Gray and the scouts with him were trailing through the forests of Tenrou, making sure to stay undetected. Things have been rather uneventful for the most part. Though, that can be considered a blessing as they have time to rest before inevitably dealing with more trouble.
During the walk, they chatted more about their lives and what their homes were like. Gray talked more about his past with his former partner and now rival Lyon and his mentor Ur Milkovich, while Jean, Sasha, and Connie told them about their pasts, how Jean grew up in Trost, what life was like for Sasha in the woods, and Connie's relationship with his family and the townsfolk of his village. During that, Gray also took note of Cana's strange behavior, how she was more competitive and uptight than usual, not to mention the fact that she has drunk a single bit of alcohol ever since they arrived on the island.
They stopped when they heard rustling all of sudden.
"Someone's coming." Gray stated.
"Duck out of sight, now!" Jean ordered quietly. Everyone quickly took cover behind some trees and bushes, just in time before the cause of the rustling showed themselves.
A young woman with long, purple hair and a white bodysuit with armament plating was dragging along someone with black robes and a white garb wrapped around him. She appeared to be just as apprehensive as their Ice-Making Magic friend. She was carrying the body with her, making sure to hold them up while checking her surroundings.
"It won't be long before you're restored to your rightful place as ruler, Lord Zeref." The woman said to the man. The name got everyone's attention and put them on high alert.
'Zeref?' Jean thought. Connie and Sasha looked just as unnerved. Gray was surprised, but he was also somewhat in disbelief when he saw the condition the supposed "Black Wizard" was in.
"Who is she?" Jean questioned. Gray didn't respond right away. Something about the woman struck him as familiar…
Too familiar.
"Jean." He announced quietly, getting the Scout's attention.
"You three go on ahead. Get to where the camps are located and regroup with the others. I'll stay behind and keep an eye on her." He told them, surprising the soldiers.
"Are you nuts, Gray?! She's a member of Grimoire Heart, and you wanna take her on alone!" Jean scolded quietly, making sure to keep his voice down to not alert the woman in question.
"If all of us stay here, we risk making a mistake and getting ourselves exposed. If I have to face her, so be it. But you three need to rendezvous with the others, make sure they're okay. I'll be fine." Gray argued. He looked back at the woman, not taking his gaze off of her.
"I'll be right behind you. Besides." He looked at his comrades. "I need to make sure what she intends to do with him. Do you understand?" The Ice Wizard asked the new recruit.
Jean contemplated what Gray said. He has a point, and as much as he didn't want to leave on his own, he knew what had to be done.
"Understood. Be careful, alright?" He stated, getting Gray to reassure him that he will. Jean tilted his head to the side, signaling to his fellow Scouts to leave, which they complied. When they left, Gray looked back at the mysterious woman, following her while keeping himself to the shadows to not draw any of her attention.
'This girl. Something about her.' Gray pondered. He poked his head out from behind a tree, taking a closer look at the woman and her physical features.
'She's a member of Grimoire Heart, but that face, the way she looks. It's uncanny.' Gray narrowed his eyes as he took in the unexpected revelation that he didn't know what to make of it.
'Why does she look like Ur?"
Over at another section of the island, a battle was taking place, one that wasn't in the favor of the island's defenders.
A feminine grunt was heard, its owner skidding across the wetlands. She regained her composure, standing back up. The woman shifted back into her battle stance. She stared down at her opponent, while glancing over at her teammate that was doing the same thing.
Erza gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes. She was gripping her double-edged sword tightly while Juvia was on her knees, struggling to get up. In front of them was their adversary, someone they didn't expect to encounter when invaders breached their island.
It was a young child, not being that much older than Wendy. Despite her age, the young girl was powerful, and her actions and demeanor betrayed her cute appearance.
The girl was a member of the Seven Kin of Purgatory. She proved to be a formidable foe, being able to summon special swords of multiple variants similar to her own magic. Not only that, the swords were made of a unique property that allowed them to injure practically every target that it hit, even ones that had tangibility such as Juvia's water body, by directly attacking their pain receptors.
Juvia had been overwhelmed by the girl's magic, while she was doing better but still struggling. The girl seemed to have an unnervingly calm impression, and the way she talked was disturbingly monotone and straight to the point, as if she had no emotions in her at all.
"Juvia!" Erza cried out. She watched as the Water Magic user took another hard splash on the ground, the blades cutting into her liquid body deep and painfully. Erza turned back to their enemy and knew that they would have to fight full force to beat her. Or to be more accurate.
"She" would have to fight at full force.
"Don't worry. I can handle her." Erza told her guildmate. She activated her magic and soon her standard armor was changed into another set, giving her wings that made her reminiscent of the common depiction of angels with a silver headband accompanied by two small wings, and two swords at her disposal for her to use as she pleased.
"The wizard known as "Erza Scarlet". You're assigned number 4." The girl said, a blank expression on her face.
"And what does this ranking mean?!" Erza demanded. She ran towards the girl as she asked this, noting her doing the same thing to Juvia, only ranking her as "13".
"Your priority." She swiftly responded. She brought her hand to the side, summoning more swords to her aid. "It is the order in which you should be eliminated!" The girl swung her arm to the other side of her body, commanding the blades to launch. They homed in on Erza's location, making her stop in her tracks to defend herself with her own blades.
"Utter nonsense!" Erza called out.
"It is necessary." The girl argued. The blades clashed against the Fairy Tail mages, making Erza forced to protect herself while Juvia was relentlessly attacked again and again by the onslaught.
The girl revealed that since she viewed the Water Mage as a lesser threat, she wanted to get rid of her to get her out of the way.
More blades appeared, never stopping as they continued to stab into Juvia's pain receptors, injuring the woman further and further.
"Gildarts is number three." Meldy continued, listing off the people on her priority list that she needed to kill. Gildarts and Makarov were three and two respectively, as they are the strongest members of Fairy Tail and the ones who hold the most authority, so they were obvious. However, things took a subjective turn when she listed who was at the top spot.
"That man." The girl's face contorted into anger. "Gray Fullbuster!"
The girl went into a tirade on how Gray killed Ur Milkovich, Ultear's mother. Accusing him of having her blood is on his hands and she will return the favor by, in her words, tearing him limb from limb. In her anger, she summoned more swords, sending them against Erza who effortlessly blocked them, but was feeling the force of her rampage.
'She's gone off the deep rails!' Erza thought, noting the clear shift from the teen's calm demeanor to her rampaging assault.
The weather became dark. Gray clouds filled the sky, raindrops pouring from them at a rapid pace that they flooded the surrounding areas. It was like Mother Nature was responding to the girl's outcries.
And she was mad.
"Now you've done it." The two women turned to the rain woman, who got back up in an unnatural way.
"If you ever dare to make that threat again, I'll make sure you won't live to even think it!" Juvia warned, her eyes glowing a pulsating red.
The girl was confused about the change of the woman's demeanor, while Erza was terrified. She tried to calm her down, but it was to no avail. The girl insulted her beloved, there was no way she was going to calm down.
Juvia lashed out in rage, seemingly countering the one the young Dark Mage wielded earlier. The water from the surrounding marsh follows her command, a large gush of water being rammed into the girl, encasing her in it and knocking her back with brute force.
The young pinkette was shocked at the sudden strength from someone that she expected to be one of Fairy Tail's weakest. So much so that she considered the bluenette as the thirteenth on her personal priority list.
Juvia told Erza to go on ahead and see if the others are alright, including her beloved Gray. Erza, amazed earlier by her strength that she didn't show during their S-Class Trial battle that was brought on by her raw emotion, equipped into a black two-piece bikini to match the damp feel of her surroundings, leaving her guildmate to take care of the Kin.
The girl tried to attack her, but Juvia blocked it with her magic and focused the attention on her.
The two women battled it out, each throwing attacks at the other for the sake of their loved ones. The girl immediately counterattacked, summoning more swords to her side to pierce into the woman. Juvia however, wasn't going to allow herself to be tossed around like a rag doll again. She returned the attacks with her own, water rising on her orders to attack the girl.
When it wasn't looking good in her favor, the girl brought up how the two of them both hold incredibly strong feelings for Gray, but on opposite sides of the spectrum. The girl told Juvia to think about Gray in her heart, all the positive feelings she could muster for him, which Juvia did so delightfully, albeit bashfully.
The girl didn't waste her chance. She used her magic to link Juvia and Gray together (who was still trailing Ultear and the unconscious Zeref), the link appearing as pink markings with a heart in the middle on their wrists. Now their senses were one. Although Juvia was excited to be one with her darling (although only their senses), the girl explained that now they were connected, that meant whatever pain Juvia felt, Gray would feel too.
She was none too pleased about this.
Angered that her emotions for Gray were being used against the both of them, she attacked the teen, showing her the same relentless fury she felt before. The girl was still shocked about the power of her opponent, figuring that the increase was brought on by just that: Her strong emotions.
Intending to show her her own powerful feelings, the girl timed the next attack on her person, linking all three of them: Her, Juvia, and Gray. When she was struck in the stomach and sent through a nearby boulder, making a deep hole from the side, Juvia felt that pain, and so did Gray.
The girl reemerged, stating that now that all three of them were connected in a three-way link, it didn't matter which one of them went down permanently: Whoever did, the other two would be going to the grave along with them, making it so Gray was in danger no matter if Juvia was the loser or victor.
Hange traveled through the trees, living up to the namesake of her regiment and trying to scout out any members of Fairy Tail to help them out, and warn them of the danger they were all currently facing.
She was taken aback when it all of a sudden started raining. The change in the weather pattern had her be careful with her ODM gear. Although it's possible and safe to use the ODM gear while raining, it is somewhat risky and the type of rain downpouring currently was a lot heavier than usual.
'It's going to be really hard to find anyone through all this.' Hange thought.
She perked up and gasped when she saw what looked like explosions in the distance, big enough to be seen from above the treetops. From afar, it looked like big flashes of blue similar to the rain and vibrant pink.
"There!" Hange said. She immediately went over there, knowing that if there were explosions, there was a fight going on.
It wasn't long until she found the sight where those bursts of magic energy were occurring.
"Juvia!" The rain woman gasped when she saw someone running up to them, waving and making loud splashes with every footstep they took.
"Hange?" Juvia gasped. The young Dark Mage looked over to the newcomer with narrowed eyes, wondering who the strange woman in the goggles was.
"Hey there, Juvia! Lovely weather we're having, wouldn't you agree?" Hange asked cheerfully. Juvia was shocked at the woman's demeanor and her question, but didn't answer her. Hange perked up and took notice of the young woman standing across from her Fairy Tail companion.
"Now who is this little cutie?" Hange inquired. The girl narrowed her eyes and glowered at the woman, catching Hange off guard, but at the same time intriguing her. Juvia got her bearings together and regained her focus.
"She's with Grimoire Heart. A member of the Seven Kin of Purgatory." Juvia informed, surprising the scientist.
"Her! But she's a kid." Hange argued. Juvia shook her head.
"She's no ordinary child." The rain woman warned.
"I'm right here you know." The girl spoke up, getting the two older females's attention. She stared them down intently. "It's rude to talk about someone as if they aren't there right in front of them." She scolded, holding her hand to her face in another signal, summoning another wave of swords. This surprised the soldier.
"Blades?" She gasped. Juvia tensed up again.
"Be careful Hange, those aren't ordinary swords!" Juvia shouted, gathering the water around her to protect the Scout.
The blades flew at the two, forcing Hange and Juvia to dodge and defend respectively. Hange was stunned at the way the uniquely-designed blades were dancing around the air, following the girls commands effortlessly.
'Is this the same as Erza and Levi's magic?' Hange thought, being reminded of the resident knight of Fairy Tail and Humanity's Strongest, considering that he was her student when learning Requip Magic.
The pinkette redirected her blades and aimed them towards the section commander, intending to finish her off to get her out of the way before she could cause more trouble.
Juvia noticed the direction of the blades changing. She gritted her teeth and acted accordingly, commanding the water to rise up and stop the blades from piercing her comrade. Hange decided to make use of the Magic the pair that "totally weren't in love with each other" taught her. She took aim and shot at Meldy with a magic projectile, but it didn't just hurt her. It also hurt her Fairy Tail companion.
"Juvia!" Hange cried out. She turned to the young girl. "I don't get it. I shot her, why did Juvia feel like she was getting a bullet lodged in her side." She muttered
"Those blades don't just cut into you." The rain woman gasped out, getting the scientist's attention. They target your senses, and she's able to link them up with others to make the senses as one." Juvia explained, surprising Hange who was both cautious and fascinated.
"Interesting." She said under her breath. Although she was calm, Meldy could feel the passion and excitement in her tone. An intense amount of passion and excitement, even love.
"So you are part of the Scouts? Hange Zoe, if I'm correct." The girl stated. Hange looked impressed.
"Oh, well I see someone did their research." She took out two Magic Revolvers from her waist, gifted to her by Alzack himself. She refilled them with different types of magic ammo, one set for each handgun.
'So she uses Gun Magic, huh?' Meldy said in her head. She prepared another attack, summoning axes to her aide. Like the swords, they were all white, but with different design patterns that were unique to them.
"Axes?" Juvia called out.
"Maguilty Babylon!" Meldy shouted. The axes shot out, spinning in arcs like tomahawks. The two women were bombarded, the axes causing major pain. Pain that was feeling doubled by Juvia and being felt by two other people, including the one that was caused by that pain in the first place.
"Hmmph" Gray covered his mouth. Whatever was happening, he needed to keep it down. He couldn't afford risking his cover and losing the woman who had a strange resemblance to his beloved late mentor.
"Juvia!" Hange called out. She looked between her and the young enemy. The girl stood back up, panting heavily from the pain she technically self-induced from another source.
"I'm fine." Juvia reassured, even when it was obvious she was in pain. "I can take it, but we have to knock out first before she can-" Juvia couldn't get her sentence out. She started to huff and pant intensely, falling on her knees as she tried to get up.
"Why, why do I feel so… empty?" Juvia said, feeling unmotivated and crestfallen.
"What are you talking about? How are you-" Hange was cut short when she started feeling bored herself. She tried to get herself pumped up to keep her battle instincts sharp, but they were dulling with every passing second.
"What's going on?" Hange said, holding a hand to her head. She glanced over and saw the youngest member of the Kin was also in a similar state.
"How is she tired?" Hange questioned. She felt something on her wrist and was surprised to see a pink marking with a heart on it.
"How?" Meldy answered her swiftly.
"I connected our senses while you weren't looking. Your intense passion and love for knowledge allowed me to link our senses in Four Spread Sensory Link. Not only do you feel our senses as well as we can feel yours, but all of our senses are now amplified." Meldy explained.
"A Four Spread Sensory Link?" Hange asked.
"My darling Gray is also under the spell. If we get hurt, she feels that pain and vice versa. But if that pain is too much…" Juvia ended.
"That person will die and the others will also die as a result." Hange finished, getting Juvia to nod her head. "So we have to knock her down, before one of us bites the dust. Sounds simple enough."
"You won't get that victory so easily!" Meldy shouted. Juvia acted quickly, casting her own spell before the dark mage could finish hers.
"Water Chains!" Juvia commanded the water with her hands, making chains constructed from pure liquid to wrap around Meldy's arms, preventing her from moving or casting any more spells.
"Hange!" Juvia cried out.
"On it!" Hange activated her ODM gear, flying into the air and getting an aerial view of the scene. Meldy was surprised by the strange machine that was strapped around the soldier's body.
"What is that equipment?" Meldy gasped. Hange aimed her revolvers and fired.
"Mud Shot!" The bullets fired and soon Meldy was covered in the dirty substance impairing her vision and slowing her down slightly, making her give a high-pitched scream.
"Oh that's not all honey. That was just the start!" Hange exclaimed, ready to test out her magic more.
"Cloud Shot!" She fired off another set of rounds, this time covering the area with a heap of fog that made it even more difficult to see.
Meldy began coughing, looking up with a squinted eye to try and locate her foes.
"Where are you?!" She shouted, still coughing from the thick fog entering her lungs. She didn't get her answer when she felt a rumbling underneath her feet. Meldy looked down only to see a large spout of water launch her into the air.
"Water Geyser!"
Meldy gritted her teeth, having enough of defense and deciding to go offensively.
"Maguilty Sodom!" She screamed out. More swords appeared and flew at the woman. But Hange was prepared.
"Flare Shot!" Hange fire off a magic incendiary round, making a
Hange reloaded her guns, filling them up with new bullets.
"Tornado Shot!" Hange called out.
Meldy saw the incoming bullets and her eyes shot open. She ducked just in time before the fired ammunition could hit their intended target. The trees near to her side exploded, the contained wind bursting out of their metal shells, tearing the bark around them.
"Maguilty Lightning!" Meldy shouted out. Pink lighting came out of her fingertips and headed straight for Hange. She was pushed back, but that didn't stop her senses from feeling like they were about to explode. It traveled all over her body and intensified her pain receptors, making everything hurt a lot more than they would normally feel.
"Hange UHHH!" Juvia cried out. Due to her being hit with a Sensory Link, Juvia, Gray, and even Meldy felt the brunt from the latter's own attack.
"Gnnrrghh" Gray grunted in pain. He knew the pain was coming from the weird markings on his wrist at this point, but he had no way to get rid of it. He poked his head, seeing that Ultear was still with Zeref, but wasn't moving.
'Come on, Gray. Keep it together. Endure it!' He told himself.
"Man, that was quite the sensation! I would love to see how this would go with proper testing!" Hange said in excitement, puzzling the dark mage.
"Is this lady out of her mind?" Meldy said confused, wondering why the scientist was happy when she was in extreme pain.
The girls were being pushed to their limits. Juvia and Hange were extremely tired from all the intense physical, mental, and emotional stimulation they were subjected to for the entire fight. Meldy was in a similar state, on the verge of collapsing just like her opponents
'I've had enough. I'm going to do what I intended to do before the woman got in the way. It's her fault that she got in the way. If she didn't, she wouldn't have to forfeit her life.'
With her resolve set in stone, Meldy spawned two swords. She angled them to pierce into her body, catching the attention of her adversaries.
"Wait, what do you think you're doing?" Hange called out. She was about to get up until Meldy's voice stopped her.
"Not another move." She warned.
"Wait, don't do it!" Juvia pleaded.
"There is no use stopping me now. Once I end myself, all of us, including Gray, will perish from this world." The girl responded.
Meldy screamed into the heavens, the two swords above her ready to finish off their master on her orders. As she prepared to commit the ultimate sacrifice, Meldy thought back to her first encounter to the woman she loved more than anything. The one that took her in and was the very reason she even entertained giving up the rest of her life for something.
Back when she was a little girl, her hometown was ravaged. Buildings were destroyed, fire covered the landscapes, and bodies littered the grounds. Any of the citizens that were desperately trying to escape with their very lives was killed off one by one, no matter if they were men, women, or even children.
Meldy was one of those kids.
After seeing her whole life in front of her taken away, all she could do was cry. Cry and weep, hoping that all of this was either a horrible dream or something that someone would come in and stop. Her answers were given, but in an unexpected way.
A young, beautiful woman in purple robes with even darker purple hair tied in pigtail walking up to her. Meldy stopped crying, watching as the woman's blank face changed into one of caring compassion. The woman kneeled down and comforted her, petting her head and telling her that she was safe; No one was going to harm her.
She then saw two men: One plump with pale skin and wearing a yellow blanket, the other with long, spiky blond hair and red eyes with swirls in them. The blonde-haired man was confused on who the kid was while the fat man nonchalantly told the woman to kill her already because dinner was approaching.
Meldy burst into tears again, scared that she would die. The woman decided to take her with them, much to the shock of her companions. When the blonde argued why, the woman answered that she reminded her of herself when she was young and that she had something special to offer them.
Taking the girl in her arms, the woman told the men that she would take responsibility for her. And that was history. Years later after becoming a full-fledged member of Grimoire Heart, Meldy and the woman looked over at the balcony. She called her by her mother's name, from which the woman corrected.
Meldy slowly grabbed onto her arm, stating that the woman was her mother, much to the older lady's shock and joy. She told her that she was too young to have a talented and mature girl as a daughter. Meldy just looked up to her and smiled brightly, a blush appearing on her face as it was filled with content and joy.
All of that led up to this moment.
'I have to kill him, for her!' She reminded herself. With one final thought, she commanded her blades to end her here and now, taking along three more lives with her to the grave.
That didn't happen.
Instead, huge waves of water surrounded the girl, protecting her from any fatal self-injury. The instruments themselves are shattered to pieces. When the waves died down, what was underneath was revealed.
Meldy looked on in shock as Juvia embraced her in a hug. She looked on to the woman shedding tears, clutching her tightly. Hange was flabbergasted at the display.
"Juvia?" She muttered.
'What is this? Why did she?' Meldy was brought out of her thoughts when Juvia began speaking up.
"I can sense it, you feel love." Juvia began, catching the younger girl off guard.
'How did she- Did I share my memories with her through the links?' Meldy pondered. She was then brought on by strong positive emotions.
'What is this feeling? This sense of love.' She said internally. Juvia let go of her to look at Meldy directly into her eyes.
"If you love someone, you live for them. You have to live for the ones you love and so do I, just like I have to do for darling Gray. If we have love in our life, we have to live." She said through her tears.
"So please, live."
With that said, Juvia fell backwards, landing the soaked wetlands she added on to with her magic. Meldy and Hange stared in shock at the woman's actions and words, still processing them when she finally collapsed. Meldy most of all was stunned, but also moved by Juvia's words.
"I… can't fight anymore." Meldy muttered, having lost all the will to continue the battle. She too fell.
With both women down, the only one left standing was Hange. The words Juvia said…. The scientist couldn't help but dwell on them.
"Live for the ones you love, huh?" While Hange understood and respected the sentiment, she wasn't sure if it could really apply to her and the other Scouts. All their life, they were expected to say goodbye permanently to their comrades whenever they fell prey to the Titans. They didn't have the luxury of "living for your loved ones" when they put their lives on the line to make sure they have a better life. The exact opposite of what Juvia is saying.
When she saw Meldy's memories, she felt for the girl. That incident reminded her of the Fall of Shiganshina that happened five years ago in their home. The fact that Meldy was willing to give up her life for her mother figure in those memories resonated with Hange. As soldiers, they were all considered to give their hearts to be free from the Titan's reign.
'Can we really live for our loved ones, when we are fighting for our lives and have to hope we make it back, still standing in one piece?'
Hange was feeling exhausted, all the physical exertion that was brought on by both her recent endeavors and what the other two girls did hitting her all at once. She dropped down to her knees, the toll starting to affect her entire being.
"Heh." She chuckled. "I have to say, Magic is quite something else. I'm.. excited to see what new discoveries await with it." Hange said tiredly, not being able to sit anymore.
Once all had been said, she collapsed, splattering into the flooded landscape. Their bodies lying there as the exhaustion kicked in from all the physical sensations they endured, without really any fighting going on.
The girls laid there in the water, soaked to the core, but feeling somewhat at peace. As the storm continued to rage on, the battles to come would soon follow that rage, as the coalition between the Fairies and the Scouts against the Grimoires were about to take a drastic turn.
Magic:
Hange;
Gun Magic;
Cloud Shot; The user shoots a bullet that forms a cloud around the opponent when making impact. The clouds can take many different forms and have many effects depending on ammo, from simply covering the target's vision to poisoning them with a toxic vapor
Flare Shot; The user shoots a bullet that causes the target to be light on fire when making impact. The flame can vary both in intensity and type of fire depending on the ammunition utilized
Juvia;
Water;
Water Chains; The user conjures up waters and molds them to form solid chains to ensnare and attack the target
Water Geyser; The user gathers up a large volume of water and blasts the target up into the air with tremendous force
Meldy;
Maguilty Sense;
Maguilty Babylon; The user summons white battle axes that when making contact with a target, will dull there emotions and sense of spirit, causing them to feel bored, depressed, and empty
Four Spread Sensory Link; The user links the senses of four people, allowing all people under the Sensory Link to feel each other's senses as one. The senses are also amplified, making them more intense and overwhelming
Maguilty Lightning; The user shoots a pink-colored lightning that affects the target's nervous system, stimulating their sense of pain and intensifying it, causing their pain receptors to be more sensitive and vulnerable than normal. Official Spell, seen in the Alvarez Empire arc in the anime
Author's Note:
Howdy.
So, I managed to get this chapter out this month, but I don't think I'll be able to get Chapter 13 out in the same time frame as I originally intended, due to how late this came out. At the very least, I'll try to get it out from early to mid May. This chapter is definitely one of my shorter ones, but I still try to make it effective and engaging nonetheless.
This chapter was tricky because Juvia vs Meldy is one of the more quicker, and simpler fights compared to others in the Tenrou Island arc, so really the challenge was to find some stuff to add to the fight that gives it more meaning, but doesn't take away from what the fight originally meant. In this case, it was Juvia being able to empathize with Meldy and her familial love she has for Ultear, being similar in comparison to Juvia's affections for Gray even if the love are two different types, resulting in the fight ending peacefully.
Although the fight ended the same as normally, we did see a bit more of each user's magic and Hange started to learn more about the concept of living for your loved ones and how that is complete opposite to the usual philosophy that her and the other soldiers have in the Wall of laying down your life for the betterment of humanity.
If there was one thing I love about this chapter, it was adding on to Maguilty Sense. The concept of the magic is so cool and I just love the multiple layers it has and what a writer can do with that kind of power, both for fights, and for storytelling. And as someone that values empathy, being able to sense the thoughts, emotions, and even memories if they're strong enough was enough for me to adore Maguilty Sense and have it be one of my favorite magics in Fairy Tail.
I also like Meldy. Rewatching the episodes to get all the facts and to help me structure the chapters better, I've come to have a deeper appreciation and respect for her as a character, even if she doesn't appear that often in the show. I already had a fondness for her before, from her personality, appearance, and powers, but really getting into her story, character, and powers has elevated her as a favorite of mine when it comes to the very large roster of colorful characters that Fairy Tail has to offer.
For Juvia, although much wasn't done with her in terms of changes, I wanted to add more to her arsenal. As much as I love the different powers and what Fairy Tail does with its version of Magic, one critique I would have to make is that some of the spells used are very repetitive. This happens with some characters and some magics more than others, but Fairy Tail doesn't exactly… "expand" very much. What I mean is that a lot of the characters use the same spells almost all the time, and any additional figures that magic can offer isn't really capitalized on.
That's not always the case. Characters do get a new spell, powers, add-on/variant to their power, and it's not like using the same move all the time is necessarily bad. Many of the moves used often can simply be said to be their signature spells. In Juvia's case, it would be "Water Slicer".
And last, but not least, we see Hange wielding Guns Magic, showcasing the many types of magical ammunition, as well as a couple of new ones.
Chapter 13 won't be too long, but it's going to be one of the longer chapters, so be ready for that. And even though I might not be able to get out in April, I do have good news.
My term is ending soon. So when that happens and I'm free for the summer, you can bet I'll be working to get as many chapters out as possible, while taking my time and making sure they aren't rushed of course.
With that said, thanks for reading and until then.