A/N: Hello, readers! Another chapter is here!
Enjoy!
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: THE PLACE WHERE WE ARE
Explosions went off as Mira and Zack continued getting attacked by Kamika. "Oh, my. I guess you can't put faith in rumors... The Demon, Mirajane. Where's this demon? I don't see any trace of one!" Kamika taunted. "But as long as we're here, I'm going to have a little more fun with you."
Mira and Zack rushed forward. "Confetti! Purple Dance!" Kamika called out as purple paper attacked them both. "Purple paper is the god of binding."
"This color of paper paralyzes you, right?" Mira asked.
"That's right. And the real fun will start once you stop moving." Kamika replied as the red paper turned into flames. "Confetti! Red Dance!"
"This has a fire effect!" Mira noticed.
"The expression of suffering is lovely." Kamika said. "And the miserable sight of you desparately trying to escape in pain, that gives me chills!"
"What are you, a sadist?" Zack insulted. Kamika only laughed in response as the flames around Zack and Mira dispersed.
Kamika held up white paper. "But after heating you up, I'd better cool you off." She claimed. "Confetti! White Dance!"
White paper soon attacked Mira and Zack as they began to freeze. "White paper... That has a freezing effect!" Zack exclaimed.
"Nice expression. You're suffering, aren't you?" Kamika asked, raising a piece of yellow confetti. "But I'm not even close to being satisfied."
"Confetti! Yellow Dance! Yellow paper is the god of thunder."
"An electrical shock effect! But compared to Laxus's power, this is nothing!" Mira claimed.
Kamika held up a piece of green paper. "Oh, how rude. Then I'll give you a taste of true agony." The green paper soon exploded into gas. "Confetti. Green Dance."
Mira and Zack covered their noses so they wouldn't breathe the gas. "This is..."
"Well? Green paper is the god of poison." Kamika explained. "Pain the likes of which you've never experienced should be coursing through your bodies."
"You're definitely trying to kill us!" Zack exclaimed.
"Oh, you're just now figuring that out? That's the fate that's been handed down to all of you criminals. You look like you're in a lot of pain. And yet, you're hanging in there? Is that the S-Class quality? Maybe I'll need more poison." Kamika blew the green paper. "Paper Dance, pile it on!"
Mira held onto her throat, struggling to breathe while Zack collapsed to his knees. "Yes, that's the face! Are you about ready to die?" Kamika questioned.
"Magic isn't a power that's supposed to be used to kill people! But without great power, you can't protect the ones you love." Mira closed her eyes as she concentrated. "That's a contradiction, isn't it?"
"What are you talking about? Has the poison effect put your mind in a haze?" Kamika asked.
Natsu and Akame flew back as Kama had attacked them.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
"Blood Dragon's Roar!"
Both Natsu and Akame released their breath attacks toward Kama, who sliced the flames and red mist in half.
"What? It disappeared!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Indeed. My right sickle cuts off the heads of sinners. My left sickle negates the magic of sinners. No matter how much fire or red mist you cough up, it'll sputter out and become the sigh of a sinner."
"Man, you go on and on. But you can negate magic?" Red mist comes from Akame's fist as he leaps into the air. "In that case, I'll hit ya first!"
Akame charged at Kama with a fist covered in red mist.
Lily and Jim were flying in the air after an attack from Knepper before slamming into a rock. "You're tough ones. The perfect punching bag, kitty-cats!" Knepper exclaimed.
"We're not kitty-cats. We're Exceeds!" Lily exclaimed.
"You lost me. But you must've been a soldier before, huh? That's the vibe I get." Knepper said.
"In that case, what are you gonna do?" Lily asked.
"Seems like you've got an obstinate streak. I'm gonna melt that resolve, too!" Knepper stated.
"Give it your best shot!" Jim challenged as him and Lily charged forward. However, the ground melted beneath them as they flew back once more.
Knepper laughed. "I didn't know cats could fly!" He taunted as Lily and Jim crashed to the ground. "Hey, what's wrong? There's nothing my magic acid can't melt!"
Lily and Jim dug their swords into the ground to support them. "Or there shouldn't be... You're getting up again! It'll totally be worth melting the both of you!" Knepper added.
"When it comes to trash talk, you're second-rate." Lily said.
"Huh?"
"During a battle, the more someone blabs, drunk on their own power, the weaker they actually are." Jim spoke up.
"You're just as long-winded as I am."
"You melt things that either have no will or are weak-willed. In other words, you can only beat things that are weaker than you. Lily and I aren't so weak that we'd lose against someone like that." Jim claimed.
"I like you! And since you put it that way, playtime is over! I'll melt you two in an instant and leave no trace behind!" Knepper said.
Water was rushing past as Happy had a worried look on his face. "Oh, no, Aquarius is here!" He exclaimed.
"'Oh, no'?" Chii quoted.
"I heard that, blue one." Aquarius turned to Happy with a scary look. "Want to be crushed?"
"I'm scared!" Happy said.
"If you're going to cry, then don't make those comments in the first place!" Carla scolded.
"This time, something with dignity has appeared-tai!" Uosuke commented.
"Aquarius, take him down!" Lucy instructed.
"Tch!" Aquarius gritted her teeth as she scoffed.
"Hey, I heard you scoffing! It's been a long time!" Lucy exclaimed in irritation.
"The thing is, I'm in a bad mood right now. I'm going home."
"Wait! Wait!" Lucy called out. "Um, has something maybe happened between you and Scorpio?"
Aquarius turned around with a scary look on her face. "What?!" She exclaimed as Lucy freaked out. Aquarius pressed her forehead against hers as she grabbed onto Lucy's shirt.
"Do you know something about it, little girl?! If you're hiding something from me, I'll make you minced meat out of these boobs!" Aquarius threatened.
"No, listen, I called Scorpio before, but he was acting a little weird. He wouldn't look me in the eye..." Lucy tried to explain.
"Did something happen between you two? Pretty gusty of you..." Aquarius accused.
Lucy was trembling. "I don't think there's anyone who's that wreckless!" She stated.
"Hey, ignoring me in the middle of an execution... ticks me off-tai!" Uosuke thrusted his arms out as water sprouted up and striked down at Aquarius and Lucy.
However, Aquarius sucked the water using her urn. "We're having an important conversation here. Keep your pants on!" She said in annoyance.
"You absorbed the energy of my whirling tide zone-tai?!" Uosuke said in shock.
"It seems Scorpio went on a date with another woman." Aquarius explained.
"Really?!"
"There was a witness... apparently."
"Apparently?" Lucy repeated.
"A Nicola may or may not have seen him walking in the Human World with someone. And Taurus overheard Crux mumbling about it or something." Aquarius stated.
"Why don't you just ask him about it yourself?" Lucy suggested.
Aquarius glanced away sheepishly. "Y-You know I always pretend to be innocent in front of him. I could never ask him that." She responded.
"Then I'll ask him for you." Lucy offered as Aquarius stared her down.
"Wench, this isn't a spectacle! And if you poke your nose where it doesn't belong, I'll kill you seven times over!" Aquarius threatened.
"I got it, I got it!" Lucy said.
"I guess we should stay out of it?" Chii suggested as her, Carla, Bruno, and Happy all sweat dropped.
"Although there is a battle going on..." Bruno added.
"Nothing good can come out of interrupting people when passions are riding high-tai. Although come to think of it, before..." Uosuke trailed off as he recalled what Lucy had said. "I see. So she was able to summon that fish woman because there's water-tai? Then without water, she can't use that Celestial Spirit right-tai?"
"Lucy!" Happy called out. "Look! He's laughing with a weird expression on his face!"
"He's going to do something! Be careful!" Carla warned.
"Topography effect! Boiling water zone!" Uosuke shouted as the water began to warm up.
"What is this? It's hot!" Lucy noticed.
"It's..."
"...a hot spring!"
"Hot! Hot!" Lucy complained, leaping onto the rock.
"Tai! Tai! How's the water temperature-tai? And now, the water will disappear-tai! Prepare yourself-tai!" Uosuke said.
"I-I may be in trouble..." Lucy mumbled.
"Lovely sleep! Lovely nightmare!" Cosmos sang. "Moisture is important for plants, too!"
"Is that a song?" Wendy questioned.
"Yes! I wrote the lyrics and the music..." Cosmos trailed off as she looked at an awakened Wendy who had a green glow around her. "Wait, when did you...?"
"Anomalous Conditions, additional resistance... Re-raise." Wendy spoke as the green glow disappeared from her body.
"How?!"
"Anomalous Conditions Magic doesn't work on me. It's my job to support everyone. But there are times when I have to fight." Wendy said as wind blew away the gas.
"What is this?! A wind... My flowers are scattering!" Cosmos exclaimed.
"I'm going to become a Sky Dragon!"
"No! That's not beautiful!" Cosmos stated as plants sprouted upwards and seeds were firing at Wendy. "Resisting me isn't beautiful. Fooling me isn't lovely! Deceiving me when you look like that... You're guilty as sin!"
"I didn't do anything." Wendy claimed.
"I won't forgive you for this! I don't love you anymore!"
"Love?"
"A loveless criminal should have her limbs scattered in all directions! Spore Bombs, Rinka Renka!" Cosmos shouted as explosions started going off.
Wendy leaped into the air, blowing wind before she was struck by the bombs. "A cruel dance, and when it ends, not even your bones will be left behind." Cosmos claimed.
Natsu and Akame were still fighting Kama. "No matter how many times you release it, you're powerless against me. Your magic just can't reach me." He claimed.
"Fine then! We'll just have to beat the crap outta you with our bare hands!" Akame stated.
"If you come close to me, I'll have your heads."
"When I was a kid, I always used to fight one on one without magic. It's no problem! I can't afford to lose to a loser like you before he and I have it out." Natsu said.
"A wizard from a guild? Certainly, you are strong." Kama admitted. "But only as strong as the sinners who came before you! In the end, they became nameless corpses."
"Is that right? That's music to my ears! My blood is really boiling now!" Akame claimed.
"How...? With that much poison in your body, you should just be waiting to die... You should be screaming in agony with enough pain to drive you mad... How can you be standing?!" Kamika asked in confusion as Mira stopped walking.
"You made just one big mistake. In the tournament stadium or when my friends are nearby... If I think someone is watching me, I put a damper on my power." Mira explained.
Kamika stepped back. "Huh?"
Mira began transforming. "Maybe my diemma comes from that contradiction I noted earlier. When I'm alone, I can draw on 100% of my power." She said.
"What are you...?"
Mira soon began to absorb the poison. "I don't believe it! You're sucking up the poison?!" Kamika said in shock.
Zack carefully stood up. "Zack, are you okay?" Mira questioned.
"I'm fine now. I think I'm well enough to fight." Zack responded.
"That's good to hear."
Zack activated his Dragon Force, gaining scales on his arms and torso, a tail, dragonic eyes, and sharp teeth along with demonic marks around his face and scales as well as slightly pointed ears.
"Take Over and Dragon Force, huh? Appropriately sinister for criminals." Kamika commented as she tossed some purple paper. "But it's nothing if I render you immobile!"
Mira and Zack dodged the paper as the two of them sent a punch towards Kamika, as gray paper blocked it.
"Gray paper is the god of protection!"
"I don't care if you're an executioner or what. The question is, how prepared are you?"
Blue paper soon made a sailboat. "Blue paper is the god of the wind!" Kamika said.
"Excuse me, does God run away from the devil? But more importantly..." Mira opened her wings.
"Y-You can fly?!" Kamika asked in shock.
"We'll ask you one more time." Zack attacked Kamika with a blast of blue light, sending her to the ground. "Where the hell are our friends?"
Multiple explosions went off followed by blue light as Kamika coughed harshly. "Is that the attitude to take when you want something from someone?!" She questioned.
"I'm sure you're prepared, right? Then we'll fight you with everything we've got, and ask again after we've beaten you." Mira claimed.
"Are you a demon?!" Kamika threw a bunch of confetti.
"Yes, I am." Mira countered her attack, destroying the confetti in a bunch of explosions.
Mira soon got trapped in black paper. "Black paper is the god of antidotes! If my enemy is a demon, it'll destroy that darkness!" Kamika said.
Mira released herself from the ball. "It's not that kind of darkness you can eradicate." She stated, leaping into the air.
"She disappeared..."
Mira appeared behind her and tried to kick her, but it ended up being a confetti fake and Mira was soon trapped in indigo paper.
"Mira!" Zack called out in concern.
"Indigo paper is the god of love. I call forth the trauma that's associated with love so that you can be imprisoned by it."
Mira soon saw back when her younger sister - Lisanna, had died.
"Elf-nii-chan, let's go home!" Lisanna has her arms extended towards Elfman.
"Get back, Lisanna! Don't!"
Mira had tears streaming down her face as the scene changed to Lisanna's funeral.
"With this, you won't be able to escape from the trauma of love. Experience the hell of being imprisoned by the past forever!"
Mira soon broke out of that ball as well. "I overcame my trauma long ago. Maybe we were just lucky. But no matter how hurt someone is, they're meant to overcome it and try to go forward. I think magic is the power to give that supportive push." She said.
"What's this?! Are you trying to lecture me?!" Kamika questioned as Mira slammed her head into a rock.
"What is the immense power of protecting those you love? I'll show you."
Lucy and Yukino were on slabs of rock, trying to avoid the boiling water below them.
"What is this boiling water?!" Lucy exclaimed. "Aquarius can't attack with this! What should I do?!"
"Tai-tai! The fish woman is useless now, so send her home-tai! A woman who doesn't know when to quit should expect to be dumped-tai!" Uosuke insulted.
"Hey, watch it!" Lucy warned as Aquarius had a dark aura surrounding her.
"He said 'useless'!" Happy exclaimed in fright.
"It's over now, huh?" Carla asked.
"Well, rest in peace, executioner." Bruno sighed.
"Cold water, boiling water, it makes no difference to me... I know an idiot who summoned me from a bath once." Aquarius claimed.
"I almost forgot about that..." Lucy mumbled.
"Hey! Tricking me was cowardly-tai!" Uosuke complained.
"All right! Go, Aquarius!" Lucy ordered.
"Then how about I kill him?" Aquarius questioned with irritation.
Lily and Jim dodged the purple acid coming their way. "B-B-Bye!" Knepper exclaimed. "You can't dodge this, can you? The execution technique, multi-angle acid, is invincible!"
"Oh, no! I've just about hit the limit of my battle mode. At this rate..." Lily muttered to himself.
"Hey! What are you just standin' there like a lump for?!" Knepper asked.
"Remember all the time you spent training with Gajeel!" Lily thought, thinking back to the times he trained with Gajeel.
"Iron fists... This body has taken countless blows from his fists!" Lily reminded himself. "The hardest of iron is determined by one's physical strength and force of will!"
More purple acid charged forwards towards Lily and Jim. "I won't lose to anyone! Iron will!" Lily shouted.
Both Lily and Jim cut through the acid. "Wha...?! They cut through the acid?!" Knepper exclaimed in shock.
Wendy landed on the ground. "How...?! You deflected all of my Spore Bombs?!" Flowers began to sprout up. "But I still have various kinds of flowers left!"
"That's right. Attacks... Right now, I can't see them perfectly. What would Natsu-san do at a time like this?" Wendy asked herself. "I see. At a time like this, Natsu-san would..."
Natsu and Akame both kicked Kama back, causing him to skid on the ground. "You! You've beaten me back with your bare hands! Are you monsters?!" Kama asked.
"We ain't no monsters! We're Dragon Slayers!" Akame replied as him and Natsu continued fighting Kama. Natsu then broke apart of his sword.
"Would you mind if we just went ahead and punched your lights out now?" Natsu questioned.
"Ridiculous! It can't be! What is this power?! No, the level of magic power is..." Kama's thoughts got interrupted when Akame punched him.
"I thought you said you could negate magic!" Akame taunted, sending Kama flying into the ceiling.
"You do this to me... Do you people intend to become enemies of the state?!" Kama asked.
"Become enemies? The question is, are you bastards prepared to become enemies of our guilds?" Akame countered, his fist covered in red mist.
Natsu lit his hand on fire. "To protect our families... we'd become enemies of the state and the world!" He finished as him and Akame punched Kama in unison.
Soon enough, everyone had finished their battles with the executioners - knocking them out.
"Huh?"
"Natsu!" Happy shouted.
"Huh? Everyone!" Yukino exclaimed.
"What timing!" Lucy said.
Natsu laughed. "What a coincidence!"
"Right." Mira agreed.
"Indeed." Zack added.
"Is everyone okay?" Wendy asked.
"Well, more or less. Anyway, we'd better find our way out of here fast..." Lucy replied.
"Total defeat?!" Kama exclaimed.
"All righty, if you don't tell us where the exit is, it's execution time for you." Akame threatened, cracking his knuckles loudly.
"He's evil..." Lucy muttered.
Dusk sighed. "Yeah. That's Akame for you..." He commented.
A/N: Another chapter is done!
Thanks for reading!
~ Kaleb.