"Ugh…" Wendy slowly started to come to, rubbing her head. "Where…." She looked around as her vision started to return, eyes widening once she realized where she was. The very room where the climax of Fiore's End happened. "W-What?!" She sprang up, looking around.
"Ah, I see you're awake…" Hyde said as he walked forward, tapping his cane on his forehead.
"W-Who are you…?" Wendy asked as she stood her ground, glaring up at Hyde. "Where's Cynthia and the others?"
"Oh, your friends?" Hyde chuckled a bit before snapping his fingers, causing multiple lacrima screens to appear around the room. These screens displayed the various battles occurring or about to occur, and even the location of those who weren't in battle, such as Cynthia and the exceed squad. "They're dealing with my crew right now. Most of them anyway…I see your little friend thinks she's clever and can escape without a battle…"
Without warning, Wendy fired off a Sky Dragon's Roar towards Hyde, but to her surprise the blue whirlwind merely phased right through him. "What..?!"
"I can't say I didn't see that coming…" Hyde sighed. "I do not wish to fight you…My strength far surpasses that of your S class mages…"
"You're lying!" Wendy shouted.
"Well, if that is the attitude you wish to have…" Hyde said while letting out yet another, heavier sigh. "I suppose I can humor you for just a bit…"
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Erza and Knightwalker clashed once again. The two really seemed to be at an impasse when it came to any kind of fighting, but it was clear that the other would not give up while their counterpart was still standing. Erza charged forward in her Morning Star armor with two swords, both gathering up energy. When she was in close proximity of Knightwalker she pointed her swords forward. "Photoon Slicer!" Upon calling this out, the swords unleashed a powerful burst of energy towards Erza's Edolas counterpart.
Knightwalker changed her spear from the Cannon Head spear into two Spears; Double Dragon. With these two spears in hand, she swiped them forward, unleashing a blast of ice and fire from both spears, merging the two elements together midway, clashing with the Photon Slicer. "Blue Crimson!" The two energies eventually resulted in a large scale explosion, blowing both Erza's back a noticeable distance.
Erza slid back for a few yards before coming to a stop. She jumped into the air as a heavenly glow bathed her body, and when it faded, she was in her Heaven's Wheel Armor, a multitude of swords already circling around her person. "Heaven's Wheel!" Erza exclaimed, sending the multitude of swords raining down towards Knightwalker.
"Velocity Spear…!" Knightwalker shouted, her spear now changing from the dual pair into the singular spear once again. With her increased speed, she moved in a zig-sag pattern, avoiding most of the swords coming her way, while others merely grazed her side. Before she got to close to Erza, she jumped, performing a front flip, her spear now changing into her Cannon Head spear. Before Erza could take notice of what spear Knightwalker was using now, Knightwalker slammed the tip of the Cannon Head Spear into Erza, the powerful explosion sending Erza rocketing into the ground. "Is that all, Scarlet?!" Knightwalker shouted as she landed on the ground.
As the smoke from the impact cleared, Erza was seen in her Flame Empress Armor. She requipped into it just in time to cut the damage from the Cannon Head spear. "You should know better than that!" Erza shouted back to Knightwalker, gripping her now flaming sword. She rushed towards Knightwalker at quick pace, raising her sword up. "Flame Slash!"
In an instant, Knightwalker's spear changed once again into the Vacuum Spear. "Mel-Force!" Knightwalker yelled as she pointed her spear forward, unleashing a powerful gust of wind towards Erza, who was totally surprised but the increased speed of the requip. The powerful burst of wind slammed into Erza, who, with a loud shriek of pain, flew across the room and into the nearest wall. "I'm not finished yet!" Knightwalker exclaimed with a sadistic grin as she changed into her Velocity Spear, using the speed to appear on the side of the disoriented Scarlet; after reaching Scarlet within seconds, her spear once again changed into the Vacuum Spear. "Mel-Force!"
"Instantaneous Requip…!?" Erza thought to herself, let out a gasp once realizing that Knightwalker was right on her side. However, she had no time to react to what came next. The second Mel-Force slammed into her, sending her flying into the opposite wall with another pained shriek.
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Wendy couldn't help but be distracted by Erza's shriek, which caused her to turn her attention from Hyde to the screen projecting Erza vs. Knightwalker. "E-Erza-san…!"
"Ah…I see Knightwalker is doing just as well as the script said…" Hyde grinned, crossing his arms.
"W-What do you mean…?" Wendy asked, turning her head while her fist remained clenched.
"Knightwalker's spear is an improved one, thanks to technology my superior and I created…" Hyde explained. "Before, her spear's changing ability was equal to that of your precious Titania, but now, it's quite higher, which gives it the instantaneous effect your friend seems to be worrying about."
"What does that mean…!?" Wendy asked with widened eyes.
"It means, little Sky Dragon…that Knightwalker has the pure advantage. Titania will not be winning this battle." Hyde replied, his smirk growing wider and wider.
"That's false!" Wendy immediately replied. "Erza will win, and so will everyone else!"
"Oi…" Hyde let out a heavy sigh. "Believe what you want…I know how things will play out, I wrote the script after all…"
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Once again, Knightwalker appeared at Erza's side with her Velocity Spear. But, Erza was prepared this time around, now in her Flight Armor. With her new speed, Erza zipped around Knightwalker's slash and began to circle around the Edolas Knight, slashing at her while doing so. "Sonic Claw!"
"Tch…!" Knightwalker grunted every time Erza managed to land a slash on her. Eventually, she had enough and changed into her Cannon Head Spear, pointing it down at the ground. The tip of the spear release an explosion that blew both Erza's away, but he certainly stopped Scarlet's attack. Knightwalker quickly managed to get her bearings straight, now staring as Erza began to change armors once again; her Lightning Empress Armor.
Erza held her lightning spear forward, allowing lightning to surge on the tip of the sphere. She created a large sphere of lightning, shooting it forward once she thought it was big enough. "Elthunder!" The sphere of lightning cut through the floor it traveled over as it raced towards Knightwalker.
As the sphere of lightning raced towards Knightwalker, she changed her spear into Runesave, charging forward. She brought the spear up, bringing it down shortly after, cleaving through the sphere of lightning with ease. "This battle will end different!" Knightwalker screamed towards Erza, but Knightwalker was quickly cut off by the fist of Erza (who was now in her Giant's Armor) that connected with her jaw, sending her staggering backwards.
"You're absolutely right!" Erza exclaimed while changing once again into her Black Wing Armor, using her ability to fly to her advantage, speeding towards Knightwalker. "This is one battle I cannot afford to lose! Not right now!"
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"Oi…" Luke groaned, looking around the seemingly endless snowy horizon. "This is so boring…" He then turned around, starting to walk into the tower.
"Luke, where do you think you're going?" Taya asked in a tone that caused Luke to halt in place.
"I'm just going to go look…" Luke replied while having a hand.
"Don't actually go in there, now," Ace said while raising a brow.
"I'm just gonna look…" Luke replied with an aggravated sigh. "Geez, is that such a problem?" Luke walked to the door of the tower, opening it slowly. It didn't take much sight to see the explosive battle between the two Erzas. A sword from Erza flew out the small crack in the door and grazed Luke's head, cutting off a few of his hairs. He quickly shut the door and made way back to the group. "Nope, nu-uh, wasn't worth it."
"What's going on in there?" Rylo asked.
"So apparently there are two Erzas…" Luke started while gesturing to the front doors. "And they are REALLY going at it in there."
"Two Erzas?" Aira blinked a few times. "I'm not quite sure that's possible, Luke…"
"You wanna look for yourself?" Luke asked while pointing back at the door. "Because if you wanna trim your hair, go right ahead…"
"Really?" Ace said while gazing at the door. "I could use a trim…"
"Your hair isn't even that short…." Selene mumbled to herself with a comical sigh.
Tia watched Ace's small group from a cliff overhead, shaking her head at them. "Idiots…" She then held up her wrist, causing a lacrima screen to appear from her bracelet, showing Spade on the other end. "Spade, did you ever finish that special invention I asked you to?"
"Eh…?" Spade blinked a few times before nodding. "Oh, that! Yeah, I finished it a while ago! You need it now or something?"
"Yes, I need it now." Tia replied.
"Alright, gimme a sec and I'll send it over via teleporter," Spade nodded, and the transmission cut.
"Excellent…" Tia then nodded, a slight smirk formed on her lips as she stared down to the group below, who seemed to somehow be getting along relatively well. "I hope you're ready…"
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Both Erza's were really going at it this point. With every swing came a new requip, and sparks flying in all directions. Eventually, they jumped back quite a few yards away to give each other space. "I'm surprised you've kept up for so long even with the disadvantage!" Knightwalker shouted over to her Earthland counterpart with a grin.
"Your spear is different from before…" Erza said while changing into her regular armor, but this time she held two swords in her hands.
"Significant improvement, don't you agree?" Knightwalker responded while twirling her spear around, almost admiring the improvement of it. "With this, I can crush you little fairies in case the others fail~."
"I won't let you lay a hand on one of my own!" Erza replied as she took a stance, the grip on her blades tightening as an angered expression appeared on her face. "You'll have to get through me first, and I'm not losing this battle."
"We'll see about that!" Knightwalker replied, now holding her spear forward. With that, the two Erza's charged toward each other, both leaping into the air simultaneously, their slashes entering a clash once again, but it didn't last long as the two Erzas landed on opposite sides of each other. They both charged again, now meeting each other with a skillful flurry of slashes. Of course, both Erzas were more than able to dodge the others' attack. Erza sent a slash towards Knightwalker's chest, but the Fairy Hunter swayed her body to the side and avoided it, following up with a slash of her own, but Erza swayed to the right and dodged that. Erza then threw a kick to Knightwalker's side to throw her off, but Knightwalker was quick and avoided the kick, now bringing her spear down towards Erza, but Fairy Tail's knight blocked the spear by bringing her swords into an X, now entering another stalemate with Knightwalker. Erza scowled, while Knightwalker smirked. "Ah, ah…~"
"Hn…" Erza grunted before her eyes widened; Knightwalker's spear changed into the Cannon Spear, which immediately let out an explosion that sent Erza flying back with another yelp, but she flipped, catching herself just in time.
"You're not getting away!" Knightwalker exclaimed while rushing forward with her regular spear now equipped, reaching Erza within a matter of seconds. It seemed as though Knigthwalker had the victory right there with her endless barrage of thrusts, but Erza managed to requip a piece of her Adamantine Armor, using it to protect herself form Knightwalker's slashes, much to her annoyance. "You can't hide behind that forever!" Knightwalker shouted as she raised her spear up high for a powerful strike.
"I'm not hiding…" Erza replied, a slow smirk appearing once Knightwalker gave an opening. Just as Knightwalker slashed, Erza used her strength to flip forward, dodging Knightwalker's slashes. Knightwalker's eyes widened as it all happened in slow motion to her, but the next thing she knew, Erza slammed her shielded arm into Knightwalker's back, slamming her into the ground with a grunt. Erza allowed her shield to fade and once again took two swords, now rushing Knightwalker as she attempted to get her bearings straight.
"Gah…!" Knightwalker grunted as Erza gave her little to no time to recover. Erza slashed multiple times at her Edolas counterpart, most of them landing, drawing gashes on Knightwalker's skin. This only lasted a few seconds before Knightwalker began to get enraged, allowing her spear to change into the Vacuum Spear. "Mel-Force!" The powerful gust of wind caught Erza off guard, blowing her back almost into the nearest wall, but she caught herself just before she hit the wall.
"Kanso!" Erza yelled, her armor changing into her Black Wing Armor once more. With the advantage of flight now on her side, she took to the air. But Knightwalker wasn't having it.
"Just what do you think you're doing!?" Knightwalker called out to Erza as she changed her spear into her Gravity Spear, a large black hole appearing from the tip of the spear, drawing in all debris and everything else around with an intense force.
"Gnk!" Erza found herself on the retreat now as the Gravity Core began to draw her in despite her attempts to fly backwards. She then got an idea; she changed into her Giant's armor once again, allowing its weight to weigh her down to the ground as she held her footing.
"Stubborn, huh…?" Knightwalker cut off her gravity, now changing her spear into its regular appearance. "I can't afford to play with you for much longer, Scarlet…so how about we end this battle here…" Knightwalker failed at hiding her obvious fatigue, her shoulder heaving up and down as she panted heavily. She didn't have the magic to continue for too much longer, but she did have enough to take down Scarlet, she believed. Plus, it was evident that her injuries were starting to get to her.
"I couldn't agree more…" Erza replied as a light appeared around her body. What she reqquipped into was not her Armadura Fairy armor. Instead, it was her simple clothing, red pants, cloth around her breasts, and her hair tied back in a ponytail. However, she did have a powerful blade in her hands; her strongest: Demon Blade Crimson Sakura. She assumed an all or nothing stance while staring down Knightwalker.
Knightwalker could read Erza's mind before she assumed the risky stance. "All or nothing? I couldn't agree more…" Knightwalker's spear changed once again, this time into its strongest form: Ravelt. "On guard, Scarlet."
Erza gave a simple nod, focusing all of her magic power into her blade. She lunged forward just in time with Knightwalker, blade and spear held back. When the two collided, a large explosion occurred that shook the entire tower.
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Even from the top of the tower, the clash of Knightwalker and Erza could be felt. "G-Gah!" Wendy nearly lost her balance as the tower rumbled; it could only be assumed how it affected the others with her focus on Hyde.
"Oh my…those two are getting reckless…" Hyde grumbled.
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Even outside the tower, the explosive collision could be felt with the trembling ground. "W-What the…!?" Luke staggered around, attempting to keep his balance.
"Ugh…!" Selene groaned, her motion sickness kicking in for the trembling ground.
"Whatever is going on in there sounds hectic…" Rylo said while keeping his balance relatively well.
Leon wasn't affected by the motion sickness that Selene was, and just looked on at the front doors which remained strong. "Hm…"
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When the smoke from the explosion cleared, both Erzas were still standing, however they just had the bare minimum to cover them up. Their weapons were not broken, but instead they were on opposite sides of the room; too far away to even think about picking up. Not only this, but both of their bodies were bruised, cut, and bleeding quite a bit. Knightwalker trudged forward, clenching her bare hand into a fist, her arm trembling as she struggled to bring up energy she didn't even have. "I-I refuse….tie….again….!"
Erza was faring no better than Knightwalker; however she wasn't going to fall either. She had to make it through the Fairy Hunter if she wanted to meet up with the others and rescue Wendy. "N-Neither will I…!" After Erza declared that, she trudged as best she could to Knightwalker. It all came down to blows now. Knightwalker threw a potent left hook at Erza's cheek, while Erza threw a potent right hook towards Knightwalker's cheek. Despite their condition, the two were equal. There was no way around this. Punches were exchanged; none were blocked or dodge, only aggression existed between the two. It continued for minutes, until Erza became desperate enough to perform a head butt, smashing her skull into her counterpart's. That did it. Both Erza's fell back, hitting the ground with blood trailing from their foreheads. "Gah…!"
"Tch…!" Knightwalker snarled as she and Erza laid on their backs, staring up at the ceiling. "Damn, you….Scarlet…"
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"A draw? Interesting…" Hyde tapped his chin, paying no attention as Wendy tried yet another frontal attack that just phased through him.
After her attack failed, Wendy turned to face the screens again, seeing that Erza was down along with Knightwalker. "Erza-san…!"
"You should be more focused on yourself…" Hyde said over to Wendy, catching her attention once again. "Your friends can only finish their battles but so quickly, but they'll be too late by then."
"They'll make it!" Wendy shouted, clenching her fist as she prepared herself to attack once again. "But in the meantime…!"
"I've already told you, but you don't seem to want to listen…very well…"
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Gray back flipped, landing on his feet in the snow across from Yeti Blizzard, panting only slightly. "Stubborn bastard…"
"Runnin' outta gas already?" Yeti Blizzard grinned while raising his hand up, creating a multitude of large snowballs above him.
"Like hell…!" Gray replied as he slammed his fist into his palm. "I'm just warming up! I hope you're ready, because the real fight begins now!"