Earth Land, Ishgar, Stella, Altair.
October 9, x791.
"Oh, it looks like the other team in the city ran into a group of suspicious individuals." Bickslow said with a grin spreading across his face.
"Suspicious individuals! Suspicious individuals!" Bickslow's dolls parroted a moment later.
"*Sigh* But we haven't come across anything yet." Bickslow added in a somber tone.
"Nothing Yet! Nothing Yet!" The dolls chorused, their tones sounding just as down as Bickslow's.
"Stop whining." Evergreen ordered in her usual haughty, imperious tone. "I'm sure we'll find our own prey. And when we do, we'll be the first ones to take them down."
"That's right, a real man doesn't let hardships get him down!" Elfman shouted energetically.
"Exactly." Evergreen said sweetly as she hugged Elfman's massive arm and leaned into him coquettishly.
Elfman returned Evergreen's smile. He then pulled his arm out of her grasp and wrapped it around her waist as the two continued walking through the streets of Altair. Meanwhile, Bickslow, who was usually filled with manic energy, could only look at the couple with half-lidded eyes as the area around Evergreen and Elfman seemed to turn pink in his field of vision.
"I hate working with those two." Bickslow muttered as he slowly followed after the other two. "*Sigh* Why do I have to work with them alone? It's so much better when Laxus or Fried are here."
"Better with Laxus and Fried! Better with Laxus and Fried!" The dolls chorused.
"That's right, you're the only ones who really understand me, my babies." Bickslow said as he stroked one of the wooden dolls floating around him.
A moment later, Bickslow turned to look in the direction of the noble district, a longing expression on his face.
"Still, I can't help but wonder what would have happened if Lici had actually given me a chance." Bickslow muttered quietly before turning his head back to the front to continue following his companions.
"I don't think it would matter." A male voice said from just behind Bickslow as a hand fell on his shoulder. "But I've got some questions for you. Like, why are members of Fairy Tail so far away from home? If you give me the answer, I'll make sure you die a painless death. But if you resist... Let's just say you won't like the lengths I'm willing to go to for answers."
'Who is this guy?' Bickslow asked himself as he whipped a kick at the man who touched his shoulder. 'And how the hell did he get so close without me noticing him? Damn it... I already know the answer to that question. I gotta stop thinking about Lici. She's not going to be mine.'
Bickslow's kick served several purposes in that moment. First of all, it forced the man dressed in black with a half face mask, Feitan of the Phantom Troupe, to take some distance. Second, while Feitan was airborne after dodging the kick, Bickslow's dolls had the time to fire several blasts of magic power at his landing point. And thirdly, it allowed Bickslow to get a good look at his assailant.
For the most part, Bickslow did not find Feitan's appearance strange. He had hunted more than his fair share of Dark Guilds with Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe over the years. So, Feitan's appearance was about par for the course. However, what did draw his attention was the maroon umbrella whose handle was wrapped in dark purple cloth that the man was carrying.
'Yeah, that's not suspicious at all.' Bickslow thought while glancing at the umbrella.
On top of that, Bickslow's sudden attack startled the other people on the street. And when the dolls began firing off magic blasts, the people began to panic and run away in all directions.
Unsurprisingly, Evergreen and Elfman were both alerted, as well. However, before they could rush in to help Bickslow, two more assailants, Shalnark and Franklin, appeared to stop them.
"I wouldn't resist if I were you." Shalnark said. "It will only make things worse for you. Instead, you should just answer our questions and receive a quick death."
"I swear." Evergreen said as she adjusted her glasses. "All you Dark Wizards say the same stuff. It gets pretty old, you know?"
"A real man never gives up!" Elfman shouted as his magic power flared. "[Take Over Magic: Beast Soul: Weretiger]!"
As Elfman was engulfed in the light of his magic power, Evergreen released a large amount of [Fairy Dust] from all over her body. Meanwhile, Shalnark and Franklin readied themselves for a fight. They were tasked with finding out what could have happened to Uvogin. And a group of Fairy Tail wizards seemed like the perfect place to start.
But Bickslow had no time to pay attention to the fleeing civilians. Because Feitan, as if he could hear Bickslow's thoughts, opened the umbrella, which was large enough to conceal his entire body, and pointed its tip at Bickslow's chest.
*Click!*
*Bang!*
A moment later, after hearing a click, something like a gunshot sounded, causing the fleeing civilians to try their best to run even faster. At the same time, the pointy tip of Feitan's umbrella shot towards Bickslow at the speed of a bullet.
"Shit..." Bickslow groaned as he put his acrobatic talents to work and backflipped out of the umbrella tip's path. Yet, just as he reached the peak of his flip, Feitan, now holding a thin, double-edged sword, appeared next to him in the air.
'Damn... He's fast.' Bickslow thought to himself.
Even so, Bickslow was expecting Feitan's attack, as he never lost track of the Dark Wizard after first noticing him. So, just as quickly as Feitan approached, Bickslow willed one of his dolls to move above him. And just before Feitan slashed his sword, aiming to sever his spine and paralyze him, Bickslow kicked off the doll, launching himself down towards the ground before the slash could land.
"Tch! Better than expected." Feitan said coldly.
"And you're not as good as advertised." Bickslow replied in a taunting tone.
Feitan's expression did not change outwardly. However, the flaring of his magic power made it clear that he was irritated by Bickslow's remark. On top of that, Bickslow could see his mouth moving. Though, even through lip reading, he was unable to tell what the man opposite him was saying.
'That's definitely not Ishgar's common language.' Bickslow thought to himself as his dolls gathered behind him. 'Still, I'm pretty sure he's throwing every curse he knows at me under his breath.'
Before that thought even finished, Bickslow back flipped. However, he did not land on the ground. Instead, he landed atop one of his dolls. Meanwhile, Feitan faded into nothingness. Or... That was what it looked like. In reality, Feitan, with his sword slashing through the space that Bickslow's neck used to occupy, reappeared to the left of Bickslow's former position as Feitan's after-image faded away from where he stood originally.
"[Line Formation], Babies!" Bickslow shouted, his tone making him sound slightly unhinged.
In the next instant, Bickslow's other four dolls stacked themselves under the one he was standing on. Then, they all fired a blast of magic power in unison. However, instead of firing five separate blasts, they all combined into what appeared to be an energy slash aimed at Feitan's location.
*Boom!*
However, just like before, Feitan's speed easily let him avoid Bickslow's attack. As a result, the [Line formation] only left a gash in the street.
However, even before Feitan came to a stop, another volley of magic power blasts was already in his face.
"Argh!" Feitan growled in pain as the five magic power blasts slammed into his body and threw him down the street.
*Boom!*
Feitan's flight was only stopped when he slammed into a building, cratering the wall on impact.
Meanwhile, Bickslow watched Feitan intently while listening to the sounds of combat and destruction in the background. Though he wanted to check on Evergreen and Elfman in the interval, he knew that he could not afford to take his eyes off Feitan. Especially with his speed. Missing any preparatory movements could prove detrimental.
"Looks like Alfonzo isn't going to be happy." Bickslow muttered while looking at the damage caused from his missed attacks. "But this time it's not our fault. These three started the fight in the city, after all."
While Bickslow muttered to himself, Feitan slowly climbed to his feet. All the while, he checked the state of his injuries.
"Not enough." Feitan muttered as he turned his attention back to Bickslow. He then smiled viciously under his mask as he continued at a volume that Bickslow could hear. "If that's all you have, you should have just answered my questions and let me kill you afterwards. At least it would have been mostly painless. But now…"
Reaching that point, it was clear to see that Feitan had grown beyond just being angry. And the fact that he began speaking in his uncomprehensible language only cemented that notion.
"You talk big for someone who can't even touch me." Bickslow taunted before sticking out his tongue and showing off his guild mark. "Besides, do you really think this is all I got? If so, you really don't know anything about Fairy Tail, do you?"
"The only thing I need to know is that your entire guild will be wiped out for messing with us." Feitan growled as he vanished from where he stood in a burst of speed.
With that, the battle continued. Feitan's speed proved annoying for Bickslow. Though, ats time went by, he began to notice patterns in Feitan's movements. And as the patterns became clearer in Bickslow's mind, he landed more and more of his blasts.
Unfortunately, the damage the area was taking thanks to Bickslow's magic power blasts, and Feitan's sword swings grew in scale as time passed, as well.
"Yeah!" Bickslow said as he ducked under another slash from Feitan's sword. "Alfonzo's definitely gonna be pissed when he ees this."
"I doubt he'll live long enough to care." Feitan shot backwards as he leapt to avoid Bickslow's kick that flew towards his chin in counterattack.
"Huh? Ahahahahaha!" Bickslow began to laugh so hard that his body leaned back. "Are you serious? No, you can't be."
While in midair, Feitan, while waiting for gravity to pull him back to the ground, was not only surprised by Bickslow's laughter, but also by the fact that no follow up magic power blasts were coming his way.
'What's going on?' Feitan asked himself. A moment later, however, his eyes widened as he realized something. 'No, he didn't reel back from laughter, that block he's standing on is tilting back. On top of that, the other blocks are forming an "X" with the one he' standing on at the center. Damn it…'
"Oh, it looks like you finally noticed." Bickslow said as his laughter stopped abruptly. "Well, it's too late. Anyway, this was fun. But it's time to end it. [X Formation]"
With Bickslow's chant, the five dolls lit up with magic power as they minutely adjusted their angles to keep Feitan in the crosshairs. Then, before Feitan fell to the ground, they fired an X-Shaped blast of magic power that was aimed directly at Feitan's chest.
*Swish!*
*Clang!*
Naturally, Feitan had no intention of allowing that attack to land. However, with no footholds to push off, the only thing he could do was swing his sword at it to hopefully deflect or at least divert some of its destructive force.
With is sword flooded with magic power, Feitan timed his vertical slash precisely. And to no one's surprise, he cut through the X-Shaped blast with little effort. Unfortunately, things did not play out as he expected.
*Shatter!*
"Ahh~~~~!" Feitan shouted painfully as the two sides of the bisected "X' slammed into his torso while the rest of his body was peppered by shards of his shattered sword. As a result, an X-shaped burn was seared into his chest as his upper garments were burned away, and numerous cuts opened up all over his body.
"*Boom!*
A moment later, after being sent flying by Bickslow's attack, Feitan slammed into a store front, collapsing the entire front wall of the store on top of himself. Meanwhile, Bickslow finally took a chance to look in the direction of Evergreen's and Elfman's fight. However, thanks to how much the fight had moved since the beginning, he could only try to piece together his guild mates' situations based on their magic power signatures.
"Looks like they're alright for now." Bickslow said as he slowly floated towards the store Feitan slammed into atop one of his dolls. "I'll see if they need my help after I finish this guy off. He should be close to his limit by now. Taking the [X Formation] like that, even if he managed to cut down some of its power, should have left him on the verge of consciousness, at the very least."
*Crumble!*
"*Cough* *Cough* You would think so." Feitan said as he climbed out of the rubble. "And you would be right."
Seeing Feitan's state, Bickslow almost felt bad for him. But when he remembered the Phantom Troupe's reputation and their suspected deeds, that feeling vanished just as quickly as it came.
Currently, Feitan was barely standing while gripping his sword hilt tightly. On top of that, numerous gashes were leaking blood all over his body. Even so, his eyes were still shining ferociously.
"Die." Feitan said quietly as his magic power flared. "Die in both pain and despair. [Pain Packer Magic: Negation Armor]."
With his chant, Feitan was immediately engulfed in the light of his magic power. A moment later, the magic power surrounding him began to transmute itself into a set of white armor with black accents that covered everything except his eyes and nose.
On top of that, Bickslow could tell that the armor was amplifying Feitan's magic power, despite the fact that it was draining Feitan's magic power to keep it active.
"You have no chance now." Feitan rasped out. "With this armor, your magic will no longer have an effect on me. Meaning…"
*Bang!*
In the next instant, Bickslow was sent flying from atop his doll and slammed into the store front across the street. However, unlike Feitan, he did not smash through it. Instead, he put his acrobatics to use and flipped around, landing feet first against the wall before rebounding off of it and landing on top of another one of his dolls.
Meanwhile, Feitan slowly fell to the ground with his arm extended after throwing the punch that sent Bickslow flying.
At the same time, the four remaining dolls circled Feitan at high speed. All the while, they fired blasts of magic power that all landed on his armor.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
Yet, no matter how many blasts landed on him, Feitan was completely unaffected. There were no burns or scuffs on the armor, either.
"I told you it's useless." Feitan said as he landed on the street. "But I'm sure you won't be satisfied unless you try everything. So, go on, use your most powerful spell. I'll stand here and wait."
"Don't regret it later." Bickslow replied as he hopped off his doll. He then raised his right arm and pointed at Feitan while the doll moved forward to join the other five. "Baryon Formation] my babies."
Just as Feitan said, he did not move, allowing Bickslow to set up his attack. All the while, he stared into Bickslow's eyes with a glint of cruelty shining deep in his eyes.
Eventually, Bickslow's dolls formed a pentagon in the air in front of Feitan. Then, they began to spin around each other at high-speed. At the same time, a spinning ball of magic power formed at the center of the circle their movements created.
*Boom~~~~~!*
A few moments later, that spinning ball of magic power fired a beam of magic power at Feitan, who just as he said, did not move to dodge or block the attack. As a result, the collision caused an explosion that raised a cloud of dust and debris into the air.
Yet, when the dust settled, although a crater had been blown into the street, Feitan, who stood at the bottom of the crater, had not sustained any new injuries. In fact, the armor did not even look as if it had been damaged at all.
"Like I said… Pointless." Feitan said as he started walking out of the crater. "Now, it's time for you to experience a pain and fear like nothing you've ever experienced before. Then, when you're nothing more than a broken man, I'll finally put you out of your misery."
"You talk too much." Bickslow said while shaking his head. "But You were right about something, it's time to end this. [Take Control, Yaldabaoth]."
As Bickslow spoke, he raised his left hand and touched the visor he usually wears with the tips of his index and middle fingers. At the same time, his magic power spiked while the visor turned from a silvery color to gun metal black while red crystal materialized in the gaps.
"It's over." Bickslow said as he willed his dolls forward to surround Feitan.
"It is." Feitan replied, his expression morphing into a terrifying grin. "Despair in the heat of a burning sun. [Pain Packer Magic: Rising sun]."
As he chanted his spell, Feitan lowly raised his arms. Yet, contrary to what he expected to happen, his magic power did not mobilize. And because of that, the scorching heat he expected to begin engulfing the surroundings never manifested either.
"What happened?" Feitan asked, confusion evident in his tone.
On top of his spell not being cast, Feitan noticed that his armor was also beginning to break down into motes of magic power. And that only caused his confusion to turn into horror as the beautiful sight of firefly-like motes dissipating into the air marked the end of his invulnerability against Bickslow's attacks.
"Alfonzo and Lici always got on us about explaining our abilities to our enemies." Bickslow said calmly, a stark difference from his usual manic demeanor during fights. "But I don't like leaving my opponents with such big regrets. Especially when they are about to meet their ends."
As he spoke, Bickslow's dolls formed a pyramid around Feitan, with four forming a square on the ground while the last one floated above his head. Then, all the faces angled themselves so that they were smiling at the location of his heart.
"You know what? never mind." Bickslow said while shaking his head. "There really is no point in telling a dead man. On top of that, you don't really deserve the closure that an explanation would give you. Instead, I'll just say this. Try not to make so many bad decisions in your next life. [Pyramid Formation]."
With his last command, Bickslow's dolls all fired a beam of magic power aimed at Feitan's heart. And without his [Negation Armor], Feitan had no way to defend himself.
*Boom!*
An instant later, the five beams collided, burning through Feitan's body before detonating when they struck each other upon reaching his heart. As a result, Feitan's body was blown apart, flesh, blood, and bone fragments splattering around the area.
And to both Bickslow's relief and disgust, the two things he needed as proof of subjugation, the Spider tattoo and Feitan's head, somehow survived the explosion.
"Yeah, that's disgusting." Bickslow said as he sealed his [Soul Armament] and gingerly picked up the piece of skin where Feitan's tattoo was inked. He then continued as he picked up Feitan's head and stuffed into a bag hanging from his belt. "But a job is a job. I'll just try not to think about it and go see if Ever and Elfman need my help."
'Actually, the real reason I didn't explain my ability to that guy is because I didn't know if that one with the powerful stealth was around.' Bickslow thought to himself as he rushed in the direction where he could sense Evergreen and Elfman fighting the other two members of the Phantom Troupe. 'If they found out that I could control someone's magic power just by making eye contact, as long as they have less magic power than I do while Yaldabaoth is released, if any of them got away, that little tidbit could make its way around the continent. And I would be at a serious disadvantage if someone found out ahead of time.'