Gray and Karissa versus Racer? Yeah, that wasn't going too well.
Karissa slammed back into a tree with a groan. While her body slid to the ground, she saw Racer kick Gray and he ended up slamming back into a tree as well.
God, this guy is hella fast.
So far, they were able to block Racer from going after Natsu and Carla with their fast molding magic. But that was literally the only thing they could do. They couldn't land a single hit on the guy. Even when Karissa would try to move faster than Racer with her wind magic, he'd somehow always get to her. His speed magic really was that great.
Karissa sent wind arcs after him but Racer just zig zagged his way up a tree and dodged all the wind arcs that carved into the wood. The girl clicked her tongue in annoyance. This guy was a real pain in the ass. Her eyes were focused on the enemy until she noticed something fly up in the air above the trees.
"He saved them!" Gray proclaimed in relief. Happy and Carla were flying Natsu and Wendy away.
Racer couldn't believe what he was seeing. He clenched his fists tightly. "Damn it! You're not going anywhere!" he dashed up the tree branches and flew out of the leaves, leaping towards them. Gray shouted at them to dodge albeit it proved to be futile since Racer already knocked them down with all his might by the time he said that. Happy, Carla, Wendy and Natsu were crashing.
Karissa quickly extended her arm and let a wind current fly underneath them to catch their fall. She ran towards them and noticed how Carla, Happy and Wendy were out cold. That wasn't good.
"Natsu! Keep going!" Karissa shouted at him and swiveled around to block their path. Natsu groaned and picked up his allies and made a mad dash towards the path they all took. Karissa narrowed her eyes at Racer who was getting closer.
"I said, you're not going anywhere!"
Karissa growled and got ready to use ice. That is until a giant wall of ice shot up in between her and Racer at the last moment. Her eyes widened when she saw him try to slow down only to stumble and crash into the ice rather painfully. She saw Gray standing on the other side, breathing heavily from the spent magic power. The tall wall of ice extended extremely far. It was an impressive spell. Sometimes, Karissa forgot just how amazing Gray was when it came to making his ice. She would be staring up at it in awe if there wasn't an enemy around.
"Gray!" Natsu exclaimed.
Karissa took just a few steps closer to the wall of ice, she was just a little worried since she could see how much that spell alone drained him.
"Karissa… I want you to take them to Erza. You can get there fast with your wind magic."
Karissa stared at his back through the ice. Erza was definitely their priority, but she was still worried about him.
"You used up too much of your magic power!" Natsu argued.
"Who cares?! Just get going! I'll die before I let him get beyond this point! Just get to Erza!"
Karissa inhaled deeply and hardened herself. As she exhaled, she made Natsu levitated high up in the air and then she flew near the ice wall to rest her back against it.
Karissa looked up at Natsu. "I'll be back to help you."
Gray chuckled and glimpsed at her. "The fight might be over by then."
Karissa kicked back against the ice and rapidly flew upwards where Natsu was and started going back the way they came to save Erza.
"Erza's going to live! You can bet on it!" the dragon slayer yelled as he got taken away by Karissa's magic.
"Alright, Natsu." Karissa glanced over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't looking like he was going to puke. Flying should be no problem since he was comfortable flying with Happy. "Can you track down Erza with your nose?"
Natsu was standing on the wind that rapidly rotated below his feet as he carried his unconscious allies. He closed his eyes and sniffed the air until he just frowned in annoyance. "The smell from those black trees are blocking the scents I know."
"Ugh, great. Nirvana's blocking your sense of smell." Karissa groaned. She scratched the back of her head while her hair flew from the wind. Natsu then slumped when his face looked queasy.
"I... feel sick."
"Natsu!" Karissa patted his back to try and ease his nausea even though she knew it was futile. "Wind isn't a vehicle! It's literally a force of nature!. So don't think about it!"
The pink haired mage just slumped against her back with a moan, he forced himself to keep himself upright while he leaned on her. Karissa was kind of anxious about the possibility of him puking on her.
"Okay, um… let's see… we should just keep moving this way and maybe you'll be able to smell Lucy and Erza or something if we pass them by. I'm hoping that the closer we get the more you'll be able to smell them better. Think it'll work?"
He only groaned in response.
While they flew, she and Natsu were keeping an attentive eye out just in case something flew out of the trees and attacked them. They didn't need anything stopping them right now.
"Natsu-kun, Karissa-san, can you hear me?"
Karissa stopped moving and kept them airborne when Hibiki's voice suddenly rang through her head. That was odd. Telepathy?
"That voice…!" Natsu's head shifted on her shoulder.
"It's me. Hibiki, from Blue Pegasus. Thank goodness. I was getting worried for not being able to contact anyone."
"Where... are you?" Natsu spoke a little louder, still trying to spot Hibiki from where they were in the air.
"Stay quiet. One of our enemies has incredibly good hearing. It's possible that he can hear every word we say so I'm going to speak directly into your minds."
"We have Wendy. We need to find Erza." Karissa said softly. "Can you help?"
"Excellent, and yes I can. I will upload a map leading to us to your head. Get here as quick as you can."
"Huh? A map? Wait, what does that mean?" Natsu looked at Karissa curiously who just shrugged at him. Then a whole map appeared in their heads which gave them the route to Erza's location. Karissa was impressed with Hibiki's archive magic, she didn't think it could be used that way.
Karissa grinned and turned to face forward. "This'll be a fast ride, Natsu, just a heads up."
"Huh? What do—" Natsu's question was cut off when they suddenly dived down. He screamed when they nearly hit the ground just before she pulled them up and started flying them through the forest at full speed. He probably got hit by a branch or two, he couldn't tell. They were moving so fast that even dark guilds who were stationed nearby was left confused when the leaves swayed behind them.
It only took a two minutes for Karissa to reach her destination.
Hibiki, who was keeping track of Karissa and Natsu, still had to duck and flinch when Karissa skidded to a stop near Lucy, who all but screamed in fright.
Natsu gently lowered Wendy and the two cats before dropping on his knees, he was trying to get a hold of himself after that whole rollercoaster ride.
Karissa apologized to Natsu as she gave him head pats. "Healer delivered. I'm going back to help Gray since he's facing one of their members."
"Please do." Hibiki nodded with a small smile. "We should still be at least two against one when fighting against one of their members."
The black haired girl also nodded before flying up and leaving their location.
She went back where the ice wall was but found no sign of Gray. He and Racer must have moved the battle somewhere else.
The sound of an engine echoed throughout the forest.
Karissa wasn't sure whether or not that sound would lead to their fight or something completely different. Still, she had no way of knowing so she decided to try her luck. Her wind flew her up high above the trees as she followed the sounds. The sound of a motor and explosions just rang through the quiet forest. It was getting louder. Then those sounds completely stopped. That didn't stop here though, she kept pressing forward.
And on her way there, she noticed how cold it was getting it that direction.
Then she stopped.
Her body stayed hovered high up in the air when she saw Lyon and Gray fighting against Racer. However, it didn't look like the situation improved at all. Racer still looked like he didn't have a scratch on him. She noted how Lyon and Gray, who decided to ditch their tops, looked roughed up from his attacks.
Karissa narrowed her eyes. He hasn't noticed me up here yet.
The black haired girl didn't waste another second. She was already in the middle of casting a spell. A Singular Raid would only give away my position right away… so, I'll just use that instead.
"Ice Make: Claw!" a giant hand with sharp claws manifested and fell in Racer's direction. Before her attack even landed, she was already in the middle of casting another spell.
The three people below were quick to notice the ice falling down on Racer. Gray and Lyon watched as Racer dodged the surprise attack that nearly got him. The claw pierced into the ground, scratching deep into it when it closed its fist. The attack was supposed to trap him inside. When they looked up, they found her staring down at them with wind swirling around her.
It's good to make up spells… but it's also good to learn them from books.
"Fangs of wind, screech forth…" a large number giant storm blades appeared behind her and rapidly swirled like drills, ready to fire on her command. She raised her hand and pointed it down at Racer. "Ventum Crepitus."
All the storm blades darted down and homed in on Racer who dodged her attacks the best way he could. When a storm blade pierced into the ground where he once stood, it exploded and blew up the ground, sending rocks and earth flying. And yet, he was still able to dodge the attacks even though they were close calls.
Karissa glared at Racer who stood unscathed. She clicked her tongue in annoyance. "That damn speed of his. Then I'll do it again with twice the number… That should do the tri... " her words trailed off when she took a glance at her old classmates and then noticed Lyon calling her down by motioning a finger towards him. What was he planning? Obediently, she went down the ground and looked at him curiously.
"Listen you two, I'll need your full attention." He whispered while keeping his eyes on Racer who didn't move since he was curious as to what kind of plan he was trying to come up with. It was futile to try and come up with a plan of attack. It would be too slow to hit him away.
Lyon grabbed her arm and tugged her closer to him and Gray. The two Fairy Tail mages just leaned their heads closer to listen to him.
"He's not fast. He's only making us slow. However, he won't be able to affect things outside his area of affect which explains why he had a hard time dodging the wind attacks. That's why, I'll lead him away and you two sit here and wait for the right opportunity to strike from outside the range of his magic."
Gray reeled his head back, he looked at Lyon like as if he grew another head. "Wait, what?!"
"That's why I don't need you two." Lyon proclaimed and pushed Karissa into Gray who yelped when she collided into her friend, and then proceeded to freeze them together. He didn't stop there. He made the ice rise up high in the air until she and Gray were at the same height that she was at when she attacked Racer. He declared that Lamia Scale would bring the point home. Karissa didn't even realize Sherry was around until Lyon called her out from hiding. That just left Karissa and Gray up in the air frozen in ice, unable to do anything but watch.
Racer didn't know that they actually hand enough room to move and break free if they wanted to.
Sherry's Doll magic proved to be useless against Racer and she ended up on the ground after getting punched in the gut and slammed into her own tree doll. Then, Lyon ran off on his own, leading Racer farther away from Gray and Karissa.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Karissa wondered as they booth watched Lyon get trashed around.
"He'll be fine. Just trust him. For now, we have to get ready."
She did her best to glance at him despite the limited space, he was keeping his sights on Racer and Lyon. Later, they realized that Lyon was leading him to a cliff where no trees would block their sight.
"I can use my wind to accelerate whatever you want to throw at him."
Gray started breaking the ice around him to give them more space. "I'll use an ice arrow." He decided and then put his hands together to prepare. "We'll make that attack so fast that it'll be impossible to dodge."
Then finally, it was their turn.
Gray gave her the signal and she shattered the ice around them with wind. Gray created a bow and arrow of ice while Karissa had a sphere of condensed wind in her hand. The moment Gray shot his arrow at Racer, Karissa threw the wind sphere after it. The wind danced around and then swirled around the arrow, increasing the speed tremendously, and then practically fused together, surprising the two.
The homing ice arrow surrounded by sharp wind blades shot directly towards Racer. There was a moment of stillness. Then a blast occurred.
...
...
"Did it work?" Karissa wondered since all she could see was smoke.
Gray didn't answer because he couldn't tell either. Then he saw Racer tumble out of the smoke and then lied on his back, defeated. "Yeah. It's done."
He held out his open hand and she slapped hers against it. All that was left was to head down to check on Lyon and Sherry. Karissa brought her and Gray off the ice with her wind magic and got them on the ground. The rest of the way was done on foot.
"By the way," Karissa looked at him with excitement. He looked at her with a curious expression, he noted how she had a bounce in her step. "Did you see when the wind and ice fused?! I think that was a Unison Raid!"
Gray grinned. "Yeah. I think so, too. I thought those were supposed to be rare though."
Karissa smiled a little, feeling a little giddy. "Oh man, can we practice doing that we get back home?! I already know how to do a Singular Raid so I want to be able to do Unison Raids too!"
Ah, he thought, There she goes with her enthusiasm to learn.
Amused, he just dropped his hand on her head to calm her down. "I wouldn't mind. But we'll think about that later, we have to stop them from getting Nirvana."
"Yeah, yeah. I know!" she playfully swatted his hand away with a grin of her own.
When they neared the cliff, they found Sherry sitting by Lyon's side who looked completely beaten up. The surrounding area had frost and slash marks everywhere most likely thanks to the ice and wind combined. Just looking at it made her want to try it again just to see what would happen. Karissa felt a little bad that Lyon had to endure all that just so she and Gray could defeat him even though it was his plan in the first place that got him into that state.
"You did it, Lyon." Gray wobbled over to him, clearly spent after using so much magic power. She also felt spent from all the magic she used, but she was sure she still had a bit more in her tank.
"Did it? With five of them left?" Lyon shook his head and leaned back on the root of a giant tree.
"Still can't believe you volunteered to be the punching bag." Karissa plopped on the ground near him.
Sherry laughed at the three of them. "I thought you had really turned on your allies."
Gray shrugged with a huff. He put his hands on his hips. "That's our elder disciple for you."
Karissa put her hands back and she leaned back. "The older the wiser?" she tipped her head.
"I'm only a year older than you." He responded with a pointed look but Karissa only shrugged lightly and stood back up after her brief rest. While Lyon was being helped by on his feet by Sherry, Karissa noticed something moving near the edge of the cliff. It was Racer. He was struggling to stand.
Karissa narrowed her eyes and got ready just in case.
"It isn't over yet!" he screamed and got up on his feet despite his injuries, he was bleeding out from her and Gray's combined attack but he didn't care. He reached for the front of his jacket and then ripped it open, revealing several black sticks attached to his shirt, they were making a beeping sound. "In the name of the Oración Seis, I swear I'm not going down alone!"
"Those are explosive lacrima!" Sherry stiffened. "You're kidding!"
"Shit!" Gray fell on one knee when he couldn't summon up anymore power.
Gray was spent. Lyon and Sherry were in no condition to keep fighting.
The choice was simple.
"I'm taking one of you with me!" Racer shouted and ran towards them with his open jacket.
Karissa decided to be that one person.
The black haired girl ran towards him and pushed him back with a shout, forcing him closer to the edge. There was no way she was going to let him blow himself up anywhere near them. Racer gritted his teeth and wrapped an arm around her tightly, not giving her the chance to pull away at the last minute. Her face was pressed against the lacrima that were beeping, they were ready to go off any second.
This guy!
Gray's eyes widened and he found himself tripping over his feet as he tried to rapidly get to her. He screamed her name when he saw her and Racer getting closer to the edge.
Karissa growled and pushed against the ground throw them off the edge, ignoring the sounds of protest behind her.
They were falling now.
His hold around her was strong. It was hard to break free, especially with the increasing panic of the lacrima blowing up in her face. She was able to knock her fist into his gut to making him loosen his hold, but he just quickly wrapped his other arm around her, completely trapping her against him.
He laughed sadistically. "You're not going anywhere! You'll die with me, here and now!"
"You piece of sh—" her words were cut off when she felt her shirt tug behind her. Then a brown shoe was rammed into Racer's face harshly. That moment where Racer loosened his arms from the pain allowed the person to tug Karissa towards them, out of his arms, and then he shoved another harsh kick into his chest to accelerate his fall while also pushing them away from him.
It happened fast. To her immense shock, Karissa found herself in Lyon's arms who was holding her protectively. He shifted around to put his hands together and created a big ice shield in an attempt to protect them both. He made it so strong that it burned his magic power to the point where he was almost empty.
"Brace yourself." He simply told her and tightened his hold around her. She didn't have time to ask him anything since the blast went off. She gasped and shut her eyes as she flinched when the blast's shockwave knocked them sideways to who knows where. Debris and fragments of ice flew everywhere since the shield was obliterated from the explosion.
Their falling momentum was fast, she could tell from the wind around them.
She could hear Lyon grunting from the pain from crashing through branches, causing him to hold her tightly. That meant they were getting close to the ground now. She heeded his warning and braced herself. When they crashed, she flew out of his hold upon impact and he ended up rolling away.
Karissa didn't move from where he let her go and was just groaning from the crash landing. Even though Lyon ended up hurting more from it since he had her protected, she still ended up getting hurt from the fall. She lied on her back and stared up at the sky which was being blocked by the smoke blowing in the direction where she and Lyon landed. She couldn't keep lying down though. She needed to keep moving.
The wind user pushed herself up on her knees and turned her head to find Lyon lying a few feet away from her on his stomach. She needed to make sure he was alright. When she got close to him, he turned on his back with a deep groan and shifted his eyes to look at her.
"Are you okay?" she tipped her head. She was a little nervous now that she knew that the two of them were alone. Sure, it wasn't the first time that they were alone, but she still felt a little awkward around him after all the years that passed.
"I'm alive. That's all that matters." He replied before sitting up, he winced and pressed a hand on his lower back. The pain most likely came from the direct hit from Racer. "Are you unharmed?"
"Yeah…" She gave him a disapproving frown. "Thanks for the save, but…" she skittered her gaze away when he looked at her. "That was… kinda dumb."
He arched a brow. "How so?"
"You…" she looked back at him with a slight pout. "You get your ass kicked by the enemy and then you dive after me to save me? What if you failed or something because you were too beat up?"
He huffed with offense. "I'm not that weak. Just because I was beaten doesn't mean I'm incapable of saving your life. Besides, I had a feeling you were going to do something like that again when I saw the look on your face. I was already moving by the time you tried to throw him off."
This time, it was her turn to raise a brow. "What do you mean 'again'?"
"That time you held onto me when Gray was trying to cast Iced Shell just to stop him. It gives me an idea of how reckless you can get based on the situation." He replied nonchalantly while rubbing off the tried blood on his forehead.
"… W-Well, I was also trying to save your life…" she admitted while scratching a non-existent itch on the back of her neck before dropping down on her knees and taking a seat on the ground. She turned her head away as if she was keeping an eye out.
They needed a little time to recover their magic power and for Lyon to rest a little after everything that just happened. She supposed that she was going to have to stick with him now, she didn't mind.
Hearing her honesty made him chuckle and shake his head. "Even though I was your enemy? Heh, then I suppose this makes us even."
"I guess…" she lied back down and stared up at the sky once more. Meanwhile, Lyon shifted his eyes to look at her again. Her eyes were closed and she was taking in deep breaths. Like Karissa, he too was observant. He noted how she displayed traits of timidity in her movements, lack of eye contact and tone of voice. Much like him, it was a complete 180 degree from her previous self. Still, it was interesting to see how she had changed these last ten years. For no particular reason, he wondered if she still had drawing as a hobby.
They heard a twig snap.
Karissa bolted into a sitting position while Lyon turned his head in the direction of the sound. They found someone walking towards them in the shadows. It didn't take long for them to reveal themselves. A pale man with brown lifeless eyes and green blonde hair stepped into the light. Lyon clicked his tongue at the horrible timing.
Hystoran smiled a little. "I found light."
…
…
…
Shaking with shaky breaths, Gray stood at the edge of the cliff in pure shock and dread flaring through his body. His eyes were watery but he did not shed any tears. He was just staring at the spot where the explosion went off, unmoving from his spot. The scene kept replaying in his mind. He could remember everything he felt. The alarm coursing through him when she ran to pushed Racer the cliff. The panic when she forced them off of it. The horror when Lyon went after them. The complete dread when the lacrima exploded.
"Lyon… Karissa…"
Did both of them seriously just…
No.
There was no way.
"This can't be… no… Lyon-sama..." Sherry trembled with her hands covering her mouth in horror.
Gray clenched his teeth and closed his fists tightly. No. He couldn't believe that crap for a second. There was no way those two would die from a stupid explosion. There was just no way.
The raven haired male quickly created stairs of ice that would safely bring him and Sherry down the cliff. "There's no way they would die like that!" he yelled before going down the steps. "We're going to look for them! Come on!"
His feet pounded against the ice as he quickly made his way down. His heart was beating fast. There was no way he was going to believe they were dead unless he saw it with his own eyes.
…
…
Gray carefully wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into him. He needed this right now. He just needed to feel her being alive. His arms tightened a little around her as his dark blue eyes fixed the window behind her. He felt her hold him too.
"You're the last person I want dying on me. So, you can't die, you got that?"
The pleasant sound of her light laughter sounded in the room. "Hey, no worries. I won't die that easily, I promise."
"I'll hold onto that promise."
…
…
Not again.
Gray gritted his teeth. Karissa was a tough mage. He refused to believe she was dead. She promised she wouldn't die easily.
If she was dead, he didn't know what he was going to do next. He just knew that likeliness of him staying calm was going to be nil.
He cannot afford to lose her.
…
…
…
Hystoran smiled at Karissa and Lyon from a far. Karissa narrowed her eyes at him as she carefully stood up. Now that she took a good look at him, his outfit didn't really stand out. He was wearing a simple long dark blue coat on top of a black shirt with black pants and black boots.
Karissa bit the inside of her cheek.
Lyon can't fight anymore; he needs to rest for a while.
I don't think he'll let us go easily if we try to run.
… And I still have enough magic power to fight.
So…
It'll have to be a one-on-one fight.
In an instant, Karissa flew up to Hystoran's face and grabbed his hair, she dragged him away with her wind, far away, from Lyon who she ignored when he called after her.
"Ow, ow, ow… that hurts!" Hystoran complained as they raced past trees and reached for her hand with black smoke. Karissa didn't let the sensation of his magic slip past her, she stopped in her tracks and threw him towards a tree to avoid being touched by him. Hystoran yelped when his back collided against the wood, he slid and landed on his feet.
The pale man rubbed his back with a frown. "That wasn't very nice."
"Ice Make: Trident!" Karissa gripped her weapon and pitched it in his direction. She wasn't going to entertain him by responding, she was going to attack him and take him down now!
Hystoran side stepped away and avoided being pierced by it. "Brain said he isn't happy with the alliance. They're getting in the way, he said."
"Ice Make: Crescent Lancer!" Karissa fired off a barrage of crescent shaped ice lances at him. She wasn't even paying attention to his words. Hystoran's body became clouded in black as he ran behind the trees, leaving behind a trail of smoke, and Karissa continued aiming at him. She was getting frustrated at how nimble he was. This guy was doing backflips and was doing quick steps to avoid them.
Freaking acrobat.
He wasn't that fast before… That smoke surrounding his body is most likely increasing his physical capabilities.
Hystoran then came leaping out from behind a nearby tree like some shadow monster. Karissa growled and blocked his arm with an ice shield. Like last time, it began to crack. However, this time, she forcefully rammed her foot into the shield, shattering it, and rammed it into his gut. Hystoran gasped and fell back while Karissa winced when she felt something akin to electricity shocked her leg. It was painful.
Karissa saw her leg leaking black smoke, the sleeve of her pants looked a little shredded, revealing her now there was a sharp pain on her leg. It was also throbbing. It must have been the after effect of coming into contact with it.
That black smoke… it's like a defense and an attack at the same time. How annoying.
The pale man laughed when he saw her face twisted in pain, the darkness around his body faded. "It hurts, right? I know it does. My magic is weird… I don't know what kind it is… but it's useful…" he placed a hand on his chest with a smile. "It protects me from red."
Karissa arched a brow, Red?
"I don't like red. It brings bad memories." He laughed hollowly while shaking his head. Karissa was getting the feeling something wasn't quite right in this person's head. He was definitely strange. Her eyes shifted around when he was busy mumbling to himself. She really couldn't care about what he was going on about, she just needed to do her job and defeat him.
A little pain is nothing, right?
The ice mage dashed towards him and launched wind arcs in his direction. Hystoran's head shot up, his body was enveloped in black again, and he blocked them with his hands with a surprised expression. The wind was brushed away like it was nothing. In that moment, Karissa closed the distance and threw her fist into his cheek while he was recovering and he groaned from the impact, she endured the pain. She didn't expect him to reel his head back and try to collide his head against hers, he would have if she didn't move to the side a little.
She raised her elbow and shoved it into his neck, causing him to stagger. The blackness around him faded again. Wind was about to be her next weapon until she forcefully got pushed away by a blast of black clouds. Karissa stumbled back from the force but found herself being pulled when Hystoran lunged at her and grabbed the front of her shirt. He tipped his head and smiled eerily while she leaned her head away with a grimace.
His body was clouded in black smoke once more. "Let's use the open space!"
Karissa's eyes widened when he started pulling her along with tremendous strength. She shut her eyes when she felt herself rotating and losing balance. Hystoran grinned and threw her in the opposite direction from where they came from. Her body collided against many tree branches before she was sent flying above the trees. Her body was upside down as she flew.
Then, Hystoran leaped after her to her horror and kicked her down to ground. Her body bounced off the ground from the impact and she hissed and groaned. This was probably what Lyon felt when they crashed bar the feeling lightning shocking her where he struck her. The front of the lower half of her shirt was now shredded from the attack, leaving her stomach exposed. But now was not the time to worry about that.
She couldn't see Hystoran above her since he was above the smoke from the earlier explosion.
Okay…
"Ice Make: Twin Blades…" she created her twin swords and forced them to dart in the opposite directions from each other.
I have to choose my next moves carefully… My magic power is going down. I have to make my last moves count!
She inhaled sharply when Hystoran came into view, he was dropping down fast towards her. At the last minute, she rolled over and barely missed his foot that destroyed the spot she was previously in.
"I missed?" Hystoran tilted his head. "Odd."
Karissa let out a frightened sound and started crawling away from him pathetically. Hystoran watched her in amusement. He turned off his magic and casually walked over to her.
"No, please! Don't hurt me!" Karissa begged as he grabbed the back of her shirt and lifted her up to her feet. He pulled her close until her ear was close to his mouth.
"You shouldn't have gotten in Brain's way." He said almost cheerfully. He sounded amused by her sudden fear.
Karissa's dark brown eyes narrowed in disgusted while he couldn't see her expression. "No… please!" she feigned terror.
Now move!
A beat later, Hystoran's hold on her shirt loosened and he let out a confused sound when the sword situated far behind him flew and pierced him in the shoulder. Karissa staggered away from him and summoned the last sword to her. She grabbed the handle and swung it, slashing his side and then across his chest, leaving a stigma of wind hovering over his chest.
She backed away rapidly. "Stigma Detonation."
The stigma released a burst of wind that enveloped him in a violent storm that cut him with wind arcs. She could hear him crying out from the assault.
He can't cloak himself in that black smoke for too long. It's obvious by the way he turns it off. I'm guessing that it drains him.
Eventually, the wind exploded, and Hystoran dropped on the ground on his back. He was panting and trembling. He was bleeding from his cuts that she knew was leaving him in pain. That attack was purposely made to render her opponent in a state where it would be difficult to walk let alone move. It could be lethal if she adjusted it.
Suddenly, a flash of light engulfed the entire forest for a brief moment. Karissa flinched from it. What was that? She opened her eyes and looked around and noticed something in the sky. There was a black pillar of light shooting up into the sky with black tendril shaped things swirling around it.
The hell is that?
"… Nirvana?" she murmured to herself. If that was Nirvana… does that mean the allied forces failed their mission?
As Karissa loosened her grip on her ice sword, Hystoran's body twitched and then he struggled to turn over his side as he moaned about the pain, causing Karissa to look back at him in alarm. Then his body went stiff. He looked down at the cuts on his arms that was leaking his fresh red blood. A choked sound escaped him followed by shattered cry.
"It's red!" he screamed, clawing at his arm. "It's red again! No, no, no! I don't like red!" he became even more unstable when he saw his blood on his chest.
The ice mage took a step back when she felt a strong uneasy feeling. She's seen all sorts of people in her line of work. They all varied. She's encountered some crazy people, and those kinds of people don't really back down when they lose their composure.
They get more…
Hystoran pushed himself on his knees and screamed.
Karissa froze in place when vectors of black shot out from him in every direction. Two vectors flew past her body, cutting her left cheek since she stood too close towards the left.
They get more aggressive.
Hystoran's scream echoed throughout the entire forest which was followed by a giant exploding sound. Lyon narrowed his eyes when he saw trees falling down and he could feel the giant trees rumbling the earth when they fell. Just what the hell was going on over there? The jacket he ditched earlier somehow came flying down to where he was, he put it back on himself. He really needed to get up and help somehow. The mission briefing informed them that Hystoran was just as bad as the members even though he wasn't part of them. They still needed to be more than one when facing them.
He judged that he had more than enough time to rest so he forced himself to get back up on his feet. He hurriedly went down the path where they were obviously fighting. He couldn't just let her fight on her own when he could help.
Lyon just needed to get moving. He looked up and warily eyed the black pillar of light that appeared.
…
…
…
Karissa tried to catch her breath while she hid behind a tree. She was trying to control her heavy panting. She was conserving her magic power by running away from him. After that outburst, his body was completely cloaked in black and he wouldn't turn it off. He was going on a complete rampage, destroying the earth and nearby trees. He was screaming at her to come out so he could kill her.
She did try to knock him out with an ice hammer. The hammer made contact with his head, but he refused to go down and came running at her like some feral animal. She ended up getting several cuts and slashes on her right arm and left leg when she tried to run away from his. His magic that she thought was only limited to coating his body in black to enhance his physical abilities revealed to be more than that. He now had black vector arrows at his disposal that could cut through anything. It reminded her of when he pierced through her arm.
She was stupid to let that slip from her mind.
Hiding behind the trees wasn't going to work for too long. He would eventually lure her out while destroying the area. She needed to keep fighting while she still had the opportunity to hide. But that meant her magic power would run out sooner. However, she knew that he couldn't keep wearing his magic around him like armour or else he would exhaust his magic power. He knew she could attack him the moment he had his guard down.
Right now, it was a battle of endurance and speed.
This kind of magic… I've never seen or heard about it before. It's so strange and freaking dangerous. Karissa shut her eyes and held her breath when she heard him walking nearby. She needed to figure what to do. Victory was a must. She couldn't let him wander off and meet up with one of her allies. Unless it was Jura or Erza, she wasn't sure they wouldn't be able to protect themselves from his sudden attacks.
Karissa's eyes shifted to the left where she heard his footsteps walking. Her eyes hardened with focus.
I need to win.
I want to win.
Carefully, she untied her cardigan around her waist.
…
…
…
Hystoran was wobbling around while his blood dripped. His forehead had a cut that was bleeding profusely, it nearly got into his eye. His eyes were wide and frantic as they looked around, searching for his prey. He wanted to kill her. He wanted to tear her apart. Ever since Brain bought him, anyone who brought him harm and made him see the flowing red was going to be killed no matter what. People who caused him harm can't be allowed to live unless Brain allowed it. This was the only way to protect himself.
The black armour of smoke around his body was rapidly draining him.
"COME OUT!" he screamed. Black vectors arrows shot forward and sliced the trees in half as a warning.
His eyes caught sight of a figure dashing on the side. The moment he spotted the dark cardigan, he lunged and shoved his arm into the center of her being. However, he quickly realized that he had pierced nothing but the cardigan.
Karissa leaped out of the shadows and came at him with a giant ice sword. Hystoran growled. A black arrow rose and shot straight to the center of her being, impaling her. Her eyes widened in shock. The ice sword slipped from her hands and fell on the ground when her body slumped forward. He pointed the black arrow towards the sky and looked at her darkly. It wasn't enough. Several more black arrows rose him from behind him menacingly before they rapidly pierced through her fatally.
Her left arm fell off and landed on the ground.
All of a sudden, a girl with black hair in a blue ragged t-shirt stepped out from behind a tree and threw her arms open. "Glacial Cyclone!"
Hystoran's eyes widened. "A clone?!" he turned around.
A thousand ice spears in a spiraling freezing wind were directed to where Hystoran stood. The trees and the grass froze from wind. Ice spears that pierced the earth had extended their influence a little by freezing a small diameter of the ground's surface. Hystoran screamed again when he felt the spears piercing his body and the wind freezing him in place. He pushed back the rest of her spears with a shield of black.
Black vector arrows shot in her direction. With an almost delayed reaction, she ducked and gritted her teeth.
"I'll kill you!" he roared.
The girl focused her eyes on him.
The tree that the arrows pierced was blasted into bits.
Karissa wobbled as she took a step back and put her hands together for an ice spell, she was using squeezing out whatever magic she had left for her final attack.
"Ice Make: Areadbhar!"
A gigantic spear of ice manifested behind her and it pointed upwards at the sky. Its shadow loomed over Hystoran who could do nothing but stare at it while shaking in fear. He let out a terrified scream and tried using his magic to protect himself, but, alas, he didn't have any more magic power within him to do so. And with that, the spear violently smashed the ground to deliver the final blow.
Hystoran was ultimately beaten and rendered unconscious.
With no power left, the victorious girl only stood warily while the cold air and smoke cleared a little. Her eyes squinted as if it would try to stop her sight from blurring, she needed to make sure she was safe before she could relax.
She waited.
Hystoran never moved again.
…
…
Finally, Karissa allowed her body to drop and fall on the ground.
"Damn, how far did they go?" Lyon wondered as he ran through the forest. He had decided to pick up the pace ever since he saw Karissa's ice spear looming over the forest. He nearly lost his footing when it slammed into the earth. He wondered if she created a chasm with that attack.
He knew he was getting closer when it got colder. He ran faster and finally made it.
Lyon's eyes widened when he found her body lying on her stomach. Her black hair was all over the place which hid her face from his sight. But the thing that alarmed him the most was the creatures around her. There were two wolves, black and white, slowly approaching her while a giant gray snake was peering over her. They must be animals from the forest.
Get away from her!
"Ice Make: Eagle!" He sent a flurry of ice eagles which scared them off. The wolves growled and ran into the darkness of the forest while the snake just slithered away without a fuss.
He didn't need Karissa getting snake venom too.
He hurried to her and looked around for any more sign of danger. Hystoran's injured body was lying on its side meters away from her, defeated, but posed no threat. He got down on his knee and called her name for a response. Nothing. He moved her around to examine her condition. She didn't seem to have any bad injuries.
She'll come to later after she gets her rest.
"You must have used up everything you had…" he murmured and stared at her unconscious face. He reached for her cheek and wiped off the dried blood. She was a strong girl, there was no doubting that fact. Still, he felt a little guilty that he couldn't offer his help. It made him feel a little pathetic too.
He turned his head to look at the pillar of light, he had a feeling it was Nirvana, the thing that the Oración Seis was after. He looked back down at his childhood friend. Leaving her out here was out of the question. And he figured that with that concerning sight, everyone would be on their way to check it out and stop the Oración Seis from further having control of the ancient magic.
That settles it.
Lyon picked her up and set her on his back. He securely locked his fingers together under her and started heading towards the black pillar of light.
…
…
…
Karissa slowly awoke while feeling something soft on her cheek. The first thing she noticed was how the world looked a little dimmer than what she remembered, the trees around her also had a tint of red to it.
"Finally awake?"
Hearing that deep familiar voice, Karissa blinked and positioned her body upright. She realized that Lyon was carrying her on his back. He was also wearing his white jacket.
Oh… the fur must have been the soft thing I felt…
Karissa whipped her head around when she recalled what happened prior to blacking out. "Where's Hystoran?!"
Lyon stopped walking. "Relax! Do you want me to drop you?
"But—"
"You defeated him." Lyon assured. "Don't worry, you did good." He told her before resuming his walk after she calmed down. He groaned when his path was blocked by a big log.
"… Okay." Karissa awkwardly leaned her body on him once more. She noted how good he smelled despite the rough battle he went through earlier. Was it weird for her to think he smelled nice?
Her eyes kept sliding back to Lyon's side profile just in case he didn't like her leaning on him. Great. She just woke up, and yet she was already feeling all sorts of stress. She wondered if he could feel her heart beating fast from being so nervous.
I need to calm the hell down. Stop being so nervous!
… Could he feel it? Oh hell no.
Nah. She didn't want to risk it.
I'm getting off this ride!
"Hey, um… you can let me down?" She spoke softly, timidity colouring her tone, right after he walked around the log.
Lyon stopped again and glanced at her. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
With that, he crouched and set her on the ground. At first, she felt a little wobbly but she got the hang of it and stood properly. She felt good to walk. Lyon nodded when he saw that she was alright on her own two feet. He beckoned her to follow him and explained how they were going towards the pillar of light. He figured everyone else would be doing the same if they were capable of moving. He also pointed out to her that the pillar of light that was once black had now turned white ever since a few minutes ago. He didn't know the reason for it though.
"I wonder if the light means that things are getting worse?" Karissa wondered and then sighed. She hoped it didn't.
"We won't know unless we get there." Lyon stopped and looked at her. "Are you alright to run?"
"After all that rest, I should be." Karissa replied nonchalantly.
"Then let's go." Lyon motioned his head to the direction up ahead. He took off and she ran after him, sticking close to him.
"Uh, hey… Lyon?"
He shifted his head to look at her. "What is it?"
"Thanks for carrying me." She shyly skittered her gaze away. She heard him chuckle, her eyes looked back at him and saw how he looked back in front of him.
"Don't mention it."
As they ran, Karissa took that time to feel just how much magic power she had recovered. To her disappointment, she noticed that her power hadn't fully recovered yet. That was understandable though. As someone who stored much more power in her body, she figured that the process of recovering it all would take much longer. Right now, it felt like she had enough amount to feel like the average mage. That was still good.
The best thing she could do now was just wait for the rest to come back.
"Wait." Lyon stopped and held an arm in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. She looked towards the right where he was looking and they saw someone running. It was Gray. Lyon shouted his name to get his attention. Gray skidded to a stop and looked around in confusion. Lyon and Karissa just waited for him to spot them and make his way to them.
His face expressed pure relief at the sight of them.
"You guys… I'm glad you two are alright." He smiled at them. "You nearly gave me a heart attack." he looked at Karissa with a pointed look, she gave him apologetic eyes. She supposed that if their roles were switched, she'd feel just as scared to see him jump off and take a suicide attack.
He took a good look at Karissa and furrowed his brows. "What happened to you?" he took in the injuries she had. Those injuries didn't look like it came from the explosion itself.
"Hystoran." She shrugged slightly with her hands. Her lips curved to smile a little. "I won though."
Karissa frowned when she saw him staring at the scar on her left side. It made her sigh and walk up to him to cover his eyes with her hand. "Stop looking at it! We got over that hurdle!"
"Okay." Gray grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand off. "But are you feeling alright to move?" he asked worriedly.
"Yeah. I just wished I could have treated my cuts after passing out." She reached behind and tapped her back pocket. "I have antiseptics and stuff."
Lyon crossed his arms. "You're telling me you didn't hear all that commotion she and Hystoran caused?" he asked his old classmate who just froze with Karissa's wrist in his hand. He let go of her and ran his fingers through his messy raven hair.
"I woke up not too long ago. I got attacked by your friend after I went searching for you two. She went crazy a little after that light went up." He pointed at the beam of light shooting up at the sky. "She told me she was avenging you. I'm trying to find her before she does something crazy again."
"The magic is causing Sherry to act strangely?" Lyon frowned deeply with knitted brows. "What kind of magic is that?"
"It must be really powerful if just appearing caused her to act like that."
"No idea." Karissa suddenly spoke up and waved her hand to get their attention. "But I think that's her over there." She pointed up ahead. The two looked in that direction and spotted a woman in pink that was manipulating the trees around her.
"Oh fuck!" Gray jumped and quickly bolted after her. Lyon and Karissa ran after him and saw that Sherry was actually trying to attack Natsu and Lucy. Gray locked an arm around her as he tackled her to the ground in an attempt to stop her.
"How are you still alive?! Let go of me damn it! I won't forgive you! I have to avenge Lyon-sama's death!" she screamed hysterically while Gray held her down.
Karissa sweat dropped. Damn… she must be really crazy about him.
Lyon huffed after he stopped and came into view with Karissa. "Who are you avenging exactly?" he asked, a little offended. Sherry stiffened under Gray and then turned her head when she heard his voice. "Don't go killing me off without my permission."
Gray took that as his cue to remove himself off of Sherry who slowly pushed herself up shakily, eyes wide with disbelief. "Lyon-sama…"
The raven haired male sighed and pointed at him with his thumb. "He's a one hard guy to kill."
Lyon shrugged and looked at Natsu. "Not as hard as you guys."
"What did you say?!"
Sherry soon just fell unconscious after shedding a few relieved tears, and then something came out of her body and faded away in the air. They had no idea what it was but it was probably possessing her which made her act like that.
"So, what do we do now?" Gray asked with his arms crossed when Lyon reached down to pick her up.
"We should keep going towards that light." Lyon suggested.
"We have to." Natsu stared at the beam of light with a serious look on his face.
"Karissa." Lucy called her name. Karissa looked away from the light and stared at her curiously with a tilted head. "Your clothes are a mess. Was it a battle with one of the members?"
"I fought Hystoran. It was literally a battle of endurance and speed with that guy..." The black haired girl heaved a sigh. "And don't remind me, I'm trying to ignore the fact that my stomach is exposed for everyone to see…" she said while placing an arm around it as if it would forever hide it away. Pandora always said she had a nice stomach but that didn't give her enough confidence to just flaunt it. No, she'd rather keep it hidden like she always has all these years.
"Shall I help?"
Karissa yelped when she heard a woman's voice behind her. It was one of Lucy's spirits, the one with pink hair in a maid outfit. She was staring at Karissa blankly with creepy grabby hands. Suddenly having a bad feeling about her sudden appearance, Karissa slowly started inching away from Virgo with a nervous laugh. An image of Lucy wearing an outfit that Virgo pulled out of nowhere during the Tower of Heaven flashed in her mind. If she recalled, Lucy was forcefully stripped bare in front of everyone so that Virgo could dress her up.
"Sure, if it isn't any trouble." Lucy smiled, but when Karissa whipped her head to look at her, that smile didn't look that innocent. But she genuinely wanted to give her friend better clothes.
"W-Wait a second!" Karissa tripped over a rock and fell when Virgo came towards her, she held up a hand. "Wait!"
Virgo started rapidly touching her all over the place while everyone just watched. When she started lifting her shirt, Karissa slapped her hands over the spirit's hands to stop them in a panic. She had to use a hundred percent of her current strength to stop her, she was strong. "Are you serious?! Not in front of everyone!" she shrieked and rolled away out of Virgo's grasp and started hastily crawling away.
"It's not everyday I see her freak out like this." Gray admitted.
Lyon tipped his head curiously. Celestial spirits can be used to change you clothes?
"It'll all be over soon." Virgo promised and caught her, causing Kairssa to let out a scared noise. She wasn't Lucy! She wouldn't be able to swallow the embarrassment of being stark naked in the middle of the forest! Unfortunately, god decided she should suffer because the next thing she knew her shirt and bra just flew off.
"HEY! WHAT THE FUCK?! HOLD UP!" Karissa screamed and covered herself fast. She turned her back towards the others as fast as she could, as fast as Virgo permitted her to that is.
Gray stiffened at the sight and his mouth just fell open like a village idiot. His face was instantly flushed red. Lyon looked away before he saw too much of Karissa since he felt kind of bad for her, and then he noticed Gray just standing there like a fool. He harshly nudged him on the side while he carried Sherry, calling him an idiot despite being red faced as well. When Gray recovered from staggering, he saw Natsu staring blankly with his head tilted which just irritated him. A harsh sound echoed in the forest when he slapped his hand over his eyes.
Natsu yelped and then batted his hand away. "The hell was that for, you icy pervert?!" he growled.
"You're the pervert! Stop staring!" Gray barked back and blocked his view.
When Virgo's assault was over, Karissa was on her knees with her face in her hands, feeling absolutely mortified. "I hate it here." her voice was muffled in her hands. She wanted to crawl in a hole and wither away with her memories.
"Based on Karissa-sama's fighting style, I gave her a flexible outfit." Virgo explained with a hand on her chest.
"Wow!" Lucy clapped her hands together.
"… Thanks." Karissa muttered with lifeless eyes. She didn't know if she should feel grateful for the new clothes... was it even worth it if she just was stripped in the forest in front of three guys?! Death seemed like a comforting presence right about now.
"You're welcome. Now then, I will take my leave." The celestial spirit bowed and then vanished.
"… You look good in that." Gray awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and tried to make her feel better. She looked up at him and she pursed her lips, she was pouting. "You do." he reassured when a small nod.
There was no verbal reply as she stood and reached back to touch her hair.
Her black hair was now tied back in a type of bun that let the end of her hair fall freely towards the left. The hair on the right side of her face was tied back while the hair on the left was left free to fall, leaving only that and her bangs untouched.
She was dressed in a turtleneck t-shirt that let the lower part of her midriff show, it was coloured in dark green with two white symbols on the sides. She had dark green sleeves with white ribbons attached, and she wore dark brown gloves.
She wore black shorts that ended mid-thigh underneath a type of skirt, which revealed her right thigh completely, that was dark green and gray . She wore black socks that rose up below her knees, she also had navy blue boots with gray soles.
Her embarrassment was soon replaced with confusion followed by panic when the ground started to shake strongly. Then the beam of light suddenly expanded. They didn't even have time to process what was happening since the ground started to break when something came rising out from underneath.
"They're coming up from the ground all over…!" Gray remarked as he looked around him.
"What the…?!" Natsu gaped when huge structures in the distance rose up higher in the air.
"So is this Nirvana?!" Lucy watched one of the structures lift up.
Lyon observed in disbelief. "Can you even call it 'magic' at this point?"
Karissa saw the ground crack beneath her feet. She grimaced at the sight, and when she looked up she saw Lyon looking up at the same time. Yeah, they knew what time it was now. The oldest ice mage back stepped just in time to avoid being lifted up with the Fairy Tail mages by whatever structure was coming out of the ground. Gray latched his hand around Karissa's wrist and pulled her towards him just before she fell of the edge. Lucy was screaming from the sudden lift and grabbed onto Natsu who was also freaking out.
Just what the hell was Nirvana?!
Karissa's celestial outfit... I literally had no idea what to make it look like. So, I just looked up an image of Fairy Tail members in celestial outfits, and I made a female version of Gray's outfit lmao. Sooo... I guess they have matching outfits like Lucy and Natsu now. It looked nice when I drew it on the computer.
Also, I got bored and started making up ship names.
Gray and Karissa? Grissa? Karay? Grakar (wtf sounds like a name of a dragon or something) Sinbuster (ngl sounds cool)
Lyon and Karissa? Lyssa? Kalyon? Sintia? Clostia?
Man, idk. I like Grissa and Lyssa tho.
I think the next chapter will wrap up the whole Nirvana thing which will leave a chapter or two left before I start the Edolas Arc. Man, I can't wait to start writing that Arc. It'll be fun to write.
See you in the next one. Don't be shy to drop a review (if you want to) because they're always appreciated!