"Ha!" With two blades in hand, Erza began slashing away at all the demons that neared her, showing no trouble holding her own against the numbers coming at her. She performed a side flip, cutting through multiple demons simultaneously, landing perfectly on her feet after. Some demons tried to get the jump on her from behind. Titania turned quickly, easily slashing through the incoming demons with ease; but in the middle of her swing, several more attempted to strike her. "…!"
"Ya!" Tia exclaimed, smacking away the sneaky demons with her scepter. She was still in the fancy dress, but she had no problems maneuvering in it. She then swung her scepter again, sending multiple water bullets that exploded on impact with the demons.
"I appreciate you having my back…" Erza gave Tia an appreciative nod. "Say, is it hard to do combat in that dress? I would think it be better for you to requip, at least."
"I'm fine," Tia replied. "I wear a dress all the time, so moving around in one won't be an issue."
"Erza!" Levy called out to the S class mage, running alongside Lisanna. "There you are! Not like I was worried about you, but…"
"Good, you found her…" Doranbolt appeared after Levy and Lisanna.
"Doranbolt?" Erza briefly questioned. "What is the situation? Has everyone evacuated the city?"
"Not yet," Doranbolt replied with a slightly annoyed scoff. "Most of everyone has managed to escape, but the remaining faction has yet to."
"You think it's the demons trying to have some more fun?" Tia asked with a curious brow.
"Of course…" Doranbolt nodded, pointing over to the exit. "The exit is over there, that's where most people are fleeing from…but one of Tartaros' demons is preventing that…"
"Which one…?" Erza asked, but her question was quickly answered. In came Cerberus with Kiora and Sora riding on top of it around the corner, scaring citizens away from the exit since it was their only option to escape the two and the three headed beast. "Kiora…" A golden light appeared around Erza's body as she entered her Flight Armor. "I'll deal with her. Levy, Lisanna, Tia, help those citizens escape!"
"You're gonna need someone to cover your back against these demons…besides, I need to find Jack. You three can handle it…" Tia said while turning to face the horde of demons around.
"Very well…" With that, Erza was off towards Cerberus at blinding speed, slashing one of his legs to cause it to come to a stop.
"The hell!?" Kiora looked down, just barely able to make Erza out as the blur she now was. "Oh, great…!"
"What's going on…?" Sora curiously asked with a tilt of her head.
"The damn Fairies are out to play…" Kiora let out an annoyed sigh. "And here I was having some fun for once."
"Taking care of a pet is a big responsibility!" Erza exclaimed while leaping up, aiming to slash Kiora, but the imaginary demon countered with a shield composed of shadows, blocking the hit completely. Erza landed on Cerberus' back, pointing her sword at the two. "You musn't go abandoning him for something else, and you certainly must not let it roam free."
"Oh, a lecture…" Kiora scoffed, filing her nails in complete disinterest in what Erza had to say. "Are those melons of yours getting in the way of your eyesight, ya flaunty tramp? As you can see, Sora and I here are keeping quite the watchful eye over the playful mutt. He's just a little hungry, isn't it right to feed your pets?"
Erza's left eye twitch slightly at Kiora's name calling. Normally, such a thing would never get to her, but considering who it was coming from, it struck a nerve. Erza pointed her sword at Kiora, giving the demon the death glare. "It's clear to me that you're a very poor owner, Kiora; humans are not on the menu tonight. And people such as you need to know the price to pay for such a crime."
"HA!" Kiora laughed, choosing to ignore the term Erza shot at her, though it did irritate her quite a bit. "What's the matter, did I strike a nerve? What the hell are you gonna do about it…!?"
After Kiora answered, Erza already approached her, now driving a giant sword just between her legs and in the back of Cerberus, causing the beast to let out a howl before collapsing to the ground. Sora tumbled off Cerberus and to the ground while Erza and Kiora glared at each other. "I'll have to write your final words on your gravestone, of course…"
.
.
"You think Erza'll be okay…?" Lisanna asked while looking back, leading the remaining civilians out of the city with Levy and Doranbolt.
"Of course she will!" Levy responded with a firm nod. "She's Erza, after all! Nothing can stop her!"
"I hope you're right about that…" Doranbolt muttered; he did know the statement to be true to a certain degree, but this time there was room for doubt.
From the top of a building not too far away, Tobias watched the rescue of the remaining innocents. With a soft chuckle and the tug of his scarf, he began to follow them with a slow walk. "Trying to rescue the people, hm…? Well, it can't be made that easy for you."
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"They're everywhere…" Jellal grunted as the demons enjoyed the destruction of the buildings nearby. He managed to be unseen by the Council guards fending off the demons, though he lost sight of Daityas. The sinner swiped his hand forward, sending a shockwave of Heavenly Body magic to break apart the ground and destroy any demons within range. "Hm…"
"Enjoying yourself with my subordinates, Jellal?" Daityas asked in a condescending tone, approaching the saint with a grin. "Because if I may say, a cohort of mine is enjoying himself with yours by now."
"What do you mean…!?" Jellal snapped at Daityas, immediately showing concern for Ultear and Meredy.
"Exactly what I said," Daityas replied before putting his foot down. "But that shouldn't be your concern at the moment; after all you have the King of Hell standing right before you. And if you can't get past me, then there's no way in…hell that you'll reach Lord Zeref."
"You won't stop me from completing my mission…it ends here!" Jellal exclaimed as the yellow aura around him flared once again. He sped off towards Daityas with the brilliant speed of his Meteor, rearing his fist back to aim a powerful punch to the demon's jaw.
"Ah, ah…I'm onto your tricks now…" Daityas said with a sly grin. A tail of hell flames appeared on his tailbone. He swung around, catching Jellal with the elongated tail right in the chest. The blow was strong enough send Jellal into a building, causing it to collapse on top of him.
"Gah…" Jellal had a huge burn mark on his chest, heaving heavily as the wind was knocked out of him. He laid in the rubble, trying to force himself up before Daityas could get back up to him.
"Ah, how unfortunate." Daityas spoke in a mocking tone, slowly approaching Jellal with a menacing walk. "I guess you weren't strong enough to stop me after all…" With a chuckle, hell flames began to appear around his hand. "Oh well, not like anyone can anyway." Just before Daityas threw his hand forward, a blade threatened to chop off his hand. He pulled back quickly, leaping back a few feet to see who it was who dared to attempt to blindside him like so. "Hmmm…?"
"You're not taking his life anytime soon…" Kagura (who was still in her gown) said with a stern visage, Archenemy drawn from its sheathe. "That privilege is reserved for my blade and I, and I don't intend on letting anyone getting in my way."
"Kagura…" Jellal muttered while finally making his way back to his feet. "I…"
"Don't thank me," Kagura interrupted Jellal quickly, giving him the death side glare. Despite the fact she felt sick to her stomach just by being near him; her overbearing hatred for him was more than enough to keep her going. "I'm not here for your assistance; I'm only doing this to ensure that you survive. Once this fight is over, I will have my vengeance."
"Of course…" Jellal nodded slowly. "I wouldn't take it any other way, believe me…"
"Well, this is interesting…" Daityas said with a curious brow. "Tell me; was it hard to fight through all those demons in such a fancy dress?"
"Hmph…" Kagura remained silent, her eyes drifting over to the left. Daityas followed her gaze and saw all the demons she cleaved in half to reach them. "Does that answer your question?"
"Oh…maybe this won't be as boring as I thought after all…"
.
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"What is this…" Ultear questioned silently as she and Meredy were faced with the other King of Hell; Marde Geer himself. Nothing they were using was working against the King of Hades. "It's like he's immune to our attacks…!"
"My…" Marde said with a disappointed shake of his head. "Is this all humans can muster up nowadays? Then again, you insects really weren't too strong to begin with…" The demon king then raised his hand up, drawing forth a large rose bud from the ground, towering quite a few feet above the feminine duo. The bulb opened up before unleashing a devastating beam of raw curse energy towards females. Both Ultear and Meredy leapt in separate directions.
"Luminous Minutes…!" Ultear quickly called out, sending her orb into the sky. It then multiplied into dozens of copies, all of them heading towards Marde in literal flashes.
"Hmph…" Marde only made the slightest of movements; taking a few steps to the side while gently swaying his body left and right. Each and every orb sent by Ultear was a clean miss, not a single one of them even managing to graze him.
"N-No way…" Ultear's jaw dropped at the sight of the uninjured Marde; there were small craters around him, but nothing hit him.
"Not even one…" Meredy visibly gulped, taking a step back out. "How is that possible…!?"
"If that's all you have to offer…" Marde said while taking a few intimidating steps forward.
"We're not finished yet!" Ultear exclaimed while placing her fist in her palm. "Ice Make: Rose Garden!" She threw her hands down, creating garden of frozen roses to suddenly pop up from the ground and strike Marde.
"Oh, a botanist, are we?" Marde tauntingly asked while leaping high into the air to avoid the surprise attack, landing gracefully on his feet after. "You humans can't seem to do anything right, allow me to show you how it is truly done." Before Ultear and Meredy could react, Marde rose a hand up once again, creating multiple buds before him in a horizontal line, all of them releasing powerful beams of curse energy towards the two females. Ultear and Meredy were struck, flying back quite the distance with pained yelps. "Oh, that's the sound I enjoy hearing…powerless humans are truly a treat to torture…"
.
.
"These demons are easy!" Takeru exclaimed while leaping on top of a small building, cheeks inflating. "Shadow Dragon's Roar…" He threw his head forward, unleashing a funnel of shadows towards a horde of demons. The roar exploded, blowing the demons away; Takeru then hopped down and spun around, unleashing thin beams of Shadow Dragon slayer magic out towards the other surrounding demons. "Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk!" Takeru was on fire, needless to say. Though, Lyon, Ren, and Selene weren't going to set around and let him take all the glory and decided to help out.
Aira would've helped out too, but she was busy looking over Chelia, who seemed to be suffering from an inconveniently timed headache. "Chelia, are you okay…?" Aira asked with clear concern.
"I-I'm fine…" Chelia nodded, feigning a smile. "I can fight…don't worry."
"Don't lie to me…" Aira's voice grew stern. "If you can't fight, you shouldn't. You'd be putting yourself and the others at risk if you did that, and though things are going well now, we can't risk that. We still need to find your older cousin within this mess, don't we?"
"R-Right…" Chelia nodded slowly, letting out a heavy sigh. "Sorry…I feel like such a burden at the moment…I would be feeling better, but that Prometheus and Pandora…" Before Chelia could finish, two demons leapt upon the females from behind.
Aira was about to take care of them with ease, but her body just stopped responding for a second. She knew exactly why, but that didn't stop her eyes from widening. "…!"
Luckily, Selene moved in quickly enough with a diamond blade and cleaved the demons in two, looking over her shoulder to give Aira a stern look after. "I told you that you shouldn't have used that healing spell…you're still recovering, aren't you?"
"I guess so…" Aira let out a heavy sigh. "I had to save the Princess…and by now I honestly thought I would be well enough to fight, but I guess I was wrong…I'm still practicing it…"
"You have to be more careful, Aira," Selene's tone dropped from stern to concerned.
"I know…I'll fine in a little bit, don't worry!" Aira flashed Selene her usual smile before turning back to Chelia. "Now, Chelia…I'm going to ask you a rather unhealthy question…you don't have to answer if you can't, but I need to know for future reference…do you really not remember anything during your time as Black Wind…?"
"W-Why are you asking about that…!?" Chelia automatically gripped her head with both hands, trying once again to block out hearing that name. "I didn't…"
"Relax…" Selene told Chelia while keeping a sharp eye out for any demons, but Takeru seemed to have their back for now.
"What are you guys doing!?" Takeru shouted from afar. "Come on and help out already!"
"S-Sorry, Tak!" Aira shouted back. "We'll be there in a minute…!"
"O-Oh…" Chelia bit her lower lip nervously before shaking her head. "I mean…I remember assisting with the attack on the Council…it was my fault Aiden got out again. Uhm…then there was the attack on Magnolia when I fought you two and Gajeel-san…" She continued, rubbing her temples in thought. "Then there was Tartaros Castle…I remember fighting Wendy, Cynthia, and Meredy…and then I held up the ceiling for you guys…"
"Do you remember anything after that…?" Aira questioned.
"N-No…The next thing I remember, I woke up near Crocus while you guys were fighting…" Chelia shook her head. There was a look on her face that only Aira noticed; it was clear Chelia was trying to remember but couldn't, but at the same time it was like she knew something. "I'm sorry…"
"No, don't worry about it," Aira nodded. "You did your best. Just lay low until you can fight." She and Selene then began the few steps to the battlefield.
"What was that all about…?" Selene questioned Aira with a confused look on her face. "That incident is over, right…?"
"I want to think so…" Aira replied while glancing over her shoulder back at Chelia. "But at the same time…I don't think so. I didn't want to force her to remember if she couldn't. But it's clear there's something else at work here…"
"What do you mean…?" Selene was completely confused now.
"The ceiling of the room we were in collapsed that day…we wouldn't have made it if Chelia didn't hold it up for us," Aira began. "But she came back later that day to help against the angels, and even lead the assault against that big monster. Something doesn't add up…" As she spoke, she turned on her heel, a sharp blade of wind following her arm as she cleaved through a demon that attempted to ambush her; needless to say she was feeling better.
"You mean that big gap between her last appearances?" Selene was starting to get it now. "I see…and those to…Prometheus and Pandora…they seem to know something about this…"
"She shouldn't have survived that day, as much as it pains me to say it, it's true…We need to keep an eye on her…" Aira warned. "I have a bad feeling about things…"
.
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"Nyah!" Milliana was leaping from demon to demon, clawing at their faces with each jump. She back flipped away, but one managed to grab her tail and slam her harshly onto the ground, an "oof' sound came from her as she hit the ground. "Ooow…" She looked up, barely, managing to roll away from a claw attempting to pierce her. She rolled up, hissing slightly as she realized she was surrounded.
"Coming through! Outta the way!" Natsu roared as he just plowed through the demons with his Fire Dragon's Iron Fist, not even taking a second to look back. He only had one destination in mind; Zeref.
"He's not waiting for anyone!" Gray grunted while following behind Natsu along with Happy, Pantherlily, Hisui, and Arcadios. "I think we lost the others along the way…"
"Cute kitties!" Milliana immediately lunged towards Happy and Lily, grabbing then in her arms and nuzzling them, despite the situation.
"I…don't think now is the time for this…" Lily said while trying to escape Milliana's grip.
"They're just so cute!" Milliana replied with a purr.
"Oh my…" Was the only thing Hisui really had to say on the matter. Her eyes widened for a split second, shouting out to Natsu who wasn't too far ahead just yet. "Natsu-san, look out!"
Natsu knew; he leapt back just as a large section of the ground fell out from where he was running. He slid back, glaring above him; Prometheus had his scythe in hand a wide grin on his face. "You again…"
"Oops…did I do that…?" Prometheus chuckled. "It's a shame too, because Lord Zeref went that way too…"
"Okay, you bastard…!" Natsu lit his fist in flames once again, preparing to lunge forward, but a lava golem impeded his progress with a quick blow to his jaw, causing him to slide back. "Gah…!"
"A golem made of lava…!?" Arcadios' eyes widened. "Who could do such a thing…?!"
"Maggie must be nearby…" Gray said while keeping his eyes peeled, and before he knew it, he and the others were surrounded by a mix of lava golems and demons. "Damn, they must be everywhere…!"
"This doesn't look spiffy…" Milliana frowned, but she was prepared to fight.
"Well, looks like she's got this," Prometheus grinned before floating away. "Time to find another victim; maybe that blonde chick from your guild, Salamander?"
"Get back here…!" Natsu shouted, but he couldn't do anything about it just yet. For now, he needed to focus on the beings before him before he could get moving.
.
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A tall, green haired female watched the chaos in Crocus from afar. This woman had a regal aura around her. Green eyes, red lips, and particular scales around her body, nothing at all resembling scales from Dragon Force. They were blue and let off the faintest of lights. The female crossed her arms, a brow risen in the upmost curiosity. "My…has Marde and his little group of gender confused demons finally started?"
Another female appeared; she was much shorter than the taller female, but they had a very similar appearance, only this female had pink eyes. She placed her hands on her hips, staring into the battle ridden city. "Mother, should we join the fun…?" The little girl questioned with a sense of eagerness in her voice.
"Not yet, my dearest O," The taller female replied. "I wouldn't wish to interrupt Marde and your cousin's fun time. Besides, I'm more interested in seeing how the humans will get out of situation. It could prove to be entertaining…"
"Hmph…" O huffed, crossing her arms while tapping her foot impatiently on the ground. "Fine…fine…" She turned her head, staring back at the chaos going down below in the city. She wished to be a part of it, but for now she would listen to this taller female and abstain from acting. "I never understood why those demons find it fit to follow and serve under a lowly human…it matters not how strong he may be, but his power will never compare to that of…"
"That's enough out of you…" The elder female responded with the slightest of snaps. "Can't you just sit back and enjoy the show quietly?"
"Hmph…." O slightly huffed yet again.
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"This way, this way!" Levy said while directing the remaining escapes up the hill that would lead them to safety from the city. "Just a little further, you can do it!"
"This is surprisingly easy…" Lisanna commented, though she was looking around to see if she jinxed the situation. Everything looked clear; the people were going to be okay.
"Just a few more minutes!" Levy nodded, a grin appearing on her face. "Once they get on the top of that hill, they'll be safe…" And of course, right after she said that a rune barrier appeared around the escaping civilians, preventing them from moving any farther; not only this, but demons appeared around them, causing screams of panic. "WHAT!?"
"Runes!?" Lisanna's eyes widened. "And demons!? How?!"
"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you…?" Tobias asked as he walked behind the girls, arms crossed with a victorious smirk on his lips. "I can't just let you waltz off with all the victims, can I?"
"Tobias…" Levy glared towards the mage, balling her small hands into fists. "Release them this instant! They have nothing to do with the situation at hand!"
"Oh, but if I did that it wouldn't be nearly as fun!" Tobias replied with a wide grin. This was the first time he could talk without Maggie or Kiora yelling at him to shut up once he opened his mouth. "Why don't we make this into a little game…? If you can defeat me, I'll let these people go free, and I'll even tell you a little secret about the demons we brought here. If you can't however…" He began, but he decided to leave what he was about to say out. "Let's just say, I know a few ways to give you some moral support if the game ends up being too much for you."
"You can't toy with these people's lives!" Levy exclaimed angrily.
"Ah, ah, ah…" Tobias waved a disapproving finger at the script mage. "I'm not toying with their lives, I'm wagering their lives, and honestly, you're in no position to even think about turning the bet down are you?"
"He's right…" Lisanna didn't like to say those words, but they were trapped in a corner here. "We have to play along, so we can we rescue those people and get back down there to help…"
"So, do we have a game?" Tobias questioned.
"Fine, we'll play your game!" Levy said while preparing herself; she wasn't exactly sure how strong Tobias was, but she was ready to fight to protect the people. "And we'll win, too!"
"Now that's the attitude I enjoy seeing!" Tobias said with a widening grin, almost as if he lured these two ladies right into a trap. "Come on and face me, you'll be surprised by the results."
.
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Lucy: "There's chaos everywhere…I can't even find a place to begin…!"
Sting: "Just start anywhere; there isn't any shortage of demons!"
Hisui: "I hope the people have gotten out by now…"
Daityas: "Oh, don't worry. In the end, it won't matter. You'll all be slaughtered in the name of Tartaros and Lord Zeref; and I'll have the honors of doing it myself!"
Natsu: "Like hell! Just wait until I see that Zeref bastard again! You're all going down!"
Tobias: "Heh, we'll see about that. My plan is going perfectly well. It's just a matter of time until…"
Maggie and Kiora: "SHUT UP TOBIAS."
Next Time: Ruinous Runes!