Chapter 284: Lucy, Favored by the Goddess of Luck (Second Update)
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Water Bind—Juvia's signature water magic.
Once caught, the target becomes suspended in a water sphere, unable to gain any leverage for movement. If trapped for too long, they suffocate and die.
"Water Flow Slash!"
Seeing that the water sphere had ensnared George, Juvia didn't dare let her guard down. Without hesitation, she conjured over a dozen water blades, slicing toward George from all directions.
Yet, George remained unfazed.
"Phantom Shift."
In a blink, his figure flickered, instantly teleporting out of the water sphere. He reappeared behind Juvia, effortlessly dodging all incoming attacks.
"Seven Hundred Million Volts!"
A surge of powerful electricity burst from George's body, traveling through the water on the ground and striking Juvia in her water-formed state.
While water transformation allows Juvia to ignore physical attacks, it provides no immunity against magical ones.
And to make matters worse, lightning magic naturally counters water magic.
On impact, the powerful jolt forced Juvia to revert from her water form.
"Water Whip!"
Fighting through the spasms and tremors caused by the electric shock, Juvia lashed out with a water whip, aiming to disrupt George's continued electric discharge.
However, George's body crackled with electricity as he moved with feline agility and lightning speed. Effortlessly, he dodged the whip's strike and closed the distance between them.
"Sorry about this, Juvia."
With a flick of his wand, he tapped her forehead.
"Stupefy!"
Juvia lost consciousness instantly and collapsed to the ground.
"Ring No. 8—Winner: George!"
Hearing the match's conclusion, Mirajane flew over and loudly announced the results.
The eliminated Fairy Tail mages spectating the battle erupted into chatter.
"Juvia is an S-Class mage, yet she was defeated so easily? George's strength is growing at an alarming rate."
Most Fairy Tail members were unaware of the details surrounding the Tower of Heaven incident, still judging George's power based on his battle against Phantom Lord.
Back then, he was strong, but not to this extent. The way he handled his fight against Juvia—calm, effortless—made it clear that they were no longer on the same level.
After lifting Juvia's Stupefy spell, George turned his attention to the other ongoing matches.
Laxus was as dominant as ever, taking down his opponents in a single move. His current match against Sol from Levy's team was no exception—another instant knockout.
Evergreen faced Elfman. Due to her petrifying gaze, Elfman had to fight with his eyes closed. On top of that, Evergreen could fly, making the match even more lopsided. In the end, Elfman was turned to stone and suffered a crushing defeat.
Levy fought Gajeel and won, though George could tell that Gajeel had held back. As for why… that was open to speculation.
The longest and most intense battle was between Gray and Bickslow. Their strengths were nearly equal, and after an exhausting fight, they both collapsed from severe magical depletion. The match ended in a draw.
However, due to their injuries, neither could advance to the next round, resulting in their elimination.
Thus, thirteen competitors remained in the third round:
George, Laxus, Erza, Evergreen, Levy, Freed, Cana, Macao, Wakaba, Bisca, Alzack, Warren, and… Lucy.
That's right—Lucy had made it to the top thirteen.
In George's eyes, Lucy was actually quite strong, though she lacked confidence in herself.
Even without her full roster of Celestial Spirits, just Aquarius and Leo alone had S-Class strength by most guild standards.
So, in a serious fight, Lucy absolutely had the potential to rank among the guild's top ten.
But today, strength wasn't really necessary for her success—because her luck was through the roof.
In the fourth-round draw, she got a bye, automatically advancing to the top seven without even needing to fight.
"Natsu, this is amazing! I made it to the top seven! I'll get 50,000 jewels in prize money—next month's rent is covered!"
Lucy, thrilled by the result, ran over to share the news with Natsu, who was sitting on the ground nearby.
Natsu, still sulking over his second-round defeat to Erza, responded weakly to Lucy's excitement:
"You wouldn't have to worry about rent if you just stayed in the guild's free dorms instead of renting your own place."
"I just prefer living alone—it feels more free," Lucy replied.
Seeing Natsu's gloomy mood, she tried to comfort him:
"Come on, don't feel down. Losing to Erza is totally normal—she's Erza."
Sitting next to Natsu, Happy pulled a fish out of his small bag, took a bite, and casually muttered:
"They've got a thing going on."
Fourth Round Battles
In the fourth round, there were six battle arenas. George's opponent this time was relatively weak—Warren Rocco, a mage skilled in Thought Projection Magic.
As expected, the match was over in a single move.
Thought Projection Magic was similar to telepathy, allowing Warren to read minds and communicate over short distances.
Unfortunately for him, it was completely useless against George, whose mind was protected by Occlumency and psychic abilities.
George, however, found Thought Projection Magic quite interesting. If he could learn it, it might enhance his own psychic powers and the effectiveness of Legilimency.
Once he returned from the Hundred-Year Quest, he planned to add this magic to his study list.
With his battle finished, George turned his attention to the other matches, watching alongside the others.
Before long, the fourth round came to an end, and the Top 7 finalists were determined:
George, Laxus, Erza, Evergreen, Freed, Cana, and… Lucy.
The Fifth-Round Draw
Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe proved their strength once again. Aside from Bickslow and Gray, who had eliminated each other in a double knockout, both Evergreen and Freed advanced effortlessly.
Then, the fifth-round matchups were drawn:
- Laxus vs. Cana
- Erza vs. Evergreen
- George vs. Freed
- Lucy… got a bye again.
"The Goddess of Luck is definitely on my side today!"
Lucy was beyond ecstatic.
The battles commenced:
- Laxus vs. Cana → Laxus won with ease.
- Erza vs. Evergreen → Initially expected to be a tough fight, it ended quickly. Erza's artificial eye negated Evergreen's Petrification Magic, allowing her to defeat Evergreen in just a few moves. The self-proclaimed "Fairy Queen" was swiftly reminded who the real Titania was.
- George vs. Freed → The final match of the round.
George vs. Freed
Freed stood across from George, gripping his Western Magic Sword tightly.
"I know you're strong, but today, I have to defeat you. Because only by doing so can Laxus become the next Guild Master."
His gaze was resolute.
"You might not know this, but even though I never ranked as an S-Class mage within the guild, I've defeated plenty of S-Class Dark Mages outside of it."
If he could eliminate George here, then Laxus would be guaranteed victory in the final round, securing his position as Fairy Tail's next Master.
That newcomer, Lucy? She was all luck, nothing to worry about.
Erza? Stronger than expected after defeating Evergreen, but still no match for Laxus.
George, however…
George was a complete unknown.
The information they had on him, the spells he had demonstrated—moving mountains, slicing through them like butter—all pointed to one thing:
George wasn't just S-Class. He was one of the strongest S-Class mages.
A true threat to Laxus.
And so, Freed had to win.
(End of Chapter)