Julius' magic power silenced everyone in the stadium. The new Spriggan was completely fine with proving his superiority to the temporarily revived Ajeel, but Ajeel took things a step too far by insulting Emmeraude. As everyone was learning, the man who dubbed himself the Prince of Magic was very defensive of the Empress. "You talk a big game, Ajeel. But allow me to show you the difference in our strength."
"W-What is this guy…" Lucy gulped nervously.
"This pressure is way too different than last time." Luke had a sweat drop on his forehead. Even with a month of training, it felt like Julius was still leagues above him.
It was at this moment that Count Waltz snapped his fingers, thus causing the arena to change drastically! What was formally a plain battlefield turned into a rocky, mountainous landscape. "And now that we've arrived into the second day, it's time to change things up a bit by altering the field of battle. This will be a regular occurrence from this point on."
"Just one more thing to worry about…"
Ajeel was taken aback at first by Julius' sudden surge of magic power. But he shrugged it off and let out an arrogant laugh. "Is that the best you can muster!? I ain't feeling anything special from you! Certainly nothing that I can't handle!" The former Spriggan then simply pointed both arms down, deciding to take care of this battle in the swiftest way he knew how. "Ant Lion's Pit!" He opened this 'fight' with his version of Hell's Door. A large section of the arena suddenly turned into a large pit of quicksand, aiming to drag Julius into it! "Let's see you-…what?!"
Julius had been sitting in an iron throne of his own creation, one leg crossed over the other. The floating throne was hovering above the Ant Lion's Pit without a care in the world. "Is that how you intended to start this battle? It's no wonder you perished in the war to mages weaker than you."
Ajeel grit his teeth. Being talked down to like this? He wouldn't stand for it! "Let's see you keep talking after this, chump!" Bringing his arms up, multiple tendrils of sand rose from the pit below Julius, all of them moving about erratically before attempting to wrap around him and drag him into the pit of sand! But to his surprise, a barrier of water appeared around Julius, repelling the sand before it got too close to him. "The hell!?"
Julius' book opened and he glanced towards Ajeel. "I do not need your filthy magic dirtying my person. Holy Spark." From the clear sky above, a bolt of white lightning instantly dropped down on Ajeel for a direct hit, causing the Spriggan to let out a cry of pain.
"Gaaaaah!" Ajeel grunted as the Holy Spark struck directly!
"And Julius is the first one to land a direct hit!" Chapati shouted.
Ajeel snarled after recoiling from the Holy Spark. "Think you're so tough, huh?" The Ant Lion's Pit faded, but instead, a sandstorm appeared around Ajeel's lower body to carry him forward, racing towards Julius who had yet to move from his spot. "Ramal Syfe!" Multiple spears of sand shot out from his body, all of them aiming to pierce through Julius' body.
Julius sighed and decided to finally make a move. It was a simple up, hopping up from his iron throne and sent the throne itself forward in his stead, allowing the spears of sand to collide against it. The iron throne then exploded into chunks of iron that honed in on Ajeel's magic. "Atom Bomb."
"That's not gonna work on me!" Ajeel smirked as the sandstorm around his body swirled around, growing even stronger to completely submerge the chunks of iron within the sand. Once this was successfully done he laughed and held both arms up, numerous bats of sand spawned into existence, all of them soaring towards Julius with the intent to bite him and suck the moisture from his body. "Try this on for size!"
Julius' book flipped through several pages within such a short time he didn't even need to think about it. A magic seal appeared in front of Julis, releasing numerous needles to destroy the bats before they could even get closer. A few needles did fly at Ajeel, but his Sand Body allowed the needles to pass through him with no issue. "I'm sure you've realized by now that we are on two completely different levels."
"Of course we are." Ajeel's hubris was still in full swing. "I'm a god, and as such, you will revere me!" And at that moment, his body turned into sand and he vanished into the rocky landscape!
"Even when he's dead, he's still cocky…" Lucy said with a sweat drop.
"Huh? Where'd he go?" Lector and Happy were both looking around.
Julius let out a quiet sigh at such a primitive trick. He didn't bother moving until Ajeel actually attacked; a rising hand of sand lunging from the ground made an effort to grab Julius, but the Spriggan saw this coming and leapt to the side effortlessly. That's when Ajeel himself emerged from the sand, pushing forward to actually grab Julius' ankle. "GOT YOU!" With a heinous grin his magic began to do its work, sucking the moisture from Julius' leg as he slammed his opponent into the ground once before throwing him away! "Hah! How'd you like that?!"
Julius flew across the air before landing with a causal flip. There was likely a bruise on his back where Ajeel slammed him and he felt very slightly thirsty, but none of that mattered. Instead, he brushed the sand off his of body and closed his eyes, letting out a heavy, irritated sigh. "…"
"What's the matter!? Not so tough now are ya!?" Ajeel grinned.
"…." Julius' magic power flared once again, even greater than before. "You've sullied me with your touch." On top of insulting the Empress, this was the second worst thing anyone could do to the Prince of Magic. He was already setting out to destroy Ajeel, but this just made things worse for the King of the Desert.
"What a rise in magic power." Song remarked with a casual hum. This battle was far too entertaining to not pay attention to.
"Now he's gone and done it." Oriana shook her head, a vindictive snicker escaping her. "That poor soul knows not what animal he's released."
Julius wasn't moving. To Ajeel, this seemed like a complete victory, so why not seal the deal? Rushing forward, a sharp axe composed of sand appearing within his hands. "I'll have your head, then you'll understand our difference! Ramal Fa'as!" And as Ajeel went to swing…a blade of water appeared from Julius' book, slashing into his arm. The cut was so deep and sudden; it forced Ajeel to recoil, as sharp, bladed water did cut through his sand body.
"Mercury's blade." Julius uttered. The blade had a mind of its own, slashing at Ajeel repeatedly. Due to its properties, he was unable to muster an immediate defense and suffered numerous cuts, to which he eventually had to back off, but the blade pursued him still!
"Tch! A blade of water?! This ain't happening again!" Ajeel remembered Erza thinking she could best him with wind and water. He wouldn't let anyone think so lightly of him! As the sword came in, he grabbed it with both hands, using an astronomical amount of sand to suck the moisture from the blade. "I'll just bleed it dry!"
"Sylph's Gale." Julius said. This prompted a powerful beam of wind magic to strike Ajeel while was so busy. It happened so fast he wasn't able to prepare himself and was blown away.
"Gaaah!" Ajeel tumbled along the ground, sliding to a halt on a knee. He was already panting somewhat heavily. Julius hit very hard, but Ajeel wasn't going to admit that. The Mercury's blade did dry up at least, so that was one thing he didn't have to worry about.
"The tide of battle shifted so fast…" Jellal said.
"No." Reve shook his head. "That Julius guy's been in control this whole time. Anyone can see that."
"You've been working under a grave misunderstanding here." Julius told Ajeel calmly, but there was unfathomable malice in Julius' eyes. "We are different, you and I. But not in the way that you think. I possess the magical ability to make you look like a child with no place on the battlefield, and that's precisely the impression I intend to give the world within the next 2 minutes."
2 minutes?! Was Julius really that confident? It pissed Ajeel off. So what if he got a few lucky hits!? "Are you looking down on me!? HOW DARE YOU!" Ajeel roared as the ground under him erupted, a large sand titan spawning from the rocky mountain field with him proudly standing on its shoulder. "I'll flatten you in 5 seconds, pipsqueak!" The sand golem then reared its fist back, throwing it down to crush Julius and finish this battle!"
Julius' book floated in front of him, giving a green glow. "Spirit of Zephyr." From his treasured book, a long, green blade imbued with wind appeared, towering high into the sky. Just as the golem threw its fist, this sword of wing slashed directly down, cleaving through the sand golem in an instant. An explosion of wind caused the sand to disperse and caught Ajeel in its wake, throwing him around before harshly hitting the ground.
"TCH!" Ajeel landed on the ground, his face contorted with rage. How could this be happening!? How could he be…losing to one of Emmeraude's lapdogs?!
"This battle looks extremely one sided." Ashnard remarked. "I suppose Alvarez does have some notable firepower after all."
"Ajeel…" Brandish frowned.
Pandora looked to Prometheus. "Prometheus."
"Yeah, yeah…let's see how well he does with some real power!" Prometheus snapped his fingers, activating his Reaper's Toll. Adding strength to the fallen Ajeel's soul, Prometheus bolstered the King of the Desert's abilities noticeably!
A black magic aura wavered around Ajeel and he grinned. "Yeah…yeah…that's what I needed." Now standing on two feet, the King of the Desert let out a loud, victorious laugh. "This is all I need to crush you! I'll show you who's the INFERIOR ONE! SAND WORLD!" On that scream, a vicious sandstorm enveloped the entirety of Crown City! This powerful sandstorm was Ajeel's ace in the hole.
"I don't appreciate this attack on my hair…" Helena grumbled, feeling the need to put Ajeel down herself for this stunt of his.
"Not this again!" Lucy cried.
"Just when I thought we were done with sand…!" Happy whined.
This completely shrouded Ajeel from sight, fueling his god complex as he firmly believed this was the end for Julius. "How's it feel, being in my domain!? You never know when the final strike will come, or from where! If you get on your knees and revere me as your God, then I'll make your loss look swift and honorable!"
Julius's hair wavered in the wind kicked up from the sandstorm. "There is only one person who I will bend my knee for." His book shone brightly and it began to absorb all of the magic in the area. That's right; the book that Julius used was drawing in the entirety of Sand World, much to everyone's surprise. The magic funneled into the book within mere seconds, clearing up the sandstorm and revealing Ajeel, who was only a few feet away, who was now in shock.
"He absorbed all of it!?" Sting gasped.
"That bookworm is pretty wild…" Bacchus grinned. If he had to fight this guy…oh, he'd love it…
Emmeraude simply smiled at Julius' efforts. "That's precisely what I expected."
This couldn't be happening. How could this be!? Ajeel bared his teeth angrily and just lunged forward, forming two axes of sand in both hands. "I'LL CUT YOU DOWN!"
"Do you honestly believe you can defeat me?" Julius asked.
"OF COURSE I CAN!" As Ajeel roared this, he was struck by a continuous beam of magic! There was a compass above him, striking him down with his answer. He fought through it, but his charge slowed significantly.
"Ah. So you realize your fate is sealed." The spell used attacked if the foe told a lie. That alone told the Spriggan everything he needed to know. Julius' pages shone brightly once more. "You needn't feel terrible. Do you finally understand what our difference is? Today, you have fought the strongest Spriggan formed by the Empress. And though the results aren't what you sought after, you can rest easy knowing you had the pleasure of facing me. Unfortunately for you…this was a chore for me. As such, I will wrap this up, for your sake, and ensure you never dishonor the Empress with your tongue again." A cage appeared around the approaching Ajeel, its bars made of black lightning that gave its captive a violent electric shock upon contact.
Ajeel, of course, wasn't going to lie down and take this! He swung his axes at the bars, only to be violently shocked. "GAAAAAH!" And to make matters worse for him, when Julius tightly clenched his fist, the cage began shrinking drastically! This was done once more, giving Ajeel very little room to move while also giving the picture. "D-DAMN ITTTTTT!"
"I know you prided yourself on delusions of being among the strongest…but this battle has barely cost me a single page within my book. A shame…your eulogy ended and there was nothing significant to be said. That blank grave suits you perfectly." One final clench of his hand and Julius caused the cage to explode. Ajeel's body fell to the ground, limp and defeated.
"AND THAT'S IT! AJEEL LAMUR HAS FALLEN! JULIUS GRANDEUR IS THE WINNER, GIVING ALVAREZ 10 POINTS!" Chapati roared. At first the crowd was stunned; there were many people in awe, shock, and fear at Julius' magic power. It was the same with what Alice offered yesterday. Some cheered at the end, but the crowd's reception was mostly fear.
Emmeraude applauded Julius' victory. "Well done, Julius. I knew I could rely on you."
Julius bowed in response to Emmeraude's praise. "Of course, Your Majesty. I told you I would emerge victorious and lead Alvarez to victory."
"Alavarez is insane…" Jack Corvus said with a sweat drop.
Lucy was shocked as well. While they did get a taste of Alvarez's power a month ago, watching it play out in a fight like this was pretty unnerving. "Where did she find these people…?"
After the first battle, it was time to move onto the second battle of the day. "Now, with the first battle over, we will immediately move onto the second." And to match the next battle, the arena changed to a forested area, numerous trees scattered about. "Pergrande vs Joya!"
"Right, right…" Mii waved a hand, her angelic wings spreading out to carry her into the arena. "I'll score us this win real quick and my tournament participation ends there."
"It's Mii…" Happy pointed out.
"Based on what we saw yesterday, she'll be tough for Joya to take down." Kagura surmised. She wondering if Mii could even be defeated by conventional means.
"I-I'll go…!" The young boy, Beat, rushed from his team's section into the arena.
"Wait, Beat!" Polka exclaimed.
"And it seems we have our combatants!" Chapati said. "Mii Yggdrasill Koryuji from Pergrande vs Beat from Joya!"
"A kid vs a woman?" Keele was trying to turn the gears in his head. As far as he was concerned, women were weaker than men, but Mii was fighting a kid…
"Don't overwork your brain too hard, bro." Aki told Keele. "Mii's going to win this, which will make our goal that much easier."
"Let the battle begin. Don't disappoint me, Beat." Waltz was holding expectations for Beat, but he was clearly aware of what Mii brought to the table.
"A kid?" Mii looked Beat over. "I dunno how I feel about beating up a child. How old are you? 10?"
Beat didn't say a word. The first thing he did was pull out a sniper rifle, training his aim on Mii. "You're an angel, aren't you?"
"Huh?" Mii's green eyes blinked in confusion. "Yeah. Half. Daughter of Yggdrasill." And as soon as she said that, a blazing white bullet clipped her shoulder. The most surprising part of all of this is that Mii winced in pain! "…Ow?"
"…She felt that?" Tia raised a brow.
"Huh…?" Even Zelos was confused! "Mii-chan actually felt that?"
"What…was that?" Mii raised a brow.
"You're an angel. I've seen angels in action before. They aren't holy beings like everyone believes them to be. The angels took everything from me when I was younger!" Beat exclaimed angrily, taking aim at Mii once again. He clicked the trigger, firing off another white hot bullet that she narrowly avoided. There was so much malice within this child and it was noticeable in every shot he fired. "That's why I've devoted my entire life to hunting every angel I could and killing them! That's why I've learned the lost magic of Flame Angel Slaying! If I can kill the daughter of the leader of the angel's…then they'll understand the pain I've been through!"
"…This kid's been through it…" Luke sighed. They also saw the ugly, destructive side of the angels a few years ago, so they couldn't dismiss his claims.
"An angel slayer? That's…new." Emmeraude crossed her arms, keeping her gaze on Mii.
"Hmmmm…Well, you're right about angels, not being divine, holy beings. Truth is, they're all selfish assholes who only care about the decree of their fate, or banishing everything in the name of Yggdrasill." Mii tilted her head as Beat was probably aiming for her head. She wasn't moving, but that's when an idea dawned on her. "You want Mii dead, huh? Well…if your magic can actually make Mii feel pain, then I wonder…" Mii drew the Eternal Sword and…planted it into the ground, deciding not to fight with it. "I wonder…if you'll be the one who can actually kill Mii."
.
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Next Time: Angel Trumpet.
