[X784, Worth Woodsea. Atop the Christina]
— Wendy Marvell —
The first thing Wendy noticed was the ceiling. Or, more accurately, the ornate wooden paneling above her head, engraved with swirling designs.
Her body felt heavy, limbs stiff and aching, though it was a familiar feeling. This always happened whenever she healed people more powerful than her.
Ichiya might not look like it, but the amount of magic he possessed was quite large. Healing him had taken too much of her energy and she had passed out in the end.
"Wendy!"
Carla's voice rang out in relief before the white cat leapt onto the bed and wrapped her small paws around Wendy's wrist. "You're awake! Thank goodness—don't ever push yourself like that again."
"I'm okay," Wendy murmured, though her complexion was pale and her eyes a little unfocused. "What happened...? I remember... Ichiya-san…"
"Healing him drained you." Carla puffed up. "You passed out. Honestly, using that much Sky Magic at your age is reckless—what if you burned out your magic entirely?"
"I… I just wanted to help…" Wendy admitted, voice soft.
"Well, you did," another voice said gruffly. "So Sky Dragons could heal, eh? Pretty impressive, brat."
Wendy blinked and turned her head. Leaning against the opposite wall was Gajeel. His arms were folded, though he did look a bit uncomfortable.
"G-Gajeel-san?" she squeaked. "Where…?"
"We're flying," Carla said with a huff. "This is the Christina, Blue Pegasus' personal airship. We've been airborne for nearly an hour now."
Then it clicked.
Her mouth puffed. Her eyes widened. The motion sickness came in abundance.
"We're on a ship?!" she wailed, clamping her hands to her cheeks as her stomach did a somersault.
"Gihihi," Gajeel chuckled, not even trying to hide his amusement. "Took ya long enough to notice. Welcome to hell, kiddo."
"Ugh…" She moaned in pain.
"Gajeel, don't be mean." Levy suddenly said, appearing beside the Iron Dragon Slayer. The blunette raised her hand and traced glowing words in the air. The script spell shimmered toward Wendy, swirling gently before being absorbed into her skin. Like cool water rushing down her throat, the spell washed over her with calming ease.
"There. That should help a little," Levy said with a small smile.
"Much better… Thank you, Levy-san!" Wendy said, managing to sit up. "I didn't know you could heal."
"Only a little." Levy chuckled. "You're much more impressive than me on that front."
Suddenly, a pair of warm hands seized her cheeks and pinched them playfully.
"Gosh, aren't you the cutest thing!" Mirajane Strauss squealed, appearing out of thin air like a wraith of joy. "I remember when Lisanna was just as small and shy."
"I'm right here, Mira-nee." Lisanna pouted.
"Juvia thought it was always weird for someone as strong as Gajeel to have motion sickness." Juvia chimed in. "Juvia never realized it was something common among Dragon Slayers."
Gajeel grunted. "Yeah, it was a recent discovery. Never knew me and Salamander had that in common."
Wendy was still reeling. "What… what happened after I passed out?"
Mira's expression softened, and she gestured toward the large viewing window. "You'll see it soon, but after you healed Ichiya, Nirvana was activated."
Wendy's heart clenched as she followed her gaze—and there it was. A pillar of black light, shining like an obelisk. It cut into the sky like a blade, pulsing with wicked energy that made her skin prickle and her magic recoil.
"Jura knew we had to move fast," Mira continued. "So we split up. Two teams. The aerial strike group—us aboard Christina—and the ground assault team, led by Jura and Erza."
Elfman continued then. "We make up the quick response and bombardment team. Ichiya and Hibiki from Blue Pegasus to pilot the ship. Team Shade and Team Mira from Fairy Tail. As well as you and Carla."
"What about Ren and Eve? And Angel!" Wendy stammered, remembering the turned Pegasus mages.
"Locked in the back," Gajeel replied. "Still out cold. Can't trust the Celestial bitch to do anything if she's awake. We already secured her keys and gave them to Lucy."
Mira continued the explanation. "It will be a two pronged attack. Hibiki has comms with the ground team so we can coordinate the assault. Come on, let's go to the bridge and you can see it for yourself."
They moved as a group toward the bridge.
The moment the doors parted with a hiss, Wendy was met with the view of the horizon—rolling emerald trees stretching out beneath them like a lush ocean. Wendy's eyes widened. The Worth Woodsea looked beautiful.
"Wendy, I smelled your wonderful perfume from the hallway! Thank you for healing me!" Ichiya greeted, pointing at her with finger guns using both hands.
"Oi, two hands at the wheel at all times dammit." Dannis barked at the eccentric mage.
"Oh, of course!" Ichiya laughed, grasping the wheel with one hand as if that somehow corrected everything.
Wendy giggled in spite of herself. Then she turned to Hibiki, who stood with glowing Archive screens projected before him.
"What's that?" she asked curiously.
"Our guidance and targeting system," Hibiki explained, offering her a small nod. "When Jura's team strikes the Oración Seis and forces them into one location, we bombard them with a precise strike. Dannis, Mira, Gajeel, and Juvia will fly out and attack them, timing it so it's simultaneous with Christina's Jupiter Cannon. Hopefully. The bombardment will take out the whole of the dark guild in one fell swoop."
"It sure is nice to be on the other side of a Jupiter Cannon for once." Mira said with a hand to her cheek.
Gajeel coughed, remembering the whole Phantom Lord debacle. "Sorry."
"We're…killing them?" Wendy gulped.
Dannis put a hand on Wendy's head before ruffling it, "It's war, Wendy. And these people? They don't show mercy. They don't know compassion. I wish you never had to see this side of magic yet at your age, but it's a necessary thing to do."
Wendy nodded reluctantly. She knew exactly what they were talking about.
She had heard of the Tower of Heaven of course. She couldn't believe the news when they said Jellal was evil. When she saw the Wraith back in the villa, she had wanted to cry out. Seeing the soul of the boy that had been his older brother in all but blood had clenched her heart with grief. But she was struck silent.
She vowed to speak with Dannis when this was all over. But not now.
Suddenly, Dannis's head jerked upward, his left eye glowing an intense red.
"Ichiya, dodge!" He roared.
They knew it was too late since they all felt the massive impact reverberate across the ship.
A blast ripped through the air, sending everyone flying. Screams rang out. The floor lurched. Cracks spread across the interior hull like veins of lightning.
Hibiki screamed, his fingers rapidly goring through the holographic keyboard. "It's Brain! He just hit our engines! We're going down!"
Dannis unsheathed his blade and sliced through the wall with a burst of darkness. As the outer shell peeled away, massive wings of shadow unfurled from his back, flaring wide.
"Everyone out!"
"Satan Soul!" Mira's voice rang as her body exploded with dark magic. She grabbed Elfman, who was barely upright, and shot out like a comet. Lisanna shifted into her eagle form, a half-step behind Mira.
"Solid Script: Float!" Levy's words glowed into a floating platform, catching both her and Gajeel mid-air.
"Flying Perfume!" Ichiya shouted, taking a good sniff of a pink-tinted perfume as he held up Hibiki by the back of his shirt, the latter still going through his Archive magic.
Carla rushed forward and latched onto Wendy's back, wings erupting from behind as she activated her Aera magic, taking flight,
Three Wraiths floated towards them, carrying the still unconscious bodies of Angel, Eve, and Ren.
As they ascended into the open sky, the Christina fell behind them—trailing smoke, broken panels, and flickering lights. Below them, it crashed into the thick canopy of Worth Woodsea with a muffled boom, sending birds scattering for miles.
…
[X784, Worthwood Sea]
— Erza Scarlet —
Lucy gasped as a massive explosion had them all look up, the Christina burning and broken. Pieces and large chunks of the massive airship fell to the ground like hail.
Everyone looked horrified. The screech of tearing metal and the roar of explosions had silenced the group, leaving only the crackling of fire and the distant caw of frightened seabirds.
"You're kidding?!" Natsu's voice broke the silence, eyes wide and fists clenched.
"There's no way Dannis and Mira got beat, right?!" Gray protested desperately.
Erza was no better. What happened to Dannis and Mira? Lisanna, Elfman, Levy, and Wendy? How did this happen?
The burning magic ship fell out of the sky and crashed, further breaking it apart. Flames flared and engulfed the ship, an explosion destroying anything left that could've been salvaged.
Erza clenched her teeth, her fingers twitching toward the hilt of her sword. A low rumble vibrated through the ground beneath them. Jura's voice snapped everyone to alert.
"Be on your guard. They are here."
Five figures stepped through the rising smoke and flame of the ruined airship.
They were easily recognizable, especially since Erza and the rest had just seen pictures of them minutes ago.
"Oración Seis." Erza breathed, her hand finally wrapping around her blade.
The leader, Brain, surveyed them with contempt. "Where is Angel?" he asked coldly, turning to the others.
"You blew up the airship without even confirming where your ally is." Lyon shot back, earning a raised eyebrow from the Master of Oración Seis.
"Hmm? So she was on the airship, but I didn't sense her death…" The words sent a chill down Erza's spine.
The man with a snake coiled around him smirked, seemingly unconcerned by the loss of his teammate. "I can hear it…your trembling."
Cobra, Erza's mind supplied.
"Y'know what they say, it's best to just race through your problems." Another of the dark mages that she identified as Racer spoke up. "You lot look like you could pose a problem."
Hoteye's gaze settled on Jura like a starving man eyeing a feast. "I recognize you at the front. You have quite the large bounty in the underground. I would dearly love to cash it in…"
Brain just chuckled. "Be careful, Hoteye. That's Jura, the Wizard Saint. He might prove…troublesome."
Natsu stepped forward, fire crackling at his fists. "Saves us the trouble of looking for you. What did you do to our friends?!"
"Let's just beat these guys and be done with it." Gray joined him, now fully in his underwear, already shaping ice in his palm. "We need to scour the wreckage quickly to find the rest."
Erza agreed with them. The moment her body lit with the soft glow of her Requip, her Heaven's Wheel Armor appeared in a flash of steel and wind. She pointed her sword forward, eyes fixed on Cobra.
Racer blurred—one second distant, the next between Natsu and Gray. He struck them both with a flurry of kicks too fast to see, sending them flying into opposite trees. Jura was already engaged, fending off both Hoteye and Brain at once. He lifted his index and middle finger, pillars of earth following his command.
Erza lunged at Cobra, ducking low from the coiled snake before running her blade to its side. Sparks skated off its scales.
"Hah! You won't hurt Cubelios like that, her scales are as hard as iron!" Cobra taunted, already closing the gap. His hand glowing with an odd red mist.
Erza twisted her blade back, dodging a hook from Cobra—only to widen her eyes as Cubelios was right there waiting for her.
Cobra grinned. "I can hear your moves before you make them fool!"
So her current opponent could read minds? That was troubling, but she had trained with someone with a far more dangerous ability than that. Dannis could see the future with his artificial eye. Figuring out ways to beat his precognition were one of the things she had trained in, back when she was preparing herself for her S-Class exams.
She moved by instinct, pivoting just in time to dodge the strikes from both Cobra and the snake, the breath of venomous wind brushing her cheek.
"Blumenblatt!" She roared. Dozens of blades erupting around her. She grabbed two in hand, dashing forward and flashing past Cobra. Blood spurted from his arms as he crossed them defensively.
"Why you—!"
A golden beam struck him mid-sentence, knocking him back as Loke appeared beside her, Lucy summoning him just in time. But their relief was short-lived—Racer blitzed in again, hitting all three of them in rapid succession before vanishing in a blur of motion.
"Come on, Cobra! Don't be deadweight!" Racer said, passing the man.
"Shut up!" Cobra shouted, already inhaling. "Poison Dragon's Roar!"
A thick cloud of deadly mist surged forward.
Erza's form shimmered as she requipped again, this time into the heavy, impenetrable bulk of the Adamantine Armor. A helmet covered her face, sealing her from the toxic fumes. The mist washed over her like a tide, but with every inch of skin covered, no harm came.
Taking a look around the field, Erza grimaced as Hoteye overwhelmed Lyon and Sherry, sinking the ground beneath them with a wave of his magic. They cried out as they were swallowed by the earth, only to be slammed back up like ragdolls.
"Where are you looking, Titania?!" Cobra pressed forward again. Cubelios hissed violently as the snake followed beside him.
Erza requipped again, changing to her Black Wing armor for enhanced speed. She clashed blades with Cobra's scaled forearms, each strike parried by his preemptive blocks. The snake weaved around her, snapping at her heels, biting at her arms. She cut it back, dancing between Cobra and Racer's unpredictable assault. She was fighting two opponents now.
Loke fell with a cry, overwhelmed as the one they call Midnight suddenly decided to join the fray. Lucy screamed his name, only to be slammed to the ground by Cubelios' tail.
"Get away from her!" Erza shouted, turning. But she was too late.
The serpent coiled around Lucy and bit. Fangs sank into her shoulder, and a scream tore from Lucy's throat.
"LUCY!"
Natsu and Gray rushed towards her, but were stopped by Midnight. Every spell they sent towards him veered off harmlessly. The dark mage pointed a single finger before swiping it sideways, an invisible force slammed Natsu and Gray from the side.
Erza tried to help them, but Racer intercepted, kneeing her in the stomach. She tumbled back. Cobra rushed forward, claws enhanced with poisonous energy, slicing across her shoulder.
"Damn—" She grimaced and swung hard, knocking him back. Her armor cracked.
She spun, switching again—this time to her Flame Empress Armor—launching a wave of fire to push them back. Racer zipped around it, flanking her, kicking her legs out from under her.
She hit the ground—rolled—kicked up and slashed—but Cubelios was already lunging again.
CRUNCH.
The fangs broke through her shoulder plate. A jolt of fiery pain lanced through her body as venom pumped straight into her bloodstream.
Her scream was muffled behind her helmet. She dropped to a knee.
Her hand shook as she reached for another blade. Her vision swam. Breathing was harder. Her grip loosened. 'Poison…? That fast?'
"Man, you sure are strong." Cobra grinned, his voice echoing. "You lasted longer than I thought."
Her knees buckled.
The world tilted.
Through her blurred vision, she saw Jura with a serious expression on his face. Slamming both hands together, the earth rumbled beneath them as pillars rose from the ground that separated the dark mages with the light.
Massive hands made of stone pulled everyone together as Jura stood in front of them all, a lone mountain amidst the storm.
The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was Brain, Hoteye, Midnight, Racer, and Cobra rushing him all at once.
…
AN: There we go. Sorry how late this chapter took, writing the whole Erza section on this chapter was hard. I kept changing the POV's, from Gray, to Lucy, to Jura or Lyon before deciding on Erza in the end.
Next chapter will be the counterattack by the Light Mages. Jura will show these people what being a Wizard Saint means, while Dannis will show them what having Jellal Fernandez as a wraith could do.
Advanced chapters on my Patreon! You can get all the way to Chapter 91 by the time this chapter was uploaded. Check it out if you're interested!
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, cheers!