Chapter 35
'Thinking' – thoughts
"Speaking" – speech
'Thinking' – Dragon/God/Beast thinking
"Speaking" - Dragon/God/Beast speaking
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters they are the property of Hiro Masima.
NinjaFang1331: Thank you
Ushidi: Thank you, Wendy has a lot of potential to develop a lot in this story compared to cannon. 1. I haven't made any decisions regarding this. 2. Its an interesting concept but it wasn't really expanded on apart form throwing them in the cannon story, especially Devil Slayer.
BoredAsUsual34: Hopefully the story is enjoyable
kronosthetiatnoftime: I am happy I was able to captuer your interest, Here you ahve the next chapter.
-With Natsu-
Looking up at the smirking Jellal, Natsu released a sigh as he knelt on one knee and placed his hand on the ground, feeling the increasing rumbling emanating from the ground but not paying attention to it as there were other things that took priority.
"Giving up already, what a disappointment," Jellal said with a sigh as he charged his right hand with a massive amount of magic power.
"I tried to preserve the work Mike already put into your recovery, but sadly it seems like I will have to apologise to him for the work he did in vain," Natsu said, his eyes locked on his hand while his power began to rise while the rotting and corrupted colour of the forest withered to a deathly grey.
"A second wind? It's too late for a Hail Mary play. The force to pierce all will reign down upon you and rip you to shreds," Jellal shouted as the magic in his hand formed into a swirling mass of green and gold that he threw at Natsu while shouting "From the Void: Dark Heavenly Body: Galactic Quasar". The green magic continued to swirl until its form resembled a galaxy with the golden magic converging on the epicentre of the attack.
"This is not a second wind, this is merely Death cementing the inevitable as it comes for all, and for you, the time is now," Natsu said as two decaying wings burst from his back while scales crept over his face and arms. The golden magic from Jellal's attack exploded from the galactic green swirl and barrelled towards Natsu who now had a massive grey aura lined with purple highlights covering his form, only revealing his winged silhouette and radiating violent purple orbs with slight black slits.
A massive vortex of purple and grey magic exploded from the grey aura and charged at the approaching beam of golden magic as Natsu's call sounded across the area "Death Dragon Secret Art: Decaying Grasp: Death Dragon's Desolation Roar". The two attacks met and immediately dispersed in all directions, forming two walls of magic, one a chaotic mix of purple and grey, and the other a blinding expanse of gold.
Jellal quickly supplied more power to his attack by joining both his hand at the base of his palms with his hands open and arms together. He smirked as he saw a dent forming in the power struggle of their attacks, however, he missed the fact that the edges of his golden wave were starting to wane as the opposing purple and grey attack started to seep over.
"The Void is your retribution," Jellal shouted as he focused the power in his attack on the spot where he thought he was gaining ground, unbeknownst to him, this caused Natsu's attack to conquer the outer battle that it was already winning. Jellal's attack started to make slight progress in pushing the centre of Natsu's attack back, but the glee Jellal felt didn't last long as he saw his golden beam being covered in the wave of death magic and extinguished.
Quickly realising that he was in danger of taking the powerful attack full on as the seeping death consumed the gold and green magic indiscriminately. Disappearing from where he stood and reappearing close by, Jellal narrowly avoided the vortex of death as it demolished what little was left of the decaying Worth Wood Sea. He marvelled at the destructive power behind the attack and didn't sense Natsu's advance, only being notified that his opponent arrived when he felt a blow to his cheek as Natsu called out "Death Dragon Devastating Fist".
Quickly following up on his initial attack, Natsu called out "Death Dragon Death Blast", sending a ball of purple and grey energy after Jellal. The energy ball exploded as soon as it made contact with Jellal, gaining a grunt of pain from the man as he was rag-dolled into the remnants of a once standing tree, completely destroying what was left and finding himself staring another approaching attack quickly approaching, this time two whips of magic that were closing in on him while humming with power.
"Da Leixing" Jellal called out as multiple lightning blades appeared around him like a protective barrier. They did their job in stopping the attack from landing but it did little against Natsu who was once again advancing and closing in on his prone position. Rolling out of the way of another punch from the Draconic Natsu's punch that cracked the ground, Jellal managed to get back on his feet.
"Death Dragon Claw" Natsu called out, bringing his clawed hand down on Jellal who countered by calling out "Dark Meteor", coating himself in a green and gold aura and increasing his speed and strength, allowing him to deflect the attack, however leaving him unprepared for the follow-up from Natsu as he called out "Death Dragon Elbow", ramming his magic covered elbow into Jellal's face.
Disappearing into the void and reappearing a short distance away to allow himself some time to recuperate Jellal had to spit out some blood due to a cut on his lip thanks to the elbow he received from Natsu. The green and gold aura reappeared around him before he dashed forward in a burst of speed, charging his next attack as he neared Natsu.
"Heavenly Void: Barrage of Stars" Jellal called out as he started unleashing a barrage of punches, each punch releasing a green or gold star that honed in on Natsu. "Death Dragon Roar" Natsu called out his counter each star being easily overwhelmed by the powerful spell, though the constant chipping at the initial power of the spell resulted in Jellal not being subject to the roar.
"Death Dragon Decaying Fang" Natsu called out as he appeared in front of Jellal with his hands extended in front to him, covered in purple and grey energy in the shape of a Dragon head, one hand representing the top jaw while the other hold the lower jaw. Quickly raising a counter Jellal called out "Abyssal Cross", crossing his arms and coating them in a deep green magical aura.
The impact of Natsu and Jellal's attacks was followed by increasing tremors and a heavy magical aura descending on the Worth Wood Sea.
As the two spells collided and vied for dominance, all four points of Jellal's cross extended and nails started to protrude and slowly extended towards Natsu.
"Prepare to succumb to the abyss, struggle all you want for escape from the abyss is impossible," Jellal said as the protruding nails started to grow with increasing speed.
"Death is the inevitable end of all things, nothing can exist without an end and even your abyss will cease to exist," Natsu said as the effect of his spell started to show signs of its effect. Jellal's attack started to crumble from the outer edges as the magic supply was corroded away.
"It seems like you are making progress, but will you be able to keep this up, or will you fall prey to your overconfidence?" Jellal asked as he started to supply his attack with even more magic as the nails extended faster and quickly closed in on impaling Natsu.
"I am confident, not overconfident, simply because I am more powerful. Dragons stand at the top of the food chain and have ruled the world with their undisputed might. Death is an inevitability, and even those who deem themselves immortal will succumb to its loving embrace, even if it is delayed by centuries. I am the embodiment of both. Your abyss is merely a placeholder for what will fill it next," Natsu said before curling his decaying draconian wings around himself and calling out "Death Dragon Wing Embrace", quickly opening his wings and encasing them in a layer of magic.
The nails from Jellal's Abyss Cross didn't stand a chance against the draconian wings as they smashed against them and shattered the approaching danger while the cross itself deteriorated even further. The surprise on Jellal's face didn't last long as it was quickly conquered by an expression of excruciating pain. Mustering all the strength he could, Jellal threw open his crossed arm, now devoid of magic, to create some space between himself and Natsu.
Jellal slowly looked at the source of his excruciating pain, turning his arms so that his palms face down as horror seeped past the pain on his face. Peering back at him was the bones of his forearms and dripping flesh as it decayed. As Jellal let out a primal scream of rage and suffering, the Worth Wood Sea seemed to respond in kind as the heavy magical aura exploded in an intense pressure and the tremors evolved into a fully-fledged earthquake.
-With Erza and Wendy-
With the hellish world shattered and the dull remnants of the once lush Worth Wood Sea, Erza relaxed her muscles and posture as Midnight lay defeated before her. Erza made her way to the small girl that showed her the way to victory.
When the world around Wendy shattered she only had one thought dominating her mind. 'I knew it wasn't him'. Relief flooded over her as the man who she looked up to did not abandon her. A brief flash of the illusion Erza flashed in her mind as she saw Erza walking towards her but it quickly melted as Erza's expression wasn't the emotionless face of the illusion but one brimming with pride accompanied by a pleasant smile.
"Even though you are so young, you are a powerful mage, yet even more impressive is the mental maturity you have. I am ashamed to say that I would not have seen through the illusion if not for you realising it. Well done Wendy," Erza praised as she gave the young Dragon Slayer a pat on the head.
"Is it over now, have we won?" Wendy asked with a slight blush at the praise from Erza.
"The battle might have been won, but that does not mean that the war is over. Midnight is defeated but their Guild Master Brain is still active and we don't know about the other members of their guild. The best would be to take a quick break to recover from the battle so that we are in the best condition when the next foe approaches," Erza answered as she took a seat next to Wendy and re-quipped a flask of water before offering it to Wendy.
"I can heal your wounds if you have any," Wendy offered as she accepted the flask.
"Thank you, but they aren't that bad and you should rather conserve your magic," Erza advised as the two fell into a calm silence. It did not last though as the ground began to shake violently and the constant pressure of the area had, had increased significantly. Erza was immediately on her feet and ready for combat with Wendy following in kind.
"What is happening?" Wendy asked as her eyes frantically dashed from side to side.
"If we assume the worst, which sadly I believe is the most realistic assumption, Nirvana has been awakened," Erza darkly said.
"Then we need to stop it," Wendy resolved which brought a smile to Erza.
"Well said," Erza agreed before the two took off in the direction where the pillar of magic was a while ago.
-With Jura-
After finding an exhausted Hibiki and a battered and bruised Lucy standing victorious across from Angel, Jura left the Pegasus Mages he had with him with Hibiki while Lucy opted to join him as he returned to advancing on Nirvana.
It wasn't long before the two ran into a beat-up Lyon, a frantic Sherry and an annoyed Gray. After a quick discussion between them to catch up with what the situation between the two groups was, Sherry took Lyon to the Hibiki and the rest of the Blue Pegasus mages while Gray joined Lucy and Jura on their way to Nirvana.
The sudden rumble in the earth only momentarily staggered the three mages, but they were stopped completely when they saw a colossal structure rising up from the ground. The top of the structure resembled a city while the body held a resemblance to a spider with large stone appendixes.
"We need to hasten our pace for our foe has gained the upper hand," Jura said as he started to run towards the hulking behemoth.
"There shouldn't be that many opponents left, but it would be beneficial if we manage to get some more allies once we reach that thing," Lucy said as she pushed herself to keep pace with Jura.
"We need to be realistic though and assume we won't get any help so that we are prepared for whatever might come," Gray added, having an easier time running alongside Jura.
-With Brain-
Victorious laughter echoed around the abandoned and lonely landscape as a powerful beam of pure magic cast an intense magical pressure while the world shook as the ground tore open, revealing the peak of a colossal structure as it started to rise.
"Rise Nirvana, for the future seems bleak for those who believe in the light. Our era of darkness' dawn draws near," Brain declared, his attention momentarily shifting to a rustling nearby, though quickly returning to the ancient superweapon as Cobra stepped into view.
"So this is Nirvana, I can hear the terror of all those who once faced it," Cobra said in awe as he stared at the rising colossus. It quickly became apparent that Nirvana was a massive walking city as it rose from its burial place to once again sow destruction and fear over the world. With the massive city rising from beneath their feet, Brain and Cobra found themselves at the foot of the central temple.
"The dawn of our new era awaits us at the summit, savour the final moments of the light shining on Fiore," Brain said as he led the way up the stairs with Cobra following close behind. At the top, an altar awaited the two where Brain quickly planted his staff and filled the orb with his dark magic.
The magic seeped from the orb down the staff and into the grooves of the altar, illuminating the stony structure with the dark green magic and spreading it out over the temple roof. The seeping magic formed a magic circle, and once the formation was complete a hum could be heard emanating from the temple. Cobra however also heard a soft yet primal shriek from somewhere deep within the colossal structure of Nirvana.
"The Dawn of Darkness has arrived," Brain exclaimed as the ancient limbs on the weapon creaked to life and started to mobilise while the pillar of magic that surrounded the awakening flooded the forest floor below. Cobra dismissed the shriek he heard as a different, yet familiar sound reached his ears. A momentarily surprised expression formed on his face before his smirk returned.
"I'm surprised by his resilience," Cobra commented with his smirk still present as Cubellios slithered around his form. "Poison Dragon Roar" Cobra shouted out as he heard his foe calling out "Fire Dragon Roar".
The two attacks collided in a spectacular combination of a stream of dark maroon poison and a brilliant orange vortex. The two attacks dispersed one another, leaving a halo consisting of the dark maroon poison illuminated by the brilliant orange of the flames with Haru, sporting two white wings belonging to Happy, right in the centre.
"Cobra, I'm not done with you yet," Haru shouted as Happy's wings folded in on themselves, making Haru more aerodynamic and making his descent increase in speed. Flames formed around his fist as he quickly closed the distance between him and Cobra.
"I'm not sure how you survived my poison, but I will make sure you won't be able to repeat it," Cobra said as he surrounded his fist with his potent poison.
"Fire Dragon Iron Fist", "Poison Dragon Bane Fist" Haru and Cobra called out their respective attacks as their fists met in another blend of dark maroon and brilliant orange. Happy opened his wings and started to spin Haru vertically as Haru called out "Fire Dragon Talon", performing a bicycle kick infused with his fire magic. Cobra was prepared for this as he countered with his own "Poison Dragon Talon", spinning out of the way and meeting Haru's vertical kick with a horizontal one of his own.
Cobra motioned for Cubellios to attack by flicking his index and middle fingers while keeping the other three fingers in a fist, towards Haru and Happy. Cubellios struck out with its tail, toppling the deadlock Haru and Cobra was in as the tail struck Haru's side, sending him and Happy flying off to the side.
Luckily for the Fairy Tail mage, Happy managed to quickly recover from the abrupt movement and corrected his partner so that they were hovering in the sky once more.
"Man that snake is annoying. Fighting Cobra and the snake is really troublesome," Haru commented as he rubbed his side.
"Do you think we can separate them?" Happy asked.
"No ideas are coming to mind right now, but maybe we can separate them while we stay out of their reach," Haru suggested.
"Might as well try," Happy agreed as he flew the two closer to Cobra and Cubellios.
"I'm curious to see how you plan on separating myself from Cubellios, in fact, I will give you a free shot, so try your best," Cobra said with a cocky smirk as scales crawled over his arms and his fingers elongated into claws.
"I'll make you regret that," Haru said as he gathered flames in his hands. Bringing his hands together a large ball of flames formed, growing in power as Haru supplied it with more magic.
"You ready for this?" Haru asked before releasing the attack while shouting "Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame". As the flaming ball of destruction neared Cobra, the dark mage simply grinned, however, the attack never landed as a mass of darkness exploded from the altar while the two battling mages could hear Brain calling out "Dark Rondo". The mass of darkness completely changed the course of Haru's attack, resulting in it impacting one of the buildings away from the temple and crumbling the structure with the explosion.
"Cobra, do not cause unnecessary damage to this temple. If you want to toy with this mage, do it somewhere else where it won't hinder our plans," Brain said in a threatening tone as he glared at Cobra.
"Fine, I heard you. Cubellios, let's level the playing field," Cobra replied before addressing the snake around him. Cubellios unfurled a set of bat-like wings as Cobra stepped onto the snake's back.
"That snake can fly?" Haru and Happy exclaimed simultaneously as Cubellios lifted Cobra into the sky and hovered level with Haru and Happy.
"Sorry to say but you don't have the advantage you thought you had," Cobra said as he readied for combat.
"Doesn't matter if you can fly as long as we can move around easier, Happy," Haru declared before Happy took off with a burst of speed and an "Aye Sir". Embers sparked to life around Haru's fist as he closed in on Cobra. In response, Cobra started generating a trail of poison behind him originating from his hands.
"I'll deal with you later, it's payback time for stopping my previous attack," Haru shouted as Happy spun out of their current path and sped past Cobra with a direct course now to Brain. Clenching his fists and igniting them in flames Haru prepared his assault on the guild master.
"I already told you last time that I can hear your thoughts," Cobra said in reply and called out "Poison Dragon Wing Attack", pulling the long trail of poison he generated behind him forward. The whip-like trails of poison wrapped around Haru and Happy and slung them back to where they started.
"You won't get to Brain, your my entertainment so be a good little light mage and focus on me," Cobra taunted.
"Seems like I don't have any other option but to smack you around," Haru replied. "Fire Dragon Roar" Haru called out as he spew a mass of fire from his mouth. "Poison Dragon Guard" Cobra called out as a cross of poison appeared that quickly filled up, forming a solid shield in front of him.
"Fire Dragon Wing Attack" Haru followed his roar up, but this time from Cobra's left as Happy had already repositioned them to get around the protective shield. Cobra shifted his stance on Cubellios while the snaked slithered around the fiery whips, avoiding damage before countering with "Poison Dragon Fang Thrust. A wave of poison in the shape of a fanged snake head formed and launched at Haru and Happy.
"Fire Dragon Claw" Haru called out as Happy did a somersault, allowing Haru to counter the poison snake with a powerful flame-enhanced axe kick.
"I never knew light mages were such cowards, never coming in close for a true brawl," Cobra taunted as he gestured for Haru to come in closer with his fingers.
"Everyone knows that you dark mages are the cowards," Haru countered. Happy once again advanced towards Cobra while Haru called out "Fire Dragon Sword Horn" just as Happy released him on a collision course with Cobra. Cobra merely smirked at this and as Haru came in range, countered with "Poison Dragon Sharp Horn".
The protective shell of fire from Haru's attack saved him from the burst of poison that came from Cobra, but he still took a hard hit from the initial punch. Through stubborn resilience, Haru continued his assault while ignoring the blows he received as he called out a string of his close-quarters attacks.
"Fire Dragon Iron First" Haru called out as he swung a left hook at Cobra who easily countered with "Poison Dragon Twin Wings", initially using his poisoned-covered open hand to redirect Haru's punch to miss him and following his defence up by jabbing his fingers in Haru's gut and releasing a mist of poison around the Fire Dragon Slayer that quickly also affected Happy.
"You somehow managed to recover last time, let's see if it was just dumb luck," Cobra said. Cubellios flew away from their stunned opponents to create distance between the two sides of the conflict as poison magic covered both of Cobra's scaled arms. "Poison Dragon Secret Art: Toxic Anomaly: Venom Bane" Cobra called out as the poison magic around arms extended into large maroon draconic claws. Cobra slammed the two claws together with Haru and Happy between them. The poison flooded the systems of the Light Mages as the torrents of venom clashed all around them.
"Now show me the trick you used," Cobra whispered to himself as Cubellios released a hiss.
-With Natsu and Jellal-
'The ways are ever-changing. The paths are ever twisted. Nothing is set. Yet everything is possible. Strength is fleeting. Yet power is eternal,' Jellal heard a whisper in his ears as he saw his decaying flesh pulsing with spurts of regeneration as the voice talking.
"What is happening, I can't be doing this. But with the power that awaits me, all will fall. Why would I be destroying the lives of innocent people? They are the ones who decided to stay weak so they deserve death. I need to atone. I need to destroy," Jellal started rambling to himself, switching between a pained reluctance as his flesh decayed and gloating anger as his flesh regenerated.
A shimmer of an ethereal shadow intertwined with Jellal's as Natsu took a step back to re-evaluate what the change in Jellal's behaviour was. The fact that the decaying of his magic was somehow counteracted, even momentarily without having any magic that might aid in recovery was immediately a cause for concern but when Natsu saw the magical aura that covered Jellal also start to shift, his concerns were elevated as a terrible thought reached his mind. A thought that he needs to deal with as soon as possible and that means there is only one path forward with Jellal.
"Death Dragon Claw" Natsu called out as he raced towards the confused man, magic in the form of a claw covering his hand. Natsu swiped at Jellal which got him out of his confused musing when he felt the claws tear at the side of his face, his focus returning and honing in on Natsu just in time to see the magic-covered elbow approaching, but not soon enough to react as Natsu called out "Death Dragon Elbow". The attack knocked Jellal sideways as Natsu used the momentum to perform a spin while charging his leg with magic and calling out Death Dragon Talons".
Jellal quickly coated his leg in a pulsing magic that changed its colour from dark green to pure gold and back again. What he didn't expect was that each time the colouration and in kind, the attribute of his magic changed between his regular Heavenly Body Magic and his more recent Heavenly Void Magic, the magic faltered, allowing Natsu to easily overcome the guard and land his kick. "Death Dragon Secret Art: Decaying Grasp: Death Dragon's Fist" Natsu called out his next powerful attack as he cocked his fist back and readied his final blow.
'This one is weak. This one is strong. This one is dead, yet this one still walks. This one is alive, yet no life remains. Power no longer lives. Power is born anew,' the same whisper that plagued Jellal's mind returned, initially staying within the confines of Jellal's mind, however, the last part Jellal shouted, not in a voice that belonged to him but with an ancient cry from a beast unknown.
As Natsu released his devastating attack on Jellal, the man let out another ancient and primal roar as blue and pink flames erupted from his mouth to counter the attack. The strange power wasn't strong enough to overcome the large purple and grey fist as it crashed into Jellal and ended their battle.
"Fate is ever-changing. Destiny is always set. Nothing is determined. All is laid bare. The new will falter and wither. The old will rise and conquer. Ever-changing are the ways. The cycle will be renewed. Rebirth is at hand Minion of Death as the War will be retold and a victor will be declared," the ancient voice rasped with power as the ethereal shadow retreated from Jellal's defeated form and dispersed in an eruption of blue and pink flames, but not before leaving Natsu with the final taunt.
Natsu's eyes snapped in the direction of the Cait Shelter Guild as a single question plagued his mind. 'What horror have you unleashed upon this world.'
With the new threat Natsu discovered, he disregarded the current threat of the Oracion Seis in favour of the new unknown that filled Natsu with concern based on its words and what it eluded to.
Natsu case one final look with a deep frown at where Erza and Wendy were, only seeing the two disappearing in the direction of Nirvana, slightly easing his mind as there was someone to go after the remaining members of the Oracion Seis, before dashing away with the only destination he knew of where he might find the required answers to his question. A prayer in his heart that there is another explanation and that what he heard was merely a trick on his mind.
-With Haru-
"Hang in there just a bit longer buddy. It's time to finish this fight," Haru said to his blue companion as the cloud of poison rolled around them. A weakened yet determined 'Aye' answered Haru as the Fire Dragon Slayer focused his on the Dragon's fire flowing through his veins.
From deep within his core, Haru ignited a flame before letting out a roar, the ember erupting into an inferno as it consumed the poisonous cloud and evaporated the toxins from his system and everything around him. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Haru threw a smirk at Cobra who merely had a grin on his face.
"As you can see your poison is useless against me," Haru boasted.
"You are quite the comedian. The amount of magic you used to dispel my poison is so much more than what I needed to use to put you in that situation. It's merely a matter of time," Cobra countered.
"I can easily outlast you, but giving you a beating is so much more appealing," Haru declared as Happy sped forward, the battle between the Dragon Slayers and their companions entering the next round.
"Don't you get tired of ramming your dense head into the same wall over and over again?" Cobra asked as Haru tried to engage in a melee brawl with him, however, Cobra merely dodged and weaved around each punch or kick with little effort before twisting to avoid a right jab from Haru and in the process raising his right leg and landing a heavy kick to Haru's upper leg.
With Happy keeping him close, Haru found himself upside down, continuing his barrage of punches since kicks were out of range in his current position. Igniting his hand in frustration, hoping that the sporadic flames might deal some damage to his evasive opponent.
"Not a bad idea, but I am getting bored of watching your pathetic attempts of putting up resistance. Like the era of light will soon be extinguished, your end is at hand," Cobra said. "Poison Dragon Fang Thrust" Cobra called out as a large fanged snake of poison slammed into Haru and sent him staggering back.
"Poison Dragon Scales" Cobra followed up as he swing his arm and generated a large number of scale-shaped masses of poison that swarmed the skies as they raced towards Haru.
As Happy did his best to avoid the swarm of scales rushing at them, Haru felt him starting to sag. His time running out, Haru knew he had to finish the fight, but nothing had worked so far, especially with his opponent knowing what he wanted to do and having the reactions to dodge or counter all his attacks effectively.
"Get me in close and drop me on him," Haru said as a reckless idea came to his mind.
"I can't do that," Happy protested, his fatigue seeping into his voice.
"Trust me, buddy," Haru said with enough conviction to instantly convince Happy. The little blue cat darted directly at Cobra before heaving Haru forward with the last of his strength before starting to fall to the unforgiving ground below.
'Well that's one way to give up in a fight,' Cobra thought in disappointment as he listened to Haru's mind to see how he will dodge the hail merry attack. An invasive confusion sneaked its way into Cobra's expression as only a single word reached his ears. 'Tekko? What is this idiot on about,' Cobra thought, his confusion at not being able to hear his opponent's thoughts and where the attack will come from providing Haru with an opening to land his first true hit of this fight.
Haru slammed his fist into Cobra's face as a solid band of flames rolled over his knuckles, increasing the damage dealt to Cobra, his thoughts starting to add to his initial single-worded thought, now being a repetition of 'Fire Dragon Tekko Iron Fist'.
"How did you land a hit?" Cobra asked as he recovered from the blow, however, his shock at being hit completely prevented him from raising any defence as Haru's other hand, covered with the same solid band of flames made contact with his chin, separating him from Cubellios and launching him airborne.
Haru quickly switched his target as he continued his combo by punching downward on the snake's body, resulting in both of them falling to the ground. Haru was relentless in his continued attacks as he took the snake back down to the ground where it belonged.
"You dare harm Cubellios in my presence," Cobra roared in anger. "Poison Dragon Scales" Cobra shouted as he released another barrage of poison scales and followed up by gathering power around his hands as he started his descent.
"Fire Dragon Roar" Haru shouted as he released a raging inferno into the sky where Cobra was closing in from. "Poison Dragon Secret Art: Toxic Anomaly: Venom Bane" Cobra called out as the magic he gathered burst out in draconic claws that he quickly used to rip the approaching inferno apart.
What Cobra was not expecting since his rage clouded his thoughts, was that Haru appeared from within the inferno with his arm swinging in a circular fashion. "Fire Dragon Secret Art: Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade" Haru shouted, releasing a point-blank attack on the unsuspecting Cobra. The torrent of destructive flames relentlessly barraged the unprotected Cobra, drawing pained screams from the mage.
As the attack passed, Cobra slumped over and fell to the ground, landing close to where Cubellios lay. With a weak arm, Cobra tried to pull himself closer to his snake companion but the damage that he sustained was too much, resulting in him succumbing to unconsciousness with his arm stretched out.
"Hey Happy, I did it," Haru said as he landed near his partner. It didn't take long for one glaring weakness to register itself as his stomach started to turn and in combination with his exhaustion catching up with him, Haru collapsed in a pile of a groaning mess.
"Happy save me" Haru's please fell on deaf ears as Happy has already fallen unconscious after his weakened form fell to the ground.
-With Jura, Lucy and Gray-
"How are we supposed to find their Guild Master in this massive city?" Gray asked as they continued to run through the ancient streets.
"There has to be some sort of central point that controls this city-sized weapon, my bet would be that is where he will be," Lucy reasoned. Jura came to a stop with Gray and Lucy nearly running into him.
"We need a better vantage point to scout out our route, hold on," Jura stated before calling out "Iron Rock Wall" and creating a platform beneath them that shot up into the sky. As the three reached a high enough altitude to survey the ancient city two things quickly drew their attention.
The first thing Jura noticed was the ominous magic emanating from an altar near the centre of the city, while Gray and Lucy saw the familiar glow of warm orange that was Haru's fire.
"Seems like the hothead managed to achieve something," Gray commented.
"But with this massive thing moving I don't know what more he will be able to do," Lucy brought the mood down a bit.
"I am sure that I know where our target lies in wait. If you are confident that Haru has won his fight but might need assistance, there is a discussion to be had for splitting up," Jura said.
"I'm sure he's just motion sick, that looked like a finisher move from him, I will go and help him," Lucy offered leaving Jura and Gray to confront whoever was at the altar.
"Stay safe and only engage if you have the upper hand, retreat to save yourself or an ally is more honourable than foolishly standing against the odds," Jura relayed his words of wisdom as he lowered the platform he created. With a nod of acknowledgement, Lucy took off in Haru's direction while Jura and Gray advanced on their enemy.
-With Erza and Wendy-
"Are you still okay Wendy?" Erza asked as they reached the outskirts of the giant city.
"Yes, I am. Do you know which way we need to go now?" Wendy asked.
"The best option will be to converge closer to the centre of the city, but we need to keep our wits about us, we don't know what can be waiting around any of the many corners on our path," Erza replied and cautioned. A quick nod from Wendy was all there was time for as the two sprinted forward, Erza in the vanguard, prepared to face whatever is willing to pounce and Wendy bringing up the rear, a watchful eye and ear at the ready for what might prefer more stealthy approaches.
It didn't take long before something happened. A large tower Erza and Wendy was busy passing started to crumble. Being in a better position, Wendy called out "Sky Dragon Roar" allowing the twister of wind to change the path of the falling rubble and send it to crash into the ground to their left.
"Show yourself and face us," Erza demanded as she drew her sword and edged back to be closer to Wendy, who held her own offensive stance.
"Change is constant. Nothing is set. Courage shows. Fear controls," an ancient voice rasped as the rubble returned to the tower, now restored.
"A time mage? Be on your guard Wendy, this is an unknown foe," Erza warned as her mind travelled to the abilities of a certain councilwoman who had stood against them in the past and what she was capable of.
"None of the Oracion Seis has any time magic right?" Wendy asked as her ears strained to pick up any indication of where the enemy might be.
"No, and that means either they have a new ally, or something old that is connected to Nirvana is here, and unfortunately whatever it is is under the control of the remaining Oracion Seis members," Erza concluded.
"The war will resume. The victor decided anew. Change is here and history rewritten once more," the voice rasped as its ancient power swelled in the area.
Hey everyone. Here is the latest chapter and the introduction to the conclusion of this arc. I have some fun ideas on how this final conflict will take place that you will have to wait for. After this arc, there will be a bit of my own story before the Edolas Arc can start, and I have some interesting ideas I want to explore there, hehe. Jellal had his part in this arc ended quite abruptly as something old and dangerous showed its head. Please let me know what you thought with a review and I will see you next time.