Pergrande: 130
Active: Keele, Aki, Blair, Mii, Lucia, Shade, Cloud, Elly, X, Rajaron.
Alvarez: 125
Active: Brandish, Jacob, Oriana, Julius, Alice, Ken, G, Zero, Little Queen, Ragen.
Fiore: 115
Active: Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Jellal, Sting, Minerva, Kagura, Luke, Reve, Bacchus.
Seven: 105
Active: Ace, Tia, Jack, Heartless, Joker, Spade, Spark, Daigo, Strong, Diamond.
Joya: 105
Active: Allegretto, Polka, Beat, Rondo, Tuba, Jazz, Yeager, Marx, Yumia, Yukia.
Bosco: 90
Active: Gaia, Edna, Nasir, Verona, Alex, Daryan, Lore, Magnus, Hiruka, Yakuza.
Minstrel: 70
Active: Rob, Raku, Renae, Asbel, Medusa, Byrnhild, Tyson, Amadio, Felix, David.
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The final event kicked off to a strong start early in the morning. Members of Fiore's team already found themselves in a few fights. Natsu was dueling Jack outside of Celestia Forest, Lucy was fighting Tia along the river in the north, while Erza encountered Byrnhild in the south. The one thing these encounters had in common was that a Wizard Hunter was trailing them; Yumia and Yukia for Natsu and Jack, Yeager for Lucy and Tia, and finally, Lucia teamed up with Byrnhild to remove Erza from the competition. But Erza wasn't fazed, as uphill battles were Fairy Tail's specialty. "Don't get in my way." Byrnhild warned Lucia.
"I wouldn't dream of it." Lucia flipped her long blue hair over her shoulder, holding a smile as she stared at Erza. She knew how badly Erza wanted to defeat her, and to rob Titania of that pleasure and her guild mark was the mark of a true Hunter. "After you."
Erza wasn't going to allow this leisurely talk. With her Flight Armor active, and the Wind God's Sword and the Flame Empress' sword in hand, she sped forward, aiming both swords at her two foes. As expected, both Lucia and Byrnhild blocked her strikes, sparks flying as the four swords connected. Erza was far from finished, ducking low and spinning around in a clockwise rotation. The wind and flames from her swords surged strongly turning into a vortex of fire and wind that entrapped her two foes in the middle, Erza riding the momentum of this blazing twister to the sky. "Thanks for that inspiration, Wendy…Cynthia…!"
Erza wasn't going to get a chance to breathe. Byrnhild immediately shot out of the twister with her white wings. She had minor burns on her skin but nothing that would hinder her. "This is the end for you!" She declared while swinging her blade down at Erza. Erza was able to block the strike, but the force behind it still send her rocketing towards the ground.
"Tch!" Erza flipped, sticking the landing in a crouched position. But as soon as she landed, Lucia was already upon her.
"Flash Strike!" Lucia swung Excalibur towards Erza the moment she landed. Erza was able to block the strike, a brilliant flash of light occurring for a few seconds. Lucia's lips held a condescending smile as she forced Erza to hold her ground. "Despite being a knight of some renown, your performance has paled horribly. What makes you think you can suddenly turn that around?"
Erza managed to slip away from Lucia at that moment, taking a leap back to gain some distance. Unfortunately she wasn't given that luxury since Lucia had already proven she could keep pace with the Flight Armor. "I have something to fight for!" Erza replied while swinging her Wind God's Sword at Lucia, but at the last second, during the swing, she changed it into something else…!
Something that Lucia swiped just before it hit, with the mastery of her Thief's Hand. "Oh?" She held up the sword, only to realize it was a wooden one. "Huh?"
Erza used this chance to strike! "You won't get me with the same trick twice!" With both hands on the hilt of the Flame sword, she thrust it forward to strike Lucia's arm. But Lucia was still fast enough to just narrowly avoid it, the flames singing her arm. Lucia spun around, kicking Erza in the stomach with enough force to send her tumbling along the ground. "Guh…!" Erza rolled for a second before flipping to catch herself, heels digging into the dirt as she forced her momentum to a halt.
But before she could stop, Byrnhild was at her left, the blazing sword of Argundval pointed at her. "Mystical Fire!" A burst of flame erupted from the tip of the sword, colliding against Erza.
Erza switched into her Flame Empress Armor to mitigate the damage, but even so, that single hit was more than enough to completely break through fire resistance armor and shatter it completely. "A single strike…!?" Erza was in disbelief. The first magical attack Byrnhild threw at her broke her defenses!? Erza now tumbled along the floor once more, only coming to a halt after a second or two. That Mystical Fire hurt more than she was expecting, but it wasn't going to stop her.
"I'd suggest you turn in the towel now." Lucia said while slowly walking towards Erza. "This battle was never even to begin with. And to top it off, your friends have already fallen headfirst into our trap."
"What…?" Erza took a deep breath before readying herself, switching from her Flight Armor into her Heaven's Wheel armor. Since Byrnhild could fly, she was also going to need something to compete with that level of mobility, while ensuring she could handle Lucia on the ground. Opponents of this caliber already pushed her, but fighting two at once put her in a position where she was going to have to go beyond what she was capable of…which was business as usual as far as she was concerned. Shaking her head, she flew into the air, dozens upon dozens of blades appearing in the sky. "Heaven's Wheel!"
The sword rain began. Lucia stabbed her sword into the ground, a barrier of light appearing around her body. "Guardian Field!" The blades that Erza called down slammed against this holy barrier. Lucia was able to defend against the attack, but while her sword was in the ground, she couldn't move from this location.
Byrnhild didn't have an easy time. She had to flight around as best she could to avoid the swords, using her own blade to attack and swat some out of the sky. This gave Erza the opening she needed to attack, flying towards the White Valkyrie with two blades in each hand. "Pentagram Sword!" Erza swung her two swords in the shape of a pentagram, and while Byrnhild was capable of blocking most strikes, the final slash caught her, sending her to the ground, but she was able to catch herself. Erza finally landed a noteworthy attack, but that glory didn't last long as a beam of light nearly struck her down. "...!" Erza was hit in the left shoulder, spiraling down to the ground, but she caught herself.
"You can't deal with us both!" Lucia exclaimed, pointing her sword at Erza while Byrnhild recovered. "This battle will be over before long. It's all fallen into place."
"Is that so…? You think you have us cornered at the very beginning?" Erza narrowed her eyes, a slight smile appearing on her lips. "Then you don't understand us nearly as well as you thought."
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The battle between Natsu and Jack was still intense. Natsu was on a bit of a timer now since Jack succeeded in hitting him with his Wicked Flames. But this didn't deter Natsu from the fight, it just amped him up more! He had to be mindful how to attack, and now that he goaded Jack into close combat, he knew he could take this if he was smart….which only happened in battle. Jack swung a fist at Natsu, who ducked to avoid it. Orange flames wrapped around Natsu's fist and he aimed a roaring uppercut at Jack's chin. Jack leaned back to avoid it, but he felt the force behind the strike all the same. The two then jumped back, grinning at one another. "Hah! I can just stall you out at this rate. But that's no fun." Jack admitted while his purple flames flared around his body.
"I wouldn't let you either!" Natsu spoke with his usual excited grin. "You won't beat me!" He allowed his orange flames to ignite around his body, leaping forward with all of his might, drawing his arm back. "Let's go!"
"Say less!" Jack flew forward with his arm drawn back. The two were going to meet in the middle, but just before they could clash, a bullet of fire struck Jack's side, embedding itself into his armor. "Huh…!?"
And for Natsu, a bullet of water struck his left side. "Wh..!?" And just like that, the two bullets exploded directly onto the two mages. The sudden assault caught them both by surprise as they were so engrossed in their own battle; the surroundings were a bit dulled to them. Natsu rolled along the ground before coming to a halt. "What the hell!?"
"We're busy here!" Jack shook off the impact, but it did bruise him just as much as it did Natsu.
Yumia and Yukia had their index fingers pointed forward in the shape of a gun. "Bang bang, how's it going~?" Yumia asked with a menacing grin. "Hope you didn't think this place only had you two! This is a free for all with 70 people; you really have to be more aware!"
"I should've smelt them coming…!" Natsu grit his teeth. His senses never failed him like this before! Even if he was fighting Jack all out, he should have at least been aware they were being watched!
"Oh, don't feel bad. We know how to elude the finely tuned senses of Dragon Slayers, remember?" Yukia placed her hands on her hips, giving a condescending smile as opposed to her sister. The twins successfully got the jump on them. "We're the Wizard Hunters! Knowing how to hunt is our specialty!" She then whipped her hand forward, sending a blast of fire directly at Natsu. "Open wide!"
Food!? Natsu was more than ready to use Yukia as a means to sustain himself in the middle of combat. He opened his mouth and then…Yumia attacked, adding water to the fire! Much like how God Serena mixed fire and water together during the war, this attack was pretty much the same thing. So Natsu opened wide and got hit hard, his back hitting a tree. "Oof! Hey! That was dirty!" And did his current conditions no favors.
"You're an idiot…" Jack shook his head. "You couldn't eat that!?"
"I can't eat two elements in one like that…!" Natsu groaned. But he then looked to his three foes. "So you all want some, huh!?"
"Oh, not at all." Yumia waved a hand dismissively. "We're going to take you both out. Simple as that. You won't have to worry about a thing."
"Oh yeah!?" Natsu was ready to fight before glancing at Jack. "And you?"
"Hah…I'm still mad about that heartbreak the other day!" Jack pointed at the twins. In all honestly he couldn't remember which one it was that played his teenage heart for a fool. It was Yukia, but they looked too alike and didn't really know the difference that well. "I don't know which one of you did it, but I'm pissed at you both! So how about this, Natsu? First one to knock them out gets the points!?"
"HAH!" Now that was something Natsu could agree with. "I'm taking all three of you out in the end, but this fight was between Jack and I first anyway!" This wasn't an official Alliance Battle, since there was no announcement. But there was no rule stopping two different teams from teaming up against another; Count Waltz said so himself once before. First the twins, then Jack. To Natsu, that was a well-earned 15 points right there. "I'm fired up!"
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Tia and Lucy's battle was interrupted by several trees collapsing onto the river. This prompted the two girls to leap to opposite sides of the riverbank, both looking around frantically for their mystery attacker. It was Yeager, walking forward casually with his rifle pointed ahead, grinning at the two women. "I hope I'm interrupting something."
"Yeah, we're kind of in the middle of a fight! Buzz off!" Tia scoffed, pointing her scepter at Yeager.
"I don't think that's his plan." Lucy wasn't ready to fight Yeager and Tia at the same time…even though it was unlikely it was going to come down to that. "Tia, this guy…"
"Oh, I know. I hate the Wizard Hunters." Tia glared at Yeager. "I don't know what they've been up to all this time, but I know they enjoy making my friends suffer more than they need to. So that's more than enough of a reason to wipe the smug look off this guy's face."
"Ohoho!" Yeager liked where this was going. "Are you two ladies going to fight over me? You shouldn't!" He was treating this like some sort of game.
"No. We're going to fight you." Lucy narrowed her eyes at Yeager. "You're one of the reasons Mii is in so much pain and I can't forgive that! I won't let you or anyone else hurt her any more than she already is."
"You're taking it so personally…" Shrugging, Yeager casually walked around while the two women kept their eyes on him. "Didn't I tell you? Kidnapping the Queen of Fiore and the Empress of Alvarez's mother…forcing you into this tournament for their livelihood, putting your friend's life on the line…." The list continued.
"They WHAT?!" Tia's eyes widened. She knew about the kidnapping, but they went THAT far with it!? Now she really couldn't forgive the Hunters for their actions. "Endangering innocents just because someone paid you to!? There's a difference between you and other guilds; they'd never sink that low just for profit!"
"It's as I said…" Yeager casually brushed the tuft of hair in front of his eyes aside, lips curling upwards. The lacrima that served as his heart pulsed, veins protruding from his chest as he made no effort to hide his power anymore. Now that they weren't weighted down by a small time limit, he could end things at his own pace. "It's nothing personally. It's just business."
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Byrnhild stood back as Lucia attacked Erza with fierce slashes. As it stood right now, Erza was on the backfoot, barely capable of defending herself from Lucia's ferocity. This was the act of a predator cornering its prey, forcing it to submit. Erza refused to yield, but she was going to run out of space eventually. "You don't stand a chance at victory, Erza!"
"That's…a bold claim to make!" Erza was doing her best, but she was forced on the defensive. She used the Flame Sword to protect herself, but each and every one of Lucia's forceful blows caused the sword to crack. "Fairy Tail…and Fiore…we don't stop until it is truly over!"
"Then it's going to end much faster than you thought! This is far from an even fight! You lose!" Lucia grinned while bringing Excalibur down once more, completely shattering Erza's sword in the process. The next blow, she decided, was going to be the one to end this.
"You're right…" Erza stopped moving. "This is far from an even fight…because I was never alone to begin with." Just as Lucia aimed her next attack, Erza's lips curled up into a slight grin and she moved her head to the side. As she did, a bullet slipped through the strands of her hair, striking an unprepared Lucia in the shoulder.
"…!" Lucia's eyes widened as a bullet went right through her shoulder, causing her to recoil. "A bullet?! But where-!?"
Before Lucia could even ask her question, Erza donned her Purgatory Armor, using the matching mace to slam into Lucia's chest, sending her soaring away. That felt so good. "We didn't fall for your trap! You fell for ours!"
From all the way atop Mt. Rock, miles away from the fight in question, Reve was in position with a sniper rifle, scoffing at the words Erza had told him prior. "Might be a challenging shot? Don't make me laugh, Scarlet. You forget who I am, but if you get hit, that's on you."
"…!" Surprised by the turn of events, Byrnhild went to strike while Erza was pulling back her weapon. But she was unable to get too close as a line of explosions stopped her in her tracks. "What?" She had to shield her eyes from the smoke and dust kicked up from the explosion. She was unable to see the heel that came flying at her full force, kicking her across the cheek with more than enough force to knock her backwards. "Oof…!" Rolling along the ground, Byrnhild only came to a halt when she dug her sword into the ground. The one who kicked her? None other than Minerva.
"I do love a threesome early in the morning. I hope there's room for one more?" Minerva's lips curled up into a sinister smile. "I'm known to be very intense, so I hope you can keep up and provide me with at least some entertainment…"
Byrnhild narrowed her eyes. This suddenly turned into a 3 vs 2!? The numbers weren't in their favor, but as if she was going to let that deter her. She made her decision and did not regret it; this simply meant she could assert her dominance over one of Fiore's strongest. "I think you're the one who needs to worry about keeping up with me." Byrnhild thrust her blade forward, while Minerva surrounded her hand in territory, the two colliding for a fierce shockwave that boomed outwards.
Meanwhile, Erza managed to get the jump on Lucia thanks to Reve's help. Lucia was forced to use only one arm as opposed to two, since the pain her left shoulder was too great to use it. She was able to block Erza's attack, but there was a notable swing in their positions compared to before. Lucia was still stronger, so she managed to push Erza back, but every time there was an opening to attack, a bullet from Reve off in the distance threatened her, forcing her to jump back. Wherever Reve was, she could tell Reve wasn't covering Erza, he was just simply shooting at her to take her out. "That sniper of yours is careless! You're clearly in the line of fire!"
"I know that, but we don't care." Erza said. Reve and Erza had an estranged relationship after all these years, but this was perhaps the one time they could use it to their advantage.
"You don't care?" What sort of teamwork was this!? The Wizard Hunters always worked in harmony with one another. This was just straight reckless.
"No, but you should." Erza smiled. As she did, she ducked low as a bullet flew over her head. Lucia had to block the bullet, but as she did, Erza came in with another attack. She was able to block that as well, but it forced her backwards against the dirt. "This is a 2 vs 1, remember? We're competing to see who can take you down first."
"Tch…" Lucia snarled. How did the tables turn on her that fast?
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[Flashback]
"Reve, Minerva. I'll need your help to corner Lucia." Erza told the two. "I know for a fact she'll be coming after me again."
"How do you know that?" Reve lifted a brow. "She's done with you, remember?"
"Here's how I see it…" Erza began. "Mii betrayed them to help us…and us winning first or second was their stipulation for them to spar Mii. But thanks to Mii's help, we only need second at best. That said, I intend for us to win…but they don't. There's no doubt in my mind the Wizard Hunters are going to do everything in their power to stop us…this feud began when they kidnapped members from all of our guilds a few years ago."
"I heard about that." Minerva tilted her head. "I wasn't present when it happened, but they did it again for that mad scientist. I still have yet to show them how deep these fangs bite. Between that and wanting to win in general, I'll gladly corner those wretched Hunters."
"So you're betting on that? Fine. I'm not going to help you." Reve shrugged. "I'm going to take her out while you two are fighting. If you get hit by one of my bullets, that's on you."
Erza just smiled on response. "I can always count on you to keep me on my toes."
[End Flashback]
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Reve kept shooting while Lucia and Erza fought. He really didn't care if Erza was in the line of fire, and neither did she. Thinking about that only held them back, which ironically worked in this scenario. A strange plan only these two could pull off for victory. "When I was younger, I looked up to the famous Erza Scarlet…I wanted to join Fairy Tail to be tutored by you. But then that day, seven years ago…you and the important people from your guild vanished." He recalled the day clearly; a young Reve Volver approaching the doors of Fairy Tail shortly after the Tenrojima incident. He was met at the door by Max, who rejected his offer to join.
"I was turned down that day…it was a shock. And then I found White Eclipse. Years later, not only do you come back, but you won the Grand Magic Games. On that day we met, I vowed to be better than you." His Target Eyes were active, allowing him to see over long distances. Nobody else was even close to his location, so he was probably the most dangerous person to anyone he set his eyes on.
"No matter how many times we fought at first, it was always a draw. And then I finally beat you once…it felt like I accomplished what I set out to do…only for you to just get stronger somehow. Despite me winning, you continued to do the impossible…as if that fight didn't contain everything you were capable of." His mind flashed back to the incident on the Isle of the Dragons, where Erza was capable of wielding the Eternal Sword, and again in Tartarus, where she did the impossible and fought despite her senses being robbed by Kyoka. "I realized that was the Erza I sought to defeat all this time…the one who fights like everything is on the line. And I couldn't beat that one…but that doesn't mean I won't stop trying. Because I am Reve Volver. Anything you can do, I can do better."
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Erza and Lucia's swords clashed one more time, creating a fierce shockwave. Lucia was holding strong despite her injury, which leveled the field for Erza. "As fun as this has been…I think I'm tired of getting shot at. Do you know where the sniper is?"
"I'm not going to tell you that." Erza replied.
"I wasn't talking to you." Lucia smiled. A pair of yellow eyes appeared within Lucia's shadow. Lucia used this time to kick up a large cloud of dust that obscured them from sight for a few seconds. Erza's eyes widened, but before she could move, Shade emerged from the darkness and let loose an ear splitting wail that pushed Titania backwards. "You set up a clever trap, but you should know that we always have a backup plan!"
"I know where he issss…." Shade replied before vanishing into the darkness once more. Because of the smokescreen Lucia created, Reve wouldn't be able to notice Shade's presence at all.
"Oh no…" Erza turned, prepared to warn Reve in some way. But she didn't have the chance as Lucia kicked her. "Gnk!"
"Now, with that done…" Lucia pointed her blade at Erza once again. She was ready to pick up where they left off. "I believe this makes the fight even again."
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Next Time: Joint Assault.
