Chapter 20
Tournament Gamble
Part IV
Helm of Knowledge
Part I
Medical Room
"There," a doctor declared, closing up his bag full of medical supplies. In front of him, his patient, Galvin, was lying down and resting with full-body wrappings. The only thing that wasn't wrapped was his face. It made him almost look like a half-wrapped mummy that was about to enter it's tomb for the eternal sleep.
After Rodin and the others left the arena with their teammate in tow, they looked everywhere to try and find a medical facility. Nothing was available at the time, leaving them with not a lot of options.
Luckily, a miracle made their way to them.
Marsh, who knew that he needed everyone to be in one piece for their trial, hired a doctor for them.
With a little convincing, they managed to find a sterile room with a couple of beds for the group if they would lose.
"Alright, I've managed to stabilize him and get him started on some pain-killers. He'll live for now, but it'll be one big headache when he wakes up."
The Doctor's attention was on Marsh, who found himself looking over his bodyguard. In his mind, all he could do was think how funny the look on Galvin's face would be after he gets arrested.
Rodin walked over to the other side of the bodyguard, looking directly at the Duke.
"Duke."
The Dragon-Slayer grabbed his employer's attention, seeing a look of false-sadness.
"I know it's a bit of a situation, but we're not gonna give up," he remarked with confidence. "We've still got three more fights to go, we can still do this!"
"Poor misguided fool," Marsh thought to himself, but shook his head and continued his deception.
"I agree. We do have a chance," he lied with a smile.
While the two males were talking, the two girls sitting at one of the tables looked on. Angela found herself chuckling by how the two were acting. Despite her only reason for doing this being to repay a dept, she couldn't help but feel the same way.
It was the first time in years that she ever felt like wanting to smile.
The feline next to her didn't look too happy.
Trixie couldn't help but feel something off about Duke Marsh since they reunited with him. Call it a hunch or her animal instinct, but he was up to no good. Though she knew that it would be insane to declare it, at least not without proof.
Her train of thought got interrupted by the announcer's voice.
"Alright Ladies and Gentlemen, the small intermission is now over, return to your seats."
Duke looked towards the group and cleared his throat.
"You three better get back out there, second battle's about to start," he remarked.
Rodin and Angela nodded, walking towards the door with their feline teammate going with them.
The two picked up the pace to head back towards their rest area. Except for Trixie, who hid in the shadows and looked at the door.
A few seconds afterwords, she saw her employer walk out and walk in the opposite direction.
"Alright, let's see what you're really hiding," she muttered to herself. The feline followed behind the man, doing her best to be stealthy.
One way or another, she'd find out what was really going on.
Arena
With the small intermission now ending, many of the audience members returned to their seats. The Archive Display once again showed up to the gambling section of the crowd.
With a few select pressing on the display, the bet for the next match was in place.
Meanwhile, Rodin and Angela found themselves quickly going through the crowd, ignoring the booing. A few even attempted to throw food at them and insult them.
After managing to find safety in their rest-spot, the two looked over to where the other team was.
A confused look came on both of their faces.
There was only three individuals standing in the rest-spot, Vira and two other cloaked people. Only one missing with their leader, Joshi.
"What's going on?" Angela inquired, looking over to Rodin and seeing if he had any ideas on the situation. All he had was a pondering look on his face, keeping his attention to the people in front of him.
Before she could ask him again, the speakers echoed a high pitched whine that got everyone's attention.
"Sorry for the long wait ladies and gentlemen, but now it's time for the 2nd match!"
The audience roared out in cheer, making the entire arena rumble.
"In the first corner, representing Team Fairy Tail for the second round, Angela Porla!"
Despite the enthusiastic announcement, few audience members clapped when they heard the name. Silence was the main sound in the entire area, indicating many knew who she was.
"Charming bunch aren't they?" Rodin remarked sarcastically, turning his head to see Angela walking out of their area.
With her appearance, the silence soon turned to a wave of boos at her, some even trying to throw their expensive drinks at the girl.
Angela easily dodged the incoming cups and liquids, eventually finding her way to the arena.
The spotlight soon found it's way to the other team.
"And now! Representing Team Wild Breaker's for the 2nd match, we have the man in the Blue Cloak, who's said to be the wise member of the team. Put your hands together for Amlaibh Sterling!"
With that introduction, the man grabbed a part of his cloak and tossed it off of him, revealing his face.
This caused many of the woman, and even some men, to scream with glee at the person's face.
The man's appearance was that of a mid-twenty year old with smooth tanned skin, making him look drop dead gorgeous. His eyes were crystal clear blue yet held a strong conviction, making him look like a serious and gentle man. His blazing red-hair really drew the attention of everyone as it was shaggy, but had a natural feel to it.
His attire consisted of a black hoodie jacket with the zipper in front open with bright yellow drawstrings. Underneath it was a green v-shirt that left his neck and part of his chest exposed. His bottom half had on gray-loose fitting pants that allowed for easy movement. Which also went with his adventure shoes that he had on as well.
Additionally, he had on some special accessories like a small necklace with a crystal tied at the end. Around his left wrist were an assortments of wrist bands, some loose and others tight. It was also revealed that he had a average-sized book in his right hand.
He stepped into the battlefield and looked directly at Angela.
"Well? Aren't you gonna give up?" He inquired, making Angela raise her eyebrow in annoyance.
"Why in the hell would I do that? You don't look all that tough to me," she retorted, making some of the woman in the audience boo at her.
A surprised look soon found it's way onto Amlaibh's face.
"Huh, weird," he stated with confusion, scratching his head with his free hand. "Normally when a woman sees me, they immediately just want to surrender and not fight me."
That remark made the woman's vein pulse in her forehead. She took a few seconds to calm herself down and looked back towards her opponent, having narrow eyes on him.
"Well unlike those sluts, I'm not easily impressed by you. Hell, I'd sooner date a goat than you," Angela spat out.
That last remark cemented her status as the hated person for the current match. Most of the females soon found themselves with a dark aura and red piercing eyes focused right on her.
The man didn't seem to care much about her statement and opened the book in his hand, beginning to read it.
"Alright then, if both sides are ready, then let the second match begin!"
The audience roared in cheer, wanting nothing more than to see what their entertainers would do.
Angela took a fighting stance, keeping herself loose and ready for anything that might come her way. To her surprise, it wasn't the same deal with her opponent.
Amlaibh simply continued reading his book, ignoring the eager cheers of the crowd. All anyone could see was the red-haired man looking bored out of his mind.
Rodin scratched his chin at the man his teammate was facing. He couldn't sense any ill-intent at her, but at the same time, it felt like the man was waiting for something.
The Dragon-Slayer couldn't tell what he was planning. All he knew was that if the black-haired mage wanted to win, she'd have to keep on her toes and play it safe.
His wishful thinking didn't seem to matter.
Tired of waiting, Angela went running forward, calling up her Shatterpoint aura through both of her arms. The glow was brighter than normal as the color was a deeper shade of blue.
She jumped and sent a palm-thrust right at the man, aiming to hit him right on his head.
What happened next shocked nearly everyone.
It looked as if the attack would connect, but sure enough, the Black-haired mage's hand collided against a wall. The impact created a shock-wave that spread, but it didn't break at all.
Figuring it was some kind of magic, Angela poured her aura directly into the barrier. She believed that her magic's effect would make that invisible barrier crumble, but her plans changed.
Out of nowhere, the energy found itself draining away, moving away from the wall and towards the same book Amlaibh had.
Surprise painted her face, causing her to jump back to avoid anything else.
She looked down to her hand and felt that the energy in her arms were gone. In one fell swoop, someone managed to block and steal some of her own magic power.
"Shatterpoint...Tricky magic alright," he remarked with a bored tone. "If it had hit me, I'd probably be down on the floor. Let's see how you like it."
With that statement, the book started glowing, causing the pages to flip at a rapid rate before stopping at one. When it did, Angela's blue aura reemerged from it, only this time, it turned into an apparition of herself.
The woman didn't have time to give a look of shock as it mimicked her previous actions and attempted to attack in the same manner.
She found herself dodging the attack, but saw that the spirit landed and sent out a barrage of attacks in an attempt to land one.
All Angela could do was dodge each one with her reflexes, waiting to get one shot in. After dodging a thrust, she saw that chance and called up her magic, generating it into a spinning orb in the palm of her hand.
"Shatter-Buster!"
Thrusting with everything she got, the attack managed to hit the apparition, but not the way she expected.
Upon contact, the spirit soon found itself wrapping around Angela's arm with the orb. Within seconds, the orb started disappearing into it, and eventually drain back into the book once more.
With it's task finished, the apparition disappeared.
The Black-haired woman looked over to her red-headed opponent, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
Soon enough, the book once again flipped at a high speed, stopping at another pace. Another replica of Angela in spirit form came out, only this time, she had the orb in her hand.
Once again, it dashed and attempted to hit her one more time.
The black-haired mage attempted to move, but found herself losing feeling in her legs. It caused her to buckle and drop to her knees.
Everyone viewing only saw it for a few seconds, but it was enough to leave a serious impression on them.
Right when Angela fell, her spirit copy landed the blow right at her chest. Upon impact, an explosion triggered and pushed her back tumbling, stopping near the wall.
"Angela!" Rodin yelled out, looking in worry at her teammate, who was still conscious, but now holding her body in pain.
Cheers erupted as many of the women screamed out Amlaibh's name.
The black-haired woman struggled, feeling the affects of her own magic starting to work their way through her body. Despite being able to control it and keep it from spreading too much, it left her in a world of pain.
"That magic...What the hell is it?..." She inquired, struggling to keep herself standing up.
Her opponent looked up from his book, giving a sigh of annoyance.
"I thought you'd already be down by now, but guess not. My magic's called Book Magic, which basically lets me do quite a bit when I have this," he replied while showing the book he held in his hand. "All the attacks you did got copied into the pages, letting me reuse them whenever I want."
"The barrier that blocked me, that was..."
"Another spell I previous had stored in here. It's from a magic called Wave, which is why your Shatterpoint couldn't break through it. Wave already disrupts magic, all your's does is disrupts weak-points in the body."
Angela spat out some blood, glaring towards the man with anger. It was one thing if someone replicated her form and attacks, but to copy her own Magic? That was something she wouldn't stand for.
"Get it now? There's no way to beat me," Amlaibh declared with a stern tone.
"We'll see about that!" The woman remarked, standing back on her feet and showing determination. Angela never liked people who talked that way, it made her blood boil.
Her resolve was now stronger than before, wanting nothing more than to defeat the Book-mage.
"Fine, have it your way."
With that single remark, Amlaibh knew that things were starting to get serious.
Summoning his orange magic energy, the book opened and caused all the pages inside to rip off and go flying. Each one had a formula with what looked like writing and element symbols. He tossed the empty cover to the ground and caused the pages to float in mid-air, maneuvering them with only his hands.
Seven pages found their way in front of him, each one glowing brightly.
"Page Knight."
From the six paper pages, each one began to morph and grow larger, changing into a new shape by folding. After a few seconds, all six pages now took on the appearance of a knight.
Their material changed shape from paper to a metallic texture. The appearance and texture looked exactly like a real knight, though each one had a different symbol on them.
"Defend your king," were the only words Amlaibh spoke, causing them to stand at the ready with their sword and shield.
Angela didn't know what to expect from the new warriors, and could only keep defense stance up if they tried anything.
Her instincts were right.
Suddenly, one of them went running forward, pulling the sword it had back and swinging downward. Only when it hit the ground, a powerful eruption of what looked like wind blew up, spiraling right at Angela.
With her arms ready, the black-haired mage focused her magic through them, calling up a large amount of blue aura to embody her. She then started spinning, creating what looked like a powerful rotation barrier.
"Aura barrier!"
Upon collision, the winds blew in all direction, disbursing the attack. The air managed to blow at great speeds, causing some of the audience members to cover their faces to avoid the stinging dust.
Despite her impressive blocking, Angela couldn't have predicted what would happen next.
Unaware of what was going on while she spun, the woman suddenly felt another stronger force hit her barrier.
Only this time, it felt like a barrage of attacks hit her at once.
On the outside, another knight stepped next to the wind-knight, channeling a large orb right at the tip of his sword. Within seconds, it slashed down and released it, but to everyone's surprise, the orb broke apart. The separate spheres now aimed right at Angela's barrier, hitting it at different areas.
Even with the speed and stability of her barrier, ,each one kept weakening it. By the last impact, Angela's spell broke and the explosion sent her tumbling into the ground. She stopped after a few rolls, trying to regain her senses, but didn't have the time as she suddenly felt an energy release from above her.
From above, Another knight had what looked like electricity generating from it's entire body. The focus of said energy was focusing through it's shield. Soon after the shield glowed brightly, a powerful blast released downward.
Despite her senses in a flux, she managed to quickly get herself up and front roll away from the impact. Though some of the discharge hit her back, dealing a bit of damage.
All she could do was struggle to get back up, feeling how the attacks were starting to affect her in one way or another. Her attempt to try and regain herself fell short when she heard the clatter of armors.
It caused her to look up and see the remaining three standing side-to-side. Each one then summoned their energy, connecting their shields together.
Fire, Earth, and Light energy glowed from the middle, causing their auras to merge together. Within seconds, all three released a blast of their separate magics, combining them together.
There was no way to avoid the speed of the attack.
The blast made it's mark, hitting Angela and sending her crashing right into the wall.
Audience members cheered, causing a strong vibration that shook the entire arena.
"Angela!" Rodin yelled out, looking at the cloud of smoke that covered where the impact was. He held his breath when it finally started to clear out, waiting to see if she was okay.
His eyes widened with horror.
The black-haired mage's body dropped against the wall, causing her to sit on the ground, bleeding and badly hurt. Their last attack also showed to rip her clothes slightly, showing her missing parts of the leggings and a piece of her shirt.
Her opponent seemed to not care at that point, looking through a second book that he pulled out.
"I warned her to give up... Not my fault," was his response. All he did was start to walk away, believing that the match was over.
The last remaining member of Team Fairy Tail wanted nothing more than to go over to him and break his nose.
Lucky for him, someone else would get that privilege.
"God, you're such a dick you know that?" A voice suddenly spoke out, causing everyone to turn back to where Angela's body was.
What they saw made a few look in fear.
Around Angela's entire body, her aura started to wrap itself, causing smoke to emit from her. The smoke was the result of the woman's wounds beginning to heal. Soon after, the aura started taking on a shape, one which Rodin was familiar with.
It's appearance looked like a red aura cloak with long ears, an almost-solid body with claws on her hands and feet. Plus a long tail on her back that moved on it's own, swinging back and forth.
Amlaibh turned and had a changed look on his face, from that of serenity and boredom to surprise and interest.
With her new found strength, Angela managed to stand up, causing the aura to move in the same motion as she did.
"Don't think this is over," she told him with confidence. "In face, we're just getting started!"
She looked up and showed off her new features, which were whisker lines on her cheeks and slit red eyes. It caused an apparition of what looked like a demon fox to appear, making everyone stop their cheers and become silent with fear.
Even Rodin found himself sweating, never feeling such a rage or power in his entire life.
"Well, looks like I might actually get to have Some fun after all," Amlaibh remarked with a hint of excitement.
Everyone now knew that the second round of this match would soon begin. All except for one small feline, who found herself investigating their employee.
Unfortunately, that curiosity would soon kill that cat.
Hallway
In the back hallways of the arena, darkness surrounded them, giving a foreboding ambiance in the air. Almost as if anyone that traveled through it would find the secrets of evil within them. The only thing keeping people from feeling that was the small safe way that was lit by torches, allowing people to walk.
For one individual, it also allowed his secrets to be secure.
Duke Marsh, who left his booth after a while, walked through this hallway with a cloak on. He had a feeling like someone was watching him, constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure he was safe. Each time, no one came to his view.
After the last time, he simply ignored the feeling and continued his walk towards his destination.
Little did he know, someone was following him, but it was not from the ground. It was from above him.
On one of the chandeliers that allowed from a large amount of light to emerge. Trixie peeked out and saw that her target was moving further.
Since their last encounter after Galvin's defeat and bed-ridden injuries. The feline found herself growing more and more suspicious of their employer, who seemed to have been lying more. At first she believed it to just be her imagination, but after his crocodile tears with his bodyguard, she knew there was more to it.
Knowing Rodin would've easily told her to ignore it, the feline thought it best if she investigated it alone. While she wanted to make sure they won, all Trixie could do was rely on their former enemy to win.
Though she'd sooner stab her hand than ever admit it.
Soon after her partner and Angela went towards the arena for the next match, the feline waited and followed Marsh when he left.
Her following lead the feline deeper into the arena, going down to a place even she didn't expect was part of the casino.
After what seemed like an eternity, the Duke finally arrived at a door. Looking around, he pulled out a key and unlocked it, opening it and going inside.
After he entered, Trixie dropped down and landed on the ground, walking towards the door. Knowing it was foolish to try and open it, she did the next best thing. Remembering a trick Rodin taught her when they were younger, she pulled out one of her claws.
With a bit of force and elbow-grease, she managed to puncture all the way through and make a small hole. Not enough to see what was going on, but enough to allow the feline to hear everything.
She placed her ear against the hole and waited.
It started with just silence, along with what sounded like the clinks of bottles and glasses. Though after a few minutes, Trixie found herself listening to one of the most horrid conversations ever.
"I can't believe it. Here I always assumed that Galvin would be stronger than most, but once again, you surprise me Joshi," the Duke admitted.
The feline's eyes widen in horror, realizing that Duke Marsh was talking with their opponent's leader.
"I won't lie and say that he didn't give a heated fight. Whatever he is, it left quite the impression on Vira," the masked-man replied.
"Oh please. Once this is all over, a large bonus will probably snap her out of it," Marsh remarked in a cocky tone.
"Yes, but I just need to make sure that the odds are still in Our favor, otherwise this whole thing will blow up in our face. Can you guarantee that these fools will not win?"
"There's a special reason I chose that team to take the fall for our heist. Fairy Tail's reputation of causing destruction is already wide-spread. In the event of any possible changes to the plan, all I'd need to do is trigger a special demolition I set up through the entire building."
That remark now got Trixie's full attention, making her cover her other ear to listen better. Though she was unaware of the shaking that was going on outside, causing one of the chandeliers to loosen up.
"Beautiful, how long will it give us?"
"Ten minutes, but I've already made sure that the bets will have already be in bags before the place explodes. Everyone will die, Fairy Tail will be the prime suspect, and we will walk away with billions."
"To a beautiful partnership."
"Here-here."
Both hit their glasses together, taking a long drink from them.
The feline couldn't move or speak, all that she had was a look of horror on her face. She never could've expected that the man who showed kindness was so dark. All the lies about bringing a better future for Venture Town was nothing more than hog-wash.
Trixie knew she had to stop this before it was too late.
She summoned up her wings, attempting to fly out quickly, but found herself hit by the chandelier that loosened.
The impact when she hit the floor was enough to knock her unconscious.
When the partners heard the commotion, they quickly went out to see who was causing trouble, but only found the feline on the floor.
"Oh no! She must've followed me here-!" Marsh couldn't finish his sentence as Joshi grabbed him by the neck, closing his airway.
The Duke could feel himself struggling to take in precious oxygen, feeling a familiar darkness beginning to inch onto him, wanting his soul.
Unfortunately for him, the sweet release of death would not take him that day.
"You're one of the most Irritating people I've ever worked it. She knows everything and we're screwed!" The masked-man remarked with anger, letting the Duke drop to the floor.
He turned his attention to the feline and grabbed her, seeing a bit of blood from the side of her head.
"With luck, she won't remember this. Though since you are practically useless, I guess I'll have to take matters into my own hands."
With that single comment, Joshi focused his magic, causing his flames to manifest within his arm. It slowly drew over and surrounded the feline.
After a few seconds, they stopped and revealed to have caused scorch marks on her body.
The masked-man threw the feline to his partner, who caught her.
"Take the cat back and lie about what happened. Fairy Tail's already down one member, now with this, even if they do manage to beat Amlaibh. They'll have no choice to either fight with another or give up."
After that statement, the masked-man left the Duke in the darkness, holding an injured feline in his hand.
All he could do was follow his partner's order and walked back to the room where Galvin was.
Little did Trixie or Joshi know, Marsh was already planning something that would soon take All his enemies out of the equation. Leaving him with the riches, power, and a new empire.
Hey everyone, I've now completed the newest chapter for Gaia, sorry if it's short this time around, trying to keep it together with suspense and stretch it a bit more. I know I've been absent for a while, with school and the holiday, I didn't have much inspiration. But now, I'm gonna be doing my best to return back to my normal posting schedule.
Some references: Angela's new form is based off of the Jinchuriki's Tailed beast cloak, and spoiler, her cloaks will go more and more over the chapters so look forward to that. Also the aura barrier is based off the Hyugia Clan's Rotation Jutsu so hope you guys liked that. I'd like to thank Pokemonking for giving me the names of the attacks I've done so far, he's been a big help in my writing.
Anyway I will still be trying to keep up with my posting so please bare with me. Stayed Tuned for Chapter 21: Helm of Knowledge Part 2.