Chapter 73: Kiora Vs Erza
She slowly stirred awake, groaning as her vision gradually came to. "Cynthia? Cynthia!" Wendy shouted as she had awakened. Her vision finally cleared to see Charla and Wendy above her. Her head rested in the Sky Dragon's lap, and as she completely came around, Cynthia sat up. "Wendy? What happened?" She asked, rubbing her right eye. Wendy smiled genuinely. "You might have overdid it." She said, pointing towards the giant hole in the roof and the night sky it revealed. A full moon, and Cynthia blinked a couple of times before speaking again. "I did that? Oh no...not again." Her expression dropped to a somber one. It was like she lost all confidence and social ability she had gained once meeting Team Natsu within an instant; how fast she cured up into a ball, her knees to her chest as she slumped into her own arms. Yet just as fast as regression appeared, it vanished into thin air as Wendy placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling once more. "When I first came to Fairy Tail, I wasn't that great. But you Cynthia...you're amazing!"
"Amazing?!" She questioned, blinking confusedly. "I went out of control, and I nearly put everyone in danger!"
"Oh there was no nearly." Charla added. "Charla!" Wendy scolded. Wendy then turned back to Cynthia, consoling her with her truthful words. "It's true that we were surprised, and a bit overwhelmed by your strength, but everyone in Fairy Tail has a story, and a family that helps them through things every day, and you're no different than any of us! You have a lot of power, Cynthia, but with Master, and Natsu even, you can learn to control your fire! I'll even help the best I can! Lucy, and Gray too! Even Erza! We're all here for you, because we're friends, and we'll never leave your side no matter what happens, okay?"
How quickly Wendy's words reached her, Cynthia tearing up as she pulled her knees closer to her chest. She would then...release that hold she had on herself, wiping her tears though more came through to replace them. "Sorry! I'm sorry! I'll learn to control my flames better so I can stay with you guys! I'm sorry!"
Though she laughed, Wendy wrapped her arms around the crying Cynthia, pressing her forehead to hers. "Don't apologize! Even if you don't learn to control your magic, you'll never stop being a Fairy Tail Mage! I'll always be here!"
"W-Okay!" She muffled through her sobbing. That's when Wendy pulled away finally, standing up and holding out a hand for Cynthia to grab. Pulling her up, the Sky Dragon looked to where Erza ran off to. "We shouldn't follow Erza though. We might get in the way for now." "Agreed." Charla nodded. "Besides, I'm sure she and the others can handle it. Even if it's Tartarus, there's only one of them."
"Um, excuse me, but..—" The three turned to Cirana and Cirano, Cirana who was now shouting while the sibling duo remained wrapped within Scooter's tentacles. "CAN YOU GET US OUT OF HERE!?"
Charla folded her arms over her chest, giving a smug, stern expression. "Sorry, but you broke the law, so this is your punishment! Hold on to them, Scooter!"
.
.
.
Round two commenced, and Erza charged Kiora head on with her giant mace like weapon. Raising it above her head, she swung it downward, and to avoid, Kiora cockily did the bare minimum by sidestepping to her left. The mace just missed, slamming into the ground and shaking the entire room, but Kiora stood just fine despite the fissure right next to her feet. Baring her teeth, Erza spared no motion as she swung her implanted blade in a horizontal manner towards Kiora. Grinning mischievously, the demoness held out her scythe to parry, grinding her heels into the bricked flooring until she came to a stop from the powerful swing. Unfazed, having fun, the playful demeanor Kiora showed held a lot of weight in their fight, for Erza was well aware that the playfulness she showed — underneath it, her true nature was that of torturous, and she planned on using such nature against Titania. Kiora swung her scythe in the same manner, horizontally which caused Erza to leap away. As she did, Kiora planted her hand to the ground, repeating the technique she used earlier.
"Such a stale attack wont work twice!" Erza pronounced, leaping to the air with her giant weapon before her, ready to parry the incoming blades of shadows. "Oh no! You've figured me out so fast! I'm so one dimensional!" Kiora playfully cued, feigning distress and purposely doing so poorly. This set Erza off, "Tch," and as she turned to above her, she noticed a portal of shadows above her, now raining swords just as fast as they were rising. Holding out her free (left) hand, Erza requipped yet another mace of the same design. With now two monstrous blades in her hand, she spun herself like a funnel, creating a small vortex of two blades with herself as the eye. The spinning allowed her to keep up with the ambushing attack, and she successfully parried each blade. She didn't have much time to recover however, as Kiora appeared before her again, meeting her for a mid air clash as the scythe nearly cleaved her in half before Erza was able to raise both blades up in an "X" formation to halt its progress. "Even with those giant bad boys, you're still weak, Red!" Kiora boasted as the two crash landed back to the floor. Both landing on their feet, yet Erza's bent knees showed who held the advantage in strength.
"It isn't my blades that make me strong!" Erza replied, trying her best to push back. Kiora quipped right back however. "It sure isn't those wimpy limbs of yours either! Let me show you true strength!" As she bragged, Kiora held her scythe with a single (left) hand, flexing her free one like a body builder. That simple moment caught Erza off guard, busy wondering how she was able to push Erza back with a single arm. That moment would cost her as Kiora then slammed a powerful right haymaker to the red head's opposing cheek. On impact she went soaring, just able to catch the ground as she fell to her knees and finally skidding to a stop as she dropped one of her blades to hold and hide her face. "Oh man, you ATE THAT!" She yelled giddily, laughing as she leaned against her own scythe, folded arms resting on top of its blade as she waited for Erza to recover. "Haaaa oh man. If only Maggie were here." At her own sentence she snapped her fingers as the image of her partner came into clear view. "Maggie! That's her name. Man I miss her. I'll definitely have to find her after this. She's probably shacked up with some rich snob or something. That's definitely her taste. Good old manipulating Maggie."
"Yeah, thats Kiora again alright." Takeru thought to himself, sighing. "The rest of her memories are just icing to a cake for her. She's completely back to normal now, and Erza doesn't stand a chance. Neither do I, unfortunately, but if that fairy can keep her busy, I can find the right opening where I can channel my magic band strike her down with one blow. Everything I got, but it'll be worth it if I connect. I hope...even if I don't kill her, if it's enough to incapacitate her, I'll just have to let Erza deal the final blow...if she's able to that is. I'll say about a five minute window.."
"Your rambling is quite annoying." Erza said, pushing her way back to her feet. Once standing again, she shifted into her Heaven's Wheel, pointing her new, standard blade Kiora's way. "Take me seriously. I don't want you losing from underestimating me."
"...Make it a three minute window." Tak said, correcting himself. Kiora began laughing at Titania's bold request. "You poor wittle soul! You think that you deserve my full attention?" Laughing continued as she held out a right hand, shadows manifesting and then forming into a pair of nunchucks — her scythe disappearing as well. Mocking the ancient art, the demoness spun them within her hands with the precision of an actual master, but the noises she made as she did so caused anger to rise within Erza as Takeru looked on with comical disbelief. Kiora then waved towards Erza, beckoning her to attack once more with the nunchucks tucked under her arm. "Ya don't deserve it, ya dingus!"
Anger rose within her, but Erza took in a deep breath, attempting to calm herself before reopening her eyes to glare back towards Kiora. "She's playing around, but her actual combat movements say otherwise. Is she actually stronger than what she's putting on, or is this the peak of her strength but she just has a playful demeanor? No, neither matters. What matters here is that if I don't stop her now, lives will be at stake once again. This is our chance to nip Tartarus in the bud before they have a chance to blossom once again. If I can defeat her here, like we all promised the council we did six months ago, then there will be no consequences. If I don't, then Fairy Tail's reputation, no...their livelihood will be at stake. White Eclipse's as well. That's what's important here, is saving our guilds, and she's the beginning...and end of it all! I have to stop Kiora here, and I will!" At the finale of her words, Erza slowly raised her single blade with two hands by her ear. Pointing it Kiora's way as the demoness continued taunting her, multiple magic seal appeared behind Erza, filling the entire room height and length wise. "Oh?" Kiora cocked a brow, looking on at the endless sight of magic circles before her. "Well then. You know what they say." Kiora said, not moving. "...I don't know what they say but bring it on Red!"
Erza did just that as hundreds of swords came rocketing out from those magic seals, all aimed for Kiora at a breakneck speed. The joke weapon in her hands faded away, and Kiora held a smirk that almost seemed uncharacteristic of her, for she wasn't being playful at this moment, but more excited than anything. Along with that grin, her blue eyes shifted to a red hue, and Kiora bent at the knees. "Hundreds of swords, hundreds of openings." She whispered, taking off in the blink of an eye to rush towards her target. With each elusive step forward, Kiora made a path towards Erza, untouched by every blade that threatened her. Her eyes were shifting back and forth like a machine calculating and computing an algorithm. She was almost to Erza, leaping forward once more until — "Heaven's Will: Pentagram Sword!" Creating a Pentagram blade swings, Erza swung directly past Kiora with her technique, and the feel of making contact gave Scarlet all the satisfaction she needed. Kiora was now upside down, eyes closed as Erza landed a distance away from her.
"Is that my cue?" Takeru asked himself, but his answer was quickly answered as Kiora then smirked. "That was a close one!"
Erza eyes widened, only to turn and see Kiora's shape, or lack their off in the place she was seemingly cut. What looked like open gashes, were simply her embodiment curse power, changing back to a physical form, rendering Kiora..unharmed. Maniacal laughter came from the demoness as she gave the illusion that she was suspended in mid air. "I'll give it to you, Erza! I couldn't keep up with all of that, even with my eyes! You've grown, and that's hella rad! But... there's a reason why I wouldn't let your blades touch me for so long." Kiora then painted on her most evil visage, dominating the room with her sinister aura as she boasted. "It's because the look on your face — the look you have on right now — would have been just as satisfying as I predicted once you finally landed a blow with one of your blades! Look at your face, that look of despair! It tickles me to no end! But now that you know the extent of my abilities, it's time...for you to kick the bucket, Red!"
In a flash of shadows, Kiora disappeared, appearing right next to Erza with her favorite scythe in hand once more. Shocked, Erza swung her blade for Kiora's midsection, slicing right through her. Desperation told Scarlet that she made a direct hit, but just as seconds ago, Kiora's waistline reformed instantly as she laughed once again, simultaneously swinging her own scythe towards Titania. Erza let out a grueling cry as the scythe forcefully pierced right through her left shoulder. Kiora then used the remnants of her momentum to impale the wall behind her as well, now hanging Erza off her feet, by her shoulder like a decoration.
"Hey, with those wings you look like an angel on a Christmas tree!" Kiora exclaimed, pretending to attempt to wipe some of the blood off her shoulder. "Well. A fallen angel." Kiora then leaned towards Erza with that same maniacal grin as before, whispering to her as her eyes shifted back from red to blue. "Don't worry. You're not going to die alone. First, I'm going to get Takeru, who is hiding behind that wall.."
"Wha— Take—" Before Erza could shout his name, Kiora rammed a knee straight into her abdomen, causing her to cough out saliva and blood instead of finishing his name. "Then, it'll be everyone else in this castle, whether mine or yours. How's that sound?"
Laughing loudly again, Kiora placed her foot upon Erza's abdomen, pushing against it as a knife made of shadows manifested in her left hand. She then raised it over her head, smirking as she looked Titania dead in the eyes. "But of course, we start with you. So long, Red!"
He grimaced, hands shaking as Kiora raised that blade over her head. "It's now or never Takeru! Make your move or she dies! It sounded like she knows I'm here though! Is it a trap!? No! She's going to kill Erza regardless! But will the opening I'm looking for appear when she strikes her!? Shit! This is too much! Hurry up and decide Tak! Move...Move! Move dammit! This is the only option, so that means...—"
.
.
.
"Cerberus!" Natsu shouted, readying himself for a fight with the beast. Lucy bravely did the same as Happy used his natural instincts to cower in a back corner, hands over his ears as he faced away from the three headed hound. "Dog...dog..giant dog...just think of fish! Think of fish! Think of fish!"
"Here he comes!" Natsu warned, and Cerberus reacted by first letting out a loud roar, and then leaping towards both Natsu and Lucy. The duo leapt opposite ways, and Cerberus picked his prey, landing and then turning left to pounce towards Lucy herself. She shrieked while raising a key. "Why did it chose me! Virgo!" She shouted desperately, and as the chime of a doorbell would toll throughout the room, a hole where Lucy once stood appeared, causing Cerberus to just miss his target. From that hole as well, the maid of the celestial spirits appeared with a powerful kick to the hellhound's middle jaw. Barely effective, the three headed beast shaking it off like a minor inconvenience. Lucy hopped out of another hole on the other side of the room, counting her blessing before recalling Virgo. "Virgo, close gate!" She shouted whilst holding another key. As Virgo disappeared with punishment, Lucy held her ground, yet to summon her key in hand as she kept eyes on Cerberus. That's because at the top of her peripheral vision, she could see Natsu leaping towards the ceiling as fire coated around his entire frame. "Iron Fist..." he shouted, gaining the beast's attention as those flames around him focused onto his right fist. "...Of the Fire Dragon!" The flaming haymaker crashed into the right head of Cerberus, causing a whimper of pain to release from the hound. Still, that was the full extent of it, as Cerberus shook off the blow seconds after. With a mighty two legged stomp, the giant dog shook the entire room, catching Natsu and Lucy off guard as Lucy fell to her rear while Natsu stumbled about. That's when Cerberus charged, causing Lucy to raise her key once more. "Open, Gate of the Bull! Taurus!"
"MOOOOO!" He shouted as his bell tolled, appearing from the ground just in time as he held out both arms to catch the left open mouth of the giant hound. Saving Lucy from being devoured, Taurus, and Natsu as well, held onto the left and middle head by their open jaws as they continued sliding backwards from the sheer force Cerberus showcased.
Though eventually they matched strength with it, the right head was still free, and was rearing back to attack. "Natsu! Taurus! The right!" Lucy shouted, but the two had no way in defending it with their hands full like they were. The right head lunged for Natsu, only to stop inches short as the rest of Cerberus halted as well. Something was happening, and no one knew exactly what just yet, but Cerberus began to grow a pale shade. That pale shade then turned grey, the beast completely grey in color now as it's eyes became completely white. The middle jaw then began to open wider and wider, despite Natsu not putting forth any effort.
"What's going on?" Lucy asked, scared and hesitant. That's when the familiar voice rung. "I told you..." He said, pushing Cerberus's jaw open to where they could see his mangled body, or what was left of it. "I'll stop at nothing to stay by Madam's side... not even this damned mutt can keep me from her! She'll still accept me just like this!"
Natsu and Lucy's eyes widened in disbelief. Lucy covered her mouth at the sight. "Sero..." The sound of sympathetics as even Natsu turned away from the sight momentarily. Sero was feeling quite the opposite however. "Haaaah...I was so desperate." He admitted, wiping some blood from his mouth — blood that wasn't his own. "I was so desperate to see Madam again, that I bit Cerberus with my Zombie magic." {Viral Bite — the ability to zombify his target with a wound causing bite.} "But I'm sure she'll forgive me. I'm her favorite after all!"
"Oi! Cut that out!" Natsu shouted, gathering everyone's attention. At this point, The Salamander has had enough of Sero's faux resolve. Fire and now lightning began to dance around his frame as he crouched low, still holding on to Cerberus's middle jaw. "Kiora is using you!"
"Don't say that name!" Sero shouted, and as he did, the zombie hell hound reacted, trying to bite down on Natsu and Taurus with even more strength than before. "You're stupid, not noble! She's been using you, and she won't need you anymore anyways! If you won't open your eyes, weirdo! Then I'll do it for you! Lightning Flame Dragon's...Sword Horn!" After a loud battle cry, Natsu slammed a head butt into Cerberus's underbelly. Even with such a monstrous being, the Fire Dragon took off like a rocket, slamming right through ceiling after ceiling as the luckily Get unknowingly raced towards Kiora.
"Natsu!" Lucy yelled as Happy ran over to watch. Lucy then spoke to the exceed. "Let's go after them!" To which the He-Cat replied. "Aye Sir!"
.
.
.
"Move dammit! This is the only option, so that means..." Before Takeru could finish that sentence, a rumbling could be felt below him. At the same time, Kiora felt it too, dropping her heinous smile towards Erza to look down in confusion. "What's going on down there?" She asked.
"Now!" Takeru exclaimed to himself, zipping to the ceiling above unnoticed. As he arrived, a mixture of black, and even darker black swirled around his right arm as he then lunged for Kiora in a dive bomb. "If I don't strike now, I would have missed my chance! So make this count! Demonic-Dragon's..."
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Finally, through the last floor, Natsu broke past it, slamming Cerberus into an off guard Kiora. "Wh—!" Before she could even gather her thoughts, Kiora was sent flying upwards with her own pet, and from above..
"...Dark Wing Slash!" Takeru landed a direct hit to Kiora's temple with his elbow coated in both Shadow Dragon Slaying And Darkness Devil Slaying Magic. Undoubtedly a direct hit from both Dragon Slayers, Takeru couldn't help but scream within the confines of his mind. "YES!"
.
.
.
"Nice home." He joked, but the second he stepped a single foot inside, Wendy, Charla, Cynthia, Cirano, and Cirana instantly gained horrified expressions. "And oh yes." He said, hunching over with a crazily evil expression on his features. So cool, yet so scary — he stared at nothing as he made a simple observation.
"I smell some real familiar humans."
