Chapter 58: Proving Who's The Better of Us

A/N: HOLY SHIT! DID YOU GUYS READ THE MANGA?! HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT, SHIT THAT IS HOLY! IT JUST DESTROYED MY PICTURE OF LUMEN HISTORIE AND FINALLY GAVE US AN ANSWER AS TO WHAT IT IS! SHIT THAT AWESOME! AND NOW I HAVE EVEN MORE QUESTIONS I MUST HAVE THE ANSWER TO! QUICK SOMEONE FIND ME HIRO AND THEN KIDNAP HIM FOR ME! THEN WE'LL ASK HIM ALL THE ANSWERS WE DESIRE! ACTUALLY WAIT, DON'T DO THAT. THAT WOULD BE ILLEGAL. Right so yeah, I just had to yell about it for a moment. So back off the soap box, shout out to sashaXmafuyuFOREVER as always for the review! Thanks! Now, the battles will be getting serious and actually will be good fights from here on out. So here we go! ENJOY!

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Start of Battles (Nena POV)

I land on the roof next to Esoj and look him in the eye, locking eyes with each other we nod our goodbyes and good lucks; and to stay safe, not a single word needed. We walk to the lacrima and I see that Jura is in the room that is the second biggest room of all the rooms and know that it just gives us more room to destroy stuff. I see that Esoj is on the opposite side of the arena and watch as he runs off, about to engage in a battle with a man who had earned his respect and a legend who was washed up now. 'He's going to have some trouble with them, I can already tell. And not only that but… ugh I just have a bad feeling about all this. Something's not right here. Oh well, I have an actual fight ahead of me this time, I'm sure of it.'

I run over to the hole, which leads down to the awaiting challenger, and jump down into the frying pan. I reach the room's floor rather quickly as the room we were fighting seems to be higher… 'Wait a minute. We made all the rooms on the same level. There shouldn't be any rooms that are taller than other ones. Shit.'

Then the earth beneath me came flying up and almost crushed me; almost. I threw my hands up at the last second yelling, "Tierra Firma!", and earth came out of my hands. The earth stopped the what I now recognized to be Jura's Iron Rock from crushing me and I used the earth to push back the rock away from me. Then I saw Jura standing there before me, still bald and tall, but now much more serious and old looking. 'Man, did I really mess up his back that badly? He looks so stiff now, so rigid, so upright. This better not affect his fighting anymore, or else we won't get to see who's the better fighter. I would hate to waste my time, especially since I get a bad feeling with Esoj, like something might happen to him.'

"Oh, Madre you really should pay attention to me, just because you won the first time means nothing." Jura said breaking my reverie and regaining my attention to him and the fight that I was about to start. I looked and saw that instead of being on level ground, I was now looking up at him, surprised that he was able to move the ground so easily. "Surprised? I have been working hard this past year so I can win this fight, and I will win this fight. I must. For Lyon!"

He got into a fighting position and waited a moment as I said, "Wait. Two things, first: let us exchange names, and our real names not my codename. Second: how is that back of yours? I hope that it doesn't impede your fighting capabilities."

He looked at me surprised for a moment before nodding and saying, "My name is Jura Neekis. And my back is just fine, you'll see just how fine soon enough. Now, what is your name?"

I smirk and say, "Nena Anoren. I hail from La Empieza and, as a bonus for playing along, I'll tell you a secret. You see, Natsu didn't actually kill Zeref, he was supposed to, but my husband and I killed him. Now, die." As soon as I finished and saw that Jura's jaw was close to being a door it was so wide open. I used his shock to my advantage and jumped up to where he was and kicked him in the face, causing his head to follow the path of my foot. But before he flew away from the force of my kick I grab his beard and pull him towards me. I knee him in the jaw, hard, and his head goes up a bit. But not as much as I thought it would. Then I see that he had stopped my knee with his hand and had put his special rock on his hands to help stop my knee. I jump back as he swings his iron rock encrusted hands at me, barely avoiding them as he was faster than I thought. Then he stood up slightly and looked at me, smirking, and said in a voice so quiet I thought I missed it, "Iron Rock Brace: Release."

Then I saw rocks falling out from his pants and I realize that he had a brace on his back to help support him, and it had made him slower than before. 'Well shit, this might actually be fun.'

Then he charged at me so quickly I was taken aback a bit and was even more surprised as he punched me in the jaw, sending me flying away.

(POV Change to Jura)

I watch as Nena, so she calls herself, fly away and land in the wall. She made a large crater but seemed more surprised than actually hurt as she soon got down from the wall and looked at me, pleasantly surprised. 'What is with her? She never seems to get rattled by anything I do, how does she do that? I just got her real good after she surprised me and she doesn't even care, or so it would seem. Is she… happy that I have improved? Oh now I get it! She wants a good rematch like she promised me she would give me, oh now I'm excited!'

"YES! This is what I wanted to see! I see your back is just fine, so let's step it up. Fuego del Diablo!" She yelled and fire came forth and covered her hands, then she charged at me. I got ready and soon enough she was close enough for us to start trading blows, and we began our exchange. We each land a hit to each other's gut and then I land one on her side, but she lands one right in my kidney. I groan from the pain and punch her in the jaw, but only land a grazing blow as she ducked and tried to land a kick to my knee but blocked her with my shin. We struggled trying to gain the upper hand as our legs struggled to gain ground on the other. Then we eventually pushed each other back and looked at each other, a wild look in our eyes as we both had the rush of the battle in us.

I then feel my side heating up and I look to see that my robe is on fire, so I just rip off the upper half of my robe, revealing my sculpted body. I looked at her, she just shrugged and said, "My husband has a better body. But who cares? Let's fight!"

I nod and put hands in front of me and yell, "Talus: Strike!" and the usual attack of iron rock poles come forward but they all head straight to her, more specifically her head. She puts her hand up and yells, "Acero!" and a wall of steel blocks my poles. Then she yells, "Terremoto!" and punches the ground. The ground opens up and shakes, like a mini earthquake, and the opening comes towards me. I jump up and avoid the earthquake and yell down at her, "Iron Rock Fist!", my signature attack of iron rock forming into a fist and flying towards her.

She sees it and dodges it, rolling away from the attack and she pops back up, yelling, "Pistola de Aceite! Pistola de Fuego!" Oil and fire shoot out from her hands and come at me, combining together to make a makeshift flamethrower. The flames came at me quickly as I landed and I yelled, "Iron Rock Mountain!" and a mountain shot up, protecting me from the flames. I hear the flames go past the mountain and I let the mountain disappear, but don't see Nena anywhere. I look up and don't see her anywhere, then behind me as well but still don't see her. 'If not above or behind or to the side, then…'

A hand shoots up from the ground, grabbing my ankle, and it's on fire, then hand pulls me down and I am surprised by the fact that she can do that. 'I guess on top of creating elements she can destroy them… no wait. This is where I lowered the ground, she must have raised it up partially earlier when I was airborne and she created that earthquake. Damn, she's still really fast.'

Then I find that I am only able to see the ground now and find that she buried me in the earth, with only my head above the ground. "Iron Rock Shell!" I yell and my body gains armor, making me bigger so I can slip out of the ground and back to normal leveled ground. 'My ankle is burnt and hurt, but I can still move around well enough. I should be fine, but I should keep the iron rock shell on. It'll help stabilize the ankle a bit better. But I should be careful, I don't know what else she has up her sleeve.'

(POV Change Back to Nena)

'Well, there goes the last of my trickery for now. I am fresh out of attack ideas that he hasn't seen, man I should have been better prepared for this, damn you procrastination! But, hey I still am stronger as of right now and he just put on that iron rock shell of his, making him slower than before. I should be fine. Just can't let him land a clean blow… Better armor up myself.' "Cuerpo de Acero!" I yelled and the top layer of my skin changed, becoming armor, 'Glad I'm not solely restricted to making elements, but rather changing an elements atoms so that it is a different element. This makes everything easier.'

I look at Jura and smirk at his surprise as I remember he has never seen this and I know he thought he knew how my magic worked. I charged at him, still surprisingly fast and agile, and land a kick to his knee, my armor making the blow stronger. He buckles for a second but as I go to throw a punch his hand comes up and blocks my fist, grabbing it. 'Oh shit. This might hurt a bit.' He pulled me close to him, and punches me in the gut then lands an uppercut to my jaw. I fly upwards, just flying upwards for a moment before I spin mid air, regaining control of my body. I did not a moment too soon either, as he jumped up to punch me but instead got a fist full of steel. He quickly recovered and we started trading blows again. I land a blow on his chin, but then he lands one on my side. Then I land one in his gut as he lands one at junction of my shoulder and neck, then we both land one on each other's chin as we land and push each other away from the other. We both then begin the exchange again, and block each other blows with the same attack until we both punch each other's fist and stay locked up like that.

"Not bad baldie, but you seem a bit tired already. What, your old age getting to you now?" I asked sarcastically as we both struggled for dominance, our fist struggling to finish their intended punch.

"Nah, just wondering how I should celebrate when I win. Should I go and beat your husband next, or just take a nap, because as you say I am older." He said sarcastically, trying to get under my skin of steel, but I didn't bite. Eventually we both stopped the deadlock and swing the other arm forward, connecting with each other's jaw, but I can feel his jaw cracking slightly.

'I guess steel beats rock, even iron rock. This might end soon if he doesn't use that last technique he used last time, because I'm still running on more than half a tank of energy. Him, not so much no matter what he says.'

(POV Change Back to Jura)

'Damn it! She broke a jaw bone. Not a very big fracture I can tell, but she isn't getting tired as fast as I am. I don't know what to do now. I could use Iron Rock: Body Change, but I haven't tried that since our last battle and I don't know how that would affect my back. But, I may not have much of a choice here, I'm running out of energy here and I can already feel the fatigue in my back. Damn, I may be stronger, but long fights don't suit me well anymore, I can't maintain my speed lie I used to. Shit, here she comes!'

She charges at me again and punches me in the gut before I can stop her, and then she grabs beard before I fall backwards from the force of her blow. Then she tugs hard on my beard and I lunge forward, she punches me in the face using the momentum of me being pulled forward to add to her punch. I feel a cheek bone crack, and she lets go of my beard as she punched me, sending me flying. I hit the wall back first but feel no other pain than hitting the wall.

'Huh, that should have hurt more than usual since I hit my back so hard, but it didn't. Maybe I can use, Iron Rock: Body Change, no problem. Well, it's not like I have a choice anymore, I can't win like this it's impossible now. Well, I guess it's down to my last ditch effort again.' I stand up and look at her, calling out to her and asking, "How much magical energy have you used up?"

"Well, since keeping this armor on constantly saps my energy little by little, and the fact that we have fought pretty closely as well, I would say sixty percent as of right now. Maybe a little less or more, not really sure. Not since my battle with Zeref have I been pushed this far. So well done." She answered and I nodded to her, thanking her for the compliment.

"Unfortunately, all that is good must come to an end, as this will soon. You know my trump card, but can you stop it? Iron Rock: Body Change!" I yelled and I felt my bones and body change shape. I feel myself become one with my magic and look at Nena, calculating how long I have in this form. 'I'm down to thirty percent probably, so I'd say ten minutes or so. Hopefully my back can handle the stress this form causes it or else I will lose again. Better make this quick!'

I charge at her and lead with my shoulder, but she jumps up and avoids me. I look up and yell, "Talus!" and iron rock poles shoot up at her and she yells, "Pierdas Calientes!" Lava appears and melts the poles, and they disappear as the last of the lava falls down. I side step the lava and watch as she lands near me. I look her way and yell, "Rumbling Mt. Fuji!" The ground beneath her explodes with a surge of magical energy, and it goes up into the sky but I see that she is not in the magical energy. 'Eight Minutes to go, I can do this!'

I look around and see she is nowhere to be seen. I remember what happened earlier and punch the ground with all my might and split the ground open. But she's not there and I look above me and see no one there. 'Where…' "Shit."

"Shit indeed." She said coolly from behind me and punches me in the back and lands another one in the kidney before I can stop her. She then lands one more punch to where she broke my back the first time, but this time it feels funny. I look and see that her knuckles had brass knuckles, well steel knuckles, on them on top of the armor and I realize she had planned that. 'Fuck! That one hurt! Better hurry, she might have re-aggravated the injury and cost me time. I'll drop the timer to four minutes! Let's go!'

I turn and grab her, her face giving away the fact that she was surprised that I could still move, "It may have been broken once, but that won't be enough to do it this time. Have a nice flight." I said as I threw her away and she did go on a long flight, going all the way to the opposite end of the room and hitting the wall hard. But it seemed to barely affect her as she just got up and charged back at me. 'Three minutes, I have to hurry!'

I start charging at her as well and feel my back getting sore, and I know this has to be the last exchange as I am going to run out of endurance soon enough. We reach other and we begin the final exchange. I land a blow to her knee with my leg, but she doesn't buckle and instead lands a blow to my rib cage with her leg. Then so fast I barely have to time to react, she punches me in the jaw and then follows that up with a stomp to my knee. I buckle as I feel the fatigue is getting to the point where I can barely move. Then the battled ends, at least symbolically as my body changes back to normal and I fall to my knees. "No… no not yet. I was so much closer this time." I say dejectedly and I think and realize, that last exchange was too much.

"You're right you were close, but still no cigar baldie. But at least this fight was fun this time, I actually had to use almost all my power that was like ninety percent. Very well done." She said and then she punched me on the head, and then I was unconscious, not quite as disappointed as the last time but still a bit disappointed.

(POV Change Back to Nena)

I look at Jura as falls down face first and knew he was out cold. I sigh and let the armor fall away from me, and feel the cool air of the room hit my skin again. 'Wow, that was a lot harder than I had hoped. But I proved that I was the better of us, the better mage for today. Better get upstairs and see how everything else is going.' I walk outside and go up the hidden stairs in the back of the arena and reach the roof. But I don't see Lucy like I was supposed to, and I look and don't see anyone there. 'What happened? Did Juvia fuck something up? Fuck.' I run over to the lacrima and see that the only battles that I can see still going on are Esoj's and Natsu's.

Then I hear an explosion behind, looking to find the city frozen and partially destroyed. 'Found Lucy and Gray. Better go and help Esoj so we can help Lucy, or Natsu but he looks like he is still well in control of his fight.' I turn to leave and then suddenly I sense people there and turn to them. But I never see who it is, as they are on me before I can see them and they hit me on the head. They hit me hard as I feel myself slipping into unconsciousness from the blow and general fatigue. But I do hear who it is as one says, "Come on Karr, we should get the next one before we go after the other two."

'Mern! You bastard, Esoj was right about you, you weren't to be trusted! Fuck…' I fall, completely unconscious and pray that Esoj and everyone else will be alright.

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A/N: DUN DUN DUN! Whew! Sorry this is so late tonight but it was necessary as that got intense for a minute there. I hope you guys liked it and,Remember! READ AND REVIEW, OR FAVORITE OR FOLLOW EVEN IF YOU SO PLEASE! ADIOS!