Title: A New Dragon Enters Earthland

Chapter: 6, The Knight Vs. The dragon

Erza POV

Erza stepped down from her vehicle and stared at the man standing calmly in front of her. He had a certain energy about him and his height prevented her from looking him in the eye. He was tall, at least a head taller than her and, not that she would admit it to anyone, a handsome face. She would guess that he is in his mid twenties. A mop of light brown hair on his exposed head and light blue eyes, which seemed to see too much. She looked away from his scrutiny. Underneath the stubble on his face, she could see a thin white scar on one cheek. At the base of his neck, almost covered by his robes, is a burn scar, she wondered how big it really was. Erza shifted on her feet, but resisted the urge to fidget with her hands.

The man wasn't just tall, she realized. A fine wool robe, hung from his broad shoulders and covered his torso. It seemed of excellent make, with fur trim and elegant stitching in a contrasting color. Strapped to his belt were three daggers and a sword in its scabbard on his hip. Hanging from the man's shoulder was a small leather pack that was buckled shut. Erza wondered what strange things it might contain.

She looked down, little movements of gloved fingers caught her attention. As he fidgeted, a light breeze blew through the trees, making his loose robes ripple. As they did, Erza thought she saw a shimmer of light on the fabric. Shaking her head she looked at his hands and feet. They were covered in armor made out of wide, dark scales. They weren't for just for show, the gauntlets showed signs of battle, deep sword or claw marks crisscrossed the material. On his left boot, Erza could see what looked like tooth marks of some large beast gouged into the armor. Overall, the armor and robes seemed to be very expensive. She wondered what beast the scales were from.

She looked back up to the man's piercing blue eyes.

"What's your name?" Erza demanded.

The man's hand twitched towards his sword's hilt but stopped. He was silent for a moment before he replied. "I am Ysmir Dovahkiin." The man said, bowing his head slightly. He had some sort of accent Erza wasn't familiar with, but she could understand him. "And you?"

"Erza Scarlet," she said, putting her fists on her hips and rolling the strange word over in her mind and wondering at its meaning. "What business do you have here?"

The man named Ysmir was silent for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms over his chest. "Tried to get a meal. They wanted a fight," he said in a neutral tone and shrugging his massive shoulders. Pointing behind him with his thumb he continued to stare at Erza. "Most of them should still be alive. I think."

Erza narrowed her eyes in scrutiny, fists still on her hips. This man didn't sit right with her. Did he fight the entire dark guild by himself, and win, just because they refused to serve him a meal? He must be powerful she thought, eyeing the daggers and the sword on his belt with new respect.

She was about to reply when two tiny red ears popped up over the man's right shoulder, quickly followed by a small cat face. The small cat stood up on the man's large shoulder and looked shyly at Erza. The cat reminded her of a smaller version of Happy if he had red fur and was wearing a little pink dress. Ysmir saw that Erza was staring at Khasi and cleared his throat to get her attention.

Looking back at the man, Erza crossed her arms over her armored chest and leaned back on one leg. "What guild do you represent?"

"No guild."

Erza waited for him to elaborate, but he kept silent. "Where're you from?" she said, starting to get impatient.

"A long way from here."

Erza brought a gauntleted hand to her face pinched the bridge of her nose and grinded her teeth together in frustration. This man was getting on her nerves. She was used to people following her orders and answering her questions without hesitation. She walked towards Ysmir and stood in front of him hands on her hips once more. She had to arch her neck to look into his eyes.

"Why are you here?" She demanded.

The man lowered his arms and looked down at her with narrowed eyes.

/

This woman was getting on his nerves. All her demanding irked him. Her posture spoke of someone who usually got what she wanted. And now she was in his face. Ysmir , kept silent, and gave the red-haired woman a hard look.

One of her eyes twitched. "If you're not going to talk," said Erza angrily. "Get out of my way. I have business to attend to."

Ysmir had enough. He will not be bossed around by a mere stranger. It was time he put her in her place. He took in a breath.

"Fus!"

The partial shout exploded from his mouth, catching the woman by surprise and making her stumble back a few steps with a startled look on her face. Catching herself from falling, she managed to stay on her feet and cast an angry glance at Ysmir. He signaled Khasi and gestured with a nod to the trees some distance away. Khasi gave a little nod in reply flew off. Looking back to Erza, Ysmir saw that she almost had a glowing red aura around her.

"You," she said between clenched teeth. "Dare?"

There was a flash of light, a red circle appeared in the air filled with arcane symbols. From it Erza pulled out a shining steel sword and held it at the ready in front of her. It didn't matter to Ysmir; he'd better get used to seeing strange magic. Ysmir drew his blade from his sheath and held it in front of him with both hands on the hilt, ready to attack or defend as necessary. It's been a long time since he had a good sword fight. And judging by her stance, she knows what she is doing.

With a yell, Erza made the first move, rushing at Ysmir, swinging her sword horizontally towards his midsection. Ysmir parried the blade with his own and followed by swiping at her exposed neck.

Erza bent back and avoided the blade. Swinging her legs up, she kicked Ysmir in the jaw, knocking his head back. She cartwheeled back a few paces and held her sword at the ready once again. Ysmir's free hand rubbed his aching jaw, and he smiled. Dropping his hand, he shouted.

"Wuld!"

Surprising her, Ysmir shot across the ground closing the distance between the two combatants in a blink of an eye. Ysmir's armored fist smashed against Erza's midriff, leaving a large fist sized dent in the metal. Spittle flew from Erza's gaping mouth as the smaller combatant's feet left the ground. Ysmir tried to follow up with a blow to the back of her head with the pommel of his sword, but was interrupted by Erza summoning forth another sword and slicing upwards with both blades at Ysmir's stomach as she stood.

"Woah!" Yelled Ysmir, stepping back to avoid the blades.

Alright, he thought, she can pull weapons from thin air. What else can this woman do?

Ysmir's thoughts were interrupted by a loud yell from Erza, and he was soon being pressured by the now dual wielding woman. Ysmir was slowly being pushed back. Dodging, blocking, parrying each blade with his own Ysmir was still smiling. A challenging opponent! This woman's blows were powerful and accurate. Her stance was perfect. Catching her eyes with his own, he saw a determination like no other. Like a fire burning inside of her. He also noticed something else…

Focussing back on the fight, Ysmir took a few experimental swipes at his opponent, making her take a few steps back. Ysmir pressed and took another swing at her, which she blocked with a flick of her wrist. With a shout Erza retaliated by swinging both swords towards Ysmir's midsection. He jumped back, but not fast enough to stop both blades from tearing into his robes. Through the two tears, Erza saw that the man had more of that strange scale armor underneath the fabric.

Ysmir stepped back and looked down at the two horizontal tears in his robes. A frown formed on his lips as he looked back up to his opponent. These were his favorite robes!

He rushed forward and swung at Erza. Using both blades she was able to fend him off. She caught his sword with hers and pushed him back. Ysmir stepped to the side when Erza took a large swing at him. Using the pommel of his sword, Ysmir hit her in the back, making her stumble forward with a grunt. Before she could recover, she heard Ysmir turn, crunching the dirt under his boots and take in a breath.

"Fus Ro Dah!"

Before Erza knew what was happening, she was sent crashing through the wall of the guild hall and into the bar on the other side of the room. Ysmir chuckled and followed after her. Stepping through the broken doorway, Ysmir was blinded by a bright yellow light.

When the light faded Erza was standing in a completely different set of armor and a furious look on her face. Plate armor covered her chest, with a large metal flower over it, and a large billowing skirt with metal plating in the upper area covered her legs. Her stomach and neck are uncovered, and large metal wings that appear to be made of individual blades, as well as a wing-like headpiece.

Ysmir's first thought of the armor was that it showed off much of her feminine characteristics. His second thought, why she left so much of said characteristics and skin exposed. He got his answer a second later when about two dozen swords appeared as flashes of light in the air around her. The swords, along with the two in her hands, and the armor made her look quite imposing, but he wasn't intimidated.

He grinned. "An impressive trick, Scarlet!" He shouted, bringing his sword up, ready for an attack.

Erza wordlessly shouted and jumped at him from across the room using the metal wings to glide through the air, confirming his suspicions. As she flew at him, she slashed the two swords in her hands across his chest. Ysmir barely was able to block the two strikes before she flew past. She was quickly followed by the mass of swords she summoned. Ysmir was able to dodge or block most of the flying blades as they flew past, but was left with several new scratches on his cheek and new tears in his robes.

"Dance, my Blades!"

Turning, Ysmir saw that Erza was getting ready for another attack. This time she had her floating swords spinning around her, shredding the remaining chairs and tables in the room. With a gesture she sent several groups of swords spinning at him fast enough that they appeared as disks.

Ysmir ducked under the first, that ended up hitting a large wooden column and exploded. He then rolled to the side to dodge the second, which impacted against the remains of the bar leaving nothing behind but splinters and the smell of alcohol. Ysmir was too slow to avoid the third spinning wheel of swords.

The spinning blades crashed into Ysmir's chest. When they did, the swords exploded outwards, giving Ysmir more cuts and bruises. The explosion of blades sent Ysmir through one of the remaining walls of the large building and sent him crashing into one of the large trees on the edge of the forest with a loud thud.

Shaking his head, Ysmir got to his feet. Looking back at the large hole on the wall that he just made was Erza with a smug smile. The two swords in her hands and the two dozen floating around her shined brilliantly in the sunlight. Ysmir smiled back and shouted, as he did he saw Erza tense up.

"Yol Toor Shul!" Fire exploded from his mouth with the last word and went racing towards a surprised Erza.

The fire crashed against the building, shattering the wall and igniting what was left. There was a flash of light as the wave of fire reached Erza. But it was soon engulfed in the flame.

Ysmir lowered his sword for a moment, waiting to see what happened to his opponent. He did not believe for a second that she was defeated. When he looked into her eyes he saw that determination and he was convinced.

No, he thought, she would not be defeated so easily.

Ysmir didn't know what he expected. Maybe for her to have dodged the flames, or for her to of have used those wings on her armor to fly into the sky. What he did not expect her to do is to charge at him wearing yet another completely different set of armor.

And Ysmir thought he could swap armor pieces quickly. Ha! this woman put him to shame in that regard.

The armor she changed into is dark red predominantly, but also sports orange and black parts, with the first ones being shaped like flames and the second resembling what Ysmir determined to be Dragon's limbs. It's basically made up of three different parts: the revealing breastplate with Dragon like wings attached to it, the orange gauntlets and the Dragon claw shaped greaves. Erza's hair is tied into a pair of high, long pigtails.

"What is with this woman and her armor choices?" Ysmir said quietly to himself as he brought his sword up in preparation.

Ysmir also saw that she changed weapons as well. Instead of the two steel swords she had previously, she was now wielding a large sword which is mostly dark red in color. With the exception of a small sliver of black in the middle, and orange decorations on its hand guard.

As she flew at him, he noticed that she was leaving a trail of fire and smoke in her wake. She slashed at the air with her sword and a wave of fire flew from the blade. Ysmir acted quickly and formed a Frost Spell in his left hand. Raising his hand, he released the spell, and a freezing blast of ice and wind flew from his outstretched palm. The resulting explosion of steam obscured his vision. Throught the cloud, Ysmir saw a red comet fly at him and moved his sword to intercept Erza's red blade with his white. As the two met, small arches of red energy bounced between the two blades as they clashed against each other. Ysmir could feel the heat coming off her blade, much like his own.

Ysmir took in a deep breath. As he did, Erza's knee came up and hit him in the stomach. With a grunt, Ysmir's plan to shout Erza away was thwarted as he bent at the waste to cushion the blow. Stumbling back a few steps, Ysmir looked back at Erza and flashed her a toothy grin before Swinging his sword in an overhead strike.

As the two were locked together, Ysmir noticed something on Erza's right shoulder that interested him greatly. Stamped onto her skin is a dark blue symbol. The same exact one that Ysmir kept seeing. The curved lines were unmistakeable.

Ysmir laughed as he fought against Erza. She gave him a confused look. What are the odds that someone bearing the symbol of the guild he was asked to search for would find him here? He had to wonder if the Daedra had a role to play in this and that stopped his laughter.

Ysmir tried to focus back to the battle at hand, but the prospect of finding out what was so special about this guild made it increasingly difficult. He thought about asking her about it right then and there, but the thought was dashed when she dug her feet into the dirt and started to force Ysmir back.

If Erza Scarlet is indeed a part of the guild Ysmir is looking for… he probably shouldn't of have tried to kill her.

An idea popped into Ysmir's head. With a heave Ysmir pushed Erza back, her feet leaving skid marks in the dirt. As expected she charged at him, her vicious red sword above her head. As she brought it down, aiming to crush his head, Ysmir made it look like he left an opening in his defenses. Erza took the bait and went for it, bringing her sword down in an overhead strike.

Erza was surprised when Ysmir missed blocking her attack. She thought that he was getting tired and sluggish. She expected him to block or parry but instead, Ysmir's sword missed her blade completely. At first she was confident that she landed the killing blow, and allowed the momentum of the swing to continue, but to her shock, he caught her blade on his wrist. Trusting his armor to keep his hand from being severed from his body. Erza's red blade bit into the steel-like scales and got stuck.

Using his free hand, Ysmir fed magica into a spell. Bright blue sparks formed over his palm as he shoved his hand against Erza's armored stomach. It was a gamble. One that would hopefully give him the advantage. Ysmir assumed that Erza's armor was resistant to fire, which is why she switched to it and because of the obvious fire like designs on the armor itself, but was not be resistant to shock spells.

While Erza attempted to dislodge her sword from his gauntlet, Ysmir released the spell and sent it coursing through her armor. The spell discharged and sent Erza stumbling towards the burning building, ripping her sword off of Ysmir's gauntlet as she did.

Both of Erza's pigtails were standing straight in the air, making her head look like a two giant, red dandelions were stuck to her head. Her entire body twitched with electricity as it arced through her armor. It took her a moment to recover, but at that point in time it was too late.

Ysmir expected her to recover quickly so while she was still stunned, he ran at her with both hands on his sword. Not able to dodge the attack, it was all Erza could to to bring her sword up in defense as Ysmir brought his arms back and swung his sword like a bat. The blow was softened by Erza's strength and her armor, but she was still sent shooting through the burning building like a red comet. A second later there was a loud crack followed by something landing hard on the wood floor.

A drop of sweat fell from his nose as Ysmir looked down at his hands. He could get used to this. All this strength was amazing. Shaking his head he started walking towards the guild hall. He took in a few quick breaths of clean air before entering the burning building through one of the large holes Erza or himself created.

Once inside Ysmir saw that everything was broken or burning. The bar was on fire, as he was walking past, several of the surviving barrels exploded from the heat. The alcohol left inside caused the fire to burn hotter. The remains of the tables and chairs were already burning. Horace Hobbs, the late barkeep, was buried underneath a collapsed section of the ceiling in the middle of the room, recognizable by the only thing left of him, his boot.

Ysmir looked around. Besides the unconscious form of Erza at the base of a large, cracked wooden pillar, there were no other people in sight. They must of have regained consciousness as Ysmir and Erza were fighting and ran. Cowards.

"Good riddance." Said Ysmir to no one in particular. He didn't need to deal with them right now anyway.

Ysmir made his way through the burning building to Erza. Once there, he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. She was a lot lighter than he expected. After a seconds hesitation, he also took her sword with him. The pillar she crashed into cracked, causing the entire building to shudder. Ysmir decided it is time to go.

He started to make his way out of the building, stepping around burning furniture and avoiding falling debris along the way. He was almost out when a large section of the wall and ceiling collapsed in front of him, sending hot ash and sparks into Ysmir's face. The debris created a large burning wall between Ysmir and escape. Ysmir rolled his eyes and took in a breath of the smoke filled air.

"Fo!"

A blast of freezing wind washed over the flames, extinguishing them like candles. Ysmir walked over the now frozen wood with no problem and stepped outside.

Once clear of the building, Ysmir walked over to the odd looking carriage that Erza arrived in and leaned her against one of its large wheels. He was surprised that it was still here, he would of have thought one of the Charging Bulls would of have taken it. Once making sure that she wouldn't fall, Ysmir walked back and to one of the trees a few paces away. Still able to keep an eye on her, Ysmir took a seat.

As Ysmir's back slid down the tree's rough trunk, the building he just walked out of shuddered and sound of breaking wood and shattered tile deafened Ysmir for a moment as the building broke apart. A billowing cloud of black smoke trailed into the sky as the fire consumed what was left. Ysmir brought one hand up and rubbed the back of his neck as he followed the trail of smoke into the air.

Hopefully I won't make a habit of this, he thought as he leaned against the tree.

/

End Ch. 6