Before long, Levy appeared too, her head spinning as she rubbed her hair in frustration:
"Damn it! No wonder Blanc kept urging me to go home and rest when he asked me to help set up the Jutsu Shiki! He was keeping me in the dark! There was no way I could figure out rules that complicated in such a short time! Shameless! Absolutely shameless!"
Juvia couldn't help complaining, "This was nothing but bullying beginners! It was already over before Juvia even understood the rules!"
The moment Bisca returned, she roared at the light screen, "What happened to testing courage, wisdom, and perseverance?! What the hell did this stupid competition have to do with courage, wisdom, or perseverance?!"
Seeing this, Alzack hurriedly offered her a glass of water, which the furious Bisca took and downed in one gulp.
Laki, who returned afterward, clenched her fists tightly. "All I want now is to rush back and punch him a few times!"
Happy yanked the flower wreath off his head and threw it to the floor. "I'm never sharing my fish with Blanc again! Not a single one!"
Cana rubbed her temples and cursed irritably, "That bastard Blanc..."
Just when everyone thought nearly everyone had returned, one last light flared.
Unlike the others, who looked utterly broken, Lucy, the last to return, stood stunned for a moment after landing. Then her lips crumpled-
"Waaaaah!!"
"I was so close!! So close!! My ten million!!"
She dropped to her knees with a thud and hammered the floor with both hands, sobbing her heart out.
Faced with this unusual reaction, everyone gathered around again, and Happy eagerly asked:
"What happened? Lucy, did you nearly win? How is that possible?"
"I don't know why either, but Blanc suddenly got stuck. I'd already beaten him down to