The wind at Misty Peaks carried cold and pine. Mist slid like breath over ledges; gravel hissed under boots. Below the ridge, Fairy Tail's vanguard crashed against a tide of black-cloaked lackeys—steel ringing, fire snarling, ice cracking.
From a higher shelf of rock, a man in a crimson mantle walked out of the fog as if he owned it.
Darius Crimson.
"Return, boy," he said, voice smooth as a knife's back. "Or watch your new 'family' wither."
Ryuji stepped forward; Wendy fell in beside him, shoulders square, eyes bright and steady.
"We won't let you take him," Wendy said. "Not now, not ever."
Darius smiled without warmth. "Then entertain me."
Around them, four elites took their marks—each one peeling from the haze to meet a waiting wizard.
Natsu vs. Rax Volt (Lightning Mage)
Rax spun a crackling cord from his palm.
Rax — "Thunder Lash!"
The lightning-whip snapped across Natsu's chest. Sparks crawled. Natsu hissed, boots gouging grit as he slid back.
Natsu bared his teeth. "I'll fry you first! Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
His blazing punch hammered Rax's guard—sent him skidding, boots carving twin lines.
Rax planted, sigils biting the rock underfoot.
Rax — "Volt Cage!"
Pillars of lightning corralled shut; current slammed in from all sides. Natsu grunted, smoke curling from clenched teeth.
"Like I'd stay penned!" He roared straight through it. "Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Flames tore the cage apart—Rax crossed his forearms, cloak snapping, face tightening.
Rax blurred, crackles stuttering along his limbs.
Rax — "Storm Step!"
He appeared at Natsu's flank and drove a lightning heel into his ribs. Natsu stumbled, breath punching out—but his grin didn't die.
Gray vs. Aster Vane (Crystal-Make)
Aster's palms flashed.
Aster — "Crystal-Make: Shards!"
A glittering volley hissed in. Gray swept his arms. "Ice-Make: Shield!"
Most shards shattered; a few knifed through to rake his sleeve. He clicked his tongue, eyes narrowing.
"Try this, then. Ice-Make: Lance!"
A storm of javelins hammered Aster's guard and drove him a step back.
Aster flared his hands outward.
Aster — "Crystal-Make: Prism Cage!"
Facets sprang up around Gray, bending light, snapping shut. Air thinned. Gray grimaced, dropped his center of gravity—
"Break." "Ice-Make: Hammer!"
A great ice maul crashed down; the cage spider-webbed and burst.
Aster slashed both hands down.
Aster — "Crystal-Make: Guillotine!"
Twin panes scissored; Gray twisted, but the edge clipped his shoulder. He hissed through his teeth, planting his feet again.
Erza vs. Sable Rowan (Mirage Magic)
Sable's smile never reached her eyes.
Sable — "Mirage Bloom."
Dozens of after-images flowered and fanned, circling.
Erza's armor flashed—light, sleek lines. Requip: Flight Armor.
She burst forward, carving phantoms apart in a whirling cross. The real Sable slid behind her like a ripple.
Sable — "Glass Fade."
Her outline thinned to a ghost; a needle-thrust lanced for Erza's back.
Erza dropped a knee and re-armored in a blink. Requip: Adamantine Armor.
The strike rang off her shield in a clear, hard note. Erza's eyes lifted, sharp.
She traded weight again, raven wings unfurling. Requip: Black Wing Armor — Moon Flash!
A crescent slash staggered Sable, the mirage fraying. Sable's jaw tightened.
Sable — "Echo Step."
A double-image feint; the real strike punched into Erza's ribs. She took the blow, boots grinding, and smiled thinly. "Noted."
Gajeel vs. Basalt Brun (Earth Magic)
Basalt stamped once.
Basalt — "Bedrock Pike!"
Spikes tore up in a jagged line. Gajeel leaped, iron scales bristling.
"Too slow! Iron Dragon's Club!"
His arm hardened into a slab of metal and he swept the pikes aside in a clanging arc.
Basalt rolled his shoulder, bracing a rumbling shield.
Basalt — "Quake Buckler!"
The shockwave burst under Gajeel's feet and dumped him hard onto a knee.
Gajeel spat grit. "Heh. Cute. Iron Dragon's Roar!"
The roaring torrent blasted across the ledge and drove Basalt back on skidding heels.
Basalt thrust both hands down.
Basalt — "Coffin of Stone!"
Rock surged and slammed shut around Gajeel's torso. He strained, teeth bared, the stone groaning as iron flexed against it.
Ryuji & Wendy vs. Darius Crimson
Darius spread his fingers. Runes lit the rock in a ring.
Darius — "Crimson Sigil: Thorn Circle."
Barbed lines knotted inward. Ryuji stepped forward anyway—took the lash across his side—bit down a cry. Wendy gasped, hands already glowing as she caught his arm and steadied him.
"You stand," Darius mused. "Good. Stand for this."
A burning seal hung over Ryuji's chest and snapped shut.
Darius — "Crimson Sigil: Silence Brand."
His breath hitched; when he tried to draw a roar, the air locked like ice in his lungs. He coughed, eyes watering.
Wendy pressed both palms to him, magic flooding gentle and sure. "Breathe. I've got you." The glow eased the clamp—but only barely.
Darius lifted his hand; the fog thickened, points of red blooming inside it.
Darius — "Crimson Veil: Javelin."
Spears of congealed mist hammered in. Ryuji threw up a thin Frost Veil on instinct; it shattered like glass. One javelin punched his shoulder; another nicked Wendy's thigh. She stumbled—then forced herself straight again, jaw tight, eyes bright with tears she refused to shed.
"Is that all?" Darius tilted his head. "This is tiresome."
Ryuji pushed back to his feet, shaking, blood dark on his sleeve. "Keep talking," he rasped. "We're not finished."
Wendy stepped in front of him, breath short, hands lifted. "We won't fall. Not to you."
"Brave," Darius said, and smiled. "Breakable."
He walked forward through his own fog.
Across the ridge, the other fights slammed and rolled—Natsu and Rax both marked by scorch and bruise; Gray and Aster trading cuts of light and frost; Erza bleeding from the ribs but driving Sable back on a storm of black wings; Gajeel's arms tearing free of stone with an iron shriek.
At the center, Darius' shadow fell over the two smallest figures on the cliff.
Ryuji dragged breath past the burning brand. Wendy shifted her weight, ready to take the next hit first if she had to.
They stood anyway.
To be continued...
Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima/Kodansha. I only own Ryuji Kazuma and this fan story. Non-commercial fan work.