Chapter 332: Dante vs Irene
"Is everyone clear on the plan" asked Dante as he turned his attention towards the rest of the team.
"Yes master. The plan is for you to fly towards the castle and cause a distraction so Mest can teleport in and grab Master Markov" responded Erza in her tone reserved for serious situations. Nodding his head, Dante started to speak.
"That's right although don't forget about the part where Mest teleports me away as well once he gets Master Markov. I'm confident that I can cause a distraction and that I can fend for myself for a good while but I don't think I would be able to escape just by myself" responded Dante as he turned his attention towards Mest.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to get you to safety once Markov is secured" responded Mest.
"This sucks! Why do I have to stay here" asked Natsu in an annoyed tone. Turning his attention towards Natsu, Dante started to speak.
"I told you already Natsu. You and everyone else is the backup plan. It's likely that even with this plan we will be followed once Mest teleports us away. It's up to you the others to save the day if that happens" responded Dante hoping that Natsu would behave himself. Just as Natsu was about to protest, Erza spoke up.
"You don't have any issues with the master's plan do you Natsu" asked Erza in an intimidating tone. Nervously shaking his head, Natsu started to speak.
"N-no of course not" responded Natsu hoping that he didn't incur Erza's wrath.
"Master are you sure this is the right plan? What if you can't handle attacking the castle alone" asked Wendy in worried tone. Smiling at Wendy, Dante started to speak.
"You don't need to worry about me Wendy. Remember I knew about the Alvarez Empire during the entire year I was a member of the magic council. For the past year I've trained tirelessly preparing for this day when I would have to face the Alvarez Empire. It may look bad with how Brandish turned out but truth is I was holding back a lot of my power in an effort to conserve magical power" responded Dante in a friendly and warm tone. Seeing that Wendy still had a worried look on her face, Dante smiled at her as he walked up to her and continued to speak.
"Seriously Wendy, I'll be fine. I always come back no matter what happens don't I" asked Dante in a warm tone before he leaned forward and lovingly kissed Wendy on the lips. The kiss was short and sweet, but it helped ease some of Wendy's worries. Leaning back from Wendy's sweet lips, Dante stepped back from her as he spoke to the entire team.
"Alright everyone the operation will start soon. Mest make the jump to the castle once you hear that I started to party" stated Dante with a smile as he used his magic to transform into his Angel Soul Gabriel form. Nodding his head in understanding, Mest watched along with the rest of the team as Dante flew into the sky. With his speed it didn't take long until the castle was in sight and Dante channeled his magical power.
"Storm of Heaven" yelled Dante as multiple beams of holy energy shot out of his body and crashed into the castle. Dante could hear the sounds of soldiers scrambling to position, responding to Dante's attack. Smiling to himself, Dante continued to speak.
"Let's see what the Alvarez Empire can do" stated Dante to himself as he flew into a hole in the castle walls he had just made. Once Dante was in the castle he started to destroy everything in sight. It didn't take long for a large group of soldiers to convene at his location.
"In the name of Emperor Spriggan, you are ordered to surrender" shouted a solider as he pointed his weapon at Dante. Not intimidated by the group of soldiers surrounding him, Dante started to speak.
"Sorry but I don't recognize the authority of your emperor" responded Dante in a confident tone before he charged at the group of soldiers. With his superior strength and speed, it didn't take long for Dante to defeat all of the soldiers. Standing among the knocked out soldiers, Dante started to speak.
"You guys couldn't bother to send someone more powerful to deal with me? I'm insulted that you think so little of wizards from Fiore" stated Dante with a confidant smile. Just as Dante was about to get back to destroying the castle, he heard a voice speak from behind him.
"My apologies for the insult Dante Strauss, God of Isgar" responded a feminine voice. As Dante turned to face his new opponent he looked at a very attractive and mature woman with scarlet hair.
"Are you supposed to be the backup or something" asked Dante in a confident tone. Dante's confidence soon vanished when the woman standing in front of him began to channel her magical power. Immediately the air became thick and heavy with magical power, Dante felt like he was drowning in it. As Dante continued to feel the immense magical power radiating from the woman in front of him, she started to speak to Dante.
"I suppose you can call me the backup, but I prefer if you knew me by my name" responded the mystery woman with a chuckle since she could see the affect her magical power was having on Dante. While she still had Dante's full attention, the mystery woman continued to speak.
"My name is Irene Belserion, the Scarlet Despair" stated Irene in an amused tone. Dante swore at these words, Irene was one of the two people he never wanted to run into. Knowing that he still had to cause a distraction for Mest to rescue Markov, Dante resigned himself to having to face Irene in battle.
"You're Irene huh? I've heard a lot about you but that doesn't change what I have to do" responded Dante as he channeled his magical power. Channeling his magical power, Dante knew that he would have to go all out or he would die easily.
"Banished Angel Soul, Lucifer" stated Dante as he transformed into his Lucifer form. Radiating a huge amount of holy and dark energy, Dante continued to speak.
"It doesn't matter who you are or how powerful you are. I Dante Strauss, a god of Isgar will defeat you" stated Dante in a determined tone despite his fear of facing such a legendary opponent. Irene only had an amused look on her face, not at all scared of the immense magical power that Dante was showing.
"How cute, you really think you can defeat me" asked Irene in an amused tone. Channeling a large portion of his magical power, Dante started to speak.
"Don't underestimate me! For my guild I will defeat anyone" yelled Dante as black hell flames erupted over his hand. Aiming his hand towards Irene, Dante shouted his attack.
"Burn in hell fire! Hellfire Dragon Bomb" yelled Dante as he fired a large plume of hell flames at Irene. As the hell flames rocketed towards Irene, they took the shape of a dragon's head. Irene didn't move from her spot; she simply used her magical power as she started to speak.
"Enchant Barrier" responded Irene as a magical barrier appeared and easily blocked Dante's attack before disappearing. Taken aback by how easily his attack was blocked, Dante started to speak.
"Damn that easily" stated Dante as he tried to think about what he should do next. Dante knew that he didn't actually have to win, he just needed to cause enough of a distraction for Mest to succeed with the rescue operation.
"Is that the best you can do God of Isgar" asked Irene in a mocking tone. Gritting his teeth in anger, Dante started to shout.
"I'm just getting warmed up" yelled Dante in an angry tone. While Dante gained an immense amount of magical power while in his Lucifer form, he still couldn't help the personality change that occurred when he assumed this form. In his Lucifer form Dante was quicker to anger and if he wasn't careful he would gain a sadistic personality. After Dante said these words he flew towards Irene at a blinding speed.
"Hellish Punch" yelled Dante as he aimed a fist charged with holy and dark energy towards Irene. Irene responded by easily parrying Dante's attack with her staff before using it to beat him back. Dante grunted in pain as he was sent tumbling backwards from the counterattack. Using his wings to stop himself, Dante hovered in the air as he started to speak.
"Damn she's physically strong also" stated Dante in a frustrated tone since Irene was able to beat him back by just using her staff. Giving Dante an amused smile, Irene started to speak.
"I've grown bored of our encounter God of Isgar. I hoped that a friend of Erza's could offer me more entertainment, but I suppose I was wrong" stated Irene in an amused tone. Dante was preparing to launch his next attack when Irene's words piqued his curiosity.
"How do you know Erza" shouted Dante. Smiling at Dante, Irene let out an amused chuckle before she started to speak.
"Enchantment, Disappear" responded Irene as a large explosion of magical energy expanded outwards from her body. Feeling the immense and overpowering magical energy being put into the attack, Dante swore to himself as he started to speak.
"Fuck, how strong is she" stated Dante in a worried tone as he tried to think of a way to avoid the attack as it quickly bearded down on him. As Dante was trying to come up with a solution, he could feel that if he was hit with this attack then he would be defeated. Suddenly Mest appeared in the air and touched Dante's shoulder before he used his magic to teleport him away just in time. Now Dante was breathing heavily as he reverted out of his Lucifer form, he was back with the rest of the team.
"Master are you okay" asked Erza in a concerned tone as she saw the state that Dante was in. After taking a moment to steady himself, Dante stood up and started to speak.
"Yah I'm fine, at least physically I am. The opponent I just faced was Irene the Scarlet Despair and her magical power was unreal. I've never felt magical power that strong before, if it wasn't for Mest saving me I would have been finished" responded Dante. Dante's words made the rest of the team worry, if Dante was this scared then Irene was very strong.
"We can't delay here much longer" stated Mest in a tired tone since he was drained of his magical power. Nodding his head, Dante started to speak.
"Yah, I suspect that the enemy will be on us at any moment" responded Dante in a steady tone.
"Just what the hell do you think you kids are doing" asked Markov in an angry tone since he didn't want his children to risk themselves for his sake. Everyone's attention was on Markov as he continued to speak.
"You shouldn't risk your life for me! I was here protecting all of you! All of that is useless if you come here with some half baked plan to rescue me" stated Markov in an angry tone.
"I order all of you to run and forget about me, the enemy will be here soon, and you all need to get to safety" shouted Markov. Dante simply smiled in response to Markov's words as he started to speak.
"Sorry but you don't have any authority over me anymore" responded Dante with a smile. Seeing that he still had Markov's attention, Dante continued to speak.
"Who ever heard of a guild master giving another one an order" asked Dante in a joking tone. Markov gave Dante a surprised look as he started to speak.
"What? Do you mean you finally" asked Markov before Dante cut him off as he started to speak.
"That's right. Looks like you finally got what you wanted" responded Dante in an amused tone before he turned his attention towards the rest of the team and started to shout.
"Alright everyone let's get out of here and go back home! Noone is going to be left behind, that's an order from the Seventh Master of Fairy Tail" shouted Dante with a smile as the rest of the team shouted in agreement. Turning his attention back towards Markov, Dante started to speak.
"Noone gets left behind master; you taught me that" stated Dante with a smile. Smiling back at Dante, Markov felt pride seeing Dante finally taking the reins and embracing being the guild master.
"You brats are really the best family one could wish for" responded Markov while smiling and crying tears of pride and joy.
End of Chapter 332