"It's been an exciting last few days here in the Domas Flau. Both our Titan class mages are still in the running and the Fairy's have seemed to found a worth advisory in Elements force," Chappy spoke as the arena was being cleared of the destruction from the last game. After all, Igneel attempting to capture the man-eating rabbits ended up more like a barbeque than an actual challenge.
"True both teams have been tied for first at the end of yesterday and as we move into today's battles the Fairies have a two-point lead," Tomma said happily as watched the cameras pan the crowd.
"Yes, but before our normal battles begun Terra will square off against the wizard saint Ward!" Chappy shouted as the two wizards took the field.
The crowd cheered as Layla pressed her back into the cool stone of the tunnel. She could smell that her mate was in the tunnel same as her but that her was leaning against the opposite wall. Smiling lightly, she reached in to the pocket on her pants and pulled out a single key. Slicing her palm with a knife she picked up Draco's key. Making sure to place it on the thin trail of blood that seeped on to her palm.
"Oh, father I require your guidance," She whispered as she felt her spirit enter the Celestial realm. Opening her eyes, she inhaled as she found herself in the field. Gently she turned an egg that lay at her feet.
"It is good to see you daughter," Draco said as he knelt near a section that was covered in ice.
"Do you know what today is?" Layla asked as she removed her shoes and gently nudged a few eggs to turn over in their nests.
"I do," Draco confirmed as he stopped what he was doing to look at his slayer.
"What should I do?" Layla asked again not even turning towards the dragon.
"That is for you to decide," Draco sighed turning back to the task at hand, each egg had to be rotated once a day and feed magic to survive. It was a lot of work and Draco put every dragon he could to the task. Layla was always roped into helping whenever she was in the celestial realm, wether physically or just her consciousness.
"That's what Mom and Dad said," the pinkette growled under her breath. She had gone to every single dragon for advice and they all said the same thing, it's for you to decide. Not even one of them had offered anything more than that and it was driving her insane.
"Layla the Draconic high council passed the punishment on to me. And I passed it on to you. Do you know why?" Draco growled as he replaced the barrier watching as ice formed on the shells of the eggs inside.
"No," Layla scoffed as she sat down on a nearby log.
"As my Slayer it will be your responsibility to look over these hatchlings once they have been returned to Earthland. While the council makes the rules you must enforce them, and the punishments they go along with," Draco said firmly as he made his way over to the woman.
"I know that but..." Layla began feeling Draco sit down next to her.
"Are you afraid of the law?" the dragon interrupted her as she exhaled loudly.
"No, Hisui has granted me amnesty. He needs to be punished but how?" she asked as she turned her head towards the dragon.
"Layla, he is a traitor to not only his country but his people and his race, what punishment does the law ask for?" Draco questioned back as he saw Igneel begin to tend the fires off in the distance.
"But you taught me that all life is precious," Layla countered.
"It is but let me ask you this. If a vine attached itself to a tree and sucks the life out of it to survive its self would it be wrong to remove the vine?" the dragon asked as he smirked at the dumbfounded look that appeared on her face.
"We're not talking about plants here," Layla growled as she looked away from Draco.
"No, we are talking about ending a life that threated millions. At least the vine only threated one tree," Draco chuckled as he watched the girl pout.
Staying silent she mulled over everything in her head as she thought over every argument leaving only one question. "Is that how you wish me to view him as well?" she finally asked breaking the silence between them.
"No," Draco admitted as tears began to well up in his eyes.
"Why, because he is yours," Layla questioned as she smelled Draco's reaction.
"This man, God Serena. He was never raised by a dragon. He did not know our ways. And while Laxus and Erik were the same they have taken the time to learn of our people and they follow our laws, and have taught their hatchlings to do the same. He has not, and at every opportunity has rejected our help," Draco said as firmly as his voice broke. "and as far as my son..." the dragon paused as he took a ragged breath. "I cannot excuse nor explain. But his fate will also rest in your hands," he finally finished as she stood walking a few paces away.
Thinking it over Layla wrestled with the truth. Finally, she exhaled softly as she whispered. "I know what I have to do," her voice ringing with conviction.
"Layla," the comforting voice of her mate broke the spell as she blinked her eyes open and rather that the familiar smell of the dragon fields of the celestial realm she found herself once again in the tunnels of the arena.
"Storm," she said quietly as she began to stand.
"Hey ... Is everything okay?" Storm asked as he helped her up holding her face between his hands as he looked at her.
"Yeah," Layla nodded as she wrapped her arms around her mate. As Chappy's voice filled the corridor.
"Now for the last battle of the day. Layla Dragneel who will face off against God Serena!"
Walking out on to the field Layla paused in the center as she waited for the bell. God Serena was being escorted out by both her father and Laxus. The Ex-wizard saint was bound by both iron manacles and magic canceling cuffs. A little over a year ago several members of the Spriggan twelve had began waking. The few who had woken, wanted simply to return to Alverez and were allowed once the Republic had reviewed each case and passed their own judgment. But once God Serena had awoken he was taken into custody for his crimes against Fiore.
The two men placed him in the waiting rune trap before removing his shackles as he stood before Layla. The girl waited for the two elder dragon slayers to finish and walk back into the tunnels before she began.
"Serena, you have been charged with treason not only to your people but to your race. You abandoned the nation of Fiore and sided with its enemies. But the more egregious act you have committed is that you are in possession of eight lacrima of draconic origins. The power that these lacrima hold were stolen from the dragons rather than willing given, there for you are in violation with the act of peace between humans and dragons that was set over a thousand years ago. But all of this can be forgiven if you simple agree to follow the rules and traditions of the dragons. Do as the council say and learn and live by the ways of the people," Layla said forcefully as she waited for the response. But what came from the man before her filled her with sorrow and God Serena threw his head back and began to laugh.
"I must say, you are a cheeky little thing. Run along back to daddy now little Dragneel and I won't hurt you," the wizard saint chuckled shaking his head back and running a hand through his heavily mussed hair.
"So, you refuse once again to learn the ways of your people?" Layla asked again as the man rolled his eyes.
"I am a god why must I follow the rules of beasts?" God Serena asked as he waved to the crowd that booed him.
"Is that your final answer?" the pinkette asked in confirmation.
"It is," the man said arrogantly looking over his shoulder at the girl.
"Then may Draco have mercy on your soul," Layla sneered as the bell rung signaling the beginning of the fight.
As the barrier fell away God Serena wasted no time in attacking racing forward he gathered several magics in to his hands as he went to attack. Catching his hand in midair before it collided with her face Layla twisted his wrist and flung him effortlessly into the nearest wall.
"Okay maybe something different" God Serena groaned as he stood up from the ruble that surrounded him. "You're a fire dragon so this should be your down fall," God Serena said as he threw his hands up into the air dramatically as he called forth another power. "Sea dragon king's tidal claw!" he shouted as he blasted a massive amount of sea water at his opponent as Layla never moved an inch from her spot absorbing the blast head on.
"Just like her daddy, all talk but no fight," he smirked as the water continued to swirl around the girl.
"You call that a claw attack?" Layla asked as soon the wave was washed away reveling a perfectly dry Layla as she walked calmly forward.
"There is no way you could have survived that!" God Serena blanched. "the power of a Sea king would quell any fire dragons magic" the wizard saint panicked as he began lobbing attack after attack at the girl as she effortlessly dodged every single one.
"Then maybe you should have done your homework," Layla scoffed as she reached the man once again throwing him into the opposite wall of the stadium causing the wall to crack from the impact.
Layla began striding towards the wizard saint who was crawling across the ground having lost the feeling in his legs after the last hit he had taken. But if he were to win this fight he would be free once again so without his legs or not he was never going to give up.
"I am no mere fire dragon," Layla said as she was enveloped in purple and gold smoke. "I am the daughter of Draco, and nothing can quell my fire!" she roared as the smoke cleared.
Gone were her clothes. They were replaced by a soft purple silk that draped over her shoulders and belted as her waist before it fell to the ground slits on the side showing the movement of her bare feet. Gold dotted the cloth as it seemed to simmer in the sun light. Her long hair was pulled up into an elaborate up do as golden ribbon kept her hair in place, leaving her back bare. Which showed a rather large tattoo which took up the entirety of her back. It looked like a dragon, its maw open shouting up the tip of its snout touching the roots of her hair as its' wings were somehow both cramped yet unfurled on her skin. Its tail disappearing in to the bottom of the dress. As along each of her arms were six symbols each blaringly familiar.
"My god is she what I think she is?" Tomma asked as he couldn't take his eyes off the girl as she slowly walked towards the wizard saint.
"It's not possible," Doctor Alin said as she studied the tattoo on Layla's back. As head of lost magics at Crocus university she had been asked to help co-anchor several days during the Grand magic games, giving insight to many magics that had been rediscovered by eager young mages over the last decade.
"What is it?" Chappy asked as he watched Layla chant something as the Tattoo on her back sprung to life.
Slowly with a flap of it was wings and a twist of its neck the creature pushed it's shelf away from the girl's skin as it resisted its front paws on to the girl's shoulders, half of its body still on the girl's skin as its head was hanging high in the sky as it let out a fearsome roar into the air rattling the very ground Layla stood on. Leaning to the right it removed the rest of itself from the skin as it stood just behind Layla. It was large nearly four times the size of Laxus, it was all black with no discerning features as it nudged the edge of its nose against Layla.
"Croush Net," she hissed as the beast leapt forward snatching the wizard saint up in its claws as it took off into the sky.
"Doctor what is it?" the former monarch asked as again as he turned to look at the stunned professor.
"I... I don't believe what I'm seeing," the professor gasped as she gazed unblinking at the image before her.
"Care to explain?" Chappy asked as he watched the shadowed creature fly high before he dropped the mage and just before he hit the ground was caught once again before the process was repeated.
"I believe... And this is incredible... I believe what we are looking at is the original magic that founded takeover magic," the professor said as she watched the beast toss the mage against one of the large pillars causing the stone to groan and break letting him fall nearly to the crowd which were protected by rune barriers that were enhanced before the games every year, before it soared off again mage in its claw.
"What do you mean by that?" Chappy asked as he cringed watching as the winged beast toyed with the mage.
"Well with the help of Doctor Marvel we have been able to identify specific genomes that are the key to figuring out if there are more magic that is passed in the blood than just the few we knew of before," the professor began as she watched as Layla motioned to the beast it swopped down and the mage jumped on the beast back as it flew up into the sky again before he continued. "prior to this generation we only thought that four types of magics passes through blood lines. They would be Celestial, blood, Seith, and takeover."
"Yes, that's correct and what's baffling is that three of those four stems from the exact same family," Chappy spoke.
"The Haroworths. And the Strauss family has been traced back to a large clan that had been pushed out of Iceburg over two centuries ago, the one known for takeover magic in the first place, but this here is lost magic, I believe we are witnessing a magic called soul share. According to legend it allows someone to harness the soul of a beast and use it to their advantage. It is a spectacularly wonderful sight to behold," the professor asked as she watched the beast swoop down till it was nearly fifty feet above the ground where Layla jumped off landing in nearly the same position she had been.
"That may be true but have either of you been listening to her?" Tomma asked as the two other commentators looked over at the former king.
"Why?" Chappy asked.
"She said that she wasn't merely a fire dragon. And if I'm not mistaken those are the signs of the Zodiac on her arms," Tomma spoke as Layla cried out, and soon the mage she was against fell to the earth the beast landing behind it's master.
"Are you so week that you have your beast do the work for you?" God Serena coughed trying to not be bothered by the blood that trickled down his chin as he did so. "You're just like your mother and her spirits," he sneered as Layla picked him up by the neck squeezing his throat closed. The man quickly clawing at the hand holding him as he struggled for breath.
"You will do well to not insult the spirits in my presence," Layla hissed slamming him down on the ground again. A large amount of blood leaving his mouth as he made contact the earth shattering under him.
Looking down at the mage Layla snarled before she waved a glowing hand over his body as the man writhed in agony. Nearly ten minutes had passed as the disgraced man both lost and found his voice as he continued to share his pain vocally with the arena.
"You have abandoned not only your country but your people too. You dismiss the laws that your magic needs to survive so I should think you don't deserve to have it anymore," Layla said she plunged her hand into his chest.
The man below her howling in pain as she slowly retracted her hand revealing purple scales that covered from the top of her claws all the way up to her elbow, dripping in blood and pieces of skin and tissue and in her hand, were eight tiny lacrima no bigger than a marble each.
"It's amazing that such great power could be contained in something so small," she said to herself as she held up her hand so the others could look at the tiny colored stones, "And to think that you're so pathetic that not even a single one of these melded with you," she growled as she tossed the orbs against the ground as God Serena screamed in panic and terror watching as the fragile magic collided with the ground shattering into a million pieces.
Magic of several colors swirled around as Layla whispered to them in Draconic. Most disappearing, and a few other flying off into the sky. Layla turned her back on the mage as she gently ran her hand along the snout of her companion. Reaching her hand out she let her magic flair accepting the shadowed dragon back on to her skin as it returned to its place on her back. But rather that spread out it curled in on itself, taking up the central portion of her back. Sighing in relief Layla turned to the royal box before speaking.
"This man is no longer a dragon Slayer, but his crimes towards this country have yet to be answered for," she said as Hisui stood Rouge by her side.
"We will review the charges and he will be punished accordingly," the Queen said as Layla nodded her head in a slight bow as both Hisui and Rouge did the same.
"Wait… I…. we…. Have to fight!" Serena said weakly as blood left his mouth between each word while he struggled for breath.
"Why, I have stripped you of your magic and even if I hadn't you will die soon. I can hear your heart failing as we speak," the pinkette said as she returned to her normal clothes.
"I'm …the strongest…. I… will … be … free," the man wheezed, not even noticing the crowd had gone silent.
"It is not my place to entertain the delusions of a dying man," Layla hissed as she turned her back on him and began walking away.
"but…. I… am the…. The… greatest," God Serena gasped as his heart finally stopped beating.