"What's the situation?" Ryker asked.
Erza stared at him. "They surrounded us, I believe we have fallen into a trap. Their mages are very well trained and are complicating things for us. They are outnumbered and attacking us from all sides at the same time," she replied.
"That's what I thought. This was all already planned. He really wants us dead," Ryker said.
The Requip mage gave him a startled look. "Do you think the guild is under attack?"
"I'm sure".
"And you left them alone!", the redhead looked at him irritated and indignant.
"Calm down, Erza," Mira said, defending Ryker. "We made a plan and Elfman, Cana and the others are ready for it."
The redhead stares at her rival and sighs, trying to calm down. "What do you think is happening?"
"They divided us into three groups. Yours is the strongest so they set this ambush with the best they had. All under the boss's eye. So I thought I'd better come help. I have faith that Laxus and the guild will get along well," Ryker explained.
"Thank you, you will be of great help", Erza replied feeling a little more relieved. "Wendy, if you're okay, take care of the wounded."
"Yes, Erza-san", she ran to heal Lucy and Gajeel who were most injured, while the others took cover.
Karan and Ivan looked at the newcomers. Ivan's face was more worried than Karan, who was calm and carefree. On the contrary, he had a crooked, victorious smile on his face and a cold look at the whole situation.
"Aren't you worried about their arrival? That might complicate things for us," Ivan said, looking at Karan's irritating calm.
"Learn to relax, Ivan. In my plans I counted on them facing us. Now everything is as I planned," Karan replied. "Tell me, Ivan. What do you think of this Ryker guy?" he looked at his subordinate coldly.
Ivan looked at him for a few seconds and then turned his attention back down to where the Fairy Tail mages were. "When I saw him fighting Porla it was impressive. He fought six and nearly died, but won in the end. He is very strong and well trained and acts differently from other Fairies. I can tell he is brutal and has no problem killing if necessary."
"I see," Karan smiled. "Now he will fight hundreds, thousands. There's no way to survive. Come on Ivan, let's enjoy their death from the best place," he chuckled sadistically.
Below, on the chaotic battlefield, Wendy was healing Lucy, while being protected by Natsu who was fighting the black mages. It took a few minutes before the blonde mage was fully healed and in good condition.
"How is Lucy-san feeling ?" Wendy asked.
"I'm fine, Wendy, thanks," she replied. "And the others?".
"I already healed Gajeel-san and Carla", Wendy said, dispelling the Celestial mage's worries.
"Who knew, Gajeel needing help. Want a hand, Spinhead ?" Ryker teased him with a sarcastic expression.
Gajeel glared at him. "Fuck you, you idiot. Pay attention to the fight and let me finish these bastards."
Ryker smiled at him and turned his attention to the enemies. Despite their apparent enmity, the two developed a good friendship, and Gajeel had a slight smile, discreet it is true, at his teasing.
Mira, in her Satan Soul form, attacked the black mages with everything she had. She was surrounded by several enemies who were attacking her at the same time, both in melee combat and at a distance, with magic. She improved her combat skills with Ryker's help, as a result she could with most of them. She blocked the blows and counterattacked with her magic brutally.
Jellal and Erza protected each other's backs, avoiding attacks in their blind spots. Changing positions constantly, the pair were able to confuse their opponents and attack them with force, giving little chance of defense.
Wendy and Carla made another good pair, with one helping and protecting the other. They attacked together and defended together, leaving little room for dark mages to attack both. Their attacks were powerful, more than usual. They used their internal energy as a way to increase the power of attacks, knocking out or knocking out many of the enemies.
"Wendy, be careful using this. You and Carla aren't 100% yet, if you use too much you'll run out of strength", Ryker warned, as he took care of his own opponents.
"Yes, Ryker, don't worry," Wendy replied, concentrating on the battle.
Lucy was in her Taurus robe, lashing out at her enemies, while defending herself with her whip from opposing attacks.
Natsu, along with Happy, brutally attacked enemies with his flames. He was seething with rage, for what they'd done to his friends, and now he wanted revenge. The Fire Mage's attacks were terrible and brutal, knocking dozens of mages fighting him to the ground. Even surrounded, the Dragon Slayer was able to easily fight everyone, his strength surpassing most of them. Gajeel was no different from Natsu. With the help of Phanter Lily, they defeated countless enemies.
Gray and Juvia, fighting side by side, were nearly unbeatable. They were surrounded, enemies from all sides were attacking them with magic and melee all at the same time. Juvia's water form protected her from most attacks and Gray had his methods of protecting himself, however, when the couple joined forces there were no opponents for them. The combined magic and rapport they possessed was a beautiful thing to behold. They moved in sync, defending and attacking at the same time, using Unison . Raid them, wiping out their enemies in seconds. There was nothing the black mages could do against those two.
Lisanna was quick and agile, switching her Take Over as the situation called for, choosing the animal that would help her the most at the moment. She did it with intelligence, and her agility confused enemy troops, who had no way of hitting her. She defeated many with this strategy and getting close to her sister, they combined their forces and switched places, confusing and disorienting their opponents.
Ryker fought brutally and violently, incapacitating his opponents mercilessly. He was used to and had experience in combat against many, something that Ivan and Karan didn't know, as they had no idea of his origin. Ryker fought with proficiency and precision. The way he fought impressed the black mages and scared them with the ferocity and coldness he had. They were sure that many who were defeated by Ryker had lost some limbs or would not be able to walk again if they survived. Ryker looked at them coldly, his eyes fixed on his targets, determination, violence, brutality and death welling up from them. Many retreated and refused to attack him out of fear.
From the top of the cliff, Karan and Ivan watched the fight, impressed with what they were witnessing. Karan laughed happily, after taking a good look at the battlefield and Ivan looked at him without understanding anything.
"What are you laughing about? We're losing!", Ivan said worried about the turn of events.
"No, your idiot! Learn to read the battle. We're going to win, that's a fact", Karan said and Ivan was surprised by his master once again. He did as his boss said and looked at the battle, analyzing everything he could.
Karan watched him and then said, "See!? Fairy Tail is winning it's true, but they're trying their hardest, feel the energy emanating from them and their attacks. They are not comfortable, to win they are giving everything they have", Ivan paid more attention and realized what Karan meant. "We still have a lot to offer, they not so much. As my planning foresaw", Karan turned to Ivan smiling sadistically. "Make the fairies suffer... Hehehe !" he laughed satanic.
Laxus and Thunder God tribe
"Lightning Dragon's breakdown Fist!" Laxus yelled. The blow hit a few enemies in front of him, knocking and stunning them on impact. Then the Dragon Slayer delivered a series of blows with his magic on the black mages, causing them to howl in pain.
"Where did they all come from?" Fried asked, stunned.
"I don't know, but they're strong", replied Evergreen, fighting off countless enemies that surrounded them. Laxus' group was surrounded by a horde of dark mages that appeared out of nowhere and began attacking them. The enemies were in a much higher number , creating an unfair confrontation condition, which made the fight very difficult.
"Concentrate and take them all down," Laxus ordered. "I think we've been caught in a trap", he thought with a serious expression .
"Line Formation!", a bolt of energy shot out of Bickslow 's dolls hitting some opponents. He laughed, sticking out his tongue and turned away. He didn't notice that other enemies were preparing an attack against him, a mighty blow, uniting the magic of several mages, was fired towards him. "X Formation !", Bickslow barely managed to protect himself, using his wrists as a shield, but the attack was too powerful and it broke the defense hitting him, he was thrown meters backwards with his left arm bruised and bleeding.
"Bickslow!" Evergreen and Fried shouted.
Laxus saw his friend get hit and wounded, anger surged through him and he glared at his enemies. Evergreen and Fried tried to break through their opponents and get to their fallen friend, however the fight was too arduous and they had to worry about their own safety.
"Damn it, we won't get to Bickslow this way!" Fried said, fearing for his companion's safety.
Laxus had his own problems, the enemies he was facing were far superior to those faced by his companions, as well as outnumbering them. The Dragon Slayer raged. "Resonating through the air, the roar of thunder, plunge from the skies and reap destruction!" he intoned the incantation. A large bolt of lightning descended from above a cluster of enemies hitting them and creating a gigantic explosion, filling the field with dust.
Everyone was shocked by Laxus' devastating power and stood motionless seeing that powerful magic. He turned to where his friends were fighting: " Lightning Dragon's Roar !" he yelled and a blast of electricity shot out of his mouth, clearing the way for Evergreen and Fried to get to Bickslow . "Hurry!" he shouted and they rushed to help their injured friend.
"Is everything okay?" Fried asked helping his fallen friend to his feet.
"I am, just wounded pride," Bickslow replied. Evergreen sighed in relief.
"Did we defeat them all?" she asked.
Fried looked seriously. "Not yet," he replied.
The smoke cleared revealing that Laxus' first attack was blocked by a protective energy sphere surrounding the dark mages, preventing them from being hit by the Dragon Slayer's attack.
"Nice try, Blondie", an exaggeratedly muscular mage spoke sarcastically to the Fairy Tail mage in front of him. "But I think it will take more than that to defeat us. We train tirelessly to kill you all."
"Trained to defeat us? So you're the ones who want to break up our guild?" Laxus asked furiously.
"Look, we have a genius here!", mocked that mage. "I don't have time for explanations. Kill them!" he ordered and the attack resumed.
Hundreds of mages rushed at Laxus and his companions. Fried created a barrier to protect Evergreen and Bickslow from attacks, however, on the other side there was another mage who specialized in runes and broke the barrier easily. The trio was hit by a strong attack and the black mages rushed towards them and they got into intense combat.
Laxus tried to help his friends, but was blocked by hundreds of enemies, including the brawny one, who punched him in the face. The Dragon Slayer felt the blow and was thrown backwards with blood pouring from his mouth. He looked startled at the strength that mage possessed and the damage he did with just that simple blow.
"Do not underestimate him, men. He is one of the most powerful Dragon Slayers. Attack with all and no mercy", the muscular man ordered.
Everyone rushed at Laxus with punches, kicks and firing various spells. The Dragon Slayer was fast and skilled enough to dodge most attacks, but there were too many enemies against him and the blows started to hit him little by little.
Fried was hit in the stomach and vomited blood from his mouth, from another direction a joint blast of several spells hit him in the back, creating a strong explosion throwing him to the ground, he groaned in pain.
"Baryon Formation!", shouted in another corner Bickslow, firing a blast of energy, with his puppets, hitting some enemies. However, from another direction, a strong blast caught him in an explosion. He fell to the ground bleeding and surrounded by enemies.
Evergreen turned some of them to stone and looked away, realizing the difficulty her friends were having during the battle. "Damn it! They are very strong", she said and swatted at some who were coming to attack her.
"And you should pay more attention," a dark mage said, stabbing Evergreen's gut and blood spurted everywhere.
She looked terrified and shocked, seeing herself ooze in blood. "They used the others as a distraction for him to attack me?", she thought and saw everything go dark until she lost consciousness.
Laxus, Fried and Bickslow watched in shock as their friend collapsed in a pool of blood. The mage who stabbed her stood over her motionless body, laughing sadistically and looked at her friends, who stared at him in shock and hatred. He laughed and kicked her body away.
Laxus seethed with rage and tried to run to help her, but the brawny mage kneed him violently in the face. "Where do you think you're going, Blondie? We're not done with our game yet," he said, along with hundreds of other mages, looking madly at the Dragon Slayer.
In Magnolia...
"Where are these damn Fairies?" asked an irritated dark mage walking through the city.
"We attacked their guild and suddenly they dispersed and disappeared," another said.
"Don't stand still you idiots! Search and kill whoever you find," another said.
The black mages spread through the city in groups, looking for the mages of Fairy Tail. They looked for them everywhere, watching for any movement. It didn't take much for them to fire, all over the city you could hear and see explosions going on.
"Bloody idiots. They're destroying the city for anything," Cana said angrily, looking at the destruction they were causing to the city she loved so much.
"We can't just stand here forever. We have to attack them," Macao said .
"Natsu wouldn't just do nothing, he would act. Staying like this won't solve anything!" Romeo argued, feeling frustrated that he wasn't doing anything. Their guild was partially destroyed by the first attack and now they were hiding from those enemies. He wanted to fight back, to get revenge on them.
"Shut up!", Cana snapped angrily. "We have to have a plan first," she pulled out a communication letter. "Elfman, how are things over there?"
"Not good", he said through the letter. "They're everywhere, it's going to be hard to catch them off guard."
"Any ideas Levy?" Cana asked, pulling out another communication letter.
"I'm seeing the position of you and the enemy on the map we created. They are in every corner. I think we need a distraction. Take them somewhere while you move to other places," Levy said. She was in the basement of the guild with a projection map pointing out the location of Fairy Tail mages and enemy mages.
"And how are we going to do that?" Elfman asked.
"Bisca and I can do it," Alzack replied.
"Perfect, we'll be ready," Cana said.
The pair of marksmen moved silently, they were waiting for the arrival of the dark mages outside the city, in a high field where they would have the advantage over the attackers. The two positioned themselves strategically and took aim at some of the enemies. One by one, they were slaughtering the black mages.
"What's going on!?", asked one of them when he saw a companion being hit next to him.
"Those damn fairies are hitting us from that hill," another mage said, pointing in the direction of Bisca and Alzack .
"Destroy everything!", a mage shouted and everyone headed in that direction, giving Fairy Tail the opportunity it needed.
Fairy Tail mages saw their opponents head towards Bisca and Alzack , giving them a chance to move and get out of where they were and position themselves to attack them. Cana and the others knew the city well and it was not difficult for them not to be seen as they positioned themselves.
"Remember what Ryker said. Don't attack them head on, be sneaky", Cana reminded them, through the letters.
"Who would have thought Cana would be this serious," Macao commented.
"It doesn't even look like her. Maybe someone replaced her," Wakaba said .
"Shut up you two idiots!" shouted Cana.
Everyone followed the plan and quickly strategically placed themselves in spots where they could hit the enemies and quickly flee without them seeing him. At Cana's command they fired their spells. One by one, the black mages were hit, unprepared and not expecting to be attacked like that, they did little to defend themselves.
"Shit! What's going on!?", one of them asked.
"I don't know! We got caught from behind, we have some wounded," another replied.
"It's the damn Fairies! Do they think they can trick us!?" another mage said angrily. "Search, look in every alley, street and house. Destroy this city if necessary", he ordered and the others followed his order.
Black mages roamed throughout the city, shooting aimlessly at houses and other buildings, hoping to reveal Fairy Tail's hiding place. However, their movement was being monitored from the underground of the guild.
"They're moving closer to the cathedral, Max," Levy said.
"Go right, they won't be able to see you from that side," Makarov said and sighed.
Levy looked at him and noted his dismay. "What was it master?" she asked.
"I should be helping and protecting them from these bastards who want to hurt our guild," he replied.
Levy smiled gently at him. "But you are doing it from here, master. Besides, you have already done a lot for all of us".
Makarov looked at her gratefully and smiled. "Thank you my daughter. Let's keep guiding our friends, they won't stand a chance against us", he smiled.
Max ran through the city streets until he could see the enemies, near the city cathedral. There were a handful of them, shooting at random and looking everywhere. As the master had said, they weren't seeing him from that position. The sand mage saw the opportunity and, with his sand magic, shot hitting several enemies, who didn't even know what was happening.
"What the fuck is this!?", one of them yelled in bewilderment. At that moment, other companions of his were hit by an explosion, throwing them away and injured.
"They're attacking us, but from where!?", a dark mage asked, feeling despair taking over him.
"There!" another shouted, pointing to Macao and Wakaba , farther away. The mages turned around and used their magic to hit the two Fairy Tails.
Max blocked the attacks with a wall of sand. One of the dark mages saw Max and ran towards him hitting him, but he turned into sand and enveloped the enemy, preventing his movements. Max, in another corner, hit him with his Sand Slash , causing him to roar with the blow.
"But what's going on here?", the black magicians asked themselves confused. " Ahhhh !", they heard screams of pain coming from another part of town, not Fairy Tail. They looked in the direction of the sound and only saw smoke from what looked like another attack on them.
In that part of town Cana hid behind a building after attacking some enemies. "Well, it looks like the plan is working", she thought. " Ahhh...! How I wish I had a drink right now." She could hear that Elfman was fighting at another point, as were the other mages in her guild. "If it continues like this we can defeat them", she told herself and ran to another position.
In Annaheim ...
Ryker kneed one in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain and receive a kick to his face that sent him flying away. Ryker continued fighting several around him, defending and attacking with unbridled violence. He was in his combat mode, eyes glowing red, concentration at maximum level and brutal to the point of intimidating even his guildmates.
"I've never seen him like this," Lisanna commented in amazement.
"He's just fighting seriously. Focus on your opponents, Lis," Mira said.
The two fought side by side and, like Ryker, were giving it all they had. Even so, the battle was difficult and they could not contain all the attacks that came from the opposite side, being hit countless times.
"AH!", Erza screamed as she was caught in the side by a blow.
"Is everything alright Erza?", Jellal asked worriedly.
"Yes, I can still fight," she replied.
"This is not good. They never stop!" Jellal commented.
Lucy, shooting arrows from all sides, Sagittarius was with her helping her, providing cover for her companions. But her strength was slowly draining away and she began to lose her rhythm. Natsu arrived to help her by burning and cleaning the area with his fire magic, but even he began to feel the effects of the prolonged fight.
"Lucy, you don't happen to have any fires around, do you?" he asked.
"Unfortunately not," she said, crestfallen. "Do you think we'll make it? They never seem to get tired."
Natsu looked at her with his usual optimistic smile, which filled her with hope. "Do we ever lose?" he said. Lucy looked at him and smiled, returning to the battle with renewed spirits.
Gajeel, Wendy, Gray and Juvia had their own problems. They were fighting with all their might. They were stronger than the enemies, but there were many of them and this was giving Fairy Tail mages a hard time.
"Looks like we're in a damn looping!" Gajeel huffed in rage.
"There are always fresh mages ready to enter combat. They're very smart," Lily commented. "They're taking turns," he realized.
"Just hit them", Gajeel snapped and they resumed their battle.
"That's not good," Juvia said.
"Pay attention, Juvia. Don't get distracted, we don't have time for that," Gray said.
"Yes, Gray-sama", Juvia attacked their opponents with strong torrents of water and used her magic to attack and block as many enemies as possible.
"Do you have any ideas, Carla?" Wendy asked.
"None," she replied. "Maybe it wasn't a good idea to stay away from Ryker."
"He trusts us, and we train a lot. We can handle it, but it's complicated," the little Dragon Slayer said.
"Together we can", Carla smiled and encouraged her friend.
The fighting was taking up all the ground, in a spectacle of war. Karan ordered the mages on top of the cliffs to begin attacking the mages of Fairy Tail from above. Now they had two concerns. Fairy Tail was being attacked from below and from above, which added to their problems and risks.
There were explosions everywhere and smoke and dust were making things difficult. In the midst of this, Ryker made a sequence of hand seals and a large magic circle appeared on top of the enemies. He stretched his hand forward and lowered it, with that the circle glowed brightly and a shower of spheres fell from it, exploding on contact with the ground, creating a devastated area and scattered bodies. He sighed and took a deep breath, pulling in all the air he could. Ryker looked up at Karan and clenched his brows.
"He's better than I expected. It's as strong, if not stronger, than Natsu," Karan said.
"Do you think it could be a problem?" asked Ivan.
"No. We still have a lot in store," he replied.
Ryker joined Erza and Jellal in combat. The three of them took down enemies one after another, leaving a pile of unconscious bodies in their wake.
"Any ideas, Red?" Ryker asked.
"We're fighting so far apart from each other, it's easy for them to surround us and isolate us even more," she said.
Ryker smiled out of the corner of his mouth. "That's why I adore you," he said, firing blasts of energy at approaching enemies. "I thought the same thing. We're in sync, Erza," he said and looked at Jellal. "Don't be jealous Jellal. We're just friends…now".
Jellal blushed and looked at him with a little irritation. "I am not. Focus on the fight and don't get in the way," he said gruffly.
Ryker smiled slightly. "Shut up you two!" shouted Erza, who was also blushing. "Are you thinking about doing something?" she asked Ryker, leaning her back against his and fighting together, protecting each other. Jellal was frustrated by the scene, but he had more serious things to do at the moment.
"See that guy on top of the cliff?", Ryker asked and Erza nodded. "He must be the leader, if we cut off the snake's head..."
"The body dies," she added.
"Exactly. They won't keep fighting without their boss."
"And how do you intend to do that?" Titania asked.
"A direct attack. It might catch you off guard," he replied.
"Sounds like a good plan."
"There's only one thing bothering me," he said seriously and in a worried tone.
"And what would it be?".
"We're shooting down a lot of his people, and he's always calm. I don't like it when that happens. There's something wrong with that," Ryker said thoughtfully.