Chapter 82: Wrath of the Two Dragons

The three sides would collide for a shockwave inducing blow. Takeru and Natsu met with both Franmalth and Rugal as Lucy and Happy hung in the back watching carefully. "Aries...Taurus..I have to save them before it's too late..! But..." Lucy's thoughts lingered, only to be interrupted by an elongated arm. She barely leapt out the way, shrieking in the process of Franmalth's words.

"Don't get caught spectating! I did say that I'm taking every soul here, didn't I?" The demon shouted, laughing until he caught a vicious right hand from Takeru, sending him skidding away before gathering himself once more. "You're a cocky demon, wanting to take us all on. I find that disrespectful, since I'm more than enough for you, creep."

"Oh you think so?" Franmalth replied, but as he did so, Rugal appeared behind him, slamming a powerful haymaker to his skull and into the ground. "He's right. Even with this being a fight between three parties, you're surely outmatched."

"Yet I outmatch all of you!" Rugal's eyes widened for a split second as Franmalth's words laced with an unfazed tone echoed throughout the room. The demon of Tartarus would then extend his left arm for Rugal's face, only for the other demon to react just in time by opening a portal just before his own eyes. Surprisingly precise, as Natsu was seen in the green haired demon's peripherals, so Rugal created an exit just in front of The Salamander, causing Franmalth to grab him instead, slamming him into the wall behind.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted, still feeling helpless with both Taurus and Aries under Franmalth's siege. "There's gotta be something we can do.." Happy murmured painfully. "Yeah, stay back." Takeru announced, rushing past them once more to charge for both Rugal and Franmalth. An accumulation of Shadow Dragon Slaying Magic manifested in both of his hands, and as Tak rushed towards them both, Franmalth and Rugal both perked, turning their attention to the incoming Dragon Slayer. "Shadow Dragon's Vortex!"

Swinging both of his arms in a counterclockwise motion, Takeru created a powerful vortex of shadows that swung through as they reached for the two demons. "Hmph." A pompous verbal notion, Rugal simply opened his right hand, creating another portal. His one inhaled the incoming attack Takeru unleashed, causing him to snarl at his actions. "Don't worry. You'll still get one of us!" He exclaimed, opening his free hand to create yet another portal directly beneath Franmalth. From there, the opening released Takeru's former attack, bombarding Franmalth with it as he let out a vicious scream of pain. Slammed against the ceiling, yet landing on his feet just before hitting the ground, Franmalth turned an annoyed visage towards the other demon in the room. "You know that won't affect me." He said in an angered tone. Rugal simply grinned.

"I'm aware of that. Its just humorous to toy with you. It also makes for a good warmup, but now..." As he spoke, Rugal reached back as an accumulation of green illumination gathered in his right hand. Upon this, the entire room began shaking as furrowed brows joined his grinning expression; showing a mixture of hostility to go along with his calming manner. "..I'll be getting serious from here on, because as ugly as you are, Franmalth, I know that you'll outclass me unless I give it my full strength!"

"How dare you!?" Franmalth shouted, holding his ground. Yet, he grinned too. "You can't beat me no matter how much strength you use! You're feeling that confident? Then show me just how much it'll cost to take me down! How much, how much will it cost you, Rugal!?"

"Oi!" Takeru shouted, showing an angered expression of his own whilst stepping into the mix of Franmalth and Rugal. As he and Natsu stepped forth, they pulsated their respective Dragon Slaying Magics, causing the rumbling in the room to escalate greatly. "I'm not going to tell you demons again..."

Natsu then spoke up as well in between Takeru's statement, grinning their way like a wild animal. "You two busy flapping your gums about beating each other..."

That's when they both shouted. "But overlooking me will be the reason you both lose! I'm kicking both of your asses right here!"

"This is bad." Tobias thought to himself, eyeing Ezel carefully as Ezel himself watched and waited for the duo of Cynthia and Wendy to arrive. He knew that they had to come down here eventually in order to stop face, so he played the waiting game. "I was hoping to avoid allowing Ezel to use his Etherious form, but I had no choice since he saved him. But he only did it to save himself as well. I can't match this strength, but maybe I can find an opening when the time is right...after all...I can't leave here without killing him."

"Here they come." Ezel's words caused Tobias to perk up, and just as he foretold, Tobias spotted both Cynthia and Wendy rushing towards them. Tobias took a step back, understanding that he was indeed the weakest variable here at the moment, especially with Cynthia dominating the previous round between them with her newest acquirement, and now with Ezel in his Etherious form.

"That Ezel guy looks different!" Wendy called out. Cynthia nodded while Charla spoke. "Be careful of him. His arms are now blades and it looks like he has on some kind of armor."

"I'll take him then." Cynthia stated, and before anyone could interject, she was off in front, leaping from wall to wall until she sprung forward towards Ezel with a flaming right fist reared back behind her. Ezel crossed his bladed arms, set to defend, but just before Cynthia struck...

"Arms!" Wendy shouted, upping Cynthia's offensive capabilities at the last second. Impact was made, sliding Ezel back a tremendous distance despite his defensive prowess beforehand.

They slid just out of distance, Tobias turning to watch them disappear only to turn and see an incoming Wendy who was also amped by her own enchantment. It wasn't enough for the Tartarus Outcast however. She led with a right leg, but Tobias slid to the right, avoiding her completely with minimal movement. Keeping her close, the demon's right leg sparked lightning, and he slammed it into her weakened defense of a right arm, causing her to slide away painfully. With barely any time to recover, Wendy just noticed Tobias pursuing, leaping out of the way of his incoming lightning infused stomp that aimed for her body. Before she could clear his range however, Tobias grabbed the young girl by her leg to halt her escape. "No escape." He boasted, but as Wendy looked up, she fired a Sky Dragon's Roar without warning, slamming the point blank attack directly into Tobias. Causing him to let go, Wendy was once again free of his hold. Tobias was sent flying backwards, but before he could hit the cavern wall behind him, he vanished in a spark of lightning, only to reappear seconds later above Wendy with his right hand extended. From the palm of that hand, he shouted "Begone" whilst firing a powerful blast of flames towards Wendy.

"Roar!" Wendy shouted in response, sticking to her limited arsenal and firing off yet another Sky Dragon's Roar that collided with the blast of fire. What started off as a stalemate quickly formed into a one sided array as Tobias chose the right element for this clash; Wendy's wind only causing the flames to grow in strength as it pushed down on her. Tobias's attack would push down and down and finally, the flames would crash into the ground to overtake Wendy — that is, if Charla hadn't come to save her in time.

"Charla!?" Wendy said in surprise, thankful for the save.

"We need to catch up to Cynthia. You can't take him on by yourself. You two are better together." The exceed responded, flying down the cavern pathway. Feeling a bit disappointed in her abilities, she nodded in agreement, but before her and Charla could make it, the cavern pathway suddenly closed! The earthen walls and ceiling of the cavern all pulled into one point, creating a thick wall that separated Cynthia and Ezel from Wendy and Tobias.

"W-what!? A wall!?" Wendy exclaimed in confusion. That's when they turned around to see Tobias grinning maliciously, marching towards them. "I control the elements, remember? I've been toying around before, but we're in a cavern. There's nothing but natural Earth here. Of course I would have the advantage!"

Wendy gulped, touching back down to the ground as she stood with her back against the newly formed wall with her hands running against it subtly. "It's thick. Really thick...I won't be able to break through this so easily. Plus, I'm sure he's not going to let me even try...Cynthia— no! She's fighting too! I can't just let my limits hold me back! I have to win here and get to her...to Face!"

Finally skidding to a stop, Cynthia flipped away from a swinging Ezel to avoid one of his many blades. The second she touched down again, she rushed forward, but was surprised to see Ezel charging as well. Eyes widening, she ducked just in time as the demon swung another bladed hand, slicing through the walls of the cavern instead of his intended target. She looked back to watch the damage, but that's when she noticed the wall that separated herself from Wendy. "Huh? When.."

"Tobias. It seems like he plans on finishing off your friend before meeting his own demise against me. That just means that I'll be doing the same to you."

Cynthia sucked her teeth, and even went as far as to rush for the newly formed cavern wall in an attempt to break it. "Where do you think you're going!?" Ezel shouted, raising a sword shaped limb before swinging it downward to create a slicing wave that pursued Cynthia. Noticing, Cynthia veered out the way at the last second, causing the Ezel's bladed strike to slice right through the wall cleanly. Not enough to knock the wall down, but a crevice was now created to which both sides could see through.

"Wendy!" Cynthia shouted, in hopes that she could hear her. "Wendy are you okay!?"

She peered through the crevice created, but what she saw struck her speechless, her eyes widening at the horrific sight before her. "No...NO!"

The obvious had happened. With Charla knelt beside her, trying to wake her, and the large open wound against her back, common sense told Cynthia that Wendy was struck by Ezel's blade. A direct hit, knocking the young Slayer unconscious, if only that. "Pity." Tobias spoke, slowly raising his hand as he gathered an abundance of fire in his palm. "But it saves me the energy. Good riddance, Fairy Tail brat."

"No! Stop! STOP!" Cynthia shouted, desperately reaching out for Wendy who was too far to grab. Charla was her last line of defense, simply covering her with her small frame for a body shield that obviously wouldn't hold if struck. "This is my fault. I went on without her! I can't...I can't let her die here! Wendy!"

As she cried for her best friend, Cynthia gripped the crevice of the cavern wall with both hands, desperately trying to pry it open with bare strength. It wasn't budging in such a sense, but as she pulled, her hands would cause explosive pops of fire that would gradually break apart the wall that restricted her from reaching the fallen Wendy.

"Ahaha! You're too late, kid!" Ezel shouted, rushing towards her with his blades at the ready. "Instead of trying to save her, join her in death!"

Ezel laughed maniacally as he pulled his swords to his chest, crossing them over his sternum as he prepped to end Cynthia with a single strike. A game ending attack looming for both girls without their focus, Cynthia continued to pull on the wall, and the more it broke apart, the more leeway she was making, trying her hardest to save Wendy. The more it broke apart, the easier it became to break the wall, and within those few seconds of desperation, her strength within her newfound dual mode took over from there, creating an opening wide enough for her to scramble through, tripping over her own momentum and falling forward. This movement caused Ezel's incoming cross slash from his chest to miss her completely. But as Tobias looked up with widened eyes, the outcast had no time to avoid what was to come, screaming "NOOOOOO" as his only defense as the Etherious slashes cut across his body. Eyes turning completely white, Tobias fell over, planting on his back lifelessly after taking such an attack openly.

"Tch, I missed. Or did I?" Ezel said with a grin upon his features. Turning back to Cynthia who was checking on Wendy, Ezel began walking over. She saw him, baring her teeth as he came closer. "Give us a break!" She shouted, scooping Wendy in her arms and blitzing down deeper into the cavern. "Oh no you don't!" Ezel shouted, swinging arm after arm as he pursued the three, creating slice after slice that flew towards Cynthia and company. She did well in avoiding each strike without losing any momentum, zigzagging while using her magic to keep ahead of Ezel until they reached their destination. Finally, skidding to a halt, Cynthia looked up in awe as she saw the massive structure lying dormant. Face.

"This is it.." She said, Charla looking up as well to notice the Face before her. That's when they both noticed the timer. "Ten minutes..!?" The exceed pointed out. "One minute until it's activated? We have to stop it now!" As she shouted, she hopped down from Cynthia's shoulders, scurrying over to Face as Wendy then stirred awake, sniffing the air.

"Wendy!" Cynthia shouted, so happy to see her awake.

"The air...it's...very...—" Wendy began, only to be cut off by Ezel's arrival. Cynthia caught him in the corner of her eye, leaping away to a safe space to avoid the incoming stab into the ground that was intended for her. "Stay here. I'll be right back.." She said, laying Wendy down carefully as Ezel laughed. "Your friend is incapable of moving, you're growing weaker by the second, and that Cat is another piece in the way. You think you have the resources to defeat me!? I'm going to devour you all! Get ready to join Tobias!"

Without warning, Ezel fired off two more slashes, directly at Wendy which forced Cynthia to hold her position. She knew exactly what he was up to, but with no way of evading without leaving her best friend in harms way, the Dragon Slayer encased her arms with sky-flame, holding her ground as she folded her arms over her chest. The slices created by Ezel would crash into her, and with her magic holding up as a barrier just enough to keep her from being cut into pieces, Cynthia's wounds would only grow deeper from still taking the brunt of Ezel's attack. Laughing maniacally, Ezel Would continue his assault after finding fruition in his first attack, pinning Cynthia to her current position. She was aware that if she stayed like this any longer, both her and Wendy would be sliced to shreds. She could feel her arms becoming numb, trembling at the physical pain as well as the thought of letting Wendy become harmed at her current state.

Gritting her teeth, as Ezel continued laughing and slashing away, Cynthia focused the flames and winds covering her hands, causing them to expand outwardly like a shield. They did their job as well, for now Ezel's attacks were being repelled by the barrier like flaming structure. It was buying her some time, realizing that she was no longer being struck by the blades, though the damage was already done. Her arms were already feeling heavy, limp and useless. Still, she fought to keep them raised despite these conditions. Unfortunately for her, Ezel also noticed the viable defense.

"You think that'll stop me, brat!? There's nothing I can't cut through!" As he shouted, Ezel charged in, reading back on of his many right sided limbs in preparation to cleave through Cynthia's defenses. Just before he reached her however, Cynthia grinned. "You're too close..."

Ezel swung his horizontal slice for Cynthia's throat, but she ducked beneath, clenching her right hand tightly as she aimed for his unguarded abdomen. "Iron Fist of the Omega Sky Flame Dragon!" With a loud battle cry, Cynthia fired her Iron Fist technique with all of her might — a home run swing directly for the abdomen backed by a dangerous amount of Sky and Fire Dragon Slaying Magic. It was a direct hit...but as Cynthia gave it a second look, a blink turned to wide eyes as she realized that instead of where she was aiming, the bruised up Dragon Slayer's fist slammed into the broad side of another one of Ezel's blades. Her eyes looked up to see a menacing demon grinning her way after her failed attempt.

"That's the different between magic and curses. Where did all of that strength of yours go, huh!? Let me show you the unrelenting power of curses!"

"C-Cynthia...!" Wendy shouted in her pained state. But it was too late. Ezel reared back, every bladed like connected to his frame now clutched by his side before violently stabbing into an exposed Cynthia cleanly, over and over again at a high speed rate. With her folded arms as her only defense, the piercing blows by Ezel came in rapid succession, stabbing into arms and legs before a decisive blow was made to her side. Once the demon was done with his skewering, a teetering Cynthia looked him in the eyes, causing the laughing Ezel to pause for a moment, raising a brow in curiosity. Cynthia would then spread her arms outwards, acting as a blockade between Ezel and Wendy. Her stature only last for a few seconds however, for just after, Cynthia fell over, face first as she reverted back to her base form, unconscious.

"Cynthia!" Charla and Wendy shouted, but she was unresponsive. All that was heard, was Ezel's maniacal laughter echoing throughout the cavern. Suddenly, the demon then leapt forward, landing directly on top of Wendy which caused her to shout out in pain. Now towering over her, pinning her down, Ezel chimed in. "Look. That's face. In just five minutes, it'll be activated. You know what happens next...the world of magic will be eradicated, and the power of curses will reign! Do you get it!? The era of mages is over! Not that you'll be around to see it. You'll be devoured by me before that."

Before any action could be taken, Charla leapt onto Ezel, desperately clawing at his face in a feeble attempt to stop whatever he had planned.

"Get off of her!" The exceed shouted, scratching at Ezel's face until he grabbed her. "Huh? I guess I can start with a little snack to warm my appetite!"

Wendy's eyes shot open, shouting "CHARLA" as she struggled beneath Ezel to no avail. As Ezel was nearing to chomping down on the exceeds head, Charla called out to her once more. "Wendy...Air..."

That's when the sudden realization hit, Wendy thinking to herself. "Air...? The Ethernano around Face.. if it's mixing into the air...I can..."

Her words trailed off, but the Sky Dragon then took in a deep breath, inhaling the air around her. "Then maybe...like Natsu-san I can also..."

Simultaneously to the sounds of Charla screaming in pain, a powerful torrent of winds caught Ezel off guard, launching him into the air to free both Wendy and Charla of his grip. "What!?" He shouted, watching from above as Wendy stops once more. She looked different however, and the winds swirling around her confirmed it. Her hair and eyes were now pink, and on her wrists, ankles and even her shoulder blades laid white scales protruding from her body. Glaring towards Ezel now, the demon called out in surprise. "What is this!?" To which Carla weakly replied. "Dragon...Force..!"

"I can feel the voice of the wind... the heartbeat of the atmosphere... I'm the one who controls this space now!"

As the winds around her picked up, Wendy disappeared from sight. "She vanished..." Ezel speculated. Wendy's speed had drastically increased, creating the illusion of disappearing, and as she reappeared behind Ezel, her petite right fist slammed into his spine, sending him spiraling towards the floor until he crashed into the ground painfully. Just as fast as he made impact, Ezel sprung up again, swinging a bladed hand her way. "Brat!" He called out, but once again Wendy disappeared from sight, causing him to miss. Reappearing behind him once more, Wendy fired off a torrent of enhanced sky magic, barreling it directly into Ezel once more. Once again, Ezel went flying, slamming into a wall as rubble covered over him from the impact. And just as fast as he fell, he recovered; this time with a grin on his features as he charged Wendy once more. "Interesting! But you're still not strong enough!"

"Wendy! The time!" Charla shouted, bringing the worst factor into display. Two minutes remained, and Wendy shouted "I know," raising her hands over her head to prepare herself for a powerful blow. "I'll finish it here!"

"Eh? Wind?" Ezel asked as wind indeed picked up around him. With that concentrated course of wind, Ezel was blinding by what came next. "Shouha Tenkūsen!"

"Oh no you don't!" Ezel shouted. "My curse is a demonic blade that can cut through anything! New Moon!" Swinging all of his bladed limbs in a circular motion at different angles, Ezel indeed sliced through the winds Wendy created, nullifying her attack completely. The New Moon technique even struck Wendy, sending her skidding across the ground painfully before she finally caught herself.

"Come on...Wendy..." a now awake Cynthia would slowly breathe out, unable to move still.

"Now to finish you off!" He screamed, rushing towards Wendy at full speed. At this moment, Wendy would once again gather more wind around Ezel. "It's no use!" He shouted again, blinded by his hunger to finish Wendy off. "More..." she murmured. "I must gather more wind.. I need it!"

"I said it's no use! Now die!" As Ezel shouted, he swung his vicious blade downward for Wendy's skull...

...only to have it slammed into a pocket of condensed wind she created just before her own person. The collision caused a repelling action, sending Ezel flying at a violent speed and crashing right through face and destroying it. Watching it crumble to pieces, Wendy, Charla, and a smiling Cynthia rejoiced as the structure was no more!

But...

"Wait..." Charla pointed out. "The countdown...its still going!"

"How!?" Wendy shouted, falling to her knees with no ability to stand anymore. Trembling with tears building up in her eyes, she let out a frustrated whine, apologizing to everyone for what she perceived as failure. "I'm sorry..everyone. We tried..."

"There's still a way..." Charla said, struggling to her feet. "Face is absorbing a lot of Ethernano...if we can transform that energy into something else... we can create an auto-destruct magic circle and it will explode. The only problem is..." She hesitates, turning it Wendy as she reached Face again. "I sought for a future, but this is as far is I got. I don't know how big the explosion will be, Wendy.. so take Cynthia and run while you can. I'll take care of Face."

"What!? No!" Wendy shouted, absolutely refusing to do so. Charla understood her refusal, but pushed on. "Please live, Wendy.."

"No! I can't leave you alone!"

"Run away or I can't make it explode!"

"No! We must stay together! The three of us! Charla!"

"I have no power left to fly. I can't run away, Wendy."

"I know! I can't move anymore either, and neither can Cynthia. But everyone is relying on us. If they lose their magic now..while fighting Tartarus, they'll be gone too.. so I'm not going anywhere."

"So..I guess our adventure ends here." Cynthia said, just able to speak. Wendy looked her way, able to see the smile on Cynthia's face. "It was short, but I'm so glad to have met you, Wendy...and all of Fairy Tail. I had fun though, because you gave me a chance, and I'm sorry we couldn't keep going..."

"Cynthia...don't be!" Wendy shouted, hugging a tearful Charla with a smile of her own. "I had fun too, because you two were with me on each adventure. So even through this...let's become friends again, okay?"

"Right..!" Cynthia shouted with her last breath.

"Of course..." Charla added as the rumbling in the cavern picked up. Following, as the timer finally hit zero, a massive explosion occurred just as Charla predicted, destroying all of the cavern they resided in and nearly most of the valley as well.

...

A zipping sound was heard, and seen just off of the explosion, a familiar face of Doranbolt, carrying two girls and a cat landed to a kneel, placing them on the ground gently. "Whew! Just made it! You two really over did it, but who knew such little heroes could destroy face."