"Gah…!" Cana rolled to the side, just narrowly avoiding a slash from a demon that would've left a deep wound. She then pulled out her deck of cards, throwing one forward. "Heaven's Bolt!" From the sky, a bolt of lightning dropped down from the card and struck the demon, a groan of pain escaping the beast. When the shock was over, it was still standing, much to Cana's surprise. "What…!? You've got to be shitting me…! These things are just getting stronger every other minute…!" She then turned her head, noticing a few others around her having the same difficult as she.
"This is a very bad situation…" Wakaba grunted while taking a puff of his cigar, unleashing a puff of smoke that surrounded some demons, which exploded shortly after. Surprisingly, none of the demons were affected by the attack. "You gotta be kidding…!?"
"This is getting stupid…" Waiston groaned while inhaling, unleashing a Ice Dragon's Roar towards the demons. The funnel of ice caused the horde to slow, but they were still approaching despite this. "Damn! Nothing is working!"
"Come on!" Bacchus exclaimed; he was still drunk but laying waste to the demons with rapid palm strikes. Though they were taking damage, it wasn't enough to come close to bringing them down.
Jaxon swiped his arm forward, unleashing multiple bolts of lightning towards the demons. Finally, they were beginning to show some recession, but they were still moving with energy. "Tch…These things just don't go down!"
"We're in a sticky situation here…" Cana admitted while drawing her hands back to throw some cards, but a demon fired off a beam of raw curse power. She stepped to the side to avoid it, but she dropped her deck and the beam ended up hitting her side. "Agh…!" She let out a cry of pain as she hit the ground, a large amount of blood dripping from the wound.
"Cana…!" Wakaba exclaimed, dropping his cigar from his mouth. A mistake on his part as a demon lunged in and clawed his backside, causing him to stagger forward and fall on his stomach. "Gwah!"
"Come on…" Waiston grunted, stepping on the ground to create a large glacier that separated the mages and demons. He hoped it would buy them some time, but the demons blasted right through it, causing frozen debris to fly everywhere. "Shit….!"
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"White Dragon's…Punch!" Sting rushed towards Marde with holy light covering his fist. Once he was close, he threw a destructive blow towards the demon king's sternum.
"Hmph…" Marde scoffed, leaning to the side to avoid the punch easily. "Is that all you humans have to offer? I didn't come here to have my time wasted by you useless insects…"
"And…Drill Kick!" Sting tried once again, a swift white magic infused roundhouse kick aimed towards Marde's side. The speed of the kick was what caught Marde off guard slightly, but he was able to block the kick with ease and only slid back a few inches. "Grr…!"
"Out of my sight…" Marde raised his foot, slamming his heel into Sting's gut, causing the white dragon to stagger backwards before falling onto his back.
After Sting was kicked away, Rogue rushed in and pulled his arm back, shadows gathering around his limb. "Shadow Dragon's Slash!" Once close, he swung his fist towards Marde for a clean hit, but Marde merely leaned to the side, spun around, and swung his leg at the back of Rogue's head, sending the shadow dragon slayer skidding across the pavement on his face. "Really, this dance is starting to become a little dry. I suggest you give up and bow now if this is your best. If you want me to squash you that badly, all you have to do is say so. It'll be quick and painless."
"What an amusing thing for you to say…" Rufus smirked, speaking while placing two index fingers on his temple. "I shall inscribe the pain of underestimating Sabertooth into your memory, demon…" A red magic seal appeared behind the memory make mage as he began to chant his spell. "Memory Make: Twin Wheels of Heaven and Hell!" Multiple blades and guns began to appear behind Rufus, all of them rushing and unleashing bullets towards Marde in an endless, unrelenting endless fire.
"You all simply do not learn…" Marde merely shook his head, completely unfazed by the bombardment of weaponry coming his way; he merely swiped his hand forward, creating an assortment of thorns to shield him. "Thorns." The wall of thorns held up well against the bombardment of weaponry. In the end, Marde remained unscathed from the assault, even as the thorns eventually fell. "I wonder what it will take for you to learn your lesson. Death? Because I will gladly be your teacher in that regard…"
"Impossible…" Rufus was in a state of shock. He could not recall anyone being able to stand up to such bombardment with ease.
"Are you done?" Marde questioned with obvious boredom in his voice.
"Not by a long shot!" Orga shouted from Marde's left. His hands were brought together, black lightning formed into a large sphere. "120mm Lightning Cannon!" Orga exclaimed with his loud voice while throwing his hands forward, unleashing a gigantic beam of lightning in Marde's direction that completely obliterated the very ground it traveled over. Once reaching Marde, there was a brilliant explosion of dark lightning that covered the area.
"Whoa! Nice shot, Orga!" Sting gave a thumbs up to the Lightning God Slayer.
"Did that get him, though…?" Rogue questioned silently.
"It had to!" Lector grinned.
"Fro thinks so too…!" Frosch said with a small wave.
Seconds passed before the explosion started to die down. No…it was getting smaller, funneling into something. "You don't seem to understand…it'll at be absorbed within me…" Marde stated calmly as the Lightning Cannon funneled into harmless sphere in his hands.
"N-No way…" Orga stood wide eyed at the ineffectiveness of his attack. "What the hell is this guy….?"
"This isn't good…" Sting grit his teeth, fist clenching tighter than before.
"I have a present for all your hard efforts…" Marde spoke while raising a finger, causing a rose bud to appear in the ground between them.
"Everyone…!" Yukino shouted from afar, waving a hand to gather their attention. The moment she was in range, Marde swiped his hands, causing thorns to suddenly appear from the ground. Yukino saw it coming, but she hardly had the time to react. She shifted her body slightly to the side, allowing the thorn to pierce through her side instead of her chest. Her eyes widened from shock as she fell to the ground on all fours. She held her now bloody side with one arm while trying to support herself with the other arm, her body shaking from the pain.
"YUKINO!" Sting's eyes widened the moment Yukino was hit. Without wasting any time, he rushed over to the celestial mage's side. A bulky figure cut him off and slugged him right in the jaw, lifting Sting off the ground; the white dragon spiraled into the first floor of an already destroyed building, causing whatever was left to fall.
"Sting-kun!" Lector placed his hands over his mouth.
When Sabertooth glanced to see who hit Sting, their eyes widened in pure shock. Jimena stood tall with a wide grin on his face. "I've been waiting to do that…ever since you tarnished Sabertooth's name two Grand Magic Games ago…"
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"D-Demon of Nightmares…!?" Happy asked while flailing around, but sadly he was in the worst position possible. With Erebus' tight grip on his tail, he couldn't go anywhere. "W-What did you do…!?"
"Simple…" Erebus said with a small chuckle, pointing to the unconscious Levy, Gajeel, Lisanna, and Elfman. "My curse puts people to sleep, where I fill their dreams with their wildest desires. While they dream, I slowly eat away at their soul and grow stronger from it. They cannot simply awaken…unless they destroy the catalyst of their dream, or defeat me. Both of which are impossible, after all…"
"R-Release them…!" Happy demanded, though he was in no position to be demanding anyone.
"Cute cat…I don't think you'll be worth much energy, so I'll just flesh you out right here." Erebus said while pointing his free hand in front of Happy's face.
"Solid Script: Fire!" Levy suddenly exclaimed. Flaming letters struck Erebus right in the back, causing the demon to flinch and release Happy.
"Gah! You little…!" Erebus cursed.
"Happy…!" Levy ran forward and caught Happy, quickly making a mad dash back inside the capital and away from the demon. "We've gotta get out of here!"
"So…" Erebus eventually regained his composure and shrugged. "She must've avoided the ambush. That's fine…they'll all fall anyway." After stating such, Erebus began a slow walk back into the capital. He wasn't pursuing Levy, but he had a different destination in mind.
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"Arise!" Daryan exclaimed, creating multiple skeletal warriors that acted as shields against the demon's assault. Even the might S class of Cosmic Star was having trouble against these demons. "Damn! Nothing's working…!"
"If only Gaia were here…" Alex muttered while hacking and slashing away at what came her way, but she was really just holding them at bay.
"She's likely where those two dragons are fighting…" Yakuza said while pointing to Adam and Mithril fighting in the sky in the distance. "Though, that's a fight maybe even she knows to stay away from…"
"We can't do much aside from hold the line down here…" Magnus commented. "And the line is starting to thicken with all these demons, and their buffs. Just follow my lead, and I can keep us surviving."
"That's our Magnus!" Alex chimed. "I do hope Shadowlore is okay, though…he ran off on his own…"
"He'll be fine!" Daryan had obvious faith. "He's a stubborn one…you couldn't get that guy out of a female hot springs once he got in…and Kagura was trying, trust me…"
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"Guh…" Zancrow grit his teeth in annoyance at the Dragon God Duo. "For a pair of water users, you two sure know how to get me angry…"
"I said you'd pay for destroying my home all those years ago…" Kuro hatefully glared at Zancrow. "Don't run away now, Flame God. You will be submerged by the waters of the Water God…"
"And the Dragon Slayer will make sure of that…" Blues commented with a sly grin.
"Die, the both of you!" Zancrow said while bringing a hand up and clenching his fist. Suddenly, the area around Blues and Kuro erupted in black flames. Zancrow only let out his signature laugh "HAHAHAHA!"
"Rain of the Dragon God Duo!" The pair both exclaimed. A blue magic seal appeared above the eruption of flames, releasing a heavy rainfall that quickly doused the black fire. When it was finally god, Blues and Kuro stood relatively unharmed from the blaze.
"Grrrrrr…!" Zancrow was getting annoyed now. His flames were being doused by this water, and there wasn't much he could do about it. He did have something up his sleeve, but it wasn't meant for them. He wouldn't allow such trash to put him to an extreme. "I'll let you all off the hook for now…you have bigger things to worry about…" Zancrow's annoyed expression shifted to a grin; he then turned around and started walking calmly in the other direction.
"Hey, get back here!" Kuro shouted, preparing to go after Zancrow, but was halted when a small horde of demons surrounded him and Blues. "Dammit, Zancrow!"
"This is just lovely…" Blues rolled his eyes sarcastically, standing back to back with his partner. "Let's take care of these things quickly…and is it just me, or do these demons look stronger than when we first started…?"
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"Mi-kun…!" Sora halted her playdate with Ola once spotting Mithril do battle with Adamantine in the sky. "Sora will be right there to cheer you on!" The little pinkette nodded a few times before turning to Ola. "Sorry, but Sora has to go now! Thanks for the playdate!" She then skipped off, leaving the mute in confusion.
(This was a playdate…?) Ola rubbed her head before retracting her shadows. She then shrugged and decided to meet up with someone else, hopefully. She glanced up at the sky to watch the dragons briefly; the battle looked intense, and she was hoping neither of them would come crashing down to the ground suddenly. On that thought, she quickly decided to walk away, a comical sweat drop appearing on her forehead.
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"J-Jimena…!?" Lector's eyes widened. "No way…!"
"I thought you left…" Orga said with a glare.
"I was wondering when you'd get here…" Marde said while shaking his head. "I was just about to exterminate them for being so annoying. But I'll leave that up to you…" With that, Marde slowly began his leave, exiting from sight in a matter of seconds.
"Oh, how I've waited for this…" Jimena looked around at the stunned Sabertooth. "I'll show you how a true leader rules…he begins by eliminating the weakest link, the one that's brought the most shame…" He then laid eyes on the injured Yukino, making a lunge for her while drawing his large arm back. "And I'll start with you! The one who first brought shame upon Sabertooth!"
"…!" Yukino's eyes widened and she froze in fear.
"Yukino…!" Rogue entered his Shadow Drive, quickly lunging and grabbing the female and dipping into the shadows before Jimena could strike. The large fist of the former leader created a crater in the ground. Rogue dropped Yukino off to the side.
"You won't be taking anyone out!" If anyone would take Jimena on in close combat, it would be Orga. Perhaps he wouldn't have done such a move a year ago, but the circumstances were much different. Orga aimed a lightning infused punch at Jimena's jaw, which was a direct hit, but Jimena recovered faster than Orga could even react to, and received a heavy haymaker to the jaw in return, causing Orga to fly back. "Gah…!"
"I remember…" Rufus said while placing his fingers on his temple, another red magic seal appearing. "Memory Make: Night of the Falling Stars!" From the seal, multiple 'stars' shot out, all aiming towards Jimena with heat seeking properties. "And it shall not happen again!"
"You're all still weak!" Jimena exclaimed while recklessly dashing through the assault of falling stars. He made it to Rufus within seconds and shoulder tackled the memory mage harshly, causing him to roll across the broken ground. "That's what I remember!"
"H-How…" Rufus groaned; he wasn't expecting such an attack to be so powerful. He had to regain his breath in order to stay focused.
"White…"
"Shadow Dragon's…"
"Crushing Impact!" Both Sting and Rogue jumped from above with their respective element around their feet. Their goal was to crush Jimena's head, but Jimena grabbed their legs before contact and slammed them into each other harshly before throwing them onto the ground.
"You waste your time and effort!" Jimena rose his foot before stepping on the ground, creating a large shockwave that blew everyone away while damaging them. "You don't have the strength to be a leader, least of all Sabertooth. It was a guild of warriors, but you all ruined it with your weakness! You, Sting…you took a bow to inferior mages! That was the moment I knew Sabertooth was lost forever!"
"Rogue…Sting-kun…" Lector could only watch as everyone was having a hard time with their former master. Was he really so terrifying beforehand…?
"That's where you're wrong…" Sting groaned while pushing himself up slowly. He had one hell of a headache, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. "Inferior mages…? Don't make me laugh…Fairy Tail was much stronger than we could ever hope to be then…and I realized it in that moment." Once on his feet, a white aura began to appear around him as he used his White Drive. "Sabertooth is on the road to becoming something great! We're abandoning the warrior route you choose for us!"
"Sting-sama…" Yukino was nearly speechless at Sting's resolve.
"White Dragon's….ROAR!" Sting threw his head forward, unleashing a massive beam of dragon slayer magic in Jimena's direction.
"The warrior's route is the only route. The strong survive, and the weak die…" Jimena placed his arm up, allowing that to take the full force of the White Dragon's Roar. He only came out with a small bruise on his arm. "Your 'bonds' mean nothing in the face of true strength."
"Bonds are true strength," Rogue commented.
"Bullshit!" Jimena reared his arm back, preparing to strike the ground for a tremor, but he felt a crackling sensation around his body. Before he knew it, he was engulfed in a sphere of black lightning. "Gah…!"
"Sabertooth will be number one. There is always more than one way for strength!" Orga exclaimed with black lightning crackling all around him. Jimena let out a battle cry and rushed from the sphere of black lightning before it faded, striking Orga once again with another assortment of physical blows. The last one, a kick, was right to his chest and sent him staggering backwards, falling onto his back.
"I remember the mistakes we made in the past…" Rufus spoke while once again preparing another Memory Make spell. "We shall not repeat them…Memory Make: Blade of Fire and Lightning!" From the sky, a blade of lightning and fire dropped down, aiming to skewer Jimena. The demon managed to evade just in time, taking minor damage as a result before reaching Rufus and slamming him to the ground.
Jimena turned quickly and punched the ground as he wanted to before. The result was a shockwave that knocked Sting, Rogue, and Yukino down onto the ground. Jimena cracked his knuckles with an amused expression. "How are your feelings helping you now!? Any last words before I grind you into the dust and start Sabertooth anew…"
"Haha…" Sting let out a pained chuckle.
"Mind sharing what's so funny, Sting…?" Rogue questioned how Sting could even laugh at a time like this.
"It's just…" Sting started. "The more I look at him…the more disgusted and amazed I get."
"What do you mean…?" Yukino asked weakly.
"Look at him…" Sting said while staring at Jimena. "What he is right now…that easily could've been us if Rogue and I didn't lose to Natsu-san…" He then pushed himself to his knees, panting heavily. "Sabertooth isn't a warrior's guild anymore…it's a guild that cherishes all of their companions…weak or strong, everyone matters. We don't mistreat anyone for any mistakes they make." His expression then shifted to a glare. "You know what one of my new pet peeves in, old man…?" Before anyone could react, Sting slugged Jimena with a White Dragon's punch, sending him staggering back a few times. "When assholes hurt those I care about. That one was for Yukino…"
"….!" Yukino gasped; she didn't think Sting was waiting for such a moment to give payback on her behalf.
Sting and Rogue stood side by side, sharing the same expression. "We'll stitch together the wounds of our comrades…"
"With a bond of Black and White…" Rogue continued.
"Worthless…" Jimena said while rubbing his chin. "Just like that daughter of mine…"
"We're waiting on her to come back, too," Sting scoffed. "You're the only one who's not welcome back." He then looked over his shoulder. "Can you buy us some time…?"
"How much time do you need…?" Orga questioned.
"Give us a few seconds…" Sting pleaded. He and Rogue then stood side by side, hands pulled back, mixing their White and Shadow dragon slayer magic together. "Come on, Rogue!"
"Gladly…" Orga nodded; forcing himself to use all the strength he had left for once final charge. Though he was outclassed, that didn't stop him from trying for those he cared for. Orga charged, but he was quickly knocked away by Jimena, the difference was just too large, even for Orga.
"I'll take you out where you stand!" Jimena exclaimed loudly. It was then that the most unexpected of figures appeared to lay down a brief smack down.
"Not if I can help it…!" Yukino shouted while ignoring the pain in her injured side. Though she was much smaller than Jimena, her quickness was the key; she began a skill assault of martial art strikes aimed all over weak points in Jimena's body while staying out of reach.
Sting and Rogue stared in shock as Yukino went in on Jimena. "Did you know she could do that…" Rogue asked.
"Nope…" Sting replied.
"Gah…! Enough…" Jimena backhanded Yukino away. Though it hurt, her distraction was well worth it.
"NOW!"
"WHITE SHADOW DRAGON'S…" Sting and Rogue threw their arms forward, the concoction of their magic shrunk for just a second before unleashing into a purple widespread beam that threatened to eradicate everything in its way. "WAXWING FLASH!"
"Guh?!" Jimena crossed his arms, holding just momentarily against the power Unison Raid. The ground around him eventually gave way before he was ultimately consumed by the bond of black and white. "GAAAAAAAAAAHH!" His scream of pain was the last thing that came from his mouth before he hit the ground with white eyes, completely motionless.
"That's…our bond…" Sting said while falling to his knees with Rogue.
"They won!" Lector jumped for joy.
"Fro knew they could do it…!" Frosch grinned.
"Sabertooth's pride…" Rogue chuckled softly before giving Sting a fist bump. "It all begins with Black and White…"
From a rooftop nearby, Future Rogue watched the whole thing. His arms crossed, and he stared at his past self, along with his old friends at Sabertooth. "...Things were so different back then..." But his continued existence only meant one thing. No matter what happened, Rogue would always turn into him...
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Natsu followed his nose across the city. He was little just punching through every demon that dared to get in his way; he didn't have the time to waste on the little grunts, he only had one target in time. "Just a little further…" He mumbled to himself before rounding a corner into the square of Crocus. There he was; Zeref was standing in the middle of the square. "There you are, you bastard!" Natsu grinned; now there was nothing to stop him and Zeref from fighting. Flames flared around his body and he dashed towards the Death Magic without a second thought.
"Already…?" Zeref was intrigued that Natsu hunted him down so quickly. "Rugal must've only been able to hold him off but for so long…as to be expected, I suppose…"
"I took him out easy, and you're next!" Natsu then began his assault of physical strikes on Zeref with heavy flaming punches and kicks. Zeref blocked and evaded all the strikes with ease, letting out a small sigh of disappointment. He was about to comment, but Natsu caught him off guard with a sudden close range Sword Horn to the chest, causing him to skid across the ground before coming to a halt. His robe had a hole in it and his skin was burned, but other than that he was fine. "Heh…"
"Impressive, Natsu…" Zeref chuckled slightly. "But I still don't think that will be enough to kill me. Not even close…"
"Then allow me to give it a try…" Jellal said while walking in from the opposite side of the square, taking a calm stance. Zeref now stood between the saint and the fire dragon.
"Jellal?! The hell are you doing here…!?" Natsu questioned before shaking his head. "Tch, whatever. This is my fight, so you can stay out of it!"
"Don't be stupid, Natsu," Jellal replied. "This is something more than you can handle alone. It's my mission to defeat Zeref…and Fairy Tail is going to stop him to. So…I request an alliance between Crime Soricere and Fairy Tail for this fight. You and me…"
"Hmph…" Natsu huffed. "This is my fight," he repeated once again. He didn't want Jellal's help, but at the same time he knew the severity of the situation. "Don't get in the way. I'm gonna make sure I burn him to ashes for what he's done."
"Of course…" Jellal nodded before slowly taking a stance.
"Oh…?" Zeref looked between Natsu and Jellal before giving a half smile. "By all means…both of you come at me. I'll assure that you'll meet a swift end should you fail to defeat me…"
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Next time: The Demon of Nightmares!