The crowd watched in awe as Lucia had stolen Erza's weapon away from her. This wouldn't have been such a shock if the Flame Armor hadn't been forcibly disabled from Titania as well. Lucia's bold statement, telling Erza she could defeat her without even drawing her sword caused the audience to go into a hushed silence. The long haired bluenette stared at Erza with a smile that oozed confidence. "Did you like my trick? A former member of the Wizard Hunters taught it to me while he was still within our ranks. I think you know him as Roy these days? It's called Thief's Hand."
"Unbelievable!" Chapati shouted. "It seems that Lucia has stolen Erza's own weapon, and requip away from her! How will Titania respond!?"
"How did she…?" Jack rubbed his eyes, trying to make sure he was seeing things correctly. "Stealing her weapon is one thing, but…!?"
"Ugh, look at her." Diamond huffed. "I can feel the arrogance oozing off of every inch of her body!"
"Her confident goes beyond my charts." Joker stated flatly.
"This woman…I feel like I've seen her before…" Heartless couldn't quite remember, though.
"Haha…" Yeager chuckled at this turn of events. "Oh, my dear sister. Ever so talented. Not only is she blessed with the Silverwind magic, but she is also the holder of Excalibur, and an ability to master any and every weapon that she touches. Of course her skill is unparalleled, as not even I have been able to best her in combat since we were but kids, but I do hope that her confidence doesn't blind her to actual threats."
"Come on Erza, kick her ass!" Natsu shouted.
"Yeah, you can win!" Happy added from the sidelines. As far as most of Team Fiore was concerned, Lucia was in for a surprise if she thought she could underestimate Erza Scarlet of all people.
"She's digging her own grave." Minerva rolled her eyes.
Lucia's arrogance made Erza scoff. To think there was someone who was more confident than Reve. "I'll make you regret your decision." A heavenly glow appeared around Erza's body once more, this time donning her Heaven's Wheel armor. Without wasting any time, Erza flew into the air, summoning numerous blades at her side, all pointed down at Lucia. "Heaven's Wheel!" Pointing her arm down, these blades began to bombard the leader of the Wizard Hunters.
Lucia's borrowed flame sword flickered before roaring to life in a glorious blaze. "Flame Edge!" Swinging her sword a single time produced an incredible blast of heat that knocked most of the swords out of the air and scattered them elsewhere. The action was repeated for the rest of the swords she couldn't take out in a single swing. It took two effortless swings to take out the Heaven's Wheel, but Erza herself was diving down, raising two blades up to slash at Lucia! Lucia smirked and brought her blade up, clashing with Erza's own. Sparks flew from the collision of blades. "Is that the best you can do?"
"This is only a warm up!" Erza pulled back, charging in once more while using the power of flight to her advantage. She circled around Lucia, swinging her sword downward for a diagonal slice across her foe's lower left rib, but that slash was parried and forced Erza off to the side. Gritting her teeth, Titania tried once again, keeping close while aiming both swords for Lucia's chest in a slashing X motion. As Erza brought her swords down, Lucia brought hers up, blocking the strike and a shockwave boomed out from their power. "Gh…!"
"Hm!" Lucia used her physical prowess to push Erza away, then immediately pursued as the flames on her blade grew stronger than before. "Pyre Havoc!" The Wizard Hunter brought the flaming edge forward, aiming a fierce vertical slash for Erza's midsection. This blow was blocked but the sheer power behind it caused Erza to stagger and nearly broke her guard. The second hit was also blocked, but Erza hadn't regained her footing, so it ultimately broke her stance and left her exposed for the third hit; a rising, diagonal slash that sliced across Erza's stomach up to her shoulder. The sheer might of the attack sent Titania soaring backwards.
"Gaaaah!" Erza cried out in pain as the searing sensation shook her entire body. Even if she had her Flame Armor active, she wasn't certain if it would've been able to withstand a blow like that. Gritting her teeth, she flipped and stabbed her swords into the ground, bringing her momentum to a halt a few yards away from the arena wall.
"Well well, it seems her foe knows her way around a sword." Calium remarked. "I've heard of that magic. It's rare, but it's called Master of Arms. As long as I've lived, I've never seen anyone actually master it until now."
"I wonder if she will lose to her own sword…" Helena questioned aloud. That was the one thing everyone outside of Team Fiore was wondering.
"…" Elieen was silent. Not because she wanted to be, but because she couldn't speak without Prometheus allowing her to. It angered her and it was clear.
Erza took a deep breath, standing up to see that Lucia was allowing her to change her tactics. She was beginning to get a grasp on the type of opponent she was facing. "I see. Allow me a different approach then." Erza changed her attire entirely, shifting to the Flight Armor with the Wind and Water God Swords at her disposal. With the speed of the Flight Armor, she barreled towards Lucia in the blink of an eye, now slashing at her several times from various angle! Erza was a blur even to the trained eye and no one in the audience could fall her movements. All they could see was Lucia shifting around accordingly, swinging her blade to block and parry Erza's attacks. Whenever it collided with the Water God's Sword, steam filled the area, slowly covering the two of them in a cloud of steam. "Now's my chance!" This was what Erza was waiting for. With Lucia's sight obscured, Erza had her opening! "Sonic Claw!" Speeding from the cloud of steam, all anyone could see were slashes before Erza appeared on the opposite side with her two swords held in front of her.
As the steam cleared, Lucia had not a scratch on her. "Is that all? I'm still waiting to be wowed."
Erza's eyes widened at this result. "What…!?"
"She blocked every hit!?" Lector gasped.
"Yeah." Reve responded. His eyes saw it all happen in slow motion. Erza struck at the speed of sound, but Lucia was capable of using her borrowed sword to block and parry every strike with the utmost precision. He was certain that Lucia was baiting Erza into this fight, but now that he saw that, he was certain this was nothing more than an enemy trap. "She's not going to win."
"Can it, asshole!" Natsu angrily shouted. "Come on Erza!"
"You can do it!" Lucy shouted.
Erza took a deep breath before a subtle smirk appeared on her lips. While she had an inkling Sonic Claw would fail, she did have a contingency in mind. By using the Water God's sword, she scattered tons of water all across the arena, especially near Lucia. "Let's see how you handle this!" In an instant, she dropped both blades in favor of the Lightning God's Lance. She stabbed the lance in the ground, releasing an electric discharge and used the water as a conductor!
"You think I didn't notice your novice trick!?" Lucia almost felt insulted! She stabbed the blazing edge into the sword, releasing a wave of heat that turned the water into steam! This wave of heat also overpowered the electric discharge, causing it to explode and fill the arena with smoke. "I'm tired of playing defense. I think I'll switch things up now!" Sprinting forward with speeds that would make Erza's Flight Armor jealous, Lucia appeared in front of Titania, thrusting her blade forward for Erza's chest! Erza managed to block this with her lance, but Lucia's strength was consistently forcing her backwards.
"I just…wanted you to get close!" Erza grinned as she dropped her lance, shifting her body to the side while wrapping her arms around Lucia's sword arm. As she did this, she changed into her Giant's Armor, using the physical strength boost and Lucia's own momentum to flip her over and slam her back into the ground!
"Ack…!" Lucia's eyes widened briefly in pain as she bounced off the ground with tremendous force. Before she had the chance to register what happened, Erza then swung her armored fist at Lucia's chest, knocking her away!
"She got a hit!" Kagura said.
"I knew she could it." Jellal said with a prideful smile.
"Yeah, that's it!" Bacchus laughed.
"Are the tables turning!?" Chapati asked.
"Boss!" Yumia and Yukia cried out. It was rare for anyone to get the better of Lucia like that!
Lucia tumbled for a split second, jumping to land on her feet. She rotated her shoulder, a smile now crossing her lips after that result. "So you got one over on me. Maybe this will be just as entertaining as I hoped!" And she started to sprint forward yet again!
"I will take you down!" Erza shifted to her Morning Star Armor, equipping the matching blades as she intended to meet Lucia halfway. Just as before, their swords met and another shockwave boomed out from their raw power. The two were engaged in a fierce sword dance, neither giving in. Two blades against one and Lucia was still easily holding her own.
"Neither side is backing down! It's a fierce display for dominance. Which one will come out on top!?" Chapati yelled into the mic.
Erza was using this chance to charge up energy into her swords. When she felt she had enough, she pointed the two blades forward after taking a step back, preparing to launch an attack from point blank. "Photon Slicer!"
It seemed as though Lucia had the same idea. As she took a step back, she pointed her sword forward in tandem with Erza. "Hell Fire Blade!" From Lucia's sword, a sphere of flame shot forth, and from Erza's, a condense blast of magic was released. These two attacks met at point blank range, immediately resulting in a powerful explosion that damaged and blew both combatants backwards! "Whoa…!"
"Ngh…!" Erza barely managed to catch herself. That explosion nearly did as much damage as her attack could've dealt. Erza peered into the smoke, waiting for Lucia to emerge, but…
"Above you!" Sting warned.
Erza looked up and there she was. Lucia was high in the air, cloaked in a veil of flames. "Fierce Hell Fire Blade!" The Hunter exclaimed. There was no time for Erza to dodge; all she could do was block the incoming strike. Lucia landed on top of Erza and a devastating explosion of flame occurred.
"Ngggh!" Erza was still thrown back despite her stance, pieces of her Morning Star Armor destroyed from the impact. As she tumbled, she saw that Lucia was actually still giving pursuit, not giving her a lot of time to think. The distance she had was ample enough to retaliate. Erza donned her Wing Blade Armor, the spinning swords moving on their own to assault and delay Lucia.
Lucia had also been damaged by the explosion. There were some bruises and burn marks on her body and tattered white shirt, but it was easy for her to press on. As the blades came her way, she swatted them down one by one with easy swings of her sword. "Did you really think those swords would buy you time?"
"Did you think you could escape my blades without being cut!?" Erza retorted.
"…" Lucia felt it. A blade had sliced into her thigh, but she continued to press on, unfazed by it. "Your cuts are only skin deep!" With a malicious smile, Lucia slid to a halt, turning on her heel as she aimed a horizontal slash at Erza's shoulder. It hit and burned Erza to the core, causing her to cry out as she was forced off to the side. It would've been more beneficial to send her closer to the arena's edge, but Lucia simply refused that sort of outcome.
Erza was certainly on the losing end of this battle, but she refused to give up! Standing up once more, she drew but one conclusion on how to defeat Lucia. Her Clear Heart Armor was her answer, throwing away all defense for the sake of offense. There were two blades at her side and it seemed nothing special in the moment. "I will defeat you here and now."
"Oh, is that a fact?" Lucia lifted a brow. "How do you intend to do that when you can hardly lay a finger on me?"
"High Enchant!" Erza proclaimed. This caused her two swords to light up in two different elements: the flames of a Fire Dragon, and the ice of a devil. "Fire Dragon's Flames; Ice Demon's Frigid Air!"
"What the…!?" Alex's eyes widened. "When could she do that!?"
"….." Elieen, once again, could say nothing.
"Ooooh!" Natsu's eyes were wide with excitement.
"That's new." Luke remarked.
"Hmmm…" Zelos stroked his chin quietly. "Erza-chan with new tricks? I think I just fell in love with her a little bit more." Naturally that comment caught Jellal's attention but he tried to play it off.
"Enchanting? Now that's interesting." Lucia bent her knees, taking a different stance. "A lovely dance of fire and ice." The ice of a devil made Ecailbur shine. The blade was begging to be released, but Lucia held fast due to her earlier statement.
"Natsu….Gray, lend me your strength." Erza thought to herself before swinging both swords in an X formation. This prompted a cross wave of fire and ice to shoot towards Lucia!
"Hmph!" Lucia brought her sword down, clashing with the mixture of fire and ice. The struggle only lasted a few seconds before she cleanly sliced through it and focused on the approaching Erza. With the blazing sword, Erza attempted to cut Lucia's shoulder, but this strike was blocked and she fired back with a kick to Erza's gut, sending her staggering back. Erza recovered and swung the frigid blade down at Lucia's arm, but missed and hit the ground instead. She followed up with a thrust from the flaming sword, but Lucia stepped to the side to evade it. While she did this, she found that her other foot was stuck. "Wh-!?"
Erza was never aiming for Lucia's arm. She hit the ground where Lucia's foot was, using the ice to keep her in place. "You're open!" Pushing off, Erza's foot collided against Lucia's cheek; the swift kick to the face was strong enough to free Lucia and make her stagger, where Erza then followed up by spreading her arms apart, holding the blades at her sides as she closed the little distance between them. "Fire and Ice Blade!" Erza slashed Lucia in an X formation, cleaving the woman's chest as the flames of a dragon and ice of a devil burned into her body!
"GAAAH!" Lucia actually cried out in pain from this painful direct hit!
"BOSS!" Yumia and Yukia were exceedingly worried. It had been years since they saw their leader like this!
"Oh, worry not girls…" Yeager said with a small grin. "I think my dear sister is actually enjoying herself."
Right as Yeager said that, Lucia's pained expression turned into one of excitement. "Now this is wonderful!" She recovered from the blow like nothing! There was blood staining her white clothing as there was an X mark gash on her chest, but she took it in stride.
"What…!?" Now Erza was really shocked. A direct hit like that would have incapacitated most anyone!
"It's been so long since I've been able to cut loose like this. I wonder if you can keep up!" Lucia held her sword up, the flames igniting once more, only they grew even more dangerous. Silver wind started to swirl around the flames, feeding them and making them stronger in more ways than one. The properties of Silver Wind magic augmented the flames, turning them from orange to silver! "Silver Strike!" Lucia then brought her blade down towards Erza, who feebly attempted to block it. The blade sliced through the arena, exploding violently and tossed Erza into the air after sustaining heavy damage.
"Kuh!" Erza was feeling it now. But she couldn't stop yet. She saw Lucia lunging from below and dove to kick her in the face again, but Lucia saw through this and twisted her body around Erza's leg, much to Titania's surprise. "Ah…!"
"You won't get that kind of strike on me again, Titania!" Lucia grinned while returning the favor, spinning her body around to slam her boot into Erza's cheek, forcing her down towards the ground. "And here's a parting gift!" Another swing of her sword caused another Sliver Strike to pursue Erza!
If that hit her she wasn't sure she'd survive it! Erza grit her teeth, swinging her twin blades in tandem to clash with the Silver Strike. She couldn't stop it entirely, but she was able to greatly reduce its impact as it slammed her into the ground, bruised and burned, but as Erza always did, she stood. "Ngh…" Lucia was unbelievably strong, but Erza believed she could win this. She just needed a push…another direct hit would do it, she knew that. But she also knew that she was worse for wear and any wrong move could make her lose. She was panting heavily while trying to think of a plan.
Lucia landed on the ground, only panting softly. "This has been a lovely little warm up. But isn't time you started getting serious?"
"What?" Erza narrowed her eyes.
"If you truly think you can defeat me, I want to see your effort. All this dancing around shows me that you cannot face me head on. Not that I'm saying it's a bad thing; combating someone with tactics is just as important as strength." The Hunter said casually.
"What are you…?" Erza wasn't sure where this was going.
"I know your tactics, your strengths; your weaknesses…the Wizard hunters have been watching you like hawks." Lucia explained. "We've been spying on you for the past year, especially the past month. If those twin blades were your trump card, I can confidently say that nothing in your arsenal can stop me."
"A brave statement…" Erza said while readying herself once more. "However, I still have to pay you back for what you've done to Gray. Not to mention taking you in."
"Ah yes, your family." Lucia's lips curved up into a coy smile. "You trust your family with your life, don't you? What if I told you that a member of your guild was actually one of our spies? Leaking information about anything and everything you did? How would that make you feel, knowing you can't trust someone in your own ho-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Erza shouted at the top of her lungs. "I will not stand here and listen to your false words about my family! I trust every member of Fairy Tail and nothing you say can or will change that!" She was furious. How dare Lucia try and speak ill of the trust Fairy Tail had with one another.
"…." Zelos lifted a brow and crossed his arms. Lucia wasn't throwing him under the boss, but she wasn't lying either. Unfortunately, only Zelos knew this, and of course he'd keep quiet. He actually wanted to see how this would go.
Now that Erza was angry, Lucia held her sword up once more. "Does the anger you feel towards me insulting your family empower you? Will you bring forth your strongest weapon?"
"Wishing for my best is one thing, but insulting my family to do it?" A glow appeared around Erza's body once more. If Lucia wanted her best, then she'd deliver it. Erza donned the Armor of Nagakami and its spear, glaring daggers into Lucia's eyes. "I'll make sure those last words are properly written on your tombstone!"
"Here we go!" Lucy was ready to see Erza finish this!
"HAAAAAH!" Erza pushed off, aiming the tip of her spear right for Lucia's chest. Naturally Lucia blocked this with her borrowed sword, the two of them ending up in a fierce deadlock. "Your guild has attempted to make a fool out of Fairy Tail for too long and I won't stand for it! This is where you go down!"
"So this is the legendary armor! I've been…waiting for this!" Lucia's grin widened as she pushed back against Erza. This would've been a stalemate if not for one thing: the borrowed flame sword beginning to deteriorate due to the properties of the spear! Its properties to burn through magic itself. "Ah…"
Erza was pushing forward with all her might, the sword Lucia used to defend herself slowly breaking apart. This was the push she needed to finish this once and for all. "Nagakami…!" The sword shattered, leaving Lucia completely open. This was it! "STARLIG-" And then it all fell apart. It was so fast, no one saw it happen, but they saw the result. A blinding beam of light pierced through Erza's side, causing her to halt right then and there. It was so swift, the Nagakami armor was shattered and Erza's body was covered in broken pieces of armor. "….Ah…." Titania then collapsed onto her back, leaving everyone dumbfounded.
"ERZA?!" Natsu, Lucy, Kagura, Minerva, and Jellal all exclaimed in unison.
"W-What happened?!" Hisui asked. No one had a clue.
Yeager let out a quiet sigh. His sister had been playing around too much and it nearly cost her. "So in the end, she had to resort to her true weapon for the finishing blow."
"…" Even Reve was unable to witness it. It was faster than light. All he saw was Lucia's hand go for the hilt of Excalibur as the flame sword was breaking.
"E-Erza went down!?" Chapati was as confused as the audience.
"It seems that Lucia was faster on the draw than Erza." Ice remarked.
"Ngh…" Erza was attempting to stand, but Lucia's foot pressed against her chest, forcing her down. "It looks like I'm the winner." She now had no qualms drawing her weapon, pointing it down at Erza. "But do not call the match just yet. For we had an agreement."
Count Waltz shrugged his shoulders. "Very well. The exchange of weaponry will signify the end of this bout. It's clear that Erza cannot move anymore."
"Like hell! Stand up and take her out!" Natsu was pleading for Erza to do so.
"…" Erza glanced at the spear that was a few feet away. Lucia truly wanted that? Sure it would be dangerous in her hands, but Erza could fight back. She didn't say it aloud, but as much as it pained her…she lost. The strength and magic all left her body as soon as Lucia pinned her down.
"Everyone that knows Erza Scarlet knows that her strongest weapon is not in the impressive arsenal she wields." Lucia began. Everyone assumed she was after something material, but no, it was far worse than that. "Erza Scarlet's strongest weapon is the bond that she shares with her friends and family. And I intend to claim that weapon from her."
"What…" Lucy had a sinking feeling in her stomach.
Lucia pressed the tip of Excalibur into Erza's arm…more specifically, her Fairy Tail guild mark. "I will be taking this."
Erza's eyes went wind in horror. If she didn't have any strength, she'd certainly find some now to push Lucia off. "Don't you dare…!" Lucia wouldn't budge. Excabliur was pressed into her shoulder and a burning sensation caused Erza to cry out in pain as her Fairy Tail mark was…burning away, along with the skin around her arm. "AAAAAAAAAH!"
"ERZA!" Natsu was not going to sit back and watch this. He started to lunge forward but was held back by Luke. "LUKE, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?"
"Don't be a dumbass! The fight is still going! If you jump out there and interrupt, we'll be DQ'ed you idiot!" Luke retaliated.
"He's right. Stay your ass right there." Reve cut his eyes at Natsu. He wouldn't be out of this tournament just because Natsu couldn't sit still. "She made this bed and now she has to lie in it."
"Are you insane!?" Lucy shouted.
"We can't just sit and watch this!" Sting snarled. Unfortunately, due to their circumstances, that was exactly what they had to do.
"…." Jellal clenched his hand into a fist. He couldn't bear to watch Erza in pain and had to do something. But his actions would put the Queen at risk! If Fiore was disqualified then she would die by the hands of the Wizard Hunters.
Erza's pained scream filled Crown Stadium. The audience couldn't watch this cruelty. Numerous members of Team Fiore were held back by each other and arguing. "…This is messed up…" Tia glared.
"…!" Makarov was ready to act on his own, but his soul was under Prometheus' control. As such, he was frozen in place along with Elieen.
"Ah ah…" Prometheus shook his head. "You have no right to interfere anymore. You belong to me. Kyahahaha!"
"How barbaric…" Emmeraude shook her head.
"That's…" Mii could only sigh and look away.
Eventually Erza passed out from the pain. It had been too much and when Lucia finished, there was just burned skin where her Fairy Tail mark had been. Whistling, Lucia sheathed her sword and stepped off Erza. "And with that, I've claimed the Fairy Queen's strongest weapon."
Count Waltz held his hand up. "And the winner of this match is Lucia Silverwind from the Pergrande Kingdom! For defeating a Captain, Pergrande wins 15 points!" A strong lead to start things off.
The match was over. As soon as this was made clear, Luke let Natsu go, as if he was able to hold him for much longer anyway. Natsu stood on the railing, his body cloaked in flames as veins threatened to burst from his forehead. There were no words to describe the rage he felt. "LUCIAAAAAAAAAAA!" Natsu roared so loudly it shook the entire stadium!
Lucia turned, tilting her head upwards to face the angered Natsu with her usual smile. The two had different expressions, yet the look in their eyes were equally fierce. Natsu's overflowing rage against Lucia's outstanding arrogance. "Hm? Is there something I can do for you, Natsu-san?"
.
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Next Time: Harsh Lesson.