Of Inner Demons

by kemor

After being left by Igneel, Natsu is not found by Makarov. Years later he becomes Salamander - a rogue mage whose main purpose is destroying dark guilds. Fed up with his actions, the Council puts a bounty on his head. This leads to his fateful meeting with a certain redhaired knight. From enemies to soulmates to lovers. NatZa fic, Natsu is stronger/smarter, Rated M for adult themes

49. Day Five: Thunder

Last few weeks were pretty busy for me. I had my birthday, continued to search for a job and so on. This thing collected dust for over 4 weeks, which is why it's coming out so late. Next chapter is the official end of the GMG Arc and I couldn't be more relieved.

Hope you enjoy!

---

"Where did Master go?" Cana asked and looked around for the elder within the crowd.

"Probably went to the bathroom." said Macao.

"He did jump off like he got burned, maybe it's a big one." Wakaba chuckled to himself.

"Gross." Lisanna frowned at the chuckling Wakaba, Macao, Warren and Max.

Cana leaned over toward Levy and nudged her with her elbow. "Hey, is it me or is Gajeel slowly making his way where Jura is?" she asked.

"He is." the girl replied shortly and bit her thumb.

"Relax. Even if he can't win, Gajeel will not go down without a fight." Pantherlily tried to assure her.

"That guy is more stubborn than an ox." Carla added with a sigh. "It rubs off on others, unfortunely." she added and gave Wendy a quick glance.

"Is there someone not stubborn in this guild?" Lucy laughed.

"Hell no!" the guild replied in union and continued to watch the Games.

"Oh, it appears while we were looking someplace else, Jura has made contact with Sabertooth's Orga!" Lola pointed out and soon most of the screens turned to these two.

The God Slayer, who was visibly tired from launching attacks at the older man, was right in the middle of launching a big lightning at Jura, who dodged it by raising a piece of earth, which he then used like a surfboard. He surfed his way out of the black thunder and flanked Orga with his hands crossed over his chest, still hidden inside his sleeves.

"Mocking me, aren't you?" Orga asked, annoyed. "I have a great deal of respect for you, but I will not tolerate being mocked, no matter how strong you are."

"Please do not misunderstand my attempts at having fun as mockery." Jura replied with a calm smile. "Belittling my opponent is the last thing I want."

Orga raised his arms. "That so? Well, let me entertain you a little more!"

A giant ball of black, fierce lightning started to grow between his hands. He then raised them in the air and continued to enlarge it, until it was the size of a small building.

"I certainly see you what mean." Jura said and gently put his hands together.

Orga smirked and threw the ball at Jura.

LIGHTNING GOD'S STAR!

The ball destroyed everything in its path and collided with Jura, who raised a thick wall of earth to block it. The ball pierced through the creation and seemingly swallowed the Wizard Saint whole.

"What power!" Lola said in awe, as the crowd agreed with him through gasps and cheers.

Orga grinned and tried to even his breath. The spell was quite taxing on his body, but seeing who his opponent was, he didn't really care about his stamina.

"How truly terrifying." Jura's voice boomed from the dust, and as it settled it revealed his unharmed figure standing behind a giant, now severely damaged and crumbling earth dragon, that wrapped itself around him as a shield.

"What the-" Orga gasped in shock and tried to prepare another spell, but before he could do that Jura dashed forward and struck him in the stomach with a devastating punch. Orga's eyes grew misty and his body began to crumble, but just before he fell he regained his senses and grabbed Jura by the arm.

"Let's see you run away now!" he yelled out and began to unleash his magic at full capacity. Jura was struck by a giant lightning that made his knees buckle upon impact and began to burn him as it continued to pour down from the sky.

"It appears I underestimated you." the Wizard Saint grunted with a small hint of anger in his voice and raised his right arm in the air. He chopped Orga in the shoulder with enough strength to make his feet sink into the ground. With the Slayer loosening the grip on his arm, Jura snatched it out and punched Orga's stomach once again. He then clenched his right fist and struck him in the jaw, knocking the God Slayer out once and for all.

As Orga's unconscious body fell to the ground, Jura sighed deeply and massaged his sore muscles and the gentle burns on his skin. "Your thunder packs quite a punch, young one. I hope we can do this again some day." he said with a smile and watched his fallen opponent vanish.

"Down goes Orga! Lamia Scale's Jura erns another point for his guild! Can anyone even pose a challenge for this man?!" Lola asked in excitement.

Jiemma smashed his fist into the seats next to him, shattering them upon impact. He was fuming with anger and glared at the screen with hatred and embarrassment.

"Maybe take it down a notch, old man?" Lucy sweatdropped.

"Stop that!" Levy yelled at Cana, who did the motion of a cross at the screen showing Gajeel to the crowd. The rest of the guild just laughed.

"Speaking of undergoing battles, looks like Sting and Lyon are about to wrap it up!" Lola said.

Sting, who was in his White Drive form, grunted in pain upon being hit in the stomach by a pillar of ice. He shattered it with a hammerfist and jumped away to create some distance. Unluckily for him, he stepped in one of Lyon's mines and felt ice coat his right leg, the cold already burning his skin and making it lose all sensation. He lit up his foot with light and broke free, only to get hit by another pillar from behind. Growing fed up, Sting jumped on the pillar and used it to launch himself straight at Lyon.

Lyon molded several ice eagles and sent them at Sting. Unfortunately for him, he took yet another punch of light to his face, as Sting dodged his ice eagles in mid-air and hit him with a counter. The Maker fell to the ground and grunted in pain.

Sting's breathing was uneven, and he had ice stuck to his body in several places that were hit by Lyon's creations.

"Maybe it's about time you gave up?" he asked, annoyed with how prolonged this fight was. Two back-to-back slugfests were definitely not something he'd wanted to happen.

Lyon stood up, albeit barely, and punched his palm in response. "You wish." he said with a weak grin and molded an ice tiger that pounced at Sting.

The Dragon Slayer lit up his fist and smashed the tiger like thin glass, its durability severely lacking due to Lyon's condition. The Maker tried to mold some more attacks, but Sting closed the distance between them and bombarded Lyon with dozens of fast and precise strikes that sapped at whatever strength he had left, before finally making him drop to the floor in defeat.

Sting stared at his opponent with hateful eyes, his breathing uneven and hoarse. He fought the urge to kick his already downed opponent with all the willpower he had and instead turned around while canceling his form to preserve some magic. As Lyon vanished behind him Sting entered a nearby tavern and sucked in the light from the lacrimas hanging by the ceiling in order to replenish some lost magic. With that taken care of and his hunger satiated, Sting left the area in the direction of another target.

---

Benizakura clashed with Archenemy in a last ditch attempt at blocking its strike. Erza pushed Kagura away and jumped back to create some distance.

"I see you're not willing to talk." Kagura said and readied her stance. "I'll make you."

"There's nothing to say." Erza replied. "I have nothing that could be of use to you."

"I heard your talk with Millianna." Kagura said. "I know you've met him, quite recently at that. Are you his ally?"

"No." Erza said through her teeth. This was certainly not a topic she wanted to speak about. "I am sure we can talk this through some other time, in a more cvilised manner."

Kagura gripped her blade tighter. "I find that doubtful."

Erza grunted and felt her body bend under its own weight, as Kagura utilized her magic upon her. It took everything she had in her to raise her blade and block Kagura's strike, that pushed her back and caused her to fall to her knee afterwards.

"You will answer my questions. Then, I shall give you a swift and painless defeat so that they can treat those wounds of yours." Kagura said and pointed Archenemy at Erza's bullet wounds.

The knight grit her teeth in frustration. Had she not been so reckless and stubborn, she would have never ended up in such condition. Now, she was at someone's mercy, with no civilized way out in sight. Cursing her immaturity, she raised Benizakura up and looked at Kagura's face. Again, she was hit with a sensation of...nostalgia? It was rather difficult to give it a proper name, but this came the closest.

Kagura gently grit her teeth. "Why would you put yourself at risk for scum like him?" she asked the redhead. "Do you have a motive after all?"

"None." Erza replied truthfully. "What I know would not help with whatever it is you are carrying. Even if I told you, it would be worth as much as dust in the air."

"It's not up to you to decide that." Kagura said. "I have been seeking justice for years, what looks like trash to you might be valuable to me. By refusing to give it up, you are siding with him, thus making you my enemy."

The swordswoman readied her stance and put her blade by her side. Recognizing this stance, Erza bent her knees and jumped in the air just in time to avoid a flying slash enhanced with gravity, that destroyed the ruins behind her. Erza flipped in the air and kicked off of a building to get higher in the air. Another strike shattered said building and caused it to start to collapse.

Now that she was high in the air, Erza Requipped into Heaven's Wheel Armor and send a couple dozen of blades at Kagura. The girl used her magic and stopped all of the blades in their place, before letting them drop to the floor. She then kicked the ground and dashed up so fast Erza couldn't even react when she passed her. She turned to Kagura, who was now above her, and blocked her strike with her sword. The force of the blow caused her to start going down, and as she was being pushed, Erza changed into Flight Armor and tried to overpower Kagura with volume. Having finished her combo, Erza felt her side start to burn up and soon she cried out in agony from the pain of being struck by Archenemy, while Kagura remained unharmed.

"She lost that exchange!" Eflman noticed in shock.

"She didn't even hit her once with that?! I couldn't even see her move!" Wakaba said and grabbed his head in disbelief.

"If only she wasn't so worn out..." Juvia added quietly.

Erza fell to the ground and started to awkwardly get back to her feet. Kagura landed in front of her and stared her down, ready to strike whenever necessary.

"Speak." she demanded and pointed her sword at Erza. "I will kill Jellal and you will tell me everything you know. Otherwise you will join him."

The knight grit her teeth in pain and looked Kagura straight in the eyes, hers burning just as strongly as before. "What drives you? What could push you to go this far?"

Kagura's eyes widened. Unable to keep her emotions intact, she swung her sword to the side and sent a torrent of gravity into the ground, cracking it. "He murdered my brother. His name was Simon."

Erza's eyes lost their fire, instead replaced by terror and shock.

"We lived together in a small village with our family. We were poor, but happy." Kagura continued, seemingly unaware of Erza's reaction. "One day a group of people arrived and burned our village to the ground. Killed the adults and kidnapped the children. My brother was taken, but I was saved. I-"

"Was hidden by someone inside of that heavy, metal chest stashed behind the church that nobody knew how it got there." Erza finished quietly.

Kagura looked at her, taken back. "How did you..."

Erza took a deep, anxious breath and looked Kagura in the eye, hers pained and teary. "Simon was my friend. We were at the Tower together for a year, up until the break-out. He told me he had a sister, and that we were from the same village. but I never connected the dots. Until now."

Kagura stared blankly at the redhead. As the realization hit her like a truck, she gasped and took a step back. "It was..."

Erza smiled sadly and nodded. "It was me. I put you in that chest."

Kagura shook her head, possibly in disbelief. Her sword arm was shaking, the blade clanking loudly inside its sheath.

"I-"

"What a truly touching story."

Both swordwomen turned to face the new voice mocking them from distance. It turned out to be Minerva, who began to exit one of her space bubbles and put her feet on top of the biggest boulder nearby, that effectively put her above both her enemies.

"I almost hate to interrupt." she added with a mocking smirk.

Kagura scowled. "You have no business here. Leave." she said.

"I believe that's my line." Minerva said. "I have quite a bone to pick with Fairy Tail, and since I can not find that despicable, white haired sewage of a person who dared to make a fool of me two days ago, I think I will settle for the second place." she said and licked her lips while looking at Erza.

With that said Minerva pointed her hand at Kagura and trapped her in a bubble. She then snapped her fingers and just like that, Kagura vanished in thin air.

Erza blinked in confusion and turned to Minerva, slightly distraught. "What have you done to her?!"

"Relax. I just transported her someplace else." Minerva chuckled. "I wouldn't want to miss out on her points. She's close, but not close enough to interrupt our fun."

Minerva snapped her fingers and caused Erza to cry out in pain from one of Territory's bubbles exploding on her wounded thigh. She dropped to her knee and grasped her bleeding leg with both hands.

"I must say, you are quite lucky, Titania." Minerva said and began to materialize a new bubble. "I've already satisfied my boredom on my way here, so at the moment I am not in the mood to play with you for too long. That'd be almost as bad as overeating."

The bubble materialized and dropped a person to the ground. Upon looking at her Erza felt blood rush to her head and her teeth clench so hard they could chip at any moment now, as she stared at the familiar brown hair and the cuts and bruises running down her exposed back.

Millianna was long unconscious, possibly for the best, but unable to receive the needed treatment due to Minerva's magic. Now, with the spell no longer affecting her, the girl was finally taken to the infirmary by the teleportation spells utilized on all participants upon defeat.

"It appears we no longer have to wonder where Mermaid Heel's Millianna had gone off to..." Lola said with a nervous gulp. "1 point for Sabertooth!"

"With her defeat we are down to just 11." Yajima added.

Erza stood up to her feet.

Minerva licked her lips. "Perhaps your screams will be more satisfying than hers?"

Her smirk was quickly erased from her face by a blade, that found itself mere inches before her face. Minerva stopped it with her magic and what laid beyond it was not better by any means, as now she had to look directly into a feral pair of brown eyes staring at her with pure fury and bloodlust.

The dust raised by Erza's dash has only just begun to settle, her charge so quick and ferocious it should by no means be a feat someone with her injuries could pull off. And yet, the sudden rush of emotions was just enough to boost every ounce of stamina she had and fuel her muscles enough to grant her one final minute of combat at her fullest capability.

Erza snatched Benizakura out of Minerva's grasp and tried to slash at her once more, only to miss. Minerva jumped off the boulder and waved her hands to surround Erza with multiple green bubbles. They then began to explode one after another, but hit nothing, as Erza zapped out of there in her Flight Armor. She circled around and threw both her blades at Minerva, who stopped them with her magic with ease. Erza then ran past those and kicked Minerva flush in the face, only to then Requip into Purgatory Armor and swing her club at the downed woman with everything she had. Minerva managed to teleport herself out of harm's way and watched in terror from the distance as the club split the ground in two.

Like a rabid dog who'd just smelled its prey, Erza threw herself at Minerva and tried to catch her one more time, missing yet again. The woman pushed Erza away with her magic and tried to swallow her with explosions again, but to no avail. Erza changed her boots into her faster ones and dashed straight at Minerva, who was forced to block Erza's giant club with a barrier. Although successful, the force of the blow still pushed her back and Minerva found her back crashing against rubble, that was placed several meters from her previous spot.

Feeling angry and humiliated, she dusted her clothes off in anger and began to mutter to herself in a language unknown to Erza.

Before she could react she felt a whip made out of Minerva's magic wrap itself around her ankle. Minerva then moved her arm and dragged Erza across the street, crashing her into buildings and lamps. The knight grunted in pain but remained focused and set herself free by cutting the whip. She then tried to attack Minerva, but the woman switched places with a rock and attacked Erza's back from the distance. Erza cried out upon having her back blown up and fell to her face, her sword falling out of her hand, but not before throwing a lone dagger at Minerva, which hit its target and plunged itself into her right shoulder.

"Get up, Erza!" Lucy called out to her friend in despair. "This isn't enough to keep you down!"

"I'm afraid it might be." Cana said solemnly and patted Lucy on the shoulder.

It was just as Cana feared. Erza was spent, her rage induced boost of strength fading away faster than snow on a warm window. Even if she wasn't almost completely depleted of magic, her piling on injuries would have finished the job and brought her to this point. Her breathing was shallow and irregular, the pain slowly beginning to overwhelm all of her senses.

Erza took a long look at Minerva and her twisted with anger face, who continued to spill insults and threats in her foreign tongue, as she pulled the dagger out of her body and threw it aside in disgust. Erza despised the woman, and yet couldn't help but pity her. Something deep down told her, that she also had something that brought her to where she is at the moment, dulled her emotions and turned her into this spiteful creature.

"I'm sorry, Millianna. I won't be able to avenge you." Erza said under her nose with a tired, sad smile. She turned towards Minerva and Requipped into Fire Empress Armor and set her blade on fire.

"One last act of defiance, Titania?" Minerva asked and conjured more bubbles with her hands. "That's right, I want you to fight until your last pitiful breath!"

Erza grit her teeth and swinged her blade at Minerva. A giant bird of flames left the tip of her blade and dashed towards the woman, but changed its trajectory before the moment of impact. It flew above her and continued to zap deeper into the city. Minerva's magic, on the other hand, hit Erza directly and knocked her both out of her armor, and consciousness. The knight fell onto her right side with a wide smile on her face, in which she put all of her pride and hope.

"She has done it! Sabertooth's Minerva defeats Erza and scores 5 points for her guild!" Lola announced loudly.

Fairy Tail watched the screens solemnly. Lucy clenched her skirt in frustration and tried to keep a calm face, but it came with great difficulty. Cana and Juvia tried to comfort her, but quickly turned towards Wendy, who'd never seen one of her biggest idols lose. The girl tried to remain strong, but couldn't help shedding a few tears.

"She did well." Elfman said with a slow nod. "No shame in losing after a battle like that."

"Damn right." Macao agreed, with the others nodding violently next to him.

Erza's fire bird continued to travel above fake Crocus. Suddenly, someone jumped high in the air and propelled himself towards the bird with his own flames. He then swallowed the bird, much to the crowd's surprise, and began to descend onto the nearest roof, which he cracked upon landing.

Natsu breathed out loudly and slowly, some smoke coming out of his mouth in the process. He recognized this magic, and knew the weight it carried. With a good chunk of his magic restored and his fists clenching by themselves, his eyes, sharp and focused, landed on the alley way in the distance from which the bird came from.

"Heard you loud and clear, honey." he muttered under his breath with a gentle touch of anger in his voice and jumped off the roof to head towards his new destination.

Minerva wiped the sweat off her face and tried to regain her composure. So far, her plan has been working, with another leader added to her guild's name. If they continued down this path, their victory would be assured, and so would her claim to the title of Master.

Before she could leave the area, however, she was forced to block a giant torrent of gravity flying in her direction. Her magic did well to defend most of its impact, but some of it caught her hands, which began to ache. Minerva snapped her head upwards and spotted a descending Kagura just in the nick of time to switch places with a rock. Kagura's blade shattered it into pieces upon impact and the woman herself took a deep breath to remain composed. She shifted her body in Minerva's new direction and pointed Archenemy at her face.

"You will pay for what you've done." she declared.

Minerva chuckled. "I am surprised it took you so little time to come back here." she said mockingly. "I thought I'd need to find myself a new toy to entertain myself with. As you can see, I've broken my last two rather quickly."

Kagura's glare softened. It didn't give in to fear, or despair, it gave in to pity and disgust. "I see. It's pointless to bare anger towards you." she told Minerva quietly. "It's like being angry at a cockroach, no matter how strong one's emotions are, the cockroach will never understand them, or live up to their worth. In fact, you're worse than that, you are scum that lies down at the bottom of sewage."

Minerva roared and chanted a spell that began to blow up the entire alley piece by piece. Kagura used her magic on herself and jumped high above the alley, where Territory could not reach her. She then increased her own gravity back and descended upon Minerva like a bullet, her blade missing her by just a hair. Relying on pure instinct, Kagura quickly shifted her pivot to her right and swinged Archenemy at the nearest boulder, which a split second later turned into Minerva. The woman barely caught the sword with her magic and stared at it hatefully. Kagura let go of her blade and kicked Minerva in the stomach. She then caught her blade and swinged vertically from above, missing by just a hair yet again.

Minerva appeared several meters behind Kagura and tried to catch her with the same whip she caught Erza with, but with no luck. Kagura deflected it and sent a flying strike made ouf of gravity that hit Minerva flush on her chest and knocked her down in the process.

The woman gasped for air from the weight of the blow and watched helplessly as Kagura began to descend upon her from above. With great difficulty she managed to teleport herself to safety, but just like last time, Kagura expected that and hit her flush on the ribs with Archenemy. Minerva was sent flying through the rubble, the rocks catching onto her dress and shredding it with ease.

"Minerva's is on the ropes! Kagura shows no mercy!" Lola commentated.

"Serves you right, you witch!" Wakaba laughed out loud.

Minerva's face was red with fury. Veins began to pop out on her forehead as she stood up from the rubble and began chanting to herself, with her magic raising so high it began to affect the area.

Kagura felt her shoulders becoming heavier under the pressure of Minerva's magic and readied Archenemy in preparation for a counter. Suddenly, she blew up from at least half a dozen explosives bubbles that hit her seemingly out of nowhere. The woman gasped from both impact and pain and allowed her injured, smoking figure to drop onto her knee. A moment later was swallowed by a giant, green bubble of Minerva's magic, that began to lift her off the ground. The swordswoman tried to power her way out, but to no effect: it felt like trying to defeat air. A moment later Kagura noticed herself becoming weaker and quickly realized, that her magic power was being taken from her at rapid speed.

Now beginning to slightly lose her composure, she decided to focus on Minerva herself and began to scan the area. Having found what she needed, she closed her eyes and prayed that her magic would not be detected until the very last moment.

Minerva began to cackle at Kagura's fate, her reason slowly coming back, accompanied by confidence of her victory. This cost her dearly, for Kagura's plan was carried out flawlessly and the rock she'd been trying to lift with her gravity magic has been thrown at Minerva and hit her flush in the face. The woman yelped in surprise and pain and lost her focus, which allowed Kagura to drop back to the ground, albeit significantly weakened.

Knowing that both her new injuries and losing this much magic have severely compromised her chances at victory, she decided to use the chance she made for herself and focused her magic in her legs to quickly dash across the street and gripped Archenemy as hard as she could. As Minerva tried to attack her, Kagura dodged all of her attacks and smashed her blade into her stomach, effectively knocking her out in the process.

Minerva's barely conscious form toppled to the ground, accompanied by the cheers of the crowd and Jiemma's roar of rage that was strong enough to still reveal its presence in the uproar. The security tried to contain the older man, who began to throw them around like kids and caused a scene that quickly took away from Kagura's moment of glory.

"What a despicable man." Evergreen scoffed.

"I kinda feel sorry for those smug pricks." Cana added softly.

"Looks like everyone has their own issues." Wendy said with a tone of sadness.

"No way...The Lady lost?!" Lector asked in disbelief. Frosch gulped next to him, still upset over Rogue's defeat.

"5 points for Mermaid Heel!" Lola said nervously in an attempt to remain professional. "Their first points in this event! In a quick, but tense and packed with action battle Kagura defeats Minerva!"

"It appears Kagura won't get to rest for long." Yajima pointed out.

As the elder said, Kagura had already prepared for another battle, this time against Sting, who'd arrived just in time to watch his comrade disappear before his eyes. He was banged up and far from fresh, but Kagura knew from just looking at him that he had much more magic left than she did, thanks to Minerva's cursed spell.

"Sting! Sting will avenge the Lady!" Frosch tried to cheer Lector, which seemed to work.

"So, the Lady lost, huh?" he asked Kagura and cracked his neck. "A bit surprising, if you ask me."

Kagura raised her blade higher. "You might want to lower your bar, then." she said.

Sting laughed out loud. "True! I probably should." he agreed. "There's no such thing as invincible in this world, everyone can lose under the right circumstances. At least for now."

It took Kagura everything in her willpower to silence a snort of amusement that almost slipped out of her mouth. "Do you aim to be the first?" she asked him.

"I do, actually." he nodded slowly. "Strength is everything. It can overpower anything, there is no hardship when strength is present. If you're the strongest around, no one can oppose you, try to walk over you like trash on the street."

"If your goal is to make me pity you enough to go easy on you, then I must ask you to stop." Kagura said. "My soft spot is reserved for something else."

Sting's eye twitched. "Mocking me isn't going to help you out." he growled as his body began to glow. "Quite the opposite."

Suddenly, he vanished. The spot he was just standing on had been crushed from above under pressure of Kagura's magic. The swordswoman blinked in shock and heard footsteps behind her. Upon looking back she was met with nothing and the next thing her mind registered was blinding pain in her lower back, which was kicked. Kagura gripped Archenemy and swinged behind her, missing Sting's face by just an inch.

The Dragon Slayer, who was in his White Drive, leaned in just as Kagura's blade missed his face and punched her in the face with a right cross. The woman was pushed back, but did not fall, and sent a gravity slash at Sting, who jumped over it. She then sent another one, which hit its target on his guard. Sting extended his arms to the sides to get rid of their numbing pain and landed on the ground, before charging at Kagura in a straight line.

The woman slashed at the charging Slayer vertically and enhanced it with gravity, however, with her magic being so low she could only produce a relatively thin slash, which Sting detected thanks to his enhanced senses and dodged with ease. He then took a step to the left to get a better angle and smashed Kagura with a devastating right hook that rocked Kagura and knocked her down to the ground.

"Looks like the Lady did her job anyway." Sting said with a smirk and kicked Kagura, who blocked it with her blade. "Despite losing she crippled you, just like a tiger would!"

The second kick passed Kagura's guard and landed flush on her ribs, making her grunt in pain. She slashed at Sting and pushed him away with gravity, and jumped back to create some distance, which he closed almost immediately and kicked her in the gut.

What came next was a barrage of strikes enhanced with light landing all over Kagura's body, similar to how Lyon ended up in his fight with the White Dragon. Although his strikes were not particularly powerful, the sheer volume he was outputting was enough to make up for that and make the damage pile up fast and ferociously. Kagura did her best to block as much as she could with her sword, but a swift front kick knocked it out of her hands and left her practically defenseless. After several more seconds of valiant attempt to stay in the tournament, Kagura's knees fell under her weight and with a final punch landing on her jaw, she fell to the ground, conscious, but unable to continue.

Sting raised his arms in the air and laughed out loud from excitement and pride at his own strength. Kagura's blood flowed down his hands, which he didn't even seem to register, high on his own strength.

"No mercy! Sting defeats Kagura in a matter of minutes and scores another 5 points for Sabertooth!" Lola said.

"This is what I meant!" Sting cackled to Kagura, whose body began to glow. "Strength is everything! If you're the strongest around, no one can oppose you! No one can-"

His monologue was interrupted by a kick landing flush on his face. The kicker pushed his leg deeper into his face, dragging Sting along and then did a final push, launching the Slayer into the debris like a bullet.

The crowd went quiet, caught off guard by what just happened. The only exception was Fairy Tail, which erupted in laughter and cheers, as they watched the fimiliar head of pink hair flow in the gentle wind along with the scaly, white scarf.

Natsu laid his leg down back on the ground and blinked at the mountain of debris he just sent Sting into. "Sorry, I didn't know when you'd stop rambling so I figured any moment would do." he said.

Sting punched his way out from beneath several boulders and began to dig himself out. His nose was bleeding, but other than that, the kick left him seemingly unscathed. He looked into Natsu's onyx eyes and his own lit up with excitement and determination. His lips curved into a disturbing grin that in combination with his eyes made him look like an addict who'd finally managed to get his hands on his poison after a very long break.

"Natsu Dragneel." he said and licked his lips. "Salamander!"

"You the one who beat Erza?" Natsu asked him, completely ignoring Sting's moment of excitement.

"I've been looking forward to this for a very long time." Sting ignored the question and began to increase his magic power.

Natsu felt the gravity around him change, his shoulders becoming a little heavier. He looked around, taking the sensation in and sniffed. "Based on this...I guess not." he said and cracked his neck.

Sting laughed out loud. "It looks like everyone feels like mocking me today!" he roared in both anger and amusement. "I've already wiped the floor with one of them, I suppose you can join her!"

"You mock yourself every time you open your mouth." Natsu told him with a slightly confused look on his face. "I've told you that when we first met, didn't I?"

Sting continued to laugh, "You know, that girlfriend of yours was talkative like that, too. But our Lady taught her a lesson rather quickly. It's a shame it lasted for only so long, her screams were really catchy! I almost felt bad for her when-"

Sting's face bent under the weight of Natsu's right fist. His head was blown back with blood spurting behind him in the shape of a cloud, as he began to descend to the ground with Natsu's eyes of fury staring him down from above his still extended arm.

Sting placed his hands on the ground and flipped himself to land on his feet. His smile never left his face, now even more bloodied. He wiped the blood off with his sleeve and began to channel his magic. "That's right, more...Show me more!"

"Does this guy have a death wish?!" disturbed Elfman asked while clutching his head with his hands.

"Either that or he's crazy." Cana added.

"It's different." Lucy said with a gentle frown. "I think he is doing it on purpose, but for his own sake, to test himself. He antagonized Natsu every time they met."

"I don't think I will ever understand men." Juvia sighed gently. She received a pat on the back from Levy and Lisanna.

Sting bent his knees and charged at Natsu. He attacked with a right straight which Natsu dodged with little to no effort by sidestepping to the left. He then threw a right hook over Sting's extended arm, which the Sabertooth mage caught with his left hand. The flames were very hot, but didn't do any significant damage. He then pulled Natsu's arm forward and tried to knee him in the stomach, but Natsu placed his left hand on Sting's torso and blasted him with point-blank flames.

The White Dragon staggered backwards, confused and scorched, and swiped his hand through the flames to clear out his vision. As expected, Natsu was nowhere in sight, and as a precaution Sting jumped away to create some distance. He landed several meters away and as his feet touched the ground, his ears picked up shuffling inside one of the ruined houses. He quickly turned around and puffed out his cheeks.

WHITE DRAGON'S ROAR!

A beam of white light nearly pierced through Natsu's chest, who dodged at the last second and allowed it to pass under his right armpit. He breathed out deeply to signalize his relief and charged at Sting to counter. Suddenly, all of his senses began to scream in terror and as he propelled himself up with his flames, just in case, the beam zapped right through where he just stood and passed by Sting, having returned to its caster. Seeing that the spell won't do its purpose, Sting cancelled it and jumped up to meet Natsu in the air. He kicked at the Dragon Slayer with his right foot, which Natsu caught. He then took a hold of it with both his hands and threw Sting aside, straight into a pile of debris.

Sting crashed into the debris and immediately got back to his feet. He watched as Natsu launched himself at him in a straight line with his flames and focused his magic in his right hand. With the timing and precision calculated, Sting threw a punch and aimed it at Natsu's exposed chin.

WHITE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!

FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!

His fist of light clashed with a fist of fire, as they both erupted their respective element upon impact and caused the debris around them to blow up in result. Sting felt himself being pushed back, his shoulder crying out in pain, and as he roared and tried to squeeze out more magic into his strike, Natsu did the same and easily overpowered the White Draon, swallowing him in flames and sending him flying across the street. Sting crashed into a building miraculously yet untouched by the previous battles, disappearing into its interior like a rock thrown into a pond.

Natsu breathed out and straightened his posture, his fist smoking and shaking.

"What a fight!" Lola erupted alongside the crowd. "As expected of two Dragon Slayers! Will Sting get the upper hand in the next exchange?!"

"Hell no!" Fairy Tail yelled out.

Sting destroyed the house he fell into with his magic and walked out of its ruins, fuming with anger and excitement. He was chuckling to himself like a maniac, which definitely made him look like one in combination with his shredded clothes and covered in blood, both his and not, body.

"Just what I expected, even White Drive isn't enough to narrow the gap." he said.

Natsu frowned. "Didn't you call me inferior not even a week ago?" he asked.

"I did, but even an inferior First Generation like you can get strong enough to counter this form." Sting nodded and began to increase his magic. "But against my true power, even you won't be able to keep up. This is the true difference between us, Natsu."

Sting's hair began to stand up. His fangs and nails began to grow longer and sharper, while his eyes turned into slits with scales popping out around them and down his face, as well as his arms. His magic was growing in size so much, that it became uncomfortable and smothering.

Natsu narrowed his eyes and did the same, his magic adding up to Sting's and making the area so dense and heavy it began to affect the surroundings, with some of the smaller pieces of debris being raised, only to be squashed and broken into dust. The air became hotter, all thanks to Natsu, whose magic was strong enough to heat it by its lonesome. The Two Dragon Slayers stared at one another and, almost as if their minds were linked, they both decided to make a move at the same time.

Natsu bent his knees and was just about to charge at Sting, when he felt his eyes widen in shock. His target was now just mere centimeters away from him, his eyes staring him down like a prey. In the time it took Natsu to simply bend his knees, Sting managed to close the distance between them and cock a punch.

Natsu caught the punch on his guard and felt his flesh bend under its weight. He grit his teeth and let it slide down his guard and opened it to counter, however he got hit with another strike before he could even react. Natsu took a step back and tried to kick Sting, who simply circled around Natsu and kicked him in the other leg, causing him to fall down. He then raised his leg high above his head and brought it down. Natsu rolled out of the kick's way and watched it crack the ground upon impact. He got on all fours and puffed his cheeks out, but before he could even unleash his Roar he was kicked in the mouth by Sting. Natsu was launched up in the air and then punched in the face before he could get back down. With his back now flat on the ground, Sting got directly above Natsu and began to descend his fist down at his stomach, in what seemed to be a decisive blow.

Suddenly, Natsu vanished, leaving behind a faint crackle of lightning. Sting blinked in confusion and then felt something press against his head, before being blasted away by a kick enhanced with fire.

He managed to land on his feet and raised his head to look at Natsu, who was already in front of him. He hit Sting right in the face with a right straight and then grabbed him by the coat. He dragged Sting down and smashed his face into his left knee, which made the White Dragon's head blow back. Sting grinned through the pain and retaliated by hitting Natsu with a right hook followed by a left one. To finish things off, Sting put his hands on Natsu's chest and blew him away with light, which effectively knocked him back and took the wind out of his lungs. Natsu struggled for air and couldn't help but drop to his knee to avoid falling down completely, his vision blurry and ears ringing.

Sting threw his bloodied head back and began to laugh like a maniac into the darkening sky, drunk on his own power and the fight he'd dreamed of since he was but a little kid.

"Stand the hell up!" Elfman roared at the screens and stood up from his chair. "What is this unsightly appearance?!"

"Get up, Natsu!" Lucy shouted alongside him.

Sting continued to laugh, so much in fact, that he began to lightly cough. "This is what I was talking about! Power, absolute power that can topple anything and anyone! Nothing can compare to being the strongest! You should know, right?" he asked Natsu in-between his laughter. "For 7 years you've done as you pleased, and even when caught you still managed to get out without any repercussions! That's power, the absolute freedom to do as one pleases, with no one to step over you! But look how the tables have turned. Now you're just like the rest, meant to be stomped by those superior to you."

Natsu regulated his breath and clenched his fist on the ground, which gathered some dust and debris. His teeth began to grit on their own, with anger beginning to spread over his chest so ferociously it felt like his chest was on fire. He raised his eyes to meet Sting's and upon doing so the White Dragon ceased his laughter, hiw face giving in to confusion mixed with a small dose of shock instead.

"You know..." Natsu growled through his teeth and began to get up. "Normally I'm not one to go around and show how proud I am. But for some reason, ending up on my knees like this, against someone as dumb and naive as you just makes me absolutely pissed. I feel like I've betrayed a lot of people by letting a brat like you knock me down."

Fairy Tail grinned at their comrade's words and watched him stand up tall against Sting.

Natsu's entire body began to emit an aura of scorching flames that obliterated almost anything they touched, his magic raising even higher than before. Without even realizing it, Sting took a step back and carefully watched his opponent raise his magic whilst glaring at him with eyes full of fire and anger.

I am using Dragon Force. I am the superior Dragon Slayer. So why, in the name of everything that is holy is his magic, magic of an oldfashioned failure of a Dragon Slayer almost on par with mine?! Sting began to panic inside his head.

"If power is what you want, then I will give you power." Natsu said quietly, almost like a whisper, and dashed at Sting with his lightning enhanced legs.

The Sabertooth mage didn't have enough time to put up his guard and was hit right in the face with an iron fist of flames, that left a scorched mark on his cheek. With cold sweat beginning to coat his neck, Sting raised his own magic as high as it could possibly go and kicked Natsu away, before utilizing his speed at its fullest.

While Natsu continued to chase after him with his enhanced speed, Sting managed to get away every single time, often countering him with a punch or a kick on his way out, that slowly but surely began to take notice on Natsu's face in a form of gentle bruises and cuts. With his confidence returning little by little, Sting decided to showcase his full potential to his idol and began to circle around Natsu, who stopped in a single spot in the middle of the street and simply observed.

Sting raised his speed so high, that while circling around Natsu he managed to make it look like there were at least 8 Sting's running around the place at the same time.

"Are my eyes deceiving me?! Has Sting multiplied?!" Lola exclaimed and grabbed his head in disbelief.

"I believe he increased his speed to such heights he can now leave afterimages." Yajima tried to make some reason out of what was happening before them. "I suppose something like this ought to be possible for a Dragon Slayer who specializes in light."

Natsu gave up on trying to catch Sting and simply stood still in his spot. His expression changed from anger to a calmer one, a mix of amusement mixed with that of a man who'd figured something out and knew his next couple of steps. He simply raised his hands to his head and put up a tight and solid guard, ready for the oncoming onslaught.

Just like he suspected, Sting began to rain down hits from all sides, wherever he could reach. Natsu felt feet, fists, knees and elbows rain down all over his body, with the exception of his head, which was heavily protected by his arms. While they all caused quite a bit of pain, none of them were enough to break him out of his focus, as he continued to study his opponent, his eyes shifting and following Sting's movement best to their ability.

"What is he doing?! He's just letting the kid pummel him like a ham!" Macao wondered out loud while watching Natsu's body rock back and forth from received hits.

"He can't catch him, so he shelled up." Cana said.

"Is he trying to tire him out?" Levy pondered.

"You can do this, Sting! You're so close!" Lector cheered loudly and with pride.

Sting's breathing began to grow heavier and heavier, and his speed began to drop. While still fast, he no longer left afterimages and knew, that soon he could get caught by something incredibly nasty. He focused his magic in hist right fist and managed to sneak it through in-between Natsu's guard, smashing it into his stomach. Natsu grit his teeth and tanked it, but that didn't matter that much to Sting. He smirked and took a few steps back, his eyes glued on the white stigmata left on Natsu's stomach, that burned its way through his clothes and embedded into his flesh.

"I can't...move!" Natsu groaned.

"It's a seal." Sting said and pointed at his creation. "The White Dragon's light poisons you and robs you of movement, leaving its prey at its mercy. This will be the end, Salamander!"

Sting's right arm began to glow. He channeled his spell for a while before stepping forward and punching Natsu's stomach.

SECRET DRAGON SLAYER'S ARTS: HOLY NOVA!

The light completely swallowed Natsu and everything in its path, destroying it into nothingness. The spell was so powerful it managed to completely erase an entire building out of existence, so much that not even a single piece of debris remained.

Sting panted heavily and felt his magic drop drastically. He awaited to see his opponent lie before his feet, but instead, upon the smoke's clearing, saw absolutely nothing. Nothing, with the exception of a scorched spot on the ground and ashes of a burnt jacket left behind.

"Wha-" he gasped in terror and despair, before feeling a hand land on his right shoulder. His head slowly shifted to the right, where he noticed an unscathed Natsu standing behind him, albeit with his naked torso peeking from underneath his now unbuttoned jacket that was missing its front.

Natsu said nothing. He simply set himself on fire and began to channel his magic, before responding to Sting with a special spell of his own.

SECRET DRAGON SLAYER'S ARTS: EXPLODING FLAME BLADE!

Sting cried out in pain upon being swallowed by flames and thrown up in the air. He began to limply descend to the ground, his body smoking and burned. He crashed into the ground with no attempt to kill his fall and simply laid there in his crater, in pain and deep shock mixed with fear and confusion.

"Natsu prevails! Is this the end for Sting and Sabertooth?!" Lola wondered.

"Get up, Sting! You do not belong on the floor, you're the strongest!" Lector cried out.

"How did you move?!" enraged Sting snapped his torso up and asked Natsu from the ground, like a little child who had been caught sneaking around by their parent after developing a plan that was meant to be flawless.

"I burned your mark." Natsu said and tapped his abdomen. "And got out of the way of the spell as soon as it hit me. It hurt though." he added and hissed in pain after touching his sore stomach. "That was the last of your magic, right?" he asked.

Despite being severely injured, Sting gulped and jumped back to his feet, ready to continue fighting. Unbeknownst to him, his scales have began to chip away, signalizing that his limit was near.

"Dragon Force eats too much magic to be used like that." Natsu said and cracked his sore neck. "You burned through it in a matter of minutes with little to no pay off. It made you strong, true, but it didn't make you any smarter. No matter how strong you are, you will always be handicapped if you're a moron."

Sting grit his teeth in fury. "How long must you mock me before you acknowledge my strength?!" he roared into Natsu's face.

"Until you realize that if strength is all you have, then you have nothing!" Natsu yelled back, much to Sting's surprise. He walked up to the Dragon Slayer and grabbed him by the coat, raising him up in the air and got in his face as close as he could. "There are tons of things more important than just being strong! Is it important to be strong? Yeah, if you wish to protect things you care about. But if all you care about is being strong, then you have absolutely nothing. I hate who I was, not only because of what I did, but because I had nothing, no one! I despised my strength and the reason I obtained it for, I forgot what life was meant to be until I finally found something to actually give a shit about. It helped me grow. Now I can finally feel proud of my strength, and embrace it in ways I never could before. That's why I keep mocking you for looking up to the old me, because what you should be feeling is pity, not admiration!"

Natsu threw Sting to the ground and walked away from him. The entire crowd that was watching this fell quiet, unsure what to make of it.

Lucy couldn't help but smile at her friend, still vividly remembering their first encounter and the days after that.

Erza watched the fight from the infirmary alongside Gray and couldn't help but smile tenderly at the screen.

Natsu breathed out loudly and turned back to Sting. "There has to be another reason why you're so obsessed with strength." he said to him, now more calmly. "You were pissing me off on purpose, to set me off. You got that, but I know there's more to your words. I don't know what it is, but I can tell you're not alone. I know what loneliness looks like, and this ain't it. Try focusing on those who care about you, rather than whatever else you're dwelling on. You'll see the difference within seconds, trust me."

Sting stared at Natsu with a blank expression on his face. He bit his lip and closed his eyes in defeat. Every word hit the nail on the head, and dug it deeper into his heart than he'd like.

"You know, I'm the last of my guild." Sting said after a brief moment. "All of my guildmates have already been beaten. Once I fall, Sabertooth will be out of the Games. I doubt anyone will catch up to our points, but that won't matter to our Master. To him, us even getting hit is treason against the guild." he added with fake laughter.

"Your Master sounds like a cunt." Natsu deadpanned.

Sting burst out in laughter, this time genuinely. Jiemma roared in rage at the screens and continued to shake off security, who'd been trying to remove him from the crowd.

"I'm going to make something out of your words." he said with a smile. "It's been a while since I've been properly lectured. Thank you."

Natsu groaned. "I feel like a damn therapist..." he mumbled to himself and scratched his head. "So, what do you want to do? Do we finish this like we're supposed to?"

"I see no other way." Sting replied and prepared his fighting stance, as did Natsu.

Both Dragon Slayers raised their magic, with Natsu overpowering Sting's so much the man could barely even move. Despite that, they both kicked the ground at the same time and met in the middle with their fists clenched and already traveling towards their respective faces. Sting's bent under the pressure of Natsu's flaming hand and the last thing his eyes registered before being taken by darkness was the pure focus and drive to win written on the more experienced Slayer's face.

"Sting is down! Fairy Tail scores a point and eliminates Sabertooth from the Games!" Lola yelled into his microphone loud enough to mask Jiemma's roar of fury that echoed across the arena.

Lector grabbed his head with his paws and began to cry uncontrollably. Frosch put his paw on Lector's shoulder.

"Sting did good! And so did Rogue!" he said. "We can't be sad, they did their best!"

Lector nodded through his tears and spread out his wings, before flying to the infirmary, with his friend following him shortly.

"That leaves only Four teams in the Games!" Lola said and looked at the screens.

"Three, actually." Yajima said and pointed at the scoreboard. Fairy Tail, which was at 66 points after Natsu's victory, has suddenly risen to 71 points.

"Wha...It appears Rustyrose has fallen to Mirajane in a battle that we've all missed!"

True to his words, Mira walked out of the warehouse she'd been locked up in with Rustyrose and groaned. She was beaten up all over her body, with her right wing hanging low with patches of skin missing here and there. Her breathing was heavy and as she looked back into the thrashed warehouse full of craters, smudges, cuts and Rusty's tools and creations, she caught his defeated figure disappear from top of the steel tower he'd created, which she flew and smashed him into at the very end.

"There, I hope you're happy." she said under her nose. "I'm sure as hell not." she added and began to walk deeper into city.

---

Laxus roared and connected with a right overhand. Albert crashed into the ground face first and grumbled into the rubble.

The Dragon Slayer clicked his tongue in annoyance and adjusted his coat. "You're just gonna stand back up, aren't you?" he asked with annoyance in his voice.

Albert began to laugh and jumped back to his feet, his injury already healed. "But of course!" he declared cheerfully and cracked his neck. "I wish to test your might before I get serious, Laxus! It is only natural!"

Laxus narrowed his eyes. So far, he threw little to no strikes, having instead absorbed everything Laxus threw at him with almost no resistance, for reasons he'd already known. This has been going on for at least 5 minutes now, and the Dragon Slayer was starting to get over it.

"Seeing as this won't move forward, you might as well tell me what your deal with my guild is." Laxus sighed.

Albert blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Every member of your guild has some sort of vendetta against my guild. I'm asking what yours is, since it's clearly against me, yet I don't even remember seeing your face before."

Albert threw his head back and burst in laughter so loud and obnoxious it took Laxus all his willpower to quel the urge to bash his head in.

"As expected! You do not remember me!" Albert boomed and wiped his teary eyes. "Not that I hold it against you, you've probably stomped on many little ants such as myself." he said and cleared his throat. "I used to be a mountain bandit down south. Specialized in robberies and raids. I've already had my bone magic at the time, but could never utilize it properly. No matter who I've faced they all fell before my iron fists, until you came along to take care of us. You destroyed my entire group, with me going down as one of the first. Since that day I wanted nothing but a chance to battle you again, this time as equals!"

Laxus raised an eyebrow. "Is that it?" he asked. "No sad story that's meant to pull on my heart, no family that I indirectly killed through ten other people?"

Albert smiled. "No. My desires are driven purely by my love for fighting and challenge. Although I would like you to stop mocking the misery of my comrades."

"No mockery from me." Laxus raised his hand. "You're just different from the rest, that's all."

"Holding a grudge over a lost battle is not something I do." Albert said. "It was nothing but a fair battle between two men of different levels. The strong will always best the weaker, who should accept it with honor and self reflection. That's what men do."

"So here you are, stronger and willing to test your chances once again." Laxus replied and took his coat off. "You sure there's nothing more you'd like to tell me?"

Albert's smile faded under the weight of the look Laxus gave him, one that of a parent who'd caught his child redhanded but chose not to reveal it, as to test their honesty. His brow furrowed and his lips curved into a gentle grimace. "Nothing that would reflect my own will." he said quietly.

Laxus smirked gently. "Well said." he said and dropped his coat to the ground, before unleashing his magic at its fullest.

Albert's eyes widened in surprise. He was taken by surprise by the weight of Laxus' magic, which was nothing like he remembered. Still, it was not enough to intimidate him and he unleashed his own, along with his magic which started to manifest, as his bones began to break the skin and form thick, hard gloves over his hands.

"So, the regeneration is a gift from my old man, right?" Laxus asked his opponent as he watched his cuts close themselves within mere seconds..

"That depends. If you're reminded and guilted on every opportunity, is it really a gift?" Albert asked with a sad smile.

"I guess not." Laxus said with a smirk of his own and unleashed his lightning.

Albert raised his right fist and smashed it into the thunderbolt that struck from above. He scattered it upon impact and then lowered it with a confident grin.

"Well, you're doing better than before already." Laxus said and cracked his knuckles.

"Why thank you!" Albert roared and charged Laxus. He was rather quick for a man his size, and as he took a swing with his right hand, Laxus dodged it. He felt the air next to his head turn into wind and with a mental note to not let himself get hit, he circled around Albert and struck his neck with a hammer fist. He grimaced in pain upon landing the hit, for Albert hardened his bones and made them tougher than steel.

"Won't be as easy as it used to, Laxus!" he laughed and threw a backfist that was swiftly dodged. Laxus landed on his feet and massaged his sore hand, puzzled as what to do next. Although his punch was nowhere near close to his full power, he doubted he could just break through Albert's defenses. He could try and keep the fight at distance, but there was a high chance his lightning would simply be nullified like before.

"Well, I gotta think back to when old man taught me anatomy." he mumbled to himself and decided to give something a try.

Albert charged once again and took a wild swing, which Laxus dodged by leaning back. He then leaned back in and clenched his right fist, before smashing it into Albert's lower abdomen. The man wheezed in pain and bent over. Laxus used this chance to circle around and punch him directly in the kidneys, which propped him back up. Albert grit his teeth in pain and threw a wild backfist that Laxus simply blocked with his right arm and retaliated with a front kick to the nose, that dropped Albert to his knees.

"Aiming for my weak spots...Cheeky." he grinned through the pain and wiped the blood off his face, his nose already back to its original shape.

He extended his hand bones into blades and swung at Laxus, who jumped back.

LIGHTNING DRAGON'S HEAVENWARD HALBERD!

Laxus threw a halberd made out of lightning at Albert, who punched it with his bone encased fist, shattering it in the process. Albert clenched his shaking fist and smirked at the now annoyed Laxus, who turned his entire body into lightning and zapped around his opponent. He turned back just behind him and kicked him in the head from behind, but Albert's head didn't even budge, welded in place by his hardened neck. Laxus dodged a flurry of punches and created some distance yet again.

"Running away won't save you-" Albert tried to taunt but was swallowed by Laxus's Roar that completely caught him off guard. He emerged from the lightning scorched and smoking, his face twitching and twisted in pain. Laxus ran up to him and punched him in the abdomen again, followed by a joined hammer fist to the head that smashed him into the ground face first. He then stomped on Albert's neck to secure him in place and blasted him with more pointblank lightning, before jumping away to catch his breath.

"No mercy! Albert is on the ropes and cannot do a thing!" Lola exclaimed.

Albert stood up from the ground, burned and twitching, but still smiling from ear to ear.

"Just what I expected! Absolute strength!" he cackled like a drunk and charged at Laxus, who dodged his punches with ease. He countered them with punches of his own and once again dropped Albert to the ground.

He popped back up and managed to crack Laxus with a mean right cross that immediately bruised his left cheek and cut his lip open. The Dragon Slayer grit his teeth in anger and retaliated with a right cross of his own, but missed his target and smashed it right into Albert's hardened orbital that made his fist numb. Albert grinned behind Laxus' fist and punched him one more time, before the Slayer decided to jump back and regroup.

He scoffed and grabbed his twitching hand, the skin on his knuckles on the brink of tearing. Has it not be for his enhanced toughness that came with his magic his hand would have shattered already. Albert, on the other hand, recovered from all of his injuries and ripped his shirt off to reveal his naked torso. His ribs then began to shift under his skin and pierced it, blood splattering everywhere. They then began to wrap around his body, alongside other bones that began to grow and expand around his torso, arms, fists and neck, and before Laxus could shake his shock off, there stood Albert, clad in a suit of hardened bones that protected him like armor.

"What in the actual fuck am I looking at?" nervous Laxus asked under his breath.

"I've waited for this moment for a long time. I will not disgrace myself by rolling in the mud until your hand is raised." Albert declared and smashed his fists together, pieces of his bones chipping off in the process.

"This guy is crazy." declared Cana. Nobody disagreed with her.

Albert began to charge at Laxus, his speed significantly lower than it used to, due to his restricted movement and enhanced weight. Laxus swiftly dodged his punch and circled around, but saw no place to strike. He dodged one more haymaker and circled around, this time choosing to go for one of Albert's only exposed spots. He kicked him in the calf, dropping him to his knee in the process and then threw one more kick at his exposed face. Laxus' foot smashed into Albert's face, but the giant didn't even budge, his neck welded in place by all the bone around it. He smirked and grabbed Laxus by the foot, before throwing him above his head like a sack of potatoes and smashed him into the ground.

Laxus quickly turned into lightning and escaped from a hammer that dropped on him from above, as Albert's fist shattered the ground like thin ice. He reappeared few feet away and observed his opponent carefully in search of a weakness.

Albert waddled to Laxus and missed yet again, his armor taking away whatever speed he previously had. Laxus tried to hit him with his lightning but it got shattered upon impact just like before. Running out of options, he delivered a low kick, with his foot hitting the back of Albert's knee. His foot buckled under his weight, instantly asleep, and he once again fell to his knees. Laxus grabbed his head with his hands and puffed his cheeks out, willing to take an extremely risky bet.

LIGHTNING DRAGON'S ROAR!

He hit Albert directly in the face with a torrent of condensed lightning that destroyed everything in its path behind him. Once Laxus felt that he'd done enough, he closed his jaw shut like a steel trap and let go of Albert's face, anticipating the results. His reward was an uppercut that nearly knocked him out upon impact and launched him high in the air. He flipped and landed on his feet, albeit his legs felt like made out of jelly.

Albert began to stand up, the smoke covering his head revealing a face so burned and deformed nobody could have ever guessed it was the Raven Tail's loud-mouthed giant.

"You are the second person to try this out, Laxus." he said with his charred and exposed mouth. "It looks like your guild places more confidence in my magic than I do."

With his legs still wobbly, Laxus knew that trading blows was too risky. He knew there was still at least one monster on the loose, and if he were to face him taking any more blows was not an option. He decided to buy time instead. "Don't take this personally. I just couldn't find any other way to put you down." he said.

"None taken. This is a man's fight, and men do not complain about what is right or wrong. I have been prepared to be mauled ever since I was granted this magic." Albert said with his freshly regrown lips.

"I see." Laxus said and unleashed his lightning at Albert's exposed head. He blocked and shattered it with his arms and immediately chased after Laxus. He jumped back and attacked from range once again, only this time he managed to catch Albert's right leg. The giant grimaced in pain, but healed it rather quickly and began chasing after Laxus.

The duo began a game of cat and mouse, with Laxus damaging Albert and then immediately retreating, and Albert healing it and swinging with enough force to down an elephant.

With each passing exchange Albert's movements were becoming sloppier and slower, as well as his breathing getting heavier. Laxus was fully aware of its meaning and capitalized on it by landing more and more blows, that slowly chipped Albert's weakened armor off.

The giant roared in frustration and, much to Laxus' shock, dropped his entire armor off in one go by breaking the bones connected to his skin in a last attempt to swing the tides in his favor and threw a massive right hook that caught Laxus right on the face. The blonde's head, as well as entire body was blown back, with blood spurting from his mouth. He did not fall, however, and with a smirk suiting that of a maniac he swung his lightning fueled left fist and hit Albert with an exact same shot that swept him off his feet and made him crash to the ground.

Albert grunted and tried to get up, but healing his still exposed ribs took enough out of him to fully drain the last bits of magic he had left. Unable to get up, he simply collapsed back to the ground and stared into the cloudy sky.

"Down goes Albert! Raven Tail's final combatant has met his end by the hands of Fairy Tail's Laxus!" Lola exclaimed to the excited crowd. Fairy Tail celebrated the defeat of their nemesis with hugs and loud cheers. "Only two guilds remain in the competition!"

"Sabertooth still remains at the top with 74 points. If Fairy Tail wants to win, they must defeat Jura." Yajima pointed out. It was exactly as he said: Fairy Tail sat just under Sabertooth with 72 points.

"You may as well give up." Obaba chuckled. "You have done well, Fairy Tail., but Jura is in a different league. Even that beast of yours and Makarov's grandson won't be enough to make Jura sweat."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Sherry mumbled to herself under her breath as she watched the man wander the streets of fake Crocus with a determined and possibly even desperate look in his eye."

"I suppose it's my loss." Albert announced flatly.

"Yeah, it is." Laxus said as he wiped his face off. "Had you not wasted so much magic, I would've been in for a long evening."

Albert scoffed. "Had I not gone all out, I'd never be able to push you as much as I have. And still, it wasn't much."

"Don't believe everything you see." Laxus told him and massaged his sore jaw. "Or hear."

Albert laughed weakly. "Try to be open-minded. It's not their fault."

Laxus let that slide past him. "What happens now?" he asked instead.

Albert sighed as his body began to glow. "I suppose I shall find out very soon. I do not expect to find myself surrounded by ale and songs, however."

"If you do, pour one in my name. I'll do the same."

Albert grinned from ear to ear and gave his foe a thumbs up before being taken to the infirmary. Upon arriving on the other side he found himself inside a tent on the outskirts of the fake arena, with all of his fellow, now bandaged guildmates already pinned to their beds alongside him, all of them watching the Games via a lacrima casting the picture on the tent's wall.

Svenar sighed tiredly upon the giant's arrival. "So, this is it, then." he said.

Albert's jaw fell down to his knees. "You've all have been defeated?! Even Leord?!" he boomed in disbelief and outrage so loud they all had to cover their ears, especially Emilia, who felt like someone skewered her brain with an icicle.

Leord tensed up. He looked the giant in the eye and simply nodded with a tense expression on his face. Albert stared at him for a while longer, before relaxing and dropping back onto his bed, seemingly relaxed.

"Well, I suppose my defeat was not as dishonorable as I thought." he said under his breath. "If they got Leord of all people..."

The teenager's head perked up upon hearing these words. Ellia clicked her tongue in annoyance and reached out with her leg to gently kick him in the head from the neighboring bed. "I told you to stop sulking already! Nobody's gonna disown you for losing!" she scolded him. "Well, someone will..."

"Yeah. All of us are as good as dead." Svenar added with a distaste in his voice.

"So be it." Emilia said from her bed and perked up to get a better look at everyone. "If there's nothing we can do about it, then the least we can do is stick together until the very end. Just how we have up until now."

"Well said!" Albert roared and scared the nurse who'd come to patch him up to the point of dropping all her medical supplies to the ground.

Leord looked at his friends one after another and played the words said to him before his defeat inside his head in a loop. He bit his lip to remain composed and lowered his head with a mix of emotions he couldn't quite describe. All he knew was that his fear had been gone completely, and his chest felt much lighter. Despite his bets efforts, he could not stop the tears welling up in his eyes and he quietly broke down in his bed, which others paid no attention to. It wasn't an act of disinterest, it was their way of showing support to the one boy who'd suffered more at the hands of their Master than any of them-

"What about the other team?" Ellia asked.

"Who knows? I doubt they will be treated any better." Svenar sighed and laid back in his bed.

The rest remained quiet. There was nothing more to say, only time could tell what awaited them next.

---

Gajeel stopped dead in his tracks and grit his teeth at the sight of the tall, bald man towering over him at the end of the street. He smiled at the Dragon Slayer and took his hands out of his sleeves.

"I was beginning to wonder whether I was the only one remaining." Jura smirked.

"Give it to him, Gajeel!" Levy yelled on top of her lungs and leaned over the railing so hard she was on the verge of falling out.

"Do not hesitate, strike with everything you've got!" Pantherlily joined her in cheers.

Gajeel found himself taking a step back without even realizing it. He had a big lump in his throat that just wouldn't go down no matter what.

I feel like I'm staring at a god damn mountain." he thought to himself. The last time I felt this way was that old bastard on Tenrou...

"Let us have a fair and good match, Gajeel." Jura said and took a step forward.

Gajeel clicked his tongue and extended his right arm at Jura.

IRON DRAGON'S LANCE: DEMON LOGS!

Dozens of iron spear shot out of his arm at Jura, who blocked them all with an earth wall that wrapped itself around him. He lifted his right hand in front of his chest and before Gajeel could even react his spears were thrown right back at him by the earth creation. He dodged and deflected them all, but in the process lost sight of Jura, who swiftly flanked him and chopped him in the back of the neck with his right hand.

Gajeel's eyes lost their focus as his knees began to buckle. Jura's smile vanished, instead replaced with an expression that looked purely disappointed.

Jura's face was enough to bring Gajeel back from the darkness and reignite the light in his eyes.. What's up with that face? Are ya let down? Are you sayin' I disappoint ya?! he asked in his mind as stopped himself from falling, albeit on wobbly legs. You mocking me?!

With fury igniting every fiber of his being, Gajeel mustered enough strength to change his right arm into a sword and slashed Jura across his chest with a deafening roar of anger. The man staggered back, both from the blow and the shock, and as Gajeel followed after him he managed to get another swing in, which was caught by Jura with his bare hand right above his left shoulder.

Jura's robe slid to the sides, revealing his naked torso and a nick on his chest that looked almost laughable in comparison to the range and size of the blow that caused it. Nevertheless, the small cut was deep enough and blood began to flow down Jura's chiseled chest. Gajeel tried to yank his arm out of Jura's iron grip, but to no avail. The man touched the wound with his fingers and smeared the blood on them before his eyes, before giving Gajeel the widest of grins, one that was filled with excitement and joy, no matter how short-lived it may have been.

"Splendid job." he praised the Dragon Slayer before punching him in the gut with enough force to shut down his lights instantly and cause him to fly through the nearby wall that crumbled into pieces upon impact.

"Just like that! Gajeel proved to be of no match for Jura's might!" Lola announced. "1 down, 3 to go! Will he remain as the last one standing?!"

Levy bit her lip in frustration as she watched Gajeel disappear beneath the rubble. She sat back down in her seat and was immediately greeted by comfort from Lucy, Juvia, Cana and Lisanna.

"Man, that must sting." Wakaba said and scratched the back of his head.

"We'll think about that later." said Macao and pointed at the screens with his chin. "There's more to come."

Just as Macao said, the guild was once again thrown into cheering mode, as Laxus stared at Jura across the street over the ruins of the wall he'd just destroyed with Gajeel's limpless body. He grit his teeth in frustration and raised his magic power, prepared for battle.

"I was hoping I'd get a little bit more rest before facing you." he admitted to the older man.

"I don't mind." Jura said with a gentle smile. "Perhaps your comrades would make it in time to assist you in this fight."

"Now you're just pissing me off." Laxus frowned and unleashed his lightning. He kicked the ground and zapped towards Jura at speed he definitely did not show in his prior bout. He quickly flanked the older man and raised his right arm to strike. Jura tilted his head to where Laxus was, but the Dragon Slayer wasn't there. With his feint successful, Laxus got in front of Jura and punched him flush on the chin with enough force to blow his head back.

The Wizard Saint took a step back. Laxus chased after him, unwilling to lose his rhythm and continued to bombard Jura with heavy blows that shook his entire figure with each contact. After a few seconds Jura caught Laxus' right hook with his hand and smirked at him. His face was gently bruised, but other than that he was perfectly fine.

"I think it is only fair that I get a turn as well." he told Laxus and hit him with a right cross that almost severed his consciousness. Laxus regained his senses and tried to get back, but Jura was faster. He punched Laxus in the gut and then chopped his right shoulder, causing him to crash to the ground. Laxus grit his teeth in pain and used his lightning to zap out danger's way. He began to circle around Jura and attack from range with weapons made out of lightning, but they were all deflected or blocked by Jura's earth creations.

"He pummeled him so much and it didn't even do anything?!" Max grabbed his head in disbelief.

"We're doomed." Macao added sadly.

Jura reached out to the side and grabbed a hold of Laxus' right leg. He than swung his arm over his head and smashed the Dragon Slayer into the ground with enough strength to crack it. Laxus gasped from impact and put up his guard to block an incoming punch that sunk him even deeper.

I feel like I'm gonna get crushed! he thought to himself and decided to go on the offensive instead. He puffed out his cheeks and was just about to unleash his Roar, but Jura grabbed a hold of his mouth and shut it close with an iron grip.

"No, I don't think so." he said and began to apply pressure on the man's jaw. Laxus began to muffle in pain, but did not falter and unleashed his attack regardless, with both men being swallowed by an explosion of lightning and debris.

Jura staggered out of the dust cloud and took a closer look at his right hand. The sleeve of his robe was burned off up to his elbow, and his hand itself was lightly scorched and twitching. Laxus jumped out of the cloud as well, dosing gentle burn marks around his mouth as well, although not as severe as Jura's.

"Your durability and perseverance saved you." Jura said and clenched his injured fist. "But will it be enough?"

Laxus scoffed and tried to jump back to regroup, but his legs were trapped by earth hands wrapping around his ankles like snakes. He broke them almost instantly, but that small window was big enough for Jura to deliver a devastating right hook that floored Laxus in a blink of an eye. He tried to get back up, but Jura snapped his fingers and created several hands that reached out from the ground and kept Laxus in place.

"It's over." Wakaba moaned and covered his eyes.

"Get up, this isn't like you!" Elfman roared.

Laxus tried to force his way out of his binds, but his brain was still shaken and uncooperative. Jura raised his hand high in the air, prepared to chop his consciousness away like he did with his previous opponents.

"I am grateful, Laxus. You have brought me excitement I thought I wouldn't get to experience. You may rest now." he said with a smile and brought his hand down.

But it never reached. Jura felt his head, as well as his whole body being blown to the side, caused by a flaming kick that hit him flush on the jaw and made him see stars for a very brief moment.

Natsu roared and pushed his leg as hard as he could, finally knocking the giant away from his friend. He then kicked several of the earth hands away while Jura staggered back, which allowed Laxus to force his way out. He got back to his feet and stood next to Natsu, who punched his palm and stared at the Wizard Saint.

The crowd, as well as Fairy Tail, erupted in cheers so deafening Laxus could swear he heard them.

"Natsu joins the fight! Can this tag duo achieve the unthinkable?!" Lola wondered with excitement.

"You good?" Natsu asked Laxus.

Laxus spat to the side and covered himself in lightning. "Never better."

Jura wiped the blood off his mouth and send the two Dragon Slayers the widest of grins. The air became heavier than steel as Jura's excitement reached even higher levels, which he showcased by raising his magic even higher. It wasn't enough to intimidate the two, who raised their own magic in response. Small rocks and pieces of debris began to rise in the air, only to get crushed into smithereens a second later. Ground began to crack even further and windows break. all of this was caused by the combined magic of these three powerful mages.

"These chills are definitely not caused by the cold!" Lola said.

"We may just witness a battle between three Wizard Saints." Yajima added. "Things are bound to go out of order."

"I am putting great expectations on this." Jura told his opponents and joined his hands before his chest. "Let us enjoy battle to its fullest!"

Natsu and Laxus roared and charged at Jura. Their final, as well as their hardest battle has just begun.

End of Chapter 48. To be continued in Chapter 49: Day Five: Climax.