A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all.
Hope ya like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.
- Enclosing Shadow -
The noise of the crowd inside Domas Flau flooded the entire atmosphere in cheers and shouts as the participants prepared themselves for the impending battle. With the final seconds counting down from the clock, all eyes gazed at their own opponents. The atmosphere is tense unlike from the outside of the arena where most of the people failed to notice.
After that, the pumpkin mascot shouted through the air.
"Let the Lacrima Battle Royale begin!" A magic gun was shot through the air, signaling the start of the event.
All participants rushed into the center of the arena to make way for their target against their opponent's obelisks. Natsu and Wendy dashed straight through the crowd as Erza stayed behind with her Heaven's Wheel Armor to defend the obelisk.
Their formation is consisted of two offensive players to take down their opponents and making way for the scarlet knight to pass the lacrima ball to them. Any interceptions must be dealt with in order to get a clear shot.
And not only that, they also need to use the other opponent's lacrima orbs to hit their own obelisk in return.
Basically, this event is all about attack and defense. Strategic offenses to cripple other opponents by hitting their obelisk is essential together with good defense.
With a smirk plastered on his face, Natsu soon met up with their other opponents before looking back at Wendy.
"Let's go, Wendy!"
"Yeah!"
Releasing their respective elements, the duo leaped high above the air before combining their spells together. Fire and air mixed together, forming a unison raid at the start of the battle. Others looked up in surprise as the two began their first attack.
"Sky Flame Dragon's Heavenly Fire!"
"Unison Raid?" Commentators from the outside gaped in surprise.
Without giving the others the time to react, the two swiped their hands down before releasing a huge wave of fire and air below, sending in a huge cloud of debris as the mages who were near their vicinity are either pushed back or blown away.
"A-Amazing, those two work well in sync with each other," Pantherlily commented.
"Fufu… That's Natsu and Wendy for you, aye!" Happy cheered.
"The battle is far from over, look." Carla who had keener observation from the two pointed at the arena. The two dragonslayers were still in mid-air, awaiting the dust to settle down below them.
The expressions from the two were dead serious as if they were facing a great enemy.
Then without warning, a lightning flash blasted out from the smoke, colliding at the fire dragonslayer as he raised his fists in defense. A shockwave was generated at the clash as Natsu smirked after seeing the person right in front of him.
"Hoh, so you've finally able to stand up, after all, Natsu," Laxus grinned in satisfaction.
"I already told you. I'm not the same as I was back then." Exerting enough brute force to push him back, Natsu flared in flames before looking back at Wendy.
"Wendy, I'll take him up here. You should go on and help Erza with the attack." He pointed his gaze down to the ground below as a couple of mages emerged from the smoke, dashing straight to each of their opponent's obelisk.
"Alright! Be careful, Natsu!"
The pinkette only nodded with a reassuring smile, prompting the blue-haired woman to dash straight down to join in the fray along with the others.
"Are sure you're not going to need her help?" Laxus warned.
"Heh, I'm more than enough for you, Laxus." A faint smile crept its way onto his face, followed by his strong resolve to confront the fire dragonslayer.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!"
For what it seemed like their final conversation, the two dragonslayers flared up their magic and continued their battle in the air. Sparks and embers scattered with every collision from each other. It was as if they were watching two elemental hazes smashing to each other as shockwaves generated from the sky, sending out booming sounds from above without any care from anyone fighting below.
Gajeel looked at the sky with a smirk.
"Gihi, that damn bastard is too hasty with his fight. I'll better deal with the others first."
On the other side of the battlefield, Minerva emerged unscathed from the blast as she lifted her hand to summon her magic. She easily negated the blast, saving the other two before looking back to her other two companions.
"Rufus, you'll be defending. Don't let anyone of them score a hit."
"Yes, of course, my lady." The masked mage bowed elegantly.
"Orga, you know what you're going to do." She turned towards the buff man beside her who only nodded in response as black lightning appeared on his hands.
With their plans on set, Minerva shifted her eyes towards the ongoing battle before her.
"It's time we have a little play with these weaklings."
Outside the arena, Chapati and the other commentators began their discussion towards the ongoing battle.
"It seems like everyone has finally started their own plans to win this event. What team are you actually aiming for, Yajima-san?" Chapati turned towards the ex-Council member with anticipation.
"Hmm, if I had to choose, I'd say Fairy Tail may stand a chance on reigning the first place but I'm keeping an eye out for Sabertooth as well. I doubt they won't just stand there and let anyone stand in their way."
"That's a great speculation. Let's see the current standings of the teams as of today."
Pointing towards the sky, the lacrima-vision scoreboard appeared with the list of the eight guilds and their scores.
…
Raven Tail – 31
Sabertooth – 28
Lamia Scale – 20
Fairy Tail B – 16
Fairy Tail A – 15
Blue Pegasus – 15
Mermaid Heel – 15
Quatro Cerberus – 8
…
"It seems like Raven Tail is in the lead. Pretty much impressive considering this is their first time to participate." Lahar complimented.
"Sabertooth is out second with Lamia Scale coming in the next ranks. There are three guild teams that gave the same score but I don't think it will stay that way once this event is over. Every team is trying to gain past over the other so anything could happen." Yajima commented.
"You're right! We can only hope for them to participate fairly and give the best they can for their respective guilds!"
Going back to the arena, Erza skilfully requips into her different armors as multiple mages tried to throw their orbs towards their obelisk. She confronts them with quick thinking and strategic plans in order to keep them all out from hitting it.
Moments later, she slams her hammer down to the ground, creating a huge smokescreen as she immediately changed into her Flight Armor and took off high into the air, carrying the orb with her.
"Wendy, we're switching roles!"
"Yes, Erza!" Out of nowhere, Wendy lands down to the ground before gathering up the air around her vicinity to create a seemingly huge tornado, sending out powerful gales that pushed back anyone out in the vicinity without realizing the scarlet knight moving in to attack their obelisks altogether.
She zoomed past across the battlefield, evading every clash before throwing the orb into Lamia Scale's obelisk.
"Damn it! I was too late!" Yuka tried to knock the knight out from the sky but her speed was too much of him as she disappeared again into a silver blur and stole the orb from Hibiki who was left surprised at the sudden snatch.
Turning her gaze towards the other obelisks, Erza shifted her sights on Fairy Tail B's unguarded obelisk. She didn't waste any time and decided to fly towards it, throwing the orb towards it until a dark beam deflected it away.
Her eyes widened in shock but long before she tried to evade the incoming beams aimed straight at her. Landing on the ground, Erza reverted back to her Heaven's Wheel Armor before looking towards a cloud of dust on her left.
She narrowed her gaze in caution as a figure revealed itself to her. It took almost immediately for her to realize her identity as Mirajane casually walked her way towards her before stopping at a fair distance with her hand pressed on her cheek. Her calm smile and peaceful expression seemed rather weird considering all the carnage that is happening around her.
Erza knew better.
As she was her former rival, she knows that the barmaid hides a sinister aura that rival that to hers when it comes to fighting. Her calm behavior was often mistaken by most people and she knew that she mustn't let her guard down.
"Ara, ara… How nice for the two of us to confront each other in battle at such an early time." Mirajane smiled but the scarlet knight simply raised her sword towards her.
"Don't play around, Mira. I know you won't just let me go past by and score a hit on your team. Even if we're in the same guild, I will treat you as my rival when it comes to an event like this." She declared.
There was a clear determination in her eyes as Mira smiled in response to her declaration.
"I see. Then I guess, there's no need for me to explain any further. I hope you're ready, Erza Scarlet." A surge of dark energy filled around the barmaid as her level of power increased drastically, causing the redhead to grip her sword to prepare for a battle against her.
"Satan Soul: Halphas!"
Makarov widened his eyes in shock after witnessing the barmaid trying to use the spell he forbid her to use. Even Erza was quite surprised at her transformation since this was the first time she'd saw the form.
Compared to her Sitri form, that form is undeniably as strong as the former though she had yet to see its true power.
"That form-" Makarov tried to speak until he was interrupted by Mavis who begins to explain Mirajane's takeover.
"That power is similar to the Demon Halphas. How she was able to takeover such a creature is unknown to me but if she has it on her takeover then there's no doubt she would have the same power as the demon once had.
"Your children seemed to have some quite interesting magic, Third Master," Mavis smiled merrily at Makarov, not caring the fact that Mira has the power to blow up a city effortlessly.
"T-They're quite an interesting bunch indeed but I try to keep them under control to prevent themselves from getting into trouble." Makarov sweated, not entirely confident of his statement because of his history with the Magic Council about the destruction his brats always does in every job.
He was glad Mirajane wasn't among that bunch otherwise, he would've fainted.
As the events continued, the two strongest females in Fairy Tail faced off each other as Mirajane started off with the first attack. Lifting her right hand towards her, she shot out a massive dark beam which prompted the knight to dodge it as it slammed over to a wall, creating a powerful tremor that caught some of the mages' attention at its destructive power.
Erza gritted her teeth before summoning multiple blades from her arsenal.
"Dance, My Blades!" The blades circled around her form before sending them towards her in fast speeds.
Mirajane smirked, seeing that such an attack does pose a threat to her as she flew away to dodge the incoming blades aimed straight towards her before releasing another cosmic beam from her two hands, turning their battle into a long-range confrontation of spells.
Due to their skillful agility and speed, some of their missed shots are hurled over throughout the battlefield, causing much destruction from all around.
It made the others remember the infamous titles withheld by the two.
"Woah, Fairy Tail really has a bunch of strong people." Risley sweated as the battle between the two rivals raged on.
"That's Er-chan for you! We better do our best too, right Kagura?" Milliana turned towards the silent swordswoman in anticipation. Kagura never replied back, seeing that she hardly cared anything about their battle though only one thing that is bothering her right now.
Her closed eyes opened towards the redhead in caution before finally readying herself to participate.
"You two, stay in the obelisk. I will head out into battle." Without giving her two teammates to reply, she dashed forth towards the fray with her sheathed sword at hand.
Gajeel waded through the carnage as he easily knocked away his opponents with his signature, Iron Dragon's Club. Taking out other mages will definitely lessen more competitors and hit their obelisk with ease.
He wanted to have a little bit of fun with the others but it seems like both Salamander and Laxus are preoccupied. He didn't like being left out but he needs to stick to the plan. Since the lightning dragonslayer is already being confronted, it's up to him to do on the offensive.
"Out of my way!" He punched Rocker out of the way before grabbing the orb in his hands and swiftly made his way to their obelisk and scored a hit on it.
That's one team down on the ranking. Pushing himself further towards the battlefield, he spotted Ren holding another orb in his hands. A mischievous grin crept all the way to his face as he dashed straight towards him and readied his own spell.
"Sorry kiddo but I'm taking that orb myself!"
But before he could even strike down the unsuspecting mage, a wave of gust blew towards his body, sending back as he looked towards the side and saw Ren confronting him.
"Sorry but I can't let you do that, Gajeel." He prepared his stance against him as Hibiki joined with him in anticipation.
"You didn't think I was guarded do you?"
"Well, it matters not anyway. I'll just beat the two of you and be off with that orb of yours."
"We'll see about that." Ren challenged.
"Gihi, now you've done it."
Kicking up his feet forward, Gajeel went straight for a direct attack as he began to call out his spell.
"Iron Dragon's Sword!" He turned one of his hands into a giant blade with spikes surrounding its edges. The spikes began to spin quickly, turning it into a chainsaw as the dragonslayer slammed his hand down towards them, generating a large cloud of debris due to its force.
Ren and Hibiki dodged on different directions before calling out their respective spells.
"Force Blast!"
"Aerial Blast!"
Both mages sent their spells to defeat him but Gajeel simply lowered his body before turning his hands into two massive iron clubs.
"Iron Dragon's Swirling Hammer!"
The iron dragonslayer spun his body around along with his hands, creating a whirl of iron clubs that smashed right to the two, sending them flying away in opposite directions, rendering them momentarily knocked out with Hibiki dropping the orb in the process.
Gajeel didn't waste any time as he tried to make his way to pick up the orb. However, as he was about to take the orb by hand, his instincts immediately kicked up into his system as he leaped away from it after a black lightning was sent to his location.
His eyes gazed solely on the smoke in front of him as he saw Orga appearing from the scene with black lightning emerging from his body.
"I'll be taking that orb." The Sabertooth mage spoke stoically as he slowly walked over to the orb without caring until a large club was sent on his way, prompting him to back away before turning his attention at the iron dragonslayer.
"You know… I hate it when someone ignores me completely." His expression almost immediately as he gazed at the muscular man in anger.
"I don't deal with weaklings at the moment. My aim is to win and find Jura is more of a better opponent for me."
"Tch, underestimating me like that. How about I go out and shut that big mouth of yours and see who's talking?"
"Hoh? Are you really sure you can match a godslayer like me?" Orga boasted but Gajeel smirked at his question.
"Well, too bad. I'm a dragonslayer which makes it even more interesting since we get to fight on who's better." Gajeel challenged.
"Hmph, if you insist." Orga sighed nonchalantly before turning his attention away from the orb and faced the spiky-haired mage in front of him with anticipation.
A brief silence went passed over them until Gajeel made his first move and dashed straight towards him in great speeds. With his transformed iron club, he locked his eyes furiously at Orga as he closed their distance withing a few seconds until–
"Lightning God's Charged Ball!" With just a lift of his hand, Orga summoned a seemingly large ball of black lightning above Gajeel and crushed him completely as the ball slammed down on the ground, creating a massive shockwave that went over to the whole arena.
He didn't even have to move on his feet as he stopped the dragonslayer right in his tracks just by using one spell towards him.
Moments later, the ball eventually simmered down, revealing a largely torn crater in front of him as Orga sighed at the aftermath of his fight. This event was way more boring than he usually thought. Scratching his head in disappointment, he turned away and tried to make his way towards the orb.
"Iron Dragon's Lance: Demon Logs!" Without warning, Orga widened his eyes in surprise as multiple large iron spears were sent to him from the crater, hitting him in some parts of his body and caused him to pull away from his position and looked at the crater in shock.
After a few seconds, Gajeel emerged from the crater completely unscathed, except for his clothes which were torn from the electric blast sent towards him earlier.
"Impossible, how did you–" Orga's words stopped as he saw the iron dragonslayer covered in iron scales. Sparks of black lightning went over his iron body as Gajeel smirked at him with confidence before reverting back his spears.
Judging from his skin, the black lightning didn't damage it directly due to his element that simply conducted the electricity all over his body.
"Gihi, you're underestimating me, godslayer. Is that all you've got? Laxus's lightning is way more painful than this." He mocked as he saw a slight twitch on the godslayer's brows after hearing that name.
"Laxus… Are you saying that my Lightning Godslayer magic is weaker than his?!"
"Did I strike a nerve? But man, even in this form, I still got damaged though despite having all my body covered in iron. However, this level of power is nothing compared to him by the way." Gajeel admitted.
And in just like that, Orga's face shadowed before a huge burst of black lightning swayed violently all over his body after being mocked by him.
"Interesting, it seems like you're more interesting than I thought, dragonslayer." His voice filled with anger as he revealed his wicked grin towards him in which Gajeel answered with the same expression.
"Bring it, godslayer! Let's see whose magic is better!" With taunting remark, Gajeel went into his battle stance as Orga finally unleashes his power towards him.
With both iron and black lightning swirling on both sides, the two mages simply dashed straight to each other. As their powers clashed, a massive explosion erupted around them, engulfing everything in their vicinity.
Gajeel broke away from the power struggle as a huge cloud of smoke surrounded after the explosion. His enhanced instincts immediately kicked up to search around the godslayer. However, he can't pick up his opponent's presence due to the smoke and his speed. A series of lightning flash circled inside the smoke, prompting him to stay up on his guard.
Then suddenly, he felt a striking pain on his back as Orga dashed from behind and kicked him with his black lightning and sent him a few meters away. The dragonslayer didn't have any time to recover as he received another painful punch in the stomach, sending him high into the air as Orga instantly appeared right in front of him.
"Kugh-" Gajeel suppressed his pain as he tried to recover himself until Orga appeared once more above him and slammed his fists to send him back down to the ground.
A huge pile of debris was blown away upon his descent as Orga landed back in a fair distance with his black lightning sparking all around him. His eyes focused solely along with his dead serious expression towards the smokescreen.
As soon as the smoke settled, Gajeel emerged from the crash with slight cracks all over his iron-covered body. All those attacks were undeniably fatal to anyone who is not prepared to withstand its force.
It was quite fortunate since he had his iron element to lessen the effects of the force and the lightning itself though it does not give him an advantage yet after witnessing his insane speed.
Like Laxus, he was able to manifest his black lightning and increase his speed to attack his opponents from all sides without giving them a chance to recover.
He gritted his teeth as he looked at the silent godslayer in front of him.
"What happened to that confidence just now? You were saying that you're going to shut off my mouth or something." Orga mocked but Gajeel simply kept up his signature smirk and faced him fearlessly.
"Gihi, now I'm getting fired up!" Remembering a certain catchphrase from his rival, Gajeel felt more confident than he's ever been.
Pantherlily smiled proudly at his partner as the fight finally begins between him and Orga.
After a few seconds, Orga soon dashed straight towards him with a lightning fist, prompting the iron dragonslayer to raise his iron sword to block it.
A massive collision resulted in their clash as Orga tried to overpower the iron sword with his might until Gajeel prepared another attack towards him with his other hand.
"Iron Dragon's Club!"
Orga dashed a few meters away before dashing straight towards him again in another direction as he prepared his fist.
"Too slow!"
The punch blew him several meters away as Orga continued his onslaught and tried to put the dragonslayer down with his might.
"Lightning God's Charged Particle Cannon!" Placing his arms towards him at point-blank range, Orga shoots out a powerful lightning beam towards him, destroying a large area as Gajeel raised his hands to withstand the powerful energy.
"Haaaaaaaaaa!" Gajeel shouted defiantly as the beam eventually engulfed him wholly and was swept away from the stream of black lightning over to the far edge of the arena.
Soon afterward the beam dissipated as Orga watched the smoke settle in front of him. That spell would definitely knock his enemy out since it was one of his powerful spells.
It was then a small shadow caught his attention to the sky as Gajeel leaped from above and began his counterattack.
"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Karma Demon, Iron God Sword!" Clapping his hands together, Gajeel summoned a seemingly massive iron sword, large enough to cover half of the arena itself as Orga widened his eyes in disbelief, seeing him descending down to him with his giant sword at hand. Clapping his hands together, Gajeel summoned a seemingly massive iron sword, large enough to cover half of the arena itself as Orga widened his eyes in disbelief, seeing him descending down to him with his giant sword at hand.
"Eat this, puny godslayer!"
Without giving him time to react, Gajeel slams his sword down towards him, destroying a substantially large area in front of him. Anyone who is in the way dodged the powerful sword as a line of debris resulted in the process.
Gajeel landed back on the ground as he waited for the dust to settle. Soon afterward, Orga emerged from the area with an injured left arm after taking a full direct hit from his secret move. There are also some multiple scratches and wounds around his body as Orga looked at the iron dragonslayer in shock.
"To think that I would be injured by someone like you…"
"Gihi." Gajeel chuckled as he readied himself against him.
"That spell just now… is definitely a dangerous one. It seems like I'll have to put on hold on following the Lady's orders and defeat you right here."
"Heh, same here. I'll join up with the others once I'm done beating you up."
With Orga acknowledging him as a worthy opponent, both sides continued their fight as iron and black lightning filled the area around them with two powerful mages battling each other to the last bits of their power against each other.
On the other hand, Erza and Mirajane continued their own battle as both females unleashed their powerful arsenals to bring the other down. A rain of swords and dark energy is shot out from each other as Erza continuously requips to her different armors to give herself a unique style of attack combinations to bring the demon down.
Mirajane didn't even bother to change her takeover as she uses her Halphas form to wear down the scarlet knight with ease. However, both of them have yet to unleash their true powers, seeing that they haven't put up with their strongest forms.
The two flew around the battlefield exchanging blows as Mira struck the knight down, sending her down to the ground before unleashing another spell.
"Cosmic Beam!" A dark purplish energy was sent towards her, only to be deflected as Erza dons her Adamantine Armor to defend against it.
As soon as the beam died down, she changed into her Purgatory Armor and proceeded to attack the Demon with her cleave-like weapon with multiple spikes around it.
A large powerful gale resulted as Mirajane used her hands to block the weapon with ease as both of them began a power struggle.
"I see you still haven't lost your touch, Mirajane. I reckon you're finally back to your own self." Erza remarked.
"There's still some things that I haven't recovered yet but I think this is enough for me to fight you again, Erza," Mirajane reassured as she drew a lot of force to push her weapon back thus, creating an opening for her as she tried to punch her down.
The scarlet knight instantly requips into her Lightning Empress Armor and dashed away from her before coming at her from a different direction. Mirajane turned her attention towards her as she blocked an incoming lightning speak aimed at her.
Not done with her attack, Erza requips a flame sword from one of her armor set and struck the barmaid down. Mirajane recovered just in time before she could slam to the ground and aimed another dark beam towards her.
"Take this, Erza!"
The redhead requip yet again and dodged the beam before revealing another one of her strongest armor.
"Armadura Fairy!" Shouting its true name, Erza proceeded to attack her with amazing speeds with her swords at hand as a burst of energy was released in it.
The white-haired mage didn't waste enough time as she placed both her hands upfront to create a more powerful beam of her own to counter her opponent's spell.
"Satanic Soul Beam!"
A huge massive beam was shot towards the knight as she confronts it with her own spell.
"Fairy Burst!"
And in just like that, two powerful spells were clashed once again in the battlefield as both sides tried to overpower the other. Erza and Mirajane gritted their teeth in frustration as they found themselves yet again into another stalemate until-
Their spells were mysteriously negated in an instant as a huge distortion ball absorbed all the force, sending them into a complete shock until a hand appeared on it and grabbed Erza by the arm and thrown her away.
"Erza!–" She stopped as a female figure emerged from the ball and made her entrance between them. The scarlet knight recovered momentarily before looking at the female above in caution as she stares down at the two Fairy Tail mages with a dark and twisted smile.
"Mind if I join it, fairies?" She speaks in a condescending manner as she levitates above the air without much taking any kind of caution towards them.
"Sabertooth," Mirajane muttered.
"Minerva Orland." Erza uttered the woman's identity.
"Oh, well said, Erza Scarlet-no, or should I say, Titania." Her attention landed down to her with anticipation.
"It's quite rude to interrupt someone's fight." Mira turned to speak.
"Hoh? Isn't unfair for one to jump onto someone's fight?" Minerva replied coldly but the barmaid kept her composure.
"What are you trying to do, Minerva?" Erza demanded, pointing a sword towards her.
"I'm just trying out the two of you although I don't plan to deal both of you together since this event isn't just about the battle." She slowly lifted her hands as multiple distortion fields appeared beside the orbs which was taken from the hands of others, shocking everyone.
Moments later, she released a set of distortion balls near the obelisk, except her own in which all the orbs were thrust into, earning all the teams except Sabertooth a hit.
The sudden change of the team's rankings immediately caught everyone's attention as they all widened in shock and disbelief after witnessing her power.
"She teleported all the orbs to each of the obelisks!"
"What kind of power does she have?!"
"It looks like Minerva alone has scored all the hits. This brings all the teams with one score hit on their obelisks. If they needed to stay on the top they have to score more hits to drag the other teams down!" Chapati commented.
"It's strange on how the rules in this event didn't go about making points and instead went along the opposite effect of it," Yajima added.
"I noticed it too. Teams have to hit their opponents' obelisks in order to drag their ranks down which means that if you had a substantial amount of hits from your team, you'll just have to score more to your opponents to stay at the top." Lahar analyzed.
Erza and Mirajane only prepared themselves against her as they both readied their magic against her.
"Ara, wouldn't it be a violation of the rules to have two teams fighting together?" Minerva pointed out.
"No one said about forbidding teaming up and its one advantage to having two teams in the same guild in the games, am I right?" Erza clarified. For a second, Minerva was rattled at her response but immediately smirked in the process.
"Interesting. It seems like I'll just have to take on both of you."
But before they could even begin, Erza raised her swords from an incoming strike to her left as Kagura appeared on the scene to battle her. Pushing the scarlet knight away from the area, the swordswoman never showed any hint of emotion as she focused her attention on the redhead solely.
"Erza!" Mirajane shouted in worry.
"Well, I guess that sums up the problem. To be honest, I wanted to play with Titania for a bit but I guess you'll do just fine." Minerva looked at the remaining contender with a cold look.
"Oh my, you're pretty rude for an elegant lady. I should probably give you a lesson or two on how to respect others." Mirajane returned with a rather calm reply although Minerva could feel a sinister aura emanating from her magic.
If she would want a comparison, she might be at the same level as the Titania as well.
"Interesting. Show me what you've got, Fairy Tail." She taunted.
"With pleasure."
As the fight between two females began, Erza struggled to get herself out her new opponent as she continued to slash her down with her sheathed longsword for no reason.
Parrying against a woman like her was hard since every thrust of her sword is like a giant hammer being swung down at her. She could only tell that this woman is powerful as well.
Breaking away from her clash, Erza flew a couple of meters away before looking at the woman right in front of her.
"Kagura Mikazuchi."
"Erza Scarlet."
The two uttered each other's name as the scarlet knight continued to speak.
"You're the rumored strongest female in Mermaid Heel but I can't understand your motive against me. Do you have any reason of attacking me just now?" She asked but the raven-haired swordswoman shook her head in response before preparing to attack her once more.
"There's nothing in particular and the event features an all-around confrontation with anyone, is it not?" She replied in a blank tone but Erza could feel something more than what she was trying to say.
"I can agree with that but there's more to what are you saying."
Kagura fell silent but not long before she placed her sheathed sword right beside her face before slightly sinking her body to form her stance.
"Then I shall ask you a question once I defeated you, Erza Scarlet." With steel cold eyes locked on her, Erza prepared to confront the Mermaid Heel mage as she dashed towards her in great speeds until–
"Sky Dragon's Heavenly Tempest!" A huge whirl of compressed air was shot from above, stopping the swordswoman advance as another woman descended down between them.
Erza widened her eyes in surprise at the appearance of Wendy as she stood in front of her just in time.
"Wendy? What are you doing here?" She asked in disbelief. Wait, more importantly, there's also something she wanted to ask to her.
"What about the obelisk?!"
"I created several whirlwinds surrounding it in order knock off any thrown orbs towards it but it's not gonna stay that for too long so I used it as my opportunity to reach towards you." She explained.
"What do you mean?"
"We're switching roles. I will fight her."
"Wait, are you serious? She's powerful-"
"Then I am too. Believe me, Erza. I'm not same as before. This time, I will definitely surpass you." Wendy said in determination without looking back. Erza was taken aback from her statement. It was the first time she heard her talking like this and what's more, is that she was aspiring hard to surpass which is something she wouldn't hear from her.
There was a moment of silence between them until Erza smiled.
"Alright. I believe in you, Wendy. You showed me how matured you've become so you should also show me how strong you've become." She returned the favor.
"You can count on me, Erza!" Wendy replied with a confident smile as Erza flew away from the scene, leaving her and Kagura to fight each other.
"You're not the one I'm fighting with. I ask of you to step aside and don't get in my way." Kagura warned without much of a change in her tone.
"I'm sorry but I'm not letting you pass. Not until you defeated me." Wendy raised her fists at the ready.
As soon as she stated that, Kagura shook her head momentarily, masking her expression before a small gust went past them. Moments later, she slowly lifted her face which is contained with hostility.
"I see."
After that, she instantly disappeared into a silver blur, causing the blue-haired woman to widen in surprise as she leaped to the side to avoid a sheathed sword aimed at her. Kagura missed as her sword struck the empty ground before generating a cloud of dust in her vicinity.
Wendy recovered a few meters away before chanting her own support spells.
"Ile Arms x Ile Vernier x Ile Armor!" Doubling her own magical capabilities, she charged straight towards the swordswoman. Kagura simply went into her stance and also dashed straight to confront the dragonslayer.
"Archenemy: Slashing Form!" As soon as the two went passed to each other, Wendy felt a striking pain on her left shoulder as Kagura landed a hit on her, sending her crashing down but not long she recovered from a safe distance and winced in pain.
"Kugh-" Wendy tried to suppress the pain from her left shoulder as she stood up defiantly against her.
As just the rumors say, she is definitely a strong opponent however, it does not mean she wouldn't stand a chance at all. She's going to unleash some of her powers in order to win. She took a deep breath and began to close her eyes as her instincts followed the movement of the wind around her.
The nature of her power lies on one of the elements. It is her duty to feel through it like what Grandine had taught her back when she was a child. As she exhaled her final breath, she slowly looked at the swordswoman with a serious gaze, prompting Kagura to move into her stance after feeling a sudden change of magic from the dragonslayer herself.
A light bluish glow of energy emanated from the blue-haired woman as she began to call out her powerful buffs.
"Sacred enchantments that eternally guides the heavens… Grant me your power! Lend me the strength and grace of the skies!"
"Sky Arms x Sky Armor x Sky Vernier!"
Three magical circles appeared on both sides and one below her, granting her an immense boost of power as the buffs increased ten-fold than what her Ile buffs can offer. Her body felt light and her strength doubles faster as the support spells cast on herself disappeared and finally readied herself against Kagura once more.
"Such enchantments will not change anything," Kagura spoke in confidence but Wendy could only look at her with the same expression.
"We'll see about that."
In an instant, Wendy disappeared into a silver blur, leaving only a trail of the wind from her previous position as Kagura's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden increase of her opponent's speed. Without warning, she raised her sheathed sword up front as Wendy appeared with a wind-enhanced kick.
A huge shockwave was generated upon their collision but Wendy dashed away once more, leaving nothing but a trail of wind and launched another attack on a different angle. Soon afterward, Kagura was forced to defend herself as Wendy continuously attacked her with a series of high-speed attacks that even experienced mages couldn't follow through.
With every attack, Wendy shifts her position on a different angle to attack different sides, making it seem like the swordswoman parrying against the wind since mostly everyone couldn't see Wendy with her insane speed.
Kagura gritted her teeth as she found her opponent to be quite powerful enough to match her effortlessly as she struggled to parry each of the attacks. The blows of each hit were powerful enough to send her flying and she also noticed with each passing second, her speed and agility become incredibly faster.
A level of power like that is considered to be quite above an S-Class mage. She hasn't seen yet her true power but she was already putting her on the defensive with just a couple of buffs of her own.
However, no matter how strong her opponent is, she cannot unsheathe her sword right here. She will have to deal her with what she has.
At a quick moment, Kagura found an opening which serves her an opportunity to get out of the onslaught and leap high into the air with Wendy following her suit.
"You're not getting away!" The sky dragonslayer followed the woman towards the air until she felt her whole body heavy all of a sudden, resulting her to plunge back to the ground as Kagura activated her Gravity Magic to pin the bluenette completely.
Wendy crashed hard and found herself struggling to get out as she increased the gravity change in her area to push her down further.
With a silent mutter behind her breath, Wendy called out another spell.
"Sky Dragon's Raging Twister!" Manipulating the air around her, Wendy summoned a powerful twister above Kagura, causing her to dodge it and dispel the gravity spell in the process.
Wendy used the opportunity to close their distance once more and defeat her with her high-speed attacks.
"Archenemy: Strong Form!" Kagura pointed her sword towards the approaching mage and thrusts herself in which she easily evaded before crashing to the ground. A huge cloud of debris kicked up as Kagura missed her target but she didn't let her guard down as Wendy came rushing in towards her at insane speeds.
And in just like that, the two underwent a series of parries and attacks as Kagura skilfully deflected every fist and kick aimed at her with just her sword. However, Wendy had more superior agility and speed which somehow manages to land a hit or two towards the Mermaid Heel mage with succession.
Breaking away from their clash, Wendy skidded a few meters but not long before she inhaled amounts of air down to her lungs and aimed at the swordswoman.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!" After shouting her spell, Wendy unleashed a large torrent of raging winds towards Kagura who only stood in defiance and moved back to her stance to meet the attack head-on.
And in just a second, the roar was split in half as Kagura swiped her sword down and deflected the spell with ease.
However, her attention was yet to recover as her eyes waded back to the approaching bluenette who unexpectedly dashed straight through the roar to give her an opening.
Winds swirled around her arms as Wendy called out yet another spell towards her.
"Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!" Expelling air from her arms, Wendy sent Kagura away as the raging winds blasted through her body, forcing her to be blown away in point-blank range and landed safely far away from her.
Their relentless onslaught suddenly turns to a halt as both sides observed each other's powers differently.
"It seems like you're more than what I thought you to be." Kagura mused though not hinting any praise towards her efforts.
"That's what everyone thought about me even back when I was still young myself," Wendy replied, her magic still pouring out in regards to her buffs earlier.
"I have heard of a title from the same guild three years ago…" She trailed off as she closed her eyes to recall a certain name.
"Sky Maiden, Wendy Marvell along with the infamous Salamander. You two were both regarded as strong mages of Fairy Tail even in its dark days. I guess I can never tell of how much pain you have been through in all those years, however-" She paused.
"Such pain is not comparable to what I've been through as well." She locked her eyes with a cold gaze towards her as she readied herself once more to fight.
"Erza Scarlet has the answer I need to follow my path. I will not let anyone get in the way, even if it has to be you, Wendy Marvell."
Wendy narrowed her eyes as she prepared herself as well to fight again after feeling the seriousness in her eyes. The fight was just beginning and the time is not yet over. She can only hope that Erza would score for the team while they both hold out the others to give her enough time to do it.
As soon as their conversation was finished, the two resumed battle once again.
Meanwhile, Laxus and Natsu also continued their battle throughout the skies as the eyes of most spectators are focused on them.
Cheers and shouts came loudly as members of Fairy Tail cheered for their desired mages. Some are even betting about who's going to win and lose on their fight since the two of them were both serious right now.
"Fire Dragon's Meteor Fist!"
"Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!"
A fist of fire and lightning clashed in mid-air as an enormous explosion resulted in its collision, bringing out sparks and embers around the vicinity. Natsu traced his eyes above as Laxus maneuvered in his lightning form to get his position above the fire dragon mage.
Momentarily inhaling in his lungs, Laxus locked his eyes down towards his fellow dragonslayer.
"Lightning Dragon's Roar!"
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Natsu returned with his own signature roar that soon collided against Laxus's roar which then resulted in a power struggle against each other as both dragonslayers tried to overpower the other. A spectacular explosion was seen as the crowd held witness to its magnificent yet deadly sight. Two elements of destruction disperse from all directions as the spells went on.
However, the roars went into a stalemate which then generated another explosion in the air, amusing a lot of spectators watching from the sky.
"I see you've changed a lot, Natsu."
"And you never failed to get me fired up, Laxus. However, this time, I'll surely surpass you!" With determination, he arched one of his arms behind before summoning a huge ball of fire. Laxus smirked at the incoming spell as he floated in mid-air with no intention of dodging it.
"Fire Dragon's Blazing Flame!" Swiping his hand forward, Natsu sent the giant fireball straight towards the lightning dragonslayer, resulting a fiery explosion as the fire engulfed him completely, momentarily lighting up the whole arena in his one spell.
Moments later, the blast settled and revealed an unscathed Laxus as he looked at the pinkette with a grin.
"Now that's what I'm talking about! You really have gotten stronger, Natsu." Laxus remarked.
"Heh, still boasting as ever. I'm getting fired up!"
Using their powers against each other, the two battled furiously in the air, exchanging powerful blows that produced powerful shockwaves, indicating their intense force. Each side manages to land a blow, resulting an impressive form of hand-to-hand combat as the two fought each other with fists and kicks. Zapping away, Laxus clenched his fist and raised in the air to chant his spell.
"Raging Bolt!"
A large bolt of lightning was shot out from the sky and went straight towards Natsu in seconds, without giving him time to react before being engulfed in an electrified explosion. Laxus waited as the smoke settled until a wave of fire emerged from the smoke and headed straight towards him, prompting him to dodge from the side but not long before realizing Natsu appearing right behind him with a flaming kick sent towards him.
"Fire Dragon's Claw!" The kick connected on his back, plunging the lightning dragonslayer down to the ground as a huge cloud of debris kicked up in the air as a result.
The kick connected on his back, plunging the lightning dragonslayer down to the ground as a huge cloud of debris kicked up in the air as a result.
"Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!" Another lightning fist was shot towards the pinkette who only backhanded the spell, easily deflecting it as he lands down to the ground and looked at the still unscathed Laxus who only smiled in confidence at the flow of their battle.
Another lightning fist was shot towards the pinkette who only backhanded the spell, easily deflecting it as he lands down to the ground and looked at the still unscathed Laxus who only smiled in confidence at the flow of their battle.
"I'm surprised… To think you would easily deflect my magic with ease. It's no wonder why Gildarts was surprised at your sudden change. You're no longer that idiot who'd always rush in without thinking." He remarked.
"Well things happened and you know the rest. I still have many ways to go to surpass you, Laxus." Natsu admitted.
A small chuckle escaped from the lightning mage's lips.
"Don't joke around, Natsu. You're not even giving the best you've got on me."
"Same goes to you too, Laxus." A similar chuckle went over to the pinkette as they halted their fight for a moment to observe each other.
However, both dragonslayers jumped away from their positions as a towering rock wall emerged between them, causing them to be caught in surprise as they gazed into the distance where a sole man stands casually at the spectacle.
"Jura Neekis…" Laxus muttered.
"P-P-Potato Head?!" Natsu has a comical expression compared to him.
"Don't give people nicknames, idiot!" Laxus shouted.
Despite the comical exchange between them, Jura only gazed at them with his hardened eyes as he stands in between the two with anticipation.
"It seems like you two have been having a lot of energy to be rampaging throughout the sky, forgetting the fact that this is not always about bringing the opponent down." He reminded.
"Of course, I just wanted for this opportunity to fight him," Natsu revealed his true objective.
"Oi, oi! Don't just go spouting nonsense to other people, Natsu."
"Hmm… If that's what is going on between you two, mind if I join in the fray? I'd like to have a taste of good battles in this generation." Jura asked.
Despite the casual expression he was giving, Natsu and Laxus knew better than to underestimate the man right in front of them as he was one of the Wizard Saints that are considered to be the strongest mages all over Fiore.
"Tsk, so it's going to be that way, huh?" Laxus muttered.
However, just as they were about to confront the Ace of Lamia Scale, the sky suddenly turned blue for some unknown reasons. Their surroundings also dyed in the same color as both mages and the people in the crowd suddenly went still as if time had stopped.
Laxus and Natsu widened their eyes in surprise as they found themselves to be the only ones who can move apart from the rest of the people inside the arena.
"W-What the hell? What just happened?!" Natsu asked in confusion. Laxus on the other hand, narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he looked over to the whole stadium dyed in blue and began to analyze the situation.
"It's some sort of a time-stopping barrier."
"How could anyone use that kind of power? And why the hell is everyone not moving?!"
"Natsu, Laxus-san!" Another voice resounded from behind as the two dragonslayer glanced back and saw Wendy who is also in the same condition as them, approached the scene.
"Wendy?!" The two exclaimed in unison.
"What's happening here? Everything's just stopped." She spoke.
"I have no idea but I think someone is behind this barrier." Laxus assumed as he tried to walk a few feet towards the arena and scanned the area around him. The ongoing confrontations of different mages are all stopped in time.
The two dragonslayers followed suit before looking at the surroundings as well.
"I can't smell anyone." Natsu tried to sniff out in the air but it seemed different in the real world.
"The perpetrators somehow managed to hide their scent from us. They must've known that we have a good sense of smell." Laxus guessed.
"But who in the world would do such a thing? And why us?" Wendy asked.
Laxus only gave a light shook on the head.
"No idea but whatever the reason, they might show up soon."
Natsu and Wendy nodded in response as they immediately turned serious and followed the lightning dragonslayer to explore the magic-effected arena. They looked around for any suspicious things that might catch their attention until-
"What's wrong?" Wendy asked as Laxus raised his hand beside him to stop the two from getting any further.
"Over there." Laxus turned towards the entrance where mages head out to the arena.
It didn't take long as five shadowy figures emerged from the entrance as the three of them narrowed their eyes in caution after recognizing them.
"Raven Tail!" Natsu growled.
"It's been a long time, Fairy Tail." The one in an armored suit spoke in which Laxus recognized right away despite having a mask on his face.
With his eyes narrowed, he uttered the true identity of the man in front of them.
"Ivan Dreyar."
A/N: And here's the chapter for you guys. Although there's still lots of things that I wanted to feature here, I think this is quite enough. Big props to UrMom536 for suggesting some of the confrontations in this chapter. But there's still some room for the final day so don't worry about it.
I kinda wanted to hasten Raven Tail's involvement in the fight though not in an illusion type of way but rather in a time-based spell to give it a bit more concealment from the eyes of the spectators.
Next chapter would reveal some interesting answers and other cool stuff and probably the continuation of the event as well.
Thanks again for reading and I'll talk to you guys again soon.
- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out… … …