Gray grit his teeth, staring down Natsu with anger. He couldn't believe that this guy was the one who was with Erza now. Gray wasn't sure how or why Erza ended up like this, but it didn't matter. He was gonna get her back and save her from these bastards.
"Hey, Erza...You stay there. I'll get you outta here once I'm done with this guy!" Gray stated. Erza didn't respond as she just watched on silently. "Don't worry, Erza! I'm gonna save you!" Gray assured. He knew that he had to be strong for Erza's sake and win this fight.
"Erza. Go on ahead." Natsu ordered, stepping forward and cracking his knuckles. "I'll deal with these guys and catch up."
"Understood." Erza replied, before running up ahead and leaving the area.
"Erza, wait!" Gray tried to call out to her, but she had already ran away. "Damn it...Why are you doing this?! Why are you making Erza obey you?!"
"That's just how it is now." Natsu replied. "I'm wiping the floor with you faires."
"Like hell!" Gray glared.
"Just calm down, Gray! You should focus on getting Erza back!" Lucy said, approaching Gray as she thought calmly. Gray really felt like attacking Natsu for everything that happened, but he knew that she had a point. Right now, he should focus on getting Erza back. And that involved battling Natsu.
"Yeah...but if I wanna do that, I gotta clobber him first!" Gray spat as a ring of ice formed underneath his feet. Gray leapt up into the air, launching himself towards Natsu. "Ice-Make: Hammer!"
Natsu raised his arm up in defense, the ice hammer being blocked with great force. Gray wasn't even flinching after hitting him. Rather, he jumped from Natsu and landed a few metres away from him, readying a new position with his magic.
"Ice Make: Floor!" Gray created an icy surface below Natsu, which made the Dragon Slayer lose his balance as he began sliding on it. But Gray didn't give him time to get out of this situation as he pointed his index finger at him. "Ice-Make: Lance!"
A number of long, icy lances came flying towards Natsu from multiple directions. Natsu avoided the first few of them before trying to jump over the remaining lances, but that wasn't an option for him anymore.
"Ice-Make: Arrows!" Gray formed a number of icicles in his hand before firing them at Natsu. Right now, Gray was fighting on rage now that he found the one that Erza was made a slave to. Gray kept firing icicle arrows, one by one at Natsu.
"Heh! That's some awesome aggression..." Natsu smirked, being shot at. He began using his speed, dashing and sliding through the lances and ice arrows as they flew past him. Natsu avoided every one of them until he got close to the Ice Wizard.
Natsu landed his foot onto the ice, which he melted. He dashed towards Gray while his foot was melting the ice, creating a cloud of steam. "But, you're an Ice Wizard! So automatically, you don't stand a chance!" With his fist cocked back, Natsu would slug Gray right in the gut. "You're pretty good, I'll give you that."
Gray felt the intense burn, his eyes widening. Afterwards, Natsu ignited his hand on fire. "But, let's see how long you last!" Gray saw the burning fist being brought back, only for it to come flying towards his face, burning his cheek and making Gray scream in agony. "This is nothing but a warm-up to me!"
"Gray!" Lucy's eyes widened in horror. She was now certain that Natsu wasn't just an average guy. She couldn't tell from what happened at Magnolia, but she knew now. His magic, it was on another level entirely! It was more powerful than her's and Gray's, at the very least! And to make matters worse, Gray was at a disadvantage being an Ice Wizard.
"Oh, yeah. This'll be quick! Fire Dragon...!" Natsu would hold his breath in for a second before unleashing a fierce blast of fire straight from his mouth, "ROAR!" The fire shot from his mouth like a jet, aimed straight towards Gray. Gray tried to make a shield, but someone protected him in advance.
A shield of Water formed around his body, stopping Natsu's fire from reaching Gray. It seemed like Juvia stepped in. Lucy looked back to see Juvia approaching, having chimed in to save her beloved. Natsu would cut his attack short once seeing the Water Wizard coming to save her crush.
"You..." Gray looked back at Juvia.
"D-Don't worry!" Juvia's pupils would morph into hearts as she stuttered. "I'll make sure no harm comes to you, my love~" Juvia said with glee, making Gray a bit stunned, but he went with it.
"T-Thanks. With this water, I could actually stand a chance." Gray turned to face Natsu, the latter feeling a bit intrigued.
"Hah? What the hell are you on about?" Natsu asked, tilting his head. "That's a big thing for you to assume. Just because your friend here is a Water Wizard, you think that makes you more of a match against me?"
"I have to try and see then!" Gray replied. Natsu couldn't help but crack a grin.
"Sounds interesting! You better not disappoint, I'm in a pretty good mood!"
Gray kept his composure while Juvia smiled. "Don't worry, my love! We can beat this guy together! He doesn't look that strong, anyways."
"That's the spirit! Come at me!" Natsu declared. Gray took a step forward, charging at the dragon slayer. Juvia joined in, trying to attack Natsu alongside Gray.
"Ice Make: Lance!" Gray launched his lance at Natsu, which the Dragon Slayer burned to ashes. "Ice Make: Shield!" Gray created a shield of ice in front of him, blocking an incoming kick from Natsu. Gray swatted his shield aside and sent it flying towards Natsu.
The Dragon Slayer grabbed the shield with one hand, breaking it to pieces. Juvia noticed that Natsu was distracted and aimed her palms at him. "Water Slicer!" She fired a wave of water blades at him, which Natsu ducked under.
Gray followed up, jumping up and swinging his leg to deliver a kick to Natsu's face. The Dragon Slayer dodged the kick, but Gray wasn't done. Gray swept Natsu's legs, tripping him.
"Now!" Gray shouted. Juvia nodded and conjured a giant ball of water above her.
"Water Pressure Bomb!" She hurled the ball of water at Natsu, who was lying on the ground. Gray used his magic to freeze the waterball, turning it into an ice bomb.
The frozen waterball came flying towards Natsu, who stood up and ignited his mouth. "Fire Dragon...!"
"Water Ray!" Juvia made a ray of water rapidly appear behind her, crashing it towards Natsu.
"ROAR!" Natsu unleashed a burst of fire from his mouth, burning the water.
"Ice-Make: Wall!" Gray created a wall of ice in front of him, shielding himself from the scorching flames. While he was doing this, Juvia approached him from behind. However, the force of the roar was so strong that not only did it manage to break through the wall but the shockwaves knocked Juvia back.
She flew past Gray, who caught her in his arms. "J-Juvia!" Gray looked up and saw Natsu standing before him, with the flames dissipating.
"Hey, I guess I underestimated you two! I figured you'd be easy to beat, but that wasn't the case! Ice doesn't stand a chance against Fire and there's no water I can't handle!" Natsu spoke while menacingly walking forward, the smoke masking some of his body, his eyes glowing red.
Lucy watched in shock and horror at Natsu's raw strength. Even if Gray and Juvia combined their powers, they still couldn't bring Natsu down. Not to mention that the battle was far from over. Lucy began to think about how she could help. Would Aquarius be enough if Natsu's Fire was strong enough to handle even Water?
"I have to try something...!" Lucy said to herself, deciding to try her best regardless. But before she could get the chance, Gray interrupted her.
"No, Lucy!" Gray exclaimed. "Go to Erza. We've still got a mission to handle and that's preventing any of the books from being taken!"
"But Gray! This guy's too strong! Let me help out!"
"I'll try something. I'm not about to give up just yet." Gray narrowed his eyes at Natsu while helping Juvia up. "I'm gonna make this guy pay, no matter what."
"Oh, so you think you can still fight?" Natsu grinned. "Then let's see if you can keep going after this!" With his fist held high and flames surrounding the, Natsu would summon a swirl of fire before thrusting his fist down, smashing the ground. "Fire Dragon's Wildfire!"
Lucy screamed as the area erupted into flames. Natsu's magic was like a wildfire, engulfing everything in its path. Lucy quickly ran offrom the approaching flames that were bringing everything down. The ground would also split open as the fiery explosion reached deep inside the earth, sending a powerful earthquake throughout the entire town.
Gray found himself being launched back while holding onto Juvia. He was thrown back a couple of meters, the two tumbling on the ground. "Grr...!" Gray gritted his teeth as he managed to get up, albeit with great difficulty.
He was still injured from earlier and this recent attack didn't help him one bit. His clothes were torn up and he was covered in scratches, but he still had some energy left in him. Juvia had her clothes damaged as well, revealing a little of her cleavage. She was also bleeding from the side of her forehead, but she had no intentions of stopping.
Lucy had already run off to find Erza, which left Gray and Juvia to fend for themselves. Lucy was off to try and stop Erza and the rest of the Void Kingdom Wizards from getting those books.
"N-Not yet..." Gray would stand back up, panting a bit. "I'm not done just yet."
"Hm?" Natsu looked at Gray, noticing that he was still standing. "You still wanna keep going, really? Our fight wasn't even gonna last that long, pal."
"That's a shame for you. Erza's on the line, so you won't be getting a quick an easy finish." Gray groaned, trying to ignore the pain. "I'll keep at it until something gives."
"..." Natsu stayed silent, seeing the determination in Gray's eyes. He wasn't sure how to respond to Gray since he was rather different from the opponents he's faced before. Natsu could feel it. Not that he was strong, but that he had spirit. More spirit than what Natsi has seen so far. "Okay then. You've got my interest. Let's see if you can handle this next attack then."
"My beloved! We should distance ourselves from him for now!" Juvia recommended a temporary retreated. Gray nodded and began to run away with Juvia, leaving Natsu alone.
"Ice-Make: Rampart!" Gray created a wall of ice between him and Natsu, which stopped Natsu in his tracks. However, Natsu simply walked through the wall, melting it with his own flames. Gray kept creating walls of ice, trying to keep his distance from Natsu.
"That all? Come on, you can do better than that." Natsu would approach Gray and Juvia, the former looking back and seeing the dragon slayer gaining on them. Luckily, due to the destruction Natsu caused from that attack, some new pathways had been made, allowing them to take either one of them to try and lose him.
"This way, my love!" Juvia took Gray's hand and led him through a pathway. They went down the path, which was rather narrow, making it difficult for Natsu to follow them. However, Natsu broke through the wall of the pathway, breaking it into pieces.
Gray and Juvia continued to run away from him, going deeper and deeper into the forest. After running for a while, they came across a huge tree. "Ice-Make: Pillars!" Gray slammed his palm on the ground, creating several pillars of ice that protruded out of the ground and would halt Natsu in his tracks.
"Run all you want...but I can smell you guys! The scent of a Dragon never fails!" Natsu intimidatingly said, putting both of his hands together. "Now, try this!" He then split his hands apart, which ignited in flames. "Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"
Natsu released a powerful blast of fire from his hands, which completely destroyed the pillars. Gray and Juvia were blown back by the sheer force of the attack. Gray used his ice to stop himself from falling, while Juvia got back on her feet and summoned some water, forming a shield in front of her.
The water absorbed most of the flames, but the heat was so intense that it evaporated the water almost immediately. "Ngh...!" Juvia grunted, finding it hard to keep her shield up. Natsu's flames were too powerful for her to handle.
Gray was ready to charge at Natsu. He knew he was at a disadvantage all because of that Fire. This was such a bad matchup for him due to how vulnerable his ice was against such flames. "Looks like I'm going to have to try something. As long as I can avoid getting hit by those flames, I should be good."
"You don't have to do it alone, Gray." A voice spoke to him, alerting everyone else here. Arriving at the scene was Trevor, one of the librarians.
"Trevor!?" Gray exclaimed, shocked to see the young man arriving.
"What're you doing here? I thought you're supposed to be defending the library!" Juvia said.
"I am. We all are. But that doesn't mean we'll stay in there the whole time. Gwendolyn, Fiona and I have decided to confront them on the outside while Head Librarian Asher and the other handle anyone that tries to show up inside." Trevor spoke with a serious tone, adjusting his glasses. "I will assist you both against this one. It seems you are at a great disadvantage."
"I'll say...My Ice is no good against this guy. I'm a sitting duck here." Gray grit his teeth while looking at Natsu. "Even Juvia's water doesn't put that stuff out."
"It's obvious why that Fire is able to resist her water. That magic...It's Dragon Slayer Magic." Trevor said.
"Dragon Slayer? That explains all the attacks he's been shouting out. So this guy's a Dragon Slayer...!" Gray said.
"And a wielder of Lost Magic." Trevor would walk past Gray, taking a stance against Natsu. "This is the threat the Head Librarian truly feared would come here."
"You're not scared, are ya?" Natsu asked, grinning.
"A little, but I am not afraid to die for this place." Trevor replied. "I will defeat you if it's the last thing I do. For the sake of the library and everyting surrounding it."
"Ooh, a bold claim! I like your confidence, but can you back it up?"
"Of course. People like you are scoundrels that should be punished immediately. And unfortunately for you...I have the magic to do so." With his glasses glowing, Trevor raised a finger, ready to unleash his magic upon Natsu.
"Gray. Juvia. As you are now, you won't be able to handle his fire...but with this, that can change. Bestow! Essence Imbuement!" By bellowing, Trevor cast a magic that spread around him, Gray and Juvia, covering them in a purple light.
Gray felt his skin tingling as the spell was being casted. His body began to glow as he felt a new power surging through his veins. "Whoa...! What the hell is this!?"
"It's a Lost Magic called 'Bestow'. It temporarily transfers one's magical properties to another, thus giving them new magical traits. I and the other librarians are all in possession of Lost Magic so, use it wisely." Trevor explained.
"Magic...Powers...? Do you mean...you're giving us your magic?" Gray gasped.
"Right now, I've used Essence Imbuement to grant you the power to resist water. The effects are temporary, but the spell will be undone once I release the hold of my magic. It won't make you immune, but you should be able to handle his flames much betteter. Use this new power to defeat that Dragon Slayer. Your chances of success are much higher now."
"That so?" Gray clenched his fists, feeling excited. "Thanks for that, man. We won't waste it. Continue helping me out on this one, Juvia."
"With pleasure~!" Juvia's eyes were full of hearts once she heard Gray requesting her assistance.
"Oho. This could make things interesting." Natsu also felt excited, wanting to get something good out of this one as always. "Alright. Show me what you've got."
Lucy ran through the streets of this, searching for Erza wile also heading for the God's Library, hoping to beat the Void Kingdom Wizards there. She passed by many destroyed buildings caused by the wizards of the Void Kingdom.
Many citizens were also injured and Lucy tried to help them, but she couldn't afford to take the time to do that. She needed to get to Erza before it was too late. Lucy kept moving, but she didn't see any of the Void Kingdom Wizards.
"Don't tell me they already got ahead of me..." Lucy feared that she might be too late and Vvoid Kingdom Wizards have outpaced her. However, she then spotted a familiar figure in the distance.
"That's...Erza!" Lucy yelled, stopping in her tracks. The wizard of Fairy Tail ran up to the knight, who stood in the middle of the street. She wasn't moving and seemed to be staring off into space.
She wondered why she was just standing there, not advancing towards the library at all. A confused and cautious Lucy stayed silent as she slowly approached Erza. Right up ahead, the one holding her there was none other than Gwendolyn
"Lucy, stay back!" Gwendolyn warned, glaring at the girl.
"Gwendolyn?" Lucy blinked
"Right now, I've managed to surprise Erza and keep her still. She's currently in my Spatial Hold." Gwendoly revealed. Lucy couldn't see it, but there was an invisible barrier holding back Erza from moving.
"A Spatial Hold?"
"My Lost Magic is Fathom. With this, I can easily manipulate space." Gwendolyn stated, still staring at Erza. "I've trapped her inside a pocket dimension so that she cannot move. I had no choice since she was already heading straight for the library. I recommend heading there before the other Void Kingdom Wizards do. I can keep Erza trapped here for long enough."
"Okay! Thanks, Gwendolyn!" Lucy thanked her before continuing her way to the God's Library. She didn't have to worry about Erza at the moment and could focus on stopping the others.
"Good luck, Lucy." Gwendolyn smiled, watching the Celestial Spirit Wizard dash off, continuing on her way. However, as soon as Lucy ran off, Gwendolyn could feel it. The spatial hold had begun to fade away. "!"
Her arms trembled, feeling the space she had locked down slowly break apart. Erza's arms were starting to move move again and it was only a matter of time before her legs were freed. Gwendolyn grit her teeth as she did everything she could to keep her in place.
However, it was a futile effort.
Erza managed to break free, her arms spreading and shattering the barrier, causing Gwendolyn to stagger and step back, almost falling over. Erza took deep breaths, her eyes moving up and locking onto Gwendolyn.
"But how-"
"My Artificial Eye allows me to halve my opponent's magic..." Erza panted, glaring at the Wizard in front of her. "I refuse to let you slow me down. You'll pay for getting in my way."
Erza was not at all happy with this interference. She was on a mission and was not going to be held back by any of them. Gwendolyn grimaced out of fear, not really being the type to partake in a battle. But she was going to try her best to keep Erza from reaching the God's Library regardless. Erza would Requip her Heaven's Wheel Armor, readying her swords and preparing herself to attack Gwendolyn.
"Heaven's Wheel! Circle Sword!" Erza bellowed, having all the swords circle around her. "Dance, My Swords!" The swords began spinning rapidly around Erza as they were sent flying at Gwendolyn in a disc formation.
"Fathom: Spatial Hold!" Defending herself, Gwendolyn held out two fingers, distorting space around her. This allowed her to redirect the blade elsewhere, the swords being forced to bounce back and land on the ground. After sending the swords aside, Gwendolyn would use her magic to play defensively once more. "Fathom: Anchor!"
By messing with space once more, Erza felt something get in her way once she dashed forward. Her body bumped into seemingly nothing, causing her to stumble back. "Now what?! I can't advance!"
"I've locked an area of space, preventing any spatial distortions, teleportation, or dimensional travel within the affected zone!" Gwendolyn explained, her hands still outstretched. "You will not make it to that library. I will make sure of it."
Erza growled, growing even more annoyed. She then requipped out of her Heaven's Wheel armor into her Flame Empress Armor, which would cover her body with flames. She then tried to charge through the lock again, but the same thing happened as she ran right into a wall, which made her bounce back.
"Damn it! I cannot move forward! What is this?!" Erza grit her teeth, having no idea how to deal with this.
"I've anchored space around you, meaning you are unable to leave the area. You'll be staying here until you and your forces are gone." Gwendolyn explained, having her hand outstretched. "It's quite easy for me to hold this for as long as I want. You're not going anywhere."
"How do you plan to stop us? You're clearly alone, aren't you? And you don't have the will to properly finish me off. I can tell." Erza menacingly said. "What's stopping me from ending your life?"
"You can't move. I think it's pretty obvious." Gwendolyn simply stated, having a sweat drop run down her cheek. "Plus, you'd have to get through the others who are defending this place, and I'm sure they can handle you. Even then, if I keep you like this, someone will eventually come and knock you out."
"This is not over!" Erza yelled, still trying to charge forward, but failing. She tried to break free from the lock, but so far, nothing was working out for her. Even her Artificial Eye wasn't helping right now.
Lucy ran and ran, her breath heaving as she ran away. She could see the God's Library not too far from here. If he keeps this up, she'll be able to make it there. She thankfully wouldn't have to come across someone like Erza, however, she would soon run into the Void Kingdom Wizards who were nearby.
"Hey! It's one of those Fairies!" One of the Void Kingdom Wizards shouted, spotting Lucy's Guild Mark on her hand.
"Take her out and that's one less problem to deal with!" Another one shouted, the group of them charging towards her. Lucy would come to a halt, confronting these Wizards, but she was not about to run away. With a Key out, the Celestial Spirit Wizard was more than ready to take action.
"Open! Gate of the Scorpion: Scorpio!" Lucy shouted, the Scorpio appearing in front of her. Thee past weeks, Lucy managed to find new keys and one of them was of the Celestial Spirit, Scorpio. a relatively tall, lean-built, dark-skinned man with a powerful gun for a tail.
"We're ready to fight, baby!" Scorpio shouted, his tail ready to attack. "Just say the word, Lucy!"
"You know what to do! Blast them away!"
"Sand Buster!" Scorpio shouted, getting down on his four limbs, in a stance which was reminiscent of a real scorpion's. From his tail, a large amount of sand is subsequently fired from it in the form of a powerful sand tornado which moved towards them a line and strikes them with great blunt power.
The sand blast was enough to send the Void Kingdom Wizards flying back, some of them crashing into trees while others were sent tumbling down the hill.
"That's one way to do it!" Lucy cheered, Scorpio giving her a thumbs up. "Great aim!"
"Meddling Fairy!" A Void Kingdom Wizard angrily said, using his magic against her and Scorpio. "Fluid Make: Poison Lance!"
"Scorpio!" Lucy shouted, the Scorpion Spirit moving in front of her to protect her.
"We got this, baby!" Scorpio shouted, taking the hit from the poison lance. The Scorpion Spirit was able to withstand the attack, but it was enough to make him stagger back. The opposing Wizard grinned at this as multiple other lances would fly into Scorpio, rapidly injecting him with poison
"Hmph. Easy work." The user of Fluid Make Magic snickered, believing that to have done the job easily. But as the poison dripped from Scorpio, to his surprise, the Celestial Spirit was unaffected, shocking even Lucy. "W-What?! You should be feeling incredible pounds of Venom! Enough to kill a Vullcan in one go!"
"Heh. We are related to Scorpions. Put the pieces together, pal." Scorpio smirked, the Scorpion Spirit charging yet another Sand Buster. This one was far greater than the rest, the sand tornado growing larger and larger. "Sand Buster!"
"No! No! No!" The Wizard shouted, trying to use his magic to defend himself. However, the sand blast was too much, the Wizard being engulfed along with other Void Kingdom Wizards. Some found themselves being launched into the nearby sea, while others were sent flying into the air.
This allowed Lucy to keep moving, Scorpio soon vanishing as light particles, his time here being up. "Thanks, Scorpio!" She thanked him while running, the Scorpion Spirit giving her a thumbs up before disappearing.
Lucy could handle herself, being stronger than ever after the promise she made with Gray. And speaking of Gray, he was on her mind as she hoped for his safety. "Gray. Please be safe and show up soon..."
At the Library, Asher and all the other Librarians continued to form defences around the building. Using various forms of Lost Magic, they were able to create barriers that would protect the Library from any incoming attacks. The layout of the library would also change, making it difficult for anyone to navigate through it.
"I hope this is enough." Asher said, looking at the barrier. "We can't let the Void Kingdom get their hands on the books here."
"It will be fine." A girl by the name of Tessia assured him. "If they want the Lost Magic so badly, they'll have to try and get past it in the first place."
"I hope so." Asher said, looking at the barrier. With all of these defences, they all had to hope it would be enough and that Gray, Lucy and Juvia would be able to stop the Void Kingdom.
But as they were fine-tuning the defences, outside, not far from here, Lisia was there.
She looked up at the library, her eyes narrowing. "This feeling...?" She said, looking at the building. "I can feel the power of the Lost Magic from here. It's incredible." She was on her own, the other wizards having not yet made it here. But there was menacing about Lisia. Something that essentially said that on her own, she could do this.
It was time to truly begin her mission.