One's Road to Remembrance

by Insane Dominator

For 4 years, a lone guy has been suffering from memory-loss, and can only remember his name: Craig Crius. The 4 years have been very unfriendly, and in turn has become rather desolate. With the help of Cana Alberona and from Fairy Tail, Craig will endure horrific hardships, take on dangerous tasks, and unleash power he never knew he had in order to understand who he was. OCxCana.

60. Enemy of My Blade

As the 5th day of the Grand Magic Games had battles waged and the torrential blows dealt to sides everywhere, the groups of mages jumbled together were all doing battle, and as of recently, the weakest of the barking dogs were downed by the likes of Mermaid Heel and Sabertooth; some by Lamia thanks to Jura knocking out Ichiya. As all these battles were waged and Quatro Cerberus and Blue Pegasus having been eliminated from the competition, there was still one more problem that seemed to have eluded everyone.

Even as the lacrima-vision were trying to search throughout the streets, they only picked up on Sabertooth and the other guilds, not the ones that are so high up that they are completely untouchable, or noticeable for that matter.

Within unknown confines of an alley, the group was huddled together, watching as one of the hooded figures turned its head towards the outskirts. It saw a faint image of a monitor, revealing Craig having defeated Lyon and Chelia. With the information gathered, the tattered scarf of the entity flowed with the hood, belonging to the one known as Navice. He looked back into the alley to face his colleagues.

"That blast just now, there was no doubt about it."

Monarch sighed heavily. "Really? Any moron could've made that explosion."

"Would a moron be able to defeat 4 mages blindfolded and reverse attacks on them?" Navice retorted.

Monarch picked up on his worried tone and raised her brow beneath her hood. "Not typically, unless you were a showoff."

Scythe snickered. "There's a showoff alright. There he goes, just wasting on pests who are acting no more than toddlers around him." He sniped with such envy on the emphasis. "Seriously, all this waiting is turning me to stone. How long are going to be here again?"

"Until the last of the participants give their hopes up." Shinigami whimsically said as he turned towards Gates. "Isn't that right?"

The dome-like hooded man nodded. "By nightfall should be about it."

"Oh god! Seriously?! I could've just hag them all in less than 5 seconds!" Scythe complained. "Ugh, should've just gotten it over with back in the arena, that would've made this a lot faster. Plus we could've celebrated with a little 'lunch'."

"As appetizing as bathing in mortal blood sounds and tastes, I'm actually comfortable here." Monarch shrugged.

"Not helping!"

"But you both aren't wrong." Shinigami admitted. "Both sides of this little tiff has merits, but points that are valid. I agree with how this all would've been over sooner if we had gone for Craig from the beginning."

"Thank you~!"

"But…" Scythe's joy returned to despairing grunting. "We learned from our mistakes. Attacking with an army isn't the best way to go at it…especially since the scourge he and his little friends made." For once, Shinigami's neutral and confident expression became one of despondence and treachery. The sounds of explosions and the clashing of power levels went up like volumes in his head, ringing loudly with his distilled dark eyes nearly caught when Craig threw the Excalibur towards Alator. He saw the man plunge the Excalibur, the sword used by only one other mortal, into the basement of the Valhalla palace, more specifically into its formation grounds in the venter of Yggdrasil. It was scornful to see Ragnarok, but even more bewildering that the place they wanted to rule was destroyed by the likes of a mortal.

He remembered thoroughly of green energy taking over Alator, the confident smile on the dead mortal's face before his body diffused into Excalibur, which pulsated a golden energy in the whole underground domain. It was like hell itself broke loose upon them, because within that blast, Valhalla and Asghar itself was reducing to shambles. The enemies were all either dwindling away, drying up like fruit left out in the sun, or even convulsing. The skies were literally shaking apart, cracking like it was a ceiling. The means in which hell itself had overtaken the sentients, and as the very, very few remaining were buried and the ground beneath exploded in golden-green energy, everything had completely distorted as Craig and those who were able headed towards the gates of Valhalla, back down to the mortal realm.

The memory scorned like the scars deep beneath his armor. His skin tingled as his very goosebumps were like ragged scales that made it feel like a rash was starting to flare. But before he got out of hand with his despondence, he inhaled deeply and clutched his arm.

"This little game won't last very long anyways." Shinigami continued with reasons. "If Craig falls, we'll just befall them all anyway. Valhalla and Asghar are no more…but that doesn't mean we can always try our luck with the next best thing. What better way to spend your days than in a realm where your little troglodytes idle mingle amongst themselves?"

"And amongst those troglodytes is someone who understands." Navice pointed out.

"Exactly. Which is why we dispose the best of the liter."

Scythe leaned back against the wall, his giant 8-shaped axe hanging fruitlessly over his arm. "Guess we just stay around here then and wait. What a pain in the ass this is."

"Would you rather go off on your own, to where your magic can be sensed thanks to not being around our friend here?" Monarch cooed, gesturing towards Gates.

Scythe scoffed in disgust. He was in no mood to argue.

Shinigami looked up at a nearby lacrima-monitor, his smirk wide with eyes concealed beneath his cloak. "A mortal with such power and heart, the most 'bravest' and most 'wisest' of all. Truly, we may have underestimated this great man before, but not this time. He's probably off slaying the competition for us as we speak."

---

The sound of a toilet flushing went through a restroom…a woman's bathroom. Thankfully Crocus was empty since the entire city was reserved for battle. But alas, someone who was still blind never got directions he needed. As a stall closed behind Craig, he disregarded the fact that 2 hours of stumbling and hitting various walls, tripping over steps, and enduring another 20 different variations of a concussion finally lead him to a public restroom. Though just not the right one.

Running water from the sink began to flow, and hot water soaked a paper towel. He used it to clean the dried silk and the residue off his swords, scrubbing vigorously for several minutes. "Stupid thread." He cursed beneath his breath. "I'll stick you where you don't belong. How's about I shove you all down the toilet and clog the pipes? Let's see how helpful you are then."

He soon exited the facility with a cleansed face and swords. His cape he cared little about, but the webs beforehand were already singed by the lightning he was struck by. He strode on out of the restroom with a sigh, finally able to see the world again. When he looked around, he noticed how he was surprisingly alone. There was a wind blowing from the south, getting Craig to look in that direction. It howled like a wolf, and yet so quiet that it was ominous. He knew by that point somebody was watching him from afar.

But this was Craig Crius, and he plays his own games.

Rather than look suspicious, he casually took a left turn and made way down closer to Crocus' ports. As he walked on ever so casually, looking sluggish to a degree, the wind picked up from behind, pushing him a little more, as if nudging him to hurry. He did, but just enough to make it look like he still wasn't looking like prey.

Up on a thin water tower, the wind breezing through the figure's long hair. The curvaceous figment was overshadowed by the sun's rays straight up overhead, making only the white bow on her head apparent, and her dark purple hair equally as prominent. As opposed to that, it looked like she was glaring in Craig's direction, opting to lie in wait.

---

Soon enough, Craig's orientation leads him to somewhere higher up. Going up a stairway of a fellow structure's inside, he eventually made way up towards the roof, where there, there were shrubs and an elegant garden, with grass grown and small pavements grown. It was more like a mansion garden than anything.

He took in a deep breath, sighing out in relief. "Okay…naptime."

"WHAT?!" All of Fairy Tail gaped their mouths.

Craig looked around to see one more time that he was alone. He sat right in the middle of the paved stone atop for a smooth glide of shoes if anyone wore them. He casually sat down in a cross-legged position. He felt comfortable with the stone surprisingly warm from the heat index. With himself cozy, he closed his eyes, brought his fingers together, and began to drown out all his senses. Within mere seconds, everything was seen and heard within his mind.

The chi through the air flowed into his nostrils, his body's spiritual prowess was ever flowing as he sensed the chi, as well as saw it in wavelengths from distances away.

"I'm not quite sure this is the right time to take a siesta." Mato nervously said through the mic.

"What a nerve he must have; napping in the midst of a competition." Yajima remarked. "I don't know if this is a tactic or just his way of gaining some energy."

Natsu gawked. "What the heck? Sleeping on the job?"

"Hey! Get mingling and start fighting, ya moron!" Gajeel exclaimed.

Makarov pinched the bridge of his nose. "I knew the boy would be tough to handle, but not like this." He sighed.

"W-well, he did kind of take down 5 tough guys back to back." Jet nervously noted.

"Yeah, m-maybe this is his way of making another trap…right?" Droy hoped.

Mirajane put a finger to her chin and looked towards the sky. "Hard to say. You never know what goes on in that head of his."

"That's for sure." Lisanna agreed.

Gray crossed his arms. "Well whatever he's doing, he better hurry up before we lose our lead."

"Gray's right, he can't sleep like that forever." Juvia said worriedly.

"Nah, I wouldn't worry."

Everyone around the guild looked towards Cana. She slouched over the balcony in a lazy position, with one elbow on the balcony holding up her chin and lazy smile.

"Craig's a big boy. He's not like a sack of rocks like Natsu, but he isn't someone who leaves something unfinished either. I think he'll be fine."

Everyone was shocked by how nonchalant she was about the predicament that was to unfold. They knew Cana had an affiliation with Craig – which to their vocabulary is complicated – but they never pegged her to look so confident and relaxed about it. For someone is usually as riled and worried as they are, she seems tamed.

"How are you so sure about this?" Gray asked.

Cana shrugged. "Just know."

Lucy and Wendy looked towards the other confusedly. Carla and the other Exceeds had their own concerns and huffs expressed as well. Though no one seemed to get it, they chose to dismiss it.

A shot while passed and Craig still hadn't budged a bit. Not one muscle. It was as though he had become statue itself. Within his stasis of rest, the winds stopped blowing, and instead the atmosphere was altered by a peculiar Magic Power sensed by the lacrima-visions.

With his back turned, standing in front of the garden's center mountain, a figure appeared in a blur, the same figment that had been lying in wait for some time for him. The figure appearing turned out to be feminine, and with a sword sheathed.

"It's Kagura!" Lola shouted to the audience. They all excitedly cheered as the ace of Mermaid Heel was finally making her move.

"Kagura?" Erza gasped. She remembered the swordswoman on Day 4 , and her skills were as blinding as hers.

"That Mermaid Heel chick?" Gajeel questioned.

"Yeah, the one who almost put Lyon in his place, last I checked." Laxus answered.

"Man, a matchup like this? Can't get any better than that!" Mato cheered in his seat.

"You betcha on that, Mato." Lola said. "And with all of that said and done, that just begs the question asked here; will the swords of Craig clash and stop the demeanor of Kagura, or will the swift hilt herself feast on the rampage himself?"

Yajima looked at the screen, his eyes narrowing. "Hmmm…"

"What is it, Mr. Yajima?"

Mato gasped as he pointed towards the screen. "Look!" Everyone followed in his direction and saw something else within the picture. Not too far off, as Craig was still meditating – or rather half-asleep – Kagura was standing in place, but someone else appeared on a higher perch in the courtyard.

The silhouette showed herself, revealing a pair of boots bouncing and a cape shifting in the air. As she came down besides Kagura, the swordswoman continued glaring ahead, as if knowing who was it that landed beside her with a cheery smile.

"Kagura, I finally found you!" the woman cheered.

"Millianna." She bluntly said.

Once again, the Mermaid Heel fans were going ecstatic. The final two remaining Mermaid Heel members were accounted for and ready to do battle.

"Alright, it's Millianna, too!" Beth cheered, with herself, Risley, and Arana all having been brought back to the arena since they were out of the competition.

"Heh, that punk's got nothing on Kagura alone." Risley confidently said. "She won't let us down."

"Let's…hope so…" Arana wasn't so sure about what she saw. She recalled how she was defeated by Craig, and it was because he was blindfolded. He was troublesome alone when he could see, but now it was like he was some animal. She even heard how Lamia Scale was just down to Jura thanks to him.

Risley looked at Arana with a raised brow. "Huh? Hey, ya feelin' alright, girl?"

"What? Oh no, sorry."

Risley nonchalantly pat her on the back. "Bah, don't let it push ya around. It ain't your fault. Besides, Kagura's the strongest out of all us here." She looked back at the screen, smirking with deep pride. "Ain't nothing standing between us and victory except the biggest fish yet to be plucked out of this here pond."

Back with Mermaid Heel's only two competitors left, they were looking at Craig as he was still at rest. His eyes were heavily shut, his breathing deep. It was without question he was napping alright.

Millianna had fists to her chin as she bounced up and down. "Oh, Kagura! I have an idea! What do you say we both take him on? He can't handle two of us at one time, right?"

The swordswoman had arms crossed as she glared at Craig, whose back was still up. "As factual as that sounds, Millianna, I'm afraid this isn't the case."

"Wha~?" Millianna nearly floored. "But why?"

"Simple. Because his strength is on another level than yours. Have you been paying attention since the Rift Raft competition?"

"Uh, well I…" the feline woman fell short of explanations. She was caught red-handed in her slip-up. She tried to forget about that, mostly because she fell into the water first. And on top of that, she was downright terrified when Craig and Scythe clashed like two ballistic animals. Their level of power almost made her pass out on the spot. Just the thought alone was making her heart rate escalate.

"As I thought." Kagura spread her legs, readying herself for the attack. "An opponent like this one is best left to me. Be on standby."

"Uh, r-right." Millianna shook her head, refocusing herself on the efforts to be put into the battle ahead. She looked at Kagura to see her hand reach for Archenemy and poised to strike. 'I've never seen Kagura look so challenged before. That look in her eyes, she looks so…angry.'

"Well this sucks." Bickslow grimaced.

"Unless Craig's plan is to wait at the last second to dodge, taking a full-on blow wouldn't do much good for him." Freed said.

"True. But let's not forget this is the same lunatic that dropped a dragon on an entire island country." Evergreen reminded.

"Yeah, plus the guy really knows how to take a hit." Gildarts added in the back. "Let's see what tricks he has up his sleeve now."

"Well if there's a trash can nearby, he could really use it again." Happy prodded.

The atmosphere around Kagura intensified as she glared at Craig's back. He slept for what was a long while now, but Kagura had a funny feeling it was all an act. 'Someone of his skill…someone who is a monster, who does he think he's fooling? Playing dead like that isn't bright at all. Does he really think I'll let him have his way with the sword? It's a mockery of what he's pulling off.' Her grip on Archenemy tightened. '…let's see if all those fables are indeed true.'

As a wind shifted through the roof's courtyard, Kagura's eyes dilated, and she sped towards Craig. She took heavy strides in attacking her foe head on, light feet swiftly grazing the ground as she almost instantly closed the gap on Craig.

With Archenemy in hand, Kagura came from the side and swung with all her might. Silent as night, the sheathed sword struck Craig's left arm, striking so hard that it left a loud boom to reverberate throughout the atmosphere. Some audience members gasped, and some cringed at the force dished out. Others like Fairy Tail looked shocked at how Craig took it. But what shocked them even more was how he wasn't even responding to the blast. It was like he wasn't fazed.

Kagura's scabbard was constantly trying to get into Craig's skin, but all it did was leave an open hole in the white jacket he was currently wearing, and on his skin was a big red mark. The look she had was of sheer shock. 'What?'

Craig's eyes slowly opened, having but no sense of pain. His arm felt tingly, but the shock didn't break anything. His chi breathing kept himself firm; not even wind, heat, nor cold was felt until mere seconds later. The breezing of the wind was apparent, but his eyes opened, and he glanced over to see Archenemy against his arm. His glance shifted towards Kagura, who tried to reel back, but was too late.

As she tried to veer away, Craig casually grabbed Archenemy with the same arm he was struck with and yanked it back ahead, pulling Kagura towards his back. He abruptly thrust it back behind, jabbing the hilt dead in her gut. The swordswoman gagged in pain, and then Craig angled Archenemy downwards, sending the hilt towards her chin. The recoil made Kagura let go of Archenemy, where Craig kept a straight face as he got up from his cross-legged position, pivoted, and swung the sheath down onto her head, sending her into the ground.

Kagura laid in shock, much to Mermaid Heel's sheer surprise. "Eeeek! Kagura!" Millianna snapped.

"Oh! That has gotta hurt!" Lola flinched.

"And with just her own weapon." Yajima remarked.

"That's pretty impressive." Mato said.

Kagura got to her knees, grunting in the pain that she was in. A pair of feet were in front of her, followed a voice. "And here people say it isn't right attacking women." Craig held Archenemy over his shoulder, resting it along his collarbone. "You know how cruel it is to go and attack someone in their sleep? It's like kicking a man when he's already down. That's nothing short of scum right there."

Kagura's eyes narrowed up at him. "What do you know about scum?"

"If you're implying that I'm scum, then go ahead. Call me that to your heart's content. At least I didn't attack you from behind. And even if I did, what would I gain out of it?"

Millianna stepped up, angrily glaring at Craig. "Hey! You can't just tell Kagura all that!" However, what she said had no effect on either warrior.

"I'm not sure exactly what your own motifs are, but I have my reasons." Kagura said as she got to her feet again. "I've heard a great deal about you, Craig Crius. There were rumors about you that have been spreading rather fast around these lands about someone from Fairy Tail who I had the intention of facing as well. Unfortunately, that chance wasn't exactly in my favor today. Someone else had to pull the strings, leaving just you to deal with. Here stands someone before me; someone who I heard had undergone mutations and fought dragons. Someone who fought the great Gildarts, one of your guild's very strongest, and won. And someone…who was able to destroy an entire colossal dragon with one strike."

Craig showed no visible care, but he had – knew – the felling of where this was going.

"I've heard and read up some very interesting news about your sword skills. Apparently I've heard word that you've killed a slave trader with unconditional magic energy with sword skills. And I have also heard of fables of how in that far-off island country, you were apparently associated with the most powerful and most prestige swordsman in the entire world – Ace Hunter. Am I right?"

"…sure, whatever floats your boat I guess." Craig answered.

"That's when I saw your three swords. If you were as skilled to be commended by someone like Ace Hunter himself, then it's my job to seek that very same level with my own sword. I have taken notice though, you aren't truly defined to your swords for your means of fighting. Why is that? Are you even a swordsman, or someone who has been secretly taught the ways to carry out a blade's meaning?"

Craig's mouth made a straight line. "Is there a point here?"

"What?" Kagura sniped.

"Just come out with it. Is the reason you want to fight me is because you want to test mu skills at holding weapons, or is it because by doing so, you gain something more?"

Kagura's glare hardened. "I have my reasons."

Craig groaned in annoyance. He looked at her eyes and could already see the answer. He looked at Archenemy's guard he had in hand, giving it a twisted brow. "This sword's got a lot of hate."

"What?"

"A sword is only as good as its master, at least by what I've been told. And their personality influences the object they hold." He glanced down at his own blades sheathed. "If you feel happy, then a blade will feel that and get lively. But if you're nothing but a heartless negative…" he glanced back at Archenemy. "Then the blade will get cold, and it'll just be a grudge sword."

"Is there appoint to this?" Kagura demanded. "Archenemy is a grudge sword."

"That's what I thought." He tossed Archenemy back at Kagura, who caught it with one hand. "Just because something can't speak, doesn't mean it can't feel."

Kagura's eyes narrowed. "What do you know? Is there a point to overkill using those swords? If you're a real swordsman, then you should know the only thing that matters is how the blade concedes to your desires."

"Pot calling the kettle black."

"Now you're just driving my patience! Quit acting so calm and draw your swords like you mean it!" Kagura poised to strike.

"If that's how you perceive it when you're holding any kind of weapon, that's fine. Just know that there's gotta be balance." He reached back, slowly pulling his dark red sword out. "Talking about it is complicated."

Kagura's eyes dilated again. She looked at the only sword Craig dared to pull out, her anger rising. 'What's this? I told him to bring out his all against me, and this is how I get repaid? If this is a joke, then I'm not laughing.' "If you're being arrogant about your sword art, then I'll just have to put you in your place!"

Craig frowned at his adversary. He had his reasons for going so, but the ambitious and dead serious warrior reminded him of a familiar orange-haired female who was on his case alongside Ace. She was very powerful, but selfish, and believed too heavily in the art of the sword. This lesson was best taught the hard way before, and thus again. It wasn't to his liking to hurt someone who is already in pain, but if she was fighting him hard, then he would have to drill sense in the hard way. His way.

"Millianna, this one's all mine!" Kagura launched herself at Craig, her eyes set on him alone.

"Wait, Kagura-!" Millianna was cut of as Kagura lunged, leaving her behind.

Craig saw this once again, his eyes narrowing at the actions his opponents were making.

Their battle had begun with Kagura viciously slashing Archenemy. She twisted and turned several times as she attempted to strike and slash, but the sheathed blade was intercepted by Craig's dark red blade, which he used with one hand. Not to be a showoff, but for his own style. Kagura kept slashing, hoping to get Craig to slip up. Instead, Craig started stepping backwards slowly with accordance to his defense. Though surprisingly, Kagura did not let up as she slashed without flaw. Her sheathed weapon was fast as lightning, and yet Craig's own luck did not waver. Eventually, the swordswoman finally got an opening when Craig swiped his arm to the side in a deflection

'Now's my chance.' With time having slowed down around her, she angled her sheath vertically straight down on Craig as he glared at her. "Archenemy – Strong Form!"

The sword came down on Craig's head, but the impact was unseen as a cloud of dust emerged. The blow roared throughout the area, making land beneath shake just a little. The dust cloud eventually settled, and Kagura waited to see what had happened. For some reason, she couldn't move her sword again, which was odd.

"Did that do it?" Beth asked.

"Well it's gotta do something." Risley said.

The dust finally settled, but Kagura and Millianna both gasped at what they saw. The dark red sword was in hand, but instead of blocking, Craig had knees bent and head tilted and craned up. He had caught the end of Archenemy's hilt with his bare teeth and jaws. He was biting down hard, making it so that Kagura couldn't break free.

"Unbelievable! Craig had stopped Kagura's attack cold with just his bare teeth!" Lola exclaimed shocked.

"There, see? Dino-jaws is in action." Cana said.

"If I recall, his jaw strength is enough to dent into tough metal, right?" Levy inquired.

"If that's the case, then he could eat her bones like stale bread." Jet implied.

"There's the jaws of life for ya!" Happy exclaimed.

Kagura did what she could to break her Archenemy free of Craig's hold, but nothing she was doing was short of tog-o-war. Craig growled low as Kagura pulled, making him nudge a bit closer. But he didn't fight; in fact, as he was drawn in, he thrust his sword at her. Realizing the mistake she's made, Kagura narrowly dodged by letting go of her blade and shifting to her right. Time slowed down as she tried to dodge, the dark red blade of Craig barely grazing her wait. It left a small, thin cut that stung a bit, leaving her to grunt.

In her realization, Craig's free hand balled into a fist.

"Smash!" he muffled, sending a straightforward punch into Kagura. The swordswoman used her arms to block, but the attack's strength made her slide back several feet. Her arms had a serious blow in them, grunting as she tried to get rid if the pain she felt.

Millianna saw the struggle and tried to help. "Kagura!"

Craig bit down harder on Archenemy in his mouth. His bite force multiplied, making the sheath's end cave in.

"What is he doing?! Is he trying to get himself killed?!" Beth panicked.

"Well the guy's been asking for trouble all day." Risley said. "If he somehow forces Archenemy to unsheathe, he'd be done for."

Makarov's fists balled tighter than before. "Gnnngh! Come on, Craig! Show them!"

With Archenemy not in her hold and the end being dented in, Kagura angrily reached her arm out. A magic seal appeared before her, which acted as a vacuum. Suddenly, the sword's pull grew into sheer intensity, and a wave of gravity formed around it forced it out of Craig's mouth. He recoiled as the sword went back to her one hand.

Regaining his footing, Craig looked back ahead with a straight face. "So you changed its gravity towards you?" he asked.

"That's right. My magic centers around gravity alteration." Kagura answered.

Craig's eyes didn't change. "I see, so then you could've altered the gravity around me to float or anchor me in place for an easy strike." He adjusted his stance by spreading his legs out, grunting again.

Kagura's eyes narrowed. "How vulgar you are."

Craig cocked a brow. "I've been called worse."

Kagura lunged ahead for her next strike. "Slash Form!" She sped at high speeds and met Craig. Craig raised his dark red sword and angled it, meeting Archenemy in between. The two blades grinded against one another, with Craig being shoved back behind the speed in which the attack was dealt.

'That was so fast!' Erza thought.

Craig grunted as she was continuing to be shoved back by Kagura's speed, her Slash Form still active. She twisted about and spun in midair, viciously slashing her sword with little inaccuracy. Sparks flared between her and Craig as she kept up every high-speed jab and slash. Small gusts were picking beside her, generated from the waves of energy she was pouring into her sheath. Craig was on the defensive and didn't have much of any room in which Kagura was giving him. She wasn't going to lose. She refused to, to someone like him. Against someone who isn't true to the ways of how to cross a blade.

Finally closing in on the ledge that was separated by a row of trees, Craig used his free arm and reached for the tree beside him, grabbing the trunk and spinning into a duck. Kagura slashed at that instant, the two trees on both sides having been sliced through the trunks. They both started to fall over, and Craig swerved around the rest of the stump to pivot and swing right into Kagura. He slashed his blade, meeting hers once again in a single parry. The small gust made pulsed, making the falling trees fall down towards the courtyard's bottom, where they disappeared.

"Have you no respect for nature?" Craig asked. "What did those trees ever do to you?"

"They were obstructing my will." Kagura raised her Archenemy to slash again in Slash Form. She glared devilishly and zoomed pass Craig. In a white zip, she crouched and had Archenemy beside her, eyes closed. There was no wind as she went through it all. A few seconds passed, but alas nothing happened. In fact, Kagura looked back to find Craig's arm to his side, the blade's hold on the opposite hand and held like holding a knife. There was but another open slit in his jacket's left arm, but didn't get to the skin.

'He deflected my swiftest blow?' she gasped in horror. 'Just how did he get that kind of strength by using that one blade? He's hardly moving much.' Before she could act again, Craig donkey kicked her straight in the butt, sending her onto her side with a thud.

"Don't think too hard about it, it'll only stress us both out." Craig voiced as he turned around to face her. As he did, he swung the dark red sword in an arch up over the ground. Kagura rolled over to the side, dodging the cut wave that embedded deeply into the ground. It went on pass a tree until it reached the ledge, the trench made closing just mere inches from the wall. Only a finally "pop" came from a single piece from the cement that chipped off there.

Kagura staggered up to make her next stand. "I have to admit, you are very skilled. But I refuse to lose to someone like you."

"And why is that, exactly?" Craig asked.

Kagura held out Archenemy. "It's because this blade has a duty to uphold. And I will never rest until is it is carried out." With another high-speed lunge, Kagura zipped into Craig and slashed in midair. Craig swept his leg back and veered to the side, dodging the attack. With Kagura in midair beside him, he used his right arm and seized her leg. He yanked with all his might, making the leg pop, much to Kagura's shock. She yelled as Craig pivoted and swung her back towards the direction of the fountain. She caught herself and slid along the plates to a stop, albeit on a knee.

"You really think something as simple as this competition or the likes of you will stop me?" she darted after him again. "When I say fight I mean it, you better answer promptly!" She swung Archenemy again like a bat at high rates. Much to her chagrin once again, Craig looked in the direction it came from and had his mouth open. With eased timing, he clamped onto the blade, stopping Kagura's advances cold as ice. 'He stopped me again!'

Craig glared at her from the angle, showing his sharpened Jurassic vibe. He side-kicked Kagura in the stomach, making her lurch, but this time she didn't let go of Archenemy. She maintained a hold on her guard and pulled once again. She tried to get Craig off, but his jaws were too tight. In a twist of things, she let one hand go, using it to reach out towards Craig's face. Catching whim of it, he let go and ducked to avoid the blast of gravity.

With him pried off and below, Kagura went for her own kick, getting Craig in the side of the face. He veered away in a stumbled, but otherwise regained himself without showing pain. And not a moment too soon as Kagura slashed Archenemy again. Craig blocked by bringing his arm across and parried once more. He had a twisted sneer on Kagura as she returned a hardened glare inches away from the other's face. It was looking like Craig was actually…enjoying the fight.

Seeing his smiling sneer, Kagura's intentions grew twisted. "What are you so happy about?"

"I'm not. I just find it funny how cliché your attitude is." He answered.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Now look who's on the receiving end of accusations." Craig brought his hands to clamp on his sword's guard and changed the sword to his right hand while he used the left one to grab Kagura's wrist. He spread the arms apart, leaving Kagura wide open. With a loud roar, Craig thrust his head towards her and snapped down hard onto her shoulder. His violent bite left Kagura to yelp in endearing pain.

"Kagura!" Millianna shrieked.

"Oh! Now that has gotta hurt! Looks like women aren't the only ones who bite on their gain at night apparently." Lola said.

Kagura felt the bite practically break into her bone. Her bones were feeling so much pain that they felt like they were gonna snap at any second. In desperation, she urged to leap back. It wasn't much of a struggle since Craig let go, and the swordswoman clutched her shoulder in pain. "Damn you…" she glared. "You'll pay for this you monstrosity!"

"That's just how I fight. I'm not all about swords and cutting. And I'm not just a bad attitude either. Some one once told me, that the eyes are the window to the soul. And if you look closely with an open heart, you can feel that very soul."

Kagura was wearing down fast. At this point, she knew Craig was getting psychological on her. It was like she knew he figured her out without asking questions. But that was impossible, right? This only made her resolve all the more imperative. Her anger was spiking, prompting her to grip Archenemy's guard so tight that it looked like it was going to break. But what was breaking already was her patience.

Finally having patience lost, she raised he blade, which was enveloped in a red aura. There was a loud rumble coming from Archenemy, which caught Craig's interests.

'Embedding magic into her weapon. Looks like she truly means business.' Having his precautions set higher for what may come, Craig glared ahead, frowning as he reached for the blood red sword. With two swords now held up, Craig readied himself for Kagura's next possible strike.

The swordswoman disappeared in a bright flash. Instantly, she appeared above her opponent, practically dead above. Her shadow encompassed his face as he looked up, his mouth forming a half-sneer.

"COME ON!"

At Craig's challenge, Kagura brought her sword down with enhanced gravity. The immense blow collided with Craig's swords, which crossed overhead to block the initial impact. However, the shockwaves went pass Nic, reaching the building ground and breaking it to pieces. Plates flew everywhere, and the entire structure itself shudder at the sound of thunder running a mock.

Millianna squealed as she covered up from the shockwaves of the gravity-enhanced sword smash. She was safe from range as the ground beneath Craig caved in, and he began to fall through the roof with eyes wide, staring up at a descending Kagura. She looked madder than ever.

Time slowed down as rocks began to sway all around them. And as Kagura closed in, Craig's expression from before turned serious. Now it was time to shift gears.

Kagura jetted in an angle at him, slashing, but Craig rolled out of range and planted his feet on a fellow stone as a platform, while Kagura instead slashed clean through a large piece of rock. He crossed both blades and slashed them before shooting at Kagura. She turned around in her freefall and used Archenemy to block Craig's X-like slash. But his power and the power behind his crossing forced Kagura back some more. She went shooting back, but like Craig, she found a falling foothold and crouched. She sprung after Craig, the reversal this time occurring.

Craig somersaulted backwards and tumbled downwards at a slightly faster rate, making Kagura fly right over his head. He landed on a plunging plate and crouched to aim at another, much larger, plate. He bolted at a target, using the plates in between the distance as jumping stones to close the gap. Once his feet go onto it, he used both swords and anchored himself on the plate. Having a sick feeling thus rise in his gut, he let go of one sword, having done so at the right time. A white line came down in the dead center, the plate splitting apart to reveal Kagura once more. With him using the one sword as a leverage, he swung right over Kagura's head, prying out the leverage in the meantime. The momentum from the yank caused him to spin, but Kagura defended using Archenemy. Craig continued to spin out, even as far as the splitting stone's other side, where he removed his other sword along with the momentum.

In midair still, and closing in one the ground, Kagura closed the gap once more and prompted Craig to twist and face her, crossing his swords together to catch Archenemy in between their edges. With the anchorage, Kagura shot deep glares at Craig, before having kicked in in the ribs, sending him falling steeply onto another plate below them. His back thudded against the rock, making the shock run through with a vague numbness. With him immobilized temporarily, Kagura continued to fall, but she pointed Archenemy up towards the ceiling, which was the size of a pea at this point. A large magic seal appeared above them, making a massive anti-gravity field. Craig stopped his freefalling and found that he and the rocks around him were in a stasis.

Kagura lunged at him with Archenemy in hand, her speed strengthened by the gravity she materialized.

Without much room to run – or move for that matter – Craig closed his eyes, trying to cleanse his head again. Despite the complications, he followed through and felt the chi waves showering down like rain. Slowly, and diligently, he raised his blades, and began to move his fingertips and blades in motions similar to yoga and chi. As gravity waves began to lighten around him, flowing around his body, Kagura's eyes widened as she saw that he was looking to be unaffected by the change in gravity.

When his eyes opened, with chi gathered, Craig let loose. He circled his arms like windmills and crossed them in two great X-formations. The large X made a spatial glint in the same formation, slicing clean through every plate within that path. That included the magic seal above. Kagura wasn't in the line of fire, but the gravity molded into his chi repelled her backwards into the air.

Finally, the stones and large pieces of the ceiling slammed straight through the ground, breaking clean through its domain to reveal its underside, which still shed some light. It was like an open hall with cloisters everywhere, with the waning sun still shimmering down on some of the pillars. The pieces smashed through its ceiling, making a large mound of dust and debris fall to its floor. From it, Craig slammed on his shoulder at the base of the mound and tumbled off to somewhere.

As he rolled, Craig eventually got to a knee, frowning as he used one of his swords as anchorage. He glared ahead at the dissipating dust, revealing Kagura's figure on top of the mound. Her clothes were all tattered and damaged, revealing only a fragment of bare skin in the leggings and chest area. She glared down as she was covered in dirt, frowning heavily at Craig.

"You've impressed me." She labored. "But not enough to amuse me. I don't find battles tolerable in the sense of enjoyment."

Getting up with a sigh, Craig stood on his two feet and turned his neck to the side, feeling his bones crack. "Well you're not wrong, but you're not right either."

"I didn't ask for your opinion."

"And yet I didn't ask for yours either."

Kagura's anger started to spike. "Why are you so argumentative?!"

Craig smirked. "Force of habit."

"Well I fail to see how this helps in your case." Kagura jumped down from the mound, landed in front of Craig. She slowly began to walk towards him. "Your skills kept you up long enough, but even if you managed to break through my gravity, this is as far as you go."

"Well that's all noble-sounding coming from someone who's holding back." Craig taunted tiredly, with both his swords one other side. His attire had a few more tatters, but other than some dirt spots, he was looking rather invigorated from the fight.

Kagura shot glares at him. "Quiet! Then if you claim me to hold back, what about yourself? Why don't you pull out your last blade against the likes of me? Talk!" Having rung dry of any promises, Kagura dashed for Craig, Archenemy ready to be slammed into him.

As if knowingly, Craig had a half-heated look, which was contradictory to his jacked-up demeanor. As Archenemy swung for him, he sheathed his dark red sword, leaving just his blood red sword out in one hand. With the free hand, his left one to be more accurate, he grabbed Archenemy in his clutches, keeping it immobile for the umpteenth time. "It's not always about fighting fire with fire." Craig used his sword-held hand and swiped at Kagura's stomach, leaving a thin cut along it. She winced in the pain and recoiled away. "Sometimes it's just about following your instincts. Who says I need 3 swords to beat anyone? I have my style, and even I'm kept on my toes because of it…" Kagura angrily went for a kick at his stomach, but he grabbed her ankles. "And my improvising…" he clamped his jaws down, snapping hard on her ankle. Kagura yelped in pain and was let go, her ankle bleeding from the bites marks sustained. "Is just how I roll!" He planted a kick above the spot where he cut her, stamping her back into the mound with a grueling thud.

Craig planted his feet in the ground, holding his blood red sword with vigilance. "I've met a lot of stern people like you, and really, you guys just piss me off. Sure battles aren't always fun, but it isn't all deserving if you don't give it your all, especially against the ones that stand between you and the lives that still have a chance at a life ahead of them."

Kagura planted Archenemy, using it as a cane to get herself up from the mound. She panted profusely, her chest inflating with every inhale, and with every exhale it felt like she was lightheaded. She was on her last legs sort of speak, and Craig looked like he was fine. She glared at him as he seemed so calm. 'I don't understand…how is he able to continue fighting for so long? He should've been hindered by those fights against Sabertooth and Lyon's guild, so why is he standing like nothing happened? Is he seriously that strong?' She struggled to get up, but her body was getting tired, not to mention the wounds sustained against Craig's diverse style leaves him completely unpredictable. 'If I get too close, he can block me easily, but if I use magic, he'll cut through it…' She mustered what strength possible to stand upright. "No, I refuse to lose here. Not until I have achieved my destiny." She muttered.

Catching a whiff of what she said, Craig's brow twisted. "Your destiny?"

"Yes." She held out Archenemy. "You said that you know of my soul just by looking into my eyes, well I don't believe in such a thing. You don't know anything about me to judge me. I hold myself reserved to my reasons and my ambition alone. If what it takes is the will of another to achieve this destiny, then so be it."

"Not if that will is fueled by hate as well." Craig interjected.

"Shut up! This was his will, and I'm going carry it out, even if I have to wait a hundred years! I have no intention on letting that man of whom I speak of being left in vein. I will kill the man who has enslaved him, and I will do so with this blade that I yield. That is Archenemy's purpose. So you see, I cannot unleash this blade until I have met that man in the face. Battles are nothing relied on by luck, it's only the path that we seek, and to carry out with our own wills. That is destiny."

The confused look Craig had had gone cold. In fact, the very same look he had on his face was similar to when he fought against Erza a long time ago, or some other adversaries. He was dead serious and carried out power not because of vengeance, but of his spirit and will to fight on. But a few times in the past, he had revenge, bitter revenge, and in the end, even if it was carried out, it made him vomit in disgust. It made him cry because it was selfish, and he hurt innocence because of it. He was no avenger himself, and he wanted to be anything but that.

There was a shadow over his eyes, his lips forming a deep frown. "Pfft…cliché."

Kagura's eyes widened. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me. Cliché. Yeah, I get it, your brother was killed by someone, but answer me this: Do you know the killer personally? Did you do digging or meet him in person yourself to know for certain if that was the same man that killed your brother?"

Kagura's eyes glared. "What are you saying?!"

"I doubt you would understand since you want revenge and nothing else. Believe me, I know how that feels." He looked down at the ground, a sullen look on his face. "A lot of people are hurt because of acts carried out by vengeance and grief, but the ones who really hurt is yourself. I know a whole lot about the subject, and trust me, if you're not being true to yourself, then you can't be true to anyone else. You just need to open up about it."

"I said shut up!" Kagura pointed Archenemy at Craig's face. "I was taken away from him in my youth…we were separated all these years…and now he's dead, and I didn't get to see him once! Imagine how that felt! I've lost everything, including faith! What gives you the right to lecture on something you know nothing about?!"

Craig's brow furrowed. "Because I know I was there. I was there to see anger and violence everywhere I turned. People self-assure themselves thinking killing someone out of grief will do right, but what happens after you've accomplished that? Have you ever considered that? Maybe you've lost everything, but so did I. My own friends, even enemies who I learned aren't such bad people. We're all…just misguided. You'll be nothing but a hollow shell in the end, so go ahead and carry out your need to kill someone out of grief, because in the end, he's still dead. And he ain't around now because it wasn't your fault to begin with. You keep blaming yourself for being weak and vow to use your anger and will, but there is no joy, and no love that you can let in or out for others. That's what I see in you, and I pity you deeply."

Kagura's pupils began to dilate at an alarming rate. Her teeth were gritting so tight that it could grind at steel. Her breathing was getting raspy as she looked at Craig, someone who was standing in the way of her vendetta. Someone who is telling her what to do. Someone who is outright explaining all her faults and denying every last one of them. In her blood pressure rising, her pupils shrunk to ballistic animal slits, her mentality having been throw out the window. With someone like Craig, the opposite of her, she was willing to make an exception.

She reached for Archenemy, the bandages for the seal starting to uncoil.

"Kagura, no!" Arana shrieked.

"You can't do that here!" Beth panicked.

"Are you trying to kill him?!" Risley worried.

Unfortunately, all these screams went unanswered. Kagura bent her knees as she glared daggers at Craig. "You…you talk like a murderer! So then you admit that you've killed lives, and even now you don't repent! How dare you speak on behalf of a killer's name!" she roared. "Maybe I've never met him…but I know what he looks like…AND I WILL END ALL HIS CARNAGE MYSELF! SO GET OUT OF MY WAY~!"

"No." Craig said dryly.

Kagura released a primal shout as she unleashed Archenemy. The blade shimmered brightly in the most enigmatic of flashes before swung at Craig. Everything heading for Craig had gone white, but he looked ahead, his eyes sharpening into daggers as the look on Kagura reminded him of himself.

4 Years Ago

It was essentially 2 weeks after his memory loss, and Craig had gone on only a few adventures thus far. He wasn't good at memory yet, so the terrains he crossed were still of unknown origins to him. All he knew was that he was somewhere in the southwestern hemisphere of Earthland, and in that course of time, he had seen quite the few happenings, and that left his innocent heart open to subjugation.

He hiked for 5 days with a rather nice little cult of god worshippers. Nothing short of the Plant God worshippers, but it was still somewhere he could feel comfortable. They welcomed him in to be one with nature, and the group of maybe a hundred people who had feasts and merriment beneath a tall tree in a valley was as jovial as could get…unfortunately those times of comfort were short-lived.

The people he saw playing games; the fine wine drinkers; the children that played…were all burned. He was barely able to escape the sudden blaze, and when he saw the very tree reduced to char and ash, all hope was lost. The place of peace, and all the people that were nature lovers and welcomed him, they were all killed in less than a minute.

He realized that it was by a lone man, a very tall and muscular man who wore nothing but a pair of brown boots and light gray trousers. His upper body was bare, but over his head was a mask used to filter out smoke and chemicals. He had a variety of weapons, mostly tanks of secured propane and fire bombs. Truly, the look of the arsonist was what made Craig grief and bare revenge.

The next day, he realized where he was assigned to, in a nearby kingdom with some of the most powerful and skilled warriors out there. And that guy was one of the top 5, closest to the Imperial Staff's Chief of Execution, a tall, curvy, purple-haired woman in a professional uniform. When he managed to find a way inside via a tournament, it was thanks to his cunning and smaller size that he swept guys off their legs and suffered a drastic concussion on the last round's muscular man. However, his anger in avenging his dead friends prompted him to take it out on the muscular guy, and a flurry of punches was what got him to win, albeit barely. This gave him access to reward money, as well as a personal invitation to the Imperial 5, the group of alleged kingdom mercenaries of varied sorts. What shocked him, despite how he saw the man known as Ash, and trying to outright go for him, he did meet the other 4.

Despite being talked down to and warned of his actions by an endearing threat by the Chief of Execution, Craig found no way out and was still forced in chains for good measure. He was forced, thanks to his skills, to be an assistant to the group with house chores to make up for declaring to kill Ash and attempting to do so, but Ash was, remarkably…timid. Despite shortcoming here and there, Craig got to know the varied personalities of all these mercenary killers, and what shocked him was how many of them had different traits; mostly arrogant, but not Ash. He was more quiet and polite. It was ironic coming from someone who burns down men and women without question. But after a couple days of getting to know the group, the anger in Craig's head was starting to hurt. After learning so much about Ash, like how he was an awesome chef for one thing, and knowing how the others aren't as bad as they would think…it was almost like a mesh up of one crazy family.

And the most shocking part…that one day, Ash came to the palace and forgot his lunch at home. When he realized it, he was beaten to it when he saw that his own wife, a beautiful, light-brown haired woman came in. She and her beloved 5-year-old daughter, a dirty-blonde haired girl who hugged her dear father. The sight just left Craig not only baffled, but someone like him who was accepted by such good people. He was just doing his job, as he was told, and even though he regretted it, his family still supported him. This was when Craig began to feel so twisted and hurt by his own vengeance curving.

Of course one day, when out on an assignment, all the Imperial 5 were dispatched to handle the most powerful Dark Guild rumored to have ventured into the outskirts of the area. It was mercenary killers against mercenary killers, and neither side gave an edge. Both sides had taken wounds, and even though Craig wasn't good at fighting, he skilled enough to attack them with their guards focused on one person. And it was thanks to this that one of the others guys got wounded.

After Ash unleashed a large-scale, pyro-dynamic blast that destroyed half the entire forest, the smoke and ashes were a perfect cover for the separated group to fan out and pick off one or the other. In happenstance, Craig and Ash ended up turning tail and trying to find way back to the domain. They were exhausted, and Ash was out of ammo. He used the very last of it to fuel his powerful blast wave.

Craig coughed a little as he followed behind. He gasped heavily before having been caught up to Ash. "I think…we've lost them…" he exasperated.

Ash looked back, seeing a massive cloud of smoke in the distance. "And not a moment too soon. I used up the last of my ammo in that one shot."

Craig sighed in fatigue. His body had some ash and char on it, but he was otherwise in one piece. It still felt very weird to be working with someone who was a killer, and frankly, he wasn't used to it yet, but at this point, Craig's ill-will towards the man wasn't life-threatening, especially since in that fight he saved him a dozen times. Everybody did. 'Maybe bad guys aren't so bad after all.'

"We have to get back." Ash said dutifully. "We have to. I want this mission to reconvene, but I also…" he clutched his left arm in pain. It suffered a deep burn, but he tried to bear with it. "I want to see them again…"

"Ash…"

The sound of a whistle ran through the air. A thin line went beaming through the trees in the form of a blitzing needle. The sound caught Craig by surprise, but he turned to miss a needle by a hair. He gasped in horror as the needle pierced the ground behind him, his body spared.

"Target: Missed." A feminine voice said softly.

Craig's eyes widened in shock. "That voice…" He turned towards Ash. "It's her! That needle girl!"

Ash gasped in shock. "Oh no…"

"Adjusting target."

They both looked into the trees, looking up towards the branches to see a familiar strawberry blonde woman. She was around Craig's age, if not older. She adorned a red bandana over her head with a red bow on top. She had a small mic to record herself, and her attire consisted of a red and white Lolita with a checkered red and black skirt. She had black stockings and classy black heels. She smiled as she looked down at the tired Ash, ready to throw her next needle.

Craig was too exhausted. He went to push Ash out of the way, but he fell shot when his leg felt a sudden pain through it. The heel gave in, and he fell over with a thud. He slammed hard into the ground, his leg revealed to have a deep cut in it.

"Craig!" Ash panicked. With his distraction set, he didn't realize the shimmering long needle that went right for him. "Wha-?!"

BLOOSH!

A splatter of blood spilled everywhere. It sprinkled the ground and dirt beneath the forest floor, and from it, a lone needle punctured the ground. It had a single drop of blood on it, and just seconds after that drop touched the ground, Ash dropped to his knees, his eyes dilating out of shock. There was a small hole where his heart was supposed to be, and that's where it hurt the most.

Craig gawked with eyes that spelled terror. He had no words to say or what to come up with. He was just gawking in shock at the alleged killer's fatal blow. "No…NO!"

"Target: Eliminated." The woman said.

Craig looked up towards the branch, seeing the woman looking at him. He showed continual shock as he glared up towards her. "You…what have you done?!" he angrily shouted.

"This is a battle of shadows, kid. A mere child like yourself would not understand the struggles of bearing another's pain." She said before vanishing into the trees again.

"Hey! Come back here! Come back!" Craig pleaded. His fists balled as his leg refused to move due to numbness. "No!" He rammed his fist into the ground, his frustration boiling over.

Ash's mask had a shadow over it. He was looking down at the ground, fixated so heavily as his heart was punctured. He could feel everything shutting down, and yet, he felt nothing at all. He slowly began to fall over, his final thoughts coming. 'I knew a day like this would come…' His face planted in the ground, just as he thought back to a time in a cute little home where he adorned the same attire in a nursery over a crib, the mother smiling down at the happily sleeping newborn girl. She and the mother looked appeased even if he had a mask on. 'I always knew…that even if what I did was just a job…retribution would come for me…'

Craig looked over his shoulder, seeing Ash struggle for his dear life. He could see the pain even behind the mask as he struggled to crawl. He was crawling over towards Craig, very, very slowly. With what strength he had in him, he was heading towards one of the people who wanted to see him dead.

"But even if…what I did was not personal…" he strained. "I still…" Tears were starting to run down his cheeks. "I still…have to see them again…"

"Ash…" Craig's eyes grew misty.

"I must…see my friends again…I…have to get home…" he crawled closer towards a shocked Craig, only just a few feet apart. "My wife…my daughter…they're waiting for me…everyone…" He slowly reached out towards Craig, his arm straining as he did what he could to reach for the objects that he saw as hallucinations behind him. He could see his little cottage of a home, and his daughter in his wife's arms, both smiling happily to see him.

Craig could see the desperation in his eyes. The tears he made were real and full of regret. He was a conscious man that may have killed his friends, but he just thought it was because it was a cold-hearted act, to a degree wasn't wrong. But Ash was just doing his job, because it's what put food on the table for the people who accepted him, both at work and at home. Lives were paid for a price of happiness. He even remembered what he said to the other when he was still getting used to him just yesterday. What he did may have been a job, and a job was a job, but karma was still karma. "Craig…really…I'm not a nice person…I, uh…still did wrong. I'm only getting what I deserve, disgust when people look at me." Those words still stuck to his head like glue, and now was the time for retribution, and at this point, Craig agreed.

What he did was wrong. But he was following orders for his girls at home. They were those who loved him even with all the acts he committed. They were the strong-hearted, and what was Craig at this point?

"My girls…my friends…I want to…see you all…just one more time…" With those final thoughts, the hands of Ash fell out of the air, hitting the ground along with his body. His life was lost, and the man had finally paid for what he had done.

What hit him to the core…was how at this point Craig was one of those friends.

Tears were in Craig's wide eyes. His sadness was boiling over for a man who he wanted to kill. He wanted to see him dead. Looks like he got what he wanted. But not like this. All that vengeance set on a villain who was just a soldier at work, and now he was gone.

"Ash…Ash…I…" Craig's tears shed in ounces indescribable, his mouth wide-open in grief over the arson's burdens.

Hearing Craig's cries of anguish over Ash, the Dark Guild woman swept through the trees, a remorseful smile on her face. "This is the price we pay for being human." She said as she went on after the rest of his family.

Craig's eyes opened once more as the white blaze headed for him, his sclera as sharp as a feral dinosaur. His single sword in hand was all that was used as it slashed into Archenemy. His blood red sword collided with the blade of sheer hate, cleaving straight through the upper-half of Archenemy.

Kagura's feral eyes were as frozen as ice as she watched how her unsheathed weapon split in two. The broken blade twirled through the air, spinning downwards to pierce the ground beside her. She had no words to describe how she felt as she looked back at Craig, looking at the sheer face of terror itself.

"This is just crazy! Craig, literally, single-handed Kagura's unsheathed blade! And at full power, too!" Lola screamed through the mic.

Everyone watching was screaming and cheering out of sheer shock. Even from their distance, they felt all that Magic Power in that singular second, and now it was just spliced by Craig in one swing; but a swing of retribution and forgiveness over hate.

"But how?!" Risley shouted.

"No way, that's impossible!" Beth shrieked.

"But all of Kagura's power is in that blade! You mean that wasn't enough?!" Arana exclaimed.

Kagura looked down at her Archenemy, seeing how the bottom half was still intact, but the top was clean cut off.

"You don't know the first thing about forgiveness, do you?" Craig thought briefly of Ash again and his family. "Forgiveness, is far stronger than hate itself! There isn't any kind of pain worse than feeling disgust with your actions, but that's what makes you move on. But you insist on sticking around like a fatass leech sucking up bad blood." He started to draw all his other blades out, his golden mouth blade entering his jaws. He glared daggers at Kagura as he reached for his dark red sword, completing the ensemble. "Maybe before you think of outright killing someone, you should probably get to know them more personally before making your decision. Do they feel pain too? Were they sorry? Maybe it wasn't their choice to make to begin with!" His grip on his blades tightened. "But in the end, if you can forgive yourself for all the hate you gave them before, then you can be a better person. But if all you have to cling onto is revenge and blackness, then by all means…" He poised to strike. "I'll cut that out of you myself!"

Kagura shook her shock out of her head and glared back at Craig. "Shut up! Who says you can talk to the likes of me like that!" She held up the rest of Archenemy with a tightened grip. "It doesn't make sense! How did that one sword stop my unsheathed Archenemy?!"

"Did you forget what I said earlier?" Craig asked.

"If you feel happy, then a blade will feel that and get lively. But if you're nothing but a heartless negative…then the blade will get cold, and it'll just be a grudge sword."

Kagura's dilated again. She was starting to feel Craig's words sink in, and they were hurting bad. Even so, she refused to lose. She held up Archenemy like her life depended on it, ready to strike.

"Then bring it on!" Accepting Kagura's challenge, Craig stood on one heel and began to pivot. He actually spun in place at a rapid speed, looking like a spike blur that was daring Kagura to slash at him.

Kagura leaped into the air and thrust her Archenemy down. She let out a loud cry as she went for the attack, passing Craig as he spun in place. It all happened so fast, but Kagura appeared behind Craig in a slash pose. She had glare fixed on him, but something felt wrong as her body was unable to move. Her ears tingled as what felt like a ghastly wind passed her. There was a shiver that went down her spine as Craig slowed down, taking out all the sheaths to his blades as he reached his stop.

With the sheaths entering the swords slowly, he used a single finger for each hand and closed them all, this time with a pivot.

"Ghost Hurricane!"

The clanging of the sheaths closing echoed throughout the area, like the voices of the damned reverberating throughout the area. The clanging reached Kagura's ears, and to her shock, she saw Archenemy's remaining half icing into unrecognizable bits. The guard, hilt, everything of it reduced to nothing, and lacerations and cuts went randomly across and diagonally all over her body. She screamed out as bits of her hair, her bow, arms, waist, thighs, everything had cuts erupting in consecutive manner, like a ghost with a knife was cutting into her in circles in less than a second's time. It lasted for about five seconds roughly, and finally, the cuts and the blood sprays stopped.

Kagura had tears of disbelief in her eyes as time slowed down, unable to understand it all. Craig continued to look away while he put his sheaths back beneath his jacket. He retied it just as Kagura fell to the ground with a thud in defeat, her fragments of her grudge swords unrecognizable.

Once again, the audience was in another state of shock at what they had just saw. Many cheered in surprise, while some screamed at the sight. It was mixed, but for the most part, they accepted the costs.

"And Kagura is down! I repeat, Kagura of Mermaid Heel is down!" Lola screamed in pleasant surprise. "Craig Crius not only diced up her sword, but that attack was just painful, ouch!"

"Seems like general overkill to me." Yajima frowned.

"Well, it did prove a powerful point." Mato said.

"That indeed, Mato, and because of that, Fairy Tail gains 5 points, putting them at 56 points! Man, what a shocking way to let the gamers know we still have some bite from the last leg of the fairies, literally."

Mermaid Heel was despairing over their ace's fall. They couldn't help but feel tears well up.

"Kagura lost. Even when she unsheathed her sword." Arana said.

"But how? That's impossible." Risley grimaced.

"This has got to be a joke, right?" Beth asked.

From the large hole where Craig and Kagura once fell through, someone had finally fallen through. They revealed the figure being Millianna, the cat woman getting up and looking around. "Oh wow, that was a long way down. I sure hope I ended up in the right place…" her eyes went towards something in the distance, seeing a body fallen before another figure with a tattered cape. "Hey, Kagura! Are you okay?!" she called, but no answer. "Kagura…?" She inched on down the mound, getting closer towards the scene. When she looked ahead, her eyes shrunk to the size of rice grains. Her despair only grew as she saw that Kagura was lying down on the ground, having been bathed in red and cuts all over. "KAGURA!" she cried drastically.

"Gnnngh…" the fallen mage grunted, having unable to say anything in her defeat.

Millianna rushed over to her, staring down at her ace with tears in her eyes. "Hey! Kagura! What happened? How could this be?" She noticed something close by glimmering. She went on over and saw something familiar lying on the round. She got to her knees, staring solemnly at the remnants of Archenemy, the blade that was to bring her sheer power on the ones she wanted to slay the most. "No…no…no…!"

The sound of footsteps was made clear. Millianna's head turned towards Craig, seeing look down at her. She looked terrified upon seeing the face of the man who defeated her friend.

"Sorry." Craig apologized.

Millianna's tears were still there, but her eyes started to change into a glare. Her despair transformed into rage, her teeth bared as she stood up and balled her fist at Craig. "You!" she sniped. "You did this to her!"

"Yeah, I did."

Millianna got her gloves off, revealing her sharp nails. "You're gonna pay for what you've done!" She lunged with a need of revenge at Craig, but all he did was keep up a straight face as he was faced with another angry woman.

He leaned to the left, dodging her nails and socked her gut with a powerful punch. The blow was all that was needed as Millianna gawked. All the air was blown out of her and fell over, unable to stand.

"Oh! And the kitty's lights were knocked out! Craig Crius has defeated another mermaid, giving him 1 point to add to that roster! And now Mermaid Heel is officially out of the competition!" Lola exclaimed.

Erza sighed at the sight. "Well at least Craig was generous on letting it easy on Millianna…"

Natsu crossed his arms, showing anger. "Man this sucks! When do we get our turn?"

"Seriously?! That punk's getting all those points for us and this is how you say thank you?!" Gajeel exclaimed.

"The guy has some serious issues, that's for sure." Laxus said, seeing him walk with the two mages on his shoulders. "But it looks like he's doing well. I do hope one thing, that he makes it to the end…because there aren't many left.

Craig sat the two Mermaid Heel mages beside one another against a lamppost just outside the building. Having paranoia of the fact it could break and crush them, he chose to leave them at a more appropriate place. Before he moved on, he looked down t the two, his gaze a little crestfallen.

"…I'm really sorry, but your hate will never be as strong as the forgiveness you can show for another. It's not always about me, it's about others, too." With that, he turned and walked away, leaving the two unconscious girls to muddle over themselves.

As he was off, Kagura's face softened. She was still alive, but it looked like she learned something from this. A half-grin appeared on her lips, brow furrowed as she stewed over her thoughts.

---

Looking up at a monitor, Jura saw Craig in one of them. The frown on his face turned into a smirk as he figured out his location. "A most impressive show of conviction there, Craig Crius." He said. "You have perplexing strength behind the words you say, and even more behind the actions that you use to exemplify. You are indeed an interesting foe yet." He walked through the streets Crocus, making his tone quiet yet solid, like a loose stone to foresee an avalanche of rocks to fall down the might mountain. On another side of Crocus, Sting sat in an alley, glaring up at the nearby screen as he saw Craig walking away from Kagura and Millianna. What he saw was very much terrifying, and it was leaving his skin to crawl. Minerva was glaring up at the screen as well, her frown evident. Even after all those fights, he was still hanging on. He was like a dusty old broom that refused to break. Now she was going to snap it herself.

---

Craig went on to walk for a while. He continued his way down the boulevard for some time, and his trail was towards nowhere. He had only one need in mind, and that was to fill something in his gut.

A low rumble came from his stomach, signaling the emptiness of. "Hey, can it, alright? I'll find something." He told his stomach. He looked ahead, hunched over with an annoyed look in his eyes. There were some bags beneath them, indicating exhaustion, but not enough to show he was gonna keel over and not fight back.

"Geez, you think for these games that they could at least install like all around concession stands or lunchbreaks, or at least something to give us strength. 'Oh, but it's all about testing your stamina and will as a mage'." He spoke in a very sissy, mocking voice. "Blablablablabla! Well too bad! Not all of us got a slow metabolism going for us you know! That's right, I'm talking to all y'alls watching this!"

Cana had a bead of sweat down the back of her head. "Is he…trying to get himself open again?"

"Maybe…but I think it's just Craig having one of his moments." Mirajane smiled.

"Pfft, issues." Laxus huffed.

"Hey, uh…" Natsu looked at everyone. "I don't want to alarm anyone…but speaking of food, is there a can around here somewhere?"

Everyone around him sighed. Sadly, they weren't teleported to a bathroom. At this point, they could really use it.

Craig continued down towards the street, hoping to find something to munch on. There were birds flying overhead, and he could've skewered them, but throwing swords like arrows isn't one of his many attributes. He just had to bide some time and look for another way to sustain himself. He kept sauntering through the street, but all he got were a bunch of clothing stores. He didn't have much of a luxury when it came to the faction of orientation. "Maybe I need a directory…crap, no one's working there. Oh well, guess I should just keep looking." And it took him quite the trail to be trekked as well when he started for an alley. He knew this would be a perfect time for an ambush, but if his demeanor and the hungry look on his face was any indication, people would be wise to steer clear of him. While he did manage to make it through the alley, he peeked left, right, and up and about to see if anyone was there. He didn't sense anything, but his eyes were narrowed. He knew he didn't have much time to eat before someone picked up on his trail. But the alley did lead him down the right trail, more specifically to the one that was to lead him towards the food market. When he was looking dead ahead, there was a small café and deli domain.

Taking one more look around, he shrugged and walked straight ahead. He was steady down the street, looking everywhere to be sure no ghosts and no monsters; falling insects, pieces of machinery, and so on would harm him. When he made it to the other side of the street, he pulled out his blood red sword and inserted its tip into the lock. There was a loud jingle that came from it, and the lock undid itself. It was placed around the door's handle to be pulled, and Craig ventured inside, being sure to make the door close behind him.

He flipped the lights on, and looked around to see that it had a homey, classy feel to it, like any retro restaurant could have. He made sure nothing was cursed or that sorts and went over towards behind the counter. He casually washed his hands and rinsed them.

Unbeknownst to him, there was something black slowly inching beneath the doors of the café he was in. It slithered beneath a table, lying in wait. Beneath the table, a messy black hair on a head slowly prodded out.

'I know he's in here.' The figure thought. 'What's imperative is how he is weakened in this state. He has battled many of our comrades, and the competition has been significantly hampered by his stamina. After that battle with Kagura, his guard should be down. This may be my one shot at-!'

He was cut off when a foot in a black boot casually swung into his face, knocking his head into the table leg with a grunt. He slumped back into the shadows, leaving Craig unknowing what he did.

"Hm?" Craig looked beneath the table in question, but his eyes and raised brows felt nothing. He shrugged and looked back at his meal that he prepared, as per the menu.

It was a simple sandwich, one with chopped steak and a lot of cheese. There were some raw veggies on the wheat hoagie it sat in, but nevertheless was very much appealing. It was a foot long, and he looked like he was going to eat it all in 2 seconds.

"Alright…" Before he made the move, he stopped in place. He realized something was wrong. "Wait…" he looked around, eyes narrowing in suspicion of something off. He slowly arose from his seat, looking around to face whatever it was that was sensed. His eyes were sharp as his thought process was running into overdrive. When he turned his back from his meal to face the menu, he realized it, just as the underside of his chair had turned back.

"I knew it…I forgot to pay."

He walked on over towards the counter, where he looked up at the menu to see how much the steak sandwich he made all for himself was. Without complaint, he reached into his deep pockets and pulled out what few bills of cash and coins he had left. It was barely enough, down to the very jewel. And then there was the tip.

"You think people would remember the honesty policy these days." Craig scoffed to himself. He walked back towards the table where he sat down in, looking up at the ceiling. "Seriously, Brownie, this is all your fault! You just had to make me take you out yesterday!"

In the stands, Cana crossed her arms and gave him an annoyed look, while the guild was snickering at her sheepish demeanor about the subject.

Craig hung his head low and huffed in defeat. There was no point going about it now. He had to go about and just take what he can get. As Rogue's head began to pop out of the ground slowly once more, Craig unknowingly stamped on his head, plunging him back into the shadows with a short squeal.

Sitting back down with a sigh, Craig got his stomach ready and grabbed his sandwich. As he looked at it, he was starting to wander off a bit in terms of thoughts. His mind was starting to go backwards to the times of his childhood, to when he played with Cana, only to be taken away from her and Cornelia. And when he thought about it now, it was like they were starting to reconnect again, even if things were different. Of course they slept together, that didn't change. But even so, it was a lot to take in. And what makes it even more of a mystery was that he had gone through all these crazy adventures everywhere, and yet the memories didn't resurface until he met her. Was there more to her than he had thought? This couldn't be by coincidence, that much he knew about the subject.

He sighed. 'What the heck. I'm just stressing myself. If I don't cool my jets, I'm going to be so tense that my tendons will tear if I run into a new guy.' He was still feeling some recoil after that blood rush from battling Kagura. He was tired, and he was hungry, and he still had tired muscles to deal with. But nevertheless, he did what he could to make sure that he got this little "rest".

As he cleansed his mind of thoughts, he realized something was off.

'Now.'

"Crap, forgot the napkins." He moved out of his seat to go for the napkins not far off. He still was reasonable and respectable to some degree. He at least didn't want to leave a big mess for the owner to clean up.

A sudden burst of shadows beneath his seat arose, startling Craig and getting his attention. He gasped as he turned and looked at the pillar of shadows picking up the chair and sending it to midair. As it was in freefall, the shadows formed in its place, revealing Rogue with a scarf around his neck. He glared daggers at Craig, ready to do battle.

The chair, on the other hand, fell and crashed down on Craig's lunch. The table fell apart, and that included the food that was hit by the now deceased chair. The look on Craig's face spelled frozen despair. He stared ahead with deep shock at what he had just witness, his pupils fixed.

"At last, we have come face to face." Rogue announced.

"And it looks like Rogue has finally made his move next!" Lola announced, getting applause from Sabertooth and Fairy Tail fans alike. "My what a way to spoil one's appetite. It looks like it's dinnertime for the sabers as Craig is all tendered and ready for a feast!"

"Though that sandwich though did make me hungry." Yajima said.

"Well that's one way to get anyone's attention." Mato added. "But let's see if all those fights really did anything on Craig, shall we?"

"Aw yeah, it's Rogue's turn!" Lector cheered.

Frosch, however, worried. "Will he be okay?"

"Say what? Don't be stupid, Frosch. This is Rogue we're talking about. Sure he and Sting are tough together, but Craig all worn out. This'll be too easy for us now."

Frosch looked back at the monitors, the Exceeds's face showing hints of worry behind his feelings. Lector couldn't deny it either. After Day 4's events, they were in truth very worried for their allies, especially with who they were to face.

"Sabertooth's Shadow Dragon, waiting in the shadows." Minerva said with a smirk. "Now, who'll be feasting upon this finest hour?"

Craig continued to stare ahead with a deep, shocked look. He was stupefied at best, but the other factor was that it was on something that he worked so hard for. He looked down at the broken table and tray, seeing that the adversary had even went as far as destroy his late lunch.

"I've waited long enough for this chance to come, Craig Crius." Rogue started. "You and your guild have no place in this competition. You were very lucky that one time the other day, but make no mistake, I will correct it."

Craig was unresponsive. He glared down to where his lunch was, spilled on the ground and making it all look like the efforts of good food was wasted so needlessly.

"Do you have anything to say, Craig Crius?" Rogue looked at him to see if he was to respond, but he still wasn't talking. "Hey. I asked-!"

BOOM!

He was cut off when a fist shot by Craig without even looking away from his deceased lunch hammered the chin of the Shadow Dragon. He fell straight onto his back with a thud, his chin broken by that painful shock.

The Exceeds of Sabertooth gasped in deep shock.

"Oh my! That wasn't pretty!" Mato shrieked.

Rogue grunted as his head hurt. "Gnnngh…" He heard a pair of footsteps ahead of him, and his eyes opened to catch a glimpse of hand reaching down for him. He was grabbed by the hair, yanked up to meet a certain angry person in front of him. His glare was paralyzing Rogue on the spot.

"You…" Craig snarled ferally. "Did you know what THAT was?!" He harshly shoved Rogue's face towards the site, the Dragon Slayer silent as he was still in shock.

"THAT just so happened to have been food. That was food, that was carefully made, and put effort into feeding someone, who just so happened to be hungry." He turned Rogue to face him. "Now you tell me, what's more sickening to you: The fact that you tried to attack someone when they are eating, or the fact that there are people in this world you are starving, and have worked so hard at their jobs, that they get nothing more than junk food that wastes their lives away? Huh?"

"I-I…"

"Nonononono! No changing the subject!" Craig sniped, his eyes narrowing and getting into Rogue's face, teeth bared. "You tell me…which one is worse?"

Rogue was at a loss for words. The look on Craig's face was spelling disaster. Whatever he did, it set off an alarm, and by no means was he at all pleased by this. Rogue was getting scared from just looking at him. "Uh…I-I don't…know…"

Craig nodded his head with angry slits. "Oh, I see…so you dipshitting pricks think it's all wise to just go and get between someone and something that could keep them alive when they need it, huh?"

"I…"

"Can it!" He harshly turned Rogue back at the steak. "Do you know what that is? THAT just so happens to be steak. From an animal! And animal, that lost its life for miscellaneous reasons, and has been turned into food for us! Now how does that make you feel, knowing that in your own death, that you are just wasted? That piece of meat that you destroyed and tainted now, is wasted meat. And that meat held nutrients to feed the poor." He turned Rogue back towards him, his fangs bared. "There's a lot of lines that I've crossed in my life…and guess what, I've learned from them! And here's something I would like for you, and all those people watching, to know!" His eyes sharpened, making him look like he was going to eat Rogue. "You don't EVER come between a man and his food! You just don't!"

Cana and everyone watching in the stands were hearing Craig one-side a shocked Rogue in a lecture, and it was more painful than that blow to the chin.

"I'm…sorry…?" Rogue answered.

"Oh no, you don't say sorry to me." He turned his head back towards the food. "Say sorry to the food for not letting its purpose be fulfilled! People broke backs to make and grow those wheats, those vegetables, and sacrificed a life so that we can live on, and you don't even consider it!" Again, his eyes squinted further. "Now you're screwed."

Rogue was getting overwhelmed so easily, but he knew facing Craig like this was a very bad mistake. He morphed into shadows and vanished from Craig's grip. He reappeared behind Craig, his hands coated in shadows.

'I have to watch my back now!' He thrust one of his claws at Craig's neck. "Shadow Dragon's Slash!" He thrust a palm of shadows at the back of Craig's neck, making full impact. The shadows dissipated, but Craig didn't move. It was like he became stone. "What?"

Slowly, Craig turned his head to give Rogue a sharp look. It didn't hurt him at all. In fact, it only made him look more intent on destroying him.

"Uh oh…" Frosch muttered.

Grabbing Rogue's hand, he gripped tightly and threw him overhead. The Dragon Slayer went flying through the doors of the café, shattering the glass and the frame. He laid sprawled on the ground, groaning as a bellow came from inside the restaurant.

Looking up, he saw Craig charge like a large dinosaur would, sturdy strides taken to rush at him. He opened his mouth and closed in, and Rogue hurriedly rolled to the side to dodge. Getting some distance and onto his feet again, Rogue looked back as Craig pivoted and faced Rogue with a warrior's striking position. But the oddest part was that he made no attempt to move for him.

"What are you waiting for?" Rogue asked, but all he got was a huff from Craig. Getting the picture, Rogue morphed into shadows and snaked towards him. He spiraled around Craig, much like he did Gajeel during the tournament.

"Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash!"

A torrent of shadows surrounded Craig, but he held his ground and stayed sharp while his cape flared in the whirling bath that was the shadows. He looked around for Rogue inside the howling tempest, but found nothing. So instead, he opted another solution.

Outside the whirlwind of darkness, Rogue looked up to see what his handiwork had done. He hoped that it did a good amount of damage onto Craig, but then something happened. His eyes widened as he saw the shadows that he had unleashed were beginning to waver and distort. "What?" To his horror, Craig pivoted out, his hands grazing the shadows and enveloping his fingertips. As the winds dissipated, the shadows around Craig's arms were fading away as he crossed and swiped them, showing no damage.

The sight made Rogue grunt in disliking.

"You're that Shadow Dragon of Sabertooth." Craig figured. "Your guild's been a big bane for mine."

"The feeling is mutual." Rogue spread his legs and readied for the next attack. "Shadow Dragon's Roar!" He unleashed a powerful blast of shadows from his mouth, causing the ground beneath to shudder.

As it traveled for Craig, he instantly pulled out two swords and crossed them like a pair of scissors.

"Scissor Runner!"

He sped into the shadows, "snipping" his blades constantly and cutting shadows into mere puffs that did nothing against Craig. As he pressed on, Rogue was caught on defense and saw Craig lunge at him with both arms crossed with swords. He applied his own defense by coating his body into shadows and arched into the ground.

Craig closed his eyes as he lunged, opening them up again with a calm movement and the two swords he had following some intricate wavy movements with chi. Without much of any wording, time slowed down as he barreled rolled over the shadow. As he rolled, the blood and dark red swords followed and cut into the tail end of the shadow, making actual blood spill.

"GAH!" Rogue's meek scream of pain was heard clearly as the shadow faded into the ground.

Craig stomped over the spot where Rogue fell into. He sensed he was nowhere, prompting him to look in a random direction and bellow a throat-vibrating, bloodcurdling roar.

"Is he okay?!" Frosch worried.

"How did he cut Rogue in shadow form?" Lector questioned.

"And already, it looks like Rogue is forced to get away on defense!" Lola announced. "Craig's slicing attacks and his brute strength just isn't what this Dragon Slayer was prepared for."

"And on an empty stomach, too." Mato added.

"Uh…okay?"

Craig looked around, trying to make sense of where Rogue was, but he also had to point something out as he looked around. "Tell me, are you afraid of me?" he asked loudly. "Are you fearing the fact that your guild's reputation is at stake, or is it because you've never dealt with enemies like me before?" Before he could ask another question, he looked down, eyes noticing blackness. He jumped out of the way as a pillar of pure shadows shot up from where he stood. He looked back at the pillar, seeing how thick and rich it was in shadows. He also took into consideration the level of magic pushed up towards him. "Is that it?" he challenged.

"You don't know anything about us." A voice called through the pillar of shadows. The pillar soon faded, falling back into the ground, while a shadowy aura flared around Rogue in his Dragon Force. "What makes you think that we're afraid of your guild?"

"You're mistaken. I never said Fairy Tail. I meant just me."

"What's the difference?"

Craig lowered his head, hunching to look like a predator ready to lunge. "Because unlike them, I'm not as friendly. Maybe you see that, but you're getting that mixed with an illusion."

Rogue's vision squinted. With a huff, he disappeared in shadows again. He reappeared behind Craig, ready to strike.

'If you can't hit the intangible, wait for the intangible to touch you.' Craig reminded him a very deep aspect of patience. True to the concept, he wait until Rogue's foot planted on his back. He recoiled ahead, and Rogue reappeared in front, a fist in an uppercut. He went to strike him, but his hand was snatch by Craig's mouth. He yelled in pain as his fingers and knuckles could've been felt crushing beneath the jaw strength of Craig tenacious bite strength.

Craig reeled his head back to pull Rogue forward, getting him into a painful headbutt that ran through the Dragon Slayer's head like a siren. His head rung as he stumbled back, leaving him open for Craig to ball a fist.

"Smash!"

Rogue looked ahead just as a fist collided with his face. The brute force behind the blow swept Rogue off his feet and went flying backwards into a brick building wall. The impact caused a lot of pain, as well as Rogue denting into the bricks. He landed on his stomach, too in shock for words. With eyes wide, and raspy breathing, he didn't think this could backfire on him so badly.

Trying to get up, he only managed to his knees before he heard another vicious roar. His eyes widened as the spit on his lip dropped to the floor. He glanced up, seeing Craig's feet spread apart and his swords having been sheathed. The look Rogue was given was making his red eyes show dilation. Truly, what he was feeling now was the personification of fear.

"So now you know fear. Welcome to acceptance, buddy." Craig sniped.

Rogue's eyes widened. He had to run, but even if he was a shadow, he couldn't hide forever. If Craig can hurt him as a shadow, it'd be pointless. 'I need cover!' In a last-ditch attempt, the bewildered Dragon Slayer opened his mouth, releasing a cyclone of shadows at Craig. The loud whirlwind went towards him with gusto, but Craig didn't seem bothered by it in the slightest. In fact, to Rogue's horror, Craig twirled into the tornado of darkness, his eyes focused dead ahead, and the fingertips gaining some shadows.

As the tornado dissipated, time slowed down as Craig spiraled inwards, his cape flowing, but also having even more tears in it. He crossed both shadowy blades he made from chi, moving hard and fast.

"Energy Arts – Furious Slice Crash!"

He passed Rogue as he crossed both chi blades in an X formation. The black shadows expanded as Rogue was unable to get out of range. Craig slid to a stop behind, the chi blades dissipating as he no longer moved. With eyes shut, Rogue screamed as his own attack power was turned and cut into him, creating a powerful burst of shadows. He screamed in pain so high through the explosion that the whole street echoed with it.

---

Watching from a rooftop, Minerva saw the small burst of shadows from the distance, a frown fixed upon her face. She showed frustration, a look that most definitely did not suite her. Her thin brows furrowed. "How disappointing."

---

Craig readjusted as the black scales on Rogue faded. The Shadow Dragon Slayer fell over, thudding as his eyes were devoid of pupils.

The audience once again cheered in ecstatic delight, though not so much Sabertooth. They showed scorn and despair as Rogue had been taken out, and Frosch was looking to be misty in the eyes.

"He's done it again! Sabertooth's dark-half of the Twin Dragons has suffered greatly but the raw strength of Craig Crius! That leaves Sabertooth down to 2 members remaining, and Lamia Scale down with 1, and Fallen Prometheus virtually nowhere to be seen! Just where did those guys disappear to?"

Fairy Tail cheered once again as victory was on them. They got another point, getting their score to 58. And that left four teams left in the running.

"Looks like we're pulling ahead gradually." Makarov said.

"Well that sure went in a much faster direction." Mirajane cheerfully admitted.

"Yeah, Rogue didn't see any of that coming." Lisanna spoke.

"But wait, wasn't all this just because Rogue interrupted his lunch?" Lucy reminded.

"I guess, but he's got a point." Elfman flexed his muscles. "A real man eats hardy!"

"That's all you got out of that?!"

"Only 8 other contestants remaining. Better find some room, because these last ones, are most grim indeed." Erza said.

In Lamia Scale's quarters, Obaba snickered. "That Makarov, thinks he's so clever." She snickered. "Well, does he know that Jura is ranked 5th in the Wizard Saints ranking. That's the very spot below the Four Gods of Ishgar. This whole tournament was won before it even started."

Craig looked down at Rogue, his eyes cascaded on the struggling form he carried. "Doubting your own fears doesn't make you achieve what you need to do." He turned and walked away, having a small and slow pace in his walk. It was clear by that battle he had a small piece of stamina chipped off. "If you know your fear, then it's up to you to stand tall or run." He continued walking on, adjusting his back. "And you better learn to wait until after someone eats, too! Moron!"

As he walked on, the sun began to wane over the horizon. As the sky started to show orange and yellow, just a few blocks over, Jura Neekis had arms folded and smirking as he closed in on Craig. Meanwhile, Minerva was having a foul look on her face on the rooftops, and straight below in the alley, Sting stared at the wall, a hollow look of fortitude shown. The final battles were closing in, but the ones having the last laugh was the five cloaked figures who were still out of sight.

---

Here's the first February update for the year. Hope you guys enjoyed it! Only Jura, Minerva, and Sting left until Fallen Prometheus shows their faces! Until then! I'm hoping another chapter in 4-5 days; 3 if I'm a lucky-ducky.