Chapter 39: Apologies, in Fairy Tail, There Are No Teammates!

"What's going on over there?"

"Looks like a mage guild is holding some kind of group event."

"If we're talking about a mage guild in Magnolia Town, it must be the legendary Fairy Tail, right?"

"What? You mean that Fairy Tail, the one that's called the number one mage guild in the Kingdom of Fiore?"

"Then we definitely need to check it out!"

As word spread among the tourists that Fairy Tail's mages were hosting a 24-hour endurance race, many of them grew curious and rushed toward the gathering spot, eager to see the spectacle.

Meanwhile, the locals of Magnolia Town just smirked knowingly.

These tourists hadn't realized that many of the street vendors hadn't even bothered to open for the day. Some had already packed up their stalls, preparing to leave. The town's residents knew all too well what would happen whenever the Fairy Tail mages left their guild en masse. It never ended well.

On the other side, at the starting point of the Fairy Tail 24-hour endurance race...

"Ready..." Makarov raised his starter pistol again.

"Ian, I'm not going easy on you," Ur said with a confident grin. "It's been four years, and my strength is far beyond what it used to be."

As she stretched her wrists and ankles, Ur cast a challenging glance at Ian. "I'm confident I could defeat Deliora without even needing to use Iced Shell now."

"Oh?" Ian turned his head to look at Ur, intrigued.

"My mother," Ultear interjected, "has spent all these years training hard under Master Warrod Sequen. According to him, my mother's strength could easily rank near the top of the Ten Wizard Saints. She's just shy of the title of Heavenly King."

Ian nodded, acknowledging the immense power Ur had developed. If four years ago, when Ur was demoralized from Ultear's presumed death and only slightly stronger than Jura at the threshold of the Ten Wizard Saints, then after four years of intense training under Warrod, she was now on par with Jura from the Grand Magic Games arc.

In short, Ur had reached the threshold between human and something beyond, on the verge of becoming a true monster.

"Ur really is a magical genius," Ian murmured. After all, Ur was the kind of talent who had even attracted Gildarts, a man who preferred to work solo, into offering to team up.

As for Ultear... Ian couldn't help but think that with her arrival, Laxus, Erza, and Mirajane had even more competition for the S-Class promotion. The uncertainty of this year's S-Class test had just increased tenfold.

"...Start!" Makarov suddenly pulled the trigger.

Bang!

With the sound of the gunshot, the Fairy Tail mages dashed forward, all eager to claim the top prize of one million jewels.

"First place is mine!!!" Each participant's eyes gleamed with the desire for victory.

"Ice-Make: Floor!"

However, before anyone could get too far, Gray summoned a thick sheet of ice beneath everyone's feet.

"Ahh!!"

"Damn it, you sneaky bastard!"

"You're using dirty tricks like this?!"

Caught off guard by the sudden ice, many of the mages slipped and tumbled in all directions.

"Fools!" Gray sneered. "It doesn't matter what magic you use in a race—winning is all that counts."

He then crafted a pair of ice skates with his Ice-Make magic. "This will give me a significant advantage early on," he muttered confidently.

"Hey, Gray," a cold voice echoed behind him, "you're not the only one who can use Ice-Make."

Before Gray could react, a biting chill crept up his spine. It was too late for him to escape.

"Ice-Make: Ice Snake!"

With a flash of blue magic, icy serpents coiled around Gray, freezing him in place.

"Sorry, Gray." The voice belonged to none other than his senior, Lyon, who had crafted his own ice skates and was now gliding past Gray with ease.

"You've still got a lot to learn," Lyon teased, patting Gray on the shoulder as he skated by.

"Damn it! Natsu, help me out!" Gray yelled, realizing that his hands were frozen and he couldn't cast his magic. His mastery of Ice-Make wasn't at the level where he could cast spells without using his hands, so he was stuck relying on Natsu.

"You still rely on teammates?" Lyon smirked. "I thought you'd moved beyond that by now."

Natsu, hearing Gray's plea, grinned. "I'm on it!" He took a deep breath, and a fiery magic circle appeared before him, emblazoned with the image of a dragon's head.

"You should give up," Lyon said confidently. "My ice snakes are tightly wrapped around Gray. The only way you could break them would be to blast both the snakes and Gray at the same time... And surely you wouldn't be cruel enough to attack your own teammate like that, right?"

Natsu's grin only widened. "Wait, really? That's perfect!"

Gray's face turned pale. "You idiot, defend yourself! We're both going to get blown away!"

Lyon, still unaware of Fairy Tail's unique brand of teamwork, was caught off guard. "What?" he said, bewildered.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!!!"

A massive pillar of flame erupted from Natsu's mouth, hitting both Gray and Lyon dead on.

"Are you kidding me?" Lyon barely had time to react as he was engulfed in the flames, along with Gray.

Both mages were sent flying through the air, crashing into the distance.

"Two competitors eliminated!" Natsu said proudly, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Teammates? In Fairy Tail? Sorry, that concept doesn't exist. There are only rivals.

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