Chapter 20
"You see Erza. This is why I told you to get out of my way while you had the chance. Now the two of you will meet the same fat." Mason said as he landed in front of Jellal's hand and placed his boot a top it, getting the enemy wizard to scream. "Let it be known that I didn't want this to happen, I really shouldn't have to kill two of my oldest friends today but justice WILL be served." Mason pressed down harder on Jellal's hand and he could feel the fingers beginning to slip. "To Simon and all the lost souls consumed by the tower of heaven rejoice, you'll be able to rest soon."
But as Mason was busy already declaring his victory he did not notice a massive blast of golden light as it collided with his side and sent him flying into a nearby building.
"Fear not criminal!" A powerful voice called down to Jellal as a massive hand reached down to lift him and Erza back up to solid ground. "The New Magic Counsel has sent an elite group of warriors to aid you in this crisis. I promise once we deal with Nirvana we will bring you to justice the proper way, you have my word." Tyson said as he dusted Jellal and Erza off.
"Yeah don't worry the good guys are here." Julia said as she sat herself on top of a large stone. "So you guys can just sit back and watch."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Massive foot steps shook nirvana as a large suit of armor came walking down one of the crumbling roads and from it spoke a booming voice. "We'll take it from here. You civilian wizards should clear out." Brosnan commanded without so much as facing Erza or Jellal.
"Hey!" Erza called back in annoyance. "Don't try to send us away! We can fight!"
"Really? That's great." Brosnan answered sarcastically even though no one could see her roll her eyes. "Why don't you go do that somewhere else. There are supposed yo be six dark mages somewhere on this walking city go bother one of them. This is PERSONAL!"
"Personal? But I!" Erza was ready to argue before a hand reached out and grabbed hold of her shoulder.
"There right." Jellal declared, calming Erza down. "We need to find a way to stop Nirvana before it's too late. We can't afford to be distracted any longer." Erza nodded with understanding and the two mages took off to deal with the oracion seis.
"Well now that that's dealt with, I can finally teach you a lesson Dumbass." Brosnan taunted as she pointed her massive sword towards the building in which Mason was currently recovering.
"YOU….." Mason's voice crept out from the shadows sending shivers down the spines of Julia and Tyson.
"What the?..." Julia muttered as beads of sweat dribbled down her forehead.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING GETTING IN MY WAY?!" Mason roared as his scaly hand emerged from the darkness grabbing a hold of the stone wall and nearly shattering the whole building.
"Brosnan!" Tyson spoke up. "Something is wrong here! I suggest proceeding with caution."
"Caution? Are you serious? This idiot couldn't take me on his best day even if I fought with my eyes closed. Why should I be HUH?!" Brosnan stopped her taunting as she sensed a massive surge of magic power, she barely moved fast enough to block a massive blast of white magic. "This magic…. It's not real, it can't be…." Brosnan couldn't believe her eyes as the energy blast pushed her and all of her massive armor back several feet and when the attack subsided Brosnan's entire gauntlet was obliterated leaving her bare hand out in the open. "My…. armor….."
Mason finally emerged from the dark building, the moon light reflecting off his charcoal scales. His crimson eyes burned with rage. "If you idiots think that just because of our past that I'll let you stand in the way of my justice then you have another thing coming! If you're gonna protect that monster Jellal then that makes you my enemy, and you'll share his fate!" With that Mason disappeared.
"Where did he…" Brosnan tried to scan the battlefield but found no trace of the dragon slayer until he reappeared directly under her nose.
"Right here!" He taunted before he fired a magic uppercut into Brosnan's armored stomach. "VANISHING FIST!" Masons magic began to pool in his fist and the build up caused Brosnan's armor to crack until it shattered into thousands of tiny pieces that fell gently to the ground.
"It's completely gone…" Brosnan looked down at the shattered bits of armor and felt her blood begin to boil. "I loved that suit you asshole!" Brosnan roared as she lifted up her massive sword, whose blade began to glow golden, and swung it at the possessed Mason.
Mason leapt over the swinging sword and retaliated with a blast of magic energy that knocked Brosnan back at least a dozen meters. While on the retreat Brosnan counter fired with three short eye blasts each of which landed in close proximity to Mason, getting the dragon slayer caught up in the explosions. When the smoke eventually subsided it revealed that Mason had shielded himself in a magic dome.
Using his heightened telekinesis Mason began lifting dozens of large stones into the air before he threw them at his former commander. Brosnan began to destroy the rocks away one after each other with a barrage golden energy blast but in the end there were too many rocks and Brosnan found herself once again taking evasive actions. She was able to dodge most of the flying stones but one got the drop on her from above and it smashed her into the dirt.
The powerful light mage managed to push off the large stone but by the time she had returned to her senses Mason had a large energy ball charging in his palm and it was aimed at Brosnan. "Say goodbye boss…." Mason taunted.
Before the villainous dragon slayer could unleash his attack a green laser beam blasted him in his blind spot and sent him flying the opposite direction. He managed to catch himself on his descent and turned to find Julia had stepped up to oppose him, her hand sparkling with emerald colored magic. "Ew dude look at your skin." Julia joked. "Do you need to borrow some moisturizer or something, looks more like your dad was an avocado than a dragon."
"GRRR!" Mason growled as he prepared to face his new target, but before he could move to attack two massive hands reached out from behind him and locked on to his arms to keep him from escaping.
"EXPLOSION MAGIC! CRIMSON METEOR!" Tyson declared and the hands that were locked on Masons arms began to glow red before KABOOOMMMM! A massive tower fire and smoke erupted where the two wizards were standing.
Meanwhile Julia rushed over to assess her injured captain and help her back to her feat. "Gaaahh!" Brosnan winced as she began moving on her own. "He's too strong… You need to leave, I'll hold him back for as long as I can and then."
"And then what?" Julia interrupted knowing Brosnan wouldn't have an answer. "If he's too strong for you then who's gonna stop him? Who's gonna stop Nirvana? This is Mason we're talking about, we don't have to beat him we just gotta snap him back to normal and you don't have to do this alone captain."
Brosnan looked back at her comrade and realized Julia was right, but at the same time Tyson was tossed from the smoke and landed in front of the two girls. "Guuuuhhh…." The massive soldier groaned. "I think I pissed him off." Tyson jestured over to the pile of smoke where he left the Dragon slayer and to piercing red lights could be seen through the smoke. Then with a flare of magic energy Mason dissipated all the smoke before he himself disappeared.
"ON YOUR GUARD NOW!" Brosnan commanded, but she was a little too late as Mason reappeared behind Julia and planted a glowing foot directly between her shoulder blades and kicked her into Brosnan.
"Enough!" Tyson leapt to attack, his massive hands already crimson with destructive magic. Mason lunged in as well and ducked under Tysons hand before turning around and grabbing him by the arm and grappling him over his head before slamming him into the dirt before aiming a magic blast at the old wizard's chest but before he could BAAAMMM! another green energy blast hit Mason in the back getting him to turn around.
"PLASMA DRAGON CLAWS!" Julia leapt forward, her hands had transformed into energy blades and she began to slice at Mason, the phantom dragon backpedaled away from Julia so that he was always a few steps ahead. Julia went in for a lunge when Mason grabbed a hold of her wrist and pulled her towards him, at the same time he drove an elbow into her stomach. "AACCKKK!" Julia let out a mouthful of spit before Mason tossed her away.
"GOLDEN SHINE!" Brosnan called out as her body was engulfed with golden power. "AAAHHHHH!" Brosnan charged Mason, the surge of magic power making her quicker on her feet. "Take this!" Brosnan threw a punch that Mason decided to knock out of the way.
"Wow that was kind of impressive, if that had landed I bet it would've stung a bit. Tell me what you think of this!" Mason threw a punch at Brosnan that locked the Knight Captain back a few paces.
"Ughhh…." She groaned and she stumbled back, but she quickly shook off her pain and charged back in with another blow that Mason once again blocked and countered with a chop to her side. "GAAAHHHAAAAHHH! Grrrrr….." Brosnan limped forward and summoned her massive broadsword. "Take this!" She swung the massive blade but before it hit Mason knocked the sword out of Brosnan's hand but he hadn't yet realized this was a surprise attack. "BEAUTIFUL CANNON!" Brosnan launched a massive golden blast into Mason's chest, knocking him back.
"AAAAHHHHH! HAAAAAHHHHH!" Mason cried out as he went tumbling into the pavement. Mason pushed himself up off the ground and looked forward with rage filled eyes. "That hurt…." Mason growled, not noticing the ground beneath him began to glow red.
"CRIMSON DESTRUCTION! LAND MINE!" Tyson announced as a massive explosion erupted below Mason's feet.
When the smoke cleared Mason had shielded his body with a dome like magic barrier, but it was clear he had still taken some damage but nevertheless a smile formed across his face . "Good to see you guys do have a decent amount of fight in you…"
"You have no idea!" Jullia lept on top of Mason, a ball of green magic in her hand that exploded on contact with Mason's back. The knock back of her attack knocked her back up into the air where she readied another magic attack. "PLASMA DRAGON MACHINE GUN!" Smaller magic blasts rained down above Mason forcing him to take cover under his arms. Julia landed and saw and saw an opening. "PLASMA DRAGON ROAR!"
"AAHHHH!" Mason roared as the power magic blast knocked him back across the battlefield.
"Haha! All that magic power has gone to your head, you're fighting pretty sloppy!" Julia taunted as Mason through a magic circle up in front of his arms. "Oh crap!"
"PHANTOM DRAGON CANNON!" Mason unleashed a massive magic blast that Julia barely managed to dodge before it went off and destroyed an entire block of crumbling houses. "But guess what, I have a good amount of fight in me too."
"GOLDEN STARFALL!" Brosnan fired of a blast of magic light into the sky that separated into hundreds of drops of light that started to rain down on Mason.
Mason created a magic shield above his head to deflect the golden bullets, meanwhile Tyson started to charge him. "RAAAAHHHHHH!" Tyson rapped up Mason in both of his massive arms, which started to glow crimson as he ran.
Before Tyson's magic explosion could go off Mason simply phased through the massive wizard's body and let him continue on his charge. "CRIMSON ERUPTION!" The massive explosion went off without its primary target, destroying nothing but ground. "Huh? Where'd he go?" As Tyson was preoccupied by his failed attack he didn't notice the stones he scattered with his attack began to levitate around him before they started clinging to his body until he was entirely covered with stones to the point where he couldn't move.
"One down…" Mason muttered as he turned away from his conquered foe.
"Let him go!" Julia called out as she prepared an attack. "PLASMA DRAGON ROAR!" Julia unleashed a massive mouthful of magic power.
"Gladly.." Mason said coldly as he used his telepathy to place the stone covered Tyson in front of Julia's roar. The magic blast was powerful enough to knock the stones off of Tyson's body but the blast was also so powerful that it rendered Tyson temporarily unconscious.
"Oh god! Tyson I'm so sorry!" Julia apologised as Mason appeared from out of nowhere behind her.
"PHANTOM DRAGON STRIKE!" Mason kicked Julia from behind knocking her forward before vanishing once more. He reappeared in front of Julia as she was flying and delivered a powerful magic punch into her stomach. "VANISHING FIST!" Mason knocked Julia into the dirt.
"Two down…" Mason declared before the dust had even settled, then his eyes fell to Brosnan. "One to go." Mason then vanished once more.
"Crap…." Brosnan muttered as she looked all around her, not seeing any trace of Mason. "Enough with this hide and seek crap! Show yourself! Fight me for real!"
"Careful what you wish for.." Mason whispered into Brosnan's ear as he slowly reappeared right beside her.
"WaaahhhH!' Brosnan jumped back as she summoned her Sword. "Why you!" Brosnan lunged forward with her massive blade ready but Mason floated carefully out of the way.
"C'mon we already played this game…" Mason joked as he danced around Brosnan's attacks. "You can't beat me one on one in close quarters, especially not with this ridiculous thing." Mason said as he pinched the tip of Brosnan's blade, with a grip so strong that the light mage couldn't pull it back then with a flick of his wrist he knocked the sword out of Brosnan's hand and sent it flying before it landed blade down into a rock. "I get the whole armor thing, you're honestly not that intimidating without it but what's the deal with the huge sword. I mean you don't really need it."
"I don't know it comes in handy!" Brosnan announced as she lifted her arm and began to pull the sword towards her but before she could reach Mason ripped out of the air.
"Really?" Mason asked as he examined the blade. "Then maybe I should give it a spin!" Mason said with a swing of her sword that Brosnan barely managed to dodge. "Oh you're right, this thing is fun!" Mason said as he lunged forward with his new toy.
BAM! BAM! Brosnan shot two magic blasts from her eyes, each of which Mason knocked away with the massive sword. The Dragon slayer struck the earth with the might blade sending a rippling crack towards Brosnan who managed to leap out of the way at the last second. "Alright that's enough!" Brosnan said as she dispelled her sword in a flash of light.
"Awh and things were just getting fun…" Mason taunted as Brosnan fired an energy blast at the Dragon Slayer. Mason didn't even turn he simply created a magic circle that deflected Brosnan's attack back at her.
"AAAHHHH!" Brosnan cried out as her own magic knocked her to the dirt, but regardless it didn't take her very long to get back up.
"You know I never would've told you but I always admired how hard you work but right now I kinda wish you'd just give up." Mason said as he looked down at his old friend with darkness in his eyes.
Brosnan looked back up at Mason her eyes shining with magic power. "BEAUTIFUL CANNON!" She fired another magic blast aimed at Mason's head, to which the Dragon Slayer evaded with a simple step back.
"Really? You just don't know when to quit do you? Huh?!" As Mason was busy taunting Brosnan leapt into the air her entire arm charged with golden magic.
"BEAUTIFUL PUNCH!" Brosnan buried her fist into Mason's and it was followed by a huge magical burst. Brosnan began to pull her arm back but her wrist was quickly caught by Mason who squeezed tight. "AHHHAAAHH!"
"That…. Stung!..." Mason growled as he tightened his grip more and more until SNAP!
"AAAAAAHHHHHAAAAAHHHGGGG!" Brosnan roared in pain before Mason eventually let go, the rune knight dropped to her knee and her arm,which was now bright red and majorly swelling, fell limp by her side.
"And that makes three." Mason declared in a menacing voice before GURGLE! Mason's stomach roared at him. "Guess it's time to fill up before I take care of Jellal." Mason spread his boney wings and took to the sky, at the same time streams of magic energy rose up from the ground and into Mason.
"So he can fly….." Julia joked as she picked herself up out of the dirt, her smile soon faded as she noticed her fallen comrade. "Oh god! Brosnan!" Julia quickly rushed over to her leaders side. "Brosnan are you okay."
"GGGGHHHH!" Brosnan tried to fight back the pain and sit up but she couldn't find the strength. "My arm… I think it's broken…"
"Here…" A battered and bruised Tyson called out as he approached the two ladies holding a piece of torn cloth. "Use this to bind her arm." In no time at all Brosnan was in a makeshift splint and she was able to get back on her feet
"Good thinking Tyson. Hmmmmm…." Brosnan looked up at the feeding Mason with a nervous expression on her face. "Seems like our defeat only served to drain his batteries a bit and now he's recharging."
"So much magic power…" Julia managed to spit out as she could do nothing but watch as Mason funneled power through his body.
"It's Nirvana itself, he's absorbing power directly!" Tyson explained. "We have to stop him before it's too late. If he absorbs too much magic it'll kill him, he could explode. Not to mention that at the rate we're going Nirvana should reach the Cait Shelter guild in less than five minutes. If that happens you can consider our mission an utter failure."
"Hehehe…" Mason chuckled. "If I were you I wouldn't worry too much about either of those things, I've thought of a way to deal with both those problems." With that the dragon slayer lifted both hands into the air above him where magic began pooling into a massive orb about ten to twelve feet in diameter. "I'll use this excess magic to destroy Nirvana." Mason's pupils shrank as a deranged smile formed across his face. "But unfortunately that entails blowing you all to bits along with it!"
(Meanwhile, Jellal' s POV)
SHING! I watched helplessly from the ground as Erza slashed through Midnight with her long bladed spear. "No…. My illusion failed me…. She saw right through it…" Midnight cried out as he dropped to his knees. "I'm the strongest member of the Oracion seis. No one is supposed to be able to touch me…. My prayer…. I'm sorry father but now I'll finally sleep…." With that the supposedly strongest of the Oracion Seis faded into unconsciousness.
I Couldn't help but admire Erza's power, Midnight's reflector magic seemed unbeatable but not only did she find a way to overcome that obstacle but she didn't waste a second destroying his illusion. "Erza that was…. What is that?!" It was like the air itself turned sour. Dark magic, an ungodly amount. It felt as though there was enough to destroy the entire country and that's when I saw it, a ball of white and black floating above the moving city. It was big enough to have been mistaken for a second moon.
"No…. That much magic power….. He's gonna destroy everything…" Erza exclaimed in a way that set my brain on fire.
"What?..." The way she said it mixed with the familiarity of this sense of dread and the feeling of dark magic seemed to have sparked something in my head.
(Flashback)
"Ughhh…" I woke up in a pile of shattered crystal, my head ringing. "Wear am I?" I rubbed the back of my bruised head and that's when everything came back to me, all the horrible things I had done. I was on the Tower of Heaven an atrocity I had built on the bones of the slaves I forced to work until they died from exhaustion, powered buy the souls of countless sacrifices that I hoped to top off with the blood of the only girl who's ever cared about me in my entire worthless life. "Oh god…." But I wouldn't have much time for self loathing.
"This much magic power, it's gonna destroy everything around us. I have to stop it." I white haired mage declared as he lifted Erza and a pink haired boy into the air with telekinesis before he approached a glowing blue orb in the center of the crystal room where he plunged his hand into the magic ball. "I should have enough power to activate it and send the magic somewhere safe."
Erza said something in retaliation but my head was spinning and I couldn't hear the rest of the conversation before he floated Erza and her friend gently down to the water below. Then the blue orb slowly began to consume him until he had been pulled in completely.
"MASON!" For some reason I suddenly recalled that wizard's name and I knew I didn't want him to die, not for the tower I built. I quickly pushed myself up and ran over to the orb where I reached in for Mason's hand. The consistency of the orb was like warm jelly and there was a good deal of resistance pulling Mason from it but eventually it began to give way and I was able to rip him free.
"HUUUUUUHHHH!" As soon as he was free from the orb Mason inhaled a mouthful of air before dropping on the floor to cough his lungs out. "Ack! Ack! Ack! What the hell are you still doing here.."
Mason didn't even need to look up to know I was the one who had pulled him out of that crystal. "I'm not gonna leave you to clean up a mess I made all on your own. I know it can't make up for the things I've done, but I at least have to do something right." It really is the least I can do, sacrificing myself to stop this damn tower. I plunged my hand deep into the cold blue jelly and almost like a vacuum the crystal began to suck out my magic power the crystal even changed colors.
I was feeling drained and soon the blue goo began to pull my arm in to supplement its hunger, but as I prepared for what seemed to be the inevitable I felt a strange warmth surround my arm. I looked to the right to find Mason had once again stuck his hand into the blue orb and was providing power of his own to feed the tower. "What are you doing?!"
"I'm helping you!" He answered as he planted his feet to keep from being sucked in. "It's what friends do."
"Friends huh? Are you sure about that." I cautioned him but he answered with a goofy smile as he continued to pour in magic power. "Guess I could use a couple friends." Not wanting to let my new 'friend' show me up I went ahead and matched his output and our magic power began to merge and a swirl of light formed in the orb but I could feel the magic become unstable. I knew things were gonna blow. "So long." I turned and blasted Mason out of the tower before adding another hand to the unstable core. The energy began to build and everything went white…..
(End of Flashback, with the Rune Knights.)
"Unfortunately that entails blowing you all to bits along with it!" Mason declared as he increased the size of his magic orb by two or three times.
"Too much…. Too much power, there's nothing we can do to stop an attack like that!" Tyson shouted as he tried to fight back the raging winds.
"With my arm broke…." Tyson looked back and forth as she weighed her options. "There's nothing we can do but…." Brosnan mumbled under her breath. "HEY DUMBASS!" She roared at the top of his lungs getting the dragon slayer to look down. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Has your head really been so far twisted by this city that you're gonna kill dozens of people to get to one and you'll call that justice?! You used to know what Justice was! Don't you remember?!"
Mason stared back at the light mage for a few moments before delivering his answer. "This is justice…."
"No son, it's not…." Tyson stood firm to oppose the Dragon Slayer. "You know this isn't justice, I know you know that. When I brought you in when you were on your own and spent the last seven years making sure you knew what justice was. Taking this man's life and turning a blind eye to those who you might hurt, that's revenge. It's not righteous, it's weak."
Mason dispelled the ball of magic and descended to the ground he then rushed over to Tyson and grabbed him by the throat lifting him in the air. "I'm not weak! Not anymore…. Maybe I should show you." Mason tightened his grip around the old man's throat and began to literally squeeze the life out of him.
"Oh yeah! You think stealing some flashy magic makes you strong?" Amber stepped up trying to distract Mason to keep from suffocating Tyson. "At this point you've taken so much free power that your magic is unrecognizable. Can you even call yourself Phantom Dragon Slayer at this point. You're so full on that Nirvana magic there's not much phantom left in you and that magic is eating at you, it's consuming the great wizard you were if you don't give it up all that's left will be darkness."
"Give it up?" Mason muttered before dropping Tyson, letting him catch his breath. "I can't give it up. I need it. I was weak before, I couldn't stop him on the tower, he hurt Erza, he killed Simon because I wasn't strong enough. I'm strong now."
"No you're not, ambers right this easy way it doesn't make you strong." Brosnan stepped up to comfort Mason. "You also weren't weak back then either, you've never been weak. I've always respected how strong you were, if you didn't finish the job with Jellal on the tower then there's a reason you let him live. Maybe he deserves a second chance."
"HAH! HAH! HAH HAH! HAH!" With everything seemingly falling around him Mason panicked and started hyperventilating. "H-H-He He He…. He's my friend…" Mason spit out as the white magic seemed to leave his body causing him to drop to his knees. "I'm… I'm sorry guys."
"We know." Brosnan said as she reached down with her good arm to pick up her old friend. "Now get off your ass. We have a job to do."
(end)
