"Ahem, all right! Let's get back to business. Since Gray has chosen to withdraw, Fairy Tail Team A will receive zero points in this event! That means—" Pumpkin Man raised a finger and called out to everyone present, "Even whoever finishes last in the upcoming competition will earn one ranking point! Because the real last place has already been claimed by Fairy Tail Team A, who withdrew from the opening event!"
"Hahahaha!"
The moment he finished speaking, jeers and mocking laughter erupted throughout the stands. The members of Fairy Tail simply acted as though they had heard nothing and ignored it.
A certain little girl with an ahoge, however, looked distinctly unhappy. Pouting, she glared fiercely at Pumpkin Man down below and muttered, "What do you mean, we've claimed last place?! Don't you know this is called a strategic retreat? It's a perfectly sensible decision! Hmph, enjoy yourselves while you can! Just wait until Achill teaches you a lesson!"
Afterward, she even waved her hand at Pumpkin Man in defiance, apparently forgetting that no one without Fairy Tail's guild mark could see her.
"Since the remaining contestants have no objections, and no one else wishes to withdraw, let's begin the next competition!" Pumpkin Man raised both hands, turned toward the sky, and shouted, "Open the field!! Pumpkin!"
"Humm—" The air vibrated, and the ground trembled! Barely had Pumpkin Man finished speaking when an astonishing surge of magic erupted across the vast Arena!
Then an incredible sight unfolded. Just like the Sky Labyrinth that had suddenly appeared during the preliminaries, streams of materialized magic rapidly gathered across the enormous field and took shape! In almost the blink of an eye, a sprawling network of streets filled the entire expanse beneath the spectator stands of the Flare Corona Arena—it was an entire