Here is the twentieth chapter of this story released when I wanted it to be in keeping with my self-imposed upload requirements for this series. The third day of the Grand Magic Games is upon them so it's time for the third event and the midpoint of the games. The Black Bulls have shocked Fiore with two event wins and now they're going for a third but can they do it? Well, it's time to see and it's not like it's an event where one person can theoretically dominate it so that no one else has a chance, right? Anyway, that is all the administrative stuff I have for you as there are no questions that require answering and no guest reviews need a response, though I thank all of you for your support, I will leave this note off here. Do keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from those who enjoy my work. That is it for pre-chapter note so it is time to end it so that y'all can sit back and enjoy the twentieth chapter in Black Bull Banishment.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these two great animes.
Chapter 20: Rise of the Fairy Queen
"It's hump day folks and for once it's a hump day we're all going to enjoy because we're going to kick it off with an event that is sure to be exciting for you." Chapati said as the crowd cheered while the Guilds in the games watched on from their boxes or areas wondering what the event will be as it was time for it to be revealed. "Because the third event is…Pandemonium!"
"That's right this is an event that should be interesting to say the least, especially with a name like that." Yajima said.
"Very true and as always I am here with Mr. Yajima for his color commentary on what is about to happen as well as our special guest for the day, the head of the Magic Council's Custody Enforcement Unit, Lahar." Chapati said revealing a rather surprising and strange special guest to have. "Lahar, any words?"
"Glad to be here to see and comment on this event and the upcoming battles." Lahar said. "I'm looking forward to seeing how they all unfold."
"Well we are glad for your presence and unique perspective on things today." Chapati said. "And Mr. Yajima, any predictions for this event? Which Guilds do you expect to do well in Pandemonium?"
"First the teams need to select their members and then actually learn what this event entails." Yajima said in his usual tone. "But after Hidden and Chariots there is one thing for certain, the Black Bulls are no longer a mystery or surprise so they'll be the ones to beat after winning the first two events in convincing fashion. I wonder what they will do now that the other Guilds are wise to their skills, well four of them we still don't know much about their 5th member other than that she uses Water Magic and that they have a reserve who uses Cotton Magic which I'll admit is a new one for me though I think one of the Zodiac Spirits can do something like that if I recall correctly."
"That is true they've proven to be the Guild to look out for these games despite losing both battles as they've really shown some interesting skills and tactics we've not seen before in the first two events to win both and currently sit 3rd with 20 points." Chapati said. "Lahar, can you give us any insights into the Black Bulls?"
"I can seeing as I was the first person, or at least one of the first, to meet their Guild Master Yami Sukehiro when he arrived in Fiore I believe." Lahar said. "He just flew in with that Finral guy, though I didn't know who he was at the time, on those brooms they now sell that revolutionized personal transportation no less, an idea I suggested to their Guild Master actually, and landed at the entranceway to the Magic Council building in Era."
"That is certainly bold of him." Chapati said. "Not many would do that but these Black Bulls are certainly a bold Guild with how they've stamped their presence in the Grand Magic Games after building a solid but not over the top reputation over the last two years."
"That they are though I think it was more out of prudence than boldness that he arrived the way he did as he wished to establish the Guild right away so that he and his Guild members could start making a living." Lahar said. "From meeting him I could sense his power, I am not underestimating this when I say that I believe he's as strong as a Wizard Saint in terms of magic power and that's just from meeting him. I'd love to see him in action one day, he's completed a few SS-Class jobs over the last 2 years, but alas Guild Masters can't compete in the games."
"A necessary rule for which it is automatic disqualification to violate, but that is good insight to have as few really know much about this year's most surprising Guild beyond their marketing and modeling reputation." Chapati said. "So you heard it folks, the Black Bulls' Guild Master is a powerful man so it's no wonder he's got a strong Guild around him but the big question is what will they do in Pandemonium?"
"There's the event title again but what is that?" Asta asked confused as the commentary began to devolve into predictions and speculations for the coming event while the Guilds started to decide who to send out for the event. "I've got no idea what that means. What is pandemonium?"
"It means chaos or panic." Nero said simply. "Though I am sure that there is more to it than that. Regardless, this sounds like it's an event that will have chaos involved so…"
"There's only one of us who can really do it." Noelle said as the sparks began to fly in the area. "If it's going to be chaotic you know he'll be in the thick of it."
"Yup, I really want to participate in an event but in this case, for the sake of the Squad, I'm willing to hold my pride." Magna said. "And give him his moment."
"Asta and I have won so we should go with the best." Finral agreed. "And no one does chaos or causes more panic than him."
All this time Luck's grin was getting bigger and bigger as he didn't need to say anything because he knew that this was his event at last. He was so excited he had to reign in his magic a little as sparks were starting to fly around him but how could he not, this event sounded just up his alley and he really needed to have a good showing in it.
Luck needed to make up for the day before what with his loss to Elfman Strauss of Fairy Tail Team A. Thankfully he'd been healed up by Mimosa, unfortunately missing that thrilling last battle that he'd have liked to enjoy, and was now fully fit and healthy once again so he was more than ready to make up for his loss. That loss only hurt because of pride to the Squad and points, Elfman was a strong guy and Luck loved the thrill of the battle he'd had with the man, it made him want to get stronger so that he could face and beat someone like Elfman next time and see who else in Fairy Tail was really strong.
All that would have to wait though because they'd just announced the event and the name alone implied that this would involve some kind of combat, or at least chaos and panic and to Luck that meant that combat was involved. Hidden had combat but it was more about locating people and Asta was the best for that what with how ki worked, this one was just going to be chaotic combat or something similar and there wasn't a Black Bull better suited for this than Luck Voltia.
"It's decided then." Noelle said. "Luck will be out representative in it."
"So, as with the other events, each team will chose one member to participate in this event so choose wisely." Chapati said confirming their choice because they had gone with the wisest option based on the title though once they learned the rules Asta may be better if it involved destroying magic but they didn't know what the rules were yet so it was all on Luck now, that and Asta had already participated in an event so it was Luck's turn. "Take a moment to decide your representative and send them down to the arena."
"Off you go Luck." Magna said slapping his best friend on the back. "Have fun and go wild in this event, we're counting on your battle mad ass to win it."
"Oh, I can't wait." Luck said as he turned and left the viewing area. "This is going to be so much fun."
The rest of the Black Bulls agreed that this was just the event for Luck so the watched closely ready to support him in it as he made his way down to the arena and was the first out to the cheering crown and an announcement from Chapati. He was soon joined by Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail Team A, which made sense for such a combat sounding event, but she was the only one any of them recognized right off the bat. The rest took a moment and they waited for all to gather trusting that Nero would inform them on who the others were.
As such the Black Bulls paid close attention as the third participant appeared, a woman from Fairy Tail Team B who was clearly their reserve with long black hair wearing only a black bra that showed she was around average for her Guild in that department, a white jacket over it that was open to show that she was wearing just her bra under it, and ¾ length green pants with her black Guild mark on her left abdomen. It was a statement for sure but she wasn't the only scantily clad woman to walk out onto the arena floor for the event.
That was because the second Fairy Tail girl was followed by an even more scantily clad girl in a hooded cloak from Mermaid Heel who was wearing a black bikini-like top that barley covered half her ample breasts, black elbow length gloves, black and purple striped stocking, black boots, garter belt and black thong with a cat's pay print on it. In fact the girl had a lot of cat themes to her as she had a cat's bell around her neck as a choker, her brown hair was styled into cat ears, she had a set of red whisker marks tattooed on her cheeks, and she even had a tail coming out from behind her that seemed to move on its own from wherever it was attached.
The Black Bulls had no idea who she was and she, along with Kagura, had not joined the other three Mermaid Heel girls in crashing Mira and Jenny's battle the day before and Asta could feel a serious and conflicted ki coming from her that was at odds with her risqué look. Whoever she was, it seemed that she was friends with Erza as she exchanged word with Erza who was slightly affected by them to their surprise.
"And lending her claws to this from Mermaid Heel it's Millianna." Chapati announced telling them who the cat girl was.
"She's really cute." Finral said as Nero surprised them with a blank on the girl. "As are the other two girls in this…no stop Finral you only have eyes for Lady Finnis."
"Pathetic." Noelle said as Finral began banging his head on the floor. "Who is the other Fairy Tail girl by the way?"
"Her name is Cana Alberona." Nero said idly as the other Guilds had yet to send out their participants. "She's Fairy Tail Team B's reserve and is seems that likely fake Mystogan guy isn't here today hence why she's out there. I had her listed as a potential secondary team member as she's got some talent from what I've gathered and uses some form of magic that utilizes throwing cards that we don't have really have an equivalent for but apparently she's failed the S-Class trial in their Guild 4 times in a row. Technically 5 but that last one was the one that they vanished during so probably doesn't count."
"Damn, the little birdie here can get some details." Zora said. "Not a surprise given what you can do."
"Hardly." Nero said with a shrug. "During my time in my Fairy Tail nest over the last two years the topic of who would have won the S-Class trial came up pretty much whenever they reminisced about the missing members. They had a betting pool going and Cana had solid odds but her 4 straight failures were a factor that was against here. Between that and others participating like Juvia, who had been an S-Class wizard in another Guild before that Guild was disbanded for breaking the treaty and starting a war with Fairy Tail, Natsu, and Gray all had roughly equal odds with her as well. So did some guy called Mest but I can't find any clue as to who he is as there's no one around called Mest anymore it seems."
"Plenty of things could have happened to account for that." Yami said with a puff of his cigarette. "Not worth dwelling on, focus on this and supporting Luck."
"Right." Several Black Bulls said as the other masked guy from Raven Tail walked onto the field followed by Hibiki of Blue Pegasus who got a rousing cheer from the crowd, though they knew who he was from run ins with Blue Pegasus over the last two years.
The final two who showed up were Olga from Sabertooth, which Luck was really eager about as he was a fellow Lightning Magic user who'd also defeated Magna so Luck had to beat him, and the Wizard Saint Jura from Lamia Scale so they were going all out in it. Luck was clearly excited on the field and the Black Bulls were ready to cheer for an exciting event that was about to start.
"Alright folks with Jura Nekis from Lamia Scale's confirmation all the competitors have been chose." Chapati said as the image cards of all 8 participants appeared as he spoke. "And so to confirm who they are, we have Olga Nanagia from Sabertooth, Hibiki from Blue Pegasus, Millianna from Mermaid Heel, Obra from Raven Tail, Luck Voltia from the Black Bulls, Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail Team A, and finally Cana Alberona from Fairy Tail Team B participating in today's event. Let's all give our 8 competitors a big cheer as they get ready to play Pandemonium!"
As soon as Chapati was done and the cheering happened a massive, dark colored, magic circle appeared in the sky above the stadium and a sinister looking, upside down, castle of all things came now from it complete with spires, chains, and various gothic sculptures on it. It took a moment as everyone stared at it for it to finish descending and even then only a long path up to the entrance touched the ground as the castle just stood there in the air. It was yet another seriously impressive display of magic to create it.
"Before you stands a castle filled with vicious monsters that are eager to make your acquaintance." Mato said loud enough for the whole crowd to hear as he appeared on the arena floor to greet the participants in the event. "That is what Pandemonium is, a monster battle."
"Holy crap that thing's massive." Asta said his eyes wide as he looked at the castle while the participants exchanged words down on the floor with Mato.
"So, it's what we expected." Magna said. "A battle just with monsters it seems. This is definitely the kind of event that Luck would love. We made the right choice with our participant."
"Fitting for the title." Nero said as Mato confirmed that to Jura down on the arena floor. "So, let's listen."
They all nodded as they paid attention to the rules. They weren't sure what they would be, but everyone was paying close attention as Mato began to explain the event to both the participants and the crowd so that everyone knew how it would go down.
"In Pandemonium, there are 100 terrifying beasts that are lurking within the castle behind me." Mato explained as the crowd began to get restless for the event to start but waited patiently to hear the rules. "But do not fear, there is no danger in them escaping to attack the audience as they are magical projections created solely for this event and this event alone. Projections that will inflict real damage on our participants of course but projections nonetheless so they will be contained within the castle."
"Magic projections." Nero mused. "Asta would have been good as well. He'd just cut through them with his sword."
"Yeah but I was our competitor in Hidden." Asta said. "And Luck really wants to battle so it's perfect for him."
"Plus, with his mana sense he'll know those monsters are coming right away." Magna said. "This is perfect for him though I wonder…"
"They are also classified by difficulty with 5 classes from D to S-Class with ascending difficulty as you go up the classes." Mato explained interrupting Magna and inadvertently answering his query as a projection of the classes appeared before them with the distribution as well. "So as you can see there are 50 D-Class monsters, 30 C-Class, 15 B-Class, 4 A-Class, and a single S-Class monster. Now for an example of what you will face, let's see how strong a D-Class monster is so that you know what the weakest monsters that the participants will be facing are. Pumpkin."
With that Mato let out a laugh and screens appeared around the arena to reveal the inside of the castle, likely done so that the crowd could easily watch the event, and which was just as sinister as the exterior. That was dwarfed by the fact that the screen showed a quadrupedal, light gray, monster with spiles on it's back and tail walking around. Then it roared and the crowd screamed at that as it lunged at some pillars and broke it showing the quality of the weakest before more larger, different colored, monsters appeared as Mato continued his explanation as if nothing was going on on the screen.
"The Pandemonium castle is packed full with these vile creatures and many more that are even stronger than what you just saw." Mato said excitedly as the screen finally switched off. "100 monsters await our brave participants in this event."
"They certainly look strong and as Mato said, those things will do real damage." Noelle said. "Remember how you could touch the ones in Hidden, it really shows how sophisticated the magic here really is."
"Well if he gets hurt then I'll heal him up again." Mimosa said. "And I have a feeling they will all get hurt in this event."
"Yeah but Luck's got this." Asta said with a grin. "I know it. He's tough, it will take a lot to bring him down as we saw yesterday."
"Yeah the battle mad freak will love this." Magna said. "We've just got to hope he's not first because knowing him he'll want to fight them all at once and no one can do that."
"I wouldn't say no one." Nero said thinking on it. "But there aren't many who could. Basically, only Asta that I can think of and that's only because of his Anti-Magic swords. Everyone else would struggle though with enough power and skill then perhaps someone could pull it off but even then they'd need to have a lot of magic power and a high level of versatility to manage it. Even the Wizard Saint down there probably can't do it."
"Well then let's see what the rules are." Noelle said. "I agree that Luck would try for all 100 but hopefully there's something that could prevent that from happening. Right?"
"Now for scaling purposes, monsters of a higher class are two times stronger than the ones beneath them so use that D-Class monster as your baseline to think of how much stronger the ones above it are." Mato said getting their attention again before anyone could pose a potential answer to Noelle's question. "So just imagine what that S-Class is going to be like. We're not even sure if a Wizard Saint could beat it."
"That's ominous." Asta said. "But I could take it no problem."
"Idiot, you destroy magic so it's not a fair comparison Dorksta." Noelle said. "So shut it and support Luck."
"Alright with the monster power levels now explained it's onto the rules." Mato said excitedly as he got to the meat of how the event would work. "When it is your turn to go you will chose the number of monsters that you wish to fight in each round. This is what we are calling the competitor's 'right to challenge' rule."
"Oh crap." Magna said his eyes wide. "They get to choose. That means…"
"That if Luck goes first he goes after all 100." Noelle said with a sigh as Mato confirmed that as Erza had asked the question as well. "And if not he'll go for as many as are left."
"So, for an example, if a competitor says that he or she wants to fight three monsters then there will be three monsters inside awaiting you and of course you're going in alone to face them." Mato explained. "If you successfully defeat those three creatures, you will get three points for defeating three monsters and then be allowed to leave the castle. After that the next competitor in the rotation, which will be determined by random draw in a moment, will chose out of the 97 remaining monsters how many he or she would want to challenge. This process will repeat over and over again until either all the monsters have been defeated or at the point were you all run out of magic power, whichever comes first."
"Huh, this is complicated." Asta said trying to figure it out and starting to hurt his head as he thought on it. "I'm lost now."
"It's ok Asta, it's a little complicated I know." Mimosa said kindly. "But it's just simple math in the end. You basically just have to be sensible in your choices and bear in mind your place in the order when it comes to points but I have faith in Luck, he'll pull it off."
"Also, remember that not all monsters here are created equal." Mato said interpreting their chatter again. "No matter how many you choose to test your skills against be it 10, 5 or even 1, they will be chosen entirely at random so you could choose 5 and get all 4 A-Classes and the S-Class or you could chose 10 and get 10 D-Class monsters. Factor that into your strategy as well."
"I don't think Luck will do that." Magna said as Luck seemed to be bouncing in the arena eager for the event to start. "He'll probably choose more just to get a higher chance of stronger foes."
"That does sound like Luck." Finral said with a sigh.
"Some of them will be able to actually make predictions around all this which is going to be just as important as magic power and skill in the long term planning of this event." Nero said. "I think that that Hibiki guy in Blue Pegasus uses some kind of magic that would let him but for the others power will be key. At least 5 of the participants are Senior Magic Knight level or higher with two, Erza Scarlet and Jura Nekis, easily being at Captain level if not Wizard King level in the case of the latter seeing as he is a Wizard Saint of some renown in this world. The others at Senior Magic Knight level are Luck, Olga, and Cana. I can't speak to the remaining 3 though."
"It's going to be interesting for sure." Noelle said as Mato opened his mouth to speak again so she shut up to listen to any remaining rules that were about to be divulged regarding Pandemonium.
"Even though the higher ranked monsters are more difficult, the points here are purely based on number you defeat and not their ranks." Mato said which actually made sense to the Black Bulls as it added a whole new layer of strategy to the event that the competitors had to factor into their plans. "And once you enter the castle you will not be allowed to leave until either you have successfully completed your challenge or you are defeated by the monsters. In the case that you are defeated you will keep all the points you gained in previous rounds but you will also be out of the game. Oh and no points will be awarded if you beat less than the number you challenged that round."
"Oh great." Magna said with his hand over his face. "There's a limiting rule to prevent being overzealous but this is Luck we're talking about, he's not known for restraint when it comes to a challenge like this."
"Unfortunately, that is true." Noelle said with a sigh. "There's a lot of strategy to this as you have to weigh in points that are only awarded based on number defeated, your magic power level and the speed at which you can recover it, your own abilities, and the randomness of the monsters that you will face. It's really complicated, and Luck is a little too direct for it. I just hope he's sensible. All you need to face to guarantee a win is 51 monsters so maybe he'll select that when it's his turn."
"I think that Luck will be sensible." Asta said but he was clearly more opportunistic that the others. "And be reasonable with his selection."
"Just so long as he's not first." Noelle said as a box with straw in it appeared in Mato's hands. "Because then he can't go after 100, no one else there is that arrogant or foolish enough to do that. Right?"
"I would presume so." Mimosa said as Mato held out the box for straws to be drawn and Erza went first with a magic circle appearing at the end to reveal a 1 on it causing the Black Bulls to breath a sigh of relief. "Ok she's first, she seems sensible if strong. You've got to have brains to be an S-Class wizard in Fairy Tail, right?"
"It's part of the test from what I overheard, or at least it's theorized that brute force alone isn't enough to rise to S-Class in that Guild." Nero said with a nod as the others chose their numbers with Luck getting number 3 for it. "So, Erza should be able to factor in all that she needs. She's got the advantage with going first and her skills this will mean that she's going to be a force so Luck will have to be smart but I am sure that Erza is sensible enough not to challenge all 100. As Noelle said all she needs is…"
As Nero had been speaking Erza had already stepped forward to the ramp leading up to the castle and set herself. There were still 3 sticks to be drawn, Luck being one of the ones still to draw, but there was a confident, powerful, gait to the woman's posture that got everyone to be quiet and listen as she looked up and began to speak.
"Inside this castle is 100 monsters and so I choose to challenge…" Erza began her tone deadly serious and carrying to the whole stadium. "All of them!"
The crowd gasped in shock at that, or in Luck's case laughed out loud at the boldness of Erza's declaration and complained that he was going to challenge all remaining for his one but he'd been beaten to it, while Mato exclaimed at what was going on. The only ones not shocked by this sudden declaration were Natsu and Gray in their team's section who were laughing at how Erza this move was.
"Ok, I stand corrected, she's not as sensible as I thought." Nero said her eyes wide in genuine surprise which was rare for her. "Why on earth would she do that when all she needs to do is face 51 to guarantee a win for Fairy Tail Team A?"
"There really is someone that arrogant and not just be like Luck and do it for fun not arrogance?" Noelle asked amazed and coming from her known arrogance that was saying something. "To challenge all 100?"
"That's not arrogance." Asta said seriously as he lent forward and watched closely. "I can sense her ki from here. She truly believes that she can do this. This isn't about arrogance or overconfidence; this is a powerful warrior about to do battle and she fully expects to win this battle. Why I don't know but she's made her choice, we should respect it and watch closely to see if she can achieve it even if she's not in our Guild."
"Asta's right." Yami said. "That girl reminds a fair bit of the prickly princess but there's a fuller confidence to her than Charlotte has like this isn't about some level of overcompensating like how Charlotte does due to gender, not that Charlotte needs to worry about that but it's basically her whole thing these days so may as well let her be the warrior woman who doesn't need a man that she wants to be. Regardless, we should all watch closely, we can learn a lot about how strong one of the top fairies is from this regardless of if she wins or loses."
"Plus, doesn't she use swords and armor?" Asta asked and Nero nodded at that, so he grinned as stars filled his eyes. "Excellent, I bet I can learn a lot from this. Especially if I get the chance to face her in the games later on, being able to know what she can do will help in seeing if I can beat her in a one on one fight."
"If any of us can best Erza it is Asta." Nero said. "And so, we should all pay close attention to watching her in action. I still think this is stupid but if Asta and the Captain disagree then I'll trust them."
"Well if nothing else it will be entertaining." Noelle said. "And she is supposed to be one of the best out there so it will be interesting to see her in action properly as we didn't see that much of her when she briefly used her magic at that magic ball."
"That it will be." Asta said with a grin as Erza began to walk up the ramp and into the castle. "Let's see if she can back up her claim and win this event."
"Er are you serious." Mato said his voice silencing the murmurs around the stadium causing Erza to stop her walk up. "We did design this event for 8 wizards, not one. Even as strong as you are this was made so that short of being able to dissipate the monsters with one hit using something like actual anti-magic, which as far as I know no competitor can use though one can use Wave Magic which is kinda similar, one person shouldn't be able complete it on his or her own."
"I don't care." Erza said simply and turned back to walking as the crowd watched in shock. "I'm facing all 100 and I'm going to win, watch me."
Everyone did just that as they all watched as Erza completed her walk up the ramp and entered the castle. The lacrima around the stadium and in Crocus for those not in attendance showed her as she walked down the corridor after the entrance and into a large chamber with burning torches.
Confusingly, the interior of the castle was still upside down on the inside as well as seeming bigger on the inside than it appeared on the outside though in a world of magic, well two for the members of the Black Bulls, that was a simple enough task with the right kind of Spatial Magic. As such, it was more the detail of how everything was upside down that got them than the space being larger.
"I am Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail's Team A." Erza's voice rang out through the lacrima as the Black Bulls watched her approach a large plinth thing in the middle of room, or maybe it was an upside down chandelier it was hard to tell, and set herself before it as it seemed to be the interface for the event. "And in this event I will face 100 enemies."
Almost at once the monsters began to attack her. It seemed that the first wave of monsters were several of the light gray D-Class ones but there was at least one blue and a handful red that were harder to tell what class they were. With the numbers in the event they had to be the colors for the C and B-Class monsters though the Black Bulls couldn't tell which classes they were from an initial glance.
Regardless, it didn't seem to faze Erza in the slightest as she yelled out 'requip' and changed into a plate armor that covered her chest and arms but left her shoulders and belly exposed for some reason while also giving her a long skirt with plat over the top part, metal boots, two swords in her hands, and wings. She also had a headpiece and her hair style changed with it though neither seemed relevant to the actual armor.
"Woah that is some serious armor." Asta said his eyes wide as Erza used it to slash down several D-Class monsters in a single blow as she leapt up to the top of the central plinth thing to get clear of the horde. "And surprisingly light."
"Likely it's either the magic that is one the armor itself, the metal it's made of, or she's just naturally strong enough to move in that armor without an issue." Nero said as Erza followed it up with a move from the armor that swords came from the wings and rained down on the monsters. "But one thing is for certain, that armor of hers is the real deal. It's not made by magic as I might have explained before, but it no doubt has magical effects enchanted into it."
"Which means that even Asta can't break it with his swords." Noelle said not bothering to question the fashion styling of the armor given how her Valkyrie Armor variant had similar exposure to it though at least in her case that variant was more for speed and maneuverability in water than protection like her normal armor was. "But he should be able to cut through enchantments, right?"
"Correct." Nero said as the commentators noted what was going on as the swords rained down and took out a few more enemies. "It's just a theory of course but if there is a grand battle where Asta has to face Erza he can negate and end the enchantments on her armor, at least temporarily, but anything forged of real metal won't be destroyed. In that case it will come down to their respective skills with swords to determine who would win, which this event will give us a good sense for Erza's sword skills in relation to Asta's."
"That's fine." Asta said as the first update on numbers left came in showing that Erza's initial salvo had taken out 17 D-Class monsters and that was it. "I need to watch and learn her fighting style first, something like what I just saw would be hard to defend against but not impossible with ki and my swords as magic has to be involved in that."
"It will be a lot more than that to take down a swordswoman of that caliber." Yami said watching closely now. "That opening attack wasn't trying to take out as many as possible, that was just a side consequence of what she was doing. Rather she was testing them, the D-Class monsters at least, seeing what they can and can't take to understand their weaknesses. That armor of hers doesn't have anything specific to it other than sword control I'd say, it's strong and good for multiangled attacks, as well as dealing with a horde or overwhelming a larger opponent, but she used that to discover weaknesses in her opponents. She's definitely a smart fighter."
"I agree." Nero said as Ezra requipped into a black armor this time with silver trim on the plates that covered her though in this case it was on her shoulders, legs and on a skirt around her waist with coverings for her chest and arms and boots to her thighs that were also metallic as her hairstyle changed with it though the biggest addition were the membrane like wings under metal arms on her back. "She's used her opening attack to deduce which armor she needs to use right now. I think my earlier assessment about who could take on 100 and win may be wrong."
"How so?" Mimosa asked as Erza leapt down and took out several more D-Class monsters with brute force from slashes of the large sword she wielded.
"So long as she has the right armor for the job and is fast enough with her changes while also remaining smart and tactical." Nero said as a red monster showed it could use magic by blasting her with a fireball that blew up so they couldn't see what was on in the battle. "Then Erza Scarlet might just be able to do it. I thought only Anti-Magic could but I didn't rule out that the right amount of versatility could manage it and with the number of armor suits that Erza has and a highly tactical mind then the only thing limiting her would be fatigue and magic power and…oh see she has an armor for fire it seems."
Nero was right as Erza was now in a red armor that had orange accents to it and consisted of a corset elbow length gloves and thigh high boots with a red wing like affectation on the back. Once again her hairstyle changed with the outfit, so it seemed that some strange and likely irrelevant side effect to her various armors was a difference in her hairstyle with each one. However, the fire was extinguished by an aqua looking blade that was clearly enchanted with water magic which was confusing.
"Er that I can't explain." Nero said. "Gordon, Gauche, any ideas? You understand some of this stuff better than I do."
"Her armor is fire resistant, likely the special enchantment on it and it will have a name to show it though that I don't know." Gordon said. "I'm sure of that for her armor but that blade is based in water magic. Likely got some water enchantment on it that she's using alongside her fire resistant armor and see she just took down that red, probably C-Class, monster with it. If you think about it, that makes sense. The red monster used fire so fire resistant armor is best for defense while water magic is best for offense."
Gordon was right as Erza slashed through and destroyed a red monster so the updated scores, as Chapati commentated on it, reflected that now she'd taken out 23 D-Class and 5 C-Class monsters in the fight thus confirming that red meant C-Class when it came to the power scaling of the monsters. She'd taken them out in seconds. She was from done though as she ran along a corridor taking out more D-Class monsters as she went before summoning another sword to requip from her spatial pocket that she stored it in, and duel wielded.
"What's happening?" Noelle asked as there were a series of explosions that blasted out of the castle as well. "What's she using? All these explosions are making it hard to tell."
"If I had to guess she's using the sword that goes with her current armor so one that is enchanted with flame magic." Nero said as the screen cleared to show that she was wielding a long red sword with the same stylings as her current armor thus confirming it but Erza wasn't unscathed now as she was panting a bit so she'd probably taken some damage from her latest attack run. "To wield two blades like that, she has to be using a lot of power and I'd bet that she needs to expend more to wield that water magic one with the flame magic armor. It would make logical sense at least."
"Still going strong though." Asta said as a larger, blue monster showed up to reveal that it used water magic and was likely a B-Class Monster but as it attack Erza changed again to counter it as she changed her armor to better suit her foe. "She's talented for sure."
This time Erza was in a mostly green armor that covered her hands, forearms, legs up to her thighs, sides, hips, ass, and lower breasts just enough to be over her nipples but with the utter lack of a middle it was clear that more skin than not was on display there with only a small golden chain over the middle. The armor was accented on the hips and elbows and had a flowing tail along with a headpiece that was blue and looked like a sea serpent's ridges over her head and shoulders.
She also had on a black thong thing over her crotch that was on full display. If this wasn't an event he had to watch, both Noelle and Mimosa would be covering Asta's eyes now at how skimpy in sensitive areas the outfit was, and how much it highlighted Erza's above average bust size.
What was strange though was that rather than have a sword that clearly went with it she'd replaced it with a spear as her weapon of choice that crackled with electricity as she attacked the monster. It was a clever, snap, judgement that damaged the beast but the B-Class, at least the Black Bulls presumed it was, was a lot tougher than the C and D-Class monsters and took the blow before slamming a clawed foot into Erza and driving her into the ground. It was the first damage that the crowd really saw Erza take but she was up quickly and moving to evade the next attack as she changed again.
Once more she went with a combo style, this time a beast-like armor, again with plenty of cleavage and belly exposed, that had leopard prints on the chest, shoulder, forearms and boots with a skirt, tail, and ears, though the latter two clearly had to be for aesthetic purposes only. However, she'd armed herself with the spiked black club those at the magic ball had seen her use there.
"This is why she's an S-Class wizard." Nero said as Erza used the attack to take down several more and the board revealed that she'd now taken out more than half the D-Class ones so that only 18 of them remained, exactly half the C-Class ones leaving 15, and surprisingly 5 B-Class ones that they'd not realized thanks to all the chaos and carnage Erza was leaving in her wake. "She's fast, smart, and able to adapt on the fly to the situation while knowing what armor and weapon combo to use. Even with a royal's level magic power, which I doubt she has though I'd say she's easily at a high ranking noble's level at the very least, she can't keep this up forever."
"It's impressive." Asta said as the commentators confirmed that 50 monsters had been beaten and continued their own commentary on the event that the Black Bulls weren't paying attention to in the slightest. "But if she falls things will be easier for Luck. That said, my gut tells me that she might pull this off."
"We have yet to see the A-Class monster or the S-Class one." Nero pointed out as Erza panted from exhaustion but still took the fight to the monsters. "So they may be a deciding factor in the end."
The toll the battle was taking was clear as day as Erza was blasted into another wall by a B-Class monster's tail, but she kept fighting as the crowd cheered and the Black Bulls watched in amazement as the Fairy Tail warrior fought with all she that had as she began to duel wield weapons not related to her armor at all which had to be taking an even bigger chunk of her magic power to pull off. It was truly an impressive display and she was living up to all the stories they'd heard over the years of the power that Erza Scarlet wielded in battle.
Suddenly a section of the wall was blown out by an attack and the crowd went silent as they looked at the screens to see Erza on one knee panting like hell and clearly injured and exhausted both physically and magically while a giant monster that wasn't a set color loomed over her on two legs. This was an A-Class monster for sure, the first that Erza had faced so far, and that was confirmed by Chapati as it attacked her.
"She's done well but this is going to be a lot harder." Nero noted as the blow landed on Erza with a boom that kicked up enough debris to obscure her but then began to crumble from it and the Black Bulls saw the result of it. "Ah I see, that's her pure defense armor, smart."
This time Erza was in a white and navy armor that for the first time completely covered her body from feet to head with just her face exposed and with thick protection on the legs, shoulders, and arms as well as a massive, spiked shield that had been used to block the blow. She still wielded a spear in her other hand but it been the shield and the shield alone that had ended the monster before she blasted it out of the wall.
"Using a foes own power against it." Zora said with a chuckle as Erza ran out of the castle and onto a walkway now in a full yellow armor that went with that crackling spear so it was clearly some kind of lightning magic armor but keeping the shield while some small eye thing ran away from her that most didn't notice and more monsters leapt up to attack from the sides. "Now that's a strategy I approve of. Even for this broad's clear level of power she's got brains and tactics to match them, not bad at all. Most rely on raw power in our world not realizing that trickery and cunning can work just fine in battle as well, it's why I beat so many nobles as they don't expect my traps. I'd say this girl is more than Captain level."
"She could run a Squad that is for sure and in time she might be a candidate for Wizard King with her talents." Yami agreed as Erza ran along the walkway before changing and blasting back another A-Class monster with two swords and using the blow to leap back to a ledge as a few lower class monsters chased her. "She really does remind me a lot of Charlotte minus the man hating attitude. Confident but not arrogant, that's a deadly combination. Of all the wizards we've seen in the Games so far, she's the most dangerous one so far so bear that in mind should you have to face her in the games."
"I bet Luck really wants to fight her." Magna said as Erza kept changing to different armors and weapon combinations, including that black armor from the magic ball once, to cut down even more monsters that crossed her path. "But I doubt he can beat her in a battle. He didn't beat that Elfman guy and he was nowhere near as strong as this woman is."
"Honestly with what I've seen I'd say only the Captain and Asta would even stand a chance in a fight with her." Nero said as more monster fell to Erza's attacks. "She's too versatile and smart for the rest of us. The biggest disadvantage our magic has is that we're all only able to use a single attribute and within that plenty of us lack versatility."
"Charmy can use two." Mimosa said. "I saw it."
"I can?" Charmy asked before she remembered. "Oh yeah that weird thing happened against that elf who disrespected my food. Still can't believe I'm half dwarf."
"Ok, Charmy is a hybrid so has two attributes but she's unique, the rest of us only have one attribute." Nero said. "And while I can't say if Erza can use more than that requip style of Spatial Magic that she uses it is clear that she's got armor designed for multiple attributes that can no doubt resist us and that's before you add in her martial skills with the various weapons that we've seen her use. We've seen water, fire, lightning, beast, pure defense, some kind of offensive magic, and even what has to be a variant of dark magic used and I doubt that's all that she has at her disposal."
"How do you beat something with that kind of versatility?" Noelle asked. "I can't compare it to anything I've seen in our world."
"The closest I've got is that Copy Magic that elf used." Zora said. "That's kinda like what we're seeing only using a magical attribute and not a metric shit ton of armor and weapons."
"The only way I see her being beaten is either by greater magical power that can overwhelm her or something cancels her advantages can beat her." Nero said. "Noelle has more magic power but lacks the martial skills needed and we already theorize that Erza has an armor that can resist water magic. Therefore only the Captain and Asta really have the abilities and martial might to match Erza so if she's an opponent in the games it has to be Asta who faces her."
"It's certainly a battle I'd like to have, she's someone who I would have to surpass my limits to beat." Asta said as he watched as closely as Erza continued to carve her way through the monsters learning all he could about her various styles and methods of fighting and quickly memorizing them. "She's a force of nature, one I will face one day."
Asta may be dumb at times and when it came to women he redefined what it meant to be dense given the pair of royal cuties that were head over heals in love with him and he had no clue about it but when it came to combat he was a genius. He could understand a foe from a single fight, adapt to that person during the fight itself, and learn from just one sighting how to mirror something and incorporate it into his style.
He'd shown that with how he learned to read ki after only one failed attempt following Yami's instructions on it or how he'd been able to mirror Kiato's moves in their duel in the Undersea Temple despite Kiato using Dance Magic for it. When it came to a fight that Asta had to win he could learn quickly and right now he was doing just that because he wanted to be ready should he have to fight Erza Scarlet in the Grand Magic Games.
In his time Asta had seen many skilled warriors and learned all he could from them and their styles. Most were in his own world, swordsmen like Zell, Licht, Mars, Kiato, and of course Captain Yami, but he'd also begun to do the same here. The day before he'd learned what he could from that Kagura girl's win over Yukino, though he still had no clue how she pulled off that sheathed cut to beat the snake thing, and now he was watching and absorbing all he could from this match.
Erza Scarlet was a warrior on a level Asta had never seen before, mainly because in his world few fought with weapons due to the importance of magic, but here it was far more common. That meant that one of the best things about this banishment was that he could learn beyond what he could back home to grow as a swordsman.
Now he was watching someone who he could learn more from than he'd ever dreamed of learning from a single person and so many different styles that the was memorizing and preparing for so that he could use them as well in his fighting style. He was still not sure if he could actually beat Erza in a duel but he was now more than eager to try because fighting her would be the final thing he needed to truly get her style and be able to incorporate it into his own.
All that said she was still human and even she was running on fumes now as she panted and thrust her spiked club into the ground as her requip completely fell showing how much magic power she'd used to reveal her normal attire of full top armor, blue skirt and boots and her normal hairstyle though she did retain the spiked club from that black armor, purgatory armor if those from the ball recalled correctly.
She'd done better than any could have expected but it wasn't over yet and the Black Bulls were all now watching extremely closely to see how this would end. That was especially true as it was revealed that she'd taken down 96 of the 100 monsters in the event with just 2 B-Class, 1 A-Class and the S-Class remaining in the castle.
"So only 4 left but can she manage it?" Noelle asked as they all waited with baited breath to see if Erza could pull it off because at this point it didn't matter that she was in a rival Guild and would get all 10 points from this seeing as she was so close to the goal and had put on a show for the ages just to get to this point. "She's got to be nearing her limit, even I would be out of magic by now."
"Yeah this is actually a little strange." Nero said. "Gordon, any theories? She shouldn't still be able to fight, even the elves would be hard pressed at this stage so how come she's still able to use magic?"
"True though she likely had a large reserve to begin with, probably at the level of a royal at least based on what we've seen." Gordon said thinking on it. "Unless she had her second origin unlocked that is. That could do it."
"Second origin?" Noelle asked as a small thing latched onto Erza's foot while she blocked the remaining A-Class monster with a shield and one of the B-Classes came in from the side. "What's that?"
"Something unique to this world and the people here, we don't have it from what I could gather though I only got a little bit of info on it as not much is known about one's second origin." Gordon said. "And even then I only found it in one of those rare book libraries and it was a passing reference to it. It's got something to do with how magic is contained within the body and requires a Lost Magic called Arc of Time to unlock. I couldn't find records past that though."
"Arc of Time?" Nero asked as Erza cut through the A-Class with a katana having changed into an outfit that had no armor and was just a white bandages wrapped around her breasts and red pants with some gold flame pattering coming up from the cuffs, black edging, and a white sting belt around her waist with no shoes either and yet another new hairstyle for her. "I feel like I read about that in some report I found a while ago while trying to learn about the stuff that Fairy Tail has been involved in over the last decade or so but it was vague as if it was being hidden."
"Possibly, it's a powerful and dangerous magic to know so if someone did know it and if that someone was a Dark Guild member that used it in some incident then it would be hushed up so that others didn't seek it out or learn how dangerous the situation truly was." Gordon mused as Erza cut through the remaining two B-Class monsters to land panting on a chain with just the S-Class remaining. "We know firsthand how information can be suppressed for the public good so it shouldn't surprise us that it is done here as well but that is for another time, we should see how this ends."
"Agreed, she's taken down 99 monsters with just the S-Class remaining." Asta said as he watched closely. "And whatever armor she's using now is pure offensive armor, her ki is through the roof now almost as if whatever she had inside holding her back has been released. This is her last gasp, her all or nothing push to bring the event to a close."
"That's probably what that armor does, she's no longer reserved or guarding herself." Yami said as the S-Class was revealed to be a tiny monster that caused her to suddenly get serious and requip a pair of katanas in preparation of facing it. "I felt it in her ki, that girl has some walls to her, a past that she keeps locked away that likely still haunts her in some way but she's released it now which seems to have boosted her offensive power even though it has no defense."
"She'll need it." Nero said as Mato suddenly announced that the S-Class monster was designed to increase it's power three fold if it was the last one standing so now it was serious fight as the S-Class monster grew to massive proportions and looked like a giant, bipedal, evil, armored monstrosity that attacked Erza. "Only pure offense can win it now I feel."
Nero wasn't wrong, in seconds the fight had moved to the top of the tower and pinned her under its foot against a lit plinth thing in the center of the top. The commentators were noting it but no one else was talking as Erza managed to worm her way out but was knocked down in the process to slide over the platform at the top of the castle. This was the final battle for her and now everyone truly understood the name of the event and the magically created castle in which it was held.
The crowd began to cheer as Erza leapt up to avoid an attack and began to slash at the monster with her katanas that seemed to glow as she moved. The blades were clearly razor sharp and might have some enchantment on them that the Black Bulls couldn't identify at the moment as she sliced through the thing's fingers as she leapt around it with impressive agility and speed to get high in the air behind it and came down to slash off a horn as she fell back to the platform.
Erza then leapt back off the platform and kept slashing the S-Class monster despite her wounds, despite losing one of her blades and her pants being almost destroyed, she just kept up her relentless, final, attack. She did as Yami would say and pushed past her limits to bring down the S-Class monster.
Finally, the cracked orb that had been the small thing before it grew in size and power crashed to the ground and shattered as Erza stood, her katana in both hands and bent down from her final slash that had led to the killing blow. The crowd was speechless, some were even crying, as Fairy Tail and even people in other Guilds like Millianna who knew her smiled and cheered as the S-Class monster vanished ending the match.
"They call her Titania, and many acknowledge that she is the strongest woman in Fairy Tail but until today we hadn't seen her in action so to us she was only hype and nothing more." Nero said as the S-Class monster vanished, smoke and rubble all over the top of the Pandemonium castle. "Well we now we know the truth, that she is all that and more and today we truly saw her rise in front of all of us. Fairy Tail will be lifted by this win, likely why Erza went for 100 and not just 51 to guarantee it because this reminder to all why they were the strongest Guild before their members vanished. This has shown us that we must be ready to match them for there stands the Fairy Queen; Erza Scarlet."
As Nero spoke Erza rose in the dust to stand tall and proud as she raised her katana in her right hand to hold it aloft and straight up above her head as history was made and Fairy Tail Team A swept the event to win it in a dominating fashion without any doubt to their strength, especially because all she needed was 51 points to win. However, Erza Scarlet had taken all 100 monsters and in a battle of 100 against 1 it was the 1 who stood tall at the end as the crowd roared the victor of Pandemonium and the true return of Fairy Tail as a Guild to be reckoned with in the Grand Magic Games.
Well, Pandemonium went as expected with Erza's epic 100 to 1 victory and the Black Bulls truly saw the might of Fairy Tail there and reacted accordingly, certainly Asta's got a lot of inspiration from seeing a swordswoman of Erza's skills in actions. It doesn't even matter to them that Fairy Tail won, when you win like that it's so total that the Black Bulls can't help but respect it as Fairy Tail really puts an exclamation point on their return. The comparisons between Erza and Charlotte will be pretty frequent as they are pretty similar in a lot of ways though Erza isn't a misandrist nor is she a tsundere but they do share a lot of similarities, one of which is that they have the same English VA which really adds to them and yes there will be references to all the similarities Erza and Charlotte have when she finally has a proper interaction with a Black Bull, whenever that may be. Anyway, that is all that I have for y'all, next up is the slightly less exciting replacement event after Erza made the Pandemonium castle her bitch so stay tuned for that. Time to leave this chapter off here though. If you liked this please favorite, follow, leave a review, or let me know in a PM and I will try to answer any questions posed in reviews and PMs as best I can. Until next time.
Stringdog