172 Clash of Blades
July 2nd X791
"You can't be serious right?" Gray commented as he stared at the lacrima vision of the race from the Team A spectator stand. "Sure I would expect something like this to happen to Natsu but...Gajeel and that other guy from Sabertooth?!"
On the screen, the three dragon slayers were in 6th, 7th, and 8th place. As they slowly walked atop the flat platforms of the moving chariot carts, their faces grew paler and paler and they grasped their stomachs.
"You would have thought that the name "Chariot" would imply that they would be doing this kind of thing." Max said, shaking his head as he leaned against the guardrails.
"Why did he even enter this one?!" Gray exclaimed.
"He insisted he was competing and wouldn't back down." Erza answered.
"Looking at those three, I wonder if every dragon slayer gets that kind of sickness." Meliodas mused.
---
"AND NOW WE'RE AT THE GRAND MAGIC GAMES SECOND 2ND DAY BATTLE SECTION! THIS IS THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! THE BATTLES! AND WE HAVE A BUNCH OF TOUGH MATCHES TO SHOW YOU!" Chapati announced.
"THIS FIRST MATCH IS KUROHEBI OF RAVEN TAIL VERSUS TOBY HORHOTA OF LAMIA SCALE!" Chapati continued.
"Raven Tail huh…" Gray commented as he glared at their group sitting across the stadium. As the group watched the battle between Raven Tail and Lamia Scale, Meliodas could hear the groaning of Natsu leaning against the wall behind them.
"Natsu, that's what happens when you do an event so blatantly called "Chariot." Max commented.
"Ughhhh...I need Wendy here…" Natsu groaned as he slid down the wall onto the floor. Meliodas walked over to him and patted him lightly on the head.
"THE BATTLE IS OVER! THE WINNER IS KUROHEBI OF RAVEN TAIL!" Chapati announced.
"Tch...damn he won…" Gray commented.
"They're definitely a formidable guild despite the evils about them." Erza added.
"UP NEXT IS YUKINO OF SABERTOOTH VERSUS ROCKER OF QUATRO CERBERUS!" Chapati announced.
Meliodas leaned up against the guardrails, resting his chin on it as he watched the two participants enter the arena and begin their battle.
"Natsu, where are you going?" Gray asked as Natsu slowly made his way to the exit.
"I need a bathroom…" Natsu grumbled as he walked off.
"Well make it quick. This Yukino person is going to finish off Rocker in no time and we're screwed if you're called up and you're not here." Gray responded.
"I wonder if you'll get a fight in, Max." Erza said. "We all saw you fighting with Natsu last night."
"Heh...I'm only here to fill in the spot. I don't expect to be called up to fight but if I am, I think I can take most of those guys on." Max said with a confident grin.
"Well if you are called up, the options for you to fight are Fairy Tail Team B, Mermaid Heel, and Blue Pegasus." Erza continued.
"I think I'd rather not have to fight Team B or Mermaid Heel…especially people like Laxus or Kagura…" Max said with a shudder. "Even I'm not ready for them."
As they continued conversing, the match came to a conclusion.
"AND THE WINNER OF THE MATCH IS YUKINO OF SABERTOOTH, SCORING TEN POINTS FOR THEIR TEAM!" Chapati announced. "THE NEXT MATCH WILL BE BETWEEN MIRAJANE STRAUSS OF FAIRY TAIL TEAM B AND JENNY REALIGHT OF BLUE PEGASUS!"
"Whew! This is gonna be a hot battle!" Max exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Wasn't that woman Miss Fiore or something?" Gray questioned.
"I believe so. And Mira was quite famous seven years ago for her modeling. This will be quite the matchup." Erza commented.
"W-what are they doing?!" Gray blurted out as he gawked at the two women in the arena. Both Mirajane and Jenny were no longer in the regular attire and were wearing skimpy swimsuits while performing various pinup poses.
"Man! Why can't every battle be like this!" Max exclaimed. "Damn! Look at those perfect bodies! I can only imagine what their measurements are since Sorcerer Magazine never published those."
"Mira is 92-60-92. Jenny is 90-58-90." Meliodas remarked. The other three Fairy Tail members looked at Meliodas with a surprised look on their faces.
"How the hell do you know that?!" Gray and Max shouted simultaneously.
"I see...so that eyesight of yours not only lets you see things far away, but also meticulous measurements…" Erza said, impressed at Meliodas' ability.
"Erza...I think you missed the point..but yeah. Meliodas, you can really tell people's measurements just by looking at them?" Max asked.
"Yup." Meliodas said as he turned back to the arena and watched Mirajane and Jenny swap into various costumes and perform different poses. 'Hmm...these give me a lot of ideas for Elizabeth…'
"UNBELIEVABLE! IT APPEARS THEY MADE QUITE THE WAGER! THE LOSER OF THIS BATTLE HAS TO POSE NUDE IN THE NEXT SORCERER MAGAZINE!" Chapati announced as blood gushed from his nose and the noses of many male members of the audience.
"This is my battle form!" Jenny said as her body began to glow, her clothes changing into a crimson armored battle suit.
"So this will be a battle of strength then?" Mirajane asked as her body began to glow and her magic skyrocketed. Jenny looked at Mirajane with a surprised expression as her features changed. Mirajane donned a geometric blue and white printed bodysuit with a large collar and two belts around her waist. Horns began to grow out of the side of her head as her hair grew slightly longer and flared up more.
"Satan Soul: Sitri."
Meliodas' eyes widened as he looked at the form, gaining a sense of familiarity from her magic similar to his demonic brethren in the Demon Realm.
"Well, well, well. That form is strong." Meliodas said.
"The demon, Sitri." Erza commented. "As far as I know, this is her most powerful Satan Soul."
"How does her takeover magic work anyway?" Meliodas asked. "I've traveled across Ishgar and haven't run into a single demon."
"I don't know where Mira gets her demons. But her takeover allows her to control demons to the point where she can use their power." Erza answered. Meliodas nodded and looked back at Mirajane who had just completely destroyed Jenny's armor in a single strike. 'Control demons and use their power? I wonder how that would have worked in my world…' Meliodas thought as he tried to picture Mirajane in different takeover forms of various demons he knew.
"AND THE WINNER IS MIRAJANE!" Chapati announced. "FAIRY TAIL B HAS EARNED 10 POINTS!"
"Okay!" Natsu shouted as he came running back into Team A's stand. "I'm back!"
"Why did it take you so long to go to the bathroom?!" Gray questioned.
"Well...I ran into a bit of trouble with some guys trying to kidnap Lucy...but I beat 'em up good!" Natsu said with a grin.
"Kidnap Lucy...but why…" Gray pondered.
"Could it be Raven Tail? Although they already put her out of the tournament with that stunt they pulled. I don't know what else they would want from her." Max commented.
"We'll have to figure it out later then. The next match is coming up and it's only us and Mermaid Heel left." Erza said.
"Those guys I beat up got me fired up! I hope I'm up!" Natsu said with a grin.
"NOW FOLKS, GET READY FOR OUR FINAL MATCH OF THE DAY!" Chapati announced. As he read over the paper before speaking, his eyes widened with surprise. Jason, the guest judge of that day, looked over to see why Chapati had paused and a huge grin appeared on his face.
"THIS NEXT BATTLE IS SO COOOOOOOL!" Jason shouted into the mic.
"THIS NEXT BATTLE...WILL BE BETWEEN MERMAID HEEL'S KAGURA MIKAZUCHI, AND FAIRY TAIL'S BLOND DEMON, MELIODAS!" Chapati shouted enthusiastically. The crowd immediately burst out into a loud uproar of cheering upon hearing the names.
"Well, well, well. Looks like I'm up." Meliodas said.
"Good luck out there Meliodas, although you don't have to hear that from me." Max said with a grin.
"Show everyone who the best swordsman in Fiore is." Gray said. "N-no offense Erza!" Gray quickly added.
"I acknowledge Meliodas' sword skills are above my own." Erza responded. "Now go out there and win!"
---
Meliodas stood in the center of the arena, standing across from Kagura. The originally restless crowd grew silent in anticipation as they waited for the match to start.
"GET READY FOLKS! AS YOU ALL KNOW, KAGURA'S STRENGTH MAKES HER NOT ONLY MERMAID HEEL'S MOST POWERFUL WIZARD, BUT SHE'S ALWAYS NEAR THE TOP OF SORCERER MAGAZINE'S BEST WOMEN LIST! FACING HER IS MELIODAS. DESPITE HIS YOUTHFUL LOOKS, HE'S EARNED HIMSELF THE TITLE OF "THE BLOND DEMON" AS A TESTAMENT OF HIS POWER. YAJIMA, JASON. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS BATTLE!" Chapati shouted.
"I believe we'll witness swordplay never before seen. I heard rumors about Meliodas having been acknowledged by none other than the Legendary Blacksmith himself, Musica, for his sword skill." Yajima commented.
"THIS BATTLE WILL BE SO COOOOOOOOL!" Jason screamed.
"AAND LET THE FINAL MATCH OF THE SECOND DAY BEGIN!" Chapati announced.
"Let's give it our all!" Meliodas said with a lighthearted tone. Kagura remained silent with a stern expression on her face as she widened her stand, putting her hand on the handle of her sword.
Meliodas took a step forward and Kagura immediately lunged forward, swinging her sword sheath and all. To her surprise, Meliodas was no longer standing in front of her.
"That's an interesting sword style, keeping your blade sheathed." Meliodas said from behind Kagura. Kagura immediately spun around swinging her sword at Meliodas. Meliodas ducked backwards, the sword barely missing his head as a few strands of hair were cut from his head.
Kagura immediately leaped forward, slashing forward at Meliodas. Meliodas turned his body and side stepped the slash, the sword swinging down right in front of him.
"Your sword skill is really good. You should meet a friend of mine. His name is Musica. I think he'd like you." Meliodas said as he continued dodging Kagura's attacks.
"Don't waste my time with idle chatter if you're not going to fight." Kagura said coldly as she swung her sword once more at Meliodas. To her surprise, Meliodas did not evade but raised his right arm up and the sword slammed right into Meliodas' arm. The ground next to Meliodas immediately cracked, but Meliodas remained fine.
'T-that didn't cut through?' Kagura immediately jumped backwards and returned to her wide stanced, Iaido-like position.
"You won't cut me while your sword is like that." Meliodas commented. "How come you won't draw it?"
"I'll only draw this sword to kill the man that I hate…" Kagura responded coldly.
"Well I guess it's none of my business then." Meliodas responded. "Although I would like to know where you got a sword like that. Seems pretty strong. Even Musica would be impressed by it."
"If you have time for idle chatter, then you have time to draw your blade." Kagura said as she leapt straight at Meliodas. As she swung her sword at Meliodas, he suddenly vanished from her line of sight. In that instant, she felt a sharp pain in her torso as Meliodas appeared right under her, his fist buried into her abdomen.
Kagura gasped in pain as she was sent flying straight across the arena, right into the wall of the arena. Cracks began forming in the wall of the arena as her body was lodged inside. Kagura immediately freed herself, causing a portion of the wall to fall behind her. She stumbled onto the ground and stared at Meliodas, wiping the blood dripping from her mouth.
"You know, in the previous fights, everyone was making deals with each other. How about we make one?" Meliodas asked. Kagura remained silent and began walking towards Meliodas.
"I'm normally not one to gamble for light entertainment purposes. Now stop messing around. Why don't you prove to me you're as good a swordsman as the rumors say you are." Kagura responded.
"Well then. Guess it's time to get down to it!" Meliodas said as he unsheathed Neo Mel Force.
[Slashing Form]
Kagura immediately lunged towards Meliodas, her sword prepared to strike. Meliodas retaliated with the same, jumping straight towards her. The two of them immediately landed on the ground, unleashing a flurry of slashes invisible to the naked eyes of the audience.
"Woah, that's fast!" Natsu exclaimed.
"I can't even see those slashes!" Gray shouted. "She's actually keeping up pretty well with Meliodas though!"
"It's not even close." Erza responded as she watched the two of them rally sword slashes.
As Kagura continuously slashed at Meliodas, cuts began to form on her body. She felt a sharp pain on her left leg, then her right arm, then her left hand, then one across her cheek. 'His sword speed...is incredibly fast! Every time I slash at him, he returns another three or four at me!"
Kagura's eyes widened as Meliodas vanished again from her sight, reappearing behind her with his blade drawn out in front of him. In that instant she began to feel sharp pain all across her body at once.
"One Thousand Divine Slashes!"
Meliodas landed on the ground behind Kagura as Kagura fell to her knees. As Meliodas sheathed Neo Mel Force, large portions of Kagura's clothes shredded and blood gushed out from multiple tiny wounds all across her body. Kagura immediately planted her sword into the ground, keeping her from fully falling as she slowly used it as leverage to get back up. More blood dripped from her body as she turned around to face Meliodas.
"Is that enough proof?" Meliodas asked. "Don't worry, I made sure to miss your vital spots and I cut pretty shallow."
"You truly are deserving of that title..." Kagura said silently as she stood on shaky legs and faced Meliodas. "However...I won't fall here!" Kagura declared as she forced herself to stand up straight. "I'll make you regret holding back in that last attack!"
Kagura immediately charged forward at Meliodas and raised her hand out towards Meliodas. Meliodas bent his knees and put his hand on the handle of Neo Mel Force, preparing to strike. He suddenly felt a strong, crushing force on his entire body, causing his feet to sink into the ground as Kagura swung her sword at him.
Kagura immediately swung her sword at Meliodas and Meliodas raised his own to block it. The two of them engaged in another rally of fast sword slashes, with more blood coming out of Kagura's body as new cuts were formed.
'Even under intense gravity, his speed hasn't dropped at all?!' Kagura questioned as she stared in shock at Meliodas.
Kagura let forward one more powerful horizontal swing headed towards Meliodas. Meliodas prepared to counter attack but suddenly fell to both knees as a strange wave of fatigue swept over his entire body. 'M-my magic?' Meliodas questioned.
"Meliodas!" Erza shouted as Kagura slashed horizontally right into Meliodas' arm. The entire arena seemingly shook from the force of the blow and parts of the arena floor on the other side of Meliodas began to crack and a huge cloud of dust covered the area.
"What happened?!" Natsu exclaimed. "Why did Meliodas suddenly fall like that?!"
"I'll tell you what...it was those damn Raven Tail bastards again!" Gray said angrily.
Kagura grit her teeth as she tried pushing her sword forward. The smoke in front of her began to clear out, revealing Meliodas crouched on one knee with his arm up.
'I swung as hard as I could! He still blocked that with only his bare arm?! Kagura looked at Meliodas in complete shock. She could see a look of fierce wrath in his eyes, yet that rage was not directed towards her. Meliodas turned his head to the side, looking at a specific side of the audience and focusing in on one particular figure.
He glared at an extremely tall blue figure with a huge nose, beady eyes, and long blue hair. The figure wore a black top hat and black cloak as it sat in the stands. However, on the shoulder of that figure was a tiny non-human looking familiar with brown skin, a black cloak, and a crown of leaves around his head. The tiny familiar stared back at Meliodas, it's malicious grin turning into a frown before vanishing under the cloak of the blue figure.
'So that's the one who did that to Wendy and Lucy…'
Meliodas turned his attention back to Kagura who was still in visible shock. Meliodas pushed the sword off his forearm and Kagura dropped her blade, falling to both knees before falling flat onto the arena floor.
"WHAT AN INCREDIBLE DISPLAY OF POWER AND SWORDSMANSHIP BETWEEN TWO MASTER SWORDSMEN! BUT THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE WINNER! AND THAT WINNER IS MELIODAS!" Chapati announced.
Kagura looked back up at Meliodas standing above her, staring at one particular spot of the audience.
"I've about reached my limit...Even my best wasn't enough it seems." Kagura grunted. Meliodas turned his attention back to Kagura and offered her a hand.
"Who knows, maybe things would have been different if you unsheathed that sword." Meliodas said. Kagura accepted Meliodas' gesture and Meliodas helped her stand back up.
"No...the full wrath of this blade isn't for you…" Kagura muttered.
===
Raven Tail: 36
Sabertooth: 30
Fairy Tail B: 22
Blue Pegasus: 17
Fairy Tail A: 12
Quatro Cerberus 12
Mermaid Heel: 9
Lamia Scale: 8
