Amidst the enthusiastic farewell, Lucy pulled Happy and ran all the way through remote alleys.
It wasn't until she ran through several forked roads and the noise of the festival gradually faded away that she stopped at a quiet alley, holding on to the wall and breathing heavily.
After calming down for a while, Lucy finally couldn't help but look at Happy beside him:
"By the way Happy, I've always wanted to ask... what happened outside when I was in that maze?"
"Why did it suddenly seem like the sky outside changed when I came out? Blanc Why did you suddenly start such a competition?"
Happy briefly told Lucy what happened during her absence.
Lucy was so angry that his cheeks bulged up after hearing this:
"That's too much! You actually want to turn your companions into stone as hostages, and force everyone to kill each other! Is this what people in the same guild should do!?"
"If Blanc hadn't replaced us in advance..."
Suddenly, Lucy realized something, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
"Wait... Speaking of which, the person who locked me up in that inexplicable maze was actually the guy Blanc..."
Happy covered her mouth and snickered. "Lucy When you came out to accuse Evergreen, her expression was wonderful."
"Forget it, everything is over." Lucy shook his head and forced his thoughts back to the present.
"The most important thing now is this cheating game!"
Then, she cautiously poked her head out of the alley and looked around. She found an abandoned warehouse not far away, with few people around, and she was completely relieved.
"Good! There are no other members nearby..."
Lucy patted his chest, relaxed a little bit, and even couldn't help laughing:
"Hehe, it seems I'm pretty lucky! As long as I hide quietly in that abandoned warehouse for three hours, I'll get the top sixteen!"
"As for how to stay first..." She thought about it in distress, her brain was about to smoke but she still couldn't figure it out, and finally she shook her head in despair.
"Forget it, the boat will go straight when it reaches the bridge. Let's make sure we advance first!"
Just when Lucy entered Ah Q's spirit, a soft cat's paw gently poked her.
Happy walked to her feet at some point, with his face raised, his eyes shining with expectation:
"Lucy, you lost to us on purpose, how about you let us experience the first place too?"
It stretched out its two little claws extremely painfully:
"This time... I'll give you two fish!"
"Impossible! No matter how many fish I give you, I won't change it!"
Lucy put his hands on his hips and flatly refused, then waved his hand and said:
"Okay, I'm going to find a place to hide next. Happy, go find Natsu by yourself, don't hinder me."
However, Happy turned his head, folded his arms and refused confidently:
"We don't want it! Lucy Look at the top of our head!"
Lucy subconsciously moved his eyes upward and saw the silver texture [12].
"We are ranked twelfth, and our situation is also very dangerous." Happy analyzed it seriously.
"But! If we stay next to Lucy, the target... ah no, the first place, everyone's attention will definitely be on Lucy, and no one will notice us!"
Hearing this shameless statement, Lucy took a deep breath:
"You black-bellied cat!! Don't use me as a shield for granted!!"
Lucy complained indignantly, bent down and stretched out his hand to pinch Happy's face, causing the cats to twist into a ball.
"It hurts, it hurts... let it go Lucy, your face is going to be deformed..."
However, just when one person and one cat were having a good time noisy, no one noticed that at the corner in the other direction, a blue head poked out, its eyes staring at Lucy without blinking.
Juvia has a deep fighting spirit in his eyes:
'Love rival...'
'If she succeeds in retaining first place, during the parade, she will definitely stand next to Lord Gray with that sparkling star frame on her head...'
'Then Master Gray will think, "She is indeed the strongest woman Fairy Tail, she is so dazzling..."'
'Absolutely... can't let this happen!!'
Her expression darkened for a moment.
Battle mode--start!
She suddenly jumped out from the corner and shouted at Lucy:
"Love rival! Juvia will never lose to you!!"
"Whether it's Gray-sama's heart, or the position at the top of this guild - Juvia must take it all with dignity! Let's duel!!"
Lucy, who was struggling with Happy, froze completely. She turned her head mechanically and faced those eyes that were burning with fighting spirit.
Suddenly, she let go of Happy, grabbed her hair and collapsed shouting:
"Why were you discovered so quickly!!"
"Also, I am not your love rival!!"
"Watch out!!"
Happy suddenly exclaimed, its wings instantly opened, bursting out at extremely fast speeds, it grabbed Lucy by the back collar and flew to the side.
Juvia's reaction was not slow either. Almost at the same time, his whole body turned into a stream of water and rushed out backwards.
The next moment--
Phew! Phew! Phew!
Green magic bullets fell from the sky one after another, hitting the location where they were just now, causing gravel to fly and a cloud of smoke and dust to rise.
"Wow! What's going on here?! Who is hitting us!?" Lucy was shaken dizzy in mid-air and screamed in horror.
Happy took her to the other end of the clearing, stared at the sky, and said sternly:
"It's Bickslow!"
At the same time, rows of purple runes floated from the ground around the open space, enclosing the abandoned warehouse and the surrounding open space.
Lucy looked at the lit up runes and his face turned green:
"Is this actually the Jutsu Shiki venue!? I've been staying at the edge of the arena!?"
The smoke and dust gradually dissipated, and above the warehouse, Bickslow was standing on a puppet with one foot, slowly descending to the roof of the warehouse.
As he stood still, the puppets under his feet flew away, and five strange puppets lined up in a row and floated behind him.
He looked down, with a hint of playfulness in his tone:
"Hey, aren't these two super newcomers to the guild? One is first, the other is third..."
"First! First!" "Third! Third!" The puppets nearby cheered.
"Hehe, you're so lucky." He stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, letting out a strange laugh, "Since we met here, let's kill you two first!"
Lucy had just heard from Happy what Laxus and Thunder God Tribe had done, and Lucy had suppressed his anger, and now he was suddenly attacked again.
She immediately stepped forward angrily. "Bickslow! You actually wanted to petrify us and use us as hostages before? Aren't you afraid of Guild Master's punishment!?"
"Punishment?"
Bickslow looked up to the sky and laughed as if he had heard some big joke:
"Hahahaha! After today, Laxus will be the new Guild Master, what punishment are you afraid of?"
"Guild Master! Guild Master!"
"Fantasy! How can a person like Laxus be qualified as Guild Master!"
"Hmph, it's just the barking of the weak! When Laxus becomes Guild Master, all of you who are holding back will be kicked out."
Bickslow's words suddenly changed, and his eyes full of malice and contempt suddenly pierced Juvia beside him.
"Especially you, the Rain Woman from Phantom Lord."
Juvia's pupils suddenly trembled.
"You were an enemy who came to you not long ago, but now you turn around and join our guild shamelessly?"
"Shameless! Shameless!"
"It's because of guys like you sneaking in that the guild is looked down upon by outsiders."