Chapter 147: Fairy Tail is Number One!
"Damn that last fight took more out of me than I fought" stated Dante out loud to himself as he sat down for a moment to catch his breath.
Dante's entire body was sore, having sustained a significant amount of damage from his fight with Jura in addition to the exhaustion he felt. In addition to fighting against Rufus, Lyon and Sherria, Dante had to fight against one of the strongest Wizard Saints. Fighting against Jura was one of the hardest challenges that Dante had faced, and it had drained him of almost all of his magical power. Now he didn't have enough power to transform, if he got in another fight he would have to rely on the power in his normal form.
"I should get going, the others might be in just as bad shape if not worse and Sting is still out there somewhere" stated Dante to himself as he shakily stood up after another moment trying to catch his breath. His entire body felt like it weighed more than double his usual weight as he battled against his exhaustion. Stumbling through the streets, Dante tripped over himself. Falling to the ground, Dante swore thinking he had no energy to catch himself. Just as Dante was bracing for impact, he was caught by Juvia.
"Are you okay master" asked Juvia in a concerned tone as she supported Dante so he could stand. Smiling with gratitude at Juvia, Dante started to speak.
"Yah I'm fine Juvia, thanks. I'm just really tired, that is all. Fighting Jura took way more magical power than I thought it would" responded Dante with a smile. Dante then leaned forward and placed a loving kiss on Juvia's lips as a show of affection and thanks. Juvia moaned into her master's lips as she eagerly returned the kiss. After a short while Dante leaned back from Juvia's sweet lips and continued to speak.
"We should get going Juvia, the others might need our help" stated Dante in a tired voice. He tried to walk on his own but stumbled once again, luckily Juvia was there to catch him and support his weight. Dante gave Juvia a grateful look as she started to speak.
"Okay master let's go and don't worry about your exhaustion, Juvia is here for you" responded Juvia in a loving tone as Dante leaned into her, being supported and able to stand.
"Thanks Juvia, I'll definitely reward you later" responded Dante in a flirty tone. Juvia had hearts in her eyes at these words, her pussy throbbing with arousal as she thought about the wonderful reward her master would give her later. As Juvia gushed with happiness at Dante's words, Dante continued to speak.
"We just need to find where Sting is. I bet that the rest of the team is looking for him also so we will run into them along the way" responded Dante in a tired tone. Nodding her head, Juvia responded in a serious tone thinking that she should focus on the battle for now and her sexy master later.
"Yes, the only question is where is Sting" responded Juvia in a serious tone as she tried to think of a way to find Sting. Dante spared a glance at Juvia. While she seemed to be in better shape than he was, it wasn't by much. He could tell that Juvia was almost out of magical power to and it looked like a stiff breeze might blow her over.
"I'd really like to be a dragon slayer right about now" responded Dante in a joking tone thinking that Natsu's sense of smell would be useful in this moment. As Dante and Juvia were thinking of a way to locate Sting, a bright firework erupted in the sky before the guild symbol of Saber Tooth hovered high in the air.
"I guess that answers the question where Sting is" responded Dante as Juvia nodded her head and started to speak.
"Yes, but it's likely a trap" responded Juvia in a worried tone. Laughing to himself Dante thought that they really didn't have any better ideas as he started to speak.
"Haha maybe but that hasn't stopped us before" responded Dante thinking of all the times in the past his guild ran into danger knowing the potential consequences. Juvia smiled back at Dante as she nodded her head in agreement. Together Dante and Juvia walked towards the area that Sting was waiting for them. After a short while, Dante and Juvia ran into Erza.
"Erza are you alright" asked Dante in a worried tone when he and Juvia saw Erza's leg injury. Erza smiled through the clear pain she was experiencing as she responded.
"Yes, master I am fine, this is nothing. I was about to ask the same to the two of you" responded Erza with a pained smile. Dante smiled back at Erza; it was just like her to smile despite having a crippling injury.
"We're both fine, tired but fine" responded Dante in a tired tone as Juvia continued to support his weight. Erza nodded her head as she responded.
"That's good to hear. Are you two ready to finish this" asked Erza with a confident smile despite the tired and beaten state they were all in. Dante and Juvia nodded their heads in agreement as Dante started to speak.
"Hell, yah we are ready. Fairy Tail is about to be number one again" responded Dante in a confident tone. Thinking about all of his friends that suffered hurt and ridicule during the long seven years the Tenrou team was gone, Dante knew that he had to succeed no matter what. Erza smiled back at Dante, agreeing that they would win no matter what. Together the three of them walked towards the area Sting was waiting for them. After a short walk the three of them walked into the area as Gajeel and Laxus did the same.
"It's about time you five showed up" stated Sting in a calm tone as he stood up. Dante along with the rest of the team stood side by side as Sting faced them.
"Sorry to keep you waiting" responded Laxus in a steady tone. Dante took a moment to glace at Laxus and Gajeel and cursed to himself. He had hoped that Laxus or Gajeel would be in a better condition to fight than he or Juvia and Erza was, but it didn't look like it. All five members of the Fairy Tail team looked like they were barely standing because of a combination of injuries and exhaustion.
"Go ahead and pick who you want to fight" stated Erza in a confident tone. Dante nodded his head agreeing with Erza, but he hoped that Sting would not choose him. While Dante was ready to fight if he needed to, Sting was a white dragon slayer which meant his magic would be worse than useless against him. Sting smiled confidently at the five Fairy Tail members as he started to speak.
"There is no need to choose. I'm going to take all five of you down at once" responded Sting in a confident tone. While Sting said this Dante could not help but notice something was different with Sting.
Dante didn't know Sting well but from his observations of him before, Sting appeared to only fight for himself or maintaining the power Saber Tooth had. Now Dante noticed that while Sting appeared to be fighting for these things, there was something else now. It seemed to Dante that Sting was now fighting for someone else. Cursing this fact, Dante hoped that he was wrong. He experienced many times the power of friendship and how it can make an individual fight stronger, so he hoped that Sting wasn't about to get a power boast from it.
"Are you sure you want to fight us all at once? We might be beaten and tired but don't underestimate Fairy Tail" responded Dante thinking that a five on one fight wasn't fair. Sting laughed at Dante's words before he responded.
"Please, from the look of things you five are close to keeling over. This fight will be over soon" responded Sting confident in his ability to defeat five severely weakened and injured Fairy Tail wizards.
"Fine if that's what you want then we will let you have the first move" responded Dante not caring if he was tired and beaten or that his magic was useless against Sting. The four other members of the Fairy Tail team nodded their heads, agreeing with Dante as they waited for Sting to make the first move.
Sting stepped forward with a confident smile as the five Fairy Tail wizards stood ready with determined faces. Just as Sting was about to launch his attack, he faltered as he looked at Dante and the others. He had expected them to show some fear since his plan was to knock out the entire team once they were tired and beaten. Looking at the Fairy Tail team Sting did not see scared faces, instead he saw determined faces ready to meet the challenge. Overcome with Fairy Tail's determination and resolve, Sting swore as he dropped to his knees. Silence followed for a moment as Dante and the others wondered what Sting was doing before, he started to speak.
"I can't do it, I give up. You win" responded Sting in a defeated tone as he hung his head in shame. Dante was surprised at this turn of events along with the rest of the Fairy Tail team. Hearing Stings admittance of defeat, the announcer shouted over the speaker.
"Sting has fortified! This means that Fairy Tail is the winner of the Grand Magic games" shouted the announcer as the crowd went wild cheering for the new number one guild in Fiore. As Dante sighed with relief that the fight was over and his guild was back on top, he noticed the look on Stings face. Sting was in tears, crying over something that he had lost. Dante suspected that he wasn't simply crying over a lost competition.
"Sting why did you choose not to fight" asked Erza in a confused tone.
"It wouldn't have mattered. Seeing your determination and the bond you share; I know it wouldn't have mattered what I did. This just means I failed Lector and will never see him again" responded Sting in a sad tone. Hearing this Dante understood what had changed about Sting. He remembered that Lector was Sting's exceed companion and something must have put him in danger. As Dante and the other's processed this information, Millianna walked up to them carrying Lector. After putting Lector down, he ran into Sting's arms.
"I thought I would never see you again" cried out Sting as he hugged his friend. Dante and the others smiled at this warm scene. While Sting might have been his enemy a short while ago, Dante was glad that Sting was reunited with his friend. After a short while, Erza started to speak to the rest of the Fairy Tail team.
"Has anyone seen the signal from the rescue team" asked Erza now that she could focus on something other than the battle royal. Hearing these words Dante frowned at the others and shook their heads. Looking towards the castle in the distance, Dante said a silent prayer for Mira and the others.
"By the way, why wasn't Natsu on the team today" asked Sting in a curious tone. Dante hesitated to answer as he thought if he should tell Sting the truth or not. Was there even a point to the rescue team now since they had won? Dante hoped that they would be able to free Lucy and Yukino peacefully now that they had won the Grand Magic games. Despite winning the games Dante could not shake a growing feeling of dread.
"I just hope everyone is safe and okay" responded Dante in a worried tone. He hoped that this feeling of dread was his imagination, but he had a suspicion that was just hopeful thinking.
End of Chapter 147