"Hahahaha, we won, you brats!!"
"Yeah we did!!!"
Makarov shouted out in the bar while the rest of the members also echoed the sentiment, except for a few who sat by the side.
"I can't believe they had to stop the match entirely because of the destruction." Lucy sighed in defeat while hugging Mira. "Mira-nee, I told them to calm down, but they didn't listen at all."
It seemed that the two Fairy Tail teams had battled each other instead of reaching the endpoint of the competition.
Most would imagine that the other teams would have reached the endpoint by then, making both teams lose in the first round.
But the battle between the two teams had destroyed half the maze structure along with the endpoint as well. And from what Karna was able to see, the attack had also injured the pumpkin-headed mascot, who was the king in disguise.
They immediately announced that both teams had passed the round so as to stop any further destruction from happening to the capital.
"Can't believe you used a card filled with one of Laxus's ultimate spells on the first day," Karna said as he turned to Cana, who was blushing in shame.
"It was an accident. I was aiming for a small-scale attack, but the card I took out was the wrong one," she murmured while trying to hide her face with a mug of beer.
Karna just laughed slightly at the revelation that more than fifty percent of the destruction was caused by Cana's accident alone.
While they were enjoying the victory party, Karna saw a new guest among the members of his guild.
"Hey Baccus, why the hell are you here right now? Don't you have your guild to celebrate with?"
"Ah, well, I drank out all those lightweights an hour ago. And since you guys wrecked the first competition, I thought I could outdrink all of you as a form of revenge," he said as he started drinking from a barrel instead of a mug.
"What the hell do you mean by outdrink us, you bastard!!"
Karna had no idea who started it, but suddenly a competition of drunkards began in the tavern, with chaos brimming everywhere.
Suddenly, he sensed the presence of an acquaintance on the roof.
"I will make sure that these guys don't go overboard," Cana said as she too had sensed that presence.
Karna teleported to the roof using a mark he placed there.
He had already placed a Flying Thunder God mark on the roof and nearby places in case any troublesome things happened.
"Long time no see, Jellal."
Karna greeted the deep blue-haired man who stood opposite him.
"It's nice to see you as well. I was not able to thank you for the help you had given me all those years ago," Jellal replied with a smile.
Years ago, during the R-System ritual, Karna had easily defeated Jellal, but had also informed the council that he was controlled the entire time, thereby reducing his sentence and providing him with an opportunity to earn back his freedom.
Currently, he was a part of the council's dark ops, whose main aim was to protect the council while working undercover within the underworld throughout the entire continent.
But at the same time, if he worked hard enough and gained enough accomplishments, he could be pardoned for all the crimes he had committed while under control.
"Why don't you come in? I'm sure Erza would like to meet you once more."
A look of melancholy crossed Jellal's face.
"Not yet," he said and paused. "The next time I meet her, it will be when I have finally paid my dues for the sins I committed in the past."
Karna just nodded and said nothing more. He had done his best in saving Jellal's life all those years ago. What happened from now on would depend upon the choices Jellal made himself.
"Well, I know you didn't come here just to meet and say thank you for what I did all those years ago. So tell me, what's the matter?"
Jellal's expression turned serious, and he checked around one more time.
"Don't worry. Other than your men two buildings in that direction, there is no one else in the vicinity capable enough to hear what we are talking about right now," Karna said, which shocked Jellal slightly.
He believed that the two subordinates he brought with him were the topmost experts when it came to concealment and stealth in the entirety of Ishgar. But he shook those thoughts away as he remembered that he was meeting the strongest wizard in all of Ishgar right now.
'Guess his power is not limited to strength alone.'
"Alright. What I am about to tell you has been ordered to be kept a secret due to the chaos and panic it can cause if it is ever revealed to the public. But I am sure that the council won't mind if the person I reveal it to is you.
Plus, the circumstances have become grave enough that we may need your help to prevent a great tragedy."
As Karna listened to the information, a frown came to his face.
'This is too fast. We were supposed to have at least a few more months. But looking at it now, they chose the best possible time to complete this plan of theirs,' Karna thought as he made his decision.
"Get me a copy of their locations. I am fast enough to round them all up before you even reach one of them," Karna said as he teleported back into the tavern, where the rate of barrels becoming empty was increasing. He knew that sooner or later, fists would be thrown by someone accidentally, which in turn would start a new war.
He looked around and found out that Ultear was sitting near Cana right now.
"Good thing both of you are together."
"What happened?" Cana asked.
"Don't worry, just a small scuffle. I will be gone for some time, but I'll be back before the ending of the Grand Magic Games."
"Alright, take care," Ultear replied, realising that whatever it was, time was of the essence.
"Bye, see you guys soon," Karna said and kissed both of them before teleporting away.
A/N - Hope you like it.