I had a surprisingly difficult time writing this chapter. With such a lack of information on Kagura's attacks, I tried to make it as best I could without trolling you the way we were trolled in the manga. I'm sorry, Kagura was so downgraded in the manga. She was built up to be this monster and got KO'd by Erza after she basically owned her. In one shot, nonetheless. Then Minerva stabbed her and Kagura officially became fodder in the tournament. Why Mashima, WHY?! Oh well, with that rant aside, I hope you enjoy the chapter and thanks for reading!
Chapter 29: Erza vs Kagura
Natsu frowned, trying to make sure he'd just heard the women in the arena correctly. Their voices had been soft so no one else had heard, but his keen hearing had definitely caught the words. He was just having trouble believing them. Did I just hear that right? That Kagura woman…What's her connection to Jellal?
"Natsu?"
He blinked and glanced to the side. Lisanna was watching him with concern, "Is something wrong?"
"…No..it's nothing…" he answered, turning back to the fight.
/
Erza summoned a sword and slashed down, while Kagura brought her sheathed blade up and parried, then forced her opponent's sword back with surprising strength and slashed back.
Erza leaped aside just in time to avoid the swing, but the ground where she'd been standing a moment earlier was sliced from the force, making her eyes widen in surprise. This is..!
/
"Wha-Without unsheathing the blade?!" Lucy gasped.
Sting's eyes grew wide, "What the hell kind of fighting style is that?!"
"Rogue, you're a swordsman. Have you ever seen something like this?" Gray asked, glancing at the Shadow Dragon.
Rogue shook his head, "Never. I didn't even know it was possible to cut with a sheathed blade."
/
Milianna smiled with fiendish delight, "If Kagura unsheathed her sword, there would be a cataclysm."
/
Erza leaped back to put some distance between them and cursed herself, "How could I have forgotten? Milianna did mention such a sword style the other day..It's impressive, as expected."
"One does not compliment their enemy in the middle of a battle. Especially with a life on the line." Kagura replied, readying her sword and charging Erza again.
Titania requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor and summoned a mass of blades, "Blumenblatt!"
Kagura kept coming, but a wave of magic erupted from her body and sent the oncoming blades straight into the ground.
/
Happy gasped, "How'd she do that?!"
Cana's eyes narrowed, "I get it. It's like that guy from Grimoire Heart."
"Bluenote. That woman can use Gravity Magic too, huh?" Natsu mused.
Freed scratched his chin thoughtfully, "So, her techniques that involve hitting her opponent with a large number of swords aren't useful, here."
Mavis's eyes narrowed, "That isn't what I'd be concerned about."
/
With a tch, Erza took two swords in her hands and slashed in a delta formation, "Trinity Sword!"
"Blade of Resentment, Archenemy." Kagura murmured. The two attacks met, but Erza was blown backwards as her opponent's slash overpowered her own, "Style of the Undrawn Longsword."
As Erza regained her footing, Kagura dropped to the ground and touched it with her hand. The mass of swords buried in the ground suddenly floated back up and pointed themselves at Erza, who's eyes widened in surprise.
A ghost of a smile touched Kagura's face, "Learn to keep your biggest cards for last, Titania."
The blades flew at Erza, who requipped to her Adamantine Armor and put the giant shield up to block.
When the swords bounced off easily, Kagura rushed her, "Blade of Resentment, Slashing Form!" Erza cried out as the undrawn blade cut through the Adamantine Armor like it was paper and inflicted serious damage.
/
"Th-this is incredible! Kagura's overpowering Erza at her leisure!" Chapati stammered.
Jason pumped his fists, "Cool!"
/
"No way!" Elfman shouted.
Yukino gasped, "But- that armor's capable of stopping a blast from Jupiter's cannon!"
"She still hasn't even drawn her sword…" Natsu managed, eyes wide.
/
Mira grabbed the railing and shouted, "Erza!"
Gajeel's jaw dropped, "O-oi, seriously..?"
"Now I've seen everything." Ur muttered.
Laxus said nothing, just raised an eyebrow in immense surprise.
/
Kagura came to a stop and turned around as Erza staggered to her feet, "I'm just getting started."
Titania glared at her, "Not bad, but one strike does not guarantee a victory."
"If you're coming, then come on." Kagura challenged.
Erza requipped to her Black Wing Armor and readied her blade with a fierce look in her eyes. The women charged again, blades meeting once more, but this time there was less of a difference.
Kagura's eyes flashed in surprise when Erza pressed her and made her skid back before flying past her and slashing quickly, "Moon Flash!"
Crying out as she was hit, Kagura managed to keep her footing and spun towards Erza as she recovered, lunging forward with a stabbing motion, "Strong Form!"
Titania turned and requipped in time to meet the stab with her Giant's Armor Spear, but the weapon was destroyed upon contact with Archenemy. In a split second, she went into her Soaring Armor and leaped back, managing to dodge the stab and charge Kagura again.
The other mage held her sword up and shouted, "Guard Form!"
"Sonic Claw!" Erza cried, slashing at Kagura repeatedly as she flew past her. Kagura's mouth set in a line of determination as she blocked.
Suddenly, Erza's eyes widened as the attacks she'd delivered to Kagura suddenly cut her own body and made her hit the ground hard.
/
"The tide of the battle keeps going back and forth! Erza took control for a short time, but now Kagura has made a comeback!" Chapati shouted.
"Cool!" Jason cheered, echoing the crowd.
/
Lucy covered her mouth with her hands, "Erza..took the damage from her own attack?"
"Who is this chick?!" Gray asked, utterly stunned.
Sting swallowed nervously, "Who would've thought someone like that was here..I definitely didn't see another high level sword mage like Erza coming. Unreal…"
Rogue's eyes narrowed, "There isn't a single wasted movement. Everything she does has a purpose...This Kagura is truly a master of the blade…"
/
Erza got up to her feet, breathing heavily, "This is an eye opener..I never would've suspected that someone like you would be here…That said…" She took a few deep breaths and steadied herself, then requipped to her Purgatory Armor and glared at Kagura fiercely, "I have no intention of losing to you. Prepare yourself."
Kagura's eyes narrowed, "Oh? Is that your strongest armor?"
Erza smiled, "No. You'll see my strongest armor when you unsheathe your blade."
The other woman shrugged in disappointment, "I suppose I'll be waiting a while, then." Kagura readied herself, then charged Erza once more. Titania waited for her to approach, then slashed straight down with the huge, spiked black mace.
Kagura raised her sword to block, but grunted in shock when the force of the blow made her drop to one knee.
Not missing a beat, Erza requipped to her Sea Empress Armor, kicking Kagura in the jaw to send her flying, then slashing with a blade of water.
Kagura skidded to a stop and blocked the water, but then cried out when Erza, now in her Lightning Empress Armor, hit her with multiple beams of lightning that created an explosion.
/
"Turnaround! Erza's on top again! Can Kagura keep up with Titania's swift requipping?!"
"Cool!"
/
Natsu grinned, "That's better."
"Go, Erza!" Lisanna cheered.
Happy and Frosch started jumping, "Win! Win! Win!"
Pantherlily crossed his arms, "It's not over yet."
Makarov nodded, "Both of them are still capable of fighting."
/
Kagura swiftly recovered and stood back up, facing Erza once more with narrowed eyes, "Impressive. As expected, you have not been granted the name, "Titania" for nothing."
Erza smiled wryly, "Didn't you say a moment ago that one does not compliment their enemy when fighting with a life on the line?"
Kagura legitimately smiled in amusement, "So I did. It seems I've contradicted myself. But Erza..I don't intend to lose, either."
She rushed her again as Erza requipped into her Morning Star Armor and charged as well. Kagura brought her sword back and swung diagonally, "Slashing Form!"
"Photon Slicer!" Erza shouted.
The two blades collided and created a huge explosion from the force, sending up a cloud of smoke that obscured the vision of everyone in the colosseum.
/
"Awesome! The two Swordswoman mages! They're powers are virtually equal!" Chapati exclaimed.
"Cool!"
/
"That's more like our Erza!" Gray said with a grin.
Lucy looked a little nervous, "But is she okay after that?"
"It takes more than a little explosion to put Erza down." Sting assured. "Believe me, I've learned that the hard way." The White Dragon admitted ruefully, probably recalling a previous fight with Erza as a kid.
/
The smoke cleared to reveal both Erza and Kagura still facing off, staring each other down menacingly. Kagura settled into another stance and readied her blade, "This is getting us nowhere. I am not prepared to lose when information regarding Jellal's whereabouts is on the line."
"Is that where your power is coming from? Is your hatred what makes you so powerful?" Erza asked.
Kagura's eyes darkened, "Enough talk, Titania. Prepare yourself." Her finger slowly dropped to the hilt of her blade and her thumb pushed it out of the sheath ever so slightly.
Erza braced herself, ready to do anything from dodging to blocking the oncoming attack. Here it comes…
Then the bell gonged.
/
"Time's up! The match is over! Since both competitors are still standing, Fairy Tail A Team and Mermaid Heel both earn five points!" Chapati declared.
Yajima nodded, "It was a close fight, one that I wish I could've seen to the end, but we can't watch them cut each other to ribbons all day."
"COOL!" Jason screamed.
/
Sting let out a tense breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding in, "A draw, huh…Well, five points isn't so bad…"
"My heart was in my mouth…" Lucy sighed.
Gray shrugged, "It's too bad time ran out, but Erza would've won anyways."
Rogue's eyes were narrowed. Would she really? If Kagura had time to unsheathe her sword…
/
Kagura walked past Erza silently. Titania caught her eye as she passed, "Our bet is irrelevant since it turned out as a draw."
"This is not the end. I will find Jellal, Erza Scarlet, mark my words." Kagura retorted, leaving the arena with an air of indifference.
/
"With the final battle of day two over, we'll now post the current rankings!" Chapati announced.
/
1st. Raven Tail (31pt.)
2nd. Sabertooth (30pt.)
3rd. Fairy Tail B (25pt.)
4th. Fairy Tail A (16pt.)
5th. Blue Pegasus (15pt.)
6th. Lamia Scale (11pt.)
7th. Quatro Puppy (10pt.)
8th. Mermaid Heel (8pt.)
/
"Unbelievable! Raven Tail has stolen Sabertooth's crown! Can Fiore's strongest guild reclaim it?! Or will Fairy Tail, rising quickly in the rankings, manage to claim it for themselves?!" Chapati exclaimed.
Yajima nodded, "It seems these next few days are going to have some intense battles between those three guilds…But that doesn't mean we should forget the other four in the competition! Slow and steady may yet win the race!"
"They're all so COOL!" Jason screamed.
Chapati cleared his throat, "With that, day two has been concluded! Our competitors should rest up for tomorrow and come back ready to rumble! Look forward to it!"
The crowd cheered with the conclusion and started to filter out of the stadium.
/
Rocker and the rest of his team blanched at the scoreboard, "Um..our guild's name..it became Quatro Puppy…"
Bacchus roared with laughter, "Can't be helped! It was a bet between men! Gahahahaha!"
/
Jellal shook his head in bewilderment. What's going on here? Two days have passed, yet the magical energy we feel every year has not shown itself…
/
Natsu watched Kagura walk off the field intently. He'd heard their last exchange of words as well.
I don't know why you're after Jellal, but I'll find out, if Erza doesn't first.
Frosch poked him with a stick.
Natsu recoiled and stared at her, "What was that for?!"
"You spaced out again." Lisanna said, a little amused, but also concerned, "Are you sure you're alright? You've been kinda out of it since the fight started…"
Natsu sighed, "Yeah. I'm just tired…I think I'll turn in early."
Happy blinked and used Frosch's stick to clean his ears for a moment, "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I think I just heard you say you wanted to go to bed early."
"Fro thinks so too!" Frosch said, taking her stick back and whacking Happy over the head with the piece of wood for using it to clean his ears.
Natsu laughed, "Well, that fight earlier wasn't easy…Don't worry about it, I'll hang with you guys tomorrow! Come on, let's go!"
He walked off with Happy and the others behind him, but Lisanna stared. Go to bed early? That's not something Natsu usually does…What happened? Is he really just tired?
After a moment of consideration, she followed the rest of her guild. I'll find out, Natsu. You're no good at hiding things from me.
/
Arcadios walked down the halls of Mercurius, but a voice halted him, "Chief Arcadios."
He glanced behind him to see a short old man facing him, "Minister of Defense, Darton."
"Exactly what is it you think you're doing?" he demanded.
Arcadios frowned, "What do you mean?"
The old man sighed, "I'm not a fool. You tried to obtain one of the Celestial Mages earlier. Isn't that rather premature?"
Arcadios turned completely to face him, "I wanted to try a test run as quickly as possible."
Darton shook his head, "Too early! It's not even completed yet!"
"Sir, your voice is a little loud. But more importantly…" Arcadios grinned, "It's already finished."
Darton visibly paled, "I beg your pardon?!"
The Squadron Chief nodded, "It was for the sake of the budget that we said it was incomplete. As long as the Celestial Mages are still present, we'll be able to use Eclipse."
"That's preposterous…You finished something like that in a mere seven years…" Darton whispered.
Arcadios turned away, "It's common knowledge that you are opposed to this plan, but we cannot stop now that we've come so far."
The old man sweated nervously, "What sort of demon are you?!"
Arcadios laughed, "For the sake of his King and country, a man can become a demon or even a god. For the sake of changing the world, a single girl's life is rather cheap."
/
The King was in his library, frowning as he went through records. He muttered to himself, "The Salamander wasn't the strongest Dragon Slayer nine years ago? I have yet to see any records here of any Dragon Slayer that was beyond him at that time…"
He sighed and put the record in his hand aside, reaching for another covered in dust, "Arcadios, you've always had an odd sense of humor, but pulling my leg like this is-!"
The King froze, staring at a description in the record he held. After a few minutes of reading it, then reading it over again to confirm it was real, the short man put the record down with shaky fingers.
Such an event really occurred…I..do not know if what happened makes him stronger than the Salamander, but…that..would it be right to even call him a human?! One who could wreak such terror...
/
That was the end of the Grand Magic Game's second day. Five more days to the fated day.
