The moment the words fell, countless magic circles suddenly lit up throughout the town's streets and alleys.
"The field is filled with player-exclusive magic-power copies. They will mimic the real competitors' movements and wander around, disrupting everyone's judgment!"
"The match officially begins!"
Boom!
The magic circles erupted with blinding light, and countless copies surged out.
The streets, rooftops, and dark alleys were densely packed with duplicates of the eight competitors, making it almost impossible to tell real from fake.
In Fairy Tail Team A's waiting area, Natsu stared at the big screen, at the Gray copies scattered everywhere, his face full of disgust.
"Ugh, it's all shirtless Grays. That's way too hard on the eyes. Just looking at it makes me sick!"
Gray, inside the arena, heard the broadcast and instantly roared with a darkened expression.
"What do you know?! This is a training habit for an ice Mage!"
"It's ugly! It burns the eyes!" Natsu shot back mercilessly.
In Team B's seats, Lu Chongwei stared at the copies filling the field and frowned.
He had just sensed the fatal trap in the rules when something went wrong inside the arena.
"Lord Gray!!"
Juvia looked at the Gray copies all over the streets, and all reason left her.
Her eyes were filled only with the figure of the man she loved. She had long since thrown the match rules to the back of her mind.
"It's all Lord Gray! This is heaven!"
She spread her arms and lunged like a madwoman at the nearest Gray copy.
The tremendous impact triggered the attack judgment, and water magic power burst out with a roar.
"Fairy Tail Team B hit a copy. One point deducted!"
"Competitor Juvia will be forcibly teleported off the field for ten seconds!"
The cold announcement rang out, and