At the center of the arena.
Yukino's face was pale, her forehead covered in cold sweat, yet she still stood straight.
She looked at Kagura, her voice a little hoarse.
"Miss Kagura."
"This Celestial Spirit brings disaster with every summoning."
"I'm not even sure I can fully control it."
"But I can't lose."
Kagura stood within the black mist, her hand gripping the bandage-wrapped longsword, her expression unchanged.
The wild wind lifted the hem of her clothes, and the black mist churned past her, yet it could not make her take even half a step back.
Yukino looked at her like that, her eyes complicated.
"Aren't you afraid?"
Kagura calmly raised her head.
"No."
"I have never begged for luck."
Her voice was not loud, but it was frighteningly steady.
"I did not get here today by relying on good fortune."
"Win or lose, live or die."
"Every outcome is one I choose for myself."
The moment those words fell, Mermaid Heel's waiting area went silent.
Millianna gripped the railing with both hands, her eyes reddening.
"Kagura..."
Risley took a deep breath. "She's still the same as ever."
Arania said in a low voice, "No one should even think about scaring her off."
Over on Fairy Tail's side, Erza looked at Kagura's back, her gaze growing even more serious.
"Her will is harder than that blade."
Lu Chongwei nodded.
"This match is already over."
Gray froze. "Ophiuchus has already been summoned, and you're saying it's over?"
Lu Chongwei looked at Kagura.
"For Yukino, that is her final trump card."
"But for Kagura, it is only something that needs to be cut down."
On the arena.
Ophiuchus's vertical pupils locked tightly onto Kagura.
It seemed to have sensed the gravity magic on Kagura, and also seemed to have been enraged by