Hi everyone, welcome back to Fairy May Cry! The dragon invasion has begun in earnest, but thanks to the coordinated efforts of Sparda and Mavis, the wizards have managed to organize themselves and seem prepared enough to hold the line for the time being. But will it be enough, considering they are all up against powerful dragons, not to mention Vergil and Future Legion?
How will our heroes fair against this calamity? Find out right now as this battle takes quite a turn here and we have a few surprises in store.
Dragons, Demons, and Humans
A massive, dark, and foreboding cloud was in the midst of forming in the night sky above Crocus, while also being blown away at the same time as violent clashes of water and lightning gave way to thunderous booms far larger than any natural thunderstorm could ever produce.
One such instance was the dark cloud condensing above Elexion as he rose higher into the sky, spreading his wings outward to allow multiple bolts of lightning to be drawn into his wings. His wings glowed brightly almost like a star before glaring down at the demonic Kurenai below him, who narrowed her eyes back at him. He flapped his wings to create a massive wave of electrical power straight toward her, and in response, Kurenai flew straight at it.
She thrusted her trident, Poseidon, forward as a stream of water shout out and spread downward to cover herself before thrusting her hand forward countless times, all in the form of a blur that made it seem like her arm was vibrating. As a result, what appeared to be a rainstorm had formed with the rain flying straight up as opposed to falling down, and the drops were each the size of an average person, and there appeared to be millions of them. This seemed reminiscent of Dante's Million Stab Technique, only far stronger.
Kurenai and Elexion's attacks collide as the front most water-thrusts were evaporated by the electrical storm, but as more and more of it pressed into it, water and lightning all mixed together to create another powerful explosion that blew away all the storm clouds in the surrounding area, revealing Elexion as Kurenai shot at him again at lightning-like speed to zoom past his face and cut through his golden scales, but as she appeared above him, Elexion's tail had slammed into her which appeared to send her flying in the direction of the surrounding mountains.
The water demon quickly halted her flight, spreading her wings outward and spreading more water from her wings to quickly form even larger wings that were ten times her own size to further halt herself. But the second she stopped from almost touching the summit of one mountain, she gasped at what she saw coming towards her.
It was Elexion, his mouth wide open, and flying right at her before he unleashed his devastating lightning breath attack. In response, Kurenai spun Poseidon in front of her like a helicopter blade, generating a cluster of water around her which spun like a drill as it all condensed to the tip before she flew into the breath attack. Kurenai gave a warrior's cry as Elexion roared like the monster that he was.
The Mother of Oceans powered through the Thunder Dragon King's breath attack, even as it ate away at her water. The last of it was blasted just as she closed the distance to collide, slamming Poseidon as he lunged his forehead at her, both colliding and creating a shockwave that echoed throughout the sky, their eyes met again as they glared at one another before Kurenai hovered backwards slightly.
"You've grown stronger, Kurenai." Elexion granted. "I can sense the power from the humans in this world, and it is far weaker than that of those who dared to fight against us, that includes the Dragon Slayers. The so-called peace that they have experienced has weakened them. But despite that, you have grown in strength. For that, I must ask again, why do you waste your strength protecting these insects?"
"And why do you keep asking the questions that you already know the answers to?" Kurenai retorted. "Power doesn't make your choices, you make the choice what to do with your power. I chose to use mine to protect those who cannot protect themselves, especially from monsters like you and Mundus!"
"You dare lump me with that beast?!" Elexion growled.
"You both believe that you must oppress the weak because of your strength, so of course you're the same as him." Kurenai glared.
"Insolent demonic wretch!" Elexion thundered. "After I tear you apart, I will wipe out every human in this world until they are a distant memory!"
"I'm hearing a lot of roar, but where's the bite, Elexion?" Kurenai taunted with a smirk. "Or has the Thunder Dragon King lost his spark?"
Elexion roared in fury as he pulled back his right fist, which surged with electrical power before lunging it straight at Kurenai, who swung back Poseidon, which was coated in raging waters before swinging it forward for their attacks to collide against one another.
Meanwhile, on Motherglare's back, Future Legion threw his free hand forward to blast a beam of white light at Bruni, who quickly zoomed past it and closed the distance between him and his demonic opponent to swing Prometheus at him, which Future Legion blocked with the stolen Rebellion, right before a multitude of shadowy tentacles shot out from his back, all taking the form of serpentine-like demons with glowing red eyes as they condensed on Bruni.
Action quickly, Bruni's Prometheus extended into the form of a flaming whip, which he flailed in a quick and fast-paced fashion to slice and burn away the shadow-serpents, but this seemed to leave him open for Future Legion's breath attack, which seemed icy cold as a dark mist formed at his mouth.
"Ice Devil Rage!"
A black blizzard of razor-sharp ice crystals shot out from Future Legion's mouth, who leapt away even as he threw the flames around himself at his front to create a shield to block most of the attack, Bruni found himself backed near the tail of Motherglare, which was quickly raised to strike Bruni in the back and send him right at Future Legion, who zoomed at him with a glowing white aura, much to Bruni's surprise. Future Legion smiled malevolently as he unleashed another attack.
"White Shadow Dragon Vestment!" Throwing his hand forward, the abomination unleashed a volley of white energy beams and shadow blades, which hit Bruni point blank as he braced himself. But the flames from Prometheus quickly expanded as the force of the flames did push Future Legion back, with Bruni quickly closing the gap between them and grab him by the arm that wielded Rebellion.
"Let's see how you like it!" Bruni swung Prometheus' flaming whip form in all directions, which not only seemed to strike and burn Future Legion's body, but the surrounding embers all took the forms of flaming arrows, to which Bruni smirked before leaping back just as the fiery arrows condensed towards their target.
Looking through the resulting fire, Bruni thought he saw a shadowy figure of his opponent go up in flames, only to gasp in surprise as he found his feet frozen to Motherglare's back as Future Legion was right behind him.
"Doppelganger." The monster grinned maliciously.
'That's one of Dante's styles! He used a decoy to take the hit and froze me in my tracks while I was distracted, even if it was for a second! Damn it!' Bruni cursed as he slashed Prometheus' sword form at the black ice that froze his feet, but he was too late to avoid Future Legion's next attack.
"White Shadow Dragon Roar!" Unleashing yet another breath attack, this one being a mixture of white light and shadows, Bruni was unable to dodge it as his body was sent skidding and crashing across the back of the dragon they rode on, and right to where Future Legion suddenly appeared. "Quicksilver!" Future Legion swung Rebellion upward, but even though Bruni was still able to block the swipe of the sword with Prometheus' flames, even they seemed overwhelmed when Future Legion thrusted his hand forward to unleash an all-encompassing wave of black ice.
Bruni grunted as he increased the flames of his weapon to their maximum power to give himself a boost backwards. But he noticed soon noticed how the flames in front of him were now frozen solid. 'He froze Prometheus' fire…?!' He noticed the trail of black ice following the flames that lead straight to his weapon and quickly kicked it off to keep it and separate the ice, but that did nothing to stop Future Legion from appearing behind Bruni again to strike him with a glowing white fist to his side, followed by a slash of Rebellion down his chest to bring him to his knees, where the man felt a bleeding cut across his chest.
'This thing… has dual elements with Rogue and Sting's power and some kind of Ice Devil Slayer power that I've never heard of before… and somehow… he has some of Dante's abilities…!' Bruni assessed as he glared at the smirking monster in front of him. 'But even if he can use dual elements of light and shadow, that freaky black ice can't be used in conjuncture with it, probably because the different Slayer types don't mix. So he can't use both at the same time… but if he has the Quicksilver style and even Doppelganger, that means he can shift between them instantaneously. This freak not only has a shit ton of powers, but he knows how to use them.'
"You fared better than we had initially expected." Future Legion began. "Though it would be unfair to make a comparison between you and the Bruni from our timeline as we never crossed paths, but it is still impressive that you can match pace with us. Regardless, no matter what kind of enhancements or magic tools you wield, you are still a powerless human. You will fall just with the rest of your kind, with your flesh being just one of the many bricks that we shall use to pave the way to our ascension as the next Demon Emperor"
"Again with the monologuing…" Bruni grunted. "You gonna talk me to death? Just come and fight already!"
"Oh, you will die. But not before you see many of your fellow humans meet their end in the city below." Future Legion maintained his smirk. "Now, Motherglare!"
Bruni gasped as he turned around to hear Motherglare's roar. Upon the command of his controller, multiple holes appeared at the dragon's underbelly before countless projectiles rained down from the dragon who flew over the city, scattering them everywhere.
"Mother, huh?" Bruni commented.
Hundreds of man-sized eggs had fallen and landed in various spots in the city, with Elfman and the Thunder Legion happening to be near a handful of them that landed on a ruined building in front of them.
"Are those… eggs?" Bickslow questioned.
"Some kinda dragon eggs, I assume." Freed guessed. "But I doubt they'll hatch right away. No animal hatches from its egg the second it's laid."
Right as he said that however, cracks formed on the eggs in front of them, alerting the group who could only look in surprise to see the eggs break open to reveal what appeared to be a humanoid skeletal dragon-like creature made out of some kind of metal. They gave eerie animal-like calls that seemed almost demonic in nature. What seemed the most unsettling about these creatures, were that they didn't appear to have any eyes at all.
"You were saying, Freed?" Evergreen said in a stressed-out tone as the group backed away slightly.
"Those things don't look like baby dragons." Elfman commented. "More like some kind monster-thing."
"In all likelihood, these are not infant dragons, but the result of some kind of spell used by the dragon in question." Freed said as he drew his sword.
"And here I thought dragons couldn't get any crazier." Bickslow commented.
"Shit… there's probably thousands of those things." Bruni could see more and more mini-dragon monsters hatching throughout the entire city.
"As a dragon, Motherglare possess Diamond Dragon Slayer Magic for offensive and defensive power. But this one also possesses another ability, and that's to unleash a horde of draconic minions to overwhelm its enemies." Future Legion revealed. "The humans below will be wiped out. Their fate is now sealed!"
However, rather than look despaired or enraged, the Wizard Saint had a confident smile on his face. "I wouldn't count your dragonlings before they hatch if I were you. We humans aren't as unprepared for this as you might think."
Freed, Elfman, Bickslow, and Evergreen appeared surrounded as the mini-dragons encircled around them, all of whom opened their mouths as white energy began to form inside them.
"A miniature breath attack…" Freed observed.
"One might not be too hard to deal with, but all at once…?" Evergreen noted.
"May be a bit too much for us." Bickslow finished.
Elfman grinned. "Good thing we listened to First Master and Dante's old man, huh?"
Just when all the mini-dragons unleashed beams of energy from their mouths and they condensed on the four wizards in front of them, a circular water barrier had appeared to shield them all.
The mini-dragons all gazed up to see the water all rise upward and take the form of an airborne Juvia who maintained a confident smile. 'Just as Master Mavis and Sir Sparda predicted.'
"Water Jigsaw!" Thrusting her hands forward, Juvia sent a hail of rapidly moving water blades at the mini-dragons in front of her, tearing them apart. This also gave the chance for Elfman and the Thunder Legion to go on the attack to the remaining mini-dragons while they had their attention focused on Juvia with Bickslow and Evergreen using their respective long-ranged attacks to shoot down the mini-dragons around them.
"Take Over: Beast Soul: Werebear!" Elfman transformed into his hulking humanoid bear-form to begin tearing apart the mini-dragons near him while Freed used his sword, lined with dark runes, to cut down those that attempted to attack Elfman while he was surrounded.
"Juvia, you good?" Elfman asked as the Rain Woman solidified herself and landed on the ground. "You must be tired from your fight with Sting."
"I've still got plenty of stamina to spare." She assured with a smile.
"Excellent. We need all that we can get if we are to survive this crisis." Freed nodded as he accessed the shared telepathic link he had with everyone else in this battle. "This area is clear, please direct us to the next location!"
"Alright, Point-E7 is clear. Elfman, Thunder Legion, and Juvia, head to Point-D6, there is about twenty enemies at that spot." Hibiki directed as he, Warren, Goldmine, Ooba, and Bob worked on coordinating the counterattack, as Sparda and Mavis' spirits both hovered above the group and made all the calls, while Makarov and a group of royal soldiers guarded the base that had been established in the central plaza.
"Blue Pegasus, you got a pack of enemies heading your way!" Bob informed.
A group of at least twenty mini-dragons proceeded down the street, where the only one standing in front of them appeared to be Eve. However, rather than feel intimidated, he looked more than a little confident.
"That's right. Come and get me! Snow Magic: Total White Out!" Thrusting his hands forward, Eve sent a blizzard in the direction of the mini-dragons, freezing them in their tracks as half of them appeared partially frozen while the other half was mostly buried in snow. "They're immobilized! Go, now guys!"
Jumping down from the rooftops above them, the buff Ichiya, sword-wielding Nichiya, along with Jenny, and Ren went on the attack.
"Aerial Phose!" Ren pulled in several of the immobilized frozen mini-dragons before they were enveloped in a spherical cyclone and torn apart.
"Machina Soul: Flamethrower!" Quipping into her flame-wielding armor, Jenny unleashed an inferno onto the mini-dragons, melting the snow and engulfing them in flames.
Ichiya's bulky form landed fists first to crush more than a few mini-dragons as his Exceed companion and counterpart drew his sword to fly and quickly slice through the remaining ones until there are none left.
"Man, this area is now clear!" Ichiya took a dramatic pose with sparkles around him.
"Meow, onto the next one then!" Nichiya declared, taking a similar dramatic pose with sparkles as well.
"Quatro Puppy to Point G5." Goldmine instructed.
Wally and several of his guildmates used their long-ranged attacks to engage in a fire-fight against the mini-dragons in their area, using the rubble for cover as the enemy used their laser-like beams to return fire.
"Damn, there's a lot of them!" Wally cursed.
However, while the mini-dragons were focused on them, they became unaware of the drunken Bacchus charging in from the side, spinning around to deal devastating palm strikes to many of them, breaking the armored skin of several and knocking the others down.
"Good thing these guys are stupid, eh?" Bacchus hiccupped just as Wally and the others took care of the scattered and surrounding mini-dragons. "Let's wild em up these lizards, boys!"
"WILD!" All of Quatro Puppy raised their fists proudly.
"Lamia Scale, you got a horde coming at you from B9!" Ooba warned.
"We see em old hag!" Yuka said as he, Sho and Toby faced off against a group of mini-dragons that prepared to unleash their laser-breath attacks upon them. "Oh no you don't! Wave!" Yuka cast a wave of his magic nullification spell upon the mini-dragons, nullifying their long-ranged attacks. "They're down! Hit them now!"
"On it!" Sho threw a series of electric cards at the mini-dragons to send them up in an electrical explosion.
Toby howled as he extended his green glowing nails. "Get a taste of my mega-mega-jellyfish claws!" He charged and sliced through the dragons rather quickly.
"Marionette Attack: Rock Doll!" Constructing a large golem from the surrounding rubble, Sherry used to pummel three Mini-Dragons while her younger cousin kept her covered on her other side.
"Sky God Bellow!" Sherria's black-wind breath attack blew away at least ten Mini-Dragons, clearing away that particular group.
"Fairy Tail Group C! You got a pack of enemies right on your tail!" Warren directed.
"We know! That's the point!" Romeo said as he, Nab, and Laki ran with a pack of mini-dragons at their heels. The group seemed to have been cornered in an alleyway as the mini-dragons advanced on them, as per their intent. "Gotcha! Go, everyone!"
Hearing his son's voice, Macao, Wakaba, Alzack and Bisca appeared from the surrounding rooftops.
"Now! Hit em all at once!" Macao ordered as he unleashed a wave of purple flame, while Wakaba sent a hail of pink smoke fists from his pipe, and Alzack and Bisca shot their respective guns down below. Their combined attack tore through all the mini-dragons below and left none alive.
"Nice one, Dad! Everyone!" Romeo gave them a thumbs up.
"Well this ain't my first rodeo, kiddo." Macao grinned.
"Don't get too cocky, old man." Wakaba teased. "We got a long way to go."
"So, onto the next spot." Alzack said as he and his wife re-loaded their respective guns.
"We need some back up over here!" Droy said as he, Jet, Max, and Reedus were surrounded by at least twenty mini-dragons by a fountain. It looked like they were about to all unleash their laser attacks upon the wizards in front of them.
"Don't worry! Back up is coming!" Warren alerted.
Right on cue, Mira appeared in her Halphas Take Over above ten of the mini-dragons. "Halphas Blast!" She opened her palm to shoot a beam of dark energy that exploded once it reached the ground and obliterated all the mini-dragons in a single shot.
"Raging Rock Storm!" Stomping on the ground, Jura had sent a tremor in the direction of the remaining ten mini-dragons, right before the ground exploded to not only send those mini-dragons straight up, but even throw multiple jagged rocks up in the air higher than them, all of which came down to tear them apart before they landed in chunks of flesh, scattered across the ground.
"Right on time." Jura breathed.
"Is everyone okay?" Mira asked as she landed to address her guildmates.
"Yeah, thanks Mira." Max smiled with relief.
"You too, Jura. Thanks for the hand." Jet said with a nod.
"The night is still young and there is still much to do." Jura said as the group came together. "So let us work together and eliminate this threat."
"Took the words right out of my mouth." Mira nodded as the group went onto the next spot.
"Mermaid Heel, you got a lot of enemies in front of you!" Hibiki warned as Arana, Beth, Risley, and Milliana faced off against a group of mini-dragons and seemed to be holding their own well, but soon found themselves against eight more mini-dragons.
"How many of these things are there?!" Risley questioned.
"This be a lot easier if we had Sapphy, Kagura, or Lucia with us!" Beth complained.
"Well, they aren't, so we'll just have to make do!" Milliana said.
"Maybe I can lend a hand?" A certain blue-robbed figure landed in front of them to face the approaching mini-dragons in front of them. "Maguilty Sodom!" Thrusting her hand forward, Meredy sent a hail of magical blades in the direction of the dragons to tear them apart, much to the relief of the other lady wizards.
"Gracias." Arana smiled.
"Yeah, thanks for the hand." Beth waved.
However, Milliana gasped as soon as she saw the robe their savior was wearing. "You're… Crime Sorciere… Jellal's guild."
Meredy looked seriously at that. "Yes, I am." She confirmed. "But right now, we're on the same side. If these things get out of the city, countless people could die. So let's work together and stop that from happening."
"She's right." Risley agreed. "We need all the help we can get."
As Beth and Arana both nodded in agreement, Milliana seemed to have a harder time accepting it. But she knew deep down that they were right.
'This isn't about me or Jellal right now. It's about protecting my friends and all the innocent people of this world. That's what Erzy and Mama Kurenai would do, and it's what I'm going to do.'
"Alright, so where too next?" Milliana asked, to which Meredy smiled as she received telepathic instructions.
"This way, follow me!" She led the group down the street.
"Hey, I know you're technically a criminal right now… but you think about joining Mermaid Heel?" Risley asked. "You can definitely pack a punch, and I'm sure Mama Kurenai can pull some strings."
"Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine where I am." Meredy smiled. "But if we survive this, I'll treat you all to some drinks."
"Holding ya to that." Risley grinned.
"Mermaid Heel is moving to Point D2!" Hibiki relayed.
"Jura and Mira are with Fairy Tail Group D and moving to Point C1!" Warren relayed as well.
"Get the lead out Lamia Scale and deal with the little bugs north of you!" Ooba yelled. "Move it, or I'll spin you!"
"Have Quatro Puppy and Blue Pegasus move south to deal with the large pack by the residential area!" Goldmine instructed.
"You heard em, babies!" Bob relayed to the groups.
"Let me help, too!" Darton had only just arrived, having recently been dropped off by Mira. "I will help to coordinate the royal army to work in conjunction with the wizards."
"Right, get in here!" Warren waved forward, allowing Darton to step into the circle and he was quickly linked into the telepathic link and joined in on the coordination effort.
As the instructions were being relayed, Makarov happened to look backwards to the silent forms of Sparda and Mavis' spirits as they each kept their eyes closed. Despite not appearing to do anything, they were linking themselves into the telepathic link and into Warren's map that he created via archive to deliver precise directions and instructions to each group in the city, and so far, the counterattack seemed to be moving swimmingly.
'I should expect nothing less from the Dark Knight and Fairy Tactician.' The former guildmaster of Fairy Tail thought with a smile.
"Heads up, it looks like the Dragon Slayers have all found their targets!" Hibiki alerted.
"Make sure their assigned support groups join them!" Makarov instructed. "We cannot afford to let our guard down in this battle!"
"Iron Dragon Spear: Demon Wall!" Gajeel's right arm had converted into its spear form, which he lunged to send multiple streaks of his Dragon Slayer power at the rock dragon, Agate, which caused the dragon some form of irritation before Gajeel ran up to its right side. "Iron Dragon Roar!" Gajeel's breath attack struck the right side of Agate's face, which blew off a couple of rocks, causing some drops of blood to begin leaking out.
Gajeel grinned. "Guess this hardcase has a nice soft filling on the inside. Ain't so tough without your armor, eh pal?"
Agate growled. "Foolish human. You think a few scratches are enough to discourage me? Let me show you what a real breath attack looks like!" He inhaled and prepared to unleash his own breath attack, prompting Gajeel to make a run for it. When Agate opened his mouth again, an enormous stream of rock and sand was shot out, four times Gajeel's own size. His eyes widened as he seemed like he was unable to avoid it.
However, a flash of light shined out of the sky as a certain someone flew in on his wings to pull Gajeel out of the way and avoid the devastating rocky-breath attack that tore up the whole street and even obliterated the building on the other side.
"Need a hand?" Lily asked with a grin.
Before Gajeel could respond, a giant piece of iron, shaped in the word 'IRON' with a heart at the center of the O appeared in his own hands, all courtesy of Levy as she stood on a nearby rooftop.
"He'd probably say 'no' even if he did need it. That's why we're here." Levy said with a smile.
"Yeah, to pick up the slack." Lady appeared at Agate's tail. "Steel Devil Void Blade!" She ran up his tail and across his back, slicing at his rocky hide to chip away some of his rocky armor before making her way to his front, where she leapt off to appear in front of his face. "Open wide! Steel Devil Rage!" Unleashing her own breath attack, which caused an explosion on the rock dragon's face, Lady soon leapt on the ground and was joined by Levy where Lily set down Gajeel.
"What are you guys all doing here?" The Iron Dragon Slayer questioned, but despite not expecting their help, he still chewed down on Levy's iron snack to fuel up.
"Providing support." Levy answered. "Sparda's orders, so don't even try to talk your way out of this."
"All the other Dragon Slayers are getting their own support as well, with magics that can either support the Dragon Slayer in question, or serve as a possible weakness against the opposing dragon." Lily explained.
"Metal is often stronger than rock." Lady added. "We'll chip away at this guy's armor and expose his softy and gooey flesh to tear apart."
The smoke cleared to reveal the glaring and growling face of Agate. "Foolish humans. I am going to enjoy crushing you all."
Gajeel gave a chuckle. 'I could never win an argument with these guys. They're about as stubborn as me. Ah well.' He then stepped up to the front with Levy, Lady, and Panther-Lily all by his side to provide the necessary support. "Then come and get us, ya hardhead."
"Get me right in this guy's face, Amarilla!" Sapphire said as she was being carried by her Exceed companion with both her fists set ablaze by blue flames.
"You got it!" The yellow furred Exceed flew her beloved Dragon Slayer right at Jades, who slashed his claws at her, but Amarilla's expert flying proved capable of avoiding Jades' attack and allowed them to close the distance to the enemy's face.
"Azure Dragon Infernal Fist!" She threw her fists and punched Jades multiple times, which not only seemed to cause burning damage, but even began to spread ice all over the front of his face, which soon began to cover his eyes. However, Jades growled in irritation as he lifted his left claw, which was soon coated in a black and red flame, something Amarilla noticed.
"We're pulling back!" She pulled Sapphire back as Jade's flaming claw was swung downward, and while Sapphire was able to avoid the strike, it still struck the ground to create a wave of dark flames which completely incarnated the ground below, much to the surprise of Sapphire and Amarilla. "Holy moly!" The Exceed exclaimed.
"I don't think that's normal fire!" Sapphire said. "It smells really bad."
Jades laughed. "This magic is known as Dark Flame. It burns away anything it touches, even normal fire. Try and consume this, and you'll be vaporized from the inside out!"
"I don't think he's bluffing, Sapphy! That weird fire is giving me chills!" Amarilla warned.
"Yeah, it feels different from the same kind of fire I use, or any other fire-user I fought before." Sapphire noted nervously, having a bad feeling that she would indeed suffer if she tried to eat that fire.
"Then why don't you fuel up with this?" A large spear of ice was thrown in her direction, which she caught. Despite the surprise, she wasted no time in chewing it down to refuel her own stamina.
And the one who threw it was none other than Gray, who stood alongside Lyon and even Ultear.
"I'm not an idiot. I know that even the three of us together may not be enough against a dragon." Lyon said. "But we can at least provide support."
"That doesn't mean we won't make it easy for this guy." Gray added.
Jades growled as he looked directly at the three wizards who stood before him, all of whom mirrored each other as they performed the exact same stance with one another. As they did, Ultear couldn't help but smile. Here she was, fighting alongside the students of her late mother.
Looking back on it, she remembered the hate she felt for them, and the feeling of devastation at the thought of her own mother replacing her with two sons. But she was wrong. She was never replaced. How she wished she could go back to that moment and simply take a few steps forward and join them. Perhaps they could have all been a family together, and these two would be like her brothers. But that's in the past, and while she can't change it, nor take away all the harm she caused in the service of Grimoire Heart, she can still make a difference and fight alongside them. That's the vow she took when she formed Crime Sorciere alongside Jellal and her foster daughter, Meredy. And she would uphold it until the day she died.
"Are you two ready?" She asked.
Gray and Lyon both exchanged smiles with each other as they all felt the same way she did. All three of them together like this just felt right, and they could practically feel the loving embrace from Ur at this very moment as all her beloved children fought alongside each other.
"You even need to ask?" Gray questioned.
"Let's put this monster on ice!" Lyon declared.
"Ice-Make…" All three threw out their hands to unleash their attacks.
"…Arrows!"
"…Snow Dragon!"
"…Rosen Krone!"
The trio of ice spells that consisted of arrows and roses on thorny spines all curled around the larger ice dragon as it shot at Jades, who opened his mouth to unleash his own breath attack. The dark flames collided with the ice attacks, and despite the combined energy of the three ice wizards, Jades' dark flames had the advantage as they burned away at the ice.
"He's too strong!" Ultear exclaimed. "We can't hold out!"
"Azure Dragon Infernal Breath!" A stronger version of her usual breath-attack was shot out by Sapphire, who was still hovering in the air thanks to Amarilla. It collided with the top of Jades' dark flames, creating a cluster of ice around it that began to spread all over the dark flames, much to the surprise of the dragon in question.
"What?!"
All four wizards gave their battle cries as their magics combined with one another, setting the combined ice-spell ablaze with icy cold blue flames, which proved strong enough to freeze and push back against Jades' dark flames until they reached him, creating an icy explosion that caused the dragon to step back a few feet.
"Think we got em…!" Gray said with a grin.
"What was that?" Lyon asked as Amarilla set Sapphire down next to them.
"It's a stronger version of my usual dragon roar, it freezes anything it touches, including magic itself." Sapphire explained.
"It covered those scary dark flames in it and gave your own ice spells a bit of an extra boost too!" Amarilla added.
"That's quite an impressive power. I can see why your one of Mermaid Heel's elite." Ultear complemented.
"Thanks, but save the complements for after the fight, look alive!" Sapphire warned as Jade stepped forward and looked a little irritated.
"He looks mad." Amarilla gulped.
"Then let's make his day even worse." Gray said seriously as all five of them stood together to face their draconic opponent.
Scissor Runner growled as he felt multiple attacks coming at him from all directions. One such attack came from Dobengal leapt above him and swung his rainbow-colored arm-blade to send a series of energy projectiles at Scissor Runner's back, creating a series of explosions and a smoke cloud to cover his top.
"He is blinded! Strike now!" Dobengal said as he landed on a nearby building.
"Don't tell me what to do, ninja-boy!" Orga growled as he prepared his own attack. "Lightning God Charged Particle Cannon!" He thrusted his left arm forward to send a large bolt of black lightning at Scissor Runner's left side, creating a large explosion on that very side. But he grunted as he tried to feel his right arm. "Damn it… my arm's still numb thanks to that blue flame bitch!"
"My defeat is still fresh in my memory. So, pardon me if I chose to take my frustrations out upon you." Rufus said to the dragon. "Memory-Make: Holy Sword of Flames!" Lifting his right arm up, Rufus had created a large sword made out of white energy that was twenty times his own size, and lined with flames. "The memory of two particular Dragon Slayers should be enough to deal with you!" He swung his arm downward upon the dragon's right side.
Through their combined attacks, the three Sabertooth Wizards grinned as it looked like they had dealt with the dragon. However, the smoke cleared to reveal that the dragon didn't seem the least bit damaged, other than maybe a few minor scratches, much to their shock.
"The hell…?!" Orga exclaimed.
"Our attacks did nothing?!" Dobengal questioned.
"But my memory… those were the magics from Sting and Natsu…!" Rufus couldn't believe it.
"Maybe instead of a memory, you use the real deal!" Sting himself said as he and his fellow Dragon Slayer and partner, both being carried by Lector and Frosh respectively, flew right at Scissor Runner.
"Attack his wings and keep him from taking to the skies! Limit his movement!" Rogue suggested.
"Good idea!" Sting agreed. "Lector, go for his right wing!"
"You got it, buddy!" The red-furred Exceed flew Sting faster as he went for Scissor Runner's right wing.
"White Dragon Roar!" Sting's breath attack, taking the form of a white laser struck Scissor Runner's wing, which did cause the dragon some discomfort as he growled.
At the same time, Rogue had drawn his katana and coated it in shadows before attacking himself. "Shadow Dragon: Sword Style: Shadow Cutter!" With Frosch flying him directly over the dragon's left wing, Rogue slashed all across it multiple times before the two Exceeds pulled their respective Dragon Slayers up to the sky above Scissor Runner and saw that his wings, while did take some damage, wasn't all that significant.
"All that and we barely even scratched the guy!?" Sting exclaimed.
"There's no way! Ain't the wings supposed to be the weakest part!?" Lector questioned.
"What are we going to do?!" Frosch was already looking scared.
'Facing a dragon in combat is obviously different than putting one out of his misery.' Rogue thought. 'I knew that when I volunteered to join this battle… but I still didn't think there would be this much of a difference!'
Scissor Runner scoffed. "Pathetic. And you call yourselves Dragon Slayers?" Flexing his wings, a wind storm formed around each of them.
"Incoming wing attack!" Sting exclaimed.
"Dodge now!" Rogue warned.
Scissor Runner flexed his wings, and while Sting and Rogue were pulled out of the way by their Exceed companions, the resulting attack was that of a cluster of razor sharp winds that sliced apart all the surrounding buildings to the point where the only thing left of them was dust, much to the shock of everyone in Sabertooth.
"What was that…?" Frosch questioned.
"Some kind of… wind attack?" Lector guessed.
'I've never seen any kind of wind attack do this kind of damage…!' Sting thought in fear. 'It feels a lot like when Vergil used the Yamato, only a hundred times over!'
"I am known as the Blade Dragon!" Scissor Runner declared. "My element is that of the wind, but the winds I generate are so sharp that they can slice through most anything! You humans don't stand a chance!"
Ionar laughed as he faced only a single opponent. "Is this some kind of joke? One human thinks he can stand against me? I can tell by your scent that you're not even a Dragon Slayer. How pathetic can you be? Or maybe you're just suicidal."
"Cocky bastard, ain't ya?" Gildarts grinned. "Well if you think you can take on little old me, then give it your best shot." He waved his finger to tell him to come and get him.
The dragon eyed him dangerously and sinisterly. "Very well. When I'm done, there won't even be ashes left of you! Die at the hands of Ionar, the Neutron Dragon!" Opening his mouth, Ionar unleashed a beam of bright white and incredibly hot energy straight at Gildarts.
However, the man threw his hand out to unleash his Crush magic on the breath attack before it even made contact. In that one instance, the entire beam of energy was broken apart on a molecular level, leaving almost nothing behind as traces of energy flew past him and blew up most of the surrounding area, but Gildarts wasn't the least bit injured.
"Huh…?!" Ionar wouldn't get much of a chance to react to that as Gildarts channeled all his magic power, causing a bright and intense aura of magical energy to form around him and shake up the entire area. Even the surrounding ground gave way under the intense pressure.
"Crushing Evil, Spreading Truth: Empyrean!" Jumping straight forward and pulling back his fist, which had all his Crush magic condensed around it, Gildarts threw a punch at Ionar's belly, creating a powerful and explosive repelling force that actually knocked the dragon up off his feet and sent him crashing through a series of buildings before lying flat on his back.
The white-scaled dragon grunted as he tried to pull himself up, only to look and see the smirking Gildarts standing on his belly. "What was that about not even being ashes left of me?"
"Insolent human…!" Ionar growled, but Gildarts was already at his face before pulling back a punch and striking him across the face, the resulting shockwave tore up the rubble of the building nearby before Gildarts threw his prosthetic arm in the form of a second punch across Ionar's face and then proceeded to punch him again and again with no signs of stopping.
"Come on! I thought dragons were supposed to be tough! Don't tell me you guys are all bark and no bite! At least Acnologia could put up a fight!" Gildarts taunted as he continued to slug Ionar's face repeatedly.
"I'll make you pay for direspecting me!" Ionar's wings spread out to unleash multiple beams of neutron energy in all directions, forcing Gildarts to stop his attack as he crossed his arms. The force of the multiple energy blasts was enough to push him off Ionar's belly and into the air. Gildarts looked to see Ionar was already up and about, and about to throw an energized claw strike at him…
Only for a series of cards to appear where the claw would be, and explode in a flurry of water, wind, fire, and lightning, halting Ionar's attack.
'Wait… I know that magic…' Gildarts' eyes shook with fear.
"What are you waiting for, old man!?" Cana called to him from a pile of rubble. "Hit him while he's open!"
Despite the shock, Gildarts was not about to let this opening go to waste as he threw his prosthetic arm into Ionar's stomach. "Absolute Heaven!" The attack was much stronger than the one Gildarts previously used, which not only sent Ionar threw a few more buildings, but even shattered his prosthetic arm, but that wasn't his main concern right now.
"Cana, what the hell are you doing here?!" Gildarts called to his daughter as he landed. "Get out of here!"
"No freaking way! First Master and Dante's pop told me to come here and support you and that's what I'm gonna do!" Cana called back. "Come on, Dad! You know what I can do! I may not be a power house like you, but I can keep that overgrown lizard on its toes while you lay it on him! I'm going to help you and you can't stop me!"
"Cana…" Gildarts looked at his daughter's expression and saw that she was dead serious. He recognized that look, that same stubbornness her mother had, and he knew it was impossible to change her mind. He then smiled. "Just try and keep up, kid."
Cana smiled back. "That's my line, you old timer."
The two then turned to the sight of an explosion of neutron energy as Ionar shot out of the rubble with a roar and into the air, glaring down at the humans that dared to stand against him, while the father-daughter duo mirrored each other with smirks as they prepared for battle.
Voidar roared in pain as he felt a burning sensation in his side, all from a venomous strike from none other than Erik as he had landed in a wave of poison on the dragon's back.
"I can hear it…!" Erik said with a confident and borderline sinister smirk. "I hear my poison circulating through your body! You might be big and nasty, but that won't save you from this! Say take a nap, you overgrown lizard!"
"You dare infect me with your venom?!" Voidar spread his wings to take to the skies, almost shaking Erik off, who could just barely hold on. The former criminal gripped on as desperately as he can, even as Voidar flew back down and flipped over so that his back would hit the ground, which forced Erik to let go and avoid the crushing impact. Erik rolled across the ground and soon found himself right under the recovered dragon. "I will crush you like the insect that you are!" He tried to stomp his right foot, only for a giant white angel to suddenly appear above Erik, its large wings extending and expanding upward to catch and halt Voidar's stomp, much to Cobra's further surprise.
"Hey!" Turning around, he was once more shocked to see Sorano, who was struggling to maintain the spell. "Anytime you wanna move, I can't hold him forever!"
No time to question it, Erik ran directly underneath Voidar as the angel that Sorano had summoned was already cracking under pressure, literally. "Poison Dragon Scales!" Throwing his hands out, Erik threw multiple globs of poison all at Voidar's underbelly before exiting out from his behind just as the angel gave way, and the sudden injection of poison caused Voidar to fall to the ground.
"I didn't expect to see you here." Erik said as Sorano regrouped with him, riding an angel summon as she hovered on it next to him.
"Same for you. How'd you escape?" She asked.
"I didn't. A couple of Rune Knights let me out." He answered.
"Seriously?" Sorano was surprised to hear that. "They must really be desperate. But I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth."
"You're here to support me." Erik said.
"Read my mind, huh?" Sorano teased slightly.
A smile formed on Erik's face. "Yep. And it's good to see you too. By the way, the name's not Cobra anymore, it's Erik."
A genuine smile formed on her face as well. "Sorano."
"Yeah, I know." Erik chuckled before hopping onto her angel summon just as Voidar seemed to recover, prompting the two reunited guildmates to fly up and resume battle against the enormous beast.
'I heard a whole bunch of chaotic thoughts on the way here, but Kinana wasn't among them.' Erik thought. 'Which means she isn't here…' A relieved smile was on his face. 'That's good to know.'
Meanwhile, Kinana gave a small gasp as she turned back in the direction of the city, that became a battlefield, while all the evacuees kept on moving closer to the mountains.
"What's up?" Morrison asked.
"N-nothing…" Kinana tried to catch up with everyone else. 'I can feel it. I don't know how, but I know. Erik's here.' She smiled. 'He's helping everyone, all my friends in Fairy Tail. I knew it. I knew that there was still good in him.'
"Ya know, this might just be the dumbest thing we'd ever done." Doranbolt said as he and Lahar watched Cobra's battle from a rooftop. "Considering one of his old guildmates from Crime Sorciere is here, what are the odds you think he's gonna run off with them when this is all over?"
"I'd say they're pretty high." Lahar replied.
"Let's hope we only lose our jobs, then." Doranbolt joked. "Not to mention the political nightmare when the Council finds out about the Eclipse…"
"Worry about the future later, Doranbolt." Lahar told him. "At least, not until we've reshaped it."
"You're the boss." Doranbolt said casually.
Lahar then turned to his army of Rune Knights. "Has the perimeter been established?"
"Yes, sir." One Rune Knight reported. "Wizards are at the specified points you requested with their lacrima crystals. A rune barrier is being erected over the entire city as we speak."
"Excellent. Now then, let us join the fray!" Lahar commanded before he turned to Doranbolt with a slight smirk. "Oh, and a word of advice… avoid the mouth end."
"Cracking jokes? What's next, Lahar? A song?" Doranbolt joked back.
"What is this…?" Elexion looked down towards the city in annoyance. "The dragons are being pushed back…!?"
"Are you all that surprised? It was like this four hundred years ago, too." Kurenai told him as he glared in her direction.
"You see that, freakshow?" Bruni said to Future Legion. "You think you got the edge just cause you got some scary dragons, but we humans got something you guys don't…."
"Humans may be physically weaker than dragons or even most demons, but they make up for that in spirit." Kurenai continued. "When driven into a corner, there is nothing they won't due to survive to the next day!"
"We'll unite and fight until we can't fight anymore!" Bruni went on.
"So come at us with everything you got! We'll bite back twice as hard until you're defeated!" Both Bruni and Kurenai declared at the same time.
"Don't be so sure, pest. You've yet to experience the true terror of the dragons!" Future Legion said to Bruni malevolently as white light formed in his free hand, and the Rebellion he wielded was then coated in shadows. "But that pales in comparison to the terror we shall unleash upon you!"
"Indeed. The gnats are the most annoying when they gather together." Elexion said. "So to ensure a complete and total extermination, the time has come to stop holding back!" A powerful electrical aura began to surge all over Elexion, to the point where lightning was being shot up into the sky and all over the surrounding area. Kurenai prepared herself, but soon gave a gasp when she saw the lightning around Elexion change.
It went from bright yellow to a darker red, which was then condensed at his right claw, which balled into a fist that he threw in Kurenai's direction. The attack came at her faster than she could expect and was unable to counter. She tried to block it with Poseidon, but the attack still landed and sent Kurenai flying and crashing into the base of a nearby mountain.
The demonic mermaid struggled to pull herself out of the crater as she felt residual traces of red lightning around her and gasped once again to see Elexion already flying at her faster than before as the red lightning surged around him. Though she was able to fly out of the way just in time, and tried to counter by spinning her trident around to generate a large spinning blade of razor-sharp water to throw at her opponent, Elexion unleashed a breath attack, this one composed of red lightning to completely overpower and vaporize her own attack as she could barely dodge it. And even then, that still left her vulnerable for Elexion to ram at her and strike her with his head, still covered in his aura of red lightning before she was sent flying again into the air.
'He's using his Red Lightning Dragon Mode…!' Kurenai thought. 'He only ever used it a handful of times, during the war against Mundus' forces, during the Dragon Civil War, and against Acnologia. When he couldn't defeat that monster even with that power, he fled. But this power killed more than a few dragons on Igneel's side and almost killed him if it weren't for Sparda.' She eyed Elexion seriously as he was closing the distance once again to bite and slash at her with his teeth and claws, all charged with red electrical power. 'I have to stop him here! If I can't… he'll destroy everyone else! I won't let that happen!' She clenched her trident tightly as she lunged it forward to shoot a point-blank water blast at the side of Elexion's neck and gave a yell as she poured all her power into it to push him into a mountain and keep him pinned. 'Whatever happens… I have to hold Elexion here until the Eclipse Gate is destroyed and they send him and the others back! It's the only way to stop this madness!'
Back at the Eclipse Gate, Zirconis laughed as he looked down at the group below him which consisted of Wendy, Carla, Happy, Modeus, Sheeree, Kyrie who still carried the weakened Lucy, Yukino, Trish, Lisanna, Arcadios, and Hisui, along with a gathering of soldiers.
"Well, look at all these tasty little morsels." The Jade Dragon looked at all of them with sadistic pleasure. "Ah, hello ladies. Don't you look tender and scrumptious." He said specifically to all the glaring women in the group. "Hmm, I can smell even a couple of demons too. That blonde one isn't too bad looking, I wonder how she tastes. And…" He found himself looking at one demon in particular. "Is that you, Modeus? Well, you've certainly grown since the last time I saw you. And you carry a sword? What happened to that pacifist who refused to fight even when the enemy was directly in front of you?"
"Modeus, you know this dragon?" Carla asked as she and Wendy were especially surprised.
"Unfortunately." The man pinched the bridge between his eyes in annoyance. "Zirconis, the Jade Dragon. He was on the side that opposed human co-existence and had a habit of 'playing' with his food, while specifically targeting females. He also doesn't know when to stop talking."
"Hey, it's not my fault that I'm a great conversationist." Zirconis replied as he stroked one of the tendrils that hung from his jaw like a beard. "Just one of the many great qualities that comes from an intellectual such as myself."
"I'm glad to see that love you have for the sound of your own voice hasn't diminished." Modeus commented sarcastically.
"Well at least your tongue is sharper than before. Let's see if you got the bite to back that up." Zirconis replied.
"Zirconis!" Levia bellowed as he stood on the opposite side from him. "Stop playing with your food and do your job! Slay these humans where they stand!"
"Ugh fine. Killjoy." Zirconis growled.
"Don't think we're just gonna let you kill us!" Lisanna declared as she shot straight for Levia in her Dragon Soul Take Over with Sheeree right behind her, using her Magical Drain to copy Exceed wings. "Iron Fist!" Her own fist lighting on fire and mimicking the signature attack of her Dragon Slayer lover, Lisanna struck Levia in the face, creating an explosion that caused him to reel back as Sheeree hovered above him to attack next.
"Sky Dragon Wing Attack!" Throwing her arms forward, Sheeree generated large whirlwinds which enclosed around Levia's head to strike him. "I may not be a real Dragon Slayer, but I think me copying their magic can at least do some damage!"
"And my flames came from a real Dragon Slayer, so I'd say they can hurt these guys too!" Lisanna said.
"A couple of false Dragon Slayers think they can best me?! Don't make me laugh!" Levia opened his mouth to blast an enormous column of water in their direction, though the two of them are able to avoid it for the most part, the sheer force of the attack still amazed even the two of them.
However, a streak of white lightning shot past Levia's face to cut and strike him. "Then how about I tag in?!" Trish said as she was now directly above Levia, lightning surging around her whole body to swing the Devil Sword Sparda and throw several electric arcs at him, causing the Water Dragon to grunt in annoyance before swinging his tail at her, but Trish zapped herself away and landed on his side to avoid the tail strike and drew Luce and Ombra to shoot more electrical bullets while Lisanna and Sheeree unleashed breath attacks of fire and air respectively on Levia's face.
Meanwhile, Modeus and Arcadios ran directly for Zirconis with Carla flying Wendy right above them. "Princess, you and the other Celestial Wizards must do what you can to destroy the Eclipse Gate!" Arcadios told her. "We will deal with these dragons!"
"Alright, be careful Arcadios!" Hisui nodded before turning to Yukino, Kyrie, Happy, and Lucy. "Let's go."
"Right." Yukino nodded.
"Protect the princess, men!" One soldier said.
"Right!" They all replied as the royal soldiers all joined the group and moved closer to the Eclipse Gate.
"Well, isn't this adorable? Sparda's weakest apprentice thinks he can take me." Zirconis mocked as he tried to throw his right claw down onto Modeus, but the man had already drawn Hunter's Moon.
"Demon Sword: Chaotic Moon!" Swinging his sword to throw a large red projectile in the shape of a full moon with chaotic energy around it, the attack intercepted Zirconis' claw strike, causing an explosion that staggered him back.
"You call Modeus weak?" Wendy glared as she faced Zirconis while Carla kept her airborne. "That man taught me everything that I know and I'm going to use what he taught me to beat you! Sky Dragon Roar!" Wendy unleashed her breath-attack point blank in Zirconis' face, causing him to back away.
"Your magic… it affected him, Wendy!" Carla said.
"Now it's our turn!" Arcadios drew his own sword, which glowed a bright green as he activated its own magic power, which was enough to draw Zirconis' attention.
"That magic…"
The Jade Dragon didn't get a chance to voice his thoughts as Arcadios swung his sword to generate a large wave of green energy that flew out to strike at Zirconis underbelly while Modeus moved in at Zirconis' front claws.
"Demon Sword: Crimson Eclipse!" Moving at blinding speeds, Modeus sliced at the back of both of Zirconis' front claws, creating two large red cuts on the back of his frontmost legs, causing them to explode as the dragon stumbled to the ground.
"Now! Strike at his front!" Arcadios said as he and Wendy went for Zirconis' head while he was down.
"Sky Dragon Whirlwind Fist!" Wendy threw her fist out, which was coated in a whirlwind just as Arcadios brought his glowing sword down. Both attacks struck Zirconis in the face. Spreading his wings, the Jade Dragon took to the air to avoid the onslaught of their attacks.
"You… I know that power…!" Zirconis glared at Wendy in particular. "And your scent… You were raised by Grandeeney, weren't you?"
That caused Wendy to look in surprise. "You knew Grandeeney?"
"Indeed, and she was quite the looker." Zirconis answered. "It's a shame that she chose to defend what was supposed to be our food supply. The two of us could have had powerful offspring, but she rejected all my advances. Ah well, it was her loss."
"Is he serious right now?!" Carla looked in disgust while Wendy seemed rather freaked out herself.
"Yes, in addition to being a narcissist, he was something of a womanizer for female dragons." Modeus confirmed in mental exhaustion.
"It would seem that even dragons come in all types too, don't they?" Arcadios assumed.
However, the Jade Dragon soon found himself drawn to the sword that white knight was wielding. "Tell me human… what is that sword? It wields the power of a dragon… but not just any dragon… that is my power!"
"Your power, hmm?" Arcadios looked to his own sword. "I see, so it was your bones, then?"
"His bones?" Wendy looked to him in confusion.
"Indeed. As you've been to the Dragon Graveyard below the city, this sword was forged from the skeleton of one of the dragons that laid down there in an attempt to replicate the dragon's power." Arcadios revealed. "It would seem that skeleton came from this particular dragon." He said upon looking to Zirconis.
"A sword… made from dragon bones…?" Wendy muttered, feeling quite disturbed with even Carla and Modeus looking in surprise.
"It is a long and complicated story. But for now, let us focus on keeping this dragon occupied and away from the Eclipse Gate!" Arcadios declared.
"Very well, but we will discuss this later." Carla said as the group faced Zirconis again.
The green-scaled dragon growled in annoyance. "You think to replicate my power?! Let me show you the true and destructive power of the Jade Dragon!" He opened his mouth to generate a breath attack, creating a sphere of green energy at the back of his threat.
"It's a breath attack!" Wendy identified.
"Behind me, now!" Modeus declared as he held his sword in front of him, the blade pointing downward as it glowed a bright white. Wendy saw what he was doing and, as the group moved behind him, casted Armor upon Modeus to enhance the defensive power on Modeus as he prepared his spell.
"Taste my true power, lowly insects!" Zirconis' breath attack took the form of a blast of green energy with shards of green jewels within, but Modeus already had his defense prepared.
"Lunar God of Protection: Khonsu!" A large and glowing white falcon made of demonic power had formed behind them which gave a call as it folded its wings inward around Modeus and those behind him just as Zirconis' breath attack it. The Jade Dragon Roar had carved a pathway along the courtyard that led down into the city, leaving trails of spiked jade stone scattered across the pathway. However, when the smoke cleared, Zirconis looked in surprise to see the white falcon that Modeus had summoned was still present, right before it faded away to reveal the undamaged Modeus, Wendy, Carla, and Arcadios.
"I am no longer the same weakling you once knew, Zirconis. Now and forever, I am a warrior, heir to the will of the Dark Knight himself, and more importantly… I'm a member of Fairy Tail!" Modeus swore. "And I swear by the name of mentor and my brother, I will not let a single one of my comrades die!"
Zirconis growled at the man's determination. "Don't make promises that you can't keep!"
Meanwhile, Hisui, Lucy, Yukino, Kyrie, Happy, and the soldier detail that protected them had made it to the front of the Eclipse Gate. "We're here, your majesty!"
"Yes but… where is…?" Hisui looked for a certain Son of Sparda, one who had intended to defend the Gate and make sure it wasn't destroyed. But hers and everyone else's attention was caught by a series of light flashes above near the castle rooftop, followed by the sounds of metal clashing that echoed like thunder.
Lucy weakly looked up and knew immediately what was going on. "Erza… Nero… Vergil…"
Nero gave a yell as he swung Red Queen at Vergil, who blocked it with the Yamato and swiftly dodged his head to avoid the gunshot from Blue Rose while also spinning around to deal a kick to Nero's head. Looking to his right upon seeing a flash of light, Vergil disappeared in a flash of blue light and re-appeared above Erza, who had zoomed at him in her Flight Armor while also wielding her Lightning Empress spear and spun in mid-air with the Yamato pointing out to deliver multiple spinning slashes, which Erza blocked with the pole of her weapon before lunging it forward to send an electrical blast in Vergil's direction, who angled himself over it to land behind Erza and slice at her back with the Yamato to send her crashing into the castle below.
A pair of yells came from opposite directions as Kagura and Lucia both lunged at him with their respective weapons. "Blood Sword: Archenemy: Strong Form!" The unsheathed Archenemy was drawn to swing at Vergil just as Lucia spun Cutlaseer to swing both blades at him, both Mermaid Heel members hoped to catch him in their crosshairs.
"Mirage Edge!" Creating a transparent copy of Force Edge, Vergil used that to block Lucia's dual sword strike, while also holding out the Yamato to block Archenemy from Kagura. Vergil stood his ground, but much of the rooftop cracked under pressure as a dual shockwave crossed over him and past Lucia and Kagura from their respective attacks. Both women glared at their single opponent as he locked himself and refused to budge an inch even under their combined assault.
But this seemed to be their intent as Jellal appeared above them, his body glowing gold as he lunged his hands downward. "Grand Chariot!" Jellal unleashed seven streaks of golden energy from the sky onto Vergil with Kagura and Lucia leaping back. All beams struck the same point where Vergil was standing, which seemed to catch him in an explosion that tore up the roof and sent him falling down into the castle below.
That wasn't the end if of it, however. Jellal used his Meteor to close the distance from the falling Vergil and attacked yet again. "Jiu Leixing!" Creating nine lightning-like energy swords around him, Jellal gunned straight for Vergil, who swung both Yamato and Mirage Edge to block and parry each strike, but this seemed to leave him open for Jellal to move in close and strike him in the face with an energized punch to send him crashing into the castle hallway. But when Jellal moved in close to continue the assault, a long and deadly slash went through the air to slice through Jellal's Meteor and cut him across the chest, sending him crashing through the wall and into a parallel hallway as Vergil stood up, Mirage Edge vanishing as he wielded only the Yamato again.
"Gilgamesh!" Looking upwards, Vergil saw Nero coming down as he wielded Gilgamesh, his right leg up as he performed a falling kick right for his enemy.
"Ifrit!" Quping into his own gauntlet Devil Arm, Vergil swung his left fist upward to catch Nero's kick, creating an aftershock of flame and force before swerving around Nero to deal a fiery punch to the side of his face and knock him into the wall.
A mighty yell soon followed as Erza entered the hallway, clad in her Flame Empress Armor while also wielding her Sea Empress sword, generating a wave of water as she moved in to slash at Vergil, who punched the ground to create a column of flame to evaporate the water, but the steam seemed to let Erza close the distance as she swung her sword at him, though he blocked it with his left gauntlet, Erza was able to kick him in the stomach to knock him upwards where Lucia appeared to meet him.
"Osiris!" Quipping her light-scythe, she swung it at Vergil and while be blocked it by crossing his flaming gauntlets, her strike wasn't finished as she unleashed a series of deadly light blades from her scythe to send Vergil skidding across the ground to where Kagura met him and struck Archenemy with a slash at his side, which seemed to cut and draw blood, and despite the wound quickly healing, Kagura noticed that she wasn't able to draw her blade back. Vergil had tightened his own muscles to keep a hold of the blade before he pounded her face in with Ifrit and loosened his muscles to allow her sword to be pulled back, his wound quickly healing before he punched her in the stomach and unleashed an explosive fire blast to knock Kagura into the charging Lucia.
Multiple red blade were thrown at Vergil from behind, which he dodged with graceful agility, only for them to explode behind him, the shockwave sending Vergil to Nero, who was now quipped with Lucifer as he held two glowing red blades in his hand and slashed them at Vergil before causing them to explode and knock him back to where he appeared to be surrounded by all five of his opponents.
"He can't hit us all at once!" Nero exclaimed. "Jump him now!"
"Don't be so certain. Zeus!" Vergil now wielded his dark indigo lightning-spear, which already glowed with electrical power.
Erza's eyes widened in shock as she saw that. "Everyone pull back, now!"
But it was too late, Vergil had already unleashed an all-encompassing blast of indigo-colored lightning which surged out in all directions to strike each of his foes. Though Erza was quick to requip into her Lightning Empress Armor to protect herself from most of the damage, the electrical shockwave was still enough to blast her allies all backwards before Vergil appeared directly in front of her to lunge his spear at her stomach region, but she was quick to grab it before it even touched her. She glared at Vergil as she stood her ground, holding onto his Devil Arm tightly and keeping it from being pulled back or pushed forward. However, Vergil noticed how her left arm was shaky and had less strength then her right.
"Your left arm is still injured." Vergil noted, causing Erza to narrow her eyes further. "Your fight with Kagura did more damage then you would care to admit. Even if you are right-handed, it is still foolish to fight with a damaged limb."
"I do not care for your concern, nor do I want it." Erza glared back. "I do not care if I lose this arm, it will not allow cower before you!"
"Your stubbornness is both commendable and foolish." Vergil said.
"Looked in the mirror, asshole?!" Turning around, Vergil was quick to kick Erza away while also bringing Zeus up to block the katana strike from Nero as he now wielded the Masayoshi in his human hand. "Thanks for the boost, by the way!" He grinned as his Devil Bringer arm was now revealed to be charged with the same kind of electrical power that he had just unleashed, which Nero was quick to use to strike Vergil in the face with a punch that was followed through with the same kind of explosion of dark indigo lightning to blast Vergil through the wall, and through that of the next room over to end up in an adjacent hallway.
The eldest Son of Sparda stood back on his feet as he looked through the smoke to see Erza and Nero both stepping out with Jellal, Kagura, and Lucia right behind them.
"It seems you've learned nothing from our previous encounters, Vergil." Erza said. "Your foolish quest for power aside, we do not give up even when driven to the brink. No matter what you do, we will continue to fight."
"I know." Vergil admitted as he held the Yamato again and pointing it towards them. "So, shall we continue?"
"Don't even need to ask." Kagura replied as all five of them charged for Vergil again.
"I forgot just how big that Gate is." Happy said as he and everyone else stood in front of the now defenseless Eclipse Gate. "How are we supposed to smash it? The plan was for Lucy and Yukino to both use their spirits, but Lucy's tapped out and she's got ten of the twelve Zodiac!"
"I… I can still…" Lucy tried to stand up, only to falter and slip into Kyrie's arms.
"Lucy, you've spent too much magic power! There's not much you can do now!" She tried to tell her.
"No… I have to…!" She still tried to push herself. "Everyone else is fighting and giving it their all… I have to do the same…!"
"No." Hisui shook her head. "This is my responsibility, and my mess to clean up." She reached into her robe and pulled out something that made Lucy and Yukino both look in surprise. It was a Zodiac key, but it was neither gold nor silver. It was green, specifically the color that was reminiscent of the jade stone.
"A Zodiac key…?" Yukino looked in surprise. "But… I've never seen a key like that before…"
"The twelve golden keys are the Zodiac of the West." Hisui said. "I wield the Jade keys from the East, the Four Symbols. And I will use them to undo the mistakes I have made! Open! Gate of the White Tiger! Bai Hu!"
As she swung her key, a different sound effect was made, one that sounded like a gong as opposed to a doorbell. In a flash of green light, a new spirit had been summoned.
This one had the appearance of a young man with pale skin and blue eyes. He had long hair that was white and black, almost like a white tiger's fur, while also having a white tiger tail coming from his rear, as well as tiger-like claws on his hands and feet. His attire consisted only of a pair of black pants, revealing his muscular form fit for a nimble yet strong warrior, and he wielded a Jiu Huan Dao sword.
Everyone looked to the spirit in surprise, even as he turned to Hisui and bowed to her. "I am at your service, my lady. How may I aid you?"
"White Tiger… Jade Keys…?" Lucy muttered. "I've never heard of any of that…"
"I've heard rumors of there being a set of Zodiac spirits from the Eastern nations, but I've never seen one before…" Yukino looked in awe.
"Bai Hu, do what you can to destroy the Eclipse Gate!" Hisui commanded.
"As you command." The spirit named Bai Hu nodded before rushing the toward the Gate with superb speed. He leapt up at it and began slicing at the gate with his sword, and with each strike, an explosion of metallic light was followed.
"It's still not enough." Hisui drew out a second jade key. "Open! Gate of the Vermillion Bird! Zhu Que!" With a swing of her key, Hisui had summoned a second spirit.
This one took the form of a human female clad in a dark red Chinese dress that went down to her knees, while the sleeves of her dress appeared to be on fire. Her skin was pale as well and she had purple-colored eyes. Her hands and feet had the form of bird-like talons as she had long and vibrant red hair shaped like bird feathers.
"Zhu Que, help Bai Hu in destroying the Gate!" Hisui commanded.
"As you wish, your highness." The spirit named Zhu Que nodded as she expanded her arms to grow a series of flaming feathers, her arms turning into bird like wings as she flew to the Gate that Bai Hu continued to slash at. The two spirits made eye-contact as they nodded, with Bai Hu jumping back before Zhu Que flapped her arm-wings to generate a large fireball, which was launched at the Gate to create a large explosion. But even as the dust cleared, the Gate still didn't appear to be damaged.
"It's no good. Even with two of the Four Symbols, the Eclipse Gate is still undamaged." Hisui grunted in frustration. 'This is all my fault…!'
"Then how about some extra power to add to it?" Yukino suggested as she pulled out a certain black and gold key.
"Hold on… isn't that the freaky snake key?" Happy asked as he recognized that key instantly.
"Ophiuchus, my most powerful spirit. We need every ounce of power we can get if we're to pull this off." Yukino said. "Kyrie, please protect Lucy."
"I understand." Kyrie nodded as she stuck close the weakened Lucy who couldn't help but feel frustrated with herself, being unable to help her friends in abating this crisis.
"Open! Gate of the Snake Charmer! Ophiuchus!" Just like in the games, when Yukino pointed her key upwards, a large dark magic circle had formed as the sky in the general area became covered in a dark purple smoke, much to the concern of the surrounding soldiers.
"Whoa! What's going on?!"
"I can't see a thing!"
Even the fights against Levia and Zirconis stopped as everyone, human, dragon, and demon, had their attention drawn by the malevolent source of power that had just appeared.
"Hmm, now this is interesting." Zirconis mused.
"This ominous presence…" Modeus recognized it as he and everyone else became serious.
"Yukino's summoning Ophiuchus…" Lisanna understood the reasoning behind this action, but that didn't make her feel any less comfortable.
The dark smoke had begun to clear as the enormous snake form of Ophiuchus had risen up and gave a deep hiss. Hisui looked in surprise as she saw its mighty form. She had seen the summoning of this spirit before during the Grand Magic Games, but that was only from a safe distance in her personal quarters. Being so up close to her was another matter entirely. Even Lucy found herself weakly clutching to Kyrie out of instinct upon seeing this spirit again, with Kyrie herself shaking at the sight of her.
"I forgot how scary that thing is…!" Happy shivered.
"Ophiuchus, destroy the Eclipse Gate! Leave nothing left of it!" Yukino commanded.
A sinister smirk adorned the giant serpent's face as she set her eyes upon the Eclipse Gate and lunged directly at it. She slammed her forehead into it to deliver a significant amount of force that actually rocked the Gate.
"It shook!" Happy exclaimed.
"That means the Gate took damage…!" Yukino said seriously. "Don't stop Ophiuchus! Keep going!"
The giant snake-like spirit gave something that mixed a roar and a hiss in response as it pulled back and unleashed a dark purple haze from its mouth onto the Gate.
"Ophiuchus can unleash a poisonous and corrosive substance from her mouth! I have reason to believe that it can deal significant damage to the Eclipse Gate!" Yukino stated.
"Then let me aid in its destruction!" Hisui said, stepping up once more. "Bai Hu, Zhu Que, aid Ophiuchus and continue to try and destroy the Eclipse Gate!"
The two spirits exchanged eye-contact once more. Both of them felt somewhat uncomfortable working alongside this particular spirit and the malevolent aura she exhibited, but they would follow their owner's command without question, as was their duty.
"As you wish." Bai Hu repeated.
"Consider it done, princess." Zhu Que agreed as they went on the attack as well.
Ophiuchus had pulled back to observe the damage that it's breath-attack had done to the Gate and saw that one spot on the front had taken some damage, appearing to have melted only the bare surface of it. It wasn't much, but it was still damaged regardless.
"Focus your attacks upon that one spot!" Bai Hu directed. "The more pressure we inflict together, the greater the damage it'll be!"
"Agreed!" Zhu Que flew to the skies again and flapped her wings to generate another fire-ball, which she blasted at that one spot. And once the fire attack exploded, Bai Hu leapt at that spot as well and slashed with his sword to generate waves of energized steel to slice at that one point. Once he was finished, Ophiuchus unleashed her breath attack once more to further melt and corrode away the already damaged area, Zhu Que repeated her attack as well, followed by Bai Hu, and back to Ophiuchus once more.
"The Gate…! We were instructed to guard it!" Levia growled. "If that Gate falls, we'll be returned to our own time!"
"Then let us stop that from happening!" Zirconis declared.
"Oh no you don't!" Sheeree unleashed a copied version of Wendy's breath attack, but both Zirconis and Levia took to the air to avoid that and the attacks from the others.
"Target the humans close to the Gate!" Levia said as he and Zirconis both prepared to unleash their breath attacks, much to the shock of the Celestial Wizards and those closest to them.
"Princess!" Arcadios warned.
"Lucy! Happy! Yukino! Kyrie!" Lisanna called to them.
"Get away from there now!" Trish shouted.
However, a large and yellow bolt of lightning surged through the sky at such intense speeds, and managed to strike Levia in the side, electrocuting the dragon and sending him tumbling into Zirconis, stopping them from attacking, much to the surprise of the all the wizards and royal soldiers.
The lightning in the air was revealed to be none other than Laxus himself as he prepared an another attack. "Lightning Dragon Heavenward Halberd!" Creating the largest spear of lightning that he could make, Laxus threw it at Levia as he was falling. The attack struck and further electrocuted the Water Dragon while also causing him to fall onto of Zirconis, leading them both to crash into the courtyard and create a tremor upon impact.
"It's Laxus!" Happy exclaimed joyously much to the elation of everyone in Fairy Tail, and surprise of everyone else as Laxus himself landed near the group.
"Heard you guys needed some help up here." The man said.
"You heard right, and we need all the firepower we can get over here." Trish replied with a relieved smile.
Laxus smiled back before glancing back to one of his guildmates. "Hey Modeus. You're needed in the city, so get going."
Modeus himself was rather surprised, but before he could ask or protest this request, he received a telepathic message.
"Do as he says, Modeus."
"Master…?" He recognized the voice of his former mentor.
"Laxus is a powerful Dragon Slayer, his magic can harm the dragons up there and better protect Lucy and the others. They are the key to destroying the Gate and stopping this madness. But we need your aid in the city against the other dragons." Sparda told him.
As much as he hated to leave Wendy and the others, Modeus knew Sparda for the tactical genius that he was and trusted his judgment above all else when it came to battle. If this was his decision, then it was for the best and would lead to the desired outcome.
"I understand." He nodded. "Wendy, Carla, I need to go." He told them.
"It's okay, we get it." Wendy smiled. "Don't worry, I can handle myself."
"If Sparda thinks your assistance is needed elsewhere, then it must truly be the case." Carla smiled as well.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure my little sis is still in one piece." Even Sheeree gave a wink to Modeus.
"Thank you. Good luck to all of you." Modeus said before he leapt from the courtyard and made his way to the city as quickly as he possibly could.
Once he left, Laxus stood at the lead alongside Lisanna, Wendy, Carla, Trish, Sheeree, and Arcadios as they saw Zirconis and Levia recover.
"Happy… help them out." Lucy weakly told him, much to the blue Exceed's concern.
"Are you sure, Lucy?" He asked.
The blonde smiled. "Trust me… they need you more than I do right now. Now, go and make Natsu proud."
"I'll make sure Lucy is safe, I promise." Kyrie assured.
Nodding with determination, Happy clenched his paws as a fierce expression formed on his face. "Aye sir." He flew to join Laxus and the others as they faced the two dragons, leaving the Celestial Wizards alone with their guard as Yukino and Hisui commanded Ophiuchus, Bai Hu, and Zhu Que to resume their attack on the Eclipse Gate.
Back in the city, Dante and Natsu both found themselves facing off against Atlas Flame as the fiery dragon roared at the duo.
"I'll give this guy credit, he's got flare alright." Dante said before turning to Natsu. "You know what to do, right?"
"Yeah." Natsu cracked his knuckles seriously.
Atlas Flame growled with interest. "I can sense you two are strong. But you are merely human."
"Not quite, ya hothead. I'm actually half-demon and my pal over here is a genuine Dragon Slayer." Dante said as he gestured to Natsu.
"A demon half-breed… allied with a Dragon Slayer." Atlas Flame mused before chuckling. "Well, this should be quite interesting. Very well, come at me!"
"You asked for it!" Dante immediately drew Crystalbane and swung it to send a series of pink explosive crystals at Atlas Flame's front. The crystals all exploded which seemed to obsecure Atlas Flame's vision and gave Dante a chance to run alongside the side of a building, where he drew Ebony and Ivory and fired off his bullets, imbued with his demonic energy.
Atlas Flame flinched in annoyance before turning to slice is fiery claw upward, to which Dante used his Trickster Style to avoid the resulting inferno that all but obliterated the building he was on before landing on the roof of the building next to that. He then resumed his fire at Atlas Flame, but this only seemed to annoy him more than anything as the Fire Dragon walked right into the building, his fiery body already causing it to combust and blow away. However, Dante was still able to use his Trickster to jump high off that and land right on Atlas Flame's back.
"Hey, this ain't so bad." Dante cracked as he stood in a cluster of flames. "Think I can get a nice tan up here, get a little more attention from the ladies."
"You jest in the middle of battle?" Atlas Flame questioned.
"Only all the time." Dante grinned, causing Atlas Flame to growl again before he increased the intensity of the flames around him, but Dante stood where he was. And despite sweating a bit from the heat, he maintained his smirk. "I see you got a fiery temper…and are easily distracted… just like old man said. You're up, Natsu!"
With Atlas Flame focused solely on Dante, Natsu himself stood on the building on the other side. "Okay!" He ran and leapt right to Atlas Flame's neck, finally getting the Hellfire Dragon's attention as the young Dragon Slayer grappled on with a mischievous grin.
'I still can't believe this was Dad's idea…!' Dante thought.
Flashback – Moments Before
"Alright Dad, we're listening." Dante said as he, Natsu, Meredy, Sorano, and Ultear paid attention to what Sparda had to give them.
"Most of these dragons were on the side that opposed human co-existence four centuries ago." Sparda began. "All but one… the Hellfire Dragon, Atlas Flame."
"Hellfire? So this guy can use fire magic like Igneel?" Natsu asked.
"Yes. In fact, he is the sworn brother of Igneel, and a friend of mine as well." Sparda confirmed.
"No way!" Natsu smiled. "First Bruni, now this guy? It's like I got two uncles now!"
"Natsu, while I'm happy that you've managed to find some long lost family members, we need to focus on the battle!" Ultear reminded.
"Don't worry, because it's that very connection that'll break the spell that has Atlas Flame under our enemy's thrall." Sparda said.
"So, what… we're gonna free him with the 'Magic of Friendship' like some kiddy cartoon?" Dante guessed.
"Not quite." Sparda explained. "Atlas Flame's mind was ensnared by our enemy's spell because he was in a state of confusion upon coming to this era. If we give him something to focus on… something familiar… such as the presence of two of his closest allies…. Or those who have an intimate connection to them…" He looked at Dante and Natsu specifically. "It'll give him the means to break free and regain control. Once he is free, I am confident he will come to our aid."
"So, we can get a dragon on our side?" Meredy asked in surprise.
"Alright, tell us what we gotta do!" Dante said.
"First Dante, you are going to use as much of your own demonic power as you can." Sparda instructed. "It's reminiscent of my own, and his own senses will be able to pick up on that. As for you Natsu…" He looked at the Fire Dragon Slayer. "You are going to…"
End Flashback
"Who are you, pest?!" Atlas Flame questioned as Natsu clung to his neck-area.
"I'm Natsu Dragneel, and I'm the guy who's gonna eat ya!" The young man opened his mouth and bit down on Atlas' fiery body and began to inhale as much fire as he could.
Dante couldn't stop himself from laughing. "That's definitely something that knucklehead would do! But never in a million years did I think my old man would actually come up with a plan like this!" He continued to laugh as he hold his stomach.
Atlas Flame blinked in surprise. "You… Eat… Me…? You can't be serious!"
"Oh I'm dead serious! You're fire tastes delicious!" Natsu said as he continued to gulp down the flames.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, Natsu!" Dante continued to laugh.
"Get off me!" Atlas Flame slammed his whole head to the ground and dragged it along to try and shake Natsu off, but he stubbornly clung to him like his life depended on it.
"No way!" Natsu continued to gulp down as much as he could.
"Alright. Now it's my turn! Quicksilver!" Dante used his time-stop ability to zoom right in front of Atlas Flame as he continued to drag his head across the ground. "Beowulf!" Channeling his own demonic power for some added damage, the right gauntlet he pulled back glowed red as he struck Atlas Flame in the upper jaw to knock him back in the air. "Trickster!" Dante leapt into the air right to another Trickster magic circle, which he flipped over and planted his feet on to shoot down and strike another punch down Atlas Flame's face and repeated the process with another Trickster to send him diagonally and punched with Beowulf again across the jaw.
"Enough!" Atlas Flame expanded the flames around his whole body, which only gave Natsu more to scarf down, but the force of it still broke Dante's technique and knocked him into the air, where Atlas Flame proceeded to ram his head into Dante and slam the young son of Sparda into a building. However, the burning dragon looked in surprise to see Dante kept his feet on the broken building's surface, thanks to a Trickster circle as he now wielded the flat of Rebellion to act as a shield against Atlas Flame's face while giving a taunting smirk. But it was the gleam from the large blade that caught his attention. "That sword…"
"That all you got?" Swinging upward, Dante's strength pushed Atlas Flame back slightly before unleashing his Million Stab Technique into Atlas Flame's face even as Natsu continued to scarf down Atlas Flame's inferno. But this only irritated the dragon further as his whole body was engulfed in a fiery vortex, which he used to smash into Dante and through a whole row of buildings, while also trying to shake the feasting Natsu off his body.
But Atlas Flame didn't expect the Dante he had smashed to disappear in a puff of black smoke. "What in…?"
"Over here!" Dante used Rebellion to stab into Atlas Flame's neck area, where he hung from using one hand and drew Coyote-A, charged it with his demonic power, and fired into Atlas Flame's face.
"How dare you toy with me?!" Atlas Flame slammed the side of his body into the ground, but Dante used his Quicksilver again to disappear and reappear on the other side of Atlas body and drove Rebellion into him again as Natsu continued to cling and feast.
Suddenly, the fiery dragon stopped for a second. He didn't quite understand it… but these two… they felt so familiar to him.
"It's so strange… Is it even possible…? No that's ridiculous… But, why do these two remind me so much of… them…? You… young man with the white hair…" He addressed Dante, catching his attention. "You claim to be half-demon… what is the name of the demon who was your parent?"
Dante smirked, realizing they got him. "Sparda. My old man was the Dark Knight." He heard Atlas Flame gasp upon hearing that. "He fell in love with a human and had me. He even gave me the Rebellion, which used to belong to him."
"The Rebellion… I knew I recognized that sword. And your power… it feels so much like his… and your scent… you are not lying… you are Sparda's son." Atlas Flame said before speaking to the other individual, who stopped consuming the fire around him. "You… boy with the pink hair… you're able to consume my own fire… how? How did you learn this ability?"
"From Igneel. The guy taught me how to be a Dragon Slayer, he's actually my dad!" Natsu smiled cheekily.
As if Atlas Flame wasn't surprised already. "The Sons of Igneel and Sparda… my friends… wait…. What is happening…? Why am I fighting them? Why am I even fighting at all?" The burning dragon grunted as he felt the dark presence within his own mind, the shadowy aura reminiscent of dark flames grew around his eyes, which finally alerted him to the invasive force as he tried to shake it off. "This darkness….! No! Get out of me! Nobody controls me!" With a roar, the flames around the mighty dragon grew and burnt out the darkness that had invaded his mind, finally freeing him as Atlas took a moment to collect himself.
"Hey, you okay, man?" Natsu asked with a little concern.
"Where am I?" Atlas Flame asked. "I've traveled all across this world, but I've never seen this city before. What has happened?"
"You were forcibly pulled through time, to an era that is not your own."
The burning dragon gasped once more as he saw the spirit of someone he knew and respected deep down hover in front of him. The second they saw him, Dante and Natsu both grinned.
"Sparda…!"
The spirit of the Dark Knight smiled. "Hello Atlas. I've missed you, old friend."
Back on Motherglare, Bruni gave a yell as he zoomed forward with his speed, while Future Legion found a way to match it by using the White Dragon Slayer power he stole from his timeline's Sting, using it to enhance himself as the two clashed on top of the large dragon, the stolen Rebellion clad in shadows against the burning Prometheus in its own sword-mode. Bruni quickly tried to expand and grow the flames, which took the form of a huge cluster of fire with the tops of the flames growing and stretching out to generate an assortment of other weapons ranging from swords to clubs, to spikes, and axes.
However, Future Legion channeled his Devil Slayer power, causing black ice to grow from his Rebellion to speared to all over the flames that Bruni's weapon had generated, and while Bruni kicked away the spreading ice like before, and tried to quickly appear behind Future Legion…
"Quicksilver!"Future Legion's own time-stop power activated as he quickly turned around to slash Rebellion and thrust his hand to unleash a series of white energy streaks which struck all across Bruni as time resumed, causing the man to be blown to the rear of Motherglare before creating a pitch-fork fiery construct from Prometheus to drive into the back of the dragon and halt himself. He took a few shallow breaths as he was bleeding across his front and side.
"You may have the physicality of a Dragon Slayer, but that does not make you invincible." Future Legion appeared before him and opened the palm of his hand to Bruni's face, a cluster of shadows and light energy began to form. "It was a commendable effort, but all for naught. Any last words?"
Bruni spat some blood as he glared at his enemy. "Just do it, asshole."
Future Legion grinned maliciously as he prepared to strike down the Wizard Saint right there…
"Don't count yourself out just yet!"
"Again?" Future Legion turned in annoyance to the sound of Natsu's voice. But what he saw caused his eyes to widen in absolute shock.
It was Natsu, as well as Dante, riding atop of Atlas Flame as he charged right for him. "Not when we got some major back up right here!" Dante called out as Atlas Flame quickly rammed his head into the side of Motherglare.
Bruni was almost knocked over, but held on tight as he looked in surprise. "Natsu…?"
But none were more shocked than Future Legion. "What is this?! Atlas Flame, you dare to betray us?!"
"You have no further control over me, demon!" The burning dragon declared defiantly. "These two are the sons of Igneel and Sparda, one my sworn brother, and the other my leader whom I respect above all else!"
"Appreciate the help, thanks Uncle." Natsu smiled.
Atlas Flame looked in confusion as a comic sweatdrop appeared on his head. "Uncle…?"
"He broke free of our Dragon Supremacy magic…?! Impossible! He is nowhere as powerful as Elexion!" Future Legion ranted.
"We gonna stand around gawking or are we gonna kick this freak's ass?!" Dante questioned.
"That we are!" Atlas Flame agreed as he charged in and bit down on Motherglare's neck, causing the dragon to groan in pain.
"Hold him still!" Dante drew Ivory as he aimed and shot at Future Legion, who raised a wall of shadows to block the bullets. "Now's your chance! Get out of there!"
Bruni saw what he was doing and nodded, before rolling himself off of Motherglare and used Prometheus to create a large flaming hawk for him to ride on as he flew closer to Atlas Flame.
"What are you waiting for, Motherglare?! Fight back!" Future Legion ordered.
The armored dragon was able to wretch himself free from Atlas Flame's bite and prepared to unleash a point-blank breath attack.
"Natsu! Dante! Hold on!" Atlas Flame warned as his flaming body molded and angled itself to create a big enough hole for Motherglare's breath attack, which appeared to be a stream of shinning diamonds imbued with destructive magic power, to shoot past him and go straight for a nearby mountain, which was obliterated upon contact in a large explosion.
"Holy…!" Bruni looked in surprise, not just from the attack, but with how Atlas Flame was able to avoid it as he reformed himself, not the least bit harmed as Dante and Natsu still held on.
"Hey, you good?" Natsu asked his new dragon companion.
"I can mold the flames around my own body with ease. Huge and sluggish attacks like that are no threat to me." Atlas Flame replied.
"There is no flame that can break through my armored hide!" Motherglare retorted. "I am the Diamond Dragon and my skin is as just as hard!"
"You've never felt flames like my Hellfire before!" Atlas Flame stated. "Long ago, during the war against Mundus, I found myself trapped in the Underworld. I was once a normal Fire Dragon back then and had no chance of surviving on my own. So, I consumed the demonic flames of that pit."
That revelation caused Future Legion to look in surprise. "Impossible! For a dragon to consume demonic power, even if it is their own element, it is fatal unless a dragon is strong enough!"
"Those flames were unlike anything I consumed before!" Atlas Flame continued. "They would have indeed been the end of me, consuming my body from the inside out! But I refused to die! I would not let that place be the end of me! As a result, my body mutated, resulting in this form that you now see before you! My flames are not just ordinary fire any longer, I now wield the fire of the Underworld itself! I have taken what was supposed to be my poison and made it into my own weapon! And I now grant that same power to the two who freed me!"
Natsu was the first to attack, leaping from Atlas Flame as a raging inferno formed around his body, causing Future Legion to put two and two together…
"He ate the power of Atlas Flame…?!" Before he could counter, Natsu delivered a fiery punch to his face, one so powerful that it created an enormous afterburst of flame that lit up the whole sky and even dealt damage to Motherglare's body as Future Legion rolled across the back of the dragon. Though he recovered, he soon felt a burning sensation on his own face.
"Not just consumption…" Atlas Flame continued as the flaming Natsu landed on Motherglare to face Future Legion with a look of pure rage. "Just as Igneel gave him the ability to wield his fire, or his fellow Dragon Slayer granted him the power to use lightning, I have granted Natsu the ability to wield my Hellfire! My flames are now a permanent part of his own, and have grown far stronger than they were before! He is now a Hellfire Dragon Slayer!"
"Hellfire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu threw another flaming punch towards Future Legion, which he countered by pulling back a fist of his own, one that surged with a black icy whirlwind.
"Ice Devil Murder Strike!" Future Legion's dark frozen fist met Natsu's as the powerful firestorm was met with a storm of black ice as the two pressed their attacks against one another. "Even if you now wield the flames of the Underworld, we still wield the darkest cold of that same realm! Even your Hellfire will be snuffed out by our power!"
"Guess it's a good thing that I'm not the only one!" Natsu replied.
Right as he had said that, Future Legion looked past him to see Dante driving Rebellion into Atlas Flame's body as the fiery dragon continued. "Sparda was the one who saved me from the Underworld, taught me how to use my new power. I owed him an eternal debt for that. Not long after I mastered this power, I tried to challenge Igneel for his position as the Fire Dragon King. I lost. Despite that, the two brothers in arms acknowledge my strength and welcomed me to their side. I swore my loyalty to the two of them and would stand beside them no matter what! That now extends to both of their sons! Dante, use the blood of your father that flows through your veins and take my power! Let my inferno give you the strength to destroy this abomination!"
The flames from Atlas Flame's body then traveled up the blade of Rebellion and right into the skull at the hilt of the sword, flowing directly into the eyes and open mouth of said skull. As Dante held Rebellion, the flames then flowed into him. Using his sword's ability to fuse and merge, the Hellfire of the Underworld that was once Atlas Flame's to command became his own, and a new power was then unlocked as Dante's own body was coated in flames.
He eyed Future Legion with murderous intent. "Human Torch Style!" Dashing to Future Legion in a trail of flames, Dante appeared before the surprised monster and swung his flaming rebellion with enough force to shatter away the black ice he used against Natsu and knock him back. But he wasn't done yet. With a mighty yell, Dante used his Million Stab Technique, which was now infused with Hellfire, to strike Future Legion all over his body and allowed Natsu a chance to attack him as well.
"Hellfire Dragon Roar!" Natsu's own breath attack was twice as strong as before and encompassed Future Legion in a deadly inferno.
"This is impossible…!" Future Legion ranted inside the deadly flames. "Natsu wielding this power is one thing… but Dante…?! The one we slew in our timeline never wielded this power! Has our presence already altered the timestream?!" With a roar of rage, black ice shout out from all around Future Legion's body as he used his Ice Devil Slayer magic to freeze the flaming vortex that had trapped him and shattered it all to face the flaming Natsu and Dante with a glare.
Bruni couldn't help but look impressed. "Damn… I guess I shouldn't expect any less from these two."
"Hey Bruni." Dante spoke to him, without even turning in his direction and keeping his gaze fixed solely on Future Legion. "Get down to the city. Help everyone else. We got this."
The Edolas version of Igneel looked in surprise. "Are you sure…?"
"Yes." Natsu said in a low and angry tone. "This thing took away something precious to me… to us. So, we're going to kill him."
Bruni felt a chill down in spine as he heard Natsu say that. He sounded so cold, not unlike how boisterous or loud like he usally was. Something must have happened to make him act like this. And while he hated to leave a fight unfinished, he at least knew that Natsu had Dante with him, both been granted extra power by the freaking Dragon that has now come to their aid. So they weren't exactly helpless.
"Alright, he's all yours." Bruni said as he used his fire-hawk to fly back down to the city, leaving Dante and Natsu, both still glowing with their newfound literal firepower as they faced the monster in front of us.
"You intend to kill us…?" Future Legion smirked. "The versions of you from our time couldn't do so then, and we even slew the Dante from that same world. What makes you think this outcome will be any different?"
"Because the me of this timeline… isn't going to stop until you're a greasy smear on my sword." Dante glared.
"You killed Lucy…" Natsu growled, remembering the Lucy from the future who died in his arms and said those four little words that will stick with him forever. "Now it's your turn to die."
With that, both the flaming Dante and Natsu leapt at Future Legion and collided with him just as Atlas Flame collided with Motherglare.
The clash of dragons was seen even from the basecamp down in the city below. "Whoa! Are you guys seeing this…?!" Warren exclaimed.
"Looks like one of the dragons just switched over to our side!" Bob said.
"Natsu and Dante are up there!" Hibiki located them, spotting the chibi icons representing the two individuals appearing on the screen in front of him. "And it looks like they've engaged in combat with the enemy leader!"
'Just as Sir Sparda had predicted. That flaming dragon was once an ally of his.' Makarov looked back to see Sparda's spirit re-appear and exchange eye-contact with that of Mavis, the girl smiling as she nodded to Sparda, who nodded back before he re-integrated himself in the telepathic link and they resumed coordination.
"I'm certainly not complaining. That's one less dragon to worry about." Goldmine said.
"My beautiful city…"
All eyes turned to see King Toma E. Fiore approaching, his body shaking as he looked upward at the sight of Atlas Flame clashing with Motherglare.
"Your highness…!" Darton was surprised to see him. "You must get away from here! Seek shelter!"
"My beautiful city…" King Toma repeated. "Once a beautiful garden of flowers… has now been stained red with blood…trampled over by total chaos…" Everyone paid attention to the king as he continued to speak. "A war of dragons, demons, humans, and magic… humans fighting humans… dragon fighting dragon… demon fighting demon… demons on the side of good fighting alongside humanity against malevolent dragons… sinister demons battling noble dragons and humans… this is just as the legends spoke…. It is the Dragon King Festival all over again…" The king fell to his knees. "Whatever the outcome of this battle… the world as he know it will be irreversibly changed…"
"Your majesty!" Darton left the circle with some soldiers to address the shaken King. "Please, get ahold of yourself!"
However, those words seem to stick with the guildmasters, particularly Makarov, as they were thinking the same thing. No matter who won this battle, nothing would ever be the same again.
Warren soon felt an alarm through the telepathic network. "We got a problem!" That alerted everyone. "Sabertooth's losing ground against their assigned dragon!"
"What are those idiots even doing?!" Ooba complained. "Hey, all you Sabertooth brats! Fall back and try to regroup! Do it, or I'll spin you all!"
"No way! This overgrown lizard is going down! Lightning God Divine Fist!" Orga leapt at Scissor Runner's face, his only functional arm coated in a surge of black lightning as he slugged the dragon in the jaw.
"Ninja Clone!" Dobengal followed a similar lead as he used more than a dozen of his clones, all quipped with their multi-colored arm blade, to fall down on Scissor Runner's back and slash relentlessly.
"No! You all need to fall back! Now!" Rogue tried to tell his guildmates as Frosch kept him airborne.
"You would have us bear the disgrace of retreat?!" Rufus questioned as he primed a Memory-Make Spell. "Never! I will never be burdened with such a shameful memory! Memory-Make: Draconic Chaos!" Sacrificing control and elegance for overwhelming power, Rufus unleashed a maelstrom of fire, wind, iron, lightning, light, and shadows at the front of the Scissor Runner, encompassing it in an explosion. "The raw power of my memory from all the Dragon Slayers in this tournament! That should be more than enough to deal with you!"
However, the dust from all three attacks cleared to reveal Scissor Runner was not only standing, but he only had minor injuries at best, much to the shock of all of Sabertooth.
"Is that the best you can do?"
"What?!" Orga exclaimed.
"Impossible…!" Dobengal refused to believe it.
"My memory… It failed…?!" Rufus was on the verge of losing.
"No way…" Lector shook as he carried Sting in the air. "All their attacks… couldn't bring it down…!"
'This is just like how it was when Rogue and I fought Dante and Natsu, or when I fought Juvia…!' Sting realized it with shaky eyes. 'We're just trying to overwhelm him with raw power! And most of these guys are just venting from being beaten at the Games!'
'We're not organized or coordinated!' Rogue thought. 'We don't stand a chance!'
"Begone, insects!" Scissor Runner prepared a breath attack of his own.
"No! Frosch! Get me over there!" Rogue yelled.
"Okay!" The green-furred Exceed flew his beloved Dragon Slayer over to where his comrades were gathered and quickly tried to throw a dome of shadows over them for cover just as Scissor Runner unleashed his breath attack… which was a vortex of razor-sharp winds that all but sliced apart the entire street and what was left of the surrounding buildings.
"Rogue! Frosch!" Lector cried out as Sting looked in shock.
When it all cleared way, the shadows that Rogue had used to protect himself and everyone had been sliced apart. Though they did seem to take the brunt of the attack as Rogue himself was still standing, only for a few seconds before he fell to his knees and was covered in bleeding cuts.
"Oh no! Rogue…!" Frosch was at his side and already in tears at seeing his best friend in such bad shape.
"The others… are they…?" Rogue turned around to see how the rest of his guild was doing, only to gasp as he saw Orga, Rufus, and Dobengal sprained across the ground, covered in bleeding cuts, their eyes white and blank, showing that they have all been soundly defeated.
"That… That dragon… took down… the top guys in our guild…" Lector couldn't believe what he was seeing, and neither could Sting as his eyes shook in shock at the sight of it.
'I can hear their breathing… they're alive…' Rogue thought. 'My shadows protected them from the worst of it… but they won't be getting up for a while…' He tried to push himself up, but grunted in pain as he held his bleeding side, much to the concern of Frosch. 'I have to… keep fighting… I'm a Dragon Slayer… even if I never truly slain a dragon… I must… I have to fight… to protect them… it's what they would want… Skiadrum… Gajeel… Yukino… I swear… I will protect everyone…!'
"Look alive, Rogue!" Sting flew in with Lector's aid and went straight for Scissor Runner's body with a glowing white fist. "White Dragon Claw!" He lunged his glowing hand into Scissor Runner's underbelly and leapt down in front of Rogue and Frosch with Lector right above him. "Gotcha!" He smirked as he saw his Stigmata form at the spot where he struck Scissor Runner. "No way you can move now, buddy! You're helpless!"
"Way to go Sting! You got him!" Lector praised.
However, a razor-sharp wind-blade had shot out from that spot to slice away the Stigmata, much to Sting and Lector's own surprise. "A Stigmata… Weisslogia's technique… but your power pales in comparison to his!" The dragon laughed. "If he chose to train a weakling like you, then he had rather low standards."
Sting gritted his teeth so much that he chipped a tooth before roaring out in rage, so much so that he transformed into his Dragon Force. "SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIM!" He unleashed his Holy Ray spell at point blank, unleashing a massive salvo of white light beams at the dragon in front of him. However, Scissor Runner retaliated with a breath attack of razor sharp winds that not only sliced through the attack, but also blasted Sting back and sent him flying into a pile of rubble.
"STING!" Lector flew out to try and help him.
Rogue then entered his Dragon Force as he glared at the dragon that attacked his partner. "You're dead…!"
"Stay your hand, Rogue Cheney. I have no desire to harm you." Scissor Runner told him, much to Rogue's own surprise.
"How do you know my name?"
"All of the dragons in this city were given explicit instructions to spare your life." Scissor Runner revealed, causing Rogue to look in further confusion, with Frosch looking just as confused. "If you die, then none of this will ever happen."
"What is that supposed to mean?" The Shadow Dragon Slayer questioned.
"Very soon in your future, you will be corrupted by a darkness that lays deep inside you." The dragon explained. "The loss of two loved ones will allow your mind to be corrupted. Not long after that, you will use the Eclipse Gate to travel back to this time, and working alongside the eldest Son of Sparda, the two of you will unleash the dragons here and wipe out anything that stands in your way as you begin a quest for power to slay Mundus and take his throne as the new Demon Emperor."
"What…?" Frosch asked, but Rogue scoffed with a smirk.
"You expect me to believe that? Me? Kill Mundus? I couldn't even defeat my idol in single combat." He said before getting serious. "And there is no way that Vergil would ever participate in this catastrophe!"
"But he did, Rogue." The young man gasped as he heard a voice, looking around to find the source of it, not noticing that his own shadow behind him was growing. "Vergil orchestrated all of this, and we will aid him in this regard."
"Who are you?! Show yourself?!" Rogue looked around.
"Rogue… who are you talking to?" Frosch asked. "There's nobody here."
"Have you so soon forgotten us, Rogue? We were so close just moments ago. Listen to the darkness, we are closer than you think." Listening for the source of this voice, Rogue somehow found himself drawn to his own shadow, where he gasped as he saw multiple red demonic eyes appear all over. "Yes… You have found us."
"What are you?! Some kind of demon trick?!" Rogue questioned, causing Frosch to look in concern as he could not see what Rogue was seeing.
"We are Legion. We are the result of you consuming the power of countless demons throughout your many battles, now sentient." The entity explained. "We emerged once during your battle with Gajeel, but were beaten back by the fool. However, we sensed our own arrival the moment this catastrophe began. It reached out to us and informed us of what has become of you."
"What are you talking about?" Rogue questioned.
"Yukino and Frocsh, the two you hold most close to your heart will die." Legion revealed, much to Rogue's shock. "You will be consumed by despair, and we will take control. Seven years from now, after gaining significant power, we will use your body to travel back to this time period. Allied with Vergil, we will unleash the dragons. With their power, we will slay Mundus and take his throne for ourselves."
Rogue clenched his fists as he appeared in denial. "I don't believe that! Even if I somehow become a monster… there is no way Vergil would ever do anything like this!"
"Then why isn't he here?" The young man gasped as he turned to see Frosch looking rather scared as he came to a certain conclusion. "He disappeared after the Games ended, and I still haven't seen him." That caused Rogue to look in surprise as he listened to his beloved Exceed. "Why isn't Vergil here helping us?"
"Because he helped to bring this all upon you." Scissor Runner chuckled. "The eldest child of Sparda, it seems he's rather power hungry himself, it's hard to believe he is the son of the Dark Knight."
Lector had managed to help Sting emerge from the rubble, only for both to watch as Rogue fell to his knees and clench his own head in denial.
"No… No…. that… that can't be true… It can't be…!" He muttered. Despite having a professional relationship with him, he had always admired and respected Vergil, so much so that he tried to model his own swordsmanship after him. "Vergil… And this… I couldn't have done this… I… I'm not a monster…!"
"Not yet." Legion chuckled. "But you will be ours soon."
"SHUT UP!" Rogue screamed as he slashed with a mass of shadows at his own shade, obliterating the ground by his side, much to Sting and Lector's surprise.
"Oh Rogue…" Frosch was already crying at seeing his best friend break down like this.
"I may have to spare your life, but that does not apply to all those around you." Scissor Runner said before eyeing the little green Exceed sadistically. "How about I start with this little insect?"
Everyone gasped as Scissor Runner reached for Frosch, who froze as the giant creature loomed over him.
"FROSCH!" Rogue tried to reach out.
"NO!" Lector flew forward.
"DON'T DO IT!" Sting ran as fast as he could, already having flashbacks to when he thought Lector died before his own eyes.
It seemed like time had slowed down for all of them, and that none of them would be able to reach Frosch in time. The poor little Exceed's fate seemed sealed…
That is until a golden streak zoomed through the air and struck Scissor Runner in the face, causing him to back away from Frosch, while Sting, Rogue, and Lector all gasped in surprise, especially as a certain black-haired woman in gold armor landed on the ground in front of them, creating an impact on landing.
"Who dares?!" Scissor Runner exclaimed as he regained his footing and glared at the woman.
"Wait… I've seen her before…" Lector recognized her. "I think she's one of the Ten Wizard Saints!"
Aurora looked up with a glare at Scissor Runner as the dragon prepared to attack her. "You will pay for striking me, human!" He lashed out with his claws to strike at her, but she simply held up her armored hand and blocked the enormous claw, not even budging an inch from her spot as the aftershock only blew her hair, much to the further surprise of everyone, especially Scissor Runner.
"I never did fight a dragon before. This should be interesting." Aurora said before jumping with incredible speed right to the dragon's face and slugged him with enough force that it vaulted him up before toppling the dragon over on his back. Not giving him a chance to recover, Aurora already landed by his tail and grabbed it with both her hands. "Why don't you take a nap?!" She then began to spin herself and had lifted Scissor Runner from the ground, spinning creature that may as well be ten times her own size with ease, before finally releasing to send the mighty creature crashing through several buildings before coming to a halt.
Sting and Lector looked with white circular eyes and dropped jaws, while Rogue gasped in shock as they saw Aurora dust her hands.
"That will probably keep him down for a bit."
"You saved us!" Frosch flew up to the armored woman with an amazed smile. "Thank you, Miss Wizard Saint!"
Aurora smiled as she patted Frosch's head. "You're welcome, but please just call me Aurora." She then walked to the shocked group.
"That… that lady… just threw a dragon like a rag doll…" Lector stuttered.
"I've never seen that kind of strength before…" Sting said. "I don't think she even used any magic…!"
Aurora's smile faded as she stood up close to Sting and Rogue, the latter still on his knees as he tried weakly to push himself up. "I… thank you for…" He was suddenly struck in the stomach by the woman's knee.
"Rogue!" Frosch looked in shock.
"Hey, what did you do that for…?!" Sting was interrupted as Aurora slammed her fist onto his head to knock him face first into the pavement.
"Sting!" Lector was at his side as the White Dragon Slayer pushed himself up with a huge and comic bump on his head.
"Ow…!" He muttered.
"Why… did you…?" Rogue grimaced as he held his stomach.
"For being so stupid! Have you two learned nothing from the Games?!" Aurora began. "You're still fighting by trying to overwhelm your enemies! You're wasting too much energy and leaving your foe with little damage! Look what happened to your guildmates! They almost died because they stubbornly tried to fight harder, not smarter! You two are already exhausted even in your Dragon Force, so how long can you keep going before you get yourselves killed!?"
Sting was rendered completely speechless as he heard every word. As much as he wanted to deny it, he couldn't argue that she was completely right. This was just like when he tried to fight Natsu, Dante, and even Juvia, and lost to each of them. He tried to overwhelm his enemy… he thought that because he was a Dragon Slayer fighting a dragon, he could at least do some damage… but that was clearly not the case. The young man could only look away in shame as he remembered Dante's words to him during the tournament.
'Yeah... I'm a third rate Dragon Slayer alright…' He thought with regret.
"Is is true…?" Rogue muttered. "Did Vergil have a hand in this?" That question caught Sting and Lector off guard.
Aurora only looked away slightly but made no effort to hide the truth. "Yes, he is." That revelation caused the White Dragon Slayer and his Exceed companion to both gasp in shock, while Frosch was already crying, and Rogue just hung his head down.
"What…?" Sting muttered.
"I don't believe it…." Lector's face went blank.
"Fairy Tail confirmed it when they tried to stop the Eclipse Gate from opening." Aurora continued. "And apparently an entity named 'Legion' came from the future to help him with all of this."
"That entity is inside me." Rogue revealed, drawing Sting and Lector's attention as he continued to look down. "I guess you could say that this thing is like the ghosts of all the demons I've consumed." He looked to his own shadow again and saw all the red glowing eyes. "In a way… I brought this disaster down on all of us."
"That doesn't matter." Aurora spoke up, drawing Rogue's attention as she grabbed him by the robe and picked him back up on his feet. "Listen to me, all of you." She addressed the quartet. "It doesn't matter who is responsible for this. What does matter is that there are innocent people who depend on us. You had the opportunity to leave this city before this disaster began, but you chose to stay and fight. You took up the responsibility of fighting these dragons and protecting the people of this kingdom. Are you going to go back on that? Run away like cowards?"
"What good can we do?" Sting questioned. "Our attacks didn't even bother that guy! We're not even real Dragon Slayers! Just a bunch of wannabes who let the power get to our heads!"
"Sting…" Lector didn't expect to see his best friend in such a sorry state, to speak so lowly of himself like this.
"You might be weak right now, but do you want to get stronger?" Aurora questioned, getting Sting's attention once more. "Nobody stays weak unless they chose too. There is no shame in being weak, because that means you can only get stronger. The real shame is choosing to remain weak. Fairy Tail started out weak, and look at where they are now. If they can get stronger, why can't you? You want to get stronger, then get stronger. Don't let anybody else tell you what you can or can't do." She looked to Rogue in particular. "Take control of your destiny and carve your own path, demon ghosts be damned. Whatever this Legion thing is, it doesn't decide who you are or what you can do, only you decide that. So what will you do? Will you both run and remain weak? Or will you get stronger and prove yourselves as not only Dragon Slayers, but true warriors. Not in body, but in here." She pointed to both of their hearts as the Twin Dragon Slayers looked to her with shaky eyes.
"You can do it, Sting." Lector said, causing his friend to turn to him as he gave an encouraging smile despite the tears in his eyes. "I've always believed in you, and that's not going to stop. If Natsu can get stronger, than you can too! So get strong enough to beat him one day!"
"Lector…" Sting was nearly brought to tears.
"You're a good person, Rogue." Frosch spoke to him next with an emotional smile. "I don't care what anybody else says… you're the nicest guy I know. I won't let you become a monster. Your heart is good, and I'll make sure it stays good."
"Frosch… I…"
A roar caught their attention as all of them looked to see Scissor Runner emerge from the rubble and take to the air, growling at them.
"Might wanna make your choices soon." Aurora said. "Cause I doubt he's gonna give you any time."
Sting clenched his fist before looking determined. "I'm in."
Even Rogue stepped forward. "Legion… I'll work on that later, right now I made a promise to protect these people and I won't go back on it."
Aurora smiled. "Good choice."
"We could use some help though." Sting admitted. "Like I said, our attacks haven't done jack shit."
"That's why I'm here." Aurora said. "Follow my lead, you guys. I'll help you out."
"You are a Wizard Saint, we'll trust your judgement." Rogue said as he drew his katana once again and shadow surged around him, his Dragon Force transformation maintaining it's ominous aura. Even Sting took a combative stance as both his fists glowed brightly like his own Dragon Force state.
"We'll help you guys too!" Frosch beamed.
"Yeah, no way my buddy is leaving me out of the action!" Lector grinned.
"Then let's go. But you two…" She spoke to the Exceeds first. "Get all your knocked out guys out of here so they're not caught in the crossfire."
"We're on it!" Lector saluted as he and Frosch worked to collect the unconscious forms of Orga, Rufus, and Dobengal.
"As for you guys…" She referred to the Twin Dragon Slayers. "Stay close to me and do whatever I say. Now, let's go!" With a mighty yell, Aurora leapt into the air straight for Scissor Runner, with Sting and Rogue leaping up right behind her respectively as the dragon flew down to meet them and engage in battle.
All the while, Legion allowed itself to sink deep into Rogue's mind. "He can deny himself now, but we will strike at a later date. His fall is inevitable, we just have to wait… for the right opportunity."
At the same time, Voidar roared in annoyance as Erik continued to throw poisonous blob after poisonous blob all over the dragon's body, all the while he struggled to hold onto Sorano's angel summon that flew up and over, never staying in one place to long to allow the dragon to strike back.
However, when the dragon in question lashed out with its claws to strike at his flying enemies, Sorano was able to dodge it with her angel summon by flipping it on its side, but Erik almost fell over and just barely holding on to Sorano herself. "Hey, watch it! Where'd you learn how to fly?!"
"What?! This can't be any harder than riding around on a giant snake?!" Sorano argued as she straightened out. "You know we can't stay in one place too long or that thing could nail us with a breath attack!"
They heard a chuckle from the dragon, much to their concern. "Is that truly what you think?"
Erik focused his magic on Voidar, trying to see if he could read his thoughts. It was harder than it was for normal humans, but with enough focus, he was able to see what was in the dragon's more immediate thoughts, and it caused him to look in genuine fear.
"We gotta get out of here now!"
But it was too late. Voidar had opened his mouth as a black mass appeared at the back of his throat, but rather than unleash anything outward, everything around him began to be sucked inward, such as the nearby rubble and even pieces of the buildings that were still attached.
Sorano, Erik, and the angel they rode on were also being pulled in, despite Sorano doing her best to fly all of them away. "What the hell is that?!"
"It's a black hole!" Erik exclaimed. "This thing can make freaking black holes in its mouth to suck everything in!"
Despite Sorano's best efforts, she was unable to keep her angel from getting sucked in as it got pulled right into Voidar's black hole, and it looked as if she and Erik would be next, much to their horror.
"Lunar Goddess of the Hunt: Artemis!" A giant white energy arrow was shot at Voidar's throat, right under his jaw, forcing the jaw upward and closing the mouth, stopping the dragon's attack, much to the surprise of Erik and Sorano, the former looking especially surprised as he saw Modeus rushing forward with Hunter's Moon out and leaping at Voidar's front, slashing his sword all across the dragon's body repeatedly as he made his way closer to the head before leaping back to swing his sword again and send a wave of crescent-moon shaped projectiles at that spot. The second his attack made contact, dozens of crescent-moon shaped marks appeared over Voidar's body, at each point Modeus had struck, causing multiple explosions that tipped the enormous dragon over before Modeus landed back on the ground, with Sorano and Erik right behind.
"Modeus…" Sorano was rather relieved to see him.
The man turned to her with a smile and a nod, though that smile faded slightly as he saw the Second Generation Dragon Slayer next to her. "Cobra." He acknowledged with a nod and a neutral tone.
"You're the last person I thought would be coming to help me. And the name's Erik."
"Erik, then." Modeus nodded.
"You don't seem all that surprised to see me. Not gonna ask how I got out?" Erik asked.
"You've probably already read my thoughts, so you know I was informed of your arrival and instructed to come and assist you." Modeus said.
Erik narrowed his eyes and read more of Modeus' thoughts. "Huh… no grudge or anything?"
"I'd rather not dwell on the past if it can be helped." The Demon of the Moon comment. "And at present, we need all the help we can get, so let's put our differences aside and work together."
"Fine with me, but I don't have to like it." Erik said as he stepped by Modeus' side along with Sorano as they saw Voidar stand back up.
"He's a tough one…" Sorano observed.
"Yes, Voidar is strong. So, it's time to stop holding back." The former apprentice of Sparda closed his eyes before his body was engulfed in a bright white flash and he transformed into his Devil Trigger.
Erik smirked himself. "Going all out, huh? I can get behind that." He clenched his fists as dark red scales and spikes appeared on his arms, ripping away the sleeves of his coat as they traveled up his arms, the spikes appearing from his forearms up to his shoulders, as the scales spread to the sides of his face as a poisonous aura came from his body, his only visible eye becoming snake-like with a slit as he entered his Dragon Force.
"I may not have a flashy transformation, but I'll support you two however I can." Sorano said as her body glowed white, channeling all her magic.
"Good. We're going to need it." The transformed Modeus said as they faced off against the Black Hole Dragon.
Their exchange didn't go unnoticed by the hooded Gandelina as she was getting closer to the castle, to where the Eclipse Gate was. She looked in that direction to see multiple explosions as the group at the castle was no doubt engaging in battle against the dragons up there. She looked upwards to see Atlas Flame colliding again with Motherglare, and she believed with little doubt that Dante and Natsu were up there as well, fighting one of the masterminds behind this catastrophe. Looking past that aerial battle and closer toward the mountains, she could see Kurenai still engaged in an epic battle against Elexion.
'Everyone here is giving it their all… People from different guilds, humans, demons, and dragons… they're all united, standing together… against a common enemy.' She thought as a small smile appeared on her concealed face, but it quickly faded. 'But it won't matter if the Gate still stands. It has to be destroyed, like it should have been so long ago.' With that thought, the mysterious woman resumed her run towards the castle. 'Everyone here is doing their absolute best to stop this crisis… Now it's my turn!'
Done.
So quite a bit is happening here… Despite the overwhelming odds, the heroes have managed to coordinate enough of a solid defense to hold the enemy back, at least for the time being. We have a coordinated effort with most guild wizards working alongside the Rune Knights and Royal Army to contain all of the mini-dragons that Motherglare spawned, while Dragon Slayers, and a couple other heavy hitters, are engaging in battle with the dragons.
*Natsu and Dante have managed to gain Atlas Flame's assistance and are set up for a rematch against Future Legion and Motherglare, and have even gained new powers for it. Atlas Flame has willingly given Natsu a taste of his own Hellfire power (much like how Laxus gave Natsu his lightning back on Tenrou Island), which has upgraded his own fire for Natsu to become a Hellfire Dragon. And Dante now has an all new and original style of my own creation: Human Torch, which lights his body on fire to enhance himself, as well as all of his attacks, and Bruni is going back down to help the other wizards.
*Most of Sabertooth has fallen at the hands of Scissor Runner, with Aurora coming to help Sting and Rogue, both of whom have learned that Vergil is responsible for this with Rogue becoming aware of Legion's presence, but is putting that to the side for now to focus on the task at hand.
*Gajeel, Lady, Levy, and Panther-Lily are battling against Agate.
*Saphire and Amarilla are getting help from Gray, Lyon, and Ultear against Jades.
*Modeus is helping Erik and Sorano to fight Voidar.
*Gildarts is taking on Ionar with some help from Cana.
*Wendy, Calra, Happy, Sheeree, Laxus, Trish, Lisanna, and Arcadios are battling Zirconis and Levia, with Arcadios wielding a weapon made from Zirconis' bones (salvaged from the dragon graveyard under the city) to replicate his power. You'll learn more about that later.
*Erza, Jellal, Nero, Kagura, and Lucia are continuing their brutal battle against Vergil which has now made its way inside the castle.
*Yukino and Hisui are working together to destroy the Eclipse Gate, but that's easier said than done. I also gave Hisui some original spirits to work with since it's confirmed that she's a Celestial Wizard herself, but we never see her use any spirits of her own in canon. The keys she's using though are neither gold nor silver, they're jade, and they're actually from the east, known as the Four Symbols (based off the Four Symbols from Chinese mythology). I actually just uploaded a picture on my DeviantArt profile that shows what these spirits look like if you're interested.
Things are getting hectic as this all-out war continue sin the next chapter. But how will our heroes fair? Will they be able to hold out long enough for the Eclipse Gate to be destroyed? Find out next time on Fairy May Cry!