Chapter 9
'Thinking' – thoughts
"Speaking" – speech
'Thinking' – Dragon/God/Beast thinking
"Speaking" - Dragon/God/Beast speaking
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters they are property of Hiro Masima.
Amanny: I'm glad you like that, I wanted to portray some of Natsu's personality outside of battle situations.
ravage21133: I will not be answering this question as to avoid spoilers.
Monxu Aki: Here you go with the next one, hope you enjoy it as well.
Ssj shadow: The pairing was done with a vote, but I see you like Natza, I also like that pairing and maybe in the future I will write a story with that pairing but currently the other two stories I am busy thinking about there is already a specific pairing in them. I'm glad you like the Natsu I made out of combat.
-Fairy Tail Guild's hall with Mira and Erza-
Mira was staring at the figure of 'Death Walker' as he walked to the exit. She then heard a groan coming from the table she was standing next to and immediately looked at Erza who was starting to wake up.
"What happened?" Erza asked in a groggy voice while she rubbed her head.
"You stopped the Jupiter Cannon but you were knocked out. Then that 'Death Walker' guy came here and cast some spell on you that apparently helped you recover and seeing as you are awake I think it worked," Mira explained as she quickly looked over Erza once more to ensure that she is all right.
"' Death Walker' is here?" Erza asked in shock as her eyes widened. She immediately sat up and barely got a glimpse of the mysterious man as he exited the guildhall.
"He was here but he said something about lecturing an old idiot about the value of life," Mira replied, calming Erza slightly.
"You said he helped me recover with a spell, why would he do that?" Erza asked as she tried to think of a reason 'Death Walker' would feel he needed to help her, especially with how she had threatened him almost every time they encountered one another.
"That is the part of this that I struggle the most with understanding. He said that you saved a lot of lives, so he was returning the favour," Mira said before being interrupted by Erza.
"Of course I will protect my guildmates. And why does it sound as if he gained something out of us not dying, it's not he has any personal attachments to any of us and he already showed in his past that taking a life isn't something he is above doing?" Erza asked, adding a bit of venom to her voice at the end.
"I was getting to the weird part before you interrupted," Mira said and glared at Erza who just lowered her head a muttered a barely audibly apology to which Mira just rolled her eyes.
"Anyway, the weird thing he said was that you spared him the trouble of dealing with the aftermath. It sounded like he would have done something that he didn't necessarily want to do if the blast hit and killed people," Mira said with a confused and thoughtful expression.
"We can dwell on that later, for now, I will go and deal with Phantom Lord and show them why they should never have made an enemy out of Fairy Tail," Erza said in a dark tone. Before Mira could object Erza was already halfway through the door. 'Stubborn as ever, but then again you wouldn't be Erza if you suddenly became compliant with everything we might bring up,' Mira thought with a smile.
-With Natsu as he exited the guildhall-
"' Death Walker' is here?" Natsu heard Erza's shocked question. Natsu wasn't really surprised that Erza had already recovered. The combination of his spell and the reputation of Fairy Tail mages not staying down lead him to conclude that she would join the battle as soon as he left.
Natsu made his way towards the mobile guildhall on the water, simply walking through the fighting Fairy Tail mages and shade soldiers of Jose. Any shade that would come near him would be zapped by a purple bolt of energy and disintegrate. He could hear some of the Fairy Tail mages ask who the man covered in black and grey was but he simply ignored them as he had prey to hunt.
Natsu melted into the shadows of the giant building as he came up the mobile guild hall and soon appeared next to the Jupiter Cannon barrel. There was a large hole next to it in the wall so he simply walked through there. As he entered he had do dodge a fireball that exploded next to him.
As he entered the hole he saw Haru fighting a young man with long, two-toned, black and white hair that is tied up into a Japanese-style top knot on the back of his head. The black portion overlaid the front and left side of his head and the smaller white part concentrated on the left with the knot having both colours. He has a simple marking consisting of three horizontal black bars across the ridge of his nose and both cheeks in a linear formation. He wore a ninja-like attire consisting of a long orange-reddish karate gi-like cloth held closed by a black belt. The sides were made of thick fishnet, with looser fishnet appearing on his forearms. He also has a pair of loose simple black pants tucked inside simple black boots. On his left hip, he has a simple katana.
"Fire Dragon Roar" Haru called out and spewed out a large amount of fire. The fire suddenly veered left and completely missed a giant lacrima the seemed to be the main energy source of the Jupiter Cannon.
"I am Totomaru, The Great Fire, and I have complete control over the element of fire," Totomaru said as he looked at Haru in a bored way.
'Totomaru, adept in pyrokinesis, the power to control fire in the area around him,' Natsu recalled the information he had on the member of the Element Four.
"He must be one of those Element Four guys," Haru commented.
"Yes, they are like our S-Class mages," Happy replied.
"Fire Dragon Iron Fist" Haru called out and charged Totomaru with his flame engulfed fist. Totomaru merely chuckled and swiped his arm from left to right. Haru's right fist suddenly swung left, decking him in the jaw.
"What don't you understand by 'I control fire'?" Totomaru laughed.
"You won't be controlling mine," Haru shouted and charged Totomaru with a call of "Fire Dragon Iron Fist". Once again the results were the same with Haru hitting himself in the face.
"Five minutes till Jupiter Cannon is ready to fire," a female voice announced.
"We don't have time to be playing around Haru hurry," Happy shouted.
"Fire Dragon Wing Attack" Haru called out and swung two whips of fire at the lacrima. The whips changed direction and slammed into the ground.
"Why won't my attacks listen to me?" Haru cried out in frustration.
"That is because you don't have the right vision of your fire," Natsu made himself known.
"Who are you?" Totomaru asked the black-clad man.
"' Death Walker', what are you doing here and what do you mean by my vision is wrong?" Haru asked in confusion.
"I have my reasons to be here. As for your vision, you currently see the flames in your attack as your own, meaning the flames of a human. That is why this guy can control them. Don't be a disgrace to the dragons you get your magic from," Natsu said and turned away, walking to a passageway that should lead him to his prey.
"What did he mean by that?" Happy asked his partner.
"I think I know what he meant," Haru said. He stood up straight and breathed in and out, calming himself. Totomaru was just getting over his shock that the dangerous 'Death Walker' was apparently in their guildhall at this moment when he saw a ring of fire spring into existence around Haru. The ring of fire shrunk with each intake of breath from Haru and grew each time he exhaled.
"The flames of a dragon will never be controlled, they are alive and wild. The only thing you can do is harness their power and release that power on a location," Haru said, resisting a lesson Igneel taught him early on in his training.
"What are you babbling on about?" Totomaru asked in annoyance.
"Thank you 'Death Walker' I almost forgot that part," Haru smiled as he looked up at Totomaru. The image Totomaru saw as he looked at Haru was quite the frightening one. The fire rose up behind Haru and leaving only a shadowed silhouette of Haru with gleaming red eyes.
"Fire Dragon Roar," Haru shouted as a large amount of fire spewed out of his mouth strait at Totomaru.
"Don't you ever learn, I control fire," Totomaru yelled out and swiped his arm from left to right, intending on redirecting the stream of fire away from himself and the lacrima. He was surprised when the fire just continued straight towards him.
"What the hell, why can't I control this fire?" Totomaru shouted in shock as the fire neared him.
"Dragon's fire can't be controlled. Up until now I only used normal flames because I forgot the basics of Fire Dragon Slayer flames. It can't be controlled," Haru said with a wicked smile.
The flames consumed Totomaru and a pained shout could be heard coming from within the vortex. When the flames died down Totomaru fell forward unconscious.
"You beat him," Happy cheered. The fight had seemed lost before 'Death Walker' came and gave Haru the needed advice to turn the tables of the battle.
"Yeah, take that Totomoro or whatever your name is," Haru laughed happily over his victory.
"One minute till Jupiter Cannon is ready to fire," the female voice announced.
"AH, Haru quick destroy the lacrima," Happy yelled once they heard this and remembered the reason they were there.
"Fire Dragon Roar" Haru shouted and a torrent of fire smashed into the large lacrima. Cracks started to spread across the lacrima.
-With Erza as she exited the guildhall-
The Fairy Tail mages looked at the dark energy starting to form in the barrel of the Jupiter Cannon.
"Didn't they stop it in time?" one of the guild members called out.
Erza began steeling her resolve and was about to re-quip into her Adamantine Armour to attempt and block it a second time when the barrel exploded. Cheers erupted from the Fairy Tail mages at seeing the dreaded Jupiter Cannon blow up.
"They have lost their Jupiter Cannon. Now we counter-attack," Erza yelled out and raised her sword into the air as Fairy Tail rallied behind her. The assault from the shades now seemed to be manageable without the threat of the Jupiter Cannon weighing down on their shoulders.
"You think you have won? Awaken the giant," Jose's voice was once again transmitted.
The Phantom Lord Guild's hall started to shift, parts of it repositioned and it began to take an ominous form. The guildhall wan now a massive humanoid robotic mage.
"Now you stand before Phantom Lord's greatest weapon, the Super Mage Giant Phantom MK II. Kneel before me you pathetic mongrels, soon I will erase you from this world," Jose called out over his broadcasting system.
The giant began to draw a massive magic circle in the air in front of it. Panic began to ensue with the Fairy Tail mages as soon as they realised it was for the forbidden spell 'Abyss Break', a devastating and deadly spell that requires the four elements, water, fire, air and earth to cast.
"Warren, let the team inside know that the Element Four must be the ones powering the giant and that if they are defeated Abyss Break will not be cast," Mira called out to one of her guildmates since with each member defeated the spell will take longer to activate. They were lucky that Haru had already defeated one of the Element four by this time so the spell was already being cast at a much slower rate.
Suddenly 'Lucy', who was really Mira who transformed herself to look like Lucy stepped in front of her guildmates.
"Leave them alone, I'm the one you want. If you swear to stop attacking them I will surrender," 'Lucy' called out.
"Nice try, imposter, I knew from the start Lucy Heartfilia wasn't here," Jose's voice boomed out in anger. A magic circle formed under Mira's feet after she undid her transformation. She was sucked into the circle and appeared between the fingers of the giant. The Fairy Tail mages started to fear for Mira's safety but they were unable to help her due to the continued assault of Jose's shade soldiers.
"I will go and save Mira, the rest of you keep fighting with everything you have," Erza ordered. "Re-quip: Heavens Wheel Armour" she called out and used the wings on the armour to fly to the giant. She knew she wouldn't be able to break Mira free so she instead opted to find the control room and make the giant release her from there.
-With Elfman in the halls of the giant-
Elfman was running through the halls of the guild building after getting a telepathic message from Warren that if they defeated the Element Four then the giant would be stopped. As he ran through the halls shouting 'Manly' challenges a slim man of average height with a tiny pointed moustache and green hair that pointed upwards appeared from the ground. The man had a formal brown suit on and a monocle attached to a small chain over his right eye. The man was swaying back and forth with his feet melded to the ground.
"Salut Monsieur Elfman, I am Monsieur Sol, The Great Earth, of the Element Four. I am sorry but I cannot allow you to run rampant in this guildhall," Sol said politely with a French accent.
"So you are one of the Element Four, that means I have to defeat you to stop this giant," Elfman grinned. Elfman charged the slim man shouting "Take-over: Beast Arm: Black Bull" as he swung his black bull arm at Sol which Sol easily dodged by sinking into the ground and reappearing somewhere else.
After a few missed swings Sol decided to go on the offensive and called out his attack "Roche Concerto", a barrage of massive rocks bombarded Elfman. Elfman flipped in the air and landed on his feet. He was prepared to attack again when Sol got an evil expression on his face.
"Many years ago you attempted a full-body take-over and failed, non, and went berserk?" Sol asked while grinning.
"Shut up," Elfman called out. "Take-over: Beast Arm: Iron Bull" Elfman shouted as he jumped into the air and transformed his arm into one made of iron. Just before he could slam his fist into Sol a small girl with short hair formed from the sand.
"Lisanna," Elfman quietly said and he didn't follow through with his attack, just keeping his arm pulled back.
"You killed your little sister, non, non, and non, now that is not very manly of you," Sol said. He created more of these statuses all around Elfman. Elfman dropped to a knee as Sol continued to insult him and saying that he wasn't a real man and that he murdered his little sister and calling him a monster.
"Roche Concerto" Sol called out and blasted Elfman into a nearby wall. The wall gave in revealing that it was an outside wall. From where he landed Elfman could see an uncomfortable Mira in the clutches of the giant.
"Mira," Elfman yelled out to his big sister in fear of her safety.
"Oh, that's your older sister, Mademoiselle Mirajane or the 'She-devil'. She holds merely a fraction of the power she once had. She will soon be crushed to death, die before your eyes like your little sister," Sol said as he came up behind Elfman and called out his next spell "Merci la Vie".
Elfman was covered in stone as he was forced to relive the painful day where Mira was called for an emergency S-Class mission and he and Lisanna accompanied her. Elfman had attempted to perform a take-over of the beast but it proved too strong and eventually, he caused the death of his little sister because he couldn't control the beast. From that day Mira lost most of her power and retired from being an active mage and Elfman never attempted a full-body take-over.
Sol's spell forced Elfman to relive that memory for all eternity if he couldn't break free.
Mira was calling out to Elfman saying that she wouldn't be able to go on if she lost another family member.
"You dare use lost loved ones to torment an opponent," a dark and raging voice was heard coming from behind Sol and the feeling of death itself started to suffocate him. Sol turned around to see a man in a blackjacked and grey hood staring at him. The only thing Sol could see of the man's face was two glowing dark purple eyes with black slits. The imposing figure frightened Sol to such a degree that all he could see was the menacing eyes and al thought vanished from his mind, being replaced by utter fear.
The loss of concentration on Sol's part gave Elfman the needed opening to escape from his torment after accepting what he did in combination with Mira's cries for him to break free. Elfman looked at Mira and saw tears running down her face. This angered him to no ends since he swore that he never let anyone make her cry again.
"Full-body take-over: Beast Soul: The Beast" Elfman roared. Elfman's size increased exponentially with his arms getting longer, larger and sprouting claws, he gains thick, maroon fur with his abdomen and pectorals prominent in the middle and a pale green colour. His hair takes on a mane-like appearance, his ears and teeth becomes pointed, he grows a pair of striped horns pointing upwards and a similar pair of spikes coming out of his shoulders.
"I would have dealt with you myself, but it seems like there is someone that has a greater claim to your head than I," the cloaked figure said before he retreated back down the hall. Sol was confused yet relieved that the man left until he felt a power from behind him. He dreaded to turn around but a growl coming from behind he spun around.
"Non, non, and non, this should not be possible. How can you perform a full-body take-over," Sol asked in a frightened voice.
The beast proceeded to grab Sol and smash him into the ground repeatedly. He followed this up by slamming him into the ground and pounding him repeatedly until Mira called his name. He jumped out to Mira and stood on the fingers of the giant.
"Please don't tell me you lost control again, please Elfman I need you to be strong," Mira said in a desperate tone. The beast pulled the fingers apart and gently embraced Mira.
"I'm so sorry big sis, I promised never to attempt a full-body take-over again," Elfman apologised in a beastly voice.
"You're still in control, I'm so happy you are in control, thank you for saving me, please don't beat yourself up about Lisanna," Mira said happily and embraced Elfman who turned back into his human form.
-With Gray on one of the giant's shoulders-
Gray just finished his fight with Juvia, The Rain Woman of the Element Four. She is a slender woman with azure blue hair, midnight-blue eyes and snow-white skin. Her long hair is tightly curled at the base and she wore a sapphire blue coat, a cream coloured furry trimmed navy blue shawl and a Russian Cossack hat. The rain had dried up as quickly as it appeared at the start of their fight once Juvia was defeated. Mira and Elfman showed up and saw Gray keeling next to an unconscious Juvia who had hearts for eyes.
"So there is only one more left then this is all over," Elfman said as he and Mira came to a halt next to Gray.
"No, if we defeat Aria then the giant will be stopped but there is still 'Black Steel' Gajeel, the ace, and Jose their master to deal with," Mira informed the two.
-Porlyusica's home-
A bright glow surrounded Makarov for a moment when Porlyusica's back was turned. When she looked back at Makarov who was in a stable condition due to her efforts she didn't see any change and chalked the slight power surge felt to her imagination.
-With Erza in the Phantom Lord giant-
Erza was making her way through the halls of the giant, looking for the control room, unaware that Mira was now out of harm's way thanks to Elfman. She heard a familiar voice call out "Fire Dragon Roar" followed by a pained scream. Erza rushed towards where Haru was currently in pain.
She burst through a door and saw an extremely tall and massive man with tanned skin and quite small and thin limbs in comparison to his massive body, standing behind Haru with tears flowing down his bandage-covered eyes. The man wore a large loose green coat with white edges and a wide high collar. The front is left open revealing a yellow robe and an extremely loose pair of pants with prominent hems and a simple pair of dark shoes. Around his neck is an orange coloured necklace with a small skull with its eyes obscured by a bandage.
Erza moved quickly and delivered a swift kick to the large man, releasing the spell he had on Haru.
"Erza," Happy called out in joy. Haru was losing the fight since he wasn't able to recharge the magic he lost fighting Totomaru along with his opponent being Aria, The Great Sky, and strongest member of the Element Four.
"Are you sure you are well enough to be here, you stopped the Jupiter Cannon and was knocked unconscious," Haru asked with concern.
Erza turned around with a glare that frightened Haru and Happy, but it was directed at Aria who was standing behind them.
"So you are the one who harmed our master," Erza stated. She realised that the spell that affected Haru was the same one that drained Makarov of his magic.
"The great Erza Scarlet, seems like fate decreed that the 'Titania' will lose her head along with Salamander," Aria said with a grin.
"See Happy I told you my moniker would catch on," Haru smiled at his blue feline partner who responded with an "Aye".
"Our Master has suffered by your hands, I will avenge him," Erza declared.
"Since I am faced with a worthy opponent I should take my battles more seriously," Aria said as he removed his blindfolds revealing his pink pupils that had an X on them. Heavy winds began to pick up and threw most of the rubble, which was a result of Haru and Aria's encounter, all around the place.
"Step into Zero, Airspace of death. It consumes that lives of all who dare to enter," Aria said as he widened his stance.
"A spell that consumes life, you scoundrel," Erza re-quipped a sword, composed of a long rolled-up handle with a wide base, with the sword having multiple curved edges leading up to the rolled-up tip at the end of the blade, and started to charge Aria. Aria sent a typhoon of this airspace spell at Erza. Shock filled Aria as Erza steadily advanced, slicing the airspace as she moved forward.
"How is this possible, she is cutting through my Airspace," Aria shouted in disbelief. As Erza neared him she jumped into the air and yelled out "Re-quip: Wind God Armour". The armour she now wore took the form of a tribal-type robe that covers the wearer's upper body in a pale pink waist coat-like garb. The neckline is topped with white fur that runs along the edges of the robe. Under her bust is a pale green sash lined with white fur. A pair of wings sit on either side of her head with her hair tied into a low ponytail. The lower portion of the armour consists out of a pair of black pants and light, shin-high boots.
"Wind Slicer" Erza called out and a blade of wind hit Aria square in the chest. Aria fell defeated.
"I acquired this armour after the Eisenwald incident where I was useless against Erigor's 'Wind Barrier'. I never thought I would find such a fitting use for it so soon," Erza said.
-Outside the Guildhall with Fairy Tail-
The Magic circle that the giant was drawing started top glow and panic ensued. The mages thought that the spell was about to be cast only for it to shrink and eventually disappear as well as the giant shutting down and now only becoming a massive, unmoving eyesore.
"They did it, they defeated the Element Four," Cana yelled out. The victory of their guildmates on the inside gave the mages outside even more vigour to attack the shade soldier who was beginning to lose ground.
-In the Phantom Lord control room-
A slim tall man with long, straight dark red hair that reached his shoulders sat in a chair with a visible scowl. He had a thin moustache prominent eyelashes and dark-coloured lips. He wore a militaristic outfit consisting of a long, blue coat closed on the right side of his chest, a black belt and a brownish cape on his left shoulder. He had a Wizard Saint medallion visible around his neck, keeping the collars of his outfit closed. The outfit is completed by a loose pair of blue pants that are tucked into black boots, and his hair tied into a high ponytail. Jose Parola, Tenth Wizard Saint and Master of Phantom Lord, was not a happy man.
"I don't believe it my strongest wizards, the Element Four, was wiped out by that Fairy Tail scum," Jose raged.
"If they were beaten by scum doesn't that make them worse than scum?" a gruff voice asked and as Jose turned he saw Gajeel dragging an unconscious Lucy into the room as he proceeded to drop her on the floor.
"It's good to see there is still one competent mage in my ranks, but she is alive right?" Jose praised Gajeel before asking his question.
"Hmm, I was pretty rough with her, let's see," Gajeel said striking a thinking pose before kicking Lucy into one of the walls. This got a grunt of pain out of her as she hit the floor.
"Let's give the Fairies a little message," Jose said before gaining an evil grin that was mirrored by Gajeel.
-With Erza and Haru-
"Attention all Fairy Tail worms, listen carefully because I will only say this once," Jose's voice boomed over the broadcasting system followed by a familiar voice screaming in pain.
"Lucy," Haru and Erza said at the same time with concern in their voice.
"We have captured your precious Lucy Heartfilia. That means we have finished our first order of business and leaving us with only one more thing to do. Wiping you all right off the face of the earth," Jose's voice boomed maniacally.
"We have to save Lucy," Haru said in a panicked voice.
"Yes, if I'm not mistaken the largest threats that still remain are Jose and Gajeel. Haru you take on Gajeel while I will deal with Jose myself," Erza ordered. Without hesitation, Haru started sniffing the air before taking off in a direction.
-With Gajeel and Jose-
"I will be going to deal with some pests that are scuttling around in my guild hall while you stay here with the girl," Jose said as he walked out of the control room.
Shortly after Jose left Gajeel felt an eerie presence in the room. Looking left and right to try and find where it came from he soon spotted two violent purple eyes staring at him from the shadows. As his eyes locked onto them he felt his instincts telling him to run away as far as possible and never to look back because this was the incarnation of death that was staring him down.
"Where is Jose Parola?" a growling voice that came from the being that was shrouded in darkness asked. Gajeel, for the first time in his life, was frightened. He couldn't even muster the strength to answer this being of death.
"I will only ask this one more time. Where is Jose Parola?" the growling voice of death asked again.
Gajeel managed to lift his finger and point toward the door Jose left through. The terrifying being moved towards the door while being covered in shadows before leaving the room completely.
"Someone seems to be afraid," Lucy croaked out. She recognised the power as that of 'Death Walker' due to her few encounters with the man and the unique feeling his magic had.
"What the hell did you say?" Gajeel asked in anger, pushing the feeling of dread he felt coming off the monster to the back of his mind since it seemed like he was gone.
"You are afraid of that man," Lucy said with a weak smirk.
"That is no man blondie, that is a monster," Gajeel said narrowing his eyes. 'It seems like this bimbo knows that guy. Doesn't matter though, he will soon fall to Master Jose,' Gajeel smirked evilly. Gajeel reared his fist and turned it into an iron pole as he thrust his hand forward.
Just as he was about to make contact the ground burst into flames and Haru appeared. Gajeel stepped back to avoid the fire as Haru landed and immediately turned to Lucy.
"Hey, are you okay?" Haru asked her.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Lucy smiled even though her condition was bad she was still able to smile.
"Did I sense 'Death Walker' here?" Haru asked. He felt the familiar power just before he launched himself through the floor of the control room.
"Yeah he was, he wanted to know where Jose was and he sounded pissed," Lucy replied with a little smirk, thinking about how Jose will get beaten up by 'Death Walker'.
"Did you say 'Death Walker'?" Gajeel asked. He heard of the powerful and mysterious man and what he did. 'I'm lucky he didn't come after me,' Gajeel thought, from the rumours he heard he was sure he couldn't beat 'Death Walker' at his current power level but he was confident that none of the Fairies would be able to beat him, not even the Fire Dragon Slayer Salamander.
"You dare hurt my family. You will pay," Haru shouted when he realised Gajeel was there, he had momentarily forgotten when he was talking to Lucy. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist" Haru yelled and jumped at Gajeel. "Iron Dragon Club" Gajeel called out as his arm transformed into a large steel club which he used to block the fiery fist. The battle of two dragons had begun.
-With Erza after she encountered Jose-
Erza was in her Black Wing Armour slashing madly at Jose while dogging magical blasts that Jose was sending her way. She had run into him and they immediately started fighting. Erza was struggling to land a blow on Jose when he decided to taunt her for a while to torment her before he finished her off.
"Imagine how that old fool will feel when he sees his guildhall destroyed and his children dead. He will completely be consumed by sorrow. Once he wallows in sorrow I will swoop in and torture him until he finally decides to wither away and die," Jose said in a maniacal tone.
"Why are you doing this?" Erza asked, her voice shaking from anger. She slashed at him once again but he effortlessly dodges her attack.
"For as long as I can remember the Phantom Lord was at the top. We had the strongest members and the most capital. However recently Fairy Tail has begun to catch up and with the names, Laxus, 'Titania' and Mystogan became widely known and Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord are seen as the top guilds in Fiore. I refuse to be acquainted with such a feeble guild," Jose ranted.
"So you threaten the lives of many innocent souls just so that you can pad your ego?" Erza asked in anger.
"We are the dominate guild and I have grown tired of you. Say goodbye to your pathetic guild hall and your pathetic life," Jose said. "Shade Entangle" Jose called out as three ghostly figures sped out of his outstretched hand and immobilized Erza while causing her great pain. Erza screamed in pain as Jose looked on in delight.
"Struggle all you want, you will soon be dead by my feet and once your guild sees that the mighty 'Titania' has fallen they will lose all faith in victory," Jose said as he sent a shade after shade through Erza causing her immense pain.
Jose was laughing like a maniac as Erza screamed in pain. Out of nowhere a vortex of black and purple energy appeared and knocked Jose to the other side of the room and imbedded him in the wall. Erza was released from the binding shades and fell to the ground only to be caught by a black and grey cloaked man.
"' Death Walker'?" Erza questioned the man weakly.
"Leave here and aid your guild, I have some business with the fool Jose Parola," Natsu said as he lifted Erza to her feet. Erza wanted to object and say that this was her battle but she knew she wouldn't be able to defeat Jose. She knew that Jose was correct and that her defeat would most likely cause her guild to give up. The last of her strength left her and she attempted to stand and she toppled over, only to be caught once again by Natsu who gently laid her down.
"Jose Parola, for the attempted murder of hundreds of innocent souls you have been judged and I, son of Draco Mortem, will be the one to deliver your punishment," Natsu declared as he stood up straight and an eerie aura surrounded him.
Mira and Elfman suddenly entered the room and their eyes quickly fell on Erza's prone form. They had split up with Gray, sending him to aid Haru while they went to aid Erza. Mira quickly dashed to Erza's side with Elfman following quickly.
"We need to get her out of here and to a safer location," Mira told Elfman. She quickly glanced to the two powerful mages that were in the middle of an intense staredown.
"What happened here?" Elfman asked as he glanced at the two powerhouses.
"I don't know but for now I suggest we take Erza to a safe location so that she can recover, please help me with her," Mira asked Elfman. Elfman wanted to object and get revenge on Jose but when he saw the pleading look on Mira's face he relented. The two of them carefully picked up Erza and moved out of the room, searching for a safe space so that Erza can recover and that they can get back to fighting for their guild. She didn't realise who it was that was having a staredown with Jose but her priority was Erza.
"It seems like you think you can defeat me, boy. I am a Wizard Saint," Jose bragged, fully confident in his power.
"In death, the status one had in life is meaningless. The only thing that mattered is the path you have followed and this is where our paths clash. You will fall by my hand and I will stand victorious," Natsu declared.
"Compared to you I am a god," Jose laughed as he allowed his magical aura to leak out of him in an attempt to intimidate his opponent.
"Then I have exactly what is needed to bring you down," Natsu replied as a purple and black aura started to leak out of him.
-With Porlyusica-
Porlyusica heard a groan from behind her and as she looked behind her she saw that Makarov had woken up.
"How are you feeling?" she asked as she walked to the side of the bed. Makarov sat up in the bed and wanted to get out only to be halted by Porlyusica's voice.
"Not yet you still need rest," Porlyusica said.
"Since when do I listen to you?" Makarov asked a he got out of bed.
"A remarkably fast recovery, but tell me this do you hasten to your death?" Porlyusica asked.
"My children need me now. Thank you for your help," was all that Makarov said as he made his out of her home.
After a short while of Porlyusica staring at an old photo of a young hero and a young Makarov she went outside and stared off in the direction of Fairy Tail. She suddenly burst out on a rant of how she hated humans and that they don't know how to solve problems. As she was going on about her rant she kicked a box of apples and one rolled towards a man cloaked in blue and a mask hiding his face.
"Mystogan," Porlyusica said softly as she recognised who he was.
"Mind if I have this," Mystogan picked up an apple that rolled close to him.
"I was wondering how the old geezer was able to recover so quickly. You recovered his lost magic," Porlyusica deduced. Mystogan stayed silent and took a bite of the apple.
"I never said you could have that," Porlyusica screamed.
"This war will be over soon," Mystogan said.
"Why are you wasting your time here and not helping your guild?" Porlyusica asked. A strong wind blew and carried with it a large number of flags with the Phantom Lord symbol on it.
'He must have taken out all of their branches in the kingdom,' Porlyusica realised.
"May I take an apple for the road?" Mystogan asked.
"Humans and their petty squabbles, all they do is rip one another apart for their own petty reasons," Porlyusica said as she looked off into the open sky.
"Not all humans are petty, some have noble morals and I believe there is a light that will guide us to a brighter tomorrow," Mystogan said.
There you have it, Chapter 9 completed. Next up is the finale of the Phantom Lord Arc. Will Natsu and Jose clash? Will Makarov step in? How will Haru fare against the ruthless Gajeel? The battles will tell the tale in the next chapter. Leave a review with what your thoughts are. See you all next time.