Hi everyone, welcome back! Well, this is it. This is the final chapter for the Grand Magic Games tournament. But, obviously, not the whole arc as we still have the ongoing crisis with the Eclipse Gate, and that's still got ways to go. But the tournament here is about to come to an end with two fantastic battles that I have been wanting to write forever! I know that many of you have been nervous regarding how it will end, particularly what happened with Sting in canon and I agree that felt like a huge letdown. But rest assured, things will be quite different here and I'm certain you'll like what I have in store.
With that out of the way, let's get started!
Tournament's End – Strength vs. Power
The royal soldiers all roared as the charged through the hallway towards their enemies, a blur of golden energy shot past several of them before coming to a halt in the middle, revealing to be Jellal as multiple soldiers were sent flying in all directions from the force of his movements. He then noticed an incoming scythe out of the corner of his eye, and limboed under the strike from Kama's right scythe, grabbed the handle with one hand and blasted a point-blank energy beam at him, which Kama neutralized with a swipe of his left scythe before swinging that at him, which Jellal flipped over before landing behind Kama, both his fists glowing as he dealt multiple rapid-punch strikes to send him skidding back. Though the leader of the Wolf Knights was still able to pull himself up, albeit somewhat shakily.
"You're strong, I'll grant you that. I can see why you are the leader of this kingdom's execution squad." Jellal granted as he faced Kama again, more guards surrounding them.
"I told you before… you can never outrun your sins!" Kama declared. "They will pursue you until your death!"
"Trust me. I'm already aware of that." Jellal replied before attacking once more.
"There's no escape for you!" One royal soldier said as he and nearly every other soldier in the area surrounded Ultear and Meredy as they appeared back-to-back, both pointing their spears and other such weapons at them.
"You know, a bunch of grown men surrounding two women like this can give off the wrong impressing if you look at it a certain way." Meredy said in a humorous tone.
"We don't have time for jokes Meredy, or even this fight. So, it's time to end it!" Ultear declared as she activated her Arc of Time magic, which caused all of the soldiers' weapons to rapidly rust and corrode before turning to dust in their arms.
"What's happening?!"
"Our weapons are falling apart!"
"Step aside, and no harm will come to you!" Ultear told them. However, multiple plant vines erupted from the ground to bind both Ultear and her foster daughter together before they were pulled up into the air.
"Criminals offering mercy? Since when has this world been turned upside down?" Cosmos questioned as she and Kamika stood together.
"Hold them there, and I'll be sure to finish them!" Her fellow female executioner stated as she threw multiple yellow papers, already surging with electrical power.
"I wouldn't try that." Meredy warned as her bound hands were glowing pink, even underneath the ensnaring vines before a bolt of energy was shot down at Kamika, much to her partner's surprise.
"Kamika!" Cosmos, however, found an odd-looking energy brand on her right wrist. "What is this…?"
Kamika herself had the exact same mark on her own wrist. "A foolish attempt to escape your punishment! Paper Blizzard: Yellow Dance!" However, when the electricity appeared to shoot the bound Ultear and Meredy… the resulting electric shock had affected herself as well as Cosmos. "What…?!" Kamika questioned as she fell to her knees. "How could I be hit by my own spell!"
"Reverse Sensory Link." Meredy explained as a purple energy brand had appeared on her own wrist. "A double-stage spell that has me cast it on myself and my enemy, and it can also effect any other individual in their group that they have a strong emotional connection too. When you hit me with your attack, it reflects back on you and whoever else my magic has effected. It looks like you two are pretty close…"
"How dare you…!" Kamika glared at Meredy, but both she and Cosmos were surprised to see the plant vines that had ensnared her and Ultear had withered away to nothing and both were set free.
"My plants…!" Cosmos exclaimed.
"Have a fairly limited lifespan." Ultear interrupted as she and her foster daughter landed on the ground. "Perhaps you'd like to taste something from my garden. Ice-Make: Rose Garden!" After taking the Ice-Make stance, Ultear threw her hands out to launch multiple giant roses with spiked branches, all made from purple ice, to strike Cosmos and Kamika to send them both flying and crashing into a nearby wall.
Meredy looked towards her foster mother in amazement. 'These past seven years, she's been getting far stronger with her own Ice-Make magic, even using her own mother's spells. Maybe that's her way of trying to get close to her again.' A smile formed on the girl's face. Even if the rest of the world hated her, Meredy would never stop admiring and loving Ultear. She would follow her to the ends of Earthland without hesitation.
"Acid Pillar!" Neppa threw his fist to the ground, to erupt multiple pillars of his purple acid at Sheeree, who backflipped to avoid most of them before getting enough distance to counterattack herself.
"Maguilty Sodum!" Copying one of Meredy's spells to send multiple glowing energy blades towards Neppa.
"Ha, nice try!" Neppa created another acid pillar to block the attack. "All the good your fancy swords will do if they can't touch me!"
"They make for a good distraction though." Sheeree suddenly appeared behind Neppa, having copied Jellal's Meteor, much to Neppa's own surprise. He didn't have time to counter as Sheeree's own hands glowing the same kind of gold energy as Jellal while also taking an Ice-Make stance before attacking.
"Ice-Make: Jiu Leixing!" She launched an attack, creating nine frozen swords, all surging with lightning inside and out, to strike Neppa at point-blank and blast him away.
"Terrain Effect: Cold Zone!" Uosuke had frozen the entire area around himself and Sorano. "You ain't escaping from my net this time!"
"Oh, I beg to differ! Malik!" Angel threw her hands out, creating a ring of fire in front of her as a giant angel-like being with four wings, made entirely out of fire, appeared before it flapped its wings to send a wave of flames that not only melted away all the ice, but also sent more flames towards Uosuke.
"Terrain Effect: Whirlpool Zone!" He raised his arms to erect a large whirlpool of water around himself to protect himself from all the flames, extinguishing them as they made contact. "Nice try, but you'll have to do better than that!" He then directed all the water toward Sorano with the force of a raging flood.
"Hadraniel!" A large all-white angel appeared behind Sorano before its wings extended out and folded inward, enveloping Sorano to shield herself from the incoming flood. She grunted as she still felt some of the impact but continued to stand her ground regardless.
'These guys aren't making it easy.' She thought. 'I just hope that Yukino, Dante, and the others have made some headway.'
In the courtyard outside, Dante roared as he clashed Rebellion against Moloch's Crystalbane before the former pulled out Coyote-A to shoot a blast to Moloch's face, who recoiled briefly before retaliating with an upward vertical swing of Crystalbane to launch a trail of explosive pink crystals right at Dante, so close that he couldn't avoid it as the explosion sent him straight up. But Dante recovered via his Trickster and kicked off to gun straight for Moloch again to clash their weapons together.
Natsu threw a flaming fist, which collided with that of the S-Class monster, the resulting collision created a shockwave that briefly blew Natsu back. The Salamander looked up to see the S-Class was already on him and stomped its foot down onto him, but Natsu braced himself by raising his arms to catch the foot. Despite the crushing weight above him, so much so that the ground beneath him began to crack and give way, Natsu wouldn't budge.
"If Erza… can kick this thing's ass… I sure as hell can too!" Natsu blasted himself straight up via flames from his feet and dealt a powerful punch to the S-Class' jaw with enough force to knock it flat on its back.
"Take Over: Animal Soul: Tigress!" Lisanna had achieved a new transformation, one that gave her enough speed to avoid the fire blast of one C-Class monster. When she appeared, Lisanna was on all fours in a form that looked like a more evolved form of her She-Cat. Her body was covered completely in white fur with black tiger stripes, her arms and especially her legs, were more muscular with large claws as she had a tail, tiger-like eyes and fangs.
It was in this form, that Lisanna dashed her way straight toward that one C-Class monster and leapt right at its throat to bite her way through and come face-to-face with four D-Class and another C-Class.
"Careful, this tiger has a nasty bite to her." She growled as she gave a tiger-like roar before rushing again.
Three B-Class monsters all shot energized water beams at the hovering Mirajane in her Halphas form, but she threw her palm forward to create a shield around her that deflected all three attacks before retaliating with a powerful dark energy blast to obliterate the center most monster and blast the remaining two away.
Cana threw multiple cards at the feet of two D-Class monsters, which acted like elemental mines to blast them with attacks of fire, water, and lightning. But when those monsters fall, an A-Class appeared in front of her.
"You gotta be flipping kidding…" She cursed as the A-Class was about to strike her, only for a flash of white to quickly move in and pull her away. Cana found herself being carried over Modeus' shoulder as he appeared behind the A-Class, with Hunter's Moon in one hand. A crescent-moon shaped mark appeared on the A-Class' arm before the whole arm shattered and he followed through with another attack.
"Demon Sword: Phantom Moon!" With a swing of his sword, Modeus had sent multiple crescent-moon projectiles at the back of the A-Class monster's head to blast it off and destroy it.
"Are you alright?" He asked as he set her down.
"Yeah, thanks for the save." Cana smiled before she drew more cards as the two rejoined the fight.
"Dive Sepid!" Wielding the small curved blades she took from defeating Gloria, Trish spun her body like a tornado, one charged with white lightning as she dashed, zapped, and twisted her way through a group of C and D-Class monsters, before making her way closer towards Lady as she faced off against a single B-Class that she destroyed with a breath attack to its face, the two female Devil Hunters coming back-to-back.
"These assholes won't stop coming!" Lady stated.
"Yeah, at this rate we're not gonna get anywhere near the gate!" Trish agreed.
Four B-Class monsters and six C-Class appeared all around the two of them and were ready to unleash their ranged attacks on them… only for Wendy to suddenly dash her way and join them.
"Sky Dragon Wind Wall!" Flexing her hands outward, Wendy had created a large tornado around herself, Lady, and Trish, one that acted as a shield to protect all three of them from the monsters' attacks. "Arms!" She then applied Support Magic to not only herself, but also Lady and Trish, both glowed silver and yellow respectivley. When she dropped the wall, all three of them attacked.
"Steel Devil Bazooka!" Lady's arms converted merged together into a rocket launcher, which she fired.
"Sky Dragon Roar!" Wendy unleashed her breath attack.
Trish brought both small blades together to create a sphere of white lightning, and then fired a condense beam of the same energy outward.
All three attacks, further enhanced thanks to Wendy's Support Magic, all but obliterated the surrounding monsters.
At the same time, Kyrie had erected her Sanctuary Spell to protect not only herself, but also Lucy, Yukino, Future Lucy, Happy and Carla together while Panther-Lily in his battle-mode, had Baskerville drawn, which he used to fend off two D-Class monsters, while being assisted by Loke and Capricorn, both using hand-to-hand to easily dispense of more D-Class' beasts while Libra had used Gravity Magic to haul up a C-Class monster, allowing Sagittarius to shoot it away with multiple arrows.
"We're not getting anywhere like this!" Lucy stated.
"Agreed. No matter how many monsters we defeat, Moloch can just summon more in their place. We're fighting back against a river." Yukino said as well.
"Using a spell like this has to acquire a lot of magic power, right?" Kyrie assumed. "Won't he just run out?"
"This is a demon that's lived for two millennia, at least." Carla replied. "That has to be more than enough to master it. And even then, Moloch doesn't have to defeat us, just delay us."
"She's right, this is just a distraction!" Happy said. "We should just fly Lucy and Yukino to the Gate while Dante, Natsu, and everyone hold them off!"
"Not yet! There's no opening!" Panther-Lily stated as he saw one B-Class about to shoot a long-ranged attack at their group.
"Regulus Impact!" Loke fired his own attack to intercept that of the B-Class, prompting Lily and Capricorn to both go on the offensive and strike it down.
Future Lucy happened to look in the direction of Dante's battle against Moloch, as they locked swords again, the demon glancing past Dante himself to make eye-contact with Future Lucy and grin maliciously.
"He knows…" She said. "He already knows about our plan… that's why he's here… to try and stop us…" She heard in her head the deathly roars of the dragons as she saw flames dancing in her vision. "No… No… not again…" She fell on her knees, holding her head.
"Hey, it's okay!" Lucy quickly kneeled to her future self's side along with Yukino. "We'll make it through this!"
"Not again… Not again…!" She continued to mutter in a panic.
Dante gave a cartwheel kick to Moloch's jaw and knocked him back. "Who the hell sent you after us!?" He pointed at him angrily. "Who came through the Eclipse Gate and started this whole thing!"
"You'll find out soon enough." The demon sneered before rushing his enemy with a demonic roar.
Meanwhile, back inside the castle, a group of guards remained standing at the ready. They had heard of not only Fairy Tail and Crime Sorciere's escape from the Palace of Perdition, but even that of Moloch as well. Most of their forces had been sent to quell the issue, but they were to remain on standby if any of those enemies were to get past them. However, the guards all looked in surprise to see someone approaching them from the hallway.
It was Arcadios, but he was clad completely in a new set of armor. One that was pure white with black chainmail underneath. He also had a long light green cape that had the Kingdom of Fiore's symbol on its back, as well as a sheathed sword on its side that had the structure dragon's jaw shaped at the hilt.
"Colonel Arcadios!"
"What are you doing here?"
"I thought you were thrown in the dungeon for treason! Did you escape?"
"Where is the princess?" The colonel questioned the soldiers, much to their confusion. But they were started as he gave them a stern look through his helmet, his eyes unwavering with serious intent. "I'm ordering you to tell me."
"S-sir, she's on the top floor!" One guard answered. Arcadois said nothing in response and marched in the direction that was said to him. However, the guards couldn't help but feel nervous, not just from Arcadios' tone, but his new attire as well.
"Do you see what he's wearing?"
"Yeah. It's the White Lily armor. Said to be worn only at war times."
"He even has the Jade Dragon Sword!"
"You know he means business when he brings that out."
As Arcadios marched on, he thought back to when he was first told by Hisui about the Eclipse Project, of her plan to go back in time and stop Zeref from becoming immortal as well as Acnologia from becoming the Black Dragon. But more importantly, he remembered what she told him of the Eclipse 2 Project, in which the Gate could be used like a makeshift canon to unleash a powerful blast of pure magic power, one that would eliminate a horde of ten thousand demons. The same horde that Hisui was warned about by someone who had come from the future through the Eclipse Gate.
'I never once doubted Princess Hisui's plan, as insane as it may sound.' He thought to himself. 'Even though I never met the time traveler for myself, I trust the princess with my life. That is… until now.' He recalled Fairy Tail and their allies meeting the Lucy that came from the future and the approaching catastrophe that she warned them of. 'The princess says the Eclipse 2 is meant to defeat a horde of demons… but the Lucy from the future says that Crocus will be destroyed by dragons. That would seem impossible as dragons have been extinct for four centuries, while demonic activity has been on a disturbing rise these past seven years. With that in mind, the idea of an invading force of demons sounds like the more believable story.' He then recalled the tears that the Future Lucy shed, the tears of despair as she recounted the story, and those of joy upon seeing her loved ones again. 'But that girl… the look in her eyes… the tears she shed… those were not the tears of a liar. Thousands of dragons, a hundred thousand demons…' A serious look formed on his face. 'She may have been honest… but someone else here has not been telling the truth.'
Meanwhile, back in Domus Flau, the battle royal for the Grand Magic Games tournament was still underway as the audience watched Jura approaching Laxus and Sapphire both their battle could even begin.
"Looks like we have another wizard joining the party, folks!" Chapati announced.
"It's the Wizard Saint Jura Neekis!" Mato said excitedly. "This is gonna be a doozy!"
As the audience watched with pure excitement, those in Fairy Tail and Mermaid Heel couldn't help but feel rather nervous, while the old hag of Lamia Scale was already smirking.
"Ooh this is gonna be good…" Ooba snickered. "Lamia Scale won this whole stinking tournament the moment Jura was chosen to participate. Those two babies don't stand a chance. Makarov and Kurenai should just pack it in while they still can."
"I wouldn't wanna be them, that's for sure." Sherry said with just as much confidence.
"But Jura's the only one on our team left, and we're second-to-last. Can we even still win?" Sho asked.
"Shut up or I'll spin you, boy!" Ooba scolded but she was already waving her finger, spinning the poor Sho around already.
"You are spinning me!"
"As much as I hate to say it, it's mathematically impossible for us to win." Yuka began. "Our current score is twenty-seven. Fairy Tail has all their players on the board, which means their whole team is worth ten. Other than that, there's only three other players left, two from Sabertooth and one from Mermaid Heel, which makes three. If Jura defeats them all, that may raise our score up to forty points, but that would only place us up in fourth."
"That's not fair!" Toby howled.
"Shut up! I'll spin you both!" Ooba exclaimed as she used her finger to spin the two.
"You already are spinning us!" Yuka and Toby both hollered.
"Oh Sapphy…" Beth looked the most nervous.
"That Laxus is one thing, but Jura is a Wizard Saint just like Mama Kurenai!" Arana commented.
"And Sapphire's the last one on our team." Risley added. "If I were her, I'd just wait this one out and then go at them both while they're tired."
"I think we all know that's never gonna happen." Amarilla said. "This is Sapphire we're talking about. She never backs away from a challenge."
"Well, what do you think?" Bruni asked Kurenai as they continued to stand alongside their fellow Wizard Saints, Aurora and Gandelina. "You think your girl has a chance against Potato Head down there?"
"It doesn't matter what I think her chances are…" The guildmaster of Mermaid Heel replied. "She'll still charge head on regardless." That still didn't shake her own worries, however.
"Don't be afraid, Laxus!" Freed called out to him. "I have complete and total faith in you!"
"The Thunder Legion's got your back, man!" Bickslow shouted.
"I've never seen him this nervous before." Evergreen said with worry evident in her voice.
"Come on Laxus! Give it you're all like a real man!" Elfman also called out.
"Jura Neekis…" Makarov commented as he, Gildarts, Sparda, and Mavis all watched the unfolding match seriously. "He was already strong before, but in the seven years since we've been gone, he's risen up even higher among the other Wizard Saints, so he's clearly gotten stronger."
"Hey, First Master…" Romeo got Mavis' attention. "You got some kind of strategy in mind for how Laxus can take down Jura?"
"No. At this point, all my strategies are out the window." Mavis revealed, much to Romeo's surprise and everyone else's.
"What?! But aren't you the super smart Fairy Tactician?!" Patty questioned "You were leading everyone to victory when this whole thing started!"
"Yes, but since what happened with Minerva, Lucia, and Kagura…" Mavis paused a moment, still processing that. "Not to mention Rogue being possessed by that Legion entity, any other plans I've had were rendered null and void. Sorry to say, but I have no current strategy to defeat Jura. But it's not just him that we need to watch out for."
"Indeed." Sparda agreed. "That Sapphire girl is a second-generation Dragon Slayer, likely trained by Kurenai herself. I won't dismiss Jura, but we shouldn't ignore her either."
"We shouldn't underestimate Laxus either." Gildarts put in. "The guy's pulled through before."
It was an intense stare-down as Sapphire and Laxus both seriously observed the smirking Jura. And despite the smile on his face, Laxus could tell right away from the look in his eyes that he meant business.
"Kinda late to be joining the party, don't you think?" Sapphire said to Jura. "You're the last one on your team, and you guys are almost in last place. I would have a thought a Wizard Saint would have blown away much of the competition by now."
"You may be right about that. Perhaps I was too lax." Jura conceded. "As much as I hate to admit it, it seems Lamia Scale's time in this tournament is done. However, that still won't stop me from giving it my all. After all, it would be a disservice to my guild if I just surrender at this point. So, let us at least make a good show for the audience. Perhaps you both would like to come at me at once?"
"Ha! Fat chance!" Sapphire laughed before turning to the blonde man next to her. "No offense Laxus. I did enjoy myself when we took down Raven Tail together."
"Same here." Laxus replied with a small smile and a nod.
"But the way I see it, I'm gonna fight against a freaking Wizard Saint and one of Fairy Tail's top players!" She flexed her arms as blue flames appeared in both of her hands. "I'm gonna try and take down both of you here and now!
Jura smiled. "I applaud your enthusiasm. Sapphire, was it? I can tell that Lady Kurenai has trained you well. I wouldn't mind playing with some interesting contenders, a warrior trained by the strongest Wizard Saint and the grandson of Makarov."
"Alright, let me stop ya right there. I don't need the baggage." Laxus put in as he let his jacket fall from his shoulders. "You can just forget about your fancy title, and who I'm related to, and who trained her right there. None of that matters. Right here and now, we're just three people."
That earned smiles of appreciation and respect from both Sapphire and Jura. "So, be it." The latter said.
"Yeah, I like the way you think. That said… why don't we just throw off the gloves and go all out?" Sapphire suggested as an aura of blue flames formed around her. Jura and Laxus both pained close attention as they felt an ominous aura from her. Bright blue scales formed along Sapphire's arms and up the sides of her face as her hair began to flow upward, her teeth became fangs before she let loose a roar and a wave of icy-cold embers blew from her body.
"Whoa mama! Look at that!" Chapati commentated. "This girl is just full of surprises!"
"Indeed. It seems that she has achieved Dragon Force." Yajima said with a nod.
"Just like Sting and Rogue?! Wow! That's amazing!" Mato exclaimed.
"She has Dragon Force?!" Evergreen questioned as Makarov, Gildarts, Mavis, and even Sparda all looked in surprise.
"That's crazy…!" Bickslow exclaimed.
"Looks like Jura's not the only one Laxus needs to watch out for! He's got two powerhouses he's gotta take down!" Romeo stated.
"Don't forget kid, that Laxus is quite the powerhouse himself. He won't go down easy." Elfman said.
"He won't go down at all! He'll win this won! I know he will!" Freed declared.
"She pulled out her Dragon Force right off the bat?" Risley questioned.
"Yeah. She's being very serious about this." Amarilla said while the rest of Mermaid Heel, Kurenai included, all looked very serious.
The transformed Sapphire turned her dragon-like eyes on her two opponents as they eyed her seriously. "Alright… whose first?" She kicked herself from the ground, blue flames at her feet to launch herself directly at Jura as she pulled back a blue blazing punch before throwing it right at him. A blast of azure-colored flames blasted past the Wizard Saint and blew a hole through the building he was behind….
Only to reveal Jura had caught the attack with his bare hand, while thrusting his free palm into Sapphire's stomach with enough force to send her flying and crashing into the building that was behind her, much to Laxus' own shock.
Chapati, Yajima, and Mato all had their eyes bulge out at that, while Makarov's eyes turned white and his jaw dropped just as all of Fairy Tail looked in shock, while those in Mermaid Heel looked in complete and total shock.
"That guy's a monster…" Patty muttered in comic terror.
"Did… did he just send Sapphy flying when she was in Dragon Force…?!" Risley questioned.
"Guess his title isn't just for show…." Arana commented nervously.
"Oh no… Sapphire…" Beth covered her mouth.
"She's not out yet though!" Amarilla exclaimed. "Come on, Sapphire! Let's go!"
Jura looked towards the hand he used to catch Sapphire's attack and saw that there were some patches of ice and burns along his hand. 'Hmm… fire so cold that it burns. Perhaps using my bare hand was rather unwise.' Suddenly, he was struck down by large bolt of yellow lightning from above, courtesy of Laxus as he just used his Raging Bolt attack.
'This guy definitely isn't messing around! I gotta take him down right now!' Laxus however was suddenly caught in the middle of multiple large spikes of rock that grew out from the ground around him, before they all closed in and appeared to have crushed him in the middle.
"No! Laxus!" Freed exclaimed while the rest of the Thunder Legion, Elfman, and Makarov appeared just as shocked himself.
"Man… both are down in a single blow…" Chapati commented as he and his fellow commentators all had dots for eyes.
"I'm at a loss for words…" Yajima said.
"He squashed them…." Mato also said.
The residual lightning cleared to reveal Jura, having taken off his outer coat as he had clapped his hands together to initiate that attack. But he still maintained his confident expression.
"Some advice from your elder." Jura spoke aloud, hoping both his opponents would hear him. "No matter how strong you become, there will always be someone above you."
Suddenly, the rock tomb that appeared to have encased Laxus was blown away by a powerful electrical explosion, much to Jura's own surprise. He blinked and before he knew it, he was socked in the face with enough force to pound him into the ground.
The one who struck him was none other than Laxus himself, who had transformed into his own Dragon Force as well. His muscles grew slightly as yellow scales coated his arms and up the sides of his face and fangs formed in his mouth as well.
"Yeah… you're right about that…" The transformed Laxus said. "But you shouldn't forget whose right at your feet either…!"
The audience was in an absolute uproar at what they had just seen! Laxus had not only recovered from Jura's devastating attack with his own Dragon Force transformation, but even landed a solid blow on him that knocked him off his feet.
"The hell…?!" Ooba's eyes were white circles while the rest of Lamia Scale gasped in shock.
"Yeah!" Gildarts pumped his fist while Fairy Tail laughed and cheered.
"Ah yeah!" Evergreen cheered as Bickslow stuck out his tongue and flashed a pair of 'rock-on' devil horns.
"Pulling out the big guns like a real man!" Elfman proclaimed as Freed laughed in comic fanatic fashion.
"And in a stunning turnaround, Laxus has recovered and even appears to have his own Dragon Force transformation!" Chapati commentated.
"So many crazy transformations out of nowhere! This whole tournament really is a doozy!" Mato added.
However, Jura had flipped over and recovered and went on the attack again. "Iron Rock Fist!" He shot a large and armored rock fist, extending and stretching from the ground, and gunning straight for Laxus who didn't even bother to dodge as the fist appeared to make contact, only for Laxus' body to transform into lightning as it flowed over and around the fist, going straight for Jura himself before Laxus body reformed and he landed a solid blow, his fist charged with lightning, right to Jura's face to push him back, but Jura recovered once more with a wild smile before attacking again. "Iron Rock Gauntlets!" The same kind of gauntlets he used to fight Nero with appeared on his arm as he gave a fierce chop to the back of Laxus' head and slammed him into the ground.
Suddenly, a blazing blue kick had struck Jura in the back of the head, courtesy of the recovered Sapphire, still in her Dragon Force transformation, as she appeared on the battlefield.
"Don't count me out yet, either!" She grinned wildly. "Azure Dragon Infernal Fist!" She slammed both her blazing blue fists into Jura's face, the blue flames exploding outward to knock him back.
"Sapphire is back in action!" Chapati announced as the audience cheered loudly.
"Ha! That's my girl!" Amarilla cheered.
"Taking a beating and she gets right back up like nothing!" Risley smiled.
"She's always been picking fights with Mama Kurenai, though she loses every one, it doesn't stop her even in the slightest." Arana commented.
"She's probably the most stubborn girl in our guild." Beth said.
Kurenai smiled as she saw the image of her guildmate on her screen. Sapphire's tenacity is nothing short of incredible, just like the Dragon Slayer she admired so much.
As Jura was knocked back, Sapphire threw a flaming punch towards Laxus, which he caught in his hand. Both their bodies surged with lightning and blue fire respectively.
"So, you got a Dragon Force form too huh?" Sapphire said as her grin was still on her body.
"Yep. But just because we both got the same thing, don't assume that we're equal." Laxus put in.
"Oh I know." Sapphire replied. "Mom said that the Dragon Force transformation is only as strong as the user, nobody is the same. That said, let's find out exactly whose is stronger! Azure Dragon Seething Talon!" She threw out a powerful kick that enveloped Laxus in a blue inferno, patches of ice forming over his body, but he was quick to counter and go on the attack as well.
"Lightning Dragon Piercing Fang!" Laxus threw out his fist, which was coated in lightning as it took the shape of a dragon's fang, which struck Sapphire, piercing her shoulder and blasting her back.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake underneath the pair of transformed Dragon Slayers before it exploded outward with multiple rock pillars and spikes to send the two flying straight into the air, courtesy of Jura, whose own smile continued to grow before he pressed his attack.
"Raining Rock Storm!" Slamming his foot on the ground, shaking the whole area as multiple rocks were blasted out from the ground and sent straight up to Laxus and Sapphire, both braced themselves or tried to fight back, but the multitude of raging rocks struck them hard as neither could avoid them.
"Lightning Dragon Heavenward Halberd!" Generating a large spear of lightning in his hand, Laxus threw it downward at Jura, who already had a defensive technique ready.
"Rock Mountain!" A rock formation resembling a massive armored humanoid rock being had appeared above Jura, clapping its hands together to tank the attack. Though Laxus' attack appeared to shatter the whole head of the armored figure.
"Azure Dragon Roar!" Laxus was then engulfed in a breath attack of icy-blue flames from the airborne Sapphire, the force not only sent him falling toward the ground, but even covered most of his body with ice, which Sapphire pressed on by blasting flames from her feet to close the gap as they fell. "Azure Dragon Blazing Meteor!" She pulled her hands back to create a large blue fireball, which she threw at Laxus to blast him even further to the ground and create a large explosion of blue flames.
Sapphire landed on the ground, but she didn't have much time to recover as Laxus suddenly appeared behind her, his body having transformed into lightning. She turned around, only to get hit by a point-blank attack of his own. "Lightning Dragon Demolition Fist!" Throwing a punch at her, a massive fist made entirely out of lightning, the size of her own body, had struck Sapphire and sent her crashing through a whole building in the general area.
"Rumbling Fuji!"
Said whole area was presently caught up in a large explosion, one that seemed to engulf both Laxus and Sapphire. When it was all done, a crater had once formed in the town square that served as the arena for the three combatants, all while Jura stood in the middle, but he was clad completely in rock armor, one that looked identical to his Rock Mountain spell.
"Excellent! I'm absolutely thrilled!" Jura's grin had not once left his face as the smoke from his previous attack faded, revealing Laxus and Sapphire as they were both covered in bruises, but still remained standing as they faced Jura. "I haven't felt this alive in years! I can't even remember the last time I was forced to use this spell."
"Some fancy armor…?" Sapphire asked.
"My Iron Rock Armor. It increases not only my defense but even my physical strength." Jura explained. "I only use it when I'm serious. The fact the two of you put me into a situation where I had to use it speaks volumes of your individual strengths."
"You really are a monster, aren't you?" Laxus commented.
"Maybe… but he's nothing compared to Mom…" Sapphire put in. "Trust me on that one."
"What an amazing upset here, ladies and gentlemen!" Chapati commentated. "Just when we thought Jura had this match in the bag, Laxus and Sapphire are back and ready for more!"
"Holy moly! This fight is amazing!" Mato jumped up and down in his seat.
"And it's gonna get even more intense from this point forward." Yajima said.
"He really went out and busted his armor." Bruni observed.
"Which means he's taking this very seriously." Aurora added as Kurenai and Gandelina both looked very serious.
"His Iron Rock Armor?" Sherry looked in complete surprise like the rest of her guild.
"There aren't that many who can make him use that…" Yuka said.
"I heard the rumors of Fairy Tail's Laxus being so strong… but that Sapphire's no joke either." Sho added.
"If Jura's using his armor, then it's game over for those two." Ooba grinned. "Even if we don't win this tournament, we're gonna take Fairy Tail and Mermaid Heel's top players down with us."
"I gotta admit that armor looks pretty damn manly!" Elfman said.
"Rarely has he ever used it." Makarov stated. "It's damn near indestructible."
"Nothing is indestructible." Gildarts countered. "Ever armor has a chink in it. Let's see if Laxus can find it."
"What do you think is going to happen now?" Patty asked worriedly.
"We're not certain. All we can do is watch and hope for the best." Sparda answered.
The Thunder Legion and Mermaid Heel especially continued to watch with intense and serious expressions, hoping for the best regarding their respective teammates.
Laxus, Sapphire, and Jura both stared one another down with intense and exciting looks in their eyes. Not one of them dared to move from their spots as the wind blew across what was left of the area, now consisting of a large crater, until their eyes flashed and they collided at one another, all three of their fists meeting in the center to create a shockwave of their respective elements before lashing out with close quarters hand-to-hand in a brutal slugfest.
Jura slammed the palm of his armored gauntlet into Laxus' face while also dealing a fierce kick to Sapphire's side, but she caught his leg as it was extended and dealt a blazing double-kick to his armored face, though it did take most of the impact as much of his rocky helmet was frozen, Jura himself was still kicking as he threw his fist up to send a rocky pillar up into Sapphire's stomach to send her straight up into the sky.
"Lightning Dragon Mjolnir!" Creating a large hammer made out of surging lightning, Laxus slammed it at Jura, who crossed his armored gauntlets to take the blow, though the force did send him skidding back somewhat and Laxus pressed on to make sure he stayed pinned. "Raging Bolt!" He brought his fist down to send a bolt of lightning that seemed to engulf the armored Jura. Bits of his armor chipped off, but Jura rushed out of the lightning with insane speed and dealt a punch to Laxus' face, followed by one to his stomach and a fierce kick to his side to send him crashing into one side of the crater.
Suddenly, Sapphire had landed on Jura's back, wrapping her legs around his waist as she slammed the palms of her hands onto his back. "That armor might take an all-encompassing attack, but how about something focused on one spot?! Azure Dragon Volcanic Burst!" Cracks appeared concentrated on that one spot on Jura's armored back before blue flames erupted from it and it suddenly exploded out like a violent volcanic eruption of blue flames.
Kurenai's eyes widened at what she just saw. 'That attack is usually meant to clear away a large number of enemies over a great area… but she focused it all on that one spot just to break through his armor…' A smile formed on her face once again. 'That's my girl… insanely brilliant as always.'
Sapphire had to take a few steps back, as the smoke around her opponent cleared. But as it did, she smirked as she saw the end result of her attack.
Jura himself may still be standing, but there was now a gaping hole in the back of Jura's armor, exposing his own skin as it was covered in frosty burns and scratches. Much of the armor on his back was now crumbling, though the rest of his armored body remained mostly intact.
"Huh… looks like I found a chink in that armor of yours…" Sapphire grinned.
"Indeed." Jura smiled, rather impressed with his opponent's feat. But that still didn't stop him from quickly swinging his fist around to strike her and send her crashing to the side of one crater just as Laxus was recovering. "But that doesn't mean I'm finished yet. So let's keep going… this is honestly the most fun I've had in a long time."
*PIERCE!*
Suddenly, much to the shock of both Laxus and Sapphire, a blade made out of black lightning had pierced out from the front of Jura's armor. Jura himself felt his pupils shrink as he glanced down to see the weapon coming from his chest, breaking through the inside of his armor while blood was already coming down from his mouth.
The one who struck him, was none other than Orga, who's right hand had been coated in his own God Slayer lightning, which had taken the shape of a large curved blade, which he used to literally stab Jura in the back through the hole in the armor that Sapphire made. The Lightning God Slayer of Sabertooth grinning maliciously.
"No! Jura!" Sho exclaimed in shock while Sherry covered her mouth in terror. Toby's jaw hung opened while Yuka's eyes widened in horror and even Ooba was caught off guard.
"Hey, where'd that cocky grin of yours go, Mr. Wizard Saint?" Orga taunted. "Lightning God Takemikazuchi!" The black lightning blade on his hand suddenly exploded in a surge of the destructive element, which thoroughly electrocuted Jura from the inside-out, causing him to scream in agony, much to the further shock of Laxus and Sapphire.
When it was all done, Jura's eyes had become white circles, smoke coming from his body and out of his mouth before he fell over and landed flat on his face.
Nearly everyone in the audience was caught off guard over what had just happened, all looking in relative horror, which could be said for the rest of Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale, and even Mermaid Heel, with the spectating Wizard Saints having the same expression. Vergil, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes.
"Wha… what just happened…?!" Mato questioned.
"It would appear that Orga of Sabertooth had stepped in to join the party!" Chapati commentated.
"It seems that he waited until his opponents tired themselves out before finding an opportunity to strike down Jura." Yajima said as his own eyes narrowed with disapproval over the dirty tactic. "The attack may have missed his vitals, but Jura won't be getting back up from that."
Getting over his shock, Chapati counted the score. "It also appears that Jura was not only the last member of Team Lamia Scale, but also it's leader. This means that Sabertooth now has five points added to their score, while Lamia Scale is eliminated from the tournament."
"They now stand in fifth place with twenty-seven points." Yajima revealed.
"Sabertooth now has fifty-eight points, which means they are tied for second with Mermaid Heel!" Mato added. "Only three guilds remain in the games now!"
However, this resulted in boos and roars of disapproval from the audience.
"Come on, that was dirty!"
"What is it with Sabertooth pulling crap like this?!"
"I hope Fairy Tail and Mermaid Heel kick their asses!"
"So… that means… we're out…?" Sherry muttered in shock.
"Yeah… Jura was our last man standing…" Yuka hung his head in defeat.
"We've lost." Sho looked away in regret.
Toby howled. "That's not fair!"
"You got that right!" Ooba then pointed to the screen as they saw Laxus and Sapphire recover. "You two brats better take that meathead down! Ya hear me?! Do it or I'll spin both your heads off!"
"The hell was that for?! He stabbed the guy in the back?!" Risley questioned in anger.
"First that bitch from Sabertooth kidnaps Milliana, now this?" Arana said in the same manner.
"How cruel…" Beth cringed. "Nobody deserves that…"
"Go on! Sapphire kick that guy's butt!" Amarilla called out.
Bruni spat in disgust. "That punk has got some nerve doing Jura dirty like that. I'd kick his ass myself if I had the chance."
"There was no honor in that at all." Aurora felt the same way.
"The concept seems to be lacking among that particular guild." Gandelina commented.
Kurenai looked with concern towards the image of Sapphire as she stood back up. She may still be willing to fight and still be remaining in her Dragon Force, but she was tired and exhausted. But there was nothing she could do for her, other than hope for the best.
Elfman growled. "What kind of man stabs somebody in the back?!"
"He's no man at all. He's a coward." Evergreen glared hard.
"But now he's in big trouble, cause Laxus is gonna wipe the floor with him!" Bickslow stated.
"Don't be so sure…" Sparda advised with caution. "Orga is a God Slayer who wields the same element as Laxus."
"Which means that Orga can consume Laxus' power, but Laxus won't be able to eat his opponent's black lightning." Mavis added.
"Wha… are you serious…?!" Patty exclaimed in surprise. "So it's just like when Wendy fought Sherria before!"
"Natsu had encountered the same problem on Tenrou Island as well, when facing against someone Grimoire Heart who wielded the same type of power." Makarov put in.
"Yeah, I heard about that too." Gildarts said.
"But Laxus still has his Dragon Force, right? So, he's still got a chance!" Romeo stated.
"Indeed." Freed said seriously as he gazed towards the image of Laxus as he too stood up to face his opponent. "The odds may not be in his favor… but my faith in Laxus shall never waver. He will find a way to make it through this. I know he will."
Laxus and Sapphire, both in their respective Dragon Force forms, were back on their feet and glared at the smirking Orga.
"That was cheap…" The Azure Dragon Slayer spat.
"That's called winning you scrawny broad." Orga maintained his smirk. "I was planning on taking on all three of ya when you started fighting, but then I remembered what Milady would do in this situation. She'd wait it out and let her opponents tire themselves out before coming in for the kill. There's a reason she was the number two in our guild."
"Sounds like something your number one guy wouldn't approve of." Laxus commented.
"Vergil's got it easy cause he's got Sparda's blood in him. The only reason he lost to his kid brother was cause he was also Sparda's brat." Orga replied. "If it weren't for that, he'd be a loser like the rest of you." His body surged with black lightning as he prepared to attack. "You two might be Dragon Slayers, but I'm a damn God Slayer, and I'm gonna beat ya both to half death and show everyone here why Sabertooth is the strongest! Lightning God Bellow!" He unleashed a concentrated beam of black lightning from his mouth straight at Laxus and Sapphire, which created an explosion that rocked the whole area.
"Laxus!" Freed exclaimed.
"Sapphire!" Amarilla called out.
Makarov, Gildarts, and Kurenai were especially shocked over what they just saw.
Laxus was coated in residual traces of black lightning as he crawled on his back, only to have Orga stomp on the back of his head. "Huh, you fairies ain't so tough. I heard that you were a Lightning Dragon Slayer, right? You can eat all that spark stuff, all except mine." His body once again surged with an intense aura of black lightning as he electrocuted Laxus right then and there, causing him to cry in pain, all while continuing to stomp repeatedly on his head. "How does that feel, fairy? You guys made a laughing stock out of Sabertooth, so now I'm gonna do the same to you right here!"
An explosion of blue flames struck his side, pushing Orga back somewhat and causing him to turn around to see Sapphire was back on her feet, despite being covered in electrical burns and seeming exhausted, she still remained in her Dragon Force mode, having thrown the blue fireball at him.
"I'm still standing… what you gonna do about that, you bucktooth bitch?" Sapphire cursed.
"Oh, right. I almost forgot." Orga turned to face her. "You Mermaids are also a pain in the ass. So how about I fry ya up too?" He brought his hands together and prepared an attack. "Lightning God Charged Particle Cannon!" He unleashed a blast similar to his breath attack at Sapphire.
"Azure Dragon Roar!" Her own breath attack collided with Orga's attack, creating an explosion in-between the two and a smokescreen, which Sapphire took advantage of by blasting herself through with blue flames on her feet. "Azure Dragon Blaze Wing!" Her arms coated in blue flames, which she used to blast her way through Orga, striking him with the freeze-inferno.
But as she skidded to a stop, Orga stomped down as he turned around to strike her back. "Lightning God Divine Fist!" He coated his own fist in black lightning and threw it directly at Sapphire, who mirrored his actions with a punch of her own.
"Azure Dragon Infernal Fist!" She threw a punch of icy-cold flames. Both fists collided, creating a shockwave and back lash of blue flames and black lightning.
"Lightning God Saturn!" Orga created a sphere of black lightning in his hand, which had three smaller spheres orbiting around it and slammed it right into Sapphire before it exploded outward to engulf and blast her up and away. "I'm done playing with ya! Lightning God Black Panther!" He shot a blast of black lightning, which took the form of a giant black panther made entirely out of the God Slayer element, which bit down on Sapphire's body before it exploded even more, creating an enormous cloud in the sky that had residual black sparks lingering. The smirking Orga thought he had victory right there. "Time to sleep… Mermaid…"
"I refuse!" Sapphire shot out from the smoke, blasting herself directly at Orga with her blue flames, much to his shock before she collided with him, landing a headbut into his stomach. This not only knocked him off balance, it gave Sapphire a chance to grapple onto his enormous right arm with her arms and legs before unleashing an attack.
"Azure Dragon Frozen Purgatory!" Her whole body exploded in a violent flash of blue flames that appeared to have engulfed Orga. She had unleashed so much of her power in that one attack that Sapphire herself was blasted back. She rolled across the ground before landing on all fours. She exhaustedly pulled herself up to look through the smoke as it cleared to see what her attack had done.
Orga continued to stand, but most of his body was covered in ice, with the skin on his right arm being dark blue as it hung from his person. "Wha… What the hell… did you just do…? I… I can't move my arm…"
"Freezer burn…" Sapphire grinned. "It's a bitch, ain't it…?"
"Holy cow!" Chapati commentated. "Even after getting hit repeatedly by Orga, Sapphire keeps coming back!"
The whole audience was cheering for her while everyone in Mermaid Heel also cheered with Kurenai smiling. Even those in Fairy Tail smiled for her as well, while Vergil just watched with an unchanging expression.
"The hell is wrong with you…?" Orga commented. "I hit you with enough of my power to pulverize a dozen demons at once! You shouldn't even be able to stand! And don't give me that bullshit about your Dragon Force! Sting and Rogue both had theirs and got their assess handed to them by one guy who didn't even use his full power!"
"That's not it, you idiot." Sapphire replied. "Vergil might be an exception, but all you Sabertooth punks are the same. It's just overwhelming power. That's all you got going for you. Natsu spelled it out to Sting and Rogue back then, you try and overwhelm your enemies with raw power, thinking it'll be enough. As for me? Sure, you pack a bit of a punch, but compared to Kagura and Lucia…" Her smirk only grew. "You got nothing on them, and I spar with them all the time. I even spar against Mom too."
"Your mom…?" Orga questioned before realizing who she meant by that. "You kidding…? You're picking fights with the number one Wizard Saint?"
"Of course, I do!" Sapphire continued as everyone in the audience, including Fairy Tail and Mermaid Heel all listened. "And I've lost every single one, but that won't stop me from doing it again! In this world, there's always going to be someone stronger than you… but that's what makes life worth living! It makes me want to get stronger too! I wanna be stronger than Natsu, stronger than Kagura, Lucia, and even Mom… so even if I lose, I push myself back up, I take what I learned… and I get stronger! I'm not gonna stop climbing the mountain no matter what!" Her grin turned into an honest smile. "That… and the climb itself is a hell of a lot of fun too."
Kurenai smiled proudly to her Dragon Slayer.
"So, come on and hit me with your best shot!" Sapphire challenged as her body surged once again with blue fire. "There's no way in hell I'm gonna go down to a loser like you who always takes the easy way out!"
Orga growled as he channeled all the black lightning that he could into his left hand, his right hand still dangling and frosted over from her attack. The black lightning channeled into the palm of his hand as he raised it, creating a large spinning disk of black electrical power.
"I'm gonna send you straight to hell! Lightning God Discharged Disk!" He threw the disk like a firsbee at the blazing blue Dragon Slayer in front of him.
Sapphire raised her hands as an enormous cluster of blue flames took the shape of a giant spear, which she threw forward. "Azure Dragon Geirrod!"
The spear of blue flames collided with the disk of black lightning, but all the power was condensed into a single point at the spear that after a brief struggle, it broke through and shattered Orga's attack and blasted right through him, which soon exploded shortly after.
Orga's unconscious body than laid on the ground, covered almost entirely in steaming ice as his eyes were white circles and his mouth hung agape.
"Sapphire wins!" Chapati announced with enthusiasm as the whole audience was cheering, while Mermaid Heel celebrated as Risley pulled Beth and Arana into a hug while Amarilla sored into the air to cheer as loudly as she could. As Kurenai nodded with approval, Bruni nudged her on the side with his arm with a congratulatory smirk.
"Ha! How do you like that?!" Toby cheered. "Go Mermaid Heel!"
"You realize you're cheering for the opposing guild, don't you?" Yuka reminded.
"Yeah, but they still avenged Jura and took down that meathead!" Toby quickly said.
"Got that right." Ooba pounded her fist into her palm with a satisfied smirk. "I'd be damned if we let Sabertooth get us that way, but at least Kurenai's girl managed to knock that brat off his high horse."
"Yeah, I suppose I can accept that." Sherry commented with a slight smile.
"Same here." Sho agreed with a similar expression.
"That's another point for Mermaid Heel." Yajima said. "They are back up at second with a score fifty-nine."
"But wait, this fight ain't over! Cause Laxus is back in action!" Mato commentated as Laxus once again stood back up, despite being exhausted and covered in bruises himself, facing against Sapphire, who looked even more exhausted than he did.
"So… what now…?" He asked.
"What do you think…?" She kept up her grin as she lifted one fist weakly, blue embers emanating from her clenched hand.
"You really sure you wanna keep going?" Laxus asked once more. "I got some energy left in me. But you? You look like you're about to keel over."
"Maybe… but you really think I'm actually gonna surrender? Come on, man…" Sapphire replied. "How do you think a certain fire-breather we both know would respond to that?"
A similar smile formed on Laxus' face as he lifted his own fist, channeling lightning from it. "'Now I got a fire in my belly'. That's what he'd say."
"Yeah… So, we're doing this or what…?" Sapphire took a stance, blue flames and vapors emanating from her body, both combatants still remaining in their respective Dragon Force modes as they stared each other down.
With mighty roars, the two second generation Dragon Slayers rushed each other and met in the middle of the crater, their fists coated in their respective elements as they pounded each other in the face simultaneously. Laxus was pushed back, but stood his ground as he gave an electric pound Sapphire down on her head, but she retaliated with a flaming sock to his jaw. A lightning fist to her side, a punch of blue flames to his stomach, an electric punch to the side of her face, a blazing blue strike in-between his eyes.
Both Laxus and Sapphire threw everything they had with what magical and physical energy remained inside them with every punch thrown, neither budging an inch from their spots. Blasts of lightning shot onto and past Sapphire with each punch, while similar flashes of icy-cold flames were stuck across Laxus' own body. But despite all that… all the exhaustion they both felt… all the pain from the rapid strikes… neither could stop smiling.
"We have ourselves an epic slugfest here people!" Chapati commentated. "Despite both being repeatedly pummeled by Jura and Orga, neither Laxus nor Sapphire have fallen! And despite everything, they're still going at it!"
"These Dragon Slayers are practically indestructible!" Mato exclaimed.
"It almost seems like those two are having fun." Yajima smiled.
"But in the end, only one is going to stay standing here! Who will it be?! Laxus or Sapphire! The electric fairy, or the blazing mermaid?!" Chapati went on.
Everyone in the audience was rendered speechless as they watched the ongoing slugfest with such intensity, they couldn't even get the words out. Everyone in Mermaid Heel… Amarilla, Arana, Risley, and Beth, they all clenched their fists as they stared up at the screen, emotional tears were already in Amarilla's eyes.
"Sapphire…"
Those in Fairy Tail also had similar reactions as well, particularly the Thunder Legion, Elfman, and Makarov.
"Come on Laxus…" The grandfather muttered, not taking his eyes off his grandson for a minute.
Gildarts and Kurenai also continued to watch as well, both respective guildmasters may hold the opposing guild in a high regard, but they would be rooting for their own as hard as they could. But whatever happened next… it was still an amazing battle.
One punch from Laxus in Sapphire's stomach was enough to knock her back as she almost fell to her knees, but willed herself to keep standing despite being covered in bruises with traces of residual energy… her breath was so shallow from everything she had just been through. Laxus looked in a similar situation as most of his shirt had been burnt away, patches of ice and freezer burn were laced across his own body in addition to the previous bruises. One look into the other's eyes and they both knew.
Next attack was to end it.
"Get ready Laxus! This is everything I've got!" Sapphire's whole body surged one last time with as much blue fire as she could manage.
"Yeah… same here…" Laxus accepted her challenged, mirroring her as lighting surged around his body one last time.
"This is it folks! The final blow! Which second gen Dragon Slayer will claim victory?!" Chapati questioned excitedly.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art…!" Both prepared to unleash their largest attacks so far.
"…Frozen Lotus: Flashburn Fist!"
"…Roaring Thunder!"
Laxus threw his fist forward, all the lighting channeled into it before being unleashed into a single blast. The lightning took the form of a large dragon made entirely out of bright yellow electricity. It gave a mighty roar as it lunged at Sapphire, whose own attack consisted of multiple rapid punches of icy-cold blue flames, moving at a rate so fast it was almost like a gatling gun.
Sapphire's attack did slow the lightning dragon construct down a bit, but ultimately, she was overwhelmed by the blast as it engulfed her completely before exploding in a bright bolt of lightning that shot straight up into the sky, with the sound of a dragon's roar echoing in the air.
Laxus remained standing, compleltey out of breath, as he watched Sapphire fall over. But right before she did… she gave a final gesture in the form of a thumbs up, a content and happy smile on her face, right as she landed flat on her back.
"Good fight…" She muttered before finally falling unconscious.
"The winner is Laxus!" Chapati announced as the audience in the entire colosseum was in an absolute uproar. But none cheered more loudly than Fairy Tail. Those that celebrated the hardest were obviously in the Thunder Legion with Bickslow laughing as loud as he possibly could.
"Ah yeah! Ain't nothing stopping Laxus! He's our man!" Bickslow laughed on.
"He's not just any man! He's the man!" Elfman raised both his fists, but was caught off guard by a cheering Evergreen that leapt at him with a hug. This surprise only lasted two seconds, for Evergreen seemed just as surprised as he was and pounced him in the face.
"Get your hands off me!" She scolded.
"Hey, you're the one who hugged me!" Elfman exclaimed back.
Freed's whole body shook as he looked up to the monitor where he saw the face of his beloved leader, despite being battered and exhausted, he couldn't look any nobler. Tears of joy filled the man's eyes as he raised his hand to the monitor, his index finger and thumb sticking outward.
"Well done, Laxus."
Makarov similarly shed tears of joy of his own as he couldn't be any prouder. It felt like only yesterday that his grandson was insufferable and even endangered the lives of his comrades to usurp control of the guild. Now look at him. He has truly grown up. Makarov then felt a hand on his head and looked up to see Gildarts smiling toward him, Makarov smiling and nodding back. But that smile turned into irritation as Gildarts then gave the former master a noogie, the current guildmaster grinning jokingly.
Mavis and Sparda both had similar feelings as they saw the image of Laxus as well. But for a brief moment, they saw someone else that they both respected and viewed as family, a man they had the utmost respect for. That man also put his own needs and ambitions above others for a time… only to come around and become more open-minded and caring for those around him.
"Yuri would be proud. Don't you think, Daddy?" Mavis asked emotionally.
"Yes, he would." Sparda confirmed with a satisfying smile as he held his daughter's hand.
"So that's it then… We lost…" Beth said as tears were in her own eyes, the rest of Mermaid Heel were obviously upset over the result.
"Sapphire… Kagura… and even Lucia… our three top gals…" Risley couldn't find the right words.
Arana noticed how Amarilla was crying, the yellow-furred Exceed had her back turned to everyone else so they couldn't see her face. Arana then slowly reached out to pat the Exceed on her head.
"It's okay Amarilla… it's okay…"
"I know…" The yellow-furred Exceed turned around to reveal that while she was indeed crying, she was also smiling. "But… she gave it her all.… and I am so proud of her…!"
The three girls of Mermaid Heel were somewhat surprised by that, but they too smiled along with their Exceed.
"Got that right, little kiddy." Risley said. "They did the guild proud."
"They gave it their all and pushed past their limits. They brought honor to us." Arana agreed.
"We may have lost, but honestly… if we had to lose to someone, I'm at least glad it was Fairy Tail. They earned their victory." Beth said in good sportsmanship fashion.
"Ah man… sorry Kurenai." Bruni apologized to the guildmaster of Mermaid Heel, as her head hung down. "At least they put up a good fight and went down swinging."
"Yes, they did." The Mother of Oceans raised her head to reveal a content smile on her face. "Milliana, Lucia, Sapphire, Kagura… all of them… all my daughters… You've made this old woman very proud."
That caused Bruni and Aurora to smile towards her as Gandelina walked up and reached out to gently hold Kurenai's hand, who turned to the hooded woman as she smiled emotionally at her, Kurenai returning the gesture as she firmly squeezed her fellow Wizard Saint's hand.
"And in an outstanding display, Fairy Tail remains in the top spot!" Chapati commentated. "They have scored a total of sixty-seven points! Mermaid Heel has lost their last member, which means they are out of the contest, but they currently remain standing in second place with fifty-nine points!"
"Sabertooth is still in the game with only one member, and they are just below Mermaid Heel with fifty-eight points." Yajima said.
"But Fairy Tail has all six of their players still in the game!" Mato quickly said. "That's incredible, pumpkin!"
"Yes, Fairy Tail is close to winning it all now." Yajima added.
"Did you all hear that…?!" Romeo asked aloud as everyone in Fairy Tail, particularly those that weren't on Tenrou Island the past seven years, were already getting emotional.
"Yeah, we heard loud and clear." Morrison said as he straightened his hat, his hands shaking somewhat.
"We could win it all…?" Jet questioned emotionally.
"Even though we started this thing dead last…!" Droy muttered.
"You idiot…! I'm gonna cry if you keep that up… Knock it off…!" Macao said, even though he was already crying.
There were those in the audience was looking in anticipation as well.
"Isn't there still one person left?"
"Yeah, but what do you expect one guy to do against all of them?"
"Nothing, that's what!"
"The Fairies got this win in the bag!"
It seemed like the rest of the audience was coming to the same conclusion, completely certain of Fairy Tail's victory. So much so that they began to chant the name of the guild that they once booed at the start of the tournament, only to have won their hearts over by watching their wits, grit, and determination.
"Fairy Tail! Fairy Tail! Fairy Tail! Fairy Tail! Fairy Tail! Fairy Tail! Fairy Tail!"
However, there appeared to be only one who hadn't let down his guard. The same individual who had been watching since the start of this final match up. He knew that it was too early to call a winner now.
"Fools." Vergil muttered.
"Princess…?" Darton said to Hisui as they had been watching the battles play out back at the castle via lacrima monitor.
"I know. You may not like it, and I don't either… but everything that's happened has gone exactly as the time traveler had told me about." Hisui began. "Gray defeated Rufus. Erza, Nero, Lucia, Kagura, and Minerva engaged in a five-way match, from which Minerva was defeated after a failed attempt to use a hostage. Erza defeated Kagura, Nero defeated Lucia, Gajeel defeated Rogue, Gray and Juvia bested Lyon and Sherria. And more recently, Laxus and Sapphire battled Jura, who had fallen from a cowardly move by Orga, who was then defeated by Sapphire. Laxus and Sapphire battled, and victory came to the former. Now… one last battle remains. And if it ends just as it was foretold like the others… I will have no choice but to activate Eclipse 2."
The sun had now fully set. The sky turned dark as night had begun, the stars shining up in the sky as the moon itself came into view.
And Sting continued to sit in his one spot in the alleyway, not having moved since he helped eliminate some of the riff-raft at the start of the battle royale. But now, it was time to make his move.
"Well what do you know? It's all gone exactly as I hoped it would." The remaining member of Sabertooth, the White Dragon Slayer, said with an ambitious grin. "Must be fate. That or good karma."
"Everyone is getting ahead of themselves." Kurenai said as she continued to stand with her fellow Wizard Saints.
"What do you mean?" Bruni asked.
"No, she's right. Take a look at the scores of the remaining teams." Aurora agreed as Bruni looked at the monitor that showed the points of the remaining teams.
"Yeah, Fairy Tail's in first place with sixty-seven points, and Sabertooth's stuck at third with fifty-eight." Bruni said.
"And Fairy Tail still has all six of its members still on the field. And if Sting defeats them all…?" Aurora went on, leaving the question open for Bruni to figure it out himself.
"Let's see… the leader alone is worth five, and the others are one each so that…" Bruni counted on his fingers and stopped briefly before gasping as he came to the realization that they were implying. "Oh crap…!"
"Indeed." Kurenai agreed as Gandelina looked with a serious expression herself.
"Ten points!" Chapati announced for the whole audience. "If Sting manages to take down all six of Fairy Tail's members, he'll score just enough for Sabertooth to jump straight to first and claim victory!" That caused everyone in Fairy Tail to look in shock, with Sparda and Mavis looking especially serious. "It's possible, but unlikely!"
"He could… nearly all of Team Fairy Tail is injured and exhausted and he is still in fine shape!" Yajima stated.
"Is he gonna beat all of them?!" Mato questioned.
"No way…!" Levy exclaimed. "Did he plan all of this?!"
"That good-for-nothing jerk?!" Patty scowled. "There's no way he's gonna take down Erza and the others! They can still win!"
"Don't be so quick to say that, kid." Gildarts advised. "Erza's still exhausted from her fight with Kagura, not to mention her arm is a wreck. And everyone else is in a similar boat."
"This way seems way too clever for a guy like Sting to pull off." Elfman said seriously. "Maybe he was just following someone else's plan." He happened to turn to the box for Sabertooth, where he spotted Vergil. Everyone else followed their gaze to see the eldest Son of Sparda, still staring up at the screen with crossed arms and an unreadable expression on his face.
Sting stood in a town circle near a fountain as he threw his fist up in the air to shoot a cluster of light into the sky, which exploded in a bright flash to take the form of the emblem of the Sabertooth guild.
"I'M READY, FAIRY TAIL! LET'S GO! COME AND GET ME!" He shouted as loudly as he could. There was no way they could miss that signal.
It was true. All the battered members of Fairy Tail could see that signal from their respective spots. And despite their injuries and fatigue, they wasted no time in trying to get to that spot.
Nero had crawled up from the long line that led into the sewers and limped his way over, using his Red Queen sword as a literal crutch.
Gajeel held his stomach, still feeling some uneasiness inside from consuming the shadows, but walked on anyway.
Juvia helped to escort the even more injured and exhausted Gray, holding one of his arms over her shoulder while he held onto her waist for support.
Laxus, despite covered in bruises some freezer burns, walked in the direction he saw the signal go off in.
Erza tried to use her only functioning arm to support herself against a wall and make her way there. Though she did lose her footing briefly and would have fallen…
If Kagura hadn't caught her, much to Erza's own surprise.
"Let me help you." Despite her own injured state, Kagura helped to sling Erza's arm over her shoulder and give her some support.
"Thank you…" Erza smiled.
Kagura looked away in shame. "What I did… what happened… I… I'm sorry… I let my anger take control and I almost took your life…"
"We can work all that out later." Erza said. "For now, this tournament is still going on and I need to support my guild. But I promise…" She gave Kagura an assuring smile. "I hold no grudge. I don't blame you for being angry, you have every right to be over what had happened to you."
Kagura was surprised to hear that, but hung her head down in humility, doing her best not to get emotional. "I already said that I won't interfere in the shared mission your guild has with Crime Sorciere. And if I must, I'm even willing to help. But once it's over, and the crisis abated…"
"I'll see to it that you face Jellal." Erza promised, already knowing where she was going with this. "I had already made that promise to Milliana and the others. I can do no less for you."
"Thank you." Kagura accepted right before she helped Erza make her way to the intended destination.
From Domus Flau, everyone in the audience and in the observing Fairy Tail, watched on the monitor as the six members of the leading team of wizards made their way to the town circle where their sole remaining opponent was waiting.
Sting looked to his right to see Nero, Gajeel, and Laxus had arrived first. And on his left, Gray and Juvia. Erza wasn't far behind them, with Kagura helping her. But once they reached a certain point under a pavilion, Erza gave Kagura an assuring and grateful smile, silently telling her she can handle the rest, which Kagura accepted as they broke of and she let her fellow swordswoman make her way there. All six members had then gathered together to face Sting.
"Now there's a sight." The White Dragon Slayer commented. "It's weird but being surrounded by heroes from my childhood isn't all that grand."
"Enough chit-chat." Gajeel said. "We didn't come out here to make pals."
"So how do you wanna do this? Wanna take us one-at-a-time?" Nero questioned. "I don't mind going first."
"Why not all at once?" Sting replied. "With the way you guys are limping around, one-after-another will be boring."
"You really wanna take us all at once? Are you serious?" Laxus questioned.
"Of course I am!" Sting stated, getting serious.
"So, you planned on this. Waited until all of us were too injured to put up much resistance." Erza commented.
"It's not against the rules." Sting all but confirmed.
"Kinda seems like there were some holes in that plan of yours." Nero said. "What if it was just a bunch of random guys from the other guilds?"
"Then I would have hunted them down too." Sting answered. "But I had a gut feeling you guys would be the last ones standing. Now enough of all the talk. Let's go! I'll take you all right here and now! Come on! I'll show you how strong I am!"
"There's no need for you to face all of us together." Juvia said as she eyed him seriously. "Because I will be the one to defeat you myself!"
Sting looked in surprise at that, as did her teammates.
"Juvia…?" Gray muttered.
"Compared to you and everyone else, I'm the least exhausted. I still have plenty of magic power and the stamina to keep up." Juvia said before looking to her comrades. "Natsu was able to defeat him and his partner before, which means I shouldn't have trouble with just him. I know I can win this."
They all saw the look in her eyes and knew she was dead serious about this. There was no need to argue with her.
"Then we'll put our faith in you, Juvia." Erza said with a smile and a nod.
"Yep. This punk's all yours." Gajeel smirked.
"Go for it." Laxus nodded with approval.
"Just try not to take too long." Nero said with confidence.
Juvia had let go of Gray as he struggled a bit to stand on his own two feet, much to her concern. "Will you be alright, Gray?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Now go kick his ass." He grinned.
Juvia smiled back before getting serious as she stepped forward to face Sting alone.
"Oh, it looks like Juvia is the first to face Sabertooth's last man!" Chapati announced.
"She is the least injured compared to the others." Yajima granted.
"But Sting's a third generation Dragon Slayer! Will Juvia be able to handle him?!" Mato questioned.
"Just Juvia…?" Wakaba questioned.
"Does she even have a chance against him…?" Macao questioned as well.
"If she loses, the others might be too injured to keep going." Morrison said.
"All we can do now is hope that is not the case." Makarov replied.
"Come on, Juvia! You can do this!" Levy cheered for her.
"Go on girl! Win this for Fairy Tail!" Patty also cheered.
Sparda and Mavis both watched seriously along with Gildarts and the rest of their guild. This was the final battle that would decide the outcome of the tournament. All or nothing.
Vergil remained just as serious as the beginning as he watched the battle that has yet to begun on the monitor.
"You're really gonna take me on all by yourself?" Sting questioned as Juvia faced him. "Sure, Rogue and I both lost to Natsu, but he's a Dragon Slayer. You're just a normal water wizard. And don't expect me to go easy on you just cause you're a girl."
"I would be insulted if you did." Juvia said. "Now enough talk. Let's go."
"Your funeral." Sting wasted no time in thrusting his fist forward to send a beam of light Juvia's way, which she swerved out of the way to avoid before rushing him, using water from her feet for extra propulsion to close in the gap, but Sting had his attack primed and ready.
"White Dragon Iron Fist!" He threw punch of glowing white light at Juvia. Only for her hand to transform into a net of water, which she used to catch Sting's fist and engulf the water around it. This both stopped and extinguished Sting's attack, much to his shock and that of the observing audience. Gray was the first to smirk however as he saw this.
"My turn." Juvia's free hand bubbled with water before she threw a punch to Sting's own face and then unleashed a stream of water from that one fist to blast Sting into the pillar of the circular pavilion that surrounded the area.
Growling, Sting emerged from the building, his body already glowing with light as he entered his White Drive mode and shot at Juvia, his fists coated with white light before throwing multiple punches her way. She backed up as she did her best to block, parry, and avoid many of the punches he threw at her. Ducking under the next punch, Juvia lashed out with a swing of her arm to throw several water blades at him and knock him off balance before she pressed the attack again.
"Water Slicer!" Throwing her arms out, Juvia threw out even more blades of water to slice across Sting's body and knock him back, sending him rolling across the ground. Though he was quick to recover and get back up, the look of surprise was clearly seen on his face.
"Is that the best you can do?" She questioned to him.
Gray, Gajeel, Nero, Erza, Laxus, and even the observing Kagura from the side, they all couldn't help but smile at what was unfolding before them.
"Am I going crazy or is Juvia actually putting Sting on the backfoot?!" Chapati questioned.
"Nope. We're all seeing it." Yajima said. "Despite the odds, Juvia appears to have the advantage."
"That girl is really strong! Pumpkin!" Mato exclaimed.
"Alright, Juvia!" Levy cheered as the rest of the audience continued to cheer on.
"Show that jerk whose boss!" Patty also cheered while the rest of Fairy Tail looked with high hopes. They could actually win this whole thing!
"Don't get cocky just because you got a few lucky hits in! You're still no Dragon Slayer!" Sting stated as his fists glowed once more.
"If you think it's all luck, then you're even more hopeless than I had thought." Juvia glared.
"Shut up!" Sting slammed both his hands on the ground to create a bright flash of white light, forcing Juvia to shield her eyes from the bright shine.
'A flash bomb…' This seemed to distract her as Sting appeared behind her.
"Behind you!" Patty tried to warn her.
"White Dragon Roar!" Sting unleashed his breath attack, and it would seem that the resulting white beam would strike its target…
Only for Juvia's body to turn into water and melt into the cracks in the ground, causing the attack to miss her completely as it blasted a hole through not only one of the pavilion's pillars, but even into the next building over.
Sting's attack stopped as he was surprised to see that Juvia was no longer there. "Where did she…?"
Suddenly the ground beneath him exploded as a powerful geyser of water had struck him and sent him flying straight into the air, with Juvia herself reforming to land a punch in his gut, one that had enough force to cause him to hack up some blood.
"How predictable." She said in disappointment before attacking again. "Water Nebula!" Thrusting her hand forward to unleash a vortex of water while still in mid-air, Sting was blasted through the pavilion and crashed hard on the ground just outside the town circle.
He pushed himself up, growling even more as Juvia fell right towards him. "Nice try, but you can't dodge in mid-air!" He tried to throw another glowing punch at her as she fell, but she blasted some water from her hands to propel her over his strike and land behind him to deal a punch to his face just as he turned around, followed by a roundhouse kick to his side, which she added to by another blast of water from her feet to send him rolling and crashing across the ground once again.
But he wasn't done yet as a bright explosion of white light erupted from where he crashed, Sting himself giving a frustrated roar. "White Dragon Wing Rays!" As his arms glowed, Sting swung them both to send to waves of white light right at Juvia, but she slammed her own hands on the ground to splash a wall of water straight up to catch and intercept the attacks, creating an explosion of steam that blanketed the general area.
Sting tried to see through the steam that obscured his vision. "Nice try… but I still got my nose! You can't hide from me!"
"Whose hiding?" Juvia said as the steam behind him condensed into solid water, taking the form of Juvia, just as Sting turned around and he pounded him in the face with another water-coated punch. He was knocked back, but regained his footing as he threw another glowing punch at her, which she evaded as her body evaporated into steam again and her punch passed through him easily enough.
"The hell…? Steam…?"
"Steam is evaporated water." Juvia's voice echoed through the steam cloud that continued to surround him. "It took me a while to try and pull of this trick similar to my Water Body, but with some help from Natsu, I was able pull it off."
"You kidding? Natsu actually trained you?" Sting questioned as he looked around, but still couldn't find her, even with his enhanced sense of smell. 'Damn it! I'm picking up her scent all over! It's as if I'm actually inside her body right now!'
"We sparred together these past few months…" Juvia's voice continued to echo as she explained it. "He may be a Dragon Slayer, but our elements are natural opposites. The more we trained and spared, the stronger our respective magics became. I learned a great deal from him…" As the steam cloud began to clear away, Juvia's body became solid again and reformed directly in front of Sting, much to his surprise. "Perhaps you should followed the same lead, and learned some things to from Vergil, instead of just relying on the same predictable tactics of overwhelming force."
Sting roared again as he went once more for the hand-to-hand approach, striking at Juvia as much as she could, throwing all the glowing punches he could muster as she once again blocked and parried.
"Am I the only one who feels kinda let down here?" Gajeel asked as he and the rest of his teammates continued to watch the fight.
"Yeah, he's doing the same thing he did when he fought Dante and Natsu." Nero put in. "Guy didn't learn a damn thing."
"And little miss Rain Woman has him on the ropes." Laxus said.
"Are you surprised? This is Juvia, we're talking about." Gray commented with a smile. "Maybe she's not a Dragon Slayer or part demon, but she is still a force to be reckoned with."
However, Erza noticed something as she caught a look in Sting's eyes. 'His tactics haven't changed, but his mannerisms have. He's fighting with desperation… the kind that doesn't stem from just a desire to win. Something is on the line for him here, and he feels that he has to win no matter what.' Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. 'Something has happened to him.'
Sting gave one powerful punch, which Juvia blocked by crossing her arms, though the force did push her back somewhat. Despite the punch being blocked though, a smirk fell on Sting's face.
"You might have blocked that, but I still made contact."
The water wizard found herself unable to move from her current position, even her arms remained stuck and crossed together. It was then she noticed a glowing magic brand on her crossed arms. It was a stigmata.
"I see…" Juvia realized what he did.
"A stigmata…" Makarov recognized the tactic.
"That's the same trick he tried on Natsu when they fought." Gildarts observed.
"Natsu was able to get past it though before!" Romeo remembered.
"Because he used his fire to burn it off." Levy said.
"But Juvia doesn't have fire magic!" Patty exclaimed in fear. "Does that mean she can't get out?!"
"Uh oh! It looks like Juvia is in trouble here, people!" Chapati observed.
Vergil, once more, narrowed his eyes as he silently watched the fight.
Sting rushed Juvia once again, thinking he had the advantage. "Try fighting me now with your hands tied!" When he closed the gap and threw another punch, he was not expecting Juvia's body to melt into water once again and evade his attack. "What…?!" The water flowed underneath him and reformed into Juvia behind him before she swung the back of her arm to create a powerful whip of water to strike Sting and smash him into a building.
"Wha… How…?" Sting pushed himself up from the rubble.
"You assumed I couldn't escape because I can't burn off your stigmata like Natsu could." Juvia explained. "But that doesn't mean I can't do something similar. I just increased the body temperature of my water body to the point where your brand evaporated. Boiling water can be just as hot as fire."
"You… You…" Sting backed away slightly, feeling more than a little nervous. He was throwing everything he had at this water wizard, but she seemed to have a counter for everything that he could think of.
"Your tactics are the exact same as before." She told him. "Cheap tricks and overwhelming force. No originality or creativity, or even a desire to learn something new. It seems Dante was right about you. Compared to Natsu, Gajeel, Laxus, or even Wendy… you really are just a third-rate Dragon Slayer."
That hit Sting right in his pride. He gritted his teeth so much that it felt like they would chip at any moment. 'No! I can't lose here! If I do, then I lose Lector forever! No! I won't let that happen! I'll pulverize this water bitch into the ground!'
His whole body was coated in white light as bright white scales formed up on his arms, the sides of his body and sides of his face, his eyes became reptilian slits. An ominous aura filled the air with Juvia looking especially serious as she saw the transformation herself.
"He's not fooling around." Nero observed as Gajeel, Laxus, Erza, and even Kagura watched with serious expressions.
"No, looks like he's dead serious." Gray said. Despite his faith in Juvia, a part of him felt worried for her now.
"Looks like Sting's pulling out the big guns!" Chapati announced.
"He's using Dragon Force!" Mato observed. "This might be all over for Juvia now!"
"I wouldn't be so sure." Yajima said. "Natsu was able to defeat both him and Rogue before when they transformed, and Gajeel defeated Rogue by himself earlier when he too transformed."
"His Dragon Force again…" Levy's eyes shook with fear. "Can Juvia really beat him now?"
"If she can't, then it's all over." Wakaba said.
"Yeah. Everyone else can barely stand at this point. She's our only hope now." Droy put in.
"I wouldn't worry." Mavis smiled with assurance. "Look at Juvia. She doesn't seem the least bit scared."
"She probably knew that Sting would try something like this." Sparda felt the same thing. "Just because he has great power at his fingertips, doesn't mean he knows how to actually use it, as we saw back on Day Four." He happened to glance in the direction of his oldest son and saw the disappointed look on Vergil's face, which all but confirmed his own thoughts.
"Nice to see you're at least taking me seriously now." Juvia noted.
"Better say your prayers, because I'm about to end you!" Sting exclaimed, both his fists glowing even brighter.
Juvia took a stance herself as she waved for him to come forward. "Bring it on."
In the blink of an eye, Sting rushed Juvia as he pulled back his glowing fist and threw it outward.
Even from their spot, Rogue and Frosch both saw the bright flash of light in the distance and had an idea of what was going on.
"Sting…" The Shadow Dragon Slayer muttered in concern for his partner.
"Is he going to be okay?" Frosch asked worriedly.
"I don't know…" Rogue confessed. 'He's fighting for Lector's sake right now. But we don't even know if Lector's okay. Gajeel said he would help try and rescue him but… what if Minerva had already killed him before this match started? I wouldn't put it past her if she did.' He looked away in frustration, wanting to help, but he knew there was nothing he could do in this state. 'I really am weak, aren't I?'
"Excuse me." Both the Dragon Slayer and his Exceed companion turned to see Milliana approaching them with something in her arms. "You're both from Sabertooth, right?"
"We are. But I'm out of the tournament." Rogue confirmed. "So don't worry about any more fights."
"No, that's not what I'm talking about." Milliana said, getting their attention. "If you're from Sabertooth, then you have to know about him… right?" She lowered her arms to see the still-unconscious Lector, much to both their surprise.
"Lector!" Frosch immediately flew straight to him as Rogue stood back up on his feet, albeit shakily. "Is he okay?!"
"He's a bit out of it, but he'll be alright." Milliana assured.
"How…? I don't understand…" Rogue muttered. "How do you have Lector…?"
"That scary woman from your guild kidnapped me." Milliana explained. "She tried to use me as a hostage to hurt my friends. But they saved me. I saw she also had this poor kitty with her, so I tried to help him too."
"You saved him…" Rogue couldn't help but feel a great sense of relief before he smiled towards the cat girl. "Thank you." She smiled back as she gave a single nod.
Frosch the gasped in realization. "Rogue! We have to go to Sting! He still thinks Lector's in trouble! If we show him that Lector's safe…"
"He might stop." Rogue realized what his Exceed friend was getting at. "Alright, let's… Ugh!" He groaned as he felt his side, only to be propped up by Milliana with one arm while still holding Lector in the other.
"Let me help." She said. "You know… the rest of your guild might be jerks, but you seem like a good guy."
"Thanks…" Rogue replied but seemed uncertain of what to say after. "I'm sorry but… your name escaped me…"
"It's Milliana."
"That's a nice name. I'm Frosch." The green Exceed in the pink frog costume introduced.
"Awe, you're such cute a little kitty." She smiled. "I love that little frog costume."
"Thanks. Me too." Frosch smiled.
Rogue gave a small smile himself as they made their way closer to the battle. "Nice to meet you, Milliana."
Juvia was forced to skid back and avoid a devastating explosion of light that had blown a building apart. Before she could blink, Sting was already on her, throwing a punch which she could barely shield herself from by raising a wall of water. Sting's blast of white light obliterated the shield, but it also provided Juvia a chance to get some distance before countering.
"Water Lock!" Sting found himself encased in a sphere of water, courtesy of the Water Wizard who casted it.
'This won't even hold me a for a second…!' Sting thought as his body glowed bright white.
'…But a second is all that I need.' Juvia thought to herself as steam began to evaporate from her body, with traces of red water flowing from her arms, legs, and the sides of her face, like her skin was shining almost.
The Dragon Force Sting had blasted his way out of the Water Lock before unleashing an attack on Juvia. "Holy Ray!" He threw out his hands to blast countless bolts of light energy that rained down on her.
Only for Juvia to rush directly into it, running at speeds that was twice as fast as before, and expertly dodging each and every blast, much to Sting's surprise before she quickly closed the distance. "Water Jigsaw!" Her body transformed into a vortex of rapidly moving water blades as she struck Sting head-on, slicing him across his body with scolding hot water before he was blasted backwards.
"What the hell…?!" Sting questioned as he recovered. 'Did she suddenly get faster? And why is this water so damn hot!' He cursed internally as he felt the hot water on his body before attacking again. He leapt straight into the air and well above Juvia. "Try and dodge this! White Dragon Holy Breath!"
A single beam shot out from Sting's mouth and impacted the ground, right before it exploded in a massive flash of light, one that seemed to encompass much of the town circle. The rest of Team Fairy Tail, and Kagura, all stepped back somewhat as the resulting shockwave hit the area.
Nearly everyone in the audience, including the commentators and observing Fairy Tail members, had their eyes closed from the blinding light from the monitors. All except Vergil, Makarov, Gildarts, Sparda, Mavis, and the Wizard Saints.
The light finally faded, revealing a large crater that resulted from the explosion of white light. But that wasn't the most surprising outcome.
No, the real surprise came from Juvia, who had already jumped into the air and landed her fist into Sting's stomach, a look of clear shock and pain was evident on his face. She blasted herself upward with a steam of water from her feet before appearing above him. "Water Lotus Fist!"
Juvia's arms had turned into scolding hot water as she lashed out multiple punches, very similar to an advanced technique a certain fire-wielding Dragon Slayer would sue, pounding Sting across his body with such speed and force that he was unable to counter, finishing with a final punch to his face that sent Sting crashing deep into the crater with Juvia landing in front of him.
"I cannot believe what I'm seeing here folks!" Chapati said. "How did Juvia make it out of that attack unscathed?!"
"It missed her." Yajima answered, much to his fellow commentators' surprise.
"It missed her?!" Chapati and Mato both questioned simultaneously, both practically falling out of their seats from that.
"Well, to be more accurate, she actually dodged it." Yajima explained. "She leapt into the air the second Sting unleashed his attack and landed her strike before the explosion erupted, evading it completely."
"She actually dodged that…?" Romeo questioned.
"I had no idea she could move so fast…" Levy muttered.
"Is that even Juvia out there?" Jet questioned.
"I know. She feels like a completely different person…" Droy commented.
Sting, still in his Dragon Force transformation, tried to push himself up as best as he could, a look of irritation and frustration evident on his face as he saw the steaming Juvia in front of him.
"How the hell have you gotten so fast…?!" He questioned.
"Sierra." Juvia explained. "My magic is tied directly to my emotions. The angrier I get, the hotter my water becomes. Sierra was a method that would be unleashed whenever I let my anger get the better of me. It increased my strength and speed, but because I was angry, it was harder to focus. However, thanks to some advice from my friends, including a certain Dragon Slayer we both know, I've learned to control and harness my anger, as well as my other emotions. Now I have complete control over Sierra. Your Dragon Force is powerful, I grant you. But should your opponent bridge the gap in speed, that's all they need. All the good your attacks will do if they can't even hit their target, you're just wasting your energy at this point."
Sting's fists clenched so tightly that his fingers dug into his palms, blood oozing out from in-between his fingers as he eyed the woman directly in front of him.
"This is impossible…!" He began to rant. "You can't match me! You're not a Dragon Slayer, and you don't have any fancy demon powers! You're just a water wizard without any kind of blood ties or Lost Magic or anything like that! I have power! I have the power I gained from killing Weisslogia!" He shouted as his body was engulfed in white light again and he lashed out at Juvia, his fist once more coated in white light as he tried to punch her, but she dodged the strike even as it unleashed a blast of white light behind her, and landed her own punch to his face, followed by a blast of scolding hot water that slammed him to the wall of the crater they stood in.
However, Juvia had also noticed a look in Sting's eyes as he said that, specifically when he mentioned that particular name. There was also the way he said it, the emotion that carried with it. She could feel the anger and frustration he had from losing this match, yes. But the kind of frustration and anger he was feeling appeared to come from somewhere deeper, and she had a good idea herself.
"Weisslogia… that's the name of the dragon who raised you, right? The one you claimed to have killed?" She asked, approaching Sting as he glared at her. The look in his eyes all but confirmed it. "Perhaps you did kill him… but is it something you're really proud of?"
"You really gonna lecture me in the middle of a fight?!" Sting questioned.
"But you're not proud, because you didn't even want to do it, did you?" That caused Sting to gasp, his eyes widening in shock as he heard that. "I see it… You loved your dragon. But for whatever reason, you took his life. And you couldn't accept that. You couldn't live with the fact that you killed somebody you held dear, so you've tried to bury those feelings in your power. You claimed yourself a proud Dragon Slayer, because you didn't want to deal with the turmoil that's been in you for years."
Juvia knew what that was like. Ever since she was a child, she couldn't control her powers. The rain followed her wherever she went. Nobody wanted to be around her. Any friendships or relationships she had were very short lives. She couldn't deal with all that sadness, so she tried to stop feeling altogether. Though she was a part of the Phantom Lord guild alongside Gajeel and Totomaru, even forming some professional relationships with them, she didn't feel any happier. Mainly because her former master used her power as a weapon like everyone else in that guild, he didn't even try to help her control it or help her emotionally. So she understood what it was like to have pain and loneliness be your companions and to not feel anything because you didn't want to deal with that anymore.
A sympathetic look formed in her eyes as she honestly pitied the young man in front of her. "That must have been hard."
"SHUT UP!" Those words hit Sting right where it hurts the most. And he didn't like it one bit. He began to rapidly throw beams of white light at Juvia and she did her best to dodge and evade them even as he threw more like a relentless madman. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW!? YOU WEREN'T THERE WHEN IT HAPPENED! SAVE YOUR DAMN PITY! IT WON'T BRING WEISSLOGIA BACK! AND IT WON'T BRING LECTOR BACK EITHER! THE ONLY WAY THAT I'LL GET HIM BACK IS IF I BEAT YOU!"
Sting's rant came to an end as Juvia had threw out multiple water blades in all directions to not only intercept all his attacks, but even blast at Sting's feat to get him to stop throwing them.
"I understand… then it's time we put an end to this." Juvia took a stance as a ring of water formed at her feet and spun around rapidly like waves.
"Damn right..." Sting took a stance himself as white light radiated around his body.
"Here we go!" Chapati announced as he, Yajima, and Mato all watched breathlessly. "Time for the finishing moves! Who will be the won to win this battle and claim victory for their guild in this tournament!? The Fairies or the Tigers?! Don't you dare blink and look away!"
Everyone watched with pure anticipation, just waiting for the final move to be dealt. Everyone in Fairy Tail was standing tall as they clenched their fists and watched in pure intensity, the Wizard Saints not taking their eyes off this match either, and even Vergil eyed the match seriously.
Hisui and Darton watched this with similar expressions themselves. This was it. What they saw next would determine how they would move to defend their kingdom from the coming catastrophe they feared would never happen.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Holy Nova!" Sting had launched himself at Juvia, all his power poured directly into his fist that he was ready to throw back and unleash at her.
Likewise, the scolding hot water around Juvia had begun to cover her whole body as it rapidly grew and took the shape of something enormous. It took the form of a giant serpentine dragon before it launched itself at the charging Sting.
"Roar of the Sea Dragon!"
The water dragon roared loudly just as it collided with Sting's attack.
*BOOM!*
An enormous explosion of white light and scolding hot water had erupted from that very crater. Once again, Team Fairy Tail and the observing Kagura looked away somewhat before the flash cleared.
Steam had filled the whole crater as it slowly began to clear away to reveal the outcome to everybody who was ever watching the fight.
Sting Eucliffe… laid flat on his back… his Dragon Force transformation finally vanishing… and no longer able to fight back. 'I'm sorry… Lector…'
And standing in front of his defeated form, was Juvia Lockser. Her Sierra power up coming to an end as her body was no longer scolding hot. But despite some damage clearly evident on her form, she stood straight up. Her head held high before she raised her fist up in victory.
Victory for her own personal match… and victory for her whole guild in this tournament.
The final point was put on the score board. Fairy Tail stood at the top with sixty-eight. And that was their score for the whole tournament. Sixty-eight, over Mermaid Heel with fifty-nine, and Sabertooth with fifty-eight. Blue Pegasus was at thirty, Lamia Scale at twenty-seven, and Quatro Puppy at fourteen.
There it stood… written in the first place slot for the entire Grand Magic Games tournament was the guild that won it all.
Fairy Tail
Nearly everyone in the observing box stared at the scoreboard with expressions of pure shock. Their eyes and mouths in perfect circles as they couldn't believe what they were seeing. The whole tournament was over… and they were in first place…
Before they knew it, tears began to fill their eyes as they openly sobbed and even laughed. Macao, Wakaba, Jet, Droy, Alzack, Bisca, Max, Warren, Reedus, Nab, Laki, Kinana, and Vijeeter… and of course… Romeo, who felt his own father wrap his arms around him in pure joy. Even Morrison tipped his hat with a smile on his face. They all laughed and cried as they honestly couldn't believe it. After being reduced to the weakest guild in the country for seven long years… after all the hardship and heartache they've endured… the ridicule and disgrace… they had reclaimed their spot at the very top. It felt like all those long years had now been washed away.
"IT'S OVER!" Chapati announced happily. "THE WINNER OF THE GRAND MAGIC GAMES IS FAIRY TAIL!"
Fireworks were immediately shot up to illuminate the night sky as confetti fell all over the colosseum and everyone in the audience stood up from their spots and cheered as loud as they can. Among them was even Bruni who raised his hands as he laughed hard, while Aurora, Gandelina, and Kurenai all smiled in Fairy Tail's victory.
Of course, none were more celebratory of their victory than the guild itself. Alzack and Bisca hugged each other and their daughter as they cried while Asuka cheered. Jet and Droy shared a crying and laughing hug with Levy. The Thunder Legion all laughed alongside Elfman. Nab, Reedus, Warren, Max, Laki, Kinana, and Vijeeter all continued to laugh and cry, still not over the fact that they had just won right then and there. Patty and Romeo, who had broken off from his dad as he celebrated with Wakaba, shared a high five together as they both laughed. Even the laughing Makarov shared a fist bump with the smirking Gildarts. And of course, the father-daughter pair of Sparda and Mavis both shared smiles with one another as they held each other's hands firmly.
Juvia had managed to pull herself out of the crater, dragging the defeated Sting along with her before setting him on the ground. She soon found herself facing all her teammates, all of whom were smiling at her. Erza was the first to walk up to her and wrap her one good arm around her, which Juvia returned the gesture herself. She saw all the smirking and smiling faces of her friends. Gajeel gave her a thumbs up, Nero nodded, Laxus simply smiled… but when she looked at Gray, her heart fluttered as he had a proud look in his eyes.
"Nice job." He told her with a sincere smile.
That caused Juvia to blush with an elated smile of her own as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"I didn't want to do it…" All eyes turned towards Sting as he had recovered somewhat, laying on his back as his eyes watered. "I… killed Weisslogia… but I didn't want to do it…" He didn't know why he was confessing this, there was no point to it. But there didn't feel a point to keep it secret any more either. "I did it… because he told me to…"
"What…?" That got Gajeel's attention as everyone else continued to listen.
"He told me… that if I killed him… I would gain his power… the power of a true dragon…" Sting went on, sobbing as he continued to lay, staring up at the moon in the night sky. "It tore me apart… but I still did it… I thought I'd become a real Dragon Slayer… and the power that he gave me… would make me the strongest… And if I was the strongest… I wouldn't have killed my dad for nothing…!"
That earned looks of pity from everyone present. As much of a hypocritical asshole that Sting has been to them, nobody deserved that kind of internal pain.
"You seem to have gotten the two mixed up." Erza told him.
"…Huh…?" He looked in the direction of the red-haired woman as she spoke to him with a mixture of seriousness and sympathy.
"Strength and power are not the same thing." She began. "Power is what you wield… what you have at your disposal… but strength…? That comes from what you do with that power. Maybe you did gain a great deal of power from killing your dragon, but that doesn't make you strong. Alone and uncontrolled, power grows inside you like a parasite… it eats away at everything you are on the inside until there is nothing left, and you are a mere shell of your former self. I've seen that happen to countless people, we all have… those who became so consumed by power or their need for power that they've lost or given up everything they once held dear. And from what we have seen, that has become of most of members of Sabertooth. You were all powerful fighters… but you weren't strong."
Sting listened to every word she said… and as much as she wanted to deny it, he knew right here and now, she was right. He felt he was among the strongest people out there. It was one thing to be bested by the likes of Natsu or Dante, a fellow Dragon Slayer and a Son of Sparda… but he lost to Juvia. A woman whose magic wasn't special or unique or any way. And yet, he still lost to her. But it wasn't the loss itself that stung the worst. It was the consequence. Winning the tournament was his only hope of seeing Lector again. In the moment that Minerva had taken him, Sting had truly realized just how much he took his friend for granted. He was so fixated on his own desire for power, that he never considered what Lector wanted, or what he needed. He brought Lector into Sabertooth, and that was the worst mistake he ever made. Because of that… because of him… he was gone.
"What difference does it make now…? I lost my best friend…" Sting sobbed. "If I had won… she would have given Lector back… but I lost… I lost him forever…!"
"Lector…?" Gajeel remembered Rogue telling him that name. The name of a friend that a member of his guild had taken as a hostage to use as leverage. "Was he the one that Minerva bitch nabbed?"
That got Erza and Nero's attention. "Hey… this friend of yours… he wouldn't happen to be an Exceed with red fur, would he?" Nero asked.
Sting pulled his head up somewhat with a look of emotional confusion on his face. "Yeah…?"
Erza smiled at him. "Your friend is safe."
"What are you…?"
"Sting!" He heard his name being called by a familiar voice and turned to the side to see Rogue approaching him with Frosch at his feet. And right by his side was Milliana… who held a certain red furred Exceed in her arms, still out of it.
The minute he saw him, his eyes widened in absolute shock. His pupils shook as all kinds of emotions ripped through his body.
Lector soon began to awake himself… and the second he did, Sting pushed himself up from the ground with what little strength he had, now being propelled by pure emotions, and he weakly sprinted in his direction, despite tripping and stumbling from the injured state he was in, he ran on. Lector saw him too, and tried to move towards him, but Milliana quickly set him down so that he wouldn't hurt himself. The second he touched the ground, Lector wasted no time in running toward his friend, tears of joy in his eyes.
"Lector…!" Sting tripped and fell face flat on the ground.
"Sting!" Lector cried as he ran closed the gap between him and his beloved Dragon Slayer companion, leaping up to him as Sting opened his arms to embrace him as tightly as he could, too happy and too afraid to let go for even a second.
"You're okay…! Lector…!" Sting sobbed as Lector wailed, burying his face into Sting's chest.
Frosch cried at this little reunion himself while Rogue simply smiled. He happened to glance towards Gajeel, who smiled and gave a single nod, causing Rogue's smile to grow as well. Milliana also shed a tear as she saw Erza giving her a relieved smile as well, one that she also saw on Kagura, who remained in the same spot where she was. Gray, Nero, Juvia, and even Laxus had small smiles themselves.
"Princess! Princess Hisui!" The armored Arcadios had urgently entered into Hisui's private chambers, only to find that the heir to the throne was no longer there, much to his concern and fear. "Don't tell me…! She's already on her way…?!"
It was true. The princess of Fiore and the defense minister were now making their way outside, to where the Eclipse Gate had been moved, both moving with a sense of urgency and grave expressions on both of their faces.
"Fairy Tail won without losing a single member… and Sting Eucliffe, a third generation Dragon Slayer, lost to Juvia Lockser, a water wizard who wielded no specially advanced or lost magics." Darton summed up. "Was that the outcome your advisor had told you?"
"It is indeed." Hisui confirmed. "The unpredictable has been predicated. It would seem that my advisor is indeed from the future as they have said. Which means that their horrific past will soon be our present. I've already notified the military to begin evacuating the city."
"It may be rather difficult given how many people were here for the Games, not to mention the celebration they all want to do right now." Darton said.
"Regardless, it has to be done. In order for our kingdom to have a future… we must activate the Eclipse 2!"
Done.
That's it! The Grand Magic Games is now officially over! And here is the final score for the tournament overall…
*First Place – Fairy Tail – 68 points
*Second Place – Mermaid Heel – 59 points
*Third Place – Sabertooth – 58 points
*Fourth Place – Blue Pegasus – 30 points
*Fifth Place – Lamia Scale – 27 points
*Sixth Place – Quatro Puppy – 14 points
First, we had that epic battle with Jura, Laxus, and Sapphire. Of course, Orga came in and stabbed Jura in the back to steal the win, only to have his ass kicked by Sapphire, with her and Laxus having a no holds barred slug fest to determine the winner, with Laxus claiming victory.
Second, we had our final battle with Juvia fighting and defeating Sting one-on-one. I told you before that Juvia would have an important role to play in this battle royale and this was it. I've been wanting to write that particular battle for a very long time and I'd say I'm happy with how it turned out. We even have a few original spells and techniques from Juvia that she learned and mastered from her time training with Natsu. It was also important for Sting to lose to her, a non-Dragon Slayer and someone without any kind of demonic power, for him to understand just how crappy his power foundation was. And for him to understand how weak he was as a person.
We've also learned the circumstance in which his dragon mentor was killed. Sting claims to have taken his life because Weisslogia told him to, saying that doing so would grant him the power of a true Dragon Slayer (supposedly). But he let the power get to his head on purpose because he felt that if he wasn't good enough, then he killed his foster father for nothing. Of course, it's no excuse for his hypocritical behavior, but it's still upsetting to think about.
Though, he was able to reunite with Lector, which was still heartwarming in of itself.
However… with Fairy Tail's victory in the Grand Magic Games, Hisui now truly believes that there is an apocalypse at their doorstep and will try to activate the Eclipse 2 project, believing it will save the world.
We have a special chapter coming up as we start to direct all our focus on the Eclipse Gate. We are nearing the climax of this arc, and it is going to be crazy.
Stay tuned.