Earth Land, Ishgar, Fiore/Bosco Border.
June 2, x792.
Even after Ur arrived with the Dragon Slayers, no one was able to intervene in Alfonzo's battle with Acnologia. And the reason was quite simple. None of them could fly. Sure, they could all fight with their Exceed partners, but this fight was too dangerous for any of them to get too close.
On top of that, as Second-Generation Dragon Slayers, Laxus and Erik did not have Exceed partners… Though, no one knew if being a Second-Generation Dragon Slayer actually had anything to do with not having an Exceed partner, or not.
With several more hours passing, both the Blackbird and the Fairy's Tail landed and all the wizards aboard the two airships gathered to watch the battle from the ground. That of course meant that Zeref was able to meet the last member of his family. {Pic}
"Natsu… It's good to see you again." Zeref said with a happy smile while standing next to Mavis and August.
"Um… Who are you again?" Natsu asked in a confused tone while scratching the back of his head.
*Bang!*
"Did you forget the information we went over in the briefing before the war started?" Erza asked in an exasperated tone after punching Natsu in the head. "That's Zeref Dragneel, emperor of the Alvarez Empire."
"Oh… Right." Natsu said as he hopped up from the ground. Then, he looked at Zeref with sparkling eyes. "Hey! She said you're a Dragneel! Does that mean you're my great, great, great, great, great-grandfather, or something? You're supposed to be, like, hundreds of years old, right?"
*Smack!*
Hearing that, the members of Fairy Tail all face-palmed in unison.
"That flame-brained idiot really did forget everything we talked about during the briefing." Gray muttered disdainfully.
"Is it really that surprising?" Lucy asked in an exasperated tone. "If it's not about food or fighting, Natsu's brain is pretty close to useless."
"Aye!" Happy cheered excitedly. "Natsu will always be Natsu."
Meanwhile, Zeref could only smile wryly at his younger brother.
"No, I'm your older brother." Zeref said in a patient tone.
"Huh? How is that possible?" Natsu asked in an even more confused tone. "I'm only… Um…"
Stopping there, Natsu started counting on his fingers.
"Twenty-six?" Natsu said, though it sounded like he was asking for confirmation.
"He doesn't even know how old he is." Lucy said in a tone that made it suggest that she had given up on the namesake of her team.
"I'm actually surprised he can count that high." Gray said, his tone still as disdainful as ever.
"Aye! Natsu will always be Natsu." Happy repeated happily.
*Boom~~~~~~~~~~!*
Another loud collision in the distance brought all the conversations around the two airships to a stop momentarily. And when they looked up to see what caused it, they saw Alfonzo had been sent flying backwards by a powerful headbutt from Acnologia.
"Will Fonzie be alright?" Cana asked in a worried tone.
"Of course he will." Elicia said confidently with a worried undertone. "Fonzie doesn't lose. When it matters, he always comes through."
*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*
And as if to prove Elicia right, Alfonzo quickly killed his momentum before firing off several [Railguns]. And while they only did so much damage to Acnologia's scales, cracking several and drawing a bit of blood, the ones that really did damage were the ones that tore through the black dragon's wings.
*Roar~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
With great anger, Acnologia roared loudly as he started to lose altitude thanks to the holes in his wings. Yet, Alfonzo did not stop attacking. Rushing back into close range, Alfonzo created a pair of circular saws on the backs of his hands and swiped at Acnologia's hands as he reached up to try and tear the anti-magic band from around his neck.
"Hey! They're finally bringing the fight to the ground.!" Sting said excitedly. "That means we can join in!"
"Yes." Rogue added. "We've been waiting for too long. Let's go and show them why we're called Dragon Slayers."
After saying that, rogue looked around to see who was with him. Naturally, Sting was ready to go. Erik, though reluctant, looked like he was ready to join the fight, too. However, Rogue could not find any of Fairy Tail's four Dragon Slayers among the group of wizards.
"Where are they?" Rogue asked while tilting his head in confusion.
"You're a little late." Yoruichi said while pointing at Laxus, Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy, who were running towards the battlefield in the distance. "If you don't hurry, you're probably gonna get left out completely." {Pic}
"What?" Sting and Rogue shouted simultaneously.
Then, the Twin Dragon Slayers of Sabertooth also started running towards the battlefield, leaving Erik to sigh in resignation before he followed them.
At the same time, Laxus, Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy released their [Soul Armaments] while running, pushing their power to its limits. And with the wings Grandeeney's release granted Wendy, she was able to get ahead of the rest. However, instead of rushing to attack Acnologia, she raised her arms and pointed her palms at Alfonzo.
"[Sky Dragon's Breath]." Wendy chanted.
With Wendy's chant, gentle gusts of wind were created in her palms before they moved towards Alfonzo, who was still attacking Acnologia from above, trying to increase the force with which the black dragon would strike the ground. A moment later, when the winds wrapped around him, Alfonzo felt his injuries, which were not evident thanks to his [Bankai], healing rapidly.
*Bang!*
After feeling the healing effect, Alfonzo drove one last powerful kick into Acnologia's back. Then, he looked up and noticed the seven Dragon Slayers approaching. He also waved at Wendy, acknowledging her assistance. And finally, instead of following Acnologia towards the ground, he floated in the air and spread his arms wide while gathering six of the seven wavelengths of the EM spectrum on his palms.
Meanwhile, the seven Dragon Slayers all took positions around the falling black dragon. Then, when they were all ready, they simultaneously took deep breaths.
"[Fire Dragon King's Roar]."
"[Iron Dragon's Roar]."
"[Sky Dragon's Roar]."
"[Lightning Dragon King's Roar]."
"[White Dragon's Roar]."
"[Shadow Dragon's Roar]."
"[Poison Dragon's Roar]."
*Boom~~~~~~~~~~!*
Then, before Acnologia fell to the ground, the seven dragon slayers all unleashed their most powerful [roars], with the Fairy Tail Dragon Slayer's [Roars] being visibly more powerful than the others.
Either way, when the seven attacks landed on Acnologia, who was still unable to use his magic, they triggered an enormous explosion with seven rampaging elements lighting up the night's sky.
Eventually, before the explosion even died down, Acnologia, trailing a column of smoke, fell from the range of the explosion before slamming into the ground.
*Boom~~~~~~~~!*
Acnologia's fall kicked up a huge cloud of dust while creating a dragon shaped crater in the ground. Clearly, he was much more injured than he had been in centuries. However, not a single one of the Dragon Slayers charged in to continue the onslaught. And that was thanks to the terrifying amount of magic power that had been gathered above Acnologia's landing point.
Looking up, the seven Dragon Slayers saw Alfonzo floating directly above Acnologia with his hands spread to either side and gathering a large amount of magic power. {Pic}
"Are you serious?" Erik asked with his eyes wide open at the amount of magic power Alfonzo was gathering. "Is he trying to destroy the entire area?""
"Anything less than that probably won't hurt Acnologia enough to end this fight." Laxus said with his arms crossed.
"Damn it!" Natsu shouted. "Hey, Alfonzo! Don't steal the last attack! I'm gonna be the one to beat Acnologia!"
"What the fuck are you idiots doing!?" Alfonzo shouted, his voice overlayed with both Riot's and Bedlam's. "Hurry up and keep attacking! There's no way that big bastard is gonna stay down long after that! I still need a little longer to charge this spell!"
And just as Alfonzo said, Acnologia was starting to stir. On top of that, his front claws were reaching towards the anti-magic band around his neck. So, despite the fact that Alfonzo was gathering enough magic power for something truly catastrophic, they all charged in to keep Acnologia from removing the anti-magic bands.
"[Fire Dragon King's Destruction Fist]." Natsu chanted while charging towards Acnologia's right claw.
"[Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Karma Demon: Iron God Sword]." Gajeel chanted as he raised Metalicana above his head with both hands.
A moment later, Natsu reached Acnologia's right claw. Then, he threw a devastating punch just before he could wrap his claws around the band around his neck.
*Boom!*
Although Natsu's [Fire Dragon King's Destruction Fist] was unable to do any significant damage, the force behind the blow knocked Acnologia's claw away from the band. However, the reaction force from the blow also sent Natsu flying backwards even faster than his approach.
At the same time, Gajeel swung Metalicana, which had grown immensely, down at Acnologia's other claw. And just like Natsu, he was unable to do any significant damage. Yet, his strike was strong enough to knock the claw away. Though, the lengthened Metalicana shattered immediately afterwards. Luckily, that was only the magic power pumped into it. The original Metalicana was just fine, returning to its original size.
"[Lightning Dragon King's Lightning Chain Halberd]." Laxus chanted shortly afterwards.
In the next instant, Laxus threw the two halberd heads Elexion transformed into after it was released at Acnologia. Along the way, the chain connecting the two halberds extended endlessly. Then, Laxus controlled the two halberd heads to wrap the chain around Acnologia's front limbs before the heads buried themselves into the ground.
*Zap!*
Then, Laxus channeled as much [Lightning Magic] into the chain as he could sustain, the current entering Acnologia's body through the open wounds Alfonzo caused during their long fight.
*Roar~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
More from anger than pain, Acnologia roared loud enough to shake the air for miles around. However, when Erik saw Acnologia open his mouth so wide, he decided to take a chance.
"I better get what I was promised after this is all over." Erik muttered as he appeared in front of Acnologia's open mouth. "If me, Sawyer, Richard, and Macbeth aren't pardoned, I'm gonna go on a damn rampage. [Poison Dragon's Roar]."
After venting, Erik took another deep breath. Then, he spewed his [Poison Dragon's Roar] right into Acnologia's open mouth, drowning out the roar as the dragon started choking on the poison.
"Wow! I didn't think that would actually work." Sting said in a surprised tone.
"Now's not the time, Sting." Rogue scolded. "We've got a job to do."
"Right." Sting replied solemnly. "[White Drive]. [Dragon Force]."
"[Shadow Drive]." Rogue chanted in unison with Sting. "[Dragon Force]."
"[Unison Raid: Holy Shadow Dragon's Flash Fang]." Sting and Rogue chanted in unison as they gathered their respective elements on their fists.
Then, the Twin Dragon Slayers thrust their fists forward and combined their white light and shadows as they both surged forward. A moment later, the combined attack slammed into the base of Acnologia's right wing.
*Boom~~~~~~~~~~!*
*Roar~~~~~~~~~!*
With one of his most vulnerable areas attacked, Acnologia roared once again. Though, this one was clearly from pain rather than anger. Then, with bloodshot eyes, he turned his head to glare at Sting and Rogue while spitting out some of the poison that was forced into his mouth.
Unfortunately, because he was so focused on Sting and Rogue, Acnologia did not see Wendy, who was about to launch her most powerful attack, as well.
"[Sky Dragon's Wave Wind]." Wendy chanted with er arms spread to either side.
As she chanted, a large amount of wind gathered around Wendy's hands. Then, as her chant ended, she swung her hands in Acnologia's direction. And with that movement, the winds gathered around her hands blew towards Acnologia, forming a pair of tornados spinning in opposite directions.
The powerful gale force winds ground against Acnologia's battered body, pinning him in place while slowly tearing through his sturdy scales. And the pain of such an attack must have been immense, as all the Dragon Slayers could see Acnologia rear his head back and let out a roar. Though, the sound was lost in the winds.
Unfortunately, the powerful winds from Wendy's spell also started grinding down the anti-magic bands around Acnologia's limbs, neck, and tail, as well.
"Oops…" Wendy said in a timid tone. "I didn't mean to do that."
"Hey! Alfonzo!" Laxus shouted after seeing the problem. "Are you done yet? We've got a little problem down here!"
Naturally, Alfonzo, who was watching the entire sequence of events from above, saw the issue, as well. However, the Dragon Slayers were able to buy him enough time, so he was not all that worried.
"Yeah, I'm ready!" Alfonzo shouted back as he brought his hands together, combining the two crackling orbs of electromagnetic radiation into one. "Everyone get clear, I'm about to fire!"
Without a word, all seven Dragon Slayers sprinted away from Acnologia as fast as they could. Meanwhile, Acnologia, who could feel his magic power again, raised his head to look at Alfonzo. Then, he opened his mouth and started gathering magic power for his [Giga Flare].
"Perfect timing." Alfonzo said with a sneer. "That should be just enough material. And like Deidara said, Art is an Explosion. [Electromagnetism Magic: Final Flash]."
With that, Alfonzo fired his prepared spell directly at the magic power Acnologia was gathering for his [Giga Flare]. And when Acnologia noticed that, his eyes flashed with a hint of panic. However, it was too late to move his head when he realized what Alfonzo was doing. As a result… {Pic}
*Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
… the collision between the [Final Flash] and the [Giga Flare] created an enormous explosion. So enormous, in fact, that the wizards watching near the two airships, which were more than a thousand feet away from the center of the explosion, were almost blown away.
Luckily, Zeref and August reacted quickly, creating barriers that buffeted the wizards and the airships from the shockwave.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!**Bang!*
A moment later, the seven Dragon Slayers slammed into the barrier after being swept up by the shockwave.
"Ooh~~~! That looked like it hurt." Elicia muttered.
The others only glanced at Elicia incredulously for a moment before they returned their gazes to the explosion. Because they all knew if even that was not enough to deal with Acnologia, the Kingdom of Fiore… No, the whole continent of Ishgar was doomed.
Though, to be completely honest, every Fairy Tail wizard, with the exception of Natsu, already knew the outcome thanks to [Magic Power Detection]. However, until they saw it with their own eyes, they did not dare to believe it.
Nearly ten minutes later, the dust from the explosion finally settled. Yet, when it did, Acnologia was nowhere to be seen. Though, Alfonzo was still floating above the explosion sight. On top of that, his magic power was clearly close to bottoming out. As a result, he reverted from his [Bankai] form, revealing his body.
Then, with such a low amount of magic power, Alfonzo started falling from the sky.
*Flash!*
*Flash!*
However, before Alfonzo could fall too far, Irene flashed next to him, wrapped an arm around him, and flashed back to the rest of the group before gently laying him on the ground. And as soon as she reappeared, everyone, except for the Dragon Slayers, who were still reeling from their close contact with Zeref's and August's barrier, rushed to gather around Alfonzo.
"Fonzie, are you okay?" Elicia asked as she knelt next to Alfonzo, raised his head, and rested it in her lap.
"Yeah…" Alfonzo replied in an exhausted tone. "But I'm tired as hell. Hungry, too."
"What about Acnologia?' Zeref asked.
"I don't think he'll be causing any more trouble." Alfonzo said as his eyes slowly closed. "Kinda hard to start shit without… a… head… *Snore~~~~~*"
With that, the only sound in the area was Alfonzo's snoring, which could give a chainsaw a run for its money in terms of decibel count. Meanwhile, everyone other than the Dragon Slayers, who were still twitching in pain, looked at each other with blank gazes. Just the thought of Acnologia losing his head in that explosion was more than their minds could immediately process.
A few moments later, everyone other than Elicia sprinted towards the gigantic crater left by the explosion to see for themselves. Meanwhile, Elicia, with Alfonzo's head still in her lap, started combing her fingers through Alfonzo's dreads.
"I always knew you could do it." Elicia said with a gentle smile. "For as long as I've known you, no matter what it is, you've always been able to do anything you put your mind to. And I knew this would be no exception."