Chapter 272

The Noble Loser is the 272nd chapter of Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail.

With Asuka in trouble, Lucy refuses to put up a fight and is beaten up by Flare. Fortunately, Natsu hears Flare's hair and destroys it, giving Lucy the chance to cast Urano Metria with Gemini. However, the Magic is cancelled and Lucy collapses from exhaustion, giving the win to Raven Tail.

Summary
With Asuka as her hostage, Flare forces Lucy to not use Magic, move or say anything at all or else something unfortunate might happen. Lucy reacts angrily at her cowardice for taking a hostage but is quickly tossed around by her hair, causing the entire audience to wonder how the tables had turned so fast, since both were even a few moments ago. Remembering the pain inflicted on Wendy and the humiliation Gray endured, Lucy attempts to give up but is silenced by Flare, who states she will not allow her to do so and continues to hurt her.

She raises Lucy into the air and decides to place the mark of Raven Tail over her Fairy Tail mark, despite Lucy's attempts to stop her. Elsewhere, Natsu has disappeared as Erza and Elfman wonder where he has gone. Natsu runs through the crowd, noting his sense of hearing and that something was definitely off. Near the Fairy Tail crowd, he finds Flare's hair and snaps it, saving Asuka and allowing Lucy to fight back against her opponent by calling out Gemini.

Gemini transforms into Lucy to activate a Magic that they had practiced together. Gemini's transformation skills catch everyone's attention, with Levy noting that it can only transform into someone with similar magic power to itself. The Celestial Spirit Mage and her spirit then pool their energies together to form a spell that Hibiki of Blue Pegasus recognizes instantly: Urano Metria.

However, before it is cast, the power dissipates, leaving Lucy extremely weakened. Flare realizes that her teammate helped her out, as does Mavis who knows that such a thing is against the rules. When Lucy collapses, Flare is declared the victor as the rest of Fairy Tail shows the shocked and angry looks on their faces at being cheated. Flare enjoys her victory and the crowds makes fun of Fairy Tail once again. As Lucy is on the ground, sad at her disappointment, Natsu shows up and tells her to save the tears for their victory, as he offers her a hand.

Fights

 * Lucy Heartfilia vs. Flare Corona (concluded)

Magic used

 * Hair Magic (髪の魔法 Kami no Mahō)
 * Celestial Spirit Magic (星霊魔法 Seirei Mahō) (Summoned the Twins, Gemini)
 * Transformation (変身魔法 Henshin Mahō)

Spells used

 * Urano Metria (ウラノ・メトリア Urano Meteoria)