Here it is folks: Chapter 3 of Fire Fairies! I must admit, it ended up being much longer than I was expecting.
Anyways, Enjoy!
Special Thanks to 3rd Dragneel for helping with edits.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Fire Force!
Fire Fairies Chapter 3
Hidden: Knight and Dagger
Gray and the rest of the participants gathered around the strange pumpkin-headed mascot, Mato, all eager to get the contest underway… Well… almost all of them. The moment Mato stepped onto the scene, Arthur marched towards him and stared at him with an intense focus. To Gray, it looked as though the self-proclaimed knight was trying to figure out just what Mato was.
"Umm… can I help you?" Mato asked a little uncomfortable by Arthur's close proximity, as well as the look in his eyes.
"… What manner of creature are you?" Arthur finally asked with intense seriousness.
Gray walked forward to stand next to Mato, but also careful to keep his distance from Arthur.
"I've been kind of wondering that myself. What the heck are you supposed to be exactly?" Gray asked as Juvia walked up next to him.
"I'm pretty sure that he is the game's mascot, darling." Juvia said to Gray.
Mato gave a dramatic twirl of his cape. "It's simple really. I am actually… a pumpkin!" Mato said anticlimactically.
Arthur did not seem satisfied as he turned his back to Mato. "I don't believe it. But, I suppose other things must take priority right now." Arthur said before turning back and pointing his finger at Mato. "However, strange creature! Do not think that our discussion is over!" Arthur cried overdramatically, causing everyone to sweatdrop, even Rufus from Sabertooth.
"Well that aside, he does have a point." Lyon from Lamia Scale said as he walked up to Gray and Juvia. "I would like to get this event over with soon." Lyon said. He then quickly grabbed Juvia's hand into his own. "Especially, if it means I can spend more time with my beloved Juvia." Lyon said.
Juvia was surprised by Lyon's advances. She had a dumbstruck expression as she tried to process Lyon's words. "Huh?"
Gray jumped between Lyon and Juvia. "Oh, don't start with that crap again, Lyon! Like hell, I'm just going to let you run off with one of our guild members like that." Gray yelled, with what many outside observers would describe as jealousy.
"Fools!" Arthur yelled getting their attention. He pulled his mask down and stood in front of Juvia, drawing both ice mages' attention towards him. "How dare the both of you act so callously in front of the Lady of the Lake?" Arthur proclaimed surprising Gray and Lyon. However, the one who was most shocked was none other than Juvia.
"Wait… Lady of the Lake?" Juvia asked a little uncertain. Arthur then turned to face her. At first, his intense expression made her a little nervous. However, she was surprised even further when he kneeled before her. "Oh, wise and beautiful Lady of the Lake and Guardian of my blade, the Holy Excalibur. Although we seem destined to fight as enemies this day, I ask that you bear me no ill will." Arthur said with complete seriousness.
Juvia was speechless. Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates and she could not help but blush. "Wait, please! There is no need for that! I mean, this is a tournament and friendly competition! So, of course, I would not have any ill will towards you!" Juvia said flailing her arms around. In her mind, Juvia's complicated thought process went into overdrive. 'COULD THIS BE ANOTHER CONFESSION?!' Juvia mentally cried. In her head, Juvia's already mixed-up relationship tree became even more tangled up as a chibi of Arthur popped in and started fighting with chibis versions of Gray and Lyon, causing even more chaos and confusion. Outside of her head, Juvia's thoughts were causing her to literally steam.
"No, my love is meant only for my darling Gray!" Juvia yelled out loud. Arthur blinked at this and turned back to Gray.
"Is this true? You have feelings for the Lady of the Lake?" Arthur asked Gray incredulously.
"No, way! It's not like that!" Gray shouted with a light blush.
Arthur seemed taken aback by his answer. He then returned his gaze to Juvia. After looking her up and down, he turned back to Gray. Then back to Juvia and back to Gray again. "Seriously? Perhaps you're more of a fool than a paladin." Arthur said to himself. Although, it certainly had the desired effect of pissing Gray off.
"I am so kicking your ass in this tournament!" Gray yelled with a tick mark as waves of frost rolled off of him.
"Umm, maybe we should get back to the matter at hand?" Mato asked nervously trying to get everyone's attention back to him. It succeeded as the group stopped what they were doing and looked back to him.
Mato cleared his throat as everyone prepared themselves for the start of the first event, "Hidden."
"Hold on a second here!" Everyone turned to Nullpudding, especially Arthur, who glared at him. "What exactly is the deal with this first event? I have no idea what it's about and the same goes for the rest of the competitors, but it's pretty obvious the two fairies have an advantage over the rest of us." Nullpudding said, earning him a glare from Juvia and Gray.
"I don't think it matters." Arthur said, getting Gray and Juvia's attention. "Regardless of the event, this is still a competition. Not to mention, these two are just as unaware of the rules as the rest of us. So, it does not necessarily mean they will be at an advantage."
"It's fine with me as well." Rufus said confidently. "Just because they are of the same guild, does not mean they have an advantage." The rest of the participants also agreed. "Impressive. Is that what they call the confidence of the king? It is possible that your guildmate could become your weakness. She could be taken hostage, threatened, leak information. And many more unfavourable circumstances can be created" Rufus said with a cocky smile.
Arthur frowned at that. "You've got a pretty big mouth, even for a bard. Then again, they do sometimes have the habit of grossly exaggerating details."
"Oh? You think otherwise?" Rufus asked Arthur.
"Of course. If you didn't focus so much on listening to your own voice and actually looked at them, you'd notice the fire burning in their eyes. These two won't hold back or go in this game half-assed." Arthur said, surprising everyone. Especially, Gray and Juvia.
Rufus smiled as he looked at Arthur. "You know the problem with having the confidence of a king: is that it might cause you to become overconfident in your own abilities." Rufus told him nonchalantly.
"It's fortunate then that I'm not that kind of king." Arthur said, causing Rufus' eye to twitch.
"What's your name again?" Rufus asked.
"Arthur Boyle: The future Knight King!" Arthur proclaimed confidently.
"I see… I will keep that in mind." Rufus said before turning to Mato. "Proceed."
"Oh, uh yes." Mato said before clearing his throat and pointing his fingers upward.
"FIELD OPEN!"
The next thing everyone knew, the entire field was filled with a replica city, earning cheers of surprise and praise from the crowd. Arthur's field of vision was filled with light and before he knew it, he found himself within the replica city. However, he noticed that none of the other mages were with him.
"Such interesting magic." Arthur said as he pulled up his hood and mask. He then touched the walls of a nearby building, impressed with the level of realism and detail. "Hmmm… Interesting. This is kind of like a game of hide and seek… but then, who exactly are the hiders and seekers?" Arthur asked himself as he walked down an empty street.
Arthur's question was soon answered, as Chapati's voice echoed through the city.
"The eight participants are unaware of what the others are doing or their locations." Chapati's announced over the PA system. "The rules of "Hidden" are simple. Each person is both hider and seeker! Find each other in this town! You can use any magic, then deliver a blow to your opponents! Regardless if you do any damage, the attacking player still gets a point!"
"Interesting, but does this mean we need to use hit and run tactics? I guess that would make sense for this type of game... but for some reason, I was expecting something a little more... intense." Arthur said with a frown.
Without warning, bursts of light suddenly manifested all around him by the hundreds. Before Arthur knew it, he was surrounded by hundreds of copies of other competitors. Arthur's first instinct was to go for Excalibur's handle. However, he stopped himself from attacking after noticing that there were copies of himself as well. He also noticed that none of the copies were actually attacking.
"What in the…" Arthur was about to ask before Chapati cut him off.
"As you can see, the field has been filled with copies of everyone. If you attack a copy, you lose a point. Now, disappear into the silence, like a black cat lurking in the dark night!" Chapati announced just as the sound of a gong filled the arena, signalling the start of the event.
Arthur nodded to himself and was about to walk down the street when he noticed that a copy of himself was staring back at him. He frowned as he analyzed the copy.
"… I wonder what happens if you touch a copy instead of attacking them?" Arthur asked as he reached out to try and touch a copy of himself. He blinked when he heard a loud buzzing sound. He looked up to see some screens featuring images of each participant, as well as a number counter. Juvia's counter turned from zero to a negative one.
"Oh, my! Juvia attacked a copy and lost a point!" Chapati yelled.
While Arthur could not see what had happened, something told him he should avoid messing with the copy in front of him.
"In this situation, the player will restart in a new area after 10 seconds. Likewise, if a player is attacked and damage is inflicted, a point will be subtracted from them too." Chapati announced.
From there, Chapati announced that the event would last for thirty minutes, and Arthur's eyes shined with a determined gaze. After making sure his hood and mask were secure, he quietly melted into the crowd.
Shinra frowned as he stared at the lacrima vision above them.
"Something wrong, Shinra?" Hibana asked her young companion.
"… I was just thinking that out of all the people who would lose points first, I thought it would be Arthur." Shinra said. While Hibana giggled in amusement, Maki lightly karate chopped Shinra on the head, causing him to groan in pain as he held his head. If it wasn't for his helmet, then that blow would have really hurt, even if it was light.
"Come on, Shinra. I know you and Arthur have a rivalry, but if that had happened, we would be at a disadvantage." Maki scolded.
Shinra grumbled under his breath. "Yeah, I know."
"Still, that was quite unexpected. I didn't think that Lockser girl would do something so obviously stupid." Hibana smirked behind her fan. "But considering how attractive Fullbuster is, I suppose you can't really blame her." Hibana said while looking at another screen, with Gray running down a street.
"Either way, with how this game is set up, it looks like Arthur will have more of an advantage than we originally thought." Obi said.
Shinra smirked. "While I hate to admit it, I agree with you, sir."
Gray scowled as he ran down the streets, careful to avoid running into any copies. "What the heck is with this competition?! It's harder to find the enemy than it is to hide from them!" Gray said with a frustrated tone.
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that!" A creepy and unnerving voice said from behind him. Gray spun around and came face to face with Nullpudding. "You really should grasp the rules faster." Nullpudding said with a creepy smile.
"I didn't figure you would be the first one to come at me. Then again, I suppose this saves me the trouble of looking for you." Gray said confidently as he slammed his hands together.
"Ice-Make: Ice Hammer." In less than a second, Gray slammed a giant hammer of ice onto Nullpudding. He struck with so much force, that the ground beneath his opponent cracked.
Gray smirked at his fallen opponent. "How do you like that?" However, his satisfaction turned to confusion when the penalty buzzer sounded. "What the hell? I know that I landed a direct hit! How am I the one losing points?!" Gray asked incredulously. Looking back to his fallen opponent, Gray saw another Nullpudding behind the one he attacked.
"Too bad, that was a copy." Nullpudding cackled ominously.
Gray was confused at first, but then, his eyes widened in understanding. However, it was already too late. He was already being teleported away. Nullpudding laughed as he looked at the spot his opponent was previously in. "Now then, I'd best be on my way. If I am lucky, maybe I'll run into that pretty little blue-haired fairy." He said, licking his lips with a sinister smile.
"Knight…" Nullpudding blinked and turned around just as a boot made contact with his face. "KICK!" Arthur cried as he kicked Nullpudding. The force behind his attack was strong enough to send Nullpudding flying through the wall of a nearby building.
"Found you, repugnant little troll!" Arthur cried victoriously. Unfortunately, his excitement soon turned to annoyance. Just as Nullpudding was getting back up, he was already being teleported away. "Well, that's just great. Now I have to find him all over again." Arthur said as he ran down the street before turning in a random direction.
"Whatever the case, foul troll, I will hunt you down!" Arthur cried dramatically. After running for a few minutes, Arthur was about to turn a corner, when he abruptly stopped. Peering around, he saw Gray and Juvia talking. However, they were so engrossed in their conversation that they failed to notice an imminent threat closing in on them.
Arthur noticed a couple of Nullpudding clones walking towards them. To anyone else, both Nullpudding's walked and acted almost identically. However, Arthur's enhanced eyesight was able to clearly identify that one of them was the real Nullpudding. Arthur narrowed his eyes and quickly dashed towards Nullpudding, whose eyes widened in shock from Arthur's sudden reappearance.
"KNIGHT PUNCH!" Arthur yelled, slamming his fist into Nullpudding. Nullpudding cried out in pain as he once again crashed into a building and disappeared. Arthur then turned to face Juvia and Gray, who were both equally surprised by his sudden entrance.
"Hey, it's you." Gray said.
"You should be more careful. I don't know what your history is with that troll, but it's clear that he was targeting you. You both need to be more aware of your surroundings." Arthur said as he reprimanded them.
Gray and Juvia frowned. They hated to admit it, but Arthur was right. They were so caught up in their conversation, that they left themselves wide open to Nullpudding's attack.
"Now then." Arthur said getting their attention. He then grabbed the handle of his sheathed sword, putting both Gray and Juvia on high alert.
However, when Arthur pulled the blade out of its sheath, both Fairy Tail mages were surprised to see... nothing.
'What the hell? Where's the blade?' Gray thought.
Arthur swung his sword to the side. In a flash of blue light, the hilt of Arthur's sword was no longer bladeless. Protruding from the handle, was a brilliant stream of blue flames. Despite the distance, Gray could feel just how much heat that blade was generating.
"Have at thee!" Arthur cried before charging them.
Both Juvia and Gray jumped back just as Arthur rapidly swung his blade, delivering two powerful slashes where they previously stood. Both were shocked by easily the blade carved through the ground.
"Those flames are pretty dangerous. I'd rather not know what would happen if he hit me directly with that." Gray said to himself. Gray slammed his hand into his palm. "Ice-Make: Ice Bringer!" Two ice swords manifested in his hands just as Arthur swung his sword at him again. Juvia was forced to block her eyes as they clashed, resulting in a cloud of steam. When the steam dissipated, she could see that both Gray and Arthur were in a stalemate. Both grunted as they each tried to exert more force to overpower the other. However, both mages seemed equal in terms of physical strength.
"I must admit... you're stronger than you look!" Arthur grunted.
"Yeah, same to you." Gray acknowledged while trying to push Arthur back.
However, Gray's eyes widened when he saw that his blades were slowly starting to crack and melt away. He quickly jumped back to avoid, Arthur's swing. Gray and Arthur then tensed up as they noticed blades of water flying their way. Both quickly dodged them and looked towards the culprit.
"Do not forget the Juvia is here to fight as well." Juvia yelled as she fired more water blades at them. Both Gray and Arthur then proceeded to run through the crowd, preventing Juvia from firing recklessly at them. As they ran to try and lose Juvia, Gray could not help, but voice what was on his mind. "You know, I've got to admit. I wasn't expecting that fire of yours to melt my blades so fast." Gray said.
"My Excalibur is no mere blade." Said Arthur. "But, likewise. I was impressed to see that it did not instantly cut through your ice. You're no ordinary ice mage."
Gray smirked as they both jumped onto the roof of a nearby building. "I constantly fight with a pretty strong fire mage. So, my ice isn't going to melt that easily." He said already preparing another spell.
"I see. Well then, I'll just have to kick things up a notch." Arthur smiled.
"Ice-Make: Cold Excalibur!" Gray yelled, as he now held a massive greatsword made of ice.
"I see you have an Excalibur of your own. Very well, let us see which one is superior." Arthur said as charged his opponent. Gray smirked, answering Arthur's charge by swinging his sword in a large arc. Arthur quickly bent backwards to avoid Gray's swing. He then quickly brought himself back up and swung his sword. He clashed with Gray's sword, creating another cloud of steam. He then proceeded to unleash a flurry of blows onto Gray, who was quick to counter his strikes. It was during this rapid exchange of blows, that both fighters realized something. Gray's Excalibur may have a longer reach, but its larger build meant he had less speed too. As a result, Gray was forced on the defensive. Every time Arthur struck, pieces of his sword melted off. On the other hand, the size of Gray's blade made it more difficult for Arthur to destroy. Furthermore, every time he damaged it, Gray would just use his magic to repair the damage.
Gray then swung his blade, forcing Arthur to jump back. Gray quickly followed up his attack and swung his blade down, unleashing a wave of ice towards Arthur. However, Arthur was unfazed by the impending attack. Instead, he began to focus more power into his blade, causing the intensity of the flames to increase. Just as the ice wave was about to overwhelm him, Arthur swung his blade and unleashed its power.
"EXCALIVER!"
A large wave of blue fire tore through Gray's ice, as well as the rest of the roof behind him. Though he was able to dodge the attack in time, his sword was badly damaged. He looked back to Arthur, but he was shocked by how quickly he closed the gap between them. Gray tried to defend with his blade, but he was unable to fix it completely. As a result, it shattered once Arthur made contact.
"Crap!" Gray yelled as Arthur reversed his sword, slamming its hilt into his stomach. The blow was strong enough to leave Gray gasping for breath and even lift him into the air.
'This guy… he's strong!' Gray thought before he was teleported away. Before Arthur could relax, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He quickly jumped back, just as a large tornado of water crashed into the roof.
"WATER JIGSAW!" Juvia yelled.
Arthur stared at her with a frown and a faint drop of sweat. "I will not let you get away with harming my beloved Gray! Prepare yourself, Arthur Boyle!" Juvia screamed. Arthur tightened the grip on his blade. Although, for some reason, his fire's intensity suddenly diminished. Noticing this, Juvia went on the offensive, firing a tornado of water at Arthur. Arthur quickly dodged and rushed towards Juvia, while avoiding the high-pressure water blades she fired at him, which tore up the rest of the roof.
"I need to end this now!" Arthur said as he tensed his legs, before rushing as fast as he could towards Juvia. Although Juvia was surprised by Arthur's decision to charge towards her, she remained calm and transformed her body into water.
"You're strong, but that blade of yours won't hurt me!" She said confidently. If he flew right towards her, then she could trap him using her Water Lock. However, this proved to be a dangerous mistake.
"My apologies, Lady of the Lake." Arthur said before swinging his blade. When the blade made contact with Juvia's body, a hiss of steam was produced. However, what followed was something completely unexpected.
"AAAAHHHHH!" Juvia cried out in pain as she reverted back to her human body due to loss of concentration. Juvia rolled along the ground, before falling off the roof. Arthur rushed over to see if she was ok. Arthur sighed with relief when he saw that Juvia's fall was broken by a clone.
Juvia did not even register the sound of the penalty buzzer. The only thing that her mind was focused on was the burning sensation at her side. Looking down, she saw that her clothes around the left side of her stomach had been burned away. She saw that the blow Arthur landed left a small, and fortunately non-life-threatening burn.
'Impossible! His blade is made of fire! It shouldn't be able to hurt Juvia!' She mentally cried while looking up at his blade. As Juvia focused on it, she noticed faint electrical sparks, dancing along the blade.
As the light enveloped her, Juvia seemed to have a basic understanding of what happened to her.
"His blade… that's not normal fire… it must be…" she said out loud before disappearing. Arthur stared at the spot where Juvia was, before turning around and headed to face his next opponent.
On the outside of the artificial city, both Fairy Tail teams were shocked by what they just witnessed.
"No way! That guy actually hurt Juvia? She can turn into water! A fire sword shouldn't be able to hurt her!" Gajeel said with an incredulous look.
"Mystogan" narrowed his eyes behind his mask. 'No. Those aren't ordinary flames.'
"That was intense! I wasn't expecting him to give Gray and Juvia so much trouble." Said Lucy.
"I'm more curious about the flames he was using. If they were able to burn Juvia like that, then they must be pretty strong." Said Elfman.
"… Those aren't normal flames." All three members of Team A looked to Natsu. He had a curious expression on his face.
"What do you mean those aren't normal flames? Are you trying to say that he's some kind of Dragon Slayer too?" Elfman asked.
"Of course not. That's not what I meant." Natsu berated his comrade with a fierce expression, before looking back at Arthur. "I don't know how to describe it. All I can say is that his flames are... Uhm... well... they just smell different."
"Smell? You're able to tell that from all the way here?" Elfman asked, genuinely impressed.
'It must be a fire dragon slayer thing.' Lucy thought to herself, remembering how Natsu's sense of smell was able to track her down during the Phantom Lord incident.
"Well, it's hard to explain. But, his flames smell like fire, but at the same time not. In a way... They kind of remind me of my Lightning-Fire Dragon Mode."
Erza narrowed her eyes at Natsu's explanation."A powerful flame that feels similar to your dual dragon slayer mode? One thing is for sure, this fire mage is more powerful than expected." Erza said.
"You got that right. I've never seen that kind of fire magic before." Natsu said with an excited smirk.
"Kind of makes you wonder what the rest of those Fire Force guys can do?" Elfman said as he looked at said team, who were busy watching their teammate.
"Do you have any idea what it is, Erza?" Lucy asked.
Erza was silent for a while, as she tried to figure out the secret of Arthur's magic. "I can't be one hundred percent certain at the moment, but if I had to hazard a guess, I think that Arthur is most likely using…"
"… Plasma."
Makarov and the rest of Fairy Tail looked to the young, blond-haired girl wearing a fancy dress, sitting on the ledge of their seating box. "First Master? Did you just say what I think you said?" Makarov asked Fairy Tail's founder and First Master, Mavis Vermillion.
She nodded her head to Makarov's inquiry. "That young man from Fire Force, he does not wield normal flames. If anything, he's managed to take them to the next level by converting them into plasma."
Most of the Fairy Tail mages were confused by Mavis' statement. However, Levy was an exception to this. She instantly understood the meaning behind it.
"Wait, plasma? As in one of the four fundamental states of matter kind of plasma?" Levi asked with a surprised expression, to which Mavis nodded.
"Indeed. Plasma consists mainly of gas ions and free electrons. It is possible for mages to artificially generate it by heating a neutral gas or subjecting it to a strong electromagnetic field to the point where the ionized gas becomes more conductive." Mavis explained to her guild. However, only Levy and Makarov were able to follow what she said.
"In his case…" Mavis looked back up at Arthur. He had just avoided an attack from the Mermaid Heel mage, Beth Vanderwood, before lightly chopping her head. This caused her to disappear and earn himself another point. "He's able to raise the heat of the flames he generates to the point where he can induce a plasma state." Mavis finished.
Makarov looked at the boy with a sense of intrigue. "I see. It normally takes fire mages years of training to induce that state. To be able to do something like that at his age so easily… It seems Fire Force has some truly powerful mages within their ranks."
"Ummm…" Makarov and Mavis looked down at a little girl wearing a cowboy outfit. "What are you guys saying?" Asked Asuka, the young daughter of Alzack and Bisca. Makarov and Mavis both glanced at one another. "Well Asuka, it's kind of like… uhhmmm…" Makarov started to say, but stopped as he tried to think of the best way to explain such a complex subject to the little girl.
"Umm well...it's like the...umm.. the firefighter guy can make a fire that goes swish and then zap!" Mavis said with stars in her eyes as she imitated swinging a sword with exaggerated arm movements.
"Oh, ok." Asuka said liking the simplified version.
"I don't understand much of what you guys just said." Said Lisanna. "But from what it sounds like, the flames of that Arthur guy are pretty unique, right?" Asked Lisanna.
Levy nodded. "Let's put it this way. In nature, one of the most powerful forms of natural plasma occurs during lightning storms. That alone should tell you just how dangerous those flames are." She summarized with a serious expression.
Lisanna gulped nervously as she and the others returned their attention back to the field.
Arthur slowly walked through the field of clones. Including his recent victory over that mage from Mermaid Heel, he managed to acquire four points for himself. He stopped when he noticed snow falling around him. "Snow? In the middle of summer? Is this part of the event or is it…"
Arthur looked up and noticed a giant snowstorm suddenly manifested above the artificial city, growing more intense with every passing second. As it got colder, Arthur noticed that his breath was now visible. He then looked at the clones around him and a candle went off above his head. "I see. Because our copies aren't alive, their breath won't show up in cold weather. That's pretty smart." Arthur said to himself.
It was then that the winds suddenly kicked up, forcing him to close his eyes. Although his sight was gone, Arthur could feel something coming towards him. He braced himself as a powerful gust of wind and snow collided with his body, like a miniature avalanche. Arthur grunted as the force of the blow lifted him in the air. He looked down and saw the light envelop him, before he was teleported away. In the blink of an eye, Arthur found himself in a different part of the city.
"So, that's what that feels like." He said, shaking his hood to get rid of any excess snow. Just as he prepared to move on, Arthur saw several projectiles heading towards him. He was able to dodge a few and then destroyed the rest with his sword. As he destroyed them, Arthur saw just what exactly had attacked him. "Birds?" Arthur asked himself. He frowned as he realized a particular detail about them. "No, birds made from ice. Is this that paladin's doing?"
"By paladin, I assume you mean Gray?" A male voice asked from within the crowd. Arthur looked around and was able to identify the source of the voice.
"Your speed and reaction time is quite impressive. I will give you that." Said Lyon as he walked towards Arthur.
Arthur blinked, before remembering who Lyon was. "I remember you. You're that other fellow who was fighting with the paladin over the Lady of the Lake's heart." Said Arthur.
"Correct. My name is Lyon Vastia of Lamia Scale." Lyon said, slamming his hand into his palm.
"And you, Arthur Boyle..." Lyon said, before unleashing his next spell. "Are my next target!" A swarm of ice eagles manifested from Lyon's hands and flew towards Arthur. Under normal circumstances, Lyon knew that such a swarm would not be enough to beat Arthur. However, due to the rules of "Hidden," all it took was one blow to take Arthur down and earn him a point. At least that's how he expected things to go.
It turns out that despite being outnumbered, Arthur was quick to counter with his strange flame sword. As a result, it did not take him long to reduce his constructs to steaming puddles of water. Lyon carefully maneuvered his way around the clones and continued to attack Arthur from a distance. 'Despite the bulk of his uniform, he is quite fast and nimble. Plus, there's that sword of his too. It must be pretty hot to be able to burn my ice so easily."
"Hold on a second!" Arthur said, causing Lyon to pause his next attack.
"What is it?" Lyon asked. "This better not be some trick."
Arthur looked slightly insulted by Lyon's comment. "I wouldn't dare use those kinds of tactics." Arthur's face soon returned to its usual expression. "I wanted to ask just what is your connection to the paladin, Gray Fullbuster?" Arthur asked.
Lyon blinked. He was not expecting that.
"My connection with Gray? We studied under the same master." Lyon said.
"I see. It makes sense then. You and he have a similar style in terms of your magic. He used weapons, but you seem to prefer using animals." Arthur said.
"What's the point of asking something like that? And what's that have to do with Gray?" Lyon asked.
Arthur blinked. "Well, I fought him earlier of course. He was pretty strong too."
Lyon appeared shocked by that revelation. 'If I remember correctly, when Gray's point counter dropped earlier, this guy's increased right at the same time. Does this mean that Gray lost to him?' Lyon thought.
"You fought and defeated Gray?" Lyon asked. "No offence, but I find it hard to believe that he would lose to you so easily."
"He didn't. As I said, he was pretty strong. However, this event is designed in a way that prevents us from fighting at full strength. If we did not have to hold back, things could have ended much differently." Said, Arthur.
Lyon thought deeply for a minute, before smiling to himself. "It seems I've underestimated you. I apologize for that." Lyon said while jumping to a nearby rooftop. "You mind if we continued our fight up here? I would like to test myself against you while going all out. I can't very well do that with so many clones surrounding us."
Arthur smiled and nodded, following after Lyon. "Very well. I accept your challenge beast tamer Lyon Vastia." Arthur said pointing his sword directly at Lyon.
"Beast tamer?" Lyon asked to which Arthur nodded.
"At first, I thought you were a paladin, like your friend. However, now that I see your skills, it is clear that you are in fact a beast tamer. My apologies for the confusion." Arthur said with a courteous bow.
"Ummm... ok?" Said Lyon. He had no idea how to respond to Arthur's unusual statements. '...There is definitely something unusual going on inside that head of his.' Lyon thought with a deadpan expression.
Lyon sighed, pressing his fist into his palm. "Whatever. Let's just get down to business."
"Have at thee!" Arthur cried while charging forward.
"Ice-Make: Snow Tiger!" Leon shouted as he summoned a large ice tiger. The tiger charged Arthur with its superior speed. When it was close enough, it attacked Arthur with overwhelming force. While fast, Arthur easily parried each of the tiger's strikes. Like with Gray's ice, Lyon's was noticeably stronger than regular ice. As a result, it did not melt right away. However, prolonged contact with Arthur's sword caused parts of its body to melt. It also looked like Lyon was not able to repair his constructs the same way that Gray could.
The tiger soon tried to strike Arthur with an overhead blow, but he ducked, allowing the blow to fly past him. Arthur then delivered a powerful uppercut that shattered Lyon's ice tiger. He then turned his attention to Lyon and charged him. However, Lyon was already preparing his next spell. "Ice-Make: Ice Gorilla!"
A large ape made of Lyon's green ice quickly materialized. Once fully formed, it charged at Arthur, delivering a powerful roar to try and intimidate him. However, this tactic proved useless against Arthur. The creature tried to land a hammer blow on Arthur, but he easily jumped back to avoid it. After putting enough distance between him and his target, Arthur swings his sword, unleashing two waves of blue flames towards the gorilla. It was able to use its arms as a shield, but the strength of Arthur's flames quickly melted its arms. Arthur jumped towards the gorilla and swung. It tried to block his attack, but it proved ineffective as the attack shattered one of its arms. The creature tried to strike with its remaining arm, but Arthur did not even flinch as he waved his sword, destroying it.
The gorilla then tried to stomp him, but Arthur easily dodged it. He severed the attacking limb causing the gorilla to fall forward, where Arthur delivered the final blow by cutting off its head. He then spun around to fire another wave of fire, which vaporized the swarm of ice birds Lyon tried to attack him with.
"Impressive, but how about this?" Lyon said, drawing forth even more power. "Ice-Make: Ice Dragon!" Lyon shouted, unleashing a giant dragon made of ice towards Arthur. The moment Arthur saw Lyon's latest construct, time seemed to slow down as his mind processed this new enemy. The beasts Arthur fought before did help to fuel his knight delusion quite a bit. However, now that he was facing a dragon, the enemy to all knights, his imagination went into overdrive. In that instant, the flames of Arthur's sword greatly intensified. Becoming more powerful, than in any of his previous fights so far.
At that moment, Lyon knew that he made some kind of mistake. "His sword's power increased?!"
"Impressive show, beast tamer Vastia. Unfortunately, it seems that you've forgotten something important…" Arthur said as he swung his sword, releasing an intense wave of blue flames straight towards Lyon's dragon.
"Knights are born to slay dragons!" Arthur valiantly shouted.
The wave of blue fire easily cut through Lyon's dragon and kept flying straight towards him. He quickly created a shield of ice to stop Arthur's attack. Upon colliding, a large explosion occurred, and Lyon was sent flying away, covered in dust and minor burns. Before the event's magic took effect and sent him to another location, Lyon's gaze landed on Arthur.
Despite his loss, Lyon couldn't help but smile. "Well played... Arthur Boyle." He whispered just as his body vanished into light.
Arthur lifted his sword in victory. "Well fought, Lyon Vastia." He said before continuing his search for his next opponent. However, Arthur did not get far before something unexpected occurred. He watched as the sky around him turned black. He could feel a large amount of magic being formed somewhere nearby. After a quick search, Arthur's gaze landed on a familiar figure standing on the spire of a building.
Rufus Lore had finally entered the game. Rufus held up his arms and pointed two fingers to each of his temples, resulting in a giant magic circle forming above him.
Arthur kept a tight grip on his sword. He did not know what Rufus was planning, but the magic power he sensed from him sent chills down his spine. "He has not made a move at all to attack anyone, nor has he been attacked yet… Just what the hell is he planning?" Arthur asked.
Arthur, soon got his answer. As Rufus finished gathering his magic power, he unleashed his spell onto his opponents. "Night of the Falling Stars!" Shouted Rufus, as seven yellow beams of light burst forth from his magic circle. Each one heading towards a different participant at blinding speeds. Before they could react, most of the participants were struck by Rufus's attack. The only exceptions were Nullpudding, who was quick to react and avoided the blow, and Arthur. However, while Arthur's instincts allowed him to react in time to strike at Rufus' attack, stopping it was another story.
As his blade collided with the beam, a brilliant flash of light erupted. Arthur grits his teeth as he tried to force the beam back. Unfortunately, the power behind the attack was slowly forcing him back, until he eventually collided with a wall. Arthur frowned as he felt the familiar sensation of being teleported to another location. When the light finally dissipated, Arthur quickly got back onto his feet.
'I wasn't expecting his spell to have that type of power. It seems I've severely underestimated this bard." Arthur's focus then turned towards Excalibur and his eyes widened in surprise. Strong electrical currents were running along Excalibur's flame blade, causing it to fluctuate wildly. When the current entered the hilt, Excalibur's flames dissipated.
'Impossible! That bard's spell sealed away Excalibur?!" Arthur asked incredulously. In reality, Rufus' attacked caused Excalibur's handle to short circuit, due to his attack using a large amount of lightning magic. Arthur looked up and was surprised to see that he had been teleported not too far from a fallen Gray. 'Looks like he was felled by the bard's attack as well.' Arthur thought.
Arthur watched as Gray forced himself to stand up and jump towards Rufus. However, Nullpudding appeared out of nowhere and tried to attack him from above. Without thinking, Arthur rushed forward. Just as Nullpudding tried to land an overhead kick on Gray, Arthur appeared in front of him and took the blow.
"What?!" Nullpudding yelled. Once again shocked by Arthur's unexpected appearance. Thanks to his enhanced strength, Arthur barely felt Nullpudding's blow. After all, they paled in comparison to Shinra's kicks. Unfortunately, the blow still caused some damage. Now, it was only a matter of time before he teleported away. Before his ten seconds were up, Arthur pushed with all his might sending Nullpudding flying into the air.
Just as he was starting to disappear, Arthur yelled out. "DO IT NOW, PALADIN! SLAY THE TROLL!"
Both Gray and Nullpudding were shocked, but Gray was the first to recover. Slamming his fist into his palm, Gray jumped up towards Nullpudding.
"Crap!" Nullpudding yelled as Gray delivered the finishing blow.
"ICE MAKE: KNUCKLE!" Gray yelled as his fist was enveloped by a giant ice fist. With an angry look, he slammed his fist into Nullpudding's face. Nullpudding cried out in pain, as the force of Gray's punch sent him flying away. Gray looked down just in time to see Arthur disappear. However, a second before he teleported, Arthur was able to give him a quick nod of recognition.
"That guy…" Gray said. Before he could dwell further on Arthur's actions, he suddenly remembered about Rufus.
"This isn't over, you arrogant bastard!" Gray yelled as he prepared to attack Rufus. Unfortunately, he never got the chance. Just as he was about to make another construct, a gong rang throughout the arena.
"Hidden" had finally come to a close.
"TIME'S UP!" Yelled Chapati.
Gray's vision was consumed by light as the city and clones vanished. When they completely dematerialized, he found himself back in the arena, along with the other mages.
"Here are the rankings for today's event!" All the participants looked up to see a screen with each of their results. Not surprisingly, Sabertooth was in the lead with 10 points. Following them, in order, was Raven Tail with seven points, Lamia Scale with five and Blue Pegasus with four. Both Fire Force and Mermaid Heel were tied in fifth place with two points. All that was left, were both Fairy Tail teams, tied for seventh place with one point each.
Arthur sighed and rubbed the back of his head. Despite getting such a low rank, he did not regret his actions. Not to mention, point-based systems like this meant nothing, compared to the fights he'd endured in the real world.
"Both Fairy Tail teams put up a good fight. Unfortunately, their results are quite unfortunate. I expect them to do better next time." Chapati announced.
As Gray and Juvia returned to their respective teams, Arthur glanced in their direction. He could see that Juvia had a disappointed look on her face. As for Gray, his head was low and his hair shadowed his eyes. But, if his clenched fists were any indication, he was far from happy.
"I knew Fairy Tail was gonna suck!" Someone in the stadium yelled out. He was soon followed by even more people who proceeded to insult Gray and his guild.
"Always in last place!"
"Your days are numbered!"
With every insult, Natsu's temper got closer and closer to its limit. Until finally, he couldn't stand it anymore. He rushed to Gray's side and yelled at the spectators.
"WHAT'S SO FUNNY, ASSHOLE?!" Natsu shouted.
"Oh, look's like the little fairy lost his temper."
"Howl all you want, loser!"
More taunts and insults followed, further aggravating Natsu. Before he could do anything drastic, Erza appeared and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Enough, Natsu. Just ignore them." Erza said calmly.
"Yeah. If they wanna laugh, just let'em." Elfman said while Gray continued to walk past his teammates.
As Gray passed Lucy, she tried to cheer him up. "Come on, Gray. Don't be so down. I mean we're just getting…." She tried to say, but Gray just kept walking without even looking at her.
"Sorry guys, but... I need some time alone." Gray said without looking back.
Meanwhile, with team Fire Force, Shinra couldn't help but frown. He was visibly upset with how the people were treating Fairy Tail.
"That was really uncool. They tried their best. I don't see why everyone has to put them down like that." Shinra said as he watched Gray leave the stadium.
"Humans can be cruel creatures, Shinra. As I'm sure you know." Hibana said with her eyes closed and a small frown. "That, and when you factor in Fairy Tail's negative reputation from past games, it's not surprising that people look down on them so much." Hibana concluded.
"Still, it's just the first day. If anything, this will get them more fired up than ever before. My instincts tell me that Fairy Tail won't be going down without a fight." Said Obi. He then lifted his faceplate to give his team a reassuring smile. An act that made Shinra feel a little better.
"Uh, guys?" Maki asked, getting everyone's attention. They saw Maki looking around with an uncertain look on her face.
"What's up, Maki?" Obi asked.
"Well it's just that… where did Arthur go?" Maki asked.
Obi, Shinra and Hibana all looked around for their missing comrade. Sure enough, he was nowhere to be found. Both Hibana and Obi sighed, while Shinra chose to be more vocal with his frustration.
"THAT IDIOT!" Shinra yelled. "Don't tell me that he went off and got lost again! The fighting round is about to begin! If he gets called in to fight and he's not here, we're screwed!" Shinra yelled in a panic. Shinra quickly turned around to Captain Obi. "Quickly, sir! We need to put out an APB on the idiot king!"
Obi sweatdropped. "Uhm, I think that may be a little excessive for this Shinra. But I will notify Hinawa. I'm sure he must have seen where Arthur went from his position in the stands."
Shinra growled. "That guy… he'd better not be doing something stupid."
Gray stood in the middle of the tunnel leading to the coliseum. At some point, he tossed his shirt and cloak, leaving him with just his pants and shoes. Gray's thoughts went back to the events of the match. "Sabertooth…. And Raven Tail." The thought of Rufus and Nullpudding, caused him to tightly clench his fists. Rufus played them all for weaklings. He barely put any effort into what he was doing, because he thought they were not worth his time. As for Nullpudding, he spent the entire match stalking Gray and Juvia. Whenever they let their guard down, he swooped in to attack them. Thus, preventing them from getting any points. Even when Nullpudding had the chance to attack other participants, he ignored them in favour of attacking him and Juvia.
Gray yelled as he slammed his fist into the wall. The impact strong enough to crack the wall and coat it with a layer of ice and frost.
"Is that it?" Gray's eyes widened. Turning around, he saw Arthur Boyle standing behind him. His hood and mask were down, exposing his face and upward ponytail.
"What?" Gray asked.
Arthur kept his usual apathetic gaze on Gray. "Are you just going to give up? If so, then I've severely overestimated you, paladin." Arthur said, causing Gray to walk forward and grab him by the collar.
"You want to repeat that punk?!" Gray yelled. Although Gray's glare was intense, Arthur showed no signs of being intimidated by it.
"Why are you getting so worked up? Do you honestly feel bad, because you couldn't get enough points? Don't you know that point-based systems don't matter in the real world?" Arthur asked with genuine curiosity.
Gray's eyes narrowed to pinpricks as his temper took over. "Don't you think I know that, dumbass? That's not the point!" Gray said through gritted teeth. His grip around the collar of Arthur's uniform tightened.
"I don't care that I didn't get enough points. What I care about was how badly I screwed up out there!" Gray said as his hair shadowed his eyes once again. "Because of how badly I messed up, those guys got the better of me and Juvia... and now my guild's paying the price." Gray said, his voice filled with regret, self-loathing and silent rage.
Arthur blinked as he realized what Gray was saying. "I see... You're not upset about not winning. Rather, you're upset because you feel that you've failed your kingdom!" Arthur said, causing Gray to look up at him with confusion.
"What the hell are you…" Gray was about to ask when Arthur placed his hand over the one currently gripping his collar. Arthur clenched his hand, forcing Gray to let go. Then, Arthur slammed his forehead into Gray's. Gray flinched a bit from the powerful blow, but he refused to back down. Instead, he applied equal force as he tried to push Arthur back.
"Well, if that's the case, then don't you dare think this is over!" Arthur said surprising Gray. "You're upset about losing to that bard and troll? Then use that feeling to fuel your determination and harden your resolve. Learn from today. Use your mistakes to do better next time, and inflict retribution on them 100, no 1000 fold!" Arthur shouted.
Gray was left speechless by Arthur's words. After what happened out there, the last thing he expected was for an enemy player to give him advice.
"It's only the first day. You'll have plenty of time to get back at them. My guild has its eyes on Fairy Tail. So, we expect you and your kingdom to do great things." He said giving him a challenging grin.
Gray was shocked at first, then he laughed. "I got to admit… you are one weird guy." Gray said.
"…Eh?" Arthur asked with a confused expression.
"But then again, I guess I'm not really one to talk. But whatever. I wasn't going to let this get the better of me. So, you can be damn sure that next time, I'll show those guys what happens when you mess with Fairy Tail." Gray said with a confidant grin. He was still angry, but not as much as before. In a way, Arthur had helped to direct his drive to help his guild. And Gray was going to use every bit of that to his advantage.
"Excellent! I expect nothing less from the Kingdom of Fairies, paladin." Arthur said crossing his arms and walking past Gray.
Gray just continued to look at Arthur with a confused expression. 'What the heck is he talking about?' Gray thought. It was then that he remembered something that Arthur mentioned. "Hold up. What did you mean when you said that your guild has its eyes on Fairy Tail?" He asked causing Arthur to stop moving.
Arthur turned around with an uncertain look and was starting to sweat. "Oh… uh, well the thing is…" Arthur mumbled out.
Suddenly, before Arthur could say anything else, a familiar, yet foreboding presence appeared behind him. Arthur felt shivers run down his spine before a heavy hand landed on the top of his head. He started sweating even more when the hand's grip tightened.
"There you are." Said a calm voice filled with dread. Gray suddenly broke out into a cold sweat as he looked at the glasses-wearing man with a strange hat who just appeared behind Arthur.
Very slowly, Hinawa forced Arthur's body to turn around and look at him. "What the heck were you trying to pull, disappearing like that? Did you want us to put out another APB on you?" Hinawa asked with an apathetic expression. However, his voice carried a veiled promise of punishment.
'Who is this guy? His aura is crazy scary! Like some kind of male version of Erza!' Gray thought nervously. It was then that Gray finally registered the last of Hinawa's words. 'Wait. Did he say another APB?!'
Arthur, on the other hand, tried to maintain his cool façade. Although, the fact that he was now sweating buckets spoke volumes of what he was really feeling."H-Hinawa… it's not what it looks like. I merely wanted to check up on Sir Gray and make sure that he was doing ok after his recent defeat." Arthur said in an attempt to justify his actions. Hinawa's response was to bring Arthur's face closer to his, causing him to sweat even more.
"And what's this about you telling him we have our eye on him?" Hinawa asked as Arthur's whole body suddenly froze.
'Crap, he heard that?' Arthur thought. Before he could say anything else, Hinawa sighed and released Arthur, much to his relief.
"Whatever, we don't have time for this. They just announced that the matches are going to start soon. So go back to your team and stay there." He said as he moved out of the way, allowing Arthur to pass.
Arthur quickly nodded. However, before leaving, he turned back to Gray. "Until next we meet, Sir Gray." He said with a quick bow. Then he turned around and ran like a bat out of hell.
Hinawa watched Artur go, before turning to look at Gray. His face was still without emotion, but his eyes held an intensity that caused Gray to flinch. It almost felt like this Hinawa guy was trying to analyze him.
"Y-yeah? What's up?" Gray asked, trying to act tough. Though, it did not fool the man before him. Hinawa said nothing at first. Just as Gray was going to try and ask him again, he spoke up. "Don't let what Arthur said worry you too much. We're well aware of Fairy Tail's reputation, both past and current. So, it is only natural that our guild would want to keep an eye on you all." Hinawa said, trying to reassure Gray that he and his guild did not have any ill intentions.
Gray calmed down a bit, but still kept his guard up. "Also, it looks like Arthur told you everything you needed to hear. So, yeah. Learn from your mistakes today and use them to become better. Not just for yourself, but your comrades as well." Hinawa said before turning around and walking away.
"The next matches are going to begin. Fairy Tail is starting first, so I suggest you hurry back to your team and support whoever is going to fight." Hinawa said, before vanishing in the darkness of the corridor.
When he finally left, Gray let go of a breath he did not know he was holding in.
"Man, that guy was intense." Gray said rubbing his head. He then looked at the direction Hinawa and Arthur disappeared in.
"Fire Force has its eyes on us huh?... They don't seem like bad people.. Still, we probably shouldn't let our guard down around them either." Gray said as he picked up his clothes and started walking away.
"One thing's for sure. Things are only going to get more intense from here on out." Gray mumbled to himself, as he made his way to the spectators' stand to watch the next match.
Chapter End!
There we go! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.
I tried my best to make sure that I got as much of Arthur's canon personality and fighting style down in this chapter. Let me know how I did in your reviews.
Anyways, next chapter will feature Fire Force's first match of the Grand Magic Games, which I am really looking forward to writing.
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