Hello everyone, and welcome to the next chapter of "A Quincy's Fairy Tail". Things are continuing to heat up during 'The Battle of Fairy Tail'. We've got some good action in store today...which is something I wish I could say for 100 year quest.

Let me be clear on something? Jellal's backstory and subsequent victory over God Serena? That's fine. The former was needed a while ago, and the latter totally expected. No, I'm bothered by how...fast it all went by. Like? 2 chapters? Really? For the former strongest wizard in all of Ichgar? The man with eight dragon slayer lacrima? He only gets two chapters? Man, he was already wasted twice in Fairy Tail proper, and here I was hoping I'd get something more? Like, I don't know? A backstory of somekind? Something to explain how he got all of these lacrima? Anything like that? No? We're just literally going to have him die the exact same way he did to Acnoloiga?

I'm...a tad disappointed to be entirely honest. Same goes for Luso Signario (Though at least she doesn't seem to be dead.) Like, we're at the pont that we're dealing with GILDARTS level opponents on the regular now, but they don't feel like it. I don't know I just...really wish fight's in Fairy Tail stopped following the same old formula that they have post Grand Magic Games.

Well, at least I got some new dragon slayer techniques for God Serena and two potential waifu's out of the current arc, and Jellal's backstory, so there's that at least. I'll just have to keep putting in the work to make God Serena look and seem as cool/powerful as he should have been.

Ok, 100 quest rant over. There is one another detail I want to point out. I've had several readers ask to join my discord, but when I ask for information needed to do so, I've had no reply. So if you don't think you've heard from me, please check your PM, or send me a new one. 's alert system isn't working like it used to, so please go back and check so I can hopefully add you to it. The more members we have on there to discuss the story the better I say. (Although, please do leave reviews for the story as well, it really helps in regards to motivation.)

Let's no longer delay and head onto the chapter proper, shall we?

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo and Shönen Jump. Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima and Weekly Shönen Magazine. I own NOTHING. This is all just for fun.


"Tch, this is such a pain in the ass. Last time I make a promise out of the goodness of my heart."

Gajeel Redfox wasn't having the best time of things at the moment. While the town of Magnolia was littered with battles with countless dark mages, Gajeel had instead opted to sneak about on his way throughout Magnolia to avoid any unnecessary fighting. This was, admittedly, something the dragon slayer would have never done during his time in Phantom Lord, as Gajeel greatly preferred to crack some skulls rather than lurk about. As things stood, however, it was a necessity.

That little shrimp with the snobby cat went and got herself kidnapped, again. First by that bastard Hanza, now by some guy named Zommari, and since they were in the same guild this time, he had to go save her. Damn karma. He wasn't exactly blaming the kid, but come on. Once is chance, twice is coincidence. If she got kidnapped a third time, that would be a pattern. Is she trying to get a free sundae or something? Even if she did get some sort of reward for being the damsel in distress, he doubted the crazy, overprotective swordswoman with a fondness for the color white much appreciated the trouble. He certainly didn't.

Gajeel snorted. Whatever the case, he had sworn to Bambietta that he would rescue the kid, and no matter what people thought of him, he was a man of his word. If he said he was going to do something, he would do it. Besides, something in the back of his mind kept nagging at him, like there was something about Wendy that felt vaguely familiar.

I still haven't exactly figured out why that is though, Gajeel thought as he peered around another corner. Is it just because she's a dragon slayer? Nah, that can't be it. Otherwise, I'd be singing some lame ass campfire song with Salamander. Gajeel couldn't help but scoff as an image of him and Natsu sat side by side by a campfire. Yeah, right. Like that'll ever happen.

No, the odds were more likely it had to do with the fact that she was just a girl Gajeel was no saint, but even at his worst, he couldn't stand watching kids be put in danger. He supposed that was one thing he and that insane quincy had in common.

The hard part now was simply trying to find her, but Magnolia wasn't exactly small. He could spend hours trying to find her and turn up jackshit.

If I had memorized her scent, I could find her in a heartbeat, Gajeel thought, forced to constantly visually scan the area. Now I'm stuck doing this the hard way.

"Gajeel, is that you?"

He turned around to see Carla drifting over towards him, the Iron Dragon Slayer unable to hide some of his annoyance. Oh, right. That cat over there is her friend. His eyes shot wide open then as he was hit with a small revelation. Hey, wait a sec! Doesn't Salamander have one too? Why am I the only one without a cat!?

"Have you had any luck trying to find Wendy?" Carla asked as she landed right in front of him, her face filled with worry.

The dragon slayer shook his head. "Can't say I have. Wherever those bastards ended up taking her, they've hidden her pretty well. I hate to say it, but this is gonna take a really long damn time."

"We don't have time!" Carla shouted at him. "Those arrancar ruffians have Wendy and they've done god knows what to her! We need to find her and fast!"

Gajeel scoffed. "Listen misses cat or whatever your name is, I'm doing the best I can, alright? Not exactly easy to track down someone in a town this big."

Carala wasn't having any of it however. "You dragon slayers are supposed to possess some of the best noses in the world! Just try to find her that way!"

"Don't you think I would have done that already if it was that easy?" Gajeel replied, his tone of voice making his irritation clear. "I haven't exactly bothered to memorize her scent, you know. Maybe if I had something of hers I could find her, but as is-"

Carla was quick to interrupt him. "Wait, so you're saying that you just need an item from Wendy's and you'll be able to find her?"

"Yeah, that would be enough," Gajeel responded. "Why do you ask?"

He then leaned back, a single, white-furred digit suddenly thrust in his face. "Just wait right here for a moment! I know just the thing!" She then took off, leaving Gajeel standing there, dumbfounded.

The young man rolled his eyes and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Tch, sitting tight and taking orders from a cat? Man, I miss Phantom Lord.

After minutes of restless waiting, Gajeel saw the white cat come flying back, a red ribbon in her paws. She flew to a stop right in front of him and held out the ribbon. "This was a gift to her from Lucy. She said she thought Wendy might look cuter with twin tails. She tried them out last night, so the scent should still be fresh… At least I hope." Carla added the last bit, the flying cat's concern returning once more.

Gajeel smirked. "That'll work."


Meanwhile, as battles waged across Magnolia, a man stood guard in a forgotten ironmill on the outskirts of town. He was tall, muscular, had long, red hair on the right side of his head, wore a white, partially unzipped jacket and white hakama with a black obi, and he wore black tabi with his white zōri. At his side rested a katana, and as perhaps his most significant physical characteristics, he had a hole on display in the middle of his exposed chest, and a white bone fragment resembling lensless sunglasses resting on his nose.

The man stifled a yawn. To say he was bored was putting it mildly. He was an arrancar, a hollow! He didn't relish battle like others, but he wasn't one for sitting on his ass either, and getting stuck as the babysitter for some girl was definitely not how he wanted to spend this operation. Something, anything, besides… this. The infrequent sniffling was hardly

Wendy sniffled as she glanced at the severely cracked pane of a nearby window. How had things turned out this way? It had been a regular day. One moment, she was heading back home to send letters back to Cait Shelter, and the next, she had been captured by a dark-skinned man with small spikes traveling down the middle of his scalp. It all happened so fast!

Carla, Bambi, Lucy… Where are you?

Wendy couldn't help but despair. As far as she could tell, there was nothing she could currently do to escape. She absolutely hated feeling this helpless, the dragon slayer having trained with Rukia to prevent such an occurrence from happening in the first place. I can't believe I let myself get captured so easily. Bambi's probably worried sick about me! I just… I just wish I could do something…

But she simply couldn't. As things stood the runes surrounding not just this building, but the entire Iron Mill were preventing her from using her magic. It was a simple, yet effective rule, one that affected her and her alone.

"Any Mage with two guild marks within this space can not use their magic."

Never before had she ever considered having two guild marks could have resulted in putting her in such a scenario, but here she was. Completely and totally helpless. How long would it take for anyone to even know she was gone?!

Tap-tap-taptap-tap…

The sound of a very distinct knock grabbed the attention of both Wendy and the arrancar, the latter actually bothering to move closer to the door, more out of confusion and a desire to alleviate his own boredom than anything else.

KLANG

Only for the door to slam into the arrancar, sending him flying into the far wall. As Wendy stared, jaw dropped at what had just happened, she looked back to the entrance.

There stood Gajeel, fist extended, shit-eating grin etched onto his face. "Two bits," he said as a sarcastic afterthought while he strolled into the room.

Two bits? Wendy thought to herself before she quickly recalled a movie that Bambietta had shown the guild few weeks ago during one of their 'movie nights'. Did Bambi actually–

But before she could give the matter any more thought, Gajeel had called out to her.

"You alright, kid? Come on."

To say Wendy had some reservations about the man before her was an understatement. If Bambi hadn't personally asked her to heal his wounds the other day, Wendy... well, she probably still would have healed him, but she would have been a lot more hesitant! Still, he did come all this way to save her...

Wendy nodded and stood up. However, just as she took a step towards the now-destroyed doorway, she instantly fell to her knees with a squeak. She couldn't move! Some sort of force was keeping her rooted in place. It was all she could do just to keep herself sort of upright with her palms planted on the ground.

"She's not going anywhere," a voice called out from the rubble.

Gajeel was about to ask just what she was worried about but before he had the chance, he heard a loud static boom before a fist slammed right into his face, sending the dragon slayer through the air before he fell to the ground. Gajeel groaned as he shook his head before he rose up to his feet.

"You actually managed to withstand my attack with very little damage. Not bad for a mere human."

Gajeel turned his head around to see who had knocked him across the see a large and very muscular man, wearing clothes similar to that of Ulquiorra's. He had long red hair that went down to his shoulder, or at least half of it did. The other half of his scalp was shaved black hair, giving it a very lopsided appearance. Even more peculiar than that however, was the hole that Gajeel could see on the man's chest, his jacket having its chest exposed, and a bony fragment that seemed almost glued to his face, resting on the bridge of his nose and extending right below his brown eyes.

Gajeel scoffed as he dusted himself off. He quickly took note of the hole in the man's chest. "Yeah, yeah. And I take it you're one of those arrancar I've heard about."

"Not just any arrancar," The arrancar chuckled. "Unfortunately for you, I am one of our ten most elite arrancar. Formerly Arrancar Trece, I am the newly-appointed Noveno Espada, Edorad Liones."

Edorad could scarcely believe it himself, but upon arriving in this world, the arrancar had found that his strength had increased to even greater heights than that of most of the Privaron Espada and due to an opening of the ranks, was granted a promotion.

Gajeel frowned. "Tch, this could end up being a pain in the ass," he muttered under his breath before raising his voice. "Tell me, that Espada ranking go from ten to one in terms of strength, or is it the other way around?"

"It's nine to zero actually," Edorad corrected him.

Gajeel blinked. "Nine to zero? The hell kinda sense does that make? It should be ten through one! The other one's just confusing!"

Edorad shrugged. "I don't make the rules, I just follow them. Now, before we begin, how's about you tell me your name?"

"Hah?" Gajeel narrowed his eyes in slight confusion. "The hell's the point of that?"

"Let's just say that I've learned to appreciate the courtesy of exchanging names with the one I plan on killing. You never know when the tables might turn."

The Iron Dragon Slayer simply spat to the side before responding. "Why bother? You're the scrub of the group, so I'm just going to kick your ass anyways."

Edrad smiled, shaking his head. "Well, I tried. May you learn some humility as a nameless corpse."

Quickly forming a kunai in his right hand, Gajeel tossed the weapon at Edorad, hoping the arrancar would dodge the attack and give the Dragon Slayer an opening. However, as he went running in for a follow-up attack, the arrancar simply swatted away the attack with ease much to his surprise.

But Gajeel wasn't too deterred by this, as he jumped up into the air before he tried to kick at Edorad's chest with his left foot, a small blade forming at the sole of his foot. However, as the arrancar moved his right arm to block the kick, Gajeel could feel the small blade snap off the moment his attack made contact.

"What the hell kind of spell did you put on your skin?" Gajeel asked before grunting in pain at the fist buried in his stomach, sending him rolling across the ground.

"It's no spell," Edorad answered as he closed the distance. "We arrancar possess skin of iron, an ability known as Hierro. Think of it like an armor we can create with our power!"

"That a fact?" Gajeel stood up with a smirk. "Then I guess I'll just have to hit it harder till I put a dent into ya! Iron Dragon's Club!" Gajeel cocked back his right hand before he threw it, his limb extending and transforming into an iron pillar that slammed against Edorad's right cheek.

The Noveno Espada coughed up some bile as the iron pillar crashed him through a wall, his cheek adorned with a mild bruise. However, Edorad pressed his feet off the ground and dashed towards Gajeel as he prepared to strike him with his left hand.

The arrancar was fast, faster than most mages, but Gajeel had grown accustomed to fighting opponents faster than himself. Rather than remain a sitting duck, he pushed forward into the other man's guard as his right hand returned to normal, just in time to block the incoming strike. He then attempted to bury his left into his opponent's gut, but his own fist was caught by a large palm.

Gajeel smirked, shouting, "Come on big guy, don't tell me that's all you got! How's about you use that fancy sword of yours?"

Edorad simply grinned right back at him. "To be honest, I don't believe I'll need to use it against the likes of you."

(Song of choice: The Ultimate Final Death Battle, Fairy Tail OST)

"That so?" Gajeel remarked. "Then let's see if I can't force it outta ya! Iron Dragon's Club!"

His left leg swiftly transformed before he tried to slam it into Edorad's stomach. The pillar moved the arrancar back a few feet, but unlike last time, the Espada had managed to lessen the blow by catching the blow with his right hand.

Edorad smirked. "Not bad, dragon slayer. I can actually feel pain from those blows, but it's nowhere near enough!" The arrancar then vanished from Gajeel's sight after a staticy boom before he appeared right before Gajeel, his left hand infused with reiatsu as he struck Gajeel with his palm and broke his nose as blood fell to the floor, much to Wendy's horror.

"Mr Gajeel!" She cried, the dragon slayer watching on helplessly.

Edorad attempted to follow up the attack with another punch, but Gajeel was already prepared as he blocked the attack with his right elbow, though the dragon slayer couldn't help but grunt as he felt his bones creak from the strain. Gajeel quickly followed up with a punch of his own with his left hand, slamming his fist across Edorad's face and while the punch was effective in getting Edorad to back off, Gajeel grunted in pain once more before he looked at his momentarily numb hand.

Tch, looks like I can't just punch this guy willy-nilly. He hasn't even used that sword of his yet, Gajeel realized before his right hand transformed into a large spearhead. In that case, let's see how he handles this! "Iron Dragon's Spear: Demon Logs!"

Multiple Iron Spearheads shot out towards the arrancar as he ran towards him. Unlike the kunai from before, the projectiles managed to pierce his skin, but the wounds were far from anything serious, allowing the arrancar to continue to charge forward and before he slammed his right hand against Gajeel's cheek. The dragon slayer felt his feet skid against the ground before he sneered and cocked his left fist back to prepare for his next move.

"Iron Dragon's Club!"

As the Iron pillar slammed into Edorad, forcing him to roll across the ground, the Espada frowned as he got up to his feet, before he stumbled slightly. There was a nasty bruise covering his stomach, the arrancar narrowing his eyes before he withdrew his zanpakuto.

Gajeel grinned. "What's wrong? I thought you said you weren't going to have to use your sword against me?"

"You've proven to be far more of a nuisance than I thought, that's all," Edorad retorted. "You're still nowhere close to winning this battle!"

Gajeel chuckled at his enemy's remark. "Oh, is that so? Then let's see how you like this!? Iron Dragon's Club!"

The metallic pillar erupted out from Gajeel's arm yet again, but as the iron hurtled over towards the ninth Espada, he vanished right before Gajeel's eyes before reappearing right behind him, his sword slashing against Gajeel's back. The iron dragon let out a sharp cry of pain as blood burst from his back before he spun around and shot out yet another pillar at the arrancar, but Edorad simply vanished from Gajeel's sight once more.

However, while this new technique could certainly trick his eyes, the same could not be said for his ears and nose. Quickly relying on his other two senses, Gajeel jumped up into the air just as Edorad tried to impale him from behind. Gajeel tried to crash downwards onto Edorad, his entire right foot transforming into a large blade. However, just before he could fully contact with the arrancar, he vanished once again, appearing on the other side of the Ironmill.

Despite not having made any real headway into the battle, Edorad smiled at Gajeel. "Impressive. Up until now, I haven't run into a human that was able to avoid my Sonído. You're the first one to be able to actually react to it. But tell me, how did you figure out where I was going to attack so soon?"

"Gee hee." Gajeel remarked with a smirk. "Well, it's not all that different from a technique I went up against a while ago. Besides, with that loud sound it makes and your distinct smell, I can always figure out where you're going to end up as long as I use my nose and ears."

"I see. How resourceful." Edorad responded with a nob. He then pointed his right hand at Gajeel, as a red orb formed into the palm of his hand. "In that case, let's see how you handle a cero!"

A flash of red light shot out from Edorad's hand, Gajeel's eyes widening from the power he could sense from the attack before he moved to the right at just the last second. The attack had missed its intended target, but continued onward, destroying the wall right behind him and continued onwards, disintegrating about a dozen or so tree's in the process.

Shit, looks like I made the right call getting out of the way of that one. Gajeel thought, only for his eyes to widen with surprise yet again as the distinct static from Sonido was emitted from behind, as Edorad tried to slash at him with his zanpakuto once again.

"Iron Dragon's Club!"

Sword clashed with piller as Gajeel tried to defend himself from Edorad's weapon, pushing the arrancar back before he pointed his spare hand at Gajeel as he prepared another cero. However, as the red light burst forth and hurtled towards him once again, Gajeel decided to opt for a counterattack, hoping that this time he could overwhelm the ray of light. He bent backwards, building up his magical power around him before his body lurched forward.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!"

A tornado littered with tiny scraps of iron burst from Gajeel's mouth, clashing with the cero Edorad had fired. The two attacks tried to overwhelm one another, but neither would give in until the both of them burst into a powerful explosion.

Another burst of static, with yet another attack from behind, Gajeel almost felt the desire to roll his eyes at the predictability of his enemy as he ducked underneath a strike from Edorad's zanpakuto before using an Iron Dragon's Club to nail him right in the stomach. However, Edorad leapt above the attack and fired off yet another cero, forcing Gajeel to roll out of the way as the attack burrowed into the ground.

Oh to hell with this. Gajeel thought as his skin's appearance began to take on a scaly iron pattern. He hadn't been sure about using this technique up until now, the iron skin lowering his speed as the cost for his increased offense and defense, but Gajeel knew full well that he couldn't afford to take a hit from one of those Cero's head on as he was. At Least with this, he'd be able to take hits much more comfortably.

Once more did Gajeel hear the familiar sound of Sonido emanate in his ears, but rather than dodge the coming attack outright, he simply turned around and then, much to Edorad's surprise, grasped the zanpakuto in his right hand. The blade did cut through his defense, but it was more akin to that of an elongated paper cut than that of a sword strike.

What, impossible! No human should be capable of simply catching my zanpakuto with their bare hands! Edorad thought before he tried to throw a punch infused with reiatsu at Gajeel's head. However, Gajeel simply grinned at the attempt, the fist impacting against Gajeel's left cheek…yet it was Edorad who grunted in pain, his Hierro bruising from the attack. "H-how are you-"

"You might have iron skin, but I've got Iron Scales!" Gajeel declared before he reared his left hand back. "Iron Dragon's Hard Fist!"

As Gajeel's fist slammed into Edorad's chest, the ninth espada coughed up some blood as he was sent hurtling throughout the ironmill. His feet impacted against one of its walls before he took off with a burst of speed, red reiatsu forming around his entire body. Gajeel had taken off into a run as well, the two clashing midair.

Wendy could only watch on with amazement. This wasn't the first time she had seen Gajeel fight before, but that had been during a team effort against the Emperor of Bosco, a battle in which all of her comrades had been soundly defeated. This was the first real time she was able to get a good look at what he was capable of and it was astounding. His fighting style was nothing like Natsu and her own. It was crude, straight to the point, and focused more on overwhelming brute strength than any sort of finesse and dexterity. Yet, despite that, or perhaps it was even because of that, that he was now managing to push the arrancar back.

Wendy knew that there had been plenty of bad blood between Gajeel and Bambietta, and while she certainly didn't blame the quincy for her grudge, right here and now, she couldn't help feel grateful for his rescue attempt.

But…even more bizarrely than that…There was something familiar about him. Like she had met him a long time ago. She honestly had the same thoughts about Natsu when she had occasionally seen him during her time in Clover and her initial week of joining Fairy Tail.

At first I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me…but maybe there's something more to it than that, Wendy thought to herself. Maybe… Maybe I should ask the both of them about this once it's all over.

"Wendy!"

The blue-haired dragon slayer turned around and smiled as her feline friend ran over towards her. "Carla!"

"We've got to get you out of here child while that big oaf distacts that man!" Carla told Wendy as she grabbed one of Wendy's hands before she began to tug her away. "It's best we get you out of here now while we still can!"

"But…I can't just leave!" Wendy told Carla. "Mr. Redfox is fighting someone really strong, if he needs my help then-"

"Can you use your magic to enchant him?" Carla quickly inquired.

Wendy shook her head. "I… I can't. There are a bunch of runes set around the whole place that prevent anyone with two guild marks from using magic!"

"Two guild marks? What are you-" Carla's eyes widened during her inquiry, quickly realizing just what the dragon slayer meant. That's right! While we may be members of the Fairy Tail guild, we're also still members of Cait Shelter! So as long as Wendy has both of those guild marks…

Carla shook her head, trying to focus herself on the present. "If you really can't use your magic then we should get you out of here so we don't get caught up in the battle. The last thing we need to do is make him worry about your safety while he fights! Now come child, let's be on our way so that oaf can take down this arrancar!"

However, as Carla and Wendy took their leave, it was clear that was a long way off, as Gajeel and Edorad firmly remained in what could now be described as a firmly even battle. No, that wasn't quite true. While Edorad was certainly putting up somewhat of a fight, his sword hadn't been able to deal anything akin to any real damage, leaving nothing more than a minor cut. Gajeel, on the other hand, was now covering the arrancar with all sorts of bruises, his every blow with his Iron Scales managing to damage the arrancar's Hierro.

This is ridiculous, how could a human be capable of pushing me back like this!? Edorad thought as he tried to use Sonido to appear right next to Gajeel. However, the Dragon Slayer was already fairly adapted to reacting to this technique, knocking Edorad back with a backhand before he smirked.

"What's wrong? That all you got?" Gajeel asked mockingly. "I thought you were supposed to be one of those arrancar big shots!"

Edorad narrowed his eyes as he prepared another cero. "Don't get so cocky, human. One hit from my Cero is all I'll need to defeat you!" He unleashed the red ray of light, the attack destroying the ground below as it traveled. "Those Iron Scales of yours may be able to protect you from my hands and blade, but it also slows you down! I doubt you'll be able to run away from this attack!"

Gajeel didn't try to run however, instead, the dragon slayer's grin only increased. "Iron Dragons Sword!" His right hand transformed itself into a metallic jagged blade, before the spikes surrounding the blade's edge began to quickly rotate around its surface like a chainsaw. Just as the Cero was about to connect, Gajeel swung his sword at the ray of light, cutting it in two, and dispersing the attack.

That's impossible! Edorad thought as he stared at the dragon slayer in disbelief. A human cutting through my cero? I know that they're much stronger in this world than the ones back in the world of the living, but I never considered something like this!

"What's wrong? Scared that I cut your strongest attack in two?" Gajeel asked as he slowly made his way over towards the arrancar. "You can go on and run if ya want. Just leave the brat behind and I won't have to chase after ya."

"Run away? Me, run away? Surely you jest." Edorad declared as he brandished his zanpaktou. "How could I consider running away…when you're the first real opponent I've had in this world!" His shocked expression quickly turning to a blood thirsty grin, the ninth Espada surrounded his entire body with reiatsu before he charged at Gajeel.

Edorad tried to aim his sword at Gajeel's neck, reiatsu coating its blade for a stronger strike, but Gajeel's blade arm was able to move up to stop the attack before he tried to then swing it at Edorad. The arrancar leaned back to dodge out of the way before he thrust his blade forward, only for Gajeel's sword to stop it yet again.

Edorad's zanpakuto clashed against Gajeel's blade, the two men quickly exchanging blows with their blades, but as their clash continued, Edorad was quick to notice that his zanpaktou was starting to be chipped away bit by bit by Gajeel's own sword. If their clash continued like this, he'd soon be without a weapon!

Getting desperate, Edorad thrust his zanpaktou once more at the dragon slayers chest, with Gajeel's own intercepting the strike…Just as Edorad hoped he would. He then grabbed onto Gajeel's face as he prepared to charge yet another cero.

"I don't care how powerful your scales are, you'll never be able to survive a cero aimed point blank at your-Gah!"

Before Edorad had a chance to unleash the cero, Gajeel had kicked the arrancar hard in the stomach, forcing him to kneel over. His blade still rotating, the dragon slayer swung his sword down onto the arrancar, forcing Edorard to block with his sword. His knees buckled from the power of the blow however, and before Edorad knew it, Gajeel overpowered his block, his sword cutting into his sword arm!

Edorad let out a cry of pain before he fired several bala's at Gajeel out of instinct. While the damage they caused him through his iron scales was insignificant, they were enough to force the dragon slayer back.

Despite this minor setback, Gajeel couldn't help but grin. Well, looks like I've got this thing in the bag. He can try to use that sword all he wants. It's not gonna get past my scales! As far as I can tell, it's just a sharp sword with no special abilities. So all I gotta do now is just kick his ass and then me and that kid can go home.

As far as Gajeel was concerned, this battle was already won.


Meanwhile, as one Freed Justine wandered the outskirts of Magnolia, the leader of the Thunder Legion couldn't help but find himself having doubts

Even if she could undo Ever's petrifaction, grabbing Miss Marvell and throwing her into an unused iron mill alone with some kind of soul-hungry demon is going too far. At the very least, guarding her should have been left up to Ever or Bickslow, or even me.

Freed tightened his grip on his sword. I don't like going against Laxus, but this whole situation just doesn't feel right. Laxus is willing to go far for his ambition, but he's not a monster. After all, it's not as though we ever really intended on breaking the statues. I don't think he would truly advocate for the kidnapping of a little girl like this. Something is wrong.

He frowned. As it is, I actually find myself hoping she escapes. Any Fairy Tail member worth their salt should be able to handle one of those arrancar, and I suspect at least one of the more headstrong mages will make a rescue attempt. At least, I hope. In fact, maybe I should…

Freed stopped and stared off into the distance, towards the old iron mill, before shaking his head and moving on.

I have nothing to worry about, Freed mused. I've made sure to study our new 'allies' extensively, both them and their weapons. Using Rukia Kuchiki as a reference, I know that their power lies primarily with their swords, their 'zanpakuto.' As long as their zanpakuto are unable to go into shikai, they are unable to access the majority of their strength. Fortunately, I've made steps to ensure that won't be possible.

It wasn't much, but thanks to the Jutsu Shiki he left at the ironmill, he was positive that the arrancar would be unable to use the same kind of power that Rukia and Momo had. Shikai was impossible to use within that space, just as he had written. That alone would be more than enough for any Fairy Tail Mage worth their salt to defeat that arrancar.


*Plip, plip, plip*

Edorad inspected his limp arm, noting the constant flow of blood running down the injured limb. He snorted, smirking to himself before looking back up at his opponent.

"Well, it appears I was still too arrogant. You really are pretty good for a human."

Gajeel tsked as he returned his sword-arm to normal, though he kept himself at the ready. "There you go sayin' that shit again. What, are you sayin' you ain't human or something?" This entire time, he had just thought 'arrancar' was just a new type of wizard.

"You didn't know?" Edorad pulled aside his jacket to better display the hole in his chest. "As I mentioned before, I am an arrancar. That is to say, I am a hollow that has removed its mask and obtained shinigami powers." He shrugged. "At least, that's the usual spiel. In theory, by obtaining said powers, an arrancar becomes more human-like. In reality, an arrancar's power far outstrips that of any shinigami or human."

"Oh, really?" Gajeel grinned. "Still, pretty tough talk comin' from the guy with the busted up arm. I don't really know much about what you're talking about, but it sounds like you just don't wanna admit that this human's got you beat."

"Oh? How do you figure?"

"You're one tough son of a bitch, I'll give you that. Besides that crazy bitch, I haven't run into anyone who's been able to take so many hits from my Iron Dragon Scales. But you're clearly outmatched. I finally got you to use that fancy sword of yours and your ceros take too long to charge for me to worry about it."

Edorad blinked. "You think this is my full strength?" He laughed, throwing his head back into loud guffaws. "You fool, I've yet to show you the true capabilities of an arrancar's zanpaktou! For our true power resides in our blades!"

Gajeel raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What about your sword? Yeah, you've been trying to cut me with that thing and you've gotten nowhere with it once I got serious." Gajeel then thought back, thinking carefully on Edorad's choice of word. "Wait a minute, you said Zanpaktou, right?"

"That is correct," Edorad confirmed.

Gajeel's smirk returned. "In that case then I don't have anything to worry about! I've seen what those two 'shinigami' can do when they bothered to practice with their swords at our training grounds, and it's nothing special. Those 'zanpakuto' are just glorified magic swords. So, go ahead and change your weapon or whatever, it won't make a difference, I'll still kick your ass."

Edorad grinned as he placed his sword in front of his body, his once limp arm lifting up just enough so his hand was pressing against the blade as it began to glow orange.. "You think so? Fine, then let me show you…what an Arrancar can really do! Erupt, Volcanica!"

The bony mask fragments on Edorad's mask shattered and his sword dispersed into rays of light which shot into the ground, the earth beneath giving way as a massive pillar of fire erupted from his body and destroyed the entire roof of the ironmill.

As Carla tried to get Wendy further and further away from the battle, the two could not help but turn their heads as they felt the immense heat burst into the sky in a magnificent pillar of flame. Both of their jaws fell agape, with Wendy clutching one of her hands around her shirt as she worriedly watched on.

"Mr. Gajeel…Please be safe." She couldn't help but utter.

Back at the ironmill, Gajeel could feel himself start to sweat from the intense heat, his vision obscured from all the smoke and debris. Despite this, he scoffed at the flames. "So, your sword can use fire? Like I said earlier, it's just a glorified magic sword. I've fought my old guild's best Flame Wizard all the time when I needed to train, and his fire never hurt my Iron Scales. So this changes nothing."

Yet, as the smoke and the intense heat began to change, Gajeel's voice trailed off. Edorad had transformed. The bony fragments on Edorad's face had reformed into large wings on both sides of his face, and his arms had changed to gigantic white proportions with long extensions beyond his shoulders.

"The hell? What kind of magic is that?" Gajeel shouted. He had heard of wizards being able to change their bodies with Take Over Magic, but he had never experienced anything like this. "I thought you said you were going to show me your sword's power, so where the hell did it go? A zanpakuto is supposed to change shape or something, not make you transform!"

Edorad grinned. "You idiot. I was being literal when I said an arrancar's strength lies within his sword. The zanpakuto of arrancars has the nucleus of our power sealed into the sword. It is completely different from the swords of shinigami. In other words, the 'release of the sword' signifies the release of ourselves and our power. Do you understand? This appearance is my true self. And this Volcánica is my true strength!"

(Song of choice: La Distancia Para Un Duelo (Bleach OST))

Then, before Gajeel could properly think of his next move, a massive wave of flame burst from Edorad's hand as he punched towards Gajeel's direction. The dragon slayer crossed his arms together in an attempt to defend himself, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to fully evade the attack in his current state.

However, that had quickly proved to have been a mistake as the torrent of flame slammed into Gajeel and forced him to cry out as he felt his iron scales beginning to crack from the attack as he was blasted outside of the building. The Iron Dragon Slayer rolled across the ground before he got up and glanced at his body, scales already beginning to chip and fall apart.

Shit, he's gotten way stronger than I thought he would! A few more attacks like that, and–

"Pay attention!"

Gajeel's eyes shot upward as another torrent of flame was sent his way. Knowing now that his defense would not fully protect him any longer, Gajeel instead leaned back before he unleashed his counterattack. "Iron Dragon's Roar!"

Flame clashed with iron, but much to Gajeel's shock, his attack was promptly overwhelmed by Edorad's flames. Once more did the attack slammed into him, and this time, the flames managed to destroy the scales that formed over his chest, the skin underneath now covered in burns

Gajeel rolled across the ground as he weakly tried to get up to his feet, but Edorad soared down towards him, flames shooting out of his elongated shoulders to allow for greater speed and punched him hard in the chest. Gajeel could feel several of his ribs crack from the strain of the attack and blood burst from his mouth before he was once again sent rolling across the ground.

"You're still alive? You really are impressive for a human." Edorad commented as flames began to erupt out from his left shoulder. "But surely you realize now that victory is beyond your reach!"

As yet another torrent of flame shot towards Gajeel, the dragon slayer was just barely able to leap out of the way of the attack before he cried out "Iron Dragons Club!" generating an iron pillar to shoot down at Edorad from his right hand. However, the arrancar moved slightly to the left to avoid attack, before he grabbed onto the iron pillar and yanked Gajeel down towards him.

Knowing that he'd probably need his scales to survive the next couple of attacks, Gajeel once again reactivated his Iron Dragon Scales before he reared back his left hand. "Iron Dragon's Hard fist!"

The attack struck true, forcing Edorad back as Gajeel's fist slammed into Edorad's face. The dragon slayer grinned, certain that he had landed a fairly nasty blow on the arrancar as he prepared for a follow up attack, throwing yet another 'Iron Dragon's Hard Fist'…Only for Edorad to simply catch it as if it were a punch thrown by a toddler.

"What!?"

Edorad however, simply smirked before he began to generate flames around his right hand, the heat cracking the iron scales…and searing the skin beneath. Gajeel let out an absolute scream of agony, the dragon slayer trying to yank his arm free, but to no avail, the arrancar's grip was too firm.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!"

Letting out a vortex of scrap iron from his mouth, Edorad was forced to let go of Gajeel's hand, before Gajeel transformed his uninjured hand into his Iron Dragon Sword. He swung his blade down, trying to cut the arrancar across the chest, only for Edorad to block the attack with his massive right arm, the sword barely cutting into his left magnified arm.

"It's useless!" Edorad declared before he slammed his right fist onto Gajeel's stomach sending him high up into the sky before Edorad appeared right above him before he slammed his flaming fist onto Gajeel's back, sending him hurtling towards the ground and shattering the ground beneath.


"Come on, we have to keep moving, Wendy!" Carla told Wendy as she hurried her along, the cat unable to use her own power thanks to the two guild marks that she herself bore. However, just before the two were about to run past the barrier, a loud crashing sound filled their ears, forcing Wendy to look behind her.

She glanced upward, vaguely making out the figure of her former captor. However, even as far away as they were, Wendy could make out enough of his appearance to see that it had changed quite considerably… Much like the arrancar she had fought in the Tower of Heaven.

Oh no, not that power again! Wendy dreaded. She had experienced first hand the power behind an arrancar's true power, and it was nothing to sneeze at. Gajeel was already having some trouble with his foe even before he had used it. If it was anything like Shirekers…

I… I… I can't just leave him like that!

Then, without so much as another word to Carla, Wendy snatched her hand free from her best friend as she took off running towards Gajeel, her feline friend shouting at her before she gave chase.


Gajeel panted and wheezed as he tried to get up to his feet, his body covered in all sorts of burns. While this wasn't quite as painful as his battle with Bambietta during their fight in phantom lord, that didn't change the fact that his body was screaming in pain. Damn it, this guy really is one tough bastard! Gajeel thought internally. How on earth are there eight guys stronger than this!? It would have been one thing if Edorad was ranked 4th, or 5th, or even 6th, but the fact that this was the strength of the weakest member of the Espada…Just what kind of Dark guild did this guy come from!? Gajeel dreaded internally.

Still, he wasn't about to just roll over and die. As he glanced around him, he quickly noticed that he had crashed near a discarded pile of scrap iron. It was far from anything ideal, with over half of the pile having accumulated rust over the years…but right now what he needed was a power up and he needed it now. Welp, beggars can't be choosers.

He reached forward and grabbed the discarded scraps of iron and took a bite. Like he thought, it tasted horrible, but as he continued to eat, slowly yet steadily, his power was beginning to rise. He quickly gouged himself in the pile, eating more like a starving animal than a human to simply eat up as much as he could.

"Mr. Redfox, are you alright?"

Gajeel's eyes widened as he turned around, as Wendy Marvel slowly made her way towards him, her left hand covering her mouth as she finally got a good look at his injuries. "Oh no, you're hurt!"

"What the hell are you still doing here!?" Gajeel couldn't help but yell at the smaller dragon slayer. "You need to get out of here, now!"

"He's absolutely right, child!" Carla chastised Wendy, the small feline cat having finally caught up with Wendy.

"But-but if we just leave him then-"

"Look, I'll be fine! Just go already!" Gajeel told Wendy as he quickly took another bite out of an iron pipe he had picked up. "I'm trying to make myself stronger so I can win, so I need you to leave!"

"But…but…"

Gajeel spared a moment to cast a quick side-eye at his charge before he chuffed in slight annoyance. The kid was just sitting there with a dumb, scared look on her face. "I ain't going to ask you again." He said as he began to take another bite out of the pipe. "Get out of here-"

FWOOM!

That was the only warning Gajeel received before what felt like a flaming boulder crashed against his face and upper torso, lifting him off of his feet and sending him flying away into one of the nearby buildings of the ironmill. Gajeel weakly walked out of the building, fortunate that he had activated his Iron Scales once again. While the damage to his defense overall was slightly lessened, the armor still clinging to his skin, it was littered with all sorts of cracks and scorch marks.

Damn it all, I should have known eating third rate Iron like that wasn't going to get me anywhere near enough power to beat a guy like this!

Edorad then appeared in front of Gajeel, cracking his knuckles as he looked down at the Dragon Slayer. "I see. I don't quite understand why, but it seems you've become a bit stronger after eating that iron. I was wondering what that was all about. However, if that's all the power eating your own element will give you, then you have no chance at victory."

"No…chance huh?" Gajeel panted before he transformed his left hand into a spiked hammer, while his left formed into a sharp spear. "Well, sorry to say but I've always been a hard learner!"

The dragon slayer tried to rush towards Edorard, the ninth espada simply unleashing yet another torrent of flame from his right hand. Gajeel blocked the attack with this spiked hammer as best he could, and while the hammer melted, and his own hand began to burn from the attack, it had allowed Gajeel to get in close before he leapt up into the air and tried to pierce Edorad's chest with his spear hand.

…Only for the dragon slayer to simply be slammed by yet another torrent of Flame, forcing him to roll across the ground. Gajeel tried to dig his heels into the ground by turning the bottom of his feet into blades, but just as he managed to slowly his momentum, Edorad had used Sonido to appear right in front of him and grabbed the Dragon Slayer behind the back of his head and slammed his face onto his knee, breaking his nose before he slammed his massive fist against Gajeel's face.

Gajeel tried to raise up his hands to defend himself, but the overwhelming flames and heat of Volcanica were far too much for his Iron Dragon Scales to withstand. As Edorad punched Gajeel across the right cheek, the scales cracked. A flaming elbow to the back of Gajeel's head and the dragon slayer was slammed to the ground. Gajeel tried to get up, but Edorad instead slammed his foot down onto Gajeel's back, impacting him further into the ground.

Edorad lifted up his right hand, as flames began to build up around Edorad's shoulder and arm. "Just give up. Knowing when it's over is a fine trait in a warrior. You fought well. Now stay down. I don't want to have to beat you to a pulp."

Gajeel looked up with a defiant grin, heedless of the giant flaming fist held before him.

Edorad's brow furrowed. "How unfortunate."

A massive pillar of flame shot up into the sky, shaking the entire Ironmil and several streets in Magnolia. As the dust began to settle, Gajeel was laying in a heap in the newly formed massive crater, unmoving and his entire body covered in burns.

"I told you, it's useless." Edorad declared as he looked down at Gajeel, preparing yet another flaming fist. "One more hit from me is all it would take to finish you off. So tell me, why is it that you still continue to fight me?"

Gajeel groaned as he slowly tried to get up to his feet, though the pain wracking his body made that an arduous task. He panted for a moment, his hands on his knees as he recalled exactly why he was even here in the first place.


Bambietta couldn't help but give the Iron Dragon Slayer a confused look. "Not that I don't appreciate the offer to save Wendy because trust me, I do, but…Why the hell do you care?"

Gajeel scoffed at her question. "Look, the little squirt fixed me up real nice after what that prick Laxus did to me. Least I can do to return the favor. Besides-" He then gave her a confident smirk, revealing his sharp teeth. "I'd like nothing more than to take that bastard down a peg or two. Geehee."


Gajeel spat out some loose blood in his mouth before he glared up at the arrancar. "I guess because I'm an idiot that can't let a debt go unpaid."

"I see. So you're indebted to my hostage, is that it?" Edorad inquired to Gajeel. "A nobel sentiment, but it'll only serve to get you killed in the end."

Gajeel grunted as he tried to cover his body in Iron scales once more, though the process was much slower than before. "Tch. Yeah, I guess you could say that. Frankly I'm mostly doing it to screw over that Jackasses plans for all this nonsense."

"So a debt and revenge? Simple, if not understandable motivations," Edorad admitted as he reared back his right hand as flames began to build up and around his entire arm. "Very well, then in that case, I will not waste anymore time in trying to persuade you. Now vanish, Wizard too arrogant to not give out his name."

As the flames began to make their way towards Gajeel, the Dragon Slayer could only close his eyes. There was no way he was going to be able to move out of the way of this next attack. He was as good as done and he knew it. Well, looks like this is it. Never thought I'd go out like this. Here I always thought I'd die picking a fight I couldn't handle, not trying to save someone else's skin. He then chuckled to himself as the flames came closer and closer. Well, I guess there are worse things to die over. And to think…I was actually starting to like being in this guild.

"Oh swift winds that speed through the heavens! Vernier!"

Gajeel's eyes shot wide open, both from the unexpected chant, and the vastly increased lightness he felt in his body despite his iron scales. He leapt up, jumping well past the destructive flames and high into the sky.

"W-what?! How could he get such an insane boost of speed!?" Edorad shouted before he noticed the source of the incantation out of the corner of his eye. There stood Wendy Marvell, her hands stretched outwards as she looked up at Gajeel. "It was her!?" He had been informed that the girl could heal injuries, but he had never known she was capable of something like this!

"It worked!" Wendy shouted, the young dragon slayer absolutely beaming with pride.

Gajeel quickly landed on the ground, only a few feet away from Wendy. "How on earth are you able to use your magic? Not that I don't appreciate the boost, but I thought those runes that Green haired jerk set up prevented you from using your magic?"

Wendy nodded. "It…it did, but I did what I had to do to get around it."

Gajeel was just about to ask what that entailed when his eyes widened. On Wendy's left shoulder was a bleeding wound where her Cait Shelter guild mark had once been.

"Kid…Don't tell me that you…"

"Forget about that!" Wendy insisted as she prepared another spell. "I'm going to keep powering you up as much as I can so you can win this battle! I call upon thee, the stalwart might to cleave the heavens, Arms!"

(Song of choice: Black Steel, Fairy Tail OST)

Gajeel could feel his own power increase to far greater heights, much more than what he ever could have gained from eating mere scrap iron. He quickly glanced at his hands before he looked at Wendy and gave her a grin. "Thanks for the boost squirt." He then punched his right hand into the palm of his left, his vigor for battle returning once more. "Cause now I'm feeling charged and ready to go!"

Edorad simply stared at Gajeel before a small smile of his own formed across his face. "Well well, well. That's not half bad power I'm sensing from you now. That young girl truly must have powered you up rather considerably. But if you think that'll be enough to defeat me, you had better think again!"

Gajeel's grin only widened with each step as he approached the arrancar. "Oh yeah, you think so?" He then took off into a run, moving far faster than he had even without the Iron Scales. "How's about I prove you wrong and kick your ass!?"

"Very well," Edorad responded as his body surrounded itself with fire. "Let us put an end to this battle, once and for all!"

"That's the plan!" Gajeel shouted, leaping up into the air. His hand turned into a dark blade, light reflecting off its edge. "Iron Dragon's Sword!"

Edorad lifted up his arm, fully expecting his elongated arm to block the attack like he had before. Yet, as Gajeel's chainsaw-like blade made contact with his boney arms, the rotating spikes cutting deep into his skin. Panicking, Edorad punched Gajeel hard across the face, sending the dragon slayer back before he glanced down at his arm.

Sure enough, it was bleeding, leaving a cut not too dissimilar to the first one that Ikakku's Bankai had left in its wake. "Impossible! This human cut through my Volcánica?" He then narrowed his eyes at Gajeel before he took off from the ground, shooting off like a rocket as the flames firing out from his shoulders propelled him forward.

"I ain't your run of the mill human in case you forgot!" Gajeel said even as leapt back. "Me, Salamander and the kid? We're Dragon Slayers! And you might not be a dragon, but I'll be sure to put you down for the count if that's what it takes! Iron Dragon's Roar!"

Edorad used his flames to maneuver over the iron blast, only to hurtle downwards and slam one of his massive hands onto Gajeel's chest, forcing the dragon slayer to cough up bile. However, Gajeel quickly regained himself, creating metal spikes at the bottom of his feet before he slashed at Edorad's chest. The arrancar's hiero was sliced with little resistance, forcing Edorad to cry out in pain before he concentrated the flames around his left arm and slammed the flaming attack onto Gajeel, forcing the dragon slayer to take a step back…only for him to counter with a might right hand hook.

"Iron Dragon's Hard Fist!"

Edorad coughed as he felt the blow slam into his chest, his iron skin once again failing to offer any true protection.

"How about that, huh?" Gajeel said, his hand turning to a hammer as he threw out a punch then, catching Edorad in the face and breaking his nose, his blood splattering to the ground. "So much for that precious hiero! It ain't got jack on my iron!"

"Tch, don't get so arrogant, human!" Edorad declared before he delivered a hard punch across Gajeel's face, before blasting him with a torrent of flame, Gajeel's scales beginning to crack once more. "Your defense isn't as invincible as you think! I broke it before, and I'll break it again!"

Gajeel attempted to kick at Edorad's , but the arrancar manged to catch his foot and slammed Gajeel down to the ground in front of him, before he slammed his fist into Gajeel's stomach, sending him up into the air.

Gajeel pointed his right hand at Edorad as he felt himself hurled through the air, his hand transforming into a short spear. "Iron Dragon Demon Logs!" Bursting from his hand came hundreds of sharp iron spears at Edorad.

The ninth Espada clad his body with fire as he shot upwards, the onslaught of metal melting aganst his flaming reiatsu. Atleast, that had been the plan. While many of the iron spears had indeed melted before they made contact, several of them had managed to fly through his flames, each of them piercing into his body.

"Grh!" Edorad grunted before he grabbed Gajeel by the head and unleashed a blast of fire point blank, before he hurtled downwards, crashing the back of Gajeel's head against the ground. He then sneered, preparing to unleash yet another torrent of flame down on his foe.

"Iron Dragon's Pillar!"

Yet before he had the chance, Edorad felt a powerful impact against his chest, forcing him off of the dragon slayer before he tried to catch his breath.

"Not bad human...not bad."

"It's Gajeel."

Edorad's eyes widened, surprised at the response. "What?"

"My name, you wanted me to give it to you earlier. I didn't think it mattered when you said you were the scrub of that Espada group...but you've proven that's not the case." Gajeel told him before he smirked. "Because this is one of the best fights of my life!"

Edorad blinked a few times, before he himself smirked. "The same goes to you, Gajeel."

"'Spose we should end it on a high note then!" Gajeel shouted, the Dragon Slayer beginning to exchange blows with the Arrancar. "Can't end this party without at least one of us on the floor!"

"And it will be you!" Edorad roared, a particularly powerful blow pushing Gajeel back. "Though fear not, I shall consider your scars trophies well earned when this is over!"

What followed was nothing less than a slugfest, the two men constantly exchanging blows. Gajeel slammed his hammer fist down onto the top of Edorad's head, only for the Espada to counter with a powerful right hand hook. Gajeel skid back as he ran forward and tried to swing his sword down onto Edorad's left shoulder, only for right arm to move up and block the attack.

The arrancar let out a grunt of pain before he slammed his fist against Gajeel's left cheek, then another to his right, but just as he went in for a third punch, Gajeel ducked underneath the blow and fired off an Iron Dragon's Club right underneath Edorad's chin. The attack sent him up into the air before he quickly hurled himself down to the ground, only for him to be hit with another barrage of iron spears as Gajeel unleashed his Iron Dragon Demon Logs.

Snarling, Edorad let out a massive torrent of flame, melting the metal onslaught and forcing Gajeel to move out of the way, only for Edorad to slam into him, the two crashing through one of the Iron Mills buildings and setting it ablaze as they came out of the other side.

Gajeel tried to go for another blow, but Edorad was now relentless, unleashing blow after blow on the Iron Dragon Slayer. As Gajeel felt another blow slip past his defenses, the Dragon Slayer seeing lights before his eyes, only for his vision begin to dim. His body began to fall backwards then, his feet unsteady. Damn it…It's not enough. He's too damn strong, I-

"Mister Gajeel, you're going to save me?"

Gajeel could hear Wendy's words, but it was not enough to stir him past his broken limits.

"Sorry, kid, I can't-"

Then did those lights before his eyes come back, cutting through the darkness. No, not lights. Explosions.

"You better as hell save Wendy, you hear me!? Don't go making me think letting bygones be bygones was a mistake! You owe me and if anything so much as happens to Wendy, I'll- I'll- Please, just keep her safe, Gajeel."

Iron spikes burst out of Gajeel's feet, embedding their soles to the ground, iron pipes shooting out of his back to hit the ground and ricochet him back into the fight with Edorad.

"I can't let that pipsqueak or that psycho down!" Gajeel roared, his entire body encased with iron as he lunged his head right for Edorad's own. There was a loud crash then, their foreheads colliding.

Edorad stumbled back before he tried to hit Gajeel with a flaming right hand and sent out a wave of fire, but Gajeel wasn't having any of it. "Iron Dragon's Roar!" Quickly blasting out an Iron Dragon's Roar, the vortex of metal overcame the wave of fire, blasting onto Edorad and littering his body with cuts. Edorad let out a shout of pain before he ignited both of his shoulders to dash towards Gajeel, preparing to land a devastating fire imbued blow with his left hand.

But as Edorard struck to land his attack, Gajeel dodged under the strike before he slammed his hammer hand onto Edorad's face, before slashing him across the chest once more. Edorad tried to clad his body with flame, hoping that the sheer heat he emitted would be enough to dissuade Gajeel, but it was simply not enough, as Gajeel slashed and hammered away at him again, and again, and a again, until finally the dragon slayer broke up the monotony of his strikes, ducked under one last strike from Edorad before he kicked upwards, each of his feet transforming into Iron Pillars.

"Iron Dragon's Double Club!:

His attack struck true, hurtling Edorad up high into the sky. The momentum of the strike was intense, forcing Edorad to use his own flames to slow his momentum down before he glared down at Gajeel. "Alright. No more games. I think it's time I put an end to this once and for all."

A brilliant flame began to channel itself around Edorad's right hand, while in his left, the familiar red glow of a cero began to form in his palm. "You may be able to withstand my Cero and Flames, but what if I combined the two together?" He then clasped both of his hands together, as a swirling mass of fire and reiatsu began to flow around him. I may not have Mastered Gran Ray Cero yet, but this will more than suffice!

The newly appointed Ninth Espada smirked. "This is my most powerful technique. Cero Fuego! Its destructive power is five times greater than that of a regular cero! It's all over for you now, Gajeel Redfox!"

Gajeel could only stare up at the combined power of cero and fire, the dragon slayer still capable of feeling the intense heat despite the distance between them. Even with the power that kid had managed to give him he knew full well that if this attack hit him…He was as good as done. However, simply dodging the attack wasn't an option either. If he really fires something like that down at the ground, this whole forest is gonna be caught up in a blaze. That's the last thing we need with everyone dealing with all this crap. Damn it, ain't got no other choice! I'll have to use…that.

As Gajeel leapt up high into the sky, he began to channel his energy into his legs. Despite his immense power and skill as a Dragon Slayer, there were certain things that he had yet to truly master. The "Secret arts" that Metalicana had taught him were exactly that. They required far more magical control than the rest of his spells. Up until Phantom Lord's fight with Fairy Tail now, he had always blown off practicing the move. Far as he was concerned back then, he simply didn't need to. He was considered one of the best among Fiore's biggest guild!

However, his one sided and humiliating loss to Bambietta had quickly shown him that his arrogance was unfounded. And so he trained, all so that he could prevent himself from being on the receiving end of such a beat down. But even despite that, he had still felt like he had never truly mastered the technique, its shape either filled with too little magic, thus resulting in an easily destroyable technique, or too much, making it far heavier than it needed to be and impossible to move. It was a delicate balance that he had never quite been able to achieve.

Well, no better time to finally get this damn thing right, right now! Gajeel thought before he finally began to unleash his 'ultimate spell, his feet transforming into a massive, spiraling drill several times the size of his own body!

"Karma Demon," Gajeel hissed, his voice soon turning into a bellow. "Iron Spiral!"

"Cero Fuego!"

Metal and Cero collided within the sky of Magnolia, both driven by the wills of their respective casters. Gajeel grit his teeth, feeling the iron chipping away under the duress caused by the Arrancar's attack. He could feel it, sense it, hate it. Despite all his efforts, despite all his resolve, the Cero was going to win this exchange.

"And this is how it ends, Gajeel Redfox!" Edorad shouted in triumph from up above. He closed his outstretched hand then, commanding his Cero to detonate where it lay. It did as instructed, exploding with a ferocity unheard of. He heard no scream from Gajeel, none at all, but he knew it was drowned out by the blast. "Ends as all great battles deserve to! Not with a whimper but a roar! And for that I can only thank you for this victo- WHAT!?"

From the flames and brimstone did Gajeel appear, his roar of desperation at last eclipsing the sound of the remnants of the explosion. As he flew towards Edorad, iron was falling off from his spiral drill. It had pierced the very hell Edorad had condemned it to, but not without a cost.

There was no way Gajeel would cause any lasting harm with it in the state it was in now.

However, he knew it just as Edorad did. That was why the Dragon Slayer was turning his right hand to metal as he approached, driven by the force of the explosion itself.

"IRON DRAGON'S HARD FIST!"

Gajeel's metallic hand struck Edorad directly in the face, emerald magic bursting from from the impact. The Arrancar cried out in pain and surprise... and fell back.

His was a face covered in blood, the majority of it leaking from his nose, now broken, and he looked up at Gajeel as he fell to the ground.

"I... wish to thank you nonetheless, Gajeel Redfox," Edorad said, his eyes dimming. "Even in defeat, this was a battle I will never forget..."

*CRASH!*

Edorad's back hit the ground, the earthy terrain shattering beneath him. However, he was not the only one to fall, as Gajeel, completely spent from the battle, fell not long after, his land only slightly more graceful by the virtue of him landing on his hands. He panted and wheezed, his iron scales finally giving way and the pain of the encounter finally washed over him.

"Aw damn it that stings!" Gajeel shouted as it took every fiber of his being to not fall flat on his face, but he refused. He won this fight damn it, and he was going to look the part, no matter how much it hurt!

"You did it Gajeel!"

Gajeel slowly turned his head around as Wendy came rushing towards him, a huge smile on her face. She stopped just a few feet short of where he and Edorad laid, before she bowed her head. "T-thank you so much for saving me!"

Gajeel blinked before he glanced away. "Tch, no need to thank me. I was just repaying a favor for you healing me after that prick Laxus handed me my ass. Besides, if anything I should be thanking you for that power up you gave me." Much as he hated to admit it, but without Wendy's timely assistance…he would have undoubtedly lost.

Looks like I still have a way's to go, huh Metalicana? Gajeel thought before he turned his attention back towards Wendy. And as he looked at the younger Dragon Slayer, something about her felt…Familiar. What exactly that was he couldn't quite place but it was almost as if he had known her for some time.

He shook his head. Damn bastard must have beaten the tar out of me more than I realized. Gajeel told himself internally before he spoke to Wendy. "Now how's about you stop gawking and patch me up? I can barely move as I am right now."

"Oh, right, of course!"

However, as Wendy ran towards him, Gajeel saw something that forced him to gasp. One of the Iron Mills nearby towers had caught ablaze and was ravaged by the shockwave that his clash with Edorad had created. The tip of it was creaking to the right, it's edges almost completely melted, before the burning metal detached itself from the tower and hurtled down towards Wendy!

"Kid, Look out!"

Just as Wendy heard Gajeel's warning, she turned around to notice the flaming metal descending upon her. She gasped, the surprise of it all overwhelming her instincts as a mage to flee. In mere seconds, she was going to be-

*DOOM!*

However, just before the flaming wreckage could slam into Wendy, it was hit by a bright red, almost impossible to see force before it was hurtled far into the distance. Both Gajeel and Wendy turned their heads towards the unexpected assistance.

It was Edorad, the arrancar having returned to his base state, Many of the cuts and wounds Gajeel had recently inflicted had vanished, though he was still rendered imobile due to having so little reaitsu. However, fortunately for them, he had just enough for a Bala.

"You…saved me?" Wendy asked, surprised that the one that had been charged with preventing her escape all this time had gone out of his way to do that? "But…why?"

The ninth Espada looked away. "Don't get the wrong idea. It's not as if I'm sentimental or anything. I simply dislike the death of children is all. Besides, it was the least I could do to honor that man for the battle he and I had. After all," He then smirked, though neither Gajeel or Wendy could see it. "I wish for nothing more than to battle you once more."

Gajeel simply stared at the arrancar wide eyed before he grinned. "Well, that suits me just fine. But when we meet again. I want to beat you on my own, and not rely on some damn kid to save my ass."

"That so?" Edorad replied. "Don't think that you'll be the only one training to get stronger. Us arrancar have our pride to maintain after all."

"We'll see about that." Gajeel said as Wendy had run over and already began to heal him. He could already hear Carla chastising her as she flew in, the feline cat no doubt worried sick about her friend.

However, as Wendy went to work healing her fellow dragon slayer, a lone figure watched from atop the ironmill, his eyes narrowing at the pair before he shook his head. "To think, I would need to clean up the mess of the Noveno Espada yet again. But I suppose that's just fate."


Damn you and your stupid game Laxus! I won't allow you to harm the guild anymore than you already have!

Those were the thoughts of one Erza Scarlet, the S class mage currently running down the various streets of Magnolia. She wasn't just running around aimlessly like she had a few moments ago. No this time she had a destination.

Kardia Cathedral. That was where that bastard Laxus awaited her. She had no delusions that this would be an easy victory, far from it. Much as she hated to admit it, he had always been superior to her and Mira, each and every single battle she had with him ending in defeat.

However, as the years had gone by, the gap between them had closed considerably, and Erza was quite sure that this time victory could be within her grasp thanks to her Lightning Empress armor. There was little doubt in her mind that would be her ace in the hole to emerge victorious.

Armadura Fairy unfortunately wasn't currently an option, the armor having been completely destroyed by Yhwach during the guild's 'spar' with him, and unlike her other armors, she had no spares and it would likely take at least a week, if not even longer, for Elizabeth to properly repair it.

I'll just have to hope that I can pull it off without it. Erza thought as she turned around the next corner.

Just as she did however, a barrage of red energy blasts hurtled towards her. Quickly requiping one of her broadswords, Erza proceeded to deflect each and every one of the blasts, the lot of them shooting off into the sky harmlessly.

"Well shit, looks like the rumors about the broad aren't all talk."

"My apologies, Master Nnoitra. I'll be certain that my next attack will be more effective."

Erza looked down the street, as a pair of men wearing white slowly approached her. Almost instantly did she identify them as Arrancar. One of them was a blonde young man with short dirty blonde hair and brown eyes, and a small boney upperjaw on his forehead, along with a turquoise marking on his right cheek and an eye patch over his right eye.

The other was a tall and lanky man with shoulder length black hair and black eye he wore white, just like the other man, with a spoon shaped hood, curved boots and 3 rings on each of his arms, and a massive white eye patch which obscured his left eye.

Erza narrowed her eyes as her grip on her sword intensified. She didn't have time for this. "I have no business with either of you. Leave now or you'll be on the receiving end of my wrath."

The black haired one, Nnoitra she presumed, rolled his eye. "Pft, a woman who doesn't want to fight. How typical. I don't care what you want bitch, I'm here on orders to beat all your sorry asses and that's exactly what I'm gonna do!"

Erza's gaze intensified, the mage's power flaring up as she prepared herself. "Very well. If you won't listen to reason…then I'm sure that you'll listen to force!"

She took off in a dash then, the wizard rushing towards the pair as she prepared her blades.

"I think not!" Tesla told Erza before he used Sonido, the arrancar appearing behind Erza to strike at her with his Zanpaktou. However, Erza spun around on a dime and counteed, the attacks knocking Tesla off balance and he rolled across the ground. He glared back at the wizard, his brown eye glowing red before it shot out a blast. "Cero Córnea!"

Yet as the red cero fired towards Erza, the Titania simply swung her sword through the attack, cleaving it in two before she looked down at the arrancar. "I don't have time to waste on someone of your level. I'll warn you one last time. Leave." Erza warned him.

He took off into a rush, the arrancar using sonido to quickly close the distance. Erza only spared him the most minor of glances till her right arm glowed gold, her broadsword vanishing for another weapon.

Curious, Nnoitra planted his index finger down towards the ground, a trail of yellow energy running through the ground before it hit Erza. His eyes shot wide open then, the Espada finally getting a true grasp of her power.

"You stupid shit head! Run away, Tesla!" He tried to warn his fraccion.

But it was too late. Just as Tesla went to strike Erza with one of his massive fists, the Red headed mage had leapt over the attack, both of her hands now welding winged broadswords before she struck true, the Titania landing elegantly before she rose to her feet as a cross shaped cut appeared on Tesla's body, blood spurting out from his chest.

"M-master…Nnoitra." He muttered before he crashed down to the ground, cracking the pavement beneath.

Nnoitra glared at Erza before he gave Tesla the most briefest of glances before he sighed in annoyance. Well, at least this time he's not dead. I'll give him a beating later.

"Consider that a warning of things to come should you proceed," Erza remarked. "I have much more power in me than that. So go take your friend and leave Magnolia before my master recovers and deals with you all accordingly."

Nnoitra sneered at Erza's remark, the arrancar unable to resist a chuckle. "Ha! You think you can scare me just because you beat Tesla!? Please, I'm several times stronger than that shithead is!" He then took his long pole arm and pointed it right at Erza, the arrancar sticking his tongue out for just a brief moment. "I'm the 4th Espada, Nnoitra Gilga, and I'm not afraid of no one!"

"I see. The fourth you say?" Erza said as she made her approach, the wizard smiling slightly. " I presume that you used to be the fifth, given Ulquiorra's rank as the former forth. That's good to know. It means I'll be able to deal with you accordingly."

Admittedly, it was only by one rank, but Bambietta had informed her in the past on how the top four ranked members of the Espada were an entire league of their own compared to the rest. She had spared with the arrancar in the past, and while he proved to be quite powerful, she was certain she would have emerged victorious in a battle with him eventually.

Nnoitra snorted at Erza for that remark, rolling his eyes. "That was just how Aizen saw things. As far as I'm concerned, I've always been stronger than he was."

"There's a saying we have here in Earthland," Erza responded, standing just a few feet away from the arrancar. "The bigger the bragget, the weaker the warrior.."

(Song of choice: Clavar La Espada, Bleach ost 3)

Snarling with rage, Nnoitra struck out with his pole arm. Erza raised her sword up to block the strike, only for the blow to force her to one knee, the strike having more power to it than she expected. With a shout, Erza pushed the pole arm away, only for Nnoitra to land a kick on her chest, causing Erza to roll across the ground.

Requiping into her Heartkreuz armor, Erza tried to get up to her feet, only for her to instead leap backwards as Nnotitra's pole arm had been thrown at her, the weapon shattering the ground where Erza had once been.

Landing on her feet, Erza was quick to run forward, hoping to strike at Nnoitra before he had a chance to rel back his weapon on time. He yanked onto the chain attached to his weapon as Erza closed in, the arrancar just barely yanking it back in the nick of time to block one info her sword strikes. Erza tried to strike him again with her other sword, but Nnoitra was surprisingly skilled with the weapon, twirling it around just in time to block her next strike.

"Too slow!"

The arrancar tried to strike at her face with one of his hands, but Erza leaned back to dodge before she somersaulted backwards.

"Well, I guess your reflexes aren't half bad, for a woman that is." Nnoitra told her as he looked over towards her.

Erza narrowed her eyes as she poised her blades to strike. "When it comes to magic and skill, gender means nothing on the battlefield. You'll do well to remember that."

"Yeah, right!" Nnoitra declared as he leapt up into the air, the Espada swinging his pole arm as he did so. "As far as I'm concerned a woman has no place on the battlefield!"

As the arrancar jumped down towards her, Erza jumped to the left to avoid the strike before she came rushing in. The arrancar thrust with his weapon, Erza blocking with her broadsword just in time before she partied the attack. The arrancar spun his pole arm to use its long handle to block the first slash, then the next, before she then forced the blade of the polearm into the ground, its blade embedded into the concrete. He tried to lodge it out, but Erza's blade kept it firmly in place.

"You're wide open!" Erza declared, swinging the sword in her left hand against the arrancar's chest. However, rather than the expected result, like a long cut running down her foes chest, her blade simply grinded against his chest harmlessly.

What!?

Nnoitra grinned as he looked down at Erza. "Ha! Is that all you got?"

With her focus broken, the arrancar was able to dislodge his weapon from the ground, pulling it back before thrusting it at her. Erza blocked the strike, her feet skidding back as the arrancar ran forward. She grunted with effort, the S class wizard trying to hold the arrancar back as best she could but it was no use. He was far too strong to hold back.

Seeing how simply strength wouldn't avail her, Erza opted to cease resisting entirely, slipping down underneath the weapon as the arrancar ran through a nearby lamppost before she rolled to the right and jumped up into the air, attempting to swing her sword down at him once more. The Espada simply lashed out with his spare hand then, catching the blade with ease.

"What, didn't you get it already?" The arrancar asked as he looked back at her. "You can't cut me with such a weak blade!" He swung his polearm at Erza, the weapon slicing through her Heartcruze armor with ease, with Erza grunting out in pain before she let go of her sword and jumped backwards towards the ground. She glanced down and she looked at her chest. She had been lucky that the armor had taken most of the blow, the cut to her chest not nearly as severe as it could have been. Still one thing was clear, this opponent was no pushover.

Wind picked up as the Espada took to swinging the weapon round with hardly any effort at all. He sneered. "Pretty nasty cut you've got there. May as well just give up now and let me beat your sorry ass down, you stupid bitch! My Hierro is the strongest among all the Espada! You can't hurt me!"

"Is that a fact?" Erza asked before she took off in a dash, the mage summoning a massive great sword to her aid. "I'd like to test that theory!" The two colossal weapons clashed, Nnoitra's polearm raising over his head to block an oncoming strike from Erza, before he pushed Erza back and thrust with his weapon. Erza was quick to defend, using the wide girth of her greatsword to block against the thrust before she cried out and parried his weapon back.

The sound of blades clanging against one another filled the air as the two colossal weapons continued to clash, neither warrior giving an inch. However, a winner was bound to happen eventually, and as Erza forced Nnoita's polearm to the ground once more, she slammed her foot down on the flat edge of her opponent's blade before she swung her greatsword with all her might! The attack sent the arrancar back, Nnoitra grunting from the blow as his feet skid against the ground.

Erza glanced over towards where she had struck him. There was a scratch on his skin where her blade had struck him, but just like before no blood had yet to be drawn. I see. It seems I was under a false impression. Hierro isn't like Blut Vene; at least, not in how it's executed. With Quilge, I could at least wait for an opening for the technique to switch over, but that does not seem to be the case here..

Hearing a loud boom, Erza quickly turned behind her just in time as Nnoitra brought down his blade at her, the wizard just barely managing to block in time with her greatsword. However, the arrancar was relentless with his blows, his polearm crashing against her massive sword over and over again. Realizing that she couldn't afford to allow this exchange to continue, Erza tried to swing her sword at his chest as hard as she could, only for the arrancar to stop the attack with his right arm before he swung his blade down at Erza, as her own greatsword began to crack from the pressure.

The Espada yanked back his polearm as he prepared another strike. He gave her a toothy grin. "You deaf or something? How many times do I gotta tell ya, you can't-"

"Requip, Heaven's Wheel!"

Now clad in her angelic armor, Erza flew high into the sky, the wizard summoning over fifty blades around her. "Dance, my swords!" The floating blades began to spin rapidly around her before she commanded them to strike, the blades shooting out in disc like formation. "Circle Sword!"

Nnoitra didn't even bother to block the attack. The most Erza's spell accomplished was pushing him back a few feet, his skin unharmed. In defiance, Erza raised up her blade to summon up to fifty more, surrounding her in the air before she sent them forward, the summoned swords crashing into Nnoitra, each and every single one of them shattering as they crashed into his body.

The 4th Espada smirked. ""See, what did I tell–"

"Requip, Black Wing Armor!"

Erza had come soaring in from above, Nnoitra just barely raising his polearm in time to stop the attack, but Erza's strikes seemed quicker than before, the mage continuing to wail on the Espada repeatedly, before she somersaulted to the ground and came rushing in with a flurry of strikes. Despite his best efforts to parry her blows, Nnotira began to grunt as each of her attacks continued to make the ground beneath him crack further and further, until Erza grabbed the polearm with one hand and shoved it above his head, swinging her sword as hard as she could against his chest.

The arrancar skid back against the ground once more, feeling a small tinge of pain. His eye glanced downwards at where she had struck as a small cut, no larger than a pencil had appeared on his chest, blood slowly dripping out.

"Well, seems your skin isn't so invincible after all, now is it?"

Nnoitra scowled as he looked over towards Erza, the mage smirking a "Tch, don't get cockly over a fucking paper cut. You'll need a lot more than that to beat me!" The arrancar declared before he appeared in front of Erza with Sonido and brought down his massive weapon. Erza just barely managed to block the attack from striking her head before she was forced into a quick set of parry's. Each blow shook her entire body until the last one knocked her off her feet, the S class mage rolling across the ground before she slowly got up.

He's much stronger than I had anticipated. Simply hurting him is proving to be a challenge. Erza thought as she transformed into her Flame Empress armor. But I have to be careful with how much magic I use before fighting Laxus. I'll just have to up the stakes and see what it really takes to put an end to this!

As Nnoitra came in with another thrust of his polearm, Erza dodged to the right of his strike before she knelt down and tried to swing her sword at his side, the blade clad with flames. Her blade struck, and while the cut she inflicted was miniscule, the skin around the small cut was burnt, the arrancar letting out a cry of pain before he knocked her away with his left hand.

"Stupid bitch! Just how many parlor tricks do you have!?" Nnotira asked before he smirked. "Here, have a taste of one of mine!" Sticking his tongue out, Nnoitra fired off a yellow cero from his mouth, Erza just barely leaping above the attack before she had to block an incoming strike from Nnotira's weapon as he tossed it at her.

Both Erza and the polearm crashed to the ground, debris filling the air. The arrancar smirked, only for it to give way to a surprise gasp as a large javelin had been thrown out of the dust, with Erza having now changed into her Giant's armor. Nnotira fired yet another Cero at the spear but while the blast had slowed its hurtle, the weapon still struck true, knocking him back over twenty feet before he dislodged the weapon, the tip of the spear managing to sink a fair bit into his right side.

"Grah! Don't think these stupid gimmicks of yours are going to allow you to–"

Erza had already changed armor, the Titania's attire changing from a skimpy black armor to one with cat ears, short shorts, and a revealing, cheetah-print breastplate. Moving far faster than he expected, Erza had sped towards him, arriving in front of the arrancar just before he had yanked his pullarm back before she changed into armor once more.

"Requip, Piercing armor!"

Her armor had changed once more, this time the Titania wearing armor that seemed much typical of a knight, with a massive lance in her hands. Erza shoved her weapon at Nnoitra, the power behind her blow had deflected Nnoitra's polearm with ease as she took off into a charge. The arrancar tried his best to stay his ground, but it was no use, Erza's strike managed to lift his feet off of the ground before she ran him into the side of one of Magnolia's local pubs. She didn't stop there however as she let out a mighty shout, the S-class wizard shoving the Espada through several city blocks until the pair had ended up on Magnolia's outskirts, the wizard finally stopping her charge as Nnoitra was flung off of her weapon and rolled across the ground before he came to an abrupt halt.

"Had enough?" Erza asked as Nnoitra coughed and wheezed. Slowly, the Espada managed to get up to his feet, her eyes glancing at the gaping wound she had made in Nnoitra's stomach. Any normal human would have found it almost impossible to get up after sustaining such an injury, yet the arrancar had done just that. It almost impressed Erza. Almost.

"You… You really think you've won just because you managed to finally get in one good hit, is that it?" Nnoitra demanded as he glared at Erza, the arrancar placing a hand over the hole in his chest.

He began to reach out towards his polearm, the weapon having landed just a few feet away from him…only to notice Erza lowering her weapon. "What the hell's your deal, getting cold feet?" The arrancar teased.

"Enough is enough," Erza responded. "It's clear from the wound that you took that you're no longer in any condition to continue to fight. I have far more important matters that require my attention and I refuse to waste anymore of my time on a pointless battle. Stand down."

"The hell did you just say to me!?" Nnoitra demanded. "Do you really think that one attack is going to keep me down! As if! " He took a weak step forward, then another as his eyes bore into her own. "This battle's not over till one of us dies!" This was, admittedly, against the orders that Emberella and, by extension, Lord Barragan had given him to win his battles without taking the lives of any of his opponent's, but he was well past the point of caring about any of that. What he wanted more than anything else was to see this woman dead at his feet!

He raised up his right hand covered in blood before he slowly licked at the liquid before he pointed his tongue at Erza. The yellow energy at the tip began to warp, and Erza's eyes shot open, sensing the power behind the attack.

"No, don't!" She cried out as she went running back in an attempt to stop the attack.

"Gran Rey Cero!"

An enormous cero fired off from his tongue, with enough power to utterly annihilate Magnolia several times over. Realizing that it was too late for Erza to stop the attack outright, her entire body glowed gold for a split second as the attack hit her dead on.

A massive explosion could be seen on the outskirts of Magnolia from as far back at the guildhall, the entirety of Magnolia shaking as if it were in a small earthquake before it too was seemingly engulfed in the blast.

Nnoitora panted as he looked towards the apparent destruction of the town. He had little doubt that Barragan would discipline him quite severely for destroying the town. After all, the entire point of their alliance with Embrella was to have the enthralled members of the guild under their command, but right now that didn't matter. As long as he could prove his superiority, then nothing else mattered.

"That'll…show her…for thinking she could beat me." Nnoitora gasped out as he got to his feet as the dust slowly began to settle. Luckily, he could sense Tesla was still alive amongst the rubble. Well, what do you know? The shithead is still alive. Well, I better go find him before telling Szayelaporro that this mission is-

However, as the debris from his blast finally faded away., Nnoitra's eye slowly began to widen. Magnolia…was absolutely fine! Despite the improbability of it all, there didn't seem to be a single ounce of damage that the town hadn't had prior to Erza forcing him on the outskirts of Magnolia.

But what truly shook him to his core, what absolutely infuriated his very being, was that Erza Scarlet still stood, the Titiana standing firm in her adamantine armor, with the two massive shields parting to reveal Erza's face.

She surveyed the area before she let out a sigh of relief. It looks like Elizabeth's upgrade to the Adamantine armor really paid off. I'll be sure to let her know once everything has settled down. Relief transformed into rage, she then glared at the Espada. "You dare….to threaten my home!?"

An unexpected shiver ran down his spin before he grit his teeth and gripped his weapon. "Yeah, I did! What about it!? Nothing matters in a fight as long as you wi-"

Erza wasn't even remotely interested in what the Espada had to say, the wizard charging in as she prepared to bash him with her shield. Nnoitra thrust his blade at Erza, only for his blade to crack the moment it crashed against one of her shields. His eyes widened with surprise, but before he could make his next move, Erza had already slammed her fist into his face, the arrancar shouting out in pain as he took a step back, with his cheek now thoroughly bruised.

The hell is this thing made of!? Nnoitra demanded as he tried to swing his zanpakuto at Erza once more, only for the blade to bounce off harmlessly against her right arm, before she delivered a kick to his stomach, forcing the Espada to puke out blood. Erza let out a furious cry before she began to wail on him, her punches rocking his head two and through before she grabbed onto his neck and slammed him into the ground and stomped on his face.

Nnoitra cried out as Erza continued to stomp on his face, before the arrancar grabbed onto her foot and pointed his tongue at her, firing a cero at point blank range. However, as the attack faded, Erza simply put more force into her foot, slamming her heel down at Nnoitra's face as she broke his nose.

Erza took a moment to glance down at her fallen foe, the arrancar groaning in pain as his body twitched. Finally it seemed that the battle was over, the S-class mage requipping back into her Blackwing Armor before she stepped off of him.

That took far more out of me than I would have liked. Erza thought as she looked towards the center of Magnolia. I don't know if I even have enough magic in me to defeat Laxus now, but I refuse to stand by and do nothing. For now, all she could do was try her best, and pray that if she fell, she would have at least weakened Laxus enough for someone else to knock him down a peg or two.

"W-wait!"

Erza glanced behind her, the Fairy Queen surprised to see The Espada slowly getting to his feet.

"Come on, what are you doing? We're not done!" Nnoitra demanded as he weakly grabbed his weapon that had laid right next to him moment's prior.

"I refuse," Erza answered as she turned her back on him. "I've wasted far more time and magic on this meaningless battle than I've wanted to. Right now all I care about is saving my friends. I see no reason for us to continue.."

"Well, I have plenty of reasons to continue fighting!" Nnoitra answered as he took another step forward. "I've heard all the tales of how strong you are, and I couldn't stand it! There's no way a woman should ever be considered stronger than a man! Far as I'm concerned that's more than enough reason to kill your sorry ass!"

Erza didn't even bother to look back at him as she began her trek back towards the guildhall.

"If that's your sole reason for fighting me, then you're no warrior in my eyes."

Nnoitra's eyes shot wide open, the arrancar's mind imposing a teal haired woman clad in white over Erza's own body, as words from the past echoed into his mind.


"Ok, we're done here." Neliel Tu Oderschvank declared as she sheathed her zanpakuto. "I'm glad we finished in time for lunch. My fraccion always get worried whenever I'm late." She slowly began to walk away, only for a voice to call out to her.

"Wait!" Nnoitra declared as he weakly rose up to his feet, his weapon embedded into the sands of Huecco Mundo. "This is a duel, finish it!" The arrancar demanded.

Neliel slowly glanced back toward the arrancar. "You mean finish you off?" She asked.

"What else!?"

"No," Neliel answered. "We were humans who became hollow's, and then regained our reason by becoming arrancar. Rational beings need a reason to kill, and you don't have one."

"Oh I have a reason!" Nnoitra shouted at her. "I don't like you!"

"That's not a reason, that's instinct," Neliel chided him as she looked at him with disgust.. "You're a beast. I don't recognize you as a warrior. And as such, I refuse to burden myself with your life."


(Song of choice. Treachery, Bleach ost)

Nnoitra gritted his teeth in fury as his reiatsu began to rise, his body glowing a brilliant gold. "Damn you… I won't lose." He muttered before Erza turned around, the woman feeling a great power emitting from his body as he lifted up his weapon. "I absolutely refuse to lose to the likes of you!"

Erza's eyes widened from the power she could sense. What is he-

"Pray, Santa Teresa!"

A cloud of dust picked up as the energy encased the arrancar, Erza having no choice but to shield her eyes from the debris that his reiatsu forced up. As the dust slowly began to fade, so too did her eyes widen with shock. The arrancar before her had changed rather drastically, now having four boney insect arms instead of two human-like appendages. The polearm had seemingly vanished, the Espada now wielding a massive scythe in each of his hands instead. Then there was his head, with two horns, resembling a crescent moon of sorts, with the right horn longer than the left. and his face now covered with a gold marking that traveled to his forehead down to his right eye, while the left eye, while still clad in an eyepatch, was now covered in a boney like jaw.

Worst of all, however, was how all of the damage she had inflicted seemed to have healed, the hole in his stomach and various other injuries she had managed to inflict thus far seeming to have been patched up.

"Is this… Take Over Magic?" Erza asked aloud. She had seen many of Mirajane's transformations, along with Elfman's and Lisanna's, but none of them had ever looked quite like this. She couldn't quite place her finger on it, but something felt different about it.

"Resurrección," Nnoitra corrected, pointing one of his scythes at Erza. "Us arrancar aren't like those pissant shinigami. The main bulk of our power isn't in our soul; it's in our blades. So when we release our zanpakuto, we fuse with our weapons and regain the power we once had as hollows!

"So, this is your full power then?" Erza asked as the ground around her began to shake much as it did with Nnoitra. "Then I suppose I have no choice but to escalate things on my end as well! Requip, Purgatory Armor!" Her body glowed for a brief moment, before a massive black spiked sword slammed to the ground, the Titania now clad in pitch black armor with various spikes that ran throughout its body.

The arrancar looked at the new armor Erza had adorned herself with before he took up a stance with his scythes. "Well, I'll hand it to ya, that ain't half bad reiatsu you got there," He said before he took off into a sprint. "But it won't be anywhere near enough to defeat me!"

"We'll just have to see about that!" Erza rebuked him as she took off into a charge, her large sword held high above her head. She let out a mighty shout, swinging her blade down towards Nnotira's head, only for two of the scythes to block the attack.

The arrancar chuckled. "What, that's it!?" He demanded before he lashed out with one of his blades, the scythe cutting right through Erza's chest plate and right into her chest, knocking her off of her feet. "You're gonna have to try harder than that!"

Erza hissed in pain as she landed on the ground, her blood pooling around her. However, despite the injury and that pain that accompanied it, shelept up to her feet before she charged at Nnoitra once more.

Nnoitra went in for a lash with one of his left arms, the scythe just barely grazing Erza's check as she dodged to the left, before she blocked the next attack from the right with the flat of her sword. She yelled, forcing the weapon off of her before she swung her blade again, only for his arm on the upper right blocking the strike as the lower left arm swung in a counter attack.

Erza leapt up into the air before she crashed down on him with her black blade, the espada blocking the attack with all four of his blades as the ground beneath him formed into a crater.

Erza jumped back, preparing to strike at him yet again, but Nnoitra had closed the gap sooner than she had expected, the Espada slashing out at her with his four scythes. Erza tried to properly defend, her sword blocking the first two strikes as they attempted to strike at her ribs and chest, only for the remaining two to strike at her blindspots, cutting into her left arm and right shoulder.

Crying out in pain, Erza swung her blade to push the arrancar back before she swung her blade. The arrancar tried to stop her massive sword with his upper right scythe, but it was too late as Erza's sword cleaved right through his boney limb before the limb went flying off.

Having disarmed one of his weapons, along with an entire arm, Erza spun around for a powerful swing, the arrancar bringing three of his scythe's together to block the strike as the blow forced him back a few feet.

"Tch, don't get so cocky!" Nnoitra shouted as he blasted out yet another cero out of his tongue. Erza swung her blade at the incoming blast, sending it careening into the sky where it exploded harmlessly before she began to swing out with her massive blade. The arrancar blocked both of his lower scythe before he struck out with his remaining weapon, but Erza saw the attack coming, allowing her to jump back to avoid the strike.

"Now that I've managed to remove one of your limbs, your attacks are much easier to predict." Erza claimed as she pointed her blade at him. "Surrender now and I won't need to remove anymore."

"Tch, you think you can win just because you cut off one of my arms? As if!" Nnoitra proclaimed before the limb glowed with yellow spiritual pressure before a brand new limb emerged from the stump, the arrancar flexing his new arm as if you test it out before he walked over to his amputated arm and picked up his discarded weapon and sneered at Erza. "See? It doesn't matter how many arms you manage to cut off, I'll just -"

"Errraaaaggghhh!"

Nnoitra was just barely able to block the incoming strike from Erza, the arrancar's knee buckling from the pressure as Erza proceeded to wail against the scythe's, the arrancar feeling the bones in his arms shaking from each blow.

"This battle has gone on for long enough!" Erza declared as she continued her assault. "It's time we ended this right here, right-urk!"

Erza felt a sharp pain in her gut, cutting off both her speech and her assault. The Titania glanced down, only to notice a fifth arm impaling her right in the stomach. Erza took a step back before she coughed up some blood, the wizard panting as she glared at Nnoitra, the Espada now having six arms in total.

"What's wrong? I thought that you were going to end this fight?" The arrancar taunted her as he stretched out his arms before a scythe shot out from each wrist of his new arms. He smirked at the wizard. "You were having such a hard time with just four, so let's see how well you deal with six!"

Erza let it a few more painted gasps, but that was all the rest she could let herself get as Nnoitra appeared in front of her with Sonido and swung one of his scythe's at her. She leapt over the blade before she leaped behind him, trying to slash him across the back, only for four of Espada's arms to reach around with their blades to block the attack before he spun around, attacking her with each of his blades.

Try as she might, the sheer number of his weapons were too much for her one singular blade to handle, as the six scythe's attacked Erza like a whirlwind of blades. Left, right, up and down. They all came at her from every angle imaginable.

A slash to her left shoulder, a jab to her waist, and a thankful shallow cut to her throat, there was no doubt that Erza was on the losing side of this battle. It wasn't that he was considerably stronger than her, not at all. If anything they two were almost even in terms of reiatsu. No, the reason she was on the back foot was for a different reason altogether.

Quantity.

Damn it, I can't get a good hit in with all of those blades! Erza cursed as she just barely avoided a Scythe that had been aimed at her throat. As things stood, she was going to die.

Her armor changed, going from the dark black of the purgatory armor to the silver and blue of the Adamantine armor. It was just in time as her massive shields blocked the six scythe's that came at her from all angles, the tips of each of their blades shattering.

Nnoitra snarled. "Don't think you can just hide behind that shell of yours!" He declared as he focused his reiatsu into the blades, reforming the tips as he swung at her with wild abandon. Just like before the blades failed to pierce her armor, but unlike before they didn't shatter as they continued to strike at her.

Erza grit her teeth as she felt her feet slide against the ground. Her adamantine armor would buy her some time, but she could already see in the corner of her eye that it would only buy her so much as his blade began to chip away at it.. She needed a plan and fast.

As things stand right now, I can't get in any good hits with purgatory. Heaven's wheel could easily outnumber him blade to blade, but it lacks the power needed to even hurt him and Black wing and Flame Empress were only just barely enough to get past his skin.

Giant and Piercing had served her well up to this point, but while they had been effective before, that had been before her foe had used his Resurrection. The odds of those armors dealing enough damage to her for as he was no was... unlikely.

That only left her with just three choices. Arnadura, which would endanger all of Magnolia, Nakagmi, which would drain her magical reserves almost entirely...and her last choice. One that she had never tried up until now.

Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained! Erza thought before she slammed her shield at Nnoitra's face, the red head changing into her Giant's armor before she grabbed him by the throat and threw him as hard as as she could, requiping her rocket spear before that was was tossed his way.

The Espada crashed through tree after tree after Erza's throw before he managed to stick one of his scythe's into the ground to stop his momentum, allowing him to finally plant his feet in the ground. The rocket spear came hurtling towards him next, but the Espada simply lashes out at the attack with two scythe's, deflecting the spear crashing it through several more trees till it embedded itself into the ground.

Nnoitra snorted out of sheer annoyance before he sensed for Erza's reiatsu, and promptly used Sonido to arrive where he had once been. "Alright you dumb bitch, are you going to stop playing keep away and start fighting me... for real?"

The sound of confusion from last bit of his battle banter had been due to Erza's recent appearance. Gone was any sort of armor, the queen of the fairies now wearing red hakama with yellow flames at the bottom and white sarashi cloth which wrapped around her chest. Lastly was her current weapon of choice. It wasn't a massive great sword, nor a massive array of broadswords, or even a spear or lance.

No, what she clutched in her left hand now was a rather thick Katana with a blue handle and a gold tip at the end with a short dark blue rope adorned with three red pearls along with a gold and red flower shaped hand guard, with small bits of cloth tied just above it.

Nnoitra scowled as he slowly approached Erza. "What's wrong? All that armor starting to get too heavy for ya?"

Erza shook her head. "Not quite, though I admit there is some truth in what you're saying. As things stood, I had no clear path to victory. Your six blade's make a battle of physical might next to impossible. Normally I'd settle for my elemental armors in such a confrontation, but your skins proved to be hardy enough that they won't be enough.

Nnoitra cackled at her words. "And you think ditching your armor is gonna help!? All I need now is a new good hit and you're as good as dead!"

You're probably right." Erza said as she took up a stance, her legs separating and her knees bending before she poised her katana by her face as she pointed the sword at him. "But what I need right now isn't defense, but speed and flexibility to deal with all of your weapons...along with one of my own which can finally put you down."

Nnoitra guffawed at what she had just said. "What!? You seriously think that little thing's going to put me down!? You must be out of your damn mind!?"

(Song of choice: Scarlet warrioress, Fairy Tail OST)

Erza ignored Nnoitra's bluster as narrowed her eyes at the Espada. "It may not look as imposing as my other weapons, but I assure you, it'll more than suffice in ending this battle once and for all."

Erza's feet pressed against the ground before she took off the ground and hurtled towards the Espada. While her speed wasn't as fast as it was in her flight armor, she was still moving far faster than she had in any of her other armors.

Nnoitra, undeterred by her increase in speed, struck out with one of his scythe's, fully anticipating his blade to slash her across the chest, only for the queen of the fairy's to dodge under the attack and swung her blade at the offending arm, slicing through the limb as though it were butter.

"Grrraaagghh!" Nnoitra cried out, the fourth Espada taking a step back before he landed out with two more of his scythe's. Erza leapt onto the his bottom left, before swinging to stop an oncoming stroke from the upper right, her katana slashing through the Scythe's blade and down the middle of Nnoitra's arm.

Crying out in pain once more, the arrancar stuck his tongue out at Erza and fired a cero almost point blank at her face. However, the Titania had more than enough time to react and she quickly somersaulted over the Cero and tried to thrust at the Espada from behind, the arrancar avoiding potential impalement through the use of Sonido.

Nnoitra glanced at his two injured limbs. One completely sliced off below the elbow, while the other was cut down the middle. Infuriated, the Espada grabbed the wounded limb and ripped it out of its socket, groaning in pain before he regenerated the two limbs. He then gazed over towards Erza and snarled. "You... what's the deal with that sword!?" He demanded.

"This is Benizakura, and it's the most powerful weapon in my collection." Erza answered swiftly. "It is a blade of absolute offensive capabilities. It only has one drawback. In order for it to be wielded to its maximum ability, it's user must abandon any and all defense.``

The S class mage glanced at her body, and the various wounds she had received thus far. "To be entirely honest I wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea. A single misstep on my part could easily result in my demise. However, if it's the only path forward that allows me to protect my guild-" Erza's glared into Nnoitra's, her brown eyes piercing into his as he felt a shiver trill down his spine.

"Then I'll do whatever it takes."

Pressing off against the ground once more, Erza took into a run. Not willing to allow her the chance to land any more hits on him the arrancar fired off a cero from his tongue. However, Erza saw the attack coming her way and ducked underneath the attack, sliding across the hard ground until she stopped just below the arrancar and lashed out as the cero finished blasting out, the fourth Espada just narrowly avoiding the strike as he leaped back.

"Damn you." He swore as he slashed at her again with one of his scythes, the red head promptly slicing through it and his weapon with ease as he slashed out with another one of his arms, only for Erza to jump back to avoid. "Damn you!" Another slash, this time aimed at her head, with the S class mage dodging underneath before she followed up with a slash of her own, severing two limbs on his left side in one swing.

"Damn you, damn, you, damn you!" Nnoitra shouted as he regrew his limbs and came in for another barrage of blows. Yet despite his six blades, Erza was managing to dodge and weave through the barrage of blows as if it were nothing, her body seeming to move out of the way of a potentially fatal strike at the last possible second before she counterattacked. One arm, two, three, with each attempt he made on her life, every single one of his attacks was met with complete and utter failure as Erza seemed to make a complete mockery of his skills as a warrior.

After the removal of one last arm, the arrancar snarled as he attempted to slice his scythe at her neck, only for Erza to effortlessly leap over the attack and sliced through his weapon and against his chest, the arrancar crying out as the blade cut through his Hiero with little difficulty. Lashing out with his two remaining arms, Erza jumped backwards from the strike before she poised herself for yet another blow as the Espada grew back each of his limbs, though he seemed to have been wrought with exhaustion.

No doubt it takes a great toll out of him to regrow those limbs. Erza thought before she glanced back at her opponent. "This is the last chance I am going to give you. Surrender now, or taste my blade." Erza declared as she prepared herself. This was it. The final strike. The decisive blow that would finally put an end to this entire battle.

Nnoitra gritted his teeth as each of his hands gripped their weapons as hard as they could, before he snarled. "Surrender? Surrender!? You think I'd ever consider surrendering to a woman!? I'd sooner die!"

Erza sighed. "Very well. Have it your way." The red headed swordswoman bending to one knee as she placed Benizakura to

The took off into a mad dash, the Espada having all but one desire left to him now. To see her dead! It's time I put an end to this farce once and for all! The arrancar yelled to himself internally. I didn't end up in this new world just to lose to some damn woman! I am the strongest! The strongest! The strongest!

Yet as Nnoitra came rushing in, all six of his blades poised to strike, Erza simply closed her eyes and took a deep breath, She got down to one knee, Benizakura now positioned to where it normally would have been placed within a sheath. The arrancar got closer and closer before he prepared to finally cut her down.

He never got the chance. By the time the arrancar was within a few feet from her, Erza had already made her move, the swordswoman's singular blade slicing through each and every single one of NNoitra's. The Espada let out a gargled scream as her blade cut into his stomach, the arrancar falling to his knee's before collapsing to the ground.

"No, no, no, no!" Nnoitra demanded as he tried to get up to his feet, the arrancar trying to use of his arms to lift him off of the ground…only to collapse. "Damnit!" He screamed.

Erza let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, it's finally over. Erza thought with a weak smile as she made her way back towards Magnolia. I'll have to try to help the others find Wendy before I face Laxus. As things stand right now, I wouldn't have a chance. Still, with Bambietta and Liltotto's help, victory should be-

The sound of clapping snapped Erza back to attention, the S class mage turning around behind her. Right before her was a man with shaggy black hair done up into a short ponytail, a thin scar going over his right brown eye and thin facial hair. Lastly, he wore a dark green plate like armor with a white haori covering the majority of it.

The man gave her a grin as he ceased his clapping. "Well, well well. Not bad at all if I say so myself. I was starting to wonder if all the rumors that I heard about you were exaggerated, but it seems that they were justified after all."

Nnoitra glared up at the new arrival before he snarled. "Oi, what the fuck are you doing here!? This is my fight Scott, so fuck off!"

The man named Scott shook his head. "All of your weapons have been broken, your reiatsu is almost completely depleted and you can't even stand. If that doesn't signify a lost battle then I don't know what does beyond death."

Erza narrowed her eyes as she heard his name. "I thought you looked familiar." Erza stated as she took a step forward. "You're Slipstream Scott, aren't you?"

"Oh? So the illustrious Titania knows about me?" Scott asked in a somewhat mocking tone of voice. "I'm honored."

"Your face is plastered all over the Magic Council's most wanted list for the crimes you've committed for Grimoire Heart." Erza stated. "You're one of the very few mages deemed to be considered a SS-class threat."

"Oh, I see my reputation precedes me." Slipstream Scott said with yet another smirk.

"Tell me, what does one of Ishgar's most dangerous criminals want with Laxus and Emberella's scheme?"

"Well I'm afraid that I can't divulge that information," Scott replied with a wag of his pointer finger. "But as for why I've come to you face to face is another matter altogether. I'm here to test your mantle as a warrior."

Erza's gaze intensified. "I have no more time to waste on yet another meaningless battle. I have a guild to save. Besides, given your reputation, I doubt you'd find the fight you're looking for anyway in my present condition."

Scott nodded. "A fair point. Which is why I wish to offer you this." He reached into his dark green armor, only to reveal a familiar looking red vial.

Erza's eyes shot open at the sight. "T-that's-"

"A curse potion. A gift from Tartarus itself," Scott replied. "It, and one more can be yours, if you agree to a battle."

Erza scowled at the offer. "And why on earth would I ever wish to use a potion that took the lives of others to create?"

"Because right now your guild is on the line," Scott answered her. "One way or the other, the lives taken to create this bottle have already been taken. But at least with this, you'll have a fighting chance to save everyone else, with both your physical health and magic restored to what it once was." The man chuckled as he began to juggle the vial in his hand. "So what'll it be? Take this offer and save your friends? Or should I simply give it to that boisterous arrancar instead?"

Erza grit her teeth at the offer, the red heads mind thinking over the offer. Much as I loath to admit it, he's right. As I am right now, I don't stand at defeating either him or Laxus. The lives taken to make that bottle can never be restored, but at least this way…

"Very well. I accept," Erza finally replied. "But make no mistake, I do this solely for the sake of the guild and the people of Magnolia. I couldn't care less about this battle."

His grin ever present, Scott tossed the vial at Erza. The S class mage looked at the red liquid with disgust for just a moment before she finally drank the vial. Sure enough, all of the wounds on her body had healed up, and the mage could feel all the magic she had used in the prior fight swiftly returning to her.

"You've made the right choice," Scott said as Erza glared back at him. "It would be such a shame to cut you down while you weren't at your full strength."

"You'll regret giving me that vial, Scott," Erza said as her magic began to build around her, changing into her heaven wheel armor. It was more than likely that this would not be enough, but atleast with this armor she could properly gauge what his power and magic was. "Because I have no intention of losing."

"Ah I see you're getting fired up. That's good. That's very good!" Scott said as he grabbed at his sheathed katana. "But as a custom of mine, I believe that all strong warrior's deserve to know the true identity of the one who took their life. Scott is just an alias." He then smirked. "My true identity is Sōma Hirata, the Sixth Kenpachi."

The man drew out his sword before he smirked. "Now…Let's dance!"


That's right dear readers, Scott, the character I introduced all the way back in chapter 10, isn't just a stand in for Jetstream Sam from Metal Gear Rising, but is in actuality the sixth Kenpachi! I've been wanting to share this little secret for a while now, and I'm so glad I now longer have to hide it anymore. In fact, you can expect to see all ten of the Kenpachi who died in this story at some point or another, so look forward to it.

But does Erza have what it takes to defeat him? It took Kurayashki, the seventh of the Kenpachi and currently the fourth strongest man in all of Ishgar, to kill him in the first place.

Now, on the off chance your confused by why this would be an issue, given how Kenpachi killed the tenth with no issue, allow me to explain. While it's true that the Kenpachi lineage is supposed to get strong the more time goes on, the legacy of it all was thrown out of whack thanks to the actions of the 8th, Soya Ashashiro. While the ninth kenpachi was by no means weak, (which you can see and read all about her in my fanfiction, The Tragedy of the Ninth Kenpachi), she was still a downgrade from what had come in regards to the 7th and 8th, and the tenth...well the less said about Kiganjo the better.

So, baring that in mind...Erza has a VERY up hill battle ahead of her.

But I do hope that both her battle with Nnoitra and Gajeel's battle with Pow were decently entertaining. Edorad was always one of the more entertaining fraccion that Kubo made (alongside Findor Carias and Gigo Vega) and I was more than happy to give him a chance to shine, as well as Gajeel. As for Nnoitra...it's fun to see him being taken down a peg or two, even if I really do enjoy his battle with Kenpachi and overall gimick and fighting style. It was fun to give the fight another spin after doing in prior in "The Death and Life of Erza Scarlet." (PS, that'll be updated soon as well.)

Anyways, that's all for now. I'm really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on these battles, and the battles to come. I was a little let down by the responses I got for Grimmjow vs Mirajane, so this time I'm hoping to get a little more. Till next time.

Gajeel (Base): 2875
Edorad (Base): 2950

Gajeel (Iron Scales): 3450

Gajeel (After eating Iron): 3700
Edorad (Resurreccion): 4200

Gajeel (Enchantments): 4425

Nnoitra (Base): 3600 (Hiero needs 4200 to remotely cut)

Nnoitra (Resurreccion): 6500

Erza (HeartKruze): 2950

Erza (Heaven's Wheel): 3500

Erza (Giant Armor): 5050

Erza (Black Wing Armor): 4200

Erza (Flame Empress Armor):4350

Erza (Purgatory armor): 6450

Erza (Clear Heart, Benizakura): 7300

Sōma Hirata: ?