Fairy Tail Destiny-Chapter 224: Ch : Preliminary round

"Sorry, we're late."

At 11:50 PM, Noel and Mira finally returned to the designated lodging.

As they pushed open the door and saw that the others had already gathered, Noel spoke apologetically.

"Don't worry about it. You're not late; we just arrived early," Gajeel waved his hand dismissively.

Then, looking at everyone in the room, he asked, "So, how was your time out?"

"It was fine. Mira and I just strolled around the city for a bit," Noel replied.

"Juvia had a very complicated meal," Juvia said weakly, lying exhausted on the bed.

She looked like she had just been through something extremely draining.

"I went to check out the festival site with the Thunder God Tribe, just to get familiar with the area," Laxus answered calmly.

"That sounds nice," Gajeel grumbled, ruffling his hair in frustration.

"I was bored out of my mind."

At that moment, Mira glanced at the clock on the wall and said, "Speaking of which, it's almost midnight."

"Oh, it's time already? What's going to happen?" Gajeel perked up, clearly excited for some action after his dull day.

As everyone watched, the clock's hour and minute hands finally overlapped at the 12 o'clock position.

Just as they were starting to feel confused about nothing happening, a clear chime echoed throughout all of Crocus.

Then, a voice filled with a mysterious amusement suddenly rang out.

"Good morning, elite mages gathered here for the Grand Magic Games!"

"Outside." Laxus was the first to react.

He quickly pushed open the balcony door and rushed out.

Noel and the others followed closely behind, stepping onto the balcony.

"Hey, what is that thing? A pumpkin?" Gajeel asked curiously as he looked at the floating pumpkin-headed figure in the sky.

"It's a holographic projection," Mira immediately identified the image in the sky.

The floating pumpkin-headed figure ignored the commotion below and continued speaking on its own: "To select eight teams from the 113 participating guilds, the preliminary round will now begin."

"Preliminary round?" Juvia repeated in confusion.

"Master never mentioned this," Mira frowned slightly.

"Eliminating 113 guilds down to just eight in one go?" Noel narrowed his eyes slightly, showing a look of interest.

"A preliminary round being held for the first time, not taking place before the tournament started, and with such an unusually high number of participating guilds—it's probably the same situation as us... Also, I can't shake the feeling that there's some sort of conspiracy behind this. Sounds interesting."

"Whatever the case, this just means a lot of unnecessary trouble is being taken care of for us," Laxus said with a cold smirk.

"Eliminating all the weaklings? That works for me. At least we won't have to waste energy on small fries," Gajeel said, clenching his fists.

The pumpkin-headed figure in the sky continued, dancing comically while speaking in a rhythmic, musical tone: "Each year, more and more guilds participate, but the competition itself has become dull. We've received such complaints, so this year, the official matches will only feature eight teams... The rules of the preliminary round are simple."

The moment the pumpkin-headed figure finished speaking, Noel and the others felt the ground beneath them begin to shake.

"An earthquake? No... that's not it."

"Our inn is rising and transforming. The other inns are too."

Under their astonished gazes, the inn they were staying in suddenly lifted off the ground and began to change shape.

"The competition begins now," the pumpkin-headed figure continued, explaining effortlessly.

"The goal is the official tournament venue—Domus Flau. Only the first eight teams to reach the finish line will qualify for the main event."

"Look!" Juvia suddenly pointed ahead.

Following her gesture, they saw a series of wooden platforms appearing out of thin air, forming a staircase-like path forward.

It seemed to be the designated route for the participants.

"You are free to use magic as you please—there are no restrictions. Only the first eight teams to reach the goal will pass the preliminary round. However, if all five members of a team do not reach the finish line together, the team will be disqualified.

Additionally... even if you die within the maze, we take no responsibility.

—Grand Magic Games Preliminary Round: Sky Labyrinth... begins now."

As the pumpkin-headed figure finished speaking, a spherical steel fortress in the sky had fully taken shape.

Pathways extended from each lodging site toward this massive iron sphere, yet the labyrinthine, intricate grooves across its surface made it clear that this so-called "Sky Labyrinth" would not be an easy challenge to overcome.

"A maze, huh?" Noel smirked slightly, then turned to Laxus and asked, "Laxus, do you remember the fastest way we once discussed to get through a maze?"

Laxus paused for a moment, then seemed to realize something, and a cold smirk appeared on his face.

"Of course—go in a straight line."

"Correct!" Noel snapped his fingers and pointed at the Sky Labyrinth above them.

"I like simple rules. They leave plenty of room for creativity."

"Hahaha, I don't really get what's going on, but basically, we just have to destroy anything that blocks our path, right?" Gajeel laughed heartily.

"Is this... really okay?" Juvia hesitated, her voice uncertain.

But her weak protest was powerless against the resolve of the three destruction-hungry individuals.

Before long, as various guild members struggled to navigate the Sky Labyrinth with careful strategy, they all began to notice faint tremors beneath their feet, followed by a continuous series of deafening explosions.

Those on the outskirts of the maze even witnessed clouds of dust and shattered debris bursting outward, as if the labyrinth itself was crying out in distress.

At Domus Flau, the official tournament venue, the pumpkin-headed announcer stood watching the Sky Labyrinth, which was now spewing dust clouds and bursts of fire.

Though he still wore a smile, it had become stiff and uneasy.

Wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead, he spoke in a tone that was equal parts exasperated and amazed.

"This is just... completely ridiculous... Ignoring all the barriers and the magic reinforcement placed on top of them, and just brute-forcing their way through... This is the first time I've seen someone so insane and utterly lacking in artistic finesse. I wonder which guild those maniacs belong to."

With that, the pumpkin-headed man flicked his green wizard's hat and let out a sigh before continuing.

"Looks like we'll need to revise the rules for future competitions... Though I have to admit, I've never heard of monsters with this kind of power before. This year's Grand Magic Games are going to be quite the spectacle."

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