Here is the forty-fourth chapter in this story released in accordance with my upload schedule for this story. Noelle has slain the Sea King Dragon and thus the Black Bulls have emerged victorious from their latest battle but they are the only ones to have won so far, there are still 7 dragons wreaking havoc on Crocus. That means that it's time to recover and then get right back into the fray but first the Black Bulls need to decide where best to send their forces to back up the other Dragon Slayers and defenders of Crocus. That is all that I have for the administrative stuff I have for y'all and there are no questions that need answers nor guest reviews that needs a response. Do keep them coming as your support is the best motivation for me to keep producing chapters at this kind of rate. That is it for this long pre-chapter note so it is time to sit back and enjoy the forty-fourth chapter in Black Bull Banishment.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these two great animes.
Chapter 44: Reallocating Resources
"Alright we have a few moments to catch our breaths, heal and regain our mana, er Ethernano as they call it here, so take it." Yami said as all the Black Bulls, the 5 members of Mermaid Heel, and Warren gathered up around a still kneeling Mimosa who quickly extended a magic circle around them and activating her healing spell to ensure that they were all in the best fighting form she could make them. "Finral, move the screens around us so we can get a sense of what is going on around us. That will let us know where to send people."
Finral nodded at that and worked the control device to move the lacrima screens so that they were in a circle around them thus giving them a view of the other battles going on. As he did they all heard crashes and explosion going off throughout the city as the various Guilds faced the remaining 7 dragons but they paid it no heed as they healed and studied the screens while the headless body of the Sea King Dragon lay in the square blood still dribbling from the stump and the head off to the side.
As they were doing this most of the remaining food was passed out with a focus on those who'd used magic recently. It wasn't all of the food that had been saved as a bit had to be kept in reserve for Mimosa and Finral because whatever happened they'd need it later.
To help out and preserve her mana Noelle had dropped her armor and returned to her normal clothes as the food was distributed though she still held Erza's Sea Empress Sword which was filled with her magic as it retained the magic she'd poured into it. Naturally she was the first to get food followed by Yami, Luck, and Magna as they'd all used magic and Charmy's food didn't work on Asta so he'd have to go without given the finite amount that they had. Only Charmy didn't take any, a surprise but her mana was already full thanks to her wolf which was still out showing that she hadn't changed back to normal.
No one, not even Charmy, really knew what was going on with her or how long this change would last. This was the second time that it had happened to Charmy and she'd only returned to her normal appearance when she was fleeing the Shadow Palace as it fell apart and even then her memory of that incident was hazy at best.
Not that any of them were complaining that she was still like this as the wolf was very useful to them given what it could do and the benefits it afforded Charmy. That and unbeknownst to them it seemed to prevent Charmy from using her Master Chef spell and given the only source of food nearby was the dragon's body, which she'd have harvested if she could, there could have been unexpected consequences from eating it.
That wasn't a concern for them at the moment, however, as they all took a moment to assess the situation and see what was going on in the other battles. The first to notice something was Millianna who'd been scanning for Erza to make sure that she was safe. She found her old friend but the moment she did worry filled her as she saw Erza fighting a lot of small dragonling creatures, miniature dragons in a sense, that had to be created by one of the other dragon's magic. Despite looking like they were blind, they were tough and looked like they would overwhelm Erza so Millianna wanted to help her.
However, right as she was about to call out to Finral to send her to Erza's aid a new figure appeared on the battlefield, one that she knew all too well. The moment Millianna saw him her hackles raised and she knew that she had to go to where Erza was right away.
"Finral, send me to Erza!" Millianna shouted just as everyone settled to recover her eyes never leaving the screen with Erza's battle on it. "Now!"
"Huh?" Finral asked looking to the cute cat themed girl and then following her eyes to Erza's battle. "Oh er ok."
There was an intensity in Millianna's gaze and tone that made Finral not want to question her so he opened a portal before her and one near Erza and Millianna leapt through it without hesitation before anyone could say anything or even react to her actions. Really there wasn't much that the Black Bulls could do. Mermaid Heel had offered to help guard the command post but if they wanted to do anything else in the battle they could and it seemed that Millianna wanted to help her friend.
Well to most that's what it seemed but as Millianna vanished Kagura saw what her guildmate had seen as well. It had been indirectly as she'd turned towards Millianna and tried to call out to her to try and stop her from leaving as they duty to help the Black Bulls. However, the words died in Kagura's throat the moment that she saw why Millianna had gone and she couldn't blame the other girl at all as Kagura had the same desires as she did.
While it was true that in the wake of their class and Erza's actions in saving her that Kagura and Erza were starting to repair their relationship, or more accurately start it, but seeing him, seeing Jellal again, brought back all of Kagura's desires and pain. This was her chance and she had Archenemy back and the seal had been broken so she was ready for it.
"Millianna!" Lislie cried. "What are you doing?"
"Leave her, I'll go after her and make sure that she's safe." Kagura said getting composure for her guildmates but her true reason for going was to finally kill Jellal for murdering Simon. "You, Beth, and Araña remain and help the Black Bulls. I can help better there."
"Alright if ya say so." Beth said a little concerned but they all knew how strong Kagura was. "Come back with Millianna."
"Just be safe and protect her." Araña said worry in her thickly accented voice. "I know that Millianna is strong but this is an unprecedented situation."
"I will." Kagura said doing her best to convey her reassurance in her tone. "Finral, send me there as well but not directly. I want to surprise those creatures so I can cut them down before they can attack me."
"Got it." Finral said as he manipulated the lacrima to find a spot and then created the portals so that Kagura could go there without being noticed by the miniature dragon things which would result in no one realizing that Kagura was there. "There, that should work."
"Thank you." Kagura said as she walked through her emotions racing but outwardly calm.
"Right well that's sorted for the moment." Yami said getting their attention though he'd sensed Kagura's ki and knew that something was up but decided that it wasn't his concern as it felt like something the girl had to deal with on her own so he left her to it. "Let's leave those two to helping the non-man hating Charlotte and get back to helping the others. We've got plenty of fighters so we should see who's best where."
"Non-man hating Charlotte?" Lislie asked confused.
"Erza's a bit like someone we know back in our homeland called Charlotte." Noelle said as they all turned from the screen showing Erza and Millianna so none of them saw the 5th person arrive or what transpired there as Kagura overheard the full truth of the Tower of Heavan being revealed to Erza, Millianna and Jellal. "She's a Guild Master like Yami is and a powerful female warrior who even sounds like Erza but she hates men."
"Oh ok." Beth said not sure how to process that so she and the other two mermaids decide to leave it. "Well Erza's as strong as Kagura if not stronger so I'm sure they'll be fine."
"They will be." Asta said unaware that there would be revelations occurring where that fight was happening that would have long ranging implications but that was well beyond the Black Bulls' understanding and besides, they had other things to focus on. "Erza's one of the strongest people I've faced and I sensed Kagura's ki as she left, she'd determined to help out so those mini dragons don't stand a chance."
"No they don't so we can leave them and see where the other dragons are." Yami said as they all left Erza, Millianna, and Kagura to whatever they were doing and returned to studying the lacrima screens. "We need to find them and see who we should send to help out against them."
"Well there are more of those mini dragon things." Magna said pointing to a screen showing them in combat with several members of Fairy Tail including Gray and Juvia with more on the way towards them. "They look strong and are basically foot soldiers like us."
"True but that could be dealt with in a moment as it looks like they have things relatively under control for the moment." Yami said thinking as he studied the screens. "The full sized dragons are a bit more pressing right now. There were 7 others right, at least that's what that Asta-like guy shouted."
"You mean Natsu?" Warren asked.
"Yeah loud, annoying, and doesn't give up in a fight so your Asta." Yami said, which was a fair assessment only Natsu used Fire Dragon Slayer Magic and Asta Anti-Magic. "So there are 7 dragons left that we have to deal with. Where are they?"
"Just follow the biggest destruction." Nero suggested. "And, well, one's fully on fire so it's kinda hard to miss."
"Right yeah that one is a beacon so easy to find." Yami agreed as they all looked around and saw an intense brightness coming from one of the screens that had to be the burning dragon. "Ah there it is. So how…huh what's going on there?"
They all blinked in confusion as they took in the scene on the lacrima showing the burning dragon. Before it was a heavily bandaged blond man that they all recognized as Laxus so he'd been the Dragon Slayer that had stepped up to face it. However, Laxus was just standing there with three members of Fairy Tail around him as the dragon stood before him. Then he turned and headed off with the three members in toe.
That was when they all realized that Natsu was on no one the burning dragon's back. How he'd gotten there and why he wasn't on the dragon still flying around from where he'd made his announcement was anyone's guess. Said reason was because Zirconis, the dragon still by the Eclipse Gate, had tossed a naked Lucy into him interrupting his fight with Future Rogue not that anyone knew that, but now Natsu was dealing with it and that was a good thing.
"Well that dragon doesn't need any help." Yami said as they watched Natsu greedily eat the fire off its body while being totally unaffected by the flames that were currently all around him as the dragon slammed its head into the ground and then tore through several buildings as the lacrima followed it as it tried to dislodge Natsu from its back. "I was going to suggest sending Noelle there as its fire but…"
"I'd get in the way." Noelle said shaking her head. "That dragon is clearly built differently and it's much better for Natsu to take it on one on one. If need be I can go and help as water should be good against fire but I would be better served elsewhere."
"Agreed, right so the fire one is under control." Yami said turning to scan the other screens not realizing that it was even more under control than he or the Black Bulls thought as in only a few moments Natsu's ties to Igneel would ensure that the burning dragon, Atlas Flame, would switch sides and aid them in their battle against the other dragons. "Now who's next. Mainly were did that blond guy go. He's a Dragon Slayer so he's going to be heading to another dragon and I get the feeling that he was sent away to aid one of the other Dragon Slayers and that might be our best bet."
"If I had to guess based on the Dragon Slayers on the battlefield and what we've seen of their abilities in the Grand Magic Games then I'd say he's gone to aid Wendy." Nero said, she'd had time to look over the screens and assess things during the battle with the Sea King Dragon just in case they could help out. "She's the youngest and not the strongest offensively compared to others from what we've seen so she's the best one to pair with a more offensive Dragon Slayer like Laxus. This would be especially true if Wendy has a specialty in support spells but I don't know about that."
"I agree." Gordon added. "We saw all of the Dragon Slayers fight in the tournament and while she's strong and got guts, I'm worried about how she'd fare against a dragon."
"Wendy is strong and talented." Warren said backing up his guildmate. "She can fight but Nero's inadvertently right, Wendy is also one of our strongest support fighters and a rare healer. Natsu sees her as a little sister so he'd be a bit more protective over her which means that she's the one he'd have sent Laxus to as backup. That and they can complement each other well. Plus the Thunder Legion will be there with them to support as well and they're some of the stronger members of the Guild."
"Right then where is she?" Yami asked looking around.
"The Eclipse Gate so the Royal Palace." Nero said without hesitation having logged Wendy's location earlier in the battle. "She was part of the rescue team and I saw that she was there when you were fighting the Sea King Dragon. She's leading the fight with a green dragon that remained there. Mirajane Strauss, the one with the power like Asta's who was at the center of that battle of the beauties that got out of hand, is with her but she's not a Dragon Slayer."
"I see then we need to send aid to them as well." Yami said as he finally found the right screen, there was a lot of chaos on them but he soon got it and just as Laxus and three other members of Fairy Tail who had been with him before appeared to back Wendy up. "Well you're right, he's there. Ok we need to send Luck to them. We don't have anyone who uses Wind or Air Magic, Asta's uptight friend who won't peak on women in the bath isn't with us for that, but we do have a Lightning Mage who can replenish Laxus's magic and keep an eye on the surrounding area better than anyone else."
"Yeah I'm ready for this." Luck said with a grin lightning sparking between his hands as he got ready to fight another dragon. "Thanks Captain, I can't wait for another brawl."
"I'll go as well."
The offer came from the last person any of them expected to suddenly volunteer and they all turned to Gauche in surprise as he stood there. He rarely offered something like this but since the incident in Nean he had changed like the others had thanks to Asta and he'd seen his value in the situation. That and how he could be a hero for Marie helped motivate him and adding a second dragon to his story of this incident would do just that in Marie's eyes.
"My magic is full and the artifact I have hasn't been used." Gauche said though he didn't add that he was still sore from the injuries he'd taken in the recent battle as they weren't enough to prevent him from continuing to fight thanks to Mimosa's healing. "I saw that blond guy in the Battle Royale, he beat one of the Wizard Saints here and was the last one standing before Asta at the very end. He's strong and offensive minded. I can use my power on him and help him bring down that dragon."
"That's a great idea Gauche!" Asta said with a grin. "Yeah with your aid there's no way that that dragon can win."
"J, just be c, careful." Grey muttered from nearby her shyness and crush on Gauche causing her to stutter worse than ever. "Y, y, you've only just been h, healed."
"I'll be fine and besides if I help take down two dragons think of the praise Marie will heap on me." Gauche said with a grin and a nosebleed at the thought and confirmed what everyone was thinking regarding Gauche's motivations. "Well, what are you waiting for Finral? Send me and the battle freak to aid the blond guy."
"Do it, Gauche is right that he can help." Yami said ignoring the creepiness and looking at Finral. "They're best suited there."
"You got it Captain." Finral said and a portal appeared with a corresponding one appearing behind where Laxus and Wendy were. "Off you go and please don't die."
Gauche nodded as he walked through it while Luck laughed and ran through ahead of him as lightning sparked in his wake. They were the best two to send and soon Zirconis would learn that the hard way.
"Right now who's next." Yami said as he looked around and suddenly an explosion of purple caught his eye on one of the screens that he'd not expected and he turned to it. "Um…what's that?"
"Oh I was wondering about that." Warren said as they all turned to see the massive dragon that seemed to be made of rocks being pummeled in the back by a man with swept back maroon hair wearing a white coat over a black shirt though they couldn't make out more than that and the oddly sinister looking, purple colored magic he was using on the Rock Dragon that was clearly affecting it. "When Natsu said that there were 8 Dragon Slayers I knew he meant that guy but I didn't think that the Council would let him out even for this."
"Who is he?" Yami asked as the unknown Dragon Slayer kept fighting while members of Blue Pegasus looked on. "I should have asked earlier as I thought that there were only 7 Dragon Slayers here but we had our own overgrown lizard distracting us so it slipped my mind."
"There are 7 in the Guilds including your own that is but 8 in total." Warren said. "Natsu told us about him 7 years ago. His name is Cobra and he's like Laxus, a Second Generation Dragon Slayer so he's an artificial Dragon Slayer only the lacrima implanted into him gave him Poison Dragon Slaying Magic not Lightning Dragon Slaying Magic."
"Poison you say." Yami mused as he cracked a smile. "Well that's perfect for us. Gordon, you're up. Go and aid him."
"Captain, shouldn't we know more about him." Nero said. "Warren implied that he's a criminal so we should be careful about him."
"Oh he is, he was part of Oracion Seis, one of the three Dark Guilds that made up the Balam Alliance." Warren said. "He was taken down and captured when a coalition of Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale and Caith Shelter went was formed to defeat that Dark Guild 7 years ago. They were the first of the three to fall with all of them being arrested at the end. If I recall, Cobra was beaten by Natsu in the end. Also he apparently has really good hearing, it's his biggest strength."
"Caith Shelter?" Gordon asked.
"A defunct Guild that Wendy and Carla were originally part of." Warren said. "Long story but the Guild disbanded after Oracion Seis was beaten and they joined us."
"Well whatever his background is, he's a Dragon Slayer who can consume poison to replenish his Ethernano." Yami said. "And we have a Poison Mage so we can back him up and make sure he doesn't run out of magic. Gordon, go but be wary of that hearing thing."
"Of course I'll go help and make a new friend." Gordon said enthusiastically. "Finral my friend, please make me a portal."
"Finally someone is polite about it." Finral said tears in his eyes as he made the portal to where Cobra and the Rock Dragon were just as Cobra got hurt by the dragon. "There you go Gordon."
Gordon nodded and leapt through it before it closed. That sorted out two of the situations with the third well in hand thanks to Natsu which meant that 4 more dragons were still out there with 3 Dragon Slayers fighting them at the moment.
"Sending corresponding attributes to Dragon Slayers to support them is the best we can do but we're limited." Yami mused. "Magna can go to Natsu but Natsu currently has a source of fire that is greater than even that crazy woman could produce, well maybe greater."
"More than you think Captain." Magna said as he looked around the lacrima screens. "Er, the fire dragon isn't there anymore."
"Huh." Yami said looking to the screen that had been following the burning dragon only to see that it wasn't present. "Well that's interesting. Still, we'll leave that one for now and Magna, whatever happens remain here to help defend the position but be ready to be sent to Natsu if we need to give him a bit of fire."
"Understood Captain Yami sir." Magna said seriously.
"Good now the 4 remaining, what to do with them?" Yami asked no one in particular as he looked at the screens around him. "We don't have anyone who can use Metal Magic so we don't have anyone who can help the metal guy the way we can help with lightning, poison, and fire."
"No Klaus is back home, only I came." Mimosa said. "He and Yuno would be useful now though as they are Steel and Wind so they would have been good for Gajeel and Wendy."
"Klaus?" Yami asked.
"Sir Spectacles, he's an uptight noble who looked after Mimosa and Yuno." Asta said. "He was a typical noble but he's changed for the better."
"Asta happened." Noelle added which explained everything the remaining Black Bulls while confusing the 3 mermaids and Warren but Noelle added for clarity. "During the dungeon mission Asta showed Klaus how wrong his world view was."
"Oh ok well we don't have metal but we can at least lend other aid to his battle." Yami said as he looked around and found Gajeel dealing with a dark looking dragon who's magic was currently undetermined. "Charmy, you, and the wolf go and back him up. We can't provide attribute support the way the others can but that wolf eats magic which can distract it and free up attack avenues for you and that Dragon Slayer."
"On it Captain." Charmy said. "Let's go."
"Yes, I'm still hungry." The wolf said in its low growl. "Feed me magic."
Finral didn't waste anytime in opening a portal for Charmy as by this point it was clear what their plans were and so he didn't hesitate or question it. He did have to use a magic circle to increase the size of this portal so that the wolf could go through as well but that only took a bit more effort and soon they too were on their way to lend aid to Gajeel's battle.
"Right that just leaves the two Sabertooth Dragon Slayers." Yami said as he scanned for them. "Where are they, I think I can aid one of them."
"They got split up around the time that Noelle killed the dragon we were dealing with." Nero said helpfully as she'd done her best to keep track of them. "Sting is fighting one with bat-like wings while Rogue is dealing with another water-looking one but we've not seen any magic from it so we can't confirm that it uses Water Magic."
"If it is water based I should go." Noelle said. "I would be the best to deal with it."
"If it is but we don't know and besides we're almost out of food for the moment and what we do have should be reserved for Finral and Mimosa so I've got a better idea for you." Yami said taking a dragon on his cigarette. "There's a Water Mage in Fairy Tail if I recall, that's where you need to go Noelle. Just like how we're sending corresponding attributes to the Dragon Slayers we need to send our Dragon Slayer to one and she's the only one I noticed with Water Magic."
"Juvia Lockser, she's fighting mini dragons at the moment." Nero pointed out. "So a good idea as those things look tough. They can be handled by strong mages but a Dragon Slayer would turn the tides against them."
"Right then we'll send Noelle and Asta to them but not right away, I want them fully healed after that battle first." Yami said as he looked around and finally saw Sting running away from a dragon that was carving a path through buildings chasing him and just him so while not the most impressive thing it was a good tactic as it saved lives and ensured that the Dragon Slayer could fight one on one where no one else could get hurt or killed. "The two in Sabertooth. They're light and dark, right?"
"White and Shadow actually." Warren corrected. "Sting can consume what's white though I think that included light in general and Rogue consumes shadows."
"I have no idea what white means." Yami said confused by that but even if it did mean that normal Light Magic would work they couldn't help on that front. "Shadow though, that's interesting. Is it just shadow or does darkness work for him as well?"
"No clue." Warren admitted.
"Well either way I've worked with a Shadow Mage before though he's got some other assignment or else he'd be really useful." Yami said recalling his Vice-Captain and the only Black Bull not present in Earth Land, which was annoying as he'd be perfect right now, and the messed up relationship they had with each other. "And this is a good test to see what that kid can do. It's time he pushed past his limits and slew a dragon. Finral, send me to wherever this Rogue guy is."
Finral just nodded as he looked around and saw him fighting the big blue dragon that they all agreed looked like it was water based. Clearly the dragon was stronger and Rogue was struggling to win so quickly Finral created the portal and Yami walked through it his katana to the side and now glowing with his Dark Magic as he grinned at the challenge. As soon as Yami was through the portal it closed leaving the others.
"Right well what now?" Asta asked. "Because I can still fight."
"Well now we…" Nero began before there was a boom and they all looked to the sky. "Huh what is that?"
Everyone present just blinked as they caught the tail end of a massive fiery explosion high in the sky. When it faded they could all make out the shape of the burning dragon flying there, the light from its body bathing everything around it like a small sun and illuminating another dragon that was facing it. It was the one that Natsu had been on earlier, a large and solid looking creature that they couldn't make out details of, but now it was engaging the burning one in battle.
"Er…" Noelle began. "Why are two dragons fighting each other? Aren't they all on the same side? They certainly seemed to be when they arrived."
"Yeah and we just saw that Laxus was dealing with that one before Natsu was." Asta said. "So why is it now fighting another dragon?"
"I don't know much about dragons, really only what Natsu has said, but as he, Wendy and Gajeel were all raised by dragons and see the dragon that raised them as a parent it's clear that some dragons like humans." Warren said as they watched the aerial battle begin. "Natsu's been looking for his father for years in fact. That's not Igneel but it is a fire dragon so perhaps they know each other given that they use the same kind of magic."
"So perhaps that dragon is friends with Natsu's dad then." Asta said. "And somehow that came out when Natsu attacked and now they're friends as well so the burning dragon switched sides and is now helping us because of that."
"Instinctively I want scoff at that but, well, after knowing you for so many years and your ability to turn enemies into friends it's not as ludicrous as it could be." Noelle said with a sigh. "And, well, there is a logical deduction that can be made about fire dragons knowing each other. I doubt that it's that simple but there is a good chance that there is some connection."
"Asta's theory makes sense though whatever the case, that's a huge break." Nero said. "Because now two of the dragons are fighting each other which takes them out of the fight on the ground and out of our concern for the moment. I don't know as much about them as Gordon and Gauche do, they've really studied them since we got to Fiore as we don't have dragons on our continent, but from what we saw they can be damaged by enough force and I'm betting that if two dragons clash their raw strength, teeth, claws, and other physical attributes will play a factor."
"Alright then that deals with all the dragons." Asta said. "But what should we do? We can still help so we should do that."
"How much food is here?" Noelle asked. "Charmy's food I mean?"
"Enough to keep me going for a while." Mimosa said as she ended her spell now that everyone was as healed as they could be, mainly Noelle and a little for Asta, and eating a bit of what had been set aside for her. "I can probably drain and refill two times at least with what we have left and my mana reserves are only slightly less than yours Noelle."
"You are royalty as well." Noelle said which caused Warren and the mermaids to blink at that but she didn't notice or care about the Earth Landers' confusion. "Which is good. You're key to all this Mimosa, you're power is critical to keeping our forces fighting for as long as it takes to beat these dragons."
"I feel like I should be doing more." Mimosa admitted though that was largely in part because she wanted to be able to stand by Asta's side. "All I'm doing is healing."
"Nonsense, I wouldn't have slayed that dragon without you." Noelle said shaking her head. "I got badly hurt and you made sure that I could return to the fight. Right now I'm sure the fights would be worse had it not been for you and Charmy after the Battle Royale."
"Yeah you're amazing Mimosa." Asta said smiling at her his usual honest support causing Mimosa to flush at the praise and Noelle to feel a pang of something she still didn't understand in her heart but she pushed it away as she always did when she got these strange pangs. "Without you I'd have not been able to break out my black form again and we needed that to help beat the dragon. You and Charmy together have given us a chance we couldn't have expected to have after the Battle Royale."
"I'll admit, four of our strongest were badly hurt by Asta in the Battle Royale and they're turning the tides now." Warren said. "Well, Laxus is with your aid. Erza's gotten into a mess again, as have Gray, Juvia, and a few others. Those mini dragons just keep coming it seems."
"Hold up what?" Noelle asked as she turned and looked in time to screens and they saw the heavily bandaged but pretty much fully healed Erza armed with a sword fending off several dragonlings while fighting alongside an unknown man with shaggy blue hair, a strange red tattoo over his right eye, and wearing elaborate blue robes as a horde of mini dragons threatened to overwhelm them. "Oh that's not good."
"I'll go." Asta said. "I can assist that fight without getting in the way. I know Erza's fighting style and ki at this point."
"Your swords will be useful." Nero said before looking at the Sea Empress Sword that Noelle was still holding. "But take that as well. They are mini dragons; a Dragon Slayer Sword could come in handy."
"Yeah it is better with you." Noelle said holding it up and out to Asta blade up so that it wasn't in the way. "I can help as well but I should get a boost before then. Where's Juvia? Send me to her location and I'll recharge and then go to help Asta and Erza. I might even be able to clear out the mini dragons around Juvi as well."
"Good idea." Nero said as Asta took the handle of the sword from Noelle his fingers touching hers for a moment causing her to flush but she pushed it aside as he took it the sword from her hand. "Bring the wrath of a Dragon Slayer down on the mini dragons."
"Oh I intend to." Noelle said as her grimoire floated open. "And I feel stronger for some reason after that fight."
"You're more confident Noelle but yeah I sense that you're stronger." Mimosa said. "You've come so far since the dungeon."
"Thank you." Noelle said as she activated her Sea Dragon Slayer Valkyrie Armor and the mana practically flowed from her as she changed again. "Let's do this! Finral, portal please."
"Finral, we're counting on you to send those green things to us and anyone else who needs healing." Asta said looking at his friend and squadmate. "I know you'll save us and anyone else. You're as vital to this as Mimosa is."
"I'm on it don't worry." Finral said still touched by the trust and faith Asta had in him even if he was still pissing himself in terror at what was going on. "Now go and help as well."
"We are the top Guild now." Asta said with a grin as portals opened before him and Noelle taking them to their destinations. "It's our duty to protect this kingdom just like it is back home."
Noelle nodded before they both rushed forward, Noelle taking to the air as she did, and dove through their portals as they closed. True the Black Bulls had only just become the top Guild but they were being tested right from the start and already they'd lived up to it by being the only Guild to kill a dragon so far. Now it was time to back up the others and do all they can to turn the tides of battle while Natsu flew above dealing with the mastermind of the whole thing.
Everyone left at the command center just watched as the last of their reinforcements were sent out to aid and then turned to see how all of them were doing in the battles they'd gone to aid. The Black Bulls remaining had faith in their squadmates and were ready to do what they could as well as they watched from the command center and the Dragon King Festival entered its next phase.
I think this is a good place to end this shorter than normal chapter. Initially this was supposed to be incorporated into the helping chapter that is coming next but I realized while planning this arc that it would just get really confusing to read while also being tricky to write and ending up being a long, meandering, mess. As such rather than have it as one chapter I broke it up into two with the first one being the reallocation of resources and the next chapter being the aid that the Black Bulls will provide the other fights culminating in the one that will be focused on. It will be easier this way. As for the Millianna and Kagura stuff, that is so that that part of canon can be dealt with off page and by the end of this chapter it has been and they will return to whatever aid they need to provide. There really isn't much more to say about this straightforward chapter so I will leave it off here. If you liked this please favorite, follow, leave a review, or let me know in a PM and I will try to answer any questions posed in reviews and PMs as best I can. Until next time.
Stringdog