The Battle Begins Anew
With Team A
Erza ducked underneath a sharp pillar of earth that threatened to skewer her, speeding towards Jura in her Flight Armor. The man grunted, before the earth itself rumbled, a shockwave sending her backwards. Mirajane was quick to keep the pressure on, flying above to avoid the shockwave as an orb of Darkness Magic formed in her hands. The Earth Magic user grunted, a wall of earth appearing before him to halt her progress. Mirajane countered easily, curving around the wall and launching the orb at Jura only for him to reach out with his gauntlets and catch the orb with ease. Mirajane's eyes widened as the attack detonated, barely phasing the man before he suddenly shot forwards, batting Mirajane away.
"Mira," Erza cried out, leaping forwards with her blades. Gritting her teeth she swung the weapon only for Jura to easily catch it and shatter it with a simple flex of his forearms, eyes locked on her. Erza cursed, leaping away from the man before spikes of earth shot out of the ground where she once was, forcing her to retreat. Jura stepped forwards, eyes hard before he launched towards the duo of S-class mages.
Zash watched with amusement as the two Fairy Tail mages struggled to withstand Jura's assault. The two were clearly not trying to seriously hurt the man, figuring that they could save him. An amusing effort, but a futile one. As long as he was conscious Jura would be his to command. And if they did not begin fighting with the intent to kill they would die. Jura was too powerful for either of them to take lightly.
"Focus over hear dumbass," Lyon grunted, releasing an Ice Make: Ice Dragon in the man's direction, forcing him to leap away from the attack. The man glanced at Lyon, only for him to quickly be forced to pay attention to the blasts of mud shooting in his direction courtesy of Sherry's Doll Magic. The man deflected the attack, glaring at the duo. His eyes flashed red as he locked eyes with them.
"Tch. Nuisance's. Kill them as well!"
Lyon smirked, waiving his hands forwards to release a flock of eagles made of ice towards Zash. The man's eyes narrowed, raising his arms to deflect the birds only for them to fly by him, slashing his sides. The man grunted, blood trailing from his form, before he stared at the two anger on his face.
"How?"
Lyon smirked, pointing to his face which was covered with glasses made of ice. Sherry's eyes were covered in the same material.
"Your attack didn't work on Sasuke because he's blind. It implied that you need more than just eye contact for your magic to take hold. No, you likely also need the victim's eyes to be functioning normally. Taking in light normally. Otherwise what you did with Sasuke would have worked because you had eye contact. But ice reflects light, which doesn't let your magic take effect. My hypothesis was correct."
Zash grit his teeth, snarling at the duo. "So you counted my magic. Don't get cocky. I'm still more than strong enough to handle some two-bit Ice-Make mage and a Doll Magic mage."
"You say so, but Lyon's already drawn blood," Sherry stated. "It won't be much longer till you're on the ground, defeated."
"Flesh wounds," Zash spat before he blurred forwards. Sherry's eyes widened, completely unprepared for his speed. Her doll swung forwards, attempting to block his advance but the man batted it aside, shattering it into pieces before he appeared in front of Sherry. The man snarled as he launched a punch, the blow smashing into her stomach as she coughed blood onto his arm. The man snarled, batting her aside before shaking the blood off of his body.
"Keep your blood off me, worm."
"Sherry!"
Lyon snarled, releasing an Ice Dragon at the man that Zash leapt away from, an annoyed look on his face. Zash shot forwards as soon as his feet reached the ground. Lyon grit his teeth, quickly forming a shield of ice before Zash reached him, only for the man's hands to spear through it with ease. Shards of ice shot through the air, only for Lyon to grit his teeth as the hand stopped just before it reached his jugular. Ice covered Zash's arm, the remaining parts of the shield having stopped his attack.
Lyon grinned, kicking Zash backwards. The man stumbled back, irritation on his face before he glanced behind him, leaping into the air to avoid the ice dragon that tried to dive upon him once more.
"Let's get rid of that," he muttered, flipping to kick off of a tree before he shot forwards like a bullet. The man's hand reached out, carving through the ice dragon only for Lyon to slam his hands on the ground.
"Ice-Make: Water Serpent!"
The ground erupted as the serpent hissed, attempting to clamp down on Zash only for the man to roar and punch forwards, shattering the construct as though it were glass. The man stared at Lyon, a smirk forming on his face only for it to fade quickly as a tree smashed into him, sending him skidding backwards. The man whirled, shocked to see a monstrous tree staring down at him. Lyon glanced to his side, smiling at the slowly standing form of Sherry.
"It'll take more than that asshole," she hissed, causing the tree to roar. Zash smirked, clenching his fist as a small red aura began to leak from his body.
"I can give you more you bitch."
Lyon glanced at the girl, a frown forming on his face.
"Careful Sherry. He's just reinforcing his body with his magic and he's this powerful. He isn't someone to take lightly."
"I will be. We can hurt him. The wounds on him already show that much. We just need to capitalize on it."
"I was taking you lightly when you formed these wounds," Zash said, the red aura growing more intense. "I assure you it will not happen again."
The man moved and Sherry and Lyon desperately tried to defend themselves against his assault.
With Team C
Gray unleashed his attack as soon as they fully shrank into children. The small spears of ice shot towards Doriate, only for the demon to bat them aside, the weapons shattering on his skin.
"Is that all you had? I thought you at least came with a plan this time."
"He did," Eve stated, raising his arms at the demon. "It's us! White Fury!"
Doriate snorted as the small snowstorm approached him, barely even making him shiver as he approached the group. Eve's eyes widened as he walked through his attack.
"Children," Doriate muttered before he blurred forwards, appearing in front of Eve. "should learn their place!" he roared as he smashed his fist into Eve's body. Eve flew backwards, smashing into a tree. Doriate grinned, prepared to continue the attack only for Gray to appear beneath him, his hands slamming onto the ground.
"Ice-Make: Pillar!"
The ground shuddered before Doriate was elevated a few feet into the ground. The man glanced at Gray.
"Please tell me that isn't all you had in mind."
Doriate raised his arm to attack Gray, only to pause as he felt a wet substance cover him. The man glanced upwards before his eyes widened as he saw the downpour caused by the rain above him.
"What? It was clear skies until a second ago."
"Juvia is a rain woman," Juvia muttered.
Levy grinned at the statement, rushing next to Doriate as fast as her tiny legs would carry her before she placed a hand on his back.
"Solid Script: Electricity!"
Doriate howled as the voltage surged through his body, the attack amplified by the rain. Gray grinned as he saw it, forming a focus in front of the man.
"Your magic reduces our skills to that of children right? Or makes us children again? Either way, that's fine with me. Beating you as a child will be more rewarding. Ice-Make: Saucer!"
The small saucer cut through the air, slashing into Doriate's body once more, a thin trail of blood forming on his upper chest. Juvia's eyes narrowed at the sight of blood, sending a pulse of water towards the opening. Levy saw her movements, immediately capitalizing and unleashing another Solid Script: Electricity that met his body at the same time. Doriate howled again, his body seizing due to the electricity.
Eve watched the trio work, shock on his eyes as he saw their effectiveness.
"They must have thought of this. Juvia can make the rain come down and Levy can launch attacks that do serious damage without using much magic or requiring much control. And Gray, even though his attacks are weaker, can make him bleed. It's an effective strategy. But what can I do to contribute?"
Doriate roared, breaking free of the electricity to glare down at Gray and Levy.
"Damn brats!" he roared as he tried to grab the duo. The Fairy Tail mages tried to leap away but were too slow in their childlike forms. Doriate's hand reached them, ready to snatch them only for his eyes to be blinded by snow. Dorate hissed, stumbling away from the duo and blowing the snow away but by then they were far away from him.
"Nice save, Eve," Gray stated.
"Of course. I'll make sure he can't hit you guys. You just keep laying on the damage."
"Of course," Levy stated. "Juvia how much of a drain on your magic is the rain?"
"Juvia's magic does this naturally," Juvia stated. "Juvia does not know exactly how long the rain will hold. It never faded once in her life until Juvia was defeated by Fairy Tail mages."
"I see," Levy stated. "Well then, let's take this guy down before we start worrying that the rain won't last huh?"
"Damn brats," Doriate stated, hissing. "I'll kill you. Don't you get it? I'll murder you!"
"Of course you will," Eve stated, before he let his hands fly. Snow shot forwards only for Doriate to roar, blitzing forwards through the attack. Eve's eyes widened, leaping away to barely avoid being pinned by the demon only for Doriate to turn towards Juvia. The monster roared, swinging his arms and batting into her body, only for his eyes to widen as water flew everywhere instead.
"What?"
"Juvia is a rain woman," the blue haired mage stated, water flying around Doriate in a large sphere. Doriate grunted, reaching out to break through the bubble only for it to expand to an even larger area.
"Your control is so good even though he shrank us," Eve questioned. "How?"
"Juvia is not directly controlling the water. Juvia is merely having water focus on a point, something Juvia could do as a child. There is simply so much water that it is creating the object you see before you."
"If you could do that why couldn't you control the rain," Levy stated, pointing upwards. "Not that I'm complaining. I like the added utility of it in this fight."
"Juvia must actively stop the rain from falling. Juvia's magic naturally effects the environment otherwise."
"That's totally broken."
"Focus!" Gray roared.
"Solid Script: Lightning!"
Doriate howled as the bubble sizzled with the eletricity Levy provided. Blood leaked from his mouth, but the demon's eyes never left the quartet. Gray grit his teeth at the visible sign of defiance, glancing at Eve.
"Eve help me freeze this!"
"Right!"
Eve let loose the strongest snowstorm he could create in his small form as Gray chaneled his Arctic Magic, the two elemental waves slowly but surely freezing the blob of water solid. Nothing inside the ice moved. Even when Gray moved Doriate's eyes could not track him.
"Did we do it," Levy questioned.
"No, last time I reverted back to my normal size, he can't be defeated that easily."
"You said you lost last time right," Eve mentioned. "Maybe he let you return back to your normal size and he can't do that when he's defeated?" Eve walked up to the block of ice, smirking the entire way.
"Still I have to say I was expecting more from him. If he was this easy to beat when he weakened us then we should let him go and force him to return his back to our normal forms."
Suddenly the iced bubble exploded with power as a wave of magic shot out. Doriate snarled, reaching out and grasping Eve's throat, bringing the small mage to his face.
"Weak am I?"
"Why would he say that," Gray muttered, dashing in only for Doriate to bat him to the side with his other arm. The demon glared at Eve, the mage's face slowly beginning to change color.
"Solid Script-"
"Oh no you don't," Doriate roared, appearing before Levy and slamming a foot into her stomach. The girl flew, smashing into a tree as blood trickled down from her mouth. Juvia cried out, rushing forwards only for Doriate to leap away from the girl, irritation on his face.
"I may not be able to kill you girl, but that's fine," he said, turning to look at the struggling Eve. "I can kill everyone else around you," the demon stated. Juvia cried out, releasing a stream of water at Doriate only for the demon to use Eve as a shield, forcing Juvia to stop the attack.
"Stop it!" Gray roared, swinging a small blade of ice at Doriate's ankles only for the demon to snort and bat him away, blood trickling down Gray's body due to the cuts on him.
Doriate turned back to Eve, a smirk forming on his face.
"I've had enough of this. Die."
"No! Solid Script: Wave!"
The water from the rain and on the grain roared to life in the shape of the word, barreling towards Doriate. The demon grinned as the wave hit him, pushing him back. The spell surged forwards, toppling trees with its power. Levy panted as she did so, waiting to find the demon in the destruction.
"Did I stop him?"
"I don't know," Gray muttered.
"Juvia cannot sense him in the water. There is too much of it."
"I may have overdid that," Levy muttered, dropping to a knee. "I used up about half of my magic on that attack. I might have gotten Eve caught in there, especially with me using the surrounding water as the catalyst."
"Oh I assure you that Eve child doesn't care," came the call. The trio of Fairy Tail mages turned, shock on their face as they saw Doriate rising to his feet to grin at them. In his hands was Eve, but the head of the Blue Pegasus mage was facing the opposite direciton. Doriate grinned, dropping the lifeless coprse to the ground like a sack of rice.
Levy's eyes widened as she saw the coprse, dropping to both knees. Water filled her eyes as she retched onto the ground. Juvia could only stare at the corpse, shock on her face.
"He..." the blue haired girl whispered. "He killed him..."
Doriate grinned, slowly approaching the trio. "Yes...and you all are next. And then the rest of you legal mages. I think I'll start with Fairy Tail first. Maybe keep one of you alive to watch your friends suffer."
Gray grit his teeth, stepping in front of the two to stare down Doriate.
"Over my dead body."
Doriate's grin widened. "That can be arranged."
With Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel
The two Fairy Tail Dragonslayers groaned as they removed their bodies from the ground.
"That was a rough landing," Natsu muttered. The teen glanced at Happy. "You okay?"
"Aye sir. I'm just a little banged up. Nothing major." The feline turned towards Carla, rushing over to help her up from the ground. "Happy to the rescue!"
"I do not need, nor desire, your help," Carla said hotly, brushing off his hand as she rushed over to Wendy. "Wendy?"
"I'm okay Carla," the girl whispered. "Just...shocked. I wasn't expecting to see Jellal."
"Speaking of that," Natsu stated. "Why did you heal Jellal? He's done terrible things."
"I've heard but it just doesn't seem true. The Jellal I know...he saved me as a young child. Brought me to Cait Shelter. I owe him my life. I'm sorry but I can't imagine him doing such horrible things!"
Natsu stared at the girl, frowning. Gajeel glanced at his fellow Dragonslayer, expecting him to do something rash only for the teen to place a hand gently on Wendy's head and ruffle her hair.
"I get it. He's one of your precious people, regardless of the things that he's done. Not helping him would have felt like betraying him. I wouldn't have left one of my precious people in that state either."
Wendy blushed, tears forming in her eyes.
"That was rather mature of you Salamander," Gajeel muttered. "Surprising."
"For an oaf I suppose he's not half bad," Carla muttered.
"Oi, what the hell does that mean? You two insulting me! I'll kick your ass!"
"I'd like to see you try it," Gajeel roared. "I'm stronger than last time. I'll beat you easily!"
"Well you both look like you're having quite the lively time. I'm happy for you. It will be the last positive memory of your lives."
The trio turned to see Ivan and the rest of Raven Tail standing on a tree in front of them. The man grinned down at them, locking eyes with Gajeel.
"And you Gajeel. Were you a spy for Makarov? I suppose it doesn't matter. You'll be dead in due time."
"You left me," Velveno stated, an annoyed look on his face. "Left me to fight Racer on my own. I'm never going to forgive you for that."
"Both of you had it coming honestly," Gajeel stated, grinning. "I mean you guys couldn't even beat some lowly S-class mages and want to take on the entirety of Fairy Tail? You two wouldn't get passed Naruto and Sasuke, much less the old man."
Ivan's eyes narrowed, glaring down at Gajeel. "You should watch what you say boy. How quickly I kill you depends on it."
"Well I won't be dying regardless."
"So confident, it will be fun making you grovel before me. Velveno, take care of the other one."
Velveno nodded, blurring forwards to attack Natsu, a punch of his smashing into Natsu's face before he kicked him away. Natsu grunted as he was sent skidding backwards from the force, Velveno rushing after him and landing another kick in his chest that sent him further away.
Gajeel frowned, glancing back at Natsu before he focused on Ivan. He had bigger problems on his hands right now than to worry about him. He just had to hope that Natsu was capable of defeating Velveno.
"Oh, so confident you can take me by yourself? Bold of you Ivan."
"Insolent brat," Ivan muttered. "The rest of you take care of the child, I'll take care of this trash."
The teen glanced at Wendy. "Kid. Run."
Wendy froze, staring terrified at the dark mages before her but Carla didn't hesitate, quickly activating her Aera magic and dragging Wendy into the air.
"Hunt her down."
"Gladly," Nullpudding stated, a grin on his face as he marched off.
"Lucky for you Gajeel, it would have been fun to see you squirm," Kurohebi commented.
"Tch. Not that you extra's would have been a challenge. You would have slowed us both down. Happy, go get Naruto and Sasuke. We can't afford for Wendy to get caught unawares. She's going to need help."
"Aye sir," the cat stated, blasting into the air. Ivan frowned as the cat left, turning to look at Gajeel.
"Those two are here?"
"Indeed, getting scared yet?"
"Of course not. They're nothing to me. In fact, I think it would be fun to kill them, after I dispose of you of course. It would be fun to show them your corpse, the body of a child who placed too much faith in them. Perhaps you're afraid of me and that's why you use them as a shield. Acknowledging that I'm stronger than you already?"
"Stronger than me," Gajeel questioned, a grin forming on his face. "Afraid of you? Hell no. I'm just excited to prove how strong I've gotten."
Gajeel leapt towards Ivan punching at him only for a wall of shikigami to block his punch. Ivan grinned. "Is that all you have? How disappointing."
"There's more to me than that! Iron Dragon's Roar!"
Ivan's eyes widened as the storm of shrapnel impacted with his wall, quickly overcoming it and sending him flying off the tree branch. The dark mage landed on the ground, an irritated look on his face before he sent another storm of shikigami at Gajeel, forcing the teen to flip away from him.
"You're going to die for that you know."
"I wouldn't be worried about me," Gajeel stated, glaring at Ivan as his skin turned into iron scales. Ivan frowned, raising his arms as shikigami began to swarm around him.
"You're going to be on the ground soon enough," Gajeel hissed.
Ivan stared Gajeel down.
"Doubt it."
The man sent another torrent of shikigami towards Gajeel, forcing the teen to raise his hands to catch the attack. Gajeel grit his teeth as the shikigami swirled in his arms before he dispersed the storm with a roar, grinning towards Ivan only for the man to no longer be standing in front of him. Gajeel frowned, glancing to his side just in time for Ivan's punch to smash against his face only for the teen to only turn his head. Ivan's eyes widened as Gajeel grinned.
"That...didn't hurt at all!"
Gajeel roared, grabbing Ivan by the wrist and flipped him onto the ground. The teen stomped on Ivan's chest, causing him to hiss in pain. The man made a sign with one of his arms, a swarm of shikigami forming from birds in the sky before they rained down on Gajeel, causing scratches in his iron armor and forcing him away from Ivan. Ivan sent the swarm towards Gajeel as he stood, only for the teen to grit his teeth and weather it, more scratches forming on his scales but no lasting damage.
"Those shikigami won't be of any use to you here," Gajeel stated, a grin on his face. "It can't get through these scales of mine."
"Then why did you run," Ivan questioned, smirking. "Besides, there's more than merely shikigami in these attacks."
Gajeel's eyes narrowed at the ominous statement before his eyes widened as he saw a flash of darkness. Ivan grinned as the shikigami fully encircled the Fairy Tail mage.
"Shikigami Dark Bomb!"
The explosion detonated, blowing trees and dirt away with its force. Ivan grinned as the smoke cleared, revealing Gajeel gritting his teeth. His iron scales had been destroyed and his shirt had been torn asunder, revealing burn marks covering his skin.
"Fucking bastard."
Ivan grinned. "All that from one attack? And you truly that you could defeat me. Laughable. Your meager defense means nothing to my attacks. Some defensive expert you are."
Gajeel snarled, glaring at Ivan. "You dare make a mockery of the magic Metallicana taught me...you won't be leaving here alive of that I can assure you."
"Well one of us will," Ivan muttered before he sprinted forwards. Gajeel rushed forwards to meet him. The two clashed blows, a wave of force blowing dirt away as their fists connected. Ivan grunted, pulling back to kick at Gajeel's chest only for the teen to grab the leg and begin to swing. Ivan grunted as he was lifted off the ground from the force, instead swinging his other leg at Gajeel's head. The blow connected, making the Dragonslayer stumble backwards as he let go of Ivan.
The man grunted as he landed on the ground, launching a punch at Gajeel only for the teen to catch it. Gajeel snarled, pulling Ivan into him to smash a punch into his stomach, causing Velveno to heave. Ivan grit his teeth.
'No fighting close range with him. He has the advantage there.'
Shikigami swarmed forwards, smashing into Gajeel and forcing him backwards. Gajeel hissed, watching the shikigami make another round at him as he readied his attack.
"Iron Dragon's Roar!"
The tornado of iron shrapnel smashed into the wave of shikigami, the two attacks struggling to overpower one another. It wasn't long before the tentative balance was broken and an explosion sent both combants skidding backwards. As the smoke cleared Ivan stood, gritting his teeth before he unleashed another storm of shikigami at Gajeel. The teen snorted, iron scales covering his body once more as raising his hands to catch the attack and with a mighty roar parted the attack entirely.
"You already know those won't work on me," Gajeel hissed.
Ivan didn't respond, instead allowing tendrils of darkness to whip through his shikigami once more. This time however Gajeel was prepared, bursting out of the tightening circle to reach out towards Ivan. The man leapt away, only for Gajeel to grin.
"Iron Dragon's Club!"
Gajeel's arm extended as it transformed, smashing into Ivan's chest and forcing the man into a tree. Ivan grit his teeth, blood leaking from his mouth before he clapped his hands. More birds in the sky disappeared as shikigami swarmed down towards Gajeel, their shapes bending to form swords and spears that smashed into his scales. While the attacks could not break his armor, it was enough to form cracks on it and force him backwards. Ivan snarled, a wave of magic pulsing out from him as more shikigami turned into swords and spears, Darkness Magic at the tips of the weapons before they shot towards Gajeel, detonating on contact with the teen's body. Gajeel snarled, attempting to dodge the flying weapons with limited success. The explosions made the ground unstable, and any hit he took shredded part of his armor.
"You're going to die dancing like a monkey," Ivan roared. "This fight is over!"
"You talk to much," Gajeel muttered, allowing his armor to drop to increase his speed. The teen turned, catching one of the shikigami swords and using it to deflect the remainder of the attacks, a grin forming on his face.
Ivan's eyes widened at the counter, clenching his fists in rage at Gajeel's ease of handling the attack. "You must think yourself very clever huh boy?"
"It's more of a know really."
Ivan snarled. "You were not this strong when Oracion Seis attacked us."
"And you weren't this bitchy," Gajeel responded, breaking the shikigami sword. The Dragonslayer slammed his fists together a grin forming on his face. "Now enough talk. I'm gonna beat the shit out of you don't you get it? I don't need to talk to you to do that."
Ivan snarled, forming more shikigami behind him, flicks of Darkness Magic dancing between every weapon. The man was not done however, clasping his hands together. With a grunt the final birds from the sky disappeared as they were transformed into shikigami, forming clones of the man, only these clones had blades for arms.
'So he can transform animals into shikigami or just make his own with his magic. And he can make clones of himself and imbue his shikigami with Darkness Magic. Gotta say, that's quite the problem. His attacks can break my armor as well. I definitely won't be able to win this in my base.'
"Are you prepared to die, Gajeel Redfox?"
Gajeel smirked, deciding not to bother with his iron armor considering the lack of protection it would offer.
"That's what I should be asking you."
Gajeel charged as Ivan sent his wave of shikigami towards Gajeel.
With Cobra
Cobra was not having a good day. First, Oracion Seis had easily dispatched his best chance of taking down Animus. Then, they kidnapped some girl. And now, after Jellal was revived, he had to go and fight two of his former teammates at the same time. Individually they wouldn't have been much of a threat. He was capable of defeating Hoteye before he had grown stronger thanks to Tartarus' powers, and Racer was even easier for him to defeat. The man's speed wasn't able to surpass his reaction times, and that was all he needed when he knew what Racer would do before he did it. But that was individually. Together, they posed a problem.
A problem he needed to separate.
Cobra caught another punch from Racer, kicking off of the man's chest into the air only for the ground to leap up at him. Cobra snorted, clapping his hands together and magnifying the sound with his Sound Magic. The spell blasted the liquid earth away, allowing him to land a safe distance away from the duo.
"Are you planning to run this entire time Cobra," Racer stated. "Don't be boring."
"I honestly have no intention of fighting either of you. I have bigger fish to fry."
"You cannot run from us Racer," Hoteye called. "My eyes will not allow it."
"Racer, Hoteye," came the call. The trio of combatants turned to see Kafuchi and Drum Bee walking off in different directions both of them seemingly not paying the fight any attention. Dyst was looking at the duo of S-class mages, his subordinates behind him.
"We're not sticking around while you fight him."
The quartet began to walk away. Hoteye's face contorted into one of annoyance. "I'll pay you."
Dyst paused. "You have my attention."
"I will pay you if you go out and kill the light mages in the area. Or the new Oracion Seis members. Either or."
Dyst glanced at his companions. They nodded at him, causing him to smirk.
"Deal."
Hoteye nodded, turning back to look at Cobra only for him to have disappeared.
"Racer, where did he go?"
"I don't know I was paying attention to Dyst! I thought you could track him with your eyes!"
"Right," Hoteye muttered, activating his Heaven's Eye. The man frowned. "He's following Animus. With the other group distracted we have plenty of time to catch up to him."
"Other group? What do you mean?"
"A group of mages are approaching us. They're coming from the east. Kafuchi is headed that way so we don't particularly need to worry about them. I suppose two members of the group are particularly powerful, one exceedingly so. Still, I have confidence Kafuchi will be able to defeat them. We are free to pursue Cobra."
"Good, let's move then!"
With Team D
"We have to be getting close," Ren stated, brushing another brush out of his way. The group was silent, the tension swarming them only for Azuma to suddenly stop.
"What is it," Elfman asked.
"Those energy signals from before, the new six, split off. And one of them..."
"One of them..."
"He's right there."
"Well that's quite the sensory abilities you have there."
Kafuchi emerged from behind a tree, the man smiling at them the entire time. "Quite impressive."
Elfman took a step backwards, a frown forming on his face. "Who the hell are you!"
"Kafuchi Marmalade," the man stated, taking a slow bow.
"Yeah I remember you," Cana muttered. "You used to run Circus Night, one of the guilds in Magnolia. We kicked your asses when I was a child."
"Such a mouth on you," Kafuchi said, smiling. "I'll be sure to enjoy wringing your neck so you can't use it anymore, Fairy Tail mage."
"Ah, so he's a former guild master," Azuma stated. "As interesting as that sounds can you handle him Ichiya? You're an S-class mage like me, and I have an appointment with Midnight. I have a score to settle with that guy."
"Oh, am I not strong enough for you Fairy Tail mage?"
"Pretty much."
Kafuchi snarled before a viscous black substance shot towards Azuma only for roots to spring from the ground and stop the attack cold. Azuma touched the roots, his body slowly beginning to meld into the tree.
"Like I said, not interested in you. You guys can handle him."
And with that Azuma was gone.
"Did he just merge with a tree," Cana questioned.
"I wasn't aware he could do that," Jet muttered.
"Alas he is right," Ichiya stated. "We already are spread thinly with S-class mages. We have to use our powers wisely. Elfman, it is time to see your true power!"
"What about us," Cana questioned.
"You go on ahead, us men shall handle this," Ichiya stated, posing. "It is indeed time for us to enact our plan. Who knows how many of our loyal allies shall need assistance? Ren, you shall assist them!"
"R-right," Jet stated, running off. Cana and Ren rushed to join him only for another snake-like substance to shoot towards them, this time Elfman transforming into his Lizardmen form and blocking it with a tree he ripped from the ground.
"They're not yours."
"You two take me far too lightly," Kafuchi hissed. "I'm a former guild master. An S-class mage. You think some clowns like you could defeat me?"
"Ah, I do not doubt your power of that I assure you," Ichiya stated. "It is merely the fact that I am confident that you cannot defeat the combined might of the Ace of Blue Pegasus and the Beast Man of Fairy Tail!"
"You absolute brat," Kafuchi muttered. "I'll kill you for this insolence!"
"Oh I'm sure you shall try," Ichiya stated as he grabbed a vial of perfume. "Men."
With Erza, Hibiki, and Mirajane
Mirajane grit her teeth as Jura sent another wave of earthen spikes towards her, quickly conjuring a wave of Darkness Magic to destroy the spikes. The white haired mage launched herself forwards as soon as she could, Darkness Magic covering his fists as she did so. With a roar she launched a punch at Jura only for a wall of earth to form before her, stopping the punch. Mirajane grit her teeth, launching blow after blow into the thick earthen wall before it crumpled to pieces. She grinned, prepared to hammer into Jura only for the man to instantly turn the dust in the air into lava, forcing her away before she was burned.
"Erza!"
The redhead dashed forwards, garbed in her Flight Armor. She appeared behind Jura in a burst of speed, slashing at his back only for the lava to swing behind him, melting her blades. Erza grit her teeth, leaping away from Jura before the lava assaulted her.
"I can't break through that lava of his! He's a terrible matchup for me!"
Jura grit his teeth, the red glow in his eyes magnified as he began to turn the ground itself to lava. The two S-class mages grit their teeth, giving the man a wider birth to avoid being melted by him.
"Naruto got around this with his elemental abilities. You're probably the best match for him Mira."
"The difference here is that Naruto's faster than me and can match his firepower. You're fast enough to get in his guard like Naruto, but you can't actually damage him because of that lava."
"You guys don't need to hurt him," Hibiki interjected, frowning as he looked at the lava before them. "You just need to give me an opening to attack him with my data. Frankly it's better if you didn't hurt him. We'll need his abilities to defeat our enemies. No, all I need for you to do get me an easy open shot. Get him to aim one of his more powerful attacks at you. That should give me a large enough window to slip by his defenses."
"Just get him to launch a big attack huh," Erza repeated, a small smile forming on her face. "We can do that. Operation Skyfall?"
"That old thing? We haven't done that since we were kids."
"I mean if it works it works."
"I suppose," Mirajane stated. "I'm not actually launching that attack though."
"Well of course not."
The two women nodded before they blasted off, Mirajane flying above the lava while Erza circled around. The redhead switched out her blade for twin lances in her hands, spinning on her heel as she got behind Jura.
"Hey Jura! Take this!"
With a grunt the girl launched the twin spears at Jura before she took off once more, more lances appearing in her hand that she continued to throw at the man. Jura grunted, the lava around him easily rising up and swallowing the lances, not allowing them to reach him. Erza didn't slow down however, continuing to launch lance after lance at the man. The lava swallowed it all.
But her goal wasn't to hit him.
Mirajane dashed in, using the lava to cover her movements as she neared Jura. The girl smirked as she reached the man only for her eyes to widen as he was staring directly at her, as if expecting her. The man reached out, attempting to grab her throat only for her eyes to flash a cryptic black and gravity to warp. Jura was flung backwards, away from her and off of his pocket of solid land into the lava. Mirajane grimaced but shot into the air, knowing that alone wouldn't be enough to kill the man.
"He can still sense me when he's like that Erza! Draw him out of the lava and I'll bring the hammer down!"
"Got it!"
Erza clasped her hands together, sweat trickling down her face from the heat, before a large hammer appeared in front of her. She grasped the weapon, a smile forming on her face.
"Let's see how you handle this, Jura."
Erza lifted the hammer, before she swung it downwards. Crimson energy coated the weapon before it impacted with the ground with a shout. The ground exploded from the force, lava and rock flying in every direction. Erza grit her teeth, leaping away from the destruction to look for Jura, smirking as she found him in the center of a large crater, unhurt. He was wearing the earthen armor he used against Naruto.
"Only a powerful attack can break that armor. Good. It'll force him to react to it."
Mirajane knew when she had her opportunity, raising her arms above her head to form a crackling orb of Darkness Magic. The woman grinned, the orb steadily growing larger. Just as the sky began to darken from the effects of her magic she knew she was ready.
"Jura!"
The man looked upwards, a frown forming on his face as he saw the attack above him. The man clasped his hands and the ground underneath him shifted, turning to sand. Mira grinned.
"Good."
Jura sent the sand upwards in a violent spiral, the tip of the attack condensing into a violently spinning stone as it neared the woman. Mirajane smiled, letting her attack fade.
"That's gonna have to be enough Hibiki."
With that Mirajane blurred away, desperately beating her wings to avoid the attack. She dodged by the skin of her teeth, taking the time to glance at Hibiki on the ground. The teen was sprinting forwards, yellow energy crackling at his fingertips as he looked at Jura.
"Please work," Hibiki muttered before he let the golden bolt of energy fly. It shot forwards, only for Jura to turn and face the attack.
"No!" Hibiki roared.
Erza blurred into action, pumping her legs faster than she thought possible with her Flight Armor. She saw the earthen wall begin to rise, and realized she wouldn't make it in time. With a grunt her hammer disappeared, replaced with another lance that she turned and launched, the weapon cutting through the air as visible trails of air resistance shrouded it. Just as the wall completed itself the lance speared right through it, shattering it with ease. Jura's eyes widened as the bolt of golden energy impacted directly, smashing into his face and knocking him to the ground.
The trio of light mages watched the mind controlled man, tension in the air. They could only hope that Hibiki's hypothesis was correct and Zash's magic could be broken with Archive. If it couldn't they weren't sure they were capable of defeating the man, much less defeating him and then moving to assist against other Oracion Seis members.
The man slowly stood, shaking his head before he looked at the trio before him.
"Jura, please tell me you're not being mind controlled anymore," Hibiki muttered.
"Really, I don't think we could beat you if you weren't," Erza muttered.
"You will have no need," Jura stated groggily. "I believe your idea worked. I am no longer under that man's control. I apologize for any problems I caused!"
The group loosed a sigh of relief, shaking their heads.
"You didn't cause much of a problem," Mirajane stated. "We were able to regroup and strategize a way to take you down. Problem is Naruto and Sasuke have been put temporarily out of the fight by another Oracion Seis member. You're the most powerful person we have right now."
"I see, and I assume there is another group of you all attempting to defeat this other Oracion Seis member?"
"Yes," Hibiki stated, pulling up a map. "I was able to make a map with the key groupings of most of our members. While I don't have much of any way of tracking specific Oracion Seis members, I can read their energy signatures. It seems...oh my god."
"What is it?"
"It's Eve..." Hibiki whispered, tears forming in his eyes. "He's...his energy signature is..."
Mirajane's eyes widened, glancing at the man. Tears poured from his eyes, the teen collapsing on the ground in anguish. The girl approached him, gently placing a hand on his back. "I'm so sorry Hibiki."
The group stood there in silence, the only noise coming from the sound of Hibiki's sobs. Even nature itself seemed to quiet itself in the face of the teen's pain.
"Erza, go to them," Mirajane stated. "You're the fastest person here. Go save the rest of them."
"Right," Erza stated, taking a look at her position on the map and there's. With a grunt she blasted off, dashing through the trees to reach her allies.
"Hibiki," Jura stated, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know this is hard but you need to pull yourself together. Everyone is counting on you. Without your information we won't be able to coordinate, and that means more people could die. You have the power to save many people right now."
"Jura!" Mirajane shouted, but Hibiki raised a hand. His red eyes glanced up, looking at the map before him.
"He's right Mira," he muttered. "I won't be of much help if I'm a crumpled mess. Eve would have wanted better."
"Still-"
"I'll be okay," the teen stated. "Eventually."
Mirajane could tell he was lying. He was barely holding it together as is. There was no way he would be functional in a combat situation. Staying here to coordinate movements was best for him.
"Jura, Mirajane I believe Zash is currently engaging with Lyon and Sherry. That should be your next target. They are powerful, but when we left them they were struggling. Zash may be too much for them. Assist them."
"What about you?"
"I'll stay here. I can send messages to everyone, assist how I can. I should be safe here."
"Alright," Jura muttered. "We'll be on our way then. And Hibiki, I am truly sorry for your loss."
Hibiki was silent as the duo ran off towards Lyon and Sherry, turning back to the map before him. Ichiya was facing down a terribly large magic power. Too much even for him. Whoever they were, there was no way Ichiya and Elfman alone could defeat them. Hibiki grit his teeth, glancing at the direction Jura and Mirajane ran in before he sprinted off towards Ichiya.
He would not let another person die.
With Team C
Doriate rushed towards the group. Gray grit his teeth, quickly grabbing Levy and Juvia and running from the man. Doriate's punch smashed into a tree instead of them, only for the demon to turn to face them once more.
"I thought you said you were going to stop me? Is running really part of that strategy?"
Gray grit his teeth, frowning to look at Doriate. 'This is bad. How do I hurt him like this?'
Doriate roared, rushing forwards once more. Gray glanced at Juvia and Levy, the duo clearly still not in the mental headspace to help him. The teen in a childs body ran once more, using his smaller frame to navigate through small gaps in branches to avoid Doriate's blows. Still, the man was not far behind, his monstrous steps following them everywhere that they went. Gray grit his teeth, sliding down a hill with the two girls and sprinting into the bushes before Doriate emerged.
"Where did you go!"
"Alright Juvia, Levy, if you two could get it together that would be appreciated," Gray hissed. The teen glanced back upwards at Doriate. He was still looking for them.
'Think think! His magic makes us less capable of using our own magic, like reverting us back to when we were kids before our training was complete. Juvia can hurt him because she can just manipulate the water around us even with her lack of control. Levy can use basic words like electricity to harm him, and also manipulate the environment. But they're just manipulating water and it isn't hurting him enough. We need something big. Something that can really hurt him. How can I mimic what they do? To an adequate level to hurt him? I can't manipulate water, just ice.'
Something in Gray's mind clicked. The Fairy Tail mage glanced at Juvia and Levy, the two girls still clearly out of it. Eve's death had hit them hard. It must have been the first death they had ever seen. Gray didn't have time to comfort them now.
The child dashed out the bushes, frost trickling on his fingertips. Doriate stared down at him, a grin forming on the giant's face. Gray grit his teeth, sliding underneath a tackle and spritning up the hill. He had to get back to the deluge of water Levy and Juvia had created. There just wasn't enough rain here. But if he could reach that...
The boy ducked underneath a punch from Doriate, slamming his hands together to form a focus. He didn't have time to create any specific attack, not that his control would let him do much anyway with it being diluted as it was, but he could create a frost wave. He did just that, blending his two magic's briefly to create a layer of frost on Doriate's body. The demon immediately broke out of it, but it was enough to give Gray distance, distance he needed to reach the pool of water. Doriate slammed his foot down, his ankles submerged in the liquid.
"Enough running. You're going to die here."
Gray grinned, water crossing over his shins due to how short he was.
"Maybe I will. But it certainly won't be today. Arctic Magic: Freeze!"
Gray placed his hands on the water and pushed. His Arctic Magic bled forth, lack of control be damned. He didn't need control, he just needed cold. And cold he got, a layer of ice freezing over the area, expanding at such a large rate that even the rain in the air began to freeze and fall to the ground. Gray smiled, panting to look at Doriate who was currently frozen in ice. As the rain began to fall again Gray smiled at him.
"Got you."
Doriate roared, moivng forwards and shattering the ice around him with his strength. Gray had expected that however, forming a focus as Doriate rushed towards him.
"Come on, work damn it," Gray muttered.
A singular spike shot from before Gray, the ice smashing into Doriate's stomach. It wouldn't have done any damage on its own, lacking the power to seriously harm the man. However, with Doriate rushing towards it it managed to dig into his body, drawing blood. Doriate didn't make a sound, seemingly to shocked at actually being hurt to think properly.
"That should do it," Gray stated.
The sound of ice shattering shattered Gray's hopes. Doriate snarled, batting the ice away as he stomped towards Gray.
"Brat," Doriate hissed, grabbing Gray by the throat just like he did Eve. Gray grabbed at the arm, desperation setting in as he failed to draw in air. Doriate stared at him, a mask of rage on his face as he choked the small child out. In a last minute gamble Gray drew on his Arctic Magic once more, attempting to freeze Doriate's arm.
It wasn't enough.
Gray reached out, tears falling from his eyes as the edges of his vision blackened. Was he really going to die here? Unable to take down a single S-class mage? Was this really all he could do? What was he thinking, believing he could defeat an opponent he hadn't even wounded last time?
'No, I was able to wound him this time. That means I can hurt him. And if I can hurt him that means I can beat him! I just need air. I just need air!'
"Water Cane!"
"Solid Script: Electricity!"
A band of water wrapped around Doriate's neck, pulling backwards. The man grit his teeth, his arms coming to the whip, releasng Gray just before a bolt of electricity smashed into his body, violently electrocuting him. The man stumbled backwards, turning to glare at Levy and Juvia, the two girls staring him down.
"You two. I thought you had run off."
"I won't abandon Gray," Levy said. "Fairy Tail mages don't abandon each other."
"Then you can die together," Doriate roared, rushing forwards, only for Gray to slam his hands on the ice.
"Ice-Make: Lance."
Ice from the ground shot upwards, this time dozens of tiny lances of ice stabbing into Doriate's body. It wasn't enough to break the skin, but it did make him stop.
"Move!"
Juvia and Levy did as they were told, dashing to the side just as Doriate shattered the lances sticking to him.
"Boy-"
"Take this!"
Gray hurled a lance of ice, constructed out of the water from Juvia. It was a crude thing. Large, large enough to actually harm Doriate, but crudely made. It was clearly a rushed product. There was no finnesse. Gray had merely frozen rain in the shape of a lance as best he could and hurled it. It was nothing special. Nothing spectacular.
But it was enough.
The lance smashed into Doriate's side, causing the man to howl as the ice stabbed into his body. Gray, Juvia, and Levy watched as the man's body convulsed. Was that enough?
Doriate hissed, his blood dripping onto the ice beneath his feet. He stared at the trio of Fairy Tail mages, anger practically radiating from his body like heat.
"That's it," he hissed. The demon's body began to change, growing larger. His muscle mass grew, shattering the ice in the motion. The wound in his body remained, bleeding onto the ground. The demon's skin darkened and his hair lengthened, the feature more akin to a mane than anything human-like. His canines similarly grew, jutting out of his mouth. As the transformation was complete one thing was said.
"You die."
However, that was not the only transformation that occurred. Eve, Juvia, Levy, and Gray's bodies suddenly reverted back to their full size. The group stared at each other, shock on their face. Still, they didn't hesitate. Gray immediately activated Ice Erosion before launching a massive saucer of ice at the demon. Juvia and Levy likewise followed up with a giant torrent of water and massive thunderbolt of their own respectively.
The fight was on.
With Naruto and Sasuke
The two shinobi were bored. They couldn't help it. Their senses weren't tuned well enough to keep monitor of what was occuring in the Woodsea to draw their interest. Not as children at least. That is, until suddenly they grew back to normal size.
"Back in business," Sasuke muttered.
"Go," Naruto stated, sitting on the ground and closing his eyes. "I'm going to need time."
"Got it."
"Don't die on me."
"Of course not," the Uchiha muttered.
With that he blasted off, black lightning covering his body. The blonde Uzumaki sat on the forest floor, eyes closed.
Meditating.
Alright, so as some of you are aware there's a lot of fights happening right now and there's more to come. Not all of them will be covered at the same time, obviously. Many of the fights I'll try and separate between major plot threads. The first fights are going to be the most difficult to do that for, but the staging for the first key fights are done. Which means next chapter no more set up for more fights.
It's actual fight time.
Kinda depressing Eve died before a fully dedicated fight chapter huh? Oh well, sometimes that happens.
The plot is only going to thicken.