Chapter 28: Love Horror

*heart soars in joy* Thank you so much for the reviews my dedicated readers! I've gotten another new reader to give this story of mine a chance! :) Anyways, I finished typing this earlier than expected…honestly, I can't wait to put all the Oscura Siete members in a clash with Fairy Tail! I'm still in the middle of designing their characters' natures and tweaking them a little, hmm…well, enjoy!

"20 SECONDS!" Luna called out.

"FINISH HER OFF, TOMOE!" Amanda screeched.

Lucy's eyes rounded in horror as the cruel reality struck her; neither side was winning though Amanda and Delaney were having ascendancy over this match.

Chikusõ…!

She contemplated whether or not she should open Cancer's gate as well. The risk of losing her life summoning more than one celestial spirit on any one occasion was definitely at an all-time high. Besides, her magic was not yet highly developed, she knew that.

We're in a tight spot…!

I can't risk losing this match after both Vannessa and Erza won theirs…!

She clenched her fists tightly, her eyes never leaving the yawning darkness inside the hole. She could hardly make out anything, other than sporadic movements. She wondered if Virgo was alright down there.

"Don't worry…" a soft, empathetic voice whispered into her ear.

Instinctively, Lucy's head snapped to the side. Her face mirrored the confusion she felt; there was no one anywhere near her. The voice sounded unfamiliar to her.

"This match will be ours…"

"Who are you?" she murmured.

Lucy felt a cold rush of air, caress her cheek.

Faint laughter could be heard. "You will know when you see me…"

Vannessa watched as Micaiah headed for the hole, a small smile playing on her lips.

"All you have to do is get Virgo to play along as well!" Vannessa had told her. "A little cheating wouldn't hurt."

Micaiah did not like the cunning gleam in her wielder's purple eyes but did not say anything.

The pink-haired mage suddenly felt guilty at being dishonest; she had dragged a hesitant Micaiah into it as well. She had weighed her options carefully but it was not like she had much that did not involve being deceitful anyway.

But it's a dark trait to have…

She trembled slightly but her face remained passive.

Twenty seconds isn't a lot of time…

Plus, this match was unfair, in terms of gender difference. Vannessa knew that she was trying to reason with herself for her deviousness.

The main thing is I cheated…

"10 SECONDS!"

An abrupt shriek brought her out of her reverie. Without warning, Tomoe was hurled out of the hole and landed on the ground beside it, on her back. Her face had turned a sickly shade of white.

"Tomoe-chan, what happened?" Amanda gasped in distress, her hands covering her mouth. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

Vannessa hid her smile with her hand.

That comment is literal, you know…

Tomoe did not answer her owner but disintegrated into white sparkles just as Virgo stepped out of the hole, herself followed by Micaiah, hovering just behind her right shoulder. Micaiah gave Vannessa a thumbs-up and the Dragon Slayer shot her an inconspicuous smile in response.

I wonder what happened down there…

The nineteen-year-old made a mental note to ask Micaiah about it later. More importantly, they won second round despite a little gruesome assistance from a Wraith.

"Hey Lucy, what happened to that celestial spirit?" Natsu demanded as soon as he caught up with her. "That girl said she saw a ghost down there. Was there really a ghost?"

Lucy, herself was unsure of the details unfortunately.

Did I really hear a voice whispering in my ear…?

At that moment, Micaiah whined as she padded up to the blond-haired girl. Icy blue met warm brown in a mutual understanding.

"I'll promise to tell you all about it later," Vannessa whispered when the blond-haired girl had sat down beside her.

"Does that mean that Virgo can transform into a ghost too?" Natsu continued, looking thrilled by the prospect.

"I guess you could say that," Vannessa answered for Lucy, laughing.

"Miss Cordelia and Miss Cevelt, you're up next," Luna nodded at two remaining female mages before turning to the Fairy Tail mages. "I trust you two are last ones to conclude this test, Miss Grace Fullbuster and Miss Juvia Loxar."

The way she spoke sounded more of a statement than a question. Both Gray and Juvia stepped up to replace both Lucy's and Natsu's positions just as an auburn-haired beauty and a nineteen-year-old girl wearing a nurse's uniform respectively sauntered forward.

Juvia flared in anger and jealousy as she glared accusingly at the two women. Instinctively, she edged closer to her crush protectively while shooting defiant 'He's mine!' looks.

"As mentioned in the previous two matches, both weapons and magics are permitted," Luna told the four of them. "Hajime!"

Without missing a beat, Cevelt went for a jealous Juvia while Cordelia dove for her crush.

Juvia flicked her wrists at Cevelt. "Water Slicer!"

Cevelt dodged the razor-sharp blades of water that was capable of heavy damage. She smirked. "So, you are a Water element user." She had a slight French accent.

"Indeed," Juvia retorted coolly as she kept up the water barrage. Cevelt flipped her body backwards and sideways, varying her positions every few seconds to avoid the attacks. She faced her palms outwards before her. "Aqua Fontainé!"

Twin cerulean colored magic circles erupted out of her palms just as whips made of water flew out of her hands. The two waves of opposing water attacks collided with each other, sending water droplets in every direction. They were evenly matched.

"THREE MINUTES!"

Meanwhile, Gray narrowly avoided another slash by Cordelia's sword but lost his balance, tripping over his high-heels. With a startled yelp, he fell and landed heavily on his back. The tight miniskirt and high-heels were impeding him.

"Damn it!" he cussed under his breath and rolled out of the way, as the blade swung past his left cheek, cutting a lock of his dark-colored wig in the process. Then, he took the chance to freeze the falling globules of water in mid-air, turning the liquid into solid jagged icicles. Kicking off those bothersome shoes, he leapt up and spun to add more leverage before executing a perfect flying kick, directing it at the icicles. The icicles hurtled towards Cordelia, their razor-sharp ends pointing at the girl. However, Cordelia batted them away from her with her sword. Like Natsu, he did not like to hurt a woman, just like when he did Juvia during the Phantom Arc, unless he had no other choice.

But for some reason or other, she would always cling to him like an annoying child does to his parents…

I wonder why…

The auburn-haired mage sprang for him, her sword at the ready. Skillfully, he designed a long sword made out of his ice magic and met hers in a burst of sparks. He gritted his teeth, pushing his entire weight in opposition to hers. Both of them leapt back, breathing hard.

"GRAY-SAMA, SUTEKI!" Juvia exclaimed in a high-pitched childish voice.

"JUVIA! LOOK OUT!" Gray yelled when he saw Cevelt performing another water attack on an unsuspecting Juvia. Without wasting any time, the ice mage lunged for her and grabbed her waist just as Cevelt's watery whips lashed out.

"GRAY-SAMAAAAA!" Juvia sighed in bliss as her crush tightened his hold on her waist. "Juvia, shiawase da wa."
The eighteen-year-old was completely ignorant of the fact that she had just avoided major damage, thanks to Gray.

"Juvia, are you alright?" he demanded, pulling her to her feet once he was sure that it was safe.

Juvia's eyes widened at the sudden close proximity between the two of them and she gasped.

Ahh, Juvia's heart…

Indeed her heart was pounding so hard, she felt like it was going to pop out of her chest.

Apparently, she was caught off-guard by that and duly fainted in his arms.

"Oi, Oi!" Gray yelled, shaking her shoulders aggressively. "Shikari shite-yo!"

Despite his efforts, the girl was out cold with a silly smile on her face. As much as he hated to admit it, she looked adorable. He frowned and shook his head violently to rid himself of these disturbing thoughts.

Just then, Luna held up one hand thus stopping halting the match.

"Miss Juvia Loxar has fainted due to unknown circumstances. According to rules of this test, matches will end when either one of the two mages or both have lost within the time limit as stated. Normally, if such an incident occurs, there can be a replacement of mages made available as an option. However, Miss Juvia Loxar has fainted just after the given time limit. I proclaim this match, a draw!"