Hi everyone, welcome back and welcome to the new year! We have just two chapters left of this arc before it comes to a close. So much has happened and even more is about to be revealed. What else is there to say that hasn't already been said? Nothing? Well then, let's get started.
Between Heaven and Hell
Natsu gave a surprise yell as he looked all around his newfound surroundings of within the Savior. "What in the heck?! Where am I?! What is this place?!" He looked behind to see his beloved Exceed wasn't with him. "Happy! Happy! Where are you!?"
"Natsu, are you there?" He heard Warren's voice in his head.
"That you Warren?"
"Yeah, I'm using my Telepathy. I got a message from Dante saying you were able to get inside the Savior."
Natsu's eyes widened as he remembered his attempted attack on the Savior, only to phase inside it. "Yeah... that's where I am. But how the heck did I even get in here?"
"I got no idea, nobody else does but that's not important right now." Warren told him. "I'm with Wendy, Carla, Laki, and Morrison, and we're about finished helping the Archbishop. Everyone else is fighting the Neo Oracion Seis and their demon army. Somehow you got inside the Savior, so you're in the position to do the most damage. Find Nero, then find Lucy, Kyrie, and tear the thing apart!"
"You don't have to tell me." Natsu stated, getting serious as he punched his fist into his palm, embers sparking from the contact. "I'm gonna give this thing a wicked case of heartburn!"
"Good luck Natsu. I'll let the others know." Warren told him before signing off.
Natsu then took a few moments to get the lay of the area with his enhanced senses. "Now, where are you Nero?" He took a few whiffs, hoping to catch Nero's unique scent, which he was able to find. "Gotcha."
With that, he proceeded to run deeper into the Savior. 'Hang on Lucy. I'm gonna get you out of here! I promise!'
"Uh oh, it seems we have an intruder!" Klodoa exclaimed to Sanctus and Imitatia, both still standing guard over the trapped Lucy and Kyrie. Klodoa's eyes shined to show a magic projection of Natsu running through the Savior's insides.
"That's impossible!" Imitatia exclaimed as even Sanctus was caught off-guard. "How could he have entered the Savior?! Only those who are connected to the Clock through Body-Link, or the blood descendants of the original owners, are capable of entering!"
"And yet, here he is." Sanctus said with narrowed eyes. 'We've studied the Heartfilia bloodline extensively, and there was no mention of the Salamander. He is not an heir of Sparda either. So how could…' His eyes widened in surprise. 'Unless… no, it's not possible…! Is he somehow descended from the Black Wizard?!'
"That stupid Salamander, he's always getting in the way!" Klodoa ranted as his projection shot off. "First, he stopped us from using Nirvana, now this!"
"He won't get in my way! I won't let him take away Big Sister!" Imitatia declared.
"Of course, he won't." Sanctus said as he held the Devil Sword Sparda closer to his body. "Because he has never faced a power like this before!" He began to channel his own inner demonic power acquired through the Ascension Ceremony and attempted to fuse it with that of the Devil Sword Sparda. A golden aura formed around himself while a blood red aura did the same for the sword. Both auras mixed together and formed a sphere of red energy around Sanctus, glowing brightly as he underwent a very special transformation.
Meanwhile; the Savior itself continued to wave its arms, hoping to catch and crush the moving Laxus, Mira, and the rest of the Thunder Legion as they pounded it with everything they have at all sides. Laxus was still in his Dragon Force state, surrounded by an aura of lightning as he shot around the Savior and appeared behind it.
"Lightning Dragon Roar!" Unleashing a breath attack of a powerful surge of lightning, it struck at the back of the Savior's neck, causing it to stagger forward toward Mira, who was still in her Halphas Take Over.
"Halphas Blast!" Mira thrusted both her arms forward to shoot a powerful blast of purple and blue darkness energy, that struck the Savior's face and created a powerful explosion that encompassed its entire head. As it attempted to stand up; the Thunder Legion appeared directly above it.
"Darkness Breath!" Freed, still in his monstrous, Darkness, form, unleashed a breath attack of his own that seemed to be a twister of pure darkness with Evergreen and Bickslow following his lead.
"Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun!"
"Baryon Formation!"
Golden particles and a beam of green energy all mixed with Freed's attack to form a powerful Unison Raid that hit the Savior and created a powerful explosion that seemed to engulf the entire upper body.
All five of them regrouped together, hovering in the air in their own method as they saw the dust clear around to Savior to reveal it was undamaged as it turned to face them.
"Are you kidding me?! It's not even scratched!" Bickslow exclaimed.
"The power of the Infinity Clock…" Freed muttered. "We knew it wouldn't be this easy."
"It's still frustrating though." Evergreen stated.
"Keep your guard up, it's coming for an attack!" Mira warned.
Laxus, still clad in his Dragon Force mode, glared defiantly at the artificial demon as it stared down at them. "What the hell are you looking at?"
The Savior's gemstones began to glow once more as the sky further darkened with pitch black clouds that began to rain down with a maelstrom of fire, ice, razor-sharp metal, and even bring down at least a dozen tornados mixed with the aforementioned elements. And it was all gunning straight down toward the five of them.
"Move! Now!" Laxus exclaimed as they scattered to avoid getting obliterated, but the tornados moved, curved, and stretched in their directions like homing missiles.
"They're following us!" Bickslow exclaimed as he landed on a piece of hovering debris with a tornado baring down on him. "Shield me, babies!" He ordered his dolls as they quickly appeared to spin in a perfect o formation rapidly, generating a surge of green energy to act as a makeshift barrier to block the tornado. Once it struck, the shield appeared to hold for a few seconds before it exploded, blasting Bickslow back.
Evergreen appeared to be in quite the spot herself as a tornado twisted and followed her, even as she flew up and down hoping to shake it. She waved her fan to throw a cluster of golden glitter, which exploded once the tornado made contact. But it pushed past it and struck her, knocking her away with a scream.
"Evergreen!" Freed flew out to catch her, even as two tornados were following in pursuit of him. However, while he was able to catch her, he slowed down and allowed the tornados to catch up. "I can't dodge them!"
Mira appeared in-between Freed and the attack and prepared one of her own. "Soul Extinction!"
She unleashed a massive blast of darkness energy, this particular spell even further enhanced by the strength of her Halphas form, it was able to obliterate all the tornados that had gunned toward them. However, that did not stop the Savior's fist from attempting to smash into them from behind.
"Heads up!" Evergreen warned as she and Freed were about to be pulverized, but Mira flew forward to intercept the first with both her hands, halting the strike as she tried with all her might to push back against it.
Laxus, meanwhile, was still being tracked by three tornados. As he shot himself upward in a bolt of lightning, the tornados followed him straight up. He stopped in mid-air and right before they could reach him, Laxus has brought down an attack in response.
"Raging Bolt!" He brought his fist down to send a massive streak of lightning straight at the three twisters, exploding on contact. Using his lightning-body technique, Laxus flew straight toward the Savior's face again as it turned right before he attacked once more. "Lightning Dragon Demolition Fist!" Laxus threw out his fist to send a large fist-construct of pure lightning to strike the Savior's face with explosive results before he flew past it. Laxus looked in frustration to see the smoke clear again and the Savior was still undamaged.
'Damn it… I heard this thing was supposed to be indestructible or something… but come on!' Laxus thought to himself before zapping away to avoid the blue energy beam that shot at him from the Savior's halo.
At the same time, on one of the many floating floors around the Savior, Dante continued to duke it out with Midnight as the former shot both his pistols at the latter, who used his Reflector Magic to force the bullets to veer away from him before he returned fire with a blast of his darkness magic, raining toward Dante, who blocked and parried them with his swipes of Rebellion. However, Midnight had used his Reflector Magic to encompass Dante in a dome that kept all the ongoing Darkness Magic trapped inside with Dante, causing it all to explode.
Midnight smirked as he saw only dust. However, that smirk vanished as Dante shot through the dust, Rebellion pointing outward. Midnight just barley swerved out of the way in time, but he was not able to dodge the horizontal slice from Dante that knocked Midnight back, but he quickly recovered as he leapt to a higher piece of floating rubble before striking back.
"Dark Capriccio!" Midnight launched at least a dozen magic drills of his darkness magic, all gunning straight for Dante, who ran closer to Midnight, using Rebellion to slice through the drills that came close to him before he leapt up toward the platform Midnight was on. However, while he was airborne, Midnight directed the remaining drills to come up and pierce Dante from behind. He grunted in pain as blood oozed from his wounds, but Dante didn't deter.
"Quicksilver!" In bright flash of cyan light, time around Dante slowed to a crawl before he wrenched himself free of the magic drills and made his way behind Midnight, striking him with a slice from Rebellion before time resumed its flow, knocking Midnight off the platform, but he flipped and recovered before landing on a lower piece of rubble. He then unleashed his Reflector magic on the debris Dante was standing on, shredding it to pieces and causing Dante to fall through. However, Dante was able to find a big enough rock and kicked from that to send himself closer to Midnight, who leapt to the side to avoid the devastating strike.
"You know, I just realized something." Dante said as they both stood up straight. "Your fancy Reflector doesn't work on Devil Arms, does it?" He questioned, causing Midnight to glare. "Erza told me about you, how you can bend and twist all kinds of shit. But you can't do that to living beings, otherwise you would have twisted me into a pretzel by now. But you can't do the same Devil Arms." He held up Rebellion for emphasis.
"That is quite correct." Midnight admitted. "As you say, my Reflector doesn't work directly on living creatures; and since Devil Arms were either made from demons, or have been imbued with living demonic energy, my magic can't affect them either. It's one of my magic's few but notable weaknesses. However, thanks to my mastery over my father's Darkness magic, I think I've found a way to compensate." He waved his hand to send a twirl of Darkness magic mixed with the Reflector magic to not only obliterate the platform Dante was standing on, but even attack Dante before he had a chance to retaliate even as Midnight leapt back to another platform.
"Anubis!" As Dante flew, he quipped his newest Devil Arm, holding one end before throwing the other, connected by an ever-growing shadow-chain as the other blade embedded itself in the bottom of the platform, while Dante used the momentum that he had gained by falling to swing himself up and over on the other end. As he leapt up to the surprised Midnight, Dante pulled back on the other end of Anubis and swung it down toward Midnight, who tried to create a shield of Darkness magic to try and block it, but Anubis sliced right through and impacted Midnight's chest, causing him to skid back as Dante landed to face him.
"Hey, where'd that cocky grin go?" Dante said as he twirled Anubis in his hands, facing Midnight who could only glare at him. "Come on, you and your pals really made this whole thing personal for me. So, I'm gonna make sure this hurts." He glared back before going on the attack again.
At the same time, the battle against the army of demons in Fortuna continued to rage as the Rune Knights, defectors from the Order of the Sword, and Fairy Tail members threw everything they had at the demons. Magic, swords, arrows, and all other forms of offensive techniques and weapons were used to beat the demons back.
Dan lunged his lance forward to send a hail of magic bolts, alongside several Rune Knights to fire blasts of various magic to obliterate a group of lizard-like demons, but they were quickly swarmed by the flying shade demons as they attempted to fight them back.
Sugarboy, while riding on top of Kanaloa, sent a glob of his green slime to capture several demons while Kanaloa shot a stream of acidic ink from its mouth to melt the slime and the captured demons within. Several lizard demons tried to gang up on Kanaloa from behind, but the giant octopus lashed out with its tentacles to smash and crush them, but for each one that he crushed, several more flying shade demons came in to take their place and surround the giant octopus and Sugarboy from all sides before going on the attack.
Samuel and Panther-Lily were back-to-back with their respective swords, which they used to cut down demon after demon, but it seemed to be no end to them.
"For every one that we cut down, it seems like ten more rise in its place!" Lily stated.
"Yes, this is a losing battle!" Samuel replied. "But we cannot falter! We must stand and push forward!"
"Not a whole lot of logic to that plan there, Sammy." Lily told him.
"For once, I say screw logic!" Samuel exclaimed. "My home and the rest of the world are depending on us to hold this line! So long as I live, I won't let a single demon escape this island!"
Panther-Lily couldn't help but smirk. "Spoken like a true warrior. Well, if we're going out, we're going to take as many of them with us!" With that, both warrior Exceeds gave battle cries as they flew toward an oncoming swarm of shade demons.
Lahar and Doranbolt, along with several other Rune Knights, stood guard around one of the many barriers that had been set up to protect the citizens of Fortuna as various demons tried to come in and assault the helpless people inside, but they stood their ground as they fired any long-distance spells or weapons that they had to keep the demons back.
"Stand your ground!" Lahar shouted as he shot a magic blast at shade demon to destroy it while Doranbolt used Direct Line to zoom in and deliver a kick to a lizard demon that tried to jump down from a rooftop. Right as he landed, two shades and a lizard tried to attack from behind, but Coco quickly ran to intercept them, driving both her feet into the face of one shade and landing on her hands to deliver a split-kick into the sides of the lizards and kick them back. Coco turned to Doranbolt as they both nodded to each other and used their respective abilities to keep all the demons in the area at bay.
"Fire Claws!" Lisanna flew through the air in her Dragon Take Over, her claws lit on fire as she sliced and burnt every shade demon she came across, destroying seven of them before coming down to bring a powerful fireball attack on a trio of lizard demons, blasting them to pieces. One lizard attempted to pounce at Lisanna from behind, but it was quickly ensnared by a rope of purple flame courtesy of Romeo as Happy flew him through the air.
"Pull up, Happy! Let's send this guy flying!" Romeo exclaimed.
"Aye Sir!" Happy flew up as Romeo used the momentum along with his own strength to haul and send the lizard demon flying away to parts unknown.
Lisanna looked with a smile and a nod, but she heard a scream from across the street and quickly flew to try and find the source of the scream.
The source was a little girl, no older than five or even six, as she huddled against a wall, with three shade demons hovering above her. "MOMMY! DADDY! WHERE ARE YOU!?" The girl cried, huddling herself tightly. However, before the demons could get to her, a certain young woman in a green dress with purple hair ran and snatched her, causing the shade demons to follow.
Kinana ran as fast as she could, carrying the frightened and crying girl with the shade demons right on her tail. Unfortunately, she ended up tripping on a piece of rubble and fell. Just as the shade demons were about to advance upon her, Kinana shielded the little girl, holding her close to protect her from a deadly fate; but a blast of fire reduced all three demons to ash as Lisanna arrived on the scene.
"Are you alr… Kinana?!" Lisanna exclaimed in surprise. "What in the world are you doing out here?!"
"I… I'm sorry! I… I was just…" Kinana tried to give an explanation.
"GUYS! LOOK OUT!" Happy warned as he flew Romeo in, alerting them to a cluster of shade demons that flew down toward them. Lisanna was more than ready to fight back, but the demons were incinerated by a flash of light, and all eyes looked in shock to see the source of said light.
"Master!" Lisanna, Happy, Romeo, and Kinana exclaimed upon seeing the injured Makarov, barley standing, holding out his smoking hand and out of breath.
"There's still… plenty of fight in me…" Makarov muttered, but gasped as he held his heart, falling to his knees.
"Master!" Lisanna was the first to attend to him, with Happy and Romeo right behind her. Kinana also came in, still holding the frightened girl in her arms. "You should be somewhere safe!"
"My… My children are… fighting a war… I will not sit by and…" He clenched up, his aching heart getting worse by the minute.
"Master, you have to take a rest! You already took a beating trying to fight the Savior!" Romeo told him.
"Romeo's right!" Happy added. "You did good, but we can handle the rest! I mean, we're Fairy Tail! We've stopped the end of the world before, and we'll do it again! Just leave it to us!"
Makarov knew they were right. While he hated to leave them to fight these monsters, he knew he couldn't be any more help to them in his state. So with great reluctance, he nodded. "Alright…"
"Kinana, take him." Lisanna told her as the purple-haired girl picked up the injured Makarov along with the little girl. "There's a shelter just down the road, we'll help you get there."
"Okay." She nodded.
"But when this over, we are going to have a talk about you being here." Lisanna told her.
"I understand." Kinana accepted as they proceeded to get to the nearest shelter. 'I know he's here. I can feel him. Please… wait for me.'
At the same time, Gildarts and Byro stood back-to-back as what appeared to be a hundred shade and lizard demons surrounded them from all sides. As they all went on the attack; half of them were obliterated in a white flash of Crush Magic, leaving them crushed with the pure force of Gildarts' magic, while the other half were similarly reduced to ash by a thrust from Byro's staff as he sent a Devine Arrow attack to destroy them completely.
"Even with our overwhelming combined strength, this is still an uphill battle." Byro noted.
"I know." Gildarts said as he glared at the open Hellgate, with more and more demons pouring out of it by the second. "Nothing we do is gonna mean a damn thing till we get that gate closed. Then I can smash it to dust."
"The only way for it to be done, is for the sword that serves as the key to be removed." Byro replied. "Let us hope your comrades are up to the task."
"Don't you go and underestimate Fairy Tail, pal." Gildarts said with a slight smirk. "There's a reason we're the best guild around."
Streaks of blue and white lightning clashed against one above the rooftops of the city as Trish and Gloria slashed past each other with their respective weapons. Trish zapped herself into the air with Gloria following before they met with Trish slashing her scythe at Gloria, who parried it with a twirl of one of her smaller blades and sliced at Trish's stomach with the other before Trish grunted and responded by pulling out Luce to shoot Gloria point-blank in the face.
The two fall back down and landed on the rooftops. Trish felt her bleeding side, while Gloria wiped the blood from the bullet wound just above her left eye before being forced to leap back from rapid-gun shots from Lady, who leapt in pursuit.
"Steel Devil Bazooka!" Lady's arms merged to form a metallic rocket launcher, which she used to blast a powerful attack Gloria's way. Though she was knocked back from the explosion, Gloria zapped herself in white lightning and appeared behind Lady, ready to strike, but her body was quickly enveloped in her Steel Devil Skin to bat the blades away before Lady went on the attack again. "Steel Devil Void Blade!" Her right arm converted into a sword, the Kalina Ann blade, merged with its tip as she slashed at Gloria, who parried the slices with her smaller sword.
However, Gloria was quickly put on the defensive as Trish appeared in a flash of blue lightning to slash her scythe at her, forcing Gloria to block it with her other blade. She was quickly caught in the middle of Trish and Lady's relentless blade attacks, unable to counter as she was stuck parrying each strike and forced near the edge of the rooftop they were fighting on. She brought both her blades up to block the sword and scythe from Lady and Trish respectively, both Devil Hunters grunting as they pressed hard against Gloria, who attempted to press back.
"I've had enough!" Gloria exclaimed as her body shot out a storm of white lightning before exploding outward with enough force to blast Lady and Trish back, both their bodies smoking as they skidded to a halt on the other side of the rooftop.
"Damn it… she's tough…" Lady grunted as she tried to pull herself up. "Think her lightning… might be stronger than yours…"
"Yeah… not much of a… cheap knock off… eh?" Trish grunted back, trying to inject some humor into their situation as they stood up to face Gloria again.
"As I've told you, I'm the improved version of you, Trish." Gloria began. "I'm far from a cheap knock off, I'm an upgrade." Trish glared back at response. "Oh, don't give me that look you and I both know we're the same. You're an artificial being, just like me. You weren't 'born' like the rest of your friends, you were created, made for a purpose. Just because you've abandoned your original mission, it doesn't change what you are. I know, because I am you. You're a puppet."
"But that means you're a puppet too, ya know!" Lady told her.
"I know, and I don't care." Gloria said.
"What?" Lady questioned.
"I was made for a purpose, to bring this world to an end and that's exactly what I intend to do." Gloria continued. "Unlike this defect, I won't deter from my mission." She pointed to Trish specifically before continuing. "Call me a puppet if you want, but I like what I do. I bring chaos and death to my enemies because that's who I am, and I can't be any more satisfied with that."
While Lady glared, Trish actually chuckled at that remark. But that chuckle erupted into laughter; not malicious or even maniacal laughter, but joyous laughter, the kind of laugh one experiences after being told a joke.
Gloria looked irritated as Trish continued to laugh. "What's so funny?!"
Trish finally stopped laughing before looking toward her clone. "You say you're content with being a puppet? That I'm a defect just because I abandoned my mission? You think just because I walked away from Mundus that I don't have a purpose anymore?" She pointed her scythe toward her. "You couldn't be more wrong. I've abandoned my mission but gained so much more because of that! I have friends now, a family even! I'm a part of something that's far more fulfilling than anything my old maker could offer me! I may not have been born like the rest of them, but I am living with them! And that's the difference between you and me! I'm alive, you're just a soulless mannequin."
"And you think that makes you superior to me?!" Gloria exclaimed.
"I know it does." Trish glared. "Let me show you something… something I can only gain from being truly alive." Her eyes closed before her whole body was engulfed with multi-colored lightning. A bright flash then illuminated the whole area, forcing Lady and Gloria to cover their eyes. When the flash subsided, they saw something that made Lady smirk, and Gloria to look in shock and even frustration.
Trish had transformed into her Devil Trigger. Her demonic appearance, her glowing red eyes, and the multi-colored lighting that surged around her, everything about her just seemed to make Gloria snap just by looking at her.
"Wha… what is… that?!"
"This is the power I've awakened. The power I gained from my desire to protect everything I have. This is my power, not that granted to me by my former master. But you wouldn't know, because you're content with remaining as you are, with no desire to become stronger. And that is exactly why you're going to die here."
The Devil Trigger Trish then shot at her enemy with all the power she could muster, ready to show her clone just who truly was the superior version.
Meanwhile, in another area of the city, more explosions erupted across several rooftops as Erza and Modeus continued their battle against Cobra. Erza quipped into her Lightning Empress Armor and shot at her enemy in a bolt of lightning, but he swiftly moved out of the way before unleashing a sonic attack at her, blasting her off the rooftop and into the adjacent building. Cobra then limboed underneath a sword strike from Modeus, who attempted to attack from behind. Cobra dealt a kick, which Modeus blocked with the flat of his blade, but the force still sent Modeus back towards the edge of the roof before he prepared an attack.
"Demon Sword: Chaotic Moon!"
"Poison Dragon Twin Wings!"
Cobra's slashes of poison magic met Modeus' surging red chaotic moon attack, causing them both to explode before Cobra and Modeus leapt above the smoke to attack each other. Modeus slashed at Cobra with Hunter's Moon while Cobra's scaled hands oozed poison, which he slashed at him as well. Both met on opposite sides of the rooftop before Cobra grunted in pain, his right side was already bleeding from a diagonal cut, while Modeus held the burning poison that struck his own side.
"You're thinking that due to your demonic nature, you can withstand my poison." Cobra said, reading Modeus' thoughts. "Maybe you can handle a few strikes, but this isn't like getting a taste of poison ivy. This is poison that is supposedly strong enough to kill even dragons. Eventually, your body will wear out and decay. Not even someone like you can survive it."
"Then I'll have to be careful to avoid it." Modeus stated.
Cobra glared, but as the ground beneath him began to shake, he leapt out of the way as Erza broke through in her Purgatory Armor. "I heard you coming a mile away, Titania!" Cobra exclaimed before attacking again. "Poison Dragon Spiral Jaw!" He flipped through the air, both his feet coated in poison magic as he attempted to kick Erza, but she quickly shifted to her Adamantine Armor to protect herself with her built-in shield. Cobra's eyes quickly widened as he realized that shield was not meant to just protect her from Cobra's attack.
Upon reading both their thoughts, Cobra turned around to see Modeus' Hunter's Moon had transformed into its bow-configuration, the glowing arrow aimed directly at him. "Lunar Goddess of the Hunt: Artemis!" He fired an arrow straight at Cobra and there was no time to dodge it.
"Poison Dragon Roar!" His breath attack shot out to try and halt the arrow, but just like before, the collision of their attacks created an explosion; the force of it was powerful enough to blast Cobra back through the air, which Erza used to her advantage as she had quipped into her elastic Infinity Robe armor, slicing at Cobra as he flew and landed on the next rooftop over, rather shakily.
"Even if you can hear my thoughts, it's impossible to dodge in mid-air without something to stabilize yourself." Erza told him.
"Damn you Fairy Tail… always looking for your damn loopholes…!" Cobra growled as Erza and Modeus faced him.
"You are a strong opponent, Cobra." Modeus began. "Your mastery over your Sound Magic, your mind-reading abilities, and even your Poison Dragon Slayer power make you quite the warrior. It's a shame you don't use that power to help people."
"I can hear you; you're trying to get me to see the error of my ways. Trying to convince me to stop and change myself for the better." Cobra stated before glancing at Erza. "You're thinking just because we shared a past in the Tower of Heaven I can change, like Jellal or even those traitors Hoteye and Angel. They may have been part of the same guild as I, but I don't have a damn thing in common with them!"
"It sounds more like a comment on yourself than with them." Erza noted, causing Cobra to narrow his one good eye. "I may not be able to read your mind, but I can see it in your eye, and even the way you fight; you've given up. You've lost someone precious to you and now you've given up all hope on the world."
"What's the point of saying all this? I can already tell what you're trying to do! I hear your thoughts, remember?!" Cobra exclaimed.
"It won't stop us from speaking our minds!" Modeus told him. "You resent me because I was able to let go of my grief over my brother's death, while you have not. You're dwelling on your own loss and drowning yourself in your own sorrow. If this Cubellios was so special to you, what do you think she would want?! Would she want you to throw your heart away like this!? To cause so many other people to suffer?!"
"Shut your damn mouth!" Cobra shouted before throwing his arm out to send a salvo of Poison Dragon Scales in their direction; but both Erza and Modeus leapt above the attack and landed on the rooftop to face Cobra from behind. "Why the hell are you even trying to talk to me?! I'm your enemy, you should be trying to kill me!"
"You didn't participate in the Ascension Ceremony, did you?" Erza questioned, causing Cobra to gasp in shock. "We've learned Erigor and Racer had undergone the process much like the others in the Order of the Sword have done, becoming Fallen Angels. And I'm willing to bet Midnight has undergone the process as well, but you haven't. Why is that?"
"I believe I know why." Modeus said. "You're afraid."
"Afraid of what?! Afraid of more power?!" Cobra questioned.
"No, you're afraid of what your friend Cubellios might think." Modeus words caused Cobra's pupil to shrink. "Buried deep underneath your rage and sorrow, I can see there's hope. The hope that your friend is still alive and you wish to see her again. But you fear if you undergo the ceremony, she might not even recognize you. Unlike others in your guild, you've chosen to hold onto your humanity because of that hope; and it's that very same hope that's stopping you from ending our lives, because perhaps you know that deep down, all this torment and suffering, all this chaos, it's not really what you want."
Cobra's teeth gnashed together so much that a tooth might have chipped, if Cobra hadn't given a powerful yell that reached to the heavens. His entire body was engulfed in a blood red aura, causing Erza and Modeus to shield their eyes.
"I didn't become a Caduto because I don't need to! I've got all the power I need flowing through me! Don't talk like you know me because you don't! I'm going to kill both of you and bring an end to this miserable world!"
Cobra's shouts died down with the blood red aura, while also throwing away his jacket, to reveal the red robe underneath, as well as his transformed physical state. His arms had become covered in snake-like scales, which further changed as red spikes emerged from the forearms and led up to his shoulders. The sides of his face were also covered in dark red scales as his only good eye became a snake-like slit with fangs growing from his mouth as well.
"This power…" Erza recognized it. "He's achieved Dragon Force!"
"Titania, Demon of the Moon, take a good long look at what you see, because it'll be the last thing you ever do." The Dragon Force Cobra declared darkly.
"Then it's time we stop holding back as well." Modeus' body was likewise engulfed in a bright white flash as he transformed into his own Devil Trigger state, with Erza following his lead.
"I concur." Erza had reequipped once more, this time her body glowing dark red as opposed to a bright golden color, transforming into her most recently acquired armor. "Requip! Armadura Diabla!"
The Devil Trigger Modeus looked with concern toward his comrade. "Erza, be careful. You haven't mastered that armor, it's still a Devil Arm."
"I know." Erza said, wielding her massive spear. "But in this situation, we cannot afford to hold back."
"Very well." Modeus acknowledged as they both turned to face Cobra.
"Well, what are you waiting for?! Let's go." Cobra glared.
The inside of the cathedral was an absolute wreck as Gray and Gajeel continued their fight against Agnus' Angelo form.
"Ice-Make: Sword!"
"Iron Dragon Sword!"
Wielding their respective blades, they charged at Agnus, who still wielded a Gladius in his hand, and met their blades, clashing with both of them repeatedly with enough speed and precision to block each of their weapons with his own before flying into the air and diving back down to bring his Gladius down on the ground with enough force to send both wizards skidding backwards.
"Iron Dragon Spear: Demon Logs!" Gajeel's arm turned into a spear, which he lunged out to send rapid-fire iron spear attacks toward Agnus, but he spun his body around, holding out his Gladius, to make himself into a bladed top that not only blocked Gajeel's attack, but even spun closer toward him as Gajeel brought his arms together to shield himself from Agnus; but the force of the attack was enough to send the Iron Dragon Slayer flying into the seats.
"Ice-Make: Lance!" Gray fired a volley of ice-lances at the back of Agnus, several hitting their mark, but the insectoid-like Angelo flew above the rest before coming straight at Gray, who attempted to shield himself with a wall of ice, but Agnus' attack easily shattered it and sent Gray back into the wall behind him.
Gajeel's roar was heard as he leapt down from the seats to re-engage Agnus. "Iron Dragon Roar!" His breath attack was blocked by Agnus using the flat of the Gladius, but it manage to break through and shatter the sword-demon, knocking Agnus back, which Gajeel used to his advantage as he leapt to punch him across his face with an iron-pillar before slamming it into his gut to send him skidding back towards Gray.
"Ice-Make: Death Scythe!" Gray materialized a large ice-scythe in his hands and used to slice past Agnus, causing him to grunt in pain as he was forced back. The Ice-Make Wizard and Iron Dragon Slayer tried to push forward, but Agnus outstretched his hands to call out to four more Gladii, which flew down from the ceiling to slash all over Gray and Gajeel, halting their advance. Agnus reached out to grab two Gladii as a pair of dual swords, slicing them both at Gajeel to knock him down while Gray attempted to defend himself from the other two that swarmed around and sliced at him from all sides.
Gajeel attempted to stand up, but Agnus landed and slammed one of his feet on Gajeel's chest to pin him to the ground, while pointing one of his Gladius blades at him. "Iron Dragon Slayer. Though your power is inferior compared to the Second Generations like Cobra, First Generation Dragon Slayers are a rare breed nonetheless, supposedly trained by dragons. I am going to enjoy studying your corpse."
"Only one of us is gonna end up as a corpse bub, and it sure as hell ain't me!" Gajeel glared.
Before Agnus could reply, he was distracted by a bright blue glow from behind and looked in surprise to see Gray had frozen both the Gladii that were swarming around him in a massive cluster of ice. "What?!" The ice shattered, destroying both Gladii in the process as Gray glared at him. "How?! You are just a mere human!"
"Just a human? You make that sound like a bad thing!" Gray told him.
Agnus then felt a tug on his arm and looked in even further surprise to see Gajeel pulling one of the Gladii he held closer to himself and proceeded to eat the blade, causing the Gladius dream to cry out as Gajeel munched around him. "No! Let go of that you barbarian!"
This outrage of Agnus kept him distracted as Gray had created a large ice-bazooka with his magic. "Ice-Make: Cannon!" He fired a large cannon ball made out of ice that struck Agnus in the back and sent him flying off Gajeel and crashing into the seats.
"I've had just about enough of this bastard, let's end this!" Gray stated.
"Took the words out of my mouth!" Gajeel agreed as Agnus shot out from the debris with the only remaining Gladius in his hands, and Gajeel was the first to meet him in the air.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Karma Demon: Iron God Sword!" Gajeel had created a massive iron-sword with his right arm that seemed to match the entire diameter of the chamber, much to Agnus' shock. Gajeel swung his blade as Agnus tried desperately to block it, but Gajeel's massively superior weapon not only shattered the last Gladius, but even struck Agnus with a great deal of force that he hollered in agony as Gajeel flew past him.
"My turn!" Gray pulled both his hands backwards, generating an ice-blade on his right hand and another on his left elbow before leaping up to meet the flying Agnus. "Ice Blade: Seven Strike Dance!" He twirled around to slice Agnus five times before delivering a final X-strike with both his blades, shattering from the force and sending Agnus falling and crashing onto a seat that shattered on impact.
Agnus had lost his Angelo form, turning back to normal as he looked in shock to see Gray and Gajeel landing and standing together. "How… can there be such a difference… b-b-b-between us?! I had the power of Sparda himself!" He pointed toward Gajeel first. "At least you have the excuse of being a D-D-Dragon Slayer! While you…!" He then pointed to Gray. "A mere human… with common Maker Magic…! So why am I inferior?!"
Gray snorted in disgust. "That's exactly why you lost. Just because you had a taste of Sparda's power, doesn't mean you can even hold a candle to him! Instead of babbling on about his strength and power, you should focus on what he did with it! He defected from Mundus to protect humanity because he wanted to, not to be worshiped as a god or even a legend! He even chose to settle down and have a family! That was his choice, and he chose to live his life to the fullest, the same way we do in Fairy Tail! No matter how hard things got for us, we never gave up! We all laugh, yell, or cry as hard as we can! You go on and on about this world being rotten, and humanity being weak, but you can't be any more wrong! All you see is weakness and filth, you're not even trying to look for what it was that made Sparda want to protect this world!"
"Spare me the philosophies! I am scientist! Logic is my only concern!" Agnus exclaimed as he pulled out his clipboard. "And logic shows that demons are stronger than humans, especially those that have no magic!"
"You want logic, huh?" Gajeel questioned as Agnus began to write down more of his notes. "Okay, fine, the average human might be physically weaker than a demon. But humans got something else instead, something Sparda also had, something that all those other demonic dirtbags don't."
That got Agnus' attention. "What…? What is that demons l-l-l-lack? Please, for the sake of my research! Please, tell me!"
Suddenly, his notes were snatched from his hands by Gray. "Here's what I think of your research!" The clipboard and notes were frozen in his hand, which he then shattered with a strong grip, much to Agnus' horror.
"N-no, no!" He crawled on the ground, desperately trying to gather the frozen fragments of his notes together. "No, no, nononono, no! No, no!"
"If you're gonna continue your research in the next world…" Gajeel said as Agnus stood up with a cluster of the ice fragments in his hands, only to gasp as Gajeel suddenly ran his Iron Dragon Sword through his chest. "Do your homework first."
He yanked his sword from his chest as Agnus fell to the ground, blood already spilling underneath his body, dying less than a second later.
"Good riddance." Gray stated.
Suddenly, the central part of the stage began to glow a bright blue behind them, getting both their attention as they glanced at each other, having a good idea of what was about to happen. Gray and Gajeel both stepped onto the glowing floor before it began to descend downward like an elevator.
The two then arrived at the same underground passageway that led them straight to the sword they were looking for, still glowing red as it was embedded in the pedestal at the end of the bridge.
"So, we just yank the thing out and that giant gate will close?" Gajeel asked as they walked toward the glowing Masayoshi.
"Yeah, pretty much." Gray confirmed.
"Hmmp, alright then." Gajeel reached to grab the Masayoshi by the handle and pulled it right out. The second it was removed, the glowing blood red water below them turned back to normal, the white light from before condensing beneath the bridge before it vanished completely.
The entire underground chamber began to shake around them less than a second later. "Guess that's our cue to head outside." Gray commented.
"Come on, time to end this whole fiasco." Gajeel stated as the pair ran back the way they came.
Meanwhile, back within the innards of the Savior, Natsu had followed the scent of Nero and made it to the source. The Fire Dragon Slayer had arrived at the lower heart of the Savior, one that was still clearly beating.
"Okay Nero... I know you're in there, so I'm gonna get you out!" He threw a fire-fist at the heart in an attempt to punch his way through. "Come on, Nero! Don't tell me you're gonna let that old bastard do you in like this!" He threw another flaming punch, followed by another, and another. "You got a friend to save, don't you?! Come on! Fight your way out! Fight for her! You hear me?!"
Natsu threw as many fiery punches as he could to try and break through the heart, but all his attacks seemed futile as he could barely break its tough surface, but he wasn't about to give up.
Back outside; the Hellgate glowed before it sealed shut, the rift that was previously open no longer existed, and the constant stream of demons that were pouring out suddenly stopped.
"Well look at that." Gildarts smirked.
"The Hellgate has been closed. It seems your comrades have done it." Byro noted.
"Then let's make sure it can't be opened ever again." Gildarts lifted his fist, which was already glowing white with his Crush Magic. "Mizuwari!" He punched the ground, channeling his energy through it and causing massive shockwaves that tore up the ground as they shot toward the Hellgate. Once they reached the structure, the entire Hellgate began to shake and crumble as several large cracks began to form around it.
"Divine Arrow!" Gildarts decided to finish the task by unleashing a massive purple energy arrow of his magic from his staff and shot it at the Hellgate, obliterating what was left of it in an instant.
"Hey, everyone! The Hellgate is done!" Gildarts shouted, hoping everyone could hear him either through his voice or through Warren's still-active Telepathy. "It's now a pile of rubble!"
"That's great Gildarts!" Lisanna stated as she was still in her Dragon Take Over, slashing with her fire claws to take down several demons, standing alongside Romeo, Happy, and a few Rune Knights to guard a magic barrier that was sheltering several people, including Makarov and Kinana. "But we still got thousands of demons in the streets now!"
"I don't know how long we can keep this up!" Romeo exclaimed as he threw a wave of blue flames to freeze two lizard demons in front of him, which a pair of Rune Knights quickly shattered with their own magic.
"We have to keep going, though!" Happy exclaimed, flying around to avoid three shade demons at his trail. "Natsu, Dante, Lucy, and everyone else are counting on us!" However, it seemed the shades were about to catch up to him.
"Sky Dragon Roar!" A wind-breath attack struck the shade demons and destroyed them.
"Wendy!" Lisanna exclaimed upon seeing the young Dragon Slayer arrive on the scene.
"Don't worry, we're here! You're not fighting this alone!" She declared.
"Nobody is alone here!" An elderly voice stated, contacting everyone through Telepathy.
"Who is that?" Romeo asked.
"Guys, this is the Archbishop of Zentopia." Laki told everyone through Warren's Telepathy as the two of them, along with Morrison and Carla, had already brought the elderly Archbishop onto the Christina Advance as Ichiya continued to stand at the helm. "We were able to safely remove the mind control spell from him and brought him to the Christina Advance."
"Listen well, everyone." The Archbishop began. "There is much that I need to say, but I promise to take full responsibility for any wrong doings our conjoined organizations have done to get us to this point. For now, we must all stand together. Those who are of the Order of the Sword and choose to fight for what's right, those of Zentopia, the Magic Council, and even of the Fairy Tail guild, we must all stand together and push back against the demonic hordes that are besieging this city!"
"Once that's all done, we can all focus our attention on the Savior!" Warren said. "Even if we can't damage it, we might be able to distract Sanctus inside who's control it; that should help give Natsu and Nero inside a fighting chance!"
"Then the time has come!" Ichiya declared. "Forward Christina Advance, cleanse this city of the unholy filthy festering within! MAN!" He shouted as the floating ship began to rain fire with its magic bombs, obliterating a large horde of demons below.
Lisanna, Wendy, Romeo, Happy, and the Rune Knights beside them all shared nods and serious expressions. "Well, you all heard them! Time to put these demons to bed!" Lisanna declared. "Let's go!" She, and all her friends and allies led the charge on the many demons throughout the streets and they weren't the only ones.
Everyone else throughout the city, be they Magic Council soldiers, Order defectors, Fairy Tail, or otherwise, they all began to work and stand together, they quickly got organized to better coordinate their efforts. In just a short time span, the make-shift alliance had already became a well-organized army.
"Close range combatants take the front lines! Anyone with a long range attack stay behind them!" Lahar ordered as Panther-Lily, Doranbolt, Coco, Samuel, and Dan were among those up front while several other Rune Knights, along with Sugarboy, were in the back. "Push forward! Now!"
With a loud battle cry, the allied heroes charged. Long ranged fighters unleashed a salvo of attacks to break up the demonic horde in front of them, allowing all the close ranged fighters to get in and take out the enemy while they were surprised.
"I've been a puppet for long enough! Time to set things right!" Mary Hughes exclaimed as she and Guttman stood with another line of Rune Knight soldiers.
"Yeah! Forget about all the stuff Sanctus spat on! We gotta turn some frowns upside down and fix what we did wrong! So, let's do it!" Guttman unleashed his Rupture powers on dozens of demons, lighting them all up with explosions while Mary Hughes used her wand to control a lizard demon and forced it to attack one of its own before moving onto the other as the Rune Knights kept up the attack.
"The Archbishop…" Byro said as he stood alongside Gildarts, observing the battles around them. "What he said… wasn't wrong. He's not the only one who has to take responsibility for the many misdeeds committed during this crisis."
"We can take care of all that stuff later, let's fix this mess now." Gildarts said as a large mass appeared over them, which turned out to be none other than Kanaloa as he landed behind the pair. "See, he agrees. What about you?"
Byro merely closed his eyes before his body was engulfed in a bright purple flash, thus obtaining his Angelo form. "I agree wholeheartedly!"
"So, what are we waiting for?!" Gildarts gave a wild smirk. "Let's join in on the fun!"
The sky continued to lit up with lightning as Gloria tried desperately to fight back against Trish's Devil Trigger, but whatever she threw at her adversary, Trish was able to overpower and dish back twice as much. Gloria tried to zap herself high into the sky and get some distance before reaching overhead to generate a massive sphere of white lightning and bring it down towards the incoming Devil Trigger Trish, who used her scythe to slice the sphere in half, which exploded behind her before she shot herself into Gloria, slicing at her sides and causing Gloria to scream in agony before falling.
Even as she fell however, she tried to fight back as best as she could, blasting a constant stream of white lightning, but Trish spun her scythe in front of her like a helicopter blade, absorbing the lightning from Gloria's own attack and mixing it with her own before unleashing it all on Gloria, engulfing her in the blast before she crashed down on a rooftop.
Trish landed gracefully on the ground as she saw the burnt and battered Gloria trying to pull herself up. "What's wrong? Here I thought you were the upgraded version of me. But I guess that's to be expected from a soulless copy like you."
'Damn it, how is this happening to me?!' Gloria thought with fury as she stood on her feet shakily. 'I'm supposed to be better than her! Why does she have a Devil Trigger?! She shouldn't have one! She's artificial like me! No! I refuse to be bested by her!'
"You… you worthless puppet…!" Gloria spat.
"Think you got that backwards, honey." Trish smirked.
"I'LL SHOW YOU WHY I'M BETTER!" Gloria threw her arms out, generating as much of her white demonic lightning as she could, creating a massive surge above her hands, which she attempted to forge and give shape, taking the form of a giant spear. Trish readied herself for the attack as Gloria launched it. "DIIIIEEEEE!"
Gloria threw it and it shot straight toward the Devil Trigger Trish, who was more than ready to counter it, when suddenly…
The spear sharply turned right and way from Trish, much to hers and Gloria's shock as they looked to see Lady, coating herself in her Steel Devil Skin, her right arm pointing outward with her Void Blade. The blade, and the rest of her body absorbed all the re-directed lightning, which began to surge all around her, causing her to grunt in pain.
"Lady!" Trish shouted in surprise.
"She used herself as a lightning rod?!" Gloria exclaimed.
However, Lady dug her feet into the ground, even as the lightning continue to surge painfully through her body. She gritted her teeth before forming a bazooka with both her arms, channeling all the gathered white lightning into it as she aimed it directly at Gloria.
"Say ah, bitch."
She fired a Steel Devil Rocket, which was charged up with all the acquired white lightning, shooting at near-light speed straight at Gloria, who was unable to dodge it before it hit. Gloria was then sent up in an explosion, screaming in agony.
"FINISH HER!" Lady exclaimed, falling to her knees.
Though surprised at first, Trish nodded before flying straight at the airborne and defenseless Gloria. Trish gave a battle cry, channeling her multi-colored lightning before swinging it at her evil clone.
*SLICE!*
The Devil Trigger Trish slid past her enemy near the edge of the rooftop, right as Gloria was sliced completely in half down the middle. She then exploded in a bolt of white lightning before it all shot towards Trish, but rather than electrocute her, all that white lightning appeared to be absorbed directly into Trish's body as she turned back into her human form to see Gloria's body was reduced to nothing, save for the pair of curved blades that fell and clattered on the ground.
Trish was quick to collect the fallen blades before moving toward Lady, who was already on her knees as her Steel Devil Skin vanished. "You okay?" She asked, kneeling to her level.
"I'll live…" Lady grunted as Trish helped her up.
"You know you didn't need to do that whole thing to help me, right?" Trish asked. "I could have dodged or taken it."
"I know… but I wanted to get a hit on that bitch too." Lady smirked, causing Trish to smirk back. "Speaking of which, what happened? Kinda looked like she tried to get one last shot in back there."
"Funny, but I'm not one hundred percent sure." Trish looked toward her own hands, which flashed with a bit of white lightning themselves. "I'm guessing since she was a clone of myself, her lightning was the same as mine, so when I killed her, her residual power must have transferred to me while I was in my Devil Trigger and merged with mine?" Trish tried to sum it up as best as she could, though she wasn't quite sure herself.
"So… basically you're even stronger now?" Lady asked somewhat rhetorically. "Great… as if you weren't OP enough. How am I gonna keep up now?" She asked somewhat playfully.
Trish chuckled. "Hey come on. Before you were able to hold your own against me with just your fists and guns, now you got your own magic. The way I see it, we're even."
"Well, aren't I lucky." Lady said as she and Trish shared a brief laugh together.
At the same time, an even more intensive battle was being waged with Modeus in his Devil Trigger state and Erza in her Armadura Diabla continued to duke it out with Cobra in his own Dragon Force form. Cobra waved his hands to throw wave after wave of poison magic at the pair.
"I'll rot the flesh from both your bones!" Cobra shouted.
However, Erza plunged her glowing spear directly into the poison, which began to crack with violent red energy before the magic itself exploded, much to Cobra's shock.
"What?!" He was forced on the defensive as the Devil Trigger Modeus sliced Hunter's Moon at him, but Cobra quickly crossed his arms to create a large wall of poison magic to block Modeus' glowing sword strike; both of them were caught in a back lash of their respective powers before being forced back. "Her weapon was able to destroy my poison!? Impossible!"
"Armadura Diabla!" Erza explained to him. "It is a Devil Arm in the form of armor that I acquired from one of the Hellgates we destroyed. Based on my past experiences, each of the Devil Arms I've seen before has a single power at their disposal, or two at the most in rare cases. Lightning, ice, or pairs in the form of speed and strength as well as fire and wind. In this case, I believe my Armadura Diabla's spear's ability is destruction. Anything my weapon touches is destroyed, even magic itself. While my armor seems to give me enhanced strength, and perhaps even protection."
"You think you're strong enough to handle a Devil Arm?! Don't get cocky, Titania! Poison Dragon Roar!" He let loose another breath attack, which was large enough to engulf Erza entirely as she didn't even try to defend herself from it. When the attack subsided, Erza was almost completely unscathed as her armor generated a dark red aura around her entire body.
"Are you kidding?! Her body isn't even starting to decay, and she took the full blunt of my roar!" Cobra exclaimed. However, his enhanced senses heard an incoming weapon, and turned around in time to avoid a slice from Modeus' Hunter's moon. However, right as the tip pointed directly at Cobra's face, Modeus attacked.
"Demon Sword: Lunar Eclipse!" He blasted a massive full moon at Cobra, creating a gigantic explosion that sent Cobra flying and bouncing across several rooftops before flipping and landing shakily on the third rooftop. "You can't keep this up, Cobra! Surrender!" Modeus declared as he flew toward him.
"Quit trying to reason with me and just fight me already!" Cobra exclaimed before blasting a powerful sonic attack at Modeus, halting his fight as Cobra struck with another attack. "Poison Dragon Sharp Horn!" Cobra leapt and landed a solid punch in Modeus' gut before a large stream of poison erupted from Cobra's punch and completely soaked Modeus, knocking him down into the adjacent building.
However, as Modeus fell, Cobra gasped in shock as Erza had suddenly appeared to lunge her demonic spear into him, blasting Cobra with the red destructive energy that seemed to rupture his body and sent him crashing toward another building.
'What…? How the did I not hear her coming? I should have heard her movements as well as her thoughts!' Cobra then looked up in a startle as Erza let loose a yell, one that carried a more demonic tone to it, as she jumped to thrust her spear at him again, but Cobra had jumped out of the way in time before unleashing another sonic attack at her, but her armor once again protected her from the brunt of the attack before moving at Cobra to slash her weapon relentlessly at him, which he was barely able to avoid.
'What the hell is going on?!' Cobra thought as he continued to dodge, unable to find an opening to fight back. 'I can hear her muscles and the way her weapon moves, but I can't hear her thoughts! It's almost like she's acting on pure instinct! Just like with Salamander seven years ago!'
Modeus had recovered and flew into the air to observe the fight, notably the glow of the demonic aura from Erza's armor, and even the slight crimson glow in Erza's eyes that was steadily growing stronger.
'Humans can only handle demonic power for so long if they have a strong enough will.' Modeus thought with concern. 'However, the stronger the demonic power or weapon you wield, the more corruptive it is. I know Erza's will is near unbreakable, but I fear that overuse of this particular Devil Arm could overwhelm her spirit and even corrupt her. Already she's acting more aggressive than normal. I just pray she has the will to overcome this dark influence.'
Outside the cathedral, Gray and Gajeel had emerged from the building to take on a pack of demons, blasting them with ice and iron-attacks respectively, all while Gajeel still held the sheathed Masayoshi in his hands.
"Yo, we got the sword!" Gajeel stated over the group's telepathic link as he crushed a demon's skull with an iron pillar. "What the hell do we do with it?!"
"Get it as far away from here as possible!" Lady's voice replied back.
"No wait, hold on!" Dante exclaimed as he leapt upwards to a floating island to avoid Midnight's Dark Rondo attack. "Coco, you said that sword bound to Nero, right?! What exactly happened?!" He asked as he fired Ebony and Ivory again at Midnight, who used his Reflector magic to divert the bullets away from him.
"Well… the sword was glowing with his demonic arm… then it vanished into him. Like it was a part of him!" Coco explained.
"It's bound to him…" Dante muttered before leaping back at Midnight, slashing with Rebellion, which Midnight tried to block with a wave of his Darkness magic, but the force was still enough to send Midnight skidding back on his feet. "Natsu, did you find Nero in there?!"
"Yeah, but there's a whole bunch of gross stuff around him and I can't break through!" Natsu replied.
"You guys gotta get the sword to Nero!" Dante stated as he used the flat of Rebellion to block a Dark Capriccio from Midnight.
"But I thought we can't get inside that thing!" Gajeel stated as he and Gray shared surprised expressions.
"That sword is bound to Nero the same way my Devil Arms are to me! It'll get through and get to him, and he can use it to cut himself free!" Dante explained.
"He's right, if the sword is bound to him, it will find its way to him." Even Trish seemed to agree.
"Alright, leave it to us." Gray said with a nod as he took Masayoshi.
"How the hell are you even gonna get it in there?" Gajeel asked Gray. "No way the ugly thing is gonna let you get close enough."
"I got it covered, just keep the demons off my back." Gray replied, placing both his hands around the sheathed blade, generating his magic as an icy-mist formed around the sword. As he continued to work, several demons tried to get the jump on Gray, but Gajeel moved to intercept them, slicing them with an Iron Dragon Sword in his right hand, and crushing them with an Iron Dragon Club in his left.
Just then, a large, cyan-colored glow emanated from Gray's arms as he formed a massive bow-and-arrow construct made entirely out of ice. The Masayoshi appeared to be inside the ice-arrow as Gray had it aimed directly at the Savior, specifically it's central chest gem.
"Jackpot." Gray smirked as he let loose, sending the ice-arrow, and the sword inside, flying at near-light speeds straight toward the Savior. The light shined across the battlefield, almost like a shooting star that climbed toward the sky. Everyone looked in awe and wonder as it went closer and closer toward its target, with the Savior itself only just noticing, but unable to do anything about it as the Dragon Force Laxus and Halphas Mira struck its face simultaneously; while Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen attacked all across its sides to keep it focused on them.
"How pointless." Midnight scoffed, already using his Reflector magic on the ice arrow. "Even if I can't affect the Devil Arm, my Reflector can still alter its trajectory."
"I don't think so!" Dante tried to come in from behind, slashing toward Midnight with Rebellion again, but Midnight kept him at bay by piercing his chest with a Dark Capriccio attack. Midnight smirked, but Dante smirked back as he suddenly vanished in a puff of black smoke, much to Midnight's surprise.
"What?!"
"Doppelgänger, dumbass!" Dante was already well ahead of Midnight, positioning himself at the right angle as the arrow passed over him and pierced the central gem. The ice shattered on impact, along with the Masayoshi's sheath, and though the sword appeared to pierce the gem, it didn't seem to make it all the way through.
"No! Stop!" Midnight casted his Reflector on the ground below Dante to destroy it, but he had already leapt into the air as the platform broke apart and fired with his pistols, every single bullet aimed perfectly to the bottom of Masayoshi's hilt. Once the last bullet hit, it broke through completely.
Natsu gasped as he saw the sword break through from the wall, fly over him, and stab the heart that Nero was trapped inside.
"Got it!" Natsu told everyone over their telepathic link.
Dante leapt backwards to land on another floating platform, giving a blow kiss with his fingers and a smirk, while Midnight only scowled.
"Damn you…!" Midnight cursed as the Savior began to keel over slightly, though it quickly recovered as the broken gemstone on its chest healed almost instantly, it was far too late.
"No! What have you done?!" Sanctus' voice cried out in despair.
"Time to wake up, kid! You're missing out on all the fun!" Dante called out, hopping his ally and half-brother could hear him. "You gonna let all your friends and everyone else hog all the glory!"
Even though they were still mopping up the last of the demons, everyone else knew what was going on through the telepathic link that Warren had set up, and those that knew Nero the most began to speak up as well.
"Nero! You have what you need to break through!" Samuel shouted. "Cut your way to freedom! I've known you my whole life, and you're far too stubborn just to quit now!"
"Come on, man! It's time to shake it off!" Dan also called out. "You're not gonna let that old bastard get the better of you, are ya?!"
"You and spicey-boy Natsu are the only ones who can stop that maniac!" Sugarboy exclaimed. "So, get off your ass and get a move on!"
"Kyrie's counting on you, remember?!" Mary called out. "You're her knight in shining armor! Prove it! Prove you're the one she deserves and save her!"
"Please Nero! You have to come back to us! To all of us!" Coco cried out.
Even Natsu heard all of it as he grabbed the Masayoshi's sheath and tried to drive it down and help cut Nero out as well.
"You hear that, you lazy bastard?!" Natsu exclaimed as he struggled to push the sword down. "All your friends are counting on you! Heck, the whole world's counting on you! Come on, Nero! Time to wake up! NERO!"
Suddenly, the Masayoshi began to glow purple before the Devil Bringer arm exploded out from the heart, shoving Natsu back in the process. The arm reached around, trying to grab a hold of something before it got a grip on the handle of the katana. It pushed the sword in as deep as it could go and cut downwards before the heart split open, and the now-liberated Nero fell out.
He would have fallen flat on his face, but Natsu was able to catch him and help ease him down on the ground as Nero struggled to breath again.
"You okay, man?" Natsu asked as he helped Nero to stand on his feet.
"I feel like shit…" Nero muttered as he pushed himself away from Natsu, his feet wobbled a bit, but he was able to get a stand firmly on the ground, gripping the Masayoshi tightly in his demonic hand. "But I know who to take it out on."
Natsu smirked. "Hey guys, he's out!"
"Great, now it's up to you two from here!" Dante told them as Nero was now linked telepathically with the rest of them. "An opportunity to save the world doesn't happen every day you know! Savor it!"
"This I will savor…" Nero swung Masayoshi to get a good handle on it before turning to Natsu. "You got that bloodhound nose, right? Where's Kyrie?"
"She's not far, along with Lucy." Natsu confirmed. "But that old bastard and Michelle are there too. So, what do you say we pay them a visit?"
Nero nodded. "Let's clean up this mess."
With that, Natsu led the way, following the scents as Nero followed close behind.
Dante chuckled but was once again forced to leap to safety as the platform he stood on was ripped to shreds by a torrent of Reflector Magic. After landing on another one, Midnight leapt to join him as he scowled at the Devil Hunter.
"You…!"
"Hey, looks like we finally knocked that smirk off your face." Dante noted. "About damn time."
"Don't think this changes anything!" Midnight exclaimed. "Even with a copy of the Yamato, that fool and the Salamander now face Imitatia as well as Sanctus, and you can't even imagine the power he's accumulated! Your plan is doomed to failure! And you won't get the chance to help them because you are going to die now!"
Midnight unleashed a massive salvo of Dark Rondo and Dark Capriccio attack all around Dante from all angles. Just before they struck, he casted a barrier of Reflector magic around Dante, keeping all the magics trapped inside as they reflected and forth, hoping the combination had done some significant damage.
However, the makeshift combo attack was blown away by a flash of dark red energy. Midnight looked in surprise to see Dante standing firm in his most recently acquired transformation.
"Dreadnaught!"
"I see… the form Klodoa informed me about." Midnight noted. "That transformation allows you to shield yourself from damage, and even reflect it all back at your opponent. Let's test its limits, shall we?"
Midnight was then engulfed in a dark green flash of his own before appearing in his Zero Caduto form. "To think I get a chance to actually kill a Son of Sparda. I'll make certain your death is a glorious one, Dante."
"Let's see you put those words into action, asshat." Dante challenged.
It didn't take long for Natsu and Nero to arrive at their destination, the Savior's upper and only remaining heart. And embedded in the glowing sack within the heart were the two people they were looking for.
"Lucy!"
"Kyrie!"
Natsu and Nero shouted their names at the same time, but before they even made a chance to move forward, a bladed flower shield struck the ground in front of them before being retracted back by a thorny vine, almost like a chain, to the shield's user.
"Not one step further! Neither of you are touching Lucy!" Imitatia declared, wielding her sword and shield.
"Out of the way you flower bitch." Nero warned her. "We're coming through and you can't stop us!"
"You say you wanna protect Lucy, then why did you betray her?!" Natsu exclaimed. "She trusted you! Dante trusted you! We all trusted you! You were part of our family, Michelle!"
"Big Sister and Cousin Dante are the only family I need, and they will be the only family I shall have." Imitatia stated as she pointed her sword toward Nero. "Dante was supposed to be absorbed into the Savior, not you, you half-baked Sparda clone!"
"Keep talking, I'll rip your throat out! I'm not going anywhere without Kyrie or Lucy!" Nero stated, pointing Masayoshi at her. "None of us are!"
"Sorry boys, but that's not happening." Klodoa said as he hovered over the heart where the two women were trapped. "We need these lovely girls in order to maintain structural integrity of the Savior."
"Where's your boss!?" Natsu questioned. "I know he's here! I can smell him!"
"So, the rumors of the Dragon Slayer's enhanced senses are not an exaggeration."
Sanctus descended toward the ground, Natsu and Nero looking in surprise at his newly transformed state. He emanated a blood red demonic aura that surged around him almost like electricity, with a pair of demonic-like energy wings that seemed to shape like those of angels, which grew out from a massive set of curved horns that stretched out from his back. On his head was the same kind of blue gemstone the Savior had, as well as the incomplete halo serving as a pair of horns. The sclerae of his eyes have turned black, while the iris' turned red. In his hands was the Devil Sword Sparda. This was Sanctus Diabolica.
"Speechless, I see." Sanctus commented toward the pair, landing gracefully in front of Imitatia. "This is the result of my newfound power through the Ascension Ceremony combined and synchronized with the Devil Sword Sparda. Rather fitting, don't you think?"
"Yeah, now you're a monster inside and out!" Nero scowled.
Sanctus ignored him as he turned toward the Dragon Slayer. "Let me ask you something, Natsu Dragneel. Who are your parents?"
"What the hell does it matter to you?" Natsu growled.
"Call it curious. I am wondering how it is you have entered the Savior, when only a select few are capable." Sanctus replied.
"I'm the son of Igneel, that's all I know and all I need to know!" Natsu declared.
'He truly does not know.' Sanctus noted. 'Interesting. I suppose I'll have a definitive answer upon studying his corpse.' He then turned back to Nero. "Why oppose the Order, Nero? I knew your faith was weak, but I always thought you served our wishes."
"You're asking me that, after everything?!" Nero replied. "You lied to me, to all of us! You used us, had us attack innocent people, recruited a gang of psychopaths, killed Credo, and worst of all… using Kyrie!"
"And Lucy!" Natsu added. "I don't care if her family's connected to the clock or whatever! She's one of us! You're going to let her, and Kyrie go right now, or we're going to make you!"
Sanctus chuckled with amusement. "What is that? Love?"
"Look it up!" Nero was the first to move, slicing with Masayoshi to send a slash toward Sanctus, but he raised his hand to generate a surge of demonic energy to block the attack before blasting it at Nero, forcing him backwards even as he batted the energy away with Masayoshi.
Natsu tried to use this to leap over Sanctus and get to Lucy and Kyrie, but he was knocked back by the rose-shield from Imitatia. "I told you! You won't take Big Sis from me!"
Despite being knocked down, Nero and Natsu both stood their ground, standing together to face their opponents.
"Come on, guys! It's time to finish this!" Dante told them.
"Wrapping things up on our end." Nero replied.
"Don't be too sure, boys!" Sanctus declared, hovering above Imitatia as his body surged more intensely with demonic energy. "Although flawed, the power of the Savior is beyond that of which you can defeat!" He lunged the Devil Sword Sparda forward, blasting demonic energy at them; but Natsu retaliated with a Fire Dragon Roar combined with another slash form Nero's Masayoshi. Both attacks struck that of Sanctus', creating an explosion that shook up the chambers before all four of them leapt toward each other.
"Oooh, this is gonna be fun!" Klodoa beamed with sadistic excitement.
Done.
And now we enter the homestretch of this arc! Only one chapter remains, and it's sure to be a doozy! Natsu has managed to free Nero, who has re-acquired Masayoshi; not both are ready to save Lucy and Kyrie, while fighting their way through Sanctus and Imitatia in the process, leaving Dante to finish things with Midnight
Most of their opponents are now defeated; Gloria and Agnus are dead, the Hellgate has been destroyed, the heroes have all rallied together and began to push back against the remaining demonic hordes, and Cobra has begun his final spout against Erza and Modeus.
I know I've said this before, but I have really enjoyed writing this arc. I had so much fun writing all these chapters, all the battles, all the characters and their interactions with one another, it's all been a blast. And now we are reaching the climax. It has been one hell of a ride, and I can't wait to get the final battle started! Thanks for your support, now stay safe and stay healthy out there.