Let the battles begin...
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Chapter 28: Sting vs Jackal
Jackal's eyes narrowed as he glared at Sting below, who returned the furious expression.
Michello shook his fist at the attacker, "What are you…my house has been blown up!"
Lector's fur bristled, "He's from Tartaros!"
"So that means he must be the one who massacred the council!" Charle exclaimed.
Lucy spun to the old man, "Michello, you're the one he's after! Let's get out of here!"
"I was going to do that without you saying so!" he snapped and started to run away.
Wendy led him back, "It'll be fine if we just leave things here to Sting!"
Sting bared his fangs like an animal, "Grr…"
Jackal snickered, "Heh."
The assailant suddenly spun in a circle, waving his hands around as an incredible amount of energy filled the air. In a ring around the town, building just exploded out of nowhere, injuring several civilians and killing others.
"Why…" Lucy gasped, "The city has nothing to do with this!"
"Bastard!" Sting roared and lunged at Jackal.
"Explode!" shouted the assassin, generating an explosion right in front of his enemy.
Michello's eyes bulged, "A direct hit?!"
"It's okay," Lector grinned, "Being one of the Twin Dragons, Sting deals with intense heat all the time. He can defend against something like that!"
True to form, Sting had countered the explosion with a blast of holy energy, leaving him mostly unharmed as he continued to charge Jackal.
"What is this guy?" Jackal muttered, "He blocked my explosion?"
"White Dragon's Holy Fist!" he snarled, punching Jackal in the face and launching the assailant to the ground. Sting pressed his feet against a beam and propelled himself after his enemy for a follow up attack, but this time, his move was dodged and he smashed through the floorboards.
"Close call…" Jackal sneered, "Like a white dragon, eh?"
To his immense surprise, the floorboards suddenly started erupting towards him like a shark fin slicing through water. The assassin's eyes widened, "Are you kidding me-!"
Sting grabbed Jackal by the face and generated an explosion of energy from his palm, "White Dragon's Palm Surge!"
The brunt of magical energy smashed into Jackal and sent him flying upwards with a screech of pain.
Michello watched with wide eyes. This is my first time seeing a battle with a member of Fairy Tail up close, but…to think it would be like this!
Jackal landed agilely and skidded away, "Kuhaha! You're a pretty strong fellow, huh? I got something to say, though!"
Ignoring him, Sting lunged again and made to punch him in the face.
The assassin blinked, "Wait-guohh!"
After the first punch, Sting grabbed his enemy by the collar and started bashing at him with everything he had. The Dragon Slayer roared his fury, "I'm just getting started, you fucker!"
Michello found he was frozen to the spot while his granddaughter covered her mouth in shock, "Unbelievable…"
Wendy watched the beating with scared eyes, "Sting…"
"He's really…not letting up…" Lucy muttered, "Wasn't that guy about to say something?"
At this point, Jackal was unconscious, blood pouring down his face. Sting spat on his enemy and snarled, "You're going to answer some questions for me…where's your hideout? And what's your objective?"
With his prey unable to respond, Sting was displeased and growled angrily.
Michello was shivering with fear. If their aim is in fact, Face…then that would be catastrophic. The White Inheritance that few even amongst the council know of…how did they even learn about Face?! Ah! I should concentrate on hiding, first!"
He started running away, "I'll leave disposing of him to you guys! I..I have to go confirm the safety of the ex-council members! Michelia, you come too!"
Sting looked at his back pointedly, "Old man…if you know something, don't keep it to yourself at this point."
"I don't know anything!" Michello insisted.
"Is that right?"
Having regained consciousness, Jackal sat up and cracked his neck, "You might the spared from a horrible death if you were to share a juicy morsel of information with me…"
"I don't know anything!" Michello cried, "Try someone else! I really don't know anything!"
"Oh, too bad," Jackal snickered, "I guess you're gonna die a horrible death, then."
The old man looked pissed, "Oi! You guys! He got back up! Stop slacking off and beat the crap out of him, you fools!"
Sting started to growl, "Geezer, if you don't shut it…"
"And you," Jackal pointed at the White Dragon, "Really need to let people finish when they're speaking to you."
Before Sting could blink, several strange markings appeared on his fists and started glowing. His eyes widened, "What the…"
Jackal grinned, "My 'Curse' is a power that turns things that touch me into bombs..and you have..touched me how many times now?"
Sting's eyes grew wide, "Oh, shit…"
"Sting!" Lector shouted.
"Get away from me, all of you!" the White Dragon ordered frantically.
Lucy tried to protest, "But-!"
"HURRY!"
BOOM!
The markings on Sting exploded violently, sending his comrades flying away nearby. While Jackal pointed and laughed, the Dragon Slayer slumped to the ground, unconscious.
Lucy's eyes widened in horror, "Sting, no!"
Jackal smirked, "I'm actually impressed that his body is still in one piece. That's how tough a dragon is, I guess. Kuahaha!"
Michello looked ready to piss himself, "It's over…I'm gonna die…"
"If you hand over the information, I'll just slaughter your granddaughter, since I'm so considerate," Jackal offered darkly.
The old man fled, running away as fast as he could. His granddaughter cried after him, "Grandpa!"
Jackal lunged around the fallen form of Sting, "You won't escape me!"
Lucy grabbed her keys, "Wendy!"
"Okay!" the Dragon Slayer sucked in a breath.
"Make sure not to touch him!" Charle screeched.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!" Wendy shouted, unleashing a tornado from her jaws.
Jackal flicked his hand down, countering her attack with an explosion.
"He negated my breath attack with an explosive?!" gasped the Sky Sorceress.
"Open, Gate of the Archer, Sagittarius!" Lucy commanded, summoning the Horse Spirit who fired a volley of arrows at their enemy.
Again, Jackal swiped his hand and countered the attack with an explosion that sent both Lucy and Sagittarius skidding away.
Lector's tail bushed up, "This guy…he's using Explosion Magic to attack and defend!"
"Kuahaha! Oh yeah, I should probably correct you on that, red cat!" Jackal grinned maliciously, "We at Tartaros aren't the type to use Magic…what we use are top of the line Curses!"
He began to spin in a circle similar to the way he had when he destroyed the town, "Your average mages don't stand a chance against us. Have a taste of the strength of my Bomb Curse! Exploding Spiral!"
The area around Lucy and Wendy suddenly exploded in a vicious tornado of bursting heat, destroying Sagittarius while at the same time doing serious damage.
"Wendy! Lucy!" Charle shrieked.
When the dust cleared, the girls were shivering and weakened, so Jackal ran off with a laugh, "Seeya, bitches!"
"Are you alright?!" Michelia gasped.
Lucy struggled to her feet and nodded, "Don't worry about us…Wendy, please take care of Sting! I'm going after him!"
"Okay!" replied the young Dragon Slayer, heading towards their unconscious comrade.
Michello hadn't gotten far. Before long, he found the villagers all muttering after the explosions. He screeched out in a panic, "Someone help me! I'm going to be killed! One of you find me a place to hide!"
A man nearby scratched his head, "We got bigger problems, old man. Who are you, anyway?"
"I'm a former member of the magic council!" Michello exploded, "I've protected all your lives up until now! Now it's your turn to protect me, got it?!"
"Found ya," called Jackal, perched on a rooftop behind his prey.
The old man jumped straight up in fright and fell on his hands and knees as he scrambled to get away, "Stop it! I had nothing to do with anything! Just leave me be!"
He actually jumped into a nearby river and tried swimming, but being so old and small, his swimming skills were poor at best. Michello whimpered, "I just wanted to spend the rest of my days in peace with my grandchild!"
"And…you're leaving that grandchild behind and running off with your tail between your legs?" Jackal snickered, "Ohh, that's rich!"
It was at this moment that Lucy charged in with the intention to attack from behind, "Open-"
"Whoa there!" Jackal grinned down at her, "I'd think twice before doing that."
Suddenly, there was a strange marking on the ground around Lucy. She froze from instinct, "What's this?"
"It's a Landmine Curse…the moment you move…pew!" the assassin chuckled, "Kaboom. Bye bye, blondie."
The civilians were still crowding around, trying to find out what was going on. Lucy shouted at them, "Everyone, get away from here! It's too dangerous!"
Jackal eyed the crowd with a whistle, "Now, that is a lot of humans…oh, something good just popped into my head!"
Without further ado, he flicked his hand at Michello, who hadn't even swam halfway across the river. The old man was surrounded in a dark bubble of energy and started scrambling in an effort to get away, "Stop! Quit that!"
Jackal ignored him and pointed at the humans below with his finger, "Eenie, meenie, miney…you!"
He pointed at a young woman and imprisoned her within an identical dark bubble. The woman gasped, "Wh-what is this?!"
Jackal announced loudly to the crowd, "They're both Time Bombs!"
Shrieks and screams of panic filled the air as the people ran off to escape the explosion range. In no time, they were alone.
Lucy stared at him, "What's the point of doing that?!"
"The point?" Jackal sneered evilly at her, "Ain't no damn point! I do it for fun! And guess who the lucky player of this game is? Ding ding! You! I'll detonate just one. You pick who lives!"
Lucy froze in horror, "Eh?"
"Please save me!" the woman cried as she covered her stomach, "I'm pregnant!"
Michello howled at Lucy desperately, "You came to protect me, right?! Save me!"
She glanced between them with wide eyes, but looked to Jackal again, who jumped onto the ground, "Please stop! Fight me fair and sq-"
"Non-negotiable," he yawned, "Ten seconds, clock's ticking!"
Lucy's face blanched bone white, "No…"
The woman was sobbing, murmuring to herself, "Don't worry, baby…momma is going to protect you…"
Michello shrieked, "What are you spacing out for?! I'm a former council member! The weight of our lives are on completely different scales!"
Lucy wanted to move, but Jackal pointed at her, "Hold up! If you move, you explode, then both of them are gonna join the fireworks show! Kuahahaha!"
"You're sick…" Lucy choked, squeezing her eyes shut. Was she seriously going to have to choose?
"SAVE ME!" Michello screamed, "I have more to offer this world! You shouldn't even have to think twice about it!"
Lucy couldn't look at him. Though she was supposed to protect him, there was no way she could weigh his life against the life of a mother and child. She was silently praying for a miracle, but there was just three seconds left. Lucy decided there was no choice but to save the woman.
"Now, who's gonna die on your watch, Fairy Tail?!" Jackal laughed.
"YOU ARE!"
With a furious roar, Sting crashed into Jackal, smashing his elbow into his enemy's neck. Jackal shrieked in pain and was sent flying away. As a result, the Bomb Spheres vanished and the Landmine Curse at Lucy's feet disappeared.
The Dragon Slayer turned around, "Are you okay, Lucy-!"
Lucy tackle-hugged him, burying her face in his chest, "Thank you!"
Sting grinned as she pulled back, "Sorry I'm late."
Wendy ran in behind them, "Are you okay, Lucy?!"
The woman whom Jackal had targeted collapsed and buried her face in her hands, "Oh god…"
Lector and Charle ran over to her, "It's okay now, but you need to evacuate!"
Michello seemed ecstatic for some reason, "I'm saved! I pulled through!"
WHAM!
Sting bashed the old man's head, knocking him out instantly, much to the shock of his teammates and Lucy's chagrin. The White Dragon snorted, "He was pissing me off. Go to sleep, old fart."
"You're really thick headed, aren't you?" Jackal growled as he staggered to his feet, "You touched me again, retard."
Sting's elbow glowed with the Bomb Curse, but he held his elbow and pressed his opposite hand to it, "I've got a way around this trick, now."
Jackal raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Trick?"
With a white flash, the marking changed form to a stigmata and glowed for a moment, then vanished.
Sting bared his fangs in a vicious smile, "See? All I gotta do is replace your mark with mine and…no kaboom. I hope you're ready to get served, you bomb bastard!"
Jackal's jaw dropped, "No way…now way, no way…that's not possible…"
"Wanna bet?" the White Dragon laughed.
"You…" the assassin stared, "Who the hell are you?"
"I thought I told you that!" he lunged with a crazy grin and punched Jackal in the face, "I'm Sting!"
Though Jackal was knocked down, he grinned, "You touched me again…kaboom..fireworks!"
Again, Sting created a stigmata over the Bomb Curse and negated it. Jackal's grin faded away as he paled.
"Are you deaf or something?" Sting demanded, "I figured your little trick out. It won't work on me anymore!"
Jackal was actually getting nervous. This enemy was quite powerful and with his Bomb Curse now deemed useless, he was running out of options. As Sting approached him, he found himself trembling.
Who is this guy?! A mere human is…giving me this sense of fear? No…is he actually human?!
Sting's fangs bared and suddenly, an aura of white amassed around him and took the shape of a roaring white dragon, regal and furious.
That was the tipping point for Jackal. Unable to contain himself, his body suddenly grew larger and his form began to shift into something less human.
Lucy's eyes widened, "Sting, watch out! He's morphing!"
Jackal's human form vanished, leaving a gigantic, werewolf-like beast with a scar over his left eye.
Sting froze in surprise, "Now he's a monster!"
"GRAAHHH!" Jackal roared, bringing a massive, clawed fist down on Sting. Though the Dragon Slayer blocked, the attack generated an explosion which made the earlier blasts pale in comparison. The sheer force alone sent the mages flying and devastated the houses nearby.
Sting endured the attack and snarled, "This asshole is gonna destroy the town!"
Lucy shrieked, "Sting, his power is rising! You have to take him down, now!"
Jackal struck again, but Sting blocked once more, this time with white flames emanating from his body, "Whitefire Dragon Mode!"
"Futile!" Jackal bellowed, "Humans are not capable of defeating demons like us!"
"Demons?!" Sting forced Jackal's fist back, "All of you guys are demons?!"
Jackal brought clawed hand up and charged intense curse power within it, "Perish, human!"
"Dream on!" with a roar, Sting launched a massive punch straight into the demon's face, stunning him, "Human is just scratching the surface! To protect our friends, we can surpass anything! Even if it means we have to destroy dragons, demons, or gods, we won't fall!"
Sting started to charge every ounce of his power in his fist, "Have a taste of what the Twin Dragons can do! Bursting White: Holy Supernova!"
The punch he unleashed packed so much energy that Jackal was fired through multiple buildings like a cannon shot before finally impacting a thick wall. The demon reverted to his human form and remained pinned up there for a moment before falling and crashing to the ground, totally defeated.
Lucy winked at the Dragon Slayer, "Who's destroying the town, now?"
Sting grinned back, but he'd forgotten about removing the Bomb Curse marks and exploded one more time before collapsing in exhaustion.
"Sting!" Lucy and Wendy ran over to him just as the exceed came back.
"We finished evacuating everyone!" Lector called over.
"Is everyone ok?" Charle asked.
Lucy sat down beside Sting and made sure he was ok, then sighed in relief, "That was a strong opponent…even you were having trouble against him."
"I won, anyway," he replied cheerfully.
"Yes, you did," Wendy agreed.
Charle looked over towards the demon, "Now we just have to figure out a way to get information of him…"
"Kuahahaha…"
The mages looked to where their enemy had collapsed with a startled look. He was still conscious?!
Jackal was face-down on the ground and totally immobile, but he managed to groan, "Ah…I really did get my ass handed to me…this is the first time I've gotten beaten like this."
He sighed, "This really sucks…my bad, Kyouka…But at the very least…I'll take these guys down with me…"
Jackal's body suddenly began to glow and torrents of energy started erupting from the ground, gathering around him. The earth began to shudder with an incredible force, building and building to dangerous levels.
"Wh-what's going on?!" Lucy gasped.
If Charle could pale any further, she would've been see-through, "He's going to blow up the entire town!"
"Stop it!" screeched Lector.
Jackal sneered, "Too late…I myself am the explosive. I can't stop it, even if it kills me. Look on the bright side! We can meet again in hell! Kuahaha!"
Wendy looked horrified, "What do we do?! The town is going to-"
"LECTOR!" Sting roared. The exceed immediately picked him up and flew him towards Jackal, whom the Dragon Slayer grabbed with one arm. Using all his strength, Lector started flying as fast and high as he could.
"Sting!" Charle shouted, "What do you think you're doing?!
"What the hell?! Quit it!" Jackal snarled in surprise.
Sting growled back, "Like hell we will!"
"As if we'd ever lose to guys like you!" Lector snickered.
"STING, LECTOR, GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Lucy shrieked.
With every bit of strength he had left, Sting hurled Jackal upwards and sucked in a breath simultaneously, "White Dragon's Roar!"
The laser caught Jackal in the stomach and rocketed him straight up, further away from the town while the demon screamed in fury, "GODDAMMIT!"
An instant later, Jackal exploded, creating a fireball in the sky so large it eclipsed the sun. At the same time, the shock wave generated a burst of sound that made it seem like the world was ending. Lucy, Wendy, and Charle squeezed their eyes shut and avoided looking at the massive blast. The intense heat overhead seared their skin for several moments, then faded away.
The girls opened their eyes and looked up, seeing a massive debris cloud in the air, but no sign of the Dragon Slayer and exceed. They stared in desperation, waiting for the smoke to clear.
A red blur came down with its blonde cargo, stopping just under the smoke. Both of them were smoking from heat and ragged, but alive. And that was what mattered.
Lector grinned, "That was a close one!"
"Sure was," Sting laughed.
Below them, Lucy, Wendy, and Charle sighed in relief.
