Hey, everyone, I updated this chapter to include Laxus's battle between Acteon and Kalin. Some more creepiness comes out in the card wielding mage, and it seems that there is more to the man than just running away and cards. Is this group more than just wacky occultists? Is this whole battle something on a much larger scale? I hope I keep you on the edge of your seats as you read through. Thank you for reviewing and following. :) It is appreciated more than y'all know.
Seven Sacrifices
Laxus was shoved to the back wall of the cage. His blonde head knocked against a sharp spike, and he slouched down before lunging out of the reach of summoned fire. How the hell were these two punks beating them? It was impossible. They couldn't be getting owned by a water mage and his card wielding boyfriend, but when Bickslow was blown across the room so far his body knocked down an iron cell wall, Laxus had to notice that they were.
"Oi, this ain't right, Laxus," Bickslow grunted when he wiped blood off his face. "How the hell are we getting our shit rocked? It's a water goblin and Psychic Lin. Something's not right here." A shot of lightning that should have been aimed at Acteon redirected itself towards Bickslow, and he called, "Babies! Defensive Formation." The dolls made a circle with a large, green magic circle forming in the middle.
Laxus didn't even flinch at the strange deflection maneuver that had them fighting each other while Kalin and Acteon metaphorically sipped tea in the corner of the underground cell. This parlor trick was getting old, and the two of them had yet to find a way to get past it.
Bickslow tried to use Baryon Formation, but once more it was shot at Laxus after hitting some invisible barrier. Laxus used his Lightning Body to dodge it.
"This is kind of humorous, Acteon. Don't you think?" Kalin questioned of the geyser mage who wasn't doing anything.
Laxus charged towards their opponents but was blasted back by Acteon's geysers. The stupid magic erupted clean out of nothing. Acteon didn't even lift a finger. Curse these traps.
Acteon leaned back on the cave wall and propped a booted foot up. "It really is, but you would think that they would have given up by this point. There's no getting past our Geyser Dome."
Laxus was thrown against Bickslow after a failed attempt at rushing the invisible barrier once more. The Seith Mage used his babies to create a shield for Laxus to land on instead of Bickslow. The lightning mage growled, "Feels like the Battle of Fairy Tail all over again."
"Wonder if we've gotta beat each other to break it down?" Bickslow didn't want to have to fight against Laxus but if push comes to shove…
"Ah! They do have brains inside those thick skulls," Kalin exclaimed.
"Hmm. Took them long enough."
"You create these traps for people, yet you complain about them. Are you bored with them, or do you just enjoy irony?"
"Irony. I always go for irony, master."
"I see." Kalin finally directed his attention to the two men Acteon was studying. They held much interest for the geyser mage. He seemed to have fixated on the two after seeing their abilities when Adamine fought Daemon.
"Don't these two ever get tired of using the same shit over and over again?" Laxus harped. When Adamine had fought against the Lancet Quintet, Acteon had set up a similar situation. Now, the man had them trapped once more. He used tactics like Freed's runes. Laxus had never imagined how irritating it was to fight someone like Freed until now. No wonder, Acteon had taken Freed out already. They would have never gotten any fighting done.
"Battle of Fairy Tail Part Two," Bickslow muttered and faced the man who had gotten the Raijinshuu. He had never expected that someday he would have to fight Laxus. As a matter of fact, he didn't even feel like doing it. There was a reason he followed Laxus. The man was strong. He wouldn't follow a weakling. Instead of launching himself at the Lightning Dragon Slayer, Bickslow just said, "Hey, babies. Aim a Baryon Formation at me." That would make him pass out for certain.
"What the hell are you doing, idiot?"
Bickslow hung his tongue out and grinned like a mad man. "They said they couldn't do the summoning without you. How about I sit this one out, and you show these guys why they don't screw with allies of Fairy Tail."
Laxus shook his head. He didn't want this, but he understood what Bickslow was getting at. Besides, Laxus could wipe these two guys out faster if he was at full power. With a nod, Laxus turned his eyes to the stunned mages.
"Go, babies!" Bickslow announced, and with five reluctant dolls hovering in front of him, he blasted himself with his own magic. Bickslow had a thumbs up as he fell slowly to the ground.
"No way," Gajeel stated when he heard the doors open again. Two men were carrying a waking Bickslow towards the altar marked the Fool. It seemed that everyone was placed on altars that represented themselves. Even though Gajeel noticed this, he also noticed something else. Adamine was gawking in sheer surprise.
"Hey, how's everyone doing in here?" Bickslow wondered with a scratchy voice. His body was covered in battle wounds, and Adamine knew that if they didn't get those treated they would scar his tanned skin.
Freed shook his head. Evergreen scowled at Bickslow's stupid question. Levy wasn't paying any attention. Gajeel's face was stuck in its pissed off state.
Adamine watched him hop up onto the altar and toss his arms over his head for two shocked men to lock him into place. Once the ankle and wrist locks were down, they walked off sharing a bewildered look.
"Nice underwear, Adamine. You look good in green pinstripes," Bickslow boldly stated. He was tied down beside Freed, giving him an easy view of her and Levy's underclothing. Oh. How lovely.
Instead of getting mad, Adamine retorted, "Commando. Should have figure you were a free baller."
He shrugged his shoulders as much as he could. "Hey, a little draft never hurt. Besides, I think I like the toga. Doesn't restrict the boys."
"God, will you two stop. Just stop before I throw up," Evergreen whined.
"She's not the only one. Bickslow, Adamine, must you? We're in a bit of a situation," Freed groaned.
Gajeel had his lip curled in a disgusted fashion. He wondered, "Are they always like this?"
Freed explained, "It gets worse when they're drunk."
Ever growled, "Their children will be awful."
Now, Levy piped up. "You two are together?"
Ah. At long last a normal response. While Adamine flushed from breast to forehead, Bickslow just glanced away. He looked faintly flushed. Levy just looked surprised. She hadn't seen that one coming.
Evergreen spoke up, "They should be. They act too much alike. It's awful when she tags along for missions. Bickslow can't keep his hands off her."
Freed laughed, "Their kids will be born with facial tattoos. Oh, god. An Adamantine Seith Dragon Slayer. The world will be forever doomed."
"What if it was twins?"
The entire group, minus one steadily growing pissed off Seith Mage and an already embarrassed Dragon Slayer, gave a groan of despair.
Freed mentioned, "Her fiancé will be doomed in he tries to kidnap Adamine at that point. That is, if he isn't already doomed now."
They were going to keep going when a robed man walked through the doors. He looked the group over with veiled eyes that studied each and every human body. Adamine's entire body gave a shudder when a hauntingly familiar voice explained, "Just one more."
Laxus snarled in the face of his enemies. They were two on one, odds he didn't really give a damn about. It could have been one on one hundred at this point, and he would still keep going.
That idiotic woman was in here somewhere. Her body was bruised, battered, and weakened. These guys had taken out the Raijinshuu, and they had captured members of Fairy Tail. He would make them pay.
Without a word passed between them, Acteon shot a geyser up directly from underneath Laxus's feet. Humph. Water versus lightning. This was going to be a trip.
He leaped back and shot a wave of lightning at him. The mage didn't look impressed. He used a geyser to jet up like a shield. It made a conduit which flowed from Acteon's geyser straight into two of Kalin's cards.
One card sucked up the lightning. The other card absorbed the water. Once Acteon and Laxus had stocked them full of power, Kalin tossed the cards to the ground. "Release the Oncoming Storm!" he casually commanded.
Dark clouds began to form overhead in the tall underground cell. Rain and hail began to pelt down against Laxus's skin. He didn't let it distract him. "Lightning Dragon's Roar!" he shouted and exhaled more of his lightning. It fired out at Acteon, but like a magnet was sucked into that damned card again. If he couldn't use his magic, he was going to have to use brute force.
Kalin and Acteon were still standing nonchalantly beside the wall. The door that Laxus needed to pass through was right behind them. Cards surrounded it, likely more traps to knock him out and send him to where the Raijinshuu had been taken.
Laxus felt precipitation gather around his feet again, and he lunged back from the geyser before it could swallow him like it had done before. "Not gunna fall for the same thing twice," Laxus grumbled. He was about to use another lightning attack, but the sight of Kalin's card still on the ground halted him.
He couldn't use lightning. Acteon was keeping him at a distance with his geysers. Laxus had one more trick up his sleeve, and it was one that he rarely ever used, a gift from a beautiful but damaged girl.
"Laxus," she had coughed. Her arms were weakly holding her up from the dirt. "Eat this." She handed him a glistening diamond created from her adamantine scales. "It'll make you strong enough to defeat them."
Although Laxus hadn't ate the diamond that day, instead choosing to hold true to his own abilities, he had kept it with him ever since. It was that one sentimental thing that he kept hidden from everyone, especially Bickslow. Looked like he was going to have to use it.
Flicking his hand against a secret compartment on the Sound Pod he kept, Laxus retrieved the diamond scale. It was small, sturdy, and beautiful, heh, kinda like the girl it had come from. With an inward grimace about how he was sure it would taste, he quickly popped it into his mouth.
His fangs smashed up the little gem, and oh yeah, it tasted awful. But, Mina, had been positive that it would make him stronger, so he somehow swallowed the foreign substance. His brows went up at the feeling that surged through his body. With a humorous expression hidden by the geyser wall, Laxus gawked at the glistening stone that coated his fist.
He would have to experiment with the strange feeling later because right now he was plunging his body through the skin shredding geyser to slam a shocked Acteon in the face.
Adamine felt something strange flash through her body, and her eyes flew open wide. Laxus, her mind whispered. Something was up with Laxus. She glanced around the sacrificial chamber. There was one altar untouched by a body, Laxus's altar. It awaited him like a death sentence, but Adamine had faith that he could get them out of here.
She had kept her eyes shut to think of a way to get the six of them out of here right now, but a sudden strange feeling had forced her to look for the blonde dragon slayer. He had to be fine. Laxus was more powerful than she was. If he couldn't get them out, no one could, but it was more than just that thought that made her open her eyes. She felt… suddenly connected to Laxus.
"This was unexpected," Kalin stated when Acteon was thrown through the cell walls and into the preparation room for the sacrifices. White cloth flew all over the place, and Acteon's head stopped flying when it slammed into a wall.
Laxus now turned his steely gaze towards the mage specializing in running like a bitch and reading people's fortunes. Since it looked like pretty boy was down for the count, Laxus could turn all his new strength onto the card mage.
Kalin gave Laxus a look of appreciation. "I didn't know you had adamantine abilities. Had I known that, I would have prepared an attack for you," Kalin explained. Laxus wasn't in the mood for small talk.
Using a move Laxus had seen Adamine do before, he shoved his adamantine arm down so hard it burst through the floor. There was metal all in this room, so his plan should work. "Adamantine Den of the Lightning Dragon!" he summoned and focused his new strength into the cells.
Electricity fired through the metals in the cell floor. They electrified the cell walls, and the floor underneath the two mages began to shift. He stretched his adamantine arm out, feeling spikes erupt from his body. Using them, he pulled stone up from the floor.
The entire room became and electrified death trap as Kalin leaped from falling stone to falling stone to escape the crumbling floor. Once there was no place left for him to stand, Laxus released his dragon roar.
Kalin howled in pain, but then the strangest thing happened. He began laughing. Maniacal laughter erupt from the electrified man's lips. Laxus just poured more lightning inside the man. His magic should have made the man a burnt crisp, but Kalin just opened his eyes and pointed a finger to something behind Laxus.
Angry eyes whipped backwards, and he was ready to attack. It was too late. A robed man with a shadow over his face stood behind him. A hand as cold as death itself touched the top of Laxus's skull. He could feel icy fingers gripping down on his scalp.
Darkness enveloped Laxus's body. He felt like he was being assaulted by the Grim Reaper himself when the darkness leaped inside of him. Dark runes appeared along his skin, but Laxus had no escape. His hand had suddenly gotten stuck in the stone, the stone that had turned to nothing but black.
A cold sweat beaded across Adamine's forehead, and Levy asked, "What's wrong, Adam? Well, aside from the obvious." She and Bickslow had somehow gotten everyone to chill out about the situation, but now the woman who had gotten everyone calm was freaking out.
"Laxus. Something's happened to Laxus. I can feel it," Adamine said in a rushed manner. She had been feeling a strong connection to the man then all of a sudden it had cut off. It was like she was on life support then someone just flipped the switch. Gone. Nothing.
"I'm sure he's fine. Those two couldn't take him out. No way in hell," Gajeel urged. He was looking at Adamine with concern faintly glinting in his eyes.
"No. No. Something is definitely wrong with him. I swear it. He's… He's…" Adamine was stopped when the sound of screeching doors caught her attention. A burly blonde man was being drug towards the last altar. His head hung down from unconsciousness.
His entire body was coated in burns, bruises, scratches, and other miscellaneous wounds. How had two measly Lancet Dragon Priests taken out Laxus? It had have been a trick. There was no way he could fall to them otherwise.
A fire began to burn deep within Adamine's belly at what those men had done. The fools knew they couldn't defeat the group one on one, so they had used tricks to capture everyone. The Raijinshuu had been captured by a trap, and now the man they guarded had been as well. This was too much. Even though she was scared, she was angry.
Something seemed to be clawing at Adamine from the inside. The single lacrima that she still wore glowed with a vengeance. When a man withdrew the Earth Tablet from Adamine's backpack, she could have screamed in rage.
It was only when the man who had named himself Zeref came into the room did Adamine's heart shiver. There were few things that she was scared of in this world. She had fought Laxus when they were younger. It had ended surprisingly in a bruised and breathless tie. She had been chased by wolves. She had chased them back. A demon had tried to possess her. She had wound up devouring it instead. But, if there was something that scared her, it was the dark haired man stepping through the doors.
The man Adamine assumed was master of the guild handed Zeref the tablet, and he stood in the moonlight given to him by the oculus. Her nightmares were coming true, but this time it involved people she knew and loved.
The clawing inside of her body still continued, but it was dulled by the pounding of Adamine's frantic heart. Adamine's lacrima was a beacon that outshined the moon when men took their places behind the heads of each of the sacrifices.
Two hands grabbed either side of everyone's skulls, forcing them to stare upwards into the oculus. The hands were cold, strong. Even though everyone squirmed and cursed to be let free, their heads didn't move an inch. Last time, this was where everyone had gotten tattooed with the Mark of Lione. This time, Zeref began to read the tablet in his hands.
Power like none she had felt before filled the room. It made the darkness on the walls dance. The shadows spun wildly. Air became hard to breathe. Thoughts grew distant. Heartbeats drummed in ears.
As Zeref's voice continued in a melodious tune, Adamine whispered, "Have… to… away…"
Darkness.
Well, that is the last bit of comic relief before I get back into battle mode.
*Note* The Magic Card, The Oncoming Storm was what was used to summon the man that took out our beloved Laxus. I don't think that I cleared that up enough since I lacked detail in that section. It was supposed to be unexpected.
I'm also having some difficulty writing the next few chapters of Tablet and a Tome. We're close to the ending now, and I don't want it to be a disappointment.
Leave me a review stating your opinion. A little encouragement goes a long way with writer's block. Ergh. Hopefully, I can come up with something. Thank you for reading!