Azrael, Kratos, and Camelia would charge through the ranks of Fairy Tail members infiltrating the Wolves' Den, using various types of magic to trap, ensnare, or take out members of Blood Hound. A large group turned and began heading towards the trio, only to suddenly be wrapped up in vines and vegetation that had bursted through the floor, then encased in ice.
Azrael would look to see who came to their aid, noticing Lyndus and another woman with medium-long peach hair tailing them. "Get a move on, already!" Lyndus shouted, motivating the group to continue onwards until a giant brute began to barrel his way through members of Fairy Tail ahead of them.
Camelia would throw her arm out, stopping the group. "I've got this." She stated, putting her hands together and spreading them out, a yellow translucent screen manifesting in between her hands. She would fire it out at the berserker, the screen expanding, before covering the hall in its entirety. The brute would attempt to charge through the barrier, creating a crack in the screen, but nonetheless bouncing off from the impact.
The screen would disappear, the group deciding to carry on afterwards, only for the brute to grab Lyndus by her foot and attempt to slam her into the ground with immense force. With a split second to act, the girl with peach-colored hair would cry out, calling forth a large sum of mana, "Nature's Calling: Bed of Flowers!"
As she did so, a mass of flowers and vegetation would erupt underneath where Lyndus would have landed, lessening the impact as the brute released her. Camelia and the girl would stay behind, Kratos and Azrael stopping, as well.
"Lyndus! Camelia!" He shouted, only for Camelia to throw her arm out to block their path once more, "I said I've got this!" She shouted. "Reina, Lyndus, and I can take care of big, bad and ugly here! You two need to find Drayven! Go!"
Kratos grit his teeth, before turning around and charging ahead, requiping into a different set of armor, a thicker, more durable-looking set. "She's right, let's go, Azrael!" He called out, Azrael following suit, but not before looking back to see the three women working together to ensnare the brute in vegetation, blocking his attacks with barriers, and attacking with ice.
- - - - - - - - - - {next scene} - - - - - - - - - -
Drayven would be clutching the right side of his face, his teeth clenched as he growled in pain. "That impudent brat..! Why won't this heal?!" He cried out, ripping out his destroyed eye-ball, and throwing it on the ground. He would proceed to wrap a bandage over his right eye, looking over towards the entrance of the throne room after hearing the doors open.
Kratos and Azrael would enter the room, facing down the lone guildmaster by themselves. Drayven would compose himself, seeing the two to blame for his injury, smirking as he thought of all the ways he'd repay them.
"Drayven Albright of Blood Hound! If you surrender peacefully right now, all of this will come to an end! It's your decision." Kratos announced, his arms at his side as to not provoke Drayven into attacking. Drayven would laugh loudly, before it turned into a cackle. "You?! You're asking me to surrender?! Now, that's rich!" He replied, before suddenly appearing before them, merely two feet away, "How about this? The both of you surrender to me and I'll spare you your suffering. Grovel on your knees, and I'll let all of the foolish fairies that dared oppose me die quickly, eh?"
Azrael grit his teeth as a current of wind filled the room. "You don't give a damn about your guild at all, do you?!" He exclaimed, fury filling his very core. Drayven's eye would narrow and focus in on Azrael, twitching slightly. "You, boy." He would call, pointing at Azrael, "What is your name?"
Azrael glared at Drayven, getting into a battle-ready stance, Kratos following suit. "Azrael Kazenochi." He replied, Drayven closing his eye and nodding as he received his answer. "Azrael Kazenochi…" He repeated, before opening his eye, his face contorting in agitation and anger, "I will remember what you've done for an eternity, Azrael Kazenochi!"
With that, Drayven would attempt to deliver a powerful blow to Azrael's abdomen, only for Azrael to respond instinctively, reacting to his movements through the wind. He would sidestep Drayven's attack and direct wind to his left foot to deliver a swift kick to the right side of Drayven's face once more, a wind blast firing off as his foot made impact.
Drayven would be sent flying from the impact of Azrael's combined kick and wind blast attack, only for Kratos to intercept him from a few strides away, kneeing him in the skull, and using a double-ax handle to smash him into the ground. Drayven would groan, beginning to pick himself up, before Kratos would grab his head by his hair and knee him in the face.
"How about you grovel on your knees, you son of a bitch!" Kratos exclaimed, attempting to knee him again, only to find Drayven's hand blocking him. All of a sudden, the hand would grab Kratos' leg and lift him up, swinging him into the ground. Drayven would stand, slamming his foot down on Kratos' head before he could get up, causing him to scream in pain. He would continue to do so, laughing wildly as Kratos' eyes widened, him choking in agony.
"Stop it…" Azrael growled, only for Drayven to stop and look over his way. Kratos would reach out to him, his arm shaking and trembling, only for Drayven to smash his hand with his other foot. "What was that, boy? I couldn't hear you over the sound of your friend dying!" He cackled.
Intense winds would flow from Azrael's body, strong enough to cause Drayven to stumble and step off of Kratos. "I SAID STOP IT!" Azrael's voice boomed, before he suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Drayven, a wind-driven punch firing into the center of his back. Drayven would be sent flying until he crashed into his own throne, destroying it entirely. An aftershock of powerful wind would erupt from the very force of the impact, causing the remnants of the Blood Hound throne to be blown away.
Azrael would pick Kratos up, him barely hanging on to consciousness, and lay him against the wall close to where they were standing. "Thank you for your assistance. I'll handle it from here." He said to Kratos, a slight smile forming on his face as he began to rest.
Drayven would pick himself up and howl in anger, flexing his magic power as the ground caved from underneath him. Azrael would slowly walk towards him, wind flowing behind him. "AZRAEL KAZENOCHI!" He bellowed, rushing at him at his full-speed to sucker punch him. Azrael would take the punch full force, using this opportunity to swing his own fist into Drayven's stomach, with the full force of the winds behind him powering the impact as he dug into him.
Azrael would be knocked to the ground as Drayven's legs buckled, him collapsing to his knees as Azrael stood to his, wiping blood from his mouth. Suddenly, Drayven would smirk as he opened his mouth and unleashed a wave of fire from within, scorching the side of Azrael's face. Drayven would lunge forward to take advantage of his stunned opponent, and begin delivering a series of punches to the right side of Azrael's face.
"How does it feel?! Hurts, doesn't it?! I'll give you tenfold what you gave me!" His punches began to gain in both speed and power as he beat Azrael to a pulp. "A hundredfold! A THOUSANDFOLD!" He cackled, continuing to smash his fists into Azrael.
He would stop after a minute, exhausting himself, before standing up and turning to Kratos. "And now it's your turn…" He rasped, before feeling another gust of wind blow past him, immediately whirring around to see the beaten and bloodied Azrael barely standing on his feet, his hand extended from the weak blast of wind he fired at Drayven. "L-Leave him alone..!" He weakly cried out.
Drayven would charge at Azrael once more, "Why won't you just stay DOWN!" He furiously exclaimed, lifting Azrael by his collar, and launching a heavy punch to the center of his face, following the punch through to slam him into the ground, destroying the ground underneath Azrael.
All of a sudden, Azrael would hear a voice call out to him. "You cannot fall here, Azrael Kazenochi. Look deep within yourself and find the strength to prevail. The world depends on you." It said. Azrael would recognize this voice. It was… the Time Weaver!
Drayven would pant, wiping the blood from his fist, looking over to Kratos once more, before approaching him and picking him up by his arm, Kratos groaning in pain. "Now, where were we, great Defender of the Weak?" He mused, before feeling more wind blow past him.
"How many times will we be doing this-" He said, turning around, before being silenced by seeing Azrael face him with his head down, a massive amount of wind swirling around him, lifting him off the ground. His hands would be clenched tightly, blood dripping from his palms.
"I said to leave him alone." Azrael repeated, a calm and quiet fury fueling him. Drayven would stare at him in shock, but begin to chuckle after a moment, dropping Kratos. "Oh? Well, perhaps I didn't beat enough sense into you, yet. Let me amend that!" Drayven shouted, charging at him once again, only for Azrael to raise his arm, his palm facing outwards as numerous blades of wind began firing at Drayven.
Drayven would be caught by these blades of wind, the first couple merely grazing him and healing right away, but the next ones slashing into him and stopping him in his tracks, creating several deep wounds in his body, until he was thrown backwards, landing on his back, coughing and gagging. He would pick himself up once Azrael's attack ceased, attempting to charge at him again and unleash a series of powerful punches, only for Azrael to continuously dodge as he glided slightly above the ground, the wind guiding him around each and every blow.
"Stay still, damn you!" Drayven cursed, only for Azrael to do so, him grinning as he unleashed a full-power punch into Azrael's face. "TAKE THAT!" He shouted triumphantly, only to feel pressure against his fist. As he noticed what happened, his eye widened with shock. Kratos, with the last of his energy, intercepted the punch and blocked it with both of his hands, collapsing afterwards.
Azrael would close his eyes and sigh after Kratos protected him, before a veil of wind began to swirl around Drayven and forcefully lift him off the ground against his will, Azrael's eyes opening and glaring at him coldly. The wind pressure lifting Drayven up would become more and more intense until it began to crush his body. "W-w-wait! I surrender! I'll surrender peacefully! Let me down and we can end this!" He cried out, his voice shaky and quivering. The wind pressure would become even stronger, choking him slightly.
"You are a vile, pathetic creature, who deserves no mercy." Azrael replied, anger filling each and every word he spoke. "P-Please! I beg of you!" Drayven groveled, gasping for air. Kratos would weakly reach for Azrael's foot, Azrael looking at him.
"Don't…" Kratos rasped, shaking his head with a somber look on his face. Azrael knew exactly what he meant, but Drayven interpreted it in a different way. "NO, PLEASE! I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT! PLEASE, SPARE ME!" He cried out, before being blasted to the ground by a high-pressure wind blast, being released from Azrael's grasp. Azrael would fall to the ground, collapsing on his knees as he overexerted himself.
Kratos smiled before closing his eyes and fading into unconsciousness. Azrael, too, would smile, before falling to the ground. "I'll never become a man like him, Kratos… I promise you…" Azrael muttered quietly, before also fading into unconsciousness.
Author's Note:
We have one more chapter of the Wayward Wizard before this arc will come to a close!
You guys are probably wondering how Azrael was able to withstand the attacks from someone like Drayven, so let me shed some light on that. When Azrael fought against Dave, he didn't know how to use his powers and was just learning what he could do. Once he figured out what he could do, he ended the fight pretty quickly.
In this scenario, Azrael has a little more experience under his belt now, at least with understanding certain elements of his abilities. He didn't do anything super fancy until the end, what with lifting Drayven against his will using high-pressure winds. All he really has done was read movements through the wind, make his attacks stronger and faster via wind power, and use wind blasts/blades.
Azrael will grow into more complex skills, but until he experiments more with his abilities, that'll be pretty much the margin of what he can accomplish.
Anyways, thanks once again for reading this chapter! Let me know your thoughts about this chapter - if it felt rushed or if you felt that certain things should've happened!
See you guys in The Wayward Wizard: Chapter 5!