A/N: New chapter! And the one I have been waiting for all this time!
I don't own Fairy Tail!
I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 11: Mystogan
July 22nd, X784
It was a quiet morning, as the sun rose over the horizon of Jaborosa Town, the only sound that could be heard were of the footsteps of one young man, JV, as he hurriedly walked through the streets of Jaborosa towards the train, a malicious smirk on his face as went on his way.
"If I'm the first to arrive, I'll have a better chance of getting in Master Jose's good graces," he quietly mused to himself, "No need to wait for all the rank and file, so long as I have Thanatos, I can beat anyone," he continued to say as he kept walking, but soon, he would stop in his tracks, realizing something odd was going on around him, "I know it's early… But at least some people should be awake by now."
"They will not see their awakening until my business here is done," JV heard a voice call out from seemingly everywhere around him, "We shouldn't risk the well-being of the innocent, after all."
"Who's there!? Show yourself!" JV demanded as he spun around on the spot, trying to find the source of the voice.
"Jorgun von Masters, I presume," the voice said, ignoring JV's demands as a snarl appeared on the young man's face.
"If you know my name, you should know how pissed I get when someone calls me that," JV hissed as he pulled Thanatos' key from his pocket as a figure robed in blue, his face obscured by a mask and bandana, appeared in front of him, as if out of the morning mist, "You're… Fairy Tail's Enigma… the S-Class Mage, Mystogan," JV muttered as a feeling of shock overwhelmed him, knowing he was face to face with the man who may very well be Fairy Tail's strongest mage, "This is perfect then, if I take you down, a promotion is certain."
"You don't intend to surrender, then?" Mystogan asked, giving JV one final chance to back down.
"Like hell I'd surrender to you!" JV roared as he charged forward, thrusting the key in his hand at Mystogan, "Thanatos! Reap his soul!" he commanded as the winged skeleton emerged from the gate and flew ahead of JV before suddenly stopping in front of Mystogan, causing JV to nearly stumble over as he stopped running forward, "Thanatos! I gave you an order! Reap his soul!"
"Contractor," Thanatos bellowed out, "There is no soul to reap here," he stated as JV's face twisted in anger before looking back at Mystogan, who's body was now vanishing in a flash of purple mist, "An illusion!? But where-!" JV started to shout before turning around, seeing Mystogan standing right behind him with two of his fingers held up to JV's face.
"Sleep," Mystogan commanded as JV suddenly fell over, passing out as Thanatos disappeared as well. Mystogan quickly turned to walk away, leaving JV where he laid as he headed towards the Jaborosa Branch guildhall.
. : + : .
"Okay people! Come on! Hurry! Hurry!" Nika bellowed as the mages of the Jaborosa Branch ran to and fro, gathering whatever they might need for the fight ahead of them.
"Hey, take a deep breath, all right?" Raoul suggested, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder
"I know, I know. But I can't help but feel that… something is about to go terribly wrong," Nika admitted before stepping away from Raoul, concern clearly on the man's face as she did so, "I got word that Fairy Tail attacked the Oak Town Branch this morning, the fight's still going on right now though."
"Is anyone leading the fight on our side?" Raoul asked, following Nika as she walked off towards her office.
"Gajeel is, Aria is with him," Nika responded before looking downcast, "But Makarov is leading the charge himself and Erza is with him."
"Hope they got a plan," Raoul sighed as they stepped out of view.
"Wonder where they're going?" Cleo mused as she watched Nika and Raoul step out of view of everyone.
"Who knows," Emrys sighed, "But they better hurry, we're running behind schedule as it is. If we're too late, Master Jose's gonna have all our hides," he complained before he watched a guildmate fall over, "Hey! Are you okay?" he asked as he kneeled down to check on him.
"Doctor! Someone's passed out over here!" Cleo called out as Darling could be seen turning and heading their way until another guildmate fell over, unconscious next to him.
"Oh dear," Darling mused before looking around for Rena," Miss Miret! I could use your assistance! We've got two people down!" he called out as Rena stood up from the bar where she was seated with Zavid and began to walk over as Lilly followed her.
"Coming doctor," Rena replied quietly as she walked over, though a sudden sense of drowsiness hit her as she stumbled a bit, bobbing and weaving where she stood as her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, the muffled, worried voices around her becoming more and more distant as her eyes finally shut and she fell to the ground, Lilly landing on top of her as she fell asleep as well.
"Miss Miret!" Darling shouted as Zavid jumped from his seat and to the young girl's side, his notebook in hand.
"Rena!" he called out as he lifted her up and turned her over so she wasn't laying on her face, "She's… asleep," he said before the sound of multiple bodies hitting the floor could be heard, leaving only less than two dozen figures standing, each and every one of them struggling to hold back a yawn.
"Who all is still awake!?" Lillian called out as she looked around, "Where the hell did Nika get off to!?"
"Are we under attack?" Irma questioned as she looked around, "Everyone's sleeping like the dead. Sleep Magic?"
"I'd guess so," Zeke shrugged as he pulled his bandana from his neck before tying it around his forehead.
"You're not sleeping?" Sasha asked as she stepped next to the white haired man.
"This isn't the time for a nap, no matter what all these guys think," Zeke pointed out as he turned his focus to the front doors of the guildhall as they began to open slowly as a figure robed in blue, his face obscured by a mask entered into the building as he held out a rope covered in the flags of several of Phantom Lord's Branches.
"Fairy Tail," Rocco could be heard growling, "They've been attacking the other branches quietly on the side it looks like."
"Who the hell is that though?" Jaku asked, trying to look past the man to see if there was anyone else behind him, "Is it really just one mage?"
"It's Mystogan," Lillian answered as she stepped forward, "One of the contenders for the title of Fairy Tail's Strongest S-Class Mage."
"This creep is that Mystogan?" Vincent questioned, "I heard no one ever sees his face," he added as he looked around at all the sleeping mages around them, "Guess we know why now."
"I have placed the entire town, and the majority of your mages, under my sleeping spell. Surrender to me and I shall spare you," Mystogan demanded as he stepped inside the building.
"Like hell we'd surrender to Fairy Rats!" Iva shouted before charging forward past Lillian as her Dragon Scales appeared across her body, leaping through the air towards Mystogan.
"Iva!" Lillian shouted, reaching out for the girl before she was effortlessly swatted away by Mystogan, crashing into the wall after his blow.
"Very well then," Mystogan sighed before his staves flew off of his back, scattering throughout the guildhall as he began forming hand signs as Rocco charged forward with Jaku.
"Karkinos!" Rocco shouted as his crab Take-Over appeared while Jaku readied his axe both of them swinging down at Mystogan before he swiftly spun out of the way, blasting Jaku in the back with a purple, magic energy before a magic circle appeared under Rocco, holding him in place.
"The hell is this!?" Rocco hissed as Jaku hit the ground next to him, though Iva would quickly make herself known again as she charged at Mystogan again after pulling herself from the wall, punching and kicking at him while he dodged each and every blow with the slightest movement before he managed to get behind her and grabbed her by the hair on the back of her head.
"Dick!" Iva cursed as she hissed in pain at having her hair grabbed before she was thrown back out the guildhall, just in time for him to turn around and see Zeke moving in on him, his regular boots glowing for a moment before being replaced with orange boots that red, flame designs stitched into them as he swiftly kicked at the man, fire shooting from his feet as he did so while Mystogan swept his cloak to blow the fire away as he moved in to grab Zeke by the leg before spinning inward to grab a hold of his foot with his other hand, twisting it until a painful snap could be heard and Zeke screamed in pain as Mystogan dropped him to the ground, Zeke's ankle twisted into a direction it should not be in.
"That's it!" Lillian shouted as she charged in, shooting off orbs of shadows that looked like they would hit their mark, only for Mystogan to disappear, having replaced himself with an illusion before several of his staves fell to the ground around Lillian, impaling themselves into the floorboards as a magic circle appeared above and below Lillian before a magical bolt of energy struck downward and hit Lillian, causing her to scream in pain before collapsing to the ground.
"Yuri!" Izzy could be heard calling out from the direction of the courtyard as the short woman could be seen charging at Mystogan.
"Five-Finger Blast!" Yuri shouted as an explosion of fire shot forward from her right hand, Mystogan barely having enough time to grab a staff off the ground to create a protective barrier in front of him as the fireball roared all around him, the man turning his head to sides as he heard footsteps to his right, revealing a one-handed Yuri reaching out towards him with her one remaining hand, "Five-Finger Blast!" she roared as another explosion shot out at Mystogan at point-blank range, enveloping the man in another fireball.
"Damn…" Iva said in wonder at the display of power from the small woman, though as the smoke cleared, Mystogan was still standing as another magical circle could be seen between him and Yuri, who was know handless, as Mystogan reached out towards the woman, touching her on the forehead before she collapsed to the ground.
"Just how much of a monster is this guy?" Rocco asked from his magic prison as Jaku slowly rose to his feet again, leaning on his axe for support.
"I dunno, but he's really asking for it," Jaku stated as he lifted his axe up from the ground, placing it back into the holster on his back, a black magical energy beginning to appear around his hands while Vincent appeared next to them out of a cloud of sand.
"This guy ain't leaving any openings for anything sneaky," Vincent sighed before looking at Rocco, "Comfy in there?"
"Fuck you," Rocco cursed before Jaku cleared his throat.
"Can you fight each other later? I need something from you, Vince," he said as he flinched under the force of the black magic in his hands.
"What's that?" Vincent asked.
"I need a really dense chunk of sand, like a boulder. Can you make it has hard as sandstone?" Jaku questioned.
"I can certainly try," Vincent stated as he entered his stance, "Sand-Make: Boulder!" he called out as a large boulder of sand appeared in front of them, crashing into the ground as Jaku approached it, placing his hands on it to prepare his spell while Cleo charged at Mystogan from another direction, swinging her sword wildly from every direction she could to find any sort of opening possible, but the masked man blocked each and every strike effortlessly with one of his staves.
"I know a swordswoman leagues better than you," Mystogan stated before striking Cleo in the stomach with an open palm, sending her flying backwards, crashing through the bar.
"Now!" Jaku announced as the boulder began to crack in his hands as black and red magical energy poured through the stone, corrupting it from within before it shattered into hundreds of small, black and red stones, "Corruption Storm: Stone Gatling Gun!" Jaku roared as the stones flew forward as Mystogan turned his attention to the oncoming attack, his cloak being torn as he moved out of the way, running constantly as the stream of rocks followed him until he could retaliate, moving his hands through several hand signs before unleashing another purple wave of magic that impacted against the cloud of remaining stones yet to be shot at him, exploding violently as rubble dropped to the ground everywhere around the four Phantom Lord mages near them as they shielded their faces from the blast.
"Dammit!" Vincent hissed before Mystogan suddenly appeared from the cloud of dust and debris his hands readying another blast of energy that fired off and impacted directly against Vincent's chest, sending him crashing through several tables before Mystogan turned and spun in the air, landing a hard kick to the back of Jaku's head, sending the tall man falling to the ground before Iva leapt at him from behind, only to pass through another illusion.
"This bastard is really getting on my nerves," she growled.
"How do you think I feel?" Rocco huffed, still stuck inside his prison.
"I don't got time for you, Blue!" Iva snapped before seeing Mystogan reappear on the other side of the room before another one appeared, followed by another and another until the room was filled with Mystogans.
"First I couldn't shoot him cause he wouldn't hold still, now I can't shoot him because I don't know which one is real!" Connor complained loudly as he turned back and forth, trying to pick out which Mystogan was the real one.
"Can you dispel this illusion?" Irma asked, turning to Asher who was wearing a fairly embarrassed look.
"Alas, it seems his skills in illusions far outpace my own. I'm afraid I'm quite useless here," Asher admitted, "He's immediately dispelled every single one I've tried to make so far even."
"Wonderful," Irma sighed before she saw Emrys hit the floor, hard, "Emrys!" she shouted as she ran over, cautiously trying to keep her distance from any of the Mystogans now standing around the guildhall, "He's unconscious," she mumbled before standing back up as her tattoos began to glow green as a large green spirit holding a sword appeared, "Osian," Irma whispered as she finished summoning the spirit.
"Ahhhh!" they heard Layla scream as a large explosion of small drawings of moons, stars, suns and other objects shot out from Layla as she fell to the ground, the real Mystogan being forced to step back to shield himself from Layla's sudden attack as Irma beamed in on the man, charging forward with her spirit as it flew ahead of her, slashing downward with its sword as Mystogan blocked the strike with a magic circle from the staff in his hand.
"Tch… seems they've caught me," Mystogan mumbled as he tried to move, realizing his legs were held in place by petrified roots.
"I've got him with my Snag Magic!" Izzy announced as she circled around behind the man as Irma cautiously approached him.
"Seems I have no choice," Mystogan stated as five of his staves fell in a circle, surrounding Irma, Izzy and Layla, "Skyscraper," he muttered as a large, brilliant white explosion burst out of the ground beneath the three Phantom Lord mages, sending them high into the sky, the three women watching in horror as the guildhall and Jaborosa Town grew smaller and smaller beneath them as they flew higher and higher.
"I don't wanna die like this! This is too much!" Layla screamed loudly as the three of them were now floating in space.
"How are we even…?" Izzy began to question before a loud roar could be heard echoing all around them.
"Get ready!" Irma ordered as they watched a black tear in space be ripped open by a pair of large, clawed hands.
"It's a… monster… a demon!" Izzy gasped before black tendrils shot out and restrained the three mages, who know could only watch in horror as they struggled to break free as the beast tore the hole open wider, revealing its horrific face, its glowing red eyes and its maw filled with countless teeth as it let out a bone-chilling roar, the three of them only able to scream in horror as it charged at them through the rip in space, maw opened wide to swallow them whole.
In reality, Mystogan stood over them as all three girls collapsed to the ground, unmoving as their minds shut down due to the horror of the illusion he had trapped them in. He took a look at Asher and held a hand up to the man, shooting a purple beam of energy into his stomach and sending the man flying into the wall before he turned to face what was left of the guild in the room with him.
"Now I've got ya," Connor muttered as he took aim, pulling the trigger on his revolver before Mystogan vanished into thin air, only to reappear close enough to grab Connor by the wrist, crushing it until he dropped his firearm, but continuing until he could feel the bones in Connor's wrist cracking as the young man screamed in pain. Once satisfied that the he couldn't point a gun at him anymore, Mystogan let go as Connor collapsed to his knees, hissing in pain as the masked man walked away, only to be met with Zavid charging at him at high speeds, zipping up to Mystogan faster than he could react and managing to land a blow against his face, managing to see a flash of Mystogan's dark eyes hidden beneath the bandana he wore and a tattoo on the man's face. Bewildered just long enough to become distracted, Mystogan took the opportunity to grab Zavid by the collar as three more of his staves struck the ground before he threw Zavid into the middle of them as a magic circle appeared, trapping the boy inside.
"At least I'm not alone anymore," Rocco huffed before looking at Iva, "Ain't you gonna fight more?"
"Tch… As if I wouldn't… I just can't figure out any good plans," Iva growled before she saw a miasma of shadows burst forth from the ground towards Mystogan, Alek in the middle of it all.
"Attacking your own, defeated allies for a boost in magical strength?" Mystogan mused as he watched the approaching miasma.
"I'll pay them back later for their magical energy," Alek stated as he thrust his arms forward, sending shadows hurtling towards the man who man several quick hand motions.
"Three Layered Magic Circle: Mirror Water," Mystogan called out as three magic circles appeared in front of him, absorbing the shadows as the collided against them before coalescing in a beam of black and purple magic energy that shot right back at Alek, blasting him backwards and into the far wall.
"How are we supposed to beat this?" Sasha questioned before collapsing to her knees, "He's… so powerful, he's beaten everyone that's tried to fight him so far, one after another. What hope do I have of winning?"
"Miss Winfield, I suggest you pull yourself together, he's coming," Darling pointed out as Mystogan turned to walk towards them.
"Do you surrender?" he questioned as he approached them, watching Darling take on the tradition Maker Magic fighting stance while Sasha remained on her knees.
"No one here does," Kord suddenly stated as he moved to stand between Mystogan and the other two mages, "Full Guard," he announced as crystalline armor sprouted from his body, covering his torso and arms with crystals, "I will be your shield, so fight with all you have."
"I'm still questioning how useful I'll be, but very well," Darling conceded before looking down to Sasha, "I do believe we owe it to Mr. Riothorn to at least try, don't you think?" Darling asked, smiling down at the girl.
"Yes!" Sasha agreed, quickly standing up and pulling out a key, "Gate of the Chained Princess: Andromeda! Open!" she commanded as Andromeda appeared before them, her chains stirring to life before striking forward at Mystogan, who quickly sidestepped them as Darling moved around to the side as quick as he could.
"Wool-Make: Shotgun Baby!" he shouted as several bullets of bright blue wool shot towards Mystogan, the man quickly disappearing in thin air to dodge the attack before reappearing near Sasha, grabbing her by the back of the head before her eyelids grew too heavy to remain open any longer as she fell to the ground, Andromeda disappearing as she hit the floor.
"Dammit!" Kord cursed as he moved to swipe at Mystogan now that he was within arm's reach, but being far too slow to connect as Mystogan moved out of the way, quickly running around the man and planting three of his remaining staves into the ground around him before five magic circles appeared above Kord as Mystogan began making more hand motions.
"Five Layered Magic Circle: Sacred Song," the masked man muttered as a brilliant purple blast of energy shot downward onto Kord, completely disintegrating his crystal armor as the man roared out in pain, collapsing once the attack was finished, allowing Mystogan to reclaim his staves before turning his attention to Darling, quickly disappearing and reappearing close enough to hold two of his fingers to the doctors face before the older man fell asleep, falling to the ground.
"Everyone… was beaten?" Iva stammered, disbelief heavy in her voice, "Just one man has beaten this entire guild branch?"
"You should probably try and do something about that," Rocco sighed, now sitting down in his prison having given up on forcing his way out long ago.
"Tch… Guess it has to be me then," Iva growled as her wooden dragon scales appeared on her body and began to run towards the man, making it two steps before he suddenly appeared before her, tripping her with the tip of his staff as she tumbled to the ground, falling right on her face before he moved to stand over her.
"Sleep, Dragon Slayer, the world may soon have need of you," Mystogan commanded as he held out his hand, the irresistible lure of sleep finally falling over Iva as she passed out.
"Oh my…" they heard a soft and gentle voice say from the entrance of the guildhall, "What happened here?"
"Lulu!?" Rocco gawked at the woman's late arrival, "Dammit woman! Get out of here! Fairy Tail's Mystogan has attacked the guild!"
"Did we attack him first?" Lulu asked as she stepped inside.
"I mean, if you want to get technical about it, yeah, but he came here looking for a fight," Rocco explained as Mystogan eyed her curiously.
"Then that'll be reason enough," Lulu stated before turning to Mystogan as she reached out her hand, "It seems you've hurt my friends… The Khala may forgive you for this, but it is up to me to dole out their punishment it seems," she said as a dark, blue gauntlet appeared in her outstretched hand, "Reliquary Magic: Relic of the Knightmare," she announced as a vile, dark blue and purple magic energy burst forth from the relic in her hand before enveloping her completely in its dark energy that radiated hatred and malice incarnate, the force of the magic energy pushing even Mystogan back a step until it settled, revealing the tall woman was now covered head to toe vicious looking dark blue plate mail armor. Her face completely concealed by a horned helm that covered her face with a metal visor while long red hair hung from the back of it. Her gauntlets had claws for fingers and in her right hand was a massive claymore. The woman let out a loud, bloodcurdling roar as her eyes glowed red beneath the visor before she suddenly charged.
"This power!" Mystogan gasped as he had to move faster than he had all day to dodge the horizontal swing of her claymore, jumping backwards as he made several hand signs, though Lulu would give him no respite as she charged once more grabbing at him with her clawed gauntlet, tearing through his cloak as he narrowly managed to avoid her grasp as he leapt away from her, twisting through the air so he could launch a blast of magic that impacted against Lulu's armor, forcing her back a step before she let out another roar.
"Damn… I had no idea she could do this," Rocco said, awe filling his voice before he felt a heavy drowsiness come upon him, "Tch… Guess the guy's not satisfied with keeping me locked up anymore," Rocco growled before sleep took him as the remaining staves scattered around the guildhall flew back to Mystogan as he started planting them all around the guild hall, a magic force emanating from the staffs pushing away all the unconscious bodies to edge of the room as he planted the magic tools, though Lulu would let out another roar and make her way to him quickly, backhanding him across the face with her free hand and sending him crashing into the wall as his bandana and mask flew off, revealing the blue hair, dark eyes and red tattoo he kept hidden beneath.
"I suppose I underestimated this branch," Mystogan huffed as he pulled himself out of the wreckage, "To think they had someone on this level of strength and not employ her as part of the main guild," he mused as Lulu let out another roar, the man having to teleport with his magic to avoid her next sword strike, which further destroyed the wall where he had been before he reappeared in center of the staves he had placed down far as he began forming more hand signs and launching another blast at Lulu to draw her attention back to him in the center of the room, the woman letting out another bestial roar before turning around and charging at him as he continued to plant more of his staves into the ground, the man panting heavily as he struggled to continue to avoid Lulu's onslaught until it was finally ready. Every last one of his staves had been planted into the ground in a large circle, as Mystogan darted to the center, baiting Lulu to follow him before he teleported out of it, reappearing near the entrance of the guildhall and already forming several hand signs as a massive magic circle appeared beneath Lulu, and then one above it, and one above that until ten magic circles floated in the air above Lulu as a magical field of energy burst forth from the magical tools surrounding the armored woman, trapping her inside.
"No enemy I have faced in Earthland has pushed me to use this spell," Mystogan admitted as he clasped his hands together, "I suppose you should feel honored if it was even possible to reason with you right now," Mystogan sighed before tightening his grip on his own hands, "Ten Layered Magic Circle: Divine Judgment!" he shouted as a massive beam of light shot down from the heavens, tearing through the roof of the guildhall and striking downward against Lulu before a powerful explosion rocked the entire guildhall.
. : + : .
"Something just changed," Nika mumbled from inside her office.
"Yeah…" Raoul agreed, "Magic shifted in the air, were we…?"
"An illusion," Nika gasped, "We've been in an illusion! It just broke!" Nika shouted before darting out of the office, Raoul chasing after her, both of them coming to a dead stop on the balcony above the main room of the guildhall, "No…" Nika gasped as her eyes fell on every last one of her guildmates, laying on the ground unconscious among a ruined guildhall while one, tattered, masked man stood among them, "Mystogan," she snarled as she focused on the man in the room.
"No wonder we couldn't notice what was happening if he was the one casting the illusion," Raoul mused, "Never would have guessed that Fairy Tail would've sent him after us though."
"Unfortunately, the force of my last spell required I dispel the illusion I placed on you two when I entered," Mystogan admitted, "I'm impressed with the strength of your mages here, they've been the strongest out of all the branches I've fought thus far."
"Am I supposed to be happy about that!" Nika snapped as she gripped the railing in front of her.
"Perhaps not," Mystogan replied as his staves flew up into the air and onto his back, Lulu laying unconscious in the middle of the circle they had been placed in while everyone else had been pushed to the sides of the room, safely away from whatever spell Mystogan had just used on Lulu.
"Calm down," Raoul whispered into Nika's ear, "If we go at this together, we might be able to beat him."
"Yeah, standard plan to start?" Nika asked as a smirk appeared on Raoul's face.
"Got it," he replied before reaching for the two small, metal rods he kept on the back of his belt before suddenly hurling them forward, "Magnet Magic! Rail Cannon Setup!" he shouted as Nika leapt off of the banister, lightning enveloping her body as the metal rods grew longer, lining a path towards Mystogan.
"Lightning Magic: Rail Cannon Blast!" Nika added as her body shot forward between the metal rods at an impossibly fast speed, impacting against Mystogan with a powerful explosion of electricity that sent him flying out of the guildhall, Nika taking just a moment before turning into a bolt of lightning that shot after him.
"Nika! Wait!" Raoul shouted as he jumped over the railing of the balcony, attempting to catch up to the fight.
"You'll pay for this!" Nika shouted as she caught up with Mystogan, landing a solid punch against his jaw before spinning around in a burst of lightning, landing another solid on his side, sending him flying into the trees that lined the path between the guildhall and the town, the man crashing through a handful of trees and sending them toppling over before he managed to get his footing back, the man panting heavily, tired from his previous fights until now as his hastily reapplied mask began to droop off his face, the man pulling it back up before making several hand signs as he saw a bolt of lightning heading towards him.
"Three Layered Magic Circle: Sacred Mirror!" he yelled as the circles appeared just in time to catch the bolt of lightning and shoot it back, though he'd see another lightning bolt flying towards him, moving around the reflected spell, the man vanishing just in time as Nika appeared out of the lightning bolt, a lightning enhanced fist crashing through the tree behind him as he reappeared above Nika, stomping her into the ground before he teleported away again as five staves impaled themselves around Nika.
"Like hell this will work!" Nika shouted as she locked eyes with Mystogan as she called down a bolt of lightning above him while a beam of purple light fell on her, both of them taking simultaneous damage, Nika letting out a scream of pain while Mystogan struggled to recover under the force of the spell as he made more hand signs, launching a wave of purple magic energy at Nika as soon as her spell ended, catching her off guard as it impacted against her and sent her crashing into a tree.
"If you had waited for your ally, you may have actually won this fight," Mystogan admitted, panting heavily as he staggered over to where Nika laid, "Your guildmates fought admirably and without the cowardice employed by Jose, you should be proud," he stated as he walked over to and knelt down next to Nika, placing two of his fingers up against her forehead, "Now, rest and recover. Fiore will be expecting great things of all of you," he said as sleep took Nika.
. : + : .
"Dammit, where is she?" Raoul huffed as he ran out of the guildhall, "Nika! Veronika!" he shouted to no avail, as no response came, "I told her that we'd fight him together and then she goes and pulls this shit," he cursed as he ran down the road a short ways before he noticed several fallen trees, "They must have gone this way," he muttered as he stepped into the foliage, throwing one of his metal rods forward before it split into several small discs that scattered throughout the area, "Gotta be prepared for a fight," Raoul mumbled as he followed the trail, keeping his other metal rod in his left hand as he stepped over a fallen tree.
Raoul continued to slowly walk the path until Mystogan appeared before him, the man appearing out of a cloud of mist.
"Well, I take it that means Nika lost," Raoul questioned as he looked the tired Mystogan up and down, "Course you look like shit after that fight though."
"Surrender and tend to your fallen comrades," Mystogan commanded sternly, not reacting in the slightest to Raoul's attempts to rile him up.
"I've half a mind to, but I can't surrender to Fairy Rat anymore than you can surrender to me," Raoul explained, "Too much pride at stake, yeah?"
"We can agree on this," Mystogan replied, "One more battle then, the fate of your guild branch rests on your shoulders."
"Yeesh, way to make a guy feel antsy," Raoul chuckled before reaching out his right arm, his hand held open, "Allow me to make the first move!" he shouted before shutting his hand as the scattered metal discs flew in towards Mystogan, the man being caught by surprise as he tried to dodge, but felt two slice through the sides of his left leg while another cut him across the torso, the man grunting as he tried to brace himself, only to be smashed on the jaw by the metal rod in Raoul's left hand, sending the masked man tumbling to the ground, teleporting to dodge Raoul's next strike before several Mystogans appeared around the forest, "Dammit, guess he realized I have the advantage up close since he's so tired, so he's running away from me. To bad this shit ain't gonna work!" Raoul shouted as he swung his right arm as the metal discs started to fly around again, cutting through every illusion they came across in search of the real Mystogan.
"Y'know, why should I bother trying to find you, when I can just pull you to me!" Raoul laughed as he held out his right hand again, "Magnet Magic: Attract!" he shouted as all of a sudden, the metal buckle on one of the Mystogan's leather strap that held their staves in place shot forward, dragging Mystogan with it as the metal discs closed in on him on all sides as he was rapidly pulled closer to Raoul. Though just as he was in reach of Raoul, the man vanished, Raoul too distracted to notice the flying discs that had been following behind Mystogan before he had disappeared and were now flying past Raoul, cutting into his sides, "Shit!" Raoul cursed as he felt the bite of the metal cutting into him, "He's too tired to fight fair, so he's fighting dirty," he hissed as he started looking around for Mystogan again before the masked man suddenly appeared behind him, staff in hand as he hoisted it over Raoul's head and pulled it against the man's throat as hard as he could, cutting off his air before Raoul managed to lift Mystogan up off the ground by grabbing onto his staff and pulling him onto his back before backing up into a tree as hard as he could, hearing the man grunt loudly as he smashed against the tree. Raoul turned around as soon as he felt Mystogan drop off of his back and onto the ground, a smug look on Raoul's face until he noticed that Mystogan had planted two of his staves into the ground on either side of him before appeared in the air behind him, stabbing into the ground as well.
"Dammit," Raoul cursed as he noticed a magic circle appearing beneath him, seeing that it had extended to behind the tree he had smashed Mystogan into, realizing he had planted one there earlier too, "You really are a sneaky bastard," Raoul chuckled as Mystogan teleported away to safety just before three more magic circles appeared above Raoul.
"Four Layered Magic Circle: Melodious Skyfall," Mystogan panted before a beam of blue light fell from the sky and struck Raoul, zapping him with magic energy until he collapsed.
. : + : .
Mystogan let out a pained gasp as he stepped back up to the Jaborosa Branch's guildhall, the man disappearing for a brief moment before reappearing atop the what remained of the roof near a tattered Phantom Lord flag waving atop a now crooked flag pole, he took one last look down into the guildhall through the large hole that had been opened up in the roof during the battle.
"Truly, I underestimated these mages," the man mused as he looked between them all, "They fought with courage and bravery, to protect one another and to stand up to their enemy, despite how many times they were knocked down. I believe great things are in store for these Phantoms. What they may be, I do not know, only that I will be glad to witness their growth if I can."
With those final words, Mystogan seized the Phantom Lord flag, before vanishing from their guildhall, like mist being blown away by the wind.
A/N: It is finished! Phantom Lord is no more! I have been waiting for this chapter since before I wrote the prologue and it feels wonderful to finally have it written. What comes next for our cast-aside mages? Who knows? But with this, the Phantom Lord Story Arc is complete! The next chapter will begin the second story arc, the Phantom Hearts Arc as our protagonists struggle to come to terms with the loss as they attempt to rebuild their broken home.
As always, I'd like to thank Grimnack, MyDearWatson, Eternal Rain Spirit, Benthino, XLil MEkoX, wjolix98 and Warmachine375 for the reviews, they mean a lot.
That's all for now!
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Dreadburner94.