The next round of Fairy Tail vs White Eclipse: Cana Alberona vs Zalen Castle. Although the two of them weren't entirely aware of it, they did have some connection to one another. They were both directly related to their guilds respective aces. Before the fight started, Cana did have a number of cards at the ready, while Zalen just took a stance. "So...you're really Sidney's brother?" Cana tilted her head. Considering she drank herself unconscious at the White Eclipse dinner, she had to settle for being filled in on the events that transpired with Natsu and Sidney. Sidney sounded incredibly strong if he was able to handle Natsu of all people so easily. But...what about Zalen? He didn't posesses that same aura Sidney did, not even close...
"Yeah." Zalen said with a nod while adjusting his glasses.
"GO ON, CANA! WIN!" Gildarts exclaimed. "YOU CAN DO IT! POPS BELIEVES IN YOU!"
This was so annoying. Cana's brow twitched and she turned to shout back at Gildarts. "CAN IT, OLD MAN!"
"Pops?" Zalen said with a tilt of his head.
"Huh?" Takeru blinked. "Did that old guy just call himself the drunkard's pops?"
"...Didn't realize Gildarts had a kid." Reve crossed his arms.
"So...this means we have two people related to aces fighting against one another." Jaxon stroked his chin. "This'll be an interesting fight for sure."
"..." Sidney didn't say anything.
"You can do it, Cana-san!" Wendy cheered.
"Yeah! Take him down!" Gray shouted. Both sides were rooting for their induvial member to win.
"Ahem." Zalen cleared his throat. "I'm sure you know the tradition by now. So, please."
Cana rolled her eyes heavily. That stupid tradition was getting on her nerves, but she'd make sure that Zalen regretted allowing her the first move. "Fine, but I'll make sure you know where Fairy Tail stands at the end of this!" The cards in her hand began to light up in different colors and she tossed them forwards towards Zalen with considerable accuracy.
The fight officially started and Cana had a decent start. Zalen quickly brought his hand up and a wall of wood appeared in front of him. Cana's cards exploded against this wood wall, but they did not inflict any damage to Zalen. His wooden wall held fast, much to Cana's surprise, and then he pushed his hand forward. The wooden wall then broke apart into spikes, which then began to fly towards the card mage at high speeds. "Wooden Spear!"
"Huh?!" Laki's eyes went wide. "Is he a wood mage like me!?"
Cana wasn't expecting this kind of retaliation, but in truth, nobody on Fairy Tail's side knew what Zalen was even capable of until now. As the wooden spears came her way, Cana elected to dodge by rolling to the side, landing in a crouched position. The spears flew right past her, and she pulled out a few more cards. "Explosion Cards!" These cards floated in front of her in a curved line, before they bursts into several flames. These flames flew into into the sky before falling towards Zalen. "Let's see how your wood handles this!"
"Ah..." Zalen watched the flames soar into the sky. So that was her plan of attack? Alright. Zalen took a breath before running forward. Despite his lean and skinny appearance, he was very quick on his feet! He wasn't going to be outmaneuvering the flames, but he didn't need to. Every time a flame was close to striking him, he lifted his hand, creating an umbrella of steel above him. These flames exploded against the protective umbrellas Zalen created, leaving him completely unharmed.
"Wha...!?" Cana's eyes went wide. Zalen had more under his belt. Not only that, but by the time Cana registered what happened, Zalen was already in front of her, steel plating his fist to give his incoming punch extra impact. Zalen's fist slammed into Cana's stomach and she was thrown off her feet by the surprising amount of power Zalen had. With a cry of pain, Cana tumbled along the ground before coming to a halt on her side, grimacing from that impact. "Oogh..."
"No way that dude is that quick!" Bickslow was calling bs. "No way! No way!" His dolls repeated after him.
"He completely outplayed her there..." Laxus watched.
"Surprised?" Reve said with a condescending chuckle. He was relishing in Fairy Tail's shock. "Just because he's lean doesn't mean he's not as strong as the rest of us."
"The kids have developed a rather intense daily exercise." Calium explained. "Every single day, before breakfast, they all run laps up and down the mountain our guild resides on. This has been the case since the guild was founded years ago...and Zalen was among the first group that joined."
"Woo! Nice hit, Zalen!" Jack cheered.
"Okay..." Cana eventually shrugged off that hit. Clearly, Zalen wasn't going to be as easy an opponent as he looked. But that was fine, because neither was she! "Let's see you try this!" She put together three cards; Heaven, Reverse Death, and Mountain. She then swiped her hand forward, sending multiple bolts of green lightning towards Zalen. "Summoned Lightning!"
Zalen immediately began to step back, this time summoning a steel wall in front of Cana's attack to stop it in its tracks. But to his surprise, the green lightning curved around the wall, making a direct shot to him. "Ah!" And then there was an explosion of lightning directly on Zalen's location.
"Got him!" Cana grinned.
"Nice one, Cana!" Lisanna beamed. That was a solid hit! The smoke began to clear from around Zalen and...the result was not what Fairy Tail expected. Zalen was donning steel armor, the green lightning coursing through his armor which protected him from the attack. "Huh?"
"He blocked that too!?" Freed gasped.
"Are you serious?" Cana grit her teeth.
Zalen then raised his fist and slammed it into the ground, causing that lightning to course through the battlefield back towards Cana. Cana was caught in an explosion of lightning, letting out a cry of pain as it paralyzed her briefly. Zalen followed this up by stepping on the ground, sending spikes of steel, wood, and stone towards Cana. "Material Spike!"
"Cana, watch out!" Erza exclaimed.
Cana was struggling to move, but she wasn't just going to be a sitting duck for Zalen! She did manage to slide the Heaven card and another card together, This prompted an ascending burst of air to carry her into the sky, avoiding Zalen's attack. By this time, she felt the paralysis wear off and went onto the offense once again. She threw some cards forward, each of them adorned with flame-like drawings. "Sun's Strength!" These cards turned into flame covered bullets, all of them raining down on Zalen to explode on him. Zalen summoned another wall of steel and stone in a protective arc in front of him. The bullets did take care of the wall, but Zalen himself was still unharmed. By the time Cana landed back on the ground, she stared at Zalen in shock.
"'Why can't I land a hit on him'?" Reve spoke Cana's thoughts. Based on her expression he knew exactly what she was thinking. It wasn't the first time he'd seen that look. "I'll tell you why. Zalen Castle is the Architect. A building mage. Whenever White Eclipse takes damage, he's the one who fixes it up within seconds, making it even better than ever. If he can repair a guild building in the blink of an eye, do you think your little house of cards stands a chance?"
"Reve is giving me too much credit." Zalen said while adjusting his glasses. But the way the sun shone against the lenses was...malicious. Despite his demeanor, Zalen was making it very clear that he was a mage of White Eclipse. Their rival. "But I do have to agree with him there. I'm very proud of every single one of my creations. I won't let you break them so easily. That being said...I'm glad I'm fighting you and not Gildarts. It's pretty easy to see that a man who destroys everything counters my magic completely."
"Are you saying I'm an easier target?!" Cana grit her teeth. This was her first time fighting against a mage of White Eclipse, but she could feel the eyes of the opposing guild looking down on her. Especially Reve and that arrogant smirk of his.
"No. But I am saying that your house of cards will collapse long before you put a real dent in my foundation." Zalen replied. He may not have been the Ace, but for a brief moment, the way he was appearing...one could almost see a very faint hint of Sidney's strength within the younger Castle.
"Don't let them get to you." Mavis said calmly. Reve was frighteningly good at getting under people's skin. But Mavis couldn't allow that to get the better of Fairy Tail. They were strong and she believed they could win at the end of the day.
"Come on, Cana. You can take him down." Gildarts said loudly. "If he keeps building the box, you have to think outside of it!"
"Think outside the box..." Cana repeated those words. She would've told Gildarts to shut up, but he actually imparted some decent advise to her. She couldn't afford to keep throwing herself at this literal brick wall. "Okay, I got it. Let's see how well your defenses handle this!" Cana then threw a card at Zalen. It only landed halfway between them. "Sexy Lady Card!"
"Huh...?" Zalen blinked. And then, his questions were soon answered as multiple beautiful woman clad in bikini's spawned into existence. They all immediately began to surround and hug Zalen, rubbing themselves all over him. "AAAHHHH!?"
"W-What...?" Aira's jaw dropped.
"Aw yeah! I love this one!" Macao and Wakaba shouted at the same time. "That kid's lucky!"
"Ahahahahaha!" Jack was laughing. This was simply too funny NOT to laugh at!
"What the...!? Hey! Zalen! Get your head in the game...!" Takeru shouted.
"Lucky bastard..." Waiston grumbled.
"WIIIIILD!" Bacchus laughed from the stands.
"He's too far gone..." Kuro shook his head.
It was too late for Zalen. This plan of attack was not something he was prepared for at all. His cheeks were red and his glasses were fogging up due to the women surrounding him. "Gah..."
"...I can't believe this is working." This was not what Mavis had in mind. But...it was working. So that wasn't something to complain about.
"Uh..." Carla was just staring in disbelief. "Is her plan to smother him to death...?"
"It is effective..." Freed coughed.
"Ah, the ingenuity of youth..." Calium was smiling. This was truly amusing to him.
"Good play, Cana!" Makarov said with a smile. Was he praising her because of her good idea, or because she summoned a bunch of scantily clad women to the field with the express purpose of abusing their sex appeal?
"That's my Cana!" Gildarts said proudly, while also oogling the women that were summoned.
"Zalen! Snap out of it!" Reve was shocked. Tayakata, Jack, and Jaxon could not help but laugh. This was just TOO funny. Sidney was the only one who didn't have a reaction.
"Now..." Cana put a few different cards together, set a few down onto the ground, and then enacted her plan of attack. "Sun's Strength!" She once again threw these cards forward, but increased the number of them. Since Zalen was too distracted to even notice this, he was pelted by numerous exploding bullets of fire. The women all scattered and vanished, while Zalen was thrown back, his steel plating having shattered from the impact. The building mage tumbled along the ground with burns and bruises along his body from that direct hit. "There we go!"
"It worked..." Cynthia was just stunned. Adults sure had strange plays sometimes...
"Wow, that was embarrassing." Zalen shook his head to get back into the game. He raised his hand into the air, creating several steel beams that floated above Cana. "Steel Beam!" Not an original attack name, but one that was still pretty effective. These beams began to drop down on Cana with the intent of crushing her.
"Isn't that a bit much!?" Cana shouted while frantically scurrying to avoid being crushed by the beams. Of course she was able to avoid them, but that didn't make the situation any less tense. While Cana was dodging, Zalen was going to use this chance to close the gap. Little did he know that he was falling right into Cana's trap. He stepped on something and turned his gaze to the ground. "Heh..." Cana grinned.
Zalen stepped on one of Cana's cards. A card she laid down when he was distracted with the Sexy Lady Card. There were suddenly multiple cards around him that lit up. "What the...!?"
"My house of cards won't hold up? Let's see how your foundation stands after this! Trap Cards!" Cana pointed her hand down. Mutiple effects happened at once; Zalen was shocked by lightning, exploded by flames, and thrown around by wind. Cana fused multiple effects of these cards together to create the ultimate reversal card! Zalen was still partially distracted as well, so his focus being off completely cost him as he was thrown back, landing on the ground on his back.
"Agh..." Zalen took some heavy damage as well, groaning as he slowly brought himself up to a knee. But when he looked down, he saw that Cana threw a card at his feet. His eyes widened as his body was suddenly encased in ice; all but his arms and head. "Ngh!"
"That's it, Cana! Finish him off!" Macao exclaimed! Cana had the victory right here!
"Right!" Cana nodded and places three cards together in her hand; Heart, Lightning, and Reverse Tower. "Thunderbolt's Fate!" She merged these cards together and pushed her hand forward, sending a powerful bolt of lightning towards Zalen to finish him off.
Zalen could only squirm since he was trapped in ice, helplessly watching as the Thunderbolt's Fate came his way. "I..."
.
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[Flashback]
X786. A young Zalen Castle looked on as Sidney left White Eclipse, taking on yet another Ace class job. This had been the norm ever since they settled down in this guild in the mountains. Sidney left, came back, only to leave again. It felt like he was getting stronger and stronger with each visit, whereas Zalen felt like he was falling behind. "Hah..."
"What's wrong, Zalen?" An older woman approached Zalen. She had short red hair and red eyes. This was Mary Crane, Kuro's teacher. Along with the original members of White Eclipse, she too was a part of this guild.
"...It's nothing..." Zalen looked away.
"You can't 'it's nothing' your way out of everything, young man." Mary said while ruffling Zalen's hair. Clearly she wasn't going to be dropping the subject that easily. "You're better off telling me. Otherwise I'll annoy you about it until you finally break."
"Ugh..." Why was Mary like this? Zalen sighed. "...I'm always looking at Sidney's back. I don't...I don't think I'll ever be as strong as him. The gap between us is just too large..."
"..." A young Reve was around the corner, listening to this conversation.
"Yeah, that brother of yours is pretty tough. But it did come at a price." Mary said. "I understand he's your brother, but if you keep thinking like that, you're only going to remain in his shadow for the rest of your life. Calium and I can see that you're full of potential, and as standoffish as your brother seems, I think he's aware of that as well. You're in a place where you can cultivate your own talents. You may not be as strong as Sidney, but you'll get there one day."
"You think so...?" Zalen looked to Mary.
"I'm gonna beat Sidney in a fight one day." Reve said while rounding the corner. "I'm going to be the greatest wizard the world's ever known. But I have to make my way up to that point." He then approached Zalen and held his hand out. "Kuro and Waiston already became partners, so why don't you become mine?"
"You...want me?" Zalen blinked up at Reve now. He was pretty arrogant, but he had the power to back it up.
"This is White Eclipse, soon to be the strongest guild in Fiore. You're a building mage, right? So you just have to start with a foundation and go from there. So, let this be your foundation." Reve said with a confident grin. "What do you say? This is a limited time offer. Not everyone gets this chance to work with someone as amazing as me."
"Okay, kid. You gotta cut down on that ego." Mary rolled her eyes.
Zalen took Reve's hand. "Okay, sure! I'll give this a chance!"
[End flashback.]
.
.
The lightning exploded against Zalen strongly. Everyone waited with bated breath to see the results. That result...was Zalen standing clad in diamond armor, using this to absorb the hit. "I'm not finished yet."
"What...!?" Cana's jaw dropped. She thought she had the match there!
"There's the Zalen I know." Reve said with a smirk. Whatever worries he had were quickly assuaged by Zalen going all out.
"Diamond is one of the strongest building materials out there. I didn't think I'd have to use it against you, but if I'm going to win, I have no choice! You're not as strong as Black Steel, so you don't have the means of breaking through this!" Zalen said confidently while charging forward.
Cana grit her teeth and flung several exploding cards at the incoming Zalen. She was certain she could break through his defenses. The cards exploded but they didn't push Zalen back at all. She had no choice but to cross her arms as she aimed a punch at her cheek. Zalen's physical strength was augmented by the diamonds and Cana felt something in her arm hurt badly. She slid back and grimaced. "Wind Edge!" She tried to push Zalen back, causing an explosion of wind that knocked debris into the air as well.
But Zalen still didn't budge. His defenses were on par with Selene's diamonds, and everyone knew how hard Gajeel had to work just to put a crack in that! The younger Castle did leap into the air, taking advantage of the debris by using his building magic. He molded the broken stones together into a gigantic spear. "Stone Spear!" He then flung this spear down at Cana with the intent of finishing her off.
"...!" Cana quickly flung multiple cards at the incoming spear. The cards stuck to it and they exploded, once again reducing the spear to the rubble that it came from. She was waiting for Zalen to approach, but he wasn't in the air anymore. "Where...!?" She turned around, only to be met with a diamond covered boot to her stomach. With a cough and a cry of pain, she tumbled along the ground violently until coming to a halt on her stomach. She was coughing, feeling the wind knocked out of her.
"Cana!" Evergreen stood up in worry. "Don't let him walk all over you!"
"Don't give her the chance to recover!" Selene yelled.
Zalen wasn't going to give Cana that chance. He stomped on the ground, sending several spikes of diamond through it. Cana didn't have time to react and the spikes erupted underneath her, piercing her in several different places before she hit the ground. "Diamond Well." He looked over to Cana, who was panting and breathing hard, struggling to get up.
"Ngh..." Cana was on the ground for a few moments. Just before it could be deemed that she was finished, she dug her nails into the ground. "Don't either of you told timers say a world...!" Cana spat. She wasn't going to be counted out just yet. "I ain't finished yet!"
"You have nothing that can break through my defenses." Zalen said confidently. Cana unleashed most of her arsenal on him. "From what I can deduce from the size of your deck, you don't have many cards left. And all of the combinations you used wouldn't be enough to break my armor."
"Heh..." Cana laughed dryly. She was bleeding in a few places, but she made her way back to her feet. "You forget the most important thing about us card mages. We always have a trump card!" She then tore her jacket off, revealing the brand of Fairy Glitter on her arm. Everyone's eyes widened when they saw that mark. "And we save it for the very end!"
"Is that...!?" Wendy gasped.
"Hmmmmm..." Calium tilted his head curiously. "I believe...that's the mark of Fairy Glitter."
"First, you...!?" Makarov looked to Mavis, who had a smile.
"I believe we needed some extra firepower to even the odds." Mavis grinned.
Cana's right arm began to shine brightly as she gathered light around herself. "Gather! O river of light that guides the fairies! Shine! In order to perish the fangs of evil! FAIRY GLITTER!" As Cana began to chant, a bright halo of light formed around Zalen and began to move to constrict him.
"She's bringing out of one their strongest spells to take out Zalen!?" Kuro's eyes were wide.
"That's not going to be enough!" Waiston exclaimed. "Zalen! Show 'em how defensive you really are! Don't let her break through!"
"Right!" Zalen said while spreading his arms apart. "Fairy Tail's strongest offense vs my defense! Let's see who wins! 101 WALLS!" Zalen's cry prompted a magic circle to appear underneath him. From it, 101 walls composed of every single building material appeared in a circle around Zalen, pushing back the Fairy Glitter to an extent. They were holding on in a stalemate, the intensity of the clash causing wind to blow wildly. Everyone had to cover their eyes to shield themselves from the light and the wind that was kicking up as a result. Zalen was holding steady; he just had to outlast Cana. Slowly but surely, some of his walls were crumbling, the circle of Fairy Glitter getting smaller and smaller. But in turn, Cana was uneasy on her feet, holding her stance firmly as best she could.
"Ngh...!" Cana grit her teeth, refusing to yield against the defensive might against Zalen Castle. "I don't care if you're the Ace's brother. Your guild's been a pain in the ass for my friends! So for that reason, I'm gonna break through!"
"I won't let you!" Zalen shouted back! "I won't fall!"
"It's gonna be close...!" Sting yelled.
"No it's not!" Reve yelled back Zalen had this, he knew it.
"..." Sidney watched, his expression never once changing. But for once, his eyes were on Zalen and how far he'd come. Going toe to toe against one of Fairy Tail's strongest spells?
"CANNNNA!" Lucy shouted in a loud cheer. "YOU CAN DO IT!"
"KICK HIS ASS!" Natsu and Gray shouted.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The rest of Fairy Tail followed.
"Don't back down, Zalen!" Kuro shouted.
"Put her in her place!" Luke exclaimed.
"This is the final push!" Selene shouted.
"NOOOOOOW!" White Eclipse exclaimed in favor of Zalen.
Zalen and Cana held their positions. Fairy Glitter was slowly eating away at both Zalen's defenses and Cana's endurance. It was a test to see who would be the last one standing. 101 Walls were slowly chewed through, and eventually, the ring did succeed in closing on Zalen. "AAAAAAAH!" Cana gave it one final push, putting her all into it. There was a brilliant flash of light as Fairy Glitter exploded directly on Zalen, throwing Cana back in the process. Considering how much effort she had to put into that, it was hard to say if she would be left standing from the recoil of it all. A thick, dense smoke filled the Domus Flau. A tense silence followed as not even the wind dared to move. The only sound were the thumping in everyone's heart after an intense match. There was a single figure left standing at the end of it all.
Cana was on her feet, one eye clenched shut as she panted heavily, holding her arm tightly as she felt the recoil. She grimaced, looking on at Zalen's condition. Zalen Castle...was face down on the ground, defeated. Fairy Glitter beat out his defenses. With a victorious shout, Cana threw her hand into the air, giving the Fairy Tail symbol while smiling at her guildmates, who all cheered for their friend's victory. The winner of this match...
Is Cana Alberona.