AN: Thanks Goku275, Wadeparker, and MDM11. Sorry I took so long to post. I got a bit distracted, only part of which was due to the holidays.
"Rah!" screamed Lyon, a passenger in his own body due to Invel's Ice Lock. He produced a serpentine dragon of ice with his magic, which charged at Gray. However, the devil slayer shattered it to pieces with a backhanded strike and punched the Lamia in the face.
"I'm so pathetic!" thought Lyon, angry at himself. "I came here to help Gray, only to get in his way. Although… it's not I'm actually obstructing him that much. I'm not even a challenge to him anymore."
As if to emphasize the Lamia's point, Gray formed a sword with his Ice Devil Slayer Magic and swung it at Lyon. Lyon created a shield with his Ice-Make, only for the Fairy to tear through it like paper and make a shallow cut in his chest.
"Just like with Ultear, I can't catch up. I got seven years that he didn't, and Gray is still better than me! I'm worthless!"
Gray kicked Lyon to the ground, then raised the ice sword over his head.
"…At least I won't be able to trouble him any longer. With me gone, that Spriggan should be easy pickings."
The devil slayer swung his sword and delivered the final blow. The blade pierced straight into the Fairy's chest and out his back.
"…What?"
The question escaped Lyon's throat. As the Ice Lock began to fade away and his ability to think clearly returned, the Lamia continued speaking.
"Why… why did you stab yourself!?"
"I don't want to hurt a fellow student of Ur's…" answered Gray, struggling against his failing body to get the words out. "No… I don't want… to hurt my brother! That's why I did this… I wanted… to protect… you…"
With those words, the Fairy collapsed. His ice sword faded away, causing blood to flow from the wound it had inflicted.
"…What's wrong with me?" muttered Lyon in a self-recriminating tone. He looked at his comrade's… at his brother's body with eyes full of sorrow. "Feeling bad for myself in the middle of a war… I should've been looking for a way out like he was…"
His gaze shifted to Invel.
"There's only one way to make this right…" murmured the Lamia. He raised his voice, addressing the Spriggan. "I should've learned my lesson after Galuna Island. I'm done letting my feelings of inadequacy weigh me down!" "…And that's by taking you down!"
"Unbelievable," uttered Dimaria, the disgust in her voice almost palpable.
Brandish jumped, startled by her words and the tone she said them in. Brandish turned to face Dimaria, who continued to berate her.
"'I do not intend to betray the Alvarez Empire'? What sort of farce is that!? You've already betrayed us by refusing to fight!"
Brandish winced at these words, hurt by the venom that her comrade was spewing at him. But she did not back down.
"When I got captured… and then again when Zeref sent Ajeel, Jacob, and I to retrieve you and the others…" began Brandish. "I caught a glimpse of the people of the country. They were scared. Confused. Vulnerable. The Ishgarans went from being faceless enemies to people who are just trying to protect themselves and their loved ones."
Memories of her mother passed through Brandish's mind, both those from her childhood and the ones that Aquarius had shown her and Lucy just two days ago.
"I can't take away their families," declared Brandish. "I might be betraying by country, but if I killed them, I would be betraying myself."
"…"
Dimaria did not respond to her fellow Spriggan's words. Instead, she ground her teeth and activated her magic.
The next thing Brandish knew, she was falling to the ground, a large wound cutting into her stomach. Behind her, Dimaria sheathed a knife and spoke.
"Those damn Fairies have ruined you, Randi! Maybe I should just kill you now, before my memory of you is also ruined!"
Before she could act on that thought, however, an unexpected guest arrived and cried out in shock.
"What the hell is going on here!?" exclaimed Ajeel, shocked at the sight of Dimaria trying to kill Brandish.
"Ice-Make: Ice Geyser!" shouted Lyon, making a tower of icy spikes erupt from beneath Invel. The Spriggan jumped to the side, dodging the rising spikes. Having expect the evasion, the Lamia followed up by firing wing-shaped blades of ice at him. "Ice-Make: Swan's Wings!"
"How annoyingly persistent," muttered Invel in irritation, freezing and shattering the Ice-Make. He had initially been caught off guard when Gray resisted Ice Lock and killed himself, but Lyon had lacked the ability to take advantage of that momentary weakness. "Ice Slave."
Another collar formed around Lyon's neck, the chain trailing off into Invel's right hand this time. The Spriggan gave the Lamia a look of indifference as he futilely grabbed the collar and attempted to tear it off.
"…Not…" said Lyon, writhing as he pulled against the restraint. He focused his magic on the collar, hoping to understand and undo it. Despite the freezing of his mind (or perhaps because of it), he was able to succeed. "…Again!"
Yet again, Invel was dumbfounded as one of his spells was overcome. The collar around Lyon's neck cracked under his grip and shattered into pieces.
"Impossible!" exclaimed the Spriggan. The Lamia rushed at him, forming a sword of ice and slashing with it as he ran. In spite of his shock, Invel was able to hastily act to defend himself. "True-Ice Kamui!"
Armor formed around the Spriggan, blocking the Lamia's blade mere moments before it hit. The Ice-Make weapon froze as it struck, causing it to shatter under the force with which Lyon had swung it. Nevertheless, Invel was unhappy.
"For a nobody like you to force me to play my trump card," bemoaned the Spriggan. "How disgraceful of me."
"Then you should get ready," responded the Lamia, unfazed by the destruction of his sword. "Because it'll get much worse once I defeat this so-called trump card of yours!"
"Brandish betrayed us," Dimaria told Ajeel, her voice brimming with rage. She tightened her grip on the knife dripping with Brandish's blood. "She's refusing to fight for the Alvarez Empire."
"Well, that's a problem…" said Ajeel, frowning as he trailed off. Dimaria smirked at Brandish triumphantly, at least until the male Spriggan's next words. "Because I've also decided to stop fighting."
Ever since the Thunder God Tribe had beaten him, he had only used his magic to move defeated soldiers off the battlefield and to safety.
"What?" went Dimaria disbelievingly. Fortunately for Ajeel, learning that a second Spriggan had treasonous thoughts caused her to freeze for a moment, giving him the opportunity to explain himself.
"I've been wondering about the rightness of our empire and this invasion. I know that Acnologia must be stopped, but I'm starting to doubt that Emperor Spriggan acquiring Fairy Heart is the only way to succeed. What if there's a better way?"
Dimaria's disbelief was swallowed up by rage as she processed Ajeel's words. She felt tempted to halt time and cut him down while she spoke, but something held her back.
"The mages in this country aren't like those in any of the other places we've conquered," continued Ajeel. "They've been able to match — and even defeat — us. And Acnologia is our true enemy, not them, so doesn't it make the most sense to work together?"
"…" Dimaria was silent. The hand with the knife shook, and her knuckles turned white from clenching it so tightly. "…That's impossible. August may have died, but that must've been a fluke. Besides, we still have Emperor Spriggan and Irene, and there's no way these Fiore mages could compare to them. Teaming up would be pointless."
Ajeel tensed up. If Dimaria wasn't going to accept his words, then a fight was imminent. While he wasn't too tired or injured due to the nature of his defeat by the Thunder God Tribe, he still didn't like his odds of defeating Dimaria — especially while taking care to avoid harming Brandish (who had fainted from blood loss).
"However," proceeded Dimaria, surprising her fellow Spriggan. "If all it will take to make you come back to your senses is watching the Alvarez Empire crush Fiore, then I suppose there is no harm in simply sitting by and waiting for that to happen."
"There's no point in further diminishing the Spriggan 12's fighting strength," rationalized Dimaria mentally. Ajeel's argument definitely didn't sway her! "Plus, if Fiore somehow wins, then Brandish wouldn't be a traitor! No-not that I care one way or another!"
"This is demonic ice that freezes all it touches," said Invel, explaining his True-Ice Kamui. He blocked a punch from Lyon with an open palm, and the Lamia's fist began to freeze. "It will freeze you solid! Then I will shatter you to pieces!"
"You know," responded Lyon, enduring as his outstretched arm started to freeze and crack. "Despite bragging about how your Ice Magic is superior to Ice-Make, you don't seem to understand the first thing about Molding Magic. As long as I can envision something…"
The Lamia's fist, which had been stopped by the Spriggan, suddenly developed a new layer of ice and moved forward. The armor that had been protecting Invel's arm was shattered, and Invel stumbled back from a mixture of the attack's force and his own disbelief.
"…I can create it!"
"He imitated the ice that makes up True-Ice Kamui with his magic, then encased his arm in it!" realized the Spriggan. "At this rate, he'll become strong enough to defeat me… I must end this battle now!"
Reforming the broken part of his armor, Invel charged at Lyon. The Lamia, not expecting the Spriggan to engage in close combat, wasn't able to react in time to defend himself as ice-coated hands wrapped around his neck.
"Ack!" gasped Lyon, the rapid freezing of his throat exacerbating his sudden inability to breath. The Lamia refused to go down, though, slamming his still-encased-in-ice arm into Invel's solar plexus with all the force he could muster.
The Spriggan let out a scream as the armor on his chest and upper back shattered. However, his grip on Lyon's neck did not loosen.
"This is the end!" declared Invel. The ice spread from the Lamia's neck, making his face even bluer. "You Ishgarans should have known your place! You cannot defeat the Alvarez—"
The Spriggan's words were cut off as an arrow of purple ice struck his exposed back and burst into cluster of icy spikes. Invel's strength left him, his ice and his grip on Lyon's neck both disappearing. He was barely able to turn around and catch sight of Gray, whose self-inflicted wound was now frozen over.
"But… how…" uttered the Spriggan as he lost consciousness.
"Belov— —ay!"
Gray saw only darkness, but he also heard Juvia's voice. He supposed that was to be expected. Regardless of whether the afterlife that awaited him was heavenly or hellish, it would include her. Although, her voice sounded strangely upset.
"Pl— —ake up!"
*Ba-bump*
Gray's eyes shot open. His head was pointed upward, looking at Juvia's face. She practically radiated worry for him.
"Huh?" went the devil slayer, still a bit dazed. "Am I… still alive?"
"Gray!" cried Juvia, her expression morphing to one of relief. "You're awake!"
Tears of joy began to fall from her face onto his.
"I… I wasn't sure you'd survive…! I didn't know if my Water-Make: Blood would be enough!"
Gray looked down at his chest. Where he had wounded himself, a stream of blood flowed through the air and into him. His gaze followed the blood to its source and found Juvia's right arm. Noticing where the devil slayer's attention was, she stopped the transfusion. Gray froze his wound over as soon as the last drop of her blood entered him.
"Thank you," said Gray wholeheartedly. Juvia blushed and squirmed in a mix of embarrassment and joy. "Where's Lyon?"
The female Fairy's demeanor became serious. "He's still fighting that Spriggan."
"…Which way?" asked the devil slayer as he rose to his feet. Juvia started to protest, but Gray didn't pay attention, noticing the distant sound of ice shattering. "Never mind."
"…And when I came over here…" Gray explained to Lyon. "…I saw Invel choking you and took a shot at him with Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction Bow."
"I see," replied Lyon, looking at the unconscious Spriggan. "I guess that makes us even."
"Even?"
"For trying to kill yourself in front of me! Do you know how it felt to watch you do that!?" snapped the Lamia. His outburst over, Lyon sighed and continued talking in a calmer tone. "That only leaves one question."
"Yeah?"
"Why are you getting a lap pillow from Juvia right now?"
The two Ice Mages looked at the female Fairy, who was currently wearing an expression of bliss.
"I might be even with you for taking out Invel," began Gray, blushing. "But I still owe Juvia for almost dying and rejoining the fight despite my injuries."
"I see…"
Omake
"Um… Juvia?" said Gray nervously, getting the Fairy's attention.
"Yes Gray?" asked Juvia in a cheerful tone.
"When can I get up?" he inquired, referring to the still-in-progress lap pillow. It was embarrassing to be doing a lap pillow in public and being on a battlefield made it worse.
"When that ice on your chest isn't the only thing keeping you from bleeding out," she answered, still a bit sour about Gray's actions.
"I hope Wendy or Sherria comes across us soon," thought the devil slayer, blushing.
It didn't help that Lyon was staring at him with envy, wishing that he could be doing a lap pillow with Meredy.
AN: Is it weird that I find Juvia stalking Gray to be creepy and disapprove of it, yet I enjoy them being shipped together?
On a separate note, I only realized this just before posting the chapter, but Lyon mentions Invel looking down on Ice-Make despite me not writing any scenes where the Spriggan insulted the magic in front of him. Whoops. Let's just assume that Invel threw some insults after Gray's apparent demise about how a "mage with mere Ice-Make could never compare to a true Ice Mage" or something to that effect.
My mistake aside, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the next chapter should come out sooner. Goodbye for now!