But whatever they thought, none of it had anything to do with Achill.
It could not stir even the slightest ripple in his heart...
"Do you want to continue, old friend...?" Slowly drawing back the right hand he had raised to slash, Achill looked at the dejected Jura across from him and asked calmly, "This is the strength I possess now."
Jura sighed softly at his words, a trace of despondency appearing on his face.
"You really are unimaginably strong. I'm no match for you... But before I officially concede, could you let me see it—" Shaking his head, Jura put aside his dejection, and a glimmer of hope suddenly rose on his face. His eyes shone as he gazed at Achill standing in midair, and he asked with almost feverish enthusiasm, "The Magic Way stretches endlessly ahead! Could you let me see it? Just one glimpse would be enough... What beautiful scenery surrounds you, walking at the very forefront...?"
"I so wish I could see it for myself—the most beautiful scenery up ahead..."
Amplified throughout the venue, Jura's heartfelt request reached everyone's ears. The vast Arena fell solemnly silent. Everyone stared wide-eyed at Achill, who stood calmly in the air opposite Jura, watching without blinking as they waited for his answer, filled with curiosity and longing.
Even Makarov, in Fairy Tail's spectator section, felt a faint excitement and anticipation rise in his eyes...
Like Jura, he wanted to witness the scenery farther along the Magic Way, beyond the horizons he knew.
Feeling Jura's fervent gaze and the unreserved yearning in his eyes, Achill finally let out an almost imperceptible sigh beneath the entire crowd's eager, silent scrutiny.
"All right."
His long white coat, embroidered with a black Fairy Tail emblem on the back, fluttered gently in the wind. Achill