Earth Land, Ishgar, Bosco, Unnamed Mountain Range.
August 17, x791.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
While the other battles with the Etherious were raging on, despite having released his [Soul Armament], Dante, Alzack fired the pistols Alfonzo made for him, Ebony and Ivory, at Kyôka rapidly from a distance. Meanwhile, Mirajane, donning her [Satan Soul: Mirajane Seilah Take Over], was using all the rubble from the destruction of the Cube to her advantage, as this [Take Over] gave her the ability to control all the rubble in the area with little issue.
Unfortunately, despite having Kyôka at a disadvantage, neither Alzack nor Mirajane were able to land a solid blow. And the reason for that lie in Kyôka's Curse, [Enhancement].
Based on the name of the Curse, one would think that Kyôka could only enhance certain aspects. Like her own physical attributes or the senses of herself and others. In fact, she had done just that, enhancing her own physique while enhancing the sensation of pain in her opponents by using the [Per-Second Enhance] on herself and [Wide-Range Pain Amplification] on both Alzack and Mirajane.
As a result, the two Fairy Tail wizards, after understanding the effect of Kyôka's Curses, took special care to not take any damage.
However, Kyôka's Curse was not limited to its literal meaning. Instead, she was also capable of doing the exact opposite, decreasing the potency of what whatever she cast her Curse on. For example, a target's five senses.
In fact, that was the exact reason neither Alzack nor Mirajane were able to land a decisive blow on Kyôka since the battle started. Kyôka's [Sensory Deprivation] weakened their senses to the point where they were unable to precisely aim at her. If they had not mastered the use of [Magic Power Detection], they would have more than likely been left on the ground, curled up thanks to the excess amount of pain they would be experiencing from Kyôka's attacks.
"This isn't working." Alzack said with a frown on his face while ejecting the magazines from his pistols. Then, while quickly reloading, he continued. "With [Magic Power Detection], we can put pressure on her. But without the rest of our senses, we can't land anything that could turn the tides."
"I could switch to another [Take Over] and face her in close combat." Mirajane said as she flung a piece of rubble at Kyôka.
"That's too dangerous." Alzack replied as he aimed Ebony and Ivory in Kyôka's direction. "Just a glancing blow could leave you incapacitated with pain. We need to find another way to take her out."
"Just give up." Kyôka said with a sneer on her face. "You don't have what it takes to oppose us. That just goes to show that you inferior beings belong beneath us."
Though she said that in a confident tone, Kyôka could not help glancing at the battle between Alfonzo and Mard Geer. When she did, she felt as if her heart skipped a beat at the fact that Alfonzo was seemingly keeping up with the strongest Etherious.
Even more concerning than that was the fact that she had no idea what happened to Tartaros' most prized possession, the Book of E.N.D. The object that would lead to fulfilling Zeref's most cherished wish.
'Was the book destroyed when the Cube was destroyed?' Kyôka thought to herself. 'Hopefully, Lord Mard Geer was able to keep it safe. Otherwise, what reason do we have to exist?'
Shaking her head, Kyôka decided she would worry about that later. For now, she had to deal with the two wizards who were getting in the way of Tartaros' sacred mission. Turning her attention back to Alzack and Mirajane, Kyôka narrowed her eyes. Then, after focusing her curse power into her legs, she dashed forward at high speed.
*Boom!*
With the power of Kyôka's acceleration, the ground under her feet cratered as she sped across the battlefield.
"She's coming." Alzack muttered as he locked onto the higher concentration of curse power in Kyôka's legs.
"By me a few seconds." Mirajane said as she leapt back and flared her magic power. "I'll just go all out. She shouldn't be able to get away from this. Just be ready to fall back when I give the signal."
"Got it." Alzack said as he once again pulled the triggers of his pistols rapidly. "[Bullet Magic: Mud Shot, Freeze Shot]."
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
Alzack's magic bullets, though they did not hit Kyôka, were more effective than before thanks to being able to more easily sense her presence after she concentrated her power. However, just as Mirajane requested, he was not aiming to end the fight. Instead, he was trying to buy Mirajane time.
'Does he really think this will slow me down?' Kyôka thought to herself as she avoided the magic bullets that burst into extremely viscus mud while using her talon feet to dig into the ice meant to disrupt her footing that covered the ground. 'If this is all he's got, then this will be over soon. Still, I need to keep an eye on that woman using [Take Over Magic]. She could be an issue if I'm not careful thanks to her versatility.'
Almost as if she was responding to Kyôka's thoughts, Mirajane's magic power spiked dramatically, drawing Kyôka's attention at an inopportune moment, resulting in her almost being covered in mud.
"[Show the World the Power of Destruction, Bael]." Mirajane chanted, releasing her [Soul Armament].
With Bael's release command chanted, a blackish-red light crept down Mirajane's body, forming a pair of long white gloves on her hands and arms. She then raised her hands above her head. Then, in the air above her hands, a spark of blackish red energy manifested, drawing in ambient ethernano and fueling its growth.
Meanwhile, Alzack, after emptying Ebony and Ivory's magazines holstered his pistols. Then, he reached back and gripped the hilt of the greatsword on his back.
"Alright, let's see if that training with Erza did any good." Alzack muttered to himself as he drew Dante from his back.
As for Kyôka, when she realized that Alzack was no longer shooting at her, the corners of her lips curled into a sinister smile. Then, she corrected her approach and made her way towards Alzack in a straight line.
"It looks like you're ready to die." Kyôka said in a malicious tone. "Well then, I guess I'll help you along."
Then, with another burst of curse power, Kyôka's speed increased dramatically. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, she appeared in front of Alzack.
*Clang!*
As soon as Kyôka was in position, the nails on her hands lengthened into claws before she swept them at Alzack's chest. However, Alzack reacted quickly, positioning his greatsword horizontally to block.
*Clang!*
Then, using the recoil from the blocked strike, Alzack, while wincing at the amplified pain brought by the reverberation of the sword in his hands, made a quick turn and lowered his blade before raising it quickly in an upward strike. Yet, Kyôka reacted just as quickly and crossed her claws in front of her chest to block the strike.
Yet, because of the added strength provided by Dante's release, the force behind Alzack's strike was enough to send Kyôka flying straight up into the air.
However, before Alzack could capitalize on getting Kyôka airborne, she righted herself and swept her arms downwards. As she did so, her claws elongated even further while turning as flexible as whips.
"What the hell?" Alzack exclaimed as he was forced to abort the leap he was about to make to catch up with Kyôka.
Rolling out of the way of Kyôka's claws, Alzack drew Ebony with is left hand, snapped it down onto one of the magazine's strapped to his thigh, took aim, and fired in rapid succession.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
*Ting!* *Ting!* *Ting!* *Ting!* *Ting!*
In response, Kyôka retracted her claws quickly. Then, she swung her arms at high speed to deflect all the incoming bullets. Unfortunately, these bullets were not normal bullets. Instead, they were [Glue Shot] bullets. As a result, Kyôka's hands and claws were covered in a thick layer of quick drying glue.
"Tch! Just petty tricks." Kyôka grumbled as she looked down at her hands while falling from the air.
*Shatter!*
A moment later, Kyôka extended her claws, their tips easily piercing through the glue on her hands. At the same time, she took a moment to glance at Mirajane, who had not attacked her for a while.
"What is that?" Kyôka asked in an incredulous tone when she saw the giant ball of blackish-red energy floating above Mirajane.
"Not something you need to worry about." Alzack replied from behind Kyôka.
Surprised to hear Alzack's voice from right behind her when he had been on the ground only a moment ago, Kyôka's eyes widened. Then, on instinct, she spun around and crossed her claws in front of her.
*Clang!*
Thanks to her instincts, Kyôka was just in time to defend against Alzack's heavy swing. However, because she had no footing in the air, she could not help the fact that she was sent flying. And to make things worse, she was sent flying towards Mirajane and that dreadful ball of blackish-red energy.
"[Extinguished Star]." Mirajane chanted while Kyôka flew in her direction.
Then, after chanting her spell, Mirajane motioned with her arms as if she were throwing the blackish-red energy ball in Kyôka's direction, sending the ball in the same direction. Though, it moved rather slowly.
"Do you really think you can hit me with something like that?" Kyôka asked disdainfully as she noticed just how slowly the energy ball was moving towards her.
Kyôka then pointed her hands towards the ground and extended her claws, intending to dig them into the ground before retracting them to pull herself out of the way of Mirajane's attack. However, before they even reached the ground…
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bantg!* Bang!*
*Ting!* *Ting!* *Ting!* *Ting!* *Ting!*
… Alzack sheathed Dante on his back, unholstered Ivory, reloaded both pistols, and unloaded on Kyôka's claws. And although he was unable to damage them, Alzack was able to change their trajectory, keeping them from ever reaching the ground.
"Damn you!" Kyôka screeched.
In the next instant, Kyôka's curse power surged. At the same time, her appearance began to change. First, a mask with long protrusions that resembled horns appeared on her face, covering everything above her nose. Next, her outfit, which was already quite revealing, morphed into what amounted to black bikini armor that covered her arms and had feather pauldrons on the shoulders.
Then, her hair turned into what appeared to be feathers with a ponytail that extended down past her knees. And finally, a pair of mid-thigh-high black boots materialized on her legs and feet, completing the look.
"You worthless humans have truly angered me." Kyôka hissed out. "But I've had enough. Now that I'm in my true form, I'll end this. Then, I'll torture you and everyone you know until you wish for death."
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
*Ting!* *Ting!* *Ting!* *Ting!* *Ting!*
Despite saying that, Kyôka's strategy did not change, as she continued extending her claws towards the ground. And just like before, Alzack continued to fire at them, trying to deflect the claws away. However, unlike before, Alzack's bullets had no effect, making it clear that Kyôka's power had risen significantly while in her True Etherious Form.
*Crack!*
Eventually, Kyôka's claws sank into the ground. And when they did, she smiled with malice, thinking that now was her time to turn the tables. She then began retracting her claws to pull herself towards the ground. Yet…
"What?" Kyôka exclaimed in shock.
… instead of being pulled downwards, Kyôka's claws only ripped out chunks of the ground as they retracted.
Completely dumbfounded, Kyôka could only stare at the debris impaled on her claws in utter confusion.
A few moments later, Kyôka realized something else was wrong.
"Why haven't I fallen to the ground yet?" Kyôka asked herself, her confusion growing. "No, it's not just that… it feels like I'm being pulled in a certain direction."
After realizing that, Kyôka turned to look in the direction where she was being pulled. And when she did, she noticed that she was moving towards the slow-moving blackish-red orb. She also realized that the closer she got to the orb, the more her sense of crisis flared.
Realizing the danger she was in, Kyôka struggled with all her might to get free of the blackish-red orb's pull. Yet, no matter what she did, she found it impossible. Eventually, she turned her attention onto Mirajane, the source of the spell. And when she did, a murderous glint appeared in her eyes as she snarled angrily.
"I don't know if killing you will end this..." Kyôka growled as she pointed her hands in Mirajane's direction. "But even if it won't, I'll make sure that you die along with me!"
With that said, Kyôka extended her claws as fast as she could, each one aimed at the various vital points on Mirajane's body.
*Bang!* *Bang!*
Yet, just as her claws began to extend, two pieces of rubble, flying upwards at high speed, struck her arms from below, pushing them upwards. As a result, Kyôka's claws were sent off course. And to make things worse, they ended up colliding with the blackish-red orb and were completely atomized on contact.
"Damn it!" Kyôka roared.
"Do you really think I left myself completely open?" Mirajane asked playfully. "You're really underestimating me."
As she spoke, Mirajane controlled even more rubble, wrapping it around Kyôka's forearms and locking them in place. Though, with her mind split between maintaining the [Extinguished Star] and Seilah's [Macro] curse, she was struggling. Still, she knew she would only have to hold the stalemate for a few more moments before Kyôka was engulfed by the destructive energy.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
On top of that, Alzack, not daring to get too close to the [Extinguished Star], fired his pistols, Ebony and Ivory, at Kyôka's back. And with every shot that landed, on top of damaging the Etherious, Kyôka was pushed closer and closer to her defeat.
"Ahh~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!" Kyôka screamed in frustration when she was eventually pushed into the destructive blackish-red orb.
It did not take long for Kyôka's screams to cut off abruptly. Shortly afterwards, the [Extinguished Star] fizzled out. Then, from where the center of the [Extinguished Star] once floated, a charred, vaguely humanoid-shaped lump of flesh fell from the sky.
"Huh? I didn't think there would be anything left after she fell into that." Alzack said in a confused tone as he approached Mirajane while resealing Dante.
"Well, if I completely atomized her, how was I supposed to use [Take Over] on her?" Mirajane asked while dispelling her [Take Over] and resealing Bael.
With that, both Fairy Tail wizards approached what was left of Kyôka, who was missing most of her left arm, and all of her right arm and legs, had half of her face burned away completely, and was barely breathing.
"How does anyone even survive this much damage?" Alzack asked while grimacing at the grim sight. "These Etherious really have some tenacious life force, huh?"
"Yeah, it's almost unfair." Mirajane replied as she knelt down next to Kyôka and placed a hand on her chest.
At that moment, Kyôka, hearing voices so nearby, did all she could to crack open her remaining eye. Then, upon seeing Mirajane, she gritted her teeth in anger.
"Even if I was defeated, Lord Mard Geer will get revenge for me." Kyôka hissed out.
"I'm not so sure about that." Mirajane replied while shaking her head after glancing in the direction of Alfonzo's and Mard Geer's battle. "Alfonzo isn't even going all out. Yet, that Mard Geer guy looks like he's on his last legs. Anyway, please don't resist. It would just be a waste of time for both of us."
However, before Mirajane could activate her magic, both hers and Alzack's heads snapped in the northern horizon when they felt an immense magic power approaching in the sky at high speed.
"What the hell is that?" Alzack asked in an astonished tone.
"I have an idea." Mirajane said, her tone turning solemn. "And if it is what I think it is, we're in trouble. We're all gonna have to work together if we wanna have any chance of surviving this."
With that said, Mirajane activated her magic, absorbing Kyôka, before leading Alzack towards Laxus, Fried, Gray, Erza, Natsu, and Gajeel, who were gathering to face the incoming threat.