"" - Speech
'' - Thoughts
[] - Sacred Gear
[] - Dragons
...
Merlin rolled his shoulders as he finished stretching for his sparing matches, having changed his clothes into his usual magician outfit which consisted of a long dark blue trench coat with dark violet trim, that reached his knees, flaring back from his waist to not hinder his legs and was buttoned up to the high collar. Underneath he wore a white dress shirt with black slacks that was tucked into black boots. Black fingerless gloves covered his hands each imprinted with a magic circle on the back on the hand which gave off a brief faint glow before returning to their usual chalky white.
On the far left of the room was numerous gym equipment while Reina and her peerage were sitting on a bench at the side while Riser was sitting on a high backed comfortable chair while his peerage stood around him.
"Mira, Shuriya, Marion and Burent why don't you spar with him first" Riser spoke, drawing surprised looks from the girls which were ignored as Riser asked Reina
"You think this is too much for your new [Bishop]?" Reina kept her gaze on Merlin seeing him give her a small nod before she smiled
"Merlin-san could handle those…"
[Easily…] Tiamat added amused, Merlin rolling his eyes at the dragon's confidence in him as he watched two brown haired maids, a girl who looked to be a showgirl move from out of the group and a blue haired girl with a stick came forwards.
"Begin!" Riser called, the girls charging forwards with their weapons to bare as Merlin held his hands out to the side as he spoke
"[Blade-Wing Tonfa]" Gripping the two Tonfa, Merlin deflecting Mira's staff with one and then hitting her in the stomach with the other and knocking her back. He ducked under the feather duster whip that Marion had before leaning out of the way of Burent's broom-spear, using the blade of one Tonfa to cut the shaft of the weapon while the other was coated in lightning and smashed into Burent's face. The resulting thunderclap echoed through the room as the burgundy haired maid was flung backwards and landed unconscious.
Merlin charged forwards at that point, firing a fireball from a magic circle that appeared before two fingers at Shuriya while starting to launch rapid blows towards Mira, the blunette using her staff to bat them away. She was stopped from taking a step back as Merlin stomped on her foot, bringing a tonfa to hit her under her chin and knocked her to the ground. He was forced to jump back as twin fireballs shot from Shuriya and Marion, pointing a finger at Mira and making the ground under her into mud before solidifying it to trap her.
Dismissing the Tonfa, Merlin pointed a hand at Marion and Shuriya each as he spoke "Water Lock!"
Water blasted from out of the ground around the two remaining Pawns, forming into large spheres that caught them both by surprise before they could hold their breaths. They only remained long enough for the girls to nearly fall unconscious before Merlin dispelled it after landing on the ground, letting both girls fall forwards onto their hands and knees and start coughing water up.
[Good work… Going to explain about the Artificial Sacred Gear then?] Tiamat asked as Reina and her peerage started cheering and clapping while Riser looked mildly interested.
'Maybe… Depends if they ask' Merlin mentally replied, waving his hand to free Mira as Riser spoke
"Interesting… You're not like most [Bishops]" Merlin shrugged in response, well aware that he didn't fit the standard Magician mold due to his time with the mages of Fairy Tail as he replied
"The magicians I hung around with were mostly close range fighters. I had to learn to take a hit while training with them"
"Well, let's see how you handle my [Bishop] them, Mihae you're next." Riser spoke, getting a nod from the shrine maiden who moved to take her position opposite once the four Pawns had been freed and carried off.
Reina watched as the battle of [Bishops] started, a large smile on her face from seeing Merlin handle half of her brother's [Pawns] at once. Glancing at her peerage, she could tell that they were enjoying what had happened so far: Aya was nearly bouncing in her seat while Kazehana and Kanu were looking impressed, Kira and Madoka were shocked at what they were seeing and Yukari leant closer to speak to her
"Merlin-san looks like he'll be good for heavy fire power in a Rating Game, Reina-sama" Reina nodded in agreement as she watched Merlin and Mihae were exchanging spells with each other, the former easily firing off barrages of spells which had forced the latter to be more defensive and keep her barrier up.
"[Chaos Cannon]" Merlin muttered, gripping his Sacred Gear in his hand as he continued firing lightning spells from the magic circle in his other hand making Mihae's eyes widen at being unable to dodge as he aimed and added
"Drill Shot. Stun Shot" The two bullets shot shot off one after another, the [Drill Shot] was orange-brown with a drill like spiral at the front of it while the [Stun Shot] was pale yellow in colour. The first shattered through the barrier Mihae had before fading to allow the second to hit Mihae in the chest and knock her out.
Merlin cancelled his spells as he took a moment to regain his breathe before aiming the [Chaos Cannon] at Mihae much to the concern of the others as he spoke "Dispel Shot"
The grey round hit Mihae, cancelling the effect of the [Stun Shot] and allowing her to move again as she got up. Sending an impressed look to Merlin, she soon moved back to where the rest of Riser's peerage stood while Riser scowled in thought before speaking "Karlamine, Siris, you're next!"
Both [Knights] drew their blades, Merlin frowning in thought as he dismissed his Sacred Gear only to call his [Blade-wing Tonfa] again and take a ready stance as he thought 'Gonna have to be careful...'
Siris charged first as Merlin flooded his body with magic, reinforcing it as he brought the tonfa up to guard against the downwards strike, while super charging his nerves with lightning magic so he could keep up. It was crude and simple technique but dangerous if he pushed too much due to his damaging his body further.
The clash forced Merlin to grit his teeth from the force of the clash, releasing a short burst of lightning through the tonfa into the Siris' blade and by extension into her hands. During this Merlin was flipping the other tonfa and thrusting out with the, lightning coated, curved blade. His attack missed as she jumped back, only causing a cut along her clothes while Karlamine appearing behind Merlin and swung her flaming sword down only for a magic circle to burst into life and block the surprise attack.
Sparks crackled along the magic circle before a bolt of blue lightning was launched from it, Karlamine just managing to dodge the spell aside from the small amount of lightning that arched down her sword.
From there Siris and Karlamine tag teamed against Merlin, forcing him to dodge or block most of their attacks, the latter with his lightning covered tonfa or a lightning spell circle. With each block, more lightning travelled into the pair of [Knights] from Merlin's tonfa, affecting their muscles and making them have to move slower in case any of them seized up.
Once Merlin had got them slow enough he stamped a foot onto Siris' as to stop her from getting away before launching a punch with a lot of lightning magic infused into it to knock her out. Karlamine shot forwards despite the ache in her muscles, aiming to land a cut along Merlin's side, only to be surprised as Merlin hooked a foot under the large Zweinder and kick the blade up to distract her as he sidestepped the slash before hitting the blunt side of his tonfa into her kidney and then her neck, knocking her out.
Riser angrily gritted his teeth even as Reina and her peerage cheered at Merlin's win, wondering what why none of his peerage so far could handle the Magician.
"Yubelluna, take the rest for the next round" Riser spoke, sending a serious look to his [Queen] as Reina and Ravel shouted
"Onii-san/sama..."
"Reina-sama, don't worry about it... I need the practice anyway" Merlin interrupted, his hair covering his eyes as he waited for the twin green hair girls, twin cat girls, the two [Rooks] and Yubelluna took the field. The others were shocked at hearing that, Reina looking to Yukari and the other girls of her peerage to see them concerned
[You should be careful. Your Artificial Balance Breaker might break [Blade-wing Tonfa] again despite the reinforcements you put on them] Tiamat spoke up, Merlin mentally nodding as he replied
'I know... but if I want to learn how to better use it I need to be able to use it without there being a life or death situation around it. Otherwise we might have trouble like with Heracles.' Tiamat nodded in understanding, Merlin lifting his head to look at his opponents as he spoke
"I'll let you have a free shot as well"
"You brat! Think you can handle all of us together, girls let's incinerate this fool" Yubelluna spoke in a haughtily tone, the group quickly creating balls of flames in their hands before firing them at Merlin, only for them all to be shocked at his next two words.
"[Balance Break!]" Merlin spoke, causing shocked gasps from Reina and her peerage just as he was consumed by the flames as Tiamat roared out
[Sub Species Balance Break: Chaos Dragon Slayer Force]
Reina watched on nervously, Aya worrying her bottom lip in hope that Merlin was okay as Kanu, Kazehana, Kira and Madoka shared concerned looks and Yukari's hands clenched tighter.
"That little boy didn't know what he was dealing with" Yubelluna smugly retort, not noticing that the flames had started to shrink before Aya called out
"He's alive!"
Eyes turned to see Merlin amidst the flames, widening as Yukari asked "I-Is he... eating those flames!?"
"He looks hot" Kazehana commented with a leer, Kanu nodding in agreement as Reina spoke
"His power is stronger then before right?" Yukari nodded as Kira and Madoka looked at each other before speaking up
"Its like he's turned draconic..."
"I've never heard of a dragon eating flames though"
Merlin finished consuming the flames, taking a deep breathe as his aura flared. His eyes opened and focused on Yubelluna before he spoke "Interesting taste... I guess its my turn"
Yubelluna scowled as she retort "Nel, Ile, take care of him."
"Right" The two girls spoke, revving their chainsaws as they charged at Merlin as Tiamat spoke up to him
[Seems to be slightly more stable then last time, try not push yourself too far or show off]
'Right!' Merlin thought back, moving to catch a chainsaw with each hand as he spoke
"Ice Dragon's Glacial Freeze" Icy mist surrounded Merlin's hands before instantly covered the two chainsaws in ice, shocking their users as Merlin let go as blue flames surging over his hand as he added
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist" The punch shattered both chainsaws and flung Nel and Ile away from Merlin.
"First he eats fire and now he can use Ice... What does that [Balance Break] actually do?" Reina spoke amazed as she watched, Merlin duck, weaved away or blocked Xuelan's attacks before Ni and Li joined in and he retaliating.
"Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist" Merlin shot back as he hit Xuelan in the stomach with a lightning covered fist and sent her flying with a thunderclap before taking a deep breathe as he launched his next attack.
"Lightning Dragon's Roar!" Ni and Li had little time to get out of the way as lightning slammed into both of them and knocked them out, Merlin turning his attention to Isabella who was charging at him while eating the flames Yubelluna was throwing at him.
Merlin was knocked back by Isabella's punch, using one of his hands to stop himself from skidding back more then a few feet before he slammed the same hand onto the ground as he spoke "Ice Dragon's Arctic Field"
The ground was instantly covering the ground, Isabella slipping during her charge while Yubelluna took to the sky. Merlin skated forwards easily on the ice with lightning arcing over his body as he dodged explosions.
"Ice Dragon's Roar" Merlin spoke as he launched a blizzard of snow and hail from his mouth at Yubelluna, who brought up a fire made shield to block it. The Roar slammed into the shield, the two magics battling for a few seconds before the Roar overpowered it and made cuts and bruises on her body where the shards connected before the pure force knocked her unconscious against at hitting the ceiling of the room.
A cloud of steam alerted Merlin to Isabella getting back to her feet, the ice around her melted as flames covered her hands as the Magician turned to face her. He blinked at seeing Xuelan getting back to her feet behind Isabella, both shooting forwards to punch Merlin who slipped into a fighting stance as he lit his fists in blue flames as he declared
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon's Fist!"
The barrage of punches that Merlin threw surprised the two [Rooks] as they tried to block and dodge them only to find the Magician's punches continuing at a faster speed. The last punches knocked out both martial artists and left Merlin taking deep breathes before his Balance Breaker de-activated and turned back into his tonfa.
"Amazing!" Aya called, rushing over to Merlin with a bright grin as Reina gave a knowing smirk to Riser as she spoke
"Looks like he's passed with flying colours." Yukari, Kira, Madoka, Kazehana and Kanu soon approached Merlin as well with their own congratulations.
...
Stepping out of the magic circle with Aya next to him, Merlin yawned into one of his hands as the effects of using his artificial [Balance Break] starting to show as the pair came to a stop to see Tsubasa and Sona sitting in the living room, the latter looking up from the reading the magic tome she held to ask "How did it go?"
"Oh it was amazing, Kaichou! Merlin-kun defeated all of Riser-sama's peerage in spars." Aya exclaimed happily, Merlin finding himself smiling as he sat down and watched as the ginger haired young woman talked animatedly about his spars.
"You have a [Balance Break] already?" Sona asked, Merlin nodding in response as he answered
"Its something I made quickly and based on a special type of magic a few friends use called [Dragon Slayer Magic] which obvious is capable of slaying Dragons. Most only know one element but, well, mine is special due to basing it on Tiamat."
"Special...? I assume from what Aya said that its due to you having multiple elements" Sona asked interested and surprised as Merlin nodding as he answered
"Yes."
"I'd like to meet these friends of yours, if it is okay?" Sona asked, Merlin stifling a yawn as he nodded before speaking
"I'm going to head to bed now, Tsubasa-san and Aya-san can show you to the rooms if you choose to stay, Kaichou" Sona nodded in understanding before Aya and Tsubasa wished him a goodnight as he headed to his own room.
...
(Flashback Start)
A ten year old Merlin ran between the shadows of buildings as he looked around for the creature hat was hunting him, his parents' home was only a few houses away but he didn't want to lead it back to his home. Held tightly in his left hand was a five foot tall white wooden staff, topped with a powder blue diamond shaped jewel. His appearance was hidden between a green trench coat over thick black slacks, black boots and a dark yellow wide brimmed, pointed hat that was tipped forwards to shield his eyes as he looked around for his attacker.
'I need to avoid that Minotaur or...' Merlin thought, being cut off as the building he was hiding behind shattered as the Minotaur's large fist came through it. The Magician dodging the larger pieces of rubble as he jumped back and tried to work out how to defeat the monster before him.
Frowning, Merlin quickly cast a spell as the Minotaur brought down the large battle axe it held in its other hand on him. The axe bouncing off the white shield that had sprung up around Merlin as he held his staff diagonally in front of himself. The Minotaur raised its axe again to try and break through the shield only for a large bolt of lightning to slam into its body and send it flying away.
"No one lays a hand on my son" A red headed woman spoke, a well fitted white blouse with black slacks and a flowing coat. A yellow magic circle was around her fore and middle fingers which were pointed at where the Minotaur had stood. She stalked forwards, keeping her attention on the monster as she keep firing off lightning bolts from her hand.
A pillar of flames rushed towards Merlin, who turned to see a wall of stone lifting up to block it as his father spoke "Hey kiddo, go take some cover"
Merlin nodded to the black haired man wearing a brown duster coat over a black shirt and slacks, moving to find cover as he watched his father part the stone to reveal the blue haired woman who had attacked him, a flame red staff in her hands.
Explosions erupted around him, knocking Merlin away as he shouted in pain. His gaze instantly moved to the roof of one of the buildings where a young man stood with one hand pointed at him with an orange magic circle on his palm. Pulling himself up, Merlin tightened his grip on his staff as he cast another barrier spell to stop the next barrage of explosive magic.
Once the barrage ended, Merlin switched to offensive as he shot a dozen azure coloured fireballs back at his opponent only for him to miss as the young man jumped down, using a couple magic circles to bounce off and slow his fall.
Merlin dove to dodge a ball of destructive force, fired at him before a flick of his hand and a spell seal created a field of ice around him with dozens of sharp spears jutting out of the ground. He looked on in shock as a dozen magic circles lit up the night, all aimed at him as the young man smirked. Merlin tightening his grip on his staff as he flared his magic to follow an instinct that had suddenly arose, a large pillar of blue flames wrapping around him protectively to stop the spells aimed at him, taking the shape of a large western dragon which roared in defiance, shocking those around as it gained their attention.
"Oh Morgana..." Merlin's mother spoke softly in shock watching as the flame dragon launched a dozen beams of flames from its wings, two each seeming to entwine before slamming into the blue haired woman and the young man and smashing them through the buildings behind them while the remaining beams molded together into a serpent dragon as it slammed into the Minotaur, incinerating it easily.
"I don't think he needs a staff..." His father joked, watching the flames all go out before Merlin collapsed forwards, the parents rushing to check on him only for their eyes to widen at seeing the staff in one hand and the [Chaos Cannon] in the other as his mother spoke
"That's his Sacred Gear..."
(Flashback End)
...
(Flashback Start)
A twelve year old Merlin wandered through the woods near the large lake that his family were currently living by. He was dressed in his battle clothes as had become his habit since the first time he had become involved in and his white wooden staff was tightly gripped in his hand. He smiled as he looked around at the greenery, thankful for the break in learning to use his Sacred Gear with his magician's magic.
Reaching the edge of the woods which overlooked the large lake, Merlin's eyes widened in surprise at the blue haired sixteen year old beautiful girl that knelt near the edge, taking a sip from the lake with her hands cupping water. She wore a backless white dress that clung to her curvy frame while her aqua blue hair fell to her chest.
Merlin's staff slipped from his fingers, clattering onto the roots under his fist as he cringed at making that sort of mistake as she turned around to face him. The girl suddenly turned around before her eyes locked on his, a smile growing on her face at spotting him, Merlin quickly picking up his staff and attempting to turn to leave before a melodic voice spoke softly yet clearly "Don't go..."
Merlin found himself blushing despite himself as he glanced back at her to see she was walking towards him, her chocolate brown eyes seeming to sparkle as she held her hand out and asked "I'm not going to hurt you... What's your name?"
"M-Merlin" He nervously answered, his blush darkening as she cheerfully replied with a bright smile
"That's a cute name, I'm Nimueh..."
(Flashback End)
...
(Flashback Start)
A fifteen year old Merlin stood in a large laboratory styled room, bookcases covering one wall while spaced out tables were littered with seemingly random pieces of equipment, ranging from magical items, open magic tomes to mundane items and notebooks that had Merlin's own notes in them.
[I didn't ever think that [Dragon Slayer Magic] was the sort of thing most Dragons I know would teach] Tiamat spoke as Merlin was focusing on a pair of blue metal tonfa he was working on, a diamond shaped purple jewel in his hand, as he retort
"Well they must have had a good reason for it. Although its not like people in Fiore have any knowledge of Dragon Slayer weaponry"
[So... You planning to try and link my power into those Tonfa then so I will be the source for the Dragon Slayer Magic?] Tiamat asked, Merlin nodding as he answered
"Yeah, you know the last time I tried to make these the artificial dragon crystal I made wouldn't even accept the idea of drawing power from it. I figured if [Chaos Cannon] can normally let me shoot magic with other effects it should be possible to work out and harness a Dragon Slayer element with it."
Fiddling with the jewel and one of the tonfa, Merlin attached them together and ensure it would stay attached by using magic to make the join permanent as Tiamat spoke up [If this was any other dragon they wouldn't understand why you want a weapon that fits your own weakness but with the Heroes around... Just make sure you don't skimp on understanding the Dragon Slayer aura as the last thing I want is you to be hurt. Especially after seeing the destructive power that Fire Dragon Slayer had in Hargeon.]
"I know..." Merlin replied, recalling the fight between the two fire mages before an image of the blonde young woman flashed up in his mind before Tiamat spoke up amused
[Nice to see you're taking an interest in the opposite sex, Merlin... especially after her] Merlin flustered at hearing that, attempting to deny it only to give up at hearing her gently laughing and deciding to focus back on his current project.
"Hey did you see the babe amongst the mages we captured?" A male voice spoke from the doorway, Merlin turning to see a pair of young men walking by as the other replied
"Yeah, that one is a real looker" Merlin frowned as he watched the pair walk away, having moved to the doorway to hear better before he thought to himself
'Why would they be capturing Mages? It doesn't make sense.'
[That's right...Maybe we should check it out] Tiamat spoke with a frown, Merlin nodding before checking that the defensive magic over the room was up as he left and headed off down the corridor towards the prison area of the base.
He slowed down once he neared the guard post before where prisoners would be kept, taking a moment to calm down before checking the holster for his [Chaos Cannon], so he could blend in with the other mages, was on his left thigh. Activating and holstering his Sacred Gear, Merlin then started to walk around the corner towards the guards, seeing them snap to attention at spotting him.
"Ambrosias-sama, are you here to interview the prisoners?" One of the guards asked, Merlin frowning before nodding once before the guards relaxed and opened the door to let him enter.
The room he entered was a large waiting room space, security cameras set up to watch the prisoners while a couple guards sat around.
"What warranted these people's capture" Merlin asked once he approached the monitors, the guards jumping in surprise as one stammered back
"A-Ambrosias-sama, they were caught on Faust-sama's orders so we could study their magic and recruit the strongest." Internally Merlin was angry at hearing that but kept a stern visage as he nodded slowly and retort
"I recall Georg-san mentioning that... Have they been doing or saying anything interesting?" The two guards turned to focus on the monitors as one of the underlings spoke
"Aside from that hot blonde, nothing..." None of them noticed as Merlin drew [Chaos Cannon] from where he stood or hearing a near silent murmur of "Stun Shot" before he quickly shot each one and knocking them out without any issue.
[Well that is the first part done.] Tiamat mused as Merlin holstered his gun before moving towards the door to the cells so he could finally talk to the prisoners. Taking a moment to close his eyes and concentrate, Merlin tapped into one of the magics that he had started to learn while being in Fiore: Thought Projection Magic. Looking at his copy he checked he'd done it right before nodding and speaking
"Go back to the lab and make sure they don't think I'm involved with this" His copy nodded before moving to the door, Merlin having to use a small bit of magic to open it and hide the fact his Thought Projection wasn't solid.
Entering to see the large cell filled with a dozen people, Merlin frowned as they all started yelling at him to release them, holding up a hand to hopefully calm them as he spoke "Please calm down. I have nothing to do with your captures and will be helping release you but you need to all calm down."
"Why should we believe you!?" One of the men shouted, Merlin mentally sighing as he answered
"At the moment, I'm your only means to escape without all of the people here finding out so either trust me or stay here."
"Can you really get us out?" Lucy asked, Merlin nodding as he moved to the door, lifting his hand and creating a magic circle on it as Tiamat spoke to him
[Looks like that failed experiment is going to be of some use, huh?] Said failed experiment was an attempt to make an magical explosive that would be re-useable although Merlin's results ended up with it being unable to not instantly exploding at room temperature. He'd sealed them away in a small vault he'd made a safe distance from his laboratory.
"Everyone stay still for a moment!" Merlin called, focusing as he created an illusion to hide the prison break he was about to orcestrate. Casting it, he heard suprised gasps as people found themselves seeing copies of themselves before a loud explosion rocked the building.
"What was that?" One of the men shouted, Merlin moving to unlock the door as he answered
"That is our diversion. Now follow me and don't wander off."
Merlin turned back towards the door he entered, drawing the [Chaos Cannon] as a precaution. In the security room, Merlin took a moment to wipe all of the security tapes before Lucy asked nervously
"Are they dead?" Merlin turned to see her standing near him, her gaze locked on one of the guards as he answered
"No. They are just knocked out."
[The two guards outside have left.] Tiamat spoke to Merlin as he moved to check the corridor before turning back and speaking
"Come on. It's clear now." Merlin started to lead the others, the blonde mage sticking near him as the Magician took his time to check around corners.
It wasn't long before they left the base, Merlin relaxing as the prisoners all seemed to cheer happily and started to run towards the nearest village down the bottom of the large hill.
"Thank you." Lucy spoke, hugging a surprised Merlin as he retort
"It was nothing... I didn't agree to hurting innocent people."
"I'm Lucy Heartfilia by the way." Lucy replied once she let go, Merlin hearing Tiamat snickering in his mind as he introduced himself
"Merlin Ambrosias."
"Will you be okay? I mean if they find out it was you" Lucy asked concerned, Merlin smirking as he replied with a nod
"Yeah, I should be fine."
"LUCY!" Natsu's voice filled the air, making the blonde turn to see the pink haired Dragon Slayer running towards her. Smiling at seeing her friend, she spoke
"You know if you have any trouble you could come to Fairy Tail with us..." Lucy waited for a response before turning to see Merlin had disappeared, frowning annoyed at him going without telling her before Happy collided with her.
'Need to make sure I get all the artefacts and books along with my stuff. Also need to find out what deal Georg made with that Phantom Lord Guild.' Merlin thought as he silently ran back into the base.
(Flashback End)
...
(Flashback Start)
Merlin looked around relaxed as he walked on the dirt road, since leaving the Khaos Brigade and claiming anything magical that they had in storage and his own laboratory, he had been travelling around Fiore and enjoying practising some of the magic he was learning while doing a few little jobs.
'Wonder where I should go next?' Merlin thought to himself as he walked, he knew there was a resort somewhere nearby but it was mainly booked up due to how popular it was and needed to obtain tickets for it beforehand.
"Merlin!" The familiar voice of Lucy called, Merlin blinking and turning to see the blonde rushing towards him with Natsu, Happy, Gray and Erza running behind her.
"Oh hey Lucy." Merlin replied before he was all but clotheslined by the young woman who then starting to shake him by the collar of his shirt as she retort
"Don't 'hey Lucy' me! You headed back into that place after you saved me and the others. I was worried you got found out for that as well and you could have at least said bye to me."
"Relax... I just had to grab my stuff from there and make my displeasure known to a few people inside" Merlin replied, recalling the fight wiht Georg he had which had further destroyed the base as they traded spells in the hallways.
"Whose this Luce?" Happy asked curiously from where he was flying, Natsu sniffing the air before he added
"I've smelt him before."
"Obviously if he saved Lucy from Phantom Lord then you would have." Gray retorted, Erza nodding as she looked over the Magician curiously.
"Ah..." Lucy started, letting go of Merlin and turning to her friends as she spoke
"This is Merlin Ambrosias. Oh and this is Erza Scarlett, Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster and Happy"
"Nice to meet you." Merlin replied to the three people and one flying cat. Erza was the first to come forwards, nearly crushing his hand in the handshake as she spoke
"Nice to meet you, thank you for helping Lucy"
"Yeah, there was no idea what those goons would do with her." Gray added, Merlin waving him off as he retorted
"Don't worry about it. I set back everything they were doing by months at a guess."
"Wow, that must mean you're pretty strong, huh?" Happy spoke as he floated around Merlin, getting an interested, almost eager, look from Natsu who grinned as he called
"Hey, fight me!" Erza hit his head to stop him as she spoke sternly
"You don't go challenging someone you only just met to a fight, Natsu."
"Aye." Natsu groaned in response, Merlin arching an eyebrow as Lucy asked
"So are you heading to Akane Resort?"
"Oh just going that way, I guess..." Merlin answered with a shrug, Lucy smiling brightly as she spoke
"Great, you can come with us then."
"Wait, what?" Merlin spoke surprised as Lucy started to pull him along by his arm, a small tugging on Erza's lips as she spoke up
"We do have a spare ticket, I suppose..."
"Just go with it... Not worth arguing with both of them, Merlin." Gray spoke with a smirk as Natsu and Happy grinned, the three amused at what was going on, as the later added
"Aye!"
(Flashback End)
...
Sona gasped as she was forced out of viewing any more of Merlin's memories, waking with a start and finding herself looking at a scowling Merlin who asked in an annoyed tone "What are you doing here?"
"I'm trying to find out about your past so I can help you..." Sona answered, sitting up as Merlin got out of his bed and pulled his glasses on as he replied
"My past is my business so you shouldn't be prying into it Kaichou."
Sona watched as Merlin re-quipped a set of clothes, consisting of a dark blue hooded jacket over a dark purple t-shirt, black skinny jeans and black sneakers before he left the room. She sighed to herself after he left, adopting a thinking pose as she thought to herself 'He use to use a staff... but either its not helpful to him or he's purposefully limiting his own power. But his level of magic when saving that girl Lucy, there is nothing like that amongst the Magician organisations I know of. I wonder who that girl, Nimueh is...'
...
Merlin sighed as he walked the streets of Kuoh in the early morning, his hands moving to flip the hood up as he thought 'It doesn't make sense for her to root around through my memories... At least she only saw my leaving from the Khaos Brigade and meeting with Nimeuh. I don't think I could handle questions as about what happened to her.'
[It will all come up sooner or later, Merlin. This just means that you may have to talk about it sooner then later.] Tiamat replied, Merlin mentally sighing as he understood what she mean as he continued his wandering.
...
Merlin stopped as he reached the park where his life changed at the hands of that Fallen Angel and Heracles. He took a moment to admire how Sona and Reina had undone all of the damage the fight had caused before he spotted Saji training. The [Pawn] was dashing between two sticks that were set up about ten metres apart, barely noticing Merlin till he paused to pick up a bottle of water.
"What are you doing here?" Saji asked with a sneer, Merlin frowning at him as he countered
"I was just walking around Saji, no need to jump down my throat." Saji stopped at that, taking a moment to think as Merlin added
"Anyway you care to explain about your mood towards me?"
"…Kaichou's mine so don't try anything" Saji retorted trying to sound more confident then he actually was as Merlin shrugged as he turned around
"Fine… I have enough on my plate already." Saji relaxed upon hearing that, watching as Merlin sat down on a nearby bench as the [Pawn] asked
"What are you doing out this early in the morning?"
"Kaichou was trying to find out about my past while I was asleep" Merlin answered as he lay on the full length of the bench resting his hands under the back of his head.
"She's only trying to help you…" Saji replied honestly as he looked at the Magician.
"My past is my own, not for her to know unless I want to tell. Anyway living for the now is more important." Merlin retorted as he cast a wary gaze at Saji who nodded in agreement.
"No asking about your past got it." Saji spoke as Merlin gave him a small smile and a nod before he looked thoughtfully at his fellow [Pawn] as he asked
"Why'd you join Kaichou's peerage? Other then your crush on her."
"Well..." Saji started embarrassed, taking a moment to gather his thoughts as Merlin added
"I mean you have to have a pretty good reason for giving up your freedom and putting your soul in the hands of someone you don't know. No matter how attractive you think she is."
"I've always admired Kaichou's intelligence and determination, I mean she worked to be part of the Student Council in her first year. She's also done a lot of great things for the school as well during that time. Also... she told me her dream for the future, to build a school to teach all class of devils about Rating Games." Saji explained, a look of admiration on his face as he looked to the sky. Merlin getting a thoughtful look before a horrific screech broke the silence.
"Great... Looks like they found me." Merlin grumbled as he jumped back to his feet, Saji taking a step back as a large worm-like monster burst out of the bushes. It was easily five metres long and half that wide with two beady black eyes that sat atop a circular mouth full of teeth while long tentacles flailed around from its body, some ending as mantis like scythes while others had snake heads. Between its eyes were a camera that seemed attached to be embedded into its body.
"What the hell is that?" Saji asked disgusted, pointing at the monster as Merlin activated his Sacred Gear as he answered
"That's a Chimera, Saji..."
'This is definitely their work...But how did they find me here.' Merlin thought, glancing at Saji as he spoke seriously
"Go get Kaichou... I'll deal with this." Aiming his gun at the Chimera as Saji looked unsure as he asked
"You sure you can handle that on your own."
"No way! I can help out as well." Saji retorted resolutely, Merlin arching an eyebrow before a screech drew the pair's attention back onto the worm Chimera.
...
"At last we have found him..." A shadowed figure spoke, getting nods from the few others in the room watching the video attached to the Hell Worm.
"We'll make him pay for defying our path for him" Another voice retorted angrily before another sneered
"That abomination isn't even human any longer!"
...
A blue haired young woman watched the teen through the pool of water before her, the large pair of butterfly shaped, semitransparent wings extended from her long backless white dress showing that she was a fairy as she watched thoughtfully as Merlin and Saji stood against the worm Chimera. She mentally cursed her twin sister for what she did to him and all just for trying to obtain power and wealth.
'Legends repeat and yet while they don't follow the same pattern the results end up the same' She thought sadly as she pondered over what to do to make it up for the mage, turning as she heard one of the other Fairies speak
"Ojou-sama, don't you think we should step in?"
"No, Gator. We should see how much Merlin has improved since the last time he fought one of his relatives' creations." The blue haired fairy replied seriously as she glanced back to see the redhead fairy frown in annoyance before bowing.
...
Author's Notes
Sorry for how long the delay on his chapter being completed had a lot of trouble deciding what would be in the chapter to begin with. Not sure what I should really put here at this time aside from the worm chimera is based on the thorian from Mass Effect 1 and that this chapter isn't as long as I would like it to be.