Chapter VI
Hello to all! I come with yet another new chapter of Miasma Saga: Fairy Tail's Demon King. ...Though you probably knew that already. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the previous chapter, it seems most of you did. I also hope you enjoy this one as well, be sure to post a review if you do. Anyway, I would like to thank my coauthors Bakuto Masaki and TheLastNanaya for all their help with this story. Still unsure about when to include those Omake lemons, so how about you all tell me when you think they should be included? That aside, time for the reviewer responses.
superpeirce: Yes, he is.
ParkerThomas: Thanks. Heheh, glad my FanFic filled that little hole. I can guarantee nothing.
Well, that was concise but there you have it. So, shall we move on to the main event of the chapter?
In Lucy's apartment, Lucy sat on one of her seats in thought. "Hmm…I wonder…"
Sergio glanced at her curiously. "What? How Wolf joined? I want to know too."
Lucy flattened her brow in annoyance. "No," she deadpanned. "Mira said that Gajeel guy is an Iron Dragon Slayer, didn't she?"
"Yes."
Lucy paled in thought. "B-but wouldn't that mean that he…ya know…eats metal…?"
"Yeah. So?"
"It's…kinda creepy…"
Sergio shrugged. "You haven't met Muzet. So, how'd you join Fairy Tail, Lucy?"
Lucy chuckled weakly. "Oh, uh, y-you don't really care about that…"
"Oh? Why? Embarrassing story?"
Sniper Wolf turned to him and answered, "From what I heard, she was nearly picked up by some slaver named Bora, but Natsu managed to stop him."
"Ah. I see. How about you, Cana?"
"I…" Cana began before smirking. "I've just sorta been here my whole life." She then laughed unconvincingly. "I don't even remember why I joined because it's been so long."
Sergio frowned incredulously but then turned to Sniper Wolf. "I see…how 'bout you, Wolf?"
Sniper Wolf smirked in response. "Well that is a story that happened four years ago when I was still a mercenary and was on a hunting job."
Sergio smirked in amusement. "Now this sounds interesting."
"Yeah. I was hunting a beast in the mountains when I encountered this young redheaded mage who had just killed my prey and was about to haul it off and collect my bounty. Naturally, I would not allow it."
Erza coughed into her hand.
"She was also a bit arrogant and thought she was better than me because of her rank and that I lacked one and wasn't part of a guild. I ended up shooting through and off every bit of armor she had and she barely touched me thanks to my rifle being made from reinforced ebony."
Erza whistled to the side unconvincingly.
"Does she really think she's fooling anyone…?" Lucy asked incredulously.
"And then after beating her I ended up having to haul her unconscious form back to town with a piece of the beast," Sniper Wolf continued.
"Impressive," Sergio remarked.
"After that she woke up and asked me to take her back to her guild. One thing led to another and I ended up a member."
"I can't believe someone actually beat Erza…" Lucy muttered in disbelief.
Sniper Wolf shrugged. "It wasn't that hard."
At that moment, Medusa walked into the room.
"Would you people stop just popping in like that!?" Lucy shouted, incensed.
"I was wondering where you were, Sergio," Medusa stated, ignoring Lucy entirely.
Sergio shrugged. "Sorry. Decided it best to stay here for now."
Erza sighed as she turned to the side.
"Stomach troubles?" Medusa asked.
Erza turned to her mildly irritated. "Why are you so interested in my stomach? Do you plan to eat it or something?"
Medusa shook her head. "No, I just want to make sure Sergio's next child is alright."
Erza blinked in bewilderment. "Pardon?"
Medusa pointed at her. "You have a child. I can smell it on you."
Erza blinked in thought and then widened her eyes with a bright smile.
"WHAT!?" Lucy and the others shouted in shock.
"That was loud," Sergio complained.
"I am going to be a mother!?" Erza exclaimed in disbelief.
"I'm surprised you couldn't tell," Medusa remarked.
Sergio chuckled lightly. "Guess that's the effects of my sperm at max potency."
Lucy turned blue in response. "T-too much…info…"
The next morning, Lucy awoke groggily but then snapped awake when she Cana lying next to her. "…Eh…? Wh-what happened last night…?"
"G'morning," Sergio greeted cheerfully. "You must have had a fun night."
Lucy paled. 'This isn't happening, this isn't happening…'
"So are you going to get up now, Cana?" Sniper Wolf asked. "She seems to be embarrassed enough to me."
Cana sat up with a pout. "You're no fun."
"Only when I'm drunk. Or editing the tale of my first fight with Erza."
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Wait, editing?"
"Yes. It's true that I beat her. But truthfully it wasn't without wounds myself. And nearly all my ammunition depleted. If not for my Starbrand I might not have healed quickly enough to get us both out of there."
Erza shrugged lightly. "I have simply tired of trying to correct her narrative. Though I must say your retellings of the event are becoming rather lurid," she mentioned with mild frustration.
Sniper Wolf snickered. "Hey, it's not every day some 'nobody' beats the Titania."
Sergio blinked in thought. "You fought Titania? I thought you fought Erza."
Sniper Wolf tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Yes, I fought against Erza 'Titania' Scarlet.
"I see…" 'This is new…'
Sniper Wolf nodded. "Yes, she is known as Titania."
"I see…" Sergio answered unsurely.
Sometime later, the group was making their way towards the guildhall when Sergio stopped and sniffed the air.
"What's wrong?" Lucy asked.
Sergio narrowed his eyes. "…I smell blood."
Sniper Wolf blinked curiously and then sniffed the air as well before growling lowly.
They followed the scent and arrived at a tree in one of Magnolia's parks to see Jet, Droy, and Levy battered and bloodied, pinned to the tree with giant metal clamps, and a symbol scrawled on Levy's exposed abdomen.
Sergio clenched his fists angrily.
Lucy covered her mouth in fear, to stop herself from screaming.
After a moment, Sergio sighed slowly. "This is far enough. I found their attempts to break us by destroying our guild rather amusing. But this is too much."
Makarov walked up to the group in horror as well and clenched his fist before crushing his staff unintentionally. "Phantom has gone too far this time. I won't allow anyone to harm my children."
Sergio and Makarov then said in unified anger, "This means war!"
In another location, a tall, muscular man with long, spiky, black hair that was slicked back, dark red eyes with slit pupils with no eyebrows, and had metal studs all over his body, wearing a shabby, black, sleeveless tunic with studded edges, a studded belt around his waist, loose beige pants tucked inside black boots, a pair of studded brown gloves and matching studded wristbands, and a distinctive, wing-like ornament made of feathers on his right shoulder sat a table chewing on different chunks of metal.
"Hey, Gajeel," a bald, dark-skinned man wearing a dark red shirt under a pale green jacket with a furry blue collar, black pants, purple shoes, and a pair of gold-rimmed, purple-lensed glasses with one lens being mostly broken stated as he walked up to the black-haired man, Gajeel, "there you-oof!" he grunted as Gajeel punched him.
"Go away, Boze," Gajeel snarled, "can't you see I'm eating?"
"Congratulations, Gajeel," a shadowed figure said over Gajeel's shoulder. "I heard about the effects of your mission."
Gajeel grinned. "Gehe, I left those Fairy Tail idiots another present, since just smashing that shack of theirs wouldn't get a rise out of them."
Back in Fairy Tail's basement, Lucy sat over the incapacitated Levy, Droy, and Jet.
Sergio put a hand on her shoulder. "Lucy, you stay here and keep watch on Levy and the others. Make sure you don't let your guard down."
Lucy turned to him and nodded. "I won't." She then turned back to Levy and the others and frowned somberly.
"Good."
Sometime later, Gajeel continued eating more chunks of metal when he looked around curiously and sniffed the air. "Hey, what's that sm-?"
His query was interrupted as the front door of the building exploded violently.
"Boom boom motherfuckers!" Sergio shouted indignantly. "Now which one of you assholes attacked us!?" he demanded.
Several of the people in the room looked on in disbelief as they saw the rest of Fairy Tail gathered behind him.
Sergio looked around the room at the gathered members of Phantom Lord before cracking his knuckles. "So…you ready for me?" The others looked at him apprehensively. "Then step the fuck up, it's time to die!"
The Phantom Lord members then immediately charged, with the Fairy Tail members doing the same.
A young woman with light brown skin, chin-length, dark green hair, dark purple eyes, and a green gem in the center of her forehead wearing a small, purple, jester-like hat with Phantom Lord's guild mark on it, a blue shirt with ripped sleeves that hugged tightly, showing off her modest bust, green pants held up by a black belt, red-pink bandages on her forearms, and black socks turned as the brawl started. "Wh-what the…!?" she exclaimed in confusion.
Sergio turned to her curiously as he grabbed one of the charging Phantom Lord goons and threw him at a wall. "Huh, why does this guild have a hotty?"
"Don't just stand there, Sue!" Boze shouted. "Get them!" He then leapt and landed behind Sergio. "Howling!" A magic circle appeared in front of him that fired out large musical notes emitting a high-pitched shriek.
Sergio turned lazily as a veil of wind surrounded his body, making the sound merely bounce off of him. "Try again loudmouth!"
Makarov looked towards the back of the building and saw a figure walk into the shadows. "Get back here, Jose!" He then chased after the phantom figure.
Erza struck down several foot soldiers before looking around curiously. "How strange, I do not see the Element Four or Gajeel."
"Fuckers are probably hiding!" Sergio shouted before he through one of the underlings at three others and sent fire and lightning surging out in all directions.
Back in Magnolia, Lucy continued sitting over Levy and the others before sighing with fatigue.
"I can take it from here. You should go home and rest," a tall man with curly orange hair, with a distinctly large torso, wearing a white shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, dark blue-green pants, pointed shoes, and a distinctive, dark purple hat with a wide brim, a curve point hanging down, and a light orange band around it said as he walked up to Lucy.
Lucy turned to the man with an exhausted smile. "Thanks, Reedus."
He nodded with a smile.
Shortly later, Lucy was walking back to her house when she looked around and noticed many puddles on the road around her. She tilted her head curiously. "Did it rain while I wasn't looking?" She then noticed one of the puddles move. "Wh-what the…!?"
At that moment, a slim man with short green hair pointing upwards and a tiny, pointed mustache wearing a monocle over his right eye, a brown, three-piece suit with a jagged collar, a red tie, and a short cape attached to both of his elbows rose up from the ground. "Oui, oui, how is the Mademoiselle this evening?"
Lucy pointed at him and shouted, "Creep!"
The man played with his mustache with a twisted grin. "Non non non, I am no creep. I am Sol of the Element Four. Though, you are my cible."
Suddenly, a relatively short and slim woman with short, spiky black hair and black eyes wearing a short, red top with a high collar that was unzipped to reveal her generous bosom that was covered only by her black and white bra, a pair of tight, red, very small shorts, a black belt with a black and white buckle, black leggings that cut off just above her thighs, tall white boots with light blue marks on them, a pair of long white gloves, and metal bracelets on both of her upper arms emerged from one of the puddles and shouted, "Water Prison!"
Before she could react, Lucy was encased in a large sphere of water.
The woman huffed in annoyance. "Tch, I find these stealth-styled missions of yours so dull. We should've just knocked her out. Quick and easy."
"Non non non, you are too impatient, Akula."
Akula huffed and turned around to face Lucy.
Back at Phantom Lord's base, Sergio continued pummeling foot soldiers before dodging to the side as a long metal pillar shot towards him. He looked up and caught the pillar with one hand. He narrowed his eyes. "So you're his brat, eh?"
Gajeel smirked in amusement. "Looks like this one'll actually give me a challenge."
"More like an ass-kicking, brat."
Gajeel retracted his fist and rushed at Sergio. "Iron Dragon Iron Fist!" Another pillar shot at Sergio.
"Have it your way, fool."
Gajeel frowned in annoyance as he passed through Sergio only to get kicked from behind.
Sergio cracked his knuckles. "You're getting an ass-kicking, brat. One Metallicanna should have given you when you were little."
Gajeel's eye widened. "How do you-?"
"Flame Devil Hammer!" Sergio shouted, interrupting Gajeel, as he sent a fist encased in blue flames at Gajeel, slamming him into the ground hard before the flames exploded outwards, slamming in Gajeel further.
The building suddenly began to shake.
"This is…" Erza muttered in realization.
"Master's using Giant's Wrath," Gray remarked.
"I can make this guild quake more, Maky!" Sergio shouted as he punched Gajeel once more.
At the highest point of the building, Makarov walked towards a figure inside of a darkened room. "Finally found you, Jose. Now hold still so I can crush you."
Jose, a tall, slim man with straight, shoulder-length, dark red hair, a thin mustache, a long, thin face with prominent eyebrows, dark eyes, and dark purple lips wearing a flamboyant, purple coat with a high collar that sported a jagged mantle on the lower edges, pink trim, two prominent, bat-like wings, a witch-like hat sporting Phantom Lord's emblem, a plain white shirt with a complex blue crest on a red tie, loose, striped culottes paired with long socks, and a pair of pointed shoes bearing two furry balls on each, cackled as he looked at Makarov. "Go right ahead."
Makarov sent a powerful punch at Jose, only for it to pass through him. "A hologram."
"Do you really think I'd stay here knowing the kind of cataclysm my guildhall would get into in a battle between two Wizard Saints?"
Makarov narrowed his eyes. "And yet you brought a cataclysm to your doorstep."
The hologram of Jose laughed boisterously. "What!? You!?"
"No. The Specter," Makarov said angrily.
Jose blinked curiously. "Humph, no matter, we got what we were after. Oh, that's right. You should probably know," he then grinned sadistically, "we've taken that Celestial Spirit mage of yours."
Makarov's eyes widened. "…ARE YOU INSANE!?"
Jose laughed loudly. "You ask the obvious!" After a light snicker he asked, "Tell me, do you know who that girl really is?"
Makarov narrowed his eyes. "No. However I do know that the most dangerous, destructive, and protective creature in existence has taken an interest in her."
Jose merely smirked before a figure appeared behind Makarov.
In the main room, Sergio lazily dodged each of Gajeel's punches. "Come on ironhead! Try and actually fight!"
Gajeel threw another punch only to get a knee to the gut.
Erza took down several more foot soldiers when she noticed something hit the ground nearby, causing her to freeze in shock. "MASTER!"
Sergio, lazily stomping on Gajeel's head, turned around at Erza's scream. "What the…!?" He saw Makarov lying on the ground, his body green and emaciated. He grit his teeth and then looked up and saw an extremely tall, muscular man with tanned skin, a rectangular, elongated face with prominent cheekbones and a rounded chin, his eyes hidden behind a simple white blindfold, wearing a large, loose, green coat that was closed around his neck, a loose, orange shirt with a high collar, a blue robe underneath that nearly reached his feet, an extremely loose pair of red pants with white trim, simple black shoes, a red necklace composed of several crosses linked by beads with a red skull in the middle, a purple and white stole over his shoulders, and a large green top hat.
Tears began pouring from under the man's blindfold. "It's so sad! He's lost all of his magical power!"
"You bastard!" Natsu howled.
Sergio looked around as he realized the members of Fairy Tail were becoming disheartened from the sudden development at the same time as the Phantom Lord members became emboldened. He growled and pulled out a small white Lacrima. "Everyone, fall back!"
Gajeel snarled as he got up and backed up to the man. "What took you so long, Aria?"
Aria poured more tears from his blindfold. "My apologies, Gajeel! However, Sol and Akula have taken the girl successfully, how sad for her."
Sergio stiffened as he looked at Aria. "What…?" He then swiftly looked around and saw Sue fighting several members of Fairy Tail and shot a tentacle out towards her, wrapping it around her waist, before pulling her close to him. "I'll be taking this one!"
"H-hey! Let me go!" Sue demanded.
"Sue!" Boze shouted.
Sergio threw the Lacrima down, causing light to burst from it, blinding the Phantom Lord members. As the light died down, they saw that the Fairy Tail members had vanished.
"You actually took one of theirs?" Erza asked as the group made their way back to Fairy Tail.
"Yes," Sergio answered as he held Sue with a tentacle.
Sue writhed and squirmed in his grip. "Grr…put me down!"
"No," Sergio answered bluntly before placing a pair of black shackles on her wrists. "There."
"Wh-what are these…?" she asked worriedly.
"Just a little something so you can't fight back. Now, you're going to help us."
Eventually the group made their way back to the guildhall and into the basement.
Sergio threw Sue on the ground roughly. "Now, I'm going to start asking questions and you're going to start answering them." He then narrowed his eyes. "Or else."
Sue huffed in derision. "Heh, I've heard about you Fairy Tail types. You won't hurt me."
"Then you haven't heard about me."
Sue flinched. "Huh?"
Sergio grabbed her by the throat and hoisted her into the air, off her feet. "I have no qualms about hurting or killing whoever I need to. Especially those who threaten the ones close to me."
"Sergio-" Erza attempted argue, only to get cut off.
"Stay out of this," he said coldly before turning to face Sue. "Now. Tell me where your guild's main base is, otherwise I'll force it out of you by any means necessary."
Sue clenched her fists and coughed as he dropped her to the floor. "The punishments Master Jose doles out are far worse than anything you could do to me."
Sergio folded his arms. "Then why hold loyalty to him?"
"I'd rather risk punishment by defying him than face certain doom by opposing him."
Sergio narrowed his eyes in thought. "Is that so? Then I'm afraid you've picked the wrong team. I'm the one you should really be scared of. The Spectre."
"The what…?" Natsu asked.
"Do they teach you idiots anything?"
"Don't blame them," Presa interjected. "Precht destroyed most of the evidence about you when he left."
Sergio narrowed his eyes. "I see." He turned back to Sue. "Back to the matter at hand. Tell me where Phantom Lord's main base is or I'll make you crave something as sweet as pain. So make this easy on both of us. It's pretty hard to find dark-skinned beauties outside of the Cloud Village."
Sue clenched her fists and grit her teeth.
In another location, Lucy slowly and groggily awoke and looked around. She swiftly realized she was in a prison cell. "H-huh…?"
"Finally awake I see," Jose remarked slimily.
Lucy turned swiftly in surprise, realizing her hands were shackled behind her, and looked at Jose. "Wh-who are you?"
Jose grinned sadistically. "I am Jose Porla, one of the Ten Wizard Saints and guildmaster of Phantom Lord."
"Ugly creep…" Lucy grumbled.
Jose merely snickered. "Well, this ugly creep is the reason you're still in one piece."
"What…?"
"You're probably better off not knowing. Suffice it to say that if I hadn't intervened, Daddy's Little Girl wouldn't be quite the same."
Lucy remained silent in worry.
"If you'd like, I could offer you a better room than this."
Lucy narrowed her eyes. "All I want is to know why you attacked us."
"It was just a side effect. It was actually your father who ordered your kidnapping. Crushing those Fairies was merely an added bonus."
Her eyes widened. "Wh-what…? N-no…no, I'll never go back there! Never!"
"Too bad!" Jose taunted with a grin.
After a moment, Lucy flinched and then started fidgeting and trembling.
"Oh? Scared?" Jose asked in amusement.
"I-I need to go…"
"You're not going anywhere."
"Come on! I have to go bad!"
Jose raised an eyebrow.
"I need to go to the bathroom!" Lucy shouted.
Jose blinked and then pointed to a bucket nearby.
"You're joking…" Lucy muttered in disbelief.
"Do you think I'm a fool? That's the oldest trick in the book. If you really have to go, go right there."
Lucy frowned. "F-fine." She moved over towards the bucket but twitched an eyebrow. "Turn around you perv!"
Jose hissed in annoyance. "Tch, fine." He then turned his back to her.
'Now!' Lucy shouted in her mind as she swiftly and powerfully kicked Jose between the legs.
Jose crumpled to the ground with his legs crossed in pain. "You little…!"
She then ran over to the window but gasped when she did. "You've gotta be kidding me!" she exclaimed as she saw the one hundred foot drop in front of her.
Jose laughed in pain. "You'll never escape!"
Lucy clenched her fists.
Jose gaped in disbelief as Lucy jumped out of the window.
As she plummeted towards the ground, she grit her teeth. 'You said you'd help…so…if that's the truth…' "SERGIO!"
Almost immediately Sergio flew towards her and caught her as she fell.
Lucy flinched in surprise and smiled happily before widening her eyes as she saw twelve large, black, bat-like wings extending from his back before she began tearing up. "You came…"
Sergio smiled warmly. "Of course I did. I always will."
Lucy then began crying into his shirt. "It's all my fault…"
He rubbed her head softly and then scowled at Jose before flying away.
Jose trembled as they left before his mouth widened in a massive, sadistic grin. "You little bitch…I won't let you get away with this. I don't care if he is our client…your father will have to settle with pieces of you!"
Sometime later, Sergio and Lucy returned to the guildhall, when Lucy was told what had happened to Makarov.
"No way…" Lucy said in disbelief.
Sergio nodded. "Yeah. Idiot got careless and fell into a mana-draining trap."
"We need to deal with this, fast," Ur urged.
Lucy glanced to the side and noticed Sue sitting in a corner. "Who's she?"
"The one who led us to you," Sergio explained.
"I-I see…"
Bisca then walked up to Lucy. "You don't need to worry about the Master. He's being treated at Lady Porlyusica's."
"Then he's in good hands," Sergio replied. "So don't worry."
"Damn," Cana cursed as she sat at a communication Lacrima. "I can't get in touch with Mystogan."
Sergio raised an eyebrow. "Really? Cloaky ain't talkin'?"
"I'll try Laxus next."
"As if assholes like him would care."
Laxus' face then appeared on the Lacrima. "Huh? What the hell do you want, drunkard?"
"You need to come back to the guild," Cana urged. "The Master is…he's in bad condition. He might die."
"Tch, so what? Go tell someone who cares."
Mirajane clenched her fists angrily. "How…how can you be so cruel!?"
"He's a weak, useless asshole," Sergio chided. "What did you expect? Doubt he'd be able to help much anyway. He'd probably be the first to go down."
"Che, piss off," Laxus cursed before disconnecting.
"See? Useless."
Mirajane tightened her fists as tears began to well up. "…So be it. If he won't fight, then I will. Though…I'm not sure how much help I can be since I lost my powers when…"
Sergio narrowed his eyes. "You didn't lose your powers Mira. You just refuse to use them."
"You're wrong. Even when I try…they won't work…"
"You're lying, Mira. I can sense it. Strong as ever. It is part of you. Integral to your being. You just refuse to let it out after seeing what happens when you lose control!"
Lucy, seeing the events in front of her, begins trembling as tears fell from her eyes.
Sergio turned to her in worry. "Lucy?"
"This is all my fault…" she said lowly.
"No, it's not," Sergio argued.
Lucy shook her head. "You don't understand!" She clenched her fists in frustration. "A-about a year ago I ran away from home. My father is a selfish, heartless man. And he…he's the one who orchestrated all this. He hired Phantom to take me. That's why they attacked…"
"So your father's to blame. Not you."
Cana nodded. "Yeah, I know what it's like to have a father with his head up his ass. You're not to blame for this."
Sergio chuckled lightly as images of an older man entered his head. "Indeed. But in a way, all fathers tend to be like that in a way."
"Yup, even mine! Besides, you're Lucy of Fairy Tail! And that's all that matters!" Natsu exclaimed.
"And the one to whom Maxwell entrusted the Zodiacs."
Tears of joy began running down Lucy's face as she heard the others. "Thank you…everyone…"
Elsewhere in the guildhall, Erza stood under the warm waters of a shower as her thoughts filtered through her mind. "…The guild is starting to fall apart." She clenched her fists in frustration. "I should have gone with the Master. I should not have let him go on his own."
The area began to shake as tremors rumbled through the area.
"What was that!?"
Outside, the others ran to the small cliff face facing the ocean as the tremors rocked through the area.
"Wh-what the heck is that!?" Lucy shouted.
Ahead of them, walking through the waters towards them, was a massive castle supported on four legs that moved as it walked towards them with a massive cannon barrel sticking out the front of the building.
"Presa…did someone steal and sell some of my designs again?" Sergio asked angrily.
"Possibly," Presa answered.
At that moment, Erza ran out amongst the group wearing nothing but a bath towel.
Sergio whistled in fascination. "Wow. Nice."
Jose's voice then echoed over a loudspeaker. "Jupiter Cannon! FIRE!"
Sergio's eyes widened. "EVERYONE! DOWN!"
"There is no time!" Erza argued as she threw off the towel and her body was bathed in light. When it died down Erza wore an armor consisted of a singular, blue chest plate with a lighter blue belt around the waist, three spikes lined the top of the chest plate which gave way to a white neck brace split in the center to allow room for her chin, the shoulders were sectioned with a large spike dividing each section, the middle spike being the largest of the three, the gauntlets having only a few sections, attaching to the elbows were two large white shields which gave the armor its defensive power, a blue jewel lined the back of the hand, attached to the bottom of the chest plate was a two layer metallic skirt with small spikes hanging on the ends of each layer, a larger spike hung inward on the bottom layer, her legs were covered in a sectioned armor to match the rest of the armor with a pair of greaves starting at the knees which bore a blue design shaped like the large spike that hung off the skirt, several curving spikes attached just below the knee of the greaves, and she wore a large spiked headdress atop her head with a reflective piece in the middle. "Adamantine Armor!"
"No, don't!" Sergio shouted.
The cannon fired an immensely powerful beam of energy that surged towards the guild.
Erza stepped in front of its path and raised the shields of her armor to block it.
Sergio hissed and dashed in front of her before his eyes flashed red. "Kamui!" he shouted as a large, swirling vortex appeared in the air in front of him. He snarled angrily. 'You've gotta be kidding! It's not big enough!' The vortex widened further and further before the beam slammed into it. Sergio flinched as he held the vortex open for the beam to be absorbed into. 'Dammit…I can't absorb something this powerful for long…!'
However, the beam suddenly vanished.
Sergio started breathing heavily and collapsed to one knee.
"Sergio!" Erza shouted as she Requipped to her standard armor and ran up to him.
A voice beside the two then said playfully, "You know, you wouldn't get beat up so much if you just asked for our help more often."
Sergio rebutted, through huffed breaths, "If I did…I wouldn't be able to become strong on my own…Muzet…"
Erza turned to see Muzet, a tall, slender woman with fair skin, long, wavy blue-green hair that parted at her forehead and draped down slightly past her chin on the front and seemed longer than her legs, pointed ears with blue tips, green-yellow eyes, and slightly above average-sized breasts wearing a revealing blue, green, and white outfit composed of a central, sleeveless blouse with a blue collar that had extensions going down to her feet, along with a cape that reached to her feet, blue and green, shin-high high-heeled boots that were attached to a small piece of white clothing covering her shapely bottom and front, and shoulder-length gloves with blue, green, and red rings on them, floating nearby with a playful smirk. "Ufufufu, well you can't become strong if you're dead, now can you?"
"Who…?" Erza muttered.
Sergio turned to Muzet mildly annoyed. "Have you forgotten I already died once? I don't plan on doing it again without a reason."
"I just can't leave you alone, can I?" a young woman with long, wavy, flowing blonde hair that reached her knees, with multiple light blonde accents, a long section of hair sticking out to one side with a blue-green tip, and red eyes wearing a white tube top that exposed very little of her moderate bust, a short white skirt with multicolored accents that tied over her left hip, knee-high white, pink, and brown boots with red bows, shoulder-length brown and pink gloves with matching red ties, white wrist guards, a brown choker with a green jewel on the front, and a series of black straps over her shoulders and midsection said as she walked up to Sergio's other side.
Sergio chuckled weakly before standing. "Guess not, Milla. Or, do you prefer Maxwell?"
"I think Maxwell fits better, though you can call me whatever you like," she answered before blinking in thought and adding, unconvincingly, "Oh, and I don't like that you keep dragging me into the pointless wars of humans."
Sergio flattened his brow incredulously. "That's some seriously bad acting, Milla."
Maxwell twitched an eyebrow in annoyance. "Muzet told me that you'd like it if I became more aloof and dispassionate towards humans though…"
Sergio turned to Muzet. "…Muzet…what exactly have you been teaching your little sister?"
"Shouldn't we focus on the enemy?" Muzet redirected.
Sergio sighed in annoyance. "Fine. But I'm getting answers after this."
Lucy then ran up and shouted, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You just said Maxwell! You mean…that Maxwell!?"
Maxwell folded her arms and turned to her. "Is there any other Lord of Spirits?"
Lucy's eyes filled with stars.
Jose then shouted, "I hope you're ready, Fairies! The next shot will go off in fifteen minutes!"
Sergio raised an eyebrow. "Really? You must be impotent if it takes you that long to get off a shot."
Jose hissed in derision. "Very funny. I'll give you a little out, though. If you little Fairies hand over that girl I won't obliterate every last one of you."
"Here's my counter-offer: Leave now and I won't snap you in half and make you a ventriloquist act! Jose Jalapeno on a Stick!"
"We could just go in there and crush them," Muzet suggested.
Sergio nodded in agreement. "Sounds good. Milla, Muzet, let's go!"
All three then flew off into the air towards the giant walking castle.
Jose sneered. "Oh? Try getting past my Shades first then, you overconfident prick!" Large numbers of shadowy creatures with large scythes in their hands appeared in the sky ahead of the trio.
Sergio raised a hand. "Light Dragon Javelin Rain!" Multiple orbs of light then appeared around him.
While the others were distracted, Mirajane used a spell to knock Lucy unconscious and turned to Reedus. "Let's go."
Reedus nodded in confused agreement as the two ran off with Lucy.
The orbs of light then changed into spears of light and flew up before raining down on the Shades, destroying every single one of them.
"Wh-what the…!?" Jose shouted in disbelief.
Elsewhere, Mirajane and Reedus walked into an abandoned warehouse before Mirajane put Lucy down and turned to Reedus. "Reedus, you stay here and guard Lucy. We've only got about ten minutes left before that cannon fires."
Reedus nodded in agreement.
Sergio reached the cannon and took in a deep breath, slammed his fists together, causing a blue magic circle to appear in front of him, before putting his fists in front of his mouth, one in front of the other, as another magic circle appeared. "Fire Devil Howl!" he shouted as a massive torrent of blue flames shot from the magic circle and slammed into the cannon. As the smoke died down, Sergio saw that the cannon was undamaged and twitched an eyebrow. "…Shit…"
Behind the group, large numbers of Shades began to appear.
"You gotta be kiddin' me…"
Bisca narrowed her eyes and pulled out an automatic rifle and fired on several of the Shades, destroying them. "We can handle this! Put a stop to that thing!"
"Use light magic! They're weak to it!"
Sniper Wolf then readied her long, black rifle and waited for a moment before firing, taking out three Shades with one shot.
Sergio, Muzet, and Maxwell then flew into the cannon barrel itself.
Sergio looked ahead and saw four large Lacrimas orbiting a larger Lacrima in the center before readying blue flames in his hand. "Okay, this should be a simple thing to blow up." He launched the flames forward at the Lacrimas, however, they instantly changed direction and flew at Maxwell, slamming into her hard. "Milla!"
"Looks like you're out of luck," a new voice snarled.
Sergio and the others turned and saw a young man with long, two-toned hair, black on one side and white on the other, tied into a topknot atop his head, small black eyes, and a mark on his face resembling three purple bars passing across the bridge of his nose and his cheeks, wearing an orange gi that had orange fur on the collar, held closed with a black belt, mesh armor on the sides and his forearms, a black shirt underneath, and black pants tucked into black boots.
"My name is Totomaru, the Flame Mage of the Element Four, and all flames bow to my command!"
Sergio raised an eyebrow in thought. "Oh? Guess you're out luck, Totofuck! Because flames aren't our only trick!" Black lightning began coursing around his body.
Maxwell, with light burns on her arm, frowned at Totomaru as stones began flying around her.
Muzet smiled deviously as large orbs of purple energy appeared around her.
Totomaru paled. "Mommy…"
Sergio grinned darkly. "Let's teach this little shit a lesson ladies."
Outside, more Shades gathered and attached the mages that stayed behind.
Bisca continued firing on several Shades when one charged from behind. "Wh-what the…?!"
However, before it reached her, it disappeared. Elie grinned as she held up her red tonfa guns. "How's that?"
Bisca smirked and continued to fire on the other Shades.
Sergio sighed as he flexed his neck. "Well that was boring," he muttered as he looked at Totomaru lying on the ground, twitching and singed. He then turned to the large Lacrimas. "Right, now to bust this thing open. You girls ready for a Jupiter treat?"
Muzet and Maxwell both smiled. "Always."
Sergio smirked and cracked his knuckles. "Then open wide!" He collected large amounts of blue flames in his hands before sending them surging at the Lacrimas.
Outside, the Fairy Tail mages turned in trepidation as they saw several bright flashes of light from inside the Jupiter Cannon's barrel.
"Get ready!" Gray shouted.
After a moment's pause, a large plume of smoke puffed from the barrel.
Loke blinked in confusion. "Uh…what happened…?"
"No clue," Gray muttered in mild confusion. He turned to the side and widened his eyes as he saw a Shade barreling towards Mirajane. "Look out!"
Mirajane turned as the Shade approached and gasped right before it split in two.
Karasuba stood next to Mirajane with her sword drawn. "How weak."
Mirajane smiled weakly. "Yeah, they usually aren't that tough one-on-one."
Karasuba narrowed her eyes. "I wasn't talking about the Shade. I was referring to you."
Mirajane flinched as her eyes widened. "Wh-what…?"
Elfman turned and argued, "Hey, that's-!"
"Shut up. You're not part of this," Karasuba interrupted coldly. She then turned to Mirajane. "If you were my daughter, you'd be out there slaughtering these things for your father, not standing around like a helpless barmaid that needs protection!"
Mirajane lowered her head in shame. "If I could, I would. But ever since Lisanna-"
"Stop blaming Lisanna for your problems! If anything, you should have used her death as motivation to attain even greater heights of power so it'd never happen again! Instead you stagnate and block yourself from your power!"
Mirajane clenched her fists in frustration. "You don't understand anything…I felt a part of me break inside. And ever since then my powers haven't-"
"Tch," Karasuba sneered, "you're just giving in to fear. You're afraid of going crazy like your brother did. And giving in to that fear has made you into this. Nothing more than a husk that was once my daughter. If you're really the daughter of Karasuba Strauss and Sergio Kresnik, stop cowering and stand up! Fight for your home! Fight for your family! Fight for your existence!"
Mirajane clenched her fists and trembled.
"Sis…" Elfman muttered worriedly.
"I…I…"
Karasuba narrowed her eyes.
Mirajane sighed and looked up, steeling herself. "I will fight as well!"
Karasuba smirked as she slashed another Shade in half. "That's my girl. Now show these fools what the Demon of the Strauss Family can do."
Mirajane nodded before her body became enveloped in light.
"S-Sis…?" Elfman muttered in confusion.
"What the heck!?" Natsu shouted in confusion.
Karasuba merely smirked.
As the light died down, Mirajane emerged, however she was shown to have darker eyes with a blue line zigzagging down the right side of her face, similar markings above her right breast and on her exposed thighs, her hair flowed upwards, having grown wider and curlier, her forehead ponytail also having grown longer and pointed, her ears also becoming pointed like elves' as well as her canines sharpening, her forearms and hands were also covered in scales with fins protruding at the sides, a large, stocky tail made of segmented plates also formed at the base of her spine, and large, bat-like wings while she wore a skimpy, one-piece suit that revealed much of her arms and legs and was open in the front and back, a spiky collar tied around her neck by a pink ribbon, thin belts protruding over her shoulders from her suit, matching, thigh-high, high-heeled boots with decorative motifs at the tops, and bronze gauntlets that covered her hands and a portion of her forearms. She smashed her fists together. "I'm done running. Now I'm going to start kicking ass!"
Erza smirked as she slew two Shades. "It is good to have you back Mira."
Mirajane flexed her claws in thought. "It's good to be back. Very good. I need to beat someone senseless first to test everything out, though." She then turned to Natsu, Gray, and Happy, whom were nearby, and grinned darkly.
"OH CRAP!" all three shouted in terror.
"The Child Eater's back!" Natsu shrieked in fear.
Mirajane's grin widened. "You're damn right!"
"Yeah! My Big Sis is back to normal!" Elfman cheered proudly before blinking in thought. "Crap. My Big Sis is back to normal!"
"Oh crap, more of those bugs are coming!" Elie shouted as she shot at a few of them, barely putting a dent in the horde.
Mirajane narrowed her eyes and raised an arm towards the incoming army of Shades. "Soul…Extinction!" she shouted as a massive blast of black energy shot from her hand, completely obliterating the army of Shades.
Sniper Wolf stood in bewilderment and turned to Erza. "…I'm glad it's you I fought and not her, Erza."
Erza turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "This much startles you? This is not even her strongest form."
"Ah…I'm really glad then. How did you ever best her?"
"That is a secret."
Mirajane turned to the group in annoyance. "Quit standin' around. We need to break that giant castle apart!"
"Right. Shall we see who can destroy it faster th-?" Erza began but stopped as the castle began changing and shifting as parts moved and twisted, before the castle transformed into a giant, humanoid machine.
Jose cackled maniacally. "You Fairies had better beg for my forgiveness! Super Mage Giant Phantom Mk-II, Combat Mode!"
Inside the fortress, Sergio shouted, having taken over the intercom, "That's not what it's called! It's the Grand Mecha Fortress Celestial Titan Armor!"
Cana twitched an eyebrow. "You're both idiots!"
"And who did you give the designs to make this thing?! It's like you had blind, drunk, naked molerats put this thing together!"
"Stop hijacking my intercom you prick!" Jose shouted, frustrated.
"Nah! You can't make me, jalapeno!"
Jose growled before snarling, "I am not a jalapeno you insufferable fuck!"
"Then change your name! 'Cuz I'm making a Jose Jalapeno on a Stick! I need to get a talent for the talent night and I heard ventriloquism was so easy, Milla could do it!"
Maxwell puffed her cheeks. "That's not very nice."
Outside, Mirajane twitched an eyebrow. "Can you save this lover's spat for later!?"
"Mira?" Sergio asked in surprised confusion. "Is that you, honey? Good to hear you got back the badass chick mode! Now don't go playing rough with Erza. That'd be bad for the baby!"
"Oh, shut up!"
"Come in here and make me!" Sergio rebutted childishly.
Karasuba raised an eyebrow as she noticed one of the hands of the fortress begin to move, a magic circle forming in its wake. "Ah shit. They're using Abyss Break!"
Sergio frowned in frustration. "Oh crap."
Maxwell folded her arms in annoyance. "Jude…why do these humans have one of my most dangerous collaborative spells?"
Sergio scratched his cheek in thought. "How the hell would I…" His eyes then widened. "SIEGHART! THAT FUCKTARDED, SHITFACED, BLUE-HAIRED, TATTOOED, PLANS-STEALING PRICK!"
Gray sighed lightly. "I don't know who this Sieghart guy is, but Sergio really doesn't like him."
Mirajane remained silent for a moment before saying, "That circle will take roughly ten minutes to get going at full power." She then smirked. "Which gives us ten minutes to get in there and break it."
Sergio, once again through Jose's intercom, shouted, "Then you want to target the remaining Element doofuses! They're probably powering it! Totodumbass is currently huddled in a corner, calling for his mommy!"
Mirajane nodded and turned to Elfman. "Right! Elfman!"
Elfman flexed his arms proudly. "Yeah! Let's show them what a real man can do!"
Mirajane then grabbed him by the collar and threw him at the castle. "You first!"
Elfman hollered in shock and fear as he went flying before smashing into the wall of the castle, smashing a hole into it.
Mirajane smiled. "Now we have a door."
Gray gulped. "At least she didn't use us this time."
"Elfman makes a bigger hole," Mirajane explained bluntly.
"Y-yeah," Natsu agreed fearfully.
Mirajane turned to the two angrily. "What are you two doing standing around? Get in there!"
"Aye, sir!" Natsu and Gray shouted in unified fear.
"Then let us go," Erza ordered.
Inside, Elfman groaned before standing up and looking around. "What the…?"
Inside the control room of the fortress, Jose sat clenching a staff angrily. "That white-haired wench…" He then sported a wide, sadistic grin. "If she gave these little Fairies renewed vigor, let's see how they like it when she's turned into a bloody smear."
Outside, Mirajane flapped her wings to fly up to the fortress when one of its large mechanical hands reached out towards her. "What the…!?"
The fortress clamped its fingers around her tightly.
Mirajane struggled to break its grip, finding it to be firmer than she anticipated. "Oi! Let go!"
"This is your punishment for causing me further frustration!" Jose taunted. "Let's see how much pressure it takes for that pretty little head of yours to pop!"
"Gah!" Mirajane shouted in pain.
Inside, Elfman turned when he heard Mirajane's scream. "Sis!"
However, before he could move to help her, Sol appeared from the ground in front of him. "Desole monsieur, but you won't be going anywhere."
"Out of my way!" Elfman demanded.
Sol merely smirked and waved his hands. "Roche Concerto!" Large chunks of stone then flew up from the ground and slammed into Elfman, sending him flying.
Outside, Karasuba watched the ensuing fight with annoyance.
"Beast Arm: Reptile!" Elfman shouted, his right arm transforming into a large, bulky, reptilian arm, before charging at Sol.
Sol merely snickered in amusement. "Non, non," he taunted as he bent out of the way in an impossible manner.
Karasuba hissed. "Tch, come on Elfman! Man up and do a full Take-Over!"
Elfman flinched in response. "N-no…I can't…"
Sol's eye widened suddenly. "Hoh-hoh! That's right, your Take-Over took the life of your pretty little soeur, Lisanna, did it not?"
Elfman stiffened before gritting his teeth. "Beast Arm: Bear!" A large bear's arm appeared on his which he then swung at Sol with, but missed yet again.
"Platre Sonata!" Sol shouted as a giant fist made of stone rose from the floor and slammed into Elfman.
"Stop pussy-footing around dumbass! What kind of man are you? Go full and beat this weird-ass Frenchman down!" Karasuba shouted.
Sol snickered tauntingly. "You were too weak to protect your little soeur, and even now you can't beat me!"
"Shut up!" Elfman demanded.
Sol merely smirked as a statue of stone rose in front of him, resembling a young woman with short white hair, however its face was greatly deformed.
Karasuba clenched her fists angrily. "…Elfman…if you don't kick this guy's ass right now…I'm beating you to the point you shit and piss blood."
"Sable Dance!" Sol shouted as sand flew up around him and at Elfman, flying into the large man's eyes, hurting his vision.
Elfman growled and charged at Sol once more. However, another deformed statue appeared in front of his path, causing the white-haired man to flinch.
"Why did you do it…?" the statue asked in a pained voice.
Sol grinned and sent another stone fist flying at Elfman.
Elfman steadied himself, only to get more stones sent at him. Elfman stood and charged again, another statue blocking his path.
"You betrayed me…" the statue muttered.
Elfman grit his teeth.
Sol laughed maniacally as Elfman charged over and over, only to have more statues appear and insult and degrade him, followed by another barrage of attacks.
Elfman's attacks lost ferocity with each circuit of attacks, until he charged at Sol, the strange man merely bending out of the way, causing Elfman to harmlessly slide across the ground, failing to stand back up.
"Are you going to let this fuck disgrace your sister in this way!?" Karasuba suddenly shouted.
Sol's eye suddenly widened in thought. "Ooh! I have a magnifique idea! Platre Sonata!" A stone fist rose up, aimed at the statue directly in front of Elfman. "Let's see how you handle this."
Elfman's eyes widened as the statue was smashed to pieces, causing him to stumble before falling to his knees, immobile.
Sol smirked widely. "Now, let's finish this, shall we? Merci la Vie!" Stone slowly began to rise up around Elfman's body, encasing him.
"Elfman!" Karasuba shouted desperately.
"Don't just stand there!" Mirajane shouted. "It wasn't your fault, Elfman! You just weren't-ggaahh!" she stopped and screamed as the fortress tightened its grip.
"Oh, shut up," Jose grumbled.
Elfman widened his eyes before tensing and clenching his fists. "Grr…DAMMIT! Full-Body Take-Over: Beast Soul!" Elfman's body within the stone was bathed in bright light.
Karasuba smirked.
"Eh?" Sol muttered before a large fist slammed into his face.
The stone around Elfman shattered, throwing dust into the air.
Sol gaped as he looked ahead of him and saw that Elfman's size had increased exponentially, his arms growing longer, larger and sprouting sharp claws, covered in thick fur, with his abdominal and pectorals prominent in the middle his hair took on a mane-like appearance, his ears and canine teeth becoming pointed, and a pair of striped horns pointing upwards, starting from a plate on their forehead, his feet bore resemblance to a large bird's, with dark claws, the only piece of his attire that remained on was his pants, which got shorter as a result of their transformation, and sprouted extremely prominent and spiky upper edges.
Sol began to tremble as he saw the massive creature in front of him.
"I'm going to crush you," Elfman said in a dark voice as he grabbed Sol and began to squeeze.
Sol trembled fearfully. "Non, non, non! Spare me! S-s'il vous plait! I was only following orders, monsieur!"
Elfman ignored Sol's pleas and began slamming and thrashing the thin man around the room, bashing him against the walls and floor repeatedly.
Karasuba smirked as he continued the thrashing. "Huh. Li'l Elfy might just kill him."
Elfman took several breaths before looking at the unconscious and bloodied Sol in his grasp. "Puny man," he muttered before tossing Sol aside.
Karasuba snickered. "Nice job, son! You really took out the trash!"
Elfman turned and ran towards Mirajane, still captive by the fortress, and ripped off the machine's fingers, freeing her.
"Took ya long enough," Mirajane muttered as she stood up before turning to him with a small frown. "You…are still you, right?"
Elfman nodded. "Yeah." He then wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "I'm sorry for resorting to this…"
Mirajane sighed and bonked him on the head. "Why the hell should you be sorry you blubbering idiot?"
Elfman flinched. "Th-this is the form that-"
His blubbering apology was interrupted as Mirajane put a finger over his mouth. "That's the past. Worry about today." She then turned to look at the giant machine. "Now, let's stop this thing." She noticed that the speed at which the machine was creating the circle had slowed. "So Sensei was right, the Element Four are tied to the Abyss Break."
"Of course he is," Karasuba remarked as she leapt up to where the two were. "He's married to the one who made it."
"What?"
"Not important." Karasuba's body was bathed in light. When it died down, she now sported four large, black, feathered wings. "Let's kick ass." A large golden spear made of pure light appeared in her grasp which she then chucked at a group of Shades. It collided with one and then exploded outward, destroying many. Her sword was then encased in ice as well. "So you'd better get your ass-kicking greaves on and show these assholes what they've got coming!"
Deeper inside the castle, Sergio ran throughout the corridors of the fortress.
"Damn," Sergio snarled. "There should only be two members of the Elemental Losers left, right? Where could they be? Just, seriously! Can't one just run into m-!"
Sergio's tirade was halted as Akula slammed into him from the side.
Sergio blinked curiously as he looked at the scantily clad woman. "I should say that more often…" He blinked as he looked at the woman curiously as she sat up. He twitched an eyebrow. "A second hotty? How the fuck did this nobody-guild have one hotty, let alone two!?"
Akula turned to him lazily as the two stood. "You…you're a Fairy Tail mage…aren't you?"
Sergio nodded. "Yep. One your soon-to-be-corpse boss shouldn't have pissed off."
Akula raised a hand and flexed her fingers, causing water to rise up and swirl around her. "Then I must stop you."
"Or you can step aside and not get hurt. And after I kill your shitstain of a leader we can get waffles or something."
Akula narrowed her eyes in thought. "Intriguing offer but I'll have to decline."
Sergio sighed. "Don't say," he began before appearing behind her, "I didn't warn you."
"Rise Up!" Akula shouted as she did a somersault kick, causing a shark made of water to rush at Sergio at the same time.
However, the shark merely passed through Sergio's body harmlessly and splashed onto the ground behind him, dispersing.
Akula narrowed her eyes and jumped to put distance between Sergio and herself. "It seems this will be more difficult than I expected."
Elsewhere in the castle, Natsu, Gray, and Happy ran through the halls aimlessly.
"I've got a great plan!" Natsu suddenly exclaimed.
"What now, you idiot?" Gray asked disinterestedly.
Natsu grinned. "Simple. If I beat up this Jalapeno guy, the fight's over!"
Gray looked at him incredulously. "…You do realize he's just as strong as Master Makarov, right?"
Natsu hissed in annoyance. "Well who else is gunna do it!?"
"…Let's just try and find another of those Element Four guys."
"Aaww…"
Soon, the two walked into a large room with tall stairs at the back and looked around the area.
"Yeesh, this one big room," Natsu muttered.
"Yeah."
At that moment, Aria appeared in front of the two, seemingly from nowhere, and began crying. "How sad, you two have come to meet your doom."
"Huh?" Natsu muttered before flinching as he looked at Aria. "You…you're the guy that hurt Gramps!"
"Just great," Gray snarled.
Aria raised a hand without responding. "Zetsu!" A magic circle then appeared in his hand which sent blasts of air flying at Gray and Natsu.
"Shit!" Gray cursed before several of the blasts hit him and exploded, sending him flying out a window.
Natsu stood in disbelief for a moment before turning to Aria and grinning. "Guess that just means more fun for me!"
Sergio and Akula's fight, however, continued to rage.
"Ya done yet?" Sergio asked as another of Akula's attacks phased through him.
Akula stood opposite of Sergio, panting in exhaustion. "Stop toying with me, you bastard, and fight! Shark Bite!" She jumped and performed a spinning kick in the air, sending shots of water shaped like shark teeth flying at Sergio.
Sergio lazily held up a hand as a vortex appeared in front of him, absorbing the blasts, before he waved a finger. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Naught, naughty."
Akula grit her teeth and rushed at Sergio, her fists encased in water. "Don't screw with me!"
Sergio easily caught her punch in his palm. "Why? Women love it when I screw'em."
Akula flinched slightly before gritting her teeth. "I'm nobody's toy anymore!" She swung one of her legs up at his head.
Sergio stood still as the kick hit, unmoved. "What…?"
Akula widened her eyes, pulled her fist from his grip, and jumped back, putting space between herself and Sergio before collecting water between her hands. "I refuse to be anybody's toy anymore! Water Cannon!" She then shot water at Sergio at extremely high speeds.
Sergio merely touched the water as it neared him, causing it to splash harmlessly on the ground. "Who did it to you…?" he asked venomously.
"None of your concern," she bit back. "Master Jose pulled me out of that pit and gave me a purpose, so I'm not going to let someone like you get in the way!"
Sergio raised an eyebrow. "A purpose? For what? To be his pawn? A disposable piece to be cast aside when her use is over?"
Akula grit her teeth. "It's better than the alternative! Shark Bite!" She sent more shark tooth shaped projectiles at Sergio.
Sergio huffed in derision. "Being a pawn is no way to live." The projectiles dispersed as they neared him, however. "No way at all."
Akula trembled slightly. "Well I'd rather be a pawn than a plaything!"
"Aren't you still one if you're a pawn," Sergio asked pointedly.
Akula flinched before gritting her teeth and sending Shark Bite once more. "Shut up!"
"Not 'til you calm down and tell me who Jose bought you from."
Akula stopped in place as her eyes widened. "…Sh…shut up…"
"Do you really think Jose cares about you? If he did, he wouldn't have bought you from the slavers. He would have slaughtered them."
Akula began to tremble. "I don't care. At least now I have a home, a purpose. It's more than I had before…"
"A home? A home is where you're safe. Protected. Surrounded by friends. This place? It isn't a home. It's just another cage."
Akula clenched her fists tightly as large amounts of water began surging and swirling around her. "…Shut…up…!"
"And the worst part…you probably do everything, 'everything' Jose tells you to do. Don't you?"
Akula flinched as her eyes widened, before shit bit her lip slightly as her eyes started to cloud with tears. "J-just…shut the hell up! Karukaro Crest!" She then jumped forward and slammed her foot down, causing a massive shark made of water to appear and lunge at Sergio.
Sergio reached up lazily and poked the shark as it neared him, causing it to burst outward, dispersing.
Akula's eyes widened in shock and despair. "N-no…th-this can't be…that was…my strongest attack…" She stumbled forward before falling to her knees as tears slowly began falling down her cheeks. "…Do what you want…just make it quick…" she muttered in a weak tone.
Sergio raised an eyebrow. "Make it quick? I make the deaths of humans like Jose agonizingly slow."
Akula looked up at him confused. "Are you simply going to leave me here?"
"If that's what you want. You must choose the way you want to live. Don't let others dictate that for you."
Her eyes widened.
Sergio smirked as he turned around. "See ya. If we meet again it will be your choice."
"W-wait, if you leave me conscious, then Abyss Break will continue," Akula interjected as he walked away.
Sergio turned to her. "Just cut the magic feed, ya dummy."
Elsewhere, Reedus sat, painting on a canvas, as Lucy lied unconscious nearby. He glanced at her and then continued painting. However, at that moment, the ceiling of the building they were in crumbled.
"Gihi."
Natsu charged at Aria with a flaming fist, but his fist was stopped by a wall of wind.
"Zetsu!" Aria shouted once more, sending Natsu flying.
Again Natsu charged, only to have his attack blocked and get sent flying once more. "I ain't givin' up! I'm gonna beat your face in!"
"How sad!" Aria exclaimed before teleporting behind Natsu. He then raised his hands above the pink-haired fire breather and shouted, "Metsu!" Magic circles then appeared around Natsu and exploded as nearly all of his mana burst from his body.
At that moment, Erza ran into the room and watched as Natsu collapsed to the ground. "Natsu!"
Natsu turned to her weakly. "H-he's the jerk…that…hurt Gramps…"
Erza's eyes widened before narrowing in a glare.
"Erza Scarlet…" Aria muttered in thought. "Then I suppose…" he muttered again as he reached for the blindfold over his eyes, "I don't need this." He then pulled off the blindfold, exposing his unusual eyes, pink irises with white lines through them and no pupils.
"Wh-what the…?" Erza muttered in confusion.
Outside, Minerva looked at the Abyss Break spell and frowned. "The spell that thing is casting has slowed down a lot, but it's still going."
Karasuba nodded as she sliced up more Shades. "Yeah, must mean at least one of those assholes is still active."
Yukino looked at the slowly moving hand of the castle in thought. "Maybe…maybe I can slow it a little more." She then pulled out one of her keys.
"Huh?" Cana muttered.
Yukino held the key aloft and shouted, "Open, Gate of the Heavenly Scales: Libra!"
A large plume of smoke erupted from a magic circle that appeared, which dispersed to reveal a young woman with tanned skin, black hair tied in an ox-horn style, and brown eyes wearing a frilled, striped, green and yellow bikini top, a green loincloth with pompoms at the waist and a yellow stripe near the bottom, numerous red bangles on her arms and legs, a thick necklace, a simple pair of sandals, a red and yellow, zigzag patterned headband, a light brown cloth covered the lower part of her face, and in her hands she held two scales. "What do you require of me?"
Aaannnddd cut! That brings this chapter to a close! I hope everyone enjoyed it. If you did, be sure to post a review. Or if you were confused or unsure about anything, as I will do my best to address your queries. Or even if you disliked it, just try not to flame the story too much. But beyond that, thanks for reading, so until next time, buh-bye!