Fairy Tail: The Faint Smile in Earthland

Location: Crocus — Grand Coliseum

The deafening roar of thousands echoed across the Grand Coliseum, reverberating off its towering marble walls. Sunlight streamed through the open-air dome, casting golden shafts upon the wide circular arena. Though still only a first experiment, the Council had spared no expense. The seats overflowed with guild representatives, independent mages, aristocrats, and foreign dignitaries — all drawn by curiosity, ambition, and quiet political gamesmanship.

This was not yet the legendary Grand Magic Games.

But it was the seed.

High above, in the Council balconies reserved for elites, muted whispers passed between robed officials and masked observers. Beneath them, in shadowed alcoves rarely acknowledged, darker players gathered—members of unrecognized guilds, forbidden collectors, and rogue agents who had slipped through Era's facade to observe something far more valuable than sport.

They were here for her.

At the center of the arena stood the figure whispered across Fiore for months now:

Teresa of the Faint Smile. Now 'The Silver-Eyed Valkyrie of Fairy Tail.'

Her pale blonde hair shimmered in the afternoon sun, flowing like silk banners. She wore her full battle regalia—polished Claymore silver armor, chestplate, pauldrons, boots, and thigh guards, all anchored by the long white cloak. On her back, vertically sheathed, rested her massive Claymore sword.

But it was not the armor or sword that made the crowd fall quiet.

It was her stillness.

She did not shift. She did not tense. She simply was—a poised blade waiting to move.

Opposite her stood today's challengers: twin sisters from the emerging independent guild Black Lotus. Both wielded dual enchanted scimitars, their blades pulsing with compressed wind lacrimal. Agile, synchronized, already earning quiet fame for their precision teamwork.

The announcer's voice boomed across the arena, amplified through lacrimal speakers:

"Next match — Fairy Tail versus Black Lotus! Representing Fairy Tail, the enigmatic hunter whispered across Fiore's forbidden circuits: The Silver-Eyed Valkyrie, Teresa!"

The crowd erupted, chants of "Fairy Tail!" mixing with breathless curiosity. Many had heard the rumors: a mysterious figure clearing forbidden ruins, destroying corrupted creatures, and returning unscathed.

Few had seen her fight.

Until now.

"Opposing her, the twin prodigies of Black Lotus — Seraph and Liora!"

The sisters bowed in perfect unison, falling into ready stances.

The referee raised his hand.

"Begin!"

The twins moved instantly. Perfect synchronization.

One flanked left, the other right—closing fast, weaving shimmering arcs of slicing air with each swift step.

Teresa's silver eyes tracked both in parallel.

"Phantom Step."

Her whisper was soft—unheard amid the crowd—but absolute.

Her form blurred, repositioning diagonally with near-invisible fluidity. The twin blades sliced only empty air where she had stood.

The arena gasped.

The twins recalibrated immediately, reversing angles. Anticipating retreat, they closed the trap.

But Teresa advanced instead—surgical.

"Silken Nerve Control."

Her body flowed between slashes, each movement requiring minimal effort. Liora's blade passed inches from her side. Teresa rotated inside their guard zone.

Her right hand lifted.

"Void Sever."

The Claymore materialized into her hand in perfect silence.

A single horizontal sweep cut directly through the swirling defensive wind barrier conjured between the twins. The air itself shattered—disintegrating as though silk had been sliced along its grain.

The arena erupted into stunned awe.

High in the Council balcony, Warrod Sequen of the Ten Wizard Saints smiled faintly.

"Beautiful. She isn't simply deflecting—she's dissecting."

Beside him, Councilor Org narrowed his eyes.

"No brute force. No excess output. Calculated. She reads their rhythm before it forms."

"Predictive sensing," Warrod added softly. "Not just reading. Preempting."

Below, the twins adapted quickly. Wind magic compressed into twin spears.

"Tempest Lance!"

Twin silver bolts spiraled toward Teresa.

"Walking the Razor Edge."

Her footing shifted light as silk skating atop the swirling air itself. The unstable currents pulled at her cloak; her balance held perfectly.

The spears struck.

"Void Sever."

Two arcs of her Claymore dissected the wind lances mid-flight, reducing them to harmless streams of air.

Gasps rippled across the balconies.

In one of the upper shadowed balconies, masked figures whispered — Raven Fang.

"That sword… it's slicing through active spell constructs."

"Not native to Earthland. She's manipulating an external energy system."

"Could she be... one of the world-crossers?"

"The Council suspects," another hissed, "but won't act yet. She's too useful."

"Or too dangerous."

On the arena floor, the twins regrouped. The cracks in their confidence widened.

Seraph whispered, voice taut:

"We have to escalate."

Raising their blades skyward, forbidden runes flared across their scimitars.

"Tempest Binding!"

A dome of spiraling razor winds engulfed the arena half. Blades of compressed air screamed toward Teresa—forming a tightening vortex.

Even seasoned wizards in the audience shifted uneasily.

Teresa inhaled softly.

"Partial Awakening."

Her body rippled faintly—veins glowing beneath pale skin as controlled yoki surged. Her silver eyes brightened unnaturally, the inhuman glow of a Claymore emerging.

Speed doubled. Balance sharpened. Precision absolute.

She stepped directly into the storm.

The blades of wind screamed, but her movements now danced between them like liquid steel. Every slash of her Claymore wasn't a response—it was anticipation.

"Void Sever."

Each attack was dissected at its vulnerable trajectory. The dome collapsed like shattering glass.

Within seconds, she stood before the stunned twins.

The Claymore's tip hovered inches from their throats.

"Yield."

Breathless, the sisters dropped their weapons.

The coliseum erupted.

"SILVER-EYED VALKYRIE! SILVER-EYED VALKYRIE!"

The announcer's voice rang clear:

"Victory — Fairy Tail's Teresa advances!"

She calmly sheathed her Claymore, returning it to her Requip space.

Her silver gaze swept briefly to the Council balcony—locking eyes with Org's calculating stare.

The Council would wait. But the shadows beneath them whispered louder.

For those watching from the forbidden alcoves, it was not Fairy Tail's emblem they watched.

It was her impossible silver eyes.

The Silver-Eyed Valkyrie had entered Fiore's deeper game.

And the underworld was now watching.