Chapter 33
Red eyes locked with one another as the two Mason's stared one another down creating a level of pre-battle tension that was almost visible at this point but before the two copies could come to blows the Twisted edolas version spoke up.
"I've been wondering, it'd be a little awkward for me to keep referring to you as "Mason" so could you do me a favor? Do you have a nickname or a last name or something?" The doppelganger's inappropriate request came paired with another sinister grin.
"My last name is Alastor….." Mason replied, keeping his "game face" on but inside couldn't help feeling the atmosphere had been ruined by the odd timing of the question.
"Well then "Alastor"... If you wanna call me by my last name then it's Blight but ever since I was brought on as the Royal Executioner most people just call me The Reaper…" With that and not a second warning Reaper lunged forward with his scythe prepared to swing.
'He's fast!' Mason thought as he quickly stepped forward and crossed his arms in an x-shape, blocking the scythe by its handle and ducking under the blade. "But not fast enough." Mason smirked as reeled back and his fist began to glow. "PHANTOM!!!"
"HAHA!!! Bad move…." Reaper muttered as white energy began to surge across scythe handle.
ZAAPPP!!!!! "AAAAAHHHH!!!!!" The surging energy blasted Mason away and caused the purple energy to disappear from his hand. "Ughhh… Huh? My spell!"
Reaper smirked. "This is nirvana's power. Not only can it consume magic energy but it can multiply that power for my own use!" He declared before demonstrating with a downward swing of his scythe creating a crescent shaped blast of white energy aimed for Mason.
"Haaahhh!" The dragon slayer leapt out of the way dodging the blast but the empty building behind him wasn't so lucky. KABOOOMM!!! An explosion of white light erupted, consuming the innocent structure and reducing it to dust and ash. 'Oh shit… That's a lot of power…. And he's fast too, just attacking him straight on would be pretty stupid….' With that thought Mason activated his invisibility spell and disappeared from sight.
"So you can disappear huh? That's not fair…." Reaper smirked before putting putting both hands on his weapon and lifting it into the air. White energy began to glow all throughout the scythe's handle and blade before he slammed the blade down into the ground creating a dome of white energy that expanded outwards into a powerful shockwave.
"AAAAHHHHAAAHHH!!!" The white magic fried Mason and canceled his invisibility, leaving his body smoking as he fell onto his back.
"Now I gotta reload! HAAAHHAAAH!!!" Reaper let out a vicious cackle before lunging forward and slamming the bottom of the scythe's handle down on his fallen doppelganger. "HAAAHHAAAAHH!!"
"AAAAAAHHHH!!!" ZAAAAAAPPPP!!! Mason cried out in pain as his magic power was forcibly drained from him while his copy stood above him.
"HAAAHHAAAHH!! The king wasn't lying, you earthland wizards are full of magic power and it's so nice of you to share with me. Unfortunately my Nirvana doesn't stop draining once you run out of magic, it'll drain every bit of your life force as well until you're nothing but a shriveled corpse!!" Reaper pressed down harder and the white light intensified along with his deranged look.
"AAAGGGHHHH!!! HHAAAGGGGG!!!!" Mason cried out in pain as his magic energy was ripped away from him. 'Shit! I can't phase! Gotta think fast….' Mason gritted his teeth to toughen through the pain and conjured an orb of magic energy in his palm and detonated it KABOOOOMMM!!!!
The explosion of magic created an opening for Mason to escape but he didn't get away unscathed and he was missing a decent chunk of his remaining magic power. "Damn, that hurt like hell…." Mason groaned as he gripped his shoulder.
Meanwhile, Reaper climbed back to his own feet. "Yeah I agree that would've been lame, it's rare that my victims try to fight back and even rarer that they can so I should enjoy this while it lasts. We can have a little fun and then I'll kill you." The edolas Mason muttered to himself before tightening the grip on his scythe suddenly his whole body was cloaked in white energy and he began to charge forward.
"PHANTOM DRAGON SHOT!!!!" Mason extended his palm forward and let fly a blast of magic energy. Undeterred, the Reaper ran straight through and took the blast head on, coming out the other side relatively unharmed before WHAM!!! He swung and hit Mason with the back unbladed side of the end of his scythe, knocking the phantom dragon slayer through brick and glass and into one of the ghost towns abandoned establishments with enough force that the rest of the building came crashing down on him.
"Hah! You earthland wizards really are something!!! I've never felt this powerful in my life! Imagine how much stronger I'll be when I drain every once of power from you! Knightwalker, the king I bet not even the exceeds will be able to stop me!" He declared as his earthland counterpart stood up in the rubble.
'Man, this guy is a nutcase….' Mason thought as he shook off the new layer of dust he'd acquired. 'Not that I can blame him, the nirvana back in my world made me into a psycho too and from what this world's Brosnan told me he wasn't so bad before, I gotta find a way to get that scythe away from him. I just hope it's not too late.'
Mason's eyes flashed with purple magic for a split second before he lifted dozens of pieces of rubble with his telekinesis. "You haven't beaten me yet!!!" Mason then let fly his brick bullets and shards of glass.
Reaper crossed his arms and his scythe in front of his chest the energy he'd collected some what protected him but with hundreds of projectiles launched at him, some of them connected. With the bricks and stones bruising him and the glass cutting his clothes and skin the attack only served to frustrate him. "GAAAAAHHH!!!!" He roared before conjuring the same expanding energy wave from before that destroyed the remaining rubble projectiles.
Mason, recognizing the attack from before, created a magic shield to protect himself. 'Now he's going to lunge.' Mason warned himself and Reaper followed through, preparing another sweep of his scythe but as soon as he was in range Mason vanished.
"Huh?" Reaper was caught off guard by the sudden disappearance of his target, meanwhile a smirking Mason suddenly appeared directly in the executioner's blind spot.
"PHANTOM DRAGON VANISHING FIST!!!!" Mason immediately buried a magically charged fist into his counterpart's cheek with enough force to send the edolas mason sliding back on his feet.
"Ouch…. That stung…." Reaper said with a sinister smile.
"PHANTOM DRAGON STRIKE!!!!" Mason's lower leg began glowing purple and began to perform a sweeping kick while still in close range.
"I don't think so!" Reaper leapt up high into the air dodging Mason's kick while at the same time lifting his scythe above his head and charging it's blade with magic. "DIIIIEEEEEE!!!!!" He roared, slamming his blade down, landing only a centimeter or two away from Mason. While the dragon slayer managed to avoid the blade, the powerful built up magic was released into the ground creating several jagged chasms that erupted with strong winds and dust that knocked Mason backwards.
Recovering mid-air, Mason did a backflip that allowed him to land on his feet before taking in a deep breath. "HUUUUUUHHHH!!! PHANTOM DRAGON ROAR!!!!!!!!!" A purple light appeared at the back of the dragon slayers throat before he spit out a spiral of hundreds of purple phantom like projectiles.
Reaper crossed his scythe in front of his chest trying to block the attack but the phantoms split themselves up and began to attack him from all different angels where he couldn't block. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! He was pelted with the explosive projectiles as Mason prepared his next attack.
"RAAAAAHHHH!!!!!" Mason's arms were engulfed in purple magic as he rushed his opponent, closing the distance in a single step. "PHANTOM DRAGON'S PUNISHMENT!!!!" Before reaper had recovered Mason buried his glowing fist into his look alike's stomach, getting him to slouch over where his face was quickly met by Mason's other fist. Mason unleashed of flurry of punches landing dozens of quick blows before reeling back while reaper was dizzy from the previous damage and then he walloped him, knocking him down and making him drop his scythe.
"Finally…." Mason muttered along with an exhausted exhale. 'That's the problem with relying on magic weapons. It doesn't matter how powerful the tool might be if you're disarmed.' Mason thought as he limped over to collect the scythe. "It's all over now…." As soon as Mason grabbed hold of the scythe a smile formed on Reaper's face.
ZAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPP!!!!!! Reaper quickly grabbed hold of the end of his scythe and began to drain Masons magic, forcing the dragon slayer to quickly let go of his end of the weapon as he recoiled. "Aaahhggg!!!!"
"Sorry friend…" Reaper taunted with a smile as he quickly leapt back to his feet. "But I'm not the type who likes to share their toys but I do appreciate the quick recharge!" Edolas Mason swung his scythe back and forth in the air creating two sickle shaped energy blasts.
"Gah!" Mason grunted as he was forced to act fast, quickly creating an magic shield that managed to barely block the first attack and was completely shattered by the second blast.
"AAAHHHHH!!!!" The second blast exploded, knocking Mason back and providing an opening for Reaper to combo. The super charged murderer rushed forward before leaping into the and slamming Mason in the face with a flying, spinning kick. WHACK!!!! "GAAAAHHHH!!!" The force of the kick knocked all the saliva out of Mason's mouth but Reaper wasn't done, spinning his scythe around before jabbing the end deep into Mason's guts before once again flooding his body with white energy. ZAAAAPPPP!!!! "AAAAHHHAAAAHHHAAAAHH!!!!!!" The Dragon slayer screamed out as his power was taken and his body burned.
"Hehe!... Seriously? How much more juice do you have?" Edolas Mason taunted as he forced the back end of his scythe deeper into Mason's abdomen increasing the potency of his energy drain but then the psychotic scythe wielder noticed something taking place in the night's sky. One of the many floating islands, this one carrying a large blue gemstone, began hurtling towards another much larger floating Island. "Oh! Perfect timing!" Reaper exclaimed gleefully. He then proceeded to change the position of his counterpart so they were both now facing forward, pinning Mason's throat against the handle of his scythe in a choke hold as he continued to drain his magic. "You gotta see this! All those friends of yours we sucked out of earthland are about to be smashed to bits!!!"
"AAAAHHHGGGGGG!!!!!" Mason roared out in pain and desperation as the more power Reaper absorbed the less likely the chances of Mason escaping became. 'He's too strong! And he's just getting more powerful by the second! I gotta get away! I'm sure Natsu is trying his best but if they need my help then I can't keep screwing around!!!' Suddenly Mason's eyes turned purple and magic power exploded around him, knocking Reaper away.
Mason, his body now cloaked in surging magic energy dashed forward to create distance before turning around and placing both hands out in front of him. 'Using DRIVE here is risky. It burns through my power much quicker than normal and thanks to that stupid scythe I don't exactly have power to burn so I gotta end this now!' A large magic circle opened around his combined hands. "PHANTOM DRAGON CANNON!!!!! MAX POWER!!!!!"
A ball of energy 10 feet in diameter formed at the dragon slayer's fingertips before transforming into a massive beam of purple light engraving a smoldering trail into the ground as it traveled towards its target. KAAAABOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!! The attack hit it's target and created a massive three story tall fiery explosion upon impact.
"Gah!" Mason grunted falling on one knee as his purple aura faded. Mason took a deep breath but wouldn't even have time to exhale before his nose twitched and his eyes went wide. FWOOSH!!! A blur dashed across the smoldering battlefield before SHWING!!!!! A white flash quickly ran diagonally across Mason's chest quickly followed by a splattering of his blood as a massive gash was sliced into his torso. Mason didn't make a word but his face broadcasted his feelings of pain and fear loud and clear.
"Max power huh? So that's all you have left, too bad…." Reaper called out as he picked Mason up, holding the dragon slayer up in the air by his throat.
Genuine fear was expressed as Mason looked down into his own eyes where he found no remorse. 'What do I do? I'm practically out of magic power… Is this the end?'
"Still, I appreciate you letting me have fun for this long. So as thanks I won't make you watch as all your friends die and I won't play around any longer." Reaper smiled as his scythe's blade began to glow with white magic. "It was nice knowing me."
Mason prepared to swing the finishing blow but before he could attack with his glowing scythe he was met with an unexpected interruption. BEEEEP!!! BEEEEEP!!!! "Huh?" Edo Mason turned to see a magic mobile that looked like some sort of hybrid of a boat and a monster truck equipped with flaming wheels rolling at high speeds and headed right for him.
WHAM!!! The car slammed into Reaper not only getting him to drop Mason but also sending him flying into another abandoned building. Suddenly the door, brandishing the Fairy Tail insignia, swung open in front of the bleeding and disoriented Mason to reveal the edolas counterparts of both Natsu and Brosnan, the latter of which calling out with a simple. "GET IN!!!!" To which Mason complied and the three of them made there getaway.
Meanwhile Reaper pulled himself from another pile of rubble with an enormous smile plastered on his face. "So the game continues!" WEEEWWOOOO!!!!! The white haired young man whistled with his fingers and with FLAP FLAP of a massive pair of wings he summoned his own Legion beast and climbed to its back. "After them!!!"
(Elsewhere)
Vrrrrrooooooommmmmm!!!! The speeding magic car blasted itself across the barren Edolas landscape on its way to the capital.
"And done…" Brosnan declared with a snap of her scissors as she finished bandaging Mason's chest.
"Thanks for coming back for me…." The exhausted Mason muttered back as he sank into his seat.
"Nah, you're just lucky you were on the way…" Brosnan shot her one time cellmate a smug grin as she hopped back to the front seat.
"You are lucky though…." Natsu, who was manning the wheel, interrupted. "Most people don't last long enough with that psychopath for a rescue mission to even be considered. Lucky for me we won't be coming back empty handed, Lucy would've torn me a new one…"
Mason didn't speak, his head turned to the window and he simply sat still and silently.
"Yeah I get it…." Natsu nodded understandingly. "If my counterpart was some sort of psychotic bloodthirsty monster I'd be feeling pretty bad myself, especially considering he almost just put you down permanently."
Mason's expression darkened but not for the reason you may think. 'I think I'm gonna be sick…..' The pale faced dragon slayer thought as he stared out the window. Mason swallowed hard and made a gross face before regaining a bit of his composure. 'He's right though, Reaper's strong and I'm running on magic fumes at this point so If we fought again I'm confident that it'd be for me over fast. I gotta find a way to refuel my magic, Normally all that negative energy his scythe gives off would be an all I can eat buffet but the way his scythe works its just my own magic power amplified and I can't digest that…. At this point if I can help save my friends without fighting that'd probably be best…' Mason thought before his nose twitched once again and his expression darkened. "So much for that…."
"We have company!!!!!" Natsu called out as he spotted Reaper riding his massive winged beast in the rear view mirror.
"That won't do at all Fireball!!!" The sadistic executioner roared as he stood up on his creature's back, the blade of his scythe glowing white. "You'll have to be much faster than that!!!" He swung his mighty weapon creating another sickle shaped energy blast.
"RAAAAAHHH!!!!" Natsu roared as he quickly spun his wheel to avoid the attack, doing so he shook the cabin of his magic mobile, getting Mason's face to turn green.
Brosnan turned back to see Reaper gaining even more ground on the fleeing fairies. "Can't this thing go any faster!!!!" Brosnan roared.
"Yeah! But only for about another 100 yards." Natsu flipped down one of the panels on the front console to reveal multiple tubes holding varying levels of glowing orange liquid. "We barely have enough magic power to make it to the capital at this speed and if we run outta gas before we get there we'll be sitting ducks…."
Mason, who had recovered from the earlier swerving sat up and without a word, grabbed hold of the glass tubes and began to fill them with purple light.
"WOAH!!!!" Natsu exclaimed as all the fuel dials on the dashboard ticked up to full. "Now we're talking!!!" The pink haired wizard slammed his goggles down and floored the gas pedal.
The Magic mobile's six exhaust pipes spewed smoke and his tires were ignited with purple flames and the car began to pull far ahead of the flying monster.
"Well that's better." Edolas Mason said to himself. "Now I can get some real Target practice in." With that Reaper began raining down magic blasts, dozens at a time.
Even at their increased speed Edolas Natsu had to result to some fancy driving to avoid being hit and this got Mason stomach twisting into knots. " Ughhhh……" He groaned, at this point his face had turned a shade of emerald.
"Nuh uh! Not in my car!" Natsu warned the sickly mage.
'We gotta lose this guy before I lose my lunch…' Mason thought before rolling down the window. Even though he was scraping the absolute bottom of his magic barrel he managed to conjure a grapefruit sized energy blast which he fired at the flying monster chasing them, though do to his motion sickness his attack was nowhere near close to hitting its target.
"Good idea…" Brosnan acknowledged Masons efforts with a smug grin. "But maybe you should leave this to me!" She pulled a black case out from underneath her car seat and opened it to reveal a pair of goggles with golden lenses.
The brown haired mage quickly stuck her head out the window of the moving vehicle. "Take this!!!" She called out and by tapping the side of her goggles she fired a beam of golden light towards Reaper and his flying beast.
"Not so fast!!!" Edo Mason grabbed the side of his monster's head and by pulling its fur got the beast to do an Aerial spin but the beam kept following the monster across the sky and eventually hit its target.
"ARRRRUUUUGGGGHHH!!!!" The creature roared as it began to plummet from the sky.
"Uh oh! Guess it's time to abandon ship!" Reaper declared before leaping from the top of his monster's head.
"Hah! Got him!" Brosnan cheered as she and the other two wizards celebrated their victory as they watched the beast crash into the ground behind him but in doing so Natsu took his eyes away from the steering wheel and the road ahead. "Yeah!!!! Wait, Natsu look out!!!"
Brosnan tried to warn the driver but by the time he turned back around he'd already missed the turn that would take them into the capital and the car was now headed for a tall brick wall. All Natsu was able to do was utter a quick "crap" before CRAAAASSSSHHHH!!!!!!!!
(End)
