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Ultimate Fairy
Chapter 13: The Phantom Lord
Part V
…
Last time on "Ultimate Fairy"…
Ben and Erza both took stances, ready to stand their ground. "This guy is tough…really tough. How do we stop him?" the former asked.
Titania was silent as she contemplated a possible strategy to fight Jose. She knew he was very powerful. Hell, he was on par with Makarov. Nonetheless, she knew that Ben and herself were both powerful as well, but not strong enough to take him on alone. There was only one option.
"He's just as powerful as Master Makarov," Erza said. "The only chance we have of defeating him is to fight him together."
Blitzwolfer nodded. Though he would've preferred to fight Jose alone with one of his heavy-hitters, he knew that he would only cause a lot of damage and possibly hurt one of his friends by mistake. Besides, teaming up with Erza would be put the odds more in their favor.
"Sounds good to me," Ben replied.
"Killing you two will bring me so much pleasure!" Jose jeered manically as he lit up his hands with Darkness Magic and fired another ethereal tornado at the duo.
…
Blitzwolfer quickly jumped in front of Erza and let out another sonic-howl, creating a sound barrier of sorts that deflected the swirling blast. As soon as Jose ceased his attack, an eyebrow lifted when he saw that a certain armor-shifting wizard was missing.
'Now where did Miss Titania go?' Jose mused.
Titania made her presence known when she flew at the darkness wizard and attempted to slash him. Master Jose, however, saw this coming and simply sidestepped the attack.
He grinned sinisterly. 'Ah…there she is.'
Erza slashed at him relentlessly, trying to land a blow, but Jose avoided them with ease. When she lunged at him, Jose grabbed Erza's forearm, spun around and threw her across the room. In midair, she corrected herself and landed on her feet.
With Erza out of range, Blitzwolfer opened his mouth and howled once more, which threw Jose into the nearest wall. The impact with the wall caused stones to fall and a debris cloud to form around the darkness mage, blocking Ben and Erza's sight of Jose.
Blitzwolfer was expecting Jose to leap out of the dust cloud pissed off; however, he was met by surprise when the sadistic wizard suddenly appeared behind him. The Omnitrix teen was unprepared for a powerful punch coated with purple energy to the face. Ben went careening back, bounced off the wall, and then fell back to the stone floor in a comical fashion.
Without looking, Jose ducked low to avoid what would've been a lethal swipe from Erza. Titania then slashed vertically but Jose simply dodged that blow as well, a confident, smug grin on his face. This only enraged Erza more as she slashed countless times at Jose, in different patterns, all within a blink of an eye. Amazingly, their enemy evaded every attack.
Jose then went on the offensive, holding out his hand and flicking his finger at Erza. The result was a small but powerful projectile of violent energy smacking into her, which sent her flying backward and into a pile of rubble.
Blitzwolfer picked himself up in time to see Erza get blown back. His emerald eyes widened a bit from shock. Jose had simply flicked her away like an insect! Ben glared at the darkness mage and clenched his fists in anger.
The Loboan crouched low and leaped into the air. Right when he was above Master Jose, he unleashed an all-out, sonic-howl. Phantom Lord's master was forced to his knees from the powerful soundwaves. The floor underneath his feet even began to crack away into tiny fragments and dent downward into a bowl.
Despite the agonizing pain that Jose was feeling, he brought up his head and scowled at his opponent. The darkness mage let out a fierce cry as he shot out an amethyst tendril of ghosts from his magical seal. Blitzwolfer wasn't quick enough as a ghostly hand wrapped around him and tossed him into Erza, who was just getting up from the rubble. The duo slammed into each other with a loud smack; both groaned in pain from the impact.
Jose put his hands behind his back and smirked. "Hmph…you both are quite impressive, power-wise. But your methods of attacks are futile against me."
Titania and the Omnitrix bearer shakily got up and glared daggers at Jose. Both were keen enough to know that what they were doing wasn't going to work. They had to try something else.
"He's right Erza," Blitzwolfer whispered. "We're gonna need to mix it up."
Erza took a stance and held her sword ready for a possible attack from Jose. "I agree, but what? His powers are very strong."
Ben hummed in contemplation as his mind went to work. So far, he had noticed that most of Jose's offense was based on firing darkness magic whether in the form of twisters, lightning, bullets, or ghosts. The most fearful he had seen so far was that Shade Entangle. He knew that if he and Erza got caught in that, they were surely doomed.
He processed it all and realized that even though Jose's attacks were some form of dark energy, it was still energy. Suddenly, that's when it hit him.
"I got an idea that may give us an advantage," Ben said.
Before Erza could ask, he tapped the Omnitrix dial again. After the usual flash, standing in his place was a seven-foot-tall, cycloptic humanoid comprised of purple rock. Its face and the spikes on his chest, back, and horn on his head were made up of pink crystal. The Omnitrix dial was positioned on its chest.
"Chromastone," Ben shouted.
Jose, still smiling, lifted a brow in interest. "Another Take-Over? I'll enjoy breaking this form as well!"
The master of Phantom Lord held out his hand and discharged a huge, purple lightning bolt at Ben. Erza was about to warn Ben to move until something completely unexpected happened. Chromastone simply folded his arms over his chest and stood in a nonchalant manner, letting the blast hit him a second later. Ben was unharmed as he absorbed the power from the attack, much to Jose and Erza's shock. Though Chromastone had to concede, he did feel a slight twinge of discomfort when he absorbed the darkness magic.
After absorbing the lightning, Chromastone's body was glowing with the colors of the rainbow. Ben sneered. "Thanks for the pick-me-up, creeper!"
He extended both arms and fired two rainbow-colored beams at Jose. The Phantom master was too stunned to react as the blasts landed direct hits on his abdomen, which sent him careening back into a pile of fallen roof rubble.
Chromastone turned back to Erza, who was looking at him with slight awe. "I'll absorb his energy attacks, and we'll both smack him around. Got it?"
Erza nodded in agreement. "Understood,"
Usually, she would be the one giving the orders; however, she knew now was not the time. Besides, Ben was very capable of leadership and he had a good grasp on battle and fighting. From what he had told her during their free time before this Phantom Lord incident, he had defeated countless villains and saved his world and universe multiple times. Even now Erza still found that to be amazing.
When Jose arose from the rubble, his black, deathly eyes were locked onto the duo. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?! I'll admit I've never been in a fight this exciting before." A sadistic grin grew on his black lips. "After I finish you two off, I'll hang up your cadavers for all of your fellow guildmates to see. They'll have no choice but to surrender then!"
The shape-shifting teen and the armor-switching knight both glowered at the Phantom ruler.
"Our guild will never surrender to a despicable man like you!" Erza snarled.
"What she said," Chromastone added. "There's no way we're gonna let you win."
"Action speaks louder than words!" Jose roared as he held out a hand and shot a barrage of Dark Beams at his opponents.
Chromastone and Erza both took to the air to avoid the projectiles. As Jose followed them, Ben got in front of Erza to shield her and absorb the blasts.
The Crystalsapien smirked cheekily. "I couldn't agree more!"
His body illuminated brightly as he then fired a few ultraviolet beams at the darkness mage. Though Jose was quick enough to elude the attacks, he was distracted long enough for Titania to soar toward him and deliver a nice swipe diagonally across Jose's chest. Phantom's master cried out in pain as he slid back a few meters. A big gash went diagonally across Jose's blue coat and into his skin, a little blood was trickling from his injury.
His black eyes widened. She'd actually landed a blow on him? He clenched his teeth, his anger reaching the boiling point. He aimed a fierce glare at Titania and Chromastone, who were both flying toward him.
Suddenly, a dark amethyst circle appeared in front of Jose. Out from the seal, several purple, jellyfish-like ghosts shot out and hit the duo before they realized it. Both crashed into the wall and landed on their feet, grunting as they did so.
They looked up and were a bit startled to see purplish-black energy coursing all around his body, but this time it looked far more intense. His dark, sickening eyes were honed in on them. Nevertheless, Ben and Erza took battle stances besides each other, ready to engage Jose once more.
…
Back in the command center, a group of Phantom Lord wizards all looked on in shock at the two Dragon Slayers staring at each other, their main focus being on Natsu who was shrouded in flames.
Gajeel chuckled. "Guess it's not too hard to catch a Salamander if you use the right bait."
"Unlike you Phantom creeps, I watch out for my friends!" Natsu retorted angrily. "I won't let you lay a hand on her!"
Lucy smiled warmly, touched by her friend's declaration. "Natsu," she whispered.
Without looking back, Natsu warned, "Stay back. This could get ugly."
"Uh…Gajeel?" Boze said warily.
"This one's mine." With a wicked grin, Gajeel leaped at Natsu and turned his arm into an iron-club, extending it out to attack Natsu.
"OH YEAH!" Natsu yelled as he caught Gajeel's club, spun around, and threw him into a wall.
Gajeel made sure to hit the wall with his feet, and held up his arm in time to block a powerful, flaming punch from Natsu. The blow was so strong that the stone walls tumbled apart behind Gajeel as a cloud of ash expanded through the room.
The Phantom mages cried out in fear as they ran away from the falling debris. "WE GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE!" a terrified Phantom wizard cried.
Gajeel and Natsu both jumped out of the ash cloud, the latter's fist engulfed with flames. The Iron Dragon Slayer was unprepared as Natsu delivered a nasty right hook into his face. Phantom Lord's Dragon Slayer went flying back until he crashed into the wall on the opposite side of the room.
The wall had dented inward, Gajeel lying in the center. He rubbed his chin and frowned. He was inwardly impressed and surprised that Salamander had managed to hurt him. Gajeel looked up in time to see Natsu jumping at him; his feet covered in fire.
"Fire Dragon Talon!" Natsu roared.
Gajeel brought up his iron-club arm to block the attack. This resulted in an outburst of smoke and fire that sent Natsu careening backward.
Lucy, meanwhile, watched the battle with concern and surprise. She couldn't believe how violent Natsu was against Gajeel. The Celestial wizard was brought out of her musings when Happy walked up to her in worry.
"Hey, are you alright?" the blue cat asked.
Lucy turned to him and smiled. "Happy," She then turned her attention back to Natsu, who was walking out of a dust cloud, an enraged scowl on his face. This startled her slightly, for she had never seen Natsu this angry before. "I've never seen Natsu like this."
"Aye," Happy replied. "He's really fired up now. I wouldn't wanna be that other guy."
The blond mage gulped and nodded her head in agreement.
Gajeel popped his neck and smirked. "For being Fairy scum you sure are cocky."
"You're the scum here, buddy!" countered Natsu. "As payback for what you did to Lucy, I'm gonna use my firepower to melt your ugly iron face!"
The iron mage chuckled, a sadistic smile on his face. "Sounds like fun. So give it a shot!"
The two Dragon Slayers yelled as they charged at one another. Gajeel's right arm was morphed into an iron-club whilst Natsu's hands were still covered in flames. They sent right hooks at one another; however, both were able to dodge them. Gajeel quickly turned around and extended his club at Natsu's feet. He was able to jump over the attack and lunge himself back at his opponent.
However, Gajeel swiftly changed his iron-club into a long, sharp black blade and swiped it at Natsu, forcing him to jump back. Natsu wiped his mouth of blood as he glared back at the other Dragon Slayer.
"That's a pretty gnarly toy you got there," Natsu commented.
Suddenly, spikes began to grow out from the edges of the blade, which gave it the appearance of a deadly looking saw blade.
"This is the Iron Dragon Sword. Anything it touches is cut to shreds!" Gajeel responded. Without warning, the spikes started to spin around the blade much like a chainsaw. "I thought I'd give you an up close and personal demonstration!"
"Ooh, I'm so scared!" Natsu retorted, unafraid of Gajeel's chainsaw-like sword.
Lucy and Happy, however, were both startled to see Gajeel's lethal weapon. "How is he doing that?!" the former screamed.
"It's Iron Dragon Slayer magic!" Happy answered fearfully.
The Black Steel laughed manically as he leaped high toward Natsu, his sword reared back to its zenith. Natsu jumped back as Gajeel's blade struck the floor. The force of the blade created a large crevice in the floor, knocking over various Phantom mages in the process. Gajeel swiped his blade at the floor again, only for Natsu to dodge the attack once more.
"Not so cocky now! Are yah kid!?" Gajeel mocked as he swiped at Natsu, but the fire mage managed to evade each attack. "I think you're scared!"
The Iron Dragon Slayer slashed left and right and then vertical, forcing Natsu to jump back as he slid across the floor.
"I'll give you credit for being such a nimble little Fairy," remarked Gajeel.
"You're no slouch yourself," Natsu growled.
Gajeel converted his sword back into his normal arm, grinning wickedly at his adversary. "But we still gotta score to settle from the other day; no time like the present, wouldn't you agree?"
Natsu wiped his mouth and scowled. "Let's go, rivet face! I'm all fired up now!"
All of a sudden, a bright mint green magical seal appeared under Gajeel's feet; however, it was the next development that really shocked the wizards watching the fight. Gajeel's entire body was suddenly coated in thick, iron reptilian scales, sharp talons grew from his fingertips and toes, and his teeth became more serrated.
"Are ya ready, Fairy?" Gajeel quickly jumped at Natsu with his fist reared back. "Iron Dragon Hard Fist!"
Natsu held up his forearm to block the blow, but the strength behind the punch sent Natsu flying back and he crashed into a wall. Gajeel's eyes glowed red as he chuckled maliciously. "Hearing you hit that wall was like music to my ears."
Natsu was on a knee, cringing in pain as he held his injured left arm where Gajeel had left a nasty blue and purple bruise.
Lucy placed her hands over her mouth, looking on in worry and fear for Natsu. "He took Natsu down with just one hit." She mumbled.
"That's because those scales on his body are as hard as steel." Happy explained.
Gajeel hit Natsu with an uppercut and then launched a powerful right hook that sent him careening back. Natsu got back up and charged at the iron mage once more. However, Gajeel lifted up his leg to kick Natsu, but the fire wizard managed to duck under the attack. Nevertheless, the strength behind his kick created a shockwave that formed a crevice in the floor and a strong gale in addition.
Lucy's hair went flying back as Happy held onto her shoulders to keep from being blown back. "Is there really that much wind coming from his kick?"
"He's twice as strong now that he's covered in those dragon scales!" Happy cried.
Natsu ignited his fist and punched Gajeel in the chin. Shockingly, the iron wizard was unaffected by the blow as he smirked at Natsu.
"Aw…poor little Fairy. That had to hurt, huh?" The Iron Dragon Slayer jeered. "Hate to break it to yah but your puny hand can't scratch this steel!"
Natsu clenched his teeth while his eyes widened. But the Fire Dragon Slayer finally staggered back and let out a loud, pain-filled yell.
"He's got indestructible armor!" Lucy exclaimed in shock.
"Natsu!" Happy cried.
Natsu was rolling back and forth across the floor, yelling and holding his injured hand. "Oh I'm fine! This doesn't hurt at all! Nope! Not at all!" he lied.
Lucy sweat-dropped. "Yeah…right."
"Aye," Happy agreed.
"CUT THE ACT, PUNK!" Gajeel yelled as he head-butted Natsu, which slammed him into the ground. "You just don't want your friends to see you cry like a baby!" He then punched the floor, and the force from the attack sent Natsu flying back.
Natsu, although, managed to correct himself in midair, landing on his feet and sliding back a few meters. "Alright, you walking garbage can, time to blow you away!"
He slammed his fists together, which ignited his flames and summoned a fiery magic circle with the head of a horned dragon in the center. Suddenly, Natsu took a deep breath as his cheeks puffed out wide. "Fire Dragon…"
Gajeel inhaled deeply as well, letting his cheeks expand. "Iron Dragon…"
Both Dragon Slayers put both hands over their mouths like trumpeters as they shouted simultaneously, "ROAR!"
A blast of iron particles shot out from Gajeel's mouth whilst a torrent of flames shot out from Natsu's. When the two breath attacks met, the result was a torrent of wind that sent the Phantom mages, Lucy, and Happy flying back. After a moment, the outburst of magical energy caused a section of the wall to explode.
When the commotion ceased, the room was left in ruin as dust clouded the air. Gajeel and Natsu were both standing in the large gaping hole that their attacks had made.
"Looks like there's some pretty big differences between Iron and Fire Dragon Slayers, huh Salamander?" Gajeel smiled sadistically. The front of his tunic was shredded, revealing his hard iron abs. "You can shower me with flames until you run out of hot air, but it's not gonna crack my armor. On the other hand, my iron breath attacks will cut you to shreds!"
Lucy, who was leaning against a wall, whispered, "Natsu"
"C'mon! Take him!" Happy encouraged his partner.
Natsu lifted his head, his gray eyes honed in on the iron mage. But to Gajeel's confusion, a smirk appeared on Natsu's face. "I can't crack your armor, huh? You sure you're not feeling a draft, buddy?"
Suddenly, the iron scales on the left side of Gajeel's face cracked, which made the iron wizard's eyes widen in shock.
"He did it." Lucy smiled.
"Look, I don't just breathe regular old fire. My Fire Dragon Roar can destroy anything it touches!" Natsu took off his black and gold vest and tossed it aside, showing off his well-toned upper body. Suddenly, a fiery magical circle appeared under Natsu's feet as his body was engulfed in an inferno. "I think it's time we stop playing around! It's time to get to the real fight! I'm gonna shatter you into a million pieces!"
Gajeel's body was shrouded in mint green light as he cackled maniacally. "LET'S GO!"
"Black Steel, I'm ready when you are." Natsu snarled.
"Sky's not big enough for two dragons, kid." Gajeel grinned. "So I'm just gonna have to take you down, Salamander!"
Lucy held her hand that had the Fairy Tail mark stamped on it over her chest, lightly trembling in nervousness. "Natsu"
…
Meanwhile, out in the Fairy Tail courtyard, all the Phantom soldiers began to gather above the Fairy Tail wizards. They swirled together to form a humungous black and purple ball with two blood red eyes and eight long black arms with large hands.
"That thing's got creepy hands," Laki commented.
"That's the least of our worries!" Wakaba replied.
"Yeah, this is bad," Macao added.
The gigantic onyx ball hovered closer to the guild hall, lifted up its arms, and then smashed them into the roof. The Fairy Tail mages could only watch in horror as the monster-sphere continued punching the building.
"That thing's trying to tear down our guild hall!" Cana exclaimed in panic.
"But Ben just fixed it!" Nab remarked.
The mages directed their attacks at the large black ball; however, they could do nothing to stop their enemy as it tore down the guild hall.
...
Natsu and Gajeel let out battle cries as they punched each other in the face. An explosion of iron particles, fire, and dust shook the room. The roof collapsed as both Dragon Slayers flew out of the building and high into the sky. After getting a hundred feet over the Giant, Natsu and Gajeel stopped and floated in midair. The Phantom mages, Lucy, and Happy were shocked to see that they were flying.
The iron and fire wizards traded punch after punch. Each time one struck the other, it created an energy outburst similar to fireworks. A moment later, the two descended back down and landed on the opposite end of the Giant's horned head. Crouching low, both Dragon Slayers leaped at one another until their foreheads collided with a loud smack; however, neither appeared to be injured.
After trading a few punches, they simultaneously kicked one another in the leg. The force from the blow caused the horn on the Giant's head to break off and fall into the command center. Lucy and Happy cried out as they dived to the floor.
"Now we gotta get outta here!" Lucy screamed.
As the dust settled once more, standing by the giant horn in the middle of the room was Gajeel and Natsu. Both of them were a few meters apart, both panting crazily. A few sweat drops streamed down Natsu's face as he took a moment to catch his breath.
However, he was caught off guard when Gajeel picked up a few pieces of iron and began to eat them. "What? HEY, THAT'S NOT FAIR, MAN! YOU'RE EATING?"
Gajeel shrugged nonchalantly, and with a full mouth, he said, "So what?"
"I can't believe he actually eats iron!" Lucy commented.
"I wonder if it tastes any good." Happy wondered with a thoughtful expression.
After swallowing the iron fragments, Gajeel smiled widely. "Now I gotta fire in my belly."
"HEY! That's my line, pal!" yelled Natsu.
Without warning, Gajeel let out a long, prolonged yell as his body flared with a brilliant mint green light. The power around him was increasing exponentially.
"Hang on! Where's all that energy coming from?" Lucy inquired apprehensively.
"It's because he ate all that iron." Happy answered. "When Dragon Slayers eat their element they replenish their magical energy and increase their power."
Lucy then became more serious. "So Natsu needs to eat fire." She realized.
"That would help but he can't eat his own fire. It needs to come from an outside source." Happy mentioned.
"Yeah, that's right. But how can we make that happen?" the Celestial mage asked.
"Say goodnight Fairy!" Gajeel summoned a magical circle as he straightened out his arm and aimed it at Natsu. "Iron Dragon Lance…Demon Claw!"
Suddenly, a volley of sharp iron projectiles fired from Gajeel's magic seal and bombarded Natsu. Natsu cried out in agony as the iron lances struck his body.
Lucy quickly dug around in her skirt pockets, frantically searching for her keys. "C' mon fire, fire, fire! Do I have any kind of fire spirit?" Her brown eyes went wide when she remembered getting attacked by Juvia and Sol. "Oh yeah, that's right. I lost my keys when I was attacked."
Lucy paused when she saw Natsu get blown back and hit the floor hard. She then pulled out a golden key with a green anchor emblem. "The only key I have is Sagittarius, but we haven't worked out a contract yet."
After seeing her pink haired friend get hit again, her determination grew. "But I don't care! This is the only chance we've got right now."
…
The wizards of Fairy Tail continued attacking the giant ball monster; nevertheless, it was to no avail. It seemed that the phantom sphere was immune to their magical attacks. It continued punching the guild hall with its multiple arms, destroying it further with each hit.
Cana cried out, wanting to charge at the monster; however, Macao was holding her back. "No! Let me go!" she yelled desperately.
"There's nothing you can do!" Macao stated.
"Erza trusted me to protect the guild hall. I can't sit by and let it get destroyed!" Cana protested.
Nonetheless, Macao still held her tight and prevented her from charging in blindly.
…
Natsu weakly stood back up. His energy levels were very low whilst Gajeel's was still high after consuming that iron. Natsu, who at first was giving Gajeel a fair fight, was now getting his butt whooped.
Lucy held out her key and chanted, "I call upon thee in the World of the Celestial Spirits! I beckon you to my side at once! Pass through the Gate!" All of a sudden, a golden light flared from beneath the blond mage's feet. "Open, Gate of the Archer: Sagittarius!"
With a sound similar to a bell, a tall man in a brown, anthropomorphic horse costume appeared. He held a bow and had a quill full of arrows strapped to his back. He also wore a white shirt, a green vest over it, and red and white striped pants.
"Well howdy do, my lady." Sagittarius greeted, saluting Lucy while doing so.
"Whoa!" Lucy exclaimed. "That really worked!"
"What's with the horse costume?!" Happy asked.
"Look I'll explain later, but can you shoot fire?" Lucy demanded.
"No, but I do have a profession in archery. Yes, indeed." The horse-man replied as he saluted the air.
Lucy and Happy's expressions fell. "Oh great…" she mumbled.
"Who does he think he's saluting over there?" Happy inquired.
They were brought out of their conversation as Natsu cautioned, "Lucy, you guys better stay out of the way."
Digging deep into his reserves, Natsu's body was again covered in fire. He crouched low and launched himself at Gajeel, hitting him in the abdomen with his head. "Fire Dragon Sword Horn!"
The attack made Gajeel slide back a couple of meters; unfortunately for Natsu, his opponent was unharmed. Gajeel sneered. "I gotta fire in my belly, but where's yours?"
He pulled back his arms and struck Natsu in the back with his forearms, promptly slamming him into the floor. Gajeel then grabbed Natsu's head and extended his arm, which dragged Natsu's face across the ground. "Why don't yah eat some iron!"
Lucy covered her mouth, watching the spectacle in horror. Gajeel then threw Natsu across the room, his body landing near the giant hole in the wall.
"I think I've had my fun with you. So get lost, scumbag!" Gajeel yelled.
"He's down," Lucy said in disbelief.
Natsu remained laying on his front side, almost motionless.
"No," the Celestial mage breathed, "Natsu can't lose. Get up."
Gajeel then looked through the hole in the wall to see the giant ball monster in the distance tearing down the Fairy Tail guild hall. He smirked in satisfaction.
"Hey, take a look at your guild hall. We're doing some redecorating!" mocked Gajeel.
Natsu weakly opened an eye. It soon opened wide in alarm and shock when he witnessed the guild hall finally collapse on itself and fall apart. Now, it was nothing more than a pile of broken wood, stone, and roofing materials.
Gajeel tilted back his head and let out a loud, maniac-like cackle.
Like a floodgate being opened, memories of first coming to Fairy Tail, his first encounter with Gray and Erza, Erza teaching him to read and write, and his experiences with Lisanna replayed in Natsu's mind. After that, recent memories of meeting Lucy and then Makarov having his powers drained played through his head.
Amazingly, Natsu steadily got back to his feet, his face etched with stone hard determination. He turned around and, with his arms hanging limply by his sides, he slowly made his way back to Gajeel.
"Natsu," Lucy whimpered, tears trailing down her face, "don't do this. Maybe if I just let them take me, they'll leave you alone."
"Lucy," the blonde mage looked down to see a crying Happy clutching her boot. "You know there's no way he'd let that happen."
The Celestial wizard cried a little before perking up, a determined look cast on her face.
"Your guild hall is in shambles. How does it feel to lose?" Gajeel taunted.
Gajeel reared back his arm and struck Natsu with his forearm. As a result, Natsu went careening back until he collided with a large metal contraption. He fell to his knees before collapsing to the floor with a painful groan.
"I'd stay down if I were you," Gajeel advised though he didn't mean it. "I'm getting really sick of this holding back garbage. And it's not gonna look good for you."
Happy sobbed as he watched his best friend get beaten to a pulp. "Natsu took down Jupiter and he fought a member of the Element 4. He's used up too much magical power. If he could just eat some fire he'd be strong enough to beat this guy!"
Gajeel lifted a weak, beaten Natsu off the floor by his scarf. "So long kid. This is the end of the line." He then shifted his arm into his Iron Dragon Sword.
"Just a moment," Sagittarius intervened. The horse-man pulled an arrow out from his quill and placed it in his bow, preparing to shoot it. "It seems I didn't quite understand what you were asking me earlier. When I arrived you inquired if I could shoot fire. I answered that I did not have the power to do so.
"However, now I see it's the fire itself that is important. It doesn't matter that I can't produce it myself, just as long as it's produced."
"THIS IS IT SALAMANDER! THIS IS THE END!" Gajeel roared in sinister glee.
Suddenly, bright blue light shined from beneath Sagittarius as he shot a few azure beams of light. The light materialized into arrows and struck the metal machinery behind Natsu and Gajeel. A second later, the contraption ignited into a fireball and consumed the two Dragon Slayers.
"Nice shot!" Happy commended.
"You found a way to create fire," Lucy noted incredulously.
"Depending on the force one applies when shooting an arrow and the trajectory that arrow follows, it's possible to pierce or shatter steel," Sagittarius explained.
Gajeel stepped out of the smoke and conflagration, scowling at Lucy and the others. "That man horse thing is getting in my way!" He yelled.
"Wow! You're like an archery genius, Sagittarius." Lucy smiled as she praised her horse-man spirit.
Sagittarius saluted nothing as he replied, "Well, I aim to please."
"If you wanna salute her, she's over here." Happy deadpanned.
Without warning, the inferno in the room was pulled away and sucked into Natsu's mouth. After inhaling all the flames, Natsu burped a little. He looked back up with a cheeky grin. Now his strength and stamina were revived.
"Just what I needed." He gave Lucy a thumbs-up. "Thanks a million, Lucy."
Lucy smiled in return and gave him a thumbs-up of her own.
Gajeel snarled in rage as he charged at Natsu. "Eat all the fire you want, but you're still not gonna beat me!"
As Gajeel encroached closer with his iron fist, Natsu turned around at the last moment and sent a wicked, flaming uppercut into Gajeel's chin. The blast sent the iron mage careening back until he crashed into the Giant's horn in the middle of the room. The impact cracked the metal in the process.
Natsu clenched his fist, feeling the anger within him boil high. "Levy, Droy, Jet, Lucy, Gramps, all my friends, my guild, Fairy Tail."
Gajeel jumped to the ground as he quickly recovered. "Iron Dragon Roar!"
A twister of iron particles fired from Gajeel's mouth and toward Natsu. Growling, Natsu held out the palms of his hands and deflected the breath attack. Gajeel's mouth dropped in shock and astonishment.
"He deflected my breath attack, and he did it with his bare hands!" he shouted.
Natsu glared at the Iron Dragon Slayer, his eyes glowing red. "I don't know how many more people you need to hurt before you're satisfied, but it ends now!"
"No," Gajeel muttered in disbelief, "this can't be. He's nothing but Fairy scum."
The veins on Natsu's head showed as he bared his sharp teeth in ferocity. "I'm gonna make you pay for hurting my friends. Messing with Fairy Tail is the biggest mistake you've ever made!"
Gajeel glowered back at Natsu. "The only mistake I made was not killing you sooner!"
Mint green light glowed from Gajeel's body as he charged up his powers. He then leaped at his enemy, his fist cocked back to its zenith. "Iron Dragon Hard Fist!"
In response, Natsu reared back his own arm and punched Gajeel's fist. For a second, nothing happened until the flames and emerald energy shrouding Natsu and Gajeel's forms increased. Remarkably, the iron scales on Gajeel's arm began to crack. The cracks worked their way up to his arm and to his face.
Gajeel's eyes went wide in shock and horror. "No…I'm the strongest!" he yelled out in distraught.
"You're finished, Black Steel!" The fire covering Natsu's body became hotter and more intense as his eyes shined a bright gold. "Flame Lotus, Fire Dragon Fist!"
Shockingly, Natsu punched Gajeel in various places at incredible speed. "This is for Levy…Droy…Jet…Nab…Macao…Gramps…Ben….and LUCY!" He punched in-between each pause.
He delivered a powerful uppercut that sent a stunned Gajeel flying back. Natsu held out his arms in a 'power up' fashion as he let out a long, violent yell. However, Natsu didn't let up his onslaught, delivering another attack of flaming hot punches.
"THIS IS FOR ATTACKING THEM AND DESTROYING OUR GUILD HALL!" bellowed Natsu.
The last punch was so powerful it shook the entire Giant, ripped apart the walls of the command center in an explosion that could be seen from the courtyard, and caused the Giant's head to break off from its body, allowing it to fall into the ocean.
To avoid being crushed under tons of rubble, Happy and Lucy were in the air, the former carrying the latter. They looked around the ruined building, searching for their fellow guildmate.
"Where is he?" Lucy asked in concern.
Both Lucy and Happy called out for Natsu before they found him standing on the edge of the Giant. Below him, on the floor beneath, was a badly bruised and thoroughly beaten Gajeel Redfox.
"Alright! It looks like he won!" Happy said excitingly.
Lying in the crushed building debris, Gajeel mumbled painfully, "You…can't…defeat me."
"Oh yeah? Well, I think I just did." Natsu countered.
Finally, exhaustion caught up with the Fire Dragon Slayer as he fell backward in a limp heap. His body was aching hard in pain from fatigue and the injuries he'd sustained thanks to Gajeel. Many cuts and bruises were littered across his body while his pants were torn in places.
"He's down!" Lucy cried.
Despite the agony he was in, Natsu looked up to Lucy and Happy and grinned brightly. "Well, that was fun but I think I'm gonna rest a bit." He admitted.
The Celestial mage and flying cat laughed in response, happy that their friend had won and was alright.
…
They looked up and were a bit startled to see purplish-black energy coursing all around his body, but this time it looked far more intense. His dark, sickening eyes were honed in on them. Nevertheless, Ben and Erza took battle stances besides each other, ready to engage Jose once more.
However, before Chromastone and Erza could make a move, the entire building began to shake violently. Pieces of the roof broke off and fell to the floor. The trio immediately realized that the cause of the commotion was two certain Dragon Slayers duking it out.
Jose closed his eyes and smiled smugly. "My, my, what an unruly dragon you have."
Erza panted heavily for a short moment before retorting, "He may be unruly, but he's an extremely powerful wizard."
"I'll say. That guy's like me and Erza, he's strong and never gives up." Ben added.
Erza glanced at Chromastone and smiled, sending him a quick appreciative nod, which Ben returned.
"Hmph," Jose scoffed, "there's no need to be modest, you two. You, Titania Erza, your magic is just as spectacular as Salamander's." He then turned his gaze to Chromastone. "And you, Ben Tennyson, I don't know what kind of magic you wield but I must admit, it's more extraordinary than anything I've ever seen before. In fact, you two are the first to last this long in battle against me. However, as fun as this has been, it's time I finish this." Jose stated.
The Phantom master held out his hand, summoning a dark violet magical seal. Three ghost-like tendrils expelled from the circle and flew towards the duo. Chromastone gasped, immediately recognizing this attack as the Shade Entangle.
Ben quickly got in front of Erza and absorbed the energy tendrils into his body before it could wrap around him or her. He gritted his teeth in discomfort; for some unknown reason, the kind of energy that Jose shot was slightly painful for Chromastone to absorb. Nevertheless, Ben fought through the pain anyway.
Once he fully absorbed the tendrils, his body glowed brighter. He held out his arms and fired a few ultraviolet blasts at Jose, but the darkness mage was able to dodge each attack with his amazing reflexes. Jose looked back at Chromastone and scowled.
"You're really beginning to annoy me!" he shouted.
"That makes two of us." Ben retorted.
"Better make it three," Erza added as she flew straight for Jose, Chromastone right behind her.
Jose held out his hands and discharged countless darkness blasts at the duo. Ben flew in front to absorb the energy projectiles into his body before firing them back down at Jose's feet, which created a cloud of dust to block his vision. Erza used this golden opportunity to her advantage as she soared into the dust cloud and slashed Jose across his chest again, leaving another diagonal wound.
Chromastone backed up her attack by shooting a couple ultraviolent beams at a stunned Jose, which sent him sliding back a few meters. When the darkness wizard lifted up his head, he was too slow to act as Erza and Chromastone both punched him in the face. A loud smack echoed through the battered room as Jose went careening back until he crashed into a wall for the umpteenth time.
The Omnitrix hero and armor-shifting wizard landed on the floor, ready to reengage. However, just like the previous times, Jose leaped out of the wall again, deadly purple energy radiating off of his body. Running at impressive speeds, he charged at his closest opponent, Ben, his fists charged up with darkness magic. The Crystalsapien ran at Jose too, cocking back his fist while charging it up with rainbow colored energy.
When their fists met, the result was an explosion of energy that sent both flying back to opposite sides of the room. As Phantom Lord's master collided with the wall once again, Erza seized the opportunity and jumped at him, her sword reared back to its acme.
Jose, however, sidestepped Titania's attack and grabbed Erza by her wrist. He slammed her into the floor from his right side to his left for a moment. He then tossed her across the room where she slammed into Chromastone, who was just getting up.
The darkness mage grinned widely. "Hearing you two crash into one another was so enjoyable. But I'll be even more overjoyed when I hear your screams as I tear you both apart!"
Ben and Erza groaned as they returned to their feet. Erza's right eye had swollen closed from the impact of Chromastone's crystal body. Nevertheless, that didn't take away from the glare she was sending Jose's way.
"Even though you're absorbing his energy attacks, he's still very strong and fast." Erza pointed out.
Chromastone narrowed his green eye at the onyx-haired man. "Yeah, he is. But I've got an idea."
Erza glanced at her ally while raising an eyebrow, curious as to what Ben had planned.
The purplish-black, hazy energy surrounding Jose grew more intense as he stepped forward. A deadly, baleful smile took shape on his black lips as he stared at the two powerhouses in malevolent glee.
"What's the holdup you two? Aren't you going to attack me?" Jose mocked. "Where's that determination from before? Don't tell me you're getting scared!"
After explaining his plan, Ben said, "On my signal, 'kay?"
Erza nodded in understanding.
The Omnitrix bearer turned his attention back to Jose. "Scared? Of you?" he snorted. "Please, you're the one who should be scared of us!"
Chromastone straightened his arms once more and shot two powerful energy blasts at Jose's feet. As a result, stone from the floor was blasted into his face and a dust cloud obscured his vision. As he was momentarily distracted, he slapped the Omnitrix dial.
The room was once again engulfed with bright, emerald light. When the flash died away, standing in the wake was a large, bulky humanoid with reddish-brown, rocky skin. It also had a giant mouth and a molten red core on its stomach. It wore black shorts with green stripes and a green belt with white stripes. The Omnitrix symbol was positioned on its forehead.
"Gravattack," Ben shouted.
As the dust cleared, Jose narrowed his dark eyes at the Omnitrix hero and scowled.
"Take any form you like, but neither you nor Titania will defeat me!" Jose exclaimed angrily.
Phantom's master charged up his fists again with powerful, violent energy before crouching low and launching himself at Ben. Gravattack only smirked as he held up his hand. A sphere of invisible energy collected in his hand, but it could be seen from the hazy disorientations in the air.
Suddenly, Jose stopped in midair, and to his surprise, he felt his whole body become weightless as he floated higher into the air. He kept rising up at a rapid speed until he smashed into the roof. Gravattack then increased the gravity around Jose, causing him to fall back down and crash into the floor. From a crater in the ground, Jose yelled in pain from the impact.
Gravattack lifted Jose back in the air again until he was a few meters high. His attire was torn in places while his body had cuts and slight bruises on his arms, face, and chest.
"Now, let's take this gravity power of mine for a spin!" Gravattack quipped.
All of a sudden, Jose began to spin around in a circle, his speed growing faster by the second. After ten seconds, the darkness mage was now moving so fast he was just a blue, circular blur. Gravattack kept this up for another minute before he finally stopped spinning his opponent. As a result of the spinning, Jose was now consumed by dizziness as he remained floating in the air.
"Now, Erza!" shouted Gravattack.
"On it!" She responded.
Without warning, her body was shrouded in bright golden light as she re-quipped into her Giant Armor. A red magic circle appeared in front of her hand as she summoned the Spear of Ha-Ja.
With her new enhanced strength, Erza crouched low and leaped at Jose. In midair, she twirled the spear around to gain momentum. She let out a mighty yell as she struck a thoroughly woozy Jose in the face with her spear. She hit him again three more times. The third and final time was strong enough to free Jose from Gravattack's gravitational grip which sent him hurtling into the floor and increasing the size of the earlier crater.
Gravattack and Titania both gathered by the crater's rim, looking down into it. As the dust cleared, Jose was lying on his back. His clothes were tattered and his body was covered in cuts and bruises ranging in various sizes. However, to their amazement, Jose rolled over and weakly returned to his feet.
Even after being spun at hundreds of miles per hour and being struck with a spear wielded with super-strength three times, he was still able to stand?!
He glowered at two highly-adaptive warriors before him. A bit of blood was trickling down his face. The anger and hate he was feeling towards Ben and Erza were extreme.
"Had enough?" Gravattack asked.
Before Jose could respond, the sound of beeping caught the trio's attention. The Omnitrix dial on Gravattack's forehead was blinking red and beeping. In a flash of red, Gravattack transformed back to Ben.
Ben looked at himself in horror. "Uh oh, not good!"
'It couldn't have been an hour already, could it? Maybe going Ultimate earlier drained the battery more than I thought it would?' Ben pondered.
Erza's brown eyes had widened in alarm and apprehension. Now that Ben was human, their situation had taken a dire turn for the worse. The advantage that they had gained over Jose had now vanished.
A malicious smile grew on Jose's ebony lips as he honed in on Ben with sinister glee. He cackled madly before he said, "It seems you've used up all your power! This is the part where you die!"
Jose gathered a ball of violent energy into his hands before throwing it straight at Ben.
"Ben! NO!" cried Erza.
The ball traveled at Ben so fast that he didn't have time to dodge. He only closed his eyes, waiting for his fate. However, instead of feeling knocked out or killed as he expected, nothing happened. He opened his eyes to see that Jose's purple ball had been swallowed up by a larger, brilliant white ball before they both disappeared.
Ben blinked in confusion. 'Okay…that's odd. What just happened?'
The teen hero felt a powerful presence in the room. He turned to his head to his left. His eyes widened in shock as he gasped lightly. Erza followed his gaze and she too shared Ben's expression.
Levitating on top of a tall pile of debris was Master Makarov. His arms were folded over his chest and his eyes were closed while he slowly descended to the top of the rubble pile. He was still wearing his white coat with the Ten Wizard Saints symbol on the back, blue trousers, and black leather boots.
When Makarov's feet finally set foot on the debris, he spoke with venom in his voice. "You have shed the blood of our children, and that is unforgivable! They have been made to suffer because of the incompetence of their parents. We are both to blame, Jose."
Ben and Erza both smiled, happy and relieved to see Makarov. The latter almost shed a tear from the sight of him. His skin was no longer a sickly green and he didn't appear to be on the verge of dying anytime soon. Even Ben, who wasn't a wizard, could tell that the master had regained his immense magical power.
"This war between us has gone on long enough." Makarov opened his eyes, casting a dark glare at Jose. "Let's end this here and now!"
Titania wiped a tear from her eye and smiled at Makarov. "Master"
"Man, I'm so glad he's okay. He sure knows how to make an entrance." Ben confessed.
Jose was silent for a moment, but the smug grin on his creepy face spoke in volumes. He closed his eyes and then reopened them, only the white had changed to black and his pupils had turned to silver…like from earlier when Ben and Jose were fighting. The power around him began to increase as small pebbles floated off the floor around him.
"If we fight it could cause a catastrophe." Jose smiled spitefully.
Growling, Makarov narrowed his eyes in contempt. The power around the dwarf-sized wizard began to fluctuate as well. A golden ball of energy appeared at the end of his left index finger.
"In order to save my guild, I will gladly take that risk!" Makarov countered.
Makarov and Jose stared at one another, vast amounts of magic coursing through them. At that moment, Gray, who was lying off on the other side of the room, was beginning to return to consciousness.
"W-what?" he mumbled, using his elbows to lift himself up from the cold floor. "For some reason, this warm light reminds me of the master."
When he turned his gaze to the source of the light, his dark eyes widened in awe and shock.
Jose let out a yell as he held out his hand, firing a few ghostly tendrils. Makarov responded by summoning a group of small, golden magic circles to intercept Jose's attacks.
"You kids need to get out of here now!" Makarov warned.
Gray found the strength to rise back to his feet as did Elfman, who too had arisen from unconsciousness.
"Gramps!" Gray cried.
"We'll stay with you!" Elfman added.
Ben and Erza turned to them. "No! We have to do what he says!" the latter ordered.
They ran to Gray, Elfman, and Mirajane, the latter of whom was just waking up.
"C' mon, we have to leave!" Erza yelled. "If we stay here, we're only going to get in his way."
Ben turned to her. "You sure he'll be alright? All I need to do is let the Omnitrix recharge and I'll be ready!"
Erza glanced at Makarov, and smiled, "That's unnecessary. He'll be alright this time. I have faith in our master."
The teen hero nodded and ran out of the room with the others, putting some distance between them and the showdown between two of the most powerful wizards in Fiore.
Meanwhile, with Makarov and Jose, the wielder of darkness magic smiled in a complacent manner. "It's been six years since we both came face-to-face when Phantom was number one and no one knew how large Fairy Tail would become." He chuckled before continuing, "But now it's been reduced to rubble!"
Makarov's glare intensified as he created a few golden orbs in the air connected by a white line, the whole thing laid out in a zigzag pattern.
"Our guild hall may have been destroyed, but we're strong as ever!" Makarov retorted angrily.
"I must admit I'm looking forward to this," Jose said. "Although it's frowned upon by the Council I can't wait to see who is the superior Wizard Saint."
All of a sudden, bright golden light began to shine from underneath Makarov's feet whilst ethereal purple light emerged from underneath Jose's. The two Wizard Saints were charging up their powers for the imminent battle to come.
"I couldn't have done this without you, my children. Bless you all. Be proud that you are all members of Fairy Tail!" bellowed Makarov.
Astonishingly, dark storm clouds swirled high above the broken Giant; in addition, a sphere-shaped force field formed around the robot that pushed away from the ocean waters. Lightning came down from the sky and struck near the Giant. The magical energy being manipulated was on an immense scale.
Meanwhile, Makarov and Jose were both pushing against each other with dome-shaped energy barriers. The former's was composed of brilliant golden-white energy whilst the latter's was purplish-black. As he kept up the shield, Makarov yelled as he fired a white energy tendril from his left hand.
Jose countered the attack by shooting his own violent version of a tendril. When the two tendrils met, the result was an outburst of energy that sent both mages careening back a short distance before they regained control.
Phantom's master recovered quickly as a purple energy sphere with swirling tendrils extending out of it gathered in Jose's right hand. "Dead Wave!" he chanted.
Suddenly, an incredibly powerful pillar of darkness magic fired from Jose's hand. The blast was so strong it created a tidal wave outside the building and strong gusts of wind.
After a moment, when the dust settled, Makarov was still levitating off the floor and he was relatively unharmed. He summoned three magic circles, one under his feet and two on his right and left. Once he accumulated enough energy, he cried out as he discharged a powerful beam of white light at Jose.
The building shook even more, causing more damage throughout the structure and more debris to collapse. Makarov landed on top of a debris pile once again whilst Jose stood on the floor beneath. He too had avoided Makarov's attack, just as Fairy Tail's master had evaded his before.
"I'm impressed," Makarov admitted. "You have so much power at your demand. I can see why the Council made you one of the Ten Wizard Saints."
Jose only smiled haughtily as he honed in on the dwarf-sized man.
"However, you're misusing that power for your own personal gain. You could've become a role model for the younger generation; instead, you've become a lesson in what not to do!" Makarov reprimanded.
Jose huffed. "What is this? A lecture?"
"I have a rule that seems to work well for my Fairy Tail kids. I'll give you to the count of three to do exactly what I say." Makarov declared.
Jose's smile turned into a savage frown as he glared deeply at Makarov. It only became worse when Makarov demanded, "Kneel to me."
A short moment passed before Phantom's leader raised a brow, and asked, "WHAT?"
Makarov ignored Jose's confusion as he began the countdown. "One"
"So you want me to concede and kneel before you? NO WAY IN HELL!" shouted Jose.
"Two," Makarov's eyes had already turned to white. Then, he began to form a brilliant white energy sphere in-between the palms of his hands.
"Why would the master of the most powerful Guild in this kingdom ever stoop so low as to kneel before you!?" Jose yelled; forming ghost shaped tendrils in his hands. "Technically, we are equally powerful, but my ability to be heartless makes me even stronger!"
"Three," Makarov said, his voice becoming stronger as was the sphere between his hands.
"You should be the one kneeling before me! Now, you and your precious Fairy Tail children are going to die!" roared Jose.
"Time's up."
"THIS IS IT! AWWWWW!" Jose fired two dense darkness tendrils at Makarov.
However, as soon as Makarov clasped his hands together, bright white light consumed his form and the sound of a large bell could be heard. The brilliant light immediately vaporized the darkness and filled the whole room. It was just as bright as a star.
From within the light, Makarov declared, "I invoke…Fairy Law!"
Suddenly, a giant golden magical seal appeared above the nearly destroyed Giant. Then, without warning, a flash of gold and white was cast out from the stone robot and across the land. The wizards of Fairy Tail and citizens of Magnolia were all forced to look away from the intensity of the brightness.
On the shoreline near the destroyed guild hall, Ben, Erza, Gray, Elfman, and Mirajane all turned to the dazzling light coming from Phantom's headquarters. The Omnitrix hero was in awe of this spectacle and bewildered as to what was creating it.
"Whoa! What is that?" Ben asked with wide eyes.
Erza, who had re-quipped back into her Heart Kreuz armor, stared at the phenomenon in wonder, a smile on her pretty face. "It's Fairy Law, a spell that vanquishes darkness with sacred light. It only affects those the caster sees as their enemy." She paused as she admired the view. "Incredible, isn't it?"
Ben's eyes widened even further when Erza told him what Fairy Law was. Shock and astonishment dominated his expression. From what Erza had told him, this Fairy Law was very powerful. Though he had seen many powerful things in his tenure as a hero, the most powerful being the Celestialsapiens, Fairy Law had to be counted amongst the top five now.
"It's one of the most legendary spells in existence." Erza continued.
"I can see why," Gray remarked.
The brilliant light shined for another minute before it finally died away. The storms clouds dissipated, the lightning stopped, and the tidal waves weakened. Everything returned to normal. However, within the building, there was one person who was far from normal.
Jose stood in a petrified position, his body trembling slightly. His arms were fixed in a position that shielded his face. The most notable change though was the color of his hair; it had turned from black to grayish-white. His skin was wrinkled and his eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Absolute trepidation was etched into his entire body.
Master Jose of the Phantom Lord guild had been defeated.
Makarov scowled at his rival. "You will never bother Fairy Tail again. Understand?" He then turned away. "I'm sure the Magic Council will be watching us after all the chaos we caused. You better be on your best behavior for now on. I know I will."
As Master Makarov began to walk away, a hazy humanoid figure appeared out of thin air. Aria, who had just recovered from the beating Ben gave him, floated silently behind Makarov. His eyes and mouth were wide in exhilaration.
'Our master has fallen. How sad. The old man has left himself wide open again. THIS IS MY CHANCE!' Aria shouted inwardly.
Before the air mage could cast his Airspace: Drain spell again, Makarov's fist extended out and punched him in the face. The force from the blow sent the big man hurtling into a rocky pillar, instantaneously sending him back into unconsciousness.
"The war is over. There is no need to fight." Makarov proclaimed. "But if you push me to the point of anger, I'll wipe out your entire Guild without hesitation." He then turned around with a happy, perked up expression. "Now you kids get out of here, and take Jose with you."
…
Later on, Ben and the others had met up with the rest of Fairy Tail in the courtyard. Everyone was cheering and elated that they had won the war against Phantom Lord. Even Ben was thrilled that they had won, giving those cocky Phantom creeps what they had coming to them. Perhaps now bad guys across the land would take him and the rest of his friends at Fairy Tail more seriously now.
Master Makarov stood upon a fallen ledge from Phantom's headquarters where he could see all of the wizards of Fairy Tail and close enough to be heard. All of Fairy Tail turned their full attention to the dwarf-sized master.
"We are victorious!" He yelled loud enough for everyone to hear. "But I had very little to do with it. This victory…is yours my children!"
Everyone cheered loudly in response. Ben only crossed his arms over his chest and smirked.
'Nah, we couldn't have pulled this off without you, Makarov.' Ben thought. 'Thank you.'
…
The sun was setting in the distance and casting an array of red, orange, and yellow colors across the horizon while the rest of the sky grew darker as night approached. The lake waters closest to the west reflected the warm colored light of the setting sun while the waters to the east began to turn blackish-blue. A few stars twinkled from above, but the moon was not out tonight.
Standing on a rocky ledge on a mountain, a figure was looking down at Magnolia. The figure could see the many small buildings and the grand Cathedral in the center of town. However, the character's main focus was drawn to Fairy Tail's guild hall, which was lying in shambles.
The figure was a male that much could be determined. He wore black boots and pants and had a red garment on his upper body that had an opening exposing his torso. Part of the garment was a red hood pulled over his head. On both forearms were black bands that had six circular stones positioned on top; three on each arm. His exposed skin was pale white and his face looked eerily similar to a skull. In his right hand was a wooden staff that reached his shoulder. On the top was the carved head of a demonic bird, its mouth was wide open.
He stood silently in the darkness, his golden eyes transfixed on the wrecked building and the people gathered around it.
He had arrived much earlier to see the casting of Fairy Law. Needless to say, he was impressed by the effectiveness of the spell. However, his attention was now focused on something else; one person in particular, in fact. A certain teenager with a powerful device strapped to his wrist; the one that had foiled his plans on multiple occasions.
His malign golden eyes narrowed in annoyance, having him here would be a major obstacle to his plans. He wasn't sure why or how he had gotten to this world, but he would need to keep an eye out for him going forward.
"Hmph," Was his only response. Then, in a flash of crimson, the figure vanished from the scene.
…
A/N: UPDATED 5-17-2019
I changed up some parts here and there in this chapter. Mostly the very last scene, and cleaning up some spelling and grammar errors.
I understand that some may be upset that Ben didn't get too really shine against Jose. But I promise there will be many opportunities in the future for Ben.
As always, thank you for reading. Please leave any critique or comments in the review box. Until next time…