A/N: Episode 181.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: RESCUE TEAM VS. THE EXECUTIONERS
Inside the plant, Sebastian opened his eyes. "Huh? What's happening to me?" He asked himself as a slime-like substance was on him. "What is this? I can't move!"
"Beautiful dancing doll, it's a skeletal flower that blooms in blood." Cosmos explained.
"Hold on, Sebastian! I'll get you outta there right away!" Natsu informed before he tripped over a plant and fell.
Cosmos laughed. "What a klutz!" She insulted. "It's too late. The boy will be digested and the execution will be complete."
"Not as long as we're around!" Carla claimed.
"Don't go over there. It's too dangerous!" Happy warned.
"But be at ease. After he's digested, he'll be reborn as a beautiful flower." Cosmos narrowed her eyes.
"What?!" Happy questioned as he imagined Sebastian as a flower.
"Stop it!" Carla exclaimed.
"What's wrong? It seems your partner is in a pinch." Knepper taunted.
"Lily, Raden, I'll go. You two take care of this guy." Mira informed.
"Yes. Count on it." Lily said.
"If we team up, it'll be easier." Raden told Lily, who nodded in agreement.
"Don't count your chickens!" Knepper taunted.
"Come and get us with your flying colors!" Lily said.
Knepper's fist got covered in purple acid. Both Lily and Raden dodged his attack before the two large Exceeds sent him back.
"I'm on my way, Sebastian!" Mira shouted.
However, before she could get closer, a bright orange aura appeared from the flower. Sebastian burns the entire plant into ashes, coughing as he did so.
"Like I'm gonna be some damsel in distress. When I woke up from my comatose state... I told myself I wasn't going to be helpless ever again." Sebastian claimed.
"Sebastian..." Raden mumbled, smiling at bit.
"Wow..." Yukino muttered.
"Are you all right? Can you stand?" Mira asked, rushing up towards Sebastian and helping him stand up.
"I'm fine." Sebastian reassured.
"All right!" Natsu exclaimed.
Sebastian smirked. "Certainly, that boy is..." Arcadios trailed off.
"Sebastian James, one of Black Sun's S-Class wizards. Leader of the Assembly of Ash." Raden finished. "As long as we have him around, we've got nothing to fear."
"Freeze all of them!" Kamika shouted as white confetti headed straight for them.
"Not today!" Natsu yelled, releasing his breath attack.
"We've got them on the ropes!" Lucy said as plants soon appeared her, Yukino, and Arcadios.
"Lucy!"
"We got this!" Raden reassured, changing his weapon into an axe as both him and Lily sliced at the plants, keeping them from attacking the three.
"One of those cats is using a sword that can change its size, while the other one can change his weapon."
"Seems like we've got an all-out battle now." Lily claimed, resting his sword on his shoulder.
"Hey, big cats! I'm gonna melt you down to size!" Knepper said.
"Is that so?" Raden challenged.
"I'm gonna cut you down the middle!" Lily added.
Kamika raised a piece of purple confetti. "Confetti... Purple Dance!" She shouted.
Purple confetti soon attached to everyone's bodies. "What the...?!" Natsu stated.
"I can't move!" Mira exclaimed.
"Is it this paper's fault?!" Lucy wondered.
"It's Anomalous Conditions Magic!" Wendy informed.
"Purple paper is the god of binding." Kamika said.
"And now we can do a beautiful combo, Grow Flow!" Cosmos shouted as a plant with a blue tip sprouted up and opened.
"It's huge!" Natsu yelled.
"Is that a plant?!" Wendy asked.
"Summoning-type magic?!" Lucy added.
"Feast on the criminals' lives." Cosmos said as wind began to pick up and everyone began to fly in the air.
"We're being sucked in!" Lily said.
"Getting away? Oh, well, you don't have what it takes to beat me anyway." Knepper claimed.
"Bastard!" Raden shouted.
"Yukino!"
Mira grabbed onto Yukino. "Wendy!" She called out.
"Right! I'll free your bodies of paralysis!" Wendy said, pointing three fingers towards the group. "Anamalous Conditions Healing Magic... Laser!"
Everyone's bodies soon began to have a green glow. "We're glowing..." Lucy pointed out.
The purple confetti disappeared. "It worked." Natsu said.
"All right, I can move!" Lily said.
"But now that!" Lucy exclaimed, referring to the plant.
"What do we do?!" Raden questioned.
"Only one thing we can do! Destroy it!" Natsu responded.
"Okay!"
"Fire Dragon's Brillant Flame!" Natsu shouted.
"Wait! I have a bad feeling about this!" Lucy exclaimed.
A large explosion soon erupted as Hisui was looking out at Domus Flau.
"Is that true?!"
"We just received the report!"
"That sounds promising."
"We don't need to worry anymore!"
"Princess! The Garou Knights went in to execute the criminals!"
Hisui turned at the mention of the executioners, a worried look etched onto her face.
"No one can escape them!"
"They're the kingdom's strongest executioners!"
"All of my plans are backfiring." Hisui clenched her gloved fist. "Please be safe, Arcadios."
Back in the Hell Palace, Natsu and Sebastian sat up from the debris. "We fell another long way." Sebastian informed.
"Hey! Is everybody okay?!" Natsu called out.
"It seems that shockwave scattered everyone. But my knights are highly capable. None of your people will live to go home." Kama claimed.
"If Lucy and I get separated here, what's the point anymore?" Natsu said. "Sorry, but I need to put off our fight."
"Although I guess you won't go for that, huh? I'll ask your name at least." Sebastian added.
"I don't give my name to criminals."
Wendy was walking alone. "Everyone! Where are you?!" She called out. "What should I do? I don't see signs of anyone else."
"Beautiful..." Cosmos appeared on a plant, getting Wendy's attention. "No. Sweet rather than beautiful. But I'm going to execute you."
Lily and Raden came face to face with Knepper. "Dammit! I got separated from everyone. Stupid of me!" Lily scolded himself.
"Now we have to deal with this guy." Raden informed as Knepper laughed.
"Right now, neither Lucy nor Yukino can use their Celestial Spirit Magic. We have to settle this quick and then go off to help them!" Lily stated as Raden agreed with him.
"What's that? Huh?" Knepper taunted as his bottle glowed. "Settle this quick?"
"Lucy! Yukino! Where are you?!" Mira called out. "This is no good. It looks like I'm totally separated from them."
Confetti soon fell as Kamika appeared behind Mira. "You need to be paying attention." She informed.
"Kamika-san, is that right? Do you know where my friends went?" Mira asked.
"Yes, I know. To the afterlife." Kamika responded.
Happy was falling down some rocks. "Ouchie..." He muttered.
"What is this? Jeez..." Carla muttered.
"Natsu went overboard!" Lucy whined.
"I wonder how far we've fallen." Carla said.
"Is this Hell Palace too?" Happy wondered.
"Are we separated from everybody else? That can't be good, right?" Lucy asked.
"And of all things, for the ones who can't use magic to end up together..." Carla replied.
"Without our keys, we can't summon Celestial Spirits." Yukino pointed out.
"Let's search for the others." Happy suggested. "If we don't meet up with them, we'll be..."
Happy began to get raised in the air. "Happy?" Lucy questioned.
"What are you playing at?" Carla asked.
"I'm not playing! My body is floating on its own!" Happy replied as they spotted it was Uosuke's doing.
"Him!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Caught you-tai!" Uosuke claimed.
"I'm not a fish!" Happy said.
"Tai? Liar!"
"I'm a cat! How can you see me as a fish?"
"You're hiding fish!" Uosuke said as fish appeared from Happy's backpack.
"Cut it out! That's for my lunch!" Happy shouted as Lucy and Yukino sweat dropped.
"What's with this guy? Even among those executioners, he's high-spirited." Lucy commented.
"The same level as Happy!" Carla said.
"But..." Yukino trailed off.
"W-What?!" Happy questioned.
"Release!" Uosuke released Happy, causing him to let go of his fish and being sent to a wall.
"Happy!"
"What's he doing?!" Carla wondered.
"I'm Uosuke the Executioner!" Uosuke introduced himself.
"That's a lovely name." Lucy commented.
"I think we can win this even without magic!" Happy claimed in irritation.
"Could be..." Carla muttered.
"Saying things like that... is gonna make me mad." Uosuke claimed.
"Hard to hook him..."
"But we may be able to beat him yet. He seems like the weakest link." Lucy stated. "Yukino, can you fight?"
"Yes. I've been trained for combat, even without magic." Yukino replied.
"N-No. Don't do it!" Arcadios warned, causing Lucy and Yukino to turn around.
"Arcadios-sama..." Yukino muttered.
"You mustn't fight him! He's... Uosuke is... a terrifying wizard who doesn't even leave behind the bones of the people he executes." Arcadios said.
"That?" Lucy questioned, not believing him.
"You're making me mad!" Uosuke claimed.
"Life is fleeting. Sing of your crimes." Kama said.
"I don't remember doin' anything bad, though..." Natsu stated.
"Put your hand on your heart and look back on your past. I'll give you time to recall your sins."
"Man, you're persistent. He said he doesn't remember us doin' anything wrong." Sebastian claimed.
Back at Domus Flau, Souta's body twitched in irritation. "Something wrong, Master?" Helena asked, looking at him.
"It's nothing. For some reason, I just recalled all the letters of apology I've written." Souta responded. "Come to think of it, we've caused our share of problems here and there, haven't we?"
"No thanks to Sebastian." Zane snickered.
"Sebastian and Raden still aren't back yet. I should head over towards the Fairy Tail stands to see if they've heard anything." Souta thinks to himself.
Kida was looking at the screen. "Still, the match hasn't progressed."
"That's because the imperial capital is huge, and there aren't many people left." Romin stated.
"And only the strong ones managed to get by." Kross added. "Running into the wrong opponent could suddenly put the team at a disadvantage, so they're probably being careful."
Millianna was peeking behind a wall. "No one's here. Okay, okay..." She then looked at the Lacrima-Vision that held the points. "That being said, it's suddenly down to me and Kagura-chan! And the odds are totally against us. What should I do? Maybe I should look for Kagura-chan and team up with her..."
Millianna then noticed a cat nearby. "A cat! Come here, kitty-kitty-kitty! So cute! Come here, I said!" She exclaimed, unaware that Minerva was watching her from the rooftop.
"Criminals, are you prepared? It's time for your execution." Kama said.
"I guess we got no choice then." Natsu stated.
"The only way to get by you is kickin' your ass!" Sebastian exclaimed as him and Natsu got into a fighting stance. Kama took his swords out, with Sebastian and Natsu being able to dodge on time.
"This guy..." Sebastian muttered as he leaped into the air.
"Why do you dodge me?" Kama asked.
"It's the normal thing to do!" Natsu answered.
"I'm only after the heads of the criminals." Kama claimed.
"You're a scary son of a bitch." Sebastian commented.
"No. A criminal like you who doesn't recognize his own sins is what's scary." Kama stated.
"Are you still harping on that?!" Natsu asked as him and Sebastian charged forward.
Knepper slammed his acid-covered fist on the ground as Lily and Raden were able to dodge just in time. "What's wrong? Weren't you gonna cut me in half?" He taunted.
"Magic acid is a pain in the ass. I can't defend it with my sword!" Lily claimed.
"True. We are at a disadvantage here." Raden agreed.
"My acid can melt anything! Soon enough, those swords will be puddles!" Knepper stated.
"Is the source of this magic the contents of that bottle? Although it doesn't look like he's gonna run out... Anyway, Raden and I can't win this if we don't get close!" Lily thinks to himself.
"Melt! Melt!" Knepper exclaimed as both Raden and Lily hid. "You don't know when to give up! But prepare yourself... for execution!"
Knepper melted the ground again as Lily and Raden came out of hiding.
"Even if you're at a disadvantage," Lily started to think.
"you should use that to your advantage!" Raden concluded.
"You're naive!" Knepper insulted as the ground split. "Petty tricks don't work You can't run or hide! And now Knepper-sama is going to melt you!"
Red confetti surrounded Mira. "I remember you. The Demon, Mirajane. You used to be an S-Class wizard, right? But you're totally different from the rumors I heard. I heard you were extremely strong and scary." Kamika said.
"I don't understand. You can use all this multi-colored magic and you're an executioner?" Mira questioned.
"What? You're going to lecture me instead of fight? That's pretty cheeky for a criminal. I'm going to give you the rough treatment before sending you to the other side." Kamika spoke while smirking.
Plants charged forward at Wendy, causing her to leap into the air and dodge. "I'm Cosmos. What's your name, beautiful criminal?" Cosmos asked.
"I'm Wendy Marvell!"
"Oh, that's a lovely name. I'll remember it. Even after I execute you, Wendy-san." Cosmos claimed.
"That's not going to happen. I'm also a Fairy Tail wizard." Wendy said. "After I take you down, I'm going to look for everyone else."
Cosmos laughed. "Then I shall also fulfill my duty as an executioner." She stated as roots grew around Wendy.
"What is this?!" Wendy questioned as dried plums soon appeared. "D-Dried plums?"
"Too bad! They resemble dried plums, but they're different. They're magical fruit, so fill up!" Cosmos offered.
The plums soon attacked Wendy as she ran away. "Oh! Maybe you hate sour food?" Cosmos guessed, causing Wendy to halt in her tracks.
"N-No. That's not true. I love... dried plums!" Wendy responded.
"I'm glad to hear it! I love things that taste sour, too! Incidentally, this fruit is ten times more sour than dried plums." Cosmos informed, taking a bite out of the plum.
"Ten times?! It's that sour?!" Wendy exclaimed.
Cosmos lips puckered. "I can't get enough of this sourness!" She stated. "Here, you try one, too! Come on! Come on!"
Uosuke stomps on the ground. "Topography effect! Lava zone!" He called out as the ground trembled before having a red glow to it.
"Something's coming!" Lucy informed.
"Yes!" Yukino said.
"Carla..."
"What is this? The ground is..." Carla looked around.
"...burning?!" Arcadios finished.
The ground soon split, causing lava to appear through the cracks as Lucy and Yukino were separated.
"Yukino! Lucy!" Arcadios called out, getting separated from them as well.
The two women were holding onto the ledge of the rocks.
"There they are!" Carla noticed. "Hold on, you two!"
"We're on our way!" Happy added.
Uosuke soon caught Happy and Carla. "He caught me again!" Happy shouted.
"I'm not a fish either!" Carla complained.
"Topography effect! Gravity zone!" Uosuke shouted, sending Happy and Carla to the ground.
"Happy! Carla!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Body's... heavy..." Happy managed to get out.
"Is this gravity-manipulating magic?" Carla wondered.
"Yukino, hang in there!" Lucy told her.
"Okay! But if we put some muscle into it, I think the rock is going to give way." Yukino informed.
"Criminals will be executed and not even their bones will be left behind-tai!" Uosuke exclaimed.
"Lucy! Yukino!" Arcadios called out, watching from a slab of rock.
Lucy and Yukino's boots began to burn. "Stay alive! You two are our only hope!" Arcadios claimed.
"Arcadios-sama..." Yukino muttered.
"You're talking about that again at a time like this?!" Lucy scolded. "Sorry, but I'm not going to help you with that!"
Arcadios began to walk forward. "Eclipse won't work without the both of you. For that sake..." Arcadios stepped into the lava. "...I would gladly pay with my life!"
"What are you doing?!" Lucy questioned.
Arcadios continued walking in the lava towards the two of them.
A/N: Another chapter is done!
Thanks for reading!
~ Kaleb.