A/N: Surprise! An early update! Since I wasn't able to write that much this week, now I have all this pent up energy to do it through the weekend. So yeah, ya get a bonus!
Enjoy the new chapter.
Chapter Twelve
Ghosts and Fairies
I found myself standing on a balcony on top of the huge guild. A big door standing in front of me. I opened it and entered a long corridor. As I ran through the corridor I was searching through my memories to find out who I may encounter here. I remember that there was another person from here that joins Fairy Tail afterwards. Then it hit me. Juvia the water mage. And she was connected to a group in Phantom, whose members were able to control the elements.
My train of thought was suddenly stopped as I found myself on the ground, pushed from a strong gust of wind. I quickly stood up to see a swirling tornado in the middle of a room that I didn't even notice entering. There was a red carpet in the middle with strange lamp like columns ending with a crystal ball. In the middle of the room, the small tornado dissipated revealing a massive, crying man, dressed in a green coat. My whole body tensed as I felt the power that was surging through him. He was not to be underestimated even in my current form. The arcania had given me a really strong boost but I shouldn't let my guard down.
Suddenly the crying man spoke.
"How sad. I will make your wings of magic wither and fall and all that will remain will be the dragon's corpse." The man said, looking at the floor. His hat hiding his face.
"Creepy, crying man say what now?!" I looked at him, readying myself for battle as the air around me seemed to get thicker. This was probably the one that controlled the air.
He looked at me, which was really creepy since he had a bandage covering his eyes. Then he spoke calmly again.
"My name is Aria. I am the strongest of the Element Four." He said, holding his right hand with an opened palm near his face. "I've come in hopes of hunting a dragon." He continued.
"You must be the wind wizard then." I took a stance. I ain't no easy pray. "I kicked the ass of one wind wizard already. A second shouldn't be a problem." I taunted.
'Last time Natsu helped me a great deal but I don't have that privilege now. I need to focus and take him down on my own.' I looked with an intense gaze at the man.
"How sad. I will mourn your death as I pluck your wings." He said as I was charging at him.
"That ain't gonna happen! Arcane Dragon's Claw" I yelled as I closed the distance between us, trying to strike him with the purplish claws that overtook my hands.
He dodged to the sides with ease, evading all my attacks and just extended his hand towards me with his palm opened and sent me flying to the side with a wind so strong, that I felt like someone had kicked me in the gut.
I got up ready to continue my assult.
"Try dodging this, twinkle toes! Arcane Dragon Spectacle!" I yelled crossing my hands in an 'X' formation. Thanks to the added power from the arcania, from the Jupiter Cannon, I was able to form at least a hundred arrows surrounding my enemy. In one swift motion I extended my hands to the sides and the arrows flew at him. I raised a hand to cover my face from the explosion that followed after the attack. But to my surprise, Aria wasn't there.
"What the…" I started but was quickly blown away from another gust of wind, which sent me, yet again, flying. This time I hit a nearby wall and then fell to the ground. My whole body aching.
I growled as I stood up slowly. He was standing in one place as he did before. He wasn't even breaking a sweat but I was not going to go down so easily.
"Arcane Dragon Ethereal Chains" I swiped my hand at him and the chains burst from the ground and went straight towards him. He turned into wind himself, to my utter surprise, and dodged the chains with ease. The wind that was now him then went straight towards me and knocked me on the grown with such force that I thought I broke a rib. He reappeared at the other end of the room.
I started standing up, holding my stomach to lessen the pain that I was feeling.
'This is totally a one-sided battle but I can't give up. My body may be growing weaker with every blow but each time he attacks me, I grow more powerful. But can power alone win me this battle?' I winced as I stood up. Then I faced him, panting.
"You've endured my attacks and you are still standing." He commented. "…Very impressive." He continued. I charged at him once again.
"You gotta do better than that to keep me down." I yelled as I was closing in on him.
"Arcane Dragon Wing Attack." The twin sword materialized in my hands as I gripped them really hard and proceeded to charge towards him. Before I neared him he spoke.
"Let's see how you fare against my air space magic. This will truly test your power." He said as he raised both of his hands, his palms opened. My eyes widened. I didn't see anything but I could feel the ethernanos around him. I couldn't control them so that ment that he was using them. It was too late though, as I was already upon him, trying to hit him and then I was met with an invisible wall that sent me flying across the room once more.
I was having a hard time standing up this time. The pain was growing too much for me to bare.
'So his attacks are invisible. This makes things much more complicated.' I scanned him over as I stood up fully. I was getting beaten up pretty badly and I couldn't even touch him. I was so irritated.
"You are much stronger than I thought, daughter of magic." The man said as he lowered his hands from the attack.
"My friends are counting on me and I ain't gonna disappoint. Don't underestimate me! I will keep going until either you are defeated or until I fall limply on the floor." I growled at him, clenching my fist. I had so much power going through me now but I was too weak physically to tap into it. I had to overcome this predicament.
"How sorrowful that you will disappoint your friends." He commented and I gritted my teeth. He pointed his hand towards me with his palm opened.
"Air Space: Seven" He said calmly, with an echo to his voice.
Suddenly I felt the air shift and explode around me as I couldn't do anything to stop him. I took the brunt force of the attack. It wasn't enough to send me flying again, but it hurt like hell.
"There is always someone better than you, young Dragon Slayer." He mocked, still standing in the same spot.
"Maybe." I huffed. "But that one ain't you! Arcane Dragon Roar" I yelled as the violet and blue light left my maw and shot itself towards him.
"Arcane Dragon Amplification Circle" I said extending my hands to the sides as the magical circle formed in front of my magical roar, turning it into a beam that shot with devilish speed towards my enemy. Right as it was about to hit him though, he vanished into thin air. I started scanning the room frantically.
'Crap, crap, crap. Where did he go.' I thought as I was looking around, ready for an attack.
"I shall end this with a gift." A voice boomed from all around me. A stared in front of me. Sweat on my forehead while panting heavily. I didn't know what to expect and I feared that."I shall allow you to join your master in his suffering!" Suddenly I felt the ethernanos behind me shift and I turned around to see Aria standing right behind me, his hands over my head.
"Air Space: Drain!" He yelled as bright light engulfed me and I felt agonizing pain going through my body. I screamed from it. It was too much. I couldn't even think straight.
"So sad! Yes, because any wizard caught in my air space will be completely drained from their powers." The man yelled, crying intensely.
I couldn't stop screaming, the pain was unbearable. I had to get out of this, but how?
'I can feel it, my magic going away, but how is he doing that?' I thought amidst my screams. Then I realized it. 'He is using the air to push the ethernanos in my body away! If I focus I can make the ethernanos within me withstand the push.' I thought as I concentrated on the ethernanos that reside in my body. As I felt them, I gave them the command to push forward through the air. It was now an internal battle of whose control over magic was stronger and the battlefield was my body. And I won. The light around me stopped and I was still with my powers intact. I fell on my knees holding my stomach and panting.
Aria was shocked at the seams.
"How…" He stepped back. "How did you stop my Drain attack."
I stood up and glared at him. The arcania in the air was giving off enough magic power that I could be sustained for days. I quickly turned, not minding the pain I was feeling and smacked him in the face with a punch. I was finally able to hit him and I sent him flying across the room.
"Did you really think you can control my magic?" I hissed. "I'll show you what I can do! You will regret underestimating me!" I readied myself as he stood up.
"Impressive. I didn't know I was faced with such a worthy opponent." He said, still holding his calm voice but something was different… He was smiling and he wasn't crying. I had a bad feeling about this. "I guess it's time to start taking this battle more seriously." He said, removing his blindfold, revealing some really creepy looking, red eyes. My whole body tensed even more than it already was, if that was possible. The air in the room became suffocatingly thick. Suddenly huge gust of wind engulfed the whole room. I covered my face with my hand. I had to win. I can't lose. Lucy and the others are counting on me. I remembered how Lucy cried after we rescued her from the tower and something in me snapped.
I clenched my fist. 'This has gone long enough.' I took a stance.
"How sad. Your fate is sealed. I bid you fare well, daughter of magic." As he said that, he extended his hands towards me as golden lights shot towards me, followed by a huge torrent of wind.
I stood calmly at one spot, closing my eyes as I felt every ethernano in the room and I silently thought.
'Obey.'
Quickly, right before the attack could hit me I extended my hands to the sides.
"Arcane Dragon Shelter." The purple shield materialized in front of me and I was still with my eyes closed. It was the most strongest I've ever made the spell and the powerful attack that Aria shot towards it didn't even phase it. I could feel the man looking at me in shock. This was going to end here and now!
I shot my hands to the sides. I rotated my body forty five degrees to the right as I put my right hand behind my back and my left hand in front of my body. I started waving my hands in gentle waves around my body as my form itself was moving to the rhythm of my hands. That was not the only thing that was following my hands. Every ethernano in the room was following my lead as I opened my eyes glaring right through Aria and his confused and shocked expression. The room itself turning violet and blue as the ethernanos made their presence known. I myself was glowing in a violet, blue and white hue.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Arcania's Wrath: Dance of the Arcane Dragon!" I yelled as I swiped my right hand, that was yet again behind my back, towards the form of my opponent. The ethernanos in the room taking the form of different objects, bashing into my opponent. As the projectiles appeared all around my enemy, there was no escaping them. It was as if the whole room had a will on its own and was following my command. Aria was slammed with columns, arcs and all other forms of solidified ethernanos. And just like that my opponent was lying, unconscious on the ground." The guild trembled as he fell. I wonder what that was all about.
When I saw that I had defeated my enemy I fell on my knees, panting on the ground. I was so exhausted and in pain but I couldn't help but feel proud of myself. I was able to finally use my Secret art and was also able to defeat an opponent that was not a push over. As I was kneeling there, my attention was taken to the entrance where I saw Natsu and Happy approaching. When they entered the room and saw me, they gasped and I smiled at them.
"Hey guys…" I said weakly. The fight had taken much from me. They quickly ran to me.
"Anora are you ok?" Natsu asked concerned.
"Yeah…" I coughed. "Just finished beating up that clown over there." I pointed to Aria's limp body.
Natsu smirked at me. "Huh, figures. I bet you wiped the floor with him." I chuckled but I quickly regretted that decision as the pain in my adobmen came in quickly like a knife, cutting my flesh. "Something like that." I said as I fell on ground. Natsu panicked slightly as he kneeled down and took ahold of my back so I can look at him.
"Ouch." I winced at the pain. "I guess I was more beat then I thought." As I said that, another noise grabbed hold of our attention. It was the clang of armor on the floor. That could have been only one person. As I thought about it, Erza entered the room and she quickly bolted over to us. She looked just as beat as me.
"Hey Erza." I greeted.
"Anora what happened?" She kneeled next to Natsu to look me over. "Had a nice sparring session." I smirked, remembering the times when I trained with Erza and she would beat me to a pulp.
She smiled at me. "I'm glad that you're ok." She looked at Aria and then at me. "That man was know for his power." She said calmly. "Yeah, no joke." I commented. Suddenly a dinging noise spread through the guild.
"Attention you pathetic Fairy Tail worms." The Master of Phantom Lord, Jose's voice was heard and we all looked towards the ceiling. "Listen carefully because I'll only say this once." He continued.
"What the…" Natsu commented.
"It's Master Jose." Happy pointed out.
Suddenly the room was filled with the sound of a girl screaming. It was none other than Lucy. She was in pain. Our eyes widened.
"We have captured your precious Lucy Heartfilia, which means our first order of business is now out of the way. And that leaves us with just one more thing... My favourite part – wiping all of you miserable brats from the face of the earth." The message ended.
Natsu was staring at the ceiling with rage. A vein popping out on his forehead. "No way…" He stated. "…They've got Lucy." He said with rage in his voice.
"We have to save her." Erza said clenching her fist.
"You guys go, I'll be fine." I reassured. They both looked at me and then Erza turned to Natsu.
"You go!" She commanded. "I'll stay with Anora and watch over her."
"You gotta save her, Natsu." I said weakly, still holding my stomach.
"Listen." Erza got ahold of his shoulders as he gasped lightly and looked right in her eyes. "Use your strength. It lies dormant, deep down, inside of you. Believe in yourself. Find it. Find your strength. And awaken it. For Lucy, for our guild. Do it now, Natsu! Show me, show me you can surpass me!" She yelled the last part.
Natsu looked at the floor, his hair hiding his features as he got up on his feet and got some distance between us. He clenched his fists to the sides as the room started to get hotter and hotter. Suddenly he was engulfed in gentle flames that bended to his will, all around his body. And then he yelled and the fires around him took the form of a dragon. His scream, sounding like a dragon's roar. And like that he bolted to the next room.
Erza looked towards me and helped me get up. She put one of my hands around her shoulder, so I can use her as a support and she led me to a nearby column. She put me down on the ground and I leaned on the column. She did the same.
"Are you sure he is gonna be alright?" I asked her with closed eyes.
She smiled. "This is Natsu we are talking about." I giggled a bit. "I guess you are right." At that moment I heard footsteps approaching from the corridor. I didn't know what to expect. With my heightened senses I could pick up two or maybe three people. I warned Erza and her body tensed as we observed the entrance to the room. As the sound became stronger and stronger, three figures entered the room. When we saw that it was Mira, Gray and Elfman we relaxed.
They ran up to us.
"Erza? Anora?" Mira perked. "You guys ok?" Gray asked, concerned. "Man, looks like something big went down here." Elfman commented.
"Hey guys." I greeted weakly. "You guys are injured, you shouldn't be here." Gray scolded. "Yeah, you aren't really looking to good." Mira said, concerned. Elfman looked at the man I fought.
"Woah!" He looked shocked at the revelation. The others looked at the spot he was staring at. "That's Aria." Mira exclaimed. "You two got shot by the cannon and still fought this guy?" Elfman asked.
"What the heck were you thinking?" Gray scolded again.
"Hold on…" Gray started. "You two beat him on your own?" Mira continued, astonished.
"No, Anora beat him all by herself." Erza pointed towards me with a bright smile and the others looked at me with surprise. I grinned at them. Suddenly a huge dark and menacing aura made it's presence known in the room.
"What the…" Gray commented.
"What is it?" Mira asked.
"I sense death." Erza said with panic in her eyes.
"It feels so evil." I pointed out, still holding my stomach.
The others started wondering what it ment, when sudden, the sound of clapping took our attention.
"Bravo." Master Jose said, entering the room. "You are all quite keen. Very impressive Fairy Tail wizards. I knew this would be fun, but I never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be this entertaining." He continued. "You annihilated the Jupiter Cannon. Disposed of my elite Element Four. And you even managed to bring my magic giant to it's knees." He said with a menacing smirk, an evil and powerful aura surrounding him.
We were all shocked at the revelation of who he is. Gray and Elfman blocked his way to us. They jumped on him. Erza tried to warn them but it was too late. Jose shot hundreds of ghostly figures towards them and they flew across the room. Erza stood up as The Master of Phantom waved his hand and a huge explosion knocked out Mira, Gray and Elfman. The red headed knight charged at him with one sword. He shot explosives at her but she dodge them swiftly, changing in her Black Wing armor and tried to strike at him but he evaded her attacks.
I was watching from the side. I felt so useless. I stood up slowly and went to her side as he threw her towards me. She backflipped gracefully in the air and landed near me. She looked at me in shock.
"Anora what are you doing, you can't fight like this." She yelled at me, holding tightly her blade.
I looked at her with determination leaking from me eyes as I let go of my stomach. "I won't watch from the sides. I'm going to help you." I said with my tone imposing, leaving no room for arguing, so she simply nodded. We both turned our attention toward Jose who started to speak.
"Fascinating. You two took a shot from Jupiter at full force, did you not? And yet you are still standing." He observed and then looked at me. "And you! You even fought Aria." He continued. Erza held up her sword in front of us.
"Only because my friends have filled my heart with strength. I will withstand any physical pain. To protect the ones that I love." She said with an imposing tone.
"And so will I!" I commented. Jose eyes widened and his mirk grew into an outright crazy smile.
"Powerful. Courageous and exquisitely beautiful." He stated calmly. "Destroying you two will bring me unbelievable pleasure." He said with a low voice. We fought with him a for bit before the whole guild shook from an explosion. That could only be one person. My attention was quickly drawn to the man standing in front of me though, as he spoke again. "My… what an unruly dragon you have." He commented as he leaned to the side to evade some falling rubble.
"He may be unruly but he is also an extremely powerful wizard." Erza commented, panting. "In fact… I'd say that he is just as strong as me if not stronger." She continued, holding her blade in a defencive position.
"And even if we fail now, he is sure to kick your butt too!" I stated flatly, taking a defencive stance.
"Will he now? Well I shall see if that's true once I'm threw with you. But you shouldn't be so modest. The two of you have magic that is just as spectacular as Salamander's. You are the first wizards to last so long against me in battle. Truth be told we would be more equally matched if you were in your normal states." He commented and both me and Erza gritted our teeth.
"You know what irks me about Fairy Tail?" He asked rhetorically. "The fact that there are so many powerful wizards like the two of you…" He answered his own question, the calmness in his voice turning to malice. He held a fist towards us. "… Who would align with Makarov." He finished extending his index finger towards us from his clenched fist. In the blink of an eye, we were sent flying and hit the wall behind us with unimaginable speed. We fell to the floor afterwards. The pain was growing more and more. If I wasn't a Dragon Slayer I would probably be dead by now…
We lay on the floor as Jose pointed with his hand at us.
"And since you can't be swayed to join Phantom, there is one way to change that!" He said, threateningly as more of those shots that slammed us to the wall shot from his fingers. Erza jumped in the air and charged at him while I stood up and tried to support her from the back. He continued to shoot at Erza while she evaded all around the room. That gave me an opening.
"Arcane Dragon Twin Blast." At this point, I felt all the pent up energy in me. There was so much arcania all around me that I believe my powers grew ten times while I was here. The lights shot towards him but he evaded with utmost ease.
"Now, now Anora. Don't you know it's rude to interrupt other people." He spat darkly as he shot ghostly projectiles towards me.
"Arcane Dragon Shelter!" I yelled, creating a shield around me that was able to absorb the projectile without shattering thanks to the amount of magical power in me at the moment. That was good since I didn't believe I could take another direct hit.
Erza took the moment to strike at him but he evaded and turned his attention towards her again. "This will send the old coot into deep despair." He said, his eyes glowing like a demon's. "Imagine how he will feel when he awakens and finds his guildhall destroyed and his children dead and gone. He'd be lost. Completely consumed by sorrow." He told us with fire in his eyes. "Once he is reduced to that miserable state I'll swoop in and kill him but first I'll make him suffer." He continued his eyes widening. "I'll torture him until he has no choice but to wither and die!" At that Erza jumped at him but he teleported behind her and shot a projectile at her.
I extended my right hand towards her as if to reach her. "Arcane Dragon Guardian Wing!" I screamed as two ethereal forms, looking like dragon wings, enveloped Erza's form and took the brunt of the blast. After that they dissipated, revealing Erza unharmed. She nodded as a 'thank you'. I walked next to her as we both faced Jose while he continued his speech.
"As long as I can remember, Phantom Lord has always been on the top. We have the most powerful wizards, with the strongest spells." He spoke without even looking at us. "We also have the most capitals and most members than any other guild." Then he shot a deadly glare towards us. "However, recently Fairy Tail has began to catch up and our position as leaders is in jeopardy. The names Erza, Laxus, Mystogan and Anora became widely known and soon stories of Salamander spread across the land like wild fire. Now Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord are considered equals, representing this kingdom. Huh… The thought disgust me!" He said, mockingly and his eyes widened with viciousness in them. "I REFUSE TO BE AQUANTED TO SUCH A FEEBLE GUILD!"
In the blink of an eye Erza charged towards him, with me following suit.
"SILENCE!" Erza yelled as she tried to strike with her blade and I was there with my ethereal, twin swords as well. But no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't hit him. We stopped after he got a bit of distance between us and Erza pointed her blade at him.
"So, we are fighting for our lives just because you've had a fit of jealousy?" She roared at him.
"Jealousy?" He asked, raising his hand to his face. "That's absurd. We simply wanted to prove to the kingdom that we are the dominant guild!" He said with a crooked smile.
"Is that what this is all about?!" I joined in the yelling. "For a stupid reason as to show who is better?" Erza suddenly jumped at him and started swinging her blade so fast that I wasn't even able to see the thing, but Jose just evaded without even breaking a sweat. When he evaded her final attack he countered by binding her with some kind of ghosts. I reacted instantly.
"Erza!" I screamed as I swiped my right arm at Jose.
"Arcane Dragon Ethereal Chains!" I yelled as the chains shot towards him. "Arcane Dragon Amplification Circle!" I continued, extending my hands to the sides and as the chains went through the circle that formed in front of them, each split into two more. Jose just dodged every single one and then looked at me without breaking his hold on Erza.
"You are quite the annoying brat!" He spat as he swiped his free arm at me. "You need to be taught a lesson." He hissed at me and before I knew it, the ground beneath me exploded, launching me towards a nearby column, breaking it on impact and I felt darkness overtake me. The last thing I remember was Erza screaming my name.
I woke up in a bed near a window. It was bright outside so it was probably morning. I sat on the end of the bed. As I removed the covers I saw that my whole body was in bandages. I quickly scanned the room I was in. I knew exactly where I was. I was at Porlyusica's place! At that moment, the door opened, announcing the entrance of the woman herself.
"Anora." She said calmly when she saw me. "How are you feeling?" She asked.
"I feel fine, a bit sore but other than that I feel good." I answered honestly. "Thanks for the patch up." I thanked with a smile.
"Don't mention it. Can you stand?" She asked. At her question I stood up from the bed and walked around the room.
"Yeah, no problems here."I confirmed "So... what happened?" I wanted to know.
"You won the fight. Ask you guild mates for further details on the matter." She huffed and turned the other way to do whatever she wanted to do. I eyed her for a minute. Suddenly she yelled. "Well what are you waiting for!? Get out!" I winced at her sudden outburst but that was Porlyusica for ya. I bolted towards the door when I realized that I was only in my bra and panties. Thank god I didn't get out of the house before that!
"Where are my clothes?" I turned around and asked her, shocked. She went to a nearby chair where my violet dress resided and tossed it at me. I put it on quickly.
"Now get out!" She yelled, while grabbing a broom and coming threateningly at me, waving the thing in my face.
"Ok, ok, I'm going!" I bolted out of the house. I turned around as I was going to the guild's direction, noticing Porlyusica at the opened door. I waved at her.
"Thanks again for the help!" She just huffed at my words, turned around and closed the door.
After that I continued on my path towards the guild.
A/N: And that's the end of "Phantom Lord" arc. I want to take this moment to thank everyone that has read up to this moment. We just reached 5.000 views and that is just mind-boggling to me. We also have almost 90 followers, 70 favourites and 50 reviews.
For a first fiction, I never even dreamed of getting half of the support you guys have given me and for that I am truly grateful. I hope you enjoy the future chapters as much as you've enojyed these ones, if not more.
With that being said, see ya all in the next chapter!