Back with the continuation
"speaking"
""thinking""
On with the story
As night settled, everyone at Fairy Tail was preparing themselves for the battle ahead. With Alvarez encroaching on Ishgar soil, it was clear that they would be fighting a defensive battle.
Mavis's spirit flies in the air of the town as she went to Natsu's home where the man was in his room with his wife and daughter
Ultear hugs Aya in her sleep as the mother caresses her daughter's head
Natsu watches from the side as the affectionate scene brought a smile to his face
Dark markings started spreading around Natsu's back to his back neck as the man can feel it doing so
""Aya grows up so fast,"" Natsu smiles as his little girl grow up so fast that he can imagined her as an adult with identical features of her mother ""it's a bit sad that I won't be there when you get married""
Natsu had a sad smile before he sat down on the bed with his wife and daughter as he gives a peck to Aya's forehead
Mavis smiles to the family before she flies towards Fairy Hills where Erza, Wendy and Charla were in the bath relaxing
"Jellal-san and the others will help, right?" Wendy asked Erza as it was a known fact for Fairy Tail that the tattoo face man had created a guild called Crime Sorciere that consists of the former members of Oracion Seis
"It seems that way." Erza responded. "They're after Zeref too, so it's only natural they'd make their move.
"That's good to hear!" Wendy beamed.
"They're still the ones that destroyed Cait Shelter though…" Charla said as she soaked in the warm water.
"Charla…!" Wendy chided the Exceed. "they've changed over the years"
Erza smiled to the two as she remembered the day Wendy and Charla joined the guild as she can't believe how the two have quickly grown up
"come to think of it, I was the one who invited you two into Fairy Tail, Wasn't i?" Erza said
"And we're thankful for that…" Wendy nodded.
""which means I am also the one who dragged them into this battle, huh?"" Erza thought in guilt as she was dragging young ones into a war ""I'll have to do everything in my power to see Wendy and Charla through it""
Erza stood up and she was immediately hugged from behind by Wendy. "Huh?"
"Erza-san…this time..i'll be the one to protect you" Wendy said with a soft smile.
Erza smiled to Wendy as she turns around and gives the girl a hug
"you truly have become a fine and upstanding wizard!" Erza said with a proud smile to Wendy "you do our guild proud!"
Mavis smiled at the two of them and how far they've come before flying off elsewhere.
Gray was leaning over the railing, overlooking the empty town while munching on some snack bar. Juvia slowly approached Gray, just wanting to check in on him before the battle went underway. "Gray-sama…"
"Juvia…" Gray turned around, offering what was left of what he was eating to the water mage. "Want some?"
Juvia accepted the snack, feeling her cheeks heat up and her breathing increased. "G…Gray-sama's leftovers…"
"I'm really thankful that you're here." Gray said. "For always being beside me, no matter how stubborn I've been over the years. You've always been there for me, for better or worse."
"Ah…no…Juvia…" Juvia responded as she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Juvia just…wanted to check in on Gray-sama."
"When the battle's over, I'll give you my answer." Gray said. "So for now…let me focus."
Juvia managed a soft smile, nodding in response to Gray.
"Yes. Juvia understands." Juvia replied as long as she could continue to stay by his side, she'd do her best in this battle as well.
Natsu's words echoed in Gray's mind as the man had a smile on him. "I have a few aces of my sleeve too…so wait for me, E.N.D…Zeref."
Once again, Mavis was pleased at what she saw from she saw from everyone and finally decided to return back to the guild.
Inside the guild, Warren managed to set up a map and a radar to track the enemy's position from their location.
"Warren, how's it looking?" Makarov asked.
"They're nowhere in Fiore yet." Warren said while holding the control pad in his hands.
"Can we really trust that, though?" Macao held skepticism in his tone.
"I made top quality radar myself!" Warren exclaimed at the old man
"are they coming from the north, south, east, or even the west? If we knew where they'd be landing, we could make better plans" Makarov mumbled out
Mavis finally touched down on the ground, overhearing the tail end of the conversation.
"We could always place a diversion in the north and station our main forces in the south." She suggested.
"Ah, the First…" Makarov turned around.
"I've just finished checking up on everyone. And they're not the least bit worried about our situation. They've become so strong." Mavis said
"Ah…so that's how you see them…" Makarov said in reply "To me, it seems like they're barely pulling through from all the uneasiness they're feeling…and banding together like that only serves as consolation that things aren't all bad."
"I'm not saying they shouldn't be doing so, though. After all, if a parent is afraid, it's only natural that the children would feel the same too. It is the role of a parent to stand in front of their children and protect them, even if their legs were to give out at any moment."
"Yes…" Mavis smiled softly. Before the whole town suddenly went dark for a moment as a mist filled the town
Natsu stands up from the bed while taking one last look to his wife and daughter as they had fallen asleep
"I will protect you all…..for sure" Natsu said as he exited the room, leaving his family in the safety of their home
"this is…" Mavis muttered out as she had a bad feeling rising in her heart.
"Warren! What's happening to the radar!?" Makarov turned.
"What, it's my fault now?! I don't know!" Warren grunted before turning to the radar and it showed several red dots were approaching and closing in on Magnolia. "WHY COULDN'T IT DETECT THEM WHEN THEY WERE ALREADY SO CLOSE?! DAMN IT!"
"EVERYONE, GET READY!" Mavis yelled out to everyone in the city. "The enemy is above us! We've got about 50 large ships in the skies above!"
"THE HELL!?" Macao's jaw dropped.
"A ship that size could take out our guild in one shot…!" Wakaba's eyes were wide in shock and fear.
"That's only one part of what the empire is capable of…" Makarov's tone lowered.
"HEY! NOBODY SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THEM COMING FROM THE SKIES!" Warren yelled.
50 large ships filled the Fiore night skies as the vanguard ship was lead by the Desert King Ajeel Ramal
"you ready to get pulverized, Fairy Tail!?" Ajeel shouted "I'm gonna turn you into desert dust!"
An air fleet of 50 ships were approaching from the skies to the west as they were approaching fast
"RING THE BELL!" Mavis commanded. "The enemy is coming! There are about 50 ships coming from the west!"
Ajeel pointed to fingers forward, preparing to reduce the entirety of Magnolia to ruin
"FIRE!" he shouted out as all 50 ships began to bombard Magnolia with a rain of magical shots but they didn't get anywhere close as a barrier appeared around the entire town, shielding it from any harm.
"What…? Oh…Anti-Magic barriers, huh…?" Ajeel said with an amused tone
Within the Kardia Catherdal
"Jutsu Shiki activated!" Freed exclaimed as he, Evergreen and Bickslow were stationed within Kardia Cathedral as Freed was doing his best, but it was difficult to sustain a barrier of this size.
"You can do it, Freed!" Evergreen cheered.
"Freed, take my magic as well!" Bickslow offered to his friend
Back at the guild, Makarov and the others were watching the enemy's preemptive strike unfold.
"First! Freed might be strong, but he won't be able to sustain this barrier forever!" Makarov said as the bombards of magic blasts keep hitting the barrier
"We didn't think they'd come from the west!" Macao grit his teeth. "What do we do now?!"
"No…" Mavis' words caught Macao and Wakaba off guard. "It's exactly as I've calculated. In fact, it's quite a pleasant surprise that the enemy sent a smaller fleet than expected for the preemptive strike."
"Huh!?"
"Wha…!?"
"Warren! Let everyone know that we're moving to plan D! Team Flying Dragon and Osprey, commence attack!"
"Got it!" Warren gave a thumbs up
The Connels were situated in the Eastern forest with the Jupiter Cannon from Phantom Lord at the ready.
Bisca held a telescope to her eye, sweating slightly from the distance. "This is Team Osprey…we're currently at the eastern forest. The enemy is pretty far though…"
"Why Osprey's though?" Asuka questioned.
"I dunno…" Alzack was just as lost.
"Bisca, you'll be fine." Mavis said with confidence.
"Yes!" Bisca replied as she focus all her attention and energy in shooting down the enemies.
"FIRE! BLOW THEM ALL UP! AHAHAHAHA! LET'S SEE HOW LONG YOU CAN HOLD UP!" Ajeel shouted as the ships keeps on firing the cannons
"Sir…!" A solider spoke. "Something's coming at us!"
"…What's that…?" Ajeel questioned as he sees flying objects in the sky as it was speeding towards them.
"Something's flying at us at an amazing speed!"
"Evasive maneuvers!"
A hole was punched through one of their ships and it exploded violently "We've lost number 4, sir!"
"What!?" Ajeel turned, scowling.
In the sky was Natsu, Wendy with Charla and Gajeel with Lily as they were Team Flying Dragon
"yo, been well, Ajeel?" Natsu asked the Dessert King as he equips on Drac
"damn traitor!" Ajeel exclaimed as he had a bead of sweat falling down his cheeks as the man was face to face with a demon
"Let's go!" Gajeel and Lily led the charge, speeding towards a nearby ship.
"Yes!" Wendy and Carla followed right behind them.
Gajeel morphed one of his arms into a jagged iron blade. With little effort, he cleaved through one of the ships and caused it to explode.
"How'd you like that!?" The iron dragon said with a wide smirk
"Tenryu no Yokugeki!!" Wendy crossed her arms before spreading them apart, releasing a spiral of wind that violently cut through the skies to a nearby ship.
"What are you idiots doing? Shoot them down!" Ajeel commanded. On his order, the remaining ships shifted their attention from Magnolia to Team Flying Dragon, the bombardment now focused on them.
Natsu saw the incoming bombardment as he raised Drac up and creates a large barrier that shielded him from the blasts
"Damn it! We can't get closer with this barrage on it!" Lily grunted as the ships kept firing at them
"What's taking Bisca so long…!?" Charla asked as Natsu couldn't keep the barrier up for so long
Back to the eastern forest
the Jupiter Cannon was finally charged as Bisca looks at the target with the scope
"This is Team Osprey reporting! The magic charge has been completed!" She relayed back to Mavis and the rest of the guild.
"You can do it, Mama!" Asuka cheered, though she was a little closer to the cannon than her father would have liked.
"Asuka, don't stand so close…" Alzack warned.
"It takes 15 minutes for this to charge…I must not miss. I WILL NOT MISS!" Bisca psyched herself up while aiming the Jupiter Cannon at the commander's ship.
"Believe in yourself, Bisca!" Alzack said. He knew she could make this shot!
Bisca took aim, a subtle grin crossing her lips. "an Osprey is a bird that never loses its prey! Focused Magic Cannon: JUPITER SHOT!"
The Jupiter Cannon fired, a gigantic beam of magic shooting across the sky, over Magnolia and directly towards enemy's main ship
Ajeel could see this beam of magic coming a mile away. "NICE TRY!"
The Spriggan extended his hand, the focused shot colliding against his palm. As a result, the beam scattered in every which direction away from Ajeel, leaving him unharmed. But the collateral cost came at a number of their ships
"He scattered it!?" Bisca's jaw dropped at Ajeel's display of strength.
"Damn…! At least we've managed to take down a number of their ships!" Alzack said as they manage to thin out the invading ships' numbers
"Shit…I didn't think anyone could scatter Jupiter like that…" Gajeel scowled. He knew full well how powerful that monster of a cannon was, but to see it dispersed so easily… "Guess we gotta do this the old-fashioned way then! We're taking down the commander's ship!"
"no" Natsu told Gajeel as the Fire Dragon Slayer watched the ground as couple of ships have landed "we're going to take out the ships that had landed and their forces"
"then what about the vanguard ship?!" Gajeel said before the Vanguard ship's mast was completely sliced in half.
"the ship was cut in half!?" Wendy exclaimed in surprise
"we leave that to her" Natsu said before he flies down to the ground
"the ship's mast got cut in half?!" "who did this!?"
In a second, all of the troops on Ajeel's ship were down for the count as Erza appeared on the ship while behind Ajeel.
The Spriggan was extremely irritated. The veins on his face began to throb and his lips curled down into a scowl. "…Who the hell are you?" He asked…or rather, demanded to know.
"I'm surprised you don't remember me. But if you want to know who I am, I'll gladly tell you." Titania turned around, the tip of her blade pointing directly at Ajeel. "I'm the one that will take you down."
Down below, Evergreen was grinning, "bow down to the Queen of Fairies, Titania!"
"Erza-san protected us again…" Wendy's lips curved down before she and Charla flied down to the ground to help Natsu in fighting off the soldiers
Back at the guild, they were keeping track of everyone's positions. Makarov didn't exactly like the idea of Erza having to deal with Ajeel alone.
"She's strong…but I'm afraid there's no way she can defeat one of the 12…"
"We must believe in her." Mavis said.
"Our morale will definitely increase if we can stop the enemy and his fleet!" Warren grinned.
Back at the cathedral, it looked like Freed was having a bit of trouble maintaining the Jutsu Shiki.
"Are you all right, Freed!?" Evergreen asked with concern.
Freed was sweating, pouring quite a bit of effort into this barrier. "This barrier is strong, but not perfect. There's no such thing as perfection in this world…"
"The enemy's magic is too much for him to handle at this rate…" Bickslow growled.
"That was true at first…but thanks to Team Flying Dragon and Osprey, the attacks have been cut in half." Freed managed a smirk.
Unfortunately for Team Osprey, they had no choice but to wait for the Jupiter Cannon's recharge. "Mama, hurry up! The town's under attack!" Asuka waved her arms about.
"It takes time for the cannon to recharge…" Bisca let out a heavy sigh, but she steeled herself just as fast. "But I'll make sure the next one reaches, no matter what!"
Western Magnolia. Since the Jutsu Shiki was still in play, the ships of Alvarez had no choice but to land near the western cliffs.
The commander of Ajeel's army was a blinded folded man named Bakyll who had a few scars along his jaw. "CHARGE! MOVE TOWARDS MAGNOLIA! GAHAHAHA!"
"Uhhh…Captain. How are we going to move past the enemy's barrier?" A soldier asked.
"Dunno." Bakyll responded with a cheeky grin before roaring with laughter
"It doesn't matter…" Kalim, another member of Ajeel's army began to speak. "'He' is here with us too, remember? It won't be long before it falls. But to be honest…I feel as though we're wasting our resources on a battle like this. But then again, it's the job of a solider to carry out his task."
"That's the spirit!" Bakyll laughed, and then sneezed.
Natsu and the others landed on the ground as the soldiers came charging towards them
"let's go!" Natsu shouted as he exploded into flames before charging towards the enemy and cause a massive explosion that blew them away
"OOOOOOOrAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Gajeel turns his arms into Iron Logs as he swings them at the enemies and sends them hurtling to the ground
"Tenryu no Saiga!" Wendy envelop her hands in wind as she strikes the enemies with them
In the skies above Magnolia the battle between Erza and Ajeel began. Titania's opening move was releasing several blades to fly at the sand mage.
"Tenrin: Circle Sword!"
Ajeel deflects the swords with his hands as the blades turns to sand dust upon contact. "Yeah, as if something like that would work on me!"
Erza came dashing forward in her Black Wing armor as she slashed her sword at Ajeel
"Kureha! Gensen!"
Ajeel dodged the attack as he scoffed at Erza's attack
"is this the best you can give up? Dragist is more stronger than you are" Ajeel said with a smirk
"Don't you dare…underestimate Fairy Tail!" Erza swung her blade in a horizontal manner, but Ajeel flipped over it with ease.
Ajeel suddenly turned into sand as he created a hurricane of sand around Erza
"Ngh…my body…!" Erza grit her teeth as the sand was starting to scratch and violently slash at her body
"There's something wrong with my requip…but at a time like this!? How!?" Erza tried to change her armor but her magic didn't complied
Ajeel landed on the ground, chuckling softly. "crumble into desert dust"
Erza was in trouble in the skies, but the situation on the ground was about to take a dire turn.
Freed's eyes widened as his barrier was breached from the northern side
"Freed?! What's wrong?" Evergreen asked.
"…No…this can't be right. There's a…hole in the Jutsu Shiki…!?" Freed gasped.
"What!?" Bickslow scowled. "But how…!?"
Warren stared at the map, curiously lifting a brow. "There's a crack in Freed's barrier…" Upon closer inspection it wasn't just a crack, but something far worse: a gaping hole. "No wait…a hole!?"
"A hole!?" Mavis frowned. "It can't be…unless the enemy is using nullification magic?"
"Such power…there was another one of the 12 with them!?" Makarov grunted.
"There's coming through the streets! Everyone, prepare for battle!" Mavis commanded
The one who easily formed a hole in the barrier was Wall, accompanied by a squadron of foot soldiers. "This stuff's so easy…" The Judge remarked with a slight grin, arms folded behind his back.
"That's our Wall-sama!"
"Time for us to charge then!"
The soldiers marched in Magnolia as the troops were all heading towards Fairy Tail
"Let's show them what we're made of…and display Alvarez's strength." Wall smirked.
"They've already gotten in!?" Gray grits his teeth.
"They're coming from Fairy Hills!" Juvia said.
The Strauss family was nearby, already rushing towards the scene to intercept the enemy.
"Let's go, we have to protect Fairy Tail!" Mira said.
"Yeah!" Lisanna lifted a fist into the air, more than prepared to defend the guild.
"It's a man's fight!" Elfman roared, following right behind his sisters. If this was any time to put his training to use, it was now. Defending the guild from the enemy as the highest priority. Everyone was doing their best and now they had to too
Lucy was in her room as she looks at the broken Aquarius Key in her hand
"…I've gotta get moving too. Please, lend me your strength, Aquarius…"
She was about to leave to help everyone in the fight before she heard the sound of her shower going on "…That noise…came from my bathroom!"
Lucy checked her bathroom and the worst happened to her when she saw Brandish in the bathtub
"Oh…so this is indeed your house then?" The green-haired woman asked, with laziness in her tone as on the bathtub side was Marin who was somehow small
"You pass!" the tiny Marin yelled as Lucy had no idea what happened to him
"why are you here?! In my apartment!?" Lucy exclaimed as she took a step back
"I wonder why?" Brandish said as she leans back "you somehow left a deep impression on me"
Lucy looks in fear as she had no idea what to do in this situation
Ajeel looks in amusement as Erza's screams of pain were like music to his ears
"while I'm waiting for you to dry up.." Ajeel said as he turns his attention to where the Jupiter blast first came from "I'll be taking away your precious toy!"
Ajeel held his hand up as a sand spear formed in the palm of his hand
"Ramuru Supas!" Ajeel throw the sand spear as it multiplied in the air
At the Eastern Forest, Bisca saw the attack as she looks in shock
"incoming!" Bisca exclaimed as she and her family ran away from the Jupiter canon as Ajeel's sand spears destroyed the cannon and resulted in a giant explosion
"There's another one!" Warren yelled while staring at the radar. "there's another 12 somewhere in town!"
"What?!" Makarov turned. "But how!?"
"Three of them at once…this is starting to get hard to deal with…" Jet grumbled.
Warren suddenly started shaking as the telepath looks at his tablet.
"What's wrong, Warren!?" Makarov asked the man
"I got report from Bisca that the enemy took out the Jupiter Canon and I looked up at the map and there are another 300 ships coming at us from the north! And judging by the magic, there's at least 3 more of them on board!" Warren reported. "That's not all! We've got an army of similar size coming from the south as well with another three! W-We're trapped from all sides!?"
When he turned his gaze up to face everyone, the crying ensued as the harsh reality of this war set in. "And…that's not all. The east…a giant army of at least a million with another three…there's nowhere else for us to go…"
"How'd they manage to get through the east…!?" Macao asked.
"how did they get past Bosco?!" Wakaba exclaimed
"This is terrible…!" Mest yelled.
Mavis started to shake as her tactics were falling apart
""no matter how I calculate it, the result of us winning is….0!"" Mavis looks in fear as the future of them winning was disappearing
Team Flying Dragon was in the middle of cleaning up some of the Alvarez's ground forces as the three slayers let out their roar that thin out more of the soldiers
"there's no end to this!" Gajeel said as he fired an Iron Log straight at a soldier's face, knocking the man out
Natsu slammed his fist to the ground as he creates a massive earthquake the split the land and causing some of the soldiers to fall into the crevice
He then stands up as he turns his attention to the Vanguard ship then to the town
""looks like I have no choice to use it"" Natsu thought as he summoned Vlad on as both Gauntlets transforms Natsu into his demonic form
"Break's the Limit" Natsu muttered out as his eyes glowed black and red at the same time
"TiME For A sLaUGHteR!" Vlad screamed out as the Gauntlet laughed evilly
That's a wrap!
Bye bye