Hello, my loyal readers! I'm back!

I understand that it's taken me more than a month to return to write, but school was more important at the time. Especially since I failed a test, dropping my grade to a D. But I passed in the end with a C!

And to celebrate that, I managed to finish this chapter in time for Christmas! I wanted to update first thing in the morning, but for some reason it wouldn't let me. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Chapter 32

Spider and Scorpion

"Hurry, we need to find Rogue!" Niebel sped off with Wendy running after him.

"Is he in danger?" she asked.

"Once Sasori's seal begins to break, he's unstoppable! Even if Jigumo's standing...at this rate, Rogue might be dead!"

Jigumo lifted part of his shirt up: a tattoo of a four-star compass was branded on his left chest. Slowly, parts of the compass rose faded until only the left arrow and the center were left. "Just two left, huh?" he said to himself, pulling his shirt down. He stood up and stretched, smiling. "Well, I think I know how to draw out Mercury and bring down Sasori in one go."

"Ice-Make: Ape!" The cold, crystalline primate lumbered towards Gray, who put his hands together.

"Ice-Make: Death Scythe!" Gray jumped into the air, swinging his weapon at Lyon's creation and slicing it in two. For good measure, he struck Lyon with it too.

Lyon wiped his mouth, refusing to listen to the fatigue of his body. "Ice—"

"End of the line for you, Lyon!" Gray yelled. "Ice-Make: Gungnir!" A giant ice lance rose up from the ground, trapping Lyon in the tip. The Lamia Scale wizard remained motionless inside, unable to retaliate.

Gray rested on a rock. "...Take that, Lyon."

Fairy Tail A 54P

"Futile! Absolutely futile!" Minerva extended her palms forward, releasing the magic that she built. A large beam of light surrounded Erza, who stood in the center. With a mean look in her eye, Erza spun around, swinging the halberd with her. The magic dissipated like the wind, leaving Minerva dumbfounded. "Huh?"

"Did—did she just slice through that spell?" Nab yelled.

"No, just the area surrounding it, I think," Elfman disagreed.

"Im-impossible!" Minerva exclaimed, backing away slowly. "How can you still have magic left in your reservoir?"

"Because you made the mistake of using those near and dear to me your playthings." Erza approached Minerva slowly, gripping her weapon.

"No! Stay back!" she screamed, panicking.

"This is payback!"

"Stop! I'm...I'm..."

"Nakagami's Starlight!" Minerva couldn't find her words anymore as she spun in the air rapidly before falling to earth in defeat.

Fairy Tail A 59P

"The winner is Erza! She chopped off the tiger's head!"

"When the head is gone, the body won't last for long," Yajima remarked. "At this rate, the Twin Dragons are soon to follow."

Jura peered over his earthen platform, frowning in confusion as light shined from the bottom. It came closer and closer until he could see Laxus flying up to him. The Lighting Dragon Slayer gave the Wizard Saint a sharp uppercut.

"Go for it, Laxus!" Freed yelled.

"Excellent!" Jura regained his footing, regaining his breath.

Laxus charged forward, his fist imbued with lightning. "This is the end for you! Dragon Slayer Secret Technique: Roaring Thunder!" Jura was pushed off his feet as Laxus dealt a heavy blow to the Wizard Saint's stomach.

As he fell with steam coming off him, Jura smiled. "You...have bested me."

Fairy Tail B 37P

Fairy Tail cheered wildly along with the crowd, though some were astonished by the Wizard Saint's loss.

"One of the Wizard Saints has fallen! Laxus has beaten Jura Neekis!" Chapati cried. "Fairy Tail's unstoppable! They're catching up to Sabertooth!"

"Lyon...then Jura...how could they fall like that?" Ooba wobbled off her chair, her face frozen in a gaping expression.

"Ooba-san, are you all right?" Yajima wondered worriedly.

"I'm...I'm...rolling in my grave!" she shrieked as she spun furiously, unintentionally using her magic on herself.

"Obaba! Get a hold of yourself!" Her guild members yelled from across the stadium.

Glacia leaned against one of the ice pillars of Crown of Boreas. "She sent you here?"

The white wolf sat down next to her friend and the white bear. "I have...no idea who she is," Dobengal admitted. "But she says that she's indebted to me. And..." He stroked the wolf's head. "Unless it's my imagination...or this wolf is made of a metal."

"Should have known you guys would be here." Both rose to their feet as Jigumo approached their little hideout.

"No Arachne?" Glacia noticed, fumbling in her pockets. But any weapons she carried were lost when Sasori created the crater. Hopefully, Dobengal wouldn't be mad at her for that.

"Cold even for you, Glacia," Jigumo said, stuffing his hands in his pocket. "You know Arachne wouldn't survive cold temperatures," he added, gesturing to the ice structure around them.

"What are you doing here?" The ninja asked.

"Call me the Grim Reaper. But relax, I'm not here for you, pal." Jigumo smirked maliciously. "All I need is the corpse of one Glacia Patin."

"Scorpion...King," Rogue choked out, trying to loosen the death grip of Sasori's pincer.

"Not yet," Sasori admitted, never losing that harsh look in his eyes. "Those fools thought that sealing my power away would protect me. What a joke! Jigumo's my final key; I only need to murder him to tap into my reserve."

"You...your own brother?"

"He's proven he can survive without me. Don't even think that I would spare my twin, Cheney!" Sasori squeezed his pincer around Rogue's neck, ready to listen to the sweet song of his neck breaking—

"Hold it, Sasori!"

Sasori stopped; both he and Rogue turned to look at Jigumo, though Rogue had trouble moving his neck. The Shadow Dragon Slayer nearly jumped at the sight of a monstrously large spider behind the Spider King. "I'm the one you're after, right?" Jigumo asked. "There's no need to kill Rogue."

Niebel and Wendy arrived at the scene, stopping once they caught sight of Jigumo. "Oh, no. Jigumo..." Niebel murmured.

Sasori smirked. "But I want to. Not just for the rush...but to see little Glacia crying her heart out over the death of her precious dark knight." Rogue wanted to vomit at his words; there was no way he would allow that, but right now, what could he do?

"How about I make a deal with you?" Jigumo spread his arms out wide. "My life for Rogue's."

"...Preposterous," Sasori scoffed, turning his attention back to Rogue. "Where's the fun in that? If I finish him off now, I can easily go after you."

Jigumo narrowed his eyes. "Allow me to persuade you again, Sasori." The Spider King clicked his tongue; an army of small spiders crept forward, carrying a body with the head covered by a sack. He pulled the body into his arms, adjusting the weight before yanking off the sack. Long white hair fell out, nearly touching the ground as Jigumo pulled a knife out of his pocket and held it to the unconscious girl's neck.

"Kill Rogue, and I'll kill Glacia!"