms, propelling him upwards and up the mountain.
Next to him, he noticed several other mages also climbing the mountain with their magic. To his surprise, Meliodas wasn't there with them. 'Did he decide to fight down below instead?' Yuka thought as he ascended towards the platform. As he got closer, a few bodies went flying past him coming from above.
Yuka landed on the platform. To his surprise, someone was already standing on the platform. Standing at the top by himself was a young man with long straight blond hair. He had dark green eyes and a crimson masquerade mask on his face. He wore a long crimson vest with golden edges that reached down to his knees with a cream colored shirt underneath and beige pants tucked into knee high black boots. On his head he wore a large crimson hat with a prominent brim curving upwards and a large pink plumage going down the left side.
"So it's you...Rufus of Sabertooth." Yuka commented.
"If my memory serves, you're Yuka Suzuki of Lamia Scale. I hope your magic is worth remembering." Rufus said as he raised his arms out in front of him in a swiping motion.
"Memory Make: Gale Fang!"
A blast of wind in the shape of a twister shot out at Yuka. Yuka smirked as he put his palm out in front of him, dispersing the twister much to Rufus' surprise. Rufus suddenly felt a great force push him off the platform down to the mountain below.
"That's quite the magic...I'll be sure to remember it." Rufus commented as he fell off the platform.
Yuka looked around and saw several more mages had made their way up to the platform. He put his arms out behind him, propelling himself forward as he spun around and knocked them all back off. To his surprise, one of them clung onto the side of the platform.
"Mennn…" Ichiya grunted as he held onto the edge.
Yuka raised his palm up towards Ichiya, preparing to knock him off when a beam of light hit both Yuka and Ichiya, causing them to both fall off the platform. As Yuka fell, he turned around and saw Rufus standing over them with a smug smile on his face.
"Memory Make: Afterimage plus Memory Make: Veiled Cloak. You had only knocked out a doppelganger of mine as I remained on the platform, unable to be seen." Rufus said as he waved at the two falling mages.
"AMAZING! RUFUS OF SABERTOOTH WAS ABLE TO KNOCK OUT TWO MORE PEOPLE OFF THE PLATFORM? WILL THERE BE ANYONE WHO CAN EVEN CHALLENGE HIM?!" Chapati announced.
Rufus continued to look down the mountain at more mages who were still trying to scale the mountain. He spread his arms out towards the sky and looked up as a bright golden aura enveloped his body.
"This moment...will be one to remember! Memory-Make: A Night of Falling Stars!"
The area surrounding the platform seemingly became dark as multiple beams of light magic shot out from his body, illuminating the mountain as it hit the mages down below who were trying to climb. The cries of the mages were heard followed by explosions as they tumbled down the side of the mountain.
"As it should be." Rufus said as he tipped his hat. He turned around and his eyes widened with surprise as he saw Meliodas standing on the platform facing him.
"Yo!" Meliodas greeted.
"Oh? I was wondering when you would make it up here, Blond Demon. Rumor has it your strength alone makes Fairy Tail strong." Rufus said with a smile. Meliodas narrowed his eyes as he heard Rufus' comment. Rufus slowly walked towards Meliodas who was standing in place in the middle of the platform. A bright light began to glow in Rufus' hand as he pointed it at Meliodas.
"Show me what you can-"
However, before he could finish, Meliodas jolted forward, leaping from his spot head first. His head rammed into Rufus' torso. To Meliodas' surprise, his body phased right through Rufus. Meliodas quickly stopped midair and landed on the ground. He turned around and saw Rufus pointing his hand at Meliodas.
"Taste my strongest magic! Memory Make: Piercing Heaven." Rufus yelled as released a crescent wave of light towards Meliodas.
Meliodas put his arms up in front of him as a wave of magic swept over him. The magic collided with his body, causing a large explosion that engulfed the platform.
"OH A DIRECT HIT BY RUFUS!!
The crowd roared as they stared at the smoke cloud.
"Amazing! Wizards are so cool." A young boy said as he stared at the screens.
"Did the Blond Demon get knocked out?" Another person commented.
In a certain area of the stadium, the Sabertooth guild were watching with a relaxed composure.
"Haha! Way to go Rufus!" A fifteen year old boy with blonde hair and blue eyes cheered as he looked onto the screen.
"Calm down Sting. Stop acting like a child." A pale youth around the same age with black hair replied as he stared annoyedly at Sting.
"Well, aren't you watching the same thing, Rogue? How could you not be excited?"
"Isn't that just expected? We are aiming to be the strongest guild" Rogue replied.
"But the other guy is Meliodas. I heard he was crazy strong" Sting said excitedly.
"Clearly not strong enough." Orga commented.
"Let's keep watching for now." A young lady with them said as the others bickered.
The group suddenly quieted down and stared at the screens. The smoke began to settle down shortly after, revealing Meliodas with his arms out in front of him. His long sleeves were destroyed, but the rest of his body was unscathed.
"What!" Sting was shocked. "No damage?!" The other members of Sabertooth had a surprised expression on their face as they saw Meliodas calmly wipe the dust off his shoulders.
"What do you say now Rogue." Sting said as he continued staring at the screen. Rogue remained silent.
"So his strength isn't all talk..." The young woman said with a small smile on her face.
---
"No damage?" Rufus questioned, dumbfounded that his attack did little to nothing to Meliodas. Meliodas suddenly vanished from Rufus' sight, reappearing behind him. Before he had the chance to turn around. He felt a sharp pain at his side as Meliodas kicked him, sending his body flying off the platform.
Rufus looked back at Meliodas standing alone on the platform as he was launched off and closed his eyes.
"This...wasn't in my memory…"
"INCREDIBLE! MELIODAS KNOCKED OUT RUFUS WHO WAS SEEMINGLY UNBEATABLE BEFORE WITH LITTLE EFFORT!" Chapati exclaimed.
Meliodas looked up in the sky at the timer interface and sighed. Only five minutes had passed and twenty five minutes were left.
"I was hoping this event would be more fun." Meliodas commented as he walked back towards the center of the platform. He put his hand out in front of him, his palm facing the ground as bright light began to glow. The light dimmed down, taking the form of a wooden barstool. Meliodas sat down on the barstool as he waited for more participants to climb the mountain.
