Chapter 6

The Red Eyed Hunter


"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Magic"

Flashback

Location / Date / Time Skip


With Erik

"Ow, that hurt." Erik groaned as he looked around, finding himself in a large room with tall pillars with stone branches jutting out. "What the heck was that?"

"Cobra! Wally!" Simon shouted as he and Gray entered the hallway.

"About time you showed up, ice queen." Erik said.

"You wanna go, snake boy?" Gray aksed, slamming his head into Erik's.

"Not now." Simon interupted.

"Gray, what are doing with this guy?" Happy asked. "He's evil."

"No, he's not." Gray calmed down and explained. "If he really was, he really would have tried to kill me back at the resort."

"You got a point." Erik mumbled. "So who is Jellal? And what's up with this crazy game?"

"I guess is sense of humor is messed up." Wally said as he stood. "I can't believe I followed him for so long."

"It's alright Wally." Simon said. "Now we have to stop him. And as for who he is, he's the twin brother of Siegrain, a magic council member. I assume that's how he knows about their plan to fire Etherion."

"So, we're just stuck the middle of a sibling rivalry?" Erik asked.

"Maybe." Simon mumbled. "I don't know what kind of relationship they have. But it seems they are at odds. All that matters now is that we have to stop him."

"Let's go." Wally said. The others nodded and Gray lead them through the stone forest.

"Stop." Erik said. "Something doesn't smell right."

"What do you mean?" Simon asked.

"We're short the block head." Erik explained. The three turned around to see Wally on the ground with a blue spike sticking out of his back.

"Run. Sniper!" He shouted, unable to move.

"Let's see him shot through this. Dark Moment!" Simon cast his spell, only to be hit by a matching spike. It paralyzed him and sent him to the ground, nullifying his spell.

"Show yourself!" Gray shouted as he and Erik stood back to back.

"I should have known Ryuko failed to kill you." The unknown shooter said. "She always was one for brute force over precision."

"Who are you?" Simon asked from the ground.

A cloaked man appeared in front of the group, his face obscured by a skull mask and a rifle in his hands. "My name is Sterben.

"The Red-Eyed Hunter!?" Simon shouted. "You two have to get out of here! This guy is responsible for wiping out an entire army with nothing but his rifle! He's a professional assassin!"

"Not a chance." Erik said. "I'm not gonna let anyone die from someone like this."

"This is the famous Cobra?" Sterben asked, cocking his rifle. "This might actually be a challenge." He vanished from their sights, leaving looking around the room.

"Guilds are suppose to bring people together so they can share their dream." Erik spoke up. "They aren't places for killers to team up."

"Just run!" Simon shouted.

"Like you have room to talk." Sterben's voice echoed through the room. "You practice a magic that utilizes poison. You're no better than me, Cobra."

"The difference is I show my enemy's mercy." Erik said back, his hands seeping out his element. "I might poison them, but I always give them the antidote."

"And that is why you will lose." The sniper said back. "Mercy is just weakness personified."

Erik sniffed the air. 'If I can't see him, maybe I can smell him.' "12!" He shouted, making him and Gray duck out of the way of a shot. "I've got his scent." He sniffed the air again. "Gray, 7:45!"

"Got it! Ice-Make: Saucer!" He crafted a spinning saw blade that sliced a pillar, forcing the sniper to move. "Ice-Make: Lance!" He crafted a dozen spears that shot towards the sniper. One grazed his cloak and his frame appeared before it faded away again. He jumped off the ice and vanished from sight. "Erik, where is he?"

"Give me a second." The Dragon Slayer said. "Happy, can you see anything?"

"I can see the stone floor." Both looked over to see the cat face first on the ground with a shot sticking out of his tail.

"Happy!" Erik shouted.

"Focus, snake boy!" Gray said.

"Don't tell me to focus!" Erik shouted.

"I love creating chaos among the ranks." Sterben mumbled, looking down the scope of his rifle. "It makes my job all the more easier."

"Just shut up and let me do my thing!" Erik shouted. "Ha! Got him. 2:55!"

"Ice-Make: Grappling Hook!" Gray created a hook and chain that pulled Sterben down.

"Poison Dragon Crushing Famg" Erik charged foward and swung his arm, catching Sterben in the gut.

"Thank you, idiot." Sterben said as he fired a shot that hit Erik in the back of the neck. He stumbled back and leaned against a pillar.

"Erik!" Gray shouted.

"And then there was one..." Sterben said as he disappeared.

"Aw, crap." The Ice Mage mumbled as he looked around in a panic.

"I knew these guys would be difficult, but this is insane." Simon muttered form his back. "And this is only one."


Throne Room

Jellal picked up the coffin piece and knocked over two others, one that looked like a castle wall and the other a fish. "Defeated so easily, Simon? I was hoping for more." He placed an ice crystal in front of the coffin. "Our next match is Sterben vs Gray Fullbuster. I was hoping to face the Cobra myself, but the odds do not look promising."


With Gray

'Come on, Gray! Think!' The ice wizard thought to himself. 'There has to be a way to track this guy without Erik!'

'Let's see...' Sterben thought as he dropped the empty clip in his gun and reached for a new one. 'Should I paralyze this maker mage, or start killing the others?'

The clip hit the ground, making Gray turn around. "Ice-Make: Knuckles!" He summoned a seal and six fists destroyed the base of the pillar, causing it to start falling onto Simon and the others. "Crap! Ice-Make: Hammer!" A hammer of ice destroyed the pillar, saving the others.

"A waste of energy..." Sterben mumbled from behind, holding a pistol to Gray's head. "Any last words?"

"Screw you..." The maker Mage growled. The assassin pulled the trigger and Gray's head exploded. The headless body fell to the ground and broke into ice chunks.

"Clever little ant..." Sterben mumbled before catching a punch from the side. "This isn't my first hunt." He raised his pistol and slammed it into Gray's temple before fading away.

"Damn it!" Gray shouted.

'He's playing with him...' Erik thought as he watched Gray look around the room. 'There has to be something I can do...'

"Come out here, you coward!" Gray shouted.

"Gray..." The maker wizard looked over at Erik who tried to move. "I've got a plan..."

"That's it..." Sterben mumbled as he Requipped his rifle. "Make whatever little plan you want... It won't save you in the end..." He pulled the trigger and fired a barrage of live rounds at Gray and Erik.

"Move!" Erik shouted as the bullets zoomed towards them.

"Ice-Make: Shield!" Gray turned and crafted his flower shaped shield, blocking the bullets.

"You never learn..." Sterben mumbled from behind Gray, his pistol at the makers head.

"Erik, now!" Gray shouted as he jumped out of the way.

"Poison Dragon Roar!" Erik unleashed a torrent of poison that swallowed Sterben. "Not so tough now, are you?"

The roar faded and Sterben stood there, uneffected as clear steam escaped his mask. "This mask can make even the most toxic air breathable. You won't be able to poison me."

"Damn it! I thought that would work." Erik shouted.

"Your involvement has gone from amusing to aggravating." Sterben said as he walked over, Requipped his pistol, and pointed it at the Dragon Slayer's heart. "Your life is now forfeit."

He pulled the trigger and fired, only to have the bullet frozen from the gun barrel. Gray swung around the pillar and kicked the assassin back, causing him to drop the gun and it in turn to shatter on the ground. "What you gonna do now?" He turned back to Erik and tired to pull the spike out of his frienemy's neck.

"Gray! Behind you!" Erik shouted as Sterben charged forward with a straight sword and peirced the stone above his maroon hair as Gray rolled out of the way.

"I thought you were a sniper." Gray growled as he stood up.

"That's just one of my skills as a killer." The assassin said as he held his sword to his mask. "Now you die!" He raised forward and swung his sword, forcing Gray to duck and dodge.

"Ice-Make: Lance!" Gray crafted more lances that flew at the masked assassin, who effortlessly dodged and broke them.

"How can you fight me if you can't see me!?" The assassin asked before fading away.

"I'm getting sick of this!" Gray shouted as a breeze flew through one of the holes is Lance made. 'The wind... that's it!' Cold mist rolled off his body and filled the room, except a spot near by. "You're mine!" He sprinted forward and grabbed the assassin, pulling his cloak off before freezing it solid. "Let's see you pull your little trick with out this." He dropped the clock and it shattered into pieces.

Sterben growled as steam escaped his mask before jumping onto a pillar behind him. "Take this! Star Splash!" He jumped forward and spun before thrusting his sword five times at Gray, striking his shoulders, legs and neck. "You're done!" He thrusted again, only to have Gray catch the blade before freezing the tip.

"No, you are!" Gray shouted. He spun and coated his arm and elbow in ice. "Ice Blade: Seven Strike Dance!" He stuck Sterben seven times, sending the assassin flying through multiple pillars of stone before slamming into the wall.

"Incredible..." Simon muttered. "He actually won..." Gray walked over panting and pulled the paralyzing spikes out of the others.

"I knew you could do it, snow queen." Erik joked.


Throne Room

Jellal knocked over the coffin before setting the cobra back up. "Two assassins defeated... I have to say I'm impressed. However..." He looked over at his last two pieces, the kimono girl and the flying snake. "These last two are the deadliest of the group. Let's see who will survive... It's your move, Erza... But you'd better hurry. It won't be long before the sacred light strikes us all down..."


Era

"There are now eight votes in favor, and only one against." Org said to his disappointment. "Therefor, we've decided to fire an Etherion blast on the Tower of Heaven."

Siegrain smirked in his office as a knock came from his door. "Come in." The door opened and Yajima walked into the room.

"Pardon the intrusion." The older member said as he walked over to the desk. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I don't think this is a smart decision. An intelligent man like yourself should be able to see that. You could have come up with a more peaceful solution to resolve this situation."

"If only there was one." Siegrain said back. "I'll take full responsibility for this, but Zeref cannot be resurrected. We must stop him by any means nessecary. You understand, don't you?"

"Stoping Jellal is one thing, but completely wiping him out?" Yajima asked before turning around. "This blast could kill thousands of innocent people! Including your own brother! All of the lives lost in this attack will rest solely on your shoulders. You do know that, don't you!?"

"I know what is at stake here, and I'm prepared for whatever I must endure." Siegrain nodded.


Yes, another short chapter, I know. Personally, I'd rather have a good short chapter than a long bad one. Up next it's Ikuraga's turn, and after that, we'll get to see Salamander again. So stay tuned and review.

Beta Read by Natsu is Awesome.