Façade
Chapter 3: Erza's S-Class Trial
Year X780
Everyone was growing excited for the S-class trials, mainly because Makarov chose Fairy Tail's Titania for the trial the succeeding year Jellal had taken it. The guild master already granted him the title of an S-Class wizard. Both Laxus and Jellal had passed the trial that year, the other candidates marveling at the two younger children who held up against Gildarts.
It surprised Laxus that Jellal was able to fight Gildarts on an equal footing.
Erza felt apprehensive, she was counting on being the youngest female S-Class wizard. The candidates chosen to Erza's knowledge were Cana, Bickslow, Macao, and a few others Erza couldn't recall.
She and Jellal were training—more so for her sake—for the upcoming S-Class trial. They were outside of Magnolia in Shirotsume Town. There was a small community and lots of rural land, suitable for practicing without causing destruction to any infrastructure. Wielding a sword, Erza practiced her Knight Requip Magic, which ultimately came to her after mastering Telekinesis.
She flawlessly dodged Jellal's attacks, having mastered her swordsmanship unlike Jellal; who proficiently wielded it during his younger years. Her heart thumped like the clock ticked, a one, two, and three. Erza twisted her wrist so she could use her sword to loosen Jellal's grip on his. Successfully, she took it out of his grip and seized it midair. She panted heavily, tumbling onto the turf while Jellal smiled in content. She concluded, "You were going easy on me, weren't you?"
"Well, no, I-"
"You were, Jellal. Let's face it, I'm no match for you, it's no wonder you made it to S-Class at such a young age."
"Don't let Laxus get through to you, everyone has potential if they strive for their goals. You can win this, just focus." From a distance, Erza could tell he had something on his mind which was bothering him.
"It seems you're the one that can't focus," laughed Erza, poking his cheek. "Is everything alright?"
"Everything's fine, with time comes obligation. You know that better than anybody else Erza, scolding almost everyone in the guild." He stared at the scenery up ahead, the sun was setting.
Erza turned to watch the sunset, "Not really, I have so many weaknesses."
"You do not need to fix anything, Erza. You're a great person just the way you are."
She nodded, acknowledging the meaningful compliment. She rose, "Well, it's getting dark. Let's head back to the guildhall."
They hiked to Magnolia, as there was no train station. Shirotsume was a tiny town contiguous to Magnolia. There was no need for transportation in the village barely populated compared to Era and Crocus.
When they returned, they could see Happy tagged along with Natsu and Lisanna, who were holding an outstretched map of the municipality. Lisanna carried a knapsack behind her, ready to travel for a few days. Jellal approached them, and Lisanna jumped up and down in delight.
"Hello Jellal!" she addressed, hugging him.
"Hey Lisanna, where are you and Natsu off to?"
Natsu confidently answered him with his hands on his hips. "We're on the greatest and most secret mission of all time!"
"Ah, is that so?"
Lisanna giggled, "That's not true, we want to explore Magnolia. We haven't really done anything since we joined Fairy Tail other than take on job requests and attend the Fantasia Parade. We want to try something different."
Jellal advised them to stay away at this hour. "Magnolia's a big place, you can get lost in the fairs and restaurants. I'm specifically referring to Natsu."
Natsu scrolled up the map and tucked it in his messenger bag. "Don't you worry Jellal, we're big kids. We can handle this all by ourselves."
Mirajane approached the three outside the guildhall with Erza, who crossed her arms when she scowled at Natsu. "And just where are you taking my sister?"
Erza rolled her eyes, "Stop interrogating them, Mira. Let her be friends with Natsu."
"I can't have Lisanna associate with one of the members from Team Erza."
"And when did we make such ridiculous team names?"
"It was a tacit agreement, now shut your mouth before I hurt Pinky and you."
Erza gritted her teeth, "What did you say?"
Mirajane yelped when Erza grabbed her ponytail, undoing her hair. Mirajane retaliated by pulling on Erza's leg, dragging her to the floor.
"That's it Mirajane Strauss, you're dead tonight!"
"I wanna see you try, Scarlet."
Jellal let them be and snuck Lisanna and Natsu out into the streets while the other two clashed. It was hard to avoid them since they were all over the place, wrecking their fighting arena instead of their rival.
Entering the guildhall as if nothing went down, Makarov called him over, signalling for him to sit on a bar stool. Jellal obliged and sat on the heightened seats, awkwardly making eye contact with Makarov.
"Mest! Mest! Where are you kiddo, come here!" shouted Makarov, as an obscure figure approached Makarov. This young man had a scar across his left part of the face, sporting a colourful shirt that went well with his short black hair. Jellal had never seen him around the guildhall which wasn't unusual since he limited his conversations to the children his age. But he'd seen people like Macao and Wakaba around frequently, perhaps he took on long jobs like Gildarts.
"Ah, Mest, this is Jellal. He's an S-Class wizard of our guild. And he'll be assisting you with the infiltration mission."
"What infiltration mission? I'm not aware of anything, sir," Mest inquired. Jellal should've not been surprised, but he laughed briefly. As foreseen, Makarov didn't disclose any information. After spending years in the guild, the unordinary was the new normal.
"Master has a bad habit of running his mouth at the wrong time."
Makarov coughed, grabbing their attention. "Jellal, I want you to work with Mest in order to infiltrate the Magic Council."
Mest gaped at the guild master, "Us? Infiltrate the Magic Council? How are we supposed to do that?"
"That's where you come in, but I'm sure it won't be difficult. All I need everything about the Western Continent, Alakatasia. The Magic Council possesses vital information concerning the matter. See to it you can get everything about it."
Jellal crossed his arms, "Master, I don't follow. Why should we infiltrate the council for something so trivial? There are plenty of maps and ancient scriptures regarding empires, Alakatasia's probably bigger than it seems."
Mest clenched his teeth, concurring with Jellal. "That sounds more like pilfering."
"It's not stealing, all I want is information about a continent, nothing more. To top that, there's nothing recorded about this continent. You two are qualified for this task, and it should get us on the council's good side if two members of Fairy Tail join their team."
"I'll do it, but you must give me some time Master. I'd like to do some of my own investigation. If this is an infiltration, I'll have to plan this out." Jellal had taken an interest in this new mission. Especially if it concerned a new concept. He had learned almost everything there was to know about Ishgar, the neighboring countries, Fiore's status, everything. He heard rumors about Alakatasia's recently established empire, but nobody confirmed his suspicions. Now was the opportunity to learn more about this mysterious continent.
Makarov nodded and pointed towards Mest, who replied, "I'll do it too, but I'll wipe out my memory!"
The old man shook his head, "That won't be necessary."
"No, I insist! After all, it is an infiltration mission."
Makarov thought it wasn't a bad idea and gave Jellal a long glance before adding, "No telling Erza or the others."
Jellal sheepishly grinned, originally he was planning on telling her. Judging by the look on his face, Makarov figured out exactly what he would do.
Erza had defeated Macao in the forest. He nursed his wounds, resting against a tree. Bickslow, Erza and Cana remained.
"All right, I'll start this, Shuriken cards come forth!" Cana brought out cards that could slice through any physical object. She held her hand out for a lengthy moment, holding her cards in place until they all lined up in front of her. Erza sighed, the first person to make the move in a three-way fight would usually lose in a battle. That was the one rule she drilled into her head while taking on missions.
Erza casually sliced through the cards with her spear, which reduced the cards to a pile of rubble. Bickslow jumped multiple times, avoiding the cards because he didn't retaliate.
"Seems like that attack was futile Cana, I'll be taking this victory." Erza steadied her spear, holding it out with both hands, one sharp edge aligned with her shoulder. The ends were as tall as her, making it easy to coordinate her movements. Erza pivoted her foot away from the ground and lunged towards Cana, knocking her out with a smooth swing of her spear. With no time to react, Cana flew towards a tree and landed below it, tired out.
"Hey Erza, she's just a kid! I told you to go easy on her!" Gildarts sourly glanced at Cana, who lay on the floor while inhaling the fresh air. The trees swaying added to the nostalgic feeling.
Bickslow inwardly gulped at the thought of Erza taking out a little girl like Cana. She was the embodiment of a warrior, chivalric and honorable. "This chick's crazy, knocking a little girl out like that."
Bickslow heaved a sigh, he knew better than to go easy on Erza. Erza's eyes glowed with a newfound predatory gaze, a triumphant look. "You're next."
Erza's body from neck below radiated golden light as she requipped into armor from her space dimension. In a matter of seconds, she was clad in her Armadura armor, with twin intricately designed metal blades. She leaned back, and Bickslow predicted she would dash towards him any second. But she sent the sword in her right hand flinging towards Bickslow, who dodged it by sidestepping it, until the blade struck his left shoulder blade, returning to its wielder.
He gasped, aware of his injury which limited his ability to move his arm properly. No matter though, he stood there grinning maniacally.
"Very interesting," he clapped in amusement as he pushed his helmet away from his eyes.
"Um, Jellal…what's that?" questioned Wally, pointing to Bickslow's glowing eyes.
Jellal's eyes widened when he set his attention to Bickslow, "Possession magic…if someone makes eye contact with him, Bickslow can manipulate them."
Erza ran towards him at full speed with her blades in hand, ready to attack him.
Bickslow held out his arm, "I order you to stab yourself."
Erza gasped when she did as commanded, jamming her small sword in her left thigh. She let out a small cry, panting heavily to soothe the pain. She kneeled on one knee, seething as she tried dragging her leg with her. The dull ache never receded as she knelt on the grass. Moving around, she realized only one of her eyes was doing and looking where she was ordered to do so. Erza still had control over her right side of the body and closed her left eye. Out of the trance, she ran towards him and delivered melee kick to his lips, causing Bickslow to double over. He wheezed, unable to understand how she remained standing.
"H-how?" he saw Erza's left eye shut tightly and recalled Makarov mentioning something about Erza's artificial eye.
Bickslow summoned his dolls and positioned them into a pentagon, generating a whirlwind and forcing Erza to plant her feet into the ground as the force was overwhelming. She changed back into her Heart Kreuz armor because the Armadura armor was draining her magical energy. In exchange she summoned her Spear of Lightning staff in one hand, placing it against the ground. "Never thought I'd have to use this spell for such a measly trial. Oh well, you were a formidable opponent while it lasted. Baryon formation!"
"Meow, what's that magic?" asked Millianna in wanderlust as the vessels for the souls circled Bickslow obediently.
Jellal studied the tiny dolls, a dreadful look marring his countenance. "He uses Seith magic? But that's dark magic if his spells can work with corpses or spirits."
Simon frowned, "So technically there are human spirits inside the vessels?"
"Yes, the spirit of corpses are trapped inside those dolls. They can form powerful spells if there's enough of them."
He threw the whirlwind towards Erza as it came fast towards her, knocking the breath out of her. Many of the mages gasped as the magic attacked her with inhuman force. Erza crossed her arms in front of her, trying to block the attack. She tumbled backwards, rolling on the floor from the impact. The mud stained her face and elbows; she reached for her waist, wincing in pain as she came into contact with it. She felt like her ribcage broke, perhaps this was going too far for an S-Class trial.
She turned to Makarov, who silently observed the fight without any issues.
"I believe I've won the trial?" Bickslow announced. Nobody expected Erza would lose, despite her young age. She was a fighter, a discipliner, not a loser. Anything but that.
Sho frowned, "She's…down? Just like that?"
Jellal was at a loss for words, she couldn't have been down for the count. Erza was much more durable, despite having fought off so many people.
Erza coughed as the dust cleared away, her legs struggling to stand. She held her staff facing towards Bickslow and chuckled softly, watching him shriek in anguish. Her spear successfully hit him, the magic electrifying him. Her Lightning Flame Empress armor was strong enough to withstand Laxus's magic.
He gave a look of sheer surprise, "How did you even survive that blast!?"
She gave a pitiful smile, "Were you trying to kill me?" Erza didn't hesitate and used the remainder of her magic to summon a large sword, proceeding to strike him with full force. Freed watched in shock as his friend was being defeated and thrown around by Erza.
"I'm not—ugh—I'm not done yet..." Bickslow stood his ground, raising his finger and separating the index and middle finger, generating a beast in front of everyone.
Erza remained unfazed as the monster appeared before her, roaring loudly to her face. "This is my most powerful spell yet, I'm sure it'll take you down."
The giant had clawed Erza out of the way, forcing her to hit a tree with a violent bang. She clutched her abdomen, relinquishing her hold on her weapon. She couldn't even yell, only grunt in pain.
"Erza!" yelled Sho, watching her get taken out by the beast.
Her skirt was torn from the bottom, and her knees were red and raw from the injuries. Her custom-made chest plate started chipping away from the outer layer. Her mouth hung open as the monster kept biting his claws into her.
Erza patted her armored hand on the floor until she could feel her sword. She gripped it and threw it at the monster's chest, causing it to withdraw slightly with a howl.
Erza quickly got on her knees as Bickslow's magic energy was draining.
"You're controlling the monster, aren't you?" assumed Erza, watching his hands act as a string controlling his puppets.
Bickslow chuckled, "I wouldn't worry about that if I were you, this monster will take you out with a final hit."
She ran underneath the monster and set her course towards Bickslow. "I don't need to fight the beast when all I have to do is hit the possessor."
Erza used the same sword in her hand and swung the blade into his midriff, producing a substantial scar. He gradually collapsed to the ground, wincing in pain.
"I-I surrender," grimaced Bickslow as the injuries rendered his body useless.
The crowd roared as the tension dropped. Erza came out on top with ragged clothes as she raised her sword high. The rain had fallen upon everyone; Erza closed her eyes and slumped to the ground, practically unconscious.
"It's too bad I wasn't able to compete this year," sighed Mirajane as she watched Erza emerge victorious.
"Did you see that, Mira? Erza's so manly!" roared Elfman.
"She might be even stronger than you, Mira," giggled Lisanna.
"I'll prove my worth next year, hopefully, I come out on top."