Absolute home turf! The battle between water and space
The judging rules for this project are clear and straightforward: if a contestant completely leaves the area of the suspended water sphere, they are immediately eliminated!
"The contestants need to engage in a full-blown battle inside this water sphere, doing everything in their power to knock all their opponents out of the sphere!"
Chapati turned to the rulebook page, emphasizing his words.
"In addition, this match includes a special ultimate endgame limitation!"
When only two players remain inside the water balloon, the arena will automatically trigger a five-minute countdown!
"Once the five-minute countdown begins, the player who falls out of the water balloon first will not be moved up to second place; instead, they will be penalized and placed last in the entire competition—that is, last place!"
The audience immediately gasped in amazement.
This additional rule is undeniably insidious.
If you advance to the final two-on-one battle, and you can't last five minutes, your previously excellent points will instantly drop to zero, and you'll fall to the very bottom.
The players inside the water polo ball froze simultaneously, each creating a defensive distance between themselves.
Juvia, however, floated comfortably in the center of the water sphere, surrounded by a faint blue magical glow, appearing completely at ease.
Chapati raised his arm, and the ultimate command came through the megaphone.
"Rules announced!"
"Day Four Competition - [Naval Battle]! The competition has officially begun!!"
The undercurrents inside the water sphere began to surge faster.
Juvia stretched her arms out to her sides, and her magic power rapidly flowed into the surrounding water.
"Since Lord Gray is watching from the stands, Juvia absolutely cannot delay any longer."
Juvia clasped her hands together in front of her chest.
"Alright! I'll take care of you all in one go!"
Juvia twisted her hips, and her body spun around rapidly in the water.
"Water Cyclone!"
A massive waterspout violently swirled inside the water sphere, its ferocious centrifugal force tearing outwards.
Jenny, the Blue Pegasus, and Loke, the Quatro Cerberus, had no time to find their balance.
The current swept the two directly into the edge of the whirlpool, throwing them off the surface of the water sphere.
Loke and Jenny passed through the water membrane and fell straight onto the stone slabs of the arena below.
The referee, Pumpkin Head, waved his flag, eliminating both players.
Juvia didn't pause; she clasped her hands behind her back and pulled hard from bottom to top with her fingertips.
"Water Flow: Rising Rosy Clouds!"
A massive, spiraling column of water forcefully pierces upwards from the bottom of the water sphere.
The violent water pressure forcibly lifted Sherria and Risley up, shattering the surface of the water at the top.
The two people detached from the water sphere and fell downwards along the splashing water.
In just a few seconds, most of the water sphere was emptied.
Only two people remained inside the entire water sphere.
Juvia stood atop the swirling water, looking incredulously at Minerva, who remained standing in the same spot.
The two large-scale water spells just now were cast with full force, yet the opponent was still able to stay in place.
Minerva, with one hand on her hip, strode forward through the water.
Are you surprised that you weren't eliminated?
Minerva stopped and looked Juvia over again.
"I must admit, your water magic is truly amazing."
Juvia had no intention of replying and swung her arms forward violently.
"Water Stream Slash!"
Several extremely compressed crescent-shaped water blades broke through the water resistance and roared as they slashed towards Minerva's vital points.
However, the water blade suddenly stopped half a meter away from Minerva.
The fluctuation flickered.
All the water blades vanished without a trace in mid-air.
Juvia froze, her hands hanging in mid-air.
"Gone?!"
In the Fairy Tail stands, Mavis floated to the edge of the railing.
Mavis stared at the distorted gaps around Minerva.
That's Space Magic.
Mavis turned to look at Makarov beside him.
"Moreover, it's a very high-level spatial displacement and distortion ability."
Makarov stroked his beard.
"I never expected that a space mage similar to that brat Jiang Bai would appear at this year's Grand Magic Games."
Lucy, who was standing in the back row, immediately screamed.
"What?!"
Lucy covered her head with both hands and quickly walked to Jiang Bai's side.
"Is that woman's Space Magic on par with Jiang Bai's? Doesn't that put Juvia in danger?!"
Jiang Bai turned to the side and flicked Lucy's forehead with his right hand.
What nonsense are you thinking about?
"If the opponent can still use Space Magic normally in front of me, I might as well just find a block of tofu and smash my head against it."
Jiang Bai watched the two players on the field.
"It's usable now simply because I don't have the time or inclination to block off the surrounding space."
Lucy rubbed her reddened forehead and stepped back to where she was.
"That's because the president's statements are too easily misleading."
Center of the water polo field.
Minerva raised her right hand and brushed aside the sleeves of her clothes that were floating in the water.
"Your skills are indeed quite impressive."
Minerva then offered Juvia a suggestion.
"Would you be interested in leaving Fairy Tail and joining our Sabertooth guild?"
Juvia completely ignored those words, pressing her hands down in front of her chest.
"Water Lock!"
The sealed, high-density spherical water prison instantly closed around Minerva, forcibly trapping Minerva in the center.
Juvia exerted force with her right hand, intending to push the water prison, along with Minerva, out of the boundary of the large water sphere.
The pushing and shoving in the water prison had just begun.
Minerva's figure vanished instantly inside the water prison.
The next second.
Minerva suddenly appeared beside Juvia, her right leg sweeping out, aiming straight for Juvia's waist.
But Minerva's boots pierced through Juvia's body without any resistance.
The water rippled outwards.
Minerva stepped back to create distance.
"What?!"
The hit area turned into flowing water, which quickly reformed into a human shape.
Juvia tossed her long hair aside and assumed a fighting stance.
Physical attacks are ineffective against Juvia's aquatic body.
Minerva hovered not far away, her five fingers slightly spread, intending to use Space Magic to forcibly remove Juvia from the water sphere.
Her magic spread along the water.
But then Minerva discovered that Juvia's scent had completely permeated every drop of water inside the entire water sphere.
Juvia had long since assimilated this area of water.
If Juvia is to be moved, the entire giant water sphere, tens of meters in diameter, must be transported away in one go.
In that case, Minerva himself would also be knocked out of the game and declared a loser.
Juvia is now in an invincible position in the water.
Juvia channeled her magic, attempting to manipulate the undercurrents to forcibly separate Minerva from her.
Using its spatial teleportation ability, Minerva began to frequently flash and shift positions across the water sphere.
Spatial movement leaves no trace of its movement.
Minerva kept weaving and maneuvering around every corner of the water sphere, completely abandoning any direct confrontation.
The endgame penalty rules will not apply as long as the player is not eliminated within the five-minute time limit.
Juvia attempted to block the water flow on several occasions, but Minerva avoided them all by using coordinate transformation.
Time ticked away, second by second.
The numbers on the timing Magic Crystal jump towards the finish line.
The bell above the commentary booth rang.
When--!
Chapati slammed his fist on the table and shouted into the megaphone.
"Five minutes have run out!"
Neither of the two players inside the water polo field have left the area!
According to the rules, in the fourth day's competition [Naval Battle], Fairy Tail and Sabertooth tied for first place, each earning 10 points!