Arcturus loved it whenever he maimed an opponent in a fight; it always brought him a sense of pleasure and accomplishment. He heard Selene call out Takeru's name, which brought him out of his small trance and into reality. "Huh…?!" The next thing he knew, Selene slammed head first into his chest, sending him sliding back a few yards. He managed to stop his momentum by digging his heels into the ground, slowly halting. He was surprised; not by the fact that Selene was in Diamond Shadow, he knew that most dragon slayers had a dual mode these days; but he was surprised that she actually managed to hurt him. He wasn't just surprised…he was angry. Livid. Snarling, the demon extended both of his arms, one up and the other down. He then began to move them clockwise, a malicious black aura appearing around his person, larger than the previous. He was preparing to use Death Magic.
Selene was glad she managed to knock Arcturus away. The feeling of being in her dual mode was exhilarating, much more than before. Thanks to her training with Gajeel, she felt as though she could stay in Diamond Shadow for hours now. She felt amazing…but that was until a powerful sense of dread began to overwhelm her as Arcturus began to motion to use Death Magic. After having witness what Zeref did to Hisui, she knew what was coming but forced herself to stay strong, especially for her injured partner behind her. She brought a hand forward, a medium sized wall of dark purple diamonds rising up from the ground, serving as a shield. From the shield, spears of the very same diamonds would shoot out, aiming to impale Arcturus relentlessly.
By the time Selene conjured up the diamond wall, Arcturus' hands were already together, the dark aura around him growing even larger. The aura managed to slow the spears to the point where they only stabbed him and not run through him; it hurt, but his prime object was to kill Selene and Takeru. "Death Pillar…"
During the one on one with Selene and Arcturus, Takeru was fighting to stay conscious and was close to vomiting from the loss of his limb; slowly he brought himself up to a knee. His vision was red and blurry, but he could make out the two figures fighting. He then noticed his katana, the same one Arcturus used to decapitate him, about a foot away. He made an effort to crawl to it, eventually grabbing it and resting on a knee, panting heavily. "Got it…! I'm not…going to let her do all the saving…" For a moment, Takeru vanished, appearing only a second later from Arcturus' own shadow, stabbing the demon in the back. "I won't be the weaker of us…!"
"GAH!" Arcturus was unexpectedly stabbed in the back, his eyes widening briefly. The aura around him faded and his Death Pillar was canceled before it began. The seven foot tall demon dropped to his knees, heaving heavily. "D-Damn it…I can't move my legs…"
"Tak…!" Selene immediately rushed over to Takeru, catching him before he fell over.
"L-let's get the hell out of here…before it's too late…" Takeru pleaded.
"R-Right…hopefully Aira or Chelia is still in the area…" Selene nodded, quickly fleeing the area with Takeru.
"I'm gonna have to have Lamy fix this at some point…" Arcturus growled, feeling humiliated and angered that he actually lost to two weaker mages. "I'll get you back…Selene Marquise…Takeru Tenebrae…"
.
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Gildarts, Sidney, and Evanee casually strolled down the demon ridden streets, not exactly having the strongest sense of urgency as the demons attempted to attack them. "Do you think we should lend them a hand? It is getting pretty hectic around here…" As he spoke, a demon attempted to blindside him, but the Fairy Tail ace merely stuck his fist out, causing the demon to run into it and fly backwards, taking out several demons with it.
"I don't think we need to just yet…" Sidney replied with disinterest. A demon attempted to claw at his back, but he just performed a lazy back kick, causing the demon to fly backwards at an incredible speed. "They can handle themselves just fine until proven otherwise."
"If they think of themselves as weak now, then they'll be perceived as such in that very second." Evanee responded with a half shrug. Another demon attempted to claw through her, but her body morphed into an intangible state for just a second, allowing the demon to pass right through her. Evanee merely brushed her hand forward, her incredible strength sending the demon through several buildings.
.
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Kiora stood beside her various creations; Ourborous, and a large demon completely composed of shadows. These two creations alone were enough to stonewall Laxus and the Raijinshu, despite their hardest efforts. "What's the matter?" Kiora asked in a taunting tone, grinning condescendingly towards the Fairy Tail wizards. "I thought you were going to help me remember? The only thing I remember right now is what a bunch of weaklings you Fairies are. There's nothing special about you, so I don't understand why you even keep trying." She then held her arms out, using her curse to conjure her favorite weapon: a scythe.
"This one's starting to get really annoying…" Freed said while the grip on his sword tightened. "Laxus stay back and watch this. Bickslow! Ever! Let's go!" Runes began to appear along the male's back, soon turning into bright purple wings that sprouted from his shoulders. "Dark Ecriture: Wings!" With that, the leader of the Raijinshu flew into the sky.
"Babies, let's go!" (Let's go! Let's go!) Bickslow hopped on his babies, using them as a platform to lift into the air.
Evergreen lifted herself into the air with her wings, following right behind Freed and Bickslow. "What's the plan, Freed?"
"Ah, look at that…I get to shoot little flies from the sky…" A grin plastered itself on Kiora's face. "Ourobrous, take them out." She snapped her fingers, commanding the cosmic snake to fire a beam of light at the airborne Raijinshu.
"Babies: Byron Formation!" Bickslow leapt from his babies, throwing his hands forward to create a circle formation, an accumulation of seith magic growing in the center of the circle: the beam of said magic was then launched forward, clashing with the beam of light, resulting in an explosion.
"Now!" Freed flew forward, drawing his sword back. His target was the shadow demon created, which he sliced through with his sword easily. "Ever!"
"Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun!" Evergreen swung her fan forward, unleashing multiple bullets of Fairy Magic upon the demon, causing it to cringe slightly before letting out a roar, smacking both Evergreen and Freed right to the ground.
"I hope you didn't think it was going to be easy…" Kiora spoke with a sigh. She saw Laxus coming in for a strike with his Lightning Body technique, but she evaded the electrical punch aimed for her and slashed at the Lightning Dragon, landing a hit across his chest. Laxus grunted, but he was soon kicked away as a follow up, staggering backwards.
"Gah…" Freed winced while picking himself up. "This is going to be a little tougher than I thought…"
"Tch…" Laxus ignored the pain in his chest and kept standing tall, glancing at the creations Kiora created and at the demon herself. "You three. Give me an opening. I'm going to finish it in one shot…"As Laxus spoke, lightning began to spark violently around his body; he was preparing a large attack.
"You don't have time," Was Kiora's only response. "Ouroborus, finish them off."
"Hyahaha!" Bickslow suddenly let out a laugh, cutting all train of thought as everyone looked to him. "You'd do well not to underestimate my figure eyes, baby~" The Seith mage then took off his mask, eyes glowing a bright green color as he stared directly at the cosmic serpent, who was staring right back at him. "If it has a soul, it can be mine to command!" Eye contact was made, and the cosmic serpent just fell apart, much to Kiora's surprise.
"W-what the hell…!?" Kiora growled, highly annoyed Bickslow had the gall to do such a thing.
"Dark Ecriture: Destruction!" Freed flew in quickly, slashing the shadow demon once again, a shockwave emitting from the actual wound of the blade. This was strong enough to defeat the shadow creation. Freed continued moving forward, Evergreen at his side once again. Freed slashed, while Evergreen unleashed a concentrated beam of Fairy Magic in Kiora's direction.
"Don't you learn?" Kiora spoke in a highly annoyed tone, allowing one arm to morph into the indestructible golden shield, which took the blows easily. "You can't defeat a demon."
"So you think!" Freed exclaimed while swinging his sword once again, though it bounced off the sword, it served the purpose of throwing Kiora's balance off, leaving her wide open. Freed and Evergreen flew to the side, allowing Laxus to take over.
"Raging Bolt!" Laxus already had the large halberd of lightning ready. Once he was clear, he threw it towards Kiora, it reaching and exploding upon her within seconds. A slight cry of pain was finally heard from the imaginary demon as the lightning consumed her. When it faded, she was lying on her back, eyes white. "And that's…why you don't mess with the Raijinshu. Fairy Tail's strongest team.
"Hyahahaha!" Bickslow let out his signature laugh while crossing his arms.
"You…" Kiora growled while standing up slowly, her hair covering the angered expression on her face. She was now too exhausted to do anything, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to curse the Raijinshu to hell. "You all can burn to Dait's flames for all I care…I hope you don't think this is the end! This is merely the beginning for you little shits!" She then snapped her fingers out of spite; this caused the demon spawns to gain yet another buff, growing in size, strength, and becoming much more intimidating overall. "Things are going to get much worse for you…you'll regret ever denying the will of Lord Zeref." With that, Kiora vanished in a flash of light.
"Hmph…" Laxus brought his hands to his head, twisting it slightly to crack his neck. "The counter attack has only begun. Come on, we're going to keep moving."
.
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Rugal's enhanced physical strength proved to be quite the obstacle for Natsu. Natsu charged in for a flaming punch, but Rugal easily countered by throwing a punch of his own, and with his new strength he could clash with Natsu and overpower the Salamander, sending him flying backwards. "Gwah!" Natsu let out a grunt of pain, tumbling across the ground before hopping up, placing a hand on the ground to slow his momentum. He growled at Rugal, attempting to figure out a way to defeat him. So far, things weren't looking to good, but Natsu still faced the demon with a smile. "Is that all ya got?! Laxus hits harder than you do!"
"Your tactic of trying to provoke me via mocking isn't going to work," Rugal replied coolly. He wasn't going to let Natsu send him into a blind rage. Perhaps that's what made Rugal a dangerous foe; he always had a level head. "You'll have to defeat me with your fists instead of your words, Salamander. Unless you think you're not up to the task…"
"What did you say?!" Natsu growled in annoyance. Though his tricks didn't work on Rugal, the reverse held true. Flames erupted around Natsu's body once again, and he made a blind dash towards Rugal, pulling his fist back. "Fire Dragon's…"
"Foolish…" A slight grin formed on Rugal's face. He waited once Natsu was close before pulling his fist back, throwing it when it seemed too late for Natsu to dodge.
"Gotcha!" Natsu shifted his body to the side, allowing Rugal's fist to strike the ground. Natsu then grabbed Rugal's face, allowing the flames to focus to his hand. "Grip!" From his palm, a powerful burst of flames exploded, strong enough to blow Rugal back. "Heh…"
"You little…" Rugal grumbled, shaking off the burn marks on his face. "How did you do that…?"
"It took me a while to notice…" Natsu began while rotating his arm. As he did, lightning started to spark around his body. If he wanted to beat Rugal, he was going to have to surpass his strength. "That when you're in here, you hit like a train…but at the same time, your speed goes down. Your reaction time is the same, but your body is heavier, and you haven't adjusted to it yet either." He could tell from the look on Rugal's face that his deduction was correct. "I knew it."
"It doesn't matter…" Rugal said while reaching behind his back, pulling out his sword. "I can still take you out regardless. It won't take much effort." He then slashed the air several times, sending several blades of wind towards Natsu.
"Gah…!" Natsu could only cross his arms, gritting his teeth as the sharp blades of wind began to cut through his skin. The ones that hurt the most were the ones aimed at his ankles, which was a tactic strike to try and slow him down, but Natsu wasn't having any of it. He fought through the pain and rushed forward, flames flaring around his arm. He was going to finish this fight in one fell swoop. "Secret Art: Crimson Lotus! Exploding Phoenix Blade!" Natsu twirled his arms around in a counter clockwise motion while rushing forward, slamming his skull into Rugal's chest as the flames and lightning took the shape of a Phoenix.
"Ngh…!" Rugal couldn't dodge, his body was much too bulky and slow to even consider evading. He crossed his arms, taking the full force of the attack. He managed to hold his ground for a few seconds before he was completely overtaken and blown back, letting out a pained scream while flying backwards. He hit the ground, eyes white as he suffered a complete KO. The dimension around faded, and Natsu returned back to reality.
"That's for getting in my way…" Natsu replied to Rugal before taking a step, wincing as the pain in his ankles took effect. "That's gonna get annoying…" Was his only comment on the matter; he sniffed the air a few times, locking onto Zeref's scent and began to follow it, breaking off into a dash. "Now, I'm coming for you, Zeref!"
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"Come, ladies, hit me with your best shot!" Rustyrose taunted the exhausted Juvia and Meredy. The silver haired male pushed his glasses up, a sly grin forming on his lips. "Unless, your best is that?"
"Damn you, Rusty…" Meredy cursed under her breath while raising her hand, creating a multitude of blue blades around her. "Magulity Sodom…" She chanted briefly before throwing her hands forward, unleashing the blades towards Rustyrose.
"I haven't forgotten about your magic…" Rustyrose replied, bending his knees in preparation to leap back. Before he could, a sphere of water appeared around him, trapping him in place. Not only was it hard to breath, but the water was scalding. "…!?"
"Water Lock!" Juvia exclaimed with a grin. With Rustyrose locked in place, the blades Meredy sent forward all hit their mark, piercing through the mage with ease. He let out gurgled grunts of pain, but the female duo wasn't done yet. "Explosion!" Juvia clenched her fist, causing the Water Lock to explode violently, sending Rustyrose flying back.
"Excellent work, Juvia!" Meredy exclaimed with a grin towards the water conjurer.
"I wouldn't praise each other just yet, you know…" Rustyrose said while rising, dusting himself off with slight annoyance. "It will take much more than that to take me down, you know…"
"I figured you'd grow weaker with age, Rusty," Meredy teased with a sly grin, though this only irritated Rustyrose slightly.
"You know, I never did like you…" Rustyrose replied as a dark purple magic aura began to appear around his body once again. He fixed his glasses with one hand, suddenly swinging his free hand forward towards Juvia as it morphed into the Jet Black Sword. Normally, Juvia's water body would've rendered the physical attack useless, but not this time. Juvia's eyes widened as the blade passed through her, and she fell to her knees, holding her stomach.
"J-Juvia…!" Meredy rushed over to Juvia and knelt down beside her. "What's wrong!? Are you okay…!?"
"T-That hurt…" Juvia whimpered. She was shaking from the pain, but she was slowly beginning to regain her composure. "Water Body was useless…"
"That's because I imagined Meredy's lovely magic while tearing out your insides…as you can see, it worked to some degree…" A twisted grin began to appear on Rustyrose's face. "The image of it was so beautiful…I'm now thinking about what it would be like to actually remove your insides from those pretty bodies of yours. Please, indulge my mind and help my fantasy come true…"
.
.
Maggie and Taya were quite even within this battle. They both managed to damage each other a lot while keeping up enough defenses to ensure that neither of them struck a fatal blow on each other. Taya's vectors could punch through Maggie's Lavabody, but Maggie's lava was extremely dangerous to Taya. They were both waiting for that one decisive blow that would finish the other off. Nami kept a watch on Luke, who wasn't faring too well after being betrayed. "Luke…" Nami whispered quietly; she was glad he was alive, but she knew he was suffering from more than just physical damage. She then looked over to Taya, worried about how the battle between her sister and the lava demon was going. "Taya…"
"You're pretty good at fighting with your curse, Taya…" Maggie admitted while brushing off some dirt on her. "But can you fight without it?!" The lava demoness then broke into a charge towards Tayakata, engaging the ravenette in close combat. A fist was thrown to Taya's jaw, which was a direct hit, followed up by a roundhouse kick to the skull, which sent Taya staggering backwards.
"I see you're capable of doing more than just hiding behind your curse…" Taya taunted while rubbing her jaw, spitting out some blood to the side. It was Taya's turn; she rushed Maggie, aiming a brutal assortment of punches and kicks aimed towards the demoness. They seemed even in the heat of close combat, exchanging powerful blows. Taya then ducked a roundhouse kick aimed for her temple, slamming her heel into Maggie's temple in return, causing her to stagger back before falling over. "What's the matter? Not as quick on your feet as you thought…?"
"You bloody…." Maggie growled, picking herself up before regaining her calm composure. She let out a heavy sigh and calmly began to walk around Taya, heels clicking along the ground loudly. That was the only noise that broke through the tense silence. "One two…Maggie's coming for you…three, four, better lock your door. Seven, eight, here comes fate…nine ten…WHY DON'T YOU DROP DEAD!?" Upon screaming this, a demonic seal appeared under Maggie's feet, creating a wave of lava with Maggie riding on top. The wave quickly rushed towards Taya before crashing down right on top of her. A shriek of pain escaped Taya's lips as she was 'washed up' by the wave of lava.
Luckily, Nami and Luke were safe behind cover when the wave crashed, but that didn't stop Nami from being worried about her elder sister. "T-Taya…!"
"Ngh…" Luke groaned from all the shouting, lifting his head up only to see the wave crash down. "W-What the hell…? Taya…?"
The wave slowly subsided, and Taya was lying on the ground burned like no one's business. After a few moments passed, Taya slowly lifted herself up, swaying back and forth slightly. "I see your temper still remains…" A soft chuckle then came from the lips of the female. "It's a shame…you'll have to work on that anger out when you go back to hell…" She then entered a trance like state, holding her extended palms out in the shape of a triangle; she then began to recite an ancient Latin incantation while three Heliotrope pillars rose from the ground around Maggie; a black force field appearing between the pillars to encase Maggie completely. The sky around them began to grow darker, provoking a thunderstorm; a single bolt of lightning struck the peak of the three pillars, which were used as conductors as the lightning rebounded endlessly within the confinement of the force field, shocking Maggie with an unknown amount of high voltage. "Mortem Obire! (Leave this life)"
"GAAAAAAAAH!" A cry of pain was the only thing Maggie could let out as she was endless shocked within the pillars. The voltage quickly became too much that her body exploded, small drops of lava splattered onto the force field. The pillars faded after, and there was nothing remaining of Maggie but those drops.
"There…" Taya let out a deep breath after the deed was done.
"She won…!" Nami let out an excited cheer.
"Ameli…no, Maggie…" Luke mumbled.
All seemed well and good. Taya was about to walk over and check on her sister and Luke. What she didn't notice was the droplets of lava slowly inching together once again, taking a physical form. Maggie slowly reformed, panting heavily in her critically damaged state. From her waist, she pulled a sharp knife, and lunged towards Taya in a blind rage. "YOU'RE NOT WALKING AWAY FROM ME, TAYAKATA!" She then stabbed the knife through Taya's side, causing the eyes of everyone to widen. Taya's eyes widened briefly before coughing up a large pool of blood, feeling the life slip away from her quickly.
Careless. That was the one thing echoing through Taya's fading mind. Of course Maggie would pull such a trick at the very last second. Why didn't she see it coming? Her gaze drifted to Nami, a sad smile on her face. To think, her younger sister would see her like this... "I'm sorry…" Taya whispered before falling to the ground, lifeless.
"T-TAYA!" Nami exclaimed, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. "NOOOO!"
"Ha….you're coming home…" Maggie spoke with a grin before grabbing Taya's lifeless body and used her Lava body curse to slip through the cracks in the ground, effectively disappearing from sight with Taya's corpse.
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.
"This is about to get dangerous…" Cynthia warned Yukino. "You should go and find Sabertooth before things get messy…!"
"I agree…but…what about Lucy-sama…? She looks like she's still in pain…" Yukino gestured to the Stigma on Lucy's back.
"My magic is holding it at bay," Wendy replied with a nod. "With my magic in effect, it shouldn't be hurting Lucy-san too much."
"And I'm here to make sure nothing bad happens to Blondie," Flare said with a slightly creepy smile.
"I feel safe…" Lucy meant it, but Flare's smile sent a chill down her spine.
"How will she find Sabertooth in this mess…!?" Romeo questioned, and right as he did, a white explosion occurred in the distance.
"That must've been Sting-sama…!" Yukino muttered while watching the explosion fade.
"I found them!" Cynthia giggled before turning her attention back to the demon that cursed Lucy. "Yukino, go!"
"R-Right…!" Yukino nodded before running off.
"What can two little girls do to me…!?" Seafall exclaimed while whipping a tendril that struck Wendy, Cynthia, and Romeo down to the ground, a shriek of pain escaping them due to how sudden it was.
"Guys…!" Lucy exclaimed, wincing slightly from the Stigma.
"That wasn't fair…we weren't ready!" Cynthia hopped up after, shaking off the hit. The earlier fatigue from the confrontation with Chelia was starting to catch up, but she still had plenty of steam.
"Mph…" Wendy brought herself up, opening her mouth to inhale the surrounding air, regaining her lost magic power.
"Cynthia, catch!" Romeo hurled a purple flare towards Cynthia, which she began to inhale without delay.
"You little…" Seafall growled while preparing another tendril, but it was way too late then; the duo was already recharged and ready to strike. Both of them entered Dragon Force in this moment, putting Jack's training to use before winding up their signature attacks.
"Sky Dragon's…"
"Omega Fire Dragon's…"
"ROAR!" The two unleashed their respective roars that merged halfway, powering through the strike and landed against the demon directly, completely disintegrating him. As soon as the roar was over, the Stigma on Lucy's back dispersed.
"Ah…!" Lucy stumbled forward, but she felt all the life in her body return once the Stigma was broken. "It's gone! I feel so much better now!"
"We did it!" Cynthia high fived both Wendy and Romeo. "Nice work, team! Now, let's keep it going!"
.
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Happy flew around the city, trying to find Natsu after he lost him. Instead, he noticed Gajeel, Levy, Elfman, and Lisanna unconscious near the city entrance. "Wahhh!?" He flew down immediately, landing next to his comrades with a worried expression. "Gajeel! Elfman! Levy! Lissanna! Are you okay?!" He examined them more, only to notice that they were…asleep. "WHAT!? WHY ARE YOU SLEEPING AT A TIME LIKE THIS?! WAKE UP!" He screamed, but there was no response, they were out cold. "What's wrong!?" He then felt something step on his tail, causing him to jump, but he didn't move too far. He looked behind him, noticing a tall, nicely dressed figure standing above him. "….!"
"They're under my curse, little cat…You may call me Erebus, the demon of nightmares…."
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Sting: "Man, these demons just don't quit!"
Rogue: "I didn't expect them of all people to go so far…"
Orga: "Doesn't matter! We'll show this demon just how far we've come!"
Rufus: "A defining moment I shall remember for the rest of time…"
Yukino: "We are a new guild, different than we were before!"
Sting: "We are Sabertooth!"
Next time: Sabertooth's Pride!
