"Y-You…" Lex grit his teeth at Laxus' audacity. "You really think a single punch it capable of taking me down?! You're an idiot! My strength far surpasses yours!"
"Oh?" Laxus quirked a brow. This was normally the part where he expected Lex to come charging in headfirst like he always did. Why was this time so different? "That's strange…just a few minutes ago, it didn't matter what I was throwing at ya. You just came barreling in with no regard for safety…why the cold feet this time?"
Laxus was really beginning to push Lex's buttons. The red headed male was nearly fuming as Laxus accused him of hesitating. "How dare you!? I wanted to fight a strong opponent, not someone who makes a ridiculous bluff when they're cornered!"
"You think this is a bluff?" Laxus questioned with a widening smirk. "Why don't you bring that ass over here so we can see if I'm really bluffing or not. You think you're so strong, right? So why don't you come over here and punch me?"
"This is one hell of a standoff…" Gajeel muttered, annoyed that Laxus was capable of making the entire fight freeze while he struggled with a foe.
"What's he planning…?" Levy thought to herself. "He's only angering him more…"
"You want me to strike back!?" Lex questioned while letting out another roar. His already huge aura continued to expand, nearly covering the entirety of the plain. The windstorm kicked up was fierce and it was almost as if his increase caused the rain to increase. "You think I'm afraid of someone weaker than me!?"
Laxus stood his ground as Lex's aura continued to grow stronger; his coat still remaining on his shoulders while his expression remained confident. "That's funny…usually big guys like us don't pull a power boost like that unless they feel threatened…are you feeling…afraid?"
He asked it. That one question that any mage of this caliber hated to be asked. Once the words passed through Laxus' lips, Lex's eyes turned red from pure anger. "Y-You….HOW DARE YOU!? I FEAR NOTHING!" Once again, the aura exploded around Lex, rising high into the sky while the ground began to tremble violently from the sheer power he contained. "My power has NO LIMITS AND I WILL NOT BE STOPPED!"
"W-Why are you pissing him off more…!?" Lily exclaimed.
"What is he doing…?!" Lisanna looked to the others for an answer but it looked like they came up with nothing.
"You want a punch?" Lex questioned as he condensed his incredibly large aura into his fist, his arm trembling violently from the amount of power he had stored. "I'll give you a punch. I'll give you a punch so strong it'll reduce your body to nothing." With the wicked grin spreading along his lips, it was safe to say that this was not an exaggeration. Without another word Lex dropped his blade and sprinted forward, creating a crater with every step he took, rearing his arm back as the devilish smile continued to spread on his lips. "LET US SEE WHO HAS THE STRONGER FIST!"
"Gladly." Laxus nodded as lightning enveloped his body, and with that he was off, rearing his arm back to clash with Lex. The others thought Laxus was crazy for pulling such a stunt and no one could tell the end result of this.
"PERISH!" Once Lex was close Laxus, he took the liberty in swinging a full powered punch towards the S class only to…miss. His eyes widened as he hit nothing but air…but that wasn't the part that he was shocked about. The dangerous aura around his arm merely dispersed.
"Gotcha." The only word Laxus uttered as he twisted his body, bringing his leg to Lex's face for a brutal kick more than capable of sending the white coated male flying away. What was even better is that this direct hit was clearly effective unlike the previous hits.
"Whoa, what the hell!?" Elfman's eyes lit up at Laxus' display of manliness.
"Ah…!" Levy snapped her fingers. "I get it…! Lex's strength comes from his opponents! His unstoppable force is meant to overpower their immovable object, which is why he gets stronger and stronger! As his power increases, he's sure to overwhelm his opponent with their strength! And it happens whenever they make the first move and his aura ensures that nothing weaker will hit him…but what happens when that aura isn't overpowered…but countered? His strength resets to zero! If he strikes at nothing, his aura has nothing to overpower!"
"So that's the counter...!" Gajeel realized it when Levy explained it.
Lex regained his footing, staggering backwards to avoid falling over while holding his arm in what looked like fear. "W-What…how could this be happening!? This shouldn't be…I'm the strongest…!" He then stared forward, eyes widening as Laxus continued to close the distance. "H-How…why…what makes you so strong!?"
"I don't care how strong you think you are!" Laxus bellowed as his eyes narrowed. "If you hurt my guild I'll be sure to kick your ass! That's all there is too it! Secret Dragon Slaying Art: ROARING THUNDER!" Laxus roared and swung his arm forward for a devastating blow to Lex's face. The impact was so strong a thunderous boom echoed across the island and Laxus continued this by driving Lex into the ground for a few yards before coming to a halt. When Laxus pulled his arm up, Lex laid on the ground with his eyes completely white. He was KO'ed. "Don't ever touch my guild again."
"That's my Laxus!" Freed exclaimed with the widest grin.
"YOUR Laxus!?" Bickslow and Evergreen turned at Freed with a confused expression. "Now you're just being a hog!"
"Incredible…" Lisanna's eyes lit up with admiration.
"Tch…" Gajeel scoffed. "I could've done that if all of you weren't in the way."
"I…I see…" Lex groaned while sitting up. Everyone immediately went on guard once again, but Lex wasn't going to do anymore moving after Laxus' finishing blow. "It appears the strength of other mages comes in different varieties…brute strength isn't always the answer."
It was time for interrogation. Laxus towered over Lex with his arms crossed, staring into the Commandants very soul with his piercing glare. "Alright, bastard. Tell us what you're doing here and why you're after our Celestial Wizard."
Lex merely gave a knowing smile at Laxus' request. "As I said before…that Celestial Wizard has become a person of interest as of late…what we're doing here? It has something to do with that…along with a much bigger goal that you couldn't possibly hope to imagine…" His smile widened as his form started fizzle.
"W-What's happening to him!?" Levy asked.
"He's…disappearing…!?" Lily shouted.
"The price for failure…" Lex chuckled. "Forgive me, Lucius. This is a fight I should not have started." With that, Lex and his white coat just…dispersed into a white light. That was it, the Commandant was gone.
"…Fuck." Laxus finally collapsed to a knee, panting heavily.
"Are you okay?!" The Raijinshu hurried over to Laxus.
"I can still fight…" Laxus groaned. "I just need a minute…"
"We have to get out of this rain first…" Evergreen sighed. "It's starting to ruin my hair…"
"Solid Script: Tent!" Levy scribbled the word tent in the air; the letters forming a large cover for the group from the rain, and it was nice and cozy too. It was ample space for all of them to relax for a bit. "How's that…?"
"Well…" Lily began, but the thunder outside caused him to jump. "It could be more s-soundproof…"
"Laxus…" Lisanna peered at Laxus with hopeful eyes. "Where's Mira-nee? She was with you when we left…what happened to her? Please, tell me she's okay!"
Laxus remained silent before averting his eyes. "We…we got separated. I don't know what happened to her….I know you're worried, but you seem more worried than usual…is there something I'm missing?"
"A lot, actually…" Said Freed. "When we were returning to the Isle, Nasir told us an interesting bit of information…confirmed by our dragon slayers, the unnaturally large amount of blood on his hand belonged to Mira…he claims that she's…"
"…Even with that red headed traitor lending a hand? I refuse to believe it." Laxus did not so much as even bat an eye at the news, which brought Elfman and Lisanna some hope. "You know how strong that woman is. A little scratch won't bring down that demon."
"Y-Yeah…!" Lisanna nodded cheerfully. "Mira-nee's out there…!" This was the time the others informed Laxus of what was happening on the island at this moment and what was going to happen soon concerning the Etherion Cannon. He had a lot to catch up on.
"So…" After taking in all the information, Laxus closed his eyes. "This island's gonna be blown up in about 6 hours, huh? Didn't realize time flew so fast…what are we waiting for then?"
"First, we have to stay out of this rain…" Levy pointed out. "And we're a little exhausted…I just hope the Mystic Water Team can hurry up and reach it so we can save Cynthia…"
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Venoma and Eizen were the two stuck with watching over Dhegensea while Drake and Nasir went off on their own separate missions within the rain. The trapped Dhegensea was stuck in the rain and unfortunately neither Venoma nor Eizen were capable of even touching him. "Ugh…" The purple haired female played with her hair, trying to give herself something to do. "This is ridiculously, why must I always be the one stuck inside this castle!?" She complained.
"Our King is encased within a shell of untouchable light and you're complaining about your lack of stretching your limbs?" Eizen looked over at Venoma with a look of disapproval. "Your priorities are skewed, Venoma."
"Eh!?" Venoma took offense to Eizen's statement. "EXCUSE ME! If you haven't noticed, I've been cooped up in here ALL DAY! The only bit of action I had was throwing out Draco, meanwhile everyone else is over here fighting or having at least some action. I should've pulled an Edna and just walked out."
"I will be scolding her later as well," Eizen merely replied. "Besides, I'm surprised you'd rather be out in the rain than within the warm confines of this castle."
"At this point, as much as I love my hair, I'd much rather fight something." The woman sighed. "Besides, if you haven't noticed, half of the castle was just blown to bits because of that annoying spirit! It's kind of freezing in here!" As the two dragons bickered, the shell of light surrounding Dhegensea began to show the slightest crack…
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Minerva's team had cover from the rain in a small rocky area. Though they were warm and dry thanks to the fire Kuro created, it was clear they hated wasting time. "I wish this rain would hurry up and end." Minerva let out a small huff while staring up at the storm clouds. "We don't have time to be sitting around protecting ourselves from a little water."
"You'd think Jaxon would do something about this…" Waiston rolled his eyes. "But knowing him he's probably enjoying the thunder. Plus he'd say something like 'just because I can control the weather doesn't mean I always want to' or something like that…"
"Sounds like him!" Kuro said with a wide grin.
"Whatever the case, we still have some searching to do once this rain lets up. Hopefully it won't last too long; otherwise I may just need to change into a bathing suit…" Jenny mumbled.
"You can just do that right now." Waiston stated with a simple grin. "No need to wait."
Before anyone else could make a comment the card Minerva was given by Cana began to flash. "What…?" Pulling the card out, a holographic image of Heather appeared.
"This thing is on, right? Okay, good…" Nodding, the poison slayer continued. "Right…so, we've found the Princess…kind of. She seems to be lurking about with one of those white coated cretins. And one sharp shooter nearly ended her life unknowingly…" Not that she was firing any shots, but… "Keep an eye out for the Princess, that's all we have to say." And the transmission cut off.
"The Princess is with one of those White Coats?" Eve tilted his head. "It must have happened after Mii betrayed Erza-san's team."
"The fact she's not dead yet must mean they have some plans for her…" Rufus deduced with a mere nod. "It isn't safe to keep her around the enemy for much longer. Unfortunately this rain is hindering our progress…suffice to say that the same can be said for our enemies."
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"The rain is getting heavier…" Mii complained while trudging through the now somewhat muddy ground. "My boots are getting dirty…"
"For once I can agree with you on something…" Lucy nodded, letting out a small groan while trudging forward. "Why is this rain so heavy? Shouldn't we find some cover?"
"I don't see the problem." Kagura was blunt in her statement…even though she picked the wrong time to wear a kimono and sandals. She just refused to let a little mud bother her.
Luckily the Exceeds could just fly. The only thing they had to suffer from was the rain which steadily increased every passing second until it eventually turned into a downpour. The nearby trees were soaking wet. "Aye…this rain is starting to really come down; I think we should find a place to lay low until it dies."
"Fro thinks so too…" Fro frowned, just thankful that his hoodie protected him from some of the rain.
"We're going to get sick at this rate…" Sting said with a soft groan.
"No, we're almost at the spot…!" Mii flailed. "Just tough it out for a little longer!"
"It's not that serious…" Draco said with his arms crossed. Because of the natural heat emanating from his body the rain didn't really bother him too much. The same could be said for Natsu.
"Sometimes you two annoy me…" Selene huffed.
"Maybe we can save this quarreling for when it's nice and dry…?" Chelia suggested while bringing her hands up to her arms, shivering slightly from the cold. It seemed that everyone really did want to get out of the rain.
With a small sigh, Kagura gave a reluctant nod. "Very well…it's better we don't make ourselves vulnerable by getting sick. Let us find some shelter. I hope that won't be too much of an issue, Mii?" Kagura could finally agree in saying the rain was getting troublesome but she wasn't going to say it aloud.
"Ah…" With a small huff, Mii eventually gave a small nod. "Okay, okay…if memory serves correctly there should be a cave up ahead we can rest in. It's not too far away. Maybe we can collect some firewood on the way there to dry off…"
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Yukino said while clasping her hands together. "I know we can't afford to waste time, but it shouldn't take long for this rain to subside…"
"Some fish sounds good too…" Happy rubbed his stomach with a grin.
"I'm getting hungry too…" Natsu mirrored Happy's action.
"Okay, I get the point…" Luke rolled his eyes.
With everyone bickering about the rain and the situation, Kagura kept her eyes forward while following slightly behind Mii who began to lead the way. Moments of traversing the muddy ground before Kagura sensed something off in the distance. She immediately turned to the others while yelling; "GET DOWN!" No one even questioned her orders and everyone hit the ground just as a massive beam of magic decimated some trees ahead. Pulling Archenemy from its sheathe, Kagura swung the blade forward to collide with the beam of magic, sliding across the ground before coming to a halt, slashing through the beam.
"W-WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" Mii shrieked in what was almost fear. If she didn't know what the cause of that was then…
"In the rain, seriously?!" Raven grunted while lifting his head up.
"Hm…?" Hubert walked through the destroyed debris while using two fingers to adjust his glasses. He noticed Kagura leading the group that was down on the ground to avoid his attack. "I thought I sensed something around here…"
"Who the hell is this guy…" Rogue questioned while picking himself up from the wet ground.
"Is this another trap, Mii?!" Natsu shouted, prepared to punch Mii's lights out for lying if this was the case.
Everyone stared at Mii for an explanation, but she genuinely did not know. "S-Stop looking at me like that! I don't know who the hell this guy is! I've never seen him before in my life…"
"Another person made it on this island…?" Selene tilted her while glaring towards the mysterious male. "How? I thought this thing was supposed to be a secret!"
"Nothing's really much of a secret when it comes crashing from above into the ocean just off the mainland…" Hubert responded. "But enough about this…I'm here for a reason…and worry not, it's something that can be done within hours, before that nasty cannon fires."
"He knows about the plan too!?" Sting slid into a battle ready position.
"I swear I don't know him…!" Mii pleaded her case again.
"I've never spoken to this female," Hubert said while pointing to Mii, basically vouching for her. "But that's not important now…" A sapphire aura appeared from his being as he spoke.
"Everyone, follow Mii back to the cave." Kagura ordered while holding Archenemy at her side. "I'll take care of this one."
"A-Are you sure…?" Chelia questioned with worry, but after Kagura made her demand it was clear she expected the others to follow through with it.
"F-Follow me…!" Mii seemed really shaken up, but she led the others to the west while Kagura stood there against Hubert.
"State your name," Kagura's tone was stern while bringing the blade up. "And your business here."
"Hubert Oswell," Hubert responded while holding his hand up, a golden glow appearing in his hand before it turned into a double-sided bladed lance, Hubert's hand resting on the grip in the middle. "As for my business…I'm merely here to gather information…and this is the perfect opportunity to do so. This is a battlefield now, Ms. Mikazuchi…I hope you've learned the true meaning of 'no mercy', because in war that phrase is the only phrase that matters."
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Next Time: No Mercy.