AN: Thank you Goku275 and Wadeparker.
Bloodman blocked a punch from Gajeel with an open palm. Yet, despite this, the Spriggan frowned.
"How is it that my Magical Barrier Particles have no effect on you?" questioned Bloodman, identifying the black particles that he would transform into. "They should be fatal to any mage who inhales them!"
"Too bad for you," retorted Gajeel. "My lungs are made of iron!"
"Actually, thanks for this opportunity to fight!" said the Spriggan, his frown morphing into violent grin. His arm turned into Magical Barrier Particles and stretched toward the dragon slayer, who jumped to dodge. "True opponents are few and far between for me!"
"Iron Dragon's Lance!" shouted the Fairy, still midair. His left leg transformed into an iron pole, extending toward Bloodman head. The Spriggan's head morphed into Magical Barrier Particles, which Gajeel's attack passed through without causing any harm.
"Too bad for you — my body is made of Magical Barrier Particles!" declared Bloodman. "For I am the god of death! I will guide you to the afterlife!"
Suddenly, mountains of skulls appeared, enough to cover up the ground they were standing on. Summoned by the Spriggan, they began to attack all of the Fiore mages in the area. The skulls exuded Magical Barrier Particles like their master, causing those attacked to collapse from the poisonous substance.
"Everybody, get outta here!" yelled Gajeel as he watched several of his allies fall. "Get out now!"
Unfortunately, focusing on others meant that the dragon slayer left himself vulnerable. A wave of skulls started to swallow up the Fairy. At least, until…
"Solid Script: Shine!" yelled Levy, having walked onto the field of skulls. Her spell produced a bright light that pushed back the skulls that were consuming Gajeel.
"You have a wielder of sacred magic!?" exclaimed Bloodman, growing a bit more cautious.
"Levy!?" shouted the dragon slayer, surprised for different reasons.
"I'm not going anywhere!" declared the female Fairy before Gajeel could tell her to leave.
"You fool! Get away from here!"
Not that it stopped him from trying. Levy turned toward the dragon slayer, furious.
"'…Mask'?" went Gajeel, noticing the Solid Script on her face.
"Don't you ever say you're looking for a place to die!" admonished Levy, ignoring his comment.
"That…? That was just, you know… banter! I didn't mean it! Don't be mad!"
As the dragon slayer fumbled to avoid her wrath, Levy's scowl turned sorrowful.
"I don't want you to die," she said. "I want you to keep living, Gajeel…"
Meanwhile, Bloodman started to grow annoyed. The enemy was ignoring him to flirt!
"To stand before me means you have now been promised death," stated the Spriggan, regaining Gajeel and Levy's attention. "That promise cannot be broken. I will not allow any of you to have life. I swear it on the name of the god of death!"
"That looks so tasty…" said Sting, drooling. He took a step toward it, grabbed it, and started gnawing on it in a frenzy. "Meat! You're delicious meat!"
The 'it' in question was Rogue, more specifically the Shadow Dragon Slayer's left shoulder. To be fair, though, Rogue was also trying to eat Sting's left arm. Around them, Fiore mages (including Lector and Frosch) and Alvarez soldiers were behaving similarly.
"Famished Soul," said Larcade, repeating the name of the spell that was responsible for this cannibalistic frenzy. "To be human is to know hunger. It is only fitting that you should die feasting upon one another."
"If only Minerva was also here," lamented Rogue between bites. His mind was so clouded by hunger that he mistook this cannibalistic mayhem for a regular meal.
Suddenly, Sting spat out Rogue's shoulder and punched the Shadow Dragon Slayer in the face. He then jumped up high, activating White Fire Dragon Mode as he rose.
"Lector, Frosch, everyone else… sorry, but… Holy Fire Ray!" shouted Sting, unleashing a barrage of flaming white blasts on everybody within range of Larcade's spell.
The spell struck and knocked out everyone other than Larcade and Rogue. The Spriggan shielded himself with his cross, while the Fairy (having regained a bit of his senses due to Sting's fist) avoided the spell by entering his shadow.
"It was the only way *huff* to stave off their hunger *puff*," muttered Sting, panting as he landed.
"Really?" asked Larcade in a patronizing tone. "But what do you intend to do about yours?"
"I'm gonna eat you!" screamed Sting, pouncing at the Spriggan. "White Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
But Larcade dodged the Fairy's attack, dropping his elbow onto the dragon slayer's back as he passed by. Sting smashed into the ground.
"Hunger saps your strength, does it not?" taunted Larcade.
"Then it's a good thing he isn't alone! White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk!"
The Spriggan gasped as he heard Rogue's voice. Larcade had been looking up at Sting when the White Dragon Slayer knocked everyone out, so he hadn't seen Rogue drop into his shadow. With the Shadow Dragon Slayer out of sight, he had also slipped from the Spriggan's mind.
Because of this, Larcade was unable to react in time as Rogue emerged behind him. Threads of darkness and light pierced through the Spriggan's body. Moreover, getting hit by the Fairy's attack left him vulnerable to Sting's follow-up.
"White Fire Dragon's Roar!" bellowed the White Dragon Slayer as he got to his feet. The spell struck Larcade at point-blank range, blasting him back several feet (with Rogue sidestepping the Spriggan as he went flying) before he came to a stop.
The two dragon slayers felt their ravenous hunger fade, although Larcade got back up. Still the Spriggan's calm smile had turned into a scowl.
"The fact that punks like you are still breathing is starting to get on my nerves," stated Larcade, no longer speaking like he was giving a sermon. "Enjoy the eternal sleep of death… the magic of irresistible desire, Rest In Peace."
An intense wave of drowsiness passed over the two Fairies. Their legs began to shake as it became difficult to even stand, much less fight. Yet neither dragon slayer fell.
"You keep yammering on… about nobody being able to ignore these desires…" started Sting as he gathered up his Magic Power in his right arm.
"…All without understanding… that our desire to fight for… our comrades and loved ones…" continued Rogue, doing the same with his left arm.
"…Is greater than anything you've got!" finished the Fairies together, unleashing their spells at the same time. "Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Holy Supernova/White Shadow Dragon's Vestment!"
Two dual-element beams fired at Larcade, merging into a Unison Raid that swallowed him whole. When the magic faded, the Spriggan was collapsed on the ground, his body heavily battered and burned. Surprisingly (to Sting and Rogue, at least), he was still alive, if no longer able to fight.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Gajeel asked Levy as he watched Bloodman cautiously. "These Magical Barrier Particles…"
"Solid Script: Mask is a perfect filter," replied the female Fairy.
"The first seal steals magic with Magical Barrier Particles," proclaimed Bloodman. "The Second Seal is this harvest of skulls that opens the portal to the afterlife. And the Third Seal is the god of death's judgement of your lives!"
The Spriggan transformed, his body becoming monstrous.
"Once you've opened the Third Seal, the land of the living is forever closed to you!"
"Try to intimidate us all you want, but your magic isn't anything special!" retorted Gajeel cockily. "The other members of the 12 have way more than you!"
"Because what I control is Curse Power!" responded Bloodman.
Gajeel and Levy flinched, recalling the stories they had been told about the Etherious of Tartaros and their Curses.
"The power that swirls up from Tartaros… The power of the Nine Demon Gates… Exploding Spiral!"
A massive explosion was created by Bloodman, blasting Gajeel and Levy back. The Spriggan didn't stop there, though, attacking the dragon slayer with another Curse.
"Tenga Goken: Onimaru!"
A cross-shaped slash struck Gajeel. The Fairy defended himself with his arms, turning them to iron, but the metal was still cracked by the Curse.
"Tenchi Kaimei!"
Black water flooded the area, which Gajeel and Levy recognized from Rogue's stories.
"Our guild already defeated Tartaros!" declared Levy. "Solid Script: Hole!"
The word 'HOLE' appeared on the ground in large letters, the 'O' containing a hole that sucked up all of the water.
"Nice going, Levy!" complimented Gajeel as he moved to strike back. "Iron Dragon's Roar!"
"Ice Devil's Rage!" yelled Bloodman, countering with the devil slayer equivalent. The two spells, equal in strength, cancelled one another out.
Then, before the two Fairies could try anything else, tendrils of Curse Power wrapped around their legs and pulled their lower bodies into the field of skulls they were standing on.
"Now observe a technique that surpasses the Nine Demon Gates!" shouted the Spriggan. "To the afterlife… to the afterlife… the dead march forth! I now open the Third Seal! Over Skelter!"
More tendrils sprouted from skulls surrounding the Fairies, which then charged at the two of them.
A few of them hit Gajeel and Levy, draining the life from their bodies. However, before too much could be lost, Gajeel wrenched himself free, dragging himself and Levy to ground not covered with Bloodman's skulls.
The two collapsed, worn out from the damage they had taken. The dragon slayer looked at the female Fairy and saw, to his horror, that her mask was gone and that she was coughing up blood.
"Your mask!" shouted Gajeel. "Your mask fell off!"
"Sorry," apologized Levy. "Actually, the mask… never really worked in the first place. See… you can absorb Magical Barrier Particles through the skin, too. You know… I really… am… too weak…"
Her voice grew weaker as she spoke, making Gajeel grow more distraught.
"Then what did you even come here for!?" cried Gajeel.
"I wanted to… save you…"
With those words, the female Fairy fainted.
"Levy!" exclaimed the dragon slayer, before turning to Bloodman. The Spriggan had been watching them talk with sadistic amusement. "Hang on a sec! I'm going to take this asshole down right now! Dragon Force!"
Bloodman was entertained when Gajeel powered up and tried to punch him, only for his strike to pass right though the Etherious's body.
"Your attacks have no effect on me," boasted the Spriggan.
"I will protect the girl I love!" proclaimed the dragon slayer. He began inhaling, consuming the Magical Barrier Particles in the air around him. Bloodman looked on in shock.
"Magical Barrier Particles destroy Ethernano!" shouted Bloodman, unable to comprehend Gajeel's actions. "You can't assimilate them! Is this some sort of suicidal attempt to save your companion from death!?"
"Suicidal? Maybe," answered Gajeel as his skin turned into a blacker iron than usual. "But this isn't just about saving Levy…"
The Fairy stopped talking for a moment and threw another punch at Bloodman. The Spriggan didn't bother dodging, expecting the attack to pass through him. However, the strike landed, as did the barrage of punches and kicks that followed.
"…It's about defeating you!"
"Could it be that he relied on the scarce traces of iron in the Magical Barrier Particles to absorb them and is now using them to hit me?" thought the Etherious as he got pummeled. "He ate poison just for a shot at killing me!?"
"No! I do not accept this!" rejected Bloodman. "No such human could possibly exist!"
But the Spriggan was proven wrong moments later, when Gajeel tore a massive hole in his side using Iron Dragon's Sword. The damage was beyond what the Etherious could survive.
And as Bloodman's body dissolved, Gajeel deactivated his Dragon Force. He turned to Levy, who had regained consciousness after he had absorbed the Magical Barrier Particles.
"Levy…" said the dragon slayer. His gamble had paid off, and he was still alive afterward. "Let's go back to the guild together."
Unfortunately, before Gajeel could voice those words, tentacles of Curse Power wrapped around him and pulled the Fairy toward a portal made of the same energy.
"If I must die…" spoke the mass of Curse Power, which held the last vestiges of Bloodman's consciousness. The Etherious's hatred had been so strong that his mind was able to last for a little bit beyond his body's death. "…I will take you with me!"
Omake
At his first opportunity after the battle of Sting and Rogue versus Larcade, Lector went up to his partner and spoke to him.
"Sting, why did you use Holy Fire Ray to knock us out instead of just your regular Holy Ray?"
"Well, Rogue activated his Dual Element Mode, so I thought that I should do the same."
"Serious!? Doing that was complete overkill! Somebody could have died!"
Sting gave an awkward chuckle.
"…Oops?"
AN: The fight with Bloodman ended up lasting longer than expected. I figured it would only last half a chapter, not two-thirds plus the conclusion next chapter.
That is all. Goodbye!