I'm sorry about the sort of long wait for this chapter, but I was really busy with stuff going on like my grandpa's brother's 80th birthday. I try not to post on Sunday. Not much to say really. Let's get on with the story.
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Sorry about the ridiculous wait for this chapter. I lost my inspiration for writing, and I was at band camp, which meant I couldn't update at all. I promise I will try to keep up with you guys. Hopefully, you haven't forgotten about me ^-^
Karis and Lucy stepped back as Malice stepped into the corridor, the steel door sliding shut behind the immortal girl. Both Fairy Tail mages were completely surprised by Malice as she stood in front of them, Malice's green eyes looking at them with little to no emotion.
"I know you're surprised to see me here, but it still doesn't change the fact that I have to stop you. It's regrettable that things ended up this way, but a fight is inevitable. Whoever wins, will devour the loser, and then life will go on." said Malice almost robotically.
Karis just looked at her, a pained expression on her face. Was this truly the same girl they had met on the road? How has she changed so much? Karis was about to say something when Lucy stepped forward. The celestial mage looked calm and collected as she spoke to the immortal girl.
"I understand a fight is inevitable, but why do we have to devour you if we win?" Lucy asked, a sad expression coming on Malice's childlike face.
"Fear," answered Malice, looking directly at Karis. "Fear is why you must devour me. All immortals are driven by fear. They are afraid of being devoured. Karis, you have the ability to devour me, and therefore, I must devour before I am devoured. It's the never ending cycle of fear that Luscious created."
Lucy nodded her head and looked down at the ground, a defeated look crossing her face. Karis sighed and decided to ask Malice about what was really going on.
"Malice, you might be an immortal, but why do you look so young? Why would someone so young be chosen to become an immortal?" Karis asked.
"The Court of Nine was supposed to be made up of those from different situations. They needed someone who was young, so they chose me. They needed someone who was old, so they chose Noland. They needed someone who valued human life, so they chose Father Ryuusaga. They needed someone who didn't value human life, so they chose Hudson. They needed someone who had it all but would lose it, so they chose King Mason. They needed someone who lost it all, but would regain it, so they chose Luscious. They needed someone who couldn't express any emotion, so they chose Jasif. They needed someone who expressed emotions quite frequently, so they chose Fahmak," Malice explained as Karis and Lucy nodded their heads. However, Malice had only mentioned eight people. Lucy and Karis had been told that there were nine members of the original group of immortals.
"W-What was the last person's condition?" Lucy asked, wanting to know.
The air seemed to grow heavier, and Malice's face grew dark as she answered Lucy's question.
"Lastly, they needed someone who could control. They chose Bauer. In truth, he is the real leader of the immortals. He holds the power to control all of us, yet he does not use it. He watched over us, observing our actions. Hudson may appear to be our leader, but his strength is nothing compared to Bauer's ability to manipulate. Bauer is the only one who can initiate the purge, and not a single person besides me knows of this fact." said Malice darkly as Karis remembered back to when they had first met Malice.
She had asked about someone who was her guardian! That was Bauer! Karis and Lucy looked at each other and nodded. It was obvious that it was time to begin the fight that was obviously approaching. Malice saw the two of them tense up and she smiled, the first smile since she had met the two Fairy Tail mages.
"You two put me at ease, despite my natural fear. This is a good sign. It will make me easier to defeat and to devour." said Malice calmly as a mace appeared in her hand.
The mace appeared to be incredibly heavy, and it was flanged, the steel head of the weapon being at least twice the size of Lucy's fist. It was made of steel and Malice rested the head of the mace on the ground. Lucy took out a golden key and raised it into the air, Karis preparing to fight against Malice as well.
"Open, the Gate of Capricorn!" shouted Lucy as the celestial spirit appeared out of its gate, staring Malice down, his sunglasses hiding his eyes. The celestial spirit mage looked at Karis. "I'll take the first shot!"
Before Karis could respond, the celestial spirit shot forward with incredible speed, his body becoming a blur as Malice raised the mace with ease. She wasn't fast enough. The force of Capricorn's attack was enough to create a sizeable dent in the concrete walls, but the attack struck flesh and bone, the immortal girl smashing into the wall, slumping against the concrete wall, blood slowly pooling around her. Karis gritted her teeth, and Lucy looked away. Capricorn glanced at Lucy, his voice neutral.
"I'm sorry, miss. She was a threat to you and your friend, so I had to use extreme force. Please f-"
"No, it's not over yet."
The three mages looked at Malice in surprise. Their eyes widened as they saw the small girl stand back up, the blood quickly disappearing. Malice returned their surprised looks with an almost insane grin. She lifted the mace, and pointed the deadly head at Lucy. Capricorn put his fists back up, preparing for another attack.
"You will never devour me. I will devour you!" shouted Malice as Capricorn dashed forward, repeating the same forceful attack.
The immortal mage didn't blink an eye as she slashed the mace in the empty air with incredible speed, keeping the grin on her face as Capricorn fell to the ground, grabbing at several wounds. The celestial spirit seemed to be in serious pain despite being immortal.
"Capricorn, are you alright?" shouted Lucy as the celestial spirit grabbed the wounds, Malice looking at the two Fairy Tail mages.
"I-I must retreat. I'm sorry, my lady!" replied Capricorn weakly as his form faded away, Lucy's hands tightening into a fist.
Karis slowly made her way to the front, reaching for two amulets. She was completely focused on Malice. To be honest, she was scared out of her mind to be fighting someone who couldn't be killed. She was an S-Class mage, but an immortal mage? Karis wasn't sure, but she certainly wasn't going to show fear. She pulled the amulets out, a brilliant burst of light coming from the amulets. Malice took a step back from the incredibly bright light, as two figures appeared, standing in front of Karis. One was a blonde woman wearing a white dress, angelic wings protruding from her back, and the other was a small boy in purple armor, wearing a helmet over his face.
"I think it's time I showed you what I can do. You don't scare me! Raphael, Gabriella, avenge Capricorn!" shouted Karis as the titans prepared to attack, Gabriella producing a golden bow, stringing several arrows, and a large purple sword appearing in Raphael's hand.
The two titans were about to attack when suddenly there was a third flash of light, the well-dressed form of Loke joining them. The handsome celestial spirit adjusted his sunglasses, and smirked as he looked at Malice.
"She's the one who defeated Capricorn? Well, Lucy, you've found yourself a very strong opponent." said Loke confidently as Lucy nodded her head, tightening her fists.
"She's immortal, so you can't kill her! Try to make it so she can't move anywhere!" shouted Lucy, not wanting to really hurt Malice.
The celestial spirit nodded, and the three attacked. They moved quickly, Gabriella releasing her arrows, rays of light flying towards the immortal mage. Loke and Raphael charged forward, ready to attack the immortal. Malice reacted quickly to the attack from Gabriella. A single swing of the mace was enough to send a few of the rays of light flying away, but some struck the wall behind the immortal, cracking the concrete. However, she was not fast enough to dodge Loke's fist of light, the attack slamming straight into Malice's stomach. The immortal swung the mace as she skid backwards, a blade of wind cutting Loke's right arm.
"She's pretty good, but she's not fast. I believe I've found her weakness." said Loke coolly as he charged forward, fists glowing.
The celestial spirit charged forward, smashing his fist into the immortal's face as she was getting back up, the blood disappearing from the floor and walls. Malice smashed against the wall once more, and Loke looked victorious, until he felt a sharp pain. He stumbled back to look where the pain was coming from. Blood dripped from Loke's chest, the mace's flanged blades cutting through his chest. Malice grinned and leaned into the celestial spirit, and whispered darkly.
"You may have found my weakness, but can you even exploit it? Blade of Wind."
The reaction was immediate. Loke was blown away, sliding across the ground, leaving streaks of blood on the concrete floor. Lucy and Karis were completely stunned by the sudden show of force. It was like her personality had dramatically changed! Loke slowly stood up, spitting out blood as he turned to looked at Lucy, his face bloody, but burning with anger.
"Lucy, I don't think any of us can really beat her. We're going to have to buy Karis enough time to finish her off. Use the magic of the stars." said Loke seriously as Malice swung the mace once again.
Immediately, the room was filled with flailing blades of wind, cutting up the walls of the tunnel. Loke tackled Lucy to the ground as soon as the attack started, and Raphael blocked the blades with his sword, protecting Karis. The S-Class mage looked down the tunnel where Malice was standing, swinging the mace. Something seemed odd to her. It seemed as if the immortal mage was not truly there. The blades disappeared, and Lucy called back Loke, opening Gemini's gate, the twin celestial spirits appearing, and turning into a copy of Lucy. The celestial spirit locked hands with her copy, and she looked at Karis.
"Karis, I'm going to use the strongest move I have. This will hopefully knock her down enough for you to finish her off. I didn't want Malice to die, but I don't think we have a choice. This is my final attack. If this fails, it's all over! Urano Metoria!" screamed Lucy, incredible light gathering around her body, Karis forced to look away from the bright light. Lucy seemed to go into a trance as she chanted, the light growing around her.
Malice seemed to recognize the spell, and she swung the mace back and growled like an animal as she smashed it into the ground, the ground splitting from the force.
"You will not devour me! Hurricane Gale Force!" screamed Malice as the entire hallway seemed to twist as howling winds appearing, speeding towards Lucy.
The entire room flashed green as the winds reached Lucy, but at that exact moment, the ultimate magic of the stars was released, sending light and cutting winds slamming into each other. Karis covered her eyes as Gabriella and Raphael shielded her from the forces of two incredibly powerful attacks. There was another flash of green light as Lucy was blown back, slamming into the ground, unconscious, and Gemini quickly returned to their gate. Karis uncovered her eyes to see Malice still standing, few wounds on her body. She was heaving, but still standing.
"Impossible…" said Karis, shocked to see Malice still standing after the incredible force of Urano Metoria.
The immortal took a step forward, but stumbled, Karis then realizing that the attack had taken a lot of strength from a small girl like Malice. She realized that now was the perfect time to end the fight and she ordered her two titans to fight. Gabriella shot her arrows, and all of them hit, Malice's blood pouring from the wounds, and Raphael swung his sword as he got up close, the blade slashing across Malice's chest, the girl falling to the ground, a pool of blood surrounding her. The three moved quickly, and the two titans held down Malice's arms, and the mace was kicked away. Karis knelt down next to Malice, ignoring the puddle of blood that was quickly disappearing. She was so young, but she was dragged into so much pain.
Soon enough, the immortal's eyes snapped open, her eyes looking around the room wildly. She saw Karis's face and smiled.
"It's finally over…please…end this all." whispered Malice as Karis tried not to look at Malice's sad face.
Tears threatened to spill as Karis looked away. Malice was whispering how to devour an immortal, but Karis wasn't listening. She was still having a hard time believing that the same nice girl they met on the way to Fairy Tail was lying on the ground, in so much pain. Eventually, Karis looked over to see Malice close her eyes, and whisper a couple more words before falling into what appeared be deep sleep.
"They came from the Mirror of Pain…."
…
I'm still trying to get my writing back up, so this chapter wasn't as good. This story was originally supposed to be a standalone story, but I decided that there would be a sequel or something of the sort. I might have a one-shot tomorrow, I'm not sure. Anyways, sorry for the wait, and I hope you review, and I will see you all later! FF