Chapter 7

Ikaruga


"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Magic"

Flashback

Location / Date / Time Skip


With Lucy

"Wake up." Millianna nudged the blonde who opened her eyes.

"Ah! It's the cat lady!" Lucy screamed.

"Calm down. We're friends now, remember?" Millianna asked.

Lucy thought back to the fight they had against Ryuko. "Sorry. Still getting used to it. So, what do we do now?"

"We leave." Both girls looked over to see Wally walk into the room. "It's time to skedaddle. Simon said so." He picked Juvia up and slung her over his shoulder before walking out the room.

"Come on, I know where there's a boat." Lucy said as she and Millianna helped each other out the room.


Tower of Heaven

Throne Room

"Twenty five minutes left..." Jellal mumbled as he moved the remaining pieces. "The time has come for us to say our fairwells, Siegrain..."


With Sho

"Jellal! You bastard!" Sho shouted as he ran down the hall. "You're gonna pay for what you've done to us!"

"Sho, calm down!" Erza shouted from inside the card. "You're going to need my help to fight him! Let me go"

"I can't do that!" He shouted back. "Just don't worry, you'll be safe in the card."

"Are you trying to kill yourself!?" She asked.

Sho ignored her and ran into a room straight out of a Japanese movie, complete with Shinto gates, Komainu statues, and cherry blossom petals. He stopped in his tracks as the third assassin, now holding a sheathed red and gold sword, walked forward. "Konichiwa. I am called Ikaruga. Who might you be?"

"Out of my way, lady." Sho said, brandishing his cards between his finger. "I've got bigger fish to fry."

"How rude. Why must I fight such a borish and uncouth man?" The swords woman complained.

"I'm not wasting anymore time on you!" Sho flung his cards at her as she calmly drew her sword. With lighting speed she swung it before sliding it back into the sheathe as the cards peeled apart. "No way..."

"There is nothing on this planet my katana cannot slice." Ikaruga explained as the cards dissolved into powder.

"If you think that hunk of metal is gonna scare me..." Sho started before an X was sliced into the bridge beneath him. "What did you do..." He coughed up blood before falling over.

"I just severed your nerves without putting a scratch on you or your clothing." The swordswoman explained. "Do not mock me or my Mugetsu style." A single card floated to the ground, catching her attention.

"Let me out of here, Sho!" Erza demanded.

"Sister..." He coughed.

"Interesting, so this is where you were hiding her." Ikaruga surmised.

"Jellal might have taught you everything you know, but not everything he knows!" Erza shouted. "You're going to get yourself killed, Sho!"

"Forget about me!" He shouted. "The only thing that matters is you're safe. I casted a shielding spell on that card. Nothing can harm you from the outside!"

"Is that so?" Ikaruga asked as she shifted her feet. "Only one way to find out!"

"Let me out!" Erza demanded. "The shielding spell won't work! Her sword is magical!"

"You'll be fine..." Sho said. "I promise." Ikaruga swung her sword quickly before sheathing it. "I told y-" Sho started before he saw Erza blocking the swing. "She can cut across the dimensional rift!?"

Ikaruga unleashed a torrent of swings, sending Sho crashing into a statue. Erza blocked the swings ment for her until the card burst into light and she was freed. "I suspected your attacks would weaken Sho's spell, allowing me to cut my way to freedom."

'A sword that can cut through dimensions is amazing enough.' Sho thought to himself. 'But she used that power to her advantage, that's what makes her truly incredible.'

"So you called yourself Ikaruga?" Erza asked. "I didn't come all this way for you. Be gone."

"My apologize, but I think I'll stay." Ikaruga said as Erza's armored shattered. "You seem surprised. A skilled warrior such as yourself should have seen that coming. ~Can you feel it's gaze? From the depths of the night mist, the monarchy's wide grin~. This single minded focus you have for Jellal has left you a fledgling novice, ignorant of my katana slashing around you." Erza glared at the pinkette after being called a novice. "Yes, that's what I what I want to see."

'I've never seen her like this...' Sho thought.

"You might be skilled, but you can't even reach my level." Ikaruga teased.

"You're my enemy, and I will defeat you." Erza said as she Requipped her Heaven's Wheel Armor. "I always do."

"Let's see you, then." Ikaruga teased as she gripped her sword.

Erza charged forward and the two blocked swings before the read head jumped into the air. "Heaven's Wheel: Circle Sword!" She summoned a circle of blades and sent them flying at the assassin.

"Mugetsu Style..." Ikaruga opened her eyes and cut through the swords with blinding speed, sending the shards to the bridge. "That was my Yasha's Empty Flash..."

"She just obliterated the swords!" Sho shouted as the shards faded. Erza landed as Ikaruga swung again, slicing the armor off her.

"Mugetsu style." Ikaruga chanted as flames appeared at the base of her sheathe. "Garuda Flames!" She swung in a circle and sent the flames down the bridge, creating a series explosions. The smoke faded as Erza stood in her Flame Empress Armor, tanking the blasts.

"Ah, the Flame Empress Armor... Extremely resistant to flame attacks, is it not? I'm impressed at how fast you Requipped into it." The armor shattered, leaving Erza in only its top and boots. "How embarrassing. To be so inappropriately dressed in that young man's presence."

"Requip! Poison Empress Armor!" Her body glowed as she donned herself in the armor designed to counter Erik's magic. Her hair was tied in a braided pony tail, and a green snake acted as a choker. The front of the armor was shaped like an open snake mouth, with the red eyes covering her breasts while her back was covered by the purple coils of the body.

A green skirt covered her upper legs and her arms were covered gauntlet with her hands coming out the purple snakes mouth with black highlights. In her hands were two khopesh shaped like black snakes and her boots were clawed with matching purple and black snake heads with fangs jutting out of the tip.

"Is that suppose to intimidate me?" Ikaruga asked as Erza charged forward. She hooked the katana with one blade and swung the other. Ikaruga ducked the swing before Erza kneed her in the gut as her blades glowed green.

"Diamondback Strike!" She swung in a circle, creating a green tornado that Ikuraga blocked before jumping back. Ikaruga charged forward and broke one of the swords, forcing Erza to summon a bronze shield with snakes worked in the edges.

"Hiding behind a shield, I expected more from you." Ikaruga teased. "Mugetsu style. Yamato Wind!" She drew her blade and swung rapidly, creating blades of wind that sliced the armor, shield, and blade in pieces, sending the shards to the ground. "I suggest you dawn the strongest armor you have."

"She's a monster..." Sho thought in a panic.

A magic seal appeared beneath Erza and she was clad in black and grey armor. "You'll regret your arrogance when I'm done with you!" A new seal appeared before she held out a matching mace with a spike. "My Purgatory Armor. No one has seen this armor and lived."

"This is the most powerful armor in your collection?" Ikaruga asked. "Let's test its limits, shall we?"

Erza charged forward and slammed her weapon down, creating a shockwave that crashed into the wall behind them. She swung again, foring the assassin back before she swung her own blade, destroying most of the bridge. Erza charged again and Ikaruga forced her way up the mace before landing behind Erza as her armor and weapon shattered.

"I'm sorry, but I did warn you." Ikaruga said as the shards faded away. "There's nothing my katana cannot slice through. Admit defeat at my hands."

Erza slowly stood up as she glowed into her next outfit; a sarashi around her breasts, her hair in a straight ponytail, two katanas and red paints with flame designs at the legs.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Ikaruga asked. "Why would you trade our your armor for just ordinary cloth? Are you trying to mock me?"

"You must have all kinds of heavy duty armor!" Sho shouted. "Stay strong, sister."

"That's the problem..." Erza mumbled. "I've never been strong... My whole life, I've hid behind armor because I was scared of getting hurt. I thought if I kept to myself, I'd never feel that way again. But I am done being a scared little girl. I will defeat you, here and now, with my power."

"Very well, who am I to deny a warriors last request?" Ikaruga asked. Both readied their blades and charged each other as they swung. The sword in Erza's right hand shattered like everything else thus far.

"Our battle... Is over..." Ikaruga mumbled as her own sword shattered and she fell to the ground. "Never once, have I tasted... The sting... Of defeat... Until today... But it doesn't matter. Both you and Jellal are doomed to fail."

"Explain yourself." Erza demanded.

"In fifteen minutes..." Ikaruga raised her hand to the ceiling. "~The light of justice, will come crashing from the sky, bringing death to all~..."

"A horrible haiku..." Erza mumbled. "The light of justice... Are you talking about Etherion!?"

"But beware the last, a deadly serpent with fangs, will swallow the night..." Ikaruga recited before falling unconscious.

"What is she talking about, sister?" Sho asked.

"The last knight." Erza mumbled. "Sho, go find Simon and the others and get as far away from the tower as possible."

"But I-" He started.

"Will you do this for me, Sho?" She asked.

"Yeah..." He nodded as Erza turned and walked across the destroyed bridge. "Wait, where are you going?

"I'm going to end this, here and now..." She explained.


Throne Room

"Salamander..." Jellal said, knocking over Ikuraga's piece. "Do eliminate those failures."

"Remember our deal, Jellal." The dark wizard said telepathically. "After this little escapade, you show me and the other where Nirvana is."

"Brain is still chasing that dream?" The tattooed wizard asked. "How adorable."

"You're one to talk." Salamander said back. "You're the one still chasing ghosts, literally. Nirvana is real and it will belong to us."

"Very well. Never let it be said I'm not a man of my word." Jellal agreed.


If any of you could draw the Poison Empress Armor, I'd check it out right away.

Yes, we all knew the motivation for Natsu being here. But that won't make it any less awesome next chapter when he finally does something, other than just being there talking of course.

Now, I'm sure many of you noticed that the description says 'future harem'. What that means is, I'm gonna put up a poll WAY down the line of suggestions of others who could join the story. However, if you have any suggestions, PM me along with a valid reason to put them in (Basically, anything other than 'I really like them') and if I agree, I'll put them in. The ones I like, minus the ones I've already thought of, will be announced two chapters from now. After that, you'll unfortunately have to wait for the poll. Also, try to avoid spoilers for my sake. Absolutely, positively nothing after the end of the anime. And don't bother asking for Ikaruga, she's already in it.

Beta read by Natsu is Awesome.