Arc 3 - Choices We've Made: Chapter 14

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Cross-over from various games, books, anime, manga, and movies.

The familiar characters you see here belong to their respected authors and owners.

"Speech"

Time*

Arc 3 - Choices We've Made: Chapter 14

An hour later*

I'm puzzled as to why the Magic Council has not tried to stop the participating and non-participating Mages from destroying the capital. Unless the Magic Council is counting on all the guilds to pay the repair fee, which should be enough to build better buildings with many upgrades, making that living in the capital better than anywhere else.

I can see through the space field that about a third of the capital has been destroyed. Damn, I bet that's a new record, and it wasn't even done by the Dark Mages. Funny as that seems.

Even funnier is that Yume prevented Karasuba and Musubi from destroying buildings.

"So, does anyone have any idea where the last treasure chest might be? The rest have already been found." Uzume tosses an apple slice into her mouth.

"It's on the roof of the hotel we're staying at." I replied dryly.

"What are the chances that the Magic Council is doing this on purpose, knowing we're here, Renato-sama?" Juvia asks me.

"For once, the Magic Council isn't targeting us by choosing this hotel as one of the many places to hide the treasure chest. It was there before we arrived, and Guild Master Bob booked the entire hotel at the last minute." I replied.

"And I got a message from Guild Master Bob asking us to allow the Mages outside to enter the hotel." Matsu reported. "The first round of the Grand Magic Games can't be finished until all eight treasure chests are obtained."

"What are the chances that some Mages will blow up our rooms on their way to the roof?" Tsukiumi scowled, with her arms crossed under her breasts as she looked out the window and saw many Mages waiting for permission to enter the hotel, "I'd rather not have to deal with unwanted intruders causing damage to the hotel we're staying in for the duration of the Grand Magic Games."

"If they don't want to make us angry. They should behave themselves." Miya paused to think about this a bit more. "At least, the smart ones should understand this and do their best to keep their reckless teammates from doing anything destructive until they reach the roof."

"Hey, I just remembered something." Hikari gains everyone's attention. "Don't some of them have the ability to fly or something that they could use with their magic to reach the roof without having to go inside the hotel to use the stairs/elevator?"

"She makes a good point. Why doesn't someone outside do something like that?" Uzume stared blankly outside. "We've seen more than once that someone can reach the rooftops with their magic. So what's going on outside? Sure, we've gained a notorious status that makes many think twice before risking their lives in front of us. But we won't hurt them if they leave us alone."

"It is mostly due to the fact that those who could do such a thing have either obtained a treasure chest or do not have enough Magic Power to perform such a feat." Akitsu said calmly while sitting in an ice barrel and eating some peanuts on the side. "By now, most of them, if not almost all, barely have enough Magic Power to cast one or two spells before they are unable to use magic anymore and have to rely on fighting with their fists after that. Besides, I bet the main reason why there's a crowd outside our hotel is that someone must have found the treasure chest on the roof before Renato discovered it."

"Anyway, we should be worried about how far these people would go to get that last treasure chest." Kazehana said thoughtfully, then smiled as she opened a new bottle of alcohol she had made with her magic and began chugging it like water. "Ah! Getting Alcohol-Make Magic was the best decision I've ever made!"

"I'm starting to think it wasn't the best idea for you to pick out that magic." Miya said dryly, making the alcoholic Sekirei scowl, then giggle as she took another sip. "Matsu, let the Guild Master know that we'll stay in our room and do nothing unless someone outside forces us to."

Matsu nodded and did as she was told.

Then a minute passed, and the noise from outside grew louder. No doubt the Mages have been informed that they are free to enter the hotel without anyone stopping them, as long as they don't mess with anyone who shouldn't. Unfortunately, with so many people rushing into the hotel at once, or at least trying to, there is still a chance that something could go wrong.

"Should we prepare for incoming trouble?" Uzume asks everyone, having already taken out her custom-made white veil as her main weapon, which was stored in her back pocket. It can easily be folded down to a smaller size and taken with her wherever she goes. "Or should I put up a barrier at the front door so we don't get any unwanted intruders?"

"No point." Juvia shakes her head. "But the moment the door is knocked down, or even destroyed, we will show how foolish it is not to heed our warning."

"I'll leave it up to you guys." Kazehana gave Juvia a thumbs up before gulping down the entire bottle and using her magic to make a new one. "After all, everyone here should know that I hardly have any methods for indoor combat. The moment I fight, it won't be others who have a high potential to destroy this hotel."

"Hey, I just noticed something." Uzume frowns as she looks around outside. "Where are Musubi, Yume, and Karasuba? I don't see any of them in the crowd. Or at least not in my field of vision."

"They're beating up the other half of the crowd that couldn't make it here." I raise an eyebrow when I see Musubi just bodyslamming someone. As for Yume, she sends many flying with a single swift blow. Karasuba just humiliates others by not taking out her sword the whole time.

"Why?" Juvia looks confused when she hears this.

"Boredom? Maybe someone pissed off Karasuba? Worst case, someone said something to trigger Yume." Miya answered. "It's usually those three or something similar. They should be fine. Otherwise, Renato wouldn't have stayed with us when he could have teleported to their location to help them."

"Here we go." Matsu used the Archive Card to project a large screen for everyone to watch the other three Sekirei outside, standing alone against several Mages. "I've already informed the Guild Master that there are three of us outside."

"What did he say?" Uzume asked.

"Nothing." Matsu replied.

"Which means he and those around him are panicking. Especially those therefrom the rest of us." Akitsu said brutally.

"Man, they sure having fun out there." Hikari frowned, then sighed. "Ah, forget it. At least we won't have to worry about being lectured by the Guild Master for causing problems."

"I feel like we will either way. Since we technically didn't stop them from rushing off when we had the chance. Also, Renato has yet to snatch them away from there and teleport them back here." Hibiki points out, causing her twin to rub her forehead in frustration.

"Eh, you win some, you lose some." I shrug. "Unless they get hurt or ask for backup. I'll leave them alone. Same goes for everyone else here."

A few minutes later*

"And the last team has won the treasure chest!" The announcer shouted, "Now that we have eight teams advancing to the next round. We've already informed the Guild Masters of how much they'll have to pay for the damage everyone has caused. So everyone should quickly reunite with your guild and prepare to raise all the funds needed to pay the repair fee."

"What are the chances that our guild will be charged like the others?" Tsukiumi shakes her head in disbelief at all the destruction that has occurred in the past hour since the first round of the Grand Magic Games began.

"Very high." Matsu shows a recorded video of Jenny accidentally destroying some shops while fighting an enemy Mage. Then another recorded video shows Misa's method of getting to the roof is by destroying the building itself, forgetting that she wasn't supposed to damage any buildings, let alone destroy so many, while searching for the treasure chests.

I noticed how Miya's eyes narrowed, and she was about to say something before Matsu switched to another recorded video of Yume destroying the streets with every stomp she did, unable to control her strength with how angry she was.

Man, I never thought that Yume would have such an anger issue. But, then again, compared to the canon where she died before she could watch Musubi grow up, let alone raise the latter. I can understand why Yume would have developed an anger problem when she was shown to be a peaceful and calm Sekirei in the canon.

"Now, everyone should get some rest and get ready to watch the second round of the Grand Magic Games first thing in the morning!" The announcer finished.

"Anyone feeling sleepy?" I asked everyone, even though I knew precisely they were anything but sleepy. And I was right when they all shook their heads, and some denied being sleepy. "Right, how about we wait for Karasuba, Yume, and Musubi to return before we do anything else? It shouldn't take them too long to return to the hotel."

Hours later*

The sun is rising, and the Magic Council's cleanup workers are cleaning things up. It won't take too long before the second round of the Grand Magic Games is revealed to everyone.

After such a tense event last night, everyone is having breakfast and relaxing, where the main conversations are about what they could have or should have done while coming up with many excuses that made it impossible for them to do so.

"You know, I think Guild Master Bob has given up on lecturing everyone, and the better option is to give everyone a disappointed look whenever he can." I grin at how uncomfortable some of the Sekire are feeling by the disappointing looks they are getting.

"Please don't remind us." Uzume groaned, "This shouldn't be more annoying than it is. Is he using magic to make me feel so uncomfortable?"

"My Archive Card isn't picking up any use of magic from the Guild Master." Matsu reported sadly, causing more groans to be heard.

That anime logic for you. Even I can feel it, and damn, it's annoying. No wonder most anime characters get so nervous when someone looks at them in disappointment.

"Should we go apologize?" Musubi asks in a whisper tone.

"Technically, we did by paying 70% of the repair fee." Juvia picks at her eggs with a fork.

"Which is pocket change for our group." Karasuba smirked briefly before scowling again as Guild Master Bob's disappointed gaze fell on her.

"Then why is he still looking at us like that?" Hibiki said harshly in a whisper.

"To make us uncomfortable, I guess?" I gave everyone a wry smile. "For now, let's just deal with it and wait for the announcement of the second round."

"Look on the bright side, everyone." Juvia smiles, causing everyone to look at her. "Compared to everyone else. We're one of the few lucky guilds to stay in a luxurious hotel with high-quality services that are still running."

"Juvia, you brought the hotel along with all the staff by raising their salaries nearly twice their original amount." Uzume said dryly. "So we wouldn't have to stay in a hotel without workers to prepare our food and clean up after us."

"So you would rather we stay in a luxury hotel and cook our own meals, then?" Juvia raises an eyebrow at Uzume. Making the latter shake her head quickly. "Though so. Let's enjoy our breakfast, okay?"

I wonder if Juvia could buy all the world's industries and still have leftover money.