Trees were being obliterated, the ground was being broken, the destruction around them was inevitable.
The adrenaline was pumping and she was absolutely focused on her opponent. In this battle against Grimoire Heart, she couldn't afford to go easy and believe that her friends could miraculously survive this fight. The chances of victory had to be made by defeating their opponents as fast as they could to provide assist for the others who were scattered on the island.
Lukius certainly struggled against Karissa who was using her wind as speed and her molding magic as her main weapon. She kept coming at him with ice creations that were molded rapidly after years of training. She landed several hits on him just as he struck her a few times. Their battle seemed to be at a stalemate because Karissa was getting slower and sluggish.
He wiped the side of his mouth with a frown. He was never an arrogant person; he knew when to admit when someone was strong. The fact that he may have underestimated her was dawning upon him. Agility, power, judgement, magic application... It was way different from what he predicted. This woman was incredibly strong.
Karissa shoved her ice spear into the earth and leaned against it.
"Feeling heavy?" Lukius mused. "That's only natural. My Lost Magic: The Arc of Penitence is a magic that brings my opponents down as if asking for penitence."
Karissa frowned. No wonder it's Lost Magic, it's fucking weird.
But that's not the only magic in his arsenal.
He was that black magic thing.
… It reminds of Hystoran.
"So what? Am I supposed to be afraid?"
"You should be because once you can no longer stand. I will kill you."
Karissa smirked sadistically and gripped her handle tighter. She stared directly at the boy with her eyes glowing dangerously. "It's too bad I refuse to die here."
She ripped the spear out of the ground and lunged at him with incredible speed. Lukius' hidden eyes widened in shock. She was coming at him with the speed of someone who wasn't affected by his magic. He groaned when she rammed the spear into his guts, sending him tumbling away and crashing to the ground. Lukius forced himself to sit upright when he saw her creating another ice creation.
"Ice Make: Heavy Rake!" A giant rake hand akin to a giant gauntlet formed around her right arm, it was two times her size. Her dark brown eyes glinted dangerously and she swung it down on him, sharp claws and palm open directly aimed at him. Lukius gritted his teeth and rolled to the side at the last second and then brushed the gauntlet with his hand, the point of contact glowed orange.
"Tch!" Karissa felt the ice rake hand grow immeasurably heavy. She turned her attention to Lukius who was dashing towards her with a hand sparking with black flickers.
"I don't think so!"
Lukius' eyes widened, very wide.
The ice rake hand suddenly swung to the side and collided into him at full force, sending him crashing into a big tree.
Karissa let out a cry and lifted the heavy rake hand before slamming it down on the ground, the force of the blast propelled Lukius up into the air.
"What the hell…?!"
The ice gauntlet shattered and Karissa breathe a sigh of relief when the weight disappeared.
"How are you still moving?!"
"Ice Make: Frozen Star Assault!"
Lukius gritted his teeth. He placed his hand on his chest and added weight to himself to fall down, dodging the attack. He landed ungracefully on the ground and then removed the weight from himself. His black cloak whipped around as flicks of black appeared around his hands and feet. He dashed towards her and closed the distance. His had speed increased. Karissa glared at him when she saw no way to make a proper ice shield. He punched her in the gut and then kicked her back violently. Her body flew back and she bounced on the ground when she landed on her back.
She was bleeding now, thankfully not profusely. She had cuts on her stomach that was leaking blood. It stung.
It hurts like Hystoran's attacks. That weird electric feeling.
"You won't be able to move any more." Lukius gritted his teeth. "Move again and I'll hit you again with Penitence, crushing you from the inside out."
Indeed, the weight was too much on her body. It felt like her own chest was crushing her lungs the longer she stayed put.
Karissa effortlessly lifted her arms as she laid on the ground, shocking Lukius, and then put her hands together to cast her spell. She slammed her hand down on the ground at her sides. "Ice Make: Frigid Thorns!"
Large spikes spawned one after the other after Lukius. The boy leaped away while Karissa was getting back up on her feet again, and that's when he saw it. Her hair was flying behind her. When she lunged after him, he raised his hand and removed Penitence.
Karissa's eyes widened at the sudden weight lifted off her body.
Her body flew up in the air in a weird direction.
She gritted her teeth. He found out. Great.
Almost hilariously, she flew into a tree and fell, branches scratching her when she fell through, and that wasn't all, the sudden weight of Penitence was added again, accelerating her fall and harshly slamming her down, knocking her wind out of her.
"Holy fuck…!" Karissa wheezed.
Lukius held his arm and walked over to her with a frown. "Crazy. Using your wind magic to help you move. You would have lost this battle because of your recklessness."
Karissa used her wind magic to help her get on her knees, frustrated by the ridiculous weight representing atonement. "I would be fine. I'm not your average mage."
Spending her magic power wasn't a big issue.
Lukius frowned, unconvinced. Was she just speaking out of arrogance or pure belief in her strength? He didn't know.
"So, what am I going through penitence for?" Karissa spat, finally curious enough to ask as she tried to stabilize her breathing. "I never killed anyone before. I can seriously hurt them but I would never brutally kill them."
"Of course, you didn't." Lukius sighed, ruffling his bangs out of his face, revealing his crystal pink eyes. "But I have to kill you. I need you to die so my sister can be free of her hatred."
Karissa stared at him, eyes squinted and brows knitted. Could he not be so cryptic and simply give her the answer? A frown graced Lukius' boyish features when he saw question marks in her eyes.
"My sister has you and someone else as her top priority on her death list. But I don't want her to stain her hands with blood. It's as simple as that."
"… Keeping her pure?" Karissa lightly scoffed at this. "A dark guild member? No blood? Impossible."
Lukius looked away from her. "Think what you will. I just don't want her to kill out of hatred."
"Oh… yeah?!" Karissa suddenly directed five clock shaped ice hands at his left side, piercing him. Lukius cried out in pain and stumbled. There were two in the side of his arm, one into his side and another on his thigh. The blood stained his white shorts while his shirt blended his blood in its colour.
Lukius gasped and stumbled from the pain flaring in his body. The proficiency Karissa had in her molding magic was really on another level. He had seen molding mages before but none had been as skilled as she was in the art of it. A brief moment was all it took for her to put her hands together and create her ice. Perhaps Gray Fullbuster was also just proficient.
"Persistent!" Lukius roared and then swung his arm that was enveloped in black. Karissa got up with her wind and put out her left arm to cover her face, no time to create a proper ice shield. Instead, she used a single hand to create dense ice around her arm to deflect his attack. She needed to take her chance now.
The secondary magic that Lukius wielded definitely felt of the same nature as Hystoran's. However, Lukius' proficiency in it was much better. It hurt more than Hystoran's. She didn't want to get hit by it anymore.
Karissa grabbed him by the front of his cloak, his eyes widened, crystal pink met dark brown once again, but crystal pink narrowed. He added Penitence to her body which made her waver and wince when it became unbearable. The weight of his magic was almost crushing her knees.
Endure it!
But she clenched her teeth and held his cloak tightly, shouting and then shoving him into the ground so ruthlessly.
Lukius gasped in pain when he felt the air get knocked out of him. His lack of concentration removed the weight from her body.
The determination. The will to survive. The greed to win. He could see it all swirling in her dark brown eyes. There was the intent to do serious harm in them as well if he continued to fight. She created ice knuckles around her free hand and looked down at him almost psychotically. She was going to jam it in his face until he passed out.
As a desperate attempt to free himself, Lukius grabbed the wrist of the hand holding him and proceeded to unleash an unmerciful attack just as her fist collided with his face. Her left arm felt like it was getting teared apart with the flickers of black whipping around and slashing her arm. Her sleeve was getting shredded up to her shoulder, her t-shirt's sleeve was also shredded. It was already painful enough since it was the same arm she used to shield herself. Much like her, Lukius was persistent on winning, and now her pain receptors were screaming at her to pull away.
"Oww!" Karissa reeled away; her arm bloody in pain, hissing. Lukius pulled his knee up and aimed a kick at her with the same sparks around it. She rolled over, dodging his magic and forced herself up on her feet, holding her arm, while he was making a move to get up. She spun around while he sat up and aimed the back of her foot into his jaw. He fell on his side from the impact, lessening the penitence once more.
However, before anyone could make another move, earth shaped into a hand grabbed him from behind and pulled him back down, a person straddled Lukius, it was Van. With a dark look, he held up a sharp spike made of stone up to his throat, shocking the younger mages. A venomous look was on his face as he pressed the spike closer.
"You make one move, and I might just accidentally cut you." Van warned him, no hint of bluff in his voice.
"How the hell did you get here so fast?" Karissa asked, cautiously moving around to stand in front of her brother and a few feet away from Lukius. She enveloped her arm in ice to constrict the blood vessel and stop the swelling.
"Earth. Propelling." Van answered flatly. "Now, tell me why you were after my sister?"
Lukius tried inching away from the blade but it merely followed to stay pressed against his neck. He didn't want to die here. With how hard Van was pressing the spike, any sudden attacks from Lukius might jolt the man above him enough to slice him.
…
…
"Your sister?" Van cocked his head at his answer and explanation. "Ridiculous. You want to kill someone for you sister?"
"No one understands!" Lukius screamed at him. "I just want Meldy to be free from hatred! I don't like it when she's like that!"
Don't like it?
The desire to make someone free and happier.
How familiar.
"Pitiful." Van spat. "A slave for your sister? It's pathetic!" the words he spoke almost felt like someone else was saying them. "What about what you want?"
"… I want… I just want Meldy to be happier!"
"But that's not really what you want is it?" Van smiled, almost evilly. "Because you don't want to kill."
Seeing him makes me feel disgusted.
"I can see it in your eyes kid. Your resolve is weak!"
Lukius gritted his teeth and glared at him with one of his visible eyes. "What the hell do you know?!" black sparks emitted from his body, alarming Karissa who yelled at her brother to get away from him. If Van was a second too late, he would have gotten a vector arrow straight into his gut. The fingers made of earth surrounding his body fell apart effortlessly after being pierced.
An ice mallet with a long handle formed in her hands and she dashed forward while her brother backed away, he called her name out in a panic since he could tell that the magic was dangerous. She side stepped away from an arrow and skidded to a stop before dragging her foot back and swinging the mallet towards the boy's face. It harshly made contact with him when he was back on his feet, sending him flying a good three meters away. The impact rendered him immobile when he fell unconscious.
She didn't care if this is was a child she was fighting. He was a threat to her life and she was wasn't going to hold anything back in that swing.
Van glanced at Karissa, then back at Lukius. Without a word, she tossed the mallet aside and looked at her injured arm. The damage wasn't too bad. She could still use it, she still had work to do, she wasn't excused from the fight just yet.
"Are you okay?" Van paid no mind to the boy and went straight to his younger sibling.
"Yeah. I'll wrap my arm with a piece of my cardigan after the bleeding stops. I have disinfectant wipes in my pocket."
"Heh, being prepared is so like you." Karissa chuckled and shook her head when she saw her brother's teasing look. "Let's just keep going. We need to head to the rendezvous point for information. Gray, Loke, Cana and Lucy should be fine on their own against a single goat."
"Right." Van smiled and followed after her when she started running, the youngest Sinlocst was unaware of the melancholic look her brother had as he followed her.
That boy makes me sick.
Pandora's eyes glinted dangerously as she raised her leg and swung it, her limb was enveloped with light that clashed against a magic blade.
"Pandora! Don't push yourself!" Erza swung her sword, worried for her fellow guild member who was fighting with a broken arm.
"I have legs, I'm going to use them." Pandora spat before using her free arm to launch beams of light.
"Erza Scarlet. Pandora Sinclost. You are both ranked fourth and fifth." Meldy said nonchalantly. She revealed that these rankings were from her list of killing priority. Juvia who was only ranked thirteen was deemed unworthy, weak trash, of paying attention to so she was struck numerous times by Meldy's sensory blades. It harmed Juvia despite having a water body.
Pandora could hear Juvia screaming in pain. She backed off from the sensory blades that came to pierce her and shouted over her shoulder, "Juvia, get away from here, you'll only be in the way! We cannot focus on fighting while trying to protect you!"
"Number Three is Gildarts, but he no longer seems to be on the island. Number Two is Makarov, however he seems to have been defeated by Lord Hades."
Erza parried against a blade while Pandora created a shield of light. "The master is Number Two?" Erza repeated, confused. "There's someone more important than the master?"
"Yes." Meldy's face darkened. "Two people are at the top. Number One is Gray Fullbuster and Karissa Sinclost."
Pandora's eyes narrowed venomously. "Oh? And why is that?"
This threat was not helping her already foul mood.
"Gray Fullbuster… he's the man who killed Ultear's mother. Karissa Sinclost… she stole Ultear's happiness. They both caused Ultear to suffer! They hurt my Ultear!" Meldy's face twisted into pure hatred before unleashing an assault of sensory blades. "I'll never forgive them! I'll tear them limb from limb!"
Pandora's light magic rose up and aggressively destroyed the blades that surrounded her and Erza in an instant with a single wave of her hand. The brat in front of her dare speak of taking her sister's life right in front of her face? Did she have a death wish?
Then it started pouring rain.
"That is Juvia's line." The blue mage spoke eerily, now back on her feet, looking creepy. "Whose life were you planning to take?"
Pandora looked over her shoulder to give Juvia a plotting smile. "I won't tell you to calm down, but give me one second before you go crazy. Thanks." She looked back at Meldy. "Gray has never killed anyone before. But if I remember correctly, he was the indirect cause of someone's death. Are you referring to that woman?"
"Yes." The pink haired mage seethed, her magic power flaring up. "And when I kill him, I will show it to her! The only way he can atone for his sin is by lying lifelessly at her feet!"
Juvia, who had been once screaming in pain from Meldy's assaults, was now enraged and fighting back against the younger girl. While Juvia openly showed her displeasure, Pandora's was more tame but still aggressive in her attacks. Even when Juvia asked that Erza and Pandora leave the fight to her, Pandora refused and remained in the fight as it became very personal.
While the three girls were fighting, Pandora's eyes were wide open, glowing, her body was enveloped in light. She was searching while fighting. Using the eyes of light to search for a woman that would come close to the vague image in her mind. To her luck, she found someone. A long haired woman who bore a striking resemblance to a face she had once seen once in her life.
"It's strange. Even though it's the same people… one of us holds hatred, and another holds love. Though it's the same people, the different feelings cause them to be seen differently."
"It's only natural." Juvia said in a blasé manner. "A symbol of individuality."
"I'm lucky then. I've come here with the goal to kill Gray and Karissa. Now, I am able to face people with strong feelings for them. Your very feelings for those you hold dear will kill them. Can you picture them? Can you see them in your mind so vividly just as how strongly you hold them dear to your heart?"
It was almost impossible not to picture them. The faces of the people that Juvia and Pandora held dear to their heart appearing in their mind was exactly what Meldy wanted. Without wasting a second, she used her magic to link them to the respective person. Juvia was linked with Gray while Pandora was linked with Karissa. The proof of their link was the mark on their wrists that glowed pink.
"Juvia and Gray-sama have b-become one?!" Juvia said, flustered, making Pandora roll her eyes. She harshly kicked Juvia's side as a reprimand and noticed how she felt something on her side.
"Stop losing focus, idiot! Your damn gushing is not helping the battle!"
"Juvia cannot help it!" The blue haired mage giggled with hearts floating around her.
A irritated vein appeared on Pandora's forehead. "Get it together before I knock you out!" she snapped.
"This magic makes your pain as one as well!" Meldy struck Juvia and Pandora when they were distracted. Meldy had purposely struck Pandora's left arm, making her hiss and almost keel over. Her attack slashed her arm, cutting a fresh wound open.
"Any pain you feel will also hurt the ones you love."
Even so, this only spurred the two girls to fight back stronger to not give Meldy the chance to fight back.
"Crown of Torment!"
At this rate, the dark mage would not stand a chance like this. Meldy gritted her teeth and connected herself to the two women, creating a five-spread sense link. Then Pandora's attack struck her mercilessly, unleashing a ruthless wave of pain onto the two women. Crown of Torment was no joke. It made Juvia wheeze and Pandora bite her lip while she dropped on one knee.
"If it's for Ultear… then I will readily give my life!" Meldy stood back up and revealed the mark of linking her to them. "Through your link, I have connected myself to my targets. It's perfect. This way, if either of you or I die, then both my targets will die as well! This is the dead end of despair!"
All of a sudden, Pandora threw her head back and laughed loudly. "You did it! You finally did it!"
Juvia turned to look at Pandora, still shocked by the turn of events. Was the older mage losing it?
"Pandora-san…?"
"Your Lost Magic…" Pandora smiled at Meldy again and proceeded to remove her arm from her sling as she steadily got back up, causing Juvia and Meldy to flinch. "I know of it, purely by chance though. It has the ability to connect more people's senses as one. However, its true form is to amplify attacks by combining two strengths into one." The black haired woman grinned sadistically.
"Your point?" Meldy readied her sensory blades.
"My point is that I wanted something like that when I read about it in that dusty old library. So, I searched, searched and searched, until I found one spell akin to it." Pandora placed her hand on her chest and it began to glow. "Light Imprint." Her body glowed again, and a light shot into the air in a similar fashion to when Meldy linked them.
Meldy narrowed her green eyes. "Imprint?"
"Ultear. I know what she looks like." Pandora smirked sadistically and create a spike of light with her right hand. "Long dark hair. She wears mostly white. A white headband. Lipstick. That is Ultear. She's on this island."
"Of course, she is. She is the leader of the Eight Kin of Purgatory." Meldy created a ring of sensory blades that swirled around her.
"You brought our loved ones into this fight, so why not bring her into it too? It's only fair… Let's play a game of chicken! It's your sanction for not playing fair!"
"A game of chicken…?" Juvia uttered. "Pandora-san, what did you do?"
"I linked myself to this girl's dear Ultear. Physically."
Meldy stiffened. "… You lie."
"Am I?" Pandora chuckled. "How about an example?"
She connected herself to Juvia for a moment and cut her own cheek with the spike of light, causing blood to leak. Juvia's cheek began to bleed as well. Meldy's eyes widened in alarm. Once she removed the link imprint, she looked at Meldy with an eerie smile.
Light magic was one of the founding types of magic that allowed more branches of magic to be born. It was only natural that certain spells bore resemblance. Certain spells of a magic type may be classified as lost spells even though the magic type itself wasn't rare. Light Imprint was a lost spell that took so much time for her to find. Pandora could only consider herself unbelievably lucky to have the gift for light magic.
"If you're going to cause pain with links then you better use the real deal!" Pandora dragged her foot back and lifted the spike. "Gray, Karissa, Juvia… clench your teeth!"
She shoved it into her broken arm.
Juvia gasped in pain while Meldy hunched over as she held onto her arm.
Pandora hissed and shook her head, a crazy smile on her lips. "Yeah… it hurts doesn't it?"
The pain of a broken arm combined with the pain of having something pierced through it was unbearable.
"Your Ultear will be skewered and full of holes when I'm done!" Pandora said almost gleefully.
"You lie!" Meldy screamed, sending sensory blades after her. She was starting to panic.
Pandora laughed and dodged the blades. "You don't believe me? Try connecting yourself to Ultear yourself! I wouldn't harm myself for a mere bluff! But I don't care if you believe me or not, you'll just have to find out for yourself when you meet Ultear in the afterlife!"
"Pandora-san! Stop this! You're hurting Gray-sama while doing this!" Juvia pleaded, desperate to save Gray from any pain. "Juvia won't forgive you if you cause any more pain to him!"
"Juvia, Juvia…" Pandora skidded to a stop, tutting, and lifted another spike. "I've known Gray and Karissa for a long time… a little pain like this won't kill them! They are not fragile, they are strong! They will survive! This is necessary and I'm not afraid to do it!"
"Stop!" Meldy screamed again, holding her left arm. "Stop hurting my Ultear!"
"Then remove the sensory link, brat!" Pandora raised her voice, a wide grin on her face.
"No!" Meldy clenched her fists tightly, sending more blades that Pandora effortlessly dodged with her light magic. She even tried attacking Juvia to stop her but the water mage deflected her attacks to not cause pain to Gray. "Unforgiveable! You'll pay for this!"
Pandora rammed another spike into her arm. "Oh, shut up!" Juvia and Meldy wailed in pain. "What's more important?! Ultear or your targets?!" she pierced her arm again. She twirled another spike in her hand. "There's no point in killing Gray and Karissa if Ultear eventually succumbs to blood loss. She doesn't have these spikes in her arms, she will bleed out but I will be fine as long as I keep them in place."
"Pandora-san! Stop this!" Juvia heaved, grasping her arm tightly. "It hurts!"
"Bear with it, Juvia!" Pandora grinned, bearing the pain as droplets of blood continued to flow out of her arm and into the water. "You're not the one bleeding, remember that!"
Pandora was in full control of the battle. She was playing a torturous game with the younger girl, using her feelings against her. She could tell it was working because she could feel the intensive fear coursing throughout her body, it wasn't hers.
"Come on, kid! Who will win this game of chicken?! Me or you?!" she made two more spikes of light.
"I'll kill myself before you hurt Ultear anymore!" Meldy yelled, readying her blades around herself.
"No, don't do it!" Juvia stopped her by injuring her own leg.
"You wanna keep going?!" Pandora levitated the two spikes and reached to grab one in her arm, twisting it, which only made Meldy and Juvia wail even more. Meldy was on the verge of breaking down as she hyperventilate over the thought of Ultear suffering because of her.
…
…
…
Karissa writhed in pain on the ground, cradling her left arm to her chest. Then she felt an intense pain her leg as well.
"What's happening to me...?!" she heaved as Van kneeled next to her body, unsure of what to do. Then she felt something twisting in her arm which was even more painful.
…
…
…
Gray covered his mouth, struggling to muffle his pained hisses.
Fuck, this hurts so much!
…
…
…
A feeling of intense love for someone close, the feeling of having a mother...
It was resonating with everyone connected through a link. That was what they all felt just before Meldy stopped her magic.
The twisted game of feelings that Pandora plunged them all into made Meldy think of Ultear so much that her own emotions were resonating with them just before she decided to stop. Pandora had won the game. This prompted Juvia to get up on her feet and run to the girl as she was overcome with emotion. She embraced her tightly and she cried for Meldy. Pandora watched from a distance, lowering the spikes of light that she was threatening to use.
"You have a smile all your own. You have someone extremely important to you, too!" Juvia held her shoulders tightly. "Keep living… Juvia will live too! Juvia will love for the people she loves! If both you and Juvia have love, then we have to go on living!"
Pandora lowered her eyes.
Someone extremely important…
Love?
…
…
…
I hated supporting my family.
I hated taking care of Van and Karissa.
I hated it so much, that I just wanted to leave them behind.
It was just so hard.
There was a time where I secretly packed my things and planned on leaving in the middle of the night as they slept together in my parents' bed. Anywhere but here was better. I looked at them for a while, watching them sleep soundly and unknowingly, burning the image in my mind, before slipping out of the room and reaching the front door.
But I stopped before holding I could touch the doorknob, thinking to myself about how we had nothing apart from ourselves.
And without them, I have nothing.
My parents already left us behind like that. I felt abandoned.
I couldn't leave.
I wanted to satisfy my desire to be needed by someone.
But as time went on, I became scared of what I became.
I am the older sister who loves her family so much. I took care of my siblings when my parents exited our lives. I love them.
But was it genuine?
Laxus threw his hands up in frustration. "Why are you yelling at me?!"
"Be-Because! You keep hanging around my sister, who do you think you are?!"
I saw his eye twitch. "She's the one who hangs around me! I'm not going to be a dick and tell her to fuck off!"
"You should!" I seethed. "I would prefer it if you did!"
Hurt her. Make her cry.
So that when she's hurt, I will be the one to comfort her. I don't want other people being there so she could rely on them. I'm the one who should be that person. Just me!
I saw the bastard smirk. "I get it." He huffed. "You just have a little sister complex, huh?" he said mockingly. "No wonder you keep—"
I clicked my tongue in annoyance. "Shut up!" I spat before turning on my heel and walking away.
He doesn't understand shit!
I was forced on a job with Laxus because Master Makarov was fed up with our arguing. He wanted us to get along.
It was around that time that I began questioning my own feelings towards my own family.
I timidly peeked at him while he rested with his headphones. He was planning on sleeping during the train ride. "… Hey, Laxus."
He opened his eyes, completely disinterested in what I had to say. That didn't matter though. I had to speak instead of just lashing out at him for no reason.
"About last time…"
The blond boy sighed tiredly in front of me. "Look, I really don't care—"
"I got mad at you because my sister relies on you. I don't like it. I'd rather she rely on me since…" I didn't want to finish that sentence. I was scared of saying what I thought out of fear of it being true. I narrowed my eyes and clenched my fists. "Never mind. Just… I'm sorry for lashing out at you."
I was scared of finding out what kind of person I was.
A person who used other people to satisfy her own needs.
Did I mistake a lie as my love for them?
What exactly lies inside my heart that I cannot see?
I grew closer to Laxus as we got older. He was the only person I felt comfortable enough to confide in. Perhaps the bickering made me feel at ease because it somehow helped me get to know him better.
We were on a job together and eating somewhere after wrapping up our job. It must have been the alcohol that loosened me up. The walls around my heart gently moved aside. They were still there, but they were allowing someone to peek into it. I was very conscious of what I was saying when I was rambling. I just needed to get it off my chest because it was swallowing me up from the inside.
"I'm scared of finding out if my love for them is all just an act." I said pitifully. "I don't want to find out what a fake person I am. If one of them were to die… would I feel anything?"
Laxus rubbed the back of his nape awkwardly after he set down his glass. "Didn't you say that you thought she died once? How did you feel then?"
"That's the thing… I don't know…!" I clutched my head, gritting my teeth. "I felt empty inside, but I don't know if it was because I lost something that made me feel needed or because I was genuinely distraught…" I looked at him with a solemn look. "That's why I was so against Karissa hanging around you. I didn't want her to rely on you. I wanted her to need me and only me." I confessed softly.
Of course, I didn't feel so strongly about that as the years passed. I had to learn that having more people in life to rely on was good for them.
He held my stare for a few seconds before sighing heavily. He reached for my head and lightly ruffled my bangs, surprising me. I became flustered by the gesture, my cheeks warmed up and I stared at him in surprise.
"You're thinking about this too much." He said before leaning back in his seat. "You do love them, you're just making it hard to believe it."
I averted my gaze away.
"You may have started off using them to fill the hole in your heart, but I know you genuinely love them. You can't fake all of that."
Meldy had released the links and fell back in the water, staring up at the sky. Juvia had passed out a second ago from the exhaustion and the pain she received earlier, adrenaline wearing off. Pandora was the only one still conscious.
She made her way to Meldy and grabbed the front of her scuffle, pulling her up to face her.
"Hey, brat."
"Wh…What?"
"How exactly does picturing our loved ones help you link?"
Meldy frowned and looked away from her dark brown eyes. "… Why does it matter?"
"Just say it before I slap you."
The young girl looked back at the older woman with narrowed eyes. A slap, really? Out of all things, a slap? Well, whatever, she didn't want a slap to the face. "By picturing the person you have strong feelings for, I can use it connect you to said person."
"What if I lied about it?" she asked after a pause.
"Then it wouldn't work. Lies don't work on magic."
Pandora's eyes softened at her answer. Laxus' words echoed in her mind and it made her laugh softly to herself. The worry she had about being so fake and disgusting was finally easing away, lifting the weight off her shoulders. Meldy blinked dumbly at the relief on the older mage's face.
"Thanks."
Meldy felt herself getting lowered back into the water until she was suddenly brought back up again.
"And by the way, let me tell you something." Pandora glared at her with a motherly-like aura. Meldy stared at her silently, gulping once. "Self-sacrifice is the most stupidest thing you can do. When you die, you die alone, there is no 'for the sake of another'. It's all bullshit. The only thing you leave behind is grief. If any of my siblings did that for my sake, I would never forgive them, even in the next life. Remember that before you try to sacrifice yourself for Ultear."
That was the last thing Meldy heard before Pandora rammed her forehead into hers.
…
…
…
"Are you okay?"
Karissa breathed in relief when she finally felt all pain disappear. The unbearable pain in her left arm combined with her injuries there made her feel like ending it all. It was such a bother. The only thing Van and Karissa understood was that it was because of a mark that appeared on her wrist. Once it had faded, the pain was taken away with it. They seriously had no idea what was happening other than she was feeling pain. It felt like something was piercing her arm mercilessly.
Her magic power was slowly recovering during that ordeal. She supposed that was the only good thing that happened in the midst of it.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Let's keep moving."
Van helped her up on her feet and walked with her. She needed to disinfect her wounds for now and then wrap it up with a piece of her cardigan that she was planning on cutting off.
Pandora kept the spikes in tact in her arm even after she passed out from exertion, removing them would only cause her to lose blood while she rested. She made the effort to drag Meldy and Juvia out of the water, she decided to help the first since she found her pitiful just lying in the water in the rain. After that, she allowed herself to pass out for a while. It felt safe after Meldy passed out. Light Imprint was a spell she didn't often use before so she never had the chance to practice it. It drained magic from her.
"Meldy!"
The pink haired girl's head shot up at the familiar voice. She had woken up a while ago after getting knocked out by the oldest Sinclost.
"Lukius…"
The ginger face twisted with worry when he saw how battered she looked. He ran up to her and dropped on his knees to inspect her. "Are you okay…? Are you injured?!"
The girl shook her head. "No… I'm fine."
Lukius smiled in relief and held her shoulders. "That's great."
"What about you? You're hurt." Meldy gently touched his face that had a nasty bruise on it. He merely shook his head and moved some of his hair away from his left eye. He assured her that he would be fine after admitting that he got a beating in a battle. He didn't dare reveal who his opponent was out of concern of amplifying Meldy's hatred for Karissa.
"Did you kill Gray yet?" Lukius asked softly. He was now sitting next to his sister, facing forward almost absentmindedly.
"… Not yet." Meldy put her arms on her knees and rested her face against them. Her voice didn't carry the full weight of hatred for the man like she usually did, surprisingly. Lukius couldn't help but wonder if something had happened during her battle.
Meldy recalled Pandora's words about self-sacrifice. With Lukius here by her side now, she could only imagine how devastated he would be if he found her dead. She didn't want to cause her brother any grief even if it meant getting to kill Gray and Karissa.
Eventually, Ultear found Meldy and Lukius taking shelter from the rain under a small tree with Juvia and Pandora resting behind them. Ultear had been dragging along Zeref's body with her, she had found him resting somewhere on the island. Meldy looked at Ultear's arm that was wrapped in bloody bandages to try and stop the bleeding, it made her frown deeply.
"There has been a change of plans." Ultear proclaimed after dropping Zeref, unable to support him with her injured arm. Lukius and Meldy looked up at her, confused. "We'll leave the island now."
Meldy stiffened. "B-But I… I haven't found Gray or Karissa yet…!"
"Just forget about him." Ultear waved her hand dismissively. "He is not an enemy." She revealed that she enticed Gray to take on their Guild Master and use the Iced Shell on him, killing two birds with one stone.
"Take out Master Hades?" Meldy blinked in disbelief. "But why?"
"Zeref belongs to us!" Ultear smirked, looking down at the black wizard who laid unconscious at her feet.
"But are you sure betraying him will be okay?" Lukius wondered, a little unsure of this new plan from their adoptive mother. He was a little scared of finding out what could happen if Hades found out.
"Who cares about what he thinks?! I will never give Zeref away to anyone!" Ultear proclaimed with a scary look in her eye, a scary smile creeping up on her face. "He is mine and mine alone!"
Lukius and Meldy looked at each other in concern, they were feeling a little uneasy. Then, Meldy and Lukius carried Zeref together when asked by Ultear. It would be better if they were the ones holding him since Ultear stood a better chance against anyone they might run into. They were going to leave the island.
However, Ultear had spotted Juvia and Pandora's bodies.
"Who are these women?"
"The blue haired one is Juvia. The other is Pandora." Meldy answered as she adjusted Zeref's arm around her shoulder. "Pandora was the one who injured you... she used a type of link magic..."
"Oh? Pandora?" Ultear repeated, tipping her head, staring at the face of the oldest living Sinclost. This was the woman who dared link herself to her and give her that unbearable pain? "Pandora Sinclost, huh? She's related to Karissa then." She said ominously.
Memories of the past flashed in her mind.
The image of a young Karissa running with a smile on her face towards two boys and a woman. She stuck her tongue out at the boys and hugged the woman who couldn't help but smile and gently ruffle her hair. The memory made an unpleasant green feeling bubble within Ultear.
Ultear summoned a sword and gripped it tightly with a dark look on her face.
"What are you doing…?!" Lukius quickly asked as Ultear lifted her sword. It was obvious what she was trying to do but he still asked.
"Killing her, obviously." she said nonchalantly as a little smirk began to creep up her face.
"But she's not fighting back…!" Meldy tried to reason with their mother.
"I've dealt with Gray." Ultear said, gripping the sword tightly. "But I didn't have the chance to deal with Karissa, a pity, really. So, I'll kill someone very close to her. Then, I'll kill this other woman too." She decided, swinging the sword down with her sadistic smirk.
All of a sudden, spikes of ice raced just in time to stop the sword from getting any closer to Pandora. Gray had arrived to stop Ultear from landing a fatal blow. Just as he popped out from behind a tree, two figures came into view and made a mad dash towards the unconscious two women. Ultear whirled around and found a black haired guy coming at her with his fist reeled back, his face dark and furious.
"Ultear!" Lukius shouted.
Van struck Ultear right in the face, causing the woman to stumble away. "Get the hell away from my sister, wretch!"
Karissa zoomed past Ultear with her wind magic and latched onto Juvia and Pandora's clothes, forcefully pulling them off the ground when she flew. When she caught sight of Gray running and holding up his hand, she shoved Juvia in his direction with wind. She couldn't protect two people at the same time if Ultear caught her somehow.
"Gray and Karissa!" Meldy gasped, her hatred for them made her grit her teeth.
Gray grunted when he caught the body and kneeled down to hold her properly.
Van leaped away when Ultear recovered and swung her sword at him.
Karissa's boots scratched the ground when she landed all while supporting Pandora. She almost dropped her from how heavy she was.
"Fancy meeting you here." Karissa breathed out a sigh of relief, her heart rate calming down. Seriously, seeing the blade coming down on her sister nearly gave her a heart attack. She was glad Van noticed it when they were navigating through the forest.
"It's a pretty small island if you haven't noticed." Gray replied before setting Juvia on the ground. "Anyway, I figured this would happen," he said while looking at Ultear.
The older mage from Grimoire Heart sighed. "Well, I'm surprised. When did you catch on, I wonder?"
"I didn't believe a word you said from the start!"
Karissa cocked her head when she took a good look at Ultear's face. The face had a striking resemblance to Ur.
"I see, so you acted as if you believed me to find out my true intentions. You're a bad boy." Ultear tutted, crossing her arms haughtily after putting away the sword she summoned.
"I decided a while back that I would never use Iced Shell again. I promised." Gray said firmly while he stood up straight. As he said those two last words, he turned to look at Karissa who was looking at him curiously. His words made her eyes widened, very slightly.
The promise.
…
…
…
With her shoes in the water, she sat down on the rock and stared down at water with her hands in her hair. "Please… never again."
Gray couldn't make out her face properly, not with her bangs hanging in front, so he got up after shaking some water out of his hair and walked up to her. He crouched down and grabbed her hands in his. "I won't. Never again."
To say that she was terrified was an understatement. A few moments ago, she was so focused on breaking free from his ice and trying to stop him that she didn't realize how scared she was until all tension was released from her body. A life without Gray in it, she didn't dare imagine it.
"Do you promise?" her voice sounded small.
"Yeah." He ruffled her hair. "I promise."
She pulled away from his larger hands and linked her pinky with his to reinforce their promise. It made him chuckle.
…
…
…
"You're the last person I want dying on me." Gray told to her, his eyes fixed on the window behind her. "So, you can't die, you got that?"
Karissa laughed lightly at that, enjoying his warmth. "Hey, no worries. I won't die that easily, I promise."
"I'll hold onto that promise." He told her softly.
She held him tighter. "And thanks for saving my life. If it weren't for your quick thinking, I wouldn't be here."
"There was no way I was going to let you die there—"
"Besides, you'd be a lost cause with me."
Gray huffed at her jest. "Okay, now you're just making shit up."
Her smile dropped and she looked a little solemn when he couldn't see. "Promise me the same. You won't die easily."
Sensing the unease in her voice, he moved his head to hide away his eyes from the window, throwing his sight in darkness as he rested his forehead on her shoulder once more. "I thought that was included in our last promise."
"Right…" Karissa realized with a small chuckle. "I guess I forgot."
"After making me do a pinky promise with you? You seriously forgot?"
"I'm kidding. I remember it clearly since it comes right after that little stunt of yours that pissed me off. "
…
…
…
The two of them exchanged a knowing smile between each other. Gray had no intention of breaking that promise any time soon, especially for someone else' sake. He wasn't giving up on his life. They both turned their attention back on Ultear who stood there with a smirk on her face, unbothered by their presence.
"It doesn't matter if it is Ur's will! I've got a will of my own! I'm going to continue living, along with my friends!" Gray declared, clenching his fists.
Wait... Ur did once say that she had a child once...
... Don't tell me this is this her?
But she said that her child died...
"So, what? You two are going to fight me?" Ultear sneered as she took several steps forward, ignoring the threat Van posed behind her. She trusted Lukius to have her back anyway, and she was right to do so because Lukius was watching Van carefully with vector arrows hovering behind him.
"It's too bad. I never wanted to fight either of you. I mean… you two are that woman's disciples, right?" Ultear laughed sadistically and her face twisted evilly, completely contrasting the pretty neutral look she had on seconds ago. "But now I think I may just give you two the most cruel death possible!"
"So... this is Ur's daughter." Karissa mumbled softly. She couldn't help but project Ur on this woman, they looked so alike, except that Ur never looked so ugly and evil like this. Ugliness that came from being associated to one of the worst dark guilds in modern day.
"Hell no! I'm dealing with you myself, ingrate daughter!" Gray stripped off his shirt, and readied himself. "I'll teach you the lesson you never got from your mother!"
Great, when he puts his mind to it, he's not going stop.
"Oh please, at least let me give you a boost." Karissa rolled her eyes and used her wind magic to help Gray close the distance in an instant as Ultear was in the middle of boasting about her rank as the leader of the Eight Kin of Purgatory, they didn't need to hear all of that. She was caught off guard by the sudden closeness. Gray's menacing glare met her surprised eyes.
He straight up slugged her in the chest with a fistful of ice, knocking her into the ground.
Pandora's crazier side was shown in this chapter. Much like Karissa back in Mind Control Arc, where she didn't mind injuring Gray if it meant he would survive, she doesn't mind taking drastic measures to ensure her victory and the survival of her loved ones, hence the self harm in the game of chicken. She won't hesitate like Juvia who worried about hurting Gray. If you think about it, her mindset was most likely responsible for Karissa thinking like that. After all, Pandora also teaches Karissa some stuff about fighting and survival.
I hope I did well so far to establish that Karissa isn't just some character with asspull strength. The last thing I want is to write a character whose strength is not explained or proven. And I refuse to write characters who don't shine on their own, need others to protect them or exist to be a poorly written character that just power up for their love interest. Nah. I like my female ocs to stand on their own.
The part about Pandora talking about leaving Karissa and Vanitas behind was actually a flashback in chapter 11.
About Ultear, I like to think that if she saw a girl replacing her, then she would feel more bitter about it. It should be painful to see that your mother not only took on two boys to replace you but also a girl, like, as if she wanted a new daughter. Ultear hates Karissa which is why she wanted Karissa to suffer by killing her sister. This felt much more personal than Ultear trying to kill Juvia to hurt Gray.