Welcome back everyone, I just got back from my vacation about a week ago and I'm ready with another chapter of Fairy May Cry. There are a few things I'd like to note however before we begin.
First, I got Devil May Cry 5 and it is an AWESOME game! However, I have not yet completed it, so I would prefer you not say anything on reviews about the ending so you don't spoil it for me. Thank you.
Second, I read a few reviews about my previous chapter in regards to Vergil, claiming he is too OOC, and I have tried to explain to some of my reviewers, but let me explain it to all of you so that you understand (if you don't, then just PM me an I can try and explain it better).
I have tried to keep Vergil as in-character as I could, he is one of my favorite video game antagonists. Some make a few questions about his own form of honor and integrity, and I have tried to maintain that. Look at the first few chapters of my story when he targeted certain members of Fairy Tail, such as when he kidnapped Wendy. He openly said that if she went with him willingly he wouldn't harm her, and even offered Lisanna the same choice earlier in my Devil Hand arc; however he still ended up using force because they refused. While he does have some form of honor and integrity, he is still not above attacking those weaker and back-stabbing them when they get in the way or out live their usefulness. Look at the cannon DMC3 when he "killed" Arkham because he felt he had no further use for him, and that he might diverge from his plans on his choice to spare Lady in the game (of course that was all a ruse, but Vergil didn't know that at the time).
I have plans for Vergil and he will appear in later arcs in my story (I won't say how or when, but you will see), that being said I am also trying to get him to grow and change as a character, he is not arrogant enough to the point where he doesn't learn from his experiences. I apologize if it looks like he is acting OOC, but its hard to write the growth of one character who's only really appeared in two games of the entire DMC franchise (Not including the reboot), three if you count the DMC4 special edition.
I hope that clears everything up for you. Now with all that being said, let us continue with the next chapter of my Devil Hand arc.
Sins Born of Desire
Lucy and Lisanna sat back against a wall in a seemingly random hallway of Temen-ni-gru, both of them trying to catch their breath.
"How does Dante… put up…. with all this…?" Lucy said in-between breaths.
"Years of experience…. I guess." Lisanna guessed. "That….and being half-demon… probably doesn't hurt either…."
"Yeah." Lucy stood up and offered Lisanna a hand, which she took and was helped up onto her feet. "So, what do we do now?"
"We gotta find our friends, that's what we do." Lisanna replied.
"But how?" Lucy questioned. "I don't know if you noticed, but this tower is huge! Plus you saw all those tunnels and bridges when we're being chased by those demon-birds; it's like a labyrinth in here! Not to mention we got the rest of Devil Hand to worry about!"
"I know." Lisanna nodded. "I know we're in a tough spot, but we've both been in our fair share of tough spots, haven't we?"
Lucy calmed down a bit. "We have but… with Vergil being here… plus who knows how many demons… is it wrong that I'm scared?"
Lisanna took the blonde girl by the shoulders and looked at her in the eyes. "I'm not going to lie to you Lucy, I'm plenty scared myself. But, it's not just for me; it's for all our friends who are scattered throughout this horrible place…. And it's also Mira. She's trapped here, all alone. I know she's more than capable of handling herself, but she's my sister, and I can't imagine what she's going through right now."
Lucy's eyes slightly widened, realizing just how Lisanna must be feeling; yet she still wanted to push forward. But Lucy still did the same thing; she went toe-to-toe with some of the most dangerous of enemies that had normal girls like her terrified, but she kept going, because that is what it means to be a Fairy Tail wizard.
"You're right." Lucy spoke, her voice now filled with determination. "You're absolutely right, Lisanna. We're both Fairy Tail wizards and we go the extra mile no matter what comes our way."
Lisanna nodded and smiled as Lucy smiled back. "Let's go. Our friends are waiting."
The two then proceeded to walk down the hallway of the ginormous tower and they came towards a stone door at the end, which somehow slowly began to open automatically.
"So, what are the odds that there's probably some scary monster on the other side of this door?" Lucy asked.
"Come on, our luck isn't that bad." Lisanna tried. "It could just be more empty halls."
However, right as the door had fully risen, both girls screamed as they instinctively jumped back to avoid a scythe strike from one of several identical demons. Each of them wore black and red robes with jester-feathers at the top. They had grey skulls and red eyes as they moaned and glared at the two young women. These were Hell Lusts.
"Or it could be filled with multiple scary demons." Lisanna said in a flat tone of voice. "Yeah, maybe our luck is that bad."
Lucy's look of fear faded and was replaced with determination. "I don't care. Like you just said, we're not letting any of them stand in our way!" She took out one of her golden Celestial Keys.
"Got that right, Lucy!" Lisanna stood up, ready to fight. "Take Over: Animal Soul! Snake Arms!" Her upper arms had transformed into green and pink snakes just as Lucy summoned one of her spirits.
"Open! Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!" With a flash and a door-bell sound, the celestial spirit known as Scorpio was summoned as he flashed a pair of 'rock-on' symbols with both his hands.
"Wicked!"
The Hell Lusts moaned as they leapt towards the trio. "Let's get them!" Lucy exclaimed as she took out her whip and charged along with Lisanna as Scorpio shot his tail forward and sent a strong sandstorm at the enemy.
Several demons, looking like zombies wearing leather suits and carrying coffin-like objects moaned as they were hit by a cyan-colored wave of energy before they froze completely. This was curtesy of Grey as he was in his combative position, his jacket blowing in a small whirlwind from the aftermath of his spell.
"Geeze, this makes what, fifty?!" Grey questioned. "How many demons are in this place!"
"It doesn't matter how many there are." Juvia said as she and Grey were back-to-back, and the same sort of demons, known as Hell-Greeds, approached her as well. "I will destroy any that dare try to harm you, my beloved. Water Slicer!" With a swipe of her hand, she sent multiple water-blades spinning toward the Hell Greeds and they were cut down in less than a second.
"I know, but it's getting really annoying." Grey replied.
"Perhaps that's Vergil's intent." Juvia suggested. "He may be trying to ware us down by sending multiple enemies our way."
"That isn't his style." Grey contradicted. "He seems more like the guy to come face his enemy head-on. He probably just sees us as a distraction than a real threat."
"Then Arkham maybe?" Juvia wondered.
"Don't know." Grey replied before walking toward the side of the bridge they were standing on and grabbing the railing, a troubled look appeared on his face.
"What's wrong, my love?" Juvia asked, concerned for him.
"He sacrificed his wife to get the powers of a demon, then tried to get to Dante to get Sparda's power." Grey stated. "Lady's no angel, but I never once thought that she had a father like that."
"Yes it's hard to imagine." Juvia said, feeling a great sense of sympathy toward the aforementioned Devil Hunter. "I can't imagine the pain Lady must have went through. A parent should love their child no matter what, not forsake them for power."
A scowl appeared on Grey's face. "If I happen to find Arkham, I'm gonna give a piece of my mind."
Juvia was about to say something when she noticed a glimmer in the corner of her eye. She gazed downward, though it appeared to be a dark pit beneath the bridge, there were multiple glimmers and sparkles seen.
"There's something down there." Juvia spoke, Grey noticed it as well. "Hang onto me."
Grey nodded and took Juvia's hand, causing her to blush, despite the fact that that she asked him to.
"Uh… Juvia…?"
She comically shook her head to get her focus back. "Right, hang on tight." Her entire body converted into a large stream of water, which encompassed Grey before hovering over the wall of the bridge and shooting straight down. It splashed right onto the ground before it moved off of Grey, who was in a kneeling position before he straightened up and the water reformed into Juvia's solid body.
"What the…?!" Grey questioned as he and Juvia looked around in surprise. They appeared to be in the middle of some form of large gladiatorial arena, but that wasn't what caught their attention. No, what really surprised them was the massive amount of treasure that surrounded the duo.
Gold, jewels, silver, and even stacks of cash were all over the place; all piled up in the form of large hills; they were so big, that much of it had overflown into the seats above as well. Multiple gold and silver artifacts we're present as well, not just small coins but even large objects as well.
"How… how does one even obtain… such treasures….?" Juvia said, her eyes not believing what she saw. "Not even Master Jose had this amount of wealth!"
As Grey looked around, still star-struck, his eyes set upon a large golden coffin at the farthest side of the arena, sitting in the middle of the seats and surrounded by more treasure. It was like the kind of coffin a pharaoh would have, but the coffin itself didn't get Grey's attention. It was actually shaking, and when he listened closely he could hear some form of muffled yelling from inside.
"Hey Juvia, I think there might be someone inside there!" Grey pointed toward the coffin. She looked toward it and saw it was moving as well. "Come on, they might need our help."
"Ep, ep, ep, ep!" A voice called out, halting their advanced. They turned around toward the largest pile of the treasure in the seats where they spotted Mammon sitting on a pile of golden coins and treasures as though it were a throne.
"You can look, but don't touch. All this stuff is mine, so would you please keep your hands to yourselves? Thank you." Mammon told them with a cocky smile.
Grey got in combat stance. "Who the hell are you?!"
"He doesn't appear to be a demon." Juvia noted. "Does that mean you are one of the Seven Sins in Vergil's guild?"
"Got that right sweetheart." Mammon said with a wink as he stood up. "The name is Mammon, can you guess which sin I represent?"
"Avarice?" Grey guessed. "Kinda obvious."
"True." Mammon admitted as he slid down his pile of treasures and landed in the arena to the point where he was on even level with Grey and Juvia. "Guess all the gold and treasure was a dead giveaway. But yeah, the sin I represent is greed, the most fun of all sins, and the most rewarding."
When Mammon looked at the pair, his smile faded slightly as he sighed.
"The hell you sighing for?!" Grey questioned.
"Sorry, it's just, you're my opponents?" Mammon questioned. "I was really hopping I'd get a chance to fight Dante, or the Salamander, or even that smoking hot Erza! But, no I'm stuck fighting the ice-stripper; though that Rain Woman is quite the looker, so I'll take it."
An anime anger mark appeared on Grey's head. "I ain't a stripper! Don't call me that!"
"Why do you sound so disappointed with this?" Juvia questioned Mammon.
"I represent Avarice for a reason, it's because I want the finest things in life." Mammon explained with a cocky smile. "I want money, power, women, sex, status, glory, but also I want a chance to fight the strongest of enemies! I want a chance to duke it out with the Son of Sparda, a Dragon Slayer, and even the mighty Titania!" His smile faded again. "But no, I'm stuck with a lousy ice-make wizard. I really hate to settle for second place."
A scowl formed on Grey's face, as did Juvia's. "How dare you take such light of my beloved!" Juvia exclaimed.
"Underestimating me is a big mistake buddy! I'll make you regret it!" Grey exclaimed as he prepared an attack. "Ice-Make: Lance!"
Juvia went on the offensive as well. "Water Slicer!"
Both attacks soared to Mammon who only smirked before he took a stance similar to Grey's; his right fist on his left palm and pulled them back as a yellow energy glowed in both his hands.
"Gold-Make: Shield!"
In a flash of golden light, a large knight's shield made entirely out of gold appeared in front of Mammon as the attacks hit and broke apart, leaving the shield barley scratched, much to the shock of both Grey and Juvia.
The shield faded away to leave a smirking Mammon who burst into a fit of laughter. "Oh man, you should see your faces!" He laughed as he pointed to both of them.
"That was…. Maker magic!" Grey said in a shocked exclamation.
"Got that right." Mammon said as his laugh died down. "I wield Gold-Make magic. It's like your Ice-Make magic Grey, but last time I checked, gold is harder than ice. All your attacks are gonna do against me are just break apart and shatter."
A shocked look appeared on Grey's face as he instinctively backed up a few steps, causing Mammon to smirk.
"Aw don't leave yet, the fun is just beginning!" Mammon took the same stance to perform another attack. "Gold-Make: Shuriken!" Mammon had then launched a hail of massive shuriken made completely out of gold with razor sharp edges.
"Ice-Make: Shield!" Grey threw up his own defensive shield to block the attack, but as the golden shuriken hit it, the shield quickly began to crack before it broke apart as several more shuriken slashed past Grey, cutting him over his body.
Fortunately for him however, a stream of water caught Grey as the shuriken flew through the water without causing any damage; the water moved Grey out of the way and rematerialized into the form of Juvia who glared daggers at Mammon.
The gold-coat wearing Dark Wizard gave a whistle. "Nice moves there, sweetheart."
"You have made a grave mistake." Juvia spoke in a dark tone with shadow shrouding over her eyes. "You harmed my beloved Grey, and I swear I will make you pay for it."
Mammon shivered a bit, but he still smiled none-the-less. "Oooh, I like a girl who can send a chill down my spine."
Grey struggled a bit as he got up. "Juvia watch yourself, this guy's no joke."
"You need not worry for me." She assured him, her eyes kept solely on her enemy. "His maker magic may be strong, but with my body being made of water, it will have no effect on me whatsoever. Water Lock!"
Juvia had sent a large torrent of water soaring toward Mammon. It quickly encompassed him and formed a bubble around Mammon, eliminating his supply of oxygen.
Grey smirked a bit. "Nice one. Sometimes I forget just how strong you are."
Juvia blushed at his complement, but failed to notice that Mammon's smile hadn't faded even though he was trapped in Juvia's water lock. He clapped his hands together where there was a bright yellow flash of light, when he opened his hands a mass of liquid gold appeared, and steam began to emit around the mass, causing Juvia to look in surprise. Mammon then threw out both his arms and the mass of liquid gold exploded outward; causing the water-lock to explode as well and evaporate in seconds.
Juvia's face was one of surprise, border-line horror, even Grey was beyond shocked as Mammon stood straight up and squeezed the water out of his jacket.
"Wow, that was certainly something." He commented.
"But how… how could you have….?" Juvia stuttered.
"How did I break out of your water lock?" Mammon questioned with a smirk as he began to explain. "I don't just make solid gold with my maker magic. I can also melt gold and turn it into liquid. But if you want to melt gold, you really gotta heat it up, like up to 2,000 degrees! When you splash water onto something that hot, it's nothing more than just steam and vapor."
Juvia's and Grey's looks of surprise couldn't be described with mere words. Juvia wouldn't admit it, much less in front of Grey, but she was really scared here.
"You've got some pretty good moves there, little Miss Rain Woman." Mammon told her. "But it could be problematic for me, so why don't you sit this one out." He prepared another attack. "Gold-Make: Liquid Smelter!"
He shot both his hands forward and produced a large stream of liquid gold that hit Juvia, almost immediately she screamed in pain as she was covered in the scolding hot liquid.
"JUVIA!" Grey yelled as he covered his eyes from the bright glow. When the flash of light faded, he looked in shock and horror, as Juvia's body was completely encased in gold; the details of her outfit and face we're quite clear, including her fearful expression. It was like she was turned into a statue made entirely out of gold.
His look of fear turned into one of burning rage as Grey glared at Mammon. "You bastard! What did you do to her?!"
"Relax Ice-Boy, your girlfriend is fine." Mammon told her. "I just trapped her inside a golden statue, but it's just the outside that's gold. I cooled it before it could completely evaporate her body. Don't worry, I ain't gonna kill her. She might not be as strong as your guild's top contenders, but she's still smoking hot. After I beat the crap out of you, I think I might keep her all for myself."
The burning rage inside Grey grew even more as he stood up and threw away his jacket, exposing his bare chest.
"You said you were hopping to fight Natsu, Erza, or even Dante?! Well I promise, you're gonna wish you were fighting them when I'm done with you!"
"Oh, that sounds like a challenge, Ice Boy." Mammon's smirk turned into a wide and eager grin as he got in a combat stance. "Well come on, we're in a gladiator's arena, we might as well fight like em!"
"Ice-Make: Geyser!"
"Gold-Make: Liquid Smelter!"
A massive stream of ice shot out from Grey and collided with Mammon's attack, creating a sparkly and colorful flash of blue and yellow in the middle.
As the attack started, the person who was trapped inside the coffin, which just so happened to be the bound and gagged Ultear, happened to hear bits and pieces of the conversation as a scowl appeared on her face. Bad enough that she was humiliated and captured by Vergil, now Grey of all people was going to rescue her?! Oh, there will be some pain in store for Devil Hand when she was through with them. That was a promise!
Lucy and Lisanna had continued running down a long and winding hallway. They spent quite a bit of time clearing out the Hell Lusts with Scorpio providing a great amount of help. Lucy told him to head back to the Spirit World to recover, which he did as he was on a date with Aquarius when Lucy called, much to the Celestial Wizard's comical horror, but Scorpio assured her that he would talk it out with Aquarius, which she was thankful for. When it looked like they were in the clear, the two young women came to a large chamber, which surprised them quite a bit.
"What the…? Is this a rock stage?!" Lucy questioned with circular eyes, her pupils being black dots.
True to her word, the chamber the two entered appeared to be a kind of stage that a rock band would perform on, complete with its own curtain and even some speakers.
"I guess for a two thousand year old tower of evil, even demons like to rock out." Lisanna said flatly as her facial expression was the same as Lucy's.
Lucy took a single step forward, only to feel her right foot step onto something other than stone. She lifted her foot to see some kind of silk-like substance at the bottom of her boot.
"Cobwebs. I get this place is old but still…" She scrapped it off her boot just as Lisanna gazed upward at a sight that made her face pale.
"Uh… Lucy…. Those aren't cobwebs…."
Lucy looked confused at first before she gazed upward at the sight and she had grown just as pale. The entire ceiling and upper portions of the chamber were covered in spider-webs.
"Are… are those…. Spider webs?" Lucy said as she shook in her spot with fear.
"Yeah…." Lisanna nodded as she had the same amount of fear in her voice. But their attention was captured by muffled sounds coming from above them. Their eyes followed the sound until they saw just above the stage, wrapped up in web and rope, as well as gagged in the same substance was Angel.
"HMMMP MMMM!" She screamed through her gag as she saw the two of them. She struggled in her bindings that kept her on the large web, but they didn't budge.
"Angel?!" Lisanna exclaimed. "So they did get her after all."
Lucy however looked surprised for a completely different reason. She remembered when she last fought Angel during the conflict with the Oracion Seis; she was cold and merciless, even delighting in the suffering of her Celestial Spirits. But now, she was helpless, the look in her eyes suggested that she was beyond terrified, up to the point that tears of fear were ready to fall from her face.
"Is that…. Is that really the same Angel…?"
"Don't worry, we'll get you down!" Lisanna was about to run toward her when a voice cut her off.
"Oh I think not."
Both of them gazed upward in the shaded parts of the ceiling as they looked in surprise to see Asmodeua climbing down the web like a predatory spider, making her way closer to the terrified Angel who only struggled even more and screamed underneath her gag as Asmodeau revealed herself.
"What…. Who are you?" Lucy questioned.
"Oh silly me, where are my manners? My name is Asmodeua, of the Seven Sins. I represent the Sin of Lust. And you two are Lucy Heartfelia and Lisanna Strauss of Fairy Tail."
That took them by surprise. "You know who we are?" Lisanna asked.
"Yep." Asmodeua nodded as she sat on her web next to the terrified Angel and slung her right arm around the bound girl's shoulder. "Little Lucy has made quite the name for herself so she's easy to spot. And you Lisanna, are the spitting image of your elder sister."
"Mira… where is she?!" Lisanna demanded.
"Not here." Asmodeua replied, a tone of disappointment evident in her voice. "One of the others is looking out for her. Pity, I so wanted to add her to my collection, but Angel here is a nice addition." She lulled close to Angel's face and licked her cheek, which was enough for tears to fall down her face. "And you two, my dear little fairies, have just flown into my web."
"Wait… you're…. collection?" Lucy questioned, not liking the sound of that.
"I'll give you a hint. Before I signed on with the lovely Vergil, I went under a different name: the Black Widow."
Lisanna's eyes widened. "Wait… the Black Widow?!"
"You know her?!" Lucy questioned in shock towards Lisanna.
"I've never seen her…. But about three years ago, more than three dozen teenage girls and young women all disappeared!" Lisanna began to explain. "I read in a news paper how the Magic Council couldn't find any of them of weeks on end; but one day, they did find all the girls. They were all in a warehouse, completely covered in spider-webs. Though they were left alive, every single one of them was traumatized for life. They never caught the culprit, but all the girls described her as a woman with black hair and some kind of spider-magic."
"Hence the name, Black Widow." Lucy realized.
Angel's own eyes widened a bit. She also heard of the Black Widow during her time with the Oracion Seis. Though she didn't feel threatened at the time, now was a completely different scenario.
Asmodeua gave a child-like giggle. "Yes that was me. Though I lost my old collection back then, I aim to start a new one, and you two are perfect for it." She looked at Lisanna and Lucy as she licked her lips. "Just look at you two lovely ladies. Those long slender legs, your thick thighs, your chests are nice and healthy, why you two are just…" She shivered a bit as a sinister smile formed on her face. "…oh the things we can do together."
Both Lucy and Lisanna shivered as they held their own bodies while looking freaked out. "Oh man… being peeved by a bunch of guys was pervy enough. But this… this is a whole another level of sick!" Lucy exclaimed, feeling extremely violated right now.
Asmodeua laughed again. "Lucy Heartlfelia, Lisanna Struass, you're all mine!" She jumped from her web and lunged at both girls, forcing them to scatter to the sides of the chamber.
"Take Over: Animal Soul! She-Cat!" Lisanna transformed into her she-cat form and leapt at Asmodeua, lashing her claws at the dominatrix woman who dodges all her slashes and strikes with minimal effort, she even laughed a bit.
"Oh quite the feisty kitty, aren't you?" Asmodeua ducked underneath one slash and gave a sweeping kick to Lisanna's face to knock her back, but she stood tall on her feet. "But I've got claws to." Asmodeua's nails began to glow green as they extended. "Spider's Venom!"
She slashed at Lisanna who just barley avoided the strike by limboing underneath it, only for Asmodeua to deliver a fierce kick to Lisanna's back to send her straight towards one of the pillars. For someone with such a slim body, she was quite strong. However, before she could do anything else, the celestial whip, the Fleuve d'etoiles, which bound her arms to her body, quickly ensnared Asmodeua. She turned around to see Lucy holding the whip.
"Nice whip, Lucy." Asmodeua commented. "So you're into tying people up to, huh?"
"You're really sick! You know that right?!" Lucy exclaimed.
This gave Lisanna an opening to rush from the pillar and deliver a powerful kick to Asmoduea's abs as Lucy pulled her whip back and it sent the evil woman crashing near the entrance of the chamber.
"Think we got her?" Lisanna hopped.
"I don't think so." Lucy said. "I mean, Vergil of all people picked her, so I bet she's got more power than that."
Asmodeua laughed as she stood up and straightened herself up. "Very smart Lucy. But you're only half-right. Vergil didn't pick any of us, Arkham did."
That surprised both of them. "Arkham choose the Seven Sins?" Lisanna questioned in thought. "But I thought this whole thing was Vergil's plan."
"But I've got so much more power than that." Asmodeua assured. "So come on, wear yourselves out and be part of my new collection. I promise you won't regret it."
"You'll never collect anyone else, ever again you spider-freak!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Oh?" Asmodeua raised an eyebrow. "Does that include little Angel up there?" She gestured towards the former dark wizard still encased in web. "If I understand Lucy, she was your enemy, you fought her when your guild went to war with hers. She tortured her Celestial Spirits and treated them like her little toys, that brought you to tears, didn't it? So, why would you want to rescue a damned soul like hers? I would have thought you'd love to see her receive such a punishment. No less than what she deserves."
Angel looked down in sorrow at that thought. Would Lucy and this other girl really abandon her? She wouldn't blame them, as Asmodeua was right. She had never once done a single good thing in her life; she really did deserve this.
"Maybe that's true." Lucy said. "What she did to Scorpio, to Aries, to Gemeni, and to my spirits to… I don't know if I'll ever forgive her for that. But… Erza told me she was in the Tower of Heaven just like her… so while I don't agree with what she did with her life, I do understand. And even if that wasn't the case, she's completely defenseless now… and I'm not about to abandon anyone who's helpless to someone like you!"
Angel couldn't contain her surprise. Her former enemy was really willing to risk her own life to rescue her? Lisanna looked towards Lucy before smiling and giving a small nod. Asmodeua however only took amusement from her declaration.
"How adorable. She was your enemy but you're still going to try and save her? Oh you have such a righteous soul, little Lucy." Asmodeua lulled. "I look forward to breaking that."
"She's not alone!" Lisanna stepped up as well. "I've got Lucy's back to!"
"That's right!" Lucy stood up and flashed one of her keys. "When I fight, I'm never alone! Open! Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!"
In a flash of light, Taurus appeared from the ground, and swung his massive axe down towards Asmodeua who back-flipped out of the way to avoid the devastating impact.
"No way are you leaving me out of this! Take Over: Animal Soul! Bull!" She transformed into her she-bull take over form and charged at Asmodeua just as she was about to land and got a successful ramming in, sending her flying and crashing towards the wall.
Taurus looked at Lisanna with hearts in his eyes. "Gotta say that's one gooood looking outfit on you."
Lisanna looked a bit freaked out while Lucy just face palmed. "Taurus, you're already a handful when you come onto me, please don't do it to my friend!"
Asmodeua, having just heard the short exchange, smiled deviously as she got an idea and stood up. "Oh, so this big bad bull is a bit of a bad boy."
"She's back up! Get her Taurus!"
Taurus wielded his axe and was about to go on the attack, but his warrior face faded into one of blankness as he saw what was staring back at him. Asmodeua twiddled her body to make herself look shy as she crossed her legs and put on a cutesy face.
"Oooh, you wouldn't hurt little old me, would you?" She teased, her voice being lowered to the point where it sounded like a whimper.
Taurus' face turned red. "I… I don't… I…."
"Taurus don't let her trick you!" Lucy told him. "She's a bad guy!"
"Come on she's trying to kill us! Are you really going to fall for that?!" Lisanna tried as well.
"How about instead of fighting, I give you a big old smooch." Asmodeua puckered up her lips. "Afterwards, I can find other ways you can relax." She used her right hand to slightly lower her shirt and her left hand to lift her skirt slightly. "What do you say, big boy?" She gave a wink with a heart popping up next to her.
Immediately, steamed poured out of Taurus' ears as his hearts popped into his eyes, his jaw dropped into a wide and drolly smile. "OOH YES! YES! YES!" Taurus let his hormones take control as he sped to her like a roadrunner, much to Lucy's comic shock.
"Taurus you idiot! You actually feel for that?!"
"Let me see your sweet body!" Taurus was already above Asmodeua as en evil smirk plastered her face.
*SLASH!*
Before anyone could even react, Asmodeua was already past Taurus, her right hand forward with extended green-glowing nails. A large gash appeared on Taurus' neck before he screamed in agony and faded away in golden particles.
"Taurus!" Lucy cried out in shock.
Amsodeua merely shook her head. "Ah men. They always let their hormones get the better of them." She swerved to the side to avoid a talon-strike from Lisanna who had just now donned her Harpy form.
"I think you'll find we don't have that kind of weakness!" Lisanna exclaimed before she shot her talons at Lisanna as Asmodeua back-flipped.
"Oh but my sweet little Lisanna… that's what I'm counting on. Airachnid's Web!" She shot both her hands forward as webbing shot from her wrists and Lisanna quickly found herself caught in the web and was unable to move.
"Aw what… come on!" She struggled, but the more she struggled, the more the web stuck to her body. Before she even realized what happened though, Asmodeua was already above her as she forcer her lips onto Lisanna's, her eyes widening in shock. The dominatrix wizard pulled away from the speechless Lisanna.
"Open! Gate of the Ram! Aries!"
The shy pink-haired celestial spirit, Aries appeared in a flash of golden light. "Um… how may I serve you… Lucy?"
"See that lady in black? Take her down!" Lucy ordered.
"Yes… Sure thing." Aries, despite being so shy, ran forward towards Asmodeua and pulled back a stream of pink wool.
"Wool Wall!" She threw it at Asmodeua and the black-wearing lustful wizard found herself completely bound up to her neck in the comfy wool as Lucy ran to the webbed up Lisanna.
"Hang on Lisanna, I'll get you out of there!" She pulled out her whip and snapped it at the web to clear it away, causing Lisanna, who had turned back to normal, to fall back into Lucy's arms. "Are you okay?"
"Lucy I… I can't move." Lisanna said in a shocked tone of voice.
"What?" Lucy questioned in an equal amount of shock.
"I… I can't feel my arms…or my legs. Everything is so numb."
"That would be my venom kiss." Asmodeua said, still bound in the pink wool. "You're body is going to be numb for a few hours. How do you think I get so many girls in my collection? I prefer not to rough up their bodies if I don't have to."
Lucy glared at the evil woman, not just for her proclamation or for paralyzing Lisanna, but for kissing her like that. That might have been Lisanna's first kiss! But it wasn't with someone she loved; it was with an evil dominatrix who likes torturing other girls. Lisanna felt the same sort of way; she imagined her first kiss would honestly come from Natsu, not this crazy lady!
"Aries, can you help Lisanna?" Lucy asked.
"I'm sorry Lucy." She said as she looked like she was about to cry. "But I can't! I don't know anything about paralysis or venoms!"
"Oh my, for someone so adorable, you're so shy." Asmodeua said as she got a good look at Aries. "Not a bad body either. Tell me Lucy, do you have other spirits like this? If so, I might add them to my collection to."
That really angered Lucy. "Go to hell! Bad enough you kidnap innocent girls and wanna molest myself and my friend here! But I will not let you lay one of your filthy fingers on any of my spirits! Do you hear me!"
"Molest?" Asmodeua laughed a bit. "This coming from the girl who ordered her spirit to wrap me up in pink wool. It's actually kind of comfy. Wanna try it?"
Both Lucy and Lisanna looked a bit disturbed while Aries looked more nervous as she hid behind Lucy. "Sorry, but I really don't like her."
"It's okay, we don't like her either." Lisanna assured.
"Say what you will, while I do kidnap girls, I don't molest or rape them." Asmodeua said, confusing the group. "It's true. Lisanna, did those papers you read about me ever once say anything about sexual assault?"
She didn't answer, but looked all the more confused.
"Of course they didn't." Asmodeua continued. "I'm not a rapist. Sure I like to tie up other girls, and occasionally I like to get a bit tied up myself, but that's not the type of lust that drives me."
"Wait… type of lust?" Lucy questioned in confusion.
"Most people make the mistake of believing lust to be only sexual desires." Asmodeua began to explain. "But really, that's just one aspect of it. Lust isn't always sexual; take Vergil for example. Do you see a harem surrounding that man? No, he doesn't lust for sex or women, no, he lusts for something else entirely: power. And he isn't the only one, I'm sure that both of you have met your fair share of individuals who have desired absolute power and are willing to do anything to obtain it."
Lucy and Lisanna immediately thought of individuals like Faust, Nelo Angelo, Master Zero, Jose, even Laxus for a short time.
"And it's not just power, some people actually lust for blood." Asmodeua continued to explain. "They lust for combat, they lust to fight and to kill. Do you see what I mean?"
"But… isn't that supposed to be greed?" Lisanna questioned.
"Sort of." Asmodeua continued. "Lust and greed can be similar, since they both stem from desire. But here's where they differ: greed is a selfish and excessive desire to obtain more than what one needs or deserves; things like money and possessions. Lust, on the other hand, is all about pleasure. A drive to obtain something that gives you a strong feeling of satisfaction, success, pleasure; and yes it does obtain to sex, but not always."
"Well… she's not wrong." Aries commented.
"Okay… and why are you telling us this?" Lisanna questioned as Lucy propped her numb body up and slung her arm over her shoulder for support.
"Since I don't rape them, are you at all wondering what it is I do with all those girls in my collection?" Asmodeua began. "Yes, I like to tie them up in my webs, and I do like to watch them struggle, but that's just a bit of personal entertainment, it's not my lustful desire. No, what I lust for…" An evil smile crossed her face. "…Are their souls."
That caused all three of them to look with wide-eyed terror. "Their… souls?" Lucy stuttered.
"Not literally. I don't steal their souls in some kind of ritual or anything like that." Asmodeua continued to explain. "It's why I don't kill them, what can they give me if they're dead? I keep my precious girls alive, for a very long time. Some may be stronger willed than others, and some are willing to put up more of a fight, but sooner or later, after being so helpless for so long, and after I… rough them up a bit…. There will breaks. They loose their hope of escaping, and after that they begin to share such secrets with me… secrets they don't share with anyone else." Her devious smile grew. "Their worst fears, their happiest moments, their deepest regrets, their greatest goals and desires in life; everything that makes them unique and individuals, what separates them from everyone else, that is their soul. That's what I mean when I say I lust for their souls; everything that makes them who they are, they give to me. Even if all those girls are home now and with their families, I still own them. I know everything about them, and part of them will always be with me, forever!"
Lucy, Lisanna, and Aries couldn't contain their shock and horror; even the still-bound Angel was beyond horrified at that. They looked at Asmodeua as if she were the very face of evil. She may not have raped those girls, but what she did to them…. It was beyond sadistic.
"You're a monster…." Lucy uttered.
Asmodeua looked casually and unfazed at the blonde. "Oh Lucy, don't act like you're such a pure angel. I can see you have just as much lust as I do."
"What?! What are you talking about?!"
"Ice-Make: Battle Axe!" Grey conjured a large axe made of ice and was ready to bring down on Mammon as he soared at him.
"Gold-Make: Bow!" Mammon had created a bow-and-arrow construct out of gold as he shot a golden arrow, which blasted off the top part of Grey's ice-axe. But in response Grey pulled back a punch as he fell down and slugged Mammon across the face, but Mammon came back with his own punch to force Grey to slide across the arena.
"Ice-Make: Knuckle!" Grey shot both his hands on the ground as a multitude of ice-fists shot towards Mammon.
"Gold-Make: Scythe!" Mammon countered by creating a large golden scythe to slice the fists to pieces before he moved on the attack. "Gold-Make: Battering Ram!" He shot a large golden battering ram at Grey who tried to create an ice-shield to block it, but the ram broke through and Grey rolled across the floor with Mammon already in the air.
"Gold-Make: Claws!" A pair of Cletus claws formed in each of Mammon's hands as he tried to slice at Grey who just got up in time to avoid it as the claws impaled into the ground. Grey landed on a pile of treasures and got an idea.
He grabbed an armful and formed an ice-make spell around them. "Ice-Make: Ice Cannon!" He shot a frozen ball filled with gold and jewels from his ice cannon at Mammon who looked with wide eyes before he rolled out of the way just as it exploded on more of his treasure, destroying a great deal of it.
"Hey! I told you not to touch my stuff!" Mammon exclaimed to him, only to find that he was gone. "What… where did…"
"Behind you goldy-locks!" Grey exclaimed as he kicked Mammon across the face, causing him to skid across the floor. Grey ran towards Mammon as he readied both his fists.
"Ice-Make: Brass Knuckles!" He formed a pair of brass knuckles made of ice on both his hands as he began to repeatedly slug Mammon across the face and body. One in his gut, one on his cheek, one to his side, another to his chest, but when he swung another toward his face, Mammon had already raised his hand.
"Liquid Gold!" Mammon caught Grey's fist with a mass of liquid gold in his palm. Not only did it melt Grey's ice, but it also burnt his hand, causing Grey to yell in pain and forcing him to jump backwards. He quickly erected some ice magic in his other hand and cooled the burn so that it wouldn't go any deeper. He'd probably need Wendy's healing magic after this, but that could wait.
"Don't you think you're at a major disadvantage pal?" Mammon teased Grey. "My solid gold is obviously stronger than your ice, and my liquid gold can not only melt your ice, but burn your body worse than fire. So tell me again how you're gonna beat me?"
"Spray me with more that stuff and find out." Grey challenged.
Mammon shrugged. "Alright man, you're funeral." Mammon pulled both his hands back and generated a large mass of scolding hot, liquid gold, before shooting it out at Grey. "Gold-Make: Liquid Smelter!" A wave of liquid gold looked as though it had completely encompassed Grey.
"Oh these kids today." Mammon sighed as he shook his head. "Waste their lives for nothing." A flash of blue light however caught his attention as he looked in shock at what he saw. "What?!"
All the gold around Grey had been completely encased in ice as he stood at the center of large mass of frozen gold. Grey gave a cocky smirk of his own.
"Hate to tell ya this pall, but anything that has a melting point has a freezing point to, guess I just found yours."
Mammon's face twisted into a half-scowl and half-impressed-smile. "This kid is something else."
"My turn!" He brought both his hands together. "Ice-Make: Cold Rebellion!" Grey formed an ice-sword in his hands, but this wasn't any ordinary sword, this sword was an exact ice-copy of Dante's signature blade: rebellion, he lunged at Mammon who could barley react in time.
"Gold-Make: Shield!" He created a knight's shield made of gold in his arm, but Grey pushed forward and with a heave he was able to push Mammon back and throw the shield away before slicing at Mammon, he tossed the ice-Rebellion in the air before making another weapon.
"Ice-Make: Cerberus!" Grey created a three-pronged-ice-nunchuck that looked near identical to Dante's Cerberus Devil Arm, which he spun in one hand before catching the ice-Rebellion in the second hand. He charged at Mammon who didn't have enough time to create something else as Grey slashed and bashed him relentlessly with both weapons before swinging them both and blasting him to a large pile of treasure and caused it to all tumble around him.
On top of said pile was the coffin that the bound-and-gagged Ultear was trapped in. It tumbled a bit before it opened up and Ultear fell behind the pile, Grey was unable to see her and didn't notice as he kept his eyes on where Mammon made impact. Ultear groaned a bit before she noticed some sharp jewels near her and scooted over to try and use them to cut the rope binding her wrists.
Mammon groaned as he got up and shoved the treasure off his body. He looked at Grey's ice weapons. "Aren't those supposed to be Dante's?"
"Yep." Grey said with pride. "What can I say? He rubbed off on me."
Mammon chuckled. "Gotta admit, that's pretty cool. Pun intended."
"Very funny." Grey said as he lowered his eyebrows with a sweat drop appearing on his forehead. Grey however looked in confusion as Mammon's chuckle actually erupted into a full-blown laughter. "Come on, it wasn't that funny!"
"I'm not laughing at my joke, ice boy!" Mammon's laugh came to a halt before he sighed and bore a cocky and sinister smile. "I'm laughing cause you remind me so much of myself."
"Say what?" Grey questioned.
"You don't see it, but you're actually very greedy." Mammon responded. "You stole your friend's moves and made it your own, not exactly inspiring."
"Really? That's what makes me greedy?" Grey questioned. "If that's all then you're really pathetic."
"How? How exactly am I pathetic?" Mammon questioned. "Please explain it to me."
"I've seen your kind before." Grey began. "All you value is money and power, and you're willing to do anything to get it. It's why I hate people like you and guilds like this one, you're willing to do anything for power, even killing."
"That's a feeling you know all too well though, isn't it Grey?" Mammon shot at him, causing him to scowl. "What was her name again? Oh right, Ur."
Grey's scowl vanished and was replaced by one of shock. "What?"
Even Ultear stopped cutting her ropes as she looked with surprise and began to hear what Mammon was saying.
"Vergil's told us all about you and the rest of your guild." Mammon said. "I may have said earlier how I wanted to fight your strongest and didn't include you, but I didn't say that I didn't know who you were. You're story really caught my ears. Why were you training with Ur? You wanted to get stronger, but why? Oh that's right, it was Deliora."
Grey's pupils shrank.
"You wanted revenge on that oversized demon for destroying your family, right?" Mammon continued. "But to do that, you needed power, more power than what you already have. And what did you want to do with that power? You wanted to kill with it. Now before you go and say 'oh, but we only kill monsters you kill people', killing is still killing, it involves taking someone's life. You gained power to take life." Grey began to grind his teeth together as he glared at Mammon. "And where did that greed get you? You lost your precious teacher, didn't you? But it's not just that anymore, is it? All your little pals in Fairy Tail; you want to protect them because you don't wanna fail them like you did with Ur, but to do that, you desired more power, you want as much power as you can get. Your deepest desire is to obtain more power, just like Vergil. So sorry Grey, but you're just as greedy as I am, maybe even more!"
Grey looked as though he was about to kill Mammon, all the while none of them noticed the golden statue of Juvia was beginning to crack.
"So go ahead and tell me who the bad guy is here; because as far as I see it… you're just like me!"
"SHUT UP!" Grey yelled at the top of his lungs as he soared at Mammon with both his weapons. "WE ARE NOTHING ALIKE!"
However his anger left him sloppy, letting Mammon slip past him. "You left yourself open." He placed his palm on Grey's side.
"Gold-Make: Liquid Smelter!" He shot another wave of molten gold at Grey who tried to block it by crossing his weapons and generating his magic to create a shield out of it, but the attack broke through and hit Grey, causing him to scream in pain.
With that scream, more and more cracks formed on the golden statue of Juvia until it broke apart completely and exploded in a torrent of water that rushed towards Grey and completely covered him to shield him from the scolding hot liquid gold. Mammon looked in surprise to see steam coming from his melted golden stream as Juvia's own liquid body pushed it back and her body began to heat up to extreme temperatures normally impossible for water, it got to the point where the liquid gold all exploded over the chamber.
"Gold-Make: Shield!" Mammon quickly created a shield to block the stray golden droplest heading his way.
Ultear, having already used the jewels to cut off the ropes around her wrists and ankles, maneuvered herself behind a pile of treasure for cover before she took off her gag and tried to get her anti-magic collar off.
Mammon threw his shield away and looked in shock to see Juvia standing tall and protecting a shocked Grey behind her.
"You don't know anything about Grey!" Juvia shot towards Mammon, having heard everything he said. "Greed is only a selfish desire, everything he does is solely for the sake of others! He'd even throw his own life in jeopardy if it means his protecting those he loves! That's who he is! Grey Fullbuster is the most selfless person I have ever met and I'll be damned if you ever say otherwise! WATER NEBULA!"
She threw both her arms forward and shot two massive, swirling torrents of water at the shocked Mammon. He didn't react in time as they both hit him with such force it not only shot him through a pile of his treasures, but into the seats of the arena they were fighting in.
Grey looked in complete and total surprise before gazing up at Juvia, she looked down at him and offered him a hand, which he took.
"Grey, are you alright?"
"Yeah." He said without thinking. "Hey uh… Juvia… thanks." He said with a smile.
She smiled and nodded back at him.
Mammon growled as he stood up, his jacket in tethers and most of the treasure in this arena had all been but destroyed. He looked at the pair with anger-filled eyes.
"You… you destroyed my treasures….! I'll make you both regret that! I'LL HIT YOU WITH MY MOST POWERFUL ATTACK! NOTHING YOU HAVE WILL SAVE YOU FROM THIS!" He slammed both his hands above him with a yell as there was a bright golden glow above him. Even Ultear looked in surprise at the massive amount of magic energy he was gathering.
"Grey stay back, I can handle this! I'll protect you!" Juvia was ready for anything, but Grey put a hand on her shoulder.
"No Juvia, we'll do this together." Grey told her, surprising Juvia a bit. "We can beat him if we work together, I know it. You helped me, so let me help you. Deal?"
Juvia's cheeks turned pink as her eyes watered. "Deal." They joined hands as they began to merge their respective magics together. They extended their joined hands forward as Grey put his other hand on Juvia's shoulder and she put hers on his side. "Magic Fusion!" Both their bodies began to emit a cyan glow as Grey's Ice-Make magic circle appeared in front of them with Juvia's Water magic circle appearing in front of that as well.
"OH NO YOU DON'T! Mammon shouted as he aimed both his hands, and the massive amount of magic he gathered at them. "GOLDEN METEOR!" He launched a massive ball of liquid gold that was so hot that it was scalding red almost like the surface of a sun, which he shot at them just as they shot their attack.
"UNISON RAID!"
With that shout, a massive torrent that was a combination of water and ice shot from the dual magic circles and clashed with Mammon's golden meteor attack. Both attacks struggled as the opposing sides of heat and cold clashed against one another. Mammon shouted at the top of his lungs, as did Juvia and Grey. However it appeared that both sides were evenly matched.
Mammon began to laugh maniacally. "SAY YOU'RE PRAYERS YOU TWO! YOU WON'T BEAT ME! HA HA HA HA HA!" However his laughter quickly came to a halt as he noticed his golden meteor beginning to change, it was getting cooler and even loosing some of its force, allowing Grey and Juvia's combined attack to push forward and further. "What?! How is this possible?! It can't just…?!" That's when he noticed a third magic circle above the attack that didn't belong to either Grey or Juvia, it was the Arc of Time! It was aging his attack to the point where it would be too weak. Mammon gazed to the side where he spotted the hidden Ultear pointing her Arc of Time while glaring at him.
"Ultear… you bitch…!"
His curse was too late as Grey and Juvia's unison raid attack broke through his golden meteor. They both shouted as the attack hit Mammon dead on, causing him to scream as he was shot at the edge of the arena where it exploded in a flurry of ice and water, which quickly turned into snow that graced all over the area.
Both of them fell on their knees in exhaustion as they saw Mammon's unconscious body land on the ground, his eyes being completely white to signal his defeat. Grey and Juvia had won!
Grey chuckled as he looked towards Juvia. "Hey, we beat him. You really are something, you know that right?" He said with a smirk.
Tears of joy fell from Juvia's eyes as she lunged at him and threw both her arms around him in the form of a hug, surprising him as his own cheeks turned red.
"Grey, I meant every word I said before." She told him. "You really are the most selfless person I met, and that's always been an inspiration for me. An inspiration to push forward and be as selfless as I can be. I may have saved you here, but you saved me a long time ago."
Those words caused Grey to smile as he patted her on the back. "Don't mention it."
However, what neither of them seemed to notice was Ultear having already jumped back up to the bridge they were on before as she gazed down at the ruined arena.
"I don't know why I did that… but if anyone is going to end that boy's life, it's going to be me." Ultear then turned around and began to walk away. "I can't believe I let myself get captured so easily, and he of all people was the one who helped to free me, unintentional as it may be. Not that it matters, I'll leave this place. Vergil can do whatever he wants; Fairy Tail or the Magic Council will try to stop him, but in the end, none of it will matter. Whoever survives this war, will not live to see the Grand Magic World that Grimore Heart will create! Lord Zeref's awakening is coming… very soon!"
"What?! What are you talking about?!"
Amsodeua looked at the appalled Lucy with a sinister grin; all the while she worked her venomous nails deeper into the wool she was imprisoned in.
"Don't try to hide it Lucy, I can see it in you're eyes." Asmodeua told her. "A lust all your own. You're Celestial Spirits."
That caused not only Lisanna to look in surprise, but both Lucy and Aries. "What… what is she….?" Aries muttered as Lucy couldn't even think of a response.
"How many Celestial Spirits do you have Lucy?" Asmodeua asked. "How many of them are the Zodiac Spirits? There are so many Celestial Keys in the world, but only twelve golden keys. Aren't they the most valuable, because their spirits are the most powerful? And how many do you have, well over half of them, if I had to guess. So tell me, why do you see to collect all these spirits? You already have more than enough to fight with? Aren't you satisfied with what you have?"
"I… that's not… I…." Lucy stuttered.
"You want them for their power, don't you? You lust for the Celestial Zodiacs!" Asmodeua told her.
"That's not true! I don't lust for them!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Then what are they to you?" Asmodeua questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"They're my friends! My family!" Lucy replied.
"Than why do you want more?" Asmodeua continued to question. "Aren't the ones you have enough of a family for you? And what about your little guildmates in Fairy Tail? Don't you consider them family as well?"
"Lucy, don't listen to her! She's just trying to get inside your head!" Lisanna tried to tell her as she was still paralyzed.
"It's the one constant in this world: those who posses power inevitably crave more." Asmodeua said. "Lust is everlasting. You're lust for the Celestial Spirits cannot be quelled because you want their power all for yourself."
"No… I don't… I…"
"You don't share them though." Asmodeua continued to pressure. "You keep them and treat them as you're personal attack dogs. Just ask this meek little ram. Tell me Aries, Lucy say she treats you nice, but does she ever invite you to her home just to hang out and chat? Does she do that with the rest of her spirits? Or does she only call you when she needs you?"
Aries shook as she didn't even answer, Lucy looked at her with a hurt expression. "Aries…?"
As they were distracted, Asmodeua had worked her claws in deep enough into her wool prison that she got to where she needed. "Venom Blast!" With a twist of her hands, her nails extended and she blasted through the wool, causing a shockwave that knocked all three of them back. Lisanna fell flat on her back, as her body was still numb.
Aries couldn't react in time as Asmodeua had rushed to her and impaled her with her claws.
"ARIES!" Lucy shouted in horror. The timid Zodiac Spirit said nothing as she extended her hand toward Lucy and faded away back to the spirit world. This left Lucy vulnerable enough to where Asmodeua rushed up to her and gave her a Venom Kiss. Lucy's body quickly went numb as well as she fell flat on her back.
"Lucy!" Lisanna tried her best to move, but she couldn't and she could only watch as Asmodeua crawled onto Lucy who looked in terror as the witch's face was only inches from her own.
"When everything is set and done, all you're little spirits are just you're personal slaves to do however you see fit with." Asmodeua told her. "If you did love them, you'd set them free, but no, you have them bound by contracts you placed on them. But even with the power of more than half the Celestial Zodiac you still want more. If that doesn't count as lust than I don't know what does."
"You're wrong…" Lucy uttered, though it sounded like she was more convincing herself. "I don't…" She didn't get a chance to finish as Asmodeua placed her hand over Lucy's mouth to silence.
"Get off her! Let her go!" Lisanna shouted.
"Oh don't worry, I'll be with you shortly Lisanna." Asmodeua said. "But first, I think it's time I break Lucy a little bit." Tears fell down from Lucy's face as she could only gaze helplessly in fear. However before Asmodeua could even make a move…
*SMASH!*
A golden-light covered fist smashed across Asmodeua's face and sent her crashing through the wall. Lisanna, Lucy, and even the webbed-up Angel could only look in complete shock at who was standing there.
"Normally I don't hit ladies. But I think I'll make the exception with this piece of work." Leo the Lion stood proudly as he adjusted his suit.
"Loke!" Lisanna shouted in surprise as her face turned into a smile. Loke turned back towards her as he picked up Lucy bridal style.
"Hey Lisanna, sorry our reunion wasn't under better circumstances." Loke said sincerely as he walked over and picked Lisanna up to before walking toward a relatively safe spot.
"Yeah well, with the pickle we're in, I'll take it anyway." She said with a smile as he smiled back.
"Lucy, are you okay?" He asked her.
"Yeah…" She said half-heartedly, still shaken up by what Asmodeua said to her. However before she could say anything else, Loke had already turned around to face Asmodeua who had just recovered from the attack.
"Well look at this, the little lustful slaver's servant has come to his master's aid." Asmodeua taunted.
"I heard what you said to her." Loke shot a glare at her. "You don't know the first damn thing about Celestial Spirits, and you certainly don't know anything about Lucy. It's true that some Celestial Wizards treat their spirits as objects or weapons." He gazed up at the bound Angel as she held her head down. "But Lucy, she has nothing but love. We weren't forced into her service, she offered to form contracts with them and we choose to accept them. She treats all of us like family, there is nothing lustful about her! She has nothing but love, and I'm going to make sure you learn that the hard way!"
Lisanna looked in surprise. "I've never seen Loke so intense and fierce before. I guess Lucy has had quite the affect on him."
Lucy looked towards Loke with a grateful smile as tears of joy threatened to fall from her eyes.
"Oh spare me your sentimental garbage pretty boy." Asmodeua's nails shined a bright green. "She and Lisanna there will be part of my collection, as will a few of your fellow spirits…" A sadistic smile formed on her face. "And I'll make sure your key is shattered so you can't ever help them!"
"We'll see about that!" Loke's fists shined with gold energy as he shot at Asmodeua. "Regulus!"
"Spider's Venom!" Her poisoned nails clashed with his golden fists as they began to exchange and clash blows. Golden and green energies mixed and clashed against one another as they moved with equal speed and strength. He tried to punch at her, only for her to jump as he punched through a large stone pillar.
Asmodeua quickly jumped down towards him with her glowing nails, but Loke blocked it by crossing his fists to produce a golden orb made of light to shield himself before he punched her, but she skidded to a halt on the ground. He gave a yell as he tried to charge at her, but she was ready for that.
"Arachnid's Web!" She shot webbing toward the ground to catch his feet, causing him to stop his advance. With a wild yell, Asmodeua lunged at him as he crossed his arms to shield himself from the relentless onslaught of her slashes.
"Loke! He needs help!" Lucy tried to get up. "But… I still can't move!"
Lisanna felt the same way. "That Venom Kiss is some nasty stuff. But she's right, Loke needs help!" She clenched her fists and closed her eyes. "I promised myself I won't be helpless anymore… and I won't! Lucy, Loke, Mira, Natsu, they're all counting on me, and I'm counting on them! I'll stand up no matter what! And this stupid venom won't stop me!" Her eyes shot open as a powerful flame was seen inside them.
"Take Over: Dragon Soul!"
Lisanna's body was engulfed in a powerful flame, much to Lucy's surprise as she had stood up and transformed into her Dragon Take Over, which now enabled her to move again. Her wings extended as she shot directly toward the fight.
Asmodeua was about to lash at Loke again, but Lisanna came in with a fiery punch across her face to send her crashing towards the wall. Loke looked at her in surprise, as this was the first time he'd seen her Dragon Take Over.
"Lisanna…? Is that you…?"
"Yeah… long story." She said as she produced flames from her hand to burn away at the web at Loke's feet, freeing him. "I'll give you a full explanation later, but right now, let's take her down!"
"Right." Loke got serious as the two took combat stances as Asmodeua struggled to get up, she held the right side of her face and it burnt quite a bit as she looked at Lisanna in shock.
"How…. My venom should have…?"
"Guess you didn't know, but my new Take Over is more than just a flashy show." Lisanna said.
"You used fire magic to burn out the poison in your body?!" Asmodeua questioned in shock and disbelief.
"Got that right. And you're gonna get even more burnt, trust me." She shot her a glare as Asmodeua's smile completely vanished and she growled like a rabid animal.
"Oh…. I am going to enjoy tearing those wings off! YOU LITTLE BITCH!" She lunged at the pair with glowing green nails as Lisanna and Loke did the same and began to exchange multiple blows.
However, it seemed even with Loke and Lisanna working together, Asmodeua was still too fast. Lisanna's flame attacks helped to keep her at a distance, but she was still quick enough to avoid any attacks from both Lisanna and Loke. She may have been on defense right now, but she still had plenty of fight in her. During one of those flamed attacks, a stray flame had hit the web bound around Angel; it quickly burnt away, letting Angel fall onto the ground rather painfully. However the fire not only burnt away all the web, but it weakened the rope as well, allowing herself to break free of her bindings as she tore off her gag and removed her anti-magic collar.
"Fire Claws!" Lisanna's claws lit on fire as she slashed towards Asmodeua who back-flipped only to come towards Loke as he readied another Regulus attack, but she caught his wrist and used the momentum to deliver a kick to his face to knock him back. Her victory was short lived as she was put back on the defensive with Lisanna attacking her again with a punch.
Lucy saw all this and while she was rooting for her friends all the way, she felt horrible. They were risking their lives for her and all she could do was watch. True the paralyzing venom inside her made it impossible for her to move, but those words that Asmodeua said to her still stung.
"Even with what Loke said… all I can do is just sit here and watch… as they fight for me. Lisanna is getting stronger and so are my spirits… but what about me…? I'm helpless! What can I do?! Was she right? Do I really just lust for this power….?"
She felt a hand touch hers and turned her eyes as they widened in surprise to see Angel, quite weak from being bound for so long, having crawled to her as she put both her hands on Lucy.
"You want to help them?" She asked. "Then let me help you with that."
Before Lucy could even react to what her former enemy just told her, she suddenly felt a surge of energy pass into her hand and through the rest of her body.
"Take my magic and use it…. Use it to destroy that monster!" Angel told her, her own head hanging down. "I've seen you do it before, when you fought me." Lucy's eyes widened as she recalled her fight with Angel, she could barley remember what happened though. All she did remember was Hibiki giving her some of his own magic, then it went blank, when she came back, Angel was defeated. "I don't expect you to forgive me for this, I know I don't deserve it." Angel's voice cracked up as it sounded like she was sobbing. "For so long… everything I've done… has been wrong…. But please, just this once…. Let me do something right for a change." She lifted her face to show her teary eyes. "Because… it's what… Dante would have wanted… right?"
Lucy honestly felt moved by this. This really wasn't the same Angel she fought before. She was giving her all her magic to help her friends, something she never once thought Angel would do prior to this. Before Lucy could dwell on these thoughts further, it felt like her mind went blank again.
Asmodeua grazed to a halt as she faced Lisanna and Loke again, but they immediately stopped their fight as they saw a bright yellow glow coming from the side of the chamber. There, they saw Angel, still holding on, transferring her magic to Lucy as she found herself standing straight up on her feet with a rotating Celestial Magic circle underneath her.
"What the…?!" The furious and crazed Asmodeua questioned.
"Is that Angel?" Lisanna wondered.
"I don't believe it…" Loke breathed in disbelief and shock. "Angel's… transferring every bit of her Celestial Magic to Lucy!"
The glow went brighter as Angel used up the last of her magic and slowly began to loose conscious. "Lucy… Heartfelia… you really are… a true… Celestial… Wizard…" She fainted and fell down.
Suddenly, Lucy's eyes grew dull as the entire environment around the group changed. They were completely surrounded by planetoids and appeared to be in deep space with a glowing Lucy at the center.
"WHAT THE HELL KIND OF MAGIC IS THIS?!" Asmodeua shouted at the top of her lungs while Lisanna and Loke were both rendered speechless.
"Oh stars far and wide that embody the heavens…"Lucy spoke in a monotone voice. "By thy radiance… reveal thy form to me… I employ you, oh Tetra Biblos… Ruler of the Stars, let your unrestrained rage flow…!"
"She… she can't be…" Loke couldn't believe it.
"Loke?" Lisanna asked.
"She's… she's about to cast Urano Metoria!" Loke exclaimed.
Asmdoeua set her crazed look upon Lucy. "Oh no… YOU WILL NOT BE THE BEST OF ME! LUST IS EVERLASTING!" She lunged right at her.
"Lisanna!" Loke shouted.
"I'm on it!" The Take-Over mage nodded. "Inferno Blast!" Lisanna shot a powerful fire-blast from her mouth at the same time Loke shot his spell.
"Regulus Impact!" Loke shot both his fists forward and a giant lion made of orange light roared as it shot out alongside Lisanna's attacks. They both struck Asmodeua in the back, causing her to scream in pain and stop, leaving her vulnerable for Lucy to finish the spell.
"…With the 88 Heavenly Bodies… shining…" Her eyes shot open to reveal a bright star in each of them. "URANO METORIA!"
Asmodeua could only look in pure terror as all the planetoids began to glow and gather together, and all of them shot at Asmodeua. Her body was already weak enough from the attack of both Lisanna and Loke from before, but the combined magical force that Angel gave to Lucy was enough to completely tear the witch's body to shreds, killing her and leaving dust in her place before it exploded in a bright and brilliant light.
When the light faded, everyone was back to where they were before the spell was cast: the opera concert hall within Temen-ni-gru. Lucy's eyes faded as she fell on her knees and was about to collapse if Lisanna and Loke hadn't caught her. She slowly opened her eyes to see them both smiling down upon her.
"Loke… Lisanna…"
"Hey Lucy." The white harried girl smiled as she turned back to normal.
"Did… did we win…"
"We did." Loke nodded. "She's dead."
Lucy gave a weak laugh as they both sat her against the wall and both of them sat by her side to in exhaustion.
"We just took down one of the Seven Sins." The exhausted Lucy said. "Bet Vergil and Arkham didn't see that coming, huh?"
"Yeah… Lucy, you really are amazing." Lisanna told her.
"Truth is, it wasn't all me, it was her to." Lucy gestured towards the unconscious Angel. "If it weren't for her, I'd still be flat on the ground. She saved all our lives."
Loke's smile faded. "Maybe… but she killed Karen, and with what she did to Aries…. I don't know if I'll ever forgive her. But… maybe you could at least say thanks to her for me."
"Sure thing." Lucy smiled before she began to speak in earnest. "You guys though are every bit as amazing as you say I am. You're always getting stronger and pushing forward, I should be doing the same to."
"Lucy, what that witch said to you was absolutely wrong." Loke said as he put a hand on his shoulder. "There is nothing lustful about you."
"Maybe I was though, a long time ago." Lucy began. "I remember how I wanted nothing more than to collect all the Celestial Zodiac keys, guess there was a bit of lust in me back then. But, after seeing all of you… really, all I want is for you, Virgo, Gemini, Aries, Scorpio, Taurus, Cancer, Acquirus, Lyra, I just want all of you to be happy."
"We are happy, because we're with you." Loke said with a smile.
Lucy smiled with tears of joy flowing down her eyes. Lisanna put a hand on her shoulder as well and gave her the best smile she could possibly give.
"You should probably head back to the Spirit World Loke, get some rest." Lisanna advised him.
"I will." He nodded as he looked toward them. "But if still you need me, don't hesitate to ask. Oh and Lisanna, it's good to see you again."
"You to." She nodded.
With that, Loke faded back to the Spirit World to recover as Lucy and Lisanna let fatigue take their bodies as they slept with their shoulders and heads resting against each other, both with smiles on their faces, even the unconscious Angel had a smile on her face as well.
Well that was longer than I thought it would be. Well anyway, some victories for Fairy Tail! Two of the Seven Sins are defeated! (one is dead, the other unconscious; only five left to go). And it looks like Ultear and Angel are both free as well (don't expect anything else from Grimore Heart in this arc. This will be the last you see of Ultear till Tenrous Island in the next arc after this one.
Some bonus points for those who noticed: the places where these fights took place are also the same spots where Dante fought Greyon and Nevan in the cannon DMC3 game.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed these chapters as much as I enjoyed writing them. It was a lot of fun and I will be back with more action soon. See you later and Peace Out!