Bisca hoisted a massive, pitch-black Bonebreaker Cannon onto her hip. The barrel was as wide as two people's waists and about a meter long, radiating an intimidating aura.
With her delicate, pale hands, Bisca gripped the hefty, dark cannon, her face glowing with a mix of satisfaction and awe that could make anyone blush.
Then she aimed the barrel straight at Loki.
Wait, hold on—something's off here. Isn't Bisca's magic all about guns? Since when does she use a cannon? Isn't this kind of weapon reserved for massive battlefields? And what's with that look on her face?
Loki froze mid-run, his mind flooded with questions. He thought about stopping to talk it out, but it was too late—the attack was already coming.
His hesitation sapped the momentum of his Lion's Roar spell, weakening its power by a third.
BOOM!
The cannon roared with a deafening blast, and the golden lion phantom melted away in a light wave the size of half a guild hall. The surrounding cliffs shuddered, the ground quaked, the nearby grass swayed, and the man in front of her collapsed.
Loki was blasted dozens of meters away, crashing to the ground, unable to get up. His mind was left with only the three most famous philosophical questions in Celestial Spirit history: Who am I? Where am I? What just happened?
Bisca slung the cannon over her shoulder, instinctively leaning in to blow away the barrel's smoke—only to realize the barrel was bigger than her head. She gave up on the idea.
"One shot took out Loki? This thing's incredible! Totally worth the purchase."
A few days ago, Bisca had visited Hope's Workshop to make up for a canceled order. Now, she was just grateful. "You get what you pay for."
A cannon worth a million jewels? Of course it's strong!
"What a mess!" Loki groaned, dragging himself up and brushing off his dirt-covered clothes. Even in defeat, style mattered. "If I'm not mistaken, that's one of Kira's magic gadgets, right? Isn't using something like that against the rules?"
The competition banned special magic items.
"Of course it's not!" Bisca shot back confidently. "This is a weapon I summoned with my magic, just like Erza's armors. How's that against the rules?"
A good weapon could bridge the gap between fighters. Loki had no comeback and could only silently curse his luck.
By all metrics, Loki was stronger than Bisca, but she had money and a powerful ally to back her up. Loki, on the other hand, had spent his days in Fairy Tail living it up, blowing his cash without saving much. Before this match, he'd even given his savings to his girlfriends, leaving him flat broke.
Sprawled on the ground, staring at the sky, Loki sighed. "I thought I'd get a chance to make Kira eat dirt and settle two years' worth of grudges. Guess that's not happening…"
Bisca grinned. "Don't give up. There's always tomorrow."
Clearly, even among teammates, some were itching to stick it to Kira!
Just then, an urgent distress call crackled through the White Team's communication channel.
Marcus: "Help! Help! Gray and Juvia are attacking from this side!"
Nobu: "Did the Blue and Black Teams join forces?"
Bickslow: "Gray, huh? I've been wanting to take him on… By the way, Bisca, how's it going on your end?"
Bisca: "No worries, I took care of Loki."
Bickslow: "Nice work! I'm heading to the other side then. Where's Kira?"
Half a minute later, Kira's voice came through. "Just finished dealing with Natsu and Gajeel. I'll be at the Black Team's crystal tower soon. What do you think? Should I slow down to give you guys time for a good fight?"
Bickslow: "Nah, I'll wrap this up quick!"
Hearing their teammate's confidence, everyone shared a knowing smile.
As Kira pressed forward, he mentally reviewed the strengths of the four opponents he'd soon face. Normally, it'd be Gray > Bickslow = Juvia > Marcus. If Gray and Juvia teamed up to storm their crystal, his teammates might not be able to hold them off.
"Guess I'd better pick up the pace!" Kira quickened his steps.
…
"Ice-Make: Lancers!"
Several ice spears shot out from a magic circle, arcing gracefully through the air—only to be blocked by a wall of sand.
Panting, Marcus faced Gray and Juvia. "You guys are going way too far! You're actually—"
Before he could finish, a water blade formed from condensed streams sliced toward him. His eyes widened, and he collapsed backward, narrowly dodging the attack. The sharp blade still nicked off a lock of his hair.
"—ganging up on me two-on-one!" Marcus wailed, his face full of despair. "Where's my backup?!"
"Just step aside already," Gray said with a grin. "Save yourself a beating."
Marcus's legs trembled. "No way! I'd rather tick off you than Kira—I know which is worse…"
Gray: "…"
"No need to say more! If I let you through, I'd be breaking the rules. How am I supposed to keep competing after that?" Marcus's voice was quiet but firm.
"Heh, then you'd better brace yourself!" Gray chuckled. "Juvia, let's do this!"
"Yes!" Juvia replied, raising her hand. "Water Lock!"
Marcus didn't have Kira's strength. Against Kira, Juvia could go all out, but against Marcus, she opted for a less damaging binding spell.
Trapped in Juvia's water sphere, Marcus felt his magic power stagnate, unable to flow.
Deprived of both breath and magic for the first time, he couldn't help but think: Juvia really lives up to her old S-Class Phantom Lord status. Her strength is on another level.
Marcus had read Kira's light novels and once dreamed of pulling off moves like "Sand Burial," "Desert Blade," or "Moisture Drain." But he had to admit—novels and reality were worlds apart.
Those flashy moves? He just couldn't pull them off!
"Nice work, Juvia!" Gray called out.
Ignoring Marcus's pleading eyes, Gray reached into the water sphere, releasing a burst of cold that froze it into a solid ice ball.
"AHH! Gray-sama praised me!" Juvia squealed, overjoyed by her crush's approval.
Clunk!
Marcus's hands and feet were sealed in the ice, with only his head sticking out. Breathing wasn't an issue, but he couldn't move or fight.
"Where's my backup?! Gray's got me frozen, and they're about to get through!" Marcus cried, sending another desperate plea through the chat channel. The responses were quick: Bickslow's mockery, Bisca's pity, Nobu's acknowledgment, and Kira… eating popcorn on the sidelines.
"No way, you're that weak? You got taken out already?" Bickslow taunted.
"They're playing dirty, ganging up on me and ambushing me…" Marcus whined.
"They're two against one, and it's Gray and Juvia. Marcus holding out this long is already impressive," Bisca said sympathetically.
"What do you mean 'that Marcus'?! Explain yourself, Bisca!" Marcus snapped.
"Since Marcus got taken out, I'm definitely doing a mission after the match," Nobu chimed in.
"What the heck, man? Can you say something relevant to what's happening?! What does my loss have to do with you doing missions? Who cares about your missions! And you've been saying that forever…" Marcus grumbled.
"Heh heh heh, looks like Gray and Juvia's CP is thriving," Kira added.
"?? I'm getting pummeled defending our crystal, and you, my so-called teammate, don't even care—you're just openly eating popcorn in front of me?!" Marcus fumed.
His complaints were completely ignored by his four teammates, cementing a match where only Marcus suffered.
"Can't you guys take this seriously?! The enemy's practically at our doorstep!" Marcus shouted.
Bickslow: "Shut up! It's your fault for not holding the line."
Marcus: "…"
Blame me, huh?
---