VERiTY (Fairy Tail Fanfic)

37. Smile Again.

"After a two-day break, we are BACK to the S-class inter-guild battles! It'll be a rough one today, folks-- hear and hold your expectations high, for today, we have the favourite to win, Eir Macmillan of Fairy Tail, back on field!"

The announcer intensely hypes up the battle, and the crowd was more than happy to feed the exuberant energy.

"Do you have to say my full name every time?" Eir muttered, annoyed.

The fiasco of a few days ago has been explained away formally as Aria's Drain magic. Magic was synonymous to willpower and strength, and the power to absorb it was a show of sheer effort, after all-- not everyone is capable of converting magic power and absorbing it as instantaneously as Aria could.

Eir's will had overpowered Aria's-- and thus, the magic backfired. That is what they told the masses.

(Eir still wanted to find Aria, if only to hear from a fellow transfer-magic user. But he would be alright with never seeing him again, too.)

It's quite convenient, honestly. To those of the lesser understanding, having a lot of magic was simply a sign of strength. Which is why Ur made a habit of greeting people with a mild blast of magic to establish dominance and thwart any underhanded intentions.

(Ur's innate, Ten Wizard Saint-levelled magic capacity was most likely inherited by her daughter, which was why she also suffered from Magic Overload.)

(Maybe that's why people with untamable magic capacities, like Eir, don't exist anymore. They went extinct, because they couldn't survive into adulthood.)

(Well, he'll stop thinking about that.)

He brought a smile to his face as he set a hand on his sword.

Bacchus set his gourd of sake on the ground. He wasn't planning on using it yet, but it's there if he needs to reach it.

"He'll be going against the young but mighty dark horse of the tournament so far-- Bacchus Groh of Quatro Cerberus!" louder cheers went up. "Now cast your votes cause we're spinning that roulette in three, two, ONE!"

The screen spun again, and then it rolled quietly to a stop on an image of a magnet

Simultaneously, Eir and Bacchus crashed to the ground with a startled yelp.

A sudden weight dragged him backward, and his legs crumbled right under the added mass. Bacchus landed harshly on his back, before throwing his body forward in a struggle to stay upright with all his strength.

"The Magnetism field!" the announcer declares, overjoyed. "Simply put, all metal objects will be pulled toward the ground! It's strong, so there's no hope in using those weapons anytime soon!"

These fields are so annoying. Do we really need them?

"Right off the bat, Bacchus is at a disadvantage with his heavy armor!" the announcer narrates, "but things aren't exactly looking bright for Eir either! In this field, he's unable to use any of his weapons! This might be a tough one."

Knowing immediately what this meant, Bacchus tightened his fists with a loud roar, "Wild--"

His guildmates in the audience cheer back loudly, "FOUR!"

His armor stripped off in one strong swipe against the buckles.

"WILD! Leave it to the Cerberus to win against a magnet in the raw power department! Bacchus removes his armor in an instant! If Eir doesn't move now, he's in trouble!"