Lion's Crown thought they could take Bradford, but it did not go the way they wanted. Coro tried taking on Bradford alone, but he was just trying to stay strong until his fellow guildmates showed up. Even when they did, Bradford turned the tables with his curse magic. They all had their energy drained out of them and they could be in real trouble.
"With all the talk, I thought you would have given me more of a fight." Bradford said.
"We're not beaten yet." Ranko said as he tried to keep the fight going. He tried attacking with his sword, but Bradford easily avoided it. He gave Ranko a powerful kick and sent him flying into a tree.
"Our strength has been drained out of us." Lennis said as he had trouble standing.
"I don't see how you can win this fight now." Bradford said as he walked over to him. He gave Lennis a powerful hit and knocked him to the ground.
"Stella, can you regain your strength from the moon?" Netina asked.
"I'll try." Stella said as she looked in the direction of the moon and saw it was crescent-shape. "However, it's going to take some time. I can use moonlight to restore my power, but when it wanes or waxes, it will take longer."
"You won't be doing a thing." Bradford said as he held out his hand and used his magic. It caused the ground under both of them to fall apart. Both of them fell in the ground and found themselves stuck. "I say this battle is just about over."
"Well, you're wrong." Coro said as he tried to stand himself. "Lion's Crown never goes down as easily as you might think. We'll fight until we can't fight anymore."
"Please. Look at you. You won't be able to stand anymore. How do you plan on fighting me?" Bradford questioned.
"Anyway we can. Especially since it's really Fairy Tail that you're after." Coro said. "This one is for Fairy Tail!" Coro charged right at him and tried to attack him, but Bradford drove his fist right into Coro's gut and got the wind knocked out of him. Coro couldn't take it as he dropped to the ground.
"Lion's Crown...? That's the name of the guild you said you're from, right?" Bradford questioned. "If that's the case, if you're not from Fairy Tail, why would you even bother getting involved in this fight? Fairy Tail is who we're after."
"That's simple." Coro said as he looked up at him. "It's because they're our friends. Lion's Crown was heading for a dark place. Fairy Tail helped us see how messed up we were and helped us become better people. We've become a better guild because of them."
"Is that so? With what I heard, I assumed you and Fairy Tail might have disagreements or such." Bradford said.
"Well, I guess you can say we are their rivals, but a rival is someone you can also consider a friend." Coro said as he tried to get back up. "They push us to do better. That's why I'm going to keep fighting." He tried to stand, but Bradford stomped down on Coro's head and pushed him back down.
"That sounds like nothing but tough talk at this point." Bradford said.
"Not really. I'm not the only one that feels that way." Coro said. Bradford looked around to see the other members of Lion's Crown trying to get back up. They felt the same way as Coro did and won't give up because of that. Bradford actually found this annoying.
"I guess I'll just have to show you how ruthless The Ten can be." Bradford said.
'Come on, Coro. Get up and fight.' Coro thought as he tried to motivate himself. 'You owe it to Fairy Tail. You owe it to yourself.' He knew he had to keep the fight going, but that was easier said than done at this point.
...
The Guild
Zeref kept his eye on the enemy's movements, as well as the movement of the guild's forces and allies. Despite how late it is, it's difficult to relax and rest in the middle of a war.
"Here." Laxus said as he handed Zeref some coffee. "This might help you stay awake."
"Thank you." Zeref said as he had some.
"You really should get some rest. Others are getting some sleep while they can." Laxus said. "We're going to need your intellectual mind to help us out."
"I understand, considering how some of the members of your guild act." Zeref said with Laxus feeling insulted. "Everyone seems to be stationary at the moment, but we have to be ready for when an enemy does attack. As it stands, only four members of The Ten have been defeated, but Ankhselam is getting closer and closer. We need as many to be taken out as possible before we can face him."
"I get it, but you have nothing to really worry about." Laxus said.
"Confident in your guild as always?" Zeref said.
"Well, yes." Laxus said.
"In that case, let me out!" Natsu shouted. Both turned around to see Natsu trying to talk to them while others hold him back. "I'm missing out on all the action! I can't keep sitting around here! Let me go and fight!"
"Natsu, keep it down. People are trying to sleep." Zeref said as he turned back to the map. He just ignored Natsu's pleads with Laxus brushing him off.
"He does have the right idea." Laxus said. "It doesn't really matter if you're in the guild or not. If you got the guts to face an enemy, you can pull through. That's how things always seem to work when you allied yourself with us." An example of that is fighting right now, with help unknowingly to others on it's way.
...
The North
Bradford gave Lion's Crown a hard time. He thrashed them around and they've all taken some damage as each one of them appear to have been beaten to the ground. He had Coro pinned to the ground as he stomped and kicked him continuously.
"Are you telling me that's the best Fairy Tail's rival can do?" Bradford taunted as he continued his assault on Coro. "I was expecting more, but I'm very disappointed. This was almost too easy." Bradford kept stomping on Coro, but Coro was able to grab his foot and pushed him back. Bradford was surprised as he didn't think Coro had any strength left in him. Bradford's words did make Coro angry, but also determined to prove him wrong.
"I came out here because Fairy Tail asked us for our help." Coro said. "You think they're going to take us serious as their rivals if we let a punk like you walk all over us. My guild's reputation is on the line now. That means I need to get back up and take you down!" Coro moved quickly as he tossed Bradford's foot aside and got back on his feet as he punched Bradford across the face and knocked him back a few feet.
"How?" Bradford questioned. "How can you still have that much strength remaining?"
"Actually, I didn't think I had that much left in me either, so that's a good question." Coro said. Coro felt his body and he began to feel rejuvenated little by little. He wasn't the only one. The other members of Lion's Crown were feeling the same. Their strength was starting to come back and the pain they've been feeling was slowly fading.
"Hey. I'm starting to feel a little better." Ranko said.
"Me too. My strength is slowly starting to come back." Netina said.
"What's going on?" Stella questioned. She had a quick look around and spotted a faint green scent in the air. She looked down and spotted fuchsia flowers emitting it around them. "What are these flowers?"
"My own special creations." They all looked and saw one more joining the fight, but none of them knew who he was. "Those flowers emit a special scent that act like pain killers and give you some strength back."
"Who are you?" Coro asked as he seemed ready for a fight.
"Put those fists away. I'm on your side, or else I wouldn't have helped you just now. My name is Forge, I was once a member of Fairy Tail." Forge, a former member of Fairy Tail, Warrod's great-grandson, and old frind of Laxus. It looks like he's taking part in the fight as well.
"Fairy Tail..." Bradford said as he recognized him as the enemy.
"It seems Laxus got his guild into some trouble again." Forge said. "I was in the area and saw all that was going on. When I saw a few members of Fairy Tail, I knew this wasn't good at all. I don't exactly know what's going on, but seeing as how that guy was beating on you relentlessly, and the fact you talked like you were Fairy Tail's friends, I figure I step in to help you out. I might not be an official member of the guild anymore, but I will be more than willing to help them and their allies."
"If you're with Fairy Tail, that's good enough for me to trust you." Coro said.
"And that's good enough for me to crush you, as orders by my lord." Bradford said as he used his magic to destroy Forge's flowers.
"That's not very nice." Forge said.
"I'll show you nice." Bradford said as he used his magic at Forge. Forge jumped out of the way as an explosion went off.
'Such strange and dark magic. He also has very strong magic power.' Forge thought as he was getting an understanding as to what he was up against. Forge snapped his fingers. When he did, roots shot out of the ground and hit Bradford right in the gut with him being take into the air.
"Listen, whatever you're going to do, you better do it fast." Forge said. "My flowers don't completely heal you. They just make the pain easier to deal with."
"Don't think I'm going to run. I'm not running anywhere." Coro said.
"None of you will leaving." Bradford said as he moved his way around the roots and went to attack again. Coro went at Bradford and the two of them collided once more. "Move it, boy!" He hit Coro right across the face and knocked him back.
"Whoever he is, he certainly has a lot of magic power." Forge said. "He won't be easy to defeat."
"No kidding. You got any other tricks up your sleeve?" Coro asked.
"I'm sorry. My green magic isn't really built for offensive purposes. It's usually used for support." Forge said. He tried to think of a way he could help them and he did think of one way. "There is one spell I could use that might help."
"Good. I'll take it." Coro said.
"Very well." Forge said as he readied the spell as he rotated his arms like the arms of a clock.
"This has gone on long enough." Bradford said as he was emitting some dark magic to finish this.
"Oh beautiful nature, nourish this one. Grant him the strength as he accepts your blessing." Forge said. "Nature's Invocation!" He used his magic as green energy came from the surrounding nature and gathered around Coro.
"What's happening?" Coro said.
"This spell gathers nature's power into your body, making yourself stronger." Forge said. "It won't last long. End this while you can."
"I will." Coro said as he pounded his hand into his fist. "I can't call myself Fairy Tail's rival if Lion's Crown can't beat a punk like this guy." Coro might be in Lion's Crown, but he's fighting with the same determination that Fairy Tail fights with. Instead of setting, the sun is rising in this battle.