I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, favorited or followed this story since I updated it.
Ragnas Bredvolts (ch 22): Wow, you REALLY hate Jellal don't you? Anyway, putting that aside for now, I'm glad to see you liked the chapter. I'm not rushing you, take your time to read each update. Yes, I don't even watch Star Wars and I could see the similarities to it with the concept of Nirvana. Luke and Cobra's battle is one I've been looking forward to since Luke has been out of action for so long. Cobra may be at a disadvantage in terms of power, but his mind reading and reaction time do give him an advantage. As for Lucy's pairing, I don't know where the idea came from to pair her with God Serena, but that sure as hell isn't going to be happening in this story. I'm as open minded as the next guy, but that pairing makes no sense. But there will be no threesomes, that's where I draw the line. As for My Hero Academia, I keep up with the anime, not the manga. But anyway, I hope you continue to enjoy this story, and you have a nice day as well my friend.
Ragnas Bredvolts (ch 21): Don't worry about it, truth be told I think the problem is that you made the entire thing one word. Anyway, no harm done so don't worry.
NovaBeast13: Sounds interesting, I'll have to check it out later.
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Nightfall came, and the moon was shining brighlty as Nirvana continued marching closer to the Cait Shelter guild, step by step.
Luke continued his mid air battle against Cobra, his mind racing 'This is going nowhere, even if he can't land a hit on me it doesn't mean anything if I can't get him either. Clearly he has an advantage if I continue fighting him in the air like this, but can I risk my motion sickness by fighting on the ground?'
"He's clearly more used to fighting in mid air than we are." Bolt pointed out "But we're gonna have to take him down quickly if we wanna get to fighting the Grand Hancho."
"I know that all too well Bolt, so are you ready? We're gonna have to give these guys a beat down and stop this Death Star reject right in its tracks."
"Right."
"Okay, so let's do this."
"Well now, this oughta be a riot." Cobra let out a chuckle "It ought be a great way to keep me entertained while we make the trip over to our next stop. Come on Thunderclap, why don't we get this fight started already?"
"As if you had to ask. Believe me when I say this, you're in for one hell of a fight."
"Hold that thought for a second lover boy, check it out." Bolt pointed down at the city below them.
"What's up?"
"I thought that magic circle disappeared after that last attack, but it looks like either we missed it or Grand Hancho down there put a new one up in its place."
"Which means that as long as he's still standing, he'll keep putting them back up. We've gotta cut the head off to get the rest of the body."
"You say that like it's going to be easy." Cobra shot him a smirk "I hate to break it to you, no I don't actually, but you're dead wrong."
"I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you, I spent over a year training to protect those I hold dear, and I have no intention of letting that training go to waste."
"I think we'll see about that."
"Enough prattling Cobra, handle these fools for me." Brain told him.
"As if you had to ask, besides Cubellios could use a snack right about now."
"Go ahead and try to swallow us, I'll just claw my way out." Luke told him flatly.
"We'll see about that, now go forward Cubellios!" so Cobra promptly charged in to begin the battle.
"Don't think I'm gonna go down so easily! Lightning Dragon Surge!" Luke unleashed a surge of electricity from his hand.
"And you missed." Bolt noted dryly.
"Doesn't matter, I just need some time to get a grip on mid air combat. Dragon Sword Style: Thunderclap Strike!" Luke pointed his sword Raiden forward and unleashed a blast of lightning from the blade, only for Cobra and Cubellios to weave their way around the blast, albeit with some difficulty "Well that didn't work."
"One would think that at least one of your attacks is going to hit him, so much for the guy who defeated a Wizard Saint."
"Spare me the Rick and Morty levels of snark, I told you before that mid-air combat isn't particularly my forte, so I need some time to get a grip."
"You're not getting enough time for that." Cobra promptly attacked them with Cubellios' tail, only for Luke to whip out of the way at the last second "Besides it's like I told you before, I know the moves you're gonna make before you even make them. There's no way you'll ever be able to land a hit on me."
"Keep thinking that for as long as you can, just because you have superhearing doesn't mean you have enough power to back it up." Luke had Bolt release his grip on him, then suddenly blitzed directly above Cobra "Lightning Dragon TALON!" he promptly attacked Cobra with a lightning enhanced kick.
Cobra dodged the attack for the most part, but still received a slight burn across the side of his face from the attack, leaving him pissed "I guess he wasn't kidding around, bastard's faster than he looks."
"Speaking of fast, hey Bolt it's time for a pickup!" fortuntately Luke was caught by Bolt before he hit the ground "Thanks for the pickup, and for not letting me go splat."
"Considering how you keep trying to clear out my stash back home, it's not like it wasn't tempting." Bolt shot him a grin "So where is he? I don't see him."
"Probably trying to come at me from my blind spot.
"Maybe, maybe not!" Cobra and Cubellios blitzed behind Luke in his blind spot and attempted to smack him with its tail, only to narrowly miss "You can run as much as you like, it just makes hunting you weaklings all the more fun to me."
"Yep, classic bad guy routine, enjoys torturing people for shits and giggles."
"We must be dealing with one lonely bastard." Bolt noted "Chicks don't dig the cocky type, one can only imagine how many nights he spends masturbating."
"...Ignoring that, dive bomb into that building." they dove into the building "I'll hide around a corner and try to get the drop on him." he lowered his voice to a whisper "Make sure you're as quiet as you can be." once the wall next to them was shattered, Luke whipped out his sword and made the slash, only to end up striking air "Okay, that idea seemed better in my head."
"Like I'd fall for that!" Cobra kneed Luke square in the face, only to end up receiving a simultaneous kick to the jaw, sending both of them skidding backwards, but Cobra shot them a pissed off glare as he wiped the blood from his lip "Okay, not bad. But seriously you annoying pains in my ass, I might be cocky but I'm not a chronic masturbator. That's Racer's thing, not mine."
'And he apparently heard that, just how advanced is this guy's super hearing?'
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By this point, Gray, Lucy and the still incapacitated form of Natsu had entered the abandoned city and met up with Hoteye and Jura, only for all of them to encounter Midnight not long after this.
After revealing his true name to the other members of the Allied Forces with him, Hoteye then made the decision to battle against Midnight himself while Jura and the others continued onwards towards the King's summit.
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Meanwhile, with Luke vs Cobra…
The battle above the city of Nirvana continued.
Cobra had Cubellios fly out of the way of Luke's next oncoming attack "You realize this isn't gonna go anywhere for you, it's not like I'm just gonna roll over and die for you."
"I wouldn't expect anything less." Luke raised his sword for another attack "But if you think that either one of us is gonna roll over and die for you, then you're gonna be in for one hell of a rude awakening."
"I wouldn't expect anything less from you."
"This is bad." Bolt muttered "It's like whatever magic he's using is allowing him to predict our moves before we actually make them."
"Actually I bother listening, that's a lot more than what you can say about a certain Salamander in the middle of puking his guts out down there."
"Sad thing is he's probably not wrong."
"My point is that I can hear what your next move is going to be because I can read your thoughts even as we speak?"
"If that's true, then what's my cat thinking about right now?" Luke was met with only the sound of a growling stomach.
"I don't need to use magic to know that your cat has chicken wings on the brain, and something about special brownies. Okay they've got weed in them, that makes sense."
"Trust me it's not fun, you try having your talking cat with wings hide brownies filled with weed in your underwear drawer."
"You haven't seen what I've had to feed Cubellios." then Cobra started reading Luke's mind, and he shot a smirk "Not gonna lie, I never noticed the similarities between Star Wars and Nirvana before. I mean switching people to the dark side, a Death Star with legs, that's actually kind of obvious now that I think about it."
"See, you get what I'm talking about. I've never even seen any of the Star Wars movies and I get that. The only question is, how do I get around this guy's mind reading.'
"Hang tight for a second, I think I have an idea." Bolt told him "I know how to get around his mind reading abilities and wreck his shit like something straight out of Dragon Ball."
"Are you planning on having me think about attacking from the right while I'm really attacking from the left?"
"...I'm still a little bit stoned from before we left."
"Well that figures."
"You're not wrong either." Cobra pointed out "For the record, your cat isn't the first one to come up with that plan and he probably won't be the last, I just hope that you're gonna be more original next time."
"Figures." Luke took a deep breath and fell silent, his expression calm as he and Cobra stared each other down for a moment.
"Now that approach has a lot more originality going for it, trying to flood your mind with various different thoughts. Must be painful having about half a dozen in there at once, and none of them are even that bad, but it's gonna take a lot more than that."
"I figured as much. This isn't good charging him head on while using a fighting style I'm not used to could get me killed. God Serena said something about thinking too much when you're in a fight, but what was it again? Right, he said that if you spend too much thinking about what's coming, you lose sight of what you're dealing with in the present. I have to be fully in the moment so that I can fight without having to think. I have to find the space between my thoughts and learn to live there. Now that I think about it, that's probably what Natsu does. Okay, find the space between my thoughts. Don't think, just do. Come on Bolt, let's move." and so they charged forward.
'Dammit come on, I can't ready any of his thoughts now!' Cobra quickly gave up on this and tried to weave out of the way of a slash from Raiden, only to be met with a quick kick to the jaw that sent him flying backwards, but he quickly stopped himself and wiped the blood away from his lip "How did you-"
"Lightning Dragon Surge!" faster than he could react, Luke blitzed in front of Cobra and unleashed a surge of electricity directly onto Cobra's chest, blowing him back and sending him flying right off Cubellios' back.
'Dammit what the hell is going on, why can't I hear him anymore? Did he really find the space in between his thoughts?' Cobra quickly rebounded onto the back of Cubellios just in time to grab the blade of Luke's sword in the middle of his attack "I guess not all members of the light guilds are morons, I can only think of one other time anyone has landed this many hits on me."
"Take it from someone who actually has a crutch implaned into his back, relying too much on parlor tricks isn't gonna be enough to help you win in a serious fight."
"I figured as much, but that's not the only trick I have up my sleeve." Cobra's arm suddenly covered itself in dragon scales and he coated both the blade and part of Luke's arm in what looked like a deep red poison.
Luke retracted his arm in pain and put Raiden back in its sheath 'The power I'm sensing, don't tell me that this guy is…'
"You guessed it right, you're dealing with a Poison Dragon Slayer now."
"So that familiar sensation I was feeling from wasn't just my imagination after all, you really are a Dragon Slayer. Why am I not surprised?" Luke wasted no time in dodging and weaving his way around Cobra's attacks, being sure to avoid his poisonous claws 'I can't tell how lethal his poison is, but considering one bit from his snake put me out of action before, I think it's safe to say it's pretty lethal.'
"Poison Dragon Talon!" Cobra blitzed in front of Luke and dealt him a poison enhanced kick to the face, sending him spinning away from the collision and leaving poisonous black flames burning across his cheek.
'Dammit…' Luke spat out some blood 'I can feel that he doesn't have much packing in terms of raw power, but every time he attacks me I can feel my body beginning to get numb. It must be the corrosive effects of his draconic poison.'
"Your pain is like music to my ears, all you need is one hit from a Poison Dragon Slayer and that will be more than enough to leave you as good as dead."
"It's gonna take a lot more than that to leave me out of action, if I wasn't scared facing off against a Wizard Saint then you sure as hell can't do that job. My lightning against your poison, why don't the two of us find out which one is more potent." Luke's body began crackling with electricity "I think it's time for us to kick things up a notch."
"I couldn't agree more Thunderclap, it's time for you to fester and fall. Poison Dragon Fang Thrust!" Cobra unleashed a wave of poison shape like a large and fanged snake head, and he sent it hurtling forward.
"Lightning Dragon ROAR!" Luke breathed out a powerful blast of lightning that crashed right through Cobra's poisonous wave, the force of the collision blowing both parties back a great distance, leaving Luke to crash through one of the abandoned buildings of Nirvana. He quickly pulled himself back to his feet and forced himself not to hurl 'At least I can control my motion sickness to a certain degree, that's more than can be said for other Dragon Slayers.'
"Hang tight, I've gotcha." Bolt grabbed onto Luke and hoisted him back into the air "You feeling better yet?"
"Like I said, you can't upchuck if you have nothing to chuck. I can power through this at least until we take this guy down."
"Well now, you're a resilient." Cobra shot him a smirk "Finally, it's been awhile since I had a decent challenge, let alone had to use my Dragon Slayer magic."
"I have no intention of going down against an enemy that tries to hurt my friends, I have no intention of making you an exception to that rule." Luke's magic power surged even higher as he and Bolt then he charged forward.
Cobra quickly leapt out of the way of his attack and then landed on Cubellios "Looks like someone is starting to get desperate. It must be so hard for you, you might have brains but you've got a crappy disposition that weighs it down."
'Dammit this is getting me nowhere, finding the space in between my thoughts was working before, but figuring out that he was a Dragon Slayer shook me out of it. I have to find a way to put the breaks on my thoughts, dammit this is so much easier for people like Natsu. I have to find the space in between my thoughts and live there, if I don't then he's just going to keep reading my thoughts and this fight will never end. Remember Luke, in order to win against him you have to fight without thinking. Don't think, just do.' Luke took a deep breath in order to center himself, his thoughts momentarily racing, then ceasing altogether.
"You gonna turn off your brain anytime soon?" Bolt interrupted him "You've gotta turn off your thoughts or he's just gonna keep screwing with you. I thought it wouldn't be that hard for you to turn off your brain, it's not like many people in Fairy Tail use theirs to begin with."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Just because Natsu and Gajeel don't use their brains, that automatically means that I don't?"
"What I'm saying is that you've gotta pull that stick out of your ass, instead of wasting time thinking things through you've gotta go with your gut. Quit wasting time and start fighting, do what those impulsive jackasses do."
"You're saying you want me to be an impulsive douchemonkey?"
"If it means getting the job done faster then I say you hurry the hell up and just use Dragon Force on him or something!"
"You know how much of my magic power that form uses, try using your head."
"Which is what you do way too much of."
"Which is supposed to compensate for certain other wizards not using anywhere near as much as they should."
Cobra eyed both Luke and Bolt during their exchange, then looked down at Cubellios, his expression appearing to be one of disappointment 'These two…'
"You know what fuck it, let's just do this already. I'm already wasting time as it is."
"For once we agree Thunderclap, let's get back to the fight already. Poison Dragon… Spiral Jaw!" Cobra hurtled towards Luke with a poison enhanced spiralling kick.
"Lightning Dragon TALON!" Luke countered the kick with his own lightning enhanced kick, the attacks colliding and sending both of them spiralling backwards and crashing to the ground of the city of Nirvana. Once he pulled himself back to his feet, Luke glanced up to see one of the massive torches lighting up the city was falling towards them, but rather than panic, his expression only dulled 'Why am I not surprised that something is about to crush me? Maybe this is a sign that I need to reevaluate how I make life decisions. Well, only one thing to do.' and then they supposedly got crushed by the massive torch, resulting in the explosion that followed. When the explosion subsided, the flames that resulted were blown away by a suddenly burst of magic power, courtesy of Luke, his body heavily crackling with electricity "It's times like this I'm really grateful for Thunder Drive."
Cobra observed this from his place atop Cubellios "Looks like Thunderclap over there is finally getting serious, which means that we're about to have a real fight on our hands."
"You ready to do this?"
"I've gotta say that you're just full of surprises, kind of refreshing, but if you're done screwing around then I say it's time for us to finish this."
"On that we can agree." with his new level of speed and power, Luke easily weaved his way around Cobra's next set of attacks and started falling back "Hey come on now Snake Eyes, don't tell me that I'm too fast for you now."
"How about you get the fuck over here and say that to my face!"
"Or you can actually do something other than bark at me like a cocky jackass?"
"Fine! Poison Dragon Scales!" Cobra unleashed a barrage of poisonous blades from within a magic circle.
"Alright Bolt, I think you've saved up enough of your magic power. You ready to do your thing yet?"
"Way ahead of you. Max Speed!" Bolt pushed his flight speed to the max and rammed straight through a nearby building, but when he came back up into the air Luke wasn't with him.
Cobra was quick to take notice of this 'Where is he-'
"Lightning Dragon TALON!" Luke soared down from above with a lightning enhanced kick armed and ready, only for it to be countered by a surge of poisonous energy from Cobra's hands, which were now covered in dragon scales.
"It's not gonna be enough you know, no matter how many times you try or now matter you you try you won't be able to hit me. I know every move before you can make it."
"Maybe, but that doesn't mean you can dodge it if I'm attacking at point blank range. Lightning Dragon-" Luke was cut off by Cobra grabbing him by the face and sending him flying, only for him to be caught by Bolt "Thanks for the save, and now it hurts to talk."
"Hey it seemed like a good idea at the time." Bolt told him flatly.
"Better than anything Natsu could've come up with, though that doesn't really say much when you think about it."
"Maybe not, but this does." Cobra shot them a smirk "I don't know about you, but all of this fighting has worked up one hell of an appetite for me. Cubellios, it's time for you to do your thing." this prompted Cubellios to unleash a cloud of poison, which he quickly consumed in a matter of seconds.
'Okay, poison based Dragon Slayer magic + cloud of poison = I'm probably fucked. Plus considering the odds of him choking on it are pretty much nonexistent, I'd say this is probably going to be bad.'
"Alright, now that I've gut a full gut I think it's time for us to get down to business. I hope you're ready Thunderclap, because it just so happens that I have a gift for you."
"Any chance I can exchange it for something I actually want?"
"Nope! Poison Dragon ROAR!" Cobra let out a roar, and with it came a powerful stream of poison.
Luke and Bolt were sent flying, but they managed to stop themselves in mid air, though the former spat out some blood "You call that a roar? Not packing much in terms of power if you ask me." and yet they suddenly lost a few feet in the air "Easy Bolt, I need you to hang in there for me little buddy."
"Easy for you to say." Bolt spat out some blood "Not all of us can train until we're built like fuckinig rhinos! I'm trying man, but frankly I can barely flap my wings."
"Try harder or we're gonna fucking die!"
"Well if I didn't have to carry you!"
"I do it for you all the time, as far as I'm concerined it's about damn time!"
"Spare me the squawking." Cobra promptly shut both of them up "How do the two of you like my Poison Dragon breath? Right now the virus it contains is flooding both of your bodies even as we speak, and each second that passes brings you that much closer to death. Your fates were both sealed the very second my breath attack hit you, if you would continue to fight now then it would be absolutely pointless."
"We get it, you use poison, let it go. I don't have anymore time to screw around with you, it's time for me to end this and shut you up for good." Luke's body began surging with electricity in the form of makeshift wings.
'This bastard must have one hell of a death wish, but he's determined if nothing else.'
"Lightning Dragon… WING ATTACK!" Luke burst forward and unleashed a two handed lightning attack that ended up blowing apart a good chunk of the city.
"Didn't I tell you I could hear you movements?" Cobra whipped his way around the attack with considerable ease "It doesn't matter if you can fight without thinking, I can hear the moves you make regardless."
'Dammit, so much for the fighting without thinking tactic working. Now how the hell am I supposed to beat him?'
"The answer to that isn't overly complicated, you're not gonna win this fight. Now then, I say we get this over with Cubellios. You ready Thunderclap, or are you gonna have another lovers' spat with your cat again?"
"Nope, all I have to do is get him high again and we'll be good."
"Good, now get ready for the next round. That is to say, if an older-generation Dragon Slayer like yourself can handle it."
"You going to elaborate on what that means?"
"Might as well. I happen to be part of a new wave of slayer, a dragon lacrima was implanted in my body, and that makes me infinitely more powerful than those who came before me."
"I actually do know someone like that from Fairy Tail, I just didn't know about it until a few weeks ago. He has a dragon lacrima implanted in his body, and it lets him use the exact same type of Dragon Slayer magic as me. But that means you guys aren't genuine Dragon Slayers like me, Natsu, Gajeel or Wendy."
"A genuine Dragon Slayer?" Cobra let out a scoff "There's no such thing as that, the only beings capable of mastering Dragon Slayer magic are the dragons themselves. Humans will never be able to obtain that power in this day and age, because everyone knows that dragons have been extinct for a damn long time."
"You couldn't be further from the truth, my father is the lightning dragon Kaminari, and he once told me that you don't assume the worst if you don't see it with your own eyes. There's only one way I'll believe he's dead, and that's if his lifeless corpse is standing before me."
"Get real Thunderclap, how long no one but you has ever seen them? If you don't believe me, then how about I give you some proof? Poison Dragon Twin Fangs!" Cobra crossed his arms and unleashed a spiralling stream of poison that engulfed Luke and Bolt and blew both of them backwards.
Luke barely managed to stop himself in mid air 'Dammit this is bad, his poison is still numbing my body, I can barely move.'
"I can hear it loud and clear, the poison has circulated throughout your body. It looks to me like you're going to rot away real soon, just like your dragon."
"You're gonna regret saing that… you little…" Luke coughed up some blood.
"I'm fading…" Bolt spat out some blood of his own "I'm sorry Luke… I can't keep this up for much longer…"
"Can you make it for one more round?"
"Yeah, but that's about it."
"Good… I want you to drop me right on top of him."
"You've gotta be insane, that's pretty much suicide as you are now."
"I know, that's why I have to finish this now, before my body gives out on me."
"What are you planning to do?"
"I can't say, he'll hear it."
"Not gonna make a difference." Cobra told him dryly "Let me take a wild guess, a full power Lightning Dragon Roar or another Dragon Sword Style spell? Come on dude, I already told you before that I can hear your thoughts."
"You'll see… Bolt, make the drop…" so Luke was promptly released and sent hurtling downwards.
'This isn't going to be much of a challenge now that he's thinking again. Come on dude, come and get me!"
"Fine! Lightning Dragon…"
"It's not gonna work, you're going for a wide spread attack out of desperation because you think I won't be able to dodge it. Well guess again!" Cobra blitzed above Luke "You can't hit me if I'm right behind you, now can you?"
"Actually…" Luke grabbed onto Cobra's wrist with one hand, his other beginning to surge with electricity.
"It's not gonna work, I'm going to end this fight by crushing your thick skull. How about you tell your dragon I said hi when you get to the other side!
"If I have to go down… then you come with me…" Luke thrusted his hand onto Cobra's chest and grabbed onto him with all the strength he had left "And now… it's over… Lightning Dragon… HEAVENWARD HALBERD!" using all of the magic power he could muster, Luke quickly fire a halberd made of pure lightning magic directly through Cobra's chest, leaving a gaping wound as a result while both of them were sent crashing to the ground, one in a bloody heap and the other in a poisonous heap.
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Meanwhile, atop the King's Summit…
Brain looked down on the results of the battle from his place atop the King's Summit "This is quite interesting, not only did he manage to endure Cobra's poison long enough to land a decisive blow, but he used Cobra's arrogance against him. It would appear that I've greatly underestimated the foes we face.
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Meanwhile, back on the ground…
Bolt floated down to the ground and got down in front of Luke "Okay, not gonna lie, that was both brutal and awesome at the same time…"
"That's… what I go for…" Luke spat out a considerable amount of blood, but he gave a thumbs up regardless "When I have people… I have to protect… I'll always go… that extra mile… even if it kills me…" he spat out some more blood.
"Yeah I know, if anyone in our guild knows that, then it would have to be me. I'm not feeling so good though…" Bolt dropped to his knees.
"Yeah… it's cause of… his poison… and now I… can't even move…"
"You little shit…" Cobra staggered back to his feet despite the blood pouring from the gaping wound in his chest "I swear… on the honor of the Six Demons… I'll take you out… if it's the last thing I do…"
"Go ahead… do your worst… but even if you take me out… You've got a bunch of other guys… who could take you anywhere… and anytime…"
"I can hear it loud and clear… the bell tolling on the old generation… it's over… you and your kind are finished… The time has come for the new Dragon Slayers!" he prepared to unleash a blast of poison that would finish Luke, only to be met with a blast of magic energy from behind that went clear through his shoulder.
As it turns out, that blast came from Brain from where he was standing behind him "I think that's enough of that Cobra, you may stand down now."
"Brain… but why… Are you mad…?"
"You've performed extrarordinarily well up until now, but I believe the time has come for you to rest. How pathetic, what good is a false Dragon Slayer to me? Especially one who can be beaten by one of the official guilds so easily. Oh I'm sorrry, did you hear that?" he let out a loud mocking laugh.
"How dare you… you traitor…" Cobra glared up at Brain with tears of fury streaming down his face, but then his vision began to fade 'All I ever wanted… my only prayer… was to someday hear the voice of my one true friend… Cubellios…' he reached out to his snake, only to collapse afterwards and lose consciousness.
"Pathetic wretch, to think I once thought he was so capable."
'He's still alive, but he's fading fast…' Luke struggled to pull himself back up to his knees, and he levelled his furious gaze on Brain "People like you make me sick… You cast away your comrades… like they're pieces of trash to be thrown away…"
"It matters very little. I now have the power of Nirvana at my disposal, with it I will have no problem gathering comrades that will serve me far better than he ever could."
"True loyalty and camaraderie… those things don't come… from power and intimidation… all you'll get… is a bunch of worthless pawn…"
"You shouldn't be making such a fuss, after all your power is what I've come to admire about you the most. The famed Thunderclap of the Fairy Tail guild, the wizard who has mastery over Lightning Dragon Slayer magic to the level where he's capable of defeating one of the Ten Wizard Saints. It would do me good to have someone like you as a comrade, or to use the same terminology as you, to have you as my pawn."
"Oh gee, let me think about that. Thinking, thinking, thinking, not on your life."
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Meanwhile…
Still influenced by Nirvana, Hoteye continued his battle with Midnight, and he was supposedly winning, which promptlyed Midnight to retreat.
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Meanwhile, with the Allied Forces…
"Hey guys check it out, there he is!" Gray and the others (still carrying the useless motion sick form of Natsu) arrived on the scene, only to quickly find that Brain was draggging Luke away for his own agenda "Dammit man you look horrible, what the hell happened to you?"
"You can thank Cobra for that…" Luke spat out some blood "His poison is giving me all sorts of hell…"
"You just got off the stuff and now it's put you out commission again."
"He's not the only one…" Bolt got his attention from where he was sprawled out on the ground, unmoving.
"Eesh, looks like you're not much better off."
"It would seem that Sir Cat is still alive." Jura noted.
"Are you talking about Bolt?"
"Happy isn't here dipstick…" Bolt lifted his head, but it obviously caused him pain "You guys have to save Luke… Brain is trying to take him away…"
"Why the hell would he do that?"
"It's not that complicated." Brain turned to face them "The six demons of the Oracion Seis have been cut down to a meager three, our ranks have been cut in half. So in order to stop the bleeding of our once healthy ranks, I intend to fortify them with this one."
"I should've figured that this was gonna happen someday, that one of these dark guild was going to try and pull one of us over to their side. But you would have to be out of your fucking mind to think that someone like Luke would ever even think about working with someone like you."
"It doesn't matter, all I have to do is wait until his heart is darkened by Nirvana, and then he will gladly do my bidding. His new goals will be intertwined with my own."
"In your dreams!" mustering what strength he could, Luke took up his sword and promptly slashed it at Brain, only for it to be swatted away while Luke himself started coughing up more blood.
"I suppose I should be surprised that you still have the strength to fight, all the more reason it will be invaluable to have you on my side."
"You'd be surprised… what I can do… when I'm desperate…" Luke spat out some more blood and tried to pull himself to his feet, with little success.
"It would seem that while your spitit is strong, your body doesn't have what it takes to back up your talk in your current condition."
"Tell me about it… kind of gets in the way at times… But even if… I can't stop you… you still have to… get past the others…"
"Oh really?"
"He's got a point you know." Gray pointed out "Even if Flame Brain and Luke are both out of commission, we're all raring and ready to take you down."
"Is that so?" Brain let out a chuckle "You really expect me to believe that you're capable of stopping Nirvana? You're more than welcome to try your best, but let me tell you now that you have very little time to lose. We're quickly approaching our first target, the hall of the Cait Shelter guild."
'That's the one Wendy and Carla belong to.'
"And that one is only the first of many."
"And what then?" Jura stepped forward as his gaze hardened "What is your objective? What could you possibly hope to gain from their loss?"
"What I have to gain is the world on its head, in the blink of an eye this guild of light will be consumed in darkness. Just imagine the things we shall see, just imagine the splended horrors that await us."
"We have no intention of allowing you to do such a thing, whether it be myself or any of the others involved." Jura slowly stepped forward, his body glowing golden from the magic power he was releasing "And you still have yet to tell me, what do you hope to gain?"
"What do I have to gain?" Brain barked out a mocking laugh "I have no need to answer to the likes of you! I hold the reigns of light and darkness in my hands! Kneel before me and ask for only one thing, for mercy!"
"What a bothersome fool."
"So what are you planning to do?" asked Gray.
"The only thing I can do given the circumstances. He is far too delusional to hold a conversation with me."
"Didn't you hear me?! I asked you to kneel!" Brain pointed his staff at him.
"I will not kneel, not before you." Jura pointed two fingers at Brain and sent a barrage of boulders towards him, blowing him away and leaving everyone else speechless at the sheer force and power he was displaying.
Brain was just as taken aback as the others, having been blown clear off his feet "His power, it's incredible!"
"Rise to your feet, once you've explained to me why you've set your sigts on the Cait Shelter guild then I will allow you to rest."
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Gray and Lucy shared a look "I guess this guy isn't screwing around. So this is what it looks like when a Wizard Saint gets serious."
"It shouldn't be that much of a surprise." Bolt crawled his way over to them "Jura of the Iron Rock, another one of the 10 Wizard Saints like Jose and Makarov, so it makes sense he wouldn't screw around."
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Jura's gaze hardened as he levelled his glare on Brain "I believe that I told you to stand up."
Brain let out a chuckle "I must admit I am surprised, but it seems that your strength merits such prestige."
"I know for a fact that there are numerous guilds closer than the Cait Shelter, so to go so far out of your way, it betrays a specific intention."
"As I said, I have no need to answer you. By the time we reach the Cait Shelter guild, you will be nothing more than a fading memory. Dark Rondo!" Brain fired forward a wave of magic spirits from his staff.
"Iron Rock Wall!" Jura didn't even flinch as he summoned a number of earth pillars to block the Dark Rondo with ease.
'To think he could so easily block the Dark Rondo, I may have underestimated him.'
"It is pointless for you to continue attacking me Brain, and I demand you give me an answer to my question."
"Why do my reasons concern you? Dark Rondo!" Brain unleashed another barrage of Dark Rondo.
"Iron Rock Wall!" Jura rose his Iron Rock Wall even higher to block the second Dark Rondo "I told you before, your attacks are pointless."
"Are they now?" Brain suddenly blitzed behind Jura "I've got you now! How is this for a pointless attack?"
'So he intends to attack from behind.'
"Dark Capriccio!" Brain unleashed a beam of darkness magic from his staff.
"A more daring approach, but it's far from sufficient." Jura bent one of the Iron Rock Walls to block Brain's attack, only for it to slowly drill through it.
"Your defense is what's pointless, the Dark Capriccio is a spell of darkness that pierces through everything it encounters! That rock will be rendered as ineffective as paper!" the Dark Capriccio pierced through the rock wall, forcing Jura to dodge the attack.
'It would seem that he was not bluffing, that attack was far more daring and effective than the last one. It appears he's decided to become serious in this fight. You may need to rethink your claim."
"That is true, if running is your defense. So tell me Wizard Saint, is that how you intend to proceed from here? Dark Capriccio!" Brain fired another Dark Capriccio.
"Iron Rock Wall!" Jura unleashed another barrage of Iron Rock Walls.
"Simply doubling down? It seems that you're out of ideas!" Brain's Dark Capriccio slowly pierced through one wall after the next "You're just delaying the inevitable. It doesn't matter how many walls you put up, my attack will tear through all of them until it reaches you."
"Another foolish claim." Jura slammed his hand into the ground, causing one rock wall to bend and redirect the Dark Capriccio upwards.
"Another evasion? No matter, this will hit you head on. Dark Capriccio: Scream!" Brain then unleashed a stronger and faster version of the Dark Capriccio.
"Iron Rock Wall: Chain!" Jura unleashed a continuous row of rock walls to shield himself, only for them to be shattered by Brain's attack within a matter of seconds 'It would seem that this spell is much faster and more powerful than the original. No matter, all I need to do is alter his trajectory slightly.' with a wave of his hand he promptly surrounded Brain with a barrage of rocks and rubble, one of them hitting him in the face hard enough to redirect the Dark Capriccio: Scream so it missed, and then he proceeded to use the rubble to engulf Brain "And now this battle is over. Supreme King Rock Crush!" and so he caused the rocks to all immediately crush against Brain on the inside 'Using the rubble created by his own attack against him. It would seem that he allowed his arrogance to blind him to the possibilities.'
Gray and the others could only look on in awe 'Now I see why Lyon and the others respect him so much, that was fucking amazing. He actually did it, Jura just took down the leader of the Oracion Seis!"
"Indeed, this battle has come to an end." Jura made his way over to where Brain was lying on the ground "Now then, I still need an answer as to why you're attacking the Cait Shelter guild."
"For the record Jura, I'm a fan of interrogation as much as the next guy, but don't we have to worry about stopping this thing?"
"If all goes well, we shall learn that from him as well."
"No…" Brain spat out some blood "I never imagined… I would fall like this… losing a battle… to someone from one of the light guilds… Midnight… please hear my words… you are the last remaining hope… for the six demons… you must not allow… all of the six prayers… to disappear… they are our only hope… of keeping him at bay…" and then he lost consciousness as another one of the lines on his face disappeared.
"Keeping who at bay?"
"Hold on a second." Gray looked over at Brain's face "Is it just my imagination, or did one of those black lines on his face just disappear?"
"Truth be told Gray, I think it's more like you just trying to scare me." Lucy noted dryly, then shuddered slightly "And it's starting to work."
"Not the plan, I'm just calling it like I see it."
"Hey you guys!"
Gray looked up to see Wendy and Carla running towards them in the distance "I was wondering when they were going to catch up."
"Just as I thought." Carla let out a scoff "Only a pack of hooligans such as them would be able to cause such a ruckus."
"Oh joy, she came too."
"I think we're in a lot of trouble." Wendy told them "I don't know why, but I think this city is headed straight towards my guild!"
"Yeah we already figured that out, but everything is going to be okay so don't worry." Gray then jerked a thumb over towards Brain, earning a horrified gasp from Wendy "And his buddy the snake charmer is lying right over there." he jerked a thumb over at Cobra.
"Oh wow."
"From what we can gather, this creepy guy Brain is also the one that's been controlling Nirvana up until now." Lucy told her "And now that he's out cold thanks to Jura, the city should stop any minute now."
"Something doesn't sit well with me." Carla got their attention "Their master may be down, but did you ever find out his reasoning for targeting our guild?"
"No, it doesn't seem important." Gray waved that off "I think that's just the kind of thing that villains do."
Jura looked down at Brain and his frown deepened "I still have some lingering concerns, but it would seem that the worst is over."
"No… I don't think so…" Luke crawled his way over to the others, still coughing up a considerable amount of blood "Not as long as… there are still members of… the Oracion Seis to defeat…"
"Luke! Oh my gosh, just hang on and I'll heal you right away!" Wendy promptly rushed over towards Luke and Bolt, and then she promptly started healing both of them, freeing them from the effects of Cobra's poison "You must have dealth a lot of his poison."
"You did it the first time… But he got me good… during our fight… Turns out he's… a Poison Dragon Slayer… go figure…" once the healing spell had been finished, Luke pulled himself to his feet and wiped the blood from his lip "Thanks a ton Wendy, that's two I owe you now."
"No need, as long as everyone is okay now."
"No… not everyone…" Natsu looked up from his place on the ground, doing his best not to hurl all over the place "Guys… I'm begging you… for the love of god… please stop this thing… It'll kill me…"
"Oh you poor guy, you've been poisoned too?"
"Somehow, I doubt that's the case." Luke noted dryly.
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Meanwhile, with Hoteye vs Midnight…
Though it seemed that the battle between Hoteye and Midnight had reached a conclusion, with the former emerging as the supposed victor, Midnight took the opportunity to reveal that he had been casting an illusion, which he then dispelled and revealed himself to be completely unscathed, much to the shock of Hoteye.
Now that he was done messing around, Midnight then proceeded to defeat Hoteye soundly with ease after telling him that he had surpassed Brain's magic power and that no magic was able to harm him, and then he proceeded to walk away.
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Meanwhile, with Brain…
Brain's eyes snapped open as he felt another marking disappear from his face "And so, the fifth prayer has now disappeared… hear me Midnight… No matter what happens… you must not fall as well… my prayer is for your strength…"
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Meanwhile, atop King's Summit…
Luke and the others looked around "Okay this doesn't make any sense, I know I saw those magic circles Brain was putting up when I was fighting Cobra."
"That's what makes it weird." Gray pointed out "You would think there would be some kind of control panel up here."
"There was, Bolt and I both saw it with our own eyes."
"Well this sucks, I was almost positive that once we took Brain out this Death Star reject would stop moving."
"That was the main theory, but now that he's out cold we can't even get any answers from him about how to stop it."
Wendy looked down at the motionless form of Natsu "What do we do? I cast a spell to cancel out the venom, but he's still sick."
"It's not the venom making him like this." Bolt told her "It's a Dragon Slayer thing to get motion sickness, Luke has it too but nowhere near as bad as this."
"That is so pathetic." Carla let out a scoff.
"Hey at least my Dragon Slayer can control it, when it finally kicks in for yours she's gonna be spewing all over the place, and chances are it's gonna be bigger than she is."
"Oh, well if it's just motion sickness then I can just cast a spell on him that restores his sense of balance." Wendy placed her hands on Natsu's head and promptly cast the spell "Troia." and then about 5 seconds later…
"YOSHA TO THE YOSHA!" Natsu suddenly bolted upright "Salamander is back and he's ready to kick some ass!"
"I'm glad to hear it, I thought that might work."
"Holy crap you're a real lifesaver Wendy, you've gotta teach me that spell sometime!"
"Oh, but it's my Sky magic. Sorry."
"Oh. Oh well, I don't feel like I'm riding on anything now! Hey somebody turn into a train or a boat or something!"
"And you're riding on your own ego." Luke noted dryly "In case you forgot Natsu, this isn't the time for us to start screwing around like nothing is wrong, because in case you didn't notice, something is very wrong. We have to find a way to stop this thing, and it's pretty obvious there's nothing up here that will help us do that."
"I don't get it though." Gray muttered "I thought this is where Hoteye, I mean Richard, said that this thing was being controlled by Brain."
"Does that mean he was lying?"
"No, I believe that one to be a man of his word." Jura told him.
"So then what?"
This was when Carla spoke up "There is a much more pertinent question at hand, or should I say, a different way of phrasing the question of how to stop it."
"There's no signs of any controls, the royal throne is empty, and the one we thought was controlling it was taken down by Jura, so the real question is why this thing is still moving in the same way that it was before."
"Precisely."
"Think there's a chance of it being put on autopilot? If that is the case then it could've also been programmed to attack."
Wendy was horrified by the thought of this, and tears began streaming down her face 'Our guild… our poor guild is in trouble…'
"Don't worry." Natsu put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down "We're gonna find a way to stop this thing and save them."
"Natsu's right." Luke turned to face them "You saved us before, me twice actually, so the least we can do is stop this thing from hurting the people you hold dear."
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Things had quickly grown chaotic at the home of the Cait Shelter guild when a member started freaking out about how Nirvana was heading straight for them.
Roubaul, the master of the guild, didn't believe that member at first, but soon realized that he wasn't joking.
One other member of the guild asked if Nirvana attacking them was fate or if it would prove to be mere coincidence, and he suggested they evacuate, however Roubaul told him that even at that moment, there were people fighting to stop Nirvana, people that they should believe in to succeed.
He ended his discourse by claiming that Nirvana attacking the guild is not fate, and that perhaps the time had come for them to pay for their crimes.
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Meanwhile, on the King's Summit…
Luke was quick to voice the obvious question "Well it's pretty obvious we can't destroy this thing, so what's our plan?"
"What else, we blow it the hell up." Natsu told him flatly.
"To be completely realistic Natsu, that's as predictable as they come. And not to be "that guy" in this situation, but that's a pretty tall order, even for us."
"But before that, I believe we should see if Brain knows of a way to stop Nirvana." Jura pointed out.
"With all due respect Jura, you knocked him out cold, and even if he was conscious I doubt we'd be able to get much information out of him."
'What about Jellal? He might know how to stop it.' Wendy suddenly froze at the thought 'No, I could never suggest something like that.'
"Hey Wendy what's the matter, you have any ideas that could help?"
"Well I'm not quite sure, but given the circumstances it may be the best option we have, so I promise I'll do my best to find it." and so she rushed back inside.
'She's hiding something.'
"Wendy where are you going, get back here child!" Carla flew off after her.
'I wonder, is she thinking about… Maybe."
"My friends, can you hear me? It is I, the wizard known as Hoteye."
"And just like that things are getting even more crazy, sounds about right for us."
"How did you fare Richard?" asked Jura "Were you successful in defeating Midnight?"
"My apologies, tried my best but in the end it seems my magic simply wasn't strong enough to trump his. But you need not concern yourselves with my rescue. All of you must work together in order to bring Midnight down for good. If you succeed in defeating him, the source of magic power driving Nirvana will dry up, and the city will cease in its destructive path."
Natsu blinked "Wait I don't get it, am I supposed to know this guy?"
"You were with us when we saw him." Gray pointed out dryly "So anyway, we can stop Nirvana without having to destroy the whole thing?"
"Midnight is currently directly below you, just outside the royal throne. His power is not one it would be wise to underestimate, so please be cautious my friends."
"Well that works for us, as far as I'm concerned this whole thing just got a hell of a lot easier for us."
"Oh hell yeah, now that works for me!" Natsu gave a cocky smirk "I hope you're ready, we're coming for you Sleepy Head!"
"Okay even by your standards, that was pretty weak." Luke noted dryly.
"Okay then, how about Sir Snores a Lot?"
"How about you just stopping before you hurt yourself, and one of us?"
"Only one of the Six Prayers of the Oracion Seis still remains on the battlefield. Every ounce of my trust and confidence belongs to you my friends, so please defeat Midnight and stop Nirvana once and for all. Oh yeah! I wish you all the best of luck, my faithful comrades." and cue the grunt of pain.
"You heard him guys, let's go." so Luke and the others prepared to bolt to the ground level, but his expression was one of concern 'Something doesn't seem right about this.'
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As it turns out, Luke's hunch was correct, since it was actually Brain that contacted them with his telepathy while posing as Hoteye 'Run to your doom you wretches, you may have bested me, but it will come at a great price.'
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"Alright freak, let's wreck some shit!" Natsu charged at the door at the bottom of the massive staircase, only to ram straight into it face first "Ow fuck! He must be using some kind of magic to keep it shut to save his own skin!"
"Or the doors are pull, not push." Luke pointed out dryly.
"...Oh yeah, I totally knew that. Alright you freak, time for a dirt nap!" Natsu yanked open the doors, only to be met with a massive white light "Oh shit."
"Yeah that figures, now everyone get the hell down! Lightning Dragon Thunder Dome!" as he saw the danger, Luke made a dive and spread out his arms in front of him as the explosion went off.
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Meanwhile, nearby…
Erza and Jellal were quick to notice the explosion going off not far away "What in the world was that explosion?"
"I believe that was near the royal throne." Jellal told her "This seems unsettling."
"Honestly, Father can be so selfish sometimes." this was when Midnight revealed himself "He had to take a big bite out of my fun, and he left me with only the measely scraps." he started walking towards them "Now then, since the two of you are the last of my prey, at least try to make it entertaining for me."
"Erza stand back, he's mine. Let me handle this."
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Meanwhile, back with the others…
Natsu's eyes snapped open and he bolted upright "Ow, what the fuck- Oh screw it, are you guys okay?"
"Hey keep your voice down Pyro, I'm trying to sleep here." Gray just rolled over, only to hit his head too.
"Dammit, you've gotta be kidding me." Lucy muttered "How could we possibly be this stupid? I mean we're in Fairy Tail, there's just no way that we could've fallen for a trap so easily." she lifted her head, only to hit it on a layer of rock.
"Yeah well, we're stupid enough to get buried alive apparently."
"Not quite the case, at least for ¾ of you." the rock was promptly cut open from the outside, courtesy of Luke "Lucky me I got a new defensive Dragon Slayer spell, not to mention that we had Jura here to protect us too, or we'd be in serious trouble."
"Where is Jura anyway?" asked Bolt.
"Take a look and see for yourself." Luke let them see Jura's current condition, much to the horror of most of them.
"Holy crap."
"He force me behind him to hold up my defense spell while he took the majority of the blast himself, from what I can tell he'll live but he's not in any shape to fight now."
Jura slowly turned to face them, the strength he had left quickly fading "The strength and the courage all of you possess… your guild is a most fortunate one."
"More like we're all lucky to have it.
"To know that all of you will live on and continue fighting… it leaves me at peace… I leave the rest to you… my friends…" and on that note, Jura fell back and lost consciousness.
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By this point, due to Carla running low on magic power, she and Wendy had decided to continue their search for Jellal on foot, with Wendy reminiscing over how she had always kept Jellal in her thoughts.
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The battle against Midnight, the last standing member of the Oracion Seis, had at last begun in earnest.
Jellal made the first move by firing a quick blast of magic energy, only for it to miss Midnight by a considerable amount, much to his shock 'That shouldn't be possible, how could I miss him at such close range?' but then he winced in pain.
"Please Jellal, you need to stop this right now." Erza told him "We both know you're in no condition to fight him, so let me do it in your place." she was silenced by Jellal holding out a hand to her.
Midnight was quick to grow impatient "Well, I'm waiting."
"You don't need to wait any longer." Jellal attacked Midnight with a barrage of golden colored energy blasts, engulfing him in an explosion, but then he suddenly winced in pain.
"Spiral Pain!" the smoke cleared to reveal that Midnight was completely unharmed, and then he promptly sent Jellal flying with a spiral of red colored magic energy, leaving him to hit the ground with a thud "Well this got boring way too fast, so you're the fearsome Jellal I've been hearing so much about? Talk about a waste of my time, this is five minutes that I'm never getting back."
Erza was left frozen and speechless by what she saw 'Jellal…'
"So tell me, did you lose your memory and forget how to use magic too? How pathetic."
'Regardless of his memories, Jellal shouldn't have gone down so quickly.' they both looked over to see Jellal struggling to stand.
"Well at least you're determined if nothing else."
'The circle of self destruction he placed on himself must have drained more of his magic energy than he thought.'
"What a nice surprise, I'm looking forward to seeing how much pain you can endure." but that was when Midnight had to dodge a slash from one of Erza's swords "Erza Scarlet, aka the Queen of the Fairies, Titania. Well so be it, if you're that eager to have your turn, then who am I to keep you waiting?"
Erza quickly retreated a short distance away, her mind racing 'My sword wasn't even able to hit him!'
"No Erza don't, he's too dangerous!" Jellal protested "You must not take any chances against this one!"
Erza promptly summoned a second sword and started slashing at Midnight repeatedly, but she still couldn't hit him 'It doesn't make sense, how is he doing that?'
"Don't tell me that's all." Midnight unleashed a pulls of energy that sent Erza skidding backwards a short distance, and also caused her own armor to suddenly twist around her body and trap her.
'What is this, what's he doing? Wait a minute, is he… I'll only have one shot at this, so I'll have to make it count… Requip!" with a roar, Erza escaped Midnight's hold with her armor by requipping into her Heaven's Wheel Armor "So that's it… Now I understand, what you're using is Reflector magic."
"That is correct, and whatever kind of magic you throw at me, with my magic I'll be able to twist and manipulate all of it. Besides giving me a flawless defense, my magic allows me to dominate my opponents, and even light itself is bending to my will."
'Could such a power truly exist? It doesn't matter, every opponent has their flaws and you are no exception to that rule. I promise you, I will be your end!" and so Erza charged at him.
"Yes that's right, rush towards your inevitable demise. I can't wait to see the look on your face as I twist your body apart."
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Meanwhile, with the others…
Luke caught Jura and gently set him on the ground, then turned to face the others "Come on you guys, let's go finish what he started."
"But what about Jura?" asked Lucy.
"His injuries are pretty minor, but he won't be in fighting condition anytime soon."
"That son of a…" Natsu gritted his teeth furiously "He's gonna pay for this."
"Natsu get a grip, in case you hadn't noticed you losing your cool like this gets into way more trouble than its worth."
"Ridiculous." a voice echoed from within the various debris and rubble "Brain is such an arrogant fool. He used the last of his magic power to lay his trap, and yet only one of you fell in its snare."
"Enough with the preaching, come out and show yourself to us." Luke glanced over to see a figure within the rubble.
"He was a pitiful leader, and an absolute disgrace to the six demons." the figure floated forward and revealed itself to be Brain's staff "But our goal has not fallen out of reach, for as long as Midnight continues to stand, we shall remain victorious! Since he's busy at the moment, there's nothing keeping me from disposing of you myself."
"...Hey just for the sake of being clear, everyone else sees the talking staff right?" he was met with various nods "Okay good, just checking. But for the record creepy staff, there is actually one thing that's stopping you from taking us out."
"And what would that be?"
"We have a Natsu."
"Wait what?"
"See for yourself."
"Shut the hell up!" Natsu grabbed the staff and started slamming it into the ground in the same way Hulk did to Loki "Would you knock off the creepy laughing, I've already got a migraine the size of this thing thanks to being on this thing in the first place!"
"...You know to be completely honest, if he wasn't doing it then I probably would."
"Stop this city right now you goddamn piece of rotting driftwood!"
"Silence! How dare you insult the legacy of my family?! I happen to come from a long line of proud cedar, so show some respect! Before you stands the venerated seventh member of the Oracion Seis, emerged from his slumber to destroy all of you-" and then he was promptly slammed into the ground over and over again by Natsu. Again.
"For the love of fuck I've heard just enough out of you."
"Be silent you wretch, let me go this instant!"
"Wait hold on a second, we were led to believe that there were only six members in the Oracion Seis." Luke pointed out "And for the record, if any of you make a joke about how they should be called the Oracion Siete, keep in mind that I'm fresh off of being poisoned twice in the span of a few hours, so I'm not particularly in the mood for any bullshit. Natsu, Gray, that mainly refers to the two of you."
"Does it matter?" Gray let out a snort "It doesn't matter how many members we're talking about here, a cane is talking about kicking our butts."
"Should I be the one to mention that he doesn't have feet so it can't kick out asses?"
"You can try, but that's pretty lame for you."
"All of you be silent!" the staff freed itself from Natsu's grip "Uncivilized neanderthal! It will not be long before that wretched guild is within our sights, and then we can finally begin to cleanse this world of refuse!"
"You mean we're already that close to the Cait Shelter guild?"
"Indeed we are! All we have to do is stamp them out, and then we can truly begin our crusade of darkness!" and cue the evil laughing.
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Meanwhile, with Erza vs Midnight…
"Now dance my swords!" now requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor, Erza promptly attacked Midnight by hurling a massive barrage of swords at him.
Midnight just stood completely still, the swords not even reaching him "You could try and hurl thousands of those swords at me, but they still won't hit me." and so he promptly deflected them back at her, forcing her to deflect them "So tell me something, how does it feel to fend off one of your own attacks."
Erza quickly finished fending off her own barrage of swords, only to suddenly be trapped in her own armor like she was before.
"Yes that's better, now why don't you try and soothe me with a lullaby filled with torment and agony!" Midnight let out a chuckle as he listened to Erza's screams "Yes that's it, there's nothing that wets me appetite more than screams of torture." he simply cranked his neck to the side to dodge the sword Erza threw at him, leading it to embed itself into a rock behind him "Rather impressive, but still futile. Spiral Pain!" he promptly unleashed a vortex of distorted air that engulfed Erza, causing her to scream in pain as her Heaven's Wheel armor was ripped apart, leaving her to fall to the ground with a loud thud.
Jellal could only look on in horror at the sight of Erza having fallen "Erza… no…"
"Come now, don't tell me you're finished already."
"Damn you…"
"You can't die on me yet, I still want to play for a bit. I need some entertainment, at least until we reach the Cait Shelter guild."
"What…" Jellal struggled to get to Midnight "What is this Cait Shelter?"
"What else? It's our first target of course."
"What earned them that honor?"
"Quite an excellent question actually. Long ago, a peaceful tribe known as the Nirvits, created Nirvana in hopes of ending a cataclysmic war, but the tool they had created turned out to be far more dangerous than even the war they sought to end, so they decided to seal it away in hopes that it would never be used again. They were so afraid of it that they swore to keep watch over the burial site, their descendents have taken up that task throughout the ages, and they make up a guild that still remains today. That guild is Cait Shelter."
"Are you serious?"
"Indeed I am. They are the only ones who have the power necessary to seal Nirvana once more. Therefore, the nirvit bloodline must come to an end. You would have to be insane to allow an incredible power like this one go to waste. We intend to utilize it, we intend to use it to send the world screaming down the path to sweet chaos, and we're going to start by making an example out of Cait Shelter. The Nirvits wanted to stay neutral? We'll force them into bloody war! The power of Nirvana will turn their hearts into the blackest pits imaginable, and then it will force them to slaughter each other! Oh what a beautiful lullaby it's going to be!"
"You, you're a heartless monster."
"How about you do me a solid and drop the pathetic goody goody act already, truth be told it's kind of a drag. After all, your own heart is so black that mine shines next to yours. One could even say that you're the very embodiment of darkness."
"No you're wrong, that's a filthy lie!"
"You should be proud of yourself. You forced children into labor, you murdered one of your closest friends, and you even tried to kill sweet Erza in your mad rise for the greatest power in existence. Do you have even the slightest clue how many innocent people have had sorrow brought upon them by you? All of them have feared you, they've trembled at the mention of your name, an entire ocean's worth of tears has been shed because of the suffering you caused. I have to admit though, I consider you to be an inspiration."
"I… I what?"
"It's like I said, you inspire me." Midnight held out a hand to Jellal "So why don't you go ahead and join us. It is your destiny to become the newest member of the Oracion Seis."
"No…" this was when Erza finally pulled herself back to her feet "Don't listen… Don't you dare listen to him… Requip!" she promptly requipped into her Robe of Yuen, a sleeveless purple kimono with a bisento that came with it "The light that burns inside of you is brighter than it ever was before."
Jellal looked on in awe 'Erza…'
"Well now, this is quite interesting." Midnight shot her a smirk "I have to admit, I'm surprised you can still stand."
'Erza… the words you say… they are the light that give me my hope and courage…'
"Well this works for me, at least I finally get my real fight after all. Being able to destroy you will be a real treat."
"You'll see about that soon enough." Erza promptly pointed her bisento at Midnight "I swear on the sacred blade that I wield, I will end this chaos, and if I must, then I will end you along with it without hesitation."
And now, the real battle is about to begin…
A/N:
With this chapter, we dive into act IV of the Oracion Seis arc. Since I decided that I would have Luke be poisoned instead of Erza, I knew that I was also going to have him take on Cobra, though it's not quite the same as it was in canon, but it does show that even against someone as powerful as Luke, Cobra's poison is pretty deadly, and raw magic power and physical capabilities aren't enough to win against your opponent.
I know I've sort of been giving Luke the short end of the stick in terms of spotlight ever since the Tower of Heaven arc ended, especially since he's been out of action for a good chunk of the time in this arc, but that's mainly because I wanted to give some other characters a chance to shine. But I promise, the next arc after this one is going to have a huge turning point. For those who know what comes after the Oracion Seis arc (No, I'm not doing Daphne, you're welcome for that), you know exactly what I'm talking about.