Beforewe start here is an image of the Behemoth if you all are wonder what it looks like.
(Behemoth image here)
Now on the the story.
--XX--
Chapter 61 part 1
VROOM!!
Morrigan's car zoomed across the field with the tires burning through the road, moving at an unsafe 220 km/hr.
"What do you mean you don't know what's going on with this thing?" Morrigan asked Salem whose eyes were locked on his phone.
"Like I said, this is still a little new. I've never seen any of the icons flashing red before.."
"Then why don't you just be that inter-dimensional boss of yours?"
"I did. I'm waiting for a reply but I do think it has something to do with the fusion problem."
"So you think it's about to fuse with another anomaly?"
"Maybe or it could be going through another mutation."
"Hmm. So how strong is this thing and what powers and weaknesses does it have?"
"Uh it's an SS-class anomaly and it has the ability to use storm magic, seismic magic and Gravity magic."
"Well that's going to be difficult for us to deal with."
"Wait, did you just say 'us'?"
She glanced at him, amused. "Yes? Surely you didn't imagine I'd allow you to confront an SS-class abomination alone. I may be on sometimes, Junior, but I'm not so cruel."
"Oh thank god." Salem slumped slightly. "I thought this was going to be one of those 'figure it out yourself' training moments."
"Oh, do not mistake me." she said sweetly. "I would let you attempt that… if you wish."
"Absolutely not," he shot back instantly. "That thing would murder me."
Morrigan laughed lightly before her expression sharpened. "Then enlighten me, dear pupil. What is your plan?"
"…Huh?"
"Remember we almost died to that giant divine snake. We got a bit lucky that my god slayer magic was effective against it plus with the last ditch to use take-over magic on it with a pinch of sealing, we were able to get away with it. We will not be so lucky twice."
"Okay you got a point just let me think for a bit." He studied the Behemoth's profile again for a good minute coming up with a proper plan, digging through his limited final fantasy knowledge and monster hunting experience over the three years.
"Any day now, Junior. We are rapidly approaching our destination. I had hoped three years of hunting would sharpen your instincts."
"Chill I'm thinking. Don't rush me." He lightly scratched his head.
After a moment, he nodded. "Alright. It's powerful, but its movements are heavy—predictable. We have speed. Aerial hit-and-run tactics work best."
"You said it is storm magic, meaning lightning is also something it has access to." Morrigan noted. "That usually leads to speed enhancement."
"Short bursts mostly." Salem replied. " Take from someone who also uses it. Lightning acceleration needs precision. Something that big and clunky won't really be able to do."
She gestured gracefully. "Continue."
"We stay airborne to avoid seismic attacks. Its stronger moves need charge time so we can exploit that. It has no resistance to status effects, so sneaking up and poisoning it would give us an edge. And its horns…" he zoomed in, "they're the source of its gravity wells and a weak spot so break those, and it loses control and weakens it further. I can use my Kitsune forms to give us an opening for all those."
"So," Morrigan summarized, "we poison it, exhaust it, castrate it, and kill it."
"Why do you say it like that?"
"I expected something flashier from that big brain of yours."
Salem huffed. "Sorry for not delivering an epic five-phase master plan."
"Simplicity is not a sin," she replied. With a snap of her fingers, a covered chalice materialized in her hand, thick green vapor seeping from beneath the lid. "Especially when paired with foresight."
"What's that?"
"Here my dear pupil is a special bespoke toxin." Morrigan said pleasantly. "Potent enough to kill seven healthy Vulcans."
"Oh cool. Yeah that will do." Salem looked at the chalice not questioning why she had that or where she got it from. 'Why is it literally oozing that smoke though?"
They both sensed some intense magic power just a couple of miles away from them but it was in a more rough area too so Morrigan put her car in her storage space not wanting to mess up her car, and then continued on by flying to the anomaly. When they got to it the Behemoth also engaged in a battle with three other mages, so the two stopped a good distance away observing the battle.
"Looks like we were beaten here." Morrigan eyed the three mages, specifically the purple haired woman throwing the orbs.
Salem thought there was something familiar about the mages so he used his owl eyes to get a better look at the battle. Once he got a proper look at the mages he recognized them as Jellel, Ultear and Meredy.
"Well." Morrigan smiled. "How fortunate for us. We may allow them to soften it up, then claim the prize."
Salem just raised an eyebrow a little mused "Really that's a scummy move don't you think?"
"Oh~ Do you want to jump in there and help than fill free I won't stop you~."
Truth be told Salem didn't know just how to feel about the three mages.
First there was Jellal, the man responsible for killing Kagura's brother and forcing Milianna to work on the tower. At first in his past life it didn't matter to him because Milianna really wasn't an important character and Simon's death wasn't that impactful to him, but now that he was here and got to know them it was a different case. Kagura tried playing tough a lot of the times but it was obvious her brother's death messed her up a lot and Milianna played happy go lucky cat girl way too hard that it was easy to tell she was not okay. And as corny as this would make him sound it really didn't feel right seeing them in these states and they desperately needed closure.
Though he couldn't really blame Jellal for anything as the man was a huge victim in all this, having been brainwashed for like 7-8 years of his life, being forced to basically enslave his friends, build that death tower, and killed Simon. When he was released from it the guy was basically more suicidal than Gray which was saying a lot because Gray was the original Megumi Fushigoru but less gloomy.
The fact that he was working with Ultear, who was one of the major contributors to his suffering had always been wild to him, and wondered just what sort of talk no jutsu she pulled to get him to join her.
Now he remembered a good bit about Meredy's backstory. Her village got destroyed by Grimoire Heart then got taken in by Ultear. The anime tried to make this into a heart filled moment between the two but if you asked Salem it was really messed up and wondered if she had some Stockholm syndrome or something. But he didn't remember much from that scene so maybe he was forgetting some details.
But speaking of Ultear she was the biggest question mark out of the three. While she was basically gaslighted into becoming the person she used to be with her own personal tragedy it didn't change the fact she was responsible for a good amount of BS in the series though she did go above and beyond to make up for all of it. But Salem didn't want to think about it too much right now, Kagura and Millianna are the ones who have personal beef with the two.
"Hm nah lets wait it out. Maybe this will also give us a look into how it fights." He crossed his legs and began to take a video of the battle.
As the two shapeshifters played spectators at a safe distance in the sky, the three fugitives were not having a good time battling the anomaly.
"Tsh. Did this thing somehow get stronger in such a short span of time." Ultear got up letting out heavy breaths, as she stared at the monster working out plans to defeat it.
Jellal zipped across the battlefield with his meteor spell confusing the monster who also got distracted by Meredy's teal swords leading to land a direct hit to its skull. He then twisted mid-air to bring heel down in an axe kick and the impact staggered the monster back some steps.
Jellal wasn't done though as he continued the pressure with his Pleiades spell. Six rays of celestial light tore down from the sky, hammering into the Behemoth's torso. The creature braced, muscles straining as lightning crawled across its hide.Jellal was about to unleash another attack but Ultear saw the opening and made her move.
"Arc of Time: Infinite Sphere!"
Her orb slammed into the Behemoth's side and split apart, dozens of copies hammering it from every direction. Time warped violently around the impact points, but the spell clipped Jellal's trajectory, forcing him to abort his follow-up strike.
The Behemoth opened its eyes and clotted itself in lightning and dashed to Jellal landing a heavy attack with its large fist sending him several meters.
"JELLAL!" Meredy launched her teal swords once again but it just menacingly turned to her more pissed at her attacks and roared in anger. "I-It's not even fazed anymore." She stepped back
The Behemoth's mane raised wildly and was about to attack but…
"Jiu Leixing!"
"Flash Forward!"
Jellal and Ultear launched their attacks at the enemy with Jellal's doing more damage than Ultear's but nerveless their combined efforts caused the monster to tumble to the ground. Jellal didn't waste this chance and got a stance as a yellow glow surrounded him.
"My seven stars pass judgment upon you!" Seven magic seals appeared in the sky. "GRAND CHARIOT!"
Each seal released a large golden blast descending towards the anomaly causing a large explosion and dust cloud. Once it cleared the Behemoth was on the ground battle damage bleeding and its horns a little cracked but it was not out of the fight as its eyes shot open as the rubble rose in large amounts flinging them at the mages putting distance between them and it.
It rose up with a powerful roar shaking the whole place as its mane got wilder with lightning crackling from it and dozens of large lightning formed around it and began chaotically flaring across the whole battle field.
Ice-Make: Dahlias!"
Ultear quickly created giant flowers out of ice to shield Meredy and herself from the attack but it was shuttering from the onslaught but she did her best to keep it up to protect them but partially shuttered leading them to take some damage.
Meanwhile Jellal dodged some of them with his meteor spell and managed to maneuver around them but grounded himself and put up a barrier.
The Behemoth beat its chest and slammed its fists in the ground using its seismic magic causing a terrible earthquake destroying the ground across a wide range.
Once it was over a heavily battle damaged Ultear was on the ground holding protectively Meredy who also got some damage but not as bad as the former.
"A-Argh M-Meredy are y-you alright." Ultear staggered getting up.
" 'cough' Y-Yes d-don't w-worry I-I'm fine." She lied.
Ultear gritted her teeth in guilt as she looked at her. "Still letting you participate in this was a mistake."
"Ul maybe I'll use a sensory link on it while I'm…"
Ultear gave her a stern look stopping her. "No it won't be effective on something like this and the only way it will is through your own death which I will not allow. Don't argue with me, Meredy you're not ready for something like this yet. Now go find some place safe Jellal and I can handle things from here."
Meredy looked down in disappointment. She hated being useless but she was not dumb, Ultear was right this monster was far above her abilities and if it lands a direct hit on her then she would be done for.
Behemoth again unleashed a huge attack from its mouth which was a mix of black wind and lightning towards the former dark mages but Jellal managed to get them out of there. However the damage from the attack was so devastating it ripped through the mountain ranges and blew the top off one.
"Damn."mumbled Salem.
"Damn indeed." Morrigan tilted her glasses and let out a whistle, impressed by the anomaly's raw power.
The members of Crime Soceire were currently hiding behind some rubble for a little breather.
Jellal let out a sigh of relief and glanced at the two. "Are the both of you alright?"
"Yeah thanks a lot Jellal." answered Meredy getting a simple nod from the former wizard saint.
"This thing is really giving us a run for our money?" mumbled Ultear in frustration. "I still can't believe something like this was roaming around Fiore and there are no records of just what it is and where it came from"
Jellal got up, his tone melancholic. "While it is strong but not invincible. My grand chariot did a good amount of damage on it and I might be able to defeat it if I…"
Their planning was interrupted by a strong gust of wind that destroyed their hiding spot blowing them away with the Behemoth looking directly at them.
Its horns were glowing bright and it let out a roar and the next thing they knew the gravity around them had greatly increased causing them to fall to the ground and a dent covering the parameter it was increased by causing all three of them to roughly fall to the ground.
"G-Gravity magic too. J-Just what is this thing?" Ultear gritted her teeth but her eyes widened in horror as the monster stomped over to the and its large hand roughly picked up Meredy. "NOO!!'
Meredy tried to struggle against its hold but with its overwhelmingly superior strength and gravity crushing her there was no use. Her eyes contained nothing but pure terror and closed them not to see them coming, and Jellal was slowly standing up fighting against the gravity rattling his bones to save his new comrade.
Suddenly a yellow streak of lightning had entered the battlefield going straight for the monster striking the horn breaking it off making it roar in pain and causing the gravity to dispel. It ran down to the monster's hand and swooped Meredy from it towards and ran towards a much safer place.
When the pink haired girl opened her eyes and saw she was in the arms princess style by some big yellow furred humanoid cat thing.
"Sup." It simply said to her.
"I-I a-ah." She stammers on her words not really how to react to this.
"Take your time." It said a bit playfully.
Earlier with Morrigan and Salem
"Okay I think that's enough watching." Salem saved the video and put away the phone when the Behemoth used its gravity technique.
Morrigan adjusted her glasses, gaze fixed on the chaos beneath them. "And pray tell, how do you intend to bypass that?" she asked mildly. "Something tells me its gravity well is rather more… more aggressive than what you're accustomed to dealing with alongside that winter girlfriend of yours."
"Would quit with that winter gf stuff. It's gravity from what I learned from Kaugra. One of the best whenever she did something like this was attack going at high velocity."
Morrigan hummed. "Go on."
"According to actual physics," Salem continued, "gravity gets bullied by other fundamental forces especially electromagnetism. And I just happen to have a transformation that can exploit both.
"Oh?" Morrigan's lips curved faintly. "Well then go on and do your thing then."
She waved him off with a casual flick of her wrist.
Salem didn't hesitate.
His form shifted midair, lightning erupting as fur and muscle reshaped into Zeraora. He dropped toward the ground, landing smoothly as plasma surged around his clenched fist, power climbing rapidly to the very max he could quickly conjure.
"Alright," he muttered, electricity snapping violently around him as he lifted slightly off the ground.
"Gotta go fast."
In a blinding flash, he vanished in a streak of lightning tearing straight toward the Behemoth.
Back to the present
The Behemoth roared at the new challenger but felt pain to its back as multiple sharp objects pierced its back, so it engulfed itself in lightning cloak to electrocuted whoever was there but they were already gone.
"Well that was easier than I thought." Morrigan appeared next to the teens, making Meredy flinch as she didn't even notice her.
"So how long till the poison kicks in?" He gently placed Meredy on the ground and transformed back to normal, making her owlishly blink as she took in his features particularly his white hair and cat-like emerald green eyes.
"O-Oh no nothing at all. Thanks for saving me."
'Was that Take-Over magic? And wait white hair? Didn't three siblings of the dead fairy tail mages on Tenrou Island fit that description?' She questioned but didn't notice that she was staring a bit too hard at him.
Salem raised an eyebrow "Something wrong?"
Meredy blushed in embarrassment and cleared her throat. "O-Oh no sorry. It's just. Thank you for saving me."
Morrigan teasingly nudged him a bit "Alright Junior enough with the white knight nonsense it's time to get to work"
Salem just rolled his eyes."Alright lets go." The two then speed off to handle business.
"Wait just who ar-."
"MEREDY!" Ultear frantically ran towards the younger mage with Jellal right behind her and hugged her.
"It's okay Ul I'm fine don't worry." Meredy reassured her, making the Time mage sigh in relief but she began to pinch her cheeks.
"Don't you dare ever scare me like that, do you hear me, you stupid girl!"
"Ow! Ul stop it!"
As the two were having their moment Jellal's eyes were more focused on where the dark-skinned green eyed shapeshiftering duo ran off and turned to Meredy.
"…Meredy," he called quietly, getting her attention. "Did you get any information on who those two were?"
---xx----
Author note
Thank you for reading the chapter. If you have questions on the it or the direction of the story fell free to ask. Don't be afraid to drop a comment or review on your personal thoughts, feelings, critics of the story as it helps me know were I can improve and knowledge that people are still interested in it. Also drop a power stones if you can.