Chapter 368: Dante and Erza vs Ajeel
"Whenever you are ready Erza" stated Dante with a smile as he readied himself to jump into battle. Nodding her head with a confident smile, Erza started to speak.
"I'm ready master" responded Erza in a confidant tone. Turning his attention towards the struggling dragon slayers, Dante started to speak.
"Get those three out of here" stated Dante towards the exceeds before he continued to speak.
"There is sure to be more enemies to beat back. Leave this guy to Erza and I" stated Dante with a smile. Nodding his head, Happy lifted Natsu and started to speak.
"Aye sir" responded Happy before he flew away with Natsu, the other exceeds carrying the dragon slayers away. Turning his attention back towards Ajeel, Dante started to speak.
"Let's go Erza" stated Dante as he spread his wings wide. Nodding her head in agreement, Erza started to speak.
"Right let's g" Erza started to say before the sword vanished from her hands. Giving Erza a curious look, Dante started to speak.
"Is there a reason you did that" asked Dante in a confused tone since Erza's water sword was the cornerstone of their plan to defeat Ajeel. Shaking her head, Erza started to speak in a shocked tone.
"No, that wasn't me. For some reason my magic isn't working" responded Erza in a worried tone as she tried to activate her magic but failed to do so. Dante swore to himself at these words as he started to speak.
"Damn that must mean Brandish and her little lackey are near" responded Dante, worried that someone as powerful as Brandish slipped through Freed's barrier. This was bad Dante thought, his attacks couldn't touch Ajeel and without Erza's magic they had no way of winning. For Erza's magic to work, Brandish and her lackey would have to be taken care of. As Dante tried to think of a way out of his current mess, Erza started to speak.
"It doesn't matter if my magic isn't working" responded Erza standing in a combat stance, having reverted back to her default armor and sword. Giving her master the signature Erza Scarlet determined look, Erza continued to speak.
"We will just have to trust in our friends to deal with Brandish and her lackey. Until then we hold Ajeel back" stated Erza in a determined tone. Smiling at Erza, Dante nodded his head as he started to speak.
"You're right Erza. Right behind you" responded Dante with a smile thinking that his friends and allies would find a way to deal with Brandish. Ajeel laughed at these words as he started to speak.
"Hahaha you fairies are really a riot! You really think you stand a chance against the might of the Alveraz Empire" asked Ajeel in a mocking and amused tone. Gritting his teeth in anger, Dante used his wings to fly quickly towards Ajeel. As Dante flew towards Ajeel, he started to shout.
"The Alveraz Empire is nothing when compared to Fairy Tail" shouted Dante as he flew towards Ajeel. Ajeel laughed at Dante as he used his magical power to summon a powerful sandstorm. The sandstorm crashed into Dante, making him stop in the air as he battled against the powerful attack.
"Ahhh damn" grunted Dante in pain as the sandstorm battered his body. As Dante struggled to fly out of the sandstorm, Ajeel used more of his magical power to form a fist of handed sand and crashed it into Dante's chest. Dante grunted in pain as he was sent flying some distance away from the force of the impact, he crashed into the deck of the floating ship.
"Master are you alright" asked Erza in a concerned tone. Dante nodded his head as he stood back up and started to speak.
"I'm fine Erza. Don't focus on me, we need to attack this guy together. If I should fall don't slow down your own attack" responded Dante in a determined tone. Nodding her head, Erza turned her attention back to a laughing Ajeel as she started to speak.
"Understood" responded Erza before she rushed towards Ajeel. Ajeel didn't move from his spot as he laughed at Erza and started to speak.
"Hahaha how long is it going to take until you learn you have zero chance of winning" asked Ajeel in an amused tone as he summoned another powerful sandstorm, trapping Erza. While Erza battled against the powerful sandstorm, Dante flew high into the air and pointed his hand towards Ajeel as he started to speak.
"Heaven's Ray" shouted Dante as a powerful beam of holy energy erupted from his hand and flew towards Ajeel. Ajeel didn't move, allowing the attack to phase right through his body that morphed into sand. Laughing at Dante's failed attack, Ajeel started to speak.
"Hahaha was that supposed to stop me" asked Ajeel in a mocking tone. After Ajeel said these words, Erza rushed out of the sandstorm and closed the distance between them as she started to speak.
"No, it was meant to divert your attention" responded Erza before she slashed through Ajeel. While Ajeel was surprised by Erza's sudden appearance, he was still able to avoid being damaged by turning his entire body into sand. Now that Ajeel's entire body was sand, Dante got an idea. Channeling his magical power into his wings, Dante shouted his next attack.
"Tempest of Heaven" shouted Dante, swinging his wings charged with holy energy. Large hurricanes filled with holy energy flew towards Ajeel's sand body. The hurricanes crashed into Ajeel's sand body, scattering it. While Dante was still hovering in the air, he spoke to himself.
"Did that do it" asked Dante to himself hoping that scattering Ajeel's sand body would damage him in some way. Shortly after Dante said these words he heard Ajeel's laughter behind him. Turning around, Dante watched as Ajeel reformed just behind him with a mocking smile on his face.
"Did you really think something that simple would work against me" asked Ajeel in an amused tone before he used his magical power to hit Dante with multiple powerful hardened blasts of sand. Dante crashed into the ship while Erza attempted to jump towards Ajeel. With her sword raised high, Erza attempted to slash towards Ajeel but was soon hit just like Dante. As Erza crashed into the deck of the ship, Ajeel laughed as he continued to speak.
"Hahaha I knew you fairies were pathetic, but this is just a joke" stated Ajeel in a mocking tone, using his magic to hover in the air. Standing back up, Dante and Erza were still determined to find a way to win. As Dante stared down Ajeel, he started to speak to Erza.
"Can you use your magic yet Erza" asked Dante knowing that this battle would be won the moment Erza could use her magic. Taking a moment to channel her magical power and seeing that she still failed to reequip, Erza shook her head as she started to speak.
"No I still can't use my magic" responded Erza in a frustrated tone. Seeing that Ajeel was playing with them and waiting for their next move, Erza continued to speak to Dante.
"It's a shame your idea with scattering his body didn't work. Do you have any other ideas master" asked Erza in a hopeful tone. Dante was about to shake his head and respond that he was fresh out of ideas when one suddenly came to him. Glancing towards Erza, Dante started to speak.
"I just got an idea, but I have no idea if it will work or not" responded Dante thinking that his idea seemed too simple to actually work.
"It's better than nothing" responded Erza, willing to try anything since none of their attacks were working against Ajeel.
"Well, my plan would require me to leave you and rush back to the guildhall to get something. Can you handle Ajeel alone for just a couple of minutes" asked Dante in a concerned tone. Erza didn't hesitate to answer.
"No problem master. Go" responded Erza in a confident tone before she rushed towards Ajeel. Seeing that Erza was determined to carry out his stupid plan, Dante spread his wings wide and flew away from the floating ship. Dante hoped this his stupid plan would work since he was leaving Erza alone to fight Ajeel. Flying as fast as he could, Dante rushed towards the guildhall. In record time the guildhall quickly came into view and Dante didn't even waste time to go through the front door. Crashing through the roof of the guildhall, Dante flew into the guildhall.
"Sorry about the roof, I'll fix it later" stated Dante to Marvis and Markov in a rushed tone before he flew towards the bar. Flying behind the bar, Dante started to speak to himself.
"This should do the trick" stated Dante as he picked up a bottle of wine. Not knowing what Dante was planning, Markov shouted at him.
"This is no time to be drinking" yelled Markov in an angry tone. Ignoring Markov's shouting, Dante flew out of the hole in the roof. Flapping his wings, Dante rushed back towards the floating flagship hoping that Erza was doing alright. In less than a minute Dante made it back to the floating flagship, just in time to see Erza crash into the deck of the ship.
"Hahaha so you've returned, I thought you finally leaned that you can't win" stated Ajeel in an amused tone. Landing next to Erza, Dante started to speak to her.
"Are you alright Erza" asked Dante in a concerned tone, seeing that Erza was covered in injuries. Giving her master a confident smile, Erza stood back up as she started to speak.
"I'm fine. You should know that this is nothing, I can take a lot more damage than this" responded Erza as Dante nodded his head in agreement. With all they had been through, Dante wasn't too worried about Erza right now since he's seen her in much worse shape. As Dante stood next to Erza, she turned her attention towards the empty wine bottle in his hand as she continued to speak.
"You're plan involves an empty bottle" asked Erza in a curious tone. On the way back to the flagship, Dante uncooked the bottle and dumped it's contents. Nodding his head, Dante started to speak.
"It does. I need you to attack Ajeel, force him to morph into sand again" responded Dante hoping that his plan would work. Nodding her head, Erza started to speak.
"Got it master" responded Erza, not knowing what Dante was planning but she trusted him with her life. Rushing towards Ajeel, Erza shouted a battle cry. Ajeel amused at Erza's useless attempt to damage him, staid still and allowed the attack to hit his body just before he morphed into sand. Erza slashed through Ajeel's body multiple times, making sure to force Ajeel's entire body to morph into sand.
"Please let this work" stated Dante to himself as he flew towards Ajeel's sand body. While Ajeel's body was still sand, Dante flew through it while holding the empty wine bottle. As Dante flew through Ajeel's sand body, he filled the wine bottle with sand and quickly corked it. Dante and Erza then jumped some distance back, Dante now holing a wine bottle filled with sand.
"So that was your plan master. Let's hope it works" stated Erza, now understanding what Dante's plan was. Nodding his head in agreement, Dante watched as Ajeel's sand body reformed.
"You think this is some kind of joke" asked Ajeel in an angry tone as his body reformed, only he was missing his left arm. Smiling at Ajeel, Dante started to speak.
"I can't believe that actually worked" responded Dante with an amused smile before he turned his attention towards Eza and continued to speak.
"Alright Erza now that we have a way to hurt this guy, let's show him how good of a team we make" stated Dante with a smile as he pocketed the filled wine bottle and pulled out serval other empty bottles. Nodding her head, Erza started to speak.
"It would be my pleasure" responded Eza with a wide smile. Visibly upset, Ajeel shouted at Dante and Erza.
"You really think you fairies stand a chance" yelled Ajeel, angry that his was missing his left arm. Rushing towards Ajeel, Erza started to speak.
"It's you who doesn't stand a chance" yelled Erza as she rushed towards Ajeel. Knowing that he could lose more of his body if he morphed into sand, Ajeel shot a blast of sand towards Erza in an attempt to keep her away from. Channeling his magical power, Dante made a tempest with his wings and blew away the sand attack as he started to speak.
"With our friends and family behind us we cannot failed" responded Dante, finishing Erza's statement as she slashed through Ajeel. Forced to morph his body into sand, Ajeel avoided being damaged by Erza's attack. Seeing his opportunity, Dante once again flew through Ajeel's sand body, filling multiple empty bottles before corking them. Corking the last bottle, Dante landed in front of Erza as he continued to speak.
"That's the last of him" stated Dante with a smile, Ajeel now trapped in multiple corked bottles with no way to escape. Smiling at her master, Erza suddenly felt her magical abilities return to her.
"It seems the others were able to deal with Brandish master" responded Erza as she showed that her magical power was working once again.
"That's a relief to hear" responded Dante with a smile. Just after Dante said these words, he heard Bisca speak to him inside his head.
"The magical Jupiter cannon is ready to fire master" stated Bisca. Sharing a look with Erza, Dante quickly lifted her bridal style into his arms and flew away from the floating flagship as he started to speak to Bisca.
"Erza and I just defeated Ajeel. There is no one stopping your attack now Bisca, fire away" stated Dante through the telepathy.
"You got it master" responded Bisca before she fired the magical Jupiter cannon. Dante and Erza floated in the air, watching as the floating flagship was destroyed thanks to Bisca's attack. Seeing that the threat of the floating ships were neutralized, Dante started to speak to Erza.
"That's one threat down Erza. Let's see who else is foolish enough to take us on" responded Dante with a smile. Nodding her head in agreement, Erza tightened her grip around Dante's neck as he flew towards the guild hall. The war had just begun, and Dante knew that this was just the first fight of many.
End of Chapter 368