Chapter 17: Demon's Surprise Attack
At Fairy Tail's guild hall. The guildhall was fixed up again, and Natsu slammed his hands on the table. "That guy in the east, I'm going meet him halfway and beat him up!"
Mest thought that idea more insane than thinking something about that. "You take on August, you can't beat on your own!"
Lucy didn't hesitate to agree with Natsu and neither did Happy. "I'll go with you."
"Aye, me too!"
Makarov was obviously against this action since August was an opponent that they shouldn't take lightly. "Hmm...I don't know."
Natsu was pissed off and gave a nasty glare at the master. "You want me to just stand around and wait for him! What's the point if we're going to fight him anyway?!"
Makarov glared back at the fire dragon slayer since it seemed he was underestimating their enemy. "If we're going to fight the strongest of the Twelve, then, we'll have to be ready!"
Brook was sipping tea. "I can see he's just as reckless as Luffy." He started to compare his captain and Natsu's antics.
"He's not the strongest." Everyone heard the clacking of heels and turned to see Brandish out and about among them. "To be more accurate, he's only one of the strongest."
"Whoa, she's one of the Spriggan Twelve!" Romeo pointed out.
Naturally, Mest freaked out due to the fact the enemy was out and didn't have the magic seel handcuffs on her, which lead to a question of his own. "Why is she out of her cell?" Akame was quick to grab Murasame's handle and was ready to strike her down in case Brandish did something.
"Because I let her out."
Mest turned to Natsu and was surprised that he did that in the first place. "Say what!?"
Natsu's reason for letting Brandish out was a pretty simple one to him. "She's been pretty cool, you know?" That wasn't a good reason.
Usagi was cautious around Brandish, though, he saw she wasn't a threat at least for the time being. "I don't see the problem..." Everyone else looked at the rabbit mink. "She's helped Natsu's condition, so, I don't see anything wrong with her being here." Natsu smiled brightly at the rabbit's support.
Lucy was curious about Brandish's words and was having a hard time believing that were someone stronger than August. "So, you're saying someone in the Spriggan Twelve is just as strong as August?"
"Yes, hardly the others in the Twelve can compare to him," Brandish replied. "but, there's one that rivals or rather exceeds his magic power. You can say if he's the strongest man then she's the strongest woman..."
Akame felt a slight chill going down her spine at the mere thought of another person as powerful as August with what she'd heard of him. "This person must be one of the three Shields the master hadn't met back in Alvarez."
Brook shivered comically. "Oh no...a stronger wizard than August...this chills my very flesh...oh wait...I don't have any flesh anyway...yohohohohoh!"
Brandish narrowed her eyes at the skeleton, which the skeleton noticed. "Uhh...someone wrong, ma'am?"
In the guild's library.
Robin has finished the book she was reading. "This explains much more than I thought..." She looked quite uneasy but confused at the same time. "To think, he would write something like this book...which is a diary, but, why was brought...no...more like who brought it here." She closed the book and placed it in her bag. "I suppose I should discuss it with the master or someone in the guild." She had second thoughts on that. "No...the others have dealing with pressing matters, when the time comes, I'll share this information.
B
Up in the frigid north, a woman overlooked the battle that was currently ongoing while holding a large staff. Despite wearing a risque version of a witch's outfit, a large hat, and all, she didn't seem bothered by the cold weather at all. Her most defining feature of all was her dark scarlet hair that was put up in four thick braids, two in the front and two back.
Spriggan Twelve member, The Scarlet Despair: Irene Belserion
At the Hargeon, on the southern coast of Fiore
Erza woke up in a bed to see Kagura sitting in front of her bed. Gray, Juvia, Wendy, and Carla along with the Mermaid Heel wizards were there. "Kagura..."
Kagura smiled. "You're awake now." She then saw Erza starting to sit up. "Wait, to get up, you need rest." A voice insisted which belonged to Chopper. "As a doctor, I have to insist you must get bed rest."
"He's right, your wounds were serious, so it might take a lot of time for you to heal." Wendy agreed.
"Don't worry, not much scaring is on you," Carla added. "Also, thanks to Cheila and Wendy as well, they made sure that you and the others will be okay."
Leone entered the door. "Geez, all of you look like crap." The mood was disturbed by the former assassin. "But, I can't say I'm any better either."
"Gray...your clothes..." Juvia squealed bashfully.
"Yours too," Carla sighed.
Erza then noticed Leone's left arm. "Leone, your arm!" She panicked.
"Oh, this, don't worry, it'll heal up, though, I'll need someone to stitch it," Leone laughed casually as she showed her missing arm.
Millianna freaked out at what she was seeing. "Eek!"
Chopper's eyes popped out comically. "Whaa! Leone, your arm!"
"Whoa, whoa, it's fine, all I need is someone to stitch my arm together," Leone said as she was glancing at Arana. "I suppose this is where I can come in?"
Leone nodded and looked at Millianna. "Anyway, can you hold this for a while?"
Chopper was confused at something else he noticed. "Leone, how come your arm is bleeding?"
Leone grinned. "Glad you asked, my Imperial Arms has a Trump Card called Regenerator. If my arm's reattached, it'll do the rest and heal up quickly. On top of that, I did lose one of my arms, all I have to do is have my muscles constrict so I don't bleed out, in other words if I didn't have Lionel I'd be dead for sure."
Chopper's eyes were filled with stars. "Regeneration and constricting your muscles, so cool!"
"That's not the word I would use," Millianna and Gray sweatdropped.
Millianna was closing her eyes while trying to get hold of Leone's arm. Thankfully, Kagura came to her rescue and picked up the arm in her place much to her relief. "Let me do this." Millianna nodded at the other girl and moved back while Kagura grabbed the severed arm with no hesitation. It was still a strange sensation to her for holding a severed limb. She began to wonder how Leone lost her arm though she began to think that it probably had something to do with Neinhart's magic power and it was that case, the enemy that Leone must've fought was strong enough to sever her arm.
Arana used her magic and Chopper was doing the stitching. "Don't move..."
Erza recalled the battle. "What's going on with the battle now?"
Gray smirked. "We were able to liberate Hargeon and take back the port. Also, other soldiers are hanging around but Jellal and his team are taking care of the rest."
Erza was relieved to hear that but suddenly remembered the other Straw Hat pirates. "Chopper, where are the other crew members of yours?"
"Franky is gathering some cola in the shops nearby," Chopper replied. "Usopp is on the lookout with Nami. Sanji is preparing a meal for us even for the others."
Erza was relieved again but remembered some others that weren't around. "Where's Jula, Thorn, Pango, Angela, and Tigress?"
"Oh, Jula gathered some fish from the port and is giving them to Sanji for his cooking," Wendy answered. "Thorn is trying to improve more of his magic power."
"Angela is taking a walk. Pango and Tigress are resting for the time being," Carla added. "Luffy is just goofing around rather he's asleep, but, not before he ate his entire plate of chicken."
Erza should've expected that answer, but she remembered someone else again. "Where's Cheila?"
Wendy decided to answer that. "She's back with Lyon and their teammates are the base camp offering support."
Kagura nodded. "Yes, the rest of Mermaid Heel shall assist here for the time being as well." She then suddenly remembered her giving her former archenemy Jellal CPR and felt utterly embarrassed. "Erza..." She got the scarlet wizard to look at her and lowered her head. "This...is awkward...I hope you'll forgive me."
The scarlet wizard didn't quite understand what her friend was saying. "What are you talking about?" The other girl didn't give her an answer instead she cupped the other swordswoman's cheeks and surprisingly yet shockingly kissed her lips causing both girls to blush slightly.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!" Gray, Juvia, Wendy, Carla, Chopper, and the mermaid heel wizards exclaimed in shock with gaping mouths while witnessing this unexpected scene.
Kagura pulled herself away looking utterly embarrassed. "That was my apology..."
Erza just stared at the other girl in silence and confusion.
BOOOOMMMMM
The ground was shaking violently causing the room to shake too.
"What the heck was that?" Gray yelled in shock.
"Sounded like an earthquake..." Kagura dismissed that guess away. "Scratch that, it sounded like a bomb went off."
A transponder snail was going off and Chopper went to answer it. "Hey, anyone there, this is Tony Tony Chopper!"
"Hey, two powerful enemies have just arrived at the battlefield and are overpowering our men!" The voice belonged to Yuka.
Everyone was suddenly on edge. "Two powerful enemies, is it more of the Spriggan Twelve!?" Chopper asked.
"That's the thing, they aren't human, they're monsters!" Yuka replied. "I think it's Tartaros, they arrived, but only two are present!"
Boom Boom Boom
Sounds of explosions were heard and they seemed to close to wherever Yuka was. "Crap, about 24 percent of our army has fallen! Chopper, alert, sent in reinforcements or anything on the double!"
Gray gritted his teeth. "Damn, we won the battle, and now this!"
Juvia was incredibly worried than ever. "The battle was in our victory and now..."
Arana and Millianna stood up immediately. "Millianna, let's go!"
"Right!"
"Hold on!" The two Mermaid Heel wizards along with everyone else saw Erza starting to get out of bed. "You can't battle them on your own!"
"Erza, you need rest, remember?" Chopper reminded.
"He's right, you and the others also need to return to your guild, we can handle things there," Kagura assured.
Erza wouldn't listen to reason. "Kagura, I know that you guys are strong, but, Tartaros isn't an enemy to be taken lightly, I'm sure you heard of our battle against them about a year ago."
"You haven't recovered yet, any more rash actions will hurt your body even more!" Chopper yelled. "As a doctor, I insist you and the others leave without getting into any more fights for the time being!"
Sanji barraged in. "You guys, Tartaros have arrived and are causing major damage to our army!"
Erza stood on her feet. "We know, Lyon's friend Yuka just called and it sounds like things are getting worse."
"Erza, you need to rest!" Juvia blocked the scarlet wizard's way.
Gray stood from his seat. "Enough, we must get rid of those Demon bastards once we do, we'll return to Fairy Tail."
"Stop..." To everyone's surprise, there was Luffy.
"Luffy, when did you get here?" Wendy asked curiously.
Luffy ignored the sky dragon slayer. "I heard that two demons are here, well, my crew and I will take of them,"
Erza appreciated the helpfulness, but, she wasn't backing down. "We appreciate your helpfulness, but, those monsters are hurting our allies, we can't just abandon-."
Unexpectedly, Luffy headbutted Erza's forehead causing her to fall on her bed.
"Hey Luffy, what was that for?" Sanji shouted angrily.
Everyone else was shocked but a few were angry.
Kagura glared at the Straw Hat pirate. "Luffy, you idiot, she's injured, how could you-" She instantly stopped as she saw a serious look on the rubber boy's face.
"Listen, you guys have to return to the guild, the others will surely need help, not to mention that Brook and Robin are still there, they'll need help too. So, return to Fairy Tail." Luffy stated his serious look wasn't leaving his face. "Once we defeat them, we'll catch up with you guys as soon as we can."
Erza eventually calmed down and could see that Luffy wasn't going to budge from his decision as she rubbed her forehead. "Stubborn one aren't you..." She then smiled. "But, I admit you're right..." She stood up and looked at Chopper.
"Dr. Chopper, I want you to take care of the ones that are still resting here, I would like to leave you a note to the others that are remaining for a while and once they awake and whenever they're ready, have them meet the rest of us at Fairy Tail!"
Chopper's lips curled up and he began to do his happy dance. "Calling me Dr. Chopper won't make me happy you big jerk."
"Erza..." There was Jula along with Thorn and Angela who all just arrived in the room. "We have a request." Erza and the others were puzzled.
In a quieter place Hargeon, Chelia, and Lyon heard the explosion.
"What was that explosion?" Lyon asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine!" Chelia yelled quite shaken up.
A Lamia Scale guild member approached the ice mage and god Slayer. "Lyon, we got trouble back on the battlefield!"
In another part of town, two guild members were guarding a jail cell. Within that jail cell was Dimaria tied up to a chair and handcuffed via behind magic-sealing handcuffs. Her outfit was badly damaged and thus covered in bruises from head to toe after the beating she got from Monkey D. Luffy and ultimately lost. In this situation, she couldn't help but remember the conversation she had with Wall about her comrade being defeated and getting captured. She was panting heavily. "They captured her...talk about the hassle, it's almost pitiful to joke about..." How ironic she made of her friend's capture and now she's facing the same thing. Dimaria was experiencing it for herself, her body shivered in fear and tears started to roll down her cheeks. If this was how their enemies will treat her she began to wonder what awaits Brandish. "Randi..."
Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by a loud explosion and she lifted her head. "Is that reinforcements..." She sensed something sinister and it didn't feel good. "No...something else..evil...is here...but...what?"
Another guild member yelled came to the two other guild members. "Guys, we got a problem, Tartaros is here!"
"Huh? Tartaros is back at this time!?"
"Why would they appear here now!?"
"I don't know, but, keep an eye on the prisoner, Lyon informed me of the situation, he and Chelia are on their way to the location!"
"Alright, but, what about the prisoner?" The other guild member ran off leaving the two to guard the prisoner as he glanced at the two. "Lyon wants you guys to keep an eye on her, guard her at all costs while we'll make sure that the demons don't invade the town!"
"Right!"
Dimaria overheard her enemy's conversation. "Tartaros...is...here...Zeref's toys have arrived...things...just...got...dire..." She gave a fake chuckle. "Though, if those morons get killed by those demons no doubt, they'll bring chaos to the town, which I'll use to escape when I see a chance."
M
Lyon and Chelia arrived at the battlefield. Most of the allied forces were wiped out while others were laid on the field unconscious.
"Damn, those monsters are here now!?" Lyon cursed glaring at the scenery.
Jackal was cackling menacingly. "Hahahahaha! Can't you pathetic fools put more of a fight!?"
Syka was at another part of the battlefield and she looked at the bodies of poisoned wizards laying helplessly. "Slurp...such pathetic humans...I was hoping the other wizard guilds would put up more of a fight."
Jellal confronted Jackal. "You!" The demon jackal looked to see the former criminal wizard standing before him. "Enough of this insanity, leave them alone, and fight me!"
Jackal leered but then his eyes made a realization expression. "Huh...wait, I know you, Jellal, the bastard that tore the magic council from the inside!" He began to cackle amusingly. "I see those magic council bastards couldn't keep you locked up! Oh wait, I forgot I blew them to hell!"
"Enough!" Jellal created nine lightning-base swords and send them directly to the demon.
Jackal was struck by the heavenly body's magic swords which caused him to skid away about several feet away. "That's not bad..." He smirked devilishly at the former magic council member. "My turn! Exploding Spiral!" He moved one arm backward and consequently swung his other arm forward, swiping it in the direction of Jellal creating a large explosion in the form of a spiral that covered the large area which also caught some other wizards in the attack.
Jellal was sent across the ground. "Damn...that...was powerful." He got up but he saw the countless wizard that fell unconscious. "Damn!"
"See ya in hell, Jellal the murderer!" Jackal cruelly stated with a maniacal smile attempting to use the same move to finish off his opponent.
"Exploding Star!" Something was fired directly at Jackal's head and exploded.
Jellal was confused about who shot at demon Jackal and he glanced behind him seeing Usopp, Nami, Jula, Sanji, Thorn, and Cheila.
"You alright!?" Nami asked.
"Talk about a nick of timing, thanks," Jellal replied softly hinting at relief.
"I'm ready as usual..." Usopp boasted although his legs were shaking out of fear.
"Are you sure?" Sanji asked sarcastically.
"Anyway, what's the status now?" Thorn asked.
"That demon Jackal has already taken out most of our people, almost, everyone has lost consciousness," Jellal explained. "At this rate, he and the second demon are going to make it through the city, not to mention there are still Alvarez soldiers still lurking around."
Considering the detail that was given, Nami had a suggestion. "Jellal, I have a plan." She took a deep breath and got in front of the others. "Listen up, you, Sanji, and Usopp will be with me,"
Sanji was swooning. "Oh Nami, I'll be sure to protect you!"
"Focus!" Usopp comically snapped dope slapping the cook's shoulder and he looked back at the navigator. "Anyway, Nami, you were saying."
"Jula and Thorn will assist Jellal and take down the demon dog!" The two Fishmen islanders nodded in response. Nami then looked at Angela. "Angela, you and the rest of Mermaid Heel will get those that are injured, if any Alvarez soldiers are coming your way, fight back then resume your task!"
Angela along with Mermaid Heel nodded as Nami continued. "As for my team, we'll keep the enemy soldiers distracted while rest of you guys rescue the team, anyone else that can still fight shall assist us!"
To Jellal, that sounded like a plan, though, he had one question. "Where is Lyon and his team?"
Chelia opted to answer the former council member's question. "Lyon went to assist to take the demon dog as for me, I will be taking on the second demon.
Nami nodded. "Alright, let's review the plan, Angela and Mermaid will rescue any wounded while my team fight off the enemy soldiers, those that can still fight either rescue the wounded or help fight the enemies nearby. Lyon's taking on the demon dog and Cheila will be taking care of the second demon, is that understood?!"
Everyone roared while throw their arms in the air. "Yes ma'am!"
Jellal then realized someone wasn't in the group. "Where's Luffy?"
Nami twitched as she could almost face fault. "That idiot, did he run off without getting any of the info?"
Meredy was using her magic swords against the Syka. "Take that!"
Syka just giggled with a calm expression. "Shiny swords, how cute, but nice try." She spread out her arms apart as venom was starting to surround her from beneath. "Venom Road!" She was covered in the venom liquid and the magic sword melted away.
Meredy was taken aback at the fate of her swords. "Oh no!" Syka was coming close to her knowing if that venom made contact she would be doomed. "Third Gear: Giant Pistol!" Soon a large hand made an impact with the demon scorpion thus sending her crashing hard into the ground.
Meredy was relieved but also surprised at how strong the pirate boy was. "That's Monkey D. Luffy, he's the guy that defeated one of the Spriggan Twelve." She snapped out of her thought as soon as she realized his hand was covered in venom and her eyes widened with great terror. "Luffy, you're poisoned!"
The Straw Hat pirate turned to the Crime Socrere and saw the venom liquid on his hand that he used to punch the demon. "Oh, this is poison..." He said casually.
Meredy just face-faulted for a second. "Don't you get it, you need to be" She halted as she saw Luffy wipe off the venom liquid casually with his other hand. "That's better."
"Better, you just got poisoned, we need to get you-" She once again halted her words as she saw Luffy wasn't affected by the venom. "Wait, how come you're not poisoned? My venom is supposed to cause paralysis to my enemy's body plus it affects the victim's internal organs!
Luffy was happy to answer that. "Oh, I was poisoned a while back by a venom guy from my world. He was tough that I almost couldn't punch him let alone touch him." He confidently grinned. "Anyway, don't worry about me, let's just kick this curly horn girl's butt."
Chelia didn't understand much but she smiled in return. "Right."
Syka didn't take Luffy's comment well. "Curly horn girl!?" She comically snapped with shark teeth. "First off, my horn is a curve not curly and my name is Syka, the Demon Scorpion!"
Lyon then just arrived and was approaching them. "You guys alright?" Luffy and Chelia turned to see the other ice mage. "Oh, you're that other ice wizard, Peon, right?"
Lyon face-faulted at Straw Hat pirate's pronunciation. "Idiot, my name is Lyon, not Peon!" Chelia couldn't help but snicker though she turned away so her guildmate wouldn't see. "Something funny, Chelia?"
That made the god slayer freeze as drops of sweat dripped from her head. "Oh no, I'm okay, I'm just hungry."
Syka growled in annoyance. "Hey, don't ignore me, you dumb humans!" She swung her arms comically like a child. "Venom Shock!" Venom liquid surrounded her and was sent in every direction.
"Ice-Make: Ice Wall!" Lyon created a massive wall of ice protecting the others including himself from the purple liquid.
"Sky God's Boreas!" She sent a black whirlwind at the demon scorpion.
Syka defended herself by covering herself with her arms as she felt her feet slightly skidding against the ground. "Quite the strength you got for humans."
Lyon glanced at Meredy. "Meredy, right, go and assist everyone that is injured, we'll handle things from here!" Meredy was unsure about this. "Are you sure about-"
"He gave you an order!" Luffy interrupted. "Go and help our friends, they need your help!"
Meredy was stunned by the Straw Hat's outburst, but, as soon as she saw the serious look on his face, she quickly didn't argue any further. "Alright, be careful you guys!"
In another part of the area
Usopp and Nami gathered as many wounded wizards. "These guys look banged up!"
"No kidding, they're even worse shape than I was."
Mermaid Heel Arane, Beth, and Risely assisted and found several that were injured but found ones that were still able to stand.
"It's Kagura, what's going on?"
"Yeah, why is Tartaros here!?"
Kagura looked at the two wizards that spoke to her. "I don't know, however, I have a request, so, listen up!" All remaining standing wizards looked at the other swordswoman's direction. "EVERYONE THAT CAN STILL WALK GATHER AND TAKE THE INJURED BACK TO TOWN AND REMAIN THERE UNTIL TARTAROS IS GONE, MERMAID HEEL WILL GIVE THE SIGNAL ONCE THAT'S DONE!"
"What about you, Miss Kagura?" A wizard asked.
"I'll stay and remain here to fight against the Alvarez that's still here, for now, start the task I gave you right away!" She replied to the wizard.
Understanding the order, the wizard along with other mages roared and acknowledged the order they were given and helped any injured wizards they found.
Franky arrived with the Brachiosaurus tank. "Hey, girlie, I brought the tank so we can carry more injured!"
Kagura ignored the name the cyborg man gave her. "Good, have Usopp drive that once he gets there and have him bring the tank to the town to drop off the wounded. Then bring the tank back to help us fight!"
"My thoughts exactly!" Franky replied with a huge grin.
Usopp looked through the scope. "Uh oh...guys, we got company!" He pointed ahead seeing more Alvarez soldiers charging at them.
"Let's give them a good ass kicking!" Franky declared.
"Right!" Usopp fired a cannonball at the soldiers blowing some away.
Just then more soldiers were charging at them. "Kill those freaks!"
"That wasn't nice, calling us freaks," Franky pouted but he grinned. "Whatever, bring it on you punks!"
Meredy jumped in front of the soldiers. "Take this! Maguilty Rays!" She sent yellow blades of light at the soldiers striking them down. "Are you guys doing okay-" She immediately stopped as she saw starstruck expressions on Franky and Usopp's faces. "That was so cool!"
"Yeah, you know how to kick major butt!"
Meredy was bewildered at the sudden praise. "Uhh...thanks."
Jellal, Jula, and Thorn were facing Jackal.
"So, the former criminal that destroyed the magic council is here with sea creatures," Jackal taunted cruelly. "I look forward to killing you and your friends!"
Jula summoned out her eight swords. "Enough!" She glared at the demon. "Let's end this destruction that you're causing!"
Jackal gave a sly grin. "Wrong, I'll be sending you and your friends!" He flicked his arm down vertically. Detonating a series of explosions toward the three wizards.
They dodged the explosions but barely as they fell on their stomachs.
"That was close," Thorn breathed as his legs began to transform into fish-like humanoid web feet. "Seahorse Merman Style: Bubblebeam!" He blew out clear clean bubbles.
Jackal just cackled amusingly. "Bubbles, you must be joking!" He threw multiple swipes of the air toward the seahorse merman.
Thorn vanished in a split second and took hold of his trident plus summoning water from beneath the ground. "Seahorse Merman Style: Water Trident!" Water covered the three spikes of the trident. "Water Slash!" He quickly slashed Jackal's chest leaving a three-mark on his chest. "Gaahhhhh!"
Jackal was seemingly in pain as he took several steps back while holding his chest.
"How do you like that?" Thorn asked with a chuckle.
Jackal smirked in return. "I admit that attack was something, but, you should be careful what you use to touch me with." He pointed at Thorn's trident and saw it was glowing. "Oh no!"
Jula got worried. "Thorn, toss it away quickly!"
Thorn threw his weapon aside but it quickly blew up though, the explosion was minor, but it was still strong enough to send him flying away.
"Eight Sword Squid Style: Water Sword Twister!" She held her swords high in the air as she began to spin them around faster and faster summoning out a water that formed into a twister and went straight toward to demon.
Jackal was too slow to react in time and was surrounded by the twister and while he was in it, he felt different parts of his body being cut. "What kind of crazy attack is this?" He continued to feel his body being cut again and again. He swung his hand down causing an explosion and destroying the twister.
"He destroyed the twister!" Jellal exclaimed.
"Yeah, but, he seems to have taken damage," Jula added. "Though, it's clear we can't touch him without getting blown up ourselves."
Thorn slowly got up as Jellal and Jula noticed him. "That bastard is strong, no wonder Natsu struggled against that guy, but, he was able to get the upper hand after figuring out his power." He picked up his trident. "Time to get more serious." He began to transform again. "Transformation: Human Form."
Jula and Jellal were in awe at what they just saw. "He's..."
"Human...now..."
Thorn was in human form, he had his own hairstyle. However, he was about the same height as Natsu. He wore his overalls. He had a slim figure and some firm muscles. "That's not all!" He gathered sand from his right hand. "Sand Wave!" Then he sent the attack towards Jackal. "This is my Mimic Magic and I was able to use mimic Max's magic power."
Jackal swung his hand down once more and blocked the attack using an explosion. "Like that would work on me, loser!"
Jula then began her clothes. "Requip: Flame Samurai Cloth!" She wore her samurai outfit. "Now take this...Eight Sword Squid Style Magic Combination: Eight Sword Flaming Ground Slash!" She slammed her swords and out came eight flaming slashes burning across and towards Jackal. He was about to blow away the flames but he couldn't react in time and was scorched by the flames and feeling intense heat and damage through his entire body.
As soon as the flames disappeared Jackal knelt down panting heavily. "That was quite effective...But...I ain't...done..." He stood up and grinned devilishly.
B
At Fairy Tail's guild hall. Makarov was grateful that Brandish was willing to work with them. "So, you decided to cooperate with us and share what you know, right?"
It wasn't that simple for Brandish as she still had priorities. "Don't get the wrong idea, this is just only one time, I'm still loyal to Alvarez." She turned to look at Lucy. "But, I owe Lucy a debate."
Happy was puzzled as he looked at Lucy. "Lucy, what did you do for her?" Lucy was a bit puzzled as she put her finger on her cheek trying to recall what she did. "I..."
Brandish looked at the rest of the guild. "Here's the deal, I'm willing to negotiate with August on your behalf." Everyone wasn't expecting that while some were surprised and Natsu was a little confused. "Tell us."
"There isn't any wizard that would have a snowball chance in hell against Auguest in battle, except for Irene that is," Brandish explained. "Back in Alvarez August is known as the Calamity while Irene is called the Scarlet Despair."
Robin was quite intrigued with the details so far. "So, someone like this Irene can fight against this August person."
Brandish continued on. "I don't have a relationship with Irene, so, I can help you with that, but, I've known August since I was a little girl...no promises but, I could talk him out an attack."
Almost everyone in the guild was elated to hear that. If things went that way, they wouldn't have to fight August. Even Makarov was impressed by the offer. "Oh, thank you, that's helpful."
Brook had to admit he was on with that. "Yohohohoh...such an amazing offer!"
Robin was a little unsure but she had no reason to doubt her.
Mest was part of the minority as he had strong doubts about this offer. "Master, she can't be trusted, she's only doing this to get away!"
Akame would agree with that but for a different reason. "Is it really possible for her to talk to August out of the attack? Can it be really that easy?" The assassin part of Akame didn't want to believe it was true. If an enemy was a threat, they had to be dealt with no matter what. However, August was no normal enemy from what she'd heard of him. If she were to face August, there would be no doubt she wouldn't even get close to him with Murasame. But, her sensible part wanted to believe such a tactic can work. She keeps reminding herself that she's in Earthland where there is always another way to deal with the enemy if the chance provided it. This conflict within her made Akame feel very uneasy.
Whatever the case, Brandish didn't care about what their thoughts were of her. "You can believe it or not, that's totally your call." She received intense glares from Mest, Natsu, and Akame.
Lucy didn't see any harm in giving Brandish''s offer a chance. "I believe her."
Mest turned to the blonde not believing she bought Brandish's story. "C'mon Lucy."
Usagi was on the same boat as Akame and Mest, but, this was a chance that was given only once a time in a life. "To be fair..." Everyone looked at Usagi, who had an understanding look. "I think this idea might be dangerous but, one like this doesn't happen too often, so, I say we shouldn't reject her offer." Lucy smiled at the rabbit mink.
For Natsu, that's all he needed to hear, and grinned. He raised his right hand up. "That settles it. I'm going to get that old dude's butt!
And Lucy Karate chopped the back of Natsu's head and was rightfully pissed at what he said. "PAY ATTENTION FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE!"
Mest then glanced at Akame and walked over to her. "Akame, do you have a moment?" The assassin was confused but then she went over to have a private talk with the former council member.
Robin caught of glimpse of Mest secretly escorting Akame away. "Brook, follow me." Brook was puzzled but he went along with his crewmate anyway. Usagi also suspected something and he looked at Makarov's direction.
He then walked over to the old man. "Master Makarov...I would like to request to go along with Team Natsu, just in case something were to go wrong."
The eighth master was taken aback by this request but he did secretly worry about his children's safety. "Very well, be careful."
Usagi bowed and walked to meet up with Natsu's team.
Back at the battlefield.
Luffy, Cheila, and Lyon continued their fight against Syka.
Luffy pulled back his arm which stretched. "Gum-Gum Pistol!" He threw his punch.
Syka clenched her hand into a fist gathering purple energy. "Venom Fist!" She threw her own punch at the rubber boy. Their fists collided with each other not even flinching nor signs of pulling back. Their punches were so strong that the force unleashed strong shockwaves throughout the area.
The two enemies jumped back from each other and landed on the ground.
Lyon slammed his fist into his other hand a cold win erupted from him. He then put out his hand. "Ice-Make: Snow Dragon!"
"Wow, an ice dragon!" Luffy cried in amazement with stars in his eyes.
The dragon suddenly charged at the demon scorpion. "Venom Stinger! Five Point Piercer!" She unleashed a penetrating attack with purple-like stingers which were going straight at another ice mage. Lyon saw this coming and did his stance once more. "Ice-Make: Snow Tiger and Snow Ape!" The two ice-like animals charged while roaring as well. Both beasts rushed through the purple-like stingers. They were soon getting penetrating in some parts of their bodies but they kept going forward and smashed against Syka's body and were sent flying in the air.
"My turn!" Chelia declared as she took a deep breath. "Sky God's Bellow!" She let out her own breath attack at the demon which got her caught inside burning her body intensely.
Syka was laying down on her stomach for a second. "Is this demon that strong?" Lyon asked.
Chelia was worried about that question. "Careful Lyon, don't let your guard down."
Luffy didn't say a word as he stared at the seemingly unconscious demon.
Jellal, Jula, and Thorn continued their fight against the Demon Jackal.
"It's time I get a little serious!" Jackal cackled.
Thorn reverted to his seahorse merman form and summoned out water again. "So shall we!" He placed his hands in the water. "Seahorse Merman Style Magic Combination: Ultramarine!" He hurled forward a mighty, extremely large torrent at Jackal.
Jackal moved one arm backward with the hand open and rapidly brought it back before him with a now-closed palm. "Exploding Spiral!" Jackal engulfed the area in front of him into a massive explosion that collided with the ultramarine technique.
The attacks collided giving off intense power. Neither attack was given an inch. their user was determined to win and push each other.
Jackal decided to try something sneaky and then a strange circle of light appeared beneath Thorn. "What the heck?" Thorn wondered as the circle glowed brightly and brighter.
The bright light then exploded on him.
"Thorn!" Jula screamed in fear.
Jellal's eyes widened with shock.
Once the smoke from the explosion cleared away, Thorn was barely standing and breathing heavily. "That attack wasn't fun."
"That was my Landmine Curse, I snuck that move while you transformed," Jackal informed with a devilish grin.
"That's it!" Jula positioned all of her eight swords together in front of her.
"What kind of dumb stance is that?" Jackal laughed mockingly.
"I ain't done!" Jula's swords began to gather blue energy. "Squid Sword Eight Style Water Combination: Pot Stance-Water Torrent!" Her sword's blade gathered blue energy which turned into water and a strong water torrent was fired directly at Jackal with incredible speed.
Jackal was unable to dodge it in time as he was the water torrent slammed into him with strong force.
"Heavenly Body Magic: Jiu Leixing!" Once again, Jellal created nine lightning-based swords and send them simultaneously at Jackal.
The nine lightning-based swords struck him as Jackal dodged the four but was hit by the last five swords which blasted him on the chest causing an explosion cloud of dirt.
Jackal was starting to take damage. "Do you surrender now, if you come along with us, we might spare you?"
Jackal was panting for a moment until he started to cackle with a manic smile on his face. "Hahahahah...do you honestly think I'll surrender to a human like you!?" He then glared at the three. "I'd rather die than surrender, but...I know this time...I'll be the one to take your lives!"
"Then answer me this, why is the meaning of this attack?" Jula asked.
"Yeah, what do you gain from this?" Thorn added also curious himself.
Jackal chuckled like their question was a joke. "Do you think I'll just tell you so easily, how about this, if you beat me, I might tell you, but, if I win, then you get nothing but a painful death!"
"We'll never lose to someone like you!" Jellal declared angrily.
"Such anger, not surprising...people said that you were a monster..." Jackal slowly began to morph into a large, tall monster. He let out a growl as he continued to swell in size and gait. "Then again, SO AM I!"
Syka slowly got up and lift her head while being on all fours as she gave a creepy smile. "I'm impressed that you humans were able to hurt me so much." She then got back on her feet and brushed off the dirt off her arms. "I haven't felt this much pain in quite some time. I think it's time we end this right now."
"Before we continue, what are you and your friend attacking us?" Lyon asked.
Syka scoffed at the question. "Like I would give an answer to a mere human and his little squad of bugs." Lyon, Cheila, and Luffy gave an intense glare at the demon though she didn't flinch a bit. "I think it's time to show what I can do!" Her power exploded.
Syka's body began to glow and started to change in size. Her yelling turned into roaring. Limb by limb they increased in size and became muscular. Two large spikes came out of her forearms. Her legs became hind legs and a large segmented tail with a stinger sprouted out of her back. Syka's face also began to change as her human-like physique became beastly with horizontal slit eyes and razor-sharp fangs. Her hair was undone and gone as another horn appeared on her forehead. Once her transformation was done, Syka towered over the three. "Etherious Form! Demon Scorpion!"
Lyon had widened eyes. "Damn, I heard these Demons have different forms when they go all out, but this is insane."
Cheila couldn't help but feel uneasy. "Talk about scary."
Back at Jellal's team
"Crap, so, this dog bastard can transform into something like that?" Jula questioned.
"Looks like Zeref's demons can do all sorts of tricks," Thorn added.
"ROAWRRR!" Jackal roared a little longer. He then lunged toward his enemies.
Jellal surrounded his body with the cloak of Heavenly Body Magic. "Meteor!" He moved through the air at incredible speed and slammed into the demon's fist blocking it.
"Amazing, he's flying!" Thorn exclaimed with a star in his eyes.
Bonk
Jula slammed a punch on the seahorse merman's head. "Focus Thorn!"
"I won't let a pathetic human like you nor your little friends look down on me!" Jackal declared in a deeply beastly tone.
"I have an idea!" Thorn began to search through his bag.
Jula saw what the seahorse merman was doing and was puzzled at first until his hands took out a pair of handcuffs. "Is that..."
Boom
Jellal was able to push away Jackal's fist causing him to back away a few steps. "I ain't done!" He continued to soar into the air and slammed himself against every inch of Jackal's giant body.
"I'll squash you like a little fly!" Jackal roared deeply as he swat both of his hands but couldn't lay a hit on him due to Jella's speed. "Damn it, hold still!"
Jula began to spin her swords around in front of her. "Eight Sword Squid Style: Water Waltz of the Eight Swords!" Her sword unleashed a water-like vortex that trapped the demon within it and was seemingly getting cut from head to toe.
"ROAR!" Jackal screamed in pain as his body continued to cut again, again, and again.
The vortex eventually vaporized and Jackal was panting heavily. "I ain't...done..."
"Jellal, strike him down before he recovers!" Jula ordered as she was feeling a bit tired herself.
Jellal put one of his hands on top of the other and aimed directly at Jackal. "You shall be judged by the light of the Seven Stars!"
Syka was preparing to go all out. "It's time we end this battle!" She let out a loud bellow-like scream and pointed her arms at her enemies while spikes protruding from her arms glowed purple. "Venom Swarm!" She unleashed multiple stingers from her spikes at the three.
Lyon did his stance and placed his hands in front of him. "Ice-Make: Ice Wall!" The stingers were blocked by the large wall of ice but parts were starting to crack. "Now, strike her with everything you got you two!"
"Alright!" Chelia clasped her hands together forward and looked at her enemy with no hint of mercy in them. "GOD'S SLAYER'S SECRET ART! HEAVENLY GATHERING OF CLOUDS!" The black feathers that surrounded Chelia spiraled in together and struck Syka thus trapping her in the strong wind of black feathers.
"I'm not going to lose to you, I'll kill whoever I can!" Syka roared as she slammed her spikes into the ground which began to shake. Several lights started to come out of the cracks in the ground. "Venom Towers!" Several towers of deep purple light erupted from the ground and headed straight toward the three enemies.
"I won't let you kill anyone of my friends!" Luffy activated his Second Gear and at the speed of light, he appeared right in front of Syka. "What the hell, how did you get in front of me so fast?!"
Luffy ignored the demon girl's question and he pulled back his right arm which stretched. "Armament Hardening!"
His right arm was releasing a stream of flames. "Gum-Gum!" He threw his right arm forward with a determined look on his face. "Red Hawk!" He delivered the flaming punch right into Syka's chest with incredible force that caused a fiery explosion that went through her chest to her back. Syka coughed out blood as her eyes began to roll back.
"I ain't done! Now Third Gear" Luffy pulled his other arm and corked his mouth with his thumb and bit into the thumb joint then he began to blow hard into his bones inflating his arm until was as big as a giant's arm. "Armament Hardening!" His right left hand was enhanced by metallic.
"Gum-Gum Elephant Gun!" He launched his attack at the demon which slammed into her entire body. The attack was so destructive that she was sent flying away so far away that she vanished into the nearby mountains.
Jackal was laying down on his stomach unable to stand up and he felt a strange sensation and snickered weakly. "So...Syka...kicks the bucket...guess she should've teamed up with me...no matter...I'll avenge her...and with Hell's Core back, she'll return...as well I..." Golden pillars of light began to erupt from every angle of the area. Drumming suddenly blared in those that were still around.
Nearby, Chopper was hearing that mysterious drumming. "Guys, I heard drums."
"Drums, who can be playing drums in..." Usopp abruptly stopped as he saw the pillar of lights. "What's going over there?"
"Never mind that, get the injured out of here, right away!" Nami yelled.
"What's going on?" Lyon asked.
"I get beaten by that fireball, blonde, and the ice stripper bastard...and now a former council member, a squid woman, and a pirate runt defeat me." Jackal continued with a weak tone. "At least...I can..take you down with me."
"Wait, what about our agreement of you telling us what is the meaning behind your attacks?" Jellal yelled angrily.
Jackal had a maniac grin on his face. "Doesn't matter even if I did tell you or not those that are still close by will be blown away!" He began to laugh loudly like a maniac. "SEE YOU ALL LOSERS IN HELL!"
"Not if I can help it!" Thorn was back in his merman form and floating towards Jackal and holding a pair of handcuffs.
Jellal was puzzled at what the seahorse merman was trying to do. "Are those magic seal handcuffs, but, that won't work on him!"
Thorn didn't reply instead he took hold of Jackal's right wrist and the other handcuffing them together in the handcuffs. "Dumbass, magic seal cuffs won't affect me!" However, his laughter is instantly replaced with confusion and shock as he noticed the golden pillars of light were fading away. "Hold on, what's going on, what the hell happened to my final explosion!"
Thorn sighed in relief. "It worked!"
Jula jumped for joy. "Alright, the sea prison stone handcuffs worked!"
Jellal didn't understand what the two were talking about. "Wait, what kind of handcuffs are those?" Thorn didn't see any problems with that neither did Jula. "We'll explain on the way, let's take this guy as a prisoner now."
Jellal nodded in return.
B
At Taratros guild
Lamy was in the lab and saw Syka appear in one of the containers. "Syka...poor thing..." She cried as she wiped her eyes. "Fairy Tail has defeated you, but no matter you'll be back in no time." She noticed someone else didn't appear. "Jackal, where is he?"
Syka noticed that too. "Jackal's not here, did he win?"
Mard Geer was in his throne room feeling the sensation of Syka. "Syka lost her fight but she'll be revived by Hell's Core, however, Jackal's presence remains." He wondered what happened to the demon jackal.
The sacred mountain of Zonia, north of Fiore.
Up at the northern Fiore where the frigid wind blew in the night sky, the Scarlet Despair, Irene Belserion was staring at the mountain range and taking in the white landscape. "So this is Zonia, the sacred mountain where the heavenly black and white maidens fought long ago. As the white maiden claimed victory, snow began to blanket the peak and still falls to this day."
Behind Irene were two young girls. One had orange hair put up in short pigtails and wore a white coat with golden border straps and a frilled skirt. She giggled happily at the older woman. "Wow, Lady Irene, I'm impressed that you know so much about the old legends!"
Albareth Empire Irene Divenson Juliet Sun
"Idiot, she was actually from Ishgar, remember?"
Alvarez Empire Irene Divension: Heine Lunasea
Irene turned around and gave Heine a stern look. Juliet gave her comrade a mischievous look at her. "I think you may be an idiot for bringing that up."
Heine realized her mistake and became slightly fearful that she touched a sensitive subject of her master. "Ah, please, forgive me!"
To her relief, Irene smirked at Heine and took that as a sign that she could calm down. "The heavenly black and white maiden reminds me of the two of you!"
Juliet put her arms up with a cheerful look. "I call dibs on black!"
"I'm obviously the black one dummy!" Heine scolded.
Hearing that, Irene thought of another fun question as she gave the two girls a creepy smile. "I wonder if you two battled, which one would emerge as the victory?" her subordinates didn't like the sound of that as they shivered in fear. "I'm joking." Much to the two girl's relief as their master turned away from them.
"The initial conflict between those two maidens began because those two were fighting over a man, a darling tale." Irene continued as she tapped the ground with her stick. "But as lovely as it may be...I can't stand the chill."
Not far from Irene and her division squad, Gajeel, and his team split into three teams. Elfman, Lisanna, and Mirajane were busy fighting the enemy. Jimbei, Zoro, and Aquapad were assisting the three siblings.
Lily, Chelsea, and Levy were busy rescuing the injured Blue Pegasus and Sabertooth guild members. Gajeel managed to rescue Sting and saw how badly hurt he was. "Come on, Sting, wake up!"
Sting groaned in pain and slowly opened his eyes to see Gajeel hunched over him. "Ga...jeel..." The iron dragon slayer was happy to see the other dragon slayer was waking up. "How are the others?"
"Don't worry, they're safe and sound,"
Despite that, Gajeel saw tears forming at the corners of Sting's eyes and saw shame in them too. "What a disgrace, we're weak!"
"Don't beat yourself up, we'll get revenge." Gajeel made sure he'd keep that promise and set Sting back on the ground.
Zoro overheard this as he turned his head to look at the Sabertooth guild master. "That's right, I'll cut these bastards down,"
"Gajeel!" Gajeel turned to Levy and noticed something odd was happening.
"Something's not right," Sting felt the air wasn't cold as it was before.
Gajeel had to agree." You can say that again."
Lisanna, Elfman, and Mirajane noticed what was going on before their eyes.
Aquapad didn't understand what was going on with the weather. "It was cold and now it's warm all of a sudden!"
Chelsea thought this was way weird than being on the Grand Line. "No way..."
And this drastic transformation was caused by Irene herself. Juliet cheered once again at what her superiors had done. "Yay, Lady Irene, you're amazing!"
Heine had to agree and enjoyed the newfound warmth. "It's warm now..."
Honestly, it was a simple task for Irene. Though, she sensed more enemies that just arrived. "It seems we have more guests to deal with. Has everything been prepared, Bloodman, Larcade..."
Not too far from Irene were the two remaining of the Spriggan Twelve, both oversaw the battle near them.
Gajeel and the rest stood around Sting as he propped himself up on a single arm. He placed his other hand on his face with utter shame and disgrace. "Damn it, what do we do, they got those three monsters on their side!" Rogue shared his guild master's feelings about their enemy.
Gajeel gave his traditional grin and laugh, not feeling spooked. "Yeah, well..." He was ready to fight ahead, Elfman, Lisanna, and Mirjane activated their Take-Over Magic. Lily was also ready for the upcoming fight. "They're not only ones with monsters on their side..."
Zoro smirked as he held two of his swords and Jimbei cracked his knuckles while glaring at the enemies. Aquapad grinned while crossing his arms ready to fight. "Because we got ten monsters on our side!"
Levy wasn't so sure about the iron dragon's slayer's comment about all of them. "Whoa, you're counting me?"
Chelsea shared Levy's confusion. "Wait, why am I including in this?!"
With Jackal captured after being cuffed in Sea Prism Stone handcuffs and Syka defeated, things in Hargeon should settle down for a while. Erza's team will eventually return to the guild to assist their friends. Meanwhile, Gajeel's team prepares themselves for their fight.
Review, but, bad reviews even ones that are abusive won't be tolerated, so, anyone that doesn't like my story or chapters, then don't read!
End of chapter.
