Here is the thirty-fourth chapter in this story released in accordance with my upload schedule for this story. The opening salvo has come to an end, some of the stronger players are off the board, and the Battle Royale is shaping up nicely. Now the first of the great battles is about to start while elsewhere two people are on a crash course for a table that could have serious repercussions as the next phase of the Battle Royal begins. That is all that I have for the administrative stuff I have for y'all and while there are no questions that need answers but there is a guest review that needs a response, so I will do that now. Do keep them coming as your support is the best motivation for me to keep producing chapters at this kind of rate.
To KGBeastboy (guest), thank you for your review and suggestions. On the Sheila front, if I do decide to keep her sacrifice a sacrifice then I can see Asta helping but she won't be joining the Black Bulls. When I planned this story I didn't intend for any Earth Lander to join the Black Bulls though there is now going to be one likely temporary exception for a specific reason that will be revealed in time. Sheila will remain in Lamia Scale but getting help from first Asta on how to fight without magic and then others isn't a bad idea if she does permanently loose her powers. As for the Strauss siblings, I can see Mira doing that, the issue is really with Lisana and you'll see why in due time so I won't say anymore on that front. Mira could also be a good trainer for Grey though. As for Sting facing Charmy, well that will be answered very shortly. Do keep reading and enjoying my work.
That is it for this pre-chapter note so it is time to sit back and enjoy the thirty-fourth chapter in Black Bull Banishment.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these two great animes.
Chapter 34: Counter of the Bulls
"Come on Luck, you can win this!" Charmy cheered as she feasted at the table her Sheep Cooks had set up for her in the square she was based in while bringing her food to enjoy as she supported her squadmates. "Oh, wait, this is going to get good. Bring it home Magna! Together you and Luck can win this!"
Charmy had been enjoying the Battle Royale so far even if she'd not been part of it mainly because she got to eat a lot of good food while watching the others fight. She had replaced Finral in it for the boost of offensive power that she could provide as well as to shake things up and throw the other Guilds off but so far she'd not been needed. Charmy was fine with that; just like with the Battle Royale in the Undersea Temple she was going to enjoy her nums and this time she could actually watch her squadmates fight and win and right now they were really about to do just that.
That was because Magna, who she'd seen get them two points pretty quickly into the Battle Royale, had joined the fray by saving Luck and taking the fight with Olga up a notch. However, before it could start Laxus, the Lightning Dragon Slayer from Fairy Tail appeared to get in on the action but even that wasn't enough excitement as the Wizard Saint Jura Neekis also wanted to join in on the action.
There was a tense stalemate and Charmy was loving it as she feasted on good food and waited for the moment the tension was broken as the men exchanged words and got ready. Of course that was the moment it happened, the moment that Charmy got involved in the Battle Royal.
Due to her feasting and enjoyment, Charmy hadn't realized that a pair of women had entered her square and were fighting each other in what could only be called a silly cat fight as they complained about something and struck each other blind to the world around them. As such they didn't see where they were going and crashed right into the table that Charmy had set up, knocking it over and spilling all her food over the square as Charmy was forced to leap backwards away from them.
"My food!" Charmy wailed as said food continued to roll around on the ground and she turned her anger now boiling and looked at the two women, an older, pale, teen with bright blue hair and outfit and a younger, shorter, one with pink hair and an odd outfit that had an X and an O over her bust, both of whom Charmy vaguely recognized from previous events. "How dare you waste my nums! No one wastes food in my presence!"
Instantly Juvia and Shelia stopped their little fight and turned to the source seeing a short girl with black hair in a tight bun wearing a white smock thing and dark pants that came to her mid calve with a black robe over her shoulders glaring at them with pure hatred. The girl may be tiny, so small that it was hard to pinpoint her actual age, but the magic was roiling off her as the book she had glowed and flipped to a page.
There was no question who the girl was, the Black Bulls' reserve who they'd moved into the lineup for this event, Charmy Pappitson. Juvia knew that she wasn't supposed to engage Charmy due to the magic the little woman used and she shouldn't have. Juvia had been doing her job, keeping Sheila occupied and off the battlefield until her darling Gray reached her to back her up in defeating Sheila and likely Lyon as well as he'd no doubt come to back Sheila up.
That plan had not included running into Charmy, mainly because Mavis had no way to really predict Charmy's actions, where she'd likely be, or what she'd do due to no data on the girl, but the First Master had tried to factor that in as best as possible. Clearly she had failed and the intense wave of magic rooted both Juvia and Sheila where they were.
They had good reason, fear. Both were seasoned Guild wizards with strong magic of their own and who had been in their fair share of battles but the sheer power coming from the tiny girl and the level of how pissed off she was was something that neither had dealt with before. The one thing that Juvia did note as the grimoire the girl had, Mavis had said that that's what the books the Black Bulls had were called, came to a stop was that if this was the reserve of the Black Bulls then they were a hell of a lot stronger than they'd realized.
"You will pay for what you did to my food!" Charmy yelled. "It is a crime to waste food! Now you will be punished for that!"
"Your food?" Juvia asked confused at the reason for the anger in the girl before her. "That's what…"
"Silence and face your punishment!" Charmy yelled as an explosion of cotton erupted behind her taking the form of a massive, and very fluffy, ram complete with horns that was taller than the buildings in the square so it could be seen for a good distance around them. "Cotton Creation Magic: Strike of the Sleeping Sheep!"
Before Juvia or Sheila could react, and a lot faster than they expected, the cotton ram punched down with a cotton arm. The blow slammed into Juvia and because it was a physical attack it splattered her Water Body on the ground, a mercy for her, while Sheila had just enough space to leap into the air and turn away, her magic helping her get height as she prepared to a Sky God Slayer spell that should take down Charmy. Alas it wasn't enough as the ram showed that it was as fast as it was powerful as it turned to face her arm already retracting from the puddle that was now Juvia before Sheila could start her spell.
"Strike 1!" Charmy had shouted that before the arm had hit Juvia and now as it thrust forward and slammed fully into a wide eyed, midair, Sheila in a downward punch she added. "Strike 2!"
The blow slammed into Sheila from head to toe and blasted her back, down, and into a building with enough force the destroy the entire façade of it and drive her through the upper floor and into the first floor. That was all it took as the sheep withdrew its arm and fell away as the building itself began to collapse to reveal an unconscious, bloody, and battered Sheila in a crater on the ground with her limbs splayed.
"You're out!" Charmy yelled as her grimoire flipped a few pages before a pair of cotton balls shot out of her grimoire as soon as it came to a stop. "And now to ensure it. This is what you get for wasting food! Don't do it again."
The two cotton balls were Charmy's capture spell and she was under strict orders that if she did fight anyone that she was to use it as soon as she had a clean capture as her cotton was surprisingly strong and would be hard to break. That and the two women she'd just defeated weren't ones who could stay down for long, already Juvia was starting to reform, so Charmy had to act fast though this was more out of instinct than actually realizing who her opponents had been.
Regardless neither Juvia's Water Body nor Sheila's healing helped them as one ball landed in Juvia's water and sucked her into it as it expanded before falling to the ground with a wet splat while the other landed on Sheila's chest before she could regain consciousness and sucked her in as it expanded, binding her in cotton so that only her head was clear. As that cotton ball fell down and plopped on the ground, Juvia managed to reform within the cotton and her own head popped out but she couldn't escape and besides the moment she'd been absorbed the capture was recorded.
"I don't believe it!" Chapati's voice said over the speakers the awe clear in it. "Charmy Pappitson, the Black Bulls' reserve who hasn't been used until the Battle Royale has just capture Sheila Blendy of Lamia Scale and Juvia Lockser of Fairy Tail! It's official, they are captured and therefore out of the Battle Royale giving the Black Bulls 2 points! With that the Black Bulls now have 52 points putting them one ahead of Fairy Tail and retaking the lead."
"My that was a surprise indeed." Mr. Yajima said his tone backing up his words. "Those were two strong combatants with notable defensive or recovery skills and both were defeated with a single blow. I'm stunned the Black Bulls had a powerhouse like this in reserve. This really shifts a lot with her on the battlefield."
"There is probably a reason but what a moment to break her out." Mato said excitedly. "And it's about to get better."
Charmy didn't hear any of this, she was still raging over the waste of her food and how when this was done she was going to beat lessons into the girls for it all while she moved the captured Juvia to the other captured girl so that they were together. As such she also didn't hear the shout from behind her as she worked.
"Juvia!"
Gray had had his first great moment of the Battle Royale with his victory over Rufus thus avenging his loss in Hidden. True he still had to try and beat Asta but he understood that power wise Asta was harder given what he could do and for the sake of Fairy Tail it was best to leave him to Erza who could match, if not exceed, him in martial combat thus negating his Wave Magic swords. He'd ask Asta for a rematch after this to try and beat him them but for now Gray had to focus on the next part of the plan that Mavis had laid out for him when they'd been strategizing for the Battle Royale, regrouping with Juvia.
This was one of the easier parts of the plan. Gray's main challenge had been Rufus, that was the matchup he had to win just like how Jura was Laxus's, Rogue was Gajeel's, Ichiya was Juvia's, and Asta was Erza's. Those were the big battles that they had to win when they occurred though the other strong combatants, mainly Noelle, Luck, Minerva, Olga, and Kagura, were all slated to be dealt with by Laxus and Erza as well as part of their grand plan to win the Battle Royale. There were still two other strong opponents to deal with but those were Sheila and Lyon which were Gray and Juvia's targets.
It was simple really. Sheila was obsessed with Lyon, Lyon was obsessed with Juvia, Juvia was obsessed with Gray, and Gray was still trying to decide what his true feelings towards Juvia were. As a result of this mess, Sheila would instinctively go for Juvia as soon as possible because she was taking Lyon's attention away from Sheila.
That would at least occupy Sheila as Juvia defended herself and her love for Gray while trying to tell Sheila that she didn't like Lyon like that. That would ensure that Sheila wasn't a threat for a while and it gave Gray the time to rush to Juvia's aid. At the same time Mavis had predicted that Lyon would come to back up Sheila and show off for Juvia around the time Gray reached Juvia to back her up.
That would bring all four together, at which time Gray and Juvia would use a Unison Raid, a tough ask but one that they could pull off, to unite their magics and take out Sheila and Lyon. That would give them 2 more points and take out two of the stronger remaining combatants which would be a big boost for Fairy Tail.
After that they'd track down the Black Bulls' reserve Charmy and take her out together as Gray was a better matchup for a Cotton Wizard than Juvia was. That would just leave the biggest threats, Jura, Kagura, Minerva, and Asta, to deal with and Gray knew that Laxus and Erza had those threats covered.
At least that had been the plan until Gray saw the massive explosion of cotton in the area near where he was supposed to meet Juvia and the wave of magic that came from it. It was kinda hard to miss said cotton when it was taller than the surrounding buildings and took the form of a massive ram. Given the magic there was only one person who could be responsible for creating it and with the location there was only one realistic reason for it. Gray's eyes went wide as he realized just how dire the situation had become and he rushed harder to get to where the cotton was.
Alas before he even arrived he heard the first boom of something strong and hard striking concrete followed by a splattering sound and then second boom and a crashing sound a few seconds later indicating that two attacks had happened. That confirmed it to Gray, somehow Juvia and Sheila had crossed paths with Charmy and she'd engaged them. Only problem was that Charmy was a lot stronger than any of them had anticipated.
That was confirmed as Gray reached the square, his entrance being a different one so he came in from behind Charmy, to see the diminutive girl moving a captured Juvia in a cotton ball to a destroyed building where a similarly captured Sheila was. Gray had been so focused on getting here that he'd missed the sheep's dismissal and the confirmation of Charmy's victory. There was only one thing he could think about.
"Juvia!"
Gray shouted the name of his guildmate and love obsessed stalker but it was no good, her head lolled in the cotton showing she'd either been knocked out or was feeling shameful at losing and thus had her eyes closed. Regardless, it was a clean and clear capture so Juvia was out and with that their plan to sweep the Battle Royale had been shattered. Gray couldn't think about that right now, however, rather he was filled with anger at the loss of his friend and acted almost on instinct, his emotions, some of which he didn't understand as they were stronger than normal, driving him as he slammed his fist into his palm.
"Ice Make: Geyser!"
Charmy may not have heard the commentary or the shout but she did hear the spell, or more precisely she felt it because one moment she was standing there the next an eruption of ice spikes shot out of the ground and blasted her into the air while she was ranting about the wasted food. She let out a wail of surprise as she was flipped around, arms flapping vainly as she flew, only to see a shirtless man over her, ice pouring off his hands as he followed up his attack with a leap to get above Charmy and finish her off.
"Ice Make: Hammer!" Gray shouted as a massive, flat head, hammer appeared that he grabbed and raised above his head as Charmy neared him. "This is for you, Juvia!"
"This is going to hurt, isn't it?" Charmy asked as Gray yelled and brought the hammer down.
That was all Charmy got out before the hammer's head slammed into her large enough to cover her whole body and then some as she was driven down and into the ground as Gray continued to yell. He literally hammered the small woman into the ground with a boom that kicked up ice and debris from the impact, Gray himself landing on the ground a moment later as he dismissed the broken remains of the hammer that he was still holding.
He was panting from that but smiled as the debris cleared to reveal Charmy splayed out on her back in a small crater, rubble and ice around her and her eyes white in unconsciousness. He'd avenged Juvia at least and taken one of the Black Bulls off the battlefield.
"And with that blow Gray has defeated Charmy to secure a point for Fairy Tail!" Chapati announced confirming the win and the moment he did a small, gray, spatial portal appeared beneath Charmy and she sank into it as her guildmate removed her from the battlefield for healing. "After that exchange, and with the other battle still going on, Fairy Tail and the Black Bulls are now tied in the lead with 52 points but that may change very soon."
"It also means that all Guilds have now lost at least one member." Mr. Yajima said. "So this is really picking up."
"That it is and I can't wait for more." Mato added. "And we don't have to wait given what's going on right now!"
Gray didn't doubt that as the massive brawl involving Laxus, Jura, Luck, and Olga had no doubt started already but he couldn't help that, he just had to deal with what was going on around him now and with Charmy beaten and out of the fight he could take stock. That was when he realized that there was food strewn all over the square for some reason and both Juvia and Sheila were still in their cotton balls in the ruins of the building that had been destroyed when Sheila had been punched into it.
"What happened here?" A new and very familiar voice asked in a confused tone and Gray turned to see Lyon walking into the square from the other side of it a look of surprise in his eyes. "I heard the commentary as I was coming to back Sheila up but to take her out, who is that Charmy woman?"
"Don't know but she's out, I saw to it after she beat our guildmates because I had the opening." Gray said as he got ready for another fight, one that he was more than happy to have. "And right now that's irrelevant."
"True." Lyon said realizing that there wasn't anything he could do about that and locking gazes with gray as he smirked. "Works out for us though. I get to face my rival one on one just like I wanted."
"This isn't the plan we had but I can't lie I prefer it this way." Gray said with a grin as he assumed the position, Lyon doing the same. "Let's do this Lyon. Time to see who's stronger."
"Same, Gray." Lyon said before both attacked at the same time.
"Ice Make:…"
"It would seem like the Master's prediction was wrong, someone was there after all." Freed said in Fairy Tail's box as they watched Juvia and Sheila make their way into the square where she'd predicted no one would be and Gray would likely meetup with Juvia, along with Lyon for Sheila, so that they could all face off only for it to not be empty. "Interesting. That is the Black Bulls' reserve, I wonder what she can do."
"This was something I couldn't plan for." Mavis admitted though she was on edge as Juvia and Sheila neared Charmy's table the little woman oblivious to the impending crash. "So I don't mind messing up. All she has to do is not engage, or at least evade, until Gray arrives to back Juvia up and all will be fine. I give that a…"
Before Mavis could finish the two fighting girls crashed into Charmy's table and sent the food flying. The sheer anger it caused in the Black Bull stunned all of Fairy Tail into silence. That silence only deepened, and their eyes widened when Charmy revealed how strong her magic was, when properly motivated that is, and took out Juvia and Sheila with one blow each from a massive spell all while ranting at them.
It was a stunning display of raw power and she finished it with a capture spell for each girl that secured the wins for Charmy as well as the first loss of a Fairy Tail member leaving the Black Bulls the only Guild without a lost member remaining. That was what really got to Mavis as she stared blankly at the scene, the words of Juvia's defeat registering as she did, and she began to tear up at her failure. Her plan was in ruins and it wasn't even at the point she'd thought there was a chance they'd fail. That was the worst part, her plan wasn't ruined by who she expected to ruin it but by someone else.
"First Master!" Makarov said as he saw the tears.
"I, I'm ok." Mavis sniffled as she wiped her eyes. "I wanted us to win without losing a single person but it was a low probability that we could pull that off. I'm just upset I didn't have the data to see this coming and that this isn't the match that I was most worried about. That one has yet to happen."
"It would have been nice to win without losing someone but we can still win." Makarov said. "Right?"
"Yes, we still have the other matchups that should break in our favor, or can at least." Mavis said as Gray arrived in the square. "And this will be avenged. We just need to have faith in the others to win and we'll be on top once again."
Makarov and those with him nodded at that as they watched Gray handle Charmy ensuring that every Guild had now lost at least one member in the Battle Royale. They still had this, Lyon was approaching to face Gray, Gajeel and Erza were closing in on their respective matchups, and Laxus was in his. That was the one that was most pressing so they all focused on it as they turned to the 5 way brawl just in time for it to get really good.
The moment the explosion happened, said explosion being Charmy's ram bursting to life and attacking Juvia and Sheila, the tension broke and the brawl was on. The first to react was Olga as rings of black lightning formed around his arms and he held them out while the sparks filled the area around him and forced the others to take a step back thus giving Olga the time he needed to complete his spell. This was the spell he'd planned on using on Luck but with Jura now on the battlefield he had to use it on him and right away. This was a great test and would start the brawl well.
"Lightning God's Charged Particle Cannon!" Olga bellowed as he unleashed the powerful beam of black lightning the moment his arms were covered right at Jura.
However, Jura moved before the spell could reach him showing his excellent reaction time and speed as he rushed right past the spell on a beeline for Olga. The missed spell hit a building in the street behind Jura and vaporized it in a massive explosion but no one was paying attention to that as Jura neared Olga going for the knockout before the Sabertooth wizard could react.
Jura would have managed it too if not for Luck. Luck had sensed Jura's move the moment he made it and as he was the strongest Luck wasn't going to let him just take someone out without testing himself against the Wizard Saint first and he shot to intercept Jura as Jura shot at Olga his body crackling with his lightning armor. The speed he moved at was unreal, Jura couldn't deny it, and the kick as he passed in front of Jura was no joke. Jura was forced to abort his attack and get his arms up to guard against the kick with a boom, air billowing out from the blow.
"You're as strong as I hoped." Luck said as the kick was blocked and he pushed back off Jura, who'd not been moved by the hit though his rush had been stopped in its tracks by it, and spun around just as a wall of rock shot up and barely missed slamming into him. "This is going to be really fun."
"You're impressive in your own right, that speed and your senses are top notch, no doubt you can sense magic on a level few others can." Jura said as he turned but Luck was already moving. "Speed won't be enough though, thank you for this challenge."
"Damn, you should be facing me!" Olga bellowed, not realizing how close he'd come to a very swift, and humiliating, defeat. "I…"
Before he could finish a massive fireball slammed into his chest and blew up staggering him back a pace as he turned to the source to see Magna smirking at him, bat in his left hand and smoke coming from his right. Magna may not have the reaction time, speed, or mana sense that Luck did but he did have a good battle awareness and complete trust in his best friend so the moment Luck acted he did as well and his goal was to get Olga's attention because Magna didn't care about the Wizard Saint or Dragon Slayer present. No he had one goal in mind and that was to make up for what happened on the first day of the Games.
"Did you forget that I lost to you, I can't let that stand, my Squad would never let me forget it if I did." Magna said as he tossed his bat to his right hand and created a fireball in his left that he then tossed up and hit towards Jura as Jura attacked Luck without announcing what it was. "Let the others fight, you're mine to defang kitty cat."
Jura wasn't looking at Magna, he was focused on Luck as he raised his left arm and sent out a line of rock spikes at him but Luck zipped to the side to avoid them a good few seconds before they would have hit him. However, Jura did sense the magic of Magna's attack and erected a simple earth wall to intercept it as right now he didn't have time to deal with the Black Bulls' Fire Wizard. Unfortunately for Jura, said fireball was an Annihilation Massacre Fireball so it vanished before it hit the wall before reappearing on the other side of it and from a different angle where it slammed into Jura's side with an explosion.
Like with Luck's kick the blow wasn't strong enough to stagger Jura, though it did burn a hole in his clothes and singed his skin, but that wasn't the point. The point was to distract so that Luck could set up what he needed to set up while Magna activated Risky Stolen Base and rushed to the side just as Olga blasted off a torrent of black lightning at him. In the process Magna moved further away from the Jura and Laxus thus dragging Olga's attention away trusting that Luck had things covered over there for the moment.
That was because Luck had used his dodge of Jura's rocks to land on a nearby wall and bounce off it, using it to picked up speed just like he had against Olga before everyone else arrived. As he did he launched several Thunderbolt Destruction blasts from his gloves at Jura and Laxus. Laxus just stood there as he shrugged off his coat and let one of them hit him in the shoulder to test it and confirm that it wouldn't affect him, which it didn't, while Jura backed up to give himself space and either dodged the blasts or erected earth walls to intercept them.
"Not bad but unlike God Slayer Magic, your Lightning Magic doesn't affect me." Laxus said as yellow lightning cracked in his hands. "But I bet mine will work on you. Let's see if I'm right."
At that Laxus unleashed a crackling wave of lightning from both hands, one aiming to intercept Luck as he reached the tall central tower thing where they were and the other to keep Jura back. That man was far too powerful to be left unchecked as he'd run over all of them if given the chance so Laxus wanted to keep him at bay until he could take on Jura in a one on one situation.
To set that up he'd start by taking down Luck Voltia and then move to Magna Swing, the Black Bulls were the bigger threat due to their Guild's point total, and then he'd be able to handle Jura as he expected someone would have dealt with Olga by then, or if not he'd get another point from Sabertooth as well. That was his plan at least, shame he'd not realized why Luck was sending out that lightning attack to begin with.
Luck had done so to force Jura to make more of those handy rock pillars as they gave Luck more surfaces to work with. It was also to confirm that Laxus was immune to his magic, which he was, but Luck was ok with that. They'd planned for this and come up with a way to overcome Laxus's immunity to Luck's Lightning, one which only he could do thanks to the way his Lightning Magic worked so it still played a part in it.
That factor was speed and as Laxus unleashed his storm of yellow lightning, Luck activated Lightning Fiend as he landed on the central spire thing and shot off it his speed boosted by the spell. Once again began to ricochet around the area as Laxus's attack missed only this time he had more surfaces to work with so he could build up his speed quicker than he had against Olga.
For his part Laxus was surprised that his attack missed, he'd not seen this trick before, but recovered to line up another shot but was interrupted by a ridge of rocks that came at him from Jura which he leapt to the side of while returning fire at Jura to force him to intercept it with an earth wall that exploded on contact. Even as Laxus did this he didn't take his eyes off Luck and noticed that the Black Bull was now pinballing all over the area using the rocks, ground and buildings, his speed drastically increasing to the point that he was a blue blur of crackling lightning though his laughter could be heard over it.
At this speed Luck would impart some serious momentum into a spell and he was still building it until he hit the right rock that had been erected during his early barrage of Thunderbolt Destruction and shot straight for Jura rather than try for Laxus. Jura was impressed, he was having more fun than he'd had in a long time and with the speed Luck had, well a hit at that speed with this much Lightning Magic would hurt and probably knock him down for a moment.
It was impressive indeed but even at the speed Luck was going it wasn't enough to reach Jura before he had time to erect another rock pillar before him. That should cause Luck to crash into it and give Jura an opening to end him and get his first point out of this battle.
Problem was that was exactly what Luck had wanted and he hit the rock with Lightning Fiend still active and while the force of his hit cracked it he used it as he'd used the others along with the building and ground to push off it, his speed about faster than ever before as he was now surpassing his limits, and rocketed straight for Laxus. With his speed there wasn't time for Laxus to get a spell, or just raw Lightning Magic, off that would intercept it so all he could do was raise his left arm to block it.
Laxus wasn't phased though. This was a Lightning Magic attack; he would be immune to it and while the momentum would hurt he'd just intercept it with his left forearm and ride it out. Then he'd use the opening to grab and fry Luck to end him. It wouldn't be a problem, which was why Laxus didn't expect what came next as Luck reached him until he felt it.
All of Luck's moves, his speed and the fake attack on Jura had been for this moment, to reach Laxus while in the air and crackling with his Lightning Magic. Then, at the exact moment he knew that he'd land the hit that Laxus was expecting, Luck deactivated all his magic so that the blue lightning vanished from him as he spun his body and kicked his leg out with a physical, non-magical, attack rather than using the culmination of his Lightning Fiend spell.
Luck's shin slammed into Laxus's forearm with a boom that could be heard over a fireball explosion from where Magna was dealing with Olga. The speed that Luck was going at enabled him to generate enough force to blast Laxus to the side and through the rock ridge he'd recently dodged were he bounced off the ground and crashed into the wall of a house with enough force to crack it before collapsing to the ground stunned and bruised from the attack as his arm throbbed in pain from the impact.
To say that Laxus hadn't expected Luck to completely deactivate his magic and just use a momentum aided kick was an understatement. He'd expected a Lightning Magic attack that was the culmination of Luck's pinballing move and while that would have hurt from the force but that was it, the lightning part wouldn't have affected him and thus a fair bit of damage would have been avoided and he shouldn't be moved too much by it as the main force of the attack would be the lightning.
A mundane kick delivered at the speed that Luck was traveling at, however, well that was a lot of momentum with nothing that Laxus could use to stop or mitigate it and as such the result was a blow that had left him dazed and bruised. Only his own raw power, physical strength, and stamina had saved his arm from being broken from the attack.
It was a good attack but it wasn't like Luck was unaffected by it, he was. The blow spun him through the air and he was sure that he'd broken his shin as he had no protection when he kicked Laxus at a high rate of speed but it had worked and at the very least Laxus was briefly downed.
That wasn't the only benefit of the move, though, as the hit would have gotten Jura's attention and left Laxus open for an attack. Jura wasn't someone to pass up on such an opportunity and used to rush Laxus and slam a chop into the back of his head as Laxus tried to rise driving him into the ground with enough force to crack it as Jura stood over Laxus. That gave Luck the opening he needed to rush around the central spire and aid Magna without having to worry about Jura and Laxus stopping him.
They were strong and he wanted to face them but first he had to make sure Olga went down, which meant that he had to go help Magna. As such, Luck ignored his injuries as best he could as he hit the ground and rolled over it after landing his blow before popping up and flipping in the air to land on his feet and run around the spire to where Magna was, his Holy Lightning Boots forming before he landed to brace his injured leg while his gloves formed as well just in case he needed them. It was time to give Magna the necessary boost to end his fight.
That was because as this was going on Magna had drawn Olga away from the other three while hitting more fireballs at Olga who was forced to dodge or blast them as he attacked Magna all while Luck was building up his speed. Olga really wanted to test himself against the other three, after all they were a strong Lightning Mage, a Lightning Dragon Slayer, and a Wizard Saint respectively, but Magna was distracting him. At least he knew that he could beat Magna so he was going to do just that and the easiest way to do so was to stop Magna from running around.
"Lightning God's Barrier!" Olga yelled, taking a fireball to get the attack off and the fiery explosion happened as Luck was kicking Laxus but it was worth it as a wall of vertical, crackling, black lightning appeared before Magna as he ran following his latest fireball. "There that will hold you and now for another one to make this nice and private. I beat you before and I'll beat you again."
Magna wasn't paying attention as Olga created another lightning wall to the other side thus keeping the other three combatants from them for a moment if they tried to join in, which they weren't right now, and ensuring that Magna couldn't use his speed to maximize his hit and run tactics. Magna missed that because he had to come to a skidding halt before running into the wall of lightning and deactivate his speed boost spell to ensure it, sliding over the ground but just stopping in time.
As soon as he did come to a stop Magna leapt back and away from it to ensure that he was clear of the black lightning that was branching upwards in front of him. That was just what Olga wanted as it put Magna before him and he took a deep breath, it was time to end this guy again and then rejoin the battle with the Wizard Saint.
"Lightning God's Bellow!" Olga roared as he spewed out his breath attack, black bolts of lightning flying from his mouth.
"Damn, fell for the same trap again." Magna said turning to face Olga as he raised his bat to block at least part of the attack. "But I won't go down that easy."
At that the lightning slammed into the bat and all around it frying him, though Magna grit his teeth to not let out a sound, before the bat exploded in a ball of fire and black lightning and he was tossed back and into on of the buildings around the tower with a crash that kicked up a bunch of dust. Olga smirked as he waited for the dust to clear and confirm it but before it did there was a pained chuckle from the debris.
"Still got nothing on Luck I see." Magna said through his laugh that turned into a cough that was followed by a splattering sound before he continued. "And if you think that we've not got a plan for this then you've already lost."
"Wha…" Olga began.
"Lightning Creation Magic: Thunderbolt Destruction!"
Olga heard the spell and turned in time to see a ball of blue lightning slam into his barrier and explode on it sending smoke skyward while the two Lightning Magic spells dispelled each other. Through it there was a laugh and a bloody but grinning Luck shot out of it going faster than a human could move without magic as he flipped in the air, unbroken leg out so that the sole of his armored boot slammed into Olga's side with a sickening crack that clearly broke a few ribs. The blow staggered Olga to the side and Luck pushed off him with a cartwheel and landed on the ground sliding back while facing Olga.
"Now Magna!" Luck said as he thrust out his left hand and gathered lightning there just as a bloody and smoking Magna leapt out of the dust behind him fire already in his right hand.
"Right Luck." Magna said spitting blood out of his mouth as he spoke while more blood running down his face as he grinned and their magics combined in the Union Spell.
"Flame Lightning Explosive Cannon!" They said together as they charged forward.
Olga barely had time to stagger around to face them as he started to taste blood in his mouth meaning that his broken ribs had punctured a lung before the two Black Bulls were on him and thrusting the combo spell, he recognized it as a Unison Raid which was damned impressive as those were hard to pull off, at his gut. There was no way that Olga was going to block it so he tensed as best he could right before the spell slammed into him and exploded.
Said explosion was massive and blasted Olga back and through the wall of the tower in the center of the area they were fighting as dust and debris billowed out from it and into the air. As it did Luck and Magna panted before it and the black lightning barrier that was still standing flickered and died now that Olga's concentration had been broken.
The blast had also distracted Laxus and Jura, who had been exchanging punches at that moment as Laxus had been able to get up and hit Jura while Luck was breaking through the other black lightning barrier, as they both looked to source of the explosion. There was no announcement that Olga was out, though, and Jura took that brief moment of waiting to see if there'd be one to land another chop on Laxus's head and drive him down but the man had one damned hard head as it was still not enough to knock him out.
All that was lost on Luck and Magna as they looked into the hole they'd caused as the smoke continue to pour from it. They weren't certain that they'd managed to win and when Luck sensed the movement he knew that they hadn't. Somehow Olga had survived it, he'd managed it because he could mitigate lightning damage, and had used the brief moment to charge up his strongest spell and then, just before it was ready and while still obscured, he got to his feet and the black lightning sparked form the dust right before he unleashed it spitting out blood as he did.
"Lightning God's Charged Particle Cannon!"
The blast of black lightning shot from the debris, cutting it away to reveal a bloody and burned Olga standing in the first floor of the spire smirking with blood running down his chin as he fired off his spell. It was a powerful one and with Luck and Magna right there before him it would take both of them out for sure. Or at least it would have had Luck not sensed the attack just before it was fired and acted.
"Finish this Magna!" Luck shouted as he slammed his shoulder into Magna and sent him sprawling to the ground while putting himself directly in the path of Olga's spell.
That was all it took to save Magna but Luck didn't have time to move as well and the blast of black lightning slammed into his chest and he was blasted backwards with a colossal boom, he body sparking and convulsing from the blow. A split second after he was hit his Holy Lightning Boots and Gloves vanished.
There was no doubt that Luck had just been knocked out and that was before he slammed into and through the building behind him, into the street and then across it and through the next building in his path before finally landing in that next street over and sliding across it until he came to a stop against another building out cold. It was a sacrifice but it would pay off.
"Luck! That's it you're done for now!" Magna roared as he got up, grimoire flipping and a massive fireball appearing in his hand. "Flame Magic: Exploding Fireball! (confirm)."
At that he threw the ball of fire at Olga as Olga turned to him so that it struck the Sabertooth man in the face and blew up staggering him and causing a lot of fire and smoke to billow out around him. As that was happening Magna turned and quickly threw several Time Bomb Explosive Scattershot fireballs at Jura who was currently standing over a still downed Laxus. That was more to distract him long enough for the final move Magna had for Olga as his grimoire flipped a few pages and the handle of his fiery bat appeared from it once again.
"This time you won't hit me!" Magna shouted as he drew the bat and ran forward, leaping onto the edge of the broken wall that Olga had been blasted through as the fire subsided and Olga began to crackle with black lightning ready to strike with his raw magic just as Magna swung the bat and his timed explosions went off around Jura. "It's time for a Grand Slam!"
Unlike in their one on one match on the first day of the Games where Olga was able to hit Magna before this happened, he didn't have time to manage that before the bat slammed into the side of his head. After all he'd taken that was it for him and he staggered to the side from the blow before crashing to the ground eyes white and laying in an unconscious heap inside the tower that had been in the center of their battle area.
Magna panted, blood streaming down his face but he grinned blood stained teeth at that. Luck may have lost but he'd given Magna the openings he needed, first for their combo that greatly weakened Olga and then, via his sacrifice, the opening to finally slug Olga in the head with his bat and finally take him down. Magna was still grinning as the wave of yellow lightning rolled around the spire and shot up it frying him where he stood as it passed over his position.
The Black Bull didn't let out a sound however as he was fried. He'd taken so much up to that point that this was just too much and his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he convulsed where he stood, passing out standing before he toppled backwards, grimoire falling to the ground behind him as his bat fading away before Magna crashed to the ground still grinning as he lay there, smoking and out cold, the third Black Bull to be defeated.
This was, of course, because of Laxus who would get the point for beating Magna. After Luck had rushed around to aid Magna, Laxus had been driven into ground and with the other fight not affecting them Jura had taken a moment to tell Laxus that in this world there was always someone stronger who was above you no matter who you were. Laxus had understood that and then reminded Jura to pay attention to who was right at his feet and, as Luck destroyed Olga's lightning barrier, leapt up sparking and punched Jura under the chin with a savage, lightning infused, uppercut.
That hadn't been enough to take down Jura though it got him grinning and he shrugged off his coat, Laxus had already shrugged his own one off back when he'd first engaged Luck, and they began to exchange blows with each other going toe to toe in terms of raw power. It was the best fight Jura had had in years. However even during that Laxus and Jura had been caught off guard by the explosion that had blasted Olga into the tower and after recovering faster it looked like Jura had Laxus as Luck was defeated.
Of course neither of them had paid attention to Magna's distraction, which was just that a distraction to ensure he could take down Olga and likely keep fighting afterwards, so as Jura was going for the finishing blow the fire balls around him exploded. The attack disrupted him and cleared Laxus's mind at the same time though the fact that it was a fire attack helped. He used that distraction to blanket the ground in as much lightning as he could manage in a split second and fry Jura. It still wasn't enough to take the Wizard Saint down but it did force him to leap back a bit allowing Laxus to get up.
As he did he noticed two things. The first was that his attack had hit Magna and knocked him out due to the lightning climbing up the tower as well, which was a bonus as the point would go to Laxus though he had a feeling that Olga had fallen as well though he had to give it to the punk he had some serious grit to beat a Lightning God Slayer, and the second was that the entire front of his shirt had been torn open. That was fine with him as Jura steadied himself and smiled at Laxus.
"I'll admit, I haven't had this much fun in years." Jura said. "Shame those Black Bulls got taken out, they could have added to it though I doubt those two would have lasted much longer regardless."
"That Guild has shown us all how surprising they can be but now it's just us." Laxus said. "Two men facing off, no titles, no heritage, just two wizards seeking to see who is the last standing in this brawl."
"I couldn't agree more." Jura said with a grin. "Show me what you're made of Laxus."
As Laxus stood there he clenched his left first ignoring the pain in his forearm from Luck's kick as electricity danced on it. As he did he couldn't help but think about what Natsu would do in a time like this. It wasn't just because of the respect he had for the annoying guy but also because it had been fire that had allowed Laxus to counter and stand, to give him this final push and while it wasn't Natsu's fire there was no fire that wouldn't remind Laxus of the guy.
"As Natsu would say, I've got a fire in my bellow now." Laxus said.
"No holds barred then." Jura said. "Time to see who is left standing after this."
The tension between the men was clear as they stood there unaware that at this very moment Natsu and the other rescue team members, Lucy, Yukino, and Lucy's Spirits were currently concluding their sweeping victory over the Hungry Wolf Knights and about to leave the Palace of Perdition where more would be revealed to them. Still, it was the spirit that Natsu had that rose up in Laxus and the friendship of his family in Fairy Tail that he channeled as he and Jura stared each other down knowing that this was it and that only one of them was about to walk away from the conclusion to this epic brawl.
There was not sound like before, no acknowledgement of anything else around them, just a sudden and quick attack. Laxus knew what he had to do and was attacking with all he had as he broke the tension with a rush at Jura as fast as he could manage.
What ensured was a series of intense exchanges between the two me as lightning and earth clashed in the street with both landing devastating blows on the other. Still they pushing through the blows despite the damage they were both taking as their clothes were torn to up and their bodies cut, bruised, and in Jura's case burned.
Neither were giving an inch but finally Laxus saw his opening and using the speed he had from his magic, and a little inspiration from seeing just how useful speed for a Lightning Wizard could be when properly applied as Luck had shown, he charged. He didn't have much left but he gave it his all one last time as he attacked with one of his strongest spells, the will of his Guild behind him as he did.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art." Laxus yelled. "Roaring Thunder!"
The blow slammed into Jura's chest before Jura could block it and exploded destroying a good portion of the man's shirt and street around him as Laxus roared through attack. He poured all that he had into it and in this instance it was enough. After everything both men had just been through and the wounds they'd taken this was too much for Jura and as Laxus panted before him, hunched over and covered in bruised and blood, the Wizard Saint toppled over smiling as he did.
"Well done Laxus." Jura said as consciousness slipped from him. "You've bested me today but there are still a few more monsters left on the battlefield. I wonder, who will claim the top spot, will it be a fairy or a bull."
With that Jura hit the ground, unconscious. It was over and an injured Laxus continued to just pant there as he looked at his fallen opponent knowing that what he'd said at the end was right. Even if there was a chance for one of the other Guilds still in it, there were only two who were really in contention as far as he knew and while two were down there were still at least 3 more out there that Laxus was aware of including one who could rival Erza. The Black Bulls weren't out yet and if anything could beat a fairy today and stop them from returning to the top it was a bull.
"And the Wizard Saint is down for the count meaning that the last one standing from that epic 5 man brawl Laxus! What an upset folks!" Chapati said excitedly and as no one was around Laxus took that moment to listen to the commentary. "We all thought that it would be the Wizard Saint Jura but in the end it was Laxus who prevailed and took out Jura in the process, along with Magna of the Black Bulls earning Fairy Tail 6 points as Jura was the designated leader for Lamia Scale. Magna has been credited with beating Olga gaining the Black Bulls 1 point and Olga gains 1 for Sabertooth for beating Luck. Man that was a good fight."
"It sure was and there's another one going on as well that is just as good." Mr. Yajima said. "But for those wondering, after that brawl Fairy Tail is back in the lead with 58 points and the Black Bulls the only ones in striking distance at 53 while Lamia Scale remains on 38 and Sabertooth moves to 36 following the one point they just got."
"Yes but there are still enough points available for those two Guilds to get back into it if they win the right matchups." Mato said. "It will be hard but they can technically manage it."
"However Mermaid Heel is officially out of running." Mr. Yajima said. "By my count they still have 32 points and based on the amount of points left for them even if they got all 21 that they could theoretically get the best they could manage would be a second place tie with the Black Bulls. They do have two competitors left which is more than the sole remaining Lamia Scale member and tied with the Black Bulls but Sabertooth has three and Fairy Tail four still standing but as we've seen numbers might not aid you here."
"Such is the nature of the Battle Royale." Chapati said as Laxus rose to his full height a little surprised by that as he thought there'd be 3 Black Bulls remaining but one of them had been beaten somewhere else on the battlefield during his brawl it seemed. "But I can tell that right now those currently fighting aren't doing it for the points. There are still plenty of battles to go though so who knows what could happen."
With the confirmation of his victory and a total of 6 points, along with a lot of other useful information regarding who was left in the running, Laxus groaned before he turned and walked away from the destroyed area and the four unconscious men he was leaving in his wake. He'd done it and beaten the Wizard Saint, along with gaining an extra point for good measure which could be vital in the long run, so that was a good haul for Fairy Tail.
That was just the best part because the recent fight had also removed the strongest member of Lamia Scale who was one of the few that Mavis couldn't formulate a solid strategy, another Sabertooth member, and two Black Bulls. That was a huge boost to Fairy Tail and now they were on at 58 points and leading over the Black Bulls' 53 points. What did cause Laxus pause was the announcement that there were four members of his Guild left, not all 5 as had been their plan.
Laxus wasn't sure how that had happened, he'd been too distracted by his fight to listen to any commentary during it so he had no idea how it had happened but it had to be either Gray or Juvia and the fact that only one Lamia Scale member remained added to that belief. Well, he'd deal with that later because right now they had a strong lead and they'd only add to it with Erza and Gajeel who he was sure had yet to fight or were fighting at that moment.
He just hoped their battles were going well and that Gray or Juvia were still holding up well, maybe even dealing with the final Lamia Scale member, so that they could keep this momentum up. For now, though, his role was done as he'd won his big battle and it was time to get into position for the final confrontation. The big one now was Erza and Laxus wished her luck in her fights to come as he went to find a place to see if he could watch them unfold.
Well there it is, the end of the manly brawl and the winner is Laxus though plenty of points to go around there and the Black Bulls got one out of it with some revenge, plus Charmy got to show her stuff in classic Charmy fashion, food related and with swift, overwhelming, violence. There are still plenty more fights to go and I'm sure y'all know what is coming next. I would have set it up better but that set up turned out to be too long and better suited as part of the full chapter so that is next and for timing purposes that fight will be taking place at the exact same time as this one just did, I just wanted to separate things up. As for the Gray v. Lyon setup, well y'all will have to wait and see there though I will very likely just leave the Gajeel v. Rogue fight off page as there is nothing in this story that will change the canon of that fight the same way it did for almost all other fights while Gray v. Rufus could be viewed as an opener so had to be watched. Lastly, for those wondering, as of right now there are 27 points still on the battlefield and the breakdown of how many each Guild can get based on how many they all have left is: Black Bulls – 21, Fairy Tail – 19, Sabertooth – 20, Lamia Scale – 26, Mermaid Heel – 21, Blue Pegasus – 0 (they don't have anyone left). Anyway, that is all that I have for y'all so I will leave this chapter off here. If you liked this please favorite, follow, leave a review, or let me know in a PM and I will try to answer any questions posed in reviews and PMs as best I can. Until next time.
Stringdog