Devil Tail

by Shocknawe 425

Nero had gone through a lot since Fortuna, but he never could have been ready for when he entered a world of magic and Wizards. Meeting some wizards and joining tne Fairy Tail Guild, can they handle the Demon Hunter? And will Nero find something truly unexpected? (Inspired by Ultimate10’s Ultimate Fairy). NeroXErza

15. Chapter 15 Nero Vs Erza

And here we are, the next chapter. The Chapter of Nero taking on Erza Scarlet. Been coming for some time. I know in previous chapters, I mentioned creating a chapter similar to the anime series involving episode 2. However, with so many people waiting for the chapter, I figured I'd do it first and do the other chapter later. So with that in mind, the focus is now placed on this chapter.

I'll be posting a poll asking if you want Volcana to appear as a regular character. Speaking of polls, I got the poll results back and in my opinion, the outcome is heavily onesided.

Nero: 28

Erza: 2

Draw: 5

It goes without saying that Nero's the favored winner, and I believe that Nero will win, not just because of his durability and previous feats. But because of the reasoning provided by xNightShroudx.

Speaking of whom, another shoutout to xNightShroudx who gave me a valid reason why Nero would win in a fight against Erza. Despite Erza having more versatility, Nero's unusual weapons are something she has never dealt with before. Red Queen's Exceed system gives the user the ability to hit very hard with excessive amounts of power. The weapon itself isn't made with magic, just mechanics and engineering. Nero has wielded this weapon with immense prowess and training and even if Erza switches to Flame Empress armor for example, then Nero can contain the oil within the blade since the blade is now considered flammable with oil in the Exceed system. Blue Rose is practically designed to counter armor, firing two shots at once, the second just a fraction slower than the first so that both bullets strike the same point twice.

Not to mention Yamato which is sharp enough to slice through practically anything, including dimensions so that counters Erza's Adamantine Armor which is her strongest armor. Also, Nero's Devil Trigger increases his senses, reaction speed, strength, durability, as well as his techniques, giving Nero a higher damage and power output. Also, Nero has Volcana, a new Devil Arm. Plus, Nero's taken some pretty heavy poundings himself ranging from Berial, Bael, Echida, the Savior, and many other demons. And I will be taking into account their personal experiences as well as their stats from "Fandom Vs" Nero or Erza. Look for the link that starts with "vsbattles-.-wikia" and you should find the website I looked at.

Anyway, I'll be giving a little cameo to the Thunder Legion, however, I have every intention of Nero roasting Laxus when Evergreen talks to Nero and tries to get him to join the Legion for a quest.

And as per my promise that I have been forgetting sometimes. This story is inspired by Ultimate Fairy by Ultimate10. Kudos to that guy for giving me the confidence to write this story.

Also: To (Guest), I appreciate the calling out. I am always worried that I am following far too close to the story that inspired this one. The fact that you called me out on it lets me know that I need to trust my own thoughts more. A problem I have is a lack of self-confidence or fear that making my own decisions s won't end well and people won't like what I have in mind. That being said, I'm truly sorry if I am following far too close to his story and basically reiterating what Ultimate10 wrote. That is not my intention, nor was it ever.

However, I do really want to go into depth about Nero's upper limits and show the rest of Fairy Tail that he is truly on a different level. So circumstances will be much different but a memory scene will come. I'm sorry but I figured that would be the best way to truly show Nero's abilities. Also, it would also serve to explain what happened to Kyrie and why she and Nero aren't together. Also, it would allow me to do some easter eggs or cameos from other media, mainly things from Monster Hunter, a few other things, basically iconic creatures that could make good demons. I'm sorry about that but the circumstances for entering his mind will be different.

Looking back at a little request I made about what title Nero should have, I actually came up with one. Since Nero used to be a Knight for the Order, I figured it would do to make a sort of nod to it. Which is why the title I came up for Nero was 'The Unholy Knight of Fairy Tail.' Nero was basically a punk growing up and since he is part demon, it seems fitting that his title would be this. An homage to Fortuna and his previous Knighthood.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

---

Devil Tail

Chapter 15: Nero Vs. Erza

"Thank you, Ms. Kyrie!"

Nero smiled as Kyrie handed a bouquet of flowers to the little girl. Kyrie had requested that Nero was to go with her as she went to go pick up flowers for the city hospital. She planned to give a bouquet to each patient, hoping that the flowers would keep their spirits up, and encourage them to not give up on the hope of recovery. They were just about to head for the hospital when a little girl, one that Kyrie had watched over before, had approached them asking for a bouquet. Apparently, the hospital announced the arrival of the flowers, and the girl wanted to be the one to give her ailing mother the flowers personally.

With a story like that, Nero had to admit that even he would have given her a bouquet.

Kyrie smiled as the girl waved good-bye. She then turned towards Nero but was surprised by his amused expression, "What is it?" she asked shyly as she met his gaze.

Nero chuckled, "Nothin'. Just watching you be your usual, charitable self, is all," He then gave her a genuine smile, "You did good."

Kyrie returned the smile. "I'd like to think so..."

Grinning, Nero playfully shoved her. "Well, c'mon. Don't we have to go deliver these flowers?"

The young girl giggled before pushing the cart onward towards the hospital, with Nero by her side.

---

Gray's House, Magnolia

Nero sat up suddenly in his bed as he felt a bit of a cold sweat on his forehead. His breathing was haggard, like the last dream he had. Back when he helped Natsu do a quest on Galuna Island. The hunter groaned as he rubbed his eyes, he didn't understand why he was having these nightmares or dreams.

Sighing to himself, he threw the sheets off his bed and started to get an earlier start to his day. He had been living with Gray for some time, at least until he could afford to buy his own place. And from the jobs he's taken, it shouldn't be long until he has enough to pay for a downpayment.

The guestroom that he had been living in was nothing special; just a desk, chair, bed, closet, and dresser.

As the hunter got dressed, he decided to bring Red Queen and Blue Rose along to do some early morning training. He couldn't sleep and training might clear his head a bit. Silently, Nero snuck out of Gray's house to see the sun just barely creeping over the trees. Taking a quick breath, the hunter started the first portion of his training with an early jog.

As the hunter left Gray's home, he failed to notice Devil Bringer pulsing faintly. Tiniest of sparks emanating from the limb as parts of it flickered orange.

---

Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Magnoila, Fiore

Despite the Guildhall still unfinished, it was still in good enough shape that some wizards, who weren't doing construction were taking breaks or relaxing at the recently built bar but things were far from calm there at the moment. The Devil's Hand Team entered the hall. However, Nero had been missing strangely.

Natsu burped out a torrent of fire, "Man, that was a good breakfast," He noted; a satisfied smile on his face.

"Aye sir," Happy replied, flying right by.

"I wonder why Nero couldn't join us though." Lucy pondered.

Gray shrugged, "I went to ask him this morning but he wasn't anywhere in my house."

"That's odd," Erza commented, "I wonder where he could be," Then, without glancing at Gray, the redhead ordered sternly, "Gray, put your clothes back on."

The ice wizard blinked before he looked at himself. True enough, he had stripped down to his boxers, "CRAP!" he panicked.

Natsu laughed hard at his rival, "Ha! What a loser!"

Gray glared back and got in the Dragon Slayer's face, "WHAT'D YOU SAY, PYRO!?"

"I SAID YOU'RE A LOSER, YOU ICY PRICK!" Natsu shouted back with equal rage, "YOU GONNA DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?!"

Suddenly, before a brawl of fire and ice could break out, Erza appeared by them and slammed their heads together hard. They promptly collapsed to the ground next to each other while the red bumps on their foreheads throbbed in pain.

"No!" Erza yelled, "You've already caused enough damage to the Guild Hall. There will be NO fighting! Am I clear?"

Natsu and Gray both groaned before they replied, "Yes ma'am."

"Erza's super serious today," Lucy commented.

"That's Erza for yah," Happy replied.

Soon, the team was gathered in the bar area at a table. While other wizards were busy chatting amongst themselves, the Devil's Hand Team were a little curious about some of the events that happened when Lucy was captured by the Devil.

"What happened to that Devil?" Natsu asked Lucy as he, Gray, Happy, and Erza sat at a table. The Dragon Slayer wasn't too happy that he couldn't join in the fight with Nero and Erza against the Devil, Hell Pride, and Hell Vanguard.

"Apparently, when a Devil is defeated by a more powerful demon, they surrender their soul to the one that defeated it," explained Erza as she ate her strawberry cake, "So when Nero defeated the Devil, she surrendered her soul to him."

"So he basically owns her now?" asked Gray, not entirely certain how to feel about the situation and the concept of basically owning a being.

"He said it's more like me when I form contracts with spirits," interjected Lucy, "it's a mutual agreement, or so he's said."

"Still, a flaming guitar," thought Natsu aloud as a line of drool came out of his mouth, thinking about all the fire. He could eat.

"Natsu, you're drooling again," pointed out Happy.

Before anything else could be said, the doors to the guild hall opened, prompting everyone to turn to the entrance. Entering was Nero who had his hands in his pockets.

"Morning all," greeted Fairy Tail's demon hunter as he strolled into the hall.

"'Bout time you showed up!" barked Natsu as a wide grin formed on his face while his fist engulfed in flames. The Dragon Slayer shot to his feet as he as soon as he saw Nero, "I want you to fight me!"

"Pretty sure we went over this last week," drawled the platinum blonde as he rolled his eyes. Ever since he joined, Natsu has basically challenged Nero at any given moment, despite the hunter telling 'no' a dozen times over, "besides, can't really do that right now."

"Whatever it is, it can wait; because here I come!" Natsu leaped up into the air with an evil smile and fire in both his hands; the hunter rolled his eyes as he held up Devil Bringer, Spectral Bringer appearing as well.

The ethereal hand was contorted in a way that looked like he was about to flick some dust away. And in this case, the dust was Natsu. The Dragon Slayer had nowhere to go as Nero literally flicked him away with enough force to send him flying across the guild hall where the pink haired mage crashed into a wall, thankfully not breaking through.

Everyone looked on in shock and surprise. Mainly because of how easily Nero took down Natsu. However, the Dragon Slayer wasn't down as he was right back on his feet and charged towards Nero.

Natsu leaped at him with his fist cocked back, "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"

However, right before his fist collided with the hunter, Nero vanished and appeared right behind him, Devil Bringer holding onto his ankle. Before the mage could react, the part demon flipped him around in the air before setting him down and smashed his head into Natsu's hard enough that the Dragon Slayer stumbled before falling back with stars in his eyes. Everyone looked on in shock and surprise.

"WHOA!" Happy exclaimed, "Nero just beat Natsu by headbutt!"

"Natsu, running in and trying to punch everything to a pulp isn't a good strategy or thought process," reprimanded the hunter as he cracked his neck.

Some of the other Fairy Tail wizards had also witnessed the scene. Wakaba and Macao, who were sitting at a table enjoying their beer, stared in awe and disbelief.

"Whoa," Wakaba gapped, "did you see that?"

"Yeah," nodded Macao, just as shocked as his friend, "he took him down like he was nothing."

Erza looked on with wide eyes. She too along with the other mages who witnessed the spectacle was dumbfounded. Another part of her was impressed that Nero had defeated Natsu with hardly any effort but was smart enough to not break anything.

"Maybe next time, think of a strategy before you charge in fists blazing," quipped Nero as he stepped over Natsu to the table.

"He certainly does things with style," Cana commented from her barstool.

"No kidding," Gray agreed.

"Still can't believe you fight demons for a living," Elfman muttered.

Nero glanced over at the white-haired giant, a toothy grin forming, "A smart guy once said, 'there is no greater danger then underestimating your opponents.' Which is why I trash talk Devils. Get them mad, get under their skin, and when they least expect it. I go in for the kill. Besides, you shouldn't judge some's strength by their size, but the size of their strength."

Erza smiled in agreement and admiration. Those were wise words indeed.

Elfman seemed to agree with Nero's logic, and remarked, "HA! Now that's manly!"

He slapped the hunter across the shoulder, Nero stumbling slightly as he almost fell forward. Looking back, he glared at Elfman, who sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. After a second, he shook his head while rolling his eyes before he jabbed a chair from another table and spun it around to sit in.

"It is good to see you, Nero," greeted Erza

"Same," he replied.

"Where were you, Nero?" asked Lucy, remembering that Nero had vanished and was missing from their breakfast, "You missed breakfast with us."

"And you sneaked out of my house without a word this morning too," Gray added.

"Right...," said Nero sheepishly scratching the back of his head, "Woke up kinda early and couldn't find myself able to get back to sleep. Decided to go for a run and train a bit. Guess I lost track of time."

"No wonder you beat Volcana so easily," said Lucy, understanding how the hunter defeated the demon in record time.

"Who's Volcana?" asked Elfman, crossing his arms across his chest. He and Mira approached the table, while Cana, who was drinking a mug of beer, turned her gaze to the group.

"Remember when those demons attacked?" brought up Nero as he turned to face the giant and his sister, both of which nodded, "Well, Volcana is the Devil who the Hell Vanguard was referring to."

"His 'Mistress'?" Mira guessed, to which the hunter nodded.

"Turns out, the reason she attacked was to get revenge on Dante, my uncle, for when he defeated her sister, Nevan," he elaborated, "knowing she wasn't powerful enough to beat him, she decided to go after me as a way to hurt him since I'm his only biological family."

"Yeah, Lucy talked about that," interjected Happy, "She said that the devil surrendered her soul to you."

"Mm-hm," hummed Nero, "it's part of Devil tradition or culture; whenever a devil is defeated, they will surrender their soul to the devil who defeated them. Becoming a Devil Arm."

"What's that?" asked Gray.

"This," was all Nero said as he held out Devil Bringer. Orange flames swirled around the demonic appendage for a second, the blue glow was replaced with an orange as the flames started to form into a shape in the hunter's hands. The flames grew brighter, forcing some of the closest mages to shield their eyes until the flames faded.

When they did, the mages looked back and saw the Devil Arm Volcana.

"That's the Devil Arm?!" asked Happy in total awe, "It looks awesome!"

"Now that's manly!" agreed Elfman.

"So what does it do?" asked Gray.

Instead of answering, Nero just smirked and flipped the guitar around into a ready position. With his hands in position, he strummed the instrument, creating several small streams of fire that shot up into the air and swirled around. Deciding to show off a little, the hunter played the guitar riff used in 'Money For Nothing' by the Dire Straits. The wizards listened in awe as Nero played the riff, the flames vanishing once he finished.

"THAT IS AWESOME!" shouted Natsu as he jumped into the fray.

"Aw man," Gray groaned, annoyed, "I was hoping he'd stay down there all day."

Natsu turned his attention to Nero, and pointed right at the demon hunter, "I have to try those flames!"

"Forget it, Natsu," stated Nero as he took the guitar away and held it in Devil Bringer, "This is demonic fire. Last thing I need is for you to kill yourself."

"C'MON!" shouted the Dragon Slayer, a vein throbbing on his forehead.

However, before the two could get into an argument, the guitar started sparking as bolts of energy jumped from Devil Bringer into the instrument. The Demon Hunter looked down at the instrument in confusion, while the wizards all looked down at it as well.

"What the hell?" demanded Nero as he looked at the instrument.

All of a sudden, the guitar erupted into flames, unlike previous times, when he was unaffected by the flames, Nero let out a sharp cry of pain. The entire instrument glowed brightly until it was consumed in flames. The fire burned him.

"NERO!" shouted his team as the hunter held his hand.

"What the hell was that?" demanded Nero as he looked at the burning guitar as the flames rose into a column. As the flames grew, they suddenly reached a size before forming into a shape.

"What the heck is it doing?" demanded Gray, looking at the flames.

However, as this was happening, Nero narrowed his eyes as he saw a figure forming.

"No-fucking-way," he growled as his left hand drifted to Blue Rose.

Soon, the flames began to fade and reveal a very familiar figure. Lucy's breath froze as her eyes went wide. Erza narrowed her eyes as she summoned two swords while Mira looked in shock. Gray, Natsu, and Elfman are growled as they got ready for a fight.

"Well, Natsu...," said Volcana in a sassy tone as the flames revealed her form and her hair wafted free, "If you wanted a taste of me, I think it's my decision."

"What the hell is going on?" demanded Nero as his left hand rested on his revolver, "How the fuck are you here, Volcana?"

"Watch the language, Nero," said the fire demon teasingly as she sat down on the table and swung her legs over so that her position gave a suggestive glance, "there are some children present."

"Who the heck are you?!" shouted Natsu.

"Think about it, flame boy," said Volcana as she cast a glance at him, "I used to be a Devil Arm, and where did Nero get that?"

It took Natsu a good minute to think about what she was talking about. However the pieces did finally click into place and his angered expression intensified, "YOU'RE THE DEMON THAT KIDNAPPED LUCY!"

"Bingo," chuckled the demoness, "but, if we're being real, I didn't do the kidnapping personally. Besides, I wasn't actually interested in hurting her."

Erza gritted her teeth and shot Volcana a dangerous look, "I don't mind the fact that no harm came to her, but you still abducted her!"

Volcana merely scoffed, "You got her back didn't you though?"

Nero, meanwhile, was completely silent as he stared at the fiery, redhead demoness, eyes narrowed as he pulled the hammer back. He could definitely relate to his friend's emotions towards Volcana; considering what she did, however, he was still curious about how she was here.

"What's going on here?" an elderly voice asked.

The Guild turned to see Master Makarov standing at the semi-finished entrance of the building. He glanced around the area to see that no damage had been done (thank goodness) and several mages standing around the table where a redhead woman sat, a devilish grin on her face.

"Hmm...," hummed the old master, looking at the situation, before he quipped, "Seems like we have an uninvited guest."

"Charmed," said Volcana as she got off the table to stand beside Nero, the hunter tensing, but didn't draw his weapon.

"What happened here?" asked Makarov evenly as his expression hardened.

"I wanna know that too," stated Nero as he turned to look at the devil, "how the hell are you here, Volcana?"

"Well, since you asked, a good place to start is with a certain charm one of you got the day the Hell Vanguard attacked with its Hell Prides," began Volcana, glancing at Levy, "pretty sure you were the one to get the charm, hun."

Before anyone could question her, a look of realization washed over her face. Suddenly, the lithe girl dashed toward the cellar door. A minute later, she came back with the same golden trident trinket. It was the one she, Droy, and Jet received when they finished their job the same day.

"When we finished our mission, we receive this along with our reward. I thought it was just a trinket, but…"

"That is no trinket," Makarov interrupted, extending his hand to hold it. Levy placed the object in his hand, allowing him to scrutinize it keenly, "This is it alright. The runes engraved on here are from an ancient language, they stand for words along the lines of 'growth' or 'increase' or 'empowerment."

"What? What do you mean?" Natsu asked, confused, "What is this thing, and why does it involve her?"

"The Empowerment Charm is true to its name. It increases the magical abilities of any wizard who wields it tenfold," He answered.

The group's eyes widened exponentially while Nero cocked an eyebrow. If a charm like that was so powerful that it could increase a mage's magic ten times, then it wouldn't come as any surprise that some wizards would go after it.

"However, I cannot sense any magic in it," continued Makarov, confused as he turned the charm over to inspect it further.

"How is that possible?" asked Lucy, before glancing at Volcana in a weary manner, "And what does it have to do with her?"

"I think I know," said Nero, entering the conversation, "when Erza was taking it to the cellar, I felt a small shock jump into my arm."

To add emphasis, he raised Devil Bringer, the appendage letting out small sparks of energy.

"Your demonic manifestation is capable of absorbing magic and demonic energy," supplied Volcana as she leaned into Nero, the hunter grimacing slightly, "Meaning, the power of the charm was absorbed by your arm."

"So it's a paperweight now?" deadpanned Gray.

"It would appear so," nodded Makarov as he set the charm down on a table.

"But how are you here?" demanded Nero as he looked her in the eyes.

"Well, the charm gave you the ability to manifest the souls, or the Devils themselves not dissimilar to how your friend Lucy summons spirits to fight alongside you," stated the demon lady with a smile, "When you summoned the Devil Arm, you indirectly returned me to my original form to fight alongside you."

"So you're still a part of Nero?" asked Gray, raising an eyebrow.

"More like a permanent roommate," elaborated Volcana.

"If that's the case," stated Nero, clenching Devil Bringer as he raised it, "guess I better bring you back."

"Whatever you say, master," said Volcana nonchalantly as her body started to turn into flames again, but an evil grin formed as an idea entered her mind, "but just one thing before I go."

"Wha-?!" he started, but the hunter's eyes went wide as saucers as his face blushed bright red as he was on the receiving end of a lustful kiss, courtesy of Volcana when she jumped him. The demon wrapped her arms around his neck and crushed her lips against his. The sudden action caused the hunter to fall over, taking the demon lady with him while everyone in the bar area to look on in shock. A few girls blushed while wizards like Macao, Jet, and Droy drooled and wished they were in Nero's position.

"Never-said-how!" teased Volcana between her kisses before she vanished into flames, the fire swirling around Nero's body before flowing into Devil Bringer.

"Well, this is certainly an interesting development," said Makarov as he hung his head low, "However, I must say, I'm a little envious of you, Nero."

"What?!" demanded Nero as he sat up, whipping his mouth off with his sleeve, "How? What could you possibly be jealous?"

"Because," The dwarf-sized mage laughed giddily, "If all demon ladies are like that, SIGN ME UP AND BRING ON THE LADIES!"

"MASTER!" Mirajane reprimanded.

"Trust me, the last thing you want is to run into a devil lady," stated Nero, while his team helped him up, "Depending on the kind of demon, they'll see you as a toy they can play with until they break it or lose interest in. Or if they're a Succubus, will drain your life force."

"And you know this...," trailed off Gray, giving Nero a suggestive look.

"I know this because I read it in a book," stated the hunter as he brushed his coat off of dust, "And one major lesson throughout that book never take a demon at face value."

"Agreed," nodded Erza as she looked Nero with admiration before she approached him to stand by his side as the hunter finished fixing his coat, "a foe can posses hidden abilities that can be hidden. It is best to keep one's guard up in situations like that."

"A good habit is to gauge how dangerous a target is," shrugged Nero as he cast a glance at Titania, "I'd be lying if I said a demon never caught me by surprise. Kinda like when Natsu did that break dance fire when we fought the first day I was here. Took me by surprise, but just had to reevaluate how to fight him."

Erza allowed a smile to cross her lips, 'I like it when a man is modest. However, I believe he is more powerful than he is letting on.'

"Then perhaps you'd like a greater challenge than Natsu," she offered.

"That means what I think it does?" Drawled Nero as he folded his arms and turned to face her.

Erza smirked. Hearing how Nero defeated Natsu so effortlessly was intriguing; however, it left the redhead wondering how powerful he truly really was. The hunter claimed to fight monster more ferocious than anything faced by the Guild. Which is why she determined that there was only one way to find out how to truly measure Nero's strength.

Suddenly, Erza summoned a silver magical sword into existence, and with quick reflexes, she pointed the tip of her blade at Nero's throat. The hunter was just as quick, drawing Blue Rose and aimed the revolver right at her forehead. The two remained frozen as they stared the other down.

"Is this about me shooting you on Galuna Island? Me defying your orders and calling Makarov a midget? Or is it something else?" Quipped Nero in a lighthearted manner, giving the redhead a sly grin.

The Fairy Queen's expression turned serious as she honed her brown eyes on him. "Nero Sparda," announced Erza, "I challenge you to a one-on-one battle."

All the present Fairy Tail wizards gasped in shock and began talking to each other. Nero meanwhile raised an eyebrow as he offset his aim slightly.

"Whoa," Wakaba remarked, "Erza never challenges anyone; it's usually the other way around."

"More specifically Natsu," Macao mentioned.

"I can't believe it!" Lucy gaped, "Did Erza really just challenge Nero?"

"Aye," Happy said, "Erza doesn't kid around when it comes to a fight."

"Two of the most powerful people in Fairy Tail duking it out," Gray paled a little, "This might get messy."

Nero held his look at the redhead for a moment before he chuckled and removed Blue Rose from her personal space, "You want to fight me? Not that I don't appreciate a good challenge, I gotta know, what brought this on. If this is about Volcana or something else-."

"No," Erza interrupted, "It's nothing personal at all. I just want to gauge how powerful you really are, and there's only one way to test that."

"C'mon Nero!" Elfman routed, "If you're a real man than you'll accept the challenge!"

Soon, more Fairy Tail wizards began to gather from the construction site and cheered for him to accept the challenge. Nero looked between all the mages before returning his gaze back to Erza, who still had her blade pointed at his throat.

"How about it, Sparda? Will you accept? Or are you scared?" Erza smiled teasingly.

"Oh, you're gonna do me that now, huh?" Smirked Nero as he folded his arms and gave her a challenging grin. Though he knew she was teasing him, there was no way he was going to let her get away with that. If this mage in armor wanted to fight him, then he would oblige her. Besides, with everyone behind him rooting for him to accept, how could he disappoint them?

"Alright, Erza, I'll take you on. But just a fair warning. I hope you'll be a gracious loser when I beat you," he returned her teasing with a taunt of his own, earning a grin.

Erza pulled her sword away from his throat, a smile gracing her lips, "Excellent. We'll fight first thing in the morning."

Immediately, everyone broke out into applause. They had all been hard at work for the past couple weeks repairing the Guild Hall. Now, they had something entertaining to break the monotony. Everyone was excited; first thing tomorrow morning, they would witness the fight between the Queen of the Fairies and the Demon Hunter of Magnolia.

---

Gray's Home, Magnolia, Fiore, Nine Hours Later...

"I can't believe you accepted!" stated Gray in shock as he and Nero returned to his home.

Spending the day at the Hall, the main conversation being about who would emerge victorious in the duel between Nero, the Demon Slayer, and Erza, The Fairy Queen of Fairy Tail Guild. It was really interesting to find out and had actually been heard through the town as some villagers were really curious to hear from the Hunter if he thought he was going to win. Safe to say, he kept his usual laid demeanor and told anyone who asked 'well there's only one way to find out.'

"Erza did challenge me," shrugged Nero as he rested Red Queen against a wall in his temporary bedroom while he slung his coat and holster with Blue Rose still in it onto the chair in the room and sat down in it before kicking back and leaning his boots on the table as he looked at Gray who was standing in the doorway, "Plus, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious to find out what makes her so feared."

"But seriously, you accepted a challenge from Erza," stated the ice mage as he looked at the hunter, almost as stunned as when he heard him take her up on the offer, "She never challenges anyone."

"Guess that makes me special," snorted Nero in amusement, folding his arms.

"I don't know if you're just arrogant, confident, or just stupid," sighed Gray as he shook his head. The platinum blond only

"Been called all of the above before," he grunted as he kicked his boots off, "Anyway, see you in the morning."

"Right," nodded Gray as he left Nero to get ready for bed.

The hunter removed his sleeveless hoody, belt, socks, and jeans, wearing only his muscle shirt and boxers. This exposed his right arm almost completely. True to Devil Bringer, his entire right arm had a similar reptilian appearance, small cracks shined an azure glow but subtly changed from demon to human as it reached his shoulder.

The son of the Darkslayer rolled his right arm to loosen his shoulder as he sat down on the bed and gripped Devil Bringer by the wrist. He looked down at the demonic appendage, recounting what had happened today. Essentially, he now had a permanent roommate, and he wasn't too certain what to think about that. If he was being honest, he wasn't that excited or interested that Volcana could take on her previous form, but he would admit, it was handy if he was in a tight spot.

"Thinking about your new arrangement?" asked a familiar voice.

The hunter's head snapped up to see the redhead demon sitting in the desk chair. Her legs were crossed one over the others as she leaned on her left elbow and rested her chin in her hand. Her right hand rested in her lap as she gave him a small smile. It wasn't like previous smiles where it was lustful and held an underlying tone. This one seemed... genuine.

"Don't recall summoning you," stated Nero sharply as he narrowed his eyes and stood up.

"That's because you didn't," answered Volcana as she adjusted herself to sit back in the chair, folding her hands in her lap, "but it doesn't mean I can't speak to you."

"Great," he drawled, "I've got a voice in my head."

"If you're worried about me trying to seduce you, don't," assured the demoness, her smile falling a bit, "You're far too intelligent and strong to fall for that."

This caused Nero to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. What was she getting at?

"So why are you here?" was the question from the teen as he sat back down, his attention fixed on her.

"Since you and I are bound, I had a look in your memories," she elaborated, standing up to sit next to him. This had Nero narrowing his eyes into deadly slits, "What happened wasn't your fault."

"Don't," stated Nero sharply, "just let me go to sleep. Got a big duel tomorrow."

Volcana sighed as she closed her eyes, "Just a little advice," stated the demon lady as she stood up and her body began to fade, "If you want to change things up, just give me a little twist and I'll change things up a little."

With that, the phantom of the demoness vanished, leaving Nero to let out a long breath through his nose as he rolled onto his side. The hunter felt sleep take him as his eyes began to close, but what she said did catch his attention.

'If you want to change things up, just give me a little twist and I'll change things up a little,' her words echoed in his head. What did she mean?

Guess he'll just have to figure it out later.

---

Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Magnolia, Fiore

*12 hours later...*

The next day, around seven-o-clock, all of Fairy Tail was gathered at Erza's personal training area. Everyone was geared up and greatly excited for the fight about to take place. Many had a beer or some sort of drink in hand, a few chatted amongst themselves about nothing, and others... well, many were placing bets on who would emerge victoriously. Cana, true to her personality, was taking bets from anyone with money.

The reason they moved out here was due to a request made by the mayor of Magnolia. Turns out, he had also heard about the impending brawl between the Demon Hunter and Fairy Queen. So he sent one of his workers to go tell them they couldn't fight in Magnolia. It wasn't really a problem for either Nero or Erza who both agreed to have the match be held at her personal training grounds.

About half an hour journey, perhaps forty-five minutes, every wizard in Fairy Tail had gathered at Erza's personal training grounds as the redhead had mentioned. More than a few wizards were displeased that they had to head several miles outside Magnolia for the fight; the gripping mainly about the heavy beer kegs. However, the rational wizards such as Makarov, Lucy, Gray, and Mirajane understood why the fight would need to be held somewhere secluded. Others, like Natsu, were a different story.

Erza's training ground was a large open area of grass and dirt in the middle of the lush East Forest. The long grasses had been cut short, no doubt from Erza and her continuous training. The wizards of Fairy Tail were gathered around the southern rim of the area, giving the two plenty of room to work with.

"Ugh!" Natsu ignited flames around his body in anticipation, "C'mon, let's get this fight started already!"

From across the crowd, Cana was sitting on a wooden crate. A barrel of beer was by her side while she gathered bets from other members in the Guild. Nearly everyone was betting on Erza to win. Natsu and Gray were among that group; though they knew Nero was certainly no pushover. But the duo still had doubts the Demon Hunter could best Erza. After all, this was the girl that had tormented them and haunted their nightmares ever since they were kids.

Master Makarov, Cana, and Happy were part of the small group that betted on Ben.

"Keep your shorts on!" Cana shouted at Natsu, "I still got people placing their bets."

Macao and Wakaba walked up to the brunette alcoholic to place their bets. Macao wagered three hundred jewels for Nero to win without using Volcana, as Wakaba placed a bet of two hundred jewels that Erza would win by only having to re-quip twice.

"Man, it's no wonder I get rich off you, Wakaba," Macao said smugly, "Erza can't win. All Nero has to do is use his Devil Trigger and it'll all be over."

"Actually, Nero said that he'll only use it if it's absolutely necessary," interjected Mirajane as she walked over to them, having heard Macao's comment. This was true, as right before they left the guild, Nero laid some ground rules, one such being that he would use his Trigger as a last resort.

Macao seemed to have forgotten. His confident demeanor seemed to deflate from that realization. Wakaba grinned at him, taking another puff from his pipe, "Which means Erza's gonna wipe the floor with him."

Macao glared back at the smoking wizard, and countered, "Don't count on it, pal! Remember he still's part demon, which means he's got a pretty high resistance to magic."

Meanwhile, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy were standing together. The former two waited in anticipation for the fight. Lucy, however, wasn't as thrilled.

"I don't know if this is such a good idea," Lucy said nervously.

Gray cocked a brow as he looked at her, confused, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if Nero and Erza hate each other after this? What if this breaks up our team?" the blonde mage pointed out.

Natsu laughed and dismissed her fears, "Why are you getting so worked up, Luce? It's just a fight. They're not gonna hate each other."

"Yeah," Elfman approached and stood behind them, standing tall. He folded his arms over his massive chest, a serious expression on his face, "Besides, they have to do this to prove their manhood."

Lucy sweatdropped, "Erza's not a man, Elfman."

"Although," Gray implied, "you gotta admit that she is manly."

Happy landed on the ground and faced the group, more specifically, Lucy, "So Lucy, who'd you bet on?"

"I didn't bet on anyone! I don't want either of them to lose!" the Celestial mage cried.

"Geez," Natsu muttered, "you're no fun. Wouldn't hurt to lighten up and live a little."

Not far from them, or rather fifty to sixty-five yards from the gathered Mages of Fairy Tail, Nero and Erza were facing each other. Both of them were standing about a few yards away from each other. Both wore a confident grin, Nero loading Blue Rose, one round at a time before snapping the cylinder shut and spun the gun on his finger.

"There's no shame in calling it quits, now, 'Za," taunted the Demon Hunter as he holstered the powerful revolver, "And for the record, don't think for a second I'll take it easy on you just because you're a girls; especially when you're the strongest woman in Fairy Tail."

Erza smirked, "I would expect nothing less from you. And I must warn you, Nero, I won't be going easy on you either."

"Just the way I like it," grinned Nero, as he rolled up his sleeve to reveal Devil Bringer.

"All bets are in!" Cana shouted.

Once Master Makarov heard Cana's announcement, he took a few steps in front of the crowd and raised his hand, "Begin!"

Nero's hand flew towards Red Queen and whipped out the sword. He performed a little flourish and planted the tip into the ground. He grinned savagely as he revved the Exceed system. Flames shot out of the vents as the blade glowed a deep red.

The fact that his sword had an engine inside of it continued to intrigue and slightly awe a few people. It was useful but also very unusual, and in the opinion of Natsu, just made it all the cooler.

"A sword that has a motor installed that produces fire, very interesting," commented Erza as she truly had the option to admire the sword, "But I have just the armor for such an occasion."

Suddenly, her body was covered in golden-white light as her Heart Kreuz outfit disappeared. When the light faded, she was clad in an armor that was primarily dark red but also sported orange and black parts, with the first ones being shaped like flames and the second resembling the limbs of a Dragon. Her bright scarlet hair was tied into a pair of high, long pigtails. In her right hand was a long red, flaming sword.

"Flame Empress Armor, good choice," commented Macao, recognizing the armor Erza wore.

"That means Nero's fire attacks will only be half as effective," added Happy.

Nero glanced at the cat for a second, a toothy grin forming as he heard the statement, "Only does half the damage, right?" he quipped as he flipped Red Queen around to rest the sword on his left shoulder, "Well, that just makes things interesting."

"Let us begin," said Erza as she suddenly dashed towards the demon hunter. Nero didn't look at all worried, in fact, he had a completely neutral stance.

Once she was closer, The Fairy Queen unleashed a powerful wave of fire right at towards the teen. Nero remained where he was until the very last second where dashed so fast his body was a blur as the flames struck the ground where he previously stood.

To everyone's surprise, he appeared right behind Erza, still holding a neutral stance as now let Red Queen rest on the ground. The same confident grin on his face.

"My turn," was all he said before he lunged at the redhead, his sword drawn back. The S-Class Mage raised her sword to block his attack, but the strength of his strike sent her sliding back a few feet.

"Nero is much stronger than I thought!" said Lucy, completely stunned.

"Gotta admit, I didn't expect that either," added Gray, equally surprised.

Not one to take this lying down, Erza retaliated. She leaped at Nero, swinging her sword, the hunter dodging with ease before ducked under one swing and slammed his knee into her stomach. And jumped back as the wizard attempted to counter by bringing down a torrent of flames.

Nero let out a little chuckle as he stood his ground. Erza, meanwhile, saw that close-quarter wasn't gonna cut it at the moment, so she crouched low and leaped into the air. While in the air, she reared back her sword and unleashed a powerful fire wave at her opponent.

Nero dodged this at the last second by leaping into the air, right towards Erza with his sword raised. The warriors' respective weapons collided in a shower of sparks as they clashed. The continued clashing as they descended back to the ground. It was with the last strike did they force themselves away from each other.

Nero and Erza landed four yards away from each other. The two both crouched low before leaping at each other. The Hunter revved Red Queen to the max, the blade completely coating in flames while Erza gathered fire on her sword. When the two collided, a shockwave was created while an inferno erupted and engulfed them both.

The Fairy Tail wizards were transfixed on the scene, watching anxiously. When the smoke finally cleared, Nero and Erza could be seen standing in a somewhat small crater. Smoke drifted off both of them as they stood a few feet away from each other. A small haze of smoke billowed around the rim and cracks in the earth.

The wizards could see that Erza had a few minor dark marks on her torso and dragon-like gauntlets, other than that she was relatively unharmed. The same could be said for Nero, having only a few marks, a small burn on his cheek but was rapidly healing.

"Wow! After an explosion like that, they're unharmed?" Lucy gaped.

A somewhat feral grin was on his face as Nero readied himself. He raised Devil Bringer which began glowing azure.

"I think we've set the bar," was all the Hunter said, "but let's see what else we've got!"

He threw the demonic hand forward, Spectral Bringer appearing and sped towards Erza. The mage dodged the ethereal appendage by rolling to the side before she charged at the hunter. Nero sprinted towards her where they slammed their swords against each other. The human-demon hacked and slashed at her, but with a few swipes of her sword, she easily parried his attacks once more. Erza leaped in the air and gathered flames on her blade. When she reared her weapon to its zenith, she let out a fearsome cry as she discharged a wave of fire at Nero.

The hunter pulled Devil Bringer back, Spectral Bringer appearing as he sent the fist right at the wave. The fire dispelled instantly as the apparition plowed through it and caught her leg. Yanking himself into the air right at her, the hunter swung Red Queen up, throttling the Exceed to the max as the blade slashed down. Flames erupted out as his attack collided with her chest.

Erza was sent to the ground where she smashed into the dirt, creating a large cloud of dirt. Nero landed a few feet from the billowing aftermath, studying it carefully for any movement. Without warning, a red blur leaped out from the smoke and struck the hunter right in the chest. He tumbled across the ground but managed to right himself by rolling across his shoulder into a crouch. He grunted as he blocked a slash from Erza.

The ground cracked under the impact as he steadied himself with one knee. Gritting his teeth, he got back to two feet and pressed Erza back, the two trying to overpower the other. The Fairy Tail wizards all focused on the two as they tried to overpower the other. It wasn't until Nero suddenly pushed their swords to the side and lunged forward to slam his head into her's, causing Erza to stumble back.

She shook her head to clear some dizziness before she sprinted towards the hunter and slammed both her heels into his chest, knocking him down. Nero grunted as he used Devil Bringer to block Erza's next attack and shove her back. Spinning around, he throttled the Exceed on Red Queen and performed a spinning slash that sent Erza sliding across the ground for a few meters until she came to a stop.

Nero then flipped to his feet and chuckled as dusted his coat off, and to Erza's and everyone else's shock, uttered the single phrase, "That all you got, 'Za?"

"I don't understand," Erza said, not able to fathom how he wasn't injured, "How could you possibly not have the slightest injury after that attack?"

"I'm a demon hunter, Erza," stated Nero with a smirk as he rested Red Queen on his shoulder, "It's my job to take hits from monsters that make Deliora look like a lightweight. It's gonna take a lot more than a few hits and some fire to bring me down."

Erza narrowed her eyes at the demon hunter, "I see."

He then sheathed Red Queen and drew Blue Rose, "Glad you do, now let's see how fast your reflexes are."

With that, he fired at her.

Erza crouched low and jumped up, letting the bullet whiz by. The platinum blond fired after her, the twin shots forcing the Fairy Queen to use her flaming sword to deflect the bullets. Landing back down in the ground, she rolled to avoid more shots as Nero fired rapidly at her. Erza cried out as she unleashed a powerful wave of fire at him. Nero dove to the side and came to a rest on one knee as he brought Devil Bringer to the hammer of Blue Rose to rapidly cock the revolver.

Erza's eyes widened as she backflipped as three shots were fired at her, each one aimed for her head. She missed one step slightly and almost lost her footing as she steadied herself. She had no idea that he was such an accomplished marksman. She was so lost in her musings that she was almost struck by Nero's sword when he holstered Blue Rose and dashed towards her with Red Queen drawn; however, at the last moment she dove to the side and rolled to her feet to dodge his horizontal slash. Nero's sword distorted the air as heat emanated from the exhaust.

When Erza regained her stance, she focused on Nero as they stood still, ready to engage in combat at the drop of hat.

The Fairy Tail mages looked on in excitement. So far, the fight was turning out to be good.

"Whoa, this fight is awesome!" Natsu said; a bright grin on his face.

However, a certain ice wizard seemed to be less amused by the battle.

Gray folded his arms over his chest and snorted, "They're at a stalemate. Neither one can really hurt the other."

Makarov, who was sitting on a beer barrel not too far away, turned to Gray, "Wait for it, Gray. Those two are just getting warmed up…literally."

Erza made the first move as she leaped straight for Nero at an incredible speed, her sword drawn back. The Hunter tensed as he prepared for her attack. He swung Devil Bringer up and caught the blade with one hand. This caught Erza off guard as she wasn't able to prepare for when Nero spun around and threw her across the arena. The Fairy Queen was able to land on her feet but doing so left her open to Spectral Bringer that shot towards her.

The ethereal appendage grabbed her by the face and the hunter was launched right towards her. Spectral Bringer vanished as he slammed the demonic hand right into her stomach. The force of the punch sent Erza careening back, sliding well over thirty meters.

The Fairy Queen winced in pain as she coughed out a bit of spit. She definitely felt the strength behind that punch; however, Erza had a sneaky suspicion that it wasn't Nero's full strength.

Looking up, she locked her attention on Nero, who had a confident grin on his face.

'This is useless,' she thought, 'He's ready for any attack I have with my armor. Perhaps it's time I give him something different to think about.'

Straightening her self up, she shouted, "Re-quip!" Suddenly, her form was bathed in golden-white light again.

After the flash faded, Erza had donned an armor that was gold and light bluish in color. The breastplate was lined with golden trimmings and had thin plates extending upwards to surround her neck. Adorning her head was a yellow band with two yellow ribbons on it. Erza's hair was stylized in a long braid. In her right hand was a long spear that had a very large blade and a decorated circle resembling a shield attached to the shaft.

"What kind of armor is that?" Lucy asked.

"That's Erza's Lightning Empress Armor," Happy answered, "It grants her the ability to counter and attack her enemies with lightning."

"Cool trick," teased Nero as he cracked his neck, "What's this one do?"

Erza smirked, "I'm glad you asked."

Holding her spear out, the point aimed right for Nero's chest, some energy began to collect at the tip. A bluish-white energy had formed before she discharged a Lightning Beam right from the tip.

The bolt flew towards Nero but missed as the hunter managed to avoid the bolt at the last second. Erza jumped in the air and hovered in place. She aimed her spear and fired more volleys of Lightning Beams at her adversary, forcing him to run around the area. Nero flipped in the air, spinning around to avoid some bolts before he landed back on the ground.

Sheathing Red Queen, the hunter whipped out Blue Rose and fired directly at Erza. The Fairy Queen, using her trained reflexes dodged the Thorns, but that is what Nero wanted. Suddenly, Devil Bringer started to shine and the hunter let out a shout and four ethereal swords flipped out from the demonic arm and spun around him. Spinning in place for a moment before they launched towards the S-Class Wizard.

Seeing the incoming shots, Erza spread her legs, giving her a wide enough stance to shove her spear into the ground in front of her. A red magic circle appeared but was then replaced by a dome-shaped shield of blue energy. One by one, the swords collided with her shield, but the sharp blades easily penetrated the shield, or at the very least, get lodged inside.

Seeing Nero's glowing swords so easily break through her shield, Erza's eyes widened ever so slightly before remembered one crucial fact about Nero. He was part demon. And from what she's seen about demons, magic is extremely ineffective against them. Meaning that while he was human, his demonic nature made it so that her magical abilities weren't nearly as effective as they would be on normal humans.

Seeing that Erza was distracted, Nero sprinted right towards her before he leaped into the air. Cocking his fist back, the hunter let out a shout as Spectral Bringer formed and flew right at her. The Fairy Queen instinctively jumped back just as he punched the ground, causing a small tremor. The human-demon chased after her, aiming Blue Rose once more and fired two quick shots.

Erza dodged each bullet and counterattacked by jumping up to send a forceful kick into Nero's chest. The impact was enough to knock him into the air, but as he flew back, the hunter aimed one more time at her and fired. The two bullets struck Erza in the shoulder, causing a surprised cry to escape as she looked at her arm. A large bruise was forming, but it didn't matter all that much.

At the same time, Nero landed on his back, sliding a few meters before rolling back onto his feet. His vision locked onto Erza as she also returned her attention to him. Suddenly leaping into the air, she hovered there for a moment before another red magic circle appeared at the tip of the spear. Erza cried out as multiple bolts of blue electricity fired from the magic seal and struck Nero. The hunter let out a yell of pain from her Lightning Cyclotron attack. The strike had enough power to actually shake the ground and cast up a cloud of dust and rock.

"Well, I guess that does it then," Wakaba said. He turned to Macao with a smug expression, "Now, why don't you go ahead and pay up."

Macao glared back at the smoking wizard, "No way! Wait until the dust settles and we'll see for ourselves what happened."

Erza came back to earth and looked into the dust cloud, searching for any sign of her opponent; however, the dust-choked air was obscuring her line of sight.

'I can't see him yet, still…,' Erza thought, 'that attack should've taken him down.'

"Okay," came the groan as the hunter emerged from the cloud, dusting himself off, "I actually felt that."

Erza, safe to say, was rather surprised to see him shrug off an attack of such magnitude, but it would make sense as magic had little effect on demons.

"Gotta admit, that packed a punch," stated Nero as he rolled his shoulders and gave her a toothy grin, "but now I want to know if you take as much as you can give."

With that, he holstered Blue Rose and struck a pose, holding Devil Bringer high above as it started glowing orange, "Volcana!" he shouted as flames stretched from his palm and took the shape of the demonic guitar. With the instrument in hand, he flipped it around and strummed the strings as hard as he could. As a result, a shockwave of heat shot out from the point where he struck the chord.

The Fairy Queen had no time to react before her body was struck with a wall of sound and heat that sent her sliding back several meters before she caught herself. The crowd of wizards who were there when he first showed the Devil Arm quickly recognized it. It was the soul of the Demoness that captured Lucy, manifested into a weapon.

"Was wondering when he was gonna pull that out," said Natsu, "I like that thing."

The ice wizard glared back at the Dragon Slayer, "Of course you would, dragon breath."

"WHAT'D YOU SAY?!" Natsu exclaimed angrily.

All of a sudden, Erza's body was engulfed in a bright light before she reappeared. Titania re-equipped into her Flame Empress Armor. She looked right at Nero with her lethal looking sword held out in front of her.

"Bad move Nero," stated Erza, "Did you forget that I can counter fire attacks?"

"Oh, I never forgot, if anything, I'm was wondering," corrected Nero, smirking, "I was wondering how much fire you can take before too much, is too much!"

(Insert Song: Feel Invincible, by Skillet/ I also want to note that I find it ironic that Nero, someone who doesn't really put much faith in the concept of God would be playing a song by a Christian band where the song being used is about God. Or at least that's my take on the song, but the main reason I'm using it is that I find the heavy metal style to be fitting for Nero's personality and the general theme of Devil May Cry.)

(0:00-0:09)

Nero strummed the strings once more as he got ready for the next part of his attack. Flames danced around his body as he started a melody, the beat coming out hard and powerful. The flames that followed even more so. And that was before he started to sing and settled into a calmer beat.

(0:09-0:42)

"Target on my back lone survivor lasts. They got me in their sights. No surrender no. Trigger fingers go. Living the dangerous life," as soon as the first words left him, the flames shot right towards Erza, forcing the Fairy Queen to leap into the air as the fire struck the ground where she previously stood. Nero continued the steady beat as he started gently bobbing his head, "Hey, hey, hey everyday when I wake. I'm trying to get up, they're knocking me down." Suddenly, through the fire coming from the guitar, a fiery figure formed, the physique was feminine and the long hair gave away who it was that joined them.

"Chewing me up, spitting me out," sang Volcana, joining in with Nero. The Hunter ignored his co-singer, taking more enjoyment in singing to notice.

"Hey, hey, hey when I need to be saved," sung the hunter, "You're making me strong, you're making me stand."

"Never will fall, never will end," answered Volcana

"Shot like a rocket up into the sky, Nothing could stop me tonight!" at this point, Nero started strumming harder as he started adding more movement. The added movement and the passion in the song fueled the fire greater, shooting into the sky after Erza, forcing her to twist, spin, dive, and ascend to avoid the flames before a powerful blast forced her back. She tried holding out her sword to absorb the flames, but to her dismay, the flames were too intense for her to absorb all of them as her eyes widened when they collided with her. Making the Fairy Queen wobble in the air as she pulled back.

*Skip ahead* 1:52-2:26

"You make me feel invincible! Earthquake, powerful! Just like a tidal wave, You make me brave! You're my titanium; Fight song, raising up! Like a roar of victory in a stadium! Who can touch me 'cause I'm (I'm made of fire)!" as Nero sang, Volcana accented his words with her own, grooving to the beat and power of the song as the flames danced around. In fact, so much heat was being produced that the flames were actually melting the ground slightly while the heat was causing a tremendous amount of wind that was actually buffeting a few wizards where they were standing on the sideline, "Who can stop me tonight (I'm hard wired)! You make me feel invincible! I feel I feel it, Invincible! I feel I feel it, Invincible!"

(2:26-2:37)

With that, he began the solo, moving his whole body, bobbing his head as the flames rose higher. All the while Volcana danced to the song, a wide grin on her face as the power and intensity of her flames were determined by the speed and intensity of the song played and she actually applauded Nero's choice. And she wasn't the only one.

In the crowd, several wizards were cheering on, Lucy had a look of shock and surprise, still not completely over the idea of such a powerful tool.

"IT'S OFFICIAL!" Cheered Natsu, a wild and truly awestruck expression on his face, "VOLCANA IS THE BEST!"

His comment went unheard due to the volume of the song from Nero, but he honestly didn't really mind as long as Nero kept playing. Suddenly, the music got quiet as he suddenly started to slow down, entering a simple tune while the flames got a bit smaller.

Erza, who was up in the sky, looked down, thinking he was resting. She flew back down, but this might have been a poor decision. As the hunter stood upright, a confident grin on his face while Volcana had one of her own as well.

(2:46-3:50)

"You make me feel invincible!" his words were softer but still continued power as the flames around the area started picking up, "You make me feel invincible!" Nero suddenly stopped altogether, as he looked right at Erza with a wide grin.

"Shot like a rocket up into the sky! Not gonna stop, invincible!"

With that, he began once more, putting as much power into his voice and into the guitar as Devil Bringer started glowing brightly, "You make me feel invincible! Earthquake, powerful! Just like a tidal wave! You make me brave! You're my titanium! Fight song, raising up! Like a roar of victory in a stadium!" His words were so powerful, the blasted Erza back into the ground while a massive inferno of fire surrounded the air, creating a cyclone of flames right above the hunter and demoness who were creating the song, "You make me feel invincible! Earthquake, powerful! Just like a tidal wave! You make me brave! You're my titanium! Fight song, raising up! Like a roar of victory in a stadium! Who can touch me 'cause I'm (I'm made of fire)! Who can stop me tonight (I'm hard wired)! You make me feel invincible! I feel I feel it, Invincible! I feel I feel it Invincible!"

End

The hunter finished off with one more strike of the flaming strings, creating another shockwave. This one collided right with Erza, smashing her down into the ground, creating a small crater of flames and dust as Nero's fire died down and Volcana vanished.

The eyes of every Fairy Tail member bulged open in shock and disbelief. Makarov's eyes had widened a bit in interest and surprise.

"Whoa," remarked Wakaba, "his fire completely overpowered Erza!"

"How can that be possible?" Macao added, shocked.

"Hey, by the way," Cana said to Macao and Wakaba, "you two owe me money. So pay up."

"WHAT?!" Wakaba and Macao shouted in unison.

She pointed at Wakaba, "You said Erza would only have to re-quip twice to beat Nero. She's re-quipped four times now," the Guild's heaviest drinker then shifted her attention to Macao, "And you bet Nero would beat Erza without using his Devil Arm. You both lose, and I win."

Macao and Wakaba's shoulders slumped as they moaned in defeat, knowing that she was right. Reluctantly, both began digging into their pockets for money they now owed Cana who was smiling triumphantly at the dough she just won.

"I never would've guess that Nero was a talented singer," commented Lucy, still in disbelief that he could actually sing.

"You can't deny that it isn't awesome!" stated Natsu excitedly.

Nero flipped the guitar around to rest it on his shoulder as he smirked deviously at Erza as she was collecting herself.

"You still good to fight, 'Za?" asked the teen giving her a toothy grin.

"I must admit, the music took me by surprise," confessed Erza as she stared at Nero, holding her flaming sword up, "However, I'm ready for what else you can throw at me."

Nero snorted as he took the guitar in both hands, a devious grin spreading across his face as he recalled what Volcana said to him last night, "You sure about that?" asked the hunter in an ominous tone.

To add emphasis, he twisted the guitar where the neck connected to the body. The flames that created the strings as the neck transformed into a sort of shaft, extending to about five feet. The body of the guitar spun a full 180 degree before locking into place. On the back side of the guitar, four rectangular vents formed and burst to life as some flames flickered from them.

The guitar had transformed into a giant battleax. Flipping the axe around, Nero lunged at Erza, the wizard being quick to dodge under the wide swing from the weapon, however, the hunter followed the momentum and swung at her again. The wizard hastily raised her sword to block the axe, however, the collision of the weapon sent Erza flying back where she slid on her heels several meters as the hunter flipped the weapon around.

"Guess she's like Red Queen," commented Nero as he held the shaft of Volcana in her axe form in Devil Bringer and rested it on his shoulder, "She's got power to boot."

The Fairy Queen narrowed her eyes as she honed in on the powerful demon hunter. She didn't show it, but she was astonished by this new weapon.

"There's no shame in giving up you know," offered the hunter, "Throw whatever you've got at me, I'll just take it on and win."

Thinking about Nero's words, Erza found that he was right. There was no way she could reasonably take him on directly. He was the strongest physical combat she's come across in a while. However, that was just physical and she had other armors.

Suddenly, a devious, outside the box type of idea entered Erza's mind. She did possess one suit of armor that could take Nero completely by surprise and shift the tide in her favor. There was just one catch. It was a suit that she had yet to try out and she was saving it for private purposes. But in this situation, against a formidable powerhouse of an opponent like Nero, she decided to make an exception.

Erza felt her face flush a little, knowing what she had to do, "Is that so? Well," her body was shrouded in gold light again.

When the flash died away, Erza was wearing a daring maid outfit composed of a long white apron that was tied behind her neck and back, worn over her bare chest, and revealed much of her breasts' sides. She had adorned a pair of long fishnet stockings that reached up to the middle of her thighs, pair of dark panties that exposed much of her buttocks, and a maid's hat. Ribbons were tied around her arms, and sported heart-shaped elbow guards. In her right hand was a sword with the words 'Come on Boy' emblazoned on the blade. This was Erza's Seduction Armor.

"How about this?" Erza said huskily.

All of the men present were left dumbstruck and starred at Erza in a hypnotized manner with drool trailing from their mouths. The sounds of wolf-whistling could be heard from every corner of the crowd.

"Oh WOW!" a Fairy Tail mage cried out, "Erza's hot!"

Even Master Makarov was drooling in excitement from the sight of the sexy outfit.

The females of Fairy Tail, however, were absolutely shocked. Their faces had paled and their jaws had dropped to the ground.

"W-w-hat is that?" Lucy stuttered; her face had gone white.

"I think that's her Seduction Armor," Happy responded.

Natsu and Gray were both wide-eyed and were stammering incoherently. The sight of the woman they most feared wearing a very revealing outfit was causing them to spaz out of control. Finally, the Dragon Slayer and ice wizard closed their eyes and collapsed to the ground, twitching.

As for Nero, well, let's say that his brain had a complete shutdown. The hunter's eyes went wide as his turned bright red to almost the same color as Erza's hair, contrasted by his white hair. The axe from his shoulder, but was still held in Devil Bringer, as his face portrayed complete shock and dumbfounded. The rational part of his brain told Nero to look away, the rest of him was unable to do so. The hunter was just frozen like a statue while his eyes were fixed right on Erza's sexy body and attire.

Her plan worked just as she had hoped; Erza was smirking triumphantly as she now had the upper hand and the element of surprise. Faster than a person blink, the mage summoned a massive metal mallet and lunged right towards Nero with a battle cry. The hunter was still processing what he just witnessed and was unable to react fast enough when she swung the weapon at his face.

The mallet struck his face dead one, sending the hunter flying back well around thirty to forty meters. He hit the ground pretty hard and tumbled across the ground before he managed to catch himself and land on his feet, though slid about six feet. The strike had snapped Nero out of his stupor and shook his head before he stood up and leveled a glare at Erza.

"I feel violated from how dirty that move was," stated Nero in a contempt tone, eyes narrowed dangerously.

In a gold flash, Erza re-quipped into her usual Heart Kreuz attire. She held her sword loosely in her right hand and rested her left one on her hip. She grinned at her opponent in a mischievous manner.

"You sure handled that armor pretty well," Erza mocked.

"Yeah," stated the hunter as he flipped his ax around and held it with both hands, "But let's see you handle this!"

Without warning, he charged right towards her, faster than anyone in Fairy Tail could guess with a weapon as large as the axe. In a split second, Nero was right on top of Erza, ax raised all the way up. The Fairy Queen raised her swords, but it did little to block the axe as the vents on the anvil suddenly fired, bringing the weapon down harder than he could swing alone. The result was the mage's swords shattering and the axe slamming into the dirt.

The redhead stumbled back as she looked at her broken weapons in shock, which left her open to Nero who lunged at her with Devil Bringer outstretched. His hand slammed into her chest plate while the sharp claws dug in and warmed the metal. Lifting her up, the hunter then slammed her back down to the ground where he dragged the Fairy Queen through the dirt before he threw her into the air. Doing so, he grabbed Erza by her ankle before he slammed her back down and tossed her across the area, tumbling across the ground.

The redhead shook her head as she got to her feet and saw Nero smirking smugly.

"Caught you by surprise," quipped the hunter.

Erza ground her teeth as she stood up, "Re-quip!" she shouted. In flash of golden light, the Fairy Queen switched to her Heaven's Wheel Armor.

Around her, in a sudden white flash, she summoned over a dozen magical swords. Which she sent the blades flying right towards Nero with her telekinesis. The hunter responded by holding up Devil Bringer, creating eight ethereal swords which he positioned in front of him, spinning them in place creating a sort of shield while Erza flew back to put distance between her and Nero.

The ethereal swords deflected the magical ones before the flew right towards Erza. The mage dived to the ground, avoiding one sword before banking to the right to avoid another. As she was focused on avoiding the blades, Nero flipped Volcana around, taking the shaft of the axe in both hands. Swinging the mighty weapon around, he dragged the blade through the dirt briefly, the jets firing as the hunter let out a shout as he swung the axe upward. From the point where the axe was arcing upward, a wave of fire erupted and sped right towards Erza.

The wave of fire caught the redhead by surprise as she was so focused on dodging his swords. The wave slammed into the warrior, exploding on impact. Erza tumbled through the air for a second before she managed to right herself and summon numerous swords around her.

'This can't be good...,' thought Nero as he gripped Volcana tighter.

After gathering at least thirty swords, Erza soared at Nero with her two swords in hands, but the swords she summoned remained where they were. Shifting his grip, Nero swung his axe at Erza when she came into range. The Fairy Queen blocked the blade by crossing her own, however, the power from the jets on the axe forced her to the ground, her legs nearly giving as the dirt and rock buckled beneath her.

Lifting the axe away, Nero kicked Erza in the stomach, causing her to stumble back before she flew away just in time to avoid the downward swing from him that embedded the axe into the ground. The hunter ripped the axe out of the ground a looked up to see where Erza flew.

"Scattered Petals!" shouted Erza suddenly. All of a sudden, the thirty swords Erza had re-quipped before glowed in silver-white light before they shot at Nero like a bullet from a gun. With only seconds to react, Nero did the one thing he could; he dropped the axe and performed a spin in the air. Several swords missed the hunter as he twirled in the air, however, there were plenty of others which he was so lucky to avoid.

Sure enough, one sword impaled Nero through the chest while another went through his shoulder and a third impaled his left leg. The hunter let out a cry as he fell to the ground in a heap as some blood began to seep from his wounds. Quite a few wizards in the crowd watching the fight cried out in horror, thinking that Erza had just killed him.

"OH CRAP!" Macao yelled with wide eyes, "She killed him!"

"I knew she'd pummel him, but I didn't think she'd go that far," Wakaba said, shocked.

"WAIT!" Gray shouted, "LOOK!"

Heeding his shout, the wizards all turned to their attention to see Nero getting back up. Safe to say they were completely surprised to see the hunter getting back to his feet, however, they were also a little disturbed as well due to the blood that dribbled out from the corner of his mouth and from his wounds as the teen got to his feet.

"Well, I think I'm big enough to admit, I didn't see that coming," chuckled the hunter as he stumbled slightly but remained standing.

Erza landed several yards in front of Nero; her eyes wide in amazement. She knew he could take a hit, even impalement; otherwise, she wouldn't have performed that attack, but Erza didn't expect him to get back to his feet so fast.

"Very impressive," Erza complimented.

"Honey, I'm amazing," quipped Nero as he spits off to his side, a glob of blood splattering across the dirt, "But if you thought that was something, you haven't seen anything yet."

As Nero said that, he held out his hand, Volcana trembled in the ground for a second before it flew right to his open hand. The hunter held the weapon in his left hand as he grabbed the blades that impaled him and yanked them out. A few wizards gapped at the disregard for his health, especially at the blood that flowed out for a second before his healing factor healed them.

Holding all three blades in Devil Bringer's hand, he draws his arm back and threw them at Erza, but she swiftly jumped in the air to avoid them as they hit the ground right where she used to be. The Hunter took Volcana in two hands and leaped into the air after her, using the jets on the weapon to propel him further. Seeing him coming right at her, Erza summoned more blades out of thin air and launched them to intercept the hybrid demon-human, however, were destroyed when he swung the axe at them.

Using the momentum from the swing, Nero threw the axe at her, the weapon twirling through the air as it collided with Erza. The mage crossed her blades in time to block the weapon, however, was still knocked back a fair distance. The axe flew back to Nero as he started to fall. Using this opening, Erza slashed her two blades in a delta formation, "Trinity Sword!"

A silver-white energy wave took the shape of a triangle and shot toward Nero, the hunter responding by holding out Devil Bringer. The appendage glowed brightly as he suddenly drew it back and threw a fist right towards the triangle. The result was the energy wave dispersing immediately as the hunter landed on the ground in a crouch.

Volcana suddenly was coated in flames at it vanished into Devil Bringer. The hunter then reached for Red Queen with his left hand and drew the sword quickly, "Let's change things up a little," suggested Nero as Erza looked down at him from the air.

Suddenly, the hunter threw Spectral Bringer right at her, the ethereal appendage grabbed Erza by her leg, letting the hunter slam her down into the ground. With her back down, the hunter lunged right towards the woman, sword raised. The armor-shifting mage was quick to react and defend herself with her blades; however, wasn't ready for when Nero suddenly leaped above her and flip around. The result was, the hunter slashing Erza's back, causing her to stumble forward.

Nero was about to slash at her again, but with her skillfully trained reflexes, she shook off the pain and dodged the sword as it sliced the ground where she previously stood.

"Re-quip!" She shouted, causing her body to be engulfed with gold light. When it disappeared, Erza was now wearing her Black Wing Armor.

She leapt into the air and flew a little away from Nero with her silver sword in hand. Nero responded by taking Red Queen into his right hand and drew Blue Rose with his left. He fired dozens of shots at her, but Titania managed to deflect them with her sword. Holstering the revolver, he retook Red Queen back into his left hand and sent Spectral Bringer right at her. While she might have tried to escape the clutches of the demonic hand, she was caught by her ankle, allowing Nero to pull himself into the air.

Flying right towards her, Nero drew his sword back and slammed his shoulder into the mage. This knocked them back a bit as the hunter grabbed Erza with Devil Bringer and smashed his head into hers. Titania's head snapped back under the power of the blow, but Nero was far from down as he grabbed Red Queen with both hands and throttled the Exceed over and over, flames erupting across the blade. With a powerful yell, he brought the weapon against Erza, unprepared for the incredibly strong strike as flames and metal that sent her flying back with a trail of smoke following her.

The Fairy Tail Mages were all looking up as the battle between the guild's two likely, strongest members. When the strike from Red Queen occurred, Lucy made the comment, "That had to hurt."

However, despite the strength of the attack, Erza was able to push through the pain and recover and get control of herself. She shot right towards Nero who was falling at this point since he couldn't fly, barring down on him. The scarlet-haired wizard held out her sword and slashed in an arc pattern.

"Moon Flash!"

A powerful silver-colored wave fired from her blade and collided with the demon hunter who crossed his arms, using Devil Bringer and Red Queen to block as much of the attack as he could. Nero was sent right towards the Earth with at least a ton of force as when he impacted with the ground, a large cloud of dust and rock erupted.

"However that had to hurt even more," retorted Gray, glancing at Lucy.

Erza flew over the cloud, keeping her sword at the ready as well as her senses for anything short a counterattack. Suddenly, there was a glow from the dust-choked air. It was an azure glow, which grew brighter until a massive roar broke the tense silence.

Erza was forced to shield her eyes as she felt buffeted from the blast of wind that caused the cloud to disperse. Standing at the center of the crater was Nero, but with one major difference. Red Queen was sheathed across his back, but in his hand was a Katana, one that everyone had come to regard as a masterpiece.

From the hunter's body, azure energy flowed like fire whilst his eyes burned bright red. Behind him was the somewhat terrifying ghostly apparition everyone in the guild knew as the Specter. There, Nero stood in his Devil Trigger state.

"I think it's time I start taking you seriously," quipped Nero as he inspected Yamato.

Without warning, Nero suddenly vanished before he appeared in the air right in front of Erza. She cried out in surprise when Nero suddenly grabbed her with his left hand, the Specter doing the same as he spun her around before flinging her right into the ground with a massive impact. In fact, it was so hard, it caused a small tremor and created a massive cloud of dirt. From within the shallow crater of her own, Erza opened her eyes as pain coursed through her body; excruciating yes, but nevertheless, the trained warrior was back on her feet.

Before her, the hunter landed in front of her with barely a sound as he held Yamato.

"Well then, come on," gestured Nero as he beckoned for her to attack, "We haven't got all day."

Erza ground her teeth together as she stared down the hunter.

"Re-quip!" Her body illuminated in gold light once more. In the wake of the flash, Erza was now adorned in her Giant's Armor.

Nero didn't even flinch from the sudden flash and instead adjusted his stance slightly, resting the blunt side of Yamato on his shoulder. Internally, he was curious; what new trick was pulling out this time?

The teen hunter got his answer when a long, gold and blue pole with a long blade was hurled at him. With barely any effort, he leaned to the side, letting the weapon fly past him with only centimeters to spare. Looking to where the spear went, he glanced back to see Erza lift the Spear of Ha-Ja off the ground and back into her right-hand thanks to her telekinetic abilities.

"Going with brute strength, huh?" quipped Nero as he dismissed Yamato, but remained in his Devil Trigger.

Erza spun the long spear above her head a few times to gain momentum before she crouched low and shot herself at Nero like a missile. The hunter didn't even try to dodge it. Instead, he deflected the shaft of the weapon to the side, the Specter doing the same. The hunter wrapped his arm around the spear and yanked Erza right towards him. Spinning around, he performed a modified tornado kick that slammed right into Erza's stomach. The force of which sent her flying back.

The redhead groaned as she held her stomach as her feet landed on the ground, digging through the dirt as she steadied herself. Snapping her head up, she quickly raised her spear to block the downward slash from Nero who had drawn Red Queen. The Specter mimicked his movements. The force of the strike caused the ground to buckle and send her five feet down.

Nero pushed down even hard, causing Erza to groan as she was having trouble holding him off. Eventually, she was forced to her knees as she tried pushing back. However, the human-demon's strength was incredible, causing the ground to crack and cave even more.

"Brute strength's not gonna cut, 'Za," stated Nero, "You might wanna try something else."

The redhead warrior gritted her teeth; her pained expression was replaced with determination. She put more magical power into her legs. Remarkably, the armor-clad mage fought against the hunter's strength and managed to stand up to look Nero in the eyes. However, he kept his confident demeanor.

"You were saying?" She retorted.

"Whoa," Lucy gaped, "She can stand up?"

"Erza's using her Giant Armor to fight against Nero's power," realized Happy.

Suddenly, Erza, Titania of Fairy Tail, pulled her head back and slammed her forehead into Nero's, catching the hunter off guard. He broke their deadlock shaking his head as he re-focused on Erza. When he did, he saw she cocked back her spear to its acme, and then hurled it straight for him. Sheathing Red Queen, Nero did something no one saw coming. The Hunter threw Devil Bringer up, the Specter copying his moments in order to catch the Spear flying right towards him. The ethereal fingers wrapped around the shaft of the weapon as he leaned back to compensate for the momentum.

"Catch!" shouted Nero as he flipped the spear around and hurled it right back at Erza.

The mage easily dodged her weapon and jumped at the hunter, kicking him in the gut. Nero hunched forward as he slid back a few feet. In a swift motion, Erza used her telekinetic ability to bring the Spear of Ha-Ja back to her. She leaped at Nero once more, lifting her spear over her head to bring it down onto him. Nero responded by bringing Devil Bringer up to block the strike with his forearm. A large flash suddenly appeared as the weapon collided with the hunter's arm.

Leaping back, Erza lunged at him again, however, Nero blocked her again, however, was taken off guard when she turned her body and jabbed the base of the spear into his side, causing him to hunch over slightly. Erza cried out as she spun her body once more and struck Nero in the face with the long spear.

The strength behind the attack actually made Nero slide across the ground again. Nero brought up his head and glared at Erza; though he had a strong resistance to magic, he was willing to admit, that hurt. The Fairy Queen charged at him and jumped high in the air with her spear held high over her head.

Nero leaped into the air as well, drawing Red Queen as he soared right towards her. Drawing the sword back, he slashed at Erza, who dodged the attack and countered with a thrust with her spear. Nero used Devil Bringer to deflect the spear and quickly slash at her chest twice. Sparks flew as the sword scrath her armor, however, the hunter wasn't finished yet as he suddenly smashed Devil Bringer right into her chest. The Specter adding more force that sent her into the ground with a massive crash.

Some of the Fairy Tail wizards winced from the impact as a large cloud of dust was thrown up.

"That's gotta hurt," noted Gray dryly, though he would admit, it wasn't pleasant.

Nero landed on the ground just as soon as Erza emerged from the cloud. Her body was suddenly engulfed in a golden light.

When it faded, she was now wearing a cheetah printed outfit with a large collar around her neck and a tail hanging from the back of her shorts, both made of bushy fur. On both sides of her head was a pair of large cheetah ears. In her hands was a pair of short swords with elaborate hand-guards similar to a rapier's, shaped like a rose's thorns.

"What's that kind of armor?" Lucy asked.

"That's Erza's Flight Armor," Happy explained, "With it, she can run very, very fast."

"Cute," snorted Nero as he rested Red Queen on his left shoulder. It went without saying that the demon-human hybrid was caught by surprise when she charged right towards him at a ridiculous speed. Even with his own insane reaction time, Nero was slashed by Erza with her twin blades across his back, arms, and face.

Nero flew back, digging Devil Bringer into the ground to steady himself as he slid about twelve meters, "The fuck was that?" he demanded as he steadied himself. Looking around, he spotted the mage standing a few feet away with her twin blades at the ready.

"Alright then," huffed the hunter in annoyance as he brushed some blood away from his cuts which were already fading, "Let's try this again."

However, before he could attack, Erza sped right towards him landing another powerful slash, this time across his chest. Nero nearly fell but remained standing, but the fast moving armored mage was right back at him. Slashing at his back, causing him to stumble forward. As he was steadying himself, she dashed around and slashed his face with her blades, causing him to snap his head back.

Growling, Nero swung at her with Red Queen, but the redhead easily dodged while countering with a dozen slashes, striking his leg, arms, and chest. It was here that Erza started her hit and run routine, slashing at every single part of Nero. The hunter vainly tried tracking her movements, but couldn't due to her speed. So he was forced to shield his head with Red Queen and Devil Bringer.

Even then, Erza continued her assault, her blades slashing at his body. If he were just human, he'd be cut to ribbons by now. The mages that were rooting for Nero were quickly losing hope as the hunter was getting pummeled. However, for the teen, it was a necessary evil. Throughout the onslaught, he was steadying and memorizing Erza's movements, and sure enough, there was a pattern.

When Erza went in for another run, drawing both her blades and raising them above her head. That's when Nero made his move.

"ENOUGH!" roared the hunter, his voice echoing as he shot up and threw a right hook right at the mage.

There was enough force behind the attack that a miniature shockwave erupted between them. In fact, the armor shifting mage was sent flying back, all the way across the entire training ground to the other side. Erza grunted each time her body bounced off the ground. When she came to a stop, she rubbed the spot where Nero had punched her as she climbed to her feet, shooting him a scary glare.

"Don't act like you didn't have that coming," snapped the hunter as he sheathed Red Queen, "In fact, why don't you have a taste of your own medicine!"

Devil Bringer lit up brightly as soon as he finished the sentence. Holding out the demonic hand, he snapped his fingers, the Specter mimicking his movements. From the point where he snapped his fingers, an Azure-silver wave swept across the entire area. Erza and the mages all shielded themselves for the blast but felt nothing. Lowering her arms, Titania saw that Nero entered a fighting stance, legs spread and his stance lower while he raised his hands. The Specter disappeared, but the fire-like energy continued to dance across his body as Devil Bringer light up.

Growling, Erza disengaged her blades and sent them back to her personal pocket dimension. If Nero wanted to fight hand-to-hand, so be it. Besides, it wasn't like he could keep up with her.

The mage shot right towards the hunter like a rocket, even as the hunter held his ground. But to her shock and the shock of everyone in the crowd, Nero blocked the attack and countered. A loud bang erupted right after as the platinum blonde slugged Erza in her stomach.

Stumbling back, she pushed through the pain as she went on the offensive, however, she couldn't hit him. Erza chased Nero around the training arena, but no matter what she did, she couldn't touch him. Throwing punches, kicks, jabs, anything she could but nothing she did work. It wasn't until Nero got bored and decided to return the assault. Flipping backward to avoid an axe kick, he dashed right towards her with his right arm outstretched to clothesline the mage. This had the effect of completely flipping her in the air, however, the hunter wasn't finished as he spun around and sent a blade kick right to the center of her back, sending the mage tumbling forward across the ground.

Rolling to her feet, Erza was just able to block a bicycle kick from Nero. The hunter flipped back as he landed back on his feet to block a right hook from Erza with his left forearm. Countering her to punched the mage in the jaw. Without letting up, he sent two more punches, each striking her in the face before he rolled across her back and side-kicked her away.

Moving with the momentum, Erza jumped into the air and spun around, delivering a powerful tornado kick right to Nero's face when he tried to attack her again.

Nero slid across the ground, almost halfway across the training area before he slammed Devil Bringer down to slow himself. Bringing his head up, he glared at his opponent with glowing ruby irises. He recovered instantaneously and shot forward, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. Erza immediately bent her knees and blasted forward as well.

Just as they were about to connect, Nero drew Red Queen and revved the Exceed to the maximum. The sudden appearance of fire caught Erza by surprise and left her open to the rocket-powered upward slash from the massive sword. The mage was sent flying upward. The hunter leaping after her to perform a bicycle kick that sent her back to the ground, smashing into the dirt and dug a trench that stretched at least ninety feet.

Landing back down on the ground, the hunter waisted no time and leaped right to the Fairy Queen who was getting back to her feet. Gliding across the ground, or at least that's what it appeared like, Nero outstretched Devil Bringer, the Specter appearing right behind him, mimicking his movements so its ethereal hand grabbed Erza by her chest. Lifting her in the air, both hunter and specter pulled their right fists back and punched the redhead right in the stomach, sending her back another thirty yards before she came to a stop. However, she fell to her knees, steadying herself with her hands as she panted slightly.

"Oh wow!" She shrieked fearfully. "They're really getting into it."

"Aye," Happy agreed cheerfully.

"It's an awesome fight, huh Lucy?" Natsu asked; a bright smile on his face.

"More like terrifying." Lucy deadpanned.

Erza clenched her teeth and suppressed a groan. Pain was flowing through her body in waves. As she stood up, her arms shook and struggled to hold her up. Erza's body was now covered in dirt, cuts, and bruises while her Flight Armor was tattered in places.

"I'm not done!" shouted a demonic voice, snapping Erza out of her daze. Looking up, she saw Nero had leaped into the air, his right hand pulled back once more as he began to descend toward her. In spite of the pain, Erza dove out of the way just as Nero and the Specter brought down their fists into the ground, creating a small crater.

Leaping after her, Nero raised Red Queen, the Specter following his movements, despite not having a sword of its own. Erza sprinted in an erratic pattern to try and throw him off, but the hunter was quick to follow her. However, he soon got tired of this and twirled Red Queen around. Coming to a stop in one place, he let out a yell as he spun around and swung the sword with all his might. The result was a powerful gust of wind in all directions. The sudden blast of air caught Erza off guard and was knocked across the entirety of the training grounds by the wind.

Elfman's mouth dropped a little, his expression portraying shock; however, his shock immediately transformed into excitement, "OH YEAH! Now that's manly!"

Nero charged right towards Erza, who was standing up, however, shakily, but was taken off guard by the sudden flash of gold light. Using his right arm to shield his eyes, the hunter looked back to see flying at him were several flying swords. Reacting quickly, he swung Red Queen to shatter the incoming weapons while backpedaling slightly.

After a short barrage of sharp objects, Nero now had the chance to see Erza was now in her Heaven's Wheel Armor once more. However, he took notice of the look of determination in her eyes; a look that spoke volumes of never giving in. Nero smirked as he rested Red Queen on his shoulder.

"Glad to see you getting serious now," taunted Nero, brushing his coat off with his right hand, the Specter doing the same, "Now let's see if you can back it up."

Suddenly, he swung out Devil Bringer, in a flash, Yamato appeared in his right hand. Now holding one sword in one hand, the hunter twirled the weapons around as he entered a stance.

As Erza floated in the air, a dozen magical swords flashed into existence around her, "Dance, my blades!" The swords began to float around her, "Circle Sword!"

After taking a disc formation, the blades shot toward Nero, who narrowed his eyes as he swung both Yamato and Red Queen at the incoming weapons. The legendary katana sliced through the weapons like butter while Red Queen just straight up shattered them. Pieces of weapons fell to the ground as the hunter twirled his weapons around. However, he soon had to backflip to allow a large barrage of them. When the swords crashed into the ground, a heavy amount of dirt and rock was thrown up and rained down on Nero.

He used Devil Bringer to try to shield himself from the dust-choked air. Visibility inside the dirt storm was relatively zero. His eyes widened once more, he knew that he was not a good position right now.

Without warning, Erza soared into the dust cloud and slashed her twin blades against Nero's chest in an X-shaped pattern. The Hunter stumbled back as a spray of blood shot out of his wounds before healing rapidly.

Just as Erza flew off, she shouted, "Scattered Petals!"

Not to be taken off guard again, Nero flexed his arms around, eight swords appearing around and spun like blades to block several dozen swords. However, a few got through and impaled him in a few places and knocked him back a couple yards. Rolling across his back, the hunter was back on his feet in time to let out an angered yell. He swung Yamato with all his might, the blade flashing brightly as a huge wave of energy was sent right to Erza.

The wave exploded when it collided with her, knocking the mage back a little but she recovered quickly and flew towards Nero with a couple dozen swords with her. Nero easily dodged the attack by leaping to the side, allowing her blades to collide with the Earth. Flying after him, Erza summoned more swords around her and launched right towards Nero.

Nero rapidly swung both swords in his hands, shattering the weapons as the came at him. However, he was forced to jump back and flip to avoid several blades that he couldn't destroy.

"Okay, I getting tired of this!" snapped Nero as a blade sliced his left arm. He glanced over to see that his healing factor wasn't healing as fast as it should. This meant she was actually wearing him down.

'Finish it,' whispered a voice in the back of Nero's mind. The hunter heard and through his tired and adrenaline running mind, he adhered to it.

Erza leaped at Nero once more, bringing both her swords down on him. However, Nero easily dodged this by backflipping at least thirty feet into the air. Flipping through the air, he sheathed Red Queen and dismissed Yamato. Letting out a growl, he drew back Devil Bringer, the Specter doing the same, however, when he did, the arm started glowing brighter as energy coursed around it. With a powerful yell, he sent the Specter's hand right towards the Red Head. The beings large hand grabbed her by the chest, the claws digging into her armor as the hunter was suddenly pulled right towards.

Maneuvering himself around, Nero aimed both his heels at Erza, smashing into the mage like a missile and smashed her into the ground. Flipping off, he landed on his feet before rushing towards Erza, drawing Devil Bringer back he slugged her right in the jaw.

Suddenly, the Specter didn't copy his movements. Instead, catching all the wizards in the audience by surprise, the ethereal projection followed up his attack by performing a left uppercut. Working in tandem, the hunter and the Specter rained down hell. The hunter slamming his left boot in her stomach while the Specter brought a double uppercut, interlocking its fingers to snapped Erza head up. Performing another right hook, the Specter brought both its arms down on Erza' shoulder's smashing her into the ground.

Taking the opening, Nero wrapped his arms around Erza's waist and lifted the mage right into the air. Flipping her around, he held her legs and brought the Fairy Queen down for a powerful powerbomb which shattered the ground. Erza suppressed her cries of pain as the hunter suddenly grabbed her ankle and flipped her around to smash her onto her stomach. Practically rag dolling her, Nero smashed her into the ground several times before the Specter grabbed Erza by the shoulders and held her in place.

Nero then lashed out his left hand, fingertips digging into the armor, covering her stomach. He opened Devil Bringer's palm and slammed it directly into her chest. The result was large chunks of Erza's armor getting ripped clean off. Erza tumbled across the ground while Nero and the Specter tossed the broken pieces of armor away. With one more yell, Nero drew Devil Bringer back, the Specter mimicking his movements this time. However, as he was doing this, energy began to pour out of his right arm while the Specter's own right arm practically flowed with it and the entity started to grow in size.

Erza's eyes widened when she realized what he was doing. Before she could react, Nero and the Specter brought down a massive fist right down onto her. The earth shook from the impact while a cloud of dust was thrown up.

The Fairy Tail wizards starred in anxiety and anticipation. All of them were wondering what happened. When the dust settled the saw the faint azure glow and semi transparent appearance of the Specter shrinking in size as it bent down to pick up something.

All most all of the wizards gasped in shock when they saw Nero come out with an unconscious Erza in his arms, the mage's Heaven's Wheel Armor torn to shreds while her swords that she had been previously telekineticly lifting lay scattered across the area. The armor had numerous spots where it had been broken while Erza herself had received dozens of cuts and bruises across her body.

Carrying her out of the dust, his Devil Trigger vanishing, the hunter laid Erza on the ground, a low moan escaping her lips.

"I think we're about done," stated Nero as he knelt beside her.

"This fight is over!" Makarov exclaimed, "And Nero is the winner!"

For a tense moment, silence ruled over all the mages gathered. All of them in shock and bewilderment as to what they just witnessed and heard. Despite neither of them going all out, however, it looked like Nero was close to doing so, they couldn't believe that Erza actully lost. Taking a hot minute for the outcome of the situation to sink in, practically all the wizards erupted in a massive wave of cheers and congradulations, most for Nero like he received when he defeated Natsu.

Even though most of them bet on Erza and lost money, they couldn't help but cheer for Nero and his well-earned win.

However, Natsu and Gray were both a completely different story all together.

"NO WAY! ERZA ACTUALLY LOST?!" They both shouted together, their expressions depicting shock.

"Makes you think twice about challenging Nero next time, huh?" Lucy noted.

"YAY!" Happy yelled, enthused, "I just won a lot of money! I wonder how much fish I can buy!"

"SERIOUSLY?!" Lucy hollered, "YOU'RE GONNA SPEND IT ALL ON FISH?!"

"I don't believe it," gaped Wakaba as his pipe fell to the ground as his mouth dropped "Erza, our Erza, Queen of the Fairies…lost?"

"Yeah," Macao replied, "though I bet on Nero, I'm still completely surprised if I'm honest."

Elfman smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, "Now that's a real man right there."

"And that real man just won me a ton of money! Woo-hoo!" Cana cheered as she jumped in excitement.

Erza groaned again as her eyes fluttered open. Her vision was blurry and all she could see was a yellow and black figure standing by her. When her eyes readjusted, she could see a platinum blonde kneeling beside her on one knee. The hunter held out his Demon Hunter for her to take.

As her dazed state passed, Erza reached out and grabbed Devil Bringer, letting him pull her to her feet. However, she nearly fell when her knees almost gave out, but she didn't fall as Nero held her gently and kept her from collapsing. In a flash of gold, Erza re-quipped into her Heart Kreuz armor.

"You good, Erza?" asked Nero looking her directly in the eyes, worried that he went overboard.

Erza turned to look at him hard with a frown, her right eye concealed by her hair. Nero wasn't worried though he was cautious; but he had to admit, Erza's scarlet hair was beautiful.

'Wait, what? "Beautiful?"' thought the hunter, 'Well... it is... I guess.'

The redheaded warrior's frown turned into a smile, "I will be."

"There's a trick I learned a while back to heal others," offered Nero as he summoned Yamato, the sword held in its sheath, "I can do that and-"

"I appreciate your kindness, but I'll be alright, Nero," cut in Erza as she shook her head.

"Congratulations on the win," she continued, "I must admit, I've never been in a fight like that before."

"Well you've never fought anyone like me before," added the Hunter jokingly, earning a smile from Erza, "But I gotta admit, there's a damn good reason you're called the 'Queen of the Fairies'. Had me on the ropes a few times there. I'm big enough to admit you're a really good fighter and an even better swordswoman. Guess this is why no one wants to get on your bad side."

Erza smiled from his compliment, "It's been a long time since I have ever lost at anything," Her determined smile returned, "I will train harder to defeat you in our rematch someday."

"Well good luck," chuckled Nero as he folded his arms, "You'll need it."

"Master, can you believe it? Erza really lost a fight?" Mirajane asked, shocked.

With his head hung low, he hummed in contemplation, "Yes. Very impressive that Nero managed to defeat one of our strongest S-Class wizards."

'He'll make an excellent candidate for the S-Class trial next year,' He thought.

"However, I really envy him," Makarov continued.

Mirajane turned to him, confused, "Why, master?"

The dwarf-sized mage laughed giddily, "Because he got the full view of Erza's Seduction Armor and kissed by a gorgeous woman. OH WOW! NOW THAT IS ONE LUCKY YOUNG MAN!"

"MASTER!" Mirajane reprimanded.

Elfman walked up behind Nero, "Great job, Nero!" He applauded, "That was one of the manliest fights I've ever seen!"

With closed eyes, the white-haired giant slapped the back of Nero's head for congratulations; but, Elfman unintentionally caused Nero to stumble forward and lose Yamato. The sword and sheath went flying into the crowd.

Lucy saw an object flying through the air right towards her. She stretched her arms out and caught the object and brought it to eye level. In her hands was the katana sheath and all.

"Oh boy...," groaned Nero as he swayed in place before falling onto his back.

"Nero!?" gasped Erza as she knelt down beside the hunter as a film of sweat formed on his forehead while he panted in exhaustion, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just can I have Yamato back?" gasped the hunter as he sat up.

Seeing his friend in distress, Natsu rushed toward Lucy and grabbed the sheath, "Hang tight, Nero!"

The Dragon Slayer then leaped towards Nero and threw the sword at him. This only accomplished in the base of the sheath striking the hunter in the forehead, knocking him onto his back as he groaned. The Yamato meanwhile fell on his chest.

"Why would you think that it was a good idea to throw it at him!?" demanded Cana as she lifted her mug and smashed the bottom of it into Natsu's skull, driving him face first into the dirt.

"No, I'm good," groaned Nero as he sat up again, holding his forehead with his right hand, "Caught me by surprise is all."

"What happened?" asked Gray as he, Lucy, Happy, and a few other wizards gathered around Nero as he stood up.

"Well, you see, Yamato is the source of my Devil Trigger," explained Nero as the second he gripped it with Devil Bringer it appeared as though he could go another ten rounds with Erza, "Without it, severely depowered, everything is not as strong. Total strength would be brought down to, like, twenty percent of what I can really do."

Erza blinked in surprise, 'Without Yamato, Nero is practically handicapped,' the mage thought before she narrowed her eyes and frowned, 'That would have been useful to know during the fight.'

With Yamato back in hand, the hunter took a deep breath as the weapon shined brightly before it vanished into Devil Bringer, "That's better," said the hunter as he stood up and stretched, "Feels weird without Yamato in me."

"IN YOU?!" Shrieked Lucy, "WHY WOULD YOU KEEP A SWORD IN YOU FOR MAVIS'S SAKE!"

"Easier to carry and easier to keep safe," shrugged Nero.

"Alright," Makarov announced, "this fight is over. Everyone pick up your things and head back to the construction site or your homes."

With that, the Guild members picked up any stuff that they brought and began to walk down the path that led back to Magnolia.

Nero stretched as he rolled his shoulder and checked to see if any wounds were still healing. With a quick inspection done he dusted off his coat while making a mental note to talk to Mira to fix his tattered coat and clothing.

He was about to meet up with the rest of his team until Erza stopped him by turning him to face her.

"Something wrong, 'Za?" asked Nero, but as soon as he did, she cocked her armored fist back and punched him in the gut.

The hunter flinched for a second before looking at her in surprise, "Please don't call me that."

"Okay," coughed Nero as he spits to the side, "I can take a hint."

The redhead's angry mood instantly vanished and was replaced by cheerfulness, "Now, let's head back to the Guild. Coming Nero?"

"Right," scoffed Nero as he gave her a smirk, "act like you didn't just punch me."

Erza rolled her eyes as she and Nero turned to head back to the guild. However, as they were leaving, there were some eyes watching the entire battle from the shadows of the surrounding forest. Approximately four sets of eyes to be accurate.

---

Outer Edge of Training Grounds

On a hill in the East Forest, not too far away from Erza's training ground, four figures had been watching the fight.

The first figure was a slim man of average height with waist-length light-green hair; his bangs were brushed to one side, covering the majority of the right side of his face, as well as a pair of thin strands jutting out backward from the sides of his head, both shaped like lightning bolts. He wore a knee-length, double-breasted dark red coat with lighter-colored cuffs. Strapped to his black leather belt on his left hip was his sword.

This was Freed Justine, leader of the Thunder Legion; one of the strongest teams in Fairy Tail that acted as Laxus's personal bodyguards.

The second figure was a tall, mildly muscular built man whose eyes were concealed by a silver grill that resembled the faceguard of a knight's helmet. He wore a dark, mildly fitting outfit with white vertical stripes that stretched to his head, which was covered in a tight hood except for his face. His arms were adorned with two large armbands, and he possessed large shoulder pads each with a skull on its center. His waist was circled by a simple dark band, which held up a massive waist-guard made of cloth, which came in four long, light-colored pieces, each adorned by a dark "X", reaching down below his knees.

This was Bickslow, the second member of the Thunder Legion. Hovering around him were five wooden, can-shaped dolls with darker-colored wings attached to both sides and had different faces painted on them. These were Bickslow's dolls that were created by his Seith Magic, which allowed the caster to seal wandering souls inside objects and manipulate them as they wish.

The third figure was a woman with a very voluptuous figure paired with very large breasts and curvy hips. Her hair was light brown and stylized in a sideward ponytail and she had a pair of oval-shaped glasses over her dark brown eyes. She wore a green dress, moveable white wings on her back, and navy blue stockings with white sandals.

This was Evergreen, the third member of the Thunder Legion.

The fourth and final figure was a tall, well-muscled young man with spiky blonde hair, spiked headphones over his ears, and a lightning bolt scar over his right eye. He wore a dark green shirt, a black coat with gray fur trim, and wine red pants.

This was Laxus Dreyar, the grandson of Master Makarov, and an S-Class wizard; he was one of Fairy Tail's top contenders for the title of 'most powerful wizard in Fairy Tail.'

Laxus and the Thunder Legion had heard of the fight between the Guild's newest addition, Nero Sparda, a powerful Demon-Slayer Mage, and Erza Scarlet, the Queen of the Fairies, that was scheduled today. Like the other mages, they had come to watch the fight, but stood off to the side out of sight of Fairy Tail. Standing at the front of the quartet was Laxus who had his arms crossed over his chest. He stared at the demon hunter with a frown.

"He's quite powerful and skilled wouldn't you say, Laxus?" asked Freed as he approached the mage.

"Whatever," scoffed Laxus, "he's still a kid."

"Kid or not," cut in Bickslow with an excited yell," He's a lot stronger than any of those weaklings down there; minus Makarov! Isn't that right, babies?"

The wooden dolls around him all voiced their agreements in happy-sounding voices.

As Bickslow was playing with his dolls, Evergreen stepped forward for a look herself at the training ground. As Nero stood up and dusted himself off, the mage smiled lustfully to herself, "Hmm... not only powerful, he's also really cute as well."

Freed and Bickslow looked at the brown haired woman, confused. The former shook his head and looked back at Laxus, "So Laxus," began Freed, "do you believe he would make a fine addition to the Thunder Legion?"

Laxus didn't answer as he turned and walked away with a scowl on his face. The Thunder Legion watched him saunter off, perplexed on why he seemed so angry. The three wizards turned their gaze back to Nero who stopped for a second, he glanced back and right at them. Each wizard was caught a little by surprise, but even more so when he gave them a salute as he turned back and started a light jog to catch up.

"What do you two think?" asked Freed to his two teammates.

"Hmph...," hummed Bickslow, smiling almost psychotically, "certainly seems strong enough for me."

"Powerful wizard, attractive body, sharp personality, handsome face," her gaze then traveled further and a light blush appeared on her face, "cute butt. He defeated Erza. Oh yes, I want him for sure."

Bickslow looked at her peculiarly, "Do you want him on our team or do you actually want him?"

The brown-haired beauty smiled shyly and blushed, "Both," she replied.

Freed and Bickslow both sweatdropped.

"Getting back to business," Freed said, "one of us should ask him to join us on our mission. It'll allow us a chance to gauge his strength and determine if he can be an ally of Laxus."

The leader of the Thunder Legion didn't have to wait before someone quickly volunteered.

---

Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Magnolia

*Later...*

About an hour after the fight, Mirajane had announced that despite the ongoing construction, the Guild would be taking on job requests again. This immediately got everyone excited as a crowd gathered around the Request Board to find a job. Other wizards were by the bar area, drinking beer and talking; mainly about the earlier fight.

However, despite everything that was going on, there was one member of Fairy Tail that wasn't standing over by the Request Board, or lounging at the bar. It was Nero who was sitting at a table, legs kicked up and leaning back in the chair. Red Queen was resting against the table as the hunter took a swig of his beer before uncrossing his legs and sat forward to rest his mug on the table and lean on his elbows. Deciding to take a little power nap, the hunter got a drink and was enjoying his win. However, he wasn't enjoying it as much as he should be due to one instance.

That voice...

Sighing, the hunter pushed his drink off to the side and laid his head down on the table for a little nap. Soon, he was snoring lightly.

Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy were by the Request Board searching for a job. The former two were arguing which job would be the best, while Lucy sweat dropped in annoyance. Happy glanced behind him and noticed Nero napping on a table nearby. His eyes then spotted a set of headphones in his coat pocket a small device in the same pocket. Cocking an eyebrow, the cat flew over to Nero's slumbering form and gently landed next to him.

He eyed the two devices in wonder before he reached out and took them out before flying onto the table. The device looked like a glass rectangle with a black face and silver back. Seeing a small button he pressed it and the glass lit up. The device beeped as an image appeared.

"Ooh," said Happy as a bright smile appeared. He pressed the button again and the screen changed to reveal multiple little objects. One was labeled music.

"Wonder what it means by muisc," whispered Happy as he touched the icon and revealed numerous songs.

Erza was having a drink of her own while sitting at the bar. She saw Natsu and Gray by the Request Board getting into each other's face, ready to fight. The redhead frowned and made her way over there until she spotted Happy. He was playing with something on Nero's table while the hunter himself was snoring lightly.

The armored warrior changed direction and stopped by the table, standing behind Happy with her arms crossed over her breastplate, "What do you think you're doing, Happy?" She asked.

Upon hearing Erza's voice, Happy yelped in terror and accidentally fell forward onto the device, selecting a certain song. In the sudden motion, he also dropped the headphones which clattered on the table. The device's speakers flipped 180 degrees until they were facing out, as a result, they became more powerful speakers.

Suddenly a song started playing.

(I'm Dangerous -Everlove)

The sudden start of the song caught the attention of nearby Fairy Tail Wizards like Natsu, Gray, and Lucy. The beat was slow, but was strong and easily drew more attention.

"At first I was afraid, I was afraid,

Down in the darkness I was crawling through the human race,

I heard the voices through the dark (oh oh oh oh oh oh oh),

So I beat my fist against my chest against my heart,"

"Woah," commented Elfman as he walked over and picked up the headset, "What this supposed to be?"

"I don't know," responded Lucy, "Maybe it plays music. Nero did say in his word they were more advanced than us."

A few more wizards such as Macao, Wakaba, and Mirajane approached the table that had the phone lying on the table. They looked at the device as the screen glowed brightly while the name of the song was displayed.

"I kinda like it," commented Natsu.

"Hey-ho!

Hear the sound,

We are the underground,

Hey-ho!

Rising up,

We're not afraid of fighting.

I've finally found my place,

I put the war paint on my face,

And I'm ready to give (hey!) whatever it takes.

Standing at the edge of the fire,

Fighting for the will to survive,

I feel it burning under my skin,

And I'm back on my feet again.

This is the feeling,

I can't believe it,

My heart is bleeding out,

Now I'm dangerous.

Feeding the fire.

Higher and higher,

Rising up, rising up,

Now I'm dangerous.

Silence the voices in my head,

I picked my poison now I'll drink it to the bitter end,

Hey-ho! Hear me now!

I take on the darkness by myself

'Cause I'm ready to give (hey!) whatever it takes.

Standing at the edge of the fire,

I don't know how I ever survived,

I feel it burning under my skin,

And now I'm back on my feet again.

This is the feeling,

I can't believe it,

My heart is bleeding out,

Now I'm dangerous.

Feeding the fire,

Higher and higher,

Rising up, rising up,

Now I'm dangerous.

This is the feeling,

I can't believe it,

My heart is bleeding out,

Now I'm dangerous.

Feeding the fire,

Higher and higher,

Rising up, rising up,

Now I'm dangerous.

(Oh oh oh oh oh oh,

Oh oh oh oh oh).

I'm dangerous!

Rising up, rising up,

Now I'm dangerous."

With that, the song finished while the mages in the hall were left intrigued and curious to know more about the kind of music Nero listens to. However, before anyone could comment on anything, Happy hoped down from the table and began to rummage through Nero's pockets.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" demanded Lucy as she grabbed Happy and tried pulling him away, but the cat held onto Nero's coat, "YOU CAN'T SEARCH HIS POCKETS!"

"But he has cool stuff!" Happy protested as he hung on, "I wanna know what else he has!"

"I DON'T CARE!" Snapped Lucy, "YOU DON'T GO THROUGH PEOPLE'S POCKETS!"

"Happy," Erza growled, her eyes glowing red.

Happy squealed as he instantly let go and flew behind Lucy, shaking in trepidation. "I'm sorry, Erza." He pleaded. "I was just curious of how he tasted."

Natsu laughed, "Curiosity almost killed the cat. Huh?"

"Ugh," everyone groaned at Natsu's bad pun.

When the moment passed, everyone turned their gaze back to a slumbering Nero.

"So the guy likes music, huh?" commented Wakaba.

"He doesn't really talk much about himself," added Mira.

"I'm curious myself," admitted Erza, "There's still a lot we don't know about Nero."

As they were talking, Natsu grabbed the device and touched the screen, however, when he did, nothing happened, "Why won't it work?"

He then began to tap harder as he was getting frustrated.

"Natsu, be careful," cautioned Mira, her eyes widening, "I don't think Nero'll be happy if you break it."

"Yeah, guy takes his stuff seriously," Gray interjected for himself, "trust me, I know."

"Huh?" wondered everyone, confused.

"What happened?" asked Lucy.

Before Gray could answer, they heard a banging as Natsu started hitting the device against the table, "Why won't it work!"

The banging caused Nero to wake up as his eyes snapped open. The first thing he saw was Natsu banging his phone against the table. Seeing his phone getting beaten, immediately caused the hunter to leap into action.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" bellowed Nero as he leaped from his chair and slugged Natsu in the face. The impact sent him flying into the bar's counter as the phone flipped through the air. The hunter looked up and caught the phone in his hands. Checking the device over, he sighed in relief as he found there was nothing broken. The sudden action did cause a few wizards to be caught by surprise.

Looking in his pocket, he noticed his headset was gone. Looking around he spotted Elfman holding it. Frowning he stalked over and took the headset back from the giant before turning to face a certain pink haired wizard, "Why did you think banging my phone against the table would be a good idea?"

Natsu blinked a couple times with a clueless expression on his face, "What's a phone?"

Nero narrowed his eyes as he walked towards Natsu and proceeded to bang his right hand on his head, knocking the wizard down to the ground.

"This is a phone," supplied Nero as he held the device in front of Natsu, "which you're never going to touch again."

"HA!" Gray laughed, "Nice one, Nero!"

"Where are your clothes?" demanded Lucy.

"OH C'MON!" The ice mage's smugness was replaced by panic, "HOW DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?"

Natsu grunted as he got up from the wrecked countertop, "What's the deal, man? I barely touched it!"

"Yeah," scoffed Nero as he slipped both objects back into his pocket, "banging an object against a table repeatedly is total gentle. In fact-" he grabbed Natsu by the back of his scarf and lifted him up with his left hand, "Let's see if you think this is gentle!"

With that, Nero proceeded to smash him into the already broken counter three times before slugging him in the face with Devil Bringer knocking Natsu out as he fell onto his back, his eyes swirling while he groaned.

"Little extreme, don't you think?" commented Wakaba.

"Ah, flame brain had it coming," shrugged Gray.

---

*Later...*

Later, after Natsu had recovered, he had gotten mad and challenged Nero to another fight. The demon hunter raised Devil Bringer and threatened to treat him like a ragdoll and spin him around like the first time the fought. The thought of being spun around again instantly made Natsu sick, and he quickly backed down; much to Gray's amusement.

Now, Nero was sitting at the bar finishing off his beer, deciding to relax for the rest of the day. No more fights. No demons trying to kill him. No jobs. Just him and relaxation.

In his head, a feminine voice cleared her throat. Making the hunter roll his eyes as he remembered that Volcana was still a part of him.

However, the relaxing moment was interrupted when he heard someone approach him, "Well, well," a feminine voice said, "who do we have here?"

Nero turned in the direction of the voice, which was his right and the first thing he saw was a very impressive bust that was barely withheld by a green dress. The hunter noticed the Fairy Tail Logo stamped on the woman's right breast. Whoever it was, definitely had a nice rack and also had light brown hair stylized in a sideways ponytail, and wore a pair of oval-shaped glasses.

Nero blinked passively as he kept a neutral expression. His hunter mind was in control as he heard that tone of voice before. Many times when he ran into a Succubus or female demon or demoness. This woman was quite attractive, however, he kept calm, even as her large, barely concealed breasts were right in front of him.

"Something I can do for you?" asked Nero calmly as he leaned on the bar, "Don't think I've seen you around. Would've remembered someone like you if I had."

"Charmer," chuckled the woman as she smiled bashfully, "My name is Evergreen."

"Nero," returned the hunter as he took a swig of his beer.

From the tables close by, a few mages were watching the interaction between Nero and Evergreen with interest.

"Whoa," Wakaba said, "Evergreen? She hardly ever comes to the Guild."

"Yeah," Macao added, "Why's she so close to Nero?"

"No way," Droy remarked from the table next to Macao and Wakaba's, "Is she…flirting with him?"

"That's new," Jet said with wide eyes. Their comments went unheard as Evergreen and Nero spoke.

"Not sure if I've heard of you, maybe I have," spoke Nero smoothly, "You part of a team, or are you a solo?"

"I'm part of a team," smirked the brown-haired beauty, "The Thunder Legion, the strongest team in Fairy Tail."

"Pretty bold statement," snorted Nero, however, he squinted his eyes as he thought about something, "I think I've heard of your leader, Laxus I think."

"That's right," nodded Evergreen, before she continued, "Anyways, Nero, I just came by to ask you something."

"That being?" inquired Nero with a disinterested glint in his eyes.

"If you're interested," offered Evergreen as she leaned in, her breasts inching closer to Nero's face, the hunter casually leaning back in a manner that looked natural, "Would you care to join me and my team on a mission?"

This shocked the mages who were eavesdropping on Evergreen and Nero.

"Did she really just ask him to go on a job with her?" Macao said, surprised.

"And with the Thunder Legion?" Wakaba added, "That's never happened before."

Meanwhile, Erza stepped toward the bar area. She had just accepted a request from the S-Class board and had sent the client a letter of notification of her accepting the job and her arrival. As per the standard of an S-class job, it was going to be dangerous and Erza had a feeling that she may need backup. She was about to search for her team and ask them if they could accompany her until she spotted Evergreen and Nero.

The armored warrior noticed how very close the brown-haired woman was in Neros personal space and was leaning back to avoid having to look completely at her breasts. When she heard Evergreen ask Nero to join her on a job, Erza froze.

'Why would Evergreen of all people ask Nero to join her on a mission?' Titania thought. She then took note of Evergreen's coy smile and how she seemed to be eying Nero like a hunk of meat. Her eyes abruptly narrowed as she tightly clenched her armored fists, 'I see.'

Without a word, she headed straight for the duo. A trail of steam hissing out from her ears in her wake.

"Oh, now I remember," announced Nero as he smirked and chuckled, "You're on Laxus the Spinless's Team."

The statement alone caused everyone in the bar area to freeze and look at Nero in complete shock. Erza and Evergreen looked in complete surprise, the former freezing in her tracks her eyes widened while the later almost recoiled.

"W-What?" she stammered before composing herself, "Nero, I'm certain you've heard more than a few stories about-"

"About how 'Laxus's the strongest wizard in Fairy tail,' that he's 'the most powerful excluding Makarov,' that 'no one can beat him.' Yeah I've heard the rumors," cut off Nero as he folded his arms.

"Exactly my point," pressed Evergreen, seeing that he was as easy as she thought, "Laxus only takes in the strongest mages to be part of the Legion. And I'm certain he'd welcome you-."

"To do his dirty work," interrupted the Demon Hunter once more, "I've seen how he works. Guys like Laxus, the talk big game, but when shit hits the fan, he doesn't wanna get his hands dirty."

"You don't know Laxus as I do," defended Evergreen, "I used to be on my own team, but I left all that behind."

"'Because Laxus's the real deal', blah, blah, blah," snorted Nero as he folded his arms. Evergreen was about to speak, but he cut her off before she could start, "Listen Evergreen, I tell you're a nice girl and that you've got a good head on your shoulders, but I'm not buying what your selling."

Nero snorted wryly, "Wouldn't be a good hunter if I took everything said to me at face value," he then turned to Evergreen, "What I'm saying is, it's not that I don't believe that you want me on the team, it's that I'm more inclined to believe my own assumptions about Laxus based on what I've seen."

"And what I've seen about the guy, is that he's a total jackass, who's getting too big for his boots, thinking nothing can touch him and talks shit to anyone he can when he gets the opportunity. Not to mention, I've never met any of your team," added the hunter, giving the woman a hard look, "I only work with people I know. But before you get all sappy and pleady, let me straighten something out. Just because I'm not willing to work with you now, doesn't mean I'm not open to doing so."

"Does that mean-," asked Evergreen, her hopes rising, but were shut down pretty quick.

"I'll give anything a shot once, but not right now," interrupted Nero, "Right now, I've got a job to do with Erza. Ain't that right?"

Erza was snapped out of her surprise and composed herself. She walked over to stand behind him as a somewhat scary frown formed on her face, "That is true, he's already going on a job with me," she nodded.

Evergreen turned away from Nero and shot a nasty glare at the opposing woman, "Titania Erza," Evergreen spat out with resentment in her voice, "What do you mean he's going on a job with you?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," cut in Nero as he stood up and adjusted his jacket, glancing at Evergreen, "Figured I'd stretch my legs and get a workout before heading on a job."

"Besides;" added Erza, "he's part of my team and I don't like it when other wizards try and steal my teammates away."

"You make it sound like I'm a kid," deadpanned the teen as gave her a blank expression, "but you don't have to worry, red. She's not stealing me away. Just a job, nothing more, nothing less."

"Exactly," nodded Evergreen.

However, that hardly detered eithr woman from staring at each other with blatant scorn. Nero just rolled his eyes as he folded his arms, "If you guys are trying to kill each other with eye lasers, you're failing," quipped Nero. The mages who were watching the scene unfold looked on, dumbfounded and surprised.

"Is…Erza really fighting Evergreen over Nero?" Jet asked.

"Sure seems that way," Macao answered from the other table, "Damn, lucky guy."

"Man," Wakaba commented, "he's only been in the Guild for a few weeks and he's already gotten more girls than you ever have, Macao."

"Watch it, pal!" Macao replied angrily.

"Besides, I'm more impartial about what Nero said about Laxus!" interrupted Jet.

"No kidding," nodded Macao, "Guy's got guts."

A moment passed before Nero rolled his eyes and pushed the glaring Erza and Evergreen away from each other, "As fun as it is watching you two fight over me, save it for my birthday."

"Whatever," snorted Evergreen, backing down finally, "I need to get ready for my team's mission anyway."

She then turned to Nero, smiling shyly, "Maybe next time, cutie."

"I'll pack my toothbrush for it," he replied dryly.

Without another word, Erza grabbed Nero by the hem of his black muscle shirt and dragged him off; her expression darkened slightly after Evergreen's comment to Nero.

"Easy, there!" snapped Nero as he caught up and wrestled his shirt out of her grasp and followed the redhead, "I've only got the one shirt!"

Those observing the scene watched as Erza lead Nero away, leaving a steamed Evergreen behind.

"Guess we know who the winner is," Macao noted.

"Yep; round one goes to Nero by upset," Wakaba joked.

While this was going on, Nero and Erza arrived in the courtyard, where the hunter stopped the latter by getting in front of her and giving a serious look, "Okay, what the hell was that?" demanded Nero.

"Very well," she sighed, "You and I are going on a job. As you said we were."

"I was saying that to get Green to back off," exasperated Nero.

"But we are going on a quest," repeated Erza.

"Since when?" he demanded folding his arms.

"Since a minute ago," answered the mage, "I wasn't going to allow her to steal you away from our team. I was planning on telling her you weren't available as you and I were going on a quest, but you beat me to it."

"So you were going to lie like I was?" deadpanned Nero.

Erza smirked, "I wasn't lying about that, Nero. You will be going on a mission with me."

"Really?" stated the hunter, cocking an eyebrow, "what kind of mission is it?"

"It's S-Class," she answered, smiling slyly.

"Hate to burst your bubble, but you need to be an S-Class to go on one," pointed out the demon-human, "Last I checked, I'm not one."

"You don't have to be, not as long as you are with an S-Class wizard," Erza replied.

"Hmm," hummed Nero. A part of him was confused why Erza of all people would suddenly and inexplicably want to do this. Not to mention an S-Class mission of all things. However, he was curious to see what an S-Class was like.

"What kind of job are we talking?" asked Nero.

"Reave's Point, a town towards the west of Magnolia," answered Erza as her expression turned serious and she handed the hunter a job flier who took it and flipped it over, "The town has been attacked by some sort of electric monster for about a month. Lightning storms have raged since its first appearance and have not let up since then. There are reports of demons also attacking and injuring civilians. Dozens of people have been seriously hurt and it appears the attacks are getting more frequent and more aggressive. If something isn't done soon, it is only a matter of time before innocent people are killed. The job is to go in and destroy these creatures before they bring any more harm to the people of that town."

"I'm not foolish enough to believe I can vanquish a potential brood of electric demons and an unknown monster, not to mention with the likelihood these demons are from your world and are immune to magic. I can't bring the others with me since they are not ready for a job like this and the likelihood these are demons from the demon world, you are the best candidate to help me. I could really use your assistance on this mission, Nero," concluded Erza.

The hunter read the flier as she spoke and from what he's heard from her, it seemed that he was the best option. In all honesty, lightning demons were known to be extremely aggressive, case-in-point: Blitzs, so it was understandable for the request for help. Also, the reward looked pretty good.

"Alright, you got me," said Nero, handing the flier back, "I'll help yah."

"Thank you, Nero," Erza smiled in appreciation, "You'll also get a hefty reward when we complete this job."

"Oh yeah," nodded Nero. He had seen what was offered and it looked pretty good.

In the event he and Erza pulled this off, they'd get a generous payment of fifteen-million jewels. Split between both of them, it was still 7.5 million. He'd have plenty left over and be able to buy a place to live.

"That's a lot of money," smirked Nero.

"Yes, it's a very big reward," chuckled Erza, "Even after we split it, you'll have more than enough money to get out of Gray's house and acquire your own."

"That's the plan," agreed the hunter, "So, when do we hit the road?"

"We leave first thing tomorrow morning. Meet me here and then head out," She replied.

"I'll see you there," Nero gave her a two fingered salute and a smirk.

However the demon hunter and armor-shifting mage were interrupted when Lucy suddenly appeared, "Hey Guys," spoke the blonde girl, causing both of them to face her. With Lucy was Natsu, Gray, and Happy. The Dragon Slayer and ice-make wizard were in each other's face, already insulting one another. Lucy stood in front of them, acting oblivious to what was happening behind her.

"Again?" guessed Nero.

Lucy sighed, annoyed. "Yes."

"Natsu, Gray," Erza spoke in her commanding tone, "that's enough."

Instantaneously, the duo smiled and swung an arm around one another's shoulders as if they were good buddies, "Yes ma'am!" they both shouted.

Nero chuckled as he made a whipping motion.

"Anyways, I picked us out a job. It's defeating some bandits who've overrun Fort Term. We can leave in the morning," Lucy said.

"I'm sorry, Lucy, but I'm afraid Nero and I can't tag along," Erza responded, "We're both going on a job of our own tomorrow."

This immediately caught Lucy, Happy, Gray, and Natsu's attention; the latter two even stopped quarreling with each other to focus their attention on Nero and Erza.

"You two are going on a job already? What kind?" Natsu asked eagerly.

"Heading out to take on some lightning demons and possibly devil from the demon world that has been attacking a town west of here," answered Nero giving them the cliff notes version.

The four's jaws dropped in shock and disbelief. First, Erza challenged Nero to a fight, then he won, and now she was taking him on an S-Class job?!

"NO WAY!" Natsu, Gray, and Happy yelled simultaneously; shocked expressions plastered on their faces.

"You're taking Nero on an S-Class quest?!" Natsu shouted angrily, "To take down lightning demons?! AW MAN! I WANNA GO!"

"Guys already got a job," pointed out Nero with a smile, "Means you're professionally obligated to finish before starting another. Besides, bandits aren't going to turn themselves in."

"Nero is right; besides, you two are not ready for a mission like this; perhaps some other time," Erza added.

Natsu and Gray's shoulders slumped while their heads lowered in defeat, "Aww," they moaned.

Lucy, however, didn't seem affected at all; in fact, if anything, she looked relieved that she didn't have to go fight volcano monsters, "That's fine. You two have fun with that." She said cheerfully.

Lucy quickly grabbed Natsu and Gray by their shirts and dragged them away before the two dunderheads could convince Erza to let them tag along. She would rather take her chances with bandits than lightning demons or devil any day.

"Aw, but fighting lighting demons and a devil sounds a lot more fun than boring ole bandits," Natsu complained.

Lucy turned to him, and retorted, "You have a weird definition of fun."

"We'll see you all tomorrow before we head out," Erza then looked at her partner, "Nero, I would suggest you get your things packed tonight."

"Right," sighed Nero as he scratched the back of his head, "Only good clothes I've are the ones on my back, a pair of pajamas and a toothbrush. Screwed up my others clothes by mistake when I was washing them this morning."

"Oh," the redhead said, "well, we'll go out shopping for your things when we get paid. In the meantime," she suddenly grabbed his wrist and began dragging him off, "you can help me pack my things."

"Wait what?" demanded Nero as he adopted a look worry. It was no secret to him that Erza brought an insane amount of things with her on a mission or quest. Helping her pack it all was scarier then any demon.

Even he wouldn't wish that fate on a demon.

Well...

Maybe one.

To Be Continued...