Chapter 34

Swordswomen of Paradise

Erza

I sat in a room just below the top of the tower where Jellal and Siegrain were. I needed to step away and catch my breath. This whole operation was extremely stressful. In the room with me was an assassin hired by Jellal. Her name was Ikaruga and she was standing against the large red Torii in the room facing me. She was a pink haired woman with a relatively revealing kimono. Like me, she was a swordswoman.

The time when Zeref was to be revived was drawing nearer, and my thoughts went back to my days as a slave.

Flashback – Erza

I had fallen to my knees in exhaustion. I couldn't keep up this hard labor anymore. Day in and day out moving heavy materials from the ground to the top of the tower. With inadequate sleeping conditions and very little food, I was about ready to pass out.

One of the guards caught me "slacking off" and whipped me, "Get up! You aren't on break!"

The guard proceeded to laugh at me as I struggled up to my feet, only to fall once more.

"I said get up!" He yelled as he cracked his whip at my face.

I screamed out in agonizing pain as the whip struck my right eye. This time, I fell on the ground gripping my right eye. The pain was unbearable.

"Erza!" came the boyish voice of Jellal.

I heard the crack of the whip in the air, but the only thing I felt was a body being thrown on top of me.

"Stop it!" Jellal yelled from on top of me, "She's hurt, can't you see!"

"You little brat, how about I punish you instead!" The guard walked closer and pulled Jellal off of me, "I hear the higher ups are looking for sacrifices anyways."

The guard walked away and left me crying on the ground. It wasn't long until I was found by a kindhearted man by the name of Rob. He wrapped a cloth around my eye to lessen the pain.

"I want my mommy!" I cried to him.

"I'm sorry, Erza." Was all he could say, "What happened to Jellal?"

"They took him. They're going to sacrifice him!"

I watched as Rob stood up and clenched his fist. On his back was the symbol of Fairy Tail.

"What am I doing?" He asked himself.

Flashback End – Erza

After that, Rob fought to save Jellal from the Tower of Heaven guards. This resulted in an all-out rebellion against our captors. We were ultimately successful, but it came at the cost of Rob's life. During this rebellion, I also awakened to my magic. Back then I thought it was fortunate that Jellal was rescued, but when we found him, he was a completely different person.

I had run out of time to dwell on the past. To my surprise, Simon, Natsu, Gajeel, and Happy blasted through the door on the other side of the room.

"Erza!" Natsu cried out, catching my attention.

He proceeded to run over to me. I almost didn't say anything, when I noticed Ikaruga begin to stir.

"Natsu, watch out!" I instinctively yelled back at him.

At that moment, Ikaruga stepped out from behind the gate and swung her katana at Natsu. Thanks to my warning though, Natsu was able to dodge out of the way safely.

"Why did you warn him?" she asked.

I wasn't sure why I bothered warning him. He wasn't my brother after all. Just some guy Jellal hired to act like one. It did make me wonder why he would come all this way though, maybe he felt a kinship with me?

"What are you doing here?" I asked Natsu

"I'm here to bring you home!"

I was surprised by that answer, "And what makes you think I'm not home?"

"Because this isn't Fairy Tail."

Once again, I was surprised by that answer. Somehow, I felt that he wasn't wrong to think Fairy Tail was my home. I couldn't go back though. I had to see this through to the end. I turned around and started climbing the stairs back up.

"You should turn around and leave, or Ikaruga will cut you down." I warned them as I returned to Jellal's side. Part of me hoped that he would chase after me.

Gajeel

Natsu attempted to chase after her, but Ikaruga blocked his path, swinging her sword at him. Being aware of her presence, Natsu was able to dodge out of her way with ease. Ikaruga followed up and swung at him again. Just like last time, Natsu dodged out of the way. His fists ignited on fire and he was about to swing at the swordswoman, but she proved faster than him and forced him back on the defensive.

"Get out of my way!" Natsu shouted at Ikaruga, narrowly dodging another sword swipe.

"I can't do that." Ikaruga answered plainly, "Jellal's orders are to cut down any who would try and stop him."

It was my turn now. I turned my right arm into an iron pole and extended it at Ikaruga. Despite appearing to be focused on Natsu, the assassin dodged out of the way easily. Natsu used this opportunity to rush for the stairs, but Ikaruga was quick to recover from the attach, and struck at him again.

"None are allowed to pass."

"This girl's a real piece of work." I muttered.

"And Erza's just ahead." Happy mused.

"Think you can handle Ikaruga?" Simon asked me, "I can make an opening to get to the top, but someone's going to have to deal with her."

"Gehehehe, who do you think you're talking to?" I replied as I cracked my knuckles.

Giving my okay, Simon used his spell and blinded Ikaruga, "Natsu, run for the stairs, Dark Moment!"

Soundlessly, Simon made his way towards the stairs. Ikaruga dashed at Natsu, who you could hear, but I was able to rush in and easily parry her. I could see the surprise on her face when her blade met iron. She truly couldn't see. Natsu was able to make it to the stairs, along with Happy and Simon, and the three made the ascension.

With Simon out of the room, his spell apparently dispelled and Ikaruga was able to go on the offensive. She swung her sword at me, and I was just barely able to dodge out of the way. The tip of her sword cut through the fabric of my shirt, but nothing hit my skin.

"Iron Dragon's Sword!" My arm transformed into a double-edged sword and I brandished it against the Swordswoman before me.

"So, you intend to have a sword duel against me?"

"Scared?" I was smirking at the woman. Ever since we got here, I hadn't gotten a good, clean fight. Now was my time to shine.

Ikaruga swung at me and I parried with my sword. The sword of metal hitting metal echoed through the room as we parried back and forth, neither of us able to get the edge on the other.

"Your ability with the sword is commendable, and your style unique." Ikaruga stated.

"I'm only getting started!" I shouted at the girl as I charged forward.

"As am I," Ikaruga took a step back and placed both hands on the hilt of her sword. She swung her sword prematurely and missed me, "Yasha's Empty Slash!"

Thinking she had missed, I swung at her. Before my sword could contact her, it shattered to pieces! I instinctively jumped back as she made another premature swing. Just like before it appeared to miss, but the sharp pain on my chest said otherwise. I looked down and saw a slash mark across my chest.

Still out of range, she made another slash at me and slashed into my body once more. Not understanding what was going on, I decided to boost my defense, "Iron Dragon's Scales!" My body became covered in iron, as she made another slash at me. A cut formed on my scales, but it was unable to break through.

I ran forward and cocked my fist. When I swung at her though, she ducked out of the way and sliced in the part of my armor that was already cut. This time, the blade was able to cut through my scales, cutting into my skin. She went for a follow up and broke through my scales again.

Fighting through the growing pain, I tried to punch her away. Unfortunately, she dodged my punch and took another swing at me.

"Is this the best Kurogane can handle?" Ikaruga wondered aloud.

I growled at the swordswoman. I was pretty sure she had some kind of ranged attack that allowed her sword to strike from a distance. It was also clear that she had the fire power to break through my scales. I was going to need a big attack that she couldn't dodge if I hoped to beat her.

I knew just the spell and jumped back, punching my fists together, "Iron Dragon's Roar!"

Iron shrapnel shot out of my mouth in a spread-out vortex. Ikaruga attempted to cut through all the shrapnel coming her way, but the sheer amount of it made that impossible. Unable to keep up with my attack, Ikaruga was hit dead on and launched back.

With my spell ended, I panted out, "Is that the best you've got?"

"An attack I couldn't possibly dodge, smart." Came Ikaruga's voice, "But that won't work again."

As the dust settled, Ikaruga came charging at me with a flurry of flaming slashes, "Garuda Flame!" Her sword was on fire and easily cut through my scale. I cried out in pain as the flaming blade cut me up. With one last slash, she knocked me away from her.

I struggled to my feet to face her. Her kimono was all ripped up and there were signs of bruising and cuts on her. They were significantly less damaging than what I had endured though. My only option left seemed to be eating her blade. It would help replenish my magic power, and take way her only weapon, I hope. The only problem was there was no way she would give it up without a fight, and it wouldn't be an easy one either.

And then my hero came in the form of a flying, blue cat, "Max Speed Attack!"

Happy sped into the room at full speed, headbutting into Ikaruga. The impact threw her off her feet and her sword into the air. Seeing my chance, I jumped for the sword. Unfortunately, Ikaruga was quick to recover and reached for her sword. Only the cat circled around even faster and grabbed the sword before she could!

"Cat, give me that!" I yelled.

"Aye sir!" Happy shouted as he flew over to me.

I grabbed the sword from him and with a devilish grin, bit into the blade. To Ikaruga's horror, the blade shattered in my mouth and I ate the remaining shards. To my luck, this was a magical blade, and it was made of iron. It greatly increased my magical reserves.

"Now let's end this!" I charged at the swordswoman and punched her in the gut, "Iron Dragon's Lance!" My arm transformed into an iron pole and extended outward. This resulted in Ikaruga being launched backwards and into a wall. The resulting impact caused her to cough up blood, and finally fall unconscious.

"Not much without your sword, now are you?" I taunted. I turned to face the cat who saved me and gave him a thumbs up, "Nice work, cat."

"Aye!" Happy said with a salute.

Jellal – Magic Council

"Well, I believe we have deliberated the pros and cons of firing Etherion quite enough now." The chairman said, "It is time to bring it to a vote."

Finally, this had taken much longer than I had initially expected. With these mages raiding the Tower of Heaven, I was afraid they would reach me before I had the chance to fire off Etherion. Not that I was worried, there was little chance that they would be able to stop me.

"All those in favor of firing Etherion on the Tower of Heaven?"

I placed my vote to fire the magic down on the Tower of Heaven. I was confident that Ultear had voted similarly. I knew there were at least two votes against its use, stemming from Yajima and Org. The remaining five votes were still up in the air, but I was confident I had secured at least three.

Once everyone had voted, the chairman motioned to the center of the room which lit up with the final vote. I smiled.

"By a vote of seven to two, Etherion will be fired on the Tower of Heaven."

Thank you for reading.

Please review and let me know what you thought. I really appreciate the feedback.