A/N: Episode 183.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: THE PLACE WHERE WE ARE
Explosions went off as Mira 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 rushed forward. "Confetti! Purple Dance!" Kamika called out as purple paper latched onto Mira. "Purple paper is the god of binding."
"This color 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.
"That expression of suffering is lovely." Kamika claimed. "And the miserable sight of you desparately trying to escape in pain, that gives me the chills!"
The flames around Mira soon dispersed as Kamika held up white paper. "But after heating you up, I'd better cool you off." She continued. "Confetti! White Dance!"
White paper soon attacked Mira as they began to freeze. "White paper... That has a freezing effect!" Mira said.
"Nice expression. You're suffering, aren't you?" Kamika asked, raising a piece of yellow paper. "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 covered her nose so she 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 body."
"You're definitely trying to kill me!" Mira 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 the throat. "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 Sebastian flew back as Kama had attacked them.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
"Hellfire Dragon's Roar!"
Both Natsu and Sebastian released their breath attacks toward Kama, who sliced the flames in half.
"What? The flames 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 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?" Orange-red flames came from Sebastian's fist as he leaps into the air. "In that case, I'll hit ya first!"
Sebastian charged at Kama with a fist covered in orange-red flames.
Lily and Raden were flying through the air after an attack from Knepper before slamming into some rocks. "You're tough ones. The perfect punching bags, 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 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 replied.
"Give it your best shot!" Raden 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 Raden crashed to the ground. "Hey, what's wrong? There's nothing my magic acid can't melt!"
Lily and Raden dug their swords into the ground to support themselves. "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." Raden 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." Raden 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'?" Carla quoted.
"I heard that, blue one." Aquarius turned to Happy with a scary look. "Want to be crushed?"
"I'm scared!" Happy exclaimed.
"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 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 gutsy 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 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 replied.
"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?" Carla suggested as her and Happy sweat dropped.
"Although there is a battle going on..." Happy 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.
"Water... That's it, water! If there's water..."
"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?" Uosuke realized.
"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 heat 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 out. "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 Sebastian were still battling 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!" Sebastian 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!" Sebastian exclaimed.
"Now I'm fired up!" Natsu added.
"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 in alarm. "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 spoke in shock.
"Poison a demon?" Mira opened her eyes. "It's my favorite."
"Take Over, huh? Appropriately sinister for a criminal." Kamika commented as she tossed some purple paper. "But it's nothing if I render you immobile!"
Mira dodged the paper as she sent a punch towards Kamika, in which 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 questioned in shock.
"I'll ask you one more time." Mira attacked Kamika, sending her crashing to the ground. "I want to know where my friends went."
Multiple explosions went off as Kamika coughed harshly. "Is that the attitude to take when you want something from someone?!" She asked.
"I'm sure you're prepared, right? Then I'll fight you with everything I've got, and ask again after I'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 encased 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.
"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 in front of Elfman.
"Get back, Lisanna! Don't!"
Mira had tears streaming down her face as the scene soon 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.
"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 muttered.
"Hey! Tricking me is cowardly-tai!" Uosuke complained.
"All right! Go, Aquarius!" Lucy ordered.
"Then how about I kill him?" Aquarius questioned in irritation.
Lily and Raden 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 my limit of my battle mode. At this rate..." Lily muttered to himself.
"Hey! What are you just standin' there like a lump for?!"
"Remember all the time you spent training with Gajeel!" Lily thought, thinking back to the times he spent training 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 forward towards Lily and Raden. "I won't lose to anyone! Iron will!" Lily shouted.
Both Lily and Raden cut through the acid. "Wha...?! They cut through the acid?!" Knepper exclaimed in shock.
Wendy landed on the ground. "How...?! You deflected all 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 before coming to a realization. "I see. At a time like this, Natsu-san would..."
Natsu and Sebastian 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!" Sebastian responded as him and Natsu continued fighting Kama. Natsu then broke apart 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 Sebastian punched him.
"I thought you said you could negate magic!" Sebastian taunted, punching him with a flaming fist and 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?" Sebastian countered, his fist covered in orange-red flames.
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 Sebastian 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.
"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." Sebastian threatened, cracking his knuckles.
"He's evil..." Lucy muttered.
Raden sighed. "Yeah, that's Sebastian for you." He commented.
A/N: Another chapter is done!
Thanks for reading!
~ Kaleb.