Dragons Clash, an Angel Shines (Part 1)
A/N: We're finally here. The battle of the Dragon Slayers is upon us, and a group of powerful warriors are gearing up to fight Jose. Meanwhile, Lucy makes a decision about where her future lies, and the path she must take becomes clear.
IMPORTANT NOTICE! I am changing the romance plan for Erza. I have had her planned to be with Natsu's polycule, but I have decided that I'm pairing her back up with Jellal. The Natsu and Erza pairing is one I like, but I don't think I want to write it in this story. The more I planned out the relationships I listed in this series, the more I realized that I didn't like theirs as much. Sorry if you're disappointed by this, but don't worry. As you've seen, I have big plans for Jellal in this series, so he won't be a sad boy for too long. (Think of Lucy's introduction to Erza as a sheltered person's reaction to seeing someone really hot for the first time.)
And with that, no more words, just enjoy this spectacular chapter.
Make sure to comment your thoughts, I love hearing reactions to my ideas, both positive and negative.
Natsu had been running through the building for a while after defeating the first of the Element 4. He couldn't be bothered to remember his name, finding it unbelievable that guy was on the same level as Erza, Mira, and Laxus. He was just like that Erigor guy, more bite than bark. It seems that Fairy Tail's S-Class qualifications were just higher than most others.
"Hey, Natsu?" Happy nervously asks as he flies next to him, "Are you gonna be scary like you were earlier?"
Natsu looks at Happy and sees the fear on his face. Not just about what opponent they might face, but fear of him. The thought of the person closest to him being afraid of him makes something inside him scream that it was fundamentally wrong.
He rubs the feline's head while giving one of his usual goofy smiles. "Don't worry, Happy. That wasn't me," Natsu says. He and Happy had always been on the same wavelength, so meaningful conversations between the two of them usually had little words to them, but those were enough to reignite the flying cat's hope in his father.
"Now, let's go and beat up those Phantom Lord Jerks and then I can give Gajeel and Jose an ass kicking. Everything will be okay as long as long as I'm here." Happy's face immediately changes into one of joy at his father figure's confidence.
'I don't know why, but even though Master, Yami, and Erza have greater magical power, Natsu's a guy that can inspire you and makes you want to depend on him. The only other person who gives me a feeling is that Asta guy. I guess they're cut from the same cloth.'
The two of them stop in their tracks as a gust of air appears in front of them, revealing the large forms of Aria of the Element 4. "How sad. Wings of fire shall turn to ash, and all that will remain is the corpse of a dragon."
"Oh yeah?" Natsu says as he lights his fist on fire, "Well when I'm done, all of your stupid tears will be evaporated."
In the hideout, Lucy is sitting with Ur, waiting for someone to show up and tell them everything was over. Lucy fidgets with her grimoire, turning through the pages but finding nothing inside the pages.
"Ugh!" Lucy grunts in frustration as she slams the grimoire down. "I feel so useless! I lost my keys when I got kidnapped earlier, and I still can't get this stupid grimoire to work!"
As Lucy stews in her frustration, Ur puts her hand on her hand comfortingly. "Hey, calm down. I heard that your friend Yuno managed to awaken a spirit by figuring out the first steps to Mana Zone. Celestial magic is under the category of stellar magic, so I'm sure you can figure it out too."
"Well, that's the thing…" Lucy says as she scratches her cheek in embarrassment, "I kind of already figured it out."
…
…
…
"WHAT?!" Ur shouts.
"I've always been really good at sensing magic," Lucy explains, "I can even tell people apart from their different types of magic if I focus on it. For example, your magic feels really weak, but it also feels cold, not like a blizzard, but more of a cool breeze."
"However, I've started sensing things that I didn't know were possible once I joined Fairy Tail," Lucy says. "Well of course," Ur responds, "You were trapped in a mansion with that stick in the mud, Jude."
Lucy shakes her head. "That's not what I mean. I had a year of exploring the country for more gate keys, and I saw plenty of different types of magic in people. The first person I met that shocked me when I sensed their magic was Natsu. It was hot, like the sun, but also violent like a dragon. Those made sense when I realized that he's a Dragon Slayer, but what didn't make sense was something else that I felt inside him. I could tell it was something dark and ancient, but I also got the feeling that just telling him about it would be bad.
"But that wasn't the last time something like that happened either. I got to Fairy Tail and so many people had different types of powerful magic. There were several people with similar things to Natsu, a hidden power that they didn't know they had. Erza, Gray, and Yuno all have something inside of them waiting for the right moment to come out, and Gray was the first to find it for himself.
"Though, the weirdest thing I sensed was from Asta." Lucy says, making Ur even more confused. "I thought that kid didn't have magic?"
"You're right, he doesn't," Lucy answers, "But despite that I felt something the first time that I met him. I had the distinct feeling that his existence was simply wrong. I don't know what it is, but his Anti-Magic is something that my brain couldn't handle, it felt even worse than it did with Natsu. I hope that it's nothing sinister because I trust Asta, I just hope the devil in his grimoire isn't planning something nefarious."
Ur sighs after Lucy finishes talking. "Man, you really are just like your mother, overthinking everything until you fall back on the greatest strength of the Heartfilia family."
Lucy looks at her in confusion until Ur points a finger over her chest. "Your heart, dummy. I mean it's in your family name."
Lucy then begins to laugh, causing Ur to start laughing with her. "Man," Lucy says once they're done laughing, "I'd love to hear more stories about my mom once we're done with this whole Phantom Lord problem."
"I'd be glad to tell you more about your mom," Ur says before she gives Lucy a sly smile, "Just don't forget to tell me all about you and Natsu."
Lucy's face becomes red at Ur's insinuation. "What do you think is between me and Natsu?" Lucy tries to hide her embarrassment but fails utterly.
"Oh, you know what I mean," Ur says, nudging her elbow into Lucy, "It's super obvious the way you two look at each other, plus, wasn't he the one who rescued you from Phantom Lord? It's every young girl's dream to be saved from a tower by their prince in shining armor."
"Well, usually the princess gets saved from the dragon's tower, not by saved by the dragon," Lucy sighs, "It's complicated. Natsu has gone with me on every mission since I've joined Fairy Tail, but in such a short time, I couldn't imagine a day without him in my life."
"Forgive my pardon, but what about that is complicated?" Ur asks. "It sounds like you're obsessed with this guy."
"Well, the problem isn't me, it's his girlfriend," Lucy says while rubbing her arm.
"You mean that he's already in a relationship?!" Ur shouts in astonishment.
"No!" A flustered Lucy shouts back. "I mean the girlfriend he used to have before she… died. I don't know if I could replace her place in his heart."
SMACK
Ur slaps Lucy, shocking her at the sudden violence. "Don't – ever – say that again," Ur says, tears threatening to start coming out of her eyes. "You can't just replace the hole someone leaves after they've died. You're your own person and you make your own connections, so I say take a chance with that idiot before someone else is stupid enough to fall in love with him."
Lucy is stunned by Ur's words, but before they can continue talking, the metal wall starts to dent from the outside, the sound of metal hitting metal screeching through the hideout.
"No way, how did they find us?" Ur gets in front of Lucy and preps her Ice-Make stance. The door then bursts open, revealing Gajeel.
"Hey there, Ms. Heartfilia," Gajeel says, knowing that it would get under her skin, "I've come to take you home."
Back in the fight between Natsu and Aria, the fight wasn't going well for the Dragon Slayer, as he was currently breathing heavily from their battle, Happy watching distraught from the sidelines.
Aria raises his hand, causing Natsu to be on guard for his opponent's next action, only to be hit by an invisible attack, blowing him back a few feet. "Why the hell can't I see your attacks?" Natsu asks frustratedly.
"Because my magic isn't simple wind magic," Aria explains, "It's Airspace Magic. I control the very air itself to attack you. This is why I'm the strongest wizard in the Element 4."
Natsu charges forward, trying to sense the magic of the attacks, but the air around him explodes, leaving him unable to dodge as he gets blown back again.
Natsu gets back to his before puffing up his cheeks. "Fire Dragon Roar!" A torrent of fire escapes from his mouth, shooting out toward Aria.
Unfortunately, the wizard turns into air and disappears, the attack shooting past him harmlessly.
"I shall end this with a gift," Aria's voice booms from all around the room, leaving Natsu unable to use his dragon senses to find where his opponent is. "I will let you enjoy the same suffering as your dear master."
Natsu gasps as he turns his head to see Aria appear right behind him, but before he can react, Aria activates his magic, causing Natsu to scream in agony.
"AAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!"
"So sad!" Aria cries, his tears flowing while he attacks Natsu, "This spell drains the magic and life force of all wizards that enter it!"
Natsu continues to scream in agony, but his suffering ends with a dropkick to Aria's face, thought the Airspace user disappears again.
As Natsu struggles to get up, he gasps as he realizes the person that saved him. "Asta!"
Asta doesn't respond, a look of anger that only Erza could match on his face, making the Dragon Slayer and Happy step back in fear.
"So," Asta says as Aria reappears, "You're the guy that messed up the guildmaster, right?"
"Who are you," Aria asks, "We did research on all the notable members of Fairy Tail, but you are new. No matter, you shall die the same."
Asta opens his grimoire and pulls out the Demon Slayer sword, wielding it in both hands. "I may be new, but old man Makarov accepted me in his guild, so I'm gonna make you pay."
"I thought that I would have the chance to face a worthy opponent like Titania, but I suppose that I shouldn't waste time on the riffraff like you." Aria takes off his blindfold, revealing his eyes, which then separate into quarters.
His magical aura then seeps out, making the air in the room swirl violently. "Now then, step into my Airspace of Death, all who dare to enter have their lives consumed by it!"
Asta grits his teeth in anger and grips his sword harder, not letting the wind bother him. "How can you just take away people's lives so easily you bastard!"
"Come, and I'll show you!" Aria then shoots a large burst of air at Asta, who charges straight ahead fearlessly. "That rusty of sword of yours can't possibly-"
SHWING
To Aria's shock, Asta slices through the wind with no effort, not losing a single step in his stride. "How are you cutting through my Airspace!"
Asta doesn't deem fit to answer him, instead leaping into the air before slamming his great sword down on him, but Aria manages to turn into air again.
"Asta, watch out!" Natsu yells, "He's gonna sap your energy like he did me!"
Unfortunately, Natsu's warning comes too late, as Aira appears and activates his draining spell. "Now then, you hapless fool, die by having your magic drained! You barely have any to begin with, so your death will be painless!"
For a second, Asta doesn't respond, leaving Natsu and Happy shocked and Aria gleeful. "Now then, Natsu Dragneel," Aria says as he turns his back on Asta, "We should get to peeling off your dragon scales."
Aria then stops, as Asta is now in front of him, seemingly unharmed by his attack. "What, but how?! No wizard can just shrug off my attacks! Your magical reserves must be empty by now!"
"Well, you're right about one thing," Asta says as he puts his sword back into his grimoire before walking away, "I don't have any magic reserves left."
Aria looks at him in confusion before a sensation of pain flares across his body, his eyes going white as his huge body falls over unconscious.
"That's because I don't have magic."
Back in the hideout, Ur and Gajeel fight, the Iron Dragon Slayer having the advantage against Ur's ice.
"Ice-Make: Rosen Krone!" Ur summons a frozen rose vine to surround Gajeel, but Gajeel turns his hand into iron and breaks it with swing of his hand.
"Ice-Make: Blooming Rose!" Ur summons an eruption of ice roses from underneath Gajeel's feet, launching him into the air, but Gajeel doesn't lose his smile as he lands back on the ground harmlessly.
"Sorry lady, but you're gonna need more than fragile ice sculptures if you want to hurt me."
Ur frowns in frustration at her inability to hurt Gajeel. 'Damn it! If I was as powerful as I was before using Iced Shell, I could beat this guy no problem. I need to retreat with Lucy quick.'
"Ice-Make: Rose Garden!" Ur summons a tight group of ice roses, their vines completely cutting the room in half. She then grabs Lucy and they start to run out the back door, only for Lucy to stop in her tracks.
"What's wrong, we gotta go!" Ur screams as she tries to pull Lucy outside but keeps failing. "I don't know," Lucy cries, "My feet won't move off the floor!" They then look down at Lucy's feet and notice that her shadow is abnormally large. "What the hell?"
Rogue then emerges from Lucy's shadow, making the Celestial wizard gasp. "You were the other Dragon Slayer that fought Sting!"
"You can't leave unless Gajeel's bringing you." Rogue says just as a white laser shoots toward his face. Rogue barely manages to dodge the attack, but has to jump out of Lucy's shadow, setting her free.
Sting and Romeo reveal themselves as the blonde's saviors. "Hey Rogue, we're not finished with our fight from last time!" Sting shouts out, "Miss Lucy, get out of here while we keep him busy!"
As Ur and Lucy then run off, just as Gajeel crashes through the rest of the ice and reaches outside. "Hey kid, do you think you need help handling sparky and Salamander Jr.?"
Rogue shakes his head. "You need to get the Heartfilia girl, I can beat Sting."
Gajeel gives his protégé a toothy grin before heading off to follow the escaping women's scent. Rogues stands off against his two opponents, the preteens getting ready for their battle.
The first one to make a move is Romeo, who ignites his hand in his blue fire before shooting it off at Rogue, who turns into shadows and dodges it. He heads for Romeo in his shadow form, but just as he exits it, Sting is there and hits him with a glowing white fist.
"White Dragon's Holy Fist!" Rogue goes flying across the street, but quickly reorients himself on the ground. Sting charges forward, ready to use the same attack again, but Rogue is ready to counter his punch with his own.
"Shadow Dragon's Shade Fist!" The two punches collide and the young Dragon Slayers are both blown back from the pressure of their clash. They then charge forward again, this time their fists fly past each other and hit the other in the face. The two then devolve into a flurry of blows, their face's both adorned with a predatorial smile, the dragon part of them relishing in their brawl.
However, both of them forget that there is a third person in this fight, so neither expect it when Romeo jumps above them before trying to land a flaming kick to an unsuspecting Rogue. "Blue Flare Jump Kick!"
Unfortunately, as Romeo lands his attack, Sting was already going for a punch, so it becomes a train of pain as Romeo goes flying along with his target into a group of barrels. When the debris clears, Romeo is the only one there.
"What the hell man, you punched me in the face?!" Romeo shouts as he rubs the part of his face that was punched.
"Well, it's not my fault that you got in the way of our fight!" Sting yells back. "When Dragon Slayers fight, weaklings like you need to stay out of it!"
"Weakling?!" Romeo cries indignantly, "I was the one who got a clean hit to his face and could have done more if you didn't hit me!"
As the two boys bicker, they fail to notice that Rogue had disappeared, his shadow form slinking around unbeknownst to them. He uses their ignorance of his presence to jump out of the shadows and attack Sting.
Romeo tries to come in and assist, but Rogue finds his rhythm and begins attacking them by dodging in and out of the shadows seamlessly. Romeo and Sting are unable to recover from his barrage, and both are left on the floor once he's finished.
"You two couldn't beat me in a million years," Rogue says as he prepares his breath attack, "You're too busy beating each other. Shadow Dragon's Roar!"
However, just as he is about to launch his attack, a sudden weight lands on top of his head, causing his attack to be cancelled. "Leave Sting alone you jerk!"
"Lector!" Sting is shocked by his feline companion's assist, but is then enraged when Rogue grabs him off his head and throws him away.
Rogue looks at the red cat with a look of shock on his face. "Wait, a minute? You look like.."
"Hey, flame boy, give me your scarf!" Sting says as he grabs onto Romeo's scarf, much to his confusion. "Why the heck do you need my scarf?" Romeo asks.
Sting rolls his eyes in annoyance. "I'm the White Dragon Slayer, remember?" Sting then proceeds to eat Romeo's white scarf, his magic power getting stronger once he consumes it. "Look, you can't take any more Dragon Slayer attacks since you're just human, but I have a plan and I need your help, okay?"
Rogue gets over his distraction but turns back to see Sting standing by himself with an angry expression. "Where did your little friend go?"
"He's a coward," Sting says, "He got a boo-boo and went crying home to mommy after I ate his scarf."
"You may have gotten a power up from eating your element, but it won't matter if you can't hit me." Rogue then turns into shadows again, this time jumping around his opponent from every angle.
Sting does not react this time, instead crossing his arms in front of his chest, much to Rogue's confusion. "If you're just going to put up your arms in defense, then I'll just keep beating on you until you go down. Shadow Dragon Slash!"
Rogue emerges from his shadow form behind Sting, his hand cloaked in shadows and in the process of a karate chop. But that is when Sting suddenly swings his arms wide open, a white aura surrounding him before exploding violently. "White Dragon's Holy Radiance!"
Rogue is forced to try and block the attack with his magic power. "You're gonna run out of magic power eventually! Then you're done!" That's when his hearing kicks in and he hears running from directly behind him, turning his head to see Romeo charging forward with a flaming blue fist.
'No way," Rogue thinks in astonishment, 'They realized that I can't attack in my shadow form, so they waited until I attacked to catch me in a pincer move!'
"Blue Flare Shot!" Romeo delivers a punch straight to Rogue's back, causing his magical defense to go away and be struck by Sting's attack. Romeo manages to stay uninjured by standing directly behind Rogue until Sting stops glowing and the white explosion stops.
Rogue falls to the ground, his body smoking from being hit by Sting's divine blast. Romeo walks over to Sting, who is breathing heavily from using all of his magic.
"Well, I guess you're more than just a night-light after all, Sting." Romeo smiles before pointing his hand out for a fist bump. Sting smiles back and responds to the fist bump. "And I guess you're more than just full of hot air, Romeo."
As the two boys celebrate their victory, Rogue lies on the ground, conscious but still in pain. 'I guess I underestimated the two of them. However, I know that everything will be okay. I can smell that Gajeel left with the Heartfilia girl. Gajeel will be alright, he always wins.'
'Be safe, Big Brother…'
Back in the Phantom Lord guildhall, Erza approaches the room where Aria is. Erza runs in, prepared for a fight with the S-Class wizard, only to find Natsu and Asta standing over his unconscious body.
"Woah, Asta! That was so cool!" Natsu says, "I didn't even see you hit that guy!"
Asta rubs his nose 'humbly,' his ego being uplifted by the Dragon Slayer. "Well, that was something Erza taught me to do. She said that it was the mark of a true swordsman to defeat an opponent that underestimates them in one blow."
"Well, I'm glad to see that my training was worth something to you." Erza makes her presence known to the young men in the room. She then looks at Aria with a look of disdain on her face. "If he was defeated so easily, then he will only be remembered as nothing more than a sniveling coward."
'Geez, so cruel,' Asta, Happy, and Natsu think.
A jingle goes off as the PO system activates again. "Attention you pathetic Fairy Tail worms," Jose's voice says, before a scream of pure pain and terror comes out.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"
Natsu wants to burn the entire building to the ground as he instantly recognizes the voice. The scream makes his soul wrench itself in pain, never wanting to hear that sound from their throat.
"Lucy."
Natsu doesn't bother listening to the rest of Jose's speech, knowing that it will only make the raging fire within him burn hotter. He simply runs forward, a man on a mission for the guiding star of his soul.
And he knows who he'll find waiting for him if he wants that star to keep shining like it always has.
Like it always should.
Like it always will.
For him.
Natsu's soul screams out to him and only one thought echoes through his mind.
'She is mine.'
Natsu goes off with Happy, leaving Erza and Asta in the room by themselves. "Hey, is it me, or does Natsu seem to care a lot about Lucy?" Asta stupidly asks.
Unfortunately, Erza is also a romantic idiot, so she does not understand either. "Natsu always gets intense when there's an issue about a guild member. Honestly, he has the power to surpass me and probably everyone else in the guild, I just think that he needed a push to motivate him, and I'm glad that Lucy is that for him."
Once the two emotional idiots are done discussing their ally's very obvious emotions, Yuno, Elfman, Gray, Mirajane, and Noelle come into the room.
"Asta!" Noelle shouts from her place on Gray's back, "You're okay!"
"Of course, I am Noelle, but why are you on Gray's back?" Asta asks.
"Well, we're kind of tired from having to deal with some weird rain lady," Gray explains, "Noelle unlocked a new spell to help us win, but she's wiped from having to use so much mana."
"That sounds tough. I can carry you if you want, Noelle?" Asta offers her by holding his arms wide open, making Noelle blush madly.
"No, that's fine!" Noelle says while trying to hide her face behind Gray's back, "Mimosa just got done healing you, so it wouldn't be fair to burden you!"
"Hey Asta," Yuno interrupts Noelle's babbling, "I defeated a member of the Element 4 on the way here." He then points to Aria's defeated body. "Was that you?"
"You bet," Asta says as he gives a thumbs up, "That's two S-Class wins for me, and one S-Class win for you."
"Hmph, I'll make it 10 S-Class wins in my favor next time," Yuno responds, igniting his rival's competitive spirit.
"Oh yeah? Then I'll get 110 S-Class wins while you get zero!" Asta retorts.
As the two of them childishly argue back and forth, Erza notices Mirajane in their entourage. "Mira, what are you doing here?"
"I tried to fool Phantom Lord into thinking I was Lucy, but it didn't go very well," Mira explains abashedly, "Yuno and Elfman had to come and save me."
Erza gives a sigh of relief. "That's very good. To be honest, I thought for a second that you…" Erza's face then becomes somber, as if she realized she was looking at someone else. "Never mind." She says while turning around.
Mira feels a pain in her heart at the look on Erza's face. 'It's the one that Yuno was talking about,' She thinks back to the conversation she had with Yuno in bar last night. 'I never thought of how my pain could affect everyone else.'
FWOOSH
The entire room is then suddenly enveloped by a heavy pressure, leaving the Fairy Tail wizards shaking in fear.
"This feeling," Asta says, "It's just like at the capital."
"This mana feels vile," Yuno says.
"I sense death," Erza gasps.
"That's the feeling of pure evil," Mira says.
A clapping sound is then heard from behind them, causing them all to turn in fear. "Bravo. You are strong enough to keep standing when I unleash my power."
Jose slowly approaches them, a dark, ghostly aura surrounding him, the sounds of damned souls echoing around him. "I never thought it would be so entertaining to deal with such petulant brats. You annihilated my Jupiter Cannon, took down my Element 4, and took my magic giant too its knees. I simply must repay the favor."
Noelle quakes from her place on Gray's back, barely able to handle the Wizard Saint's magical pressure in her weakened state. 'I feel sick just being in the same room as him.'
Gray notices Noelle's reaction and sets her down against a pillar. "Hold on tight," he says, "We'll be done with this creep soon."
Gray and Elfman charge first, ready to attack the Wizard Saint head on. Erza cries out to them in warning, but is too late as they are knocked away with ease from one blast of Jose.
Yuno and Asta stay back, their senses warning them of danger.
'Rushing in blindly against a power like this will only get us killed,' Yuno thinks, 'We need to be careful.'
'Every part of my body is screaming at me that if I attack this guy right now, I'll die,' Asta thinks, 'If this guy is as strong as Nozel and Fuegoleon, then what I felt in the capital must have been them holding back.'
"Gray! Elfman!" Mira shouts at seeing her guildmate and younger brother get slapped aside with ease.
Jose then waves his hand, an explosion going off in front of him. The attack leaves, Gray and Elfman unconscious, but everyone else is okay, with Yuno's wind having whisked them away from the blast radius.
Erza immediately requips into her Black Wing armor as she prepares to charge. "Yuno! I need you to support us with your wind magic and be prepared to use Bell at any time! Asta! Be careful with close range attacks but try to hit him hard and fast!"
Erza then flies forward, barely managing to dodge blast from Jose. She delivers a downward slash that he easily sidesteps before going for a horizontal one. Jose ducks before grabbing Erza's arm and throwing her with surprising strength.
Once he throws her away, he dodges another swing from Asta's Demon Slayer sword before giving him a kick to the stomach, causing him to fly away in the same direction as Erza. Both are caught by Yuno's wind before they crash into the ground.
Yuno then summons his Wind Blade Shower to attempt and skewer Jose, but Jose cancels out his attack with a wave of his hand, dark energy overpowering the wind. Yuno then casts a combo spell of his Swift White Hawk and Tornado Fang, but both are once again overpowered by a single blast of Jose's shade magic.
"I saw two of you take a direct hit from the Jupiter cannon," Jose says as they standoff from the initial clash, "And the other one had a grueling fight with one of my Element 4? How are you all still standing?"
"My friends have filled my heart with strength," Erza declares defiantly, "I will withstand any physical pain to protect the one's that I love."
"Same thing here," Yuno responds, "Fairy Tail is a second home to me and Asta after leaving our village, so we'll protect it like our family."
"So why don't you get it through your sick skull! As long as we can draw breath, we won't quit!" Asta finishes.
Jose lifts his finger as he points at each one of them individually. "Powerful," he says pointing at Yuno. "Courageous," he says pointing at Asta. "Beautiful," he concludes pointing at Erza. "Destroying you three will bring me to levels of ecstasy I never thought possible."
He then flicks his finger at Erza, sending her careening into a wall from the magical pressure. He then starts shooting out purple lasers from his hand, leaving Yuno to dodge the attacks, unable to counter them with his spells.
Asta meanwhile, manages to deflect a few with his giant blade, which is the first thing that leaves Jose in shock as he dodges his own attack. "Those swords, they do not have any magic power, yet they are immune to magic. Of course, Makarov takes away all the interesting ones from pond, leaving me with the scraps."
Erza then flies out of the wall and starts strafing his shots before delivering huge swing to Jose, only for him to disappear a few feet behind him where he continues to monologue. "I've always hated that among Common guilds, Fairy Tail was the most popular. Phantom Lord had the most capital, with plenty of strong wizards, and its numbers surpassed that of every other guild."
Erza then charges at Jose again, this time with Asta at her side and switching to Demon Dweller. The two of them then attempt a barrage of lightning flash slashes, but Jose dodges every single one of them with ease.
He then blasts Erza's weapon out of her hands with a quick burst of magic, and kicks Asta's arm and causing him to release his sword. He then surrounds them the two of them with a binding spell, two tendrils with the head of purple skeletons trapping each of them in their grip.
That's when Yuno jumps back into the fight, this time wielding his Zephyr Blade. He tries to surprise Jose with an attack from behind, but his arm is simply caught by Jose, who looks back and gives him a devious smile.
"Your magic is powerful boy, but your swordsmanship is weak compared to these two." Jose then applies more pressure to Yuno's wrist, causing him to lose concentration on his sword as it dissipates before using the same binding spell on him as Asta and Erza.
Once he has them all contained, he begins giving his bad guy speech again. "You two boys are new to the whole guild business, so you wouldn't know, but Fairy Tail is all anyone ever talks about these days. Tales of the amazing, Erza, Laxus, Mystogan, even another Wizard Saint level wizard, Yami. It absolutely infuriates me being compared to you worms all the time."
"So, this is all because of your fragile ego?!" Erza shouts in pain.
"Trust me there's nothing petty about this," Jose says.
"I don't know about you, but it sounds pretty fucking petty to me," Asta says through gritted teeth.
"If you care so much about your precious image, maybe you should have taken a look in the mirror first," Yuno responds.
Jose frowns at their defiance as he summons another spectral skeleton tendril to pick up Erza's discarded sword. "I bet that Makarov will be distraught once he sees two of his arrogant rookies and his precious Titania's corpse."
The three Fairy Tail wizards struggle helplessly as their bindings begin to shock them, causing them immense pain. Mirajane had hidden behind a pillar at some point during the fight, and had been watching her guildmate's beating by Jose's hands.
'No, it's happening again," Mira thinks despondently, 'The people I care about are dying and I can't help them.'
Tears start to stream out of her eyes at her uselessness, but then her eyes widen as she sees Jose lifting Erza's sword right behind Yuno, the blade aimed at his lower spine.
'No…'
The blade inches closer.
'No you can't…'
And closer.
'You can't die here…'
The blade draws blood as it starts to cut through Yuno's skin, and he cries out in pain.
"Yunooooo!"
Mira feels something within her snap, unable to handle the pain of seeing her comrades die in front of her. Dark mana explodes off of her body, shocking everyone still conscious in the room as they see Mirajane screaming in anguish, her pain feeding her power.
Asta can feel his arm responding to the demonic power being summoned next to him, the darkness inside of him hearing the darkness inside her.
Erza watches in awe, unable to believe that her rival, who she had accepted to be broken and changed forever, had returned in full force.
Yuno, despite almost being stabbed in the back a few seconds ago smiles at Mirajane's awakening. "I knew I saw that same fire in you."
The ground underneath her shatters as her screams of despair become warped, darker, demonic. The screams turn into growls as her face gains cracks and her body changes entirely with a dark glow.
When it stops glowing, Mira is clad in her full Satan Soul Takeover. Her hair now floats up as if a gust was blowing underneath it. She was in a red one-piece bodysuit that left her now clawed arms unprotected and a revealing chest area, with boots covering most of her legs that match. A long stocky tail and big bat-like wings are the indicators that leave it unmistakable - the She-Devil had returned, and she would not let those she loved pay for her inaction.
Mira wastes no time and immediately flies toward Jose and delivers a hard punch to the face, sending him careening and dispelling his binding magic. Her fellow Fairy Tail mages realize that there is no time to celebrate over their friend's realization, as they have a Wizard Saint to deal with and need to give 100% of their focus to the task of defeating him.
Asta joins his fellow demon in arms by revealing his Devil Breaker arm and wielding both his swords in his hands. He summons his Black Buster to grab Jose, who is still reeling from the earlier attack. Asta then pulls him in before swinging him around wildly and then throwing him up high.
In the air he is met by Yuno and Bell, who then hit him with a Sylph Barrage every angle, the tendrils of wind pummeling him mercilessly.
Their assault does not end as Erza and Mira both fly up and combo him into the air, bouncing him between Mira's claws and Erza's slashes.
They all then prepare a final strike, as Asta's Black Buster punches him down from midair. As Jose is crashing down to the ground underneath the Anti-Magic fist, from the sides Erza shooting out her cross shaped Moon Flash attack and Mira unleashing an Evil Explosion. The final nail part of the combo was Yuno had also prepared a Sylph's Breath underneath him, leaving him to stuck between a fist and a hurricane as all the attacks collided and smoke rolled throughout the room.
The two pairs of rivals take a moment to breath after the relentless onslaught that they just delivered to their opponent. Unfortunately, their victory does not come so easy as Jose's magic flares once again.
"Alright then, you brats," He says with a mad gleam in his eye, the souls of hell wails even clearer now, "You've gotten serious, so will I."
Boy, things are getting exciting this chapter huh?
The battle with Jose was one that I have been planning for a while, and we're not even done with him yet. Even with an awakened Mirajane helping them out, this will not be an easy battle.
I'm splitting this chapter into two chunks because I want to dedicate a lot of time to Natsu Vs Gajeel. I figured that I didn't want this chapter's name to be completely false, so this chapter Sting and Romeo had a two on one against Rogue. Sting and Romeo are brand new at the whole rival business, so they weren't as coordinated as other rival team ups in the series, but they'll get there one day.
I was really excited to have Mira join in on this battle as a way for me to make her more important early on. Her conversation with Yuno inspired her to make an early stand against those who would hurt her loved ones, and soon her rivalry with Erza can blossom again.
The last thing I'll mention is the discussion Ur and Lucy had about her magic sensing. I just like making Lucy a badass, and she will get to display her full badassery soon. Also, if it wasn't obvious, Lucy is like the 3rd main character of this series.
