A Duel Between Celestial Spirit Mages

The ground around the arena was cleared, and the broken stone slabs were quickly filled in by the staff.

In the commentary booth, Chapati turned the volume of the megaphone crystal to the maximum and shouted loudly.

"Alright, everyone! The third one-on-one duel of the second day is about to begin!"

"The draw process on the big screen has stopped. Let me take a look at the two contestants who will appear this round!"

The magical screen flickered rapidly before freezing on two photos of female mages.

Chapati grabbed the parchment list and roared.

"The results have been announced! The two teams facing off are— Yukino from Sabertooth Guild versus Lucy from Fairy Tail Team A!"

"I never imagined this would be such a rare civil war among Celestial Spirit Mages!"

"Throughout the entire Kingdom of Fiore, and indeed the entire continent, Celestial Spirit Mages have always been few in number. For two top-tier Celestial Spirit Mages to compete on the same stage in the same arena is an absolutely rare spectacle in the history of competitions!"

A murmur of discussion immediately arose in the stands.

The doors to Sabertooth's player tunnel are now open.

A young girl dressed in a pure white short skirt and a snow-white cloak walked out slowly. She had neat, short, snow-white hair and looked like the first snow of winter.

"Yukino! Bring victory back!"

Sting, with his hands on the railing, shouted from the Sabertooth stands.

Yukino didn't turn around, but walked steadily to the center of the arena, her expression exceptionally calm.

Meanwhile, in the Fairy Tail Team A's rest area.

Lucy looked down at the bunch of gold keys hanging from her waist, her fingertips gliding over each key ring.

Natsu came closer and waved his fist.

"Lucy! Go and give that Sabertooth guy a good beating! Help me get revenge for all the frustration I felt this morning!"

Gray crossed his arms and offered a reminder.

"Since they can represent Sabertooth in this battle, they're definitely not ordinary. Don't underestimate them."

Jiang Bai leaned back on the bench, tossing a green jujube in his hand, and spoke casually.

"Relax and play your game. Your opponent's hand is most likely also Zodiac. Just don't let them lead you by the nose."

Hearing Jiang Bai's reminder, Lucy's nervousness subsided considerably, and she nodded vigorously.

"Don't worry, I definitely won't lose!"

Lucy strode quickly up the stone steps and onto the arena.

The referee, with Pumpkin head, stood at the center dividing line, raising his hands high.

"Both fighters are in position! The third match of the second day of the Grand Magic Games, singles challenge, begins now, Pumpkin!"

"Duang!!!"

The bronze bell rang on the spot, its sound echoing throughout the entire venue.

Yukino placed her hands on her lower abdomen, bowed slightly, and respectfully greeted Lucy.

"Miss Lucy from Fairy Tail, nice to meet you."

Lucy paused for a moment, then quickly bowed in return.

Ah, please guide me!

Lucy straightened up, pondering to herself.

Sabertooth is full of arrogant guys with their noses in the air. I originally thought they were all nasty, but I was surprised to find that there was one girl who was so polite.

Before Lucy could finish her reflection, Yukino spoke again, her voice soft and calm.

"Before the actual battle, should we follow the example of the previous competitors and set a bet?"

Lucy blinked, somewhat confused.

"Bet?"

Why does everyone have to make a bet before they go on stage today? Aren't Toby, who lost his socks, and Jenny, who had to pose nude, enough of a lesson?

Yukino reached for her waist and slowly took out the wallet clipped to her belt.

"The terms of the bet are simple: the loser must unconditionally give all the Zodiac keys they possess to the winner."

Upon hearing this, Lucy's polite demeanor vanished instantly.

With her brows furrowed, Lucy shook her head decisively without a second thought.

"Absolutely not, I would never gamble with the Celestial Spirit Key."

Yukino tilted her head slightly, her tone tinged with confusion.

"Miss Lucy, wouldn't you like to hear about the stakes I can offer? They're absolutely equal."

Lucy placed her hands on the leather pouch at her waist, her tone resolute.

No matter how tempting the bet you offer, I will never agree!

"To me, the Celestial Spirit are companions who have faced life and death together, friends in life, and definitely not commodities or chips to be casually wagered on the gambling table!"

Yukino lowered her eyes, sighed softly, and opened her wallet with her right hand.

"Really? That's such a shame."

"Since our ideologies clash, the only way to defeat you is through the most direct method."

With two fingers, Yukino picked up a golden key with a fish pattern carved at the end, and swept her arm horizontally, causing a golden magical aura to suddenly draw an elliptical trajectory in the void.

"Open! The Gate of Pisces!"

"Pisces!"

A pure white magical light ripped open in the void, and the roaring sound of rushing water exploded out of nowhere.

A massive amount of Celestial Spirit magic power poured out.

Two enormous creatures, each the size of a giant python, burst forth from the portal.

One black and one white, two enormous sea creatures coiled and swirled in mid-air, their scales reflecting dazzling light under the sun.

"Roar--!"

Pisces swung its thick tail fin in mid-air, its huge mouth opened, and the violent water flow, like a burst dam, converged into two high-pressure water columns, which blasted straight toward the stone platform where Lucy was standing.

If it were Lucy, who had just joined the guild seven years ago, she would probably have panicked on the spot when faced with such a sudden area-of-effect attack.

Having been tempered on Tenrou Island and awakened by the Second Origin, Lucy is no longer the same person she once was.

Lucy lightly slid several meters to the side and back, avoiding the strongest impact point of the water jet, by touching the ground with her toes.

The surging waves crashed against the granite floor, flooding the area up to knee-deep.

Since the venue is full of water sources, there is no one more suitable to make an appearance than that person.

As Lucy retreated, she pulled out a gold key engraved with a water bottle from her waist and slid it into the stream of water in front of her.

"Now that we have water, things are much easier!"

"Open the Gate of Aquarius!"

"Aquarius!"

A golden magic circle lit up underwater.

Whoosh!

Water splashed everywhere, and a mermaid emerged, her upper body naked and her lower body covered in dark blue fish scales. She held a huge silver water bottle in her hands and looked extremely impatient.

Aquarius tossed her long, wet, dark blue hair, her tone full of hostility.

"Lucy! You forgetful idiot!"

"This is land! Even if there's some water on the ground, how difficult would it be to forcibly use a large-scale water control spell on dry land? Do you even understand what's going on?!"

Lucy clasped her hands together in front of her chest and bowed repeatedly in apology.

"I'm so sorry! It's an emergency! Aquarius, please help me!"

Aquarius rolled her eyes, her gaze sweeping over Yukino opposite her and the two circling Pisces.

Despite her constant complaining, this grumpy mermaid Celestial Spirit never wavers when it comes to crucial matches; she doesn't want Lucy, whom she's watched grow up, to lose.

Aquarius clutched the water bottle tightly in her arms, pouring her immense Celestial Spirit magic into it without reservation.

"Shut up! I'm on my date with my boyfriend tonight, stop wasting my time here!"

Get out of my way!

The silver bottle tilted, and raging waves roared out from its mouth.

The water vapor on the entire arena went completely out of control under the pull of magic, transforming into a giant waterspout with a diameter of over ten meters. Like a Roar raging python, it crushed the paving stones along its path and crashed straight into Yukino on the opposite side.

The water jet from Pisces was as fragile as a waterline in the face of the waterspout, and was instantly swept up and Crush.

Chapati in the commentary booth was shouting and yelling.

"Amazing water pressure! Fairy Tail's Lucy has used the environment created by her opponent to summon a powerful Aquarius Celestial Spirit!"

"The power of this torrent storm is astonishing! How will Yukino cope with it?!"

Despite the waterspout hurtling towards her head, Yukino's composure remained undiminished.

The second golden key was already in his fingertips.

The magic surged once more, and a second golden portal in the void instantly opened.

"Opening two Celestial Spirit Gates simultaneously?!"

In the stands, Gray straightened up.

Yukino waved her arm, and her clear, cold voice rang out.

"Open! The Gate of Libra!"

"Libra!"

The portal shattered, and a female Celestial Spirit dressed in exotic light gauze clothing and veiled her face appeared, holding a small golden scale in each hand.

Libra spread his arms, the scales in his hands tilting slightly.

Gravity Magic: Balance Upside Down!

An invisible and intangible high-intensity gravitational field instantly enveloped the entire area in front of the arena.

The gravitational force suddenly increased by tens of times.

The waterspout, which had risen abruptly and seemed unstoppable, suddenly sank as it entered the gravity field of Libra, as if it had crashed into an invisible, descending ceiling.

Splash!

Tons of raging water were forced back to the ground, turning into calm puddles that flowed across the land, making it impossible to get any closer.

Aquarius watched as her all-out attack was so easily neutralized, her lips twitching, and she spat out in extreme displeasure.

"Tch! What an incredibly troublesome ability!"

Her form transformed into a shimmering liquid, Aquarius slowly dissipated, giving Lucy a fierce glare before returning to the Celestial Spirit World.

"Lucy, I've run out of magic, I have to go back now."

"If you dare lose this match to that white-haired girl, you'd better make sure you're safe back at the guild!"

Lucy covered her forehead, her face covered in sweat.

Aquarius returns to the Celestial Spirit World, and the place falls silent once more.

Yukino stood in front of Pisces and Libra, with the two Celestial Spirits guarding her on either side.

Yukino raised her right hand and pointed at Lucy.

"Water flow is meaningless against Libra's gravity, and Pisces' close-quarters combat is enough to immobilize you."

"Miss Lucy, you've lost all hope of winning. To avoid getting hurt, you should just admit defeat."

Lucy vigorously wiped the water droplets from her cheeks, a confident smile curving her lips.

"Admit defeat? This is just the beginning!"

Lucy reached into the key pouch at her waist with both hands at the same time, and crossed two golden keys between her fingertips.

The Second Magic Origin within the body was operating at full capacity, and abundant magic power surged out along the meridians.

"Don't think you're the only one who can open two doors!"

Lucy threw out both keys at the same time.

In the void, two dazzling golden lights shone simultaneously, their magical fluctuations even overpowering Yukino on the opposite side.

"Open! The Gate of Leo! Loke!"

"Open! The Gate of Virgo! Virgo!"

The light spread out.

A handsome young man in a black suit stood confidently in front, hands in his pockets.

The short-haired girl dressed in a black and white maid outfit knelt properly on one knee with her hands placed flat in front of her knees.

"I am at the princess's beck and call." Loke said with a smile.

"Master, are you going to punish me today, or the enemy on the other side?" Virgo asked calmly.

In the stands, Sting of Sabertooth's expression changed slightly.

Yukino's pupils dilated slightly as she looked at the two powerful Celestial Spirits who had appeared opposite her, and her fingers gripping the key tightened slowly.

"You actually managed to maintain the energy consumption of two Zodiac Celestial Spirits simultaneously... I underestimated you."

"However, the power of the Zodiac varies; Leo and Virgo alone cannot overcome the gravitational blockade of Libra!"

Each side stood behind two Celestial Spirit, and four gazes clashed fiercely in mid-air.

A great war is about to break out!