(Edited 22/11/24)

I do not own Fairy Tail Hiro Mashima does.

Demonic Rampage

*POTD*

Seilah, Mira and the Take Overs had decimated the Demons being sent their way by Karliah, who didn't really seem to care all that much about suffering numerous casualties. Living up to her epithet as the Crimson Tide, rivers of blood flowed freely throughout the area, hundreds of corpses littering the landscape, with hundreds more to take their place.

And all the while, Karliah stood atop them all, cackling away as she kept conjuring more and more Books of Zeref. Her stratagem clearly to wear them down through a battle of attrition rather than a contest of brute force.

For with each subsequent wave of Demons, they became less and less grotesque, and more humanoid in their appearance. Demons that would have served as Circle Guild Masters back in Fiore under the Tartaros Guild marching straight into the meat grinder of the Fairy Tail Demoness Squad.

"I must say Fairy Tail, I stand impressed," Karliah cackled with glee, as the girls blasted away the latest wave of Demons. "Lord Zeref may not have bestowed these Demons with the brains or brawn like we, but they are still our Brothers and Sisters nonetheless! The way you so mercilessly butcher them is… Well, it brings a tear to my eye!"

"This isn't a game Karliah! Stop this senseless madness and fight us yourself," Mira snapped back in response, only to receive mocking laughter in return.

"Ah yes, the one that took several of my Sisters into herself and became part of this big beastly family… You know, you're kind of like that one child we don't talk about? You know, the one who is the family embarrassment?"

"That's enough," Seilah hissed, picking up every Demon in the area in Gravity Magic and throwing them across the island as they smashed into the Aura Barrier. "These ones aren't true Etherious Demons and you know it. Taking dead civilians and pumping them full of Etherious and Black Magic before tossing them back out to fight isn't enough to make them one of us!"

"She's right. These ones are glorified husks," Sitri sniffed as Karliah ceased conjuring more Demons. "Don't embarrass the rest of us by comparing us to this trash."

"It appears you all have the wrong impression regarding how a true Demon of Etherious is created," Karliah giggled lightly, extending her right arm fully outward, as power coated her form. "But rather than simply explain it to you, let me show you the power bestowed upon my by our Lord and Master!"

The entire island began to shake, as the hundreds of slaughtered Demons began to vibrate as one, Etherious surrounding their ravaged forms, as their flesh broke down into raw Etherious Aura.

The Aura flowed across the island, centralizing several meters ahead of Karliah in the form of a spherical anomaly. Loud crunching and crackling could be heard, as a leg emerged from the sphere, followed by another, then a third…until no less than six legs had appeared.

"Behold, the power of Demonic Alchemy!"

The dark sphere cracked before shattering, as an eight headed spider-like Demon emerged. The Demon had three tails with mouths protruding from its chest region, wing-like protrusions sticking out of its torso, with eyes covering its legs and many faces.

Standing just shy of twenty feet, the massive abomination loomed down upon them, releasing a loud clicking sound from its mouths. The being then reared up, revealing a massive mouth where its stomach should have been, with rows of disjointed teeth failing to prevent the veritable flood of drool from leaking out.

"Ugh…"

"Agreed," Hecate muttered, a disgusted look on her face. "This is nothing short of an abomination and a disgrace…"

"Look at its saliva Sisters," Sitri noted, as they saw the ground releasing a faint mist.

"Acidic spit," Halphas sighed. "Great."

"I can easily neutralize that," Yuki chimed in, looking toward the others as she conjured a miniature snowstorm in her right hand. "You all need to focus on subduing it, then we can freeze and shatter it."

"Easier said than done," Seilah replied, eyes narrowed dangerously as she analyzed the Demon. "It's incredibly powerful… Almost absurdly so…"

Gluttonous Spider Demon – Onigumo (Etherious Aura Full Power) – 712 Billion MPI

From the mouth located at its belly, Onigumo fired a silk like substance as the Demonesses, which were easily evaded. However, they watched as the silk like substance splattered against some nearby rocks, sticking to it, before rapidly breaking it down and melting a hole in the ground.

"Acidic everything," Halphas sighed, shooting high into the air as she charged an attack made of raw Dark Magic in her right hand. "Lovely!"

Firing the attack at Onigumo, they weren't all too surprised as it bounced off, flying off into the distance before crashing into Natsu's Aura Barrier, setting off a sizeable explosion. The three other mouths on the Demon all returned fire with more of the sticky acidic silk, forcing the girls into an evasive frenzy, as they rapidly began firing off attacks with little effect.

"This one has a thick hide!"

"Highly acidic attacks, a hide that can block a mountain destroying attack like its nothing… Just another day in the service of Fairy Tail," Sitri laughed, darting around the mouths before striking one directly with a darkness laced slash of her claws.

The attack drew blood, as the mouth appendage recoiled, the other two immediately firing upon Sitri as the main body started sprinting across the battlefield.

"Yuki! Yuki, freeze the legs," Hecate called out, as she blasted the land just ahead of Onigumo to trip it up.

"I wasn't aware you were appointed as leader of our unholy band of Sisters Hecate?"

"Stop talking shit and just do it!"

"Yuki," Mira cut in, appearing alongside the girls with a stern expression. "Just freeze its legs!"

"Fine," the Ice Demoness huffed, spinning around before unleashing a powerful Etherious laced blizzard upon Onigumo's legs as it was tripped up by the holes Hecate left in its path.

"Alright, now it's locked into place," Mira barked, drawing the attention of her Take Overs. "Sitri! Halphas! Soul Extinctor from the East and West flanks! Hecate, Evil Shower on the heads, keep them suppressed! Yuki, Underworld Gale, keep those legs pinned!"

The Take Overs sprung into action on Mira's command, with Sitri and Halphas powering up, moving to their assigned positions on the Eastern and Western flanks. Both Demonesses brought their hands, together, their power skyrocketing, as they prepared to carry out their orders.

Halphas Ars-Velber (Take Over – Freeform Etherious Aura Full Power) – 212 Billion MPI

Sitri Almon-Carnale (Take Over – Freeform Etherious Aura Full Power) – 477 Billion MPI

"Ready Sister!?"

"I was going to ask you that," Sitri smirked, as their attacks reached their full size simultaneously. "Hecate!"

"I know," their fellow Demoness huffed, darting around the three heads as she extended her right hand, conjuring a sphere of darkness that began firing out a barrage of highly destructive Darkness Magic.

The heads were forced to switch their attention to Hecate, suffering some damage as they had attempted to shrug off her attacks, blood dripping down their elongated necks.

Hecate Sar-Tok (Take Over – Freeform Etherious Aura Full Power) – 188 Billion MPI

The abomination of a Demon thrashed about, stuck in place by Yuki's ice whilst being bombarded mercilessly by Hecate's Evil Shower, it's simply mind unable to keep up with the expert teamwork the Demonesses were displaying.

"Time for me to play my part," Yuki sighed, gliding past Onigumo alongside a deathly chilling wave of ice that crashed over the spider-like Demon, locking him firmly into place.

Spinning around, she doubled the amount of ice around its legs, the upper body freeing itself quickly as it returned to thrashing about. The clicking sounds grew in their intensity, as the three heads began spitting at the ice directly, even as they suffered damage from Hecate's attacks.

"Well, it appears to desire autonomy at any cost," Yuki sighed, snapping her fingers and freezing the sticky silk before it could begin melting the ice. "A shame I'm not merciful enough to allow it."

Yuki-Onna (Take Over – Freeform Etherious Aura Full Power) – 602 Billion MPI

"Great job everyone! Let's take this thing down," Mira cheered, as Halphas and Sitri vanished and appeared high above Onigumo's position.

"Etherious Aura: Unison Raid – Evil Erosion Wave!"

The two attacks merged into one almost as soon as it was fired, with the rest of the girls quickly getting out of the way. Karliah watched in amusement as Onigumo tore itself legs off in an attempt to get free.

Too little, too late.

The colossal blast of raw Etherious smashed into its position, as the Etherious Demon screeched in agony. The girls didn't maintain the attack for long, ceasing it quickly so as to not use up too much of their reserves so quickly.

Landing near Hecate, they could faintly make out the image of Onigumo on its back, the legs writhing like a dying spider as it struggled to get up, slowly curling inward as Karliah appeared at its side.

"Well now, I hadn't expected you all to incapacitate it so quickly," the Leichart Demoness teased, waggling her finger at them in an almost chastising manner. "Have you all forgotten how to play with your food, dear Sisters?"

The girls watched as Onigumo rapidly melted down into raw Etherious Aura, which immediately shot into Karliah's body directly.

"Well, that's annoying," Halphas muttered darkly, as Yuki joined them. "She absorbed the damn thing…"

"Just how many Demons were required to make that thing? A thousand at least? And she just absorbed all that?"

"Shocking, isn't it Sitri," Karliah smirked evilly, licking her lips in an almost lustful manner as she hummed sensually to herself. "A good serving of Etherious is always so yummy! Almost as good as shattering someone's spinal cord and sucking the fluid out!"

"Gross," Yuki sniffed, not at all impressed, as they felt Karliah's power skyrocket once again. "Guess that's one less reason to feel bad about killing her?"

"Oh? You all still want to fight? Well, I suppose I could oblige you with some more entertainment," the Demoness giggled. "But it appears you all have me at a numerical disadvantage… I suppose I'll need to make this fight a little fairer then?"

Karliah vanished instantly, as all four Take Over Demonesses sensed her power appear right next to Mirajane. The entire ground shook as Karliah struck, a massive explosion going off that shook the island to its core.

However, instead of hearing the maniacal laughter of victory… All the Alvarez Demoness could utter was a gasp of shock and disbelief.

Having appeared right next to Mira in an instant, right arm fully cocked back and ready to strike the woman with an Etherious laced punch, she hadn't anticipated resistance.

So, as she looked down between them, the Demoness was rendered utterly speechless.

With their left arm raised, hand open, and an amused grin on their face, Mirajane almost reveled in the feelings coursing through her in this one single moment. For in her base form, Mira had effortlessly blocked Karliah's punch with one hand, catching it with practiced ease.

"T-This cannot be… No, this is impossible," Karliah gasped, vanishing and reappearing several metres away, as the other Take Overs appeared around Mira moments later, not a sign of worry on their faces.

"Did you really think it'd be that easy," the Take Over Mage smirked as she stepped ahead of her Demons, gently running her hands across their arms as she passed them. "Or rather, did you really think I was just a weak, ordinary Human girl? A girl powerless and forcing her Demons to fight her battles for her?"

"I-I don't understand!? You're a Take Over Mage, you can't fight without your Take Overs, that doesn't make any sense!?"

"Oh please," Mira laughed, as Sitri and Halphas each placed a hand on Mira's shoulders, whilst Yuki shot Karliah a dead, yet psychotic smirk, no emotion whatsoever in it, as Hecate floated just behind her, arms and wings extended out wide, as their power almost seemed to combine for a brief moment.

"Did you really think we'd all be so overconfident as to leave Mirajane exposed on the battlefield?"

"Did you really think Mirajane was foolish enough to stand mere meters away from one of the Leichart Twelve in her base form?"

"Did you really think the rules on Take Overs can be applied equally to a Mage working alongside Demons of Etherious?"

"Did you really think us so weak?"

Karliah leaped backward, right as Seilah struck the ground with an Etherious laced punch, shattering the ground beneath all their feet, creating an island wide cacophony, and reducing the size of the island by a third in an instant.

"Seilah!"

"Did you really think I was just going to sit back on the sidelines and let my younger Sisters do all the fighting?"

"Enough," the Demoness snapped, her Etherious Aura flaring as she grew angrier from their incessant jabs. "The time for games has passed! Your little trick may have genuinely caught me off guard! But you all know it won't work twice…"

"So you say," Seilah replied bluntly, as she dropped down to a section of the shattered land alongside her Sisters and Mira. "But remember, there's a first time for everything, and I think you're going to eat those words…"

"Absolutely not," Karliah snapped, as she waved her right arm out in front of her, conjuring sixteen Books of Zeref. "You've forced my hand now, Sisters! These ones shall be your end!"

The girls were immediately on guard as they sensed the power behind each book, though they remained undeterred in their confidence. With hardened resolve, they braced themselves as more monstrosities emerged across the battlefield.

They only hoped they could take out Karliah soon, before the battle dragged on too long and flipped the script on them once again.

"Come on girls, let's do this…"

The Demonesses all chanted in unison, as they charged both the books, as well as Karliah herself, who merely smirked, as the Demonic Battle raged on…

*POTD*

Natsu's senses were going haywire as he tore through the damaged airship in an attempt to catch Jacob.

Trying to catch him was annoying on its own, but the density of Etherious flooding the area was what really put a strain on his ability to track the assassin, who seemed to know that fact, easily avoiding capture each and every time Natsu drew close.

"What the Hell is going on out there?"

It appears Karliah has deemed your allies worthy of fighting the strongest Demons Lord Zeref placed at her disposal. Rather interesting, all things considered…

"You know I'm going to catch you eventually Jacob, so why not end this game and surrender," Natsu huffed in annoyance, wishing he could just obliterate everything instead.

The game won't be an easy one for you to finish, Natsu Dragneel. You may possess immense power, but you don't understand how to wield it effectively. Lord August or Lord Sentomaru would have already captured me by now, yet you are little more than a failure in that regard.

"You'd be dead already if I wasn't seeking to save Mavis, trust me on that one Jacob."

The consequences of you using Aura on my space grant me a significant advantage in our little game. However, Aura alone isn't what matters here, Natsu Dragneel. Again, Lord August or Lord Sentomaru would have soundly crushed me, Aura or no. In the end, it makes little difference, for it is your mentality that grants me the greatest advantage…

"What the Hell does that even mean!?"

It means that you are still far too inexperienced to face me, and that you'll fail here today.

"Such arrogance," Natsu growled, firing off a pulse of Crash Magic that shattered multiple decks of the crashed airship. "You want to up the ante? Fine!"

Extending his right hand, Natsu began ripping the ship apart with his Crash Magic piece by piece, an annoyed look on his face as he found himself less worried about Mavis, and more concerned with his sanity.

Perhaps this was how Jacob bested his opponents? By annoying them with his incessant jabs?

*POTD*

"We really got the icky job on this one," Elise sighed, as she sat atop a mountain of bodies, watching as Erza cut down the last of the Alvarez troops in their area. "You feel that Etherious nearby?"

"I could sense Mira's Take Overs, and Seilah… But some of them feel way off, and there was that malicious one that appeared for ten minutes, before vanishing?"

"I suppose we should go join them," Elise replied, groaning as she rose to her feet, blade extended out to her far right, as the pair shot off into the forest. "We're probably walking into a real mess here Erza?"

"I thought you loved bloody messes?"

"Only when I start them," the War God Slayer grinned in response, as they emerged from the forest and immediately took down a massive Demon from behind, both slicing through it like butter, as they skidded to a stop next to Mira.

"I was wondering when you two would show up," the white-haired Mage called out over the numerous explosions going off across the area. "If you could both get stuck into some of these Demons I'd greatly appreciate it!? Seilah just took ten for herself!"

"Ten? Seems the party is definitely here then," Elise smirked, dispelling her sword as she cracked her knuckles excitedly. "Finally, some real action!"

"Who's summoning all these Demons," Erza asked, as Mira pointed to the Demoness standing high above the battlefield, smirking down at them.

"She's one of the Leichart Twelve, Karliah."

"Karliah… I can feel the power rolling off of her," Elise muttered, as she looked back to the pair. "I think we should try taking her out as quickly as possible?"

"Two more join the fun," Karliah laughed mockingly down at them, her power still increasing even as she conjured more and more Demons. "A shame you're both Human, neither of you will last-!"

The entire battlefield froze as several explosions rocked the area behind Karliah, the crashed airship sinking deeper into the sea. A powerful pressure smashed down onto the battlefield, dropping all the Demons to their knees, along with Erza and Elise.

"Tch-! This must be Lord E.N.D's power," Karliah hissed, extending her right hand. "It seems I must end the game prematurely!"

One by one, the conjured Demons broke down into raw Etherious, before being absorbed into Karliah herself. The group watched as the Demoness grew stronger and stronger, now extending her left hand and conjuring a massive pitch-black Magic Circle.

"Time to end the lot of you before Lord E.N.D shows up and ruins everything," the Demoness grunted, as a large, black scaled talon shot out of the circle. "Prepare yourselves for my greatest creation yet!"

A second talon emerged from the Magic Circle, as the Demon began to pull itself through. As it did so, the Take Overs appeared at Mira's side, with Seilah manifesting nearby moments after.

"Take us back Mirajane," Sitri said sharply, as more of the Demon emerged.

"You'll need your full power for this," Halphas agreed. "Time to show everyone how much you've grown!"

"And don't worry, we're with you all the way," Yuki smiled, as Mira's body began glowing brightly, engulfing the four Take Overs before her.

"Good luck to all of you with this thing," Hecate added, as she looked back toward the powerful Demon. "You're going to need it."

Right as Mira absorbed her Take Overs back into herself, the Demon fully emerged, a far cry from any of the ones Karliah had summoned so far. The Demon had a body that appeared effeminate on the left, and masculine on the right, in an interesting twist of duality of male and female.

The effeminate half had sleek, shimmering black scales with a scaled breast and smooth darkened skin exposed on part of its elbow and the left half of its neck. It's scaled talons were elongated, and it had a violet-coloured left eye with the left half of its head bearing long silky white hair with a small black horn peeking through from their left temple.

Their right side was extremely muscular, with multiple, jagged scales and horn like protrusions across its hardened darkened skin. Its bicep was twice the size of the left arm's, a giant extra eye on their palm. They had a piercing black coloured right eye, with short and spiky silky white hair on the right side of their head.

They stepped forward, examining their unique form, before speaking with what sounded like two voices, one male, and the other female.

"I live…"

"Oh? Well now, isn't this interesting," Karliah smirked, stepping around to face her newest creation. "This might just be the first time I've successfully made a Demon of your calibre?"

"You…created me? For what purpose?"

The moment the Demon asked Karliah what its purpose was, the smile was wiped from her face in an instant. In its place was a look of worry, bordering on fear, as she took a hesitant step back.

"Wait… Are you saying you don't know your purpose?"

"That is correct. Did you create me without a purpose?"

"N-No! I implemented your purpose perfectly when I created you," Karliah replied sharply, taking a step toward the Demon. "Something must have-!?"

Karliah didn't get a chance to finish her theory, as the Demon seemed to close the distance between them instantly, placing the larger hand with the eyeball on the palm onto her face.

"I shall discover my purpose. Please stand by…"

"Y-You can't do this to me! I'm one of the chosen Demons," Karliah gasped, her entire body gyrating as both Demons became coated in a monstrous surge of Etherious Aura. "No-!"

Karliah wasn't able to finish her sentence, going slack jawed as her body started breaking down into raw Etherious, just like she'd done to so many of the Demons before her. The Demon quickly absorbed her, their monstrous power combining to create a truly formidable opponent.

"To find my purpose, I shall serve Lord Zeref, who is more fit to be named my true creator," the Demon murmured to itself, as they slowly turned around to face the small group. "My predecessor was far too reliant on having other Demons do the work for her, despite her own formidable strength. I shall make no such mistakes, and shall dispatch you all, aggressors from Fairy Tail, by my own hand."

"So, do you have a name," Mira asked cautiously, as the Demon seemed to ponder the question for a moment.

"A name? Names are a Human concept, but one that rings within me," the Demon replied thoughtfully. "Some of my being is comprised of former Humans, so perhaps it is only fitting to grant myself a name? Very well, I shall be known as… Azhrukhal."

Alright then, Azhrukhal… Answer me this one question," Mira replied, stepping ahead of Erza and Elise. "Are you going to stand against us? Or, will you step out of the war?"

"I am a product of Etherious, born to serve the will of Lord Zeref. Therefore, I shall fight any who oppose the will of my Lord, as all Etherious Demons should," Azhrukhal replied firmly, causing the Fairy Tail group to tense up in response. "Lord E.N.D shall be brought into line by Lord Zeref himself, that much I know. But it should help speed things along if he sees all his friends and allies strewn across this island for everyone to-wait…"

The Demon instantly stood fully upright, as something within them changed, their attention shifting toward the rapidly deteriorating airship nearby.

"Standing orders are to protect Shield Jacob Lessio. Above all else, I must ensure Lord Zeref's orders are carried out."

Azhrukhal turned on their heel and started walking off to the airship as if they'd never even spoken to the group. They didn't make it more than a few meters though, as Seilah appeared ahead of them, cutting them off.

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to go any further."

"Seilah, one of the eldest of Demons," Azhrukhal mused, halting in their tracks. "Dedication to your Lord, E.N.D, is most admirable. But I too must obey my own Lord. You understand this, yes?"

"Of course I do. I don't fault you for doing as you believe you should, or must," Seilah replied in a surprisingly compassionate tone. "But you know that I can't stand aside either?"

"Harming you is…not preferable. However, if you are to bar my path…I have no choice but to obliterate you."

"That won't be happening," Elise called out from behind the Demon, who looked over their shoulder to see the God Slayer, now alone. "We're not going to let you have your way!"

"I see," Azhrukhal sighed, looking off to their left to see Erza, her form glowing a bright white, as her Magical Power skyrocketed.

"Requip – Tengu Armor!"

Emerging from her Requip, Erza was now clad in full samurai plate armor, the flattened chest piece bearing the Fairy Tail insignia at the top right, along with the open helmet having the mark etched into the metal itself that served to protect her forehead.

Her armor itself was clearly designed for offense over defense, bearing much thinner armor than many of her others. However, it was clearly by design, with the wing-like protrusions from her back flapping, as she took to the air.

At her side was a wakizashi, the sheath located on her right hip. Black in colour, with ornate ropes wrapped around its length, the blade was clearly unique and well crafted, the metal itself ebony in coloration, and humming with power.

"An armor from a long since conquered nation will not serve you well here, Erza Scarlett."

"First off, its Erza Dragneel. And second, this armor will do just fine!"

"That's right," Mira agreed, as Azhrukhal looked to their right to see Mira, who activated Etherious Aura despite being in her base form. "None of us are going to lose here Azhrukhal!"

The group watched as Mira's clothes vanished, small black horns sprouting from atop her head, as her hair flowed wildly about the place, lengthening in size until it reached mid-calf. Blackened scales emerged through her skin, covering her modesty, with her skin going a dark red color, along with her iris color.

And finally, a thick, heart shaped tail sprouted from her tailbone, flicking outright as Mira smirked, revealing razor sharp teeth, several tongues slipping free from her mouth and wrapping around one another before moving off to the far left of her face.

"Etherious Aura: High Take Over-!"

"You too are a Demon of Etherious," Azhrukhal asked, clearly impressed by Mira's power, fully turning to focus on her. "What is your purpose?"

"I don't have one," Mira replied, her voice deeper, more alluring and seductive in tone. "Hecate, Halphas, Sitri and Yuki. All four are my Sisters, and all four helped me become a Demon in my own right."

"That shouldn't be possible?"

"Ordinarily, yes. A Take Over Mage normally cannot go beyond taking full control over the beings they become. However, Demons of Etherious already defy the laws of our world, so it only made sense to test the limits of what we could do…"

Mira's Etherious Aura exploded as she began unleashing her power, giggling as she did so.

"I have become a Demon in my own right! Forged from both my Etherious Sisters, as well as my own self, to create something entirely new! I am Mirajane Lilith, Mother of Demons!"

"How interesting," Azhrukhal mused, eyeing her form briefly before looking around the room at all those who planned on ganging up to take them down. "Very well, let us see your true power… Sister Lilith."

All four Fairy Tail Mages around him began powering up, quickly surging far beyond his expectations, as he sensed a strange feeling within his mostly emotionless core.

"Yes. This shall be a fight I can enjoy," the Demon spoke softly, remaining on guard as the four Fairy Tail Mages moved in for the attack. "Try not to die so quickly?"

*POTD*

"Ya'll are good at dodging; I'll give ya that! But ain't no one got stamina that lasts forever," Aster smirked as he pointed toward Wendy and Jason's positions. "Not even me!"

The pair had been fighting the Leichart member for some time now, and were just barely beginning to feel the first signs of fatigue. Despite the pair both feeling rather annoyed at his incessant jabs mid fight, he wasn't entirely wrong.

Aster wasn't joking when he said he was the greatest sharpshooter in the world. The man was pinpoint accurate from any range the pair had tested, his shots seemingly closing the distance between them instantly, making for a grueling battle.

Out of the pair, Jason had it the easiest, since he didn't need to worry about avoiding the shots. He could simply tank them and heal using his Phoenix Slayer abilities. Wendy on the other hand was relying on her Crash Barrier to protect her, something she couldn't keep active whilst moving at top speed.

"They call me the Split-Second Shogun for a reason ya know," Aster continued, as the pair took cover behind a nearby rock. "Nobody can fire faster than me! Ain't a man alive who'll match me on the draw!"

Just as he spoke, a wave of Etherious crashed over the area, somewhat startling the man, as both Wendy and Jason immediately charged his position, closing the distance in a matter of moments.

"Ya'll really thought ya had me," the sharpshooter smirked, vanishing on the spot and appearing directly behind the pair.

Several rounds blasted through Jason, blowing open large chunks of his back and chest as raging blue fire worked to regenerate the missing flesh. Wendy just barely managed to get her Crash Barrier back up, wincing as a round grazed her right shoulder.

"Won't be long now before one of ya carks it," Aster laughed, as he began disappearing and reappearing all over the place, firing off a barrage of powerful shots at the pair, as Wendy dragged Jason into her Crash Barrier.

"W-What the Hell is he doing!?"

"Teleportation Magic," Wendy hissed, as they moved across the battlefield at a modest pace. "My Crash Barrier won't be able to hold back his shots forever, since even destructive Magic has its limits."

"So, what do we do?"

"We need to take advantage of something he can't stop," Wendy smirked, as she looked down at Jason, a sadistic gleam in her eyes.

"I don't like that look…"

"You might not like the look of it, but it'll work," Wendy replied, whispering the plan to him as the teen recoiled, before ultimately accepting his fate.

"Fine… Let's do it then," the young teen huffed, taking a deep breath before shooting out of Wendy's Crash Barrier. "Come on then, let's go!"

"Heh! Well now, a right little firebrand, ain't ya," Aster laughed, opening fire on Jason as he teleported all around the young teen. "A shame I gotta do ya like this though, since ya got promise an all!"

Wendy watched as Jason's body was blasted apart until nothing but blue embers remained. Aster reappeared atop the dying flames, an amused smirk on his face as he kicked some dirt onto them, seemingly extinguishing them.

"So, ya happy seeing that kid get wasted? A bit heartless, even for an apprentice of Dragneel-?"

Before Aster could finish his sentence, a blazing blue talon erupted from the dirt, scorching his ankle and holding the Leichart sharpshooter in place.

"What the-!?"

"Fire Phoenix's Searing Talon!"

"N-No way," Aster gasped, as the reformed body of Jason slowly emerged from the dirt at his feet, the grip on his ankle searing and tight. "Let go!"

"Fat chance! Get him Wendy!"

Aster's attention snapped back to the Dragon Slayer, who was now within meters of him, her fist cocked back with a veritable tornado behind her, a furious expression on her face.

"Sky Dragon Monarch's Reverberating Tempest Fist!"

Striking Aster full force in the face, the Leichart member was sent flying across the battlefield, smashing through multiple trees and into a hill nearby, as powerful gusts of wind wracked the area.

"Did you get him!?"

"Not quite," Wendy replied seriously, raising her Crash Barrier around the both of them as a massive energy wave struck their position, her barrier barely holding against its might.

"What the heck is that!?"

"Alright… I'm taking the kiddie gloves off now," Aster growled, appearing nearby with blood trickling down his forehead, a rifle slung over the back of his shoulder, smoke billowing out of the barrel.

"That must be of Alvarez make… I've never seen a weapon like that before," Wendy muttered, as Aster brought it to bear against the pair.

"Requip: Magitek Arms Model 799 – Lyuda."

"Magitek!?"

"That's right brat, the kiddie gloves are off, and the experimental weapons are coming out," Aster replied, pointing the rifle directly at the young teen. "And you'll be the first one I knock off the board for that fiery stunt just now… Ya'll can both count on that."

Wendy placed a reassuring hand on Jason's shoulder, knowing full well the teen was likely terrified right now, having grown up with the propaganda glorifying those he was now up against and their power.

But even she had to admit, that weapon was going to be a problem. She wouldn't admit it aloud, but that one shot had nearly shattered her Crash Barrier. Several more, and she'd be taking a direct hit.

But even still, there were plenty of ways out of their current predicament. Her attack had clearly dealt some serious damage to the man, who most likely wasn't a front line fighter like she was. That had to count for something?

"You aren't killing anyone today, or ever again," Wendy replied quietly, her grip on Jason's shoulder tightening ever so slightly, a she glared in his direction. "This island is your grave… You can definitely count on that."

"Heh. Big talk for a young lady… Let's go!"

Aster vanished as the pair dashed in opposing directions, a glint in the far distance hinting at Aster's new location, as the battle against the greatest sharpshooter on Earthland continued…