Chapter 329: Brandish of the Spriggan 12
Dante was seething with anger as he stepped forward. While Dante and the rest of the team were waiting for Wendy at a café, they were attacked by an induvial who called himself Marin Hollow. Marin didn't look like a threat at first, Dante didn't feel any sort of crazy magical power coming from him. The first impression of Marin was quickly proven wrong when he established he was Erza's and Lucy's worst enemy when it came to a battle. Marin had the ability to nullify spatial magic which included Erza's reequip magic and Lucy's spirits. Soon after Erza and Lucy were shown that their magic was completely useless, they were forcibly transported to Marin's personal dimension.
"Give them back now" stated Dante in an angry tone. Marin laughed in response to Dante's demand as he started to speak.
"Haha and who's going to make me? You three are way out of your element" responded Marin in a mocking tone. Just as Dante as about to speak, Natsu stepped forward.
"We're going to make you. Give them back now" yelled Natsu as he charged forward. Using his magic Natsu's fist erupted into flames as he started to shout while charging forward.
"Fire Dragon Iron Fist" yelled Natsu as he charged towards Marin. Just as Natsu's fist was about to make contact with Marin, he used his magic to teleport out of the way. Looking around in confusion, Natsu started to speak.
"Where did he go" asked Natsu as he looked around for Marin but finding no trace of him. As Natsu continued to search for his enemy, he heard Dante shout after him.
"Natsu, behind you" yelled Dante as Marin appeared behind Natsu. Natsu didn't have enough time to react before Marin delivered a powerful kick into Natsu's gut. Natsu was sent tumbling to the ground some distance away while Marin teleported away once again.
"Damn it where did he go this time" asked Gray in an annoyed tone as he fell into a combat stance. Shortly after Gray said these words Marin appeared behind him and delivered a few powerful martial strikes to him. Laughing as he teleported away, Marin then appeared some distance in front of Dante and the others as he started to speak.
"Do you see now how useless it is to resist? You wizards from Fiore are no match for the Alveraz Empire" stated Marin in a mocking tone.
"You haven't begun to see me try yet. I'll give you one last warning. Give back Erza and Lucy or else" responded Dante as he channeled his magical power, letting Marin feel how large his magical reserves were. Marin seemed to falter as he felt how much magical power Dante had. Marin's faltering soon faded when he noticed the same thing Dante noticed. Stopping for a moment, Dante continued to speak.
"What the hell is that? Do you guys feel that" asked Dante in a somewhat worried tone as he turned his attention towards Natsu and Gray. Natsu had an oblivious look on his face, but Gray had a worried look on his face as he started to speak.
"Yah I do. I feel a huge amount of magical power, it's unreal" responded Gray in a worried tone. After Gray said these words, Marin let out a mocking laugh as he started to speak.
"You three are screwed now! My mistress, Brandish of the Spriggan Twelve will destroy you" laughed Marin in a mocking tone. Hearing these words, Dante swore to himself since he knew that each individual Spriggan Twelve was said to equal if not surpass the Gods of Isgar. As Marin continued to laugh, a sexy woman with green hair walked towards them while wearing a black and bored expression. If Dante wasn't fearful about her magical power and she wasn't an enemy, Dante would have liked seeing such a sexy woman in front of him.
"I don't care who she is! If she tries to stop me from saving Erza and Lucy then she is going down" yelled Natsu in an angry tone. Just as Natsu was about to step forward, Dante started to speak.
"NATSU WAIT" yelled Dante in an authoritative tone that made Natsu pause for a moment. Seeing that he had Natsu's attention for now, Dante continued to speak.
"You don't want to mess with this person. She's one of the Spriggan Twelve, one of the elites in the Alvarez Empire. Each member of the Alvarez Empire is said to equal the power of the Gods of Isgar" stated Dante in a serious tone. Gray swore at these words as he started to speak.
"Damn the Gods of Isgar are supposed to be the strongest wizards in the entire kingdom. You're telling me that the Alvarez Empire has twelve people equal to that kind of power" asked Gray in a worried tone. Looking at Dante and the others with a bored expression, Brandish started to speak.
"We actually surpass the Gods of Isgar. Each member of the Spriggan Twelve is more powerful than the Gods of Isgar" responded Brandish in a bored tone. Not helping the grin that spread across his face at the challenge, Dante stepped forward and started to speak.
"Let's put that theory to the test then. I am Dante Strauss; a God of Isgar and I will defeat you" responded Dante in a confident tone as he used his magic to transform into his arch angel Michael form. Still showing Dante a bored expression, Brandish started to speak.
"Is that supposed to impress me" asked Brandish not showing any sort of fear as Dante radiated a large amount of magical power. Deciding to show Brandish that she shouldn't underestimate his power, Dante pointed his palm towards her as he started to speak.
"You will be impressed soon, Heaven's Ray" shouted Dante as he fired a large holy beam of magical power. As the attack flew towards Brandish, she made no move to dodge it. Instead of moving to dodge it, Brandish didn't move an inch as Dante's attack vanished into thin air. Stunned that his attack had just vanished without a trace, Dante started to speak.
"What the hell? What kind of magic does she have" stated Dante to himself, shocked that his magical attack vanished into thin air. Spreading his wings wide, Dante took into the air as he shouted his next attack.
"Storm of Heaven" yelled Dante as multiple beams of holy energy flew towards Brandish. As the beams of holy energy flew towards Brandish, Dante thought to himself that whatever trick she used couldn't nullify all of his attacks flying towards her. Just like his previous attack, every beam of holy energy Dante fired vanished before they touched Brandish.
"Is this all you can do? If this is the best a God of Isgar can do then the continent of Fiore will soon be a part of the Alvarez Empire" stated Brandish in a bored tone. Swearing to himself Dante was trying to figure out what sort of trick Brandish was doing to nullify his magical attacks. While he was still hovering in the air, Dante shouted at Brandish.
"I'm just getting warmed up" yelled Dante as he charged his fists with holy energy. If projectiles didn't work against Brandish then Dante would just get up close and pummel her into submission. Using his wings Dante flew towards Brandish while she threw small pebbles in his direction. Seeing the pebbles being thrown at him, Dante continued to speak.
"Is that supposed to stop me?! Get real" shouted Dante as he picked up his speed, flying towards Brandish at a record speed. Just after Dante said these words, the small pebbles suddenly expanded to the size of large boulders.
"What the hell" shouted Dante in surprise before he was struck by one of the flying boulders. Dante grunted in pain as the boulder collided with him, the crushing weight causing him to crash into the ground. As Dante crashed into the ground, the other boulders feel on top of him. Frustrated that he had been hit so easily, Dante used his magical power to blast apart the boulders on top of him. Standing up Dante looked at Brandish with a determined look as he started to speak.
"So that's your trick" stated Dante, starting to understand what sort of magic Brandish used. Still showing Dante a bored expression, Brandish started to speak.
"So, you finally figured it out have you" asked Brandish in a bored tone. While Dante tensed his body to respond at a moments notice, he started to speak.
"You can use your magic to manipulate the size of things can't you? That's how you cancelled out my magical attacks, you shrank them till they were nothing" responded Dante.
"Yes that's right. With my magic I can control matter freely" responded Brandish with a blank expression. Smiling confidently at Brandish, Dante started to speak.
"Now that I know your trick I know how to beat you. You might be able to shrink my magical attacks but as long as I am able to get close to you then it's over" responded Dante in a confident tone thinking that Brandish's magic wouldn't work on living things. After Dante said these words he channeled his magical power to enhance his speed and soon he flew behind Brandish. With a fist charged with holy energy, Dante shouted his next attack.
"Heaven's Fist" yelled Dante as he aimed a punch charged with holy energy towards Brandish. As Dante tried to punch Brandish, he was shocked when she suddenly got much larger. It didn't take Dante long to realize that Brandish wasn't getting larger, he was getting smaller. Soon Dante was the size of a small fairy, his punch doing nothing to Brandish as it landed.
"Damn she can change the size of people too" asked Dante in a shocked tone. Giving Dante a bored expression, Brandish started to speak.
"That's right. You are annoying me, get out of my sight" responded Brandish before she slapped Dante out of the air. Dante grunted in pain as he was slapped to the ground, in his reduced size the slap caused him a great amount of damage. As Dante crashed into the ground he felt his body return to its normal size although he had multiple injuries thanks to being slapped into the ground. Standing back up, Dante's breathing was labored as he started to speak.
"Don't think you've won yet. I haven't even begun to show you my true power" shouted Dante in a frustrated tone. While Dante was telling the truth, he knew that Brandish was going to be a tricky opponent to defeat. The fact that she could also manipulate the size of people complicated things and Dante didn't know how he was going to pull off a win. Still even if Dante couldn't think of a way to win he would not give up, his guildmates were depending on him.
"I haven't even started to try yet. Trust me you don't want to see what I am capable of" responded Brandish, not at all intimidated as Dante channeled a large amount of magical power. Spreading his wings wide, Dante flew towards Brandish as he shouted his next attack.
"Bruning Radiance of Heaven" yelled Dante thinking that he would blind Brandish and burn her away at the same time. After Dante shouted these words a spere of blinding and burning holy energy erupted from his body and expanded outwards. Putting a large amount of magical energy into his attack, Dante hoped that he caught Brandish off guard. Just like his previous magical attacks, the spere of energy shrank faster than he could make it expand. Soon Dante's magical attack had shrank down to nothing and Dante was left hovering in the air panting for breath since he had just used a lot of magical power.
"Damn it" stated Dante in a frustrated tone as he breathed heavily.
"Did you really think you could expand your attack faster than I could shrink it" asked Brandish in a bored tone. Dante swore to himself at these words, that was exactly what he was planning, and it had failed. Now Dante had used a lot of magical power for nothing, and he still had no solid plan to overcome Brandish's magic. Flying some distance away from Brandish, Dante racked his brain for a solution. As Dante was trying to think of a solution, Brandish continued to speak.
"This fight is boring me. I was sent here to eliminate the spy among our ranks but if this is the best Fiore can produce then the Alvarez Empire has nothing to fear" stated Brandish as she turned her attention towards Marin and continued to speak.
"Return their friends, I am bored of this place" stated Brandish in a tone that told Marin he had better follow her command. Dante was stunned when Marin relented and returned Erza and Lucy, they appeared next to Natsu and Gray.
"You're just giving up" shouted Dante in a shocked tone.
"I'm not giving up; I've just become bored fighting you. It's obvious you can't defeat me, and I find no enjoyment from crushing an ant" responded Brandish in a tone that told Dante she had already counted the battle as a victory. Just as Dante was about to respond, Brandish continued to speak.
"You can have your other friend back as well; he offered no challenge either" stated Brandish as she used her magical power to make Mest appear in front of her. Dante and the others swore as they saw the state that Mest was in. Mest was beaten up and covered in multiple bruises as he struggled to his feet.
"You think we are just going to let you get away with hurting our friend" shouted Natsu in an angry tone.
"There's nothing you can do about it. Before I leave I will show you what will happen if you set foot in the Alvarez Empire" responded Brandish as she channeled a monstrous amount of magical energy. Realizing what Brandish was about to do, Dante swore to himself as he started to speak.
"Fuck, are you serious?! Everyone run! That's an order" yelled Dante as he used his wings to fly towards Mest and pick him up before flying away.
"Run?! What for we can take her" shouted Natsu. After Natsu said these words the entire island started to shrink at an alarming rate. Dante was already flying away with the rest of the team expect for Natsu running after him. As Dante continued to fly away, he shouted at Natsu.
"NO WE CAN'T! WE HAVE TO GET AWAY! RUN NATSU, THAT'S AN ORDER" yelled Dante in a tone that told Natsu he didn't want to argue. Luckily Natsu relented and ran after the rest of the team. As Dante and the others tried to get away, Dante swore to himself. At the rate they were running, they would not make it since the island was rapidly shrinking. It was unreal to Dante that Brandish could use her magic to such a large scale, the entire island was changing to suit her whim. As Dante thought about how they were going to get away, Mest started to speak.
"Dante put me down. The only way we can get out of here is if I use my magic to teleport everyone" stated Mest in a tired tone since he was still heavily injured.
"Are you sure you can pull something like that off right now? You're in bad shape" asked Dante as he didn't slow down his pace flying away. Nodding his head, Mest started to speak.
"Yes I'm sure. Hurry, we don't have much time" responded Mest. Setting Mest down on the ground, Dante shouted to the rest of the team.
"Everyone hold on to Mest" shouted Dante as he held onto Mest's shoulder. Soon the entire team was holding onto Mest as he channeled his magical power. As the island was being reduced to a small rock, Mest teleported the entire team away just in time.
End of Chapter 329