"Agh…" Solemnly walking out of the White Eclipse guild, Luke Cloud placed his hand in his pockets. Gently kicking the snow before he sat down on the stairs leading to the door, all he could do was just stare out into the falling snow.
"You too, huh?" Selene walked out, sitting right beside Luke while letting out a heavy sigh.
"It just hasn't been the same since the old man died…" Luke commented, not even bothering to look at Selene. "Master Calium was such a good man…it's a shame someone like him was caught with old age and incurable sickness…"
{Flash back}
Master Calium sat in a bed, clinging onto life with his own magic as life support. Around the bed in the infirmary stood nearly all of the White Eclipse guild members (except for Sidney, the Ace); they knew this was coming one day, but they weren't ready for it to happen. Still, the old man faced his children with a slight smile, for it was all he could muster. "I don't have much longer to spend with you all, my children…but I want you to know that I'm proud of each and every one of you. You've come…a long way since joining this guild, you know?" And after he spoke, he began coughing profusely.
"M-Master…please…" Aira could hardly hold back the tears. "I…I did everything I could…I should've tried harder…maybe I could've…"
"No…" Reve shook his head, stopping Aira right there. "We knew this was coming…we knew there was no way to stop it…" Now the S class was averting his gaze from the scene; he was one of the six originals of the guild, he knew Calium the longest. Even though most everyone was on the same level of sadness, Reve, Waiston, Kuro, Zalen, and Royal were on a completely different level. None of them were able to even try hiding it.
"You brats…you've all grown…" Calium's coughing was uncontrollable by this point, yet he still forced the smile on his lips. "I'm proud of you all…but now…my time at White Eclipse is over…the rest is up to you…" As he spoke, his body slowly started to deteriorate into black and white particles. "Farewell, White Eclipse…continue to grow strong…" And with that, Calium's body finally disappeared, while everyone standing around began to cry. Yes, Reve, Luke, Cygnus, Aira, Selene; everyone shed tears at the passing of White Eclipse's first master.
"Thank you…old man…" Reve actually spoke out words of gratitude in honor of Master Calium, wiping the tears from his face shortly after, but they still fell. "THANK YOU, CALIUM!"
{End Flashback}
"I was hoping we'd get out of that last incident without any losses, but I guess that was too much to ask for…" Luke let out another sigh once again.
"I'm sure things will get better…" Selene patted Luke's shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. "We always get through the tough times…we just have to stick together now more than ever, okay?"
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Lucy poked her head into a cave; apparently this is where her intended target was hiding out. "This place gives me the creeps…" Muttering to herself, she slowly stepped inside the cave. The humidity was high and the cave itself was very damp. "Oh, gross…" It was then that some slime fell onto her shoulder; with a comedic shudder crawled up her spine and she yelped, frantically hopping around in attempt to remove the slime off her. "Gross…gross….gross! That's disgusting…!" In her failing around, she hit her back on a cave wall, falling right to her face. "Why me…" She silently wondered before picking herself back up. With all the inconveniences out of the way, it was finally time to resume her solo job so she could rub it in Natsu's face. "All right Lucy, let's do this!"
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"Who are these guys…?!" Gray questioned in the midst of the lower guild members of Fukomakura flooding the first floor. The fight with Weavel was postponed due to these intruders, and neither mage looked too happy about it.
"More intruders…" Weavel sounded just as irritated as Gray, but he still kept his attention on the ice make wizard. "We're not done here, Fullbuster. But I see I have no choice but to deal with you all at once."
"You think you're that tough!?" Gray said while gritting his teeth.
"I am a Wizard Hunter." Weavel said while swiping his arm to the side. There were a number of Fukomakura members charging at him at once, but the room suddenly turned pitch dark. Gray went on the defensive immediately, unable to see. The darkness didn't last long, only a few seconds. When it faded, the dozens of enemies that appeared were on the floor, defeated. Weavel was also standing behind Gray, his blade dripping with blood. "Dark Room."
"Huh?" Gray was quickly looking around at the scene. He couldn't even see what happened! But then, he felt something slash his back, causing him to grunt in pain as he staggered forward. He could feel the impression of cold steel on his back, and the lingering pain that came with it. "W-What the hell?"
"Don't tell me you're that surprised. I told you, I'm a Hunter. You, my prey." Weavel said while turning around, his expression hidden under his cloak. But by the tone of his voice, it felt as if he was enjoying it. "My next slash won't be so generous." The hunter crouched down and launched forward, drawing his sword back.
Gray wasn't going to be caught by the same attack twice. He spread his arms out, a thick shield of ice appearing in front of him. "Ice Make: Shield!" Gray was confident his shield would hold. Once Weavel attacked, he'd use this chance to launch a fierce counter! Ice already formed on Gray's hands, and he was waiting for his moment to strike. However, Weavel's sword, cloaked in darkness, cleaved through Gray's shield and his chest at the same time. "Gaaaaah!?"
"My blade and the darkness that empowers it, and my own being, can cut through any defense." Weavel slid to a halt behind Gray, flicking his sword to remove the blood from it. "A sword that cannot cut is as bad as a shield that cannot defend. Is this the best you can offer?"
Gray winced, placing a hand on his chest. Now he was beginning to see why the Wizard Hunters were a forced to be reckoned with. But he forced a smirk onto his face. "Natsu took two of you guys at once. So it only stands to reason that I can beat one of you!" Refusing to yield, Gray slammed his hands onto the ground. "Ice Make: Geyser!" From beneath Weavel's feet, a rising glacier popped up. He sensed this and leapt into the air, avoiding it. Gray wasn't letting him go that easily! "Ice Make: Lance!" He threw his hands forward this time, a blue magical seal appearing, releasing a number of frozen lances in Weavel's direction!
Weavel twisted his body while in the air, using his sword to slash any lances that proved to be too close for comfort. He aimed a slash down at Gray, but he jumped to the side, avoiding a rising pillar of darkness in the process. The moment Weavel landed, Gray moved back in with spiked gauntlets. He pulled his arm back and threw it forward, aiming to slug Weavel in the face. Weavel was fast and avoided this, using his sword to slice through the gauntlet and destroy it. But as he did this, Gray's second fist slammed into his chest, knocking him away. "Guh...!"
"Finally!" Gray smirked as he knocked Weavel back. "You're an annoying one, you know that? But just because you're fast, doesn't mean I can't hit you!" Gray held both hands out, and large blades of ice appeared within his grip. "Ice Make: Bringer!"
Weavel recovered from Gray's admittedly strong hit. "You're getting ahead of yourself." Weavel said while the two of them launched at each other. They engaged in brief sword play. Gray's large swords covered a wide area, but Weavel was fast enough to deflect or dodge them. Eventually they clashed, reaching a stalemate. "Heh..."
"What's so funny!?" Gray snarled, holding his ground against Weavel.
"It's a shame. I wanted to fight Titania. You aren't on her level. Dark Detonation." Before Gray had a chance to open his mouth, the darkness on Weavel's sword exploded, violently throwing him into the wall on the furthest end of the floor. "At least her swordsmanship would give me a challenge. You aren't a warm up."
"Ngh..." Gray slumped after hitting that wall, his vision getting a bit fuzzy. But he wasn't going to stay down! He took a deep breath, recalling what was at stake here. Plus, there was no way he would lose to a group that Natsu could beat some from! Slowly, the Devil Slaying tattoos appeared along his arm, and the temperature of the floor started to drop.
Weavel noticed this and his expression shifted to a puzzled one. "What...what is this...?" The Wizard Hunters had only kept up with Fiore's activity until the Council Ball. Anything that came after...was unknown territory for them.
Gray made his way to his feet, the power of Devil Slaying at his disposal. "If you thought I was some easy target, you couldn't be more wrong. Ice Devil's Rage!" Gray lurched his head forward and opened his mouth. From it, a massive torrent of purple ice exploded from his mouth.
Weavel's eyes widened, as he was not expecting this level of fire power. He attempted to slash through it, but he was unable to move fast enough. As such, he took the direct hit and flew towards the wall, which was now partially frozen over as a result of Gray's attack. "T-This power...when did you...!?"
Gray wasn't done yet! "Ice Make: Devil Hammer!" Gray was still using his ice make as well. In conjunction with his Devil Slaying powers, this created a large hammer above Weavel, which he swung down to crush him. Weavel was able to quickly avoid this by leaping to the side.
"None of this matters. I only need one more strike to finish this!" Weavel said as the darkness on his sword intensified.
"You took the words right out of my mouth!" Gray said while bringing his hands to his side. Weavel lunged towards Gray, and he planned to meet his attack head on. "Ice Devil Zeroth's Longsword!"
"Lightless Luna!" Weavel roared. The two swords clashed...but only for a second. Weavel swung downwards, and his sword shattered Gray's own, while cleaving along his chest. Gray coughed up blood, and Weavel twisted the sword in his hand, preparing to go for the finishing blow. "This is the end!" But...his sword then froze. Weavel realized this at the last second, and just when his second strike was going to hit Gray, the sword shattered. "W-W...!?"
Gray, despite his injuries, gave a painful, vindictive smirk. "My ice can shatter any sword." The temperature of his sword was so cold, it froze Weavel's over. It was a risky play, but it paid off, because Weavel was wide open and defenseless! Gray had purple ice around his fist, and he brought it down onto the stunned Weavel's face, swinging downward onto his temple to crush him into the ground. "ICE DEVIL ZEROTH'S IMPACT!" This caused an explosion of ice to completely freeze Weavel over. The Wizard Hunter was left with a shocked expression on his face. One that Gray was going to relish for quite a while.
"I told you that I wasn't going to lose." Gray let out a sigh of relief before dashing up the stairs, only to meet with Wendy and Cynthia. "Oi, are you guys okay!?"
"We're fine, Gray-san!" Wendy nodded, pointing to Yumia and Yukia. "Those two are just...eh…something else?"
"Oof…How rude…" Yumia huffed, sitting cross legged on the floor next to her sister.
"Honestly, we're just a pair of adorable twins!" Yukia replied.
"Right…well, anyway, we don't have time to mess around!" Gray pointed down the stairs he just came from. "Some other people are in here, and they don't look like friendlies to me."
"More intruders?!" Yukia groaned. "But I didn't even see anyone before you trolls…!"
"Wait…" Cynthia tilted her head. "Wendy and I haven't seen anyone…so that means that Natsu and the others are in danger!"
"We have to hurry!" Wendy exclaimed. "I have a bad feeling…"
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Pulling out a bladed staff from behind his back, Kize pointed to the two females, Diamond and Tia with a grin. "Ladies first! …Oh, too late!" Placing a hand on his chest, Kize created a small white circle there; following up, he slammed the pointed end of his staff into the ground. "Abyss: Shatter!" From there, the floor began to violently break apart, especially near the two girls, shooting jagged stones towards them.
"Watch out…!" Tia exclaimed; she and Diamond leapt to opposite sides. Tia reacted first by pulling out her scepter once again, unleashing a high pressurized stream of water towards Kize that tore through the broken floor.
"Ha!" Kize let out a laugh as the stream of water came his way. Pulling his staff from the ground, he swung it in a diagonal motion. "Clear Water!" It all happened in a flash; the next thing anyone knew, Diamond swapped places with Kize, now leaving her in range of Tia's attack.
"Wha…!?" Diamond had to time to register watch just occurred; she was blown away by Tia's own attack and sent into a wall.
"HA! Looking a little wet there!" Kize would just not stop with these puns.
"Diamond…!" Feeling a slight surge of anger from such a dirty trick, Tia swung her scepter at Kize once again, but he blocked it with his staff. Tia caught the upper hand with a back handed swing, slamming the tip of her staff into the back of Kize's head, crushing him into the floor. That very same instant contact connected, she felt that exact pain, and gripped her head in agony. "OW…W-what the hell…!? It's that same magic…"
"Wow! That hurt!" Kize hopped right up with a wide grin towards Tia. "You have a fierce swing, lady! But let me show you mine!" Placing his staff into the ground, a blood red magic seal formed, shaking the floor violently. "Suicide Rush!" And suddenly, a violently explosion occurred, consuming Tia whole.
"T-Tia…!" Diamond yelped while picking herself back up.
"Woo! That was a blast, don't you think!?" Kize grinned at the cloud of smoke, though that grin faltered slightly when it faded. Tia was in her Queen's armor, though various pieces of it were broken due to the explosion. "Oh?"
"You're exceptionally annoying…" Tia growled before placing her staff into the ground, creating a blue magic seal. "I'll just beat you and pass out after, since that's how your magic seems to work…"
"If you think you're just gonna get hits for free, you've got another thing coming! The only one who can hit me to their heart's content is my queen!" Kize exclaimed, preparing to leap away…only to find that diamonds glued his feet to the ground, making it impossible to move. "Hey!"
"Drown." Tia spoke in a low, threatening tone, yet there was also the slightest grin on her face; a sadistic one. "Tidal Wave!" The magic seal began to rotate rapidly, water soon flooding the room. "Diamond, cover your mouth!" Tia commanded. With a nod and a deep inhale, Diamond did as Tia requested. Diamonds formed along her face and nose, keeping an airtight lock around her face. Kize was the one who was now unable to breathe, causing his lungs to start burning. Though Tia didn't have any issues underwater, and faced Kize with a smirk. "Oh, what's wrong? Where's that little confidence of yours? Your sense link magic can't give damage without you taking any, right? Well, if you're suffering from natural causes such as drowning, there's no one to really share that pain with, huh?"
"Tia's amazing…she found a weakness right after experimenting against her opponent…" Diamond thought to herself.
Though Kize looked like he was having fun. There was a big grin on his face as he actually attempted to speak within the water. Raising his staff, he sliced through the water with his pointed end, causing a divide. The water dispersed, leaving Tia wide eyed. Coughing, Kize continued to grin towards Tia. "Come on, is that all! I was actually starting to like it! It was rather…breathtaking…!"
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"There seems to be quite the commotion outside…" Nercon sighed, adjusting her red tinted glasses. Both Erza and Juvia seemed to be unconscious after what Nercon put them through, but she seemed to be pleased nonetheless. "Tough employees, but I'll break your will soon enough, no matter what I have to do…" She turned to exit the room and prepare her exit, but the wall was broken through by Natsu who hit the opposite wall. "Oh…?" Nercon turned her head, only to see Ophelia dusting her hands off through the Natsu shaped hole in the wall. "...That looks like trouble..."
"Do we have to keep repeating this?" Ophelia questioned with a bored look on her face. "You're starting to become dull, Dragneel…you just charge in and attack blindly, and I just knock you away…we can do this all day but eventually I'm going to crack that skull open."
"Grrr…." Natsu stood up, glaring towards Ophelia. He then noticed that Erza and Juvia were right there, while Nercon silently made her exit due to not wanting to deal with such rabble. Nobody noticed Nercon cutting her losses, but she'd still say she made off like a bandit at the end of the day. Hopping forward, he swung his legs towards the chains that bound the two females to free them; he then crouched down, flames flaring all around his body. Pushing forward, he lunged headfirst towards the mysterious being. "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"
"You don't learn…" Ophelia sighed and just waited for Natsu to near; at the literal last second she slammed her fist across his back, sending the Salamander hurtling into the ground, kicking up some dust.
"N-Natsu…!" Happy flailed, flying over to his companion. "Are you okay!?"
"Pathetic…" Waving a dismissive hand, Ophelia took a few steps back before snapping her fingers; various rose buds popped up from the ground, all pointing towards Natsu, Happy, Erza, and Juvia. "I'll just wipe you all out right here and save myself the trouble. Rose Gun: Barrage!" The buds opened up, immediately unleashing rapid fire beams of raw demon curse power upon the four.
"WAAAAH…!" Happy flailed, seeing no other way to defend against this attack. It was all until a figure stood forward. "Wha…!?"
Erza was awake, now standing in her Adamantine Armor, defending everyone against the beams of raw curse power. She looked back to Natsu and Happy with a slight grin, following with a nod. "Sorry to be late…" Erza responded. The rapid fire eventually died down, and Erza uncrossed her shield.
"Oh…?" Ophelia quirked a brow. "What have we here?"
A heavenly glow appeared around Erza's body for only a split second; when it faded, she was standing in her Heaven's Wheel armor. Pointing her right arm forward, the blade just inches away from Ophelia's neck. "The wrath of Fairies."
"What's a Fairy to a demon…?" Ophelia replied with the slightest of smirks, staring right into Erza's eyes with her own pink oculars. "But more importantly, what's a Fairy to a Wraith…?"
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The battle has reached its climax! Which side will turn the tides for a victory!?
Next time: Wraith!
