"We're dark mages!" - Talking
'We're dark mages!' - Thinking
"We're dark mages!" - Communication via Lacrima / Telepathy
"WE'RE DARK MAGES!" - Screaming
"Fairy Law!" - Spells
[ Here / Now ] - Place / Time
Chapter 13: Fighting in the shadows and in the sky.
[Worth Woodsea – Northeast of Bob's Palace/ 26thOctober X784]
Lyon would have been lying if he had told anyone that his current opponent was weak and that he was simply stalling before defeating the dark mage once and for all. Since he and Sherry had begun their fight against Grady, things hadn't gone well from the start due to their opponent's vast magical power, not to mention the fact that his magic seemed designed to counter theirs.
"What happens? Have you already lost all the grit you had?" asked Grady, standing a few feet away, with a grin on his face and some scratches on his body.
In response, Lyon planted his right fist in the palm of his left hand "Ice Make: Eagle!" before creating dozens of eagles made of ice that flew rapidly towards Grady, who raised an arm to intercept them.
"Gravitational Pressure!" the gravity in the area in front of the dark mage increased dramatically and many of the ice eagles were reduced to crumbs instantly but some of them moved to the sides before converging on Grady, who crossed his arms before extending them outward "Gravitational Dome!" and Lyon's last ice creations were also destroyed as soon as they made contact with the gravitational field around their target.
'His control over gravity is a major obstacle, especially since he can control gravity around himself as well and he doesn't seem to have much delay in changing the area of influence of his magic.' thought Lyon with a frown.
"Looks like your little ice creations can't do much against me." Grady mocked him with an amused smile on his face "Did you really thought you could take on a monster like Deliora with that weak mag-?"
His speech was brutally interrupted by a fist made entirely of earth that hit him in the stomach while an arm held his right leg in place. Ignoring the pain from the blow, Grady looked down and saw what appeared to be an earth golem emerging from the ground, but the Shadow Soul mage thrust a hand at it and instantly crumbled it with his magic; then looking to the left he saw Sherry on her knees with both hands facing him.
"If there's one thing I can't stand it's when other people don't let me talk." hissed Grady before pointing his left hand at her.
"Ice Make: Snow Tiger!" a large tiger made of ice was immediately created by Lyon but when the construct pounced on Grady, he punched him in the middle of the forehead, destroying the entire animal. He then looked back at Sherry, who tried to create another earth golem but Grady increased the gravity in front of him, preventing her from completing the spell, and crushed her to the ground with his magic.
"Sherry!" shouted Lyon trying to create another construct of ice, before being crushed by gravity against the ground. Barely managing to lift his head, he saw that Grady had pointed his right arm at him and was now applying his magic to both mages of Lamia Scale, and he didn't seem as amused as before.
"You will die after her." said Grady before applying even more pressure on Sherry, causing her to scream and cry in pain as her body was slowly crushed.
Lyon tried in vain to get up 'Damn it! I must do something but I can't move!'
"Ice Make: Hammer!"
Both Grady and Lyon's eyes widened in surprise as a large ice hammer was created above the dark mage before crashing down on him but Grady was able to leap back, however having to break his hold on Lyon and Sherry. Looking up quickly, Grady saw a black-haired boy fly towards him on a kite made of ice, before leaping off and landing in front of Lyon.
"Gray…!"
"You okay Lyon?" asked Gray while keeping his eyes on Grady "I felt your magical power and came as fast as possible."
"Tch, don't think you're better just because you're here now." replied Lyon while standing up "He's bad news, he can control gravity. My ice can do nothing against him."
"In that case we simply need to make it work. Follow my lead!" said Gray with a small smile before focusing his magical power in his hands "Ice Make: Arrows!" and after creating a bow of ice, he shot numerous arrows at Grady, who destroyed them all with his magic, but Gray and Lyon took the opportunity to run in two different directions and try to encircle their opponent.
"Ice Make: Snow Dragon!"
"Ice Make: Ice Cannon!"
While Lyon created a giant dragon, Gray fired a blast of magical ice after creating a hand cannon, but Grady aimed his hands at the two attacks and used his magic to destroy them, however since Lyon was on his blind side, Grady did not see him as he controlled his creation to avoid the area afflicted by the increased gravity. Before he could realize his mistake, Grady was struck by the ice dragon and hurled at Gray who ran towards the dark mage to attack him.
"Ice Make: Battle Axe!"
A large curved blade of ice was hurled at Grady who just managed to raise both arms and block the attack with his gauntlets, but they were heavily damaged by Gray's attack. Gritting his teeth, Grady managed to stop by destroying the ice attack when a large ice monkey appeared behind him and tried to crush him but the dark mage created a gravity dome that protected him from the enemy attack, however the monkey seemed more resilient than the previous eagles and managed not to be immediately destroyed by his gravity.
"Now Gray!"
"Way ahead of you! Ice Make: Ice Geyser!" Gray slammed both hands to the ground and several spikes of ice shot out from under Grady's feet as they were within the safe zone of his spell, thus unaffected by it. Grady had no way to defend himself from the attack and his magic was interrupted by it, thus allowing Lyon's ice monkey to hit him from above and smash him with such force that the ground shook.
Grady spat out a lot of blood and saliva from the impact but when he opened his eye, he saw a giant tree at least fifty feet tall that had come to life and now towered over him. Behind Lyon, Sherry was putting all her power into controlling that giant wooden doll before ordering it to strike Grady and the gigantic construct, after raising a fist, slammed it into the dark mage, shaking the ground and hurling Gray and Lyon back due to the shock wave.
Gray immediately got to his feet and took a deep breath before walking over to Lyon and helping him up "How are you feeling?"
"Now that we've dealt with that monster, much better." replied Lyon before looking at his guildmate, who was sitting on the ground since controlling something so big had drained her of whatever strength she had left, with a small smile on his face "Good job with that doll Sherry."
She blushed upon hearing those words but, before she could answer him, she felt something strange in her doll and looking at it, she couldn't help but be confused to see her trembling "What the…?" she then moved her eyes toward the hand still pressed again the ground "Don't tell me…!"
Lyon and Gray also turned to the doll's hand and were surprised to see it being lifted.
"Do you really think…"
The three mages' eyes widened in shock at hearing Grady's voice as the dark wizard was slowly but surely lifting the entire doll using only his left arm.
"…that I can be defeated…"
As the air around him was distorted, Gray and the others saw his eye glow with power as he gathered even more magical power around his right hand, preparing to strike.
"…by something so weak?! Gravitational Blow!" and with a mighty punch he struck the doll, destroying its entire arm before collapsing it to the ground as Sherry was no longer able to control it. Cracking his neck, he looked at his three opponents before pointing both arms at Sherry "Crushing!"
In the silence of the forest there was only a sudden, gruesome noise of crushed bones and torn flesh and when Gray and Lyon turned to Sherry, they were horrified to see that her legs, from the knees down, had been completely eradicated. Only when the blood gushed out of the two stumps did Sherry begin to scream in the throes of the greatest pain she'd ever felt in her entire life.
Lyon was shocked to see his guildmate in such a state but Gray managed to bring his attention back to their opponent and create a thick wall of ice between them to separate them. Grady narrowed his gaze and, having amassed even more magical power, released it all in front of him "Crushing!"
The entire area in front of him was distorted by various gravitational forces that disintegrated the ice wall and what was behind it, creating in the blink of an eye a huge hole so deep that the bottom was not visible. There was no sign of Gray and Lyon, and Sherry seeing this could only shake her head as the pain became unbearable "N-No! L-Lyon-sama…!"
Grady said nothing about it and walked away without glancing at Sherry, leaving her to bleed to death, before using his magic to make a huge leap and vanish into the foliage of the trees. Suddenly he felt something strange, as if someone or something was trying to control him but that feeling only lasted an instant before fading 'What was that…? Well it doesn't matter. I can feel the magical power of Asteria where Aki is, so she arrived on time. Might as well go give them a hand.'
Back with Sherry, the poor girl was going crazy by now from the pain and the loss of her beloved Lyon but when she was close to passing out, she felt a cool sensation in her legs and, looking down, was shocked to see Lyon himself blocking the blood loss with his ice "L-Lyon-sama?! H-How-?!"
Lyon pointed a finger at Gray, who was now stepping out of the hole Grady had made "He used all his magic to create a shield that could protect us but it wasn't enough and we ended up in that hole…sorry I wasn't fast enough to save you…now your legs are…"
"I'm glad…" he looked at her with confused eyes "…that you are alive…Lyon-sama…" and with those words she closed her eyes before passing out, having now exhausted all energy.
"We have to take her to Wendy…" said Gray while holding his own right arm. Although he managed to survive Grady's attack, he had still suffered several damages and he was sure he had some broken bones.
Lyon nodded before picking Sherry up and walking towards the rendezvous point. After a few steps, he whispered "He's a monster…"
"Yes…that he is…" nodded Gray, feeling useless since he hadn't gotten to help anyone on that mission.
He could only hope that none of his friends had to face Grady or any of his comrades, otherwise the situation could get even worse…
[Worth Woodsea – North of Bob's Palace/ 26thOctober X784]
"That's Nirvana…you see." Bacchus looked at Hoteye with surprised eyes, yet the dark mage had a calm gaze "Please, don't worry. Nirvana itself has yet to be activated. The seal has been removed, that is all. Still…the scent of money is in the air." he then began to chuckle, ignoring the opponent in front of him or the one hidden among the trees.
'So someone is trying to awaken Nirvana…' thought Reina, listening to the other dark mage while looking at her opponents from above 'Apparently no one was able to stop Brain, but Hoteye said that only the seal was removed so there's still time. Maybe I should step away and head towards that pillar of light. Confronting these two no longer makes sense.'
"Oi oi, you're not gonna go full psycho on me or something like that, are you?" asked Bacchus, seeing that Hoteye was acting strange, or at least stranger than before.
"Money! Money! We are going to be rich!" shouted Hoteye before suddenly widening his eyes, observing the sky "Oooh…ooooh…OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!"
"I knew it would end like this." said Bacchus, reading himself for another fight, with Reina doing the same but then Hoteye brought his arms along his body, looking at Bacchus with a warm smile devoid of any negative emotion.
"Money…I don't need it at all~!"
"…huh?"
'…huh?' Reina could do nothing but mimic the incredulous expression currently visible on Bacchus' face.
"I was desperate to find the younger brother I lost…I thought that if I had the money I'd be able to find him! But now I see that was all a mistake!" he opened his arms to embrace Bacchus "Come, let's put an end to this silly conflict!"
"Now wait a damn minute!" Bacchus pointed a finger at him "How is it possible that up to a second ago you were only babbling about money and now you say you don't need it anymore?"
"Oh that would the effect of the first stage of Nirvana, you see." explained Hoteye with a hand on his chest "That black light is forcibly swapping the alignments of those caught between 'good' and 'evil', such as myself!"
Bacchus raised an eyebrow, looking at the pillar of light "What a troublesome magic…"
"Indeed, but enough of that! You are here to stop us and Nirvana, correct?" asked Hoteye, and when Bacchus nodded, he smiled even more "Then you must go! I will take on our dear huntress so you can help your companions!"
The wizard of Quatro Cerberus looked at him in surprise "Are you serious? She could kill you, ya know?"
"But of course, still I won't let her stop you. With the power of love I will overcome her and come to your aid!" nodded Hoteye with a confident smile "Now go! Your friends need you!"
Bacchus looked at him for a few seconds before grinning "You're a really interesting dude, if we ever meet again I'll buy you a drink for sure!" and with those words he darted towards the pillar of black light, while Hoteye closed his eyes momentarily.
"Now, my dear Huntress…" he brought a hand to his face with two fingers under his eyes before opening them, now completely golden, and looking after a few seconds towards Reina "…time to show you the power of love!" and with a single wave of his hand, he sent a giant wave of liquid ground into the tree where she was hiding, knocking it to the ground, however Reina had already jumped off and landed several feet away from Hoteye.
'Now that we're alone he can focus exclusively on me. I have to kill him quickly.' thought Reina with narrowed eyes before taking a deep breath 'I don't know if I can do what I have in mind, probably not but I might as well try.' when she looked back at Hoteye, her eyes now glowed with power and were identical to those of a wild beast with slit pupils "Mark of the Hunt."
Hoteye suddenly felt a cold shiver run down his spine but he couldn't be surprised for too long as Reina ran towards him with incredible speed. Oración Seis' mage quickly moved a hand to send a wave of liquid ground at Reina but even before the attack was close to her, she had already swung to the right to try and outflank him, having equipped her bow and the 'Shroud of Smokes' cloak all the while.
Continuing to run, she fired several arrows in quick succession but Hoteye put up a wall of dirt for protection. In those few seconds in which the wall of liquid ground separated them, Reina lurched forward aiming her bow at the sky and shot five arrows, chanting "Glacial Arrow!" and the next instant she released a great cloud of smoke from her cloak.
Hoteye saw the arrows fly skyward but had to focus on his opponent, launching a giant wave of liquid ground to blow away the smoke screen and Reina herself, however there was too much smoke to be cleared in one blow and there was no sign of Reina. Quickly bringing a hand to his face, Hoteye activated the magic in his eyes and after less than a second he was shocked to see that Reina was standing in a small cloud of smoke just inches from the impact area of his latest attack, and she was now holding a spear in her hand, ready to throw it.
What he hadn't seen before, and what he couldn't know, was that Mark of the Hunt had granted her overdeveloped senses thanks to which she was able to perceive the movement of the ground and the direction of his attack even in the middle of the smoke screen, thus managing to position herself in a safe point. Preparing to fight back, Hoteye moved an arm to use his magic but a whistle from above reached his ears and, following his instinct, he leapt backwards just as the arrows Reina had fired earlier lodged in the spot where he was standing, missing him by the hair.
"True Strike: Splinter-Point!" shouted Reina, hurling her spear, which blade now glowed softly, through a magic circle that appeared before her. The bullet darted through the air aimed at Hoteye, who raised an arm to erect a new wall in his defense but his eyes widened in shock when nothing happened and, looking down, he saw that the ground around the arrows was completely frozen.
"She-!"
STAB!
A large amount of blood flowed from his mouth as Reina's spear pierced his chest. With his arms shaking, he tried to grab the weapon to remove it from his body, but five arrows drove into his body in quick succession, causing him to spit more blood. Feeling suddenly weak, Hoteye dropped to his knees in a puddle of his own blood, looking up at Reina, who was advancing towards him with a calm step.
Standing in front of her opponent, Reina grabbed her spear with one hand before pulling it from his body, spreading more blood on the ground, after which she brought a quick slash to clean it from the blood and dematerialized it, replacing it with her curved short sword.
"Ah…to thin…that I…on't see…my brother…ag…in…" whispered Hoteye with blood dripping from his mouth.
Reina looked at him for a moment "What's your brother name?"
"…Wal…ly…Buchan…an…"
The dark mage was silent before raising her right arm, gripping her sword "Someone with that name recently joined Fairy Tail, your brother is a mage in a legal guild."
Hoteye looked at her with incredulous eyes before smiling "Oh…I…m…glad to-!"
SLASH!
THUD!
Hoteye's head fell to the ground and his body collapsed seconds later. Reina stared at his corpse for a few seconds before using a hem of his dress to clean her sword, whereupon she sent it into her pocket dimension and without saying anything she darted towards the pillar of light.
Now that she had finally killed a member of the Oración Seis she could concentrate on their main mission.
[Worth Woodsea – Northeast of Bob's Palace/ 26thOctober X784]
A powerful explosion shook the ground and the surrounding trees, and out of the cloud of smoke caused by the explosion leapt Winter, holding his spear before looking up, where he saw Asteria create another magic circle in front of her "Cosmos Ray!"
Golden and dark energy poured into the magic circle before she fired a dozen energy beams, but Winter leapt back to avoid the first two which caused powerful explosions once they hit the ground. Narrowing his gaze, the Rune Knight ran quickly to avoid the other lasers, striking the last one with the tip of his spear to cause yet another explosion and hide in the smoke screen. Asteria huffed in annoyance before creating another magic circle to attack again, but at the last she felt a surge of magic power in the middle of the smoke.
"Cursed-Spear Style; First Form: Assiah!"
A burst of powerful flames exploded from the cloud of smoke, forcing her to interrupt her spell in order to avoid the incoming attack but, much to her own surprise, she was immediately face to face with Winter, his spear already drawn back and ready to strike.
'He managed to jump up here without using any magic?!' thought Asteria before noticing the water condensing around the spearhead of his weapon 'Shit! Need to defend!' and in a blink of an eye she created a magic circle in front of her "Astrosphere!"
Quickly swinging her arms in front of her, Asteria created a barrier composed of golden and dark cosmic energy just as Winter thrust his spear forward "Cursed-Spear Style; Fourth Form: Takamagahara!"
As his spear made contact with Asteria's barrier, it unleashed a powerful blast of pressurized water that concentrated all its power into a single point. Her spell held for a few seconds before cracks formed from the point of impact, thus allowing Winter's attack to penetrate the barrier. Asteria grunted in pain before moving backwards after her barrier was completely destroyed, with her opponent immediately trying to reach her once he set foot on the ground, but she quickly raised an arm towards the sky before summoning her next attack "Pleiades!"
Six white beams of light ascended into the sky before traveling towards Winter, who stopped instantly before striking them all in rapid succession with his spear, being knocked back by the shock waves. The Rune Knight observed his opponent, who had stopped a few meters in front of Aki, before ending up on her knees.
Asteria brought a hand to her stomach before lifting it up and seeing it completely covered in blood "Oh fuck this shit…" she then looked down and saw a bleeding hole on the right side of her lower abdomen, where Winter's attack had pierced her earlier.
"That wound could kill you if you don't get medical treatment in time." said Winter with a serious voice while shifting his gaze toward Aki "Leave her here and go. I promise I won't hunt you down this time."
Asteria looked at him for just a moment before bursting out laughing, however keeping a hand on the wound "Are you fucking serious?! Do you really think a wound like this is enough to make me give up? Think again!" she suddenly released a large amount of magical power enveloping herself in a golden aura "You're one of the Rune Knights big shots, aren't you? You have to know that if there's one thing I like it's fighting and you're really crazy if you think I'll leave without saying anything! I'm ready when you are!"
Winter narrowed his gaze before his light blue eyes widened in surprise; turning quickly, he raised his spear to defend himself just as Grady tried to strike him with a fist wrapped in a gray aura. The Rune Knight gritted his teeth as he felt the power of the blow before being thrown off and, immediately after, being hit by Asteria with an elbow to the center of the back, knocking the air out of his lungs.
"Gravitational Pressure!"
Winter immediately found himself crushed to the ground by Grady's magic, barely able to hold on having used his magical power to protect himself at the last second, however out of the corner of his eye he saw Asteria creating a magic circle in front of her; energy and cosmic dust flowed around her hands before taking the form of a majestic bow with an arrow already nocked which she immediately aimed at him before shooting "Orion's Arrow!"
The arrow then detonated in a giant golden explosion that shook all the surrounding trees and caused a strong shock wave that forced Asteria to shield herself with both arms in front of her face. After a few seconds, she looked at the column of smoke that was rising towards the sky, while Grady approached her shortly after "Sorry for the delay, but I wanted to make sure I hit him."
"You took your sweet fucking time huh?" growled Asteria before suppressing another curse as she pressed her hands on her wound "Fucker got me for good, that spear is dangerous."
"And also resistant I would say, like its owner…" noted Grady, his lone eye moving towards the column of smoke just as a silhouette emerged from it.
With several burns on his body, Winter peeled off what was left of dark metal shoulder pads and chest plate, while his white trench coat was now reduced to shreds. Taking a deep breath, he then watched his opponents while summoning his spear again, releasing a consistent amount of blue and white magical power from his body.
"You really don't want to die huh?" asked Asteria taking a fighting pose with Grady at her side but then they both turned to face each other as they saw Aki stepping between them, holding her sword in both hands, ready to fight.
"What are you doing?" asked Asteria, looking at her with a raised eyebrow "You should just rest."
"This is also my fight." replied Aki without taking her eyes off Winter "I want to go through with it."
Asteria showed her a toothy grin "I like your style."
"I see it well, you also have a wound equal to her." noted Grady with a small chuckle, seeing the wounds on their side "Are you wound-sisters or something like that?"
All he got was a middle finger from Asteria.
Winter chose that moment to sprint towards them and Asteria flew up, wrapped in her golden aura while Grady tried to pin their opponent down with his gravity, however Winter moved to the side before closing the distance between them, trying to to stab Grady. The dark mage raised an arm and used one of his gauntlets to deflect the enemy blade but when he tried to grab that weapon Winter dematerialized it and managed to hit him with a palm strike in the center of the chest, throwing him backwards, hen he summoned his spear to protect himself from Aki's slash and pushed her back, immediately trying to pierce her heart, but the swordswoman raised her sword and used the flat of the blade to protect herself, causing sparks to fly between the two weapons.
Asteria quickly moved behind the Rune Knight to strike him, but Winter spun around to try to hit her sideways with the blade of his spear, however the dark mage whirled around the weapon and attempted to punch him in the face; he cocked his head to the side to avoid her and then headbutted her in the face. The impact made Asteria stagger backwards but Winter didn't give her a break and, after grabbing her ankle, threw her on Aki, making them both fall to the ground.
The spearman then leapt up to attempt to spear them from above but was forced to defend himself from a large boulder thrown by Grady who thus managed to break his assault before dashing towards him. The Rune Knight swung his spear before pointing it at Grady "Cursed-Spear Style; First Form: Assiah!"
As fire erupted from the tip of Winter's spear, Grady froze instantly, watching in shock as the flames drew closer before being shoulder-tackled by Asteria and thrown out of the way, saving him from the attack. Shaking his head, Grady saw Aki engage Winter in a duel as Asteria appeared before him to force him to his feet "Hey what's wrong with you?! Why did you suddenly stop?!"
Grady looked down and saw that his hands were shaking slightly so he forced them into clenched fists, making the metal of his gauntlets screech "It's nothing. Get ready to strike, I'll knock him off balance and then we'll all attack him together, okay?"
Asteria watched him for a few seconds before nodding and moving away after activating her Meteor spell, while Grady quickly run towards Winter and Aki before placing both hands on the ground, focusing on their opponent "Ground Breaker!"
Focusing his gravity solely on the ground, he created thick cracks that quickly reached Winter, momentarily knocking him off balance.
"NOW!" shouted Grady before jumping at him with his right arm full of magical power and ready to strike "Gravitational Blow!"
Aki wasted no time in raising her blade before bringing it down with all the strength she had "Cursed-Sword Style; Third Form: Tartarus!" and with her, Asteria also arrived while aiming at Winter with a dropkick using the speed acquired with her spell. With all three attacks now close to hitting him, Winter could only raise his spear horizontally in defense before gritting his teeth and preparing to receive them.
The ground shook severely as the three attacks struck Winter's spear and the Rune Knight felt the bones of his body begin to give as he was slowly overwhelmed by the three dark mages but after a few seconds their eyes widened in shock as he began to push them back.
"You gotta be shitting me!" shouted Asteria before Winter unleashed a mighty roar along with a blast of magical power, successfully knocking them away. Aki and Grady skidded several meters along the ground before she fell to her knees while Asteria landed a few meters from them, watching in shock as Winter emerged from the small crater they'd pushed him into. The spearman was visibly exhausted and you could tell this by his heavy breathing and the fact that he had the spear pointed downwards, barely managing to stand, yet after taking a few steps he raised his spear and assumed a fighting stance.
Aki looked at him in pain before trying to get up but suddenly she felt very tired and collapsed to the ground, only then noticing a shadow above her "Bonnie…"
"You need rest. Now sleep. Hibernation." whispered Bonnie over her giant pillow as a green stigma appeared on Aki's body.
Winter looked at the newcomer with narrowed eyes while Asteria chuckled a bit "Now we got a healer as well! Do you really think you can take on us while being alone and wounded?" she pointed at his wounds with a mocking grin "That wound could kill you if you don't get medical treatment in time. Leave this place and go. I promise I won't hunt you down this time."
The Rune Knights did not take the bait in the words of Asteria, who had also tried to imitate his voice to make fun of him, but he only made his spear disappear, having understood by now that he could not hope to face all four of them and get out alive. Looking at the column of black light for just one moment, he then returned his eyes to his opponents, especially Aki "This story doesn't end there. That woman will face justice whether you like it or not." and subsequently walked away, heading towards what he believed was the place where Nirvana was. Asteria and Grady watched him go for several seconds before collapsing to the floor, trying to catch their breath.
"What a fucking monster…"
"I told you didn't I?" said Grady with a sigh "I think in duel, only Siegmund could face him and win. That knight is on another level compared to all the others, no wonders that Acier deems him a possible threat."
"Heh...I'm surprised he got a reaction out of that guy. I wonder if he even managed to make him change his facial expression." chuckled Asteria before looking at Bonnie "Hey, can you by any chance make your spell heal faster?"
"It's possible…" said Asteria with both eyes closed "It will last less though."
"Then use it on me. I want to go to that pillar of light as soon as possible."
Bonnie said nothing and just put her to sleep, causing a green stigma to appear on her body as well while Grady just lay down on the ground to rest, having used a lot of magical power. After a few seconds, he raised his arm and looked at the dents Winter's spear carved into his gauntlet before letting out a long sigh "I guess the road to become the strongest is still long after all…"
[Worth Woodsea/ 26thOctober X784]
Bacchus was running at full speed towards the column of black light. The idea of having abandoned the fight had left a bad taste in his mouth, not to mention that he wasn't very good at perceiving magical power so he couldn't even know how the duel between Hoteye and that sorceress was going by now. Promising to offer him a drink should both survive the day, Bacchus had to stop however when he saw a figure emerge from behind a tree, an effeminate boy with black and white hair and two cold red eyes.
The newcomer looked at him with bored eyes, but Bacchus immediately assumed a fighting pose, having recognized Midnight from the previous fight, where, however, he had done nothing but sleep.
"You finally woke up huh?" said Bacchus with a small grin "Have you decided to fight perhaps?"
"Fighting? No." said Midnight with a bored toned of voice "Hunting? Yes."
Bacchus wasted no time and darted towards his opponent to try to defeat him quickly but after a few steps he felt his armor twist unnaturally. His armor only covered his arms and shoulders but that was enough to make him stop as his arms adhered to his body, one along his back and one across his chest "Gh! What the hell is…this?!"
"I am Midnight, the strongest mage of Oración Seis." said his opponent without a care in the world before walking toward him "You can defeat me."
"We...will see...about...that!" replied Bacchus before flexing his muscles with a mighty shot, shattering his whole arm. Now free of that spell, Bacchus cracked his neck "You know, I really liked that armor."
Midnight didn't say about it and just swiped one arm to the side "Spiral Pain."
Bacchus immediately found himself in the center of a spiral of wind where he began to receive countless attacks making him grunt in pain; several bruises and cuts appeared on his body before the attack ended but Bacchus didn't hesitate for a moment to throw himself at Midnight, preparing to strike him in the face, however when he managed to attack him, the mage of Quatro Cerberus was surprised to see his hand bounce away as if it had struck something as powerful as his magical palm.
"You can't hit me." said Midnight before kicking in the chest, sending him on the ground.
Bacchus immediately got to his feet before trying to hit him again with several attacks, but each time his hands bounced off something as he was about to strike Midnight. Trying to change his approach, he tried to sidekick him in the legs and was surprised to see Midnight jump back to avoid the attack.
'What the...why did he dodge it when he has that strange shield to protect him?' thought Bacchus before looking at his own hands, a small smirk appearing on his face. Assuming his attack stance again he sprinted toward Midnight and tried to hit him again in the face and as before his hand bounced off something but he tried again with his other hand however at the last possible second he stopped the attack, took an extra step forward and turned his palm strike into an elbow strike.
The sound of his elbow hitting Midnight's nose was music to his ears.
Midnight staggered back a few steps, holding a hand to his bleeding nose and glaring at Bacchus with hatred, while his opponent smirked at him "My intuition was right then, that shield of yours can deflect magic but not simple attacks with no magical power. That's how you deflected my attacks, waiting for me to release the magic from my palms to protect you. I'm sorry for you, but I'm the worst opponent you could find!"
Midnight was silent for a moment before looking at him with a cold smile "Magic can't hurt me." he then removed the hand from his nose and all the blood was gone, confusing Bacchus.
'Did he stop bleeding? At the very least, that blow should have broken his nose and made him bleed for a while. Is it possible that he also has some recovery magic?' the martial artist thought before his eyes widened in shock as several large, deep cuts suddenly opened across his body, spouting blood all around "Wha-?!"
"I told you didn't I? I am the strongest, I even surpass my father." said Midnight while Bacchus fell to the ground, unmoving. The dark mage looked at his opponent again with bored eyes "In the end, even someone like you, who's supposed to be an S-class mage, can't do anything to me." he then turned to leave but stopped after a few steps, intensely observing the branches of some nearby trees. Saying nothing, he swung an arm in that direction and dozens of blades of distorted air tore the branches apart; the dark mage silently watched the branches fall before returning to look at the column of black light and walking in that direction.
His father was most likely close to activating Nirvana, and he would make sure to wipe out any bugs that wanted to stop him. After all, he was the strongest in the guild and no one could defeat him.
[Worth Woodsea – Nirvana's Location/ 26thOctober X784]
Asher had carefully observed Jellal for several minutes but the ex Wizard Saint didn't seem willing to move from where he was, furthermore the Shadow Soul mage was continuing to keep an eye on Cobra, who was probably doing the same with him. Having now ascertained that Nirvana did not seem about to activate further, even if Asher wasn't sure, having little information about it, the dark mage used his magic and teleported a few meters away to Jellal's left, so that he could see Cobra in an emergency.
Jellal looked at Asher with serious eyes, while Cobra was surprised by what happened 'Shit! He can teleport?! If I were to try to move he could immediately kill Jellal but I can't let him do it if Nirvana isn't fully activated!'
Asher looked at him with the same serious eyes "Do you possess the ability to control the Nirvana?"
"I don't know…" was the only reply of Jellal as he looked at the stone column, whispering something.
"What?"
"Erza." said again Jellal, now louder while looking back at Asher "Erza. All I remember is that word…"
"Erza?" repeated Asher with a raised eyebrow, having a bad feeling about it.
"Who am I…?" Jellal put both hands to his face before looking at Asher, his face almost pleading "Could you tell me who I am? Do you know who I am? Who is this Erza…? I…can't remember a thing…"
"You lost your memory." was Asher's immediate reply, having recognized the obvious symptoms of a strong amnesia. That sudden obstacle greatly complicated the matter, as Asher had followed Jellal also to see if he was able to control that ancient spell, but now he was practically an empty shell and most likely useless for his mission. However, it must be acknowledged that Jellal had nevertheless reached the place where Nirvana was sealed and had activated it, so perhaps his memories were not completely lost.
"Your name is Jellal Fernandez." said Asher, opting to use a common technique for curing amnesia; by giving him some information perhaps he could have completely unlocked Jellal's memories and obtained control of Nirvana, thus completing one of the objectives of their mission "You were a member of the Magic Council and one of the Wizard Saints, but you died weeks ago after betraying them."
"I…betrayed them?" repeated Jellal, looking at the ground, ashamed of his own actions.
'This isn't good.' thought Asher with narrowed eyes 'I'm wasting my time with him and I don't think this will be enough to bring his memory back.'
Having had enough of waiting, Cobra stepped out with Cubellios at his side, startling Jellal as Asher brought a hand to the hilt of his blade "I understand that you've lost your memory, no wonder why I couldn't read your mind." he stopped a few meters from the other two, looking at Jellal "How did you get here? And why did you unseal Nirvana?"
"I heard somebody's voice in my dreams, telling me to 'get the Nirvana'…" explained Jellal looking away for a moment "I faintly remembered the magic and the whereabouts, but that was enough. This is a dangerous magic and I can't hand it over to anybody else." he then looked back at Cobra as purple lines and runes started to appear behind him "That's why I unsealed it, so that I could completely destroy it."
Cobra looked at him with shocked eyes "WHAT?!"
To the side, even Asher had a slightly surprised face "You want to destroy it?"
"I've already cast a self-destruction spell on it. The Nirvana will soon disappear on his own and only I know the canceling code." explained Jellal as Cobra rushed past it, in order to undo the spell himself but it was clear that he didn't have the necessary skills. On the other hand, Asher was thinking of another way to fix the situation as retrieving Nirvana was one of Shadow Soul's goals, but if Jellal destroyed it then their mission failed. For a single instant he thought of torturing or threatening Jellal, but he quickly discarded that idea being certain that the other mage would not give in and in any case he didn't have much time to interrogate him properly.
However Asher immediately had to refocus on Jellal when he saw him spit some blood as a seal similar to that of Nirvana appeared on his body.
Cobra saw this as well and shouted "Another self-destruction spell?! Don't tell me you want to take the canceling code to your grave!"
Jellal however ignored him, looking up "Erza…I don't know why but i feel a strong warmth and kindness coming from this name." he then fell backwards, coughing up more blood "I wonder who this Erza is...I don't know why but I think I caused her great pain...I hope one day she can forgive me."
'This isn't good.' thought Asher while the gears of his mind turned quickly in search of a solution; he wasn't able to undo spells like that, but maybe that independent sorceress he'd made a deal with could help him, however Jellal seemed on the verge of dying (again) and Asher doubted he had enough time to find that girl and bring her back there 'If he dies and Nirvana is destroyed we will no longer have a way of possessing it.'
"What's going on here?"
Asher and Cobra, as well as Jellal though with greater difficulty, turned towards the source of the voice and saw Brain advancing towards them. The leader of the Oración Seis looked at the huge tangle of seals created by Jellal "A self-destruction spell, I see."
"Jellal cast it, Brain!" said Cobra, looking at the downed mage with an angry look "He won't tell me the canceling code! At this rate Nirvana will be destroyed!"
A small smirk appeared on the older man lips "Don't worry, Cobra. You should know the reason why my code name is Brain, right? I used to work at the Bureau of Magical Development." he looked to the side at Asher, who had fully drawn his short sword "There are several hundreds of types of magic that I created using my knowledge during that time. One of those is this self-destruction magic."
Brain stopped in front of the huge stone column before looking over his shoulder "I'm the one that taught you most of your spells, have you forgotten, Jellal?" he then moved his empty hand to the side, touching the runes of the spell "Even without the canceling code…" shattering them in a blink "…I can invalidate this spell, very easily."
"It can't be…" whispered Jellal while Cobra looked at his leader in awe.
Brain then noticed something about Jellal "A self-destruction spell on your body as well? Did you intend to die with the canceling code?"
"His memory is damaged by the impact of the Etherion." explained Cobra, a smirk on his face "It seems he even forgot he was evil."
Brain was silent for a few seconds before bursting out laughing "What a pity, Jellal! I'll take Nirvana then, but first…!" he pointed his staff at Jellal "Since we don't need you anymore, I can kill you for good!" and then a beam of darkness was shot from the tip of his staff, yet a voice thundered in the air.
"I WON'T LET YOU KILL HIM!"
Appearing out of nowhere with supernatural speed, Mira slammed the laser with a claw, driving it into rocks and protecting Jellal, before standing above him, spreading her wings and glaring at Brain and Cobra. The dark mage who had just attacked Jellal smirked "I was sure you were busy with Hoteye, but something seems to have changed. He was too far from here, therefore it could not have been you who defeated him."
Cobra looked at him with shocked eyes "Hoteye lost?"
"Angel and Racer as well." said Brain without losing his smirk "But now we have the Nirvana which means we won, however…I'm really curious why you saved Jellal."
Mira said nothing to him, just looked down at the wizard below her, who looked at her with confused eyes "Because Erza would never forgive me if I let him die."
As Jellal's eyes widened in surprise, Brain burst out laughing again "That's it?! And here I was expecting some serious reason! Now I have no more reason to wait before activating Nirvana!"
At that very moment, Asher appeared behind him, ready to decapitate him with his sword but Cobra grabbed his wrist before he could strike, staring at the Shadow Soul mage with a smirk "I can hear you!" before throwing him away just as Brain opened his arms outward.
"WAKE! NIRVANA!"
In a dazzling flash of white light, the ground beneath them exploded hurling boulders all around and Mira, Jellal and Asher were blasted away as the whole forest shook as never before, uprooting trees and creating huge crevices from which emerged gargantuan long legs of wrought stone. For several seconds total chaos reigned in the forest, alarming everyone as before them rose a gigantic stone construction with six legs and a small city built on its back, and in the center of the tallest building, Brain was entranced by what had just happened.
"Finally! It's mine!" he shouted while standing in the middle of several magic circles "The greatest weapon against the light: Super Reversal Magic, Nirvana! From now on, those regular guilds' strongest weapons, their trust and unity, will be useless against us!"
"Why…did you save me?"
Mira had just landed in a corridor on the edge of Nirvana, after soaring in the air with Jellal during the awakening of that massive construct, when he had asked her that question. Deactivating her Satan Soul, the albino looked at him with calm yet warm eyes "I said it just now, didn't I? Erza would never forgive me if I let you die Jellal. I don't know exactly what your story is, but I know that you have to go back to her."
"How…? You're not even sure this Erza is the one you know…"
"Does scarlet hair mean anything to you?" asked Mira and seeing a hint of realization in his eyes, she smiled even more "Trust me, she's the Erza we both know. Now please…deactivate that self-destruction spell."
"I can't…" Jellal looked down "I've done some terrible things, haven't I? I don't deserve to live."
"Yes, as far as I know you have done terrible things and made many people suffer." nodded Mira before placing a hand over his shoulder "But as far as I'm concerned, everyone has the right to live, even you. Don't you think you should meet Erza at least once to truly atone for your sins? I'm sure she would like you to live your life to the fullest too."
Jellal was clearly still uncertain "I failed to destroy the Nirvana...it's all over now."
"No, we still have ways to stop it. We just have to believe it, and I'm sure the others are coming here to help too." said Mira with a confident smile on her face "Don't lose hope Jellal, and everything will work out for the best!"
The former Magic Council member was silent for several seconds before putting a hand to his chest and undoing the spell, then looking at the albino "How are you going to stop the Nirvana?"
Mira's smile became incredibly more evil as a dark aura began to envelop her body "The Fairy Tail way of course: by destroying it!"
[Worth Woodsea – Near the Nirvana/ 26thOctober X784]
Standing on the topmost branch of a tree, Ranmaru critically eyed the huge construct that had just emerged from the ground. When the ground had started to shake she was heading towards the column of light after stopping for a few seconds to observe the clash between Bacchus and Midnight, with the latter having to be particularly adept at sensing the presence of others, as he was able to sense her even though his attack then hit another spot after Ranmaru completely erased her presence, having learned to do it when she was younger. With no time available for a careful analysis of Midnight's magic, Ranmaru had it momentarily stored in the back of her mind before continuing on towards her goal before being forced to stop again by the earthquake.
To be completely honest with herself, Ranmaru had to admit she was surprised to see that huge stone construct standing up to its full size. She had seen and studied many things, both in person and in books, but none came even remotely close to what was before her eyes at that moment. The idea of being able to study something so ancient and impressive excited her for a few moments before reality brought her back down to earth.
"Given the current situation and the disposition of the different sides in the game it is highly probable that Nirvana will be damaged or completely destroyed within a few hours." Ranmaru said, quickly scribbling as many things as possible in her notebook before moving her gaze to the nearest leg. It was imperceptible at first, but now she was sure she could feel magical power flowing from the ground through the leg, all the way to Nirvana's body.
"Absorption of Ethernano present in the ground to power the entire structure, if each leg has this ability, Nirvana could potentially never stop." she wrote that too in her notebook before feeling the ground shake again and, after a few seconds, one of Nirvana's legs lifted and the whole construct began to move in a certain direction. In the brief instant she saw the base of one of the 'feet', Ranmaru noticed a strange seal engraved in a circular stone placed in the center of the foot, most likely the method by which Nirvana was absorbing the magic from the ground.
Putting away her notebook, Ranmaru began to jump from branch to branch in pursuit of Nirvana to intercept one of its legs and thus be able to climb higher, when she felt several presences and, looking up, she spotted Lucy and Jura trying not to fall after grabbing onto one of Nirvana's legs, with Natsu flying above them thanks to Happy. Due to the noise made by the moving Nirvana, Ranmaru couldn't hear what they were saying but only saw Natsu nod before quickly flying to the top of the Nirvana, where it was reasonable to assume the control room was located.
Having already heard of the Dragon Slayer and his tendency to destroy public property during missions, Ranmaru could only increase the pace of her leaps, hoping to study Nirvana before it was completely destroyed.
[Worth Woodsea – Rune Knight's Base Camp/ 26thOctober X784]
"That thing is…the Nirvana?" said Wendy, looking at the giant construct, while focusing on what looked like a small city on its back. She had recently finished fully healing Lyon, Gray and Sherry, although she hadn't been able to do anything for her legs other than close the stumps completely, trying with all of her heart not to cry at the sight of those wounds.
Gray glared at the Nirvana "Damn it! Don't tell me the Oración Seis managed to activate it!"
Sitting next to Sherry, now fast asleep, Lyon could only silently watch with the Rune Knights as Nirvana began to move, and the only lucky note of the situation was that it wasn't heading towards them. The situation wasn't the most optimistic, now that Nirvana had been activated, there was the risk that the Oración Seis would use it to destroy the entire kingdom.
"Were you able to get in touch with Captain Winter?" asked a Rune Knight to another man, who was handling communications with the Magic Council, but he shook his head.
"Not yet, it's possible his Lacrima was destroyed."
"Carla…" the white cat looked up at Wendy "Natsu-san is probably there, along with everyone else."
Carla crossed her paws, sighing "They are all brutes, but it is clear that they will do anything to stop Nirvana. I wouldn't be surprised if they were climbing those legs right now."
"I…I want to help them!" Wendy looked at her friend "Please Carla!"
"Honestly, child…" Carla shook her head with another sigh "I knew you would say that, and I also know that if I decide not to help you, you'll go anyway, right?" Wendy's determined look was her only answer so the white cat made her wings appear before attaching herself to Wendy's back "Get ready Wendy, I'll try to go as fast as possible."
"Hey! What are you doing?" asked Gray, looking at them with confused eyes.
Wendy looked back at him "I'm sorry but I need to help them! I'll be back, I promise!" and with that, Carla and Wendy quickly flew to the Nirvana, leaving behind a field of worried and surprised Rune Knights.
Lyon looked at Gray "She'll be fine, she has a strong character even if it doesn't seem like it."
"I know but…" Gray clenched his fist "…I have a really bad feeling about this…"
[Worth Woodsea – Nirvana/ 26thOctober X784]
Asher looked around, scanning that ancient city he'd found himself in once Nirvana had been fully activated. His brow furrowed for a moment as he thought back to when Cobra had stopped him from assassinating Brain, not imagining that Cobra could 'hear' him to that extent.
'Next time it will be better to use another tactic and waste less time.'
Suddenly, he heard footsteps ahead along with a large amount of magical power. If normally he would have reacted by hiding and drawing his sword to prepare to strike, this time he didn't even slow down, having recognized the quality of magical power and, as expected, he saw Siegmund emerge from around a corner, although the fact that he seemed particularly pissed made him worry enough to keep a safe distance from the berserker.
Siegmund's golden eyes found Asher's black ones after a few moments and the S-class wizard didn't seem particularly happy to find him here "The hell are you doing in this place?"
"I was at the point where Nirvana was sealed. I witnessed Jellal Fernandez free it before attempting to destroy it with a self-destruction spell." explained Asher without missing a beat.
Siegmund arched an eyebrow, now visibly interested "Wasn't he dead? I heard that Asteria and the others defeated him some time ago on an island lost in the middle of the sea."
"Apparently he was brought back to life; the method is not clear but it is very likely that a blue-haired girl who was with the mages of the alliance has something to do with it. According to the data that Acier sent us before the mission, her name is Wendy Marvell and she is part of the Cait Shelter guild, however her magic has only been described as support magic." continued Asher, listing everything he knew "However Jellal Fernandez seems to have lost his memory, he doesn't remember anything except a few sporadic memories such as the location of Nirvana and how to awaken it."
The interest immediately vanished from Siegmund's eyes, a mage with no memories and with a distorted personality was not a worthy opponent to him "It doesn't look like he did a very good job destroying this thing right here."
Asher shrugged "Brain arrived just before the detonation and undid the spell. I tried to assassinate him but Cobra stopped me, after which Mirajane Strauss also came to protect Jellal. The Nirvana was activated shortly after and I found myself here."
"Cobra was here?" asked Siegmund, his classic bloodthirsty grin visible on his face "Where is he now?"
His fellow dark mage was silent for a few seconds, knowing full well what it meant to stand between Siegmund and his prey. Eventually, he looked towards the highest point of Nirvana "Most likely the Nirvana control room is up there and he is sure that Brain is there. Unless Brain sent him away, Cobra should still be with him."
Looking at the same spot, Siegmund didn't hesitate for a moment before jumping onto the roof of a house and heading in that direction, ready to fight and, above all, to kill the Dragon Slayer. Asher could only watch him go before heading in another direction, so as to see if there were other routes to the heart of Nirvana.
He didn't care what happened to the wizards of Oración Seis, as their mission was to kill or capture them, but even someone like Asher felt a shred of pity for anyone foolish enough to confront that monster.
Standing at the edge of what must have been a beautiful hall in ancient times, Brain and Cobra were watching the world unfold below them. Cobra looked much more ecstatic about having finally obtained the Nirvana, while Brain looked calmer yet his cold smile didn't bode well.
"Now that this ancient magic is in our hands, all we have to do is move it where I want."
Cobra looked at his leader with confused eyes "Move it? Where do you want to move it?"
"To where my goal is." said Brain looking at the horizon "One guild in particular."
"Oh so that was your goal since the beginning." grinned the Dragon Slayer, after having heard Brain's inner voice.
"I told you I wanted to change the light." with a single movement of his arm, Brain summoned dozens of screens around him, then creating a strange seal in front of him which began to glow "Onward, legacy of the ancients!"
Suddenly however, a shadow appeared flying in front of them and before the two dark mages could react, a wave of flames invaded the entire platform causing much destruction.
"I'll stop you!" shouted Natsu before looking back, blowing more flames in all directions.
"Cobra! Deal with him!"
"Cubellios!" the purple snake lunged at Natsu, managing to hit him. Natsu immediately tried to fight back but found himself face to face with Cobra who hit him in the face with a slicing blow, throwing him away before Happy managed to regain control. The Fairy Tail duo were then surprised to see Cobra on the back of his snake, which now had two huge wings.
"A flying snake?!"
"You bastard, I heard that your weakness was moving things, so how…?"
"Happy is not a thing!"
"Yeah!"
"I see…but you are not going to be able to fly forever and since you can't fight on the Nirvana…"
"Big deal!" said Natsu pointing a finger at him "All I have to do is stop this monster!"
Cobra grinned at him "Don't think I'll let you do so, you won't get close to Brain."
Natsu looked for a moment at the leader of Oración Seis "He's the one controlling all of this? Then I'm going to crush him!" Happy swooped towards their new target, but Natsu was immediately hit by Cubellios' tail, knocking him backwards. Natsu glared at Cobra who motioned him to come forward and so he did.
Thanks to Happy, Natsu quickly approached his enemy and tried to hit him while avoiding the jaws of the giant snake, but each blow was easily avoided and several times the two were hit by Cubellios' tail, forcing Happy to move away so he could stop and stand upright. Natsu engulfed his fists in mighty flames and tried to strike Cobra again but, as before, the Oración Seis mage dodged before moving away with Cubellios without having taken any damage thus far.
"Damn it! Why can't I hit him?!"
"That guy…does he use magic that reads movement?"
Cobra shook his head "No, it's magic that 'hears'. I can hear the voice of your heart, that's why I know your moves." Natsu looked at him doubting his words but then Cobra burst out laughing, complimenting his opponent's joke, and then stating that he knew almost all the tactics he was thinking about. Obviously Natsu got even more irritated and charged back but each attack was promptly avoided, or at least the first three, as the fourth punch managed to scratch Cobra's cheek, surprising him.
'What the-?'
A flaming left punch struck him in the right temple knocking him off balance before Natsu hit him with an uppercut in the pit of the stomach. Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayer then followed up with a series of devastating punches that found their target, dealing more and more damage to Cobra, who was completely speechless 'It can't be!' another punch hit him in the face 'This guy isn't thinking at all!'
Natsu charged another punch but this time Cobra raised a hand and blocked it, showing his opponent a grin despite the blood dripping from his mouth "It's the first time I've seen someone like you, it seems that cheap tricks won't do it." his arms were covered in crimson and white scales as thick red and black gas spewed from them, causing Natsu to scream in pain as he wrenched his hand away from Cobra's grip.
"Oración Seis Poison Dragon: Cobra." said the dark mage, getting in a fighting stance "Time to get serious."
"This guy! Don't tell me he is-!"
"A Dragon Slayer?!"
Cobra prepared to attack him but immediately stopped, looking at the horizon. Natsu and Happy looked at him in confusion before following his line of sight and saw a golden light approaching them "What is that…?"
The dark mage widened his eyes in surprise "Someone is coming!"
In a few moments a golden flash passed between them and a voice that was all too familiar to Natsu was heard in the air "Hey there! Do you mind if I join the party?!" both Dragon Slayers turned around only to see Asteria with both arms pointing at them and two magic circles already created "Cosmos Ray!"
Two beams of cosmic energy were fired at them, causing several explosions in their line of fire but both Cobra and Natsu managed to avoid the attack before the Fairy Tail wizard lunged at her, however failing to hit her and receiving a kick in the back of the head. Natsu then turned to try to kick her but Asteria had already moved away to then avoid a claw by Cobra who didn't hesitate to try again after avoiding a series of punches by his new opponent.
Asteria grinned at them "Do you really think you can beat me in an air battle when you have to rely on your pets to fly?"
Natsu glared at her before puffing out his cheeks "This time I won't miss! Fire Dragon's Roar!"
The Shadow Soul sorceress easily avoided the attack but, much to her own surprise, immediately found herself in front of Cobra who managed to kick her in the face after wrapping his foot in poison. Asteria felt her skin burn and grunted in pain before attempting to kick him but to no avail.
"I can win easily when I can hear you." grinned Cobra before hurling scales of poison at Natsu who was forced to avoid them by moving quickly thanks to Happy. The Poison Dragon Slayer then moved towards Asteria who engaged him in hand-to-hand combat, managing to stand up to him but without being able to score a hit before receiving a kick in the belly that threw her towards Natsu.
Natsu didn't hesitate and immediately tried to strike her with a flaming fist, but she spun in mid-air and kicked his arm to the side before landing a knee-strike on his chin. He quickly regained his balance and attacked her with his flames, but neither of them realized that Cobra had just finished ingesting a poisonous mist generated by Cubellios. With a grin on his lips, Cobra puffed out his cheeks "Poison Dragon's Roar!"
Before Asteria, Natsu and Happy could react, they were hit by that wave of poison which knocked them off and all three began to feel their bodies getting weaker and heavier.
"The breath of a poison dragon spreads viruses through the enemy's body; it slowly steals their body's movement away, and ultimate their life." explained Cobra without missing his grin "The moment my breath struck you, you had already lost this battle!" he was then forced to avoid a flaming kick from Natsu "I can hear your movements!"
"Damn it…"
"Still, to think that you can move this well even after being subjected to my poison. Not half bad for an old-style dragon slayer."
"Old-style?" repeated Natsu with a glare on his face.
"I am one of the new generation of dragon slayers. I obtained my powers by implanting a Dragon Lacrima into my own body." explained Cobra while showing his claws.
"Just like Laxus! This guy isn't a real dragon slayer!" said Happy with Natsu nodding at his words.
"A real dragon slayer? There is ordinarily no way for humans to learn Dragon Slayer Magic; it's a skill restricted to dragons themselves. If you ask me, yours is more questionable than mine." said Cobra, enjoying Natsu's obvious annoyance "After all there are no dragons in this world."
"That's not true! Igneel is out there!"
"He is not! The dragons are extinct!" shouted Cobra before diving toward Natsu "Poison Dragon's Twin Fangs!" due to the poison in his body, Happy was unable to avoid Cobra's double attack and both he and Natsu were hit and thrown several meters back, feeling increasingly weak from the toxins.
"The poison has spread through your entire body. Now hurry up and die!" grinned Cobra before looking around "Now, where's that girl?"
"When you two geckos are done fighting over who has the biggest dick…!" he looked up with shocked eyes, seeing seven golden magic circles connected by a single line "Try and dodge this! Grand Chariot!" and in a few moments, hundreds of beams of light rained down on the two Dragon Slayers, causing countless explosions and also hitting the Nirvana below, but Asteria noticed that her attack hadn't caused the desired damage to the construct.
'I guess that's my limit…Bonnie healed my wounds but my magic power reserve was running low before that.' thought Asteria while feeling the effect of the poison in her body. She had been lucky that Natsu and Cobra had started talking, giving her time to prepare her spell, but unfortunately for her Natsu wasn't the type to give up and, thanks to a huge effort by Happy, he managed to get up in the air and reach her.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Asteria could no longer move as she wanted due to the poison but still managed to turn towards him and raise her hands to his chest just as his attack was about to hit her "Petite Chariot!"
A powerful explosion lit up the sky for an instant before Asteria plummeted towards the Nirvana while Natsu managed to stay in the sky thanks to Happy, despite the huge wound on his chest, even though it was clear that the blue cat was now at the end of his strength.
"Natsu…I won't last very long…"
"I know buddy, we need to finish this now." said Natsu looking down, where Cobra was still recovering from the damage suffered from Asteria's attack "Drop me!"
"But Natsu-! You body is-!"
"I know, but we have no other choice!"
'Idiot!' thought Cobra while looking at the other Dragon Slayer as he was dropped by his friend 'I can still hear your thoughts. Full power fire dragon roar to hit me everywhere I go huh? Good plan but it won't work with me!' he then jumped on the tip of Cubellios' tail which threw him towards Natsu, and then managed to grab the Fairy Tail wizard behind the neck "How about I crush that head for you?!"
"NATSU!"
With his body now immobilized by the poison, Natsu had no idea of his own how to react and the only thing he could do was scream angrily with all the air in his lungs. What at first sounded like a simple scream soon turned into a powerful roar that echoed through the entire forest below, throwing Happy backwards, with him forced to cover his ears from the noise, and driving Cobra insane, the closest to the source of that deafening roar. After several seconds of roaring, Natsu felt the grip on his neck vanish and saw Cobra plummet to the street below, holding both hands over his ears, while Happy managed to catch his friend before he could hurt himself.
After catching his breath, Natsu looked down and saw Cobra in a small crater, unconscious.
"That was quite the roar…"
"Y-Yeah…" said Natsu with a forced smile on his face "L-Looks like your awesome hearing backfired on you! Just as planned!"
"That was not planned…" deadpanned Happy before slowly descending to the Nirvana "Ugh…my body is weak…"
"Hey Happy!" Natsu suddenly felt a twinge of pain throughout his body "Damn it! The poison…!"
The two fell along the road and Natsu immediately felt the discomfort of being on a vehicle, while Happy was now almost completely unconscious from the poison. The Dragon Slayer tried to get up without success before hearing an amused laugh to his left "Man you look like shit!"
Looking in that direction, Natsu growled at the sight of Asteria, injured and sitting against the wall of a house. It was evident that the poison was taking effect on her as well judging by her pale skin and dark circles under her eyes, yet she had a big grin on her face "That was a good fight huh? Too bad that guy uses poison, I've never liked people like him. They take all the fun out of the fight."
"Why are you here?" hissed Natsu, trying to stand up again but without success.
"Let's say I wish we could have ended our fight without distractions, but I guess you can't have everything in life."
Natsu started to retort but then, much to his shock, saw Cobra advance towards them with his right hand wrapped in his poison "Shit! He is still able to fight?!"
"Hard to die huh?" said Asteria with a bead of sweat trickling down her cheek. She wasn't at all in a position to react with that damned poison in her veins; maybe she should have asked Reveeina to test on her several poisons so as to make her immune.
"For the pride of Oración Seis…I'll defeat you!" he stopped a few meters from Natsu and raised his right arm "Die old generation dragon slayer!"
"Dark Capriccio."
Out of nowhere, a ray of darkness pierced Cobra's heart from behind, opening a large hole in his chest and shocking Natsu, Asteria, Happy, and Cubellios, splattering blood all over the downed Dragon Slayer.
"That's enough, Cobra." said Brain with a calm voice and a cold smile on his face "You can rest now."
"Br…in?" Cobra looked behind, with shock clear on his face "Wh-Why…?"
'You are just trash, I don't need you or the others to destroy a legal guild.'
As his ears picked up on those treacherous thoughts, Cobra fell to the ground cursing Brain with his entire being before drawing his last breath, with warm tears streaming down his cheeks, identical to the ones flowing from Cubellios' eyes.
Asteria watched the scene silently as Natsu glared at Brain "Bastard…wasn't he your ally?"
"I can get new allies whenever I want from now on, thanks to the power of Nirvana." said Brain walking past the corpse of Cobra.
"Those aren't what you call allies, those are puppets!"
"No need to snap at me, I like your strength. Even Reveeina's brat here has an enviable power. Do you get what I'm saying?" asked Brain with a cold smirk on his face "I will make you into my first puppets."
"Uhuhuh…"
Raising an eyebrow, Brain looked at Asteria and saw her cough a bit before continuing to laugh. She noticed his gaze and, albeit with difficulty, waved a hand in front of her face "Sorry, it's just that…you won't live past today! You just made the biggest mistake of your life after all!"
"Oh really? And what mistake are you talking about? Do you really think Reveeina will be able to stop me now, despite having stolen someone like you from her?" asked Brain with a challenging tone.
Asteria showed his an amused smirk "It's not about our mistress." while still looking at him in the eyes, she pointed at something behind Brain "You stole something from him."
Brain narrowed his gaze before widening his eyes in shock as he turned to look at Cobra's corpse and only then did he see him. Standing at his full height, a knight in a pitch black armor stood beside the Dragon Slayer's corpse as Cubellios tried not to escape despite the man's menacing aura.
Siegmund slid one foot under Cobra and lifted his leg to flip the Dragon Slayer over, silently staring into the dark mage's lifeless eyes. After a few seconds, he knelt down and dug a hand into its body, pulling out a gem that pulsed with purple energy, which vanished soon after in his pocket dimension. When he stood up, he didn't take his eyes off Cobra "Was this your doing, Asteria?"
Even though she knew he wasn't looking at her, Asteria shook her head "I may have hit him a few times but I didn't kill him. The killer of him is the here present Brain."
As if a trigger had been pulled, a massive wave of blood-lust exploded from Siegmund's, body washing over everyone present. Happy and Cubellios could not resist the shock and passed out while Natsu and Asteria felt a strong shiver run down their spine, finally Brain squeezed his staff more forcefully feeling all the strength of that blood-lust concentrated on himself.
Slowly, Siegmund turned the head in his direction, his eyes glowing with power and anger.
"So you are the one…who stole my prey?"
TO BE CONTINUED…
And! Here! We! Are! New chapter! Was it good? Was it bad? Let me know in the reviews! I sincerely hope you enjoyed it and sorry for the long wait, but between my new syoc, work and other distractions (COFF DIABLO 4 COFF) I've had very little time to write!
In this chapter we have seen the conclusion of several fights but still many to go, even if there are only two more chapters left at the end of this story arc! We've seen blood flow and lives lost forever, and I really hope you enjoyed all of this! If you have any comments on your OCs, please do not hesitate to make them so I can use them to the fullest!
Now, as usual, I remind you that if you have any love interests for your OC, contact me to let me know and I'll see what I can do!
On the other hand, all of you have marked spells for your OC, but it is clear that all of them will age over the course of the story, so if any of you had any changes in mind for your OC (in terms of clothing, physical appearance, magic, etc...) or any new spells you would like your OC to learn, let me know!
This is it and I hope you will read many and leave many reviews! I love reading them!
See you next time!