Hey guys. This chapter may not be the most spectacular in terms of action. I tried to focus on the characters a bit more and fleshing out the arc a little as well. I hope you like it nonetheless.
The celebration was, once again, loud and full of excitement. Mugs flew over the heads of poor clients, tables were being broken by flying bodies, chairs were being moved so many times no one knew where they originally belonged to. And yet, no one spoke out
"To Elfman and Natsu, our two stars of the day!" Makarov roared on top of his lungs in a toast and chugged his mug down, followed by rest of the guild.
Natsu awkwardly raised his mug and drank some as the lone source of cheering. It has been a good few toasts already and only half of them was raised by Erza, who held no punches behind praising her boyfriend. For reasons related to alcohol she had completely ditched her sense of privacy and went all out. Natsu looked clearly uncomfortable each time but played along anyway, which only irritated Gajeel, who kept betting Gray that he would bail any minute now. So far the score was six to nothing in the Maker's favor.
Elfman was currently in the infirmary, battered and sleeping. The guild visited him after the match and made sure he got proper praise for his efforts, which he gladly accepted right before falling asleep. Evergreen volunteered to stay by his side for a while, much to the teasing of her team and Cana. It has been five hours since they left and she'd yet to return.
"To think Elfman would think of such a strategy..." Erza took a break from boasting about how great her team and partner were and shook her head gently. She was redcheeked after a few mugs of beer, which she justified with the guild's successful day. Unfortunately for her, her team knew it was so that her very uncharacteristic praises of Natsu had some foundation behind.
"Did you give him that idea?" Lucy curiously asked Mirajane.
"We tried it once as a test but that's it." she shrugged.
Gray smirked. "Wait, so you can't do it?" he asked teasingly.
"Nope." Mira smacked her lips and drank from the mug in her left hand, completely avoiding the bait. "And I don't want to. I will become stronger in my own way."
Erza snorted. Mira shot her a glance. "Something funny?"
"No, nothing." she said with a laugh, clearly drunk. "Elfman's display reminded me of something familiar. I guess this sort of skill can only be achieved by selected mages."
Mira turned in her seat. "Are you suggesting something?" she narrowed her eyes.
"Oh no." Lucy sighed and walked away from the table with Gray and Lisanna right before the first punches have been thrown.
"This one she takes." Gray moaned to himself.
Lisanna blinked. "You guys have really grown confident, haven't you?"
"Some of us have." Lucy laughed gently.
"Stop it." said Gray and smacked Lucy's back so hard she almost dropped her glass. "You kicked ass back then and that's final. Stop sulking over it. Have some faith in yourself."
"But-"
"One more but and I'll ask Cana to tell me the hot springs story." he waved his finger in front of her face.
Lucy blushed. "Do that and I will make sure your future family dies tonight."
"Oh, that one?" Cana threw in from the side. "I don't mind. So, one night we stopped by-"
"I said don't!"
Gray's face was now sunk into his head, courtesy of Lucy's fist. He put his hand on her wrist and pulled it back, clearly irritated. "Look, I like to think of myself as a gentleman, but-"
His threat was interrupted by Mirajane, who smashed into him from across the hall. Erza dusted her hands and sat back down, smug and satisfied with herself. "Some things just never change!"
"You bitch..." Mira wiped her face and rushed through the hall at Erza.
In the other corner of the inn Freed kept screaming at everyone in his proximity, while Laxus lazily wiped his coat off beer that landed on him from one of the table knocked over by Mira's flying body. His yelling was then stopped by an iron club to his face, which was immediately answered with Bickslow hovering over Gajeel and Levy's table. They were all then crushed by a big piece of ice which was originally meant for Mirajane, but was sneakily evaded.
Shortly after half of the inn was fighting with each other, insults and mugs flying everywhere. Lucy sighed and crawled underneath a table furthest from the brawl and shared it with Juvia and Levy, who have already taken shelter. The former offered her some of her salted chips, which the blonde kindly accepted.
"Who do you think will finally lose it?" she asked with her mouth full of chips.
"Laxus." Levy said. "They are pretty close to him."
"Laxus, too." Juvia nodded." Master's too drunk to notice and Erza is the one who started."
Lucy agreed upon shooting a quick glance at the already knocked out elder, who was sprawled on the bar counter. The innkeeper didn't even bother to stop the brawl and instead washed the counter with a cloth.
Natsu finished his beer and set his mug aside after being hit in the head with a stool. With a heavy sigh he stood up from his seat and cracked his neck. "I guess I'll join." he announced to the inn.
As if by some advanced spell all fighting ceased within a second, eyes glued to his back. Gray gently unsummoned his ice hammer, while Gajeel's limbs have turned back into, well, limbs. Mirajane let go of Erza's collar and dusted herself off, before going back to her table, which was now on the other side of the inn and had to be picked up from the floor. Everyone went their separate ways and acted as if nothing happened.
Lucy peeked from under the table, surprised. "Now that's new."
Natsu looked around, confused. For the first time in a while he actually felt like joining in on the guild fun, only to be cut short. A bit bummed out, he sat back down in his seat.
Erza, who has sobered up a bit, recollected herself and stood up. She dusted her clothes and walked up to his table. "Sorry, I don't know what got into me." she apologized, ashamed.
"It's fine." he told her. "Just don't complain to me about how noisy they can sometimes get when they fight."
"I will not."
Makarov, who has miraculously recovered as soon as the brawl ended, coughed into his fist and readjusted is cloak. Lisanna shot him an irritated look: he definitely played dead to avoid responsibility for his guild.
"Wanna take a walk?" Natsu suggested to Erza. "You could use some fresh air."
The redhead shook her head. "No, I am quite fine with being here-"
Before she could complain she was dragged out of the inn by her arm and not even her loud protests could prevent it.
"Are you ever going to stop enjoying watching her being manhandled?" Lucy asked Gray.
"Never." he grinned. Lucy only sighed.
Makarov set his mug aside and jumped down into his wheelchair. "Laxus, walk with me." he told his grandson.
The man tensed up. He knew exactly what his grandfather had in mind. He excused himself from his team and gently pushed Makarov out of the inn to find a suitable spot for their, as he had know realized, long overdue conversation. They turned right, which was the opposite direction of where Natsu dragged Erza to.
The pair was now a few blocks away from the inn, with the knight no longer being dragged like a doll, her hand now being held by Natsu's instead. They walked through the quiet streets, the occasional laughter and singing echoing here and there from inns occupied by other guilds.
"I've been thinking about something lately." Natsu spoke out suddenly after a few minutes of silence.
Erza blinked rapidly, a bit surprised by the sudden proclamation. "About what?" she asked.
"Back on the island Gildarts told me to find something to live for and if I stayed true to it I'd never go back to how I was." he said. "I found it" he squeezed her hand gently which brought a blush to her already red face "but I've been thinking...Why stop at one thing?"
Now at full attention, Erza turned her head to face him, her face lit up with almost childish-like curiosity. "Do you have something in mind?" she asked.
He looked at her with a smile. "I do. After this is over I want to leave and look for Igneel. It's been a while since I've done that."
Erza's smile faded a bit. "What do you mean, leave? You want to leave the guild?"
"No, of course not." he reassured her. "Just a...trip. Or a mission, if it makes sense. I wanna go out there and see if he's somewhere there, in the unknown." he said and looked into the horizon with a misty glance. "Will you come with me?"
Erza hesitated. "I don't think this is a good idea." she told him truthfully. "At least not yet. I think the idea itself is very good, but the timing is very poor. The guild is still very hurt, we've barely picked ourselves up from the ground. We can't just leave for an unspecified amount of time when we have so many things to take care of."
Natsu frowned gently. "I didn't say we'd leave as soon as we got back home." he told her. "We'd stay for a few weeks to see how things turn out and then go."
"It could take months for Fairy Tail to go back to how it was before." she told him, her tone now leaning towards stern. She let go of his hand. "I don't think you even realize the situation we are in right now."
The pair stopped walking. Natsu turned his body to fully face Erza, his face frowned. "Raven is responsible for most of it." he said softly, which did not match his expression. "If we can prove, that what they've said and done is false, things will get better."
"And that itself could take months." Erza replied.
Natsu sighed through his nose and gently rolled his eyes, which only made Erza more hostile.
"Have you grown tired of the guild already?" she asked him. "Is that it? You spent too much time with actual people, so now you must go away and be alone for a while? Go back to how you were before we've met? Recharge your batteries?" she asked sarcastically.
He scratched the back of his head. "Well, I gotta admit that it is tiring to be around people all this time and all that..." he admitted "Plus I'm still not really that good with having expectations on me, you know. I never had anyone putting their trust in me and now there are so many hands on my shoulders. It's getting pretty heavy, to be honest."
Erza scoffed and narrowed her eyes. "So your choice is to just run away under an excuse of looking for your father." she accused him.
Natsu scowled. "I never said that was the-"
"Very well then, go." she interrupted him, her voice cold and piercing. "As soon as the Games end pack your bags and go from Crocus, you will save time and money. I will go back to Magnolia with the rest of the guild and deal with our matters with them. I will wait for you once you mature and get your act together."
Natsy's face relaxed. "Erza..." he reached out his arm to her.
The knight knocked his hand aside and looked at him. "It's about time you made a decision. Either you are what everyone made you out to be, a beast in human skin that chooses to live in solitude, or an actual human being, who does not run from responsibility and can deal with things as natural as having people who care for him. Make up your mind. That is advice from me to you, one that should fill in the gaps of the one given to you by Gildarts. It appears he had overlooked some things."
With that said Erza stormed off, leaving stunned Natsu alone in the street with the onlookers from the nearby pub, who watched the scene in suspense.
"This should be good." Makarov said to Laxus as they passed by a fountain in the middle of an empty square.
Laxus positioned his grandfather and sat down on a bench next to him, all ears. "You said it had something to do with our family?" he asked for confirmation.
"Indeed." said the elder. "More precisely, a story about your parents and the day your father ceased to be my son."
Laxus froze. "Parents? My mother, too?" he asked. "You've never spoken about her."
"I am aware, but this changes tonight." Makarov said. "Perhaps revisiting these cursed memories will give us a hint about what in the hell does Ivan want from us."
"You don't have to tell me anything if it brings you pain, old man." Laxus said softly. "I've spent my whole life not knowing, I can deal with never hearing it."
"It will pain me to say this about as much as it will bring me relief." Makarov chuckled weakly. "This conversation is long overdue, and the longer I postponed it the heavier my heart was. You deserve to know all there is to know."
Laxus frowned gently. "Speak, then."
Makarov took one more breath for courage. "Your mother Sofia died from an unknown illness when you had just turned four. I doubt you remember much about her."
"Just that she had blonde hair and smiled a lot." Laxus reached out to his memories.
"She was a wonderful and kind young woman." Makarov smiled under his beard. "Very fragile for a mage but quite feisty when necessary. She was like a ray of the sun put inside a human body. Ivan has always been a quiet, brutish man, even as a child, but even he stood no chance against her. I have no idea what she saw in him but they got together and soon got married. Her presence seemed to warm his heart and change him so much even I couldn't recognize him. I've always been thankful to her for making up for my terrible and harmful parenting."
Laxus frowned. "You give yourself too little credit, old man." he tried to comfort him.
"But all that changed when she died." he continued. "He became even colder than before. He blamed everyone, even himself. He'd grown to hate you, blabbing that her giving birth to you changed her, made her even more fragile. As much as I wanted to hit him that day, as much as I yelled at him, deep down I had to agree. After you were born her body had broken down and was never the same."
Laxus stared at Makarov with his eyes wide open.
"I killed my own mother?" he asked quietly.
Makarov looked at him for the first time in a lomg while. "Don't be ridiculous." he told him sternly. "Her illness and your birth were totally coincidental."
"But she would have lived if she didn't have me, right?" Laxus pried.
"The disease would have easily taken the strongest of humans." Makarov said reassuringly. "You did nothing wrong, my boy."
Although still not entirely convinced, Laxus calmed down and resumed listening to the tale.
"After she died Ivan became obsessed. He continuously tried to find new types of magic that could bring her back, regardless of their nature. He began neglecting you and, for a few years, I had to take care of you. The excuse of your father being away for a long term job was to hide the fact your own father abandoned you in search of dark arts."
"Why didn't you stop him?" Laxus asked.
"Because I was convinced that his searches would have been for naught, that he would start to see clearly and return to his senses." the elder smiled weakly. "I was a naive fool, blinded by the love I had for my one and only child."
"Let me guess: he didn't." Laxus scoffed.
Makarov closed his eyes solemnly. "No, he did not. He found something and came back home for a brief moment to gather his team. They left the guild before I could even take action. Several days later Ivan was the only one who returned, battered and exhausted, but satisfied. By the time he'd returned I had already known what happened by the courtesy of the Council. He and his team ventured deep into unknown territory to obtain a certain item that Ivan considered to be a key to his plan of bringing Sofia back. He abandoned his own comrades to die, just so he could put his hands on it. When he returned my heart had finally found its rightful place. I banished him from both the guild and my own feelings. I took away the thing he brought with him and hid it in a place where no one would ever dare to look."
The elder gently put his hand on Laxus' chest, much to his mild surprise. It then changed to shock, as realization kicked him harder than anything before. "The dragon lacrima..."
"Yes." said Makarov. "You've always been a weakly boy, something you most definitely inherited from your mother. I put it inside of you, so that it would never be used for evil. I may have been more stern and harsh on you afterwards, but that was because of my fear that you would stray off your path just like Ivan did. I like to think I've succeeded."
Laxus put his hand on top if his and gave it a squeeze. "You succeeded all right." he told him with a smirk. "And not just with me, you've changed everyone in the guild for the better.."
Makarov appreciated the words and smiled back. "Now he found a new way of fulfilling his dream and he wants what he thinks belongs to him." he continued with a tired voice.
"That thing he found in our basement?" Laxus asked.
"Yes. And as long as it remains in his possession we can only hope that your mother is his sole purpose. If he wishes for anything else and has the means of going through with his plans, the entire continent could collapse faster than a snap of our fingers." the elder snapped his fingers to drive his point through.
"You've never really explained to me what it is exactly."
"Soon I will, to all of you. No more secrets."
Laxus smirked. "Don't lie, old man"
Makarov chuckled. "Guilty as charged."
Erza kicked a pebble aside with a frown glued to her face, the alcohol losing its strength. She was still very upset, however she was also a bit ashamed. Her reaction was, quite frankly, exaggerated and uncharacteristic. Perhaps fear got the better of her, fear of being alone again. She couldn't quite place it, but there was something. She didn't know exactly why she blew up the way she did but she wasn't entirely in the wrong. Probably...
Her venture led her quite far from the inn, into an area unknown to her. There weren't as many inns around and it was very quiet, so quiet that her footsteps echoed among the buildings.
In front of one of them stood a rather rowdy bunch, consisted of children and two adults.
"Kids, please calm down." said one of the adults. Her voice was kind but tired. She was wearing clothing that resembling of a nun.
The other adult chuckled gently and spoke out, and as soon as she did Erza was hit with a wave of dread.
"Sister Asha is right." Emilia said to te kids. "You should be in beds by now."
"But we want you to read us one more story!" one of the kids whined with the others agreeing just as loudly.
"I'm sorry, but I can't. I have to be up early tomorrow." said Enilia and patted him on the head. "Tomorrow most certainly. I promise."
This appeared to appease the children, who calmed down and starting to go inside one by one, but not without wishing her a good night and luck for tomorrow.
"Thank you so much, both for spending time with them and for your donation." the nun bowed gently. "We can ensure better education to the children thanks to you."
Emilia shook her head. "It is fine. I'm glad I could help."
The nun smiled. "One of our boys has taken a liking to 'the man who can become a bird'. He kept asking if he"d be coming with you."
"I don't think that's a good idea." Emilia laughed. "Perhaps it'd be for the best not to tarnish his image of Svenar."
The nun smiled assuringly and said her goodbye, leaving Emilia alone, with Erza watching the scene from the distance.
Emilia turned to leave and spotted the redhead in the distance. After an awkward few seconds Erza cleared her throat.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry." she said.
"I fail to see how randomly bumping into me counts as prying." deadpanned Emilia.
Erza's face became even redder. Emilia blinked and started to walk in her direction.
"My inn is this way, in case you were curious." she announced.
"So is mine."
"Well, that's unfortunate."
Emilia had passed Erza, but stopped after a few steps.
"Since I've managed to catch you outside of the arena I might as well ask you something." she said.
Erza frowned. "I thought you made it clear talking wouldn't be of use."
"That's what I believed, however seeing my friend do things the hard way with nothing but more confusion as reward changed my mind." she admitted and adjusted her glasses.
"Lucy..." Erza muttered to herself.
Emilia nodded. "Their story made me look at things from another perspective. Perhaps our tale also has some unexplored corners. Maybe I should let you speak before reaching for my blade. I might just avoid repeating your mistake of cutting down an innocent human."
Erza bit her lip. "May I just ask you one thing?" she asked with dread.
"Go ahead."
"Why were you there that night, in the village?"
Emilia's eyes narrowed. "Why do you need to know?"
"For my own selfish reason."
Emilia smirked. "Your honesty is appreciated. I was there, because I lived in a neighboring village. I was sent by my mom to trade with them, something I'd done countless times before. By the time I was done the village was under attack, so I hid to wait for my chance to escape. I bumped into you...and you just cut me down like a dog and left without as much as a word, or acknowledgement of what happened."
Her voice was resentful, poisonous. Her sword arm was shaking, most definitely itching to draw. Erza could only stare at her solemnly, her mind empty.
"That village was a dark guild in disguise." she said flatly. "I attacked it based on first-hand evidence and-"
"I know." Emilia interrupted her. "Human trafficking. They'd abduct anyone who stayed over as a guest and was not from the area. I've read the files. Still, it has nothing to do with what you did to me. You never even questioned why there was a lone child. Your strike was as fast and precise as those you've delivered to the three men you've cut down before me. Your words are just as true as they are an excuse."
Erza clenched her fist. "I was familiar with those kind of people using children to their advantage. I hesitated once and almost paid with my life."
Emilia scoffed. "You still have the audacity to make excuses?"
"I was a very troubled person." Erza raised her voice. "Broken. I was leading an endless fight against my own mind. I could barely tell apart right from wrong, I danced on the edge of madness, but I am no longer that kind of a person. Titania is long dead. Now I am just Erza."
"You can't just give your past actions a name and treat them like a pet you've put down because it was feral." Emilia told her sternly. "Act as if that wasn't you. The hands you used all those years ago are still the same hands hanging by your hips. It's not how it works."
"It does for certain people." Erza replied just as harshly. "Perhaps I am not to decide if I am one of them, but there are people, who were molded into something they never had any business of being, something broken and scared. I know people, who had their lives unwillingly shaped by others and committed things so horrible my throat closes up just thinking about them. But all of them are different people now, free people, who loathe themselves more than anyone they've harmed ever could."
Erza looked deep into Emilia's eyes. "I am sorry for what I did to you. Nothing will make up for it, or undo what was done. I still have nightmares about that night, along with many more nights just as dark. But I am a different person now and I will go through a great deal of things to make it up to you. However, if you wish to kill me, then I will meet your blade. I will not just let you cut me down like I have cut you."
Both women stared each other down in tense silence, the gentle night breeze ruffling their long hair. Emilia took a deep breath through her nose and adjusted her glasses before speaking.
"Well, if there's one thing I can believe it's your reactions whenever we meet." she said stoically.
"I wish I could take it back every day." Erza told her.
"I don't." said Emilia, much to Erza's surprise. "Not because I forgive you, because that may very well never happen. I wouldn't take it back, because of how my life was shaped after that night. Yes, some periods are as dark as the darkest of nights, but some good happened on my way, too. In the midst of things, alongside my thirst for vengeance I developed a sense of morality, which I projected onto others. I've decided to grow stronger in any way I could, so that I could help other children who suffered my fate, or help them prevent it. Ivan extended his hand to me, so I took it. All things considered, I could have chosen much worse."
"You most definitely could." Erza said quietly, as she recalled countless encounters with guilds far worse than Raven Tail.
Emilia closed her eyes and started to walk away. "I've done some research on your past. Seeing how I ended up I can not blame you for not being the sanest of people."
"My past gave birth to your present. It's an endless chain of hatred, that can only get thinner and thicker. It never breaks." said the redhead.
"I disagree." Emilia told her and turned around to look at her. "I like to think I have the power to end your chain in my hands. I am just not sure if I want to."
Erza clenched her fist. "Will I receive your answer by the time the Games are over?"
Emilia turned back around. "Who knows? One thing's for sure - I shall use these enhanced eyes of mine to make my mind. Be on your best behavior, Erza Scarlet."
With that said, she left, leaving Erza alone in the streets, confused and sweaty.
A certain figure watched the encounter from the highest nearby building, their blue hair flowing with the wind.
"You're a creep." Meredy told Jellal in a mocked disgust.
He looked at her, not amused. "It's not my fault they chose to speak under our meeting place." he told her.
Meredy shrugged. "I'm just messing with you, jeez. By the way, shouldn't you follow her? They may get suspicious if you're missing for too long."
"Ivan has made it clear he pays no attention to what we do." he told her. "This wouldn't be the first night I missed."
"But what if-"
"He would have known already. Doing things differently would only attract suspicion."
Ultear walked up to him. "Are you going to ask Fairy Tail for aid?" she asked.
Jellal shook his head with tiredness creeping on his face. He looked pale, his eyes sunken in and dosed with bags, his skin dry and pale "No. Tartaros is none of their concern, it is our battle. I can't drag them into it."
"The least we could do is tell them what we've learned about Raven." suggested Meredy. "It's a pretty big deal after all."
"We will, just not yet. We can't just approach them with that little evidence. A word of someone, who tried to destroy them will not be enough to convince them, let alone when said by someone alike."
"I hope we can do something before it's too late." Ultear sighed heavily. She was also on the edge, deprived of sleep and anxious beyond belief.
Jellal said nothing. His face spoke more than enough.
Back in Raven's inn the atmosphere was far from perfect. Despite their success in the battle section, both teams of the guild were disappointed with their performance in the event. Svenar was particularly cranky, having been humiliated not once, but three different times.
"I will kill every single one of them." he growled into his plate of food. "I swear I will, even if I go down with them-"
"Will you just shut up already?" Ellia moaned from the opposite seat and slammed the table with her hand. "You got exposed for the moron you are, so what? Better sooner than later."
Svenar gave her a nasty eye. "Ellia, you stupid, dumb bitch, one more word and-"
"And what, you will kill me?" she asked him, now standing by her chair, staring him down.
"Please settle down, both of you." Albert walked up to the table just when Svenar left his seat as well and gently rested his arms on its edge. "Svenar" he addressed the man "we understand your frustration but this is not the place to use it! You should be thinking of a payback!" he said loudly and clenched his fist by his chest with a grin. "Failure doesn't shame a man so long as he makes it a lesson to grow from! You still have an endless possibility for growth!"
Svenar sighed deeply. "Yeah, I guess." he mumbled under his nose and sat back down to his food, which pleased Albert.
Ellia scoffed and sat back down as well. "Yeah, take it from Mr. 'I wasn't born with any of my current limbs'." she said sarcastically.
Zancrow, who's been watching the scene from the side snorted in amusement. "What is this, preschool?" he asked mockingly. "Why don't you wipe his ass, while you're at it?"
Albert turned to the God Slayer with narrowed eyes. "I don't expect savages like you to understand comradery." he told him coldly. "Why don't you worry about your own team and let me take care of mine?"
Zancrow kicked back his chair and walked up to the giant. He set his right hand ablaze and licked his lips in sadistic fashion."I hope you fight as tough as you talk." he said and raised his arm.
"Gentleman, please." boomed a voice from deeper into the inn.
Zancrow clicked his tongue and extinguished his flames, as Ivan stepped out of the darkness with Rorge by his side.
"I told you, kill each other in the arena but outside of it we are a family." he told his guild members with a warm smile that gave Ellia shivers of disgust.
Erigor scoffed into his glass of milk, something the rest have grown to ignore by now. "Ain't that a twisted philosophy." he muttered to himself and drank up.
"Never mind that." Zancrow growled at his Master and walked around Albert. "You said if we joined we'd get a chance for revenge, yet so far we're just your lackeys, just like those dogs you keep on your leash all the-"
"I'm sorry, I fail to understand your current position."
Ivan's tone was so cold and piercing, that Zancrow's throat closed up on itself as cold sweat ran down his neck. The sudden change in the Master's attitude was surprising by itself, most definitely, but there was something else hidden directly underneath it. It was as if Zancrow was looking at a calm lake that hid a terrifying beast underneath, that awaited to pounce its prey at any moment.
"You and your team are in no place to speak to me in this tone." Ivan told Zancrow, his words slow and piercing. "Your accomplishments are insignificant in size when compared to your other peers, especially your personal results, Zancrow."
The God Slayer wanted to speak, but no matter how much he wanted, he could not. It was almost as if an invisible force held him back, smothering him in the process. From a few tables away his fellow teammate, Rustyrose, watched the scene with a stone expression, his eyes unreadable behind his glasses that reflected the candle light of the hall.
Ivan walked up to the frozen God Slayer and stared him deep into the eye. "It is quite amusing that you compare them to dogs, when you are but a wolf mocking them from within your cage."
Sensing a very dangerous kind of tension rising in the air, Rorge walked up to his Master. "Now, now, Master." he tapped his shoulder gently. "They are rowdy, excited to fight. There's no need to torture the poor kid." he said in a tone that was meant to sound reassuringly but came out just as creepy as Ivan's.
The Master's face made a complete turnover from a disappointed grimace to a smile within a second. The pressure on Zancrow has dropped as well, as he was now panting heavily, his face sweaty and glimmering in the light.
Ivan turned to Rorge with a wide smile. "Of course. My expectations of the B team were never high to begin with. However, disrespect is something I can not tolerate. You may resume to enjoy your evening, Zancrow." he addressed the God Slayer. "I would also advise being a little more mindful of your words the next time you speak." he said with a smile and put his index finger over his lips.
Ellia sighed and drank from her glass. She then put it down with a gentle thud and swirled it around, the ice clanking against the round walls. "Either way, as much as I'd love to take the piss out of Svenar, he really did have terrible luck back there. To run into Jura the way he did..."
"Yes, an unfortunate setback that I can not even dream of blaming our dear Svenar for." Ivan turned around to address the girl. "This man may very well turn out to be the biggest obstacle in the Games. The only reason he had not obtained first place was simply due to his competitive nature and thirst for a challenge. It is one of the only weaknesses he may possess. We could use it."
Albert sat by Ellia and Svenar's table and rested his chin on his hand. "Maybe we could put Leord out tomorrow?"
Ivan's eyes lit up. "Yes, that is a splendid idea."
Everyone in the hall turned their heads to the lone redheaded teenager sitting by himself by the wall. He lifted his gaze to meet their for a split second, before dropping it back to his book. "Sure, why not." he breathed out and turned a page over.
"Isn't it a bit too early?" Ellia asked. "It's not like we're in trouble, we simply screwed up one event."
"Tomorrow is the center point of the Games. I see no better opportunity to display our true power than on this day." Ivan said.
Ellia hummed. "Heard that, shaggy? You'll be on the big screen tomorrow." she said to Leord. "You'll hate it just like I did." she added and raised her glass to him.
Albert nodded with pride and a smile on his face. "If Leord is the one representing us, I see no other outcome than absolute victory!" he boomed.
"Do your thing, kid." Svenar told him lazily, despite being only two years older than him.
"It is settled, then." Ivan said with a wide smile and approached the boy. "You will be representing our guild, Leord. With your immense talent and skill I can already tell you will make me proud." he said and ruffled his already messy hair.
Leord pushed Ivan's head aside and briefly looked at him. "Sure." he said, his tone rid of emotions.
Zancrow hummed to himself, feeling much better already. "Look at you all, drooling all over this guy." he said with mockery in his voice and jumped down from the bar counter. "Can't say I'm not getting curious what makes this guy so special, though." he licked his lips.
"Didn't you get enough this evening?" asked him Rorge "Shut up and go back to-"
"No, he does have a point." Arya boomed with his deep voice, his hat resting on the table by his giant hands "I can not help but get curious myself. But perhaps we are not destined to find out just yet."
Zancrow looked at him. "The one time you could be useful-" he scoffed and looked back at Leord with a hungry glimpse in his eye "Maybe I could get a taste of the golden boy, huh?"
Leord gave Zancrow a short side-eye that only riled the God Slayer even more.
"That will not be possible." Ivan walked in between the two of them. "As I've said already, you two are in the same guild. You will get a chance to know him better tomorrow, Zancrow. Do not make me have the same conversation twice in one day." he told him with a piercing cold tone.
Although reluctant, Zancrow clicked his tongue and backed off the his spot without as much as a word. This pleased Ivan, who dosed a smile once again and spread his arms to the sides. "My dear children, there is a lot left to do. I have not forgotten the promise I have made you, and I hope you have not forgotten yours. Our plans are still in play and I have no doubt they will come true without as much as a setback. Let us focus our minds on what's important and achieve our goals together, as a family." he told everyone in the hall.
While Rorge and Albert grinned and nodded to the Master, the rest simply looked at him with varying emotions written on their faces, despite their best attempts at hiding it. Leord's was tired and uninterested, which wasn't anything out of the ordinary, however it also showed small signs of something unusual, something that accompanied him and was well hidden since he was but a child.
Emilia, who was standing by the door to the hall after having just arrived stared into space with pure disgust on her face. She slapped her right temple and headed upstairs to her bed. She felt absolutely done with this day.
Erza swiftly dodged a can thrown at her from a nearby bar. She gently waved her hand to an apologizing man and walked around the corner into her inn's street. Before the inn sat Natsu, his legs dangling childishly off the fence, his back slouched and head down. As soon as she entered the street he snapped his head up like a dog seeing its owner after a long day of work and jumped down from the fence. Erza couldn't help but snort at the sight - she knew it was her smell that alarmed him.
The Dragon Slayer walked up to the redhead and scratched the back of his head, his eyes looking way past her into the distance.
"Erza, look..." he began awkwardly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that and-"
Erza lifted her hand in front of his face to stop him. "No, I am the one who should apologize here." she said with a small smile. "I overreacted and put you in a difficult spot. I was...I was scared that you'd run away, just like I have so many times before." she added with a sad expression.
Natsu smiled at her and lifted her chin with his fingers before kissing her.
"I wouldn't." he told her. "Because I have you with me."
Erza blushed and looked away, flustered. In the window of the inn Juvia whistled to herself, impressed, while Mira gave the scene a slow clap.
"I should start charging for this." Lucy smirked, cocky, and dusted her shoulder off.
"If only it worked for you." Mirajane said and walked away from devastated Lucy with snickering Juvia.
"I'm sorry for scaring you like that." Natsu continued. "I'm gonna admit; still not entirely cool with this whole responsibility thing, this strange territory. Probably never will. But I won't run. Not again. I'll find a way to deal with this."
Erza smiled and took his hand into hers. "I believe you." she said and the two entered the inn together.
November 24th, Domus Flau, Crocus
The third day of the Games has begun loudly with a salve of fireworks. They were meant to announce the half-point of the Games and get the crowd excited from the very first minutes.
All the guilds were present in their respective stands, all focused and concentrated on the upcoming challenges, but most importantly, the scoreboard that was on full display at the center of the arena:
Raven Tail A: 32 points
Lamia Scale: 24 points
Sabertooth: 21 points
Fairy Tail: 19 points
Mermaid Heel: 18 points
Blue Pegasus: 13 points
Raven Tail B: 11 points
Quatro Cerberus: 10 points
"Fourth place...not too shabby." Makarov stroke his beard.
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen! We are back for another dose of excitement!" Lola announced cheerfully into his microphone. This day he was wearing a yellow suit with a green tie that had holes in it and a pompadour wig. "Today we share our booth with a special guest! The Captain of Magic Council's First Division, Lahar!"
Lahar adjusted his glasses and bowed gently to the crowd, even though they couldn't see him. "It is my pleasure to be here."
"Thank you for finding time in your schedule to share this fine day with us. I am sure your insight will be most useful!" Lola said with respect.
"Despite what might be the common belief, most likely spread by the ever unsatisfied and beloved local Captain Rickard Smith, we do have time for ourselves." Lahar laughed gently. "Although I am certain a Captain has it much easier to relax than an active Sage." he bowed to Yajima.
"Being so close to retirement has its benefits." Yajima chuckled.
As the commentators talked amongst each other, Mirajane, who had taken her injured brother's place in the team punched her scarred palm and grinned. "I better get picked for the fights today, I'm just raring to go!" she announced.
Gray lifted an eyebrow. "You're not gonna try and take the event from Erza?" he asked her, a little surprised.
"She can have the event, I don't care about that crap." Mira replied with a scoff.
"Huh."
Kabo has already walked out into the arena and clapped his small hands. "Welcome back!" he greeted the crowd and tapped the microphone built into his mask. "I know it may be difficult to top yesterday, but we will give it everything we have! Today's event is Pandemonium!"
Kabo clapped once more. The scoreboard changed and momentarily displayed the event's name, before changing yet again.
"In this event the participants will be put up against a hundred beasts lurking inside of a specially built dungeon." Kabo explained with a menacing tone and pointed at the screen, which was now portraying a plain room with four walls and torches in it, along with a miniature Kabo. "Each participant will draw lots to determine the order. You will then each step inside individually to battle the beasts, however, you will have the right to choose how many monsters you wish to face!"
"So it all comes down to one's ability to evaluate their strength." deduced Lyon.
"Another tricky challenge!" Albert beamed in joy and jealousy. "Leord, what a fine day you have chosen to participate!" he said and smacked the boy in the back with his giant hand.
"I didn't. You guys chose for me." he said plainly and massaged his sore back.
"So, if you bite more than you can chew you risk failing in the fights..." Levy wondered to herself out loud.
"...but if you are too hesitant you will fall behind in the event." finished Lucy. "It's tough, no matter what you do."
Sting clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Shouldn't have gone yesterday." Rogue told him. "Don't even think about cutting in. We all agreed yesterday it'd be Orga's turn."
Sting narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, I remember. We all agreed to it right after that scum-"
"Shut you mouth." Rogue snarled through his teeth and grabbed Sting by the arm. "You can't say stuff like that!" he added, his face a little pale.
A cold chuckle that pierced through their hearts echoed in the air behind Rogue.
A rather tall young woman with dark purple hair tied into buns and braids walked up to them from behind. She was wearing a long red dress with a pattern of white dragons running down from her bust to her ankles. On top of it she had a short cut jacket in a pink leopard pattern. Her appearance alone spoke great deal about her: she was cold and intimidating.
"What happened to Yukino was of her own doing." she said to the Dragon Slayers with a smile so poisonous it took a lot of willpower to not cringe at its sight. "Our guild needs no weaklings. Absolute strength is in our blood, name, and history."
Sting sighed through his nose. "Yes, my Lady." he grumbled.
"As for my father...As much as I agree with your choice of words, respect is still due. Make sure to keep that in mind." she said with even more poison.
"Yes, lady Minerva." said all four men, much to her delight.
Back with Lamia, their team members were playing rock-paper-scissors to choose their participant, Sherria long eliminated and sulking in the corner.
"I still don't understand why Jura is playing, too." Lyon noted irritably after a fourth tie in a row. "He took part yesterday!"
"As it turns out, he is the only capable one out of you lot!" screeched Obaba. "Be glad you're even given a chance!"
Lyon scoffed but continued playing.
"She is right to a degree. We are the guild with the most powerful mage on this arena, might as well use him." noted Yuka. This seemed to please Lyon much more.
After three more rounds it was determined, that Toby would be the one to represent his guild. Obaba fainted at the outcome.
Blue Pegasus sent out Hibiki, Mermaid Heel chose Risley, Quatro Cerberus sent Rocker and Raven Tail B let Erigor be the one to represent his team.
"Well, this is my cue to go." Erza announced to her team with a nervous smile.
"Kick their asses." Gray punched her playfully in the armored chest.
"Don't screw this up." said Mira.
"Best of luck!" chirped Wendy.
Erza nodded to them all with a smile and turned to Natsu. He simply smiled and raised his fist.
"Go get them." he told her with a smirk. The knight grinned and bumped it eith hers, before taking the stairs down.
Soon after all the mages gathered in the arena and awaited further instructions. Erigor smirked at Erza's sight and readjusted his scythe on his right shoulder.
"Hello, Titania. Long time no see." he greeted mockingly. "How's your right hand? Did it scar well?" he asked.
Erza looked at him for a short moment and gave him a cocky smirk. "I wouldn't know. That barrier of yours had barely broken a layer of my skin." she told him.
Erigor's eye twitched at the reply which Erza took as victory and turned away from him, not willing to waste any more time on the Grim Reaper. Emilia, who heard it all from her stands, merely sighed at the scene, while Natsu and Wendy snorted into their hands, much to Gray and Mira's confusion.
"I see your guild is back to making mistakes." Orga told Toby back in the arena. "Jura is your only chance at even scraping the upper half of the scoreboard. Should have used him today, as well as all other days."
Toby smiled. "And yet you are below us." he told the giant.
"Temporarily." Orga boomed, his nerve clearly touched, small lightning crackling around his right hand. "Once I clear out the dungeon things will be in order again."
"According to the scores, you'd still be underneath Raven Tail in the rankings." Hibiki told him plainly, no ill intent behind it whatsoever. He was merely reading data.
While Orga went on to reply to Hibiki, now angered, the rest of the participants walked away from them to get a little bit of quiet before the event.
Erza eyed down the strange teenager with messy red hair and baggy clothes. He was present during his guilds "visit" to their cabin three months prior. While he did not take part in attacking them, he easily dispelled Natsu's attack with just one hand. She was never one to judge by one's looks, but for the time being he was her main focus in this event.
Leord, on the other hand, looked both bored and anxious at the same time, his eyes repeatedly looking up at his guild up in the crowd. He was sweating a little, uncertainty written all over his pale, skinny face.
Kabo checked his microphone once again and walked up to the mages with a bag in his small hands. "Welcome, participants! Please, gather around!"
The eight made a circle around Kabo, who stood in the middle.
"Each of you will draw lots to determine the order in which you shall enter the dungeon. The order will be repeated if there are still monsters left after the 8th place leaves the dungeon, meaning some of you may get to enter twice. Be careful, though, for if you fall inside the dungeon you will be disqualified and receive zero points! This event will test not just your might, but your ability to plan and know your own limits!" he announced and shook his bags, before walking forward a bit. "Let'äs start with Ms. Risley..."
Risley drew the first lot and soon the rest followed. Erza pulled hers out and gave it a quick glance, before smiling from ear to ear. She was first.
Erza, Leord, Orga, Risley, Erigor, Toby, Hibiki and Rocker was the order in which they'd enter the dungeon, much to Orga's disappointment. Kabo put the lots away and clapped his hands, as a door appeared out of thin air. It lacked a handle and, well, door, and was instead a teleport, that'd take the participants directly into the dungeon, its menacing entrance threatening them with winds and distant growls.
"The monsters are divided into tiers from A to D. D are the weakest, whereas A are the toughest. All of them have the same chance of getting put against you, meaning you could meet 17 D monsters in your request of 20 monsters, but you could also meet all A-tiers as well! There are 33 D-tier monsters, 33 C-tier monsters, 24 B-tier monsters and 9 A-tier monsters." further explained Kabo.
"Wait a second." Risley raised her hand. "That's 99 in total. You said there'd be a 100."
Kabo grinned menacingly behind his mask. "The missing one is a special one: the S-tier monster, stronger than any other! He will strike when you least expect it, so be sure to give your best at all times!" he said cheerfully. The participants merely sighed inside.
"Well, then, Lady Scarlet!" the mascot turned to Erza "You are the first person to enter the dungeon! It's time to choose!"
Erza narrowed her eyes and grabbed her chin with her fingers, deep in thought. She had to make a perfect decision, for she heavily doubted getting an another go at this event. However, if she bit too much than she could handle, she could potentially cripple her guild if she were to be chosen to fight later on. All this thinking has given her a certain idea, one that gently went against her moral code, however, she was also out of room to feel compassion to other participants. She was here to win, and that's what she'd do, even if she wasn't playing fair.
"I have made my decision." she announced "I shall face 51 monsters."
Despite wearing a mask, Kabo appeared to pale. The other participants have raised an eyebrow at the statement, for varying reasons. Orga quietly cursed Erza for trying to snatch the first place to herself, while Rocker and Risley thought she was insane for trying to take on this many foes at once.
Makarov laughed out loud and slapped the armrest of his wheelchair. Lucy merely grinned next to him, not surprised in the slightest.
"Clever girl." Mira said with a devilish smirk, one she shared with Natsu and Gray. Wendy backed away from the trio, distraught by their faces.
"I, uh...Did I hear you right? You wish to face 51 monsters all at once?" Kabo asked Erza to make sure he heard her correctly.
"I do." confirmed the knight, much to the mascot's despair. I wanted to face them all, but I can't put the guild at a disadvantage with my selfishness.
"So this is how it is." Hibiki shook his head with a smile, having finally understood Erza's intentions.
The crowd looked at one another in surprise.
"Didn't she hear the midget?" asked one man "She could meet all the strong ones at once!"
"Maybe she's stupid?" wondered another man.
"What a bold statement!" Lola boomed into his microphone. "Fairy Tail's Erza Scarlet challenges more than half of the monsters! If she pulls this through, she will secure ten points for her guild!"
"It will not be easy, however." nodded Yajima. "I am curious to see how this plays out."
"I have heard even the likes of A-tier monsters can be challenging to even the more experienced mages." stated Lahar. "We may be seeing a very exciting event."
Erza cracked her neck and stepped into the portal. Before she was transported she gave her teammates one last look and smiled at them with confidence, before disappearing.
When she opened her eyes she was standing in a very dark and damp dungeon, full of broken rocks and dust, her senses picking up several movements in the shadows. The air was very dry and foul, even though it was artificial.
Without as much as a second thought Erza exhaled out loud and jumped high up right to the top of a tall, broken pillar. As soon as she landed she heard at least a dozen monsters jump right after her. They all looked the same, grey and covered in plated armor with eyeless faces armed with long, sharp teeth, their paws clawed and sharp as razors.
Erza quickly deduced they must have been either D or C-tier monsters and counted 13 of them. Her figure started to glow with white light and after one more second all of the monsters have been skewered by literal dozens of blades flying in all directions from where she stood, their already dead carcasses falling to the ground like sags of potatoes.
"What power!" Roared Lola to the crowd, which was clearly excited by the sequence. "In just a moment Erza defeats 13 D-tier monsters! What strength!" he continued to comment, as Erza's figure clad in Heaven's Wheel Armor was being showed to everyone via lacrimas.
Erza quickly looked around. Her blades have traveled far beyond the monsters that have attacked her, right towards beasts still lurking the shadows. She could feel them being deflected, some with ease, others with more difficulty. This alone allowed her to deduce, that her opponents belonged to all bottom four tiers, a quite balanced draw.
Erza jumped down from the pillar and Requipped into Black Wing Armor and took off to search for the remaining monsters. After just a short moment she spotted a group of 4 monsters that were slightly bigger than the previous ones, with bigger teeth and claws, their plates green in color. Erza Requipped her sword into two axes and landed on top of one of the C monsters, decapitating it on the spot. Two others tried to attack her, only to be blocked with ease, one axe for each of them. The fourth one took its chance while she was occupied, but the redhead simply kicked it under the chin and broke its neck in a single hit. She then pushed the remaining two beasts off balance and slashed their heads off in a follow-up attack, defeating them all in just a few seconds. 17 down, 34 to go.
"She's grown strong." Makarov pondered to himself while stroking his beard. "She used the first attack to determine how strong the monsters are and what to be wary of, as well as which weapons and armors to use."
"As expected of Erza." said Lisanna with a wide smile.
Erza jumped up into the air once again and spotted one more group of C-tier monsters, this time a group of five. Instead of repeating the move pattern she used just now, the knight focused and materialized several blades identical to the ones she conjured to defeat the first group of monsters. She launched them all at once and observed, as two of the monsters failed to protect themselves and got stabbed, while the rest either evaded or deflected the blades. Erza gripped her left axe and threw it at one of them. The beast tried to guard it, but the axe went through its arms like butter, taking half of its head with it along the way. Erza landed on the ground in-between the two remaining monsters and chopped the left one's legs off, before gripping her axe tight and swinging it up from the ground at the right one. The axe traveled through the beast from crotch up to the top of its head, chopping it into two clean halves. Erza then raised her left leg and stomped the remaining monster's head into the ground, killing it. 29 monsters remained.
"Did she just use swords from a different armor with the current one?" Lucy asked her guild dumbly. "Or did I see it wrong?"
"No, she did." nodded slowly Freed. "Those were the same swords she used with Heaven's Wheel."
Natsu smirked to himself. Mira looked at him and clicked her tongue.
"You knew she could do that, didn't you?" she asked him. She looked both irritated and excited.
He raised his eyebrows. "How could I not know? We've spent three months together." he deadpanned. Mirajane simply remained quiet.
"What strength! Erza is cutting through the monsters with such ease and grace one could think she's taking a walk in the park!" said Lola.
"We can not forget those were the weaker monsters." reminded calmly Yajima. "The battle is far from over."
As soon as the elder finished talking Erza was swallowed by an enormous torrent of flames that easily turned the fallen monsters into ash. The redhead dispelled the attack, now clad in her new Flame Empress Armor, and smirked at the new obstacles.
The freshly emerged monsters were red in color, bigger than any others and with terrifying curved horns extending to the sides of their open, teethed mouths. Erza spotted 5 of them standing in a row on a higher level of rubble to her right, already readying up another attack. But Erza was quicker.
She took off so fiercely the ground beneath her feet cracked, her blade gripped tight by both her hands. She was almost about to decapitate one of them when she winced in pain, as something hot pierced right through her left forearm. Erza abandoned her attack and instead threw herself to the right, evading both more flames and what appeared to be lasers coming at her from the darkness. She jumped further down and used took the monsters example by using the darkness as her ally.
"She's hurt! Erza lowered her guard and got punished for it!" said Lola. "No doubt this might compromise her performance!"
The knight was now hiding behind a large boulder. She looked at her arm and clicked her tongue in annoyance. There was a hole about as thick as her thumb in her forearm, already cauterized and gaping. She could see her knees through the wound.
This new armor is a vast improvement from the original. she thought. Not only can it cancel out fire by 75%, it is also more resistant to any other source of heat. To penetrate my armor and flesh this easily and with enough heat to burn my wound out on the spot...If it wasn't for the several beams coming after me before I retreated I would have thought the S-tier monster was already onto me.
Erza slowly peeked out from her hiding. The B-tiers were already looking for her, checking each and every piece of rubble they could find. The A-tiers were still in hiding, possibly awaiting their target to finish the job. Which gave her a certain idea.
I still don't know the nature of their attacks, but I may have figured out something else. Time to test it out.
Erza took a deep breath and ran out of her hiding. Immediately after leaving her cover she was met by a single B-tier monster, which tried to claw her with its paw. The knight easily blocked it with her sword and chambered it into a stab. Her blade pierced into the beast's throat, but barely enough to break a single plate.
With a surprised face Erza ducked underneath its tail and jumped back, before being forced to jump back even further by beams hitting her previous location with pin-point accuracy.
Did my thrust lack power? No, my form was flawless. Its scales are much hardier than its lower brethren. thought the redhead. This only proves my theory about the A and B-tier beasts!
Erza jumped out of the way of the leaping monster and guarded its roar of fire, its heat barely hot enough to warm her up. With the corner of her eye she spotted something in the shadows and couldn't help but smirk to herself. She jumped out of the flames and extended her left hand to Requip the spear she normally used with Lightning Empress Armor. She then spun the spear above her head and aimed it at the furthest left corner of the dungeon, before bombarding it with lightning, that dispelled the darkness and revealed the dwelling beasts.
They were gold in color, which in the heat of the moment made little to no sense as to why they'd be so good at hiding in the dark with such distinct color tint to their bodies. They were much bigger than B-tiers, significantly taller than Erza, even when on all fours. They lacked their predecessors horns and sharp teeth and instead packed paws that looked like those of an ape, still clawed, but not as much as other monsters. Their teeth were not exposed, instead covered by raw lips that looked like they have been gnawed on. Their scales looked thinner than that of any other monsters, even those of D-tiers, but they also looked more muscular than possibly all the other beasts combined. They looked bizarre at the least.
At least three A-tier monsters have been skewered and fried by the thunder, the remaining two escaping into the dark, but not for long. Erza predicted their movements and blasted their hiding spot with more lightning, missing them just by an inch.
"Is she using weapons from another armor with her fire one?" Mira frowned to herself.
"She is." Gray walked up to her to get a better look. "And her armor...it looks different than usual."
"She told me she broke it on Tenrou Island. It has to be new." wondered Wendy.
Natsu merely watched the confusion in quiet amusement.
"Erza has made quick work of A-tier monsters as well! Is there anything that can stop her?!" Lola said in excitement to the crowd, which was also starting to get rowdy.
Back with the other participants, Orga repeatedly tapped his foot on the ground, clearly annoyed. Erigor, on the other hand, watched the screen in silence, the grip on his scythe tightening. Leord simply watched the show in peace and quiet, his face expressing very gentle and unusual excitement and hints of joy.
"It appears Miss Erza is, as always, quite fearsome." Hibiki nodded to himself next to them.
"Aye. Looks like the stories I've heard about her were true after all." said impressed Risley and threw a quick glance at her guild's stands.
Back in the dungeon, Erza successfully caught up with the escaped monsters and pointed her spear at them, charging with enough grace to dodge any incoming lasers just by the nick of her skin.
I've cracked the pattern. B-tiers, while sturdy, have weak firepower, whilst A-tiers have weak bodies in comparison to their devastating power and appearance. If I take care of them and their lasers now, the rest will be a walk in the park! she thought to herself and charged it up.
All of a sudden, one of the beasts roared on top of its lungs and stood up on its back legs, revealing its height that made Erza gulp. It was easily ten feet tall, almost double her height. The beast clenched its paw into something resembling a giant fist and threw it at the knight, who was in far too much momentum to just simply dodge. Erza brought her spear up and blocked the punch. The sheer strength of the blow squished the spear into her torso along with her arms and knocked wind out of her lungs. Despite blocking most of the damage Erza was still shaken up and blown away by the punch, as her body crashed into a boulder with enough force to gently crack it. Despite taking the blow, however, Erza still inflicted damage on the beast, as its right paw cracked and crumbled from both its own power and Erza's lightning, which she indulged her spear in right before the blow.
"It appears we've got to witness the strength of the second strongest monsters." Yajima said calmly into his microphone.
"Yes. It appears their power does not match their endurance, however." nodded Lola. "The beast hurt itself with its own attack. One could have difficulty accepting them amongst the strong."
"A-tier monsters have the ability to shoot lasers out of their mouth and pack quite a punch, both of which, as we've seen, can easily injure an S-class mage. Their bodies are weak, however. " explained Lahar. "B-tiers, on the other hand, may not have enough firepower to hurt Miss Scarlet, but they are tough enough to survive her basic attacks and could pose significant threat to anyone unable to dodge or deal with their fire. C and D-tier monsters appear to be strong enough to pose trouble to any mage of the middle to low caliber, but pose no threat at all to someone competent in combat. All beasts are balanced and live up to their name in one way or another. " he concluded, with Yajima nodding to him with a mumbled approval.
"As expected of the Council's Captain!" Lola said with excitement. "Your insight is as valuable as interesting!"
While the commentators spoke to one another, without as much of a second of rest, Erza stabbed the boulder above her head and pulled her body up to avoid at least six lasers piercing through her spot, four of them coming from the shadows. She kicked off the boulder and sent more lightning into the darkness, but found no luck, as the monsters have relocated already. The two she almost hunted down a moment ago were gone too, along with the B-tiers.
Erza clicked her tongue and jumped her way up from rock to rock to avoid three more lasers, each coming from a different direction, until she was in her original spot on top of a broken pillar. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes to focus and calm her mind, despite being out in the open.
"What is she doing? Doesn't she know they can all see her out there?" Gajeel frowned to himself.
"She does." said Lucy. "This is the spot she chose to be the safest. She can see all the attacks coming her way from there and counter if needed, just how she did at the beginning."
"Shouldn't you realise something like that by yourself?" asked him Levy.
"I did." he said, annoyed. "And I woulda done the same. But unlike her, I have enhanced senses. I can react quicker than she can."
"Maybe she has something else just as valuable at her disposal." pondered Lucy and looked at Erza's focused face on the screen.
I have bested 25 monsters. Erza told herself while calming her breath and listening to any sounds in her area. Out of 26 remaining at least 8 of them are A-tiers capable of killing or defeating me with a single good shot. They adapted to my strategy and started to work around it by spreading across the dungeon and attacking me in smaller groups. What should I do?
Her ears picked up a strange, mild sound resembling that of a charging lacrima in the right corner of the dungeon, followed by the same sound coming from more directions a second later. Annoyed that she had no more time to spare, Erza decided to go with the first plan that came to her mind and jumped up to avoid more lasers. She quickly Requipped into Black Wing Armor and flew over the dungeon towards its right wall. She grit her teeth and stabbed her blade into it, before standing on it and Requipping new weapons into both her hands.
"If you wish to hide so badly, let's see you hide in this!" she yelled at the monsters and swung two swords from her Sea Empress Armor above her head. She then brought them down and flooded the dungeon with water, the monsters screeching from being squished by the heavy wave that fell on their heads. As Erza continued to pump her magic into one of her blades to produce more water, she Requipped her left sword into a massive lance and pointed it at the ceiling. A massive beam of light came out of its tip and launched itself towards the ceiling, before stopping just before the impact and transforming into a ball of light, that successfully cast light on the entire dungeon. Erza could now see all the monsters struggling and wiggling in the water, unable to take proper aim at her, as the water she produced was now moving in a vortex that rendered their lasers essentially useless.
Erza sent the lance back to her pocket world and focused her magic power. Three dozen blades appeared behind her back, all aimed at beasts still stuck in water. The knight was getting tired however, for every liter of water coming out of her weapon was created with her magic power.
BLUMENBLATT! roared the knight and cast the blades at monsters. As she expected, they could barely put a dent in most of the tough B-tiers, however she managed to hit some of them in vulnerable spots such as eyes or the throat. She also defeated remaining six A-tier monsters, getting rid of them in a moment. With this all the A-tiers monsters perished from the competition, leaving Erza with only 15 more obstacles to overcome.
"And just like that the strongest monsters are no more!" Lola exclaimed to the rowdy crowd.
"That's our Erza! roared Makarov on top of his lungs. He accidentally used his Titan Magic to boost his voice and deafened both his guild and the nearby crowd.
"Only 15 remain!" Lucy said through the pain and smiled at the screen. "She can do this!"
"Doesn't it look a bit off to you?" threw in Laxus.
Lucy blinked. "What do you mean?"
"I count 14 monsters." he said. "So where's the 15th?"
Lucy and Levy glanced back at the screen and counted. "You're right, there's 14 of them." she deduced. It took her a second to get what he meant.
"Oh no." she gasped and watched as Erza Requipped once again.
Erza jumped down into the now subduing water and changed back to Flame Empress Armor, however as a weapon she chose her Purgatory Club, her most violent and one of the most powerful weapons.
She ducked under a torrent of flames and grit her teeth in slight anxiety. If this wouldn't work, she'd be in a world of pain.
Erza swung her club at the nearest beast, who raised its front legs to guard. Her club completely shattered its arms and with a bit of a follow-up drag took its lower jaw, too, as the beast fell by Erza's feet, dead.
Other monsters took a step back, intimidated. For mere holograms they were programmed to mimic animal behavior a tad too well.
Erza shot a glance at the fallen beast and curved her lips in a sinister grin that was worthy of Mirajane and Natsu, which they both acknowledged as such. She kicked the ground as hard as she could and charged at the group of monsters, who've begun to throw all of their flames at her. Erza ran through the flames and smashed two monsters on her way, before jumping in the air and bringing her club down on a third one. The rest of the beasts scattered across the dungeon in fear. 11 remained.
Not willing to prolong this any furher Erza charged after them and caught up to a group of three. She swiftly dodged their claws and struck them down one by one with three strikes to the body, that shattered whatever was inside of their torsos. 8.
"Only 8 monsters remain!" said Lola. "Erza has found a perfect way to combine defense with offense!"
"Her armor allows her to face all of their attacks head on and go straight for the kill." Yajima scratched his beard. "Whoever crafted it can give themselves a pat on the back."
"Okay, spill it." Mira said to Natsu. "What's up with this armor?"
Natsu shrugged. "She got a new one. I let her use my flames to craft it out of. She said because of that it's more durable or something."
"Well, I can see why your flames would make something fire based stronger than any ordinary magic fire." Gray deduced. Mira didn't say a word.
Erza Jumped over a boulder and landed on one of the monsters. She gripped her club and swung to the right, catching another one right on the jaw. She then jumped off the beast, who tried to claw at her from below, and decapitated it with a vicious swing. She then quickly sidestepped to the right to avoid a boulder flying in her direction and threw her club at the monster in response, catching it head on. The beast fell to its back, rocked, which allowed Erza to stroll her way to kill it. 5 remained.
Four B-tier monsters ganged up on Erza and attacked her from four different sides at once. She jumped out of the ambush through the only gap in their trap, although not unscathed. One of the monsters clawed her left shoulder quite deep.
Erza raised said arm and summoned more blades to shower the monsters with. Their scales caught them quite easily, however one monster made the mistake of opening its mouth to roar, only to choke on a sword piercing through its throat a moment later. The redhead landed on the ground and swiftly smashed legs of two monsters, their nugget bodies falling to the floor. She focused all her strength in her arms and swung the club downwards at the last healthy monster, as it gave up under the weight and got smashed into the ground. Erza took a deep breath and finished the last two monsters off with a head strike each.
One monster remained, and it was nowhere to be found.
"It appears one of the foes has yet to show its face." mentioned Lahar.
"I think we all know who it might be." said Yajima.
The ground beneath Erza's feet started to shake and crack. The knight had only but a split second to jump up and avoid being grabbed by a giant armored hand breaking through the ground.
Erza stabbed one of her blades into the wall to create a foothold and watched, as a beast easily twice the size of the A-tiers made its way from beneath the ground. It was pitch-black, visible only thanks to the ball of light she cast a few minutes prior. It looked humanoid in figure, with human legs and arms, both with curved claws at their ends. It had no mouth and nose, its red eyes glaring at Erza from behind the thick glass armor gap in its horned helmet. It was without the doubt the S-tier monster and it looked like a genuine demon.
"So this is the S monster." murmured Makarov to himself while Lola was losing his mind in the commentator's booth.
"She's not looking too good, either." threw in Laxus.
And for a good reason.
Erza's breathing was all over the place, the complete opposite of her calm composure she displayed whilst slaying monsters left and right since she entered the dungeon. Her eyes were misty and half-open, now wandering to her left shoulder as if looking for answers.
"I see..." she panted. "Poison. This makes up for their weak firepower..."
Erza had no time to get her act together, for the last monster already started its onslaught. She jumped to the side to avoid its fist, but she was too sloppy. The monster grabbed her left leg and threw her across the dungeon like a stuffed doll, her body crashing into the debris with an ear deafening bellow of agony echoing across the dungeon.
"Erza..." Lucy gasped and covered her mouth, taken back as much as anybody.
Back in the arena Erigor walked up closer to the screen and watched it with a grin. Back in A term's stands Emilia frowned at the sight, her face unreadable.
The knight got back on her feet and raised her club to block an incoming punch. It was fast and piercing, her bones creaking and ready to give in. She successfully slipped it aside and stepped in to counterattack, however her club could barely put as much as a dent in its armor. She could swear the beast smiled behind its helmet and swatted her attack aside, before bringing both its arms down in a powerful attack. Erza rolled aside but was still caught by its devastating power, the breaking ground making her lose her footing. With yet another attack on its way Erza could only try to block it again before being launched in the air by a punch. While in the air Erza showered it with more blades, which the beast ignored for the most part and let them bounce off its armor. It did, however, deflect the three blades coming at its face, which was enough to plant an idea in Erza's head.
Using the last bits of strength she had and knowing this could very well be her last attack, Erza Requipped her armor into Flight Armor a,d used her enhanced speed to drag her club behind her to swiftly dodge an incoming punch. She grit her teeth, gripped her club and smashed it directly into the monster's face, cracking the thick glass protecting its right eye.
The monster grabbed a hold of the knight, but before it could do so Erza dropped her weapon and raised her right arm as high as she could. The beast immediately begun crushing her in its grip and was rewarded by more screams of agony.
"This...this may have to be stopped." Lola said to the now quiet and horrified crowd and glanced at concerned Kabo. "Fairy Tail's Erza may have to yield the challenge!"
"This looks bad." Gray bit his lip and glanced to the side.
Natsu looked as calm as possible, not at all concerned with what was happening before his eyes.
"You're not even gonna react?" asked him the Maker with a raised eyebrow.
"What am I supposed to do?" Natsu replied back.
Gray scoffed in an outrage and looked back at the screen. Mira, on the other hand, watched Natsu's left hand, which was digging deep into his right bicep. Maybe even too deep.
"Don't...you...dare!" growled Erza through her teeth and pulled her act together. She wiggled her free arm just enough to be able to freely control it and focused her remaining magic in it, before summoning a blade. A blade, that helped her out in every recent pinch. Benizakura.
With the remaining bits of strength behind it, Erza thrust the blade deep into the crack in the S-tier monster's helmet. The blade entered its eye up to the hilt like through butter. With one last loud growl, Erza twisted the blade around a few times to make sure the beast got its full taste and pulled it out.
As if in slow motion, the crowd watched as the beast fell to its knees and let Erza drop out of its grip to the ground like a bag of potatoes, before falling to the ground face first, dead.
Once the dust cloud settled down, Erza clumsily stood up to her feet, her breathing compromised and irregular. With the poison now just about to take her consciousness, Erza managed to muster enough strength to straighten herself up and raise her sword arm high into the air in a victory pose, its tip aimed at the ceiling.
The crowd exploded in cheers and screams at the sight of the bloodied, but victorious knight. Some of them recognized her from the times of her greatness, some changed their mind about her, influenced by stories spread during her absence, and some of them, who were well familiar with her face since the times she was a child cried in happiness and relief.
Fairy Tail roared on top of their lungs and started to hug one another, Makarov being the loudest. Back in their team's balcony, Natsu, now pale and sweaty, grabbed Wendy and put her under his arm before jumping off into the arena. Mirajane, on the other hand, gently smacked embarrassed Gray on the head.
Jellal, still in his disguise, smirked under his hood from B team's balcony.
"Way to be sneaky about it." snarled Rustyrose and nudged him with his elbow.
"Fairy Tail's Erza Scarlet has done it! She's successfully defeated 51 monsters!" Lola roared on top of his lungs. "Fairy Tail receives 10 points! They have won Pandemonium! Is this the strength of the guild once known as the strongest?!"
Erza, now teleported out of the dungeon, staggered towards the other participants, some of them glad for her, some of them wishing the monster had finished its job. Despite being in a bad shape she felt no pain, no fatigue. Just pure happiness, as the crowd cheered her on and chanted her name without poison, without hatred.
They were a step closer to true freedom, and for this cause, she would have repeated this event ten times if she had to.
End of Chapter 41. To be continued in Chapter 42: Day Three: Prodigy.
The continuation of Day 3 is already under works. I had to cut the rest of the event out to avoid posting 17k at once.
I might update it later to catch out all the mistakes I've made. I swear no matter how long I proofread I miss some every time.
Of Inner Demons is not dead. My free time is. We're gonna make it to the end of Tartaros boys and girls, mark my words.