The Queen's Gaze
Panting heavily, Evergreen looked at her surroundings with a slightly panicked expression on her face. Bickslow was slumped unconscious on the cold floor of the cave they found themselves in, body leaning against the jagged walls of stone and blood trailing from a large gash in his thigh. Freed was also bloody and beaten, trapped in small cage of pure crystal, hands bound in shackles made of the same substance. Both men were helpless and badly injured, leaving Evergreen to deal with the foe who had put them in such a state.
Before her was a large, grotesque creature made entirely of translucent crystal. Every inch of it glittered and shined as the beams of sun snuck through the cracks of the cave, the monster's beauty neither dulled nor scratched by the attacks the Raijinshuu had been directing towards it for nearly thirty minutes.
The fight was meant to be easy. The mission they had taken claimed a monster had been attacking a small, defenceless village, not giving much detail as to the nature of the monster. Now, as she looked up at the monster who was roaring an ear-splitting sound, Evergreen realised the vagueness would have been done to lure a mage here without making the monster look too troublesome. It was also evident that the Raijinshuu, who had taken the mission in the hopes of getting some easy money before the holiday season, had fallen pray for the deception. And they were certainly paying the price for it.
"Crap." Ever mumbled, walking back a little.
At this point, the monster had shown that it had similar abilities to a creation mage like Gray or Laki. The room was covered in sharp spears, boulders and other formations of crystals that had been previously thrown across the cave, having been used to attack her and her friends. Not only did the small arsenal of crystal greatly lessen her movements, it also made it harder to discern the golden monster from its identical looking discarded weaponry.
As another large boulder formed in the monster's hand, Evergreen quickly channelled her magic to her back and sprouted pink, silk wings. She was up in the air a moment before the crystal boulder slammed into where she had been standing. She looked back, panting slightly as she manoeuvred her way around the cave, avoiding airborne crystals as she tried to plan her next course of action.
Usually, she would help Freed and Bickslow out of the cave and to safety. She'd done it before and knew she had the strength, but Freed was entirely trapped in the cage and she doubted she could get him out. If she had focused on getting Bickslow to safety, who knew what would happen to Freed in the time she was gone. She couldn't risk it.
As she plotted, the monster raised its hands and began to cast a spell. Hundreds of sharp, thin blades the size of darts formed in the air, all pointing towards Evergreen. She knew she could dodge some of them, but soon would be overwhelmed.
"Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun." She yelled, channelling her magic.
Spawning in the middle of the air, small pellets of magic sprung forward and towards the crystal darts. In the middle of the cave, the two forms of magic weaponry clashed with a cascade of deafening clinking. For the most part, her magic pellets managed to knock the small darts out of use, and those that made it past the barrage of powerful magic were so few that she could dodge them. As she did this, the quick movements of her flight mixed with the taxing drain of the spell she had chosen began to take a drain on her energy.
Using the temporary distraction of a large dust cloud risen from the extensive magic usage, Evergreen quickly flew behind the creature with her hands raised. As she moved, she spread a thick layer of fairy-dust around the monster's legs, preparing a powerful explosion spell that would set the dust alight. She couldn't use it yet though, Bickslow's body was too close.
"Looking for someone." She yelled, getting the creature's attention. "Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun."
As the pellets of magic slammed into the slowly turning creature, the only sound that could be heard was the gentle clicking of magic against jewels. From where she hovered, Evergreen could see that the pellets were having no obvious effect on the creature. But that was okay, she just needed to lure the creature away.
Continuing to use the practically-useless spell, the creature began to create another large boulder in its hands. Evergreen redirected the spell towards the reforming weapon, managing to whittle it down just as quickly as it grew; she had previously noticed that the creature itself was more resilient than its weapons, which she could destroy with her Machine Gun spell. Not only did this give her hope that she could get Freed out of the cage once the monster was dealt with, it also showed that the crystal golem could be broke, even if it took time and large amounts of power. The creature also seemed to know it's weakness, so gave up in creating the boulder and looked towards Evergreen with what seemed like a glare.
Suddenly, with a speed that seemed impossible with the size and lumbering quality of the golem, it launched forward. Evergreen had to lunge backwards with her wings, spreading just enough space between her and the monster for her to be safe from the explosion. When that had happened, and the monster was far enough away from Bickslow, she activated the spell that she had prepared earlier.
"Fairy Bomb: Gremlin!" She yelled.
The dust scattered throughout the cave ignited immediately, large explosions forming around the lower legs of the creature with an echoing boom. The creature stumbled and, through the clouds of dust, Evergreen could see that the monster's legs had been practically shattered.
With the golem's slightly disoriented state, Evergreen saw a chance to put her Machine Gun spell to proper use. She aimed it quickly towards the weakest, thinnest part of the now damaged legs, removing her wings so that all her energy could be focused on the spell. From where she stood, she could see the crystal slowly wearing away into dust; it was obvious that if she continued to do this, the creature wouldn't be able to stand without collapsing. But the spell wasn't fast enough, the monster was slowly starting to recover faster than she could destroy it.
Thinking quickly, she began to spread more fairy-dust across the joint of the monster's leg to destroy it completely. Another explosion spell would be more draining on her magic, but hopefully the lack of mobility would render the creature useless and make the fight considerably easier. She knew there was only so long she could leave Bickslow and Freed in their state, and that time was quickly slipping away.
However, as she prepared the spell, her attention on the golem slipped slightly.
A large, crystal fist slammed into her, sending her soaring into the wall of the cage, fairy-dust haphazardly flying behind her as the flew. Her back cracked slightly as she hit an unfortunately placed rock, before she fell to the ground in pain. She looked up, glad for the shroud of dust hiding her from the monster, and quickly checked her back for any open wounds or broken bones. There were none.
She slowly stood up, seeing the glinting crystal through the thick layer of dust. She needed to lure the creature to her, with the amount of explosive dust surrounding her she would be able to incapacitate it pretty easily.
"Fairy Cannons: Armada." She yelled.
A large circle of golden energy formed before her, shooting out glowing spheres of golden energy. It was a spell that she didn't use often, the spheres of energy were more powerful than the pellets of her Machine Gun but were considerably slower in both their creation and the speed they moved through the air. But in this situation, she doubted that the creature would be able to avoid anything, therefore making the spell worthwhile. Besides, hitting the golem wasn't her intention.
She knew that she needed to get the creature into the dust cloud to truly deal some damage, but the explosion would completely drain her energy. She'd be able to fight after it if she needed to, but she wouldn't be able to activate her wings and cast the spell at the same time.
As the cannonballs flew across the cave and towards the monster, Ever looked around to find a place to hide for protection. She spotted a nearby crystal boulder that could act as a kind of shield from her own explosion, but the power of the blast meant there was nowhere she would be completely safe. But, as another ear-splitting roar filled the cave, she decided that she needed to act fast and take action before the opportunity was lost.
Again, the golem ran towards her through the continued barrage of magic spheres. She scrambled behind the large boulder, forcing a small waft of the dust towards the creature before channelling her energy into igniting the dust into a ferocious explosion.
With her head ducked under her arms, she felt the tremor of her explosion rock the cave. The crystal she was hiding behind cracked and shattered, sending her flying forward slightly as it broke into pieces. She winced, glad that the explosion was strong enough to completely turn the crystal to dust instead of creating shards that would have landed in her back.
When the cloud of dust had dispersed, she looked over her shoulder towards the creature. Its legs had suffered the same fate of the crystal boulder, leaving the monster as nothing but a torso in the middle of the room. it didn't seem deterred by it's lack of legs, looking directly towards Evergreen. She stumbled to her feet, focusing on replenishing her energy as the golem began to raise its left hand. She could only watch as the crystal grew, twisting into a drill-like blade that was pointed to her, slowly rotating as it got larger and larger.
The moment she had enough energy, she cast the spell to form her wings and flew to the top of the large cave. She barely managed to avoid the attack, flying to the other side of the room in the hopes that the monster wouldn't be able to turn as she continued to recover her energy.
She panted, watching the golem with disheartened eyes. With the spiralling blade still raised in the air, the creature's hands dug into the stone floor and slowly turned itself around. Yes, the creature was now greatly incumbered compared to what it was before, but the fact it could move at all meant she was in danger of being hurt. Furthermore, it was only a matter of time before it realised that it could regain its legs using the same spell that it used to create the spinning drill. She needed to deal with it before that could happen again.
Lunging backwards again to avoid the weapon, she started to think through her arsenal of spells. It was at this point in a fight she would usually consider using her stone eyes – it was always a last resort to her. But that wouldn't work against the golem for obvious reasons, not least being that the creature was already made of stone. With this fight, she had to be smarter than normal.
One spell immediately sprung to mind. It was something she had recently created, allowing her to instantaneously create a wide beam of fairy-dust and explode it at the same time; similar to a Dragons Roar, however with an explosive quality and perhaps less power. She hadn't been able to use it in a fight yet, not knowing the true power it held and how much damage it could cause. It seemed incredibly applicable to this situation, but she needed practically all her energy to use it. And for that to happen, she needed to wait for as long as she possibly could to raise her energy levels.
"Okay." She panted, avoiding the drill again. "Not too long. Then you help the morons."
While she focused on replenishing her energy, she was forced to flitter around the cave. As she did, the golem got more and more desperate. It began to use attacks it had previously classed as useless again, Evergreen only having the ability to dodge them as her magic levels grew.
After dodging an airborne boulder flung towards her, thankfully landing a safe distance from her friends, the golem summoned another swarm of crystal darts. The brunette winced, shielding her face as she tried to dodge as many of the flying weapons as she could. Blood started to drip from her exposed arms as the cuts dashed her skin, but they were only on the surface and a simple bandage could stop any real damage.
It took longer than she would have liked, and she was quickly becoming exhausted with the amount of movement needed to get to this point, but eventually her magic energy was completely replenished. She flew towards a spire of crystal, standing on top of it and relinquishing her wings. She knew her placement was precarious and dangerous, but she needed to be at a high position for her spell to be most effective.
"Fairy Bomb: Armada!" She yelled, placing both of her hands in front of her.
A stream of dust left the palms of her hands, immediately exploding into a powerful barrage of magic energy. She had to dig her heals into the uneven spire she was standing on, maintaining her aim towards the golem's head. Through the cloud of explosions and dust she could barely see the creature, but could see the occasional glimpse of crystals flying away from the centre of the attack. It was working, it was actually working!
Teeth gritting, she maintained her aim for as long as she could. It drained her energy completely, her hands burning as the explosions licked at her. When it became too much, she lowered her hand and panted heavily, watching as the remaining explosion died down and showed the remnants of her attack.
"Oh, thank god." She whispered.
The golem's body was scattered everywhere, large chunks of translucent crystal almost entirely covering the cave's floor. She slumped down into a sitting position for a few moments, panting heavily as she tried to recover both her stamina and her magic energy; she also teared her sleeve off to act as a bandage for the cuts on her arms. When she looked down to the still bleeding Bickslow and Freed, she stood up again and regained her wings. She flew towards Freed, planning to break apart the crystals with her machine gun spell and then demanding that he teleport both him and Bickslow to the village for medical attention – he'd fight it, but she wasn't in the mood to be argued with.
Just as she raised her hand to cast the spell, the crystals began to shake. The vibrations got more and more powerful, making Evergreen look back to the centre of the room. Almost all of the crystals in the cave began to float in the air, making what looked like the torso of the golem she had just destroyed.
"You are kidding me!" She huffed in exasperation.
As she looked at the floating crystals, her eyes showing the exhaustion she felt, she noticed something in the dust cloud. Reflecting off the large amalgamation of boulders, she could make out a face; the face of another mage. She moved slightly to get a better angle of the woman's face, eventually letting her see that the person was a mage with magic circles spiralling her hands and aiming towards the lump of crystal.
Jaw clenched, she realised exactly what was happening. The reason the golem's attacks looked so similar to Gray's magic was that it was basically the same, only with crystals instead of ice. The golem was an incredibly powerful Crystal-Make spell, as was everything else the 'golem' had done.
Looking around, she tried to find where the mage had hidden. From the angle of the reflection, she narrowed the mage's position to be in the corner of the cave which had previously been entirely covered in the crystals. Now that the golem needed to be rebuilt, and every crystal needed to be used, the protection that the mage had previously had no longer existed. All Evergreen needed to do was defeat the mage and then the fight would be over, and she could deal with her friends. And then she could get them to pamper her, she deserved it after saving their asses.
Sprinting across the stone floor, she raised her arms in preparation to use her Machine Gun spell on the mage. When the turned a corner, she saw the mage clenching her jaw and focusing on recreating the golem monster. Evergreen's eyes flared with anger.
"Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun!" She yelled.
The pellets of energy flew out of her hands and towards the mage, who looked up with wide eyes. She quickly dropped the spell that was creating the golem, creating a crystal shield to stop her from being hit by the spell. Ever glanced over her shoulder to see that the large clump of crystal was still floating in the middle of the cave, thankfully. With that issue settled, Evergreen looked back to the mage and narrowed her eyes.
With a growl, she piled more energy into her spell and continued her barrage of magic into the crystal wall. The mage was wincing as she tried to protect herself from the spells, the crystal shield she had made slowly crumbling away.
"Get out!" The mage yelled, her voice crackling. "You'll run out of magic soon, so just get out! Get out! Get out! Get out!"
"Not until I'm sure you'll leave that village alone." Evergreen shouted back over the sound of her spell.
"No! They deserve every damn thing I do to them!"
Evergreen began to pant, her energy indeed depleting as she continued to attack the other mage's shield. Just as one shield had crumbled to an unusable state, the mage cast another on in its place. If this continued for much longer, Ever would have lost all magic energy again and would need to fight without a single spell. She was good in physical combat, but going against a mage strong enough to maintain a golem and make an assortment of weapons for such a long time without her own magic would be near impossible.
She looked at the mage. She seemed to be a haggard young woman who clearly had been living in this cave for a while. She was irrational and angry, but not insane. And her words had interested Ever; if the village's residents had left out information about the mission, maybe they had wronged the other woman. And, if so, maybe her anger was justified and Ever could calm her. Hell, maybe she could recruit her to Fairy Tail, she would make a powerful ally.
"Why do they deserve it?" She asked, slowly stopping the pellets of energy but keeping the spell at the tip of her fingers just in case. "What exactly did they do?"
"They don't care about beauty. I was making that town beautiful and they exiled me for it. It was drab and dark, my jewels made it spectacular!" She screamed, Ever being sure that she could cast the Machine Gun spell immediately. "That child shouldn't have been there. It wasn't my fault it snuck out when I brought life and beauty to the streets. And yet I was exiled! If those idiot parents controlled their kids, he would still be alive, and my crystals wouldn't have been tainted with blood. They used to shimmer blue like diamonds, now look at them!"
Shards of golden crystals shot up from the bottom of the ground, surrounding them like jaws. Evergreen didn't look at them, instead focusing at the woman with shock. One thing was certain, she wasn't going to be part of Fairy Tail now.
"You killed a child?" She spoke blankly. "You killed a child and act like this? Like you've been mistreated? Like you're justified in attacking the town, attacking my friends and nearly killing them! Are you fucking kidding me?"
Evergreen walked forwards, the anger evident in the dark, murderous scowl on her face. The mage watched Evergreen with a slight amount of fear on her face, moving to create a shield as Evergreen moved to cast the spell again. The Fairy Tail mage grabbed the other woman's hand, glaring harshly as she restrained her.
"You're not beautiful, neither is your magic." Evergreen all but growled. "Anyone who can act like this has no beauty to them. But, if beauty is what you desire, I'm going to grant you what you want. But it's not gonna be what you want."
Before the mage could react, Evergreen brought her hand to her glasses and removed them. With direct eye contact, the mage quickly was enveloped in a white flash of light. When it had died down, the mage had turned to stone and frozen where she had stood. Evergreen would take her to the nearest authorities and let them deal with whatever they needed to do with her. But first, she needed to help her friends, so turned and jogged towards them.
As she moved, she glanced towards the mage and scowled and let out a small mutter. "Psychotic Bitch."