06x155 - The Blooming Capital: Crocus

[bunniefuu]

The Grand Magic Games
are held once every year.

To make up for their seven-year gap,

Natsu and the Tenrou Team began
a three month-long training regimen.

And then...

After their three-month training ended,
Natsu and friends returned to the guild.

We made it...

What are you guys lounging around for?!

Huh?

Pull yourselves together!
That's the truly manly thing to do!

Crocus, the Flower-Blooming Capital.

Elfman! You've packed on some serious muscle!

He trained in the mountains
with Big Sis Mira and me!

Muscles are a true man's dream!

I've learned to tolerate fermented
soybeans over the past three months!

And I've gotten over my fear of heights!

I don't think those things
will be very helpful...

We've improved our
firearm accuracy even more!

Yeah.

I read an entire 30-volume
horror novel series!

All you did was read?

You could at least do
somethin' about your gut first.

I've powered up my Sand Storm even more!

I could even b*at Natsu if we fought again!

What?!

Good work, everyone!

Oh! Gramps!

It appears you've each worked hard
to prepare for the Grand Magic Games.

No, not exactly...

For now, gather inside.

It's time to announce the five members

who will represent us at
the Grand Magic Games.

--Natsu!
--All right!

--Gray!
--Naturally.

--Erza!
--You can count on me.

Well, I guess those three are to be expected!

That leaves just two spots!

Being picked for them will be truly manly!

Juvia doesn't want to be
separated from the lovely Gray!

The remaining two will be...

...Lucy and Wendy!

Huh?!

The sorrow!

Seriously?

Juvia and the lovely Gray, not together?!

This can't be happening!

I can't compete! Can't you pick
Mr. Laxus or Mr. Gajeel instead?!

No, they're not back yet.

Master chose us not for our individual
strength, but our strength as a team.

Now that we've been chosen,
let's give it our all!

Yeah, you're right!

Yes! I need to do my best!

Gildarts and Laxus were ones I really
wish I could've picked, though...

You're saying that out loud?!

Everyone!

These Grand Magic Games
are the perfect chance

to reclaim Fairy Tail's honor!

Let us defeat Fiore's
mightiest guild, Sabertooth,

and make Fairy Tail the
greatest guild in all of Fiore!

Yeah!

Now I'm fired up!

And then...

This is Crocus, the "Flower-Blooming
Capital" of the Fiore Kingdom!

The Grand Magic Games are a
wizard festival held here once a year.

The city is brimming with wizards
and spectators from all over Fiore.

At the center of the city is
the king of Fiore's castle,

the luminaria palace of Mercurius.

On a mountain to the west stands Domus Flau,
the Grand Magic Games' coliseum.

And then...

...there's us.

I can't believe I still feel terrible...

I'm starting to have doubts about
that Second Origin-unleashing spell...

But it does feel like my
magic power's increased.

All my joints still ache a bit, though...

Sheesh. You people are pitiful.

How are you unaffected, Erza?

I'm guessing she's always had her Second Origin.

That makes sense.

Man, I've never been in such
a humongous city before!

Aye!

Neither have I!

It's even larger than Edolas' castle town.

Oh, you finally made it.

Master!

We've just finished getting you signed up.

Let's show everyone what Fairy Tail is made of!

Hey! Fairy Tail's here!

Them?!

The weak and eternally-last-place guild?!

--Who just laughed at us?!
--Let it go.

You're just gonna come in last again!

Sabertooth's going to win for sure!

If anyone wants to laugh, let 'em laugh!

Don't mind if I do!

Don't look at us and laugh!

Listen!

We're doing this for 30 million--

...To be Fiore's mightiest guild!

Give it your all!

Unless we do something,
we won't be fit to face

our founding master who saved our lives!

Now, then. The games begin tomorrow...

...but we unfortunately
don't know what they'll be.

Huh? But we've taken part for years.

--They change the games every year.
--Pick me up!

Yeah, the year we didn't participate
had target-sh**ting and such.

And the year I didn't enter had a running race.

The total score over several contests
determines the winner, though.

I looked through some old records
but found no consistency to the games.

Then I guess we play it by ear!

I sure hope there's a battle!

We sense unusual magic power
during the games every year.

Mysterious magic power...
and mysterious games.

Erza.

Read through the official rulebook by tomorrow.

I'm to read this?

Leave it to me!
I have my Wind-Reading Glasses!

Way to go, Levy!

To sum it up,

I guess there are three major things.

The first is that the master of each
guild isn't allowed to participate.

Sounds sensible enough.

Those without a guild's emblem
can't participate as a guild's guest.

Makes sense.

Each game will remain a secret
until just before it begins,

at which time the game's rules will be revealed.

That's not very helpful information.

Oh, there's one additional note.

Participants must return to
their designated inn by 12:00...

--12:00?
--What time of day?

It must mean midnight tonight.

Back by 12:00, huh?

Reminds me of a princess and her glass slippers.

The lovely Gray says such romantic
things while Juvia isn't around...

Oh, Prince!

We got plenty of time until 12:00, then!

Since we're in such a huge city
and all, let's go exploring!

--Aye, Sir!
--Count me in!

Hey! Do you know where we're staying?

Honey Bone, right?!

Be sure to be back by 12:00! Is that clear?!

Aye!

12:00...

Designated inn?

This is their designated inn, Honey Bone.

Six beds have been prepared for some reason...

Does this mean we're all
to share the same room?

Nothing appears to be out of the ordinary...

Gray, my darling!

Juvia! What are you doing here?

It's not just Juvia!

All our guild members are here to cheer you on!

Man, don't they got anything better to do?

Umm, would you like to get something to eat?

Oh. Actually, I am feeling hungry.

In that case, I know a great
restaurant in this city.

Lyon!

It's a very fashionable establishment.
It even has an aquarium built into it!

Huh? Wait, uhh...

Hey, you! You can't just run
off with our guild member!

I hear you're entering the
Grand Magic Games, Gray.

Huh?

Our Lamia Scale guild is going to win, though.

Aren't you the "eternal runners-up"?

You're the eternally last-place guild.

Mr. Jura and I have never participated before,

yet we've always come in second place.

Do you get what I'm saying?

You haven't forgotten about our
own monster known as Erza, I hope!

Let us make a bet.

If Lamia Scale wins...

...Juvia joins our guild!

Wha...?!

A-And if we win?

We'll give Juvia back to you.

She's a member of our guild to begin with!

This is a man-to-man promise.
Don't forget it, Gray.

You call that a bet?! This is stupid!

Afraid you'll lose, huh?

What?

Gray, my darling!

Do you want Juvia or Sir Lyon?!
Please decide already!

You don't know what's going on at all, do you?

Your words always ring true.

That's not so...

I just live life to its fullest,
in my own clumsy way.

That's all.

Erza...

Man! Your parfum is as mesmerizing as ever!

Sniff, sniff! Sniff, sniff!

Don't go barging into others' rooms!

Man!

You look very lovely when you're angry!

We're not here to console you, just so you know.

Please have a wet hand towel.

The same goes for you, too!

Trimens forever!

Look at that, Charle!

Wow!

It's apparently called the
luminaria palace, Mercurius!

I wonder what the king is like!

I wonder if he has a beard...

I bet he does!

There are flowers everywhere in this city, huh?

I guess it's called the
Flower-Blooming Capital for a reason!

--Fight! Fight!
--Oh!

Do fights go hand-in-hand with
the festival?! I wanna see!

It's not surprising; guilds from
all over Fiore are gathered here!

Hold on, Natsu!

--This smell...
--What's wrong?

It smells like a dragon...

Could it be?!

Move! Outta the way!

Still wanna fight?

Man, these guys are a joke.

I think so too!

What's going on?

You're...!

Natsu Dragneel!

Cats?!

What the heck is this stupid-looking cat?

Stupid!

They can talk!

Do I have to say something here?

Who are you guys?

Whoa! You've never heard of Sabertooth's
Twin Dragons, Sting and Rogue?!

They're a cornerstone of
Fiore's strongest guild!

Then, these guys are members of...

...Sabertooth, huh?

I guess the rumors about you entering
the Grand Magic Games were true!

You know me?

Acnologia...

You're the Dragon Slayer who
couldn't slay a dragon, right?

What's the point of being
a Dragon Slayer at all, then?

Huh?

I actually used to look up to you, you know.

And he looked up to Gajeel.

I was just curious about him,
as a Dragon Slayer myself.

You mean you're both Dragon Slayers?!

We'd prefer that you call
us true Dragon Slayers.

We could slay Acnologia if we wanted to.

That's easy for you to say when
you've never actually seen Acnologia!

Yeah!

What a dumb cat.

You're much smarter, Lector!

It makes no difference if we've seen it or not.

All that matters is that we're
better-suited as Dragon Slayers.

Allow me to explain.

Natsu and friends are known as
First-Generation Dragon Slayers;

they got their Dragon Slayer magic from dragons.

Your Laxus and the Oración Seis' Cobra
are Second-Generation Dragon Slayers;

they've had dragon lacrimas
implanted in their bodies

that let them use Dragon Slayer magic.

As for Sting and Rogue here,

they've not only been raised
by actual dragons like you,

they've also been implanted
with dragon lacrimas!

They're Third-Generation hybrids!

Third-Generation?!

In other words, they're the
ultimate Dragon Slayers!

Ultimate Dragon Slayers?!

There's a huge difference in skill
between First-Gens and Third-Gens.

You don't even begin to compare to them.

Did your dragons vanish in the year 777 too?

Well, in a manner of speaking...

I'll be frank.

We personally eliminated the dragons
that taught us Dragon Slayer magic.

In order to become True Dragon Slayers.

You... k*lled your dragons?!

Humans... did that to dragons?

You k*lled your own parents?!

What's keeping them?

Tell me.

Where were you all this time?!

Having a completely unenjoyable meal...

We got tangled up with some weirdos...

Or more like full-blown involved with them.

Well, if we get to fight during the games

we'll give you a taste of the power
that took down actual dragons!

Let's go. I have no interest
in the old generations.

I guess outdated Dragon Slayers
drag shoddy cats around with 'em, too!

I think so, too!

They're totally gonna pay!

Say, is Wendy not back yet?

--Now that you mention it...
--What's keeping her?

I'm pretty sure she's with Charle,
so I doubt she's gotten lost.

It's almost 12:00.

A little girl like her,
out this late at night...!

"Delinquency" "Bad company" "Up all night"
Up all night... Bad company... Delinquency?!

"Delinquency" "Bad company" "Up all night"
This town belongs to me now!

"Delinquency" "Bad company" "Up all night"
Don't screw with us!

What are we going to do?!

Are all novelists this over-imaginative?

Hey! We brought ya some food!

Tomorrow's the big day!

Elfman! Lisanna!

Are you guys here to watch
the Grand Magic Games too?

Yeah.

I wish I could've entered too
so I could impress my sisters...

...but a man knows when to quit!

This is perfect timing.
Could we ask a favor of you?

What is it?

Wendy has yet to return to the inn, you see...

And we should probably
stay put until it turns 12:00.

Does something happen at 12:00?

We're not really sure why, but the rules say

we hafta be here at 12:00--

And now it's 12:00.

What's this all about?

Attention, guild members who've
gathered for the Grand Magic Games!

G'morning!

Outside?!

--What is that?! It's huge!
--It must be a hologram!

Pumpkin!

The preliminary round to narrow the
113 participating teams down to 8

will now begin!

--Preliminary round?!
--There was no mention of this!

Has there ever been a
preliminary round before?

No. What could this mean?

So 12:00 was the start
of the preliminary round?

113 guilds, narrowed down
to only 8 in one fell swoop...

113?

Huh? Does Fiore even have that
many guilds? It seems too high...

They could've easily told us about
the preliminary round ahead of time.

These baffling procedures...

The excessive number of guilds...

The mysterious magic power...

Should we suspect the organizers?

With more and more guilds entering every year...

"The games are getting boring,"
is all I ever hear...

So this year only eight
teams will vie for our cheer!

The preliminary round rules are simple!

What the...?!

My word!

The inn is transforming?!

Look! So are the other inns!

Transforming is a true man's dream!

You will now participate in a race!

The Domus Flau stadium is the goal!

The first eight teams to reach
it will qualify for the Games!

--Paths!
--We're to follow these?

You're free to use magic!
There are no limitations!

Only the first eight teams to reach the goal
will clear the preliminary round!

However, all five team members
must cross the goal for it to count!

Also...

...we are not responsible for any loss
of life that happens in the labyrinth.

Labyrinth?!

Let the Grand Magic Games'
preliminary Sky Labyrinth round begin!

Awesome! What is that thing?!

A giant, floating... maze? It seems to
be where the prelims are being held.

I suck at mazes!

The first eight teams to reach
the goal get to move on!

So it's a race?!

Oh, but all five members of
our team have to cross the goal.

Crap! But Wendy's not here!

Next Episode: Sky Labyrinth.

You know, I could take Wendy's place--

Oh! Elfman says he'll fill in for her!

Oh. Okay.