Chapter 194: Dante vs Minerva!
"Do you think they will be safe master" asked Flare in a worried tone as she walked through the sun village along with Dante and Erza. Dante turned his attention towards Flare and started to speak.
"They will be fine. The enemy is only treasure hunters, I'm sure even Lucy can handle them" responded Dante with a smile.
A little while ago they had all arrived at the Sun Village and ran into treasure hunters seeking to thaw out the eternal flame with a bottle of moon drip. Natsu, Gray, Wendy and Lucy had quickly taken chase after the treasure hunters, leaving Dante alone with Erza and Flare. Confidant that Natsu and the others can handle mere treasure hunters, Dante decided to seek out the frozen eternal flame with Erza and Flare. Luckily for them Flare had grown up in the sun village and knew exactly where the eternal flame was, so they did not have to waste time searching for it.
"I wonder who could have done this" asked Erza in curious tone as they walked through the frozen streets. Dante nodded his head; he had never seen magic quite like this before. The ice encasing the village was a shade of purple, making it different in nature than Gray's ice. It was strange to Dante that something like moon drip would be required to thaw the ice, it meant that this ice was strong. As they walked past another frozen giant, Dante noticed Flare's worried look.
"Someone you knew" asked Dante to Flare as they walked past the frozen giant. Flare had a sad look on her face as she started to speak.
"Yes, I feel so guilty for leaving. If I was here then maybe I could have stopped whatever caused this" responded Flare in a sad and guilty tone. Dante stopped walking for a moment to turn around and face Flare. Taking her hand in his own, Dante looked into her eyes as he started to speak.
"Don't think like that Flare. We can't change the past; we can only affect the future. I promise we will find a way to thaw everyone out" responded Dante in a warm tone. Flare gave her master an appreciative look as she started to speak.
"Thank you master for being here for me" responded Flare with a smile before she leaned forward and placed a loving kiss on Dante's lips. Dante smiled into the kiss as he wrapped his arms around Flare, pulling her even closer to him. The two of them made out for a short time before Erza cleared her throat to remind them of the task at hand. Pulling away from Flare, Dante stepped away from her as he started to speak.
"We should keep going, lead us to where the eternal flame is Flare" stated Dante with a smile. Flare nodded her head as she started to lead Dante and Erza towards the eternal flame. The three of them walked in silence for a short time before Dante noticed something strange.
"Hey Erza, why are you so small" asked Dante in a curious tone as he watched Erza shrink, as if she was becoming far younger than she was. It was with these words that Erza noticed that she had regressed to how she was serval years ago, she now had the body she had when she was a small child. Letting out a surprised gasp, Erza started to speak.
"W-what is happening to me" asked Erza, her voice softer than usual since she regressed in age. Just as Dante was about to speak, he heard Flare start to speak.
"What the? I can see my feet again" stated Flare in a confused tone as Dante turned around to see that Flare had also become young again. Just as Dante was thinking what in the hell was happening he noticed that Erza and Flare seemed to grow taller. This confused Dante for a moment since they still appeared to be young, why were they getting taller. It was after a moment of consideration that Dante realized Erza and Flare were not getting taller, he was getting shorter.
"What the hell" asked Dante as he looked down at himself to see he had regressed in age as well. Dante now had the body he had when he was about six. To make things worse Dante could feel his magic power had regressed to the levels it was at when he was six, which meant he barely had any fighting power.
"Master you became young also" stated Erza in a shocked tone. Dante nodded his head as he started to speak.
"Yah but why is this happening? Flare is this some sort of defensive magic the Sun Village has to ward off intruders" asked Dante, trying to find out why they had all regressed in age. He hoped that this was only temporary and not permanent.
"No, I don't know why this is happening" responded Flare in a soft tone with how young she now was.
"Then what the hell is happening" asked Dante mostly to himself as he tried to come up with an answer. This must be the work of a nearby wizard Dante thought. If that was the case then Dante needed to find the wizard causing this and put a stop to it. Just as Dante was thinking this he heard a female laugh as she approached Dante and the others.
"Haha the mighty Erza Scarlet reduced to a small and defenseless child, this is too much" stated the woman as she approached Dante and the others. Dante was wondering for a moment where he saw the woman before when Erza started to speak.
"Minerva, what are you doing here" asked Erza in a shocked tone. Dante's eyes widened in shock at these words. Now that Erza said her name, Dante had no doubt that the woman in front of him was Minerva a former member of Saber Tooth. Minerva laughed to herself before she started to speak.
"Haha isn't it obvious Erza? I'm here for my revenge. After the humiliating defeat you handed me in the Grand Magic games I vowed to get my revenge, I vowed to destroy you no matter what. To achieve this goal, I joined Succubus Eye. You've already seen the magic of one of my new allies firsthand" responded Minerva with a sinister smile. Erza grit her teeth in anger as she started to respond.
"You've fallen so low to join a dark guild" asked Erza in anger as Minerva loomed over them. Dante swore to himself about the situation they were in. He hardly had any magic power in his weakened state and Dante was sure Erza and Flare were in a similar weakened position. As Minerva looked over them with the clear intent to bring harm to Erza, Dante struggled to think of a solution.
"Don't you dare judge me Erza. I joined so I can be the best. That is all that matters" responded Minerva in a sinister tone as she gathered her magical energy. Seeing that Erza was too weak to fight, Dante moved to stand in front of Erza.
"If you want to get to Erza, you will have to go through me first" stated Dante in a determined tone as he stood against Minerva. Minerva chuckled to herself, the sight of a young and small Dante standing against her was amusing. As Dante stood his ground against Minerva, he heard Erza start to speak to him.
"Master what are you doing?! I can handle this, don't endanger yourself for me" yelled Erza in a worried tone. Erza was not used to others defending her. She was the strong one, Erza Scarlet didn't need someone putting themselves in danger for her. Dante turned his head to face Erza, giving her a smile as he started to speak.
"Don't worry about me Erza, I can handle her by myself. Go with Flare and find the others" responded Dante in a confidant tone despite not having a clue how he was going to win. Erza was about to protest when Minerva's laugh cut her off.
"Haha you think you can stop me? That is too funny little man" stated Minerva in an amused tone as her hands glowed with her magical power. Dante grit his teeth in aner as he prepared for a fight.
"Don't underestimate me" responded Dante in an angry tone as he gathered the small amount of magical power he had within himself.
"Master don't be foolish, we should fight her together" shouted Erza in a worried tone, she knew that like herself Dante had hardly any magical power at the moment. Just as Dante was about to shout at Erza to get going he felt a sudden change within himself. Dante was gathering the small amount of magical energy he had when suddenly his body returned to it's proper age. Seeing this Minerva stopped in shock as Dante was now back to his normal self.
"W-what the hell?! Why are you back to normal? Doriate couldn't have been defeated since you are the only one back to normal" stated Minerva in a shocked tone. Dante smiled back at Minerva as he started to speak.
"Doriate huh? So that's the person responsible for this strange magic. I'm sorry to inform you Minerva but it looks like whatever sort of magic Doriate uses, it's dark magic which means I am resistant to it" responded Dante with a smile.
"Resistant?! What do you mean" asked Minerva in an angry tone. Dante smiled as he used his takeover magic to transform into his Angel Soul Gabriel form before he started to speak.
"I mean that my magic is holy, it's light magic. When I gathered the small amount of magical energy I had when I was affected by the regression magic it counteracted it. This magic can't affect me like it does the others" responded Dante with a smile. Turning his attention back towards Erza, Dante continued to speak.
"Erza please go with Flare to find the others. Now that I am back to normal this will be easy for me" stated Dante with a confident smile. Erza smiled back at her master as she nodded her head. Now that Dante was back to his normal self, Erza had no doubts that he could handle Minerva.
"Okay, but please be careful master" responded Erza as she started to run off with Flare. Dante nodded his head in agreement as he watched Erza and Flare run away to safety. Turning his attention back towards an angry Minerva, Dante started to speak.
"Sorry to interrupt your plans for revenge Minerva, but your fight is with me not Erza" responded Dante with a smile as he assumed a combat stance. Minerva was angry for a moment before she started to laugh.
"Haha actually this is perfect revenge. Killing the man, she loves more than anything will be so much better revenge than what I originally had planned" responded Minerva as she also assumed a combat stance.
"You're certainly free to try but I'm warning you fighting me is a huge mistake" responded Dante in a confident tone. Silence followed for a few moments as Dante and Minerva sized each other up.
Suddenly Minerva fired off a magical attack, heading straight towards Dante. Smiling Dante easily dodged the incoming blast when he spread his wings and took flight into the air. Just as Dante was about counterattack, Minerva used her magic to send a strong punch to Dante's face. Using her magic Minerva punched through a portal, her fist coming out next to Dante's face even though he was serval feet away. Grunting in pain, Dante was sent crashing into the ground as Minerva laughed.
"Haha see you are still no match for me" stated Minerva in a pleased tone as she fired serval powerful blasts of magic at Dante. Dante was able to react quickly enough and channeled his magical energy as he stretched out a hand towards the incoming blast.
"Shield of Heaven" shouted Dante as a magical barrier blocked the incoming blast. Dante felt the slight drop in his magical energy as the shield held off against Minerva's attack. He had little time to think about what to do next since Minera used her space altering magic to send a powerful punch into his gut. Stumbling backwards a bit Dante started to speak.
"You have some clever tricks for sure, but it is going to take a lot more than that to beat me" responded Dante as he spread his wings wide and flew towards Minerva. Charing his fist with holy energy, Dante aimed it at Minerva. Just as Dante was about to make contact with Minerva, she suddenly vanished out of thin air. Stopping midair, Dante looked around as he started to speak.
"Damn where did she go" asked Dante to himself as he searched the surrounding area. Suddenly Dante heard a sinister chuckle as Minerva appeared behind him.
"Like I said you are nothing compared to my power" shouted Minerva as she delivered a powerful kick towards Dante. Dante barely had time to block the kick with his arm, being sent crashing back into the ground. Grunting with pain, Dante stood back up on his feet.
"This battle is far from over" yelled Dante as he channeled his magical energy. Aiming a hand towards Minerva, Dante continued to speak.
"Ray of Heaven" yelled Dante as a beam of holy energy erupted from his hand and flew towards Minerva. Minerva laughed at Dante's attack as she used her magic to vanish once again. Once Minerva vanished again, Dante waited. Just like Dante thought she would, Minerva appeared behind him, but this time Dante was ready for her. Turning around quickly Dante shouted as he launched his next attack.
"Heaven's Fist" yelled Dante as his fist charged with holy energy crashed into Minerva's gut. Minerva let out a pained and surprised grunt as Dante hit her with the powerful attack. She was sent flying backwards some distance, but it wasn't enough to beat her. Standing back up, Minerva gave Dante an angry look as he continued to speak.
"Sorry but you are way to predictable" stated Dante with a confidant smile which only made Minerva even angrier.
"SHUT UP! I WON'T LOSE! I HAVE TO BE THE BEST" shouted Minerva in an angry tone.
Dante briefly wondered what was driving Minerva to such lengths to be the best before he focused back on the battle. Minerva sent two powerful beams of energy towards Dante, seemingly putting a lot of her magical energy behind the attack. The ground was torn up as the magical energy flew towards Dante. Seeing this as his chance to finish the fight, Dante prepared to fire his own magical attack. Bringing his open palms together, Dante channeled a large portion of his magical energy as he started to speak.
"Heaven's Canon" yelled Dante as a powerful blast of holy magic erupted from his open palms, the ground shaking with the force of his magic. The holy blast on energy crashed into Minerva's attack, the two wizards struggling to overcome the other. Slowly Dante's attack started to push Minerva's attack back, much to her surprise and horror.
"N-no how is this possible?! I can't lose" shouted Minerva as she channeled more of her magical energy. Minerva's attack started to push forward again, making Dante's attack be pushed backwards. Despite his attack being pushed backwards, Dante smiled as he started to respond to Minerva.
"It's possible because unlike you, I don't fight for myself" responded Dante as he used more of his magical energy, his attack pushing forward once again. Minerva was struggling to keep up, she was clearly reaching her limit while Dante still had plenty of reserves to continue the beam struggle. Minerva could see the clear difference in their strength and knew this was quickly becoming a losing battle for her. Despite this she refused to accept defeat as she tried to channel more of her magical energy while she started to speak.
"WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT EVEN MEAN" yelled Minerva, the thought of fighting for anyone other than oneself being ludicrous to her. Smiling in response, Dante started to speak.
"It means that I fight for everyone in Fairy Tail! I fight for my friends and family. I fight for the ones I love. As long as they need me, I will never lose to someone like you" shouted Dante as he channeled enough magical energy to overcome Minerva. Seeing the incoming attack and realizing she could do nothing about it, Minerva started to speak.
"AGHHH DAMN IT" yelled Minerva just before Dante's powerful attack hit her dead on. Minerva's entire world was enveloped in a blinding light as the holy energy tore at her body. She was sent crashing to the ground serval feet away, Minerva was defeated.
"Do you realize now that your pursuit of power will only end in this way" asked Dante as he claimed victory in this fight. Minerva struggled to get back on her feet, giving Dante an angry look as she started to speak.
"This is far from over Dante Strauss. I promise I will destroy you and Erza when I get the power that I need. You haven't seen the last of me" responded Minerva in a sinister tone as she used the remainder of her magic to teleport away. Sensing that Minerva was far away from his location, Dante relaxed somewhat before he started to speak.
"Damn that took more out of me than I thought it would" stated Dante to himself, noticing the amount of magical energy he was just forced to use against Minerva in his last attack. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Dante spread his wings wide as he continued to speak.
"I'd better find the others; they might still need my help" stated Dante to himself as he took flight in the air to start looking for his friends. As Dante searched for his friends, he wondered when he would next see Minerva. It was a shame that Minerva was so obsessed with power to join a dark guild. She was really sexy, and Dante could not help but wonder how great it would feel to put her in her proper place. Maybe the next time he sees her, Dante will dominate Minerva in an entirely different way.
End of Chapter 194