Gajeel and Levy carefully made their way out of Magnolia with Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen. Freed was leading the way to The Client's original hideout in hopes they could find some clues on how to stop him…or even stop him right then and there if they were lucky enough. Gajeel was just itching for a fight, however. He could sense the entire country duking it out and meanwhile he was just stuck with this kind of duty. "We better run into someone soon, because if not I'm gonna lose it." Gajeel grumbled while crossing his arms.
"You're gonna get your fight Gajeel…" Levy reassured Gajeel with a nervous smile. She could tell he was getting worked up and needed to release some pent up aggression. "But for now, let's just work on finding this guy…! The sooner the better, I don't want to imagine him with all the magic Fiore has to offer…"
"That would truly be a catastrophe…" Freed said with a heavy sigh. He still felt partially responsible for this and no amount of convincing seemed to be working on him.
"We'll stop him…if we don't, I'm positive that Laxus will." Evergreen said while patting Freed on the shoulder. "So chin up, alright? That mopey expression really isn't a good look for you, Freed."
"She's right buddy, kyaha…" Bickslow chuckled. "You're fine, this ain't your fault!"
"…" Still, the rune mage remained silent.
"You're killing me with this…" Gajeel let out the groan Freed probably wanted to. "If I don't get a fight in the next few minutes I'm gonna kill someone…"
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Chelia, Carla and Wendy ended up taking a longer route than most…where they were going wasn't entirely clear, they were still in the middle of the country so they were in an open plain. "I hope we can meet up with Cynthia soon…" Wendy mumbled.
"You're awfully worried about her…more than usual…" Chelia pointed out with a concerned look of her own. "Did something happen?"
"No…" Wendy shook her head. "But I have a bad feeling that…"
Before Wendy could finish, Chelia sensed a shift in the wind. "Look out!" She then shoved both Wendy and Carla forward, just in the nick of time as a rune barrier formed to separate them.
"Chelia!?" Carla blinked while looking at Chelia.
"Eh…?" Cygnus walked into the scene while rubbing the back of his head. "The little girl? I'd be looking more forward to this if you still had magic…"
"Ah, so this is where it came from…" Orga strolled in before looking between Chelia and Cygnus. "Huh…these little guys? I suppose I can use this as a little warm up…." As he said this, black lightning began to surge around his body. "I won't be going easy on either of you."
"Just the way I like it…" Cygnus stared at the lightning god slayer with a cocky grin, a purple aura beginning to emanate from around his body. "You just might want to stay out of this, kid…"
"Chelia…" Wendy whispered. "Are you…"
"I'll be fine." Chelia nodded confidently before pulling out the custom made bow Raven helped make for her. "I don't need magic to put up a fight…!" Pulling back on the bowstring, several arrows of wind were released directly towards the two males. They avoided them, but both Orga and Cygnus could feel the slice in the air left in its wake.
"Huh…" Cygnus blinked slowly before looking back at Chelia. "I think you just cut off some of my hair…"
"I'll be fine." Chelia said with a nod. "You two keep going!"
"R-Right…" Wendy gave a reluctant nod and began to run off with Carla. Her main concern was finding Cynthia first before anything else.
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A small, wooded area was shaken violently by the force of an epic battle. Luke Cloud and Sting Eucliffe were exchanging fierce close combat blows, shockwaves echoing out from each collision. Sting was throwing white magic infused punches at various locations on Luke's body, just aiming for any open spot to deal as much damage as he possibly could. "Come on, Luke-san!" Sting exclaimed with a grin. "Don't tell me that's all you've got!?" Some of Sting's punches landed, while others clashed against Luke's fist or just missed entirely.
"I'm just warming up, Eucliffe!" Luke replied with a wide grin; his fists were covered in darkness while he squared off against Sting. Luke's punches were like Sting's; missing, clashing with his opponent's, or landing their mark. Both males were stuck in place as the heated exchanged continued, neither of them backing down from the assault.
Sting then leaned back against one of Luke's incoming punches, now swinging his hand down in a claw-like slash. "White Dragon's Claw!" It was a direct hit, which caused Sting to grin.
"W-What the…?" Luke's fist stopped just short of Sting's face. His body was trembling as he attempted to move, and now he understood what happened; the stigmata on his chest halted all movement and made him a sitting duck. "You clever…"
Before Luke could continue, Sting reared his leg back with white dragon slaying magic wrapped around it. "White Dragon's Drill Kick!" In one swift motion he slammed his foot right into Luke's chest, packing enough force to send him through a tree. Sting then drew his head back and inhaled, while magic swirling around his mouth in a vortex. "White Dragon's Holy Breath!" Throwing his head forward, the guild master of Sabertooth unleashed a massive beam of light from his mouth that raced directly towards Luke.
By the time Luke recovered from Sting's kick, the Stigmata on his chest was gone and he was able to move. This was when Sting unleashed his Holy Breath upon the Copycat, which merely caused him to grin. "Come on, that's nothing…!" He exclaimed while forming a pitch black sphere of darkness within his palm. "Black God's Bomb!" Hurling the obsidian sphere forward, watching as it collided with the Holy Breath only to break through and strike Sting, creating a massive explosion against the White Dragon.
Sting let out a grunt of pain while being flung back, rolling violently across the ground before placing his hand on the ground, sliding to a halt with a grin on his lips. "Not bad, Luke-san…I guess those rumors were true after all…" He then stood up, a white glow emanating from his body; this glow turned brighter, sliver adding into the mix. "Eizen-san…lend me your strength…!" Using the power he attained from Eizen back on the Isle, Sting entered White Sliver mode.
"So…finally kicking it up a notch, are we…?" Luke grinned at this before a black and white aura began to appear around his body; activating his Black God's Sword and White God's Shield to give him an offensive and defensive boost. "Good, now that we're done warming up…let's take this to the next level."
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Juvia and Blues were locked into battle, water flying everywhere with their failed or successful attacks. The nearby river was raging from the force of their attacks. Both water mages slid back before coming to a halt, glaring at each other despite the injuries they both sustained. "I've been a little jealous of you as of late…" Blues admitted while standing up straight, hair spiking up as a dark blue aura wavered around his body; Blue Drive.
"Eh…?" Juvia blinked, unsure of what Blues was talking about.
"Back on the isle…" Blues stated, having a flashback to the fight against Gaius. When the group was unable to defeat the Dragon…when Blues lost his best friend and Juvia was the one who defeated the Dragon. Even if he managed to help, as a Dragon Slayer, he couldn't do much. "It made me feel pathetic…to fail as a Dragon Slayer and watch you beat that Dragon…and how you saved all of those infected ones back then as well…"
"Blues-san…" Juvia blinked slowly, unsure of how to feel. "If it weren't for you, I..."
"So that's why, on my pride as a Dragon Slayer…I have to beat you. Even if it costs you your magic, I have to win! I have to prove that I'm strong enough to keep Kuro's will moving!" Blues suddenly roared before throwing his head forward, unleashing a spiral of dense, scalding water towards Juvia that was strong enough to break a hole through steel.
"…!" Juvia crossed her arms, taking the brunt of Blues' roar while sliding back several feet. Blues' water was different than regular water, which was why Juvia was unable to just Water Body her way through it…if she did that she ran the risk of actually being eaten by the water dragon slayer. "Juvia has people counting on her, too…!" Juvia shot back at Blues, thoughts immediately shifting to her beloved Gray. "Especially Gray-sama, Juvia must fight to ensure his magic stays!" The water mage then raised her hands over her head, creating a sphere of water between her palms; Juvia then threw her hands down, sending the sphere crashing into the earth where it became a huge tidal wave racing across the land towards Blues.
"Tch…!" Blues' eyes narrowed at the incoming tidal wave racing towards him. It was approaching so rapidly he had little time to actually react and just did his best to not get swept away. The powerful waved crashed down on Blues and he was 'washed up' lying on the ground for a moment before standing back up. "Already…time to put an end to this charade…"
"Juvia agrees…" Juvia nodded firmly. She was feeling her limit approaching anyway so she had to be quick about this if she wanted to move onto her next fight with magic to spare. The aquatic mage raised her hands up once again, gathering water and the moisture in the air. Once she gathered enough, Juvia threw her hand forward, unleashing a massive cyclone of water that ripped apart the ground it travelled over. "Water Nebula!"
A white aura exploded around Blues, mixing in with his blue aura; his dual mode: White Water. Pulling his arm back, the dragon slayer created a sphere of water, the core filled with blinding light. "White Water Dragon's Holy Nova!" The dragon slayer then thrusted his arm forward, unleashing a massive beam of holy water that shot directly towards Juvia's Water Nebula. The two were closer than they should've been for the collision of these two attacks; the stalemate only lasted seconds before both attacks collapsed on one another, resulting in a near catastrophic explosion that shook everything within a mile radius.
The end result was a gentle rainfall that fell down on the two combatants. As the smoke cleared…both Juvia and Blues were on the ground, lying on their backs in KO. The runes faded away afterward. "Oh, what have we here…" The Client had to observe the result of Juvia vs. Blues, somewhat surprised to see that it ended with a draw. "A tie? How interesting…but this is quite fine. I still reap the benefits either way." There was a chuckle from The Client before the beams of light rained down on the unconscious Juvia and Blues. However...
"Ngh!" Blues suddenly pushed himself forward, grabbing onto Juvia and rolling them out of the way.
"What!?" Hosonaga's eyes widened at this development. "Where do you think you're going!?" More beams fired down from the sky, aiming to strike the two of them. "You LOST, so your magic is MINE!"
"Not on your life!" Blues said while rolling along the ground with Juvia, who was barely conscious now. Blues dove into the river with Juvia, which carried them downstream.
"DAMN YOU!" Hosonaga scowled, quickly losing track of Blues and Juvia as they were submerged by the waters. It was a time like this he wished he wasn't doing all of this by himself; if he had someone else working for him... "No, it's fine. It's fine." He took a few deep breaths, regaining his composure. As annoying as it was that a loophole was discovered in his already written rules, he could work around this. "It was just water magic, and those mages are a dime a dozen.. I already got it from that one girl. This doesn't stop me at all."
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Waiston rushed in first, not wasting any time with any warm ups. He rushed Evanee while entering his Frozen Sky dual mode. He leapt into the air and spun around, aiming his leg right for her skull. "Frozen Sky Dragon's Claw!" Waiston's leg was powered by cold winds and ice. Evanee brought her arm up to block the attack, her eyes narrowing from the impact. Waiston wasn't done, for he was inhaling, and grinned menacingly at his position. "AND ROAR!" He opened his mouth, releasing a point blank blast of ice and wind at Evanee. This succeeded in pushing her back a few feet, and inflicting some damage as a result.
Evanee wasn't going to have any rest, for Kuro was coming in hot with his Devil Slaying markings appearing along his body. "Fire Make: Devil's Tornado!" A blazing tornado of Devil Slaying magic appeared around Evanee, keeping her in the eye of the storm as the fire and flames burned into her body. It was a nice combination by the two Eclipse wizards, and they truly believed they had a bit of momentum going into this fight.
But they couldn't be any more wrong. Evanee punched the air in front of her, dispersing the tornado. As the embers faded, Evanee was revealed to have some damage on her from burns and ice, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. "Is that it? I don't have time for this." Evanee placed her hands on the ground, causing it to liquify. It started to pull Kuro and Waiston under.
"What the...!?" Waiston tried to step out of it, but that didn't work. The next best thing was expelling ice from his body to freeze it over, but the ice was getting drowned by the ground. "Huh!?"
"Fornax." Evanee exhaled a purple mist from her mouth that filled the area. This purple mist caused Kuro and Waiston to cover up their mouths. They didn't have to worry for long, as Evanee's fist flickered in flames and she punched the poison mist, causing it to explode violently. Waiston and Kuro were caught in the explosion together. Waiston was the only one who was damaged, as for Kuro...
"Fire Make: Jar!" Kuro created a jar in front of him, which absorbed the fiery explosion and funneled its power into his body. His muscles bulged as a result and gave him a power boost. Feeling confident, he pulled his arm back, devil slaying flames appearing along his forearm. "Flame Devil's Thermal Strike!" He thrust his fist for Evanee's chest, and it was a direct hit. A shockwave boomed out as Evanee tanked the attack, only to then grab Kuro's wrist. "Ah!?" Kuro's eyes were wide in shock, but they also sparkled in admiration. "You're really strong!"
"Wh-?" Kuro's compliment threw her off for a second. She shook it off, kneed him in the stomach, turned on her heel, and him off to the side and into a tree.
"Frozen Sky Dragon's Glacier!" Waiston stomped on the ground, causing a glacier that caught Evanee by the waist. It then exploded in a violent display, turning into a mini tornado that whipped about frozen ice chunks to bombard Evanee. Despite being caught in the eye of the storm yet again, the woman's gaze did not once falter, which did strike some fear into Waiston. "W-What the...she's like Sidney..! And Gildarts...!"
Evanee flicked her wrist, causing Waiston to be encased in a cube of water. Naturally, his fist instinct was to try and freeze it, but Evanee was two steps ahead of him. By the time Waiston realized where he was, that cube of water exploded violently with him in the middle of it, throwing him off to the side.
"Ugh..." Kuro did cough a few times, wincing. Evanee only hit him once but he felt so drained and exhausted. "What's going on? She hasn't even...done that much damage..." And then it hit him. "That mist...!"
"You caught on a little too slow." Evanee said while tilting her head. Fornax had poisonous properties. She wasn't going to expel much of her magic on opponents she knew should be beat without much effort. They were stronger than she expected, but she was confident she would win. "You dealt some decent damage, but it's not going to slow me down."
Waiston had an eye shut, but he was quick to stand by Kuro's side. "We're not out of this yet!" He coughed a few times, already feeling his body growing a bit numb and heavy from the poison. But he and Kuro were going to make sure the left their mark. "Alright, Kuro! On me!"
"Got it!" Kuro said while thrusting his hand forward. "Fire Make: Gold!" On that command, a wave of fire rushed outward, incinerating everything in its path as it blazed a trail towards Evanee.
"Ice Dragon's Tundra!" Waiston stepped on the ground, freezing everything in its path. The two attacks of fire and ice worked in tandem was they raced towards Evanee. The woman narrowed her eyes and threw her hands out as a barrier of darkness appeared in front of her. What happened in the next moment was difficult to see, as an explosion overtook the area. The ground shook violently as Kuro and Waiston peered into the smoke.
"Did we get her...?" Kuro asked.
A few tense seconds passed, and Waiston shook his head with an irritated smile. "Not even close." The smoke cleared, and Evanee's hands were burned and frozen. The damage ran along her arms, and she wore an expression of slight discomfort...but it was fine. She approached the two exhausted Eclipse mages and chopped them in the back of their necks as she walked past them. This action knocked the both of them out.
"And you win once again! That's so many wins in a row!" Hosonaga's thought projection appeared beside Evanee. Beams dropped down on Waiston and Kuro to sap their magic. "You're truly one of the strongest wizards here!"
"Flattery won't save you." Evanee said while waving her hands a bit, attempting to get the mixed sensation of frostbite and burns off of them. If Kuro and Waiston weren't going to tell her where Sidney was, she was just going to have to make a very educated guess...
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Gray just finished dealing with a few mages, panting softly from the magic usage. It wasn't anything substantial but just enough to warrant a few moments of rest. He wasn't going to be getting those moments as one particular foe slid into view: Leon Shi. "Great…" Gray sighed heavily while keeping his eyes on Leon….but Leon wasn't didn't notice the scene just yet. He was too busy chasing a butterfly that caught his attention. "Huh…?"
"I'm gonna get ya…!" Leon said while reaching out for the butterfly, only to trip over a rock and tumble before coming to a stop in front of Gray. "Ooof…!"
"Geez…" Gray rubbed the back of his head. "You should be paying attention to your surroundings..."
"Oh, Gray!" Leon hopped up, giving a wide smile to the ice mage. "Didn't expect to run into you here! What a surprise!"
"Does he even know what's going on…?" Gray thought to himself as he stared at the seemingly oblivious Leon. He noticed a few marks on the acid dragon's body that showed signs of either a scuffle or just a few bad falls from chasing butterflies. "Oi…Leon…you're aware of what's happening in Fiore, right…?"
"Yup!" Leon gave a firm nod. "It's pretty bad, actually…I hate to think what would happen to my friends if they lost their magic…it is really important to them, after all….and I see that we're currently the only two people around in this area…"
Gray nodded slowly, sliding into his Ice Make stance in preparation for battle. "That's right…and I have to make sure I don't lose my magic so I can bail out my friends in case they didn't make it. So for that, I'm gonna have to beat you."
"Gray." Leon's cheerful expression faded, a more serious one now crossing his face. "I'm going to tell you something I told the last person I came across…you don't have to worry about anything. Because I'm going to make you my friend. And now, as your friend. I promise you that I will save the magic in Fiore!"
Gray's eyes widened at Leon's proclamation. Leon was a strange one for sure, especially since he was a Black Phoenix member…who was offering his friendship to Gray as a means to strengthen his own resolve. It was so sudden, but he did smile a bit. Leon's earnest nature did make it hard to even be mad at him. "You're…I don't even know." The ice maker shook his head and a cold mist began to flow from around his body. "But I can tell you one thing, Leon Shi. I'm not going to lose…and I don't lose to the same person twice, either."
"I knew you'd have that response…" Leon had a sly grin on his lips before a green aura exploded from around him; Acid Drive. The acidic aura around his body began corroding the ground he was standing on, and he just faced Gray with a determined expression. "I'll fight for you after I fight you." Acid swirled around the male's fist and he lunged towards Gray with a shout of determination.
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Hisui was on her own. She left too fast for Arcadios to catch up with her, which was her mistake. But she had a plan. Her destination was Clover Town, and she took a carriage to make the trip. She was approaching the hill, but the carriage came to a stop. "What's wrong?" She hopped out and covered the rest of the distance by foot. At that moment, a runic barrier appeared behind her, much to her surprise. "Ah! More runes..." She shook it off. She wasn't a fighter, yet she was technically a mage. She continued on but only made it a few feet, her eyes widening at the sight before her.
"RAAAAAAH!"
"HAAAAH!"
"YOU CAN'T HAVE MY MAGIC!"
There was a dust cloud of wizards fighting each other outside of Clover Town. The combat was violent as each wizard fought for their own personal reasons. Maybe they wanted the glory of defeating Hosonaga, The Cilent and the man responsible for throwing this country into turmoil. Maybe they were afraid of losing their magic. Or, there were just some people that wanted the thrill of the fight. Whatever the reason, it resulted in a gigantic mess of dozens of wizards fighting each other.
Hisui's eyes were wide in horror. "This is...awful...!"
"Isn't it grand?" Hosonaga's thought projection appeared behind Hisui, causing her to yelp in surprise. "This sort of competition reveals just how selfish people actually are! 10% of the population are wizards, and look at what they can do? You know, Your Highness, I wasn't expecting you to be out and about during this dangerous time. But you are technically a wizard, aren't you? I don't know what kind...but having your magic could be fun."
"You won't get away with this!" Hisui clenched her hands into fists. "Fiore is not the kind of country to fall apart from the inside?"
"Oh, really?" Hosonaga lifted a brow, an idea coming to mind. "We'll see about that. Hey, all of you!" His voice stopped the dozens of wizards fighting. I've got a deal for you all. The Princess is here! So...the first one to knock her out will get to keep their magic. They can even come and fight me directly! How does that sound?"
"What?"
"Is he serious?"
"I can keep my magic?"
"I can beat him..!"
The color from Hisui's face drained slowly as all eyes were slowly turning to her. Wizard though she may be, she was a noncombatant! They wouldn't...would they?
"Well, what are you all waiting for?" Hosonaga grinned. "She entered these runes...she's a wizard, which means she can fight. So...have at her."
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Next Time: When Wills Collide