[X784, Worth Woodsea]
— Jura Neekis —
Seeing that the rest of his allies were down for the count, Jura stood firm. His body braced and his senses sharpened as he focused on defense.
Lyon, Natsu, Gray, Sherry. They had all quickly fallen to Oracion Seis.
But what worried him most were Erza and Lucy. Whatever venom that Cobra's snake partner possessed, it proved potent enough to take down a mage as powerful as the Titania in one bite.
Contrary to the other's belief, he knew that the others aboard the Christina weren't defeated. Jura has always prided himself in his magical senses. It was one of the few things he had trained and considered to be his best strength.
It was how he knew Wendy wasn't a simple mage at the first glance. How he knew Dannis Martell was on the brink of reaching Jura's level in magic. How he knew Ichiya, Mira, and Dannis were flying to their location with rapid speed.
All he needed to do was buy time for them to arrive, something he was happy to do. For he was Iron Rock Jura and he would not fall. Not here.
"Iron Rock Wall!"
A jagged barricade burst from the forest floor, intercepting a volley of black projectiles from Brain's skeletal staff. Darkness cracked against stone, but Jura's wall held.
'Brain, the architect of this madness…' There was something quite odd with his magic, though Jura couldn't pinpoint the reason why.
The snap of breaking leaves behind him warned him of Racer's speed. Jura reacted instantly, pivoting, his arm already covered in granite. Their fists met—Racer's knuckles colliding with Jura's rock gauntlet.
Jura didn't budge.
Racer was flung backward like a bullet ricocheting off a cliff. He vanished in a blur, crashing into the underbrush.
But there was no time to breathe.
"Poison Dragon's Roar!" Cobra's voice erupted from behind.
Jura clapped his palms together. "Iron Rock Dome!"
A seamless sphere of hardened earth encased him just as the sickly red breath splashed against the dome harmlessly.
Though his sight was restricted, his senses expanded. Jura placed his hand on the ground, connecting with the earth like a conductor to his instrument.
He felt them. Midnight above, preparing another spell. Cobra circling the dome like a vulture. Brain concentrating on another move.
However, despite all their magical power, it wasn't Brain or Midnight that served as Jura's biggest threat. No, it was Hoteye. For the man possesses a form of magic that could easily counter Jura's.
'He's liquifying the ground again...!' Jura bent his knees and slammed his fist downward.
The dome burst open from below as Jura erupted outward, landing several meters away just before the earth caved in.
"Too close," he muttered, rolling his shoulder.
A moment later, two enormous earthen fists—each the size of a wagon—rose behind him. He guided them like extensions of his body, following his movements at every turn. He aimed them at Brain.
One was batted away by a coiling black shield. The other melted mid-air, reduced to mud by Hoteye..
Pain snapped through his side—Racer had returned, punching him from behind. Jura grunted, turning the terrain beneath the speed mage into a minefield of jagged spikes. Racer leapt back, nearly losing balance.
Cobra's snake appeared then, which forced Jura to coat his arm into thick stone before Cubelios latched onto it, the fangs piercing into the stone gauntlet but not to his flesh.
"Dark Carpricio!"
The blast of compressed darkness slammed into Jura's chest. The earth beneath him fractured as he skidded backward, boots gouging deep lines into the soil.
His robes tore and the muscles beneath were singed. Blood dripped from his lip. But he did not fall.
"As expected of a Wizard Saint." Brain trawled. "You truly are the most troubling of opponents. Though you should realize when you're outmatched."
"Perhaps," Jura answered calmly. "But it is not today."
"Man, I've been reading his moves since we started. But even then, I'm struggling to keep up." Cobra said as Cubelios slithered back around him. "What's scary is that he's holding back. I heard what the Iron Rock Saint could do. If those friends of his weren't here, he could probably lift up a mountain and crush us beneath it."
Brain chuckled. "Thus the weakness of all who walk in the light."
A grim look appeared on Jura's face. A quick glance towards Erza and Lucy saw them writhing on the ground in pain, sensing the poison coursing through their systems. Their pulses were weak, breaths ragged.
Cobra was right in a way. Jura was confident that his most powerful spell could probably take out all of Oracion Seis in one fell swoop, but the massive range of impact would doubtlessly harm his allies as well.
"I wouldn't worry about them." Cobra grinned. "Their fates were sealed the moment Cubelios got her fangs on them. They—"
Jura smiled, sensing them coming.
Cobra's eyes widened. "Above us!"
A high-pitched whistle cut through the canopy. Shadows fell from the sky. Cobra's warning had the Oracion Seis scattering.
Ichiya dropped first, perfume cannisters already uncorked. Juvia came with him, a water slicer launched towards the nearest opponent.
The particles of perfume and blade of water raced towards Midnight, before swerving unnaturally the moment they neared the Dark Mage.
Mira in her take-over form descended like a silver comet, diving straight for Hoteye with a feral smile.
Gajeel crashed down like a meteor, roaring at Cobra. Levy right behind him.
Carla flew Wendy towards the wounded, who was already preparing her magic.
Dannis descended with hundreds of Wraiths behind him, a feeling of death permeating through the air.
Jura turned his focus back to Brain, tackling him bodily before the dark mage could conjure another attack.
Rocks surged between them. Jura's fists moved like pistons, breaking through layers of magical defenses. Brain retaliated, launching blasts of darkness point-blank. Jura tanked them all, pushing him back, away from the others.
"As if I'd let you do anything you want!" Racer screamed in defiance as he blitzed forward and kicked away the Wraiths around him.
The speed mage zipped forward again and again, Dannis managing to dodge at the last second every single time. His left eye glowing an intense red.
He remained focused, studying Racer's pattern of movement before unsheating his sword.
"Is this all you've got?!" Racer jeered. "Too slow to keep up with—"
A hiss of steel.
Dannis' sword was already drawn.
"Your speed means nothing to me," he said, his voice low and flat.
Shlick—
Racer's wrist was cut off cleanly.
The man howled as he spun through the air, crashing into a trunk that shattered on impact.
"NO!" Brain roared. The eyes on his staff glowed before unleashing a point blank Dark Rondo, forcing Jura back.
He slammed his staff into the ground. A pulse of black magic spiraled outward—dark glyphs spinning like storm clouds above. Magic surged, violent and twisted.
Jura narrowed his eyes. Dannis' future sight allowed him to react, seeing the bleak future.
"Jura!"
"Yes, Dannis-dono!"
Without needing instruction, Jura raised both arms.
"Iron Rock Bastion!"
Pillars erupted—dozens of them—encircling the clearing like a coliseum. Half a second later, all of them took on a blank tint as Dannis covered them with darkness.
Dozens of the Wraiths rushed off and dragged their wounded allies backward, retreating behind the pillars.
A second later, Brain's spell struck.
The impact shook the earth. A blinding shockwave of darkness flooded the grove, crashing against the enhanced pillars.
It passed.
The grove went still.
As the dust settled, Jura lowered his hands. The pillars remained, blackened but unbroken.
Oración Seis… was gone.
…
[X784, Magnolia]
— Makarov Dreyar —
Makarov shook his head at the dozens—no, hundreds—of crumpled dark mages who lay unconscious or groaning in pain across the battered glades that fringed Magnolia's outskirts.
He shrunk his arm back, which he had just used to slap away a handful of mages who came to threaten his family.
"These chumps were weaklings," Laxus muttered, cracking his knuckles, sparks still flickering along his arms. "I thought the Balam Alliance was supposed to be the strongest of 'em."
"They didn't really send any of the big names," Gildarts said, arms folded over his chest as he kicked aside a broken staff lying near a fallen mage. "Just the grunts from no-name guilds."
Makarov nodded grimly. "That's what worries me."
A shimmer of golden light rippled near them, and then the translucent form of Master Mavis Vermillion stood among them.
"I surmise this was only an attack through necessity," she said. "A performance, more than anything. The Balam Alliance needed to show strength after the Oración Seis was targeted. But neither Grimoire Heart nor Tartaros would be foolish enough to send their elite against Magnolia… not when it holds two Wizard Saint-level mages."
Makarov grunted. "The good thing about that means the three heads of the Balam Alliance don't have any real loyalty among them. Each looks out only for their own interest."
"Still, if they're testing our strength, they'll be watching the results closely," Mavis said, placing a finger to her lips thoughtfully. "And we must assume other Light Guilds are under similar pressure."
"They're not getting through Fairy Tail, that's for damn sure," Laxus growled. "Not while I'm breathing."
"And you're hardly alone," Gildarts added with a shrug. "With this much muscle on our side, they'd need a damn army to breach Magnolia's walls."
Mavis turned slightly, her tone more serious now. "The ones that are fighting Oración Seis must also contend with the dark guilds that serve them. I hope the others are holding out."
Laxus scoffed. "Of course they are. Dannis is with them."
Makarov's lips curled into a small, tired smile. "Aye… I've learned to never give out hope once that boy is the one fighting."
He let his shoulders relax slightly as he spoke, the tension easing now that the enemy had been routed, but he could feel the weight of the war pressing down on him. This was just the beginning.
"Mystogan is doing one last sweep of the surroundings," Makarov added. "Just to be sure."
"But is this really all they're sending?" Gildarts asked. "Seems more like a scouting party than a real assault."
"I don't believe this is the end of it," Mavis answered. "Their strategy isn't about brute force, at least not yet. More likely we'll face waves of attackers, testing our endurance. They're trying to exhaust us."
"Lovely," Gildarts muttered, brushing bark off his shoulder. "And I just planned to ask Cana for a daddy-daughter date. Thought we could go eat crepes or throw axes—whatever she's into these days."
Laxus smirked. "Who knew a guy like you could be a pops, eh, old man?"
"Neither did I," Gildarts admitted with a warm smile. "But I'm glad I get the chance now."
A gust of wind swept through the trees. Leaves rustled softly before a figure landed soundlessly in front of them—Mystogan. Cloaked and calm as always, his masked face dipped in a curt nod.
"I've set up detection wards one mile in every direction around Magnolia," he reported. "It took a while, but we'll be alerted the moment anyone with ill intent steps within range."
"Good job, Mystogan," Makarov said, clasping the younger man's shoulder with a proud nod. "Let's hope the next storm gives us some warning."
…
AN: The whole purpose of the Balam Alliance was to make sure things like this didn't happen. When one of the heads is attacked, the others would retaliate.
Though as mentioned, absolutely nobody is getting through Magnolia with Gildarts, Makarov, Laxus, and Mystogan defending it.
Jura shows why he's a member of the Wizard Saint. Oracion Seis had to jump him 5v1 to even get a solid hit on him.
Anyways, more chapters ahead on my Patreon and all that jazz. Check it out if you're interested. There should be 4 chapters ahead by the time this chapter was posted.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, cheers!