Greetings again my fellow audience who may or may no longer be there. Again i must apologize for not finishing this within the week after my last post and for yet again missing the Sunday upload. This chapter had exceeded the 5000 word mark and as such required more refinement. This is the second half of the previous chapter and the conclusion of the Battle for Magnolia. I do hope you find this entertaining and will try to upload on a more swifter basis. hopefully I can with your support.
But I have kept you long enough. Leave the troubles and toils of your world for just a moment as I present to you the next act of Fairy Tail : The Imperium Encounter.
Oh and please do leave a review. Any review. Hopefully it would be of use to us both ^_^
In the olden days, a dragon was an amazing sight. Up in the heavens at high noon or clearest midnight, its wings would fly over the lands of men covering all in its shadow.
From its position of power a dragon would taste the rarities of life: the gold that glimmered and caught its eye, the men so sumptuous and/or plump if the more noble kind, the lamentations of villages fallen by might, and the steel of fools who come to fight.
Not all rarities bring such delight however, for even a mighty beast like a dragon still ills of mortality and the taste of blood and defeat was a bitter rarity indeed.
That's where Natsu was as he tasted what he thought was blood on his lips. Igneel always said that a Dragon only tastes his own blood when he has retreated from the fight. No doubt his way of saying to always consider your options in a fight.
To Natsu it was clear what his option was: fight , no matter what.
Despite his bruises he stood his ground, proud and strong, against the Dragoon who eerily laughed at his failed efforts to destroy it.
"*spit*Fight smart she says. I'm doing fine! " he ignited his fist and charged straight ahead to his enemy, exchanging blows with the blade strikes until both his hands were caught and one of the Dragoons other sides twisted over and back fisted him into a building.
"*cough* Okay, maybe she does have a point" he dusted himself off and ran for the metal monstrosity again this time jumping up in the air and slamming the ground releasing a wave of flame the forced the Dragoon back.
He finally gained some ground against the creature but that ground literally began to shake violently beneath him.
"What the? Did I do this?"
No Natsu you aren't THAT strong but it's more of the town turning against you.
Friend and foe alike were on their knees as Magnolia quaked and split before them.
Buildings rose and fell, the streets opened themselves to the sky, what once was here was now over there.
Most didn't know what was going on but any Magnolian and Fairy Tail member knew : it was the Gildarts shift. The saying goes that one should adapt to their environment, but only in Fairy Tail does the environment adapt to you…. or Russia give or take.
To Natsu it meant one thing and one thing only: Gildarts had come to the rescue.
"You're in trouble know you scrap heap. That means Gildarts is coming to the rescue!" now filled with determination he vigorously attacked his enemy even if the ground continued to shake.
Even to the many others who fought and knew what the trembling earth meant, they too were filled with such determination with some even cheering that they were saved.
Alas the world, though cold, is also cruel and if it lived would tell of others how it enjoyed crushing such mortal hope.
While most rejoiced and were reinvigorated, the few who knew how the Gildarts shift actually worked were troubled.
"Erza, do you think?" Fried was one of these few (since he and a few others took the time to listen to Makarov's weekend lectures regarding the Guild Hall) and he sought the council of the other comrade who knew.
"No, this…. this is wrong. The shaking is much more violent and the warning sirens should be flying over head by now even if the city was damaged like this. Besides the shift can only be activated from the Magic Council Hall or…." she looked back at the guild hall with a little terror in her eyes.
"Oh no…..Don't tell me…" she and Fried would find out soon enough.
The streets parted like the Red Sea, unveiling the paths that Fairy Tail's strongest mage walked in order to reach home without destroying the city by accident.
The city divided like blocks in the hand of a child, parting not only itself as a whole but our heroes from each other.
When it was all said and done, Magonlia was rearranged into an arena of death. Fioren and invader alike were all divided but only one was meant to be conquered.
The road that heralded the coming of a hero were for the first time not met by any. In the place of their champion striding along instead stood another trap.
Far down below was yet again mist. Though not the same color as the mist in the city it served the same purpose of hiding an eerie secret, the only hint being a few flashes as if a thunderstorm seen from above.
"Alright men, just like the commander said! Avoid the civilians and push everything else off!" shouted one of the invaders.
Almost immediately a switch flipped in all the invaders and the flow of combat focused on herding the Fiorens near the edges.
The Fiorens still outnumbered their foes but yet again that played into the invaders favor as their mass proved easy to control.
The Royal Army and the mages fought their hardest from being pushed off until one poor sod finally fell off the edge. From then on it was a tidal wave of bodies falling left and right. Slowly but surely the Fiorens were losing ground by falling into it
Determination slowly became desperation as the Fiorens concentrated their efforts to escaping death's edge though such would prove difficult especially with both the frenzied Dragoons and the enraged Centrions in the fray.
"Fried, you take care of things here. I have to help the others" said Erza as she drove her Purgatory sword into the heart of a Centrion.
"Go. You can trust me and Lyon to handle things here" with a nod she returned to her Heaven Wheel armor and with it to the skies.
Yet the SHARDS were ever so the deadly vultures, circling and waiting for the Scarlet queen to return and give them the chance to make her their next carrion.
Though she was eager to contest the sky from the SHARDS and prove her superiority her priority was with her fellow comrades in the ground. As such she kept her engagement to a minimum until finally she found Deni fighting off a few of the invaders single handedly.
"Looks like you need some help" she came in her Black Wing armor and blocked a blow about to strike at Deni.
"Erza, I'm glad you're alive. I was worried they got you"
"You don't become an S-class mage by being a pushover "
"I've always wondered what you mages have to go through to be S-class"
"I can't speak for all, but I can tell you once we beat these guys"
"Heh, I bet I can get more of them than you can"
"You're on"
And so they fought, back to back. Their defense and their attack were in perfect sync as if practiced over thousands of hours. In a way it was almost like they were close sisters who knew what the other was thinking. Each complimented each other and both were excellent swordsmen.
Before they knew it the last invader was defeated and disappeared in a flash of blue light just as Deni's blade landed a critical blow.
"It's really annoying when they do that!" she shouted in frustration
"I think it's some kind of safety magic or if not then a self-destruct spell. Either way, it's ingenious and makes it harder for us to study our opponent "
"Wow Erza, you sure do figure out stuff pretty quickly"
"Whatever the case, we have more important matters. What's the overall situation Deni?" though Erza did enjoy playful banter there was still a war to fight.
"Yes *ahem* The city is a complete maze, everyone from here to kingdom come is separated, morale is deeper than the hellhole we walked into, and from what I was able to gather before our communications lacrima guy went down they're pushing people en masse off the edge. Is that last part true?"
"Unfortunately and it gets worse. Thanks to Gjorums explosive gas the city is starting to burn down"
"Oh come on! At this rate we would be lucky to walk out of here in one piece that isn't medium rare!"
"Deni, what do we need to do?"
"We… um… we need to coordinate our attack and contact the other regiment commander"
"Where was he deployed?"
"He… went with Yuka and Elfman…. To secure the western part of the….. wait….the explosion came from the…. Don't tell me they're all.."
"I was able to save some of them including Yuka and Toby but…." that small pause was enough to cause her heart to sink.
"Deni, I didn't see him in the group I saved. You're the highest ranking officer "
"By the gods, it's all falling apart…." the weight of the entire situation all came at once to her and she buckled on her knees.
A million things ran through her mind. Fear, powerlessness, panic, stress, stress, and more stress with a sprinkle of stress. She was so overwhelmed by everything that it left her paralyzed and mumbling.
But someone was there to pull her out of her spiraling depression, an angelic hand reached through the dark whirlpool and guided her back to sunlight and it was none other than Erza Scarlet.
"Deni! I know its rough and things aren't going well but never lose hope!" she than held both of her hands and looked her straight in the eye.
"I know you can do it Deni. No, I know we can do it! Together with our friends at our side and our comrades at our backs we can win and take back our home!"
Her spirits were lit from a candle into a furnace thanks to those words. She was right, this fight was far from over.
For her friends
For her family
For her love
For her comrades
She had to fight!
Not for her but for all of Fiore!
"You're right Erza. I'll never give up! Four our home and our family!"
"That's much better. Now, what do we do Division Commander Deni?"
"Okay, first we-" were the last words Erza heard before a chain quickly wrapped around Deni and pulled her away. Apparently Gjorum snuck on a nearby roof while they were having their pep talk and waited for Erza to let go before reeling in his prize.
"Wohoo! Looks like I caught one! Say, you're not half bad"
She said nothing but instead struggled with a fury to free herself. Yet as any person who fishes knows, you don't have a catch until they stop struggling.
"This should fix ya!"with a strong head-butt she was out cold and at his total mercy.
"No you don't!" Erza in her ever gallant nature would not allow her comrade to be taken so easily and charged him at full force only to be denied by three Centrions.
"Sorry toots but I'll have to settle for this one for now. You can play with my toys though, just be careful not to break them! Gehehehe! "
He jumped away leaving our scarlet knight to face the hellish monsters alone.
...
...
...
The Centrion. It had seen many a field of battle and has trampled (sometimes literally) on many a foe. The design of Gjorums deranged mind it embodied the cavalry force that he wanted. Power, strength, devastation, and downright fun.
A demonic entity charging down any enemy and inhabited by what some think are actual demons, it would crush and burn and sometimes both anything it was pointed at with little care for "precision". It was by all means a hammer that smashed enemy resolve into millions of pieces.
Yet every hammer is fated to meet that one stubborn nail and Erza was a very stubborn nail unyielding to a force of three – no scratch that she just ripped one Centrion in half - two Centrions in her Giant Armor.
'All that work and there's still two more!' for someone who appreciated structural integrity this was the first time hated something being so well made.
'I could probably defeat these other two, but it would take too long and I still have to save Deni' their synchronous attacks weren't helping her find the answer and she needed some space.
The sky was full of those annoying SHARDS but if she stayed here she would have to deal with possibly even more Centrions. It was quite the conundrum.
Not as big a conundrum as two flaming wrecking balls missing her face by a hair but hey when your Erza Scarlet all your bones could break but you could still stop a meteor thanks to the power of friendship!...Okay maybe that's pushing it even for Fairy Tail but the flaming balls are still a problem.
It was only a matter of time before one Centrion got a lucky blow so she had to think and their endless attacks didn't allow for that.
Out of frustration she just threw her De-Malevo-Lance at one of the Centrions chests, piercing through the thick as hell chest all the way to the back but not outright killing it.
It charged at her as if it was furious but ended up missing and slamming into the other Centrion head on.
As the two weapons of destruction tried to get their focus back, the sight of both of them and the De-Malevo-Lance stuck in one of the Centrions gave Erza an idea. More exactly a technique she used to pacify Gray and Natsu a long time ago.
She jumped behind the Centrion who had the De-Malevo-Lance stuck in it and tried to pull it out. The monstrosity, sensing the mage behind him, bucked like a wild bull and brought down some nearby houses just from its tremors.
With one massive pull she finally recovered the deeply embedded shaft and put some distance between her and the Centrions.
Even with a massive hole in its chest, the Centrion still charged at her like a madman. Playing into the scene she let down her De-Malevo-Lance and transformed into her Matador Armor (Yes you saw that correctly Matador Armor. If she has a dedicated armor set for running then by Igneels sixth toe I wouldn't be surprised if she had Matador Armor ESPECIALLY if it's "suited" to her) and gracefully dodged the rampaging beasts charge.
"Olé!"
As the Centrion crashed into a house another one came up right behind her but she was not caught off guard and simply dodged with even more style.
In fact, the longer it went the more fabulous it became.
*In a part of the city*
Ichiya had befallen another group of invaders with his K.O parfum when immediately he froze like a statue. This opened him up to be attacked by an invader with a Warhammer but fortunately the Trimen had his back.
" , are you alright?" asked Hibiki.
"Why are you just standing there Ichiya-sama? Is something wrong" asked Ren.
"No, but I sense something "
"What do you sense master?" asked Eve.
"I sense something…. stylish…. glamorous….classy. Whatever it is, it has my fabulous senses tingling to the max and I think it's somewhere in this city "
"But , this city is a wreck! How can something so beautiful be her in such destruction?" asked Hibiki.
"My dear Hibiki, if love can bloom from bloodshed then surely so can beauty from war and if my senses are correct it has something to do with my honey Erza"
"Truly your love stretches across all Ichiya!" complimented Hibiki.
"Such a bond is rare and something I too hope to have someday!" proclaimed Ren.
"Ah Ichiya, there is no doubt that you are the wisest of us all!" exemplified Eve.
"Nobody is like you Ichiya!" they all proclaimed.
"Now ,now boys it's not all me. After all, we're all in this together as one beautiful team are we not? MEN!"
*Leaving the fabulous, sparkly bunch and returning to our Erza*
"Olé!"
"Olé!"
"Olé!"
"Olé!"
With every pass her fabulousness and style increased to goddess levels sparkling brighter than the sunlight. The Centrions were her fools and she was their fabulous superior. Their strength fell to her grace as they were humiliated time and time again.
A sight for the ages (and one Ichiya and Master Bob would kill to see) but it had a purpose. With every failed charge the Centrions grew more and more focused on her and her alone.
When she was finally confident that she had their full and utmost attention, she taunted both of them one last time for the grand finale. The two hulking monsters gave it everything they got and charged at her full speed.
With one flare of her Muleta she was gone and the Centrions slammed into each other head on and in full force. This was enough to daze them both and gave Erza enough time to pull out her De-Malevo-Lance and impale both Centrions through the chest. As a finishing blow, she re-equipped just her Purgatory Sword and sliced both of their heads off.
"There. That should finish them" but a quick stomping by the enraged Centrions immediately contradicted her.
"They could still fight even without their heads?!... Well it won't matter, I've bought myself enough time" changing into her Black Wing armor she flew off and left the two monstrosities to aimlessly wander on their own.
Up above the Queen of Fairies looked down unto the field and despaired. The land which she had walked and flown over many times were now foreign to her, the fires seemed to have grown larger for some reason, people were still being thrown down the ledges by the dozen with some of the SHARDS even helping, and there were no clear paths out of the city or to victory.
She took a deep breath . Now with no flaming balls of death after her she could clearly think.
Her first course of action: clear a path. One thing she learned from her S-class missions is to always have a path of escape. Jewels weren't worth your life.
She re-equiped into her Lightning Empress armor and from the heavens above blasted away at buildings, paving a path of escape for her comrades.
Such power did not go unnoticed however and most of the SHARDS were once again at her doorstep. Though this time she was able to get a few thanks to her lightning, they were still fast and Erza couldn't afford to miss any of them.
While she fought for dominance of the skies, Exyle watched from the comfort of the Guild Hall. He had been watching the battle progress mostly as planned but then focused on Erza's fight with the Centrions and how she 'matadored' them.
"I'm not even mad she escaped from three Centrions, the way she did it is amazing. Good thing I got that on lacrima"
He continued to watch her battle the SHARDS.
"She is quite the versatile fighter and clever too. I am rather curious if she is the one leading this whole foray. And her armor set is…. VERY intriguing"
Breaking his fascination of her, he resumed his watch over the entire battlefield.
"A few missteps here and there but so far all according to plan"
"I'm not that all impressed by the Royal Army but their mage counterparts on the other hand have proven the complete opposite. So much variety and just plain weirdness. Oh how I love magic! "
He then heard a loud noise and saw in his map that despite fighting off multiple SHARDS, Erza was still able to clear a path through the city.
"*sigh* I guess we've played with our food long enough. It's time for the kill"
He left his table and for the first time in the battle stepped foot on the battlefield. He laid witness to the destruction he had caused albeit indirectly.
Fiorens and invaders clashed from city block to city block as he watched from the best vantage point in the city.
Hearing the shouts of valor and the clash of steel.
Smelling the smelly smell of blood, sweat, tears, and ash.
Tasting the ever so sweet air of victory.
"Oh, Gjorum. Retreating already?"
"Yup. I've had my fill and check this out. I got their Regiment commander as a prize! Isn't that sweet?!"
"Well done Gjorum. Honestly, good job I didn't even know where their regiment commander was"
"Well too bad for you. Me and the boys are gonna have some fun with her and some of the civie's we've captured"
"Please Gjorum, just don't be too rough on her. Extracting information from her mind will be a lot harder if you break it to fast"
"Kek! Don't worry you for eyed freak, I'll make sure to leave plenty of her left for you and your interrogation. You can't enjoy your toys to the max if you break them after all!" was all he said as he retreated into the guild.
'I guess he's right'
Just one more ingredient was needed to make this the perfect meal of the day. He looked up to Erza and she with perfect timing looked at him. Even if they were rather far from each other they could clearly see each others eyes . He stopped the SHARDS from attacking so that they could leer at each other before finally executing the coup de grace.
"Checkmate, Fairy Tail"
He gently stretched out his palm and after taking a deep breath exhaled into the mist.
His breath blew away the mist below.
It traveled through all the corners.
The mist quickly retreated like civilians running from the Mongol horde and left through the end of the city where Mirajane and the others were.
His breath though gentle was loud enough for everyone in the battlefield to hear.
Erza looked down slowly, seeing first only hint but then a row of scarlet red.
She didn't want to.
She had to.
As slow as she could make it, her eyes inevitably came across a sight she had never seen before.
A sight that not even her worst nightmares could fathom.
The color almost jumped out of her skin.
Her gut wrenched in every way possible.
Her stomach almost left with her lunch.
A chill traveled down her entire body.
Her mind refused to believe what the eyes were telling it.
The longer she looked, the more she questioned if reality itself could be so mad, so cruel, so insane.
Her speech….. she had no speech. There were no mortal words that she could think of to describe it.
One soldier saw Erza just staring at the floor and out of curiosity he looked.
Then looked another.
Then another
Then another.
The another.
It was like a yawn that spread from person to person.
Strangely enough once the invaders noticed the Fiorens looking down they stopped attacking as if they knew what they were looking at and let it sink it.
The few that still kept attacking were forced or directed to look and Natsu who had been fighting the same Dragoon nonstop was finally pinned down at the edge.
The dragoon pointed to the ground below.
Natsu, not as tunnel vision as he mostly is, was confused as to why the creature suddenly stopped and pointed to the ground. He decided to take a quick look while also preparing a sneaky punch just in case it tried something.
His mind went blank for a second, unable to process what exactly he saw before finally he and the rest of the Fiornens came to the same realization.
For meters on end the path below that was to herald their hero was now filled with crystal spikes of varying sizes but none taller than a man.
The crystalline structures came in two colors.
At their base they were somewhat white clear seethrough-ish. Almost like a beautiful mix of ice and diamond.
The second color however…
Well, let's just say it finally made sense as to why the invaders were so adamant in throwing as many of them as possible into the mist.
After all, it only painted the crystals below a bright crimson red.
So many had fallen in that the sheer numbers of bodies bleeding out almost created a literal river of blood.
Now the city arrangement also made sense. It was not only an arena of death but a stage of one, a stage where no matter where they were all would see the gruesome spectacle.
The invaders stood as silent witnesses as the city, for the moment, returned to complete silence once again.
But oh, it wasn't over.
The finale was only half done as after what seemed like an eternity of silence Exyle brought back sound into the city.
"Ebony Guillotine, deactivate grand silencer runes… now"
"I shall obey, my lord" said the girl crew member.
Above the crystal spikes were runes that floated above which also explains the lightning effect from earlier.
The runes twisted and turned until all at once they all disappeared.
What they released was what finally broke the entire Fioren force.
All at once the agonizing screams of those that had fallen were released, kept behind the runes of power for this exact moment.
Agonizing.
Blood Curdling.
Anguishing.
Chilling.
Terrifying.
The screams harmonized together into an unearthly melody of pain and suffering, one only rivaled by the tortured souls of hell itself.
It just went on, and on, and on, and on, and on.
After what seemed like an eternity the hellish sounds finally laid to rest.
The Fiorens were shocked beyond disbelief and all including Natsu were to terrified to do anything other than take in the moment.
"Strange, they usually start running by now" said Exyle to himself.
"Oh, that's right! They're too terrified to move. Well then, an encore should fix that"
He outstretched his hand again not to give a gentle blow but to cast an Olympian level of lightning unto the floor.
It was not to char the remains, oh no, but instead it was to shock those that were still alive back into consciousness only for a few seconds to give the Fiorens a small encore performance.
The screams from those impaled coupled with the pain from the lightning was a worthy performance indeed as it broke the Fiorens out of their trance.
For the true final part of the finale, he started moving his fingers which in turn moved the crystals.
Basically, he turned the spike trap into a grinder with crystals growing and shrinking at a fast pace finishing off the many that clung to life.
With the finale truly done, it was the Fiornes turn to scream in utmost terror.
Absolute panic traveled through the Fiorens ranks as they no longer focused of fighting for their homes but instead focused on ….. actually they didn't know what to focus on.
They were no longer an army but a frantic mob. Unguided and dangerous to both the surroundings and themselves.
Erza's first thought after the performance was to charge Exyle and make him pay for what he had done to those people.
She almost did, but with an almost countless number of SHARDS between her and him, the Fioren Army in complete disarray, her own exhaustion, and what she saw for herself what this man was capable of, what Demi said earlier overpowered such a thought.
"The city is a complete maze, everyone from here to kingdom come is separated, morale is deeper than the hellhole we walked into, and from what I was able to gather before our communications lacrima guy went down they're pushing people en masse off the edge"
With those words echoing in her mind, she knew what she had to do.
She hated the very thought of it especially after what they had all gone through.
It wasn't an easy decision.
No, it was the only decision at this point.
She had to face it, they all had to face it.
They were thoroughly beaten.
For her sake and everyone else who lived, she HAD to do it.
She took a deep breath, her body fighting her for every second that she did.
Her brain refused to surrender the words to her tongue.
Her pride did everything it could to not iterate those words.
Yet by pulling every last bit of willpower she had, she broke through all those constraints and in the presence of everybody including Exyle she finally uttered the words for all with ears to hear.
RETREEEEEEEAT!
"And there's the fear. We've won this battle" though nobody could see it, beneath his mask Exyle smirked triumphantly.
...
...
...
With a swish of his cape, Exyle returned to the Guild Hall to relax. Maybe even take a quick nap in the Magnolian heat.
He knew that the moment Erza said that word he was no longer needed. From this point forward it was only a matter of mopping up or what he liked to call it the "Fun Free Kills Phase" (He was still working on the name )
"*yawn* All warriors. Give them a minuet head start and then…. pursue and destroy by any means necessary . Cease your pursuit on victims - I mean - targets after they have left the city edges. Happy hunting's everyone" was his final order before disappearing behind Fairy Tails wooden doors.
Meanwhile, across the battlefield, everybody that wasn't an invader did their best Usain Bolt out of the city.
Those that couldn't run walked as fast as they could.
Those that couldn't walked crawled to their best ability.
Those that were being trampled didn't care as they did anything they could to escape the city post haste. One guy even tied himself to the other guy on the horse to drag himself.
Even the guild mages had no choice. Erza was right this was no longer a question of winning but of survival and the best option for that was to leave. NOW.
But among all the sensible people, only two remained. One was Erza who took advantage of the reprieve and cleared as many paths as possible in record time draining her even further.
After the Fiornes were a good distance away from the invaders, the minuet expired and the for the invaders it was hunting season.
Erza was the first to experience this when the SHARDS who were floating a good distance away from her finally resumed their attack.
"Tch! Looks like our head start is finally over! I should be going too!" with every ounce of magic left in her she flew away from them as fast as possible.
"No good, I'm using too much magic just by staying in the air. I'm going to have to go on foot" she unequipped her armor and returned to her usual Heart Kruz armor, joining the rest on their retreat from the city.
Now the second person who stayed was none other than Natsu who after being scared mindless went into a rage against the Dragoon.
"YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU DO HAT TO THOSE PEOPLE! HOW DARE YOU!" throwing magic left and right, he didn't care if he was wasting his magic reserves. He had to make them pay and the first one would be the Dragoon.
It had the upper hand in their entire brawl, but now it was in trouble. Granted it was dodging his magic like it was nothing but the sheer volume of it all was going to overwhelm it eventually. It could take a hit but it was no Centrion and it didn't want to take that chance.
The spider like legs danced a ballet of survival as he drew the Drgaonsalyer deeper and deeper into the city and even into fleeing Fiorens.
*in the Guild Hall*
"One of these rooms must have a decent bed or even a bed" Exyle was searching for a room to himself when he came across Gjorum.
"Gjorum, I thought you were having *ahem* 'fun'"
"Yeah, yeah I'm getting to it. Just gotta ready everything. Wait, why are you here? Shouldn't you be outside or somethin' ?"
"Hm? Oh it's simply the mop up. They don't need me there"
"WHAT?! Why didn't you tell me it was the Fun Free Kills Phase?! "
"Still not officially calling it that"
"Whatever! I gotta activate my traps before they all get away!" he said as he ran down to get his lacrima crystal.
"You have fun with that. Now back to looking for a bed" he opened a door which was labeled Mira's special room and found….well….
"There is no way I'm sleeping in….THIS"
*Back in the city of Magnolia*
The terrified Fiorens heard the invaders coming for them and that gave them the extra wind that their step needed.
While everyone retreated Natsu was still viciously perusing the Dragoon, finally tackling and crashing it through a building and into a wave of retreating soldiers.
Landing a few good blows the Dragon slayer finally had it on the ropes which forced the Dragoon to use fleeing soldiers as human shields.
"You coward , using people like that!" this seemed to enrage him more as he barely dodged the people and landed a Fire Dragon's Iron Fist combination on the Dragoon.
Hurt but not broken it continued to bring the Dragonslayer into retreating crowds.
Slowly but surely he was tiring the Dragonslayer.
The exhaustion was gaining tremendous grounds with him but he was so enraged into destroying the Dragoon that he didn't notice the hundreds of runes that just activated throughout the city.
Some were the crystal spike runes while others were either simple shock traps or outright bomb runes that stained walls...and the floors...and nearby people.
Natsu throughout his battle with the Dragoon passed by every type but didn't care what injury he sustained. No matter what he would destroy this Dragoon.
Unfortunately, his comrades didn't have such fortitude and they were either trapped, splattered, or impaled accordingly. If there was any good news from this it was that it only affected the Royal Army.
Erza, even if she was trying to get away, did her best freeing and helping the people who got caught in the rune traps until finally she came across Natsu fighting the Dragoon with reckless abandon.
"That idiot! Does he want to be captured?!"
After helping a soldiers leg escape a spike trap, she went for her Dragonslayer.
Natsu was unwavering in his resolve but where determination may almost be limitless the mortal body is not and the Dragoon knew this. Not only that he saw this.
The Dragonslayer was unknowingly succumbing to his injuries and all he needed was one little push.
Fortunately there was a trap rune nearby and the Dragoon took the opportunity.
He let the Dragonslayer land a blow and pretended to be dazed. It took the few steps back , baiting the Natsu to come and finish the job.
Natsu took it without second thought and placed all the magic he could into a Talons of the Fire Dragon.
Just as he thought he would finally win, the Dragoon caught him at the very last moment and slammed him into the ground and pinned his pants with one of its swords. What was worse, Natsu was right on top of a spike trap rune.
The Dragoon quickly jumped away and gave the Dragonslayer an eerie metal laugh as it reveled in the thought of watching the pesky mage finally get dealt with.
But for something with three heads, it didn't see the mistake it had finally made.
...
...
...
What its heads didn't see was Erza coming in at the last second and pushing the Dragonslayer out of the rune.
This happened so quickly that by the time the Dragoon realized it the spike run was activated and impaled it through the throat.
"Eh? Eh?! Erza?!" not being impaled he immediately noticed the scarlet that saved him.
"You idiot! I told you to retreat! Did you not hear me scream from the top of my lungs? What were you thinking?!"
"Hey I had to defeat that thing otherwise it would've chased me!" not exactly true but when it came to calming Erza down he always had this innate ability to say what she needed to hear. Sometimes it was unconsciously.
"Well it didn't matter because they're all still chasing us!"
"Look I'm sorry alright but it's dead now so we can escape in peace"
"*sigh* I guess your right. Come on, let's leave" when she tried to stand she noticed that leg was stuck in the crystal formation.
"Come one Erza we can still make it"
"Natsu, I'm stuck" he looked over and saw that a good portion of her leg was entombed in the crystal spike.
He started pounding at the crystal with his fist but to no avail. It looked like glass but was as hard as diamond.
"Damn, this thing is tough!" as he continued to pound it, the Dragoon came back to life and pulled its neck out of the spike and looked like it was bleeding blue fire.
Natsu prepared for another round but he didn't need to.
The Dragoon jumped unto a nearby roof and just before leaving gave both mages one last eerie, metal, jaw bleeding laugh.
Leaving the metal creature for another day, Natsu returned to freeing his knight from the crystal but it proved unyielding to his magic. Erza wasn't faring any better as her swords only chipped very small pieces.
As it looked like they were making very , very little progress, Erza heard clanking boots and stomping floors.
That could only mean one thing this far in: the invaders were very close.
She started chipping madly and Natsu punched as hard as they could but the battle had taken its toll on both of their bodies.
Erza saw the shadows of them just around the corner of the block and with one last look at her leg she knew that it was pointless.
"Natsu, we're never going to make it. Go on without me"
"Eh? What are you talking about?!" replied Natsu.
"Natsu they're right there and this material is too tough. We'll never break it in time"
"We just have to punch harder that's all!" he didn't want to hear any of it and started to beat the crystal. In reality he was punching his fists blue and Erza could see it.
"Natsu! Didn't you hear what I said?! They're close and you'll never break it in time!"
"I'm not hearing any of it Erza!"
"I'm too weak to cut off my own leg and you're barely standing as it is! Think for once and get out! "
"No!"
"Would you just go! There's no good in both of us getting captured! "
"Stop talking nonsense Erza!" he punched in vain as his fists were to swollen to make any impact.
"Natsu, look at yourself! Keep that up and you might lose your hands! "
"I don't care!" his fist not doing anything he resorted to kicking it.
Out of frustration, Erza grabbed his foot and yelled at him with the loudest voice she could muster.
"WHY WON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YOUR LIFE AND LEAVE ME ?!"
"BECAUSE WHY SHOULD I EVER LEAVE YOU ERZA?!"
The response caught her attention and left her speechless.
"Ever since we were young you were there for me! Protecting me, teaching me, and even feeding me! No matter what it was you were one of the first to be there for me! Now when I get a chance to return all that you've done for me you ask me to leave?! What nonsense it that?!"
The words struck her deep. She knew she was important to him but she never heard him let out his feelings especially like this. She let go of his foot.
"I don't care if it's a hundred, a thousand, or a million enemies after us! Just like in the Tower of Heaven and everywhere else I will stand by your side! " he turned to face the enemy and summoned what little magic he had left.
"I promised myself I'll never leave you or anyone of my nakama behind and I don't intend to break that promise now!"
Be blazed his fists and his feet. Rain, shine shame or pain he was ready.
"If they want us then fine! When I'm done with them they won't be seeing anything but stars!"
'Idiot' Erza couldn't help but smile. Natsu wasn't that smart. He was gluttonous, strong headed, stubborn, and goofy. But when he need to, he was also very caring and sweet.
"I'm never leaving you Erza. Never"
It made her feel good hearing that. So good that it made what she was about to do actually excruciating.
With her knee barely free, she was able to stand on one leg and quickly turned Natsu around to hug him.
"Thank you, Natsu. For everything" she whispered in his ear.
Sadly, before he could say anything in return, Erza punched him the gut knocking him out cold. She couldn't let him be captured. She wouldn't let him be captured.
She re-equipped her De-Malevo-Lance and stuck it under Natsu's shirt. Twisting her body the farthest she could, she aimed for the furthest building she could see and launched her lance and Natsu with it.
It passed by Gray just as he emerged from the rubble looking for the two of them.
"What the-? Erza?!" he saw that Erza was trapped but Erza deciphered his intentions and immediately denied them.
"Gray, take Natsu and get out as fast as you can!"
"But-"
"Gray, now! Please!"
Seeing the entire situation, Gray knew that she had a point. Biting his lip and apologizing to her in his mind, he got the unconscious Dragonlayer and left the Scarlet Mage to her fate.
Standing again on her one free leg, she re-equiped into her Black Wing armor.
The invaders finally came around a corner and saw the trapped mage.
"Look, it's her! The red haired one!"
"Alright you bastards! If you want them, then you have to go through meeeeeee! "
Meanwhile, outside the city….
Mirajane was doing her best to treat the injured before leaving. She still hasn't seen Gray, Natsu, or Erza among the injured. She was starting to get very worried.
Then, out of nowhere, Gray jumped down from a high city block.
"Gray, are you okay? What happened to Natsu and where's Erza?"
"She…. She…..she told us to go ahead…" Gray felt somewhat humiliated admitting something like that to Mirajane and she sensed it.
"Well… I'm sure she has her reasons….." she reassured him.
"But… but what if…."
"Gray Fullbuster, this is Erza we're talking about. She's strong and she's smart. She knows what she's doing and if she wanted you to leave her then….. Then we have to trust her"
"I hope so" he said as he gave Natsu to Mirajane.
"I hope so too" she replied.
Epilogue:
Approximately 13,000 men were deployed under authority of the king to retake the city of Magnolia.
When the gruesome battle was finally over, commander Lahar of the Rune Knights reported a loss of about 8,970 with over 1,456 wounded and an estimated 707 missing or captured.
Among the captured was recently promoted Division commander Deni and Fairy Tail S-class wizard Erza Scarlet.
Reports from the survivors reflected what many had said throughout Operation Dragonlance further embedding doubts in the minds of the Fioren Army.
*That night in Magnolia…..*
When Erza woke up, she was on a stone floor. Her only light was what came from the runes around her but other that she was in a dark room.
"Ouch….ow, what happened?" the last thing she remembered was fighting off a bunch of invaders to a stalemate before….
"Oh, that's right. One of those Centri-something sucker punched me "
"They're called Centrions toots. Try to get the name right" said a voice in the dark.
She quickly stood up but found her arms chained to the floor.
"Yeah like I'm taking a chance with you. Get comfy cause those chains-" before he could finish Erza twisted her chains so tight that they broke from the stone pegs on the floor.
"Damn, that's kinda annoying but also hot..." said the voice.
"I told you that you needed more chains" said another voice.
"I know that! I just wanted to see her in chains and boy was she smokin'!"
"Can you at least turn on the lights? I can't see a bloody thing "
With a breath of fire Gjorum lit all the torches in the room.
When Erza's eyes finally adjusted, she saw that she was in a large stone room with nobody but Exyle and Gjorum there.
"Much better" said Exyle.
"Rise and shine toots. Now, what to do, what to do? Oh all the fun I could have with you!" said Gjorum.
"Not so fast Gjorum. I still need to interrogate her"
"Aw come on! Let me have some fun!"
"Like you had fun with that Division commander? After seeing what you did to her I'll be surprised if she could even think straight. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to interrogate a broken mind? Need I remind you that time is of the essence in a blitzkrieg?"
"Geez you're like my mom always nag ,nag, nag!"
"Well maybe if you learn to control your 'fun' then you wouldn't be in so much trouble. How is she by the way?"
"Still bakin' flies and smashin' pies! Oh wait…. I think it's the other way around"
"Excellent. Tell her I said hi. Now on to the matter of interrogation"
"She looks tough and pretty. You could say she's a pretty tough nut to crack eh?"
Ba Dumm Tss
"Where did that come from? *ahem* Anyway, you may have a point. This may unfortunately take some time…."
"Maybe we should ask nicely"
He stepped closer to the runes until he was right at them.
"Hey toots, we ginger's gotta stick together. So waddaya say you throw me a bone and tell Mr four eyes here what he wants to know. The faster you do, the faster we can have loooaaads of fun!"
Her response was a quick jab at him though the runes acted as a barrier.
"Hohoooooooo, she fights back! I like it when they fight back! It's makes breaking them so much more fun! Wait….." he took a closer more serious look and inspected her from head to toe.
"Tell me, have we met before? I'm seriously getting some mad déjà vu vibes from you. Not just you but your annoying friends as well " his tone was more serious than a while ago like he was seriously thinking but Erza didn't answer him.
"Not talking eh? No rush, I've got all the time in the world"
"Gjorum..."
"Look four eyes, I'm gonna stay here until I've had my fun with her and there's nothing you can do to persuade me"
At that exact moment, Cruz opened the door behind them to deliver a message.
"Nyeah, boss you there? That Deni dame finally woke up and she's still pretty lively. We're done with her but maybe you might have more luck getting something out of her"
"Hot dang! Round 2 here I come! Forget what I said four eyes you can play with her for the night! Awwoooooga!" he ran out of the room like an excited child, leaving the masked man with the scarlet knight.
"*sigh* At last he's finally gone. Now we can get on to business"
The two said nothing as both merely looked at each other.
Their eyes analyzed every small detail about each other though Exyle had the better of it since he was wearing a cloak.
A minuet that felt like hours passed until finally Exyle broke the ice by teleporting the chains away.
"You won't be needing those anymore "
She still didn't say anything.
"Judging by the way you fought earlier, I would say that you are this Scarlet Warrior that makes it rain swords from the sky that my messenger told me about. Not only that but if it is to be believed you single handedly liberated the entire Sorien front. Tell me madam, is it true?"
Erza kept her lip shut, unsure as to what to say to the masked man.
"Oh come now madam, I won't do anything to you…well.. nothing as bad as Gjorum would. We can be civil so please do give me an answer. Are you the one?"
"So what if I am?" she still wasn't sure about this but she felt a sense of…. ease around this man. She felt that he was reasonable and controlled. Even for a little but just a little she let her guard down.
"At last he speaks. Well if you were this warrior then I as a warrior myself must first commend you on your great skill. It is very rare for an individual to fight off an entire warband" as a sign of such respect he gave her a quick bow.
"Well I guess it's good to be appreciated"
"Only giving credit to where credit is due madam"
"Erza"
"Hm?"
"My name is Erza Scarlet. I don't like being called madam"
"A little too formal for your taste?"
"Nah, it just makes me feel old"
"*chuckle* I can relate"
"Well?"
"Hm?"
"Isn't it courtesy to tell your name after one has done it?"
"Oh yes, you weren't there when I defeated your friends. My apologies, I am Exile Night. Right hand of his imperial majesty and leader of the Black Hand of the Throne. Pleased to make your acquaintance Miss Erza"
"Well you're polite"
"My parents taught me well and beat the rebel out of me early in life"
"I figured. So Exyle, what do you plan to do with me?"
"It's rather simple actually. I intend to interrogate you for information that would aid in our war efforts"
"And you seriously believe that I would just tell you such information?"
"I am no fool madam , of course not. You do not strike me as an opportunist. Unless….."
"I'm not going to betray my friends so don't bother"
"*sigh*Oh well, it was worth a try"
"So, knowing that, how do you intend to proceed?"
"Well I'm quite the negotiator Miss Erza but as you heard earlier we are in the middle of a blitzkrieg and time is of the essence. That unfortunately means that I will not be able to display my silver tongue so a more…. unconventional means is required "
"Define …unconventional"
"It's better if you see it for yourself"
He took out his personal lacrima crystal and spoke to it.
"Call the Inquisitoria's"
Not long after strange looking men carrying a strange, jewel encrusted box came in.
"Miss Scarlet I present to you the arguably best information gatherers and keepers on the entire continent the Destreza Inquisitoria "
"That sounds fancy" she said.
"If you think that's fancy you should've heard the long version. Couldn't say it for the life of me or even remember it "
The men said nothing and drew out blades from their robes. They stretched their hands over the box and cut them. As the blood dripped, the crystals began to glow.
"This is unconventional" said Exyle.
The cursed jewels absorbed the liquid, shattering into dust but reforming shortly after into a wraith figure above it. It glowed a bright bluish white and its face was void of human features save for the skull. The box then bound the wraiths hands in ghostly chains.
If that wasn't strange enough, Exyle stretched out his hand and removed his glove. He reached for the hand of the wraith who gave him a ghastly stare. Unfazed by the scare he slowly positioned his hand that same way as the wraiths though Erza could notices a slight pain coming from his eyes until finally there were practically one.
After he was done he bound Erza in lightning shackles and entered the circle.
"I promise this won't hurt. I've tried it on myself. Though it's going to get weird " with his ghost hand he held her by the chin to look at her before grabbing the side of her head.
"Ed' amin naia lle fea istima amin!" he and the wraith said.
Erza's eyes and mouth glowed brighter than the sun and whether the promise of no pain was true or not one thing was clear her screams echoing through the halls of the guild would not make for a quiet night.
Thus concludes another part of this epic tale. To those who came you have my eternal thanks. I shall try to bring the next part on the usual date but alas I reserve no hope for myself so it may not be.
Truly it's your presence that makes this undertaking all worth it so please if you have any suggestions, corrections about the lore I'm integrating, or something else of the same nature then I implore you to please, please, please, please leave a comment. Any is appreciated ^_^
Feel free to comment, criticize, or mindlessly bash as you see fit.
The curtains close and I once again give you my gratitude. Thus, I bid you adieu and until our next tale. Farewell.